Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.4 - Chapter 5

The Will of the Leisegangs

Upon returning to my room, I summoned the Leisegang retainers who had been waiting in my chambers, unable to attend the archducal family meeting. Rihyarda, Ottilie, Angelica, Hartmut, Cornelius, Leonore, and Brunhilde were all present. I started by explaining what we had discussed with Sylvester and the others, then asked my question.

“Was the aub correct in saying this was all the will of the Leisegangs?”

Leonore and Brunhilde, who had spent the winter attending the Royal Academy with me, immediately went pale.

“I would rather he not phrase it as if we were all in agreement,” Leonore said flatly, making her displeasure clear. “At no point was I consulted about this matter.”

Brunhilde’s expression grew clouded, like she was searching for the right words. “I was not consulted either, so this certainly was not the will of all of the Leisegangs. Perhaps it could instead be described as the will of those from the generation before our duchy’s climb through the rankings. I have heard voices of discontent about how our adults are struggling to keep up with our rank, and many have said that the culture among us students is diverging more and more from that of our forebears.”

Incidentally, the belief that I was better suited to being the next aub than Wilfried had remained strong within the Leisegangs this entire time. My visits to the temple and overall poor health had sown seeds of doubt, but now that I was recovering and our joint research had proven the importance of religious ceremonies, the voices in support of me were growing louder.

“I see,” I replied. “Rihyarda, did you know about this in advance of our meeting?”

She gave me a thin smile, her hands balled into trembling fists. “Had I, I would not have found myself grappling with the sudden urge to scold Lord Sylvester then and there. So what if this is the will of the Leisegangs? That our own aub is acting as an ordonnanz for giebes is pathetic.”

Rihyarda had ultimately managed to keep her emotions under control, which I greatly admired—but seeing her so worked up was genuinely scary.

As expected, then... Nobody at the Royal Academy knew about this.

I started scanning the rest of the group. Angelica put a hand on her cheek and gave a troubled smile the very instant my eyes met hers, so I decided not to even bother questioning her.

“Did you know, Cornelius?”

“Lamprecht told me a few things, but my knowledge of the situation is pretty bare-bones. Now that the former Veronica faction’s major powers have been removed, their survival depends almost entirely on Lord Wilfried and his retainers. The Leisegangs have the upper hand, however, and will only support him becoming the next archduke if all of their demands are met.”

So, Wilfried was carrying out secret instructions to prove that he was fit to be the next aub. He was keeping them very close to his chest and wasn’t relying on anyone else.

“Lamprecht asked me to help in any way I could, without letting the Leisegangs find out,” Cornelius went on, wearing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “But after our meeting... I think I would rather sit back and see whether Lord Wilfried wins the Leisegangs over by himself. How can I possibly be of any use to him when he won’t even explain his situation to us? Besides, the stage schematics that you’ve offered are more than enough.”

In conclusion, he thought that Wilfried needed no further support whatsoever.

“Ottilie, you were here in the castle the entire time, weren’t you?” I asked. “Did you hear anything?”

“I received many a question from Leisegang nobles,” she replied. “They wished to know your interests, the times you have grown emotional, what you hold dear, what you protect, the people you have cut off... They were really quite thorough. I told them that you treasure those close to you and practice meritocracy.”

“But how did that lead to their request for our rank to be lowered...?” I asked, not understanding the connection at all.

Ottilie looked at me as quizzically as I was looking at her. “I found it curious as well. As I understand it, Lady Elvira and the others were also accosted quite often, and they found it all very troublesome.” She was Elvira’s friend and a fellow member of the Florencia faction, so she had presumably been told all of this during tea parties.

She continued, “Lady Florencia’s pregnancy is still not known to the majority of nobles, which is precisely why so many noblewomen are calling for you to associate with her more. The duchy is already in a state of chaos, and they wish for you to prioritize female socializing if you intend to become our first wife.”

“Well, unfortunately...”

I had wanted to say that I didn’t have the time, but Ottilie nodded and cut me off. “Lady Elvira and I are well aware. She said that, with Lord Ferdinand gone, you have more work in the temple and with the printing industry and therefore do not have the time for socializing. I regret to inform you that this excuse was not enough; the firm response was that you should be dedicated to the work of women instead of taking that of men.”

It was because of my accomplishments in the temple and the Royal Academy and my decision to abandon female socializing that everyone seemed to assume I was aiming to become the next aub. They thought that I was bringing attention to myself while at the same time making zero effort to prop up Wilfried as his first wife.

Mm... To be fair, they’re not wrong.

Anytime I was focused on the printing industry and doing business with the merchants of other duchies, or mobilizing the Gutenbergs, or working hard as part of the Better Grades Committee, my only aim was to succeed. I was so focused on profits and efficiency that trying to make Wilfried look good or keeping my head down as his future first wife never even occurred to me. It certainly hadn’t helped that Lutz, Benno, Ferdinand, and Sylvester hadn’t ever urged me to consider such things.

Although I now understood why it was important for me to stand down, it was too late for me to leave the work of repairing a fractured duchy to the boys. I didn’t know which duties to give up or when, nor was there anyone who could take my place.

In other words... I’m not very well suited to being Wilfried’s first wife, huh? Though I suppose I wouldn’t be well suited to being anyone’s first wife, considering my complete lack of interest in romance and marriage.

“Lady Elvira often said that Ehrenfest would not be able to function without Lord Ferdinand,” Ottilie remarked. “I believe she was correct. There is no one to give a clear and grounded explanation for the aub’s decisions, create environments in which you can effectively socialize, or confirm and manage all of our intentions.”

Even if we were all operating individually, Ferdinand would have found a way to unify us and make things work. Now that he was gone, however, Ottilie was convinced that everything was falling apart.

“Were he here now,” she continued, “he would have arranged a meeting for you and the aub to confirm one another’s intentions. That no such thing occurred is because—”

“Pardon me, Mother,” Hartmut interjected. “That particular detail has nothing to do with Lord Ferdinand. I think you will find that the Leisegangs are the ones responsible.”

I turned to look at him, and immediately he smiled at me. He looked so bright and casual that I couldn’t help being suspicious.

“Hartmut,” I said, my eyes narrowed, “you knew what the aub was going to say during today’s meeting, didn’t you? Or rather, what he had been told to say.”

“What makes you think that?” he asked in response. There was a gleeful sparkle in his eye that told me I was correct.

“Your eyes,” I said to him. “Anytime someone disrespects me—whether they be a blue priest, from a top-ranking duchy, or a member of the royal family—you always give them this very scary look.”

What made those occasions doubly scary was that he would maintain a casual smile the entire time. But not once during or after our meeting had he gotten that look in his eye, even though Rihyarda was angrily clenching her fists.

Hartmut broke into a grin, then knelt before me with a very severe look on his face. “O my revered Lady Rozemyne. There is no need for you to tolerate an aub who would speak so cruelly, nor his son who follows in his footsteps. Just as you now lead those at the Royal Academy under one banner, you must seek to unify Ehrenfest, bringing even Leisegang into your fold. The students whom you have protected so carefully are waiting for you to rise up and take your rightful place as our future aub.”

His tone was dry but also strangely performative. It was clear that he didn’t really believe what he was saying.

“Did the Leisegang faction tell you to rile me up after the meeting?” I asked.

“That is correct. The Leisegangs’ desire is to eliminate all traces of Lady Veronica’s influence, and not a drop of her blood flows through your veins. They believe that now is their best chance to make you the next aub, as Aub Ehrenfest has just cast aside his support base in full.”

The purge had been carried out to protect Ehrenfest, but it was important to remember that over half of the aub’s supporters had been of the former Veronica faction. Many of his own retainers had been punished, even. Hartmut said that Sylvester had cleansed the duchy’s rot so thoroughly that he had destroyed his own footing in the process.

Those who had given their names to Georgine were executed, those who had committed crimes to earn Veronica’s favor were punished, and the former Veronica faction was effectively destroyed in one fell swoop. Now, the only members of the faction with any influence were the aub and his children—but the hard-liners of the Leisegang faction were too fixated on their old wounds to support even them.

“The Leisegangs would have accepted things as they are now if all of the remaining archduke candidates were related to Lady Veronica,” Hartmut continued, “but there is you, Lady Rozemyne.”

Indeed, I was an exception. Particularly because of my ties to Karstedt’s mother and Bonifatius, I was part of an archducal branch family rich with Leisegang blood.

Though I’m actually a commoner from the lower city who was born with the Devouring.

“In addition to your bloodline,” Hartmut said, “you came first-in-class three years in a row, have deep connections to top-ranking duchies, and socialize with the royal family. You have also brought new industries to Ehrenfest and started new trends. ‘Lady Rozemyne, the famous Saint of Ehrenfest, is best suited to becoming the next aub!’ the Leisegangs proclaim. And they are correct.”

Mm... Is it just me, or are Hartmut’s exaggerated reports making the Leisegang faction hold me in even higher regard...? It must be my imagination.

“But I thought I made it clear to Giebes Leisegang, Groschel, and Haldenzel that I have no intention of becoming the next aub...” I muttered.

“Yes, the top members of the Leisegang faction are aware of this, but the purge has provided too great an opportunity. You must also consider your great-grandfather’s dying wish and the efforts of your grandfather, Lord Bonifatius.”

“Grandfather...?”

That reminded me—Bonifatius had said something strange at the end of our meeting. I’d never expected it when he was supposed to be supporting the archduke.

Hartmut nodded. “It seems that Lord Bonifatius does not look kindly upon you visiting the temple.”

As it turned out, Bonifatius had said, “Rozemyne is clearly the most competent of all the archduke candidates, so why is she being relegated to the temple? I understand that the work there needs to be done, but if the duty must fall to an archduke candidate, send Charlotte or the already disgraced Wilfried instead.” He was trying to “save” me from the temple, arguing that there was no need for me to do jobs that would have me belittled in the Royal Academy or the Sovereignty.

“If you can’t make Wilfried the High Bishop because he is already the next aub, then make Rozemyne the next aub instead,” he had apparently continued. “She has the largest support base and the skills required for the position.”

But I want to spend as much time at the temple as I can...

“In short,” Hartmut said, “there is much at play here. Those with Bonifatius hope to make you the next aub to save you from the temple. The hard-liners wish to purge every drop of Lady Veronica’s blood from Ehrenfest, while those in the mainstream just want an aub with a familial connection to the Leisegangs, if possible. Those who are less motivated will support your claim to the archducal seat only if you desire it, while the more meritocratic feel that the role should go to whomever has the most mana. All these varying opinions can hardly be considered unified... but if one were to take a more holistic approach, the will of the Leisegangs would certainly be for you to become the next aub.”

Some of the Leisegangs would apparently cooperate with raising our duchy’s rank for the sake of an aub with their blood, but absolutely not for one related to Veronica.

“That sounds like a very disparate consensus...” I noted. “Surely a light prod would be enough to make their ‘collective wish’ shatter into pieces.”

“The bonds connecting them may seem weak now, but that isn’t how they appear from the outside. Plus, with their own faction having been purged, there are almost no nobles remaining who support the aub and Lord Wilfried. The will of the Leisegangs surely feels much greater than it really is.”

As he said, there were barely any nobles left who supported Sylvester and Wilfried. The only ones who came to mind were their retainers, those who were against me becoming the aub and our current momentum being maintained, those who wanted Ehrenfest to stay as they knew it, and those who were too old to receive new divine protections and my mana compression method and were annoyed about the younger generation overtaking them. Nobles from the former Veronica faction who had avoided punishment were supporting Wilfried too, apparently.

“That said,” Hartmut added, “the Leisegangs were faced with a dilemma: How were they to make you the next aub when you have no interest in the position? The solution they came up with was to pit you against the rest of the archducal family and ultimately have you isolated. They made arrangements for you to lose your faith in the aub, hoping to compel you to rise up to protect your faction. That was when they approached Lord Bonifatius and pleaded for his aid in freeing you from the temple.”

Bonifatius’s main concern was getting me out of the temple. Although he truly believed that I would make a better aub, he understood the many trials and tribulations that a ruling archduchess faced and was happy for me to become a first wife instead. That meant I would need to receive a proper education, though, with Florencia guiding me instead of merely leaving me in the temple.

So that’s why Florencia was pushing for me to socialize...

Hartmut continued, “Leisegang nobles told Lord Bonifatius that, as the rumors suppose, you have been forced into a position wherein you cannot speak your honest thoughts. They asked him to keep watch so that the aub does not discreetly force your hand, and he agreed. He also said that he would confirm your intentions.”

It was due to Bonifatius keeping such a close eye on things that Sylvester hadn’t been able to invite me to a pre-meeting to discuss the topics that would come up during our meeting with the whole family.

“Naturally, they made various advances toward the aub himself, laying foundations for their own moves. He could not tell me the details, as I am your retainer, but I did learn that the Leisegangs were using their support as bait to engineer a falling-out within the archducal family. I can only assume that the aub’s hands were tied—not only because he has lost his support base but also because of the weakness created by Lady Florencia’s pregnancy.”

Much like Bonifatius, Hartmut had been assigned an observational role. His task was to see whether Wilfried and the archducal couple actually swallowed the Leisegangs’ demands without calling me for a meeting or making any unreasonable requests of their own.

“As your retainer, I was also asked to confirm your aims. Of course, if you wished to become the next aub, I would ensure that it happened without the assistance of the Leisegangs... but I am well aware that is not the case.”

“Indeed,” I replied, then fixed Hartmut with a stern glare. “But why did you keep all this a secret from me?”

He teasingly raised an eyebrow at me and said, “There were many things that I wished to confirm. What preparations did the Leisegangs make now that the former Veronica faction is out of the picture? How would Lord Wilfried and the archducal couple maneuver them? How would you view the archducal family afterward? And so on.”

Hartmut had spent the entire meeting standing behind me and quietly observing. What had he thought of the proceedings, and what conclusions had he drawn from them? But as I was pondering these things, Brunhilde gave a profound grimace.

“How pitiful of the Leisegangs, when Ehrenfest needs to unify and prepare to face other duchies. In the face of this extortion, is Groschel still asking the archducal family to perform its entwickeln?” She shook her head. “I never thought the day would come when I would be ashamed to be a Leisegang.”

“You sure are fastidious, Brunhilde,” Hartmut said with a smile. “Though they were constantly fighting for power, both the Veronica and the Leisegang factions have always been Ehrenfest nobles at heart. It is far from unusual that they would think in the same way. Their main concerns are protecting their own status and lifestyle; they do not care about raising our duchy’s rank or matching the archducal family’s efforts to keep up with our new status. You’ve spent so much time gazing skyward that you’re now blind to everything around you, much like Lady Rozemyne.”

Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?

“In that case, Hartmut, what in the world are you seeing?” Brunhilde asked. “And what are you thinking?”

“I only ever think of granting Lady Rozemyne’s wishes, but if you would allow me to voice a more personal desire...” He trailed off, then a menacing smile spread across his lips. It was the same face that Ferdinand made whenever he was plotting. “At this point, Lady Rozemyne has gone far beyond being a mere saint. She is grand enough to be called a genuine goddess, yet these worthless giebes think she would want to rule their equally worthless duchy? I wish for nothing more than to crush them into dust and scatter them to the wind.”

Holy... Isn’t that a bit extreme?!

As we all watched in shock, our mouths hanging open, Hartmut continued his eloquent speech. “Lady Rozemyne desires books, as well as the printing and paper-making industries required to create them. Yes, such things are currently spreading throughout the Leisegangs’ provinces, but that is purely because they were given priority as family. Do not forget that Illgner was the first province to create its own workshops.”

He was right—the printing industry wasn’t at all reliant on the Leisegangs. I had only prioritized sending Gutenbergs to their provinces because everyone had said that I should reward the faction supporting me.

Hartmut persisted, “Because the aub has cut down his support base once again, he requires the support and cooperation of the Leisegangs, now the largest of our duchy’s factions, to unify Ehrenfest. You, however, do not require their support at all.”

“I wouldn’t go that far...” I replied, losing confidence in his argument. “I’ll still need them a little bit, right?” I tried to find some reassurance in the room, but my Leisegang retainers were all deep in thought. Even Angelica looked contemplative, though I could tell it was just an act.

“There is no longer any need for the Leisegangs,” Hartmut concluded. “At this point, even nobles of other duchies are attempting to adopt the printing industry—and, as you wish to spread printing all throughout the country and produce countless new books, Lady Rozemyne, we should start focusing beyond our duchy’s borders instead of messing around with this Leisegang farce.”

Leonore nodded and said, “Hartmut is correct. Lady Rozemyne does not require the Leisegangs’ support whatsoever.” She actually looked quite impressed with Hartmut, and, while that wasn’t what I’d wanted, I couldn’t really blame her; I was impressed too. As he had said, my only desires were to spread printing and completely fill the world with books. His grasp on the situation was so good that it was scary.

“Foolishly enough, the Leisegangs believe that being Lady Rozemyne’s family and greatest supporters means they can control her. They are sorely mistaken. Those old simpletons are completely oblivious to their current standing.”

“Indeed. Trying to direct Lady Rozemyne was a grueling and almost impossible task even for Lord Ferdinand.”

Nuh-uh. That’s not true. Ferdinand had me in the palm of his hand.

I wanted to protest, but Brunhilde then added that even attending tea parties with me was exhausting. Instead, I pursed my lips and averted my eyes.

“The Leisegangs’ conspiratorial nature did not change when Lady Veronica came into power, and it persists even now that they have regained dominance,” Hartmut said. “Plus, because they were raised as Ehrenfest nobles, Lord Wilfried and the aub will be highly susceptible to these old methods.”

This meant they would be more likely to fall for the Leisegangs’ plots. They wouldn’t think twice about manipulating others either.

“However,” Hartmut continued, “they fundamentally cannot understand that Lady Rozemyne wishes to be in the temple, or that she would be most happy staying in a library for the rest of her days.”

Hartmut says that, but he was raised to follow the same culture too, wasn’t he? How has he managed to transcend it? That’s what scares me...

“I considered it a good thing that our archducal family was so close and got along better than perhaps any other in Yurgenschmidt,” he said. “I wish to treasure the atmosphere that allows you to smile, Lady Rozemyne. The last thing I want is for a mistake to rupture your connection, isolate anyone, or have you oppose one another.”

“But that’s what ended up happening...” I muttered. After sitting through the meeting and witnessing Wilfried and Charlotte’s exchange after, it was hard to imagine things ever going as smoothly as they had in the past.

“It need only be mended,” Hartmut replied. “A group at odds with itself can easily be united through the introduction of a common enemy. That was the technique you employed at the Royal Academy, was it not?”

To unify the former Veronica faction and the rest of the Ehrenfest students, I had gotten everyone to focus on beating other duchies. Hartmut was saying that we should take a similar approach to bring the archducal family back together.

“As our duchy’s breadbasket,” he continued, “Leisegang cares not about interduchy relations or our position within Yurgenschmidt. That is why its people have no qualms about telling us to lower our rank. The elderly have never experienced the advantages that come with our higher position, nor have they witnessed the way it affects how other duchies treat us. They do not understand how we feel as we work to raise our duchy’s rank.”

As the younger generation, we had so much to gain from stronger relations with other duchies: friendships, new marriage prospects, better treatment, ease of gathering intelligence... Hartmut listed all of the advantages, then said that he wasn’t about to abandon them for the sake of the elderly’s lame demands.

“Though they cannot admit it here in Ehrenfest, in front of the adults, there are many among the younger generation who wish to overturn this so-called ‘will of the Leisegangs,’” Hartmut said. “Should we not gather them into a new support base for the aub, who similarly wishes to change the duchy? Our enemy should not be one faction or another; instead, we should oppose the old fools who do not want Ehrenfest to grow.”

Hearing his firmly spoken argument, I tried to gauge the reactions of my other retainers. They were all Leisegangs, but they seemed more than willing to oppose the apparent will of their faction. Had they been corrupted while serving me and working to raise our duchy’s rank?

Leonore added, “We can see from Lord Melchior’s retainers as well as the students of the former Veronica faction with whom you interacted at the Royal Academy that there is great interest in obtaining new divine protections. You shouldn’t have any trouble bringing the younger generation together, and you might even be able to win over enough people to create a faction.”

She then adopted a very calculating expression, coldly tallying the number of people who had received my mana compression method and all the laynobles who had expressed an interest in learning it. Even though she was suggesting we oppose her own parents’ generation, she didn’t seem the slightest bit hesitant.

On instinct, I turned to Cornelius.

He gave me an amused grin and said, “You know, Rozemyne... I do have an idea—if you don’t mind me speaking as your elder brother for a moment. Leisegang takes great pride in being the duchy’s breadbasket, right? Then why don’t we embrace that? We’ll always need people who can produce food through traditional methods, and if we respectfully emphasize that fact, I’m sure we can satisfy them.”

The fact of the matter was that the Leisegangs were my supporters. Cornelius’s approach would allow us to elevate them instead of cutting them off, while simultaneously relegating the conservative, change-opposing adults to their backwater provinces. He seemed to be in agreement with Hartmut.

“Lady Rozemyne,” Ottilie interjected, “if you have no desire to become the next aub, then I would advise you to leave gathering the younger generation and creating a faction to Lord Wilfried. Give him the suggestion and then withdraw. You are busy with the temple and do not need to involve yourself with the work of men.”

In essence, it would be unwise for me to ignore the calls of the noblewomen.

“Mother is correct,” Hartmut added. “As you do not require the support of a faction, there is no need for you to make one.”

“Hartmut?” I said.

“Propose the idea to Lord Wilfried and then let him take care of the rest. He will consider it his duty as the next archduke and work hard to complete it. If that proves too much for him, even with that silver spoon so firmly in his mouth, then he truly is irredeemably incompetent.”

I decided it was probably best to ignore that last line. Hartmut was a bit of an extremist, but he was still technically thinking of ways to prop up Wilfried and unify Ehrenfest. His harshness surely came from his high expectations.

“Let us end these troublesome matters at once and return to the temple as soon as possible,” he concluded. “I am tremendously eager to repeat the ritual for obtaining divine protections. As anyone should realize, succeeding with religious matters is infinitely more important for the saintly Lady Rozemyne.”

At last, his true motivation comes to light!

Now that I understood what was really driving Hartmut, all of my nerves seemed to melt away. There was no point in dwelling on the matter any further; I would make the faction suggestion so that the archducal family could start healing and advocate that Sylvester acquire a new support base after casting aside his old one for the sake of the duchy.

“Well, then—let us gather together the motivated and ambitious youths and cause a generational shift in Ehrenfest.”