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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Melody Oser (1)
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“Rose, that is not for you to worry about. And.”
Duke Adrian muttered, glancing at Joseph Oser, who was staring at him with desperation.
“We have been searching for Melody Oser, but we haven't found her yet. It seems she's been hidden quite well.”
“I can!”
Rosette, who had quickly shouted, winced at the pain in her throat. Lucas had warned her not to speak, but she persisted.
“I can find her.”
“How can you?”
Duke Adrian expressed his doubt.
“Is that true, Young Lady? Can you really find Melody?”
Joseph clung desperately to the bars.
Rosette looked back and forth between the two and nodded.
“I can do it.”
She carefully began to explain what she could do. As he listened, Duke Adrian’s eyes widened.
***
“There's certainly merit to what she's saying.”
Celine, having heard Rosette’s plan from Duke Adrian, nodded.
“I’ve never done it myself, but it’s theoretically plausible. I don’t know how the young lady could have thought of such a thing, but…”
In times like these, it was best to just smile as if I knew nothing.
Rosette simply smiled at Celine, who was looking at her with a complicated expression.
Still, Celine didn’t seem ready to act, so Rosette gently tugged at her skirt, a gesture of urgency.
As if understanding, Celine composed her expression.
“In any case, I will give it a try.”
The method Rosette proposed was a tracking spell. It wasn’t in use yet, but it was a type of magic that had occasionally been used before Rosette turned back time.
Celine reconfirmed with Rosette.
“We're tracking her using Joseph Oser's blood, correct?”
“Yes.”
Rosette nodded.
The method she proposed was a tracking spell that utilized blood relation magic.
After confirming the reception range of Joseph Oser’s magic communication device, they would use the blood relation magic within that area. It would take some time, but if they could narrow the scope, they would be able to find Melody.
‘The problem is that narrowing down the area where Melody might be is difficult, but…’
Rosette was confident. After all, in her past life, she had become an expert at tracking people under Marquis Dallas’s orders.
However, while Celine agreed with Rosette’s idea, she was a bit skeptical.
“But it won’t be easy to narrow down the range.”
“We can do it.”
Rosette murmured, her voice having recovered slightly.
“It’s possible.”
Seeing Rosette’s confident expression, Celine shrugged.
“I suppose a common person can't possibly understand a genius. Let's give it a try together.”
Soon, Duke Adrian had someone bring the communication device that belonged to Joseph Oser.
Rosette placed her hand on the device, which a knight had hastily brought, and closed her eyes.
Just then, Celine placed a hand on Rosette’s shoulder. When Rosette turned around in surprise, she smiled.
“Your core is still small, Young Lady, so you might overexert yourself again. I'll lend you some of my mana.”
Celine’s mana flowed into Rosette’s body.
Feeling the large amount of mana envelop her small mana core protectively, Rosette activated the tracking spell.
‘Southwest of the mansion. At this distance, it must be on the outskirts of the capital.’
Opening her eyes, Rosette pointed to a spot on the map with her index finger.
“It’s this way.”
Duke Adrian, who had been watching the map intently, began giving hurried instructions to his knights. From what she could overhear, it sounded like he was requesting assistance from the imperial mages.
Celine, who had by now withdrawn her mana from Rosette, also smiled brightly.
“I’ll be going as well. Young Lady Rosette, you should return to your room and rest. You mustn’t overdo it again.”
“I also want to…”
She was about to say she wanted to go, but Duke Adrian cut her off firmly.
“Leave it to the adults.”
“But…”
He gently placed his hands on Rosette’s shoulders and smiled.
“I know you've done something great, Rose. But this time, won't you trust your father?”
Rosette bit her lip and looked up at Duke Adrian. The Duke’s purple eyes held a myriad of emotions.
When she found worry and affection within them, Rosette nodded.
“Alright.”
“Good.”
At a nod from Duke Adrian, a knight approached Rosette.
“Young Lady, I will escort you safely to your room.”
As she walked away with the knight, Rosette looked back at the Duke.
“You have to come back safely.”
The Duke’s eyes widened slightly before he smiled again.
“I will.”
***
Rosette returned to her room with a heavy heart. Soon after, the three Adrian siblings came inside.
Lucas plopped down on the bed next to Rosette and let out a sigh of relief.
“What a relief. I thought Father was going to scold me more.”
Daniel reprimanded him sternly. His face, which was usually graced with a gentle smile, was uncharacteristically firm.
“You’ll get a worse scolding when Father returns. You deserve it. How could you even think of taking Rose to a place like that?”
“But…!”
“I said I wanted to go.”
When Rosette interjected, Daniel turned to admonish her instead.
“You shouldn’t have done that either, Rose. What if something had gone wrong?”
Rosette clenched her fists.
“I can protect Lucas.”
“No, that’s not right. We’re supposed to protect you, not the other way around.”
“...?”
“You're our youngest, after all. You don't have to do anything.”
“That’s right.”
Isabelle chimed in.
“You’re still small and young. Leave it to us.”
*But you and my brothers are not much older than me. You’re still young, too.*
She wanted to argue, but she couldn't say a word.
Because despite the small age difference, Daniel and Isabelle’s faces seemed particularly mature today.
Rosette hung her head low and fidgeted with her feet.
She knew this wasn’t the time for such feelings, but her heart pounded at the sensation of being protected.
As Lucas teased, ‘The little one’s face is turning red!’, Rosette silently prayed that everything would be resolved well.
***
Once Rosette narrowed down the area, Melody was found surprisingly quickly. It took less than two hours.
Melody was discovered in a mansion on the outskirts of the capital.
“We’ve found her! She’s in here!”
Duke Adrian, who was personally searching the outskirts, rushed inside at the knight’s report. In front of the room, a guard who had been standing watch lay defeated, subdued by the Adrian knights.
“Let’s go in.”
Duke Adrian slowly opened the door and stepped inside. He saw a lump under the covers on the bed.
He gestured for his subordinate to wait and slowly approached, sitting on the edge of the bed.
The lump of blankets twitched, and a voice, filled with terror, seeped out from within.
“P-Please, spare me.”
Duke Adrian gently stroked what he presumed was the child's head.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Really?”
“Of course. I swear on the Goddess Ashella.”
Seemingly a little relieved, the child peeked her head out.
She was a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, matching the description of Melody Oser that Joseph had given.
“Is your name Melody, by any chance?”
The child’s eyes widened.
“How did you know my name?”
“Your older brother told me.”
“You know my brother?”
“Yes. He asked me to come and get you.”
“But…”
The child, Melody, mumbled.
“The other men said my brother was coming to get me.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. But why didn’t he come?”
“Your brother is a little busy.”
Duke Adrian extended his hand.
“Won’t you come with me?”
Melody hesitated.
“But my brother told me not to follow strangers. I followed a stranger and got separated from my aunt. So…”
Duke Adrian smiled and praised her.
“That’s right. You shouldn’t follow strangers. You’ve learned well. In that case, will this do?”
He showed her the sword hanging at his waist. The hilt was engraved with the Adrian family crest.
Melody recognized it immediately.
“Huh? That's the same as the one on my brother's sword! Do you work for Duke Adrian too, sir?”
“That’s right. Can you trust me now?”
Still, Melody looked conflicted. But soon, as if she had made up her mind, she wriggled out from under the covers.
“Okay. I’ll trust you. And to be honest, I don’t want to stay here anymore.”
“Good, that’s a wise choice.”
Duke Adrian took Melody into his arms and walked outside.
“Now, let’s go see your brother.”
***
While Duke Adrian was retrieving Melody, his men worked swiftly to uncover who was behind the plot.
They first identified the owner of the building where Melody was found. However, the owner was not a noble but a merchant of modest means.
Duke Adrian determined that the merchant couldn't have afforded such a mansion with his own wealth. After interrogating the merchant, they discovered that the true owner was Viscount Chaney.
“It wasn’t me! Why would I try to harm Duke Adrian!”
Viscount Chaney cried foul when the city guards stormed his mansion.
However, a magic communication device, one of a pair with the one Joseph Oser possessed, was discovered in his residence. It was evidence that he had instigated Joseph.
The Emperor, declaring that this incident could not be overlooked, personally ordered the Imperial Knights to investigate. Viscount Chaney was imprisoned in the dungeons beneath the imperial palace.
And Melody arrived safely at the duchy with Duke Adrian.
Upon hearing the news, Rosette came out with the three Adrian siblings to see Melody.
‘Wow, she’s pretty.’
Joseph Oser’s sister, Melody Oser, unlike her rather plain brother, was a doll-like, beautiful child.
Strikingly bright blonde hair and blue eyes that resembled the autumn sky. Soft, white cheeks like kneaded flour.
Looking at Melody, Rosette was reminded of a bisque doll she had once seen belonging to Elisha.
Such a pretty child was trembling, her already round eyes wide with fear. It was a pitiful sight.
But something else captured Rosette’s attention more than Melody’s pretty appearance.
‘That child… with a good teacher, she could become a very skilled mage.’
If Joseph was naturally gifted in swordsmanship, Melody had a talent for magic.
Since she had never learned magic, her untamed mana was practically overflowing. It meant she was born with a considerable amount of internal mana.
Only after seeing Melody did she understand why the Dallas family had kept her alive instead of killing her.
They had intended to raise Melody and use her. Moreover, they could also use her to blackmail Joseph, killing two birds with one stone.
Melody, now out of Duke Adrian’s arms, looked around.
“Where's my brother? Where is he? You said we were going to see my brother.”
