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Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.9 - Chapter 4




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Farewell Gifts

“Was today’s farewell dinner satisfactory?” I asked.

Ferdinand nodded. “Yes, very much so.”

“Fran, could you bring the farewell gift? You may then leave to have your own dinner.”

Fran brought the box over at once and gave me its contents—a cute bag small enough for me to hold in the palm of my hand. I had tied it shut with some ribbon to make it look at least a little bit more like a present.

“Rozemyne, was this meal not your farewell gift?” Ferdinand asked.

“It was, but so is this. I never said there was only one.”

“I suppose not, but...” He gave me a weird look, then accepted the bag I was holding out to him. It was more customary to put things in boxes rather than bags in this world, so the small pouch in his hand must have looked truly bizarre to him. He blinked, not entirely sure what to do with it.

“Undo the ribbon,” I said. “The gift is inside.”

“Then what is this bag?”

“Well, the packaging. Isn’t it cute?”

“I am at a loss. Why in the world would you do something so unnecessary?” Ferdinand complained, furrowing his brow while undoing the ribbon. He peered inside the bag, then his expression froze as though he could not believe what he was seeing. “Rozemyne, this is...”

“A protective charm made from a regisch scale. Hartmut taught me how to make it.”

Hartmut had taught me everything I needed to know about the protective magic circles used on Schwartz’s and Weiss’s clothes—and to thank him for helping me through what had ended up being a very arduous process, I had given him one of the rainbow feystones to do with as he pleased.

“I’m sure it will protect you if you keep it on you at all times. So, what do you think? I’ve grown a lot too, haven’t I?” I said, confidently puffing out my chest.

Ferdinand flipped the bag upside down, allowing the five-centimeter-wide teardrop-shaped feystone to fall onto his hand. He channeled some mana into it and stared at it analytically. “It... seems to be functioning properly.”

“As I said, Hartmut showed me how to do everything. I would have liked to be able to make it on my own, though.”

“You were right to seek his help. If you had made it alone, I would have been concerned about it functioning at all,” Ferdinand said with a smirk. He then looked over at Justus, who promptly acknowledged the signal and presented a slender wooden box. “And this, from me to you.”

“I thank you ever so much. May I open it?”

I was so excited that I opened the box before he even replied and peered inside. Immediately, my eyes widened in surprise. It was a hair stick—not a hairpin decorated with flowers like the kind that Tuuli made, but a proper hair stick. It was slender and metal-clad, with five rainbow feystones decorating it and chains of slightly different lengths attached to the tip.

I had chosen my largest rainbow feystones when making my gift so that I could fit as many magic circles into it as possible, while Ferdinand had chosen his smallest ones. All of the feystones here were about two centimeters in diameter. I could already picture them glittering and swaying as I walked, making for a tremendously beautiful sight.

But, wait... Rainbow feystones... That means...

I gently touched the hair stick and channeled some of my mana into it. Just as expected, this was no ordinary ornament—there were protective magic circles inside the five rainbow feystones.

“Ferdinand, this is a charm, isn’t it?”

“You are the one who said you wished to turn these feystones into ornaments, no? That would, of course, be a waste, so I made this one into a charm.”

I could definitely remember saying that I wanted to make the rainbow feystones into an ornament, but I also seemed to recall him dismissing the idea entirely. It hadn’t even crossed my mind that he might go back on those words and do something like this for me. In truth, I was more shocked than I was overjoyed.

“I tried my best to surprise you, but you’ve completely turned the tables on me.”

How could I not be completely taken aback? I had given him a rainbow feystone charm with my chest puffed out, only for him to give me the same thing times five. What’s more, my farewell gift to him was only a raw feystone; his to me was an actual ornament.

I’ve been completely and utterly defeated...

“Do not think I was not surprised as well. I did not expect you to be able to create a charm of this level,” Ferdinand said with a thin smile as he looked at his present from me. Despite his words, he still didn’t look surprised in the slightest—though he did seem kind of pleased. Although I had been defeated, he was happy, and that was all that mattered.

“Eheheh. I sure have grown, haven’t I?”

“Though it was mostly Hartmut’s work...”

“Details! Just compliment me!”

My retainers laughed, but Ferdinand just scoffed. This wasn’t the first time he had refused to play nice. I pursed my lips in a show of dissatisfaction, then began to examine the hair stick. The rainbow feystones resembled opals, and when moved around, they seemed to change color depending on where the light hit them. There were thin metal wire frames around the feystones to keep them in place, and even these were engraved, making the hair stick look all the more fancy.

“It’s a simple but attractive design,” I said. “I always knew you could pick out ornaments for women.”

“I do not want anyone to think that I picked the hairpins Detlinde ordered myself. I needed to formulate some kind of excuse to avoid putting myself at risk,” Ferdinand explained. If she had gone around saying that her fiancé had given them to her, then most would have assumed that he had chosen them himself. He wanted to avoid that at any cost; this was a dire problem that risked calling his aesthetic sense into question.

“And as for your ornament,” he continued, “while others would start to notice you wearing the same flower every day, a more discreet piece like that hair stick should draw very little attention at all. I believe that you once put forward the idea of wearing two hair ornaments at once. Utilize this technique and strive to wear this gift at every opportunity, if you can.”

It seemed that he had deliberately made the design for my hair stick simple so that I could wear it alongside a flower hairpin. He sure had thought this through. Brunhilde and Lieseleta were both nodding along, impressed.

“Lady Rozemyne, would you like to wear your new hair ornament?” Brunhilde asked, standing up and coming over at once. She accepted the hair stick from me, examined my hair for a moment, then slid it into place right next to my hairpin.

 

    

 

I shook my head a bit, and the rainbow feystones made a very faint clinking noise. I really was pleased with my farewell gift, and a broad smile spread across my face as I gazed up at Ferdinand. “Does it suit me?”

“It does not look bad.”

“Uh, and what do you mean by that? It sounds like you’re trying to disguise a criticism as praise.”

At times like this, I could say one thing with absolute certainty: Ferdinand was exceedingly bad at complimenting women—or at complimenting anyone, really. This was exactly why everyone said that he would never be able to keep a girlfriend.

“This is the part where you’re meant to say it looks cute, even if you don’t actually believe that,” I said.

“As they shift beneath the gentle lights, the rainbow feystones twinkle like stars upon the night sky that is your flowing hair. All who see them are sure to glimpse the love that the gods have all given you, making the hair stick perfect for a saint such as yourself, Lady Rozemyne.”

That was more than a step in the right direction—although it had come not from Ferdinand, but from Hartmut. In fact, maybe he had taken it too far; he had spoken in such flowery language that it was hard to work out what he was even complimenting.

“Ferdinand, even a tenth of what Hartmut just said will do. Please compliment me.”

“How foolish. I see no need to go through the trouble of voicing the obvious. I made the hair stick for you; is there any doubt that it would suit you?”

That’s not a compliment either, right? Now he’s just bragging.

It seemed wise to give up on receiving any compliments from Ferdinand, smug and cocky as he was. Instead, I turned to Brunhilde and said, “Do you think I can wear this hair stick every day?”

“Yes, my lady. As Lord Ferdinand suggests, you can simply wear it alongside a flower-decorated hairpin—and it will pair wonderfully with every single hairpin you own. That said, as a word of warning... I do believe it will stick out fundamentally due to it having five rainbow feystones,” she replied, brushing the feystones with a bemused smile.

Ah... Right. Ferdinand can be kind of off the mark at times.

Ferdinand shrugged. “There is no helping that. I can do nothing more to protect Rozemyne once I am gone.”

“You certainly are overprotective when it comes to her, Lord Ferdinand,” Cornelius said, inspecting my hair stick with narrowed eyes. “You pile her with a shocking number of charms and are using valuable ingredients to prepare potions for her by the day.”

Hartmut scoffed. “Is it not obvious that Lord Ferdinand would devote his all to protecting Lady Rozemyne? She has been the target of Ahrensbach nobles since before her baptism, she was forced into a two-year slumber after an attack on the archduke’s castle left her poisoned, and she appears to be in constant contact with royals and archnobles while outside his influence at the Royal Academy. Not even potions and charms are enough for us to rest easy—especially when we can no longer accompany her to the Academy ourselves.”

It was then that I realized something—Ferdinand had only begun packing me with charms after my coma. Before then, he had only given them to me when we were about to go somewhere, like the gathering spots. The number of charms had continued to increase since I started attending the Royal Academy and was apparently based on how many incidents I caused.

Hartmut continued, “In fact, I would rather we give Lady Rozemyne more charms. Unfortunately, I am only a scholar, not her family or her guardian, so there is a limit to what I can provide.” He paused to give an exceedingly disappointed sigh, then glared at Cornelius. “Rather, why have you not given Lady Rozemyne any charms? You are her brother by blood. Are you not worried about her?”

“I am, but the charms she has already are so effective and of such great quality. Anything I could make for her would only be a downgrade,” Cornelius replied with a shrug. He saw no point in giving me charms when he wasn’t a scholar and couldn’t make anything even remotely as powerful as the ones I was currently using. Not to mention, even though we were siblings, my status as an adopted daughter meant that he couldn’t give me gifts freely. It was actually kind of sad hearing him describe the distance between us so clearly.

“We could act like siblings in the Royal Academy, but now that you’ve graduated, we no longer have a place for that,” I said. “I feel a little upset.”

“Me too,” he replied with a bittersweet smile.


As we were sharing in our tragic sorrow, Hartmut killed the mood with another exaggerated sigh. “Aah, I know the feeling all too well. Graduating was painful, and nothing has pained me more than the knowledge that I cannot join you at the Royal Academy any longer. Oh, why was I cursed to graduate? I could have been of even more use to you, Lady Rozemyne.”

“You certainly would be useful, but you simply wish to see what Lady Rozemyne does at the Royal Academy, no?” Leonore asked with a look of complete exasperation. “You let yourself get rather carried away during the first ternisbefallen attack, and when she was regenerating our gathering spot.”

“Was that not something to be enthusiastic about?” Hartmut retorted. “Amid all that vile black sludge, she wielded the divine staff and activated the magic circles, causing the land to heal before our very eyes. She might as well have been the—”

“Hartmut, we’ve heard this a thousand times over,” Leonore said, interrupting him flatly and with a smile. He must have been something of a broken record among his fellow retainers, as Philine and Judithe were nodding in agreement. Leonore’s expression then turned gravely serious. “On a more important note, there is a request I have for Lord Ferdinand.”

Ferdinand raised an eyebrow. “Continue.”

“If you are handing this many charms to Lady Rozemyne, then you must expect her next term at the Royal Academy to be dangerous enough to require them, yes? I ask to know what dangers you expect. This way, we can prepare ourselves for them rather than having to react in the moment.”

Last year, Ferdinand had opted to give me even more charms—a decision that had coincided with the ternisbefallen attack and the rebel attack at the Interduchy Tournament, as well as the ditter game we had gotten dragged into. Leonore wanted to know what he expected to happen next.

Ferdinand gave a troubled frown. “Leonore, I did not give Rozemyne the charms because I expected those abrupt, unpredictable disasters to occur. Last year, I was simply concerned about assassins from Ahrensbach, and the difficulties that might have arisen from refusing a ditter rematch from Dunkelfelger. This year, however...” He fell silent for a moment, tapping a finger against his temple as if pondering whether his next words were wise to say, then sighed. “Rozemyne is not going to return to Ehrenfest for the Dedication Ritual.”

“What? Why not?” I asked.

“Because your other guardians and I decided as much yesterday, after much discussion. You are to spend a full term at the Royal Academy for once.”

Ferdinand went on to list their reasons one by one. Most notably, this decision was intended to diminish Sylvester’s reputation as a cruel archduke who treated his adopted daughter differently from his other children, and to accommodate the fact that the jureve dissolving my mana clumps meant I was less likely to fall unconscious.

“Last of all, we will already have plenty of mana for the ritual, since we now have Hartmut, myself, and the feystones from your time in the jureve. Of course, this will only work for this year, while I remain in Ehrenfest. Consider this your one normal year in the Royal Academy and enjoy it to the fullest.”

It seemed that Ferdinand wanted me to have at least one term where I wasn’t summoned back to Ehrenfest for my mana. My eyes grew warm, and an indescribable sense of delight welled up inside of me as I realized just how considerate he was being.

“Ferdinand...”

“Because we plan for you to spend such a long time in the Royal Academy uninterrupted, I expect your retainers to suffer more than most can even imagine. Thus, I gifted you these protective charms. I can only pray that they ease their burden at least somewhat.”

Excuse me...?

All of my positive feelings shriveled up in an instant. Ferdinand was doing something so very kind for me; why couldn’t he just let me be moved for once?

“Ferdinand, I was emotional to the point of tears before you made that last comment,” I said, glaring at him.

Ferdinand merely nodded, unmoved. “This is not a hidden room, and my remark has saved me from having to console you. All in all, I would say this is the ideal outcome.”

“You never compliment people enough, and all the good you do is canceled out by the awful way that you phrase things! This is no good at all. You need to shape up!”

“I do not care about your evaluation of me. My attention is devoted only to the fact that your retainers are soon to experience the greatest challenge of their lives thus far.”

From there, Ferdinand turned his attention to my retainers. His statement that the next term at the Royal Academy was going to be a nightmare went completely unchallenged.

“Ehrenfest has seen rapid growth over the past few years, and the duchies we have left in our wake have grown envious—Immerdink included,” Ferdinand warned. “We do not know what these feelings will drive them to do. Our relationship with Ahrensbach will most likely change as well due to this engagement. I have prepared many potions and charms, but we must not let our guards down. Speak of the engagement with smiles, and remain alert at all times.”

In the end, he listed off so many potential threats that I wanted to ask just how many enemies we expected to make.

“You don’t need to be so worried,” I said. “This is the year I’ll make it all the way through the term without incident. I can feel it.”

“That will never happen with you,” Ferdinand replied without a moment’s hesitation, and all of my retainers nodded in agreement. This should have come as no surprise, but they really had no trust in me. “In any case, focus solely on coming first-in-class, and do not oppose any other duchies—especially the Sovereignty.”

“The thought of opposing the Sovereignty has never even crossed my mind.”

“Perhaps not, but what matters is whether they think you might,” Ferdinand replied, once again tapping his temple. “I expect they will approach you themselves this year, and just considering the number of things they might address makes my head ache. Can you remain quiet if they probe you about the palace library or about me, whom you describe as being like family? I do not imagine so.”

I stared at my hands, unable to argue. Now that my mana flowed so freely, I would probably enter Crushing Mode on the spot if they tried to threaten me about anything related to Ferdinand. And given all of my actions up to this point, I wasn’t shameless enough to say that I could show restraint when libraries were involved.

“I... I probably would not remain quiet.”

“Indeed. You are soon to be the first wife of an archduke and are known throughout the Royal Academy as the Saint of Ehrenfest. All eyes are on you, and your words and actions will shape the very future of our duchy... as well as my freedom and ease of movement within Ahrensbach.”

Ferdinand must have realized that, for me, his fate in Ahrensbach was a better means of persuasion than the fate of our duchy. He reached out and touched my hair stick, causing the little feystones to jingle.

“I prepared all the charms you will need, but you must never go on the offensive, whether through means such as Crushing or otherwise. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” I replied with a nod, but his hard features were still tinged with concern. “You can trust me. I’ll be doing my very best.”

All of a sudden, Ferdinand narrowed his eyes and looked across my retainers. “Rozemyne, are your retainers deserving of trust?”

“I would say so.”

“Can they keep themselves from repeating that which is best left unsaid?”

“That’s something all nobles can do, no?” I asked, turning to my retainers. They all nodded in response.

“Then swear here and now that what I am about to say will not be spoken of until you leave for the Royal Academy.”

As we blinked in response to the peculiar condition of his request, Justus leaned forward and said, “Lord Ferdinand, are you certain about this?”

“If such knowledge will make it easier to keep Rozemyne safe, then I can ask for nothing more.”

Once all of my retainers had sworn on their schtappes to maintain their silence, Ferdinand gravely continued.

“The ones you must be most wary of at the Royal Academy this year are the children of the former Veronica faction.”

“But why?” Judithe asked, tilting her head with wide eyes. “We’ve been doing really well with them.”

Roderick, in contrast, squeezed his eyes shut and gave a slow sigh. “You’re doing it while we’re at the Royal Academy, then?”

“Yes,” Ferdinand replied. It was a curt response to a painfully vague question, but their expressions and the tension in the air told us everything.

They’re eliminating the former Veronica faction...

“Did you find any evidence?” Roderick asked.

Ferdinand paused for a moment and then carefully said, “Yes. There is the embezzling that Damuel discovered, among other things.”

The evidence was probably too weak to justify any definitive action, but they must have intended to proceed with the elimination nonetheless. After all, Ferdinand didn’t have much time or leeway before he needed to leave Ehrenfest.

“Once the elimination of the former Veronica faction begins, there are many children who will be accused of crimes by association,” Ferdinand continued. “Have them decide this term whether they will give their names to you. It is precisely because you have been doing so well with them in the Royal Academy that the aub has decided to protect those who give their names to a member of the archducal family, rather than punishing them all.”

Sylvester had seen the children of the former Veronica faction putting aside the usual politics and working with us in the Royal Academy. He had heard them voice their desire to come of age so that they could, at last, leave their parents’ faction. Some of them had even brought us valuable intelligence before Lamprecht’s wedding.

“The aub considers it best to dig out the seeds of danger before they take root, but he does not wish to destroy Ehrenfest’s future simply due to the crime of association,” Ferdinand went on. “However, if we decide to waive this form of punishment even this one time, we will open ourselves to significant resistance. It is important that the children give their names so that we may spare them without incident.” He then looked straight at Roderick and said, “Ehrenfest cannot tolerate the existence of any potential threats within its borders. My hope is that you can bring as many children of the former Veronica faction to our side as possible.”

Roderick met these words with wide eyes, then nodded slowly.

“Rozemyne, if there are any promising students you wish to have at your side, do all that you can to secure their futures,” Ferdinand said. “I do not care what methods you use. This will be your only opportunity to make those of the former Veronica faction your retainers.”

I nodded as well.

“Gah! Again, why did I have to graduate?!” Hartmut cried. “I need to be there for this! I need to! If only I had chosen the attendant course... Then, I could have gone as Roderick’s attendant!”

“If an archnoble started attending me, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself!” Roderick half-shrieked. His outburst elicited giggles and words of amusement from Philine and Judithe.

“It sure is good that Hartmut didn’t pick the attendant course, isn’t it?”

“It really is.”

“I see that nobody understands my pain...” Hartmut lamented, cradling his head in true despair.

Ferdinand put on a dark smile. “There is some work that can only be done by adults. You need only be useful to Rozemyne outside of the Royal Academy. I shall prepare something suitable for your talents.”

“And what kind of work would that be?” I asked, tilting my head.

Ferdinand thought for a moment, then scoffed. “It is better for your peace of mind that you do not know.”

Hello, police? There’s a baddie plotting something evil right here in front of me!



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