Since the royals had graduated and were no longer present, I assumed that if upper-ranking nobles were seated in the center, then older students would be taking those spots instead. So the small figure at the front had to be a prince, I reasoned.
...But I hadn't heard a single word from anyone about a royal enrolling.
I tilted my head as I looked at the prince-like figure. If this were such important news, I would have thought someone would have told me. Besides, at first glance, he looked remarkably small.
What's more, this small figure wore a red-and-white outfit—the winter colors of the noble color—contrary to both the black-based attire and the dress code set for the Noble Academy. Even with a black cloak draped over his center, the colors stood out vividly.
"This is Ehrenfest's seating."
The small reception hall was set up with four-person tables arranged at equal intervals, just as it had been last year, and we were escorted to Ehrenfest's table—the one with
Brünhilde pulled out a chair for me, and I sat down.
"Hartmut, did you hear anything about a royal enrolling?"
I whispered the question to Hartmut in a hushed voice, and he shook his head slightly.
"No, I did not. ...Not only Wilfried and Charlotte, but many of those from other territories also seem quite surprised, so there is a high probability this is a royal whose existence was not publicly known."
Apparently I wasn't the only one who hadn't been informed, and I quietly heaved a sigh of relief. I'd been getting the impression that between my short stays at the castle, there were quite a few things I simply wasn't told about, but apparently that wasn't the case this time.
"However, I did hear rumors at last year's Noble Academy about a royal who was going to hold a
"A Baptism Ceremony this year?"
"Yes. While Ehrenfest's noble debut takes place at the start of winter social season, a royal's formal debut is apparently done at the spring Lord's Meeting. He likely hasn't had his formal debut yet."
That explained why the figure seated in front was so small. I had assumed he only looked tiny because of the distance, but since his Baptism Ceremony had just concluded, his small stature made perfect sense.
And yet, hearing Hartmut's information only made me more confused.
...Then why would a prince who had just finished his Baptism Ceremony be here?
I tilted my head in puzzlement, but once all the territories' Lord Candidates had assembled and the doors of the small reception hall were closed, a central official stepped forward and introduced the small prince seated before us.
"This is the Third Prince, His Highness
Summarizing the various details of his explanation, there apparently existed a rule requiring at least one royal to be present at the Noble Academy at all times. If none were available, a graduate would be dispatched to attend.
Following that custom, Anastasius—who had only just graduated—should have been the one to go to the Academy. But he was apparently quite busy with his duties as a royal. He had been tasked with filling the land granted to him for his marriage with Magic Power, and with replenishing the Magic Power of the Magical Tools that had been rendered immobile.
...So it was basically a case of him wanting to prepare his land and new residence quickly so he could marry Lady
Presumably, reviving the Magical Tools was a more important job than having a resident representative at the Academy. The King apparently chose to have the newly adult Anastasius work himself to the bone instead, and so the task of being the royal stationed at the Noble Academy fell to Hildebrand, who had just completed his Baptism Ceremony. However, since Hildebrand had not yet enrolled and could not attend lectures, he would essentially be confined to his private quarters.
...Could it be that the rule about having a royal at the Academy was really more about having someone to handle complaints or serve as an emergency contact?
I recalled how last year, when I had pulled
...With this many people gathered together, who knew what could happen. Being a royal was tough work. ...Still, if a child who hadn't even entered the Academy yet was being mobilized, it really drove home just how serious the royal family's manpower shortage must be.
Once the official's explanation concluded, we were to go around making our greetings, just as last year. The first to rise with a clatter was
After greeting Prince Hildebrand, we were to greet territories ranked above our own, while lower-ranked territories would come to us—same as last year.
After Klassenberg came Dunkelfelger, then
"Rosemine, Charlotte. Let's go."
"Yes."
Wilfried escorted us, matching his pace to mine as we walked to the royal seat at the front. Kneeling before it, we crossed both hands over our chests and bowed our heads—a first-meeting greeting.
"Prince Hildebrand, I humbly pray for your blessing upon this rare encounter, borne of the stern selection of the God of Life, Ewigliebe."
"You have my permission."
The one who spoke in a youthful voice was Hildebrand, with his blue-tinted silver hair, bright purple eyes, and a face with a rather cute appearance. Calling a boy "cute" felt somewhat inappropriate, but Hildebrand, who had only just completed his Baptism Ceremony, looked remarkably young while at the Noble Academy.
Furthermore, unlike the arrogant impression Anastasius had given, Hildebrand had a more gentle, easygoing air about him, with a constant smile that made words like "cool" or "dashing" feel even farther from reach. His soft, calm expression seemed to ease even the tension one naturally felt before a royal.
With Hildebrand's permission, I imbued my ring with Magic Power to deliver a blessing. I watched Wilfried and Charlotte to gauge the right amount, carefully putting in just a small measure so as not to overdo it.
The Chief Priest had warned me many times not to let my emotions run away with me like they had at the Graduation Ceremony.
...There. Perfect.
I inwardly felt a quiet sense of relief that the blessing I'd sent was about the same size as those of the other two, while Wilfried continued with his greeting.
"It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Prince Hildebrand. From Ehrenfest, Wilfried, Rosemine, and Charlotte have come to this place to learn what it means to be a noble worthy of
Prince Hildebrand, who had been listening to our greetings, called out, "Please raise your heads." When I looked up at his voice, Hildebrand gazed at each of the three of us in turn before fixing Charlotte with a look of keen interest.
"I have heard that Ehrenfest's Lord Candidates include the top and high achievers, and that the grades of the entire territory have risen. The King has high expectations as well. Please continue your hard work this year as well."
He delivered these words in a high, childlike voice, crisp and clear. It was evident he was trying very hard to recite words that had been prepared for him, not his own. As the High Priest who had been forced to memorize every detail of the ceremonies, I could sympathize with just how much effort Hildebrand had put into learning these words for the Lord Candidates.
My instinct was to say, "You're doing great! Keep up the good work!" but that would be far too impudent when addressing a royal. I settled for a single word of thanks.
"You are too kind."
My greeting with Hildebrand ended without incident. I recalled how last year Anastasius had asked me, "Where's the saint?" and I felt a twinge of mild disappointment as I moved on to the next greeting—Klassenberg.
"This year as well, the threads of the Goddess of Time, Dreifangüre, have crossed, allowing us to meet once more. This is Charlotte, my younger sister. She has enrolled at the Noble Academy as a first-year student from Ehrenfest. We humbly ask that you remember her."
At Wilfried's prompting during our greeting to Klassenberg, Charlotte gave her own first-meeting introduction. Wilfried himself had not made a first-meeting greeting, nor had he asked me to do so, which meant this person must have been someone we'd greeted last year. Perhaps not an upper-ranking noble, but a Lord Candidate.
...Which one was it? I couldn't very well ask, so I decided to find out from Hartmut later.
When I did ask Hartmut afterward, he turned out not to be an upper-ranking noble, but rather the son of the current
...I simply can't remember every person I've greeted once and then had absolutely no further interaction with.
"If you have not been re-introduced by Lady Eglantine, with whom you did have a relationship, it is possible you simply never had any interaction with her personally. It is not uncommon for children of the Second Wife to have few such connections."
...Come to think of it, I had virtually no interaction with Nicolaus either.
When a Lord's family or upper-ranking noble took a Second Wife, it was often the result of considerations about factional balance, or because the First Wife had been unable to produce children, or simply to increase the number of heirs. Regardless of birth, it was apparently not unusual for half-siblings who had not undergone a Baptism Ceremony as children of the First Wife to have very little interaction with one another.
After Klassenberg came the greeting to Dunkelfelger. We approached Restaurant and Hannalore's table, with Wilfried giving the greeting on behalf of us all, and Charlotte offering a first-meeting blessing.
"Lady Hannalore, I am truly grateful that you so generously lent us Dunkelfelger's splendid books this time. Please convey my regards to Aub Dunkelfelger as well."
I hadn't expected the Lord to personally deliver the books to the Lord's Meeting, so I'd been surprised, but I'd been delighted that it allowed me the time to sit down and savor every page. When I expressed my thanks, Hannalore blinked slowly several times.
"You must have been quite surprised that the books arrived from the Aub? My father does so love surprising people—he startles me regularly as well. ...I'm relieved that you weren't troubled by it, Lady Rosemine."
Hannalore shook her hair, a shade that hovered between pale pink and purple, and smiled with a somewhat troubled expression.
It seemed that Aub Dunkelfelger had declared he was bringing the books to the Lord's Meeting specifically to surprise me, and Hannalore had been worried it might cause me inconvenience. The Aub could be a bit of a prankster, but he was truly a wonderful person to lend out books that could be called treasures of his territory.
"Not at all—it was no trouble. I had a wonderful time with them. In thanks to you, Lady Hannalore, I've brought along some books from Ehrenfest. I'll make sure to hand them over when I return the originals."
"How kind of you, Lady Rosemine. I look forward to it."
As Hannalore and I chatted pleasantly about books and shared a laugh, Restaurant regarded me with a gaze full of suspicion.
"Ehrenfest was able to read that book?"
"Yes. I was overwhelmed by the sheer depth of Dunkelfelger's history."
...The battle-obsessed tendency to keep fighting until victory, and Lord Rufen's stubborn insistence on ditter—they all had historical backing behind them, and I came to understand that it was in their very bones.
"Hmph, as expected. Dunkelfelger is nothing like Ehrenfest, which has a mere two hundred years of history."
"Big brother."
Hannalore tugged lightly on Restaurant's sleeve in mild reproach. I smiled and nodded at her lovely crimson eyes, which looked at me with concern over whether I'd been offended.
"The difference in the length of history between Ehrenfest and Dunkelfelger, and the resulting gap in the age and weight of our books, is simply a fact. I would love to read even more of Dunkelfelger's wonderful books."
I was about to share my impressions of the book I'd borrowed from Dunkelfelger when Charlotte gently tugged my sleeve and Wilfried cut in rather forcibly, "Well, you can talk at length when you return the books. This is hardly the place for an in-depth discussion."
...Ah, right. I was in the middle of the greeting rounds.
This wasn't the place to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in a while. I made plans for a tea party with Hannalore before moving from Dunkelfelger's position to Drewanchel's.
"Lord Wilfried, Lady Rosemine, congratulations on your engagement. I was quite surprised when my father returned from the Lord's Meeting and told me."
Drewanchel's Lord Candidates included
Her wine-red hair cascaded in soft waves over her chest with a beautiful, lustrous sheen, making it look as though she used Hair Rinse. Noticing this, I took a closer look at the Drewanchel students, and they all had glossy hair.
Adolphine ran a hand smoothly through her own hair and gave a bright smile.
...Could they have analyzed the Hair Rinse?
Perhaps they'd analyzed the Hair Rinse I'd distributed at the tea party. The recipe itself was simple, so I'd figured it would be discovered eventually, but it had happened sooner than I'd expected.
...Drewanchel might be an even more frightening territory than I'd imagined—filled with mad scientists.
While I looked up at Adolphine and gulped audibly, Wilfried and Ortwin were having what seemed to be an enjoyable exchange.
"Wilfried, I'm looking forward to this year too."
"Yeah, Ortwin. I'll show you the results of my training in Gewinnen."
The two were discussing games played in social settings—typical guy talk—yet the smile Adolphine directed at me was anything but casual.
"Lady Rosemine, the officials who went to the Lord's Meeting came back in quite a state of excitement. They say Ehrenfest has a Magical Tool that even Commoners can use? Paper that moves across large sheets—what an interesting thing! When the Drewanchel officials heard about it, their eyes lit up."
"It's hardly something for the Drewanchel officials to get that excited about."
I laughed it off gently. If I got too involved, they'd probably end up analyzing everything.
"That curious paper was not seen at the Noble Academy, nor was it announced in the Interterritorial Tournament, was it? Was there some particular reason?"
"No, nothing in particular. I simply thought it wasn't the sort of thing worth announcing at the Interterritorial Tournament."
...Because it was made by Commoners, and nobody in Ehrenfest even considered calling it a Magical Tool! As if I could say any of that.
"It is always rather difficult to learn the inner workings of another territory. I have been eagerly awaiting the start of the Noble Academy. Lady Rosemine, please do be friendly with me again this year."
...So she wanted all sorts of information? Great—another item to bring before the guardians.
I smiled sweetly and replied, "The pleasure is all mine," but I could feel the smile on my face tightening.
Adolphine then turned her gaze to Charlotte, comparing her to Ortwin.
"Charlotte is a first-year, isn't she? Let's get along, shall we?"
"I look forward to it as well."
...This is bad! I had the terrible feeling that a very dangerous person had just set her sights on Charlotte! Quick—somebody help me, Chief Priest!
Shielding Charlotte from Adolphine's gaze as best I could, I moved on to the next greeting. After finishing with the fourth and fifth territories, came sixth-place Arensbach.
Arensbach's Lord Candidate was Dietlinde alone; the small child who had come for
"It has been since the ceremony at the end of summer, hasn't it? Everyone looks well. How is
When Dietlinde turned around, there was a girl who reminded me slightly of Turi. Judging from where she stood, she was clearly Dietlinde's Attendant.
"The other bride sent word to her family, but we've heard nothing at all from Aurelia, so we've been worried..."
Martina, who bore a resemblance to Turi, lowered her eyes sadly, and I felt a pang of sympathy.
"Aurelia is enjoying life in Ehrenfest. She had a new veil made, and we've even had tea together. Right, Charlotte?"
"Yes, she was a very gentle, easygoing person."
Charlotte, who had sat with Aurelia during the dyeing competition, also smiled in agreement.
Martina let out a sigh of visible relief, but in stark contrast, Dietlinde blinked her deep green eyes. "Aurelia is... easygoing?"
...Why was she tilting her head like that? Aurelia had been nothing if not easygoing, no matter how you looked at her.
I got the feeling there was a disconnect between the Aurelia we knew and the Aurelia Dietlinde was describing, and I tilted my head slightly in turn.
"Setting that aside, I was so surprised at the star-binding ceremony that I never even offered my congratulations, did I? I absolutely must remedy that. Congratulations on your engagement."
Hearing Dietlinde smile and offer her congratulations, I felt a strangely mixed sense of emotions. It genuinely felt as though she was blessing me. Her smile was so friendly and warm that I wanted to ask what had happened to last year's attitude. The same smile that had once been directed at Wilfried was now directed at me, and that was what made it so baffling—and, paradoxically, uncomfortable.
"After all, I am a cousin to Ehrenfest's Lord Candidate. Let us get along well."
After Arensbach, it was very obvious that the seventh, eighth, and ninth territories—who had been leapfrogged by Ehrenfest's rapid rise—were on guard. Last year they hadn't given us the time of day, but this year they came at us with roundabout barbs and veiled warnings.
...It's a shame, but those indirect jabs don't work on Wilfried! And even if they did, I wouldn't back down!
Once the greetings to the higher-ranked territories were complete, it was the lower-ranked territories' turn to come greet us. This too was tedious. Particularly the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth territories—the ones we had overtaken—had barely concealed hostility beneath their smiles. They made comments like, "Good fortune doesn't last, does it?" or "Good times are fleeting, you know," or "Will you be finishing your lectures at top speed again this year? I do hope your grades keep pace," all phrased in polished noble parlance.
Of course, allowing lower-ranked territories to say such things without retort would reflect poorly on our standing, so I smiled and agreed with a "Indeed" while countering with things like, "It's not fortune—it will last," and "We're reinforcing things so it won't be fleeting."
"Thank you for your encouragement. Do look forward to our results."
As we exchanged these veiled barbs with smiles, Ludiger from Frevelberg came forward to make his greeting. As usual, he looked like a larger version of Wilfried.
This was Charlotte's first time meeting Ludiger, and she glanced back and forth between him and Wilfried several times, her blue eyes wide with surprise. They really did look alike. But since they shared the same blue eye color, Charlotte actually resembled Ludiger more in terms of coloration alone. If Ludiger and Charlotte stood side by side, people would probably take them for siblings.
...Of course, I was the only one who didn't fit the mold.
As if noticing those looks, Ludiger gave a soft smile, then knelt, crossed both arms over his chest, and bowed his head.
"Lord Wilfried, Lady Rosemine, this year as well, the threads of the Goddess of Time, Dreifangüre, have crossed, allowing us to meet once more. And Lady Charlotte, I humbly pray for your blessing upon this rare encounter, borne of the stern selection of the God of Life, Ewigliebe."
"You have my permission."
Charlotte received Ludiger's blessing and exchanged greetings with him. Afterward, Ludiger raised his head and looked at Wilfried.
"In Ehrenfest, I hear that the Lord Candidates take the lead in working for the sake of the land and the people. In Frevelberg, we followed a similar approach and gave our blessings to the directly held lands, and the harvest yields increased."
It must have taken considerable courage to propose going to the
...Ludiger's mother was my foster father's sister, after all. That somewhat explained it.
The increased harvest and resulting rise in tax revenue had apparently eased many burdens. Ludiger smiled happily.
"What pleased me most of all was seeing hope return, even just a little, to the eyes of the nobles who had grown so dark. It was invaluable advice. My mother is delighted as well."
Their territory had been on the losing side during the civil coup, and their Lord had been sentenced—on top of which, they had surely suffered all manner of other misfortunes.
The fact that his mother was from Frevelberg meant that Aurelia from Arensbach had likely been treated harshly on that account alone, so the matter must have greatly influenced marriages and unions.
Unlike me, who had charged headlong into the Temple without knowing anything, motivated solely by the Library, Ludiger had been able to participate actively in religious ceremonies despite knowing full well the current reality in which the Temple was looked down upon. Even if Frevelberg was in a desperate, grasping-at-straws situation, I had to admire his initiative.
"I wish to continue building an unchanging relationship with Ehrenfest," Ludiger said, watching my reaction intently.
Wilfried—who bore such a strong resemblance to Ludiger—also turned his gaze toward me, having been the one to teach Ludiger Ehrenfest's methods after I had told him, "Try Frevelberg's approach at a tea party."
"...Yes, we are cousins and neighbors, after all. Let's continue to get along well."
When I said this, both Ludiger and Wilfried—who had been holding their breath waiting for my response—let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
And with that, the greetings were finished, and we moved on to the meal.
Whether Ehrenfest's recipes had been adopted or not, the soup tasted noticeably better than last year. The sweets, however, remained unchanged—still just lumps of sugar.
I was only going around giving greetings, and yet it was exhausting.
It must have been because the number of people I interacted with had grown compared to last year.
So many relationships had changed in a single year.
Next, the lectures would begin at last.