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

Cornelius — As a Guard Knight and a Brother

“Next is Cornelius,” Mother said while overseeing the attendants and servants moving my luggage onto the teleportation circle.

I was leaving for the Royal Academy today. Rozemyne wasn’t here because she was busy with Lord Ferdinand, cramming for her upcoming lessons. She had given a sad nod when everyone informed her that she needed to prioritize her own preparations over seeing me off, and now, the only ones here were Mother and Eckhart.

“I didn’t expect you to come, Eckhart,” I remarked. I had been certain that he would prioritize guarding Lord Ferdinand, although I didn’t voice that thought. Even Father and Lamprecht had stuck to guard duty rather than coming to see me off.

“I am here only because Lord Ferdinand ordered me to come in Rozemyne’s place,” he replied.

So you wouldn’t have come otherwise. Yeah, that’s the Eckhart I’m used to.

I nodded at his explanation, at which point Eckhart put on a serious expression and said, “From this day forward, you’ll be living in the Royal Academy as Rozemyne’s guard knight—and most importantly, as her brother. Your time there is completely different when your lord or lady is attending too. Your life begins to center around them.” It was an unexpected warning from the man who had just moments ago said that he was only here by order.

“I feel that my life already centers around Rozemyne...” I replied. On the day I had failed to protect her, I had resolved to become stronger than any other guard knight and secure the highest grades I could possibly manage in the Royal Academy. It was fair to say that she was the focus of my life, but despite my protests, Eckhart shook his head.

“No, Ehrenfest and the Royal Academy are two different beasts. Damuel cannot go to the Academy, and you’re of a higher status than Angelica, so you, her older brother, will be leading her guards.”

“I understand that already...”

“No, you don’t. Not in a real sense. Rihyarda is going to be the only adult retainer you can talk to, and even then, attendants deal with separate work entirely. She won’t be able to give advice from the perspective of a knight, and if you absorb her words without considering that, you’ll start messing up your duties.”

Now, I was a little worried. I started to contemplate my situation, and Eckhart smiled at that. He gave the teleportation circle a nostalgic look, as if reminiscing about the past.

“This is just my own experience,” he said, “but the more loyally you try to serve your lord or lady in the Royal Academy, the more you’ll suffer. It also becomes much easier to slack, since you’re going to have classes and other excuses available to you. This will be a good opportunity to see just what kind of guard knight you wish to be. You can’t rely on your parents at the Academy, so your time there will force you to grow whether you want to or not.” He clenched one hand into a tight fist and extended it to me. “Good luck.”

I reached out and bumped my fist against his. Apparently, the Royal Academy was where guard knights sank or swam—and the intimidating light in Eckhart’s blue eyes very firmly urged me toward the latter.

“As her older brother, I will strive to be a worthy guard knight,” I declared, making a vow between knights.

Eckhart grinned and took a step back, which prompted Mother to step forward in turn. “Rozemyne has just awakened from a two-year slumber, meaning she is emotionally two years behind the other students,” she said. “We have determined that she should attend the Royal Academy now rather than bear the permanent mark of attending one year late, but I am still ever so worried for her. It is very possible that she will come off as inferior to the other archduke candidates in many ways.”

Attending the Royal Academy one year late also meant graduating one year late, which in turn meant being recognized as an adult later than usual. Everyone would treat her harshly, and she would receive far fewer opportunities for marriage. With all that in mind, it was much better for one to attend the Royal Academy prematurely and attain worse grades than to wait.

However, unlike Mother, I wasn’t worried about Rozemyne’s grades. She had complained about the education Lord Wilfried was receiving right after her baptism, begun selling her own educational tools, and read through the knight course’s entire syllabus before Angelica—although she claimed to have done it for Angelica’s sake. It was hard to imagine first-year lessons posing any challenge to her whatsoever.

“She’s being educated by Lord Ferdinand, so I can’t imagine she will encounter any problems in her written lessons. Considering her poor health, however, I’m extremely worried about her practical ones...” I said and then listed out all the things she had done in just a single year after her baptism.

Mother fell into thought for a moment; then, she gave a gentle smile. “In that case, focus on her health above all else, and do all that you can to ensure she finishes her first year safely.”

“Of course. I won’t let her be put in harm’s way again.”

“Her retainers will soon be selected,” Mother said, “but as this is being done in the same year she enters the Royal Academy, the decisions cannot be made among parents. Here, the Leisegangs will surely make their move. Keep a sharp eye on factions in the Royal Academy and report your findings to us.”

That, too, sounded like an enormous pain. I recalled how Hartmut was aiming to be Rozemyne’s retainer and held back the urge to groan.

“We do not wish for Rozemyne to become the next aub,” Mother continued, “and neither does Rozemyne herself. I only hope we can make the Leisegangs understand that...”

“That burden is too great for me to bear,” I said, stiffening as I thought over all the highly... unique and strong-spirited nobles of the Leisegang faction.

Mother gave a wry smile. “Oh, but you need only work for Rozemyne’s sake, no?”

“What makes you say that?”

“I am your mother, Cornelius. I am well aware how hard you have been working the past two years. You have become an older brother of whom Rozemyne can be proud.” Her kind words sent a storm of pride, awkwardness, and joy rushing through my heart as I stepped onto the teleportation circle.

I needed to wait while my luggage was taken to my room and any final preparations were made. Laynobles and mednobles apparently helped with this process, but I was leaving everything to my retainers and instead went straight to the common room, as I did every year.

“Hey, Cornelius,” Hartmut said as he made his way over. “It’s finally time for me to officially become Lady Rozemyne’s retainer. I can hardly believe it.” The broad smile on his face practically oozed joy—or perhaps “euphoria” was a more accurate word. Either way, it was kind of gross to see. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he was happier now than he had ever been in his life.

I was struck with the urge to turn around and leave the common room outright, but I stood my ground, not wanting to look like I was turning tail and running away.

It’s baffling. Hartmut wasn’t this much of a weirdo back when I first met him...

Anyone would agree that he had always been the very embodiment of an archnoble—someone who skillfully carried out their job while keeping their emotions expertly hidden. And yet, seeing Rozemyne give that blessing during her baptism ceremony had shaken him to his core. He had wasted no time in asking his mother to let him become Rozemyne’s retainer at once.

Thank the gods Ottilie stopped him.

Ottilie was already serving as Rozemyne’s attendant, so a recommendation from her would very likely have granted Hartmut’s wish, but this abrupt change in her son had come as too much of a surprise. She had asked him to wait a year for his emotions to settle—a very necessary decision, in my opinion, and one that I was particularly grateful for. Even after that year passed, however, the flames of Hartmut’s devotion burned just as bright. In fact, it seemed that having to wait two years while Rozemyne was asleep had made his loyalty to her stronger still.

“Hartmut, why are you so confident that you’re going to be chosen?” I asked. “Ottilie might recommend you, but I certainly won’t.” He radiated the aura of someone who was going to be a huge pain in the neck, and as Rozemyne’s brother, I didn’t want him anywhere near her.

Hartmut brushed off my glare and struck his chest with confidence. “No matter what you say, Cornelius, I’ll be chosen to become Lady Rozemyne’s retainer. I’m an archnoble honor student who’s been probed about serving Lord Wilfried or Lady Charlotte countless times before, and my mother is already Lady Rozemyne’s attendant. All other worthwhile Ehrenfest nobles have been taken by the archduke’s other children, so I’ll obviously be their first pick for Lady Rozemyne’s apprentice scholar.”

His confidence was more irritating than I could describe with words, but he was completely right—most nobles of Rozemyne’s age had already been taken by Lord Wilfried or Lady Charlotte, so she didn’t have many candidates left. It would make sense to pick Hartmut on the grounds that he was Ottilie’s son alone, but he was also an honor student, and to most people... Well, he was sociable. Only a select few knew what he was really like on the inside.

“So I’m gonna have to work with you, huh...?” I muttered. “Can’t say I’m too pleased about that.”

“I wonder how best to spread the glory of the Saint of Ehrenfest to other duchies... Her achievements have been mostly hand-waved up to this point, but I expect everything to become a lot more believable once she’s here in person. I can hardly wait.”

“Please, stop!”

It was unbearable. All throughout Rozemyne’s slumber, Hartmut had gone on and on about the Saint of Ehrenfest, spreading the good word all through the Royal Academy. Now, even the students of other duchies had started to tease me. “Look, it’s the Saint’s brother!” they would say. And now, Hartmut was suggesting that things were about to get worse.

“You know she’s sickly, right?” I said. “Do you think a proper retainer should be putting that kind of burden on her? The most important thing for Rozemyne right now is finishing her first year safely and without incident. As her guard knight, I’ll stop you from causing her problems no matter what it takes.”

“I’ll make sure I’m careful and that what I’m doing here doesn’t cause her too much trouble,” Hartmut replied. He hadn’t agreed to stop his antics entirely, but he did look a bit more thoughtful as he left the common room.

I kept a close eye on Hartmut after that, and it turned out he wasn’t just reveling in excitement for what was to come. Rather, he was positively dedicated to his studies, saying he “needed grades suitable for a retainer serving Lady Rozemyne.” I decided that I, too, would do well to study a bit before Rozemyne got here. I was simply reviewing the content rather than starting from scratch, since I had already learned a lot from Damuel while working in the Raise Angelica’s Grades Squadron. I was only entering my fifth year at the Academy, but it seemed safe to assume that I was knowledgeable enough to secure high grades even in the sixth-year lessons.

I wonder how Angelica’s going to do, though...

Thoughts of her flashed through my mind. She had joined her fellow knights in gathering materials with the apprentice scholars and attendants almost every single day thus far, but now, her lady Rozemyne was going to be here. There was little point in me dwelling on Angelica, though—I wouldn’t need to go through the trouble of convincing her to study, since Rozemyne could just order her to.

The first-years were due to arrive at the Royal Academy today, and it was the job of the senior students to guide the wide-eyed newbies to the common room. Rozemyne and Lord Wilfried were attending this year, so the apprentice attendants were working even harder than usual.

Brunhilde’s probably aiming to be Rozemyne’s retainer too.

I knew she had received training as the heir of Giebe Groschel, so she likely intended to form close bonds with the archducal family and eventually marry a husband with whom she could manage her province. It was a certainty that her Leisegang faction family was giving her much advice.

The first-year archnoble arrived while I was looking over the common room. Upon seeing him, I went straight to the teleportation hall with Angelica; Rozemyne was due to come next.

“Welcome to the Royal Academy, Lady Rozemyne.”

Once Rozemyne had entered the common room, those serving Lord Wilfried promptly left to welcome him. As we guard knights invited Rozemyne to the seat prepared for her, I stayed attentive to make sure nobody came too close; I got the impression that those who wished to be her retainer were buzzing around nearby, trying to find a way to get in her good graces. Strangely enough, Hartmut wasn’t among them, despite so passionately wishing to join her service.

Just what in the world is he doing?

I glanced around the room, suspicious, and saw him staring in our direction with an overwhelmingly confident grin. His cockiness irritated me, but my attention was almost immediately drawn elsewhere as Rozemyne expressed a sudden interest in the children of the former Veronica faction. I made sure to explain the role factions played as clearly as I could, but even then, she didn’t seem very convinced. I wanted to cradle my head in agony.

Please, not this. I’d take Hartmut over those children any day.

Maybe she simply didn’t understand that the former Veronica faction was responsible for her two-year coma. No, she had to know that; Lord Ferdinand had surely drilled such knowledge into her head. But why, then, did she want to take them as her retainers anyway? I just didn’t understand what she was thinking.

As I saw Rozemyne off to her room, unable to accompany her due to being a man, I couldn’t help but grit my teeth. I’m sure Rihyarda will expertly convince her against this, but... I’m still worried.

I was in my room planning for Angelica’s studies, reviewing Eckhart’s documents, and going over the schedule Damuel had prepared for her when Rihyarda came to tell me about the retainer candidates. “We’ve narrowed them down,” she said. “Do probe the male retainers for us, Cornelius.”

“You want me to do that?”

“Indeed. This would normally be the job of an apprentice scholar, but milady does not yet have one. In an ideal world, we would also have Angelica inform the female candidates, but the very idea of trusting her with a message is terrifying. Instead, I will handle it myself.”

I understood how Rihyarda felt all too well. The idea terrified me too; nobody could predict what kind of slipups might occur.

“For apprentice knights, we intend to probe Leonore, Traugott, and Judithe,” Rihyarda continued. “For apprentice attendants, Lieseleta and Brunhilde. And for apprentice scholars, Hartmut and Philine.”

“I guess there was no avoiding Hartmut...”

“Of course; he is Ottilie’s son and especially skilled. Milady is also set on taking Philine as a retainer, and she will need an archscholar to look after her.”

It was clear that Rihyarda was against Rozemyne taking Philine into her service, and for good reason—no normal member of the archducal family would willingly accept a mana-sparse laynoble as their retainer. It was for this same reason that people wondered why Rozemyne showed no intention of dismissing Damuel.

“I expect that Philine will become the target of much envy due to her status,” Rihyarda explained, “and she will find a tremendous burden placed upon her as a result. To make matters worse, unlike Damuel, who was ordered to visit the temple as punishment and only then received praise for his work ethic, she will have no defense. Do you believe this is something she will be able to endure? I am most concerned that milady is on the verge of ruining this young girl’s life.”

“I can’t deny that Philine is going to struggle, but even if she doesn’t become Rozemyne’s retainer, she has already sworn loyalty to her. I trust that she can handle it.” She had been extremely moved by all the praise Rozemyne had showered upon her for the stories she had gathered over the past two years, and the memory of when she had sworn loyalty to Rozemyne in the playroom was still fresh in my mind. “Most of the requests must have been from Leisegangs, right? I’m glad to see this selection isn’t as biased toward them as I’d expected.”

“Lady Elvira asked that we aim for as many neutral nobles as possible. Traugott was included at his own request.”

Traugott, huh...? I’ve known him since we were little kids, but we’ve never been good friends. Not sure things are going to go well with him.

Traugott was Bonifatius’s grandson. He was always hostile toward me, maybe because we were almost the same age, and I could see working with him becoming something of a chore if that continued. Surely he wouldn’t bring those kinds of personal feelings to the workplace, though.

“So, he didn’t choose to serve Lord Wilfried, huh?” I asked. “I heard that Lady Gudrun served Lady Georgine before she got married. Traugott’s close to the former Veronica faction, and he seemed to get along with Wilfried in the winter playroom, so I was sure he’d go for him.”

Traugott’s mother, Gudrun, was Rihyarda’s daughter. They were more attached to the archducal family than they were to the Leisegangs, so despite being neutral, he was still close to the former Veronica faction.

“If you want to look at it like that,” Rihyarda said, “you should know that I’ve served Lady Veronica, Lady Georgine, and Lord Karstedt in the past.”

“Wait. Father too?”

“That’s right. I’ve never considered myself as belonging to any particular faction, though. My family has always served the archducal family, and my loyalty lies with Ehrenfest. I am a neutral archnoble who serves whomever the aub orders me to.”

Rihyarda was similarly serving Rozemyne at the archduke’s order. Maybe it was safe to interpret her less as a loyal retainer, and more as a loyal servant of the aub.

“Traugott should serve faithfully once he has a lord or lady,” Rihyarda continued. “We have always supported Ehrenfest under the archducal family. I was trained and educated to this end, and I trust that Traugott’s parents trained and educated him in the same way.”

Once her explanation was complete, Rihyarda left to carry out her duties. I needed to inform Hartmut and Traugott that they had been chosen, so I called them to my room via ordonnanz.

“Hartmut, Traugott—you’re being asked to become Lady Rozemyne’s retainers,” I told them once they arrived. “Not only was she raised in the temple, but she has also spent two long years asleep in a jureve, so she presumably has many shortcomings that other archduke candidates do not. Will you be able to serve her nonetheless?”

“I will serve her well and in all sincerity,” they both replied. Hartmut’s expression was one of uncontrollable joy, while Traugott looked deadly serious.

Life as a guard knight in the Royal Academy seemed to be going well. Damuel wasn’t here to offer his opinions on scheduling and the like, but I was fortunate enough to have Leonore with me, and we were figuring things out together.

“Lady Rozemyne has far fewer guard knights than Lord Wilfried,” I said. “Keeping up shifts is going to be a struggle until everyone’s finished their classes...” I was starting to believe I would need to do it all on my own, but Leonore eased my worries with a gentle smile.

“I believe we will manage,” she replied. “I expect to pass the majority of my written lessons on the first day.”

“That’d be a big help. After tutoring Angelica so much, I’m pretty sure I’ll pass all of mine on the first day too.”

The two of us working together would make things much easier. Traugott was an archnoble, meaning he had presumably studied enough to secure good grades, so I expected that he would join us soon as well.

“The problem is Judithe...” I noted.

“This certainly was sudden for her. In the long term, I think it would be better for her to prioritize her education and try to attain the highest grades she can than to hurry to begin guard duty. We can assign her to guarding Lady Rozemyne when she is in her room and elsewhere in the dormitory.”

It was extremely heartening to have Leonore here with me, since only girls were allowed into Rozemyne’s room and Angelica couldn’t be relied on for pretty much anything. Angelica had recommended Leonore, though, so I supposed that was something to thank her for.

Just as I was beginning to think we could manage with the few guard knights available to us, Lord Wilfried made a remark he really shouldn’t have. Something inside Rozemyne seemed to snap, and she began a full-speed charge toward the library. As an apology for my little sister going on a rampage when told to have all the first-years pass their written lessons on the first day, I felt the need to protect Philine as much as I could. Scheduling everyone’s guard duty was unfathomably easier than stopping that obsessive booklover.

For the most part, Rozemyne was oblivious to our struggles and focused instead on passing all of her classes on the first day. It seemed as though she was being stubborn to prove a point, but also like she was in a bit of a panic, as if she expected the library to be snatched away from her if she didn’t act fast enough. As she barreled through her studies, she also managed to outrage Professor Fraularm in her highbeast class and ended up having an exchange with Prince Anastasius during her dedication whirl class. She was moving from one dangerous predicament to another, but as far as her grades were concerned, there was absolutely nothing to worry about—she was passing her classes one after another.

“What?! You want to go to the library alone?!” I exclaimed. “Don’t be ridiculous!”

Rozemyne had asked to venture to the library by herself after finally completing her classes and learning from the mistakes she had made when communicating with Professor Solange. I had ended up responding to her as her brother rather than her guard knight, but since we were in the dormitory, nobody seemed to take issue.

“But, I mean, I would feel bad forcing any of you to accompany me when you haven’t finished your classes yet,” she said.

“If you feel bad, how about just not going?”

“That simply isn’t an option. I came to the Royal Academy solely to visit the library, and Ferdinand gave me permission to go there the moment all of my classes were done.”

My little sister couldn’t be swayed when it came to the library—that much I already knew. She had been the same way before her baptism; when I once suggested rewarding her progress in her studies with a trip to our family estate’s book room, she had gotten so excited that she passed out on the way there. She had awakened the next morning with a terrible fever, but even then, she had thrown herself down onto the floor and tried to crawl to the book room. In our current situation, there was no way I could stop her from going to the Royal Academy library when she had permission from both Lord Wilfried and Lord Ferdinand.

“Archduke candidates need to have retainers with them,” I said. “I understand that you’re trying to be considerate, but acting alone as you’re suggesting will only trouble us even more. Do you still not understand this, even after the attack two years ago?”

“But you have your classes...”

“That’s why you have several retainers and why we’re scheduling your library visits for when we don’t need to attend our lessons. If you want to be mindful of your retainers, don’t ever go off on your own. We’d all be beside ourselves with worry, fearful that something might happen.”

Rozemyne wilted and said, “Sorry, Cornelius.” It seemed that she was more prone to accepting my advice when I gave her a scolding as her brother, rather than when I tried to politely explain things as her guard knight. I took that lesson to heart, and from that point onward, I spoke to her as family while we were in the dormitory—when the situation allowed for it, of course.

It was a relief to know that Rozemyne wouldn’t be acting alone, but day after day, the situation changed. There came a tea party in the library, another with the music professors, a summons from royalty... My hands were full just trying to keep up with the slew of developments.

Now I understood all too well what Eckhart had meant when he said that the more loyal a guard knight was, the harder they would find things in the Royal Academy. During the two years Rozemyne had slept, I had striven to become worthy of serving her; I had trained hard and raised my grades until I was sure that, this time, I could protect her. But her demands surpassed anything I could have expected.

Worse still, before I could even find my footing with the Rozemyne situation, I found myself serving as an intermediary between Lord Wilfried and the Leisegangs. Lamprecht had asked me to take on this role. He had said that Lord Wilfried considered himself part of the same faction as the aub and Lady Florencia, but that ever since the Ivory Tower incident, the other nobles in the duchy had stopped seeing things that way.

Me, looking after another archduke candidate? How can I do that?! My hands are full serving Rozemyne!

As much as I wanted to scream, both Father and Mother had said that since Rozemyne didn’t intend to become the next aub, I needed to prop up Lord Wilfried as best I could. To be honest, though, with Rozemyne being such an absurd child prodigy, it was only a matter of time before people began pushing for her to take the seat instead. Hartmut was already running around in the shadows, pulling strings, and doing who knew what else—not that I had the time or energy to stop him.

Hm? Wait a moment. I’ve just realized something terrible.

Rozemyne had only awoken from her jureve this year. In other words, she had managed to start a library-inspired rampage and was leading the Ehrenfest Dormitory by order of the aub while she was still unwell. She wasn’t even acting at her full capacity.

There’s been so much chaos already, and she can barely even move! How bad are things going to be next year when she’s actually recovered a bit more?

My head throbbed at the very thought, but there was nothing for me to gain from dwelling on the future. I didn’t have the time for it, anyway. Instead, I simply followed my eagerly grinning little sister to the library, all the while trying to work out whom I could ask to handle guard duty tomorrow.