The Leisegang Consensus

When I returned to my room, I called in the Leisegang-affiliated retainers who had stayed behind to wait instead of attending the lord's family meeting, and set things up so I could hear their account. Then I slowly looked over Richelda, Ottilie, Angelica, Hartmut, Brother Cornelius, Leonore, and Brunhilde. I also asked the retainers who had been standing guard to tell me the contents of the lord's family meeting.

"Are you certain that the Aub's words truly represent the Leisegang consensus?"

It was Leonore and Brunhilde, who had been attending the Noble Academy and were not involved in social matters, whose expressions changed upon hearing the meeting's contents.

"I have never been consulted about any such consensus, so I would appreciate it if you would refrain from calling it the Leisegang consensus," Leonore said in a clear, firm tone, her displeasure evident. Brunhilde, however, clouded over and struggled to find her words.

"What Leonore says is true, and I have not given my agreement either, so I do not think it can be called a consensus. However, I have heard voices saying that the older generation has been unable to keep up with the rise in rank, and that the differences in thinking and awareness between generations have grown quite large. If you call it the consensus of the generation before our rank began to rise, then one cannot entirely say it is all a lie."

Furthermore, it seemed that the sentiment favoring me over Wilfried as the next Aub had never fully disappeared among the Leisegang nobles. Concerns about my frail constitution and my comings and goings at the Temple had once worked against me, but as I gradually grew sturdier and the joint research at the Noble Academy began to raise awareness of the importance of the Temple and religious rites, that sentiment had undoubtedly grown louder.

"I see. Richelda, did you know about this beforehand?"

When I looked up at Richelda, who had accompanied me to the meeting, she maintained her faint smile while her trembling fist clenched tight.

"Had I known beforehand, I would not have felt the urge to reprimand Sylvester-sama right there on the spot. What does it matter that it is the Leisegang consensus? It was simply pathetic to see the Aub of Ehrenfest acting like a ruling lord issuing an ordinance."

I had to admire Richelda's sense of duty, having apparently mustered all her self-restraint to avoid overstepping, but her trembling, clenched fist was terrifying.

...But as I suspected, those of us who had been at the Noble Academy really had no idea.

I slowly shifted my gaze. Angelica, who immediately cupped her cheek and smiled the moment our eyes met, was so typically Angelica that I skipped right past her, and I settled my gaze on Brother Cornelius.

"Brother Cornelius, did you know?"

"I don't know the details, but some information did trickle down to me from Brother Lamprecht. With the major Veronica faction members having been removed, the ones closest to Wilfried-sama—raised as he was by Lady Veronica and attended by her retainers—are the ones most associated with the remaining Veronica faction. As such, the Leisegang nobles apparently presented something like a challenge: if you want to be put forward as the next Aub..."

Wilfried had apparently been told to accomplish this on his own, without leaking the secret instructions to anyone, including me, and without asking for help.

"They told Brother Lamprecht things along the lines of wanting assistance in a way that the Leisegang would never find out about. After observing the meeting, I too now wish to wait and see how Wilfried-sama, who wants to be recognized as the next Aub by the Leisegang, will handle things. There is no useful aid to be given to an opponent who will not reveal even a hint of what they want, and besides, Rozemyne should have already provided sufficient support by disseminating information about the Dedication Festival."

Brother Cornelius gave a little smile as he said this, but his eyes were not smiling. It was clear he thought no further assistance was needed whatsoever.

"Ottilie, who has been staying at the castle the whole time—have you heard anything?"

"If anything, I was the one being questioned extensively by the Leisegang nobles. What are Rozemyne-sama's preferences, what causes her to become emotional, what does she treasure, what has she protected, and what has she cast aside? It was all really detailed, nitty-gritty stuff. I told them she is someone who values her connections with those close to her, but also has a meritocratic side."

Yet she could not understand why they would then state, as a Leisegang consensus, that her rank should be lowered, or whisper things that would drive a wedge between the Aub and Wilfried-sama.

"However, Lady Elvira has been under a great deal of pressure from various people around her and has been struggling to respond."

Ottilie, who was on good terms with my mother and belonged to the Florentzia faction, had heard things at tea gatherings.

"Most nobles are not yet aware of Lady Florentzia's pregnancy. Because of that, with the territory in such turmoil, the voices from among the women calling for Lady Florentzia and Rozemyne-sama to be the ones doing the socializing are very strong. If she intends to become the First Wife of Ehrenfest, they say she should place much more emphasis on women's socializing."

"That's..."

Before I could even say that there simply was not enough time, Ottilie nodded and said, "Lady Elvira and I are well aware."

"Lady Elvira said that Rozemyne-sama, already busy with Lord Ferdinand being absent and with her duties at the Temple and in the printing industry, has no room for socializing. But the opinion that rather than focusing on men's work, she should pour her energy into women's work is apparently very firmly rooted."

I had been focusing on the printing industry, on dealings with merchants from other territories, on relocating the Gutenberg team, and on working hard as the head of the Academic Improvement Committee at the Noble Academy—never once thinking about propping up Wilfried or about reining myself in as First Wife. My mind had been filled with nothing but profit and efficiency. Lutz, Benno, Ferdinand, and my adoptive father—none of them had bothered to tell me mid-conversation to "yield these achievements to Wilfried" or "now is the time to elevate the man; call your fiancé here immediately." And now being told "if you're going to be First Wife, don't stand out so much" or "let the men handle rebuilding the troubled territory; a First Wife's duty is socializing above all else," I had no idea when the right moment to pull back was supposed to be.

...In other words, doesn't that mean I'm simply not suited to being Brother Wilfried's First Wife? Well, I suppose I was never well-suited to romance or marriage to begin with, so maybe I'm just not suited to being anyone's First Wife, not just Wilfried's.

"Lady Elvira used to say frequently that without Lord Ferdinand, Ehrenfest could not function. I believe that has now become reality. Right now, there is no one to provide clear grounds and reasoning for the Aub's decisions, to arrange Rozemyne-sama's circumstances so she can focus on socializing, or to confirm everyone's intentions and smooth the way for action."

Ottilie said it looked to her as though everything was falling out of sync now that Ferdinand was gone—the Ferdinand who, until now, had been coordinating everyone even as they acted independently.

"In the past, wouldn't there have been opportunities for the Aub and Rozemyne-sama to confirm each other's intentions? The reason those didn't happen was..."

"Unfortunately, Mother, that has nothing to do with Lord Ferdinand. This time, the reason lies in the Leisegang's intentions."

Hartmut, who had chimed in partway through, turned toward me. When our eyes met, his amber eyes crinkled into a smile. Seeing that suspiciously radiant, refreshing grin, I narrowed my eyes slightly.

"Hartmut, you knew what the Aub was going to say at this meeting, didn't you? Or rather, perhaps it would be more accurate to say you knew what he was being made to say?"

"Why do you think that?"

His delighted eyes practically blazed with the words "Correct answer."

"Your eyes give you away. ...You see, Hartmut, whenever someone—whether royalty, a greater territory's noble, or a Blue Priest—makes a dismissive remark about me, you get this terribly frightening look in your eyes."

The fact that his expression, at first glance, just looked like an otherwise pleasant smile made it all the more terrifying. But when we came out of the conference room, and even now, while Richelda was clenching her trembling fist, Hartmut had maintained a perfectly normal expression. When I pointed this out, he dropped his composure for a moment, then straightened into a serious expression and knelt before me.

"My most esteemed Rozemyne-sama. There is no need for you to endure being looked down upon by an Aub who says such terrible things and by Wilfried-sama who follows along behind him. Just as you brought unity to the Noble Academy, I ask that you command the Leisegang to bring unity to this fractured Ehrenfest. The students you so carefully protected will surely be waiting for you to rise up."

His tone was flat and detached, and his gestures had an oddly theatrical quality. It was obvious he did not genuinely believe all of it.

"...After the meeting, the Leisegang told you to egg me on like that?"

"Exactly. The Leisegang nobles wish to erase Lady Veronica's influence and make Rozemyne-sama, who does not share Lady Veronica's blood, the next Aub. They consider this the perfect opportunity now that the Aub has cut away his own power base."

Based on information from the Noble Academy, the Aub had pushed through the purge ahead of schedule. More than half of those who had supported the Aub belonged to the old Veronica faction. Even among his retainers, several had been punished. Hartmut described how the Aub had gone about it with the ferocity of someone demolishing the ground beneath his own feet in order to drain out every last drop of rot.

Those who had sworn fealty to Georgine were executed. Those who had sworn fealty to Veronica or committed crimes for personal gain were punished one after another. The old Veronica faction was swept clean.

The only Veronicas remaining were the Aub and his children. The radical fringe among the Leisegang nobles were raising their voices, asking whether those Leisegang nobles who had been oppressed for so long would now support them.

"If all the lord candidate children shared Lady Veronica's blood, the Leisegang would have given up. But among those lord candidates who could become the next Aub, there is Rozemyne-sama."

The daughter of Bonifatius's bloodline, of Karstedt and Elvira, who had achieved the highest honors three years running, who had extensive connections with greater territories and interactions with royalty, who had brought new industries to Ehrenfest and sparked new trends—Rozemyne, the famed Saint, was truly suited to be the Aub.

The upper echelons of the Leisegang had understood that I had no desire to become the Aub. But in addition to Great-Grandfather's dying wish, this time, Grandfather had also backed the push.

"The most capable of all the lord candidates is Rozemyne, is it not? Then why must Rozemyne be shut away in the Temple? Of course, Temple duties are work that someone must do. But if it is lord-candidate work, then either Wilfried or Charlotte would do—both of whom have blemishes compared to Rozemyne."

With these words, Grandfather was apparently trying to rescue me from the Temple. There was other work befitting a lord candidate. There was no need to do work that would be spoken ill of at the Noble Academy or in the sovereignty. If being the next Aub meant Wilfried could not take on the role of High Priest, then simply install me as the next Aub instead. I had the largest faction of supporters and the ability to match.

"So it goes. There are the Bonifatius faction, who want to make Rozemyne-sama the next Aub in order to rescue her from the Temple. There are the radicals, who want to completely purge Lady Veronica's bloodline. There are the mainstream Leisegang, who would like to produce an Aub from their own ranks if possible. There are the passive supporters, who will cooperate if the person in question actually wants to become the Aub. And there are the competitive-demand faction, who insist that whoever has the most Magic Power should be the Aub as a matter of legitimate succession. The Leisegang nobles are not at all of one mind, but if you were to call it a consensus, it would be: make Rozemyne-sama the next Aub."

There were apparently nobles who would be willing to raise the rank for an Aub from their own bloodline, but would refuse to do so for a Veronica-bloodline Aub.

"What a contradictory consensus. Poke it a little and it seems like it would just scatter into thin air."

"Even if it looks that weakly united, you can't tell from the outside. And now that the Aub has cut away his own support base through the purge, he and Wilfried-sama have almost no nobles left to support them. When they hear it called the Leisegang consensus, they perceive it as a far more imposing opinion than it actually is."

The number of people currently supporting my adoptive father and Wilfried was truly small. They were being propped up by the remaining personal retainers plus a hodgepodge of those who wanted me to stop right where I was rather than become the Aub and continue gaining momentum; those who hated change and were fine with Ehrenfest the way it had always been; and those who were fed up with relentless pressure from below. Among the old Veronica faction, those who had narrowly escaped collective punishment were supporting Wilfried as the next Aub by process of elimination.

"The Leisegang nobles were agonizing over it, you know. How could they elevate Rozemyne-sama, who kept saying she had no intention of becoming the Aub, to the position of Aub? What they ultimately came up with was a script: drive a wedge between the Aub and Rozemyne-sama to force a confrontation and isolate her. Make the Aub disappointing enough that Rozemyne-sama would rise up to protect her own faction, and then quietly lay the groundwork with each person."

Grandfather had apparently offered his cooperation, saying he wanted to help rescue me from the Temple. Getting me out of the Temple would be enough. He thought I was more suited to be the Aub, but being the First Wife would also be acceptable—provided I received an education befitting that role and was made to do the work. Lady Florentzia teaching me the duties of the First Wife would be appropriate, and he would not permit me to be kept at the Temple.

"True to the rumors, it seems Rozemyne-sama has been backed into a position where she cannot express her own will. Lord Bonifatius agreed to the request to watch over things and make sure the Aub was not secretly coercing her behind the scenes, and to confirm Rozemyne-sama's own intentions."

Because Grandfather was keeping such a sharp eye on things, they had been unable to hold any secret meetings this time.

"Of course, the Aub had also been quietly laying his own groundwork. He could not tell me the details, since I am Rozemyne-sama's retainer, but it was clear he was orchestrating a rift between the Aub and Rozemyne-sama by dangling Leisegang support as bait. With his support base gone from the purge and the weakness of Lady Florentzia's pregnancy added on top, it is easy to imagine that he could not refuse the Leisegang's offer."

Hartmut, it seemed, was also serving as a watcher, much like Grandfather. He had been told to observe whether the Aub couple and Wilfried were truly willing to accept the Leisegang's demands, whether they would call Rozemyne-sama in beforehand to confer, or whether they would make unreasonable demands.

"On top of that, I was told to confirm Rozemyne-sama's intentions as her retainer. Of course, if Rozemyne-sama desired the Aubship, I would remove every obstacle and push her into the role without borrowing the Leisegang's help. But that isn't what you want, is it?"

"That's true, but why did you keep quiet about all this, Hartmut?"

I gave Hartmut a light glare, and he raised his eyebrows in a playful manner.

"Because there were many things I wanted to confirm: how the Leisegang, having driven out the Veronica faction, had laid their groundwork and would conduct themselves; how the Aub couple and Wilfried-sama would move in response to the Leisegang; where each member of the lord's family stood from Rozemyne-sama's perspective."

As my attendent, Hartmut had been quietly observing the meeting from behind me. What conclusions had he drawn? What had he been thinking? As I pondered this, Brunhilde opened her mouth with an expression of deep distaste.

"When Ehrenfest needs to stand united against other territories, they push burdens onto the Aub, who had the courage to expel the Veronica faction; they scheme behind the scenes to install Rozemyne-sama as Aub to serve their own interests; and they even drive wedges into the lord's family, which was supposed to be united... What a pathetic thing to be doing. And now, in the midst of all this, they expect the Aub to request the Entwickeln?"

Brunhilde shook her head, saying she had never imagined she would feel ashamed of being called a Leisegang noble. Hartmut chuckled softly at this. "Brunhilde, you are quite fastidious, aren't you?"

"They're all just jockeying for power, but both the Veronica faction and the Leisegang faction are at root Ehrenfest nobles. It would be strange if they behaved differently. What matters to them is protecting their own status and lifestyle—they have no interest in the rank increase that the lord's family desires and the effort that comes with it."

Hartmut said that Brunhilde, like me, had been looking too far up to see what was around her. Which was to say, perhaps I could not see my surroundings either.

"What exactly can you see, Hartmut, and what are you thinking?"

"The only thing I ever think about is fulfilling Rozemyne-sama's wishes. If I may be permitted to express a personal desire..."

Hartmut paused there. Then he wore the same wicked smile that Ferdinand had when he was plotting various schemes.

"I would love to utterly crush the senile drivel of those who can think of nothing more worldly than suggesting that Rozemyne-sama—who is less a Saint and more a Goddess—would want to become the Aub."

"Huh!?"

...He's saying something pretty extreme!

Before us, slack-jawed with shock, Hartmut launched into a torrent of words.

"What Rozemyne-sama desires is books, the papermaking industry, and the printing industry. These are currently spreading across the Leisegang-affiliated lords' lands, but that is simply the result of prioritizing relatives. After all, the first workshop was built in Illgner."

It was not as though only Leisegang nobles could engage in the printing industry. The people around her had told her it was important to feed the factions that supported her, so she had simply prioritized moving the Gutenberg team there.

"The Aub of Ehrenfest, having once again severed his own support base through the purge, needs the support and cooperation of the Leisegang—the largest faction—in order to unite Ehrenfest. But Rozemyne-sama has no need for the Leisegang's support."

"Well... I wouldn't say she has absolutely no need for it. ...Right?"

Hartmut had stated it so matter-of-factly that I had no confidence at all and ended my sentence as a question, seeking agreement from everyone. But the retainers—all of whom should have been Leisegang nobles—wore thoughtful expressions. Even Angelica, who was probably not thinking about anything at all, had a similar look.

"Even without the Leisegang, there are plenty of nobles in other territories eager to get into the printing industry. For Rozemyne-sama, who wishes to spread the printing industry as far as possible and see even one more book come into existence, expanding her influence over other territories is far more important than humoring the Leisegang's little charade in Ehrenfest."

"What Hartmut says is quite correct. For Rozemyne-sama alone, the Leisegang's support is entirely unnecessary."

Leonore looked at Hartmut with admiration. I wished she wouldn't admire him for that, but since I was impressed too, I couldn't say anything. Hartmut had a frighteningly precise grasp of the situation. He was right. All I wanted was to spread the printing industry and live a life reading as many books as possible.

"The Leisegang, foolishly, must believe that as her blood relatives and greatest supporters, they can manipulate Rozemyne-sama however they wish. But there is no way Rozemyne-sama can be controlled to their liking. Those old fools simply cannot grasp that much."

"Even Lord Ferdinand used to say that getting Rozemyne-sama to do as you wish is a Herculean task."

I wanted to object, but when Brunhilde added, "He even has trouble at tea parties," there was nothing I could say. I pursed my lips and turned away.

...That's not true at all. Ferdinand-sama could easily manipulate me.

"Even if power shifted from the Leisegang to Lady Veronica, or from Lady Veronica back to the Leisegang, the essential nature of mutual accommodation never changed. If it is an Aub or Wilfried-sama who grew up in that Ehrenfest noble society, then they can be moved through the methods of noble society."

They would fall for the Leisegang's schemes without a second thought, and would not question being moved or manipulated as others saw fit.

"But such nobles can never understand that Rozemyne-sama willingly stays at the Temple, or that she would be happy to lock herself in a library for the rest of her life."

...Then how is it that Hartmut, who also grew up in the same noble society, can understand my wishes? That is somehow the more unsettling question.

"I always thought it was wonderful that the lord's family got along so harmoniously and in such warm spirits—an example unmatched elsewhere. I want to cherish the atmosphere where Rozemyne-sama can smile. I have no desire to see wedges driven, isolation imposed, or confrontations created."

"Although in reality, that is what has happened..."

Looking at how the meeting went and how Charlotte and Wilfried interacted, it was clear the unity they once had was gone.

"Then they simply need to come together again. Even if there are enemies within, by setting an external enemy, they can unite once more. Is that not what Rozemyne-sama did at the Noble Academy?"

To bring together the dormitory that included children of the old Veronica faction, she had set the goal not of winning internal factional struggles in Ehrenfest, but of defeating other territories. Hartmut said they simply needed to unite the lord's family in the same way.

"Interactions with other territories, Ehrenfest's ranking in Yurgenschmidt—these things have nothing to do with the Leisegang, who serve as the food pantry. That is why they can so casually say 'lower your rank.' These old fogeys have never experienced firsthand how a rank increase changes one's standing, treatment from other territories, and what kind of effect it has on the future. They simply cannot understand the young generation's desire to strive for a higher rank."

Friendships, territories where marriage alliances could be formed, the way one was treated by others, the ease of gathering information—through the rank change, the young nobles had obtained changes worthy of their efforts. Hartmut rattled off the changes that had occurred over just a few years and then said, "I absolutely refuse to hand those back at the whims of old people and return to the bottom once more."

"Forget the Leisegang consensus—there are plenty of young people who want to kick it to the curb, even if they cannot say so openly inside Ehrenfest, surrounded by old fogeys. If we bring them into the fold, would that not make a solid core for an Aub who wants to change Ehrenfest?"

The enemy to designate was not a faction. It was the old people who did not want Ehrenfest to change. Hartmut declared this with force.

I looked around at everyone present. They were all Leisegang nobles, but perhaps because they had been so intent on raising my rank as my retainers, they all seemed to be people who wanted to kick the Leisegang consensus to the curb.

"As for the old Veronica faction that Rozemyne-sama dealt with at the Noble Academy, and even looking at Melchior-sama's retainers, there are many who are interested in improving their own abilities, such as through the reacquisition of divine blessings. I do not think it would be that difficult to gather the young generation, and we could certainly assemble enough to form a single faction."

Leonore's face was deadly serious as she calculated the number of those who had benefited from Rozemyne's style of Magic Power compression, those who were interested but unable to participate, and the numbers of lower-ranking nobles.

With Leonore speaking without a shred of hesitation about driving out the parent generation, I found myself involuntarily looking at Brother Cornelius. When our eyes met, he gave a sharp grin. Then, with his jet-black eyes glittering with amusement, he tempted me.

"Hey, Rozemyne. This is just advice from your brother, but what about thinking of it this way? If the Leisegang want to take pride in their role as Ehrenfest's food pantry, then let them be the food pantry. We still need people to produce food the traditional way they always have, so treat them with the utmost respect as our food pantry. They'll certainly be satisfied."

Rather than casting them out, this was an enticement: elevate the Leisegang as a vital food pantry while quietly sidelining the old people who wanted stagnation and regression to the countryside. Brother Cornelius also seemed to be siding with Hartmut.

"If Rozemyne-sama has no intention of becoming the next Aub, she need only offer suggestions and then leave the rest to Wilfried-sama. There is no need for her to involve herself in men's work when she is already so busy with Temple duties."

Ottilie said that if I did not want to become the next Aub, gathering the young and forming a faction should be left to the Aub and Wilfried. It was advice to heed the female nobles' voices urging me to prop up Wilfried.

"Mother is quite right, Rozemyne-sama. Forming and leading factions is not work that Rozemyne-sama needs to do, since she has no faction of her own."

"Hartmut?"

"Just make your suggestions, then throw it all to Wilfried-sama. Being the next Aub, he'll be eager to do it, won't he?"

I would ignore the mutter that someone who failed to act after all this groundwork had been laid would truly be incompetent.

"Let us wrap up this tedious business quickly and return to the Temple as soon as possible. I can barely contain my anticipation for the reacquisition of divine blessings. For Rozemyne-sama, who is a Saint, are achievements related to the gods not many times more important?"

...At the very end, his true feelings came out with a vengeance!

All the tension drained from my body at Hartmut's naked honesty. There was no point in overthinking this. I would make my proposal to help steady the feet of my adoptive father and the others who had pushed through the purge, cutting away their own faction, in order to unite the fractured lord's family.

"Let us gather young people with ambition and drive, and push Ehrenfest's generational transition forward with everything we have."

That was my proposal to the Aub.

It was Hartmut's one-man show.

The Leisegang consensus exists to be shattered. That's the vibe.

Next, a proposal to the Aub.