Ferdinand's Crisis

I rushed forward instinctively. Though my vision had shifted as if I were standing before Ferdinand, even when I reached out, my hands never appeared in my field of vision, and I couldn't touch Ferdinand or Letizia. It felt as though I were watching a movie. No matter how I called out, my voice didn't seem to reach either of them—they showed no reaction whatsoever, as though they couldn't see me at all.

Ferdinand pulled something from the medicine pouch at his hip and shoved it into his mouth, then unfastened the small metal cage containing the Name-swearing Stone. His hand was trembling, and his forehead was drenched in sweat.

"Give this… to Justus… Tell him… Hurry…"

Letizia took the cage with a deathly pale face and dashed away. She had probably left through the Supply Room. She disappeared from the range of what I could see.

The moment Letizia vanished, Ferdinand collapsed limply onto the spot. He couldn't even sit up—he lay there and made no effort to rise.

…Ferdinand!

I wanted to heal him, wanted to get him medicine, but there was nothing I could do. He didn't seem to be aware that I was watching. Ferdinand's face twisted in agony.

"Ngh…"

A groan escaped him as he clutched his chest, gripping his clothing. Looking closely, his chest was faintly glowing with rainbow-colored light that enveloped his entire body.

…My charm!?

It wasn't visible because it was beneath his clothes. Yet I knew—not through logic, but by instinct—that the faintly glowing Magic Power wrapping around Ferdinand was mine.

His entire body was bathed in a soft rainbow light, as though my charm were clinging to Ferdinand's very life.

…Someone, anyone—hurry and save Ferdinand!

All I could do was watch. I couldn't lift a hand. The helplessness was agonizing.

"Hah… hah…"

Ferdinand continued clutching his chest, his breathing shallow and ragged. Then footsteps echoed. At that sound, Ferdinand flinched like a spring and reflexively pressed his hand to his chest as he forced himself upright. He managed to get into a sitting position, but his breathing was harsh—he didn't even have the energy to brush the sweat-soaked hair from his forehead.

Turning back while still worrying about Ferdinand's condition, I saw Detlinde walking toward us at an unhurried pace, her silver cloth mantle trailing behind her, its hem sweeping the floor as her heels clicked against the ground. Ferdinand was clearly in distress, yet she walked as though he weren't even there. At the very least, she didn't look worried.

…Why?

My unease at Detlinde's composure—not a trace of surprise or alarm—became a terrible premonition. Or rather, a strange certainty, a conviction flooding through me that Detlinde had done something to harm Ferdinand.

…Don't come this way. Don't go near Ferdinand!

I tried to stand before Ferdinand to shield him from Detlinde, but it was completely meaningless. She passed right through me without so much as bumping into me. All it drove home was the reality that I wasn't really there.

"How strange. Leonzio-sama said the poison would cause instant death and turn one into a Magic Stone, yet he's still alive… I can't very well carry him out like this, can I?"

Detlinde looked down at Ferdinand, who had slumped to the floor, and furrowed her brow. Her deep green eyes held a clear expression of contempt for Ferdinand.

…What did she just say?

"I wonder if Letizia truly gave him the poison? He does appear weakened, so perhaps she avoided a direct hit? Or perhaps he took an antidote beforehand? Ferdinand was supposed to be poisoned by Letizia, and I was to discover him after he had become a Magic Stone. What am I to do if the plan didn't go as expected?"

Detlinde tilted her head elegantly with her hand against her cheek, remarking that it was troublesome how things had worked out up until having Letizia do it but not beyond.

"I did promise Leonzio-sama that I would return the Magic Stone of Lanzanave to Lanzanave…"

The Magic Stone of Lanzanave. Detlinde's words and gaze sent a chill down my spine. It was nothing less than a declaration that Ferdinand was not being recognized as a human being. And I now understood that the person called Leonzio was from Lanzanave.

"Hey, Ferdinand. Did you know? You were supposed to have become a Magic Stone before your Baptism Ceremony and been returned to Lanzanave—you hopeless failure. What was it called, the Fruit of Aldreaz? Your own mother saw you as having value only as a Magic Stone, it seems."

Detlinde looked down at Ferdinand with an unmistakably triumphant expression. Ferdinand was desperately trying to hide his labored breathing, striving to appear calm, but he must have felt as though the past he least wanted touched was being trampled underfoot.

"That such a man is the fiancé of me, the next Zent—isn't that shameful? That is why I need Ferdinand to disappear before the Star Binding Ceremony. Mother didn't object and even helped guide Letizia along, so…"

I couldn't make sense of it. Ahrensbach was supposed to have no Lord Candidate, and Ferdinand had been fighting tooth and nail while dosed with potions on the King's orders to support Ahrensbach. Yet here she was, planning to lose Ferdinand—so what was to become of Ahrensbach?

"You… cannot become the next Zent…"

Detlinde dismissed Ferdinand's groaned words with a laugh.

"You may not know this, Ferdinand, but the location of the Grutrissheit is already known. Leonzio-sama knows it. I will obtain the Grutrissheit together with Leonzio-sama and become Zent. And I will make Leonzio-sama my King Consort. No matter how much he may be loved, I cannot live on alongside you."

Detlinde smiled, her face brimming with hope. The upward-curved red lips looked grotesquely garish to me.

"You are an Aub who stained the Foundation… and the Zent…"

"Hehe, not I. My older sister stained the Foundation. Therefore, the current Aub Ahrensbach is my older sister."

Detlinde covered her mouth with her hand and snickered, as though mocking Ferdinand. "The next Zent—namely, me—would never stain Ahrensbach's Foundation."

"If I become Zent, I can revoke the current Zent's royal decree and restore my brother-in-law to Lord Candidate. My uncles can be restored as well, and Benedicta is there as an heir. Ahrensbach will be perfectly secure."

Nowhere in Detlinde's vision of the future was Ferdinand's name—and Letizia's was absent too. Surely Letizia was in danger as well. I didn't know how Detlinde had manipulated her, but Letizia was bound to be treated as the operative who administered the poison to Ferdinand.

"Mother has already begun preparations for departure. I don't quite understand why she would want to get her hands on a backwater territory like Ehrenfest… but she says it will be easier without you. She is waiting for my Ordonnanz."

An indescribable fury rose within me at the thought of Georgine waiting for word that Ferdinand was dead. Using Lanzanave's poison, manipulating Letizia to poison Ferdinand, then having Detlinde confirm whether he lived or died—keeping her own hands utterly clean. It might be brilliant aristocratic scheming, but all I felt was rage.

"If I tell Mother that Letizia failed to turn you into a Magic Stone, she'll surely be furious. It's not as though he'll die if left alone like this."

Saying this, Detlinde placed a hand at her hip and reached for some kind of pouch. The instant her gaze shifted away, Ferdinand clenched his teeth with a grinding sound, and through a groan, he threw several Magic Stone Magical Tools attached at his waist and gripped his Stab.

"Kyah!?"

An explosion rang out. Ferdinand himself was jolted by the impact, and Detlinde screamed. But every magical attack was deflected by the silver cloth. She appeared to have taken some impact, but Detlinde sustained no visible injuries. The Magical Tools that had turned the tide of the Ditter against Heisschietze seemed to be of little use against the silver cloth.

"…It doesn't work?"

"Oh my! How savage!"

Detlinde, indignant, pulled a piece of candy from the pouch at her hip and placed it in her mouth. It looked like the Lanzanave sweets Letizia had given her. As she licked it, she flung powder from another pouch at Ferdinand.

…Stop!

Ferdinand, unable to move freely, twisted to avoid a direct hit, but he couldn't prevent the powder from falling to the floor and billowing gently upward. His posture broke. Unable to even remain seated in front of Detlinde, he collapsed where he was. The hand that had been clutching his chest went limp, all strength draining away. Only his golden eyes still glared at Detlinde, but his lips barely moved.

"The instant-death poison seemed to be rather ineffective, but this medicine works just fine. How curious."

With that, Detlinde produced a pair of criminal restraints designed to seal a Stab. She reached out to put them on Ferdinand's limp wrists. With a sharp crack, Detlinde's fingertips were repelled by a burst of rainbow light.

"Kyah!?"

Detlinde's eyes went wide as she stared at her own hand, then she glared fiercely at Ferdinand. Clinging to her silver mantle to block the Magic Power, she forced the restraints onto him. Stone rings like those of a Magic Stone were placed on both wrists, linked by a chain.

"Now, even if you regain freedom of movement, no one should be in danger."

With a "Hmph," Detlinde gave a slight tug on Ferdinand's arm and placed his hand atop the Supply magic circle.

"I'm far too weak a woman to carry Ferdinand out of here, so please remain here and continue channeling your Magic Power into the Foundation until you're completely drained. The Aub—my older sister—will surely be pleased."

Detlinde walked to the center of the magic circle, crouched down, and poured Magic Power into it. The Supply magic circle activated. Magic Power would continue flowing into it until he withdrew on his own.

"How long will it take for his Magic Power to run out? I do hope the Grutrissheit is obtained before then…"

Detlinde left with a bright, satisfied expression, as though she had accomplished something tremendous.

Even after Detlinde was gone, the magic circle did not stop. It continued to drain Ferdinand's Magic Power. I could feel the Magic Power I had given Ferdinand through my charm flowing away. Little by little, the rainbow light enveloping him grew fainter.

Ferdinand, who had been glaring at Detlinde the entire time, let the emotion drain from his pale gold eyes. All anger, all hatred—everything—as though he had resigned himself to it all, his gaze fell.

And in the same instant, my vision returned to the original scene—the meeting of the Lord's family.

"…Please, don't give up!"

"Rozemyne, what's wrong!? You suddenly started glowing in rainbow colors, and then you went completely still."

Everyone had gathered around me, watching with concern—that was why. But none of that mattered. I had to go save Ferdinand.

"Father, Ferdinand! Ferdinand collapsed from poison in Ahrensbach. Georgine orchestrated it, and Letizia administered the poison, then Detlinde threw powder and he collapsed…"

My mouth moved, blurting out everything as it came to mind, while my body tried to rise and go help. I attempted to walk toward the door, but I was surrounded on all sides, and Father had seized my arm so I couldn't move.

"Please let me go, Father!"

"Calm yourself! That explanation makes no sense whatsoever. What happened, and how did Ferdinand end up poisoned? Can he be saved? Is there any chance!?"

A hand pressed on my shoulder, forcing me back into my seat. I was made to sit back down, and then questioned one after another about what I had seen. Not just Father—Mother, my siblings, and Grandfather all had questions. I understood that cooperation would be needed, if only to expedite matters. I held back my desperate urge to rush to Ferdinand's aid and answered.

"So, in short, Georgine will be arriving soon. We must hurry to prepare countermeasures."

"Grandfather!? Right now, it's not Georgine—I need to help Ferdinand—"

"You cannot go rescue Ferdinand while he is near death from poison in another territory's Supply Room. Give up, Rozemyne. What the Lord Candidate of Ehrenfest must prioritize is protecting Ehrenfest's Foundation. Do not make a mistake."

Grandfather looked down at me with stern blue eyes as he said this.

Ferdinand, collapsed in Ahrensbach's Supply Room.

Rozemyne, trying to rush to his aid.

Bonifatius, stopping her.

Next: the Temptation.