Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume Short Story-1 - Chapter 18

Philine — My Knight in Shining Armor

The sales bonus for Part 4 Volume 3. Philine is ready to learn mana compression, but an unexpected turn of events complicates her plans. This short story covers so much of the day that Rozemyne wasn’t able to witness.

Author’s Note: Laynobles often lead tough lives, but Philine’s house ranks low even among them. Damuel may be from a laynoble house too, but his family is richer, in part because of the Othmar Company’s support.

The very instant first bell chimed, I opened my eyes and sprang out of bed. I was very excited, and for good reason—today, Lady Rozemyne was going to be teaching me her mana compression method.

Immediately I started to get dressed. In the Royal Academy, I would usually have my attendant help me, but the only attendant in this estate was Eineira, the aunt of my father’s secondary wife. She would care for Father and Lady Jonsara, but the only time she deigned to assist me was when I needed to wear outside clothes. Otherwise, I needed to manage on my own.

Because I couldn’t rely on an attendant here at home, I always wore commoner clothes that I could put on alone. I also did my best to help Konrad change, though I naturally couldn’t be of much help while I was attending the Royal Academy. Eineira had at least looked after him in my absence, and it seemed that even now she was dressing him each morning. I really appreciated the extra time that afforded me.

Morning was an important time for retainers going to the castle. I gave my room a light clean, double-checked the clothes and other things I intended to bring with me, then speedily moved to the dining hall. I wanted to finish preparing breakfast while Konrad was still getting changed.

First, I made sure to light a fire in the hearth; I was going to heat up the leftover soup that the chefs had made yesterday. Then, while that was warming through, I grabbed some bread from the pantry, cut off some thin slices, and toasted them with cheese. Nobody who saw me now would think I was a noble.

In my estate, to reduce the amount we spent on servants, we only asked the chefs to work from second to sixth bell. We also prepared our own meals instead of getting attendants to serve us. It wouldn’t have surprised me to learn that rich commoners lived more like nobles than we did.

I certainly wouldn’t want anyone to see me like this.

After putting the toasted bread on a plate and the warm soup in a bowl, I got some milk from our ice room and poured two cups. These past few days, this was normally when Konrad would arrive in the dining hall... but he still wasn’t here. It was strange. I was working in the castle every day now, so he never missed a chance to eat breakfast or dinner with me.

Could it be that Eineira received a summons from Lady Jonsara?

If so, she was probably ignoring Konrad. I went to leave the dining hall to check on him myself, but then Eineira arrived.

“Ah, Eineira,” I said. “Where is Konrad?”

“I went to wake him as per my usual routine, but he is not feeling well. I was told to let him stay in bed a while longer.” A thin, mocking smile spread across her lips. “If you truly were Lady Rozemyne’s retainer, we would not want your infamously sickly lady to become ill as well.”

Eineira and Lady Jonsara still refused to believe that I was serving Lady Rozemyne. It was frustrating... but I did not care. Trying to convince them felt like a waste of my time. Besides, once Father returned from gathering intelligence in the castle, they would no longer be able to doubt me.

“I see,” I replied. “In that case, once I finish breakfast, I ask that you help me prepare to leave for the castle.”

Eineira heaved a drawn-out sigh. “Staying in the castle’s playroom until the feast celebrating spring is important—I understand that—but you seem just as averse to spending time here as Lord Kashick.” And with that critical remark, she exited the dining hall. She frustrated me, but I needed to endure it for now; I couldn’t put on my castle clothes without her.

I ate breakfast alone. Maybe because it was so quiet and lonely without Konrad, or maybe because it was such a plain and simple meal, I couldn’t help but think back to the lively atmosphere and the delicious food served at the Royal Academy.

Though I’m still so much more blessed than Konrad. At least I get to spend my lunches with the other retainers.

After finishing my food, I put my dishes away and went to see my brother. Despite what Eineira had said, I still wanted to check on him.

If only Lady Jonsara had never become so neglectful... Then I wouldn’t need to do this.

Lady Jonsara had married into our house as a replacement wife not long after my mother died—about a season after Konrad was born. Father had needed someone to raise us, so he was forced to pick between hiring a live-in maid and taking another wife.

At the time, our distant relation Lady Jonsara had also lost a family member and was struggling as a result. Father decided that it was more economical to take her as a replacement wife, and she brought her Aunt Eineira as an attendant.

And, at first, everything went well. Lady Jonsara was kind to us, and Eineira respected us as our father’s children.

However, after Lady Jonsara got pregnant, she started treating us more maliciously. It was like her entire personality changed. This wouldn’t have been too much of an issue if Father had intervened, but he ignored our complaints and refused to take the situation seriously. He was also leaving all matters of the house to his new wife, which only made her more arrogant. At this point, she would outright ignore Konrad whenever he got sick, saying only, “It had better not spread to my darling baby.”

Father was warned. Isberga told him so many times that women prioritize their own children after giving birth.

Isberga was family on my mother’s side, and she accompanied me to the Royal Academy as an attendant. She had told me that Lady Jonsara would start being more compassionate when her baby’s position in society became more secure, but I wasn’t sure that would ever happen. To begin with, Lady Jonsara barely had any family. She had gotten married in her early twenties, which was late for a noble, and came into our family with nothing but the clothes on her back. She didn’t even have a magic tool for her child, so it was unlikely he would get to live as a noble. And, considering that Konrad and I were children of our family’s first wife, we would probably never escape her ire.

Isberga had said that I would understand Lady Jonsara’s feelings after having children of my own, but I didn’t want to understand anything that could make someone so cruel.

Still, Father is the root cause of all our problems. He ignored our repeated warnings not to have another baby before Konrad enrolled at the Royal Academy and, despite my pleas, still hasn’t sent Lady Jonsara to the side building...

Second wives were normally made to live in side buildings to avoid conflict with the first wife and her children. Feuds and discord were nigh inevitable otherwise. However, Lady Jonsara was not a normal second wife: she had married into our family to raise Konrad and me, so she had always lived in the main estate. That remained the case even now that she had given birth, but was it worth keeping her here when it created such animosity?

I didn’t intend to push for a divorce, nor was I going to make Lady Jonsara leave when she and her baby would struggle on their own. But if she was going to abandon her duty of raising Konrad, I wanted her and Eineira to move into the side building.

Father doesn’t want to use it for monetary reasons, but the current situation really isn’t good for Konrad.

I sighed, recalling how Mother had asked me again and again to take care of my brother when she was gone. It wasn’t long before I reached his room—and when I went inside, I saw that he was still in bed.

“I heard you were unwell. How are you?”

Konrad said nothing. He just looked at me, blanched and clearly in pain. His skin had started to bubble a little, which could mean only one thing: his body was full of mana. Young children only needed to empty their bracelet once every couple of months, but he must have forgotten. I rolled up his right sleeve to check.

“You were taught to pour the mana from your bracelet into the magic tool beside your bed, remember? You... Konrad, where’s your bracelet? And where did you put your magic tool?!”

There was no bracelet on his right wrist, and the tool that normally sat at his bedside was missing. Again, Konrad didn’t respond; he just stared at me, stiff with fear, as if he had been ordered not to reveal the truth under any circumstances.

“You don’t need to answer,” I said. “It could only be Lady Jonsara. She stole from you so she could support her baby.”

Konrad nodded again and again, tears in his eyes. He suddenly seemed a lot less tense; he was probably relieved that I’d figured things out on my own.

She not only took his magic tool but also threatened him to keep quiet. Unforgivable! I’m going to reclaim what was stolen from him!

My brother’s magic tool was made shortly after our mother died, using her feystone and most of her remaining wealth. It was the crystallization of her love—an heirloom meant to stay with him even as her face faded from his memory. A secondary wife stealing it for her own baby was deplorable. It was the absolute worst thing a human being could do.

Furious, I marched straight to Lady Jonsara’s bedroom and threw open the door. She met my intrusion with a scowl and barked, “How rude! Get out of here at once!” This made the baby in her arms start to wail, which only displeased her even more.

Normally, I would have been too intimidated to resist any further—but when I saw my brother’s bracelet on the baby’s arm, I realized that I couldn’t just leave. I scanned the room, ignoring the crying and shouting, and spotted the magic tool and the feystone inside sitting atop the fireplace. As soon as I saw them, I rushed over and stole them back.

“You are the rude one, Lady Jonsara! This is my mother’s magic tool. It is for Konrad, not your baby. If you wanted your child to live as a noble, then you should have prepared what you needed when you first married into our house. I will not allow you to steal my brother’s belongings! Know your place!”

Lady Jonsara’s expression morphed into a picture of rage. “That belongs to my child now!” she screamed as she rang her summoning bell. I wouldn’t stand a chance when Eineira arrived.

I returned Lady Jonsara’s fierce glare with one of my own, but then her eyes wandered. She had noticed something.

“Sister...”

It was Konrad. He must have followed me. I moved to stand protectively in front of him, still glaring at Lady Jonsara, but this time her lips curved into a malicious grin. She no longer seemed to be under pressure.

“It is too late for you to simply reclaim the magic tool,” she said. “Given how little mana your brother has, he will not be able to refill it before it comes time for him to enroll at the Royal Academy.”

Lady Jonsara hadn’t just stolen the magic tool; she had also used up all the mana that Konrad had poured into it since he was born. A chill ran down my spine. Through that single cruel act, she might have made it impossible for my brother to live as a noble.

“Give it up.”

“No. I will not budge. Konrad’s future and your stealing Mother’s magic tool are completely separate issues.”

I gave the magic tool to Konrad. Lady Jonsara must have realized that I would come for the bracelet next because she produced her schtappe to stop me—and the moment she did, there came a quiet shriek from behind me. My brother had instinctively dropped to the floor and was shaking like a leaf, making the abuse he’d endured all too clear.

“What did you do to my brother?!” I screamed, so overcome with white-hot anger that I produced my own schtappe.

It was then that Eineira hurried into the bedroom. “Excellent news, milady! Lady Philine was hiding a small fortune!” She held up my savings—the money I’d put aside for the mana compression course—and my head suddenly began to spin.

“Is your whole family made of thieves?!” I cried. “That’s my money! You can’t have it!”

I had worked so hard to save up for Lady Rozemyne’s mana compression method. Were they seriously callous enough to steal the magic tool that Konrad needed to live as a noble and the money I needed to live as a retainer?

“Eep?!”

During the brief moment I was distracted, Lady Jonsara restrained me with light from her schtappe. I collapsed in a heap while she glared down her nose at me.

“I am the matron of this house, so it will be my child who inherits that magic tool. You are the one who must know her place!”

Again, she stole the magic tool from Konrad, who was still cowering in place. Then she opened my bag of money and started counting the coins inside with a gluttonous smile. Only after she was done did she return her attention to me.

“Eineira, remove these two from my sight. The storage room will do. Perhaps watching her brother writhe in pain, his skin bubbling and blistering as his mana puts him at death’s door, will make Philine a little more obedient.”

I glared up at Lady Jonsara, letting the full extent of my hatred shine through. “You will not be able to keep me there for long. I am a retainer, so Rihyarda and Ottilie will be suspicious of my absence. They will go to Father in the castle and ask after me. Naturally, he will not risk misinforming archnobles, so he will return home to see how I am doing.”

I was bluffing. They would definitely be suspicious, but it was unlikely they would assume I needed rescuing. And while I genuinely believed that Father would check on me upon hearing of my absence, he would no doubt just send an ordonnanz to Lady Jonsara and accept whatever she told him.

The fact that I could remain so defiant when my back was against the wall went to show how much Hartmut’s training had benefited me. He had warned me time and time again that showing fear or weakness when dealing with nobles of other duchies in the Royal Academy would make them look down not just on me but on Lady Rozemyne as well. He had said that it was precisely because I was a laynoble retainer that I needed to know when to defer to status and when to stand my ground.

Eineira looked worried, so my deception had probably worked a little, but Lady Jonsara just grimaced in displeasure.

“There is no point in acting tough. Eineira, the storage room.”

As instructed, Eineira picked me up and threw me into the storage room closest to Lady Jonsara’s bedroom. I struck the ground with some force and rolled a short distance. Konrad was then kicked inside as well, whereupon he landed on top of me.

“Ngh...”

“Sister, are you okay?”

I wasn’t. Lady Jonsara was an adult, meaning she had more mana and was stronger than me. I couldn’t break my binds. But even so...

“I’m fine,” I said. “We just need to wait until Father returns.”

Everything went dark as the door was shut behind us, then there was a merciless clack as the lock was fastened. Eineira hurried away soon after—presumably to report something to Lady Jonsara.

“Are you okay?” I asked my brother.

He paused and then replied, “I am. As long as I’m with you, Sister.”

I wanted to ask about his mana, but it didn’t seem wise to disrupt his calm. Stirring his emotions would also stir the mana within him. I closed my mouth to avoid saying anything unnecessary.

After some time, second bell rang. This was when I would normally leave for the castle. I could just about hear Eineira suggest reporting that I was sick; unauthorized absences often reflected poorly on one’s parents, and Lady Jonsara wouldn’t want to damage Father’s reputation. I strained my ears in an attempt to catch more of their conversation.

“Rihyarda and Ottilie must be her friends from the playroom, given how she addressed them without titles,” Eineira said. “Perhaps they work together as fellow apprentice scholars.”

“It matters not. Send word.”

“Understood. Ordonnanz.”

Eineira started making some presentable excuse about me not feeling well—but before she could finish, I took a deep breath and screamed, “GIVE ME BACK MY MONEY!” at the top of my voice.

A moment later, the storage room door was unlocked and thrown open. Standing before us was Lady Jonsara, snarling like a feybeast. She smacked me across the face with all her might. Then, before I could even process the pain, there came another loud crack, and Konrad cried out.

“Once again you disturb my baby!” Lady Jonsara shrieked. “How many times must I teach you this lesson?!”

“I... I’m sorry!” Konrad wailed. “I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!”

“Leave him alone!” I shouted. “Does Father know you’re doing this?!”

Lady Jonsara turned to me and roared, “Do NOT give me orders!” She struck me again and again until she was satisfied, then exited the storage room and relocked the door, leaving us in darkness.

“Konrad,” I said in a low voice, “does Lady Jonsara always hurt you like this...?”

There was a brief delay before Konrad started to explain what he had endured while I was at the Royal Academy. His retelling of events was stilted—as expected of a child—but the situation was clear: Lady Jonsara and Eineira had barely taken care of him, and they had struck him whenever they were in a bad mood.

“They never gave me breakfast...” he continued. “That’s why I was so glad when you came home, Sister.”

I took in a sharp breath. I’d expressed my worries about Konrad seeming thinner when I first returned from the Royal Academy, but Eineira had simply blamed his loss of appetite. That had been a complete lie.

“A-And... they said I couldn’t show you the bruises...” He pulled up his shirt. Even in the darkness, I could see the purple welts all over his stomach. Eineira had insisted on changing him so that I wouldn’t see them.

“I’m so sorry... I’ve been home for days, but I didn’t even notice.”

“They never hit me when you were here, so... Ngh!” Konrad groaned. It was hard to know for sure, but I could guess that his mana was running wild again. Unless we took action, he would end up at death’s door just as Lady Jonsara had said.

Oh, why am I so powerless?

Were I an adult, I might have been able to steal back the tool from Lady Jonsara. I might have been able to break these binds. But my age didn’t matter; I should have been able to avoid her attack in the first place. I could have fetched one of our house’s other magic tools and gotten Konrad to channel his rampaging mana into that. Or maybe, if I’d at least changed into my castle clothes, I could have used the ordonnanz on my belt to call for help. There was the mana-sucking black feystone too.

“Sister... Please say something...” Konrad said, his breathing now ragged. “Thinking about something else might help...”

Maybe hearing the stories that Mother had always told us when we were hurt or suffering would make him feel a little better. I started telling him the tale of a knight, which Lady Rozemyne had put in her book.

“‘I swear upon the Goddess of Light—if you call for aid, I shall answer. Say the word, and I shall be there. In your time of need, will you call not for Anhaltung the Goddess of Advice but for me?’”

“Sister, will a knight save us too?”

“Indeed,” I said. “Surely... Surely one will come.” It was a white lie meant to put my brother at ease. If such a convenience really existed, we would not have ended up in this position to begin with.

“I hope they come soon...” Konrad said, leaning against me as he began to fall asleep. Bound as I was, I could neither pat his head nor rub his back.

It was third bell. The mana compression lesson was due to begin, but there was no way for me to participate—not when I was bound and my savings had been stolen. My heart slowly shattered at the thought that all of my hard work over the winter had amounted to nothing. The brave front I was putting up fell apart, and tears streamed down my cheeks unbidden.

Just how much time had passed since we were locked in the storage room? I started to wonder, but then I was pulled from my thoughts by footsteps and the sound of Lady Jonsara’s voice. “Philine’s room is through here,” she said as if guiding someone. I could only assume we had an unexpected visitor.

“Konrad,” I said, “move aside a little.” I wriggled along the floor like a worm, rolled onto my back, then kicked the door as hard as I could. I thumped it twice, then three times, and the footsteps started to get louder. Someone was coming closer, likely suspicious.

“That came from the storage room,” Lady Jonsara said. “Something must have fallen.” She was trying to smooth things over, but I wasn’t going to let her win; I desperately kicked the door again and shouted, “I’m in here!”

“Stop! What do you think you’re doing?!” Lady Jonsara screamed—then a thin cut appeared in the door, allowing light to pour into the storage room. A moment later, the door fell outward, revealing Damuel with a sword in hand.

“Philine is bedridden with a fever, is she?” Damuel asked, his voice harsher and colder than I ever would have expected from someone who was usually so warm. I could hear Lady Jonsara swallow a shriek.

“Well, there’s Philine,” Hartmut said casually. Lieseleta and Judithe were standing behind him, both grimacing. He peered around the storage room and then added, “It doesn’t look like the money is here, though. C’mon, Judithe. That’s our next focus.”

Judithe looked between Damuel and me. “I think I should stay here. Damuel is a man, after all...”

“Nah,” Hartmut replied at once, shaking his head. “Philine was likely bound for so long that she can’t move on her own. Do you think you could carry her, Judithe?” He then gave Lady Jonsara a dark, intimidating smile. “If this becomes an interduchy concern, the lives of whoever used the money could be at risk.”

Hartmut’s phrasing was enough for me to guess what was going on. They had said that my savings were given to me by mistake as an excuse to come visit me.

Lady Jonsara paled, then took Hartmut and Judithe straight to her bedroom. As they went, I heard Hartmut sarcastically remark that my room, where the money was supposed to be, was in another direction.

“I’ll cut Philine’s bonds,” Damuel said as he entered the storage room. “Lieseleta, take care of the little brother.”

Konrad was surprised to see so many new faces appear all of a sudden. His mana was still rampaging and making it hard for him to breathe.

“Lieseleta,” I said, “if you have a black feystone with you, could you use it on my brother? His mana is overflowing.”

“I do have one,” she replied with a reassuring smile. “I must ask you to worry about yourself, though.” She pressed the black feystone against Konrad’s forehead, and immediately his breathing became less ragged. Having his mana sucked out must have been doing wonders for him.

“Philine, stay still for a moment,” Damuel said. “I’ll remove these for you.” He turned his schtappe from a large sword into a dagger before slicing away my restraints. His cuts were quick and precise, leaving not a scratch on me, and the bands made from Lady Jonsara’s mana soon turned into light dust. The rumors of him having enough mana to rival mednobles despite only being a laynoble were no exaggeration after all.

“I thank you ever so much, Damuel.”

“Er...”

I noticed that his eyes had wandered to my attire, and my expression froze; I was still wearing my commoner clothes. They had buttons on the front so that I could put them on alone, and they looked nothing like the apparel of a proper noblewoman. It was enough of a blunder for someone to deem me unworthy of serving as an archducal retainer.

I tried raising my hands to hide the buttons, but my arms were too numb to move—perhaps because I’d been restrained for such a long time. I felt so pathetic that I wanted to cry.

“Lieseleta, could you help the little brother up?” Damuel asked, directing her attention to Konrad. “Looks like Philine can’t move on her own after all.” Then, without another word, he took off his cape and wrapped it around me, hiding my commoner clothes from the others.

Again, I wanted to cry—but this time from happiness.

“Um... Damuel, these are...”

“Hm?” He raised an eyebrow at me, then pressed a finger to my lips as if to say that no explanation was necessary. His gray eyes were kind, and it was clear that he wasn’t looking down on me for not being more like a noble.

Ah.

The temperature of the room suddenly seemed to rise, and a crackling noise like thawing ice reverberated through my head. It was as if the Goddesses of Water and Thunder had brought spring to my heart. The Goddess of Sprouts smiled and waved her hand, causing slight feelings of love to blossom within me.

“Konrad, was it?” Lieseleta asked, snapping me back to reality. “Can you stand?”

I turned; my little brother could only nod when spoken to, but even then, he must have understood that these two were here to help us. He timidly accepted her outstretched hand and stood up slowly.

“Looks like he can move on his own,” Damuel said. “Philine, pardon me for a moment.”

He swept me off my feet as though I were light as a feather, his strong arms not wavering in the least. Perhaps because his face was now so close to mine, my heart pounded so hard in my chest that I worried it was audible. This was too stimulating for me, especially when I’d just been made aware of my feelings. The world around me was beginning to spin.

After kicking down the door in his path, Damuel stepped into the hallway. “Lady Rozemyne doesn’t forgive the mistreatment of children,” he said in a very knightly manner as he climbed down the stairs, all the while keeping an eye on those behind us. “Ask her for help. We can’t do much else for you unless you do.”

My heart continued to throb.

“Philine,” Damuel said. “Your father.”

I gazed ahead and spotted Father coming out of the parlor. He saw me being carried down the stairs... then immediately looked past us, searching for someone else. He cared more about his new wife than his own daughter, and that reminder caused me to despair. Konrad and I had been freed from the storage room, but our torment would continue unless I retrieved his magic tool from Lady Jonsara and found us somewhere else to live.

But can I manage all that?

My unease and sorrow must have shown on my face. Damuel smiled to calm me down, then gave my father a harsh glare and shouted, “Get out of the way!”

Because of Lady Rozemyne, Konrad was able to relocate to the orphanage. Meanwhile, I began living in the castle, which meant I could no longer spend all of my time there in the northern building. It also meant I overheard more malicious whispering as I moved around.

“So that laynoble is Lady Rozemyne’s retainer, huh? Just what did she accomplish to deserve that?”

“A laynoble with a home in the Noble’s Quarter, living in the castle...?”

My shoulders trembled, and I sped up to escape the voices. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, an Ehrenfest cape caught my eye; at some point, Damuel had started walking beside me.

“All you can do is keep your head up,” he said. “Fewer people will gossip once you start getting more mana from Lady Rozemyne’s compression method.”

It was because Damuel shared his experience and encouraged me that I could smile and relax here in the castle. He was always there for me, offering me a hand when I was hurting—and each time he did, I became more convinced that he was my knight in shining armor.

That said, I didn’t expect my dreams to come true; I was well aware that Damuel and Lady Brigitte were in love. Plus, he was an adult; he wouldn’t give a mere child such as me a second glance.

Still... I wish to treasure these feelings. And I won’t be a child forever.

“Can you stay with me for a little bit longer?” I asked.

“Sure. Also, if things ever get really bad, be sure to speak with Lady Rozemyne. I might not be of much use, but she’ll be able to help you for sure.”

I gave a half-smile at his not-quite-right answer; it had recently come to my attention that his blindness to my love was perfectly in character. Still, each day in the castle brought with it a new discovery. I was busy, but I was also having fun.