Starbind Ceremony in the Lower City
As the Starbind Ceremony approached, I spent all of my time in the temple. I memorized the words for the prayers, kept up to date on Nicola’s progress making natural yeast, and discussed the restaurant’s menu and our report to the archduke with Benno and Lutz in the hidden room in my orphanage director’s chambers.
Today was a day when Benno and Lutz were visiting from the Gilberta Company, so we were talking in my hidden room.
“I’ll be returning to the Noble’s Quarter for the Starbind Ceremony. I’ll ask Sylvester about the date and time while I’m there.”
“Yeah, please do,” Benno replied.
We had finished everything that we needed to do before the big meal. Benno’s eyes seemed kind of lifeless, but he would have a chance to get some rest beforehand.
“Well, that should be it,” Benno said, before letting out a huge sigh of relief and rubbing his eyebrows. “Seems like I made it.”
“...So, Lutz—what’re you doing for the Star Festival?”
“Same thing as last year, I guess? I’m gonna be eating lunch in the orphanage.”
It wouldn’t be hard for me to arrange for extra food to be made for Lutz, and then join him for lunch, but given how close Benno looked to dying from overwork, I wasn’t sure whether Lutz would have the time to look after the orphanage.
“Are you sure that’ll be okay? You’re not too busy?”
“Well, we’ve finished everything we’ve absolutely gotta get done, and it’s not like I can just spend the festival resting at home, y’know? Besides, I’ll be able to relax more at the orphanage. The food’s better there, too.”
The Star Festival involved the whole city.
Everyone who wasn’t related to someone getting married or getting married themselves would go to pick up taue fruit as soon as the gates opened, and spend the day tossing them around. Once that was done, they would eat in the plaza and then prepare for the nighttime part of the festival. As such, it wasn’t a time when you could just stay at home and relax; you would be chased out and made to help others.
“Make sure you don’t throw all of your taues. Save a few, okay?”
“I know,” Lutz replied with a grin. He really was the same as ever.
But despite everything that would be going on during the festival, I still couldn’t see my family, no matter how much I wanted to. I had thought that I would be able to see them by having them volunteer to look over the temple’s orphans during the festival, but they had to turn me down since they had prior engagements. And Tuuli hadn’t even shown up once, despite saying that she’d drop by the orphanage every now and again.
“...Tuuli just isn’t coming, is she?” I asked under my breath.
Benno snorted, then broke into a huge grin. “Tuuli’s real busy at the workshop she has a lehange contract with. Not only has she been studying sewing on her days off, but she’s been teaching those in Corinna’s workshop how to make hairpins.”
“Wha?”
“According to Corinna, she’s sucking in tons of technical knowledge at a crazy fast rate. Her last promise to you was that she’d become a first-rate seamstress, remember?”
I could feel tears well up in my eyes as Benno told me how hard Tuuli was working—something I hadn’t been able to pick up from her letter. She was dedicating everything she had to keep her promise to me.
“Your dad’s been super busy too,” Lutz added. “The Knight’s Order looked into why a noble from another duchy was able to get inside despite the archduke’s orders, and the commander of the east gate ended up getting punished for not keeping his men informed of critical information.”
The commanders of the other gates had all confirmed that Dad had told them the archduke was absent and would not be providing any new entry permits, and that they had immediately informed their men on duty. And yet, despite him guarding the gate that saw the most traffic and being the first one to have been informed, the commander of the east gate had delayed telling his men.
The Knight’s Order had determined that this was an unforgivable error. And since Dad had lost his daughter and worked so hard to capture the noble who had illegally entered the city, he was promoted to fill in the new vacancy. He was now the commander of the east gate.
“He’s gotta work a lot more these days. He actually cried about how he barely even has the time to eat with his family anymore.”
“Oof, I can imagine that...”
Everyone was just too busy to come, then. I slumped my shoulders in disappointment, only to have Lutz flick me on the forehead.
“Don’t feel so down. Tuuli already has plans during the festival because she’s coming to see you,” Lutz said, earning him a wide-eyed stare from me. He grinned and continued. “She’s gonna wait outside the temple’s doors and try to blend in with the married couples’ families. When the couples leave, you’re gonna be up at the altar in the chapel, right?”
Tuuli had apparently told Lutz that she wouldn’t be able to see the new High Bishop if she stuck with the orphanage kids, and that the whole family was going to be waiting at the doors to see me, even if it was only going to be for a brief moment.
“Go ahead and show her what you can do, okay?”
“Ngh... I’ll go over all of the prayers I need to give once more.”
Now I could feel the nervousness of someone performing in a class play while their parents were watching. I wanted to do the best I could since my family were going out of their way to come, but at the same time, I was scared of what might happen if I messed up.
I said goodbye to Benno and Lutz, the former looking like an exhausted ghost, and then headed for my room in the High Bishop’s chambers. Lutz had said that he’d be spending the festival with the orphans, so I needed to talk to Wilma about what the orphans would be doing on the day of the Starbind Ceremony.
“I will now be heading to the orphanage. Who shall accompany me?”
“Please entrust this duty to me, Lady Rozemyne.” Monika beamed a smile and rushed over to me, endlessly happy about getting to see Wilma.
I looked up at Fran. “Please continue your work here, Fran. I shall discuss the orphanage’s plans for the Starbind Ceremony with Wilma.”
Fran paused his discussion with Zahm and nodded. “Monika, take good care of Lady Rozemyne. Fare thee well.”
“Fare thee well, Lady Rozemyne.”
Fran and Zahm both crossed their arms and knelt as Monika and I exited the room together. Naturally, my two knight bodyguards followed from behind.
Ferdinand had been sending his attendant Zahm to help Fran with High Bishop-related work as of late, supposedly because Zahm had the most experience dealing with the previous High Bishop. Ferdinand always brought Arno around with him, so I hadn’t seen Zahm enough to have a particularly strong opinion about him. But what I did know was that he, not Arno, would be the main liaison between Ferdinand and me now that I was the High Bishop.
I had been under the impression that Ferdinand always had Arno accompanying him, even when dealing with the previous High Bishop, but I wasn’t too familiar with what sort of jobs he gave his attendants. This was probably a good change for Fran, though; he had always used to treat Arno like his superior, but here he was talking to Zahm as a coworker.
“Wilma, Lady Rozemyne is here,” Monika said once she had opened the doors to the orphanage.
“I thank you ever so much for coming all this way. Did the High Priest say anything about the High Bishop traveling here personally?” Wilma asked, looking worried. It seemed that she hadn’t expected that I would continue visiting the orphanage, given that the previous High Bishop had never done so.
“I am the High Bishop, and I shall do as I please. The High Priest won’t forbid me from doing anything as long as I remain safe and am not embarrassing myself as a lady.”
In fact, when I had gotten Ferdinand involved in the plan to make orphanage workshops in other cities, he had told me to do a bunch of saint-esque things. No way would he protest me visiting the orphanage.
“So, about the day of the Starbind Ceremony...”
The blue priests would be taking all of their attendants to the Noble’s Quarter, the reason being that there wouldn’t be anybody to look after them when they returned home otherwise. Ferdinand didn’t need to do this as he had his own estate in the Noble’s Quarter with its own set of attendants, but he did it anyway since the others did.
“Since I’m the archduke’s adopted daughter, I can’t bring people into the castle unless I have received explicit permission ahead of time. For that reason, my attendants will all be staying in the temple. Rosina is the only one I can bring.”
Personal musicians were essential for feasts, which was why I was able to take mine with me to the castle. I could also bring Ella as my personal chef, but throwing her into the chaos of an unfamiliar kitchen preparing for a huge wedding ceremony would be outright cruel. I had asked her what she wanted to do, and we decided that she would stay behind until it was time for me to live in the archduke’s castle.
“I will have Ella and Nicola prepare the orphanage’s food. I’ve also sent word to the other blue priests that, despite their absence, their chefs will still need to prepare food as usual.”
Every year, the orphanage went without dinner on the day of the Starbind Ceremony since all of the blue priests were absent, but it wasn’t as though they were taking their chefs with them. They had chefs at their family homes, and so didn’t need to bring their own. That was why I had ordered the blue priests to continue having food prepared, even while they were gone.
In return, I would change how the donations offered up to the temple during the Starbind Ceremony were distributed. The previous High Bishop had taken half all for himself, and then given the rest to those who sucked up to him the most.
I was planning on distributing it equally, but Ferdinand had stopped me. Noble society was finicky about status and appearances, and considering what might happen after I was no longer the High Bishop, equal distribution was a no-go. In the end, we settled on me getting a quarter as the High Bishop, Ferdinand getting another quarter as the High Priest, and then the blue priests getting the remaining half. Those who hadn’t sucked up to the High Bishop had all fervently agreed, while those who had stayed silent, looking blatantly annoyed.
“That means we won’t need to worry about food,” Wilma said. “I truly am thankful for this, Lady Rozemyne.”
“Also, Lutz will be coming to bring everybody to the forest, just like last year. Please allow him to eat lunch in the dining hall with everyone else. There shouldn’t be too much confusion, since it’s all the same as what we did last year. Just please watch over them carefully so that they don’t disturb those in the lower city.”
“As you wish,” Wilma replied, giving me a smile and a nod. Then, as I scanned the dining room, her smile clouded just a bit. “If you’re looking for Delia, she is napping with Dirk.”
“How are they doing?”
I had been told by Monika and Nicola when I had first summoned them to make them my attendants that the blessing light had flown to Dirk as well. And while I knew that Delia’s life wasn’t in danger, I was still worried about her since Wilma had told me that she was struggling a lot, and was unable to fit in with the others.
“They’re both doing well. Delia no longer tries to care for Dirk entirely on her own to the point of collapsing, and has learned to ask those around her for help. That said, Dirk has recently started to crawl, and Delia has her hands quite full chasing him around and cleaning up after him. It is now a daily occurrence to see Delia running after Dirk while yelling ‘Geez.’”
“Really? I’m glad to hear it.” I sighed with relief, and Wilma gave me the smile of a saint.
“Lady Rozemyne, I truly do feel blessed to serve you.”
“Huh? Wilma...? Have I done something special?”
“I know that it must be difficult to serve as the High Bishop at your age, but I am absolutely, absolutely certain that you will succeed.” Wilma gave me a gentle look as she spoke, and I could have sworn that I saw a halo shining above her head. Or maybe, in this world, it would be the lights of a blessing. It felt as though she had given me a blessing even though she didn’t have any mana.
...Wilma seriously is a saint. I have seen a goddess, and her name is Wilma.
And so, the day of the Starbind Ceremony arrived. Monika woke me up early in the morning, and I quickly finished a simple breakfast.
“Lady Rozemyne, I will be going to the orphanage.”
“Say hello to the children for me, Gil.”
Second bell rang not long after Gil left. As I bathed, I thought about him, Lutz, and the kids who were about to head to the forest. You were really supposed to be given a holy cleansing in a water bath before a ritual, but I knew that would make me sick in no time. Regular hot water would suffice as long as I properly cleaned my body.
“No, Monika. That will lead to wrinkles here, see?” Rosina said. As my personal musician, she wasn’t allowed to do the work of an attendant, but since Monika and Nicola were struggling to put my ceremonial clothing onto me in the proper, aesthetic way, she was taking on the role of a tutor.
“Do I put this here... and then pull this here?”
“That’s right, Nicola. Now it looks just fine.”
I knew that I couldn’t wear just anything on the first day I was appearing before the public as the High Bishop, but it was taking Rosina a lot of time to teach Monika and Nicola how to make the clothes look their best on me.
I know it’s because she used to serve the High Bishop, but now I know how truly impressive it was for Delia to know how to put on ceremonial clothing from the very start.
Once my High Bishop robes were on, a broad sash woven from black and gold thread was slung over my right shoulder and clasped in place with a brooch. The second, much thinner sash that was tied around my waist was also decorated in black and gold, which made it obvious at a glance that this was a ritual for obtaining the blessing of the King and Queen gods.
Elvira had given me some hair product, instructing me to do my hair properly like a noble even when I was in the temple. To that end, Rosina was using her experience having done Christine’s hair to instruct Nicola and Monika on the complex ways in which noble girls were supposed to set their hair. They bound my hair in black and gold cords, then experimented putting my hair stick in at various angles as they tried to determine what would look the best. The hair stick in question was the one Ferdinand had given me for my baptism ceremony.
“High Bishop, please move to the chapel,” said Zahm.
I hesitated for a second, not yet used to being called the High Bishop, and Fran immediately stepped in for me. “Lady Rozemyne, let us depart,” he said, taking my hand and leading me along.
I began walking after him, taking care not to step on the hem of my robes. In my normal High Bishop robes, the part by the middle sash was folded so that the hem only reached my knees, but my ceremonial robes were long enough to hide my entire legs, just like the dress of an adult woman would. I was in great danger of stepping on it and falling over.
Behind me was Monika. She was walking carefully, the large, ornately decorated bible meant for the High Bishop clutched to her chest. Meanwhile, Nicola was in the kitchen helping Ella to prepare lunch.
“The High Bishop is entering the room.” Ferdinand’s voice rang out and the gray priests opened the doors to the chapel for me. The blue priests lined up before the altar waved the sticks in their hands, and the sound of a thousand bells echoed throughout the chapel.
I took the huge, heavy bible from Monika and slowly walked down the middle carpet. To my right were the blue priests, and to my left were just about a hundred pairs of newlyweds.
The lucky husbands and wives each wore clothing themed after the divine color of the season they were born in. Those happily leaning against each other were most likely those who were marrying for love after having grown up together in the same neighborhood or some such, while those standing expressionlessly were those who had marriages arranged by their families. In the worst-case scenario, some of the couples here were only just meeting for the very first time.
But everyone’s expressions changed when they saw me, no matter their personal circumstances. Some dropped their jaws, some looked at each other in disbelief, and others whispered among themselves. There probably would have been a huge fuss if sound-dampening magic tools weren’t being used like they had been during my first baptism ceremony.
When I reached the altar, I handed the bible to Ferdinand, who proceeded to set it on the top step. The lack of weight in my arms eased my tension a bit. But as I climbed the first step up to the altar, I immediately trod on my robes. I could feel the fabric stretching out; I would absolutely fall over if I tried to keep going.
As I froze in panic, having no idea what to do, Ferdinand picked me up and set me down atop the altar. It was clear through his cold smile that he was calling me a fool.
...I know, I know. I’m sorry.
“This is Lady Rozemyne, the archduke’s daughter and the newly appointed High Bishop,” Ferdinand said to introduce me. At those words, several of the newlyweds stiffened. That was a reasonable response; anyone would be surprised upon learning that they had just been whispering about the archduke’s daughter.
In the midst of all that, Ferdinand began to preach words of celebration and recite a tale from the bible in a clear, resounding voice. It was a story about how the King and Queen gods—the God of Darkness and the Goddess of Light—were first married, the problems they faced, and how they had combined their powers to overcome them. It then turned into a story about them having kids, and, when it came time to celebrate the marriage of their children, it turned into a lesson about the Starbind Ceremony. Incidentally, unlike the previous High Bishop, Ferdinand had this all memorized and didn’t have to read from the bible at all.
It was the High Bishop’s job to recite tales from the bible, but my voice was still childish and lacking in power, plus I ended up running out of breath whenever I tried reading aloud for too long, so Ferdinand was telling them in my place. All I would be doing was watching the people offer up their prayers and gratitude to the gods, then giving them a blessing in return.
“Now then, let us offer our prayers to the gods. Praise be to the gods!”
The blue priests assumed the praying position, then so too did the newlywed couples. I absentmindedly flipped through a few bible pages as I watched over them.
...What the heck?! The words to the prayers are written right here! High Bishop, you cheater! I worked so hard to memorize them!
I recoiled upon seeing that in the margins of some pages, the words to the prayers had been written out in handwriting that I didn’t recognize. I had been so busy memorizing the boards that Fran and Monika had written for me that I never had the chance to reread the bible in my new chambers. But the words to the prayers were right there; I hadn’t even needed to memorize them.
As I pouted angrily, Ferdinand spoke again. “Now, we shall proceed to grant you the blessings of the gods.” Then, he instructed the couples to kneel. It was my time to shine.
...Well, I went out of my way to memorize this stuff. I might as well go all out.
I closed the bible, inhaled deeply, and poured mana into my ring.
“O mighty King and Queen of the endless skies, O God of Darkness and Goddess of Light, hear my prayers. May you grant your blessings to the birth of new unions. May they who offer their prayers and gratitude to thee be blessed with thy divine protection.”
Once I had prayed to the married King and Queen gods for their blessing, black and gold light swirled in my ring before flying up to the ceiling of the chapel and exploding. It scattered in all directions, raining down on the newlyweds.
They all looked up at the ceiling, their jaws dropped in disbelief. Even the blue priests were wearing the same shocked expressions. Ferdinand was the only one who remained unfazed.
“She gave a true blessing, despite not wielding a divine instrument?” a nearby blue priest murmured.
I looked at my ring, remembering that becoming a blue priest was the fate of nobles who didn’t have much mana, or those from impoverished families who couldn’t afford magic tools. Naturally, none of them had magic tools with feystones in them. Blue priests only had access to divine instruments to pour their mana into, which worked in a similar fashion to magic tools, so it was impossible for them to give a blessing without one.
...Wait, did I mess up here? I thought, timidly looking up at Ferdinand, only to see that he was wearing the grin of someone whose evil plot had just succeeded. Oh. This is just part of his “make me a saint” plan or whatever.
“Your future will no doubt be bright now that you have obtained the blessings of the King and Queen gods,” Ferdinand declared, just before the gray priests pushed open the creaking doors to the chapel. The dazzling summer sun reflected off of the white stone walls, brightening the room at once. At the same time, the quieting magic tools lost their effect, and the married couples immediately erupted in excited chatter.
“Wow, so that’s a blessing! He said that’s the archduke’s daughter, right?”
“Apparently that’s a blessing from the King and Queen gods. The new High Bishop’s pretty amazing for someone so tiny, huh?”
“This year is the first time that this blessing’s happened, right? My brother didn’t mention anything like this.”
The newlyweds exited through the wide-open doors, all thrilled by how different the Starbind Ceremony had been from what they had heard and expected.
“We got a crazy good blessing. I’m totally gonna dodge all the taue fruit thrown at us!” one man confidently declared, as the grooms prepared to guard their brides while running to their new homes.
“The High Bishop shall now depart,” Ferdinand intoned.
“No, I think I will watch until they have all gone,” I replied, staring fixedly through the door. I could see a single family not throwing any cheers to the newlyweds, nor searching for a particular pair. They were merely peering into the chapel.
Just as Lutz had said, my whole family had come to see me as the High Bishop. The fact that they were looking all around the chapel made them look completely suspicious compared to the rejoicing couples. It was painfully obvious that they had come here for a different reason than everyone else.
You’re standing out! You’re all standing out so much!
They looked so funny that I couldn’t help but smile. Holding back the urge to call out to them, I thumped my chest twice with my right hand. They noticed that, and made the same motion in return.
“...I see,” Ferdinand said with a nod of understanding, before beginning to instruct the surrounding blue and gray priests on what to do next. It seemed that he was going to let me do what I wanted here.
While Ferdinand pretended not to notice, I made contact with my family that was for all intents and purposes as direct as indirect contact could be. I touched my hairpin and shook the flowers a bit, making Tuuli jump with joy. Mom held up Kamil in his sling so I could see him; he was moving his head around. And Dad was looking at me with a massive grin on his face. I stayed on the altar until all of the newlyweds had gone, and the doors had been closed.
By that time, the gray priests had finished cleaning up the chapel, and there wasn’t even a single blue priest still around. It felt as though I had just woken up from a happy dream.
Ferdinand quickly walked over, his brow furrowed, and lifted me up off of the altar. He then strode out of the chapel, where he handed me to an already waiting Fran. “Hurry up and finish your lunch, Rozemyne. We do not have much time.”
I gave a big nod and said, “Okay.” It had only been a brief encounter, but my heart was filled with warmth at having finally made contact with my family.
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