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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: The Meaning of Family (2)
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"Me?"
"Of course."
"But I haven't done anything yet."
"You don't have to do something to be a great Adrian. Your existence alone already makes you a perfect Adrian."
"Hmm."
Rosette couldn't understand what the Duke meant.
After all, Marquis Dallas had told her she needed to become stronger than anyone else to be a perfect Dallas.
A perfect Adrian, even without doing anything?
She couldn't comprehend it, but at the very least, it didn't seem like Duke Adrian was lying.
*Besides, it seems like Dad cares for me.*
Gaining a little courage, she asked.
"Then... you won't praise me?"
"Praise?"
"Yes. I worked hard."
Duke Adrian soon understood what she meant and gently pinched the child's cheek.
"Of course, I will. You did well, Rose."
"Hehe."
"But from now on, don't overdo it. Just follow Mrs. Neuer's instructions."
"Yes."
"Understand? Rose. No matter what anyone says, you are Rosette Adrian."
*Rosette Adrian.* Rosette repeated the name to herself a few times.
It seemed there were many things she would have to learn in a different sense from now on.
*First, I should stop comparing my family to the Marquisate of Dallas.*
I know now. The Marquisate of Dallas was full of bad people. But the Adrian family is different.
Everyone is kind and warm.
So I'm going to live well, without being tied to the past.
That day, for the first time, Rosette broke out of the shell of her past.
***
"How can you be so lovely?"
Jane fussed, combing through Rosette's wet hair after her bath.
Having just bathed, Rosette's already warm cheeks grew even hotter. It was praise she had heard every day for over two months, but it still made her shy.
But something had changed. In the past, she would have said, "Don't say that. I know I'm not pretty," but now she just dangled her legs and listened to the compliments.
Jane was pleased with the change.
*I don't know why she thought so poorly of herself in the first place.*
If Rosette continued to grow as she was, she was pretty enough to be counted among the greatest beauties in the empire. She was beautiful in a different way from Isabelle.
Why was such a child so timid? Even if that weren't the case, a child should always be confident.
So Jane and the other maids praised Rosette every day. Thanks to them, Rosette was slowly regaining her confidence.
"Thank you."
Rosette smiled shyly and looked at the mirror. In it was a pink-haired girl whose cheeks had started to fill out quite nicely.
But there was one problem.
*I don't like it.*
She touched her pink hair with a dissatisfied expression.
The symbol of the Adrians was platinum blonde hair. Though their eye colors varied slightly, Duke Adrian and the other three siblings who shared his blood all had platinum blonde hair.
Only one person—the adopted Rosette—had different, pink hair.
In the past, Rosette hadn't liked her hair color either. That was because of Elisha Dallas, who would often scold her, saying pink was a dreary color.
But now, things were different. Thanks to the praise from many people and her resolution not to be bound by the past, Rosette had come to love her hair color.
Yet, for the past few days, she felt sad that her hair was a different color from her family's.
*Of course, it's only natural since I'm not a real Adrian, but...*
It would have been nice if I had been born with platinum blonde hair, too. Wouldn't we have looked like a real family to others then?
Rosette, thinking thoughts that would make her family faint from shock if they knew, hopped down from her chair. Then she scurried off to find Celine.
Celine was in her laboratory. When she spotted Rosette timidly opening the door and peeking her head in, her face lit up.
"Young Lady!"
"Celine."
"What brings you here so early in the morning? There's still time before your lesson."
Rosette hesitated for a moment before getting to the point.
"I want to change my hair color."
"Your hair color?"
Soon, Celine's eyes widened in surprise.
"You want to change your hair color? What do you mean?"
She quickly approached Rosette, taking the child's small hand in hers as she asked.
"Why the sudden thought?"
"Pardon?"
"Did someone say something to you?"
Rosette instinctively understood what Celine meant and shook her head.
"It's not like that. Everyone said my hair color is pretty."
Celine let out a small sigh of relief.
"Then why do you suddenly want to change your hair color? Did you see someone else's hair and think it was prettier?"
"Umm."
What should she say? After a moment of thought, Rosette decided to just tell the truth.
"I want to have the same hair color as my sister and brothers."
"Ah."
Celine also understood immediately.
"Were you upset because your hair color is different from everyone else's?"
When Rosette simply nodded without a word, Celine's expression grew troubled.
*What should I do about this?*
Of course, there was magic to change hair color. If Rosette wanted, Celine could change it for her right away. It was also a simple spell, so Rosette could easily learn it herself.
The problem was that the other Adrians would not want that.
*His Grace the Duke will be especially sad if he finds out.*
Not because she thinks platinum blonde is prettier, but because she wants to change it due to feeling left out. If Duke Adrian, who cherished Rosette like his own child, were to find out, he would be utterly shocked.
***
After sending Rosette back to her room, Celine immediately went to see Duke Adrian.
"What is it so early in the morning?"
"Well, it's about the young lady."
Duke Adrian, who had been busy with documents, lifted his head as he dipped his quill into an inkwell. At his gesture, Celine approached the desk.
Duke Adrian asked with a serious face.
"Did something happen to Rose?"
"No, nothing has happened."
"Then what is it? For you to come see me like this, something must be the matter."
Celine couldn't speak right away, only moving her lips. How on earth was she supposed to convey what Rosette had just said to the Duke?
After a moment's hesitation, she finally spoke at Duke Adrian's repeated urging.
"Actually, the young lady came to see me a short while ago. She asked if there was magic to change her hair color."
"Her hair color?"
"Yes."
Duke Adrian's expression grew even more serious.
"Did she say she doesn't like her pink hair?"
He had heard stories from Jane and the other maids over the past few months. That Rosette thought terribly of her own appearance.
At first, Duke Adrian hadn't believed it.
But after hearing some of Rosette's remarks and observing her behavior, he realized Jane's words were true.
The child especially disliked her pink hair. It was strange. There was no particular stigma against pink hair in the empire.
Why on earth did Rosette view her appearance so unfavorably?
He had looked into whether she might have heard something unpleasant about her looks at the orphanage, but there was no sign of it.
In fact, a child named Jane, whom Rosette had been particularly fond of, had answered, "Rose? Everyone liked Rose! She's cute! I was always envious of her pink hair!"
"No, it's not that. She was happy, saying that everyone told her it was pretty."
"Then?"
"However, judging by her wish to have the same hair color as the two young lords and Lady Isabelle, it seems to be an issue of belonging. After all, she's the only one in the Adrian family with different colored hair."
This was completely unexpected.
"So it's not that she dislikes her pink hair, but simply that she doesn't want to feel left out."
Duke Adrian smiled meaningfully.
"Then we just have to make her feel like she belongs, don't we?"
***
Rosette stared sullenly into the mirror. It was because she had just heard Celine say, "I cannot teach you such magic."
Moreover, Celine, who was usually lenient with Rosette, had been quite firm. So Rosette couldn't bring herself to ask again, "But can't you teach me? Please!"
"Young Lady, what's making you so sad?"
"It's just..."
She couldn't bring herself to tell the truth. She didn't know why, but she felt that if Jane heard her say, "I hate my hair color and want to be platinum blonde, too," she would be sad.
Jane, who couldn't even guess at Rosette's situation, whispered, "Why is our pretty young lady sad?" as she gently brushed her hair.
Just as Jane finished combing and tied Rosette's hair into pigtails, the mansion's butler, Sebastian, arrived.
"Young Lady, I have come to escort you. It is time for your meal."
Rosette tilted her head.
"Where's Lucas?"
Usually, it was Lucas who came to get her at mealtimes. He would often burst into her room, shouting, "Hey, kiddo! Let's go eat!"
"Young Lord Lucas is already waiting in the dining hall."
"Oh? Okay."
Thinking nothing of it, Rosette hopped down from her chair. After her diligent morning stamina training with Lucas, a jump like this was now effortless.
Rosette trotted after Sebastian towards the dining hall. With each step, her high pigtails swayed back and forth.
But there was no one in the dining hall. Only plates and cutlery sat forlornly on the table.
*Why is no one here?*
Just as Rosette blinked in confusion, Lucas burst out of the kitchen, shouting.
"Ta-da! Hey, kiddo! Look at me!"
Rosette's eyes widened at the sight of him before she burst into laughter.
"What is that!"
Lucas's platinum blonde hair was now dyed the exact same shade of pink as Rosette's.
Lucas, who had already reached her, shook his head and boasted.
"What do you think? Doesn't pink hair suit me, too?"
"It... Pfft!"
Rosette tried to stifle her laughter by covering her mouth with both hands, but the giggles wouldn't stop.
"It... pfft, it suits you."
It wasn't exactly a lie. While the pink hair was unfamiliar after always seeing him with platinum blonde, it objectively suited him well.
"We all prepared this for you."
"We?"
"Yeah, we!"
Lucas clapped his hands as he looked at the bewildered Rosette. Then, the rest of the family began to file out from the kitchen.
Isabelle, Daniel, and even Duke Adrian.
If they had one thing in common, it was that all three had traded their symbolic Adrian platinum blonde for pink hair.
