Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.11 - Chapter 7

Eglantine’s Name-Swearing

Ferdinand, Sylvester, Florencia, and I went to the dormitory’s common room to begin instructing our retinues. My retainers all gathered around me and awaited their next orders.

“Hartmut,” I said, “please help prepare for the Grutrissheit transference ceremony in four days’ time and serve as its High Priest. You will need to hurry back to Ehrenfest’s temple to fetch your ceremonial robes, among other things. From tomorrow onward, I must also ask that you teach Prince Anastasius as much as you can about the ceremonies.”

Hartmut accepted, radiating motivation. “I shall ensure the divine-avatar-led transference ceremony is performed to perfection.”

I went on to ask that the adult guard knights who had participated in the Academy’s ceremonies disguised as blue priests and shrine maidens make their own preparations as well.

“There is no reason we cannot serve as your guard during the ceremonies,” Leonore declared. “But if you would permit me to ask, who is receiving the Grutrissheit?”

“Lady Eglantine,” I replied. “In truth, I wished to assign Hartmut to her before she took over as the Sovereign High Bishop. She had other matters to prioritize, though, so Prince Anastasius is providing his support instead.”

I was explaining the gist of our meeting when Ferdinand came over and gave Hartmut some notes. “These detail the ceremonies in full,” he said. “If you must travel between Ehrenfest and the Sovereign temple on top of assisting Prince Anastasius, then leave the key we discussed with Rozemyne.”

“Understood.”

Hartmut removed the bible’s key from his neck and put it around mine instead. He asked Ferdinand a few questions about the notes he had just received, then turned on his heel and started carrying out his orders.

“We, too, shall return to Ehrenfest. Judithe, Laurenz, Matthias—the rest is up to you.”

“Understood!”

Cornelius, Leonore, Angelica, and Damuel followed Hartmut out of the common room. I watched them go, then summoned Gretia and Lieseleta.

“Sorry to make you go back and forth like this, but I must ask you to retrieve my ceremonial robes and hair ornaments from Ahrensbach. I will use feystones for my shoes, so you need not worry about those.”

“As you wish, my lady.”

The pair departed for the villa; Rihyarda and the others were at the dormitory today, so there wouldn’t be a lack of attendants to look after me. Justus hurried out as well, having apparently received orders of some kind from Ferdinand.

“Philine, take this to Ehrenfest and ask the Rozemyne Workshop to start printing copies,” I said, handing her the manuscript we would distribute once the new Zent was crowned. “The aub has given his permission, but be sure to run it past Mother as well. Twenty-five copies should do. We intend to give them out during the Archduke Conference, so they need to be prioritized above all else. Mother and Muriella can split the work between themselves and even distribute some to Hasse’s monastery.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Roderick watched nervously as Philine left clutching the manuscript. “Lady Rozemyne, what about the Dunkelfelger story I’m writing?”

“Aub Dunkelfelger will not take the throne, so your time constraints have been removed. Do keep at it, though; he was so excited about your work that he mentioned buying up all the copies.”

Roderick had been pulling his hair out over his five-day deadline, so he was understandably relieved to have more time. I’d felt bad about making such an unreasonable request in the first place, but he was the only one capable of completing it.

“I shall take a short moment to embrace the calm and then get back to work,” he said.

“But your panic added such wonderful tension to your writing...” Judithe remarked, giggling. She had agreed to help Roderick by answering his questions about ditter, so she had seen his agony firsthand.

“Well, don’t let our help go to waste,” Laurenz added with a chuckle, having also witnessed the young scholar’s anguish. “Finish the job.”

Once I’d instructed all my retainers, Ferdinand came over and took the seat beside me. “Rozemyne, what do you intend to do about Letizia? If we follow Ahrensbach tradition, she will need to be demoted to an archnoble when you become the aub. She lacks parents, however, and would thus need to live in the orphanage. Your answer will decide whether she can attend the transference ceremony.”

“Could we return her to Drewanchel? I think she’d rather live with her parents than stay in Ahrensbach...”

“Perhaps, if you can find a way to nullify her contract; her adoptive parents both climbed the towering stairway. But that is assuming Drewanchel even wants her back—it might not welcome the return of an archduke candidate who caused problems elsewhere.”

“But she’s their daughter...” I said. Surely they wouldn’t refuse her.

“Yes, I doubted you would understand...” Ferdinand muttered, crossing his arms. “Letizia was baptized as an Ahrensbach archduke candidate. Even if her birth parents welcome her with open arms, the final decision rests with Aub Drewanchel. In light of recent events, I doubt any ruler would accept a member of Ahrensbach’s former archducal family. Maybe for the sake of securing a connection to you—but in that case, she would only be a source of trouble for us going forward.”

To my surprise, Ferdinand actually seemed to be worried about Letizia. “Do you believe it best for her to stay in my new duchy as an archduke candidate?” I asked. “If you would rather keep your distance from her, we can house her somewhere remote. Let me put your needs first.”

As much as I thought Letizia was cute, her actions had put Ferdinand on the brink of death. Coupled with the fact she had escaped the war physically unharmed, it made sense that she was lower on my list of priorities.

“First, there is something I wish to confirm...” Ferdinand said. “You intend to raise the children of those the Lanzenavians murdered in the orphanage, correct? I am including Alstede’s daughter.”

“Yes. Those children did no wrong.” Like in Ehrenfest, I planned to send the kids of assailants and victims alike to the orphanage. Then, when I took over as the aub, I would voluntarily serve as their guardian.

Ferdinand nodded carefully. “In that case, entrust Letizia to me.” I must have let my thoughts show on my face because he cocked an eyebrow at me and slowly added, “There is no need to look so concerned; I will not do anything to greatly displease you. Even if something were to happen, you would need only order me to stop.”

From there, Ferdinand stood up and started inspecting my health. He touched my neck, then frowned. “You have a slight fever. Have you built up too much mana?”

“Perhaps. I did get a tad emotional.”

“‘A tad’?” A sardonic grin crossed his face before he instructed Brunhilde to prepare another sheet of silver cloth, which he then started wrapping around me.

“Ferdinand, what in the world are you doing?” I asked.

“You shall spend the coming days in your room. It would do you well to let out some of your mana. I also wish to see how much divine power is lost in the process.”

The silver cloth soon covered my eyes, plunging me into darkness. Someone picked me up, causing me to yelp, and Ferdinand instructed my name-sworn guard knights to accompany him.

“Lord Ferdinand, her name-sworn knights are all men!” Clarissa called. “Let me come with you!”

“But you’re a scholar, Clarissa!” Judithe cried out in turn.

“Scholars may come as long as they are name-sworn,” Ferdinand replied at length.

“Gahhh! But I’m a guard knight!” Judithe exclaimed. “How come I’m always being left out?! Maybe I should give my name too...”

I didn’t want her to make any hasty decisions. Ferdinand called on our name-sworn retainers only when he was going somewhere or doing something that had to be kept secret, and the pressure that was put on them couldn’t have been pleasant. I didn’t want Judithe to do anything that might make her bright smile fade away forever.

Though I couldn’t see, I could feel that I was being taken somewhere. It wasn’t long before my expert detection skills told me we had arrived at the library—Schwartz and Weiss had just welcomed me. Ferdinand asked Solange to clear the building before taking me upstairs.

“We are here, Rozemyne,” he eventually said. “Can you stand?”

“Yes, I’ll manage.”

My body tilted, and my feet soon touched the floor. The silver cloth was removed to reveal that we were indeed in the library, standing before the statue of Mestionora. There was only one place to go from here.

“Ferdinand, don’t tell me...”

After ordering the knights to turn around, he handed me a sound-blocker and nodded. “I was going to dye the foundation myself, but the drastic change in your mana means I am now recognized as Aub Ahrensbach. The foundation refused me. Our only remaining option is for you to attempt it with your goddess-dyed mana. Its capacity is enormous enough for you to let out as much as you need to.”

In essence, we were killing two birds with one stone, dyeing the foundation enough that Erwaermen would stop complaining while also allowing me to release my excess mana.

“Is this why Hartmut gave me the bible’s key?” I asked.

“I was also apprehensive about him wearing it around Prince Anastasius. The upcoming ceremonies will paint you as a divine avatar of even higher status than the royals; who knows what dangers might follow?”

Ferdinand opened the cover of the book in Mestionora’s hands to reveal a keyhole, then encouraged me to channel mana into the foundation. “Release only as much as you need to,” he said. “If you go too far, Lady Eglantine might have a hard time dyeing over it.”

I slotted the key into Mestionora’s book, causing the statue to move aside without a sound. The descending staircase behind it led to an iridescent barrier, which led me to a room just like the one containing Ahrensbach’s foundation.

“This place is huge...” I mused aloud. “Guess that shouldn’t surprise me when I’m looking for the country’s foundation. Aaand, wow, it really is almost empty... No wonder Erwaermen is panicking.”

I spent a moment admiring the foundation, which was several times larger than those found in the duchies, then carefully started pouring my mana into it. Exercising caution was more important than ever; I’d needed to use rejuvenation potions when dyeing Ahrensbach’s foundation, and collapsing here would cause all sorts of problems.

By the time I’d released enough mana to feel comfortable, the foundation wasn’t even one-sixth full. It was enough to bring the country back from the verge of collapse, if nothing else. I gazed upon the seven colored feystones swirling through the air and saw they were spinning faster now.

“Well, that should do it,” I declared once my mana was slightly more than halfway depleted. I returned to the others and said, “Sorry for the wait, everyone.”

No sooner had I locked Mestionora’s book than the statue moved back to its original place. Ferdinand waited for it to settle, then instructed my name-sworn, who covered me in silver cloth once again and returned me to the dormitory.

Though I could spend the next four days at my leisure, I wouldn’t be allowed to read in the library.

Relieved of my excess mana, I got some rest, practiced whirling, and participated in meetings about the upcoming ceremonies.

Ferdinand said my whirling was “sure to be sufficient”! Not bad, Rozemyne. Not bad at all!

The days seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, and it soon came time for the ceremonies. My female retainers inspected me in my ceremonial High Bishop robes and sighed in awe. I thought my appearance was the same as always—but then again, I couldn’t see my divine power.

“Lady Rozemyne, please hold out your arms so we can put these on for you,” Bertilde said, approaching with a box of charms and ornaments. I did as instructed and waited patiently as Lieseleta slowly adorned me.

“Never before have I seen charms with this many feystones...” I remarked.

Lieseleta nodded. “Lord Ferdinand made them specially so they would not obstruct your whirling.” They reminded me of gloves, except they were woven out of tiny but slender chains that reached from the back of my hand to my upper arm. Rainbow feystones shaved down into beads glittered across them, each with a protective magic circle inside.

“Was he making them instead of sleeping?” I muttered, my lips pursed. “He promised to get some rest, but these are too complex to have been made in three or four days...” As soon as the ceremonies were over, I would need to “encourage” him with one of Schlaftraum’s blessings.

Clarissa giggled. “He simply wishes to be prepared. In his words, these precautions are necessary to prevent the goddess from returning to your body as you whirl. I would have loved to witness something so divine... but as you lose memories in the process, I shall make do without it.”

It never even crossed my mind that my dedication whirl might summon Mestionora again...

I stroked the light chains covering my arms while thinking about my lost memories. Maybe these charms would protect my thoughts even if the goddess returned.

“Matthias, this is Leonore. Is our path secure?”

The ordonnanz shot out of the room, then returned with an “all clear” from Matthias. Today’s plan was to leave through our tea party room and use the back paths meant for royals to reach a waiting room near the auditorium. To my knowledge, it was the same room the royals themselves had once used. Judithe, Laurenz, and Matthias had gone ahead to make sure the coast was clear.

“Lady Rozemyne, since you are ready...” Angelica, who was wearing the robes of a blue shrine maiden, covered me with silver cloth and picked me up for the umpteenth time.

“Hartmut put a lot of work into today’s ceremonies,” Clarissa announced, sticking out her chest. “He mobilized Prince Anastasius, the Sovereign nobles, and everyone in the Sovereign temple to make sure things were ready for you.” She was trying to impress me, I gathered, but I was more worried about everyone forced to endure his enthusiasm.

We soon arrived at the waiting room, where Hartmut was ready to receive us. Eglantine and Anastasius appeared not long after. They inhaled sharply upon seeing me, then knelt to indicate my superior status. I’d seen the clothes they were wearing before.

“Lady Rozemyne,” Eglantine said, “I was dressed in these same clothes when you blessed me at the start of my graduation ceremony. I hope to receive your blessing once again and earn the notice of the gods by wearing the divine color of my birth season.”

I was admiring her outfit, feeling a little nostalgic, when Hartmut approached us. “Cornelius, leave Matthias and Laurenz here and go to the auditorium. I want you and Lady Rozemyne’s other guard knights to carry out the final checks.”

The royals had said there weren’t any issues, but maybe some of Raublut’s co-conspirators remained in the Sovereign Knight’s Order. At the very least, my knights were skeptical of anything the royal family told us. It probably didn’t help that Ferdinand was going to such great lengths with my charms and other precautions.

Cornelius, who was clad in the robes of a blue priest, responded to Hartmut with a stern nod before heading to the auditorium with the others. Anastasius turned to his own knights and made the same request.

“Go to the auditorium and perform final checks of your own. Leave only as many knights as I need to protect me. The transference ceremony must be completed without incident.”

Not once in Yurgenschmidt’s long history had an Ehrenfest archduke candidate serving as Mestionora’s divine avatar bestowed the Grutrissheit upon a new Zent. The nobles we’d invited were being kept in the dark, so many wanted to know why Trauerqual wasn’t receiving the Grutrissheit and why it was being bestowed upon Eglantine when there were other people more deserving.

“Those directly involved with the transference, come to the back of the room,” Hartmut said. The front portion was a waiting area for the royal retainers, whereas the back was for the royals themselves.

I moved to the back of the room with Hartmut, Eglantine, and Anastasius, who was serving as his wife’s escort. Hartmut then addressed us again.

“Let us perform the name-swearing before the transference ceremony. Prince Anastasius and I shall observe.”

“Right.”

Hartmut and Anastasius watched as Eglantine produced a small white box, which she held up to me. For a moment, my eyes were drawn to her magnificent golden tresses, but I quickly corrected my focus. Inside the box was a multicolor feystone of every element—and inside that, Eglantine’s name was written in golden letters.

I don’t feel great about this, but oh well...

I’d said it before, and I would say it again: holding another person’s life in your hands was absolutely terrifying.

Bonifatius’s concerns about us corrupting the meaning of name-swearing arose in the back of my mind. Still, Ferdinand thought this was necessary to ensure Eglantine wouldn’t be hurt by my goddess-dyed mana during the ceremony and to guarantee her silence on various matters. It was also a good way to prevent her from one day trying to abuse her power and give Ferdinand more unreasonable commands; she was the kind of person who would do anything to protect Yurgenschmidt’s peace.

I don’t plan to give her any orders. I’m just playing it safe.

Anastasius glanced between us with an indescribable look on his face. He wanted to stop this but knew there was nothing he could do. I imagined he had said everything he could to dissuade Eglantine while she was making her name stone.

Probably because he doesn’t want my mana surrounding his wife.

I bore the Mark of Ewigeliebe, so my mana would probably return to being like Ferdinand’s when the ceremonies concluded and the divinity faded away. Anastasius would find that disgusting beyond words, but he would need to learn to deal with it.

Unless... Ewigeliebe-marked people in my situation don’t end up having divine mana forever, do they?

That was a scary thought, but I tried not to dwell on it. Ferdinand had assured me that the divine mana would disappear eventually. I wanted to believe he was right.

“Um... May we begin, Lady Rozemyne?”

“Yes.”

Eglantine met my eye, then took a deep breath and bowed her head. “I, Eglantine, swear to become a loyal vassal of Lady Rozemyne, the Divine Avatar of Mestionora the Goddess of Wisdom, and to devote my life to Yurgenschmidt as its new Zent. As proof of my resolve, I give you my name and implore you to keep it with you at all times. In return, I ask that you grant me the Grutrissheit and show me how to lead Yurgenschmidt to a better future.”

Her delicate hands slowly held up the box containing her name stone. I accepted it and started filling it with my mana.

“Ngh...”

Eglantine clutched her chest and let out a small, pained groan, feeling the resistance. Anastasius cried out and moved to rush to her side, but Hartmut caught him by the hand.

“You must not interfere, Prince Anastasius. The ritual is not over until the stone has been completely enveloped. Based on Lady Rozemyne’s past name-swearings, it seems the process is more painful when there is a greater gap between the participants’ mana capacities. Lady Eglantine is suffering the least of everyone who has given their name.”

I slammed my mana into Eglantine’s stone and ended the name-swearing then and there. She let out a pained sigh in response.

“Are you well, Lady Eglantine?” I asked.

“Yes, I am fine now,” she replied with a smile like a blossoming flower. “I thank you ever so much for your consideration.”

I put her name stone into the cage on my hip, then sat down and gestured for everyone else to join me. Third bell rang as we went over the procedure for the upcoming ceremony.