The Key to the Holy Book

"I need to head back to the Temple right away. It's at the Adoptive Father's request as well, but I'd like the Gilberta Company to come to the Temple instead."

When I returned to my room and said that, Lieseleta looked troubled.

"If Lady Rozemyne is able to return to the castle tomorrow, could we have the measurements taken there? I'm planning to call in the exclusive tailors for Lady Florentia, Lady Charlotte, and Lady Elvira to place orders for clothing."

It seemed the attendants had been reaching out to various people to make adjustments, deciding that they couldn't keep their lady in the clothes Brunhilde had handed down forever. To add to that, if they didn't have things ready before the Lord's Conference, they'd be in the worst possible situation with no clothing when it came time to move to the central territory. I couldn't let Lieseleta and Ottilie's preparations go to waste.

"Very well. I'll come back here tomorrow then."

"Please allow me to accompany you for tomorrow's measurements and clothing selection. I want to be of use to Lady Rozemyne."

Bertilde looked at me sadly, saying she had been completely useless in the Noble Academy. Despite having finally become an Attendant, she was lamenting that she hadn't been able to do anything befitting one. I lowered my body slightly to meet her eyes.

"From what Lieseleta and Gretia have told me, you were working very hard to assist with Charlotte's tea parties so as not to lose out to Melchior's aides, weren't you? I hear you were very impressive, doing your best to spread Ehrenfest's trends even while I was away."

"But I can only serve Lady Rozemyne until my older sister becomes Aub and ties the starbinding..."

Once Brunhilde officially became the second wife, Bertilde was set to become Brunhilde's apprentice Attendant. The earnestness of Bertilde, who wanted to do something Attendant-like even a little before that happened, was incredibly endearing.

"Then, let me entrust one of the outfits ordered tomorrow to Bertilde. Please order one of my summer outfits for her. Even I can see that my appearance has changed quite a bit. Think carefully about that."

"Thank you very much."

As Bertilde smiled happily, I asked her to have Brunhilde come see me tomorrow as well.

"I know she's busy with wedding preparations, but I'd like to send a hair ornament as a congratulatory gift for Brunhilde's marriage and retirement. Bertilde, I know it's sudden, but could you let Brunhilde know starting now?"

"Of course, Lady Rozemyne. My sister will surely be delighted."

Once Bertilde left temporarily to pass the message to Brunhilde, I immediately began preparing to return to the Temple.

"There are things I need to confirm at the Temple, since the Adoptive Father asked me to, so I'll be back here tomorrow. Please keep my exclusive musician, Rosina, on standby at the castle. And since I've kept my exclusive cook, Hugo, stuck at the dormitory for so long, I'll be taking him back to the Temple. I'll bring a replacement tomorrow."

Gretia set off to contact the Temple and the exclusives. While watching her go, I turned my gaze to my retainers.

"Hartmut and Philine, please come with me to the Temple. Roderich and Clarissa, I need you to stay at the castle and work on copying the books that Lady Hannelore lent us. As for the guard knights—Damuel, Angelica, Matthias, and Laurenz, you'll come with me to the Temple. Everyone else, stay at the castle. I imagine the Adoptive Father or Grandfather will summon some of you."

There was a chance the knights would be called for things like revising the defense plan. I wanted to leave behind High Knight Cornelius and Leonore, but leaving Angelica behind wouldn't accomplish anything useful.

While I was giving instructions, Lieseleta and Ottilie were already efficiently packing. Since my body size had changed so much, the clothes at the Temple wouldn't even work for sleeping, so I'd need a change of outfit.

"Safe travels, Lady Rozemyne. We look forward to your swift return."

When I arrived at the Temple and dismounted from my riding beast, what I saw was the stunned faces of the Temple attendants. They all gasped at once, staring at me. It wasn't the look of rejection one might give something heretical, nor was it the understanding silence of noble aides who knew the circumstances. If anything, it was more like Melchior's expression—someone who had simply, earnestly believed every word Hartmut said.

...Oh dear, they've definitely been brainwashed.

"I've returned."

"...Welcome back, Lady Rozemyne. Lord Hartmut told us about it, but you really have grown so tall and beautiful through the blessings of the gods."

I was stared at by Monica with sparkling eyes, and I couldn't deny it, faltering over my words. Hartmut had talked about my safety and my growth in Magic Power almost daily, obnoxiously so, which was why there was less of a negative reaction and everyone had accepted me. I knew his manner of speaking and the intensity behind it had made those around him uncomfortable, but the fact that I could return to a normal life was all thanks to Hartmut.

"I had only ever seen you as a small child, so it was quite a surprise, but I am truly overjoyed at your growth, Lady Rozemyne."

"In all my knowledge, Lady Rozemyne is the most beautiful."

Fran and Gil had been serving me from the very beginning. Fran smiled gently, happy to see me grown, and Gil clenched his fist with a slightly bashful expression as he praised me, making me smile without thinking.

"It makes me happy that everyone is happy for me."

I had Gil and Fritz carry the luggage from the castle, and as we made our way back to the High Priest's room, I gave Fran and Zahm instructions about tomorrow's schedule and the movements of my exclusive retainers.

"The winter coming-of-age ceremony is approaching, but will the ceremonial robes be ready? Or will you be asking Lord Melchior to handle the rites?"

"I had them tailored so they'd still fit even after I grew, so there shouldn't be a problem with the ceremonial robes. The real issue is that until the everyday clothes are finished, the only option is to wear the ceremonial ones, which is inconvenient. I'll be taking measurements and placing orders for clothing at the castle tomorrow, so please arrange things accordingly. Have the Gilberta Company handle the alterations."

Since the measurements were being done at the castle, they should be able to handle the Temple's everyday clothes as well.

"You do have plans at the castle tomorrow, correct? Then what exactly brought you back to the Temple today?"

"To investigate the Key to the Holy Book. Some new facts have come to light, and it needs to be reexamined."

Once I returned to the High Priest's room, I sat down to drink the tea Nicola had prepared while waiting for Fran to bring out the Key to the Holy Book. In the meantime, I gave instructions to Damuel and Angelica.

"Damuel, Angelica. I'm sorry to ask this, but could you go around to all the lower-town gates and instruct the Soldiers to watch carefully for anyone entering the town draped in silver cloth? And when they're spotted, I want them to avoid making a commotion and contact the knights immediately. The person in question is very likely a high-ranking noble, so there's no need to try and capture them on the spot."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Damuel and Angelica immediately turned and left the room. Matthias, who had reacted to the mention of silver cloth, looked toward me and murmured, "Lady Rozemyne, that means..."

The silver cloth had been found at Giebe Gerlach's summer villa. If that was the case, it should be easy to deduce who the silver cloth represented.

"There's a possibility that a suspicious magic-wielding individual could sneak in. The banquet celebrating the end of winter was held the day before I returned, wasn't it? Well, the snow should be melting soon, so we need to be vigilant about carriages."

Matthias stepped briskly forward, knelt before me, and crossed both hands over his chest.

"Please, Lady Rozemyne, send me to Gerlach. When I went to investigate with Lord Bonifatius, we discovered several small huts in the territory where Magical Tools were hidden. Lord Bonifatius set traps so they'd be obvious if opened. Please let me go check on them."

"Let me ask Grandfather. Even if you go, it will be with someone from the knights."

I sent an orundans to Grandfather, saying, "Matthias would like to go to Gerlach to check the traps." I knew Grandfather must be busy revising Ehrenfest's defense plan with the Adoptive Father and my father, but he'd surely send someone from the knights.

Just as I was thinking that, a response came back from Grandfather almost immediately.

"I was just thinking I needed to check on it myself. I don't want the traps I set to be tampered with, so I'll be going. Matthias, make sure you have plenty of healing potions. We'll be back in a day."

It sounded like Grandfather was planning to chug healing potions and push through at full speed on his riding beast. I retrieved several types of healing potions from the hidden room and handed them to Matthias, who looked grim.

"Matthias, please use these. I guarantee their effectiveness. Keeping up with Grandfather at full speed is going to be tough, but will you be all right?"

"...I'm the one who asked for this inspection. I'll go. I don't want anyone else ransacking Ehrenfest anymore. I'll protect it with everything I have."

Matthias accepted the healing potions while thanking me. With only Laurenz remaining, that would be too few guard knights. I was thinking about calling Eudaly to the Temple when Laurenz smiled and said, "No need to worry, Lady Rozemyne."

"I've already contacted Eudaly. We can't afford to thin out Lady Rozemyne's protection any further, so it seems she'll be coming to the Temple with Lord Bonifatius."

...Wow. My aides are seriously impressive.

"Here is the Key to the Holy Book, Lady Rozemyne."

After the guard knights finished coming and going and things had settled down, Fran handed me the Key to the Holy Book. I took the key in hand and stood up from my chair.

"Thank you, Fran. I'm going to retreat into the hidden room for a bit. There's no need for a guard inside. Please wait outside."

Leaving Eudaly and Laurenz as guards in the High Priest's room, I entered the hidden room alone. I set the key down on the table with a soft clink, took out my staff, and chanted, "Grutrissheit."

Holding my finger on the tablet-shaped Book of Mestionora, I searched for information about the Key to the Holy Book.

"Let's see..."

The Key was made to pair with the Foundation. A small magic stone sat atop the magic stone used for Magic Power registration, and its color was supposed to match the territory's color, so you could tell which territory a key belonged to just by looking at it.

Hm, I thought, staring intently at the key. The magic stone representing the territory's color should have been a dark yellowish brown close to Ehrenfest's ochre, but instead it was a pale wisteria purple.

"This isn't Ehrenfest's key! It's Ahrensbach's key!? What? Why!? I've opened the Holy Book with this thing multiple times!?"

Panicking, I scrolled through the entry on keys, and to my shock, I discovered that the Holy Book and the key weren't paired with each other—the key was paired with the Foundation's magic. If the Magic Power registered on the Holy Book and the key was the same, you could open the Holy Book, but the door leading to the Foundation could only be opened with that territory's key.

"Wait—then where is Ehrenfest's key?"

I murmured in a daze, but the answer had already surfaced in the corner of my mind long ago. The key had been swapped during the Holy Book theft incident, so it had surely already fallen into Georgine's hands. Back then, I had recolored the key, which had been stained with someone else's Magic Power, with my own. Because the Holy Book had opened, I had assumed it was the real key, but it never occurred to me that it belonged to another territory.

"But if they swapped it with Ahrensbach's key, wouldn't that mean if they noticed, the Ahrensbach Foundation could be taken in reverse? Why would she take such a high risk...?"

If this was Georgine's plan, I couldn't fathom what she was thinking. Did she not want the Ahrensbach Foundation? Or was this some kind of trap to lure us in? I couldn't tell.

But the fact that the keys had been swapped made one thing clear: Georgine was so obsessed with Ehrenfest's Foundation that she was willing to abandon the women and commoners in Ahrensbach without a second thought. She didn't seem to have any intention of obtaining it and cherishing it. If anything, she seemed to want to take it away from the Adoptive Father or destroy it with her own hands.

...What if destroying Ehrenfest is what Lady Georgine desires?

The moment that thought crossed my mind, the blood drained from my face. If what Georgine wished for was not to become Aub Ehrenfest, but to destroy Ehrenfest itself, then she was the most dangerous enemy I could possibly face. Reasoning with her would be useless, begging for mercy would be useless. She wouldn't hesitate in the slightest to snuff out a life, and she wouldn't spare a thought for Commoners. If anything, seeing someone try to protect something would only make her target it all the harder.

"If all she wants is to seize the Foundation without caring about the consequences, it really wouldn't be that difficult..."

The Foundation's magic was the foundation of the territory itself. Just as we'd learned in the lectures for Aub candidates, filling the land with Magic Power through the Foundation enriched the territory. Conversely, when all the Magic Power was gone, the city would crumble and the land would revert to white desert. Under normal circumstances, the incoming Aub would gradually exchange Magic Power with the previous Aub over time, or overwhelm them with a massive amount of Magic Power to overwrite it all at once.

But if all you wanted was to steal and destroy it, it wouldn't take much time, and you wouldn't need massive amounts of Magic Power to recolor it. You could prepare a large number of empty magic stones and have them absorb the Foundation's Magic Power, or use great magic to drain the Foundation's Magic Power en masse. Ehrenfest—the city, the farmlands, the forests, all of it—would revert to white desert and nearly all the commoners would perish, but recoloring the Foundation's magic with your own would become trivially easy.

This was the kind of atrocity someone could commit knowing they were a Zent who held Grutrissheit and that no one could punish the bearer of the Foundation.

...A Zent is necessary. One who holds Grutrissheit.

With the Book of Mestionora, if I could seize the Foundation of Yurgenschmidt, I could easily stop Georgine. Just as there was a difference between what an Aub who held the Foundation and an Aub candidate could do, there was a difference between a Zent who held the Foundation and a next-Zent candidate who merely held Grutrissheit.

Above all, my Book of Mestionora was full of holes. Unlike the copy of Grutrissheit meant for the Zent, tucked away in the underground archives, the magic circles and the like needed for great magic were moth-eaten. I either needed to complete the Book of Mestionora or obtain a copy of Grutrissheit.

...How am I supposed to protect Ehrenfest? Surround the city with the Stellaria Shield?

It would be a waste of Magic Power when I didn't even know when Georgine would strike. And it would be meaningless if the silver cloth could pass through a magic barrier. The best approach was to capture Georgine before she could get close to the Foundation. At the very least, if she wanted to seize it, she would have to come in person.

Even thinking frantically on my own, no good ideas were coming to me. I should report to the Adoptive Father before losing myself in thought. I gripped the Key to the Holy Book and left the hidden room.

"I've discovered something alarming, so I'll be returning to the castle. For safety's sake, I'll keep this key on me. Fran, once Damuel and Angelica return, please have them stationed at the Temple's back gate and front entrance respectively. Also, please tell Hartmut in the Chief Priest's room to summon Melchior to the Temple."

Back at the Temple to check on the key.

The key had been swapped for Ahrensbach's.

Ehrenfest's key was switched during the Holy Book theft, sent via teleportation circle from Viscountess Daldorf to the former Giebe Gerlach, and passed through Bettina's family to Georgine.

Next up: measurements and frustration.