“What if you’re not good at it?”
Rose folded her hands nervously, her face looking gloomy.
“…Dad used to say that.”
Ian stood up from his seat and embraced Rose once again.
Sometimes, when Rose was like this, curled up, she would get scared if not hugged.
To prevent that fear, Ian hugged her tightly, ensuring she felt the warmth, as Rose hesitantly spoke.
“Dad used to say I’m stupid and I can’t do anything right.”
Logan gasped, inhaling sharply, while May frowned.
However, Ian, still smiling, kissed her forehead despite Rose’s words.
“It’s okay, Rose. There’s no one who’s good at something from the beginning.”
Rose lifted her head.
“But I…”
“And it’s okay if you’re not good at it. Uncle doesn’t want you to be good at it.”
“But then Uncle did something troublesome.”
“Why do you think it was troublesome?”
Rose hesitated, as if considering her answer.
“Dad said teaching a stupid person is a troublesome task.”
“I see.”
Ian was smiling, but his gaze was chilly.
Yet, when he looked at Rose again, his eyes softened.
“Rose, Uncle thinks differently from your Dad.”
“How so?”
“People can’t be good at everything. They make mistakes and can’t do things perfectly sometimes.”
Ian smiled affectionately, locking eyes with Rose.
“But it’s okay. If you make mistakes, you can fix them, and if you’re not good at something, you can try to get better.”
Ian gently stroked Rose’s fuller cheek, contrasting from their first meeting.
Placing a kiss on Rose’s cheek, Ian continued,
“And what Rose isn’t good at it is not because Rose is stupid. It’s because Uncle didn’t teach you properly.”
“That’s not true. Dad said I’m stupid.”
“Did your Dad always spend time with Rose?”
Rose shook her head.
“Right? But Uncle always spends time with Rose, right?”
“Yes.”
“Uncle knows Rose better than your Dad does. Rose isn’t stupid. You’re very smart.”
Ian lightly tapped Rose’s nose with his finger as he spoke.
“If you don’t know something, you can ask, and if something’s difficult, you can talk to Uncle. It’s not about not being good at something; Uncle will teach you everything.”
Rose looked at Ian with a smile and chuckled along with him.
“Got it?”
“Yes, I got it!”
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Sebastian entered.
“My lord, did you call for me?”
“Rose, would you like to play with Sebastian for a bit? Uncle will talk to Aunt and Grandpa and be right back.”
As Rose nodded, Ian affectionately kissed her forehead.
“Go ahead and play.”
“Yes.”
When Rose waved her hand vigorously from the carriage, Ian waved back.
As the door closed, Ian sighed.
May exhaled heavily and spoke up.
“I used to think there couldn’t be worse parents than mine, but the young lady’s father is beyond imagination.”
“I simply can’t comprehend it. How could someone say such things to their child?”
Despite wanting children after their first love and marriage, Logan, who remained childless, was shocked by Rose’s words.
“He was always like that.”
“If he treated his daughter like that, I wonder how he treated Lady Marianne, who is known for her kindness.”
It was when Logan recalled Marianne that his face showed a mix of embarrassment.
“I have a question. Is the young lady’s father still alive?”
Rumors about Rose had already spread throughout the duchy, so her birth wasn’t much of a secret. However, unlike her mother Marianne, little was known about her father.
“Yes, he is.”
The wandering knight is still alive. He just doesn’t know that Rose has found Ian.
The wandering knight wasn’t aware of his daughter’s existence due to not valuing her in the novels. He later appeared in the duchy after Rose became a duke.
He insisted that as the Duke’s father, he should live in the ducal estate and fabricated all sorts of excuses.
However, the wandering knight failed to achieve his goal because he was easily manipulated by the leader of the mercenaries, citing Rose’s incompetence at just five years old as a reason.
Instead of achieving his goal, he met his demise at the hands of the mercenary leader, whom he mistakenly saw as an obstacle to interfering with Rose.
Ian considered it a fortunate event when Rose lost her father without even knowing him while reading a book.
Otherwise, Rose would have lived even more chaotically, following the path of the mercenaries and her father, whom he likened to garbage.
Logan expressed concern.
“Shouldn’t we take care of it?”
“We should.”
“Do you intend to handle it personally?”
Ian shook his head.
No matter how much of a disgrace he was, he was still her father.
As a Duke, Ian risking his own hands for the elimination could potentially lead to unwanted gossip.
“Do you need my assistance?”
It was an offer to assist with the assassination guild’s mission.
“Already taken care of.”
The explosives needed to be disposed of in advance, and Ian made sure to keep Rose as uninvolved as possible.
Therefore, through Sebastian, they scheduled the assassination guild’s mission four days after Rose and Ian’s departure, leaving no room for error.
“Well done.”
Logan grinned widely.
His relieved expression stemmed from not witnessing the despicable wretch intruding upon the sacred ducal estate, visiting the precious lady of the manor.
“Ah.”
But that relief was short-lived.
Logan turned his head upon realizing May’s presence in the room.
While it was commonplace for nobles, from May’s perspective as a commoner, it might seem too easy to take a life.
“May, this is…”
About to hastily make excuses, Logan sighed in relief upon seeing May’s face.
Mei was smiling as if satisfied.
“Don’t worry about scum like him; their demise is beneficial.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
“Of course.”
May and Logan met each other’s gaze and burst into laughter.
‘Quite foolish.’
May was someone whose views and thoughts were unconventional in this world. Without that, she wouldn’t have become the target in the novel, let alone become a target with the help of the female lead. Even if she had become the target, Ian wouldn’t have made her his person.
“Enough with the chit-chat, let’s talk about the future.”
The expressions of Logan and May turned serious in an instant.
Logan was the first to speak.
“As per May’s plan, we are gathering the miners in the duchy. We are selecting those who are discreet, and we plan to proceed slowly with a small number of people.”
Ian nodded.
“We have plenty of time. There’s no rush, so proceed carefully to avoid raising suspicions on the part of the Chamberlain.”
“Yes. The prepared personnel will go straight to mining. We’ll start by extracting the diamonds on the outer perimeter, and we’ll proceed with the inner sections after the market stabilizes to some extent. We might attract attention from the Chamberlain due to the noise generated during the mining process, so we need to be cautious.”
May continued,
“I’ve had a smooth conversation with the jeweler Shasha, and we plan to meet in person in the capital to finalize the contract. We’re currently negotiating with several shops, and we’ve received positive responses from three of them.”
“Let’s choose a place for immediate profit rather than focusing solely on short-term gains.”
“Understood.”
“Is everything prepared for the trip to the capital?”
May clenched her fist tightly.
“Of course. We can leave at a moment’s notice.”
Ian nodded satisfactorily and rose from his seat.
“See you at the next meeting.”
***
After Ian’s departure, the training of the knights became ridiculously intense.
From dawn, the knights had to wake up for physical conditioning, followed by basic training and sparring, leaving them with no time to catch their breath.
“How long do we have to keep doing this nonsense?”
“Until our stamina is properly built.”
The knight, leaning on his sword, quickly stood up straight at the sudden voice.
“Greetings to the Duke.”
Starting with the startled knight, the others greeted loudly, and Ian nodded, surveying the surroundings.
“Where is the knight commander?”
“He’s sparring over there.”
Ian nodded and headed in the direction indicated by the knight.
William was sparring with Claude, who had clashed with Ian in the past.
Ian paused and watched their sparring.
The swift movement of swords produced a dull thud each time the greatsword and the sword clashed, more solid than expected.
‘He’s not an Over User.’
In the original work, a Swordmaster was referred to as an Over User, a level that could only be achieved by breaking through walls.
Not only did one have to undergo rigorous training, but talent also needed to be supported.
From Ian’s perspective as an Over User, he could tell that the knight commander had not yet fully gathered even mana.
‘Seems like he’s not completely lacking in talent… Should I teach him that?’
As talent and effort were both required, Over Users were not common in this world.
Therefore, at least the knight commander of the kingdom had to be an Over User. Otherwise, it would undermine the authority.
‘Let’s observe for now.’
While Claude had shown loyalty to Rose in the novel, William was an extra who never appeared in the story.
Although he held the title of knight commander, Ian had no idea what thoughts he harbored inside.
However, he couldn’t just turn him into an Over User recklessly.
“Duke.”
William, noticing Ian, quickly ended the sparring and approached him.
Ian waved off the commander’s greeting. Claude, standing beside the commander, was glaring at him. The interruption of the sparring seemed to greatly displease him.
“Do not interrupt the sparring.”
“Sir Claude!”
William snapped at the disrespectful remark, but Claude remained impassive.
“Enough. Sir William, let’s talk.”
Ignoring Claude, Ian finally exploded.
Just as Claude rushed forward to grab Ian’s shoulder…
A cold sensation touched Claude’s throat.
“Your audacity ends here, as far as I can tolerate.”
Ian had drawn his sword with such precision that it was aimed directly at Claude’s throat, without even turning his body.
Facing the imminent threat of being struck down, Claude couldn’t move a muscle. William lowered his head apologetically to Ian.
“I apologize, duke.”
“Forget it. It’s not like I don’t know his manners.”
Ian swiftly inserted his sword into William’s scabbard at an invisible speed, only turning his head to look at Claude.
“If you wish, I can revoke your knighthood.”
Claude’s character in < Flower Garden> was exactly like that.
He was a stubborn troublemaker who lacked courtesy and knightly manners. However, his nature was not inherently bad. Despite his impure attitude, he was loyal to those he chose until the end.
‘To achieve that, I need to create an opportunity.’
It was the same in the original work. Initially ignoring and disliking Rose, Claude realizes his arrogance after being hit hard by dark magic. Additionally, he acknowledges Rose’s skills and resolves to be loyal to her.
That was precisely what Ian wanted: a guardian knight who could protect both Rose’s body and heart. It was necessary for Claude to come to his senses as soon as possible.
“The choice is yours to make.”
