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




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Epilogue 

Benno reflexively held down his hat the moment he exited the temple; the blizzard was stronger now than when he had arrived. He climbed down the stairs with his collar popped, heading straight toward and then climbing through the open door of the waiting carriage. Mark and Lutz rushed in soon after, covered in snow from the short walk. The driver shut the door behind them, and the carriage started moving in no time. 

Ever since Rozemyne became the High Bishop, Benno had started receiving official invites in response to his requests for meetings and would arrive at the temple via carriage. The driver was surely going through hell driving them in this weather, but it was worth it—unlike the Othmar Company, the Plantin Company wasn’t located right by the temple, so making the journey on foot would only have gotten them buried in snow. 

The carriage moved slower than usual, likely due to the snow blocking the driver’s vision. Inside, the silence was almost deafening, broken only by an annoyingly loud rattle as the windows endured the heavy winds. Lutz would normally spend the journey back discussing his time with Rozemyne in her hidden room and what he should or shouldn’t say to her family, but today he just stared at the floor with his lips pressed tightly together. 

Benno noticed that Mark was looking at him with a concerned expression, but he just shook his head and stared out the window with a sigh. I know this is ’cause the magic contracts are getting nullified, but, huh... What to do about this? 

Their meeting today had not gone as Lutz was used to. Once the introductions were complete, they would usually be taken into the hidden room, where Rozemyne would speak not as a noble, but as Myne. There, Lutz was able to speak freely, and Myne would listen to him as though it were completely normal. 

Today, however, the guildmaster had also been in attendance, and only he, Benno, and Otto were generally permitted to speak. Lutz had no doubt been shaken to the core by Rozemyne casually announcing that their contract was going to be nullified, especially considering the noble smile on her face, but he probably hadn’t noticed how she really felt. She had maintained a calm composure when she brought up the matter, but her hands were tightly clenched and trembling slightly. 

We need to keep Rozemyne emotionally stable here. 

Both the Plantin and the Gilberta Companies still needed Rozemyne’s backing, and this conversation had confirmed there would soon be a flood of merchants coming in from other duchies. The lower city merchants would most likely be crushed without someone to shield them from the unreasonable demands they would surely face; all it took was a whim or a bit of misplaced anger for a noble to end them. 

As the one who had gotten Tuuli into the Gilberta Company, Lutz into the Plantin Company, and the guildmaster to stay away from Rozemyne, Benno knew it was his responsibility to keep Rozemyne emotionally stable so that she could protect the Gutenbergs and the lower city merchants. 

And to keep her stable, we need Lutz to get a grip too. 

“Welcome back, Master Benno.” 

A servant greeted them as they went inside the Plantin Company. The interior was dim, and there was nobody else inside, as was to be expected; no normal person would risk going out to buy books and paper in the midst of an intense blizzard, so they would close up shop until the weather calmed. The lehanges wouldn’t come to work either, meaning that during such periods, the Plantin Company largely housed only three people: Benno, the owner; Mark, the leherl; and Lutz, the leherl apprentice. There were also some servants and a chef who only lived there during the winter. 

Most of those willing to live in a closed store over the winter were bachelors without a family or any relatives to help with winter preparations, those who were on bad terms with their families and wanted to avoid being shacked up with them for an entire season, and those who were looking to save money for when they were married by living with their employer rather than spending on winter preparations. The chef staying with them this winter was in the third camp, and since he worked in the Italian restaurant, their meals were more than satisfactory. 

Benno and the others knocked the snow from their clothes as they climbed the stairs to the second floor where they lived. The furnace in the shared living space had already been lit, making it much warmer. Benno exhaled with relief, but there was no time to linger. 

“Mark, bring tea to my room. Lutz, keep your coat on and come with me. We need to talk.” 

Still wearing his coat, Benno went into his room and started a fire in his personal furnace. His own room was frosty cold, since they usually stayed in the living room to save on costs. They were technically wasting firewood, but there wasn’t much else they could do when talking about Rozemyne. They couldn’t risk the servants overhearing. 

Lutz trudged in with slumped shoulders and a clouded expression. He had entered after Benno, who pulled up a chair and sat right next to the furnace, staring into the fire as he waited for the leherl apprentice to do the same. 

“Lutz, you need to keep yourself under control, otherwise Rozemyne’s going to become unstable,” Benno said, looking the boy over. “If you ever need to let out some feelings or vent your frustrations, do that here. Don’t show weakness like this in the temple.” 

Lutz watched the fire slowly grow bigger and then shut his eyes tight. “I... I don’t think she cares anymore.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“I can’t believe she didn’t even blink when she talked about nullifying our contracts...” he murmured. “She probably doesn’t even care about them anymore.” 

Yeah, this is what we get for relying on the hidden room too much. 


Benno ran his fingers through his slicked-back hair, letting it down. For Lutz, it had been normal to use the hidden room when talking about important things. He had given Rozemyne reports through Gil and Fritz in the past, but he wasn’t used to talking to her about important things when she was wearing her noble persona. 

“Are you stupid?” Benno asked. “Like hell Rozemyne wants those contracts nullified.” 

“But, Master Benno...” 

“The magic contracts are more important to her than anyone. Could you not see how desperate she is to cling to her few remaining connections to the lower city? To be honest, considering how we’re going to be expanding these businesses, those contracts are nothing but a problem for you and me.” 

Lutz firmly shook his head. “‘Nothing but a problem’?” he echoed, his voice quavering. 

Benno scratched his head. Lutz was a lot more dependent on those contracts than he had thought. “Think about it as an apprentice leherl in the Plantin Company,” he said. “There were a lot of good opportunities we couldn’t take advantage of while she was asleep due to those contracts, remember, and she’s sickly enough that it might happen again sometime. Those contracts just don’t work for industries being expanded at the command of an archduke.” 

Without Rozemyne’s approval, they hadn’t been able to make Haldenzel its own Plant Paper Guild, and even when it came to printing and making books, there were some things they couldn’t do without her. Myne becoming Rozemyne had resulted in paper-making and printing becoming official duchy industries, and with the archduke now steering them into popularity, it didn’t make sense to ask her permission for every little thing. 

Lutz looked up with a start. “But the contracts are—” 

“They were always just for insurance. We didn’t know if some random noble would snatch Myne away when she went to the temple, and our contracts were a way for us to keep in touch with her.” 

Of course, Myne had then been passed off as dead, and Rozemyne became the archduke’s adopted daughter. The Gilberta Company was a growing star that had secured the exclusive business of the trailblazing archducal family, while Benno and the others were awarded the name “Plantin” by the archduke’s adopted daughter. No longer did they need to worry about Rozemyne suddenly going missing or not being allowed to see them anymore. 

“Everything’s different from how it was back then,” Benno concluded. “You two don’t need those contracts anymore.” 

Lutz mulled over those words for a moment and then repeated, “Everything’s different...” The contracts had made sense back when the immediate short-term was more important than anything else, but now that the Plantin Company was guaranteed a role in the archduke’s expanding industries, there wasn’t much use for them at all. 

“But that’s not true for her. Barely any time has passed since she woke up from her two-year slumber, and she hasn’t yet had an opportunity to see anyone from her family,” Benno explained. “Her losing one more tiny connection to the lower city runs the risk of making her as emotionally unstable as she was before.” He was alluding to their first meeting after Rozemyne had woken up, when she had mentioned being unable to cry no matter how much she wanted to and then immediately burst into tears. 

Rozemyne was living all alone in noble society as the archduke’s daughter—who knew what might destabilize her? Just discussing business with archnobles was enough to exhaust Benno; it was impossible to say how much greater of a burden she was enduring. 

Back when Myne was an apprentice blue shrine maiden, she had called Lutz and Tuuli over to the temple on a regular basis when she was stuck there over the winter. Those were ancient memories to Lutz, since he was a kid and that was years ago, but to Benno, it had happened just recently. 

“You should know better than anyone that no matter how calm Rozemyne looks, she’s not necessarily calm on the inside,” Benno said. Myne had given Lutz consoling smiles even when enduring the tremendous pain of the Devouring. Benno’s childhood sweetheart from when he was thirteen had also endured it, and the way she had screamed when the heat welled up out of nowhere stuck with him to this day. His brows knitted as he thought back to that girl, the love of his life whom he had failed to save. “You may not have seen it, Lutz, but her hands were shaking when she brought up nullifying the contracts. Don’t let her noble facade fool you.” 

Lutz swallowed hard, his expression twisting into a grimace. He was frustrated at himself for not having paid enough attention to Rozemyne. 

“Lutz, stay on track here. Our job doesn’t change whether those contracts are there or not—we’ve still got our eyes on the same prize. And given how hard it is for Rozemyne to meet with her family, you’re the only one who can keep her calm. If at any point she gets unstable, you can let her cry on you until she’s satisfied and reassure her that nothing’s changed, as you’ve done before.” 

It was then that Lutz’s eyes finally stopped wavering. He faced forward, slapped himself on the cheeks, and nodded. “Yes, Master Benno.” 

That should do it, Benno thought, letting out a relieved sigh at Lutz having calmed down. So long as Lutz stays strong, Rozemyne’ll manage somehow. 

“Master Benno, I have brought the tea,” Mark said, stepping into the room as though he had been waiting for the exact moment the conversation came to a close. He glanced at Lutz and then nodded. “If you have finished your discussion, shall we move to the living room? It is much warmer there.” 

Benno paused for a moment. “Nah, it’s easier to work here where there’s more paperwork. I’ll start gathering input on the lower city infrastructure improvements Rozemyne was talking about.” 

“You will need additional documents for when you go to the castle to explain things to the archduke, correct?” Lutz asked, immediately picking up his boards and some ink with a confident smile. Benno grinned right back at him. They might not have been able to go out into the snow, but there was still plenty for them to do. There was no time to mope. 

“It is nice to see you both so motivated, but I did just prepare tea,” Mark noted. “Might I suggest you begin drinking?” His intimidating smile strongly encouraged them not to let the drinks go to waste. 

Benno and Lutz exchanged glances before hurriedly picking up their teacups. 



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