Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume Short Story - Chapter 10

Hartmut — Dunkelfelger Women

No sooner had the ordonnanz from Rihyarda arrived than I rushed out of the dormitory; a ditter match between Ehrenfest and Dunkelfelger was apparently being held to decide the ownership of two library magic tools. I guessed that not a single person expected our duchy to win... but in the end, Lady Rozemyne managed to achieve the impossible. Even as her greatest supporter, this outcome took me by surprise.

Spectacular...

Friend and foe alike had cried out in awe and excitement at the slew of devious plots employed against Dunkelfelger. I, too, had gotten caught up in the atmosphere and cried out in glee at my lady’s efforts, while on the inside cursing our duchy’s apprentice knights for being so incompetent and dragging her down. My elation disappeared in an instant, however, when I saw Lord Lestilaut’s reaction to his defeat.

“Your foul plots were despicable! You are no saint!”

They were the barks of a sore loser, but he was still an archduke candidate from the second-ranked duchy. It was impossible to say how this event would impact things moving forward. Lady Rozemyne didn’t seem at all worried—in fact, she seemed rather glad that someone was “recognizing the truth”—but that was because she didn’t understand the gravity of the situation.

Well... I have no choice. I’ll need to put even more effort into promulgating her sainthood now.

Her silky, flowing hair the color of the night sky was the loving work of the God of Darkness, and her golden eyes had been blessed by the Goddess of Light herself. These colors reflected Lady Rozemyne better than anything. She looked a great deal younger than her peers due to her two-year slumber, but even so, her heart overflowed with Heilschmerz’s compassion. On top of that, her seemingly infinite stream of discoveries and inventions proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was loved by Mestionora the Goddess of Wisdom.

Lady Rozemyne had been blessed by so many gods that she had a considerable amount of mana, and one had to acknowledge that her blessings were the most powerful and most divine in all of Yurgenschmidt. The gods had put her in Ehrenfest so that she might meet me, and they had graciously done this at a time when we could attend the Royal Academy together. Our meeting was the very definition of a miracle!

“Hartmut, we are eating at the moment,” Brunhilde said, interrupting my thoughts. “If you intend to offer prayers to the gods, return to your room and do it there.”

I relented and resumed eating. It was the height of socializing season, but the archduke had ordered Lady Rozemyne to return to Ehrenfest. As an apprentice scholar, I couldn’t accompany her, even though I had finished my classes. I was deathly envious of guard knights and resented my own inadequacies beyond words. To be honest, I never expected that Lady Rozemyne’s presence alone could breathe new life into my dull existence, and in turn, that her absence alone would plunge me back into the despair of monotony.

Lady Rozemyne truly is the saint who gives my world color.

“Philine, do you not find these days without our lady to be entirely fruitless?” I asked. “It feels as though a thick blanket of gray has enveloped the world.”

“I certainly do find myself missing Lady Rozemyne...” Philine said, but her forlorn expression soon turned into a smile. “I’m fine, though, since there’s still much I need to do for her. She has finally awoken from her long sleep, and while that alone was wondrous enough, she even took me into her service. Rather than regretting her absence, I intend to be of use to her—to gather stories and transcribe as many books as I can.”

The look in her eyes as she marched toward her goal was nothing short of gladdening. I had initially been surprised to hear about an apprentice layscholar being taken as a retainer, but I could understand what Lady Rozemyne saw in her.

Indeed. Lady Rozemyne’s acumen never fails to impress.

That said, it was also true that Philine was lacking in many areas for a retainer of the archducal family. It was my duty as an apprentice archscholar to guide her such that her shortcomings wouldn’t inconvenience Lady Rozemyne.

I’ll take her to scholar gatherings so that she can start meeting others and teach her how to buy and gather information...

As I formed my training regimen in my head, Brunhilde got her attendant to brew and serve some post-meal tea. I accepted a cup and sipped my beverage.

“On a more important note, Hartmut, might I ask you to accompany me to tomorrow’s tea party?” Brunhilde asked. She was enthusiastic about these gatherings, describing them as essential opportunities to spread Lady Rozemyne’s trends, but I wasn’t too into them myself. Of course, had Lady Rozemyne been here, I would have assisted her with every fiber of my being—but I didn’t see the point of attending with Lord Wilfried in her absence.

This can wait until Lady Rozemyne comes back, or even until next year. There’s no need for us to bother with it right now.

Lady Rozemyne had already received a hairpin order from royalty, and Klassenberg’s archduke candidate was probing her about rinsham. Ehrenfest already had the attention of most girls, and that wouldn’t change whether he socialized or not. The only problem would be that other duchies would think poorly of him for being secretive if he didn’t socialize. In my opinion, it was better for us to wait and have Lady Rozemyne spearhead the spreading of trends instead.

Those aren’t Ehrenfest’s trends to begin with. Lady Rozemyne created them all on her own.

To be honest, I found it repulsive that Lord Wilfried could even be considered an archduke candidate next to Lady Rozemyne. I had no intention of aiding him when he was using us to spread trends that weren’t his own.

Soon after his baptism, Lord Wilfried earned a reputation among the Leisegangs as a wholly incompetent archduke candidate who could act without restraint because of his doting grandmother Lady Veronica. Once these rumors were verified, the Leisegangs began plotting. They would use his winter debut to demonstrate his grave flaws and encourage Lady Charlotte, who was being educated by the far more competent Lady Florencia, to challenge his claim to becoming the next aub. After this, they would use his inevitably terrible grades at the Royal Academy to publicly denounce him, criticize Lady Veronica, and ultimately remove her from her seat of power. In short: Lord Wilfried was nothing more than a perfect fool to be exploited to besmirch his grandmother’s name.

In the end, however, Lady Veronica’s displacement hadn’t been related to Lord Wilfried. His lackluster education was made up for by Lady Rozemyne, he was saved from disinheritance during the Ivory Tower incident, and now he stood above all others as though his superiority as an archduke candidate were obvious. I was moved by Lady Rozemyne’s compassion, but that did not change my opinion that her brother was tragically unsuited to his role.

I won’t actively work against him, since Lady Rozemyne went to such extreme lengths to save him. Of course, I’d really rather eliminate him here and now just to get it over with, but the incident with Traugott has well and truly proven the danger of angering Lady Rozemyne. Keeping my distance is the safest move, as unfortunate as that is.

“You know more about Lady Rozemyne’s trends than anyone, Brunhilde, and Lord Wilfried has his own retainers,” I said. “Although I agree that having me join you is the best course of action for gathering information, the tea party is for girls; I strongly believe it would be better to have Philine go with you instead so that she can gain some experience.”

I would consider it unforgivable for Philine to slip up during one of Lady Rozemyne’s tea parties... but in this case, seeing as it was Lord Wilfried attending instead, I was willing to accept that mistakes sometimes happened in the path to improvement.

“Not to mention,” I continued, “rather than introducing another boy to this tea party, would it not be more advisable to have a girl participate and offer up advice?”

Brunhilde lowered her eyes, seeming to understand my complete unwillingness to participate in the tea party. “You may have a point,” she said. “Philine, I ask you to accompany us.”

“U-Understood,” Philine replied, unable to keep her voice from cracking. She was clearly anxious, so I attempted to ease her nerves, adopting the kindest tone I could manage so that she would trust me as her instructor.

“Philine, leave the bulk of the work to Lord Wilfried’s retainers. If you make your presence known more than is necessary, they may ostracize you for being an apprentice layscholar. Keep your distance, observe the atmosphere, focus on what kind of conversations are being had, and ensure that you can report everything to Lady Rozemyne.”

“I thank you ever so much for this essential advice,” she replied. “I am feeling more hopeful now.”

Philine, never lose that honest heart of yours. Lady Rozemyne needs at least one person like you by her side.

Truth be told, information would flow to us regardless of whether Lord Wilfried attended these tea parties at all. After the ditter game between our duchies, Dunkelfelger’s apprentice scholars had started inviting us to meetings, offering us far more opportunities to gather intelligence on top-ranking duchies than before. And now that the prince had given his approval for Ehrenfest to continue maintaining the library magic tools, there were several apprentice scholars from other top-ranking duchies approaching us as well.

To think that Lady Rozemyne could establish so many talking points in the short period prior to socializing season. She never fails to astound.

How much information one could obtain from scholar gatherings largely depended on where one’s duchy was ranked. Some information was shared only among top-ranking duchies, some trickled down to the occasional middle-ranking duchy, some was shared freely among middle-ranking duchies, and some was passed from the middle-ranking to bottom-ranking duchies. How high in this chain one could climb determined one’s talent as a scholar. Ehrenfest was invited to some gatherings with other middle-ranking duchies but was generally stuck with bottom-ranking duchies and struggled immensely when it came to gathering information from the top.

It was crucial to remember the duchy rankings while trying to form personal relationships with classmates and striving to extract as much information from them as possible. And yet, Lady Rozemyne had disregarded convention entirely and easily managed to create situations to exchange information with apprentice scholars from top-ranking duchies. In fact, now, they came to us. Her sudden burst of progress had more or less trivialized the years I spent forming my own connections.

She’s brought about such great change in a single year. How can anyone who’s witnessed this not find themselves utterly starstruck?

As Lady Rozemyne’s retainer, I was invited to a gathering of scholars from top-ranking duchies. Never before had this happened, and when I attended, it was a Drewanchel scholar who broke the ice.

“So, Lord Hartmut—when will Lady Rozemyne be returning to the Royal Academy? My lady dearly wishes to invite her to a tea party.”

“She is so sickly that we originally feared she would need to delay her entry into the Royal Academy, so I would not expect her return until near the end of the term,” I replied. “What does Drewanchel wish to learn at this tea party?”

“My lady is interested in the library magic tools. We have asked Professor Solange how the registration was done, but her answer was unclear.”

Preparation was needed for topics to really blossom at tea parties. I smiled, making a mental note that Drewanchel was interested in the library magic tools as well as the current trends, and then said, “Lady Rozemyne became their master by the blessing of Mestionora the Goddess of Wisdom.”

“Er, I do not mean to speak in jest...”

“Oh, and neither do I. Lady Rozemyne prayed to Mestionora and granted a blessing, which subsequently gave life to Schwartz and Weiss. I saw it with my own eyes, but not even I can describe the divinity of the scene with words. Seeing her rejoice over the library registration and unleashing a blessing of the divine color of Wind erased all doubt as to why she is called a saint, and I could only—”

“I understand, Lord Hartmut. I will report as much to my lady.”

My adulating speech was cut short, but that happened often. I did find this particular instance quite unfortunate, however, as Dunkelfelger’s apprentice scholars would nod along in earnest as I praised Lady Rozemyne’s ditter skills.

“There are rumors that Lady Rozemyne improvised a new song during her tea party with the professors,” another scholar said.

“Ah, that is nothing to be surprised about; Lady Rozemyne has developed many new songs,” I replied. “This is not where her true value lies, however.”

“By which you mean to say...?”

The apprentice scholars leaned forward curiously, but I made sure not to give them what they wanted straight away. First, I obtained the information I wanted from them: how they felt about Ehrenfest, how they saw Lady Rozemyne and Lord Wilfried, what they thought about our new trends, and so on.

“So, what is this ‘true value’ you were referring to?” one of the scholars asked once my questioning was over. “Can she do more than compose songs?”

“Her greatest strength is her playing. Have you ever seen a blessing overflow to the tune of someone playing the harspiel?”

“Her playing...?”

“Indeed. Her fingers move so gracefully that all those watching are spellbound, and her youthful, dulcet tones offer sweet prayers to the gods. And then, in what can only be a loving response from the gods, blessings of vivid color shoot from her hands as she continues to play. This majestic sight alone is enough to see how much of a saint Lady Rozemyne truly is.”

The apprentice scholars exchanged glances as I continued to extol the beauty of the event. Their expressions indicated a complete lack of understanding, but it was only a matter of time before they came to realize the true splendor of my lady.

“I... I certainly would like to see such an event myself,” one of the scholars said. “Ah, my apologies, Lord Hartmut; there are classes I must attend. If you would excuse me.”

“Oh, before you go—Lady Rozemyne is very interested in the stories of other duchies and plans to purchase transcribed copies at a high price. We are spreading the word in the library as well, but please inform your apprentice layscholars.”

“Understood.”

The apprentice scholar made a quick retreat, but I wasn’t yet satisfied. If only there was someone eager to share in my adoration of my lady. Even among Lady Rozemyne’s retainers, only Philine is willing to properly hear me out. It’s a miserable state of affairs.

Lady Rozemyne’s sudden return home after barely attending classes had stimulated a lot of interest, and there were many who wished to know more about her. I extracted information from them one by one; even archnobles needed to earn their own money to learn Lady Rozemyne’s mana compression method.

While Philine was putting her all into transcribing books for Lady Rozemyne, I spent my already busy days marketing Ehrenfest paper in the library, warning any students who came too close to Schwartz and Weiss, and informing those of other duchies that we were willing to buy stories from them at a high price.

“Erm, Lord Hartmut,” said a third-year apprentice scholar not serving as anyone’s retainer, “I received questions from a Dunkelfelger apprentice scholar the other day about you and Lord Cornelius.”

I crossed my arms and urged her to continue; it had already come to my attention that there were apprentice scholars gathering intelligence on Lady Rozemyne’s retainers and associates rather than on Lady Rozemyne herself, but I didn’t know their objective. It seemed that whoever had approached this third-year was deftly avoiding me and gathering their information from other apprentice scholars. I would need to gather my own information from other apprentice scholars in the duchy.

“Were you questioned as well, Ignaz?” I asked.

“Yes, about Lady Rozemyne’s retainers—particularly the archnobles,” he replied. “The person in question is from the second-ranked duchy, so perhaps they are insistent on only forming connections with those of a high enough status.”

His words gave me pause; those from Dunkelfelger concerned themselves with strength and ditter, not status. The moment Lady Rozemyne beat them, they had done a complete about-face and started seeking connections with her. Even now, their vocal praise for her was proving very useful. They were very interested in ditter-related information about Lady Rozemyne and Lord Ferdinand, and in their quest for knowledge, they were accepting intelligence from just about anyone.

Something about this didn’t seem right. I decided to investigate the person making all these inquiries and found out she was an apprentice archscholar one year beneath me by the name of Clarissa. She wasn’t serving an archduke candidate, meaning she was pretty much nothing to write home about.

It might be best for me to at least learn what her objective is before Lady Rozemyne returns.

But before I could even decide how best to approach Clarissa, she contacted me. We were to meet in a gazebo, as this was the perfect place to converse in secret without others noticing.

These are normally places for lovers to rendezvous, which does make me hesitant, but I’m probably overthinking it. She presumably doesn’t have a partner in the first place, which means there isn’t anyone who might misunderstand this.

It was with those thoughts in mind that I met up with Clarissa. She had brown hair that was braided behind her head and sparkling eyes that were the same blue as her cape. She seemed just as excited as the other Dunkelfelger students who were so eager to learn about Lady Rozemyne.

“Lord Hartmut,” she said, “there is something we must discuss.”

“I understand that you’ve been trying to find out about Lady Rozemyne’s retainers. Now you want to know about Lady Rozemyne herself, I presume?”

“No,” she said with a slight smile. “I want to know about you.”

Excuse me...?

I was trying to wrap my head around the situation when I realized she had vanished. All of a sudden, something swept my legs out from under me, and a hand grabbed the breast of my shirt. I was met with the beastly blue eyes of a predator, and an instant later, the word “messer” was chanted right next to my ear.

My back hit the ground with some force, but I was yanked up a little before my head could do the same. Clarissa was straddling my torso, and the cold sensation against my neck could only be the blade of a knife. My blood froze in my veins; I didn’t have the slightest idea what was happening. My experience with violent situations like this was slim to none, and not once had it crossed my mind that an apprentice scholar would hold me at knifepoint. I wouldn’t even have expected such behavior from an apprentice knight.

“Wh-What do you th— Mm?!”

I tried to protest, but Clarissa suddenly pressed her lips against mine and started forcing her mana into me. The crackling sensation made me flail on instinct, but she didn’t budge at all as she held me in place with her legs. All my struggling had earned me was a small cut where the blade was being held to my throat.

Clarissa pulled away and slowly licked her lips, no doubt trying to judge my mana. “Seems like you’ll do,” she said. “Good. Now, Lord Hartmut—give me proposal challenges.”

“What?”

Proposal... challenges?

I gazed up at Clarissa, unsure what she was demanding of me. She must have sensed my confusion, as she began to explain how proposals worked in Dunkelfelger. Apparently, there was a tradition where girls could marry the men they had their eyes on by pinning them down with their own strength, demanding challenges, and then completing them. It was an interesting concept, and one that I was now very intimately aware of.

I can’t believe such a weird proposal method would end up being used on me, of all people!

“I am absolutely dying to serve Lady Rozemyne,” Clarissa said, “but unfortunately, I am an apprentice scholar of Dunkelfelger. This is a problem that I intend to solve.”

One needed to be an Ehrenfest noble to serve Lady Rozemyne, and for an outsider, the fastest method to accomplish this was through marriage. Clarissa knew that Cornelius and I were the only two archnobles serving Lady Rozemyne who were of an appropriate age, and after Cornelius refused her advances, she had decided to focus her efforts on me. It was much easier to pin down an apprentice scholar than an apprentice knight, apparently.

“I don’t have the time for an official proposal or color-mixing,” she continued. “I expect more people to be targeting Lady Rozemyne’s retainers soon, so I can’t miss this opportunity. Marry me.”

“I understand that these are pressing circumstances, but I don’t know how I feel about you stealing a kiss like that,” I said, doing my best to remain calm while trying to come up with a plan of escape. Unfortunately, my options were limited when Clarissa was pinning me down so firmly.

“Oh my, do you expect to tell others about this?” Clarissa asked. “About how a girl one year younger than you pinned you down, passionately forced herself on you, and even stole your lips? I expect your honor as a man would disappear in an instant.” She giggled, not allowing her grip to loosen even for a moment, and then started to go on and on about how wondrous Lady Rozemyne was—all while we were still in this absurd position.

“I was truly moved,” she said. “So many in Dunkelfelger wish to become apprentice knights that we have our own selection exam to decide who should receive the privilege. It was my dream to join their ranks, but my small frame meant that I never stood a chance. That was why I was so taken aback when Lady Rozemyne, who is far smaller than I was at the time of my exam, managed to win at ditter—and using not strength, but wits! Do you know how moved I was to see her snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, despite her size? And then, as I found out more and more about her, my heart was won even more!”

The heated look in her eyes as she spoke about Lady Rozemyne was enough for me to confirm that the woman before me was exactly the comrade I was searching for. My heart raced just from being in the presence of someone who adored my lady as much as I did.

Not bad... Not bad at all.

I allowed Clarissa to continue her rant for quite some time, although I was distracted by the residue of her mana that lingered in my mouth. “I understand how you feel,” I said when she eventually reached a break in her speech, “but words mean very little on their own.”

“I am more than just talk. Give me a challenge so that I can prove it.”

She seemed unlikely to relent, so I contemplated what I might give her. It needed to be something founded in what I valued most in a wife.

That is, complete devotion to Lady Rozemyne. I want someone who’s as capable of extolling her virtues as I am.

“I have no intention of marrying someone who cannot bring happiness to Lady Rozemyne,” I said. “Prepare something that will please her before next term. Consider this an opportunity to prove both your talent for gathering information and your resolve to become her retainer. Show me what you are capable of.”

“That’s what I intend to do,” Clarissa replied with a smile. Her blue eyes gleamed with ambition, and only then did she dismiss her knife.

Now, what will she bring me, I wonder? I can’t wait to find out.