The Star Binding Ceremony concluded without incident, and I went to bed right on schedule.
When I woke up, the Chief Priest told me that the children of the former
"Several presences were detected in the forest along the main road, according to reports from the knight order. It seems the attackers expected the priests to travel by carriage."
"In the forest along the main road? What for? They'd be riding feystones, so they wouldn't necessarily follow the road."
The beauty of feystones was that they could go straight to their destination without needing roads or paths. There was no reason to bother following the main road, so what could the attackers possibly have been thinking? Tilting my head in confusion, I drew a sigh from the Chief Priest.
"They didn't expect you to carry everything on your feystone. Only a handful of nobles know that your feystone can freely change size, and no noble besides you would ever think to carry Gray Priests on their feystone."
"So you're saying my flexible thinking won the day?"
"Call it unconventional, if you like."
According to the Chief Priest, my behavior—utterly inconceivable for a noble—had completely thrown off the attackers' plans. They had no idea where to strike. I couldn't help but picture them lurking in the forest, waiting for a carriage that would never come. The image was almost comically pathetic.
The attackers apparently had such faint magic that they were nearly undetectable by the knight order. The moment the knights began their search, the attackers scattered and vanished their magic entirely. The knights, who had been tracking them by those faint traces of magic, lost their targets and instead chose to reinforce the guard at the border gate.
"In the end, nothing came of it. But the fact remains that the former Veronica faction's children learned of the plan and desperately tried to warn us in advance. Thanks to their report, we were able to learn about the attackers hiding in the forest. It seems your efforts to promote cross-faction cooperation at the Noble Academy have borne fruit. That's what Richarda said."
I had started all this because I hated the tense atmosphere around me, and I'd expected the cooperative spirit to evaporate once the parents got involved after our return to Ehrenfest. So this was a pleasant surprise.
I had planned to draw them into our faction once we came of age and could freely choose our affiliations, but the former Veronica faction's children turned out to be surprisingly progressive.
"By mustering the courage to act, Roderich and the others have demonstrated their loyalty to the Lord. Father knows better than anyone just how difficult it is to defy one's own parents, so please ask the Chief Priest to help bring those children on board as smoothly as possible."
In noble society, resolving to leave one's parents before reaching adulthood meant tearing down one's own foundation. Without a new patron, their future would be bleak. Their apprentice work was conducted under their relatives, so they could be crushed in the blink of an eye.
"...They were apparently desperate to inform you. But aren't you going to take them in yourself?"
"Hm? You're saying I can recruit them as my retainers? I do have people I'd like to recruit. However, wouldn't it look rather bad for me to be the first to absorb the former Veronica faction? Surely it would be better for my foster father or for
Of course, if having me involved—backed by the
"You want to elevate them to retainer status rather than simply rewarding them or offering commendations? As always, you're far too hasty. Judging them on this alone and immediately bringing them into your inner circle is dangerous."
"I've been observing their performance at the Noble Academy, so it's not exactly out of the blue. When
My retainer candidates had been pre-screened by their guardians, so perhaps it hadn't seemed sudden from the guardians' perspective. But for me, they had been virtually strangers—I had selected them without knowing the first thing about their character.
Compared to that, I had observed the former Veronica faction's children for an entire season's worth of behavior at the Noble Academy.
At first, they had been reluctant to cooperate across faction lines. But once they were divided into study groups and began their lessons, they quickly united as one, sharing resources and tutoring each other without hesitation. When it came to earning money through information gathering, they had worked hard to obtain
When you lived together, no matter how polished a noble's facade usually was, certain things inevitably became apparent.
...Setting aside whether I actually had an eye for these things.
"I see. When you put it that way, it may not have been so sudden from your perspective. But it would be too abrupt for everyone else. You'll need more time and more accomplishments before you can elevate former Veronica faction members to retainer status. However, you should reward their contributions for the sake of the future. What would you like to do?"
What would I like to do? I had already expressed my wish to recruit them as retainers. Beyond that, was there some useful reward that would make it easier for the former Veronica faction's children to join our side while also helping to change the adults' minds, even if only slightly?
"If it's too difficult to elevate the former Veronica faction to retainer status, then perhaps—as I've proposed before—I could teach them the magic compression method by slightly adjusting the terms of the Contract Magic?"
"...The magic compression method."
So far, I had been selectively teaching it to nobles already confirmed to be in the Florenzia faction. But if I could teach it as a reward for accomplishments, there was a high likelihood that more people would work for our faction.
"The children were terribly anxious. They kept saying that if they couldn't choose where to serve and had to wait until adulthood, the gap in growth rate would become enormous."
"I would imagine so. Growth rate is heavily affected. You can see it clearly just by comparing the Ramprecht and
"Isn't the reason the Chief Priest and the others wanted to spread the compression method in the first place to address Ehrenfest's magic power shortage? If we can form alliance contracts with them, I'd like to help expand the magic of as many children as possible during their growth period."
The Chief Priest maintained his troubled expression and listened in silence. The fact that he didn't reject the proposal immediately meant there was at least some hope.
"Whether or not to teach the magic compression method depends on the upper echelons' opinions, so I can't give you a definitive answer right now. But bringing those children into our faction is urgent. Either bring in the children and draw the parents along too, or secure the children before these valuable future resources are destroyed and cut the parents loose... The time to make that choice will come soon."
"Yes. As things stand, there's a high likelihood of conflict intensifying between parents who want to side with Ahrensbach and children who want to choose their own faction. I think the minors will need a guardian."
Becoming the guardian of the former Veronica faction's children was something I, as a child, simply could not do. That was the job of my foster father, who united Ehrenfest's nobility. As the Lord, I wanted him to reward their accomplishments and determination.
"I understand. I'll pass it along."
With my health restored and daily life returning to normal,
Once the meeting date and time were set, I sent an ordonnanz to Brunhilde.
"Brunhilde, there's a meeting at the Temple to discuss the Gilberta Company's dyeing exhibition. How would you like to handle it? I imagine it's easier to enter than that filthy lower town."
"Since Philine and Hartmut are already going in and out regularly, there's no need to worry on my account. I'll come."
That was her reply—essentially, if she had managed to enter the filthy lower town, then getting into the Temple would be no problem at all. With other retainers regularly going in and out and relaying what they heard, her resistance to the lower town had apparently diminished considerably.
"What did Hartmut tell you about the Temple?"
"He explained that priests stand in for nobles, and the cleanliness is not much different from the castle. He also said that the Gray Priests from commoner backgrounds are well-trained, so there's no discomfort in being around them."
"I also reported on the work I did at the Temple."
It wasn't just Hartmut—Philine chimed in with a grin.
"Rosemine, the next meeting with the Gilberta Company will be a planning session for the dyeing exhibition, so it might be wise to notify not just Brunhilde but Lady
Following Hartmut's suggestion, I also notified Mother. The meeting with the Gilberta Company would therefore include escort knights, civil officials, and both Brunhilde and Mother.
Since Mother and Brunhilde would be attending, today's meeting was to be held not in the usual orphanage director's office, but in the newly constructed reception room closest to the Temple's main entrance.
"I'm heading over now."
When an ordonnanz arrived from Mother, I asked
Looking up at the sky, I spotted a formation of feystones flying from the direction of the castle. More than I had expected. Along with Mother and Brunhilde, two civil official apprentices and three knight apprentices had also come.
"So this is the Temple..."
Brunhilde, visiting for the first time, looked around as if inspecting the premises. Mother, however, had been to my High Priest's chambers before and entered without hesitation. Brunhilde seemed mildly surprised by this, her amber eyes widening slightly.
The other retainers entered the Temple without any hesitation either. Pulled along by everyone's confident strides, Brunhilde followed them inside. She was trying to keep her emotions off her face, but I could tell her eyes were darting about ever so slightly.
"This is the Temple's reception room. When civil officials from the Nobility meet with merchants from the lower town, this is where they use."
The furniture had been renovated from pieces left behind by the previous High Priest, making it perfectly suitable even for upper-class nobles. Brunhilde looked around at the furnishings and gave a slight, approving nod.
"Today's sweets are Korde tarts. They're a new recipe."
When I offered the seasonal tarts that
The tea Fran brewed suited Brunhilde's taste as well. She took a sip, closed her eyes gently, and slowly savored the flavor.
"It's quite delicious."
"Fran has also received instruction from Lord
"Oh my..."
While we enjoyed our tea and sweets,
...Yeah, with about ten people there, anyone would be startled.
After the lengthy introductions were over, I offered Otto a chair and tea as well.
"Otto, how are things in the lower town? There must be many merchants from other territories visiting, right? When I go to check on the workshop and orphanage, I can hear a much livelier bustle than in years past."
Sipping the tea Fran had brewed and savoring the Korde tarts, I turned the conversation to Otto.
"Business is booming. The commercial guild and the larger shops are struggling to keep up. There are several improvements we need to make for next year, but at this point, things are going smoothly."
There were many things that needed addressing for the following year—too few high-end inns for merchants from upper territories, staff training, and more. But an influx of people meant increased business opportunities. The proprietors of the large shops that had been visiting the Italian restaurant were already making moves for next year.
"Rinshan and hair ornament sales are also strong. The Italian restaurant, with its referral system, restricts access, which projects an even greater sense of luxury and exclusivity. Merchants from the capital are wide-eyed when they dine there. Ehrenfest still has a lot of catching up to do, but there are a few areas where we stand above other territories, so we can do business with pride."
I could easily picture Otto and
"I'm glad there don't seem to be any major problems. Is the city being kept beautiful as well?"
"Of course. The soldiers' patrols are still ongoing. Lately, we've hardly heard any complaints from them, so I imagine everyone has grown accustomed to the new way of life."
Construction of covered walkways and roofing was underway so that garbage and filth could still be disposed of even in the depths of winter. The construction workshops and lumber merchants were apparently all extremely busy.
"Now then, let's discuss the dyeing exhibition. How is the dyeing workshop coming along?"
"With the establishment of titles granted by the Lord's family that allow craftsmen to become exclusive artisans—beyond just
These were dyeing techniques that had fallen into disuse, but through the few scraps of information available—old records and fabrics preserved at the Gilberta Company, and several documents found in the Weaving Association's warehouse—the revival of these techniques was underway, generating tremendous enthusiasm.
"This is the list of participating dyeing workshops and craftsmen."
As I went through the list Otto handed me, I spotted my mother's name. Seeing the name "
...Wow! Mom is participating too! I'm absolutely appointing her as my exclusive artisan!
Nodding thoughtfully and maintaining my composed expression as I perused the list, I was mentally doing a victory fist-pump when Otto shifted his gaze from me to Mother.
"Lady Elvira, when will the exhibition be scheduled? We need to convey the precise date to the craftsmen."
The delivery time on the day of the event, the start time for the tea party, the scale of the gathering, the number of people permitted into the castle—the important details were being decided through conversations between Otto and Mother, with Brunhilde occasionally chiming in.
As I nodded along to the decisions being made one after another, I was racking my brain for a title name related to dyeing and clothing. Otto had asked me to grant titles, but nothing as perfectly fitting as "Gutenberg" came to mind.
...A title, huh? But Gutenberg had just popped out naturally when I was inspired by
If it were something related to libraries or printing, I could think of plenty of names. But dyeing was something I'd only ever experienced once, when my mother had invited me to try it during my life as Reina. I couldn't remember any detailed terminology. No matter how many books I'd read, it was useless if I couldn't remember them.
To be honest, the reason I had wanted to spread dyeing techniques to craftsmen in the first place was to support
...Hmm, if I can't think of a person's name, should I go with a dyeing term, or maybe the first thing that popped into my head—yuzen? But Japanese words are pretty hard to pronounce, aren't they?
On top of that, names given in the noble style tended to be long. If I chose something short, I'd probably get strange looks.
...What a dilemma. Maybe something meaning "revival of techniques" would be better... What was it called again? You know, that era I'm thinking of. It's hard to categorize—it was about the revival or rebirth of culture...
"Oh... right. Renaissance!"
The moment I lifted my face with a relieved smile, I noticed the indescribable stares directed at me from everyone in the room.
"Oh, pardon me. I was simply thinking about a title to bestow upon talented craftsmen."
I covered with a laugh, but everyone's puzzled expressions didn't budge. After a brief silence, Otto plastered on a polite smile and looked around at the group.
"Oh my, 'Renaissance.' So that's the title Rosemine intends to grant to dyeing craftsmen? You all looked so serious—I was worried there might be some issue on our end, but it seems you were deep in thought."
...Otto just saved me spectacularly. There was absolutely no way I could say "It slipped out, but that's not what I meant." What do I do?!
"I'm glad Lady Rosemine has settled on a title she's satisfied with."
"Renaissance..."
While I was internally racking my brain over how to correct this, the dyeing-related title was cemented as "Renaissance." Hartmut and Philine were taking notes, and
...This is bad! Dyeing has nothing to do with it anymore! At this rate, Mom is going to be called a "Renaissance"! Nooo!
"Then we shall proceed accordingly on the day."
"Understood."
The meeting concluded, and the members of the Gilberta Company filed out.
"Mother, how is
"You'll be meeting her primarily as the Lord's adopted daughter, so you should call her Aurelia. ...It seems Lamprecht has been carefully screening her visitors, and so far there's been no sign of Aurelia making contact with the former Veronica faction."
Lamprecht and Aurelia's new home was a separate building within the castle grounds, so it was apparent whenever nobles came and went.
"The other bride, Betina, seems to be on intimate terms with the former Veronica faction. That's only to be expected, of course."
With that, Mother sighed. Betina had married into Freyden, which belonged to a middle-ranking noble family of the former Veronica faction, so maintaining family ties naturally meant deepening connections with them. There was nothing to be done about that.
"However, Aurelia always wears a veil, so I still haven't seen her face."
"Now that you mention it, Lamprecht did say he wanted to avoid misunderstandings."
"I would think wearing an Ahrensbach veil all the time would cause more misunderstandings..."
Mother sighed, but if Aurelia had spent her whole life being misunderstood, then wanting to avoid it during this tense period was only natural.
"Um, Mother. Will Aurelia be invited to the dyeing exhibition? I've been forbidden from making contact with her, but we can hardly not invite her, can we?"
If Mother—the foster mother who could be considered her husband's superior—and I—the sister-in-law—organized an event without inviting Aurelia, from the outside it would look nothing short of bride-bullying.
"Indeed, we cannot leave her uninvited. I'll make sure to stay close to you as much as possible, and Brunhilde will be there too, so it should be fine. Do be careful with what you say, though."
"I will."
"Also, there are some things I'd like to share with you and Lord Ferdinand regarding what Aurelia told us about Ahrensbach's internal affairs. I've already reported to the Lord and Lady."
She had apparently promised the Chief Priest she would share the information after the meeting with the merchants. I asked Monica to fetch him and had Fran prepare fresh tea.
"Elvira, I heard you have information about Ahrensbach..."
"Yes. It's information that Lamprecht drew out of Aurelia."
With that preface, Mother explained the reason behind the dramatic decline in Ahrensbach's lord candidates.
"The Aub Ahrensbach's first wife was from
"Berkelstock..."
The Chief Priest seemed to grasp something immediately, murmuring, "So that's how it is." Unfortunately, it meant nothing to me. At the very least, I knew that Berkelstock had already ceased to exist as a greater territory following the political upheaval.
"The first wife had three daughters and no sons, while the second wife had two sons."
Since both wives came from greater territories, it was said that one of the second wife's sons would become the next lord. The first wife's daughters had either married into territories outside of Ahrensbach or wedded upper-class nobles within the territory.
Then the political upheaval occurred, and the first wife's and second wife's birth families ended up on opposing sides. The Aub Ahrensbach sided with the first wife's family. Being in the same camp as Drewanchel, he ended up among the victors.
"After the upheaval concluded, the Great Purge took place."
The newly ascended king and Klassenberg carried out a massive purge of the nobility. The nobles of the defeated greater territories were severely punished.
"The second wife was the sister of the then-Aub Berkelstock, and she was executed. The purge nearly extended to her two sons as well, but thanks to Aub Ahrensbach's plea for mercy, their lives were spared on the condition that they be demoted to upper-class nobles."
At this point, despite Ahrensbach having ended up on the winning side, it now faced the crisis of having no heir. And yet, it was still granted portions of the defeated territories, expanding its domain.
"When the second wife's sons were stripped of their lord candidate status and demoted to upper-class nobles, the first wife's daughters had already married and were no longer lord candidates. The first wife then attempted to increase the number of candidates by adopting her own grandchild—her daughter's child—as a ward."
But every territory was suffering from a shortage of nobles. They were only able to take in a single child. The plan was to raise that child as the next lord while also adopting children of the bloodline of the demoted lord, thereby increasing the number of candidates.
However, the first wife passed away, and Georgine became the new first wife.
"Lady Georgine's daughter had married into an upper-class noble family and was no longer a lord candidate. The only ones remaining were Lady Dietlinde and Lady
"The lord's brother should still be a lord candidate, shouldn't he? If there are more children on that side, wouldn't it be better to promptly transfer the Aub title and focus on increasing lord candidates?"
At the Chief Priest's words, Mother slowly shook her head.
"No. In Ahrensbach, when a lord is chosen, all lord candidates of the same generation are stripped of their status. I've heard that Aurelia's father was given land and elevated to upper-class nobility."
Ahrensbach's situation appeared to be a dead end from every angle.
"...That's roughly what I learned from Lamprecht."
"There are still many questions remaining. But if Aurelia is the daughter of the third wife from Freubelterk, we may not get very detailed information out of her."
The Chief Priest furrowed his brow deeply and, with an exceedingly unpleasant expression, sank into the sea of his thoughts.
And so, regarding the handling of the former Veronica faction's children—I stated my hopes and threw the matter to my foster father.
That's the Lord's job.
Brunhilde's first visit to the Temple, plus a bit about the lower town from Otto.
And the state of Ahrensbach, as Lamprecht had uncovered.
Next up is the dyeing competition. Aurelia will be there too. No bride-bullying will happen.