Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.5 - Chapter 14

The Start of Winter Socializing (Second Year)

Days after Schwartz’s and Weiss’s outfits were completed, a letter arrived from the Gilberta Company; they wanted to know whether they should deliver my winter hairpin and my armbands to the temple or the castle. I asked for them to be delivered to the temple alongside Johann’s safety pins.

I’ll get to see Tuuli again...

I informed Fran that I had a meeting with the Gilberta Company, and upon hearing the news, Philine gave me a curious look. “Would it not be better for them to bring these items to the castle?” she asked. It certainly was the less troublesome option, but it would prevent me from being able to see Tuuli.

“My hairpin craftsperson is not yet able to enter the castle. For that reason, I will accept my goods here, as per usual, and order my spring hairpin at the same time. I much prefer to order my hairpins myself.”

Philine nodded, accepting my answer. The truth was, because my retainers were now coming to the temple, I needed to keep my relationship with Tuuli even more of a secret than before. Ferdinand had instructed Gil and Wilma to make up a cover story to explain my relationship with Lutz and Tuuli, which all the adult priests and shrine maidens needed to read.

Wilma had included this cover story among the information she had compiled about me for Hartmut. She had shown it to me first, in part because she wanted to get my approval, but also because she wanted to give me a warning of what to expect. Just reading through some of the notes she had put together made me feel dizzy with disbelief.

My new cover story was as follows: My attendants had been assigned to me by my guardians, but I wanted to select my own. During this process, I learned of the orphanage and stealthily went to see what it was like. There, I realized what a terrible state it had fallen into following the exodus of the blue priests and shrine maidens and started fighting to save the suffering orphans. It was then that I had ordered the merchants I gave my exclusive business to—that is, those of the Gilberta Company—to establish the Rozemyne Workshop.

From there, the Gilberta Company had sent Lutz and Tuuli to work in the newly established workshop, and I was so moved by their passionate efforts to save the orphans that I gave them each a valuable piece of knowledge. Lutz was taught how to make a printing press, while Tuuli was shown how to make hairpins. Benno, another merchant of the Gilberta Company, had then created a new type of paper and asked to create a store specifically for books, so I granted him a name, leading to the birth of the Plantin Company.

It’s not entirely untrue, but, well... Something about it just doesn’t sit right with me.

In Wilma’s tale, I was the quintessential saint, granting food and opportunity to the orphans, teaching them to work for themselves rather than rely on divine gifts, all while hearing the gods speak to me in my dreams, which led to me creating strange new inventions.

Whatever happened to objectivity in storytelling?!

The subjective parts were so twisted that I had asked her to rewrite them, but that had only inspired her to put me on an even higher pedestal. She was apparently detailing “the evident truths of the world,” to use her own words, and these “restrained” expressions had ended up deeply moving Hartmut. I didn’t even want to think about how this might affect his already intense desire to research me.

During times when Tuuli accompanied the Gilberta Company, we held our meetings in the orphanage director’s chambers. I didn’t need any scholars to accompany me for something as simple as the purchase and ordering of some hairpins, but Hartmut had insisted on coming nonetheless. He seemed to quite enjoy it here, since legends of my sainthood were supposedly around every corner.

That reminded me—Hartmut would sometimes leave in the afternoon to visit Ferdinand’s chambers, as if attending secret meetings behind my back. He was apparently taking on a veritable mountain of work in return for various stories about me, but he seemed satisfied enough, so I saw no reason to intervene.

Soon enough, Otto, Theo, and Tuuli arrived from the Gilberta Company. We exchanged our long greetings, then I asked Tuuli to show me the hairpin.

“Now then, Tuuli... May I see the hairpin?”

“I made this to match the winter outfit you ordered, Lady Rozemyne,” she noted.

The hairpin was decorated with flowers the divine color of winter, a majestic red on the outer edges of the petals that slowly transitioned into a deep crimson near the center, perfectly matching the gradient of the cloth Mom had dyed for me. A single glance was enough to confirm that the hairpin was indeed made to match the outfit.

Mom must have dyed the threads, which means they made it together... I could feel their love just from looking at the hairpin, and my smile immediately softened.

“Splendid. You have gotten even better, Tuuli.”

“I am honored to receive your praise,” Tuuli replied with a pleased grin. I asked her to help me put it on, as always, before showing it to Philine.

“How does it look, Philine?” I asked.

“It suits you perfectly, Lady Rozemyne. There is no mistaking that it was made specially for you,” she assured me. Having secured her praise, I could safely accept this as my winter hairpin and order a new one for spring.

“Tuuli, please make a hairpin that gives thoughts of sprouting leaves,” I said. “Remember that green is the divine color of spring.”

“Have you decided upon the cloth for it yet, my lady?” Tuuli asked.

“I will leave the colors and other such details to you. You have not disappointed me yet,” I replied with a smile. A small part of me wanted to double-check I wasn’t asking too much of her, and the unfaltering smile she returned seemed to say, “Here you go, putting a ton of pressure on me again!”

Despite her true thoughts, Tuuli offered a courteous response. “I shall strive to meet your expectations, Lady Rozemyne.”

Once the hairpin business was settled, Tuuli glanced over at Otto. He hesitated for a moment before addressing me.

“Lady Rozemyne, we received an order of over thirty hairpins from one of your attendants. May I be so bold as to confirm this is correct?”

“Certainly. It has been decided that every girl attending the Royal Academy shall wear a hairpin, and so I instructed my attendant to order enough for everyone, and in colors that will complement their hair. This order does indeed come from me,” I said. It seemed that Brunhilde had remembered to place the order while I was away for the Harvest Festival.

Upon hearing my response, Otto appeared to relax. “I see,” he said. “In that case, we will deliver them to the castle alongside your winter clothing. Furthermore, we have the armbands you ordered, my lady. Are these what you wanted...?”

He held out the differently colored armbands while giving me a look that seemed to question why anybody would ever want them. There were four in total: two for Hannelore and me and another two for Schwartz and Weiss. Each one was embroidered with the words “Library Committee Member” in kanji that only I could read. Beside them, Otto set down a tiny wooden box filled with safety pins. I had heard that Johann’s disciple Danilo had made them, but Johann had overseen his work, so they were all flawless.

“Yes, these are exactly what I had in mind. They’re perfect.”

I started wrapping one of the armbands around my left arm, giddy with excitement, and then instructed Philine to secure it in place with a safety pin. Seeing the embroidered words made me so overjoyed, partly because it was written in actual Japanese, much like it had been back on Earth.

I’m officially a library committee member!

I was extending and withdrawing my arm with an impressed hum when Hartmut leaned forward with a start and rested his hands on my shoulders. “Lady Rozemyne, please do calm down. Your ring...” he said, gesturing with his eyes.

Upon realizing that my ring had started to glow, I hurriedly contained my mana to avoid shooting out a blessing.

“Gilberta Company, this meeting is over,” Hartmut said.

“Hartmut, I am quite alright.”

“No, it would be best not to risk it.” He speedily gave out orders before concluding today’s meeting. Tuuli shot a worried glance over her shoulder as she exited the room.

Fran instructed Monika to fetch a divine instrument from the chapel, then picked me up and rushed me back to the High Bishop’s chambers. It all seemed a bit unnecessary to me, since I was keeping my mana contained just fine, but I nonetheless offered up my mana to the divine instrument Monika brought me—albeit with a sigh.

“Still, Hartmut... I’m impressed you noticed that,” I said.

“Lord Ferdinand and Lord Justus have taught me much about you, Lady Rozemyne. I am glad their teachings have already proven useful.”

Um, wait... Excuse me? What exactly are they teaching you?

Hartmut went on to describe everything he had learned. “This will be necessary to contain your chaos within the Royal Academy, Lady Rozemyne,” he eventually concluded. I had no choice but to reflect on my own deeds and weep.

Did you have to tell him EVERYTHING, and in that much detail?! Stupid, stupid Ferdinand! Stupid, stupid Justus!

After getting the hairpin and my armbands from the Gilberta Company, we finished the temple and orphanage’s winter preparations. As for the Dedication Ritual, by this point, we could entrust all of the preparations to Kampfer and Frietack without worry.

“I shall return for the Dedication Ritual,” I said. “Everything else I leave in your hands.”

“Understood. We shall await your safe return.”

I put my ceremonial robes for the castle’s winter baptism ceremony and such inside Lessy and then headed off. Winter socializing was fast approaching, and it would be some time before I saw Fran and the others again. Our next reunion would be when I returned to the temple for the Dedication Ritual.

The day after I returned to the castle, my winter outfit and the hairpins for the female students arrived from the Gilberta Company, speeding along preparations for winter socializing and my second year at the Royal Academy. In the midst of all this, Elvira informed me that Aurelia had asked what she was to do about the fish. That reminded me—she had said the time-stopping magic tool required an exorbitant amount of mana to maintain, and she did not want to keep it running.

“Ferdinand, my fish are in danger of being thrown away! My precious, precious fish! Even if we can’t cook them right now, please let me look after them, at the very least. You can at least let me have this, can’t you?!” I wept into an ordonnanz. His reply came swiftly.

“No. You cannot look after the fish yourself. I can imagine infinite scenarios where it would go wrong. Perhaps you contact Aurelia, or you stealthily attempt to cook the fish in secret, or Sylvester gets involved... No. I will contact Elvira and look after the fish myself. You are not to get involved.”

My fish were going to be given to Ferdinand, since he wanted to avoid any potential problems. Of course, it was exceptionally unwise for him to meet with and receive a gift from Aurelia, so it was instead gifted to Elvira, who would then give a portion of the rare goods to Ferdinand.

Noble business was always a pain, but this saved my fish from getting tossed out, and Elvira was overjoyed to have Ferdinand contacting her, so... Eh, whatever. I received a report when the fish had arrived safely with Ferdinand, and by that time, nobles had started returning to the Noble’s Quarter for winter socializing.

Winter socializing began with the winter baptism ceremony and debuts, which then led into the gifting ceremony where new first-years were given their capes and brooches, which in turn led into lunch. I was going to be performing the ceremonies as High Bishop this year, so I entered the grand hall with Ferdinand, who was naturally in attendance as the High Priest. I had no contact with any of the nobles and would only be speaking with them in the afternoon.

There’s Giebe Illgner and Brigitte over there. Oh, Giebe Haldenzel and Giebe Groschel are talking. I can see Count Leisegang too, so that must be where all the Leisegang nobles gather.

I could see plenty of nobles I recognized from the printing and paper-making industries as I stood on the stage where I would be performing the ceremonies.

I sure have accomplished a lot in a single year, huh?

Incidentally, one person I recognized at a glance despite never having seen their face before was Aurelia, who was at the front with the archnobles. She was wearing a veil, as always, but this particular one had been made using Ehrenfest dyeing methods. Since it used the same cloth worn by Florencia and Charlotte on stage, alongside the archnoble wives of the Florencia faction, it was clear whose faction she was in. No longer could anyone claim she was making no attempt to adjust to Ehrenfest. She was certainly drawing extra attention due to her face being hidden, but there was no better way to market a new dyeing method.

Lamprecht was accompanying Wilfried as his guard knight, while Aurelia was sticking with Elvira. I was generally forbidden from making contact with Aurelia, but perhaps I could at least greet her while she was with Elvira.

Aurelia must really want to eat some familiar food... I’ll need to apologize about the delay with the fish. Speaking of Aurelia, though, I wonder how the other bride is doing.

I looked around the hall in search of the other Ahrensbach bride, but she didn’t seem to be wearing a veil, so I wasn’t able to spot her.

The baptism ceremony and debut ended without incident. I wanted to watch Charlotte receive her cape during the gifting ceremony, since she was now going to be a first-year, but I needed to get changed for lunch. For that reason, Ferdinand and I exited the hall as soon as the debut was over.

I climbed into Lessy and sped to my room, where Ottilie was already waiting for me, with Rihyarda and my guard knights speed-walking to keep up. After we arrived, Ottilie and Rihyarda worked together to strip me of my ceremonial robes and get me into my winter socializing outfit.

This particular outfit had been designed by Tuuli and was made from cloth that Mom had dyed for me. The torso was a pleasant shade of red that blended into a deep crimson for the skirt, which was decorated with floral print varying from light pink to purple. The long sleeves likewise grew darker the farther they draped down my arms.

To complement the divine color of winter, there was a circle of white flower ornaments around the circumference of my skirt, underneath which was a second white skirt decorated with fancy lace that reached down to my shins. And then, of course, there was my new hairpin that Tuuli had made specifically to match my outfit. Everything was perfect.

“How does it look?” I asked.

“Absolutely wonderful,” Rihyarda replied with a satisfied smile. I was just as pleased with it as she was.

After lunch, it was time for all the important socializing. Once again, Wilfried, Charlotte, and I went to the grand hall together. On the way, we talked about the same thing we had been discussing over lunch: the Royal Academy.

“At last, I am going to be joining the two of you in the Royal Academy,” Charlotte said. “I simply cannot wait. I was ever so lonely in the castle last year.”

Charlotte had similarly used cloth from the dyeing competition for her outfit, and she was wearing a bubble skirt that looked much like my own. Despite these similarities, however, our clothes were still refreshingly unique. Perhaps it was because Charlotte had opted for a rose color that suited her better or because we had different tastes.

“Sister, in the days before we leave for the Royal Academy, the new first-years are going to be studying the textbooks you made last year, correct?” Charlotte asked. I nodded in response, which earned me a teasing look from Wilfried. He looked like he was on the verge of bursting into laughter.

“Rozemyne, you’re planning to do the whole Better Grades Committee thing this year too, right?” he asked. “People are saying that giving the first-years your textbooks is like helping the enemy.”

“Oh my. But all those in their second year and above have had time to study for the coming year, what with them having finished their classes early. Is it not reasonable that the first-years should have time to prepare also? There is no fun in a game that is not fair.”

First-year written lessons didn’t cover that much material, and the first-years had already learned everything aside from geography and history in the playroom. Giving them a few days to get a head start on these subjects they hadn’t yet covered would simply make them more worthy opponents.

“My apologies to you both, Lord Wilfried, Lady Rozemyne, but the apprentice knights will be winning this year,” Cornelius said with a smirk. “Under our guidance, even Angelica was able to graduate. We all banded together to teach her the materials, and now I am extremely confident that we will demolish the written lessons.”

All those trying to help Angelica as part of the Raise Angelica’s Grades Squadron had found themselves getting smarter too. This was because they had needed to master the material before they could summarize it in a way that Angelica would understand.

“Oh. I thought I was just being deadweight, but I guess I was being useful to everyone too. This year’s apprentices sure are going to be smart,” Angelica said, puffing out her chest. She was completely fearless now that she had already graduated, and it was true that the knights seemed more capable than before.

Hartmut shot Cornelius a taunting look. “We may have struggled to raise the grades of our layscholars last year, since they lacked good textbooks and paper on which to write their notes, but plant paper is now being distributed and archnobles are actively teaching their schoolmates. In other words, everyone’s grades are on the rise. This is not like last year, when we had no time to prepare and only the knights had access to good textbooks,” he concluded. As a representative for the scholars, he was brimming with confidence.

Brunhilde nodded her agreement. “Likewise, we shared information in the Royal Academy last year and made our own textbooks out of study resources for each school year. We apprentice attendants shall emerge victorious.”

“We must finish our classes with haste either way so that we may follow Lady Rozemyne in her charge to the library,” Lieseleta said with a giggle. “She certainly challenges one’s skills as a retainer.”

I puffed out my chest with pride in the same way that Angelica had. “I see. So my visits to the library have been helping all of your grades as well.”

“Lady Rozemyne, please do not copy my sister,” Lieseleta chastised me. I averted my eyes and changed the subject.

“Speaking of which, now that we archduke candidates are all going to the Royal Academy together this year, how will the winter playroom fare?” I mused aloud. “Has Sylvester given you any information, Charlotte?”

“Professor Moritz will be teaching the children, and Wilfried’s harspiel teacher is remaining behind to hold music lessons,” Charlotte replied.

“Unlike you two, I won’t need to hold any tea parties. For practice and emergencies, I can just borrow one of your teachers,” Wilfried said. It was clear to everyone that studying in the winter playroom had a significant impact on our duchy’s grades, which was why lessons were going to continue even in our absence. Moritz had four years of experience by this point, so it seemed safe to leave things with him.

“There won’t always be children of the archduke in the playroom, and this is a good opportunity for them to figure out how to run things without us,” I said.

As we arrived at the grand hall, we found that there were already a ton of people gathered. Wilfried and Charlotte were involved in the printing and paper-making industries too, so we all had a lot of nobles coming over to greet us.

The first to come were Brunhilde’s parents, Count and Countess Groschel. Although they had established the printing and paper-making industries in their province, they were experiencing many difficulties and were fighting hard to get on track.

“Giebe Groschel, how fare the printing and paper-making industries?” I asked.

“We have decided to buy paper and metal letter types for printing this year. The craftspeople are considering whether it would be best to abandon white paper and explore creating colored paper instead. We are also exploring the possibility of an entwickeln just for Groschel.”

Magic tools for purifying water required a ridiculous amount of mana, even from Ferdinand’s perspective, so it would take Groschel quite some time to implement one. In the meantime, they had decided to try tackling the pollution by cleaning their lower city as Ehrenfest had done.

“If you are to ask Aub Ehrenfest, I would suggest explaining that you wish to beautify the lower city not just for the paper-making industry, but also so that you might welcome merchants from other duchies,” I said. “How we appear to foreign visitors is an issue affecting the entirety of Ehrenfest.”

I had heard that the entwickeln performed on the city of Ehrenfest had used less mana than planned, since we had only altered the sewage pipes beneath the ground. I was sure we could use the mana we had to spare on Groschel instead.

If the giebe handles this well, Sylvester might even make an ally of him.

Sylvester had few allies among the nobility after punishing his mother and distancing himself from the former Veronica faction. He certainly needed more archnobles on his side, and my hope was that Count Groschel could serve as a hook to draw in further support. Once the archduke had one Leisegang archnoble on his side, the rest would follow much more willingly.

Of course, it was up to Sylvester whether he would use mana for the sake of Groschel, and I didn’t know if they would actually end up as allies. Either way, this would prove an opportunity for Count Groschel and Sylvester to show off their socializing skills—how would Count Groschel make his request, how would Sylvester win his favor, and how would they both profit? Everything was in their hands.

“Your support will be quite encouraging indeed,” Brunhilde said with a smile. I smiled back and gave her an understanding nod.

Once Count Groschel departed, the next to come were Count and Countess Haldenzel. After we exchanged greetings, I asked how the province had coped with its early spring.

“Our harvest this year was exceptionally large due to being blessed with good weather and the snow melting early. I was rendered speechless. Never had it crossed my mind that Haldenzel might be capable of producing so much food,” he said. The usually late melting of the snow meant summers were short in Haldenzel, and the harvests there were generally expected to be poor as a result. Since spring had come right after Spring Prayer this year, however, they had received a much longer warm season and a harvest that was nearly twice as large as they were used to.

“I assume the early spring brought its own struggles as well, though,” I said. “Did anyone fall ill from the summer being too hot?”

“I feared that the early melting of the snow would result in an especially hot summer, but it seemed that my worries were unnecessary. It was merely as though spring lasted much longer than one would expect. Haldenzel has no men so weak that they would collapse from a few hot days. They would not have survived this long.”

I mean, I would get sick. I’m super weak to weather changes like that.

“That said,” the giebe continued, “perhaps due to the significant change in climate, some feyplants grew unusually fast, and some feybeasts appeared at different times than usual, which made hunting more problematic. These were mere trifles in the grand scheme of things, however. It is thanks to your becoming the High Bishop and teaching us of the bible’s ancient ways that we of Haldenzel can spend this winter in peace.”

Count Haldenzel knelt before me and took my hand, which caught the attention of almost every noble in eyeshot. As they watched in surprise, he pressed his forehead to the back of my hand, the greatest display of gratitude a noble could make.

“I speak for all of Haldenzel when I thank you for everything that you have done, O Saint of Ehrenfest.”

A surge of people came to greet me after Giebe Haldenzel. I spoke to them all, one group after another, until eventually...

“Oh my. Giebe Illgner. How have things been?” I asked. “I would have liked to visit Illgner during the Harvest Festival, but I simply could not find the time...”

I had wanted to travel to Illgner to see how the paper-making industry was doing and meet Volk’s child, but Ferdinand had scolded me for trying to visit so many provinces all on my own. Nobody complained about how much work I did for Spring Prayer, since it was just giving mana and distributing chalices, but the Harvest Festival was responsible for a large portion of the blue priests’ income, so they were very much against me going to too many places. In the end, I had given up on going to Illgner, since visiting Groschel and the Gutenbergs had been my highest priorities this year.

“We know that you are always busy, Lady Rozemyne,” Brigitte said. “You are spreading the printing industry all across Ehrenfest; I imagine you are even busier now than when I served you.”

“In that case, Brigitte, will you tell me about Illgner?”

“I would be delighted to.”

Brigitte and Viktor, alongside Viscount and Viscountess Illgner, told me how they were striving to produce paper made from new resources and how they had sent craftspeople to the giebes of nearby provinces to teach them how to make paper. Illgner was a region filled with mountains and trees, and the water there was clean, unlike in Groschel, so its neighbors were naturally suited to the paper-making industry.

“Lady Rozemyne, please do allow me to greet you as well,” came Elvira’s voice during a break in my discussion with Brigitte. I turned to see that she was standing with Aurelia, who was still wearing her veil.

“I see that your new veil arrived, Aurelia.”

“It did. Wearing a veil dyed the same way as everyone else’s clothes, as per your suggestion, has softened the looks I receive from others,” Aurelia replied. She then lowered her voice to an embarrassed whisper. “I am also glad to have used such cute cloth, which I have rarely had the opportunity to use before.”

“If you are feeling even the slightest bit more comfortable here as a result, then I am pleased beyond words,” I said. “But I must also apologize—my plan to cook the fish you brought from Ahrensbach has been delayed due to orders from above. I am sorry for not keeping my promise to you.”

You must miss the food of your homeland, right? You probably want to eat some as soon as you can. Sorry about the wait...

My lower-city family had shown zero interest in fish, since they didn’t offer much meat and it took forever to remove the stink of mud from them. The last time I had eaten some was when Lutz had fished some out for me and we had cooked it with salt. Back then, it had been too crusty to even pass as dried food, and he had rejected the idea of using it for broth. My lust for delicious seafood burned just as brightly now as it had back then, and Aurelia was no doubt feeling the same way. Any Japanese person in her situation would be dying for fish.

I mean, I just miss seafood so much! I truly understand how she feels!

“I will ensure the fish is prepared and cooked as soon as I return from the Royal Academy. I ask only that you wait until then,” I said.

“I truly appreciate how considerate you are being for my sake, but you do not need to worry about me,” Aurelia replied. “I am quite enjoying Ehrenfest food, so there is no particular rush.”

Oh no...

I had intended to use Aurelia’s homesickness to convince Ferdinand and Sylvester to teach me the cooking methods ASAP, but it seemed she wasn’t in as much of a hurry as I was. In fact, she seemed to be completely fine with taking things slowly.

S-Strange... It feels like my chances of a fish dinner are getting even further away...

I gave Aurelia a quizzical look, but Wilfried tugged on my arm from behind and stepped forward. “Rozemyne, you should leave it at that. Their stares are starting to hurt,” he said, discreetly gesturing to a group of nobles from the former Veronica faction. They were probably trying to find an opportunity to speak with Aurelia but were struggling due to Elvira.

“Aurelia, I’ve heard about you from Lamprecht,” Wilfried continued. “Your life here might be a bit restrained, given the circumstances, but I intend to do anything I can to make things more comfortable for you.”

“I’m honored, Lord Wilfried. However, I do not feel particularly restrained. I have much more freedom here than I did in Ahrensbach,” she replied.

Aurelia was spending her days stuck in a side building, and her only visitors were people who had been carefully vetted by her husband’s family. I couldn’t see how that was “freedom” by any definition of the word, but I could tell from her voice that she really did mean it.

Geez... Just what kind of a life did she live in Ahrensbach?