A dark-brown braid swayed behind her back. Her eyes were the same blue as the
"Dunkelfelger, huh..."
The Chief Priest's murmur carried a displeased note, and I tilted my head. The Chief Priest let out a soft breath.
"Dunkelfelger women tend to be calculating. Who knows how much information they'll take away with them. Now then, can Hartmut keep that in check?"
"Lord
"...No, it's just a general observation."
So Dunkelfelger was the kind of territory where being calculating was considered a general trait. The only Dunkelfelger woman I knew was Hannalore, but I'd never gotten the impression that she was particularly calculating.
"She's
As it turned out, Hartmut's girlfriend was Clarissa—the same person who had given me those Dunkelfelger stories. Just knowing that I'd already read some of her tales was enough to raise my opinion of her.
Clarissa introduced herself and, with a deeply moved expression, said, "I'm so happy that I can finally, finally be introduced to Lady
...Come to think of it, hadn't Hartmut been dating quite a few girls?
"Since you're being introduced like this, Clarissa, you've decided to marry Hartmut, haven't you? What was the deciding factor? I'm only asking for reference, of course."
I couldn't very well ask "What did you see in Hartmut?" since he was a bit eccentric, so I indirectly inquired about what had sealed the deal.
"Do you remember the Dunkelfelger versus Diester duel last year, Lady Rozemyne?"
"Yes, of course."
"That's when it happened."
Hartmut, as an apprentice civil attendant, shouldn't have been present at the Diester duel. They must have grown close while exchanging information about Diester. As I wondered about this, Clarissa blushed and spoke.
"That was when I was truly moved."
What Clarissa began recounting wasn't how she'd met Hartmut, but rather how spectacular it had been to see me—the smallest person in the
"That was when I decided that, in order to serve Lady Rozemyne in the future, I would marry a man from Ehrenfest."
...Wait, what? Hartmut had absolutely nothing to do with it!?
From there, the information-gathering began. Clarissa apparently started searching for an Ehrenfest man whose magic power was compatible with hers. He had to be the same year or an older senior noble, someone who would be in a position close to me after marriage, and someone from whom she could wrangle parental permission. Considering Ehrenfest's ranking, a marriage between a senior noble from Ehrenfest and a senior noble from Dunkelfelger was difficult to pull off.
Apparently the only two who met Clarissa's criteria were my talented attendant
"Since Hartmut was the only option, I asked him to date me with marriage as the goal."
As I listened with a "hmm, hmm," my mother's voice dropped in from behind with "Yes, yes, and then?" Startled, I turned around to find my mother taking notes with the expression of my own civil attendant.
"How did you convey your feelings to Hartmut?"
It was Hartmut who answered my mother's question. He gave a wry smile and shrugged.
"Clarissa was quite passionate. She tripped me, tackled me to the ground, and pressed a weapon to my throat."
"...I beg your pardon?"
"For a moment, I had no idea what was happening."
Clarissa had body-slammed him to demonstrate her martial prowess, then demanded the trials needed for marriage. She then wrenched those trials from Hartmut—whose very life was in danger—and cleared them one by one. Along the way, she apparently kicked aside rival candidates one after another, all of whom had been on good terms with Hartmut. For Clarissa, romance was something you seized with passion and sheer determination.
...So the Dunkelfelger romance story works even when the genders are reversed. A new discovery I didn't really need. Clarissa seemed so normal at first glance, too.
"And now, I can finally date with marriage as a goal, and I can be introduced to Lady Rozemyne like this."
Clarissa said this with a bashful expression, remarking that it was embarrassing to talk about her own love story, but I couldn't feel anything like the mood of listening to a romance at all.
...After all, a story of weapon-wielding violence as the basis for their meeting was completely unexpected.
I turned my gaze to Hartmut, who was standing next to Clarissa. He stood there with a perfectly normal expression, but was it really okay to marry a woman who would suddenly thrust a weapon at you?
"Hartmut, what do you think about the marriage? I mean, it was quite a shocking meeting, wasn't it..."
"The meeting was certainly shocking, but no matter how passionately I speak about Lady Rozemyne, Clarissa listens earnestly, and no matter how obsessed I get with Lady Rozemyne, she never shows any sign of getting jealous. So I think this is the best match I could ask for."
...What should I do? For Hartmut's sake I wanted to congratulate him, but for my own sake, this might not be a combination I wanted to celebrate.
As I pondered with a "hmm," Clarissa's bashful expression tightened and she looked straight at me. She might have sensed opposition. Before I could think "oh no" and open my mouth, Clarissa's strong Dunkelfelger-blue eyes flashed brightly.
"However, Hartmut's marriage and serving Lady Rozemyne are two separate things. I desperately wish to serve Lady Rozemyne. I wanted you to acknowledge that, so I had Hartmut arrange this meeting."
From there, Clarissa's self-promotion began. She explained that she was a martial-leaning civil attendant who had failed the selection test to become a knight apprentice, that she still trained alongside knight apprentices and could serve as a guard, and that she could take the forefront in negotiations with Dunkelfelger.
...Wait a moment. I'm being introduced to my subordinate's future spouse, aren't I? I feel completely like an interviewer at a job screening.
"You said you're a martial-leaning civil attendant who can guard, but what can you do as a civil attendant, which is your actual profession? With graduation coming next year, what research are you focusing on?"
The Chief Priest next to me was also fully in interviewer mode, asking quite detailed questions about what research she was doing at the Royal Academy. Clarissa apparently studied magical tools that support wide-area magic.
"And I have made all this effort to be recognized not just as any civil attendant, but specifically as Lady Rozemyne's civil attendant."
What Clarissa thrust forward was a bundle of papers.
"These are copies of my family's books. I heard from Hartmut which books were already in Ehrenfest's collection and excluded those. There are two volumes."
"Isn't Clarissa a wonderfully diligent and good girl, Hartmut? I've already received stories from her, and now she's making copies like this... You're hired!"
"You haven't thought this through, you fool! At least look at the contents before passing judgment."
Sighing exasperatedly at me, I began looking through the transcribed copies Clarissa had offered. While I was at it, I also considered the implications of Clarissa marrying Hartmut and becoming my attendant, but there was no downside for Ehrenfest. If anything, the only mild inconvenience was having more saint-worshippers like a second Hartmut around me.
"Her handwriting is beautiful, and I think the quality is excellent. Plus, having a connection to Dunkelfelger isn't bad for Ehrenfest either. Is there a problem, Lord Ferdinand?"
Feeling anxious about whether he'd object, I looked up at the Chief Priest beside me. Clarissa, too, watched the Chief Priest—who was my guardian and held the final say—with a tense expression.
"Let me see. A martial-leaning civil attendant is a slight concern on the negotiation front, but Hartmut could compensate for that. If you think you can handle taking Clarissa on, you may do as you please."
At the Chief Priest's permission, Clarissa's blue eyes, brimming with hope, turned to me.
"Then once Clarissa marries Hartmut and moves to Ehrenfest, let's have a proper discussion."
"Thank you so much."
When the interview with the happily blushing Clarissa reached a pause, Hartmut stepped forward.
"Lord Ferdinand, Laimunt came by just a little while ago. If you have the time, he'd like to submit his assignment in person."
"Yes, bring him in."
Hartmut and Clarissa walked off together toward the Ehrenfest civil attendants' area. Clarissa was speaking with a happy expression, and Hartmut was responding in kind.
"Is Clarissa a typical Dunkelfelger woman?"
"She's quite different in atmosphere from the Dunkelfelger women I know. Her thought patterns must lean more toward knights."
"The scene where she conveyed her feelings—showing off her martial skills like that was truly shocking. How should I write it up? This is going to be difficult..."
My mother left with a troubled look on her face, but I didn't think she needed to force herself to write it as a romance story. Why not write it as a how-to guide: "How to Woo a Man, Dunkelfelger Girl Edition"? I was sure it would become an essential read for men from other territories who might have a Dunkelfelger girl come on to them.
"Lord Ferdinand, Lady Rozemyne. I've brought Laimunt."
Hartmut and Clarissa returned with Laimunt in tow. Clarissa apparently wanted to know the caliber of civil attendant that the Chief Priest and I would recognize. Even though Laimunt was a student from another territory—
...Something like the relationship between the Chief Priest and Heiszitz?
Laimunt wore the wisteria-colored mantle of Ahrensbach and looked neat and tidy. However, his face showed strong signs of sleep deprivation, revealing that he had been working on his research up to the last minute to present his assignment directly to the Chief Priest.
Laimunt greeted the Chief Priest with a tense expression and presented the assignment he had brought. The Chief Priest took the offered assignment and began reviewing it on the spot. Hartmut and Clarissa peered in with interest. It was the assignment I had requested—improving the teleportation circle to make it smaller and more energy-efficient—so I looked on as well.
"This improvement isn't bad. But if you add a magic circle in this shape here, you can supplement with magic stones, which would ultimately conserve the caster's magic power."
"Supplementing with magic stones... The assignment was to make it something even a lesser noble could use easily, but are magic stones that simple to obtain?"
"Preparing magic stones shouldn't be that difficult, should it?"
Neither magic power nor the abundance of available materials should be used as a benchmark when it comes to research with the Chief Priest.
"Even commoners can obtain magic stones if they defeat magical beasts, so I think having a supplementary magic circle would be beneficial," said Clarissa, who had been peering at the assignment with admiration. The Chief Priest and Laimunt looked at her in surprise.
"Commoners obtain magic stones?"
"If they go hunting in the forest, it's only natural that commoners encounter magical beasts too. If the beasts are weak, they can defeat them, and there are stonemasons in the city who buy magic stones hunted by commoners. So I don't really understand the situation where lesser nobles can't obtain magic stones."
...Dunkelfelger apparently had strong commoners too. I was glad I wasn't a Dunkelfelger child. I definitely would have died.
"Would there be stonemasons in the commoners' lower city?"
Seeing the Chief Priest and Laimunt tilt their heads, it seemed like this might not exist in Ahrensbach or Ehrenfest. I had lived in the lower city myself but hadn't gone out much, so I wasn't sure whether it existed in Ehrenfest.
For the time being, the Chief Priest finished his review after confirming whether low-grade magic stones would also be effective, and if so, incorporating additional supplementary magic circles into the scope of the assignment.
"A new assignment, then... Rozemyne, is there anything you want?"
Without reference materials at hand, perhaps the next assignment wasn't coming to mind immediately, so the Chief Priest directed the question to me. I nodded vigorously. If it was about magic circles for Laimunt to improve, I had more than enough ideas.
"Among the materials I borrowed from Teacher
I listed off the library magical tools from Solange's materials: a magical tool that showed the time by glowing, one that cleaned the interior, one that suppressed loud voices in the reading rooms, one that stopped time to preserve old materials from decaying, and one that protected books from sunlight damage. There were many magical tools.
"What kind of magic circles do they use?"
"I don't know. They weren't drawn in the materials. But I want magical tools that will be useful to the library. If I can have ones that use as little magic power as possible, it would help Teacher Solange too."
Hearing the pretext I had offered, the Chief Priest let out a soft breath.
"I have some materials of my own. I'll base the assignment on those."
It seemed there were also magical tools made by the master of
"For research purposes, perhaps we should visit the library once. It would be helpful if the magic circles were in an easily visible location..."
Just as Laimunt began planning for the future, Clarissa looked at the Chief Priest with shining blue eyes.
"Lord Ferdinand, please give me an assignment too!"
"Clarissa, get your assignments from Rozemyne. You are a candidate for Rozemyne's attendant, not for my apprentice."
Looking deflated after being so bluntly turned down, Clarissa sent me a pleading gaze, so I gave her an assignment: think of a magical tool that could catch library patrons who tried to take materials out without permission.
While we were talking about magical tools in the library, the Diester matches in the arena had apparently ended. Rufen's voice announced that all Diester matches were concluded. At the same time, we were told that after the awards ceremony, when the fifth bell rang, students should descend to the arena.
"Then return to your seats."
Urged by the Chief Priest, Laimunt and Clarissa headed back to their respective territories' areas with reluctant expressions. They must have really enjoyed the magical tool discussion. I had thoroughly enjoyed the conversation about library magical tools too.
Before the fifth bell, simple tidying took place. The apprentice civil attendants collected the important magical tools they had displayed for their research presentations, while the attendant apprentices gathered the teacups and sweets that had been served to guests, putting everything away one by one.
Then the fifth bell rang with a clang-clang.
"Let's head to the arena, Rozemyne."
"If we all go at once, it will be crowded, so please descend first, Brother Wilfried. I'd like you to take charge of organizing the students below. Charlotte, please direct them to descend in order. I'll stay here as long as possible to conserve what little energy I have."
My top priority was to conserve energy so I wouldn't collapse in front of the royal family. Knowing this, Wilfried and Charlotte nodded firmly and began issuing instructions to the students.
"It's about time you went. Once you've descended, we'll go watch from the front as well."
Seeing that most of the Ehrenfest students had gone down, the Chief Priest said this. The parents would apparently step forward, just as they had when watching the Diester matches, and look down at the awards ceremony from above.
"I hope many high-performing students come from Ehrenfest."
Saying this to the Chief Priest, I stood up with a clatter. Suddenly, the charm hanging from my arm reacted. It flared bright, and a pale-blue beam shot out toward Rufen as if counterattacking automatically.
"...What?"
In that sudden turn of events, I blinked, the Chief Priest pulled me close, and Brother
"Wha—!?"
Screams could be heard from relatively nearby. Brother Cornelius and Leonore dashed toward the source of the sound, while Judith stayed behind to keep watch. Brother Cornelius quickly dragged out the student who had received the charm's counterattack.
"This is the one who attacked Lady Rozemyne."
"That's not it! I had no intention of attacking a lord candidate!"
Pale as a sheet after receiving the charm's counterattack and being dragged out, the culprit was a senior noble from Immerdinck—a territory that had been ranked tenth until last year before being overtaken by Ehrenfest. Apparently, the change in territory rankings had caused him to be rejected by a lady from a large territory, and he had grown jealous of Hartmut, who was now engaged to Clarissa, a noblewoman from a large territory.
He had impulsively thrown a magic stone at Hartmut's feet. However, because I had stood up and Hartmut had moved in response, the charm had activated and counterattacked. I thought he was incredibly unlucky.
Even if the target had been wrong, he had attacked a lord candidate from another territory. There was absolutely no way he could go unpunished. However, I didn't need to make a big scene before the awards ceremony. The best thing would be to let the adults sort it out among themselves.
"Since the culprit himself has already suffered a painful counterattack thanks to Lord Ferdinand, I have no intention of punishing him further. I'll leave the complaint against Aub Immerdinck to Aub Ehrenfest."
I left the handling of the Immerdinck matter to the Chief Priest and prepared to descend to the arena on my riding beast with my attendants. The hand gripping my arm from the Chief Priest tightened slightly.
"Rozemyne, that charm which reacts to physical attacks should be used up by now. Be careful not to let your guard knights stray from your side. The jealousy of territories that Ehrenfest overtook could manifest in any number of ways."
Hearing the Chief Priest's words, it was Brother Cornelius, not me, who nodded with a grim expression.
The arena where the awards ceremony was to be held already had many students gathered, their colorful mantles clustered in neat rows. Wilfried and Charlotte had already descended, and Ehrenfest's bright ochre was visible among them.
"That over there is Ehrenfest."
"Please descend toward that circle on your riding beasts."
Hartmut led the way, followed by the apprentice civil attendants and attendant apprentices, and I descended surrounded by my guard knights.
Once all the students had lined up in the arena, the royal family entered. Surrounded by knights in black cloaks, riding beasts with wings spread wide landed one after another.
A knight commander I recognized was serving as escort, and seeing that he stood in front of
...He looks younger than I expected.
He appeared to be about the same age as my father. His features resembled Anastasius's, but with far more gravitas. Led by the king, the royal family, dressed in elaborate and heavy-looking garments, ascended the dais. The king and his first wife, a young royal who I assumed was
"Under the strict selection of the God of Life,
The awards ceremony began with the king's address. A sound-amplifying magical tool carried the king's resonant voice across the arena. My heart racing with excitement at my first awards ceremony, I watched the royal family from a distance. Even from this far away, Eglantine was stunningly beautiful. The hair ornament from Turi that highlighted her golden hair was lovely too. I let out a soft sigh of admiration.
Suddenly, massive explosions erupted in several places, and pillars of fire shot up.
As was pointed out in the comments section, Hartmut's partner is Clarissa.
She is a martial-leaning civil attendant from Dunkelfelger with a passionate heart.
And now, the meeting between Laimunt and the Chief Priest.
Next time: The Ambush.