I am
As the son of the Lord two generations back, I still get called on to assist the current Lord even after retiring from the Knight's Order. Until recently, I always tried to avoid it when I could, but lately, going to the castle has become a little something to look forward to.
...Because
I am currently overwhelmed with emotion. My granddaughter is too brilliant and too adorable.
With that tiny, frail body of hers, Rozemyne had flawlessly carried out the
...Still, it was infuriating. Don't you dare complain about
If
Come to think of it, Elvira had once said, "It would be terrible if Rozemyne learned to just brute-force people into silence the way Bonifatius does. After all, Rozemyne has enough Magic Power to do so."
If she has the power, she should just use it. What a hassle. Incidentally, Karstedt once told me, "Father was removed from the position of Lord because he thinks that way," but that wasn't it at all. I simply didn't want to be in such a troublesome position, so I avoided it.
...Still, for someone with so little physical strength and arm power that she collapses after being hit by just a few snowballs, to have enough Magic Power to single-handedly support all of Ehrenfest—my granddaughter really is something else.
Last winter, with me and a large number of knights watching over them to ensure their safety, the children throwing snowballs at each other had been a heartwarming scene.
But that was only until Rozemyne, who was busily making snowballs, became a target.
When Rozemyne had suddenly lost consciousness after being softly pelted with snowballs, not only Wilfried and his school friends who had thrown them, but the entire Knight's Order standing guard around them had gone pale. Ever since seeing how fragile she was, I've been too afraid to touch Rozemyne.
...She collapsed from snowballs. If I touched her, I really might kill her, just like Karstedt said.
"We should take our leave soon."
"Yes, indeed."
With the seventh bell, it seemed the children were taking their leave. They bowed to the Lord and his wife, exchanged greetings with those close to them, and departed the grand hall. Taking that as my cue, I moved to a spot near where the children would pass.
...For what purpose? Obviously, to greet Rozemyne.
"Lord Bonifatius, good evening."
"Ah, may peaceful slumber find you, blessed by Schlattram."
"I am honored."
...Mm, my granddaughter is the most precious thing in the world. It's rather displeasing that she can't call me "Grandpa" in public, though.
For the record, Rozemyne had only called me "Grandpa" when we first met at the Baptism Ceremony and during the spring when I helped with the Magic Power supply while the Lord and his wife were away.
When I was helping with Wilfried's Magic Power supply, she never failed to say, "Grandpa, thank you as always." Wilfried didn't even have the energy left to say thank you, but Rozemyne always said her thanks with a smile.
...Looking back on it now, that was a precious chance to spend time with Rozemyne without anyone else intruding. Ah, I wish the next spring and the Lord's conference would come sooner. And while they're at it, I hope the conference drags on a little.
As I was lost in memories of the Lord's conference, Wilfried—whom I thought had already left—came rushing into the grand hall, carried by an Attendant.
Sensing danger in their frantic haste, I immediately scanned the surroundings while enhancing my vision with body enhancement. From the reactions around me, it didn't seem like anyone else knew what was happening.
"We were attacked near the northern wing! The guard knights are currently engaged in combat. One of the attackers is wielding a Stab! Lady
"Knight's Order squads one through four, reinforce! The rest of you, seal the grand hall! Any noble not present here is to be considered suspicious!"
As Sylvester's furious orders rang out, the surroundings erupted in commotion, and members of the Knight's Order began moving to seal off the grand hall in one coordinated effort.
"Karstedt, I'm going to rescue Rozemyne!"
Even though I had already retired from the Knight's Order, I was often conveniently dragged out whenever something came up. If I couldn't act in times like these, there would be no point. Rescuing Rozemyne is my duty as her grandfather. The position of having her say "Grandpa, thank you. I love you" is one I won't yield to anyone.
"Father!?"
Karstedt's panicked voice rang out at the same time as Sylvester's shout.
"
"Going overboard again..."
Ignoring the exchange behind me, I slipped through the doors that the knights were in the process of closing and sprinted straight toward the northern wing. Enhancing my legs with Magic Power body enhancement, I overtook the knights rushing to follow, one after another.
...I still won't lose to the young ones! I'll be the first to arrive!
The distance from the main building's grand hall to the northern wing was considerable. For a moment, I wished I had a riding beast like Rozemyne's, but I pushed forward at full speed using body enhancement.
"Rozemyne! Where are you!?"
After turning several corners, I saw knights clashing with dark figures. I strained to enhance my vision. But neither Rozemyne nor Charlotte was visible anywhere nearby. The remaining guard knights must have led them deeper into the northern wing. At the very least, I had to confirm they were safe.
"Is Rozemyne safe!?"
As I shouted, I lunged at one of the dark figures from behind, swinging my enhanced arm down and crushing one of them. The next instant, the dark figure that had fallen to the ground let out a dull thud and exploded.
"Wha—!? What was that!?"
Blood, bodily fluids, and entrails from the dark figure scattered in all directions along with the torn black cloth, and the knights who had been fighting were blown away by the blast centered on the dark figure.
Suddenly exposed to the thick stench of blood, one of the knights who had caught scattered flesh on his face retched. Seeing this from the corner of my vision, I immediately shouted.
"Don't let your guard down, you fools!"
With my shout, a sharp tension returned, and the knights reformed their stance. But after that, the dark figures they had been fighting began exploding one after another in a chain reaction.
I had crushed enemies with my fists and cut them down with weapons before. But I had rarely seen enemies spontaneously self-destructing without me doing anything, and I couldn't help but furrow my brow.
"I'm not sure what's happening, but if the enemies are eliminating themselves, that's fine by me. You there—is Rozemyne safe?"
"...I don't know. I confirmed that Lady Charlotte was taken and that someone pursued on a riding beast."
"Useless!"
Shouting down the knight present, I dashed toward a wide-open window. If the enemies were destroying themselves, there was no need to linger here. My role wasn't to mop up enemies or gather evidence to identify the culprits. It was to rescue Rozemyne.
Just as I raced to the window,
"Oh, you're safe, Princess Charlotte. ...Where is Rozemyne?"
"Big Sister was taken by someone. She used her own guard knights to try to help me... and so..."
Hearing Charlotte's tearful words, I snapped my gaze to Angelica, the guard knight.
"
Angelica tried to hand Charlotte to me, but with my enhanced eyes, I could faintly make out Cornelius descending into the forest some distance away.
"Wait, Angelica. Rozemyne is my granddaughter. I'm going!"
Brushing past Angelica and Charlotte, I leaped into the winter night sky, summoned my riding beast, and mounted it.
Flapping the wings made a loud sound, so I glided without moving them much, listening for sounds around me. Focusing intently and picking up sounds, beyond where Cornelius was descending—deeper into the forest that spread out to conceal the servants' movements—I heard the hoofbeats of a horse running toward the main entrance side.
...Is that it!?
The instant my eyes snapped open, my riding beast flapped its wings and struck the air. Pouring a massive amount of Magic Power into it, I raced through the cold night sky at full speed toward my target.
Charging forward on my riding beast, I poured rage-filled Magic Power into my Stab to ensure the kidnappers wouldn't escape. Immediately, Magic Power crackling with white sparks began gathering at the tip of the Stab.
By the time the mass of Magic Power had grown larger than my face, I had drawn close enough to see the horse running even without enhancement. I swung my Stab down and hurled the mass of Magic Power with all my might in the direction the horse was heading.
A streak of white light trailed a long tail as it plunged into the forest. An enormous explosion followed. Trees were obliterated, and the forest erupted in chaos with the shrieks of birds and small animals and the sounds of creatures fleeing. Startled by the sudden blast and driven by terror, the horse went berserk and broke into a wild stampede.
"So you're the fool who kidnapped my only granddaughter!?"
Leaping from my riding beast toward the erratically running horse, I unleashed Magic Power with enough force to flatten it.
Taking my intimidation head-on, the horse reared up on its hind legs, foaming at the mouth as it came to a stop. At the same time, the man holding the reins was flung from the horse. I crushed the man in a fit of rage, then immediately searched for Rozemyne.
I could see a bundle of cloth tied to the reared-up horse. I immediately cut the rope, freed the bundle, and kicked the horse—which was falling toward me—in the opposite direction with my enhanced leg.
"Rozemyne, are you in there?"
The cloth bundle was so light I doubted a child was actually inside. When I gave it a slight shake, the cloth crumpled and then took on a human shape.
"No answer! Don't tell me she's dead!? Rozemyne, I'll get you out right now!"
No matter how intently I listened, there was no response from Rozemyne, and the blood drained from my face. I hurriedly tried to extract her from the cloth, grabbing one end and pulling.
"Hmph!"
When I pulled the cloth with all my might, the heavier end—where Rozemyne's weight was—began spinning round and round, and the cloth spread wide open.
By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late. The cloth came free, and Rozemyne went flying through the air, spinning rapidly sideways in an unexpected direction. I reached out desperately, but couldn't reach her.
"Whaaaaa!? Rozemyne!?"
Just then, Ferdinand—who appeared to have been following me—caught Rozemyne just before she hit the trees, and disaster was averted. I truly thought my heart was going to leap out of my mouth.
And then, upon learning that Rozemyne had been drugged, Ferdinand whisked her away to the
Honestly, I didn't want to entrust my precious Rozemyne to the Temple, but frustratingly, I didn't know the proper dosage of medicine to give her, and just as Karstedt had said, carelessly touching her might actually kill her.
...Since I had nearly caused an accident just moments ago.
I should do what I could for Rozemyne in my own way. With that thought, I decided to track down the other horse together with Cornelius, who had caught up.
"Let's go, Cornelius."
"Yes, Grandpa."
The other horse was also in a panicked frenzy, making it easy to find, and we quickly captured the culprit. But once again, the one holding the reins was a low-ranking servant, not a noble wielding a Stab.
Since Cornelius had witnessed Rozemyne being captured by a Magic Power net, there had to be a noble among the culprits.
"Who gave you the orders?"
"I don't know. It was a noble dressed in black. I was simply told to do exactly as instructed."
I probed the surroundings for any other presence, but it didn't seem like anyone else was there. We had no choice but to take this man with us. As I was tying him up, a red flare for a rescue request rose from within the forest.
Exchanging a glance with Cornelius, I immediately grabbed the captured servant and rushed toward the depths of the forest where the flare had gone up.
At the end of the red light, Angelica had captured a single dark-clad noble.
"Lord Bonifatius, I can't carry this person on my own. Could you help me?"
"Leave it to me. Well done, Angelica. ...Now then, which fool laid hands on my granddaughter?"
I tore away the black cloth covering the kidnapper's face with brute force. It seemed I had grabbed some skin along with it, and a pathetic cry of "Ow!" escaped him.
Where the cloth had been ripped away, a familiar face looked up at me with its eyebrows pathetically drooped.
"Viscount Joisitorck, you...!"
"Lord Bonifatius, I—!"
"Silence!"
Viscount Joisitorck was a relative of
I gripped my Stab and thrust it forward, restraining myself from beating the man to death in my anger and momentum. Then I clenched my back teeth hard and glared down at the trembling man.
"You can make your excuses before the Lord of Ehrenfest. ...I am desperately holding back the urge to wring you out right here and now. Don't say another word."
Binding him with my Stab, I dragged him along together with the servant and brought Viscount Joisitorck back to the castle.
"Cornelius, report to the Lord of Ehrenfest. I'll make sure this fool doesn't escape. Angelica, you'll accompany me. I can't very well act alone at this point."
"As you command."
I watched briefly as Cornelius headed back to the castle while signaling the mission's completion to the knights, then made my way to the dungeon with Angelica.
I threw Viscount Joisitorck into the dungeon used for imprisoning criminal nobles. After clamping shackles on him to seal his Stab, hearing his initial excuses, and fitting him with a gag, I took measures to ensure he couldn't escape.
"Angelica, we'll stand by here until the Lord of Ehrenfest summons us."
"As you command."
When I plopped down into a chair, Angelica compared me to the men she had captured and let out a small breath.
"Lord Bonifatius, you're so powerful. I used body enhancement and still had someone snatched right from under my nose."
"...You were saving Princess Charlotte, weren't you? Besides, you have good instincts."
I thought Angelica was quite strong for a middle-ranked noble and that she handled body enhancement magic relatively well. It seemed she still needed to distribute Magic Power throughout her entire body for it to count as enhancement, so there was a lot of waste. Still, for her age, she was doing remarkably well.
"Is that really so? When I pour Magic Power into body enhancement, I have none left for anything else. And even if a little remains, I can't do multiple things at once."
Angelica pressed her lips together in frustration.
"If I had been able to use body enhancement while summoning my riding beast this time too, I could have rescued Lady Charlotte on my own. Then, I think Cornelius would have been able to protect Lady Rozemyne."
Angelica's shoulders slumped. But from what I'd heard about Charlotte's rescue, I didn't think Angelica could have caught Charlotte without body enhancement. Rozemyne certainly did some reckless things too.
"If you failed at something you should have been able to do, then you need to reflect on that. But there's no point lamenting over something you couldn't have done from the start. No matter how you think about it, it was simply impossible."
As the son of the Lord, I have more Magic Power than most. And since I've been using body enhancement for many years, partial enhancement is second nature to me, and I can enhance just the parts I want as easily as breathing.
But body enhancement is difficult. Once you're accustomed to it, you can enhance efficiently with a small amount of Magic Power, but until then, it requires an enormous amount. That's why not just middle-ranked nobles, but even upper-ranked nobles rarely attempt it. Getting to the point where you can handle it properly is incredibly demanding.
"If there's something you can't do, you should strive to make it possible. The quickest path to improving your body enhancement is increasing your Magic Power supply, but that's the one thing that's hard to do..."
Angelica was a middle-ranked noble. For a middle-ranked noble, she had a decent amount of Magic Power, but increasing it further would be difficult. As I furrowed my brow in thought, Angelica slowly shook her head.
"Right now, I'm increasing my Magic Power using the Rozemyne-style compression method. ...It's still nowhere near enough, but I'll keep increasing it."
"The Rozemyne-style compression method!? What is that!?"
According to Angelica, it was a method of compressing Magic Power that Rozemyne had devised. A little before the winter social season began, Rozemyne had taught it to the guard knights of the Lord and his wife, and then to a portion of the Knight's Order. Wilfried's guard knights had apparently been deemed still in need of observation.
"I haven't heard anything about such a compression method."
"...I don't think you need any more Magic Power, Lord Bonifatius."
"That's not the point. As her grandfather, I should know what Rozemyne has come up with before anyone else does. What is it like?"
"I'm bound by Contract Magic not to teach anyone, so you'll need to submit a request to the Lord and his wife and have Lady Rozemyne teach you directly. She's the only one who can teach it."
It seemed I would have more opportunities to talk with Rozemyne. Nodding to myself, I carved "Have Rozemyne teach me the Magic Power compression method" into my internal schedule.
"Very well, Angelica. If your Magic Power is going to increase, then I'll train you. I won't hold back my support in helping you become a guard knight worthy of protecting Rozemyne."
"I'm so happy, Lord Bonifatius. Please, I look forward to working with you."
Angelica's blue eyes, filled with determination, looked straight at me. Then we exchanged a firm, solid handshake. And just like that, I gained a new disciple named Angelica.
"Once you can enhance your whole body, the next step is training in partial enhancement."
While waiting for Cornelius to come get us, I began discussing the finer points of body enhancement with Angelica and her magic blade, Stinkeluk.
As it turned out, Angelica possessed a magic blade that Rozemyne had infused with Magic Power, and this magic blade could talk. Moreover, it apparently picked up and recorded the sounds around it.
"Angelica, that magic blade of yours... give it to me..."
"I cannot give it away. Stinkeluk is a precious magic blade into which Lady Rozemyne infused Magic Power for my sake. Do you really think I would hand over something I received from my master, Lady Rozemyne, to someone else, Lord Bonifatius?"
"...You're right. My apologies."
There was no way she could give away something she received from Rozemyne. I understood Angelica's feelings perfectly.
...But I wanted a gift from Rozemyne too.
While I was at it, how about I cultivated a magic blade of my own and had Rozemyne pour Magic Power into it?
Just as I was seriously considering making a magic blade, Cornelius came to fetch me.
"Grandpa, it looks like the interrogation room is ready."
According to Cornelius's report, after reporting the culprits' capture to the Lord of Ehrenfest, the nobles had been allowed to leave. Those who had established their alibi in the grand hall were sent back to their respective mansions under the watch of knights, who kept an eye out for any suspicious behavior.
At the same time, interrogation was conducted on the nobles who hadn't been in the grand hall—most of them Attendants serving the Lord's family. Since they were all Attendants tidying the Lord and his wife's chambers or looking after the Lord's children, they had been able to quickly establish their alibis.
"Just a while ago, Lord Ferdinand also returned from the Temple."
"Then let's go. Angelica, use body enhancement on just your arms as much as possible, and carry this."
"Yes, Master!"
I handed Angelica the rope binding the servant I had tied up tightly, and she nodded vigorously and took it.
Angelica was trying to enhance just her arms, but Magic Power was still flowing throughout her body. Still, her arms were slightly more imbued with Magic Power than the rest, so she was having at least some success.
"...Master?"
Cornelius looked between me and Angelica with a puzzled expression. Angelica, gripping the rope tightly, nodded proudly.
"I've been taken on as Lord Bonifatius's disciple to be trained!"
"What an eccentric..."
To Cornelius, who was muttering things like "Unbelievable" and "Is he in his right mind?", I delivered a sharp rebuke.
"What would a weakling who'd try to flee the moment I offered to train him have to say about it!?"
"If you'll pardon my saying so, I have never fled. Besides, have you ever actually let anyone escape, Grandpa?"
"Hmph! As if I would. ...That's right, Cornelius. I'll train you too. There's no need for guard knights who lack the strength to protect Rozemyne."
Ideally, I would protect Rozemyne myself, but technically, even though I was from two generations back, I was still the son of the Lord. Unfortunately, I couldn't become Rozemyne's guard knight. It was a roundabout way, but to protect Rozemyne, I would start by training her guard knights.
"...Grandpa, if we're talking about Rozemyne's guard knights, does that apply to
"Mm, the same."
There was no problem with having more strong guard knights.
After thinking about it for a moment, I realized that in a situation like this one—where Charlotte was kidnapped and Rozemyne's guard knights had to go rescue her—Rozemyne's own protection would inevitably be thinned out. That would defeat the purpose.
...Maybe I should just retrain all of the Lord family's guard knights?
As I contemplated how to train the guard knights, I headed for the Lord's office.
As I climbed the stairs, the criminal I was dragging groaned every time he bumped against the steps. Annoying, but I ignored him. My mind was too busy.
...Rozemyne, Grandpa is going to do his very best to make your guard knights stronger.