Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.9 - Chapter 6

Commoner Testimonies

“In any case, a book of mine is missing. It is only natural that I would search for it. Farewell.”

I started toward the door, but Ferdinand raised a hand. “And where exactly do you think you are going? Do you have an idea where it might be?”

“No, but I am going to use the technique you just taught me to spread my mana across the entire city,” I replied, meaning both the lower city and the Noble’s Quarter.

Ferdinand gave me an exasperated look. “You can find other people’s mana with this method, but not your own. It will prove useless in the Noble’s Quarter. Do not waste your mana, fool.”

“Ngh...”

“Instead, consider the culprit’s objective. If you can narrow down their goals, we may find ourselves on their trail.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, blinking at Ferdinand in surprise. “Their goal is obvious. You don’t even need to think about it.”

He furrowed his brow and said, “Oh?” It seemed that he didn’t quite follow.

“There’s only one reason why someone would take that bible: they want to read the only premiere edition in all of Ehrenfest!”

Had they asked me, I might have given them permission... but now that they had disappeared those gray priests, invaded the temple, and tried to dupe me with this fake version, I would never let them touch it again.

My logic was perfectly sound, yet Ferdinand disregarded it with a sigh. “If their goal was simply to read the bible, they would not have had any need to infiltrate your room and replace yours. They could have read one of the transcriptions found in the temple book room or even had a blue priest transcribe it directly.”

“Ah... But what if they wanted to read the Darkness prayer not found in the book room’s copies? Or maybe they wanted to know something about the Haldenzel Miracle. There are so many possibilities!”

Not wanting to admit defeat, I racked my brain for reasons why my bible was superior to the other copies. You could read far more of it than bibles from other duchies where the High Bishop was selected from the blue priests; surely many would want it.

My bible is really special, buster!

“I accept that those are both potential motives—the Sovereign temple wanted to see the Darkness prayer, and many nobles wish to know more about the occurrence in Haldenzel—but neither explains why they would replace it. They would not even be able to read it without your permission, considering that it has been registered with your mana.”

“Could they not just reregister it with someone else?” I asked, recalling that I had reregistered the key after becoming the High Bishop. It didn’t seem like a very difficult process.

“That would impact which sections can be read, no?”

“Is that why they replaced it, then? Because they want to read the parts their own mana wouldn’t show?” I already knew from our comparison with the Sovereign temple’s version of the bible that the amount one could read was largely dependent on one’s mana, as well as the mana of the High Bishop. I couldn’t imagine that was something many people knew about, however.

Hm... In what way does not having the bible cause problems?

I would carry it with me to the chapel for ceremonies, but that was just for show in my case, since I had committed all the prayers I needed to memory. I never used it for anything else, so it usually functioned as little more than decoration for the High Bishop’s chambers. I couldn’t think of a single way in which I would suffer without it.

Having hit the proverbial wall, I decided to approach the situation from another angle: what things couldn’t I do without the bible? It was only then that I started to realize just how much my version had changed over time.

Could it be that whoever stole my bible is after the hidden message and magic circle inside?

The bible was more or less an instruction manual for becoming king. I was sure that Ferdinand and I were the only ones who had seen that otherwise hidden content, though—not even Hildebrand, a prince, had reacted, so I doubted that anyone else had noticed anything.

“Perhaps their objective was Ehrenfest’s bible itself...” I said, trying to indirectly reference the magic circle as I gazed up at Ferdinand. He had already been resting a contemplative hand on his chin, but upon hearing my remark, he discreetly extended a finger and pressed it against his lips—a clear indicator for me to “shut up.” It seemed that he had understood my message loud and clear, but instead of verbally acknowledging it, he began to state his own theory.

“It is possible that one of their objectives is to put a black mark on your record. Each duchy has only one bible, not including the transcriptions, and they could use this incident to call your organizational skills into question. They could even criticize me as your guardian and the High Priest.”

“B-But there’s a replacement right there,” I said, pointing at the bible on the shrine. Ferdinand glared at it intently, then shook his head.

“There is no guaranteeing that is a true bible; it could easily be a decoy magic tool that looks similar but is empty on the inside. However, let us assume for a moment that it is indeed a true bible. If we could prove this, then we would subsequently be accused of stealing it from another duchy. Not only will we have lost our own bible, but we will also have been falsely accused of stealing one ourselves. Perhaps that, too, is one of their objectives.”

The blood drained from my face; it was possible that we had already been set up as thieves without even realizing it. “In that case, we need to find out whether it’s real at once!” I exclaimed, reaching toward the shrine.

“Do NOT touch it!” Ferdinand snapped as he smacked my hand away. A jolt of pain shot through my fingers, and as I gazed down, I realized that he hadn’t held back in the slightest.

“O-Ow...”

“There are three potential motives that I can deduce,” Ferdinand said, giving the bible on the shrine a hard stare. “Two are to stain your reputation, and the third... is assassination.”

“A-Assassination?” I repeated, wide-eyed. The word alone was almost too much for me to say.

“They would much rather kidnap and imprison you such that they can use your mana as they like, I presume, but that is much harder to accomplish than an assassination.”

“Killing someone is easier...?”

“They were capable of producing such a clever fake and planting it here almost without detection. I would consider assassination without a second thought.”

Ferdinand turned to Eckhart, who whipped out his schtappe and chanted “messer” to create a knife. He then reached for one of the pouches on his hip, took out a white fruit, and cut into its flesh. An instant later, he swung the fruit through the air, flinging a spatter of juice toward the bible.

“Aah!” I shrieked. “Eckhart, what are you doing?! You’re going to... stain it...?”

The moment the juice splashed onto the bible, it turned red as if soaked with blood. Eckhart gave the book a hateful glare before handing the remains of the white fruit to Justus.

“As expected...” Ferdinand muttered. “This red filth is a rare poison often gathered at the border between Ehrenfest and Ahrensbach. It seeps through the skin when touched, and if smeared upon something that is often touched without a second thought, then one might not even notice the poison until their fate is already sealed. Had we not noticed that our bible was switched, then come the autumn coming-of-age ceremony, the poison would have claimed three victims: you, as you took the bible to the chapel; Fran, as he helped to prepare it; and Hartmut, as he assisted you.”

Ferdinand waved a hand, at which point Justus took one of the potions hanging from his belt. “I didn’t think I would have to use this ever again,” he said with a sigh, then began pouring the potion onto a cloth.

Eckhart put on a leather glove without hesitation, not even needing to be instructed, then took the cloth from Justus and started wiping down the bible. I could clearly see that the potion was cleaning away the red smears of poison.

“It is a retainer’s job to become familiar with poisons, such that they can protect their lord or lady from harm,” Eckhart said, addressing my retainers. “Have you all studied to that end and trained your senses accordingly? Do you have any of the antidotes required to remove the poison intended for Lady Rozemyne?”

Cornelius and my other retainers could only respond with a sharp inhale.

“Rozemyne is the mana-rich Saint of Ehrenfest, slated to become the next archduke’s first wife—that she would become the target of those who wish to weaken our duchy is only obvious,” Eckhart concluded, still wiping down the bible. “Some guard knights you are...”

I saw Cornelius clench his fists. It was being thrust in our faces just how accustomed Ferdinand was to being in life-threatening danger, as well as how cautious and well prepared his retainers needed to be as a result.

“Cornelius, you lack Angelica’s reaction speed and readiness to act, so you’ll need to make up for that with sharp eyes and a mastery of the tools necessary to eliminate danger ahead of time,” Eckhart continued. “Lord Ferdinand was and continues to be the one keeping Lady Rozemyne safe right now, but he’s leaving. Do you really still not understand what that means?”

Angelica never hesitated in my service, since she rarely devoted much thought to anything she did. She would point her weapon at anyone to protect her lady. I needed my other guard knights to fill their own roles, but Eckhart maintained that they weren’t doing this properly.

“I’m not saying that you each need to cover as many bases as Lord Ferdinand does now—that much is impossible for any one of you to do alone. But you have power in numbers. You all need to work together to at least try to fill the hole he’s leaving.”

Eckhart carried out various final checks on the bible, including setting a feystone on it and spraying it with another potion. He then held it out to Ferdinand, who layered magic circles atop it before shaking his head.

“This is a bible in appearance alone,” he said. “Had you brought it to a ceremony, Rozemyne, then you would not have been able to open it. You would have embarrassed yourself in front of all those watching.”

“So, in other words, that’s not a book?”

“It is a magic tool that mimics appearances. There is nothing on the inside.”

“My bible...”

Not only had they stolen my bible, but they hadn’t even replaced it with a proper book! My anger boiled over, and the lid that was keeping my mana in check burst open. My body was radiating heat like a furnace as mana surged through me... but my head felt strangely cool.

“Lady Rozemyne! Your eyes!” Judithe exclaimed, her tone betraying her shock and fear.

All of a sudden, a large hand covered my eyes, blocking my vision. “Do not get emotional, else disaster will strike,” Ferdinand said. “This string of maliciously layered tricks brings the Ivory Tower incident to mind. You are currently in the same position that Wilfried was in back then. One careless move and you will involve everyone. Do you really want to bring about an execution?”

He was right—anything I did in this state would only hurt me, not my enemies, and shame those on my side. I took a deep breath, desperately trying to contain my raging mana.

“We certainly do need to retrieve our bible,” Ferdinand continued. “You are right about that. We simply need to pick the method that will cause the least collateral damage should we fail. Now... have you calmed down somewhat?”

“Yes.”

Ferdinand took his hand away from my eyes, revealing the surprised faces of my retainers. He examined them for a moment, sighed, and then said, “Now is not the time to be in a daze. It is rare for Rozemyne to become this emotional, but she immediately loses control when her books or family are in danger. Learning to deal with this is another of your jobs as her retainers.”

“I now understand the seriousness of your leaving...” Cornelius muttered, evoking nods of agreement from Judithe and Leonore.

Ferdinand was thinking of strategies to recover our missing bible when Philine burst into the room, having returned from questioning those in the orphanage. “Lady Rozemyne! Something’s wrong with Konrad!” she cried. “He’s hiding in his bed and just keeps calling for your help!”

“He likely knows something... Let us go to him at once,” Ferdinand said, looking over his own retainers. Justus and Eckhart merely nodded in response.

Monika opened the doors for us once we reached the orphanage, and we walked through into the dining room. Delia and Dirk both looked relieved when they saw me, and they knelt down at once.

“Delia, how is Konrad doing?”

“He was feeling unwell, so I sent him to take a nap. Something must have happened in that time because, when Lady Philine went to speak with him, he was trembling and refused to leave his bed.”

I made my way to the stairs at the back of the dining hall while Delia ran me through the day’s events, then I turned to my retainers. “The girls’ building is beyond this point. As men cannot go any farther, I shall continue with Philine and Monika, with Judithe and Leonore as guards.”

I started descending the stairs, leaving Ferdinand and the others behind, then entered the pre-baptism children’s rooms on the first floor. Wilma and a number of small kids were anxiously calling out to Konrad.

“My apologies, but can I ask all of you to leave? I wish for only Philine and my guard knights to be present,” I said, noting that the room wasn’t particularly large. Once everyone else was gone, I tenderly spoke to Konrad, who was still cowering under his covers. “Konrad, it’s me. Can you tell me what happened and who needs help?”

He poked his head out, his face ghastly white and rigid with fear. “P-Please help the gray priests...” he said.

“Are they still alive?”

Konrad frantically nodded, unable to keep his teeth from chattering. I had somewhat given up on the gray priests when Ferdinand said they had disappeared, but it seemed that there was still a chance to save them. Hope surged within my heart once more.

“I can save them,” I said. “Can you tell me all that you know?”

“A scary woman sp-spun her... her schtappe... and wr-wrapped up all the... the gray priests,” Konrad said, stumbling over his words. His eyes darted all around the room, brimming with tears. “She was scary! L-Like Lady Jonsara! She... She hurt them!”

“Oh, Konrad!”

Philine ran over and pulled her brother into an embrace. He clung to her, relieved, and continued to describe what he had seen, sobbing all the while.

Konrad explained that he had come to this room after lunch, having been told to rest by Wilma and Delia. One of the windows offered a full view of the entrance for carriages, and as such arrivals were a rare occurrence, he had watched from the moment the gate first opened.

“The gate opened and a carriage came in,” he said, having regained some composure, “but then it suddenly stopped...”

The unusual turn of events had only made Konrad more curious, and a moment later, a woman had stepped out of the carriage, whipped out her schtappe, and restrained the gray priests. Three men had then carried the priests into the carriage before shutting the gate, getting back into the carriage themselves, and departing. The noblewoman alone had stayed behind, bringing out her highbeast and flying to the front entrance.

“They might be okay still. Please save them like you saved me from Lady Jonsara...” Konrad said. It seemed that the sight of the gray priests being bound and kidnapped had brought back some very traumatic memories for him, since he was used to being abused with a schtappe himself. I reached out and stroked his head, paying no mind to the sheen of cold sweat across his brow.

“I will save them,” I said. “I have already instructed that information on the carriage be gathered by the soldiers at the city gates, and we will soon know which direction the intruders came from. You may rest easy.”

I tried to calm Konrad with the kindest smile I could muster, but I was struggling to keep my outrage from showing on my face. These thieves had stolen my bible, replaced it with a poisoned fake, kidnapped gray priests, and now put Konrad in such a vulnerable state. At the very least, the fact that the gray priests had not actually been disappeared was very valuable intelligence.

“Philine, will you remain here?” I asked, prompting her to look between me and her little brother, who was still clinging to her.

Konrad gave Philine a tight squeeze, then gently pushed her away. “Sister, please go with Lady Rozemyne. Save everyone. I’ll wait with Dirk for you to get back.”

“As you wish...” she replied.

And so, we returned to the dining hall, leaving Konrad with Dirk and Delia. Philine gave a small smile and said, “I am glad to see that Konrad is becoming more mature, but as his big sister, it makes me feel a bit lonely too.”

I made my way over to Justus, who was in conversation with Fritz. “Apologies for the wait,” I said. “Ferdinand, the gray priests are still alive.”

“Come again?”

“Konrad saw them being bound with light from a schtappe and put into a carriage. As soon as we have the intelligence we need, we shall rescue them.”

“I am surprised they would kidnap them...” Ferdinand replied, stroking his chin. “Making them disappear without a trace is much easier.”

Justus shrugged. “The former Veronica faction has been ostracized from the printing and paper-making industries, so perhaps they hope to learn something from the gray priests. And if said gray priests do in fact have information to give, then they are likely very much alive.”

“I see,” Ferdinand said. “That may be so, but they could also end up like the Devouring soldiers. Our rescue plan must be swift and clandestine. Let us return to the High Bishop’s chambers.”

We left the orphanage behind us, while Justus and Philine told us everything they had discovered. As it turned out, there were several other important testimonies for us to consider. Philine spoke first, occasionally looking down at her notes.

“A gray shrine maiden who was cleaning the temple mentioned that she had spoken with one of the guards sent to the Noble’s Quarter. He had said that she needed to hurry and finish, since a blue priest had a noble visitor.”

The guard had apparently said that the noble was “especially harsh on gray shrine maidens and priests,” which made it sound entirely like he knew them.

“According to Fritz, that gate guard was once Shikza’s attendant,” Justus continued. “The fact that he seemed so familiar with the noble suggests that they were most likely someone from Shikza’s family. And given that Konrad witnessed a ‘scary noblewoman,’ it may be safe to assume it was Viscountess Dahldolf, who loathes Lady Rozemyne as the reason for her son’s execution.”

Viscountess Dahldolf...

She was the mother of Shikza, the knight who had gotten executed for his actions during a trombe hunt back when I was a blue shrine maiden. The head of the Dahldolfs had sworn not to get involved with me to avoid his entire house being executed as well, but it seemed that they had since changed their mind. Or maybe they had some way to escape being punished for this.

As I pondered the matter, Damuel and Angelica came running over. “Lady Rozemyne, we spoke to the gate commanders,” Damuel said. “We have asked them to keep a close eye out for any carriages leaving in the near future.”

Information from the gates, which managed the coming and going of carriages, was of the utmost importance. All eyes fell on the two knights.

“I ask for your report,” I said.

“Yes, my lady!”

“This time of year is when nobles from the north start arriving for winter socializing. Today alone, ten carriages have entered Ehrenfest. None have left.”

To my knowledge, snow had already begun falling in the north. It wasn’t until sometime later that this weather reached the south, so nobles of some provinces inevitably arrived at the Noble’s Quarter sooner than those of others.

“Four carriages used the north gate, complaining about not being able to use the Noble’s Gate as they normally would due to the absence of any guards there,” Damuel said. “Gunther said that this began occurring at around noon.”

Dad clearly hadn’t hesitated to start gathering intelligence.

“Given that no carriages have exited the city, were the gray priests perhaps taken to the Noble’s Quarter?” I asked.

“If so, they would have registered their mana to open the Noble’s Gate,” Ferdinand replied. “We can learn who used it by consulting the castle.” It was a reasonable idea, but such work was being done by nobles, so we would need to wait several days for a response. We simply couldn’t spare that much time.

“Lady Rozemyne, I—well, actually, Stenluke has a report for you too,” Angelica said, stroking her manablade.

“The west gate had news of a suspicious carriage entering the city,” Stenluke began, speaking in Ferdinand’s voice. “The carriage was the kind that a commoner with a bit of money would use, but the driver had the speech and mannerisms of someone who served the nobility. It entered before third bell, then left through the south gate.”

“The south gate?” I repeated.

“A soldier said that he tried to check inside the carriage after hearing a strange bumping noise, but he was silenced and forced to back away after being shown a ring with a noble’s crest. Not much time has passed since then,” Stenluke concluded.

It was just too suspicious. I gazed up at Ferdinand and said, “They couldn’t have gotten far. We should at least go check it out.”

“I shall accompany you. I cannot risk you going alone,” he replied, then looked around the room. “I must admit, it surprises me to see just how much valuable information can be acquired from the lower city—but the testimony of commoners holds little weight against the nobility. We must acquire either the ring or the stolen gray priests without fail. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir!