The next morning, I gathered
"Did
Florencia read through the picture books, comparing them to the karuta cards, and let out a soft breath.
I nodded.
"The artisans in the workshop made them, but the idea was mine. By reading the picture books, playing karuta, and using the playing cards, the children in the orphanage were able to learn to read, write, and do arithmetic over the course of winter."
Incidentally, they also came to know all the names of the gods, their divine retainers, what each deity governed, and what the divine instruments were.
"I've heard from my guard knights that having thorough knowledge of the gods is advantageous when studying magic. If Wilfried plays with these materials during winter before the other noble children, I believe it could raise the overall standard of the entire duchy's nobility..."
"...Yes, knowing all of this before entering the
Florencia sighed in admiration as she gazed at the karuta cards.
As expected, both the karuta cards and picture books seemed like they would sell well to nobles. It might be wise to arrange a reprint before winter's end.
"Let's use these karuta cards in Wilfried's afternoon lesson today once he returns. First, while looking at the picture cards, the teacher will read the reading cards aloud and have him repeat them until he memorizes them. Then he'll practice reading the initial letters of each section and writing them down."
In my old life as Yoshino, this would have been the kind of practice where you'd say "A for ahiru" while writing hiragana. Since about half of the basic alphabet characters used in his name were ones Wilfried already knew, I planned to start from those, building associations between the reading cards and the pictures.
After that, it was time to play karuta. Out of the large deck, he would try to find the picture cards bearing basic alphabet characters he knew, and strive to claim cards corresponding to the ones he'd practiced that day.
His opponents would be his attendants. Initially, I'd give them a handicap—the attendants could reach for cards only after the reading cards had been fully read and ten seconds had passed. Once Wilfried got used to the game, we could gradually reduce the handicap.
"I need the attendants to take this seriously as well. I'll create a ranking table, and anyone who falls to last place more than thirty times will become a replacement candidate. Surely winning at karuta against Wilfried brother would be easy?"
The attendants' faces went rigid. It would be no good if they thought their previous lax performance carried no penalty at all. From now on, I intended to start filtering them out at every opportunity. "The next Lord's attendants cannot afford to be incompetent. The Lord's position is already precarious enough as it is," the Chief Priest had declared.
As for the playing cards, it made sense to begin with Seven Bridge to familiarize him with the number of suit marks and get him used to numbers. The goal was for Wilfried to learn to read numbers and to teach him the patience to accept defeat without throwing a tantrum even when losing.
I said he should read the picture books to him once a day—before bed would be fine—and that if he listened until he had the text memorized, he could follow along the words he'd learned by ear with the text in the book, which would hopefully spark some interest in letters.
"Whichever game it is, winning every match or losing every match won't lead to growth. It's the back-and-forth of winning and losing that builds real determination. So please make sure to let him win sometimes, and at other times, crush him utterly to draw out his motivation."
I added that it would be good to incorporate education into daily life as much as possible—using snacks for addition and subtraction, writing characters in sauce on his plate so he couldn't eat until he could read them, and so on. Richareda responded with a reassuring smile.
"Leave it to me, my lady."
Then, a little after the fourth bell had rung, Wilfried brother and
Judging by the Chief Priest—who appeared somewhat refreshed yet still wore a thoroughly displeased expression—I was fairly certain our bet was mine to win.
"Welcome back, everyone. Lunch preparations are ready."
Over lunch with the Lord and his wife, I heard accounts of the
At the same time, this was partly a show for Wilfried and Lamprecht brother, but the Lord and his wife also received the Chief Priest's report—one mixed with scolding—regarding Wilfried, and I reported the problematic state of Wilfried's educational environment as I saw it.
Upon hearing the Chief Priest's words that he "either wished for an improvement in the environment or for Wilfried's disinheritance," both of them turned pale and fixed
Drawing all eyes upon himself, Sylvester narrowed his and answered, "I'll consider it after the winter debut."
The conditions were as follows: Wilfried had to be able to write the entire basic alphabet, write numbers and perform simple calculations, and play one piece on the feystpiel.
"Until the winter debut...?"
Wilfried and Lamprecht brother blanched at the deadline and demands that had been thrust upon them. It was only natural. They probably couldn't imagine being able to accomplish in a few months what they hadn't managed in years.
"It'll be fine, Wilfried brother. I've already delivered the teaching materials the orphanage children used to learn their letters. Since Wilfried brother managed to accomplish two tasks in a single day, I think he can just barely make it by winter. Though if he lets his guard slip, it's over."
"...Mm."
"Just barely..."
Since he already knew roughly half of both the basic alphabet and the numbers, if he filled in every box on the daily effort chart I'd prepared, the goals were set so that he could achieve them.
"Rozemyne seems to be in high spirits, but what were you doing here all day?"
"I spent most of it planning Wilfried brother's education, but during my free time I just read books in the Library. Before bed and after waking up in the morning, too—it was a blissful day spent reading the books I'd borrowed."
"...The bliss of reading books? I don't understand."
That was because he couldn't read. Once he learned, he would surely come to understand this happiness. And then, just like me, he would be moved to tears by the joy of having a well-stocked Library close at hand.
"Wilfried brother wants to go outside, doesn't he? Shall we swap living arrangements for about three more days?"
"Absolutely not."
His face twisted in terror, the answer came without a heartbeat's hesitation.
"It's not fair that only Wilfried brother gets to live this easy, happy life!"
"Ugh... I won't call Rozemyne 'unfair' anymore. I... was wrong."
Wilfried turned his head away with a huff.
Since he'd been so insufferably annoying, I'd conceived my living-swap plan to make sure he could never call me "unfair" again—and it seemed to have achieved its original purpose quite successfully. Satisfaction, satisfaction.
"I was thinking of joining the afternoon lesson after lunch as well, but..."
"Rozemyne, you cannot."
The Chief Priest said I had prior obligations to attend to.
"You already have meeting appointments lined up. First, you'll meet and coordinate with the person accompanying you to the Harvest Festival, then you'll speak with the civil officials and lay the groundwork for Hassé."
That was certainly a matter that took priority over Wilfried's studies.
"Make sure to memorize as many karuta cards as possible before we return. Rozemyne doesn't show mercy to beginners, you know."
His comment about not showing mercy to beginners probably referred to that time with Reversi. I'd gone all-out then because I thought that was the only chance I'd ever get to beat the Chief Priest. I certainly wasn't going to take karuta played against a child like Wilfried seriously.
"...Bringing up such old things. Persistent gentlemen aren't very likable, you know."
"It's fine. Few people like me. Being disliked is the norm, so there's no need to worry about it."
...That was not fine at all. Someone, please come up with a rehabilitation plan for this man too! He's somehow wrong as a human being! But since I'd been told I was broken as a person for loving books too much, I wasn't exactly in a position to devise a rehabilitation plan, so someone—please!
A meeting regarding the Harvest Festival was to take place in what amounted to a conference room in the main building. I took
When the civil officials would stare at the lesser beast in surprise, and the Chief Priest would eye it with a grimace, it was beginning to grow a little entertaining. Eventually, we arrived at the conference room.
"I've kept you waiting,
The room wasn't particularly large—just a table and chairs for about six people. Two figures knelt there in wait.
I recognized Eckhart brother, but the other—a gray-haired, somewhat petite and slender man—must be Justus.
"Rozemyne, this is Justus. He is the son of Richareda, your head attendant, and a tax officer who will accompany us on this Harvest Festival."
"I pray that you will allow a blessing upon this meeting, guided by the gods on the Day of Abundance watched over by the Wind Goddess
"You have my permission."
After exchanging the long-winded and tedious pleasantries, the two rose smoothly to their feet. Justus's brown eyes looked down at me intently. When I tilted my head slightly, he let out a soft chuckle and offered a gentle, sympathetic smile.
Justus spread a map across the table, and the discussion of the Harvest Festival began. The itinerary was confirmed, and the flow of the event was reviewed.
"For the number of carriages—is two per person sufficient?"
"For us, one would probably do, but wouldn't Lady Rozemyne need even more than two?"
Justus frowned as he explained that while men could move about relatively light on their feet, women inevitably accumulated more luggage, and even something as simple as a change of clothes required multiple attendants. The Chief Priest shook his head loosely.
"Rozemyne, which attendants are you planning to bring?"
"As the High Priest, I should be bringing attendants from the Temple, shouldn't I? In that case, I'd bring Fran, Monica, and
The number of personnel I required was apparently quite small, as everyone stared at me with wide eyes. In the castle, work was highly specialized, but at the Temple there was no such fine division of labor, so a small group was sufficient.
"However, if we don't use carriages, we could use my lesser beast instead—"
"No."
Before I could finish, the Chief Priest shot it down.
"Magic Power will be needed for gathering ingredients. Enlarging a riding beast and using it daily wastes Magic Power. Moreover, if you were to become entangled in some danger, everyone would be dragged in as well, and we wouldn't be able to prepare enough guards to protect that many people."
Listening to the Chief Priest lay out his reasons, I had to concede. With ingredient gathering on the agenda as well, it was true that we couldn't drag everyone along.
The main substance of the meeting concerned how to spend one's time during the Harvest Festival.
Nearly a thousand people gathered at the rural lord's estate in winter, so the Harvest Festival was a correspondingly large affair. The festivities began in the afternoon and continued until dark.
My role was essentially at the start of the festival, where I would conduct the
"Listen carefully, Rozemyne. During the Harvest Festival: do not separate from these two. Do not wander about without guards or attendants. Despite the many dishes served, do not eat anything without your attendants having tasted it first. When the seventh bell rings, leave the festival grounds for bed even if someone tries to detain you. Give only vague answers to the village heads and town mayors, and avoid giving any clear commitments. If you don't understand, leave everything to Eckhart or Justus—don't try to do anything on your own. And also..."
It was just like a schoolteacher droning on at students heading off on a field trip or school excursion. The detailed instructions piled up so thick that, paradoxically, I lost track of what was being said.
In contrast to Eckhart brother, who was listening attentively, Justus laughed in a teasing manner. "Your particular nature hasn't changed at all, has it,
"I was worried when I heard that Ferdinand would be looking after such a young child, but he seems quite the caretaker. I'm impressed."
Justus remarked in a roundabout way that he'd thought it impossible for the Chief Priest—who held impossibly high standards even with children and would ruthlessly cut away whatever he deemed unacceptable—to ever look after a child. The lilt in his voice made it clear he was teasing.
The Chief Priest narrowed his eyes slightly. "I wish these precautions were all that were necessary, but..." He looked at me.
"Rozemyne has a tendency to wander off and get herself killed the moment you look away, or cause problems, escalate situations, or do the entirely unexpected. Make sure you stay alert as well."
"Yes, sir!"
After the seventh bell, apparently receptions hosted by VIPs like village heads and town mayors would begin. That was precisely why he'd told me to insist it was bedtime and leave.
"The places Rozemyne will visit are generally the same ones the previous High Priest used to go to. It also serves to inform people that the High Priest has changed. However, the receptions that have been arranged are based on what suited the previous High Priest—not something Rozemyne would be able to handle."
The Chief Priest was being evasive, but judging from the knowing nods of Justus and Eckhart brother as they listened to his not-quite-explaining, I could guess what he meant: the receptions involved alcohol and women.
"If I were to refuse the receptions outright, the villagers would become suspicious and anxious—wondering what had displeased me, what they should do instead, and how things might change next year. To prevent that, I've assigned Eckhart as your stand-in for the receptions. He will take your place in entertaining the town mayors and village heads, acting as your proxy."
"Understood."
"Justus will handle the tax collection and donation matters. Eckhart, stay close to Rozemyne at all times."
Since the new High Priest was the Lord's adopted daughter and a child, many people would try to get close to curry favor. Apparently, Eckhart brother also served as a breakwater against such advances.
When the discussion of the Harvest Festival concluded, the Chief Priest placed an anti-eavesdropping Magical Tool on the table. Everyone immediately reached for it, so I picked up a small Magical Tool as well.
"Now, let us move on to the main topic—ingredient gathering."
At the Chief Priest's words, I looked up sharply. Upon hearing his tone, Eckhart brother and Justus's expressions tightened.
It seemed that ingredient gathering was to be conducted in secrecy.
"Rozemyne, the daughter of a high-ranking noble would normally be given a Magical Tool to draw out her Magic Power from the moment she was born. That is why it is entirely unnatural for Self-Eating to have nearly killed you and for Magic Power to have crystallized so close to your center. Making the Leibling potion before you depart for the Royal Academy is also part of concealing the fact that you were nearly killed by Self-Eating."
I was startled that the Chief Priest so casually mentioned the secret of my birth, but Eckhart brother and Justus both nodded as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"These two know about it. They served as my hands and feet when I conducted my investigation into your background."
"Um, that means..."
"Gathering information in the lower town was most enjoyabl—I mean, a fascinating experience."
Justus let out a soft chuckle as he corrected himself.
"There was virtually no information to be found regarding Mine, after all. Even after discovering the connection to the
Though his posture was that of a high-ranking noble as he sat upright, his manner of speech was pure lower town. Thinking of him as someone conducting espionage and studying him more carefully, I noticed that Justus's hair and eyes were unremarkable in color and his features were altogether ordinary. He was the kind of person who could blend in easily—unmemorable and unremarkable.
He was somewhat short in stature, but not conspicuously so—something that could be masked with the right footwear. As for his slender build, with the right layering of fabric, his body shape could be disguised however one pleased. All in all, he was ideally suited for intelligence work.
"Lady Rozemyne, I disguise myself as people of various social strata in order to gather information. I mimic their speech, movements, mannerisms, and habits to obtain what I need. So I can understand, to some small degree, the difficulty of your pretending to be a high-born lady and living as the Lord's adopted daughter. You've worked tremendously hard."
He told me that recognizing this effort was what had convinced him to take on the role of tax officer for this trip. It was nice to hear, but something about it didn't quite sit right. Would a high-ranking noble really go to the trouble of infiltrating the lower town just to gather information? I tilted my head in confusion, and the Chief Priest shook his head.
"As usual, Justus only says what suits him. Rozemyne, Justus is an eccentric. His greatest pleasure in life is gathering information and collecting ingredients. He once disguised himself as a woman in order to sneak into a ladies' tea party for the sake of intelligence. He became a civil official because it allowed him to gather information openly and make it his profession. This time, he's delighted that he gets to enjoy both aspects through your escort duty. There's no particular need to be grateful to him."
It had apparently begun when he first discovered that attendants and servants said different things to their masters' faces versus behind their backs—that spark of interest in information-gathering. "If you enjoy gathering information that much, then become a civil official and gather useful information for Lord Sylvester!" Richareda had told him, and so he did.
"I gathered information for Lord Sylvester as Mother instructed, but the person who actually put that information to good use was always Ferdinand, who helped me with Lord Sylvester's work. The real stroke of genius was when he pieced together seemingly trivial information to repel a rival noble upon entering the Royal Academy. That brilliance was absolutely intoxicating."
Richareda's plan of having him serve Sylvester hadn't quite worked out as intended. Justus had chosen the Chief Priest as his true master because the Chief Priest was the one who knew how to use information effectively.
Apparently, when the Chief Priest ordered him to infiltrate the lower town—a place no noble would normally set foot in—in order to investigate me, Justus had been so excited he couldn't sleep. He was definitely an oddball.
"Ever since Lady Rozemyne appeared at Ferdinand's side, my information-gathering has been fulfilling every single day. I'm truly grateful."
I hadn't exactly been thrilled to receive that gratitude.
"Ferdinand, won't you be going to gather Luer as well?"
Peering into the map, Eckhart brother asked. The Chief Priest traced the map with his finger and sighed with profound regret.
"If it were possible, I would certainly want to go, but depending on the itinerary, I'm not sure if—"
"Ferdinand, do you enjoy gathering ingredients as much as Justus does?"
When I asked that, prompted by his lingering finger movements on the map, the Chief Priest glanced at Justus and made a sour face.
"To be precise, I enjoy thinking about what to create with new materials. Don't compare me to Justus, who is satisfied with collecting alone."
"Rozemyne, while Ferdinand was a student at the Royal Academy, he would go out with apprentice knights to slay magic beasts and magical trees in order to obtain magic stones and materials for making Magical Tools of the quality he desired. I accompanied him on several occasions."
Eckhart brother's words conjured an image in my mind of the Chief Priest hunting a Trombe. So he'd been gathering ingredients through activities like that on a regular basis—his student life had been surprisingly wild.
The Chief Priest's reminiscences being so rare, I wanted to hear more, but he gave Eckhart brother a light glare and silenced him.
"If we were heading somewhere with powerful magic beasts, we'd need more people, but since we're only harvesting fruit from a magical tree this time, a small party will suffice. Right, Justus?"
Justus, who had been addressed, nodded firmly.
"Yes. The Luer at the outskirts of Dollvan village is a magical tree that bears fruit on the night of the full moon. I've harvested it once before, during a summer full moon. If we're gathering autumn materials for the Leibling, there's no question that the night of Schutzaria—when the moon is at its fullest—absorbs the most Magic Power."
Apparently, the information about ingredients available within the duchy had also been amassed by Justus. Since Justus loved collecting ingredients, he gathered all manner of them regardless of season or location. The Chief Priest had used that information to select the timing and locations for harvesting the highest-quality materials.
"When people ask what use my information could possibly serve, it's always Ferdinand who puts it to good use."
Justus smiled a bitter smile.
After that, we confirmed the equipment needed for gathering—leather bags, gloves, knives—and Justus explained the harvesting procedure.
"Lady Rozemyne does not yet have a Stab, so you'll need a knife imbued with stored Magic Power."
"That's currently being prepared. It will be done soon."
It turned out the Chief Priest was preparing my equipment. As always, he was thorough in every detail, providing everything one could possibly need.
"Lady Rozemyne, please approach the site on a riding beast. Then, touch the Luer fruit with your bare hands and channel Magic Power until its color changes. Once the color shifts, simply cut it off with the magical knife and that's it. At that point, if you wear leather gloves that block Magic Power during the harvest, the quality will drop, but the material will become usable by other people as well."
"Understood."
Once the discussion of the Harvest Festival and the gathering was concluded, we returned the anti-eavesdropping Magical Tool to the Chief Priest, and the two took their leave.
The next time we would meet was the day of departure for the Harvest Festival, with the rendezvous at the Temple.
"After this, I've summoned Kantona. Sit quietly and wait."
"Yes."
Wilfried has returned. The real test begins now. Do your best!
And there we have it—the debut of Richareda's son, Justus. An eccentric... or rather, a man of remarkable personality.
Next time, a discussion with Kantona and about Hassé.