Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.6 - Chapter 17

The Harvest Festival and the Gutenbergs’ Choices

The entwickeln had ended without incident. I’d spent the entire time holed up in the castle’s Mana Replenishment hall, offering my mana, so my retainers were giving me a thorough report of what I’d missed.

“We all performed the waschen together,” Cornelius began, “and Groschel turned beautiful in the blink of an eye. It was a sight to behold. A torrent of rain poured from countless magic circles in the sky.”

Leonore continued, “Giebe Groschel ordered the soldiers and the merchants bringing luggage for their second stores to ensure that the city remains clean. Brunhilde also informed us that the first caravan of goods from the carpentry workshops has departed from Ehrenfest.”

“The giebe was delighted that so many archnobles serving the archducal family had gathered to provide their assistance,” Ottilie reported. “It seemed to me that he looked favorably on the aub for giving such orders.”

“I went into Groschel,” Hartmut said. “The visiting merchants who had paused there after completing their business expressed surprise at its dramatic change and excitement at the thought of doing business there next year. I am sure that after they return home and give their reports, Groschel will become a topic of great interest at the Royal Academy.”

Hartmut and Clarissa had apparently circled the city after cleaning it. They had found it amusing to see the stores without any doors or windows.

“Clarissa, I thank you ever so much,” I said. “Supportive magic circles are so tremendously helpful when attempting to clean an entire city. It was improper of me to request your assistance while you are still a citizen of Dunkelfelger, but it really was invaluable.”

“I am glad to have been of service, my lady. It was nice to be treated as one of your retainers.”

We couldn’t marry Clarissa into Ehrenfest just yet, since her husband-to-be, Hartmut, was still acting as the High Priest. For that reason, I normally didn’t give her jobs that were deeply involved with the duchy. She assisted me, but she never accompanied me to the temple, for example. The situation had evidently made her worry that she wasn’t being of any use to me now that the Archduke Conference was over.

“Your assistance in brewing our fey paper has been more than enough, in my opinion...” I said. Still, it hadn’t done much to make other people recognize Clarissa as my retainer. It was good to know that this excursion had been meaningful to her on a personal level.

The visiting merchants returned to their duchies as the Harvest Festival grew near. This year, Charlotte was heading to the provinces of the giebes she had visited for Spring Prayer, while Wilfried, Melchior, and I were divvying up the Central District. The blue priests would take care of the rest of the giebes.

“Hartmut,” I said, “I will entrust the Leisegang giebes whom Wilfried visited last spring to you.”

“Of course. Anything to ensure you do not spread yourself too thin, Lady Rozemyne. I understand that as well as helping with the Central District, you are overseeing the monastery’s handover and visiting the giebes near Kirnberger.”

I needed to transfer the protective magic in Hasse’s monastery and my hidden room to Melchior, then retrieve the Gutenbergs from Kirnberger.

As always, Damuel and Angelica were going to guard me during the Harvest Festival. That left only my temple attendants and other personnel. I watched them prepare out of the corner of my eye—their deliberate movements spoke to plenty of experience—while distributing work to my retainers who were staying behind. Some were going to rest so that they could take Damuel and Angelica’s place when we returned, while others such as Philine planned to look after the temple in our absence. As for the underage retainers, I’d advised them to study for the Royal Academy. There was no better opportunity than when their lord or lady was absent.

I made my usual arrangements regarding carriages and guards, instructed the children of the orphanage to work on winter preparations, and purchased more fireproof paper made in the workshop through the Plantin Company before having it moved into my library. I also started visiting my library’s workshop on a regular basis, dedicating as much time as I could to making the paper Ferdinand wanted.

Ideally, I’d like to bring it with me to the Royal Academy. That way, if Ferdinand stays in Ehrenfest’s tea party room again, I can give it to him in person.

The day of departure was finally upon us. First to leave were the blue priests going to the giebes’ provinces, and the apprentices accompanying them. The adult priests looked very uneasy as they made their last few preparations; never before had apprentices this young been made to participate.

“Kampfer, Frietack,” I said, “please look after the young apprentices. It won’t be easy by any means, but I trust you to keep everything under control. And apprentices, while you might think of yourselves as superior, since you were baptized as nobles, status means nothing among blue priests of the temple. You would do well to listen to your more experienced elders.”

I was taking extra care to emphasize that we had no patience for ignorance, and that they weren’t to cause any trouble. The last thing we needed was the apprentices trying to flaunt their noble authority when there was nobody around to stop them.

I continued, “The scholars assigned to tax duties have been told not to act harshly toward you, but as it stands, most of them are Leisegang nobles; they might provoke you or speak maliciously about the former Veronica faction. In either case, control your emotions, and report whatever was said to Melchior and me.”

Florencia had already managed to manipulate the Leisegang elders. And after our last conversation, I suspected they had realized that I wouldn’t support them simply because we were related. I didn’t expect the priests to be treated too poorly if they stressed that they had the archducal family’s support.

The apprentices responded with tense nods. Then they climbed into their carriages, which slowly departed after the ones containing their luggage.

After I’d said my farewells, it was Hartmut and Charlotte’s turn to say theirs. They were going to travel via their highbeasts, so their luggage and attendants were setting off ahead of them. Charlotte took the opportunity to speak with me about our newborn sister, then saw off the grays and her carriages. Though she had come to the temple, she wouldn’t be leaving with her retainers until tomorrow.

Last to leave were the archduke candidates due to circle the Central District. Wilfried went first, followed shortly after by Melchior’s luggage. Melchior himself was going to travel atop his guard knight’s highbeast.

I exchanged a few words with the replacement gray priests being sent to Hasse, then greeted the soldiers who would accompany them on their journey. Dad was naturally among them, and the cord around his neck told me that he was wearing his crested feystone.

“We will be in your care once again,” I said.

“You may count on us.”

Even that brief exchange was enough for me.

After seeing off the carriages departing for Hasse, I produced my Pandabus and got my attendants to begin filling it with luggage.

“Your highbeast is so convenient, Sister,” Melchior said. “I want to have one of my own.”

“According to Charlotte, one needs quite a lot of mana to change the size of one’s highbeast. You will need to work hard to compress your mana after you join the Royal Academy.”

He pursed his lips, clearly displeased. “Father said that your move to the Sovereignty means I won’t get to learn your mana compression method.”

“I... suppose that’s true. We haven’t been able to meet the necessary requirements since Ferdinand moved, so we couldn’t teach it this year. And now that I’m leaving as well, we should probably put that contract to rest.”

Mana compression was supposed to be personal; nobles would work hard to come up with their own methods and then stick to those. Matthias had informed me that Georgine was using a multistep compression method of her own, for example. In any case, once I was a royal, I intended to publicize knowledge of the underground archive. Students who wished to experiment with mana compression would simply need to go there.

“Pay close attention to the methods that other people use, then decide what will work best for you,” I said. “Oh, and study the ancient language. That is the most advice I can give you.”

“I’m already studying so that I can read the bible,” Melchior replied. Then he sighed and slumped his shoulders. “It looks like I’ve still got a long way to go, though.”

I climbed into Lessy and traveled to Hasse, surrounded by Melchior’s retainers, then opened the monastery’s hidden room. I got Monika to start cleaning up inside and my chefs to begin their work. Then, after giving a few more instructions and exchanging some preparatory words with Melchior, I went to Hasse’s winter mansion with Fran and my guard knights.

“Richt, there is going to be a new High Bishop next year,” I said. “I have brought him here today to introduce you.”

From there, we performed the ceremony and watched a heated game of warf. The next morning saw me going over the taxes with the scholars before heading to the monastery with Melchior. It was time to begin the handover.

“Melchior, this is the monastery’s protective feystone,” I said. “You will need to supply it with mana twice a year, during Spring Prayer and the Harvest Festival. For now, pour mana into it until it changes color. In the future, if you are worried that you might not have enough to provide, then you can prepare feystones to use. It might be a good idea to have Wilfried and Charlotte assist you with that.”

“To think you did it all on your own...” Melchior muttered. He sounded upset, but it was unreasonable to compare us; I’d spent every single day as a child desperately compressing my mana. My life depended on it. Plus, such intense compression from a young age stunted one’s growth.

“Melchior, nobody expects you to suddenly do everything on your own.”

Once he had registered his mana to the protective feystone, I turned my attention to the attendants and the monastery’s gray priests, who were carrying every single piece of furniture out of my hidden room. “Melchior, what furniture are you going to use? I plan to leave most of mine, so you might as well take it. Otherwise, you will need to spend money on a room you will visit only twice a year. You are better off using those funds elsewhere.”

Melchior seemed a little surprised—members of the archducal family seldom received hand-me-downs—but the attendant in charge of his finances looked thoroughly relieved. A portion of the soon-to-be High Priest’s budget was already dedicated to the temple, but I doubted they had put aside any money for the monastery. Having to prepare and then furnish yet another room would have come as a very unwelcome surprise.

“He will need new bedding,” the attendant said, “but we would appreciate the tables and other wooden furniture. As you know, Lady Rozemyne, we do not have time to order them anew during this busy handover.”

Melchior nodded, and agreed to use my old furniture.

“Thore, Rick, please move anything that Melchior will not be using into a carriage. We shall take it back to Ehrenfest’s temple.”

“Understood.”

Once the hidden room was completely empty, I undid my registration. Melchior then took ownership instead, and the furniture was moved right back inside.

“Transferring rooms as a noble looks so tedious...” muttered one of the soldiers watching through the wide-open chapel door. Commoners simply needed to hand over a key and that was that, so they found this drawn-out process to be very amusing.

“Mana registration is very secure and provides an impressive amount of protection, but it certainly is a pain to switch rooms.”

“If you’re giving up this room, then you really are moving away. Gunther is leaving with his family, and his departure surprised me too...”

It seemed that Dad was doing his own handover at the gate.

“Oh my...” I said, then shot him a firm glare. “My departure is still a secret. Please keep it that way.”

I checked on the luggage, which was still being loaded, then went over to Marthe and Nora. They were looking after the monastery now, so I wanted to reassure them that its needs would continue to be met.

“There is no need to look so worried, Marthe. The exchanges between Hasse and the temple will endure even after I leave, and the monastery will remain.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Furthermore, the soldiers who provide their assistance will continue to be rewarded. Please work closely with them.”

“Understood!”

I had advised Melchior to keep hiring the soldiers; they were a great source of valuable information, which he could sell to Sylvester to augment his funds. My merchantlike wisdom had taken his retainers by surprise at first, but they had quickly come around to the idea when I compared it to selling information obtained at the Royal Academy. Judging by the serious looks on their faces, they were going to wring as much money out of the archduke as they could.

Once the handover was complete, Melchior headed south, while I went east. I completed my section of the Central District’s Harvest Festival, then visited the summer estates of Giebes Huber, Blon, Glaz, and Hirsch before making my way to Kirnberger. There, I went through the usual routine: I greeted the giebe, performed the ceremony for him, and took care of the taxes the next morning. Once we had finished our checks, it was time to retrieve the Gutenbergs and depart.

“You have all worked so hard and for such a long time,” I said. “Many of you were participating for the very first time, correct? How was Kirnberger?”

According to Lutz and Gil, Judithe had gone to exceptional lengths to ensure that everyone was taken care of. Those who hadn’t been on a business trip before had struggled to adapt to the new culture and ended up homesick, but those with more experience had found themselves in an extremely comfortable and enjoyable work environment.

It might be wise to ask Judithe and the others from Kirnberger for advice on looking after the Gutenbergs in the Sovereignty.

I got everyone into my Pandabus, then flew back to Ehrenfest’s temple while listening to them discuss their time in Kirnberger. Then, upon our return, I gave them all wooden invitations that Zahm had prepared, to be delivered to their respective workshops.

“I have an important announcement to make,” I said, explaining the contents of the boards for those who couldn’t read them, “so I am inviting the foremen, the Gutenbergs, and their disciples to the temple for a meeting. Please return five days from now, at third bell.”

The very act of receiving an invitation from a noble had caused the disciples to start trembling in fear. Meanwhile, Lutz and Johann were giving me looks that seemed to say, “What is it this time?”

“Um, Lady Rozemyne...” Horace of the Ink Guild shyly began. “Are you expecting Heidi to participate?”

I recalled that she and Fran didn’t mesh very well, and that Josef always struggled to keep her under control, then smiled. “As she and her husband are both Gutenbergs, only one of them will need to attend. Please inform Heidi that if she stays home, I will give Josef some ingredients she can use for ink research as a souvenir.”

I went on to list several Ahrensbach ingredients that would absolutely keep Heidi away from the meeting. At once, Horace’s eyes started to sparkle.

“Thank you, Lady Rozemyne! You truly are a saint!”

Wait, what? Is getting Heidi to stay home really that impressive?

It was the day of our meeting—the same day that the blue priests had come back from the Harvest Festival. Since I was hosting the lower city’s craftspeople, I’d decided to gather everyone in the orphanage director’s chambers, where I assumed they would feel most comfortable. Nicola was off preparing tea and sweets, and there were more chairs in the entrance hall than usual to accommodate our abundance of guests.

As the most experienced of our visitors, Benno, Mark, and Lutz entered first. The rest of the Gutenbergs and their disciples came in behind them, looking noticeably tense. I knew how tough it was to be a commoner entering the world of nobles, so I overlooked the errors in their greetings and the ungainly ways in which they walked.

Before I dropped my bombshell, I noted that I wouldn’t mind a bit of crude language from those who were inexperienced with meeting nobles, and that I certainly wouldn’t punish them for it. That was partially to put them more at ease, but mainly so that my retainers knew where I stood. I didn’t want them to glare at the commoners or continuously interrupt them during our meeting.

“Now, on to the reason I asked you here. There is something we must discuss, but it cannot be made public under any circumstances. Please keep everything I tell you to yourselves until the end of next spring.”

At last, I announced that I was going to leave Ehrenfest next year. I also told everyone that I was planning to start printing in my new home upon coming of age, and that I would require their services to make it happen.

“Gutenbergs, I would be grateful if you or your disciples could come with me. An ordinary noble would give you no choice in the matter, but I shall do my best to respect your wishes. Those of you who are engaged or have other ties to Ehrenfest will not need to move—but if you do stay behind, I will require you to go on long-term business trips to pass on your skills.”

The foremen were all clearly relieved to hear that I wouldn’t force anyone to move with me; they had probably been worried that the successors they had carefully trained and educated over the years would suddenly be stolen away from them. Benno was casually drinking tea, since this news was no surprise to him, but the same couldn’t be said for Lutz; his jade-green eyes were as wide as saucers.

“Is your move set in stone?” he asked.

“Yes, I think so. It seems unlikely to be changed.”

“And will we truly have three years to prepare?”

That’s the same question Benno asked me! Stop looking at me so suspiciously!

I continued, “Because of their involvement in making my clothes, the Gilberta Company and my Renaissance will need to leave with me at the end of spring. Benno has said that the Plantin Company will move at the same time to prepare workshops, a store, and a new Printing Guild.”

Benno nodded. “I will go first to lay the groundwork for the Gutenbergs. Mark shall accompany me. I intend to have Lutz come as well, but he is still underage, so we will need his parents’ permission before we can say anything for certain. I am going to speak with them.”

“Well, I can’t let Tuuli beat me,” Lutz said with an invincible grin. “No matter what it takes, I will convince my mom and dad.”

“The thought of having some of my old associates with me warms my heart,” I confessed. “However, after I depart from Ehrenfest, I will not be able to move freely until my coming of age. That is why I want the Gutenbergs to wait three years before joining me. The freedom with which I act might not be strange here in Ehrenfest, but we are very much an exception, unfortunately.”

There were some unconvinced murmurs among the group.

“Having minors as patrons isn’t normal even in Ehrenfest,” Johann said.

“Ehrenfest is strange for letting it happen, but you’re even stranger, Lady Rozemyne.”

The Gutenbergs all nodded. I could even see Damuel nodding from where he was guarding the door. How could they? Hartmut said, “Not strange—extraordinary!” in an attempt to correct them, but that didn’t matter.

“Those of you who decide to move are welcome to bring family members,” I said. “I have already received reports that the Gilberta Company’s hairpin craftswoman is getting her family to accompany her, and that one of my chefs is bringing her mother.”

“I appreciate your consideration, but I intend to stay here,” Ingo said in a gravelly voice. “I worked tirelessly for so long to get my own workshop.”

Ingo had needed to break his back to get work as a young foreman, but now that he was one of the Gutenbergs, his workshop was among the most popular in the entire city. He had more leherls as well, and more potential recruits asking to join by the day. Plus, what about his other customers? I was far from the only one giving him work. He had so many connections by this point that leaving simply wasn’t an option.

To be honest, I understood the feeling. I was fortunate enough that I was able to bring my family with me, but there were still so many connections—and my amazing library—that I didn’t want to leave behind.

“That is perfectly understandable, Ingo. Please stay behind, then.”

“Thank you,” he replied, then looked to his disciple. “Dimo, what about you? I’ll cancel your leherl contract if you want to go. Visiting another city was fun, wasn’t it?”

Dimo looked up at me. “Um, Lady Rozemyne... If I go instead of the foreman, will I be given a workshop?”

“Of course. You will need somewhere to work, won’t you? I won’t be able to give you your foreman qualifications, but with your unique knowledge of the printing industry, it should be rather easy for you to obtain them on your own.”

Dimo’s eyes lit up. He had been involved in the creation of our printing presses from day one, so I was more than okay with him taking Ingo’s place by my side. Without another moment’s hesitation, he expressed his resolve to join me—at which point Zack began to fidget in his chair.

“Lady Rozemyne,” he said, “would you order us to join you if we said that we wanted to? Leherls can’t do much on their own. Our foremen would just tell us not to ask to go with you.”

“Hey!” barked the foreman of Zack’s workshop, but the young smith’s mind was already made up—his gray eyes were burning with an eagerness to accompany me. He hadn’t changed at all since he first strove to become a Gutenberg.

“Anytime I go somewhere new, I get so much inspiration for new ideas,” Zack said. “I also love the thought of putting my name on something in another city.”

Both my name and Zack’s could already be found all over Ehrenfest, on the city’s pumps and its modified carriages. Now he wanted to leave his mark somewhere else. I couldn’t help but admire his ambition—and if accompanying me was what he wanted to do, I would readily command it. His creativity and talent for making schematics were beyond compare.

“Very well,” I replied. “If you wish to come with me but your foreman refuses to let you, I will give you an order. However, do consult your new wife first.”

“Oh, don’t worry about her. She’s always telling me how much she wishes she could travel with us Gutenbergs.”

“Still, Zack—consult her. You should not make a decision for someone else when she does not even know the circumstances. I will give my order afterward.”

Yes, the Gutenbergs went on long business trips, but they did so knowing that they would eventually return to Ehrenfest. Moving all the way to another region was incomparable. Zack and his wife would need to have a very serious discussion so that their marriage wouldn’t end in divorce.

“I expect Heidi will want to go,” Josef said to his foreman, Bierce. “How would you feel about that?”

“Forget about her, Josef. You’re my beruf-certified successor, remember?”

The two put their heads in their hands, agonizing over the situation they’d found themselves in. Bierce was prioritizing Josef over his own daughter.

“Hmm...” Josef scratched his head. “Horace, do you think you could get a beruf certification?”

“ME?!” Horace exclaimed.

Such certifications were handed out by the head of one’s guild, and only in recognition of an achievement that had impressed the existing berufs. Obtaining one was mandatory for anyone who wished to become a foreman. Of course, I didn’t have a beruf certification, so while I’d already created my own thriving workshop, I still wasn’t seen as a “proper” forewoman.

Incidentally, there were very few workshops under the Printing and Plant Paper Guilds, and the ones that did exist had no berufs to speak of. To compensate for this, the guilds were going to grant certifications to anyone who received Benno’s approval. One needed to have a decade of experience to officially become a beruf, and I suspected that the craftspeople working to develop new kinds of paper in Illgner would start receiving their certifications as soon as they met that criterion.

“Horace, obtaining a certification is bound to be much easier than trying to keep Heidi under control,” Josef said, sounding defeated. “And if you marry Tanna, the workshop should do just fine.”

I didn’t know anything about this Tanna person, but she was probably related to the foreman.

Bierce nodded, looking equally defeated. “Yeah, that’s more practical than containing Heidi. Besides, you already know how to make the ink. It’s best to leave that research-addicted, money-draining idiot with her patron.” It was a crazy reason to let his daughter and successor leave Ehrenfest.

Horace was still in a daze—he had just been made his workshop’s successor out of nowhere—but I wished him luck nonetheless.

“I don’t know about moving...” Johann said, regretfully shaking his head. “I’m engaged to my foreman’s granddaughter, so...”

The foreman in question looked quite solemn as well. “I’ll need some time to figure out which of my workers I’m going to send,” he told me.

“Please contact Benno once you have come to a decision,” I replied. “The matter is not urgent—not for now, at least.”

“Thank you.”

We received an update from Benno the very next day—the foreman’s granddaughter wanted to marry Danilo, not Johann. In her words, the former was approachable and a good conversationalist, whereas Johann was quiet and always focused on his work. As for the foreman’s stance on the matter, Danilo had plenty of patrons, while Johann only had me. It was pretty clear which one he would want to keep in Ehrenfest.

“The foreman said to tell you, ‘Take good care of Johann,’” Gil reported. “Johann is glad that he can continue to follow you, but he still seems quite depressed.”

I sympathized with Johann, but... it was obvious that Danilo would be more popular with the ladies.

Plus, I mean, the foreman’s granddaughter is young. And Johann is an acquired taste.

As I sighed, Gil suddenly looked conflicted. “Lady Rozemyne, I’ve gotta say something...” he began, sounding cruder than usual—perhaps because he had just recently returned from Kirnberger, where he had spent so much time with the lower city’s merchants. It reminded me of the old days, when he had worried about being kicked out of my retainers.

Feeling nostalgic, I took a crested feystone from my drawer and held it out to him. “Gil, in three years’ time, I would ask you to join me. That is why I want you to have this. It is a mark given to everyone whom I want to accompany me later down the line.”

Gil smiled, then happily accepted the feystone.

While I’m at it, I should also give feystones to Wilma and Nicola...

Nicola was going to move with Philine when she came of age, while Wilma would stay with Elvira until I came of age and sent for her.

I summoned them both to my High Bishop’s chambers, then presented them each with a feystone. Nicola accepted it at once and said, “No matter where you might go, I will work my very hardest for your sake.” She was staring so intently at the stone that I worried she might bore a hole through it.

“Will you become my personal artist, Wilma?” I asked. “Or would you rather serve my mother?”

“I would much rather serve you, Lady Rozemyne,” she replied, and accepted the feystone. “Lady Elvira is an excellent customer, but you are my lady.”

That was nice to hear. We smiled at each other until a bell chimed, announcing Hartmut’s arrival.

“Lady Rozemyne,” he said, “Lady Charlotte is on her way.” Of everyone who had participated in the Harvest Festival, she was the last to return.

“Oh my. This is sooner than anticipated. Prepare tea and sweets while I greet her at the entrance hall.”

As we made our way to the front entrance, Hartmut turned to me and said, “So you gave crested feystones to Wilma and Nicola?”

I couldn’t help but notice one of said stones gleaming on his chest. They were meant to protect those of my retainers and personnel who were having to delay their move, so it served no purpose for him, but he and Clarissa had fought tooth and nail to receive one each. Damuel had worried that the couple might start lashing out at their feystone-wearing colleagues if we didn’t meet their demand, so my hands had been more or less tied. Hartmut was pleased, at least.

“Hello, Sister,” Charlotte said, announcing her return.

“Welcome back, Charlotte. You must be weary from your journey. Would you care for some tea?”

“I would, thank you.”

I invited Charlotte to my High Bishop’s chambers, then listened to her tales of the Harvest Festival. Crop yields had increased dramatically in the northern provinces as a result of the spring-summoning ritual, and the commoners apparently lived much more comfortable lives.

“Groschel completed its entwickeln,” she said, “so I said that next year, if we store up enough mana, we might be able to remake their ceremonial platforms. If we persevere, we should convince the northern nobles to support the archducal family.”

Charlotte is so skilled when it comes to noble socializing.

Nicola soon came over with some tea and other refreshments. The feystone I’d given her was already adorning her neck, indicating that she’d made it into a necklace right away. Charlotte saw it as well and stared in surprise; it was rare to see a gray wearing any accessories at all, let alone a feystone.

“Oh my. Is that the Rozemyne Workshop’s crest?” she asked. “I saw Hartmut wearing one earlier, but what do they mean?”

I explained that the crests were supposed to make their wearers’ loyalties clear and prevent them from being bought before my coming of age—and that Hartmut and Clarissa only had them because they’d pestered me so much.

Charlotte took a moment to process my response, then said, “Sister, I must request something of that nature as well.”

“Hm? But the feystones are for those I intend to take with me...” I certainly hadn’t expected her to make the same appeal.

“Yes, I understand that. I intend to stay in Ehrenfest forever, meaning I will never join you in your new home. Still, the crests are a mark of your protection, are they not? The ones you have given out indicate the wearers’ loyalty to you even after your departure, but I am asking for something that will show we are still sisters even once we have been separated.”

Her show of sisterly affection really tugged at my heartstrings. Nothing demanded my attention more than this.

Because, I mean, this is a personal request from my adorable little sister! She wants something that will demonstrate our bond even after I’m gone! As her elder sister, how could anything else be more important to me right now?!

“Tell me exactly what you want, Charlotte. No matter your request, I shall do my best to grant it!”

“Oh my! I could never impose on you like that, Sister—not when you are already so busy. A simple metal ornament made by one of the lower-city smiths should do.”

“A smith...?”

“Indeed. There is no need to give me a feystone, as it would only be mistaken for the ones that indicate your servants and retainers. I merely want something that will show the world we are still sisters.”

Charlotte explained that she wanted nothing more than a coin-sized medallion marked with the Rozemyne Workshop’s crest. By making it from metal instead of a feystone, she said, we would be showing the world that the bonds between sisters were nothing like the bonds between a vassal and their charge.

Together, we decided what materials to use, then drew up some schematics. I summoned Gil once we were done and asked him to place our order with Johann, who would doubtless have it made by the end of winter.

“Johann is very talented,” I said, “so I expect the charm to look truly wonderful.”

“I look forward to receiving it, dear sister.”