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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: My Name is Pipi, Rosette's Familiar (2)
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[Cheep! Cheep!]
Rosette, understanding Pipi, now laughed out loud.
“Are you laughing at me?”
“Pipi… already told you.”
Pipi had already said that its name was Pipi.
She couldn't speak, so she had to shorten her words, but Lucas had interpreted them brilliantly.
“It already told me its name was Pipi? Wait, but you can understand Cheepy—I mean, Pipi?”
When Rosette nodded, Lucas's face filled with surprise.
“All it can say is 'cheep' and 'chirp'!”
Rosette wondered how to explain it.
Familiars and mages were mentally connected, allowing them to share emotions and thoughts, and naturally, understand each other's speech.
But she couldn't explain all of this without her voice. She wanted to write it down, but the current 'Rosette' had not yet learned to write.
After a moment's thought, she tapped Pipi's head. Rosette's mana flowed into the bird.
At the same time, Pipi opened its mouth. Instead of a bird's chirp, a lisping voice, like that of a three-year-old, came from its small beak.
[Familiars share emotions with their masters. Of course we can understand each other!]
“Gah!”
Lucas was so startled that he fell backward. Pipi giggled at the sight of him landing on his backside.
“You, you, you, you—how can you talk?”
[Rosette gave me some mana so I can talk! Only for a little while, though!]
“Then…!”
[More importantly, Rosette has something she wants to ask!]
Lucas adapted to the talking Pipi faster than expected. The boy got up and sat on the edge of the bed, asking.
“What is it?”
[What happened to Joseph Oser?]
“Joseph Oser…”
Lucas ground his teeth.
“Why are you asking about that bastard?”
Pipi fluttered over to Lucas's shoulder and chirped.
[Bad word, bad word! Children shouldn't use bad words!]
Lucas covered his ears and grumbled.
“Fine, I won't say it. So, why Joseph Oser? You ended up like this because of him.”
Rosette shook her head. Pipi explained in her stead.
[Joseph Oser helped Rosette save the Duke!]
“But he was going to betray Father.”
“That's…!”
Rosette tried to retort without thinking, but a sharp pain in her throat made her grimace.
Lucas handed her a glass of warm water, then tapped Pipi's head.
“Have Cheepy say it for you.”
[My name is Pipi!]
“Cheepy just rolls off the tongue.”
[Cheep!]
“Okay, I get it! Ow, don't pull out my hair!”
Having plucked another three strands of hair from Lucas's head, Pipi puffed out its chest in satisfaction.
[Joseph Oser had no choice because his sister was taken hostage. But in the end, he didn't betray the Duke and helped save him.]
“But…”
[And Rosette promised Joseph Oser that she would save his sister!]
“What?”
[Children who don't keep promises are bad. Rosette is a good child. She has to keep her promise. That way… Chee!]
“Huh?”
[Cheep, chee!]
With that, Pipi started chirping like a bird again.
Making a familiar speak human language required more concentration than one might think. It was a difficult task for the eight-year-old Rosette, who had just woken from a coma.
Rosette, breathing heavily, pointed at the door. She wanted to see Joseph Oser. Lucas, who somehow understood, looked worried.
“Joseph Oser is locked in the dungeon. The dungeon is no place for you.”
Still, Rosette stubbornly pointed at the door, and Lucas sighed.
“If we get caught, Father will scold us both.”
“It's… okay.”
“Hmph.”
Lucas raised both hands and playfully ruffled Rosette's hair.
“Alright. Let's go with your big brother. So what if we get scolded!”
* * *
And so, the two children and one small bird secretly made their way to the dungeon.
It wasn't easy. The mansion had many servants, and it was impossible for the two children to completely avoid their eyes.
Still, thanks to Lucas's quick thinking and clever answers, the two managed to reach the dungeon entrance safely.
But that was where the problem began.
“Who goes there!”
A knight guarding the entrance called out upon sensing their presence. Lucas, hopping down the stairs, grinned.
“It's me.”
“Young Lord? What brings you here?”
“I came to see Joseph Oser.”
“Joseph Oser… you say?”
A complicated expression flickered across the knight's face.
“Young Lord, Joseph is…”
“I know. He tried to betray Father. That's why I'm here. To ask him for the details.”
“His Grace has already interrogated Joseph. There is no need for you to meet him…”
“…There is.”
Rosette, who had slowly descended the stairs, cut the knight off. Seeing her, the knight put a hand to his forehead.
“The Young Lady, too? Good heavens. If His Grace finds out…”
“I know. Father will scold us. But I still have to see him.”
“But…”
“If you're so worried, then go report to Father.”
The knight groaned, then gestured to the other knight on duty. The other knight hesitated before quickly leaving the dungeon.
“For now, please wait until His Grace arrives… Wait, Young Lord!”
Lucas ignored the knight and strode inside. Rosette followed behind him.
The knight, unable to lay a hand on the precious children and unsure what to do, could only follow them.
Lucas, walking confidently, jutted his chin toward the knight.
“Since you're following us anyway, lead the way.”
“If His Grace finds out, I'm a dead man, Young Lord.”
“Just say I forced my way in.”
“Isn't that the truth?”
Despite getting the last word in, the knight began to lead them.
Soon, the three of them reached the cell where Joseph Oser was being held.
“This is the place.”
“You can step back a little.”
“But…”
“His limbs are bound. That Joseph fellow can't do anything to us. We have things to talk about.”
“I still cannot allow it.”
This time, the knight was firm.
Lucas clicked his tongue, but knowing it was an unreasonable request, he didn't press further. Instead, he walked up to the cell, hands in his pockets, and kicked the bars.
“Hey, Joseph Oser. Get up. You think you can sleep right now?”
Joseph Oser, who had been dozing with his limbs shackled, lifted his head at the sound.
He stared at Lucas with drowsy eyes before recognizing him and trembling.
“Y-Young Lord?”
Then he spotted Rosette standing behind Lucas and his eyes widened.
“Young Lady!”
He crawled toward Rosette on his knees. But the chains binding his arms and legs prevented him from getting close. Still, he moved until the chains were pulled taut.
It had been ten days since Rosette had last seen Joseph. In just ten days, he had become much gaunter. The worry etched on his face made it clear he was thinking of his sister, Melody.
“My sister, Melody…”
Tears streamed from Joseph's eyes. He managed to speak through cracked lips.
“Please save Melody.”
Over the past ten days, Duke Adrian had turned the ducal mansion upside down and found another spy besides Joseph.
The culprit was a servant who helped with odd jobs in the kitchen.
But despite continuous interrogation, the servant refused to talk. Thanks to the investigation of everyone in the mansion, they had discovered that this servant was the one who had put the drug on the carriage.
However, they still didn't know who was behind it, nor where Joseph's sister, Melody, was being held.
Duke Adrian had promised Joseph he would rescue Melody as a reward for changing his mind and helping him in the end.
But as time passed, Joseph lost hope. He couldn't imagine the kidnappers would have left Melody unharmed.
On top of that, Rosette, who had assured him Melody was alive, had been unconscious.
There wasn't a glimmer of hope. For the past ten days, Joseph had felt like he was in a living hell.
But today, Rosette had appeared before him.
Joseph wrung his hands toward Rosette.
“I-I'm begging you. Please find Melody. If she's dead, please let me at least hold a funeral for her.”
Lucas, feeling sorry for him but also watching Rosette's reaction, barked.
“Hey, why are you saying that to her?”
“You said Melody was alive, didn't you? You know something, don't you, Young Lady?”
In truth, Rosette didn't know anything specific.
However, considering that in her past life, Joseph Oser had remained captive in the Marquisate of Dallas, she could surmise that Melody must have still been alive then.
If his sister had died, there would have been no reason for Joseph to stay there.
To be honest, while Joseph was skilled in swordsmanship, he wasn't important enough to be held with a hostage.
So, what did that mean?
*There must be something about Melody.*
Therefore, she concluded that Marquis Dallas wouldn't have killed Melody, even now that the plan had gone awry.
*If we can find Melody now…*
Just as Rosette was organizing her thoughts.
“Lucas, Rosette.”
Duke Adrian's voice, both gentle and stern, echoed through the dungeon.
“What on earth are you two doing here?”
“Father!”
Lucas flinched in surprise for a moment, but then he grinned.
“I came because I have something to ask Joseph Oser.”
Duke Adrian's aura turned slightly fierce.
“That is not your job. It is mine.”
“But…!”
“So you two should go and rest. And to bring a sick Rose here, of all places.”
Duke Adrian gestured to the knight who had brought them.
The knight moved to escort the two children away, but before he could, Lucas dodged his grasp and hurriedly shouted to Rosette.
“Hey, little sister! Do that thing you did earlier!”
“…?”
“The Cheepy… no, the Pipi talking thing!”
Rosette immediately understood Lucas and infused mana into Pipi, who had been trotting behind her.
But she had already used a large amount of mana just a moment ago, so Pipi could only spit out fragmented words.
[Joseph Oser! Sister! Danger! Save! Hurry!]
Joseph's eyes shot open.
“Is-is my sister in danger?”
This time, Rosette spoke aloud.
“I… don't know for sure.”
“But just now…!”
“But if we leave things as they are…”
*That child will be used by Marquis Dallas. Just like I was. Her emotions will be worn away, and she'll be used as nothing more than a tool for killing people.*
*I don't know what kind of child she is, but I don't want that to happen.*
Having organized her thoughts, Rosette ignored the pain in her throat and spoke firmly to Duke Adrian.
“We have to save Joseph Oser's sister!”
