My name is
Georgine proposed marrying her daughter
Georgine began rallying the forces that opposed the First Wife around Wolfram. My mother hailed from Frewartag, which made it easier for me to side with Georgine's faction rather than the First Wife's. There was also the fact that my elder sister
...My sister chose to become a knight because she finds it difficult to interact with others and gather information.
My sister has a stern face and an intimidating gaze—at first glance, she looks perfectly suited to be a knight. But in truth, she's introverted and timid. She often keeps her distance and stares from afar, which makes her appear menacing, and our father always said she "lacks charm."
On top of the headwinds our mother's Frewartag origins already caused even for archnobles, my sister's appearance and personality made things even worse for her. I tried my best to be cheerful, determined never to become like her.
Perhaps my efforts bore fruit. Georgine said, "A straightforward and hardworking child is so endearing. You should become an Attendant," and appointed me as an Attendant to Lady Dietlinde.
In truth, I had intended to become a scholar and serve as a close retainer to Wolfram—the next Aub candidate. But I was not so foolish as to say so out loud. I accepted Georgine's offer with a smile and became Lady Dietlinde's novice Attendant.
However, my appointment as Lady Dietlinde's close retainer had the effect of minimizing the flow of information about Georgine to my father. I think Georgine's strategy was brilliant—she made it look as though she was elevating someone to serve a lord candidate's close retainer, while actually preventing information leaks and maneuvering so that no one could complain. But even now, my father occasionally makes a frustrated face and mutters, "That Chameleon of Ehrenfest," under his breath.
And just when everyone had begun to believe
Naturally, Ahrensbach was thrown into chaos. They could not bring Alstede, who had married into an archnoble family, back into the lord's line. Rather than making Dietlinde the next Aub, the First Wife resolved to adopt her own granddaughter as an adopted daughter and brought
And so the power that had been tilting toward Georgine appeared to swing back to the First Wife. Yet, shortly after Letizia's arrival, the First Wife's health rapidly declined and she passed away.
Under Georgine's influence as the new First Wife, my sister Aurelia was married off to Ehrenfest. The marriage of my sister and Betina is well known in Ahrensbach as a heartwarming tale—Georgine had rescued two couples of lovers who were being separated by territorial politics.
In truth, my sister was sent to gather intelligence on Ehrenfest, but she never once sent back any information, never formed connections with the nobles Georgine had instructed her to approach, and now seems to be effectively trapped in Ehrenfest.
I was even denied an audience with her. I cannot tell whether that was at her own initiative or the will of the Knight Commander and the Aub. They said I could send letters, but my sister only ever replies with bland pleasantries like "Everyone here is very kind to me."
...What on earth is my sister thinking? Useless no matter where she is, as always.
At the Royal Academy, I spend most of my time attending to Lady Dietlinde and can rarely go out to gather intelligence from other territories. That was precisely why I had hoped to get information from my sister, but she gives me nothing.
Our mission is to keep Lady Dietlinde from making a spectacle of herself with hysterical outbursts—to make it look as though we are properly supporting her—while ensuring she graduates from the Royal Academy without causing too many problems. It is no easy task.
...Lady Dietlinde was raised watching Georgine, so how is it possible that she goes through life without thinking about anything at all?
It truly baffles me. Then again, being that oblivious is, in its own way, a kind of happiness.
In any case, no matter how careful we are, Lady Dietlinde cannot be stopped. Every year, she does something unnecessary. The most troublesome occasions are social events like tea parties, where Attendants cannot easily intervene—she makes one blunder after another.
This year, she outdid herself at the very last moment. She lost consciousness and collapsed in the middle of the consecration dance—an unprecedented disgrace. After this colossal blunder, no one at the luncheon could bring themselves to speak, and the hall fell deathly silent. Then, just as we were preparing for the afternoon graduation ceremony, an Ordinance arrived from royalty, and our hearts sank.
However, the situation changed again at the afternoon graduation ceremony. The High Priest of the Central
After that, the talk in Ahrensbach revolved entirely around the magic circle from the consecration dance and the next Zent. For the nobles of the territory, a candidate for next Zent who had activated a magic circle that even the royals could not illuminate was far more acceptable than the sole Aub candidate having committed an irreversible blunder at the Dedication Ritual.
According to Ferdinand, who had spoken with the royals, "It was not fully activated, so it's difficult to call her a Zent candidate." But did that really matter? What was important was that the royal reprimand had been averted and that Lady Dietlinde's blunder had been somewhat concealed.
Lady Dietlinde, her Magic Power depleted, awoke two days after the consecration dance. The moment she opened her eyes, she erupted in fury, declaring that "
...When our mistress Lady Dietlinde causes problems, it reflects on us Attendants as well.
For us, who were at the age where we needed to find marriage partners, getting Lady Dietlinde through graduation was the most important duty. She loses her temper over the slightest thing, and keeping her from revealing her ugly side to those around her is exhausting.
Once we returned to Ahrensbach, any problems could be smoothed over. Watching over her and supporting her would become the duty of her fiancé, Ferdinand.
...That will be a tremendous help.
Upon returning from the Royal Academy, Lady Dietlinde—now a Zent candidate—was summoned to Georgine's detached villa to discuss her future actions. It seemed that while we had been at the Academy, Georgine had completed her move to the villa.
The Aub had passed away at the end of autumn, but Lady Dietlinde had not yet colored the foundation and had not become Aub. Because of this, her room had not yet been moved to the main building, and she still had a room in the detached quarters assigned to lord candidates. At present, there was no member of the lord's family in the main building at all.
"You may withdraw."
The close retainers were ordered to leave while Lady Dietlinde and Georgine held their private meeting. Exiting the room, we headed to the waiting area. Along the way, we passed several nobles.
"They didn't look very familiar. Could they be new retainers Georgine has appointed?"
"One gentleman had a prosthetic hand—a Magical Tool—on his left. Perhaps she has recruited people from the former Bergelstock territory as well."
"My cloak hid it from view, but a prosthetic hand—how unusual. Was the injury so severe that healing magic couldn't keep up?"
Among knights, whose profession involves fighting, I know of a few who use prosthetic hand or leg Magical Tools. But the ones we just passed appeared to be scholars. Some among the former Bergelstock population must have been involved in fierce battles.
"I don't see why she would need to recruit someone who requires a prosthetic hand, though..."
"Do you have some grievance with Georgine's actions?"
"Not at all. It's just that thinking about what comes next is rather disheartening. I simply want to think about something else for a while."
At those words, we all exchanged wry smiles. Various information had been restricted to prevent Lady Dietlinde from causing problems at the Royal Academy, but Georgine would have informed her of the matters that had been kept from her.
Having learned that she was an interim Aub and that, after completing the Star Binding ceremony with Ferdinand by royal decree, she would be welcoming Letizia as an adopted daughter, Lady Dietlinde must have been in a terrible mood. The ones most likely to bear the brunt of her frustration were the Attendants, so we could not help but feel gloomy.
"Come to think of it, she was delighted about being a Zent candidate, but will Lady Dietlinde truly and sincerely serve as interim Aub?"
"No matter who she is, without a next Aub, Ahrensbach would be in serious trouble. Besides, she doesn't have the
We only flatter her because she's easy to manage—nobody actually believes Lady Dietlinde could become the next Zent. Rather, we are far more worried about the future of Ahrensbach, where we ourselves live.
"It's a problem that Ahrensbach currently has only Lady Dietlinde and Letizia as lord candidates."
"If Lady Dietlinde and Ferdinand marry, won't she adopt Lady Benedicta as her daughter? That would increase the number of lord candidates."
Lady Benedicta was born to Blasius—a former lord candidate—and Alstede, Georgine's eldest daughter. As the child of two former lord candidates, her Magic Power would be more than sufficient to qualify as a lord candidate. I had heard there were plans to hold Lady Dietlinde and Ferdinand's Baptism Ceremony for Lady Benedicta with them as her parents.
"To stabilize our faction, we need lord candidates other than Letizia... And Lady Benedicta is more reassuring than the child of Ferdinand—whose mother is unknown and who comes from Ehrenfest—and that Lady Dietlinde."
We were chuckling quietly together when the adult Attendants who had not gone to the Royal Academy noticed us and looked over, raising a hand to their mouths in surprise.
"Ferdinand turned out to be unexpectedly capable, you know. The scholars were saying he's cleared up a tremendous amount of backed-up work."
"Oh, really?"
"Of course, his skill at clerical work and his Magic Power are separate matters."
"I do hope the Star Binding is completed soon and the number of people who can supply Magic Power increases. Both provinces must be struggling."
We carried on with such idle chatter, but the moment the bell and chime sounded, we rose promptly and headed to Georgine's room.
Curious to see how Lady Dietlinde was faring after having been told all the information that had been kept from her, we peered cautiously inside—and there was a thoroughly satisfied Lady Dietlinde. Georgine was smiling as well, so the two of them must have had a satisfactory conversation.
"Well then, Mother. I shall take my leave."
"Yes. Do your best."
As soon as we returned to her room, tea was prepared and the retainers were gathered. We could not act until we learned what Georgine and Lady Dietlinde had discussed and how Lady Dietlinde intended to proceed.
"What did you discuss with Georgine, Lady Dietlinde?"
"I imagine she also spoke about the words of the Central Temple High Priest?"
After taking a delicate sip of tea, Lady Dietlinde chuckled softly. Her deep green eyes sparkled with pride as she surveyed her retainers.
"I am going to search for the Grutrissheit and pursue the position of next Zent. I expect all of you to cooperate."
"...Did Georgine give her permission?"
She was speaking with such confidence after her meeting with Georgine that the permission must have been granted. Even so, we could hardly believe it at first. As we exchanged bewildered glances, Lady Dietlinde smiled and nodded.
"Of course, Mother supported my resolve. She told me to work hard to obtain what I want—that even if something seems out of reach, if I exhaust every possibility, there may be a chance to attain it."
We Attendants were so surprised that Georgine would say such a thing that we instinctively looked at each other.
"But then, who will become Aub of Ahrensbach? Right now, Lady Dietlinde is the only lord candidate who could serve as Aub..."
"Yes. That is why Mother gave me permission to search for the Grutrissheit for only one year. If I cannot find it within that time, I will become the next Aub."
The Aub's death would be reported at the Lord's Conference, and depending on the timing, it was not uncommon for the foundation's magic to not have been completely recolored. That was why Lady Dietlinde had been told never to reveal the Aub's death at the Royal Academy. By keeping the death's timing unknown to other territories, it would not be too unnatural to delay Lady Dietlinde's assumption of the Aubship by one year.
Georgine's thinking was likely that by imposing a one-year limit, she could get Lady Dietlinde to give up. The Grutrissheit, which even the royals had searched for years without finding, could not possibly be found in a single year. If we tolerated Lady Dietlinde's search for just one year, she would then settle down and take up the Aubship without further trouble—and that thought did bring us a measure of calm.
...As expected of Georgine. She knows exactly how to handle Lady Dietlinde.
However, Lady Dietlinde pressed her index finger to her chin and gazed upward in thought. When she made this gesture, she almost invariably came up with some outrageous proposal or command that would cause trouble for everyone. The surrounding Attendants tensed.
"What I would like is to use that one-year grace period to find the Grutrissheit and win public opinion toward selecting a legitimate Zent... Since Lord Traokval does not possess the Grutrissheit, if I were to obtain it, he would have no choice but to cede the throne, wouldn't he?"
We could not imagine Lady Dietlinde coming up with such thinking on her own. It must have been Georgine's advice. In other words, Georgine truly intended to push Lady Dietlinde toward becoming the next Zent.
Rather than restraining Lady Dietlinde given Ahrensbach's current hardship from its lack of Magic Power, Georgine was backing her bid for the Zent throne. Unable to grasp Georgine's true intentions, we felt a deep sense of unease.
"Even if Lady Dietlinde wishes to pursue the Zent position, what about the Magic Power you pour into Ahrensbach's foundation?"
"I proposed that Mother serve as Aub for the first year, and if the Grutrissheit was not found by the deadline, I would color the foundation myself. But Mother refused, saying she does not wish to become Aub of Ahrensbach."
"How unfortunate," Lady Dietlinde sighed, but that was only natural. Lady Dietlinde might not feel it herself since Georgine was her mother, but no nobles would support a Frewartag-born woman becoming Aub of Ahrensbach.
"So instead, I have decided to pour in Magic Power from the supply so as not to fully recolor it. I also intend to have Letizia help."
Everyone was startled and wide-eyed at Lady Dietlinde's words.
"But Lady Letizia hasn't even enrolled at the Royal Academy yet!"
"Oh? In Ehrenfest, lord candidates who have completed their Baptism Ceremony are made to practice Magic Power supply. So there's no reason that girl can't do it."
She gazed icily in the direction of Letizia's room as she spoke. Her expression was entirely different from the dismissive "I am the next Aub" attitude she had once held, and a chill ran down our spines.
"Letizia is the one the King and Father wish to see as the next Aub. She should be able to manage something like that. The one the King truly wants as Aub of Ahrensbach is Letizia, and by royal decree, I am to serve as interim Aub. It's thoroughly unpleasant."
...So she had also been told about the interim Aub arrangement.
Lady Dietlinde had grown up with almost no attention from either parent—her father wished her to be Letizia's stopgap, and her mother wished her to be Benedicta's. Whether Lady Dietlinde was suited to such a position was beside the point; her obsession with a position even higher than Aub now made a certain kind of sense.
"Our Magic Power supply alone won't be enough to sustain Ahrensbach, so I will have Ferdinand perform Temple duties."
"You would send the future Aub's spouse to the Temple!?"
"Yes. After all, he performed Temple duties in Ehrenfest, and Ehrenfest demonstrated their usefulness, didn't they? Ferdinand cannot pour Magic Power into the foundation until the Star Binding is complete, so I will have him contribute Magic Power in other ways."
It was true that the usefulness of the Temple duties had been proven by the royals during this year's Dedication Ritual at the Royal Academy. There was probably no one in Ahrensbach who wanted to go to the Temple, but Ferdinand, who had previously been stationed there, would not feel particular aversion.
"But are you quite all right with that, Lady Dietlinde? You had said you found it repugnant to marry someone who had been in such a filthy place as the Temple..."
When the engagement to Ferdinand had first been announced, there had been an absolute uproar. Given that he had been a lord candidate in the Temple of a lower territory, Lady Dietlinde's revulsion was understandable. But royal decree left no room for refusal.
It was only after seeing Ferdinand in person, spending time close to him, and hearing from others about his exemplary and outstanding performance that she had finally begun to look at the marriage somewhat positively. Ferdinand's declaration that he would "do everything in his power for Lady Dietlinde" must have helped bolster her feelings as well.
...As long as the substance was adequate, a man of good standing and appearance would be cherished by his partner. It was very educational.
"Oh, but if I become the next Zent, I can annul the current royal decree. I wouldn't need to marry Ferdinand at all. He's hardly a suitable spouse for the Zent. Surely you all agree? If I break off the engagement after failing to become Zent, that would be problematic, so for now I'm simply continuing the engagement."
Lady Dietlinde chuckled. She intended to use Ferdinand until she got what she wanted, then discard him—but she always failed to see even one step ahead, so her selfishness was nothing new.
...In the end, I suspect she'll fail to find the Grutrissheit and end up marrying Ferdinand, the very man she herself ordered to the Temple. I wonder what kind of scene that will produce?
"To break off the engagement, I absolutely must obtain the Grutrissheit within this one year. Of course, wanting the Grutrissheit isn't just about breaking off the engagement. I do care about Ahrensbach's future, you know."
Lady Dietlinde smiled sweetly as she said this.
"First, I will restore Blasius—who was demoted to archnoble by royal decree—to the lord's family, and install either my sister or Blasius as Aub."
"If that could be done, Ahrensbach would be secure."
If Blasius and Alstede—a married couple who were both former lord candidates that had been demoted to archnoble—could become Aub and Aub-wife of Ahrensbach, the anxiety of having to entrust Ahrensbach's future to Lady Dietlinde would vanish.
...If that were possible, that is.
Pleased by her retainers' words, Lady Dietlinde began describing the orders she would give once she became Zent.
"I will offer Mother what she desires and search for a husband befitting the next Zent. Even if I become Zent, I have no intention of conducting purges like Lord Traokval. I do plan to respect the current royals to a reasonable degree."
She laughed at the idea of making Prince
Since Lady Dietlinde would never actually obtain the Grutrissheit, we figured it was best to let her enjoy her fantasies as she pleased.
"Lady Dietlinde speaks so lightly of taking a prince as her husband, but doing so would damage her reputation among the public."
"Yes. Especially since Prince Anastasius and Lady Eglantine married after a passionate courtship, having given up the throne..."
At her retainers' words, Lady Dietlinde frowned, clearly displeased. Sensing her mood souring, one of them deftly changed the subject away from royalty.
"More importantly, wouldn't Ferdinand refuse to have the engagement annulled?"
"I imagine he would not want to return to the Temple of a lower territory once Lady Dietlinde has become Zent."
"On that score, there is no issue. I intend to have Ferdinand offer me his name, so that he cannot defy my commands."
The casual way she announced she would "have him offer his name" left everyone stunned, but Lady Dietlinde carried on triumphantly without a shred of awareness.
"He was a lord candidate in the Temple of a lower territory like Ehrenfest. If he loves me, he should be able to offer me his name. And after I break the engagement and he returns to Ehrenfest, it would be troublesome if he started blabbing about Ahrensbach's affairs—so having his name is absolutely necessary. Mother said the same."
...However much she might desire it, we could not imagine Ferdinand ever accepting.
"Martina. I want Ferdinand's name. Arrange a meeting."
Accommodating Lady Dietlinde's whims was an Attendant's job. My fellow Attendant and I began making the necessary arrangements to fulfill her request.
"Ferdinand loves me, doesn't he? Then he should offer me his name."
Ferdinand, who had been in the middle of his duties when summoned to the conference room we had prepared, looked visibly taken aback by Lady Dietlinde's sudden demand. This was only natural. No one could simply agree to surrender their name upon being told to do so out of the blue.
It was unlikely he would offer his name, but we Attendants watched with keen interest to see how he would deflect Lady Dietlinde's demand. The more directions Lady Dietlinde's anger could be directed away from us, the better.
"You want me to offer my name to Lady Dietlinde? You mean a mutual exchange of names?"
Ferdinand murmured that he had heard of two people who truly loved each other doing such a thing. He seemed to attribute it to the influence of romance stories, but when he mentioned the "mutual exchange of names," Lady Dietlinde's face twisted with displeasure. She was not influenced by romance stories. Her selfishness was far more fundamental.
"Of course not. Why would I offer my name to you? I would think that you, whom I rescued from the Temple of Ehrenfest, would offer yours out of gratitude."
As Lady Dietlinde spoke with a straight face, Ferdinand wore a faint smile and slowly shook his head.
"If it were possible, I would like nothing more. Unfortunately, my name is not currently in my possession."
He had already offered his name to someone else? The room erupted in murmurs at this unexpected reply.
"To whom else did you offer your name instead of your fiancée—me!?"
As Lady Dietlinde cried out in a hysterical voice, Ferdinand let out a soft laugh. His expression was smiling, but his pale golden eyes held no warmth at all—it was a terribly cold smile.
"There have been two women who wanted my name in order to bind me. You, and then, Lady