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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Joshua Ehrnhardt's Circumstances (2)
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Daniel chuckled softly, as if the mere mention of his sister's name brought him joy.
“Yes. Rose is her nickname, to be exact. Her full name is Rosette.”
“Rose…tte? Was that the name my master gave her?”
“No, her name was already Rosette. I'm not sure who named her, but I suspect it's because her hair is pink, like a rose.”
“Pink? And are her eyes blue, by any chance?”
“How did you know? They are indeed blue.”
“…”
“Is something wrong, Your Highness?”
“It’s nothing.”
Joshua schooled his expression and asked one last question.
“Was it perhaps the youngest daughter, not Celine, who saved my master this time?”
“…”
Daniel, as ever, was a poor liar. He smiled, his gaze subtly avoiding Joshua’s.
From his reaction, Joshua concluded that his suspicions were correct.
* * *
Joshua watched Daniel depart from the Sapphire Palace, lost in thought. His mind was a whirlwind of new information.
‘The past has changed again. Why?’
In the past he remembered, it was undoubtedly Daniel Adrian, not the Duke, who had been in that mysterious carriage accident.
That accident had left Daniel, a promising swordsman, with a permanent limp. He couldn't possibly be misremembering.
That was why Joshua had risked suspicion to warn Daniel.
And yet, the one who ended up in the accident was Duke Adrian, someone he hadn't even considered.
On top of that.
‘The timing has subtly changed as well.’
In the past, Daniel’s accident occurred after the social season had officially begun. This time, however, it happened before spring had even arrived.
He wondered if there was still a faction targeting Daniel, but that seemed unlikely. What were the odds of two identical carriage accidents occurring in such a short span of time?
Thus, Joshua concluded that for some reason, the target had shifted to Duke Adrian.
And there was another difference.
‘He said they caught the culprit this time. Viscount Chané, was it?’
In the past, a furious Duke Adrian had scoured the empire yet failed to find the culprit. This time, the mastermind was found with surprising ease.
How was that possible? Joshua let out a soft groan.
In truth, this wasn't the first strange occurrence in the Duchy of Adrian. The past had already changed once before.
‘Rosette Adrian.’
A girl who was suddenly adopted into the Adrian family.
Joshua sat at his desk and mulled over the name.
He already knew a girl named Rosette with pink hair and blue eyes. The difference was, the girl he knew was named ‘Rosette Dallas.’
In the ‘past’ he remembered, she was the adopted daughter of the Dallas family.
‘Come to think of it, Marquis Dallas adopted her around this time, too.’
Rosette wasn't a common name. Could two people exist with the same rare name and identical appearance? Furthermore, the timing of their adoptions was similar. Even their aptitude for magic was the same.
No matter how he looked at it, he came to the same conclusion: the girl he knew and the youngest daughter of the Adrian family were one and the same.
‘If the youngest daughter of Adrian is truly the Rosette Dallas I know…’
Then why on earth is she with the Duchy of Adrian and not the Marquisate of Dallas?
He was confused.
Why was the very person who led the Duchy of Adrian to ruin there, of all places?
The surprising part was that Duke Adrian had decided on the adoption, not Rosette. If Rosette had made the first move, he would have suspected a dark motive, but the situation suggested otherwise.
‘Should I call that a relief?’
Was this the providence of the Goddess Ashella, or the curse of an evil god?
‘Either way, if she is Rosette Dallas, she must be driven out of the Adrian family.’
Joshua clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms as he recalled the still-vivid past.
* * *
The night was peaceful, like any other. He had been handling paperwork and was about to fall asleep late when his aide burst in.
“Your Highness, something terrible has happened!”
“What is it?”
“The Duke of Adrian’s residence has been attacked.”
Until that moment, Joshua was unconcerned.
“Is that something to report so urgently this late at night?”
It wasn't the first time an assassin had infiltrated the Duke's residence. Most of them were caught by the guards.
Even if they managed to penetrate deep into the mansion, they posed no threat to the Adrians. All four of them were among the most skilled swordsmen in the empire, after all.
So this time, too, would likely pass without incident. Just as Joshua thought so and turned back toward his bed…
“Duke Adrian and Young Lord Daniel have been murdered.”
“…What did you say?”
“The Duke and the eldest young lord… Ugh!”
The aide felt a choking sensation from the killing intent emanating from Joshua, who had closed the distance between them in an instant. As the man struggled to speak, Joshua enunciated each word with chilling precision.
“I asked what you just said.”
“The two of them have passed away…”
“If you don't speak clearly, even you won't be safe.”
“It’s… true.”
Impossible. His master and Daniel… defeated? It couldn't be. But he had to see for himself.
Joshua headed for the Duke's residence without even properly dressing, just in his shirt and trousers.
Arriving faster than ever before, he found the Adrian ducal estate in an uproar. Knights from the Imperial Knight Order had already surrounded the mansion.
“Who goes there… Your Highness?”
“Move.”
“The investigation is still ongoing. Even Your Highness cannot enter…”
“Did you not hear me say move?”
Joshua pushed the tip of the knight's spear blocking his way with his finger. Even though it was just a light push, the knight fell backward.
Without giving a single glance to the knight who had fallen on his rear, Joshua walked inside.
The inside of the mansion was in even greater disarray. The bodies of guards were strewn across the floor, and red blood was spattered everywhere.
Joshua passed the gruesome scene and headed straight for Duke Adrian's office.
“Master!”
But what greeted him was Lucas's heart-wrenching cry.
“Father! Please open your eyes, Father!”
Kneeling on the floor, Lucas held Duke Adrian in his arms. The Duke's eyes were closed as if he were peacefully asleep, but the left side of his chest was stained red.
It was a sight he couldn't believe even seeing it with his own eyes. Joshua stood blankly at the door before unconsciously taking a step back.
Sensing his presence, Lucas looked back at him. His cheeks were already drenched in tears.
“Your Highness.”
“…”
“My father… *sob*.”
Lucas cried out like a child. Joshua belatedly approached him. Kneeling on one knee, he placed a hand over the cleanly pierced wound on the Duke's chest.
He couldn't feel a heartbeat. Grasping at straws, he used healing magic. The wound began to close from the edges until it disappeared without a trace.
But the heart that had already stopped refused to beat again. Joshua started performing the CPR he had learned long ago, pressing down hard on the Duke's chest with both hands.
But there was no response. The Duke, who had always greeted him with a gentle smile, smiled no more.
“Please stop, Your Highness. My father is already…”
Only when Lucas, unable to watch any longer, stopped him did he cease the CPR. He stared blankly at his blood-stained hands as tears finally began to fall.
“Master, why…”
Joshua first met Duke Adrian when he was three years old.
The Duchess of Adrian, who was still alive back then, was the first friend Joshua's mother, Ophelia, made after coming to the empire.
Duke Adrian was reluctant to teach Joshua, but he began the lessons at his wife's request.
He was a master who was sometimes strict, sometimes kind. Joshua followed Duke Adrian more than the cold and unaffectionate Emperor. At times, he even felt the Duke was like a father to him.
Duke Adrian was the strongest person he knew, both externally and internally. Perhaps that was why Joshua had never imagined he would die so suddenly.
After crying for a long while, Joshua finally composed himself and stood up. His next destination was Daniel's room.
Isabelle was sitting beside Daniel's fallen body. Unlike Lucas, she wasn't crying. She was just staring blankly down at Daniel. She didn't even look up as Joshua approached.
Joshua looked down at Daniel in silence. He had died with his eyes still open.
Was it because he had already seen Duke Adrian? No tears came. Only a hollow laugh escaped.
Carefully closing Daniel's eyes, Joshua asked in a low voice.
“Who did this?”
Isabelle replied, her face still vacant.
“We don't know yet.”
“The assassin? Did they escape?”
“No. We caught them.”
“Caught them? How?”
This was the person who had killed Duke Adrian and Daniel. For them to be caught so docilely… it was unbelievable.
“When the knights and I arrived, the assassin was standing still in front of my brother's body.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Isabelle covered her face with her hands. She took a deep breath and continued.
“It's a young girl.”
“What?”
“She's a child who doesn't seem to know why she's caught up in this. I don't even know if she's the one who really did it. Please, find out the truth.”
“You speak as if you're worried about the child.”
Isabelle stood up and muttered bitterly.
“Because Father certainly would have.”
He probably would have. Duke Adrian always had a soft spot for children.
Then, Joshua suddenly noticed a difference between Duke Adrian and Daniel.
‘My master had no signs of a struggle. But Daniel has other wounds.’
The only wound on the Duke was the single hole in his left chest. No matter how skilled the assassin, that was absurd.
That meant Duke Adrian hadn't resisted at all.
‘He wasn't the type to let his guard down simply because his opponent was a child, so it seems he couldn't bring himself to attack.’
If so, it was even more despicable. They had taken advantage of Duke Adrian's nature.
Joshua clenched his fists.
“I swear on my name, Joshua Ehrnhardt, that I will uncover the one behind this.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Joshua gave Daniel one last look before leaving the mansion.
He felt as if his insides were burning, but there was no time for grief now.
Thirteen years ago, when his mother, Ophelia Ehrnhardt, died, he was only twelve. He had wanted to uncover the mastermind behind her death, but he was too young to act on his own.
But now was different. He was an adult and could wield power.
He would find them, no matter what.
This time, he would leave no room for regret.
