"Now that the new Zhent has been decided, let us discuss future matters. Prince
"You intend to appoint Prince Sigiswald—the one who behaved that way toward the incarnation of the Goddess—as the new Aub of a derelict territory? Are you truly certain about this, Lady
Traukvaal sent a gaze toward me and then toward
"Prince Sigiswald is royalty. Even though he harbors the power of the Goddess, his treatment of me—a member of a lord's family—does not constitute something worthy of punishment. Moreover, if Prince Sigiswald were punished now, the consequences could extend to his two wives as well."
...I couldn't bear to see the wives suffer any more on account of Prince Sigiswald.
If Sigiswald were to face criminal charges over this, the already dim future of
"Is an Aub of a derelict territory not too heavy a burden for Prince Sigiswald, who does not understand deference to those of higher rank?"
Adolphine spoke with a deeply worried expression.
"I promised that I would do my best to conceal the royal family's crimes in this incident when granting the
"Indeed..."
Adolphine raised her gaze slightly and stared at me. Was I imagining it, or were her amber eyes searching for something? I sensed that she, like
"Once Prince Sigiswald becomes Aub and causes problems in the future, the new Zhent will hand down the appropriate punishment or disposition. I know it will be difficult to shift his mindset overnight, but let us hope that he quickly learns how to behave as an Aub."
"How truly merciful you are, Lady Rozemyne."
Those were the words that rose from the royals, and Traukvaal said, "Be grateful for Lady Rozemyne's mercy," as he undid Sigiswald's bindings. Sigiswald seemed to realize that his position had truly fallen outside that of the next Zhent and the royals, as the conversation had been proceeding without any consideration for his presence. He politely thanked me and sat back down.
...It wasn't mercy, though.
I whispered softly in my heart. The reason I had Sigiswald's bindings removed was that if the central government ran out of candidates to serve as Aub of a derelict territory, Ferdinand's plans would go awry. Filling that gap would require redesigning the plans, which would push my library city project even further into the distance. I wanted to conclude this meeting with the royal family and the Grutrissheit conferment as quickly as possible so I could regain my memories and move forward with the library city project.
"Let us also decide on the formal announcement. Nobles from various territories have been gathering, seeking information, so Lady Eglantine, please prepare the name-offering stone as soon as possible. Once the name-offering stone is ready, we will present the Grutrissheit and conduct the ceremony of confirmation."
With Aub's gathered from territories far and wide, we should be able to hold the confirmation ceremony.
"Perhaps there is no need to rush that much. Could we not simply inform the Aubs that the Grutrissheit will be bestowed by the incarnation of
At Eglantine's words, Ferdinand shook his head with a stern expression.
"We cannot preserve Rozemyne's Goddess Power until the Lord's Conference. Having been deeply affected by the Goddess Power, Rozemyne is currently unable to act as Aub
Ferdinand said that since Eglantine would become the High Priestess of the Central Temple, her husband Anastasius could assist in the meantime. Anastasius furrowed his brow, saying, "So I must go to the Central Temple again..."
"At last year's Lord's Conference, I heard the proposal to make Rozemyne the High Priestess. If that is the case, it should be entirely possible for Lady Eglantine or Prince Anastasius."
At Ferdinand's words, Eglantine and Anastasius turned their gazes toward Sigiswald. It was clear just from that—who the instigator or the one pushing it forward had been.
"After Lady Eglantine becomes Zhent, the Central Temple will be dismantled and relocated inside the Noble Academy. Please have it refitted into a temple that you yourself can enter. The sight of the Zhent, Lady Eglantine, serving as High Priestess of the Central Temple and operating the temple within the Noble Academy will serve as an example for the other territories."
Ferdinand elegantly sidestepped the royals' well-known aversion to the temple by telling them to "remodel it yourselves." After all, since both Rozemyne and I had changed it with our own hands after the previous High Priestess was gone, there was no reason a person with the authority of a Zhent could not do the same.
"There is no need to worry so much, Prince Anastasius. Every Aub will eagerly throw themselves into temple reform before long. Being looked down upon for entering and leaving the temple is only something that happens at first."
Since Eglantine planned to make the position of the foundation stones and the role of the Holy Book known at the Lord's Conference, I did not think being looked down upon for entering the Central Temple would last very long.
"While I am at it, when you go to the Central Temple, please notify the priests about the dismantling and relocation. The Blue Priests and Blue Priestesses who were gathered from each territory after the coup can be sent back to their territories if the Aubs wish during the Lord's Conference. The Gray Priests who perform menial labor are one thing, but the temple in the Noble Academy, where prayers will increase, will not need that many Blue Priests and Blue Priestesses."
Since every territory was likely deficient in Magic Power, few Aubs should refuse to take back Blue Priests and Blue Priestesses. It should also help reduce the central government's expenses.
"It is easy to say to move the Zhent's residence to the Noble Academy, but there is nowhere there suitable to live, is there?"
When Anastasius made a face, Ferdinand smiled and said, "Actually, there is."
"The detached palace where Rozemyne, who was supposed to become the King's adoptive daughter, was to reside is located not in the central district but within the Noble Academy. Could you not use that as your residence for the time being? The furniture and interior furnishings are of a quality befitting a royal princess."
"Ferdinand, you..."
Ferdinand deepened his smile, brooking no argument. Anastasius gritted his teeth while Eglantine blinked in confusion. I smiled sweetly as I watched the male royals turn pale.
"It is currently holding criminals, but if they are moved to the central dungeon, there should be no problem. It is the detached palace that Lord Traukvaal and Prince Sigiswald prepared for me, after all. I think it would serve well as a temporary residence until there is enough Magic Power to sustain
If the Zhent had not dyed the foundation stones by the time of the Lord's Conference, the redrawn borders and the disposition of criminals could not be carried out. With the Zhent's foundation undyed, even possessing the Grutrissheit would not allow too many things to be done.
"The mastermind,
"Would it not be Lady Rozemyne, who can teleport to the border gate, to capture him?"
Anastasius addressed me in a polite tone while glaring at Ferdinand. His expression clearly said, "Don't dump any more work on us."
"I am currently forbidden from going outside carelessly. ...Well, as you can see, without this silver cloth, I have no idea what might happen..."
"In addition to Rozemyne being unable to go out, Lady Eglantine has no accomplishments in this incident. Should she not at least capture the mastermind? Gervasio's Staff has already been sealed, and since he has been left alone for about three days, he should be somewhat weakened. Depending on the quality of the recovery medicine, he might remain energetic for another week, so I recommend bringing about ten knights when you capture him."
Ferdinand warned that since Gervasio had produced a lethal poison during the battle atop the altar, he might also possess unknown tools from Lanzanave, and could attack the moment someone teleported in.
"If memories are not needed for his punishment, then leaving him alone is one option. Since Lady Ehvermin has forbidden it, I cannot act against him directly, but waiting for him to die naturally is possible."
Ferdinand said matter-of-factly that while they could no longer look at his memories, starving him to death was one approach. It seemed he had particular feelings about Gervasio.
"However, if you do wish to search Gervasio's memories, the Grutrissheit will likely come up frequently, so I would recommend that it be Lady Eglantine—now the Zhent—who searches them, rather than leaving it to knights."
Ferdinand said that as the Zhent of Yurgenschmidt, there was a massive amount she needed to know.
"Wait, Ferdinand. No matter what, memories about the people of Lanzanave would be too heavy a burden for Eglantine."
"The position of Zhent is not a light one. It is the role of a consort to bear that burden together, not to be goaded into fleeing from the weight of the Zhent's responsibilities, Prince Anastasius."
Glaring at the two of them with a "don't you dare run," Ferdinand made them swallow hard. Traukvaal lowered his gaze apologetically.
"Then, regarding the treatment of the criminals other than Gervasio..."
When I brought it up, Ferdinand stood and offered Eglantine a registration medal wrapped in cloth.
"This was recovered from the Central Temple. It is the medal of the current King of Lanzanave. I would ask the new Zhent, Lady Eglantine, to dispose of it."
"Oh, will you not negotiate with Lanzanave?"
Eglantine tilted her head as she accepted the registration medal. She suggested that perhaps it would be better to demand compensation from Lanzanave and make the Aubs aware of Lanzanave's culpability.
"The people of Lanzanave do not view the nobles of Yurgenschmidt as fellow human beings, but rather as means to obtain Magic Power. There was also testimony that their development of anti-Magic Power tools and lethal poisons is well advanced. Considering the very high likelihood that instead of receiving compensation, the diplomatic mission could be captured in its entirety or killed for their magic stones, I would urge you to weigh that carefully before deciding to dispatch one. Having dealt with the people of Lanzanave in Ahrensbach, I believe the best course is to seal the border gate and leave them be."
At Ferdinand's words, the royals' faces stiffened. They had been tormented by Truuk during the coup, but they had not been subjected to lethal poisons or other weapons. It seemed they did not fully understand how dangerous Lanzanave was.
"After considering the various dangers, I have no intention of sending envoys from Ahrensbach to Lanzanave, nor do I intend to open the border gate. If I were to open the border gate, I would prefer to do so elsewhere. Of course, if Lady Eglantine wishes, I will not oppose assembling a diplomatic mission in the capital and sending it to Lanzanave. In that case, I would lend out their ships that we recovered in Ahrensbach—for a fee."
The reason it would not be free was that the chances of their returning were rather slim. Besides, the more money I had, the better, for turning Ahrensbach into a library city.
"So you have no intention of returning the Lanzanave prisoners? Considering both security and expense, I would think having so many of them would be a problem..."
At Sigiswald's words, I slowly shook my head. I would not mind returning them, but doing so would go against the divine order.
"Lady Ehvermin declared that we must not refuse those who have come seeking help. ...She said that after they have been accepted, we may treat them according to human law, but we must not, of our own volition, expel the people of Lanzanave who came all the way to Yurgenschmidt and strove to obtain a Staff."
When I explained the distinction between divine order and human law—regarding the origins of Yurgenschmidt and Ehvermin's atonement—everyone slowly exhaled.
"We believe it appropriate for the royal family to handle the punishment of the Ahrensbach criminals and the people of Lanzanave whom we captured at the Noble Academy. Their crimes exceed what can be adjudicated in Ahrensbach."
Ferdinand said this as he slowly surveyed the royals. To conceal, even slightly, the royal family's guilt in having been infiltrated by the people of Lanzanave, they needed to exaggerate the parts where they had fought together and make it widely known that all the criminals had been captured.
Talking about punishments was not a pleasant thing, but it was something that had to be decided. I straightened my back and spoke.
"Despite the many executions carried out during the coup, if those who instigated foreign invasion and actually stormed the Noble Academy are not executed, I believe the resentment of the nobles in the losing territories will be immense. With the current situation where executions are forbidden by the gods, we need to impose punishments heavy enough to satisfy the Aubs of other territories. To demonstrate to both domestic and foreign audiences that these individuals will never again be treated as nobles, I would like to perform the medal disposal outside our territory. Does anyone object?"
Ferdinand explained that the people of Lanzanave who had obtained Staffs were registered as Ahrensbach nobles, and that destroying the medals within Ahrensbach would strip them of their noble status without taking their lives. No one raised any particular objections.
"We intend to have the criminals pour Magic Power into various locations throughout Yurgenschmidt. Lord Traukvaal and
Ferdinand believed that by attaching Dunkelfelger as overseers to whatever punishments the royals handed down, he could strengthen Dunkelfelger's influence going forward and prevent
"I acknowledge this."
Traukvaal accepted solemnly.
By being able to dump the troublesome job of criminal punishment onto the central government, the only tasks remaining for me as Aub were the disposal of the medals and the actual punishment of the Lanzanave soldiers who had caused havoc in Ahrensbach. A sigh of relief escaped me as the bulk of the heavy work was lifted.
"We also need to discuss the territorial borders after Lady Eglantine becomes Zhent, as well as the new lands to be governed by Lord Traukvaal and Prince Sigiswald as new Aubs."
When I said this, Ferdinand drew out his Staff and began tracing a map with Magic Power.
"What the legitimate Zhent must govern is only the central portion of the capital where the Noble Academy is located. To reduce the Zhent's Magic Power burden even slightly, we will trim away the area that was expanded over the long history so that the royal family could live in the central detached palace. Then, we will combine the former Berkenstock and former Sharfe territories, which Ahrensbach had been managing, with a portion of the capital into a single territory for Lord Traukvaal, and assign the former Trostweck and a portion of the capital to Prince Sigiswald to govern."
As I pointed at the map Ferdinand had drawn and discussed the border changes, Ferdinand drew the new borders to match my explanation. The former Sharfe to the north of the former Berkenstock was combined.
"The territories granted to the winning side in the recent coup must also have their borders redrawn so that each Aub can govern them as their own lands. Half of the former Berkenstock was governed by Dunkelfelger. You could redraw the borders and continue governing it, expand the territory if you need more land, or release land you do not need. What would you prefer?"
When I sought the opinion of Dunkelfelger, the heroes of this affair, the Aub couple chose to redraw the borders and continue governing the land as it was. Eglantine stated that Klassenberg would similarly continue governing the former Zausgaas, so it was decided to combine them.
"Aub Dunkelfelger. As the new Zhent, I believe I must bestow a reward for your distinguished service this time. What does Dunkelfelger desire? If you desire land, it must be recorded on this map."
When Eglantine presented the map and posed the question, it was not the Aub but the First Wife who spoke after a moment's thought.
"Dunkelfelger has no need for additional land. Instead, we would like to be granted greater influence than Klassenberg after Lady Eglantine takes the throne as Zhent. During Lady Eglantine's reign, we wish for Klassenberg's ranking to be placed below Dunkelfelger's."
Despite having earned no merits whatsoever in this affair, if Eglantine became Zhent, Klassenberg's influence would be strengthened. Dunkelfelger's First Wife desired to curb that.
"It is Lady Rozemyne who leads the new Ahrensbach, Dunkelfelger, and Ehrenfest—the one who bestowed the Grutrissheit upon me and elevated me to Zhent. It is only natural to favor us over Klassenberg. I was raised being taught that I must never forget to care for those who help elevate me above the Aub of Klassenberg."
Eglantine smiled gently and agreed, then turned to ask Ehrenfest their wish as well.
"I hear that Ehrenfest desires neither a higher ranking nor expanded territory, but is there something you would like as a reward?"
"I ask that you not arrange for Lord Traukvaal, who is to become Aub, to undergo adoption with Rozemyne—the incarnation of the Goddess who brought us the Grutrissheit—but rather that you grant us the acknowledgment of that decision and all the benefits Ehrenfest would have received had Rozemyne been adopted."
My adoptive father wished for the magical tools given to children and the marriage arrangements to remain as they were.
"We cannot possibly presume to arrange an adoption with the incarnation of the Goddess."
Traukvaal also declared that he had no intention of being adopted alongside me, and Eglantine nodded.
"Lady Rozemyne, do you have a wish?"
"I would very much like your cooperation with my library city project. Specifically, when I expand the printing industry in Yurgenschmidt, please order all territories to implement the legal deposit system."
"...Is that truly all you want?"
Eglantine looked to Ferdinand with a worried expression. I was confused—why was she seeking his approval when the question had been posed to me?
"That should be a fine wish from Rozemyne. She did not propose that she wants to build libraries in every territory and install the Zhent's teleportation circles to allow free travel. It seems she still retains some sense."
Ultimately, I did want to enable free travel, but I knew that was difficult at this stage. I had memories of being scolded for various things, and even as the incarnation of the Goddess, I believed I had some sense of what was and was not appropriate to demand.
"For my part, I would like the Lord's Conference to handle the renaming of Ahrensbach, the selection of a new color for the territory, and the formal recognition of Rozemyne as Aub."
"I have understood the wishes of you both. Since we cannot very well create two Ehrenfest territories, please think of what name you would like to give it."
In cases where foundation stones were taken, the ruling family's name was usually given to the new territory, but since I was an adoptive daughter, that would result in two Ehrenfests. Apparently, I was allowed to think of a new name.
...What would be a good name?
I thought something befitting a library city would be nice. As I grew excited internally, Adolphine quietly raised her hand.
"The discussion of rewards seems to have reached a pause. May I say something?"
"Yes, of course."
Adolphine looked at Traukvaal and Sigiswald with her amber eyes, then smiled at me.
"I am fully aware that this is a matter that should be discussed within the royal family. However, I married Prince Sigiswald to serve as a bridge between the next Zhent and
"A breach of contract?"
"Yes. If Prince Sigiswald is to become Aub, then the benefits that Drewanchel was to gain through my marriage would be negated, which goes against the marriage contract. This is not solely Prince Sigiswald's responsibility. I would like to ask the Goddess of Wisdom for a bit of her wisdom, so that I may not incur the wrath of the
Unable to quite grasp what Adolphine wanted, I tilted my head. Sensing my lack of understanding, Ferdinand tapped his temple and translated for me.
"If Prince Sigiswald is to become Aub, are you asking that the benefits Drewanchel was to gain through your marriage be guaranteed, or that a divorce be granted?"
"Yes. I would like it to be acknowledged by Lady Rozemyne, who performed our Star Binding."
Adolphine smiled sweetly. She reminded me of
We had planned to discuss the details of the announcement in depth, but we had not said a word about the dedication dance...
The borders and the treatment of the people of Lanzanave were more important, so I supposed it could not be helped.
Adolphine had cut in with her concerns about Drewanchel's benefits.
Next time, I wanted to finally reach the formal announcement of the new Zhent.