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Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.8 - Chapter 2




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The Winter Playroom and Judithe’s Younger Brother

“I shall be going to the winter playroom today,” I said. “I must advertise the Plantin Company, and Rihyarda has instructed me to seek out potential retainers among the younger students.”

“In that case, might I introduce my little sister?” Brunhilde asked. “Naturally, it is up to you to decide whether you will accept her, but considering her as a replacement apprentice archattendant for when I graduate does seem wise.”

Brunhilde explained that she had wanted to introduce her sister to me last year but had decided against it, since I wasn’t even used to my own retainers at the time. However, as I socialized with both greater duchies and royalty at the Royal Academy, I absolutely needed at least one apprentice archattendant there with me.

“Please do,” I said.

“Lady Rozemyne, can I introduce my little brother too, then?” Judithe asked, her violet eyes sparkling with anticipation. It reminded me that she was the oldest of all her siblings and that she had mentioned having to work hard for their sake.

I gave her a nod, smiling.

Upon our arrival at the playroom, both Brunhilde and Judithe called over their siblings. An adorable little girl was the first to come over, and she cried out “Sister!” with the brightest smile.

“Lady Rozemyne, allow me to introduce you,” Brunhilde said. “This is my little sister, Bertilde.”

Bertilde was like a mini Brunhilde. The children in the playroom had all greeted me before, but it was hard to remember them when we interacted so rarely.

“My older sister often speaks of you, Lady Rozemyne,” Bertilde continued. “I am glad that we finally have this opportunity to talk.” It seemed that she had discussed fashion trends and such with Brunhilde from a very young age, and she envied her big sister for serving as my retainer and spreading her own trends. “I wish to serve you as well when I go to the Royal Academy.”

“You cannot serve Lady Rozemyne without first earning Lady Elvira’s approval,” Brunhilde said admonishingly. Bertilde was going to be entering the Royal Academy two years from now, and she was currently serving Elvira as an extended family member. It was safe to say that Elvira was specifically training her to one day become my retainer.

Bertilde. Okay. Name: memorized.

“Lady Rozemyne, this is my little brother Theodore,” Judithe said, leading her brother by the shoulders. “He’s going to be joining the Royal Academy next year.”

“Let go of me,” the boy complained. “I can introduce myself.” He had youthful features that made him resemble Judithe, but he came across as especially mature for his age. I got the feeling that it was usually his job to keep his excitable older sister under control.

 

    

 

They aren’t similar in the slightest. Maybe they’re complete opposites like Angelica and Lieseleta?

“I am Theodore,” the boy said. “Pleased to meet you.”

Cornelius nodded and then turned to me. “Lady Rozemyne, I think he would make for an excellent addition to your retinue.”

“I’ve seen him train,” Angelica added from where she was standing beside Cornelius. “He’s surprisingly strong.”

“I am honored to receive your praise,” Theodore said, flushing red with embarrassment. His violet eyes were filled with admiration as he gazed at Cornelius and Angelica; they were popular as Bonifatius’s prized disciples, and many children aiming to be apprentice knights apparently looked up to them.

“Theodore, why don’t you ever show me that kind of respect?” Judithe asked, pouting. She must have felt we were stealing her little brother away from her. I could understand why that would bother her; the very thought of someone else becoming Charlotte’s role model after all of my hard work to become the best big sister broke my heart.

“I shall consider taking Theodore as a retainer when he enters the Royal Academy next year,” I said. The boy in question didn’t seem very pleased about this news, however; he looked from Cornelius, to Angelica, to me, then hung his head with a concerned frown.

“I, um... Unfortunately, I... cannot be your retainer, Lady Rozemyne.”

“What are you even saying, Theodore? Why would you turn down Lady Rozemyne?” Judithe asked, having likely never expected that answer. I raised a hand to stop her and smiled.

“Perhaps he has already made an agreement with Melchior,” I said. “You must not be overly controlling here, Judithe. It is up to Theodore to decide whom he serves.”

Theodore shook his head. “No, Lady Rozemyne. It is not Lord Melchior whom I wish to serve, but the giebe, as my father does. That is why I cannot become a guard knight for the archducal family.” He shrank into himself as he spoke, aware that it was unthinkable for someone to turn down such an opportunity, but his dream of one day becoming a knight like his father and serving the giebe alongside him pulled at my heartstrings. It reminded me of when I had promised to protect the city and everyone in it, just like Dad. My affection for Theodore was already shooting up.

“What a splendid dream,” I said. “You have my support in full. May we compromise, then, and have you be my retainer only while I am attending the Royal Academy?”

“Excuse me...?” Theodore asked. He wasn’t the only one taken aback by my suggestion; all of my retainers widened their eyes as well.

“Theodore, you may serve me only while I am attending the Royal Academy,” I said. “You may guard me while studying and practicing to one day serve the giebe. How does that sound to you?”

He offered no response, but I could sense his heart waver at the prospect of only working for me temporarily. Rihyarda tried to tell me to wait, but I gestured for her to wait and continued.

“I already have enough guards for when I am in Ehrenfest. I only need more for the Royal Academy, so could you serve me only during that time?”

“I will think about it,” Theodore eventually replied with a small smile.

“It seems that you all need to be lectured,” Rihyarda said, planting her feet firmly on the ground and glaring at us the moment we returned to my room. “First, Judithe. You must talk things over and make the necessary preparations before introducing family to milady! Otherwise, you are causing trouble for both parties.”

Apparently, there was much that needed to be done before introducing someone as a potential retainer. You needed to confirm that the person being introduced was willing to serve, that they worked to a good enough standard, that they were trustworthy enough, and in cases where they were underage, that their parents agreed to the arrangement. Brunhilde, in contrast to Judithe, had followed these rules perfectly. She had introduced her sister to me as a potential retainer only after serving me for one year, observing Bertilde’s progress under Elvira, confirming her wishes, and watching the spread of the printing industry in Groschel.


“It seems to me that you saw Brunhilde offer to introduce her sister to Lady Rozemyne and simply joined in on the spot,” Rihyarda continued. “This lack of preparation will only cause problems, and as we saw, Theodore had no intention of serving anyone but the giebe. Milady has said that she wishes to respect his wishes, so we will not be forcing him to be a retainer, but if you had done this with someone less considerate, his dream would never have come true. Now in particular, there is a very limited number of children in the Royal Academy who are of the correct age to become a retainer. It would not be unusual for Theodore’s wishes to be ignored, considering his lower status.”

“I see now that I didn’t think my actions through enough...” Judithe muttered, looking totally defeated. “My apologies.”

“You need only do better next time,” Rihyarda said, her harsh expression finally softening. It seemed that she was now finished with Judithe, so she turned to me, once again looking terrifying. “How many times have I told you not to announce ideas you’ve come up with on the spot, milady?! Now that you have made your suggestion to Theodore in front of all the other children, it cannot be taken back. You must carefully discuss these matters with Lord Sylvester and Ferdinand first!”

Rihyarda contacted my guardians by ordonnanz, and soon enough, I was called to the archduke’s office. The first to speak was the one who looked the most serious: Ferdinand.

“Now then—Rihyarda tells me you wish to recruit someone as a temporary retainer or some such? Just what in the world are you thinking?”

“Um... Just so you know, I was trying to follow your example, Ferdinand.”

“Elaborate,” Ferdinand said, scrunching his brow in confusion.

“You bring only Eckhart and Justus with you to the temple, and while in the castle, you borrow scholars from Sylvester or elsewhere, no? Even during the Interduchy Tournament, while you had several knights from the Order pretending to guard you, they certainly weren’t your retainers.”

Several guard knights had stood behind us while we had tea at the Interduchy Tournament, but I had only somewhat recognized their faces. They certainly hadn’t been retainers Ferdinand used all the time, and indeed, when the ternisbefallen attack had occurred during the awards ceremony, they had prioritized protecting the archducal couple. Only Eckhart had accompanied Ferdinand to the grounds as his guard knight.

“As a member of the archducal family, surely you had many retainers back in your Royal Academy days, no?” I asked. “Where are they now? If you can employ their services only when you need them, I see no reason why I can’t have retainers who work for me only at the Royal Academy. Sylvester said that I can’t share retainers with Melchior, so I am just attempting to learn from your example, Ferdinand.”

“You and I are not the same.”

“How so? To be honest, I just want enough retainers to keep up appearances at the Royal Academy. I plan to raise a few more key scholars, but I have enough people in my service already.”

My response wasn’t met very favorably—Ferdinand grimaced, Karstedt hung his head while muttering that I shouldn’t adopt only their bad traits, and Rihyarda started rubbing her forehead. Sylvester, however, seemed unusually amused. He looked between all of us and then burst into laughter.

“Bwahaha! Sounds good to me. She’s doing exactly what you did, Ferdinand, and you know it. Maybe you should learn from her example and train some new retainers of your own.”

“The majority of my retainers from back then were of the former Veronica faction and are considered dangerous elements in the duchy,” Ferdinand said plainly. “My circumstances are not the same as yours, Rozemyne, as you can pick freely from all those available. Not to mention, there are few eccentrics who would willingly accompany me to the temple.”

He was trying to say that we couldn’t be compared, since I was guaranteed to leave the temple and become the next first wife through an engagement while he was going to be the High Priest now and forever, but I thought we were equally as limited in our options.

“You say that I can choose anyone, Ferdinand, but there are almost no archnobles or mednobles who are the correct faction, attending school alongside me, and not already taken by Wilfried, Charlotte, or Melchior. Pray tell, who exactly do you expect me to pick? If you have any candidates in mind, I am all ears.”

Wilfried and Charlotte had taken over leading the playroom during my two-year slumber, so the archnoble children there had pretty much all ended up with one or the other depending on their gender. The only ones who remained were those Florencia had identified and spoken to about serving Melchior, the former Veronica faction children Rihyarda had excluded right from the start, the laynobles who weren’t supposed to be considered as archducal retainers at all, and those who had given negative responses to the probing for various personal reasons.

I was aware that very few children had wanted to serve as my retainer back when it was unknown when—or even if—I would ever wake up. Some in the playroom hadn’t even known I existed until my return. Hartmut and Brunhilde were among the few who had waited for me, since they were Leisegang nobles and had seen my debut and my previous work in the playroom.

The younger students who hadn’t met me had outright refused to enter my service when probed about the idea, so it had ultimately been decided that I would receive only older students at first. Any other retainers I could pick on my own when I needed more. However, to tell the truth, I would have very much appreciated them leaving a few younger students to serve me as well.

“As the younger brother of one of your current retainers, it is clear that Theodore is not of the former Veronica faction,” Ferdinand said. “This can be resolved simply if you continue to use him after graduating from the Royal Academy. This is only a problem in the first place because you brought up some nonsense about temporary retainership.”

“Theodore said that he wants to follow in his father’s footsteps, serving Giebe Kirnberger as a knight and supporting his province,” I said. “I wish to support that dream, and for that reason, I refuse to take him as my retainer and use him for life.”

I understood that I was being a pain here, but I wanted to respect Theodore’s plans for his future. I certainly didn’t want to be the one to crush them.

“Even during the Traugott incident, Rihyarda said to me that she would be fine with anyone no matter their goals or motivations as long as they do their job and serve me properly,” I continued. “Assuming that Theodore treats me as a guard knight should at the Royal Academy, I will not have any issues with him. This should prove less problematic than hurrying to take someone else who ultimately does not fit the role and needs to be relieved of duty.”

It didn’t seem wise to pick based on lineage alone and risk ending up with another Traugott. I was fine with anyone who would, at the very least, serve me faithfully throughout my remaining time at the Royal Academy.

Ferdinand and I were locked in a fierce staring match for a short while until Sylvester interrupted us while stroking his chin. “Enough with the glares, you two. You both have a point. Ferdinand isn’t wrong to say that you need to raise retainers for the future, Rozemyne. But you’re also right that you don’t have many options right now. The adults and older kids understand the magnitude of what you’ve accomplished, but the younger ones are just gonna see you as some tiny kid. But, hm...” He crossed his arms and then put on a serious face. “Getting someone to serve you just for the Royal Academy, huh?”

Ferdinand grimaced even harder than usual. “Aub Ehrenfest. Do not tell me you plan to give her your permission.”

“This is a lot more acceptable than her other plan to share retainers with Melchior,” Sylvester replied. “Am I wrong?” Having one retainer serve two people at once would inevitably lead to those two people being compared, which was apparently far too dangerous for Melchior. “That said, archduke candidates and giebes are different. They can’t really be compared, and Giebe Kirnberger would only benefit from getting a guard knight trained by Rozemyne in the Royal Academy. He’s been concerned about how weak his connection to Rozemyne is compared to Giebes Groschel and Haldenzel.”

Even if other giebes started offering up their children for temporary retainership in the hope of establishing connections with the archducal family, it was up to us to accept them or not. Sylvester thereby concluded that temporary retainership wouldn’t prove much of a problem at all.

“However, if you treat a temporary retainer exactly as you would a normal retainer, someone is bound to take issue,” Sylvester continued. “You need to handle your retainers well, Rozemyne, or you can expect great trouble down the line.”

I nodded my understanding.

“Right,” Sylvester said. “I’ll speak with Giebe Kirnberger, then.”

Sylvester was on my side now, but Ferdinand still appeared to be dissatisfied. “I have other concerns as well,” he said. “Female retainers resign after getting married, so you must focus on hiring women who will return to work after their children grow old enough to enter the Royal Academy, as Ottilie did. You are going to be staying here in Ehrenfest as the archduke’s first wife, after all.”

Female archduke candidates were generally either married to archduke candidates from other duchies or to archnobles from their own. If an archducal family became too small, they could also have a groom marry into their duchy, but this was such a common cause of war and conflict that it almost never happened.

Retainers who decided not to follow their lady after she was married into another duchy were relieved of duty. A lady’s retainers were also relieved of duty when she married an archnoble and thereby ceased to be a member of the archducal family. I was going to be a first wife, of course, so my retainers would stay in my service.

“I intended to do some searching before my graduation, but adult women returning to work cannot serve as retainers in the Royal Academy,” I said. “And in truth, at the moment, I am simply not in need of one.”

“That certainly is correct,” Ferdinand said, nodding in agreement.

Also, pretty much all of the adult women I know are in the Love Story Authors Association, and I don’t want to break their holy order just to get a new retainer. Because, I mean, books are way more important.

Sylvester and Giebe Kirnberger ended up discussing my retainer situation, and it was decided that Theodore would serve me only while I attended the Royal Academy—on the condition that the Gutenbergs were sent to Kirnberger next year.



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