Traugott’s Thoughts
“Why do you desire my mana compression method so much?” I asked, but Traugott maintained a silent frown. “I am often told to make decisions on matters only after consulting all parties involved. Thus, rather than relying entirely on the opinions of others, I am interested to hear your own thoughts on the situation. If you have nothing to say, that is fine with me also, but I will simply be forced to rely on the words of others.”
Traugott met my gaze. “I want to learn the mana compression method because I want to get stronger,” he shot back with a visible snarl, like he was annoyed at me for asking something so obvious. Everyone’s eyes sharpened, despite the fact they couldn’t even hear what he was saying.
I sighed. “Traugott, if you cannot even keep a straight face, Rihyarda will tear you to shreds no matter what I say.”
Traugott sucked in a gasp, exhaled, and then put on a sober expression. I did the same; after all, he wasn’t the only one with a room’s worth of eyes on them. My retainers were watching to see how I treated Traugott, considering that I was the one he had sworn to serve.
I need to ask his opinion and then base my decision on that, but...
To be honest, I really did not care whether or not Traugott stayed as my retainer; I barely spent any time with my male guard knights, and Cornelius was far more trustworthy. It was at Rihyarda’s recommendation that I had taken him on in the first place, and our lack of any substantial interaction gave me no real incentive to want to protect him. I was trying to view this as objectively as possible, but as both Rihyarda’s and Bonifatius’s grandson, I didn’t want him to be punished too harshly.
I might not care about him, but that’s not reason enough to ignore him.
I turned my gaze to Traugott, who looked back at me with searching eyes, maintaining an intense stare. There was a brief pause before I spoke again. “Allow me to expand on my previous question: why do you wish to become stronger?”
“Because Cornelius and Angelica got stronger after learning your compression method,” Traugott replied. In retrospect, he certainly had always seemed really focused on them both, but why was that?
“I will ask again: why do you wish to become stronger? Angelica and Cornelius sought strength because they regretted having allowed me to fall into danger and wanted to become guard knights fit for my service. What drives you? And what will you do with that strength? Do you wish to serve Wilfried, as Hartmut said?”
Wilfried’s retainers shared a tight bond, as they had continued to serve him even after he was no longer guaranteed to become the next archduke. Considering that all new retainers were carefully vetted as a precautionary measure, it was hard to imagine Traugott would manage to secure a place in his service after leaving mine.
Traugott visibly gritted his teeth. “I wish to serve no one. I want to become the knight commander, like grandfather.”
“By ‘grandfather’ you mean Lord Bonifatius, correct?”
I wasn’t sure why Traugott would mention Bonifatius here and not Karstedt; considering his age, it was hard to imagine he had seen Bonifatius work as the knight commander all that often. Perhaps he had seen him do something incredible as a kid, and now that mental image was getting more and more embellished as the years went on. Either way, I now knew that Traugott’s end goal was Bonifatius. His blood was thick with the muscle-headed, strength-seeking nature of his forebears.
“I want to lead the Knight’s Order like grandfather and hunt dangerous feybeasts while protecting the duchy. To make that happen, I need to be stronger than anyone in Ehrenfest.”
“You certainly would need to be strong to become a knight commander,” I agreed casually before blinking in realization. The Knight’s Order existed to protect both Ehrenfest and the archducal family; thus, it was traditional for its commanders to also serve as guard knights to the archduke. “Traugott, I believe it won’t be possible for you to be the knight commander without serving anyone, since the commander serves as the archduke’s guard knight.”
“Grandfather served no one when he was the knight commander. I want to be the same way.”
I’m pretty sure he only managed that because he’s a member of the archducal family himself...
I was more than familiar with Bonifatius’s exaggerated tales of the past, having listened to them during more dinners than I could count since waking up from the jureve. If even half of these stories were true, he had led a dramatic and chaotic life—albeit not in the same way as Ferdinand. The Knight’s Order was the only place that could really use his strength, and so he had served as the knight commander while supporting the previous generation’s archduke.
It was due to the work Bonifatius did supporting the archduke that he hadn’t served as his guard knight. From what I recalled, this was also true for Ferdinand when he had served in the Knight’s Order. Children of an archduke could not become the retainer of an archducal family member, but as Traugott was merely an archnoble, this did not apply to him.
“Ah, Traugott. You see—”
“You may think it impossible for me, Lady Rozemyne, but there was a time when I was actually stronger than Cornelius. Grandfather told me I’ve got natural talent. If I’d learned your compression method too, I’d still be stronger now!” he declared, his fists balled tightly.
I really doubted that. He and Cornelius were of similar ages, but there was still a two-year gap between them, which was massive in the development of children and teens. Not to mention, Cornelius had been strong enough to serve as my apprentice guard knight even before learning my compression method.
Let me take a guess here: Grandfather only told Traugott he had more talent in an attempt to cheer him up and stir a rivalry, but Traugott took it completely seriously.
It was really, really hard to believe Traugott had actually been stronger at the time. My gut was telling me Cornelius had intentionally held back whenever they were training together.
Bleeeh... I just want to end this conversation so I can go read the books I borrowed.
My interest in Traugott was waning fast, but he seemed excited to finally have an opportunity to discuss these things.
“I was stronger than him, but the moment anyone learned your mana compression method, they started making way too much progress. In the end, Grandfather became so focused on training the archducal family’s guard knights that he stopped having the time to train me personally,” he said, his voice dripping with vexation.
I did feel a little bad that Traugott had stopped getting to spend time with his beloved grandfather, but that was life. Intruders had managed to force their way into the castle with the support of nobles from our own duchy, kidnapping Charlotte and poisoning me into a coma—of course retraining the knights had become a top priority. It was hard to imagine that Bonifatius, as an experienced knight commander and the oldest member of the archducal family, would place his young grandson—who wasn’t even a guard knight—over the danger bearing down on Ehrenfest.
“I was always the closest to grandfather out of all his grandchildren, but at some point Angelica became his most beloved disciple, and everyone started saying Cornelius was the strongest and most mana-rich of us all. That should have been me in both places,” Traugott muttered. I could tell that Bonifatius had focused so intently on training the archducal family’s guard knights that he hadn’t even looked at anyone else.
“Grandfather already retired from the Knight’s Order. It is the duty of the higher-ups to train other knights, not his.”
“That’s why I wanted to become a guard knight!” Traugott shouted. His only desire was to earn Bonifatius’s approval; that was why he also wasn’t interested in serving Wilfried, whose future as the next archduke was no longer certain.
“Why did you choose to become my guard knight, then? If you had served Charlotte, you could have trained beneath Grandfather while I was asleep.”
“Charlotte is a girl, and so are most of her guard knights. There were only a few positions for male guard knights, and our connection was nowhere near strong enough for me to be chosen.”
Despite them being in the same faction, Traugott barely knew Charlotte’s attendants and wet nurses. To make matters worse, since he often became overexcited when playing with Wilfried in the playroom, the adults had determined he was a poor fit for Charlotte. Meanwhile, Rihyarda was my head attendant, and Bonifatius my grandfather; he had no choice but to aim to serve me instead, albeit against his wishes. Serving me also opened up the chance he might learn my mana compression method sooner than anyone else.
“Even Father went from praising me to treating me harshly once Cornelius grew stronger. I want more mana as soon as possible. I want to be stronger.”
“Your father is Father’s— Ahem. I mean, your father is Karstedt’s little brother, correct?” I asked. From what I remembered, Traugott’s father was the son of Bonifatius’s second wife and was married to Rihyarda’s daughter.
Traugott went on to tell me how his father had constantly been compared to Karstedt while he was raised, and that some of this bad blood was due to their mothers fighting. Karstedt was the son of a first wife as well as the knight commander, and while I couldn’t say for sure what Traugott’s father thought about that, it likely wasn’t good.
Despite all that, Bonifatius had seen Traugott training with Cornelius and then told him he had talent. This had made Traugott’s father happier than anything—he had praised Traugott with a smile, telling him to get even stronger to earn Bonifatius’s favor, which had ultimately led to our current situation.
In short, Traugott wants to be stronger to earn his father’s praise and Bonifatius’s recognition.
I understood the urge to work hard for the sake of approval, but the second I started to sympathize with Traugott, he ruined it all with a single line.
“Even a weak layknight like Damuel got decently strong with your mana compression, Lady Rozemyne. I would blow him out of the water.”
Um, excuse me...?
I crossed my arms, trying to contain my anger at hearing such brazen disrespect. It was true that Damuel was a laynoble, and that his mana capacity had once been so small that the girl he liked hadn’t even seen him as a potential romantic partner, but he had worked hard to improve and dedicated himself to thinking up ways to fight more efficiently. In the end, he had become so skilled that even Bonifatius had praised him. Damuel fought using his head, unlike the apprentice knights here who charged ahead in the hope that their mana and stamina would win the day.
That’s why Damuel is WAY more impressive than you, Traugott!
I valued Damuel so much more than Traugott that they were barely even comparable. Damuel was one of my oldest associates, and the guard knight I trusted most out of all my retainers. He had protected me from Shikza as best he could despite knowing I was a commoner, and when he had been assigned to guard me in the temple, he had put his life on the line and fought valiantly to protect me from the archnoble Count Bindewald. I would not forgive anyone who scorned him.
“Damuel made so much progress due to his own efforts. You have an advantage in that you are still an archnoble in your growing period, but there are few who have the determination to work as hard as he did.”
“Pff. A laynoble can only do so much before they reach their limits. They are not even worth talking about.”
Oh reeeally now?
The moment Traugott scoffed at Damuel, he was dead to me. I had said from the beginning that I didn’t want there to be conflict among my guard knights, so I was completely uninterested in someone incapable of showing others even the least amount of respect. My retainers would do well without someone like him shamelessly looking down on Damuel and Philine solely for being laynobles.
Okay. Getting him to quit is the best outcome here.
Firing him myself ran the risk of damaging his entire house, and I didn’t want to sully Rihyarda’s and Bonifatius’s names to punish their incompetent grandson. Not to mention, I didn’t want him trying to get revenge or something either; I wanted to put him in a situation where he willingly resigned.
“I understand your position: You wish to become strong like Grandfather. You wish to earn the praise of your father. You wish to become stronger than Cornelius. And to accomplish all these things, you want my mana compression method,” I said.
Traugott’s feelings took on a much more forceful shape than mine, but he was still a kid desperate for his parents’ love. He wanted strength so much that he wasn’t even considering his surroundings properly. I was fully aware of this, yet my affections for him were nowhere near strong enough for me to even consider helping him grow as a person.
“Resign from your position as my retainer at once. In return, I will teach you my mana compression method.”
“Really?!” Traugott asked, his expression a mix of surprise and joy.
“Yes. I will teach you along with the others selected at the end of winter. However, you must earn the necessary money on your own and cause no further problems. These are basic rules that everyone has to follow, regardless of status or faction,” I said. Wilfried’s and my retainers were naturally having to follow them as well.
Traugott gave a firm nod, positively buzzing at the thought of attaining his dream.
“In that case, put the sound-blocking magic tool aside and announce your resignation to everyone,” I said, making a point to set down my own. He followed suit; then he looked around with a bright expression and made his declaration.
“I, Traugott, resign from my position as Lady Rozemyne’s guard knight.”
My retainers all shot me disapproving looks, unhappy that I was allowing him to quit rather than firing him as they had wanted. My guard knights looked particularly stern, while Rihyarda wore the most furious look of all.
Ignoring these reactions, I thoughtfully tilted my head. “Rihyarda, what paperwork must be done to finalize his resignation?”
“Wait just a moment, milady. A resignation would not be—” she began, her voice sharp, but Hartmut cut her protests short by holding out some ink and a board.
“I believe he needs only write the general details of the resignation here, Lady Rozemyne.”
“I thank you ever so much, Hartmut. Now, Traugott, write here that you wish to resign from your position as my guard knight. That will put an end to all this.”
Traugott promptly did as he was asked. I checked what he had written, as well as his signature, before giving a nod.
“And now, Traugott, you are no longer my retainer. You are a simple apprentice knight,” I said. “You may return to your room now; I shall explain the rest.”
With that, Traugott swiftly exited the room, no doubt eager to avoid the piercing stare he was getting from Rihyarda. I could understand why, as the very moment the door closed behind him, her wrath exploded.
“Milady! What are you thinking?! You promised to teach him the mana compression method, didn’t you?! That is the only thing that would make him resign so easily!”
“You are correct,” I replied plainly, causing a stir among my retainers. Some questioned my decision, but none were more outraged than Rihyarda.
“Milady! Being so soft on those who fail you will only displease your other retainers!”
“Am I being soft? This seems like the perfect way to resolve everything.”
“How?!” Rihyarda demanded. The others seemed to be equally confused.
I sat up on my chair. “Let me make it clear that even after telling me his side of the story, Traugott did not endear himself at all. I do not wish for him to grow, nor do I really care whether his future is a pleasant one.”
“In that case, you should have been more harsh and—”
“It is precisely because I care so little for him that I want him out of my hair now and forever,” I said flatly, causing my retainers to blink in surprise. Hartmut in particular was now looking at me with great interest. “It would have been easy for me to fire Traugott—I had a reason and the authority to do so—but such an action would simultaneously besmirch both Rihyarda and Lord Bonifatius. I do not care for Traugott, but I do not wish to dishonor those I do care for. If I am being soft on anyone here, it is on you, Rihyarda.”
And not just Rihyarda—I didn’t want Karstedt to be punished for not having trained an apprentice knight well enough, as he had been during the Shikza incident. Firing Traugott would most likely have more repercussions than I could ever imagine, but having him resign would contain the suffering to Traugott himself.
“Then why did you decide to teach him the mana compression method...?” Cornelius asked, narrowing his dark-brown eyes that he had gotten straight from Elvira at me. “Were you not teaching that only to those you can trust?”
I made sure to look Cornelius head-on as I gave my answer. “What do you think will happen to Traugott now that he has quit? I doubt he can serve Wilfried, and if serving Charlotte was an option, he would have become her guard knight while I was asleep. Furthermore, once Rihyarda has reported this incident, he won’t even be able to serve Melchior.”
“That is true. You may have allowed him to resign, despite having more than enough reason to fire him, but it makes sense that he would not be allowed to take up any similar roles.”
“Right now, his mind is entirely focused on the mana compression method, but the reality of the situation will strike him soon enough. His desired future is now inaccessible to him, and I imagine he will soon find just living here to be a considerable emotional burden,” I explained.
Hartmut stroked his chin thoughtfully and nodded. “Given his behavior here, none of us will treat him as a friend. To make matters worse for him, we have been successfully consolidating the entire Ehrenfest student body around us over the past few weeks—including Lord Wilfried’s retainers and the children of the former Veronica faction. In other words, Traugott is going to be excluded by everyone.”
It seemed this was an easy future for my retainers to imagine. Traugott would struggle in the Royal Academy from here on out, and everyone knew it.
“If Ahrensbach or some other duchy were to exploit this isolation, we would run the risk of an information leak,” I explained. “It is even possible that, in his lust for power, Traugott would resent us in some bizarre way and wish for revenge. Thus, I am teaching him my mana compression method.”
“I don’t quite follow. How does that justify teaching him the mana compression method...?” Brunhilde asked, resting a hand on her cheek in confusion.
“It is bait to keep him in line. Traugott will need to behave properly until the end of the term before he can learn the compression method. After all, everyone must earn their own money and prove that they deserve to be taught,” I said with a refined giggle.
Hartmut looked at me, a noticeable glint in his orange eyes. “It is likely he will seek revenge of some kind afterward. What is your plan for then?”
“I have no intention of ever teaching the method to any of my enemies, which is why the magic contract includes a clause that prevents those who sign it from trying to oppose me.”
Cornelius understood right away. “In short, you are teaching him the compression method so that you can bind him with contract magic?”
“Precisely. It is not that I wish to teach him the method; I simply hope to ensure he cannot exact revenge on me.”
Traugott having resigned meant he would hurt only himself, and the magic contract he would eventually sign for my compression method would prevent him from lashing out at me. This was a win-win situation: Ehrenfest wanted as many nobles with high mana capacities as possible, especially ones who weren’t going to rebel, and Traugott would get the compression method he wanted so much without having to endure serving as my retainer.
“It seems to me that this resolves all our problems,” I concluded.
“Milady, that is no punishment for Traugott!” Rihyarda declared, shaking her head with a severe expression, but that was precisely the point—we didn’t want to drive Traugott into a corner and risk him ruining the dorm atmosphere when we were making so much progress uniting the factions.
“Traugott’s dream to become the knight commander after growing stronger through the mana compression method will never come true, no matter how hard he works. Is that not enough? I could inflict no punishment greater than the despair he will feel when he realizes he forever closed off that future by his own hand.”
Traugott’s punishment would not be the quickly fading sting of a swift hand, but a scar he would bear for the rest of his life. Rihyarda, however, wanted something more visible that others would understand as a punishment.
“It might be better to strip him of his noble rank and send him to the temple so that he can learn his lesson,” Rihyarda mused.
“Are you that mad at me, Rihyarda...?” I asked, her sudden remark almost bringing me to tears.
“...I think you are being soft, milady, but I am not mad at you,” she replied after blinking a few times in surprise.
“Then please, do anything but send him to the temple. As the High Bishop, that’s my territory. Now that I’m free of enduring Traugott as a retainer, the last thing I want is to be stuck dealing with him as a blue priest,” I said, vigorously shaking my head with displeasure.
Cornelius chuckled, but this was no laughing matter. Considering that Traugott looked down on Damuel for being a laynoble, I couldn’t even imagine what attitude he would have toward the gray priests and shrine maidens. I would feel especially bad for those assigned to be his attendants, since they would need to put up with his inevitable temper tantrums over being stuck in the temple.
“Not to mention, Ferdinand and I would need to train Traugott as a blue priest, and neither of us have time to waste on him. If you want to teach him a lesson, you or Grandfather are welcome to do so in a way that doesn’t interfere with my work. I have nothing to do with him anymore, so please do not send him my way and make him my problem again.”
“I suppose you are right,” Rihyarda conceded, lowering her eyes a little.
“Your decision may appear soft, but in reality, you are cutting him off in the best possible way. Simple, yet utterly brilliant,” Hartmut said, wearing the smile of someone who was entirely satisfied things had gone their way. That kind of annoyed me; I was not entirely fond of what he had done here either.
“I will take this opportunity to note something else, Hartmut,” I said.
“Yes?” he asked, completely unafraid.
“If you are going to say that providing me with information is your responsibility, then tell me what you learn before publicizing it of your own accord.”
“Lady Rozemyne?”
“I will not ask where you obtain your information; I recognize that being able to obtain such valuable knowledge at all is a sign of your excellent skills. However, the scholars I know report everything they learn to their superiors, and it is their superiors who decide how that information is used.”
Compared to how Justus entrusted everything to Ferdinand, Hartmut had a tendency to use his gathered intel in ways that I didn’t entirely approve of.
“If you say it is information you obtained for my sake, then I should decide how and when it is used and publicized,” I continued. “You should not say you are acting as my retainer if you only gather that which suits your needs and disclose it only when you believe the time is right.”
Hartmut gasped in realization, abruptly stood up, and then knelt before me with his head reverently lowered. “Your will is my command,” he intoned.
And so our discussion came to an end, with me having lost one retainer and—more distressingly—most of my after-dinner reading time for that evening.
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