The promotion ceremony begins with the third bell. Feeling the bustle of the dormitory as everyone scurries about with preparations, I have
"Lady Bertilde, you're quite skilled at hair-styling."
"I simply enjoy doing hair. Lady
While chatting about what kind of work she did when she served Mother and what they used to talk about, Bertilde tidies my hair. Adorning her rose-pink hair are the hair ornament given to all first-year girls and another that she says was a gift from her parents to celebrate her enrollment.
After watching Bertilde for a while, Lieseleta began preparing hair ornaments and checking luggage partway through—proof that she has what it takes to pass as an Attendant Apprentice.
"Lady
"Yes, Lieseleta."
"According to information from the civil officials who went gathering intelligence yesterday, it seems there are new first-year lord candidates from
Lieseleta realized I'd been absorbed in my reading and hadn't been listening, and flashed a mischievous smile.
"Please do."
"She is Lady Jannecine, daughter of the third wife of the Aub of Klassenberg. I expect we'll cross paths quite a few times during the Dedication Ritual."
...Jannecine, Jannecine...
I repeated the name in my mind several times to commit it to memory.
"Good morning, Lady Rozemyne."
"Good morning,
After finishing preparations and heading to the multipurpose hall, I found Damuel there.
"Leonoire and
The reason Damuel and the others are wearing blue priest robes today is that they have a meeting with the Central
"I'll leave the Dedication Ritual negotiations to Hartmut. Everyone else, please keep a close watch to make sure Hartmut doesn't get carried away."
"Understood."
There's probably going to be another clash between
"Rozemyne, you must have friends you haven't seen in a while. Enjoy the get-together."
"Yes, Brother Cornelius."
After being sent off by Brother Cornelius, I made my way to the entrance hall. It was packed with students wearing Ehrenfest cloaks, all jostling together. The nervous-looking first-years are adorable. Thanks to the arrangements made by Brünhilde and
"Right then, let's go. First-years, make sure you don't lose your cloaks or brooches, and be careful not to forget your door numbers. You wouldn't want to be unable to return to the dormitory."
At
There were some slight shifts in territory rankings, but nothing dramatic. We simply lined up at number eight.
The promotion ceremony began as usual, with explanations about the lectures. As decided at the Lord's Conference, the acquisition of a Staphe was moved to third year, and along with that, the curriculum was significantly revised to incorporate older content.
"I was looking forward to obtaining my Staphe, though..."
Bertilde pouted slightly, looking discontent. The surrounding first-years seemed similarly unhappy. Even if the curriculum changes were announced, without an explanation of the reasons, there would naturally be those who felt aggrieved.
"A Staphe is proof of one's nobility, so I understand the desire to get one early, but it's actually better to obtain it as late as possible."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. We've learned that we can receive many blessings from the gods through dedications and prayers. If there are significant fluctuations in one's Magic Power, a Staphe obtained in the first year might make it impossible to properly handle your own Magic Power. The curriculum change was made to prevent that. If you notice first-years from other territories looking disgruntled during lectures, please let them know."
Bertilde seemed convinced and replied, "Understood." Nicolaues, who had apparently been listening nearby, also nodded in agreement.
When the promotion ceremony ended, we separated by rank for the get-together. As lord candidates, we each brought three attendants and moved to the small reception hall.
"From eighth-ranked Ehrenfest, we have Lord Wilfried, Lady Rozemyne, and Lady Charlotte."
Prompted by the voice of what appeared to be a civil official standing before the doors, we entered the small reception hall. Inside, just like last year,
"This year as well, the threads of the Goddess of Time Drevenange have intertwined, allowing us to meet once more."
When Ehrenfest's turn came, Wilfried gave the greeting as representative, as he did every year. I faced Hildebrand with Wilfried and Charlotte on either side of me.
"This year's Dedication Ritual has the Zent looking forward to it as well. I haven't officially enrolled yet, but the Zent permitted my participation, reasoning that a Dedication Ritual for mid-ranking nobles—one tier down—would be less burdensome. It's my first time participating in the Noble Academy's religious ceremonies, so I'm very much looking forward to it."
Hildebrand spoke with a bright, delighted smile.
...He worked so hard compressing his Magic Power to gain access to the underground archive and studying classical language. Prince Hildebrand really is a diligent person. It's hard to believe he still hasn't enrolled in the Noble Academy.
Apparently, he'll be participating in the Dedication Ritual as royalty this time. If he proactively joins religious ceremonies from now on, he'll surely receive many blessings from the gods. Among the current royals, I think Hildebrand has the highest chance of becoming the next Zent.
"I believe it's very important for the royals who will govern
After encouraging Hildebrand and stepping down from the stage, we went around greeting the higher-ranked territories. First was Klassenberg. At the Klassenberg table, a girl of roughly my height stood with her attendants and greeted me with a sweet smile. She was a cute girl with violet hair and blue eyes. Her gentle, composed demeanor struck me as very typical of a Klassenberg woman.
The Ehrenfest lord candidates knelt to deliver our first-time greetings.
"Lady Jannecine, please allow me to pray for blessings upon this rare encounter, brought about by the stern selection of the Life God
"You may."
Receiving the blessing that sprang from my ring, Jannecine wore an elegant smile reminiscent of those of Eglatine or Primverre.
"From the Aub, I've heard that Ehrenfest will be conducting the Dedication Ritual as a joint research project. As you can see, the first-years often struggle with unfamiliar research. Lady Rozemyne, I humbly ask for your guidance."
"The pleasure is mine, Lady Jannecine."
After finishing our greeting with Klassenberg, we moved to
Wilfried called my name in a low voice—"Rozemyne"—while escorting me, then gently released my hand and gave my back a soft nudge. Since I was the closest to Hannelore, he was yielding the greeting spot to me.
"This year as well, the threads of the Goddess of Time Drevenange have intertwined, allowing us to meet once more. It's been a while, Lady Hannelore."
Unlike with other students, I'd seen Hannelore at the Lord's Conference, but it had indeed been a while.
"There are several books this year that will please Dunkelfelger. There's a Ditter story with illustrations by Lestilaut, and a history book about Dunkelfelger has been published as well. There are three volumes of the Fernestine Chronicles too, but I imagine you've already read them?"
Hannelore's male guard knight showed great interest in Ehrenfest's new books, but they apparently didn't resonate with Hannelore's literary sensibilities.
"Yes, the ending of the Fernestine Chronicles was truly moving. Are there no new romance novels from the Noble Academy this year? I was looking forward to them so much—all those wonderful love stories..."
"Of course there are. Let's do a book exchange again this year."
"Yes, I'm looking forward to it."
The two of us smiled and ended our greeting, then moved to stand before
"Unfortunately, this year our schedule is already packed with joint research projects related to religious ceremonies with Klassenberg and Frebelterg. Personal projects might be manageable, but large-scale research involving cooperation between territories would be difficult."
"So you need material that can attract interest and cooperation... I should probably consult with Professor
As Ortwin said this, he looked at me. Just like last year, he was trying to rope me into joint research through Gundolf.
...No matter what Professor Gundolf says, I'm not doing it.
The research I'd most like to pursue at the Noble Academy is the creation of Magical Tools for the library, and I'd be happy to help Murella and
On top of that, with the Dedication Ritual schedule packed tight, I'll be busy both at the Noble Academy and back in Ehrenfest. In Ehrenfest, I'll need to bring the blue apprentice priests back for the Dedication Ritual, schedule meetings with nobles returning from the capital, and make various arrangements with people for future tasks.
When I think about everything I need to do in Ehrenfest, I honestly want to make the return period as long as possible, which makes me doubt whether I'll actually have time for the library Magical Tool research. I might end up just handing materials over to
...Sigh. I knew this would happen, but I probably won't have much time for the things I love.
Mentally running through everything I need to do this winter, I felt exhausted as I stepped away from the Drewanchel delegation. After that, I left the greetings at
The brother was a second-year who had apparently been adopted just this autumn. As far as I knew, all of Gilessenmeyer's lord candidates were girls, so adopting a male blood relative to secure a groom within the same territory and increase the number of lord candidates wasn't uncommon. It must have been to arrange marriages for the siblings. However, an adoption right at the cusp of splitting into specialized tracks was unusual.
Hauffletze also had a sixth-year girl represent them with a greeting, but she had younger siblings as well. Wilfried seemed to have some interaction with the brother. The sister was apparently a new first-year.
"...It seems like there are a lot of new first-year lord candidates this year. The numbers have suddenly increased."
"Hartmut said that the number of adoptions has increased because people now know how to obtain blessings from the gods and the effects thereof."
I hadn't been paying attention to the Jannecine discussion either, but it seemed I'd been letting various reports go in one ear and out the other. Adoptions between Aub families and upper-ranking nobles of the same bloodline with no magical power issues had apparently increased among children at the age just before the specialized tracks split.
"Hartmut said he'd feed information to me and Charlotte so as not to interrupt my precious reading time, but he was giving his report right beside me! Surely it's strange to claim I wasn't listening?"
"There's nothing unusual about not hearing the sounds around you when you're absorbed in a book. Yesterday was genuinely my first reading session in ages, and it's true that I lost myself in it."
...Still, "so as not to interrupt my precious reading time"... What's that about? For Hartmut, of all people, that's actually kind of cool. I almost swooned.
While I appreciate him being considerate about my reading time, it's a problem when reports don't reach me. Next time, I'll ask him to present his reports in written form so I can read them—that way he can still be accommodating.
While lost in these thoughts, Wilfried had finished his greeting to
"How are Uncle and Lady Detlinde?"
"Yes, thanks to Lord
...Wait!? The Star Binding ceremony hasn't even happened yet, and he's not only handling administrative work and religious duties but also Magic Power supply!?
I stared at Martina in surprise, and she gave a troubled smile.
"Before the Star Binding, Lady Detlinde was subjected to the unreasonable royal decree demanding a hidden room be given. In exchange, Lord Ferdinand reportedly offered to take on the Magic Power supply, even though the Star Binding hasn't been completed. He's truly kind."
The hidden room demand was itself outrageous—requiring it as a condition for Ahrensbach's inability to send Detlinde back to Ehrenfest when the marriage couldn't proceed. Demanding Magic Power supply on top of that seemed even more unreasonable.
...Did Ferdinand really take this on willingly? Is he plotting something, like when he organized the collection during the Prayer Ritual? Or is this Ahrensbach's own lobbying effort to avoid criticism from those around them?
Watching Martina ask Wilfried about
Still deep in thought, I had returned to the Ehrenfest seats. From here, we'd wait for lower-ranked territories to come greet us.
When
"Lady Rozemyne, I hear you'll be dissolving your adoption and becoming the High Priest of the Central Temple? Even if it's to spread the importance of religious ceremonies throughout Yurgenschmidt, being demoted from a lord candidate to an upper-ranking noble and entering the Central Temple must be so difficult. How pitiful..."
...So the rumor about me becoming the High Priest of the Central Temple has been spreading well in other territories too.
The Ehrenfest nobles had made their judgment based on the repeated secret summons from royalty, but had the nobles of other territories also witnessed being summoned in the same way? Or had they, egged on by
"Lord Wilfried has not received any such proposal from the Zent about Lady Rozemyne entering the Central Temple."
Wilfried's flat denial made Murenroye blink his orange eyes. "Oh?" murmurs rippled through the surroundings, and attention turned toward us.
"That can't be right. At the Lord's Conference, the Aub of Ehrenfest was summoned by the King."
"While it's true that royalty once proposed Lady Rozemyne become the High Priest of the Central Temple, nothing has been decided."
After first acknowledging Murenroye's claim, I smiled sweetly. In Murenroye's mind, my demotion to upper-ranking noble was a foregone conclusion, but regardless of what the future held, I was still a lord candidate and Ehrenfest outranked them. I had no obligation to politely endure their taunts.
"Given my frail constitution, it's simply impossible for me to travel to other territories to conduct religious ceremonies. Therefore, the Aub of Ehrenfest replied that the royal family and lord families from each territory would need to go to the Central Temple to learn religious rites. Depending on the Zent's decision, you might find yourself meeting Lady Murenroye wearing blue Shrine Maiden Apprentice robes at the Central Temple next year or beyond."
My retort—that if I ever became High Priest of the Central Temple, the lord families of all territories including royalty would be dragged along with me—made Murenroye's face change. He looked as though the idea of being sent to the Temple had never once crossed his mind.
"As long as the royals and Aub from each territory haven't given their answer regarding entering the Central Temple, there will be no talk of Lady Rozemyne entering it."
After that blunt response to Immerdink, no one else brought up the matter of me entering the Central Temple.
The upperclassmen from Frebelterg were discussing joint research with Wilfried and Charlotte. Since the two of them would be leading this project, I stepped back and listened. It seemed the nobles were making efforts to visit the Temple, gain whatever blessings they could, and increase their harvest yields.
...Come to think of it, the nobles of Ehrenfest never visit the Temple except for trade negotiations with the commoner district.
I spent the rest of the get-together with these thoughts. With more lower-year lord candidates than usual, it was a lively affair.
When we returned to the dormitory, Hartmut and the others had also come back to the multipurpose hall. I immediately set about hearing the report on the Dedication Ritual. Naturally, Wilfried and Charlotte, who would also be conducting the Dedication Ritual for mid-ranking and lower-ranking nobles, were there as well.
"Good work on the negotiations. How did things settle?"
"Since it's a joint research project between Klassenberg and Ehrenfest rather than a lecture, we can't set aside lecture time. Instead, the Dedication Ritual will be held on Earthdays."
From the students' perspective, they wanted to participate in religious ceremonies as early as possible to gain blessings, but the faculty positioned it as a project that would take place after willing students finished their lectures, so lecture time couldn't be reserved. As a result, they would recruit volunteers and hold the Dedication Rituals on Earthdays.
"Since it's joint research and not a lecture, there's no obligation for all students to participate, and making a single special exception would create complications down the line. If they wanted it as early as possible outside of lecture time, Earthdays were the only option."
I'd expected Klassenberg to push harder, but apparently they hadn't. They'd said they wanted everything done in one go since the Central Temple didn't need to be visited repeatedly, but this was rejected because the Magic Power gap between lower-ranking nobles and lord candidates was too great.
"We pressed Eglatine repeatedly, but she cited the examples of blue priests and Shrine Maidens who lost consciousness during the Lord's Conference Dedication Ritual, and even Immanuel eventually couldn't counter-argue."
Hartmut let out a pleased little laugh.
"Also, according to Eglatine, Prince Hildebrand will be participating in a mid-ranking noble Dedication Ritual at a reduced rank for safety, and they'll be proposing that lower-year students participate in a ritual one tier below their own rank."
Charlotte looked visibly relieved at Hartmut's words.
"Reduced danger is certainly good. Magic Power supply is truly exhausting when you're not used to it."
"Lower-ranking nobles in the lower years might be better off sitting it out. It's hard to gauge your remaining Magic Power while you're supplying it."
Wilfried nodded at Charlotte's words.
"So, which Earthday have we been assigned for our Dedication Ritual?"
"Taking into account when Lady Rozemyne will be returning to Ehrenfest, it was decided that the first Earthday would be best for the lord candidates and upper-ranking nobles. The second week will be for mid-ranking nobles, and the third week for lower-ranking nobles."
As I hummed and nodded, Brother Cornelius shot Hartmut an irritated glare.
"I suggested that considering Rozemyne's condition, we should start with the lower-ranking nobles and save the third week for upper-ranking nobles..."
Apparently, the first week was packed with lectures no matter what, so the first Earthday required rest, and Brother Cornelius had proposed using the third Earthday—after lectures were finished—for my Dedication Ritual.
"Cornelius wanted to prioritize Lady Rozemyne's condition above all, while Hartmut argued that three weeks was too late since Lady Rozemyne wanted to return to Ehrenfest as soon as possible. Their opinions clashed, and it was quite the ordeal."
Damuel sighed, and Leonoore shook her head wearily.
"Eglatine mediated, and it was decided that proceeding by rank was most appropriate, so the lord candidates and upper-ranking nobles' Dedication Ritual was placed in the first week."
"You were arguing in front of royalty?"
Charlotte and Wilfried's eyes went wide. I was surprised too.
...What on earth were the two of them doing!?
"They both had Lady Rozemyne's best interests at heart, Eglatine said with a wry smile, but it was hardly a comfortable situation."
Damuel and Leonoore told me this with slightly distant expressions, and I wanted to hold my head in my hands. Arguing like that in front of royalty! I finally understood how my guardians felt every time I caused trouble.
"I should apologize to Eglatine next time."
Apparently there were a few too many people and they couldn't make it to the lectures. New first-year students have increased across various territories. The rumors about "entering the Central Temple" circulating in other territories have been shut down. The Dedication Ritual schedule has been finalized. Next up: the first week's lectures.