Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume Short Story-1 - Chapter 20

Charlotte — My Task

The sales bonus for Part 4 Volume 4, set around the time Charlotte was first assigned to participate in the printing industry as a member of the archducal family. In this story, she receives a request from Rozemyne, who is busy in the temple.

Author’s Note: The announcement of Wilfried and Rozemyne’s engagement had a pretty sizable impact on Ehrenfest’s factions and the atmosphere in the castle. Rozemyne doesn’t really notice, since she’s usually away in the temple and assumes the nobles’ squabbling is business as usual, but Charlotte feels the change a lot more keenly.

After lunch, I began studying in my chambers. On my desk today were documents that Elvira had told me to look over before going to Haldenzel.

“This is... quite the stack,” said Marvin, one of my scholars. He was in his forties and male, which was rare among my retainers. Previously, he had served my mother, but he had been reassigned to teach my other scholars so that I could participate in the printing industry. “It is definitely more work than one should expect a child not yet old enough for the Academy to manage.”

“Is it?” I asked. “Two years ago, Uncle gave me much more than this and told me to memorize it before Spring Prayer.” I thought back to that mountain of boards and remembered the struggle of working through them. Back then, I narrowly achieved the bare minimum of what was expected of me and was told to memorize the rest by next time. Now, in contrast, I was only having to look over these documents from Elvira, not memorize them. It was barely any trouble at all.

“I heard as much from Lady Florencia,” Marvin replied. “I see that Lord Ferdinand is merciless to all, even children.”

“Indeed. It would not be an exaggeration to say that my sister’s brilliance is due to his teachings. In the brief period between her waking up and going to the Royal Academy, he crammed so much wisdom into her head that she came first-in-class.”

Rozemyne had proven that she could consistently meet Uncle’s absurd demands, and it made me respect her from the bottom of my heart. Uncle was wise and talented, but he was also harsh and scary and rarely spoke a word of praise to anyone. He was the last person I wanted as a teacher.

“I see,” Marvin replied. “That said... these documents make it clear that Lady Rozemyne is less invested in her own position and more interested in developing Ehrenfest and supporting Lord Sylvester’s children.” He set down some budget and income documents, then pointed at a section in particular.

I leaned forward to look—as did my apprentice scholar Marianne.

“The industry has produced these enormous profits in the mere few years since its conception,” he continued. “Considering her position as an adopted daughter and the like, working alongside the aub’s blood children in such a manner would normally be unthinkable. Most would expect her to use this opportunity to monopolize the industry and its profits, strengthening her position and giving form to her faction.”

According to Marvin, my sister carried a burden that my brother and I did not—as an adopted daughter, she was forever having to demonstrate her worth to the nobility. That dissimilarity between our positions had never even occurred to me.

“Hmm...” Marianne looked contemplative all of a sudden. “So you say, but Lady Rozemyne’s engagement has made her position unshakable. Did she not have Lord Wilfried and Lady Charlotte participate in the industry precisely because she no longer needs to monopolize it?”

Marvin crossed his arms and gave a sardonic smirk. He hardly seemed to agree, which made me a little worried.

“Rozemyne approves of the engagement,” I said. “Do you believe there to be something wrong with it?”

“Well, who is to say whether she truly does approve? An adopted daughter cannot refuse a request made by her adoptive father. At the very least, the rumors flitting about make it clear that neither of their factions support the engagement. In that sense, can you truly describe her position as secure?”

Wilfried was backed by the former Veronica faction, who criticized Rozemyne for her poor lineage and for having been raised in the temple. Conversely, Rozemyne had the support of the Leisegang faction, who said that Wilfried was a disgraced archduke candidate not fit to be the next aub.

“That is all true,” I admitted, “but nobles invariably find fault with anyone, do they not?”

Father was receiving criticisms from both sides for his decision to detain Grandmother; the Leisegang faction complained that he had done it too late, while the former Veronica faction complained that he had done it at all. Mother was accused of monopolizing Father’s love and not letting him take a second wife. And as for me, I was being held responsible for Rozemyne’s long slumber and getting called an upstart for trying to be involved with the printing industry despite not yet attending the Royal Academy. Being in the archducal family meant that, no matter what we did, we were sure to displease someone. Trying to respect every opinion was impossible.

“Blood children do not have to worry about being ousted from the archducal family over mere rumors,” Marvin explained, “but the same cannot be said for an adopted child. That is precisely why I would advise Lady Rozemyne to monopolize the industry to strengthen her position—were I serving her, that is. Still, the fact we are in this situation at all when she has Leberecht’s son among her retainers baffles me.”

Now with the precariousness of my sister’s position thrown in my face, I stared at the documents piled up in front of me. Under normal circumstances, Rozemyne would be monopolizing the industry for herself and using the profits to stabilize her position... but instead, she was sharing it all with us.

“She saved my life, shared with me her profits, and is pushing for me to participate in this new industry...” I muttered. “Rozemyne only ever treats me well.”

Few welcomed my association with printing—it was often considered too risky to let someone who would one day marry into another duchy be so deeply involved with a leading industry. However, it was precisely because I was going to marry elsewhere that I needed to participate. I could not afford to wait either; it was very possible that one year from now, after my first year at the Royal Academy, there would no longer be any room for me—or perhaps there would be a considerable shift in what tasks I could give my retainers.

All in all, it was because Rozemyne had said to Father that all of his children should be equally involved in the duchy’s new industry that my pride and dignity as a member of the archducal family remained intact.

“Oh, when might I finally be able to repay this debt?” I wondered aloud.

“The best way to repay her would be to learn well, Lady Charlotte,” Marvin said. “Become able to compensate for her faults.”

“Does she even have any?” I asked, tilting my head.

Vanessa, my head attendant, laughed. “You certainly are biased when it comes to your sister, milady. Do recall that she was raised in the temple and spent two years in a coma on top of that. The aub and others often say that her socializing skills are lacking.”

Ah, that reminds me... She definitely failed to understand the meaning of her own words when she promised to be my “ally.”

Perhaps the time she had shielded me from the veiled malice of other nobles had skewed my opinion. I remembered thinking back then that her socializing was perfect, but in careful retrospect, it seemed that she had been relying on stopgap phrases taught to her by Uncle. She was familiar only with oft-used euphemisms, which made me wonder how often she actually understood what people were saying.

“Furthermore,” Vanessa continued with a smile, “Ottilie was bemoaning how Lady Rozemyne always prioritizes work over her bridal duty of learning to sew. She was hoping that you might spend some time practicing embroidery with her, milady. Lady Rozemyne is always so much more motivated when she is with you, so it would assist her greatly.”

I was by no means fond of embroidery myself, so Ottilie must have been thinking this was an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Even so, there was a lot more pressure on me to get better than there was on Rozemyne; I was going to be married into another duchy, whereas she was already engaged.

“I am likewise more motivated when with my sister,” I said.

“Then I will schedule more embroidery time while Lady Rozemyne is in the castle,” Vanessa said, excited.

Out of nowhere, a white bird that I recognized as an ordonnanz pushed through the window. It flew around the room, then landed on Vanessa’s arm and said in a familiar voice, “This is Rozemyne. Please convey the following to Charlotte.”

“Oh my... This might be the first time she has contacted me from the temple.”

Had something happened to her, by chance? I watched the ordonnanz carefully, straining my ears so as not to miss a single word, until eventually...

“And so,” the bird concluded, “I wish for you to investigate the time the Noble’s Quarter was renovated and why the lower city was left out.”

By speaking with merchants, Rozemyne had apparently learned about the lower cities of other duchies. She now wanted me to find out more about our own lower city.

Marianne gave me a curious look and murmured, “Lady Elvira is in charge, and she has her own scholars in the castle... so why has Lady Rozemyne decided to ask you, Lady Charlotte?”

Vanessa picked up the yellow feystone that had once been the ordonnanz and smiled. “City renovations must be done by the archducal family—have you not yet learned this at the Royal Academy? She no doubt wishes for Lady Charlotte’s help because an archnoble won’t have access to the information she seeks. Shall we send a reply of assent, milady?”

Of course, Vanessa was only asking for the sake of appearances; she understood well enough that I would never refuse a request from Rozemyne. She sent the ordonnanz back before I could even respond, while Marvin began clearing the documents off my desk.

“Lady Charlotte, let us hurry to the book room. If the relevant documents are not there, we will need to have the archduke search the archive that only the aub can access.”

“Oh my. But fixing the lower city is an urgent matter; Rozemyne even said it must be done by summer. Should we not inform Father first?”

Marvin shook his head. Father was busy enough preparing for the Archduke Conference; if we were going to ask him to take on even more work, we needed to make sure we had explored all of our options first. These included collecting everything of relevance from the castle’s book room and collaborating with Elvira, the industry’s ultimate superior.

“Lady Rozemyne has entrusted this to Elvira first and foremost because she knows this is a very hectic time for the aub,” Marvin concluded. “We must not undermine her efforts.”

“Understood,” I replied. “Let us begin with the book room. Marianne, contact the scholars in Rozemyne’s chambers. I wish to know how they are coordinating.”

“As you will.”

This is a request from Rozemyne herself... I must make fulfilling it my highest priority!

I gathered my scholars and rushed to the library. This was my chance to repay her.

Almost immediately upon our arrival at the castle’s book room, we were joined by Rozemyne’s apprentice scholars Hartmut and Philine. They and the other scholars promptly split up and started researching entwickeln. Elvira and the layscholars working in the printing industry arrived as well.

“Lady Charlotte,” Elvira said, “we appreciate the magnanimity of your summons.”

“No, under normal circumstances, this investigation should have remained entirely within the archducal family. It cannot be easy being in charge of this operation, Elvira, but I must ask for your assistance nonetheless.”

After compiling various records, we concluded that large-scale entwickelns were carried out all across the country after a new invention from Drewanchel went public. Ehrenfest had planned to modernize its lower city as well, but this was postponed indefinitely when Great-Grandmother married into the duchy and it became necessary to renovate Groschel.

“We are unlikely to find much else here,” Elvira said. “As one would expect, more specific documents such as schematics from when the entwickeln was performed will be in the archduke’s archive. We will send our findings along later, but it would be best to tell the aub what we have learned as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it will not be easy to arrange a meeting with him this close to the Archduke Conference...”

Seeing her struggle, I decided to speak up. “Elvira, perhaps I could ask Father. I can report to him over dinner, which avoids all the hassle of arranging a meeting. That is presumably why Rozemyne chose me to help her in the first place.”

“Please do, Lady Charlotte. That would be exceptionally helpful.”

I could not compare to the scholars when it came to gathering documents or summarizing their contents. For that reason, most of my day had been spent in the corner of the room, trying to keep out of the way while I went over Elvira’s printing industry documents to pass the time. It really hadn’t felt like I was contributing, so this was a welcome development.

“Ah, sixth bell... Could we compile our research tomorrow, by chance?”

“Let us gather again at third bell.”

Come sixth bell, the scholars hurried off. They were going to have to make numerous copies of the documents for their superiors, which was anything but a quick process. It seemed that we would need to spend a few more days visiting the book room.

“So, I investigated the castle’s book room with Elvira and the others,” I said, concluding my dinnertime summary of the day. “Our findings will be sent to your scholars at a later date, so please investigate your archive once they arrive.”

Father was visibly surprised to learn that renovations for our lower city had been on hold for decades. He rested a hand on his chin and frowned, deep in thought, then began counting something on his fingers.

“If we start now, we should still have enough time for the entwickeln. Thanks, Charlotte. You really saved us here. Good job finding all this out.”

“Thank you, but your gratitude should go to Rozemyne. She gathered information that could not have been found in the Noble’s Quarter and then gave us directions.” I also added that Elvira had assisted us as the printing industry’s highest authority, at which point Father promised to praise their efforts as well.

I returned to my meal, pleased to have kept my promise—but when I glanced up again, I realized that Wilfried was glaring at me with his cheeks puffed out. “How come Rozemyne always goes to you for help, not me?” he complained. “I could have done this a lot faster if she’d asked me as well.”

“Oh my...” I replied. “I understand how you feel, Brother, but are you not rather busy with your studies?”

At the end of winter, with the announcement of my siblings’ engagement, it had abruptly been decided that Wilfried would become the next aub. This meant I was no longer in the running for the position, so I wasn’t having to study as much as before, but Wilfried was having to study dramatically more. On top of that, we were both still participating in Spring Prayer and the printing industry. Rozemyne had no doubt been hesitant to load our brother with even more work.

I returned to my chambers after dinner and immediately went to bathe. To my surprise, when I was done, I came out to see my retainers all waiting around a table, wearing troubled frowns. Under normal circumstances, my scholars would have taken their leave by now.

“Lady Charlotte,” they said, “Lord Oswald just visited.”

Lord Oswald was my brother’s head attendant—but why had he come immediately after dinner, when I was guaranteed to be in the bath and unavailable? It must have been very urgent. After bracing myself, I asked for details.

Marvin spoke first: “Lord Wilfried needs more achievements to his name, else the Leisegangs are going to tear him apart. That is why Lord Oswald came—he wants you to start taking his lord to the book room from tomorrow onward.”

What? I-Is that all...?

I was psyching myself up to get dressed again, depending on the severity of the circumstances, but the unexpected request simply made me hang my head. Could this not have waited until breakfast tomorrow? I returned my attention to Marvin, wishing only to say, “Whatever. It makes no difference to me.”

Before I could utter a single word, however, Marianne’s eyebrows shot up in anger. “That phrasing was much too generous! Marvin, do you not always tell me to be precise with my reports? Forgive me, Lady Charlotte, but that explanation was not the least bit accurate.”

As it turned out, Oswald had actually said, “This entwickeln job is not suited for Lady Charlotte, who will one day marry into another duchy. It should be Lord Wilfried, our next archduke, leading the investigation instead.”

That really changed things. I was no longer being asked to let my brother accompany me; I was being told to surrender my task to him entirely. It was clear to me now why my retainers wore such deep frowns.

Marianne continued, “Lord Wilfried was recognized as an honor student in his first year, and it seems he has now finished preparing for his second. His retainers consider it more important for him to focus on gathering achievements than to continue studying.”

“As you are his sister by blood, they wish for you to help him,” Marvin added.

Instinctively, I put a hand on my cheek. It was true that Wilfried needed more achievements under his belt—but why had Oswald come to say this after dinner, and while I was in the bath?

“If my brother wishes to share the credit, could he not have made this request over dinner? We could have settled it then and there.” I felt sorry for Oswald that he had needed to carry out such an unusual order. It was bizarre to the point of being incomprehensible.

“Lord Oswald seemed displeased that you did not extend the offer yourself when Lord Wilfried complained at dinner,” Marianne replied. “In his words: ‘As someone who will one day be living in another duchy, Lady Charlotte must learn to be more observant of those around her.’ I must admit, his remark irritated me.”

It made sense that Marianne was fuming—she had only become my retainer a year and a half ago, meaning she had not experienced what things were like when Grandmother was active. In the past, incidents like this had been commonplace.

“Irritating or not, Lord Oswald speaks true,” I said. “Honing my observational skills will help me to avoid making enemies in another duchy.”

Vanessa nodded. “Furthermore, milady... for the sake of your future, you will need to make hard choices which cannot be taken back and take responsibility for whatever occurs thereafter. How will you act this time?”

Her words weighed heavily on me. Was it better to accept my brother’s request or reject it...? Elvira was the authority on these matters, so the fact that he hadn’t gone to her indicated that they wanted me to decide this on my own.

Elvira is of the Leisegang faction, after all.

Though I recognized that Wilfried was my brother and that he needed accomplishments as the next aub, the thought of him stealing work that was entrusted to me felt wrong. At the same time, however, I recalled what Mother had said.

“In preparation for when you marry into another duchy, use this time to strengthen your bonds with Wilfried and Rozemyne as much as possible.”

My retainers were all awaiting my response. So, after another moment of thought...

“We only finished searching for the documents today and have not yet compiled our findings. Wilfried can accompany me to the book room at third bell, assuming that works with his studying schedule.”

I would not surrender the task that Rozemyne had entrusted me with, but I would at least allow him to participate. That was my decision.

“Understood, Lady Charlotte. Well done,” Vanessa said with a nod and a praising smile. Marvin then departed to send word of my answer.

The next day, I came out of my room at third bell. There was no one standing in front of Rozemyne’s chambers, so I wondered whether Philine and Hartmut had gone to the book room already.

I started making my way downstairs and saw Wilfried waiting at the bottom. “Charlotte,” he said, waving up at me. “You know you didn’t have to summon Oswald while I was in the bath, right? You could have said something at dinner instead of being all secretive. Father wouldn’t have thought you’re untalented just because you wanted my help.”

What? Why is Wilfried acting like I went to him?

I was so surprised that I ended up literally speechless. The most I could do was blink at him, dumbfounded.

Wilfried puffed out his chest and added, “But hey, I may have a lot going on, but I’ll never be too busy to help my little sister. You can count on me.” It made no sense.

What is the meaning of this...?

Immediately, I gazed up at Oswald. He was looking back at me with a thin smile, his eyes cold and calculating.

Ah... He acted entirely alone.

Worst of all, there was no way for me to protest. Revealing my conversation with my retainers last night would seem like too much of an insult—plus, it would give Oswald ample reason to start telling other nobles that I possessed no situational awareness, thereby damaging my reputation.

I will never appreciate the methods used by Grandmother’s former retainers.

“I was told you need more accomplishments to your name,” I said, trying to state my position clearly without being blunt enough to cause offense. But despite my best efforts, Wilfried paid me no mind whatsoever.

“Right. Well, let’s go.”

And with that, he started toward the book room. His retainers followed, poker-faced, while mine sighed and exchanged bitter expressions before eventually doing the same. It was like there was an unspoken rule to keep the truth hidden from Wilfried—and, at that moment, it felt as though we had returned to when Grandmother was in power.

Wilfried may have returned to being the next aub, but I do not want things to revert to how they were back then.

“Brother, how do you feel about the training of retainers?” I asked, steeling my resolve. I needed him to realize that Oswald was pulling the strings so that he could take action as his lord.

“I was just thinking about it, actually...” he replied. I started to loosen up—he had evidently realized that his retainers were misbehaving—but then he continued, “Rozemyne really needs to shape up. It’s her duty to make sure her retainers are up to scratch.”

He went on to complain about how uncooperative Rozemyne’s retainers had been in the Royal Academy—but after seeing Philine and Hartmut work yesterday, I was under no impression that they lacked training or were failing to coordinate with their lady. I praised the fact they were such excellent workers after only a single season, even without an adult scholar around to train them.

“Your words are worth much consideration,” I ventured. “We really must pay very close attention to what our attendants are doing.”

“Exactly.” He gave a great big nod in response but showed absolutely zero self-awareness. It was clear why Mother was concerned about his education even after he was recognized as an honor student.

At this rate, I cannot imagine him being able to support Rozemyne as the next aub...

I was worried about Ehrenfest’s future, but I also felt powerless and profoundly frustrated that aubs were chosen based on gender more than skill. Why had I not been born a man? I would have been a much better partner for Rozemyne.

“I cannot help but wish I were a man,” I said provocatively. “I would not have lost to you then.”

Our retainers all sharply inhaled. A schism formed in the blink of an eye, and as tensions rose... Wilfried gave me a competitive grin, seemingly oblivious to the atmosphere forming around us.

“Hm? I wonder about that,” he said. “I beat Ortwin of Drewanchel at gewinnen, you know. You wouldn’t stand a chance.”

In an instant, the building tension dissipated. If that had been a deliberate move on his part then I would have had nothing but praise for him, but it seemed more likely that he had just spoken without thinking.

So... my duty is going to be to support both him and my sister?

The Royal Academy was filled with students from all over Yurgenschmidt, and I had been told that Rozemyne’s trends were securing Ehrenfest more connections with top-ranking duchies. I knew that Wilfried was working hard to make up for his lack of an education as a child, but as he was now, I didn’t have much hope for his socializing. Standing before me was a challenge far greater than any industry document or Spring Prayer memorization.

Will I make it before winter...?

It seemed that I had much to learn about socializing before it came time for me to join the Royal Academy.