Side Story: Headache-Inducing Reports

I, the Aub of Ehrenfest, was currently waiting for Rozemyne, who was supposed to be returning from the Noble Academy. Ever since she went to the Noble Academy, increasingly incomprehensible and deeply troubling reports had started arriving one after another.

In normal years, all that would be sent was a wooden plaque stating "Nothing of note to report," so I never particularly paid attention to the Noble Academy's activities. But this year was different.

...The last time I wanted to clutch my head this badly was at the first Lord's Conference! Hurry up and come back, you little troublemaker!

The first report from the Noble Academy arrived on an Earthday, before the advancement ceremony had even begun. It was a message from Wilfried informing me of the decision on Rozemyne's retainers, which hadn't been settled before her departure.

Still hoping to make Wilfried the next Lord, I had instructed him to take control of the dormitory. I had told him to secure as favorable a position as possible during the period before Charlotte enrolled next year. If he cooperated with Rozemyne, it shouldn't be too difficult.

...Hm, seems like he's doing his best.

I skimmed through the first report. While it was written in a stream-of-consciousness manner, I could still understand the content.

Regarding the retainers, since we had been notified that Rozemyne's awakening was approaching, selection had already been underway to some degree. Apart from the apprentice civil officials of lower-ranking nobles and apprentice knights of middle-ranking nobles, everything had gone according to plan.

"Charlotte, Rozemyne's retainers have been decided. Do you know anything about Philine and Judithe?"

At dinner that day, I asked Charlotte, who was eager to hear about how her older siblings were doing at the Noble Academy. I thought she might know, since she was working hard overseeing the winter children's room.

"Judithe is an apprentice knight who admires Angelica, Big Sis's guard knight. I offered her a position as my guard knight, but she declined, saying she would prefer to serve Big Sis, just as Angelica does, if possible."

Charlotte smiled gently as she said, "So she got to be the guard knight she dreamed of being." As for Philine, she was the apprentice civil official who was most devoted to Rozemyne's picture book creation among the winter children's room students, who had scurried about gathering stories for Rozemyne while she slept, and who had been waiting for her awakening.

"Philine swore her oath of loyalty at the beginning of this winter. Big Sis didn't seem to fully understand at the time, and Philine appeared to merely be making a declaration of intent. The eyes of those around us were harsh, so I had thought a lower-ranking noble would never be elevated to the position of retainer, but Big Sis made Philine her retainer after all."

It seemed both of them held loyalty toward Rozemyne. I let out a sigh of relief, as there didn't seem to be any cause for concern regarding the retainers.

However, my relief was only fleeting. The regular report that arrived from Hirschur on the following Earthday was filled with a multitude of brief, incomprehensible items.

"At the advancement ceremony, all of Ehrenfest's female students had remarkably lustrous hair, and attention focused on Rozemyne-sama, who looked younger than her age and wore hair ornaments never seen before."

"All first-year students passed the written examinations on the first try. Rumors are circulating among the teachers about what study methods are being used in Ehrenfest."

"The music composed by Rozemyne-sama caught the teachers' eyes, and she appears to have received an invitation to a tea party."

"When Rozemyne-sama created a magical beast for Gryun during the magical beast crafting class, the instructor claimed he was attacked by a magical beast."

"Please teach me Rozemyne-sama's magic compression method as well."

"Rozemyne-sama became the master of the library's Magical Tool. It is said to be the guidance of the gods."

"Rozemyne-sama collapsed in the innermost room where the gods' will is harvested, and a search party led by the teachers was dispatched."

I had been oddly curious whether Hirschur could write reports beyond "Nothing of note to report," but for the most part, I was overwhelmingly struck by the desire to clutch my head and wonder what on earth Rozemyne was doing!?

...Wasn't every single item about Rozemyne?!

Most of it could be understood as stemming from her being a trendsetter and improving her grades. It couldn't be helped that some teacher was flabbergasted over Gryun's magical beast. Regarding magic compression, I could deduce that Hirschur had deftly dodged the issue, and considering Rozemyne's weak stamina from her recent recovery, seeing her collapse was hardly surprising.

...But Rozemyne becoming the master of the library's Magical Tool through "the guidance of the gods" was the one thing I couldn't make heads or tails of. What in the world is this!?

"Ferdinand, this kind of report has arrived from the Noble Academy. What do you think Rozemyne did in the library?"

Hoping that Ferdinand might be able to decipher his former master's cryptic writing, I summoned him and handed over the wooden plaque that had arrived. Ferdinand skimmed through it and shrugged.

"...Hirschur's report is remarkably brief. The report I received from Wilfried seems more detailed in comparison."

"A report from Wilfried!? I wasn't told about that."

"It was addressed to me."

In front of the civil officials, maintaining his public composure, Ferdinand's words were terse and only added to my frustration at the incomprehensibility. I lightly struck the desk.

"Everyone except Ferdinand and Karstedt, leave the room."

After clearing the room, I glared at Ferdinand and asked, "What is this questionnaire from Wilfried?" He raised one eyebrow slightly.

"It's a questionnaire-cum-report regarding how to handle Rozemyne. Receiving flawed reports almost daily and spending my days pointing out errors was becoming rather tedious, but compared to Hirschur's report, his at least seems easier to understand."

After that, I looked at the copy of the report Ferdinand brought from his office, and I pressed hard between my eyebrows. "Rozemyne went to register at the library and became the master of a royal Magical Tool" — that explained absolutely nothing.

But I could see that Wilfried was writing his questionnaire to Ferdinand with great earnestness. Being harshly edited but continuing to write his reports without being discouraged was impressive.

Reading that report, I could see how much effort Ehrenfest had put into improving their grades. I had been leisurely assuming the first-years passing all their written exams on the first try was unremarkable, but it turned out to be the result of Rozemyne's rampage after being baited with library access. No one could have predicted that things would turn out that way.

However, Ferdinand simply shrugged and said, "It was the natural outcome."

"I had calculated the timeline so that Rozemyne could complete her lectures before the Dedication Ceremony, and I forbade her from entering the library until the lectures were finished. As long as it was within the range she could manage through her own efforts alone, there shouldn't have been a problem. Wilfried was foolish to piggyback on her charge toward her goal. Handling Rozemyne is not that simple. If it meant gaining access to the Temple Library, she wouldn't hesitate to do anything — a commoner once directly petitioned the former High Priest and offered a large gold coin for nothing more than entering the library, you know?"

"...Come to think of it, I had heard something like that before. It wasn't an exaggeration after all?"

When I first heard about a commoner who, for the sake of the Baptism Ceremony, had set foot in the Temple for the first time and then, just to gain access to the library, had directly negotiated with that uncle and become a Shrine Maiden Apprentice, it had sounded so reckless that I thought I was listening to a fictional tale. To think it was actually true — that was a rather headache-inducing matter. The fact that she could actually do something so absurd was beyond me.

"She did something that foolish as to involve others in unlocking library access. With the Noble Academy's library used as bait, there was no way Rozemyne would stop. The first-years who got dragged along are to be pitied, but Wilfried brought it on himself. In fact, I advised him to offer a deep apology to the other first-years."

...But hang in there, Wilfried. Your father is rooting for you!

"So what's this about going to register at the library and becoming the master of a Magical Tool? I can't understand it even from Wilfried's report. Does the Noble Academy's library even have Magical Tools?"

While Rozemyne happily visits the library even here at the castle, for me the library was simply a place to store reference materials, where I would send a civil official to retrieve what I needed. I had never personally visited the Noble Academy's library and didn't know much about the Magical Tools there.

When I asked Ferdinand, who during his time at the Academy had served as something like Hirschur's assistant and had frequently visited the library, he narrowed his eyes as if recalling the Noble Academy's library and murmured: "When you say the library's Magical Tools, I believe you mean Schwartz and Weiss. Their master was supposed to be a higher-ranking noble assigned from the central government. I'm not sure how Rozemyne became their master either. Did she seize them by force based on her magic power? No, that shouldn't be possible. There should have been multiple protections in place to prevent anyone other than the master from touching them, so they couldn't be freely reassigned."

"So in the end, we don't really know what happened."

While Karstedt also puzzled over this, Ferdinand alone seemed amused, his lips curling into a smirk.

"The phrase 'guidance of the gods' makes me think that a Blessing might be involved. I'm not certain, and even if it were a Blessing, I don't know why that would make her the master... but if Rozemyne truly did become Schwartz and Weiss's master, it might be worth researching. I have one more thing to look forward to upon Rozemyne's return."

...When the master is the master, so is the apprentice. These research maniacs.

There were some things I didn't quite understand, but combining Hirschur's and Wilfried's reports, I could say that the improvement in grades and the new trends she was setting were at least proceeding smoothly.

"It seems like the first-years have finished their written exams too. All that's left is for Rozemyne to work hard on completing her own lectures. Once she's done, she'll probably hole up in the library, so if she stays quietly locked in there, she shouldn't cause too many problems."

I was letting out a sigh of relief at Ferdinand's words when, the very next week, another headache-inducing report arrived from Hirschur.

"During the Dedication Dance, Rozemyne-sama came into contact with the Second Prince. The prince seems wary of Rozemyne-sama, who is being called a Saint."

"To dispel the negative rumors about magical beasts, I took multiple teachers with me and assigned myself as Rozemyne-sama's instructor."

Reading that report, I summoned Ferdinand. Any contact between Rozemyne and the royalty was extremely dangerous, I felt.

"The prince and she overlap at the Academy for only one year, and they wouldn't meet outside the Dedication Dance, so I had thought it could be managed. But it seems it couldn't be helped, Ferdinand. What do we do?"

After immediately clearing the room and showing him the report, Ferdinand lightly tapped his temple after reading it.

"What do you mean, what do we do... Apparently the prince only showed interest in Rozemyne's magical beast. And even then, he prioritized a prior engagement with someone else. He was probably testing Rozemyne. The Dedication Dance seems to have gone well, so as long as there's no further contact with the prince, it shouldn't be a problem. The biggest issue is Rozemyne, who nearly forgot about her promise with the prince because she was so excited about passing her lectures."

"What!? She nearly forgot a promise with royalty!?"

As I stared wide-eyed, Ferdinand thrust a copy of Wilfried's report in front of me. It described how Rozemyne, had Wilfried not warned her, would have headed back to the dormitory with no intention of fulfilling the promise. I felt like I was going to pass out. Rozemyne's sense of priorities was beyond absurd.

"Rozemyne will continue like this until she's allowed into the library. All we can do is have those around her guide her skillfully, but given how little time they've spent together, that'll be difficult. However, what Ehrenfest should actually be concerned about is the fact that Wilfried received a tea party invitation from Ahrensbach."

"What!?"

My eyes went wide at this important item that hadn't been included in Hirschur's report. I searched through the stack of report plaques, found the relevant one, and read it over.

"It seems it was a tea party attended only by the lord candidates and cousins from Ahrensbach and Frebeltark. Since they aren't blood relatives, Rozemyne's participation was apparently refused. For now, I advised them to carefully curate the topics of conversation at the tea party and to discuss the appropriate responses thoroughly with Rozemyne beforehand."

The real socializing at the Noble Academy didn't begin until past the middle of winter, after the lord candidates and higher-ranking nobles had finished their lectures. After Rozemyne returned to Ehrenfest for the Dedication Ceremony, Wilfried would have to attend the tea party alone. Would he really be all right?

"If he can't even handle a tea party with his own cousins, there's no way he could become the next Lord. There's plenty of time to prepare before the Academy's social season begins. Until they reach out with questions, don't intervene unnecessarily. The Noble Academy is fundamentally a place for the children to learn, and interference from the territories is supposed to be kept to a minimum."

"Wilfried has matured as well. He's become more reliable than Sylvester was at that age. If he seeks advice from those around him and is willing to listen, he should be fine."

The involvement of Ahrensbach had left me with an indescribable sense of unease, but the following week seemed to pass relatively calmly.

"He passed the Staupe lecture on the first try as well. Rozemyne-sama finished all her lectures with excellent grades in just two weeks. She's a leading candidate for this year's most outstanding first-year. Why is she so skilled at handling magic power?"

"It seems the Head Librarian and Rozemyne-sama held a private tea party yesterday. She was asked questions about quatre-quarts and new types of paper. Please provide the answers."

"Next week there will be a tea party with the music teachers, and the first-ranked Klassenberg lord candidate will be in attendance."

Scanning the items in Hirschur's report, I was impressed by the item stating that Rozemyne had completed her lectures remarkably quickly in roughly two weeks. I had heard she was excellent, but that was from two years ago. I had feared that life at the Noble Academy would be harsh for Rozemyne, who had been sleeping, but apparently that wasn't the case at all.

"Rozemyne has already finished? But what about Wilfried's grades? The report is entirely about Rozemyne, so I can't tell anything about anyone else."

"Oh my, my daughter is quite something. Elvira had said that the reason Cornelius's grades improved was also thanks to Rozemyne, so I knew she was excellent, but to be a leading candidate for most outstanding at the Academy..."

Compared to other years, the first-year lectures weren't particularly difficult, so no student received especially bad grades. However, the higher the average score, the harder it was to be selected as the most outstanding student. If she was a candidate by the second week, she must have scored near-perfect on virtually every lecture.

"...If we show this report to Father, he'll probably be so excited he loses control."

"If Uncle gets excited, things never end well, so keep quiet about it until the last possible moment."

"Indeed. If Damuel gets subjected to special training in that state, he'd be quite pitiful."

While Karstedt and I sighed together, Ferdinand alone wore a stern expression, staring intently at the wooden plaque.

"There was no mention in Wilfried's report of a Klassenberg presence at the tea party with the music teacher. ...We should recall Rozemyne to Ehrenfest immediately. I have a bad feeling about this."

"But that's just a tea party with teachers, isn't it? What reason could you possibly use to bring her back? Wilfried's lectures aren't finished yet, so you can't invoke a major territorial matter."

If she were to miss a tea party for which an invitation had already been accepted, an appropriate reason would be necessary. Invoking a major territorial matter was a standard approach, but in this case, Wilfried would get dragged into it.

"She could be confined to her room for a few days claiming illness... no, that won't work. Banning her from the library on the vague grounds of 'a bad feeling' would probably cause an even bigger backlash."

Banning her from the library that had only just been reopened would certainly provoke a strong reaction, Ferdinand mused, pressing his temple.

"It's also important for Rozemyne to gain social experience. If she's passed her court etiquette lectures, she shouldn't make any catastrophically bad mistakes."

But Rozemyne was not the kind of person for whom Karstedt's optimistic projections would hold true. I regretted not listening to Ferdinand's opinion — the person who understood handling Rozemyne best — when, at the end of the following week, an indecipherable report arrived.

"At the tea party with the music teachers, she presented quatre-quarts and premiered a new song, and her musicianship was praised. Rozemyne-sama composed on the spot and apparently earned the prince's displeasure."

"Took measurements of Schwartz and Weiss. Was captivated by numerous unfamiliar magical formations. This is worth researching."

"Was challenged to a Ditter match by Dunkelfelger. Rozemyne-sama's unconventional tactics secured victory for Ehrenfest."

"Rozemyne-sama received a summons from the prince and has agreed to supply magic power to Schwartz and Weiss for the duration of her stay at the Noble Academy."

Earning the prince's displeasure through composing, defeating the undefeated Dunkelfelger in Ditter through unconventional tactics, and receiving a summons from the prince... The sheer number of alarming items was staggering, but I had no details whatsoever.

Because of Rozemyne, every Earthday had become a day of agonizing over reports from the Noble Academy. In the emptied office, we three lined up the report plaques and wracked our brains over the overly terse reports.

"What happened this week!? The reports are so brief I can't make sense of anything, Hirschur! Ferdinand, there should be a report from Wilfried!?"

"There is, but it's equally incomprehensible. Since Wilfried himself didn't accompany Rozemyne, he apparently doesn't have the details. He seems to have spoken with some of Rozemyne's retainers, but the prince's summons was conducted with everyone else sent away."

Even so, Wilfried's report was more detailed than Hirschur's.

At the tea party, the prince requested that Rozemyne compose music, and when she did so on the spot, she earned the prince's displeasure. However, regarding the prince's displeasure, the music teacher had apparently said that since Klassenberg intervened on her behalf, it shouldn't be a particular problem.

"The prince's displeasure might not be an issue, but didn't she incur a debt to Klassenberg?"

"She's already spreading quatre-quarts, Rinshan, hair ornaments, and the paper trend everywhere. I wonder what she'll be doing at the next Lord's Conference. Hang in there, Sylvester."

...Damn it, Ferdinand! Just imagining the next Lord's Conference was giving me a headache.

"Hirschur went too far with the measurements of Schwartz and Weiss and skipped the afternoon lectures. I can more or less imagine that. But — she was supposedly attacked by another territory wanting the library's Magical Tool, so Wilfried was on standby at the dormitory, and then Rozemyne returned after defeating Dunkelfelger in Ditter using unconventional tactics? The very next day, Rozemyne received a summons from the prince!? What is going on!?"

"Most of it is speculation, but the other territory was probably Dunkelfelger. After the attack, someone like Lufen proposed a Ditter match to settle things peacefully, didn't they?"

"...I see."

Ferdinand's explanation at least seemed to have a logical flow.

"What exactly was Rozemyne's unconventional tactic? Leading a squad of apprentice knights of that skill level to victory against Dunkelfelger is no small feat. They're all the type to charge in headfirst, with absolutely no coordination."

During the two years Rozemyne had been sleeping, Eckhart had been in charge of new recruit training single-handedly, but he had been taken away for Bonifatius's special training. The upper echelons of the Knight's Order were apparently at their wit's end with the terrible new knights.

"When Rozemyne gets back, I'd like to hear the details about the Ditter match. Her unconventional tactics might be useful against the winter Lord of the Forest."

"Don't be so carefree, Karstedt! Rozemyne has received a summons from the prince!"

Ehrenfest being neutral might sound nice, but the truth was we had been ignored by the central government simply because we lacked influence and the previous Lord had been bedridden. If contact with the prince increased like this, we would inevitably get dragged into the next succession struggle.

With an ominous atmosphere already hanging over Ahrensbach and now the central government breathing down our necks as well, honestly, I wanted no part of it. It was more than I could handle.

"But if there was a conflict within the Noble Academy, being summoned by the prince was inevitable, wasn't it? At least it was contained within the Academy."

"That's true, but you can be certain that at the next Lord's Conference, Dunkelfelger will have all sorts of things to say. Klassenberg, Dunkelfelger, and possibly royalty on top of that. I don't even want to think about being surrounded by all three."

"...And Ahrensbach joins the mix too. Indeed, I don't want to think about it. It couldn't be more troublesome."

Ferdinand, who had been devising countermeasures in advance for the Lord's Conference, shook his head with a look of genuine distaste.

"Recall Rozemyne now. Don't let her cause any more problems. The Lord's Conference is too terrifying."

When I clutched my head and said this, Ferdinand shrugged as if exasperated.

"If you don't want to add more problems to the Lord's Conference, then she has to attend the Klassenberg tea party. That place has far too strong a connection to the royal family. If an invitation has already been extended, there's no way to decline it now."

"Ugh, declining is a headache and sending her is a headache. She'll definitely cause more trouble, I'm sure."

"She is Rozemyne, after all. Once the tea party is over, let's recall her as soon as possible."

As I thought about not wanting to go to the next Lord's Conference, Ferdinand tapped the wooden plaque lightly, tap tap.

"I see here that Rozemyne successfully achieved the fourth stage of magic compression and used it as a reward for her retainers. Is that idiot going to compress even further!?"

"The fourth stage!?"

As my eyes widened, Karstedt slowly stroked his chin.

"Making the decision unilaterally as a reward for her retainers suggests she probably has enough of an idea that it's safe to tell those who've already contracted with her, doesn't it? We can ask her when she gets back. It's a minor matter compared to dealing with royalty and the great territories."

Then Karstedt narrowed his eyes and pointed at the last item on the wooden plaque.

"Hm? What's this? Traugott resigned? The report says, 'Resigned, not dismissed,' and notes that Rozemyne is too soft. It also says Richarda was furious, but the actual reason isn't written anywhere!"

"If Richarda was furious, it must be because of his terrible work attitude. She probably allowed him to resign rather than be dismissed so there'd be room for rehabilitation. If a lord candidate dismisses you, your career is over. That one is just as soft as ever."

"But it was the kind of resignation where those around him would have preferred a dismissal, wasn't it? Is Traugott really going to be all right?"

"What does it matter if he was incompetent enough to warrant a dismissal?"

Ferdinand said this without any particular interest and lightly shook his head, but Karstedt, whose half-brother's child Traugott was, seemed troubled. He was staring at the wooden plaque with a difficult expression.

Then, the day after the tea party with Klassenberg concluded, a report arrived from Wilfried, and Ferdinand brought it to me.

According to the report, the tea party had ended on a remarkably harmonious note. They apparently ended up lending one Rinshan to the Klassenberg lord candidate, but given that she had intervened with the prince on their behalf, that was within acceptable bounds. It might have even paid back a small portion of the debt.

I had just heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that Rozemyne could attend tea parties without causing problems after all, when it was snatched away. Less than three days after the tea party, a report arrived from Wilfried by emergency dispatch, and I wanted to collapse like Rozemyne had.

"While going to the library as usual, Rozemyne was taken away by the prince, lost consciousness during their meeting, was carried out, and an apology letter from the prince arrived!? How do we even deal with this!? Recall Rozemyne immediately! She must not be kept at the Noble Academy any longer!"

The reply to the prince's apology letter would have to be handled by Rozemyne herself. I instructed Wilfried to send his own apology letter to the prince saying, "Rather, it was Rozemyne who caused you trouble," and to investigate how the incident of her being taken away by the prince was being perceived by those around them.

"...Somehow, in just a few days, this has spiraled completely out of control."

"Who could have predicted the royal family getting this involved?"

Staring at Wilfried's report in a daze, the three of us could only clutch our heads.

I had ordered Rozemyne to return immediately once her stamina recovered, but Wilfried sent word that preparations for the return were needed, delaying her by three days. He wanted to handle the reply to the prince and the notification of her absence first, to avoid problems later. Ferdinand nodded in satisfaction, saying, "She's become quite farsighted," but that wasn't the issue at all.

The time between issuing the recall order and Rozemyne's actual return was agonizingly long. I could say these were the longest three days of my life.

When I announced Rozemyne's return, Charlotte and Uncle came to greet her with obvious delight. While waiting in the reception room, I briefly relayed what Rozemyne had done at the Noble Academy.

"Rozemyne was in a Ditter match!? How dangerous!"

"To defeat Dunkelfelger — that's my granddaughter for you!"

"Collapsing and bedridden, delaying her return — is Big Sis going to be all right?"

Amid these various reactions, Rozemyne finally arrived back, wearing a sour expression because she would have preferred to hole up in the library. If she had just stayed there quietly without causing problems, I wouldn't have had to issue a recall order at all. Rozemyne was entirely at fault.

"There are a mountain of things I want to ask you. How did it come about that you were having private tea parties with the great territory of Klassenberg and the Second Prince? Depending on the content and nature of those relationships, Ehrenfest won't remain neutral but will be joining the Second Prince's faction. Surely you weren't attending those tea parties without any thought whatsoever?"

Rozemyne's face paled instantly at Ferdinand's words.

...She hadn't thought about anything at all, had she?

Here we three had been agonizing over weekly reports, while Rozemyne had been causing trouble without a single thought in her head. The three of us exchanged glances.

"Come now, let's go. There's still plenty of time before the Dedication Ceremony to hear your story."

It was discovered during the three days of return preparations that she had been taking commissions for hair ornaments from the prince, and it wasn't long before the three of us erupted in unison: "You absolute idiot!"

The three guardians truly began to clutch their heads only after hearing Rozemyne's story.

Father, you are seriously in danger of a receding hairline. The Chief Priest has already prepared his own homemade stomach medicine.

Next time: The Interrogation.