YDGMSF CHAPTER 29

The identity of the assassin was surprisingly revealed rather quickly.
“Rosette Dallas?”
Joshua repeated the name with a voice full of anger, and his aide began to explain in more detail.
“Yes. She is said to be the adopted daughter the Duke of Dallas took in about ten years ago.”
He’d heard of her.
“You mean the Lady Dallas who once stirred up all of high society.”
Thirteen years ago, rumors had spread far and wide that the Marquis of Dallas had adopted a commoner girl from an orphanage. People were curious about the child, but the marquis never introduced her to society.
Very little was known about her.
The only bits of information that circulated were her name—Rosette Dallas—and that she had some talent for magic.
Rosette Dallas made her first public appearance at a debutante ball held the year she came of age.
Joshua also saw her for the first time that day. Rosette Dallas wasn’t someone who stood out for her looks.
She wore a glamorous dress and jewelry, befitting a lady of House Dallas, but she was small in stature, her hair and skin were dull, and her movements lacked the grace of a noblewoman.
What’s more, she wore an ornate mask that covered half her face, making it hard to even see what she looked like.
People scoffed, saying that her commoner origins were showing.
But Joshua still took notice of her—because of the immense amount of mana surrounding her.
So that’s why the Marquis of Dallas adopted her.*
It was a shame. If only he had discovered her first, he could’ve raised her into a fine mage. Unfortunately, the marquis had gotten to her first.
But that was all. He didn’t want to show any more interest in the daughter of the Marquis of Dallas.
However, later that evening, when the party had reached its peak and Joshua had slipped out to the garden to avoid the crowd, he happened to run into Rosette Dallas again.
—“It’s so stuffy in there, Peepy.”
[Peep!]
—“You feel the same, right?”
Her voice drifted from the empty bushes—gentle and clear, like a song shared with a little bird.
Joshua, as if drawn by some enchantment, headed toward the sound.
There she was—Rosette Dallas. She had taken off the suffocating mask and set it aside.
—“I want to go back to the room and chat with you some more.”
[Peep!]
—“Peepy, you’re the only one I have.”
She kissed the beak of the small white bird perched on her hands over and over.
Joshua stood there, stunned, watching the scene.
Rosette Dallas was a girl with a peculiar charm.
Her pink hair, though rough in texture, shimmered with a lovely hue even in the dark. Her skin was pale, as if it had never seen sunlight.
When she sensed his presence and turned to look at him, Joshua was even more shocked.
The pair of blue eyes that stared directly at him sparkled like jewels. Unstained, pure emotion radiated from her gaze.
He couldn’t look away. He had met people from all ranks and temperaments, but had anyone ever drawn his attention like this?
What was this strange, unidentifiable feeling?
[Peep!]
Joshua, who had been staring at her without even blinking, finally snapped out of it when the white bird stepped in front of her protectively, as if shielding her.
He opened his mouth as if to excuse himself.
“I wasn’t trying to spy…”
He was about to explain, but Rosette reacted unexpectedly. She quickly put her mask back on, jumped to her feet, and disappeared in the opposite direction—as if retreating away.
Retreating, instead of showing proper courtesy to royalty? It was absurd, yet not unpleasant.
It made him laugh, just a little.
Part of him wanted to chase after her and start a conversation, but he knew he shouldn’t. She was the daughter of the Marquis of Dallas, after all.
Joshua stared for a moment at the patch of grass where Rosette had been sitting, then quietly returned to the ballroom.
After that day, he never thought about her again. Rosette Dallas never appeared in society after that, and Joshua didn’t go out of his way to find her.
Still, a small but pleasant impression of her remained in his memory.
And now they were telling him that Rosette Dallas was behind all of this? That same girl with those pure, bright eyes?
Joshua clenched both fists so tightly they trembled.
“Were there any other intruders?”
The aide, sounding like he couldn’t believe it himself, replied hesitantly.
“From our investigation, no.”
“No?” Joshua’s voice sharpened. “Are you telling me that Rosette Dallas single-handedly broke through those tight defenses and murdered both my master and Daniel?”
“…Regrettably, yes.”
Joshua barely managed to suppress the urge to grab his incompetent aide by the collar.
“Someone from House Dallas must’ve helped her.”
“Well… the Dallas family insists that this was an act Rosette Dallas carried out entirely on her own. The Marquis of Dallas claims to know nothing about it. They’ve washed their hands of her.”
“Alone?”
Joshua slammed his fist onto the desk with a loud bang.
“Utter nonsense. And you expect me to believe that nonsense?”
“…Well…”
The aide hesitated.
“What is it?”
“There are many nobles supporting that claim.”
“Such as?”
“The Duke of Lilis is the most vocal supporter.”
“…Ha.”
Joshua let out a hollow laugh.
The House of Lilis—the family of the current Empress.
Joshua’s lips twisted as he thought of the current Empress, Leonie Ernhardt.
“So that’s how it’s going to be.”
Thirteen years ago, after the former Empress Ophelia Ernhardt died, the nobles clamored for a new empress, as if they had been waiting for the opportunity.
The Emperor, pretending to reluctantly give in, appointed Leonie Lilis, then a noblewoman of House Lilis, as the new Empress. It hadn’t even been three months since Ophelia’s death.
Joshua had been deeply shaken by his father’s behavior. Even if the marriage lacked love, how could he so quickly bring in a new Empress?
But what shocked Joshua even more was the child Leonie had brought with her—Louis. The nine-year-old, who introduced himself as Louis Lilis, had blond hair and golden eyes.
“……!”
Golden eyes were the symbol of the Ernhardt imperial family. Which meant Louis wasn’t just any illegitimate child—he was the Emperor’s biological son.
After a formal paternity test, it was confirmed that the child was indeed born of the Emperor and Leonie. Not long after, the Emperor, as if he had been waiting for this moment, granted Louis the Ernhardt surname.
Thus, the imperial family, which had previously consisted of only Joshua, the First Prince, now had a Second Prince.
Before Louis appeared, everyone had assumed Joshua would naturally inherit the throne. But afterward, the line of succession began to shift subtly.
Unfortunately, Joshua had no strong political backing. His maternal family, the Kingdom of Ibern, was too weak to influence the imperial succession.
The only one who supported him was his mentor, Duke Adrian.
In truth, the nobility was divided between House Adrian and House Lilis.
And House Dallas was a prominent supporter of House Lilis.
It was clear to anyone: this was a move by the Marquis of Dallas to eliminate the opposing faction.
But then Joshua faced an unexpected obstacle—the Emperor himself tried to quickly close the case by declaring it a lone act committed by Rosette Dallas.
“I, too, mourn the deaths of Duke Adrian and his heir. But, Prince—there is no evidence implicating the Marquis of Dallas.”
“If we dig a little deeper—!”
“I already told you the investigation is sufficient.”
Thirteen years ago, when his wife Ophelia Ernhardt had been poisoned, the Emperor had similarly closed the case in haste.
Joshua had sobbed and begged for a deeper investigation, insisting a mere maid couldn’t have plotted such a thing alone—but the Emperor didn’t even pretend to listen.
Just like back then, Joshua realized too late that this had all been carefully orchestrated. The death of Duke Adrian had happened with the Emperor’s tacit approval.
And now, there was nothing more Joshua could do.
He wanted to confront Rosette Dallas and ask if the Marquis had truly ordered this. But he didn’t. It would be pointless.
“I will uncover the truth about Father’s death one day. As the new Duke Adrian, I will not let this go.”
He said this like a vow as he looked at Isabelle, who had suddenly inherited the position of heir overnight.
“When I ascend the throne, I’ll make sure this case is reinvestigated.”
But despite his resolve, anger seethed within him. Joshua couldn’t just sit idly by—so on the eve of Rosette Dallas’s execution, he secretly went to see her.
He was heavily drunk, despite rarely drinking.
“Why did you do it?”
“……”
“What did my master and Daniel ever do to deserve death?! Why?!”
He cried and demanded answers like a child, not even knowing what kind of response he wanted from her.
And once again, Rosette Dallas responded in an unexpected way.
Her small, frail body—so thin it was hard to believe she was an adult—trembled as tears streamed down her face. It looked as though she genuinely regretted killing them.
Regret? What a joke. If she was capable of regret, she shouldn’t have done it in the first place.
“I…”
Rosette’s lips trembled. But she couldn’t finish the sentence. She only cried.
There were so many things Joshua wanted to say, but—what was the point now?
“Your execution date has been set.”
“……”
“Even if your death won’t bring them back… it may honor their spirits.
If there’s any shred of guilt in you—atone for it until your final breath.”
Joshua managed to say only that before turning and leaving the room. But he couldn’t sleep at all that night.
Would everything truly be resolved just because Rosette Dallas was executed? In the end, she was merely a pawn of Duke Lilis and the Marquis of Dallas.
Her death wouldn’t honor the spirits of Duke Adrian or Daniel.
“But what can I even do?”
What could he possibly do now, in a world without his master or Daniel?
Burning with helpless rage, Joshua eventually fell asleep as if he’d passed out.
***
When he awoke—
“……!”
He found himself back at twelve years old.
“What in the world…?”
At first, he thought he was dreaming. But every sensation was far too vivid. He’d never heard of a dream that felt this real.
Startled and confused, his gaze instinctively shifted to the necklace he always wore. A gem shimmering in multiple colors like an opal glinted softly from his chest.
His mother, the Empress of the Empire and a princess from Ibern, had given it to him. She had told him it was a royal heirloom passed down through the Ibern royal family.
When she handed it to him, Ophelia had whispered something mysterious:
“One day… this will save you.”