"To the lord candidate students: there will be a promotion ceremony and social gathering tomorrow, and yet I have received no report that the Ehrenfest students have completed their transfers, just as happened last year."
When only the lord candidates and their retainers were having dinner,
"I'm terribly sorry about that. But we've had some circumstances of our own..."
Wilfried stood up to apologize, but he faltered and stumbled over his words, not mentioning the purge. Seeing Hirschur's eyebrow twitch, I also stood up.
"We deeply apologize for the delay in reporting. We'd like to hear about this year's announcements, and there are things we'd like to communicate as well. Won't you join us for dinner?"
When I invited her to eat, Hirschur cast her gaze over the plates arranged on the table, then smiled. It seemed I had successfully deflected her anger for the time being with the promise of good food.
"Richarda, please prepare a seat for Teacher Hirschur."
"As you wish, Lady."
While Hirschur's meal was being prepared, we conveyed the Ehrenfest rankings for this year and the announcements regarding the promotion ceremony and social gathering. One of Wilfried's retainers went to pass this information along to the students in the multipurpose hall.
"Teacher Hirschur, have you received any contact from
"...I received one communication from Lord Ferdinand at the end of autumn. He said he would soon be heading to Arensbach. And he asked me to look after Lady
It seemed the professors at the
"How ironic that Lord Ferdinand, who was most detested by Veronica, is the one being sent to Arensbach—the very place she wanted to maintain even the slightest connection with."
At Hirschur's sigh-laced words, I allowed myself the smallest smile. In Ehrenfest, everyone except those who had been close to Ferdinand was in a celebratory mood, and not a few nobles were rejoicing that ties with Arensbach had been strengthened. It was somehow comforting that Hirschur knew Ferdinand had been reluctant to go to Arensbach, putting on a fake smile to accommodate the nobles.
"Teacher Hirschur, I have been given permission to take over Lord Ferdinand's mansion and use it as a library. So this year, I'd like to work with Raimund in the research lab to create magical tools for my library."
"Oh, that's right—Lord Ferdinand is your guardian. So, were the research materials also inherited? Or did Lord Ferdinand take them to Arensbach?"
Hirschur's primary interest seemed to be the fate of the research materials. I thought back to the luggage Ferdinand had prepared. He had basically only packed daily necessities and had said he wouldn't have time for research.
"I believe most of them are still there. Until the Star Binding ceremony, he'll probably be staying in the guest rooms, right? My mother told me so. Therefore, once they formally become husband and wife and Lord Ferdinand is given his rooms in Arensbach, I think the luggage he left behind will be sent then."
"You didn't bring any of Lord Ferdinand's materials here, did you?"
"...That didn't even occur to me."
With Ferdinand's marriage into the family and preparations for accepting the children after the purge, there had been so many things to think about that I hadn't prepared the collection of materials that would be needed to make demands of Hirschur. Last year, I only had to bring what had been prepared for me, but this year, with my guardians gone, I had to prepare everything myself.
...I really came to appreciate how thorough Ferdinand was.
I had even forgotten to report my arrival to the dormitory supervisor—there was no way I could have thought that far ahead. If something came up this year at the Royal Academy where I needed to ask Hirschur for help, what would I do?
"In any case, why are the lord candidates separating their meal times from the other students?"
Hirschur looked around the dining hall and asked. Wilfried and
"We've judged it best to keep our distance for now. Once a little more time has passed, we should be able to share meals together again."
"...Something happened in Ehrenfest, didn't it?"
"When everything is over, I'll tell you."
Maintaining my smile, I stared steadily into Hirschur's purple eyes. The message that I had absolutely no intention of answering any further questions seemed to come across.
"I see. Then I look forward to the day when everything is settled and Lady Rozemyne visits the lab. Until then, it must be difficult, but please take care of yourself, Lady Rozemyne."
"Huh?"
I had been soaking in Jureve and was starting to feel that I was gradually getting stronger. I wasn't so unwell that anyone would tell me to rest. Hirschur let out an exasperated sigh as she watched me blink.
"The dormitory atmosphere is prickly the way it used to be, and I can't feel the gentle cohesion and collective drive to move forward that existed these past few years. Isn't that because Ehrenfest's saint is wearing such a difficult expression?"
At Hirschur's observation, I pressed my cheeks. There was no way I was making a difficult expression. I was smiling right now, wasn't I? As I tilted my head, Hirschur pressed her hand against my cheek. The warmth transmitted directly to my skin seemed to seep in gently.
"There's nothing wrong with trying to act mature, but you mustn't lose what makes you you."
Saying that quietly, Hirschur returned to her own lab. My mind was full of question marks. I didn't understand.
...What does "what makes me me" mean?
And then the day of the promotion ceremony and social gathering arrived. Since we had to head to the lecture hall by the third bell, I tidied my appearance, properly attached my mantle and brooch, and dressed presentably enough to leave the dormitory. I added a rainbow-colored magic stone hairpin to my hair ornament and set out.
Descending to the first floor via the lesser bus, Roderich and
"Lady Rozemyne, the retainers who will accompany you to the social gathering are
"Yes, Brünhilde. That's fine."
While heading down to the first floor on the lesser bus, I could hear Charlotte calling out to the first-year students.
"If you lose your mantle and brooch, you won't be able to return to the dormitory, so you must be careful. Is everyone all right? Oh, what about the former Veronica faction children?
"As you command."
Passing Marianne and Rudolf, who had received Charlotte's orders, I arrived at the first floor. Since we were leaving the dormitory, I disembarked from the lesser bus, put away my riding beast, and looked for Wilfried.
Everyone gathered in the entrance hall wore dark-colored outfits with mantles and brooches, and all the girls had hair ornaments. I had gifted hair ornaments to this year's first-years as well, but many of the upperclassmen wore their own, so it wasn't the case that everyone was matching like last year.
In fact, I wasn't wearing last year's hair ornament either. I couldn't wear three hair ornaments, and I couldn't take off the charm Ferdinand had given me, so I was adorned with only the elaborate hair ornament Turi had made and the rainbow-colored magic stone hairpin.
"Brother Wilfried."
"What is it, Rozemyne?"
I moved my head slightly, and the rainbow-colored magic stone hairpin jingled as it swayed.
"This charm was given to me by Lord Ferdinand, but I think it would be better to say it was given to Brother Wilfried. Please play along with me."
"Why?"
"Brünhilde told me that the magic stone I received was of higher quality than the one given to Lady Dietlinde."
To me, both were rainbow-colored magic stones, and since Ferdinand had told me to keep it on, I didn't think there was any particular problem—but apparently, those around me saw it differently.
After various explanations from Brünhilde and Richarda, I came to understand that it was the equivalent of receiving a necklace with five high-quality diamonds lined up, compared to the single diamond on a fiancé's engagement ring.
"For Lady Dietlinde, who is his fiancée, it probably isn't very pleasant."
"I'm not a woman, so I don't really understand, but perhaps not."
"Lord Wilfried, please understand that much at least!"
Wilfried's attendant held her head in her hands. Was it a good thing or a bad thing that Wilfried and I were both oblivious about such things?
"If I don't wear this hair ornament, it won't provoke Lady Dietlinde, but considering the dormitory's situation and the other territories' schemes, I cannot remove Lord Ferdinand's charm."
"Indeed. Uncle must have given it to you because he judged there was danger, and indeed, you were attacked by
It was true that I had been targeted for
"Therefore, I'd like to keep the official story that the rainbow-colored magic stone was each prepared by my guardians—the Aub Ehrenfest and his wife, Lord
Brünhilde had said, "That way, if Lady Dietlinde's hair ornament calls Lord Ferdinand's taste into question, we could refute it."
"As long as Lord Ferdinand's taste isn't disparaged, that's enough, and I don't really want to provoke Lady Dietlinde any further. If she feels she's being treated less favorably than people from his hometown despite being his fiancée, her treatment of Lord Ferdinand in Arensbach could change dramatically."
"Uncle worries about everyone around him but rarely about himself."
Wilfried let out a light sigh and slightly rolled up his sleeve. Two charms dangled there—one to protect against physical attacks and one against magical attacks. Ferdinand had apparently left charms for Charlotte, his adoptive father, and his adoptive mother as well.
"Fine. As you say, we'll say that everyone prepared the magic stone for that hair ornament, and that Uncle did the design."
When Wilfried nodded, there was a sound of something toppling from above. There was a commotion, as if something was thrashing about.
"Leonore!"
"
"
The guard knights whose names were called immediately rushed up the stairs, while the other apprentice knights all took up defensive positions in unison. The ruckus stopped quickly. Soon, Laurentz came down the stairs with a first-year boy wrapped up in a band of light from his staff.
"Laurentz, what happened?"
"It's exactly as expected, but someone tried to use the social gathering to send a message to their family through another territory."
Laurentz deftly produced a piece of paper. On it was written a desperate plea that seemed to cry out: "I heard that people who pledged themselves to Lady
I could feel the child's love for their family, and my chest ached so badly I wanted to cry. I wanted to send them back. I wanted to let them see their family. But as someone on the side carrying out the purge, there was nothing I could say. I gritted my back teeth hard.
"Laurentz, what are you going to do with that child?"
At my question, Laurentz smiled.
"Lady Rozemyne, all the former Veronica faction members will be absent from today's promotion ceremony and social gathering. Ehrenfest is supposedly experiencing a raging epidemic, and many students must rest for several days. Please convey this to Teacher Hirschur—a message from
"Laurentz, that's..."
I was about to say that wasn't an answer, but Wilfried pulled my arm to stop me.
"I told you I was leaving the persuasion to the two of them, Rozemyne. We cannot let Ehrenfest know that someone, despite being shown a way to escape collective punishment, tried to leak information to another territory or to suspects."
"Brother Wilfried..."
"It was predicted that some would end up like this, wasn't it? You know what must be done in that case, don't you?"
Wilfried's deep green eyes alternated between the wrapped-up child and me. If children tried to run rampant to save their families, we had only two options: follow precedent and punish everyone collectively without making exceptions, or turn a blind eye.
"...I was allowed to keep my position as a lord candidate thanks to Lady Rozemyne's mercy, which forgave my failure. Therefore, I will forgive this once, as a failure born from love of family. But there is no second time."
"I also want to save as many as possible, so I will turn a blind eye. Laurentz, I'm counting on you with everyone."
"Then, let's go. Pay attention to your expressions and posture. We can't let other territories find out."
At Wilfried's command, the doors opened and everyone filed out of the dormitory. Without the former Veronica faction children, the numbers were drastically reduced. The third bell hadn't even rung, and I was already exhausted before even leaving the dormitory.
"Are you all right, Sister?"
"I understand the love for family all too well, so watching them just now was painful."
"I'm sure it's hard to accept so easily, but I hope they won't give up on their own lives."
Charlotte extended her hand, and I took it as we left the dormitory. The hand gripping mine was warm.
The number above the door had indeed changed to 8, meaning the lecture hall was closer once more. Our position in the lineup at the lecture hall had also changed—we were considerably further ahead. As we filed along, I could hear voices from those around us, but thinking about the events before departure and about having failed to persuade the former Veronica faction children during our stay at the Royal Academy, almost nothing registered.
With a noble's smile plastered on my face, I listened to the same old speeches from the same old important people and waited for time to pass.
The promotion ceremony ended in a daze, and for the social gathering, we divided into lower nobles, middle nobles, higher nobles, and the lord candidates with their accompanying retainers. Leaving the lecture hall, we headed to the small hall with our retainers.
"From eighth-ranked Ehrenfest, we have Lord Wilfried, Lady Rozemyne, and Lady Charlotte."
Inside,
After everyone had gathered, we had to go through the customary greetings, as always. We greeted Hildebrand in the front, then went around greeting territories ranked above us, while those ranked lower came to greet us—just like last year. After
"Once again, the threads of the Goddess of Time, Dreffangore, have intertwined, allowing us the honor of appearing before you."
Wilfried gave the greeting as our representative. I was sandwiched between Wilfried and Charlotte. Perhaps because we'd been told to avoid interacting with royalty as much as possible, both of them had visible tension on their faces.
Conversely, Hildebrand's bright violet eyes were narrowed happily in a beaming grin. Seeing that utterly blissful smile, I found myself feeling quite envious of Hildebrand. He looked so happy, and I thought how nice that must be. Last year, I hadn't once felt envious looking at someone's smile, so I didn't understand why I felt that way now.
Tilting my head inwardly, I directed a smile at Hildebrand.
"Rozemyne, I look forward to seeing you in the library again this year."
"I am honored."
I certainly couldn't say something like "I've been told by everyone to keep my distance" or "Sorry, I'll be shut up in the lab." I smiled and gave a safe answer, then was pulled along by Wilfried and Charlotte. Next was Klassenberg.
Klassenberg didn't seem to have a lord candidate this year. An unfamiliar higher noble who appeared to be their representative exchanged greetings with Wilfried. We were apologized to regarding a merchant who had caused trouble for Klassenberg, and they expressed a wish: "We've heard reports from merchants that Ehrenfest has many novel goods found nowhere else. We hope we can continue to maintain a good relationship."
...Even if they say that, I don't think we can increase the trade quota any further.
Ehrenfest's lower town was already completely full and there was nothing to be done. Rather, it was expected that Arensbach might want trade quota following Ferdinand's marriage.
...But with this purge, the magic power within the territory would definitely decrease, so we couldn't redo Gresherel at Entwicken. What would we do about that?
"Lord
Both Lestilaut and Hannalore were present at Dunkelfelger's table. Hannalore's gentle smile lifted my spirits slightly.
"I'm glad to see you looking well, Lady Hannalore."
"I too am relieved to see Lady Rozemyne looking so healthy. I just heard from Teacher Rufen that there's an epidemic in Ehrenfest and many are absent."
My reputation for frailty apparently led everyone to assume I was bedridden. Charlotte stepped forward with a smile.
"My sister has already recovered after being laid up for a while. She should be fine for the time being. More importantly, when shall we deliver the hair ornaments? Since my sister no longer needs to return for the Dedication Ritual this year, we could also deliver them during the social season."
Deflecting the topic away from the epidemic, Charlotte continued the conversation with a smile. Inwardly applauding her skillful handling, I turned my gaze to Lestilaut, the customer.
"That hair ornament was designed from Dunkelfelger's plants, wasn't it? The hair ornament artisan was amazed by the taste behind it. It turned out beautifully."
"Hmph, as expected. Even in a backwater like Ehrenfest, there are people with an eye for quality."
Lestilaut raised the corner of his lips as if he himself had been complimented. Thinking *yeah, right*, I asked who had designed it.
"My brother designed it. He has a talent for drawing and has been good at this sort of thing since he was little."
"That's surprising."
It was hard to imagine from the memory of him leading other territories to demand the rights to Schwarz and Weiss.
"That rainbow-colored magic stone hair ornament isn't bad either. What's the story behind that?"
"My guardians each prepared the stone, Lord Ferdinand designed it, and Brother Wilfried presented it to me. Lord Ferdinand's design is lovely too, isn't it?"
"Turn around for a moment. I want to get a good look."
At Lestilaut's words, I was about to turn around when Hannalore anxiously tugged at Lestilaut's mantle.
"Brother! No matter how lovely the hair ornament, it's rude to examine it that way."
I had been about to comply, but I stopped myself too. That was close—I had nearly done something unbecoming of a lady.
"My apologies, Lady Rozemyne. Then, once the social season begins, let's deliver the hair ornaments and exchange books. You'll have new books this year too, won't you? I always look forward to Ehrenfest's books."
"Ah, yes. I've heard that the Dunkelfelger history books are being published as actual books. Are those finished?"
Never mind book-loving Hannalore—I hadn't expected even Lestilaut to be looking forward to them. His red eyes gleamed with interest as he looked at me. Seeing Lestilaut eagerly anticipating the books made me very happy, and I nodded.
"Dunkelfelger's history is long and can't be contained in a single Ehrenfest book, so we'll be publishing multiple volumes. At this year's Royal Academy, I'll be providing a sample copy of the first volume of the printed Dunkelfelger history. If there are no issues with this sample, it will go on sale following the next Lord's Conference."
"I see. Then I'll look forward to the tea party."
...Huh? Lord Lestilaut is attending the tea party too?
Until now, he'd had an attitude of not wanting to sit with Ehrenfest. What had changed? Feeling like I'd been tricked by a fox or a tanuki, I made my way toward Drewanchel.
I left the greeting with Drewanchel to Wilfried, who was on good terms with
"Unfortunately, this year there are several students who will be absent for a while due to illness. A first-day pass for everyone will be difficult."
"I see. That is unfortunate. But there's no problem with the two of your contest, right?"
"Of course not."
The two exchanged their friendly rival's pact. I was asked about the rainbow-colored magic stone hair ornament, and I gave the same answer I had for Dunkelfelger.
"Lady Dietlinde. Once again, the threads of the Goddess of Time, Dreffangore, have intertwined, allowing us the honor of appearing before you."
Lady Dietlinde of Arensbach was in excellent spirits and shared news of Ferdinand.
"For me, heading to the Royal Academy, Ferdinand always smiles gently and works so hard on his duties."
...That's a forced smile.
As I mentally retorted, I grew very worried. Cutting sleep and meals, being kept going on medicine—that was how it felt. Once lectures started, I would send a confirmation letter via Raimund.
"At the banquet that heralds the beginning of winter's social season, he performed the Feischpiel. He said it was a new composition, and he created a very passionate love song for me. I plan to have it performed by musicians at a tea party soon."
...It seemed he'd put at least some of what I'd told him about "making allies" into practice, which was reassuring, but a love song? Lord Ferdinand writing a love song.
Honestly, I never thought Ferdinand was capable of such flattery. If that was the case, maybe I hadn't needed to go through the trouble of thinking up and teaching him "how to make allies."
Wilfried, who had been watching Dietlinde's endless monologue about how wonderful Ferdinand was with a dumbfounded expression, quietly nudged my shoulder.
"...Rozemyne, this really is about Uncle, right?"
"It doesn't sound like him at all, but I'm sure it is. He must be forcing himself."
Dietlinde announced that she would hold her annual cousin's gathering as usual, and this year I was also invited. There, I would deliver the hair ornaments and listen to Ferdinand's new composition. I was genuinely curious about how the song had turned out.
After that, I greeted several territories, and the lord candidate of Immerdink apologized for the behavior of their higher nobles during last year's territorial tournament. This had been used as one of the reasons for refusing the request from the central government, and also as the reason for using the rainbow-colored magic stone charm. The Immerdink side must have had a hard time. Could their drop in ranking be because of this? Not wanting to be resented any further, I accepted the apology with a smile.
Lestilaut was a bit too showy.
Dunkelfelger was completely wild, with everyone doing as they pleased.
Dietlinde seemed to be having a wonderful time.
Next came the start of lectures and the library.