While I was arguing with
"What kind of research materials are those?"
"They appear to be research documents on Magical Tools for the library. By categorizing Magical Tools according to their purpose—organizing materials, searching for materials, and so forth—the difficulty of creating them can apparently be lowered. That said, they're still sufficiently difficult, and high-quality materials are required..."
...Magical Tools for organizing and searching library materials!? Did that mean I could place simplified versions of
Schwartz and Weiss apparently also had the role of guiding royals to the Geduldhilte, but I had no need for that function in my library.
"Professor Hirschur, if they're Magical Tools for the library, please let me see them too! You have no need for library Magical Tools since you don't organize your materials, do you, Professor Hirschur?"
I tried jumping to see
"I should get them first, Lady
...Haau, she's got a point.
Remembering the state of Hirschur's research room, I withdrew my hand. If creating the Magical Tools would make her workshop tidy and organized, then they would certainly be worth it.
"By the time the Noble's Academy begins, I should have finished researching the necessary portions, so if you're that interested, you're welcome to come to my research room then."
"I have to wait until winter...? I want to read them sooner."
"In principle, Lady Rozemyne should be in Ehrenfest, not here. Please wait until you have legitimate reason to be here."
This was currently the Lord's Conference, and I had no business wandering around the Noble's Academy. I was staying here to assist the royals, and I shouldn't be freely entering the Civil Official's Wing or camping out in Hirschur's research room for my own amusement.
...Ugh, library Magical Tools.
For someone like me who had been wishing for Schwartz and Weiss in my own library, these were tools I wanted desperately. I was racking my brain trying to see if I could catch even a glimpse of the creation methods, when Hirschur looked down at me and smiled faintly.
"If I list the materials needed for creation, I can have them delivered to this dormitory by the end of the Lord's Conference. Wouldn't it be a good idea to prepare everything so you can shut yourself in your workshop and work on creation during winter?"
"Yes!"
As I pumped my fist in a "Yes!", my adoptive father smacked my head with the letter. It seemed both his letter and mine from Ferdinand had been placed in the same envelope.
"Rozemyne, this one is addressed to you."
My adoptive father held out a portion of the letters delivered from Ferdinand. I reached to take them, then pulled my hand back for a moment. What if they had been written in glowing ink? But since nothing had changed when he'd smacked my head with it, it was surely written in ordinary ink.
...R-Right? Ferdinand wouldn't be careless enough to put a letter written in glowing ink in the same envelope, would he?
A bit nervously, I extended my hand. My adoptive father handed over the letter while watching me with a puzzled expression.
"What's wrong, Rozemyne?"
"...Um, Father. Am I allowed to write a reply? I mean, I'm not supposed to worry about Ferdinand or write him letters, am I?"
As I asked while confirming the letter didn't glow, my adoptive father looked slightly troubled.
"...Writing a reply is fine. Our discussion has been postponed to tomorrow. You should read Ferdinand's letter first. I may need to think about a few things after reading this as well."
After having a civil official carry his own letter away, my adoptive father said to Hirschur, "Hirschur, thank you for your hard work. I'll have dinner prepared, so please stay and eat." However, Hirschur clutched the documents and looked displeased.
"I appreciate the invitation, but I'd like to return to my research room as soon as possible."
"I see. I won't force you."
My adoptive father released Hirschur, who waved goodbye and headed back to her quarters. I, too, hugged Ferdinand's letter and returned to my own room.
After finishing dinner and bathing, I entered my hidden room. I had already prepared paper and ink for writing my reply. However, I hadn't planned on writing to Ferdinand here, so I hadn't brought vanishable ink.
"I can only write bland, inoffensive things. ...Whatever absolutely needs to be conveyed, Father can handle."
There seemed to be secret communications between my adoptive father and Ferdinand as well, so I'd just have to leave it to them. I had plenty I wanted to write about—the silver cloth, worries about being implicated, and more—but considering censorship, I couldn't write any of it.
With a sigh, I opened the letter. First, there was a note: "This letter was written while everyone was away at the meeting, and I had
...I know it'll be censored. Obviously.
Not only Arensbach, but my adoptive father would probably check my letter too. I couldn't hide my sigh at the troublesome situation, but I read through the familiar handwriting of the greeting. The first sentence of the actual letter was a scolding.
"So, you tell me to write letters for the sake of confirming my well-being, yet your correspondence has gone silent. What is the meaning of this?"
...Ugh, I'm sorry.
Ever since my adoptive father told me to stop worrying and to refrain from exchanging letters with Ferdinand, I hadn't written to him. I couldn't complain, since he'd told me not to.
"I have plenty I want to write about too."
Pouting, I began writing down everything my adoptive father had told me. If condensed into a single sentence, it would be: "I'm apparently starting to look like I'm of marriageable age, so it's no good." But simply ending with that sentence wouldn't satisfy me.
I also mentioned that I'd been told to worry more about
"Writing out all the things that had been weighing on me... I might actually feel a bit better."
Since I hadn't been able to gripe to anyone, simply putting it all down on paper had already lightened my mood considerably.
"Well, I'll have to rewrite the reply anyway. I can't let the people of Arensbach see behind-the-scenes details like this."
I folded aside the paper full of complaints and grievances, then added to the condensed sentence: "I have grown considerably." That should do it.
Reading on, I found he had written about having the Arensbach nobles participate in religious rites during the Prayer Ceremony and about having gathered materials. It seemed
Unlike me, who lacked stamina and quickly became incapacitated, Letizia apparently needed only Magic Power recovery medicine to get by. While she would suffer Magic Power deficiency, it seemed she hadn't collapsed during the Prayer Ceremony. He wrote that comparing her to a normal, healthy child had made him realize all over again just how frail I was.
"I'm much sturdier now compared to when Ferdinand first knew me! I only collapsed from exhaustion three times on the way to this Prayer Ceremony, and afterward, two days of rest had me almost fully recovered!"
I wrote about my condition as if to boast, but comparing myself to Letizia brought my spirits down. I still seemed far from normal.
...It's okay to improve little by little.
"I circulated through Arensbach during the Prayer Ceremony and obtained Velnüte flowers, which I'm sending to you. They're a material well-suited for crafting charms. Since I don't have a workshop, I can't make them for you, but you should be able to make them yourself by now?"
I'd thought the box was simply large because it contained letters and research documents, but it turned out Ferdinand had included a share of materials for me. My charm had just broken, so the timing was perfect.
...The timing is impeccable. As expected of Ferdinand.
I read through the portion describing what kind of charms the Velnüte flowers were suited for.
"In exchange, there are items I'd like you to prepare before next year's Lord's Conference. As many high-quality magic papers as possible—at minimum, 300 sheets. The research on Drevenhiel and magic paper that you published presumably included a method for improving quality? Raise the quality as much as possible. Also, in the workshop, there are Geshtefelte leather, Sonnenschläk magic stones, Riegisch magic stones... All at maximum quality."
...Wait a minute. Aren't these demands way too much for a simple exchange of Velnüte flowers!?
I had no idea what the materials were for, but the requests seemed excessive relative to what I was receiving for the charms. The non-magic-paper items could be found in the workshop Ferdinand had given me, but even so, the quantity was staggering.
...Maximum-quality magic paper, huh.
At a minimum of 300 sheets, I didn't think Trombe paper alone would suffice. With orphans' children at the orphanage this year, I'd hesitate to mass-produce...
...When I get back, maybe I should ask
Studying new uses for Ilgner paper had led to joint research with Drevenhiel. Perhaps Ilgner had developed some new kind of paper. If Ilgner had nothing, I'd end up harvesting Trombe while hiding it from my retainers and working with the orphanage children.
It was an troublesome request, but I wrote, "I'll do my best to prepare," as my reply. Immediately after, I found a list of necessary items with the note, "Also, there will be a funeral for the Aub of Arensbach in the summer, and I'll need additional supplies and food prepared for the occasion." I was beginning to feel like Ferdinand was making extremely convenient use of me.
...Grumble! I'm busy too, you know!
"Since I feel bad about only making requests, I intend to prepare fish as a gift. If you have any preferences, I'll take them."
"Hip hip hooray! Whether it's maximum-quality magic paper or food, I'd be delighted to prepare either! I'll pray to the gods!"
I wrote down that I would be asking my adoptive father to prepare the supplies, then hummed "Fish, fish~" as I wrote my preferred fish requests.
"I don't need poisonous fish like Taunädel, but the Splüsch dumpling soup was delicious, so I'd like a lot of that. If possible, I'd appreciate fish that even a Commoner cook can prepare. ...There. That should do it."
Looking forward to finally eating fish after so long, I smiled contentedly at the reply. I was starting to get incredibly excited for summer.
However, just as the fish had put me in high spirits, what followed was an extremely dispiriting scolding and status report.
"What were you thinking, attempting to reproduce ancient religious rites at the Star Binding Ceremony?"
I was in the underground archive and hadn't been briefed on the Lord's Conference's proceedings.
Apparently, they wanted to install me as the Central Temple's High Priest, teach religious practices across all territories, and have ancient rites reproduced everywhere. As Ehrenfest's High Priest, I couldn't be dispatched to other territories, but as the Central Temple's High Priest, I could be sent to various locations for religious matters.
And since research findings had been published showing that prayer led to an increase in divine blessings, reviving ancient rites and spreading proper religious practices would raise the baseline for all of
More than anything, the Central Temple was arguing that reviving ancient rites would enable the proper selection of the next Zent. Supporting the Central Temple's position was Arensbach, which held Dietlinde as a Zent candidate.
Ferdinand had carried out the Prayer Ceremony of his own "free will" and had nobles participate in the religious rites, and
Since Ferdinand couldn't attend the Lord's Conference, he couldn't stop Georgine's remarks at teas and dinners. He'd heard reports from attending civil officials and attendants and had complained about Georgine, but apparently she simply brushed it off with, "Well, it's the truth."
"Since the princess from Lanzeneve was refused entry, things are likely to become troublesome with Lanzeneve after we return to Arensbach. It's less stressful than accepting her, but still..."
Ferdinand, who would have negotiations with Lanzeneve after the Lord's Conference ended, seemed already at the limit of his mental endurance. That said, he'd apparently left Eustachius in Arensbach, and during the Lord's Conference, it was Ferdinand's job to keep Georgine's eyes focused on Arensbach.
Incidentally, Dietlinde, who had been furious after encountering a rude woman in the library and being deeply offended, had apparently been flattered by people from territories that wanted me in the Central Temple. They told her, "If ancient rites are reproduced, you, Lady Dietlinde, may become the next Zent." She'd been in excellent spirits recently.
The other nobles of Arensbach seemed to have adopted an attitude of, "She might throw a hysterical fit, and that would be a nuisance to our work, so let's keep flattering her as the next Zent for as long as possible until she finishes dyeing the foundation stones." They had absolutely no intention of stopping Dietlinde.
...Arensbach is seriously dangerous.
Against this offensive from other territories who had latched onto Georgine's rhetoric, Ehrenfest was fighting back with statements like, "Don't be absurd, suggesting we make Lady Rozemyne the Central Temple's High Priest," "If you're thinking of placing another territory's Archscholar candidate in the Central Temple, then place your own Archscholar candidates in the temple as well," and "Moving Archscholar candidates to the Central Territory is forbidden." But with many territories suffering from Magic Power deficiency and declining harvest yields, Ehrenfest's position looked quite unfavorable.
That nobles performing religious rites increased harvest yields was visible from the examples of Ehrenfest and Frabelterk. Ferdinand apparently believed that while things might be manageable this year, next year would be difficult.
"If we could place you in the Central Temple, the royal family would be able to control the Central Temple, learn the proper methods of religious practice, and spread them across all territories. Furthermore, if the Zent could be obtained through proper means, Traugvalt the King would be freed from that tremendous burden."
Since only Ehrenfest and I would be inconvenienced while everyone else would benefit, apparently everyone was searching for a way to place me in the Central Temple.
"You are an adopted daughter. If the adoptive bond with
What could be accomplished through royal decree was the dissolution of the engagement. Since the engagement permit could be revoked, apparently it was possible to return to the state where, regardless of what my adoptive father insisted, the matter had simply been decided internally.
"Do not, in principle, refuse offers from the royal family. Ehrenfest's reputation among other territories would worsen. Being treated as the winning side has already earned envy from the losing-side territories. The winning-side territories will likely demand even greater cooperation. If summoned—as I was, to have my personal opinion asked—you will probably be summoned as well to give your personal opinion. Don't refuse outright. Stall for time. At least a year, and as much longer as you can manage."
The letter suggested that I appeal by saying I was being demoted from Archscholar to Archscholar despite having cooperated with the royal family and achieved results, so why would I want to cooperate? Or that I deeply loved Wilfried, so I absolutely didn't want the engagement dissolved, just like the avid readers of
...I appreciated the advice and the suggested countermeasures, but the first half was one thing—did he really think I could do the second? Could I pretend to love Wilfried? Hmm...
I went to sleep pondering these things, but the day had been so eventful that I woke up the next morning with a fever and had to stay in bed.
"You spent the entire morning outside yesterday to clean the shrine, after all. Today is Earthday, so there's no school—please rest without worrying about your surroundings. The Aub has said that your discussion can wait until you've recovered."
Otilie said this while preparing medicine. I could see Clarissa hovering about, worried about my being bedridden, while
"Hey, Clarissa. Do you think I'll end up going to the Central Temple?"
"Ehrenfest cannot afford to lose Lady Rozemyne. I'll protect you too, just like Hartmut—so please rest assured."
Clarissa thumped her chest as she spoke, which was reassuring, but Ferdinand had said Ehrenfest's position wasn't favorable. If that was the case, then considerable pressure was probably already on my adoptive father. Being the type to put on a brave face and hide things, he likely had no intention of telling me about the pressure he was under. What
"Clarissa, you can think from the perspective of other territories, can't you? What do you think Ehrenfest should do? If the person the Central Temple is requesting isn't me, what would you do, Clarissa?"
Clarissa's expression tightened. Then she looked at me with a serious face.
"...I believe this is a golden opportunity to earn the favor of the royal family and other territories. Being publicly acknowledged as the winning side and demonstrating contributions worthy of that treatment for other territories to see... Negotiations would be necessary—securing a promise that we'd be treated as Archscholar candidates, setting deadlines, reflecting Ehrenfest's wishes in the order of teaching religious rites—but there is no opportunity to earn such favor with a single Archscholar candidate."
After saying that, Clarissa smiled wryly and added, "On the other hand, monopolizing Lady Rozemyne would earn us the resentment and jealousy of all territories."
"I know Ehrenfest's internal circumstances, so I understand why Lady Rozemyne can't be released right now. But when I was still in
Her promising-civil-official air was ruined by the ending, but I understood how surrounding territories felt. While I'd been in the underground archive working on my modern-language translation, becoming a Zent candidate, then learning I wasn't qualified, my adoptive father had apparently been going through quite an ordeal as well.
By evening, my fever had come down, and I went to the dormitory's meeting room to speak with my adoptive father. Today, my adoptive mother was also present, and she greeted me with a gentle smile, saying, "Your fever seems to have subsided, Rozemyne."
"I learned about the current state of the Lord's Conference from Ferdinand's letter."
I showed my adoptive father both Ferdinand's letter and my draft reply. My adoptive father read through both, handed the reply to a civil official, and returned the letter to me.
"...However, I have no intention of dissolving the engagement between you and Wilfried, nor do I intend to send you to the Central Temple."
Sylvester smiled gently as he said this, while my adoptive mother looked at the two of us with a worried expression.
"What is the royal family saying?"
"They made an offer, saying they wanted us to accept. They argued that by placing you in the Central Temple, the Central Temple could be controlled, other territories' demands could be met, and with deep knowledge of religious rites, the baseline of all Yurgenschmidt could be raised. But I refused."
My adoptive father apparently rebutted the royals, saying, "What are you talking about, when temple contempt is still so strong?" The approval for the Star Binding Ceremony had been a one-time promise, given to bestow blessings upon Prince
The Zent had apparently backed down, saying, "Your points are well taken." With virtually every territory making the request, it seemed the impression was that the Zent couldn't simply ignore it and had only asked out of obligation. However, Prince Sigiswald reportedly said, "This is the only chance to earn the favor of all territories," and "Performing religious rites, receiving blessings, and making even slight improvements to Magic Power usage are the highest priority for all of Yurgenschmidt."
...Huh? Neither the Zent nor Prince Sigiswald knew that I had become a Zent candidate?
The only talk was about making me the Central Temple's High Priest. Unlike Anastasius, they completely lacked the perspective of having secured a Zent candidate. The shrine pilgrimage had only happened yesterday, so the Zent and the others might not have heard about it yet, but Anastasius and
...Or maybe even that information hadn't reached them yet?
Anastasius shouldn't have been confident about me being a Zent candidate until he joined the shrine pilgrimage. He'd said he'd been acting on his own initiative, and if Eglantine hadn't told anyone about the shrines' purpose in order to avoid confusing those around her, then
...Though surely they'd have noticed from the changes in the underground archive, but even that was yesterday's news. Maybe the information had only just reached the Zent?
As I worried about how quickly information was shared among the royal family, my adoptive father gave a slight shrug.
"This morning, we received another invitation and are being summoned by the royals again in two days. But the Zent seems inclined to accept our position and back off, so I plan to wait for the Lord's Conference to end as is. No matter what anyone says, Archscholar candidates cannot be moved to the Central Territory except through marriage."
My adoptive father was saying he intended to run out the clock, but if the royal family obtained information about the Zent candidate and the invitation was in response to that, the situation would change completely.
"...Father, it may become difficult to refuse going forward."
"What?"
My adoptive father and adoptive mother both blinked. I asked Otilie to prepare a Magical Tool for eavesdropping prevention, then handed it to my adoptive father and to my father, who was guarding him. My adoptive mother, unable to be given the tool, looked at me with a deeply anxious expression.
"The shock might be too great for your condition, Mother, so Father can decide whether to convey the contents to you."
"Is it that outrageous?"
"If possible, I'd also like the room cleared of others."
At my words, my adoptive father gave a light wave. The retainers filed out one by one, leaving only me, my adoptive father, my father, and my adoptive mother. Once the retainers were gone, I gripped the eavesdropping prevention Magical Tool tightly and opened my mouth.
"I am a candidate for the next Zent."
"What!?!"
My adoptive father and father both shouted in disbelief, their eyes wide. "This makes no sense!" I didn't understand it either. I'd been praying, ended up becoming a candidate, been dragged around to every shrine by Anastasius, and was ultimately told, "You're not qualified because you don't have a royal registry."
"I'll skip how one becomes a candidate, since I'm not sure I should speak of it here, but I believe I'm currently the closest to becoming the next Zent. However, because I lack a royal registry, I cannot become the Zent. If the royal family is going to exert pressure, it will be from now on."
"We weren't told anything about this!"
"It was only yesterday."
I'd planned to tell them when I returned, but I'd prioritized Ferdinand's letter and then collapsed from fever. I'd recovered, and now here I was.
"In any case, I can't marry until I come of age, but I think it's likely I'll be ordered to dissolve the engagement. If a member of the royal family obtains the Geduldhilte within three years, that would be fine, but if they can't, they'll want to secure me as a backup."
Anastasius had retracted the idea of me becoming Sigiswald's third wife, but I believed that was because the royal family was searching for other options. The request to make me the Central Temple's High Priest was something the Zent could wave away if Ehrenfest objected, but the question of how to obtain the Geduldhilte and secure the next Zent as quickly and with as little confusion as possible—those were matters that couldn't simply be brushed aside.
"Ferdinand's letter describes the methods the royal family might use to transfer me to the Central Territory for the purpose of making me the Central Temple's High Priest. It also contains advice. We need to consider what Ehrenfest will do when a royal decree is issued."
My adoptive father grimaced in frustration. Unlike the Central Temple issue, this problem was too enormous. The question of the next Zent or obtaining the Geduldhilte was not something the Aub could unilaterally reject.
"Perhaps we should also call Brother Wilfried. ...It will affect his entire life."
Ferdinand's letter had arrived.
Rozemyne had been too busy rejoicing over fish to realize the gravity of the situation.
Ehrenfest had been desperately fighting off demands from the Central Temple and other territories.
Next, a summons from the royal family and a conversation awaited.