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Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.1 - Chapter 20




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I must have overexerted myself during our tea party, because I ended up bedridden with a fever for a short while afterward. The feeling was actually somewhat nostalgic, which just went to show how much my health had improved. Rihyarda seemed a little unsure about my mindset, though.

“It seems a little odd to celebrate your health while being stuck in bed.”

I decided to leave my report on the tea party to my scholars and instead chilled in bed, reading. The books I was borrowing from Anastasius, Solange, and Hortensia were all within my reach. Existence was bliss amid so many new, unread books.

“I guess this is the part with research about Schwartz and Weiss,” I mused aloud. “Oh, Ferdinand definitely hadn’t read this; his documents didn’t have a part with the Life element.”

As I recalled, the question of whether Life was needed to make Schwartz and Weiss had come up at the Interduchy Tournament, but nobody had managed to decide what manner of magic circles were inside them. This particular one did indeed use Life, but there was a blank space in the circle with a small note written beside it.

“This is the most I am able to solve. The rest I entrust to future generations.”

I noticed that some parts of the research overlapped with Ferdinand’s own findings; if we combined the two, then we would surely make a ton of progress. I needed to inform Ferdinand as soon as possible.

“Lieseleta, I’m going to my hidden room to write a letter and—”

“That can wait until your fever goes down.”

“But it’s urgent... It might lead to us learning how to make tools like Schwartz and Weiss,” I pleaded, desperately trying to appeal to her love of shumils.

Lieseleta froze and muttered, “Making shumils...” It appeared that my victory was assured, but then she sighed and gave me a smile. “Please recuperate first. Whether you write your letter now or later will not change when Raimund receives it, nor will it allow you to begin researching how to make big shumils any sooner. Please return to bed.”

I was pushed back under the covers, leaving me with no choice but to wait. And so, I went back to relaxing and reading—that is, until it occurred to me that Lieseleta was humming a joyful tune on the other side of my bed curtains. It was rare for her to show her emotions so openly during work; she must have been exceptionally pleased to hear that we were about to take a great step forward with our shumil research.

I’m glad that Lieseleta is so excited.

Even after my fever went down, I was forbidden from wandering around freely until my health was fully recovered. The only places I could go to were the dining hall and a particular seat in the common room situated near the fireplace. Personally, I much preferred the thought of staying in my room and reading my new books, but doing that would make it hard for me to stay in contact with my male retainers. To remedy this, I started poking my head into the common room after dinner each day, whereupon I would receive my retainers’ most recent reports.

“Ehrenfest has sent a response,” Roderick said on one such occasion, handing me a board. “Lord Wilfried and Lady Charlotte have seen it already.”

I gave the message a read. “They’ve permitted all of our joint research projects, I see.”

Research in the Royal Academy was left entirely to students, so it was usually approved unless there was some serious limiting factor at play. Our reply from Ehrenfest said that we were free to collaborate with each of the three greater duchies. We couldn’t refuse Dunkelfelger, since a member of the royal family had suggested it, and working with Drewanchel would benefit us as well. I had already been planning to do our joint research project with Ahrensbach, so approval for that was a given.

Also written in our response from Ehrenfest was praise for our decision to give Wilfried’s and Charlotte’s retainers responsibility for the Drewanchel research. It seemed that, since we were doing three joint research projects at once, we would have otherwise been under suspicion of stealing the credit from our subordinates.

“Last of all, Ehrenfest has sent us this paper for research,” Roderick said, indicating stacks of paper made from Illgner’s feyplants.

The boxes in which the paper was being stored only had simple tags such as “nanseb” and “effon” on them, so the scholars weren’t sure what the various kinds actually did. I started explaining the traits of each feyplant while handing the respective sheets to the research teams.

“Nanseb paper, also known as conjoining paper, is what we use for the merchant slips distributed to other duchies. Before said slips are actually handed out, they are dyed the same color as the receiving duchy’s capes—though I should mention that they have a tendency to fuse together to form one large piece. Effon paper is made from a feyplant called an effon, as its name suggests. I expect it has some property that produces sound.”

Ignaz and Marianne were writing down my every word, looking especially focused.

“If you have any questions then please ask them,” I continued. “I should also note that, in order to prevent any sensitive information from leaking to Drewanchel, I am opting to avoid Professor Gundolf’s laboratory. I have already met with him and all that, so if you bring the research ingredients with you, then that should keep him adequately distracted.”

Once I was done with my explanation, Philine held out a different board. “Lady Rozemyne, this is the response regarding Prince Sigiswald and Lady Adolphine’s Starbinding. For the sake of your relationship with the Sovereign Temple and your safety, they have suggested that you once again give a blessing from afar rather than officially acting as the High Bishop.”

“I agree that giving a blessing from the shadows is the ideal approach, but, to be honest, I don’t think I can,” I replied. “In the past, my long-range blessings have come out on their own whenever my feelings run rampant; I’ve never given one consciously.”

I needed to give the first prince a larger blessing than I had given Anastasius and Eglantine, even though I didn’t care about him at all. In fact, I barely even remembered his appearance. The best-case scenario was the prince getting a blessing that was noticeably less generous than that given to Adolphine standing beside him—and the worst-case but very plausible scenario was the prince getting nothing at all.

It would already be hard enough to get out a blessing and ensure that both Sigiswald and Adolphine received it equally; the thought of also needing to time it was terrifying. It was hard to believe that luck would carry me to success. I wanted to at least get some practice in first, but if people realized that there were blessings being sent left, right, and center, then they would no longer be seen as a special miracle of the gods.

I shook my head. “Please tell them that I must be present for the ceremony in order not to fail.” Taking the High Bishop’s position would allow me to see Sigiswald and give the blessing directly. Besides, if people were to see the Sovereign High Bishop in front and the blessing appear from another direction entirely, then it would look like I was picking a fight with him. In my opinion, disrespecting him in front of a huge crowd of nobles was a lot worse than giving the blessing personally at the royal family’s request.

I penned a letter describing Ehrenfest’s concerns, ending with a line that more or less meant: “Prince Anastasius will be responsible for managing our relations with the Sovereign Temple as the one who suggested this. Make sure Ehrenfest does not suffer any more than it has already.” Then, I gave the letter to Brunhilde.

“Hand this to Professor Eglantine, if you would.”

The matter of the Starbinding aside, I had also requested consultation on the Library Committee’s work being changed to managing keys—though the most Ehrenfest could really do was obediently follow the orders of the royal family. I could tell that Sylvester was thinking: “I don’t really understand the implications, so just roll with it.”

“For now, it seems safe to keep avoiding the royal family outside of summons,” I said.

“Furthermore, as per your request, the second volume of The Story of Fernestine is being printed without delay.”

As it turned out, the script had been sent to the temple alongside the feystones needed for the Dedication Ritual. I sighed in relief. Once the copies arrived here at the Royal Academy, people would surely understand that Fernestine was nothing like me at all.

The next day, Muriella and Gretia came with their name-swearing stones. I accepted them in a separate room. This time, as I was taking the names of two girls, only my female guard knights and such were accompanying me.

“Leonore, will this do?” I asked. “If so, summon them both here.”

“I see no problems to report, Lady Rozemyne. Philine, allow Muriella to enter first.”

Philine brought in Muriella, whose name I promptly accepted. I channeled my mana into and transformed the stone all at once in an attempt to minimize the pain she felt, but she still appeared to suffer quite a bit.

“Are you well, Muriella?”

“I’m quite fine. The pain lingers, but it is nothing compared to the joy I feel. My resolve to give my name allowed me to attend a tea party with Dunkelfelger and hear Lady Hannelore’s thoughts firsthand.”

“Her thoughts...?”

“I agreed completely, absolutely, and positively with her thoughts on the love story—so much so that I could easily have spent an entire night in discussion with her. Aah, it fills me with such great happiness to know that someone enjoys the same book in the same way that I do...” Muriella sighed sweetly, the sparkle in her green eyes growing brighter by the moment. Her breathing was heavy—in large part because she was still enduring the pain from being bound with my mana, but also doubtless because her heart was racing in excitement. The sight reminded me a lot more of Elvira than Hannelore.

Muriella seems really compatible with Mother—as you would expect, considering that she wanted to give Mother her name.

“Lady Rozemyne,” Muriella continued, “I wish to pour my heart and soul into gathering love stories here at the Royal Academy and gifting them to you and Lady Elvira.”

“Gathering stories is Philine’s job,” I said, putting a stopper on Muriella before she could recreate Elvira’s rampage for love stories. “You must first learn about the printing and paper-making industries. After all, you will need to be able to work as Mother’s subordinate when you return from the Royal Academy.”

Muriella’s eyelashes fluttered a few times in surprise, then her expression turned diligent, and she gave a firm nod. “Understood.”

Yeah, there’s no two ways about it—she’ll be so much better as Mother’s subordinate.

“Philine, teach Muriella about the printing and paper-making industries,” I said. “In fact, while you are at it, teach her how to write reports as well. Once things have settled down, then you may teach her your methods for gathering stories and start working in tandem.”

Now that Muriella was the apprentice scholar of an archduke candidate, she needed to be able to write reports that Ferdinand would approve of. Philine had already received more than two years of instruction from him and Hartmut, so she was more used to the process than Roderick, a newbie.

“Muriella, you should know that the hierarchy among my retainers is not based on status,” I said. “Leonore, an archnoble, takes the lead here in the Royal Academy, but my guard knights in the castle are primarily overseen by Damuel, a laynoble. Similarly, although Philine is of a lower status than Roderick, I am entrusting her with your training due to her experience and precision. This is likely very different from what you have been taught to expect, but it is how I do things. You will need to grow used to it.”

“Understood.”

I motioned for Philine to leave with and start teaching Muriella, then had Lieseleta summon Gretia, whose name I also proceeded to accept. Gretia should have suffered just as much during the name-swearing process, but she bore it all with a simple grimace. By the time it was over, she had made nary a grunt.

“Did that not hurt?” I asked. “Are you feeling okay?”

Gretia brushed her forelocks away from her blue-green eyes, which I could now see were crinkled in a smile. “I thank you ever so much for your concern, but this much is nothing. I shall do my utmost to maintain a comfortable space for you who so graciously accepted my name.”

“I look forward to it. Lieseleta will instruct you in matters related to my chambers such that you can do just that.”

Brunhilde was busy with stuff related to the top-ranking duchies, so Lieseleta was going to be getting Gretia up to speed. She would teach her how to brew my preferred tea and many other intricate details for managing my room. Furthermore, although Gretia wouldn’t need to engage in any actual negotiations, she was expected to work in the shadows during our tea parties with top-ranking duchies. Lieseleta was going to explain that to her as well.

 

    

 

Lieseleta stepped forward and smiled. “Lady Rozemyne’s attendants are also expected to clean Professor Hirschur’s laboratory. I will teach you how, so listen well.”

“Professor Hirschur’s laboratory?” Gretia repeated, widening her eyes.

“A few exceptions aside, the laboratory is visited almost exclusively by mednobles. This is considered internal work as a result. Furthermore, as Lady Rozemyne will be busy researching Schwartz and Weiss from this point forward, she will need to visit much more regularly. It is an attendant’s duty to clean where their lady goes, so you must grow accustomed to this, Gretia.”

Gretia looked down a bit, then nodded.

Hm? Wasn’t I putting off researching Schwartz and Weiss because of our joint research projects?

It seemed that Lieseleta was planning to do everything in her power to assist Hirschur’s laboratory so that we could more easily carry out our research. Could you imagine a more heartening ally?

I was fully recovered, meaning I could finally return to Hirschur’s laboratory. I gave Raimund my third round of correspondence, this time regarding the Dunkelfelger tea party and the shumils’ magic circles, and in return received a reply from Ferdinand. Of course, Lieseleta performed various checks before it made it into my hands.

“This letter is fairly thick,” I observed.

Raimund nodded. “That is because there are two there—responses to your first two letters, apparently.”

As I continued to speak with Raimund, Gretia received two lessons from Lieseleta: an explanation about the letters, and a rundown of the poison-checking process, which she listened to alongside Laurenz. In the meantime, Judithe stuck with me as a guard.

“Thanks to your assistance, Lady Rozemyne, my sound-recording magic tool received a passing grade,” Raimund said.

“Please allow me to buy the schematics; I would very much like to make one myself. I do not have any money on me at the moment, but I will ask Rihyarda to bring some next time. Thus, do not sell them to anyone else. Consider this my reservation.”

Raimund laughed and said that nobody else would want them anyway—but I wouldn’t believe that for a second. People simply hadn’t realized what Raimund was worth yet.

“I wish to read Ferdinand’s responses in my room, so I shall be taking my leave for today,” I said. “Raimund, I will leave food for you and Professor Hirschur, so please do eat before starting on your research. Oh, and do not forget to deliver my new letter for Ferdinand.”

“Understood.”

After getting my attendants to plate some food for Raimund, I returned to the dormitory with my retainers. I had written my actual correspondence to Ferdinand in invisible ink, and it was likely that he had done the same for his responses. Given that the hidden text would shine when being revealed, it was probably best not to read them in public.

Once in my room, I rushed to my hidden room with the letters in hand. “Yaaay! Responses! Responses!”

Taking an illuminating magic tool in hand allowed me to read the normal text, while the shining text was basically invisible. I started skimming the first letter and then blinked.

“Even the normal text is pretty scathing. Why, though...?”

I had fully expected Ferdinand to rake me over the coals in his hidden letter, but in his regular one too? It baffled me, since I really hadn’t done that much to warrant his frustrations. He had specifically criticized me for sticking my nose where it didn’t belong—an unfounded remark if ever there was one. My greatest offenses were worrying about his health and going out of my way to clean Hirschur’s laboratory, and neither one was somewhere my nose “did not belong.”

“And, hold on a second—he’s using language tricks to evade questions, isn’t he? This bit here: ‘Don’t worry. I am fine.’ That clearly indicates that he’s leading an unhealthy life, right?”

I pored over one critical sentence after another, then something miraculous caught my eye. He had described my efforts to pass each of my classes on the first day as “very good.”

“Woohoo! The patented Ferdinand ‘very good’!”

I turned off the light while humming to myself, and the shining letters became visible.


“He’s scolding me here as well. Let’s see... ‘How do you even cause so many problems in so short a time?’ I’m not trying to cause problems, but I’m sorry anyway.”

“Do not use ‘ascended to the greater heights’ to refer to what happened in your divine protections ritual,” he had written. “In your case, that is actually probable.”

As expected, Ferdinand hadn’t obtained his schtappe until after he performed the ritual, so he hadn’t struggled with losing control over his mana. In fact, in his case, his control had only improved. He went on to explain how he had solved his mana problems before obtaining a schtappe, but it was the same as what Sylvester had said.

“It is said that having too much mana delays one’s growth. In your case, you need only as much mana as your schtappe can wield, so perhaps you should start decompressing it and give your body some time to grow until a resolution is found.”

“I’m a bit healthier now thanks to the jureve, so thinning out my mana should make it easier for me to grow...”

As someone who agonized over being so much shorter than everyone else, I wanted to prioritize growing taller over having more mana. Most of the country was suffering from a mana shortage, so the Royal Academy largely encouraged students to prioritize mana compression and increasing their mana quantities. I had been feeling anxious about making my mana thinner, so it was super relieving to find out that my current quantity was good enough.

Then, as expected, Ferdinand said there was no need for me to tell Hirschur what was behind the shrine. “Keep that information to yourself,” he had written. Apparently, the magic circle for obtaining divine protections could also wait until my return to Ehrenfest.

Regarding our joint research on the ritual and our plans to repeat the process on adults in Ehrenfest, Ferdinand had said, “You can earn protections even after coming of age. I received more after entering the temple.” He had completed the experiment already and included a list of the important discoveries he had made in the process.

Just how many experiments did you do in the temple, Ferdinand?!

However, he had only experimented on himself, so he hadn’t learned from Justus or Eckhart that one could become omni-elemental through name-swearing as Roderick had. He also included a rare, honest statement from himself, which said, “I would like to do research in Ehrenfest as well.” It was very casually written, but I could practically hear his mad-scientist soul crying out.

From there, Ferdinand very indirectly mentioned that he was a little relieved to hear that Hirschur and Sylvester had spoken and made up somewhat. He then said that we couldn’t let our guards down even now that the purge was over, and that I needed to be especially careful after returning.

On the topic of our joint research project with Drewanchel, Ferdinand said that he was looking forward to seeing the published results. And as for our joint research with Ahrensbach, he said that he had already learned about it from Raimund. I could guess that he had yet to receive any letters from Fraularm.

As expected. It’s either taking much longer to reach him or she’s planning something...

Ferdinand requested more details about the joint research, then followed this up with a characteristically blunt remark. Hirschur had mentioned that Ferdinand was to blame for her decision not to take our problems seriously, and when I asked what he had done to warrant that, he had simply replied, “Not nearly as much as you.”

“Hmph. That still means you caused a lot of problems too, my dear Ferdie. Although... Wait, hold on a second. ‘If you are both going to be presenting this as my disciples, then I must raise the severity of my grading scale.’ Just who are you in competition with?!”

It seemed that our joint research projects with three greater duchies had sparked Ferdinand’s hatred of losing—especially when Raimund and I were marketing ourselves as his disciples. That meant our work was about to get a lot harder.

“I’m used to being thrown to the wolves like this, but I wonder how Raimund will cope. Well, he’s Ferdinand’s disciple too, so I’m sure he’ll survive.”

At the very, very end of the letter was one last note written in tiny letters: “Oh, and do let people think the Geduldh song is a romantic one. That will be less problematic for me.”

Whew. It seems like he barely cares.

As I came to the end of the first letter, I realized that my eyes were stinging from squinting at the lights. I turned on the illuminating magic tool and put my hands over my face; I could still see the shining text on the back of my eyelids.

I wonder if Ferdinand went through this when reading my letters...

I could already picture his frustrated grimace as he squinted at the text. The very image brought a smile to my face as I reached for the second reply.

“This one seems fairly thick too. Let’s see here...”

First, I read the parts written in normal ink. It seemed like a good idea to give my eyes some rest.

This was his response to my letter about making prototypes with Raimund in Hirschur’s lab. I had made sure to very clearly write that the details were being sent through Fraularm—that way, whoever was checking the letters would know if she wasn’t delivering them.

In response to that, Ferdinand had confirmed my suspicions: “I have not yet received a letter from Fraularm, so I do not know the details of which you speak. Still, it is good that you are enjoying your research. Just take care not to bother those at the laboratory, as you are bringing so many retainers with you.” That gave me all the ammunition I needed to complain to Fraularm when I next gave her a report.

“And as for this part about not bothering anyone at the laboratory—I’m bringing them food and cleaning up their workspace. I’m helping them, if anything.”

Hirschur’s laboratory was drastically cleaner now thanks to the work of my attendants. Ferdinand would understand that if circumstances permitted him to visit during the Interduchy Tournament.

“Though I don’t know whether there’ll be enough leeway for that.”

In my letter to Ferdinand, I had also mentioned the royal family’s tea party for bookworms, though I’d deliberately stuck to innocent topics like sweets and the borrowed books. In regard to the former, I’d written: “Dunkelfelger is now making its own pound cakes with its specialty food, rohres. I am glad that other cultures are so readily adapting the recipe. It would be nice if more variations are made during my attendance at the Royal Academy.”

His reply was “I shall ask my head chef whether they can try putting Ahrensbach’s local fruits in theirs, as Ahrensbach also seems to have purchased the recipe at the Archduke Conference.” If the head chef worked particularly hard, then maybe Ferdinand would come to like Ahrensbach food a little too.

As for the borrowed books, I’d written only the simplest, most surface-level description: “I borrowed books from the Sovereignty and the palace library. The one that Professor Solange lent me was from a closed archive and contains research on Schwartz and Weiss. I will inform you if we make any new discoveries. It is thick and well worth reading.” The response I’d received from Ferdinand suggested that it had indeed caught his interest.

“It is excellent to hear that you have found solace outside of the library. As for that particular book, I am looking forward to hearing of any new discoveries you make. Your letter alone will surely give me a taste, however brief, of what it would be like to be doing the research myself.”

Just how swamped with work is he? I get the feeling he’s incredibly starved for research.

I personally didn’t see an issue with him taking some time to enjoy his hobbies, but he was probably so busy trying to establish a power base while Detlinde was away at the Royal Academy that he didn’t have the time.

My report on the bookworm tea party could be summarized as: “This time, I managed to endure the whole thing without collapsing. I’ve grown so much, wouldn’t you say? It’s all thanks to the potions you made for me, Ferdinand.”

His response was generic. “It is good to know that you are enjoying some degree of normalcy in the Royal Academy. I am similarly doing well.”

From there, Ferdinand described Letizia’s education at length. He went into unusual detail about her curriculum and the amount she had progressed through it. It seemed that he was teaching her about as intensely as he had taught Wilfried and Charlotte, so I could gather that he was really putting her through the wringer. However, he also mentioned that she was “doing well” and “progressing further than he expected,” among other things, so she must have been a very excellent student.

“He sure is praising Lady Letizia a lot. Gods, I wish he would direct some of that kindness at me. But, well... at least I got a ‘very good’ from him.”

Ferdinand even wrote about things I never would have expected, like which reward sweet Letizia enjoyed the most. He must be on really good terms with her, I thought as I turned off the light... but then I saw the shining letters.

Wowee. He must have written about her in so much detail so that he could cover up all this text.

Seeing all the extremely compact lines of text made me picture Ferdinand sweating bullets trying to come up with enough mundane chatter to disguise it all. I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself. He would probably give me a stern “Stop adding so much to my workload” as soon as he saw me at the Interduchy Tournament.

Though maybe he’ll refrain from saying even that much, since he won’t want other people to hear?

My hidden message had included a brief summary of my current predicament: “I will be serving as the High Bishop for a royal family Starbind Ceremony. It seems that Prince Anastasius and Lady Eglantine figured out that I was the one who blessed them on that fateful day, and my blessing apparently ignited a new conflict in the battle for the throne. Now, they want me to bless Prince Sigiswald as well.”

In response, Ferdinand had written: “Naturally, there will be no way to refuse if you receive a formal request from the king.” Unlike last time, this wasn’t an abrupt request being made the very day before, and there were a lot more people involved, so our hands were pretty much tied. It was a relief to hear that even Ferdinand thought we should accept.

Similarly, he responded to my question about what I should ask of the royal family on top of them getting the Sovereign Temple’s permission and allowing me to bring my guard knights.

“As you will be performing a ceremony in a location that you are unfamiliar with, make them allow you to bring Hartmut as support. Furthermore, as the royal family will be laying the groundwork with the temple and pushing through your guard knights, ensure that you do not fall ill at a critical time.”

It was certainly true that my constitution was the biggest concern here; I had to make absolutely sure that I wouldn’t end up needing to cancel on the day of. Worst-case scenario, I would have to chug a bucket of potions and force myself up on stage anyway. It seemed wise to prepare even the ultra-nasty variety.

The part I’d added about wanting to see Ferdinand get married earned me this reply: “You should not bless my Starbind Ceremony, especially as your blessings are so greatly dependent on your feelings. The last thing we want is for me to receive a larger blessing than the prince. Do not forget why I was urged to leave Ehrenfest in the first place.” Considering the suspicions that he was targeting the throne as a seed of Adalgisa, he was right—my blessing favoring him would cause huge problems.

Still, it’ll be hard not to bless him...

I pursed my lips and continued reading. As the topic changed from the Starbinding to the library, I recalled my own account of the whole key situation: “An archnoble librarian from the Sovereignty has taken ownership of Schwartz and Weiss. Now, the Library Committee will serve a new purpose: helping with the management of three keys, each of which requires a separate owner, used to unlock a particular archive. Once the librarian has inspected the inside, I’m allowed to read whatever books it contains.”

The response that Ferdinand gave was unexpected, to say the least. “You say ‘once the librarian has inspected the inside,’ but my understanding is that only those registered as royalty, archduke candidates registered as mana suppliers for foundational magics, and the library’s magic tools can enter the archive. As I recall, the archive was managed not by the librarians, but by the tools themselves, with the librarians only managing the keys.”

It seemed that during a period when Ferdinand was visiting the library—often to search for research documents for Hirschur—he had mumbled something about a particular document. That passing remark had led to Schwartz and Weiss informing him of the archive.

“That said, I find that the royal family’s complete ignorance of so many subjects is unnatural. Someone may be limiting access to information or otherwise hiding the existence of documents from them. The archive that requires three keys is a storage space for old documents and intelligence preserved through magic tools, filled with knowledge that the present and future kings need to know. It is an archive not for you, but for archdukes and the royal family.”

It seemed that the archive stored textbooks on previous archduke candidate courses and reference documents for old rituals, including documents relating to Haldenzel’s ceremony. Ferdinand had wanted to access it during last year’s Archduke Conference, but Schwartz and Weiss had turned him and Sylvester down because there was no librarian.

“Eheheh. In other words, since I’m an archduke candidate who’s performing Mana Replenishment—and who’s been entrusted with one of the three keys—I can go inside? Yay!”

But just as I was starting to celebrate, I read on: “If the royal family has lost knowledge on these matters, then it would be best for them to see it immediately. You are not to approach the archive yourself, however. Doing that will only cause problems.”

Noooooo!

I cradled my head in my hands. His response hadn’t come as much of a surprise, to be honest, but I still couldn’t contain my envy.

Ferdinand got to read the archive’s documents when he was a student, so why can’t I?! I want to read new books too!

Outside of responding to my questions, Ferdinand also told me about the current state of Ahrensbach. Georgine’s influence stretched further than he’d thought, and the chalices that the former High Bishop had brought to the Dedication Ritual had apparently belonged to Old Werkestock. Many citizens resented Ehrenfest for its lack of support, and there was a surprisingly large number of people who didn’t know that Letizia was guaranteed to become the next archduchess as per a royal decree. It was possible that even Detlinde herself wasn’t aware that she was only an interim aub.

Ferdinand concluded that segment by saying that I should pass all of this intelligence on to Sylvester. It really seemed to me, though, that his position as Letizia’s teacher was a very dangerous one.

“Furthermore, an emissary from Lanzenave arrived and probed about a princess being delivered. Aub Ahrensbach will need to present the issue to the king at the next Archduke Conference. Should he agree, then a new princess will be sent to the Adalgisa villa.”

If such a fate came to pass, then Ferdinand would have no choice but to personally send a princess to the Adalgisa villa, even knowing it would result in more people being born in his position. It was sure to be a fairly painful task for him.

“Why does Ahrensbach have to be Lanzenave’s point of contact? Why couldn’t Ferdinand have married into any other duchy?”

After finishing my letters from Ferdinand, I wrote a report to Sylvester and then exited my hidden room. “Muriella, please have this sent to Aub Ehrenfest,” I said. “Rihyarda, there is something I must tell the royal family, but I do not know how to go about it...”

I explained what I had learned about the archive, then asked whether I should inform Hildebrand or Eglantine. Hildebrand was the royal family’s representative at the Royal Academy, but Eglantine would probably get the information to Anastasius or Sigiswald sooner.

“I would suggest sending ordonnanzes to Prince Hildebrand, Professor Eglantine, and the library, informing them that you have urgent news to explain to all of them at once. A setting will surely be arranged for you,” Rihyarda replied. Apparently, we could just give that responsibility to the Sovereignty.

And so, I started sending out the ordonnanzes.

“It seems that archnoble librarians can do no more than open the archive,” I said to the birds. “Only a select number of archduke candidates, a member of the royal family, and Schwartz and Weiss can enter. Inside are documents that the royal family would benefit from reading.”

“I should like to hear the details. Come to my villa three days from now at third bell,” came my first response. It was from Anastasius, which was a little peculiar considering that the ordonnanz had been for Eglantine. I crossed my arms, feeling suspicious, while my retainers busily got to work.

“Oh my. Three days is more than enough time,” Brunhilde said. “I shall speak to the chefs about what foods to prepare.” She then turned on her heel and left the room.

In contrast, Gretia could only croak out, “A summons from the royal family...?” She was actually trembling. It just went to show what a difference experience made.

“Lady Rozemyne, will you need anything other than a pen and paper when visiting the villa?” Philine asked, taking a momentary break from her transcribing work.

“Not this time,” I replied. “I sense that I am about to become very busy, so let us focus on transcribing our books as soon as possible.”

Muriella, who had been transcribing another book, heaved a tired sigh. “Your scholars have more work than I expected, Lady Rozemyne. I am a little surprised.” She had assumed that she would have more time to read at her own leisure—and, therefore, more time to enjoy Elvira’s love stories. It hadn’t even crossed her mind that she might be tasked with going through complicated books.

Philine placed a hand on her cheek, looking a little surprised herself. “Well, once Lady Rozemyne returns to the temple, she is going to be even busier. On top of sorting through gathered stories and information, transcribing books, and accompanying her to tea parties, we will need to take on temple work and duties related to the printing and paper-making industries.” She gave a bright smile. “Ah, but it is all well worth doing.”

Muriella responded with her own smile, which was noticeably stiffer than Philine’s. Thinking about it like that, my scholars certainly carried a much heavier burden than those serving Wilfried or Charlotte.

“Muriella, as you intend to give your name to my mother upon graduating, I do not mind if you stick to only doing Royal Academy work,” I said.

“That will not be necessary,” Muriella replied, albeit after a slight pause. “I am your retainer as well.” Then, after pumping herself up, she confidently dipped her pen back into the ink she was using.

I could feel a pleasant warmth spread through my chest as I watched my retainers work. My next course of action was to make my plans for later. I didn’t care much about advising the royal family, especially as I didn’t intend to get too involved with them, but I did care about Ferdinand’s reputation and strengthening his position through joint research.

I should reply to Professor Rauffen first, then, I guess.

He had sent me an invitation to the knight dormitory after I requested an opportunity to ask the apprentice knights about research stuff. I would need to reply to that as well.

But when, I wonder? Preparations will take time, won’t they?

I would need to create a questionnaire in advance so that all of my queries were in order. There would need to be an answer column as well, and we’d need several copies to distribute. We didn’t have anything as convenient as a copy machine, though, so my apprentice scholars would need to write them all out by hand.

Mm... Maybe this would be a good opportunity for them to learn how to make questionnaires.

My hard work began from there, and it continued all the way up until the day Anastasius had scheduled for our meeting.



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