Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.3 - Chapter 13

Farewells and the Coming-of-Age Ceremony

The next day of the Interduchy Tournament was the coming-of-age and graduation ceremonies. Gretia came to wake me a little before second bell.

“Lady Rozemyne, it is time to get up.”

“Gretia?” I asked, rolling over to look at her. “You rarely come to wake me up in the morning. Is Rihyarda busy?”

“I realize it is still quite early, but the aub has sent word for you to have breakfast with Lord Ferdinand. Rihyarda is preparing everything in the tea party room.”

I leapt out of bed. I’d previously been told that I couldn’t have breakfast with Ferdinand, since it would take too long to clean up the tea party room afterward.

“Even after sharing drinks with the aub and speaking with him about a variety of topics, Lord Ferdinand decided to delve into some research documents. You have been asked to wake him up.”

As it turned out, Sylvester had ordered me to get up early so that I could see Ferdinand off. Having three archduke candidates’ worth of retainers would also make the cleanup that much faster.

Woo-hoo! Thank you, Sylvester!

Gretia and Brunhilde quickly helped me to change my clothes. Lieseleta and Leonore weren’t here at the moment, since they had already headed off to eat breakfast. As graduating students, they needed to eat and wash before their parents arrived.

“Graduating students sure do have a lot to prepare for,” I said with a giggle, remembering how Angelica had done pretty much nothing for her own graduation, forcing Lieseleta and their parents to do everything for her. Then, I took out my ordonnanz feystone. “Good morning, Ferdinand. I am awake and about to make my way to the tea party room for breakfast.”

Upon exiting my room, I found Charlotte waiting outside, also ready to leave. We went downstairs together and met up with Wilfried, then the three of us headed to the tea party room. The attendants greeted us when we arrived.

A quick look around the room was enough to see that the space for retainers was gone, and the bench had been moved to welcome the graduating students. The retainers’ luggage was nowhere to be seen, so it had probably been moved to the area where Ferdinand was staying.

“I see you have almost finished cleaning up,” I said.

“Indeed,” Rihyarda replied. “Breakfast is over here. Come now, my boy, miladies. The rest of you, go eat in the dining hall.” She sent our underage retainers away while guiding us three archduke candidates to the table.

Ferdinand must have heard our arrival, as he came out from behind his screen. He was dressed, but he definitely hadn’t gotten enough sleep.

“Good morning, Lord Ferdinand.”

“Yes, good morning.”

“You still sound half asleep. Were you up too late reading those research documents?” It was exceedingly rare to see him so dazed; he looked just as exhausted as when he had visited the Royal Academy two years ago and stayed up all night with Hirschur.

“That was a contributing factor, but not the largest one. This bench was more comfortable to sleep on than I expected.”

“Then it was well worth bringing. Shall we have it transported to Ahrensbach when you send for the rest of your luggage?” His move had come so abruptly that he only had the bare necessities, and this would continue to be the case until his wedding to Detlinde. The goods for spring and the gifts from other nobles that had gathered over winter were still sitting in Ehrenfest.

“No need,” Ferdinand replied. “I am still in a guest room.”

“I mean when spring comes and your Starbind Ceremony has concluded.”

He paused for a moment and then said, “I will consider your offer after I obtain my own chambers.” It was an unusually half-baked answer from someone who usually thought so far ahead, but I could see why he wouldn’t want the furniture when he had nowhere to put it. I told him to let me know when he needed it.

Ferdinand nodded, took a seat, and then gestured me over. “Come here, Rozemyne. Has your fever gone down?”

“It feels like it,” I said, obediently standing in front of him. He started checking my temperature and pulse, at which point Charlotte spoke out in surprise.

“Sister, were you unwell...?”

“I was a little exhausted after the tournament, that’s all. But I took my medicine, and my fever was gone by the time I woke up this morning.”

“Be silent, Rozemyne, and close your mouth,” Ferdinand said. “You are making it hard to measure your pulse.”

“Sorry.”

In the end, my standard checkup came back mostly clear; my fever had gone down, but I needed to avoid overexerting myself. I sat back down.

“Rozemyne no longer collapses as often as she used to,” Charlotte said. “I did not think she would end up falling ill.”

“I assumed it happened because I was so moved to be attending my first awards ceremony,” I replied while beginning to eat breakfast. “How was dinner last night, Charlotte? We didn’t have a chance to ask Sylvester, since he sent us away the moment he returned.”

Charlotte explained that it had been very enjoyable. Apparently, the students were all very excited about how many honor students Ehrenfest had produced.

“Incidentally, Ferdinand... what did you and Sylvester discuss after we went to bed?” I asked. “It was your first time sharing a drink in quite a while, so you must have had a lot to catch up on, right?”

He cast his eyes down, then said only one thing: “Go ask Sylvester.”

After breakfast, our plates and such were cleared away, and Justus placed three things on the table: a bag and two sound-recording magic tools.

“This is for you,” Ferdinand said, sliding one of the tools over to me. “As per your attendants’ wishes, I have included many words of warnings.”

“Did you honor my request?”

“Who can say?”

“So mean...”

I puffed out my cheeks, then activated the magic tool. Just as Ferdinand had said, the first message was admonishing: “It is time to eat. I do not know what you are doing but stop at once.”

I wonder what the others say...

“That is enough, Rozemyne,” Ferdinand said with a grimace. “If you wish to listen to the rest, wait until you are back in your room. I do not much care for listening to my own voice.”

I elected to heed his warning; something told me he would confiscate the tool from me if I refused. He then gave me the bag, which was made of special leather that didn’t conduct mana. Inside were another magic tool and some paper.

“Last night, you registered one of the magic tools to Sergius and added some messages to it, correct?” Ferdinand asked. “Since we were able to brew four in total, I thought we could put one of the others toward furthering our research. Use this magic tool according to the instructions and inform me of the results. You may send your update by letter.”

I nodded and accepted the leather bag. This was part of a joint research project, so refusing wasn’t an option anyway.

“As for the last remaining tool, might I take that as a backup?” Ferdinand continued. “I am sure I could think of various uses for it before next winter.”

I nodded. “You made and paid for it, Ferdinand. Use it as you wish.”

As per Sylvester’s orders, we had gotten Ferdinand out of bed and eaten breakfast with him. From here, he would need to change into his formal attire and go welcome Detlinde. We had completed our duties and there was nothing else for us to do here, so it was time for us to return to the common room.

“Rozemyne, Rihyarda—Sylvester informed me that you both put a lot of effort into preparing this room for me,” Ferdinand said. “Because of you, I spent last night in great comfort. You have my utmost gratitude.”

For him to be expressing his thanks like this, he really must have been comfortable. All of the thought Rihyarda and I had put into laying out the room had been recognized—and considering that I hadn’t received any compliments last night, that made me doubly delighted. At the same time, however, my happiness was marred by sorrow. Ferdinand and I were going to have to say our farewells and separate once again.

“At times like this, a simple ‘thank you’ will suffice,” I said, being snarky in an attempt to push my sadness from my thoughts. I expected Ferdinand to respond with his usual sardonic smirk... but instead, he gave me a kind smile, which I seldom ever saw from him.

“Thank you, Rozemyne, Rihyarda.”

Those were his last words to us before he vanished behind the screen; he had no more time to spare. Hearing him speak so sincerely was so rare that I wasn’t the only one trying not to cry.

“Now, let us head to the common room,” Rihyarda said, her eyes brimming with tears. “Lord Ferdinand must change his clothes.”

The entrance hall was filled with students preparing to go to the auditorium. I was going to join them, but Wilfried stopped me before I could.

“Wait in the common room like Rihyarda said,” he told me. “You almost ended up sick yesterday. If you overdo it today, you’ll end up having to leave midway through the ceremony again—and the last thing we want is for Uncle to worry about you.”

I couldn’t argue with that, so I returned to the common room with Judithe, leaving all of the preparations to everyone else for another year. Eventually, the graduating students’ guardians began filtering in. Leonore’s and Lieseleta’s parents greeted me, then went to the rooms of their respective children.

After the last wave of guardians came the graduating students’ escorts. Cornelius and Hartmut were among them, and they came to greet me dressed in formal attire.

“Cornelius,” I said, “Leonore’s parents arrived just a moment ago, so it may be some time before she is ready. Hartmut, I think you should go and welcome Clarissa as soon as you can; according to Royal Academy Love Stories, girls get very anxious while waiting.”

Plus, considering her prior... enthusiasm... it was likely that she’d come to us if we kept her waiting too long. Making her uneasy was best avoided.

“Hartmut, did you obtain permission for your engagement?” I asked.

He nodded. “After considering the situation and all of the potential outcomes, they decided it would be safest for us to marry.”

I’m not sure that’s a good reason for two people to get married...

I was fine with it if everyone else was, but I couldn’t help but wonder whether it really was for the best.

As I continued my discussion with Hartmut, a man came over to speak with me. “Lady Rozemyne, may I be permitted to greet you?” he asked.

As it turned out, the man was Thorsten, one of the adult scholars who served Wilfried in the castle. I’d already known about him, but this was my first time putting a face to the name. He was Lieseleta’s partner, and given how calm and gentle he seemed, I was sure they would get along well.

“Do take good care of Lieseleta,” I said.

“Understood.”

The archducal couple arrived soon after Thorsten finished greeting me; Sylvester had returned to Ehrenfest to fetch Florencia. She looked much too pale to be described as healthy. Her loving husband was well aware of this, as he very carefully sat her down.

“I thank you ever so much, Sylvester.”

“How are you doing?” I asked her.

“The teleportation circle seems to have left me quite dazed.”

“That’s why I asked you to stay in Ehrenfest and rest...” Sylvester said, but Florencia shook her head.

“This is the students’ one and only graduation ceremony. I know this is selfish of me, but I wish to bless them on their special day.” I could tell that they’d had this discussion plenty of times already, but the fact that Sylvester was still persisting showed just how much he loved his wife.

Rihyarda urged me along. “Let us go to the auditorium, milady. You will stand out if you do not arrive before the guardians start entering.”

“Are the archducal lovebirds not coming too?” I asked.

“Florencia needs to rest for as long as she can,” Sylvester said, shooing us out of the room. “Go away. You’re a slow walker, so you’ll need as much time as you can get.”

And so, I made my way to the auditorium with Rihyarda and Judithe. Just like before, the walls had been taken down, making the room seem more like a coliseum with audience seating. At the center was a cylindrical white stage for the dedication whirl and sword dance, while farther beyond that was a shrine.

I was about to make my way to the guardians’ seats, where I’d watched from last year, but Rihyarda stopped me in my tracks. “You are healthier now, milady,” she said. “You may sit with the archducal family.”

To my surprise, I was going to be sitting somewhere close to the stage, meaning I would have an excellent view of the dedication whirling. Charlotte beckoned me over, so I went and sat next to her.

“Sister, is Mother accompanying Father today?” she asked.

“Yes,” I replied. “Teleporting to the Royal Academy made her feel a little unwell, though, so she’s going to rest in the dormitory for as long as she can before the ceremony.”

“She’s that sick?” Wilfried said. “I hope she feels better soon.”

Sylvester had told me not to tell anyone that Florencia was almost certainly pregnant. Because there were so many aubs present for the Interduchy Tournament and its ceremonies, he had received a torrent of proposals for second wives. Thus, to minimize the number of problems he had to deal with, he would only announce the good news after returning to Ehrenfest.

Ehrenfest’s archducal couple arrived just before the graduating students. I wasn’t sure how she was managing it—maybe she had taken a potion, maybe her rest had done her good, or maybe she was demonstrating her complete control over her emotions as a noble—but Florencia arrived at her seat wearing her usual smile.

“You shouldn’t overdo it if you’re not feeling well,” I said to her in a low voice.

“Rozemyne, is that not a touch ironic coming from you?” Florencia replied with a giggle just as the auditorium doors opened to reveal the graduating students. They entered and started making their way toward the stage—but someone among them was causing a stir in the audience.

Of course, the source of all the commotion was Detlinde. Her hair was styled in the shape of an awe-inspiring mountain, and she looked extremely proud of that fact. It was such a shocking sight that the entire audience ended up in a daze. And then there was Ferdinand. He was maintaining a professional smile as he walked beside his fiancée, but there was a hollow look in his eyes.

Aaaah! Ferdinand didn’t manage to convince her!

Detlinde had evidently decided to wear... as much decoration as possible. Her hair was in a pouf of sorts that really reminded me of Marie Antoinette, and its brilliant blonde color made her look like a swaggering lighthouse. Poking out of the golden mountain were three reddish Ehrenfest hairpins, each decorated with lace and ribbons to make them stand out even more.

In a way, this is kind of amazing. I never thought I’d see someone with a hairstyle like this in Yurgenschmidt.

On closer inspection, Detlinde wasn’t using all of the hairpins she had received from Ehrenfest; she had probably compromised and replaced some of them with other ornaments after being told time and time again that wearing too many flowery hairpins would offend the royal family.

To be fair, she does have fewer decorative flowers on her Ehrenfest hairpins so as not to outshine the royal family. I’m not sure that really matters when she’s adorned them all with so much lace and so many ribbons, though... Plus, how is she going to dance with so much on her head...?

I instinctively turned my attention to where Ahrensbach’s archducal family were seated. Georgine was watching with an impassive expression; had she failed to stop her daughter’s madness too?

That must be it, right? No way would she just sit back and allow this to happen. Except, well... that’s exactly what she seems to be doing.

I was starting to feel very uneasy, but Detlinde looked more than satisfied about being the center of attention. Once the graduating students reached the stage, their nonstudent escorts made their way to their designated seating area. Ferdinand already looked exhausted.

From there, the Sovereign High Bishop performed the graduation ceremony, then the graduating students started offering music to the gods. I’d made my way here before getting a chance to see Ehrenfest’s graduates in their formal attire, so I didn’t know what Leonore or Lieseleta were wearing—and my eyes had been so drawn to Detlinde’s insane hairdo that I was still none the wiser.

Now was my chance, though; Detlinde had moved from the stage for the music performances.

“Now, where’s Lieseleta?” I wondered under my breath. “Even now, my attention keeps returning to Lady Detlinde...”

“I understand how you feel, Sister,” Charlotte noted in an equally hushed voice. “I haven’t been able to find my retainer either.”

Even trying to skim the crowd was a challenge; Lieseleta was probably wearing something quite modest, and no matter how hard I tried, I found myself gawking at the blonde mountain poking out from among all the other heads. My retainer was bound to be among the singing students, so I focused my attention there instead.

“There,” I said at last. “I can see Lieseleta.”

She was wearing a light-cream outfit and a hairpin of the same color. Lieseleta tended to be more reserved and generally seemed to stay a little bit behind everyone else, which might have explained why she didn’t always stand out despite being so beautiful, but today she looked extra pretty.

According to Muriella, she’s quite popular with the boys of other duchies.

Well, that was Lieseleta found. I sighed in relief as the music performance ended, at which point those involved descended from and then encircled the stage. Knights dressed in blue took their place, ready to perform sword dances. There were twenty of them in total, all considered the best of the best, and Leonore was among them. I spotted her at once, since there were fewer female knights in the group.

Sitting in Leonore’s violet hair were red and white flowers—a clear sign that she was born in the winter.

The knights readied their schtappe-made blades, and the music started right on cue. Each dancer moved perfectly in time with the rhythm, their movements a combination of powerful slashes and more feminine swings. Leonore in particular seemed so fluid and graceful, and she managed to exude an air of tenderness despite the dangerous sword in her hand.

“Leonore really is so dazzling...” I said.

“Yeah, her dance isn’t bad—but she doesn’t beat Alexis,” Wilfried added, wearing a proud smile as he complimented his retainer. We debated whose performance was better, and soon enough, the sword dance came to an end.

“Next is the dedication whirl, huh...?” Sylvester muttered. “How on earth is she gonna whirl with that hairstyle?”

At that moment, I think he spoke for everyone present. We all watched with bated breath as Detlinde climbed onto the stage, dressed in a gaudy whirling outfit.