Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.6 - Chapter 16

Interviews with the Aub

The autumn baptism ceremony ended without incident; then I visited the castle several times to give mana for the upcoming entwickeln. I didn’t have any delicious blenrus potions to replenish me, so I spent my days relying on kindness potions instead.

We’d reached the time of year when everyone in the temple was preparing for the Harvest Festival. The apprentice blues were busily requesting carriages, gathering together luggage, selecting which attendants to bring with them, reviewing the ceremonies, and the like. This was going to be their first festival, so they were treating it with extreme care.

For tax purposes, there were going to be scholars accompanying the apprentices for the Harvest Festival. I could only hope that they wouldn’t antagonize the children of the former Veronica faction. Of course, I intended to make it crystal clear that the scholars weren’t to show the slightest hint of prejudice, but once they were out of my sight, there was little I could do.

A meeting was being held to pair the apprentices with adult priests and decide where they would go.

“Now that Philine is an apprentice shrine maiden, will she also be participating?” Melchior asked.

“No,” I replied. “She will receive both my chambers and my attendants when she replaces me as the orphanage director, but for now, we are sharing them. In other words, she would not have any attendants or chefs to take with her. Moreover, unlike the other apprentices, she won’t need to gather funds to survive the winter.”

I was having the underage apprentices take part in the Harvest Festival partially because we lacked manpower, but especially because they lacked the funds they would need for their winter preparations. Had this not been the case, I would have decided against sending minors to perform religious ceremonies.

That said, Melchior was an archduke candidate, so he would have needed to circle the Central District no matter what.

I continued, “To ensure that the temple isn’t left unattended, I am going to have her stay here. I shall entrust things to her in my absence.”

As our conversation continued, an ordonnanz flew into the meeting room. It landed in front of me, then delivered a message in Sylvester’s voice.

“I’ll come in three days’ time to conduct my interviews. Send me a report on the children who wish to be baptized as nobles this winter.”

The apprentice blues stared at the ordonnanz as it repeated itself two more times. Some of them had siblings in the orphanage, so they were probably curious to know how they would be treated as nobles.

“There are two children to be baptized as nobles this winter,” I replied via the bird. “I will get Roderick to deliver a report to you upon his return.”

Dirk and Bertram were the two in question. They hadn’t been the only candidates to be baptized as nobles this winter, but one had returned to their parents, and the other had ended up failing Hartmut’s interview, meaning they hadn’t received magic tools.

Once our meeting about the Harvest Festival was over, I returned to my High Bishop’s chambers. I sent Monika to inform Wilma that we had a date for the interviews and to fetch reports about the two children due to be baptized, then sent an ordonnanz to Laurenz, who was currently training. His younger brother would soon be face-to-face with the archduke; I expected that he would want to give the noble hopeful some brotherly advice.

I was reading Wilma’s reports when Laurenz entered the room. “Lady Rozemyne,” he said, “I received an ordonnanz that the date of the interviews has been decided.”

“That is correct. Please go to the orphanage and speak to Bertram. As a child without parents, he is going to be baptized with the aub as his guardian, which means he will not be publicly recognized as your brother. Still, I hope you will continue to care for him as much as possible.”

By noble standards, Bertram was a child without parents. It was considered entirely reasonable to say that he had stopped being Laurenz’s brother from the moment he entered the orphanage.

“To be baptized as a noble,” I said, “one must have high grades, an unbending readiness to serve Aub Ehrenfest, and zero intentions of enacting revenge or anything of the sort. According to Wilma’s reports, there is nothing wrong with Bertram’s grades or his lifestyle in the orphanage.”

“I see,” Laurenz replied, looking relieved.

“However,” I continued, “I do not know about his attitude. He strives to be obedient in the orphanage, but will he show the same loyalty to Aub Ehrenfest? It seems to me that he might not want to serve, without any reservations, the man who brought about the death of his parents and made him an orphan. However, for him to live normally moving forward... Please have a serious conversation with Bertram to ensure that he understands.”

Laurenz had given his name after his parents’ execution, so I thought it would be good for him to explain how his life had changed, how he felt about the archducal family, and what he was doing to manage his emotions. Bertram had said that he wanted to reenter noble society, but he was likely envisioning a return to the days before the purge. My hope was that Laurenz would bridge the gap between expectations and reality.

“I am grateful for your concern toward the pre-baptism children,” Laurenz said. “It would not have been strange for them to be abandoned at any moment.”

I would have liked to help them more, but my influence only extended so far. Plus, I was always being told not to reach beyond my means.

“Lady Rozemyne,” Philine interjected, “should we not also speak with Dirk?”

“Indeed. He needs a bit more harspiel practice, but otherwise, he is doing fine.”

Dirk had only started taking his harspiel studies seriously after he received a magic tool, but still—Rosina visited the orphanage on occasion, and she had reported that he would pass his debut without issue.

I continued, “Dirk had the courage to speak frankly to Hartmut, and it seemed obvious that he had a goal to work toward. His interview with the aub should go just fine. He also understands that he lives in the orphanage only by the grace of the archducal family—something that the noble children have yet to realize—so I see no reason to doubt his loyalty. I do have one concern, though: he appears to lack the attitude and common sense of a noble. Please do your best to convey this to him. As an archduke candidate, I cannot serve as his example.”

Dirk would need to live as a noble while others assumed he was a child of the former Veronica faction. A laynoble would serve as a better reference point for him than an archduke candidate.

Philine nodded and said that she would do her best.

“Damuel, I would ask you to guide him as well,” I said. “And on that note—Roderick, deliver Wilma’s reports to the aub.”

“At once.”

It was the day of the interviews, and Sylvester had arrived with six retainers: two guard knights, attendants, and scholars each. I went to greet him, but he met me with a grave expression.

“My only concern is whether the orphans can be of any use to me,” he said, “so hold your tongue and respect whatever decisions I make. Saving their lives was generous enough; I don’t intend to carry around any dead weight.”

I understood that here in Yurgenschmidt, my desire to save the orphans out of sympathy was culturally abnormal. It was impressive enough that we had managed to spare them from punishment by association—that much was clear to me after my negotiations to save Ferdinand—so that would need to be good enough for me.

“I appreciate that reintegrating the children of the former Veronica faction is important,” I replied, “to both you and the rest of the archducal family. As you have already saved their lives, I would not speak against whatever you choose to do with them.”

He looked at me for a moment, then relaxed a bit and said, “Alright. That’s all I needed to hear.” It was time to begin the interviews.

As the person in charge of the orphanage, Wilma brought Dirk and Bertram to us, then gave her reports on them. Sylvester had already received them from Roderick, but he nodded along. I could tell from the serious glint in his eye that he was closely scrutinizing the two orphans.

“Hm. I see you have both been working as hard as you can,” he said. “You have excellent grades, for one thing. Dirk, I’m told that you need to practice the harspiel a bit more—but you, Bertram, have nothing to improve upon.”

Sylvester paused, then continued, “Dirk, if you go through with this, everyone in noble society will assume you are the child of criminals from the former Veronica faction. Your new life will be anything but kind to you, and I say that in all seriousness. Do you still wish to become a noble?”

“I do,” Dirk replied with a firm nod, his dark eyes shining. “Just as Lady Rozemyne protected us, I wish to protect the orphanage—but I can’t do that while I’m an orphan. I want to be a noble, no matter how much suffering it might cause me.”

Dirk was stating his end goal as openly as when he’d spoken to Hartmut, while also expressing his gratitude for having been given a magic tool in the first place. His every word was delivered with nothing but sincerity. His parents hadn’t been executed or anything of the like, so he held no malice toward the archduke.

“Even with the rejuvenation potions from Lady Rozemyne,” he went on, “I haven’t managed to store half as much mana as Bertram. But I will manage to fill my tool in time for the Royal Academy.”

Sylvester’s expression softened in response to this straightforward declaration. “Both of you are going to be seen as children of the former Veronica faction. As a result, when you come of age, you will each need to give your name to someone in the archducal family. Dirk, how do you feel about that?”

The children of the former Veronica faction had given their names to avoid being deemed guilty by association, and the apprentice blues and those from the orphanage would inevitably be lumped in with them. Dirk didn’t actually have parents from the former Veronica faction, but as he was leaving the orphanage to become a noble, he would receive the same negative treatment as everyone else.

Upon hearing this explanation, Dirk looked quizzically at Sylvester. “I get to choose who I give my name to? In that case, I wish to serve someone who will protect the orphanage. As an orphan, you never know who might purchase you or take you as an attendant, or how they might treat you. I was told that in the past, it wasn’t rare for gray priests to be killed at the whims of their lord or lady. Compared to those dark days, having the option to choose who I serve is a blessing.”

Dirk’s way of thinking was nothing like that of a regular noble. Sylvester gave a bitter smile, nodded, and said, “I see. You consider it a blessing... Well, I accept you as an Ehrenfest noble.”

“I am honored,” Dirk replied—then quietly muttered, “Yes!” in celebration.

Sylvester turned to Bertram and met him with a steady gaze. “You look as if you have something to say.”

Bertram remained silent, so Sylvester urged him to speak with a somewhat forceful, “Go ahead.”

“Is an orphan like Dirk really becoming a noble?”

“You’re an orphan too, remember. The two of you are in the same position.”

At once, Bertram’s eyes widened in anger. “I am not the same as Dirk. I am the son of Giebe Wiltord, and—”

“The man you knew as Giebe Wiltord is no more; someone else now holds his title. And might I remind you that you now live in the orphanage. That makes you an orphan. Even if you do become a noble, noble society will consider you parentless, as our culture only determines parenthood during one’s baptism. I will serve as your guardian instead—just as I will with Dirk.”

“I know,” Bertram muttered, casting his eyes down and pressing his lips together. It was a response that made me want to sigh. Judging by his attitude, he technically understood but still didn’t want to accept the truth.

“According to the report I received,” Sylvester continued, “you have been working hard as a result of your desire to leave the orphanage and return to your old position in noble society. Is that correct? Well, even if you are baptized as a noble, the days you long for will never return.”

Bertram’s clenched fists began to tremble. A chaotic vortex of emotions was surging through him, but his only option was to force it down.

“Your baptism won’t bring back your parents, and you will continue to live in the temple. As an apprentice blue, might I add—just like your seniors. Knowing that, do you still have the resolve to be baptized as my charge? Will you serve the archducal family as Dirk intends to? I will not treat a disloyal child of criminals as an Ehrenfest noble.”

Sylvester was now staring sternly at Bertram. The young boy squeezed his eyes shut in response.

“Can you serve those who executed your family or not?” Sylvester pressed. “That is what matters most here. The older children recognize the severity of punishment by association, so their gratitude is sincere, and they are able to serve their lord or lady even while being exposed to malice and mockery in the castle and the Royal Academy. But you know only that you lost your family overnight and ended up in the orphanage. How can you be expected to feel grateful to Rozemyne?”

Bertram was silent for a while, then said, “I am grateful. My brother told me that our parents committed a crime. That they were at fault. That it’s a miracle we’re even alive. I don’t understand it, but I believe him. The only thing that prevented our execution was the compassion of the archducal family.”

“I see. So your elder brother spoke with you, hm?”

“Yes. He gave his name to Lady Rozemyne... but I wish to give mine to Lord Melchior.” This was apparently because Melchior often visited the temple, helped Bertram with his studies, and played cards and karuta with him and the apprentice blues.

“That is enough,” Sylvester said. “If you have considered the name-swearing carefully and made your resolve, that will do. I shall act as your guardian.”

In an instant, the tension drained from Bertram’s shoulders.

And with that, two noble baptisms had been confirmed. The conversation soon shifted to what the orphans would wear and whom they would bring with them to the winter baptism ceremony. After some consideration, it was decided that they would wear hand-me-downs and that I would get my retainers to accompany them. I was the High Bishop, after all.

Once that portion of our discussion was over, Dirk and Bertram took their leave, while Sylvester and I started going over the entwickeln in Groschel.

“The plan is to perform it after Florencia gives birth,” Sylvester explained.

“Soon after?”

“Yeah. She said that she’ll drink rejuvenation potions to get back on her feet and participate. Won’t let anyone convince her otherwise.” He personally didn’t want her to take part, but as the first wife of Ehrenfest, she refused to budge.

“That sounds worrying. Still, is everything ready for the entwickeln?”

“The merchants have sent us plans for the stores they want, while the scholars and Giebe Groschel have the plans for the city. We also have a decent supply of mana thanks to your compression method and my new divine protections. To be honest, you’ve done more to help than I can say.”

“That’s good to hear.”

As it turned out, Sylvester’s new divine protections had made storing mana much easier than initially expected. I was working hard to compress my own mana, so everything would probably be fine.

“Speaking of which,” I said, “how are we going to do the large-scale waschen? We won’t have Ferdinand this time, nor will I be able to travel to Groschel immediately after the entwickeln.”

Simply replacing the buildings with an entwickeln wouldn’t be enough; we would need to clean the entire city as well. The commoners would never be able to get rid of all the built-up filth while also preparing to accept merchants from other duchies, so a large-scale waschen was crucial.

“About that... Could you lend me Clarissa?” Sylvester asked.

“Clarissa?” I repeated, my lips pursed. She was Hartmut’s betrothed, and officially still a citizen of Dunkelfelger. There was nothing wrong with her doing work for me, since she had given me her name, but I wasn’t sure about getting her involved with duchy business.

“I know this isn’t proper, but I heard from Brunhilde that she has an extremely effective magic circle for area-affecting spells. As I understand it, you used it during a large-scale waschen at the Royal Academy. If we can get her support, then Brunhilde, Giebe Groschel, and the province’s nobles should be able to manage the rest. Could you order her to travel to Groschel on the day of the entwickeln?”

We archducal family members were going to be holed up in the Mana Replenishment hall, meaning someone else would need to perform the waschen. Brunhilde didn’t have anywhere near as much mana as Ferdinand and me, so her solution was to get more help and make the most of supportive magic circles.

“I wanted Brunhilde to ask you as one of your retainers,” Sylvester explained, “but she refused, saying I should instead ask you as the aub.”

“Well, I do believe she is right. This duchy business is being held under our instruction, after all. I would not mind asking Clarissa to help you, but I have one condition: send all of the archducal family’s archnoble retainers to Groschel.”

“All of them?”

“Yes. I will not tolerate this work being thrust entirely upon one of my retainers. By mobilizing them all, Groschel will receive the assistance of not just one person who still technically belongs to another duchy but each member of the archducal family’s retinue. This is a duchy business being led by the aub—plus, both the entwickeln and the large-scale waschen will benefit from having more participants. I assume the province’s nobles wouldn’t suffice on their own, and proactively assisting Groschel should make it easier for the archducal family to win over the Leisegang nobles.”

Sylvester paused, then nodded and said, “Alright. I’ll send word for the archducal family’s archnoble retainers to travel to Groschel.”

So I sent an ordonnanz to Clarissa, instructing her to speak with Brunhilde about performing a large-scale waschen. Brunhilde sent me an ordonnanz of gratitude not long after.

“I am honored, Lady Rozemyne. Clarissa has sent word that she is going to participate. I did not expect the archducal family’s retainers to lend their aid as well, so it would seem that cleaning the city will go much more smoothly than anticipated.” Her voice was so exceptionally bright that I could tell she would go all out for the entwickeln.

“I will not hesitate to provide the support necessary for its success,” I replied, then sent the bird off again.

A moment later, another ordonnanz appeared. I’d assumed it was from Brunhilde, but this one flew over to Sylvester.

“This is Leberecht. Aub Ehrenfest, it would seem that Lady Florencia has received a visit from Entrinduge.”

Entrinduge was the Goddess of Childbirth, which could only mean one thing: Florencia had gone into labor.

Sylvester stood up with a clatter. “Contact Melchior. I’m going back to the castle immediately.”

His retainers sprang into action.

“I will—”

“You aren’t her child by blood,” Sylvester said, cutting me off at once, “so you won’t be able to enter the main building’s archducal living area even if you do return to the castle. At most, I’d ask you to pray to Entrinduge.”

Apparently, it was possible to give mana to someone while they were giving birth, but it would be aggressively rejected unless it came from direct family members such as their husband or children. I wouldn’t be able to help at all.

After seeing Sylvester and Melchior rush off, I returned to my High Bishop’s chambers, approached the small shrine in my room, and prayed to Entrinduge the Goddess of Childbirth.

Days later, Melchior returned to the temple. The baby was a girl.

And another week after that, I was summoned to the castle. It was time for the entwickeln. As agreed, the archducal family was to send their archnoble retainers to Groschel. For me, that meant Clarissa, Hartmut, Cornelius, Leonore, and Ottilie would participate in the waschen.

And so Groschel was reborn into a city of pure white, entirely free of dirt and grime.