Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.7 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

Detlinde and Ferdinand were absent for the Interduchy Tournament and graduation ceremony when Lanzenave’s ships appeared at Ahrensbach’s country gate. The envoys customarily arrived after the Archduke Conference, so they were an entire season early.

“It would seem they wish to petition the royal family to overturn last year’s decision in advance of the Archduke Conference,” said Roswitha, Letizia’s head attendant.

Letizia’s brow furrowed. “Is it not the case that the border gate can be opened only by those who have dyed the foundation? I assumed it would stay closed in Lady Detlinde’s absence.”

“It shall. Strahl will ask them to leave.”

Strahl was Ahrensbach’s former knight commander, relieved of duty by Detlinde for being “too annoying” and “refusing to listen.” He now served Ferdinand as a guard knight.

“I hope they leave before Lady Detlinde returns,” Roswitha said, making no attempt to hide her exasperation. “Lord Ferdinand may be her partner by royal decree, but he is from another duchy and does not have the authority of an aub. No matter how much he might chastise her, he will not be able to intervene. Only she has the authority to decide whether that gate is opened.”

Letizia nodded. Detlinde had an unhealthy attachment to Leonzio of Lanzenave. If she found out he was here, she would open the gate for him in mere moments, and they would all be forced to witness another slew of unbearable sights. Most of Ahrensbach’s nobles were openly disgusted by how much Detlinde was belittling and disrespecting her fiancé, who had come to Ahrensbach by royal decree and was personally overseeing the majority of the duchy’s administrative duties.

“If only her mother, Lady Georgine, could keep her under control...” she muttered.

“Lady Georgine spent a long time as a third wife and did not speak on the aub’s work even after becoming his first. She speaks only of the aub’s reputation and does not concern herself with the management of the duchy.”

Georgine believed it best to let the aub come to her own decisions. She warned Detlinde about abandoning her duties but said nothing about her alliance with Lanzenave.

“Although Strahl was relieved as commander, he still holds a great deal of influence within the Knight’s Order,” Roswitha said. “We have nothing to fear while Lady Detlinde is absent.”

The situation had taken a very unfortunate turn: nobles allied with Detlinde had sent her word of Lanzenave’s arrival, stubbornly insisting that the Knight’s Order shouldn’t disregard the aub’s wishes in her absence. Of course, Detlinde had rejoiced at the news and swiftly returned to open the border gate, completely disregarding her schedule in the process. Ferdinand was visiting his mentor’s laboratory to help Raimund with his research, so nobody had been able to stop her.

“I apologize that my father could not prevent this,” said Fairseele, Strahl’s daughter and Letizia’s apprentice attendant. She was usually so confident in her father’s talents, but now her eyes were downcast.

“Do not look so down, Fairseele. There was nothing Strahl could do. The Knight’s Order does not have the authority to refuse those with the aub’s invitation.”

The Lanzenave Estate had opened early—in winter, not spring—and several carriages had arrived filled with presents for the royal family. The port was crowded with silver ships going to and fro.

Also among the cargo being brought into Ahrensbach were several gifts for Detlinde. Leonzio was delivering them personally while visiting the castle for the usual exchange of greetings, a fact which delighted their recipient. The way he smiled sweetly at her, dropped to one knee, and gave her a jeweled ornament made the exchange look entirely like a proposal.

As a foreigner, he simply must not understand our culture.

Such was the mindset one had to adopt to stomach what was otherwise an unbearable sight. In Yurgenschmidt, it was unthinkable to remove one’s engagement feystone to wear a neck ornament from another man, but revealing that fact would only embarrass their guest and cause a stir. Letizia’s only option was to hold her tongue.

“And these are for Lady Letizia,” Leonzio said before presenting the girl with a familiar silver tube and colorful sweets. “It would seem you quite enjoyed last year’s presents.”

Letizia had just run out of the sweets Rozemyne had given her, so she gratefully accepted the gesture with a polite, “I thank you ever so m—”

Before she could finish, she was pushed aside by Detlinde.

“Fear not, Lord Leonzio,” the stand-in aub began. “This time, I shall do everything I can to make the Zent understand your country’s circumstances.”

Leonzio nodded and replied, “I sincerely appreciate your concern.”

Detlinde was adamant about bringing Lanzenave and the royal family together to negotiate, and the scholars caught up in the process were being dragged every which way. Ferdinand in particular was busier than ever, since he was having to make the necessary arrangements.

Letizia took a quiet step back as Detlinde and Leonzio launched into an energetic conversation.

“Lord Ferdinand, what were the conclusions for Spring Prayer?” Letizia asked when he visited to grade her work. He had once again been tasked with circling the duchy for Spring Prayer, but with Lanzenave’s envoys now wandering all over, he had seldom been able to leave the castle. According to Roswitha, the foreign presence had even inspired an emergency meeting in the main building.

“As I understand it,” Letizia continued, “Lady Georgine’s suggestion was approved: the giebes were given small chalices and sent back home at the start of spring.”

Georgine had made the proposal for two reasons: there were now proven benefits to performing religious ceremonies, and entrusting the chalices to giebes freed up the blue priests to focus on the Central District and improve the duchy’s harvest. The giebes would ensure the chalices’ safe delivery to their respective provinces, and they had more mana besides. Ahrensbach’s nobles had celebrated the idea, for it really would improve their yield of crops.

“Indeed,” Ferdinand replied with a bitter frown. “Lady Detlinde ordered that the giebes be given small chalices and sent back to their provinces immediately after the feast celebrating spring.”

“I am told you were strongly against the idea,” Letizia said. Then she nervously asked, “Was there a serious reason for that?”

“The small chalices are themselves divine instruments to be used in ceremonies. Few people know how to properly work with them, but even then, there is a serious risk of them being used maliciously. As for what a bad actor could do with the chalices... I cannot tell you at this moment in time.”

Ferdinand was exhausted. No matter how much he protested or tried to reason with Detlinde, she would use her authority as the archduchess to do as she pleased. And guess who was tasked with minimizing the damage she caused.

“My apologies,” he continued. “Until this meeting between Lanzenave and the royal family has been dealt with, I will not be able to tutor you. Please complete these tasks in the meantime. I shall ask Sergius to collect them when they are due.”

Ferdinand then stood up and briskly took his leave—much earlier than usual, Letizia noted. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked upon the mountain of work she had just received. She was spending more time completing tasks than being tutored these days.

“I am out of the sweets Lady Rozemyne sent me, and it gets tiresome being all alone in my room...” Letizia muttered. She had been told to avoid any unnecessary encounters with Lanzenave’s envoys and was consequently holed up in the northern building. Her only opportunities to leave were for Mana Replenishment; she wasn’t even allowed to eat in the dining hall without Ferdinand there to supervise her.

“Lord Ferdinand is merely trying to protect you from poison,” Roswitha explained. Letizia understood that much, but it still felt like he was imprisoning her.

“Speaking of which,” the head attendant continued, “it would seem that Lady Georgine is preparing to visit Old Werkestock’s giebes to ensure they are performing the ceremonies correctly. It gladdens me to hear they aren’t just being left to their own devices.”

Letizia lowered her eyes. “In truth, I was somewhat looking forward to Spring Prayer. It was an excuse to venture outside my room, if nothing else.” Last year’s ceremony had ended up being a unique and interesting experience as well as a rare and precious opportunity to leave the castle, so she couldn’t help resenting Georgine for stealing it from her.

“My, my... I, on the other hand, feel relieved that I do not need to participate. That ritual would demand such an unreasonably large portion of my mana.”

Letizia puffed out her cheeks. It wasn’t a very appropriate gesture for an archduke candidate, but it helped ease the frustrations swirling around within her, and she knew it was minor enough that Roswitha would overlook it. The head attendant merely said, “That look does not suit you, milady...” before proposing that they have tea in the garden.

Ahrensbach’s nobles had all requested meetings with their foreign visitors, which had delayed the feast celebrating spring by several weeks. By the time it had actually taken place, Spring Prayer had been right around the corner. The giebes had been given their small chalices and shooed out of the castle almost as soon as the feast concluded, and as the socializing nobles had departed, it had become more common to see Detlinde and the Lanzenave envoys wandering through the castle.

“Fairseele, is Roswitha still not back yet...?” Letizia asked, having climbed out of the bath and started getting ready for bed. Just after dinner, the head attendant had gone to speak with her son, Sergius, about reducing her lady’s workload. Sergius served Ferdinand as an attendant, so it stood to reason that she had gone to him.

“So it would seem,” Fairseele replied. “Perhaps Lord Ferdinand is struggling to make time for the discussion.”

“Or perhaps she and Sergius are using this opportunity to reconnect” came another suggestion.

Despite her attendants’ attempts to console her, Letizia went to bed with an uncomfortable weight on her chest. Roswitha’s absence made her terribly uneasy.

Morning came, but Roswitha was still nowhere to be found. Not even when Letizia’s retainers formed a search party were they able to ascertain her whereabouts. A quick consultation with her son, Sergius, revealed that some servants had seen her discussing the following day’s meals in the kitchen, but nobody had seen her since.

Barely able to breathe from the stress, Letizia looked up at Fairseele, who seemed equally as worried. “An entire day has passed,” she said. “I shall request a meeting with Ferdinand to obtain permission to search the main building.”

Ferdinand agreed to the request, but the date he proposed was five whole days away. Letizia couldn’t wait that long—not when someone so dear to her was missing. Roswitha had stuck with her from Drewanchel to Ahrensbach; in a sense, she was like a second mother to Letizia, who had needed to leave her blood mother behind in the adoption. Not knowing where she was made the girl extremely anxious.

“Lord Ferdinand might be busy, but we can still speak with Sergius, can we not?” Letizia asked, not wanting to delay her search a moment longer.

“That sounds reasonable enough,” Fairseele replied. “If you are consulting him about his mother’s whereabouts, he should be able to make time for you.”

In response to the new suggestion, Ferdinand arranged for Sergius to meet with Letizia that very same day. Despite how busy he was, he was doing his utmost to be considerate of her concerns.

“Sergius, we do not know where Roswitha has gone,” Letizia said, explaining the circumstances. “Please look for her. Lord Ferdinand has told me to stay away from the main building.”

“Understood,” Sergius replied. “I shall speak with Lord Ferdinand to see if he can spare a moment. To think she has gone missing... I can only hope this is a false alarm.”

That night, Letizia received an ordonnanz from Sergius: Ferdinand would meet her tomorrow in the Mana Replenishment hall and inquire about the situation then. She appreciated the news, but it did very little to ease her nerves; Roswitha had been missing for two days now. Letizia suspected that she had either collapsed somewhere or gotten wrapped up in something dangerous.

Roswitha, please be safe...

It was still dark out when Letizia awoke with a scream; Roswitha had come to her in a nightmare, begging to be saved. She sat up in bed, already in a cold sweat, and called out to her dearest friend, hoping Roswitha would rush into the room and assuage her fears... but another attendant arrived instead.

Morning came before Letizia could get back to sleep. Her thoughts were a blur, and as she ate breakfast, a dull throbbing drummed against her skull. She had tasks to attend to, but it was no use; try as she might, she couldn’t find the motivation to work.

“Lord Ferdinand might not listen to your request if you do not finish the work he assigned you...” Fairseele warned.

Ah, she’s right! This is serious!

Letizia let out a tiny shriek, shook her head in an attempt to refocus, and then dived straight into her work.

Come fourth bell, Letizia sat down for lunch, disregarding Fairseele’s warning that she should eat more slowly. Impatience had long since taken hold. She wanted to go to the Mana Replenishment hall as soon as possible, so waiting for her retainers to finish eating was agony.

“Let us hurry, Fairseele.”

“No matter how much you rush, Lady Letizia, you cannot enter the hall without Lord Ferdinand.”

To enter the aub’s office where the doorway was located, one had to be an archnoble or higher with blood ties to the reigning archduke or archduchess. For that reason, Letizia’s retinue for the day was made up entirely of archnobles.

“Oh my. Letizia,” Detlinde said. “On your way to supply mana?”

On her way to the aub’s office, Letizia had come across Detlinde and Leonzio, who were enjoying some tea on the main building’s second floor. A nearby balcony overlooked the city and the ocean both; the pair had deliberately chosen such a public meeting spot to demonstrate that they weren’t doing anything wrong or worth hiding.

Did they have lunch together, by chance?

Letizia became increasingly annoyed at the thought that Detlinde was spending her days relaxing while pushing more and more work onto her fiancé. Ferdinand was so terribly busy that he couldn’t even scrape together enough time to discuss Roswitha’s disappearance.

The more time passed, the more Letizia’s frustrations grew, but she couldn’t just continue on her way. She greeted the pair, then gave Leonzio her thoughts on the sweets.

“I am glad to have given you some reprieve,” Leonzio replied. “You seem ill at ease; is something the matter? Here—these sweets will raise your spirits.” He gave a kind smile, then presented some of the sweets he was enjoying with Detlinde. Like the ones he had originally brought as souvenirs, they looked very similar to feystones.

Is my concern for Roswitha that obvious?

Embarrassed that someone had seen through her, Letizia swallowed down her impatience and accepted the sweets. Refusing would only have angered the pair, in any case.

Fairseele tried a sweet first, checking it for poison; then Letizia had one as well. The initial taste was the same as that of the sweets she’d eaten before, but as the confectionary melted in her mouth, a sudden, lingering bitterness spread across her tongue.

“Lady Letizia,” Leonzio said, “what happened to cause you such trouble? I must hear whatever concern is responsible for that frown on your pretty face. Simply voicing one’s concerns can do wonders to ease them.”

Letizia’s focus moved away from the bitter taste as she focused on Leonzio’s question. Simply discussing her worries would do nothing to assuage them. She was also terribly distracted by Detlinde—rather than interjecting as she normally would, the stand-in aub was merely watching in silence, fixing Letizia with a piercing stare. It was unsettling.

“I am about to discuss the matter with Lord Ferdinand, so you need not worry about me. I thank you ever so much for your concern, though.”

Letizia then asked for Detlinde’s permission to leave. She wanted to escape the conversation as quickly as she could; the longer she spent speaking with Leonzio, the worse Detlinde would treat her when next they met.

“Ah, before you go...” Leonzio took out a silver tube. “Might I suggest using this when you consult with him? You told me he listened to your request the last time you used one, did you not?”

Letizia blinked a few times, surprised that Leonzio remembered. She had mentioned it only in passing while visiting the Lanzenave Estate. Touched that someone would show her such consideration, she expressed her thanks and accepted the tube. Fairseele would carry it for the time being.

I wonder, will this tube really convince Lord Ferdinand to search with me...? Yes, I’m sure it will.

Feeling like she had just found a light in the darkness, Letizia continued on her way to the aub’s office. Eckhart and Justus, Ferdinand’s two most trusted retainers, were waiting outside; as archnobles of Ehrenfest, they had no relation to Aub Ahrensbach and thus could not enter during Mana Replenishment. Their presence was a show of devotion, if nothing else—most retainers in their position would simply wait in their rooms.

Strahl and Sergius must be inside, so these two could easily have taken a break.

Letizia headed through the door to find Strahl, Sergius, and several of her tutor’s Ahrensbach retainers—all recognizable faces, she was glad to know. Her frustrations with Detlinde ran deeper than she’d thought.

“Strahl, is Lord Ferdinand waiting inside?”

“Yes, my lady. He just went into the hall. I know Mana Replenishment is an arduous task not meant for someone of your young age, but I pray for your success.”

Letizia nodded in response, then went to retrieve the silver tube from Fairseele. The attendant hesitated and glanced around the room.

“Lady Letizia, what is that?” Sergius asked, his tone sharp. “Is it necessary for Mana Replenishment?”

Letizia took the toy from Fairseele and presented it, trying to hold together the best smile she could muster. “This is a negotiation tool that should convince Lord Ferdinand to join our search for Roswitha. She... She is still alive, isn’t she?”

There was a short pause before Sergius replied, “She is somewhere in this building. Ordonnanzes still travel to her, but they fly through too many locked doors for us to work out her exact location.”

Roswitha hadn’t once responded, but at least she was still alive. Letizia wanted to hurry to her rescue, but she was forbidden from leaving the northern building and wouldn’t be able to unlock the doors on her own; only Georgine and Ferdinand were in a position to borrow the keys from Detlinde.

“Lady Georgine is absent for Spring Prayer, so Lord Ferdinand is our only hope...” Letizia said. “I was able to convince him with one of these before, so...”

“Yes, I remember Lord Ferdinand taking a particular interest in its design.” Sergius knelt and crossed his arms. “It gladdens me to know you are so intent on helping my mother.”

Letizia directed the attendant to stand. “It is nothing worthy of your gratitude. I simply cannot live without Roswitha.”

And so, with the silver tube in hand, Letizia entered the Mana Replenishment hall. Ferdinand must have heard her footsteps, as he turned around, presented her with a feystone, and said, “Let us begin.”

“First, there is something I must say. If you help us search for Roswitha, I shall give you this.”

She held out the toy with a bright glimmer in her eyes, but Ferdinand shook his head. “I thoroughly investigated the last one you gave me,” he said. “They are of no interest to me now. And in any case... it would be wise to give up on Roswitha.”

What...?

Letizia found it surprising enough that Ferdinand wasn’t interested in the tube, but being told to give up on her head attendant was harrowing. She had mentioned during her move to Ahrensbach that Roswitha was like family to her, so she had never expected such a cold response.

“My apologies, but could you repeat that?” Letizia asked, wide-eyed. “I must have misheard you.” She wanted to believe it was some kind of mistake—or if not, convince him to rethink his stance—but her hopes were dashed when Ferdinand gave the same response, this time with a cold stare: he did not want the silver tube, and she should give up on Roswitha.

“You can’t be serious...” she uttered. “I could never give up on Roswitha. Please, Lord Ferdinand, help me search! Ordonnanzes still travel to her, and she seems to be somewhere in the main building! She’s Sergius’s mother—she’s family to one of your retainers—so please...”

Ferdinand sighed and rubbed his forehead as if dealing with a disobedient child throwing a tantrum. “Sergius has reported that any ordonnanzes sent to her head to an assortment of locked rooms—rooms I do not have the authority to open—so we are unable to pinpoint her exact location. Moreover, this is an obvious trap. Those responsible want you to attempt a rescue. To minimize the harm that comes from all this, you must give up on her.”

Letizia couldn’t accept what she was hearing. She needed to save Roswitha. Yet her desires were being completely disregarded.

Roswitha!

As the world around her suddenly began to fade, she squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth. The bitter taste from the sweet Leonzio had given her still lingered in her mouth, and it brought to mind something he had said: “Might I suggest using this when you consult with him?”

Using... the tube...?

The words echoed in her mind over and over again. Her head started to spin, and her thoughts blurred.

I need to use the tube. Yes, it all seems so clear to me now. He will not listen to me unless I use it.

Obeying the message in her head, Letizia gripped the silver tube and stared up at Ferdinand. He looked at her in turn, his handsome face cold as ice, and then bent down to give her a feystone as though he had already forgotten about Roswitha.

“If you have calmed down, Lady Letizia, then let us begin Mana Replenishment.” He reached out to her. “That toy will only get in the way, so allow me to hold on to it.”

No! If he takes it from me, I won’t be able to persuade him! I won’t be able to save Roswitha!

Panicking at the thought, Letizia yanked on the string attached to the tube. “Please, Lord Ferdinand—help me save Roswitha!” But what came out the end wasn’t a burst of petals or even a shower of sparks; instead, there was a cloud of white dust.

What is this powder...?

Letizia was too distracted to notice, but Ferdinand grimaced immediately. He pulled up his cape to cover his mouth, shouted, “Do not breathe it in!” and thrust his hand against her shoulder.

“Eep!”

Ferdinand had struck too suddenly for Letizia to react; she was thrown backward a short distance before landing on her bottom. Barely an instant later, an intense light began radiating from his chest, coming from beneath his clothes.

“Rozemyne...!”

What...?

The rainbow light was so dazzling that Letizia forgot all about the dull ache racking her body. Stranger still was how Ferdinand had reacted: he had suddenly clutched at his breast and choked out Rozemyne’s name. Letizia wasn’t sure why he had said it here, of all places, but at the same moment, the light shining from his chest converged into an even brighter pillar.

What’s happening...?

The light enveloped Ferdinand, then slowly began to spread through the entire hall. Letizia was covered too and immediately felt more composed, as if all the darkness clouding her mind had suddenly been cleansed.

“Lord Ferdinand?!”

She didn’t know what had caused it, but she could tell that Ferdinand was in immense pain. He had dropped to his knees and was coughing violently.

“Lord Ferdinand!”

Letizia raced over just as Ferdinand took something from his potion belt and forced it past his lips. He then worked to unlock a small golden cage, though his hands trembled and sweat dripped from his brow. Something was clearly wrong, but Letizia didn’t know what to do. She looked around for someone—anyone—who might be able to help.

“Give this... to... Justus,” Ferdinand sputtered. He could manage only a word or two between coughing fits, and the look in his golden eyes spoke to a man well past his limits. “Tell... him... to go. Now.”

Yes, perhaps his most trusted retainers would know what to do! Letizia took the cage, spun around, and sprinted toward the exit. Even as she went, Ferdinand continued to urge her away between gasps.

What’s happening? Why is Ferdinand in so much pain? What was that rainbow light? Someone, please tell me!

Her heart beating frantically and painfully in her chest, Letizia dashed out of the Mana Replenishment hall.

“Lady Letizia?!” her retainers cried, surprised to see her alone. “Have you finished supplying mana already?!”

“Please open the door,” she said, continuing to run even as her legs shook and her knees threatened to buckle. “I am in a hurry.”

Eckhart and Justus were among those waiting outside, and they turned to look at Letizia the moment she appeared. She met their gaze, then extended the cage to Justus, whom she knew better. Inside were a feystone and three white cocoons, all rattling around.

“Lord Ferdinand, he... he said to go...” Letizia wheezed.

The two retainers froze; then Justus snatched up the cage. As he intently stared at it, he mouthed the words “Lord Ferdinand...”

Eckhart’s sharp, unblinking eyes were still trained on Letizia. “You,” he said. “What have you done to Lord Ferdinand?”

“Eep...!”

He looked calm, but something about his expression was unsettling. His voice was quiet, but it came out much lower than usual. Letizia knew at once that she was being viewed as an enemy. She fell silent, racked with terror, sensing that she was mere moments from her demise. And as she began to waver, Eckhart raised a hand.

“Eckhart, what are you doing to Lady Letizia?!” her guard knights demanded.

“Interrogating her. I need to know what she did to Lord Ferdinand in the Mana Replenishment hall. Only members of the archducal family can enter. Therefore, whatever happened, she must be the culprit.”

“You accuse her of a crime?! This is outrageous! What madness has consumed you?!”

Letizia’s guard knights forced themselves between Eckhart and their fearful charge, brandishing their weapons. Eckhart took out his schtappe in response, ready to fight, but Justus grabbed him by the collar and roared, “ECKHART! Forget this interrogation! Our orders come first, and what did our lord tell us to do?!”

“He told us to... go,” Eckhart replied.

“Then we’re departing at once,” Justus said, now white as a sheet. He glared at Letizia and the door to the aub’s office, then turned on his heel and sprinted away.

Eckhart was gritting his teeth, but he put away his schtappe and followed. They appeared to know what “go” meant, but Strahl and Sergius exchanged confused glances. Ferdinand must not have shared the command with all of his retainers.

“Sergius, Strahl, apprehend those two,” said one of Letizia’s knights. “We need to know the reason for their sudden aggression and determine what Lord Ferdinand meant.”

Strahl and Sergius nodded, then gave chase.

“Lady Letizia, what in the world happened...?” Fairseele asked upon her charge’s return to the office. “Is something wrong with Lord Ferdinand?”

Letizia parted her lips to answer, but no words came out. She didn’t know what to say. Eckhart’s accusation and the look on his face kept floating through her mind.

I did this...?

She racked her brain, growing desperate. She had used the silver tube in hope of persuading Lord Ferdinand, but had it really been the cause of his agony? If so, why hadn’t she also doubled over?

“Lord Ferdinand has yet to leave the hall,” Letizia said. “I will return to see how he is doing.” But as she went to move, she heard footsteps approaching.

“My, what is the cause of all this fuss?” came a voice from outside the room.

“Lady Detlinde?” asked one of the knights guarding the door. “What business do you have here?”

“Lord Ferdinand and Lady Letizia are currently supplying mana,” added the other, likewise trying to prevent her entry.

Those inside the room also took action, assuming defensive positions around their lady.

Letizia looked at her retainers, then at the door to the Mana Replenishment hall. There was no escape.

“Lies,” Detlinde snapped. “Lord Ferdinand’s retainers just raced off, and Letizia is right there in the office.” She pushed past the guards, bringing along her retainers and several silver-clothed envoys. Leonzio was beside her, holding a silver tube and wearing a handsome smile.

“Lady Letizia,” he said with a smirk. “You consulted with Lord Ferdinand, I assume?” He mimed pulling the string of the toy in his hand, and with that, Letizia finally understood—she really was to blame. She had allowed Leonzio to trick and manipulate her.

“Lord Leonzio, what have you done...?”

“Lady Detlinde,” he said, “the situation is exactly as it appears: Lady Letizia has murdered Lord Ferdinand. Might I ask you to retrieve his feystone?”

As Letizia stood rooted to the spot, still processing the accusation, Leonzio escorted Detlinde to the entrance of the Mana Replenishment hall. “It pains me to force such a duty upon you, my lady... but this must be done for the sake of our future.”

“Goodness me. You are such a worrywart,” Detlinde replied. “Not only am I equipped with your presents, but I am also fated to become the next Zent. Now then...” She took in a breath. “Everyone, capture Letizia. She has murdered my fiancé in breach of a royal decree.”

Detlinde giggled as she slid a registration feystone into the door before her, then stepped into the hall. Letizia knew in her heart that Ferdinand was still inside, in agony because of what she had done.

I must help him!

But when she tried to chase after Detlinde, Leonzio grabbed on to her arm. “You heard Lady Detlinde,” he said to the others. “Capture her!”

“Watch your mouth!” one of the guards shouted. “Lady Letizia has done no such thing!”

The knights all turned their schtappes into weapons, while the gathered envoys narrowed their eyes and took out silver blades. The tension in the room was palpable.

Leonzio continued, a smile plastered across his face, “We can all see what took place here. Lady Letizia grew sick of the brutally strict education forced upon her by her Zent-appointed tutor, so she decided to murder him. She waited until they were alone in the Mana Replenishment hall, then took his life unopposed.”

“That isn’t true,” Letizia protested. “I don’t hate Lord Fer—”

“You made your frustrations more than clear at the Lanzenave Estate and during tea parties,” Leonzio continued in a bright voice. “Many have heard you bemoan his refusal to reduce your workload no matter how much you ask.”

Detlinde’s retainers expressed their agreement.

Fairseele had turned ghostly white, but she protectively threw her arms around Letizia. “Don’t be ridiculous. How could Lady Letizia even hope to harm Lord Ferdinand?”

“Like this,” Leonzio said, then pulled the string attached to his silver tube. Another cloud of white powder shot into the air, and a loud clatter resounded through the room.

“Eep!”

In the blink of an eye, everyone but Letizia, Fairseele, Detlinde’s retainers, and the envoys had turned into feystones.

Letizia’s mind went blank. This wasn’t at all like what had happened with Ferdinand. She knew deep down that the feystones littering the floor were her retainers, but she couldn’t bring herself to accept it. Her throat seized up as if she had forgotten how to breathe, and a loud ringing filled her ears.

“Goodness, Lord Leonzio, what a cruel liar you are...” Detlinde sighed, returning from the hall with a hand on her cheek. “Lord Ferdinand was not a feystone at all. We will need to wait quite a while longer.”

“Oh?” Leonzio blinked in confusion. “What state was he in, then? The poison worked on the others, as you can see.”

Detlinde held up a hand, urging him to be silent, then gazed down at Letizia with her usual smile. She looked so nonchalant, like she couldn’t see the feystones scattered across the floor.

How can she smile like that? How?

Through chattering teeth, Letizia attempted to protest: “L-Lord Ferdinand will—”

“Lord Ferdinand is dead,” Detlinde cackled. “And you are to blame.”

Confronted with the harrowing truth, Letizia crumpled to her knees. Her strength had vanished so suddenly that she could no longer stand. Though she hadn’t done it on purpose, the fact remained that she had poisoned Ferdinand. Even now, she could recall in excruciating detail the terrifying looks on Eckhart’s and Justus’s faces; their eyes had naturally blazed with anger.

“We discovered your murder and will punish you in due time,” Detlinde continued, her tone now performative. “Such is the fate you deserve, is it not? Assassinating the fiancé of your duchy’s next aub is a grave crime indeed.”

At last, the situation was laid bare: Georgine had created the exact circumstances necessary for her scheme, and Letizia had played right into her hands.

“Your crime is worthy of immediate execution,” Detlinde said. “But fear not, Letizia—as an act of compassion, I, the next Zent, shall allow you to live. Assuming that you spend the rest of your days in Lanzenave, that is. I will even send your retainers and the ladies on your side to join you. Your lives will be spared as long as you never show your faces here again.” She waved a hand. “Now... take her away.”

Right on cue, the group from Lanzenave moved to capture Letizia and Fairseele.

“Lady Letizia! Run!” Fairseele shouted. She tried to resist, but her schtappe-made sword was useless against the envoys, dressed in silver as they were.

Letizia and Fairseele were up against eight of Detlinde’s guard knights and more than a dozen envoys; escaping had always been a pipe dream. They were immediately caught and restrained.

“Now that I am rid of all obstacles, I can finally obtain the Grutrissheit,” Detlinde said in a singsong. “I must inform Mother that everything has gone according to plan.” She then marched out of the room, inspiring her entourage to follow. Their two bound prisoners were also dragged along.

“Lady Letizia?! Fairseele?!”

Before the group could get very far, they crossed paths with Strahl and Sergius. The two retainers were meant to be pursuing Eckhart and Justus, so why they had returned was a mystery. They drew their schtappes the moment they saw what was happening.

“Lady Detlinde?! What are you doing to them?!” Strahl demanded.

A shiver ran down Letizia’s spine. Strahl and Sergius were about to make the same mistake her retainers had made before being turned into feystones. At this rate, they would meet the same end.

“No, Father!” Fairseele cried. “Schtappes do not work against them!”

“They have poison that instantly turns people into feystones!” Letizia added. “Run! Save the others!”

“Silence!” the envoys shouted. They threw punches at their two prisoners in an attempt to silence them, but it was too late; the most important information had already been conveyed. Strahl and Sergius both leapt back and immediately fled.

“Oh, how much easier this would have been if we had managed to eliminate Strahl then...” Detlinde sighed. She gave Letizia a sympathetic yet mocking look. “I would advise you not to play such tricks again, Letizia. You will only regret it.”

Letizia was taken to a section of the main building she had never seen before. Detlinde stopped before one of the many doors around them and unlocked it. There were muffled groans coming from the other side.

An area filled with locked doors...?

Letizia gazed around and saw many other doors, most of which seemed largely unused. As a sickening sense of unease spread through her chest, she noticed that Detlinde and Leonzio had disappeared into the newly unlocked room.

All of a sudden, the quiet groans stopped, and a deafening silence filled the air. Letizia’s heart beat frantically in her chest, and she lost all feeling in her extremities.

“You asked Lord Ferdinand to search for Roswitha, did you not?” Detlinde said, her red lips curving into a wicked grin. “How sweet of you to care about your retainers.”

Leonzio then dropped a multicolor feystone at Letizia’s feet. It landed with a light clatter before rolling across the floor.

“Roswitha was much too loud,” he said. “We could never have taken her to Lanzenave while she was making such a racket, so we decided to compromise. How could we not have, when you were willing to murder Lord Ferdinand to rescue her? Rejoice, Lady Letizia, for Lanzenave will now welcome you and Roswitha both.”

“Ah... Ah...”

Letizia’s throat closed. As she stared at the feystone before her, she started seeing red. She could no longer maintain her noble facade.

“NOOOOOO! ROSWITHAAAAAA!”

Letizia screamed at the top of her lungs, wailing to no end, but there was nobody around to save her. As her vision went dark, her head was filled with Detlinde’s shrill laughter.