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

Epilogue

A lone highbeast flew toward Kirnberger. The sky had been bright blue when it departed from Ehrenfest, but now there were dark clouds amassing overhead.

Alexis glared up at the changing heavens, then grabbed a rejuvenation potion from his hip and gulped it down. He wanted to reach Kirnberger before the rain began to fall, so he channeled more mana into the reins he was holding and made his highbeast accelerate.

I wonder, what will Father say when he’s heard my piece?

Alexis was both a guard knight serving Wilfried and the son of Giebe Kirnberger’s second wife. Tonight, he had an order from his lord to find out what the giebe thought about Rozemyne after their Spring Prayer meeting—and to secure his cooperation, if possible.

Giebe Kirnberger had openly declared that he wouldn’t support an archduke candidate simply because his son was in their service, and Alexis was certain that nothing he could say would change that. The most he could do was pray that Rozemyne had made a poor impression—such news would do wonders to cheer up his lord, who had been in a sour mood for quite some time—but he knew that such a wish was craven and despairing.

Alexis had never thought he would one day return home with such a heavy heart. He wanted to delay his arrival at Kirnberger, even if only a little, but the sky continued to fill with dark clouds. The only choice he had was to accelerate.

“Ah, Lord Alexis. We are glad you made it before the rain got any worse.”

Alexis had arrived while the rain was still only a light shower and was immediately welcomed by knights in service to Giebe Kirnberger. These same knights had served as his instructors before he came to work under Wilfried, so he knew them all well. He accepted the towel they held out to him and started drying his red-orange hair.

“So you’ve finally come of age, Alexis,” one of the knights said. “How quickly time travels. Are you here on a mission?”

“Yep. I wouldn’t have been able to leave the Noble’s Quarter without an order from my lord.”

Underage retainers were normally forbidden from leaving the Noble’s Quarter, even when ordered to. The rule had become slightly more relaxed as of late, but only to accommodate the underage archduke candidates involved with the printing industry and religious ceremonies.

Alexis was a new adult, having graduated only at the end of last winter, and this was his first time returning to Kirnberger after the end of Spring Prayer. Being welcomed home by so many familiar faces made him feel proud that he was finally old enough to complete missions on his own. Before he knew it, the burden of his duty felt a little bit more manageable.

“Lord Alexis, how is Judithe doing? She accompanied Lady Rozemyne on her recent visit but spoke almost entirely about her lady. As I recall, she barely said a word about herself.”

The inquiry had come from a veteran knight who had given Alexis a special training session when he was first chosen to be a guard knight. Alexis knew him well but not his daughter, Judithe, since she hadn’t been able to visit the giebe’s estate before her baptism.

Despite them both being from Kirnberger, Alexis had seen Judithe for the first time in the castle’s playroom. They now shared a profession, working as the guard knights of archduke candidates, but their interactions were still few and far between. On top of being different ages and genders, they served different individuals.

I’m just glad she’s an apprentice knight.

Had she been an apprentice attendant or scholar, they wouldn’t have had any opportunities to meet, and Alexis wouldn’t have had anything to say in response to the veteran knight. In their current situation, he could at least see her at the training grounds of the Knight’s Order. Judithe was also famous for her tremendous accuracy—a skill that had brought her to the attention of Bonifatius, who spoke about her on occasion.

“Lord Wilfried is usually in the castle and Lady Rozemyne in the temple, so their retainers seldom have a chance to interact,” Alexis explained. “I only see Judithe at the training grounds, but she is an excellent knight in the making. She even receives frequent praise from Lord Bonifatius. I greatly admire her accuracy and focus.”

“I see,” the veteran knight replied, pleased to hear that his daughter was doing well. “To think that Lord Bonifatius is praising her...”

Alexis was immediately reminded of the days when the veteran knight had declared that his son would follow in his footsteps and grow up to become a knight in service to the giebe. The boy in question was Theodore, who was currently in an unusual situation wherein he served Rozemyne only at the Royal Academy. Alexis smiled to himself, glad to see that the family was as close as ever, then asked after Giebe Kirnberger.

“Is my father in his office? I did send word before leaving Ehrenfest, but...”

“He is. Allow us to take you there.”

“No need. You can get back to training.”

Alexis hadn’t found many opportunities to return home as of late, but he had grown up in the estate; he didn’t need to be led to his father’s office. Still, the attendant and the other knights said that the giebe would scold them if a guest were allowed to wander around without a guide, so he had no choice but to follow them.

“Excuse us, Giebe Kirnberger,” they said.

Giebe Kirnberger often flew around the province on patrol, so his office was usually swarming with visitors whenever he was in the estate. This time, however—perhaps because Alexis had sent word that he was coming—the office was completely empty except for an attendant serving tea, the giebe himself, and a scholar standing behind him.

“Come in,” Giebe Kirnberger said.

Alexis had expected his father to be busy with work, as usual, but this meeting seemed nothing like their ones before. Giebe Kirnberger was acting not as a father welcoming his son home but as a giebe hosting an archducal retainer who had arrived on official business.

The realization that he was being treated first and foremost as a guard knight made Alexis feel the weight of his duty even more keenly than before. He stood up straight as if attempting to shoulder it better.

“Giebe Kirnberger,” Alexis said, “Lord Wilfried has ordered me here to gather intelligence on Lady Rozemyne’s visit during Spring Prayer.”

In response to his son’s formal declaration, Giebe Kirnberger raised an eyebrow, then gave a curt nod and offered the boy a seat. It seemed that Alexis’s attitude had received a passing mark.

“I see,” the giebe replied with a scrutinizing look. “And what intelligence does your lord seek, exactly? Was there some kind of problem with Lady Rozemyne’s Spring Prayer report?”

Alexis stiffened; this was his first time facing Giebe Kirnberger, not his father. Engaging in serious conversations with nobles in the castle had always been the work of scholars and attendants, and those he had interacted with at the Royal Academy had all been underage. In other words, he had very little experience with direct confrontations or needing to weigh up his conversation partner while they did the same with him. He could only swallow nervously under the sharp, experienced eyes of a seasoned noble.

“There was no problem with her report on Spring Prayer,” Alexis said. “Lord Wilfried simply wishes for more information.”

“Hmm. I understand that several of his retainers were relieved of duty over the winter. Is this really an urgent enough matter to warrant sending a guard knight who has recently come of age away from the Noble’s Quarter?”

Venturing off to gather intelligence was the duty of scholars. Of course, a knight who happened to notice something important while on an expedition would report as much to their lord or lady, but it was rare for them to be explicitly tasked with collecting information. Giebe Kirnberger understood all this as well, which was why he had assumed that the circumstances were serious.

Alexis gave a careful nod. “The impact of the purge has been significant. The archducal family cannot remain as it once was.”

“I received your report that the relationship between the archduke candidates has changed but did not detect any signs of that from Lady Rozemyne during Spring Prayer. She spoke in support of Lord Wilfried becoming the next aub and made it clear that she does not seek the position herself.”

Alexis felt a wave of relief wash away all of the tension in his body. His lord had been making all kinds of accusatory remarks. “The Leisegangs aren’t the only ones pushing for Rozemyne to become the next aub; she’s vying for the position herself,” he had said. “She got Father to adopt her purely so that she could take his place.” Things had gotten so bad that only Rozemyne’s retainers and Lamprecht were trying to refute his claims.

The purge had completely shifted the balance of power, such that barely any nobles of the former Veronica faction remained in the castle. Now, it was dominated by neutral parties and those of the Leisegang faction, meaning that Wilfried was isolated and unpopular despite his supposed position as the next aub. Perhaps this news from Giebe Kirnberger would ease his concerns to some degree.

“As a giebe, how did Lady Rozemyne seem to you?” Alexis asked, then shyly added, “As... As an archduke candidate, that is...”

“Lady Rozemyne, hmm?” the giebe replied, stroking his chin with a smile. “She was even better suited to becoming the aub than I had expected. She has all of the innate qualities necessary for the role; she did not cower when meeting me for the first time, and she clearly stated her thoughts. She also considered the opinions of others without allowing them to sway her. I would expect nothing less from Lord Bonifatius’s granddaughter. She would make for a talented archduchess who would take good advantage of her faction without needing to worry about becoming its puppet.”

Alexis took in a sharp breath; the giebe had seen through him and realized that his son was secretly on edge about facing his father in this formal setting.

“Furthermore,” the giebe continued, “as far as the reports on her actions in the Royal Academy and the development of the printing industry indicate, Lady Rozemyne is driven by the desire to create a more comfortable future. She wants to raise all of the students’ grades, ensure that nobles have more mana at their disposal, change society’s views on the temple and religious ceremonies, improve the position of commoners... And she wants more books. Someone with such clear goals will find it easier to secure people who are willing to work for them. As a faraway giebe, I can trust that she won’t simply allow her retainers to take control.”

That was higher praise than Alexis had expected. Giebe Kirnberger had only met Rozemyne once, though. She may have been an ideal archduke candidate on the outside, but a closer look would surely reveal some faults. Perhaps the giebe’s opinion would turn on its head once he knew more of the truth.

“I agree that Lady Rozemyne’s grades and ideas are splendid, but she is far too much of a dissident,” Alexis said. “Her actions and requests are sudden and incomprehensible to the point that she troubles all those around her. Were she to become the next Aub Ehrenfest, none of us would be able to keep up with her.”

This did nothing to faze Giebe Kirnberger; instead, he scoffed. “It is the duty of retainers and spouses to grip the reins of such people—to soften the blows such that their desires can be realized. That is why the archducal family takes the best of the best as retainers, is it not? In fact, we can already see for ourselves that Lady Rozemyne is doing well. Her successful relationships with those in her service are why the entire duchy’s grades have risen, not just her own, and why she has managed to connect with top-ranking duchies and the royal family. You will note that the retainers in question are not at all disapproving of their lady—my own Judithe and Theodore are proud to be serving her. If you mean to tell me that Lord Wilfried takes issue with this, he must be jealous and nothing more.”

Alexis shook his head, his bright blue eyes fixed on the giebe. “Some of her retainers and some of the Leisegangs have taken issue as well. Lord Traugott resigned after saying that he could not keep up with her at all, and the Leisegangs supporting her are pushing for the Ehrenfest students to lower their grades at the Royal Academy. It is hard to imagine her being a successful aub.”

“You would use Traugott as an example? As I recall, Lord Bonifatius was enraged at his grandson and fully blamed him for the incident. I was also informed via reports that the Leisegangs would support higher grades under Lady Rozemyne’s rule. Now... whose words were those? Not yours, I expect?”

Alexis faltered. His father was situated in Kirnberger, a backwater province, yet he seemed to know quite a bit about Ehrenfest’s current state of affairs. Minor nitpicks would do nothing to sway him.

After a moment spent in silence, Alexis gave a bitter nod, though he found his father’s tenacity to be somewhat assuring. “They were the words of my lord’s former head attendant, Oswald. He would describe Lord Wilfried as a far superior archduke candidate—one who does not trouble others with unconventional demands.”

“Moronic,” the giebe said. “That may be convenient for retainers, but it will do nothing to benefit the duchy.”

To his own surprise, Alexis was overcome with the feeling that he had just confirmed an important suspicion: there was a massive gap between what his fellow retainers and everybody else understood as common sense. Their position was heavily biased in favor of the former Veronica faction, and the current political climate had only made them more obstinate. It was constricting—and, at times, suffocating.

“An aub needs the will to decide upon and advance toward a goal, and the resolve to make hard decisions and accept responsibility for the consequences,” Giebe Kirnberger declared. “As an honor student, Lord Wilfried would make for a safe archduke, but someone who is a slave to his retainers’ opinions would never be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with top-ranking duchies or execute revolutionary ideas. In that sense, I consider Lady Rozemyne better suited to becoming an archduchess than a first wife.”

Alexis sighed. “Then I suppose I cannot give Lord Wilfried the answer he seeks. Father, if my lord holds me responsible for your assessment, will you welcome me home in Kirnberger?”

“I can’t say I follow. You would be held responsible for my opinions?”

“I would assume so. Lamprecht was rebuked after meetings with the Leisegang faction ended poorly.”

Wilfried had resolved to use Spring Prayer to get the nobles of the Leisegang faction on his side. He had assumed that his engagement to Rozemyne would make them more likely to accept him, citing the fact that, during his trips for the printing industry and such, he had actually been respected as the next aub. Rozemyne’s retainers and Lamprecht had attempted to advise Wilfried against the idea, stressing that it would end in failure, but he had chosen to go through with it anyway. He had sincerely believed that he could get through to the Leisegangs once they were standing face-to-face.

Alexis hadn’t been among those trying to stop his lord; he had appreciated the enthusiasm, if anything. He would simply focus on his duty as a guard—besides, Wilfried wouldn’t expect things to go well right off the bat.

Or so he had thought.

The giebes among the Leisegang faction had all given Wilfried cold glares and rejected him so harshly that he had come away distraught. Their support was for Rozemyne alone, and they had made it perfectly clear that, even with his engagement, they would eliminate Wilfried without a second thought if doing so would make their preferred candidate the next aub.

In his anger, Wilfried had been quick to pass the buck. “This plan failed because Lamprecht didn’t lay the proper groundwork. Rozemyne’s to blame as well; she’s always so uncooperative, even though she’s my fiancée.”

Giebe Kirnberger shook his head. “It should have come as no surprise to Lord Wilfried that the current Leisegang nobles would reject him. If he truly believed that he would win them over so easily, then he is tragically optimistic. Does he have zero understanding of what his grandmother did to them?”

“He knows the facts, but he has yet to grasp how much the Leisegangs hate her or how much resentment has accumulated over the years,” Alexis replied. “I am aware of the grave injustices that Lady Veronica inflicted upon Mother, but as I never experienced them firsthand, I never think about them too deeply.”

Alexis’s mother was a Leisegang noble. In her keenness to escape Veronica’s abuse, she had consulted Bonifatius’s first wife directly and, with Bonifatius’s support, married into Kirnberger. Veronica’s methods had put his mother at her wit’s end, but she had resolved not to waste any time dwelling on those she disliked once she was free of them.

All that Alexis knew about his mother’s past were things he had pieced together from the warnings he had received prior to visiting the castle for the first time for his debut. One that he still clearly remembered was his mother telling him not to get close to her during their visit, as it would only bring him harm. He had been introduced as Giebe Kirnberger’s son and spent his time in the castle with his father and his father’s first wife rather than with his mother; thus, his connection to the Leisegangs had appeared to be nonexistent. Now that Alexis was older, he could see just how far his parents and his father’s first wife had gone to keep Veronica from noticing him—to keep him safe.

It had been wise of Alexis’s parents to act with such caution. At the time, Veronica had considered it far more important to eliminate key figures within the Leisegang faction than to target the son of a neutral giebe. As a result, Alexis had spoken to her once when first greeting her and then never again. Even when it had come time to seek out potential retainers for her beloved grandson, she had seen him only as the son of the ever-stubborn Giebe Kirnberger.

In short, Alexis had very little experience with Veronica. He had seen her as someone who was by some means more powerful than Lord Sylvester, the aub himself, but his opinion of her had run no deeper than that. As a result, he had thought almost nothing about her later deposition. He hadn’t been able to empathize with either the Leisegang or the Veronica faction, so he hadn’t found it strange that Wilfried was so unattached to his grandmother’s past deeds.

“I won’t deny that Lord Wilfried is dispassionate about past events that didn’t involve him,” Alexis said. “He is also optimistic to a fault. However, he truly was an exemplary lord before he returned from the Royal Academy and witnessed the impact of the purge.”

“What changed, exactly?”

“Above all else, he began to view Lady Rozemyne as an enemy, and in the strangest of ways. He also suddenly began demanding that the other archduke candidates support him when necessary and give him the credit for their accomplishments, since he is the next aub.”

Alexis knew that Oswald had spent years laying the groundwork for his lord to take the archducal seat, but Wilfried had never before tried to steal the other candidates’ achievements; on the contrary, he had been actively against it. He had said as much to Rozemyne during the Royal Academy’s award ceremony... yet now he was arguing that it was only common sense for one’s fiancée and younger siblings to surrender their accomplishments.

“Lord Wilfried confidently declares that such is the way of greater duchies, and that Ehrenfest has followed this practice since long ago,” Alexis said. “Still, I cannot say it feels right to me...”

“The way of greater duchies, hm?” Giebe Kirnberger mused. “It certainly is the case that, when half-siblings are competing for the position of aub, full siblings trade credit among one another. However, through his engagement, Lord Wilfried has already secured his position as the next archduke; there is no need for him to steal the achievements of others.” He then paused, a distant look in his eye, and let out a heavy sigh. “It is widely known that Lady Veronica gave Lord Sylvester the credit for his retainers’ work. So, one could say that Ehrenfest’s archducal family has been using such methods for quite some time...”

Alexis was struck with the urge to put his head in his hands and groan. In a sense, Wilfried had been right; the problem was that his “long ago” referred specifically to the height of Veronica’s power. Such horrible behavior, which was common among retainers of the former Veronica faction, was precisely the reason why so many thought Wilfried was carrying on Veronica’s legacy. At this rate, the Leisegang nobles would only think less and less of him.

“Could I have prevented this by taking more interest in Lady Veronica’s actions?” Alexis asked, searching for personal culpability.

“You would have struggled to challenge Lord Wilfried alone,” the giebe replied. “That said... his change is all too sudden. Do you have any idea what might have inspired it? Even the archduke lost retainers; Lord Wilfried was surely no exception.”

Alexis immediately understood his assignment: identify the source of the change and eliminate it. He fell into thought; so much had happened that might have been responsible.

“In his day-to-day life, the biggest change has been that his head attendant, Oswald, was removed from service—though it was presented as his resignation.”

He had said to his fellow retainers, “I am being relieved of duty for fear that my faction may cause problems. The aub has ordered that I present it as my willing resignation so that our lord does not grow to resent his father.” Then, shortly after, he had begged Wilfried for permission to resign, saying with tears in his eyes, “My service is no longer what’s best for you.” His family had been told to stand down for similar reasons, so Wilfried had lost four adult retainers in total.

“Lord Wilfried cursed himself for being too weak to save his longest-serving and most loyal vassal,” Alexis continued. “It seems to me that it was because his fiancée didn’t share his frustration and pain during the feast celebrating spring that he lost his temper.”

Sometime after, Alexis had seen Wilfried being consoled by his name-sworn retainer Barthold. “The princess of Leisegang is surely celebrating that Oswald has finally been torn away from you,” Barthold had said. “She is of a faction that loathes Lady Veronica, after all.”

Alexis went on, “I would assume that his emotional instability has come from losing the man who was serving him even before his baptism. Lord Wilfried was raised by Lady Veronica, so he was much, much closer to Oswald than to the archducal couple.”

“Hmm...” Giebe Kirnberger pondered. “There is a chance that, without his head attendant to scold or comfort him, the selfishness mounting within Lord Wilfried is finally leaking out. Could this be an unconscious protest, demanding that the aub return his retainers to him?”

Alexis crossed his arms. He knew that the sudden change in his lord was troublesome, but he had never considered the situation from his father’s perspective. Seeking the advice of a third party was always important.

Wanting to make the most of such a rare opportunity to get his father’s advice, Alexis put forward a few other theories. “I think the change in his work environment has been significant as well. Neutral and Leisegang nobles are now the most prominent figures in the castle. Thus, Lord Wilfried is no longer surrounded by nobles of the former Veronica faction.”

“In other words, he’s no longer surrounded by those who will praise his every move,” the giebe said.

Alexis nodded, though he was taken aback by his father’s harsh tone. “Overall, his retainers are of the opinion that positive reinforcement is the most productive approach, but Lord Bonifatius now barks at him almost nonstop.”

“Lord Bonifatius?”

“Yes. The work that Lord Ferdinand did in the temple has been given to Lady Rozemyne, while his duties in the castle have been given to Lord Bonifatius and Lord Wilfried.”

Wilfried had found himself with dramatically more work and dramatically less free time. He also needed to meet with Bonifatius whenever it was time to carry out his new duties, and it seemed that the big ol’ granddad overflowing with love for his granddaughter was suffocating him.

Alexis understood why his lord was so frustrated, but he couldn’t wrap his head around the complaints that Wilfried so often made: “I wish Rozemyne would do this work instead”; “Rozemyne sure has it easy; she gets to relax in the temple”; and “Rozemyne’s going to be the next first wife, yet she doesn’t take her duties seriously.” Wilfried always voiced these gripes with such confidence, but Ferdinand had rarely spent much time in the castle—anyone could guess that his temple work was the greater burden. On top of that, Rozemyne only had one adult scholar: Hartmut. Even including her apprentice scholars, when it came to desk work, she was absolutely starved of manpower.

“Lord Wilfried has three adult scholars and three apprentice scholars,” Alexis continued. “If working with Lord Bonifatius is causing him so much trouble, could he not just order them to take over for him?”

“Did you make that suggestion?”

“The scholars refused. They said they couldn’t possibly do such work without the necessary experience, especially as they would need to take the blame for any errors they might make.”

Just as Melchior’s retainers needed to undergo training before they could start performing their duties in the temple, Wilfried and his retainers would need to be trained for their handover. The problem was that Ehrenfest’s archducal family was small, and the archducal couple couldn’t spend their time educating their son when they were so short-staffed themselves. Bonifatius had been the only person they could ask to give Wilfried archducal lessons.

Giebe Kirnberger shook his head. “If your lord desires better working conditions, then his only option is to speed along his handover training. Has anything else changed?”

Alexis paused, trying to remember what else Wilfried had complained about, then clapped his hands together in realization. “He seems to be intensely unhappy about the aub taking a second wife.”

“Really? I thought it was a welcome move by Aub Ehrenfest, considering how long he spent stubbornly refusing the idea. What in the world does Lord Wilfried take issue with?”

Wilfried hadn’t said anything in the dining hall, where he had first learned about the engagement, but he had grumbled nonstop upon returning to his chambers. “Rozemyne’s already a Leisegang bride,” he had said. “I would have rather seen Father take her as a second wife than Brunhilde. This is Rozemyne’s fault; she’s the princess of the Leisegangs but can’t even keep them under control.”

Alexis’s heart sank as he remembered what had happened next—Wilfried had asked Charlotte to help him convince the aub to rethink his decision, then asked Brunhilde to cancel the engagement. They had both refused, of course, and Alexis had struggled to console his lord after the fact. Wilfried had been on the verge of a panic attack.

“I think he was so displeased because Lady Brunhilde is more or less his age,” Alexis said, “and her engagement to the aub means that one of Lady Rozemyne’s retainers is joining the archducal family.”

“Still, taking a second wife to gain control over a faction and assist with the delegation of desk work is the duty of an aub. The day shall come when Lord Wilfried will need to take one himself.” Ehrenfest’s archducal family was already unusually small; it was hard to imagine the next archduke going without a second wife as well.

“Correct,” Alexis replied. “I personally agree with Aub Ehrenfest’s decision to marry a Leisegang, but the idea is unpopular among my fellow retainers. Many of them oppose the thought of giving the Leisegangs more power and putting Lady Rozemyne one step closer to becoming the next aub.”

All of a sudden, Alexis realized something—out of everyone in Ehrenfest, Wilfried and his retainers were the only ones opposed to Sylvester taking Brunhilde as his second wife. Most of the former Veronica faction had already been detained and punished, so every single giebe understood and approved of the archduke’s decision to take a Leisegang bride to gain more control over the duchy’s dominant faction.

“Perhaps his distaste for second wives is another lingering consequence of being educated by Lady Veronica,” the giebe mused. “That woman refused to allow her husband to take one and came to Lord Sylvester’s defense whenever he refused to remarry.”

“If what you say is true, then it will be almost impossible for Lord Wilfried to escape Lady Veronica’s shadow. His recent change in attitude has led to him being identified as a devout member of the former Veronica faction. In fact...” Alexis fell silent, cast his eyes down, and then muttered, “Now, he views even Lamprecht as an enemy, simply because the latter is Lady Rozemyne’s elder brother.”

Lamprecht had tried to warn Wilfried that circling the Leisegang-ruled provinces for Spring Prayer was a bad idea, and the other retainers had doubted his loyalty ever since. Alexis had at one point tried to stand up for his colleague, only for Barthold to ask, “Does this mean that Kirnberger stands with Lady Rozemyne, then?” Lamprecht had even told Alexis not to bother. “I’m used to this,” he had said. “Worry about yourself, else you’ll end up in the same situation.”

From that point on, Alexis had tried not to interfere—and things had gone exactly as he’d expected. Wilfried’s attempt to bond with the giebes had ended in failure, forcing him to return to the castle with his tail between his legs. Of course, he had immediately tried to blame Lamprecht.

“My lord,” Lamprecht had responded, “your failure was the result of your own refusal to heed our warnings and your underestimation of the Leisegangs’ pent-up frustrations. You would never have been able to undo years of suffering through one Spring Prayer. This is something that must be worked through gradually.”

Alexis had considered that a reasonable explanation; Wilfried would simply need to reflect on his actions and try to do better next time. However, everyone else had dismissed Lamprecht as being cold and stonyhearted.

“I was right not to speak my thoughts,” Alexis concluded.

“Well, what had you wanted to say?”

“‘There’s no use pouting about it now. Lamprecht and Lady Rozemyne’s retainers warned you what would happen, but you charged ahead anyway.’”

“Hmm... An outburst like that would absolutely lead to Kirnberger being treated as an enemy. Continue to keep your mouth shut.”

After grousing even more about Lamprecht’s evaluation, Wilfried had gone straight to his name-sworn retainer Barthold, who had consoled him and stressed that he wasn’t to blame. “It really is a shame that nobody ever appreciates your hard work...” he had said. “If only Lady Rozemyne and Lamprecht had done their jobs properly and laid the groundwork for your visits, this never would have happened.”

That had cheered up Wilfried and encouraged the other retainers to agree. Soon enough, they had all thrust the blame upon Lamprecht. It was all so ridiculous that Alexis had started to wonder whether it was some kind of surreal comedy act. Lamprecht was in a far more pitiable situation than Wilfried, since he was being blamed for something that wasn’t at all his fault.

“Did your lord say nothing to you, even knowing that you have a Leisegang mother?” the giebe asked.

“It seems that, like Lady Veronica, Lord Wilfried views me only as the son of Giebe Kirnberger. He seems to count me among our province’s nobles who flatly declare themselves to be neutral and cast aside any and all involvement in faction politics.”

It was true that Alexis wanted to guard his lord above all else; unnecessary thoughts about faction politics would serve only as a distraction. At the same time, however, he had only been able to secure his current position because of an invitation from Lamprecht. His fellow retainer had said that, following Veronica’s deposition, Wilfried needed more neutral and Leisegang nobles in his service. Alexis had gone along with it.

These events were why Alexis was none too pleased about Lamprecht receiving so much undeserved ire, but Lamprecht had said that it would only be temporary. The archducal family would soon finish reorganizing their retainers, he had declared, and the punished nobles of the former Veronica faction would return to work. Then, Lord Wilfried and the Leisegangs would finally calm down.

“Despite it all, Lord Wilfried has been working hard...” Alexis said. Even after the Ivory Tower incident, his lord had tried to restore his lost honor instead of simply conceding and wallowing in his misery.

Wilfried was in an unfathomably difficult position; he was in the same grade as Rozemyne, meaning he was constantly being compared to her, but he had still secured high enough grades to be recognized as an honor student. He had also been doing an excellent job of uniting the dormitory and was—at least until recently—on good terms with his younger siblings. Even while being reproached by the students whose families had been purged, he had carried out his duties as an archduke candidate and taken Dunkelfelger’s ditter challenges in his stride, even leading the knights to victory.

“That is precisely why seeing my lord degrade himself makes me so frustrated and miserable,” Alexis continued. “I cannot bear it. I loathe it, even. Where is the boy who did everything in his power to protect Lady Rozemyne? I fought by his side during our match against Dunkelfelger and could hardly express the pride I felt after our victory. From the bottom of my heart, I was glad to be a guard knight, to have taken on the challenge, and to have won...”

Back then, Alexis had sincerely believed that everything would be okay, no matter how bad the purge turned out to be. He had blindly assumed that Ehrenfest was unifying around Wilfried and that his lord would guide everyone into a bright future. By this point, however, clinging to such a dream was foolish.

“Father, I now understand why you always described factions as troublesome business. I neither know nor understand what has driven Lord Wilfried to single-handedly revive Lady Veronica’s cursed legacy, but the atmosphere in the castle is suffocating. I wish for nothing more than to resign and return to Kirnberger.”

The giebe sighed, then crossed his arms and tightly knit his brow. It was the same pose he always made before giving out new tasks, so Alexis straightened up on instinct.

“This is as simple as you wishing to abandon your duties as a retainer simply because your lord no longer suits your preference,” Giebe Kirnberger said in a low voice. “In that regard, you are no different from Lord Wilfried, throwing a tantrum because things have not gone as you hoped.”

Alexis inhaled sharply. He wanted to protest but couldn’t think of a reasonable comeback.

“Think of the head attendant who was dismissed,” his father went on. “Was he really trying to make his lord more considerate, or does he secretly continue to whisper poison in his ear, hoping to rot him from the inside out? You mentioned that one of Lord Wilfried’s scholars gave his name to avoid punishment—have you questioned whether this boy can be trusted?”

“What? A name-sworn can’t defy their lord, can they?”

The life of a name-sworn retainer was quite literally in the hands of whomever they served. Alexis had not even thought to doubt Barthold.

“Those children were forced to give their names; the only alternative was death. They acted out of not loyalty but self-preservation. Lady Veronica forced many to give their names to her, but there were some among them who weren’t completely faithful to her. They might not be able to disobey orders, but none can say what they are thinking on the inside. Keep that danger in mind and close to heart.”

Once again, Alexis thought about Barthold, who always seemed to be currying favor with his lord. Now that Giebe Kirnberger mentioned it, the name-swearing had made Wilfried especially trusting of the scholar; Barthold had been given many more important roles than a new retainer would normally deserve.

“Focus on Lord Wilfried’s work environment,” Giebe Kirnberger said. “If paperwork meant only to support the aub is too much for him, then he surely won’t be able to function when the day comes that he is the aub proper. Unless... Could someone be tampering with his work? Ensure that no Leisegang nobles are causing trouble behind the scenes.”

It generally fell to scholars to help their lord or lady with paperwork, but the giebe maintained that knights were meant to have eyes everywhere. Alexis reflected on his own naivety. Standing in the room and searching for signs of a potential attack weren’t enough; he needed to keep an eye on the paperwork itself.

“That said,” Giebe Kirnberger continued, “you must also reflect on your own words and deeds, to ensure that you aren’t provoking the Leisegangs. Have you ever given them the impression that you’ve forgotten the cruelties Lady Veronica inflicted upon their faction?”

Alexis considered that to be very likely. He didn’t know much about them to begin with, but he also hadn’t made an effort to learn.

“Open your eyes and observe all that your lord does,” the giebe said, his tone chastising. “Open your ears to the voices of all who speak to him. Pay close attention to Lord Wilfried, whom you must protect as his knight. If you see him stray from his path, drag him back onto it. That is your job as a retainer. I do not want you to return here a coward who would rather run away from the unpleasant than face it head-on.”

Again, Alexis swallowed hard. “But what if my absolute best still isn’t enough?”

“That’s simple: gather enough evidence to prove that your lord is a failed archduke candidate, then petition the aub to disinherit him and relieve his retainers of duty. If you return under those circumstances, I will welcome you with open arms. Take responsibility for your work.”

It would be easy for Alexis to resign, whereas proving that Wilfried was an incompetent lord would be anything but. He would need to observe him carefully and investigate his surroundings closely.

After speaking with his father, Alexis had realized that he hadn’t been trying hard enough as a retainer. People would surely label him a failure of a guard knight before they even considered branding Wilfried a failed archduke candidate.

“I apologize for my shameful remarks,” Alexis said to the giebe. “From this day forth, I will put my absolute all into serving Lord Wilfried.” In truth, he was frustrated to have been scolded and accused of working in half measures, but he now saw a future he could advance toward.

Alexis had arrived at Kirnberger feeling suffocated, but now he knew what needed to be done. First, he would carefully investigate Wilfried’s surroundings. Then, he would work with Lamprecht to figure out what had caused their lord to change so drastically. His lips curled into a competitive smile; he now had something that he needed to do.