Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume Short Story-1 - Chapter 15

Hirschur — Special Accommodations

A short story that takes place between Part 3 Volume 5 and Part 4 Volume 1, originally written as a sales bonus for the latter. Hirschur receives a special request from Ehrenfest, which brings to mind thoughts of her duchy and her disciple.

Author’s Note: How was Rozemyne’s long slumber seen by those not in Ehrenfest? In this chapter, I decided to write a bit about what dormitory supervisors do when they’re not, well, supervising their dormitories! I hope you enjoy seeing a side of Hirschur that Rozemyne doesn’t experience as a student.

In preparation for my most recent brew, I set down my practice wooden board, the surface of which was all rough and dented from extensive use. On it was a magic circle that would aid my brewing—but in order to actually use it, I needed to transfer the design onto paper.

I checked the magic circle for any errors—I already had it memorized, but better safe than sorry—then held down my sheet of paper with my left thumb and index finger. Then, after deciding how big I wanted to make my copies, I morphed my schtappe into a pen and took a slow breath. My every line would need to be beautiful and precise.

My focus entirely on the pen, I drew several circles of various sizes, one after another. My movements were quick but delicate.

“Hah. I seem to be on a roll today.”

My concentration was perfect, and my pen moved with tremendous accuracy. It was probably because I was in such good health at the moment. My mana flowed smoothly and the lines I drew were of equal thickness, making my circle even more seemly than expected.

I set down my pen and paused to appreciate my work—but not for long enough that my focus would wane. After rotating my wrist a few times and rolling my shoulder to loosen up, I got to work drawing the sigils next.

All of a sudden, a flapping noise announced the arrival of an ordonnanz. This wasn’t the best time, considering that my arm was occupied and could not serve as a perch. I completed the sigil that I was working on, tapped the desk to make the little nuisance land, then resumed my drawing.

“Professor Hirschur,” the bird said, “we need you to unlock the Ehrenfest Dormitory.” It was a message from one of the knights working in the dormitory’s teleportation hall.

“I will soon,” I replied, not even looking up from my magic circle. “Wait for now.” I was preoccupied at the moment, so I would send the ordonnanz back later.

Aah. The Archduke Conference arrived in the blink of an eye.

It was about now that attendants would start arriving from the castle to begin preparing the dormitory. I was fortunate enough not to be teaching any remedial lessons this year, so I’d paid almost no attention to the changing of the seasons, but this meant that spring was almost over.

Ah, how wonderful it has been not having to tutor Angelica. Words cannot describe how great it feels to be so immersed in my research.

But alas, I soon received another ordonnanz: “Professor Hirschur, where are you? We request that the dormitory be unlocked.”

Truly a foolish question; I was obviously in my laboratory in the scholar building. And surely they understood that my lack of a response meant I was brewing—or could they not even piece together that much?

“Good grief...” I sighed, again ignoring the ordonnanz to focus on my drawing. “It seems to me that the knights stationed in the teleportation hall need more training.”

Yes, it was my duty as a dormitory supervisor to lock and unlock the dormitory and tea party room, but my intervention was not necessary for the servants to prepare chefs or the attendants to clean the room for the archducal couple. My mana was in top form right now, and I intended to finish the magic circle and complete my brewing while that remained true.

I gazed upon my magic circle with a contented sigh, impressed with my accomplishment—only for yet another ordonnanz to arrive.

“This is Norbert. Hirschur, I ask that you unlock the dormitory and tea party room without further delay.”

So, the castle’s head attendant had decided to join the tomfoolery. One could easily imagine his furious countenance.

I was going to start brewing right away... but I sense that making them wait any longer will only cause me more trouble.

“Though it pains me to admit it, this is the bare minimum I must do as a dormitory supervisor. I suppose I shall accept.”

After heaving a very drawn-out sigh, I stood up. Then, after one last regretful glance at my magic circle, I went into my laboratory’s hidden room and acquired my key ring.

I shall unlock the doors to the central building and the tea party room, and that is all, I told myself. It won’t be long before I’m back in my laboratory and immersed in research.

A meeting with Norbert would surely lead to a bothersome lecture of sorts, so I was prepared to leave the moment my work was done. I inserted my key into the door the moment I arrived at the dormitory and started pouring my mana into it—and no sooner had the door unlocked than it opened from the other side.

“Pray tell, Hirschur—where were your responses to our ordonnanzes?” Norbert asked, wearing a smile that did not reach his eyes in the least. He was dressed in the sharp attire of an archduke’s head attendant, and his hair, which was more gray than brown these days, was smartly slicked back with gel.

I certainly hadn’t expected Norbert to be listening for my arrival, but I managed to hide my surprise behind a smile. “Oh my. Good day to you, Uncle. If you will excuse me, I must go unlock the tea party room as well.”

I tried to close the door again and make my escape, but he stopped me in my tracks. “I am glad to see you in such good health this year, but can you do nothing about that outfit of yours? You are a professor of the Royal Academy—and a noblewoman, above all else.”

I knew this would happen, which is precisely why I was trying to avoid him.

A small voice in my head told me that I could have sidestepped this mess by responding to that knight’s first ordonnanz... but I silenced it at once.

“Ah, dear me,” I said. “Should my appearance come as any surprise when I was so abruptly dragged away from my research? I put down my very important work because someone made this seem urgent—and I will continue that work immediately upon returning to my laboratory.” Changing clothes would have been a waste of time, since I would have needed to change back to continue brewing.

Norbert’s brow furrowed a little, and his purple eyes narrowed in a glare. “Just how much time do you believe has passed since that first ordonnanz was sent? You had more than enough time to make yourself presentable, did you not?”

“Unfortunately, I spent all of that time trying to find an appropriate stopping point in my work. If you require me to dress up then I would ask that you arrange a formal meeting instead of summoning me by ordonnanz at such short notice. I would be more than willing to accommodate your wishes then.”

No matter how deeply I was absorbed in my work, I was fully capable of changing my clothes if given three or four days’ notice. After all, my attendant would outright forbid me from doing research on the day I was needed.

“If you do not wish to see me in these clothes, dear uncle, then allow me to lock the door again so that we might arrange a meeting. I am sure we can arrange for my return before the archducal family arrives.”

I was ready to close the door—and put an end to the lecture—but Norbert moved to stop me. “Just go and unlock the tea party room. Oh, and Hirschur... dormitory supervisors are supposed to live in their respective dormitory. Is it not about time that you return?”

How painfully ironic. It was at Norbert’s request that I moved to the laboratory in the first place—he had told me that Lady Veronica’s mood soured each time she saw me in the dormitory during the Archduke Conference. Now, here he was, demanding that I come back.

I cocked my head to one side and smiled provocatively. “My apologies, dear uncle. I have lived away from the dormitory for so long that I do not know how to return.”

Norbert paused for a moment and then said, “Lord Sylvester’s children will be enrolled in the Royal Academy next winter. We would like the dormitory to have its supervisor back before then.”

“Lord Sylvester’s children...?”

If my memory served me right, Lord Sylvester’s first son had been raised by Lady Veronica herself and was set to become the next archduke. My cheek twitched; the troubles we had all faced during Lord Sylvester’s time at the Royal Academy were sure to resurface.

“Dear uncle,” I said, “if this is not a request from Aub Ehrenfest himself, then I must decline even you. Now, I must go unlock the tea party room.”

And with that, I took my leave. A small part of me thought I heard someone say, “Our discussion is not yet over,” but I elected to believe it was my imagination.

If my return to the dormitory really is important, he’ll surely come after me.

At a leisurely pace, I made my way to the tea party room. Ehrenfest’s door was number fourteen.

Though we may end up climbing a rank this year.

The duchy’s younger students were obtaining higher grades than expected, to the point that some of the other professors had even started to comment on their achievements. One could assume they were working their hardest in hope of being chosen to serve the archduke candidates coming to the Royal Academy.

I unlocked the door and, lo and behold, there was Norbert. “Send word when the Archduke Conference is over,” I said to him, turning to leave. “I will come and lock any doors you wish.”

“Hirschur, this does not conclude your duties for this year’s Archduke Conference. There are other things I must ask you to do as Ehrenfest’s dormitory supervisor.”

I paused. It was clear from his decision to come here that this conversation really was important... but to my knowledge, there was nothing else for me to do.

“And what might those be?” I asked.

“We need special accommodations to be made for Lady Rozemyne, one of the enrolling archduke candidates. This box here contains a letter from Aub Ehrenfest and documents from her primary doctor. Take them. I think you will find them necessary.”

Lady Rozemyne? The fabled saint?

Several years ago, some amused professors had consulted me about her. “Hartmut continues to mention a saint being baptized in Ehrenfest,” one had said. Another had then asked me to comment on gossip of “a new daughter loved dearly by the gods.” Of course, the saint rumors were too foolish for anyone to actually believe—but nobody could deny that she had been baptized as Lord Karstedt and Lady Elvira’s daughter before being adopted by the archduke. This meant she was also Cornelius’s little sister.

I’m impressed that a girl in her position was adopted at all; it seems infinitely unlikely that Lady Veronica would ever give her permission. Hm... Perhaps she is Lord Sylvester’s newest sacrifice so that he can remain aub.

I was well aware of my bias against Lord Sylvester, but I simply could not bring myself to like him. There had been a time when Ferdinand and I hoped that his becoming archduke would curtail Lady Veronica’s tyranny and bring change to Ehrenfest—but, in the end, everything had stayed the same.

I returned to my laboratory, the box Norbert had given me in my arms. Special accommodations were given to students who, for one reason or another, could not enter the Royal Academy during their tenth winter or graduate during their fifteenth. They had previously been given out after the civil war, to the flood of apprentice blue priests and shrine maidens who entered the temple, but that period was over. Under what circumstances was an archduke candidate now requiring them?

“A year and a half ago, while everyone was gathered in the castle for winter socializing, she was attacked by a group of Ehrenfest nobles. She has been in a jureve ever since.”

I’d decided to read Aub Ehrenfest’s letter first, and immediately my head started to spin. Just how far had Ehrenfest fallen for its own nobles to have attacked the archducal family?

Hmm... Has Lord Sylvester finally begun to act like a proper archduke, exacerbating the conflict with Lady Veronica?

I shook my head to dispel the idea. Allowing hope to lead me astray would only make the inevitable disappointment hurt all the more.

Still... Is a year and a half not far too long? I wondered. One normally only spent between three and ten days in a jureve.

“Ah, yes... Of course,” I muttered as I started piecing things together. Lady Rozemyne was but a child and had not yet enrolled at the Royal Academy. She wouldn’t have her own jureve and would thus be relying on that of a parent or an unmarried sibling—thereby explaining the dissonance.

Alongside the letter from Lord Sylvester was one from his first wife, Lady Florencia. I read it as well.

“I apologize, Professor Hirschur. I am aware that special accommodations are no longer being provided for temple-raised apprentices and that preparing them again will not be easy. Know that your work is for a good cause, though. Rozemyne is such a precious girl, and it is because of her that my children are safe. I pray that you will do everything in your power to help maintain her future as a noble.”

Lady Charlotte, the archduke’s biological daughter, had apparently been kidnapped, and Lady Rozemyne had been gravely wounded in the process of saving her. That came as no surprise; branch families and adopted children were told ad nauseam to prioritize the first wife’s children above all else.

How irritating... But that will not stop me from preparing these special accommodations.

“Incidentally, I wonder whether these documents are in proper form.”

Lord Sylvester had put them together, and considering how shoddy his work often turned out to be, they were probably missing all sorts of crucial information. I gazed at the box dubiously, then took out the documents. Lady Rozemyne’s condition was written in small, precise letters.

“Is this... Ferdinand’s handwriting? He, of all people, is acting as Lady Rozemyne’s primary doctor?”

Doctor or not, a position in the castle meant his situation had improved from his days spent in the temple. Or perhaps Lady Rozemyne was being so severely abused as an adopted daughter that she had not been permitted a doctor, forcing Ferdinand to take the role. I sighed; it was impossible to know from these documents alone, and my disciple hadn’t sent me a single update on his situation.

“These documents are so detailed; I would have been able to make a petition with only half as many. But if he knew these were going to reach me, he could have at least slipped in a letter to let me know how he’s doing. Good grief...”

Considering how harshly Lady Veronica had treated Ferdinand when he was a student, it was hard to imagine her treating Lady Elvira’s daughter—adopted or otherwise—with any semblance of warmth. I envisioned my disciple standing at the forefront to protect this young girl... and instinctively, I grimaced.

Special accommodations needed to be petitioned for during the Archduke Conference, and they required the direct approval of the royal family. I contacted the other professors and summoned them to an emergency meeting in the central building. The room we were using had been cleaned in preparation for the upcoming conference, so it was much nicer than usual.

Gundolf was the first to speak. “I must admit, Hirschur, I never would have expected you to gather us together like this. With the Archduke Conference around the corner, I assumed you were immersed in research.”

“Yes, that is how I would rather be spending my time, instead of doing whatever task has been forced upon me. But I must do the bare minimum as a professor... and this development is something I cannot overlook.”

The other supervisors were far busier than I. They were all in the midst of preparing their dormitories, making sure everything was ready for their duchies’ visitors.

Gundolf chuckled. “I do not know what happened, but you certainly exude the aura of a genuine professor.”

“Oh my. Do I not always?”

I showed the professors the documents from Ehrenfest and a copied-out portion of the archduke’s letter. “Lady Rozemyne, the intended recipient of these special accommodations, is not a mere blue priest or shrine maiden from the temple. She is the adoptive daughter of Aub Ehrenfest himself.”

“What must have happened for a member of the archducal family to require such accommodations?” Primevere asked, blinking at me curiously. These really were unthinkable circumstances; members of the archducal family were given retainers at a young age and overseen by guard knights at all times.

“One of the duchy’s own nobles attacked its castle, and she was gravely wounded while protecting the archduke’s daughter by blood. As she has not yet enrolled as a student, she does not have a jureve. It is mentioned here that she had to rely on one given to her by a family member—but she has been asleep for a year and a half now, so its affinity to her mana must not be very high.”

“Is that really enough to explain her unusually long sleep?” Rauffen asked. “There must be something else.”

I could see his point. It wasn’t particularly uncommon for children to use a family member’s jureve, and when they did, rarely were they rendered unconscious for so long. Furthermore, Lady Rozemyne had male siblings whose mana had never been influenced through marriage or what have you. If she had received one of their jureves, why had it been so incompatible?

“According to these documents from her primary doctor in Ehrenfest, there are several contributing factors. As she was attacked in the castle, we can assume that everyone was in quite a panic, no? Time was of the essence, which is why she had to accept the jureve of her nearest brother, who was guarding the archducal family at the time. Unfortunately, said brother has a history of marriage—and on top of that, Lady Rozemyne’s birth and baptismal mothers are not one and the same. That is why her affinity to the jureve is so low.”

“But why use his jureve to begin with? They should have sought her father’s and... Ah.” Rauffen paused, having at last understood. “She is adopted, so her parents’ jureves would not be in the castle.”

The archduke’s biological children would have had easy access to their parents’ jureves, but not Lady Rozemyne. There had been no guarantee that she would survive the journey to her estate, which was why they had needed to act quickly. A jureve was needed to keep her from the distant heights, but her once married elder brother was the only available donor. It was a tough decision made under tremendously stressful circumstances.

“Lady Rozemyne’s father, Lord Karstedt, serves as Ehrenfest’s knight commander. Thus, when it came to light that members of the archducal family had been attacked in the castle, he sprang into action. It also took him some time to retrieve his jureve from his hidden room and, as his potion was given to Lady Rozemyne immediately after she had received one from her brother, there was a brief period when her body rejected it entirely.”

Sighs filled the meeting room. These decisions made under stress had saved Lady Rozemyne’s life—but at the same time, she was missing out on such an integral period of growth.

“Still, that was all a year and a half ago,” Fraularm said. “Is it not likely that her mana clumps will fail to dissolve and she will ascend to the distant heights?”

I gave a curt nod. “It is. Her recovery is laggard at best, and there are no signs that she will wake up. But she is still alive. We must not allow her future to be snuffed out when she was poisoned while protecting the archduke’s daughter. That is why I need your help. Is it not our duty as professors to support our students, old and new?”

After hearing my honest appeal, the other professors all agreed to the special accommodations and signed their names on a board to prove it. Now, all that remained was for Lord Sylvester to obtain the royal family’s permission during the Archduke Conference.

Well, I came all this way to the central building... Might as well stop by the dormitory and deliver the board. Then, my duty will at last be complete.

Once our meeting concluded, I sent an ordonnanz to the Ehrenfest Dormitory to inform them I was coming. Norbert was waiting in the entrance hall when I arrived.

“Professor Hirschur,” he said, “I am told you secured the Royal Academy’s approval. I thank you.” To my surprise, he was welcoming me not as a chiding uncle but as the castle’s head attendant. I would respond to him accordingly.

“Here is the board you need, Norbert. Sovereign scholars may begin to question the circumstances behind the attack on Lady Rozemyne. Ehrenfest must be prepared to answer them alone.”

It had been my duty to obtain the permission of the other Royal Academy professors, but convincing the king rightly fell to the archduke.

Sometime later, I received another ordonnanz: the royal family had agreed to our request during the Archduke Conference, and Aub Ehrenfest was inviting me to a celebratory meal. I swiftly refused—nothing good would come of eating with the archduke—and returned to my brewing.

Summer came and went as I continued my research, and autumn began. These were quiet seasons in the Royal Academy, so most professors returned to their home duchy or the Sovereignty—but it was also when gathering research materials became much easier. Herbs grew in abundance and feyplants bore fruit, so visiting the Academy’s gardens proved very enjoyable.

As the end of autumn approached, the other professors started to return. Things were getting busier as servants began preparing for the new academic term, and it was then that an ordonnanz arrived for me. I was rarely ever contacted at this time of year, so it was an unusual development. What might have happened?

“This is the Ehrenfest Dormitory,” said one of the knights stationed in the teleportation hall. “Professor Hirschur, a letter has arrived for you. We ask that you come retrieve it before the term begins.”

To honor their request, I went and collected the letter after completing my brewing.

“Oh? This is from Lord Ferdinand.”

I opened the letter. At the very beginning was an announcement that Lady Rozemyne had woken up. She would be attending the Royal Academy normally and no longer required any special accommodations. For the sake of her future, having her attend alongside everyone else was the best move—assuming there was time to prepare.

But as I read on, I was completely taken aback.

“Wait a moment. Why was none of this mentioned in the other letters?!”

They had explained that Lady Rozemyne wasn’t Lady Elvira’s biological daughter, but there hadn’t been so much as a mention that she was raised in the temple. Not to mention, her noble education was apparently lacking due to her two-year slumber.

Lady Rozemyne had more mana than the average archduke candidate—as one would expect of a child adopted into the archducal family—but sleeping in a jureve had made her flow somewhat unstable. According to the letter, she needed supportive magic tools just to move, and she was having trouble controlling her mana as well.

In short, Ferdinand wanted me to watch Lady Rozemyne carefully during her practical lessons—though he specified that she would have no problems at all with her written ones. He wrote at length and in detail about what he had taught her.

“‘Rozemyne has absurd and fascinating thought patterns, so she will surely be of use to your research. She is in your care,’” I said, reading the letter aloud. “You cannot be serious, Ferdinand. If you had time to write so extensively about Lady Rozemyne, could you not have added at least a sentence about yourself...?”

Still, this letter had been written with far more enthusiasm than the one I’d received months ago. I recalled my disciple’s habit of growing more talkative when it came to research that interested him, and a smile arose on my lips.

For him to have written this, he must be doing better than when he feared that Lady Veronica would soon succeed at killing him.

“Still, this letter focuses entirely on Lady Rozemyne. How rare it is for Ferdinand, of all people, to be this concerned about another. A fascinating archduke candidate with bizarre and creative ideas... I wonder what she will do during her time here?”

Despite having stressed that Lady Rozemyne was educated enough to breeze through her written lessons, Ferdinand went on to provide a long and very detailed list of things to be aware of when teaching her and the like. He clearly saw her as his disciple and was very fond of her despite all the trouble she caused him.

I thought back to the days when Ferdinand was a student. He had secured high grades, but there had been no end to his shenanigans. “I wonder, has he finally learned the struggles of being a mentor?” I cackled, recalling the many incidents he had caused and all that he had achieved.

Winter was upon us, and so was Lady Rozemyne’s enrollment at the Royal Academy. She would presumably tell me more about Ferdinand than I could ever discern from his letters. At that thought, I really started to look forward to meeting my disciple’s disciple.