Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.3 - Chapter 14

Year One: Complete

“We’re back. Anything happen while we were gone?” Sylvester asked as he and Florencia entered the dormitory. The graduation ceremony had just come to an end.

The graduating students were still in the hall; they were loath to say farewell to their friends, and many were busy introducing people to their parents. At least, that was the explanation I received from an exhausted-looking Sylvester. I gulped. My blessing had no doubt had some sort of consequence, and he was well aware who the culprit was.

Ferdinand stepped forward with as flat of an expression as always. “Nothing happened at all, Aub Ehrenfest.” His body partially hid me from Sylvester, and I used the opportunity to scoot completely behind him. “Incidentally, how was the graduation ceremony? Did anything of note happen?”

“...Yeah. I’ll tell you all about it. Come to my room. You too, Rozemyne.”

“I greatly appreciate the invitation, but as a humble young girl, I am unfortunately not allowed on the second floor where the boys stay.”

Sylvester’s brow twitched with anger at my uncouth attempt to escape. “This is an order,” he grunted. Florencia, who was standing next to him, smiled softly and attempted to reassure me that everything would be fine, since she would be coming with us. There truly was no hope of escaping.

Sylvester flourished his cape as he turned to head to his room. I slumped my shoulders and followed after him. Our retainers weren’t allowed to enter the archduke’s room with us, meaning it was just the archducal couple, Ferdinand, and me. Karstedt and Eckhart were standing guard outside the door.

“We were all watching the second prince and Klassenberg’s archduke candidate walk into the room, when suddenly a blessing flew in from nowhere,” he began. The light of the blessing had apparently rained down upon them, but nobody could tell where it had come from. The audience had immediately begun to stir, with many asking whether the High Bishop of the Sovereign Temple was responsible.

The commotion persisted until the Sovereign High Bishop himself raised his hands, demanding silence. He then declared that the blessing was not from him, but from the gods—that they had blessed Eglantine’s coming-of-age and wedding.

“Wait, Lady Eglantine? Not both of them?”

“The light was clearly focused on her,” Florencia said. “It gave the impression that Lady Eglantine had been chosen, with Prince Anastasius simply being blessed alongside her.”

That didn’t make sense; I had prayed for both their happiness.

“Then I suppose I have nothing to do with it,” I mused aloud. “This almost certainly happened because Lady Eglantine truly is loved by the gods.”

I decided to push this as having literally been the blessings of the gods, only for Ferdinand to rub his temples and glare at me. “Your blessings, when given unconsciously, are swayed heavily by your emotions; it would not be at all strange for it to have prioritized her. Do you not recall how extensively you practiced for Charlotte’s baptism?”

“Eep...”

I had desperately practiced so that my blessings would look similar to those of the other children, so I couldn’t argue with that. It only made sense that me liking Eglantine more would have impacted the blessing.

“Anyway, everyone’s treating it like a blessing from the gods, so don’t mess that up. Keep all this to yourselves,” Sylvester said. “Did anyone else see it?”

“The students who remained, yes. I ordered their silence. Now that the High Bishop of the Sovereign Temple has recognized it as a blessing from the gods, attempting to claim it as Rozemyne’s would only lead to mockery, as if we must resort to lies to assist her reputation.” If nobody said anything before we all returned to the duchy, then by next winter, everyone would have accepted it as a blessing from the gods.

“Lady Eglantine being loved by the gods is a good cover story, but we still need to know the details,” Sylvester said wearily. “Tell me what happened before and after the blessing. Which god did you even pray to?”

I couldn’t help but falter; that wasn’t an easy question to answer, since I hadn’t actually been praying this time. “I just wished for Prince Anastasius and Lady Eglantine to be happy. I didn’t think of any god in particular, nor did I speak any words of prayer.”

Sylvester looked at me doubtfully and then turned to Ferdinand.

“She speaks the truth. Had she begun a normal prayer, I would have stopped her before the blessing was able to fly away.”

“Oh my. What were you doing at the time, Rozemyne?” Florencia asked in a soothing voice. Feeling a bit calmer, I explained that I had been watching Angelica’s sword dance and Eglantine’s dedication whirl on the video camera magic tool.

“...Show me,” Sylvester said. “I’ve never seen a magic tool that can record things like that.”

Ferdinand shook his head. “There is still much we need to discuss, Sylvester.”

“This takes priority. The recording might contain some useful clues.”

Ferdinand muttered something about not buying that, but nonetheless opened the door and instructed Eckhart to retrieve the magic tool. Once it was here, I started playing the whirling video in question.

“Now this is cool,” Sylvester remarked.

“It uses an absurd quantity of mana,” Ferdinand warned. “It is not to be used lightly.”

“This dedication whirl was truly splendid, and I am glad to have the opportunity to see it once more,” Florencia said, having felt that this year’s dedication whirl—and Eglantine’s whirling in particular—had been marvelous. I looked up at her, feeling happy myself.

“Lady Eglantine is something else, isn’t she? Especially the part where they go, like... ‘I vow that I shall pray to thee, gods of nature; I shall thank you—’”

“Rozemyne, were you perhaps singing to yourself at the time of your impromptu blessing?” Ferdinand asked.

“Yes. This tool doesn’t record or play back sound, so I added some myself. Why’s that?”

Ferdinand rubbed his temples. “That would be what caused the blessing.”

“What would...?”

“The dedication whirl song—what else? It is part of the offering to the gods. The song you played for Leidenschaft at your debut became a blessing as well. There is nothing unusual that a song crafted in old language for the gods would have such a result. It would be quite unusual for anyone else, but this happens surprisingly often with you.”

Upon hearing that one man’s miracle was my daily life, Sylvester gave Ferdinand a thoroughly troubled look. “How can we stop her?”

“Do not ask me. It is impossible to control when Rozemyne feels compelled to bless someone.”

“I knew that I’d need to be careful when whirling my heart out at my instructor’s direction, but I didn’t think that something as simple as humming could result in a blessing...” I murmured. “Even I’m surprised.”

All those gathered cradled their heads at how abnormal I was.

“I just realized something even worse—Rozemyne already has her schtappe,” Ferdinand said with a deep grimace. I looked at Sylvester, unsure what was being implied, only to see that he was equally as confused. Ferdinand frowned even harder. “Do you not recall why one absorbs the Divine Will into themselves and creates a schtappe?”

“To make mana easier to control, to help prayers reach the gods, and for divine protection to... Ah.” Sylvester stopped mid-sentence and cradled his head; it seemed that my schtappe was making my prayers reach the gods much more easily than before. “We’re not gonna find any solutions to this just mulling over the situation; we need to prioritize thinking about other things.”

“Is there something more important than this?” I asked.

“Yeah. We had a lot of people coming to us at the Interduchy Tournament and the graduation ceremony asking who our first-in-class trendsetter-slash-saint is engaged to. We’ve managed to sidestep the situation for now, since they were all from lower-ranking duchies, but we need to get your engagement in order before higher-ranking duchies come knocking.”

Ooh! In other words, I’m super popular with the boys?!

It was the first time in my life that I was being faced with a string of proposals. But as I savored the slight giddiness that I was feeling inside, Ferdinand poked the side of my head.

“Do not get excited about these troublesome matters, fool. So? What did you tell them, Sylvester?”

“Naturally, I said that she has someone waiting for her in Ehrenfest. I hinted that she’d be settling with Wilfried this winter and said that I’d be announcing her engagement at the Archduke Conference.”

“A suitable answer. We cannot allow Rozemyne to be taken—not only due to the mana shortage, but because I cannot envision her surviving in another duchy where she needs to remain proper at all times. She is a dangerous gremlin who is a headache to deal with, mentally unstable, and untrained in the ways of mana control.”

“‘Gremlin’? You’re really going to throw out an insult like that, Ferdinand?!” He was pretty much right in every sense, so I had no room to argue, but I could at least protest his choice of words.

Florencia gave a troubled smile and shook her head. “Rozemyne, please focus on the fact that the details of your marriage are being decided here.”

“Well, I was adopted because of my profitable ideas and mana, and has it not always been the case that I am to be thrust into an arranged marriage to benefit our duchy? I am fine marrying anyone, so long as I am granted full access to their library.”

“You have taken exactly the same position as Angelica,” Ferdinand said. “What a terrifying combination...”

Wow. He’s right. But wait... Does that make me a waste of beauty too?

“Y’know, in terms of compatible mana capacities and controlling Rozemyne, Ferdinand is actually our best choice here...” Sylvester mused.

“Do not be foolish,” Ferdinand shot back.

I opened my mouth to say, “Would you hate marrying me that much?” but then promptly swallowed my words; Ferdinand was wearing such a deadly serious expression that it was almost scary.

“That would remove the possibility of one of your children becoming the next archduke,” he explained. “It is not something to joke about.”

“What do you mean...?”

Ferdinand sighed. “There are, at present, five people in Ehrenfest considered to be candidates for the archducal seat.”

“Umm... And those are Wilfried, Charlotte, and Melchior, since they’re Sylvester’s children... And then me, as his adoptive daughter, and you as the son of the former archduke, right?”

“Correct. Bonifatius is technically also a candidate, but given his age and the fact that he has already retired, he has left the nobility’s collective mind in this regard.”

Oh yeah, Grandfather was the son of an archduke too.

“Wilfried has a stain on his reputation from entering the Ivory Tower; Charlotte, as a woman, must marry an archduke candidate from another duchy; Melchior has not yet been baptized; and my being ostracized by Veronica means I lack a proper support network. You, on the other hand, are the center of various trends sweeping Ehrenfest, and your mana surpasses almost all others. From an objective standpoint, is it not obvious who is best suited to become the next archduke?”

“But I—”

“I used to be a commoner” was what I wanted to say, but Ferdinand interrupted me to continue.

“To those who do not know your circumstances, you have Karstedt and Elvira as parents, with Bonifatius and the Leisegang house supporting you from behind. I have no such backing.”

Almost nobody knew that I had once been a commoner—and with that impediment ignored, I was Bonifatius’s granddaughter and the daughter of the knight commander, with archduke blood flowing through my veins. There was no problem with my lineage whatsoever.

“The printing industry is going to continue expanding with you and Elvira at its center, and considering your lineage, it is safe to say that Haldenzel, Groschel, and Leisegang collectively form the Rozemyne faction already. Count Leisegang in particular has practically spent his life suffering at the hands of the Ahrensbach bloodline; he will no doubt put his all into ensuring you become the next aub, as you are his blood relative and entirely unrelated to Ahrensbach.”

Florencia paled. Bonifatius was my grandfather on my father’s side, his wife was a Leisegang noble, and my grandmother on my mother’s side was a Leisegang as well. From an outsider perspective, I was a purebred Leisegang.

“It is clear to see what would happen were I to marry Rozemyne—I would be positioned to become the next archduke with all certainty,” Ferdinand continued. “My fault is a lack of support, but with Rozemyne as my partner, I would have all the backing she has. Even if our marriage were to take place when she comes of age, Wilfried and Charlotte would also just be coming of age; they would serve as no competition to me.”

That wasn’t arrogance or anything of the sort—it was hard to imagine that Wilfried or Charlotte would ever manage to beat Ferdinand right after their coming-of-age ceremonies.

“If you wish to form plans before Rozemyne is taken by another duchy, get her engaged to Wilfried. That increases the likelihood of him becoming the next archduke, as you so wish.”

“True. Alright, Ferdinand—if we’re gonna make Rozemyne get engaged to Wilfried, are you gonna get engaged to Charlotte?” Sylvester asked in jest, wearing a sly grin. It was a joke that nobody would laugh at, and a vein popped out on Ferdinand’s forehead as he curtly shot down the idea.

“That’s right!” I exclaimed. “That would be much too sad for Charlotte! By the time she comes of age, Ferdinand will be an old man! The only husband I’ll accept for her is a kind young man who will treat her right! Not a grouch like Ferdinand!”

“Oho? Say that again.” Despite my agreeing with his position, my support only angered Ferdinand further. He pinched and pulled on my cheeks.

“Ow, ow, ow! M’mm showwy!”

I defensively rubbed my cheeks when he finally let go, at which point Florencia let out a breath. “You would not oppose marrying Wilfried, Rozemyne?”

“Not at all, so long as I can do as I please with the castle and temple book rooms.”

“Will you support Wilfried...?”

“I shall do what I can,” I replied. I needed the archduke to get a grip so that I could manage my libraries in peace; surely I would have the motivation to support him at least a little.

And yet, Ferdinand scoffed at my resolve. “Florencia, it is unwise to expect that from Rozemyne,” he said. “Rather, you should worry about whether Wilfried will be able to keep a firm hold on Rozemyne’s reins.”

“Do you think I’m a wild horse or something?!”

“Considering the impact you have on your surroundings, a wild horse would be much easier to control.”

Florencia watched our sharp exchange with a conflicted smile. Sylvester, who had at some point fallen into thought, abruptly looked up.

“If we’re all in agreement here, I’ll announce Rozemyne’s engagement to Wilfried to all the Ehrenfest nobles during the spring feast. Then do the same to those of the other duchies at the Archduke Conference. Alright?”

“Understood,” I said. “Please do tell Wilfried about this as well, though.”

And so the meeting came to a close. Upon my return to my room, I received get-well letters from Eglantine and Anastasius. Eglantine’s said that she had wanted me to bless her during the graduation ceremony, since it was by my word that Anastasius had made his move and settled things in the best way possible for her.

Is this her probing about the blessing...?

She also mentioned that the hairpins and rinsham had proven highly popular, such that even her grandfather and Aub Klassenberg were interested in them, and that she had spoken positively with Aub Ehrenfest at the Interduchy Tournament.

Sylvester came back exhausted, but if the aubs of greater duchies were happy about their exchange, it was probably worth all the suffering...

I wrote a reply in which I expressed my deep regret at having missed her dedication whirl and then read my letter from Anastasius. His was about fifty percent criticism about me being so absurdly weak that I had fallen ill during some of the most important ceremonies of the year. My response went as follows:

I deeply apologize for my ill health. If possible, I would have liked to attend. I am told that you were blessed by everyone during the graduation ceremony. I would have liked to bless the both of you as well.

Indeed, I made sure to maintain the position that the blessing had nothing to do with me.

Once my replies were done, I moved on to writing a letter of apology and thanks to Hannelore, who had sent her well-wishes during the Interduchy Tournament. I then asked that it be delivered to her alongside a book.

With all that done, I looked over my room, which was being cleaned up bit by bit. Real-deal preparations for leaving would be done tomorrow, now that the graduation ceremony was complete.

“I will need to go to the library tomorrow to supply Schwartz and Weiss with mana,” I said aloud. “Not to mention, I will need to return the book I borrowed the other day...”

“Milady, please discuss that with Ferdinand first. You may be able to supply Professor Solange with enough mana to last until next winter.”

My discussion with Ferdinand bore fruit, and it was decided that I would lend Solange feystones filled with mana. Since large feystones were exceedingly expensive, however, Ferdinand would be accompanying me there and signing a contract with her for the lending. Once I had Sylvester’s permission, the two of us headed for the library with our retainers.

“I don’t believe Professor Solange would be one to do anything shady with the feystones,” I said, feeling a bit hesitant about the whole contract business.

“These are large feystones filled to the brim with your mana; it is only natural to prepare ahead of time such that they are not stolen or misused. You may lend your mana and magic tools freely with no sense of danger, but do so only while assuming what you lend will never return. Mana is not normally something to be given out so freely.”

I nodded to indicate my understanding. If that was common sense for nobles, I needed to try to learn and practice it myself. I had the feeling that Ferdinand lent out his own feystones pretty freely, and I was lending my mana without issue, but maybe that was because things were different in one’s own inner circle.

“Milady’s here.”

“Milady. Time to read?”

Schwartz and Weiss greeted us when we arrived, at which point I went ahead and returned the book that Lieseleta had carried here for me. Ferdinand saw the two shumils walk circles around us and blinked in surprise.

“To think you truly are their master...” he said in a half-surprised, half-exasperated voice.

“Lady Rozemyne. And my, if it isn’t Lord Ferdinand. How many years has it been?” Solange asked. She apparently knew Ferdinand from his days in the Academy, when he would go in and out of the library to borrow documents for Hirschur.

Ferdinand turned to Solange with a nostalgic look in his eyes. “Too many. I was told by Rozemyne that the librarians I knew were gone, so it is a relief to see at least one remains.”

Solange smiled softly in response, realizing that Ferdinand had deliberately said that so she wouldn’t have to relate the painful explanation of why there were no other librarians present.

“Professor Solange,” I said, “we came here today to discuss the return of some books and a supply of mana for Schwartz and Weiss. Do you have a moment?”

“Oh yes. Thank you ever so much for your concern.”

Since it was the day after the graduation ceremony, the library was pretty much empty. I couldn’t believe how barren some of the shelves were too. They had been filled with gaps the last time I had been here, since a bunch of students had taken out books for their final exams, but how could one explain them now?

“Are there still this many books being lent out?” I asked. “It’s already time for everyone to return to their duchies...”

“It gets worse every year, but the fault ultimately rests with me...” Solange replied, her eyes lowered sadly. Even among those who went through the proper procedures for taking out books, some looked down on Solange for being a mednoble and never bothered to return them. She also explained that she couldn’t even investigate to find out who had taken books into carrels and then made away with them without going through the borrowing process.

“You cannot investigate them?” Ferdinand asked. “That cannot be right. For what purpose are Schwartz and Weiss here? I recall their records being used to send letters of recall in the past.” He raised his eyebrows at the very thought of the library being different from how he remembered it.

As it turned out, Solange couldn’t get the necessary information from Schwartz and Weiss because she wasn’t their master. “And I would not dream of putting even more of a burden on Lady Rozemyne,” she said.

“This is no burden,” I replied. “Helping the library is the duty of any library committee member. I will do all that I can to help, when able.”

Up until now, I had only been refraining from fulfilling my duties outside of reading because I didn’t want to bother Solange by helping unprompted. If she actually had work for me, then as a committee member, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it.

“I do not know what this library committee business is about, but Rozemyne has both the mana and motivation,” Ferdinand said. “Or rather, if this state of affairs is allowed to continue, I expect that she will curse all those who have mistreated books.”

“Curse? Please do not use such violent language. I would never.”

“I still clearly recall you proposing we hold a so-called ‘bloody carnival’ after someone merely made a mess of the book room. It would be wise to settle this matter before the library is stained with the blood of the executed.”

I had no intention of holding any mass executions... but to be fair, when books are involved, one does not always have the luxury of choosing one’s methods.

“Rozemyne, this is your job as Schwartz and Weiss’s master. Tell them to state those who have not returned their books or have borrowed them without permission. Meanwhile, I will speak with Professor Solange about the feystones.”

“Okay. Schwartz, Weiss—please tell me the names and duchies of everyone who has borrowed books from the library without permission or who hasn’t returned their books.”

As per Ferdinand’s instructions, I summoned Schwartz and Weiss and then started to write out a list of sinners from each of the duchies. My retainers were helping me with this endeavor.

“Non-returner. From duchy...”

“Unauthorized borrower. From duchy...”

Schwartz’s and Weiss’s eyes glowed as they started muttering names, which my retainers and I speedily recorded. Once the list of names was complete, we learned that there was no need to send letters to the higher-ranking duchies; it was the lower-ranked duchies that had exhibited poor library manners.

“I see nobody from Ehrenfest has sinned,” I said.

“No one would be foolish enough to inconvenience the library you are so invested in, Lady Rozemyne. Their future depends on returning their books,” Cornelius said with a shrug. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

I took the finished list and went to Solange’s office. “Ferdinand, Professor Solange, I have finished writing down the names.”

“And we have finished the feystone contract,” Ferdinand replied. “Show me the names.”

I showed him the list, and his brow furrowed hard at just how many people had borrowed books without permission. “I shall send the ordonnanzes for having the books returned,” he said. “If they hear the voice of an adult man they are unfamiliar with, they will almost certainly misinterpret the situation as the Sovereignty getting involved.”

That was a good idea; Solange would be ignored as always, while a message sent in a voice as young as mine would possibly earn even more scorn. Having Ferdinand contact them in his harsh, chilly tone would terrify them and have them running to return their books.

“I never expected you to help with the library, Ferdinand. I’m so moved.” But as I sincerely thanked him, his lips curved up into a grin.

“Rozemyne, show me the magic circles on Schwartz’s and Weiss’s stomachs later. I wish to see the real things. That much is a suitable reward for my assisting the library, no?”

Was that his plan all along...?! I knew it was kinda weird that he would go out of his way to come to the library and help out like this! Well, hmph!

As I stewed in my newfound anger, I thought about the pros and cons that came with this assistance from Ferdinand. Showing him the magic circles wouldn’t be a problem, since he had already seen the written copies anyway; he would also help with Schwartz’s and Weiss’s outfits and pressure people into returning their books. There was much that I stood to gain.

“Ferdinand... If I leave this with you, are you certain all the books will be returned?”

“Yes. I will send them messages that will leave them no choice but to return the books,” Ferdinand said. His voice then became dark and threatening as he spoke his message to be sent to the relevant dorms. “The Royal Academy’s library is under the administration of royalty, and its books are consequently the property of royalty. Those who do not return their books before leaving the Academy will be deemed criminals, and their aub will be informed of this in the name of the king. From that point, we will exercise the contract magic, for the vow given to Mestionora the Goddess of Wisdom will have been broken.”

It’s the day after the graduation ceremony, so a lot of the archdukes are still in the dorms, right? The archdukes are probably going to yell at them super hard.

That day, I happily assisted Solange and Schwartz with the flood of panicked-looking students coming to return their books, while Ferdinand sat in Solange’s office spewing out notes upon notes regarding the magic circle on Weiss’s stomach. It was quite chaotic.

Ferdinand and I returned to Ehrenfest, both feeling pleased. I had gotten to do my job as a library committee member, while he had realized something or another from observing Weiss’s stomach.