Socializing with Ahrensbach

…Heizschlegel knew. He knew that Lord Ferdinand had been harassed by Lady Veronica.

Noticing that his reaction was the only one that differed, I kept my eyes fixed on Heizschlegel. Given Ferdinand's personality, I couldn't imagine he would ever voluntarily admit to being harassed. He must have heard it from the people around him—Justus, Brother Eckhart, or perhaps Hirschur. At the very least, Heizschlegel must have been someone who had been close enough to learn information that only a select few in Ehrenfest knew.

"Now that I must support Lady Dietlinde in Ahrensbach, I find myself in no position to keep engaging in ditter with you. I cannot hold on to this forever, so I will be returning it."

With a smile still on his face, Ferdinand pressed the blue cape into Heizschlegel's hand.

"Lord Ferdinand, this is…"

Heizschlegel stared blankly, comparing the blue cape that had returned to his hand with Ferdinand—likely realizing that Ferdinand was deliberately returning the cape now, something that hadn't been returned to him when he'd entered the Temple.

"That's good. You've got your important cape back."

"Your wife must be delighted as well."

The knights of Dunkelfelger clapped Heizschlegel on the shoulder and laughed. The knights standing behind him, slapping his back, probably couldn't see the blood draining from his face. Ferdinand turned a slight smile toward Heizschlegel, who was tensing up as those around him said how great it was.

"You've had this important cape taken from you for years, and now it's finally returned. Why not celebrate a bit more, Heizschlegel?"

His voice was completely at odds with his smile—icy cold, sounding very much like a command that said, "Celebrate the way you celebrated when you got engaged." Heizschlegel glanced once at the owner of that cold voice, then bowed his head, gripped the cape tightly, and forced an awkward smile.

"I never imagined this cape would be returned to me by Lord Ferdinand. My wife will certainly be pleased."

Just as Heizschlegel realized he had inadvertently helped push himself into the worst possible situation, and Ferdinand was forcing him to display joy while not even allowing an apology, someone smoothly cut in between them.

"Oh my, why did Lord Ferdinand have your precious cape, I wonder?"

Dietlinde, who seemed utterly incapable of reading the tense atmosphere, looked up at Heizschlegel with sparkling eyes of curiosity, and the surrounding knights eagerly began explaining the story from the beginning.

"…So you see, Heizschlegel has been trying to reclaim the cape ever since their days at the Royal Academy."

"Oh my! To take away the cape of someone who will be your wife—how terrible! I never thought Lord Ferdinand could be so cruel."

Taking the knights' teasing remarks at face value, Dietlinde began pressing the matter, which surprised the knights so much they exchanged glances.

"Ah, no—Lord Ferdinand did say he would return it. It was Heizschlegel who insisted that the cape should only be won back through ditter."

"Even so, to have a cape embroidered with so much care stolen away…"

"It's fine. A man of Dunkelfelger will challenge as many times as it takes."

Leaving Dietlinde's conversational partner to the knights, Ferdinand deftly took a step back and turned away. Then, returning to the table, he murmured to my adoptive father, "Sorry for the commotion," before greeting the First Lady of Dunkelfelger and Hannalore.

"Lord Ferdinand, please, have a seat."

Following Brunhilde's instructions, a seat for Ferdinand was immediately prepared upon seeing how Dietlinde was absorbed in conversation, and tea and sweets were brought out. My adoptive father's tea and sweets were also refreshed at the same time, and he took a bite of each.

"Ah, the taste of Ehrenfest."

After taking a sip of tea, Ferdinand spoke in a wistful tone. Apparently, the types of tea commonly drunk in Ahrensbach were different. Tea leaves for quatre-quarts—Ferdinand's favorite—had been prepared, but after a taste, they were served to Justus and Brother Eckhart.

"Justus, Eckhart. It's been a while since you've tasted the flavors of home. You should enjoy some too."

"I'm grateful."

This was likely meant to give the two of them a brief respite while Ferdinand was still in the safe space of Ehrenfest. Justus and Brother Eckhart stepped back slightly with the plates they'd been given.

Ferdinand, with his escort knights from Ahrensbach standing behind him, slowly drank his tea while directing his gaze toward the First Lady.

"I had the opportunity to observe the joint research with Ehrenfest earlier, and I was surprised to see that such an ancient ritual still survives in Dunkelfelger. I believe it's truly wonderful that the research has now made it possible to successfully receive blessings."

Hearing Ferdinand speak of ancient rituals without knowing that Rufen taught this at the Royal Academy, I tilted my head.

"Lord Ferdinand, you don't know about Dunkelfelger's ritual? But Professor Rufen was there, wasn't he?"

When I asked this question, Ferdinand shook his head, saying he didn't know, and Hannalore explained.

"I only learned about it myself during the course of this research, but apparently, it started being taught after one of the knights' course professors retired and Professor Rufen took charge."

"The dance is something the younger generation knows in every duchy, so the observing knights wanted to learn it as well to make beast hunting at least a little easier—they were discussing it together. Won't Dunkelfelger's influence grow even stronger?"

When Ferdinand added that, my adoptive father nodded deeply.

"At Ehrenfest as well, we'd like to master it before next year's winter Lord subjugation."

According to my adoptive father, they had tried it after receiving information from us, but they hadn't succeeded in receiving blessings this year. Since most of the main knights needed to learn the dance from scratch, it seemed they wouldn't be able to receive blessings right away.

"Even in Dunkelfelger's dormitory, the success rate of the ritual is only around eighty percent. The adults of the duchy have mostly succeeded now. The success rate of the ritual is thought to depend on the amount of magic power offered."

According to the First Lady, rituals for receiving blessings were apparently being conducted in the duchy based on information from the Royal Academy. Each time, it resulted in a ditter match, and since acquiring divine tools would be beneficial for efficient offering, the Aub and the knights had nearly mobbed the Temple demanding divine tools, causing a great deal of trouble.

"That does sound like quite the headache for the Temple side. Don't you think so, Rozemyne? That would have been around the time of the Dedication Ritual, wouldn't it?"

At Ferdinand's words, I imagined what it would be like if I were the High Priest of Dunkelfelger. The Temple, which had previously been completely ignored by the nobles—during the Dedication Ritual no less—was suddenly swarmed by a horde of knights led by the Aub, demanding, "Give us the divine tools!" I might well have suffered a heart attack and ascended to a higher plane.

"Truly, at that time, I wanted to blame Lady Rozemyne for what an ordeal she had put us through."

…I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. I never meant for that to happen.

The First Lady and Dunkelfelger's High Priest had slightly distant looks in their eyes, and I was frantically apologizing in my mind, when Ferdinand glared at me, asking, "Blame Rozemyne?"

Hannalore interposed on my behalf, since I had frozen up: "Dunkelfelger was the one running wild—Lady Rozemyne hasn't done anything wrong, Lord Ferdinand."

…Lady Hannalore, you're amazing!

But my admiration lasted only an instant.

"It was Lady Rozemyne's achievement that we were able to receive blessings through that ritual. She replicated the ritual that had become merely formal, and the moment she offered magic power with the Leidenschaft's Spear, a pillar of blessed light appeared. And because Dunkelfelger received such a powerful blessing, they became desperate to revive the ritual."

…Nooo! Lady Hannalore, stop! Lord Ferdinand's eyes are scary!

"Oh my? The letters didn't describe it in that much detail. So Rozemyne performed quite impressively, did she?"

"Yes. The Dedication Ritual that Lady Rozemyne performed in Ehrenfest was also wonderful. The Zent was delighted as well."

…Please. Stop. Please stop.

I had only written innocuous details about the Dedication Ritual to avoid getting in trouble, but now the risk of being scolded before dinner was rapidly increasing.

"L-Lord Ferdinand! You need to go greet all the duchies, so you must be terribly busy! I shouldn't keep you any longer…"

"Don't worry, Rozemyne. Nothing can be done until Dietlinde starts moving. What I really want to know is what you've been doing. There were many things in your letters that weren't clear."

His eyes said it all—he clearly suspected I was hiding a great deal. As Ferdinand tried to extract information from my adoptive father and Hannalore, the blood drained from my face. I had submitted detailed reports to my adoptive father, and Hannalore had been present for most of my escapades.

…This is bad. Someone help me!

"What are you all talking about here?"

Having apparently finished her conversation with the knights, Dietlinde approached the table. Hannalore smiled and answered, "We were discussing the joint research," which made Dietlinde's dark green eyes sparkle.

"The Ahrensbach research was conducted by Lord Ferdinand's disciple, beginning with an effort to minimize the magic power needed to operate the Library's magical tools. After the civil strife, maintaining magical tools had become impossible for Solange, a single middle-ranking noble, so this research was of great interest to the royalty from the perspective of preserving documents."

…That's exactly what I wrote in my research report. And the part about how it would be extremely beneficial for anyone wanting to have a personal library—arguably the most important part—was conveniently left out.

"I hate to interrupt, Lady Dietlinde, but what we were discussing was the joint research between Dunkelfelger and Ehrenfest."

The First Lady pointed out that no one had asked about the Ahrensbach research and that it hadn't even come up, which made Dietlinde widen her eyes in surprise.

"Well! You really must explain the Ahrensbach research properly, Lord Ferdinand."

…Excuse me?

Gathering everyone's bewildered stares, Dietlinde—who should have been extremely busy greeting people—had her Ehrenfest attendants-in-training prepare a seat, then launched into bragging about the Ahrensbach research.

"So you see, there is also a magical tool that records voices, and I am being spoken to of passionate love in the Ahrensbach research. Ho ho ho…"

Unlike me, who couldn't help but think in my head, "The one speaking of passionate love is a Shumil plushie," the First Lady said it out loud plainly.

"Shouldn't you say it's the joint research with Ehrenfest, rather than the Ahrensbach research? It doesn't exactly sound appropriate."

"Oh my, but it's research by the disciple of my fiancé, Lord Ferdinand—so it's equivalent to Ahrensbach's research."

A hint of indescribable bewilderment mixed into the First Lady's smile. Her glance toward me said, "Are they stealing your research?"—probably wondering what we had been thinking, having negotiated so carefully with Dunkelfelger only for this to happen.

I couldn't let this be perceived as Ahrensbach taking credit. I smiled warmly at the First Lady.

"Please do come and see for yourself what the joint research between Ahrensbach and Ehrenfest entails. My attendants-in-training and apprentice knights worked very hard on it."

"…Not the scribe apprentices? It's joint research, isn't it?"

The First Lady's expression grew even more confused and incredulous. The research exhibited at the Interduchy Tournament was normally done by scribe apprentices, but the one who had turned the magical tool into a cute plushie was Lieseleta, and the one who had recorded the words of love was Lorenz—so I wasn't lying at all.

"The adorable Shumil plushie is Ehrenfest's symbol."

"Yes, yes! Lady Rozemyne's words reminded me. I had been meaning to ask Lord Ferdinand about it."

Dietlinde clapped her hands together and called out to "Lord Ferdinand." Ferdinand, who had just left Dietlinde's bragging session to me and the First Lady and was trying to extract information from my adoptive father and Hannalore, turned back with a forced smile and tilted his head.

"As I requested before, I want that Shumil plushie. Both Laimunt and Lord Ferdinand said it belonged to Lady Rozemyne. So please, ask her to kindly hand it over. You'll grant my request, won't you?"

She wanted a Shumil that whispered words of love, and she had apparently already asked Laimunt and Ferdinand and been refused. Not just Ferdinand, but everyone present blinked and turned their attention to Dietlinde.

"It's the exhibition piece prepared by Ehrenfest, correct?"

When the First Lady confirmed this with a suspicious look, I nodded. Being asked to give it up was a problem—that Shumil was a gift for Letizia.

"Lady Dietlinde. I'm terribly sorry, but that item has already been promised to someone."

"Then I'll negotiate with them. Who is it being given to?"

Dietlinde, showing no sign of backing down, was approached tentatively by Hannalore.

"Um, Lady Dietlinde, if it's a Shumil plushie you want, couldn't you simply have your own attendants make one for you?"

"You don't mean to say that Ahrensbach's attendants are incapable of making plushies…?"

When the First Lady pressed further, Dietlinde turned her gaze away with a "Hmph!" and lifted her chin.

"If it were a normal plushie, I would do just that. However, as you can see from it being an exhibition piece, it's a magical tool. Lady Rozemyne obtained the design and rights from Laimunt before I, as the next Aub, could. For it to be done without consulting the next Aub, even though it's supposedly a joint research—how troublesome."

"Purchases from researchers are conducted directly with the researcher. Neither the next Aub's permission nor even the Aub's permission is required. I paid Laimunt properly and purchased it—I did not simply take it."

I retorted immediately. If I didn't deny it, Dietlinde's argument would go unchallenged. The First Lady's expression became rather complicated.

Ferdinand slowly surveyed the surrounding reactions before putting on a seemingly sweet smile.

"Lady Dietlinde, when you pester someone like that about an item already promised to another, it puts everyone around you in an awkward position."

The subtle hint to read the room and restrain her selfishness apparently failed to reach Dietlinde alone. She pulled a displeased face and glared at Ferdinand.

"Lord Ferdinand, I am saying that I want it. If you're my fiancé, you should at least try to grant my requests."

"…Very well. If all you need is a magical tool, then I promise I'll make one for you once I have a workshop in Ahrensbach. I'm sorry, Rozemyne, but once I get the workshop, could you send me the design?"

…So you're demanding a workshop under the pretense of making a magical tool.

Realizing that Ferdinand was trying to secure his own secret room and workshop while appearing to indulge Dietlinde's whims, I backed him up with a smile.

"Please let me know once Lord Ferdinand obtains his workshop. I'll send the design by letter right away."

"Oh my, to have your fiancé make one for you personally—how wonderful! That's a relief, isn't it, Lady Dietlinde?"

Hannalore smiled and smoothed things over, but Dietlinde didn't look pleased. She shook her head.

"Lord Ferdinand won't obtain his workshop until after the Starbinding. That's a long time from now, isn't it? I want it before anyone else gets one—and I want it now. Since Lady Rozemyne has the design, she could simply make another one."

The atmosphere that had seemed about to smooth over was torn apart. Ferdinand lightly tapped his temple and sighed, while the First Lady and Hannalore exchanged embarrassed looks.

"Does Lady Dietlinde always make demands of Ehrenfest like this?"

"Of course. I am the next Aub of Ahrensbach."

The First Lady pressed her hand to her forehead. Seeing this, Ferdinand raised one eyebrow slightly and smiled, and my adoptive father also shrugged lightly.

In the midst of all this, Lieseleta crouched behind me and spoke in a voice only I could hear.

"Lady Rozemyne, why not give the Shumil on display to Lady Dietlinde? I'll make another one."

"Lieseleta…"

"Seeing Lord Ferdinand in such distress must be painful for you as well."

I nodded. I couldn't easily make one by myself, but if Lieseleta was willing to make it, giving up the Shumil was better than seeing Ferdinand's troubled face.

"I'll give it to her after the Interduchy Tournament is over. As you said, I'll have a new one made as the replacement."

"Oh, how lovely!"

Dietlinde beamed with joy, and Ferdinand apologized to me: "I'm sorry, Rozemyne."

"Please don't worry about it, Lord Ferdinand. My attendant is very skilled—she'll make me a new one."

"But…"

I didn't want Ferdinand to look at me like that, but things weren't going well. Just as I was wondering what to do, Hannalore smiled.

"I haven't seen it myself yet, but that Shumil might just become Ehrenfest's next big trend."

"Yes. Speaking of Ehrenfest trends, there are the hair ornaments—but Lady Dietlinde, you don't use them? I saw the hair ornament Restauret had ordered this morning, and it was splendid."

With Hannalore's words intended to ease the tension, the First Lady smiled and nodded, steering the conversation from the Shumil to hair ornaments.

"Of course, I received it as a gift from Lord Ferdinand, but I'll show it to everyone at tomorrow's graduation ceremony. If I wear it today, the surprise won't be as great, will it? Please look forward to tomorrow."

…I actually don't think you need to surprise anyone.

"I intend to attend the graduation ceremony in attire befitting the next Aub."

As Dietlinde was proudly puffing out her chest, an ordonnanz flew in. With so many people present, no one knew who it was flying toward, so everyone seated casually extended a hand. The white bird landed on my hand.

"Lady Rozemyne, what is the meaning of this!? I was not informed that such words were included! Ehrenfest was planning to deceive Ahrensbach, wasn't it!"

Frauerlm's shrill, loud voice rang out three full times. It was the perfect volume for listening while covering one's ears. I could hear the voice, but I couldn't quite make out what she was saying.

"Did you fail to report something?"

"I'm certain I reported everything to Professor Frauerlm, but…what happened?"

"Um, Lady Rozemyne. May I say something? Well, perhaps it's just that…"

When I gave Lieseleta permission, she said, "Wasn't that the Shumil's final message?"

"Muriella took it to the exhibition this morning, but Professor Frauerlm may have only heard the first sentence or two and never confirmed the rest."

"There's something at the end? When Laimunt explained it to me this morning, I was already cringing at how absurd…rather, how unusual some of the phrases were…"

Ferdinand had apparently given up after hearing the very first line of the Shumil plushie reciting its words of love. He was told there were ten varieties in total, and he couldn't bring himself to spend the magic power needed to hear all the male-voiced love messages to the end.

"Those words of love were excerpts from the Royal Academy's love stories. So at the end, we included a promotional message for Ehrenfest's books, starting with the Royal Academy's love stories."

When I stated the promotional message I had personally recorded, Dietlinde's eyes shot open: "Such an advertisement coming from an Ahrensbach exhibition piece…"

"I must take my leave! I still need to go greet the other duchies! Come, Lord Ferdinand."

As I wondered why she hadn't confirmed the message to the end, Dietlinde began walking away furiously. Watching her retreating figure, Ferdinand stood up with a small, quiet laugh.

"To have Ehrenfest's book advertisement play during an exhibition they kept insisting was Ahrensbach's research… Truly, you are… I really never know what you're going to do next."

As Ferdinand began to walk away, he placed a light hand on my head and said, "Very well done."

I'm sorry to Heizschlegel, but the cape was returned.

And Dietlinde continues to charge forward without reading the room.

The First Lady has finally realized the true relationship between Ahrensbach and Ehrenfest.

The Ehrenfest book advertisement detonated in the Ahrensbach space.

Next, it's socializing with the royalty.