Once our discussion with the royals concluded, the Aub couple,
"
"Understood. I shall perfect every detail of the new rites that Lady
After informing Hartmut that he would be guiding Anastasius and the others for four days, I ordered the guard knights who would be dressing as blue priests and shrine maidens for the noble academy ceremony to also prepare their equipment.
"Which new Zent will Lady Rozemyne grant the Grutrissheit to?"
"Lady
As I was giving a brief overview of the proceedings, Ferdinand approached from nearby and handed Hartmut a written memo.
"The steps of the ceremony. Also, since you'll be traveling back and forth between Ehrenfest and the Central Temple while accompanying Anastasius, keep the key with Rozemyne."
"Understood."
Hartmut removed the Holy Book key from around his neck and placed it around mine. After firing off several questions while reviewing the memo, he promptly turned on his heel and began moving out. The guard knights who needed to return to Ehrenfest first went along with him.
"
"Understood."
Since Lihyarda and Brünhilde were at the dormitory, there was no issue with my attendants. The two of them immediately headed for the detached palace. I also spotted
"
I entrusted the manuscripts I had prepared for distribution upon the new Zent's announcement to Philine.
"We'll need twenty-five copies with a comfortable margin, since they'll be distributed at the Lord's Conference, so it will be urgent work. Please coordinate with my mother and
"Understood."
As Philine left carrying the manuscripts, Roderich looked at me with an anxious expression.
"Lady Rozemyne, what will happen to the Dunklefelger story I'm writing?"
"The deadline is no longer in effect since Aub Dunklefelger is no longer becoming the Zent, but he seems to have been looking forward to it so eagerly that he was considering buying up the entire print run, so please continue writing it."
Roderich, who had been screaming about the five-day deadline, visibly relaxed. I felt a bit bad about making such an unreasonable request, but it had to be him—no one else could write it.
"I'll calm down and get back to the rest of it."
"Perhaps writing in a state of panic actually gave it a sense of realism that worked out well?"
Jüdith, who had been fielding questions about Dunklefelger while watching Roderich's distress, giggled. With the adult guard knights temporarily preparing to return to Ehrenfest, Jüdith was standing behind me as my guard knight.
After waiting for the urgent orders to be finished, Ferdinand came over and sat in the chair beside me.
"Rozemyne, what do you intend to do about
Ferdinand explained that depending on how she was handled going forward, we would need to decide whether to include her in the Inauguration Ceremony.
"Could we dissolve the adoption and return her to
"Both of her adoptive parents have ascended to much higher positions. Dissolving the contracts would be somewhat difficult. Also, while it may not have crossed your mind, there's no guarantee that Drewanchel would take back an archduke candidate who caused trouble in another territory and was sent back."
"She's their biological daughter, surely..."
Ferdinand sighed, as if to say, "As I suspected, you don't understand."
"Letizia received her
As he explained the convoluted rules of noble society, Ferdinand looked at me. His gaze seemed somewhat concerned for Letizia, and I tilted my head.
"Do you think it would be better to keep Letizia as an archduke candidate, Lord Ferdinand? If you'd rather not be near her, I can arrange for her to be treated accordingly. ...When it comes to Letizia, I intend to prioritize your opinion above all."
I intended to prioritize the victim's opinion—Ferdinand's. Letizia was endearing, but she ranked below him in my priorities.
"There's one thing I want to confirm: you do intend to raise the children who lost their homes during the Lanzenave invasion in the Temple's orphanage, don't you? Including Aristide's daughter as well..."
"Yes. Children are not guilty of anything."
Just as I had done in Ehrenfest, I planned to raise both the children of victims and the children of perpetrators alike in the orphanage, with me as the Aub serving as their patron. I explained that I intended to transfer
"In that case, I'll take charge of Letizia's situation. ...You don't need to make such a worried face. I won't do anything you'd find truly abhorrent. If I do something you object to, you need only issue me a forbidden command."
As he said this, Ferdinand stood and conducted a health check. Pressing his hand to the side of my neck, he furrowed his brow.
"You've developed a bit of a fever. Haven't you been accumulating too much magic power?"
"That may be true. I did get a bit emotional earlier..."
"That was 'a bit'?"
With a sardonic curl of his lips, Ferdinand ordered Brünhilde to prepare yet another silver cloth. He then began wrapping me in it.
"Lord Ferdinand, what exactly are you going to do?"
"You still have four more days to remain shut in your room. It would be best to release some of your magic power first. I also want to confirm whether expending magic power reduces the Goddess's divine power."
My view went completely dark as the silver cloth was wrapped around me from head to toe. I let out a small shriek in surprise as I felt someone lift me up, at the same moment Ferdinand's voice rang out: "Only the guard knights who have sworn their names to Rozemyne—follow me."
"Lord Ferdinand! The guard knights who have sworn their names are all men! Please allow me to accompany you as well!"
I heard
"...So long as they've sworn their name, it doesn't matter whether they're scholars or guard knights."
"Ugh, to think that as guard knights we just keep getting left behind like this—now I'm starting to want to swear my name too!"
I heard Jüdith's lamenting voice, but I really hoped she wouldn't do anything rash. Whenever Ferdinand summoned those who had offered their names, it was invariably to show them things that must never be revealed or to take them somewhere no one else was permitted to go. Having even more top-secret knowledge was hardly good for one's mental health.
Still enveloped in darkness, I was transported somewhere. I heard Schwartz and the others say, "Lady has come," and "Lady, read book?"—so this must be the library. Ferdinand asked
"Rozemyne, we've arrived. Can you stand?"
"I'm fine."
My body tilted, and my feet touched the floor. Once I stood on my own, the silver cloth was removed. Clarissa and Ferdinand swept away the last of the cloth completely. As I had expected, we were in the library, and I stood before the statue of
"Lord Ferdinand, surely not..."
Ordering the guard knights to turn around, Ferdinand handed me a Magical Tool to prevent eavesdropping while nodding.
"I had intended to be the one to fill it myself, but because of the major change in your magic power, I'm now recognized as the Aub of Ahrensbach. So I have no choice but to have you fill it to a certain degree. The Foundation of the Country has a large capacity, so it should be perfect for draining your excess magic power."
Apparently this was a two-for-one deal: I could fill the Foundation enough that Ehwelmine wouldn't complain while also draining my surplus magic power.
"So that's why you took the Holy Book key from Hartmut?"
"One reason was that I didn't want you heading before Anastasius while still wearing it. At the Inauguration Ceremony, it must be made known that you are the incarnation of the Goddess and that you stand above the royal family—otherwise, things will become dangerous later."
As he spoke, Ferdinand urged me to use the key to channel magic power into the Foundation. He opened the back cover of the Holy Book held by the Mestionora statue, revealing the keyhole.
"Just enough so you don't feel unwell. If you pour too much of the Goddess's power in, Lady Eglantine might have a difficult time."
I inserted the key, and the statue of the Goddess silently shifted aside, revealing a descending staircase. I went down as Ferdinand watched from above. At the bottom of the stairs was a wall like a rainbow-colored oil film, and passing through it brought me to something resembling the Foundation of Ahrensbach.
"Now that's impressive—the Foundation of the Country. It's enormous. ...But there really is barely any power left in it. Ehwelmine must be in a panic."
After gazing in admiration at the massive Foundation—several times larger than a territory's—I began steadily pouring in my magic power. I had to be careful not to pour in too much, since collapsing here would be a problem.
I had used recovery potion to fill the Ahrensbach Foundation too. Even after channeling enough to feel somewhat refreshed, I hadn't filled even a sixth of it. Still, I seemed to have escaped from a state of depletion, as the seven noble-colored magic stones orbiting the Foundation began moving slightly faster.
"That should do it."
I stopped the magic power supply while feeling that my reserves had dropped below half.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting."
Once outside, I locked the key and returned the Goddess statue to its original position, only to be wrapped up again in the silver cloth like a mummy and taken back to the dormitory. I still had four days to go, and my library visits were put on hold once more.
With my magic power reduced and feeling refreshed, I spent the four days resting, channeling magic into the Foundation of the Country, and practicing the Dedication Dance.
...Ferdinand had evaluated my Dedication Dance with "Well, it should be fine," so it would work out somehow!
On the day of the Grutrissheit Inauguration Ceremony, as I stood dressed in the High Priest's vestments, everyone murmured how "divine" I looked. But I had no way of sensing the Goddess's divine power myself, so to me it just felt like my usual outfit.
"All the same, you're wearing an extraordinary number of magic stones today. I've never seen this one before, or this one..."
"Apparently Lord Ferdinand made new amulets that wouldn't interfere with the dance."
They were gloves made from fine chain woven in loose, large loops, extending from the back of the hand to around the upper arm. Here and there, rainbow-colored magic stones polished like beads gleamed under the light, and each one had a protective magical formation engraved upon it.
"He said he was going to take a break, so what on earth has Lord Ferdinand been doing? This isn't the kind of thing you can make in three or four days..."
Wasn't this a case where, after the ceremony, Schlatraum would need to use his Blessing to force him to rest? I pouted, and Clarissa giggled.
"He's making sure everything is in perfect order. He wants to prevent the Goddess from descending again during Lady Rozemyne's Dedication Dance. I would love to see Lady Rozemyne summon the Goddess's descent, but... I heard that when the Goddess descends, Lady Rozemyne's memories are taken away, so I'll restrain myself."
...I never would have thought the Goddess might descend again during the Dedication Dance.
Lost in thought about my lost memories, I gently stroked the thin chains encircling my arm. With these, perhaps even if the Goddess descended again, I wouldn't lose my memories.
"Lady Rozemyne, preparations are complete. Let us move to the waiting room."
Wrapped in silver cloth to keep me hidden from others, I was lifted into the arms of
"Hartmut was very busy arranging things. Apparently he mobilized Anastasius, the Central nobles, and the Central Temple staff to prepare the ceremony stage."
Clarissa told me.
In the waiting room, Hartmut was already present, and Eglantine and Anastasius arrived shortly after. Catching their breath at the sight of me, the two knelt to greet me in acknowledgment of the difference in our status. Eglantine and the others were wearing the same attire from the Graduation Ceremony.
"...When I made my entrance at the Graduation Ceremony, Lady Rozemyne gave me her blessing, didn't you? This is what I wore that day. I hoped to receive Lady Rozemyne's blessing once more today, and by wearing the colors of the Birth Season, to receive the blessing of the gods as well."
As I gazed at the nostalgic attire, Hartmut approached.
"Let us perform the name offering before the Inauguration Ceremony."
"Very well."
With Hartmut and Anastasius watching, Eglantine produced a small white box and held it up to me. Looking down at Eglantine's golden hair, which sat below my eye level, I felt a strange sense of unease as I studied the stone inside. Within the white box was a magic stone of all attributes in a complex blend of colors, and upon it, Eglantine's name was inscribed in golden letters.
...I really don't feel great about this.
I was still afraid of shouldering someone else's life. That feeling hadn't changed. My grandfather's words about the concern that name offering was being used in ways divergent from its original purpose floated through my mind.
But to prevent the Goddess's divine power from affecting me, and to keep Eglantine—who would be in a position to learn many things—silent, the name offering had become essential. Besides, I could no longer tolerate another royal command being forced upon Ferdinand. I couldn't be entirely certain that Eglantine wouldn't do something like that either. She was the kind of person who would do anything to protect the peace of
...I don't particularly intend to order her around, but I'll take her name just in case something happens.
Anastasius watched Eglantine and me with an indescribable expression. I understood perfectly his desire to stop the name offering but inability to do so. While Eglantine's stone was being prepared, he had surely told her all sorts of things.
...Prince Anastasius probably doesn't want Lady Eglantine to be wrapped in my magic power, does he?
After the ceremony, if the Goddess's divine power faded, I would probably return to Ferdinand's magic power. Anastasius must find that utterly unpleasant. But there was nothing to be done—he would just have to accept it.
"May we begin, Lady Rozemyne?"
"Yes."
After meeting my eyes, Eglantine took a deep, slow breath and bowed her head.
"I, Eglantine, hereby swear as a loyal subject of Lady Rozemyne, incarnation of Mestionora, to dedicate my life as the new Zent of Yurgenschmidt. I offer my name as proof. Please allow my name to remain ever with Lady Rozemyne. And please, grant me the Grutrissheit and show me the path to guide Yurgenschmidt in the right direction."
With deliberate, careful movements, Eglantine slowly raised the name-offering stone. I took the stone—box and all—and channeled my magic power into it.
"Ngh..."
Eglantine, struck by the backlash of the magic power, clutched her chest and let out a small groan.
"Eglantine!"
Anastasius reacted instantly, reaching toward her, but Hartmut caught his hand.
"Prince Anastasius, you must not interfere. It won't be complete until she's enveloped in Lady Rozemyne's power. ...Based on experience, the further one's magic power is from hers, the more painful it seems to be, so among those who have offered their names to Lady Rozemyne, hers should be the least painful."
I channeled all my magic power at once to complete the name offering. Eglantine let out a pained breath.
"Are you all right, Lady Eglantine?"
"Yes, I'm fine now. Thank you for your concern, Lady Rozemyne."
With a gentle smile like a flower blooming, Eglantine raised her face. I placed her name-offering stone in the basket at my waist, then sat down and gestured for Eglantine and the others to take seats as well.
As I was reviewing the flow of today's ceremony, the third bell rang.