Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.5 - Chapter 10

Post-Competition and the Harvest Festival

The next day, I was due to be measured and order my new outfit. Otto soon arrived, this time accompanied by Corinna and her seamstresses so that they could prepare the cloth we had chosen. It was sad that I hadn’t been able to secure Mom as my personal dyer, but at the very least, I wanted to use the style of dress that Tuuli had designed for me.

“Lady Rozemyne, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” Corinna said.

The dyeing competition yesterday had apparently been a huge success. Noblewomen had started placing orders with workshops and craftspeople through their exclusive merchants, earning them high praise from not only the large stores who had feared the Gilberta Company monopolizing everything, but also from the Dyeing Guild, the dyeing workshops, and the craftspeople themselves.

The cloth that the craftspeople had worked so hard to dye now had the approval of archnobles, meaning the new dyeing methods were cemented into Ehrenfest culture. The craftsmen who had earned the title of “Renaissance” from Florencia and Charlotte were looked upon with envy, and many burned with a passion to secure the title for themselves next time.

“As you did not decide upon a Renaissance, Lady Rozemyne, the craftspeople have shifted their focus to next season,” Corinna continued. “I am told that there are young craftspeople who have begun to study art on the basis of the cloth you selected.”

Prior to my new techniques, dyers had focused on learning to dye cloth a perfectly even color, tolerating no blemishes whatsoever. Now that resist-dyeing was becoming more widespread, however, people were needing to work on their artistic skills as well.

“There are some craftspeople who used their own art, but there are others who hired art workshops to draw the flowers and such for them. Those who had seamstresses apparently relied on embroidery and such to create their designs. Indeed, the field of dyeing is changing dramatically as we speak,” Corinna concluded.

It seemed the craftspeople were all collectively challenging the new dyeing techniques. That was nice to hear, and I certainly appreciated their efforts, but...

“Do warn the Dyeing Guild that single-color cloth is still going to be necessary in Ehrenfest,” I said. “Remind them to be wary of repeating the mistakes of those who came before us by allowing currently existing techniques to be forgotten.”

I wouldn’t want this new trend to make everyone forget the techniques they currently used. There was no point in repeating what had happened when Gabriele of Ahrensbach made single-color dyeing trendy.

“I will ensure they are warned,” Corinna said, nodding her understanding as she busily measured me. I made sure to listen carefully as she spoke to her aides, and it was then that I realized the numbers were a little greater than before. In a shocking twist, I was actually growing a bit.

Heck yes! I’ve grown a very tiny amount over the past year!

I could feel my excitement bubbling up within me, but I made sure to keep it from showing on my face.

Corinna gave a meaningful smile while placing the cloth that Brunhilde had selected against me. “You truly have sharp eyes, Lady Rozemyne,” she said.

“Hm?”

“The piece of cloth you selected is the one that Effa dyed. Even when no names were provided, you were able to identify her work so easily. Otto could scarcely believe it.”

No... It wasn’t me. It... It really wasn’t.

I had narrowed it down to a select few candidates, but Brunhilde was the one who had made the final choice.

Brunhilde succeeded where the strength of my love failed... Brunhilde, I kneel before your greatness!

Had I known this was Mom’s cloth, I would have granted her the “Renaissance” title. I had already announced that I hadn’t selected anyone, however, and it was too late to backpedal. I was disappointed that I hadn’t managed to identify it on my own, but I was still genuinely glad to be using Mom’s cloth for my winter outfit.

“I quite liked my summer outfit and would appreciate something similar for winter,” I said.

Corinna nodded with a knowing smile. I had already told Elvira and Florencia that I wanted to establish bubble skirts as a trend, and Charlotte had called them cute and expressed interest in having her own made, so they were pretty much set in stone.

“Furthermore, do instruct Tuuli to create a hairpin to match this outfit.”

“As you wish.”

Once the measuring was done and my outfit and the hairpin were ordered, I prepared to depart for the temple; the Harvest Festival was fast approaching. Upon my return, I reported to Ferdinand what had happened during the dyeing competition. I also mentioned that I had spoken to Aurelia and wanted to make new recipes with Ahrensbach ingredients, at which point he began to shake his head.

“It is simple for you to say that you wish to make new recipes, but the chefs will struggle a great deal with your request,” he began. To summarize the list of points he bombarded me with, my personal chefs wouldn’t know how to handle the bizarre ingredients from Ahrensbach, and this inexperience was considered dangerous. Unknown ingredients were pretty much treated as explosives.

I suppose that’s fair enough. I seem to recall there being quite a few ingredients that needed special treatment back in my lower city days.

There was the faux garlic one had to crush ahead of time, mushrooms that one had to burn to stop them from dancing... Ferdinand was right that it was unwise for the chefs to try to use these new Ahrensbach ingredients without knowing how to deal with their quirks.

“In the past, southern nobles would at times offer Ahrensbach ingredients to the castle, so court chefs and those serving nobles of the former Veronica faction might be familiar with them,” Ferdinand said. “But we cannot trust Aurelia enough to simply use ingredients she has brought with her.”

At this rate, his lack of trust in Aurelia was going to delay my chance of eating seafood. I needed to do something, and fast.

“Aurelia is by no means a bad person,” I said. “In fact, she was so timid that she could not even remove her veil.”

“Fool. This is why you are called narrow-sighted. Think not just of Aurelia, but also of those around her,” Ferdinand shot back. I almost wanted to cry.

The fish are within my reach! They’re so close I could touch them! Unless I can eat them soon, I’m literally going to die!

“Ferdinand. We need to research these Ahrensbach ingredients, not just for the sake of adjusting Aurelia to Ehrenfest, but also in the interest of preparing new trends. Indeed, I absolutely... I... I really want to eat fish. I’m even willing to accept it plain, grilled with nothing but salt. The more complex flavoring can come with time. I just... I need fish. Now.”

Perhaps I could squeeze some citrus juice over the cooked fish to add some seasonal flavors. Either way, I just wanted to eat some seafood. Anything would do.

Ferdinand started rubbing his temples. “You attempted to obfuscate your goals with lofty claims of wishing to help Aurelia and producing new trends, but you could not even finish your point before you revealed that you care only for satiating this apparent lust for food. Good grief... You truly never change. It seems as if educating you has been a complete waste of my time.”

“Actually, your education has helped me change quite a bit. If not for your guidance, I would have barged into Aurelia’s home with Hugo and Ella that very same day. We would not be having this conversation, because my mouth would already be filled with fish.”

I was going through the appropriate procedure here. Some might have argued this was the absolute minimum expected of me, but as far as I was concerned, it showed just how far I had come. As I puffed out my chest and started bragging about my growth, however, Ferdinand scolded me and said that there was still much more for me to learn.

Well... Yeah, okay. That’s fair.

“I will consult Sylvester to see whether any of the castle chefs are familiar with Ahrensbach ingredients,” Ferdinand said. “You remain in the temple. I feel as though you will wander out on your own if you are not placed under supervision. You would no doubt make convenient detours while traveling between the temple and castle, tempt gourmands for their political support, and...”

Ferdinand went on to describe all the things he thought I might do, counting them off on his fingers one by one. I could now travel between the temple and castle without him, since I had adult noble retainers with me, and it was absolutely true that I was thinking about sneaking away during one of the journeys to further my fishy agenda. He had seen right through me.

This isn’t good. I’m like an open book to him. Can he read minds or something?

I awkwardly glanced up at Ferdinand, who grimaced slightly in response. “I simply listed the past actions of a certain archduke with escapist tendencies, but I see that some rang a bell for you,” he said.

CURSE YOU, SYLVESTER!

“Furthermore, your thoughts are written on your face. Are you not excessively lowering your guard due to the fact we are in the temple?”

“Nghhh...”

He was right again; I always relaxed when I was in the temple. I rubbed my cheeks and tried putting on a more noble-like expression, only for Ferdinand to let out an exasperated sigh.

“You seem to have forgotten this because it inconveniences you, but you are forbidden from contacting Aurelia. You were allowed to meet during the dyeing competition under Elvira’s supervision, but that was an exception, if you would recall.”

I had completely forgotten due to our friendly conversation at the tea party, but I had indeed been told not to contact her. I couldn’t see why, though. She didn’t seem dangerous at all... and I really wanted some fish.

Hm... I can’t contact her without supervision. So I can contact her with supervision.

I slapped my cheeks, straightened my back, and put on a noble smile. “I would very much like to prepare offerings to Cuococalura the God of Cooking before all the lives of this land are blanketed in the harsh winter brought about by Ewigeliebe the God of Life’s frigid emotions. Let us satisfy Cuococalura with offerings made by the joint wisdom of Ahrensbach and Ehrenfest. Lord Ferdinand, would you take the time to join us in this endeavor?”

“If rumors spread that Aurelia is attempting to spread Ahrensbach cooking throughout Ehrenfest, the former Veronica faction will take it as an opportunity to leap to her side. Do not give Elvira even more work to deal with,” Ferdinand said, dismissing my suggestion with a harsh glare. It seemed that the fish would need to wait until the former Veronica faction settled down.

And so, my fish dream fades away. My fish... My fiiish...

I spent the next few days trying again and again to convince Ferdinand, engaging in hopeless trial and error, approaching the situation from every possible angle, until an ordonnanz from Elvira finally interrupted my efforts. She informed me that a paper-making workshop had been established in Reunwalt, and that Wilfried had completed his final checks.

Since we were only having the paper-making workshops produce the most basic form of paper, teaching them the process only took about a month. We could easily be back in time for the Harvest Festival.

Four gray priests from the Rozemyne Workshop climbed into Lessy alongside those from the Plantin Company who needed to establish a Plant Paper Guild, then we headed to the province in question. The instructors were made up of gray priests with experience staying in Illgner, and gray priests who had socialized with the commoners in Hasse. There were leherls from the Plantin Company as well, so I wouldn’t need to worry. I simply needed to emphasize that the gray priests were not to be treated poorly or as though they were property.

Aside from the trip to the paper-making workshop, I needed to select priests to swap out with those at Hasse, organize winter preparations, and check over the printing industry. I was kept so busy that the Harvest Festival seemed to come around in the blink of an eye.

There wasn’t actually much ground for me to cover this year, since Wilfried and Charlotte were helping as well. Ferdinand said that we could just go to the same places we had gone for Spring Prayer, so our roles were settled without much discussion at all.

On top of my Harvest Festival duties, I was also going to be visiting Groschel to fetch the Gutenbergs. Justus was not accompanying me as my tax official this year; instead, another archnoble was taking his place. This archscholar was Hartmut’s uncle, who had also been his superior before Hartmut became my retainer.

“Lady Rozemyne, will you be traveling by highbeast?” he asked.

It was normal for carriages to be used when traveling with blue priests; the long nature of the journey and the necessity of bringing luggage meant they were essential even to nobles. The scholar seemingly wanted to confirm that highbeasts were actually used in the temple. I explained that I would send my luggage and attendants ahead via carriage, while we traveled by highbeast. It was a system designed with my health in mind. I told the scholar that he was welcome to use a carriage, but he replied that he would rather use a highbeast as well.

I can’t blame him. Highbeasts are faster and more comfortable than carriages.

After a brief meeting, we prepared to depart. Since the Harvest Festival was a religious ceremony and was being held outside of the castle, only Damuel and Angelica were accompanying me; the underage apprentices were having to stay behind. Upon being told this, Judithe shot Damuel a vexed glare and grumbled about being stuck without work again.

“Come on, Judithe. It isn’t my fault this time...” Damuel said, scratching his cheek. Angelica nodded in agreement.

“Right. Rather than envying Damuel, you should work hard so that you can serve Lady Rozemyne properly when it’s your turn to guard her. I should ask Master to train you while we’re gone...”

Judithe shook her head. “I’ve already been told to improve my accuracy, so I’ll focus on that instead.”

The last thing I needed to do was delegate work to be done in my absence. The apprentice knights generally spent each day working on their coordination. This doubled as training for the hunting tournament for the castle’s winter preparations, which took place during the Harvest Festival.

“Shine so brightly that even the adult knights pale in comparison,” I said.

“Yes, my lady! Your wish is my command.”

“Hartmut, Philine—please continue transcribing our book from Dunkelfelger.”

“As you wish.”

“And as for my attendants, I ask that you complete the embroidery. Lord Ferdinand is going to be looking it over when he returns from the Harvest Festival.”

“Understood.”

As I continued to delegate work, my eyes fell on Brunhilde. “You suggested that all girls wear hairpins at the Royal Academy’s advancement ceremony and fellowship gatherings, correct?” I asked. “Summon the Gilberta Company and have them prepare hairpins for this year’s female students at the cost of a small silver each.”

“One small silver?” Brunhilde repeated, her brow furrowed. “Such hairpins would only be suitable for laynobles and mednobles. They are beneath you, Lady Rozemyne.”

“I intend to wear it double with my usual hairpin, and the archnobles may mimic this. I do not want laynobles to find themselves struggling for money because they have been forced to purchase something at my order.”

Brunhilde seemed to find my answer satisfactory; she began categorizing everyone’s hair colors and choosing which hairpins would suit them best.

So, now my castle retainers won’t be lacking work while I’m at the Harvest Festival, right? Assigning suitable tasks to everyone is surprisingly difficult.

During the Harvest Festival, I was going to be traveling by highbeast with Fran and Angelica, while Monika, Hugo, Ella, and Rosina were going to be traveling by carriage. Those going to Hasse’s monastery were going to be guarded, as per usual, with Dad at the front. I gazed across all the gathered soldiers.

“I saw with my own eyes when visiting the Italian restaurant that the beauty and cleanliness of the lower city has been maintained,” I said. “During my meeting there, the large store owners of the Merchant’s Guild reported just how hard all of you soldiers have been working. You have my utmost gratitude, and the archduke is extremely pleased with this result. I am looking forward to hearing tales of your efforts over dinner tonight, at the monastery.”

“As you wish. It will be my pleasure,” Gunther said. He rapped the left side of his chest twice with his fist, and the soldiers behind him mimicked the motion with proud grins. I returned the gesture and then watched as the carriages departed.

It was afternoon when I arrived in Hasse, and the Harvest Festival immediately began. The farmers welcomed me with jubilation, pleased that the year had given them another bountiful harvest. I performed the baptism, coming-of-age, and Starbinding ceremonies while the archscholar who had accompanied me discussed taxes and the dead with the mayor, Richt.

Once the ceremonies were over, it was time for the warf tournament. The townspeople were as passionate about it as ever. I felt a little bad for the poor warf getting kicked around, but nobody else seemed even the slightest bit bothered.

Even though this was Hasse’s Harvest Festival, I decided to leave midway through, as I would have done anywhere else. The tax official was still at the winter mansion when I made my way to the monastery.

“Lady Rozemyne!”

Upon my arrival, I was greeted not only by the gray priests, but by the soldiers as well, who were in such a fervor that one would think alcohol was being served. I changed from my ceremonial robes to my usual robes and then headed to the dining hall.

“The monastery’s fields were bountiful as well. It must be because the earth is still overflowing with your mana,” Thore said, gleefully showing me the vegetables he had harvested. They looked tastier and much larger than the ones I was used to from my commoner days.

Rick smiled with Thore and pointed at a box in the corner of the dining hall. “We prepared the best vegetables to be sent to the temple for you to eat,” he said. “Greens go bad easily, so they’re soaked in oil or heavily salted, but we plan to get the root crops first thing tomorrow morning. Please do share them throughout the temple orphanage.”

Perhaps because they had spent so long doing farmwork, the monastery’s gray priests looked healthier and more tanned than the gray priests who had just arrived from the Ehrenfest orphanage.

“It must have been hard for the gray priests to learn Hasse’s ways, considering that they arrived without any farming experience,” I observed.

“It was, but the hard work allowed us to produce such delicious vegetables,” one of the gray priests replied. “Seeing the fruits of our labor lined up before us is infinitely more joyous than sitting and waiting to be given morsels.”

The loss of so many blue priests had meant that food shortages were once commonplace in the Ehrenfest orphanage. Only by providing for themselves had those living there managed to avoid going hungry. The gray priest smiled to himself, no doubt amused about how much they had once struggled to do something that now appeared so simple. He exuded the happiness of someone who had forged a new path for themselves, and that made me happy too.

After praising the gray priests, I walked over to the soldiers. It was a rare opportunity for me to properly speak with commoners. I paid close attention to their thrilling tales of running around the city before the entwickeln and then asked about how things were faring with all the merchants from other duchies visiting.

“I have heard the thoughts of the Plantin Company and the guildmaster, but I would like to know your perspectives as well,” I said. “Has the peace of the city been at all affected, or have any non-merchants attempted to exploit the situation for personal gain? How does the situation seem to you soldiers?”

From a merchant’s perspective, there had been a whirlwind of activity following the arrival of the outsider merchants, but the huge spike in profits more than made up for it. There was much room for improvement, but with the lower city still clean and the Italian restaurant’s introduction system proving very effective, the consensus was that things had gone successfully overall.

The soldiers went right to telling me their thoughts.

“Prices have gone up, since there’re so many people buying so many things,” one said. “But in return, we have more work and we’re getting paid more. It was a bit rough before that raise got approved.”

“It was summer, so we were able to avoid starving by gathering in the forest, but we’re bound to struggle a lot more if this happens every year.”

“The eateries and taverns were completely packed for days on end. I’ve never seen so many people in the city at once.”

I noticed that Fran was frantically trying to write down all of the soldiers’ responses in his diptych. I took out my own diptych and did the same.

Considering that the merchants also brought servants with them, quite a flood of people had entered the city. There were even merchants who trawled the Craftsman’s Alley in the southern part of the city to see what people were making. Few were actually allowed into workshops, however, since nobody recognized them.

“The craftspeople said these wandering merchants were acting suspiciously. Furthermore, everyone was so busy trying to complete their orders that they weren’t particularly welcoming of outsiders wanting to chat.”

“The main street from the east gate to the west gate was constantly packed with people and more lively than it’s ever been. Unfortunately, fights at eateries and taverns became a lot more common, and we were frequently called to deal with them, so the east gate in particular was very busy.”

Even so, overall impressions were positive. I was relieved to know that their reports weren’t much different from those of the merchants.

“It is thanks to all of your efforts that the lower city remains so clean and its residents have adjusted to their new lifestyles so well,” I said. “You even ensured that minor fights were the only problems of note, despite so many outsider merchants flooding the city. I thank you ever so much, and I look forward to your continued service.”

“If not for your sage advice, Lady Rozemyne, we would not have patrolled the city so thoroughly or put quite so much work into warning the others,” Dad said. “It is very likely that the lower city would have ended up being demolished entirely. Our job as soldiers is to protect the city, so please do contact us if something like this happens again,” he concluded, once again tapping his chest twice in salute.

Good. Sounds like I managed to keep everyone safe.