Rally

I left the Aub's office and rendezvoused with Brother Cornelius, Hartmut, and Lieseleta. Walking quickly and gracefully like a proper lady was still a bit beyond me, so I summoned my riding beast and climbed aboard.

"Hartmut, please gather the knights in my room at once."

"Our meeting about the invasion of Ahrensbach, I presume? I've already called everyone to assemble. I told them to drop everything and hurry, so those who stayed at the temple should be arriving shortly. I've left Roderich and Philine in place to maintain the status quo."

I was so taken aback by how coolly and casually he said that that I couldn't help doing a double take at Hartmut.

"Th-that's wonderful."

"I'm glad to be of service to Lady Rozemyne."

True to Hartmut's word, when I returned to my room, my guard knights were already gathered and waiting. I spun around to survey them all. The knights who had been on temple duty must have been rushed here, because they still looked out of breath.

"Um, Lady Rozemyne. Hartmut told us it was an emergency, but..."

"It is indeed both urgent and sudden, but tonight, we are going to steal the foundations of Ahrensbach."

"...What?"

The situation had changed drastically between morning and afternoon. Since this wasn't something even I could have predicted, there was nothing to be done about it. I gave my retainers—who had been absent from the meeting and knew nothing of the current situation—a rough overview: Ferdinand's current state, the possibility of an attack on Ehrenfest, our plan to head to Ahrensbach, Dunkelfelger's support, and Justus and the others joining up with us.

The urgency of the situation must have come across whether they liked it or not. I could see the tension creeping into everyone's faces. I began issuing orders. We truly had almost no time before departure.

"First, the assignments for my attendants. Lieseleta and Gretia will move to the library. The two remaining here in the castle will be Ottilie and Berthilde. Ottilie, please begin by preparing my riding beast clothes and shoes, along with the magic stones and Magical Tools in this room. Also, since we'll be having dinner and taking a nap at the library afterward, please arrange to have my personal chef moved there as well."

"Lady Rozemyne, how many people will be dining at the library? We'll likely need to arrange for food supplies as well, won't we?"

At Ottilie's words, I looked over my retainers and began counting, but Lieseleta cut in.

"Ottilie, please move as much as you can from the castle's stock. If it's not enough, I'll contact Lady Elvira. I understand Lord Eckhart will be returning, so he should be willing to help."

The division of tasks between Ottilie and Lieseleta was settled in short order.

"After we depart, you two who remain in the castle must not neglect intelligence gathering in preparation for Lady Georgine's invasion. Coordinate with my adoptive mother, Charlotte, and Brunhilde."

"Understood."

Ottilie smiled, saying "It certainly is urgent," and began moving, but Berthilde—who was entirely unaccustomed to my outrageous demands—staggered after her with a dazed look on her face.

"Then, Lady Rozemyne. Shall Gretia and I head to the library and assist Razafam with the reception preparations?"

"Yes. You're very quick on the uptake, Lieseleta. We'll need to provide dinner and a nap for Brother Eckhart and Justus as well, so please take care of it."

"Understood. We'll be leaving ahead of you since there's no time, but please make sure to bring your guard knights when you move to the library."

Lieseleta admonished me, saying "You mustn't end up issuing orders to your retainers one after another and then running around all alone," before taking Gretia and leaving the room.

"Hartmut and Clarissa will distribute the Magical Tools and recovery potions we've prepared thus far to everyone at the library, and afterward..."

"Our battle preparations are complete. Rest assured. Once the distribution is done, I'll swap with Hartmut and take a nap."

Clarissa said this with great enthusiasm. It was one thing for Clarissa—a military-minded scholar from Dunkelfelger—to be part of the sortie, but I was surprised that Hartmut was taking it entirely for granted that he would be coming along, and I stared at him.

"Managing the large quantities of Magical Tools and medicines loaded onto your riding beast would be difficult for you, Lady Rozemyne. It would be even harder if we're distributing them to Dunkelfelger. Please take me along so you can focus on the rescue."

"...Hartmut, your offer is appreciated, but I don't think this is the kind of thing a scholar should be going to with such enthusiasm."

I crossed my arms and tilted my head, wondering if it would be all right for someone with no Ditter experience, and Hartmut gave a small, smug chuckle.

"Oh my, those don't sound like words befitting the Lord candidate and scholar that you are, Lady Rozemyne."

"Nngh... We're prioritizing speed this time, so if you're slow, I'm leaving you behind!"

Frustrated by my inability to argue back, I said that, and Hartmut's smile only grew more confident.

"I'll ride on your steed and manage the Magical Tools, so there won't be any problem."

"Leave it to me. This is the perfect time for me to fully demonstrate the power that carried me in one stretch from Dunkelfelger to Ehrenfest."

...Ooohhh! What an unfortunate track record!

Since they said they wanted to prepare even one more antidote if possible, I decided to let Hartmut and Clarissa do as they pleased and sent them off to the library.

I surveyed the guard knights who would be accompanying me to Ahrensbach.

"Laurenz, as a minor, you have the right to choose. Will you come with me or stay behind? Please decide."

"I've already dedicated my name to Lady Rozemyne. You can't seriously suggest leaving me behind at this point."

Laurenz said this with a wry smile, and Judithe raised her hand as if driven by rivalry. "I don't want to stay behind either!"

"Judithe, precisely because this is an emergency, your father's permission is required. I cannot take you into a battle with another territory without his consent."

"No! Ugh... I'll get permission through an Ordnanz right away!"

Judithe ran off with tears in her eyes, and I ordered the knights present to organize a rotation schedule.

"The knights heading to Ahrensbach will take turns going to the dormitory to eat dinner and nap while they prepare. The only knight remaining in Ehrenfest will be Damuel."

Everyone's eyes widened slightly as they looked at Damuel, and then they gathered to discuss.

I gently tugged at the cape of Damuel, the only one left behind, and handed him a Magical Tool that prevented eavesdropping.

"I'm going to give you an order that only Damuel can carry out."

"Lady Rozemyne."

"Please protect my family—the people most precious to me in all of Ehrenfest. Lady Georgine and her allies, who had ties with the former High Priest, may know the location of my family and my home. And they may have realized that the most devastating blow against me would be one aimed at my family."

If one carefully gathered information about how I had entered the temple, the rescue of Charlotte, my connections to the lower town, the rise of my retainers, and the spread of printing—the things most precious to me would become abundantly clear. For those plotting to infiltrate Ehrenfest's temple and steal its foundations, the biggest obstacle would be me, who still held the public position of High Priest. When considering how to efficiently eliminate me or render me unable to resist, taking hostages would be highly effective.

"I can only entrust this to Damuel, who knew me from those early days. Please."

"Understood. ...I also made a promise with Lord Ferdinand."

"With Lord Ferdinand?"

When I asked, Damuel gazed into the distance toward Ahrensbach.

"Before departing for Ahrensbach, he told me that I would be the only one who personally knew Lady Rozemyne as a blue Shrine Maiden Apprentice. He asked me to be there."

Both my adoptive father and my father knew I had been a Commoner, but during my time as a blue Shrine Maiden Apprentice, they had only met me briefly and had no firsthand knowledge of our day-to-day interactions. Even if they had heard reports, they hadn't witnessed how I had interacted with my family.

"So he ordered me to protect Lady Rozemyne's heart, and to watch Hartmut—the one who scours for information—so he doesn't overstep his bounds... Ferdinand really does pile on the impossible tasks."

Damuel smiled wryly as he looked down at me slightly. I realized our faces were closer now. The height of our eye levels was completely different from back then.

...In the beginning, my head had only reached about Damuel's stomach, and if he hadn't knelt down, our eyes never would have met at all.

As I was thinking this, Damuel knelt down before me. Now I couldn't even see his face—just the top of his brown head.

"As a guard knight, I should be saying that staying here is the safest option for you... But go safely, Lady Rozemyne. To protect your own heart as well, press forward without deceiving your desires, and be sure to save Lord Ferdinand. May the blessings of the many gods be with you."

"I thank you, Damuel. To me, you truly remain the finest knight."

I returned the eavesdropping-prevention Magical Tool, and Damuel departed. Cornelius looked at me with a questioning expression.

"Where did Damuel go?"

"To protect the things most precious to me. He is my guard knight, after all. More importantly, has the rotation for naps been decided?"

I confirmed the knights' rotation schedule and headed to the library together.

"Lady Rozemyne, Lord Ferdinand is..."

He must have heard from the retainers who had arrived earlier. Razafam hurried over to me the moment he finished his greeting. Learning that the lord to whom he had dedicated his name was in a critical state on distant land would naturally cause great anxiety.

"I understand your worry, Razafam. However, I have secured permission from the Aub's family and obtained Dunkelfelger's cooperation. I expect Justus and Brother Eckhart to return through the Royal Academy by the time the sixth bell rings."

As I headed toward the workshop where Hartmut and the others would be, I asked Razafam about the progress of preparations.

"Are the guest rooms for Justus and Brother Eckhart ready? The number of people dining here has increased significantly—do we have enough food? Have the chefs arrived?"

As I listed off tasks one after another, Razafam gave clear answers to each. The preparations seemed to be proceeding smoothly.

"I'd like to finish preparations before they arrive. We'll need to hear about the situation in Ahrensbach over dinner, and we'll need enough leeway to prepare any additional supplies if necessary."

"Understood."

"Also, if possible, please contact their families to see if they have any spare clothes available."

If I wandered around while my retainers were busy, I'd only be in the way. I returned to my room and did what I could on my own. First, I sent an Ordnanz to Brigitte in Ilgner. I explained the high likelihood that Ahrensbach would use the opportunity of having forced Ferdinand into his current state to launch an invasion, that Georgine was most likely operating covertly, and relayed the information about the silver cloth. I asked them to gather information widely from the Commoners and to coordinate with the neighboring Giebes.

"The knight order led by Grandfather is always ready to deploy. If you sense any unusual activity, please contact us."

"We received instructions from Lady Florencia for all Giebes to remain vigilant, but your information is even more detailed and valuable. Thank you. I will inform the neighboring Giebes as well as the Commoners, and we will take every precaution."

Learning that the detailed information hadn't reached the Giebes, I sent an Ordnanz to my adoptive mother. "Please disseminate more detailed information, and ask Giebe Gerlach and Giebe Galdoon to have their Giebe knights strengthen their defenses."

After finishing my Ordnanz messages, I used the Book of Mestionora in my hidden room to search for maps of Ahrensbach. I wanted to know the locations of the border gate and the temple. The search turned up the maps and floor plans that had been used during the Entwicken of the city, so I was able to learn the temple's layout in detail.

...It had been a painful ordeal, but I was glad to have obtained it. It's incredibly useful! Thank the gods!

I copied the city map and temple floor plan onto the magic paper Clarissa had made and let myself bask in a sense of satisfaction. Even though I rotated the map around, I couldn't quite tell where we were or where our destination was, but among the knights, there would surely be someone who could make use of it.

I wanted to check the Magic Power supply room using the castle floor plan next, but the castle floor plan didn't come up in the search. Since it was rarely reviewed unless something major came up, there was almost no occasion to see a floor plan of the entire castle—except during an Entwicken. Perhaps it was in Ferdinand's copy of the Book of Mestionora.

"Ugh, I can't find the crucial parts!"

But there was no point lamenting. Justus and Brother Eckhart would know, so it would be fine. I collected myself and decided to copy over the magic circles that looked like they might come in handy.

After I had copied a few, the summoning Magical Tool glowed, so I left the hidden room to find Judithe looking crestfallen. "I was told to stay in Ehrenfest," she said glumly.

"Going to Ahrensbach isn't the only job a guard knight has. Protecting my precious people—whom I cannot move from Ehrenfest—is also a guard knight's duty."

"That may be so, but..."

"Damuel promised to protect my precious people in order to protect my heart. Judithe, please protect the temple and the lower town alongside Damuel. The Gutenbergs and their families are indispensable to the future spread of printing. Under no circumstances must Lady Georgine be allowed entry. Please protect the temple—and with it, all of Ehrenfest—with that level of resolve."

If I stationed Judithe—who excelled at long-range attacks and had keen eyesight—at the temple, and had her use Magical Tools like insect bombs that even silver cloth couldn't block, even Georgine—born and raised as a noble—would think twice.

"I understand. I'll take up the defense of the temple."

As I pushed forward with preparations as they came to mind, the sixth bell rang, and some time after that, Justus and Brother Eckhart arrived.

"Justus! Brother Eckhart!"

"...P-Princess?"

When he saw me, Justus stood frozen as though struck dumb. Brother Eckhart murmured, "Rozemyne, is that you?" in a confirming tone, and then immediately began asking about the current state of preparations.

"Everything Brother Eckhart mentioned earlier has been arranged. We've also secured Dunkelfelger's cooperation, and we plan to depart tonight for Ferdinand's rescue."

"Remarkable work. As expected of my sister, trained by Lord Ferdinand himself."

Seeing the genuine admiration and glimmer of hope in Brother Eckhart's eyes filled me with joy. To have Brother Eckhart praise me was equivalent to saying I was truly useful to Ferdinand.

"Eckhart, how can you speak so normally to the princess when she's changed so much?"

"No matter how much her appearance may have changed, if the part of her that treasures Ferdinand hasn't changed, there's no issue at all."

Brother Eckhart said this with a completely nonchalant expression as he strode over to Razafam. Unlike him, Justus seemed torn between wanting information and not knowing how far he could push things in this emergency, and he began fidgeting. His eyes were sparkling with curiosity.

"What on earth happened to you, Princess? I've never heard of anyone growing and changing so beautifully in such a short time!"

Justus inched closer and closer to me. Hartmut intercepted him, saying, "Ah, what a wonderful question!" as he slid between Justus and me. His amber eyes were shining with enjoyment too, which was a bit frightening.

"There is no one other than Lady Rozemyne, beloved of the gods, who could possess such a miracle. This is a divine miracle bestowed by Anwachs, God of Growth! How magnificently Lady Rozemyne has matured—please, allow me to explain the wonder and awe of this miracle!"

"Just until Justus gets tired of it, that is."

Hartmut's words were full of excessive divine-related embellishments and hard to follow, cycling through the same praises over and over—even Justus would surely tire of them soon. Indeed, my retainers were already brushing them off with "We've heard it before."

...Everyone's dismissiveness had only made Hartmut redouble his efforts, adding "This expression is entirely new!" and inflating the praise unnecessarily.

"Let's exchange information over dinner. We don't have much time, Brother Eckhart. What about Lady Letizia?"

I asked as we headed toward the dining hall, but Brother Eckhart raised his eyebrows in surprise, looked down at me, and said with a straight face, "Who knows? I wouldn't know." The response was so curt that I couldn't help but hold my head in my hands.

"What? What? Lady Letizia brought Ferdinand's message to the two of you, didn't she? Protection or something...?"

"What are you talking about, Rozemyne? She has her own guard knights. When her dedication stone has been returned and she's received an order directly from Lord Ferdinand, why on earth would I need to worry about her?"

...That was technically true, but still.

--- We couldn't depart. Tomorrow's looking unlikely too.

I couldn't cut Damuel's precious moment to shine.

That it gets overshadowed by Hartmut and the others... that's just fate, I suppose.

You can never win in a battle of character intensity.

Next time—Ahrensbach's information and the dedication stone.