I dismissed the former
"…I didn't know about the dedication of one's name until I heard it from my adoptive father, so I'd like to hear various opinions. Is it something that can be traded for the method of compressing one's Magic Power?"
Once we came of age, we would be able to choose our own factions of our own free will. Was the method of Magic Power compression really so important that it was worth staking one's life on, rather than waiting until then?
"I have no intention of dedicating my name to anyone. I want to be the one who decides what choices to make and how to live my life. Nobles who have dedicated their names to someone could probably be counted on one hand. Even without dedicating one's name, one can still offer one's loyalty."
Brünhilde smiled proudly, the way only a high-ranking noble could, as she said this.
"That's right. Rather than simple loyalty, dedicating one's name to a beloved person and having it dedicated in return, swearing eternal devotion—there is an appeal to that. But it's not realistic. I believe it's simply impossible."
…So there was a form of name dedication beyond just loyalty? If both parties felt the same and dedicated their names to each other, that was one thing, but the thought of having it forced upon you one-sidedly was terrifying.
"I watched with my own eyes the joy of brother
…I see. Brother
Brother Cornelius nodded several times at this, then casually said, "If Lady
"But Lady Rozemyne wouldn't desire that, would she?"
Unlike the Chief Priest, who had been surrounded by enemies and had no one he could trust, I had plenty of protectors—my adoptive parents who were the Lord and his wife, my high-ranking noble birth parents, and my guardian—and my relationships with my retainers were excellent. I had absolutely no need for life-risking loyalty. I didn't even understand the value of having one's name dedicated. On top of that, I tried to give even the grey priests and shrine maidens choices and respect their will as much as possible, so even if someone dedicated their name to me, I wouldn't be happy about it—Hartmut shrugged as if to say.
I got the distinct feeling that I was being thoroughly studied, but he was right. I would be in trouble if someone dedicated their name to me.
"Brother
I turned my gaze toward Wilfried and Charlotte, who would be in the same position of potentially receiving dedications this time. Wilfried nodded as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Of course I would accept it. To have someone so devoted that they would dedicate their name to serve you—that is a great honor."
Wilfried declared firmly that he would properly accept even the former Veronica faction children if they offered their names in loyalty, and Charlotte nodded as well.
"I would accept them too. In fact, I don't understand why you'd hesitate, Sister. You've already accepted
As Charlotte said, I was already protecting everyone in the lower town and supporting the livelihoods of everyone in the orphanage.
And Philine's position, which I was keeping close in a special arrangement, was something close to having her name dedicated—though she hadn't actually dedicated her name. I had chosen Philine as my attendant from the start, and I had been the one to stick my nose into her family problems in the first place.
So I believed it was natural to take responsibility for her until she came of age and could stand on her own—or, going further, until she married.
However, having the former Veronica faction children dedicate their names to me—children with whom I had previously been in different factions and had virtually no interaction—felt to me like someone showing up and saying, "I ran away from home because of my parents. I'll do anything, so please make me your attendant and let me stay." It meant that responsibility would arise for every aspect of their lives.
To put it in an analogy: I was something like a company president. Everyone in the lower town and the orphanage were my own employees. Philine was someone I was supporting in daily life, but fundamentally she was a live-in employee who managed on her own salary. I had to look after the employees to make sure no one lost their work or suffered disadvantage.
The former Veronica faction children, on the other hand, were like employees from a different but affiliated company—the Veronica faction of another duchy. Having them dedicate their names to me was like receiving a proposal of "Please adopt me." The person making the offer would need courage, certainly, but the resolve required to accept was on a completely different level.
"…It's a bit difficult for me."
"I think it's far more trustworthy than someone simply asking you to trust them because they've changed factions. At least there's a tangible form to it."
At Wilfried's words, I nodded vaguely.
Once the first-year transfers were complete and all grades were assembled, dinner was slightly more elaborate than the previous day.
At dinner, as part of this year's Grade Improvement Committee activities, we announced the team assignments and prizes. This year's prize was a tart recipe. For the time being, I selected one that wasn't already in the recipe collection.
"Just how many recipes does Lady Rozemyne have!?"
"This year, this year, we'll finally get a recipe!"
Seeing everyone—including the former Veronica faction children—getting excited just as they had last year at the prospect of studying in the multipurpose hall, I let out a sigh of relief. The gloomy atmosphere from earlier had been somewhat dispelled. Whether that was just the nobility's way of hiding their emotions, I couldn't tell.
The next day, after breakfast, everyone had gathered in their respective teams to study when
"Lady Rozemyne, Lord Wilfried—tomorrow is the advancement ceremony and socializing event, and yet I haven't received any notification that the Ehrenfest students have completed their transfers!"
"…Did she ask us to notify her?"
When I tilted my head, Brother Cornelius let out a soft sigh.
"She didn't ask us specifically, but in previous years, the senior students of high-ranking nobles would always communicate via their Orthros. Since it's the highest-ranking person's duty to do so, it was decided that this year Lord Wilfried would send the notification. Right,
Brother Cornelius glanced toward Wilfried's attendant-apprentice, a scholar. Ignaz smiled awkwardly.
"I forgot to inform Lord Wilfried. I am terribly sorry."
"Ignaz, you—. I apologize, Teacher Hirschur. It seems this was our oversight."
Seeing Wilfried apologize, I felt quite conflicted. Certainly, we needed to be careful about communication oversights, and an apology was probably necessary. But I wasn't entirely convinced about being scolded by Hirschur. I turned my gaze toward Hirschur, who was saying, "Please be more careful going forward."
"Isn't the real issue this time that the dormitory supervisor wasn't at the dormitory? The supervisors from other duchies would surely be at their dormitories throughout the move-in period, wouldn't they?"
"Oh my, surely you know, Lady Rozemyne? The comfort of Flutebrienne and Lengshutzmaier are quite different things."
Hirschur smiled sweetly at my remark. Essentially, it meant "that's that, and this is this"—or "other places are other places, and ours is ours." I realized that Hirschur had no intention of staying at the dormitory as supervisor going forward either, and I shrugged.
Hirschur turned her gaze to Charlotte and murmured, "You look so much like Lady Florentzia," before stepping to the center of the multipurpose hall and beginning to explain the next day's schedule and the dormitory to the new students. The dormitory explanation was the same as last year.
"…And then, tomorrow at the third bell, the advancement ceremony will be held, followed by a socializing event that also serves as lunch. Lectures begin the day after that. Ehrenfest is ranked tenth, so this year you'll be using the tenth door and room—please be careful. You've already studied this much, so I don't think lecture preparation will be a problem, but don't forget the announcements and such. Does anyone have any questions?"
"No, there are none."
After finishing her explanation smoothly, Hirschur turned to me with a smile and said, "Lady Rozemyne, I have a great many questions for you. Would you accompany me?" Her eyes looked like a predator locking onto its prey—I was completely targeted.
…Well, I could pretty much guess what the questions were about—the clothes for Schwarz and Weiss, and the various research materials I'd received from the Chief Priest.
I had a clear idea of what Hirschur wanted to ask. If anything, I couldn't think of anything else it might be. Since I also had items entrusted to me by the Chief Priest, I nodded in agreement.
"I don't mind accompanying you, but please try to keep it brief. Unlike Ferdinand, I'm not the type to stay up all night discussing things."
"If you were as robust as Lady Rozemyne, your research would go much more smoothly."
…I was envious of Teacher Hirschur, who seemed sturdy enough to throw herself into research.
I signaled
Incidentally, in order to accommodate Hirschur's various requests, I had up to five sets of "non-urgent documents" on hand. This was the result of
"Then, I'd like to ask about what kind of magic circles were used, and how they were improved…"
Hirschur's eyes gleamed, and she began her questions as though even the time before Schwarz and Weiss's clothes arrived was too precious to waste. But basically, the magic circle research was left to the Chief Priest, so there was very little I could answer.
In the end, I only agreed to let her accompany me when the clothes for Schwarz and Weiss were being changed.
"Lady Rozemyne, aren't you very interested in magic circle research? You're Ferdinand's beloved disciple, after all."
"Ferdinand serves as my guardian and protector, and he is in charge of my education, but he isn't specifically my master when it comes to research."
I had absolutely no plans to join the ranks of those mad scientists. I wanted to read books, not do research. I welcomed compiled research results and books wholeheartedly, but I felt no particular charm in creating the process with my own hands.
"I intend to aim for the position of Library Librarian, so when it comes to research on Magical Tools and magic circles, I'll do my best insofar as it relates to the library's operation. …Teacher Hirschur. When should I bring the clothes for Schwarz and Weiss to the library?"
"The library doesn't open until after lectures begin, but why not try sending an Orthros?"
Following Hirschur's suggestion, I sent an Orthros to
From Solange, I received the reply: "The library opens after lectures begin, so once lectures have started, you are welcome to visit at any time."
"I kept you waiting, my lady."
Rihyarda brought the clothes for Schwarz and Weiss, and Hirschur took them in hand, carefully examining the magic circles. Her profile as she traced the circles with her finger and studied the materials the Chief Priest had compiled was reminiscent of the Chief Priest himself when he was deep in research.
…In other words, I wasn't even registering in her field of vision.
"Rihyarda, would it be all right if I organized the bookshelves?"
"It will take some time, I imagine."
While waiting for Hirschur to finish, I decided to organize the bookshelves alongside Rihyarda.
I prepared shelves for the first-years, second-years, apprentice knights, apprentice scholars, and apprentice attendants, making sure reference books for each could be placed there. The reference books would probably see the most use, so this arrangement should work.
After that, I began sorting my own books and assigning classification numbers. The books printed in Ehrenfest tended to be mostly stories, so the numbering was quite uneven, but eventually I wanted to print the books from the Ehrenfest Library as well.
Even when the lunch hour came, Hirschur wouldn't budge. When I called out to her, she only said, "I'm busy right now," so I left her to it and went to eat.
After lunch, some headed out for gathering while others continued studying, but since I'd be in trouble when Hirschur finally came back to her senses, I decided to read in the multipurpose hall.
"My lady, my lady!"
I was tapped on the shoulder by Rihyarda and had my book closed. Startled, I looked up to find Hirschur peering down at my hands with great interest.
"Lady Rozemyne, what book is that?"
"It's a new form of book made from Ehrenfest paper."
"May I take a look?"
"If you're reading it here in the multipurpose hall, you're welcome to browse it freely. It's not permitted to remove anything from the hall, and I won't lend it to the research room either."
As I explained how this bookshelf system worked to Hirschur, I handed over the romance novel set in the Noble Academy that my mother had written.
Hirschur flipped through the pages, skimming, and then laughed with amusement.
"…This is almost entirely factual, isn't it? The time periods are all mixed up, but I can tell who several of these are about."
"I've heard it was written based on the gossip known to those who attended the tea parties, so as a Noble Academy teacher, Teacher Hirschur might recognize some of the stories. …Which ones are about whom?"
The character names had been changed and the duchy names made fictional, so while someone who had been at the Noble Academy at the time might be able to figure it out, I personally couldn't tell who most of the stories were about. The only ones I recognized were the ones about my adoptive father and mother.
"Ho ho ho! Since it's anonymous, I can't very well tell you that. There are stories about people from duchies other than Ehrenfest as well."
Hirschur set the book down with a chuckle and carried the research materials the Chief Priest had made out of the room.
…When she said things like that, it made me incredibly curious. Were there stories about the Chief Priest in there too? I'd heard that Brother Eckhart had sold information to Mother.
After Hirschur left, it was time to prepare for the advancement ceremony and socializing event. To establish and popularize the trend, I distributed hair ornaments to all the girls. These were the ornaments Brünhilde had selected and purchased from the
"For the sake of establishing this trend, please be sure to wear these hair ornaments to the advancement ceremony this year. I'll also be distributing hair rinse, so don't forget to make your hair nice and clean."
Brünhilde's selections seemed to be on the mark—the box was filled with hair ornaments in different colors, each matched to individual hair colors and overall impressions. I was impressed that she had managed to keep track of the hair color of so many people. For close acquaintances it might be manageable, but there was no way I could do it.
"Oh, how adorable!"
"How wonderful that you were able to prepare hair ornaments matched to each of us, Lady Rozemyne!"
"Those are Brünhilde's selections. Her eye for these things is trustworthy, isn't it? …Ah, Brother Wilfried, if you gentlemen would like to use the hair rinse as well, I can distribute it little by little."
Since it was an opportunity, I proposed that this year, we make the boys' hair silky smooth too, but Wilfried shook his head.
"No, we've already prepared it on our end, so there's no problem."
Apparently, our adoptive father, who had attended the Lord's Conference, had told him to handle the boys' share, so Wilfried had prepared it.
"I can't stand having a sweet smell on my own hair, but if it's for establishing a trend, I suppose there's no helping it."
"…It's not all sweet-smelling rinse, though, is it?"
"I was told that to spread the word, the scent matters too. I'm not one to deliberately wear women's fragrances of my own volition."
Wilfried said this with a somewhat deflated expression, and several of the boys nodded in agreement.
Today was the day of the advancement ceremony and socializing event. We had to reach the lecture hall by the third bell, so we tidied our appearance, fastened our mantles and brooches properly, and made sure we were properly dressed to leave the dormitory. Without a mantle and brooch, we wouldn't be able to return to the dormitory either, so we had to be careful.
"Lady Rozemyne, the retainers accompanying you to the socializing event will be Cornelius, Leonore, and
"Yes, that's fine, Brünhilde."
Having been selected to accompany a socializing event for royalty and lord candidates, the middle-ranking apprentice knight Ewigeliebe seemed a bit nervous. Unlike her usual self, her smile was stiff.
"I'll do my best to fill in for
"You don't need to worry that much. Nothing is going to happen at the socializing event."
As we headed to the entrance hall, everyone was dressed in black-based attire with mantles and brooches, and the girls wore hair ornaments in different colors. Just like me, some were wearing two ornaments.
"You're all dressed alike," Philine said with a small smile, touching her hair ornament gently.
On top of her apprentice's salary, I gave her extra pay for her work helping the Chief Priest at the Temple and bought the copies she had made, handing over money. Even so, Philine had it tough—she was living apart from her parents, supporting herself on an apprentice's wages. Decorative accessories were a luxury she could rarely afford.
She had been able to choose this one herself, apparently, as it had been purchased while I was away for the Harvest Festival.
"Being able to choose for myself really meant choosing from what Brünhilde had selected, but back home, they almost never bought me accessories of any kind, so…"
Philine smiled a little sadly as she said this.
"Good morning, Sister."
Charlotte was also dressed in black-based attire with Ehrenfest's mantle and brooch, and wore two hair ornaments. With her pale hair, the darker-colored flowers stood out beautifully.
"You look so cute and it suits you perfectly, Charlotte."
"Oh my, you're far cuter, Sister."
Charlotte seemed to be growing faster than me—last year the difference hadn't been this noticeable. No, it wasn't my imagination. Our eye levels were different. If we walked side by side, Charlotte would definitely look like the elder sister.
"Then, let's go."
At Wilfried's signal, the doors opened, and the Ehrenfest students filed out of the dormitory.
The number above the door had indeed changed to 10, and the lecture hall was closer than last year. It was a strange feeling seeing the dark-green mantles that had been ahead of us last year now behind us.
Our position in the lecture hall had also shifted—we were considerably further forward this time. As we shuffled along, voices drifted from the surroundings.
"Ehrenfest has risen quite a bit in rank."
"Is everyone using hair rinse…?"
Some of the voices had a sharp edge that couldn't be called friendly, and I let out a quiet breath. As our adoptive father had warned, the jealousy and snide remarks from the change in rank seemed worse than last year.
The advancement ceremony was almost unchanged from the previous year. There were speeches from the important figures and explanations from the teachers. Since the content was virtually identical, all I could do was wait for it to pass.
When I became a third-year and was sorted into specialized courses the following year, I would probably need to listen more carefully, but for second-years, the time slot was different from first-years but the lectures and practical sessions were held in the same place, so there was nothing to get wrong.
Once the tedious advancement ceremony was over, the next event was the socializing event—tense, with no room for failure. I had no idea how the change in rank would play out.
"We will now move to our respective socializing event venues. Upperclassmen, please look after the newcomers. The newcomers don't know anything, so follow the upperclassmen's lead."
"Yes!"
We answered the senior-most student, Brother Cornelius, then split into low-ranking nobles, middle-ranking nobles, high-ranking nobles, and retainers accompanying the lord candidates. Exiting the lecture hall, we divided into our respective venues just as we had last year. Charlotte and I were heading to what was called the Small Reception Room.
Charlotte was walking with her back straight, but her expression was a little tense. I took her hand.
"It'll be all right, Charlotte. I'm with you."
*You can rely on me. I'm your big sister, after all,* I thought as I looked down at Charlotte and smiled. She blinked several times, then her expression softened.
"That's right. You're with me too, Sister. I need to be strong…"
A determined light settled into her violet eyes, and Charlotte strode forward with her gaze fixed ahead. It seemed my words had eased her tension, and I was relieved.
"From tenth-ranked Ehrenfest, we have Lord Wilfried, Lady Rozemyne, and Lady Charlotte."
Accompanied by the voice of what appeared to be a scholar standing before the door, we were ushered into the room known as the Small Reception Room.
I could see a small figure seated at the large table at the front, where
…The younger prince of Prince Anastasius, perhaps?
That ran a bit long. Teacher Hirschur wanted to read the book, which is why I couldn't attend the socializing event. Next time: the socializing event, with hair rinse and hair ornaments all prepared.