Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume Short Story - Chapter 6

Hannelore — Cursed with Such Unfortunate Timing

Crests were currently very popular in schtappe class. Lord Wilfried, an Ehrenfest archduke candidate, had introduced them, and now everyone else wanted to copy his example. They were an excellent way of making one’s schtappe stand out, and envisioning one’s own family crest was easy enough, considering how often one saw it. Indeed, it was a shared desire to stand out from one’s classmates that had resulted in these crests spreading like wildfire.

I searched for Lord Wilfried among the students casting rott and sending out ordonnanzes; this class was my only opportunity to speak casually with an Ehrenfest archduke candidate.

“He is over there, Lady Hannelore.”

One of my duchy’s archnobles indicated one side of the room with a smile. I followed her gesture, and there he was, laughing among a group of other male archduke candidates as they all perfected their schtappes. It certainly didn’t seem to be a circle that a female archduke candidate could intrude upon... but apparently I was the only one who thought that.

“Is something the matter, Lady Hannelore?” the same archnoble asked, having noticed that I was frozen in place. She and the girls with her were apprentice attendants, and they seemed to passionately desire a tea party with Lady Rozemyne. Their intense, prodding smiles made me feel as though my head attendant Cordula were here and criticizing my hesitance in person.

I suppose the apprentice attendants will end up like Cordula after all, once they have enough years of experience.

“Do you not wish to apologize for Lord Lestilaut’s rudeness?” they probed. Indeed, I was certain that these girls would one day become excellent attendants. I inhaled deeply, trying to block out their eerily familiar smiles and gazes.

Now is not the time to be nervous; I must apologize for my brother’s rudeness. There is nothing unusual about me asking how Lady Rozemyne is doing and inviting her to a tea party.

I slowly took my first step, repeating in my head the questions and statements that my retainers had aided me in preparing. “I see you’ve made your crest more three-dimensional,” Lord Wilfried was saying to Lord Ortwin as I reluctantly made my way over.

Lord Ortwin nodded. “The divine beast on my family crest is a snake, so it doesn’t require much more mana to have it curl around the shaft like this.”

“I see. Won’t be easy to use Ehrenfest’s lion like that...”

The mere thought of interrupting their conversation filled me with dread, but I needed to take action. I worked up my courage and then said in a strained voice, “Erm, Lord Wilfried...”

“Oh, Lady Hannelore.” Lord Wilfried turned around at once, wearing a smile that was bright with the joy of one discovering a new ally. “Do you want to put a crest on your schtappe too? Dunkelfelger’s beast is an eagle, right?”

No. That’s not why I’m here...

This misunderstanding would only make it harder for me to segue into a discussion about tea parties, so I hurriedly shook my head. “The crested schtappes that you’ve created look wonderful, Lord Wilfried... but I will one day be married into another duchy, so it would not be wise for me to add my family crest to something so permanent.”

In truth, this was mostly an excuse. I didn’t have much experience with controlling my mana, and my clumsiness meant I struggled enough to maintain even a normal schtappe, let alone one with unessential decorations. Adding a crest was simply out of the question for me.

“Ah. I did not consider that problem for girls...” Lord Wilfried replied. “I want my own schtappe to be entirely unique, so I plan to keep working on it until it stands out as Lord Ortwin’s does.” He whipped out his schtappe and glared at it, his dark-green eyes making his dissatisfaction with its shape all too apparent.

I’ve simply been wishing for this class to end, but Lord Wilfried... He’s striving to improve. It’s wonderful.

Impressed, I carefully observed Lord Wilfried while awaiting my next opportunity to speak. He put his schtappe away and sighed, at which point I decided to ask about Lady Rozemyne.

“Um, Lord Wilfried...” I said. “Might I ask how Lady Rozemyne is doing right now?”

In an instant, the archduke candidates who had been making their schtappes with Lord Wilfried all stopped talking and looked at me. They must have been curious about Lady Rozemyne, who had vanished after immediately finishing her classes and was rumored to have become the master of royal heirlooms. Even the female archduke candidates were taking small steps toward us in an attempt to hear us better.

“Would it be bothersome for me to invite her to a tea party?” I asked. “I am aware that my brother was terribly rude to her, so I was hoping to host a get-together for her benefit.”

Wilfried paused in thought, and a moment later, there came a whisper from nearby. “Dunkelfelger was rude to Ehrenfest...?” I turned to look without thinking and saw that the voice belonged to Lord Ortwin, an archduke candidate from Drewanchel, who now seemed to be contemplating something himself.

“This is a personal matter, Lord Ortwin—not anything to do with interduchy diplomacy,” I quickly noted in an attempt to snuff out any misconceptions. “It may seem strange for me to apologize on behalf of my elder brother, but I must say, he has been getting me into trouble ever since I was born.” I punctuated this statement with a long sigh, hoping to emphasize how problematic my brother really was.

Lord Ortwin gave a firm nod. “I know the feeling well; my elder sister gets me into trouble all the time. Always minor incidents, of course, but still.” He was naturally referring to Lady Adolphine. She appeared calm and intellectual, but it seemed that she often dragged her little brother into undesirable situations.

I would still say he has it better, though. Lady Adolphine is a delicate woman. My brother, on the other hand, has a knack for turning small problems into large ones.

As we were sharing our struggles as younger siblings, I noticed that Lord Wilfried was looking rather pensive, no doubt because he was an older brother himself. “Oh, my apologies,” I said. “I asked a question, but we ended up on a tangent about something else entirely.”

“I don’t mind. As an older brother, though, I must say—we get dragged into problems by our younger siblings as well. I have to report on more or less everything my little sister does.”

Lord Ortwin laughed. “But what problems could Lady Rozemyne possibly have caused? She’s an honor student who finished her classes faster than anyone.”

“You already know the answer to that question, Lord Ortwin. There are rumors that she attacked a professor with her drivable highbeast, fell unconscious while obtaining her schtappe in the Farthest Hall, became the master of the library’s magic tools... My headache never stops.”

“I would feel the same. I see that in Ehrenfest, the older siblings are the ones who suffer.”

A smile played on my lips. “Still, Lord Wilfried... The thought of you going through so much trouble to clean up after Lady Rozemyne is quite heartwarming. You certainly do love your sister.”

My words inspired reserved chuckles and giggles from those around us. Lord Wilfried waited for them to settle, then turned to me and said, “Lady Hannelore, about your questions... Since finishing her classes, Rozemyne has been spending her days in the library. She has already attended a tea party with professors and a Klassenberg student, so your invitation would not be bothersome whatsoever. In fact, we would be honored to receive an invitation from Dunkelfelger.” It was such a reassuring answer that I sighed with relief, but his expression then clouded over slightly. “That said, she is due to return to Ehrenfest for the latter half of winter, so time really is of the essence.”

“I thank you ever so much,” I replied. Now that I was sure she wouldn’t mind, I simply needed to go to the library, meet Lady Rozemyne in person, and invite her to a tea party. My attendants would contact her retainers and manage the rest. I said, “I do wish you luck with crafting a wondrous schtappe,” then returned to where the other blue-capes from my duchy were gathered.

The apprentice attendants eagerly approached me. For some reason, the apprentice knights had also come over to watch while practicing with their schtappes. Among them was Rasantark—my cousin, and the person who had spurred my brother to action with his unnecessary remarks. “Lady Hannelore,” he said, sounding hesitant. “Did you receive a positive response from Ehrenfest?”

“Yes. Lord Wilfried said we may invite Lady Rozemyne to a tea party. She seems to be visiting the library on a daily basis, so I plan to go there myself and meet with her in person.” My response must have put Rasantark at considerable ease, as his entire body seemed to relax.

The apprentice attendants gave bright smiles. “We certainly aren’t able to speak to archduke candidates from other duchies ourselves,” they said. “Lady Hannelore, the matter is in your hands.” And with that, they started off elsewhere, chattering to the tune of: “I should like to ask Lady Rozemyne how she came up with those plots.” “Shall we question her about her hairpins?” “I am more interested in how she keeps her hair so glossy.” It seemed their heads were already filled with plans for the tea party.

“My sincerest apologies, Lady Hannelore,” Rasantark said. “I have caused such a mess.”

“It is fine, Rasantark. I am used to cleaning up after my brother... This is only so troublesome because it is my first time dealing with a mess where those of other duchies are involved.”

Lestilaut causing me problems was nothing new—whenever he would create some issue, our mother would scold us both, for some reason. By now, I was quite used to racing around, cleaning up after him.

Not that I ever want to...

Hoping to apologize to Lady Rozemyne before she returned to Ehrenfest, I had found an opportunity to visit the library. Several days had passed since Lord Wilfried gave me his advice, but that was because I had so little free time to work with. Lady Rozemyne no longer needed to attend classes, but there were many I had yet to pass.

I gazed around the library and then exhaled in defeat. Much to my disappointment, Lady Rozemyne was nowhere to be seen.

“We have just learned from an apprentice scholar that she was invited to a tea party by Lady Eglantine of Klassenberg earlier today,” Cordula explained.

It seems my timing was very unlucky...

Although it was unfortunate, there was no helping it now. Knowing the tea party schedules of other duchies was far from easy, so I would simply have to wait for my next opportunity.

“Cordula, when do I next have time to visit the library?”

“Three days from now,” my head attendant replied. “You would have more opportunities if you finished your lessons quickly as well.”

My written lessons were one thing, but I was still struggling with my practical ones. Drivable highbeasts seemed so convenient, and my hope was to have mine look like a shumil, but actually making one was proving much harder than expected.

Three days later, when I was once again afforded some free time, I made my way to the library. No sooner had I arrived, however, than my shoulders slumped in discouragement. Lady Rozemyne was indeed present, but Prince Anastasius was taking her somewhere.

Nooo... Once again, I’ve failed to apologize. I can only pray that Dregarnuhr the Goddess of Time will one day grant me her blessing.

Lady Rozemyne didn’t look particularly well and was lagging farther and farther behind Prince Anastasius as they walked. One could easily deduce that her summons hadn’t been expected or desired, which was a terrifying thought. The very idea of going through such an encounter with royalty was enough to put me on edge.

I returned to the library the next day, but Lady Rozemyne was nowhere to be seen. I asked my apprentice scholars to look into the matter, and as it turned out, she had fallen ill again.

“Lady Hannelore, perhaps you should give up on meeting with Lady Rozemyne in person and send the invitation to her instead,” Cordula suggested. “Your timing is simply too unfortunate.”

My classes had given me a chance to spend time with and slowly get to know the other archduke candidates, but not once had I spoken to Lady Rozemyne directly. We might as well have been strangers, and to make matters worse, despite the absence of any kind of relationship between us, I had still managed to cause problems for her. I wanted to speak to her at least once in person before sending my invitation, as was the proper thing to do, but at this rate, she would return to Ehrenfest before I could apologize to her.

“Cordula... Please send the invitation to Ehrenfest,” I said. “Address it to the duchy’s archduke candidates in general, as I do not know Lady Rozemyne personally.”

“Understood.”

After leaving the tea party arrangements to Cordula, I devoted myself to my studies while praying for Lady Rozemyne’s recovery. I wanted to have as much free time as possible when she returned.

“Lady Hannelore, it seems that Lady Rozemyne is visiting the library.”

“Let us go at once.”

I put away my books and wasted no time heading to the library. Archduke candidates tended not to visit themselves, as they needed to bring their attendants, scholars, and knights with them in what made for an uncomfortably large crowd. It was far more efficient to instruct an apprentice scholar to go in one’s stead and take out whatever book was desired.

I wonder why Lady Rozemyne reads in the library...

An archduke candidate going to the library every day would inconvenience not just the retainers who had to accompany them, but also the laynobles who wished to borrow carrels. One’s retainers had classes to consider as well, and I could only imagine that Lady Rozemyne’s were struggling a great deal to balance their studies alongside their lady’s reading habits.

Could it be that Lady Rozemyne’s retainers have all finished their classes, then? Or alternatively, is there a rule that says the master of those large shumils must spend a certain amount of time here in the library? The latter option seemed very possible, considering that the two magic tools had previously been under the care of Sovereign archnoble librarians.

I suppose I could never have been their master after all.

It was as I pondered these things that we arrived at the library. Lady Rozemyne was nowhere to be seen on the first floor of the reading room. My continued searching must have been somewhat obvious, as Professor Solange soon approached me.

“Lady Hannelore of Dunkelfelger,” she said, “is there something I can help you with?”

“I was told that Lady Rozemyne of Ehrenfest is here,” I replied.

“My apologies, but she has already returned to her dormitory. She came only to inform me that she is returning to Ehrenfest sooner than planned due to her poor health.”

“I... I see. I thank you ever so much for telling me.”

In my honest opinion, I deserved the highest praise for managing to maintain my smile without faltering. After walking all the way to the library on so many occasions, it was hard to believe that my efforts had ultimately been in vain.

How is this even possible?! She’s leaving before I even had the chance to apologize! I’m convinced—Dregarnuhr the Goddess of Time must hate me.

I resisted the urge to collapse onto the ground then and there and somehow managed to get back to the dormitory. Once I was in my room, I allowed my disappointment to show, while Cordula sympathetically shook her head.

“You are not to blame, milady. Your timing was simply unfortunate.”

“Cordula, that does not make me feel even a little better.”

Is there truly no way to fix my consistently poor timing...?

I was sad enough already, but the events that followed made me feel even worse. First, my tea party invitation intended for Lady Rozemyne had ended up being delivered to Lord Wilfried—and such a message from a Dunkelfelger archduke candidate simply couldn’t be refused. I had half a mind to cancel the whole affair, but with how eager the other girls were to learn about Ehrenfest trends, I was too hesitant to actually do so.

Forgive me, Lord Wilfried...

After that, I found out that accepting my invitation had put Lord Wilfried in a situation where he had no choice but to accept invitations from several other duchies as well, which depressed me even further. I apologized on the inside again and again as he put on a brave smile and answered the slew of questions put to him as normally as he could, despite the inevitable discomfort of attending a tea party of only girls.

I really am sorry. I never expected this to happen!

And then, I nearly fainted when I heard that Professor Rauffen had challenged Ehrenfest to a ditter rematch. His praise had mostly been for Lady Rozemyne and the schemes she had devised, so it hadn’t even crossed my mind that he might challenge them while she was absent. Perhaps he didn’t even know she was gone.

Oh, Lord Wilfried... I can’t even begin to describe how sorry I am!

After all of my hardships, I didn’t think I was asking for too much. I just wanted Dregarnuhr to bless me with her divine protection, even if only for a short while.