"I must become a worthy Aub in order to compensate for the love I have lost."
Feeling a touch sentimental over Dietlinde's words, which concluded with that resolution, I suddenly grew worried. The phrase "next Aub" came up far too frequently—that perhaps the Aub of
"Come to think of it, how is the Aub of Ahrensbach's condition? I was concerned, since
With Ferdinand's medicine, she might be able to hold on a while longer. However, I doubted they would ask Ferdinand, who belonged to another territory, to prepare the medicine. His letters never mentioned the Aub's condition, so I worried about whether the handover had gone smoothly.
At my question, Dietlinde let out a sorrowful sigh.
"...I cannot say it is good. But I believe she has been relieved somewhat by the fact that things have stabilized a bit with Lord Ferdinand here."
"Is that so."
If she was admitting at a tea party like this that things were not good, the situation must be quite dire. Ehrenfest knew the Aub's condition was poor because Ferdinand had gone there, but the other territories shouldn't know. At least, it hadn't become a topic of gossip at the
"If I could, I would return to Ahrensbach at once, but Mother has told me to focus on socializing as the next Aub."
Even if the patient's condition had stabilized, anyone with a seriously ill family member would want to rush to their side. It raised my opinion of Dietlinde somewhat to see her restraining that urge and diligently attending lectures and socializing at the Royal Academy. In her place, I would have finished my lectures as fast as possible, returned to Ehrenfest, and refused to leave my father's bedside no matter what anyone said.
"Therefore, I must demonstrate at the graduation ceremony that I am worthy of being the next Aub."
"Best of luck to you."
"Don't you think we need Ehrenfest's cooperation to attract everyone's attention?"
"...Cooperation?"
I tilted my head, not understanding. Dietlinde seemed to think she had been quite direct, but I had absolutely no idea what she was getting at. I glanced at
Seeming irritated by our collective failure to catch on, Dietlinde said, "Let me be clear—I need you to teach me how to light up magic stones."
"During the dedication dance rehearsal, you were lighting up magic stones and attracting attention, weren't you? I thought you were quite the attention-seeker, but it is an excellent method for drawing all eyes upon you. Surely I need it for my role as the
...Wait. She's not going to be the Goddess of Sparkly Fairy Lights instead of the Goddess of Light? It'll be all flashy and glittery? That's weird no matter how you look at it! She'd attract attention, sure, but all the wrong kind!
I stared at Dietlinde blankly. Wilfried and Charlotte were both equally stunned.
"If you watched My during the rehearsal, Lady Dietlinde, you would know that it draws rather negative attention. This is not something to do at the graduation ceremony, with so many other Aub and royals present."
"Oh my. Wilfried, won't you cooperate with me?"
He was putting on a shocked expression, but I was the one who was truly shocked. Was she seriously planning to do a sparkly fairy-light dedication dance?
"It's not really a matter of cooperating or not..."
"Oh my, Lady
Glowering at me with her deep green eyes, I hurriedly added words of explanation.
"No, that's not it at all... If you want to light up magic stones, all you need to do is pour magic power into them."
"Words like that won't fool me. To light up that many stones simultaneously, there must be some method. There must be a Magical Tool or something for lighting magic stones, right?"
...Wait. There's no such thing.
Dietlinde launched into an impassioned argument, using the example of the rainbow-colored magic stones in the hairpin I had worn, insisting it was impossible to achieve that effect by merely channeling magic power. I had to find some way to deflect or brush off the topic somehow.
While I was racking my brains, Charlotte whispered, "Lady Dietlinde, please keep this between us." "So there was a secret after all!" Dietlinde's eyes lit up and she leaned forward eagerly.
"The truth is, my older sister was in very poor condition that day during the rehearsal. She was in a state where she couldn't stop the magic power flowing out of her body on its own. So the magic stones merely absorbed her magic power—she was not wearing any Magical Tool to light them up."
"Then, fainting after the rehearsal..."
"Was because too much magic power flowed out."
...She wasn't lying, but it sure sounded like one. If this were true, it meant I was suffering from a rather terrifying illness.
Still suspicious, Dietlinde stared at me and Charlotte with narrowed eyes. Wilfried also seemed to think we needed to do something about this, and he nodded along with Charlotte's words before speaking up.
"Besides, Rozemyne has recovered somewhat and is no longer able to light up magic stones even during the dedication dance rehearsal. Moreover, if you truly wish to light them up, why not lower the quality of the stones a bit?"
...Wait, Brother Wilfried! Why are you encouraging the fairy-light goddess idea?!
Charlotte and I couldn't help exchanging a look, but Wilfried was seriously considering whether there was any way to make them light up within the limits of his own knowledge.
"If you put in too much magic power, the stones risk turning into gold dust. But lowering the quality should make them somewhat easier to light up, I would think..."
"What a wonderful idea, Wilfried."
...Aaagh, Lady Dietlinde is taking this seriously!
"Even if you lower the quality somewhat, lighting up that many magic stones would still require a considerable amount of magic power. I don't believe it is necessary to spend that much power on the dedication dance..."
Charlotte attempted to talk her out of it, but Dietlinde shook her head with a smile.
"I will practice several times to determine exactly how much I can lower the quality without turning them to gold dust, so it will be fine. Ah, could you show me the hair ornament you plan to wear at the graduation ceremony?"
At Dietlinde's enthusiastic request, Wilfried's Attendant sprang into action with practiced efficiency. After checking various details, they handed it over to Dietlinde's apprentice Attendant,
"I intend to debut this hair ornament at the next tea party where only high-ranking territories are present."
"I see. Then I must teach Dietlinde's Attendant how to wear it. Brünhilde."
When I called her name, Brünhilde nodded lightly and began instructing Martina. Having taught many Attendants—including
"By the way, Lady Rozemyne, your rainbow-colored magic stones are truly splendid. Perhaps I should ask my fiancé for some as well?"
"If you wait until after the Star Binding ceremony, he might be willing."
"Oh my, why is that?"
When Dietlinde blinked in surprise, I explained that Ferdinand had no workshop.
"Until the Star Binding ceremony, he will be staying in the guest quarters. Without a workshop, materials, or tools, there is nothing he can do. Perhaps you could have a research workshop prepared for Lord Ferdinand..."
"Ah, well. That is true, then."
I tried to tempt her by suggesting that if she wanted the rainbow-colored stone ornaments, she should have a workshop prepared right away, but I got no favorable response. What a shame.
"Speaking of research, how is the joint research with Ahrensbach coming along? They really ought to send us reports—we'll be in trouble otherwise."
"The other day, I submitted the second report to Professor Frauerlumme. She said she had already sent it to Ahrensbach, but was it not reported to you, Lady Dietlinde, as the next Aub?"
I looked to Charlotte and Wilfried, and they nodded, confirming that they had met with Frauerlumme to submit the second report.
"She sent it to Ahrensbach before even letting me see it..."
"It appears that the first report may not have reached Lord Ferdinand either. I would think it unlikely that a major territory like Ahrensbach would have negligent officials, but if possible, I would appreciate it if you, Lady Dietlinde, as the next Aub, could look into it."
I added that it might just be a simple misunderstanding, and Dietlinde nodded firmly.
"I shall have it investigated. After all, this joint research will be announced as the work of Lord Ferdinand's disciple. My fiancé's reputation is tied to my own reputation. Please do not do anything during the joint research that would tarnish Lord Ferdinand's reputation."
"To ensure Lord Ferdinand's input is fully reflected, I will have
"Yes, please do that."
...Lady Dietlinde's way of speaking is irritating, but this might resolve the report issue, and I now have a pretext for sending frequent letters. All things considered, it turned out all right, I suppose?
I was feeling mildly satisfied that I had gotten a verbal commitment when Wilfried glanced at Dietlinde and her entourage and spoke up.
"Lady Dietlinde, it seems my uncle went to Ahrensbach to serve as
Wilfried's question was designed to probe whether Dietlinde knew about Letizia's relationship with the royal family. I noticed a slight tension among her attendants, but Dietlinde merely placed her hand against her cheek and tilted her head.
"I don't have much interaction with Letizia, so I don't know how she's doing. I moved to the Royal Academy right when winter socializing began, and according to his letters, Lord Ferdinand seems to be hard at work with administrative duties. I doubt he has the leisure to serve as Letizia's guardian."
She had no interaction with Letizia and didn't know the true reason Ferdinand had gone to Ahrensbach as her guardian. Dietlinde clearly had no idea she was only a transitional Aub. Wilfried, seeming to have realized this, gazed at Dietlinde with a concerned look.
"But rather than that, please look at this. It was a gift given to Lancezenerve when he visited Ahrensbach this summer..."
From there, it was an endless stream of Ahrensbach boasting and Ferdinand boasting and someone else boasting, capped off with the sentiment, "And as the next Aub who will preside over all of them, I will be..." This went on for quite some time.
What was demanded of us was praise for Dietlinde, advice on how to strengthen Ahrensbach's influence, and our cooperation.
At the very least, nothing about Ehrenfest's purge came from Dietlinde's mouth, nor were there any probing questions. It felt as though information was completely compartmentalized between
"...That was exhausting."
The moment I returned to the dormitory, those were the first words out of my mouth. It was the kind of tea party where you were expected to simply flatter and build up the other side. Since it was a private gathering with no one from other territories present, Ehrenfest was treated as entirely beneath them, and the party proceeded entirely according to Dietlinde's wishes. I was genuinely exhausted.
When she shamelessly bragged about the Ferdinand legends she had collected from fellow students at the Royal Academy and those from her own territory, I had to restrain myself from shouting, "Lord Ferdinand is still a member of Ehrenfest!"
"I was on guard, wondering whether she might have learned a bit more about Ehrenfest's situation and would try to probe us, but that didn't happen at all."
"Charlotte, Lady Dietlinde didn't seem to know anything, but there were moments when tension rippled through her attendants. Some among them appear to know quite a bit."
At my words, Wilfried's expression clouded and he let out a sigh.
"I know it's not our concern, but I do worry about Lady Dietlinde. Will she really be all right becoming the next Aub with such limited information?"
"She may be deliberately being kept in the dark until Letizia comes of age."
Looking at those attendants, it seemed almost intentional—the deliberate restriction of information. Whether it was the wish of the Aub of Ahrensbach or the doing of Georgine, I couldn't say.
"I would think learning the truth later would be even more frightening..."
"That is something for the people of Ahrensbach to worry about. As long as Lord Ferdinand suffers no disadvantage, it is not our place to meddle."
I said this with a sigh, and Wilfried glared at me with his deep green eyes—so like Dietlinde's.
"...Rozemyne, that's rather cold of you. Don't you worry about Lady Dietlinde?"
He was saying that Dietlinde reminded him of himself—kept in the dark, manipulated by those around him, and ultimately left with a stain on his reputation. But my heart, thoroughly drained from today's reception, was completely unmoved. The fact that I didn't even reply "Not particularly" showed admirable restraint on my part.
"Lady Dietlinde has been announced as the next Aub right before her coming-of-age ceremony, she has numerous attendants, yet she is still being kept in the dark. That can only mean Ahrensbach wants it that way. Rather than worrying about Dietlinde, I am far more concerned about Lord Ferdinand, who might face collateral punishment if Dietlinde does something."
"My uncle will manage. He has the ability to handle it."
Wilfried worried about Dietlinde but not about Ferdinand, and that irritated me.
"...He has few people he can trust, no proper environment for creating Magical Tools, and he must protect Lady Letizia. Lord Ferdinand is not in the same position he was in when he was in Ehrenfest. If anything, Brother Wilfried, I find you to be the cold one."
When it came to Ferdinand, I would much rather have Wilfried worry about their uncle than about some troublesome person who offered no real connection or benefit.
As Wilfried and I glared at each other, Charlotte let out a deep sigh.
"Aren't you both just worried about different people? Neither of you is cold. Isn't this pointless disagreement born of fatigue?"
"Charlotte..."
"You're right. I'm sorry."
Admonished by our younger sister, Wilfried and I apologized to each other. Then we had our Attendants brew tea and settled down to review today's tea party while calming our nerves.
"The fact that Dietlinde, who is being kept in the dark, is so prominently on display only serves to obscure what is really going on behind the scenes—Georgine's schemes and machinations. This is a serious problem for Ehrenfest."
I was reminded anew that all I had done was accompany Dietlinde through her bragging, gaining virtually nothing useful in terms of intelligence on Ahrensbach. I felt my fatigue increasing.
And before I could recover from the exhaustion of the cousins' meeting, I had to attend another tea party—one attended by lower-ranking territories. I masked my gloomy mood with a smile and went.
The confection exchange was the usual round of flattery, and I was once again pressed for recipes. So I mentioned that
"You use local specialty products...? How delightful. I shall have our cooks make it at once."
"Lady Rozemyne, you seem to be on quite good terms with Dunkelfelger. You are even conducting joint research together..."
"Immerdinck had requested to participate in the joint research, but was turned down. We had hoped to be of use..."
Joint research with a major territory was something every territory was interested in. Unlike the tea party with only lower-ranking territories, it was at least better than listening to gossip about my adoptive father, but it was tiresome to hear them go on about being unable to participate.
"I hope we find a study we can work on together someday."
I ended the joint research conversation with a smile, then recommended Ehrenfest's books. Some of those present had already borrowed new works from Charlotte.
"I heard Charlotte lent Ruelradi of Jüsbrenner some books. Have you read them yet?"
"Yes, she lent them to me. I read the Royal Academy romance novel last year and enjoyed it immensely, so I was looking forward to this year's as well."
Ruelradi, a high-ranking noble from Jüsbrenner—the tenth-ranked territory—was attending the tea party in place of her territory's Aub candidate. As she spoke about the romance novel, everyone's attention shifted toward the topic. I was relieved by this, but then Ruelradi looked at me with sparkling eyes.
"Lady Rozemyne, what kind of romance do you and your fiancé Lord Wilfried enjoy? Surely it must be as wonderful as a novel, yes?"
Surrounded by expectant gazes, I was at a loss for words.
"...What Brother Wilfried and I share is a familial affection. It is not the sort of romance you could write into a novel. However, since we will be married and become family, I believe gentle feelings are important as well. My mother always said that while novels need their peaks and valleys, a peaceful life is best for one's own."
I thought this would finally deflect their interest, but Ruelradi pressed further.
"My goodness, and you say it is not a romance worthy of a novel, when you receive even such a hair ornament as that? Surely that cannot be true."
"It is a wonderful ornament, isn't it? With that many rainbow-colored magic stones set into it. The depth of his affection is plain to see."
Since the trend of giving hair ornaments at graduation ceremonies had begun among royals and high-ranking territories, hair ornaments were becoming the objects of aspiration that lower- and mid-ranking territories imagined receiving from their lovers.
...I had no idea about any of that. Measuring affection by the splendor of a gifted hair ornament... There was absolutely no way I could say it was actually from Ferdinand, my guardian, rather than Wilfried, my fiancé.
Thinking this, but trying to stay consistent with what I had told others, I explained that the rainbow-colored stone hairpin had been a gift from all my guardians. It was a blow to a young girl's fantasies, but I needed to spread the word that Ferdinand had designed it—otherwise, things could go very wrong if Dietlinde's hair ornament project failed.
"This hair ornament was prepared by all my guardians with rainbow-colored magic stones, designed by my guardian Lord Ferdinand, and gifted to me by Brother Wilfried. It is not from Brother Wilfried alone."
"To think you would receive something so precious and yet still be made to serve at the
My adoptive father was being treated as the villain in every scenario. I was growing tired of correcting them.
"I do not know what temples are like in other territories, but in Ehrenfest, religious rites are taken very seriously. Not just I, but Brother Wilfried and Charlotte also visit the Temple regularly, and the Aub herself makes her way there as well."
"The Aub of Ehrenfest visiting the Temple? That is inconceivable. Something so filthy..."
...Somehow, this was going in a completely different direction from what I had intended.
"The Temple conducts the dedication ceremonies. If the Small Holy Cups distributed to the giebs and the Holy Cups used to fill the domain are not filled with magic power, the harvest yields will not increase. Since blue priests and Shrine Maidens transferred from the Temple to the Central Temple, the Temple has been short on magic power, and the Aub candidates have been filling in the gaps."
I added that Brother Wilfried and Charlotte also traveled to villages for the Prayer Ceremony and the Harvest Festival.
"If you are struggling due to low harvest yields, perhaps your Aub candidates could assist."
"Going to the Temple or the villages? Something so..."
Seeing the disgust on their faces, I was growing increasingly exasperated with repeating the same thing over and over with a smile. It was tiresome to be criticized by people who knew nothing of the difficulty or importance of religious rites.
I was also frustrated that they refused to listen to the efforts of Wilfried and Charlotte, who had worked so hard from a young age to become substitutes for me when I was struggling to handle magic power.
"Hey, Lady Rozemyne. I would rather talk about the joint research than the Temple. How exactly do you conduct research with such a major territory?"
When the Immerdinck Aub candidate said this to me, I shrugged lightly.
"The research with Dunkelfelger involves examining religious rites that you all seem to dislike. Are you truly interested?"
"If the rites are performed at the Royal Academy rather than at the Temple, there is less of that sense of revulsion. Since they involve practical exercises to obtain divine blessings..."
...Oh, I see. It's fine as long as it's not at the Temple?
I was muttering complaints about the Immerdinck Aub candidate in my head when a sudden idea struck me.
...That's it. I've thought of something good.
"As part of the joint research with Dunkelfelger, there is an opportunity to observe Ehrenfest's religious rites. I would need Dunkelfelger's permission first, of course, but would you be interested in participating?"
"My goodness, would you really allow us to join?"
The Immerdinck Aub candidate, who had been persistently pleading to join the joint research, broke into a radiant smile. "Lady Rozemyne, you are truly so kind," she said, then grumbled that all her complaints to Charlotte had been futile.
"If Immerdinck is allowed, I would like to participate as well."
"If men can participate as well, I will speak to the Aub candidates."
"Um, Jüsbrenner does not have an Aub candidate, so please allow me to attend in their place."
As they all clamored for permission, I smiled warmly. It seemed that being associated with a joint research project was enough to make them willing to participate in religious rites as well.
"I will make the proposal to Dunkelfelger once their permission is obtained. But I encourage you all to make your own requests to Dunkelfelger as well. If your enthusiasm comes through, they may grant permission."
Dunkelfelger had managed to wring permission from the king through sheer enthusiasm and overwhelming numbers, ultimately sending Ferdinand to Ahrensbach. They would surely accept these women's earnest pleas as well. It would be more effective than me asking alone. Getting everyone to participate in the rites would be for the best.
...Oh, I also need to get permission from the royals.
Dietlinde finished the tea party in high spirits.
Rozemyne is utterly exhausted.
In that state, the tea party she attended was irritating to the max, which is how she came up with a great idea.
Next time: a little scheme.