By the time the children had grown accustomed to the Children's Classroom schedule, the adults seemed to have finished their intelligence-gathering phase as well, and now they were moving on to socializing to expand their network of connections.
This year, in particular, the Lord's mother had been confined and had stepped down, causing a dramatic shift in the power map of the territory. As a result, everyone was scrambling—seeking new connections, strengthening their factions, or running about to protect their own positions.
"Here are today's requests for an audience."
Going through the audience-request letters that Richarta brought me had become part of my daily routine over the past few days. I reviewed each letter, but only those approved by the Lord and the Chief Attendant could actually meet with me and
Even so, being shown the letters served a purpose: while looking through them, Richarta taught me who was connected to which faction and which groups required caution.
For the time being, the person I needed to be most careful about appeared to be a relative of the woman designated as my birth mother, Rosamary. Apparently she had been going around telling everyone at winter socials that "
She had been repeatedly refused audiences, so people around her regarded her with suspicion, but apparently no one knew what approach she might take.
"Is there anyone, My Lady, whom you would like to meet?"
"I would like you to accept Mother's invitation to a tea party. I promised to deliver the financial report of the Feshpil concert."
Since it was a tea party hosted by Mother's faction, my adoptive mother Florentia would be there as well, so permission should come through easily.
"Understood. I shall report this to
"...Yes. I would like to meet
I picked up a particular audience-request letter that had caught my attention.
"Henrik is
From his intercession during last year's Trombe extermination to Damuel's appointment as a guard knight, the letter expressed gratitude and apology in writing, but he also wished to meet in person to convey his thanks.
"As for anyone else... yes, I would also like to meet
The trees around Ehrenfest and those in Ilkner might differ somewhat in variety. New types of papermaking material would be welcome.
As I spoke excitedly, Richarta drew a single letter from the stack.
"My Lady, in that case, you will also need to meet with
Mother, Henrik, and Brigitte's brother each had their own reasons for a meeting, but looking at it from the outside, these were all relatives of my guard knights. If Angelica alone had no audience, Richarta pointed out, it could lead to the impression that she had fallen out of favor or had not earned my trust.
"...Then let me meet with Angelica's relatives as well. However, I do know less about Angelica than the others, so I suppose that meeting will have to come later."
Without first gathering some information, I would not be able to hold a conversation. At my words, Richarta nodded and said, "Understood."
"Say, Richarta—wouldn't it also be necessary to meet with the families of the attendants, not just the guard knights? What do you think?"
"My own relative who would gleefully volunteer himself would be
Justus, who burned with passion for gathering information and materials, was apparently considered a problem child by his own mother, Richarta.
Since Richarta determined there was no particular need or reason to meet with the relatives of the other attendants, we settled on meeting only with the guard knights' families.
Naturally, the first permission granted was for Mother's tea party. Although approval came quickly, Mother's tea party was the largest gathering, inviting the entire faction, so the date was quite far off.
A few days later, all the meetings with the guard knights' relatives had been approved. After coordinating schedules, the first meeting I held was with Henrik, Damuel's older brother.
I brought Richarta along with guard knights Damuel and Brigitte and headed to the main building on a Lesser Beast.
From the day the meeting was set, Damuel had been saying things like, "Being present at a meeting between Lady Rozemyne and my brother is rather hard on me mentally," looking like a student facing a three-way conference, but I could not remove Damuel from his guard duties. With
"Thank you for waiting."
When I entered the room, Henrik was kneeling in wait.
"Lady Rozemyne, I humbly ask that you allow me to pray for your blessing upon this rare encounter, selected by the stern judgment of the God of Life,
"You may."
After completing his greeting, Henrik raised his head. Just as I had heard of civil officials, he had a sincere, gentle demeanor and was a refined man. His hair and eye color were only slightly darker than Damuel's, and their facial features were remarkably alike.
I had thought this would be a meeting aimed at forging ties going forward, but that was not the case at all. Henrik did nothing but earnestly apologize for Damuel's blunder during last year's Trombe extermination and express gratitude for the leniency shown in his punishment.
Considering their social standing, Damuel was more likely to have received the same punishment as
"Despite having caused you tremendous trouble, Lady Rozemyne, I am deeply grateful that you appointed my foolish brother as a guard knight."
A stain like a formal punishment could never be fully removed, but by having me—the victim—personally appoint him, it reinforced the impression that Damuel had merely been caught up in Shikikoza's mess.
More importantly, being appointed as a guard knight of the Lord's family was said to be an extraordinary rise in status for someone like Damuel, a lower-ranking noble.
Henrik said with visible relief that he wanted to convey just how grateful he was as an older brother, and expressed his hope that I would continue to look after his younger brother. And just like that, the meeting with Henrik ended simply.
"What a caring older brother."
When I said this, Damuel turned away with the embarrassed expression of a boy who had been asked about his family at school.
Two days after the meeting with Henrik, a meeting with Viscount Ilkner, Brigitte's brother, was arranged.
Upon entering the meeting room and finishing the lengthy formal greetings, I wasted no time getting to the heart of the matter.
"I had been hoping to ask Gieb Ilkner about trees."
The ruler who held the right to govern land from the country's highest king was called an Aub, and the nobles who received land from the Aub were given the title of Gieb.
In formal settings, Ehrenfest's Lord was called Aub Ehrenfest, and the head of the house governing the Ilkner region within Ehrenfest was called Gieb Ilkner.
If I applied what I had read about noble relationships in my books during my life as Reina, an Aub would be a direct retainer and a Gieb a retainer's retainer. In my own interpretation, an Aub was like a prefectural governor granted land by the emperor, while a Gieb was like a mayor appointed by the governor. Not through elections, but through hereditary succession, of course.
Viscount Ilkner had red hair and green eyes, and his features resembled Brigitte's—like Brigitte made slightly more gallant. As a landholding noble, he naturally possessed the refined air of the nobility, but he also carried a certain rustic charm that spoke of life in the countryside.
"Brigitte told me that the lumber industry thrives there, but what kinds of trees do you cultivate in Ilkner? Are the species different from those around here?"
"Do you have an interest in trees, Lady Rozemyne?"
Viscount Ilkner blinked briefly, then his expression brightened with a hint of delight. It was the same look Brigitte used to wear when speaking of her homeland—a pride in the land one governed.
"Yes. In the business I have started, we make paper from trees. I have always wanted to experiment with various types of trees to produce better paper. If there are any rare magical trees, I would very much like to try them."
"Oh my, you make paper from trees? That is... quite fascinating. Indeed, the trees in our forests here are somewhat different in species. I am not sure how useful they would be, but we do have some peculiar magical trees."
Viscount Ilkner named several trees, but few of them were names I had heard before. They were all tough, hard woods used for furniture and building materials. Apparently, they were harvested from the forest-rich land around Ilkner and transported to Ehrenfest by river.
"They are all trees I have never heard of. The species must be quite different from those here. I would love to visit Ilkner someday and see the various trees with my own eyes."
"My Lady, you must not make such impulsive remarks so lightly."
Richarta stepped forward with a frown, cutting off my words. An audience was a formal occasion. Anything said here would be taken as a commitment.
"...Yes, I will be careful, as Richarta says. But this time it is not merely a whim. I do not intend to go immediately, but I have been planning to visit a region with a thriving lumber industry to inspect the trees."
"Please do come to Ilkner on that occasion. You would be most warmly welcomed."
Viscount Ilkner smiled with delight.
It might be a few years away, since I would be busy for some time, but after promising to visit Viscount Ilkner's territory for the sake of improving papermaking, the meeting concluded.
"Thank you so much for granting me your valuable time today. I am overcome with gratitude."
"I, too, truly enjoye... enjoyed speaking with Gieb Ilkner—"
"Oh, if it isn't Lady Rozemyne!"
As I finished the meeting and stepped out of the room, a noble I did not recognize was in the hallway. He appeared to have been passing by, but the moment he saw us, he approached.
"I had heard you were of frail health, but you seem to have made a full recovery. If that is the case, you should be forming connections with proper nobles rather than associating with such countryside nobility."
I had no idea who this was, but he appeared to be of higher rank than Viscount Ilkner. I could tell this from the fact that the Viscount stepped back several paces so as not to interfere with the conversation.
"Ah, I have thought this ever since I saw you from afar, but Lady Rozemyne, you look remarkably like my sister, Rosamary."
...Right. The troublesome relative of my nominal birth mother.
I averted my gaze from the noble who had offered neither introduction nor greeting. Then, thinking, This is a problem, I placed a hand to my cheek and let out a soft sigh.
Richarta narrowed her eyes and took a step forward.
"Step back, you insolent man."
"I-Insolent? I am Lady Rozemyne's uncle! Lady Rozemyne, won't you say something?"
Being stared at with eyes full of ambition and expectation was unwelcome. Even if he asked me to say something, the only word that came to mind was "nuisance."
Besides, the Chief Priest had told me never to speak directly to an unfamiliar noble without a proper introduction.
"Gieb Ilkner, thank you for the pleasant time today. I look forward to the day we can meet again."
Ignoring the unknown noble, I addressed Viscount Ilkner, who was standing awkwardly off to the side, and then I turned on my heel.
A lower-ranked noble could not leave the scene until the higher-ranked one departed. Our farewell greeting had been left unfinished, but now the Viscount should be able to leave as well.
"Lady Rozemyne!"
Comparing the departing Viscount and me as I summoned a Lesser Beast and climbed aboard, the unknown noble called out in a panicked voice, but I could not afford to get involved.
I had been told by my guardians that Rosamary's relatives went around proclaiming themselves the uncle of the Lord's adopted daughter and were the type to cause trouble like the former High Priest. I was advised to maintain an attitude of "I know nothing about my birth mother, so I cannot say. My mother is Lady
This time there had been no introduction or greeting, so it was a separate issue entirely.
"...Richarta, I must not speak directly to an unfamiliar noble without an introduction, correct?"
"Yes, My Lady. You remembered well."
Richarta dispatched the noble with a silent smile, and I returned to my room. Deciding it would be best to report this to my three guardians as well, I had
The result was that each of the three gave the same general advice: "As long as you do not engage, it should be fine." Since neither my
I wondered whether such a measure would truly suffice, but since the only contact so far was a daily stream of audience-request letters with no further attempts at engagement, I decided to leave the troublesome relatives be.
And then the day came to meet with Angelica's relatives. I arrived at the meeting room and entered.
A man and a woman, presumably Angelica's parents, were kneeling in wait. That much was normal. But the moment I took my seat, Angelica's parents opened their mouths.
"We are terribly sorry for everything!"
"...What?"
Before even offering a greeting, they prostrated themselves in apology, and I blinked in confusion. I had no idea what they were talking about.
As I stood there in a daze, Richarta strode forward and asked them why they had launched into an apology so suddenly.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"W-Well... our daughter made an irreparable mistake, didn't she? I cannot think of any other reason Lady Rozemyne would summon us."
Apparently, while from my perspective this was merely a courtesy meeting—one of several guard knight families meeting me for the first time—Angelica's parents had assumed their daughter was being called in for a serious failure, and that a punishment involving the entire family was forthcoming.
"When Angelica declared she would become a knight just before entering the Noble Academy, we were shocked, but when she was appointed as a guard knight for the Lord's adopted daughter, our world went dark. There was no way that girl could protect a noble lady. We knew she would surely fall out of favor. When we received this summons, we thought, 'So it has finally happened.'"
Angelica, despite being born into a family that had produced many attendants, disliked studying, did only what she was told without taking initiative, and was inconsiderate—by all accounts, a child completely unsuited to being an attendant.
Since becoming my guard knight, her parents had apparently spent every day on edge, never knowing what she might do next.
"We heard from Angelica herself that she does not enjoy studying, but she does not disobey orders, and she has expressed her desire to be a good master and servant."
This was essentially "we leave the thinking to her," but there was no need to burden her already exhausted parents with every detail of the truth.
I assured them she was doing her work well and brought the meeting to an early close.
Several more days passed after the meeting with Angelica's parents, and the day arrived for me to attend Mother's faction tea party and deliver the financial report.
A ladies' tea party was strictly no men. I gave guard knight Damuel the day off, and Brigitte attended in his place. My attendants were Richarta and Ottilie.
Ottilie was carrying a wooden box containing the printed financial report sheets.
"Good day, everyone."
I had printed the financial report specifically for this occasion. It was a document I had created through numerous rejections by the Chief Priest. Richarta and Ottilie would distribute these sheets to the members attending the tea party.
Printing the financial report had cost a modest sum, but it was only for Mother's faction, and the paper was less than half the usual size, so the expense was not excessive. This was a small investment, as I hoped to continue receiving their cooperation with donations and future print sales.
"Now then, allow me to present the financial report. Please look at the papers being distributed. They detail the amount of donations collected at Lord
As for the report itself, the attendees seemed to have little interest. They were surprised by the sales figures, but apparently few hosts bothered to carefully report on how donations were spent, so the response was more along the lines of "Oh my, how thorough."
The noble ladies attending the tea party had not come for a financial report. They had come because everyone was gathered here, hoping there might be a reprint sale of the illustrations. When they saw the report sheets covered in rows of numbers and text, some ladies' disappointment was plainly visible. For the record, the most disappointed of all was Mother.
However, Mother knew that I had been scolded by the Chief Priest over this matter.
The other ladies did not know that, so once the report concluded and tea was served and casual conversation began, they began clamoring for
"Lady Rozemyne, the portrait of Lord Ferdinand sold at the concert was truly wonderful. I look at it every day."
"I have been meaning to purchase one this time. When will it go on sale?"
"Aren't there any plans to hold another concert?"
All of their eyes were gleaming. They wanted the illustrations that badly? With this level of enthusiasm, it would be an extraordinary moneymaker.
I myself was thinking that if possible, I would love to have this golden opportunity a few more times. But no matter how I considered it, there would not be a second time.
"Unfortunately, the portrait fell into the hands of Aub Ehrenfest, was discovered by Lord Ferdinand, and I was made to promise that I would never sell the portraits again."
"Wh-What...?"
At the revelation that the illustrations would never be reprinted, the noble ladies gasped and fell into despair. Among those most devastated was the young lady who had been a little short on funds and had tearfully given up on purchasing the illustration.
"I actually had wanted to include a small illustration on this financial report as well, but even that was opposed. After much deliberation, what I came up with was this financial report."
"...Rozemyne, what have you been scheming?"
My adoptive mother spoke with a voice laced with amusement as she glanced at me. Mother leaned forward eagerly, her eyes full of anticipation.
"We knew that Lady Rozemyne would do something."
All eyes turned to me at once. I gave a small cough, then took the financial report sheets in hand.
"If the matter were settled with just the report, it would seem a waste of the paper... After all, neither the paper nor the ink comes cheap."
With a soft smile, I flipped the sheets over with a flutter. On the reverse side, there were numerous lines that at first glance appeared to be ink stains.
I had only shown the Chief Priest the front, and even if he looked at the back, he would not understand—the extra lines were all part of the disguise, making it look like nothing more than smudges.
"Richarta, a knife, please."
I accepted the paper knife from Richarta and, following the lines, cut the sheets in half.
Then, before everyone's watching eyes, I folded an origami shuriken. If folded neatly, the result would display two different expressions of the Chief Priest—one on each side.
"Oh my!"
Mother let out a delighted exclamation at the shuriken I had created. She turned it over and over, examining both sides, and let out a soft sigh of admiration.
"How do we make it!?"
"Please teach us!"
Without warning, the tea party had transformed into an origami class.
As I taught them how to fold, I looked around at everyone gathered.
"This is exclusive to those who attended this tea party, so please keep it a secret. If it gets out, I really will not be permitted to print anything ever again."
"Yes, of course we will keep it a secret."
"If this gets leaked, we will know it came from someone in this room, so identifying the culprit would be easy."
The tea party ended with a display of impressive solidarity so great that I was more worried about what would happen to the culprit after the shuriken reached the Chief Priest than anything else.
Alongside studies in the Children's Room, I was learning social skills bit by bit.
Next time, I return to the