Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.3 - Chapter 7

Returning to the Royal Academy

After my meeting with Giebe Haldenzel, I participated in winter socializing. This meant meeting the nobles Ferdinand and Rihyarda had selected, attending tea parties hosted by members of the Florencia faction, and writing down any stories I remembered to make into romance books that Elvira and her friends would probably like.

I had already gone to the winter playroom with Charlotte and spoken with Moritz about the first-years. Laynobles generally struggled with geography and history, since they had few opportunities to see maps and chronologies, and so we had discussed incorporating these subjects into the winter playroom. I had even given Moritz one of the study guides I had made for this winter’s first-years. Once the children were given these tasters, I expected that their interest would grow, and that they would find attending the actual courses a little easier.

“Milady, you have a meeting with Aub Ehrenfest scheduled for this afternoon,” Rihyarda told me one day after breakfast.

“This is quite sudden. What would have driven him to schedule a meeting so abruptly and without notice?”

“He received a report from Wilfried first thing this morning and wants to hear your thoughts.”

Something must have happened at the Royal Academy. I consented to the meeting before getting back to the Elvira-pandering romance novel I was writing.

Following lunch, I went to the archduke’s office. Ferdinand had apparently been summoned too, as he was reading from a board when I arrived.

“I hear you received a report from Wilfried,” I said.

“Yep. Though it was less of a report and more him pleading for you to come back,” Sylvester replied, handing me the report in question. I started looking it over.

Almost all of the Ehrenfest students had finished their lessons, and the Royal Academy was now shifting fully into socializing season. Those from our duchy had so far received almost twice as many tea party invitations compared to the year prior, and there were a great number of questions floating around about our trends. Girls were as interested in the hairpins and rinsham as I had expected, to the point that Wilfried and his retainers were finding it quite uncomfortable being surrounded whenever they attended tea parties.

“If these tea parties are filled with girls, why is Wilfried attending them himself rather than sending Brunhilde or Lieseleta?” I asked.

“Because they address the invitations to all archduke candidates. They’re directed at you, of course, but since you’re not there, Wilfried is stuck going in your place,” Sylvester explained.

“I see. He has my sympathies, then.”

I gleaned from Sylvester’s words that, had I stayed at the Royal Academy, I would have been forced to attend tea party after tea party instead. Perhaps the order to return home had actually saved me. Wilfried was suffering in my place, but, well... there was nothing I could do about that.

“This is a report about ditter,” Ferdinand said, handing me the board he had been reading from. It seemed that Ehrenfest had been unable to refuse Dunkelfelger’s challenge to a rematch, and so the two duchies had ended up playing another game. Ehrenfest lost in the blink of an eye, of course—they lacked my strategies, and their main fighters, Angelica and Cornelius, were both away. Rauffen had apparently been so disappointed that he flat-out asked when I would be getting back.

Professor Rauffen’s forgotten that I’m not an apprentice knight, hasn’t he?

The tea party between cousins—that is, the tea party with Ahrensbach and Frenbeltag—had also taken place. It seemed that Detlinde had aggressively asked why Ehrenfest’s grades were shooting up and why Lamprecht’s marriage had ended up being refused, on top of asking various questions about our trends.

“This does not bode particularly well for the Archduke Conference,” Ferdinand observed.

“You can say that again,” Sylvester concurred. “We’ll need to keep a close eye on what moves Ahrensbach and the former Veronica faction make.”

Also, according to the report, Rudiger from Frenbeltag had indirectly asked whether I was already engaged. Detlinde had asked the same about Wilfried, who had managed to avoid both questions by saying that we would probably have hard answers by the Archduke Conference this spring.

“Does this mean I’m going to get a proposal from Frenbeltag?” I asked, wiping an overjoyed tear from my eye as I reread the board over and over again. That would be my first proposal ever, even including my Urano days.

Ferdinand sighed and ripped the board from my hands. “Why would that make you happy?” he asked. “They are blatantly trying to secure your mana.”

“How many books does Frenbeltag have in its libraries?” I inquired. “Does it have more books than Ehrenfest? Ngh... N-Not that I want to accept the proposal... I’m just curious. I would like a list of all their books, if possible.”

Ferdinand glared at me, his eyes brimming with doubt. “If you continue to print as you currently are, we will soon leave them in the dust regardless.”

“True. Well then, Sylvester, you can go ahead and turn down Frenbeltag’s proposal for me.”

“Rozemyne, is that all you’re going to focus on?!” Sylvester barked in disbelief. “Aren’t there other things you should be worrying about?! This isn’t something to decide based on how many books the suitor has!”

“She has brought this foolishness up before,” Ferdinand said with a dismissive scoff. I didn’t much appreciate his attitude, but he was right—was there anything more important than how many books a person had? No. Absolutely not. “Forget about Frenbeltag’s proposal. This is what you need to focus on.”

Ferdinand pointed at one particular paragraph on the board. In it, Anastasius was described as impatiently awaiting my gifts, while Eglantine was noted as having invited me to a tea party to introduce me to her friends.

“I’d much rather I pretend I didn’t see this and leave it all to Wilfried...” I murmured. Anastasius was waiting not for me, but for the hairpin and compositions, and a tea party with Eglantine’s friends meant socializing with rich daughters from high-ranking duchies. I had already lost all of my confidence from everyone saying I lacked any socializing sense whatsoever; I didn’t want to throw myself into the fire now, of all times.

Sylvester nodded, having heard my mutter. “I know how you feel, but these are direct invitations, so you’re the one who has to attend. Wilfried’s already turned them down three times in your absence; if we don’t at least have a date to give for your return, he’s gonna be in a world of pain. Ferdinand, when are you planning to send Rozemyne back?”

With all eyes on him, Ferdinand tapped his temple. “Next Earthday. I have finished all the intelligence gathering I plan to do, and Justus will have a bit more leeway by then.”

“Leeway to do what?” I asked, unsure what Justus had to do with my return to the Royal Academy. Before Ferdinand could answer, however, Karstedt spoke up with a conflicted expression.

“He’s been assigned to serve as Traugott’s attendant.”

“Traugott has other attendants, doesn’t he? Why Justus? And Ferdinand, how could you lend him to Traugott, of all people? You wouldn’t even let me borrow him,” I said, glaring at Ferdinand with as much displeasure as I could muster.

“This is half your fault,” he retorted, glaring right back at me. Our angry staring contest was only interrupted when Karstedt spoke again, looking just as conflicted as before.

“Rozemyne, Traugott was practically forced to resign, remember?”

Karstedt went on to explain how Rihyarda, in a fit of rage, had taken time off specifically to complain to Traugott’s parents about what he had done. After scolding them for their incompetence in raising such a child, she had then hailed the event as a disaster for the entire house and summoned everyone—Karstedt and Bonifatius included—to a family meeting about Traugott.

“My father was just as infuriated as Rihyarda when he heard what Traugott had done,” Karstedt continued. “When the talks finally ended, he gave Traugott one painful talking-to.”

“Strange... I elected to have him resign rather than firing him because I assumed that would minimize the impact on his family.”

“Resigning has less of an impact than getting fired, but it still causes ripples,” Karstedt replied while gently patting my head. “Not to mention, you said not to send him to the temple, remember? Our house had to deal with the matter independently, and our decision was to assign him an attendant from our house. We intend to reteach him the mindset expected of an archnoble serving the archducal family from the ground up.”

“But Justus is a scholar... Can he do attendant work?” I asked. I knew that Justus was a skilled scholar, with his love of gathering intelligence and retrieving all sorts of information, but would he be capable of diligently serving a lord or lady?

“Of course he can,” Sylvester said with a grin. “Justus is the attendant Ferdinand brought to the Royal Academy back in his day.”

I looked up at Ferdinand, surprised. He nodded.

“At the moment, I use only his services as a scholar, but he is my attendant as well. He became an apprentice attendant under Rihyarda’s instruction, but it is my understanding that he also took scholar classes in the Royal Academy as per his own interests. It was he who informed me that I could take multiple courses at once.”

Today I learned that Justus is responsible for all the legends surrounding Ferdinand...

“Justus will reeducate Traugott, keep an eye on you, gather information within the Royal Academy, and report back to Ehrenfest all at once. He will place a disproportionate amount of focus on gathering information if someone does not watch him in turn, but with Rihyarda there, we should have nothing to fear.”

“I imagine this will make him terribly busy, but could I have him train the apprentice scholars too?” I asked.

“‘Train the apprentice scholars’?” Sylvester repeated, blinking in surprise.

“I am referring to the scholars I will be raising for the printing and paper-making industries. I will soon be selecting layscholars and medscholars who will need to do business with commoners, and they will need an archscholar to lead them, no? And their work is a government affair, so won’t they eventually need to form a connection with the next archduke?”

It was yet unknown who would be the next archduke, and my intention was to also train one of Melchior’s scholars for after he was baptized.

Sylvester fell into thought. “Not a bad idea, but you’ll only get apprentices that way. You’ll want an archscholar to keep them in order too. Any recommendations for an archscholar who could manage them to Rozemyne’s will?” Sylvester asked, looking over at Ferdinand.

Ferdinand’s eyes wandered for a moment before he gave his response. “Few things are more difficult than deducing Rozemyne’s intentions.” No one had come to mind, it seemed.

There was a brief silence, broken only when Karstedt suddenly clapped his hands together. “How about Elvira?” he suggested. “If arbitrating between Rozemyne and the archnobles will be a big part of the job, she seems perfect for it.”

“Hm. I cannot deny that Elvira displayed great interest in the printing industry while Rozemyne was asleep, and she actively incorporated it into Haldenzel. She will have more knowledge than other scholars too,” Ferdinand mused. “I agree—she is a perfect match for the role.”

Sylvester’s eyes began to sparkle. “Alright. Let’s see what she thinks, then.”

“She’s interested enough in printing to start making her own books. Now that our kids are all grown, she should be fine getting back into scholar work,” Karstedt said.

And with that, the topic shifted to entrusting Elvira with keeping the printing and paper-making industries organized. I knew she was an excellent scholar, and it was very reassuring to know she would be taking the job for me... though it was also a cause for great concern.

If I give Mother free rein, I’ve got a feeling she might establish a Make Books About Ferdinand Squadron and corrupt the industries from within. Eh. Oh well.

Karstedt had suggested it, Ferdinand agreed with it, and Sylvester had approved it; Elvira could do what she wanted with all her skill.

“Considering Justus’s personality, I am somewhat concerned about him raising apprentice scholars,” Ferdinand said to me. “However, this will be your only opportunity to borrow him from me for the purpose of training scholars for the printing industry. Make full use of him while you can.”

It was decided that I would leave for the Royal Academy to socialize next Earthday. Ferdinand was going to return to the temple in the meantime, but I was instructed to remain in the castle for a bit longer to adjust to socializing as much as possible.

So he says, but I won’t be meeting any nobles without Ferdinand, plus Mother’s flurry of tea parties has calmed down.

I passed the days until my departure visiting the winter playroom and sewing with Charlotte. “Just three more days until you leave,” she said. “I’ll miss you once you’re gone, Sister.”

“I won’t be away for as long this time, Charlotte.”

I would have one week to attend tea parties before the Interduchy Tournament and the graduation ceremony brought my first year in the Royal Academy to a close. In total, I would be gone for two weeks at most.

“I will do my best to raise our duchy’s rank as much as possible for the sake of your upcoming first year,” I said to Charlotte.

“Please prioritize getting rest, Sister. And if you wish to say that you are acting for my sake, I would like for you to leave at least something for me to conquer on my own. At this rate, Brother and you will take all the glory for yourselves,” she replied with puffed-out cheeks. If we raised the grade average too much during our first year, it would just make things harder for Charlotte when she entered the Academy next year.

Hm... I’ve never really thought about leaving room for Charlotte to show off and impress others.

An ordonnanz flew into the room while I was practicing sewing embroidery with Charlotte. It repeated a message from Ferdinand three times.

“We have received word from the Gilberta Company that they have finished the hairpin and wish to hear your thoughts. I have told them to bring it tomorrow afternoon, so you will need to be here by then.”

I get to see Tuuli!

Its duty complete, the ordonnanz reverted back to a yellow feystone. I tapped it lightly with my schtappe and said “understood” in response, trying to contain the welling excitement in my voice to the best of my ability. Having heard the message from Ferdinand, Ottilie left to tell Ella to prepare to leave for the temple, while Rihyarda started covering me in warm clothes so that we could depart at once.

“I can’t believe Ferdinand is making you go all the way to the temple for this. Couldn’t he just send the hairpin to the castle? He really needs to learn to be more considerate,” Rihyarda huffed. This actually was Ferdinand being considerate, though—Tuuli wasn’t yet ready to come to the castle, and I wanted to see her, not the Gilberta Company.

“This is a hairpin ordered by royalty,” I explained. “I will need to examine it before Aub Ehrenfest sees it so that I can have it remade, if necessary.”

“You take on too much work, milady.”

“You do, Sister,” Charlotte chimed in. “You’re still not well, remember?” She had stopped her embroidering and was now regarding me with a reproachful look as she handed her sewing tools to an attendant.

“I thank you both ever so much for worrying about me. I will return to the castle tomorrow after checking the hairpin; I’m leaving for the Royal Academy this Earthday, after all. Rihyarda, you may prepare for my departure while I am gone. We have a lot of luggage from Ferdinand, no? I expect there will be even more once I return from the temple,” I said. He would no doubt unload a ton of Hirschur’s documents and magic tools on me.

Rihyarda chuckled, perhaps remembering how much luggage Ferdinand had brought with him to the castle. “Oh, yes. You may leave that to me. Everything will be ready.”

And so, I went to the castle’s entrance with my guard knights. Rihyarda had apparently contacted Norbert, as he was there giving instructions to some servants.

I looked around at my guard knights. “Cornelius, Leonore—you will both need to prepare for our return to the Royal Academy this Earthday.”

“Understood, Lady Rozemyne.”

With that, I returned to the temple with Damuel and Angelica taking the lead.

I was finally getting a chance to see Tuuli, but Ferdinand was sitting with us for some reason. Perhaps he thought he couldn’t trust me with this, considering that this hairpin was being made for royalty.

Why is he being a pest and trying to ruin this moment?

The last thing I wanted was Ferdinand scaring Tuuli with his harsh words and expressionless face; I needed to serve as a dam to protect her. And so, with that resolve in my heart, I glared at him with as much intensity as I could muster.

“What is with that displeased expression?” he asked, looking entirely satisfied as he drank the tea Fran had given him.

“I am displeased, but this is primarily the face of a woman who has steeled her resolve.”

“I sense only hostility and trepidation. How many times must I tell you to learn to control your emotions?” he asked, pinching my cheeks.

The scariest face I could manage vanished in an instant as tears welled up in my eyes. Unlike Benno, Ferdinand never held back, so his pinching legitimately hurt. I put my hands over my cheeks to prevent any further attacks, at which point I heard Gil arrive on the first floor and the group he was with start climbing up the stairs.

“High Priest. This is Otto, the one who inherited the Gilberta Company, and this is Tuuli, Lady Rozemyne’s personal hairpin craftswoman,” Benno said. It was their first time meeting Ferdinand, and so it was necessary for him to introduce them both. They stepped forward and knelt in turn.

“May this meeting, ordained by the harsh judgment of Ewigeliebe the God of Life, be blessed,” they said.

“I bless this day from the bottom of my heart. May Ewigeliebe’s guidance take the Gilberta Company to ever greater heights,” Ferdinand replied, blessing them.

“I am ever so delighted to see Lady Rozemyne doing well,” Tuuli said once she and Otto had stood up. She looked shockingly mature for someone who was still just twelve years old—her hair was in a big braid much like before, but now she wore the Gilberta Company’s apprentice uniform. There was no longer any trace of the energetic little girl who had used to run through the forest.

Tuuli had always been a fast grower, but in just two years, her legs had gotten long and slender, and visible bumps had appeared on her chest. The youthfulness in her face had vanished, and she looked a lot more like Mom than she had before. She moved with quiet elegance; there was nothing of the sister I knew in how she carried herself, how she spoke, or how she curtsied to nobles.

As I reeled from the shock of my two-year absence being once again shoved in my face, Tuuli looked at me, her blue eyes wrinkling in a warm smile. Her expression alone seemed to say, “It’s been so long. I missed you,” and the love overflowing from her relaxed the tension in my body.

“This is the ordered product,” Benno said, his words prompting Tuuli to delicately open the wooden box on the table. I could tell at once just how experienced she had become—there were no longer any traces of clumsiness or awkwardness in how her fingers moved.

The hairpin she took out was made with a koralie of warm red, the divine color of Geduldh the Goddess of Earth. The large flower was surrounded by smaller white flowers, as well as green vines that evoked images of the coming of spring. Each petal had smooth, flowing curves, and around each flower was decorative lace. Even the thread was fancy. It was undoubtedly the best, most regal-looking hairpin Tuuli had ever made. I could easily imagine Eglantine wearing it, and how it would perfectly complement her golden hair.

“...It’s splendid,” I said, sighing with awe.

Ferdinand gave a contented nod. “This will do without issue. Well done, Gilberta Company.”

Receiving praise from Ferdinand despite the perpetually scary look on his face was enough to ease the tension Tuuli had been feeling.

“It is exceedingly well-made,” I added. “This will surely bring both Prince Anastasius and Lady Eglantine great joy. Your talents have grown much over the past years. I am surprised.”

“I thank you,” Tuuli replied. “I have humbly brought a hairpin for you as well, Lady Rozemyne.” She held out a spring hairpin she had apparently made for my sake. I immediately elected to buy it and shifted to the side for her like I always did.

“Will you put it on me?” I asked.

Tuuli approached, carefully watching Ferdinand out of the corner of her eye. She pulled out the hairpin that was currently in my braids and inserted the new one. A bit of my hair had gotten caught on my shoulder in the process, so she brushed it back.

“Does it suit me?” I asked.

“I made it to suit you, Lady Rozemyne. It looks perfect,” she said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. I smiled as we exchanged glances, while Ferdinand silently watched our communication with no change of expression.

My return to the Royal Academy came soon after I received the hairpins.

“If at any point Rozemyne seems like she is about to go on another rampage, stop her with all you have,” Ferdinand said to my guard knights. They were the first to step forward onto the teleportation circle and disappear.

I would be leaving with Rihyarda. Before we went, however, the hairpin for Eglantine, the song dedicated to the Goddess of Light, boxes filled with small trial bottles of rinsham, things for Hirschur, and any other remaining items were all sent off.

“We’ll be following to see the Interduchy Tournament. Try not to lose control of yourself. Moderation is key. Got it?”

“I know, Sylvester. I need to leave land for Charlotte to conquer when she arrives, no?”

“Rozemyne, are you her ally or mine?!” Sylvester exclaimed, his eyes wide.

“I do not understand the full meaning of your question, but is it not natural that I would be Charlotte’s ally? I am her older sister,” I said, proudly puffing out my chest. Sylvester cradled his head and groaned in response.

Ferdinand gave Sylvester a few light pats on the back before looking at me with a mixture of resignation and exasperation. “There is no point in thinking about this; absolutely nothing is going through Rozemyne’s empty head right now,” he said.

“Rude. I spend every day executing my ideas and thinking of ways to be the best older sister for Charlotte.”

“Yes, yes. Do your best for Charlotte’s sake. But think of nothing more than that. In any case, I have told Justus to gather intelligence. Bring him with you to tea parties whenever you can.”

Men were forbidden from attending most tea parties, where the secrets of girls were normally shared. It wasn’t often that I could bring Hartmut or other male scholars with me.

“You want me to bring Justus to tea parties? Does that mean...?”

“Do not make me say it. Your assumptions are correct.”

I was being told to have Justus cross-dress so that I could bring him to tea parties, but wouldn’t that just lead to people assuming I was the one with the weirdo cross-dressing attendant rather than Traugott?

“Is it just me, or does Ehrenfest have an unusually large collection of absolute weirdos? There’s Professor Hirschur, Justus... I would not like to be considered among them,” I said, thinking about what to do if people started to assume I was weird by association. Ferdinand, Karstedt, and Sylvester all made inscrutable faces.

“Perhaps, at times, ignorance is bliss...” Ferdinand mused.

“What?”

“Just go,” he said, shooing me away with his hand. I stood next to Rihyarda on the teleportation circle, feeling discontent, and felt the mana start to move.