Discussion with Egglantine

"I'm sorry for summoning you so suddenly."

After the greeting, I was invited to sit on a long sofa. Since Oswald immediately began preparing a Magical Tool to prevent eavesdropping within a designated range, Father, who was serving as my guard, exchanged a worried glance with me before moving back to a distance alongside Richarla.

Egglantine sat on the long sofa directly across from me, having dismissed her retainers, and stared straight at me. Apparently Anastasius had also gone to attend the graduation ceremony, so the only person to speak with was Egglantine herself.

"Lady Rozemyne, we don't have much time. Would you mind if I asked you directly?"

It would be far more troublesome if she used roundabout riddles that I might misinterpret or talk past, so her directness was truly a relief. I nodded. "Of course."

At lunch, the High Priest and Chief Priest of the Central Temple had declared that the magic circle was for selecting the Zent, and the place had erupted into chaos, she explained. Some of the veteran retainers argued that Trauerqual, who had worked so hard all this time, should receive the Grutrissheit. Others, having seen Detlinde's behavior at the ceremony, were worried about her becoming Zent. On top of that, some were claiming it was all Ferdinand's conspiracy—that if he could no longer control Rozemyne of Ehrenfest, he would next try to control Detlinde.

"Many opinions were raised, but Trauerqual stated that the Grutrissheit is essential for governing Yurgenschmidt, that he has no intention of taking it away should Lady Detlinde truly obtain it, and that he would willingly hand over the throne."

"Then why was Detlinde offered the throne, while Ferdinand, who was suspected, was sent to Ahrensbach?"

If the intent is to yield the throne to whoever holds the Grutrissheit, I couldn't understand why Ferdinand was saddled with strange suspicions.

"That can only be explained by the difference in territories. Ehrenfest was recognized for its contributions and would be treated henceforth as equivalent to a territory that participated in the civil war at the nextlord conference, but at the time it was a neutral middle territory. The response differs for the candidate of Ahrensbach, a great territory that had participated in the civil war, should they obtain the Grutrissheit."

Even if Ferdinand obtained the Grutrissheit and became Zent, it was unclear how many territories would ally with him. Moreover, in terms of supporting the Zent, Ehrenfest was considered unsuitable when considering rank, the number of nobles in the central government, and the territory's standing and attitude. Egglantine added that if Ferdinand obtained the Grutrissheit, there was a high likelihood that someone would attempt to seize it, and Yurgenschmidt would be plunged into chaos once more.

"After all, the civil war itself began when the First Prince, dissatisfied that the Second Prince had inherited the Grutrissheit, attacked to try and take it for himself."

However, even killing the Second Prince wouldn't have put the Grutrissheit in the First Prince's hands, and they suspected it might have been obtained by the Third Prince, who shared the same mother, and so they launched a struggle.

"Many family members and close companions were lost in the battles over the Grutrissheit. That is precisely why the royal family wishes to avoid conflict as much as possible. Even if Lady Detlinde were to obtain the Grutrissheit—with all her many concerns—Trauerqual apparently believes that if Ferdinand, who possesses such extensive knowledge, supported her as her husband, she could fulfill her duties as Zent."

…Please don't do that to him. Ferdinand-sama's eyes will go vacant and never come back.

"However, we don't know whether the Central Temple's claim is actually true. We need to gather information about that magic circle as urgently as possible. …Lady Rozemyne, is the Central Temple's statement correct?"

Egglantine's amber eyes fixed upon me intently. Meeting the gaze that was trying to see through lies and evasions, I offered a slight, polite noble's smile.

"I'm sorry, Lady Egglantine. The offering dance at the Coming of Age ceremony is a divine rite performed only within the Noble Academy and is not conducted in Ehrenfest."

At my answer, Egglantine let out a disappointed sigh. "So even Lady Rozemyne doesn't know…"

A small pang of guilt stirred in my chest for keeping secrets, but I wasn't lying. The offering dance is not performed at Ehrenfest's Coming of Age ceremony. Given the Holy Book's phrasing about "those who wish to become king," I suspected the magic circle was related to that, but I didn't know for certain. I hadn't looked into it, so I couldn't say anything definitive.

"However, the underground archives of the Noble Academy did contain records of various ceremonies. Ferdinand-sama, having read those, might know something."

Just as I said that, Oswald's voice announced, "Ferdinand-sama has arrived from Ahrensbach." We paused the conversation, and Egglantine left the range of the Magical Tool to exchange greetings with Ferdinand.

Then, having similarly dismissed his retainers, Ferdinand alone entered the range of the Magical Tool. Justus and Eckhart, who had accompanied Ferdinand, took positions beside Father, who was guarding me. Father and Eckhart, Richarla and Justus—two pairs of parent and child.

…I'm sure they're secretly exchanging information. Father was folding up a small piece of paper to give to Father, and Richarla had prepared something too.

As I watched the movements around me while thinking this, Ferdinand looked down at me with an expression that seemed to say, "Why are you here?" At Egglantine's invitation to sit beside her, I said, "If you'll excuse me," and sat down.

"Ferdinand-sama, how is Lady Detlinde's condition?"

"Apparently she lost consciousness due to Magic Power depletion. Since she was given a recovery medicine, she should gradually recover. I sincerely apologize on behalf of the Ahrensbach lord candidate for disrupting the important ceremony of the Coming of Age offering dance."

Ferdinand apologized for the sheer number of bewildering incidents—the bizarre hairstyle, the sparkling offering dance, the fall and loss of consciousness, the activation of an unknown magic circle.

"I tried to stop her as much as I could, but she would not listen. It was my failure to act."

As he spoke, Ferdinand produced the recording Magical Tool he had only brought that morning and began playing it back. In it, Ferdinand's voice could be heard pointing out that she was wearing five hair ornaments and instructing her to behave in a manner befitting royalty, to which Detlinde's voice replied irritably, "Then I should simply reduce the number of hair ornaments."

"I never imagined she would reduce the hair ornaments and add other decorations instead."

"Ferdinand-sama must have had a difficult morning."

When I blurted that out, Egglantine smiled wryly as well.

"Given the far greater incidents caused by Lady Detlinde's various actions, I don't think there will be much blame regarding that matter. Please rest easy."

At those words, Ferdinand slightly relaxed his shoulders, though he furrowed his brow instead.

"I was expecting a severe reprimand from the royal family for such a display of incompetence from Lady Detlinde… Was the inquiry about her condition merely a pretext to discuss matters concerning Rozemyne?"

"It is indeed about Lady Detlinde. The Central Temple's statement at lunch threw everything into confusion, and we needed any information we could get. I was told by Lady Rozemyne that you, as her guardian, Ferdinand-sama, are well-versed in the Temple's divine rites."

When Egglantine offered an apologetic smile, for some reason Ferdinand glared at me. His face clearly read: You said something unnecessary and dragged me into this.

"I only said that Ferdinand-sama knows more about such things than I do. Isn't that the truth?"

"…Let me hear exactly what happened."

With a sigh of resignation, I conveyed the story to Ferdinand, including the Central Temple's claims.

"Ferdinand-sama, are you aware of the magic circle that appeared on the stage during the offering dance?"

At Egglantine's question, Ferdinand slowly nodded. "…I know of it," he answered in a single sentence, then sealed his lips. When he showed no intention of saying anything further, Egglantine pressed on.

"The Central Temple is saying that the magic circle is for selecting the Zent…"

"Honestly, I cannot conceal my surprise that the Central Temple possesses such knowledge, given that they couldn't even properly read the Holy Book."

The people of the Central Temple, whose High Priest couldn't even read half of the Holy Book, couldn't possibly have seen the magic circle that appears at the very beginning of it. And yet, they had identified the purpose of a magic circle that had appeared for only a few seconds. I thought that was surprisingly well-informed.

"Ehrenfest's Temple also has wooden tablets with procedures for the Grey Priests to prepare for ceremonies, and copies of old Holy Books. Perhaps the Central Temple also has a Library with records about ceremonies."

"As you say, there are likely materials there that can be read even without Magic Power. I have no objection to that, but be silent."

As I was letting my thoughts wander to the Central Temple's Library—a place I had never entered—Ferdinand told me to shut up.

When I fell silent, Egglantine smiled slightly before her brow furrowed.

"Then, the Central Temple's statement is correct, and the magic circle is indeed for selecting the next Zent?"

"I cannot say it is entirely incorrect. But why are they asking us about this?"

At Ferdinand's words, Egglantine placed a hand against her cheek and said, "It is embarrassing, but none of the royal family are knowledgeable about divine rites." The royal family simply didn't have sufficient material to refute what the Central Temple had claimed, given their distance from it.

"Lady Rozemyne has gained the trust of the royal family as a High Priest who conducts genuine divine rites, having performed a ceremony at the Noble Academy."

"That is not the issue. I conveyed through Rozemyne that the underground archives of the Noble Academy's Library contain materials that the royal family and lord candidates should know about. Why hasn't the royal family acquired that knowledge, given that information was provided?"

When he glared at me as if to ask whether I had failed to relay the message, I shook my head vigorously.

"I definitely conveyed it! I went to the underground archives with the three princes, and I even helped with the modern translation."

"…I specifically told you never to enter those archives."

In trying to assert my innocence, I ended up exposing my own act of disobedience. I hurriedly added, "It was a royal order! I couldn't refuse!" It had been an act of force majeure.

"She assisted us because Lady Rozemyne is proficient in the ancient language. Please don't scold her."

"Rozemyne sees nothing but books. Only the royal family and a select few lord candidates are permitted to enter that archive. Once inside, there is no predicting to whom she might commit an act of disrespect. It would be best if she simply didn't enter."

Cornered by Sigiswald's half-hearted excuse and Anastasius's report, I couldn't refute Ferdinand's words and fell silent.

"But Prince Sigiswald and Prince Anastasius can barely read the ancient language either. What choice did they have? Lady Hannalore and I are also set to assist with reading materials during the spring lord conference."

When I explained that the princes could hardly read the ancient language, Ferdinand grimaced.

"And you'd be reading through everything with them… That will be a long road indeed."

"What do you mean, 'a long road'?"

"You always start from the top-left shelf and read through everything, don't you? The Temple Library, Karstedt's household library, the castle library, my bookshelves—you've done it everywhere. I believe the materials about that magic circle are on the lower shelves, so it would take you a considerable amount of time to reach them."

…He's right that I read from the beginning to go through all the materials, but I can't believe he'd noticed even that habit!

"In any case, the archive contains all the knowledge the next Zent will need. If you can't acquire ceremonial knowledge from the Temple, reading the materials in the archive is where you should start. If they truly believe it is necessary, they can surely learn the ancient language."

"The royal family doesn't have that kind of time…"

I recalled the King's complexion, which had been as grim as Ferdinand's due to the constant demands of Magic Power supply. It would indeed be difficult to find time for study.

"While running herself ragged to make use of the orphans, Rozemyne memorized the prayer words written on the wooden tablets in the Temple, read the Holy Book almost daily, and learned two to three seasons' worth of the ancient language in no time. Even granting that the royal family is busy, if they were to do as Rozemyne does and bring books into bed when resting, they could learn the ancient language."

Egglantine looked at me as if I were something strange. When I had been a blue Shrine Maiden Apprentice and needed to memorize the prayer words, I had spent every day glaring at those wooden tablets. It felt like ancient history now when I used to complain about how long the gods' names were.

"This time there truly isn't much time or information, so I will tell you: if you cannot read the necessary materials yourself, you won't even be able to understand how your information is being twisted. Being able to read the ancient language is an essential skill for the Zent. The Grutrissheit, said to have been granted by Mestionora, is probably older than the Holy Book."

At Ferdinand's remark, Egglantine's head snapped up. Now that he mentioned it, he was right. The Grutrissheit, which contains the method for becoming king, is naturally older than the Holy Book.

"That magic circle is for selecting Zent candidates. However, the Central Temple was wrong to claim that Lady Detlinde, who managed to make the magic circle appear during the offering dance, is the closest to the next Zent."

Ferdinand began explaining about the magic circle. Having only known that it was the one that appears in the Holy Book, I listened to his explanation.

"The offering dance is a divine rite in which the excellent royal family members and lord candidates who have studied at the Noble Academy are tested at the time of their Coming of Age to determine whether they possess sufficient Magic Power to become Zent."

While offering prayers to the gods and dancing the offering dance, one donates Magic Power, and the magic circle materializes. Apparently, anyone who possesses all attributes and has a suitable amount of Magic Power to activate the magic circle can erect a Pillar of Light.

"Only those who can erect a Pillar of Light may proceed to the next stage. She, who could not even activate it, has no qualifications as a candidate."

"Neither I nor Anastasius-sama were able to activate the magic circle either…"

Egglantine said that while looking at Ferdinand with a worried expression. If what no royal family member could do was accomplished by Detlinde, then the Central Temple's claim that "Detlinde is closer to the next Zent than the current royal family" would be correct.

"Praying to the gods and offering Magic Power during the offering dance is what matters above all else. Lady Detlinde was simply dancing while trying to release Magic Power to make the magic stones glow. Since no one else was doing such a thing, the magic circle simply didn't appear."

Ferdinand said that Detlinde's ability to illuminate the magic circle was a mere coincidence.

"The royal family should verify it for themselves. Fortunately, thanks to the joint research of Ehrenfest and Dunkelfelger, a method for increasing attributes has been published. Why not redo the ceremonies and rites of obtaining blessings, and try activating the magic circle yourselves?"

At Ferdinand's words, Egglantine murmured, "Dancing while offering Magic Power," as she gazed at me.

"Would it be possible to have the assistance of Ferdinand-sama and Lady Rozemyne, who are well-informed about ceremonies? Lady Rozemyne was even attempting to bestow a blessing during the practice sessions at the Noble Academy, wasn't she?"

At Egglantine's words, Ferdinand flatly refused. "There is no need for any more suspicious looks."

"If it is Rozemyne, who is accustomed to praying and possesses abundant Magic Power, she could make the magic circle appear far more easily than Lady Detlinde. However, that alone does not determine the next Zent. She would merely be a Zent candidate. What truly matters is what comes after…"

At Ferdinand's words, Egglantine murmured softly, "What comes after?" But he did not answer that question, and instead continued speaking about the scenario in which I illuminated the magic circle.

"Even if Rozemyne were put forward as the next Zent, you know that Ehrenfest is unsuitable in terms of supporting the Zent. Moreover, if the verification of the offering dance were conducted on a large scale and Zent candidates began emerging one after another from lord candidates across the various territories, it would only sow the seeds of further unrest. Please carry out the verification of the offering dance among the royal family alone."

Egglantine stared at the firmly dismissive Ferdinand, her gaze searching for words. Then, somewhat hesitantly, she spoke.

"How do you view the claim of those who say you are searching for the Grutrissheit through Lady Rozemyne or Lady Detlinde, and that you are aiming for the seat of Zent?"

"If they find me suspicious, then having me sent to Ahrensbach has only resulted in Lady Detlinde producing an unknown magic circle. I'm sure the Knight Commander will have more to say along those lines."

Ferdinand answered in a calm, composed tone. His neatly composed profile irritated me. He had endured so much to go to Ahrensbach, and now having his loyalty questioned again—there was no way he wouldn't be furious.

"I was thinking that some truly absurd things are said in the vicinity of the Zent. Despite having once refused the offer of becoming Aub Ahrensbach, Ferdinand-sama went there because of a royal order, didn't he?"

When I gave my candid opinion, Egglantine's eyes widened—perhaps I had been too candid. I was glad I had held back the words "You seem to have forgotten that very conveniently."

"Rozemyne, I told you to keep quiet."

Ferdinand narrowed his eyes and shot me a sharp glare. However, I had no intention of staying silent.

"If I stay silent, the royal family will never understand our situation or our feelings. Rather than keeping cool composure while enduring in silence and letting resentment and bitterness build up, it is better to speak openly about everything. Was it not you, Ferdinand-sama, who taught me to lay everything bare during negotiations?"

When I glared right back at him, Ferdinand tried once more to stop me, saying, "That may be true, but it is disrespectful to the royal family."

"Did you not accept the royal order to dispel these suspicions, even knowing it might break your final promise to your father? And yet, if the royal family and those around them continue to suspect your loyalty, then what exactly did Ferdinand-sama accept the royal order for?"

Ferdinand fell silent as if at a loss for words, then tried to stop me again: "Rozemyne, stop. Forget about me…"

"That's exactly why I'm saying this. Without conveying our situation, there's no way they would consider it. It is important for people to communicate their wishes to each other directly, without intermediaries. Isn't that right, Lady Egglantine?"

At my words, Egglantine nodded firmly. "Yes, it is very important," she smiled.

"If Ferdinand-sama has his reasons, please do tell me. Perhaps I can offer some small assistance."

"I don't know what evidence the royal family or the Knight Commander has, or how exactly they suspect him, but Ferdinand-sama's interest lies in research, and what he desires is research time and his own workshop. Suspecting him is pointless. He even said he would prefer to sequester himself in his own workshop and live a life devoted entirely to research."

When I insisted that he is happiest when shut away in the Temple workshop, Egglantine giggled.

"Ferdinand-sama, is what Lady Rozemyne says true?"

Steadily gazed upon by Egglantine, Ferdinand pinched my cheek firmly, saying, "You talk too much," and then let out a sigh of resignation.

"Whether she believes it or not is the royal family's prerogative, but I have absolutely no intention of aiming for the Zent."

Whether Egglantine believed him or not, I couldn't be sure about the others. But having even one person in the royal family who understood, even a little, should make a significant difference.

"Ferdinand-sama, who is knowledgeable about many different ceremonies, did you never think about attempting to obtain the Grutrissheit?"

At Egglantine's earnest question, Ferdinand's face twisted into a bitterly bitter smile.

"I have absolutely no intention of obtaining the Grutrissheit. I do not wish to live as a Zent who sacrifices everything for Yurgenschmidt."

"I understand. I understand. If you became Zent, your duties would be so demanding that your research time would decrease, wouldn't it?"

For me, it would be the same as losing my reading time. When I agreed with Ferdinand's position wholeheartedly, he gave me a look of extreme distaste, saying, "Don't lump yourself in with me."

"Eh? Is there another reason besides less research time?"

"There is, but it doesn't matter anymore."

…If it doesn't matter anymore, that means it wasn't that big a reason in the first place, right?

A discussion with Egglantine during the graduation ceremony.

Ferdinand, holding his head over Rozemyne's revelations.

But it seemed to get through to Egglantine.

Next time, Hannalore and I return to Ehrenfest after exchanging books.