Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.4 - Chapter 16

A More Private Meeting

The meeting ended, and the room began to buzz as people started speaking among themselves again. A lot had happened, and it was clear that Ehrenfest was undergoing great change, so everyone exited with bright expressions.

“Rozemyne, Ferdinand, follow me to my office,” Sylvester said. “I need to speak with the High Bishop and the High Priest.”

Our retainers came with us, and what immediately caught my eye when we arrived was a fancy-looking book with a letter resting atop it. As I gazed upon its magnificence, Sylvester glanced over with a raised eyebrow.

“Those are from Dunkelfelger,” he informed me. “Have an apprentice scholar carry them to your room, but be especially careful with the book.”

AAAH! LADY HANNELORE, I LOVE YOUUU!

As I trembled with excitement, Hartmut and Philine delicately wrapped the book in some cloth given to them by one of Sylvester’s scholars.

“We need to talk about Ehrenfest and the Starbinding to be performed at the border gate. Retainers don’t need to hear about the ceremony, so you can all step outside for a moment,” Sylvester said. He cleared the room of not just my retainers, but his own as well, such that only he, Ferdinand, Karstedt, and I remained. The door shut with a click, and once the footsteps had faded into the distance, Sylvester collapsed forward so suddenly that he smacked his head against his desktop.

“Sylvester?” I asked.

“I’m exhausted, Rozemyne. That was the most exhausting Archduke Conference I’ve ever been to. It was even friggin’ worse than the first one I ever attended.”

He went on to explain that he had maintained the dignified persona of an archduke during the Archduke Conference and even proclaimed to his scholars that he was pleased to be so busy because it meant the duchy was rising through the ranks. In other words, he had completely hidden his exhaustion. Now that the retainers were gone, however, Sylvester’s archduke attitude had vanished. He started grumbling and whining to himself, all the while rubbing his forehead against his desk.

“Ferdinand, telling me to get the king’s approval for the marriage before the business talks began was the best advice you’ve ever given. I thank the gods that I followed it to the letter. Klassenberg’s next archduke came asking to take Rozemyne as a second wife, Drewanchel very heavily implied we should deepen our bonds since our daughters and sons are so close, Frenbeltag suggestively mentioned that Rudiger’s around Rozemyne’s age, and Ahrensbach was apparently trying to wed Wilfried into their duchy. If not for the king having already approved the engagement, I never would have been able to shake them all off.”

The situation really did sound tense. Karstedt was working his shoulders and scratching his neck, noting that he was exhausted and sick to his stomach just from watching.

“Klassenberg apparently learned about Rozemyne being the source of the trends and a composer through Lady Eglantine’s reports,” Sylvester groaned. “I have to admit, greater duchies are just as threatening as I thought. To think they’d pick up on Rozemyne’s abnormality and try to suck her into their fold despite having had barely any contact with her... It’s crazy. Rozemyne, when the hell did you even socialize with Drewanchel...? Justus barely mentioned them in his report.”

“I can’t speak for Wilfried, but I hardly socialized with them at all,” I replied. “There was an occasion when Lady Eglantine introduced me to Lady Adolphine at a tea party we were hosting. She seems as though she’s going to provide her protection moving forward, so I definitely wish to continue socializing with her.”

Sylvester slumped his shoulders and let out a heavy sigh. “Even more duchies to deal with, huh...? Drewanchel’s scholars are exceptional, and their duchy tends to produce innovative magic tools. Aub Drewanchel and his retainers were pretty interested in our verification paper. Seems like it has a pretty low mana requirement as far as magic items go. They also liked that laynobles can make it and even commoners can use it without issue.”

They were highly interested in learning who had invented it and quite insistent about receiving some. That wasn’t an option, however, because with enough investigation, they would eventually work out what it was made from. Sylvester had defended it to the death, maintaining that it was created from some rare material and that he only had enough for doing business with Klassenberg and the Sovereignty.

“We didn’t give them what they wanted, so I assume Drewanchel are gonna start approaching you a lot more once you return to the Royal Academy,” Sylvester concluded.

“Would it be bad for me to become friends with them...?” I asked.

Ferdinand placed a contemplative hand on his chin. “No, it would actually be wise. There is much value in developing friendships with Drewanchel, Dunkelfelger, and Klassenberg. Can you manage that?”

It was a pretty direct question, and considering how many people had made it clear that the sight of me socializing sent chills down their spines, I could hardly respond with a confident yes. But I couldn’t say no either, so I remained silent for long enough that Ferdinand began tapping his temple.

“We cannot be certain how Ahrensbach will move once the two brides are here. The more strong allies and sources of information we have, the better. One cannot fully trust their allies, of course, but they will still serve as strong tools,” Ferdinand said.

Sylvester nodded in agreement. “What you need to watch out for, Rozemyne, is the fact that Dunkelfelger knows your one weakness: books. Their aub went through the trouble of personally bringing me this expensive book, all so that he can use your friendship with his daughter to his advantage during next year’s business negotiations. I expect that this Lady Hannelore is one cunning strategist to have put this in place.”

In other words, Sylvester was telling me to remain conscious of my tendency to take any bait that came in the shape of a book. I had no way of knowing whether Hannelore really was forming devious plots beneath her peaceful exterior, but that didn’t matter to me; I still wanted to spend more time with her during my next year at the Academy.

“To be clear, Lady Hannelore is my sole bookworm ally and I love her. We’re going to be wearing matching armbands next year and working as fellow Library Committee members. What exactly do I need to be careful about in the process?”

“She already has you in the palm of her hand, huh? Greater duchies... Man, they’re something else...” Sylvester murmured with wide eyes before putting his head in his hands and groaning. I looked around at my other guardians; my intention certainly hadn’t been to upset him like this.

“If you have any advice about whom I need to be careful of and what I need to be careful about saying then I need to hear it now,” I said. Enough people had already told me how much worry my socializing skills caused them, so using this time to prepare felt like a good decision.

Ferdinand gave a light shrug. “In your case, it would be most correct to say that you should remain on guard against all who approach you.”

“I understand that, but is there anyone in particular?”

“We’ve earned the jealousy of the duchies just below us by rising to the tenth rank. They’ll act polite on the surface, since our positions have effectively swapped, but they’re going to be much harsher on the whole,” Sylvester explained. “If you respond too meekly then they’ll get bolder, but if you respond too arrogantly then they’ll seek revenge if we ever drop below them again.”

As it turned out, Ehrenfest had been forced to endure the immense jealousy of the duchies that had lost the civil war, all of whom complained about ending up “beneath Ehrenfest, of all duchies.” In all honesty, one could hardly blame them; Ehrenfest had previously been at the bottom of the rankings, and our rise to the middle was purely down to the civil war rather than any accomplishments on our part.

“Seriously though, I still can’t believe there were that many people asking for your hand in marriage. I knew there were going to be some, but it was ridiculous,” Sylvester sighed.

“There weren’t that many at the Interduchy Tournament, were there?” I asked. I remembered some interest from lower-ranked duchies, but not the top-ranked ones.

“I’m guessing it was because you came first in your class and our duchy’s rank shot up so fast. All I can say is, I’m glad I got the king’s permission before anything else. They also mentioned the library’s tools, but...”

“Did the royals say anything about Schwartz and Weiss? Will they perhaps be assigning more archnobles to take up positions in the Royal Academy library?” I asked, leaning forward over the table. I cared more about this than anything that had been mentioned during the meeting.

Sylvester gave me a look as though he found me entirely unfortunate and then shook his head. “It was archscholars from the Sovereignty who spoke to me, not royals. They asked whether Ehrenfest was making clothes for the library’s magic tools and, nicely enough, told me all sorts of things about them.” He paused for a moment and grinned at Ferdinand. “Seems like the outfits are usually made by the Sovereign archnobles serving as librarians banding together; they were real worried about whether a backwater duchy like us can handle them on our own. They were convinced we wouldn’t even be able to gather the proper materials. In fact, they thought we were gonna dress them in rags. Yeah, they actually said that.”

“Is that so?” Ferdinand asked, his expression morphing into one of apparent amusement. His light-golden eyes were narrowed in a way that was genuinely terrifying. “I certainly look forward to their thoughts next year, then. I truly do. Rozemyne, take extreme care with the embroidering. The magic circles I produced are more than satisfactory, but we must not allow the embroidery or appearance of the clothes to inspire the mockery of others.”

Oof. Looks like he’s entered serious mode...

“Sylvester, which duchies must Rozemyne be most on guard against?” Ferdinand asked. “Elaborate on the propositions she received.”

“Just Drewanchel, Dunkelfelger, and Klassenberg. Every other duchy held a lower rank than us, so we don’t need to worry too much about them.”

“Um, wait... There must be some kind of mistake. I don’t see why Dunkelfelger would consider me a marriage candidate. Lord Lestilaut kept insulting me and calling me a fake saint,” I said, detailing our conversations before and after we had played treasure-stealing ditter.

Ferdinand narrowed his eyes again as he mentally pulled together the pieces. “That game of ditter is likely responsible,” he reasoned. “Dunkelfelger’s knight commander and his nephew were doubtless pushing hard for your hand; their knights yearn for nothing more than tacticians who can use their talent well.”

“That sounds oddly specific... Ferdinand, did you receive similar proposals?” I asked, looking up at him. He gave a brisk nod with a displeased expression.

“The Knight’s Order always targets those skilled at ditter, with the aub pushing girls of suitable age upon them. I recall a female archduke candidate who, not wanting to marry a man from a bottom-ranked duchy regardless of whether he was first in his class, fled from Dunkelfelger and entered a romance with royalty. She ended up becoming the third wife of a prince in the middle of the civil war.”

“Sh-She sounds like... quite a proactive woman,” I replied. “I thought noblewomen generally only married partners their parents chose for them.”

“It is common in Dunkelfelger to seize whatever one wants and secure victory no matter the cost. Her parents were unable to protest her decision, since she had secured a wedding with royalty through her own strength and determination.”

Wowee. Dunkelfelger women sure seem strong. Lady Hannelore didn’t really give me that impression, but maybe she actually fights like a tiger...

Karstedt began stroking his chin, having been listening closely to our discussion. “Lestilaut, was it? If you truly are despised by Dunkelfelger’s archduke candidate, I imagine you have nothing to worry about. Those around him are just getting excited. The true threat here seems to be Drewanchel.”

“Why’s that?” I asked.

“They have an archduke candidate your age, no? And seeing as you’re going to be receiving his older sister’s protection next year, you won’t be able to speak too strongly against them.”

I clapped my hands together in realization. It was true that I was going to be in Adolphine’s care when I returned to the Royal Academy.

Sylvester furrowed his brow, pulling a face like he was digging through his memories. “Aub Drewanchel mentioned that his daughter adores you like a little sister, and as I said, they’re obsessed with magic tools. They might have their eyes set on you purely as a way of connecting with Ferdinand.”

“Like a little sister...?” I repeated. “Lady Adolphine and I certainly aren’t that close.”

“Drewanchel is a top-ranking duchy. Their truth is the truth, no matter what your take on the situation is,” Sylvester replied flatly.

“Fear not,” Ferdinand said, dismissively waving a hand. “Those from Drewanchel know their place; they will not speak against a marriage approved by the king or work in the shadows to have it dissolved. At most, they will antagonize you with questions about magic tools. I imagine they will be satisfied with asking both you and Wilfried about the verification paper, and you will most likely even enjoy speaking with their scholars. They are quite passionate about their research.”

Maybe that would be fun for Ferdinand, but I had no interest in research that didn’t have to do with books or libraries. They could ask me as many questions about magic tools as they wanted, but they would probably go in one ear and out the other.

“Anyway, a ton of duchies were interested in your recipes too, not just the rinsham,” Sylvester explained. “I was invited to dinner meetings from one greater duchy after another, and not inviting them in return just wasn’t an option. I think you’re gonna have a rough time in the Royal Academy next year.”

“I suppose I’ll be going through exactly what Wilfried did, then...” I muttered. Ehrenfest’s relationship with the greater duchies had been almost nonexistent before now, so we had almost no experience interacting with them. This, coupled with their sudden interest in socializing with us, was a true recipe for disaster.

“I handled it by summoning Norbert and moving a ton of chefs over, but... it might be smart to assign a few more chefs to the Royal Academy. Your recipe book’s not out yet, right?”

“Once it begins circulating through Ehrenfest, it will likely find its way to Klassenberg and the Sovereignty through the merchants who come this way in the summer. I’m also planning to use it as a trend in the Royal Academy, or is it still too early to spread printing?” I asked. My intention was to start spreading books with collections of recipes and sheet music, leaving the more educational texts for later, since they were important for our grades.

Sylvester shook his head. “Nah, go ahead. Considering the scale of our printing industry, now’s a good time for you to start spreading it. Plus, you understand how much strain it’ll place on the commoners better than anyone, right?”

I considered the situation carefully. I wanted to do all that in cooperation with the lower city while training scholars, but I needed a bit more time to think things over. “Spreading the market to other duchies is going to be difficult unless we’re able to introduce more printing workshops by next summer,” I said.

“Don’t rush things, Rozemyne.”

“Excessive speed will certainly earn harsher resistance, but if we don’t make changes soon, Ehrenfest will remain a lower-ranked duchy forever. This is a good opportunity for us to learn how Drewanchel, Dunkelfelger, and Klassenberg interact with their commoners and run their governments. We cannot stay in our current mindset forever.”

As was obvious by now, we couldn’t spread trends or specialty products without expertly utilizing the commoners. The problem was, I could sense that Ehrenfest was absolutely incompetent when it came to properly handling them.

“At the very least, I would like for the faction war to settle down,” I said. “It certainly feels as though the feud is going to be revitalized when Lamprecht’s and the other person’s brides arrive in Ehrenfest.”

The political war that Elvira had done such a good job stifling had been rekindled all at once by Georgine’s visit. Things had calmed down again since Wilfried was punished, the former Veronica faction was diminished, the archducal family was attacked, and my mana compression method was used as bait, but it seemed that Ahrensbach was jabbing at us from the side once again.

“Why are those of the former Veronica faction so content with being under Ahrensbach’s thumb?” I asked.

“Because most of them hail from Ahrensbach,” Ferdinand replied. This sudden reveal surprised me so much that I let out a long-lost “Bwuh?” which in turn made him press a palm against his forehead. “How do you not know something this simple? An archduke candidate from Ahrensbach was wed into Ehrenfest; she would never have come alone. I should not have to express something this obvious, but attendants and guard knights accompanied her.”

It seemed that scholars were rarely allowed to accompany brides for fears of spies, but attendants and knights of the same gender would always come to care for and protect their charge. These retainers would naturally end up marrying people in Ehrenfest.

Gabriele’s retainers and their families had started backing Veronica, their lady’s child, soon after their lady’s passing. They had been swallowed into a larger faction when Veronica became the first wife, but it wasn’t long before their descendants established themselves as the faction’s core.

“I see. That explains why Ahrensbach influences them so much.”

“Most of the former Veronica faction wanted my sister Georgine to be the next aub, not me. They’re sticking with me now because I’m the only one still here with Ahrensbach blood, but they’re real glad that Georgine became Ahrensbach’s first wife and is back to influencing Ehrenfest,” Sylvester said.

So Lady Georgine and the former Veronica faction have a lot of troubling and very unwelcome connections...?

“The nobles most starstruck with my sister live in the south. Viscounts Gerlach and Dahldolf are going to love Lamprecht’s and Freuden’s marriages. Georgine and I smiled at each other at the Archduke Conference while discussing it, but man, the look on her face... Gah. Georgine’s smile is as poisonous as ever. Just imagining it sends chills down my spine,” Sylvester groaned, clutching his stomach.

“You couldn’t refuse the marriages, right?” I asked.

“If refusing them was an option then believe me, I would have done it in a heartbeat. You probably don’t appreciate it, but this is a lot better than it could have been.”

It seemed that Ahrensbach had tried using their blood relationship with Sylvester to force negotiations their way, implying through noble euphemisms that he needed to support them, since they were both his family and a greater duchy. Sylvester had managed to escape the situation by saying that we had already settled on our business associates and that we would likely be doing business with Drewanchel and Dunkelfelger next year.

“I suppose it’s natural to prioritize the first-ranked duchy over the sixth-ranked, even if the latter is family...” I mused aloud. “Speaking of which, what rank did Ahrensbach get this year?”

“They’re still sixth. The top ranks didn’t change.”

And when Sylvester had said that he couldn’t hold good feelings for a duchy that had attacked his child, no matter how they were related, Aub Ahrensbach had brought up Lamprecht’s and Freuden’s marriages.

“The foolish actions of a single noble have cast far too great a shadow over our relationship,” Aub Ahrensbach had said. “Ehrenfest is Georgine’s home, and we wish to rebuild a close relationship with it. As proof of my good intentions, allow me to not only accept the two marriages in question, but also allow the brides to be wed into your duchy.” He had then continued to indirectly say, “All of Yurgenschmidt is facing a mana shortage, and I am giving you both my niece and a mednoble. Suck it up.”

“Aub Ahrensbach truly regrets that a chasm has formed between our duchies,” Georgine had added. “I am terribly sad that the situation has become so severe that I cannot even visit my home. You must sympathize with my plight, Sylvester.”

Sylvester had been unable to reply with the truth of the matter—namely that he didn’t want Georgine in Ehrenfest at all. After a moment passed in silence, they began insulting him indirectly, asking whether he was foolish enough not to realize that a top-ranking duchy was being so generously lenient with a much weaker duchy.

From there, Aub Ahrensbach had moved his sharp eyes to Karstedt and said, “Surely your son has not already found another while my niece still bemoans her lost love.” Again, he was making his duchy’s superior position clear, heavily insinuating that Ahrensbach took priority over anyone else Lamprecht might have fallen for. Having been backed into a corner, Karstedt had no choice but to respond that his son was not so shallow as to have moved on already.

“In all my years as a guard knight, never have I been glared at and directly interrogated by the aub of another duchy,” Karstedt admitted. “Just thinking about it is bringing my headache back...”

Oof. That sure is a lot of pressure.

Incidentally, it seemed that my engagement to Wilfried had resulted in a number of women complaining to Florencia during tea parties. Georgine in particular had bemoaned the development, saying something along the lines of, “Was Lady Rozemyne not raised in the temple? To think you would force Wilfried to marry a girl like that...”

Georgine had gone on to proclaim that she wanted Wilfried to marry Detlinde instead, speaking with a sensual smile that never once faltered. She had claimed that he was a remarkable archduke candidate with Ahrensbach blood, but that he was surely going to face many hardships in actually taking the archduke seat. That clearly meant that she knew about Wilfried being punished for entering the Ivory Tower.

“Just hearing Florencia’s report ticked me off,” Sylvester said. “Georgine kept saying that Wilfried was the closest in age to Detlinde of all the Ehrenfest archduke candidates, and that if we wanted to keep you in Ehrenfest, we could have just married you down to an archnoble!”

Florencia had apparently allowed Georgine’s words to wash over her with a smile, replying only that the engagement was a decision made by Aub Ehrenfest and the king himself. It was very much like her.

“Frenbeltag’s Lord Rudiger has Ahrensbach blood as well, does he not? Is he not of the same age as Lady Detlinde?” I asked, thinking back to the family tree I had memorized.

Sylvester let out a sigh. “Georgine might’ve considered that had Frenbeltag not been on the losing side of the war and subsequently booted down to fifteenth, but as it stands now, they don’t have any chance of marrying into Ahrensbach.”

“Ehrenfest doesn’t seem to be a particularly high rank either, though...” I said. We were still only tenth place, which put us firmly in the middle and quite some distance from anything that might be considered a high ranking. That said, I did intend to continue growing our power.

“Anyone with eyes and a brain can figure out that we’re going to be a higher rank by the time you and Wilfried graduate.”

“More like anyone with ears, I’d say. Sylvester, didn’t you boldly proclaim that those who think our trends are temporary will soon see how wrong they are for themselves?” Karstedt asked, having been there to witness such a thing firsthand. It seemed that Sylvester, in all his stubbornness, had risen to the challenge when duchies that hadn’t risen in the rankings attempted to undermine our progress.

“Sylvester, you often tell me to keep my head down and not cause trouble... but did you not pick a fight in that situation?” I asked.

Sylvester responded with a snort. “I didn’t pick it; I accepted it. Archdukes need to be strong so that bottom-ranked duchies don’t start getting cocky.”

“He is correct,” Ferdinand said, looking in my direction. “But as you do not understand politics in the slightest, do not attempt to copy his methods.”

“I am, for the most part, a gentle spirit,” I replied. “I do not pick or accept fights unless they involve books or family.”

“And when they do, you charge ahead with nary a rational thought in your mind. That is the most terrifying thing about you,” Ferdinand retorted.

I averted my eyes and backed off. Sorry, but... I don’t think that’s ever going to change. Not even dying changed me.

“Anyway, we need to stay on guard against Ahrensbach more than anyone,” Sylvester said. “My sister acts differently when Aub Ahrensbach isn’t around, and reports from Wilfried and Justus give the impression that Detlinde’s actions are disjointed from what her parents seemingly want. We have no idea what their goals are or what they want to do with Ehrenfest, but it seems like the three of them have entirely separate aims and motives.”

Ferdinand nodded. “They will most likely use the two brides to force unreasonable demands during next year’s Archduke Conference. Or perhaps their goal was simply to have the two women infiltrate us to begin with. At the moment, we have no way of knowing.”

“It’s unfortunate,” I said. “Lamprecht finally gets to marry the woman he loves, but there’s little reason to be happy in this situation.”

“Lamprecht heard the news with a conflicted expression,” Karstedt noted with a bitter smile. “He fully understands the position he’s in.”

The bride in question was Aub Ahrensbach’s niece; Lamprecht couldn’t simply make her his second wife and shove her into some side building. She was due to become first wife to the man leading Wilfried’s guard detail, and she was going to be managing their estate. Her position was perfect for gathering intel.

“Rozemyne, you’ll be attending their Starbind Ceremonies as the High Bishop,” Sylvester said. “I personally don’t want you anywhere near Ahrensbach, but we don’t have a choice. It’s an unspoken rule that when the aubs of two duchies both attend a Starbind Ceremony, the ceremony is performed by whichever of their High Bishops is of a higher rank. As an archduke candidate, that’s you.” He went on to explain that he was assigning Ferdinand to assist me, since there was a reasonable chance I would make some unfortunate mistake on my own.

“You will need to practice giving equal blessings,” Ferdinand said. “Otherwise, your feelings will make the blessing favor one person over the other.”

“Ngh... I’ll do my best,” I replied. Blessing the couples according to my feelings would only end up creating quite the scandal, so I needed to focus and make sure I blessed them equally.

“I’m leaving the ritual to you two,” Sylvester said. “On my end, we’ll need to think about how to guard the castle and try to work out whether there’s likely to be an attack on the way there or at any of our rest stops.”

“An attack?” I asked, blinking in surprise. “But aren’t they marrying into our duchy?”

“Both aubs will be gathered in one place, which means the castle is going to be less defended than usual. We’ll also need guards, what with so many powerful people moving around. Rozemyne... I think you’ll want to make mana armor for this,” Karstedt said out of nowhere.

It seemed that I needed to maximize my defenses in preparation for any sudden attacks, specifically by wearing knight armor made from feystones under my High Bishop robes like a Kevlar vest. I looked up at Ferdinand, wondering whether this really was necessary, but he nodded in agreement.

“You will indeed want mana armor. Of your retainers, we can only bring those with armor; the others must stay behind.”

“Are you saying I need to bring my noble retainers with me, despite the fact I am going to be attending as the High Bishop?” I asked.

“You are also soon to be the bride’s sister-in-law. You must attend such that you can be interpreted as both an archduke candidate and the High Bishop. The same is true for me.”

If we were bringing my temple attendants and my castle retainers, we would need to tighten security around Fran and the others. “I suppose I need more feystones again...” I murmured.

“I will give you what you need, so focus on your defenses as much as possible. The barrier is dangerous, and we need to avoid unleashing any attacks of our own. That is why ensuring that you are well-protected is paramount.”

“Right,” Sylvester said. “I don’t want a certain someone suddenly unleashing a huge magic attack like they did during a certain ambush. There’s a limit to the barrier the archducal magic produces, so be extra careful.” He was referring to the ambush that had taken place during a particular Spring Prayer, when he had been accompanying us disguised as a blue priest. Strengthening the barrier with special magic to stop my attack had evidently been quite a tense moment for him.

“I am extremely trepidatious about teaching you any attack magic, but defensive magic that will allow you to protect yourself and those around you seems to be a wise choice. You are not likely to attack if you have means by which to defend yourself,” Ferdinand muttered. And with that, the matter was settled.