Rosette looked at the three siblings for help. However, they kept their mouths shut as if they had received prior instructions from the duke. Even Lucas, who usually loved to meddle in Rosette’s affairs.

Rosette had no choice but to speak.

“When I went to the Empress’s palace today, I took a look at the pharmacy.”

“The pharmacy? Why there?”

“Pipi is very interested in plants.”

Lucas finally couldn’t hold back and chimed in.

“I know that too! Pipi always brings back all sorts of wildflowers. It seems to really like plants!”

“Lucas, Father is speaking.”

When Daniel scolded him, Lucas closed his mouth with a “Hmph!”

Duke Adrian urged Rosette again.

“And then?”

“I was showing Pipi various tea leaves when it suddenly said something was strange. It said there were Kish tree leaves mixed in, which aren’t normally used in tea.”

“Kish tree? What’s that?”

“It’s a plant native to the Kingdom of Owen. The fruit is mainly used as a digestive aid, but…”

Rosette, who had been excitedly explaining, shook her head.

“That’s not the important part. Anyway, Pipi found and showed me the Kish tree leaves. They look very similar to Evan flower leaves, you know.”

“Ah, Evan flower is an herb good for sound sleep.”

“That’s right. So when I mentioned that, His Highness the Prince became angry. He said it seemed someone had sold tea leaves with falsified ingredients. Since Evan flower leaves are expensive, they probably used the useless Kish tree leaves instead, he said.”

“And then?”

Lucas, who had been listening intently, urged her on.

“So I said, ‘Your Highness, it’s fortunate nothing happened to Her Majesty the Empress until now. Kish tree leaves can become poisonous when eaten with honey.'”

“And then?”

“Then His Highness became very angry… After that, I just acted as His Highness requested.”

“What did he request?”

“Well…”

Rosette closed her mouth.

“To say I wanted to drink the tea.”

“Did he tell you to drink it too?”

“No!”

Rosette cried out urgently.

“He didn’t say anything like that at all. I just acted on my own after seeing the situation. And before that, Pipi had removed all the Kish tree leaves.”

Duke Adrian rubbed his forehead.

“Rose. Why on earth did you do such a thing?”

“I’m sorry. But I really didn’t intend to drink it.”

“I see. I’ll ask His Highness the Prince directly for more details.”

“…Yes.”

“And you’re grounded for the time being.”

“What?”

The surprised one was not Rosette, but Lucas. He, who had planned to take Rosette out to various places, protested in a sulky voice.

“But Father! That’s too much! Rosette didn’t do it on purpose, and she didn’t cause any trouble. She saved Her Majesty the Empress!”

“It’s fine.”

Rosette calmed Lucas down. In reality, she didn’t have much objection to being grounded.

‘It might be a bit boring for a while, but there’s plenty to do at the mansion.’

There was just one thing she was curious about.

“Aren’t you angry?”

“Why would I be angry with you, Rose?”

“But…”

“Daddy was just worried.”

Duke Adrian finally softened his expression and smiled slightly.

“Daddy is fine as long as you’re safe.”

Then he added briefly.

“And apart from doing something dangerous, you did well to solve the incident. Daddy is proud of you.”

Rosette was finally able to relax. But she couldn’t be completely at ease.

‘The conversation with His Highness isn’t over yet.’

As she told Joshua, she had saved the Empress.

Would he allow Rosette to continue staying with the Adrians?

That night, in the early hours when everyone was asleep. As Joshua had said he would contact her again, his wolf came once more.

Joshua only uttered that one word. Rosette, who had been rubbing her sleepy eyes and staying awake, mumbled.

“I’ve been grounded.”

“That’s true.”

After all, no one had caught her meeting Joshua a few days ago.

Rosette hesitated for a moment before putting on her robe and climbing onto the wolf’s back. The wolf once again slipped out of the mansion without being detected by anyone.

Upon reaching the forest, this time instead of dropping her off in the middle, the wolf escorted her directly to the clearing.

“Thank you, wolf.”

Rosette, dismounting from the wolf’s back, stroked the beast’s back. Even Pipi, no longer afraid, sat on the wolf’s head.

Rosette watched as the wolf settled down in a corner of the clearing, then approached Joshua. She had many questions for him.

“How did it go?”

Joshua handed Rosette the documents he was holding.

“For now, we’re interrogating the Doser Count family, Grita’s family, and Lord Largo, the court physician. So far, nothing special has come up.”

Rosette skimmed through the documents. As he said, there was nothing particularly noteworthy.

“What about Her Majesty the Empress?”

“It seems she’s quite shocked. While Grita hasn’t been in the Empress’s palace for long, Lord Largo has served Her Majesty for over 10 years. Honestly, I’m a bit shocked too. Even after investigating so thoroughly in the past, I never thought Lord Largo would do such a thing.”

“I see.”

“By the way, what did you tell Master?”

“Oh, I made up a story about Pipi accidentally finding the Kish tree leaves while looking around the pharmacy.”

Rosette briefly explained her conversation with Duke Adrian.

“Good, you did well.”

Rosette handed the documents back to him and carefully added.

“Father also said he would hear the details from Your Highness.”

“I was thinking of paying Master a visit anyway. After all, I’ve ended up involving you, so I should apologize to Master.”

Joshua, who had responded as if it were only natural, examined Rosette’s face.

“So, did you get scolded a lot?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked if Master was angry and scolded you a lot.”

“Well… Father seemed a bit angry, but he didn’t scold me that much. Oh, I was grounded, but I hardly ever went out anyway. And…”

Rosette compared the attitudes of Marquis Dallas and Duke Adrian.

‘Even being scolded was good.’

It was definitely different from when Marquis Dallas scolded her.

While the Marquis always seemed to take out his frustrations on Rosette, she could feel that Duke Adrian was genuinely concerned for her.

That’s why she could accept the punishment of being grounded more willingly.

“And what?”

“It’s nothing.”

“How frivolous. But really, you didn’t get scolded?”

“No.”

“That’s unlike Master.”

Rosette, becoming a bit more interested, asked back.

“What is Father usually like?”

“He’s usually gentle, but strict when it comes to mistakes. If it had been Daniel or the others today, they probably would have been scolded very harshly.”

Then why wasn’t I scolded? Could it be that he thought I wasn’t even worth scolding?

As Rosette was digging herself into an impossible train of thought, Joshua muttered to himself while rubbing his chin.

“It seems he’s quite fond of you.”

Rosette, who somehow managed to hear that, brightened up.

“Really?”

“Yes. It seems he’s soft on you.”

“If that’s the case, I’m glad.”

When Rosette laughed with a “hehe,” Joshua raised one eyebrow.

“What’s so good about that?”

“Just everything. Her Majesty is safe too. By the way, Her Majesty is alright now, right?”

“Yes. It seems she never added honey to the problematic tea all this time. For now, we still have time until June 15th, so we’ll have to keep watch, but she should be safe. Everyone’s nerves are on edge, so they’re keeping a close eye on the Empress’s palace.”

“That’s a relief.”

Then Joshua whispered in passing.

“Thank you.”

“…Pardon?”

Rosette opened her eyes wide, wondering if she had heard correctly.

“Regardless of the reason, it’s a fact that you saved Her Majesty thanks to you. If I had tried to solve this alone without your help, it might have been difficult. A plant that only grows in the Kingdom of Owen. And to think Lord Largo was in on it too.”

“…”

“I didn’t even know that and was planning to ask Lord Largo for help as a last resort. It was completely my misjudgment.”

Rosette rubbed her cheek with an embarrassed face.

“I didn’t really do anything special. I just used my past memories.”

“You were able to do that because you took an interest in this incident in the past. You also have considerable knowledge of botany. Above all, would it have been possible if you couldn’t summon your familiar?”

Pipi, who had been sitting quietly on the wolf’s head listening, puffed up as if to say, ‘Ahem, I am the best after all.’ Hearing that, Rosette let out a small laugh.

“When you put it that way, I do sound pretty amazing.”

“I didn’t say you were amazing.”

“…”

Rosette pouted her lips. Then she realized she still had something to say to Joshua.

Rosette finally asked the question she didn’t want to ask.

“So what happens to me now?”

Her heart was pounding.

‘What if His Highness really sends me away?’

When she had agreed to help Joshua save the Empress, Joshua said he would ‘postpone’ it for now. It meant that even if they prevented the Empress’s poisoning, there was still a possibility of being sent away.

‘I thought we got along pretty well.’

While dealing with this incident, Rosette no longer felt afraid of Joshua. She realized he was also a person with emotions as she saw him struggling to save his mother.

She also saw herself in Joshua.

Perhaps the two of them were quite similar in that they were both trying to save someone they loved.

‘Plus, he’s the only one who can share the past with me.’

At first, it was frightening to have someone who remembered the past, especially her own shortcomings. However, as she continued to talk with Joshua, she found it nice to have someone who could empathize with her.

After all, she often felt like she was alone in a different world until now.

‘But His Highness is different.’

To him, Rosette was just a monster. Remembering that again left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Joshua carefully asked Rosette, who looked like she was about to cry.

“What do you want to do?”

“Pardon?”

“Do you still want to stay with the Adrians?”

“Of course!”

Rosette shouted before he could even finish speaking.

“I still want to stay with the Adrians!”

“I don’t understand. Why are you so obsessed with the Adrian family?”

“Obsessed?”

Joshua leaned down to look at Rosette a little closer.

His golden eyes, which were staring intently at her, were full of pure curiosity instead of the contempt that had been there before.

“Didn’t you live with the Dallas Marquis family for over 10 years? That’s what I remember. So why are you so obsessed with the Adrian family, where you’ve only stayed for about half a year, compared to the Dallas family?”

“The Dallas family is…”

“Weren’t they family to you too?”