Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.12 - Chapter 10

Brewing the Base Color

“Ottilie, could you inform Mother that I am back in Ehrenfest?” I asked while sipping Rihyarda’s tea. “Let her know that, once I am done with a few errands, I will return home to discuss matters with Aurelia.”

“At once.”

“I am told you intend to go to your library tomorrow,” Rihyarda said. “How fare your belongings there, milady? Should I arrange for servants and carriages to transport them?”

“No, brewing should take priority tomorrow. I expect my belongings to be packed, but I won’t discuss moving them with Lasfam until the day after.”

“And your chambers in the temple?”

“The plan was always for me to leave Ehrenfest after the Archduke Conference, so they’re mostly empty. We can take care of whatever remains when I go there next.” There were things I still needed to fetch from there, here, and my library. I also had to decide when to bring my out-of-season clothes and make sure there weren’t any issues with my newest attire.

“We have returned, Lady Rozemyne.”

I was still working out my schedule with my attendants when my other retainers returned, having finished their introductions and icebreaker.

“Cornelius, Hartmut, and Roderick are staying in Alexandria,” Leonore reported. “Cornelius will take over from Laurenz and Matthias when it comes time for them to move, and Hartmut will return to replace Clarissa.”

My eyes widened in shock. Were we not going to spend tomorrow brewing the base dye and finalizing Alexandria’s crest? I wasn’t even allowed to touch the latter, so how was I meant to proceed without Hartmut, my head scholar?

“Clarissa, why is Hartmut, of all people, not here?” I asked. “Wasn’t he going to brew and draw the crest?”

“As your head scholar, Hartmut wishes to review as many documents as he can before the Archduke Conference. I was asked to support you in his place.”

Because we were from Ehrenfest, we had only a surface-level understanding of the duchy now known as Alexandria. To help remedy this, I’d recently taken on new retainers from among Old Ahrensbach’s nobles—candidates whom Ferdinand and my retainers had deemed to be safe and well-intentioned. Among them were scholars who had served the late archduke Gieselfried and supported Ferdinand with his work.

“It is a known fact that Hartmut is highly competent,” Clarissa continued. “From the perspective of an Alexandrian scholar, however, he lacks even basic knowledge about the duchy. He aims to remedy that, else he will struggle to negotiate with other duchies and will not be of adequate use to you.”

As it turned out, the Alexandrian scholars had expressed their doubts about Hartmut attending the upcoming Archduke Conference with me. Given his age and severely limited understanding of the duchy soon to be his home, they expected him to be replaced in a matter of years.

Well, these are far from the only unusual circumstances.

It was strange enough that a man not even in his twenties had managed to become a head scholar—archducal family members normally assigned someone in their thirties or forties to the role with the understanding that they would also train the apprentices under them.

In my case, various factors had aligned to create my current predicament. Announcing my abrupt adoption during my baptism ceremony had come first, and choosing my scholars had taken much longer than usual, owing to my unique situation as a former commoner and the need to surround me with people who were trustworthy. Combined with most nobles’ aversion to the temple, the disdain my methods for advancing the printing industry had earned me among traditional scholars, the two years I’d spent in a jureve, and the fact that Ferdinand had accepted the duty of educating my scholars, it was no wonder that I’d never been assigned an aged scholar.

But our circumstances had changed. We lacked even basic knowledge about Alexandria; Ferdinand was my fiancé, not someone with authority over my retainers; and resistance to the temple was starting to wane. More than that, though, there were plenty of nobles who wanted to serve as the new aub’s retainer.

“Surely it cannot be helped that Hartmut lacks the expertise to continue serving as my head scholar for the moment,” I said. “Is that not why Ferdinand thought to have him assist me with making the base dye and drawing the crest?” Ferdinand must have told me to carry out these duties of a first aub here in Ehrenfest so that Hartmut could retain his honor as my head scholar.

“Hartmut spent a long time contemplating whether he should assist you with your preparations here in Ehrenfest or focus on studying in order to attend the Archduke Conference with you,” Clarissa explained. “In the end, he chose the latter. He concluded that if he was not with you for your first conference, he would never be considered your head scholar.”

As a greater duchy, Old Ahrensbach had plenty of exceptionally talented scholars. Many of them had been demoted during Detlinde’s reign but only because she had personally disliked them or rejected their lucrative ideas. Hartmut would have an especially hard time remaining my head scholar with so many wise old veterans around him, but it hadn’t deterred him from trying his best to earn their respect.

“If staying behind is his wish, then I shall support him,” I said. “Just be sure to tell him not to overdo it.”

“Your encouragement shall drive him to success,” Clarissa said with a bright smile. Ottilie must not have been too convinced because she looked thoroughly exasperated.

“Knowing Hartmut, he’s going to spend every waking moment until the Archduke Conference studying everything he might need to know. How does he plan to make time for his move?”

“He should return at least once to close his hidden room and such. He said that he would entrust everything else to his family.”

“Good grief, that boy...” Ottilie muttered with a troubled smile, having suddenly been tasked with overseeing her son’s move. “He could always have been patient and taken the role in a decade or so...”

“But then he wouldn’t be Hartmut,” Clarissa said with a wry smile. “There is no helping it. I will support him however I can.”

Ottilie’s shoulders slumped in response. “I apologize for the burden he has put on you.”

“You mentioned that Cornelius also elected to stay in Alexandria,” I said. “Was that for the same reason as Hartmut? I thought he agreed that Strahl was best suited to be the knight commander.”

The aub’s head knight usually also served as their duchy’s knight commander, but the latter role required one to know not just the names and faces of all the knights working under them but also their factions and ancestry. For that reason, though Cornelius had spent such a long time in my service, he lacked the knowledge to suddenly take charge of Alexandria’s Order.

During a lengthy discussion about whom to assign as the new knight commander, someone had noted that I might feel more comfortable if one of my brothers took the role. Cornelius had already been discounted, so the conversation turned to Eckhart. He had plenty of experience, having lived in Ahrensbach for well over a year, but he would need to join my service first. Nobles had gone to him to propose the idea, only to be turned away in a heartbeat.

“I refuse to serve anyone but Lord Ferdinand. It would not be in Rozemyne’s best interests for someone with my devotion to join her retinue.”

Eckhart had strongly implied that he would stab me in the back to return to serving Ferdinand—a thought so terrifying that I didn’t even want to consider taking him on. In the end, it was agreed that Strahl would join my service instead and return to his former position as the knight commander.

“Cornelius still agrees with Strahl serving as the knight commander,” Leonore assured me. “He chose to stay in Alexandria so you could have at least one Ehrenfest retainer there at all times. Information gathering and contact points are a must. We should finish the move quickly so that he can return.”

Matthias crossed his arms and nodded. “Laurenz and I won’t take long—we just have our things in the knight dormitory to clear out. Cornelius has his home in the Noble’s Quarter, but Leonore has the most on her plate with her rooms in the dormitory and the Leisegangs’ estate.”

“Don’t forget the estate Lord Eckhart gave them for their engagement,” Laurenz added with a grin.

Leonore sighed. “My rooms at home and in the estate are almost empty from when we were preparing to move to the Sovereignty. But I only recently started clearing out my room in the knight dormitory and must return to Leisegang to close my hidden room and say my farewells to my family.”

The recent war had taken up so much of the time we had meant to spend preparing for the move. Now, we were having to make do with what little remained. I really was demanding a lot from my retainers.

“Um, Leonore,” I said. “I—”

“You need not feel troubled, Lady Rozemyne. A short leave of absence is all that I need.”

“Granted, of course, but—”

“We really are quite fortunate,” Leonore said with a smile. “One normally transports one’s luggage by carriage when moving to another duchy, but we have permission to use the dormitories’ teleportation circles.” She assured me that my own workload was going to be much harder, owing to my many rooms, but I was leaving everything to my attendants. Even trying to help them was a surefire way to be scolded.

“I understand the time constraints, but will you not lack guard knights if everyone makes their preparations at once?” Rihyarda asked.

“Worry not—Angelica plans to take only a single day’s leave to close her hidden room. She will spend the rest of her time at work.”

“Really?” I asked. “Is that all she needs?” I gathered that she wouldn’t require as much time as Leonore, since her family lived in the Noble’s Quarter, but a single day couldn’t have been long enough to get all of her belongings together.

“Indeed, Lady Rozemyne,” Angelica replied. “I need only close my hidden room; Lieseleta and the other attendants in my family will take care of everything else.” She seemed touched that her family wanted to help out, but I suspected they simply knew that Angelica would take far too long on her own.

Lieseleta gave a partial smile as if she’d read my thoughts. “I will take a slightly longer break to compensate for my sister.”

“Making two people’s preparations will not be easy, but I wish you luck.”

I ate breakfast, then headed straight to my library while several of my retainers got ready for the move. Damuel and Judithe were accompanying me as knights, Philine and Clarissa as scholars, and Bertilde and Ottilie as attendants.

“Welcome back, Lady Rozemyne,” Lasfam said upon my arrival. “Lord Ferdinand’s belongings are ready to be moved.”

Despite being name-sworn to Ferdinand, Lasfam had needed to stay in Ehrenfest when Eckhart and Justus moved away. A mere layattendant without the means to protect himself would never have survived in Ahrensbach’s castle. Now that the dust had settled, he was terribly impatient to reunite with his lord.

“Thank you,” I replied. “I come bearing a message from Lord Ferdinand—move to Alexandria as soon as you have memorized these.”

I gave him a new registration brooch and some documents Justus had put together about Alexandria’s unique plants and metals and the poisons derived from them. My retainers from Old Ahrensbach had received documents of the same nature to memorize. It had surprised them how strictly Ferdinand expected archducal retainers to be on guard against threats.

My retainers from Ehrenfest were also being educated. Lieseleta and Gretia had claimed to have it easy thanks to all the information Ferdinand acquired in Ahrensbach, but I’d never thought plants could warrant such extreme concern.

“Those documents contain the bare minimum one must learn,” I said. “Justus made it quite clear that only those who have memorized them can be trusted with poison detection.”

“They really are quite detailed,” Lasfam said, surprised to see the thick stack of papers. “I heard that he was swamped with administrative work in the castle, but he seems to have pinpointed every single one of the duchy’s specialties.”

“As I understand it, he gathered the information during last year’s Spring Prayer. Do you remember when Detlinde made him circle the duchy? He collected many ingredients as souvenirs.”

I thought back to the letter I’d received explaining that Ferdinand and the others were performing Spring Prayer. It had infuriated me to think that Ahrensbach’s religious ceremonies were being forced on those from Ehrenfest, but the men in question had seen it as the perfect opportunity to improve their understanding of the duchy’s plants and fey creatures and form opinions about the giebes.

“I wish they had given me this information then,” Lasfam said. “Having to memorize it all now will delay my move until just before the Archduke Conference, at least. Could it be that Lord Ferdinand wants me to keep an eye on you until your brewing and your move are complete...?”

He gasped in realization.

“Is something the matter?” I asked.

Lasfam tapped his neck. I guessed that he was indicating my engagement feystone, but I failed to grasp its relevance.

“From the bottom of my heart, I must congratulate you on your engagement,” he said. “No longer are you my temporary lady.”

“Indeed. Now that Ferdinand needs you back, our provisional arrangement has come to an end.”

“You misunderstand me, Lady Rozemyne. You are engaged to my lord.”

And...?

Lasfam’s explanation was so vague that I couldn’t even piece together his meaning.

Sensing my confusion, he smiled and continued, “Lord Ferdinand intends to keep me here so that I can care for his fiancée as an attendant.”

“You... might be overthinking it. Is this not what you’ve been waiting for? Do not waste your time with me.”

“For as long as Lord Ferdinand is occupied, it falls to his attendants to ensure his fiancée is not inconvenienced. Allow me to guide you to the brewing room.”

Yeah, he was definitely overthinking it. He seemed to be having fun, though, so I elected not to question him further.

“Bertilde, Ottilie—please focus on getting the luggage together,” I said. “You may discuss the arrangement of servants and carriages with Lasfam when we are done brewing.”

Inside the brewing room, Clarissa and I took out a recipe and a box containing various ingredients, both courtesy of Ferdinand. Damuel and Philine watched us with interest.

“Lady Rozemyne, are those instructions for making base dye?” Philine asked. “Thank goodness. I thought we might need to resort to trial and error.”

“Every new duchy has to make its own base dye, so a general outline was easy to come by. The hard part is brewing the color we desire.” We would need to measure and mix various ingredients to create the hue we had in mind, meaning trial and error would, in fact, be necessary. “Ferdinand wrote down which materials we should combine to make dark blue, so let’s start there.”

“Is that so? I wonder... was Lord Ferdinand going to make the base dye, despite how busy he must be?”

“Well, he and Lord Justus do understand Alexandria’s plants and such better than the rest of us,” Clarissa replied while measuring out some of the ingredients from the box. “He entrusted the task to us, though, as he didn’t want to involve Old Ahrensbach’s nobles.”

It was so interesting to hear Clarissa’s insight on the situation. I’d spent most of my time in Alexandria’s castle isolated in the aub’s living quarters, but she’d worked in Ferdinand’s office, meaning she had a better understanding of his thoughts and the nobles’ movements than I did.

“Lady Rozemyne, please remove the impure mana from these ingredients,” she said, indicating the portions she’d just measured out. “Damuel, Philine, chop them into small pieces when she’s done. Judithe, wash the brewing instruments.”

Even the guard knights were being made to help out, though I supposed that wasn’t particularly rare when it came to brewing.

“I shall prepare the branches with katensell blossoms while you prepare the granaruke fruit.”

We followed the recipe and started mixing ingredients into our dye. It produced a reasonably dark blue, but it wasn’t quite what we were looking for.

“Next, we shall increase the black absorbency with more Darkness ingredients.”

“Would it not make more sense to simply add ingredients that will darken the color?”

“For now, what if we add the katensell and granaruke together? We could also throw in some gold dust.”

We debated our options, but my idea to add omni-elemental gold dust was quickly shot down. Not only would it raise the intensity of every single element, but it would also make the recipe much, much harder for future generations to reproduce.

Changing the recipe bit by bit is so tedious, though.

“Lady Rozemyne, could you give Damuel and me some of the dye when it’s ready?” Philine asked. “We will need some for when we move.”

“That won’t be for another two years, so I would rather prioritize the nobles going to the Archduke Conference. Rest assured, though—I will provide you both with dye when you need it.”

The morning section of the conference would comprise the inauguration ceremony and the Starbind Ceremonies, during which the nobles of old duchies would wear scarves bearing their old duchies’ colors. This applied not only to Old Ahrensbach’s nobles but also to the nobles of the duchies soon to be given to Trauerqual and Sigiswald. They would switch to wearing their new capes later in the day, once their new duchies’ colors had been announced.

“Once the recipe is complete,” Clarissa said, “we will need to make dye for all the participating nobles. I do not have enough mana to manage this on my own, so I must rely on Lady Rozemyne to do most of the work for me. To think I would need to request her help with both that and the trial-and-error part of the process... I am such an incompetent scholar.”

“Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. My mana quantity and experience with brewing simply make me well suited to mass production.”

Despite my words of encouragement, her mood continued to worsen. It probably didn’t help that we kept failing to produce the right color. I was of the opinion that we just needed something close to the right hue, but Clarissa was hell-bent on making it perfect. “This has none of your hair’s luster!” she would cry. “If we make it our base color, Hartmut will never forgive me!”

“There’s no need to get so worked up about it,” I said. “Even if we don’t get it right this session, we can send our results to Ferdinand and Hartmut. They’re bound to have some advice for us. I’m used to Raimund assisting me with prototypes, so let’s just do what we can, okay?”

From there, we gradually switched up our ingredients and the amounts we added. I wasn’t sure how any of our changes would impact the dye; I merely did as I was told and continued to stir the pot.

“Can you test it, Philine?”

“Right!”

She took scraps of various colors and materials and started dipping them into the dye, making sure they all came out the same shade. Checking the color was much easier than when testing commoner-made dyes because we didn’t have to wash or dry the dyed material.

“How is it, Clarissa?”

“The color looks amazing!” she declared. “If we could just improve the luster, it would be perfect!” She held the cloth to her chest and groaned that we were so, so close.

“Never have I seen a cape with, um... luster at the Royal Academy...” I said, exchanging a look with Damuel. “Should that really be one of the criteria for our new duchy’s color?”

“I do not believe so,” he replied. “I thought luster depended on the material, not the color.”

Philine and Judithe cocked their heads at Clarissa.

“I thought we were trying to reproduce the color of Lady Rozemyne’s hair, not its sheen...”

“We plan to dye carpets and tapestries too, right? Would it not be a problem if every room ended up as glossy as her tresses?”

Clarissa paused, having noticed our eyes on her, and then spread out the cloth in her hands. “Fine. This concludes our experimentation for today!”

I ignored Clarissa’s moaning about how wonderful the luster would have been and turned to Damuel. “Please tell Ferdinand we have completed the dye. If all is well, I will start mass-producing it tomorrow.”

We sent the dye to Alexandria, where it received passing marks from Ferdinand and Hartmut. Ferdinand gave me my next instructions in the form of a letter.

“That will do for the base dye. Purchase an Ehrenfest cape, dye it, and then submit the result to the Zent. Contact her retainers when you do. The Zent is busy enough right now, so do not attempt to deliver the cape in person; hand it to your retainers and allow them to do the rest.”

I told my retainers to dye the cape, then asked Clarissa to deliver it alongside our completed crest. In the meantime, I worked as hard as I could to make enough dye for the nobles going to the Royal Academy.

It won’t be long before I can read the new textbooks. Yippee!