Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.2 - Chapter SS

The Saint’s Ritual

“Lueuradi, is everything ready?”

Today, I was going to participate in the ritual that Ehrenfest was performing as part of their joint research. I consulted my board of instructions for the umpteenth time; it had been given to me by Lady Muriella of Ehrenfest, with whom I often discussed Royal Academy Love Stories.

“Yes, Big Sister. I have cleansed myself, as instructed, and prepared the necessary rejuvenation potions. I was also able to memorize the prayer.”

“The prayer is almost the same as the one spoken during the third-year divine protections ritual, is it not?” my older sister asked. “Have you not had yours yet, Lueuradi? Don’t tell me you’ve yet to learn the names of the gods. Ehrenfest’s laynobles passed on their first day, so if a Jossbrenner apprentice archscholar hasn’t managed even that much...”

She looked exasperated but memorizing the names of all the gods was no easy feat. I also wasn’t keen on her comparing me to the students of Ehrenfest; their third-years had passed every single one of their written lessons on the first day since joining the Academy. Lady Rozemyne, the archduke candidate leading them, was blazing through her practical lessons on top of that, so using her as the benchmark really didn’t seem fair.

“You are slow to finish your classes, and you cannot even gather proper intelligence...” my sister concluded.

“Oh, but Sister—you failed to gather intelligence on Lady Rozemyne as well, did you not?” I retorted, looking up with a pout. There was no reason for me to tolerate her brassy remarks when her own efforts had produced no meaningful results.

Back when Lady Rozemyne was a first-year, my sister had attempted to gather information about her—only to find that Lady Rozemyne’s retainer, Hartmut, had exercised complete control over what was accessible. The most one could obtain was lengthy, boastful speeches that amounted to little more than “She is the Saint of Ehrenfest, after all.” My sister had tried again during her second year, only to be shooed away by Lady Clarissa of Dunkelfelger, who had asserted that she was Hartmut’s escort.

I continued, “Though your attempts all ended in failure, Sister, I was able to find out Lady Rozemyne’s favorite stories and discover her plans for returning to her duchy. Lord Hartmut and Lady Philine told me all. I also learned from a conversation between Lord Wilfried and Lady Hannelore that she is forming bonds with top-ranking duchies by lending them books. And now, I am rather close friends with Lady Muriella.”

Since her first year at the Royal Academy, Lady Rozemyne had been buying stories from other duchies at a high price. One of our own laynobles had wanted to ask what her favorite stories were, hoping to secure as much money as possible—but as the person in charge of acquiring the stories was an archnoble, they had asked me to accompany them. That had marked the beginning of my visits to the library, and from there, I was able to gain information from Lord Hartmut and Lady Philine.

It seems that Lady Rozemyne prefers love stories. They are said to be “cash cows,” though I cannot say I am familiar with the term.

I could tell that Lady Rozemyne and I would become fast friends, were we ever to meet. I, too, had a particular fondness for love stories. I was already getting along well with Lady Muriella, a new retainer of Lady Rozemyne’s whom Lady Philine had introduced me to. She was especially passionate about love stories, and that was often where our conversations headed. Gathering information quickly fell by the wayside.

I need to befriend Lady Rozemyne as well so that I might read Ehrenfest’s love stories sooner than anyone else.

As much as I enjoyed asking Lady Muriella about what stories awaited me in the next volume, as expected, I much preferred the thought of reading them myself. This year, I was lucky enough to be borrowing a volume from Lady Charlotte—and quite early on, might I add—but it wasn’t the newest volume, and I couldn’t borrow it whenever I wanted.

Lady Muriella says the new volume has a wondrous scene where the God of Darkness spreads his sleeve at the gazebo where the Goddess of Time plays tricks, shielding the Goddess of Light. Aah, when will I be able to read it?

“Would you please stop sighing about how you wish to wed into Ehrenfest to read new books?” my sister said. “Accept reality. Ehrenfest has so many honor students and so much attention being drawn to it these days that securing a husband from there won’t be easy. Things are not as they were years ago.”

“Perhaps I would have a better chance marrying an Ehrenfest mednoble?”

“Mother and Father only know Ehrenfest from when it was at the bottom of the rankings; they would never permit you to marry a mednoble from there. Again, stop being so wishy-washy. It is time to go to the auditorium.”

Fairziere called over Lustlaune, another apprentice archscholar. Lustlaune, my big sister, and I were the only students from Jossbrenner due to participate in this joint research.

Though reaching this day was by no means easy.

My eyes grew distant as I reflected on everything that had occurred.

Ehrenfest was a middle duchy that had drifted around the bottom of the rankings for as long as anyone could remember, only to abruptly shoot up after getting through the civil war. Compared to other duchies, its harvest was steady and growing by the year, proof enough that its lands were readily supplied with mana. Its position at the Royal Academy had also risen steadily over the past five or six years. Initially, only its first-years had obtained better grades—most noticeably in their written lessons—and the other duchies had mocked them for setting standards they wouldn’t be able to maintain.

Of course, this had all taken place before I joined the Academy, back when Jossbrenner still ranked above Ehrenfest.

Despite the constant gibes from other duchies, some of Ehrenfest’s students had started to perform better in practical lessons as well, even boasting larger mana capacities than was expected for a middle duchy. It wasn’t long before half of their student population was earning favorable grades, and rumors quickly spread that they were using some new, highly effective mana compression method.

Lady Rozemyne’s attendance at the Royal Academy drew even more attention to Ehrenfest, especially when every single Ehrenfest student in her year passed their written lessons on the first day. She also brought with her a number of new trends, which was interesting in itself. It wasn’t always the case that new goods introduced by middle or lesser duchies became fashionable; without the assistance and publicity of greater duchies, most fizzled out as mere curiosities.

Some time later, before socializing season, Lady Rozemyne took ill and returned to Ehrenfest. She became the subject of mockery at many middle- and lesser-duchy tea parties, during which participants would don sarcastic smiles and say that it would be “oh so nice” for her if the greater duchies picked up her trends.

And then came Ehrenfest’s own tea party, held at the end of the year and open to all other duchies. On this memorable occasion, it was revealed that Lady Rozemyne had connections to top-ranking duchies and the royal family. Prince Anastasius purchased an Ehrenfest hairpin, and Lady Eglantine personally received a jar of the product that makes one’s hair glossy.

Oh, how the middle and lesser duchies were taken aback. Oh, how they panicked.

I do not know the details firsthand—it was my sister who attended as Jossbrenner’s representative—but it was apparently quite the experience. Most notable of all was when Lady Rozemyne collapsed partway through.

They had scrambled to gather information about Lady Rozemyne, conscious that the Interduchy Tournament was right around the corner, only to find themselves unable to speak with any Ehrenfest students. The most optimistic among them believed that they might have a chance during the tournament itself, but Lady Rozemyne did not attend due to poor health. On top of that, Ehrenfest’s previously barren socializing spot was suddenly teeming with the archdukes of greater duchies, meaning that those of middle and lesser duchies were unable to properly approach.

In her second year, Lady Rozemyne once again blazed through her classes before vanishing. Lady Charlotte took over Ehrenfest’s socializing season in her absence.

Even during that year’s Interduchy Tournament, Lady Rozemyne was inaccessible to the masses. She and Lord Ferdinand were busy handling Dunkelfelger, so Lord Wilfried and Lady Charlotte hosted the middle and lesser duchies instead. Lady Rozemyne then ended up leaving the awards ceremony following the attack and did not attend the coming-of-age ceremony the next day.

Despite standing out so much due to looking like a seven-year-old, Lady Rozemyne was seldom seen around the Royal Academy.

This year, however, she was finally staying at the Royal Academy for socializing season. It was our first opportunity to speak with her. She gave soft, entertained smiles during discussions about books, and faltered with embarrassment when asked about the real-life love story that she was experiencing... but when it came to the negative rumors about Aub Ehrenfest, she always gave sad looks.

According to the stories exchanged during the Archduke Conference, Aub Ehrenfest was much harsher on his adopted daughter than on his blood children. Lady Rozemyne had apparently spent such a long time locked away in the temple that she could only stay at the Royal Academy for brief stints. It must have been very hard on her.

Lady Rozemyne denied the rumors, but everyone knew that she had returned to Ehrenfest while her siblings, the archduke’s blood children, had gotten to participate in socializing season. If they were truly seen as equals, then all three of them would have been made to leave.

“So, Lady Rozemyne. Forget about the temple; I wish to discuss your joint research. What manner of research are you doing with the greater duchies?” asked Lady Murrenreue, an archduke candidate from Immerdink. She had interrupted Lady Rozemyne’s conversation about temple rituals to very uncouthly ask to join her research with Dunkelfelger.

During last year’s Interduchy Tournament, an Immerdink archnoble had accidentally attacked Lady Rozemyne—a blunder for which they had been thoroughly chastised. Lady Murrenreue had mentioned during a previous tea party that “nobody acknowledged all the suffering Lady Rozemyne put Immerdink through,” so this was an especially shameless heel turn.

Lady Rozemyne was not to blame for the many casualties Immerdink had suffered during the ternisbefallen attack nor for their lower position in the duchy rankings after their archnoble was scolded. But as others moved to stop Lady Murrenreue, Lady Rozemyne, who had fallen into thought, suddenly looked up and smiled.

“As part of our joint research, Ehrenfest will be demonstrating a religious ceremony. Would you care to join? If we can obtain permission from Dunkelfelger, that is.”

“Oh my. You would allow me to?”

You are being too agreeable, Lady Rozemyne.

I was exasperated, but the representatives of other duchies flocked to join as well. Immerdink’s participation had opened a floodgate of sorts, with everyone now convinced that they should also get to take part.

Naturally, I made sure to get involved too.

“Sister, we may be able to participate in Ehrenfest and Dunkelfelger’s joint research!”

“Well done, Lueuradi.”

Jossbrenner wasted no time before reaching out to Dunkelfelger, though we received a most unusual response: “Play us in ditter, then!” I was unsure what the sport had to do with their joint research project, but it was apparently essential.

I didn’t have the authority to answer a ditter challenge from another duchy on my own, so we consulted our aub. We were told to accept—our priority was securing ourselves a position in Ehrenfest’s religious ceremony.

And so, we sent our apprentice knights to take on Dunkelfelger.

“Lady Lueuradi, it seems that Dunkelfelger wanted to play treasure-stealing ditter specifically.”

“That old variant?”

Treasure-stealing ditter was so old-fashioned that it had come up only briefly during class; we had never even attempted it during our practical lessons. We ended up facing Dunkelfelger alongside other middle and lesser duchies, but we still suffered defeat.

Now, our duchy’s students were so exhausted that we needed rejuvenation potions en masse. This wasn’t something we had accounted for—speed ditter never required so much mana—so it was quite a serious error on our part.

“Our gathering spot is rather sparse at present, and not many good ingredients can be found there...” I mused aloud. We had painfully little to work with, and we would need to invest a lot of our mana to brew the very potions intended to restore it. The apprentice scholars would all make them together, but they could not force the apprentice knights to pay them for their efforts.

I decided to petition the aub for his opinion—after all, these unexpected costs had resulted from his order. He covered the necessary expenses for our rejuvenation potions, but that greatly reduced the amount of money we had available for the Interduchy Tournament.

Thanks to the hard work of our duchy’s apprentice knights, Dunkelfelger allowed three of us to participate in the joint research, as we had requested. We now needed to deliver permission boards to an Ehrenfest apprentice scholar, who would then tell us the details of our participation.

Thus, I contacted Lady Muriella.

“What?” I said. “We will need rejuvenation potions to participate in the joint research?”

“Indeed,” Lady Muriella replied. “Lady Rozemyne said the ceremony will require mana, so those who do not bring any will surely struggle.”

This revelation left me quite vexed. We had received an order from our aub and gotten our apprentice knights to work so hard for our sake, so we more or less had to participate in the ceremony. But at the same time, I wanted to avoid using any more mana outside of classes, or needing more rejuvenation potions.

Perhaps it would have been wise to take after Immerdink and step down the moment ditter became involved.

Immerdink had suffered more casualties during last year’s ternisbefallen attack than any other duchy, leaving them with far fewer apprentice knights than was expected from a territory of their size. It was said that they had simply bowed out, unable to participate in the ditter.

“Jossbrenner does not have leeway as Ehrenfest does,” I said. “Is participating in this joint research truly worth depleting our mana even further?”

Lady Muriella looked somewhat confused. “I do not know about the leeway of other duchies, but I believe it is worth seeing one of Lady Rozemyne’s ceremonies. You will come to understand what it means to offer prayers to the gods and to be loved by them in turn.” Her green eyes usually sparkled with excitement for love stories, but that emotion was gone, replaced with an uncompromising seriousness.

After taking a sharp breath, I resolved to participate in Ehrenfest’s joint research.

Over two hundred people were gathered in the auditorium. The crowd was shockingly large, which made me even more uneasy about the fact that only two other people wore my duchy’s cream-colored cape.

I reached out and tugged on my elder sister’s cape. “Sister, will this many people be participating in the joint research?”

“Most archduke candidates are here, so I imagine the crowd is largely made up of their retainers. There will not be this many participants in practice.”

My understanding of archduke candidates being followed by retainers was spotty at best. My sister had served Jossbrenner’s last archduke candidate to graduate, so she had that experience to draw from, but said candidate had gone by the time I entered the Royal Academy, and we had no others here to speak of.

Even when working in the castle, I am rarely involved with archduke candidates.

“Um, Lady Fairziere... is that not the Sovereign Knight’s Order?” Lustlaune asked, pointing to the back of the auditorium, at the door leading to the Farthest Hall where we obtained our schtappes. Indeed, for some reason, there were black-cloaked Sovereign knights lined up there. Several among them even appeared to have been in battle not long ago; they had doubtless recovered themselves using rejuvenation potions or something of the sort, but their damaged clothing spoke volumes.

“What happened, I wonder...?”

“You are the one in charge of this little effort, Lueuradi,” my sister said, looking tense. “If you do not know the answer, then how would I?”

It was impossible to predict what would happen when Dunkelfelger and Ehrenfest were involved. Thinking about it, gathering this many people in the auditorium for joint research was abnormal to begin with.

Ehrenfest and Dunkelfelger students dispersed throughout the crowd, making a loud announcement: “The ritual will take place through the door, in the Farthest Hall. Participants must display their permission form. Those without one will not be allowed in. Please line up one by one.” I saw Lady Philine and Lady Muriella among them.

Klassenberg the First was the first to enter. As they had no archduke candidates present at the Royal Academy, five of their apprentice archscholars were participating instead. They all stopped right outside the door for some reason, which was unusual to me.

The archduke candidates of Dunkelfelger the Second were also participating in the joint research, so they were inside already. Drewanchel the Third followed after Klassenberg... but then there was a commotion.

“What do you mean I cannot enter?! I am Lord Ortwin’s guard knight!”

“Those without permission forms will not receive entry. Guard knights are no exception.”

The guard knight was now brimming with anger. “Do you really think anyone will—”

“Those without a form will not be allowed inside,” came a voice as those of the Sovereign Knight’s Order stepped forward. “Stand down.” They were unmistakably displeased and staring daggers at the disruptive student.

Lord Ortwin’s guard knight bit his lip, then backed away to rejoin the other knights. I never would have thought that retainers wouldn’t be allowed to follow their lords or ladies into the Farthest Hall.

“What are they thinking, separating guard knights from their charges?” I asked, gripping my own permission form with unease. Before I could ponder the matter further, however, I spotted another student being led away from the entrance, still gripping her form. Given her light-violet cape, she must have been from Ahrensbach.

Apprentice knights from Ehrenfest and Dunkelfelger were waving the girl out of the auditorium. “As guard knights cannot attend the ritual, we cannot allow those who may pose a threat to go inside,” one said.

“This isn’t right!” the girl cried. “I’m not malicious in the slightest! It’s Lady Rozemyne! This is all a plot by Lady Rozemyne!”

“You will receive a chance to state your case.”

The Sovereign Knight’s Order took the girl from the apprentice knights, and she left the room with a stiff expression.

“Wh-What happened there?” I asked.

Lustlaune quietly shook her head. “I do not know. However, if I were to extrapolate from her statements, I would assume they have something that can detect dangerous individuals.”

“They need to ensure the students are safe without their guard knights,” my sister whispered, “and I suppose the best approach is to remove all those with malicious intentions. None from Klassenberg or Drewanchel have been refused entry.” Her eyes wandered to a nearby group of lesser-duchy students; some of them spread many negative rumors about Ehrenfest during tea parties and wore their envy on their sleeves.

I complained about needing so many rejuvenation potions, but... that won’t be considered malice, will it?!

My heart pounded in my chest as I awaited my turn. Each participant was stopped at the entrance, as we had already seen, but only two of the five Ahrensbach apprentice scholars were turned away.

“I wonder what is on the other side of that door,” I said. “Everyone stops before passing through.” The door was open, but a complexly colored sheet of mana obscured whatever was beyond it.

Soon enough, it was my sister’s turn to enter. She stopped in place, like all those before her had done, and then she was gone.

“Next,” Lady Philine called.

I advanced, clutching my permission form to my chest. The Sovereign knights stationed on either side of the door were exceedingly terrifying, but I took care to keep my eyes forward; this was no time to be gazing down at my feet.

I passed through the film, saw the inside of the Farthest Hall, and stopped as everyone else had.

What’s going on?! Nobody told me so many members of the royal family were going to be here!

My first sight upon entering was the royal family lined up within a yellow, translucent dome. In front of them was Lady Rozemyne, wearing her High Bishop robes.

I froze in place, so stunned that I thought my heart might stop. Only when someone beside me asked for my permission form was I pulled from my stupor. I passed the board to Lady Clarissa of Dunkelfelger, still somewhat dazed.

“This is Schutzaria’s shield,” Lady Rozemyne explained. “It denies entry to all those with malicious intent. As guard knights cannot attend the ritual, we are having to filter the students like so. Please go inside and greet everyone.”

She then stepped to the side, revealing Lady Eglantine, Prince Anastasius, Lady Adolphine, Prince Sigiswald, Lady Nahelache, and King Trauerqual himself. Never in my wildest dreams had it occurred to me that I, an archnoble from a middle duchy, would one day interact with the royal family.

King Trauerqual did not have a Grutrissheit, so the duchies on the losing side of the civil war often accused him of being unfit to rule. Still, his royal presence could not be denied.

I resisted the shaking of my legs and slowly knelt before the king. “I am Lueuradi of Jossbrenner. May I pray for a blessing in appreciation of this serendipitous meeting, ordained by the harsh judgment of Ewigeliebe the God of Life?”

“You may.”

His voice was kinder than I’d expected. Feeling a bit relieved, I gave the blessing and then my greeting: “I am honored from the bottom of my heart to have this opportunity to meet you, Zent Trauerqual.”

“You have my thanks for your assistance on this day, Lueuradi.”

Never had I expected the king to speak my name and express to me his gratitude. It was far too great of an honor for an archnoble to receive; had Lady Rozemyne not been there to urge me to my feet, I actually might have cried.

“Lady Lueuradi, Hartmut will guide you from here.”

I stood up at Lady Rozemyne’s prompting and saw Lord Hartmut, clad in the robes of a blue priest. His attire made no sense; he was a noble who had graduated from the Royal Academy. I had just managed to adjust to my shock of seeing the royal family, but now I was starting to feel dizzy all over again.

“Lord Hartmut...” I said. “That outfit...”

“I am Ehrenfest’s High Priest—one who serves Lady Rozemyne, our High Bishop. Furthermore, I am not the only one wearing robes; Lord Wilfried and Lady Charlotte are as well. Today is a special occasion. Under normal circumstances, only priests and shrine maidens dressed in blue robes may witness Lady Rozemyne’s Dedication Ritual.”

Most others would mock Lord Hartmut’s temple robes, but he was looking down at them proudly. His expression was exactly as I remembered it from last year—the same smile that he wore when extolling Lady Rozemyne’s virtues. I could imagine him gleefully visiting the temple, but that was unthinkable for most nobles.

I shook my head to dispel the images.

“Wait here, if you would,” Lord Hartmut said, having led me to where my elder sister was standing atop a red carpet. The top-ranking duchies were closest to the center, where there was a circular space, with the lowest-ranking duchies being farthest away. It wasn’t a complete circle, and the vacant area was presumably where the royal family would stand once everyone had greeted them.

“It appears that Ehrenfest’s archduke candidates really do all go to the temple...” my sister whispered after Lord Hartmut went to fetch Lustlaune, who had entered after me.

Looking around the room revealed that, as Lord Hartmut had suggested, Lord Wilfried and Lady Charlotte were both dressed in blue robes. The clothes weren’t being borrowed for the sake of appearances either; the fit was perfect, even for two archduke candidates who were still growing, and this didn’t look like their first time being worn.

I nodded in response to my sister and replied in an equally low voice, “Putting aside the rumors that Aub Ehrenfest treats his blood children better, there is no mistaking that they all perform religious ceremonies.”

All of a sudden, a stiff breeze swept through the room. I turned to see that someone had been repelled by the shield protecting the royal family and was now being carried away by Ehrenfest’s and Dunkelfelger’s apprentice knights.

“I hold no malice!” the rejected student declared.

“Perhaps your venom is directed at me rather than the royal family,” Lady Rozemyne said. “Either way, I must ask that you sit this one out. We cannot afford to have those who may be a threat in a ceremonial hall without guard knights.”

So, Lustlaune and my sister had assumed correctly—those who were refused entry held malice toward either Lady Rozemyne or the royal family. But how could anyone prove such emotions? How could they reject participants with such confidence?

“Is this truly okay?” I asked. “What if these suspicions of malice turn out to be false? Those who were outed will have been wrongly accused in front of the royal family.”

“So you say, but they were clearly knocked back by the shield,” Lustlaune said. “Among the top-ranking duchies, only two from Ahrensbach were refused entry, and they were both clearly hostile to Lady Rozemyne. This person was from a losing duchy. I expect this will not be the last rejection we see today.”

And she was right. Many others who were subsequently knocked away by the shield were from duchies that had fallen down the ranks after the civil war or spent tea parties complaining about their lands being ravaged. I assumed they were antagonistic to the royal family.

Though hopefully they do not resent Lady Rozemyne for revealing those negative feelings.

After several more students were refused, the lengthy entrance procedure finally concluded. Ehrenfest’s and Dunkelfelger’s apprentice knights left the room, leaving the two Dunkelfelger archduke candidates at the entrance. The apprentice scholars then closed the door and stood among us.

“Please move to the center,” Lady Rozemyne said.

One by one, those of the royal family moved to the center of the carpet. Lady Rozemyne waited for them to take their positions, then dispelled Schutzaria’s shield.

“The ritual will now begin,” Lord Wilfried announced. He explained the process, and only then was I made aware that the purpose of the ritual was to collect mana from everyone as an offering to the royal family.

In what way is this ritual a part of any joint research?! Every duchy is going through a mana shortage, and this is what they ask of us? Were we all tricked?!

It seemed that I wasn’t the only person feeling this way. Everyone started exchanging looks with those around them—that is, until Lady Charlotte offered an explanation.

“This joint research began due to students from both Ehrenfest and Dunkelfelger receiving many divine protections from the gods. Through a common thread between our duchies—our regular performance of ceremonies that offer prayers to the gods—we have established the theory that prayer and rituals are essential to obtaining divine protections.”

At that, all those who had wished to complain closed their mouths. Everyone had known about Ehrenfest’s third-years obtaining multiple divine protections, but not that it had any relation to ceremonies. In practice, one laynoble had received the protection of an element she did not have an aptitude for, and one mednoble had ended up omni-elemental.

“My elder brother and sister respectively obtained twelve and twenty-one divine protections due to performing religious ceremonies in Ehrenfest’s temple,” Lady Charlotte continued.

“This is just how it feels to me, but I can now brew using only seventy percent as much mana as before,” Lord Wilfried added. “I sincerely believe that this research will prove essential in our mana-starved world.”

And that was coming from someone who had actually received twelve divine protections. As he had implied, needing less mana to brew was effectively the same as increasing one’s capacity.

Lord Lestilaut of Dunkelfelger, who was still standing by the wall, spoke next. “Many of you saw our duchy perform a ritual and obtain blessings before the games of ditter we required you to play. We have confirmed that said ritual greatly increases one’s strength and speed. That, too, has been a result of this research.”

In other words, Dunkelfelger’s frightening strength during our games of ditter was in part due to the blessings from the gods they had received from their ritual. I couldn’t help but blink in surprise.

Lord Hartmut leisurely made his way to the center of the room, holding something that looked a lot like a bell. “The first Zent of Yurgenschmidt was a High Bishop,” he began in a clear, resounding voice. “During that era, it was normal—expected, even—for Zents and aubs to offer prayers to the gods. It is Lady Rozemyne’s wish that, by participating in this ritual, you will all feel the power of the gods more closely and come to rethink your opinions of the temple. She also hopes that at least some of you will obtain more divine protections.”

Instinctively my eyes flitted about the room, searching for Lady Rozemyne. She was standing quietly by the door, having dispelled Schutzaria’s shield. Her desire to share the knowledge she had obtained with us all so that we could acquire more divine protections was beautiful to behold, especially when she would have gained so much by monopolizing it. I now had a better understanding of why Lord Hartmut was so insistent on calling her the Saint of Ehrenfest.

“The Dedication Ritual shall now begin,” Hartmut announced. “Please kneel where you are and place your hands on the red carpet. Then, you will need to repeat the prayer stated by Lady Rozemyne, the High Bishop of Ehrenfest.”

Those who had been sitting nonchalantly now knelt and pressed their hands against the carpeted floor. The royal family did the same, as did Lord Wilfried and Lady Charlotte after moving from the center of the circle to the edge.

Soon enough, the only people standing were the Dunkelfelger archduke candidates, Lady Rozemyne by the door, and Lord Hartmut at the center of the room. Then, there was the sudden, loud clanging of a bell.

“The High Bishop shall now enter!” Lord Hartmut declared.

On cue, Lady Rozemyne started toward the shrine, her every step exuding majesty. From where I was positioned, I could see her head-on. Her white robes made her stand out from the sea of colored capes and swiftly brought the word “tranquility” to mind. I could see that her eyes were set on the shrine; nothing else had her attention.

In contrast to her white robes, Lady Rozemyne’s dark hair looked more striking than ever. It was the perfect backdrop for her hairpin, decorated with such magnificent rainbow feystones, which sparkled like the brightest stars. Never before had I seen such a wonderful ornament. It really spoke to how much she was loved by her fiancé.

Oh, fortune... Bless me with a man who will gift me such marvelous feystones.

My sister often told me to keep my head out of the clouds and focus on the real world, but I was grounded enough already. I didn’t doubt that I would one day need to marry whomever my parents chose for me, but that was precisely why I wanted to dream now, while I was still able.

Though the only person who can empathize with my feelings is Lady Muriella.

As I thought back to our enjoyable discussions about love stories, Lady Rozemyne reached the empty space at the center of the room. There, while looking up at the shrine behind me, she raised both hands in prayer to the gods.

It was said that raising both hands and one’s left leg while praying was the best way to get close to the mighty supreme gods of the endless skies, and that placing one’s hands on the ground when offering gratitude was a way of approaching the Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm. Simply hearing about these forms of prayer had not been enough for me to truly understand them, but now, seeing Lady Rozemyne assume their posture, it was all slowly falling into place.

“Erdegral,” Lady Rozemyne chanted, her voice young and gentle, holding her schtappe aloft in her right hand while gazing intently at the shrine. At once, her schtappe transformed into a sizable chalice that was identical to the one Geduldh held on the shrine, even down to the complex engravings.

Everyone inhaled at once, then there came a single whisper: “Geduldh’s chalice...” In the extreme quiet of the room, even those small words reached every ear.

As I was in Lady Rozemyne’s grade and practical classes, I knew that her upbringing in the temple had equipped her to make the divine weapons and equipment. But I’d never expected her to be able to create the divine chalice on top of that.

A chalice is neither a weapon nor a piece of armor... Where in the world did she learn the spell to morph her schtappe like that? Can it be learned in the temple?

As I was staring in wonderment, my elder sister took a sharp breath. I’d already seen Lady Rozemyne produce a circular shield and give blessings while playing the harspiel in class, so perhaps I was more prepared for this than others.

My sister always rolled her eyes at my reports and called them exaggerated, but surely she understands now. I was telling the truth all along.

Hartmut assisted Lady Rozemyne in setting the large chalice on the floor; it was far too big for her to carry on her own. Then, they both knelt. Lady Rozemyne disappeared from my view, but I could hear her voice as she began a songlike prayer.

“I am one who offers prayer and gratitude to the gods who have created the world.”

I recalled that we had been told to repeat after her and did just that.

“I am one who offers prayer and gratitude to the gods who have created the world.”

Our chants were all over the place at first and not at all synchronized; it must have been quite hard on the ears. Everyone finished, and once silence returned, Lady Rozemyne continued.

“O mighty King and Queen of the endless skies.”

“O mighty Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm.”

As we all mimicked Lady Rozemyne’s consistent tone and speed, our chanting became increasingly unified. Soon, it felt as though not just our voices but our feelings were one. The sense of collaboration really warmed my heart.

“O Goddess of Water Flutrane.”

“O God of Fire Leidenschaft.”

“O Goddess of Wind Schutzaria.”

“O Goddess of Earth Geduldh.”

“O God of Life Ewigeliebe.”

By the time we had spoken the name of the last pillar, our voices were in beautiful unison and carried all the way to the shrine. I could feel an indescribable sense of unity—and then the world around me began to shimmer. It was like... something was being drawn from our bodies.

“What...?”

An instant later, I started to feel mana being sucked out of me. I did not know what to do; it was my first time having it happen outside of my control. It was draining through my palms, so removing my hands from the carpet would probably stop it, but I could not risk interrupting the ritual.

I made no significant movements, merely watching my hands until the red carpet began to gleam. Our mana was flowing to the chalice as waves of light. I could feel the mana of those behind me sweep past as it moved to the center of the room, steadily accelerating—and as the mana moved faster, it drained from me more quickly.

“We honor you who have blessed all beings with life, and pray that we may be blessed further with your divine might,” concluded the prayer, and with those words, everything became bright. I gazed up to see where the light had come from and saw that the chalice was the source.

“What?! It’s shining?!”

No sooner had people started crying out in surprise than a pillar of light shot up from the chalice and pierced through the ceiling. It was red, the divine color of Geduldh, and reminiscent of a warm hearth.

“Wh-What is the meaning of this?!” the king exclaimed, putting what we were all thinking into words.

“I expect that a portion of our mana flew to some unknown point in the Royal Academy,” Lady Rozemyne replied in a calm voice. “This always happens with rituals done here. It does not happen in Ehrenfest, so I expect it is something unique to the Academy.”

Lord Lestilaut concurred, saying that the same happened with Dunkelfelger’s rituals. “Our rituals produce mainly blue light, but I see this one was red...” He was still positioned near the wall.

“That would be because the Dedication Ritual is a ceremony for filling chalices with mana,” Lady Rozemyne noted. “This red light is all of our mana being offered to the gods. Is it not beautiful?”

I nodded vigorously. It really was.

This is a true divine color.

In my eyes, the seasonal divine colors had always been something to consider when choosing clothes or decorating rooms and nothing more. The lack of choice they afforded had even frustrated me when trying to decide what to wear for my coming-of-age ceremony. Now, however... This was my first time seeing a divine color look so radiant. Not even red elemental feystones compared to its beauty.

“That should be enough, Sister!” Lady Charlotte suddenly cried out. We all turned to see that she was standing.

Lady Rozemyne soon stood up as well, whereupon she announced, “The ceremony has concluded. Everyone, please remove your hands from the floor. I expect some are beginning to run low on mana.”

I did as instructed, and the feeling of unity disappeared all at once. It was like waking up from a dream. At the same time, I was struck by an intense wave of exhaustion, and it became worryingly clear that I was short on mana. My body felt heavier, and I was too dizzy to move; it took all of my willpower just to remain kneeling. I even heard several people behind me collapse.

“Everyone, thank you for participating in the Dedication Ritual,” Lady Rozemyne said. “Those of the royal family and the archduke candidates here today are used to supplying mana to foundational magics, but this must have been especially hard on the archnobles. We have prepared rejuvenation potions to reward those of you who have given us your valuable mana. Hartmut, the potions.”

Lord Hartmut gave a brisk nod and then got to work. Lord Wilfried and Lady Charlotte did the same, moving without hesitation; it seemed that none of them were particularly tired. The royal family and archduke candidates were all similarly stable, but several archnobles were in a state where they could not even kneel properly.

To think that the royal family and archduke candidates perform such a draining ceremony on a regular basis. I never knew.

I was familiar with the fact that each duchy’s archducal family needed to supply their foundational magic with mana, but I hadn’t known what that entailed—or how draining it was to use so much mana at once.

“These potions should recover your mana more effectively than the ones used in lessons. Of course, those who are wary of poison are not obligated to accept them; you may use one of your own rejuvenation potions instead.”

Lord Wilfried and Lady Charlotte each took and then drank a potion, indicating that they were safe to consume. Lord Hartmut then extended the box in which the potions were stored to Lady Rozemyne, who similarly drank one before returning the now empty vessel.

“These rejuvenation potions were taught to us by another and are not something we wish to make public,” Lady Rozemyne explained with a mischievous smile. “As such, I must ask that you drink them here and not save them for later; otherwise, I may be scolded for distributing them. We will be retrieving the bottles soon.”

I was enthralled with the idea of a rejuvenation potion more effective than those we were taught to brew in the Royal Academy, but when I looked at my sister, I noticed she was wearing a hard expression. “Um, Sister? Is something wrong?” I asked.

“Do they truly expect us to drink these strange concoctions when we know not what they contain? This may be a trap of some kind.”

It was a very astute point—one that hadn’t even crossed my mind. As the retainer of an archduke candidate, she was so much more alert than I. Perhaps that was why she always called me “wishy-washy” and the like. I hung my head a little, ashamed.

The box in his arms, Lord Hartmut started asking who wanted one of Ehrenfest’s rejuvenation potions, starting with the king at the very center of the circle. I assumed this was a formality more than anything else; the very idea of a member of the royal family accepting a potion from another duchy without any attendants or guard knights present was unthinkable, but so was distributing them to others without first offering one to the king. Lord Hartmut was no doubt expecting a refusal.

And yet, the king said that he would indeed take one. Seeing his outstretched hand sent a stir through the crowd. The royal family was constantly on guard against ambushes and assassination attempts, and, unlike the lower-ranked duchies agonizing over the mana shortage, the Sovereignty had an abundance of resources. The king had no real need to accept the potion—which meant that this was purely a show of trust.

I cannot believe that Zent Trauerqual places so much faith in Ehrenfest.

We were surprised—and it seemed that those from Ehrenfest were as well. Lord Wilfried and Lady Charlotte were both staring at the king in shock.

Lady Rozemyne, however, seemed entirely unmoved. “Zent Trauerqual,” she said, “these potions recover mana in bounds, but they have very little impact on one’s stamina. I expect any feelings of tiredness to remain.”

Lord Hartmut nodded in agreement, then added with a serious expression that Lady Rozemyne’s own potions alleviated exhaustion as well. It seemed to me that they were the only ones acting as their usual selves here.

Perhaps following the king’s example, the other members of the royal family accepted potions too. I couldn’t say for certain, but it seemed to me that Prince Sigiswald hesitated briefly before drinking his.

Klassenberg’s apprentice scholars were glaring at the box of potions; now that the royal family had accepted the offer, they were socially obligated to do the same. Still, if the apprentice scholars truly were suspicious, then they were within their rights to refuse.

“Many of you here today used a great number of rejuvenation potions to play the ditter needed to participate in this ritual, no?” Lady Rozemyne said. “And yet, we have taken even more mana from you in the process of our ceremony. To make up for that, we have prepared these potions. If you are wary of poison then you may drink your own, but please decide quickly.” She looked past the Klassenberg archnobles to the students still wobbling on their knees at the far edge of the circle. “I especially wish for these potions to reach the archnobles of middle and lesser duchies, who are understandably struggling the most.”

To think she would worry more about the bottom-ranking duchies than the top-ranking ones...

Upon seeing the concern in Lady Rozemyne’s eyes, Klassenberg’s archnobles buckled under the pressure and accepted the potions they were offered. From there, the distribution process continued a lot more smoothly. Dunkelfelger’s apprentice scholars took some of the potions and chugged them without delay.

“Allow me to help, Lady Rozemyne.”

Lady Clarissa, looking thrilled to finally be able to move, reached for the box to return her empty potion bottle. She then collected the empty bottles of the others who had finished drinking.

Next, Lord Hartmut distributed potions to Drewanchel, Gilessenmeyer, and Hauchletzte.

“Ehrenfest, these rejuvenation potions seem to recover mana at an extraordinarily fast pace, would you not agree?” Prince Anastasius remarked, his tone questioning. Those who had yet to drink theirs immediately looked to Lady Rozemyne for an answer.

“Our apprentice knights said the same.”

“I thought you prepared them yourself,” the prince said. This time, his voice was sharp—enough so that I started to tremble, even though he wasn’t speaking to me. But Lady Rozemyne just gave a troubled smile.

“I tend to drink another kind of rejuvenation potion, so I am not too familiar with this kind. My siblings and our retainers discussed which potion recipes I could use and decided that these were optimal for the ritual, so they are what I made.”

Does that mean Lady Rozemyne can brew several kinds of rejuvenation potion despite being an archduke candidate?! I already knew from our classes together that she was skilled at brewing, but never had I thought her capable of such a truly impressive feat.

“Lord Ortwin,” Lord Wilfried suddenly interjected, causing the Drewanchel archduke candidate to flinch. “These potions have been distributed for you to recover the mana spent during the ceremony, not to be used for research.”

It seemed that Lord Ortwin had attempted to smuggle one of the potions out of the room. He looked at Lord Wilfried, who was regarding him with a teasing smile, then, after pulling an awkward face, downed the potion in one go.

After seeing the royal family and the top-ranking duchies accept potions, I was resolved to take one even if my sister tried to stop me. Jossbrenner’s supply of rejuvenation potions had been largely drained after our ditter match; I saw no reason to turn down a free one.

Besides, we used our mana for Ehrenfest, did we not? This is only fair.

I gazed at my sister, silently posing the question to her, and she responded with a curt, resigned nod. When it came time for Jossbrenner to accept or refuse the potions, we both took one from Lord Hartmut. Lustlaune did the same.

Ehrenfest was currently distributing its third box of potions—they had evidently come well prepared—and what I saw inside caused me to gasp. It was positively brimming with bottles. To prepare this many potions, Lady Rozemyne and the others must have expended a lot of resources, mana, and, of course, time.

“There are just so many...” I murmured to myself. “Is Ehrenfest not at risk of exhausting its resources trying to keep up with Lady Rozemyne’s limitless compassion?”

Lord Hartmut raised an eyebrow at me, turned to look at Lady Rozemyne, then gave a proud smile. “Ehrenfest is not at risk, no. Our duchy is enriched by the compassion of our saint and grows more prosperous by the day.”

Despite being Aub Ehrenfest’s adopted daughter, Lady Rozemyne was filling her duchy’s land with mana as a High Bishop, teaching other duchies about ceremonies so they could obtain divine protections themselves, and preparing rejuvenation potions for those who had offered up their mana. Not just anyone could say they had such achievements to their name.

Lady Rozemyne was a true saint all along.

I had always assumed that Lord Hartmut’s tales about her were exaggerated, but now I knew better. As I moved to drink the potion he had given me, I reflected that I should have listened to him with more reverence.

Ah, this potion really does act faster than the ones I’m used to. I wonder how it was made...

The potions that Ehrenfest had distributed were incomparable to those we learned to make in class. I could already feel my mana coming back.

“Are these... made with ingredients from Ehrenfest’s gathering spot?” I asked my sister.

“They certainly explain why Ehrenfest is not wanting for mana. A supply of these would allow them to fill their entire duchy.”

I gave a firm nod. Such potent means of recovery would make it much, much easier to replenish one’s duchy and create more rejuvenation potions.

“However,” Lustlaune interjected, “while they do recover mana, they do very little to ease exhaustion.”

I moved my arm around a little. As she had said, my body was still quite weary. “Considering that you might find yourself too exhausted to move, perhaps normal rejuvenation potions are more effective.”

My sister nodded. “These would be perfect for knights in the heat of battle or for a person who wishes to brew something they would otherwise lack the mana for.” Her evaluation gave me a good idea of what whoever had designed the potions prioritized the most. They were presumably doing some strange research that required an immense amount of mana.

Immediately after finishing their potions, the royal family and the archduke candidates were able to move around freely... but the archnobles from lesser and middle duchies were still struggling. Having noticed this, Lady Rozemyne opened and closed her hands, then touched her neck—was she testing something?

“Your mana is recovering but not your stamina, correct?” she asked. “My mana has recovered as well, but I would not want you all to be stuck sitting on the floor, so...” She made her schtappe, then chanted, “Streitkolben” to create Flutrane’s staff. The chalice had not produced any light to begin with, but the feystones on this staff already sparkled green.

“And now Flutrane’s staff...?” came dazed murmurs. Lady Rozemyne had formed one divine instrument after another.

Lady Rozemyne shyly cast her gaze downward. “I must rely on Flutrane’s staff to heal so many people at once. My inexperience is a great source of embarrassment.”

That seems like the wrong thing to be embarrassed about...

A small part of me wanted to say as much, but the knowledge that Lady Rozemyne was about to bless such a large crowd as though it were nothing stifled my voice. I was convinced that nobody in Yurgenschmidt could wield the divine instruments as readily as she. Normally, one would not even consider using mana to ease another’s exhaustion, nor would one bless so many people at once.

“May Heilschmerz’s healing be granted,” she said, and green light spread from the feystone atop her staff. Some of it formed a pillar that reached toward the ceiling—like during the previous ceremony—while the rest rained down on us all.

As I closed my eyes, feeling my exhaustion melt away as I enjoyed the warmth of Lady Rozemyne’s mana, there came a whisper: “Mestionora...” It was barely spoken at all, but with everyone else silently bathing in the light, it carried effortlessly across the room.

Mestionora? She’s a subordinate of... Wind, I believe?

I was still memorizing the names of all the gods, but I recognized Mestionora. She was the Goddess of Wisdom, from what I remembered. But as I wondered what she had to do with Lady Rozemyne, I heard an energetic voice call out, “I concur, Lady Hannelore!”

Alas, I do not understand enough to say the same...

I opened my eyes instinctively and saw Lady Clarissa of Dunkelfelger launching into an impassioned speech. “I received exactly the same impression!” she said. “Lady Rozemyne’s actions clearly parallel Mestionora, who was permitted by the gods to use all of their instruments!”

Lady Rozemyne had stopped her blessing, perhaps out of overwhelming surprise.

My knowledge of the gods extended only as far as what we were taught in our theology lessons, but still—I wasn’t familiar with the story Lady Clarissa was referring to. Most others were surely having the same thought.

“I do not seem to recall such an idea being expressed in the temple’s bible...” Lord Hartmut said, watching Lady Clarissa with doubtful eyes.

“It is spoken of within old Dunkelfelger books.”

Lady Clarissa’s assertion was quickly affirmed—not by anyone from Dunkelfelger, but by Lady Eglantine. She told us how Mestionora was the daughter of the God of Life and the Goddess of Earth, then concluded that she was “just like Lady Rozemyne.”

Perhaps that really was the case. Lady Rozemyne had enough mana to wield multiple divine instruments, and the intelligence to have been first-in-class since she started at the Royal Academy. Plus, if one were to believe Lord Wilfried, then she had also created all of Ehrenfest’s trends.

As I considered this, Lady Eglantine giggled. “I speak in jest, of course. Please do not look so troubled.”

Lady Rozemyne gave her a thoroughly troubled look. “Anyone would be troubled to be compared to a goddess, Lady Eglantine...” It was a very reasonable point, in my opinion—how was one supposed to react to such words from a member of the royal family?

Hartmut stepped forward as if to protect Lady Rozemyne, then thanked Lady Eglantine with a smile. I could only sigh in awe of how expertly he dealt with the situation. Truly, he was any archduke candidate’s ideal retainer.

I see that wonderful lords and ladies attract wonderful retainers.

Today’s ceremony had proven dramatic enough to make me reconsider several things I’d thought were common sense, but all in all, I returned to my dormitory feeling very satisfied—and with my stamina and mana fully recovered.