The morning of the baptism ceremony had been hectic last year in the lower city too, but in the Noble District it was even more frantic.
I was woken at the crack of dawn, forced into a bath while still drowsy, made to eat breakfast in my regular clothes so as not to get anything dirty, and then immediately changed into the attire for the ceremony.
"Good morning, Mother."
When I arrived at the dining hall after my bath, Mother was the only one there eating.
In the Noble District, rather than going to the
"
"Yes, Mother."
The moment Mother finished eating and left, Brother
"Good morning. And congratulations, Rozemyne."
"Thank you, Brother Eckhart."
While helping himself to the plate in front of him, Brother Eckhart kept the conversation going. I had been slightly nervous that I would end up eating in silence, so I was relieved.
"The Priest performing today's ceremony is Lord Ferdinand, isn't it? It'll be my first time seeing Lord Ferdinand conduct a religious rite, so I'm looking forward to it."
"…Your first time?"
Noble baptism ceremonies were held with a Priest summoned to the home. Apparently, everyone tried to invite a Priest of as high a rank as possible. And since noble baptism ceremonies came with a payment, they were a valuable income opportunity for Priests.
However, the Chief Priest had apparently never performed a religious rite in the Noble District before. I tilted my head in puzzlement, wondering why, and noticed Brother Eckhart catching my reaction. He gave a light shrug.
"The High Priest used to attend the rites for the upper nobility."
Houses that had a relationship with the Chief Priest, such as the Lord and upper nobles, apparently also had a relationship with the High Priest, and it was the High Priest who had been invited.
The Chief Priest apparently had no problem with not being invited to these rites, since he had a separate stream of income and a tremendous workload regardless, so he delegated the ceremonies to other Priests.
"If Lord Ferdinand is appearing as a Priest, the noble ladies in attendance today might just work themselves into a frenzy."
Brother Eckhart told me that whenever the Chief Priest came to the Noble District, he always dressed in noble attire, so today at the baptism ceremony, when the ladies saw him in his Priestly ceremonial robes, there would undoubtedly be shrieks of delight.
…Screaming over ceremonial Priest robes? Was it the same kind of excitement people got over uniforms? I was more used to seeing Priest robes, so it didn't faze me at all.
Brother Eckhart was close in age to the Chief Priest, and after becoming a Knight Apprentice, he had spent quite a bit of time serving as a knight alongside the Chief Priest when the Chief Priest first entered the Temple. So he apparently knew a great deal about the Chief Priest.
"Lord Ferdinand was perfect at everything he did, so rather than being jealous or bitter, people saw him as someone to admire—almost worship."
And apparently, while enrolled in the
"After all, you're the Shrine Maiden Apprentice he has taken under his protection. I will treasure you as a sister as well. So Rozemyne, please treasure Lord Ferdinand too. I want there to be one more person on his side."
"Understood."
Brother Eckhart finished eating and left before I could even finish my nibbling. He had been chatting the whole time, eating with unhurried elegance, yet he was still faster than me.
Left behind by Brother Eckhart who had arrived later, I hurriedly shovelled the rest of my food in.
"Good morning, Brother
On my way back to my room, I spotted Brother Cornelius heading toward the dining hall.
"Good morning, Rozemyne. Were you woken up too?"
"My Attendant woke me, but I've already finished my bath and breakfast."
I was already changed, but Brother Cornelius still had the sleepy, just-woken look on his face. When I pointed that out, he chuckled softly.
"Then I should hurry and finish eating too. Ah, that's right. Rozemyne, congratulations today."
"Thank you, Brother."
Back in my room, it was time to change.
The Attendants laid out two outfits and asked which one I would like. Either choice would suit Mother's taste, so there was no wrong answer. I went with the right one based on a vague feeling.
Following the Attendants' brisk instructions—"'Arm this way,' 'Right foot here'"—the changing was done in no time.
As my hair was being carefully brushed in front of the mirror, a small bell rang from beyond the door. It was Mother's bell.
"It's Mother. Let her in."
"Rozemyne, are you finished changing? Lord
"I'm already done, Mother."
When I replied, Mother stepped out of the room briefly. She then called out from beyond the door, and returned accompanied by Father in his Festive Clothing and the Chief Priest in his ceremonial robes, carrying a small wooden box.
Father, the Chief Priest, and then Mother advancing from behind—the Chief Priest's eyes were sparkling as he looked at the Chief Priest, which was somewhat amusing.
"Congratulations on your baptism ceremony, Rozemyne. Ah, you look wonderful."
"Thank you, Father."
When I expressed my gratitude, Father smiled warmly, then took my hand and removed the Magical Tool ring.
"I'll be taking this ring back for now. I'll give it to you later during the ceremony."
He had originally given me the ring so I could register the hidden room in the Temple and as a precaution in case anything happened with a blue priest at the Temple, but apparently it was meant to be presented at the baptism ceremony all along.
After completing the baptism ceremony, children were permitted to interact with nobles and would begin offering blessings in greetings. For that reason, in addition to Magical Tools that absorbed and stored Magic Power, a ring that released the stored Magic Power was apparently given at the baptism ceremony.
As a side note, I had only received a releasing Magical Tool. If I permanently wore one that absorbed and stored Magic Power, there was a danger that my Magic Power would drain so low I wouldn't be able to move.
Father took the ring and withdrew from the room. Then the Chief Priest approached with the wooden box.
"Congratulations, Rozemyne. A gift for today's celebration."
"Oh my, what could it be? Rozemyne, open it and see."
Mother was more excited than I was. I set the wooden box on the table and gently lifted the lid.
"How lovely!"
Inside was a gorgeous hair ornament made of what was probably the finest thread, lustrous and vibrant. I lifted it out carefully to look at it: three large white flowers with golden-edged petals, surrounded by smaller blue flowers also edged in gold, and from those, small blossoms trailed and swayed like wisteria in a gradient from blue to white.
…Turi and Mother made this.
Among the flowers in the hair ornament was a new flower I had taught Turi and Mother after transferring the technique to Corina. The design's similarity to last year's hair ornament made it obvious that the two of them had been involved. If that was the case, then perhaps Father was the one who had carved and polished the hairpin portion.
The moment my family's faces surfaced in my mind, all the loneliness I had been pushing to the corners of my thoughts by immersing myself in busyness crashed over me at once.
"…Ah…"
Tears spilled over like a broken dam. My chest filled with thoughts of the family I had been trying not to think about, and I couldn't move, still holding the hair ornament.
"Rozemyne?"
Mother looked at me with wide, startled eyes. An alarmed Attendant rushed over with a towel and gently pressed it to my face.
"Rozemyne, calm yourself."
The Chief Priest took the hair ornament from my hands and commanded me in a quiet, expressionless voice. If I could stop, I would want to, but the tears flowed like water from a broken faucet.
"…I c-can't. I can't stop…hu…ck…"
The Chief Priest looked around at the flustered surroundings. His face was expressionless, but a hint of anxiety flickered in his pale golden eyes. He furrowed his brow deeply and tapped his temple lightly with a fingertip.
"Karstedt, get everyone out of the room! No one is to enter until I give permission!"
"Yes, sir!"
Father, receiving the stern command, immediately gathered the worried onlookers and ushered them out. After confirming that no one remained, he closed the door.
In the room now left to just the two of us, after confirming that everyone had completely gone and the door was shut tight, the Chief Priest roughly rubbed my face with the towel. When the tears still wouldn't stop, pouring endlessly, he let out a resigned sigh.
"Chief Priest, hugs."
"Don't let the towel away from your face. If you stain the outfit, I'm leaving."
Even as he spoke in a reproachful tone, the Chief Priest sat down in a chair, lifted me onto his lap, and wrapped his arms around me in a protective embrace.
The warmth of another person was incredibly comforting. Father, Mother, and my brothers were all kind to me, but compared to my life before, physical contact here was extremely limited. I had apparently been starved for reassuring touch.
Still pressing the towel to my face, I clung to the Chief Priest.
"…To think this would happen on the morning of the baptism ceremony."
The Chief Priest's grumbling voice echoed above me. By now my tears had finally started to subside, and I pouted my lips. Bringing a hair ornament made by my beloved family on the morning of the baptism ceremony—this had to be intentional.
"Hmm. I intended to make you happy, but it seems I've achieved the opposite. I'll never give you a hair ornament again."
"No! Wait. I was happy! I was very happy. Please keep giving them to me in the future."
"I'll pass on experiencing this kind of situation again."
When he said that with a bitter expression, my already unstable tears spilled over once more.
"I said I was happy…I said I wanted more in the future…The Chief Priest is so mean. …Waa…ck…"
"How troublesome. You really are troublesome, aren't you? What exactly do you want from me?"
Despite his dismissive words, the Chief Priest's voice was full of helplessness.
"Next time, please give it to me a few days in advance. I really am happy—that's the truth. But it makes me very lonely, so I need time to sort out my feelings."
"…Fine. I'll consider it. Now stop crying already."
As if acknowledging that you can never win against a crying child, the Chief Priest said that and lightly patted my head.
After receiving hugs for a while longer and calming down, I straightened up from where I had been leaning against him and slid down from his lap.
"I think I'm fine now. I'm sorry for the trouble."
"You certainly are."
As I withdrew while still clutching the towel, the Chief Priest stood with a sullen expression and headed for the door.
"Come in."
At the Chief Priest's words, it wasn't Father and Mother who entered, but Brother
"My apologies. Father and Mother have gone to greet the guests, so I'm here in their stead…"
Brother Lamprecht said this as he walked in, but the moment he saw my red-rimmed eyes, he cut himself short and sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth.
"Rozemyne's eyes are bright red. Ice them immediately. If Mother sees, there'll be quite a commotion."
At Brother Lamprecht's words, the Attendants sprang into a flurry of activity. It was only then that the Chief Priest seemed to notice my reddened eyes, raising his eyebrows slightly.
"No, that won't be necessary. Rozemyne, come here. Healing."
Whether the Chief Priest had channeled Magic Power into it or not, the magic stone in his left armband glowed. With his left hand he covered my eyes and murmured softly, "Healing of
Beyond the eyelids the Chief Priest's hand had closed, a gentle green light flooded in, and I heard the Attendants' small "Ohh" of wonder.
The light vanished quickly. Then the Chief Priest's hand withdrew, and when I opened my eyes, I saw Brother Lamprecht's relieved face.
"To think I would need a healing blessing before the ceremony… My deepest gratitude, Lord Ferdinand."
"This is nothing, really."
It seemed the swelling around my eyes had gone down.
I patted my face and checked in the mirror. It looked fine.
"Lord Ferdinand, what on earth happened? It would help if you could tell me for future reference."
"…We are all busy today. Perhaps another time. Rozemyne, finish your preparations quickly."
To Brother Lamprecht's question, the Chief Priest evaded with vague words and left the room.
He had given a hair ornament made by the family he had been born into and been cried at, then hugged to comfort the crier—there was no way the Chief Priest would ever give a straight answer. Before Brother Lamprecht could press the matter on another day, he would surely come up with some excuse.
The time for the ceremony must have been drawing near. When the Chief Priest opened the door, the distant buzz of a crowd carried in.
Having my hair styled with what appeared to be pomade, my hair was now neat enough to be properly tied with ribbons. I was coated in the sticky hair product, and an Attendant wove the upper half of my hair into an intricate braid. Then the hair ornament I had just received from the Chief Priest was pinned in.
After that, Brother Lamprecht escorted me to the room closest to the staircase leading down to the ground floor. I was apparently to wait there until I was called.
"It seems the Lord's family has arrived. I need to go pay my respects as well, so Rozemyne, wait here. …Can you wait alone? You won't sneak off or hide somewhere, will you?"
Brother Lamprecht had said "alone," but even after he left, I wouldn't truly be by myself. My Attendants were still with me.
"Brother Lamprecht, you must go through a great deal of trouble on a daily basis. I have no intention of causing any more trouble for you, so please, go ahead."
After Brother Lamprecht left the room, Father and Mother entered the waiting room together. It appeared the greeting of the invited guests was complete.
Mother came over to me, peered at my face, and drew in a sharp breath.
"Lamprecht told me. You were crying, your eyes were swollen, and you received a healing from Lord Ferdinand? Rozemyne, first impressions are terribly important. A person's impression of you is decided in that single instant when your faces meet."
"Yes."
"At a baptism ceremony where you will meet so many people for the first time, crying until your eyes are swollen is an unbecoming display for a lady. You must always be able to present your most beautiful self."
My parents and I were to wait in this room until the Chief Priest summoned us. The Chief Priest, waiting in a separate room, would depart from there, and the ceremony would begin.
"Ahhhh!"
"Squeee!"
Suddenly, high-pitched feminine shrieks erupted, clearly audible even through the room's walls. Startled, I looked toward the door, and Father's voice said, "It must be Lord Ferdinand." Today was supposed to be my baptism ceremony, not the Chief Priest's Fespiel concert.
"…At this rate, the leading lady—me—may not catch anyone's eye at all."
"Well, it's everyone's first time seeing Lord Ferdinand in Priest robes. It's only natural that their hearts flutter."
I had known people even among the few friends of my Chise Lanesen days who went wild over a different appearance. They would fixate on glasses or suits with bizarre intensity. Not a glasses boy, but a Priest boy? Or perhaps it was uniform fetishism. I couldn't tell.
…Appearance aside, the Chief Priest was hardly the age to be called a "boy."
The shrieking stopped abruptly. After that, though I couldn't make out the words, the Chief Priest's rich, low voice carried through. It was finally about to begin.
A small bell chimed, and the Attendant waiting by the door pulled it open with a creak.
Father and Mother stood, and I rose from my chair. Walking one step behind them, we descended the staircase to the ground-floor hall.
The instant I stood at the foot of the stairs, I was stunned by the sheer number of people gathered in the hall.
"Guh…"
Two hundred—no, there might have been three hundred. A crowd far too large to fit in a single private home pressed close together, all eyes fixed on me. Whether it was a painful gaze or a heavy one, I couldn't help but feel that every move I made was being scrutinized.
…I have to walk through this?
It was like facing a church wedding alone. A path had been cleared down the center for us, with an altar built at the far end. Sacred implements—brought from the Temple, perhaps—were arranged in a familiar display. Before them, the Chief Priest stood waiting in his ceremonial robes.
For just a brief moment, Father, escorting Mother ahead of me, glanced back with a worried look. I nodded slightly, trying to convey that I was alright.
To protect my life and my family's lives, I had made the resolve to leave them behind. And if I successfully completed the baptism ceremony, I had an agreement with the Chief Priest to receive a key.
I had to become the Lord's adopted daughter.
I had to gain free access to the Library and the right to read precious books.
No matter what, I could not fail here.
I lifted my chin and put on the smile that
Straighten your back. Don't look down. Don't stare at any single point—let your gaze sweep across the entire crowd. Walk slowly, but with graceful, flowing rhythm. Following the manners and etiquette that had been beaten into me, I advanced.
Near the foot of the stairs, among the several musicians playing, I spotted Rosina. She was performing but watching me with a worried expression.
It's okay, I smiled warmly to reassure her.
As I proceeded, I spotted Sylvester near the Chief Priest, wearing the most dazzling outfit of anyone present. Beside him was a woman who must be his wife and a boy around my age. That must be
On the opposite side of the aisle from Sylvester, I could see my three brothers. Brother Cornelius was watching me with an anxious expression. Though it didn't show in his expressions, the other brothers were probably anxious too.
Father and Mother stopped before the altar. Then Father extended his hand to me. Taking that hand, I stepped forward to where the Chief Priest stood on the raised platform.
Once I was standing before the Chief Priest, Father and Mother descended from the altar and retreated to where my brothers stood.
"Rozemyne, today you have turned seven years of age."
The Chief Priest spoke as he produced a medal, similar to one I had seen at last year's baptism ceremony. I was fairly certain I had pressed a Blood Seal onto that one. A Blood Seal again, huh.
Seeing the medal, I made a face without meaning to. The Chief Priest gave me a slight glare and said, "Hold out your hand."
When I timidly extended my hand, he placed in it not a knife or needle but a slender rod about twenty centimeters long, decorated with an ornate handle. It appeared to be a Magical Tool with a magic stone embedded in it, and the moment I took it, I felt my Magic Power being drawn out.
A small amount of Magic Power was forcibly extracted, and the rod glowed.
This was apparently a necessary part of the ceremony, as applause rose from the guests.
The Chief Priest held the medal toward me and, as if pressing a seal, had me push the flat end of the rod against it.
The Magic Power accumulated in the rod was absorbed into the medal—the rod's glow subsided, and in its place the medal's color shifted through seven hues. The Chief Priest, watching the medal, murmured "As I thought," and immediately placed it into a small box.
"Congratulations, Rozemyne. With this, you are officially recognized as Karstedt's daughter. A new child has been born into Ehrenfest."
Amid the applause and cheers, Father ascended to the altar holding a ring. Standing on the dais, he raised high a ring set with a blue magic stone for all to see.
"To Rozemyne, now recognized as my daughter by the gods and all gathered here, I present this ring."
Just as when he had removed it earlier, Father took my left hand and smoothly slid the ring onto my middle finger. It shifted size in an instant, settling to a perfect fit.
"To Rozemyne, the blessing of the Fire God,
Accompanying the Chief Priest's voice, a blue light appeared at the edge of my vision. When I turned toward it, the Chief Priest was illuminating the ring. A soft blue light rose and rained down over me from above.
"I humbly accept your blessing, Chief Priest."
I had been told that once the Chief Priest bestowed a blessing upon me, I must return a blessing of gratitude to the Chief Priest and all who had accompanied him.
I poured Magic Power into the ring that had just returned to my hand.
"I offer my prayers that the Chief Priest and all who have gathered to celebrate my baptism ceremony may also receive the blessing of the Fire God, Leidenschaft."
Blue light billowed from the ring, swirling around the hall before descending upon everyone. It was similar to the light that had fallen upon my family.
…Phew, baptism ceremony complete.
Unlike me, who was breathing a sigh of relief after completing the rites as taught, the crowd gathered in the hall began to murmur. This was different from the earlier rehearsed applause and cheers—it was the buzzing of people witnessing something unexpected.
"To think she released that much light?"
"How much Magic Power does that tiny body hold?"
The murmurings around me made me uneasy, and I turned my gaze to Father and the Chief Priest.
…Huh? What? Did I—did I do something wrong?
When my eyes silently asked the question, both the Chief Priest and Father slightly curled the corners of their lips upward. It was the smile they wore when they were scheming.
Father stepped behind me, placed a hand on my shoulder, and whispered in a voice only I could hear.
"The proper response is merely to return the blessing to the Priest. This was a bit of extra prestige—to bolster your position as the Lord's adopted daughter."
Wearing a grin like a prank that had succeeded, Sylvester ascended the dais one step at a time. As his figure came into view, the murmuring among the guests faded away, falling into a hush as they watched the Lord's movements.
"Rozemyne, congratulations on your baptism ceremony. With this, you are officially recognized as a member of Ehrenfest."
After saying this to me from the dais, Sylvester turned to face the guests. His mantle billowed behind him, and at the same moment, his resonant voice echoed powerfully through the hall.
"Here and now, I shall formalize the adoption of Rozemyne as my own."
Perhaps most of the guests had not been notified that the adoption would take place, because the hall erupted into an uproar like a hornet's nest that had been kicked.
Chief Priest, you did it on the morning of the ceremony. Hugs.
And the Lord wrapped things up at the end.
Next time: the adoption ceremony.