“I’ve already heard that several times over the past month. You kept postponing calling Mrs. Wide, saying your clothes wouldn’t fit if you gained weight. And now you want to postpone it again?”

“I’m not saying to postpone, just the clothes a little…”

“No. I can’t stand to see you walking around in ill-fitting clothes anymore. If they get too small later, we can make new ones then, so listen to me today.”

When Rosette made a surprised face, Isabel frowned.

“Don’t make that expression. You don’t need to worry about the cost of your clothes.”

It seemed that any further argument would anger Isabel. Instead of protesting further, Rosette timidly replied.

“Yes.”

“Now, if you’re ready, let’s take your measurements.”

As Isabel clapped once, the staff rushed towards Rosette with measuring tapes.

Rosette kept repeating “Elder sister? Elder sister?” before being led behind the screen by the staff’s hands.

Mrs. Wide smiled gently as she watched Isabel sipping tea.

“The young lady is really…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Isabel interrupted.

“Cute?”

Her voice was as dry as someone making a cliché remark like ‘Isn’t the weather nice today?’ However, Mrs. Wide, who had been watching Isabel since childhood, noticed that she was completely smitten with her younger sister.

The young lady is cute, but so is Lady Isabel.

However, Isabel disliked being treated like a child. Having had to take charge of the Adrien household after losing her mother at a young age, Isabel had matured early and wanted to become an adult quickly.

Even though she was still at an age where she should be receiving plenty of love herself.

But Mrs. Wide skillfully concealed these thoughts.

“Yes, she’s cute.”

“So, I’m counting on you.”

“Yes, the dress will be perfect…”

“No, not that.”

“Ah.”

Mrs. Wide quickly understood her true meaning this time as well.

“Yes. I’ll make sure to mention that she’s a cute and lovable person.”

The salon was a place where all sorts of rumors circulated.

Currently, the social circles’ interest was focused on the lucky second daughter of the Adrien family, that is, Rosette Adrien.

However, thanks to Duke Adrien’s tight control over the employees’ tongues, no rumors about Rosette had spread at all.

But the more that happened, the more interested people became.

Over the past month, Mrs. Wide had been asked most frequently if she had seen the new Adrien young lady.

So Isabel was telling her to keep her mouth shut tight to prevent any bad rumors about her sister from spreading.

“The young lady really cares for the little lady.”

Isabel snorted.

“Care? I just don’t want unnecessary talk going around about our Adrien family.”

However, contrary to her words, a smile played on Isabel’s lips as she looked towards the screen.

When she first saw Rosette, Isabel had been concerned.

She hadn’t opposed having a younger sister, but she worried whether the seemingly gentle Rosette could survive in this cutthroat social world.

−Then we can sponsor her, can’t we?

That’s why she had said such things. The title of a genius sponsored by the Adrien family would attract attention while allowing for a smooth life, rather than being an adopted commoner.

But Rosette’s adoption was decided. Though she didn’t want to admit it, Isabel had fallen for her new sister in just a month.

‘I have to protect her.’

Daniel and Lucas, being men, don’t understand how frightening the social world can be. The social world was a place where one could be torn apart for even the smallest flaw.

Even Isabel herself was gossiped about behind her back for learning swordsmanship as a woman.

So she could clearly see what kind of things Rosette would hear in the social world.

“Make sure to say that the Adrien people cherish Rosette.”

“Yes, my lady.”

It was a warning meaning never to forget that Adrien stands behind Rosette.

Mrs. Wide smiled gently again as she watched Isabel sipping her tea.

She really can’t be honest, can she?

Mrs. Wide sent the nightgown first. The new nightgown was as soft as Isabel’s that she had been wearing for the past month, but it wasn’t too big and fit her perfectly.

Rosette, changed into the nightgown, went back and forth in front of the mirror examining herself, and also stroked the soft nightgown with her fingertips.

Joan, who had become Rosette’s personal maid, smiled watching her.

“You should go to sleep soon.”

“Mmm.”

She wanted to show off her new nightgown to her family, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so. Rosette lay down in bed, putting her disappointment behind her.

Perhaps thanks to the new nightgown. She was able to fall into a deep sleep quickly.

“Hey, kiddo!”

A few hours later, it was Lucas Adrien’s voice that woke Rosette up.

“Hey, kiddo!”

When Rosette, who had been having a good dream the night before, didn’t wake up, Lucas jumped right onto the bed. The soft bed sank for a moment and then rose again.

“Hey, little one.”

“…”

“Youngest.”

“Mmm.”

Rosette wriggled and went under the blanket. Lucas grinned watching his sister like that.

‘Cute.’

A little over a month ago, his father, Duke Adrien, and his elder brother, Daniel Adrien, left the mansion to deliver sponsorship supplies to the orphanage they always supported.

The two, who usually came back in the evening if they left in the morning, didn’t return for several days, saying they had urgent business.

But then Sebastian, the butler, made an unexpected remark.

−The master says he will adopt a young lady. He says he’ll come back with her today.

−A young lady? Adoption?

−Yes. He said the young master will have a younger sister soon.

A younger sister?

It was really sudden news, but Lucas was pleased. Having only an elder brother and sister above him, he had always wanted a younger sibling. And now to have one like this! How could he not be happy!

And so, after several days, his father and brother who returned really brought a small and lovable girl.

The child was generally light in color. Her hair was cotton candy pink, and her eyes were sky blue like the spring sky.

And what about her skin. It was so white as if she had never seen sunlight in her life. It was in stark contrast to the people of the Adrien family, whose skin was nicely tanned from sword training under the scorching sun.

She was small and skinny, probably from not eating well, but she looked like she could be as pretty as a doll if properly dressed up.

That was Rosette Adrien, who was now sleeping in front of him.

How did such a pretty child become my sister?

In fact, Lucas had wanted a sibling he could play and run around with.

However, Rosette was physically weak and shy. In other words, she wasn’t a good sister to play with.

Lucas still liked it. And so what if her physical strength was weak? We can build it up from now!

He looked at the doll-like Rosette and opened his mouth again.

“Wake up, wake up!”

Only then did Rosette rub her eyes and open them. Her beautiful sky-blue eyes, like marbles, appeared.

Lucas grinned and shouted.

“We have to go for dawn practice!”

When Rosette received the wooden sword that Lucas had been using, she clearly promised to learn swordsmanship. As a person of Adrien, she felt she should learn basic swordsmanship.

However, due to realistic physical limitations, learning swordsmanship was gradually delayed.

And today, finally, she was going to learn swordsmanship. Rosette didn’t show it, but she was a little excited.

However, not long after, she came to regret her actions.

“Now, we need to build up your basic physical strength first. Run three laps around the training ground!”

Lucas, who came at the crack of dawn, took her to the training ground before she could even open her eyes properly. The reason was that they had to do dawn practice as promised.

Not content with that, he volunteered to be Rosette’s swordsmanship teacher.

“What are you doing not starting?”

“Mmm.”

Rosette, wearing Isabel’s borrowed practice clothes, started walking around the training ground at Lucas’s urging. Instantly, the gazes of the knights in the training ground turned towards her.

They started to whisper.

“Is that the…?”

“I thought she wasn’t learning swordsmanship…”

“Isn’t she still too young to learn swordsmanship?”

The knights looked lovingly at Rosette, who was walking with her arms swinging vigorously back and forth, even as they wondered.

The people of the Adrien family were born to do swordsmanship. They were much bigger than their peers and had good physical strength.

The three Adrien siblings, excluding Rosette, were like that too. When they first learned swordsmanship, they ran vigorously around the training ground.

Isabel, a girl, was no exception. She boasted physical strength no less than most adults and quickly built up her swordsmanship skills.

Usually, for knights, a young lady was someone to protect, but Isabel was the opposite. A superior to be loyal to and follow.

Maybe that’s why. The knights quickly fell for the youngest lady, Rosette, who seemed like someone they should protect.

However, Lucas didn’t seem to see Rosette’s cuteness. He followed closely behind his sister, urging her on.

“Tut-tut, slow, too slow. Is that walking or running? Pick up the pace.”

No, young master! The youngest lady is different from Lady Isabel! How can she run with those legs!

The knights fidgeted anxiously, considering volunteering to run instead.

However, Rosette, who was the focus of their concern, didn’t whine. Instead, she gritted her teeth and increased her speed. Even so, it was only about the speed of fast walking compared to slow walking.

As she was walking like that, Rosette ended up tripping and falling.

“Gasp!”

An exclamation escaped from among the knights. They were anxious that the tiny young lady might burst into tears.

Even Lucas, who had been sternly pushing her, was surprised and helped Rosette up.

“Hey, are you okay?”

He looked at Rosette’s knees and then sat down with his back to her.

“Little one, get on my back.”

“…?”

“We need to go to the physician. Quickly, get on.”

The knights rushed over in alarm.

“We’ll do it!”

“Please leave the young lady to me!”

Lucas glared fiercely at the knights. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes seemed to say, ‘How dare you lay hands on my sister?’

Lucas, who usually got along well with the knights, now had quite a sharp look in his eyes as he glared at them. While the knights unconsciously flinched and hesitated, Lucas spoke again.

“Come on, get on.”

“I’m okay.”

“Don’t cry and get on.”

“I’m not crying.”

Rosette really was fine, and she wasn’t crying. Her knees hurt a bit, but this was nothing compared to the beatings she used to get from Duke Dallas in the past.

“I can continue.”

She brushed off the sand on her knees and started circling the training ground again.

Lucas watched with his mouth slightly open in disbelief, while the knights whispered that the youngest lady was brave.

She completed three laps around the training ground like that, receiving the silent support of all the knights.

“Well done, little one.”

Lucas gave a thumbs up and praised her, but Rosette was out of it.

Her heart was beating fast, and it felt like someone was squeezing her lungs. It was a feeling similar to but different from when she used high-level magic.

“Thirsty…”

As she unconsciously murmured desperately, the surrounding knights rushed over with water.

“Here, young lady. Here’s some water.”

The first to arrive was a knight in his late teens with reddish-brown hair and freckles on the bridge of his nose that left an impression.

“Thank…”

Rosette hesitated for a moment as she was about to take the water bottle from him. As she stared intently at him, the nameless knight grinned.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”

However, Rosette couldn’t give any answer. She traced back her past memories.

‘It’s a familiar face.’

The knight in her memory was more mature than now, but it was definitely a familiar face.