Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 3.4 - Chapter 4

Staying Home During the Archduke Conference 

“Fran, I entrust you with training Benno’s men while I am at the castle. Zahm, help him as much as you can.” 

I needed to supply mana to Ehrenfest’s foundation while the archduke and archduchess were staying in the Sovereignty for the Archduke Conference, so I would be living in the castle from today until the spring coming of age ceremony. 

“Rozemyne, it is time to go,” Ferdinand called out. 

I gestured for Ella, Hugo, and Rosina to climb into my highbeast. Brigitte would be riding shotgun, as always, and Damuel would be guarding our rear while we followed after Ferdinand. Hugo let out a pretty pathetic shriek the moment we began to ascend, but he quickly shut his mouth when Ella started laughing at him. She was used to flying by now. 

“Pfff. You’ll be fine, Hugo; there’s nothing to scream about,” Ella said. “We all got used to flying in no time.” I found it amusing that, while she spoke very matter-of-factly, her voice seemed a little brighter than usual. Maybe she was having fun teasing Hugo. 

“I was as shocked as you the first time I flew,” Rosina added, “but now I find the experience more comfortable than riding in carriages. Your reaction is quite normal.” 

“Rosina...! Right, Ella—switch seats with her,” Hugo said, sounding openly moved. I knew he was just glad to have a beautiful woman like Rosina in his corner, but wow, talk about being blatant. 

“Nobody’s allowed to change seats while Lady Rozemyne’s flying her highbeast, so toooo bad,” Ella shot back, turning her head away with a pout. 

Rosina let out an amused giggle. I wished that I were back there having fun, too. 

“Welcome home, Lady Rozemyne. And welcome back once again, Lord Ferdinand. We have already prepared for your arrival,” Norbert greeted us when we arrived. 

I wasn’t sure what preparations he was talking about, but Ferdinand gave a calm nod as he put away his highbeast. 

Norbert looked over my three personnel once they had exited my Pandabus, then immediately started giving them orders. “Chefs, please head to the kitchen. Attendants, carry their things. Ottilie, take the musician to Lady Rozemyne’s room. As a note, Damuel and Brigitte, you will not be permitted entry to where they are headed, so you may change places with Cornelius and take some time off.” 

“Yes, sir!” 

Damuel and Brigitte both took a step back and then kneeled. Meanwhile, Hugo and Ella went with the attendants carrying their belongings to the kitchen, as instructed, while Rosina followed Ottilie to the northern building with her harspiel. 

“Lady Rozemyne, please prepare your highbeast. We shall be walking through the main building for quite some time.” 

It seemed that we weren’t heading straight to my room. I morphed Lessy into a one-seater and got inside. 

“Please follow me.” 

I drove behind Norbert and Ferdinand in my one-woman Pandabus. Eckhart and Cornelius were following as guard knights, while Rihyarda accompanied us as an attendant. Together, we entered the main castle building through the back entrance, then climbed some steps to the archduke’s office. 

“Aub Ehrenfest, Lady Rozemyne and Lord Ferdinand have arrived.” 

Waiting inside were the archduke and archduchess, their guard knights and attendants, Wilfried, Lamprecht, and Oswald. Sylvester stood up as soon as we reached the door. 

“Ah, there you are. Let’s go.” 

No sooner had Ferdinand and I entered than Lamprecht and Eckhart stepped outside as guards, planting their feet firmly in place and crossing their arms. The attendants then closed the door behind them, after which Cornelius and a guard knight who served Florencia similarly guarded it from the inside. 

“What in the world is going on?” I asked Ferdinand, tugging on his sleeve. The sudden tension in the air was making me a little intimidated. 

He looked down at me and raised an eyebrow. “Did I not explain? You are going to pour mana into the foundation’s magic.” 

Ferdinand’s explanation had ultimately been fairly brief, and I was pretty sure that he’d said it wouldn’t be any different from offering mana to the divine instruments or pouring it into the chalices for the Dedication Ritual. Whoever could have guessed that it was actually something this serious and closely guarded? 

“...I didn’t expect there to be so many guards.” 

“This matter concerns the magic that forms Ehrenfest’s very foundation,” Ferdinand replied. “No amount of security can be considered exorbitant.” It seemed that the only ones still present in the room were the archducal family and archnobles closely related to them by blood. 

Sylvester jutted out his chin, directing Rihyarda and Oswald to undo the tapestry behind his desk. Once it had been removed, I saw that there was a small door behind it. The entrance was fairly small—so much so that even I, of all people, would need to duck my head to pass through. Basically, it was more of a smallish window than a door. On its front were seven round holes, four of which were filled with feystones that resembled marbles. 

“Rozemyne, Wilfried—grip these and register your mana with them,” Sylvester instructed, handing us each one of the marble-like feystones. 

I dyed mine, turning it a light yellow, while Wilfried clutched his to do the same. Then, once we were done, Sylvester fitted our mana-filled feystones into two of the slots. 

“You can both go through the door now,” he said. “Follow me.” 

The archducal couple removed their gloves, handing them to their respective attendants. Sylvester then held his hand before the door, prompting it to swiftly grow in size until it was tall enough for even Ferdinand to walk through normally. He opened the enlarged door, but there was a rainbow-colored barrier of some kind that blocked me from seeing what was inside. 

Sylvester entered first, then Florencia. I looked around to see who would step through next, at which point Ferdinand placed a hand on Wilfried’s back and urged him forward. “Go on.” 

Wilfried quickly turned around, a surprised look on his face. 

“Wilfried, my boy, it’s time for you and Lady Rozemyne to serve as the archduke’s children for the first time,” Rihyarda said with a kind smile, trying to ease the nerves that had frozen him in place. “It’ll be hard work, but we shall pray that everything goes just fine for you.” 

“Shall we enter, Wilfried?” I asked. “Or would you like me to go first?” 

“No. I’ll go first.” 

With that, Wilfried took a deep breath, shut his eyes tight, and stepped through the door. 

Ferdinand signaled with his eyes for me to go next. I pushed past the rainbow field, which was like trying to move through a sticky net, and entered the room beyond the door. 

“Wooow!” 

It’s so fantasy! I cried out silently. 

I had seen a lot of magic-related things over the past few years, but this entire room was just classic fantasy. It was pure white without any carpets or tapestries, and floating in the center was a feystone slightly larger than a watermelon. Spinning steadily around it were intricate magic circles that had been woven together, with the bands of shining mana forming complex letters and designs in an interlocking pattern. It all made the feystone look like some sort of celestial globe, albeit without a stand holding it up. 

“Rozemyne, you are in the way. Keep moving forward,” Ferdinand said with a glare as he entered last. 

I hurriedly moved to the side. “Ferdinand, what in the world is this room?” 

“The hall in which Mana Replenishment is performed—the pouring of mana into Ehrenfest’s foundation. It is made such that only the archduke and archduchess can enter, along with any members of the archducal family who have their mana registered with the door.” 

At the moment, only a few people could enter the room: the archduke and archduchess; their children, Wilfried and I; the previous archduke’s son, Ferdinand; and finally Bonifatius—Karstedt’s father, my grandfather, and the son of the archduke two generations ago. The feystone registering Veronica’s mana had been removed upon her arrest. 

That makes sense. We really wouldn’t want her causing any problems here. 

“This feystone is connected to the foundational magic.” 

“Does that mean it’s not the foundational magic in itself?” 

“Correct. That is located elsewhere, in a place that only the archduke can enter.” 

Sylvester nodded before adding on to Ferdinand’s explanation. “The location is hidden so that daughters who get married away, sons who become retainers, and spouses from other duchies don’t learn where the foundation is. Only the ruling archduke or archduchess controls it directly.” 

The archduke was thus the only person who knew where the foundation was. The tight security surrounding it made sense, since it was quite literally the foundation that the entire duchy was built on. 

“Rozemyne, Wilfried—you will pour mana into the foundation here while Florencia and I are at the Archduke Conference,” Sylvester announced, surprising the two of us more than anyone. I looked between him and Ferdinand. 

“Just the two of us...? How have you been managing before now?” 

“Last year, Mother and Ferdinand carried the burden for us. The incident occurred midway through it, and my uncle, Bonifatius, picked up the slack for us.” 

It had been during last year’s Archduke Conference that the previous High Bishop was arrested and Sylvester’s mother imprisoned for criminal acts. I was subsequently assigned to be the new High Bishop, and Ferdinand ended up having to take on over half of my work, in addition to his own as High Priest. He was hardly in a position to be frequently leaving the temple, and as a result, they were in quite the bind when it came to performing Mana Replenishment this year. It wasn’t normally something to be done by kids who hadn’t even entered the Royal Academy, but with the current mana shortage, extreme measures needed to be taken. 

“The process of supplying the mana will prove largely similar to what you already do with the divine instruments,” Ferdinand said. “I thus determined that it would be more efficient to send you to the castle than for me to frequently leave the temple.” 

...I don’t know how to do temple paperwork or properly deal with nobles yet, so, well... that was definitely the right call. 

As I nodded in agreement to myself, Sylvester pulled out a feystone about as large as a ping-pong ball from the leather pouch on his hip. He handed it to Wilfried. 

“For the Mana Replenishment, I entrust you with this—a feystone filled with mana. Draw out the mana inside and pour it into the foundation.” 

Wilfried proudly took the feystone, which closely resembled the ones Ferdinand had given Kampfer and Frietack during the Dedication Ritual. I could more or less guess whose mana was inside, but he probably had no idea what was going on. It seemed unlikely that they were planning to tell him, either; Ferdinand certainly wasn’t saying anything. 

“I’m going to leave this bag here,” Sylvester continued. “Keep using these feystones for the Mana Replenishment, and put any drained ones into this other bag.” 

At that, he placed the two bags—one filled with feystones and the other empty—in the corner of the room. Leaving them here was apparently the best security one could ask for. 

“We’re all going to be filling the foundation with mana today, so it should last until the end of the Archduke Conference, but I don’t want to return to find it almost entirely empty. It is also important for you two to learn the supply process in the event of extraordinary circumstances. As practice, spend each day filling the foundation with small amounts of mana,” Sylvester said, walking directly beneath the feystone floating amid the spinning magic circles. He knelt and placed his hands upon the floor, and in an instant, both the floor and walls lit up, shining patterns and letters appearing on them in a similar fashion to the magic circles. 

“Come, Rozemyne. This is your position. Kneel in place and pour your mana into this specific location every time,” Ferdinand instructed, pointing at a magic circle on the ground. In its center was a symbol representing the Goddess of Wind. 

I did as instructed, at which point Ferdinand walked over to another circle and kneeled as well. Wilfried was kneeling in a third circle, with Florencia doing the same beside him to teach her son how to use the feystone. We ended up in a triangle of sorts, with Sylvester in the middle. 

With everyone in place, we placed our hands firmly against the ground. Ferdinand checked that everything was in order, then gave Sylvester a small confirming nod. 

“I am one who offers prayer and gratitude to the gods who have created the world,” Sylvester intoned, his voice echoing pleasantly through the ritual hall. It was the same prayer that I had heard many times before during the Dedication Ritual, and so I repeated the chant without any problems at all. 

“O mighty King and Queen of the endless skies, O mighty Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm, O Goddess of Water Flutrane, O God of Fire Leidenschaft, O Goddess of Wind Schutzaria, O Goddess of Earth Geduldh, O God of Life Ewigeliebe. We honor you who have blessed all beings with life, and pray that we may be blessed further with your divine might.” 

I could feel my mana being sucked out of me, and it was easy to see where it was going thanks to the flow of light coursing through the entire room. The magic circles surrounding the feystone moved with increasing energy, and I looked around with my palms still on the floor until Sylvester eventually called out, “Enough,” signaling for us to stop. 

I removed my hands from the magic circle and stood up. To my side, I could see Florencia, peering down at Wilfried as he remained on the ground. 

“Are you well, Wilfried?” 

“I’m fine, Mother.” 

But despite his assurance, it was clear that Wilfried had overexerted himself. He looked sick, and his shoulders sagged with exhaustion; it was the first time he had used such an enormous quantity of mana all at once. This much was to be expected, though—even the blue priests in the temple had ended up drained from the Dedication Ritual, so of course a child such as Wilfried would as well. 

Sylvester scanned the room, his eyes widening in surprise as he reached me. “You certainly look well, Rozemyne. I’d thought a sickly girl like you would be the first to collapse.” 

“I do this every day during the Dedication Ritual, so I’ve gotten used to it, whether I like it or not. Plus, it’s not like using mana requires physical strength, so...” 

“You’re used to this? Ferdinand, just how hard are you working Rozemyne?” 

“Remind me—who was it that gave us more chalices to fill and sent us around the entire Central District to boost the duchy’s harvest? I am not the one working Rozemyne to the bone here. I am giving her more leeway than I have to, and I am giving her potions,” Ferdinand said, holding up his head and glaring at Sylvester. 

As far as I was concerned, having potions at the ready didn’t make it okay to completely overwork me. 

But you know... Wow. Everyone really has been working me to the bone. I did kind of notice it myself, but it’s shocking to hear someone else say it for once. 

With the Mana Replenishment complete, I was instructed to rest in my room until supper. I gladly did just that, having Rihyarda fetch me a book. 

“Milady, reading books can hardly be called rest, can it?” 

“I feel most at peace while reading. There is no greater rest for me.” 

In what felt like the blink of an eye, it was time for supper. Wilfried was already at the dinner table when I arrived, still seeming rather tired; the same sickly expression from before was clear on his face. In retrospect, that was probably how I looked when I was being broken to pieces by my Devouring heat, and looking at him reminded me of the days when I would end up bedridden from exhaustion each time my mana went on a rampage. 

...I sure have gotten stronger, huh? 

As I reflected on just how long a road I had walked to reach this point, Ferdinand suddenly expressed his frustration. “Are you listening to me, Rozemyne?!” 

“Not at all. May I ask that you repeat yourself?” 

Ferdinand massaged his temples as the archducal couple held back their laughter. I blinked innocently in response, at which point he simply let out a sigh and continued. 

“You shall stay in the castle, supplying mana until the spring coming of age ceremony. I assume you know this already, but I wish to emphasize that you are not to cause trouble. Focus on your business here, and take care not to do anything unnecessary.” 

“Of course! Fear not—I’ll stay in the book room and cause no problems whatsoever! I won’t do anything but read,” I said with a big nod, finally in my element. 

Sylvester started to say that, with me in the book room, they really didn’t have anything to fear, but Ferdinand interrupted him with a firm headshake. 

“Sylvester, there can be no relaxing with her. She truly intends to do nothing but read. That is why we must continually give her tasks to complete.” 

Ngh. He saw right through me. 

“You’re too cruel, Ferdinand. Would you truly deny me my blessed reading time?!” 

“Silence. Maintaining a balanced life is even more important for one as weak and sickly as you. We must assign Rihyarda to keep a constant watch on you, to ensure that you dedicate time to Mana Replenishment, your studies, and exercise, without fail. There is nothing more dangerous than giving you too many books.” 

After finishing supper with us, Ferdinand instructed Rihyarda to monitor me closely, then returned to the temple. I could see my reading time vanish before my very eyes. 

Curse you, Ferdinand! Why do you have to be so mean?! 

“Goodbye, Father. Mother,” Wilfried intoned. 

“We wish you a safe journey,” I added, following his lead. 

Three days after my arrival at the castle, it was time to see off the archducal couple and Karstedt, the knight commander, on their way to the Archduke Conference. Several guard knights, attendants, and scholars had already been sent on their way, with the only remaining family being Wilfried, Elvira, my brothers, and me. 

“Elvira, I entrust things to you in my absence.” 

“Indeed, Karstedt. You may count on me.” 

While my family was saying their goodbyes, Karstedt and Elvira looked over, which was my signal to intrude into their circle. 

“I wish you well at work, Father.” 

“Indeed. Be sure to fulfill your duties well, Rozemyne. Ahem... My father remains at the castle. Should anything happen, you may ask him for help; he would never refuse a request from his granddaughter.” 

It seemed that, in the absence of the archducal couple, Bonifatius would be the one ruling Ehrenfest. I didn’t know too much about him, since I had only briefly greeted him during my baptism and winter socializing, but the way he was built made him immediately identifiable as a musclehead just like Karstedt and my brothers. He hadn’t joined us in saying our goodbyes, as he was already in the middle of performing his duties as the acting archduke. 

“That’ll be all,” Sylvester said, stepping onto the teleportation circle. “I’m counting on you two.” 

“Don’t slack on your studies now, Wilfried,” Florencia added, following suit with Karstedt. 

The circle shone, and with a flash of light, they were gone. It was such a quick farewell that I was a little taken aback. 

Just as the loneliness was starting to set in, Elvira turned my way. “Rozemyne, I feel it has been quite some time since we last spoke like this.” 

“It has been hard for us to meet lately. Would you like to talk for a bit, Mother?” 

I interpreted her words as an indirect request for me to invite her to tea, and so I did just that. She nodded in satisfaction, which meant I had guessed correctly. 

And so, Rihyarda prepared drinks for us in a nearby waiting room. I would be having my tea with Elvira here rather than in the northern building as, with the archducal couple gone, there was no one available to permit her entry. 

Once our tea had been poured at my request, we were served some of Ella’s sweets, with Elvira only reaching for some after I had taken a demonstrative first bite. She then sipped her tea, regarding me with a steady gaze. 

“Rozemyne. There is something I must ask you.” 

“Yes, Mother?” 

“I summoned the Gilberta Company to our estate yesterday, and I was informed of something most interesting during their visit. It seems you have designed a new style of dress for one of your female knights, hm?” she said, her intense smile seeming to add, “You did not inform me about this.” 

I inhaled sharply. “Th-The style currently in fashion didn’t suit her very well, so I simply designed something that would. I, um... did not think it was necessary to inform you of this, Mother.” 

Elvira let out a sigh. “Show me the dress, if you would, so that I might see what style you intend to popularize.” 

“Mother, I don’t intend to start a new trend with this outfit.” 

“...Come again?” Elvira asked, placing a hand over her mouth and widening her eyes in disbelief. 

“Um, well... Any given fashion has some type of person it doesn’t suit, don’t you agree? All I want is for this style of dress to be available to those who have been excluded by the current trend; I don’t intend to popularize it among all the women of Ehrenfest.” 

If the sleeveless gown I was making for Brigitte ended up becoming the predominant fashion, there would inevitably be some prim and proper ladies worrying about it not suiting them. Nobody could control the ebb and flow of current trends, but ultimately, I just wanted everyone to have the freedom to wear the clothes they looked best in. 

“Rozemyne, who in the world does the current fashion not suit?” 

“I think it looks wonderful on smaller, more slender women, but not muscular, more athletic women like my guard knight Brigitte. The dresses look too wide on them, and make their broader shoulders even more pronounced than usual.” 

Elvira paused in thought for a moment, no doubt envisioning Brigitte, then nodded. “Quite.” 

“Isn’t it unfortunate that women like her have to participate in the Starbind Ceremony wearing clothes that don’t suit them? All I want to do is give them other options, not start an entirely new trend.” 

Elvira shook her head in response, looking at me with a stern expression. “That simply will not do. If we do not establish that you are creating a new trend in fashion, everyone will simply perceive Brigitte’s new dress as strange and out of place.” 

It was apparently important to inform noble society that I was designing a new style of dress for my guard knight, such that everyone else in attendance would regard her with envy. I didn’t really understand noble society too well yet, so I decided it would probably be smart to follow Elvira’s advice here—after all, it would completely defeat the purpose if my efforts did nothing but bring shame to Brigitte. 

“I will examine this new fashion of yours. The fitting has already taken place, yes? When will the temporary sewing be completed?” 

“I informed the Gilberta Company that there was no rush, given that I will be absent from the temple for some time. I imagine they will finish some time after the spring coming of age ceremony.” 

“That is much too late. Instruct them to hurry and summon them to the castle.” 

The dress would be unveiled to Elvira’s faction in its temporary sewing state so that everyone could see what kind of new fashion we were putting into place here. I was told that it would be best to invite several women of a similar build to Brigitte who would thus be especially interested in the style, earning the envy of all those present. Establishing trends sure seemed to be a lot of work. 

“I don’t mind the temporary sewing being done at the castle, but could you send word to them for me, Mother? I won’t be able to contact them without returning to the temple.” 

“Very well. I shall contact the Gilberta Company myself.” 

Sorry, Benno and Corinna... Seems like this just turned into a rush job!