The Youngest Daughter Of The Great Wizard Of The Famous Swordsmanship [EN]: Chapter 96

96. The Empire Revisited

“Why are you staring like that?”

“Just happy to see you. And you’ve changed a lot too, Your Highness.”

Joshua chuckled.

“You’re one to talk.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I almost didn’t recognize you without the pink hair.”

Rosette gathered her hair, letting it fall over her right shoulder.

“Yeah, everyone says that. Joanne and Melody both said I’ve grown up a lot.”

“I bet the Master and the Adrian siblings would be surprised to see you.”

“Probably.”

Rosette wanted to ask Joshua so much more: how he had been, if Ophelia was doing well, how the atmosphere in the Imperial Palace had changed since Louis appeared, and so on.

But Joshua’s demeanor was different than before, and she couldn’t bring herself to speak freely. Besides, he kept addressing her formally as ‘thee’ and ‘Lady,’ which felt more distant than before, making her feel inexplicably upset.

“I….”

She barely managed to open her mouth to ask how he had been when a knock sounded, and a man who seemed to be Joshua’s aide entered.

“Your Highness, you’re needed for a moment.”

“Is that so? I understand.”

Joshua rose from his seat.

“Lady, a servant will guide you to your room. Silver can stay with you if you wish.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Rosette unconsciously rose and bowed to him. It was a formal greeting to royalty that she had never given Joshua before.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

“Very well. Then, Lady, I shall see you again later.”

Even after Joshua left, Rosette stared blankly at the closed door for a while.

[Bbi?]

Bbi flew to her shoulder, chirping to ask what was wrong.

“No, it’s nothing. I guess it’s just because I haven’t seen His Highness in a long time.”

Rosette stroked Bbi’s chin and followed the servant who had come to guide her, leaving the reception room. Silver wagged its tail and followed behind her.

* * *

After taking care of urgent business and returning to his room, Joshua took a deep breath.

Silver, who had returned to Joshua after Rosette fell asleep, tilted its head as if asking what was wrong.

Joshua unbuttoned a couple of the shirt buttons he had fastened up to his neck and chuckled.

“It’s nothing. I’m just a little surprised.”

Joshua smiled, thinking of Rosette, who he had been with until just now.

To be honest, he had been uncharacteristically nervous a little while ago. And it was because of Rosette, of all people.

Rosette, whom he had seen after six years, was completely different. The fourteen-year-old girl who still had a trace of childhood was now a complete woman.

The twenty-year-old Rosette that Joshua remembered was very small and young. Perhaps because she hadn’t eaten properly at the Dallas estate, she looked nothing like a twenty-year-old.

Dry hair, hollow eyes, and gaunt cheeks. Thin wrists and blue eyes that didn’t match her appearance.

Her deeply double-lidded eyes were impressive, but at the time, Rosette was not objectively attractive. Of course, she would have looked even more pathetic since they met in prison.

So, Joshua couldn’t imagine Rosette being loved and growing up properly.

He often tried to imagine it, but all that came to mind was the image of her in the garden or in prison.

But the moment he made eye contact with Rosette today….

‘I hate to admit it, but it felt like time had stopped.’

She had become a complete lady. The youthful look had disappeared, and she had become quite mature.

Personally, she seemed more beautiful than Isabel Adrian or Elisha Dallas, who were praised as beauties in society.

In fact, Rosette seemed like she would turn high society upside down as soon as she made her debut.

That Rosette was very happy to see Joshua. And she seemed conscious of him, acting awkwardly.

That fact made Joshua a little excited.

‘The Imperial Palace life will be interesting from now on.’

Joshua smiled again, thinking about the future that would change because of Rosette.

* * *

It had already been a week since they boarded the Imperial ship. Land was beginning to appear.

[Bbit!]

Bbi, who had excitedly flown to the nearest island, returned with another flower in its beak.

A yellow flower that couldn’t be seen in the Ivelin Kingdom but was common in the Ernhardt Empire.

Rosette smelled the flower with emotion-filled eyes.

“I’m really back now.”

[Bbi!]

While Rosette was rejoicing with Bbi, Anthony, who had been suffering from seasickness, staggered out, with GuGu beside him.

“Anthony, look over there! They said we’ll arrive in about two hours!”

“Ugh, I want to set foot on land quickly.”

“Hang in there a little longer. You’ll be free from seasickness soon. Just hold on for two hours.”

Rosette spent time with Anthony until the end. And two hours later, the ship safely docked at a port near the capital.

Rosette watched the servants unloading luggage and approached Joshua, who was giving instructions.

In fact, even though she had been on the same ship as Joshua for the past week, she hadn’t seen him much. Joshua had been too busy.

‘It’s a shame I couldn’t talk more, but it can’t be helped.’

Joshua, who was twenty-four this year, was in the midst of establishing himself as a prince and was said to be extremely busy.

“Thank you for bringing me safely to the Empire, Your Highness.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s the role of the Imperial family to protect the people of the Empire.”

It would take several hours by carriage from this port to the capital.

“It seems like we’ll have to go our separate ways from here. Can you get there safely?”

“Of course, I can. And I’m not alone.”

“That’s a relief then. I’ll see you later. Your knight has caught a carriage over there. Be careful on your way.”

“Then I’ll be going first. I’ll visit you and the Empress at the Imperial Palace soon.”

“Very well.”

Rosette greeted Joshua and then said goodbye to Anthony and her other friends. Then, she got into the carriage with her tired body.

Her heart was beating so fast on the way to the mansion that she couldn’t breathe properly.

When the rapidly moving carriage finally stopped…

“Shorty!”

Lucas’s missed voice was heard as the door burst open. Rosette closed her eyes at the sudden burst of dazzling sunlight.

When she opened her eyes slightly again, Lucas was standing in front of her.

Lucas, who was twenty-two this year, looked quite similar to Daniel at first glance. If it weren’t for his blue eyes, which were different from Daniel’s, Rosette would have mistaken him for Daniel.

“Lucas… Oppa [ term of endearment for older brother]?”

Lucas was even more taken aback than Rosette. He rubbed his eyes as he stared blankly at Rosette, then asked somewhat dumbly.

“What, is that really our Shorty?”

The word ‘Shorty,’ which she hadn’t heard in a long time, made the tip of her nose tingle. Rosette sniffled and replied.

“It’s me, Rosette!”

“Oh my god, Shorty! Our Shorty has grown up so much!”

Lucas spread his arms wide.

“Our Shorty, come here. Let Oppa give you a hug!”

Rosette got out of the carriage and rushed into his arms. She didn’t want to cry, but tears welled up.

“Oppa, I missed you so much.”

Confessing now, Rosette had cried every night for several days when she first left her family and went to the academy.

She comforted herself, saying, ‘My mind is an adult. Don’t cry over this.’ But perhaps because her mind had really become younger, tears kept flowing.

The same was true after she sent back her family, who had come to see Rosette for the last time by land.

She had missed her family so much. The emotions she had suppressed for two weeks on the ship burst out at once.

“Yeah, Shorty. I missed you too so much.”

The two siblings, now adults, hugged each other and cried.

“What, how long are you going to hug Rose by yourself? Let me see her too.”

If it hadn’t been for Isabel’s voice from behind, the two would have stood there forever.

“Isabel Unnie [term of endearment for older sister]!”

Rosette peeked out and looked at Isabel.

“Yes, Rose.”

Isabel also teared up and hugged Rosette tightly.

“I’m glad you came back safely. Everyone was worried because you said you were coming by ship. You should have come safely by carriage.”

“I missed you so much that I wanted to come as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, thanks to you, we were able to see you sooner too.”

Isabel stroked Rosette’s hair with affectionate hands.

“But where are Dad and Daniel Oppa?”

“They went to the Imperial Palace for a while. They’ll probably be back in the afternoon or evening. If they had known you were coming today, they wouldn’t have gone.”

“Ah, I see.”

Rosette muttered a little sadly.

“Let’s go inside first. Let’s talk inside.”

Rosette linked arms with Lucas and Isabel, respectively, and headed to the living room that her family used.

As they sat down in their respective seats, Lucas made a fuss as he looked at Rosette.

“What should I do! Shorty is so unfamiliar!”

“Oppa is still the same.”

“What are you talking about, Shorty? I’ve grown a lot taller and gained muscle in the meantime. Do you want to see? Oppa’s biceps are like this….”

Rosette laughed again as she watched Lucas flex his arm.

‘He’s really the same.’

His body had grown a lot, but Lucas was still immature, but he was the second older brother who loved Rosette more than anyone else.

Rosette glanced at Lucas once more for no reason.

“By the way, was it hard coming here? Didn’t you get seasick?”

Isabel asked. Rosette answered honestly for a moment.

“Yes, it was okay. I wasn’t bored because I came with my friends. A pirate appeared in the middle, which was a bit of a hassle….”

“What? You met a pirate?”

Lucas grabbed Rosette and examined her body thoroughly.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m okay. I took care of everything!”

Rosette reassured the horrified Lucas and Isabel.

“Fortunately, the navy led by His Highness came right away and was able to handle it without any problems. Besides, I transferred to His Highness’s ship and came safely.”

“Oh, you saw His Highness?”

“Yes!”

“How was it? Hasn’t he changed a lot?”

“A little. I think the atmosphere has changed.”

That’s when the three siblings were talking. The door opened, and Daniel, whom Rosette had been waiting for, came inside.

“Rose!”

“Oh? Daniel Oppa!”

Rosette jumped up and ran to him. Rosette, who was habitually running to hug him, stopped when she saw the black-haired woman standing behind Daniel.

‘Could that person be Miss Ines Rivera?’

Black hair and blue eyes. The description of Ines Rivera that Lucas had described in his letter was exactly the same.

While Rosette hesitated for a moment, Daniel hugged her tightly.

“Rose, I missed you so much. You’ve grown a lot in the meantime.”