How did she know this knight, who had no connection to the Adrien family’s knights in the past?

After pondering for a moment, Rosette exclaimed.

“Ah…!”

She remembered where she had seen him.

‘This person, he was definitely in the Dallas family’s knights…’

Rosette recalled the now somewhat hazy past.

At the time, she was in her mid-teens. Under the orders of Duke Dallas, she went to threaten a nobleman, and he resembled one of the knights who had accompanied her as a guard.

But she couldn’t be certain. She had seen the knight so few times that she couldn’t clearly remember his face.

Moreover, the knight’s appearance was rather ordinary, and she thought she might have confused him with someone similar.

Just then, the knight smiled a bit more brightly. Looking closely, there was a long scar on his chin. Seeing that, she was sure.

‘That’s right. He’s a Dallas family knight. Definitely.’

But why was a Dallas family knight here? That was the question.

Rosette wasn’t a knight, so she didn’t know much about chivalry. But she did know that once someone became a knight for a noble family, they didn’t serve any other family.

If that was the case, there was only one conclusion.

‘He’s originally from the Dallas family.’

The man in front of her now was a spy from the Dallas family.

When thinking about Daniel’s accident, Rosette had expected there would be spies planted in the mansion by the Dallas family.

However, she thought they would be among the stable hands or servants, as it would be easier to approach the carriage.

She had planned to search for spies to prevent accidents once she established her position in the Adrien family.

But for a spy to roll in like this on his own!

As Rosette made an ambiguous expression, not knowing whether to be pleased or troubled, the knight asked.

“Young lady, didn’t you say you were thirsty?”

“Ah? Ye, yes.”

Rosette received the water bottle from the knight and moistened her throat for now. The knight smiled once more and then ran off to join his comrades.

Rosette narrowed her eyes as she watched his retreating figure.

‘If my guess is right, that person damaged the carriage.’

But she only had suspicions and no evidence. Moreover, she couldn’t be certain that person was a spy. The only suspicion Rosette had was that he resembled a man she had seen in the past.

Now she was almost glaring at the knight when Lucas abruptly asked.

“Hey, squirt. Why are you looking like that?”

Was it that obvious? Even though Lucas couldn’t read her thoughts, Rosette stammered in surprise.

“No, just, because I’m grateful…”

Lucas narrowed his eyes with a face full of displeasure.

“Don’t tell me you fell in love at first sight with him?”

“…Pardon?”

When Rosette asked back, not understanding the meaning, Lucas burst out in anger.

“You shouldn’t do that, squirt! Is this why you said you’d do dawn training?”

The knights who were already showing interest in this direction watched the two youngsters with fond smiles.

Rosette was startled and covered Lucas’s mouth with both hands.

“Mmph, mmph!”

Lucas struggled to remove her hands. Rosette shushed him and dragged him towards a corner where there were no knights.

There was no way Lucas would be overpowered by Rosette. But he willingly allowed himself to be dragged by her.

Rosette released Lucas only after making sure there was absolutely no one around. Lucas took a deep breath and snapped.

“What are you doing?”

“Because elder brother was saying strange things.”

“Me? What did I say?”

Lucas tilted his head sideways as if he didn’t understand, then exclaimed as if he remembered.

“About falling in love at first sight?”

“Shh, speak quietly.”

Rosette tried to cover his mouth again, but Lucas didn’t let her this time. As if to show that letting Rosette catch him earlier was just a joke, he skillfully avoided her hands.

Towards Rosette, who was staring at her empty hands somewhat dejectedly, Lucas asked.

“Then why were you staring so intently?”

“Ah…”

Rosette furrowed her brow all the way to the bridge of her nose and racked her brains hard.

But when she remained silent as no plausible excuse came to mind, Lucas muttered.

“I didn’t know you had that kind of taste…”

“It’s not like that!”

Rosette shouted without realizing it.

“I just thought he looked like someone I know.”

“Really?”

Fortunately, Lucas didn’t doubt her. Since it had come to this, Rosette decided to try and extract information from this naive elder brother.

“That knight, how long has he been here?”

“Well.”

Lucas answered again without much suspicion.

“It’s not like I know the information of every knight.”

“I see.”

“But he looked young, so he probably hasn’t been here long. At most 4 or 5 years?”

That wasn’t enough information. As Rosette slumped her shoulders in disappointment, Lucas flapped his arms and rambled.

“Uh, elder brother Daniel might know, should I ask him? Or maybe Father.”

Then he narrowed his eyes.

“You’re really not interested, are you?”

Rosette shook her head vigorously.

“I told you I’m not.”

“That’s good then. This elder brother won’t allow it!”

Rosette no longer had the courage to deal with Lucas, so she slowly walked towards the mansion.

“Hey, hey! Rose! Wait up! You should answer before you go!”

Lucas followed closely behind her.

[This is the timeline separator]

Rosette sat quietly on the chair with her skirt pulled up to her knees. The family doctor examined her two knees with a serious face.

This was all because Lucas had made a fuss as soon as he entered the mansion, saying ‘The youngest fell down really hard!’

Rosette was a bit embarrassed.

‘It’s not a big deal at all…’

Her still bony knees didn’t even have a scratch, let alone a reddish mark. Yet Lucas was chattering away to the doctor beside her.

“The sound was really loud. Take a good look. Could her bones be broken? Look at her legs. They look like they could break at any moment!”

The doctor, who was examining with a magnifying glass, laughed.

“It’s fine, young master.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But bruises might appear later, so I’ll apply some ointment.”

The doctor carefully applied the ointment and left the room. Lucas sat down next to Rosette with a sigh of relief.

“That’s a relief. At least the bones aren’t broken.”

“Bones wouldn’t break from something like that.”

Lucas pressed his index finger firmly on Rosette’s forehead.

“Our youngest, you know how to talk back now?”

“…”

Instead of denying it, Rosette swung her legs back and forth. Lucas continued to chatter beside her, but she let it go in one ear and out the other as she fell into thought.

‘How can I prove he’s a spy?’

The first thing that came to mind was confession magic. It was magic that made one speak the truth, and as the name suggests, it was mainly used for interrogating criminals.

‘But that won’t work.’

There were issues with confession magic.

First, confession magic was high-level mind control magic. The current Rosette, who didn’t even have a mana core, couldn’t use it, unlike her past self.

Second, even if she could use the magic, it would be a problem. If she used that magic, people would look at Rosette strangely. After all, she was just an eight-year-old child who hadn’t even learned the basics of magic yet.

Also, she had no excuse for why she used confession magic on that knight if asked. She couldn’t just say this person looked suspicious.

Third.

‘I don’t want to.’

Confession magic, being forced mental control, had risks. In severe cases, the person subjected to the magic could develop mental problems.

In the past, she had used it a few times because she had no choice due to Duke Dallas, but now she didn’t want to do it.

Rosette rubbed near her heart where Duke Dallas had placed a spell in the past and furrowed her brow.

‘How on earth can I reveal it naturally?’

It was then.

“Rose. Does it hurt a lot?”

Rosette, who had been lost in thought, looked up at the voice coming from above her head. Daniel was smiling down at her, having entered at some point. Lucas was nowhere to be seen, having left the room already.

“How did you come here?”

“I heard the news and came. Lucas’s voice was echoing through the corridors.”

Daniel replied with a voice mixed with laughter as he sat in front of her and examined her knees.

“Fortunately, it’s not swollen or badly injured.”

“Elder brother Lucas exaggerated.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I didn’t even fall that hard in the first place.”

“That’s good then.”

Daniel laughed out loud and looked at Rosette’s face again.

“Then why were you frowning like that?”

“Just thinking about some worries…”

“Worries? What worries?”

“Just, there are some.”

Rosette couldn’t tell the truth, nor could she lie casually, so she evaded the question. Fortunately, Daniel didn’t press further. Instead, he gently patted Rosette’s head.

“Father said children shouldn’t worry.”

That warm touch made the inside of her throat tickle again. Rosette imagined this kind and warm elder brother unable to use one leg and walking with a cane.

It was an even more painful sight than she had imagined, and it made her mood gloomy. It was a different feeling from when she first met Daniel.

Back then, she just felt sorry, but now it was a more heartbreaking emotion that she couldn’t quite express.

Rosette patted Daniel’s head just as he had done to her. Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise, then he smiled, closing his eyes.

“Is there anything elder brother can help with?”

“Elder brother, you must be very careful when riding in carriages.”

“Alright. I’m already being careful when I ride.”

Even though it might have seemed like a child’s vain imagination, Daniel listened quite seriously.

However, Rosette was still not reassured and held out her pinky finger.

“Promise me.”

Daniel, still smiling, linked his finger with hers.

“Alright, I promise.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Joseph Osser, returning to his room, checked that no one was around and turned on a small communication magic device. Soon, a low voice flowed from the device.

[I told you not to contact if possible.]

“Well, it’s an emergency situation.”

[Go ahead and speak.]

Joseph Osser swallowed dryly and whispered quietly.

“I think Daniel Adrien has noticed.”

[Noticed? What do you mean by that?]

“Well, Daniel Adrien has been giving warnings several times lately to take good care of the horses and carriages.”

There was a moment of silence from beyond the magic device. After a while, a slightly more subdued voice questioned him.

[How exactly did you handle things for them to notice?]

“I swear I didn’t do anything. I haven’t even been to the stables or carriage storage once yet.”

Joseph Osser hastily explained, fearing the other party might misunderstand.

There was a reason for his urgency. His only family, his younger sister Melody, was being held hostage.

Joseph Osser murmured pleadingly.

“So please don’t do anything to my sister.”