Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.9 - Chapter 11

Finding the Book

“Aub Ehrenfest, what is the meaning of this?” Giebe Dahldolf asked, having come to his parlor with his son after receiving an urgent summons. He was staring at Sylvester in complete shock—an understandable reaction, considering that the archduke in question was inside a transparent hemispherical shield.

“Your wife stole into the temple,” Sylvester replied. “She took Ehrenfest’s bible and replaced it with a fake, which she smeared with poison in an attempt to assassinate Rozemyne. We have evidence to substantiate all these claims. I told you once before to never again get involved with Rozemyne. If you care about your house, Giebe Dahldolf, then why did you leave your wife to her own devices?”

The giebe knelt at once. He had turned ghostly white, and his lip—no, his entire body—was trembling uncontrollably. His son, who would presumably be the next Giebe Dahldolf, knelt beside him with gritted teeth.

“I warned you, Father. I told you that woman was too emotional—that she didn’t act like a proper noble. I told you to lock her away before she destroyed our house in the name of that useless Shikza. In fact, I’ve opposed you treating her as your first wife ever since Mother passed away.”

“Are you his successor?” Sylvester asked.

There was a hesitant pause before the son replied, “My name is Jeremias. I was my father’s successor, before that woman ruined us.” He grimaced, trying to swallow back the anger he could no longer do anything about, then gave a defeated smile.

“You might still take your place as the next giebe.”

Jeremias straightened up at once, taken aback. Viscount Dahldolf was similarly shocked beyond words.

“The Saint of Ehrenfest is more merciful than you know,” Sylvester continued. “‘Crimes should belong to the individual, not their entire house,’ she said to me, pleading. ‘Is there no way to spare those who committed no wrongs?’”

“It can’t be... Is that true?!” they exclaimed in unison, their eyes flitting between Sylvester and me. It was clear from the looks on their faces that they were trying to determine whether this was a trick of some kind. I needed to clear the air; we wouldn’t get anywhere while they were so suspicious of us.

“Giebe Dahldolf,” I said, stepping forward with my most saintly smile, “I want only for my stolen bible to be returned. The viscountess has already suffered the consequences, and I do not wish to take her innocent family down with her.”

My earnest appeal must have done the trick, as the two suddenly looked more hopeful and relaxed. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the head attendant whom I had bound and Crushed during our previous visit; he seemed equal parts fearful and doubtful.

Look, buddy, I’m trying to help. You’d better not spill the beans about our little encounter.

I shot him a deliberate smile, which made him recoil and start shaking.

“That said,” Sylvester interjected, speaking with a steady cadence, “I cannot just accept Rozemyne’s plea—not when we have executed so many for the crime of association in the past. A compromise is necessary. If you wish to live, then you will need to return the bible, prove to us that you have no malevolent intentions, and give your names to me.”

“O-Our names?” the viscount repeated.

“Yes. We cannot settle for half measures. Giebe Dahldolf, future Giebe Dahldolf, if you both have the resolve to give your names, then I will see to it that Viscountess Dahldolf’s treason does not affect your house.”

Name-swearing was the one way that someone could prove absolute fealty. It meant giving one’s lord or lady the power to end one’s life at any time, to display one’s complete loyalty as a vassal. The demand we were making was far from normal, and it was especially hard to accept for those who knew what it entailed. The two Dahldolfs nervously swallowed.

“Aub Ehrenfest, I... I wish to express my loyalty and gratitude for being offered this opportunity to save my house,” Jeremias said upon steeling his resolve.

Viscount Dahldolf remained silent for a time, then he clenched his fists, squeezed his eyes shut, and bowed his head. “I am honored by your kindness, Aub Ehrenfest, but that is not something I can do.”

“Father?!” Jeremias shouted, unable to believe his ears. I likewise hadn’t expected the giebe to refuse this opportunity to save his family.

Viscount Dahldolf was well aware that all eyes were on him, and with a pained groan he said, “I no longer have a name to give.” He had given it to someone else. Ferdinand and his retainers had said that name-swearing was exceptionally rare, but now I wasn’t so sure.

Sylvester shook his head. “If you have no name to give, then Dahldolf will—”

“However! For the sake of my house, I will show you nothing but loyalty and sincerity. Please, allow me to find the bible and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that we hold no malice whatsoever,” Viscount Dahldolf pleaded, desperate to escape being punished by association.

“Who did you give your name to?” Sylvester asked, his eyes narrowed. “Your answer will determine whether I can trust you.”

“Lady Veronica, my lord.”

According to the viscount, Veronica’s mother Gabriele had struggled to adjust to Ehrenfest after marrying into the duchy from Ahrensbach. To support and protect her children, she needed vassals who would not betray her, and so she had demanded that her servants and their children give their names to her.

“I am told that name-swearing is far more common in Ahrensbach than Ehrenfest,” Viscount Dahldolf continued. “My mother came to Ehrenfest with Lady Gabriele and raised me to believe that a servant who does not offer their name is not to be trusted.”

Back when the viscount had come of age—before Sylvester had even been born—he had needed to choose between giving his name to Georgine or Veronica. He had gone with the latter, who was already the archduke’s first wife at the time.

“Do you mean to say there are others of Ahrensbach blood who have given their names as you have?” Sylvester asked. “To my mother and sister?”

“Yes, my lord. We had to come together and form a solid defense to resist the Leisegangs and protect Lady Veronica.”

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. I now realized why the mednobles at the core of the former Veronica faction weren’t switching sides, as mednobles were prone to doing. It seemed that there were some pretty big cultural differences between our two duchies when it came to name-swearing.

“You did not have your son give his name, correct?” Sylvester asked, looking at Jeremias.

“I did not feel there was a need. When he came of age, Lady Veronica already wielded enough power to restrain the Leisegangs, and her faction had grown large enough that unity was less crucial. Aub Ehrenfest... I will do all that I can. Please, spare my house.”

Sylvester gazed down at Viscount Dahldolf, then waved a hand. “Bring back the stolen bible; only then will your fate be decided. I intend to keep a very close eye on your efforts.”

“We are honored.”

And with that, the search for the bible began. Viscount Dahldolf started by sending one ordonnanz after another to those he knew, all bearing the same message: “My wife went to the Noble’s Quarter ahead of me, but I cannot seem to find her. Do you know anything about where she might be?” In the meantime, Ferdinand performed secret funerals for the three deceased, then used the feystones taken from their bodies to determine that Viscountess Dahldolf truly was among them.

Once all that was done, Viscount Dahldolf unlocked the viscountess’s hidden room as instructed, permitting us to search as we pleased. “Jeremias, assist them with their efforts. I shall continue with the ordonnanzes,” he said. It seemed that he needed to listen and reply to the many responses that were coming in.

We elected to tell Jeremias what we knew about Viscountess Dahldolf’s actions, hoping it might help with his search. He grimaced as he listened—and at one point even muttered, “What was she thinking...?” Then, once our debriefing was complete, he turned to me and said, “Lady Rozemyne, how does the bible look? I intend to order my servants to search as well, but I have never seen it up close. I imagine they would not recognize it either.”

I described its size and cover, among other things. The head attendant then gave his instructions to the servants, and a thorough search of the estate began.

“And what is the bible used for?” Jeremias asked. “That might have influenced where Viscountess Dahldolf chose to hide it.”

“Ceremonies, mostly. I can hold them without it, since I know the prayers by heart, but each duchy only has one bible, so I do not wish to lose it. Not to mention, my successor will need it for when they start memorizing the prayers. According to Egmont’s memories and the note left behind, she stole our bible simply to cause problems for us.”

“Does it have no other uses?”

Well, it also serves as a manual for becoming king... but that has nothing to do with me.

“Not that I know of,” I replied.

Jeremias frowned, and it was then that Ferdinand and the head attendant returned from their search. They had turned the entire estate upside down to find the bible, but to no avail. It had seemed likely that it would be here, since Viscountess Dahldolf clearly hadn’t expected us to notice the switch so soon, which made our lack of success all the more disappointing.

“It was likely moved elsewhere,” Ferdinand said, then looked at Jeremias. “Tell me, did the viscountess own a teleportation circle?”

“She did not, and we did not grant her permission to use the one entrusted to our house.”

To prevent assassinations and ambushes, only the archduke could place the kinds of teleportation circles used to transport people—and these circles were limited to travel within the duchy. Those used to cross duchy borders, such as the ones that provided access to the Royal Academy, required the king’s approval.

The circles used to teleport goods likewise couldn’t move objects across duchy borders. It was possible to install ones that could, but doing so required the permission of the two duchies’ archdukes, and it didn’t seem to be something that happened all that much. The potential risk when generations passed and political circumstances changed was much too great.

Personal teleportation circles like the ones that Ferdinand used functioned a little differently—there were designated sending and receiving circles, meaning that goods could only be transported one way. On top of that, since the maker’s mana was used on both sides, they could only be used with the sender’s and receiver’s permission. This and other restrictions were in place to prevent any dangerous items from being sent.

In short, even if the viscountess had used a teleportation circle she had acquired from somewhere, the bible would still be somewhere in Ehrenfest.

“Giebe Dahldolf, is there anyone your wife might have known who would need the bible, or anyone to whom she would entrust such a dangerous item?” Ferdinand asked. He had, of course, been investigating the former Veronica faction for quite some time, so I was sure that he already knew the answer to this question. His decision to ask anyway meant that this was probably a minor test of sorts to see whether the viscount really did intend to cooperate.

“Giebe Gerlach is the most likely candidate, I would say. Like my late wife, he is name-sworn to Lady Georgine. Her decision to steal the bible might even have been for Lady Georgine’s sake, considering that she acted without our knowing. Giebe Gerlach was a scholar before he was a giebe, so he is most likely capable of making teleportation circles on his own.”

“Indeed,” Ferdinand replied with a satisfied nod; it seemed that Giebe Dahldolf’s answer corresponded with his own intelligence. “That said, there are no teleportation circles to be found in her chambers, her hidden room, or the attendants’ rooms, and the bible could not have been moved instantaneously without one. Do you have any ideas other than Giebe Gerlach?”

“My lady did not leave the estate even once after she returned,” the head attendant interjected. “She had no meetings scheduled, and she did not see anyone from outside the estate. As her room does not have a balcony, I also find it reasonable to conclude that she did not sneak out on her highbeast.”

His word, coupled with the responses to Viscount Dahldolf’s ordonnanzes, was enough for us to conclude that she hadn’t ventured anywhere else after arriving at the estate. And given that Ferdinand had assigned knights to observe the premises after returning to the castle, we could be sure that she hadn’t snuck out after the gate closed that day.

It had come to mind that perhaps she had gone somewhere immediately before making her way to the estate, but the time that Egmont had seen her leave and the time the head attendant maintained she had arrived were almost identical. She hadn’t been unaccounted for for very long at all, and it would have been much too dangerous for her to be flying around with the bible in her possession.

There’s no teleportation circle, and she didn’t leave the estate... That seems unusually lax, especially when you consider how much she was doing before she went to the Noble’s Quarter.

She had used her subordinates to stake out the Italian restaurant and the Gilberta Company, even going as far as to purchase cloth and the like. There must have been more to it than we realized. I returned my attention to the head attendant, thinking back on everything the viscountess had done.

“On another note, when did the Gilberta Company’s cloth arrive?” I asked, remembering that there were still other things we needed to investigate. Finding out more about the cloth was at the top of my priority list, since it risked getting the lower city involved.

“The Gilberta Company’s cloth?” the head attendant repeated.

“Yes. Someone whom we believe to have been Viscountess Dahldolf’s servant purchased cloth dyed in the current fashion from the Gilberta Company. I’m wondering whether it has some connection to the bible incident, as it happened on the same day, and she was not known to buy from that store.”

“Aah,” he said. “The cloth arrived prior to my lady’s return. A merchant came at around noon to deliver it. I did not recognize them, but they had a letter that bore my lady’s handwriting, so I paid for and accepted the goods. The cloth was then taken by an attendant in the afternoon.”

“Wait.”

The viscountess had already returned to her estate by the afternoon. Had the attendant used the cloth to wrap up the bible? If so, then it was possible that the Gilberta Company would end up being indirectly dragged into this mess.

“This other attendant—where did they take the cloth?” I asked. “Is there not a chance that they relocated the bible with it?”

All eyes fell on the head attendant. He would have been the one to summon the carriage, and indeed, his response came without any hesitation. “I recall that they were headed to the castle.”

“The castle?!”

My eyes shot open. Would they really have taken the bible to the castle? Maybe they had needed to do something with the cloth first. I continued to ponder the situation when Jeremias looked up with a start.

“I... I understand. It’s a gift to celebrate Lord Ferdinand’s marriage.”

“What...?”

“By delivering the cloth to the castle as a gift for Lord Ferdinand, they can have it sent to Ahrensbach without suspicion. This method circumvents the need for a teleportation circle and for the desired goods to pass through Giebe Gerlach. If one wishes to deliver the bible to Lady Georgine, this is the most discreet solution.”

Ferdinand, a member of our archducal family, was marrying into another duchy. Ahrensbach had sent us an abundance of gifts in celebration of the special occasion, and Ehrenfest was going to be sending them gifts in turn. As I understood it, there was a room in the castle where offerings from various giebes and nobles sent before winter socializing were being stored.

“Cloth dyed in Ehrenfest’s style would make for a suitable wedding gift,” Jeremias continued, “and since it is considered a gift for women, it will doubtless be delivered to Lady Detlinde or Lady Georgine rather than Aub Ahrensbach or Lord Ferdinand.”

We had already sold the production method for rinsham, and it was now common practice for hairpins to be gifted for one’s graduation ceremony and taken straight to the Royal Academy. This cloth, however, was a new trend—and unlike sweets, it wouldn’t spoil while being stored in the castle. Jeremias explained that the viscountess could have simply prepared a box large enough to also store the bible and that, because cloth was such a normal present for a groom to give his bride, it wouldn’t draw any suspicion.

That reminds me—back when I tried to gift cloth to Aurelia, Brunhilde told me it was a more fitting present for Lamprecht to give.

I swiftly rose to my feet and said, “I am off to the castle.” We finally had a lead, and I wasn’t going to waste any time.

Ferdinand sent an ordonnanz to a castle scholar, informing them that we would soon be arriving to check the wedding presents. I was accompanying him so that I could search the room for cloth from the Gilberta Company. We had ordered some guards to stay at the Dahldolf estate to watch the viscount and the others while they continued to search for clues.

And so, we went to Ferdinand’s office in the castle. Waiting for us there was a scholar I had never met. He was one of Ferdinand’s retainers who helped at the castle but never came to the temple.

“I have with me the key to the room containing the gifts,” the scholar said. “If you would only order it, we could check them all on your behalf. I understand that you are tremendously busy.” He looked rather dissatisfied about Ferdinand doing such work himself, so he was probably aiding me in my valiant quest to reduce his workload.

Ferdinand shook his head. “The aub has informed me that many gifts have arrived already. I must thank the senders during winter socializing and offer them gifts in return, and while checking them all will be no small task, I cannot respond sincerely unless I do. Now is the perfect opportunity to begin, as there are no temple ceremonies to preoccupy me,” he explained, wearing a fake smile. He took the key from the scholar and then piled some documents before him. “Rozemyne and Justus will accompany me. You may focus on this in the meantime.”

“Lord Ferdinand, why is Lady Rozemyne allowed to go when I am not?” the scholar asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

“Because of my own selfish request,” I replied. “I wish to prepare gifts for Lady Detlinde and Lady Letizia, but I am concerned that I might send them something they have already received from a giebe. As such, I asked to see what my competition is offering. I apologize for how hasty this must all seem, but there is not much time before I must return to the Royal Academy.”

Ferdinand nodded, said that we had no more time to waste, then started making his way to the room containing the gifts. I followed after him, though I couldn’t help but glance back at the scholar as we went. He was slumped over a little, looking dejected as he picked up the first sheet of paperwork.

“I... feel kind of bad for him,” I said. “He has to work all alone.”

“There is no helping that,” Ferdinand replied. “Or are you volunteering to explain the full circumstances to him if we find what we are seeking?”

“I know, I know...”

I walked alongside Ferdinand—in Lessy, of course—until we arrived at our destination. Justus used the key he had received from Ferdinand to open the door for us, revealing one towering stack of presents after another.

“There are so many boxes,” I wisely observed.

“They keep the gifts from being stained while being loaded into carriages,” Ferdinand replied. Using boxes was also ideal when it came to storage, as it allowed for the gifts to be stacked as they were now. “Let us begin. I am relying on you to recognize the cloth we are looking for.”

I was in charge of checking the cloth, since I was the most familiar with the kinds available from the Gilberta Company. My retainers brought me one box after another, while Ferdinand checked who each one was from.

“Stack the boxes we have checked over here,” I said. “Take care not to mix them with the ones we have yet to open.”

My guard knights continued passing the boxes along like a well-oiled machine, while Ferdinand checked the contents of each one and Justus kept notes. I was brought in for a closer look only when we found cloth of the new style. None were dyed in the style we were trying to find, although some pieces were quite similar, but then—

“Ferdinand, here! This cloth is from the Gilberta Company!” I shouted. It had the same floral print that Mom used and was the divine color of summer so that it could be made into a timely outfit when it was delivered in the spring.

“Light poison checks have already been carried out, but give it a closer inspection before touching anything. It may be smeared with the same poison that was used on the fake bible,” Ferdinand noted, so my guard knights began a more thorough examination under Hartmut’s instruction.

“He remembered everything I taught him...” Justus muttered, impressed.

After confirming that the cloth wasn’t poisoned, I tried to remove it from the box—but that was easier said than done.

“I-It’s so heavy...”

The cloth was wrapped around something so big and heavy that I couldn’t even get it out of the box. In the end, Leonore and Angelica had to take it out and unwrap it for me.

“Oh...?”

I had expected to find the bible inside, but instead, the cloth was peeled away to reveal...

“A wooden box.”

“This box has a surprising amount of weight to it for something used just for wrapping cloth around. There must be something inside,” Leonore remarked. She opened up the box to reveal another layer of protective cloth, and inside that was a very familiar sight.

“My bible!” I exclaimed.

“Let us check it for poison first, Lady Rozemyne,” Angelica said, stopping me in my tracks before I could grab it.

“Did you forget that the last ‘bible’ you saw was tampered with?” Leonore asked, adding to my lecture. It seemed that I had no choice but to be patient.

“The bible is now safe to touch, Lady Rozemyne,” Hartmut said when the checks were finally complete. He then eased the book into my arms.

I examined its cover and front page, took a big sniff, and then hugged it to my chest. “It looks like it, smells like it, feels like it... This is absolutely my bible,” I declared, then gazed up with a confident smile. Ferdinand was staring back at me in open disgust.

“That you distinguish books by their smell is rather off-putting.”

Excuse me?!

“I disagree,” I protested. “It shows just how close I am with them.”

“If you insist. I do not care enough to discuss this further,” Ferdinand said, waving me away with a sigh. “In any case, I must admit, their plot was especially elaborate this time.”

“Had this bible been found in Ahrensbach, people would have thought that you stole it, Ferdinand.”

He slowly shook his head. “No, it would have been seen as an Ehrenfest plot to make Ahrensbach seem like thieves.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. We’ve crushed their plot either way.” We had successfully recovered the bible, prevented the issue from reaching the public, and ensured that Ferdinand wouldn’t receive the blame. “Still, we have nothing connecting this to Lady Georgine, do we?”

“As it stands, Viscountess Dahldolf masterminded the entire plot; we have no evidence connecting her to Ahrensbach. If not for Egmont’s ring, we would not even be able to prove Giebe Gerlach’s involvement.”

There was no mistaking that Georgine was pulling the strings here, but man, what a pain it was dealing with her. She was exceedingly cautious and annoyingly tricky.

“You are right, though—we have found the bible,” Ferdinand continued. “Our names have not been besmirched, and we avoided a potential assassination. Plus, now that we have recovered this cloth, the Gilberta Company will not face any repercussions. There is also the fact that the next Giebe Dahldolf will be swearing his name to the aub, so all in all, I suppose this incident was actually to our benefit?”

“And remember, it’s all because I noticed that something was off,” I said. I hadn’t been of much use beyond that, so I wanted to stress my essential contribution to our glorious victory. “Feel free to shower me with praise.”

“Your phrasing makes me reluctant to acknowledge your assistance at all, but, well... indeed.”

“That doesn’t feel much like praise...”

“You simply acted as anyone trying to avoid punishment would. It is hardly worth my acclaim.”

Despite my best efforts, Ferdinand refused to give me even a word of genuine praise. At the very least, I could take pride in knowing that I had retrieved both the bible and the Gilberta Company’s cloth without incident. Our work here wasn’t done, though; Ferdinand got me to help him check all the remaining gifts, and only then did we return to the temple.

“Use the key to open the bible and confirm its authenticity,” Ferdinand said.

“Right.”

I reregistered my mana to the key and then opened the bible with ease—which was proof enough that the key was real. I was then able to confirm the authenticity of the bible, as the usual text and magic circle rose into the air. We wasted no time in reporting our findings to Sylvester and Viscount Dahldolf.

“We have recovered the bible,” I said. “We have also found the Gilberta Company’s cloth, so they are no longer at risk of getting mixed up in noble affairs.”

Dealing with the name-swearing and punishments was Sylvester’s job, so I was going to leave all that to him. I was sure that the Dahldolfs wouldn’t be disciplined too seriously, since they had done everything in their power to help us find the bible and told us some valuable information about the Ahrensbach-leaning nobles.

“I am glad to see you have retrieved the bible. I was starting to worry,” Fran said, breaking into a smile when he saw me. He had been on tenterhooks waiting for my return. I gave him a big nod, then hugged the book to my chest again.

“Welcome home, my bible.”