While listening to Yudette and
...Are we really done already?
Hearing that Schumil and the others had defeated
"Lord
Lorenz is standing outside the door while
"Yes. I'd like to hear Damuel's report."
"Given how splendidly he performed, I imagine."
Chuckling softly, Lieseleta steps out of the room to summon the two of them. Roderich and Damuel enter. Roderich seems to have been taking notes, carrying a half-filled piece of paper and a pen. He had probably been listening to Damuel's account.
"Welcome back, Lady Rozemyne."
"I've just returned. Damuel, you protected Gütenberg and the others, didn't you? And I've heard that everyone was saved thanks to your ordnanz. Thank you ever so much."
Damuel looks uncertain about how he ought to react, his gaze wandering slightly before he simply says, "It was my honor." As always, he seems to have a low opinion of himself. I smile a little at the very Damuel-like response and urge him to give his report.
"Damuel, I've heard that the West Gate was attacked. Please tell me the extent of the damage."
"As you wish. Several soldiers at the West Gate were injured, but there were no serious casualties. Having advance warning through
"Brigitte's ordnanz?"
I'm relieved that there were no serious injuries, but an unexpected name comes up. When I blink in surprise, Damuel nods and says, "Any praise or rewards regarding advance notification should be directed to Brigitte."
"Brigitte actually intended to send the ordnanz to Lady Rozemyne rather than to me. However, since Lady Rozemyne, Angelica, and
Apparently the first thing in the ordnanz he received from Brigitte was, "Why on earth can't anyone send this at a time like this!?" According to her, a timber merchant from Ilgner who was transporting lumber to
"They claimed to be traveling merchants, but their haughty attitude and manner of speech made them clearly look nothing like traveling merchants."
"Everyone suspected they were nobles in disguise, and since no one wanted to get involved, they just watched from a distance. But the group stood out remarkably. When the timber merchant returned to Ilgner, the giebe's knights happened to be on alert for incursions from other territories and were gathering information about suspicious groups, so he reported what he'd seen."
When the report first reached a single knight, Ilgner was already under attack from the knights of the old Berkelstock territory, and the giebe was in the middle of requesting reinforcements from the Aub. The knights had rushed out telling him to hold on until help arrived, which is why the report was delayed. Brigitte heard about it from a knight on the battlefield and immediately tried to send me an ordnanz, but for some reason it wouldn't go through.
...Sorry about that, Brigitte.
Damuel relayed Brigitte's information to the knight order and immediately sent an inquiry to Leisegang: "Approximately when will the ship that left Leisegang arrive at the port west of Ehrenfest?" Leisegang's reply was, "Depending on the weather, somewhere around the fourth bell." Damuel sent out ordnanz to various locations calling for heightened vigilance and evacuated Gütenberg and the others.
"That timber merchant's information proved accurate. Shortly before the fourth bell, a ship arrived at the port, and out stepped Wolhenir, escorted by people wearing silver mantles."
Even though they had requested additional knights upon learning that ships might be used, there were far more Wolhenir than anticipated. Because of this, Damuel had to request reinforcements from other knights and send out ordnanz signaling the start of combat.
"The other knights at the West Gate informed the gate soldiers about the danger of Wolhenir and tasked them with a role: to pelt them with filth so they would remove their silver mantles."
Donning their silver mantles and attempting to enter the gate, they were met with a barrage of filth from the soldiers. Having it thrown at them by commoners infuriated them, so they released their Wolhenir and drew their stobs. The next instant, the knights who had been hiding behind cover—so as not to alert or let them escape—burst out all at once, taking down those who held stobs first. Damuel recounts the battle with vivid detail.
"Come to think of it, the squad leader at the West Gate,
Hearing my father's name makes my stomach clench. "What happened?" I ask anxiously, my voice tight. Had he suffered some terrible injury? He made them nervous—so there must have been danger, but they managed to avoid it somehow, right?
"There were too few knights to deal with the Wolhenir, and one of them lunged at a soldier. Gunther smashed it with—like this—his metal gauntlet..."
Damuel demonstrates, positioning his arm and swinging it to show how Father had charged at the Wolhenir.
"...Um, a commoner soldier attacked a Wolhenir?"
"'What do you think you're doing to my subordinate, you damn mongrel!'—he roared as he slammed into it..."
Damuel frames it as Father's great feat of valor, but Wolhenir are magical beasts that can even alter their size based on the amount of magic power they contain. This was beyond reckless.
"Damuel, there really aren't any serious injuries at the West Gate, are there!? No serious injuries is fine, but if you tell me there are dead, I won't accept that!"
Turning completely pale at the worst possible scenario, Damuel makes a pained face, lets out a bitter laugh, and shakes his head.
"There are no dead. The moment Wolhenir clamped down on Gunther's arm after he charged it, Lady Rozemyne's charm activated."
"Huh?"
"The Wolhenir burst apart. Having learned the charm's power, Gunther proceeded to act with complete abandon, carrying as many charms as his family had entrusted to him."
Damuel grumbles about how he wanted to scold him by saying, "If you keep acting this recklessly, I won't be able to keep my promise to Lady Rozemyne anymore," and I feel like digging a hole right then and there to bury myself in.
...I'm, well, terribly sorry for all the trouble my father caused.
"It seems the commotion at the Temple was a diversion, so the West Gate was likely a feint. But I believe we successfully prevented the suspicious individuals from entering the city. In the end, Gunther took down two Wolhenir, and then kicked Grausam—the former Giebe
Damuel says it would be more certain if I requested it through the knight order rather than on his own. I have no objection to requesting rewards—I think the soldiers need them, and perhaps Damuel even more so.
...But Grausam again? This time Father took him down?
When I furrow my brow, Yudette speaks up: "One moment, please!"
"The one who dealt the finishing blow to Grausam was Schumil and the others at the Temple. I saw it with my own eyes. Damuel, perhaps you're mistaken?"
Yudette, who had been telling me about the battle at the Temple just moments ago, glares at Damuel with a dissatisfied expression, as if her own achievement had been stolen.
"No, it was definitely Grausam's face."
Damuel doesn't take kindly to being told he misidentified the enemy, and pushes back against Yudette. I clap my hands together once and step between them.
"Let's stop this, both of you. According to
"Wh—?"
All the retainers present except Angelica stare at me with wide eyes. Come to think of it, I've only been listening to everyone else's stories—I haven't actually told my own.
"Um, Lady Rozemyne. Preparing a body double is no simple matter. The color of one's magic power differs from person to person, and..."
"...If you're willing to commit atrocities that require many sacrifices, it's not entirely impossible."
Grausam must have had self-eating soldiers bound by subordination contracts. Coloring a self-eating person—someone who lacks the elemental magic power inherited from their parents—isn't all that difficult. And while the death rate is extremely high, creating someone who bears the mark of
"It does appear that a second and third Grausam exist. Even if someone else besides us defeated Grausam, I wouldn't be surprised anymore. If anything, I'm worried that there might be a second or third Lady
The retainers all pale in unison. If the Georgine defeated at the Temple was a fake, then another one could still appear.
"Send an ordaṇanz to my adoptive father. Let's confirm whether the Georgine truly was the real one and whether he verified it was actually her."
I pour my anxiety into an ordnanz and send it off. Almost immediately, a reply comes back from my adoptive father: "It is Georgine herself, without mistake."
"To be precise, the one teleported from the Temple to the White Tower was the fake—the one I dealt the final blow to in the Foundation Room was the real one. ...I've recovered the stolen treasure. Even if the remnants try something, they won't be able to seize the Foundation."
The knight order has also confirmed multiple reports of Grausam and Georgine being defeated. Apparently there's no chance of the Foundation being stolen during the banquet. I let out a sigh of relief at my adoptive father's reply. If the Aub faced the enemy in the Foundation Room and recovered the key to the Holy Book, I can rest a little easier.
The ordnanz, which repeated the same words three times before fading, returns to my hand as a yellow magic stone. The scene is a familiar one, yet for some reason a chill runs down my neck, a pain lances through my stomach, and my hands tremble so badly I fumble the magic stone.
"Lady Rozemyne, what's wrong?"
Lieseleta picks up the magic stone I dropped and looks at me quizzically. I gaze at my fingertips, smile, and say, "It's nothing," before standing.
"Shouldn't the sixth bell be ringing soon?"
"Not yet, Lady Rozemyne. The small auditorium must be bustling with preparations right now. You're to head over at a leisurely pace after the sixth bell rings and the ordaṇanz comes through."
"I see..."
As I picture the busy small auditorium, a small bell chimes. Gretia opens the door and ushers in the retainers who have finished changing and returned.
"Thank you for waiting, Lady Rozemyne."
"Everyone's back, and if the small auditorium is busy, there might be something we can help with, Lieseleta."
When I turn to head to the small auditorium with the returned retainers, Lieseleta shakes her head.
"Please rest a little while longer, Lady Rozemyne. ...I heard you collapsed at
"I am tired, but for some reason I just can't stay still."
Lieseleta glances over my retainers and makes a slightly troubled face.
"Lady Rozemyne is the hero of this battle. Many guests will want to speak with you. More important than helping with the small auditorium's preparations, I think it would be best for you to get some rest now and think about how to handle all the guests—to prepare yourself."
...How to handle the guests who come talking to me.
That was something I hadn't considered at all. I had assumed the focus would be on my adoptive father who struck down Georgine,
"If it's tales of Lady Rozemyne's exploits, I could talk about them endlessly. Especially the ceremony at sea in Ahrensbach—I watched it all from a vantage point where I could see everything, so it's something I'm most proud to recount."
Normally I would caution her with a "Stop right there" or "Please don't say anything unnecessary," but I felt it might be better to let Clarissa handle it rather than trying to deal with it myself.
"Lady Rozemyne?"
"...It's nothing. Tonight, I'll leave entertaining the guests to Clarissa and
Right now it feels like there's a white fog clouding my mind, like a thin veil has been draped over my memories. If there's anyone who wants to talk, I'd rather leave it to them.
"Then leave it to me. I'll tell them everything they could ever need to ask Lady Rozemyne about."
Conveniently, Hartmut accepts with a bright grin. When I nod, Brother Cornelius turns pale and leans in close to peer at my face. His jet-black eyes, laced with urgency, seem to say, "Are you out of your mind?"
"Rozemyne, are you sure about this? You'll regret it before long."
"Well, Brother Cornelius, you're welcome to tell your own tales of valor to redirect the guests' interest, you know."
When I let out a small laugh, Brother Cornelius shakes his head, saying, "That's not what I mean."
"If Hartmut and Clarissa start saying whatever they please, and the
"Um, Brother Cornelius. All I did was fight. It won't become a romance. Has Mother gotten bored of romance stories and now wants to write about knights instead?"
If so, this banquet would be perfect for gathering material—several of Dunkelfelger's knights have come as guard knights for Lady
...Right? It really does seem like her passion for romance stories intensifies with each passing year.
As I silently agree with Brother Cornelius, Roderich—unlike Brother Cornelius, who looks completely exhausted before the banquet has even begun—holds up the paper in his hand with his dark brown eyes blazing.
"I've been hearing lots of stories about this battle, and I'd like to use them for new knight tales and ditter stories. Your exploits are most welcome."
Everyone laughs at Roderich's enthusiasm for the banquet, but Hartmut alone rests his chin on his hand as if deep in thought.
"In that case, why not assign Roderich to sit beside Lady Rozemyne and ask the guests about their own tales of valor? It would certainly serve to redirect their interest away from her."
"Hartmut assigning Roderich to Lady Rozemyne's side... Could you perhaps have a fever?"
Philine asks Hartmut with a deeply worried expression, and just as Damuel gives a vigorous nod, the sixth bell rings.
The tales Damuel told didn't really end up being his own deeds of valor, did they.
They were Father's—no, they were his rampaging stories.
And so the banquet begins. Tales of valor fly left and right.
Next is Part 3.