Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.3 - Chapter 3

Raimund’s Research and Hirschur’s Warning

We sent our list of trug-related questions to Ehrenfest that same evening and received a response the very next morning. Evidently, this was a matter of great importance.

“Wilfried, what does it say?” I asked.

“‘Corresponding with the royal family is the job of an aub; stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Any letters you send will also go through plenty of checks, so you might end up leaking sensitive information to the very person who used the trug.’ It also says, ‘I can’t entrust this matter to you lot when I don’t know how much of our duchy’s internals you’ll reveal to the world.’”

That was fair enough. Trug was already familiar to some of the adult scholars in Ehrenfest, and it was likely that Sovereign scholars of the same generation would know even more about it.

“Most importantly,” Wilfried continued, “if trug really was used on Sovereign knights, then that means there’s a dangerous individual either within the Sovereign Knight’s Order or in the Sovereignty in general. Father doesn’t want us getting involved in something so dangerous. He said that he’ll discuss it with the royal family directly, since he already needs to speak with them about you performing the Starbind Ceremony.”

I nodded, resolved to leave all the trug business to Sylvester. If anyone asked us how we had found out about trug ourselves, then we wouldn’t be able to avoid mentioning Georgine. We hadn’t yet received a complete update on the winter purge, though, so we didn’t know what was safe to discuss. It was better to let him deal with things than give it a go ourselves and ultimately get yelled at.

“This letter can basically be summarized as ‘don’t get involved in this mess’ written in a hundred different ways. Be careful, Rozemyne.”

“I will. My only plans for today are going to Professor Hirschur’s laboratory and checking over our joint research with Ahrensbach.”

“Right. I’m going to be helping with our research with Drewanchel. Apparently, when it comes to improving the quality of our paper, we want as much mana as we can get.”

And so, I went to the Hirschur Laboratory with my letter for Ferdinand in hand. Lieseleta, Gretia, Theodore, and Laurenz were accompanying me; everyone else was swamped with work preparing for the Interduchy Tournament. Brunhilde was a central figure among the apprentice attendants, and the apprentice scholars were up to their elbows working on our joint research projects with Drewanchel and Dunkelfelger. Rihyarda was busy rushing around, maintaining communication with Ehrenfest, and preparing to welcome Ferdinand.

“Matthias is spending today in the library with Leonore, researching fey creatures,” Laurenz explained. “It was only thanks to her knowledge that we were able to win last year. Meanwhile, Judithe is practicing long-range attacks, since her degree of accuracy can completely change the battlefield.”

Theodore nodded in response, a proud smile playing on his lips. Everyone was working hard, so I needed to do my best too.

“Is Professor Hirschur here?” Lieseleta asked, announcing our arrival.

Raimund came out to welcome us, frantically rubbing down his messy black hair. He probably wasn’t getting out much, now that the Interduchy Tournament was right around the corner. “My sincerest apologies, but I must ask you to wait a moment,” he said. “We are in the process of cleaning up.” The entire time, his eyes were locked on the cart behind me. He reminded me of an animal at feeding time.

Raimund shut the door again, at which point Lieseleta giggled. “We sent them ordonnanzes last night and this morning reminding them of your visit, but I see they are still not ready.”

Not surprising. They had probably prioritized their research last night and only hastily started cleaning upon receiving the second ordonnanz this morning.

By the time the door opened again, Raimund and Hirschur were both fully presentable. I stepped into the laboratory, and promptly asked Raimund for an update.

“Raimund, I received a letter from Ferdinand. How is your research going?”

“I was permitted to present our tools for recording sound and for the library. If possible, I would also like you to create something else for me.”

On top of the magic tool that shone at a specified time, he had used the research on Schwartz and Weiss to design a magic tool that would search for books and documents. This new tool was a lot more mana-efficient than the two shumils, as it could neither move nor speak.

“We researched it together,” Hirschur noted, “but I will respectfully withdraw from this one. Ehrenfest already has more than enough to present this year.” She would usually present her findings herself, but for this project, she was leaving things to Raimund.

Hirschur continued, “This is valuable research, but a bit bland. There are not many libraries in the first place, so a magic tool designed for them will garner very little attention, especially compared to your research on obtaining divine protections or the new paper magic tools that Ehrenfest is making. A tool that can search for books and documents will only really appeal to researchers, considering how few documents most people have and how easy they are to manage.”

Still, I was glad we were making it.

“In short,” I said, “I need to make more libraries. I shall immediately begin—”

“The flow of time will remedy that for you. Making the prototype is far more important.”

“More important”? So mean...

Hirschur had interrupted me before I could tell everyone my grand scheme to fill the world with libraries. I slumped my shoulders and turned to Raimund.

“Raimund, as part of our research with Drewanchel, Ehrenfest is currently in the process of making books that return to their shelves. Would you allow us to use the magic circle you amended for me before?”

“I don’t believe you need my permission to use Ehrenfest paper and your own magic circles,” Raimund replied. I could tell from the look in his blue eyes that he was genuinely confused, so I made sure to explain. His work had given us something that nobody else had access to.

“We intend to make it clear that you improved the magic circle for us,” I said. “You need to market yourself, Raimund; otherwise you will struggle to find a good patron and will ultimately fail as a researcher.”

For a poor mednoble on bad terms with his family, Raimund sure seemed unattached to his own skills and creations. If I were Benno, I would absolutely unleash some thunder on him right about now.

Don’t just give away everything for free, you idiot!

“As I understand it, Ferdinand procured enormous wealth in the Royal Academy by selling the technologies and magic tools he created,” I said. “Take care not to sell yourself short, Raimund.”

“I will...”

“Lady Rozemyne,” Hirschur interjected, “that’s enough about money. One should only sell their research when they need to cover the cost of more research. That is what Ferdinand and I do. Now, there is not much time before the Interduchy Tournament. Let us focus on that.”

I thought Hirschur was pretty amazing for having research sitting around that she could just sell whenever she needed money. It bothered me a little that she was probably sitting on a gold mine and doing nothing about it... but it wasn’t my place to intrude any more than I already had.

“Raimund, how will you report your findings to Professor Fraularm?” Hirschur asked.

“She has already seen the prototype, so there shouldn’t be much more to say. That said... she was quite a handful when I sought her final confirmation the other day.”

Fraularm had apparently argued that our research wasn’t “joint” in the slightest, since Raimund had come up with the ideas and his mentor Ferdinand was reviewing them. She had said that I wasn’t providing enough to warrant Ehrenfest’s involvement and suggested that I be credited as a “helper” and nothing else. Of course, Raimund had fought back and argued that he wouldn’t have been able to make the prototypes without me. In the end, he had managed to resolve the matter by very subtly threatening to consult Lord Ferdinand and Lady Detlinde.

“It is very convenient that Lady Detlinde continually provides her support, since our research reflects on her fiancé.”

After our family tea party, Detlinde had even given Fraularm a stern talking-to. “Your failure to manage reports as a dormitory supervisor has brought shame to none other than the future Aub Ahrensbach,” she had said. Perhaps that was what had finally spurred Fraularm to deliver my report to Ferdinand.

As I mulled over the situation, something suddenly occurred to me. “I must ask, Raimund... what do the students of the Ahrensbach Dormitory actually think of Professor Fraularm? Does everyone just accept her tyranny?”

“Well, she only becomes so demanding in response to things that involve you or Ehrenfest. She blames you for putting her little sister through a nightmarish experience when she was punished alongside her husband, Count Bindewald, who was ‘deliberately lured into a trap.’ Lady Georgine has since been trying to atone for your duchy’s ‘crimes’ by assisting Professor Fraularm however she can.”

Count Bindewald is that toad-looking man who went on a rampage in the temple, right? Anyone related to him is no good in my eyes. I guess Fraularm and I will never be friends after all.

Now that I understood why Fraularm was so antagonistic to me, I realized it was best for me to just keep my distance from her.

“These circumstances have also put her on excellent terms with students who dislike Ehrenfest,” Raimund continued. “Like the students who weren’t allowed to participate in the Dedication Ritual after they failed to pass through your shield.”

Not all of Ahrensbach’s apprentice scholars had been knocked back, but I definitely remembered two who hadn’t been allowed inside.

Raimund averted his gaze as if unsure how to phrase his next words. “They had some very harsh words for you, Lady Rozemyne. They were formerly from Werkestock, so they resent you and your duchy for refusing to send them the mana they needed.”

On top of that, the two girls were now mad that I had shamed them in front of the royal family. Fraularm had apparently consoled them while insulting me at the same time, fostering an odd sense of camaraderie among them.

“Of course, not everyone from Ahrensbach feels the same way. The apprentice scholars who were able to attend the ritual told us what it was like and explained the practicality of obtaining more divine protections. Lord Ferdinand is now seen as having tremendous value due to his former position as a High Priest and his familiarity with divine rituals.”

“I see. I am glad to have been of at least some use to him.”

I turned to Lieseleta, feeling a little pleased with myself, and signaled for her to approach. She smoothly stepped forward and presented Raimund with a letter.

“Please deliver this letter to Lord Ferdinand, if you would,” I said. “It describes what he will need to bring for the Interduchy Tournament, so the sooner he receives it, the better.”

Raimund accepted the letter and said, “Understood. I will return to the dormitory while you are brewing.” I was relieved to hear that, but Hirschur was blinking at me in surprise.

“Ferdinand is going to be here for the Interduchy Tournament, not just to escort his fiancée during her graduation ceremony?” she asked. “As far as I am aware, Ahrensbach has no archduke candidates who could take over in his absence. How long is he going to be here?”

Indeed, Detlinde and Letizia were Ahrensbach’s only archduke candidates; although Ferdinand was trusted to do administrative work, he was still considered a resident of Ehrenfest. It made no sense that he was able to attend—especially when Ahrensbach’s sick aub and first wife, Georgine, were also due to participate.

I was pondering the question when Raimund spoke up. As a student of Ahrensbach, he was best suited to answer.

“There are several archnobles in Ahrensbach who were once members of our archducal family before being reduced to a lower status. They will take over during the Interduchy Tournament and such. Although matters of diplomacy must be carried out by an archducal family member, this is not the case for matters contained within the duchy. And, to my knowledge, the foundational magic will not dry out after only a day or two of not being supplied with mana. Am I correct?”

I nodded. “It is true that foundational magics can go a day or two without new mana, but in Ehrenfest we always have at least one person stay home to supply mana in case of an emergency. I suppose that is one dissimilarity between our two duchies.”

I’m already way behind when it comes to understanding noble culture, and every duchy has its own unique subculture... Man, this is hard.

Raimund soon returned to his dormitory, while I got to work brewing. This time, I was producing the magic tool that he had researched with Hirschur. My initial thought had been “Why aren’t they making this themselves?” but Hirschur had quickly won me over with a few simple words: “I shall give you the tool after our presentation at the Interduchy Tournament. It is meant to be used in libraries, so I personally have no use for it.” Now, I was devoted to making it perfect.

My library’s going to have its very own search system!

I started putting the ingredients that Hirschur prepared into the brewing pot and stirred them all together. We chatted all the while, but we only really had one common interest: Ferdinand.

“And so,” I said, “Lady Detlinde asked Ferdinand to greet her on the morning of her graduation ceremony, like a scene out of Royal Academy Love Stories. That is why he cannot stay in the Ahrensbach Dormitory and must instead sleep in Ehrenfest’s tea party room.”

Hirschur gave a half-smile. “Oh my. To think Ferdinand would agree to play along with such selfishness...”

I sighed and noted that it was important for Ferdinand to stay in Detlinde’s good graces—but at the same time, Hirschur said that he must truly wish to return to Ehrenfest.

“What?” I replied.

“He could have secured himself a place in the Ahrensbach Dormitory simply by feeding Lady Detlinde a clever line or two, or relaxed here in my laboratory while doing research and the like. The fact that he has instead chosen to endure a night on a bench in a tea party room means that he dearly wishes to return to Ehrenfest.”

Hirschur knew Ferdinand a lot better than I did, and upon hearing her words I was struck with a strange feeling—something like being both happy and sad at the same time. Perhaps, for a twisted person like Ferdinand, all those times he had written about wanting to do research had actually been his way of saying “I want to go home.”

“I will do everything in my power to welcome Ferdinand,” I declared.

“Then please deliver these to him,” she said. “This is a transcription of the research already done on Schwartz and Weiss, and these documents contain my own findings.”

Was it not cruel to give Ferdinand such documents? He had made it clear in his letter that the allure of research was the very reason he didn’t want to stay in Hirschur’s laboratory.

“Professor Hirschur, is your intention to keep Ferdinand from getting enough sleep?” I asked.

“Are you not doing that already, Lady Rozemyne? Your every action only adds to his headaches. Inviting the royal family to a ritual, gambling your marriage on a game of ditter with Dunkelfelger... I expect that whatever lecture he has in store for you will cost him more than a night of sleep. Spending that time lost in some leisurely research would be much better for him.”

I could feel the blood draining from my face.

“Is there any reality in which so many members of the royal family participating in a religious ceremony is not a hot topic during the Interduchy Tournament and graduation ceremony?” Hirschur continued. “The professors, who have thus far had to rely on reports from the participating students, are eagerly awaiting the results of your research. It will surely draw more attention than anything else scheduled to be presented at the Interduchy Tournament. I expect Ferdinand will want to know the details.”

“Ngh...”

I could already envision Ferdinand scolding me nonstop from the moment we reunited, and my mood swiftly plummeted. I needed to do absolutely anything I could to get at least one word of praise before that happened.

After seeing me lost in thought, Lieseleta poured Hirschur a cup of tea. “Professor Hirschur, what praise and criticisms do other duchies have for Ehrenfest? Following the Dedication Ritual, Lady Charlotte found she was receiving more praise during tea parties she attended—and more smiles as people tried to butter her up. We expected some duchies to start attempting to curry favor with us, but after our game of ditter, the negative rumors vanished so quickly that it was almost disturbing.”

And these changes hadn’t been limited to archduke candidate tea parties—meetings of apprentice scholars and apprentice attendants had similarly been affected.

Gretia nodded. “The lesser and middle duchies that had acted spiteful after failing to participate in the ritual did an about-face after the ditter game. Now, they smile at us, albeit with clear malice behind their eyes. If you know the reason, Professor Hirschur, then we would ask for your input as our dormitory supervisor.”

Hirschur lowered her eyes in thought. “The duchies that participated in the ritual received words of praise directly from the Zent and advance information on how to obtain divine protections. It is no surprise that they would be less openly negative, and now that Ehrenfest’s connection to the royal family is clear to see, it is only natural that some have started trying to win you over.” It was a general and quite obvious description, spoken as if the matter had nothing to do with her.

Then, Hirschur looked at my attendants. “However, as you have noticed, their smiles only veil their true feelings. I, myself, hear nothing but criticism. On top of all the negative rumors about the aub which have been so persistent, many now resent Ehrenfest’s trickery.”

Those who had assumed they could participate in our joint research had soon found themselves forced into playing ditter. Then, after enduring the process and suffering heavy losses, those with malice had been refused entry by my shield—and in front of the royal family. They had subsequently heeded the call of the Sovereign Knight’s Order in an attempt to save face, only to learn that the knights had been manipulated and weren’t acting on the king’s command.

“Everyone sees Ehrenfest and Dunkelfelger as being at the center of all this, and both duchies have earned much ire as a result. However, it seems to me that Ehrenfest, as the weaker of the two, is bearing the brunt of their indignation.”

“I see...” Gretia murmured. “Then we will need to be cautious in more ways than one.”

Hirschur gave a firm nod of agreement. “You may not realize it, as you were not students at the time, but it was only a few years ago that Ehrenfest was near the bottom of the rankings. Its position rose after the civil war, but only because the positions of the losing duchies dropped. In other words, Ehrenfest did nothing to earn its new rank—and now, in what must seem like the blink of an eye, it is forming connections with the royal family. I expect the number of envious duchies and nobles is far greater than you expect.”

I remembered Cornelius saying that things were entirely different from when he first joined the Royal Academy, but I didn’t have a clue how Ehrenfest had been treated back when it was a bottom-ranking duchy.

“Previously,” Hirschur continued, “the loudest voices said that Ehrenfest’s trends would have no staying power. But this year, they argue that your rise through the ranks is due to Lady Rozemyne’s influence alone. As everyone understands it, she is responsible for your trends, your joint research with greater duchies, and your connections to royalty.”

“But I wouldn’t have been able to do any of that on my own...” I said. Whether it was for raising our duchy’s grades or getting the printing industry started, I was always relying on the help of others.

Hirschur’s expression hardened a little. “Indeed, those accomplishments were not due to your efforts alone... but they could not have happened without you. You must reevaluate your understanding of how other duchies see you.”

In their eyes, I was a female archduke candidate with an abundance of mana, the knowledge to invent various trends and technologies, first-in-class grades, connections to the royal family, and countless divine protections. I was so desirable that Dunkelfelger had tried to take me by force even though I was already engaged.

“With all that said,” Hirschur continued, “I personally enjoy seeing Ehrenfest as united as it is under you. That is why I must ask you to take care. Do not lose sight of your surroundings.”

“Right,” I replied, while continuing to stir the ingredients around and around.

“I sent the letter,” Raimund announced upon his return—then shrieked pitifully when he saw Hirschur eating at the table.

“Fret not,” she said. “I set aside your share.”

At once, his worries seemed to disappear. He sat down and started to eat as well.

Lieseleta, who was acting as their server, began pouring Raimund some tea. “Lord Raimund,” she said, “if you do not mind, I am very curious to know whether you intend to present the sound-recording tool in its current shape. If so, do you not think it would be more adorable to combine it with a stuffed shumil?”

I recalled the shumil that Lieseleta had made. It certainly was cuter than the tool on its own and would draw a lot more attention.

That reminds me—there was also the stuffed shumil she was making for Lady Letizia.

“At the moment, Ahrensbach is receiving almost all of the credit for this research, is it not?” Lieseleta explained. “Professor Fraularm is named as the person in charge, you as the inventor, and Lord Ferdinand as the person who granted his approval. But if you have the magic tool take the form of a stuffed shumil, it will be clear to all that Lady Rozemyne participated as well. Do you not agree that the very idea sounds like something that only she would come up with? Nobody in this laboratory would have considered it, at least. And shumils are very adorable.”

Hirschur gave a curt nod, indicating that she had been at least partly listening to Lieseleta’s passionate speech. “It is true that neither Raimund, Ferdinand, nor I would have thought of that, and it would be an effective countermeasure to Fraularm. We intend to make it clear that Lady Rozemyne crafted the magic tool, so yes, do as you please—as long as it does not trouble us.”

Having secured Hirschur’s disinterested approval, Lieseleta next looked at Raimund. The hopeful smile that spread across her face as she brewed his tea was... intense, to say the least. And, as Raimund was relying on her to bring him his food, he obviously wasn’t going to refuse her idea.

“I don’t mind either,” he said, “but will the stuffed animal be ready before the Interduchy Tournament?”

“It is already nearly complete,” she replied, radiating enthusiasm. “We shall bring it to you on the day of the tournament with our desired messages already recorded. By presenting both standard magic tools and stuffed shumils, I am confident that this creation of ours will appeal to men and women alike.”

Lieseleta was framing this as an opportunity to emphasize my involvement in our research with Ahrensbach, but I had a sneaking suspicion that she cared more about showing a cute shumil to the world.

Once I was back in my room, Lieseleta finished the stuffed shumil in a heartbeat. The original plan had been for me to record some voice lines for Letizia, so my mana was already registered with the sound-recording magic tool. We just needed to decide what I was going to say.

“What should I record...?” I mused aloud, hugging the white shumil to my chest. “Naturally, as this is to be presented during the Interduchy Tournament, stern words for Ferdinand are out of the question.” Making such an obvious blunder would be like asking him to pinch my cheeks.

“Lady Rozemyne! Lady Rozemyne!” Muriella exclaimed. “That magic tool is already so adorable, but would it not be even more wonderful if we filled it with words of love, spoken softly by a man?” Her green eyes were wavering as if the very idea was bringing her to tears.

To be frank, the “words of love” that were used in noble society meant nothing to me personally, but maybe they would be enough to make any other girl swoon. At the very least, including them would make it obvious that Raimund hadn’t done everything himself.

“That might work,” I said. “But whose voice shall we use?”

“Lady Rozemyne, I shall carefully select the most romantic lines that Royal Academy Love Stories has to offer,” Muriella announced. Leaving that task to her was definitely the best move; there was no way for me to know which obscure religious metaphors were the most lovely and wonderful.

We moved to the common room, whereupon Muriella started picking out lines one after another. I couldn’t help but notice that she was working a lot faster than usual.

“Matthias, Laurenz,” I said, “would either one of you be willing to speak words of love into this shumil for us?” They were our most likely candidates, since Theodore’s and Roderick’s voices were still too high-pitched. At times like this, I actually wished that Hartmut were here; he would have repeated the phrases for us without the slightest hesitation or an ounce of embarrassment.

Upon hearing my request, Matthias let out a yelp and froze in place. Laurenz, in contrast, casually said, “Sure.”

“Laurenz it is, then. G—”

“Hold on, Laurenz,” Matthias said. “Are you seriously going to say w-words of... l-love in a place like this?” He pointed at all the people in the common room, trembling so much that it was almost sad.

Laurenz responded with a confused shrug. “I mean, I’m not saying them to my crush, so how’s it any different from reading the book aloud? Seems to me like you’re just overreacting.”

“But, no—you can’t just throw them around so casually. You have to save them for someone who counts, and they have to mean something every time you say them.”

Even here, Matthias was being very serious. His exchange with Laurenz was amusing to listen to, but Muriella was now waiting with Royal Academy Love Stories in hand, wearing a smile full of anticipation.

“For now, may I ask Laurenz anyway?” I said.

“I apologize for being a pitiful retainer, unable to grant the wishes of my lady...” Matthias uttered, unable to mask his regret as he took a step back. It really wasn’t something to feel so bad about, but he looked genuinely depressed.

“Matthias, you only need to worry about doing what you’re good at,” I reassured him. “Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses.”

“Yes, my lady...”

I touched the magic tool, and we got to work recording Laurenz’s voice. He spoke one phrase after another, all expertly chosen by Muriella, though I didn’t really understand what any of them meant. I used the very last recording to promote Ehrenfest books on the whole; we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to advertise them to the many demographics that would be attending the tournament.

“Our very own novel series, Royal Academy Love Stories, contains many more romantic quotes for women who wish to feel their heart race and men searching for the right words to captivate the girl of their dreams. Get a copy of your own in Ehrenfest this summer. We will also be selling nail-biters like A Ditter Story, Knight Stories, and The History of Dunkelfelger. Priceless stories at reasonable prices!”

Hopefully this gets more people interested in Ehrenfest books...