“Thank you, Rosie. Honestly, I was a little scared of dying.”

“You’re one to talk…”

Our eyes met, and a brief silence passed.

I thought I had so much to say, but now it all just felt awkward.

Sniffling, I said softly:

“…Thank you for getting me a cake on my birthday.”

“Haha, it was nothing.”

“Not just that… thank you for everything…”

“No, it’s me who should thank you.”

Yuta shook his head. Then, gently stroking the rabbit, he said slowly:

“You were the only one who made my life feel like it wasn’t meaningless, Rosie.”

“…”

“I hated myself. But when I watched you laugh and chatter, playing with your friends… I started to feel like maybe I didn’t hate myself so much.”

He gave a shy smile.

I suddenly realized—our smiling faces looked alike.

“I was a bit mean to Zahid. All those deductions… I do feel a little bad about that.”

At that, Julian and Theo jumped in right away.

“I can understand that.”

“I understand as well.”

Grandfather pressed his forehead and let out a heavy # Nоvеlight # sigh.

“To think a bunch of grown men were doing that to an eleven-year-old girl… I’m seriously ashamed!”

“But Zahid just didn’t take any real damage…”

Yuta shrugged awkwardly, looking sheepish.

“And to confess one more thing—it was me who assigned Rosie and Linna as roommates. I already knew Lady Linna Idra wasn’t going to show up at the Academy.”

At those words, Theo immediately cut in, his expression turning serious.

“Excuse me? Are you saying you didn’t help me out of the goodness of your heart as the junior assistant, but had some hidden agenda?”

“Of course, Theo… Whether you’re junior or senior, you should handle your own tasks. Got it?”

“You were the one who offered to help first!”

While Theo stomped around, Yuta continued calmly.

“Anyway, I thought it was better for Rosie to have a room to herself than to be stuck with someone like Count Saliod’s daughter, Nesha, and end up bullied for no reason.”

Then he added with a wide grin:

“But seeing her up close, I realized… Rosie’s not the type to get bullied. I was relieved.”

Julian’s eyes widened in outrage and he jumped in.

“Nesha Saliod? That girl picked on the runt? What happened to her? Huh?!”

Julian looked like he was ready to storm off and find Nesha right that moment. So I answered with a tearful, pitiful face:

“Yeah, she showed signs of being a brat, so I just kicked her out…”

“What?”

“She was just a greedy kid. Predictable, really. It wasn’t that hard to deal with her…”

Silence fell again. Only Theo rubbed his forehead with a knowing expression and let out a soft groan.

Then Yuta stifled a laugh and looked at me gently as he said his goodbye.

“Let’s meet again, Rosie. I’ll stay close to the High Priest and keep gathering intel. At this rate, I’ll end up living a very strange life—on the same side as Julian.”

“Hey! What’s so strange about being on my side?!”

Julian finally snapped and shouted, but Theo kicked him hard in the shin with a face that said read the room.

“…I should get going. Even now, the power recognizing its master is being drawn to you, Rosie.”

Then Yuta leaned in close and whispered quietly to me:

“Rosie… you know a lot about the Temple, don’t you?”

It sounded like he was talking about how I’d managed to deceive both Clara and Yuta at once.

“Uh… that’s…”

“I probably know more than you anyway, so I won’t press for details. For example, that Julian’s accident happened because Felide and Monica tipped off the Temple…”

My eyes widened instantly. Just as I thought—this wasn’t the first time Felide and Monica had colluded with the Temple.

“Tell the Count when you’re ready, Rosie. I’m too scared of that Pirate King’s face to say it myself…”

With a faint smile, Yuta finished whispering and slowly backed away. As he placed his hands on the wheels of the chair, Julian quickly grabbed the handles.

“Hmm? Julian?”

“What? Can’t I touch my wheelchair if I want?”

Julian grumbled irritably, and Yuta let out a faint laugh.

I quietly watched my two older brothers.

Julian and Yuta.

The ones who would do anything for me.

My mother and father abandoned me—but each of their sons, my brothers, stood by my side.

“…Bye.”

I waved toward Yuta.

“Bye, oppa…”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Yuta’s eyes widened slightly before curling into a soft smile. He slowly reached out, gently patting my head as he whispered:

“Goodbye, Rosie.”

It was the first brother-sister farewell we’d ever had.

“We’ll definitely meet again.”

* * *

At that same moment—

Zahid was meeting with an imperial envoy.

He was still young, but he was the Duke, so there was no avoiding it.

He was worried about Rosie, of course—but with all those brothers and cousins crowding around her, there wasn’t much he could do.

“His Majesty the Emperor’s personal letter.”

Zahid received the sealed letter the envoy handed him.

Inside was the imperial birthday banquet invitation.

Every year around this time, the Emperor’s birthday banquet was held in full splendor.

A massive event that drew nobles from across the Empire into the palace.

Zahid’s eyes widened as he read the letter.

I wish to deliver the heirloom of the previous Duke of Dyfenril in secret during the imperial banquet.

His father’s heirloom?

Given to the Emperor?

And it needed to be passed in secret during the banquet—what kind of item could that possibly be?

There’s something I want to say to you in person, so please check the time and location below.

He even wanted to speak directly…

Zahid’s gaze darkened. He looked again at the banquet invitation.

You are invited to the Imperial Birthday Banquet.

This year, we are hosting a masquerade ball. Please prepare a distinctive mask so your identity is not revealed.

We hope you create unforgettable memories during a dazzling and magical night at the imperial palace.

Due to the anonymity rules, escorts are prohibited. Show your invitation to a palace attendant for individual entry.

Maybe the masquerade itself was planned from the beginning to keep things hidden from prying eyes…

Zahid was, after all, still just a boy.

Not exactly at the age to enjoy the pleasures and extravagance of court banquets.

Children around Rosie and Zahid’s age would probably be herded into the garden’s child-friendly banquet area, eating sweets and spinning in circles while holding hands.

But it wasn’t hard for the Emperor to avoid attention either.

That also means His Majesty is exposed to danger… hmm.

It didn’t seem like an ordinary situation.

Zahid took a deep breath as he looked down at the Emperor’s letter.

He had more than one thing to do on the day of the banquet.

I have something to tell Rosie.

His gaze settled, calm and resolute.

Something I really… really want to say. Something I haven’t been able to say until now.

A masquerade ball?

Didn’t matter. He was confident he’d recognize Rosie instantly.

Maybe that’s why—

That night, Zahid dreamed again.

* * *

“What? The imperial banquet? That sounds amazing! And it’s a masquerade? Isn’t that romantic?”

“Kids don’t dance in pairs, you know. Underage guests can only do Ellaine at banquets. Anyway, after that one, I never went to another banquet.”

“Wow, so you’ve never danced with a girl one-on-one?”

“What, you feel bad for me? Then why don’t you dance with me?”

“I promise. When I get out of here, I’ll dance with you at our first banquet. Since we’ll be adults, we’ll even be allowed to dance just the two of us.”

But the iron bars between them looked so thick, so real—it made the dream feel terribly sad.

Rosie’s letter arrived the next day.

Zahid chuckled and wrote a reply.

Rosie’s response came back quickly.

Zahid was still smiling faintly—until he read the postscript.

“…Hah.”

He frowned, brows furrowed in irritation.

“Why does she always ruin a perfectly good letter with some useless postscript? Seriously, why?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep