Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.9 - Chapter 15

Dunkelfelger’s Request

As soon as we arrived at the archduke’s office, a scholar informed me that the magic tool meant for emergency communication between aubs was flashing. Ferdinand stepped forward, then gestured toward it. The size and shape were exactly as I remembered, but there was a cover of sorts over the top that hid the pool of water.

“Rozemyne, close your eyes for a moment and allow me to guide you,” Ferdinand said. “You will need to supply the tool with your mana.”

“Right.”

I closed my eyes and immediately felt Ferdinand take my hand. He touched it against something—the water mirror, I assumed—told me to start channeling my mana into it, and then instructed me to open my eyes. I could see Sylvester in the pool of water before me.

“Took you long enough,” he complained, having seemingly been waiting quite a while. “Why weren’t you in your office? Hirschur sent a response from the Royal Academy. She said there were people she didn’t recognize near the scholar building.”

Hirschur was approaching the climax of some excellent research, so she had planned to disregard Sylvester’s orders entirely. The suspicious individuals had only been spotted because Raimund, who had suddenly lost access to Ahrensbach’s dorm, had decided to start sleeping in the scholar building. He had reported the strange sight to Hirschur, who had then realized that Sylvester was probably telling the truth and sent ordonnanzes all over the place. It really was unusual to see strangers not wearing duchy capes at the Royal Academy.

“She really doesn’t trust you, huh?” I remarked.

“This has more to do with her fixation on her research.”

“It was wise to leave Raimund there,” Ferdinand said with a satisfied nod.

I started to wonder whether anyone had contacted Raimund and explained why he wasn’t able to enter his dormitory all of a sudden. I assumed not.

Sylvester continued, “Hirschur contacted the professors still at the Royal Academy. She also sent word to the royal family and the Sovereign Knight’s Order. Their response was immediate, meaning there are now black-capes stationed at the Academy.”

“Right...” I said. “That’s good.”

The royals must have relaxed their guard at the Sovereignty to send troops to the Royal Academy. Dunkelfelger’s volunteers had already crushed Lanzenave’s troops, and Sylvester had shared what we knew about our enemy’s silver cloth and instant-death poison, so the invaders would surely be suppressed in no time.

Sylvester gave a serious frown and shook his head. “The situation isn’t good at all, Rozemyne. That’s the very reason I chose to contact you like this.”

“Come again?”

“That librarian you were worried about—Solange... Nobody’s been able to reach her. She might have been caught up in the commotion, or maybe she’s just coincidentally unable to respond. Hirschur was going to check on her, but she received an urgent ordonnanz from Rauffen telling her not to step foot outside her room.”

I said nothing in response. Small, dark spots swarmed my vision.

“Something big is happening at the Royal Academy...” Sylvester announced. “I wish I could do more for you, but this report is the most Ehrenfest can provide; we don’t have any manpower or resources we can spare you.”

“I thank you ever so much for this information,” I said. “As we of Ahrensbach do not have a dormitory supervisor right now, this information might not have reached us otherwise.”

The moment our conversation was over, I deactivated the magic tool and looked back at Ferdinand. “I’m going to the Royal Academy’s library.”

Ferdinand shook his head. “That is not something I can permit. How do you expect to leave Ahrensbach in your current state?” He was referring to the fact that I couldn’t ride my highbeast, but still—I was deeply concerned about Solange, Schwartz, and Weiss.

“I should put Schwartz and Weiss in combat mode. Then they can protect Professor Solange...” I mused. I would simply need to pour mana into the feystone buttons that decorated their clothes. “I suspect the two shumils are quite strong. My own played an important role during the battle at the temple.”

Ferdinand scoffed; he had researched Schwartz and Weiss when designing the base schematics for my battle-ready shumils. “They are magic tools made by a Zent of the distant past to slaughter Zent candidates. Mere riffraff would not stand a chance against them.”

“They certainly are strong... And that means Professor Solange must be safe, right?”

I wanted some reassurance, but Ferdinand cast his eyes down. “As I understand it, the two shumils cannot enter combat mode without mana and an order from their master. I am unsure what Professor Solange would manage to accomplish on her own.” He shook his head; then his voice took on a much colder hue. “Nonetheless, I simply cannot allow you to leave Ahrensbach. How much can you really do for her as you are now?”

Before I could respond, the emergency contact magic tool started to flash again.

“Dunkelfelger...?” Ferdinand muttered. “We shall agree to speak with them. Rozemyne, close your eyes.” He took my hand and pressed it against the mirror’s feystone, causing my fellow aub to appear on the surface of the water.

“Aub Ahrensbach,” the man said. “I am delighted to see you well on this most auspicious day. Hannelore reported to me about your recent battles; she said in no uncertain terms that your performance was splendid and a sight to behold. Few words can describe the astonishment that took me when I saw that every one of our volunteers had returned alive.”

This was the first time I’d ever seen Aub Dunkelfelger speak so politely. I was so taken aback that I could only blink at him in response.

“Though I realize these are busy times,” he continued, “a most pressing matter has required me to contact you. Are you aware of what is happening at the Royal Academy?”

“Ahrensbach is missing its dormitory supervisor, but we did just receive a message from Aub Ehrenfest,” I said. “He told us that suspicious individuals—from Lanzenave, I would assume—were spotted near the scholar building and that both the royal family and the Sovereign Knight’s Order had been made aware. He also explained that Professor Solange of the library has not been responding to attempts to contact her. I wish to confirm her safety sooner rather than later, but as the Sovereign Knight’s Order has been dispatched, I assume people are already looking into it.”

“That seems unlikely...” the aub replied with a frown. “According to Rauffen, our dormitory supervisor, the Sovereign knights sent to the Royal Academy are working with the intruders.”

“Excuse me...?”

“Detlinde was seen among the suspicious individuals, but the knights made no attempt to capture her.” Rauffen hadn’t known whether the Order was working for or against the crown, so he had sent word of the situation back to his duchy and requested orders. “To make matters worse, we find ourselves unable to contact the Zent at this current moment.”

“Um, does that mean...?”

“Lady Rozemyne—we hereby request that you, a legitimate Zent candidate and the owner of the Grutrissheit, do everything in your power to defend the Royal Academy. Outsiders must not be allowed within its grounds. Here in Yurgenschmidt, that is an unbendable law.”

I swallowed dryly. “Is that not the duty of the Zent...?”

“Ask us to take action. We will do as you command. As the Zent’s sword, Dunkelfelger shall guarantee the Academy’s safety.”

“That is not something we can respond to here and now,” Ferdinand interjected, having addressed the aub before I could even open my mouth. “Rozemyne might have obtained the Grutrissheit, but she has dyed Ahrensbach’s foundation and thereby become its aub. She cannot give such an order.”

“Lord Ferdinand! Do you not understand the importance of the Royal Academy?! Outsiders are ravaging it as we speak! This is no time to be so passive!”

Detlinde would need the Grutrissheit to become the Zent, which meant the Royal Academy’s library was the most dangerous place of all. I suspected it was receiving the same treatment as when the Lanzenavians ravaged the Ahrensbach Noble’s Quarter, which made me even more worried about Solange and the two shumils, who must have been there all alone.

“Ferdinand, Professor Solange is in the library...” I said. “And what about Professor Hirschur? She’s at the Royal Academy too.”

Hirschur had told various people about the outsiders and requested the aid of both the royal family and the Sovereign Knight’s Order. If the knights truly had turned coat, then she and Raimund were at great risk as well.

“Professor Hirschur might be safe now, but she’s still in a dangerous position,” I said. “If Aub Dunkelfelger is offering us his aid, should we not accept it and go straight to the Royal Academy?”

“Fool... You are in the most danger of all,” Ferdinand snapped. He then sized up the aub on the other side of the water mirror, his expression harsh, before continuing in a quiet voice, “I do not deny the urgency of our situation—the Royal Academy’s importance is abundantly clear to me—but I still cannot back your proposal. If you did act on our orders but proved unable to rescue the royal family before Detlinde’s group acquired the Grutrissheit and dyed the country’s foundation, then Rozemyne would be branded a traitor and insurgent.”

Ferdinand added under his breath that the royal family might not even genuinely thank me for saving them. In his words, they would most likely take advantage of the opportunity to bring me and the Grutrissheit into their ranks, declaring that they would charge me with treason or something equally unreasonable otherwise. Thinking back on my dealings with this country’s royals, I couldn’t help but concur.

“I wonder...” Ferdinand continued, “how will the Zent’s so-called sword respond when its petition is found to have put Rozemyne in such a grave predicament? You will abandon her to side with the royals, I suspect.”

“Ferdinand, aren’t you being unbelievably rude right now?” I asked. “They wouldn’t do something so cruel—not when they made the proposal in the first place.”

“This is the reason you are called overkind and naive,” Ferdinand sneered, then returned to his attention to the water mirror. “The aub of a duchy with as long a history as Dunkelfelger’s has surely made many cruel decisions for the sake of his people. I do not blame you—weakness is not permissible in your role—but I will not allow you to cast Rozemyne aside.”

“No matter how dire the circumstances, Dunkelfelger cannot send its knights to the Sovereignty without being ordered to!” the aub retorted. “Do you intend to sit back and watch Detlinde and the Lanzenavians run amok until some foreigner obtains their own Grutrissheit? As the royal family cannot be reached, we must turn to a Zent candidate to send us into battle! Only she can save Yurgenschmidt!”

The aub had said a lot, but he hadn’t refuted the claim that he would cruelly abandon me. He had asserted that his duchy would protect the Royal Academy but not that he would do anything to aid me in the worst-case scenario. On top of that, he had addressed me only as “a Zent candidate” as though deliberately trying to put some distance between us.

“Not quite...” Ferdinand muttered.

At once, I turned to look at him. I wasn’t the only one with the Book of Mestionora; there was someone far better suited to becoming the Zent whose Book had just recently been filled with all the information he would need to rule.

But surely he wouldn’t...

There didn’t exist a world in which Ferdinand wanted to become the Zent; his dream was to live peacefully in Ahrensbach with his various laboratories. I clung to his chest, terrified of what he was about to say.

“Ferdinand, wait. That’s not—”

“You shall take the throne, Aub Dunkelfelger.”

“Um...”

“Excuse me?” the aub replied, equally as shocked.

My mind went blank as I tried to process this completely unexpected turn of events. I gazed up at Ferdinand, seeking an explanation of some kind, and saw that his lips were twisted in a smile.

“Did you not say that Lady Hannelore spoke to you?” Ferdinand asked. “Rozemyne is the Divine Avatar of Mestionora, here to return the Grutrissheit to Yurgenschmidt and revive praying to the gods. Her duty is not to become the Zent but to grant the Grutrissheit to whomever she deems most worthy.”

I didn’t know what to say. Ferdinand was spouting absolute nonsense, all while looking the aub dead in the eye.

Ferdinand continued, “Such a great demonstration of strength in the presence of a divine avatar is the same as agreeing to accept the Grutrissheit from Rozemyne. And as the Sovereign Knight’s Order has sided with our enemies, if our attempt to save the royal family ends in failure, then you will need to take the throne. You are welcome to petition Rozemyne again, but only if you are ready for such consequences.”

The man in the water mirror stared at us, stunned. “But I am Dunkelfelger’s aub.”

“And Rozemyne is Ahrensbach’s,” Ferdinand replied with a thin smile. “Do you sincerely wish to save Yurgenschmidt from this crisis, no matter the cost, or are you merely using Rozemyne so that you can rampage through the Academy? If we are to continue this conversation, I must know your true intentions.”

I was reading the subtle undertones of this conversation loud and clear. Just as Aub Dunkelfelger wanted to protect his duchy and people, we wanted to protect Ahrensbach and ourselves.

“I shall say it again,” Ferdinand continued. “There is a chance you will emerge from this incident the next Zent. You will need someone to replace you as aub in such a case, so I would advise you to discuss it with your first wife before we take things any further. I should also note that very few duchies would appreciate you acting alone in this matter. Have you broached your intentions with them?”

Ferdinand wasn’t “advising” the aub at all—he was stating unequivocally that this wasn’t a decision to be made lightly.

“And above all else,” Ferdinand said, “Rozemyne has just returned from Ehrenfest; her health would not allow her to march into another battle so soon. We also prioritized the return of your volunteers, so Ahrensbach’s knights have yet to come back from Bindewald. Even if we did accept your proposal, we would not be prepared to act on it.” He took my hand and then declared, “We shall await your response tomorrow at third bell.”

His rant finally over, Ferdinand quietly asked me to deactivate the water mirror. The aub had yet to recover from his confusion, so I gave him a simple “Good day” before closing my eyes and doing as instructed.

“That should give us a little more time, but it means I will need to complete my brew tonight without fail...” Ferdinand said with a sigh once he’d made sure we were alone. Then he glared at me and snapped, “Do not be so quick to accept the petitions of other duchies. You have resolved to become the next Aub Ahrensbach—you must challenge anyone who calls you a Zent candidate.”

“But I’m worried about the library. Nobody can reach Professor Solange...”

Dunkelfelger’s intentions aside, I was extremely concerned about what was happening at the Royal Academy. So concerned, in fact, that I would have rushed straight over there if not for my current lack of strength and mana. The aid of a greater duchy would only boost my chances of success.

“I suspect she is fine,” Ferdinand assured me. “Ordonnanzes have not refused to fly to her. We can also trust Dunkelfelger to take action; theirs is not a duchy that will remain inactive when they can take matters into their own hands. I cannot say how long their preparations will take, but the aub did not speak out against my target of third bell tomorrow. Consider tonight a most crucial opportunity to get some rest; we might not have another for quite some time to come. Thus, rather than worrying about everyone else, I would advise you take a moment to focus on your own health. You teleported so many people today that you need not just potions but a good night’s sleep.”

“But I might have more bad dreams...” I muttered. My body was crying out for rest, but I was afraid of what it would entail.

Ferdinand wore a slight frown. “Do you need another potion to get you to sleep?”

“Not one that’ll give me a terrifying nightmare. I can’t imagine a worse way to wake up...”

“As much as your health has improved, you are on the verge of collapse. I suspect you will need potions just to make it through dinner. Do not put such great faith in your stamina when it barely met the bare minimum to begin with.”

Ferdinand then handed me a kindness-infused potion. He was right about my health, so my only choice was to accept it.

Over dinner, Letizia told us the events that had culminated in Detlinde’s furious letter. Some people had tried to open the door in the Lanzenave Estate from the other side, and the knights in the Royal Academy’s teleportation room had received ordonnanzes asking what was going on. Letizia had refrained from providing any answers, having wanted to consult me first, which had eventually earned us that colorful correspondence from Detlinde.

“Continue to ignore them,” I said. “Make sure they receive no information of value.”

“Understood,” Letizia replied with a nod. She looked tired and unwell, and not just because she was busy—she wore the same strained, cornered expression I’d seen from Melchior that morning. It wasn’t the kind of visage one would expect of a child.

“Oh, these fish...” I said.

“The fishermen you saved sent them to the castle with words of gratitude,” Letizia explained. “Lord Ferdinand informed me of your preferences, Lady Rozemyne, so I did my best to follow them. Are these meals to your taste?”

Most of the dishes being served were covered in so many spices that I couldn’t even tell what was buried under them. Instead, my eyes were drawn to some plainly salted white fish. Letizia had apparently been uneasy about serving something so simple, but she had swallowed her fears and persevered.

“My appreciation of this recipe is considered strange even in Ehrenfest, but its simplicity really highlights the flavor of the fish,” I said. “You must have asked the chefs to prepare it for me despite it seeming so unusual to them. Thank you. And thank you, Ferdinand, for still remembering my tastes after all this time.”

“I considered it the best choice while you are still unaccustomed to Ahrensbach cuisine,” he said.

Indeed, the overabundance of spice customary of Ahrensbach cooking would have been far too stimulating for me. I took only very small portions of the other dishes but devoured the salted fish even with my lack of appetite.

I was satisfied with my meal, but the same couldn’t be said for Letizia. Though she spoke with a smile, her cutlery barely moved at all.

“Lady Letizia, could you come here for a moment?” I asked, beckoning her over. “Bring one of your guard knights, if you would.”

She blinked at me a few times before she complied. The knight accompanying her tensed up in preparation for what was to come.

“You were dragged into something awful,” I said, “yet you have continued to work so astoundingly hard. Even in our absence, your dedication to protecting Ahrensbach could not be ignored. It is with gratitude in my heart that I ask to grant you Schlaftraum’s blessing so that you might rest more easily tonight.”

Letizia’s expression changed, and she shook her head. “You need not waste your mana on me, Lady Rozemyne. The sentiment is enough.”

“Is that so? Very well, then.”

Letizia went to take her leave, but I wouldn’t let her get away so easily. I took out my schtappe and said, “O Schlaftraum, God of Dreams—may Lady Letizia be blessed with pleasant sleep and joyous dreams.” The white light of a blessing rained down upon her... and at once, her eyes grew heavy.

Letizia wavered in place for a moment, then started to collapse. Her guard knight caught her before she could reach the ground.

“For such a minor blessing to have worked this well, she must have spent days unable to sleep...” I said. “Please give her time to rest.”

“As you wish, Lady Rozemyne.”

The knight picked up Letizia and exited the room. Letizia’s attendants hurried along behind them.

“Come, Rozemyne,” Ferdinand said, extending a hand to me like it was second nature to him. He must have mastered the art of escorting women during his year and a half with Detlinde—a tremendous win for the old adage that practice makes perfect.

“Um, Ferdinand...?” I said. He had given me one hand... and then used the other to cover my eyes.

“O Schlaftraum, God of Dreams—may Lady Rozemyne be blessed with pleasant sleep and joyous dreams.”

The dark spots in my vision were suddenly filled with white light. My mind cleared, and the immense weight on my shoulders vanished. By the time I’d realized I couldn’t feel my feet anymore, I was already being carried away like Letizia.

“Rest,” Ferdinand urged me. “Do not fight Schlaftraum’s blessing. You will not have any bad dreams tonight.”

“Are you awake, Lady Rozemyne?” Lieseleta asked, a hand on her chest. “You look so much better.”

I was feeling better too. Refreshed, even. Schlaftraum’s blessing really had given me a good night’s sleep.

We had decided to eat breakfast in our rooms, so my attendants brought me a plate of salted fish. They must have thought I really loved it or something. I started eating while my retainers explained that last night, while I was asleep, they had received a lecture from Ferdinand about my current state and the best way to deal with it.

“We were also made aware of the dangerous situation at the Royal Academy and the request Aub Dunkelfelger made of you.”

“We knights were ordered to be ready to sortie at any moment. If you accept the aub’s request, I suspect you will need to come as well, Lady Rozemyne.”

“Before the civil war, the Zent used to travel around Yurgenschmidt each year to open and close all the country gates. Kirnberger’s has been closed for a very long time, though, so this isn’t something we’ve ever experienced. Using a Grutrissheit, one could apparently teleport straight to the Sovereignty.”

Teleporting from the Lanzenave Estate to the Sovereignty would essentially be like diving headfirst into enemy headquarters—not that we could even use the teleporter right now. I would need to brew registration brooches with my mana for us to pass through Ahrensbach’s dorm, so we planned to teleport via our country gate instead. As the aub, I would naturally need to be there.

“Once you have eaten, Lady Rozemyne, you are permitted to rest until third bell,” Lieseleta said. “I even have an Ahrensbach book for you to read.”

“Oh my!” I exclaimed. “Would it really be wise of me to spend this time reading...? I assume Ferdinand prepared it for me, so it must be for the best, right?” As I stared at the book now sitting on my desk, I tried to remember the last time I’d sat down to read.

“According to Lord Ferdinand, you are to rest as much as you can before Aub Dunkelfelger contacts you again.”