Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.12 - Chapter 7

Proclamations as the Aub

“In accordance with the completed engagement ceremony, we have confirmed who will attend the Archduke Conference. Said people will receive registration brooches from the aub.”

Having a registration brooch was necessary to enter the Royal Academy and our dormitory. Ferdinand had made them with materials prepared by Hartmut and the others, but it was my duty as the aub to actually distribute them.

Ferdinand’s and my retainers were called up first. Those from Ehrenfest who had already received their brooches had since needed to return them. It might have seemed a little pointless, as we were going to give them straight back, but ceremony was important for these kinds of things.

“If not for your continued assistance,” I told the retainers, “I would not be attending the upcoming Archduke Conference as Alexandria’s new aub. In fact, neither Ferdinand nor I would even be here today.”

If not for Eckhart and Justus, Ferdinand might not have survived his time in Ahrensbach. If not for his Ahrensbach retainers, we wouldn’t have been able to restore order to the duchy in such a short time, nor would we have had the necessary documentation ready for the Archduke Conference. And above all else, if not for my retainers who had stood by me without question, we would never have been able to save Ferdinand.

I praised all of our retainers, who had worked tirelessly and endured manpower shortages ever since the Purge of Lanzenave. “Your busy days are far from over, but know that your hard work is greatly appreciated.”

Once they had their brooches, we called up the knights chosen by Strahl to attend the Archduke Conference, the scholars chosen by Ferdinand, and the attendants chosen by Fairseele and Sergius. They were all people Ferdinand considered trustworthy from his stay in Ahrensbach.

As a sidenote, Ferdinand wanted me to pick my Alexandrian retainers from among the aforementioned groups. He planned to lure some particularly bothersome opponents into traps, and the nobles before us now were his co-conspirators. His targets would apparently be summoned to the conference later to take up support roles.

He was only trying to keep me safe, so I did my best not to think about the poor souls soon to face his wrath.

It’s nice that he has friends to scheme with.

Ferdinand was perfectly capable of working alone—as he’d proven time and time again—but it was good to hear he had accomplices for once. I silently cheered them on and wished them the best.

“Attendants,” I said, “I suspect you will need to leave sooner than the rest of us to prepare the dormitory. You may choose your own servants. I see no reason to worry about those who have been supporting Ferdinand, but I expect this Archduke Conference to be especially arduous. So much has changed—even the duchy’s name and color. Scholars, I cannot wait to see your talents as members of a greater duchy. Knights, I saw your strength and determination in our battle for the Sovereignty. May we all do our best to make it through.”

As they received their brooches, the attendants, knights, and scholars seemed to realize just how little time we had before the Archduke Conference—each and every one of them wore a solemn expression. Old Ahrensbach had lost so many nobles through Lanzenave’s massacre, the battle for the Sovereignty, and the severance of Old Werkestock; the burden on those who remained was going to be intense.

I continued to distribute brooches while Hartmut explained our plans for those orphaned during Lanzenave’s massacre. For the most part, they would receive the same treatment as those orphaned during Ehrenfest’s purge: I, the aub, would take over as their guardian. Orphans who were already baptized would spend time in the temple as apprentice blues, whereas those who weren’t would need to enter the orphanage.

Among the unbaptized orphans, those with mana and their own magic tools would receive the opportunity to have a noble baptism ceremony. Orphans without tools had a chance to be given one depending on their motivation and potential, meaning they could also be returned to noble society.

“Lady Letizia lost those she depended upon in the massacre and will join the other orphans in the temple,” I explained. “Ferdinand and I will adopt her once we are Starbound, in accordance with the royal decree, but that will not be for another two years at least.”

A stir ran through the nobles. Some questioned the decision for Letizia to remain an archduke candidate, while others expressed their shock that someone of her status was being sent to the temple.

“Entering the temple while young and offering one’s prayers to the gods are essential to obtaining more divine protections,” I said. “Living in the temple and praying daily will grant her more power in the future.”

The importance of prayer was now common knowledge thanks to the research published during the Interduchy Tournament and the Dedication Rituals held at the Royal Academy. Ahrensbach’s nobles were behind the times, having been forbidden by Detlinde from participating in the rituals, and didn’t know that Yurgenschmidt’s bias against the temple was fading.

“I support Alexandria’s children visiting the temple and participating in religious ceremonies to obtain as many divine protections as they can,” I declared. “I also intend to open classrooms in the temple so that everyone has access to an education, no matter their status. One of my long-term goals is for everyone in my duchy to know how to read—even commoners!”

My announcement was met with dropped jaws and confused murmurs. Ferdinand cleared his throat to get my attention, then gave me a look of slight exasperation. I must have gone overboard. I cleared my throat in turn, attempting to regain my composure, and then continued my explanation in a more neutral tone.

“As everyone is aware, Ahrensbach maintained an advantage over other duchies through its trade with Lanzenave. Recent events have cost us that luxury. No longer can we boast of having the only open country gate in Yurgenschmidt.”

Indeed, Yurgenschmidt had no intention of continuing its business with Lanzenave now that the latter had developed so many ways of slaughtering our people.

“Now that Yurgenschmidt has a Zent with the Grutrissheit,” I continued, “the other country gates are bound to reopen. Ours and ours alone will remain shut—for the foreseeable future, at least—turning our previous advantage entirely on its head.”

Ahrensbach’s nobles had long mocked Ehrenfest for not having an open country gate. I trusted they would appreciate the irony of the situation.

“As you might have guessed, Alexandria will need a new industry to regain its former glory.”

The nobles gave me looks of understanding. I glanced at Ferdinand, who returned a small nod, indicating that I should continue.

“To that end, we have constructed a new laboratory within the castle and gathered research done by volunteer scholars on the spices and sugar grown in Yurgenschmidt. We intend to find an alternative to sugar and expect to make great progress moving forward. Once it can be grown, Alexandria will regain some superiority—but research seldom leads to immediate results.”

Setting up this brand-new industry would take ages. Alexandria needed something to keep it going in the meantime.

“We are in luck, then, that I developed several new industries back in Ehrenfest. I wish to continue them here, so I secured the aub’s permission to relocate my personnel. Alexandria will soon promote the printing and paper-making industries and spread a new wave of eateries.”

The nobles exchanged hushed words and turned to Sylvester; few duchies would agree to relinquish one industry, let alone several. He gave me an approving nod, completely unfazed.

“We are not stealing industries from Ehrenfest,” I said. “Rather, our duchies shall work together to grow them. The market needs a surplus of products for prices to decrease, and the demand for resources means that no one duchy can monopolize the creation of paper.”

Any duchy that did attempt to seize complete control of the paper-making industry would eventually face widespread deforestation. One could grow more trees with magic, but that would mean devoting however many nobles’ mana to the creation of lumber.

“The printing industry is the same,” I continued. “There are several printing workshops in Ehrenfest at this point, but they do not all print the same books. Ehrenfest’s printing industry will not collapse from Alexandria setting up its own workshops.”

That part of my speech was directed at Sylvester’s and Florencia’s retainers; I didn’t want them to think of us as thieves.

“Together, we should prioritize making new books and printing workshops. By spreading the industries to other duchies, I can further enrich my library through the book deposit system.”

“Rozemyne, the mask is slipping.”

Oops. Guess I was a little too honest...

Ferdinand gave me a light glare. I merely smiled at him and continued to address the gathered nobles.

“As for the eateries, Ehrenfest’s and Alexandria’s distinct climates prevent us from serving exactly the same food. Each restaurant should adapt its menu to the region in which it is based. I, for one, hope to devise new recipes based on the joys brought by Alexandria’s ocean.”

Having made it clear that our duchies wouldn’t be in direct competition, I started on my next point: “Commoners must serve as the backbone of our new industries. We will need to coordinate with them, and their education will prove crucial to Alexandria’s growth.”

I extolled the importance of raising literacy rates and described my overall plan for the temple’s classrooms. Courses would remain cheap and available to all, but some nobles were reluctant to learn alongside commoners.

“You might not realize this yet, but we have so much to gain from working with those of other statuses. The new system I am proposing will not do away with home education; those who would rather depend on tutors are free to continue doing so.”

My aim was not to put professors and tutors out of work. The temple’s classrooms would cover no more than was taught during the first few years of the Royal Academy and wouldn’t even touch upon magic. On top of that, the quality of education provided would only meet the standards of an average mednoble; it wouldn’t even come close to being enough for an archnoble or archducal family member.

“There are times when laynobles’ talents go undeveloped purely because they cannot secure good teachers,” I said. “I saw it with my own eyes in Ehrenfest’s winter playrooms. As I plan to devote resources to educating commoners, it stands to reason that I will do the same with nobles. As the importance of prayer continues to spread, I hope to gradually change everyone’s opinions of the temple.”

Not wanting to be overtaken by commoners would surely inspire the proud nobles to study harder than usual, and making them associate with commoners from a young age would do much to benefit Alexandria in the long term. Even just getting them into the temple to pray was important.

“Will orphans receive that education for free?” one noble asked. “If one can obtain the aub’s support by living in the orphanage and then return to being a noble, will more parents not be compelled to abandon their children?”

Others also had concerns of that nature. Raising a noble was painfully expensive, and my explanation so far made it seem like we were giving the orphans preferential treatment.

“I shall serve as a backer for the orphans, but I will not cover the full cost of their living expenses. They will need to earn their own money and repay what they have spent when they start work.”

“Come again...?”

I was rumored to be deeply compassionate, but that wasn’t true at all. The orphans would need to get by on the funds given to blue priests and shrine maidens who provided their mana, payments for participating in Spring Prayer and the Harvest Festival, and the money they earned themselves. It would not be an easy life, by any means.

“I wish to spare the lives of young children who would otherwise have been punished for their parents’ sins, but I cannot promise them perfect lives as nobles. Should they not perform adequately at school, they will end up as blue or gray priests.”

An awkward, uncomfortable silence fell over the crowd. They must have thought my response was cold, or maybe they simply hadn’t expected it from a divine avatar, but having noble blood wasn’t a guarantee for becoming a noble.

“I shall do as I did in Ehrenfest and gather stories from Alexandria’s provinces,” I said, pressing on. “The orphans can all make money by transcribing books from the book room, hearing tales from the commoners with whom they study in the temple’s classrooms, and writing their own stories.”

The nobles of Old Ahrensbach shot Sylvester’s group a look that seemed to ask, “Was she really like this in Ehrenfest?” I’d made so much progress during my time there, and now I was waiting for the people of my new duchy to catch up.

“Such work is not exclusively for the orphans,” I noted. “I shall pay a reasonable price for any texts I am brought, be they ancient documents from a giebe’s estate, collections of stories passed down orally between commoners, original stories, compiled research, or transcriptions of texts from the Royal Academy. Anything is welcome.”

Bring them on!

Now, the nobles were completely stunned. Their eyes pleaded with the Ehrenfest group to stop me. Sylvester responded with a smile that basically said, “She’s your problem now.”

“Lord Ferdinand, should we not intervene?” Lieseleta asked, concerned by the nobles’ reactions. He glanced at me in place of a reply.

“Ferdinand, Lieseleta—every journey has to start somewhere. This information is necessary for everyone to understand my goals as the aub, and they will need to get used to my methods sooner or later.”

“That is entirely correct,” Hartmut agreed with a smile.

I saw Ferdinand grimace and pressed the attack. “Ferdinand, did you not tell me I could crush Ahrensbach or develop it as I please? Once my intentions are made clear, the nobles will realize they have no choice but to concede.”

My greatest ambition was to supply my library with copies of every single text in Yurgenschmidt. If my status as the Divine Avatar of Mestionora would get me closer to completing that goal, then I wouldn’t hesitate to use it. I’d even secured a promise from Eglantine that I could transcribe everything inside the palace library. I would do absolutely anything to become the ultimate librarian, and the nobles of Old Ahrensbach couldn’t change that.

“As the Divine Avatar of Mestionora the Goddess of Wisdom, I shall bring untold prosperity to the library city of Alexandria,” I declared. “My library shall contain more books than any other in Yurgenschmidt, and as both an aub and a librarian, I shall strive to make it the most joyful place in the country. Let us all work together to make it the best it can be!”

Hartmut stepped forward. “Now then, everyone—let us pray for Alexandria’s growth. We express our gratitude to the mighty King and Queen of the endless skies and to the mighty Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm. Praise be to Flutrane the Goddess of Water, Leidenschaft the God of Fire, Schutzaria the Goddess of Wind, Geduldh the Goddess of Earth, Ewigeliebe the God of Life, and Lady Rozemyne, the Divine Avatar of Mestionora!”

“Praise be to the gods!”

Most of the gathered nobles copied Hartmut and threw their hands up in prayer. I did as well.

As my love for developing the library became a blessing that rained down on the hall, I observed the giebes who hadn’t been at the castle to succumb to Hartmut’s brainwashing stare up in a daze. Ehrenfest’s nobles had once reacted the same way. It wouldn’t be long before they all got used to it.