Upon arriving in
When we had sent the letter to Ehrenfest, the Aub had truly been in critical condition, and the real reason
With the Aub gone, his successor Dietlinde couldn't even come to greet us.
...I really couldn't trust a word Georgine said.
Georgine was the type who would spare no effort to become the next Lord, scheming ceaselessly and framing enemies to firmly secure her position. If someone told me she was still obsessed with the Aub of Ehrenfest, I'd believe it without a second thought. She was that tenacious and terrifying.
I'd loved gathering information since I was young. Since I collected it for my own amusement, all of it was equally precious to me—but to others, it was a mixed bag of useful and useless tidbits. There was a massive amount, ranging from trivial matters to critically important ones.
Georgine had once told me that my information was "low-quality and useless." Those words completely killed any desire I had to share my information with her, and along with it, my willingness to serve her.
However, I was Georgine's classmate. And because my mother and older sister had served as Georgine's attendants, she had told me back when we were in the children's room, "If you wish to serve me, you'll need to become an official. An attendant of the opposite sex can't become a retainer."
...I see. Well then...
I decided to take the attendant route. My mother and sister already served Georgine as attendants, so I figured there was no need for me to serve her too.
But when I chose the attendant path, I was told that "
At the time, I didn't know this, but the period when I made my course selection happened to coincide with when
Honestly, I didn't care what they thought. I didn't want to serve either of them. Georgine, who despite playing the part of a well-mannered lady befitting a Lord candidate, had fierce emotions swirling within and would stop at nothing to crush her enemies—and Sylvester, who had been sickly and bedridden until about three years old, only to become an unbelievable handful once he recovered. Neither of them had any qualities that made me want to serve them.
"Justus, pour me some tea."
"Right away, Lord Ferdinand."
The one I wanted to serve, even if it meant offering up my name, was Lord Ferdinand. He was a good master who knew how to make excellent use of my information while giving me a reasonable amount of freedom.
Lord Ferdinand had been shunned by the previous first wife,
"Zelgius, could you show me the way to the kitchen?"
"Yes."
I called over Zelgius, the attendant assigned to us from Ahrensbach, and had him show me the route to the kitchen. At the same time, I needed to brief him on Ferdinand's preferences and such.
"We're currently in the guest quarters, so we'll need to head all the way to the kitchen, which is a bit of a hassle. But once the Starbinding ceremony with Lady Dietlinde is complete, we'll move to the Aub's residential area in the main building, and it'll be much easier."
What Ferdinand had been given were guest quarters. Since he hadn't yet married, he couldn't enter the area of the main building where the Aub's quarters were located. Once the Starbinding ceremony was finished, he'd be moving rooms.
...But when would that be?
The Aub's succession would take place at the spring Lord's Conference, but whether the Starbinding ceremony could be performed at the same time was uncertain. Priority would be given to having Dietlinde stain the Foundation magic with her own magic power, making it completely hers.
...She probably couldn't stain it while at the
The Foundation magic was presumably still stained with the magic power of the deceased Aub Ahrensbach. Since parent and child had similar magic power, handling it shouldn't pose much difficulty. But once married, the couple's magic power would influence each other and gradually intermingle. Considering the risk that Ferdinand's magic power would cause the Foundation to repel the Aub's magic, the marriage would most likely be postponed.
"This is the servants' passage, but it's the quickest route to the kitchen."
Zelgius said with a cheerful smile, leading me through the servants' corridor to take the shortest path. As I committed the route to memory, I strained my ears to catch the conversations of the servants bustling around us.
During winter, building relationships among the nobles and gathering intelligence were the most important tasks. Ferdinand had asked me to see if I could obtain even a small amount of information about Georgine.
With the Aub of Ahrensbach dead, Georgine would need to vacate the chambers designated for the next Aub—those meant for Dietlinde—and was apparently in the middle of moving. With servants coming and going in droves, it was the perfect opportunity to slip in.
However, preparations would take time. First, I needed to learn the local accent. The nobles I'd interacted with at the Royal Academy and during Lord's Conferences were mostly the same, but to mingle with the commoners serving as servants, I'd need to pick up their accent and its peculiar turns of phrase. It was slightly different from the lower-town dialect I'd learned when mixing into Ehrenfest's commoner district, so I'd need to relearn it. Even so, I figured I could still reuse the same physical mannerisms, I thought as I observed the servants around me.
...But this was troublesome. Even the servants had uniforms.
I'd need to obtain a servant's uniform before I could even attempt to infiltrate. When I'd greeted Georgine upon arriving at the castle, she'd said, "I never expected we'd be spending time together here, Justus. Isn't
In other words, she was warning me that if I wandered around in disguise, she'd spot me right away. Georgine knew about the antics I'd pulled at the Royal Academy, so this was going to be difficult.
"Come to think of it, Lord Ferdinand. Don't you need to practice for the feschspiel?"
As I set down the tea, I asked Ferdinand.
During the journey, he'd been muttering with a troubled expression about whether there was any good approach, but in the end, Ferdinand apparently couldn't think of an effective way to win allies. I'd been consulted several times, but I truly thought the suggestion the Lady had made—playing the feschspiel—was extremely effective, so after that, I'd given up on thinking about it.
With the Aub gone, they needed to secure allies quickly, but Ferdinand was bad with people and too rigid. He'd complete any task given to him perfectly, but he was so focused on rationality that he neglected the emotional side of things.
Yet Ferdinand's feschspiel tones were gentle, and his singing voice was deeply moving. Even during his time at the Royal Academy, there had been many who looked forward to his performances. This time too, it would likely serve as a key to winning over the hearts of Ahrensbach's people. There were plenty of women who swooned over it, and his impression would visibly improve to some degree.
...The Lady truly understood Lord Ferdinand well.
When I chuckled softly, Ferdinand made a slightly displeased face. Having to follow the Lady's advice clearly rubbed him the wrong way.
"Lord Ferdinand was a renowned feschspiel player, so I would very much love to hear him play as well."
Zelgius had attended the Royal Academy during the same period as Ferdinand, knew of his excellence, and had volunteered to serve as his attendant. He couldn't be fully trusted yet, but admiration and respect for Ferdinand overflowed in his eyes.
According to Zelgius, there were people in Ahrensbach who also knew of Ferdinand's capabilities, and he was well-received in matters of governance. The upper echelon apparently felt that leaving everything to Dietlinde was too heavy a burden for her, so if they could win even a few of them over, that would be ideal.
"Since Lord Ferdinand will be serving as Lady Letizia's tutor, I believe demonstrating his abilities would be quite effective. Will you be performing at the opening banquet? Or shall we arrange another occasion?"
At Zelgius's persuasion, Ferdinand let out a resigned sigh and agreed to play the feschspiel at the opening banquet.
"I'll play the feschspiel a little. Prepare it."
"Understood."
He also agreed to arrange the new piece the Lady had gifted him, so as usual, we prepared everything and withdrew from Ferdinand's presence. Only
As I organized my luggage and tidied up my room, my mind kept circling back to one thing: how to get my hands on a servant's uniform.
"Zelgius, I'm going to clear away the tea things."
"I'll come with you. I can't let you out of my sight yet."
Zelgius was apparently keeping an eye on me as well. I told him, "I'm not great at learning routes, so I'd appreciate the help," then handed him the tea set and picked up the heavier items like the kettle myself. We took the servants' passage we'd gone through earlier, heading for the kitchen.
...Though I was a bit reluctant about what came next.
I spotted a servant who had stepped aside to let us nobles pass, and I "accidentally" spilled the leftover tea and the honey I'd been carrying to sweeten it all over them.
"I'm so sorry! I bumped into you with my arm."
"A-Ah, it'll be fine once it's washed, so please don't worry about it."
"That's right, Justus. There's no need for you to concern yourself over this."
Zelgius said it was the servant's fault for not dodging properly, but I shook my head with a stern expression.
"No, in Ehrenfest, when something like this happens, you take responsibility for it. I know this is Ahrensbach, but I wouldn't feel right about it otherwise. Zelgius, would you mind taking care of the cleanup? I need to go apologize to his supervisor."
"That seems a bit excessive..."
"Then, once the cleanup is done, would you follow me?"
"...Fine. I'll accompany you."
He'd been told not to let me out of his sight, of course. Zelgius let out an exasperated sigh before leading me to the person in charge of overseeing the servants.
"I hate to drag you along like this, but I'd like you to come with me. I need to apologize to your supervisor and have a new uniform issued. You won't be able to work like this."
A servant couldn't defy a noble's orders. I pressed the matter forward, and once the kitchen cleanup was finished, I headed with Zelgius and the mortified servant to the department that oversaw them, explained what had happened and offered my apology, then had them take us to the office that issued uniforms.
"There's no need for a noble to go to such lengths for a servant."
"I wouldn't feel at ease otherwise, and Lord Ferdinand would scold me."
With a smile, I insisted and paid for the new uniform myself.
...It didn't seem like they checked names or faces. If a noble accompanied you and paid the money, it worked just fine.
Having confirmed the process for obtaining new uniforms, several days later I coordinated with Ferdinand and Eckhart to assign Zelgius a task, and in the window when his watchful eye was elsewhere, I disguised myself as a servant. I changed my hair color, altered my facial features slightly, made myself look a bit grimy from head to toe, and dirtied an outfit resembling Ahrensbach's servant uniform.
"Eckhart, take this and go get a new uniform issued for it."
"Yes, sir!"
I had Ferdinand write me a note, then headed with Eckhart to the uniform office. There, I had Eckhart pay the money, using the excuse that "I wouldn't feel at ease, and Lord Ferdinand would scold me." By showing the wooden tablet Ferdinand had written, I was able to get the new uniform issued.
"The guests from Ehrenfest are certainly unusual. You wouldn't normally have the luxury of worrying about servants."
"Oh no, Ehrenfest has a saint who even worries about orphans. If you treat servants carelessly, you'll be scolded by her."
At Eckhart's words, the man handed over the uniform with a wry smile, saying, "What a remarkable saint indeed."
"Thank you so much for everything. I'll be getting back to work."
With the servant's uniform in hand, I thanked Eckhart and parted ways, then immediately began exploring the servants' passages toward Georgine's villa. Time to gather fresh intelligence.
I collected information while working alongside the servants. In a storage room used exclusively by servants, I changed clothes, cleaned off the grime with washen, and returned to Ferdinand's quarters with a nonchalant expression.
"Where were you, Justus?"
"...Zelgius, didn't you ask Lord Ferdinand?"
"He said you'd headed to the prep room, but you weren't there either."
"Ah, well, we must have missed each other. I went to prepare some healing potions, then headed to the kitchen."
Not everything was a lie. I had indeed been peeling karfe potatoes in the kitchen. That kind of work tended to attract chatty women around you. It had been a productive haul.
I smoothly deflected Zelgius's question and set down tea for Ferdinand.
"Have you finished the feschspiel piece?"
"Yeah. I'll debut it tomorrow."
Ferdinand gave a soft smile. It seemed he was quite proud of it. With that, there was nothing to worry about. As I was thinking this, Ferdinand quietly placed an anti-eavesdropping magical tool in a spot hidden behind the tea set, making no sound. Pretending to set down refreshments, I quickly pocketed the tool.
"Zelgius, prepare the bath. I'd like to get in before dinner."
"Understood."
Watching Zelgius turn on his heel immediately, Ferdinand murmured, "Report." Right now, it was just the three of us in this room—Ferdinand, Eckhart, and me. There were more eyes on us than expected, and I could barely even report properly. I couldn't waste time, so I began my report at once.
Even as Zelgius returned, I made it look like we weren't having a conversation by tidying the desk, straightening the bed, and performing other tasks while speaking.
"Ahrensbach doesn't seem to think very highly of Ehrenfest. Even though Georgine—the current first wife—is originally from here, the general opinion was that Ehrenfest had been far too uncooperative. Since she'd married into Ehrenfest and the Lord was replaced, they felt Georgine was very pitiful for receiving almost no support. Even though Ehrenfest had gained a foster daughter with abundant magic power—the Saint of Ehrenfest—they'd only raised their own standing without showing any consideration for Ahrenfest, and that was simply unacceptable."
"Ehrenfest makes a convenient target to redirect their frustrations."
"Probably. Also, Georgine's faction seems to include many retainers from the former second wife's line. The original first wife and second wife didn't get along, and Georgine, the third wife, had been on good terms with the second wife, who held the heir."
However, the second wife was executed and her heir was stripped of their position, after which the first wife secured a new heir by adopting her granddaughter. The second wife's faction apparently shifted over to Georgine.
"It wasn't just pushback against the first wife—another reason cited was that the adopted daughter and heir-apparent from
What's more, the King, who didn't hold the
"The first wife apparently prioritized strengthening Ahrensbach—her own base of power—over pouring resources into the former Werkestock territory she'd been granted after the civil conflict. In the meantime, Georgine apparently procured the magic power for the small Holy Cups for that Werkestock territory from seemingly nowhere. Through these circumstances, Georgine earned the devotion of the second wife's faction and the residents of the former Werkestock territory."
"...The small Holy Cups that the former High Priest had brought to the
Ferdinand crossed his arms and slowly exhaled. While glancing at him, I checked the bed for any hidden dangerous items.
"Ehrenfest is being criticized for refusing Georgine's request despite having the Saint of Ehrenfest—someone with abundant magic power—as the Aub's adopted daughter, giving them plenty to spare. We don't exactly have it easy either, but for the residents of the former Werkestock territory, the presence or absence of small Holy Cups is a matter of life and death."
"It's a bit absurd to expect Ehrenfest to cover Ahrensbach's territory expenses, but I suppose resentment over suddenly losing support they'd been receiving is understandable..."
Ferdinand furrowed his brow as he considered. Georgine's influence was larger than he'd anticipated.
"While Georgine has the support of the second wife's faction and the Werkestock group, she doesn't get along well with the first wife's faction that has taken Lady Letizia as their successor. The idea of Letizia becoming the heir once she comes of age is seen as a major problem among those around Georgine's villa. They're saying there's no need to designate Letizia as heir when Dietlinde is right there. I also got the impression that the late Aub's wishes and the royal command aren't widely known. That's the gist of my immediate report. The details—like who's on good terms with whom, or which vegetables are fresh—I'll save for another time."
Midway through my report, Ferdinand stood up. It seemed Zelgius had finished preparing the bath.
"Justus, I'm entrusting the management of the magical tools to you."
"Understood."
At the opening banquet, Ferdinand performed the feschspiel under the pretense of a thank-you for the welcome. He played several standard pieces from
The newest piece was a song about yearning for a distant homeland.
Just as the Lady had predicted, the women who listened in rapt delight seemed to accept Ferdinand himself warmly. After the performance, he was surrounded by women, and invitations for the winter social season began pouring in. How many allies they could gain this winter was crucial. He needed to accept as many invitations as possible and build connections.
"Lord Ferdinand's feschspiel is as magnificent as ever. Has your dueling skill declined at all?"
"...It has. Last year, I barely scraped by against Heishitze. Back then, I could've won easily."
"You were still dueling Heishitze!? He's an active knight of Dunkleferger—his skills haven't declined at all!"
As the Ahrensbach knights exclaimed in surprise, Ferdinand flashed a fearless grin.
Nobles of Ferdinand's generation praised his unchanging feschspiel skill and began reminiscing about his excellence in dueling back in the day. Those who had looked down on Ferdinand—the Lord candidate without a mother who'd been placed in the Temple of a lower-ranking province like Ehrenfest—began to change their perspective.
"He is my fiancé, after all."
Dietlinde laughed with a "Ho ho ho" and took her place beside Ferdinand.
...Ah, Ferdinand's smile deepened.
Seeing that particular smile he wore when facing someone he disliked, I immediately checked that I had my stomach medicine on hand.