"As my adoptive father is surely aware...? To me,
I couldn't understand what I was being asked, so I tilted my head. Being questioned about Ferdinand and my relationship now was puzzling. What else was I supposed to say?
Upon hearing my answer, both my adoptive father and my father, who had been standing behind us as guard knights, visibly relaxed their expressions, as though they had received the answer they were hoping for.
"That would be the case for you, and to Ferdinand, you would likewise be his ward."
"Yes, that's right. What else could there possibly be?"
When I asked, my adoptive father murmured "Hmmm" and hesitated awkwardly before slowly looking around at the attendants gathered behind us.
"By noble standards, the two of you appear to be... overstepping appropriate boundaries with each other, apparently."
"Oh my. Is that so?"
I nodded vaguely, but I had no idea what they meant. Noble standards. My complete lack of understanding must have been obvious, because my adoptive father and father exchanged glances and reluctantly continued.
"As a matter of fact, there are rumors that you harbor romantic feelings for Ferdinand."
"That's the first I've heard of it, and I have no recollection of any such thing."
"...What?"
The people around us began to murmur. Honestly, I couldn't understand why even the attendants were reacting that way. Of all the nobles, I trusted Ferdinand the most and treasured him like family. I could say I "liked him as much as Turi or
"How did such rumors even start?"
"Ah, well... In a guardian-ward relationship, inheriting the estate isn't particularly unusual, but it is rare to retain the same servants and furniture without replacing them. Moreover, preserving Ferdinand's room exactly as it was while managing his valuables, or sending belongings to
My father said this with a deeply pained expression. Apparently, managing the estate, safeguarding valuables, and preparing things according to requests were roles for a man's female relatives, not something to be done by an outsider.
"Er...? But both
It wasn't as though I personally prepared Ferdinand's belongings. Rasapham was the one managing everything, and I was merely the ordinance delivering messages to Rasapham. I couldn't understand why I was suddenly being told this. Two seasons had nearly passed since Ferdinand left, and no one had said anything about it before now.
"Ferdinand's situation was different because he was called away urgently and his belongings couldn't be prepared in time, so they had to be sent after the seasons changed. But normally, when someone departs to another duchy through marriage, they take all their belongings with them and leave nothing behind."
Come to think of it, when we received
"Leaving belongings at one's parents' home is said to give the impression that one desires a divorce, which is considered improper."
"Is that so!? Then, is Ferdinand's marriage going to be all right? I sent some belongings in spring, but I only sent what was requested, so there are still things remaining in his room..."
I refrained from saying "After all, Rasapham has been patiently waiting for the environment to be ready so she can be summoned..." but both my adoptive father and father widened their eyes at my declaration that belongings remained.
"Perhaps I should be the one to manage Ferdinand's belongings... I can't in good conscience leave this to you any longer."
"Why not?"
"The biggest problem with you managing things is that Ferdinand's departure to Ahrensbach has caused those around you to recognize that he is no longer your guardian. The seasons have already changed, and enough time has passed for perceptions to shift. You would be best served by accepting that you are no longer regarded as Ferdinand's ward."
Until she inherited the estate left by the guardian, there had been no issue, but apparently the problem lay in the fact that their relationship hadn't changed after that point. My father explained that while their own perceptions hadn't changed, they had now realized that everyone else's had.
"Just as we were made aware of this through the advice of those around us, this may come as a sudden shock to you as well. But your appearance has matured. You've grown a bit taller, and you now look old enough to be entering the
I looked down at my hands and legs. Since waking from Jureve, the length of my hems had changed without my noticing, and I'd been told several times that "you're old enough to enter the Royal Academy," yet the way people treated me had barely changed. That was probably because I'd spent two years immersed in Jureve, and my appearance had remained as it was around the time of the
Even now, I still lagged far behind
"Oh, and furthermore, there are also voices saying you worry too much about Ferdinand, who went to Ahrensbach. That not even half of that concern is directed toward your fiancé."
My adoptive father spoke as though the words were painful to say, but I nodded and replied, "That voice isn't wrong."
"If you were to ask whether I worry more about Ferdinand or Wilfried, I worry far more about Ferdinand."
When I answered that way, my father stared at me as though he'd choked on his words. Then my adoptive father pressed his hand to his forehead with a "Hmm." Had I said something wrong?
I gazed at my father, who was pressing his forehead, and my adoptive father, who was crossing his arms in thought. My adoptive father looked at me with an indescribable expression.
"...Could you perhaps show a little concern for your fiancé as well? He's standing up to
"I am concerned to some degree, even now. But it can't be helped that Wilfried ranks lower than Ferdinand."
"Why is that?"
When my adoptive father asked, I looked him straight in the eye.
"Wilfried may be my fiancé, but Ferdinand was the guardian who shouldered much of my work, the teacher who gave me books and knowledge and the common sense needed to survive in noble society, and the physician who worried about me more than anyone else."
What had been given to me was different. The time spent together was different. I didn't understand why I was being asked to compare Wilfried and Ferdinand. They could never be on equal footing.
"You say he's fighting alone, but Wilfried has parents who care about him and worry for him like this, along with Charlotte and
Ferdinand was in Ahrensbach without a hidden chamber or workshop, with only two trusted retainers, spending his days in a state of constant tension with everyone around him while buried in work. On top of that, when he was busy, he'd neglect his meals, cut into his sleep, and avoid unfamiliar food out of fear of poison. He seemed to have difficulty opening up to others due to his constant wariness, and his fiancée was Dietlinde, who bore a striking resemblance to
"If Wilfried were like Ferdinand — abandoning sleep and meals, taking recovery potions while handling the majority of Ehrenfest's work, and refusing to rest even when told to — then yes, I would worry about him just as much. But Wilfried is living normally, isn't he?"
My words left not only my adoptive father but the attendants completely speechless. My father pressed his brow with his fingers and muttered, "So your worrying follows priorities based on criteria like that..."
"...Is something wrong, Father?"
"Well, normally, priorities shift based on your relationship with someone — your level of intimacy, or similar considerations. Aren't you at an age where you'd grow closer to your fiancé than your guardian?"
"In other words, the age at which you and Mother grew closer together, Father?"
"Ah, no, that's not — forget I said anything."
He cleared his throat and looked away, but it seemed my parents had grown closer when they were about my age. Honestly, being asked for the same thing would pose a problem. It was probably because I still had memories from my life as Motosu through university. Even though Wilfried held the position of older brother, he looked younger to me. Perhaps because I couldn't think of him as being the same age, he simply didn't register as a romantic interest no matter how I looked at it.
...At the very least, I wished I could reach the age at which Motosu had passed away.
"Even so, given the situation with Leisegang, wouldn't you be concerned about Wilfried?"
"I said I'm not entirely unconcerned. I did try to share information with Wilfried's retainers and even made protective charms. But the information sharing was rejected, and there was no response from Wilfried regarding the charms either."
No ordinance came back saying he'd received them, and there were no reports through his retainers that he was pleased. I didn't know whether he'd been happy about them or whether they'd been an unnecessary meddlesome gesture, so I had no motivation to make more, and without any contact, I'd been forgetting about Wilfried more and more often amid my busy daily life.
"That's partly Wilfried's fault too."
"Also, well... I had considered advising him that there was no rush, since he only needed to gain Leisegang's support by the time he became Aub. But his retainers stopped me, saying it would rub salt in the wounds of what he'd apparently been told during the Prayer Ritual."
As I said this while glancing at the attendants, both my adoptive father and father let out simultaneous sighs.
"That is something even the retainers would stop you from doing."
"Mm. Their judgment is not wrong..."
The attendants' judgment apparently wasn't wrong. I could sense that everyone was reluctant to share details about Wilfried — an unspoken feeling that it was better to stay away. But was that really the right approach? I relayed the vague information I'd gathered from
"Adoptive Father, what is Wilfried's current situation? Should I follow my retainers' advice and keep my distance?"
My adoptive father was deep in thought for a while. Both my father and my adoptive father's retainers wore troubled expressions.
"...For now, yes. There is a reality that Wilfried must accept, no matter how unpleasant or unwelcome it may be. At the same time, there is a reality that Rozemyn must accept as well. Until both of you can face your current situations honestly, it would be best to keep your distance."
"The reality I must accept?"
When I tilted my head, my adoptive father fixed me with a piercing stare from his deep green eyes.
"Ferdinand is no longer your guardian — he belongs to another duchy. The previous Aub Ahrensbach has passed away, and he has become the support of Lady Dietlinde, who has begun dyeing the Foundation Stone. He is no longer your support. Your fiancé is Wilfried. I am not saying it is wrong to worry about Ferdinand — I am worried about him too. But the time has come when you must stop relying on him, clinging to him, and being spoiled by his care. You must learn to stand alongside Wilfried, supporting each other as you share the rest of your lives."
It was, just as my adoptive father had said, a reality I didn't want to accept but had to. I wanted our relationship to remain unchanged no matter the distance. When something happened, I wanted to write complaints in letters, have him secretly teach me things I wanted to know, and maintain a relationship where I could rely on Ferdinand. I didn't want to sever that.
"Rozemyn, I imagine the time when Ferdinand shielded you with his overprotective care was comfortable, yes? He always showed you the way forward, so the path was easy to walk, wasn't it? But the moment he was gone, did you find yourself out of step with those around you? Did people's reactions change even though you believed you were doing the same things?"
"That has happened. ...There were times when I was bewildered because no one stopped me when I thought Ferdinand would have."
My words softened my adoptive father's expression.
"I am the same. His absence has forced me to confront just how little I had thought things through. Ferdinand departed for Ahrensbach through a marriage by royal decree, and he will not be returning to Ehrenfest. That is an unchangeable reality."
I already knew from Clarissa that the aftermath of the purge had left my adoptive father in a terrible state. "It seems the Aub Ehrenfest was far too naive in his projections," Clarissa had said, but Ferdinand was supposed to have been there during the purge. He was the one who held a secret strategy for silencing Leisegang and was supposed to have finished a good deal of the cleanup before departing for Ahrensbach.
The distortions arising from Ferdinand's absence — he who had been coordinating everything for us — had to be corrected through our own efforts. That was the great challenge facing both my adoptive father and me, who had relied on Ferdinand so heavily.
"Rozemyn, Wilfried is the chain that keeps you anchored in Ehrenfest. The two of you must face each other more openly. Deepening your bond with Wilfried, your fiancé, so that you can ward off interference from outside parties — that is important."
Told that even if accepting reality was difficult, I had to digest it on my own, I slowly nodded.
"...But what can I do to deepen my bond with Wilfried?"
"For now, it's fine to just act. Start by pretending to worry more about Wilfried than Ferdinand. The first step is to improve the current situation where Wilfried feels that Ferdinand is more important to you than he is as your fiancé."
To my adoptive father's assignment, I gave a small "...Yes." But how exactly was I supposed to pretend to worry? Should I send an ordinance telling him to finish work when mealtime came? Pull him out of his hidden chamber? Have his attendants check on his sleeping hours?
...If he sent back an ordinance saying "I'm not working at this hour," I'd probably end up saying "You should work harder," though.
"Now then, what was the matter you wished to discuss?"
When my adoptive father asked, I brought up the children in the orphanage. I requested that we provide Magical Tools and recovery potions for the children who had lost their motivation due to not having Magical Tools. My adoptive father grimaced slightly and said it was unnecessary.
"Even saving the lives of children from the former Veronica faction who haven't completed their Baptism Ceremony and sheltering them in the orphanage is already considered more than generous. If you have Magical Tools to give away, it goes without saying they should go to children within your own faction."
My adoptive father said something similar to what
"I want to save the children under my jurisdiction in the orphanage. If we frame it as saving the children who enter the orphanage, then perhaps we can reduce even slightly the number of children who are brought to the orphanage without Magical Tools and end up dying without anyone knowing."
"I cannot afford to take on the expenses of children who lack the money needed to become nobles. You said the costs for the children in the orphanage and children's room should be covered by the funds their parents had saved, and I agreed. But for children without Magical Tools, it means their parents hadn't saved anything. Who is going to provide the money to give those children Magical Tools?"
When I cited the example of lending funds to the orphaned students from the former Veronica faction to cover their expenses through the Royal Academy graduation, my adoptive father gave me a look of exasperation.
"There is a vast difference between borrowing funds over several years while working as an apprentice and earning pocket money at the Royal Academy, and being burdened with a massive debt before even receiving your Baptism Ceremony as a noble. Children from the orphanage have no parents or relatives. The cost of living as a noble is considerable enough — how are they supposed to live as nobles while carrying enormous debt?"
"Well..."
To my hesitation, my adoptive father declared firmly, "I have no intention of giving Magical Tools to children who don't have them."
"I have no objection to saving children's lives. If they have Magic Power and can sustain themselves as Blue Priests through the usual subsidies and their own earnings, then living in the Temple as Blue Priests would be acceptable. But I see absolutely no necessity in turning orphans without Magical Tools into nobles."
"But..."
"Rozemyn, the belongings confiscated from the former Veronica faction were supposed to be mine, to be distributed among our allied nobles in various ways. The Magical Tools that the children currently sheltered in the orphanage possess were items that would have been given to nobles within our faction had they been disposed of. Don't ask for anything more. I have already shown them more generosity than they deserve."
Having just been told by my grandfather to consider the various effects of starting something new, I couldn't come up with an immediate rebuttal and hung my head. Wanting to save someone and actually managing to do so were very different things. I had no idea where the ripple effects would reach or what they would look like.
...I wanted to save all the children in the orphanage somehow, but I had no idea what the right answer was.
"Before you go thinking about starting something extra, consider what you actually need to do. Are you prepared to perform the Star-Binding Ceremony at the Lord's Conference?"
"The priests and shrine maidens who will serve as guards have been decided, and the personnel heading to the Archive are set as well."
"Very well, then. Make sure you return to the castle the day before."
As we were discussing the Lord's Conference, my grandfather returned from completing his ritual. His broad shoulders seemed to droop, and he looked somewhat dejected.
"Grandfather, how was it?"
When I asked, my grandfather glared at my adoptive father with a frustrated look and replied, "I received... seventeen blessings." He seemed bitter about receiving fewer than my adoptive father.
"Both he and I started praying around the same time, but I donated a considerable amount of Magic Power when I dyed the Foundation Stone as Aub. Some difference is to be expected. More importantly, from which gods did you receive blessings?"
My adoptive father, who had received blessings from unusual divine retainers, watched my grandfather with eager anticipation. My grandfather clenched and unclenched his hands, murmuring, "Hmmm."
"I've also acquired all attributes. I received blessings from nearly all the combat-related divine retainers. I'll need to train and test myself to see just how much stronger I can become, though..."
"Then, Master — let's spar right away!"
"What exactly are you planning to do, getting even stronger at your age, Grandfather!?"
The ones who suspect the nature of Rozemyn and Ferdinand's relationship are not her adoptive father, but rather, the people around them.
She was told to seriously begin cutting ties with her guardian.
The nobility's consensus is that the orphanage children have already been saved sufficiently.
Grandfather received many blessings from the combat-related gods.
Next up is the Lord's Conference.