Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.4 - Chapter 2

Meeting the Scholars

The announcement of my engagement had caused such a buzz among the nobles that it was as though someone had kicked the proverbial hornets’ nest. It was an understandable response—for the Leisegangs who were striving to have me become the next archduke, they might as well have wasted an entire winter influencing others and gathering what was now completely useless intelligence. They would need to restart from the ground up, figuring out how and where this development would change things.

The former Veronica faction would similarly need to discuss how to move forward. It was clear enough that they didn’t think very highly of me at all, and now it was guaranteed that I would serve as a central pillar in the Ehrenfest political sphere moving forward.

By the time I finished breakfast, I was flooded with letters requesting emergency meetings with me, causing a bit of a panic among my retainers. How many requests there were and the importance of the people making them were irrelevant; my guardians had specifically told me not to involve myself with anyone.

“Reject each request,” I said. “I will need to speak to the aub before I do anything.”

“Milady, not all of these nobles can be so easily refused,” Rihyarda said. She then began listing out names, several of which belonged to my extended family—namely those who were forming what Ferdinand called “the fledgling Rozemyne faction.” In which case, it was all the more important to discuss things before the meeting.

“Milady, will you truly meet with the scholars while refusing all requests for meetings one after another?” Rihyarda asked. Nobles returned to their provinces in order following the completion of the feast, and I needed to meet with the scholars and government officials selected by the giebes to participate in the printing industry before then. But I wasn’t the one who had scheduled all this for the day after the feast.

“Please consult Ferdinand and Mother about that,” I replied, “not me.”

I decided to send an ordonnanz to Ferdinand asking what I should do, thereby placing the matter in his capable hands. His response was that we were going to return to the temple after the scholars had been introduced to me. The temple performed the commoners’ coming-of-age ceremony in the winter and baptisms for everyone in the spring. In other words, there was much work for me to do as the High Bishop now that I was awake again.

No, of course I don’t think it’s fortunate that I now have an excuse to escape this mess. I’m simply dedicated to my duties as High Bishop, that’s all. I have no choice but to return to the temple. Teehee!

“As Ferdinand has instructed, I will return to the temple following the introduction to the scholars. Unfortunately, I will not have any time for meetings. It pains my heart, but this is how it must be...”

“Milady. If you are going to lie, at least try to act the part,” Rihyarda said with a bemused smile before asking Brunhilde and Ottilie to start writing up all the necessary rejection letters. Nobles found such rejections easier to accept when they came from higher-status individuals or family members. “Lieseleta, come help me dress Lady Rozemyne. I am going to be accompanying her for now, but eventually, I will entrust attending her during the printing meetings to you.”

“Me, specifically?” Lieseleta asked.

“Indeed. I am told that the scholars involved with the printing and paper-making industries will be primarily laynobles and mednobles. Their bosses are one thing, but with an archnoble attendant around, they will all be too nervous to work properly.”

Lieseleta nodded in agreement and then began dressing me with a somewhat tense expression. Incidentally, I was going to be participating in this meeting as an apprentice scholar. One could not become a scholar without first gaining work experience as an apprentice, and one could not become a librarian without first being a scholar. The chain of unlocks here made this extremely important.

To tell the truth, I had asked Ferdinand whether I could gain the necessary experience by working in the castle book room, but he had called me a fool for even suggesting it. He had tapped his forehead and said the following: “You do remember you are responsible for spreading the printing industry, yes? Your experience will be earned there and in the paper-making industry.”

I made my promise to Lutz! I’m gonna put my all into developing the printing and paper-making industries!

“Let us do our best, Philine.”

“Yes, Lady Rozemyne.”

I smiled at Philine, who was likewise going to be working as a scholar for the first time in this environment, and she nodded anxiously in turn. I was starting to feel that we had grown a little closer than before, since we had been interacting more following her move to the castle.

“Hartmut, you did work in other fields before becoming my retainer, correct? I would hope that you can instruct me as well,” I said.

“My knowledge is yours. However, there is not likely to be much I can teach you with regard to the printing and paper-making industries. Rather, I will most likely be the one begging you for your teachings,” he replied with a smile as I got all excited about working as a scholar.

And so, I headed for the meeting with Hartmut and Philine as my scholars; Rihyarda and Lieseleta as my attendants; and Damuel, Angelica, and Judithe as my guard knights. I had entrusted Cornelius, Leonore, and Brunhilde with gathering intelligence elsewhere during the meeting. They were all Leisegangs, and so I could imagine other Leisegangs would actively approach them to talk.

I moved to the main castle building in Lessy, and after entering the room where the meeting was due to take place, I discovered that Elvira had already arrived. She wasn’t wearing one of her usual gaudy outfits; instead, she was dressed in a tight scholar uniform designed for work with sleeves that barely hung. I could see her concentrated profile and the sharpness in her eyes as she looked over the documents. She exuded the aura of a competent working woman, and I couldn’t help but let out a breath of awe.

“Mother,” I said.

“You must call me ‘Elvira’ here, Lady Rozemyne.”

“Excuse me. Elvira. Have there been any changes of plan so far?”

Today’s meeting had several goals: we would be introduced to the scholars, explain our plans, and then discuss when the Gutenbergs and gray priests would be available to teach for the paper-making industry.

“There have been no changes as of yet.”

The scholars of the Noble’s Quarter would be discussing not only the printing industry, but the lower city cleanup with the guildmaster and the Plantin Company. The scholars sent from the various giebes needed to prepare for the Gutenbergs, and the only certainty here was that both groups of scholars would be exceptionally busy moving forward.

“We can say with absolute certainty that the meeting with the commoners is going to be held at the temple, correct?” Elvira asked.

“I do not believe we have to make that a hard rule, as there will be times when it would be more convenient to meet in the castle. However, the temple is indeed more approachable to commoners, and I believe the scholars will find it more agreeable to go there than into the lower city itself.”

“It should take only a single visit for them to learn the temple is not such a bad place, although I can imagine it being a struggle trying to make that visit happen. Nobles do not have a very good impression of the place...” Elvira muttered. She then took out a sheet of paper. “Incidentally, Lady Rozemyne—what is all this about a legal deposit law?”

“As the document says, it will implement a system wherein the Printing Guild must deliver copies of everything they print to the book rooms in Ehrenfest. I have already received the archduke’s permission.”

The legal deposit law would gather together all printed material in the duchy. In other words, it was the single most important part of the growing printing industry.

“Books which have an enormous impact on culture and the people’s lives are treasures to be preserved. Indeed, they are treasures being produced in Ehrenfest. Is it not my duty as the archduke’s daughter to collect, organize, and preserve these books?” I asked.

My retainers were blinking at me in disbelief as my rant grew more and more passionate, but I continued nonetheless. Stopping wasn’t an option. The last thing I wanted was Elvira rejecting this law or attempting to dismantle it.

“At some point, I plan to establish a national (bibliography). This will provide the groundwork necessary to establish a (copyright) system without much difficulty, and while I never plan to do this myself, it would even allow for the censoring of some materials. The legal deposit law is absolutely critical for forming a comprehensive record of printed material!” I declared while confidently pushing out my chest.

Elvira rested a hand on her cheek, sighed, and then used her other hand to point at one section of the document. “I understand that much; the practicality of such a law is clear. What I do not understand is why it includes a clause that says copies must be delivered not only to the book rooms in Ehrenfest, but also to the Saint of Ehrenfest herself.”

Well, that’s to reduce the burden on Lutz.

Lutz had promised to deliver a copy of every single book that was printed to me, but that would be impossible once the giebes started introducing printing workshops in their own duchies. Even if somehow he did manage to go to these workshops whenever a new book was printed, people would start asking questions about why he was going through so much effort in the first place. And then there was the fact that buying every single book would be insanely expensive, especially considering how much each one cost.

To solve these problems, rather than having Lutz go to the books, I simply needed to have the books come to Lutz. By establishing the legal deposit law, books would naturally gather in the Plantin Company, where the head of the Printing Guild was. Lutz would then deliver the gathered books to me, I would accept them, and then I would read them at my leisure.

Perfect, right?

“At the current moment, all the printing is being done in my workshops and in Haldenzel, and copies of every book printed are being gifted to the castle. As the industry truly begins to spread, however, I imagine some provinces will not be so generous. I began developing the printing industry specifically so that I would have books to read. As such, is it not normal that the books made using the technologies I developed should end up being sent back to me?”

“Is it?” Elvira asked. She was looking at me doubtfully, but I just smiled and nodded; it was only right that all books made from this point onward belonged to me. I would use my authority to its fullest extent to make my dreams a reality in their most superior form. I was not afraid of using force to get my way.

“I can assure you, it is quite normal. That is why I decided to introduce the legal deposit law to the Printing Guild, such that books will automatically find their way to me. The key is to strike while the iron is hot. If we attempt to implement it later into the development of the book-making industry, it would seem like tyranny... but if we establish it from the very start, everyone will accept it as normal, even as printing spreads to other provinces.”

“I now deeply sympathize with Lord Ferdinand, who expressed in agonized terms that the world would be so much better if you simply used your talents for good rather than books.”

As my conversation with Elvira continued, Wilfried and Charlotte entered the room as well with their retainers in tow.

“So, what are you discussing?” Wilfried asked.

“The legal deposit law and where we intend to meet with the commoner merchants for meetings. It seems that most discussions will take place in the temple,” I answered. Wilfried and Charlotte gave brisk nods in response, but their scholars grimaced for a brief moment.

“Going to the lower city would be a little unreasonable, but the temple should do just fine,” Charlotte said.

“Yeah, I’m fine with the temple,” Wilfried agreed. “It doesn’t stink like the lower city, and there are tasty sweets served there.”

It was clear to see they had gotten rather familiar with the temple after passing through it so many times for Spring Prayer and the Harvest Festival. It was actually a little amusing that regular nobles were wincing about a place the archducal family was so heavily involved with.

“Now then—Lord Wilfried, Lady Charlotte, I shall explain your duties to you,” Elvira said. In short, the layscholars were going to compile lists of requests and problems to be fixed in the lower city, which Charlotte and her retainers would then check and pass along to the archduke whenever his permission was required. Wilfried and his retainers would wait to receive word that the printing and paper-making preparations were all complete before going to the location in question to look things over.

“...Why is Wilfried doing the final checks?” I asked.

“Because he has obtained his highbeast, and we do not have the time to travel there slowly on foot,” Elvira replied. “Furthermore, the workers will take their duties more seriously if a member of the archducal family is performing the final checks.”

Once we had confirmation from Wilfried and his retainers that there weren’t any problems, I would bring the Gutenbergs over in Lessy.

“At present, you have the only highbeast that can transport luggage and several people at once. Thus, we will entrust the moving of the Gutenbergs to you.”

“Elvira, are you telling Rozemyne to carry commoners in her highbeast?!” Wilfried exclaimed. Charlotte’s and his retainers looked equally shocked.

“Indeed. I was as surprised as you are, but Lady Rozemyne has apparently been doing this already. Considering the practicality, it is best that she continue this practice. She will only be carrying them around until printing has spread throughout Ehrenfest, after all.”

Once printing spread far enough, the plan was for provinces to start sending their own teachers to nearby provinces. The Gutenbergs would only be flying around the duchy during the early setup stages.

Third bell chimed, and three scholars from the Noble’s Quarter entered the room. Gustav had recommended them all, and they had been selected based on their ability to communicate at least somewhat with commoners. The only one I immediately recognized was Damuel’s older brother, Henrik, but they all came across as fairly warm and affable people.

Those who came in next were the scholars sent by the giebes invested in the printing and paper-making industries. They all did a double take upon seeing me, Wilfried, Charlotte, and our retainers; we must have been a surprising cast for nobles used to working with commoners in the peaceful countryside.

“You may sit,” Elvira said as she gestured to the available seats. Once everyone was seated, she then announced the start of the meet and greet for those who would henceforth be involved in the printing and paper-making industries.

We began by introducing ourselves, which was my opportunity to write down everyone’s names, affiliations, and any notable visual identifiers they might have. I was particularly trying to memorize the faces of the government officials from Haldenzel, since I would be seeing them again during Spring Prayer.

The documents that Hartmut had written up were distributed to the officials, while Elvira explained what preparations would be made for inviting the Gutenbergs. She explained from a noble’s perspective that negotiating with commoners was going to be a regular occurrence, what minor spats had flared up in Haldenzel and how best to make progress. It was something that I certainly couldn’t have done myself.

“Lady Rozemyne’s Gutenbergs have their own work within Ehrenfest as well. Take care that your preparations are thorough, such that their time is not wasted,” Elvira said, finishing her explanation with the officials. She then moved on to advising the layscholars about contacting those in the lower city. “Meetings with commoners will for the most part be held in the temple,” she began.

The scholars looked surprised to hear this, but they hid their revulsion as much as possible—presumably because Ferdinand and I lived there as members of the archducal family and because Wilfried and Charlotte went there to help with religious ceremonies.

“Following the Archduke Conference, merchants from other duchies will be visiting the city of Ehrenfest,” Elvira continued. “We must clean up the lower city so that we do not earn their condescension. We will generally entrust this to Gustav, the guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild, but keep in mind that any perceivable faults in the lower city will also reflect poorly on our nobles and make us seem unprepared. Officials who have finished their preparations, contact Lady Charlotte by ordonnanz. She will arrange which of the provinces is visited first and when, while Lord Wilfried will visit and examine the area in question. Once he can confirm there are no issues, Lady Rozemyne will bring the Gutenbergs via her highbeast.”

The scholars were naturally surprised to hear that a child of the archduke was transporting commoners in her highbeast, but I had no intention of stopping.

“I imagine many of you will find the idea of carrying commoners unpleasant, but expanding the paper-making and printing industries is so important for Ehrenfest that we must depend on the efficiency that highbeasts provide,” I explained. “I would like you all to understand well that you are dealing with industries of such importance that grave actions of this nature must be undertaken.”

The meeting came to an end once we had successfully lit a fire under the scholars, at which point I started making my way to the northern building with Wilfried, Charlotte, and all of our retainers.

“Rozemyne, I’m guessing you’ve been getting a mountain of invitations too?” Wilfried asked, having apparently gone through the same thing I had this morning. “Have you decided on whom you’re going to meet with?”

“I have, but I must return to the temple posthaste for the winter coming-of-age ceremony and the spring baptisms. I will trust dealing with the nobles here to Ferdinand and Sylvester... and, of course, to you, my betrothed.”

“Rozemyne?”

“My hopes for you are ever so high, my betrothed.”

I was tossing all the responsibility onto Wilfried, and upon seeing that, Charlotte put a hand over her mouth and started to giggle, apparently unable to help herself. “We would not want to interfere with your temple duties, Sister. And Brother... stay strong. I do not mind helping if at any point you find yourself overwhelmed,” she said with a mischievous smile.

“I can handle it myself,” Wilfried replied with a frown.

Upon arriving at my room, I immediately began preparing for my return to the temple. Ottilie and Brunhilde had already organized my luggage, on top of sending word to my personal chef and musician.

“I expect to return in around ten days and shall entrust my room to you in my absence,” I said. “You may contact me via ordonnanz if something happens.”

“I shall accompany you to the temple, Lady Rozemyne. You give blessings during the ceremonies, correct? I would love to see them,” Hartmut said. His orange eyes were sparking in anticipation, but unfortunately for him, being allowed to accompany me to the temple didn’t mean he was allowed to enter the chapel.

“Only those affiliated with the temple may be present for ceremonies, Hartmut. Not even my guard knights are allowed into the chapel or the ritual hall, so I’m afraid you will not be permitted to attend.”

“This can’t be... What am I to do, then?”

“Your job, I would assume.”

To help Hartmut get over his shock, I intended to leave him a mountain of work to do; there was truly no denying the consideration with which I treated my retainers. I explained that I was going to entrust him with training Philine and that I would be handing him reports for Elvira, a new higher-up in the printing industry, sent from the guildmaster and the Plantin Company.

“Philine, I ask that you organize reports on the profit the printing and paper-making industries have produced up to this point,” I said.

“Erm, I am still not entirely sure how to write such documents...”

“Do not worry—Hartmut will teach you. Right, Hartmut?”

“That won’t be a problem,” Hartmut replied with a half-smile. One had to admire the fact that, even when getting buried under an obnoxious amount of work, he didn’t utter so much as a single complaint.

After distributing work to my scholars, I looked over the rest of my retainers. “To those of you who will not be coming to the temple, pick up all the information you can from the nobles who remain here in the castle. I expect that adults, children, men, women, attendants, scholars, and knights all know different things about various matters.”

“Understood.”

Not too long after, Ferdinand sent me an ordonnanz asking whether I had completed my preparations. I replied that I had and then returned to the temple with Damuel, Angelica, Hugo, Ella, and Rosina in tow.

“Welcome back, Lady Rozemyne.”

Fran and Monika greeted me upon my return. The castle wasn’t a whirlpool of constant plotting by any means, but the atmosphere was certainly sharp. On the whole, I found the temple a much more relaxing place to be.

“Ferdinand, I was hoping to print this novel that I’ve written, but could I ask you to check it for any problems first?” I asked.

I had written a romance novel that copied Elvira’s Royal Academy Stories on a surface level but was actually based on an Earth story. Given that even my rendition of Cinderella had previously been rejected, however, I needed Ferdinand to read through the story to ensure it wouldn’t clash with the culture of this world.

“I will certainly give it a look over.”

I was planning to start printing textbooks in spring too, but since I wasn’t looking to sell those, I needed another book that we could actually make some money from. After seeing how popular Elvira’s romance novel was among noblewomen, I had concluded that I might as well ride on the waves of her success.

I handed the manuscript to Ferdinand and then made my way to my room, where I received reports from my attendants.

“Regarding Hugo and Ella...” Zahm began. “As expected, we are unable to create a room for a married couple within the temple.”

“I see. In that case, they will need to either live separately in the temple or rent a room in the lower city and commute to work,” I replied. After praising Zahm for his efforts, I went on to discuss the finer points of how the marriage would be handled—that is, until Fran walked over in a hurry.

“Lady Rozemyne, the High Priest is here. He wishes to discuss the manuscript that you just delivered to him,” he said.

I granted permission for Ferdinand to enter, at which point he strode briskly into the room with an exceedingly sour expression. He wordlessly tossed the manuscript onto my desk and set down a sound-blocking magic tool beside it.

Something tells me he didn’t like it...

I gripped the tool, although I could tell before Ferdinand even said anything that the manuscript had been rejected. His bringing out the sound-blocking magic tool was a clear indicator that he was in the mood to explain quite thoroughly every single mistake I had made.

Ferdinand sat in a chair prepared for him by Fran and then looked me right in the eyes. “Rozemyne, I have never read something so shameless in my life. It would be unthinkable to publish this under your name!” he declared.

“Sh-Shameless?! Which parts?! Where?!”

My eyes flitted from Ferdinand to the manuscript. I had written a romance story based on one from Elvira’s book, wherein two nobles find themselves at odds due to a difference in status, before eventually finding union in one another. It was a pretty standard tale for girls in my eyes—the heroine’s heart would race when she made eye contact with the love interest, her cheeks would flush as her hand brushed his, her chest would ache when she saw her crush speaking to another girl... But it would all culminate in a scene where their feelings reach one another, and they finally kiss.

And yet, to Ferdinand, something about the manuscript was shameless. I couldn’t understand it at all; I had avoided using explicit language and symbolism entirely, well aware that it was a story for rich girls to read.

“Every single scene where the two main characters touch! Every! Single! One! It boggles the mind that you would write something so perverted. Did you truly base this on Elvira’s book?”

“Yes. It’s based on Royal Academy Stories,” I replied, thrusting a copy of the book forward as a makeshift shield. Incidentally—and thankfully—it was the version that didn’t contain illustrations drawn in his image.

Ferdinand thumbed through Elvira’s book, paused on one particular page, and then thrust it back to me. “This is what you need to learn from,” he said, pointing at a three-page poem sequence replete with praise for the gods—one that I had admittedly skimmed over, since the allusions and symbolism didn’t mean too much to me. “Learn from this if you are to write about the touching of two people.”

Ferdinand went on to explain with a deep frown that every single scene in my manuscript involving some heart-throbbing exchange was no good, and that the enormous poem in Elvira’s novel was supposed to be a love scene.

What is this, a Bollywood movie?!

My mind was immediately drawn to those well-known scenes from Indian romance movies. The man and woman would stare at one another intently, only for a group of people to appear out of nowhere and pull everyone into an extravagant song and dance routine. Sure, the choreography was impressive, and it was fun to watch, but the story always ended up completely lost on me.

“What I mean to say is that your language is too direct and much too lewd. It would be beyond scandalous for an archduke candidate to publish a shameless work such as this,” Ferdinand concluded. As it turned out, my attempt to write a love story for girls had resulted in what people here considered pornography. I had no idea what to say, really. What a place this was.

“I understand that there remains a sizable gap between the culture of noble society and my own. That is why I have now decided not to write romance stories myself. It seems it would be better for me to train a novelist to write in my place.”

“That would be wise. Be sure to burn this manuscript before anyone else can stumble upon it.”

There was no way I could write a romance story in which the principal love scene involved the characters abruptly reciting poetry extolling the virtues of the gods. I needed to train a novelist, and fast.

That said, if this is how they react to a love scene in a novel for girls, I wonder how they would react to an actual erotic novel...?