Measurements and Impatience

For the time being, I used an Ordinance to send word back to the castle: "New information has come to light—please set aside time for me to speak with you." My adoptive father agreed to meet after tomorrow's dinner. Today, he was busy redoing the defense plans, and on top of that, Grandfather had shown up unexpectedly, so he said he had no time to spare.

...But this is urgent!

Normally, one would expect to schedule an appointment and wait about three days, so a reply of "after tomorrow's dinner" was genuinely fast. But when you wanted to discuss confidential matters whose content couldn't be communicated through an Ordinance, even waiting until the next day felt unbearably long.

"We are so pleased that Lady Rozemyne returned earlier than expected. We've managed to arrange time tomorrow to discuss the outfits you'll be ordering."

Ottlie and Lieseleta said this as they presented wooden tags. We had already decided to move to the Royal Academy by the end of spring, but thanks to my rapid growth, every outfit we'd prepared needed to be remade. We would have to mobilize every dedicated tailor among those involved just to get the spring and summer clothing ready, and if we started by scheduling design consultations with each tailor, we'd never finish in time. It seemed they wanted to settle the general outline of what outfits to order.

"It's not just clothing, Lady Rozemyne. Shoes, stockings, undergarments—everything is lacking. If we don't first ask about your preferences and settle on at least a rough design, there's no way we'll finish in a single day."

Gratia and Berthilde had been called in as well, and with Clarissa and Leonore also mobilized, a discussion about the outfits commenced. Because my features and overall appearance had changed so drastically, the cute style of the previously ordered outfits no longer suited me, and the designs had to be completely redone.

"Re-dyeing the fabric would be difficult given the timeline, wouldn't it? Should we use fabric other than Renaissance?"

"No, I want to use Renaissance-dyed fabric as much as possible. We can't really give someone dedicated treatment when none of her fabric appears in the outfits, can we? I don't want her to feel awkward when we bring her along, so let's put real thought into the designs."

Since I'd started growing, the flowers Mother used for dyeing had shifted toward slightly more mature varieties and tones. They shouldn't be completely unusable.

"Why not base the designs on Brünhilde's outfits? She's already incorporated my trends quite well. It would be faster than starting from scratch."

I said this while pinching the skirt of my current outfit. The hair and skin colors were different, so the fabric would need to be chosen carefully, but the overall feel of the design could be similar.

"Since we're at it, I'd like to add something new. Simply having Lady Rozemyne reuse her attendants' outfits isn't ideal."

Since I was the one setting trends from above, they told me not to simply recycle Brünhilde's designs but at least add something new. I thought "Hmm..." while trying to consider outfit designs, but what kept surfacing in my mind were thoughts of the Temple and Georgine.

I understood that the outfit preparations were also pressing, but the thought "Georgine could be right on our doorstep while we sit here" made everything feel incredibly idle. An indescribable sense of impatience welled up in my chest, and as I swallowed it down, I suddenly remembered something related to Ahrensbach. There had been fabric Ferdinand sent over.

"...How about using the fabric that was sent from Ahrensbach? It's lightweight, so it should work well for summer outfits. We could layer it over the skirt portion like flower petals, or layer it over the sleeves like this—the dyed pattern underneath would show through, and I think the overall impression would change."

"That's lovely. I'd love to wear an outfit like this too."

Berthilde's eyes sparkled as she picked up the petal-layered design sketch. Everyone gazed at her fondly before reminding her, "The outfits we're deciding on right now are Lady Rozemyne's."

Once we'd finished settling on rough designs that would be easy to order, it was already dinnertime. To avoid appearing ill-mannered in front of others, dinner was brought to my room and I ate at a leisurely pace. In truth, eating elegantly like a noble required careful attention to small movements, and with an unaccustomed body, it was difficult. If I cut my meat the way I used to, the plate and cutlery clattered loudly. If I tried to scoop up food casually, the spoon and my mouth were in different positions than my instincts expected. Everything required adjustment.

"Even so, you seem much more accustomed than yesterday."

"It still takes time, though..."

After dinner, I took a bath and went to bed. Tomorrow, I should be able to talk with my adoptive father, and Grandfather and Matthias should be back as well. I hoped there might be some reassuring report, and with that thought, I crawled under the covers.

"Lady Rozemyne, your complexion isn't very good. Are you all right?"

"Lieseleta... Last night, I didn't receive the Schlatttraum blessing."

I'd had a nightmare about failing to send word to my adoptive father in time and everything going terribly wrong, so I was sleep-deprived. Still wrapped in that sense of impatience, I headed to the small drawing room where the measurements would take place. The dedicated tailors for every person involved—myself, my adoptive mother, Charlotte, Mother, and Brünhilde—had all been gathered so that spring and summer outfits could be ordered simultaneously. The morning was for clothing, and the afternoon for shoes and accessories, but even so, the number of people present was considerable.

"Lady Rozemyne has arrived."

The ones with shocked expressions were the dedicated tailors who had close ties to me. Those showing no particular change in expression were others' dedicated tailors whom I was meeting for the first time. It was remarkably easy to tell them apart.

Among the astonished tailors, I spotted Turi. Having come of age, she now appeared to be allowed into the castle as well. When I considered that Turi would be accompanying me to the Royal Academy as my dedicated attendant, she would need to be able to enter and exit the Royal Palace—and therefore also the Aub's castle. Given her position as my dedicated attendant, it was perhaps only natural, but it was still quite the advancement.

...Turi, Turi, look, look! I've grown!

Seeing Turi, the joy began to overtake the impatience. I almost tried to stretch up slightly to appear taller, but caught myself—doing something unnecessary and falling would be terrible. Instead, I carefully advanced with my steps, trying to look as elegant as possible for my current appearance. Then I sat down in my chair.

"Ottlie and Berthilde, please relay yesterday's decided designs to my adoptive mother and Mother. Lieseleta and Gratia, please stay with me for the measurements."

"Understood."

The designs would be finalized in parallel with the measurements. Once Ottlie explained the plan for the day, the Gilberta Company tailors split into design and measurement teams and set to work. Turi approached me carrying a measuring tape. She appeared to be on the measurement team.

"Turi, you're doing measurements?"

"The hair ornaments I make are matched to the outfit designs."

Saying this, Turi and another tailor measured various parts of my body and wrote down the numbers.

"When we measure like this, Lady Rozemyne's growth really shows. I heard from a messenger who came from the Temple that you were blessed by the gods and grew because of it, but it seems the divine power was truly there."

"Yes, thanks to Anwachs, the God of Growth, I was able to grow like this—but all the outfits have to be remade. Still, Turi's hair ornaments can still be worn like this even after I've grown." I touched the hair ornament on my head lightly. Turi smiled warmly and said, "I made sure to design them so they could be worn for a long time."

...Hmph, I still can't reach Turi's height. Am I on the short side?

Though no one around me knew it, Turi and I were sisters. I couldn't help but compare my growth to Turi's. I'd always thought that one day I would surpass Turi, but overtaking her in height—even with Anwachs's blessing—seemed difficult.

"When they told me to stop working on outfits at the beginning of winter, I worried so much about what might have happened to Lady Rozemyne. I'm relieved to hear nothing bad occurred."

...Something terrible might happen soon, though.

Nothing had happened yet. That Georgine might attack, that she held the key to Ehrenfest's Holy Book, that the attack might come around the time of the Prayer Ceremony—all of this was conjecture on our part, with not a shred of evidence. If someone called it paranoid delusion, I couldn't really argue.

"If anything happens, I will protect you."

At the words "if anything happens," Turi's movements froze mid-gesture. As though sensing something, the professional sales smile she wore for nobles stiffened slightly. I gave Turi a reassuring smile to put her at ease.

Once the measurements were finished, it was time to finalize the designs. We had to choose from the designs everyone had been discussing.

"Sister, which design do you prefer? This design is so lovely—I'd like to have my autumn outfit made in this style. Would that be acceptable?"

"If you'd like to match with Rozemyne on part of it, how about coordinating the outfits you'll wear at the Noble Academy in winter?"

The work proceeded with idle chatter and breaks interspersed, but with the schedule of clothing in the morning and shoes and accessories in the afternoon, it was an all-day affair that left me completely exhausted.

...And I still haven't even had my conversation with my adoptive father yet.

"So, what's this new information? Was there something hidden in the key?"

After dinner, I went to my adoptive father's office. Since it concerned the Foundation of Ehrenfest, it absolutely could not be discussed where others might overhear. Everyone had already been dismissed.

"The key had been swapped. The key I'm currently holding as High Priest of the Temple belongs to Ahrensbach."

"What did you say!?"

My adoptive father peered at the key I produced. As I held it out before his troubled expression, I pointed to a small magical stone.

"This small stone here appears to represent the duchy's color. This is Ahrensbach's color, isn't it?"

Then I explained that I couldn't understand why Ahrensbach had left the key behind, and that I suspected Georgine's goal might not be to become Aub but rather to destroy Ehrenfest. As an aside, I also grumbled about my poor dreams and resulting sleep deprivation.

"If Ahrensbach's key is in our hands, any number of accusations could be leveled. That Ehrenfest is targeting Ahrensbach, that Ferdinand is trying to destabilize Ahrensbach despite acting under royal orders, that Ehrenfest should be invaded to retrieve the key..."

It could serve as justification for an attack, or as grounds to condemn Ehrenfest. If it was said that Rozemyne and Ferdinand—both raised in the Temple—had been the ones behind it, and that we'd stolen it when we attended the funeral, it could even be used to implicate my adoptive father.

As my adoptive father laid this all out in his calm manner, I shouted, "That's terrible!"

"Which is why I've been considering various countermeasures. ...However, when we don't know when the enemy will strike, maintaining that level of vigilance will wear down your body. If you're too worried to sleep, why not create a Magical Tool that could serve as a trap? Of course, in your case, preparing to become the King's adopted daughter takes priority..."

When asked whether I'd finished preparing to go to the Central Academy, I laughed and deflected. I'd just barely finished ordering outfits using everyone's dedicated tailors. I was far from ready.

"...Adoptive Father, is it possible to become the King's adopted daughter soon? If I could become the King's adopted daughter and obtain the status of Zent, I would have more options available."

Right now, I desperately wanted the King's manuscript sleeping deep in the underground archive. A Grutrissheit—created by filtering out all the miscellaneous memories and selecting only the information a Zent needed to do their work—would be ideal.

"The move to the Central Academy depends on your own preparations and resolve. ...But protecting the Foundation of Ehrenfest is an important duty of mine. It is not something that should require the Zent's assistance in the first place. I do not intend to place that heavy burden solely on you while asking for your help."

"But, Adoptive Father..."

"We should use every resource available to us," I said, and my adoptive father's deep green eyes glinted as he slowly shook his head.

"Rozemyne, I won't say your way of thinking—that we should use everything at our disposal—is wrong. But the Zent's power exists to protect all of Yurgenschmidt. A Zent lending strength to Ehrenfest is not a bad thing. However, becoming Zent specifically to protect Ehrenfest's Foundation—that, I believe, is different."

If I became Zent, I would have to protect everyone—the duchies that badmouthed Ahrensbach, Klassenberg, and my adoptive father, the small and medium duchies that looked down on the Temple. In a crisis, there might even come a time when I had to set Ehrenfest aside to serve Yurgenschmidt's greater interests.

"Rozemyne, you show deep affection for those close to you but remain indifferent to everyone else. Could such a person truly become Zent? A Zent who only looks at Ehrenfest and has no will to protect all of Yurgenschmidt would be resented by other duchies. They might even become a menace that should be eliminated."

Within Ehrenfest itself, I had always struggled with and avoided the nobles' factional disputes and social maneuvering. My sense of common sense didn't mesh well, and I'd caused confusion among those around me. My adoptive father pointed out that this time, the same thing would play out on the stage of all Yurgenschmidt.

"You became my adopted daughter in order to protect your family. At that time, there truly were no other options for avoiding execution. Now, it's different. Even if you don't become Zent, there are other ways to deal with your sister. Protecting the Foundation of Ehrenfest is something that should be led by me, as Aub—not by you. And yet, do you still desire the power of the Zent?"