Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 3.4 - Chapter 12

Heading to Illgner 

With the sales day having ended prosperously, I made my way back to the temple while thinking of more ways to stealthily assist Elvira with her scheme. Upon my return, I immediately needed to get to work preparing the squad for their trip to Illgner. I summoned Lutz and Gil to the hidden room in my orphanage director’s chambers, asking them to select which gray priests would accompany them and prepare the daily necessities they would need. 

“Gil, be careful when choosing clothes, okay? You’ll need outfits for both summer and autumn. I think it will be fairly cold when I come to get you during the Harvest Festival.” 

“Understood.” 

“Lutz, please have the Gilberta Company prepare several sets of clothes for the gray priests to wear while going out in Illgner. They don’t have to be very expensive, but they need something for when they’re not working in the workshop. Unlike in the temple, I don’t think they’ll be able to wear loose clothing there.” 

“Alright. I’ll have that sorted once we’ve picked who’s coming with us.” 

As I watched them both write things down on their diptychs, I racked my brain for what else they might need. 

“Definitely don’t forget tableware. I can’t imagine they’ll have enough for this many people, and since the gray priests have never eaten without cutlery, it would no doubt be a major issue to not have any.” 

Lutz was used to grabbing food with his hands and sharing cutlery in lower city eateries, but gray priests were raised to serve nobles and actually received relatively fancy upbringings as a result. They would probably freeze up from cultural shock in Illgner, just as Hasse’s orphans had struggled to adjust to life in the temple. 

“I’ll ask Master Benno or Damian to get the silverware and all that. I know we’ll be staying in Illgner until the Harvest Festival, but when is that exactly?” 

“...Probably after I gather my autumn ingredient. We’ll be doing that on the Night of Schutzaria, when the moon turns purple, so some time after then.” 

Lutz had consoled me when I was all weepy about my failure last year. He must have remembered that, as he started scratching the back of his head awkwardly. 

“Er... Well, don’t mess up this time.” 

“Ngh... It’ll be fine this year. Ferdinand is coming with us.” 

Ferdinand had mentioned that he planned to borrow Karstedt, commander of the Knight’s Order, from Sylvester for this year’s Night of Schutzaria. With both him and Eckhart thoroughly planning around the rush of feybeasts we had encountered last year, it was hard to imagine that anything would go too wrong. 

But before that, we need to gather my summer ingredient. 

“Anyway, this is a report from the Plantin Company,” Lutz said. “Damian is going to be visiting your workshop for a bit; he can’t really negotiate with Giebe Illgner if he doesn’t know how to make paper.” 

“That’s fine, so long as Benno gave his permission for it. Just remember that, like the craftsmen, he can only go to the workshop. Be sure to very firmly tell Damian that he shouldn’t wander into the noble’s section of the temple.” 

“Who do you think he is, another you? Normal people don’t wander into noble territory,” Lutz shot back, his eyes narrowed into a glare. 

Damian was the guildmaster’s grandson; doing business with nobles was like breathing to him, so he knew exactly what he should and shouldn’t do around them, even if the work he was doing here was largely for the Plantin Company’s benefit. 

“Oh, right. The guildmaster said that he wanted to meet with you before everyone leaves for Illgner. Think you can make time for that?” 

“I don’t mind him coming to see everyone off when we leave, but scheduling any time before then won’t be easy. There’s a lot I need to do before going to Illgner. Plus... I feel like he’ll probably try to load some work onto me, even though I’m already busy. I kinda don’t want to see him.” 

While I was now of a higher status than the guildmaster, his pushiness really left an impression on me. But as I thought about how wary I still was about him, Lutz shook his head in exasperation. 

“Nah, nah, nah. It’s you nobles who push way too much work onto people, not him.” 

Ngh... Sorry for giving you all so much to do... And that things keep getting accelerated. 

“Anyway, that’s fine,” Lutz continued. “I’ll tell the guildmaster that he can come to see us off.” 

Lutz and Gil selected the four gray priests to join them in Illgner, then brought the paper-making tools they would need to the workshop. Damian was going to be visiting them as well now, but since I rarely went there myself, we never saw one another. 

Back in the High Bishop’s chambers, Brigitte sent an ordonnanz to Illgner, seeming a little elated to be conversing with her family, and we settled on a date for our departure.

And so came the morning we were due to leave. All the stuff we needed to bring was piled onto the ivory stone pavement in the temple’s back garden from the lower city side. It was close to the workshop, and sizable enough that I would be able to take out my highbeast. 

“Good morning, Lady Rozemyne.” 

“Good morning. Is everyone ready?” I asked, looking around at the gray priests and Plantin Company workers helping to move everything in preparation. Among the crowd, I saw that Freida and the guildmaster had already arrived. 

“Take a step back, if you would. I am taking out my highbeast,” I continued, before forming Lessy into a coach-sized Pandabus to contain all the luggage I could see. Benno immediately ordered the workers to begin loading things into Lessy, while Freida looked on in a daze. 

“Lady Rozemyne... What in the world is that?” 

“My highbeast. We’ll be using it to travel to Illgner. Cute, isn’t it?” 

Freida looked between Lessy and me several times, then tilted her head. “Highbeast...? This looks very different from any highbeast I know.” 

I was used to getting weird looks by now. What surprised me more was that Freida seemed familiar with highbeasts at all; you didn’t really see them outside the Noble’s Quarter that often. 

While everyone else was getting ready, Freida and I spoke about how the Italian restaurant was holding up, and she gave me her outsider perspective on the Plantin Company. She had heard about the book sale in the castle from Damian as well. 

“I heard that you’re the one who referred Damian to the Plantin Company, Freida.” 

“Indeed, I was. The printing industry began with you, Lady Rozemyne, and is being spread with the archduke’s full support. Is it not an obvious decision to participate in something with such guaranteed success? Please, work my older brother to the bone. He will surely prove useful to you.” 

I faltered a little at Freida being as direct and true to her merchant senses as always, at which point Damian slid in between us. “Freida, you may have Lady Rozemyne’s permission to do so, but I suggest you not speak so casually with her. She is not the same as she was prior to her baptism.” 

“Ah, do forgive me. I will take more care going forward.” 

Damian must have noticed that I was hesitating somewhat. He pulled us apart while warning Freida that she wasn’t acting appropriately toward the archduke’s adopted daughter. 

“Get inside once the loading is done,” Benno called out. “Everyone who’s ridden in this thing before, teach those who haven’t how to use the seatbelts.” 

The group of people going to Illgner was as follows: Benno, Lutz, and Damian from the Plantin Company; Fran, Gil, Monika, and Hugo from my attendants and personnel; Damuel and Brigitte from my guard knights; and finally, four gray priests from the orphanage. 

Brigitte climbed into the front passenger seat, looking happy to be returning home for the first time in a while, whereas Damuel—who would be leading the group on his highbeast—looked rather tense. He was probably planning to leave as good of an impression on her family as possible, which was heartwarming to be sure, but I thought it best that he relax rather than get so tense that he might mess up when the time came. 

“Off we go, then,” I said with a wave before flying Lessy up into the air, catching a glimpse of Freida and the guildmaster dropping their jaws as they witnessed the sight. 

My Pandabus flew through the sky, taking only a short break for lunch along the way. Illgner was covered with forests and mountains, just as I had heard from Brigitte and learned during my geography lessons. Rivers flowed from the mountains and into lakes, dotted with various houses along the way. 

I eventually saw a broad, ivory mansion in the middle of what was the largest settlement so far. That was Illgner’s summer mansion. Several villagers were looking up at the sky and waving to us, as though they had been awaiting our arrival. 

“Are they perhaps calling for you, Brigitte?” 

“...They all are like family to me,” she replied, looking down at Illgner with a nostalgic smile. 

Unlike in Ehrenfest, walls didn’t separate the noble’s mansion from where the commoners lived, and the fact that they were waving and calling out to Brigitte really showed how close commoners and nobles were here. 

“I understand this may be unsettling to you, Lady Rozemyne. We, erm... Illgner is quite different from Ehrenfest, so... You may think the commoners are acting out of place, but it is not done out of malice,” she explained, worried about the citizens earning my disfavor. Her concerns were likely based on what she knew about the situation in Hasse, but I shook my head. 

“You don’t need to worry. While I’m sure Ferdinand would be quite displeased with this, I was raised in the temple, often visiting the orphanage and sneaking out into the lower city to meet merchants and craftsmen. Commoners being close to nobles does not offend me whatsoever, especially when they all so clearly admire you, Brigitte. And,” I continued in a quiet voice, “did I not eat normally with commoners during Hasse’s Harvest Festival?” 

Brigitte blinked several times, then broke into a cheerful grin. It was a genuine smile—something that was rare to see from her since she normally kept to herself, maintaining a strict expression and speaking very few words. Honestly, she looked so cute right now that I wanted to brag to Damuel about it. 

Once we had all climbed out of Lessy, a dozen or so commoners gathered around us. According to Brigitte, they were the commoners who worked not only in the forest and fields, but as servants in the summer mansion as well. 

“Welcome home, Lady Brigitte.” 

“Thank you for coming, Lady Rozemyne.” 

The commoners all had warm looks in their eyes, overflowing with love and respect for Brigitte. She greeted them with an equally warm smile on her face that I almost never saw while she was on duty. 

“I’m finally back. Everyone, this is my mistress Lady Rozemyne, the archduke’s adopted daughter. Take care to pay her the proper respect,” she said. 

“Ah, so you’re serving a member of the archducal family? We need to be careful then,” an older man said, at which point the other villagers began chiming in one after another. 

“Well, well. Seems like our tomboy has grown into one fine lady, huh?” 

“Maybe she’s found a lover!” 

“She always spent more time running around the mountains with a knife than learning etiquette, but now she’s such a proper woman...” 

They were all talking about Brigitte’s past. Naturally, she hurriedly intervened to stop them. 

“That’s enough! Save the talking for later and take us where we need to go. My brother is waiting to see Lady Rozemyne.” 

“Right, right. Shall we go?” 

The cackling villagers guided us to the building separate from the main mansion and opened the door for us. I could feel those in our party who were only familiar with commoner-noble relations back in Ehrenfest stiffen up and pale, unsure how to react to all this. 

“Erm, Lady Rozemyne...” Fran began, making the same face he always did when he was getting ready to protest about something. 

I waved my hand dismissively. “Fran, the culture here is different from in Ehrenfest; so long as there is no danger, there is no need for us to say anything. I ask that you accept the way things are and understand that not everywhere is the same.” 

“But—” 

“If you feel particularly overwhelmed, express your discontent first to Giebe Illgner or Brigitte, not the commoners themselves. Damaging our relationship with them now will cause problems for the Plantin Company and the gray priests who are to be working around them.” 

Benno, observing that I took no issue with the behavior of the commoners and thus wouldn’t be raising a fuss, started ordering his merchants and the gray priests to carry our stuff out of my Pandabus. We would have nowhere to sleep if they didn’t prepare the rooms in time. 

Brigitte would be staying at the summer mansion, of course, and since Damuel and I were also nobles, we had rooms prepared there as well. Monika would be staying with me, and Fran with Damuel. Gil (who would be working with the Plantin Company on this trip) and Hugo couldn’t enter my chambers, since they were both men, and as such they would be sleeping in the detached building. 

Once all the luggage had been taken out, I put away Lessy and followed Brigitte into the Illgner mansion. Unlike in Ehrenfest, the furnishings inside were not made by artist craftsmen of the highest caliber competing to make the fanciest product possible, but were rather simple and rustic goods with a comforting, handmade feel to them. 

“Lady Rozemyne, welcome to Illgner.” 

“I thank you ever so much for your invitation, Giebe Illgner.” 

Giebe Illgner was waiting for us with his family in a parlor for visitors. His wife, their kids, and Brigitte’s mother were all there. 

“May I pray for a blessing in appreciation of this serendipitous meeting, ordained by the vibrant summer rays of Leidenschaft the God of Fire?” 

“You may.” 

I was subsequently introduced to the family. Giebe Illgner’s wife and Brigitte’s mother both offered me their greetings, after which Giebe Illgner gestured to the prepared tea. 

“Would you care for some tea while the attendants are preparing your room? We have much to discuss.” 

Brigitte was serving as my guard knight and thus couldn’t greet her family, which Giebe Illgner was treating as a matter of course. But the rest of the family were clearly itching to speak to her. 

I looked between Brigitte and the others, before eventually speaking up. “Brigitte, I entrust the duty of guarding me to Damuel. You may take some time off until it is time for us to leave.” 

She looked at me in disbelief, then shook her head. “I must continue serving as your guard.” 

“I appreciate having the company of someone as familiar with Illgner as you are, but I have many questions that I would like to ask you. As you are, you cannot participate in this discussion. Am I wrong?” 

A guard knight who prioritized anything over protecting their charge would usually be seen as having abandoned their duty. As one would expect, Brigitte, in all her diligence, hardly ever spoke while on the job. 

“Furthermore, you are finally home again after such a long time. I want to give your family time to speak with you as well. Brigitte, this is an order. Get changed and have tea with us.” 

“...As you wish,” she conceded, kneeling down with a defeated smile and crossing her arms in front of her chest. She then exited the room to get changed, as ordered. 

Seeing this, Giebe Illgner frowned a little in confusion. “You certainly are a strange one, Lady Rozemyne. I must say that you are entirely unlike any other archnoble I know.” 

“As you are aware, Giebe Illgner, unlike most normal archnobles, I was raised in the temple. While there, I conversed with orphans, and met with the likes of merchants and craftsmen in the lower city. The culture here suits me much more than that of the capital,” I replied. The air and scenery here were nice, and the townsfolk came off as genuinely kindhearted people. I felt as calm as I did while in the lower city, which couldn’t be said for the castle with its many scheming inhabitants. 

...Though the book room honestly does make up for most of that. 

“My apologies for the wait,” Brigitte said, having quickly finished getting changed. We all drank tea together and discussed our plans for the days to come. Eventually, Monika came in to tell me that my room had been prepared. 

“Lady Rozemyne, shall we get you changed?” 

“Indeed. If you’ll excuse me, everyone.” 

Brigitte could probably talk with her family more directly once I was gone. I exited the parlor and closed the door behind me, immediately hearing an enthusiastic, “Welcome home, Brigitte!” as I started walking away. The familial love in their voices really made me want to go home myself—to my home in the lower city. 

I changed out of my outfit for visiting nobles and into one for walking around a farming town, at which point Fran and Gil came to see me. According to them, Damuel’s room was also ready, and the others had largely finished preparing the detached building. 

“Everyone has a place to sleep tonight. For now, we’re identifying where by the river the workshop shall be constructed and setting up our tools.” 

“The Plantin Company wishes to speak with Giebe Illgner about the Plant Paper Guild as soon as possible. They would like for you to be present as a mediator to ensure both sides can reach a fair deal.” 

We knew from our earlier discussion in the castle that, since people primarily just bartered within Illgner, their revenue would be better secured if we established a guild here that would help them to sell the paper they made at the proper market price. It would probably be wise to arrange the talk soon, given that meetings with nobles always took forever to schedule, so I wrote a swift request for one, which I had Fran deliver. Meanwhile, I told Gil the plans for tomorrow that we had ironed out over tea moments ago. 

“Tomorrow, a knowledgeable member of the community will guide us around the area. I would like to gather any kind of wood that seems good for making paper, so prepare baskets and knives alongside clothes for traveling through a forest.” 

“As you wish.” 

“Furthermore, it seems that tonight’s dinner will be local meat and vegetables grilled on iron griddles. They really are going all out to welcome us. Please tell Hugo to assist them in preparing the food.” 

As I listed out everything that was important for them to know, Fran returned with clear worry on his face. 

“Is something the matter, Fran?” 

“...Giebe Illgner has said that he would like to speak with you now.” 

When dealing with Ehrenfest nobles, one needed to send letters and arrange meetings several days ahead of time out of consideration for them having any existing plans. But it seemed that Giebe Illgner had said there was no need to wait so long when we both already knew that our schedules were free. That was fine with me, since it saved us both time and effort, but Fran was so used to noble society in the city that he simply wasn’t comfortable with how this backcountry province did things. 

“Fran, there is no need to think so deeply about this. Benno can’t spend too long away from his store, so the faster he finishes his business here, the better.” 

“That may be true, but...” 

I had Gil go to fetch Benno, then went to Giebe Illgner’s office with Fran despite his persistent frown. Benno and Damian were both surprised at how quickly the meeting had been arranged, but they were so used to nobles rushing things at their own convenience that they weren’t at all upset. 

“Giebe Illgner, we thank you for your time.” 

Benno spoke with Giebe Illgner as a representative of the Plant Paper Guild, while I simply sat back and watched as a mediator. Damian would be staying in Illgner as a representative of the Plantin Company, and thus wanted to see the exact wording of the signed contract himself. 

We had already finished ironing out most of the details back in the castle, so the contract was written up and signed in no time.