“Hey, kid, wake up!”
A voice even rougher than Jude’s woke Rosette. Hugging her stuffed rabbit, she squirmed deeper under the covers.
“Kid! If you sleep now, you won’t be able to sleep later!”
“Young Master, the young lady must be tired. Why not let her sleep today?”
“But she has to eat dinner! She needs to eat well to grow!”
“But she also needs plenty of sleep to grow properly.”
“Really?”
The murmuring voices at her bedside faded into the distance. Thanks to that, Rosette was able to drift back to sleep.
As she fell into a deep slumber, she began to dream.
In the first dream, the Marquis of Dallas appeared. Furious at Rosette for failing to properly perform the magic she had learned, he grabbed whatever was within reach and hurled it at her.
-“You worthless insect! Do you think I brought you here to see this pathetic display?!”
A flowerpot he threw struck her on the head, drawing blood. Yet, he showed no sign of stopping. Rosette collapsed at his feet, begging for mercy.
Please… save me… save me… Even in her sleep, Rosette whimpered.
Then, her stepsister, Elisha Dallas, appeared. She had the maids subtly torment Rosette in various ways.
That, she could endure. But then…
-“Why? Why did you do it? What crime did Master and Daniel commit to deserve death?! Why?!”
The cold yet anguished voice rang in her ears, and even in her sleep, Rosette wept.
It wasn’t my will. I turned back time to fix everything. I’ll change it. I’ll return everything to you.
No matter what it takes, I will make it right.
But the man—Joshua Earnhardt—would not listen. With eyes clouded by madness, he wrapped his hands around Rosette’s neck as if strangling her would somehow resolve everything.
At that moment, she gasped for air as if she had been drowning and jolted awake.
The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was an unfamiliar ceiling. As she stared at the white canopy swaying in the darkness, she came to her senses.
‘That’s right. I turned back time.’
After that, she saved Jane and was adopted into the Adrian Ducal House. Rosette took a deep breath, feeling relieved as she reaffirmed these facts.
Just as she had saved Jane, she believed she could save the people of the Adrian household, too. That hopeful thought was what fueled her sigh of relief.
At the same time, she suddenly felt completely drained of energy. Overcome with exhaustion, she was about to close her eyes again.
Then, noticing the sunlight streaming through the curtains, her eyes widened. It was morning.
‘I slept the entire day!’
Sleeping through her very first day at the Adrian household—what would people think?
Startled, Rosette hurriedly tried to get out of bed. However, not yet accustomed to her smaller body, she lost her balance and tumbled to the floor.
“Ahh!”
With a loud thud, she crashed down noisily.
“What happened, my lady?!”
Joanne rushed inside and found Rosette tangled in the blankets on the floor. Immediately understanding the situation, she lifted Rosette into her arms.
“Are you alright?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No.”
“That’s a relief. It would be terrible if your precious body were injured.”
Joanne sat Rosette back on the bed and wiped her face with a warm, damp towel. The fabric was soft, but Joanne’s touch was even gentler.
Rosette blushed, feeling like a real child, but Joanne simply smiled at her expression.
“All done. By the way, aren’t you hungry? You haven’t eaten anything since breakfast yesterday.”
“I’m fi—”
Just as Rosette was about to reflexively say she was fine, her traitorous stomach growled loudly. Her cheeks flushed even redder.
Joanne barely suppressed a smile and whispered,
“The young masters and Lady Isabelle are still at dawn training. It’ll be a while until breakfast, so I’ll bring you some warm milk.”
She slipped out before Rosette could protest, returning shortly with a large mug.
“Drink slowly.”
“Mm.”
Rosette blew on the milk and sipped as instructed. When a milky ring lingered on her lips, Joanne dabbed it away with a napkin.
“Feeling better?”
“Mm.”
Rosette hesitated, then asked,
“Joanne… can I go watch the training?”
“Training? Oh, you mean the dawn drills?”
Rosette nodded instead of answering. Joanne frowned.
“Is it… not allowed?”
“It’s not forbidden. There’s nowhere in this estate you can’t go, young lady. But I worry it might… startle you—”
“I’ll be fine! I won’t get scared!”
Joanne blinked at Rosette’s sudden enthusiasm, then relented.
“Alright. But first, let’s change your clothes.”
She led Rosette to the dressing room, eyeing her small frame before rummaging through dresses.
“These were too small for Lady Isabelle, but they’re still too big for you… We’ll need a tailor today. Ah, this might work.”
The plain white dress she chose lacked lace or frills—Isabelle hated cumbersome attire for sword practice.
“Arms up!”
Joanne deftly dressed Rosette, rolling up sleeves twice to make them fit.
“Ready to go?”
The training grounds were a ten-minute walk from the main house. Even from a distance, shouts echoed:
“Too slow! Faster!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Weak voices! Another lap!”
Rosette hid her surprise as they entered. Rows of trainees were running drills—but none were the people she sought.
Just as disappointment flickered—
“Hey! The sleepyhead’s awake!”
Lucas bounded over, a wooden sword slung over his shoulder. He grinned down at her.
“Thought you’d hibernate forever.”
Rosette’s face burned.
“N-Not a sleepyhead…”
“Really? Your eyes are puffy like a fish’s.”
She covered her eyes, making Lucas laugh.
“Why’re you here anyway? Breakfast is the other way.”
“I heard… everyone was here.”
Her voice trailed off as Lucas’s expression shifted. Behind him, the distant clang of blades announced the arrival of the very person she’d been searching for—
Rosette cautiously spread her small fingers apart and peeked at Lucas.
“But… where is Daniel?”
“Daniel? He went out with Father for a bit. But wait, why are you calling him ‘Sir Daniel’?”
“Huh? If not ‘Sir Daniel,’ then what should I call him…?”
“You should call him ‘brother.'”
Startled, Rosette waved both hands frantically.
“But how could I…?”
As she hesitated, Lucas narrowed his eyes.
“Don’t tell me… you’re planning to call me ‘Sir Lucas’ too?”
Why wouldn’t she? In fact, that was exactly how she had intended to address him.
When Rosette didn’t deny it right away, Lucas’s eyes narrowed even further.
“You’re my little sister now, aren’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“Then isn’t it weird to use formal titles like ‘sir’ within the family?”
Rosette wasn’t sure if it was weird or not. She had never had a family before.
In her past life, she was adopted into the Dallas household, but even then, she had always referred to them as ‘Marquis Dallas’ and ‘Lady Elisha.’
Still, judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like she was supposed to agree. So, she slowly nodded.
At last, Lucas smiled in satisfaction.
“See? Even you think it sounds weird.”
“…Yes.”
“Then go ahead and call me ‘Brother Lucas.'”
“…”
“Come on.”
She had used the term ‘brother’ for older boys at the orphanage before. But somehow, calling Lucas that felt… different.
It made her feel embarrassed and oddly shy.
After fidgeting for a moment, Rosette clasped her hands together and whispered hesitantly,
“Brother Lucas.”
“What? I didn’t hear that.”
“Brother Lucas.”
By now, her ears were burning red. Lucas, on the other hand, burst into a hearty laugh.
“Great! Finally, I have a younger sibling! I’m not the youngest anymore!”
It seemed like a strange thing to be excited about, but since Lucas looked genuinely happy, Rosette felt relieved. At the same time, she couldn’t help but wonder—
‘Why is everyone welcoming me?’
Back in the Dallas family, no one had welcomed her. Even though Marquis Dallas introduced her as someone important to the family, everyone showed clear hostility toward her.
Elisha, in particular, had openly covered her nose in disgust, saying Rosette smelled like trash because she hadn’t been able to wash properly.
Even after she had cleaned herself up, Elisha would still wrinkle her nose and complain about her “lowborn stench.”
So, Rosette had assumed that was the normal reaction. The nobles she had encountered had always believed they were superior to commoners and often looked down on them.
Adopting a commoner orphan? From their perspective, that would be like bringing livestock into the family.
Even Isabel, whom she had met yesterday, had initially seemed hesitant about Rosette’s adoption. Although, unlike Elisha, Isabel at least seemed genuinely concerned about her.
Yet, neither Daniel nor Lucas had shown any signs of opposition to the Duke’s decision. On the contrary, they seemed to be welcoming her wholeheartedly.
Rosette was curious about the reason—but she didn’t dare ask.
“But what about Daniel?”
“Ah…”
Hearing that, Rosette immediately shut her mouth.
‘I have to warn Daniel as soon as possible.’
As she sipped the milk Joanne had brought her, she reminded herself of the most important thing she needed to do.
No matter what, preventing Daniel’s accident had to come first.
All she knew was that it would happen in the spring of the year she was adopted into the Dallas family—and that Marquis Dallas was the mastermind behind it.
She didn’t know exactly when or how the accident would happen.
All she had heard was that the carriage wheel had come loose, causing it to plummet off a cliff. The carriage even caught fire, and Daniel had barely escaped with his life.
Since it was the kind of accident that could happen at any moment, she wanted to warn him as soon as possible. She needed to tell him to double-check the carriage wheels before getting in.
“It should be fine for now. I’ll tell him in the evening.”
It wasn’t spring yet—it was still winter. With that thought, Rosette casually came up with an excuse.
“I just wanted to see Daniel.”
But something strange happened.
The moment she said that, Lucas’s expression twisted oddly, and he pouted.
“So, you wanted to see Daniel, but not me?”
“…Huh?”
“So you got close to Daniel after spending just a few days together?”
Rosette had no idea why Lucas was getting upset.
But before she could figure it out, Lucas suddenly declared,
“Alright! I’ll show you that I’m a better brother than Daniel!”
