And so my life in the Noble District began, but it was completely different from life in the lower city. For a while, I was amazed at just how much difference a single wall could make.
The biggest difference was the toilet. It wasn't a chamber pot that you took outside to empty. There was actually a toilet right in the room.
It wasn't a flush toilet, though. It was a drop-style latrine with a deep hole at the bottom. Some kind of slimy things squirmed around down there, and the first time I saw it, I screamed. Apparently the slime broke down waste, but I couldn't get used to it right away. It was just gross.
Honestly, I was still scared of using the toilet at night because I worried the slime might come up. Thank goodness I was a little girl who could get away with saying, "Someone come with me!" and nobody would think it was strange. It was a relief that I'd be a proper young lady who always had an attendant trailing after her.
And there was the bath I'd always wished for. In my case, I still couldn't reach my own back very well, so I used to wash together with Turi. Having a woman help me in the bath was no problem at all.
They used a fragrant, expensive-smelling soap without any hesitation—probably because it was high quality—which made me feel a bit awkward, but with the massage included, it was pure bliss.
However, when they washed my hair with the soap, it ended up dry, stiff, and rough after drying. The comb wouldn't pass through smoothly anymore, and my hair had lost its luster.
"Mother, I have a favor to ask."
"Oh? What is it?"
"I'd like to have the
At first, Mother wasn't keen on calling a merchant that lower nobles used, but when I complained about my hair losing its shine, she agreed to summon the Gilberta Company.
I waited excitedly for the designated day, hoping
Sadly, Lutz was nowhere to be seen. It seemed they still couldn't bring him to a high-ranking noble's house yet.
...I really wanted to see him.
After lengthy greetings were out of the way, Mother urged them to show the products.
"You're Benno of the Gilberta Company, was it? Please show me the product my daughter was so fond of."
"Here it is, Madam."
From the wooden crate Benno and Mark had brought, they took out the rinsham I'd asked for, a hair ornament that was a bit ornate but practical enough for everyday use in this household, and Plant Paper—which was cheaper and easier to purchase than parchment, made from new materials.
"The product
The ever-enterprising Benno had switched up the workshop's scrubs and created four varieties of rinsham. Having used Turi's handmade rinsham until now, I felt like I was seeing something novel as I smelled each one.
There was one with almost no scent, one with a herbal fragrance, one that was sweet, and one that was refreshing—four varieties total. The one I liked best was the rinsham made from powdered kobelt and Ferijine peel, which gave off a sweet scent when this season came around.
"Mother, I'd like this rinsham this time."
"Oh, what a lovely scent. Perhaps I'll try it as well?"
After it was decided that I'd get the rinsham and some Plant Paper for studying, I recommended some paper with pressed flower designs to Mother.
"Mother, wouldn't this paper be wonderful for invitations? It has flowers in it—it's so beautiful."
"Oh, it really is. Flowers embedded in paper like this are quite rare."
"How is it made, I wonder?" Mother picked up the paper with great interest.
"This is a brand-new product we've just released. The spring flowers are vibrant, and any invitation made with this paper is sure to leave a lasting impression on the recipient."
"But there must already be buyers for it, wouldn't you say? For me to follow after others..."
The Gilberta Company was mainly a shop used by lower nobles. It apparently wasn't becoming for a high-ranking noble like Mother to imitate lower nobles. You weren't supposed to follow trends—you were supposed to set them. What a pain.
"No, this was released from the shop today exclusively for Rozemyne. No other customer has seen it yet."
"Is that so? Then I'll take it."
From behind Mother, I secretly gave Benno an enthusiastic thumbs-up. Benno grinned, and Mark turned away with a barely suppressed smile.
...Oh no, oh no. I need to act more like a proper young lady.
"This is a hair ornament Rozemyne has been fond of."
"It's cute enough, but I'd like the hair ornaments made with finer thread and a more elegant look."
The one I was wearing today was more ornate than the ones Benno brought out, but the quality apparently didn't meet her standards.
I think it's fine enough, I thought to myself, but when I glanced at Benno, his eyes were gleaming like a hunter who'd spotted his prey.
"If you'd like us to use the highest-grade thread, I'd suggest placing a special order where you specify the color and materials. That way, we can create something that truly satisfies you. What color flowers would you like? We have several flower shapes available, and how you combine them will change the overall impression."
"...Hmm, let me think."
Mother began giving her order, selecting from among the hair ornaments: this shape, this size, combine this with that, the color should be this, the thread should be that—and Benno noted it all down.
Promising to bring the finished product on a later date, Benno and the others took their leave.
With the new rinsham restoring the luster to my hair and Mother's hair also gleaming beautifully, the Gilberta Company successfully gained a high-ranking noble as a loyal customer.
"It really did bring out the shine and make your hair beautiful. To think lower nobles had been monopolizing this..."
"It's only been about a year since rinsham went on sale, and I've heard it doesn't sell well because it's expensive compared to regular soap. It may be a product better suited to high-ranking nobles who can afford to spend money on beauty. Perhaps the Lord's wife would be pleased if you recommended it to her?"
"Oh, yes, certainly."
Our tea-time conversation had recently been dominated by topics of beauty. Neither rinsham nor hair ornaments had been seen among high-ranking nobles before, and Mother was fired up about starting the trend herself.
For my part, who'd been commissioning work that was off to the side of the Gilberta Company's main business until now, I was happy to be able to help with their actual trade. "Benno, your main business has picked up! Isn't that great?" I called out to him in my mind.
"Thank you for waiting, Madam, Young Lady. Today, we have cookies infused with tea leaves."
"What kind of flavor are they today?"
Ella's sweets were, as expected, a huge hit with Mother. Sugar was coming in from the central region now, but sweet recipes apparently still weren't that widespread. I'd brought out quatre-quarts, crepes, and cookies at previous tea times, and all had been well received.
I couldn't compete with Ilse, who'd experimented relentlessly and could make several varieties of quatre-quarts, but Ella could make them too. The exclusive contract period had already passed, so there should be no problem with publishing the quatre-quarts recipe now.
"I do wish you'd teach our family's cook the sweet recipes as well."
Ella hadn't yet earned the trust of the household staff, so for now she was my personal cook, making only the sweets for tea time in a small kitchen. But it seemed she'd finally earned Mother's trust. A smile spread across Ella's face.
"If she's given permission to enter the main kitchen, I'll trade recipes for dishes Ella doesn't know in exchange for the sweet recipes. I'd like Ella to learn a wider variety of recipes."
"Very well. I'll discuss it with the head cook and then grant permission."
The head cook was summoned, and after discussing it, Ella was given access to the large kitchen a few days later, and the recipe exchange was set to begin.
Mother wanted to secure the recipes for the sweets needed at tea parties before I changed my place of residence as the Lord's adopted daughter. She was probably planning to set a trend with sweets, too. Being a high-ranking noble's wife sounded exhausting.
"This has a lovely tea fragrance, and it's delicious."
"Yes, these cookies are also a favorite of
Mother had told me to call him "Ferdinand" outside the
Incidentally, when I asked the Chief Priest, "After I'm adopted, will you be my uncle?" he silently ground his knuckles into my head. Calling him "uncle" was apparently off-limits.
"Ferdinand likes them? ...I see."
Some small piece of information about the Chief Priest's daily life seemed to be an incredibly entertaining topic for Mother—she was most enthusiastic about that. The reason our initially nerve-wracking relationship had settled into something manageable was all thanks to the Chief Priest.
Perhaps it was because the Chief Priest came to check on things every other day, but Mother was always in high spirits. I only ever knew her in a good mood, but my eleven-year-old third brother
This was the first thing I'd learned since arriving here. The Chief Priest was an idol to noble women.
He was handsome, well-bred, and could handle any job—whether as a Lord-equivalent, a civil official, or a knight. On top of that, he was artistically gifted. And as a priest, he could never take a partner. Indeed, if you were just going to watch and fawn from a distance, there was no one better.
When the Chief Priest visited, Mother looked exactly like a fan attending her favorite idol's dinner show. She kept a serious face in front of him, discussing my educational progress and such, but after he left, her "and that part was wonderful" talk went on and on. And the same compliments kept looping.
Until now, Cornelius had been the one listening to all this, but he cheerfully passed that role on to me. "After all, women are better at understanding Ferdinand's charm," he said. Well, I didn't really understand.
True, the Chief Priest was a jack-of-all-trades who was incredible at everything he did, and I owed him a great deal. But he could be pretty harsh in his speech, and there were parts of him that were ruthlessly scary. From my perspective, the Chief Priest wasn't someone I could fawn over the way Mother did.
When I said this quietly, Mother chided me: "Well now, Rozemyne. A man who can't pull off a bit of psychological maneuvering or eliminate his enemies is useless even if he's kind." Noble society—terrifying.
Of course, I was made to study every day. Currently, it was mostly about the relatives who would gather for the
"Count and Baron names are so hard to remember. Is there some easy way to memorize them?"
When I complained to the Chief Priest during one of his visits, he shrugged lightly.
"That's to be expected. You have no familiarity with them. But if you don't remember them now, you'll be the one who suffers later."
Saying that, the Chief Priest spread out a map of the fief and traced the lands owned by my relatives with his fingertip, teaching me in the order we'd visited during Spring Prayer. Since it had just been spring, the memories were fresh and easy to understand. I took notes on the spot while listening.
"Relatives who own territory are easier to remember, but the civil and military officials serving in the castle have similar titles, and it's hard to tell them apart."
"Hmm. Well then, perhaps I'll add a reward to give you some motivation..."
The Chief Priest gave a sly grin and looked at me.
"If you memorize all of this before the Baptism Ceremony and make it through without incident, then when the day comes that you become High Priest, I'll entrust you with the keys to the Library and the bookshelf holding the rare books."
"That means..."
If I had the keys to the Library, I could enter it freely whenever I wanted. And I'd be able to read the rare books that I couldn't even look at before, since the High Priest managed them.
"That's right. You'll be able to enter the Library freely without my permission and read the rare books."
"I'll do it! I'll memorize them even if it kills me!"
If it meant free access to the Library and new books, then etiquette, studying, and Mother's Chief Priest monologues were nothing to complain about. Motivation truly surged within me.
Completely absorbed in memorizing titles and names, I stopped listening to the conversation between Mother and the Chief Priest entirely.
"Disguising the duties of the High Priest as a reward—Ferdinand really is skilled at using people, isn't he?"
"That just makes it easier to manage her."
And so, my studies progressed smoothly. After pushing myself too hard and collapsing, the fitting for the Baptism Ceremony attire took place. Mother had apparently been eagerly placing orders even before I'd come to the mansion, but the outfits that arrived somehow numbered four. One should be more than enough for a baptism ceremony outfit.
"Back then, I didn't know what Rozemyne looked like or anything about her, so I ordered them all just to be safe. Which outfit do you like?"
I felt like saying "any of them" would be disqualifying as a young lady. I was made to change in front of a large mirror, and while watching Mother's expressions, I deliberated somewhat.
All the outfits were white, with blue—the auspicious color of the season—and gold, the color of my eyes, used in the embroidery. So whichever I wore, they all looked more or less the same.
Honestly, with this appearance, any of them would suit me. Unlike in my previous life as Urano, there were no visible flaws I needed to hide. If I had to point out a flaw, it would be what was on the inside, but I had no choice but to hide that behind the guise of being a big cat.
I didn't think I needed such ornate clothing, but considering the everyday outfits and accessories they dressed me in, Mother clearly enjoyed adorning people. For now, considering Mother's taste, I pointed to an outfit.
"This one, or that one—that's where I'm torn."
"Oh, Rozemyne too?"
Ah, I'd guessed right. Mother began genuinely fretting over how both suited her equally well. The tailors changed me into whichever outfit I'd pointed at, adjusting the fit. They'd made the fittings in roughly the average size for a child receiving the Baptism Ceremony, but they were still a bit big on me. I'd been held back a year, after all.
"Well? Have you decided?"
While I was deliberating, Father arrived. He'd come to confirm the final choice.
"Oh,
"Yes, she looks wonderful."
"But she's torn between this one and that one."
Watching Mother compare the pleats on the skirt and the design on the chest, making fine distinctions over the tiniest of details, Father shrugged.
"Even if you explained all those tiny differences, I wouldn't understand. Why not just order both? She can choose based on her mood on the day, and children are likely to soil their clothes anyway."
"Let's do that."
Mother happily began giving instructions to the tailors. Watching her from the corner of my eye, I tugged at Father's mantle and spoke in a small voice.
"Father, I have no intention of soiling my clothes, and I don't need two. What a waste of money."
"When you consider that it saves me from
Buying two outfits was apparently Father's form of advance investment. So long as peace of mind and domestic tranquility could be bought with money, that was fine by him. The look of resignation in his eyes worried me. What happened, Father?
The day before the Baptism Ceremony, we received word that my eldest brother
I was led by the hand by Cornelius to greet them. Cornelius was an eleven-year-old knight apprentice who commuted from home, so I saw him at breakfast and dinner. But this would be the first time meeting my brothers who normally lived in the Knight's Dormitory.
"I'm meeting them for the first time, so I'm a little nervous."
"...You've met them before, haven't you? I've heard the story."
Apparently both brothers had been present as knights during the Trombe subjugation. The knights all wore similar full-body armor and helmets that completely covered their faces, so I had no memory of them, but they said they knew me.
"Ah, they seem to have arrived."
Cornelius, who'd once rushed me and knocked me over, had an attendant pick me up and hurried briskly toward the entrance.
"Welcome home, Brother."
"Cornelius. I've just returned."
My eldest brother Eckhart was eighteen, with dark green hair and blue eyes. He had a face very much like Father's, and his build was large and solid.
"Welcome home, Brother Eckhart."
"Just got back. ...Rozemyne."
While Eckhart bent down slightly to meet my eyes, my second brother Lamprecht simply scooped me up to bring us face to face.
"You really were that Shrine Maiden Apprentice. I never would've guessed the Shrine Maiden Apprentice was my sister. ...Rozemyne, you're smaller and lighter than
"Lamprecht, you're startling Rozemyne."
Cornelius pointed this out, but Lamprecht just gave a broad grin.
"Ah, you're right. Her eyes are as wide as saucers."
Still in his growth spurt at sixteen, Lamprecht had inherited Father's reddish-brown hair and light brown eyes. He was about a head shorter than Eckhart, but still had an average adult's height. His build looked lighter than Father's or Eckhart's, but being picked up by him, I could tell he was quite solid.
"I'm back, Rozemyne."
"Welcome home, Brother Lamprecht."
"I've been assigned as the guard knight for Lord Karstedt's son, Wilfried. Once you're adopted and start coming to the castle, we'll be seeing each other. I look forward to it."
Tomorrow was finally the Baptism Ceremony.
The Lord and his wife, along with Wilfried, would also be invited, so it would be another meeting with my new family.
Next time: the Baptism Ceremony.