I returned to my room and began reading the letter I had received from Hannalore. The books from Ehrenfest, she wrote, were thin and easy to handle, written in modern language, and therefore extremely easy to read. The letter concluded by asking me to lend her more if I had any to spare.
...Leave it to me! I'll ask Mother to arrange for more romance novels to be written for Lady Hannalore!
My own romance novels had been rejected by the Chief Priest, so for that genre, I wanted the noblewomen of Mother's faction who enjoyed writing to do their best.
...Next time, I'll lend her a love story set in the
I looked at the books Hannalore had lent me. They were thick, heavily decorated, and large, so the first cover was difficult for me to open on my own due to their sheer weight. I seriously wanted one of the reading desks from the
The contents were old tales passed down in
The collection contained many knight stories, and as befitting a duchy that valued martial prowess, most of them featured protagonists who kept fighting no matter how many times they were defeated—fighting, fighting, fighting until they finally won.
The earlier ones had stories reminiscent of the Holy Books, written in a narrative style, but they also seemed to hold the qualities of historical records.
...If this really was part of a historical record, Dunkelfelger would have existed almost since its founding. I'd like to read books from various duchies to see whether convenient additions had been made or not.
Other duchies' books really were interesting. They were packed with things I had never known. I should probably copy down the stories I hadn't encountered before.
"I'll be busy moving between the Temple and the castle, but
"As you command."
After discussing it with my adoptive father, the Temple was now treated as equal to the Noble District, meaning apprentices could enter and leave freely. However, being allowed entry and the attendants actually wanting to enter were two different things.
"If your families object or if you find entering the Temple unpleasant, you don't have to accompany me there as before."
"No, I—I'd like to try the food at the Temple that
It was a little amusing that Judith was looking forward to visiting the Temple primarily for the food. Philine had asked whether she could see her younger brother Conrad. I should probably contact
"There are only enough rooms in the Temple for two Knights of the Guard, so the adult Knights of the Guard will commute, please."
"As you command."
All of the Knights of the Guard would make at least one trip to the Temple. I turned my gaze to the Attendants.
"What about all of you, my Attendants?"
"I would like to focus on embroidery for the time being. Once the attire is finished, I would like to visit and see the environment where Lady
"It's all right, Lieselota. The Temple isn't going anywhere, so please prioritize Schwarz and the others' attire for now."
When I encouraged her to embroider, Lieselota chuckled and reached for her sewing box. Since the Chief Priest was being so particular about the attire's quality, I wanted the dexterous young ladies to do their best—on my portion included.
"In that case, I'll stay at the castle and embroider alongside Lieselota. The Temple has its own Attendants, so there wouldn't be much for me to do there, would there?"
"I will focus on my duties at the castle, but please invite me to meetings regarding dyeing. ...Also, I received word from Father the other day. It seems the preparations for the printing business in Gréssher are complete. He said he would contact Lady
"That was quite fast, wasn't it?"
Honestly, I had expected it to take much more time to prepare for starting a printing business, since dealing with Commoners was essential.
Brunhilde smiled softly.
"We're related to Lady Elvira, and it seems Giebe
"Then once Brother
"I would like to accompany you at that time."
In response to Brunhilde's words, I replied, "Yes, please guide us."
Two days after the report meeting, I received word from the Chief Priest, who had finished his duties at the castle, that he would return to the Temple after the next morning's breakfast. I would be bringing my attendants along in a procession back to the Temple.
"That's quite a lot of Knights of the Guard."
"Think of it as an apprentices' tour of the Temple today. On days without meetings or other appointments, the Scholars can rotate, and normally two Knights of the Guard are sufficient, so today we'll just explain their duties and give a tour of the Temple. With more hands helping, surely Lord
I fully intended to bring everyone along for the post-third-bell errands. The Chief Priest said "Hm" and nodded, then looked down at the apprentice Knights of the Guard, who had the air of people going on an excursion, and let the corners of his lips curl upward with amusement.
I rode back to the Temple on my riding beast with
When we arrived at the Temple in a large group,
"Fran, Monica, these are my attendants who will now be entering and leaving the Temple. Everyone, this is Fran. He is my head Attendant in the Temple. And this is Monica. Though the location differs, they are the same in that they both serve me."
"Thanks to Fran, I've been able to focus entirely on my guard duties. The Gray Priest trained by Lord Ferdinand is truly exceptional."
Angelica, who had been freed from complicated tasks thanks to Fran's management, puffed out her chest proudly and praised him. A small "Heh" escaped, and the tension in the room eased.
"Now, I'm going to change in my room, so in the meantime,
"Yes, ma'am!"
I entered my room with Monica and explained the situation to Zaim, who had been waiting there. "From now on, nobles will be coming and going frequently, and it will be an ongoing stretch of tense days, but please hang in there," I told him.
"Since Lady Rozemyne is the Lord's adopted daughter, I was prepared for this. It's no problem."
"After this, once we've rested a bit, we'll go help the Chief Priest. Of course, I plan to have my attendants experience life in the Temple as well. If Damuel and Brother
When I smiled and said this, Fran let out a wry laugh, no doubt thinking about the attendants who would be put to work right after arriving at the Temple.
"Angelica, shall you remain at the door guard as usual?"
"Showing them the Temple as it normally is—that's what matters."
Zaim and Fran headed to the kitchen to prepare tea, and I had Monica help me change.
"Monica, if any of the nobles entering and leaving the Temple say anything unpleasant to you, or if you sense any danger—no matter how trivial it might seem, even if it turns out to be nothing—please let me know. I don't want the people of the Temple being hurt in places where I'm unaware."
"As you command. I will report even the smallest of matters."
At my words, Monica smiled with a hint of relief.
After changing into the High Priest's robes, I had everyone summoned and offered them
"It's been a while since I've had Temple sweets. I've never even eaten these at home."
Cornelius reached for them happily and began eating. As the highest-ranked among the attendants, once he took one, the others began reaching for them as well.
"They're delicious. Angelica and Damuel, you've been eating things this good all along? Lady Rozemyne, I will guard the Temple whenever I can."
"On days without the apprentice knights' special training, Judith, you're welcome to serve guard duty at the Temple as well."
The Temple's guard duty was already covered by Damuel and Angelica, so for the apprentices, their grandfather's training took priority.
After tea, Damuel explained the guard duties in the Temple, including the help they would provide to the Chief Priest. During that time, I had Monica show the two apprentice Scholars the arrangement of writing implements and other supplies around the desks.
Together with Fran, I went through the letters and wooden tablets that had accumulated during my absence, processing them one by one. There were letters from the
From the Gilberta Company, I learned that the summer hair ornaments and the ones for
"Fran, in three days I'll be meeting with the Guild Master and representatives from the Plantan Company and the Gilberta Company. Please prepare the invitations."
"As you command."
Then the third bell rang. With Fran and Zaim at my side, I brought my attendants to the Chief Priest's room to perform the usual errands.
The moment we entered the Chief Priest's room, Angelica claimed her spot before the door with a swift motion that said no one would get past her. The apprentice Knights of the Guard stared wide-eyed, looking at Brother Eckhart, who was calmly doing his paperwork, and Damuel, who began working with practiced ease, with stunned expressions.
"Every day we help the Chief Priest like this, so I'll be counting on all of you."
"...Lady Rozemyne, you do this every day?"
"That's right. Judith, your hand has stopped."
"With this many errand-runners added, it might be worth teaching Rozemyne some new work."
The Chief Priest said this, and proceeded to teach me a new task. I transformed from the person who only did calculations as instructed to the person entrusted with the Temple's budget. This was a significant step forward.
When the fourth bell rang and the Chief Priest's errands were finished, it was time for lunch. The Knights of the Guard ate in shifts, but Philine and Judith were moved to tears by the Temple's delicious food. Brother Cornelius was somewhat more accustomed to it, since he ate well at home too, but he was delighted by menu items he'd never tried before.
Among them, Leonore was notably subdued.
"Leonore, you have quite a troubled expression. Was the food not to your taste?"
"No, it was very delicious. ...I was just wondering whether it would be difficult to entertain Lady Rozemyne and Lady Elvira, who eat such meals on a daily basis."
After lunch, I left work for Zaim in the High Priest's room and set off with my attendants for the
"Conrad is fine. There's nothing to worry about."
At Damuel's words—he always accompanied me to the Orphanage—Philine allowed a small smile to appear. Beyond the wide-open door, the Gray Priestesses and the children who had yet to receive their
"You may all return to your work. Conrad, come here."
After the greetings were done and I called out, the Gray Priestesses rose and began moving about, though they kept glancing at Hartmut and the others.
Conrad, nudged by
"Big sister."
"Conrad, you look well. That puts me at ease. How is life in the Temple?"
Philine smiled happily and embraced Conrad, who was dressed in gray. Conrad showed a relieved smile and began telling Philine about life in the Orphanage.
"Everyone is kind, the food is delicious, and Dirk is here, so I'm fine. Lady Rozemyne told me you're living at the castle. Aren't you lonely?"
"I have coworkers there, so I'm fine. It's only when I can't see you, Conrad, that I feel lonely."
Hearing Philine and Conrad talking happily together, I let out a small sigh of relief and showed the others the dining hall and the play corner in one corner, so the siblings could have their moment alone.
Several of the books the Plantan Company had produced were lined up one after another, and alongside playing cards and a deck of cards, there were also some infant toys. Brother Cornelius's eyes went wide at the sight.
"The Orphanage has this many books and toys!?"
"Yes. Even Aub Ehrenfest was surprised when he came to inspect it. Items like these that the children enjoy are sold at the castle as products."
At the time I had been disguised as a Blue Priest, but it remained a fact that my adoptive father had inspected the place.
"In this Orphanage, everyone except the infants can read and do arithmetic. That's something I'm proud of. Right now, we're having them learn the basic duties of an Attendant by age ten."
"I'd heard about it, but seeing it in person is truly surprising," Hartmut said with an almost groaning tone. Leonore also looked around the Orphanage dining hall and nodded.
"And it's a much more beautiful place than I imagined from the rumors."
"Everyone keeps it clean, so every part of the Temple is spotless. With proper education, the children have excellent manners as well."
As I was proudly boasting about the orphans with a "Hehehe," Wilma smiled warmly like a saint.
"Lady Rozemyne gave us this life we have today. We are all very grateful to Lady Rozemyne."
The moment Wilma said this, Hartmut leaned forward slightly.
"You there—I would like to hear in detail about what Rozemyne did at the Temple..."
Seemingly startled by Hartmut's intensity, Wilma took a step back. Seeing this, I immediately shielded Wilma—who was uneasy around men—and faced Hartmut.
"Hartmut, I will not tolerate you being rude to Wilma in my Orphanage."
Spreading my arms wide to put myself between Wilma and Hartmut, I heard him say "Rude...?" in a deflated voice. Wilma, watching our exchange, giggled.
"Hartmut, if I were to tell you about how wonderful Lady Rozemyne is, it would take a very long time. Since it seems we don't have time today, I'll put it together for you on another occasion."
"Wilma!?"
"Ah, I look forward to the Saint Legend about the Temple and the orphans."
Hartmut's amber eyes lit up, and he became animated.
...I thought I was protecting Wilma.
Why did Hartmut and Wilma hit it off and start talking about the Saint Legend? I couldn't make sense of it.
Three days after the apprentice Scholars and apprentice Knights of the Guard began entering and leaving the Temple, in the afternoon there was a meeting scheduled with the Gilberta Company, the Plantan Company, and the Guild Master. Hartmut, who had been permitted to attend the meeting with the lower city, looked cheerful even as we made our way to the Orphanage Director's room.
"Lady Rozemyne, what kind of discussions do you have with the merchants from the lower city?"
"The primary purpose is to hear about the state of the lower city after the Entwicken. Beyond that, I'll be receiving the items I ordered from the Gilberta Company, discussing with the Plantan Company where Gutenberg should go next, and meeting with the Guild Master regarding the acceptance of merchants from other duchies."
As I watched Hartmut take notes—with Philine imitating the motion—I entered the Orphanage Director's room. Angelica stood at the doorway, and inside, Damuel and Brother Cornelius served as guards. Leonore and Judith were absent due to their training day.
When I entered the Orphanage Director's room, which Monica and Nicola had tidied in advance, Philine, Brother Cornelius, and Hartmut looked around with interest.
Hartmut, who had been surveying the surroundings with narrowed eyes, turned to me.
"I don't think the quality of the furnishings is befitting Lady Rozemyne..."
That was fair. The previous Orphanage Director had been equivalent to a mid-ranking noble. In other words, the furniture here matched a mid-ranking noble's station. To my Commoner self, it had been too grand, and considering my current position as the Lord's adopted daughter, it was far too modest.
"These are the room and furnishings I used before I knew Father's true status, so they aren't appropriate for the Lord's adopted daughter. However, since I only use this room now to meet with people from the lower city, there's no need to go out of one's way to replace them, is there?"
"I believe that replacing the furnishings to match Lady Rozemyne's station would also be effective for showing the lower city merchants her true standing."
Hartmut insisted that things befitting her position as the Lord's adopted daughter were needed, but where exactly would that money come from? It wasn't something used daily, and I just couldn't bring myself to spend money on replacements so wastefully.
"Hartmut, the lower city merchants I meet here know my status. Besides, to Commoners, nobles are all lumped together regardless. Changing the furniture wouldn't make much of a difference. If I had money to spend on furniture I rarely use, I'd rather use it for something more important."
"Something more important... something else, you say?"
Hartmut seemed fixated on having a room that matched her status, and the notion of "something else" didn't seem to come to mind.
"Buying books, acquiring more printing presses, funding for building a library, development costs for new bookshelves... There are plenty of productive uses for money, aren't there? If you want to create a new trend, you need money for research and for training people. Isn't that more important than furniture?"
"Lady Rozemyne, for nobles, creating an environment that suits one's station is something of great importance."
Brother Cornelius smiled wryly as he backed Hartmut up. Being told to create an environment befitting my station, I nodded.
"Very well. I will do my utmost to save money so that I can build a library worthy of the Lord's adopted daughter and purchase books one after another."
"That's not what I meant. I wasn't talking about the library."
While I was having that exchange with Brother Cornelius, Fran came upstairs after having prepared the tea.
"Lady Rozemyne, the others will be arriving soon."
As if in answer to Fran's words, Angelica called out that they had arrived, and the door was opened.
Upon seeing Hartmut and Philine, as well as the increased number of Knights of the Guard, the Guild Master greeted me with particular courtesy. After responding, I offered them their seats. Only the three representatives—the Guild Master, Benno, and Otto—took their seats.
"The Lord's Conference has concluded, and we will be conducting trade with the
I called to Hartmut and had him produce half of the authentication papers distributed to the Sovereignty and Klassenberg. The Sovereignty's were black and Klassenberg's were red, each matching their respective duchy's color. Thanks to
I cut a small piece from the edge of an authentication paper and explained how it worked.
"These authentication papers have the property of small paper fragments gathering toward larger ones. Please verify that the paper fragments merchants bring actually draw close. Since we specified that the paper given to merchants must be larger than this board, it can't be broken into more than eight pieces. Naturally, the number of merchants should be limited accordingly. If a fragment is too small, that constitutes a violation, and you needn't conduct any trade. If anything comes up, I will handle it on my end."
"A Magical Tool that even Commoners can use? That's very helpful."
The Guild Master carefully took the authentication paper in hand and passed it to an Attendant. While watching them respectfully put it away from the corner of my eye, I asked about the state of the lower city.
"How is the lower city? Are you maintaining an appearance that you wouldn't be ashamed for merchants from other duchies to see?"
The Entwicken and Wassen should have beautified the town, but if the Commoners who actually lived there didn't remain mindful and use things properly, it would revert to the way things were before in no time.
The Guild Master nodded slowly in response to my question.
"On the day we received the announcement, wondering what would happen, I stayed inside the commercial guild and looked down at the Central Park from the window, and I was truly astonished. A strange light suddenly appeared in the sky, and in the next moment, so much water came pouring down that the windows and doors creaked. Water seeped in through the gaps, and by the time I managed to move away from the window, the water had already vanished without a trace, leaving the lower city's roads and the undersides of buildings looking white like the Noble District. My word—we had been warned beforehand, but the Lord's power is truly remarkable."
...That wasn't the Entwicken my adoptive father worked hard on—that was the Wassen the Chief Priest performed.
The Wassen, which had cleaned the streets in one sweeping stroke, apparently made a stronger impression than the Entwicken, which moved the hardly visible underground infrastructure, but oh well. The end result was still that the Lord's family had worked to clean up the lower city.
"Since the commercial guild's announcement and the soldiers' announcement went out simultaneously and the streets were empty, we haven't heard any reports of problems caused by the magic."
...Good, good. It seemed no one had drowned in the Wassen or suffered a cardiac arrest.
"In the southern part of the lower city as well, even with the windows and doors shut, water seeped into some houses and cleaned the rooms inside," Benno said, glancing toward Lutz.
When I looked at Lutz with great interest, asking "What happened?", he awkwardly averted his gaze.
"My mother said that if she had left the windows wide open, the whole house would have been cleaned."
The image of Aunt
"That magic is quite elaborate and can't be performed at any time. Are you managing to maintain the clean state?"
At my words, Turi narrowed her eyes and smiled.
"That is already... My father and the other soldiers are making careful rounds throughout the town, so in current Ehrenfest, you can see a beautiful townscape stretching from north to south."
It seemed that the time I spent in
"That's a relief. Also, something that concerns me is the sudden increase in merchants coming to Ehrenfest from other duchies—will there be enough inns and restaurants?"
"Inns can't be increased overnight. Since high-quality inns weren't particularly needed until now, Ehrenfest doesn't have enough. This year we're having the large establishments host them, and we've issued a notice to the owners of the large shops to prepare for lodging merchants."
The Guild Master explained that since they were limiting the merchants to some degree, the combined efforts of the inns and the merchants themselves would make things manageable. As for restaurants to welcome merchants from other duchies, they would be using the Italian restaurant. Having spread Ehrenfest's new cuisine to other duchies at the Lord's Conference, it might be just the right fit.
"Lady Rozemyne, if your schedule permits, would you please visit the Italian restaurant? As a co-investor, having you verify that there are no issues in welcoming merchants from other duchies would put us at ease."
Frieda, who was involved in the restaurant's operations, said this in her characteristically clear and brisk manner. Along with confirming the new menu, apparently having a word with the owners of the large shops made a significant difference in their willingness to cooperate.
"Not only are we taking in merchants from other duchies, but we'll also need cooperation from the large shop owners for things like noble households relocating from other duchies and dyeing competitions, so I don't mind speaking with them. It'll get busy once the height of summer passes, so I'll find time soon to visit the Italian restaurant."
"I appreciate it. Please do look forward to the new menu."
Frieda smiled happily.
"I'll need to get the Chief Priest's permission for the exact date. Fran, do you know when we'll have some room?"
"It should be either between now and the spring Coming-of-Age Ceremony, or after the summer Baptism Ceremony and before the Star Binding Ceremony. If you'd like it to be before the merchants arrive, I can submit a request for an audience with the Chief Priest immediately."
"Then please do that."
Having Frieda request cooperation from the large shop owners at the Italian restaurant while also inspecting the lower city—my adoptive father might actually come along out of interest. As I thought about this, something suddenly occurred to me.
"Frieda, I know it's a lot to ask, but could I also request that you help train chefs? Aub Ehrenfest wants to increase the number of court chefs at the castle by next winter. They'd need to be able to make my recipes, or they wouldn't be of any use. There's a risk that some will be poached, so please train successors and candidates in advance."
At the Lord's Conference, my adoptive father had said there weren't enough chefs. If the chefs who could make my recipes were to be headhunted, the Italian restaurant would be the first target.
"Understood. I'll address it right away."
Frieda's expression turned serious as she opened her writing board and immediately noted down the schedule.