After finishing my private audience with Prince
I also told them about how the Dedication Ceremony would be held on the final day, hosted by the royal family, in order to resolve the Magic Power shortage and silence complaints from other territories—and about the personal conditions I had stated for becoming the king's adopted daughter, both Ehrenfest's conditions and my own.
To avoid a repeat of last year, I made sure to emphasize that I had firmly told the prince, "The decision-making authority rests with the Archduke; I am merely stating my opinion." My adoptive father, who had been furious at the royals for trying to extract consent from me in the underground archive right after their own negotiations had gone poorly, praised me for asserting that I had no authority to decide.
After that, the royals called me out again, and two days later a meeting was held. But when it concluded, my adoptive father came back with an extremely angry expression. He summoned me to the meeting room in the dormitory, dismissed the attendants, and had me sit across from him in a private audience. As he glared at me with a piercing stare, he poked me in the cheeks and demanded answers.
"Now then,
"...Pwih?"
"Not like that! This time, the royals also excluded their attendants to ensure there would be no misunderstandings, but I hear you committed an act of unbelievable irreverence toward Prince Sigiswald in the underground archive?"
I tilted my head in confusion at my adoptive father's words.
"Prince Sigiswald had said he wanted to speak candidly, and had given prior permission that there would be no punishment, so I spoke candidly. Is he now complaining to you about it? How ungentlemanly."
"I told him never to conduct that kind of negotiation elsewhere. They also warned me to keep a close eye on you, since you seemed likely to do the same thing again. I felt like my stomach was being wrung dry."
...He really is ungentlemanly, isn't he?
If he had told me to behave like a noble, I never would have said those things. To ask me to be candid, and then complain when I was—isn't that rather unreasonable?
"By 'that kind of negotiation,' you mean...? I did manage to get the royals to host the Dedication Ceremony themselves, but since I have no decision-making authority, I didn't exactly conduct a proper negotiation regarding my conditions as an adopted daughter. When I stated my conditions, I just applied a little pressure to make sure
"Wait a moment! I just told the royals that it must have been a misunderstanding, that they simply felt threatened due to a miscommunication, and that Rozemyne had no such intention! Were you really threatening them!?"
My adoptive father looked alarmed as he said this. I felt a twinge of guilt toward him for his desperate defense, but the royals' interpretation wasn't wrong. I had consciously threatened them.
"Even if I worried about it, once I went to another territory, I'd be treated as one of theirs and nobody would care. Besides, Prince
It had been a perfect opportunity where nothing I said could result in punishment, so I simply conveyed my feelings to the royals. If they hadn't gotten the message, I had intended to think of other methods.
"They got the message loud and clear—the royals turned blue—so you don't need to think about it anymore."
"...So does that mean the royals have accepted Ferdinand's avoidance of collateral punishment and his improved treatment?"
My adoptive father nodded with an "Aa."
"They have ordered
"Yes! What about the other conditions?"
"Most of them were accepted. ...In a sense, it's thanks to you."
And so, my adoptive father recounted how the meeting had gone. Last time, it had been conducted using a Magical Tool that prevented eavesdropping within a designated range, but this time, both the attendants and the guard knights had been dismissed, and the anti-eavesdropping Magical Tool had been employed as well.
Under those strict security measures, the core of the conversation between the exhausted royals and the Archduke couple had centered on confirming whether the conditions I had submitted were accurate, whether this manner of acceptance was acceptable, and reconciling the differences between the royals' understanding and Ehrenfest's understanding.
"From what I heard, opinions within the royal family on how to handle Rozemyne were quite divided."
The one who obtained the
"Therefore, he apparently believed that the best approach was to surround himself with trustworthy Ehrenfest nobles, and that one should build one's own faction. In the end, this led to the conclusion of bringing as many nobles to the central territory as possible, but he was reportedly shocked when Ehrenfest refused."
Incidentally, regarding my marriage, they said it was only natural to use marriage as a means of building one's own faction, and that it was not our place to interfere. The adoption was necessary to obtain the Grutrissheit, so they would do that, but they would not interfere in what came after. As long as the Zent led
"The words sound pleasant, but it's essentially the same as being tossed aside and told to fend for ourselves, isn't it?"
"Prince Sigiswald apparently felt the same way."
Sigiswald had reportedly told King Trauerqual that "obtaining the Grutrissheit alone would not allow one to govern Yurgenschmidt." Coming from Ehrenfest, she would have no political power and no connections to major territories. Saying they would not interfere also meant they would not provide backing—what could a minor who only possessed the Grutrissheit possibly do if told to run things as she pleased? The idea of simply abandoning her was apparently considered unthinkable.
She was to become the king's adopted daughter and obtain the Grutrissheit, so the most logical approach with the least confusion would be to treat her as one's wife, utilize her existing political base, and have the royal family serve as her backing. This was apparently his argument. King Trauerqual, however, refused to budge from his position that "there is merit to this, but the decision of whether to accept it rests with the Zent."
"The one who shook his head at both of those opinions was apparently Prince Anastasius. He said that even if Rozemyne obtained the Grutrissheit and gained the Zent's power, she would be incapable of politics—it was impossible. Up to that point, he agreed with Prince Sigiswald, but what came after was..."
My adoptive father trailed off and glanced at me.
"What is it? What did Prince Anastasius say?"
"He said that Rozemyne, a
"...Prince Anastasius's phrasing is rude, but he isn't wrong."
Furthermore, if taking the Grutrissheit away was feasible, he proposed having her serve as High Priest in the Central Temple until adulthood, diverting other territories' resentment toward Ehrenfest, and then having her marry into Ehrenfest once she came of age. If the Grutrissheit could not be surrendered, then the one who became Zent should conceal Rozemyne's identity and make her Sigiswald's third wife, locking her in the library except when absolutely necessary—for Yurgenschmidt, this would be the most peaceful arrangement.
Anastasius's opinion was rebuked by King Trauerqual as "too irreverent toward the future Zent who would hold the Grutrissheit," and he was forbidden from contacting me in the underground archive.
"So that's how things stand. They said they would accommodate Ehrenfest's wishes as much as possible. However, Trauerqual then brought up, with great reluctance, that since you would be the next Zent, they would appreciate it if Ehrenfest could also be mindful of the central territory's budget and fiscal situation."
"Ehrenfest is supposed to be mindful of the central territory's budget and fiscal situation?"
When I tilted my head in confusion, my adoptive father glared at me irritably.
"Isn't it because you made a personal library or reading room one of your conditions?"
Apparently my library room had been causing the royals tremendous financial headaches. Compared to the library I had demanded as part of the marriage proposal conditions, all the other demands could be swallowed whole.
"The result of this meeting was that both sides agreed: the royals would accept everything else, but would like you to give up on the library room."
"No! That's terrible! My most important condition—the one I absolutely cannot compromise on—has been crushed! My library!"
I couldn't help but scream at the top of my lungs, felt dizzy from oxygen deprivation, clutched my head, and glared at my adoptive father through tear-filled eyes. I had worked so hard to negotiate with Sigiswald, and yet the most critical point hadn't gotten through at all.
...Prince Sigiswald, you fool!
"Enough, Rozemyne. This is a decision made by the Zent and the Archduke. Obey it. Did you not say you would follow my decisions as your adoptive father?"
"Y-Yes! I did say that!"
...My past self, you fool!
"You will still have free access to the Royal Library and other archive rooms, so you won't be unable to read. Having all the other conditions accepted was far more important than your library room. Give it up. Your outrageous demands actually worked in our favor and everything else got through, but the royals were left completely drained."
Sigiswald, who had been prepared to conduct a negotiation with nobles in the underground archive, had ended up facing me in merchant mode. Between the clash of common sense, the inability to communicate, and seeing the royals through others' eyes, he had apparently lost confidence in various ways. And upon receiving Sigiswald's report, the other royals were left scratching their heads as well.
The Dedication Ceremony on the final day of the Archduke Conference had a clear pretext and reasoning, along with memo notes on preparation steps and day-of arrangements. The schedule would be hectic but manageable. The benefits were substantial, so it was worth pushing ourselves a little. Ehrenfest's current situation and demands, along with Ferdinand's improved treatment, could all be accepted. But the library room—the library room alone was apparently beyond saving.
"In the first place, what were you thinking, requesting a personal library room?"
"Huh? Isn't it natural to have a library room installed in the building where you live?"
Ehrenfest's Temple had its Temple Library, the castle had a library, and the
"Leaving Ehrenfest means I'll have to part with the My Library Ferdinand gave me. In exchange for giving up everything I've had in Ehrenfest, is it really so unreasonable to request a new library? Going from the Archduke's adopted daughter to the king's adopted daughter and having your standard of living drop—I really don't think that's normal..."
At my argument, my adoptive father let out an indescribable "Ahhh..."
"The fact that your standard of living is measured by whether you have a library room gives me a headache, but we have secured at least a room from the royals. You can bring everything from Ferdinand's library."
"Wait a moment! It's not Ferdinand's library—it's my library! He's already given it to me!"
I made sure to correct my adoptive father on that point, and he waved his hand at me with an expression of extreme exasperation.
"That's beside the point. The point is, don't demand enough books to bankrupt the national treasury."
"...I never intended to demand anything like that. Just as Ferdinand provided his, I only wanted books the prince personally owns—not new ones. If he could give me even a few books I'd never read, that would be enough. Since we'd be husband and wife, I thought treating the prince's personal collection as shared property was more than reasonable. For the rest, I could have copies made from the Royal Library, and the shelves would be filled..."
My adoptive father listened to my words and muttered, "Hmmm... Is this lack of common sense Ferdinand's fault?" while shaking his head with a look of exasperation.
"Rozemyne, let me tell you one thing. A wealthy bibliophile who personally owns a collection of Ferdinand's magnitude in a single lifetime, rather than through generations of inheritance, is exceedingly rare. Apparently, all the books Prince Sigiswald reads are housed in the Royal Library, and there are no books he has personally purchased or owns. In other words, if you wanted to create a new library, every single book would need to be purchased from scratch, and if you tried to assemble a collection comparable to Ferdinand's, Yurgenschmidt would go bankrupt."
At my adoptive father's words, I felt my strength drain from my entire body in shock. In other words, once I went to the central territory, I would not receive a single book of my own.
"That's the worst! To call yourself a prince without owning a single book! A maiden's dream, utterly shattered! He already has two wives, not a single book to his name, can't even set up a library room, and proposes marriage on top of that—where exactly am I supposed to feel any excitement!?"
"What are you talking about?"
My adoptive father wore an expression of complete incomprehension, but if I was going to be engaged to Sigiswald, wasn't this an important matter?
"Even Brother
Not only had my standard of living dropped, but the quality of my fiancé had as well. What a disaster. I never imagined the price of becoming the king's adopted daughter would be this steep.
"I'm disappointed. Utterly deflated. I've lost all faith in Prince Sigiswald."
My earlier enthusiasm about heading to the central territory plummeted in an instant. I had been working hard with the motivation that a new library room awaited me after a year of handover duties, but I could feel my motivation draining away with a sad whistle.
"They've promised Ferdinand's improved treatment and protection from collateral punishment, so I'll go. But... I don't want to go to the central territory at all. Sigh, leaving my library behind..."
"Stop being persistent. We've secured a room for you, and don't you have a system for submitting new books? Books made in Ehrenfest will be sent to you, and the collection will grow over time. Just be patient."
My adoptive father said it would be no different from being in Ehrenfest, but there would be a time lag before new arrivals. My standard of living was still declining. Why couldn't he understand something so simple?
"For now, the matter of the library room is closed. It's decided. I will now convey the other decisions that were made. Since these will determine your future, listen carefully."
I wanted to protest that he couldn't just declare it over, but no matter how much I pushed back, there was no way to overturn what had been agreed upon between the king and the Archduke. Shoulders slumped, I listened to my adoptive father.
"The Dedication Ceremony will proceed as you proposed. If Magic Power is successfully obtained, King Trauerqual and Prince Sigiswald will spend one year attempting to obtain the Grutrissheit on their own. If they fail, you will be adopted as planned."
At my adoptive father's words, I couldn't help but lose my smile. What would happen to the conditions I had set if one of them obtained the Grutrissheit by their own efforts?
"If I don't become an adopted daughter, what happens to the conditions?"
"Ferdinand's avoidance of collateral punishment and the hidden room have been secured as compensation for the translation work in the underground archive, but everything else would be nullified. ...They do intend to try, but the general expectation is that it will be difficult. King Trauerqual said they cannot leave everything to you and make no effort of their own."
As long as Ferdinand's avoidance of collateral punishment and his improved treatment were guaranteed, that was good enough. I didn't want to go to the central territory, so I sincerely hoped the two of them would do their best.
...I wouldn't do anything suspicious enough to be suspected of poisoning them, but I almost wanted to gift them some horrible-tasting recovery medicine as encouragement.
"There will be various groundwork to lay, so approximately one year will serve as a preparation period. Around next year's Archduke Conference, the adoption between Ehrenfest will be dissolved and a new adoption with the king will take place. Until then, the surface will maintain the status quo, while internally, Ehrenfest and the royals will act according to the plan of you becoming the king's adopted daughter. Is that understood?"
I nodded at my adoptive father's words. I understood well why the plan for me to become the king's adopted daughter couldn't be made public. Ehrenfest, whose information network had been cut off, was well-versed in operating covertly with minimal information leaks. It would work out somehow.
"The meeting of the Archduke's family upon returning to Ehrenfest will initially be held with only the core retainers present. Beyond that, we'll need to consider how far to spread the information."
"But I'll need to tell my and
I began rattling off handover considerations as they came to mind. The exchanges with the Temple, the Gutenbergs, and my exclusive craftsmen would likely be the focus of the coming year.
"If you can already foresee it being a burden, perhaps it would be better to wait until after you've become the king's adopted daughter and established a system to accept your own craftsmen? You lectured me extensively about not rushing the Lower Town's work, you know."
"That's true. Let me discuss it with
If it were just going back and forth between lectures and the dormitory, the current arrangement would be fine, but heading to the underground archive required senior knights, and I wanted as long a training period with Melchior's retainers as possible.
"It depends on Melchior's response, but... fine, I'll permit it. ...By the way, what are your thoughts about Wilfried? Even if only on the surface, the status quo must be maintained for a year, but his engagement will need to be dissolved."
At my adoptive father's words, Wilfried—whom I had been trying not to think about too much—surfaced in my mind.
"...Honestly, I don't feel particularly anything about the dissolution of the engagement itself. We may be siblings, but we weren't really close as fiancés. We'd been meeting less frequently lately, and he didn't like it when I sent ORTs. Most importantly, we never performed any of the ceremonies required for an engagement."
We hadn't exchanged magic stones, nor had we done the color-matching ceremony that was supposed to happen once I'd grown a bit more. My engagement to Wilfried was nothing more than a verbal agreement approved by the king. For me, it simply felt like the person I was engaged to was changing from Wilfried to Sigiswald. There was no emotional high or low to it.
"But regarding Wilfried brother's future and the position he'll be placed in, I don't know what to say. He was raised by Lady
My adoptive father murmured, "Indeed." It was the face of a father worried about Wilfried's future, even though Wilfried wasn't here. Aware that I wasn't reflected in those eyes, I slowly exhaled.
"I'm not the only one whose plans were overturned by royal decree. Ferdinand and I are in the same position. We never intended to leave Ehrenfest, yet we must leave, give up precious things, and part with beloved people. Wilfried brother can still remain in Ehrenfest, so wouldn't it be enough for you to watch over him, Adoptive Father?"
"...Yes, you're right."
After that, invitations from the royals arrived at Ehrenfest's dormitory as well, and my adoptive father announced that a Dedication Ceremony would be hosted by the royals on the final day of the Archduke Conference. The nobles were pleased by his explanation that this would resolve the pressure from other territories, but since most of them had never participated in religious ceremonies, they gasped in surprise when my adoptive father ordered them to participate and aim for the reacquisition of divine blessings.
"Rozemyne's retainers, you will once again don the robes of Blue Priests and Blue Shrine Maidens and provide support and protection."
"Understood."
Since the ceremony would be held on the day itself, virtually no preparation was needed, and I continued going to the underground archive until the final day of the Archduke Conference.
"The Dedication Ceremony will be hosted by the royal family, I hear. They say it was made possible through Ehrenfest's cooperation, in response to requests from other territories wanting to learn about religious ceremonies. Ehrenfest has its hands full too."
During lunch,
"I'd heard that research showed blessings could be obtained through ceremonies around the Ditter, so I assumed Dunkelfelger wouldn't be interested."
"They seem to be interested in religious ceremonies other than Ditter as well. ...Surely they wouldn't be able to obtain the blessings of other gods through that one ceremony alone?"
I was a bit surprised, as I hadn't expected Dunkelfelger to show interest in anything beyond Ditter.
...Well, look at them. Everyone and their mother is all about Ditter. That's just how it is.
According to Hannelore, the civil officials and attendants apparently wanted blessings from slightly different gods.
"Also, having another opportunity for adults to obtain divine blessings is significant. ...Father and Mother had been racking their brains over how to handle the reacquisition for the middle and lower nobles who aren't usually brought to the Archduke Conference."
"There have been proposals to incorporate it into the Royal Academy curriculum, and opinions that it should be made into a regular joint research project between
Soothed by her mother, Hildebrand pouted his lips and muttered, "...That would be too slow."
"So it seems most territories will be participating after all?"
At Hannelore's question, Magdalena nodded with an "Yes."
"Ahrensbach alone sent word that they do not need to participate, as Ferdinand-sama teaches them about the religious ceremonies, but all the other territories have confirmed their participation."
It seemed Ahrensbach would not be participating. I remembered what Ferdinand's letter had said—that he had led nobles through Prayer Ceremonies. They likely had some experience with religious ceremonies, but to increase their blessings, the ceremonies would need to be performed again. The territories participating in the Archduke Conference's ceremony were surely aiming for the reacquisition of blessings, so was it really fine for Ahrensbach to sit it out?
"Are they planning to leave the reacquisition of blessings entirely to Ferdinand as well? The ceremony can only be performed in the innermost chamber, right? Do they not know that?"
When I tilted my head and voiced my question, Magdalena let a cold smile cross her face, as though suppressing some indescribable emotion.
"Lady Dietlinde is apparently going to be the next Zent. If that's the case, she says ceremonies can be performed as many times as she wishes."
"...She actually said that with a straight face!?"
"Yes. It came through via an ORT. You could hear her retainers desperately trying to stop her in the background, but all the royals heard it, so there's no mistake."
...Eeeeek! Thank goodness I got the guarantee of Ferdinand's protection from collateral punishment—I would have threatened the royals all over again if I hadn't!
And the one thing I couldn't get was the most important thing of all: the library room.
Ferdinand is the standard, and Rozemyne claims she isn't asking for much.
And unfortunately, we didn't make it to the Dedication Ceremony.
Next time, the Dedication Ceremony at the Archduke Conference.