At Karstedt's Estate, Part 1

Having heard everyone's opinions, the attendants were dismissed for the time being so they could return to their daily duties.

"Cornelius, whether through Father or by requesting a direct audience with my adoptive father, could you ask him if it would be permissible to tell Mother about becoming the King's adopted daughter?"

If I put it in writing, there was a chance other civil officials might see it. The best approach would be to ask Cornelius, who knew the circumstances and could relay the message from not only my adoptive father but Father as well.

"Once I have my adoptive father's approval, please arrange a meeting with Father and Mother. Tell them I'd like to discuss Angelica's transfer to the Central area."

"Understood. Leave things here to me. Rozemyne, you should get some rest now."

"Eh?"

Blinking in surprise at being told that, Cornelius pointed at Damuel and continued.

"Wasn't it a rather exhausting discussion? Damuel was just saying you didn't look well."

"Damuel?"

Saying he'd just returned from the Archduke Conference and I should rest, Cornelius left the room. Since the attendants weren't saying anything, I figured I probably wasn't in bad shape. Feeling vaguely puzzled, I approached Damuel, who was standing by the door.

"Damuel, do I really look that pale?"

"…It's not so much your complexion as your posture, or perhaps the way you're moving… Um, well…"

After vaguely mumbling his words in an extremely reluctant manner, Damuel leaned in and whispered in a low voice.

"I felt I detected a certain unsteadiness, similar to when you used to walk behind Lord Ferdinand at the Temple. I'm sorry if I've overstepped."

"…I didn't think anyone would notice."

I had just watched the Archduke family's familiar interactions, and it made me desperately want to lean on someone. That was probably why I felt the way I had during my first winter confinement at the Temple.

"I'm going to the hidden room to write a letter to Lord Ferdinand."

"Do that tomorrow and get some rest. Your complexion isn't good. Lord Ferdinand will scold you."

Lieselote brought the Nagger Schmier from its usual spot above the fireplace and activated it. Hearing the voice telling me to listen to my attendants, I felt the strength drain from my body. When I tried to hear more nagging, Lieselote took Schmier away.

"Let's get you ready for bed, Rozemyne-sama. Nagging time is later."

Before I knew it, I was being prepared for bed, and Lieselote promptly stuffed me into bed along with the Nagger Schmier. Lieselote seemed to have a particular fondness for how to handle the Schmier doll—she had me hold it in my arms, saying "You sleep better like this," made fine adjustments to its angle and position, nodded several times with a look of deep satisfaction, then drew the canopy and left.

That night, as Lieselote instructed, I slept holding the Nagger Schmier. It nagged me right up until I fell asleep, which only made me desperately want to go to the Library's hidden room and hear "Most admirable."

The next day was Lieselote's day off. With only Gretia as the attendant heading to the Central area, I watched from the corner of my eye as Ottilie conducted her handover and training, and was about to enter the hidden room.

"Good morning, Rozemyne-sama. Please accept my name."

"Did you really prepare this overnight…?"

Hartmut wore a smile that sat right on the boundary between "refreshing" and "creepy" as he held out the name-swearing stone. I noticed Ottilie, serving as witness, quietly averting her gaze.

…Witness, don't look away! I'm staring right at it!

Hartmut, bound by my Magic Power yet wearing a rapturous expression saying "So this is Rozemyne-sama's Magic Power" while the name-swearing caused everyone else visible pain, was so frightening that I burst into tears and hammered my Magic Power into him all at once, trying to finish the name-swearing as quickly as possible.

…Ugh, it's terrifying how Hartmut is cheerful and blissful even though it should be painful.

"Clara doesn't have her materials gathered yet, so it will still be a while for her. She was very upset about it."

"I see…"

If I had to go through this exhausting experience twice in one day, I'd probably collapse. I was relieved that Clara's materials weren't ready.

"I'm going to the hidden room to write a letter."

"Very well. I need to go gather some information. Would that be acceptable?"

"Please do."

I distanced myself from the cheerful Hartmut and entered the hidden room, where I wrote Ferdinand a letter using disappearing ink.

I included: the rewards for my hard work translating into the common tongue during the Archduke Conference—successfully avoiding collective punishment and securing the hidden room, as well as having my adoptive father and the royal family confirm things during the summer funeral; the silver cloth that the former Giebe Gerlach apparently possessed, and the decision for Ehrenfest's knights to carry weapons other than their staves at all times; and the nonsensical words that Teacher Orthandia had spoken to Lady Dietlinde.

…Without mentioning becoming the King's adopted daughter or being a candidate for the next Zent, I managed to include only the necessary information, didn't I?

I checked several times to confirm that I was obeying the order not to leak information to other duchesses, then nodded once. This should be fine.

On the outside, I wrote a condolence letter regarding the death of Aub Ahrensbach and the usual concern about her health, details about having my adoptive father deliver items during the summer funeral, and mention of including sweets for Letizia—nothing that would seem strange to anyone who happened to read it.

I left the hidden room with the letter still out to dry and found Cornelius waiting there for me to emerge.

"Rozemyne-sama, I have a message from Mother. She says that considering the handover and such, it would be best to have our discussion as soon as possible. She would like to invite you to dinner tomorrow evening—would that work? She also says you should stay the night."

I asked Ottilie to arrange dinner and the overnight stay, and it was decided that I would return to my family home for the first time in a while.

During the time before heading home, I wrote letters to various people.

To Brigitte in Ilgner, I asked her to prepare as many magic paper supplies as possible and bring them to the castle as soon as she could.

To Razefam at the Library, I wrote that a letter had come from Ferdinand during the Archduke Conference, that management of Ferdinand's belongings had been transferred to my adoptive father so I needed to discuss what to bring during the summer funeral, and that the request to avoid collective punishment and improve treatment had been approved.

To the Temple, I informed them I would return before the spring Coming-of-Age ceremony. As for the busy merchants, I decided to handle this year's Archduke Conference report through letters. Unlike last year, there was no increase in trade allocations, so there was almost nothing that needed to be discussed in person. Rather, I needed them to work hard on preparations for Grisela's reforms.

…Though there was one person I wanted to tell about going to the Central area—Benno. Lutz was currently in Kirnberger.

Since this would become top secret, I decided to call him over discreetly and have the conversation in the High Priest's office in the orphanage. With the increased number of attendants who had sworn their names to me, I could have them present under an oath of secrecy.

"Welcome home, Rozemyne-sama."

When I returned to my family home with Cornelius, Leonore, Angelica, and Lieselote, the attendants there greeted us at the door.

Lieselote was with me today because Mother had invited her. Since the details couldn't be disclosed, there was no way to ask Angelica's parents for their opinions. And asking Angelica herself would be pointless—Mother knew that all too well. So she had decided to invite Lieselote, who was my attendant, knew the situation, and as the heir to Angelica's family, could offer a family perspective.

…Angelica was technically invited too, but Mother surely figured that with Lieselote present, Angelica wasn't really necessary.

Grandfather was also at the dinner. In a setting where serving attendants moved back and forth, the conversation stayed politely surface-level, focusing mostly on reports about printing from the Archduke Conference and future printing operations.

After dinner, we moved to a separate room. The attendants prepared tea and alcohol, then withdrew. Once they were gone, I activated the range-limited anti-eavesdropping Magical Tool, and the real discussion began.

"The moment Sylvester gave his permission, I told Elvira everything. There's no need to re-explain. …So it was about what to do with Angelica, wasn't it?"

"Yes. Angelica had her engagement to Eckhart-brother broken off and then reforged, so we couldn't let damage befall her reputation. As compensation, she was supposed to marry Traugott or Grandfather—right?"

At my words, Grandfather murmured, "I wish Traugott would grow up quickly enough to marry Angelica." As expected, he wasn't keen on taking his granddaughter's attendant as his wife, especially since she was of his grandchildren's generation.

…Grandfather, if you want Traugott to surpass you, shouldn't you have skipped reacquiring your Blessings?

"However, with this latest development, Angelica herself wishes to transfer to the Central area. Given the situation between nobles, I wanted to confirm with Father and Mother how the betrothal agreement would be handled, and whether I could take Angelica with me as my guard knight without causing problems."

Mother praised me for not making the decision on my own, then turned her gaze to Lieselote.

"What opinion does your family hold?"

"We felt that the engagement with Eckhart-sama, and the arrangement to fill the resulting gap, were far too presumptuous. So if our family is going to support her through the transition, then my sister's marriage is not something we particularly need to request. …My sister already seems to be looking forward to training with the Central knights."

As Lieselote spoke, she looked at Angelica. Angelica smiled brightly and nodded. Mother, who understood the futility of expecting ordinary noble lady behavior from Angelica, readily gave permission for the Central transfer.

"If Angelica wishes to go to the Central area, then so be it. We can revisit the matter of future compensation a year from now, with both your parents included. Angelica will go to the Central area as Rozemyne's guard knight. …What about Cornelius and Leonore?"

When Mother asked Cornelius and Leonore, Grandfather slammed his cup down on the table with a bang.

"Go to the Central area! And protect Rozemyne!"

"Um, Grandfather. Mother is asking about what the two of them want…"

When I called out to Grandfather, who was practically shouting as if already drunk, his eyes flew wide open.

"I want to go myself, Rozemyne! But a duchess candidate cannot become a guard knight, and cannot go to the Central area. Who decided that!?"

"The one who established that duchesses cannot transfer to the Central area outside of marriage was the old Zent, Gesetzket. It was on the exam for legal lectures, Grandfather."

"That Zent Gesetzket—meddling in things that aren't his concern!"

Father, watching Grandfather direct his fury at a Zent from the distant past, sighed with a troubled expression.

"If Cornelius goes to the Central area, I'd feel at ease about Rozemyne's surroundings. But considering the holes it would leave in the Knights' Order, it's rather headache-inducing."

During the winter lord's attack, with both Ferdinand and Eckhart absent, Cornelius had apparently distinguished himself considerably. If Cornelius left, things would get quite difficult.

"Um, then wouldn't it be better for Cornelius and Leonore to stay in Ehrenfest…"

"No, Rozemyne. Such concern is unnecessary."

When I backed off, Grandfather shook his head.

"You revived an ancient Dunkelfelger ritual, enabling multiple gods' Blessings for battle. The magic compression you devised is gradually increasing the knights' Magic Power. The Noblesse Academy demonstrated the value of prayers, and the Archduke Conference made Blessing reacquisition possible. Each individual can grow stronger through personal effort, and the knights who will come of age from here on will be of higher quality. Furthermore, if the materials gathered during this Archduke Conference period are available, producing recovery potions and Magical Tools should be easy. Ehrenfest's lack of fighting strength is no reason to reduce Rozemyne's guard."

Grandfather said that if Ehrenfest's knights simply put in more effort, they could become stronger—because the potential was there.

"That's right, Lord Karstedt. As Lord Bonifatius says. Moreover, it would be rather pathetic for the King's adopted daughter heading to the Central area to have not a single senior knight among her guard. Everyone in the Noblesse Academy already knows that her own brother served as her guard knight, so I would very much like Cornelius to go to the Central area."

"Elvira, but…"

Mother cut off Father's words—Father, who as Aub's guard knight probably knew the state of Ehrenfest's knights better than anyone.

"If he can't be there when Rozemyne needs protection the most, then what good is a guard knight? Cornelius chose his own lord. What kind of knight can't protect his lord? Lamprecht has been catching flak from Wilfried-sama for being unable to move Rozemyne or control the Leisegangs, yet even he is protecting his lord as a guard knight. I have no memory of raising a half-hearted knight who would abandon his lord at a crossroads."

Coming from Mother, who had raised a son in a knight's family, these were words befitting her. Cornelius straightened his expression and nodded.

"I also fundamentally want to go to the Central area. After seeing the royals and Central knights during the Archduke Conference, I realized it wasn't somewhere we could send Rozemyne without proper protection."

"Yes. The user of the Trug was apparently punished, but the owner hasn't been found, so I believe we still need to be vigilant. Matthias, who's sensitive to the scent of Trug, accompanying you would be reassuring."

Both Cornelius and Leonore seemed to favor going along. The issue, however, was the timing of their marriage. Cornelius also had the estate that Eckhart had entrusted to him.

"If they marry, Leonore will have to stop working, so we should allow a two-year preparation period as originally planned. Before going to the Central area, find a female knight to place around Rozemyne within the year. I'll manage Eckhart's estate. So that whenever you or Eckhart return, it will be ready…"

At Mother's words, Cornelius smiled faintly and suggested that perhaps the estate could be given to Lamprecht's and Aurelia's child after Sieglinde came of age.

"That's ages away. Sieglinde can barely crawl at this point."

"Mother. I've actually never met Sieglinde…"

I had secretly hoped to catch even a glimpse today, but Lamprecht and Aurelia hadn't shown up at the dinner, so I couldn't see the baby.

"Bettina, who came from Ahrensbach at the same time as the purging, was captured, which has raised tension everywhere. Aurelia has become a bit nervous trying to protect her own child. For her, you—a lady she doesn't know, accompanied by a large number of unfamiliar attendants—would be difficult to meet right now. But she was delighted by your gift. We can talk about that later. For now, you need to prioritize preparing for your move to the Central area."

With that, Mother began asking who my attendants would be. I divided my answer into those already confirmed, those still pending, and those who had been decided to stay. Mother listened with nods, then let out a deep breath and looked at Lieselote.

"Gretia, who only just became an attendant, is far too few by any measure. Attendants are the closest attendants who support your daily life—without someone well accustomed to the role, you won't be able to relax at all, even in your own quarters. Can't Lieselote go?"

"Mother, Lieselote is the family heir, and she's already engaged to Torsten, one of Wilfried-brother's civil officials. She can't leave Ehrenfest…"

To prevent Lieselote from being blamed, I explained first. Mother looked exasperated and shook her head.

"Being forced to keep information secret and unable to consult with her parents or fiancé, Lieselote could only say that much. Besides, knowing you, you only asked for everyone's preferences without stating your own, didn't you?"

"That's… true. Because if I stated my preference, it would become an order."

When someone of higher status desired something, those below could not refuse. So I only asked for everyone's preferences without voicing my own.

"Respecting others' wishes is important, but conveying your own desires is equally important. Without the certainty of being desired by their lord, moving to the Central area is an enormous burden for those below. If you need Lieselote, and if Lieselote is willing to respond to that need, then I will lay the groundwork."

At Mother's words, I looked at Lieselote. The truth was, I wanted her to come. She had been by my side since I enrolled in the Noblesse Academy, and while her daily work was unglamorous, she handled everything with a skill that always hit the spot. Having her around would make me feel so much safer.

But when I asked for her preferences, Lieselote had decided on staying without hesitation. She still wore her usual bright smile, but unlike Angelica, it was unclear whether she actually wanted to go to the Central area. If I stated my desire, there was even a possibility that both sisters would end up with broken engagements.

"I can't exactly take so many people away from Ehrenfest, which is already suffering a personnel shortage, can I? All my attendants are extraordinarily talented. Please let them stay and support Brünhilde when she becomes the Second Wife, for Ehrenfest's sake…"

"Be quiet. Talented or not, they are attendants who primarily serve Rozemyne at the Temple—removing them from the castle won't greatly impact daily operations. If you were pulling them away en masse to build a faction in the Central area, that would be one thing. But what's wrong with bringing your own attendants with you?"

She told me that taking my own attendants was a personal matter, not a problem for the entire duchy. Furthermore, she said that failing to assemble even the minimum attendants required for the King's adopted daughter going to the Central area would earn not only Ehrenfest but me as well the contempt of those around us.

"Take the people you believe you need to protect your body and mind. To do that, state your wishes and make a sincere request. If you want Lieselote to come, persuade her yourself. If both parties are in agreement, I will handle the groundwork with those around you. I am your mother. I can fulfill at least one wish of my daughter's."

And so, with Mother pushing me from behind, I was led before Lieselote to draw out her consent to go to the Central area.

Grandfather and Father looked at me with expressions that practically shouted "You can do it," Cornelius was grinning with amusement, Leonore wore a look of tender warmth, and Lieselote sat smiling as she waited for my words. Beside Lieselote, Angelica wore her usual smile.

…What is this public confession!? I'm going to tell Lieselote here that I want her to come to the Central area in front of everyone!?

Bathed in everyone's gazes, my face grew hot. I wanted to dash out of there immediately, and my eyes started watering of their own accord. If I told Lieselote "I want you to come" in this state and she answered "I can't," I would absolutely never recover.

"Mother…"

"Getting the other person's consent is your job. Pull yourself together."

Clearly enjoying herself, Mother moved away from me and returned to her seat. For now, I had to say something—I couldn't even move from this spot.

"Aaah, umm… Um! Lieselote!"

"Yes, what is it?"

Somehow Lieselote also seemed to be having a wonderful time. Her narrowed green eyes had a slightly mischievous quality to them. But mixed into her waiting expression was a hint of shyness—she didn't look bothered or troubled. We were both blushing, which made it incredibly embarrassing, but sensing that Lieselote seemed open to accepting my request gave me a tiny bit of courage.

I took one breath, and then the words tumbled out in a rush.

"I— I— if Lieselote could come with me to the Central area… I would feel so much stronger. I'll protect you as much as I can so you won't have any unpleasant experiences or find your work difficult, and— and— I'll raise your salary, and you can keep a Schmier in your room, and… so, um, please come with me!"

I said everything that came to mind. My head was completely blank, but I had said it all.

When I finally exhaled, Lieselote smiled warmly and gently wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes.

"If my family's situation can be resolved, I would be happy to."

I was smiling with joy at Lieselote's acceptance when Cornelius approached and took my hand. Still grinning with amusement, he leaned in to peer at my face, which hadn't yet cooled.

"Rozemyne, I'd like you to say something similar to me too."

"I absolutely can't do that again!"

That concludes Part 1.

Angelica, Cornelius, and Leonore were easily decided to come along.

And then came Mother's public confession.

It was all overwhelming, but I did my best to persuade Lieselote.

Mother will handle the groundwork to make Lieselote's transfer possible.

Next is Part 2. A mother and child's conversation.