Roderick's Wish

Roderick's tense expression when he first mentioned offering his name bore such a striking resemblance that I couldn't help growing tense myself. Whether or not I could steel myself to accept the name of someone I had once considered making a retainer would have enormous implications for everything going forward. I gulped audibly.

"Please take the time to steel your resolve before giving your answer, My Lady."

Richella's calm voice drifted down to me. When I turned to look, she offered me a gentle smile.

"Offering one's name is an act of tremendous significance—for both the one offering it and the one receiving it. Your own preparedness matters just as much, My Lady."

Richella had likely been thinking the same thing I was when she looked at Roderick's face, so full of resolve. When I nodded in agreement with the elder's words, Roderick slowly shook his head.

"I don't intend to offer my name right away. What I'd like now is simply to talk with Lady Rozemyne."

"About what, exactly?"

If he wasn't offering his name, then what? I couldn't begin to guess. When I tilted my head in puzzlement, Roderick's gaze drifted as though searching for words.

"…About the circumstances that led me to wanting to offer my name, and everything I've been thinking about since. One of Lady Rozemyne's retainers told me that without explaining these things to you, there would be no way for you to judge whether or not to accept."

I instinctively glanced toward Ewidlit and Philine, and Ewidlit gave a slight shrug, murmuring, "It was Hartmut." So Hartmut had been pulling strings behind the scenes. Still, I did need to hear what Roderick had to say.

"Richella, please prepare a private room."

"Certainly, My Lady."

"If things were different, I'd prefer we speak alone, but guards and Attendants will need to accompany me. Please understand."

"I am aware that, as a member of a rival faction, I am a potential security concern."

While Richella went ahead to reserve a room, I gathered up the study materials I'd been working with. Philine seemed to have caught the tension too—she kept glancing between Roderick and me as she began packing away her writing implements.

Joined by Ewidlit and Philine as my guards, we moved to the private room Richella had prepared. I offered Roderick a seat in the small room, and we sat facing one another.

"So, what did you want to talk about, Roderick?"

Roderick lowered his gaze for a moment before lifting it again. He looked at Philine, then Ewidlit, then Richella, and finally his eyes came to rest on me.

"Matthias told me to think carefully about this, but I want to offer my name to Lady Rozemyne. Of course, this is only on the condition that Lady Rozemyne is willing to accept. I've been told that Lady Rozemyne doesn't want to have names offered to her—that doing so would only be a burden."

Hartmut was probably the one who told him that, I thought with a light breath, and nodded.

"At the same time, I was told to use every word I could to make Lady Rozemyne understand my feelings. Because this is something that can only be done while we're both at the Royal Academy…That is why I'd like to have this conversation."

Speaking quietly while searching for the right words, Roderick looked remarkably different from the first impression I'd had of him.

…He'd seemed like such a troublemaker when we first met.

I strongly remembered Roderick as one of Wilfried's friends. In their first year they'd run around causing a ruckus together. He was one of the children who'd thrown snowballs at me. And when it came to borrowing teaching materials, he'd asked not for picture books but for karuta and playing cards. There was no doubt that Wilfried's disgrace had brought about a major change in Roderick.

"It was my very first children's room, and I had so much fun."

Roderick began his story with those words. The countless toys he'd never seen before, the delicious sweets given as prizes for winning games regardless of social status, the study environment where he could check others' levels and find motivation. And the teaching materials that could be borrowed not with money but in exchange for stories that I had never heard before.

"At first, I just wanted the karuta. I heard that stories alone would be enough to borrow them, so I started talking to Lady Rozemyne about that. But partway through, I lost track of my own story. Thinking I had to finish it somehow, I improvised and kept going."

I recalled the image of Roderick desperately continuing his story while his gaze darted about, and I smiled.

"Yes, it was very entertaining—such a childlike way of thinking."

"When Lady Rozemyne seemed amused by that, I got carried away and made up another story, which let me borrow the playing cards too. I gathered stories from my parents over spring so I could borrow more the following year—I was truly looking forward to the children's room."

Roderick had been eagerly anticipating reuniting with the children in the Noble District at the autumn hunting tournament, ahead of the winter children's room. At the tournament, the children had all gathered together, played games, latched onto the adults' words, and set off to explore toward the White Tower.

"The trees were marked so there was no risk of getting lost, but my father told me that only the Lord's family was allowed to enter the White Tower. I had no idea that a little adventure would lead to such consequences—I was just enjoying exploring the forest, a place I normally couldn't enter without permission."

And when Wilfried entered the White Tower and was charged with a crime, the nobles who had encouraged him were charged as well. The punishments given to the nobles were light, but afterward, everything around Roderick changed completely.

"I was the child of the second wife, and I'd never been particularly valued to begin with. However, being in the same year and same gender as Lord Wilfried meant I had many opportunities to get close to him. That was what my father valued in me. When we'd been on good terms playing together, my father used to smile warmly. But the moment I was separated from Lord Wilfried, those smiles vanished. And then I was blamed for his disgrace—I was completely at a loss. I even suspected that my father might have been the one who encouraged the expedition…"

Roderick's father, who had wanted to play both sides, had been cut off from any path to the Lord's family because of Roderick's disgrace and had begun treating him harshly. This had only gotten worse after my Magic Power compression method was adopted by his faction.

"I felt unwelcome at home, and it became difficult to join in the fun with the others at the children's room, so I sank into a gloomy mood. It was far less stressful to read a book and pass the time than to worry about everyone's eyes while playing games."

I had only heard about the children's room after I'd gone to sleep, from the perspective of Wilfried and Charlotte who ran it. But for the children of the former Veronica faction, it had apparently been an intensely uncomfortable place.

"Then one of Lady Rozemyne's guards showed me a book that had been newly created for this year's children's room. He said that if I hadn't been attacked and put to sleep, Lady Rozemyne would have shown it to me herself…And inside that book was a story I had told."

Roderick's eyes grew moist as he gazed into the distance, and he clenched his fist tightly. "I was truly happy," he said. It was the place he had found where he belonged, discovered at a time when he felt he had no place in the children's room.

"As I read it over and over, I realized that my own haphazard words had been properly corrected and shaped into a story. After that, I started paying careful attention to the text in books. I began thinking about how to write properly when constructing sentences. It's still rough, though…"

Rather than losing himself in games at the children's room, Roderick had been devouring Holy Book picture books and knight stories, crafting new tales based on the stories Philine collected, and polishing the stories he himself had gathered into proper written text. For Roderick, who had almost no books of his own, this must have been a tremendous undertaking.

"I can see how much effort you've put in. The stories you bring are carefully crafted."

"You honor me. Lady Rozemyne evaluates everyone's efforts regardless of faction. Last year, she purchased one of my stories. That was when I strongly felt that I wanted to serve Lady Rozemyne."

He was someone from a faction that was entirely on guard, someone who had caused a disgrace involving the newly engaged Wilfried. Even after coming of age and leaving his faction, it would not be easy to earn trust.

Roderick lowered his eyes to his own interlocked fingers, breaking eye contact with us, and continued in a halting voice.

"I couldn't become a retainer, yet Philine—a low-ranking noble who collected stories just as I did—was permitted to serve as a retainer. I envied that so deeply. I resented my position as someone from a different faction."

At Roderick's words, Philine's expression grew pained, and she quietly lowered her face.

"I always believed there was absolutely no chance of me becoming a retainer to Lady Rozemyne. But the Aub Ehrenfest showed me that by offering my name, I could earn trust."

Roderick lifted his chin and looked directly at me.

"If offering my name is what it takes to be trusted, then I want to offer it. Just as Philine swore to collect every story and dedicate them to Lady Rozemyne, I want to swear that I will create stories for Lady Rozemyne and dedicate them to her."

His interlocked fingers tightened until the tips went white. Roderick's dark-brown eyes burned with an intense light as he stared fixedly at me.

"Please…If I can create a story so compelling that Lady Rozemyne would consider taking me on as a retainer—at that time, would you accept my name?"

The Roderick who wished for his name to be accepted was already my vassal, even if I hadn't formally taken him on as a retainer. I was already reading and enjoying the stories he brought in. And I had been requesting to take him as a retainer, only to be turned down.

…Didn't Father say he'd accept it if Roderick offered his name?

If accepting Roderick's name would put those around me at ease, then perhaps taking him on as a retainer would be acceptable.

"I would like to accept Roderick's name."

"Lady Rozemyne?!"

Roderick's eyes went wide in disbelief as he stared at me.

"You would be offering me the thing I want most—the stories you create. I will accept the name along with them."

"So for you, the name is simply a bonus," Richella remarked with an exasperated tone. But that was truly the case. I could trust Roderick whether or not he offered his name.

"However, we must also prepare for your acceptance here. First, please have a thorough discussion with your family."

"There is no need for discussion. To my family, I am someone they are better off without."

His expression looked so pained that I leaned forward to peer into his face.

"If I were to establish a connection with you, wouldn't your family come closer of their own accord? This could be an opportunity to…"

I was about to say "reconcile with your family," but Roderick firmly shut his eyes, refusing the suggestion.

"My father's words caused me to lose Lord Wilfried's trust, robbed me of the happy times at the children's room, and pushed me into a position where it is difficult to approach Lady Rozemyne's side. I offer my name to gain my own trust—not for my father. If my father's words or actions ever caused Lady Rozemyne harm, I would never be able to forgive him again. Please allow me to sever ties with my family."

Roderick's desire to distance himself from his family reminded me of Lutz. Back then, the Chief Priest had said that all the details had to be laid bare. The feelings each person held for one another might not be aligned. It was true that Roderick had been hurt by his father's words and actions and had suffered greatly, but I couldn't make a judgment on that alone.

"Whether it would be better to separate Roderick from his family, as Philine was separated, or to let him remain with them—I don't have enough information. Please allow me to make my decision after gathering information during the winter social season."

Roderick's shoulders relaxed as though a weight had been lifted. After slowly nodding, he smiled happily, his eyes fixed firmly on the path ahead.

"While Lady Rozemyne prepares for my acceptance, I will also prepare to offer my name. First, I need to study how to carve a name into a magic stone."

By the time our discussion ended, the first-year students were filtering back in, carefully spaced apart so they wouldn't bump into one another. I could see them clutching invisible objects protectively to their chests.

"Head straight to your rooms, all of you. Be careful not to run into anyone," Richella called to the first-years. Charlotte climbed the stairs with a proud smile on her face. For the next while, the first-years would remain in their rooms without going out until "the will of the gods" had settled into them. I thought back to myself last year and felt a pang of nostalgia.

With the first-years gone, we finished dinner in the quiet dining hall, then discussed with the retinue how to spend the following day off. My retinue's plans depended entirely on my own.

"I'd like to go to the library, if possible."

"Lady Rozemyne, Lizelote and I would like to go out to prepare for tea parties and other social engagements," Brunhilde said.

Brunhilde and Lizelote wanted to get an early start on social preparations, while Cornelius and Leonore said they wanted to go on a magical beast hunt.

"The senior apprentice knights from the higher-ranking course are gathering to prepare materials used in lectures jointly."

Since there were so few apprentice knights, and many duchies couldn't prepare the materials alone, they cooperated on hunts together.

"I will leave Ewidlit as your guard, Lady Rozemyne."

It was clear what the others were thinking—those who had somewhere to be would appreciate it if I stayed put in the dormitory. I wavered over giving up on the library, and Hartmut smiled slyly.

"Lady Rozemyne, how about reading one of Lord Ferdinand's books? I think it would be good to read and study it in your room. Philine as well."

…A new book from the Chief Priest!?

I turned around involuntarily, and Hartmut grinned with his amber eyes. "It's settled, then," he said. It was a little vexing to move exactly as Hartmut planned, but the temptation of a new book was impossible to resist.

My plans for the next day were set—I would read the Chief Priest's book in my room.

The following morning, after finishing breakfast, my retinue set about their tasks in short order. Lizelote and Brunhilde tidied themselves up and headed out to the gathering of Attendants.

"Lady Rozemyne, Lizelote and I will be heading out for social duties."

"Yes, take care."

"Cornelius and I will be hunting magical beasts for materials. Ewidlit, we're counting on you for the rest."

"Understood."

It wasn't just Cornelius and Leonore—the senior apprentice knights were also making preparations. It seemed that even the guards for Wilfried and Charlotte would be leaving only a bare minimum behind in the dormitory.

After seeing off the Attendants and apprentice knights, Hartmut told me to return to my room.

"I'll give the book to Richella. Please wait in your room, Lady Rozemyne."

While I waited, Richella brought back the Chief Priest's book from Hartmut. Then Philine and I leaned in together to examine the pages laid open on the table.

"It's thinner than I expected," said Philine, who had been copying Dunkelfelger's book for so long. It was indeed thinner compared to that book, but thick enough that one day wouldn't be enough to finish it.

"Is this a magic circle?"

"…Might it be instructions for creating a Magical Tool?"

The book the Chief Priest had lent me was about how to make Magical Tools. It detailed the materials and quality requirements needed to craft them, and included magic circles.

"It appears to be in Lord Ferdinand's handwriting—could this be a compilation of his own research?"

Having worked in the Temple, Philine was very familiar with the Chief Priest's handwriting. I nodded and turned the pages. There were descriptions of some of the research findings I had read about on the second floor of the Royal Academy library. It was clearly a book the Chief Priest had compiled for my sake.

"…Lady Rozemyne, it appears there's paper tucked between the pages."

I looked where Philine pointed and saw a piece of Plant Paper inserted like a sticky note. Its slightly different color from the Parchment made it easy to spot. The Plant Paper had a note written on it, and according to the memo, the page contained information necessary for creating the Magical Tools I had wanted for my ideal library.

"This magic circle was created so that any items a certain lazy professor might lose would automatically return to him. If a time limit could be added to this magic circle, you might be able to create books that automatically return once their lending deadline has passed. Study it well and try incorporating it into a single magic circle…" That was what it said. Lord Ferdinand really is impressive.

He had dismissed my ideal library as impractical, but he had still gone looking for the parts that might actually be feasible. Knowing the Chief Priest, he probably already had the correct magic circle figured out in his head, but the fact that he wouldn't just tell me directly was very much like him.

"Let's try it."

Together with Philine, we pored over the book again and again, debating this and that as we attempted to create a magic circle.

"If we want it to move, wind has to flow in here, right?"

"But if you put wind in, it will fill this spot with life and won't activate. However, if you add earth here, the movement will change, won't it? What should we do?"

Combining the functions of two magic circles to create a new one was extremely difficult. As second-years, we were completely out of our depth.

"Ewidlit, do you understand this?"

"They don't teach complex magic circles this year, so my knowledge isn't much different from yours or Philine's."

She shook her head vigorously in refusal, reminding me of Angelica. It would be terrible if Ewidlit turned into another Angelica.

"You should try to use your head a bit more too, Ewidlit. Let's work on this together. If we could make a Magical Tool that moves automatically to its destination, it might be useful in Ditter."

"…I don't think that's really a knight's job, though."

They say three heads are better than one, so I dragged the reluctant Ewidlit in to suffer alongside us. But even so, we couldn't make it work.

"I'd like to get Hartmut's opinion as well."

As someone selected as an outstanding student among the senior apprentice officials, Hartmut might understand at least a little. I had Richella reserve a private room and asked her to summon Hartmut.

"My Lady, Hartmut was not in his room."

"…Hartmut didn't have any plans to go out, did he?"

When I tilted my head, Philine nodded, and Ewidlit murmured "perhaps," her violet eyes lighting up with amusement.

"He may have gone to see his sweetheart. If it's someone from another duchy, it's been about a year since they last met…"

…What did she just say?!

"Are you telling me that he used the Chief Priest's book as bait to lock me in my room while he went off on a date?"

"It's just my speculation, so I don't know if it's true. I just thought it would be interesting if it were," Ewidlit said, waving her hands in front of me in a fluster.

"But now that I think about it, I remember I never heard who Hartmut's sweetheart is. Ewidlit, do you know who it is?"

"No, unfortunately I don't. Hartmut is very personable and knows many people. He often speaks with those from other duchies in order to gather information, so I've sometimes wondered if his sweetheart might be from another duchy."

…I bet he's sneaking off on a date today too.

Determined to get to the bottom of this now that I had the chance, I stationed myself in the entrance hall to lie in wait. When the apprentice knights returned, they looked at me with startled expressions.

"Lady Rozemyne, is something the matter?"

At Leonore's question, I kept my eyes fixed on the entrance door and replied.

"Hartmut went out secretly. I'm waiting here to find out who he went to see—I suspect it might be a rendezvous with his sweetheart."

"If you stand around in this cold entrance hall for that, you'll make yourself ill. Wouldn't it be better to at least wait in the common hall?" Cornelius said with a sigh of exasperation, gesturing toward it.

"I'll wait here to surprise Hartmut."

"…I see. Then I'll go change."

With a resigned look, Cornelius headed for the stairs. Leonore glanced back at me several times with concern before following him up.

…I am absolutely getting answers!

Standing like a statue, I waited—and Hartmut returned. He saw me, blinked, and tilted his head.

"Lady Rozemyne, what are you doing out here? Have you finished reading Lord Ferdinand's book?"

"You gave me that book as a cover so you could sneak off on a date? Who did you meet? Is it someone I can't be introduced to?"

"…That sounds exactly like the words of a jealous lover."

Chuckling with amusement, Hartmut produced a bundle of papers. Drawn by the scent of Parchment and ink, my eyes involuntarily followed the bundle. When Hartmut moved it right, my gaze—and my body—moved right; when he moved it left, I followed left.

"I was meeting with an official from another duchy. We had an arrangement for me to receive copies of documents. They were knight stories that I had collected on behalf of someone I hold in high esteem. Has your mood improved?"

"It has! Please show me at once!"

As I urged him impatiently, Hartmut handed the bundle of papers to Philine.

"If you've been waiting out here the whole time, you must be chilled. Please return to your room before reading them."

"Understood. Let's go, Ewidlit, Philine."

On our cheerful way back to the room, I spotted Cornelius coming down the stairs, having changed his clothes.

"I'm going to read knight stories in my room now."

"Read them somewhere warm. Got it?"

"Yes."

As Cornelius descended the stairs, I heard him call out to Hartmut. Wondering what was going on, I peered downstairs and caught a glimpse of Hartmut tossing something—likely a magic stone—toward Cornelius.

I began reading the knight stories from another duchy and completely forgot about trying to find out who Hartmut's sweetheart was.

Roderick's wish and Rozemyne's resolve.

A discussion about offering a name.

And an Earthday spent reading the Chief Priest's book.