Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.9 - Chapter 4

Everyone’s Tales of Heroism

“Welcome back,” Charlotte said.

“Thank you for coming, Lady Hannelore,” Florencia added. “We appreciate your duchy’s assistance from the bottom of our hearts.”

My vision finally settled to reveal the knights’ training grounds. Charlotte and Florencia were the only ones who had come to welcome us, and they had as few retainers with them as they could get away with. Melchior was likely in the temple, but what about Wilfried and Karstedt? The unusual setup made me nervous.

“Sylvester, I don’t see Wilfried or Melchior,” I said. “Or my father, for that matter.”

“We might have been able to wrap things up here before the fighting in Gerlach concluded, but we haven’t had long to gather ourselves. Karstedt is at the Order’s command post with Wilfried, who’s giving him a hand there. Melchior hasn’t yet returned from the temple. Relax. Nobody sustained any serious injuries; they’re just busy with the cleanup.”

We’d dumped so much of our work on Ahrensbach’s knights and Gerlach’s nobles, but here in Ehrenfest, there was nobody they could delegate to. As the duchy’s highest authority, Sylvester was busy delegating the cleanup to other members of the archducal family. And as the knight commander, Karstedt was especially busy since he hadn’t been able to excuse himself from attending the feast. We really were shorthanded.

“How about the temple and the lower city?” I asked. “Was anyone hurt there?”

“As of yet, we haven’t received word of any major injuries,” Sylvester replied. “Come on, don’t look so worried. The soldiers at the gates and the knights stationed at the temple apparently went above and beyond the call of duty. Just ask those retainers of yours who were there.”

Dunkelfelger’s representatives had yet to receive proper greetings, so I didn’t question Sylvester any further. He lined up next to Florencia and Charlotte, then exchanged the usual courtesies with Hannelore. They went on for ages and were packed with the names of gods.

“If not for the assistance of Dunkelfelger’s knights,” Sylvester said, “I suspect we never would have rescued Ferdinand or protected our foundation. Your support in Gerlach was similarly heartening.” He went on to note that my scholars’ correspondence about Dunkelfelger’s involvement in the Purging of Lanzenave had proven especially useful in the Defense of Ehrenfest.

Good to know Hartmut’s and Clarissa’s letters helped.

“As abrupt as this invitation must have been, I am so very thankful that you accepted it,” Sylvester continued. “If we had missed this opportunity to reward your hard work, we would have struggled to find another. Our victory feast shall begin at sixth bell. It will be only humble in scope, but I hope it still conveys the depth of our gratitude.”

He then turned to Florencia and Charlotte. “Take our guests from Dunkelfelger to their rooms. Baths have already been prepared for them. They may relax until the feast.”

“Thank you,” Hannelore replied with a gentle smile. “I had hoped to bathe before our celebration.”

Sylvester smiled in turn, then addressed Ferdinand: “We’ve prepared a guest room for you as well.”

“A guest room...?” Ferdinand blinked a few times in confusion, then glanced at me and said, “Ah, yes...” Despite the warm welcome he’d received from Sylvester, he no longer had a home to return to—not since he’d given his estate to me. I’d wanted to bring him back to Ehrenfest, but now I’d taken his chambers from him. That wouldn’t do at all.

“Ferdinand,” I said, “use my library.”

“But that would be—”

“Please. I will stay in the castle. Your chambers have been kept largely as they were, and you should feel more comfortable staying somewhere you’re familiar with. If you need potions, use the workshop and its ingredients as you please. Just make sure Lasfam sees you are safe.”

Hannelore gave me a strange look. “Lord Ferdinand has chambers in your library?”

“Indeed. My library was once his estate. He gave it to me when he moved to Ahrensbach, and my first course of action was to fill it with books,” I replied, unable to keep from boasting. The books mostly belonged to Ferdinand, but I decided not to mention that.

“Lady Hannelore,” Ferdinand added, “I did not have a wife or any children when I received the royal decree ordering me to leave Ehrenfest. The estate was given to me by my father, so I elected to pass it on to Rozemyne, my charge at the time. That was all. To be frank, I did not think my chambers would still be there.”

I turned sharply to Ferdinand, who looked thoroughly exasperated. “Did I not tell you I wouldn’t touch them? I wanted you to have somewhere to stay whenever you came home to visit.”

“Yes, but that was merely a promise; I assumed it would only last so long. I considered it inevitable that your library would eventually encroach on my chambers.”

“Not enough books have been made for that. I’m doing my best to print more, but...”

That really was a dream of mine—a collection of so many books that my library could barely even contain them. But as I started wondering how to make that happen, Ferdinand sighed.

“I would prefer to sleep in my own chambers, assuming they really do still exist, but would you truly be amenable to that?”

“Of course. As I said, I can stay in my chambers in the castle. I shall send an ordonnanz to Lasfam telling him to prepare for your arrival. Then, while we wait, I will check on the temple and the lower city.”

I started pondering all the things I would need to do before returning to the castle—but again, Ferdinand pulled me from my thoughts.

“Hold on—do you really mean to abandon your guests? You were the one who invited them here. We can safely assume that the temple and the lower city experienced no major injuries; be content with your retainers’ reports for today and go look tomorrow morning. There is not much time before sixth bell.”

He was right—by the time I’d bathed and received updates from my retainers, it would almost be time for the feast. I sent an ordonnanz to Lasfam asking him to make arrangements for Ferdinand, Eckhart, and Justus, and his response came at once: he had already made them, having heard through Lieseleta that Ferdinand was safe and returning for the feast.

“Lasfam really is an excellent attendant,” I said.

“But of course,” Ferdinand scoffed. “He trained under me.”

“Lieseleta is just as good, though. If not better.”

“Um, Aub Ehrenfest... Are they normally like this?” Hannelore asked Sylvester. She and Heisshitze both looked stunned.

Sylvester let his eyes wander as though searching for the right words, then gave a hushed response: “Yes, most of the time.”

“Welcome back, Lady Rozemyne,” Ottilie said upon my return to the castle. “I am glad to see you are safe.”

Lieseleta and Gretia greeted me too; they had received news of my arrival from Charlotte and rushed over from the library to start getting everything ready. Abrupt invitations inconvenienced more than just the recipient—they also troubled the attendants tasked with preparing for their unexpected guests.

“Even with Bertilde’s assistance, Brunhilde had to run all over the place to prepare Dunkelfelger’s guest rooms,” Ottilie said. “Let us head there now.”

Only once those formalities were out of the way did Ottilie look at her son Hartmut and his fiancée, Clarissa. A smile spread across her face as she told them she had informed the family estate of their return; then she briskly took her leave. As it turned out, she had waited around as long as she was able so that she could confirm everyone was safe.

“Since Lady Rozemyne is about to bathe, the guard knights could return to their dorms in shifts?” Lieseleta suggested to them. “You all will need to change clothes for the feast.”

The knights nodded and got to work deciding the order in which they would get ready. I watched them out of the corner of my eye before heading to the changing room with Gretia. She took out my hair ornaments and started delicately undoing my hair.

“The temple has been contacted,” she said. “Judithe and the others should arrive by the time you have finished bathing.”

“So... How did the war seem from here in Ehrenfest?” I asked. “Was anyone hurt?”

“We were in the library for the most part. Thanks to the magic tool you set up to protect it, we did not even notice the fighting.” They had known when it had started and ended thanks to the arrival of ordonnanzes, but no damage had come to my library.

Gretia continued, “Even before there were signs of a battle, Damuel brought the Gutenbergs and their families to the library in the morning. It was a surprise to see so many commoners arrive all at once.”

“So he kept his promise and protected everyone,” I said. He must have sensed Georgine’s arrival early and moved the Gutenbergs to my library—the safest location, thanks to my magic tools.

“He did. One moment that stood out to me was when your hairpin maker and her family removed their charms and asked him to deliver them to her father. Then they started working on your hair ornaments and clothes, saying that they had to do what they could to help.”

Gretia had just finished undoing my hair and started helping me out of my riding clothes when Lieseleta entered. “Oh, were you discussing today’s events? There were several Gilberta Company seamstresses among those who evacuated. They brought your clothes and hair ornaments with them to the library to ensure their safety. As I recall, they said a fitting would need to be done and wondered when you might be free. We will need to contact them.”

I could picture Tuuli and Corinna both throwing themselves into their work. They would have felt uneasy doing nothing at all, and my approaching departure was a practical concern, but still—the Gutenbergs’ decision to keep busy after their evacuation had turned the library into a surprisingly relaxed environment.

“Those of the Plantin Company observed the estate’s furnishings and the library as closely as they could, eager to learn anything that might help them with their books and eateries. They already had a good understanding of the books made in Ehrenfest, but they said they had never carefully observed a normal one.”

Philine and Judithe arrived as I was finishing my bath. They both looked well. I wasn’t dressed yet, so Roderick was waiting in another room with the male knights.

“So the library was safe, but what about the temple?” I asked. “Did it end up becoming a battlefield...?”

Philine nodded, an uncomfortable look on her face. “But, um, everyone in the orphanage is safe. We received an ordonnanz from Damuel at third bell and evacuated them as per our drills.” That must have been around the same time that the Gutenbergs had made their way to the library.

“The gray priests guarding the temple were replaced with knights, and the shumil magic tools were activated,” Judithe added. She had evacuated the orphans and stayed in contact with Melchior’s retainers. “A short while later, Damuel sent word that threats had appeared at the west gate.”

Wowee. Sounds like he was the real star of the show.

It made sense that Damuel had been the best source of up-to-date information about the attack—he had been tasked with defending the lower city—but hearing his name pop up again and again really showed how much he had done.

“I used my highbeast to get an aerial view of the lower city,” Judithe continued. “There was shouting at the west gate, and the sight of commoners running around when they had been ordered to stay inside told me the battle had truly begun.” She had noticed the knights all rushing to the west gate and wanted to assist them, but her duty had been to defend the temple; the most she could do was watch the clamor. “It was while I was in the air that I noticed a wagon moving strangely.”

Damuel had sent his warning ordonnanz at third bell, and the fighting at the west gate had started before fourth bell. By that time, the main street had been largely devoid of people, and the farmers transporting wagons of vegetables had passed through the gates to their farming towns or to an evacuation camp to the south.

“By fourth bell, the north of the city was nothing but closed shops, but the wagon was headed there anyway. Then it disappeared into the shadows of an alleyway. I suspect that was where it stopped, as a short while later, a group of people appeared at the north gate. They weren’t dressed in silver, but I suspected the west gate might be a diversion, so I sent an ordonnanz to the knights guarding the Noble’s Quarter.”

Judithe sounded proud as ever as she recalled the events of the battle, and for good reason—her gut feeling had proven correct. The figures had formed their highbeasts and turned hostile as soon as they were discovered.

“The thing is, that was a diversion too,” she continued. “As ordonnanzes were darting all over the place, the temple’s back gate was blown wide open.” The small door meant for those traveling on foot had exploded, and the invaders had rushed through while unleashing flash-bangs and instant-death poison. “The reports you sent in the morning had already taught us how to deal with the poison, so we performed waschens instantly and drank our jureves. The knights all survived.”

However, because they had drunk their jureves, they had needed to rely on the shumils to fight for them. Judithe had likewise come into contact with the poison while she was flying above the temple’s gate, but the other knights had acted as per my instructions.

“The shumils were unbelievably strong. One of the five invaders was wearing skintight silver clothes, so the shumils weren’t able to detect them and allowed them to pass. But the other four were almost immediately killed by the blue and pink shumils that came running from the front gate. The shumils moved so tremendously fast and mowed down the intruders with their radiant golden scythes. I already knew they would prioritize speed, since they had only until they ran out of mana, but I still couldn’t believe how suddenly they cut down the threats. They ended up covered in blood, but don’t worry—I cleaned them with a waschen.”

“Th-Thank you, Judithe.” She was wearing a proud smile, but the mental image of shumils soaked red with the blood of their enemies was kind of terrifying.

“I contacted Lord Melchior to report that one silver-clothed invader had made it into the temple. I did not experience the events that followed firsthand, but that person was apparently Lady Georgine. She triggered a bunch of traps before ultimately being teleported to the Ivory Tower.”

Judithe hadn’t seen the events of the book room, then. I would need to ask Melchior and his retainers for more details.

“Oh, also—one of the intruders the shumils killed was Grausam, Matthias’s father.”

“Um... Grausam?”

“I shall let you decide if you want to tell Matthias.”

We took Grausam down in Gerlach, didn’t we?

I cocked my head at her, and that was when I remembered—Matthias had said something about his father having three body doubles.

Um, body doubles? But which Grausam was the real one? Is the battle actually over?

Unease spread through my chest, and I saw my face pale in the mirror. I wanted to leap up and race straight to the temple and the lower city.

“Lady Rozemyne, are your male retainers allowed to enter?” Lieseleta asked. “Damuel and Roderick are here. Laurenz is currently stationed outside the door, while my sister is guarding it from the inside. The other guard knights seem to have returned to their rooms to change.”

I snapped back to my senses and nodded; Lieseleta and Gretia had at some point finished doing my hair and changing my clothes. “Please do. I would appreciate this chance to hear a report from Damuel.”

“He certainly was a hero,” Lieseleta giggled. She and Gretia then went to fetch him.

It wasn’t long before Damuel and Roderick entered. The latter was holding a pen and some paper, ready to take notes. Maybe he had been transcribing Damuel’s perspective on the fighting.

“Welcome back, Lady Rozemyne.”

“Thank you, Damuel. I am glad to be back. You were able to protect the Gutenbergs, were you not? And it has come to my attention that your ordonnanzes were immensely helpful to everyone who received them. I thank you ever so much.”

His eyes wandered as he struggled to find a response; then he finally said, “I am honored to receive your praise.” He was undermining his own achievements, in true Damuel fashion, and the sight caused a smile to play on my lips.

“I am told the west gate was attacked. Please tell me the damages.”

“Very well. Some of the west gate’s soldiers were hurt, but none sustained serious injuries. We can thank Brigitte’s ordonnanz, which gave us time to prepare ourselves.”

“Brigitte’s ordonnanz...?” I repeated. As much as I was relieved to hear everyone was safe, that wasn’t a name I’d expected to hear.

“Indeed,” he replied with a nod. “Any commendations for my warnings should go to her. She had wanted to contact you, but as you, Angelica, and Cornelius were all outside Ehrenfest, her ordonnanzes refused to take flight. She sent one to me as a last resort.”

Frustrated, Brigitte had sent Damuel an out-of-the-blue ordonnanz demanding to know why she couldn’t reach me during this state of emergency. She had also reported that an Illgner lumber merchant visiting Leisegang had seen a group of strange individuals board a boat. They had called themselves traveling merchants, but their arrogance and flowery language aroused suspicion.

“Everyone could tell they were nobles in disguise, so they kept their distance—which only made the group stand out even more,” Damuel continued. “The lumber merchant returned to Illgner just as the giebe’s knights were gathering information about any suspicious individuals, and the rest goes without saying.”

The knight who had received the merchant’s report had attempted to deliver it to the giebe, but he’d never had the chance; he had arrived both on the heels of Old Werkestock’s invasion and while the giebe was requesting reinforcements from Sylvester, so he’d simply been turned away.

In the end, the knight hadn’t been able to deliver his message to the giebe; the knight commander had been giving his Order a rousing speech about enduring until their reinforcements arrived, rushing everyone to get ready for battle all the while. The other knights had also hurried him, so he’d flown with them to the battlefield, where he’d ultimately reported to Brigitte. I could only imagine the shock she must have felt when her ordonnanz to me had refused to fly.

Sorry, Brigitte...

“I wasted no time consulting Leisegang about these suspicious individuals and asked when the ship in question was expected to arrive at Ehrenfest’s west gate,” Damuel continued. He had passed along a description of the suspected nobles and several other details, like the fact that a lumber merchant from Illgner had made the initial report, and asked that the matter be looked into posthaste. “They began their investigation at once, perhaps because they had already been told the Knight’s Order would contact them. The speed with which they then produced results seems like a testament to how much the group in question stood out.”

Leisegang had responded that the boat would arrive at about fourth bell, weather permitting. Thus, Damuel had sent ordonnanzes to various locations, warning them to be on their guard, and evacuated the Gutenbergs.

“The lumber merchant’s information proved correct: a boat that arrived immediately before fourth bell was transporting individuals with silver capes and wolfaniels.”

A request for more knights had been sent out, but not even that had prepared them for the coming battle. The invaders had attacked in greater numbers than expected, and with wolfaniels. It was then that Damuel sent out ordonnanzes requesting more backup and announcing the start of the fighting.

Damuel continued, “The knights at the west gate warned the soldiers about the dangers of wolfaniels and entrusted them with an important duty—dumping waste on the invaders to force them to remove any silver clothes.”

The excrement had been dropped on the silver-caped invaders as they had tried to pass through the gate. Of course, the sullied nobles hadn’t been too pleased about “mere commoners” disgracing them, so they had unleashed their wolfaniels and taken out their schtappes. The knights hiding in the shadows to prevent their escape had then burst out all at once and taken them down.

“That reminds me,” Damuel said, “a captain at the west gate, Gunther, truly scared me.”

Hearing that name made my stomach lurch. “Why? What happened...?” Was he seriously hurt? The fact he had given Damuel no more than a fright might have meant he had ended up in danger but managed to escape.

“There weren’t enough knights to contain the wolfaniels, so one of the beasts slipped through and pounced on a soldier. Gunther leapt into action and punched it with his gauntlet—like this.” Damuel swung at the air a few times to demonstrate.

“Um... A commoner started punching a wolfaniel...?” I asked.

“He even let out a shout. Like ‘What’re you doing to my subordinate, you mangy pup?!’”

As heroic as Damuel made it sound, wolfaniels were seriously dangerous and could change size based on their mana quantity. “Are you sure nobody received any major injuries at the west gate?!” My face turned ghostly white as I cried, “Don’t tell me you’re being sneaky and omitting any deaths from your count!”

Damuel shook his head with a troubled smile. “There were no deaths at all. The wolfaniel bit Gunther when he punched it, but your charm activated on the spot.”

“Excuse me?”

“The wolfaniel exploded, scattering chunks all over the place. That was when Gunther realized the true strength of the charms he was wearing... and started pushing the boons his family had given him to their absolute limit. I wanted to complain that he was threatening to shatter the promise I made you.”

I couldn’t even begin to describe my embarrassment. I wanted to find a deep hole and dive right into it—or dig my own, if need be.

Um... Sorry my dad was such a menace.

“The attack on the west gate must have been meant as a diversion from the attack on the temple,” Damuel said. “Still, we managed to prevent any more bad actors from getting inside the city. Gunther defeated two wolfaniels in the end, then kicked down Grausam, the former Giebe Gerlach, and finished him with a charm. He put his life on the line, but his results can’t be ignored. Could you ask the aub to consider rewarding the soldiers of the west gate? A request from you should accomplish far more than if I attempted to make one through the Knight’s Order.”

I thought that was a fantastic idea. The soldiers needed commendations—and to be honest, so did Damuel.

Still, another Grausam? And this time, Dad was the one who took him down?

“Hold on!” Judithe cried, shooting Damuel a glare like he was trying to steal her valor. “It was the temple’s shumils that dispatched Grausam—I saw it with my own eyes! You must be mistaken.”

“No, I recognized his face,” Damuel protested. He must not have been too impressed that his observational skills were being called into question.

I clapped my hands a few times and got between them. “Let’s nip this in the bud: according to Matthias, Grausam had three body doubles. Before we came here, we defeated our own Grausam in Gerlach.”

“Come again?”

Every one of my retainers who had stayed in Ehrenfest stared at me in shock. Angelica was the only one who looked entirely unfazed. That was when I remembered that although I’d received their reports, I’d yet to give any of my own.

“Um, Lady Rozemyne... Preparing a body double is no easy feat. Not everyone’s mana is the same color, so the idea that he had three is...”

“There are ways to make it happen—assuming one does not mind using cruel and costly methods,” I said.

Grausam had formed submission contracts with countless Devouring soldiers. It wouldn’t have been particularly tough for him to dye such people with his mana, since they wouldn’t have received any attributes from their parents. He might even have been able to artificially induce the mark of Ewigeliebe within them, although most would simply have died in the process.

Could it be that Grausam and Count Bindewald targeted me way back when to turn me into another body double?

“In any case,” I said, “we have confirmed the existence of at least three Grausams. It would not surprise me if we discovered that even more were defeated over the course of this invasion. I am more concerned that there might be a second or third Lady Georgine.”

My retainers all tensed up. If the Georgine bested in the temple turned out to have been an impostor, there was a good chance the real one would rear her head again.

“I will send an ordonnanz to Sylvester,” I declared. “Let us confirm whether Lady Georgine truly was defeated.”

My bird took flight... and soon returned with a response.

“Yes, we got the real Georgine. The one that was teleported to the Ivory Tower was a fake, but the one I dispatched in the foundation’s hall was really her. I also got back what was stolen from us. No matter what lingering forces remain, they won’t reach our foundation.”

The Knight’s Order was on top of the various Grausams and Georgines that had been killed. If nothing else, we wouldn’t need to worry about our foundation being stolen during the feast, especially if we’d retrieved the key to our bible.

The ordonnanz repeated its message twice, then turned into a yellow stone and started to fall in front of me. I’d seen it happen so many times before, but for some reason, I was trembling too much to catch it as it fell. A chill ran down my spine, and my stomach began to ache.

“Is something wrong?” Lieseleta asked, eyeing me curiously as she picked up the stone.

I gazed down at my fingers, smiled, and said that it was nothing. I wasn’t even sure how to describe the unease I was feeling. Staying seated wouldn’t do me much good, so I stood up.

“Is it almost sixth bell?” I asked.

“Not quite, and we won’t leave right away. The hall is going to be busy with all the preparations being made, so we shall wait until we are contacted and then depart leisurely.”

“I see...” I said and sat back down.

I was imagining how busy the hall must be when a small bell chimed. Gretia opened the door, and my dressed retainers entered.

“We apologize for the wait, Lady Rozemyne.”

I stood up again. “Well, with everyone here, there may be something we can do to help out in the hall.” Before I could attempt to leave, however, Lieseleta shook her head.

“Please rest for a little while longer. I am told you collapsed even in Ahrensbach. You must be tired, no?”

“I am tired, but it feels impossible to remain still.”

Lieseleta looked at her fellow retainers; then her brow furrowed in concern. “Lady Rozemyne, you played a crucial role in this battle; there are bound to be any number of guests who wish to speak with you. Rather than trying to help with the preparations, I would advise you to rest or devise ways to deal with anyone who wants your attention.”

Deal with them, hmm?

That hadn’t even crossed my mind. I’d assumed all eyes would be on Sylvester for his battle against Georgine, Melchior for defending the temple, or perhaps the knights who had protected the west gate. I decided to consult my retainers, which prompted Clarissa to beam and stick out her chest.

“I can spread tales of your heroism all night. My specialty will be the ritual performed over Ahrensbach’s ocean, which I was able to observe in its entirety.”

Under normal circumstances, I might have tried to convince Clarissa to reconsider... but something told me she would do a better job than I ever could.

“Lady Rozemyne?”

“Yes, very well. I shall entrust this evening’s guests to Hartmut and Clarissa. So much has happened that I’ve yet to fully come to terms with. I doubt I would manage to answer any questions properly.” It was like a thick fog had descended on my mind or a blanket was enveloping my memories. If someone else wanted to explain the events of our battles in my stead, I wasn’t going to stop them.

“You may count on me, then,” Hartmut said, smiling at the convenience. “I shall speak so much that you won’t need to answer a single question.”

As I nodded, Cornelius peered down at me. His dark, panicked eyes betrayed a single question, which he wasted no time putting into words: “Rozemyne, are you sure? I’m pretty sure you’re going to regret this immediately.”

“Oh?” I replied with a chuckle. “You could always distract our guests with tales of your own heroics.”

Cornelius shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. If you let Hartmut and Clarissa say whatever they want—in front of the Dunkelfelgerians, no less, who are going to make whatever tales they hear even taller—then Mother will go absolutely crazy. Do you want to be her next victim?”

“Um, Cornelius... I went to war. That’s it. Nothing romantic happened whatsoever. Do you really think Mother, of all people, has tired of writing love stories? Do you think she’d try her hand at action-packed tales about knights?” Were that the case, wouldn’t she be drawn to those who had served as Hannelore’s guards? They would have so many more amazing stories to tell.

“Of course not,” Cornelius muttered, hanging his head.

Exactly. It seems to me that her passion for love stories has only increased over the years.

In contrast to Cornelius, who looked exhausted before the feast had even started, Roderick’s brown eyes were sparkling as he showed me his papers. “I want to hear everything there is to hear about your battles. I plan to create some new knight stories and a sequel to A Ditter Story, so everyone’s tales of heroism are more than welcome.”

As we all smiled warmly at Roderick’s enthusiasm, Hartmut alone placed a contemplative hand on his chin. “In that case, might we have Roderick stay by Lady Rozemyne’s side and ask the guests about their own heroics? That should distract them.”

“Hartmut, are you surrendering a place by Lady Rozemyne’s side to Roderick...?” Philine asked, worry clear on her face. “Do you have a fever or something of the like?”

Damuel gave a firm nod of agreement—and with that, sixth bell rang.