YDGMSF CHAPTER 24

“Rose, that’s not something you need to worry about. And…”
Duke Adrian muttered as he glanced sideways at Joseph Osser, who was desperately staring at him.
“We’ve been trying to track Melody Osser’s whereabouts, but we haven’t found her yet. It seems she’s hidden herself quite well.”
“I can!”
Rosette shouted quickly, only to wince at the pain in her throat. Lucas had warned her not to speak, but she stubbornly continued.
“I can find her.”
“How would you?”
Duke Adrian looked at her with suspicion.
“Is that true, miss? Can you really find Melody?”
Joseph clung to the bars, desperate.
Rosette looked back and forth between the two men and nodded.
“I can do it.”
She carefully began to explain what she could do. Duke Adrian’s eyes widened as he listened.
***
“That actually makes sense.”
Céline, having heard Rosette’s plan from Duke Adrian, nodded.
“I’ve never done it myself, but in theory, it’s plausible. I don’t know how the young lady came up with such an idea, though…”
At times like this, pretending to know nothing and just smiling was best.
Rosette smiled at Céline, who was looking at her with a complicated expression.
Still, since Céline wasn’t taking action, Rosette gently tugged on her skirt. It was her way of urging her.
Understanding the gesture, Céline composed her expression.
“Anyway, I’ll give it a try.”
The method Rosette proposed was tracking magic. Though not commonly used now, it had been occasionally used before Rosette turned back time.
Céline asked Rosette for confirmation.
“You’re saying we’ll track her using Joseph Osser’s blood, right?”
“Yes.”
Rosette nodded.
The method she proposed was a tracking spell based on bloodline recognition magic.
After confirming the reception range of the magical communication device Joseph Osser had, they would use the bloodline magic within that range. It would take some time, but if the range could be narrowed, they could find Melody.
‘The problem is narrowing down the area where Melody might be…’
But Rosette was confident. In the past, under orders from Marquis Dallas, she had become skilled at tracking people.
Still, while Céline agreed with Rosette’s idea, she remained a bit skeptical.
“But narrowing down that range isn’t easy.”
“I can do it.”
Rosette murmured, her voice a bit stronger now.
“It’s possible.”
Céline shrugged as she looked at Rosette, full of confidence.
“As expected, criminals can’t understand geniuses. Let’s try it together.”
Soon, Duke Adrian sent someone to retrieve the communication device Joseph Osser had.
Rosette placed her hand on the device brought over hastily by a knight and closed her eyes.
At that moment, Céline placed a hand on Rosette’s shoulder. Startled, Rosette looked back, and Céline smiled.
“Your core is still small, so it might strain you again. I’ll lend you some mana.”
Céline’s mana flowed into Rosette’s body.
Rosette could feel the large amount of mana surrounding her small mana core protectively as she activated the tracking spell.
‘Southwest of the mansion. At this distance, she must be outside the capital’s outskirts.’
Rosette opened her eyes and pointed to a spot on the map with her index finger.
“She’s here.”
Duke Adrian, who had been closely observing the map, gave urgent instructions to the knights. From what she could overhear, he seemed to be telling them to request help from the royal magicians.
Céline, who had already withdrawn her mana from Rosette, gave a soft smile.
“I’ll go too. Miss Rosette, you should go back to your room and rest. Don’t overdo it again.”
“I want to…”
Rosette started to say she wanted to go too, but Duke Adrian firmly cut her off.
“Leave it to the adults.”
“But…”
He gently placed both hands on her shoulders and smiled.
“I know you’ve done something incredible, Rose. But just this once, can you trust your father?”
Rosette looked up at Duke Adrian, biting her lip. His violet eyes held a mix of emotions.
When she saw the worry and affection in them, she nodded.
“Alright.”
“Good.”
At Duke Adrian’s signal, a knight approached Rosette.
“Miss, I will escort you safely to your room.”
As she followed the knight, Rosette turned to look back at the Duke.
“Come back safely.”
The Duke’s eyes widened slightly, then he smiled again.
“I will.”
***
Rosette returned to her room with a heavy heart. Soon after, the three Adrian siblings came in.
Lucas plopped down on the bed next to her with a sigh of relief.
“Whew, thank goodness. I thought Father was going to scold me way more.”
Daniel scolded him sternly. The usual gentle smile on his face was gone, replaced by an uncharacteristically serious expression.
“You’ll be in more trouble once Father returns. You deserve it. What were you thinking, taking Rose to that place?”
“But…!”
“I asked to go.”
Rosette jumped in, but Daniel turned his lecture toward her this time.
“You shouldn’t have done that either, Rose. What would you have done if something had gone wrong?”
Rosette clenched her fists tightly.
“I can protect Brother Lucas.”
“No, no. It’s not your job to protect us — it’s our job to protect you.”
“…?”
“You’re our youngest. You don’t need to do anything.”
“Exactly.”
Isabel agreed.
“You’re still small and young. Leave it to us.”
But… you’re not that much older than me, Rosette wanted to argue. You’re still young too, brother and sister.
She wanted to say that, but the words wouldn’t come out.
Even though they weren’t much older, today, for some reason, Daniel and Isabel’s faces looked especially mature.
Rosette lowered her head and stomped her feet in frustration.
She knew this wasn’t the time for such feelings, but her heart fluttered at the warm sense of being protected.
As Lucas teased, “Aww, the little one’s blushing!” Rosette silently wished for everything to be resolved smoothly.
***
Once Rosette narrowed down the search area, Melody was found much faster than expected. It didn’t even take two hours.
Melody was discovered in a mansion on the outskirts of the capital.
“We found her! She’s here!”
Duke Adrian, who had been searching the outskirts himself, rushed inside at the knight’s words. The guard stationed at the room had already been subdued by one of Adrian’s knights and was lying on the floor.
“Let’s go in.”
Duke Adrian slowly opened the door and entered. On the bed, there was a lump under the blanket, clearly hiding someone.
He motioned to his men to wait and slowly walked over, sitting at the edge of the bed.
The blanket flinched, and a frightened voice came from underneath.
“P-please don’t hurt me…”
Duke Adrian gently patted the area where he guessed the head was.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Really?”
“Of course. I swear by Lady Aschella.”
Only then, seemingly slightly reassured, the child peeked her head out.
She was a young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes — exactly how Joseph had described Melody Osser.
“Is your name Melody, by any chance?”
The child’s eyes went wide.
“How do you know my name?”
“Your brother told me.”
“You know my brother?”
“Yes. He asked me to come and bring you back.”
“But…”
The child, Melody, mumbled.
“The other men said my brother was coming to get me.”
“They did?”
“Yes. But why didn’t he come?”
“He’s a little busy right now.”
Duke Adrian held out his hand.
“Would you like to come with me instead?”
Melody hesitated.
“But my brother told me not to go with strangers. I went with someone I didn’t know and got separated from my aunt. So…”
Duke Adrian smiled and praised her.
“You’re right. You shouldn’t follow strangers. You learned well. Then how about this?”
He showed her the sword hanging at his waist. The hilt bore the crest of House Adrian.
Melody recognized it immediately.
“Oh? That’s the same as the one on my brother’s sword! Do you work for Duke Adrian too?”
“Yes, I do. Can you trust me now?”
Still, Melody looked uncertain. But soon she made up her mind and wriggled out from under the blanket.
“Okay. I’ll trust you. And actually, I don’t want to stay here anymore anyway.”
“That’s a good decision.”
Duke Adrian picked Melody up and carried her outside.
“Come on, let’s go see your brother.”
***
While Duke Adrian was bringing Melody back, his subordinates were busy investigating who was behind it all.
First, they identified the owner of the building where Melody was found. The owner wasn’t a noble but an average merchant with modest wealth.
Duke Adrian judged that the merchant couldn’t have purchased such a mansion on his own. Upon interrogation, it was revealed that the real owner was Viscount Charnet.
“It wasn’t me! Why would I try to harm Duke Adrian?”
Viscount Charnet pleaded his innocence as the guards raided his mansion.
But inside his mansion, they found a magical communication device identical to the one Joseph Osser had — clear evidence that he was the one who had ordered Joseph’s capture.
The emperor declared that the matter could not be ignored and personally ordered the Imperial Knights to conduct a full investigation. Viscount Charnet was imprisoned in the imperial capital’s underground jail.
Meanwhile, Melody safely returned with Duke Adrian to the duke’s estate.
Upon hearing the news, Rosette came out to see Melody with the three Adrian siblings.
‘Wow, she’s so pretty.’
Unlike her rather plain-looking brother Joseph Osser, Melody was doll-like in appearance.
Her striking golden hair and blue eyes that looked like the autumn sky, and soft white cheeks like dough made from flour.
Seeing her, Rosette was reminded of Elisha’s porcelain doll she had once seen.
This beautiful little girl was trembling, her already-round eyes opened even wider — it was heartbreaking to see.
But more than Melody’s lovely appearance, something else caught Rosette’s attention.
‘That child… If she learns from a good teacher, she could become a very powerful mage.’
Whereas Joseph was born with talent in swordsmanship, Melody had a natural aptitude for magic.
Though she had never learned magic formally, her body was radiating raw mana that hadn’t yet been refined — a clear sign she possessed a large amount of innate mana.
Only after seeing Melody did Rosette understand why the House of Dallas hadn’t killed her, but kept her instead.
They had intended to raise and use her. And with the added bonus of being able to threaten Joseph, it was like killing two birds with one stone.
Melody, now standing beside Duke Adrian, looked around curiously.
“Where’s my brother? You said we were going to see him.”