Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.12 - Chapter 6

Engagement Ceremony

It was the day of my engagement ceremony. My attendants had applied a thin layer of makeup to my face, secured my hair behind my head, and put both my hairpin from Tuuli and my rainbow-feystone-decorated hair stick neatly in place. The ornaments jingled next to my ears.

Several attendants gathered to help me put on my dress—a jade-green skirt paired with cloth of a paler hue. It was very appropriate for spring and reminded me of newly sprouted plants. I pinched up some of the material, then let go and watched as it fell daintily into place.

Next was my veil, which my attendants secured with pins. We were under no obligation to follow Old Ahrensbach’s traditions, but I wished to make it clear that I planned to respect its culture going forward. The veil was a very light shade of blue, the color of my birth season, and trimmed with golden lace.

They’ve dressed me like a bride... I shouldn’t be surprised—this is an engagement ceremony and all—but... Gah, I can’t bear to think about it. I’m embarrassed enough already!

“You look beautiful, Lady Rozemyne.”

“Lord Ferdinand will surely be speechless.”

Lieseleta and Gretia directed my attendant hopefuls to put away the makeup brushes and prepare my shoes, among other things. Clarissa entered while they were hard at work.

“Nobles are gathering in the castle, Lady Rozemyne. The giebes have all arrived. Some are looking around the new castle.”

“I thought we announced that giebes would not need to attend, as the date was decided so suddenly...” I wished we could have opted for a more private ceremony—too large a crowd would only make me nervous—but aubs were essentially required to invite the nobles of their duchy.

“Oh my!” Clarissa exclaimed. “No one would pass up an opportunity to see the young woman who is both the new aub and the Divine Avatar of Mestionora, healer of the duchy!” She was breathing heavily with excitement, but only she and Hartmut cared about that side of things.

Or, well... I prayed that was the case.

“Speaking of which, Clarissa—have Sylvester and the others arrived yet?”

“Yes. The archducal couple, the knight commander, Lady Elvira, and Lord Bonifatius are all present.” Ferdinand had used my feystones to welcome them at the border gate.

In the run-up to the Archduke Conference, few top-ranking nobles could afford to spend days away from their duchy for the sake of a mere engagement ceremony. My family had more leeway than most thanks to all the feystones packed with divine mana back in Ehrenfest and the added convenience of teleportation, but even then, they barely had time to attend the ceremony.

“Oh, also—Damuel is here as Lord Bonifatius’s guard knight. The minors had to stay home. Philine and Judithe looked so very envious when they watched the others depart.”

In other words, I would need to bring them back some top-of-the-line souvenirs. I asked Clarissa to see to it for me.

“If you are ready, Lady Rozemyne, then let us present you to your Ehrenfest guests,” Leonore prompted. “Your parents and adoptive parents must be thrilled to see you; this might be your last chance to speak freely with each other.”

I nodded. Our reunion was destined to be brief, as they would all need to teleport back to Ehrenfest as soon as the engagement ceremony was over. The recent war, my stealing Ahrensbach’s foundation, and my choosing a new Zent as the Divine Avatar of Mestionora all meant that preparing for the next Archduke Conference was going to be brutal.

Of course, the newly founded Alexandria was much, much busier than Ehrenfest. Even if Sylvester had wanted to stay longer, we wouldn’t have been able to host an aub for several days.

“Goodness, Rozemyne. My congratulations on your engagement!” Elvira exclaimed, her voice bright and cheery. “How especially beautiful you look today!”

Everyone else joined her in praising my outfit.

“Indeed, Elvira is correct,” Florencia said. “You have grown prettier and more feminine since last I saw you.”

“It’s a miracle what a little makeup can do,” Sylvester added. “Too bad the illusion will shatter as soon as she opens her mouth.”

I thanked Florencia, then glared at Sylvester. “I could say the same for you. The moment you speak, I wonder why anyone thought to put you in the aub’s clothes.”

“Now, now, Lord Sylvester...” Elvira interjected. “Rozemyne’s beauty is not only thanks to her makeup—she sparkles like the Goddess of Light upon at last obtaining her God of Darkness. And with that said, Rozemyne... Might I ask the circumstances behind you and Lord Ferdinand making your hearts one?”

Yep, I recognize that gleam in her eye. Mother is in her element.

I could already feel the pressure as she attempted to draw me into an interrogation. It was time for an evasive maneuver, so I turned to Karstedt standing next to her.

“I see you are not dressed as a knight today.”

“Because I am here as your father,” Karstedt replied. “I never thought a daughter’s engagement ceremony could be so conflicting. This is nothing like when my sons had theirs. Back then, I was just proud they had safely come of age, and the sight of their fiancées did little to move me. But now...”

He paused, then let out a quiet sigh. “It brings me great comfort to know you are marrying Ferdinand, not being adopted into the Sovereignty. And—”

“It brings me NO comfort!” came a booming roar from nearby. “Why, Rozemyne?! Why Ferdinand?! Were there not far better options?!”

“Father, enough already! Give it up!”

There was a brief confrontation as Karstedt attempted to contain his rampaging father. Bonifatius’s guard knights joined in, attempting to calm their lord, but not even their combined forces were enough to stop him.

“I apologize for my father causing a scene,” Karstedt said at last. “We wanted him to stay home, but... Lord Wilfried insisted on holding the fort for the day.”

Was this an act of consideration meant to compensate Bonifatius for not being allowed to attend the transference ceremony? Under better circumstances, I might have seen it as a kind gesture, but the former knight commander’s indignant rant just made me think, “Screw you, Wilfried.” I certainly wasn’t the only one.

“You said you weren’t in love with him!” Bonifatius roared at me. “Was that a lie?!”

“No, obviously not. My feelings haven’t changed.”

Everyone gasped and stared at me in shock. Though not a word was spoken, I could hear them collectively scream, “What the hell are you even saying?!” Sensing all the sharp rebukes about to rain down on me, I quickly attempted to backpedal.

“U-Um, what I mean to say is that I’ve yet to understand romantic love. As for Ferdinand, he simply wishes for us to be family. He is perfectly content with keeping things the way they are and does not expect the more intimate aspects of a relationship from me. In that sense, this engagement exists merely for us to become family in name as well as spirit.”

Everyone was watching me so intently. Was that explanation not good enough? The silent pressure prompted me to take a step back.

“So you got engaged to satisfy his wishes?” Bonifatius asked, his blue eyes narrowed. “I care about you, Rozemyne; I could never permit such a one-sided arrangement.”

“Rest assured, Grandfather—it will grant my wishes too. No other man would go to such great lengths to make my dreams come true. Not to mention, his presence calms me; I feel none of the displeasure that characterized my engagements with Wilfried and Lord Sigiswald.”

Bonifatius and Sylvester both cradled their heads and let out heavy sighs. Was it something I said? Maybe romantic love really was necessary for engagements and weddings and the like. I worried that Sylvester might tell me to give up on marrying Ferdinand, so I appealed to him with tears in my eyes.

“This engagement might be the result of a royal decree, but I made Lord Ferdinand a laboratory and intend to both donate mana to his research and come up with tasty meals for him so he stays healthy. I care about his happiness—that much I can promise you—so... please do not intervene.”

There was a drawn-out pause before Florencia smacked Sylvester’s arm and said, “Do not make her uneasy before her engagement.”

“I wasn’t even going to get involved,” he shot back. “I was looking back on everything I’ve done up to this point, and, well... Rozemyne, I entrust my little brother to you.”

From there, Elvira’s group congratulated me on the engagement, as did everyone’s retainers. Matthias and the others gave standard blessings, but Damuel seemed just as uncertain as his charge.

“I realize this is a day to be celebrated, but the thought of you and Lord Ferdinand getting engaged seems strange to me...” he said. “It doesn’t help that I’ve known you since before your baptism.”

“Oh my. By that logic, are things between you and Philine not strange too?” I asked in response. He had known her since her baptism.

Damuel nodded again and again. “They are. They most certainly are!”

Hm? How unusual...

I was used to him dismissing such implications for fear of upsetting Philine. For him to have actually agreed with me this time, something about their dynamic must have changed.

“Congratulations on your engagement,” Cornelius said. “If you wish to be engaged to Lord Ferdinand, then I give you my blessing as your elder brother. Just don’t let your inertia lead you astray—there are times when you must be firm with him.” I could guess from the concern in his eyes that he was worried about winter arriving early for me.

“You have nothing to fret about,” I declared. “Ferdinand would never do something so crude. And while I appreciate your concern, Cornelius, has Leonore been as firm with you?”

“How is that relevant?” He averted his eyes and repeated that it was important to stand one’s ground.

Ooh... Looking away now, are we? I wonder what that means.

I was eager to hear Leonore’s take on what it meant to be a prim and proper fiancée.

Once I’d greeted our guests from Ehrenfest, I moved to the grand hall with my retainers. It was already full of nobles—as many as one might expect from a greater duchy with such a large population. I wondered how much larger the turnout might have been not too long ago, before so many Old Werkestock nobles were taken out of the picture.

Ngh... Their eyes are boring into me.

I approached the stage as the new aub. Our guests were watching my every move, and their gazes were so intense that I could actually feel the pressure on my back as I climbed the steps with Lieseleta, the holder of my engagement feystone, and Leonore, my representative guard knight. My other retainers were waiting below.

“I am a little nervous,” I whispered. “I was not expecting anywhere near this many attendees.”

Lieseleta replied with a quiet chuckle, “Even more people will attend your inauguration during the Archduke Conference. Nobles from all duchies shall want to see you.”

We took our assigned seats, at which point Ferdinand and his retainers entered the hall.

“Are those new clothes?” I mused aloud.

“Yes, made in the style of Ahrensbach,” Lieseleta said. “Lord Ferdinand must be making considerations for the nobles gathered today.”

His especially large sleeves didn’t quite suit the comparison, but the rest of the ensemble brought to mind clothes from the historic kingdom of Georgia back on Earth. It really suited his tall stature. His outfit was a darker shade of green than my own, and the yellow sash draped loosely around his shoulders was dyed in Ehrenfest’s new style.

I was on the right side of the stage, so Ferdinand would take the left. He approached with Justus, his feystone bearer, and Eckhart, his representative guard knight, wearing his brightest smile for our public-facing engagement. Hartmut waited for him to sit down before moving to the center of the stage.

Normally, it was the aub’s duty to oversee engagements between members of the archducal family. We had entrusted the role to my retainers; I couldn’t conduct my own ceremony, and my family comprised nobles from another duchy. Hartmut had assured us that only he was capable of taking the reins, but I still worried what he might do.

“By royal decree, Lord Ferdinand and Lady Rozemyne are to be engaged,” he announced, unrolling the documents Eglantine had signed and presenting them for all to see. “Under normal circumstances, engagements are recognized during the Archduke Conference and then formalized alongside the Starbind Ceremony. In our case, the engagement must take place before the conference, so Zent Eglantine visited our humble duchy early to grant her approval.”

Hartmut launched into an explanation for the nobles who had remained in their provinces and were thus unaware of recent developments. He gave long-winded accounts of the Purge of Lanzenave, the battle for the Sovereignty, and the large-scale spell performed by the Divine Avatar of Mestionora.

Here we go...

I braced for a fanatic speech about my “divinity” or some such, but one never came. Hartmut smiled and said, “You may now exchange feystones.”

Ferdinand and I stood up at the same time. I turned to Lieseleta and Leonore, nodded, and advanced to the center of the stage as elegantly as I could. Ferdinand was doing the same. Each step brought us closer together until we were within arm’s reach, whereupon he leisurely knelt before me. Eckhart and Justus followed suit, keeping their heads bowed.

“Here you are, Lady Rozemyne,” Lieseleta said. She held out the box containing my engagement feystone and, upon confirming that everyone was in place, opened it. I plucked out the feystone and took a deep breath.

“My God of Darkness, the guidance of the supreme gods in the heavens above brought about this engagement. Spring arrived with Verdrenna’s thunder, and Bluanfah began her dance. As the sprouts turned vibrant green, I felt Leidenschaft guide me...”

As our resident author, Roderick had written my vows for me. I understood the first line—a reiteration that I was here by royal decree and that my engagement couldn’t easily be overturned—but the rest was too tough for me to decipher. I’d wanted to say something that would communicate my immense gratitude to Ferdinand and ask him to keep guiding me, so why was Bluanfah whirling around and the God of Darkness flourishing his cape and sleeves? Even when I was memorizing the words before the ceremony, I’d suspected that my writer had gone rogue.

Despite my misgivings, my retainers had all deemed the vows perfect for an engagement ceremony. Our audience must have agreed; I could see people giving nods of approval and sighing in awe. I wasn’t talented enough to stray from the script and translate my feelings into religious allusions—especially not on the spot—so my only option was to press on.

“I seek to brighten your world and so offer you this feystone, my God of Darkness.”

Engraved within the feystone were the words “Let me embroider your cape.” It was the best way I could think to translate “Let’s be family” into noble speech, as cape embroidering was a task done only by a person’s loved ones.

As I understood it, when Ferdinand entered the temple, Veronica had confiscated the cape his father had given him. He had sincerely appreciated it when Sylvester gave him a new one, though you wouldn’t have guessed it by how much he complained about its poor defenses. Taking his desires into account, I wanted to give him a cape that only a true family member could prepare.

Ferdinand accepted the feystone, read the message inside, and then inhaled. For a moment, his fake smile gave way to an expression of pure joy. Even when his false countenance returned, he continued to hold the feystone tight. I couldn’t help but chuckle in response.

“I will choose the design...” he muttered, his lips curled into a frown. I couldn’t decide whether to sweetly request that he make it a simple one or double down and remark on his ears being red.

“Lord Ferdinand,” whispered Justus.

Ferdinand glanced over his shoulder. He carefully returned my feystone to its box before retrieving his own.

“Divine Avatar of Mestionora and my Goddess of Light, your radiance dispels the darkness and shines without end. Lost in Chaocipher’s swaying veil, I was powerless to save my Geduldh. I could only wait for Ewigeliebe’s sword to fall. But then you appeared, my Goddess of Light. You tore through the gloom and brought order to chaos.”

His slew of metaphors took me by surprise. If only he’d written them down so I could actually take the time to decipher them.

Each of the gods had several meanings associated with their name. I couldn’t work out which ones Ferdinand was referring to—not when they were appearing in such quick succession—but I could extrapolate from everyone’s reactions that this was a profound declaration of love. Elvira’s eyes sparkled, and other women clasped trembling hands over their mouths.

He compared me to the All-Shining Goddess of Light, the All-Changing Goddess of Water, the All-Protecting Goddess of Wind, and the All-Embracing Goddess of Earth. Every single one of the main goddesses, then. It seems so excessive that I don’t know what to think.

“I offer you this feystone, my Goddess of Light.”

Ferdinand then held out his omni-elemental engagement feystone. I accepted it and read the golden text inside.

“I will protect Alexandria and you with it.”

Dad’s promise echoed in my mind. Ferdinand never made vows he couldn’t keep, so this declaration was all the more unfair. The comfort of knowing he would always be by my side was almost overshadowed as my heart raced, my hands trembled, and my throat started to ache. My cheeks flushed, and tears welled up in my eyes.

“Ferdinand... I, um...”

I needed to communicate my feelings, but I couldn’t find the words. My voice kept catching in my throat.

Ferdinand rose to his feet and wiped the tears from my eyes, using his sleeve to hide my crying face from our audience. “Do not weep here,” he whispered. “I will not be able to console you.”

“You knew what you were doing when you chose that message...”

Before we could say much else, cries of glee or horror—I couldn’t tell which—arose among the nobles. I almost leapt out of my skin, so surprised that my tears dried up in an instant.

“What’s going on?”

Despite my best attempts to look, I couldn’t see past Ferdinand’s sleeve. I gazed up at him for an explanation.

“It would seem I have erred...” he said with a frown.

“I-In what sense?”

“Do not ask.”

Just tell me!

Ferdinand took a step back and sighed. Hartmut was watching us with a troubled expression, while Justus was desperately trying not to laugh. Lieseleta had turned beet red and was looking around the hall.

In the crowd, Elvira was the only one grinning from ear to ear and waving her lit schtappe through the air. Sylvester wore a more subtle smile, though I could tell that he was deeply moved. And then there was Bonifatius, who was shaking his fists while every knight in the vicinity fought to keep him under control.

“Continue, Hartmut,” Ferdinand ordered. “Carry out your duty.”

Hartmut took a second to regain his composure, then turned to those gathered. “May the newly engaged be blessed!”

The nobles raised their schtappes and made them shine together.