My First-Ever Little Sister
Upon returning to Ehrenfest, I retrieved the small chalices from the blue priests who had traveled during the Harvest Festival, also receiving reports on the harvests and conditions in their respective provinces. I would need to collate these reports together in preparation for a meeting with the archduke at the castle.
And once this is done, we can get to work making my jureve. Let’s do this!
Ferdinand and I arrived together at the castle, then went our separate ways, with me going to the northern building with Rihyarda.
“After you have delivered today’s report to Aub Ehrenfest, milady, you are due to greet Lady Charlotte.”
“Lady Charlotte...? That would be Wilfried’s little sister, correct?”
“Yes. Her baptism ceremony is this winter, so a room and the like are being prepared for her as we speak.”
Now that Rihyarda mentioned it, Elvira had actively ensured that my room in the northern building was ready for me to use right after my baptism ceremony. I hadn’t exactly been in any position to help her with that, given that I was partway through having a noble upbringing hurriedly beaten into me at the time, but Charlotte was apparently learning to lead people by taking charge in how her room was arranged.
You know... it sounds like she’s a lot more competent than Wilfried.
I considered that possibility as I entered the northern building and climbed the stairs. The door to the room beside mine was wide open, and I could see furniture being carried inside. A short girl about my size was observing the process.
She must have heard us come up the stairs as she immediately whirled around. Her dress fluttered, and her blonde, almost silver hair swept through the air behind her. Her face was so adorable that I could have mistaken her for a life-sized doll, and her lively indigo eyes blinked rapidly. When we locked gazes, she broke into a happy smile and immediately began walking over, her retainers following along with her.
“Rozemyne! Big Sister!”
Aah! She just called me “Big Sister”!
I was immediately overcome with emotion. Hearing that phrase from such a cute little girl with a big smile on her face was enough for me to embrace the idea entirely—I was Charlotte’s older sister, and that was that.
“I haven’t had my baptism ceremony yet, so I can’t give an actual blessing... but may I give you a traditional greeting anyway?”
“Yes, of course.”
Charlotte glanced up as she tried to remember the words of the prayer, then knelt and lowered her head. “May I pray for a blessing in appreciation of this serendipitous meeting, ordained by the fruitful days of Schutzaria the Goddess of Wind?”
“You may.”
“May Schutzaria the Goddess of Wind bless you. I am Charlotte, daughter of Aub Ehrenfest. I pray that the threads of our fates be woven together.”
Although Charlotte couldn’t give actual blessings yet, she had the words memorized and recited them flawlessly. I knew all too well how nerve-racking it was to give that kind of greeting for the first time: back when I had given one to Elvira, I was so worried about messing up that my heart had started pounding.
As Charlotte knelt, I tried to roughly echo what Elvira had said to me in response. “I pray the same, Charlotte. I am your older sister.”
She looked up at me with a relieved smile, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“You know your greetings very well,” I said.
“I thank you ever so much. All of my other siblings are boys, and I’ve always wanted an older sister. I’m just so happy to see you.”
“Me too. I always wanted a little sister!”
“I pray once again for our fates to be woven together.”
Holy cow, Charlotte’s super cute. She might even join Tuuli in my pantheon of angels.
An emotional sigh escaped me, at which point Charlotte tilted her head slightly. “Dear sister, you’re the High Bishop, aren’t you? Will you be giving me a blessing at my baptism ceremony?” she asked, her indigo eyes brimming with hope. I knew that look—she was giving me puppy-dog eyes.
So blessed! It’s her first time begging me with puppy-dog eyes! Oh yes, I must grant her wish no matter what. It’s my duty as her big sister!
“Oh, my cute little sister, I would love nothing more. So long as Ferdinand permits it, I shall bless your baptism... as your older sister.”
“I am quite looking forward to it!” she said with a beaming smile. I gave a firm nod in response, and that was when Rihyarda took a step forward.
“Milady, it is about time for you to deliver your report. Would you like to hold a tea party when you return? Lady Charlotte certainly does love sweets.”
The very thought was wonderful beyond words. I turned to Charlotte and saw that she was wearing the same smile that Wilfried always wore when presented with sweets. There was of course no denying that it looked much cuter on her.
“I believe I would. We can hold a tea party at fifth bell, when my report is complete. Ottilie, please instruct Ella to prepare sweets.”
“As you wish.”
After promising to hold a tea party with Charlotte, I sped to my room and got changed, then hastily made my way to the archduke’s office by highbeast, Rihyarda urging me on all the while. When we arrived, Ferdinand was already there, and the scholars were all ready.
Sylvester straightened his back and looked at me. “Now then. Your report?”
“Charlotte is positively adorable,” I said, starting with what I considered the most important point of discussion.
“Indeed. She certainly is,” he replied with a nod.
“I have promised to perform her baptism for her.”
“This is not what you are here for, fool!” Ferdinand barked, completing the comedy trifecta. “Give your report on the Harvest Festival!”
Out of respect for his righteous observation, I started giving my serious report. Every city in the Central District had produced a greater yield than last year—except of course Hasse—which was recognized as the result of my going everywhere for Spring Prayer.
“Seems like I’ll want you to do the same next spring too,” Sylvester said.
In all honesty, I found it really taxing to travel that much in such a short space of time, but that wouldn’t be an issue, since I would have a healthy body by then. I nodded to show that I was fine with his suggestion.
Sylvester nodded in turn. “Everyone but Karstedt, Ferdinand, and Rozemyne—clear the room.”
My plan had been to swiftly return to my room once my report was done, but it seemed this conversation wasn’t over just yet. I sadly drooped my head, thinking about how much I would have rather been drinking tea with my cute little sister than talking with these three.
Once the last of the scholars and attendants were out, Sylvester cracked his neck and stretched, going from archduke mode to Sylvester mode.
“Sooo, Rozemyne... These two told me about your mana compression method, and I was wondering whether it worked on adults too. Does it let people fit more mana into their bodies even after their vessel for mana stops growing?”
“...I don’t know, since I’m still a child. But it’s very possible. Perhaps you should experiment?” I suggested, which made Sylvester lean across the table with shining eyes. He was positively overflowing with eagerness to try it out himself.
“Alright,” he said. “We’ll select individuals to learn it based on those who meet the criteria. That is: already knowing how to compress traditionally, belonging to the Florencia faction, and having the permission of the six of us. How about we start with your guardians and family? Seems like a good idea to me.”
Sylvester, Florencia, Ferdinand, and Karstedt apparently all counted as my family here, and I got the impression that this would soon be expanding to our guard knights and attendants as well. Given how Sylvester was speaking like this was something that had already been decided, I could guess that he had settled on it in his head and was enthusiastically visualizing the results.
“If this does work for adults as well, then I might need to rethink how much I charge...”
I had been thinking of the cost as something like a children’s education fee, but if my method worked on adults as well, then it would be applicable to a lot more people than I thought. This would, in turn, put a strain on people’s family budgets, and I certainly didn’t want to earn anybody’s ire. We needed a perfect price that was accessible to everyone, while still remaining a considerable expense.
“Perhaps we could halve the fee for subsequent family members after the first purchase? Otherwise, buying the method for five people would prove expensive even for an archnoble, right, Father?”
Karstedt stroked his mustache. “That would certainly be a big help...” he said. I had specifically asked him because his family was the largest out of all those participating here.
“Rozemyne, getting more mana is extremely important to nobles. I want to spread news of this compression method during winter socializing, so the sooner we test this out, the better. What do you say?” Sylvester asked, now leaning completely over the table. He wasn’t the only one, either—it looked like Karstedt and Ferdinand were both leaning forward a little too.
But despite their eagerness, preparing magic contracts for everyone would take some significant time.
“I promised to have a tea party with Charlotte today, and preparing the magic contracts for everyone would surely take quite some time. We can do this some other day.”
“Guh?! Rozemyne, you—you’re going to prioritize Charlotte over me, your adoptive father?!”
“Yes. She’s much cuter than you are,” I replied frankly.
“...Fair point. I’m one hot guy, sure, but I’m not as cute as her,” he confessed with a groan, resting his head in his hands. I certainly had some thoughts on him calling himself “hot,” but I ultimately decided to keep them to myself.
“Plus, I care more about my potion being made than spreading my mana compression method,” I added. “I’ll teach you all about it once my jureve is ready.”
Despite us having gathered all the ingredients, we hadn’t actually made the potion yet, since Ferdinand had told me to wait until after my report was done. I cared a lot more about finally getting healthy than other people having more mana.
Ferdinand narrowed his eyes slightly in thought. “Rozemyne, we can make the potion now, but you will want to wait before using it.”
“Why is that?”
“The process of using a jureve puts one to sleep for days, months... or at times, even an entire season. You would do well not to use it if you wish to attend Charlotte’s baptism ceremony.”
In a shocking twist, my mana clumps had formed so long ago that it would take a significant amount of time for them to melt.
“Furthermore,” Ferdinand continued, “although you said that you would perform the winter baptism ceremony yourself, there is much you will need to learn to make that possible. It will be much more complicated than the lower city’s baptism ceremony—you will need to learn the blessing, the mana registration process, and the sequence of events leading up to the debut. That will not leave time to use the potion, no matter how much you wish to be healthy.”
“I want to make the potion so that I can be healthy and have the strength for this kind of thing... but I have to push myself even more before I can use it? This is terrible.”
But at the same time, I couldn’t suddenly break my first promise to Charlotte—she would forever lose trust in me as her older sister. I wanted to be there for her baptism ceremony no matter what, even if that meant putting off using my jureve.
“Very well. Then I shall use the potion after Charlotte’s baptism ceremony.”
“No, because winter socializing begins after the baptism ceremony, and so too does the Dedication Ritual. Considering that we wish to keep your circumstances hidden from other nobles, it would be best to wait until Spring Prayer is over.”
“Hold on a second. You really intend to make me wait another half a year before I can be healthy?! I want to be healthy now,” I protested, but Ferdinand shook his head.
“We must not be hasty and misjudge the proper timing for using the potion,” he said, but it honestly felt as though he was only pressuring me because he wanted to lessen his own burden. I was willing to postpone being healthy for Charlotte’s sake, but I wasn’t about to wait until spring for Ferdinand.
“Grr... If you want to delay me getting healthy for your own selfish reasons, I won’t teach any of you the mana compression method until then! I’m going to become a normal girl and you can’t stop me!”
Ferdinand frowned and tapped a finger against his temple, then widened his eyes in realization. “Rozemyne, what if you were to attend the winter baptism ceremony not as the High Bishop, but as her older sister? That would remove the need to learn all the processes at such short notice.”
“That’s not an option! I’m going to bless Charlotte as her older sister. I don’t mind having a lot to learn in the slightest; I’ve spent years learning all sorts of things under time constraints.”
There was no doubt in my mind that I would be granting the first request ever given to me by my darling little sister. Tuuli always did her best to do whatever I asked, and I wanted to be as great of an older sister to Charlotte as Tuuli was to me.
“Hm... I understand. You wish to play the part of a good older sister for your first little sister, correct?” Ferdinand asked, still tapping his temple.
I gave a big nod—that was exactly right. I wanted to show Charlotte my best side and become an older sister who she could respect.
“...In that case, would she not respect you even more if you performed not just the blessing at her baptism ceremony, but dedicated yourself to the duchy at the Dedication Ritual and Spring Prayer, too? Do you not think that is what a member of the archducal family should do?”
“I do!” I agreed, clenching my fists with fiery determination.
Ferdinand nodded, a smug look on his face. “Then work hard until Spring Prayer is complete.”
“Right! I... Wait. What?”
I tilted my head in confusion, but before I could even process what had just happened, Sylvester pointed at the door. “Rozemyne, isn’t it about time for your tea party? You can go now.”
“I can?”
“Yep. Show my Charlotte lots of love.”
“Of course!” I beamed, confidently tapping a fist against my chest before saying the traditional farewells. I then exited Sylvester’s office, humming all the way back to my room.
At last, my tea party with Charlotte. Tralala, tralalalala.
It was a little before fifth bell and the tea party was ready, with Ella having finished preparing the sweets. Today we were having pie filled with seasonal fruits.
“Rozemyne, thank you ever so much for inviting me.”
“Thank you for being here, Charlotte.”
Charlotte sat in her chair looking a bit nervous, since this was her first time having a tea party with anyone outside her more immediate family. To be honest, I was a little anxious too, since this was my first tea party with my little sister.
“Wilfried praises you so much, Rozemyne, that I have been dying to meet you for so very long now,” Charlotte began. She then told me how Wilfried had read picture bibles to her, and how she had lost to him in karuta and cards over and over again. She peppered all her stories with praise for me.
How could I ever convey the sheer strength of emotion I was feeling right now? Up until this point, my family had mostly just called me useless, but now I had a little sister who was praising me. The slight embarrassment aside, I was so happy that I wanted to roll around on the ground and squeal.
I owe you my life, Wilfried! It’s thanks to you that my cute little sister has such a high opinion of me!
“You made those picture books, the karuta, and even Mother’s hair stick, didn’t you?” Charlotte continued. “The decorations on the hair stick look so much like real flowers; I simply love it.”
“I designed them all, but craftswomen make them, not me. Would you like me to introduce you to the store which makes them?”
Hair sticks just like mine were currently all the rage in Florencia’s faction—Brigitte wearing one during the Starbind Ceremony had made quite an impact, and the flowers were now being used both as hair ornaments and to decorate dresses. I could imagine that Tuuli and Mom had their hands full making them right now.
“You wouldn’t mind? Would they be able to make one for me before my baptism ceremony, I wonder?”
“That might be difficult... I could lend you one of mine, assuming I have one that matches your outfit. Rihyarda, please bring me the hair sticks that incorporate the divine colors of winter.”
“At once, milady.”
Rihyarda promptly brought in the hair sticks, holding them up against Charlotte’s hair one by one. As she discussed with her attendants which ones would look best on her, Damuel suddenly came into the room, having been guarding the door from outside.
“Lady Rozemyne, Lord Wilfried is requesting permission to enter. He wishes to speak with Lady Char—” he began, only for Wilfried to barge in from behind him. His attendants and guard knights were reaching out to grab him, telling him that he needed to wait until he had my permission, but he was actively ignoring them.
“I heard Charlotte was here.”
“Wilfried, it’s quite rude to enter a room before you have received permission,” I said, implying that he should leave, but his eyebrows shot up with anger when he saw me.
“Shut up! Charlotte, you have to get out of here now. Don’t let Rozemyne fool you!”
Excuse me...?
His exclamation came completely out of nowhere; I didn’t at all understand what could have brought it on. Everyone stared at him in wide-eyed confusion, and as we froze with our mouths agape, Charlotte tilted her head and blinked.
“Whatever do you mean? Aren’t you always praising Rozemyne?” she asked, and that was enough to snap me back to reality. I couldn’t let him trash talk me in front of Charlotte like this. I needed to be an older sister she could respect.
“Wilfried, when have I ever deceived you? Please do not use such deceptive language.”
“Just shut up already!”
With that, Wilfried raced toward me, moving so suddenly that Damuel yelped in surprise. Lamprecht stepped forward, shouting for him to stop, but Angelica—having been standing guard behind me the whole time—had already moved to intercept. She grabbed onto Wilfried’s arm, twisted it behind his back, then forced him to the ground. He landed with a resounding crash.
“Ow! What’re you doing, Angelica?!” he demanded.
“Please do not approach Lady Rozemyne before getting permission to enter.”
“Who do you think you are?! Let go of me!”
“We are Lady Rozemyne’s guard knights, so it’s only natural that we would detain someone who barges into the room without first getting permission,” Damuel said with a tense expression, moving forward and standing next to Angelica, who was still pinning Wilfried to the floor.
Lamprecht looked between Angelica and Wilfried, then over to me for help. I could hear his silent plea: Angelica was behaving as a guard knight should, but he still wanted her to let Wilfried go.
Just as I opened my mouth to give the order, however, Wilfried started flailing about. He shouted up at Angelica, trying to wriggle around to glare at her. “Rozemyne’s the bad person here! Grandmother told me everything! Rozemyne and Ferdinand plotted grandmother’s downfall! They’re evil!”
Wilfried’s grandmother... That would be Sylvester’s mother, the former High Bishop’s older sister, right? I’m pretty sure she’s imprisoned somewhere you need the archduke’s permission to enter, to stop her from escaping or meeting with any of her allies. How did Wilfried get authorization for a meeting like that, especially considering that he didn’t even know she was imprisoned as a criminal when we said our farewells to Georgine?
“Wilfried, when and where did you have an opportunity to speak to your grandmother?” I asked.
Every retainer in earshot paled instantly. Rihyarda let out a quiet shriek and stiffened, while Lamprecht raced forward and shouted at Wilfried with such crazed intensity that spit actually flew from his mouth.
“When, Lord Wilfried?! When did you speak to Lady Veronica?!” he demanded.
“And how did you meet with her?!” another retainer added.
Judging by how panicked his retainers were, Wilfried had certainly not been granted permission to meet with the imprisoned Veronica. It was an extremely bad thing that he had met with her, too, such that this probably wasn’t something that could be settled here and now.
“Rihyarda, please report this to Aub Ehrenfest. I believe that it would be best for him to come to us, with a carefully selected entourage.”
“Understood, milady.”
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login