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

Epilogue 

The sun was setting sooner every day. 

Autumn was the busiest season for giebes, as it was the season when tax officials came and the Harvest Festival was performed, so all those who had gathered in the Noble’s Quarter to welcome Georgine from Ahrensbach now needed to hurry back to their respective provinces. 

Viscount Dahldolf was one such noble. Had his province been nearby, it would have been best for him to return by carriage alongside his luggage. But he was in a hurry, and traveling by highbeast was a much faster option. 

“Gloria. My apologies, but there is much work at home that only I, as the giebe, can do. Could you ride home to Dahldolf with the carriages while I return first by highbeast?” 

“Of course. Have a safe trip, dear,” Viscountess Gloria replied with a smile. She would have preferred to hurry home on a highbeast too, but she understood the importance of getting their luggage back safe and sound. 

“Thank you. I simply don’t want to leave Jeremias home alone for too long. I’m counting on you.” 

Jeremias. Gloria lowered her eyes a little upon hearing the name. He was the son of her husband’s previous first wife, and while she had plotted to have him disinherited and her own son take his place as successor, this had ultimately ended with Shikza’s execution. She masked the pain and despair searing her heart with a small smile. 

“Certainly. You may count on me.” 

After watching her husband and his numerous attendants fly off, Gloria left the packing of their luggage to the attendants and servants who managed their winter mansion.

Gloria climbed into a carriage loaded with luggage and began her trip home to Dahldolf. There wasn’t much to do as it bounced and rattled along the path, and so she gazed aimlessly out the window and let thoughts of the past run through her mind. The world was unkind to her, and she hated it more than she could ever say. 

All I want to do is avenge Shikza’s death, but I am not even allowed that one comfort... 

Soon after Gloria had married Viscount Dahldolf as his second wife and given birth to their son Shikza, they found that the child lacked the mana necessary to be called a mednoble. Her husband thus presented her with three choices: make him a servant of the estate, offer him up to laynobles for adoption, or send him to the temple. 

In the end, she decided to send him to the temple, convinced that doing so would give her an opportunity to converse with Bezewanst—the High Bishop at the time—and, through him, form a connection with the archduke’s mother, Veronica. It was especially important to cultivate a good relationship with Bezewanst so that they could ask him to prioritize Dahldolf when it came to distributing mana. 

And so, Gloria made contact with Veronica, doing everything she could for Shikza through Bezewanst. She was desperate to keep her son as someone important to Dahldolf. 

I struggled considerably at the time, but it was all worthwhile... 

Her efforts ultimately paid off. She strengthened her bond with Veronica and brought prosperity to Dahldolf, while the death of Jeremias’s mother led to her becoming the first wife. The civil war in the Sovereignty also happened at about the same time, and the extraordinary repercussions permitted Shikza to enter the Royal Academy. It was a blessing unthinkable in normal times—her child went from being a blue priest to a noble recognized as the son of Viscount Dahldolf’s first wife. 

All that remained was to disinherit Jeremias and make Shikza our successor. That was the only thing left to do, and yet...! 

Mere days after successfully convincing Veronica to support this transfer of power, Shikza was executed because of an apprentice blue shrine maiden of commoner birth. Gloria’s future vanished in an instant as though it had been swallowed by the Goddess of Chaos, leaving her in complete darkness. 

Why wasn’t the commoner executed instead? Why was my noble son forced to guard that filthy, lesser being? 

She pleaded to everyone she could, asking for their support, but Shikza’s charges were already set in stone. Both his and his family’s honor were protected due to the death being framed as having occurred on duty, on the condition that they never bother the shrine maiden again. But Gloria wasn’t satisfied in the least. Seething hatred for all those involved festered in her heart, growing stronger by the day. She hated the commoner shrine maiden for what she had done to her son, Ferdinand for having ordered him to protect such a filthy commoner in the first place, and Sylvester for decreeing that he be executed. 

And yet, any opportunity for revenge vanished when her husband ordered that she never approach the commoner shrine maiden. When winter socializing came around, she searched for anyone else invested in harming the girl who had so gravely wronged her, but nobody was willing to actively work against someone who had been placed under the High Priest’s protection... 

Nobody except Veronica, that is, because she too hated Ferdinand. Her support would ultimately be given as a way of antagonizing him, though Gloria didn’t mind so long as it meant the shrine maiden would suffer as well. But she was denied even that small satisfaction. 

A crucial blunder resulted in Veronica getting arrested after inviting Count Bindewald into Ehrenfest, while the commoner child who was supposed to have been kidnapped was instead baptized as the knight commander’s daughter for some unfathomable reason. She was even adopted by the archduke right after. 

But why?! Why was a commoner apprentice shrine maiden baptized as the knight commander’s daughter?! Why was she adopted by the aub himself and given the honor of joining the archducal family, putting her above even me in status?! 

To Gloria, there was nothing more intolerable than that—it was an atrocity that dishonored every noble in Ehrenfest. She was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that both the aub and the knight commander had plotted to execute her son for some heinous reason. 

Perhaps even the aub is being manipulated by Ferdinand... Veronica often spoke about how dangerous that man is, after all. 

Veronica had been the only one to consider Ferdinand dangerous after he entered the temple. And now, Gloria knew that she had been right all along. 

Had Lady Georgine become Aub Ehrenfest instead of Lord Sylvester, she never would have done something as foolish as adopting a commoner into the archducal family... 

Gloria still resented beyond words that the previous archduke had chosen Sylvester to be his heir. 

Lady Georgine was much better suited to the title. 

Not only was she beautiful, but she was a master at orchestrating clever schemes. If she had become the aub, the Leisegangs would have been eliminated in no time at all, and her return to Ehrenfest must have reminded countless other nobles of that truth. 

Many in Ehrenfest still believed it with all their hearts—even now, a decade after her departure. Sylvester had severed his primary support base by imprisoning his mother Veronica, and as far as Gloria knew, that meant Georgine now had more supporters among the nobility than he did.

As Gloria stewed in her hate, a white bird phased through the wall of the carriage, transforming into a letter before dropping onto her lap. It was a form of ordonnanz often used when the correspondence was best kept private, so she picked it up and began to read. 

The message was from Royella, the wife of Viscount Gerlach, revealing that she had received a letter from Georgine so important that it would shape the very future of Ehrenfest. She wished to discuss it with Gloria, and was thus inviting her to Gerlach. 

In an instant, the waves of ardent frustration crashing against Gloria’s heart calmed. When she had bemoaned her suffering to Georgine at a tea party during her visit, the woman had merely responded with a sad smile, saying that although she was the first wife of Ahrensbach and wanted to help, she could not risk interfering in Ehrenfest politics so directly. 

What in the world had changed her mind? Perhaps that reply was only lip service in case a spy from the aub was listening... Considering how cautious she was, that would make perfect sense. 

Georgine was the one woman Gloria considered worthy of dedicating her heart and soul to. She was her one true mistress, and if she had important plans concerning Ehrenfest, then she would put all else aside and speed to Gerlach as soon as possible. But once she was back at Dahldolf, she couldn’t simply leave again. Now was her best opportunity, while she was still traveling alone by carriage. 

“Oh my, I do believe I’ve fallen rather ill... Perhaps the shaking of the carriage has proven too much for me to handle right now. You, make the necessary arrangements for me to stay a few nights at a nearby inn,” Gloria instructed one of her attendants, planning to sneak off to Gerlach on highbeast.

Upon arriving at Gerlach’s summer mansion, Gloria was taken to a guest parlor where she found about ten nobles engaging in relaxed conversation. They were all allies who likewise considered Georgine their mistress, and so she promptly spoke the greeting for reunions to them. 

“Hello, Lord Grausam. Lady Royella. Dregarnuhr the Goddess of Time has answered my prayers and woven the threads of our fates together once again. Never did I think it would happen so soon.” 

“Indeed, Lady Gloria. Not even in my wildest dreams did I expect to receive a letter from Lady Georgine so soon,” Royella said with a happy, elegant smile as she offered her a seat. 

It seemed that Georgine had sent the message before crossing the duchy’s southern border gate and having her communications blocked. 

“If only she had come directly to Gerlach so that we could discuss matters further,” she continued with a sigh. “Here we can speak freely without having to worry about spies from the archduke, unlike in the Noble’s Quarter.” 

Grausam patted his wife on the back and laughed. “I can hardly blame her for being so secretive—this is grave enough that she can’t even let those in Ahrensbach know about it. Lady Georgine has always been a careful one.” 

They were both in such a lighthearted mood that whatever the news was, it must have been good. Gloria thus asked about the letter, deep down envying Royella for having a husband who understood her so well. 

“Lady Royella, might I ask you to share the joy with us? I’d rather you not keep Lady Georgine’s news between you and your husband.” 

“Wait just a moment. I shall read it now,” Royella replied, causing everyone present to fall silent and listen intently. If one were to remove all the colorful, decorative language, the message could be described quite simply as thus: “It seems that I’ve happened upon the path to Ehrenfest’s foundation. Whatever shall I do?” 

“Is that even a question...? Lady Georgine must use this opportunity to obtain Ehrenfest’s foundation for herself!” Gloria declared, all those around her nodding firmly in agreement. 

Observing this, Royella smiled and hugged the letter to her chest. “Indeed. Everyone here feels the same way as us, Lady Gloria. But nearly twenty years have passed since Lady Georgine was wed to Ahrensbach; she has spent too much time away. No matter how fervent our wishes, the other nobles simply lack our passion, and Lady Georgine would never be allowed to return to Ehrenfest under normal circumstances.” 

Grausam nodded and stood up, his fists tightly clenched. “But now, things are different,” he said, looking over his guests with blazing, hopeful eyes. “Lord Sylvester’s support base was expected to be ironclad once the previous aub climbed the towering staircase, but that could not be further from the truth. The political situation in Ehrenfest is volatile and unstable. Why? Because Lady Veronica was imprisoned last spring. He no longer has the firm pillar of support that he once did, and in these unpredictable times, Lady Georgine has discovered the path to Ehrenfest’s foundation. This must be the divine guidance of the gods!” 

His heated speech stirred Gloria’s heart. Veronica adored Sylvester, and if she had remained in a position of power, it was true that Georgine would have had no opportunity to return. But now that she was imprisoned, Sylvester’s support base was wavering. They now had a chance—a window of opportunity in which Georgine had discovered the very path to the foundation. Such splendidly good fortune could not be a mere sequence of coincidences. The gods wished for Lady Georgine to become Aub Ehrenfest, and all those present had that belief carved deeply into their minds. 

“Lady Georgine is cautious; she will not make a move unless her success is guaranteed,” Royella continued. “It is for this reason that we must show her ourselves that her return is feasible. Now is our greatest opportunity to shake Ehrenfest to its core. Luckily for us, it was written in her letter that she will be returning the summer of next year thanks to an invitation from Lord Wilfried.” 

Everyone immediately leaned forward, discussing what they might do to destabilize Ehrenfest and encourage Georgine’s return. 

“How stable is Lord Sylvester’s rule? What openings are there to exploit?” Grausam mused aloud. “Experimentation will certainly be necessary at first, but if we can show the other nobles how brittle Lord Sylvester’s central support base is, it will put us in a much stronger position to convince the neutral nobles. Lady Georgine will certainly enjoy that.” 

“Let us begin by testing the quality of the archducal family, the skills of their retainers, and Lord Sylvester’s ability to control the aftermath of a disaster. We can report our findings to Lady Georgine, and perhaps that will influence her decision come next summer.” 

At the moment, nobody knew whether Georgine would move to seize control of the foundation, or whether she would determine it safer to hold back. But either way, it would not be simple for her to return to Ehrenfest as its new aub—not only did she need to be freed from her position as Ahrensbach’s first wife, but she also needed more supporters. 

“Obtaining the support of the Veronica faction will be the simplest method to grow her support base. Perhaps we could exploit Lord Wilfried to that end? We trick him into dishonoring himself, then save him and earn his favor, which should make him more susceptible to manipulation in the future,” Royella continued. “Marrying him to Lady Georgine’s granddaughter would be a simple way to keep other nobles in check, too, and if we ever run out of use for him, he can very easily be eliminated.” 

It was well known that Veronica had doted on Wilfried, and so getting him on their side would possibly lead other nobles to follow suit and join him. 

“Lord Wilfried is certainly worth exploiting, but what about that commoner child, Rozemyne...?” Gloria asked, much more invested in eliminating her. “I doubt Lady Georgine considers her important to her plans.” 

She couldn’t help but feel that, if they would just kidnap Rozemyne, she could torture the girl to her heart’s content and finally bring peace to the wrath that tormented her so. 

Sensing Gloria’s wrathful emotions, Grausam waved a hand to calm her down. “In order to prevent the resistance of the Leisegangs and make it known to all how foolish it was for them to make Rozemyne the hope of their house, it is necessary that we publicize her commoner origins and restore Bezewanst’s honor. Then, once that is done, we may treat her like any commoner who has deceived nobles deserves to be treated.” 

“And by that you mean...?” 

Grausam narrowed his gray eyes and slowly stroked his chin before speaking in a monotonous, fairly disinterested tone. “We can chain her up and continually drain her of the bountiful mana that secured her position as the archduke’s adopted daughter, seal her away in the temple as a breeding sow for producing children with high quantities of mana, train her as a Devouring soldier... The possibilities are endless, and each one would certainly be deserved. Plus, if she ever breaks, we need only turn her into a feystone.” 

With that, Royella clapped her hands together in sudden realization. “Ah! Lady Georgine said that Ahrensbach was struggling a little with mana due to matters related to the civil war. Perhaps we could hand her over to them? That would at least partially compensate for Lady Georgine’s return.” 

If everything went well, an excellent member of the archducal family would be returning to Ehrenfest. Ahrensbach would surely need some mana support to fill the gap she left behind. 

Grausam nodded. “We will need to ask Lady Georgine her thoughts first, but that is not a bad idea at all. There are some obstacles to overcome, however. That child holes herself up in the temple and rarely leaves, and Lord Ferdinand—a man so extraordinarily competent that Veronica has spent the past decade fearing him above all others—is personally protecting her. Not even other members of the Leisegang faction can easily approach her despite supposedly being part of her family.” 

“We cannot even be certain how much truth there is to the rumor about her ill health; it could be that they are merely claiming she is weak to minimize her contact with the nobility,” one noble said. “We simply lack too much information here.” 

His arms crossed, Grausam drummed a finger against his triceps as he always did when deep in thought. An unusual sense of determination was clear in his eyes, likely due to this being a rare opportunity to work for Georgine’s benefit. 

“If what we have heard from Lord Sylvester’s retainers is correct, then Lord Ferdinand is as exceedingly dangerous as one would expect from an individual who maintained first place in the Royal Academy throughout his entire time there,” he eventually said. “I, myself, have rarely spoken to him, so I am uncertain how true these rumors are, but it is very likely he will interfere with our plots and put a stop to any that come to his attention.” 

Welcoming Georgine back to Ehrenfest would mean dethroning Sylvester. And as Ferdinand fully supported the current archduke, there would be no avoiding his opposition. 

“Perhaps we should make our move when they are both forced to leave the temple for some religious ceremony or another? That should limit what Lord Ferdinand can do against us.” 

Royella cocked her head thoughtfully. “The Harvest Festival is coming up soon. I imagine that, with how few blue priests there are at the moment, both Lord Ferdinand and Lady Rozemyne will need to leave the temple to personally oversee it themselves.” 

“Hold on, but then we’ll be stuck in Gerlach,” Grausam replied with a slight grimace. He wanted to help Georgine so much that anything holding him back cut deep, and those present couldn’t help but smile a little at how dedicated he was. 

“Lord Grausam,” another noble interjected, “I am not a giebe, and thus I will be able to move freely during the Harvest Festival. Our goal here is to observe how the aub and his supporters respond to what we do, so we can keep things small, correct? With that in mind, I believe it would be best if only those of us who live in the Noble’s Quarter act. That will minimize how much can be traced back to Lady Georgine.” 

Doing anything that would put Sylvester and his supporters on guard too much would not be ideal while Georgine’s intentions were still up in the air. They needed to make whatever they did look like as much of an accident as possible, all while leaving an extremely minimal connection to her. 

Grausam gave another nod. “Indeed. Our goal is to harm the aub, destabilize his faction, and show that there is an opening to exploit, such that Lady Georgine steels her resolve to return. It is not necessary for us to implement any life-or-death traps here; we should prioritize setting multiple cunning ones that, when strung together, are quite unbreakable,” he said, an amused grin spreading across his lips. He was no doubt running several potential plots through his head at that very moment, and Royella could hardly remember the last time she had seen her husband so lively. 

“Is Lord Wilfried our target this time?” she asked, gracefully tilting her head once more. “I imagine destabilizing Lord Sylvester’s faction through his biological son will have a much greater impact than using his adopted daughter.” 

“Lord Sylvester has always been weak to those precious to him being put in danger,” Grausam said with a laugh. “Attack him directly and he remains steadfast, but target his family and he is much more likely to bend.” 

More opinions were shared, and plans were slowly woven together. Gloria of course wanted to participate in the plot against Sylvester, since he had ordered Shikza’s execution, but as the first wife of a giebe, it would be hard for her to leave Dahldolf. 

I suppose I will need to continue waiting before I can hurt the commoner, then. That’s a shame... But now I’m one step closer than before, when I could do nothing at all. And once Sylvester is dethroned, there will be nobody to protect that commoner shrine maiden. Aah... How I pray that my dreams will soon come true.