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Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 2.4 - Chapter 14




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The New Me 

The knights bustled about, tying up the High Bishop and his attendants to take them away. I asked whether there was anything I could do to help, then saw Dirk still limp in Delia’s arms. 

“Um, I am worried about Dirk. If possible, I would like to go to the orphanage with Delia to inform Wilma of the circumstances.” 

“That’s not important. Let someone else handle it,” Sylvester replied, his arms crossed and feet firmly planted as he looked down at me. “The most important thing here is figuring out what’s gonna happen with you, and we haven’t even started on that. Ferdinand, lend us your room.” 

“As you wish. Please give me a moment to prepare.” The High Priest smoothly turned around and returned to his room, preparing to welcome Sylvester, the archduke. 

Delia hugged Dirk. “Thank you, Sister Myne. I will be fine on my own. Goodbye,” she whispered before starting to walk to the orphanage. I watched her go. 

“Are you Myne’s father?” 

“Yes, sir. My name is Gunther.” 

I turned around to see Dad kneeling before Sylvester, who was looking at him with an expression blank enough that I couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all. 

“Call your family. You’re all we need to finish up the adoption papers, but I’ll give you all an opportunity to say your goodbyes.” 

“...That is appreciated,” Dad said as he stood up, his legs wobbly and fists tightly clenched. He too wore a blank expression, his low status preventing him from showing the storm of emotions raging within. 

“Gunther, one moment. I will have someone show you to the gate,” Fran said as he stood up as well. He winced in pain, then instructed a nearby gray priest to guide Dad to the gate. He didn’t forget to instruct someone to wait at the gate as well, since Dad would be coming back with the family soon. 

“Alright, looks like Ferdinand’s all done. Let’s go, Myne.” Sylvester started walking as soon as he saw one of the High Priest’s attendants come out to summon us. Karstedt followed a step behind, having just finished giving instructions to the Knight’s Order. When I started going as well, Fran took a wavy step forward to accompany me. 

“Fran, you can go back to my chambers and rest if you’re in too much pain...” 

“No, I am your head attendant, Sister Myne. I cannot allow my mistress to face an important discussion like this alone,” he said. There was nothing I could do about the firm resolve in his eyes. I permitted him to follow, and he walked on while doing his best to stop the pain from showing on his face. 

Once in the High Priest’s room, I was guided to the table, which had already been prepared for visitors. I sat down in the seat offered to me, but Sylvester and Karstedt went over to the High Priest’s desk to discuss something. 

“I am glad to see you well after all that, Sister Myne,” Arno said gently as he pushed a serving cart carrying a tea set over to me. Fran moved to help as usual, but let out a grunt of pain after trying to extend his arm. “Perhaps you should return to your room, Fran? You seem to be in great pain, and she has other attendants who can be here,” Arno murmured in a rebuking tone. 

I wasn’t supposed to get involved with conversations between attendants, but I was worried about Fran’s wounds too and wanted to throw my full support behind Arno’s suggestion. 

“No, I must stay. I already asked Sister Myne to allow me to accompany her here.” 

“You really do lack flexibility, Fran.” 

That’s right, Arno! Keep giving it to him! Make Fran agree to rest! 

I internally cheered Arno on. I had let Fran join me since he was always so diligent and dedicated to his work, but would really rather he had gone back to his room to rest. 

“I do not want to hear that from you, Arno. You could have told us that the High Priest was in his hidden room instead of sticking to the story of him being absent. Some flexibility there would have been much appreciated,” Fran complained, his frustration clear in his voice. 

He was right, really—Arno was at times more inflexible than he probably should have been. Maybe that was just because he was the High Priest’s attendant and they all ended up like that. I gave a small smile. 

“The tea is all we need. Leave.” The High Priest cleared the room, sending all of our attendants outside. The only ones left were me, the High Priest, Sylvester, and Karstedt. My family would be joining us eventually, but for now it was just us key members. 

Sylvester’s archduke persona dropped as soon as the attendants were gone. He slumped over in exhaustion and hung his head. “Sheesh, I’m beat. I never want to put any of my family on trial again.” 

“Things will get a lot easier for us after this. For now, just remember it’s not over yet. Keep your back straight,” Karstedt said, giving the slumped Sylvester a slap on the back. 

Sylvester bent his lips into a frown and sent a glare in my direction. “Karstedt, think about it—what’s the point in acting big in front of Myne at this point? She understands me already.” 

“If you’re going to be her adoptive father, you’ve got to at least stay sharp at the beginning,” Karstedt chastised. He honestly seemed like he would be a much more reliable adoptive father than Sylvester—so I thought for the thousandth time while watching their back-and-forth. 

“If the High Bishop is your uncle, and the High Priest you’ve been so friendly with is your half-brother from another mother, is it safe to say you are related to Lord Karstedt by blood too?” I asked. Karstedt was close enough to Sylvester to hit him—the archduke—on the head alongside the High Priest. It was more likely than not that he was a blood relative too. 

“Yeah, Karstedt’s my cousin—the son of my dad’s older brother.” 

“Older brother? Wait, then how is succession determined here?” Apparently it wasn’t determined by age. Maybe the youngest son took over? 

As I blinked in surprise, Sylvester looked at me with a baffled expression. “What else would it be determined by if not mana? The most important thing for someone ruling a duchy is having enough mana to keep it afloat, so successors are generally chosen from the first wife’s kids, especially since she’ll have a lot of political influence through her side of the family.” 

“I see... Even ruling duchies requires mana.” 

“...I forgot since you talk to us like it’s nothing, but you really don’t know anything about this place, huh?” 

What was common sense for nobles wasn’t even known by adults born and raised in the lower city, so it would be pretty unreasonable to expect me to know these things. I pouted, and Sylvester hardened his expression while still slumped over. 

“Myne, let’s be a little serious for a second.” 

“Okay.” 

“The adoption was more or less completed when you stamped your blood against the contract necklace I gave you, but we’re going to need to pull some tricks to make sure this actually works.” 

Apparently, they were first going to pass me off as Karstedt’s daughter and then have Sylvester adopt me. It was like money laundering, but for identity. 

“Is there any significance to me becoming Karstedt’s daughter?” 

“Absolutely. Can’t you tell there’s a big difference between a commoner being adopted by the archduke and the daughter of an archnoble descended from a former archduke being adopted by the archduke?” 

“That’s true, but what’s the point when so many from the Knight’s Order already know I’m a commoner?” They would be able to draw a connection between the blue-robed commoner shrine maiden and the archduke’s adoptive daughter the second they saw me. Surely they would question where all this business about me being Karstedt’s daughter came from. 

“That’s just the Knight’s Order. Karstedt and Ferdinand can take care of that. The story’s gonna be that you’re Karstedt’s beloved daughter.” 

“Um, ‘the story’? I don’t see any way this isn’t going to be seen through right away. Am I the crazy one here?” There had been about twenty knights who had seen me during the trombe extermination; it was far too late to start saying that I was Karstedt’s daughter if you asked me. 

“Nah, it’s surprisingly easy to mess with people’s memories. Karstedt doted on his now-dead third wife, and you’re her daughter,” Sylvester said flatly with a shake of his head. 

“The daughter of his third wife?” 

“Right. Karstedt’s third wife was of humble mednoble origin, but she had a wealth of mana. That led to his first two archnoble wives picking on her relentlessly.” 

Wow, this made-up story is starting to sound like a soap opera. How seriously should I be taking this...? 

“She died not long after giving birth to you, and in order to save you from the same fate as your mother, Karstedt had you raised out of sight in the temple. He hid your origin for safety’s sake, and my uncle misunderstood that to mean you’re a commoner. He tricked countless people with his complaining, and due to his lies an innocent knight even ended up executed. My uncle’s crimes know no bounds.” 

...The High Bishop’s list of crimes keeps getting longer with things he didn’t do! My jaw dropped at Sylvester’s bare-faced audacity, and after a second of blinking in surprise, I looked at Karstedt and the High Priest. They both looked exasperated. 

“But Lord Karstedt and I made it clear that it was our first meeting back during the trombe extermination.” 

“Of course the commander of the Knight’s Order is gonna keep his private and public life separate—no commander would get all friendly with his secret daughter during a mission. We just have to say he was doing his job properly.” Sylvester seemed intent on sticking to that story, but it seemed hard to believe that anyone would buy something like that. It just didn’t add up, and since I couldn’t believe Sylvester, I turned to the High Priest for reassurance. 


“Would a half-baked story like that hold water in noble society?” 

“Myne, you may not remember this, but Christine was in the temple for fairly similar reasons.” 

The High Priest’s cold words brought the memories flooding back. My main impression of Christine was that she was an artistic shrine maiden and the former mistress of Wilma and Rosina, but I did seem to remember something about her being a noble’s daughter who was raised in the temple because her father’s first wife disliked her. He had sent her money and tutors so that she could be welcomed back into noble society when it was safer for her. 

“Well, a living example does make the story seem more believable. But would you really want a daughter with that kind of background, Lord Karstedt?” 

“...It does not bother me. Many times before I have wished that I had a daughter with Rozemary before she passed.” As it turned out, he actually did have a third wife who had apparently died after being bullied by his other wives. 

Am I going to get bullied the second I become a noble? 

“Ngh. Well, if you’re fine with that, Lord Karstedt, I am as well. But wouldn’t it be weird to introduce a child so long after their birth? Don’t people celebrate children when they’re born?” When Kamil was born, the first thing we did was throw a party and show him to everyone we could. I heard this was so as many people as possible would remember when he was born, since this world didn’t have birth records, but maybe nobles were different. 

Karstedt was the one who replied to my question. He put a hand on his chin and narrowed his eyes a bit, as if thinking things over from as many perspectives as possible. “We celebrate the births of children from first wives, but it is common not to bother informing others of births among second and third wives. In noble society, it is only at their baptism that children are introduced as members of the family. Few know just how many children anyone else has unless they are particularly close.” 

“Oh, I see.” I nodded to myself, at which point the High Priest continued with a thin smile. 

“Reason being, children that lack the mana befitting their family are adopted by lesser families before their baptism or sent to the temple. The higher a noble is ranked, the less reason there is for them to announce a birth before they are sure the child has enough mana for them.” 

...Holy cow! Noble society is actually terrifying! It seemed to be built entirely around having mana, and my upbringing in the lower city would be entirely irrelevant there. There was a lot of culture shock just from joining the temple, but I could already tell joining noble society would be far worse. 

“So yeah,” Sylvester added, “if you want to raise your kid as a noble, the latest you can wait to reveal them is their baptism. Karstedt will use your baptism to announce that you were born with an extraordinary amount of mana, just like your mother, and that I’m adopting you. That way he could give his beloved daughter the status she deserves while protecting her from his wives... And that’s the story. Got all that?” 

I nodded, thinking over everything he had just told me. “So noble society really is just like a (soap opera). Can I turn this story into a book?” 

“You can include it in your autobiography if you ever write one.” 

“...Ngh. I think I’ll pass, thank you.” 

I’m just a very weak little girl who likes to read books. I’ll never write an autobiography. I rejected the idea immediately, earning me a grin from Sylvester and a comment that, since he had gone out of his way to think up the story, we might as well spread it across the world. 

“Anyway, point being, we’ll hold your baptism ceremony this summer. It’ll happen in Karstedt’s mansion, and we’ll announce your adoption to me at the same time. Karstedt, when’s a good time for you?” 

“How does right before the Starbind Ceremony sound? We’ll need time to prepare for the baptism—outfits, food, invitations, and the like,” Karstedt said. 

The High Priest fell into thought, then shook his head. “I believe it would be better to plan the ceremony for a few days earlier rather than right before the Starbind Ceremony. Considering Myne’s poor health, we can never be sure when she might end up bedridden. We need extra time to keep an eye on her.” 

“I see, we’ll need a time buffer in case she gets sick. Hm. Preparing early will make things difficult,” Karstedt said with a troubled frown. 

“Karstedt, invite as many people as you can to the baptism ceremony. Given that we’ll be announcing the adoption at the same time, the more people who are in attendance, the better.” 

“Ah, that reminds me—you would do well to assign her an etiquette tutor before the baptism, Karstedt. She knows the fundamentals thanks to the instruction of her attendants, but she has never had a proper teacher.” 

The three of them were ignoring me, steadily advancing their plans while I sat there, stunned. 

“Um, but I already had my baptism ceremony a whole year ago... Won’t this mean we’ll be lying about my age?” Baptisms were held at age seven, and mine had happened a full year ago. 

I don’t want to have another and go back to being seven years old. That feels like being held back a year in school. 

I pursed my lips in a pout, and Sylvester glared at me with his deep-green eyes. “Don’t whine about a single year’s difference. This is to ensure you fit right into noble society, and considering how young you look, we could honestly even get away with pushing the baptism back an entire year, no problem.” 

“An entire year? Now you’re just being mean. I am getting bigger, you know...!” 

Since it was essential for me being accepted into noble society, going back to the age of seven was already set in stone. They ignored my frustration and continued the discussion. 

“Anyway, about your life after the baptism... You’ll be participating in noble affairs as the daughter of the archduke—me—and when nothing’s going on you’ll be spending your time in the temple. Just like Ferdinand, really.” 

“Bwuh?!” That sounded like such a busy lifestyle that I actually felt my face twitch in fear. 

“With all of our mana problems, it would be putting too large of a burden on Ferdinand to take you completely out of the temple. Not to mention your workshop. The plan is for us to take on your book production as official duchy business, but it’ll be people in the lower city who actually make the books. It’ll be easier for me to make things happen if you keep your existing connections to the lower city. I’ve already talked this over with the Gilberta Company,” Sylvester said with the sly grin of someone who had a ton of irons in the fire. 

When did that happen?! I thought, then remembered Benno being dragged away by Sylvester during his workshop tour and how thoroughly worn out he had looked after. Good luck, Benno. You have my support! 

“Umm, so in short, after my second baptism I’ll be playing three roles at once? I’ll be the archduke’s daughter, a blue apprentice shrine maiden, and a forewoman? That’ll be exhausting,” I said while counting my roles on my fingers. 

Sylvester shook his head. “Not quite. You won’t be an apprentice shrine maiden anymore. You’ll be the High Bishop.” 

“What?” I asked, tilting my head at Sylvester. I had probably just misheard him. I had definitely just misheard him. Ahaha, silly me, I really need to work on my hearing. 

As I attempted to avoid reality, Sylvester let out a sigh. “Nobody’s going to want to succeed a High Bishop who abused his power and ended up getting executed. Everything they do will be under scrutiny, meaning no room for any legally questionable behavior. It’s a job with nothing to make it worthwhile. On top of that, it comes with the archduke’s daughter and half-brother—who would take up the job knowing it’d wear on their sanity more by the day?” 

“Um. Um. But in that case, shouldn’t the High Priest be the High Bishop? He’s much better suited for the job than I am,” I said, shooting a glance towards him, but Sylvester just gave an exasperated shrug. 

“From an outside perspective it doesn’t really matter which one of you takes the job, but the actual work that’s expected of you both is entirely different. Ferdinand is at his best doing the nitty-gritty work and holding all of the priests together. You would never last as a High Priestess, Myne.” 

It was true that the High Priest’s duties covered a lot of ground. If you asked me whether I could do his job, the answer would be a firm no. But the High Bishop was the highest authority in the temple; those were shoes too big for me to fill. 

“I can’t be the High Bishop. I’m a kid who only had her baptism last year.” 

“My failure of an uncle managed it. You’ll be fine. All you have to do is sit around and let things happen. Honestly, considering that all my uncle ever did was break the law, you’ll be a better High Bishop than him just by doing nothing at all. Sure is nice to be following up a failure,” Sylvester said, but I didn’t think that was the problem. 

As I floundered about nervously, the High Priest tapped his temple and began to speak. “It certainly will be a great deal easier to work without that oaf getting in my way; that alone is enough for me to welcome Myne as High Bishop. I myself will be handling the majority of the difficult work, but Myne is always more than willing to help when asked. I would much rather have her here than a certain someone who pushes all of his work onto others and then vanishes,” he said, all the while glaring directly at that certain someone. 

Sylvester snorted and said he could feel free to keep working me to the bone like he had been already. I ignored Sylvester’s rude comment and decided to just thank the High Priest for his kind praise. 

“Myne, you really think you should be treating me like that? I was gonna let you keep using the director’s chambers as thanks for taking on the job, and I was gonna turn a blind eye to you sometimes meeting commoners there, but I’m not so sure now.” 

“Lord Sylvester, I love you.” I curled my fingers into a heart in front of my chest, eyes shining. 

Karstedt poked Sylvester in the side of the head. “He’s making it seem like he’s doing you a favor, but don’t be fooled. He’s just planning to turn the temple into his base so he can wander around the lower city.” 

“Bwuuuh?!” 

“Karstedt, you make it sound so much worse than it actually is. I’m adopting my cousin’s beloved daughter. Why wouldn’t I want to come visit her?” Sylvester asked with a serious expression, but on significantly closer inspection it was written all over his face that he just wanted to go hunting again. No doubt his plan here was just to make it easier for him to go and play around in the lower city. 

“Sylvester, you’re going to let Myne deal with commoners? I would think that is too dangerous, considering she’ll be Karstedt’s daughter,” the High Priest commented warily. 

“If we’re going to grow book-making as a government business, we need connections with the Gilberta Company. Do you know how much work it would be to crush that store and build up a new one from scratch?” Sylvester replied casually. 

“Um... You’re going to crush the Gilberta Company?” 

“Don’t jump to conclusions. I’m not planning on doing anything to them. Their owner is quick on the uptake, and he knows how to keep a secret. Shockingly few people know who you really are, Myne, and most of those who do are Gilberta Company employees. Everyone else thinks you’re either Benno’s daughter or just some rich girl, so there won’t be any problem with us saying you were a noble all along.” 

Although the books would be produced under the authority of the archduke, it would be my Gutenbergs who actually made them, with me at their center. As such, it was more convenient to keep a place that commoners were able to enter freely than to constantly have to summon them all to the Noble’s Quarter. 

“You can meet commoners in your chambers just like you have been,” Sylvester said, and my face lit up. “But you will not be allowed to meet your family as family. You will become Karstedt’s daughter and my adopted daughter. It’s important that you leave your old family so that you might join ours; if you can’t do that, I can’t allow you to meet your family ever again.” 

My face darkened again. It was like a chill had been sent through my heart. I wasn’t sure whether I should be happy that I was allowed to see them at all, or fearful that doing so would just make it hurt all the worse. 

“There won’t be a problem with your soldier father accompanying you as a guard while you travel, or having your older sister get involved with making paper. Work relationships are fine. But I will have you swear through a magic contract that you will no longer call each other family,” Sylvester said. He looked at me with hard eyes, and I could feel my heart thumping painfully in my chest. 



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