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Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.2 - Chapter 6




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Tea Party with the Music Professors 

My plan was to go back to the library in the afternoon, but my retainers wouldn’t allow it, since discussing the tea party and planning for the next one was apparently more important. I ultimately relented when they said that if we finished our preparations this afternoon, I could spend all of tomorrow reading to my heart’s content. 

“It seems that Sovereign nobles are used to sweets made with an abundance of sugar. Perhaps it would be wise for us to provide especially sweet honey pound cake for the music professors,” I suggested. 

Brunhilde nodded. “In that case, I would recommend pairing it with another kind of tea.” 

We were holding our little meeting in the dormitory common room with Wilfried, his retainers, and all those who wanted to gather information for their own purposes. 

“Professor Solange had some reaction to the rinsham and flower ornaments, but she seemed most interested in the plant paper,” I said. 

“Plant paper, huh? We can’t use that stuff as freely as you do,” Wilfried muttered. “We know that we need to be marketing it as a product of our duchy’s new industry, but we don’t get how to do that.” 

“I think it should be enough for us to use plant paper when transcribing books in the library. Students from other duchies will notice that we are using a different type of paper. Plus, we know from what Professor Solange said that she is in contact with other professors, so word should spread quickly,” Philine said, basing her assumption on the notes she had written. 

I added that an important part of our plan was calling it “new paper” rather than “plant paper,” partly to avoid revealing the method used to produce it. I also told the others that we shouldn’t talk about printing and explained my reasoning behind this decision. 

Hartmut took this opportunity to mention several things he had noticed. “It seems that professors doing research have a responsibility to record at least some part of their findings for the library. Many write them on scrolls to avoid the tedious work that bookbinding entails, but if they knew of our new, cheaper paper, they might buy it instead.” 

Oh yeah... Professor Solange did mention something like that. Maybe we could sell folders or binders already filled with paper for convenience? Those would surely be a lot easier to record information in than big, clunky books. I took out my diptych and swiftly wrote down my idea for a new product. 

“Lady Rozemyne, what are you writing?” Hartmut asked. “I am recording this conversation myself, if you recall...” 

“Do not mind me, Hartmut. I am simply writing down ideas for new products.” 

“Why are you inventing new products in a meeting about a tea party...?” Wilfried muttered. 

“I always carry my diptych with me, because I never know when I’ll have a good idea,” I replied. I needed to note them down then and there or else I would most likely forget them. 

“Your diptych certainly does seem convenient...” an apprentice scholar said. 

“Would you like me to introduce you to the Plantin Company when we return home? The diptych is simply made from wax poured into a wooden frame, so if you are happy to go without engravings, you can buy them for exceptionally cheap.” 

Several other apprentice scholars also leapt at the offer, their interest well and truly caught. Plant paper may have been cheaper than parchment, but it was still expensive enough that it couldn’t be spared for notes and memos. 

“Putting aside how we will use the information gained from this tea party to better plan for future tea parties... We settled on a date to measure Schwartz and Weiss, so we will need to inform Professor Hirschur. Rihyarda, please take care of that.” 

As Rihyarda left the room to send out an ordonnanz, Brunhilde moved the discussion back to the upcoming tea party. “The music is going to be a challenge. You will surely be asked many questions about how your songs were composed.” 

“Am I really prepared for that...? I only know the practice songs I was instructed to learn. Furthermore, I have barely socialized, so I know little of what music is commonly played.” 

“Your musician will know, so that should not be a problem. The true issue is that, from what I have heard, Lady Eglantine will be attending the tea party alongside the professors.” 

I tilted my head; the name sounded somewhat familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. “And who is that...? I assume she’s an archduke candidate from a powerful duchy, but I can’t quite put faces to names yet.” 

“Lady Eglantine is indeed an archduke candidate—one from the greater duchy of Klassenberg,” Brunhilde explained. “She is a sixth-year honor student who has been selected to play the role of the Goddess of Light for this year’s dedication whirl. For this and many other reasons, she is often compared to the goddess herself.” 

I immediately recalled the girl at dedication whirl practice who had been way better than everyone else. “Ah, she is a skilled whirler, correct? I was moved when I saw her perform during practice.” 

I certainly didn’t see her presence as an issue; in fact, I was looking forward to her coming. Just as my mood was starting to rise, however, Hirschur burst into the common room. Her purple eyes were gleaming with anticipation. 

“Lady Rozemyne, the date for the measuring has been decided, yes?!” 

“It has been scheduled for three days from now to best accommodate Professor Solange.” 

“Three days from now... We should go in the morning then, since I’ve got classes to teach in the afternoon,” she said, the sharp glint in her eyes now downright terrifying. 

“Just to be clear, Schwartz and Weiss are already drawing much attention, and there is a risk of them being stolen. In order to prevent their theft or destruction, I will allow only my attendants to touch them.” 

“I suppose that is reasonable. I’m sure just looking at them will satisfy me enough.” 

“Guard knights, I ask that you create a tight formation around Schwartz and Weiss on the day and ensure that those from the other duchies do not touch them,” I said, shooting Hirschur a deliberate glance. She had moved to the Sovereignty, so that meant she was prohibited from touching them as well. 

Cornelius, having understood my intentions at once, casually waved a hand and said, “As you wish.”

Once again, Brunhilde was doing my hair and clothes. I was feeling a bit better about the tea party now that I had already experienced one with a Sovereign noble. I wouldn’t really need a scholar with me for today, but Philine was coming anyway just to get used to the environment. She would be presenting the sheet music to the music professors, which contained the Mestionora lyrics and was handwritten by Rosina rather than printed. 

“Philine, please prepare ink and paper along with the sheet music. My retainers must always carry writing utensils, regardless of the time or place. It would be problematic if you found yourself needing more space than a diptych provides, do you not think?” 

Philine nodded. She then started preparing writing utensils with a small smile. 

Today we would be bringing pound cake made with honey, which had a much more apparent sweetness than the plain version, coupled with the same toppings we had served during my tea party with Solange. 

“Shall we go?” I asked. “There is no need to be so nervous, Rosina.” 

I could tell that Rosina was deathly afraid. She was covering it up pretty well, but I had known her long enough to recognize the emotion hidden in her slightly stiff expression. 

“Even we feel anxious attending tea parties with the professors we see in our classes, Lady Rozemyne, so it is only natural that a musician would feel nervous in this situation,” Brunhilde said. 

That made sense, especially considering that this was a tea party with the music professors. Their interest in my songs also meant their attention would predominantly be on Rosina, my personal musician. A former gray shrine maiden was going to be performing for professors of the Royal Academy; the pressure must have been intense. 

We left at third bell, making our way to the third floor of the attendant building where the music professors had their rooms. 

“Where is Professor Hirschur’s room, then?” 

“Hers is on the third floor of the scholar building. She is supposed to be staying in the Ehrenfest Dormitory, what with her being our supervisor, but her tendency to get absorbed in her research, plus the frequency with which her brewing creates foul smells and disruptive sounds, means she has been staying in a room for assistants since her schoolgirl days,” Cornelius explained. “Eckhart told me all about it.” 

And it seemed that Eckhart had heard about it from Ferdinand. It was probably best for Hirschur to be staying in a specialty building if she was prone to causing that much of a disturbance. 

Brunhilde guided us to the room where the tea party was being held. There we found three music professors, Eglantine, and—for some reason—Anastasius. 

Nobody told me the prince was going to be here too! 

I reflexively turned to look at Brunhilde, whose amber eyes were opened wide in shock. It seemed this was a surprise for her too. 

One of the professors noticed our reaction, their eyes awkwardly flitting between Anastasius and me. “Upon hearing that Lady Eglantine would be attending today’s tea party, Prince Anastasius requested to join us. We do apologize for the sudden change in plans, Lady Rozemyne, but we pray that you understand.” 

“Yes, of course. I am honored to be graced with Prince Anastasius’s presence.” 

My face had twitched for a second, but I still deserved an award for not letting my true feelings slip and shouting, “Why the heck would he show up at a tea party he wasn’t invited to?!” I would have much preferred there being no royalty here, since this only increased the stakes of any potential missteps. 

“Here you are, Lady Rozemyne.” 

Pauline, my music instructor, gestured for me to sit on a particular chair at the circular table. The seating alternated between students and professors, meaning there was a professor on either side of me. It was honestly a great boon to have some cushioning between the prince and me. 

I greeted the prince and the professors before heading to my seat. Eglantine watched me with her bright orange eyes narrowed in a gentle smile. Her wavy golden hair was braided in an elaborate half-up style that made me doubly understand why others were comparing her to the Goddess of Light. 

“Lady Rozemyne,” Eglantine said. “You greeted me during the fellowship gatherings, but this is our first time properly speaking. I am very much looking forward to your compositions. In fact, I have very much been looking forward to this tea party on the whole.” She was a student dedicated to the arts, and it seemed that she had asked to join the tea party upon hearing that I was attending to demonstrate my music. 

“I too have wanted to speak on more leisurely terms ever since I saw your dedication whirl, Lady Eglantine.” 

“You are familiar with Lady Christine, yes? She graduated three years ago, but she was a master of the harspiel. I attended many tea parties with her,” she said, intentionally bringing up a name from Ehrenfest for my sake. I naturally couldn’t tell her that I had never met Christine in my life. 

“As you may know, I tragically spent two years asleep, so I have had very little contact with Christine. My personal musician, however, was once among her favorites. Christine even said she would have taken her into her service had I not already done so myself.” 

“Oh my. For Lady Christine to have wanted her as a personal musician, she must truly be talented. Perhaps it is just me, but it feels like many talented musicians come from Ehrenfest. May we listen to one of your songs now?” 

At Eglantine’s encouragement, Rosina went to the chair that was prepared for her and then glanced my way. I returned a smile from my own seat, at which point she took a deep breath and readied her harspiel. Everyone’s eyes were now on her. 

“I composed these songs myself, but it was Ferdinand and my personal musician Rosina who arranged them for the harspiel,” I said. “Rosina, please begin with the song dedicated to Leidenschaft the God of Fire.” 

“As you wish, Lady Rozemyne.” 

Eglantine listened to Rosina’s playing with rapt attention, as did Anastasius. The professors were similarly watching with great interest. 

Yup. My Rosina sure is amazing. 

While everyone’s eyes were on Rosina, the attendants swiftly began preparing the sweets and tea. 

“That was splendid. Rosina certainly is an expert player. I can see why Lady Christine took a liking to her,” Eglantine said when the performance came to an end. Rosina gave a bright smile, happy to be showered with praise alongside the one she used to serve. “May we leave the playing today to her? I would like to hear more of these songs.” 

Anastasius and the professors nodded in agreement. Brunhilde and Rihyarda had told me in advance that their goal here was to have their own musicians learn the new songs by ear. After we had gone, these musicians would try to write out the sheet music from memory. 

There was surely a world in which we kept the songs to ourselves to increase their value, but Ehrenfest students were already playing them during practical lessons. Plus, considering that the prince was here, it was best for us to put all our cards on the table in the hope of establishing more lasting connections. 

“Rosina, it seems that everyone is enjoying the music and wants to hear more,” I said. “I suggest playing the song for the Goddess of Wisdom next.” 


Rosina gave a natural smile and again readied her harspiel. Playing her first song had made her a lot more comfortable, and soon enough, her high notes were reverberating through the air once more. 

“Oh goodness! My apologies, but I’ve neglected the tea,” the host professor said with embarrassment. She took a sip of tea and then bit into one of the sweets before having them distributed among her guests. I took a bite of the pound cake I had brought before recommending it to the others. 

“This is pound cake made with honey, and you may enjoy it with any combination of these toppings,” I explained. 

“Looks like something of a poverty dish,” Anastasius said curtly upon seeing the pound cake. It certainly didn’t look as fancy as most Sovereign sweets, but I was confident that the taste was much better. 

“Oh my!” Eglantine exclaimed. “It may look rustic, but the flavor is quite delicious. Perfectly sweet and pleasant to eat. I very much like it.” 

“Rare for you to compliment a sweet like that,” Anastasius said, popping a bite into his mouth and mulling things over. His only reaction was a sniff, but I noticed he was quick to reach for another mouthful; the pound cake was evidently to his liking. 

As the tea party continued, it became clear that Anastasius preferred his pound cake with rumtopf piled atop it. “I’m more about this stuff,” he noted. My guess was that the flavor of the wine beat out the sweetness. 

In conclusion, Sovereign men will probably like rumtopf pound cake the most. 

Rumtopf used plenty of sugar and expensive wine—framing it that way would probably make others a lot more willing to embrace it. The professors liked the honey pound cake as well, commenting that the sweetness was just right. 

In Ehrenfest, it was the kids who loved the honey pound cakes, while adults leaned more toward pound cake made with shredded apfelsige and tea leaves. There seemed to be a big difference in terms of preferences here. 

“Lady Rozemyne, your hair is absolutely lovely,” Eglantine said. “It is the color of the darkest night, as though you have been blessed by the God of Darkness himself.” 

“And yours is as radiant as if you were blessed by the Goddess of Light, Lady Eglantine. It shines like the sun and is simply dazzling to behold.” 

“Oh my, what clever praise. But my hair does not shine as glossily as yours does. What in the world are you using?” she asked. 

The professors leaned forward to hear my answer. “All of the girls from Ehrenfest certainly did have shining hair during the advancement ceremony,” one said. 

“Does Ehrenfest have some kind of secret product?” asked another. 

This tea party was suddenly feeling less like my one with Solange and more like a gathering with Elvira’s gang. The professors all appeared to be about as old as my mothers, and they wore the same anticipatory expressions I was already so used to seeing. I explained rinsham to them, just as I had with Solange, and mentioned that it would soon be sold as a specialty of our duchy. 

“I see... So it is not yet on sale,” Eglantine said with a disappointed sigh, so let down that she didn’t even offer a polite, “I am looking forward to it.” 

“Sell some now,” Anastasius suddenly demanded, fixing me with a glare. 

Um... Excuse me?! What am I supposed to do in this kind of situation?! I don’t even know how much “some” is, and I don’t want to do anything that’s going to cause lasting business problems down the line! 

For one, Ferdinand thoroughly checked all of my financial dealings. Even stealthily giving some rinsham away for free couldn’t be done lightly, since a tea party was considered an official platform. Such a gesture was no different than making an offering to the royalty, meaning I would need to prepare a sizable amount of top-quality product; I shuddered to think how people would react if word spread that I’d given them my half-finished bottles. 

“I-I can give no reply on my own authority,” I stammered. “As this has the makings of a business deal, I must ask that you at least acquire Aub Ehrenfest’s permission.” 

“Prince Anastasius, please do not bully the first-year. You know that business transactions may be conducted only at the Archduke Conference,” Eglantine chided. This rule was in place to prevent people from bullying those of a lower status into bad business deals or just outright stealing from them. 

“But you want it for your graduation ceremony, right? It’ll be too late by the time the Archduke Conference comes around,” Anastasius replied, causing Eglantine to wince slightly. It seemed that he had hit the nail on the head. He wanted the rinsham for her sake. 

“If you would not mind, Lady Eglantine, I am more than happy to share a little of what I am currently using myself,” I said after some thought. “I, erm... I admittedly do not have very much, so it truly will be just a little.” 

Eglantine’s face positively lit up with joy, but Anastasius gave a blatantly displeased frown. “You. Tiny one,” he said. “How come you’re offering some to her when you refused me just a moment ago?” 

“Lending a half-used bottle of rinsham to an archduke candidate is simple enough, but to sell or even offer some to royalty, I would need to prepare a vast amount of very high-quality product, Your Highness. That is much harder for me to do on my own.” 

“You sure are bold for someone so tiny,” Anastasius remarked. By this point, I had no idea what he thought of me. “That will have to do, then. Rozemyne, make a song dedicated to the Goddess of Light before Eglantine’s graduation. I shall buy it from you.” 

What the heck...? Where is this coming from? Someone please put this guy on a leash. 

I couldn’t even begin to fathom the connection between our rinsham conversation and this sudden request for a new song. The professors saw my confusion and nervously looked between Anastasius and me. 

“Prince Anastasius,” one said, “I believe it would be difficult to compose an entirely new song before the graduation ceremony.” 

“This is the Saint of Ehrenfest we’re talking about here—making songs for the gods is her specialty. Surely she can manage,” Anastasius replied, the steely look in his gray eyes practically ordering me to comply. 

A song for the Goddess of Light, hm...? 

I glanced over at Eglantine, who was giving me a worried look. She immediately came to mind whenever I tried to picture the Goddess of Light, so a song focused on her beauty could probably double as a song dedicated to the goddess. 

“Professor, may I borrow that table over there?” I asked. 

“You may, but...” 

“Philine, prepare some ink and paper. Rosina, prepare to write.” 

My retainers had seen me compose songs before, and so they immediately knew what I was about to do. Rosina moved her seat, and with Philine’s help, the scene was arranged in no time at all. 

“You do not need to arrange the entire song here, but please do record the primary melody,” I said. 

“As you wish.” 

“Tralalala...” 

I started humming the melody out loud, which Rosina repeated on the harspiel and recorded. It wasn’t a very long melody—only several verses in total—so the process was over relatively quickly. Such was the power of not arranging the entire song then and there. 

“Will that do for a melody?” I asked. “From here, we will arrange it so that it sounds more elegant on harspiel and write lyrics that are suitable for the Goddess of Light. These stages will take a bit more time, however.” 

“Rozemyne, you...” Anastasius trailed off, stunned. Eglantine, meanwhile, let out an awed gasp. There was an unmistakable sparkle in her eyes. 

 

“What a lovely song...” she said. “I could feel the presence of the gods melting into my heart.” 

“I composed it with thoughts of you, Lady Eglantine. You have been my Goddess of Light ever since I first saw you whirl,” I replied. I was embarrassed to have said it aloud, but I wanted to praise her as best I could. 

Eglantine flushed red with embarrassment. “I am glad you are a girl, Lady Rozemyne. Had a man improvised such a wonderful song for me, my heart might have been stolen,” she said with a giggle. 

All of a sudden, Anastasius stood up. “Rozemyne, give that song to Eglantine. I don’t care for it. It is miserable,” he snapped. And with that, he walked out of the room. 

The blood drained from my face. He had told me to make a song for him and then almost immediately called it miserable. 

Oh no! Talk about the social blunder of a lifetime! I’m screwed! 

“Whatever shall I do? It seems I have angered Prince Anastasius...” I muttered in a daze, my eyes fixed on the door Anastasius had just strode through. 

Eglantine gave a troubled smile. “I would not say that was anger, exactly. Fear not, Lady Rozemyne; I shall calm him down. Professors, do forgive me, but I too must leave early.” 

“Of course, Lady Eglantine. We will leave the rest to you.” 

Eglantine and her retainers swiftly exited the room, chasing after Anastasius. The professors shook their heads calmly and sipped their tea, clearly not very bothered, but I was paler than ever. 

“Professors, I deeply apologize for making a mess of your tea party,” I said. 

“Oh, there is nothing for you to worry about. The prince only acted that way because he is jealous of your interaction with Eglantine,” Pauline said. 

“Indeed. There is not much more to it than that. We are much more concerned about hearing more of your musician’s harspiel playing.” 

“But...” My eyes darted from the professors back to the door, but Pauline merely shrugged. 

“Lady Eglantine will resolve things once she catches up to him. The prince is always doing everything he can to earn her attention, so he may even be grateful for what you’ve done here today; after all, you have afforded him an opportunity to speak with her alone.” 

“You may be a bit too young to understand this,” began another professor, “but this was all a strategy of sorts on his part.” 

The professors proceeded to explain the circumstances, telling me this information under the unspoken assumption that I would mostly keep it to myself. Eglantine was apparently the youngest daughter of the third prince, who had died in the civil war, and she had become an archduke candidate of the greater duchy Klassenberg after being adopted by her grandfather Aub Klassenberg. This adoption had taken place before her baptism, so most people were completely unaware she was a bona fide princess. 

The current king had won the civil war in large part due to Klassenberg allying with him. Whoever could win the heart of the girl who was both Aub Klassenberg’s adopted daughter and a former princess would certainly take an enormous step toward securing the throne in the future. Thus, both Anastasius and his older brother, the first prince, were desperately doing whatever they could to earn Eglantine’s attention. 

“However, it seems to me that Prince Anastasius’s desperation does not come entirely from wanting to be king...” Pauline mused. “Seeing him reminds me of Aub Ehrenfest’s days in the Royal Academy.” 

“Lord Sylvester was certainly a hard worker. I am glad that his efforts ultimately paid off,” one of the other professors added with a chuckle. 

This was my first time hearing anyone call Sylvester a hard worker. My eyes widened, which earned me amused smiles from the professors as they started to reminisce about the past. 

“He did absolutely everything he could to escort his current first wife during the graduation ceremony. It was quite the sight to behold.” 

“Yes, seeing him was enough to warm the heart. The problem was that they were two years apart in the Royal Academy. That is quite a significant gap, you see.” 

What in the—?! Details, please! 

I eagerly leaned forward, as did my retainers. We were all dying to know more. The professors exchanged glances; then they gave mischievous smiles. 

“Saying too much might make the aub’s life somewhat harder moving forward, so we shall spare you the details. If we are to discuss Ehrenfest matters, perhaps it would be wiser to talk about Lord Ferdinand.” 

“Indeed. Oh, how we all despaired when he hit puberty and his voice changed. He was such a beautiful singer,” another said. 

After talking a bit about Sylvester’s past, the conversation shifted to more legends about Ferdinand, which remained our topic of discussion until the tea party eventually came to an end. 



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