The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 95

95. Reunion at Sea

February 3, 2024

The cannonball struck the pirate ship directly, sending shattered fragments flying into the sea.

People cheered.

“Well done!”

“Amazing, Rosette! That child is a graduate of the Ivelin Royal Academy, top of her class!”

Rosette, with no time to bask in her friends’ praise, focused on defense. Cannonballs continued to fly, but each one was stopped by Rosette’s barrier.

Then, as if changing tactics, the pirates began to steer their ship closer at high speed.

“They’re going for close combat! Everyone, brace for impact!”

No sooner had Rosette warned them than the largest ship approached and collided. Thanks to Rosette’s magic, the ship sustained no damage, but the impact was significant.

The ship rocked violently. People grabbed onto anything nearby to avoid falling or being thrown into the sea.

Soon, ropes with sharp hooks at the end were flung onto the ship.

Again, the ropes were deflected by Rosette’s magic. The pirates then moved their ship close enough to jump directly onto the deck.

Rosette cast another defensive spell to prevent the pirates from boarding. The pirates, attempting to jump onto the ship, were repelled and fell into the sea.

“You’re doing great!”

“Come on and try to get on board!”

At that moment, the largest of the pirate ships approached, and a man who clearly seemed to be the leader walked forward.

The man wore a black eyepatch over his left eye and had a thick beard, giving him a rough appearance.

He swung a curved sword in the air with his left hand, right where Rosette’s transparent magic barrier was.

“……!”

Sparks flew in the air, and the magic barrier tore open enough for one person to pass through. Rosette quickly reinforced the barrier, but the man and several other pirates had already entered.

“It’s you!”

Thinking that capturing Rosette was all they needed to do, the man and the pirates charged at her. Fortunately, the others rushed at the pirates, except for their leader, with swords and weapons.

Thanks to this, only the leader was threatening Rosette with a sword.

“Get out of the way, young lady!”

Rosette hastily cast a defensive spell while simultaneously launching a fireball at the man. However, the fireball disappeared before it even reached him.

The man grinned.

“Not bad, kid.”

Rosette quickly realized why her magic hadn’t worked on him. He was wearing a necklace imbued with defensive magic.

‘He probably plundered it from an Ivelin Kingdom ship.’

The Ivelin Kingdom was famous for its magic, and as such, accessories imbued with magical effects, known as artifacts, were highly sought after.

The number of times the magic could be used was limited, but the mere ability to use magic made them incredibly expensive.

This man had apparently chosen to use the stolen magic artifacts himself instead of selling them.

In addition to the necklace, she could see a ring imbued with offensive magic and earrings engraved with counter-magic.

‘If I use magic carelessly, I might be countered.’

Rosette drew the dagger she wore at her waist and infused it with mana. It was a gift from Daniel when she left the Empire.

“Don’t call me that. There’s only one person who can call me ‘kid’!”

“Ho.”

A strange light flickered in the man’s eyes.

“What is it? You don’t seem to be a Sword Master, but you’re using aura [a manifestation of inner energy]. Is there another method I don’t know about? I’m quite curious about that method.”

“Well, if you subdue me, I might tell you.”

Rosette smiled and condensed mana, launching it toward the man’s earrings. The mana flew like a sharp blade but was deflected by an invisible wall.

Rosette dissipated the mana before it could hit anyone else.

‘That’s quite the reaction speed.’

Rosette shouted to Pipi, who was flying above.

“Pipi!”

[Bbit!]

Pipi flew down like an arrow. Having been aided by Rosette’s magic, Pipi flew faster than ever and bit off the man’s earring.

“Argh!”

Because it was a physical attack, the counter-magic didn’t activate. The earring was torn from the man’s ear and fell onto the deck.

From that moment on, Rosette unleashed a barrage of magic. The magic bounced off a few times before finally striking the man’s body.

“Ugh!”

Rosette seized the opportunity, using magic to disarm the man and then restrain him so he couldn’t move.

She then used magic to drag the other pirates together and tie them up in one place.

“Ah, the other pirates are escaping!”

The pirate ships surrounding the ship seemed to have realized the situation and quickly began to turn away.

Rosette, having subdued the pirates with magic, muttered helplessly.

“It’s difficult to catch them all. It’s a shame, but…”

Just then, a crew member who had been looking through a telescope shouted after identifying the flag on a ship far in the distance.

“Oh, there’s an Imperial Navy ship over there!”

As he said, Imperial Navy ships were approaching from the distance. The navy began to hunt down the fleeing pirates.

Meanwhile, Rosette maintained her defensive magic to prevent the ship from being damaged.

Once the situation was somewhat under control, the captain said.

“That’s good. Even though we subdued them, I was worried about taking the pirates on board, but we can hand them over to the navy.”

Under the captain’s command, the crew raised a white sail to signal for help.

After that, the situation was quickly resolved.

Knights in the Imperial Order’s uniforms boarded the ship and took the pirates away, and someone came to commend the crew for their hard work.

“Everyone, you’ve done well. Thanks to you, we’ve captured the head of the pirates who have been a thorn in our side. That rat always managed to escape.”

“It wasn’t us. It was that young lady who did it.”

“Young lady?”

At someone’s words, the man turned his head. Rosette, who happened to be looking in that direction at the words of another crew member, blankly muttered as she saw the silver-haired man in uniform.

“Your Highness?”

The man also noticed her and his eyes widened.

“Lady?”

He frowned and approached Rosette. Coming closer, he looked her up and down before asking in disbelief.

Rosette also stared at him with a dazed expression.

She hadn’t expected it, but it really was Joshua.

“Rosette Adrian, is that you?”

He asked, still sounding incredulous. It seemed Rosette, who had grown considerably, looked unfamiliar to him.

“Yes, it’s me.”

“You’ve changed a lot since then… No, that’s not it. Why are you here? Didn’t you hear that pirates were around?”

“I did. I didn’t think pirates would actually appear…”

Rosette smiled awkwardly as she watched the pirates being dragged away by the navy.

“I really didn’t expect them to show up. I suppose Your Highness is out here to hunt down pirates.”

Come to think of it, Lucas had written in his letter that Joshua had been going around hunting pirates lately.

“Yes. I came urgently because someone called the Pirate King had appeared…”

Joshua let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha, you really are fearless.”

“Huh?” Rosette’s eyes widened at the unfamiliar form of address.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Just now, Your Highness called me ‘you’…”

“So?”

“No, it’s just that it’s the first time I’ve heard that form of address from Your Highness.”

“You’re old enough now that I can’t keep calling you ‘you.’ Besides, there are other people around.”

Joshua chuckled and offered Rosette a suggestion.

“It’ll take about another week to get to the Empire from here. I’ll take you back to the Empire on my ship from here.”

“No, my friends are here…”

“Friends?”

“Melody and Anthony Huxley.”

“Ah, I heard the Huxley heir went to the kingdom as well. It seems they graduated together.”

“Yes.”

“We’ll have them come along as well. There are plenty of rooms left on the ship anyway.”

“Okay.”

Joshua gave instructions to the crew and knights.

“Bring Lady Adrian to our ship. We’re returning to the Empire as well.”

Rosette watched them go to get their luggage and then moved to Joshua’s ship with him.

Joshua led her to a small reception room on the ship. Rosette looked around and asked.

“Where’s Silver?”

“Ah, he’s too big to summon on the ship. The crew gets scared, too.”

“Then can’t you summon him here just for a moment?”

“Of course.”

Joshua snapped his fingers, and Silver appeared.

Silver rushed over as soon as he was summoned. Rosette lifted Silver’s front paws and hugged him tightly.

“It’s been a while, Silver! I missed you!”

[Woof!]

Pipi also greeted him happily, hopping on Silver’s head.

[Bbi, bbit!]

As Rosette and Silver chattered, Joshua, who was sitting on the sofa, crossed his legs and muttered.

“I knew you were extraordinary, but I didn’t expect you to come back by ship.”

It wasn’t a sarcastic tone, but a voice of genuine admiration. Rosette felt embarrassed.

“I wanted to get there as quickly as possible.”

“That’s what makes you extraordinary. Who else would take a ship just because they wanted to get there quickly in this situation?”

“I thought it would be okay.”

“Well, I admit you’re skilled. Anyway, you helped me again this time. Thank you.”

“No, I didn’t do much.”

Rosette muttered in a subdued voice and sat opposite Joshua. Silver lay down at Rosette’s feet, and Pipi settled on Silver’s back.

Rosette glanced at Joshua. She hadn’t been able to see him properly earlier because she had been too flustered, but now she could finally observe him properly.

Rosette had thought that Joshua wouldn’t have changed much since the last time she saw him.

But that was a misjudgment.

‘His face is definitely the same as the last time I saw him…’

He had been eighteen years old when she last saw Joshua. He had already finished growing externally.

So his appearance hadn’t changed much since then. If she had to point something out, it would be that he had built more muscle, making his shoulders broader and his body more toned.

But his aura had changed drastically.

‘Lucas said that Your Highness seemed to have changed a bit after Prince Louis appeared.’

It was just as he had said.

The Joshua she had seen before was certainly not an easy person to deal with. Being a member of the Imperial Family and having memories of the past made him more mature than his age.

Moreover, he had always been more prickly than affable, making it difficult for people to approach him.

But perhaps it was because they shared the past, or perhaps Joshua had been lenient with Rosette.

Rosette hadn’t found it difficult to be around Joshua, except for when they had first met. Rather, their relationship had become stronger as they solved incidents together.

‘But it’s different now. I feel uncomfortable for some reason.’

It was difficult to talk to Joshua casually now. He exuded a cynical atmosphere that went beyond prickliness. The playful smile he often wore when he was with Rosette had also disappeared.

He was truly the perfect prince, himself.