As soon as those words were spoken, Rosette slowly opened her eyes. Then Duke Adrian’s face filled her entire vision.

His platinum blonde hair shining more brilliantly than anything else, and his purple eyes gazing down at her warmly.

When their eyes met, Duke Adrian widened his eyes in surprise, then immediately smiled.

Unlike when he had been pressing Celine and the doctor earlier, he was not excited now.

He simply asked in a low voice:

“Did you sleep well, little one?”

It was like the tone of asking a daughter who had just woken up from a nap.

He gently stroked Rosette’s cheek as she blinked, unable to distinguish between dream and reality. Just like he used to comfort her when she cried in the past.

“Looks like you had a sad dream.”

Only after hearing those words did Rosette realize she was crying. And also the fact that Duke Adrian, who had died by her hands, was now alive by her hands.

“Uuu.”

Rosette crumpled her face and wrapped her arms around Duke Adrian’s neck.

Papa, papa, papa. She wanted to call him, but her voice wouldn’t come out.

Duke Adrian carefully hugged her small body in return and stroked her head.

“That’s right. Papa is here.”

“Uuu.”

“Thank you for enduring well, Rose. Thank you for waking up.”

Papa, thank you for being alive.

Rosette mumbled those words in her heart over and over.

It had been exactly ten days since she collapsed.

[This is the timeline separator]

Rosette sipped the warm water while glancing at Duke Adrian.

Unlike when he had kindly asked if she slept well earlier, his expression was now slightly hardened.

The Adrian siblings, who had rushed over at the news of Rosette waking up, were also watching the Duke’s mood.

Daniel opened his mouth to break the awkward atmosphere.

“Still, it’s fortunate that Rose woke up safely. Right, kids?”

Lucas nodded his head vigorously.

“Yeah! I’m so happy!”

Isabel coldly agreed.

“There’s no need to worry now.”

Daniel added.

“And thanks to Rose, Father was able to be safe too…”

However, Duke Adrian’s expression showed no signs of softening. It was the expression he rarely made when scolding the children, which he did very infrequently.

There was only one reason why he would scold the children. When they did something dangerous.

In other words, the kind of action Rosette had taken recently.

The three siblings, well aware of Duke Adrian’s expressions, exchanged glances before quietly leaving the room on tiptoes. Before closing the door, Lucas mouthed “Fighting!”

‘What did I do wrong?’

As Rosette rolled her eyes, not understanding the reason, the Duke sitting on the edge of the bed asked sternly.

“Rose, do you know what you did wrong?”

Rosette shook her head. The Duke let out a small sigh.

“This time, it could have been really serious. You might not have woken up.”

“…”

“Even without you, there were plenty of people who could have helped Papa. So don’t do such dangerous things in the future. Understand?”

Rosette felt a little unfair.

She hadn’t done it to be praised.

She saved Duke Adrian for herself. So she didn’t mind not being praised.

But she didn’t expect to be scolded like this either.

As Rosette pouted her lips in dissatisfaction, Duke Adrian finally softened his expression a little.

“You look like you don’t understand why you’re being scolded at all.”

Rosette hesitated, then nodded.

Duke Adrian now completely relaxed his expression and gently stroked her hair.

“What did Papa say? Children should act like children, right?”

When Rosette nodded again, he patted her head approvingly.

“Children shouldn’t worry, but they also shouldn’t do dangerous things. You can leave that to us adults.”

Rosette forced out her voice and protested.

“But…”

If I wasn’t there, Papa could have been hurt. I might never have seen you again.

As if understanding the words she couldn’t say, Duke Adrian calmly explained.

“Yes. I could have been seriously hurt or worse in this incident. But Rose, you could have been hurt because of me.”

“…”

“This Papa is more afraid of you children getting hurt than of getting hurt himself.”

Rosette’s eyes widened.

Are adults scared of things too? As she asked with her eyes, Duke Adrian smiled.

“Of course. Adults are scared of things too.”

“…”

“So let’s promise not to do such dangerous things in the future.”

He held out his pinky finger.

But Rosette couldn’t readily link her finger. Because if a similar situation arose, she would naturally think of saving her precious person.

“Rose.”

As Rosette pouted her lips and avoided the topic, Duke Adrian spoke sternly again.

“Rosette Adrian.”

Just then, a knock sounded like a savior. Rosette quickly raised her hand to point at the door.

Duke Adrian sighed once and said.

“Come in.”

The person who entered was Celine. She quickly approached Rosette and wiped away her tears.

“I’m so glad you’re safe. I was so worried.”

“Could you check if Rose is alright?”

“Of course. Miss, excuse me for a moment.”

Celine carefully took Rosette’s hands and infused them with mana.

After a moment, she let out a sigh of relief.

“Good. You’ve fully recovered your internal mana. There’s no need to worry now.”

Her expression held many emotions. Relief, joy, and shock.

‘Why is she surprised?’

As Rosette tilted her head, unable to understand the reason, Celine continued speaking.

“It’s amazing that it took ten days to recover. I knew you were talented when I saw you before, but…”

Her voice started to sound slightly excited.

“As expected, Miss, you’re extraordinary…!”

[Peep, peep?]

The sudden bird sound interrupted Celine’s words.

Pipi, who was bringing wildflowers as usual, discovered Rosette and widened its already bean-sized eyes even more. Its small beak opened, dropping the wildflower to the floor.

[Peeep!]

Soon after, Pipi cried out sorrowfully and flew at full speed towards Rosette. Pipi’s eyes were brimming with tears as it rubbed its cheek against Rosette’s cheek.

Seeing this, Celine’s eyes also widened.

“Could it be… a familiar?”

[Peep!]

Pipi, who had been enthusiastically expressing its joy to Rosette, puffed out its chest. It was as if it was saying, ‘Ahem, I am Rosette’s familiar, Pipi!’

Celine kept rubbing her eyes, unable to believe what she was seeing.

“My goodness, it really is a familiar!”

There was a reason for her surprise.

Although Rosette summoning a familiar so casually made it look easy, in reality, not just anyone could create a familiar.

First, it required sufficient internal mana and tremendous mental strength to maintain constant communication with the familiar.

As a result, only high-level magicians could create familiars. Even then, it was only possible to summon a familiar in the mid to late teens at the earliest.

But for Rosette, who was only eight years old and hadn’t even learned magic, to summon a familiar?

“This is impossible. How is this possible? Miss, how on earth did you do this?”

Duke Adrian, who had been fondly watching Rosette communicate with Pipi, asked nonchalantly.

“Is that so surprising?”

“Of course it is!”

Celine exclaimed excitedly.

“There are only a few magicians in this empire who have familiars. I barely managed to create one at seventeen! And even I was called a genius.”

“So?”

“Miss, you’re an incredible genius! A genius born once in several hundred years! At this rate, you’ll become a great magician! No, you’re already a great magician!”

Celine started piecing together the parts that had been puzzling her.

“I wondered how Miss could use such magic with this small body, but it was thanks to this familiar.”

“Is it different with a familiar?”

“Yes. With a familiar, you can use mana explosion. It’s a method of amplifying the surrounding mana to use magic… Anyway, it’s incredibly amazing. I don’t know how Miss, who hasn’t even learned magic, used it.”

Celine shrugged as she explained.

“How can an ordinary person understand a genius? It seems geniuses like Miss can use such things as naturally as breathing.”

“Then…”

“Yes, that’s right! A great magician has been born in this family! In this House of Adrian, full of Sword Masters! Finally!”

Duke Adrian showed a surprised expression, then immediately smiled slightly.

“I see, our Rose was a genius. That’s something to be happy about.”

He didn’t show it, but he was extremely pleased.

[Peep!]

Pipi also puffed out its chest and acted smug. No one except Rosette understood that it was boasting, ‘Our Rosette is very amazing. She’s this Pipi’s master!’

“But Rose.”

Duke Adrian composed his expression and spoke sternly again.

“You’re not allowed to use magic until Celine says it’s okay.”

When Rosette pouted her lips again, his eyes narrowed.

“You have to listen to Papa.”

Rosette reluctantly nodded.

In any case, little magician Rosette Adrian, who would cause a big ripple in the empire from now on, returned to her family’s embrace like that.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Is Peepee really that amazing of a bird?”

[Peep!]

Pipi, who had somehow become friends with Lucas, chirped from his shoulder.

When Rosette nodded slightly, Lucas muttered in disbelief.

“This small and insignificant Peepee?”

[Peeep?]

Pipi started biting Lucas’s hair. A few strands of platinum blonde hair were actually pulled out.

“Ouch! Hey, Peepee, you!”

[Peep, peeep!]

My name is not Peepee, it’s Pipi! Who are you comparing to a chick that can’t even fly!

Rosette burst into laughter as she listened to Pipi’s words. Lucas, who had barely managed to detach Pipi, asked.

“Why are you laughing?”

Rosette barely managed to squeeze out her voice.

“Pi…pi.”

“Pipi?”

As Rosette nodded, Lucas thought for a moment, then asked with a face tinged with betrayal.

“Is this guy’s name not Peepee but Pipi?”

[Peeek!]

Pipi chirped happily, and Rosette nodded. Meanwhile, Lucas seemed at a loss for words, his mouth opening and closing.

As Rosette tilted her head, not understanding the situation, Lucas confronted Pipi.

“Why did you answer when I called you Peepee! I thought you liked the name I gave you!”

[Peep? Peeep!]

Pipi started pulling Lucas’s hair again.