"...Ah."
I had been basking in a comfortable warmth when I suddenly came to my senses. Once the gods' divine power faded, there was something I needed to take care of early, somewhere away from people.
"Lord
Ferdinand had offered his name to me because the divine power surrounding my body made it impossible for him to touch me—an inconvenience he needed resolved. I had to return it. I rummaged around and pulled out the Namestone I'd been holding for Ferdinand.
I held out the Namestone, which looked like a white cocoon, but Ferdinand made no move to take it and instead averted his gaze ever so slightly.
"...You don't need my name?"
I sensed a faintly dejected atmosphere and inwardly panicked. Saying he wasn't needed had apparently been the wrong approach.
"It's not that I don't need it—it's that I shouldn't be the one holding Lord Ferdinand's name."
"Why not?"
"Wouldn't you find it unpleasant for a master-servant relationship to exist within a family? Family members need to be equals."
If we were going to become husband and wife eventually, then there was even less reason for a Namestone. Ferdinand simply looked back and forth between the Namestone and me without making any move to accept it.
"Do you have some complaint?"
"...There should be a way for us to be equals without you returning my name, shouldn't there?"
When Ferdinand said that, I tilted my head. Was there something I was missing? Hmm, I thought hard and recalled what
"So you mean I should offer my name to Lord Ferdinand as well? We'd certainly be equals, and it might even be romantic, but it wouldn't be very practical, would it? Leonore said so, and I feel the same way."
"Not very practical, hm?"
"Yes. Think about whoever's left behind—it would be quite difficult for them."
"Who exactly do you mean by 'left behind'?"
Ferdinand furrowed his brow, looking confused, and urged me to continue.
"By 'left behind' I mean... well, if we were to, um, get married someday... there's a possibility that c-children could be born, isn't there?"
This was bad. What was this? For some reason, thinking about "marriage" or "having children"—let alone discussing those topics with Ferdinand—was incredibly embarrassing. Could it be because something I'd thought had nothing to do with me had suddenly become real?
...Ugh, stay calm. Stay calm.
"I am an Aub, so even without children of my own blood, I would still need an heir through adoption or similar arrangements... Well, I mean children who would—yes, children who would protect the Library City. Would Lady
At my words, Ferdinand snorted.
"Since it's a royal decree, yes. To keep Letizia as an archduke candidate, I first need to abolish
I let out a sigh of relief at Ferdinand's words. I had decided to leave the judgment to Ferdinand, the victim himself, but just knowing he had agreed to conceal Letizia's crime put me at ease. I was glad I wouldn't have to impose a harsh punishment on a child who had clearly been used.
"So... what does any of this have to do with our Namestones?"
"Because, well, we're going to become h-husband and wife, right? If one person offers their name and then ascends far above, the other person would have to follow far above as well, wouldn't they? The children left behind would suffer enormously. Losing even one parent is already incredibly difficult."
Back when I was Honobono Reina, my father had died in a traffic accident. The thought of what might have happened if my mother had also offered her name and died alongside him was terrifying. In this world, there were plenty of people who had suffered after losing their parents—
"My adoptive father suffered as well when he was made Aub at a young age, didn't he? If it's hard even for an adult, what happens when the child is still a minor? In
Ferdinand looked down at me with an expression of surprise—or rather, the face of someone who had been pointed out something they hadn't considered.
"I see. I understand what you're trying to say. Honestly, I'm a little surprised. You're someone who shows absolutely no interest in anything unrelated to the Library, yet you've made such a forward-looking statement."
As Ferdinand said something rather harsh, he gestured for me to stand up. And yet he still made no move to take the Namestone. I glared lightly at Ferdinand as he told me to "hurry up and stand" and got to my feet.
"Lord Ferdinand, the Namestone..."
Ferdinand lightly waved his hand as he stood, then looked down at the medicine containers and various instruments scattered around the room. "Cleanup can wait until tomorrow," he murmured.
"Lord Ferdinand."
"Come here. How are you feeling? Is your magic power stable?"
He checked my forehead and the nape of my neck, conducting a health assessment. The way he started pondering which medicine to give me before sleep made it painfully obvious that he had no intention of accepting the Namestone.
"Lord Ferdinand!"
"...I'll be asking you to return it in about two years, so keep it with you until then. There's no need for you to let go of
With that, Ferdinand casually picked me up in his arms and started walking.
"Eh? Schutzaria's Shield? Can you make it from a Namestone?"
Question marks popped up inside my head. I tilted my head in confusion, but Ferdinand said nothing more and left the Foundation Room.
"Lady
"After her magic power was depleted, Rozemyne's consciousness took a while to recover. There's no need to worry now."
It seemed the attendants had gathered in the Aub's private room, and they hurried over.
"What about the knights who went to the Border Gate?"
"
"I see. ...
Ferdinand handed me off to Angelica, then began issuing orders to the attendants.
"
The fatigue was clearly visible on Ferdinand as he issued orders one after another. I instinctively reached out a hand.
"Lord Ferdinand, the Schlatttraum—"
"Rozemyne, could you please at least stop praying to the gods for one day?"
"...Understood. I'll do it tomorrow."
I was carried away by Angelica, still held in her embrace.
"It seems the awe-inspiring divine power of the gods has completely faded. I can approach without the silver cloth now."
"Lady Rozemyne was faintly glowing and looked absolutely divine, but I feel more at ease this way."
When Lieseleta and the others said that, I finally felt the reality that the gods' divine power had disappeared.
I woke up feeling refreshed. I'd slept well, and there was no pain even after my magic power had recovered. Absolutely wonderful. Lieseleta's hands as she tied my hair were steady. How should I put it—I felt human again.
"Lady Rozemyne. After breakfast, Lord Ferdinand would like to check on your condition."
"Understood, Gretia. Do you think I'll have time to read today?"
"I wonder? It probably depends on your condition, Lady Rozemyne, but your schedule is quite packed..."
Gretia said this while glancing toward Clarissa. It seemed Clarissa had the schedule in hand. "Leave it to me," Clarissa said with a large nod, opening her writing board.
"It really is going to be busy all the way up to the Archduke Conference. First there's the Entrwicken, then welcoming the new Zent and carrying out the criminals' punishment, and the engagement ceremony must be completed. The Noble District where the Entrwicken will take place is in complete disarray, and the civil officials have been drafted to create blueprints for it."
"Wait—an engagement ceremony?! Hold on a moment. Why would we suddenly...?"
I had agreed to the engagement in the Foundation Room last night, but I hadn't heard anything about an engagement ceremony. When I widened my eyes in surprise at the sudden turn of events, Clarissa did the same with her blue eyes, tilting her head.
"If the Entrwicken isn't carried out as soon as possible, the Gutenbergs who are exclusively assigned to Lady Rozemyne won't have anywhere to live, nor will the orphans born during the fighting. Besides, it would be disrespectful to welcome the new Zent in the chaotic state Lanzanave's mansion is currently in."
I understood why the Entrwicken needed to be rushed. If there were people who would be left without homes, then yes, it needed to happen quickly. Once the Archduke Conference formally confirmed me as Aub, I planned to summon the Gutenbergs along with
"But won't Lady
"The visit of the new Zent apparently serves multiple purposes—besides the punishment and handover of criminals, it's also to confirm that the Lanzanave mansion connected to the detachable palace where she'll be residing has truly been destroyed. Though the most important thing, they say, is to approve the engagement between Lady Rozemyne and Lord Ferdinand."
"Zent approval of an engagement is supposed to happen at the Archduke Conference, isn't it? Is there really a need to move it up during such a busy time?"
I pouted, thinking that I needed at least some mental preparation for an engagement ceremony, but my attendants stared at me with wide eyes.
"Lady Rozemyne, you're the one who would be inconvenienced without the engagement ceremony, aren't you? We believe it would be too much for the underage Lady Rozemyne to attend the Archduke Conference alone."
"If the engagement ceremony isn't held before the Archduke Conference and Lord Ferdinand doesn't become your official fiancé, he won't be able to accompany you to the Conference as an Ehrenfest citizen!"
"There are no other members of the ruling family, and Lady Rozemyne hasn't even spent a month in Alexandria yet. She's unfamiliar with the situation in Ahrensbach and hasn't met with all the nobles, so Lord Ferdinand's assistance is essential, isn't it?"
Lieseleta, Clarissa, and Gretia all chimed in one after another, and I caught my breath. I hadn't thought about any of that, but it was true that I was the one who would be inconvenienced without the engagement ceremony. This was no time to hesitate over feeling embarrassed about exchanging magic stones in front of a large crowd of nobles, or making some grand love declaration with the gods' names appearing one after another, or wanting a little more time to prepare mentally.
"If you understand the schedule and the circumstances behind it, this will go much faster."
After the health check, the five of us who entered the workshop were myself, Ferdinand, Justus, Hartmut, and Clarissa. Only civil officials who had already offered their names were permitted to enter the workshop, on the grounds that anyone not accustomed to Ferdinand's methods would be a hindrance even when just helping with the groundwork. The knights-in-attendance waited outside.
"We need to prepare the magic stones for the engagement ceremony exchange and the brooches for the nobles who will accompany us to the Archduke Conference, but what about your magic stone phobia?"
I looked at the several magic stones among the materials laid out on the workbench. The blood drained from my head in an instant, and my body trembled in small spasms. With shaking fingers, I pinched a magic stone and managed a smile.
"See? I-I'm fine. It might be because the unpleasant memories came rushing back all at once and connected together. The individual impact has been dulled somewhat, so..."
"You're saying that while trembling with tears in your eyes and visibly shrinking back. There's absolutely no conviction there, but since you don't seem like you'll faint, I suppose it's better than before. I had considered making them myself if there was no other way, but..."
...Wait? Lord Ferdinand making his own engagement magic stone?
I pictured that in my mind and shook my head. I remembered Ferdinand's expression when I'd given him the charm—he'd been savoring the joy of saying, "I've never received one of these before." There was no way I could let Ferdinand make my engagement magic stone. I wanted to do as much as I could for him.
"I'll make it myself. I've seen plenty of times what happens when you don't do what you're supposed to do. If I run away now, I'll be ruined as a woman."
"Your tone is brave enough, but crafting an engagement magic stone isn't something you should approach with the same resolve as a knight heading off to battle."
Ferdinand made a worried face but extended his fist in front of me, saying, "Hold out your hand." Grateful that he was trying to keep the magic stone out of my line of sight as much as possible, I held out my hand.
"It's a magic stone taken from Leigesh scales. I've selected one of a size befitting an incarnation of the goddess. Knowing it was originally a scale might help reduce the fear somewhat."
"Thank you."
Without letting the magic stone enter my field of vision much at all, I tensed my trembling hand and flowed my magic power into it. I had to dye this magic stone with my own magic power. The cold sensation sent a slight shiver down my spine. But since it was in my hand and I couldn't see it, it was still more bearable.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
"I know. I won't lose to a magic stone."
As I nodded while glaring at my own hand, Ferdinand let out a small sigh and gently rapped the top of my head several times.
"You're far too tense. Before flowing magic power in, shouldn't you think about what words to engrave on the stone? ...And avoid asking me about those words, as you did before."
"I wasn't going to engrave them!"
Knowing the meaning behind those words, there was no way I could engrave what was essentially a direct invitation to the bedroom. Blushing at my past self's blunder even now, I glared at Ferdinand.
"Hmm. I'm curious to see what words you'll end up engraving."
With that, Ferdinand instructed Justus, Hartmut, and Clarissa, and they began crafting the magic stone brooches needed for the move to the dormitory. Many were needed—for those accompanying the Archduke Conference, those preparing the dormitory beforehand, and more.
"I'm sorry to push this work onto you, even though it's an Aub's responsibility."
"I became your fiancé for precisely this purpose. You should focus on what only you can do."
My gratitude toward Ferdinand for taking on the work, and my desire to make the engagement magic stone perfect, overflowed within me.
...I need to think of something so amazing it'll astonish Lord Ferdinand!
Once I finished dyeing the magic stone, I picked up a sheet of parchment. I had to decide what words to engrave on it. During class,
..."I'll build your research facility"—there was no need to engrave that since it was already promised. And "let's become family" felt rather redundant at this point.
"Ugh..."
No matter how hard I thought, nothing good came to mind. I was starting to think something as straightforward as "I want to become your
"Lady Rozemyne, are you still struggling?"
"What did you engrave on the magic stone you gave to Hartmut, Clarissa?"
"'Let us worship our goddess together.'"
...I shouldn't have asked.
When I slumped in defeat, Clarissa chuckled softly, saying, "Other people's words are no help at all." I couldn't argue with that. It really hadn't been helpful at all.
"Wouldn't it be enough to write something you want to do for Lord Ferdinand, Lady Rozemyne?"
At Clarissa's words, a phrase that had flitted through my mind suddenly crystallized, and I wrote it down on the parchment with a stylo. Perhaps Ferdinand noticed me writing on the parchment, because he approached me.
"Did you figure something out?"
"Don't look. It's a secret until the day of the ceremony."
I hid the parchment and glared, and Ferdinand smiled wryly, turning his back and putting some distance between himself and my workshop pot. I wanted to punch Justus, who was looking over here with a smirk.
"Shall I help you, Lady Rozemyne?"
"It's something covered in the second-year lectures. I'll make it by myself."
I turned down the offers of help from Hartmut and Clarissa, placed the magic stone in the workshop pot, and began flowing magic power into it. Both Ferdinand and I had all attributes, so there was no need for attribute adjustment—it went quickly.
Gold letters surfaced within the rainbow-colored magic stone.
"Please let me embroider your mantle."