Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.5 - Chapter 17

Hirschur’s Visit and the Advancement Ceremony

After warning the children of the former Veronica faction to think carefully before making any extreme decisions, I had them disperse.

“I did not know about name-swearing until Aub Ehrenfest told me about it, so there is much I still wish to learn. Is it something one would generally want to do in return for securing more mana?” I asked, looking over my retainers. The children would be able to pick their own faction freely once they came of age, and I didn’t know whether my mana compression method was important enough to warrant risking one’s life.

Brunhilde shook her head. “I do not intend to give my name to anyone,” she said with the dignified smile expected of a noble. “I wish to make my own decisions, and decide my own path through life. One can surely count the number of name-sworn nobles on one hand, and I believe that loyalty can be given even without making such a sacrifice.”

Leonore agreed with this assessment. “I feel that name-swearing is best done not to show one’s loyalty, but to express love to another—to give one’s name to one’s dearest and receive theirs in turn, thereby forming an eternal vow of everlasting love. However, that is hardly realistic. I do not believe it will ever happen for me.”

Oh, neat. So name-swearing can be used romantically too, huh? I can understand that in the context of mutual love, but I would hate for someone I didn’t have feelings for to attempt to force it on me.

“I saw with my own eyes the joy our brother Eckhart felt when he earned Lord Ferdinand’s trust through giving his name, and the despair he felt when he sheltered in the temple,” Cornelius said. “I don’t think I could give my name to someone after seeing how low he was.”

Right... He saw the consequences of someone giving their name up close.

Hartmut nodded in apparent agreement with Cornelius, but then he casually said, “I would not mind giving my name to Lady Rozemyne, if she desired it.” Everyone seemed completely taken aback, at which point he smiled and added, “But she does not, of course.”

Ferdinand may have needed such an extreme display of devotion, but that was because he had been surrounded by enemies and had lacked anyone he could trust. I had my adoptive parents, my archnoble parents, and several guardians looking after me, on top of my retainers whom I got along well with.

“Lady Rozemyne does not require such fanatic loyalty in the least, nor does she understand the value of receiving a name,” Hartmut continued. “She also values the free will of others to such an extent that she allows even gray priests and shrine maidens to make their own decisions. It is hard to imagine that she would appreciate a display that stands for the complete opposite.”

Hartmut was explaining my mindset to my other retainers in simple terms. He was eerily accurate, as though he had somehow managed to dissect my thoughts, but he was right—I wouldn’t want anyone giving me their name.

“Wilfried, Charlotte, would you have accepted the children’s names?” I asked, aware that they were in the same position as me this time.

Wilfried nodded as though the correct response were obvious. “Of course,” he said. “It’s my duty as their lord. I’d consider it an honor to have people loyal enough to be willing to give their names to me,” he said flatly, noting that he would even accept children of the former Veronica faction.

“I would as well,” Charlotte added, also nodding in agreement. “In fact, I find it more peculiar that you wouldn’t, Sister. You accepted Philine, and you hold the lives of the orphans on your shoulders as the orphanage director. Would it not be easier to accept loyalty bound by name-swearing than loyalty based on words alone?”

It was as she said—I was protecting the lower-city commoners and supporting the lives of all those in the orphanage. It was also true that Philine was close to being in the position of a name-sworn already, considering that I was giving her such special treatment. She hadn’t actually offered me her name, however. She had chosen to serve as my retainer, but I had stuck my nose into her family problems of my own accord. Thus, I thought it was simply my responsibility to look after her until she came of age and was able to be independent—or, if necessary, until she got married.

That said, I barely knew any of the children from the former Veronica faction, since faction politics discouraged us from socializing. Part of me suspected that this was just equivalent to them falling out with their parents and wanting to leech off of me instead. I didn’t see how they wouldn’t just cause problems.

To use an analogy, I was something of a company president, while the commoners and orphans were my employees. I was looking after Philine, the equivalent of a live-in employee who handled everything with her own wages. I needed to look after my employees equally so that everyone had jobs and nobody was being treated unfairly.

Meanwhile, the children of the former Veronica faction were like employees of an entirely separate company. By offering their names to me, they were cutting ahead of my live-in employees and asking me to adopt them into my family and give them assistance. I was sure that making such a request required a lot of resolve on their part, but there was much I would need to sacrifice to actually take them in.

“It’s not quite so simple for me...” I said in response to Charlotte’s question.

“I think you’d find them a lot more trustworthy after giving their names than if they simply asked to change factions,” Wilfried noted. I could only respond with a noncommittal nod.

Now that all the first-years had moved in and the students of every year were gathered together, dinner today was a little fancier than yesterday’s. We of the Better Grades Committee divided everyone into teams and announced the reward for this year’s competition: the recipe for tarts. I had randomly selected a dish that wasn’t in the recipe book we were selling.

“Just how many recipes does Lady Rozemyne have?!” one of the students exclaimed.

“We’ll win this time for sure,” said another. “I can guarantee it.”

Upon seeing everyone getting as heated up about studying in the common hall as they had done last year, I gave a relieved sigh. The heavy atmosphere from a moment ago had faded somewhat, and even the children of the former Veronica faction were getting into it...

Although I couldn’t say for sure whether this was just one way that nobles masked their emotions.

The next day, as everyone promptly gathered into teams and started to study, Hirschur burst into the dormitory. “Lady Rozemyne, Lord Wilfried, the advancement ceremony and fellowship gathering are tomorrow, and yet I received no word that Ehrenfest’s students have all arrived,” she said sharply.

“Was anyone told to let her know...?” I asked with a tilt of my head.

Cornelius sighed. “It is not an explicit rule, but in past years, the most senior archnoble has always contacted Professor Hirschur. The highest-ranking individual is expected to do this, so we agreed on Lord Wilfried this year. Did we not, Ignaz?” he asked, glancing at an apprentice scholar standing behind Wilfried.

Ignaz gave a troubled smile. “I forgot to inform Lord Wilfried,” he said. “My apologies.”

“Ignaz, you...” Wilfried went to speak, but then he paused. “Forgive us, Professor Hirschur. It seems the fault lies with us today.”

Something about Wilfried apologizing made me feel weird. It certainly was important for us to keep track of proper procedure and to be accountable when we failed, but it didn’t feel right for Hirschur to be so critical when she hadn’t been in the dormitory to begin with. I shot her a look just as she said, “Be more careful next time.”

“Is the biggest problem not that our dormitory supervisor was not at the dormitory?” I asked. “Am I not right in saying that other supervisors remain in the dormitory from the moment the first students begin to arrive?”

“Oh, do you not know, Lady Rozemyne? Flutrane and Heilschmerz heal in their own ways,” Hirschur replied with a smile. It was a euphemism that essentially meant “everyone has their own way of doing things,” so I could deduce that she had zero intention of changing her ways.

Unable to do much else, I merely shrugged.

“She certainly does resemble Lady Florencia...” Hirschur suddenly muttered, her eyes fixed on Charlotte. She then moved to the center of the common room and started to explain tomorrow’s schedule and the new nature of the dormitory to the fresh students. It was all the same as last year.

“...Furthermore, the advancement ceremony will be held at third bell tomorrow, and lunch will be served at the fellowship gatherings,” Hirschur noted, now coming to the end of her brisk speech. “Lessons begin the very next day. Ehrenfest is ranked tenth now, so take care to use the appropriately marked doors and rooms. You have all already made a great deal of progress in your studies, and I do not expect any of you to have issues in class, but do not forget to report your results. Are there any questions?”

A student opened their mouth, but before they could even speak, Hirschur continued. “Lady Rozemyne, I do have several questions for you. Would you care to accompany me?” she asked with a smile. Her purple eyes gleamed intensely like those of a carnivore focused on its prey.

Well, I know she probably wants to ask about Schwartz’s and Weiss’s outfits, and the research documents that Ferdinand gave me, but still...

It was easy to guess what Hirschur was going to say—or rather, it was hard to think of anything else she would want to know. And since I had some things from Ferdinand that I was meant to give to her, I nodded.

“I do not mind, but please do keep it brief,” I replied. “Unlike Ferdinand, I cannot spend all night discussing these matters with you.”

“My research would certainly suffer if I were as frail as you,” Hirschur said with a nod.

I’m jealous, if anything... I wish I could spend all night absorbed in what interests me like you can.

I gave Rihyarda an eye signal to fetch the documents that Ferdinand had told me to give to Hirschur first, and she promptly moved to do just that.

Incidentally, to have a large stock of resources with which to extract favors from Hirschur, I had documents of lower urgency organized into five stacks, to be doled out one by one as we needed more favors from her. This was all thanks to Justus, who, upon learning of the dormitory’s situation, had asked Ferdinand for assistance in getting Hirschur’s help when necessary.

“Now then—I would like to know what magic circles were used in the outfits, and how they were improved.”

Hirschur wasted no time in beginning her interrogation, evidently too impatient to wait for the outfits to be brought to her, but I had left all of the research business to Ferdinand. In other words, there was very little that I could actually help her with. The only thing I could say in response to her deluge of questions was that she could accompany us when we went to change the shumils’ clothes.

“Are you not interested in the research of magic circles, Lady Rozemyne?” Hirschur asked. “Are you not supposed to be Ferdinand’s most prized disciple?”

“Ferdinand is my guardian, and although he does at times serve as an instructor, I would not say we have a master-student relationship when it comes to research,” I replied, not wanting to be counted among the mad scientists of Ehrenfest. My interest was in reading rather than doing any actual research. Compilations of research documents and the like were certainly welcome, but I didn’t feel any desire to produce such documents myself. “I do intend to become a librarian, however, so I will pour my all into researching magic tools and circles that might play a crucial role in the operation of a library. Which reminds me—Professor Hirschur, when should we bring the clothes to the library?”

“Why not simply ask by ordonnanz?” Hirschur suggested.

And so, I sent an ordonnanz to Solange, informing her that the new outfits were complete and that I wanted to supply the magic tools with mana. She replied that the library would open once classes began, noting that I could come at any time after that point.

“My apologies for the wait, milady.”

Rihyarda soon returned with Schwartz’s and Weiss’s outfits. Hirschur picked them up at once and started closely examining their magic circles, tracing them with her fingers and referencing the accompanying documents with an expression like the one Ferdinand would make while doing his own research.

Which means she’s also forgotten I exist...

“Rihyarda, may I organize the bookcase?” I asked.

“Why not, I suppose. I imagine she will take quite some time.”

I elected to organize the bookcase with Rihyarda while waiting for Hirschur to scratch her research itch. I dedicated separate shelves to first-years, second-years, apprentice knights, apprentice scholars, and apprentice attendants, ensuring that each one contained textbooks relevant to their respective subjects. This seemed to be the best approach in my eyes, since these books were going to be used the most. After that, I organized my own books while assigning decimal classifications to them. Ehrenfest had a huge bias for specific decimals due to most of the printed books being fiction, but my goal was to one day print copies of every book in Ehrenfest’s book rooms.

Not even fourth bell was enough to make Hirschur budge. Even when I attempted to speak to her, she would immediately respond that she was busy, not even bothering to look up from her work.

In the end, we let Hirschur be and ate lunch. Some students were going to be gathering in the afternoon, while others would continue their studies, but I stayed in the common room and read so that someone would at least be there when she came back to reality.

“Milady, milady!” Rihyarda cried, tapping me on the shoulder and shutting my book. I glanced up with a start and saw Hirschur peering down at my hands with curious eyes. “Lady Rozemyne, what is that book?” she asked.

“A new kind made with Ehrenfest paper,” I replied.

“May I see it?”

“You may read it for as long as you like, so long as you read it here. It is property of the common room, and I will not be lending it to your laboratory,” I said, explaining the rules of the bookcase while handing over my copy of Royal Academy Stories. She flipped through it, an amused smile forming on her face.

“My, my... I might say all of the stories in this book are founded in fact. The years are disparate, but I can guess who told which fairly easily.”

“They are written based on rumors discussed over tea parties, so I imagine a professor such as yourself would know them. Incidentally... which stories came from whom?”

The names of the people involved were changed, as were the names of the duchies, so while someone who was present in the Royal Academy might recognize the stories, I had no way of knowing whose was whose. The only one I could identify was the one about Sylvester and Florencia.

“I would rather not say, as they chose anonymity for a reason, and these stories are not solely about Ehrenfest,” Hirschur said, cackling to herself as she set down the book. She then picked up the documents from Ferdinand and exited the room, looking especially satisfied.

Okay, now I’m curious... Is one of these stories about Ferdinand? I remember hearing that Eckhart told Mother much about him.

Once Hirschur was gone, it was time to prepare for the advancement ceremony and the fellowship gatherings. We gave hairpins to the girls, hoping to secure them as a trend and spread them further. They were the hairpins that Brunhilde had selected and ordered from the Gilberta Company.

“For marketing purposes, I ask that you wear these hairpins without fail during this year’s advancement ceremony,” I announced. “We will also be distributing rinsham, so be certain to clean your hair the day before.”

Brunhilde’s assessments had been sound; the multicolored hairpins in the box perfectly suited the hair colors and appearances of the girls. I was impressed she had such a firm grasp on the styles of so many students. I could understand knowing such information about those close to you, but anything more than that sounded impossible to me.

“Oh my, how adorable!”

“To think you could prepare so many hairpins at once, Lady Rozemyne.”

“This is all Brunhilde’s doing. She has quite a sharp eye when it comes to fashion,” I replied. “Now, Wilfried... We are going to be distributing some rinsham to the boys as well.”

“No need. I’ve secured some for them already,” Wilfried said. Sylvester had apparently prepared rinsham for all the boys after attending the Archduke Conference. “I’m not a fan of it myself, since it makes my hair smell all sweet, but... there’s no helping that.”

“Oh, but not all kinds of rinsham smell sweet,” I explained. He must have just not picked the more restrained scents we had available for men.

Wilfried grimaced a little. “I was told to use one with a stronger scent so that others are more likely to notice it. I’m not smelling like a girl by choice,” he replied, waving the bottle of rinsham from side to side. I saw several other boys nodding in agreement.

It was the day of the advancement ceremony and fellowship gatherings. We needed to be at the auditorium by third bell, so after breakfast, we got dressed and put on our capes that displayed our duchy’s color. We also put on our identification brooches, which was important, because we couldn’t return to the dormitory without them.

“Lady Rozemyne,” Brunhilde said. “Cornelius, Leonore, and Judithe are going to be your guard knights for the fellowship gathering. I shall accompany you as an attendant, and Hartmut as a scholar. Is this acceptable?”

I nodded. The fellowship gathering was going to be attended by royalty and archduke candidates, so my highest-status retainers were prioritized. Judithe, as the only mednoble accompanying me, seemed to be a little nervous about this. Her smile was unusually stiff.

“I will do my best to fill the void that Angelica left,” Judithe said, her voice only a little shaky.

“There is nothing to worry about,” I replied, trying to console her. “It is not as if any incidents will occur during the fellowship gathering.”

I headed to the entrance hall to find everyone wearing mostly black outfits with their capes and brooches on. The girls were wearing differently colored hairpins, and some were wearing two at once, like I was.

“Everyone matches,” Philine said, touching her own hairpin with a slight smile. As well as her apprentice wages, I was paying her to transcribe and for her work helping Ferdinand alongside the others in his chambers, but even then, she struggled to support herself without any parents to depend on. She certainly didn’t have the funds to buy accessories for herself, but I had purchased these hairpins with my own money during the Harvest Festival. Apparently, Philine had even been able to pick the one she wanted.

“Although, in truth, I only picked one out of several that Brunhilde had selected for me. I never was allowed to buy accessories, even at home, so I don’t know how to judge what would look good on me,” Philine admitted, a hint of sadness clouding her smile.

“Good morning, Sister,” Charlotte said. She was likewise wearing her Ehrenfest cape and brooch atop her black outfit. She was also wearing two hairpins, and as her hair was lighter than mine, the dark-colored flowers were quite visible against it.

“Those look lovely on you, Charlotte. You are just adorable,” I said.

“Oh my, but you are much more adorable than I.”

Charlotte was growing at a faster rate than I, and the gap between us had possibly widened since last year. Well... it definitely had. I was simply in denial. She had to look down just to make eye contact with me now, and if we walked side by side, everyone would think Charlotte was the big sister, no doubt about it.

I could always stand up really straight... Maybe then people will think I’m the older sister.

I tried to stand tall in a way that wouldn’t seem too obvious, but it made my legs waver, and I soon struggled to keep myself steady. It became so bad that my retainers started to worry about my health, so I gave up and put my heels back on the ground again.

“Time to go,” Wilfried announced, opening the door and guiding the Ehrenfest students out. The number above our door certainly read “ten” now, and we were closer to the auditorium than last year. Back then, we had faced dark-green capes, so it was weird for them to be behind us now. Even inside the auditorium, we were standing in a different place, much farther up than before.

“Ehrenfest sure has gone up in the rankings,” came a voice as we trudged into position.

“Seems like they’re all using rinsham...”

I sighed. Some of those muttering spoke in tones that could hardly be considered friendly. Just as Sylvester had predicted, the jealousy and bitterness over our rank going up was going to be even worse than it had been last year.

The advancement ceremony wasn’t particularly different from last year—a bigwig talked for a while, then the professors spoke their parts. Everything was pretty much the same as before, so I just stood quietly and waited for it to end. I would probably need to pay more attention next year when I became a third-year and entered my specialty courses, but as a second-year, I would be having practical lessons and lectures in the same places as last year, so I would be fine not listening.

The dreadfully boring advancement ceremony finally ended, which meant it was time for the much more stressful fellowship gathering, where no mistakes could be made whatsoever. I still didn’t know how our change in rank would impact things in full.

“You will now be moved to gatherings according to your status, but take care to stay close to members of your own duchy,” the speaker said. “Seniors of all statuses, take care of your juniors. Juniors, you know little, so take care and obey the wisdom of your seniors.”

Cornelius was a sixth-year, the oldest year of students, so he took a commanding position here. My retainers divided themselves into those who would be following the laynobles, the mednobles, the archnobles, and us archduke candidates.

We exited the auditorium and moved to the same halls we had gone to last time. I started making my way to the room known as the Small Hall, and Charlotte stretched her back with a somewhat tense expression as we walked.

“Fear not, Charlotte. I am here with you.”

Feel free to rely on me as much as you need. I am your big sister, after all.

I took Charlotte by the hand and smiled. She blinked in surprise a few times, then smiled for a second. “Quite. You are going to be attending this too,” she said. “I need to stay alert...”

After making this remark, Charlotte stepped forward, a firm light in her indigo eyes. I was glad to see that my comment had eased her tension.

“Lord Wilfried, Lady Rozemyne, and Lady Charlotte from Ehrenfest the Tenth have arrived,” a scholar standing by the door announced. And with that, we were guided into the Small Hall.

I noticed a small figure sitting at the large table at the end of the room, where Anastasius had been last year.

Is that Prince Anastasius’s younger brother, maybe?