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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Visit (1)
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The prince arrived without warning. To be precise, someone from the prince's palace had come, but less than five minutes after the letter was received, Joshua himself appeared at the estate on horseback.
Duke Adrian, who was handling documents in his office, and Daniel, who had just changed his clothes, rushed out in surprise.
“Your Highness, what brings you here so suddenly without any notice?”
Duke Adrian asked, trying his best to remain calm. Leaping from his horse with a light movement, Joshua handed the reins to an attendant and smiled.
“Haha, I did send word. Did you not receive it?”
This time, Daniel answered.
“We did. Five minutes ago.”
“In any case, the message arrived before I did, so it's not as if I came without any notice, is it?”
Daniel was at a loss for words as he looked at Joshua, who simply shrugged.
*He's not usually like this.*
Barring any extraordinary circumstances, Joshua was the man who would one day ascend to the throne. Although he had not yet been formally invested as the crown prince, he had been taught the art of ruling since childhood.
He was also forced to control his emotions. Naturally, he rarely acted on impulse.
So for someone like Joshua to suddenly show up unannounced? He brazenly claimed it was fine since he had sent word, but in reality, it was as good as not having contacted them at all.
Above all, Daniel had just returned home from meeting him only an hour ago.
“Is there something else you needed to say to me?”
“Not exactly. I came to see for myself if my master was all right. And while I'm at it, to see Isabelle and Lucas.”
Joshua smiled meaningfully.
“It would also be nice to see the rumored youngest daughter of the duchy.”
Realizing his true purpose, Daniel let out a small sigh.
*So he came to see Rose.*
Even though he had repeatedly told him she wasn't ready for an audience with royalty, he couldn't contain his curiosity and rushed over.
In fact, that was a little strange too. Why was Joshua so interested in Rosette? He wasn't the type to be easily swayed by rumors.
“Anyway, how long are you going to keep me standing out here?”
At Joshua's words, Daniel stopped his train of thought and led him inside.
“Please, come in. I ask for your understanding that we haven't had time to prepare refreshments, so there will be nothing in the drawing-room.”
“Have them brought out slowly. I've already had tea, so it's fine if there's none.”
Watching the two young men enter the mansion, Duke Adrian gave an order to an attendant.
“Inform the children to prepare for an audience with His Highness the Prince.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“No. I will go to Rose myself.”
“Yes.”
The Duke headed straight for Rosette's room.
***
At that moment, Rosette was admiring a spring outing dress sent by Mrs. Wyde.
“Wow, Young Lady. Look at this. It's so pretty.”
Jane exclaimed, pulling a light pink dress from a large box. Rosette fidgeted with her fingers and mumbled.
“But Jane... I never ordered a spring outing dress.”
Of course, Duke Adrian and the three siblings had insisted that she must have an outing dress.
But Rosette had vehemently opposed it. Her reasoning was, 'It's a waste since I have nowhere to go! And I'll get chubbier soon...'
Isabelle had put a hand to her forehead and muttered, "That blasted 'chubbier' again..." while the other three just laughed.
However, the four of them soon decided to respect Rosette's wishes. As she said, Duke Adrian had no plans to let Rosette appear in public for the time being.
But now, Mrs. Wyde had suddenly sent a dress that hadn't even been ordered.
“M-Maybe it was sent by mistake? If someone else ordered it, they might get angry if they find out I opened it.”
To Jane's eyes, even Rosette's serious expression looked utterly adorable. Jane replied with a smile.
“I don't think so. The box was addressed to 'Lady Rosette Adrian.'”
“But still...”
“There's a letter here, too. Would you like to read it?”
Rosette opened the ivory-colored letter Jane handed her. A short letter was written on the stationery in elegant cursive.
As she unconsciously read it, Rosette suddenly realized something.
*That's right, I haven't learned to read here yet!*
Duke Adrian hadn't assigned her a tutor yet, telling her to relax a little longer. Whenever she needed something read, one of the three siblings or Jane would read it for her.
Jane probably couldn't open a letter addressed to the young lady she served, so she was likely waiting for Rosette to open it and hand it back to her.
“Jane, please read it.”
As Rosette handed the letter back, Jane read it aloud as if she had been waiting.
“To the lovely little Lady Adrian. I worry you might have been surprised by this sudden gift. I hope you're not wondering if it was sent by mistake?”
Jane added with a laugh, "Why, of course she is."
“The dress I sent today is a gift from me to my new muse, the Young Lady. I made it in a color that would go well with your beautiful hair. I do hope you like it. From your Mrs. Wyde.”
*Is my hair color beautiful?*
As Rosette touched her hair with a doubtful expression, Jane, who had folded the letter, made a suggestion.
“Young Lady, shall we try it on?”
“R-Right now?”
“Of course. A gift of a dress is meant to be tried on as soon as it's received.”
Rosette swallowed hard and studied the dress, which was draped halfway out of the box.
She had heard that Mrs. Wyde was primarily in charge of making clothes for the Adrian family. The Duke's clothes, as well as those of the three siblings, were all her creations.
However, since they were all knights who wielded swords, they disliked cumbersome decorations. So, the clothes of the four were elegant but simple. Mrs. Wyde was said to have been saddened by this.
She had apparently suggested making ornate tea party or outing dresses for Isabelle several times, only to be rejected each time.
But then Rosette appeared. Not only did she not use a sword, meaning there was no need to remove decorations, but Isabelle herself had even instructed Mrs. Wyde to make her clothes ornate.
It was said that Mrs. Wyde was pouring all her pent-up artistic passion into Rosette's dresses.
Perhaps that was why this pink dress was also incredibly ornate, hardly looking like a child's dress. Even more so than the dress Elisha Dallas had cherished the most.
The jewels attached here and there looked to be of extremely high quality, even to Rosette, who knew little about gems.
*Is it okay for me to wear something like that?*
*Won't I look ugly?*
For the past two months, Rosette had been cared for by Jane and the other maids. They knew Rosette lacked confidence in her appearance and showered her with compliments. It was to boost her self-esteem.
As a result of their efforts, Rosette realized that having pink hair wasn't a bad thing. Looking at her fuller face, she had thought, *Could I become pretty too?*
However, she had gained more confidence in her actions than in her appearance.
-You look so pretty when you eat well.
-How can your smile be so beautiful? There's no one who smiles as brightly as you, Young Lady.
-You are so kind, Young Lady. Everyone adores you.
Jane had worried that Rosette might become obsessed with her appearance, so she praised every little action instead. The Duke and the three siblings were the same.
It was the complete opposite of the past, when the people at the Dallas estate would find fault and speak ill of everything Rosette did.
Although still timid, Rosette was no longer afraid that people would dislike her actions.
Rosette nodded confidently.
“Okay, I'll try it on.”
“Then, raise your arms...”
The moment Rosette raised both her hands... there was a knock, and Duke Adrian entered the room.
“Papa!”
Spotting him, Rosette ran to him in a single bound. Duke Adrian smiled and swept his youngest daughter up into his arms.
“Hello, Rose. What were you doing?”
“I was looking at a dress! Mrs. Wyde sent a spring outing dress!”
“A spring outing dress?”
“Yes! She said it's a gift!”
Duke Adrian watched in fascination as Rosette chattered away like a sparrow.
It is a joyous thing to watch children grow. It had certainly been wonderful to see Rosette grow so much over the past two months.
But Rosette had grown more in spirit than in body. It was lovely to see a constant smile on her once-expressionless face, and to see the child who used to hunch her shoulders now stand with confidence.
“Papa?”
“Ah, I'm sorry. What were we talking about?”
“I asked what brought you here.”
“Do I need a reason to come see you?”
“No, that's not what I meant.”
Rosette hesitated for a moment before mustering her courage and wrapping her arms tightly around Duke Adrian's neck. Then, just as Bbi-bbi did with her, she gently pressed her cheek against the Duke's.
Duke Adrian, who had been patting Rosette's back, froze for an instant. But before the child could notice, he naturally began stroking her hair.
“Actually, I did come to talk to you about something.”
“What is it?”
“His Highness the Prince is here.”
This time, it was Rosette who flinched. She lifted her head.
“The prince... you mean His Highness Joshua Ehrnhardt?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
Rosette explained haltingly.
“Well, there's only one prince, and there isn't a single citizen in this empire who doesn't know His Highness's name.”
Of course, that was true. The original eight-year-old Rosette had also known about Joshua. However, to the current Rosette, that name meant something entirely different.
Joshua Ehrnhardt. The last person Rosette saw before she died, and the person who became the catalyst for her turning back time.
*He's here?*
Why did he come? I'm sure I heard Daniel just came back from meeting him. So why would he come all the way here?
Why on earth?
For what reason?
The thought of him brought back memories of that night, memories she had only just managed to forget.
-Why did you do it? What sin did Master and Daniel commit that you had to kill them! Why!
The rage that poured over her entire being. The tears that flowed down his pale cheeks, the lips that trembled.
The chill of the cold prison. The scent of death that brushed past her nose.
That night when everything was agonizing.
*No, no!*
Rosette squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. She desperately clutched Duke Adrian's shirt with both hands.
Beneath her tightly clenched right hand, Duke Adrian's heart beat steadily. Slower than most, but a strong heartbeat.
This heart, which had stopped in Rosette's hands, was beating again because she had turned back time.
Rosette lowered her head and pressed her ear to the Duke's left chest. The sound of the steady heartbeat finally allowed her to calm down.
