Chapter 3
Chapter 3
“Wow, it’s the sea, the sea!”
Seeing the sea, Rosenia jumped up like a fish out of water.
Rosenia was certain Adrian was laughing at her from behind, but she didn’t care and continued to frolic around. She was just happy to see the sea after a long time.
Picking up pretty shells, soaking her feet in the surging waves, and making crude sand castles; after playing enthusiastically, the sun was beginning to set.
“Brother! I’m hungry!”
Having forgotten where she left her shoes, she ran barefoot towards Adrian.
Adrian was sitting on a mat under a tent by the shore set up by the servants and reading leisurely.
He glanced at her, then closed the book and stood up. Next, he strode towards her and lifted her up.
“Heuk.”
“Where did you leave your shoes?”
“Don’t know. I forgot.”
“Really…”
Carrying her in his arms, they steadily headed for the villa.
Rosenia enjoyed the cool evening breeze while swinging her bare feet in his arms.
‘What’s for dinner tonight?’
Her stomach was slowly growling.
“Brother, I’m hungry.”
“Be patient. We’re almost there.”
“I’m hungry~.”
“…”
Adrian didn’t throw her off even though he had an annoyed look on his face and that surprised her. She is certain the original Adrian would have left her on the spot.
‘Though a little scary, he hasn’t committed any evil acts. Is the rehabilitation a success?’
Looking pleased with herself, she saw Adrian frowned as if he was annoyed. Nonetheless, she smiled brightly. They soon reached the garden of the villa.
Adrian carefully laid her down on a wooden chair. The wooden table in front of her was full of cooked dishes.
“Wow!”
“Eat slowly. Don’t eat like a pig.”
“Let’s dig in!”
Adrian warned her, but she was so hungry that she easily ignored it and began to excitedly eat the feast.
Grilled salted pork, spicy marinated chicken legs, and assorted mushrooms were arranged colorfully.
Everything was so delicious that Rosenia almost cried. When she put it into her mouth and gulped it down in one breath, Adrian who sat across from her shook his head.
“You’re a pig.”
“What…!”
When Rosenia was insulted and became indignant, Adrian stuffed more food into her mouth.
Rosenia widened her eyes and mumbled inwardly. It was a skillfully grilled beef tenderloin.
“Delicious…”
“…Eat a lot.”
With such a full stomach, Rosenia leisurely took a long bath and went to bed.
Tomorrow morning Adrian will head south and out to sea by boat. He has to fulfill the Emperor’s request of investigating the sea.
Rosenia will have the villa all to herself starting tomorrow.
‘It’s going to be a little lonely without Adrian around…Just kidding, I’m free! How long has it been?’
Her heart fluttered and throbbed with excitement at the thought of enjoying her newfound freedom.
‘What shall I do tomorrow?’
Smiling under the cozy blanket, Rosenia fell asleep at some point.
That night Rosenia had a terrible dream. She dreamed that Adrian said, ‘You’ll be locked up for 10 years if you get into trouble.’
“Goodbye, brother. Be careful.”
He scoffed at her usual goodbye. Particularly, at the ‘careful’ part.
Adrian Hill, the sole owner of the mage tower, which stands tall in the center of the world, once said, ‘there is no reason I have to be careful.’
Every man, beast, and animal in the world can be swept away by his hands or trampled beneath his feet.
‘Such a terrifying villain.’
Though Rosenia thought as such in her heart, she smiled gently at Adrian.
Without warning, Adrian stroked her hair.
‘Ugh, you bastard! Do you think I’m a dog or something?!’
“Take care of yourself. Don’t wander around needlessly. Just stay at the villa.”
Jeez, you crazy old brother with a sister complex…
Rosenia was certain that he would never let her date or marry. Though, she has no such plans at the moment…
“Don’t worry, brother. It’s fun just hanging out at the villa. Besides, where would I even go? It’s going to be fine, I’ll behave.”
“…”
Adrian glared at her with a look of distrust, then slowly turned around. She waved at him with an innocent face.
‘Go on, hurry up and leave…! Quickly, so I can gain my freedom!’
‘Even better if you come back in a month.’
‘Maybe that’s how long it’ll take?’
Rosenia walked back to her room in the villa with a smile. Meanwhile, Adrian’s familiar clung to her side as it followed her.
‘This damn familiar…What am I supposed to do with this thing around?’
‘Hmm…!’
Touching her chin and looking at the familiar in the form of a black wolf, she quickly came up with an idea.
‘Let’s bribe it.’
Familiars liked mana balls for its high concentration of mana. It’s like sweet cotton candy to them.
Her mana was quite strong, so it was simple for her to make a mana ball.
Rosenia made one on the spot and held it in front of the familiar. Its’ eyes sparkled after sniffing the blue hazy sphere.
It seemed to be asking ‘are you giving this to me?’ as it looked at her.
‘Is this a familiar or a dog…?’
“You want it?”
“…!”
After Rosenia asked the familiar with a big smile, it twirled its tail. She grinned at the very dog-like reaction from the familiar.
Moving the mana ball around in the air teasingly, Rosenia spoke to it.
“It would be a waste just giving this to you…”
“Krkuu…”
“You’re really a dog?”
“Kuu…”
Like a splitting image of a dog, it laid on the floor with its head down and timidly wagged its tail.
Adrian had given her a dog.
In any case, Rosenia had to bribe this familiar. That way, even if she explores the market, the familiar won’t tell Adrian everything.
Bringing the mana ball right under the nose of the familiar, Rosenia spoke.
“I’ll give it to you if you want to eat it. But..”
“…!”
“There’s a condition. You have to listen to my request.”
The familiar tilted its head as if asking, ‘What’s the condition?’ Although familiars can’t talk, they’re a higher life form, so they’re very good at understanding people. Rosenia continued with a grin.
“No matter where I go, or what I do, or who I meet, you must not report everything to Adrian. Speak to me first if you do.”
“…!”
“And in return, I’ll give this to you. No, not only this, but I’ll make you mana balls all summer long. Deal?”
At her tempting offer, the familiar seemed to be considering it.
After a while, the familiar made a ‘woof’ sound as it raised its head. Its answer was yes.
“Okay, is that a deal?”
“Woof!”
With that, Rosenia succeeded in bribing it.
After Rosenia gave the mana ball to the familiar, it rolled around excitedly, showing that it enjoyed it very much.
‘Is this really a familiar…?’
“I’m going to the market now. You want to come?”
“Woof!”
The familiar sprang up and wagged its tail. It was shaking its tail so fast that Rosenia couldn’t even see it.
‘It also want to look around the market?’
Rosenia put on a thin outer garment while petting the familiar. And just in case, she grabbed a small umbrella before heading out.
It was a clear day, but the Southern Coast is known to rain during the summer.
And although Rosenia was sturdy, she would often catch a cold after staying in the rain. She wanted to avoid the rain as much as possible to enjoy this summer to the fullest.
‘Wouldn’t it be such a waste if I caught a cold and had to lay down for a few days…?! The freedom I finally obtained!’
“I will buy some delicious fruit skewers at the market. Do you want me to buy you one too?”
“Woof!”
“What kind of dog eats fruit skewers?”
“Kuu…”
Rosenia took her time walking to the market while having fun teasing the innocent familiar.
The market was very close, as it was a five minute walk from the villa. As soon as Rosenia arrived, there was a lot of commotion as she had expected.
However, Rosenia was very happy to be in such a crowded place. In other words, a place with a lot of ‘ordinary’ people.
‘Finally, civilization!’
‘There’s nothing but oddballs in the tower. It makes me sick thinking about it.’
To her, sorcerers were divided into two categories. A little crazy and a lot crazy. Either way, it was the same to her.
‘They’re all crazy.’
Being stuck among such people suffocated her and she thought she would go crazy. So to experience something normal like this market made her happy.
Walking around the market with light steps, Rosenia looked at the stalls and ate delicious food.
Rosenia also bought some lovely glass jewelries that were a bit crude. She liked them even though Adrian hated such things. That’s why she often bought things like this without him knowing.
‘Oh, is it going to rain?’
‘It’s only been a couple of hours since I visited the market.’
With a patter, a drop of rain fell from the seemingly cloudy sky.
It was likely to rain soon. That being the case, Rosenia quickly returned to the villa with the familiar.
And sure enough, as soon as Rosenia reached the villa, there was a loud roar as the rain began to pour.
‘I knew this would happen!’
Rosenia quickly opened her umbrella and ran to the villa.
However, in the middle of the garden at the villa was someone lying awkwardly on the ground.
‘How did such a person find himself at another person’s home in such a state?’
Shaking her head, she slowly approached.
At her arrival, the uninvited guest laid motionless on his stomach. Tapping the fairly big man with her sandal, Rosenia spoke.
“Excuse me.”
“…”
“Hello?”
“…”
“This is private property. You can’t just break in like this.”
Looking closely, Rosenia found that the uninvited guest was a tall man with platinum blond hair. His height appears to be around 185cm. It was roughly Adrian’s height.
‘The man’s head is in the ground, but it doesn’t seem to be stuck. If I leave him like this, the rain will rise, and this man might die from suffocation…Do I have to save him?’
‘If it’s a criminal on the run, what should I do?’
If the man is dangerous, then Rosenia has no choice but to leave the matter to her familiar. It could only be considered his misfortune to have collapsed on the Hill’s property.
Rosenia kept tapping the man’s body with her toes, and then with a slight push he was flipped over…
“…!”
Shocked, her eyes widened and her body stiffened.
The man had an extremely handsome face. It was dirtied with mud and rainwater, but nevertheless, his beauty didn’t diminish.
His platinum blond hair was wet from the rain, but it remained glossy, and his skin was as smooth as jade.
His high nose had a graceful curve, and his eyelashes were long and dense. His lips were well proportioned and perfectly shaped.
“Wow, such a beauty…”
Rosenia muttered in admiration as the familiar beside her roared, keeping its guard against the man. She knew Adrian’s familiar could discern things that might be a threat to its master.
‘Who the hell is this guy?’
‘Anyway, this face…Haven’t I seen it somewhere before?’
The familiar bit the edge of her dress, urging her to be careful. However, she inched closer and scanned the man’s face.
‘Come to think of it…he looks familiar.’
Sorting through her memories, she seems to recall a young face…
‘…Heuk!’
The moment Rosenia suddenly remembered who the man was, she almost dropped the umbrella in her hand.
‘Oh my god!
Rosenia had met him before. To be precise, at the royal palace’s banquet held four years ago.
Adrian usually doesn’t take her to such places, but that particular day Rosenia was able to tour the royal place.
And this man, albeit older now, Rosenia had seen him from afar that time.
Even from afar, the young man was dazzling.
Not only did Rosenia not dare to approach him, he is someone she knew she couldn’t approach.
Because –
‘Why is the male lead here?!’
– it was the male lead.
Not only that, it was the villain’s rival who might kill her older brother and her one day!