Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.3 - Chapter 12

Interduchy Tournament

Once I had properly recompressed my mana and regained the ability to move normally, I reached out for the bell sitting on the table beside my pillow. Before I could even ring it, however, Rihyarda pushed through the curtains around the bed; she must have heard my rustling around.

“Finally awake, milady? You were asleep for two whole days, so we were truly starting to worry. We even just finally managed to convince that stubborn Ferdinand to come give you an examination.”

When Justus had reported to Ferdinand that I had collapsed from overexcitement, the only response he had gotten was to push empty feystones against me and wait for my mana to calm down. Even I was exasperated by the fact that I had gotten worked up enough to fall unconscious for two full days. At the same time, I wondered how Ferdinand was going to react when, after having begrudgingly made the trip here, he found that I was already awake. The blood drained from my face as I imagined him glowering at me and unleashing a storm of criticisms.

“Rihyarda, I would like to pass out again. Until Ferdinand arrives, if possible.”

“What are you saying, milady? Everyone’s worried to death about you. If your mana has calmed down, we should be heading to the dining hall for breakfast.”

And so we made our way to the dining hall. The very moment I arrived, everyone turned to look at me.

“Lady Rozemyne!”

“Awake at last, huh?” Wilfried said. “Uncle said you’d be fine, but I was still worried.”

“What happened with the tea party?” I asked as I sat down and started to eat breakfast. Due to Gudrun having been at the tea party, Rihyarda had immediately moved to direct my attendants and take care of me, so she hadn’t been able to tell me what had happened next—or rather, when I had asked, she had just told me to check with those who had actually been there.

“Not like anyone could just calmly keep drinking tea and enjoying conversation after the host collapsed,” Wilfried noted. I had put my weakness on display for all the attending archduke candidates and their retainers to see, and the tea party had been brought to an immediate close, giving everyone the impression that I would collapse if so much as touched without warning.

“Lady Hannelore had it the worst of all, since you collapsed right after she held your hands,” he continued. “You’ve gotta go apologize to her. She was trying her best to stay composed, but she ended up in tears.”

Hannelore had apparently fallen into panic, entirely unsure of what to do. Wilfried had done his best to console her, having endured a similar trauma in the past—namely the time he had taken me by the hand and ran off during my baptism ceremony, which ended with me unconscious and somewhat bloody. There had also been another incident during the winter that same year, when a single snowball had knocked me out, which had terrified his friends and guards too. It was safe to say that my health had spawned many legends in Ehrenfest.

“I told Lady Hannelore over and over that she doesn’t need to feel bad, since no matter how shocking it looks, you’re always just fine when you wake up. Your retainers also told her that it wasn’t her fault, but it just came off as superficial. It didn’t help her feel better at all,” Wilfried explained. “I ended up walking her all the way to the Dunkelfelger Dormitory, explained to Lord Lestilaut what had happened at the tea party, and then carefully apologized for having disturbed Lady Hannelore. Understand what that means?”

The tea party had been held not long after our treasure-stealing ditter match, so Lestilaut, who had bitterly called me a trickster and described me as far from being a saint, had apparently glared at Wilfried and the others with some overwhelming intensity.

“Ngh... I’m sorry for putting everyone through that.”

“I didn’t think it’d take you two whole days to wake up; the Interduchy Tournament’s tomorrow, you know. Besides, why did you even collapse this time? It didn’t look like anything happened.”

It’s simple—Lady Hannelore is such an adorable cutie that I got all heated. I opened my mouth to tell him just that, but then I paused. Wait a second... Doesn’t that make me sound a little bit like a pervert? I should probably dress this up a little. Mm... I could say I was really glad to have made a new friend. No, no... I showed way too much excitement for something like that.

As I struggled to find a nice-sounding answer, a low, melodic voice came from behind me. “I, too, would like to hear why you collapsed, Rozemyne.” My heart skipped a beat, and such an intense chill ran down my spine that I could have sworn it had turned to ice.

“F-Ferdinand...?!” I was so taken by surprise that my voice cracked, and I whipped around to see the man himself glaring down at me. His eyes were filled with irritation and practically screamed, “You would dare cause problems while I’m so busy?” Eckhart was there too, serving as his guard knight.

“I reluctantly came at Rihyarda’s dogged insistence,” Ferdinand continued, “but I see now that you have recovered on your own.”

“She woke up right before breakfast,” Rihyarda soothingly informed him.

At those words, Ferdinand went from a frosty smile to his usual flat expression. “I will hear the details regardless. Come,” he said to me.

“Um, but... the Interduchy Tournament is tomorrow, and there’s a lot I need to prepare.” I was indirectly asking Ferdinand to save the lecture for another time, but he just looked around the dining hall and made a dry announcement.

“There is no need for you to worry about the Interduchy Tournament. It has been decided that you will not be attending.”

“Wait... what?”

“You will not be attending the Interduchy Tournament,” he repeated. “This is the aub’s decision, and one that we will now discuss. Rihyarda and Justus will suffice as your attendants. Everyone else, prepare for tomorrow.”

Dazed, I allowed Rihyarda to push me into the side room for discussions. Eckhart stood outside the door; only Ferdinand, Rihyarda, Justus, and I went inside.

“Do check up on milady before you start your talk, my boy.”

“I know. Come, Rozemyne.”

I walked up to Ferdinand, who had slowly sat down on a chair. From there, he acted like my family doctor—he touched my neck, my wrists, and investigated me all over.

“I see your mana has already calmed,” he said. “Do you understand what happened to you? According to Justus’s report, they could only assume that you became too excited over the proposed lending and borrowing of books.”

“...That’s basically it.”

It had been my first time befriending a fellow bookworm, and my excitement had gotten the better of me. Books were rare and expensive in this world, so it followed that very few made a hobby of reading. I had doubted that I would ever find another girl my age who was both a lover of books and of a similar enough status to me for us to interact casually. To me, Hannelore was a precious friend whom I could not allow to slip through my fingers under any circumstances.

“I was so thrilled about making a bookworm friend that I started to offer a prayer. Justus stopped me, since praying and giving blessings is abnormal behavior at a tea party, but the mana had already been unleashed within me. It raged through my body until, out of nowhere, everything went black.”

“So it surpassed your allowance. As expected. That should be fine, now that your mana has calmed. The problem will be this new friendship of yours. Who is this girl, exactly?” Ferdinand asked, fixing me with another glare. I recalled what I knew about Hannelore.

“She’s Lady Hannelore, an archduke candidate from Dunkelfelger. Her (rabbit)-like features make her absolutely adorable, plus she’s an avid lover of reading. We promised to exchange books. I have a friend with whom I can discuss books now! Aah, this is amazing!”

“Fool. You are getting too excited,” Ferdinand said, his frustration clear in his voice. He pulled me forward, pressed a feystone against my head, and then promptly replaced the feystone with another. “It seems to me that you should avoid this friend. At this rate, you are going to lose consciousness again.”

“Ah.” I watched as the feystone rapidly changed colors, a clear sign that I was indeed too worked up. Rihyarda shook her head as if to say that I was hopeless.

“Lady Hannelore was quite troubled when you collapsed, milady. It might be wise to keep your distance for her sake as well.”

“...I will contain my excitement, so please do not say such cruel things. Do not take my first bookworm friend away from me.”

“Have you never had a friend who loves books before?”

I had been close with a number of weirdos back in my Urano days, all of whom had had different but respectably strong obsessions. Since coming to this world, however, I hadn’t made any such friends, neither as Myne nor as Rozemyne. Even Lutz, who had spent so much time making books with me, couldn’t be described as a bookworm. To him, books were products, not things to read and enjoy.

“This is the first book-loving friend I’ve made since moving here,” I replied. “Books are so expensive that even nobles tend not to keep very many, no?”

A mutual appreciation of reading was the reason I was on good terms with Philine, but I was an archduke candidate and she a laynoble; we couldn’t see each other eye-to-eye, nor share books with one another. She was my retainer, and I couldn’t treat her as anything more than that. From her perspective, I was her lady and someone she had to be very careful around; she needed to keep an eye on her surroundings at all times and avoid getting too close. We weren’t friends, but rather a lady and her obedient servant.

“Lady Hannelore, however, is a Dunkelfelger archduke candidate; she almost certainly has an impressive library. I will need to keep on making as many books as possible so that I might be able to lend her just as many.”

“It seems that you are not going to calm down for some time. Rihyarda, drain her with feystones whenever she gets excited so that her mana does not overflow,” Ferdinand said as he set a leather bag on the table. I could tell from the visible lumps in the material that it contained three large feystones.

“That reminds me, Ferdinand—why has it been decided that I won’t be attending the Interduchy Tournament? I feel perfectly well again.”

“The aub decided such after reading Justus’s report. Aubs from other duchies and royalty are going to be attending the Interduchy Tournament, and considering that you could not even make it through your own tea party without ingloriously falling unconscious, he has concluded that it is best for you to remain in bed and avoid causing any further problems.”

The Interduchy Tournament was like a cross between a sports festival and a cultural festival, to put it in Earth terms. It was the biggest event of the year and something that everyone looked forward to. Not being allowed to attend was just plain cruel.

My dissatisfaction must have shown on my face; Ferdinand crossed his arms and shrugged at me. “Rozemyne, the Interduchy Tournament can politically be considered the first stage of the Archduke Conference, and to be honest, with so many uncertainties this year, we do not wish for someone as unpredictable as you to be involved. It would be best for you to develop socializing skills and stamina first. If an aub from another duchy speaks to you, are you confident in your ability to handle yourself appropriately? And would you be able to avoid collapsing in spite of your proven affinity for spontaneously falling unconscious?”

Ferdinand paused to look at me, awaiting an answer. I took a deep breath; I wasn’t confident that I could do either of those things. Just a few days ago, my way of speaking had been enough to make Justus cradle his head in agony.

“Are my socializing skills really that bad...?” I asked.

“Justus says that you are largely competent and that you can socialize while keeping up proper appearances. However, there are times when you say such bizarre things that one feels compelled to ask what in the world inspired them. The fact that you think and act on entirely different bases is likely to blame for that.”

I sadly hung my head; as always, my common sense was not so common here. To make matters worse, I couldn’t even tell what it was about my thought processes that everyone else found so strange, and without that knowledge, I couldn’t be careful and avoid making similar mistakes moving forward.

“Ferdinand, my boy... milady is doing the best she can with her poor little body. Her grades are so incredibly high that one would doubt she had actually spent two years in a jureve, she completed the Dedication Ritual, and she even took part in some socializing. What more could you ask of someone who has so recently awoken from a coma?” Rihyarda asked, stepping forward protectively.

Ferdinand regarded her with his usual flat expression. “I am asking her to rest. Rozemyne easily completed all that the archduke requested before she entered the Royal Academy—or more precisely, she surpassed our expectations far more than is reasonable. We had no plans for her to socialize with royalty, nor did we expect her to form this many connections with greater duchies. At this rate, if she attends the Interduchy Tournament tomorrow, we can expect her to bond even further with royalty and the aubs of other duchies. Those around her cannot keep up with that any longer, and that is why I ask that she rest, and avoid contact with royalty and the aubs of any higher-ranking duchies.”

Ferdinand turned his attention back to me before continuing. “Justus’s report also included the suggestion that you collapsed due to exhaustion from socializing and preparing for the Interduchy Tournament. I thus opted to bring with me several books for you to read while you rest, out of consideration for your health, but would you still rather attend the tournament?”

Several books, you say? That means... WOOHOO! A whole day of reading!

Resting on one pan of my internal scale was the Interduchy Tournament, and resting on the other was an entire day of reading in my room. Considering that I had been forbidden from even entering the library due to socializing and the tournament, there was only one answer I could give.

“I am still of poor health, so I believe from the bottom of my heart that it would be best for me to rest in the dormitory with Rihyarda. However, what will my retainers do? We expect to be short on hands, and I would like for them all to participate in the Interduchy Tournament.”

My resting meant that some of my retainers would need to stay in the dormitory, and that certainly wasn’t ideal when we were so short of people and resources.

“I will remain in the dormitory as your supervisor, so you will not need retainers. You should be able to survive the day with just Rihyarda.”

Wait, what? Ferdinand supervising me? No thanks.

That was a surefire way to turn my day of reading into a day of nonstop lectures. I thought as hard as I could of ways to get rid of him.

“Ferdinand, shouldn’t you be attending the Interduchy Tournament? Please, don’t feel compelled to stay here with me.”

“The plan was for me to attend the tournament as your guardian and to support you during any negotiations with higher-ranking duchies, but it seems that things have gotten too troublesome for that,” he said with a glare, but I returned only a quizzical look. What was so troublesome about our situation?

“Justus has informed me of the headache-inducing reality that bizarre legends of my past are circulating the Academy,” Ferdinand continued, answering my question before I could even ask it. “It has reached the point where he believes my casual appearance at the tournament might cause quite an incident, which is utterly absurd. What in the world did you do?”

Aah. The Legends of Ferdinand.

“Please do not try to blame me for every little problem,” I replied. “Professor Hirschur publicly referred to me as your disciple, and so everyone began to speak of your student days in the Royal Academy. I will not deny that the legends have gotten a little mixed up, with the exploits of others now being attributed to you and the like, but I am completely uninvolved.”

“I am told that you instructed the students to gather stories about Lord Ferdinand, as you expected him to be an easy topic of conversation at tea parties, milady.”

“Justus! Shh!” I frantically tried to shut him up, but it was too late—Ferdinand was already staring daggers at me.

It was the day of the Interduchy Tournament—and more importantly, my first day of reading in a very long time. Everyone finished breakfast early and then rushed to continue preparations.

A sweet aroma had been pervading the dormitory for several days now as those in the kitchen prepared a copious amount of sliced pound cake. The same heavenly scent also wafted from a number of pound cake-filled boxes; we had recently been receiving a consistent stream of packages from Ehrenfest containing supplies for the Interduchy Tournament. The apprentice attendants checked each one, sent out any necessary instructions, and then had the servants carry them where they needed to go.

Wilfried was currently out by the stadium where the tournament was due to be held, likewise giving instructions.

The apprentice scholars were diligently writing down the key points Ferdinand and Justus were giving them about the research presentations. The most important one of all, apparently, was to hide the fact that Ferdinand was here: “Professor Hirschur will abandon her presentation and rush to the dormitory to discuss research if she learns of my presence, so speak of me to no one.”

The apprentice knights had exited the dormitory through a side door and were now receiving something of a lecture from Eckhart about the weak points of various feybeasts and how to attack them. It seemed the students were easier to deal with now that they had overcome their ignorance and recognized their complete lack of cooperation skills. Eckhart was pretty pleased about that, since he was in charge of training new recruits in the Knight’s Order. These apprentices humbly listened to his teachings; they would apparently be a lot more skilled next year once Bonifatius trained them in the spring.

“Aub Ehrenfest has arrived!” came an announcement.

First the archducal couple, then the guardians of graduating students arrived in the busy dormitory. They were all wearing extravagant clothing for socializing and passed right through the dormitory on their way to the stadium. They had all previously graduated from the Royal Academy and so they did not need any guidance.

“Finally awake, Rozemyne?” Sylvester asked. “You should spend the day resting here in the dorm. You still look a little sick.”

“I thank you ever so much for your concern,” I replied. I personally thought I was looking healthier than ever—the sheer bliss of now having an entire day to read had worked wonders—but if Aub Ehrenfest said you looked sick, then you looked sick, no questions asked. I would be resting in my room.

“Ferdinand, take care of Rozemyne. Don’t let her leave the dormitory.”

“As you wish.”

The dormitory calmed somewhat once the visitors had all passed through, but then the apprentice knights returned. It seemed they had to start standing by in the stadium now.

“Lady Rozemyne, may we ask for a blessing?”

“If you would be so kind as to kneel then certainly; I will grant you all a blessing from Angriff.”

The apprentice knights knelt in rows and bowed their heads, with Angelica the sixth-year at the front. Just like always, I conjured my schtappe in my right hand, raised it into the air, and started filling it with mana.

“O God of War Angriff, of the God of Fire Leidenschaft’s exalted twelve, I pray that you grant them your divine protection.” Blue light shot from my schtappe and rained down upon the apprentices. “I ask that you all use what you have learned to the best of your ability—that you keep an eye on your surroundings and work with one another. I pray that Ehrenfest is able to secure the best results possible.”

“Understood!”

Once everyone had gone, I spent my time leisurely reading the books Ferdinand had given me in the common room. Aside from the apprentice scholars and Justus popping in to ask Ferdinand for instructions, it was peaceful. Ferdinand was reading reports from Justus, of course, as well as various documents that had been organized by Wilfried, Charlotte’s apprentice scholars, and my apprentice scholars. The papers were apparently “homework” that Ferdinand had given them through Justus as part of their scholar training.

Third bell rang and a delicious smell began drifting in from the kitchen. It wasn’t long before the scholars and attendants returned in staggered groups to eat lunch.

“Lady Rozemyne,” one said, “the tournament this year is proving to be quite something.”

“I’ve never seen Ehrenfest receive so many visitors before,” replied another.

The returning students excitedly told me about the Interduchy Tournament. As it turned out, even researchers from the Sovereignty had approached us with gleaming eyes to discuss the research on Schwartz and Weiss. Hirschur had happily explained what she had learned, and they had engaged in lively discussion about solutions to the gaps that remained in the magic circles.

It seemed that the shumil variation of my drivable highbeast had also been put on display, and the idea of not having to change into riding clothes had drawn the attention of many women.

“Even though you were not there, it felt as though your name is known to all, Lady Rozemyne.”

“The commander of the Dunkelfelger knights came too, asking for the archduke candidate considered to be Lord Ferdinand’s disciple.”

I wasn’t the only one to grimace at that news—Ferdinand did too. His frown seemed to suggest that he knew exactly who this knight commander was. Maybe they had attended the Academy together and this was the man Ferdinand had beaten to a pulp using his devious strategies.

“It seems that I was wise to not attend,” Ferdinand said.

“Since we have not yet spoken of your recovery, Lady Rozemyne, Klassenberg’s and Dunkelfelger’s archduke candidates came with their guardians and offered us gifts to help with your illness. Aub Ehrenfest was quite tense as he handled them.”

Woo! Fight, Sylvester, fight!

As we talked, the apprentice knights all returned at once; it seemed their battle had ended. The atmosphere was somber, not excited, and everyone but Angelica looked at me with a conflicted expression. Had the blessing not been enough to help them?

“Cornelius, how did the game of ditter go?” I asked.

“Still not as good as one would expect for our rank, but compared to previous mock battles, we slew the feybeast incredibly fast.”

“You all seem rather solemn for an achievement like that.”

Cornelius glanced at the other apprentices and then grimaced. “We had to fight a grun, and considering that you use one as your highbeast, it was a bit...”

“I do not actually know what gruns are. What manner of feybeast are they?”

“They are foul-smelling and truly vicious.”

“Wait. They smell...?” I was hit with a sudden wave of regret, but Ferdinand interjected before I could speak again.

“Apprentices, save the grun discussion for later. Finish lunch and then assist the attendants. I am being told there are so many visitors that they do not even have the manpower to properly turn people away.”

The apprentice knights snapped to attention; they wolfed down their lunches and then rushed back outside again. Once the dining hall calmed down a bit, Ferdinand and I started eating lunch ourselves, with Rihyarda serving us.

“I do feel that this has been unfair for you,” Ferdinand muttered as we ate.

“What do you mean?”

“Forbidding you from attending the Interduchy Tournament. Missing the tournament means you will also miss the awards ceremony.”

According to Ferdinand, the competition part of the Interduchy Tournament ended around fifth bell, at which point they would announce each year’s honor students.

“Hirschur said in a letter that you are likely to be first-in-class. Under normal circumstances, you would be receiving direct praise from the king and basking in the praise of all; and yet, due to our circumstances, you have been denied this.”

“I’m glad that I’m missing it, actually... I couldn’t speak to the king as I am now.”

I would practically die speaking to the king after being crowned the top of my class in a place where all the royalty and archducal couples were in attendance. Just thinking about all the ways I could mess up was terrifying.

“I hope that you will be able to attend the Interduchy Tournament next year, but thinking of ways to educate you is quite the struggle. Your thinking and culture differ fundamentally from ours, and I do not know what to do about it. I have tried already, and the results are as you see.”

“Milady was raised in the temple, so it’s only natural that she would think differently from most nobles. She just needs to get used to it. Time heals all wounds,” Rihyarda said with a calm smile. “She’s lived as an archduke’s daughter for a year and a half since being baptized, and then she slept for two years before entering the Royal Academy. If you subtract the time she spent in the temple, she’s only lived as a noble for about half a year. Everything will surely get better soon.”

Ferdinand had quite a precise memory; he began counting the number of days I had actually spent in the castle as a noble. “Hm... It is more than half a year, but she certainly has spent only a short amount of time in the castle. It did not feel that short to me, as I also educated her in the temple, but...”

“You’re the only noble in the temple, my boy—the blue priests technically don’t count. Milady won’t ever learn how to think like a noble while she’s there. The castle, on the other hand, is filled with nobles.”

“I see,” Ferdinand said with a nod.

“You always want immediate results, but raising people takes time. Take your time.”

Rihyarda was right—raising people took time, and the temple wasn’t like the castle at all. There, I didn’t have to be tense at all times, since there weren’t nobles surrounding me. I could guess, then, that any recreated education plans from Ferdinand would have me spending a lot less time in the temple.

That sucks...

I knew that Rihyarda was right, and that I needed to sort out my socializing skills... but if the solution involved taking away the one place I could feel at peace, then I felt nothing but miserable about it.