"...No. I won't call
After mulling over my proposal for a moment, my adoptive father shook his head.
"Why not? Isn't this a major issue for Wilfried, too?"
"Yes, you're right. But what would change by calling him? No matter how he feels about it, once the King gives an order, he can't resist. The only result would be Wilfried making an unnecessary fuss at the
Whether Ehrenfest could afford to give up
"Once the engagement is dissolved, Wilfried will be nearly incapable of becoming the next Aub. The fallout is obvious, and at a time this critical, we don't have the bandwidth to deal with Wilfried. Wouldn't it be far more important to decide on Ehrenfest's strategy, prepare countermeasures for negotiations, and consider our conditions before facing the royals? Wilfried is a minor—he can't attend the Lord's Conference, and he hasn't even been summoned by the royals. I see no reason to bring him here."
He said with a deeply reluctant expression, furrowed brow very much at odds with his words, that while it would effectively be an after-the-fact approval, since parents are the ones who decide marriage partners, there was no particular issue. Watching this mismatch between his Archduke-like words and his pained face, I couldn't help but think they didn't quite line up—when my adoptive father turned that same reluctant expression directly toward me.
"The same applies to you."
"Huh?"
"You haven't been summoned for the discussion with the royals either. And I am the Aub of Ehrenfest. I'll negotiate as best I can, but Ehrenfest is far from the strongest party. The outcome may not be to your liking. I want you to be prepared for that."
Even though the Aub and his wife had been invited, I hadn't, so all negotiations would have to be left entirely to my adoptive father and mother.
"My adoptive father saved the lives of the family I hold dear and my own life. While the results often turn out differently than expected, I believe I have carried out my duties as an adoptive daughter exactly as instructed. Therefore, so long as you protect my family, the people of the
I could feel my adoptive father grinding his back teeth. Feeling affection even in his frustrated expression, I held out the anti-eavesdropping Magical Tool to my adoptive mother.
"Since the Aub and his wife have been summoned, it wouldn't be right to keep this a secret from Mother. Adoptive Father, please do the explaining."
"I have to do it?"
"Please find the way that will cause the least shock."
My adoptive father opened his mouth with a troubled look. My adoptive mother, smiling, urged him on: "Judging from your expression, it's not that you can't afford the time to deliberate—is it?" Upon hearing that I was a candidate for next Zent, my adoptive mother froze with her smile still plastered on her face, then let out a sigh. "I thought I'd gotten somewhat used to it after the winter reports, but..."
"As this concerns the royal family, I imagine they'd want to avoid unnecessary confusion, so please keep the fact that I've been raised as a candidate to yourself, along with Adoptive Father, Adoptive Mother, and Father."
"I know. We don't even know what situation the royals are hoping for."
I'd heard from
That was Eglantine's wish.
"Just as Adoptive Father says, we don't know what situation the royals are aiming for. So let's put consideration of the royals on the back burner. What Adoptive Father should be thinking about is how to wring every last bit of benefit for Ehrenfest out of the royal family."
"Rozemyne!?"
When I proposed setting the royals' concerns aside, both my adoptive father and mother stared at me wide-eyed.
"Prince Anastasius, who wanted me to become Prince Sigiswald's third wife, told me that Ehrenfest should figure out its own problems on its own. Rather than thinking about the royals, we should ensure Ehrenfest reaps the greatest benefit. I suggest we use last year's publishing negotiations with
My adoptive father and father exchanged glances and said with bitter smiles, "You've got the face of a merchant." While this summons probably wouldn't lead into negotiations right away, it was better to be prepared.
I tried laying out specific conditions for two scenarios: one where I'd be entering the Central Temple, and one where the topic of becoming the next Zent candidate came up. Things like not wanting restrictions on the attendants I could bring, insisting on being treated as a lord candidate, wanting access to more books than Ehrenfest's Library—every last one was a personal benefit.
"Hey, Rozemyne. Those don't benefit Ehrenfest at all."
I supposed that in normal circumstances, he was used to simply compiling proposals from his scholars or selecting the ones he thought best. My adoptive father made a sour face at the conditions coming out of my mouth.
"If that's the case, then Adoptive Father and Adoptive Mother should put forward your own conditions as well. Since we don't know how far this matter might extend, I can't consult with the scholars the way I normally would. You'll need to secure Ehrenfest's interests yourselves."
As if something had clicked, my adoptive father and mother began offering ideas for Ehrenfest's benefit. Listening to their scholars year-round and engaging with the Aub of other territories at conferences, once the first idea came out, the rest followed quickly. I jotted down each benefit and condition as it came up on my writing board. If I organized these by priority, they'd be a helpful reference during the talks with the royals.
"This time, I expect the royals will be the ones making demands. However, the royals are still negotiation partners. If there's benefit to be had, there's nothing wrong with cooperating, but please don't abandon the posture of saying we can't cooperate if there's absolutely no benefit for us. Also, dissolving the adoption requires my consent, so please ask them to hear my opinion as well."
The next day, I was given a day off from going to the underground archive. My fever had only just come down, and
"Lady Rozemyne spends all day in the underground archive looking at documents. She must be exhausted. Please take the time to rest properly."
I complied with my attendants and returned to my bed, but pointed at a book chest.
"Then, Clarissa, if you would. Since I want to rest, please bring me one of those books."
"You intend to read in bed?!"
"Work I've been asked to do and hobbies are entirely different things, and a book is essential for relaxing, wouldn't you say?"
At Clarissa's stunned reaction, I laughed and said it had been a while since anyone had reacted that way, then indicated the title of a book I'd only made it partway through. Clarissa opened the book chest and retrieved the volume for me.
"I'd heard from
"Lady Rozemyne has been far too busy lately, and even after recovering her health, she never had time for leisurely reading."
As I was enjoying my leisurely reading, an Ordinary bird flew in. The white bird had landed right on my book, so it intruded into my line of sight whether I wanted it to or not.
"It's from
Smiling softly at the cute get-well message bird, I sent back a reply: "My fever has come down, but my attendants are worried, so I'm just taking it easy. I'll be back in the underground archive tomorrow."
The next day, just as I'd promised Hildebrand, I went to the underground archive. My adoptive father and mother had gone to meet with the royals. I wondered how the discussion would turn out. I wouldn't know the results until they returned to the dormitory.
Hannalore, Hildebrand, and Magdalena were in the underground archive. It seemed Anastasius and Eglantine had social engagements today as well.
"Good day, Lady Rozemyne. I'm relieved to see you looking well."
Hannalore had apparently been worried that I might fall ill after collapsing at the tea party and then touring the shrines. Smiling to let her know I was fine now, Hildebrand approached as well.
"Rozemyne, I'm glad you're better."
"Thank you for the get-well Ordinary bird, Prince Hildebrand."
When I expressed my gratitude, Hildebrand's violet eyes lit up and he smiled happily. For a royal, his emotional openness was endearing. He reminded me a little of
While we talked about what he'd been doing yesterday, I suddenly felt someone's gaze on me. When I turned around, Magdalena was watching me intently. When our eyes met, she gave a soft smile and pointed toward the archive.
"Shall we all head into the archive now?"
Then, while we were silently working on transcriptions, my shoulder was lightly tapped.
"Rozemyne, do you have a moment?"
"What is it, Prince Hildebrand? Did you encounter a character you couldn't read?"
This wasn't the first time I'd been asked a question. I turned to face Hildebrand. He was staring at me with a strained expression, then opened his mouth.
"I wanted to speak with you while Hannalore and Mother are on their break. ...Rozemyne, are you going to obtain the Grutrissheit and become Zent?"
"...I'm not royalty, so I don't have the qualifications for that."
The fact that those words were coming from Hildebrand meant the information about me being the next Zent candidate had been shared among the royals. He was considerate enough not to let Hannalore hear, but was it really alright to discuss something like this here?
While I was wondering, Hildebrand gently took my hand.
"Rozemyne, I want to help you."
I blinked, not sure what he meant, when I heard the sharp click of hurried footsteps as Magdalena stepped forward.
"Hildebrand, what are you doing?"
"Mother."
From the way Hildebrand had gone pale, I could guess he'd said something he shouldn't have. Magdalena looked down at me.
"Lady Rozemyne, what did Hildebrand say?"
"He said he wanted to help me. I'm feeling much better now, thank you. Prince Hildebrand is very kind."
Without touching on the Grutrissheit, I gave a gentle smile. Magdalena directed a probing gaze at both Hildebrand and me, then with a resigned expression said, "Hildebrand, let's take a break," and cut the conversation short.
Magdalena kept a watchful eye to prevent Hildebrand from approaching me. After lunch, I was silently doing modern-script translations when Sigiswald arrived. It was the first time I'd seen him in the underground archive since the Lord's Conference began.
Sigiswald commended both me and Hannalore for being confined to the underground archive by royal directive and urged Hannalore to go rest, saying, "Please take it easy today."
"That is most kind. I appreciate it."
Hannalore cast several worried glances back at me as she left the archive. When I tried to rise as well, Sigiswald told me to sit back down.
"If we're not here, I can't speak with you."
With a gentle smile, Sigiswald took a seat directly across from me. Then he slowly began to speak.
"Anastasius tells me that when speaking with you, I need to be blunt—painfully blunt—or nothing will get through. So I'd like to be as clear as possible. Is that alright?"
Anastasius's characterization annoyed me just a little, but it wasn't wrong. Rather than risk misunderstandings during the discussion with the royals, I'd prefer they just be straightforward.
"As long as being too blunt won't land me on the chopping block..."
"I can't very well punish a vital Zent candidate."
He said this with a soft laugh, then looked straight at me.
"We've received a report from Anastasius and learned that you are the next Zent candidate. We also learned that without royal registration, it's impossible to obtain the Grutrissheit..."
After Dietlinde had activated the magic circle and the Star Binding ritual, the nobles had apparently begun to trust the words of the Central Temple just a little. The idea was to revive ancient rituals and obtain a legitimate Zent. That was why they believed even I could obtain the Grutrissheit. But that wasn't correct.
"I, who am not royalty, have no qualifications. Without qualifications, it can't be obtained, so the best course would be for a royal to obtain the Grutrissheit. I suggest you ask Lady Eglantine."
"Unfortunately, the royals don't have that kind of leeway. This is confidential, but..."
Sigiswald told me with a troubled expression. Like the Magical Tool that served as the foundation of the Library, which had been running low on Magic Power, apparently some Magical Tools in the central region were on the verge of their Magic Power being depleted.
"There are many Magical Tools in the capital that have been halted because there are too few people who can supply Magic Power in an emergency. ...The other day, one of them collapsed."
"Collapsed?"
"When Magic Power runs out completely, some Magical Tools do indeed crumble."
The Magical Tools we used daily wouldn't collapse just because they ran out of Magic Power, but apparently older Magical Tools, when their Magic Power was completely exhausted, would crumble away without even leaving a form behind.
"We've been carefully using recovery medicine and pouring Magic Power into Magical Tools that we had judged to be of minor importance, starting with Father. We simply can't go touring shrines and pouring in massive amounts of Magic Power."
Sigiswald pleaded that what was needed urgently was to incorporate me into the royal family, obtain the Grutrissheit, and gain the authority to command Magic Power and the nobles. Looking at it objectively, if left unchecked, the country did seem like it could easily collapse.
"We understand that normally, we should wait until you come of age and make you royalty through marriage. But we can't wait that long. We want to welcome you into the royal family as soon as possible."
The plan was to dissolve my adoption into Ehrenfest and make me the Zent's adopted daughter. Then I would obtain the Grutrissheit and, after coming of age, marry Sigiswald. That was said to be the best possible future for the royal family.
If I thought about saving
"My father believed that if he was asking for cooperation, he should offer something beneficial to Ehrenfest, and he made various proposals. However, the Aub of Ehrenfest did not accept them."
"...What kind of proposals, if I may ask?"
At my question, Sigiswald prefaced with "We were being quite generous, but..." before explaining.
"We offered to favor Ehrenfest—Rozemyne's home territory—by raising its ranking, to summon as many of its nobles to the capital as possible, and to bolster your position as the future Zent. But it was refused."
A proposal from the royals that any other large territory would have been delighted by—gaining more influence—was bluntly rejected on the grounds that "while we wouldn't hesitate to dissolve the adoption, a contract that benefits neither side won't hold."
...Well, yes. That made sense.
"We're quite at a loss as to just how greedy Ehrenfest could possibly be."
"Prince Sigiswald, Ehrenfest rose in ranking so rapidly that its way of handling other territories and its nobility's conduct aren't yet befitting of an upper-ranked territory. For the time being, we need to either maintain our ranking or lower it slightly while we build up our domestic governance. Raising our ranking would actually be a problem."
When I laid out Ehrenfest's circumstances, Sigiswald's eyes went wide with surprise. Since he was always the one being courted from both sides, he apparently hadn't deeply felt the difference between how lower-ranked and upper-ranked territories behaved. He'd thought it was something that could be fixed if they were careful—nothing that would take years of correction. As it happened, his other request this year had been for Ehrenfest to be treated as the winning territory rather than have its rank raised, which had apparently made him think Ehrenfest was an extremely ambitious territory.
"Then, what about pulling nobles out to strengthen your position...?"
"Our numbers were never large to begin with, but this winter a great many were purged due to serious circumstances. We've lost so many nobles that if you tell us to send as many as possible to the capital, Ehrenfest simply won't be able to function."
Sigiswald buried his head in his hands in silence, then stared at me. It seemed there had been quite a few misunderstandings and missed signals.
"So you see, Ehrenfest has its own circumstances. I can't simply become the royal family's adopted daughter overnight."
"What kind of circumstances? Is something more important than saving Jürgenschmitt, which is on the verge of collapse?"
There was an irrepressible urgency in Sigiswald's words. But I couldn't back down either.
"Your problem can be summarized in the single phrase 'Magic Power shortage,' can't it? For our side, without me, nothing works."
"Tell me."
Sigiswald leaned forward slightly.
"In Ehrenfest, I handle the printing industry, serve as High Priest, oversee the orphanage, and fulfill the duties of a lord candidate. The lord candidate duties could be handed off to my siblings immediately. But the others aren't so simple."
Even if I delegated the High Priest succession to Melchior and my attendants, it would take a full year to show them all the religious ceremonies. I needed to make sure the orphanage would continue to be managed as it was. And regarding the printing business, beyond just handing things over to my mother, there were many issues to resolve: how to handle the Gutenbergs' work assignments, what to do with my exclusive retainers if I moved to the capital—each one required careful attention.
"Furthermore, my engagement had effectively determined the next Aub, and if that falls apart, Ehrenfest will be thrown into chaos. A certain amount of preparation is absolutely essential. I believe that a royal family that wants to avoid the kind of large-territory conflict that arose from the civil coup would understand an Aub's desire to avoid the kind of infighting among Ehrenfest's nobles that would result from the turmoil of a purge."
Both Eglantine and Sigiswald had said they wanted to avoid conflict like the civil coup. That was precisely why Sigiswald was proposing that I become his third wife. He couldn't claim he didn't understand our circumstances at all.
"On top of that, my adoptive mother is pregnant. Until the baby is born, she can't supply Magic Power. Around this time next year, Adoptive Father is expected to take a second wife, and in the winter my sister will perform the blessing ceremony at the Royal Academy. At the very least, it won't be until next year that I can leave Ehrenfest due to Magic Power concerns."
"Ehrenfest's situation aside, Jürgenschmitt's is far more urgent and dire..."
I let Sigiswald's protests wash over me and gave a calm smile.
"Whatever Magic Power the royal family is lacking, we'll manage somehow. So please, sell me one year's worth of time with Magic Power. And rather than relying on the common sense of large territories, consider Ehrenfest's circumstances and accept terms that would benefit both Ehrenfest and myself."
Everyone was in a desperate rush.
Neither the royals nor Ehrenfest had any room to spare.
Rozemyne, trying to buy time with Magic Power.
Next update is on 5/9.