Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.5 - Chapter 9

Deeper into the Underground Archive

“I will need to inform Father that you have visited the shrines, and speak with him about what comes next,” Anastasius said. After bringing me back to the underground archive, he and Eglantine were going to have lunch and then attend an afternoon meeting.

“Prince Anastasius... were your actions here today done in secret, by chance?”

“I would not say that, but I am aware that I may have gotten a bit ahead of myself.”

Really? Just a bit?

Anastasius was trying to be expressionless, as was so common among nobles, but I could see the worry in his eyes. At the very least, he was much easier to read than Ferdinand.

Hm... He and Eglantine were really obstinate today. Could it be that something happened in the royal family?

I sighed at my own optimism—even now, I was trying to find a reason to trust them—and descended the stairs to the underground archive. Schwartz and Weiss were standing on either side of the transparent wall, beyond which Hildebrand and Magdalena were already at work. Hannelore must have been resting, because she was nowhere to be seen.

Our retainers were preparing lunch, but they stopped to welcome us when we arrived.

“We will be returning to the villa after speaking to Lady Magdalena,” Anastasius announced to his own retainers after reaching the bottom of the stairs. “There is much we will need to discuss with Father and my brother. Contact them at once.”

Anastasius’s and Eglantine’s retainers sent out ordonnanzes, started to pack some things, and told Magdalena’s retainers to summon their lady. I passed through them and headed to the rest area, where I found Hannelore. She set down her teacup and gave me a warm, healing smile.

“Welcome back, Lady Rozemyne. Have you finished cleaning all the shrines?”

“Indeed. I cleaned the last one just a moment ago.”

Weiss then hopped over, to my surprise; he seldom left his post by the transparent wall while we were visiting the archive.

“Weiss, what is the matter?” Hannelore asked, blinking her red eyes. “You moved so suddenly that I thought something had happened.”

The shumil offered no response. Instead, it came straight over to me, took my right hand, and said, “Follow me, milady.”

“Hm? Weiss?”

Before I could ask where, I realized that there was only one place the shumils would take me after I finished praying at all the shrines—the next location on the journey to obtain the Book of Mestionora. I swallowed hard, then saw Schwartz pushing Hildebrand out of the archive.

“Schwartz started telling me to leave all of a sudden,” Hildebrand griped. “What in the world is— Rozemyne?”

Everyone stared at the shumils for their strange behavior—and at me for being involved with it.

I guess I should keep going...

I turned to Anastasius, who gave me an affirming nod with a stiff expression. His gesture meant the royal family’s permission, so I went into the archive with Weiss. Schwartz took my left hand as soon as I entered.

“Transcribe, milady.”

I didn’t even need to ask what; the Book of Mestionora was no doubt awaiting me. Schwartz and Weiss guided me to one of the room’s white walls, and touched a recess in its surface. My mana was sucked into it; a magic circle sprang to life, like when we had unlocked the archive; and an opening appeared.

Well, looks like this is a path.

I turned to gauge the others’ reactions, only to realize that the transparent wall separating us had turned opaque. From within the archive, I couldn’t see any of them.

“Milady. This way.”

Together, Schwartz and Weiss pulled my arms and guided me through the newly formed, pure-white entrance. My heart was racing. Just knowing that the Book of Mestionora was ahead made my legs tremble in anticipation and my excitement swell.

I wonder what the book is like...

We soon arrived at a door marked with a complex, luminous magic circle. It was clearly locked tight, which made me even more tense.

“Here, milady.”

At the shumils’ behest, I reached out and touched the magic circle. My hand was instantly knocked back, and a spark of what felt like electricity shot through me. It was just like what happened whenever someone touched Schwartz or Weiss without permission.

“Eep!” I cried, withdrawing my hand in surprise.

Schwartz and Weiss looked up at me.

“Not registered, milady.”

“Cannot enter.”

Before I could even process what had just happened, the two shumils rejected my entry. “Registered with what?” I asked in a daze.

“The royal family.”

Their simple response made the blood drain from my face. The archive containing the Grutrissheit could only be entered by those with royal blood—Ferdinand had told me that already. He had said that my commoner origins would prevent me from ever becoming queen, but after being allowed into the shrines and easily obtaining the slates of each element, some part of me had remained stubbornly optimistic. In hindsight, it was obvious that an archive containing something so important would vet entrants with a magic-enforced blood checker.

What should I do...?

I needed to obtain the Grutrissheit this year; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to save Ferdinand. It had been the best option available to me, and the path ahead suddenly seemed much bleaker.

It would take me three years to be registered as a royal...

To prevent skilled archduke candidates from being taken by force, archduke candidates were forbidden from moving to the Sovereignty outside of marriage. In other words, I would only be able to enter the royal family by marrying Sigiswald—and our Starbind Ceremony would need to wait until after I came of age. That was three years away at the absolute least, which was completely useless; Ferdinand was getting married next year.

“Open...” I mumbled, then slapped the door. My hand was blasted away again, this time with even greater force. I gazed from my hand to the magic circle—the sparks had made my fingers go numb—then struck the entrance again.

“Open.”

Again, I was repelled, and with even more force. My hand throbbed, and a storm of emotions swirled in my chest: frustration that the Grutrissheit was just out of reach, despair that I wasn’t able to save Ferdinand, outrage that the royal-only magic circle kept rejecting me... They all made me sick.

“LET ME IN!”

Letting my emotions run wild, I squeezed my numb hand into a fist and banged on the entrance as hard as I could. Sparks flew as my destructive mana clashed with the mana protecting the door. There came a sudden pop from my wrist, then another. The magic circle’s counterattacks were destroying my charms from Ferdinand, one by one, which snapped me out of my rage. In a panic, I pulled my hand away.

“Milady is dangerous.”

“Must be eliminated.”

After my little outburst, Schwartz and Weiss must have identified me as a threat; the feystones on their foreheads lit up as they prepared to attack me.

I couldn’t let any more of the charms given to me be destroyed, so I muttered, “I’m going...” and started to head back, my shoulders slumped. Schwartz and Weiss followed after me, still on guard and ready to attack.

Even upon reentering the archive, the entrance remained opaque. I collapsed upon it and looked down at my hand, which was stinging and tingling. The part of my fist that had struck the circle was covered in red and black splotches, as though it had gotten seriously burned. Not even Ferdinand’s charms had protected me fully.

“It hurts...” I murmured.

As I continued to stare down at my wounds, Schwartz and Weiss closed the path we had opened, then hopped over and stood in front of the archive door. Weiss then passed through, at which point the entrance became transparent again. I could see everyone waiting with bated breath.

“Rozemyne!” Hildebrand exclaimed, but Anastasius stopped him from running over to me. He told everyone else to stand back, then entered alone.

“Rozemyne, did you...?”

“I wasn’t able to. The farthest door can only be opened by those registered as royalty.”

“I see...” Anastasius muttered, sounding regretful. He then caught sight of my hand and froze. “What happened to you?”

“The magic circle rejected me. Violently.”

“I never thought this would happen... Leave the archive and be healed at once.”

I grabbed his hand and shook my head. “What’s going to happen to Ferdinand? A year won’t be enough time for me to obtain the Grutrissheit. What should I do...?”

“Rozemyne, calm down. Your mana...”

His instruction was pointless; it was never that simple. I shot Anastasius a hard glare and said, “You intend to punish Ferdinand alongside Lady Detlinde, do you not? Would you be able to ‘calm down’ if someone told you they were going to execute Lady Eglantine or your family entirely because of Lady Detlinde’s actions?!”

Anastasius gritted his teeth with a pained expression, then blinked in confusion. “How is that an appropriate comparison? You aren’t married or engaged to Ferdinand, nor is he a member of your family.”

“He was my guardian since before I was baptized, as well as my mentor and my doctor; he’s equivalent to family. He counts among those I need to protect more than anyone or anything else, so why wouldn’t I worry about him? How dare you threaten to execute him for the crimes of a woman he never wanted to marry to begin with—especially when he’s been downing one potion after another to keep Ahrensbach afloat. Who wouldn’t be furious when someone they care about is being treated so abhorrently?!”

The moment I got emotional, the charms covering my body began to light up. They each filled with mana and started to shine.

Oh no. At this rate, I’m going to Crush a prince...

That realization immediately cooled my head. I took deep breaths, and compressed the mana that was swelling inside of me. The process was much easier than I was used to, and the charms dimmed before any of my mana could leak out—my schtappe really had evolved.

Anastasius knit his brow. “‘Equivalent to family,’ hm...? I had hoped to light a fire under you—to increase your motivation to obtain the Grutrissheit—but it would appear that I crossed some lines.” He sighed, then plaintively began to cast healing magic on me. “It is customary for married couples to be punished together, but Detlinde will only be punished after the situation in Ahrensbach has stabilized—in other words, when the royal family obtains the Grutrissheit, or when Hildebrand and Letizia come of age and marry. We will overlook you helping Ferdinand maneuver to a position where he can protect himself. Such an aspiration is still possible to achieve.”

I merely cocked my head at the prince, unsure what to say. It seemed that Ferdinand wasn’t in immediate danger after all.

Anastasius gave a self-deprecating smile. “I truly must have lost myself to urgency... I acted too carelessly and completely forgot that you often do not share the common sense of most nobles. Although I spoke in a fairly provocative way to motivate you, what I said just now is so glaringly obvious that I am sure Ferdinand understands it already.”

Ferdinand understands that he’s going to be punished by association...?

I suddenly remembered our meeting with Eglantine after Detlinde’s dedication whirl; Ferdinand had used a recording to prove that he had tried to stop his stubborn fiancée. Still, I was against him needing to prove his innocence simply because he was engaged to a troublemaker.

“Ferdinand will most likely have Ahrensbach under his thumb within the next half year,” Anastasius continued. “Rather than fret about him, you would do well to worry about yourself.”

“About myself...?” I repeated. Was there anything I needed to be concerned about other than Ferdinand and Ehrenfest?

“I retract my earlier statement that my elder brother will take you as his third wife; if only a member of the royal family can obtain the Grutrissheit, then the danger you’re in is vastly diminished.” He gave a weary sigh, then peered down at me with a look of partial concern and added, “As is your potential value to us.”

“Um, what? The danger I’m in? Potential value?”

“We have already spoken to Aub Ehrenfest regarding these matters. Has he told you nothing?”

“Nothing at all.”

“Then ask him for the details,” Anastasius said, shaking his head in disbelief. It seemed that Sylvester and I were experiencing a bit of a communication failure. “If you had managed to obtain the Grutrissheit, whether for yourself or to give to my brother, we would have needed to secure you by any means necessary. But if you aren’t qualified to be a Zent candidate after all, we will need to rethink matters.”

He then escorted me out of the archive, and delivered me to my retainers. “I apologize that we made you clean all the shrines today. And, as a warning... you would do well to keep a few more guards around you.”

On that note, Anastasius went off to have lunch, with Eglantine accompanying him. As soon as they were gone, my retainers surrounded me.

“Lady Rozemyne, what in the world happened...?”

“Umm... How did it look to all of you?” I asked.

As it turned out, the barrier had turned white and opaque as soon as Weiss and I went into the archive. My retainers hadn’t been able to pass through, nor had the royals who had managed to enter before.

“Tell us—what did you do behind the white wall, Lady Rozemyne?” Hannelore asked me. I could tell that my retainers wanted to ask the same question.

Unsure how to respond, I turned to Magdalena. Her lips curled, and she discreetly shook her head, indicating that this was too important for me to discuss.

I smiled and said, “Nothing at all. I was unqualified.”

“In what way?” Hildebrand asked, curious. “And what did you need qualifications for in the first place?”

Eglantine had said that she didn’t want unnecessary conflict with the top-ranking duchies, so I refused to answer, and instead suggested that he ask Anastasius. I didn’t want to say anything unnecessary that might make me even more involved with the royals, so I would let them decide how to respond to Hildebrand.

This morning alone had served as an agonizing demonstration of why Sylvester and Ferdinand desperately wanted me to avoid getting involved with the royal family and top-ranking duchies: no matter how well we seemed to mesh, we were friends in name alone. They had so much more power than I did, meaning I would need to accept any unreasonable “requests” they made of me, and our priorities would seldom align. My only options to avoid their demands were to get powerful enough to refuse them, or do my best to stay out of their sight.

“The events of this morning have left me famished,” I said to Ottilie, and turned away from Hildebrand. “Let us have lunch.”

“As you will, Lady Rozemyne,” she replied. “Fourth bell just chimed, so it makes sense that you are hungry. Cornelius, prepare a seat for her.”

Cornelius had been peering down at me, his brow furrowed in concern, but he wasted no time carrying out his duty. He offered me his hand, which I took, and together we went over to my seat.

“Wait a moment, Rozemyne,” Hildebrand said. “I—”

“Dear, do not trouble Lady Rozemyne with any more questions,” Magdalena interjected.

At that, everyone returned to their preparations—though I could tell they were still worried about me. The attendants poured tea, while the guards arranged themselves around their charge’s seat. Hildebrand went off with Magdalena, though he kept shooting me troubled glances.

After an awkward lunch spent mostly in silence—nobody had wanted to say anything—I dedicated my afternoon to translating. As I worked on a particular slate, I suddenly recalled my time with Dunkelfelger’s history book.

How was it that a king once came from Dunkelfelger?

If one needed to be registered as a royal to obtain the Grutrissheit, then how had such a thing been possible? The book was a very ancient record, so it hadn’t offered an explanation, but it implied the existence of some other way to become king. Or perhaps someone from a subsequent generation had put that blood-checking magic circle in place to prevent kings arising from duchies other than their own...

I can’t believe they denied me my best method.

Anastasius had said that it would be a very long time before Detlinde was punished and that Ferdinand was no doubt enacting a plan to save himself, but I didn’t know whether he was telling the truth. I wanted to contact Ferdinand about the danger and make sure he was safe at the very least, but I had firmly been told not to worry about him.

“Um, Lady Rozemyne...” Hannelore glanced around very hesitantly and then continued in a quiet voice, “Your sleeve...”

I glanced down and realized that my sleeve was stained with blood; the magic circle’s counterattacks had done more than just scorch me.

“I thank you ever so much for your concern, Lady Hannelore, but Prince Anastasius has already healed my wounds. I am quite fine.”

“Pardon? Prince Anastasius used healing magic on you?”

I nodded, watching her quizzically. Anastasius had entered the archive and then refused to allow anyone else to join us, so who else could have treated me?

Upon seeing my confusion, Hannelore carefully elaborated. “Under normal circumstances, the royal family would never cast healing on another...” They needed to dedicate their mana to Yurgenschmidt, so the very idea was apparently unthinkable. Healing my wounds had been Anastasius’s indirect way of apologizing to me, since his status prevented him from admitting fault or ending up in my debt.

How was I supposed to figure that out? It won’t make much of a difference, anyway—if Ferdinand ends up being punished because of Detlinde, I’ll never forgive Anastasius, no matter how much he apologizes.

“Time to go, Rozemyne,” Sylvester said. The past few days must have made him realize that simply calling my name wasn’t enough, because he yanked the slate away from me without a moment’s hesitation.

I put away my writing tools, handed today’s work to Magdalena, then left the library with Sylvester.

“Am I in danger?” I asked as we made our way back to the dormitory. “Prince Anastasius said there are things you haven’t told me.”

“We’ll discuss that later,” Sylvester replied with a grimace, then smiled at me and said, “You two must have had quite the conversation for him to have brought that up.”

“We’ll discuss that later.”

We looked at each other, then let out heavy sighs. It seemed that Sylvester had gotten wrapped up in a lot of nasty business too.

“You know, my dear adoptive father... today’s events have made me painfully aware of why everyone wanted me to stay away from the royal family.”

Sylvester regarded me with a thoroughly drained expression. “Hah. Took you this long to understand, did it? Hate to break it to you, but you should have been quicker on the uptake. It’s already too late.”

Wait, what do you mean by that?!