Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.5 - Chapter 1

Apprentices and the Temple

Thank goodness that’s over... You complained WAY too much, Sylvester!

The objection-filled private discussion about the Archduke Conference and the upcoming Starbind Ceremony had finally come to a close. I returned to my room and immediately began reading the letter that Hannelore had sent me. She mentioned that the Ehrenfest book had been light, easy to hold, and—since it was written in modern vernacular—an exceedingly smooth read. Her heart had apparently throbbed when she read the knight love stories and saw the illustrations. She even asked me to lend her any other romance stories I might have.

You can count on me! I’ll ask Mother to pump out even more!

Ferdinand had rejected my romance novel, so my intention was to encourage Elvira and the fiction-loving women in her faction to continue their passionate endeavors.

Next, Hannelore can borrow Royal Academy Stories. It has a lot of romance in it. Eheheh...

After reading the letter, I looked at the book Hannelore was letting me borrow. It was covered with rich decorations and so extremely thick that I struggled enough just lifting the cover. There was no way I was going to be able to hold it, so I found myself wishing I had a slanted book stand like the ones in the temple’s book room.

Inside the book were ancient tales from Dunkelfelger written in archaic, hard-to-decipher text. The first few were written in a more narrative fashion like stories based on the bible, but as I continued turning the pages, it began feeling more like a history textbook. If this was factually accurate then the duchy had existed since what was pretty much the birth of the country.

They might have rewritten events to prop themselves up, though. I’ll need to cross-reference with a bunch of works from other duchies to be sure.

Dunkelfelger was a duchy founded on the principles of the warrior spirit, so many of its stories were about knights who persevered no matter how many times they lost. They fought, and fought, and fought until they eventually won in the end. It was exciting to read tales that reflected the cultures of the duchies they came from. The book was packed with things I didn’t know, which meant there was plenty for me to transcribe.

“Philine, Hartmut... I imagine you are going to be busier in the coming season as you travel between the temple and the castle, but please do assist with transcribing this book,” I said.

“Does this mean the aub is allowing apprentices to accompany you to the temple?” Hartmut asked, his voice tinged with excitement.

“Indeed. After discussing it with Sylvester, it has been decided that your permissions in the Noble’s Quarter shall now extend to the temple. That said, the only rooms in the temple for noble retainers are the two rooms for guard knights, and only adult guard knights may stay in them. The rest will need to commute.”

“Understood,” Hartmut replied, agreeing at once. There was an unmistakable sparkle in his orange eyes.

I turned to look at my female retainers, concerned that they might be uneasy about the idea. “Having permission to enter the temple and actually going there are separate matters,” I said. “If your family is opposed to you entering the temple or you feel uncomfortable about going there, you may continue staying behind.”

“No, that’s okay. I want to try the temple food Angelica was talking about,” Judithe replied, actually sounding excited. She didn’t seem too opposed to the temple, which was somewhat of a surprise considering how poorly it was seen by noble society. Perhaps it was because, like Brigitte, she hadn’t been raised in the Noble’s Quarter.

Philine asked whether she would be able to see her little brother Konrad in the orphanage. I would need to contact Wilma beforehand, but it seemed safe enough. Meanwhile, Leonore was agonizing over the situation as an archnoble. Cornelius recommended that she try visiting the temple before making a decision, so she settled on doing that. I certainly thought it was a better idea than refusing to go based on prejudice alone.

“It seems that all of my apprentice scholars and apprentice guard knights will be accompanying me on this first trip, but what of my apprentice attendants?” I asked.

Lieseleta exchanged a glance with Brunhilde. “I would like to prioritize the embroidery,” she said. “Once the outfits are made, I would appreciate the chance to see the home in which you were raised, Lady Rozemyne, but...”

“Fear not, Lieseleta. The temple is not going anywhere. You may prioritize Schwartz’s and Weiss’s outfits,” I replied. Ferdinand was being very picky about the quality of the clothes anyway, so I greatly appreciated a young noblewoman with deft hands taking care of the embroidery for me. She gave a refined chuckle as she reached for the sewing box.

“In that case, I will remain in the castle and embroider as well. I assume we are not needed there, since you have your temple attendants,” Brunhilde said. She then went on to point out that her and Lieseleta’s presence would only deprive my temple attendants of work—a valid point that I admittedly hadn’t considered. “I will focus on my castle work, but please do call me for any meetings on dyeing or the like. Incidentally... I received word from my father the other day. Groschel has finished preparing to import the printing industry. He said that he will soon be contacting Lady Elvira.”

I inhaled sharply. “That is much sooner than I expected. I had assumed they would need more time, since such preparations require dealing with commoners.” Maybe the other provinces would finish just as quickly.

Brunhilde responded with a polite giggle just as I began considering whether I should rethink my printing plans. “Our house shares blood with Lady Elvira and received much advice from Giebe Haldenzel, which enabled us to finish so quickly.”

“I see. In that case, once Wilfried has performed the final checks, we can go to Groschel with the Gutenbergs. I am excited to see what kind of place it is.”

“Please take me with you,” Brunhilde said. I nodded my approval. We would want a guide, anyway.

Once I had finished directing my retainers in the castle, an ordonnanz arrived from Ferdinand stating that we would be returning to the temple tomorrow after breakfast. I brought my retainers to him when the time came, which earned me a strange look.

“This is quite the crowd,” Ferdinand remarked. “Do you truly need so many people?”

“Think of this as a guided tour for the apprentices,” I replied. “I plan to show them the temple and explain their respective workloads. When there are no meetings, the scholars can work in shifts, and only two guard knights need to accompany us. But in any case, will you not be glad to have extra helpers?”

Naturally, I intended to bring them all with me when it came time to help Ferdinand with his work. He nodded with a quiet interjection and gazed across my apprentice guard knights. His lips then curved into a slight grin of amusement.

I returned to the temple via highbeast with Hugo and Rosina. It was strange to be surrounded by my retainers’ highbeasts as well. Fran and Monika watched with widened eyes as we all landed by the temple. I also saw several stiff expressions among my retainers at the sight of the gray priests and shrine maidens who were here to welcome us.

“Fran, Monika, these are my retainers,” I said. “They are henceforth going to be visiting the temple on a more regular basis. Everyone, this is Fran, my head attendant within the temple, and this is Monika. They are not of the castle, but please consider them your equals as those who serve me.”

“Thanks to Fran, I can focus on guard duty in the temple. The gray priests Lord Ferdinand trained are really good,” Angelica noted, puffing out her chest as she praised Fran for letting her escape the tedium of paperwork. Some chuckles leaked out and the tension in the air quickly faded.

“Now then, I shall go to my chambers to get changed. Damuel, Angelica, use that time to take everyone to the rooms for guard knights.”

“Understood!”

I entrusted the two of them with guiding my retainers before following Monika and Fran to the High Bishop’s chambers, where I then explained the circumstances to Zahm. “My apologies,” I said to him. “I imagine you might find it quite nerve-racking to have nobles walking around the temple.”

“You need not worry about us, Lady Rozemyne,” he replied. “As you are the archduke’s adopted daughter, we have known for quite some time that this day would come.”

“After a brief rest, at third bell, we will be leaving to help the High Priest. I intend for my retainers to experience life in the temple for themselves. Damuel and Eckhart can manage, so I am sure the others can as well.”

Fran gave a bemused smile, no doubt thinking about how my retainers were being thrown into work so soon after arriving. “Will Lady Angelica be guarding the door as always?” he asked.

“Yes. It is important for them to see how things will usually be.”

Zahm and Fran left for the kitchen to prepare tea, while Monika stayed behind to help me get changed. “Monika, if any of the visiting nobles say anything nasty to you, or you feel that you’re in even the slightest bit of danger, please do tell me right away,” I said. “I do not want any of you to be hurt while I am unaware.”

“As you wish. I will report even the smallest detail,” she replied with a relieved smile. As expected, she had been nervous about so many unfamiliar nobles visiting the temple.

Once I was changed, I called everyone over. Refreshments had already been prepared, so I took a demonstrative bite of Nicola’s sweets and sipped the tea that Fran had poured for me.

“It’s been too long since I had temple sweets. I don’t even get to eat these at home,” Cornelius noted as he happily reached for some. He was of a higher status than any of my other retainers, so it was only after he started eating that everyone else followed suit.

“Wow. These are so tasty...” Judithe murmured. “Have Angelica and Damuel been eating sweets this good this whole time? Lady Rozemyne, I want to do as much guard duty here in the temple as possible.”

“You may take up guard duty here, but only on days when you do not have apprentice training,” I replied. She was practically tearing up with disappointment, but Damuel and Angelica more than sufficed. I was much happier having the apprentices prioritize their training with Bonifatius.

After tea, Damuel explained what guard duty in the temple entailed. I asked Monika to show the two apprentice scholars how my work desk was arranged and whatnot, then looked over the letters and boards that had piled up in my absence.

“I suppose we should send immediate responses to these letters from the guildmaster and the Plantin and Gilberta Companies,” I observed. The guildmaster’s letter contained questions about the waschen and the dyeing competition; the Plantin Company’s said that Johann had finished the safety pin, and that they wanted to know the Gutenbergs’ next destination as soon as it was decided upon; and the Gilberta Company’s reported that my summer hairpin and the hairpin for Ella were now both finished. “Fran, I will meet with the guildmaster, the Plantin Company, and the Gilberta Company three days from now. Please send out letters of invitation.”

“As you wish.”

Come third bell, I brought my temple attendants and noble retainers to the High Priest’s room. Angelica took her usual position at the door the very instant we arrived, as if worried that someone might attempt to steal her spot. My apprentice guard knights gasped at the state of the room before staring in shock at Eckhart and Damuel, who were casually doing paperwork.

“For as long as I am in the temple, I assist the High Priest with his work every single day,” I explained to my noble retainers. “I am delighted to have you all working with me.”

“Seeing as you have this many lackeys to handle the busywork, Rozemyne, I suppose I can teach you new jobs to do,” Ferdinand said. And with that, I evolved from a mere calculator that obeyed instructions to the head of the temple budget. I truly was working my way up in the world.

“Lady Rozemyne... Do you really do this every single day?” Judithe asked.

“I do. Now, come on. Your hands have stopped.”

“I see. Guard duty in the temple isn’t easy at all...” she muttered, but her sad whispers were drowned out as fourth bell started to chime.

My retainers took turns eating lunch, as per usual. Philine and Judithe were both moved by the deliciousness of temple food, and while Cornelius was already used to eating delicious meals at home, he was enjoying the opportunity to try new things. Leonore, however, was looking somewhat down.

“Leonore, did the food not suit your tastes?” I asked. “You seem to be frowning.”

“Oh, it was quite delicious. I was simply thinking that we might have a hard time welcoming you or Lady Elvira to our homes when you have grown accustomed to eating such amazing meals every day.”

After lunch, I gave Zahm several work-related instructions and then started leading my retainers to the orphanage. Philine was walking with an extremely anxious look on her face.

“Don’t worry. Konrad’s fine.”

Damuel tried to reassure Philine, since he always accompanied me to the orphanage, but she responded only with a weak smile. I needed to make sure she saw her little brother as soon as possible.

Fran and Monika opened the door to the orphanage to reveal the gray shrine maidens and pre-baptism children kneeling in wait. “You may all return to work,” I said. “Konrad, do come here.”

The gray shrine maidens stood up and returned to their work, clearly conscious of all my noble retainers. Konrad cried “Sister!” and started running toward Philine, having been urged forward by Dirk, but quickly slowed down to a walk after noticing all the eyes fixed on him.

“Konrad, I’m so glad to see you safe. How’s life in the temple?” Philine asked with an overjoyed smile as she pulled her younger brother into a hug.

“I’m fine. Everyone’s nice, the food’s good, and Dirk’s here too. Lady Rozemyne told me you were living in the castle now. Do you feel lonely?” he asked.

“I’m fine too, since I have friends who work with me. I do miss you though, Konrad. I wish we could see each other more often...”

I gave a relieved sigh, pleased to see that Philine and Konrad were on good terms. I assumed they would want some time alone, so I decided to show everyone else the game corner of the dining hall. There were copies of all the books the Plantin Company had printed thus far, the karuta and playing cards, and several toys for babies.

“The orphanage has this many books and toys?!” Cornelius exclaimed with wide eyes.

“Indeed. Aub Ehrenfest was similarly stunned when he visited,” I said. Of course, Sylvester had been disguised as a blue priest at the time. “We use the orphanage to test toys and then start selling whichever ones are best received. The fact that all of the children here can read and do math is something that I am very proud of. They are learning all the skills expected of an attendant before they even turn ten.”

“I had heard about this, but seeing it with my own eyes is something else,” Hartmut said, no less surprised than Cornelius was. Leonore looked around the dining hall and nodded to herself, noting that it was cleaner than she had expected after hearing all the rumors.

I gave a proud chortle. “The entire temple is clean because everyone works to keep it that way, and the children are all respectful thanks to their polite upbringing.”

“All that we have now is thanks to Lady Rozemyne’s blessings,” Wilma said with an angelic smile. “We are all endlessly grateful for all that she has done,” she said. Her glowing words of praise prompted an immediate response from Hartmut, who eagerly leaned forward.

“You there. I would like to hear more about what Lady Rozemyne has done here,” he said, his intensity causing Wilma to take a step back. She was deathly afraid of men, so I stepped between them to protect her.

“Hartmut, I will not allow you to do anything untoward to Wilma,” I declared, defensively holding out both arms.

“Untoward...?” Hartmut repeated, his expression deflating in an instant.

The sight of our exchange made Wilma giggle. “Lord Hartmut, if I were to elaborate on Lady Rozemyne’s splendor, we would most certainly be here for the rest of the day. There is no time for such talk now, but perhaps we can speak later.”

“Thank you. I would love to hear about Lady Rozemyne’s saintly deeds in the orphanage.”

“Wilma! Why would you even suggest that?!” I cried. The very thought of her talking about my saint legends took me by surprise, as did the idea that Hartmut would be making frequent and eager trips to the orphanage. It was as though she shared his fervor on some deep level.

How could this happen? I thought I was protecting her. What changed...?

There were a few lingering concerns, but it seemed that my retainers all came away with good impressions of the temple. That was good.