"
It was the winter social season, which I'd be attending for the first time not as a student of the Noble Academy but in the garb of a full-fledged knight. In the grand hall, buzzing with murmuring voices on the eve of the Opening Banquet, Leonoore leaned close with an endearing smile and quietly warned me. I let out a slow breath and tore my gaze away from Giebe
To be perfectly honest, I wanted nothing more than to kick that smug look right off Giebe Gerlach's face. But now was not the time. This was different from before, when I'd gnashed my teeth in frustration because there wasn't enough evidence to bring him in. Now we had evidence that would guarantee a conviction. It would only cause trouble if he caught wind of things here. I forced a smile and looked at Leonoore.
"I'll be careful. It's just that I can't help feeling on edge, what with thinking 'this time for sure.'"
"Well, the tension does tend to run high no matter what."
This year, with the impending purge, the knights who knew about it looked calm but had sharp eyes, and the old
"Once again this year, the
The lord of Ehrenfest began the banquet with his address, announcing that Lord Ferdinand had been urgently dispatched to Ahrensbach, and that
Once the lord finished speaking, it was time for the
On the stage, High Priest Rosemine and the newly appointed Chief Priest Hartmut were preparing for the Baptism Ceremony. Led by the hand by Hartmut, Rosemine ascended to a raised platform and raised her voice.
"Let us welcome a new child of Ehrenfest."
Rosemine, who had previously left the greetings and myth recitation to Lord Ferdinand, this year used a Magical Tool that amplified her voice to deliver them herself. She spoke the myths in her childlike voice. In part to confuse those who knew about the Holy Book swap incident, the Holy Book was not used and remained closed.
"Lady Rosemine does look a bit different these days... Richelda mentioned she was worried, sensing the tension in the air."
"Lord Ferdinand's departure must have affected her that deeply, then."
From the day the parting was decided and the two of them shut themselves away in the workshop together, Rosemine and Lord Ferdinand's relationship had changed abruptly. Rosemine had begun to openly express her affection for Lord Ferdinand, and the distance between them when they spoke had clearly narrowed. When you're serving as a guard, you stay close to your lord's side to keep them safe, so you notice changes in proximity acutely.
And they had been exchanging gifts with each other. When someone was leaving a territory due to marriage or similar reasons, it wasn't unusual for them to give gifts to those they were close to. There was also an element of disposing of the things one was leaving behind. That was precisely why I couldn't quite understand having a farewell meal at the Italian restaurant. However, I could accept it as a way of honoring Lord Ferdinand's years of service, much the same way one would commend their retainers.
...Even more incomprehensible things had happened after that.
At the Italian restaurant, Rosemine and Lord Ferdinand had exchanged magical stone amulets. Apparently, they had each been trying to surprise the other, but no parent short of absurdly overprotective would give an amulet of that caliber.
Had Rosemine been an adult woman rather than a small child, everyone would have absolutely taken it as a marriage proposal. Honestly, arranged marriage by royal decree or not, it was hard to look past the fact that the magical stone he'd given Rosemine was far higher in quality and more imbued with magic power than the one he'd given his fiancée, Lady
"I never imagined Lord Ferdinand would give her a hairpin like that."
"Brother
The only ones completely unfazed by the hairpin adorned with five rainbow-colored magical stones covering every element were Brother Eckhart,
"Still, with Rosemine wearing Lord Ferdinand's magical stone like that, I wonder if Lord
When people married, their magic power gradually became more similar, and the children born to them inherited magic power influenced by both parents. That was precisely why it was deeply unsettling for the woman who would become one's wife to be wearing magical power from a man who was not her father. Even if that man was her guardian, if Leonoore were wearing a magical stone from another man who wasn't her father, I think I'd find it so thoroughly unpleasant that I'd be compelled to ask her to remove it immediately.
"Lord Wilfried probably has always taken it as a given that Lady Rosemine is protected by Lord Ferdinand. Once they reach an age and a relationship where it becomes unpleasant for him, he'll probably start giving her his own magical stones, won't he?"
Leonoore gently reached a finger toward her own chest, where she knew the magical stone she'd given was. She explained that it was a happy thing from a woman's perspective to gradually exchange the amulets gifted by her father for magical stones from her future husband.
"Besides, in practical terms, we really can't manage without Lord Ferdinand's amulets. I never would have imagined she could perform a blessing of that magnitude."
Leonoore's words reminded me of the blessing Rosemine had given Lord Ferdinand. She said she'd been given the key and told she could turn the building into her library, and that she'd poured the magic power overflowing from her joy directly into the blessing.
It was not the usual kind of blessing where one shouted "Pray to the gods!" and released magic power, but rather an all-element blessing created by drawing a magic circle with a staff. A magic circle that, as Lord Ferdinand himself admitted, he had never seen before—one known only to the High Priest. With each deity's name chanted, the respective divine color blazed to life, and a rainbow cascade of blessing light poured down upon them. It was utterly fantastical, drawing gasps of awe. After witnessing that scene, no one could deny that Rosemine was a saint.
Hartmut had been excessively excited to the point of being incredibly annoying. Well, his excitement showed no signs of dying down even now, so the annoyance continued.
That was my first time seeing an all-element blessing. I knew they existed, but successful examples were the sort of thing you'd only read about in books. They weren't something normally performed, and I'd always thought the Life element would get in the way and prevent success.
"...If she can perform a blessing like that, there's no territory that wouldn't want Ehrenfest's saint. The lord said the blessing was to be kept strictly confidential, but Lady Rosemine seems to have it ingrained in her to offer prayers and blessings whenever her emotions run high. We have no idea where she might pray, or who might witness it and set their sights on her."
Even at the Noble Academy, there had been several times she'd held back from offering prayers in a fit of emotion and ended up collapsing. I'd heard that since the mana clump was resolved at Yuleve, she no longer collapsed, but I hadn't heard that she'd stopped leaking blessings.
"When you think about it that way, maybe Lord Ferdinand's attempt to bind Ehrenfest through the library, and his gift of the rainbow magical stone amulet, weren't exactly overblown after all. I'm genuinely worried about whether I'll be able to keep up at the Noble Academy myself."
I was worried about how the relationship with the old Veronica faction children would change, and there was also the frightening unpredictability of what Rosemine might do. Every year, the royal family got involved. Something would surely happen this year too.
"I'll be as vigilant as I can at the Noble Academy. You need to memorize what Lord Eckhart told you, don't you, Cornelius? Do your best with that."
"Ah, Brother Eckhart has shown me once again just how exceptional he is."
I shrugged lightly. By teaching Angelika her studies, I'd been forced to study myself. I'd expanded my magic power using Rosemine's compression method, been drilled relentlessly by my grandfather, been selected for the sword dance, and been repeatedly honored as an outstanding student at the Noble Academy. I'd thought I'd gained considerable strength as Rosemine's guard knight, but Brother Eckhart had shown me that I still had a long way to go.
"Dealing with poisons planted around one's lord is the Attendant's domain, after all."
"But when he told me that, from the standpoint of protecting one's lord, a guard knight needed to know these things too, there was no room for argument. Besides, I don't have any particular specialization—Angelika has her agility,
On the surface, I might look like I could do anything, but in every area, someone outranked me. There wasn't a single thing I could claim I was truly unmatched in.
"You don't need to be so down about it. Being above average in everything is a perfectly valid strength. You've worked hard to make sure you have no weaknesses, Cornelius. Isn't that something to be proud of? Besides, you have the most magic power of all of us."
Leonoore gave me a small, comforting smile. Her words, acknowledging my efforts, put me at ease.
"Leonoore, how about we clean out the estate together when spring comes? Brother Eckhart gave me his estate."
It was the estate where Brother Eckhart had lived with the late
"He's asked that I keep one room exactly as it is, for his sake. He said he wanted to store precious things there."
Apparently, Lord Ferdinand had told him not to bring anything truly precious until he knew what Ahrensbach was like. Brother Eckhart had packed an entire room full of mementos from Heidemarie and headed off.
"Brother
"Cornelius, didn't Lady
Leonoore pouted slightly, looking displeased, and said, "I'll be sure to tell on you." But the teasing glint in her blue eyes was so strong that I knew she wouldn't really go and tell my mother.
"How about after your graduation ceremony, Leonoore?"
"I'll look forward to it."
Just as Leonoore let out a soft laugh, Lord Melchior's performance began. It was a piece composed by Rosemine and arranged by Lord Ferdinand, dedicated to the Goddess of Spring. Rosemine listened with a nostalgic expression.
The Baptism Ceremony and debut concluded without incident. I'd been half-expecting some noble to raise a fuss about whether it was a fake Holy Book since Rosemine hadn't opened it, but not even that happened. It left me feeling somewhat deflated.
From the end of the Opening Banquet until Rosemine departed for the Noble Academy, it would be daily visits to the Children's Room. She received greetings from the young children who had newly completed their Baptism Ceremonies, and kept a close eye on the Children's Room's operations. She was busy offering sweets as prizes to motivate the children, outlining points of caution to Melchior's retainers, and reviewing the curriculum with
Lord Wilfried took the lead in playing with the children. He was good at livening up games and transitioning them to study time. Lord Melchior still seemed to have little awareness of himself as a lord candidate, and he happily played along whenever Lord Wilfried engaged him.
Lady
Apparently, with Rosemine's advice, they were modeling the children's living space after the orphanage. Instead of the individual rooms that had been originally planned, they were redesigning the space with shared rooms so that those in the same situation could comfort and talk to one another.
...Nicholas would end up there too, someday.
I watched Nicholas, who kept glancing my way, as I stood guard behind Rosemine. His mother, Tromedelide, had sworn fealty to Lady Veronica and was now, if anything, more aligned with Lady
According to Mother, before her marriage to Father, she had been Lady Veronica's Attendant. She apparently resented Lord Ferdinand—the source of Lady Veronica's heartache—and disliked Rosemine, the daughter of
As the lord's guard knight and Rosemine's birth family, our household had access to all manner of information. Because that information had been leaked to nobles who had sworn fealty to Lady Georgine, we were to be punished. We wouldn't be executed, but we would be confined and have our magic power stripped away.
"Cornelius, you've got such a scary look on your face. Is something wrong?"
"No, Lady Rosemine."
If Nicholas accepted his parents' sins and wished to go on living, Father would take him in and raise him at home. But as for me, I didn't know what his mother might have filled his head with, and I didn't want Nicholas—harboring who knew what strange grudge from what he'd heard from his mother—getting close to Rosemine.
...I was pretty overprotective myself, wasn't I?
And then the day came for Rosemine to depart for the Noble Academy. Lord Wilfried, who had finished his preparations first, headed toward the transfer circle. The lord quietly watched him go.
"Wilfried, I'm counting on you with the old Veronica faction's children."
"Yes, Father. I want to save as many of them as I can."
To prevent anyone from interfering with the purge or leaking information, no one would be allowed to return from the Noble Academy this year. Word of the purge would only reach the others when the lord departed for the interduchy tournament.
After Lord Wilfried departed, it was Rosemine's turn. Her luggage was loaded onto the transfer circle and sent ahead first. This year, she was planning to distribute stories that had been printed at the Noble Academy. She gazed at the wooden crates packed with books, her face alight with excitement.
While her luggage was being transferred, Rosemine exchanged brief words with each person who had come to see her off. This was a scene I'd never witnessed before, since I'd always left for the Noble Academy ahead of her.
She asked Lord Melchior, who was lonely about being left alone in the northern wing, to look after the Children's Room, and called out to Lady Charlotte, "See you tomorrow at the Noble Academy."
Hartmut had been fretting endlessly, saying, "The person Lady Rosemine trusts most deeply—Lord Ferdinand—is going to be gone. I'm too worried about her." So it was a relief to see that Rosemine had built a sibling-like relationship with the lord's children. Hartmut was worrying too much. There were plenty of people to support Rosemine.
Lady Florentia smiled and said, "Leave everything here to us," then peered at Rosemine's face with a hint of worry.
"Since you used Yuleve, your physical condition and magic power are probably different from before, so be sure to take good care of yourself."
"Yes, Foster Mother."
Then Rosemine turned to my grandfather and said, "You have a lot of winter duties ahead, so please don't push yourself too hard."
In truth, it had been decided that the purge would take place after the Lord of Winter subjugation, when the knights' numbers were depleted. With the subjugation and purge coming back to back, the burden on the knights would be enormous. On top of that, the main fighting force—Lord Ferdinand and Brother Eckhart—were gone. To fill the gap, my grandfather would be joining both the subjugation and the purge this year.
"There's no need to worry. Leave it to me."
My grandfather looked happy to have Rosemine concerned for him, but I wanted to shout that there was absolutely no need for that. When the purge plan was being drawn up, he'd declared, "I'll be the first one in there!" and said, "With recovery potions, the Lord of Winter is nothing to fear! Purge before the subjugation!"—only to be shut down by the knights' order.
"Rosemine, please don't do anything reckless at the Noble Academy."
"I'm looking forward to hearing lots of romantic stories again this year."
After exchanging farewells with Father and Mother, Rosemine turned to face us retainers.
"Damuel, Angelika, Cornelius. I know it will be difficult with your regular knight duties on top of Temple duties, but I'm counting on you."
"Yes, ma'am!"
This would be my first winter assignment. There was plenty of tension, but Damuel had told me there were sweets that only came out in winter, so I was actually looking forward to them a little.
"Hartmut, I'll leave the Deduction Ceremony and the orphanage to you. ...Are you sure it'll be alright if I don't come back?"
"Please leave it all to me. Lady Rosemine, enjoy your life at the Noble Academy. If anything changes at the orphanage, I'll send you a letter."
"I appreciate it. Then, I'll leave the house in your care. I'll be sure to deliver your letter to
Rosemine looked up at Hartmut with a serious expression. She needed to tell Clarissa that Hartmut had entered the Temple. Clarissa herself would likely rush to Ehrensbach without a care about Temple service, but those around her would not see it the same way.
Finally, the lord stepped forward.
"Rosemine, you may have another encounter with Prince
At the lord's words, Rosemine smiled brightly and nodded. "Understood." I was surprised she'd give up the library so easily—I hadn't expected that at all. It wasn't just me; even the lord who'd made the suggestion looked taken aback.
"This year, aside from providing magic power for Schwartz and the others, I plan to spend my time in
With that, Rosemine waved with a smile and departed through the transfer circle to the Noble Academy with Richelda.
Once Rosemine had vanished, those who had come to see her off began to disperse. They filed out of the transfer circle room one by one and headed to their respective rooms.
I stayed behind for a meeting with my fellow retainers about the plans ahead. Hartmut had insisted on keeping the gory details from Rosemine, so the detailed briefing was scheduled for after she'd transferred.
We borrowed a suitable meeting room and discussed this year's winter schedule. There was a great deal to be done.
"First, intelligence gathering in the social season. Then, we move to the Temple for the Deduction Ceremony. During or right after the ceremony, the subjugation of the Lord of Winter. Once that's done, we move immediately into the purge. And after that, cleanup and managing the orphanage. ...When you lay it all out, it's incredibly busy."
I nodded at Damuel's words. With such a packed schedule, to make sure Rosemine could stay at the Noble Academy without worry, it had even been decided that if push came to shove, I would perform the duties of a Blue Priest. Hartmut had smiled, put his hand on my shoulder, and said, "Cornelius, you're her brother, so surely a magic power dedication is easy for you?" and I couldn't refuse. Hartmut truly would stop at nothing for Rosemine's sake.
"Still, why on earth do people like Giebe Gerlach serve Lady Georgine? The land they govern belongs to Ehrenfest. What's the point of serving Lady Georgine when she's gone off to Ahrensbach?"
I'd meant it as something close to venting frustration—they were the ones responsible for making our winter so busy—but Hartmut simply shrugged and said, with a perfectly straight face, "It's not that there's nothing to be gained."
"If you put yourself in Lady Georgine's position and Giebe Gerlach's position, you can understand. He simply wants to please his lord. It's dangerous and borders on madness from Lady Rosemine's perspective, so eliminating him is absolutely necessary, but..."
...So he was aware that it bordered on madness.
That was a new discovery.