Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.10 - Chapter 5

Rescuing Solange

My body trembled, and my breath caught in my throat. I couldn’t shake the thought of Solange sprawled out and on the verge of death, like Ferdinand in Ahrensbach’s Mana Replenishment hall.

“W-We must hurry to the library...” I said and turned to my knights. They nodded at once, having been listening to our entire conversation. It was heartening to see them all ready to go despite the suddenness of this revelation.

I stepped toward Cornelius, only to feel a hand again grab my arm. “Hold on,” Ferdinand said. “There are decisions to be made first. To begin with, who will stay here, who will go with you, and who will go ahead of you?”

I turned around and glared at him. “There is no time for that. I must rescue Professor Solange.”

“I understand the urgency of our situation as well as you do, but that does not mean we can drop everything else. We must share the intelligence we have gained and decide what to do with the prisoners. Moreover, who has the key to this villa? There is a chance that Gervasio’s group will return while we are at the library.”

We had no idea where Gervasio was or what he was doing. He might have been at the library trying to get the Grutrissheit, but maybe he was still circling the shrines or fighting at the royal palace in an attempt to kill the royal family.

“If we can squeeze their objectives and current whereabouts from the prisoners, we might be able to plan ahead,” Ferdinand continued. “Furthermore, if we leave too few guards here, Gervasio’s group could manage to free their allies. We will be at an overwhelming disadvantage if they recover the tools we have confiscated and rearm themselves.”

Ferdinand regarded me with stern eyes as he went on to list all the potential dangers: “We conquered the villa so easily not just because our opponents overestimated the strength of Verbergen’s concealment but also because we attacked with overwhelming numbers in the deep of the night. We came up with a plan and successfully executed it. That does not mean our might is vastly superior to theirs. The outcome of a battle where they are armed and ready cannot be known to us.”

The Lanzenavians had great enough mana capacities to have escaped our knights’ restraints, silver equipment that blocked mana, various means of deploying instant-death poison, and other tools unique to their country. And now they had schtappes as well. We might have been able to capture them once, but Ferdinand was right—we could not risk being overoptimistic.

“On an even more important note,” Ferdinand said, “we no longer have the strongest part of our army. Dunkelfelger’s knights are busy fighting at the royal palace and might be for some time; we do not know how much of the Sovereign Knight’s Order has sided with Raublut. We will need to manage our prisoners with only the knights we brought from Ahrensbach, all while being wary of a counterattack from Gervasio’s group or the Sovereign Order.”

We couldn’t even move the prisoners and their equipment somewhere safe. The fact that I’d yet to make brooches for entering the Ahrensbach Dormitory limited our options.

Ferdinand continued, “Both entering the Royal Academy’s library and passing through the door to the underground archive will require Professor Solange’s assistance. That is precisely why we can still send her ordonnanzes. At no point did Professors Hirschur or Rauffen say their birds refused to fly to her, so we can safely assume she is still alive. Wait just a brief moment until we have given out our instructions.”

“But what if we end up being too late as a result?! Even the slightest delay could have serious consequences! Can you blame me for wanting to get Professor Solange out of danger? Let me go on ahead, at the very least.” I would never have the patience to wait for him to finish delegating.

Still grabbing my arm, Ferdinand shot my knights a sympathetic look. “I suppose you charged into Ahrensbach with the same momentum? If you truly cannot wait, then order your guard knights who are not name-sworn to you to scout ahead. Do not follow them to the library until they have confirmed it is safe.”

“But why?!” I demanded. I wanted to go there more than anyone, so why was he denying me?

Ferdinand gazed down at me without a word, then reached out and pinched my cheek. “You are getting too worked up. Calm down. There is a reason you must not go there—the library’s magic tools can sense their master’s mana. I cannot be sure how they would respond to your name-sworn, who are under the influence of your mana, but we should err on the side of caution. If our enemies really are there when those two shumils announce your arrival, who knows what they might do? Perhaps they will prepare an ambush or take Solange hostage.”

My eyes widened in response.

“The moment someone puts a weapon to Professor Solange’s throat, we will need to remain passive,” Ferdinand informed me. “You wish to save her, but rushing to her rescue will put her in the most danger. Send your guard knights to investigate the area first. You will need to go there eventually—one must be at least an archnoble to reach the underground archive and an archduke candidate or member of royalty to enter. On top of that, there are things you will need to do as the master of those magic tools. Wait until then.”

In the face of such a logical argument, what was I to do? I couldn’t charge ahead and risk putting Solange in even greater danger.

“Lady Rozemyne,” Cornelius said, “as Laurenz and Matthias are name-sworn to you, Angelica and I shall take some of the other knights to scout out the library.”

“Thank you.”

Cornelius waited for Laurenz and Matthias to return from moving Alstede; then he and Angelica set out for the library. He had probably chosen Angelica over Leonore because she was armed with Stenluke and boasted such tremendous speed.

Ferdinand was darting here and there as he gave everyone their new orders. He told Heisshitze’s group to put Lanzenave’s equipment into a hidden room with which he was registered.

“Many of these tools cannot be understood at a glance,” he said, “making them especially dangerous if we want to avoid a constant barrage of poison. Seal away all the silver weapons and armor.”

“Looking at this equipment, attacking at night with such an overwhelmingly large force was the best move,” Heisshitze remarked as he and the others gradually moved their mountain of tools into the hidden room. “Had we attacked when the Lanzenavians were awake and able to use all this, even Dunkelfelger would have lost knights.”

The abundance of silver weapons and armor before me was evidence enough. It went to show just how seriously our foes had taken their invasion.

“Ferdinand, is there anything I can do?” I asked. “Just sitting and waiting is painful...”

“Would you look into what separates the royal family from its branches? I wish to know what Gervasio can do now that he has returned to the latter. There may be things I do not know in your Book.”

He hadn’t even hesitated to give me a task. I made my Grutrissheit and started researching the royal branch families. Their members could apparently enter the library without being registered, but they couldn’t go any farther into the underground archive than I, as they weren’t part of the main family.

“Hmm... In that case, it is unlikely that Gervasio has already obtained the Grutrissheit,” Ferdinand said, the tension draining from his shoulders. He sent ordonnanzes to Hartmut and Justus requesting updates on their interrogations, then started dividing the knights into those who would go to the library and those who would stay to guard the prisoners. I waited impatiently for him to finish.

A white bird came in and perched on Ferdinand, then reported in Cornelius’s voice: “Given the time, the library’s doors are locked. We circled around in search of another entrance, and while we could not find one, we did glimpse a faint light through the office’s windows.”

It was almost first bell. No matter how much of an early riser Solange might have been, she would never have left her room while her attendants were still asleep.

Cornelius went on, “We could gain entry by breaking one of the windows, but we consider it too dangerous to act without reinforcements.”

“I am bringing some now,” Ferdinand said in response. “If you see no traces of a break-in, then do not attempt to force entry. The library’s magic tools will eliminate intruders without question. Stay among the trees on the south side until you reunite with Rozemyne.”

Ferdinand had thoroughly investigated Schwartz’s and Weiss’s creation, so he knew exactly what the tools would do to anyone who entered the library through illicit means. I closed my ears to his description, not wanting to hear it. Then he extended a hand to me.

“Let us go.”

“Right.”

Sixty-some knights tore through the night sky. Hartmut and Justus were staying behind to watch over the prisoners, but the rest of our retainers were with us.

“Hartmut was very disappointed,” Clarissa told me. “He said the library was something of a miracle hot spot for you.”

She started repeating all the “miracles” Hartmut had raved about while counting them on her fingers. I intervened when she was partway through an exaggerated and excessively flowery account of my first trip to the library and my excitement-born blessing that had revived the magic tools; it was best to keep Ahrensbach’s knights in the dark about my embarrassing history. My long-term goal was to turn their duchy into a massive library—and to that end, I needed to become a librarian respected by all.

We rendezvoused with the knights hidden in the forest south of the library. Cornelius and the other scouts hadn’t seen any Sovereign knights on the premises, but they had noticed the occasional ordonnanz fly out of the library and toward the central building. Upon their arrival, they had also spotted guards in the hallway that connected to all the dormitories.

“Taking the library’s front entrance is out of the question; it sits in full view of the central building’s connecting hallway. But if we enter through a window, the reading rooms will provide—”

“No, we will not be doing that,” Ferdinand interjected. “We have the magic tools’ owner with us; we can simply enter through the back door.” He pointed to the outdoor stairway that connected the garden outside the librarians’ dormitory to the second closed-stack archive. I could see the door Solange had allowed us to escape through during last year’s Archduke Conference, when Detlinde had almost spotted us.

“Won’t it be locked...?” I asked.

“You can summon the library’s magic tools and tell them to unlock it.”

It wouldn’t be that simple, but I climbed onto his highbeast nonetheless. We landed outside the library’s back door.

“Schwartz, Weiss,” I said. “Could you let us in?”

There was a pause... and then a click as the two shumils unlocked the door for us. They welcomed me as they always did.

“Here, milady.”

“Been a long time.”

Wow. It really was that simple.

We hadn’t faced any resistance at all; I could see why assigning the shumils’ master was a matter of such grave importance. I was also starting to understand those who had said an Ehrenfest first-year could never be trusted with them. Of course they’d wanted such magic tools to be transferred to a member of royalty or a reliable Sovereign noble.

Hmm... Then why is everyone else so okay with me being the tools’ master? Do they not know about this function of theirs?

The most reasonable course of action would probably be to explain the situation and return the tools to the royal family. That could wait, though; considering how useful they were, it made sense to hold on to them for a little while longer.

“Schwartz, Weiss—where is Professor Solange right now?” I asked.

The two shumils began hopping around.

“Solange. In her office.”

“Solange. Not moving.”

I charged to her rescue without even thinking—or at least I tried to before Ferdinand grabbed me. “Not yet,” he said. “Heisshitze!”

“Right!”

Heisshitze went ahead of us and cautiously entered the office, bringing along several knights proficient with healing magic. One of them confirmed that Professor Solange was inside, motionless, and that the room was free of traps.

At once, Ferdinand shot forward. He was moving so briskly and with such broad strides that I couldn’t even hope to catch up with him. Was this really the same man who had advised us to hang back a moment ago?

“Ah...!”

“Apologies.”

In my scramble to follow Ferdinand, I’d managed to lose my balance. It was a good thing he’d turned just in time to catch me. I was still recovering from my shock when he set me back on my feet, told me to come with him, and then sped into Solange’s office. His rushing on ahead was just cruel.

“Hold on, Ferdinand,” I called. But as I tried to speed up to match his pace, Leonore raised a hand and urged me to stop.

“Might I advise you to slow down, Lady Rozemyne?”

“But—”

“Lord Ferdinand is acting for your sake. He wishes to confirm Professor Solange’s status before you see her and provide some extra healing if she needs it. When a man shows you such immense consideration, it is best to gracefully accept it.”

There was kindness in Leonore’s indigo eyes, and she took a graceful step forward as if to lead me by example. Before I could do the same, I heard Ferdinand cast Heilschmerz’s healing and saw a green flash come out of the office up ahead.

“Leonore was right...”

“Professor Solange, are you okay?” I asked. Some of the knights were slowly helping her to her feet.

“And who might you be?” she asked, staring at me quizzically.

“It’s me—Rozemyne.”

“Oh my! How you’ve grown. I did not even recognize you!” Though she wore a smile, I could see how exhausted she was. I wanted to let her rest, but we needed to question her first.

“Professor Solange, what happened...?”

“Lord Raublut came here with a man. Lord Gervasio, his name was—a member of the royal branch family. I do not expect you to know him, but he wanted to obtain the Grutrissheit. He was exactly as I remembered.”

“You know Gervasio?” Ferdinand asked, his eyes narrowed. “As I understand it, he was educated in the villa and did not attend the Royal Academy.”

The nostalgia faded from Solange’s eyes, replaced with curiosity. “I am surprised that you know him, Lord Ferdinand; he had to move far away a very long time ago. He used to come here all the time back when I was first assigned to the Academy’s library. Between the end of spring and the end of autumn, it was—after the Archduke Conference concluded and the archlibrarians took their leave.”

“Your reminiscing can wait,” Ferdinand said. “Where is he now?”

Solange looked around at the knights, well aware of the tension hanging over us all, and shook her head. “I apologize, but I could not tell you. He came yesterday evening. Schwartz and Weiss said that Hortensia had arrived, so I went to welcome her.”

Only it hadn’t been Hortensia. Solange had come out to find Gervasio, Raublut, and a group of Sovereign knights.

“Hortensia had succumbed to her illness and climbed the towering stairway...” she continued. “Lord Raublut told me he had come to retrieve her belongings from her room.”

Raublut had used Hortensia’s feystone to enter the librarians’ dormitory and go to his late wife’s room. In the meantime, Solange and Gervasio had reminisced about old times.

“Lord Raublut returned in no time at all,” Solange explained. “Then he told me to give him the keys to the underground archive. Weapons were thrust at me, and with the life of my attendant on the line, I complied and gave him what he wanted.”

Gervasio had claimed that he didn’t want to hurt an old friend, which was why he’d merely sealed Solange’s schtappe and tied her up so that she couldn’t seek help. The Sovereign knights with them had then dyed the keys before their group had continued to the underground archive.

“Lord Gervasio said that he would release me once he obtained the Grutrissheit, but here I remained. I even heard them leave the library. Given their loud, impatient footsteps, I imagine he failed to obtain it.” Solange gazed down at her bindings, clearly upset, and said, “Some way to treat an ‘old friend.’”

“Then what is Gervasio doing now?” I mused aloud. I didn’t expect anyone to have an answer; I just couldn’t fathom where he might have gone.

“Gervasio just like milady.”

“Gervasio went to Gramps.”

A tense look on his face, Ferdinand turned on his heel and strode out of the room, heading for the second floor. His retainers and half of the knights hurried out after him.

“Lady Rozemyne, what is Lord Gervasio doing...?” Professor Solange asked.

What am I supposed to say? “Your ‘old friend’ invaded Yurgenschmidt as part of a foreign power and is trying to obtain the Grutrissheit so he can become the next Zent. Raublut, the Sovereign knight commander, has betrayed King Trauerqual, so you might be deemed a traitor for giving him those keys.” I don’t think so.

“You should rest for now,” I said. “You must be exhausted. I shall instruct Schwartz and Weiss to protect the library so that no one else can threaten your peace.”

I asked Leonore to take Solange to her room in the librarians’ dormitory. She returned a short while later, her face twisted in a grimace.

“Did something happen?” I asked.

“The door to Professor Solange’s room was sealed with a magic tool so that her attendant could not leave. She had quite the terrifying night, knowing only that her lady had not returned.”

Curse you, Raublut!

“I shall activate the shumils’ combat mode,” I said.

I squeezed my eyes shut, then got Leonore to guide my hand to the feystones on Schwartz’s and Weiss’s foreheads. I poured mana into them, then did the same thing with their buttons to activate the aforementioned “combat mode.” Raublut’s group would not make it into the library again.

“Schwartz, Weiss—when we leave, start guarding Professor Solange. If anyone who isn’t registered comes to the library with its keys in their possession, confiscate the keys and then remove the intruder from the premises.”

“Protect Solange.”

“Confiscate the keys.”

It was then that Ferdinand came racing downstairs. “Rozemyne, return to the villa with the knights.” His urgency and the anxious look on his face told me Gervasio was already in the Garden of Beginnings.

“No,” I replied at once, shaking my head. “Let me come with you.”

“We cannot take that risk. Wait in the villa.”

Ferdinand continued past me and made to leave the reading room. For a moment, I was transported back to when I’d watched him leave for Ahrensbach. I reached out to him, and though my throat felt unbearably hoarse, I endured the pain and cried out.

“Wait! If you leave me behind, I’ll reveal your secrets to everyone!”

Ferdinand twitched, then turned around to glare at me. “Is this really the time for that?!”

“I can’t just sit around. I really can’t. And the more mana we have, the better, right?”

“Mana? What are you talking about?”

“Hm...? Haven’t you done this before? The fastest method is to blast ourselves an opening and charge on through, right?” It was rude enough that Erwaermen would decry it as blasphemous, but speed was our top priority. We would attack the huge magic circle in the sky with mana, force it to activate, and then rush inside.

“I am surprised you would propose something so extreme...”

“Seriously?! Come on! I’m following YOUR example!”

Ferdinand let out a resigned sigh. He strode over to me, pulled me up onto his shoulders, and then made to leave again. The sight stunned my knights silent, but they soon recovered and rushed to follow us.

“To be clear,” Ferdinand said, “I did not intend to ‘charge’ anywhere. I wished only to activate the circle by any means. You, on the other hand, are acting deliberately. We are not the same.”

“I suspect the person we are going to visit would disagree.” Erwaermen wouldn’t care whether our forced entry was accidental or otherwise; he would thoroughly scold us in both cases.

Ferdinand chuckled and said, “True enough.” He took me outside through the closed-stack archive before making his highbeast and setting me atop it. “Be ready to travel as fast as we can go.”

“Right!”