The book promotion I'd included on a whim from the shelf had led to a "how splendid" that was practically the plum dumpling treatment, but praise was still praise.
...How splendid. Heh heh.
Savoring the memory of
"Lady
"Yes. I received such splendid praise, you see. Ferdinand doesn't hand out 'how splendid' unless someone achieves perfect scores in all written exams on the first day of the dormitory, or completes lectures at the fastest possible pace without ever letting their grades slip. I thought I'd only ever be able to get his praise through letters once he went to
I was expecting a warm "well, that's wonderful" sort of response, but the First Wife and Hannalore's expressions stiffened.
"Whatever is the matter?"
"...No. I was simply surprised by how strict the instruction was."
The First Wife answered with a strained smile, squeezing the words out. It wasn't a new thing, so my senses had long since gone numb, but Ferdinand's instruction was apparently not "how splendid" but rather "how terribly strict."
...Oh, she might be thinking I'm being mistreated again!
"A-although it might sound harsh, once you get used to it, it's perfectly fine! Before I went to Ahrensbach, he let me read brand-new books I'd never read before as I finished each assignment — perhaps he was reluctant to part with me. Ferdinand is actually very kind!"
Just as I was trying my best to appeal Ferdinand's kindness — strict, but not scary, really — my Adoptive Father chuckled and gave a small wave.
"Reading those books you'd never read before was the next assignment, so unless you're the sort who sees that as a reward, you'd have a hard time keeping up with Ferdinand's guidance."
...What!? After I finished a practical assignment, he'd tell me "if you don't finish reading this by tomorrow, the next one starts" and hand it over — so I thought they were rewards from Ferdinand, but they were actually assignments!?
Eyes widening at this shocking revelation I was learning for the first time, I spotted a group in black cloaks approaching us. Leading them was
"Oh my, it seems the royalty have arrived. Once we've finished our greetings, let us take our leave."
The First Wife and Hannalore stood to cede the space to the royalty. At that moment, Anastasius swiftly raised a hand.
"Wait. I have something to say to
Even after completing their greetings, the two from Dunkelfelger were not permitted to leave and had to sit back down once more. At the round table, Anastasius had my Adoptive Father on his right and the First Wife on his left. I sat with my Adoptive Father to my left and Hannalore to my right.
"Rozemyne, I'm sorry to ask, but can you deploy that wind barrier? On top of that, use the Magical Tool that prevents eavesdropping within a designated range. You lot, step back."
While Anastasius had his Attendants prepare the Magical Tool, I deployed
"The guard knights too?"
"...Yes. You should be able to guess why."
He was referring to the Central Knights who had intruded into the Ditter the other day. The reports seemed to have been properly filed, as both the First Wife and my Adoptive Father immediately agreed and had their retainers step back. Seeing that all the retainers had left, the First Wife spoke up.
"This is quite the security, but whatever is the topic of discussion?"
"First, I have some grievances to air. I believe I've warned the parties involved numerous times, yet I've seen absolutely no improvement. I was debating whether to summon them or not, and decided to wait until the guardians came for the Interduchy Tournament."
And apparently, today, having just finished his conversation with
...So, essentially, a parent-teacher conference for problem children? Oh, come to think of it, last year there was a summons over the Ternisbefallen incident, and it was Ferdinand who came instead of my Adoptive Father. How nostalgic.
Last year felt like it was an eternity ago. Lost in nostalgia, I looked around and saw that my Adoptive Father, the First Wife, and Hannalore all had stiff expressions and tensed bodies in anticipation of the royal reprimand about to begin. The tension in the air made me acutely aware of how out of place I was, and I quickly composed my features into something solemn.
"As you surely already understand, Dunkelfelger and Ehrenfest have been causing far too many problems. Even if the
Before our enrollment, there had been no disputes between Dunkelfelger and Ehrenfest, nor had any feuds involved multiple duchies. Additionally, Ehrenfest had never risen so abruptly in rankings, so the atmosphere among the middle and lower duchies hadn't been nearly as tense.
"Prince Anastasius, may I ask a question?"
"What is it?"
I received a look that clearly said "don't interrupt," but I had gotten permission.
"Are the disputes between Dunkelfelger and Ehrenfest about Ditter?"
"What else could they be?"
"I cannot accept being reprimanded for that."
My Adoptive Father hurried to restrain me. "Rozemyne, don't talk back to royalty!" But I shook my head while meeting his gaze.
"Adoptive Father, whether it's royalty or an upper duchy, we need to at least state our position, or it won't reach them. Because we stay silent no matter what's said, misunderstandings spread needlessly and rumors are treated as truth. I think it's important to make our case before someone else's interpretation takes hold, and I believe I'm being selective about whom I address."
Looking around at the members present as I said this, my Adoptive Father let out something between a shriek and a cry. "You're being selective, and your target is royalty and Dunkelfelger!?"
"Yes. Prince Anastasius has experience with not being able to connect with Lady Eglantine because he communicated only through intermediaries rather than directly. And we've just come to understand with Dunkelfelger's First Wife the importance of sharing information and premises, haven't we?"
I wasn't going to be this frank with just anyone. My standards might differ from my Adoptive Father's, but I believed I was choosing someone with whom a direct conversation was feasible. I won't deny that my judgment might be off.
"Rozemyne, there may be some merit to what you're saying, but please be more mindful of Ehrenfest's position."
"If Prince Anastasius went through the trouble of excluding the retainers, it's because he wants candid opinions, isn't it? If he wanted us to stay quiet out of consideration for our positions, there would be no need to arrange a setting like this."
I pointed to the space divided by the Magical Tool and Schutzaria's barrier. Anastasius looked like his head was about to burst, then cast a sympathetic gaze toward my Adoptive Father.
"Aub Ehrenfest. I understand your feelings all too well. But as Rozemyne said, what I'm looking for is a candid opinion. So, Rozemyne — you don't accept the reprimand?"
"Neither I nor Lady Hannalore have ever said or thought that we wanted to participate in Ditter. Have we, Lady Hannalore?"
When I asked for her agreement, Hannalore flinched before nodding several times. "I have never wished for a Ditter."
"During our first year, Prince Anastasius, you should be well aware — over the management of Schwartz and the others, Lady
In the second year, Aub Dunkelfelger insisted we do a Ditter if we wanted printing rights, and it resulted in a one-on-one between Ferdinand and
"Lady Hannalore and I have basically just been caught up in all of this. If you wish to reprimand someone, then please reprimard the Dunkelfelger men who use their position as an upper duchy to force Ehrenfest — who cannot refuse — into Ditter."
Anastasius looked at Dunkelfelger's First Wife with an indescribable expression and said weakly, "From now on, refuse."
"Yes. We had always been told not to defy upper duchies, but I've just received permission from the First Wife to refuse Ditter as well. Ehrenfest will never accept a Ditter again. Please rest assured."
Puffing out my chest and saying, "See? I have royal permission now, so it's perfectly fine, Adoptive Father," I turned to him with a smile — but he was frozen with his head in his hands. With permission to refuse now granted from both the royalty and the First Wife, this should have been cause for celebration, so why was he holding his head?
"Ah, and also — this isn't just about Ehrenfest, but a request on behalf of the lower duchies — could the royalty please not so easily grant permission to use the Royal Academy's training grounds for Ditters other than lectures? If you don't at least show some consideration by hearing the lower duchies' circumstances before granting permission, the lower duchies can't refuse. It would be immensely helpful if you could confirm our intentions beforehand rather than delivering reprimand-tinged arbitration after the fact."
Dunkelfelger, desperate to hold a Ditter, would set up the venue, and Luegen, who held the most power among the knights, would gleefully go to the royalty for permission. The opinions of the lower duchies, who didn't want to fight at all, never factored into this.
"Aub Ehrenfest. Rozemyne says this, but would the lower duchies truly benefit from having their intentions confirmed beforehand?"
"...That would indeed help. Even if our opinions were heard, given the relationship with upper duchies, we might still end up accepting the fight without being able to speak honestly. But at the very least, we would feel that the royalty are protecting us, and we would be grateful for the attitude of wanting to hear our thoughts."
Anastasius nodded at my Adoptive Father's response. "Hmm. I'll take that into consideration." With this, the number of Ditter victims should decrease, if only a little.
"Also, I must apologize for the incident with the Central Knights intruding into the Ditter. Those knights acted on their own initiative, claiming that the royalty should acquire a saint for the Zent's sake. However, it is also true that
But Anastasius sighed, saying he couldn't understand the reason why three knights had suddenly committed such an outrage. They had been at the core of the Central Knights and were among the three the King trusted most, so the one most shaken by their rampage was the King himself.
At the mention of the intruding knights, I exchanged a glance with my Adoptive Father. This was the perfect opportunity to bring up Trug.
"Prince Anastasius, are you familiar with a plant called Trug?"
"Rozemyne! Later is fine!"
My Adoptive Father said this upon seeing that the two from Dunkelfelger were present. But I shook my head.
"I think now is the only time. If the Zent can no longer trust the Central Knights and something major happens in
Given their swift response when they were attacked last year and the fact that they had received a blessing through dance, I believed it would be best to let Dunkelfelger know the full situation. The person present here wasn't an Aub who turned everything into Ditter, but rather a First Wife who had to scramble to clean up after the men and handle preparations.
"I'm not very well-versed in Trug myself, so I'll leave the explanation to my Adoptive Father."
Not knowing how much about Ehrenfest's internal affairs I could share, I offered an inoffensive reason before ceding the floor.
"I've never heard of anything called Trug. Does Dunkelfelger know of it?"
"No, I don't. What sort of plant is it?"
Receiving the gazes of the First Wife and Prince Anastasius, my Adoptive Father — who had been clutching his stomach — seemed to steel himself and raised his head.
"Trug is a dangerous plant that, when dried and burned, causes memory confusion, hallucinations, and a sense of euphoria, accompanied by a sickly sweet scent. ...After the Ditter intrusion, a knight apprentice who greeted Prince Anastasius reported that the captured knights smelled more of Trug than anything else. Given that it was used among the Central Knights, we believe it is highly likely that someone at the heart of the Central administration is using Trug."
Both Anastasius and the First Wife's eyes went wide.
"Tell us everything you know about Trug, Aub Ehrenfest!"
Pressed for details with such force, my Adoptive Father nevertheless shook his head slowly.
"Ehrenfest doesn't have detailed information either. Within Ehrenfest, traitors who colluded with another duchy used it at their secret meeting place, and the memories that would have served as proof of their betrayal were lost. The knight apprentice who noticed it this time had been summoned to that meeting along with his parents but left immediately, citing his status as a minor. He testified that even though it was summer, the fireplace was lit and a sickly sweet smell filled the entire room. A scholar, comparing this testimony with the memory confusion observed in the traitors, realized it might be Trug."
The scholar who had made the discovery was over fifty, and had apparently learned about it from a retired herbalism instructor who had taught during the scholar's time at the Royal Academy.
"He told us, 'It probably isn't found around here and won't be used, but remember it.' We don't know its place of origin, and he said it doesn't exist in Ehrenfest. You could try asking other scholars older than him who took lectures on rare herbs, or researching it from the vast Central archives. Ehrenfest has no further information."
Anastasius nodded, saying "I see," then fixed my Adoptive Father with a hard stare.
"Aub Ehrenfest, you said the traitors colluded with another duchy. Which duchy was it? That would be the most important information."
Tension rippled through the room. After several seconds of silence, my Adoptive Father spoke.
"...It was Ahrensbach, where my sister
With this answer, the identity of the Ahrensbach party that had connections with Ehrenfest and could attempt rebellion became clear. A heavy silence spread.
"Prince Anastasius, that is all the information I can provide."
"...I thank you for your cooperation. Ehrenfest's contributions are truly beyond measure."
Anastasius let out a soft breath. He then told us that thanks to the Magic Power obtained from the recent Dedication Ritual, many important Magical Tools had become operational. Having poured Magic Power into various places over the past few days, even the Zent had been able to rest a little.
"My father has been grateful to Ehrenfest for faithfully upholding the rituals with Rozemyne. If you wished, your ranking could rise considerably next year... but Aub Ehrenfest, what do you think?"
Anastasius stared intently at my Adoptive Father with his grey eyes — calm and stern, as if gauging whether he could give the proper response as Aub Ehrenfest. My Adoptive Father met the prince's gaze with his own deep green eyes and spoke.
"...I would like to maintain the current ranking, please. As pointed out by both the royalty and Dunkelfelger, Ehrenfest still has almost no nobles capable of acting as an upper duchy. Aside from Ferdinand, who kept Ehrenfest at arm's length while dealing with upper duchies, and Rozemyne and her retainers, who were educated by him — there's no one."
If the ranking rose, even more would be expected of them as an upper duchy, but Ehrenfest was already struggling to unite internally and had no leeway to devote resources to diplomacy, my Adoptive Father explained.
"I would like Ehrenfest's contribution to take the form of compensating for the part where we were unable to support the Zent during the previous civil conflict."
"...Not a bad proposal. I'll bring it back and discuss it with the Zent."
At the next Lord's Conference, in exchange for not raising their ranking, Anastasius lightly nodded in agreement to my Adoptive Father's wish for Ehrenfest to be treated the same as the duchies that had been on the winning side of the civil conflict going forward.
"Also, this is a request from the royalty — during the Lord's Conference, I'd like Hannalore and Rozemyne to come to the Royal Academy's library daily."
The royalty needed to visit the library during that period and wanted our cooperation as the key managers.
"I don't mind, but aren't you going to change the key managers to Central senior scholars?"
"That was the original plan, but we've concluded that since we no longer need to suspect you of ill will or hostility, and since you don't participate in the Lord's Conference, entrusting the task to you would be best. Will you help?"
The Central Knights had been manipulated by Trug. They couldn't rule out the possibility that scholars might be affected in the same way next. As I firmly agreed, saying "Leave it to us," Hannalore, who had been pondering, also gave a small nod.
"There are rituals I'd like to investigate in detail, and while I'm not as proficient in ancient language as Lady Rozemyne, if I can be of service to the royalty, I would be happy to cooperate."
Hearing our responses, Anastasius turned to the guardians. My Adoptive Father and the First Wife both nodded in agreement.
"Prince Anastasius — it's all right for me to enter the archives too, correct?"
That was the most important question. As I asked eagerly, Anastasius fixed my Adoptive Father with a flat stare and then nodded. "Of course."
"During the Lord's Conference, I won't need to personally drag you out — your guardian will be able to handle that role."
Having been reminded of the time I'd locked myself in the archives without any retainers, causing trouble for two princes, I gasped, and my Adoptive Father turned pale and began apologizing profusely.
"I've heard that the book-obsessed girl caused you two princes great trouble and inconvenience. I am truly sorry. While we do our best to keep her in check, the impact of being missing one of the five chief gods who support Ehrenfest from the Supreme God is simply too great. We desperately pray for guidance on how to soothe
At my Adoptive Father's profuse apologies, Anastasius looked at me with an incredibly bitter expression and murmured, "So Ferdinand holds the reins on this one."
...Hm? What does that mean?
Unlike me, who tilted my head in confusion, Anastasius and my Adoptive Father seemed to understand each other perfectly. They both pressed their foreheads while looking at me.
"I see. If that's the case, I understand your reasoning — but that's beyond anyone's ability to control. According to the scholars who went to Ahrensbach ahead of us, that one has been handling the workload remarkably well on her own. They were saying the day Ahrensbach's situation improves was drawing near."
Anastasius shook his head, saying it would be troublesome if Ahrensbach collapsed. Apparently, the Gate in Ahrensbach's territory was the only one currently open. With the Glutrisheit lost, they couldn't open any other Gates, and trade with foreign countries was being handled entirely by Ahrensbach. Conversely, they couldn't close the Gate even if something went wrong.
"Are there problems with other countries as well?"
"...I do worry that a dispute with Lanzeneve might arise."
At the way Anastasius carefully chose his words, I recalled the information from Ferdinand's letter about a princess from
"This may not have much to do with you, but..."
Certainly, a princess arriving at Adalgisa's villa had nothing to do with me or Ehrenfest directly. But Ferdinand, who was of Adalgisa, was in Ahrensbach serving as the point of contact. It wasn't entirely unrelated.
"Ferdinand is in Ahrensbach, and Ehrenfest is not without connection. If anything happens, please let us know. I will absolutely go to help Ferdinand."
"If you go, it will only escalate the situation!"
For some reason, Anastasius and my Adoptive Father spoke in unison.
Anastasius appears. Including the two from Dunkelfelger who couldn't escape and got caught, it was quite the important discussion. Everyone whose head hurt in various ways because of Rozemyne, who spilled everything because sharing information is important. Next time: socializing with other duchies.