Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.2 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

At about the same time that Rozemyne was carried away by her head attendant, the students in the audience began filtering out as well. Left behind were the other archduke candidates, their retainers, and the dormitory supervisors.

Hannelore was still at Ehrenfest’s base, where Schutzaria’s shield previously stood, waiting among a sea of ocher capes. She could only watch as Rozemyne slowly disappeared from view.

To think she would end up in such a state... Just how far was she pushing herself during our game?

Rozemyne’s sickly pallor was a stark contrast to the radiance she had exuded when facing down Lestilaut just moments prior, or when defending against the attacks of the entire Sovereign Knight’s Order. Now, she looked ashen, on the verge of passing out. Had she been maintaining her shield through sheer willpower? Hannelore let out an awed sigh at the thought.

No matter how you approach it, Lady Rozemyne needed healing so much more than our apprentice she helped.

Once the noisy crowds had dispersed, the only ones who remained were those whom Anastasius had asked to stay. They formed a triangle with black, blue, and ocher corners, and the dormitory supervisors stepped forward as representatives. The three infiltrators, all tightly bound, were tossed into the center.

“Hannelore! You should be over here!” Lestilaut called out, signaling for her return with a quick jerk of his thumb. It was only then that Hannelore noticed everyone standing in groups; in her confusion, she alone had ended up with the wrong duchy.

Wilfried attempted to ease her panic. “Don’t worry, Lady Hannelore. Lord Lestilaut will understand that you only came to us and entered Schutzaria’s shield to escape the danger.”

Despite those kind words, Hannelore offered only a polite smile in response. Such a weak excuse simply wouldn’t hold water; she had willingly left Dunkelfelger’s base and made her duchy lose as a result.

Lestilaut’s decision to lead the apprentice knights to chase off the intruders had meant that Hannelore was all alone in their base. As her team’s treasure, she was unable to move. Thankfully, the abundance of mana she wielded as an archduke candidate meant that she could block any attack with a full-powered geteilt. She had also been given offensive magic tools to chase away any enemies who attempted to approach. It was her duty to watch the battle from afar and play defensively, so when the invading duchies’ attack magic started raining down from the sky, she produced her geteilt and took cover in its shadow.

“Lady Hannelore!” Wilfried shouted as he flew over to her. He was carrying a shield of his own, which he was using to block the attacks coming from above.

Hannelore slowly reached down and touched one of the many magic tools she had with her.

“It’s too dangerous for you to be here without any guards,” Wilfried continued. “Come to Ehrenfest. You’ll be safer inside Rozemyne’s shield.”

Hannelore’s eyes widened. To her surprise, Wilfried wasn’t here to encourage her to resign; he was genuinely worried about her, showing no ulterior motives. Even so, she shook her head.

“But I cannot leave this base— Eep!”

Before she could finish her response, Wilfried stopped an attack from the sky with his shield, letting out a grunt of exertion. He then gave Hannelore a reassuring smile, extended a hand to her, and said, “I would not say this if our battle were still only between our two duchies. However, we now have intruders to deal with, and our game can’t continue after such an interruption. Please, Lady Hannelore. Think of your safety above all else.”

She gazed up at the blue-capes, who were fighting to keep the intruders of so many duchies from reaching the ground. They were clearly furious about their game being interrupted and were working their hardest to remove the sudden threat.

The bombardment of magic attacks made it clear that the invaders’ objective wasn’t to join the ditter game; their only focus was stopping Dunkelfelger from obtaining the Saint of Ehrenfest. A glance over at Rauffen was enough to see that he was entirely preoccupied with their unwanted guests. He hadn’t announced that the game was canceled or even paused.

Just by looking at Wilfried—by staring into his deep-green eyes and seeing his outstretched hand—Hannelore could tell that he cared more about her safety than any game of ditter. He was wielding a shield and nothing more; there were no weapons or magic tools in his hands.

“If our game is canceled, then we can simply resume it some other time,” he said. “But if you get hurt? The consequences could be devastating.”

Hannelore knew that she could easily blow Wilfried away using the offensive magic tools she had been given. They were powerful enough to pose a genuine risk to anyone on the receiving end of one... yet Wilfried didn’t seem concerned about that in the slightest.

His only thoughts are about my safety.

As an archduke candidate raised in the duchy of warfare, Hannelore seldom had people offer to protect her. She was expected to lead her guard knights into battle, charging straight at danger rather than letting it come to her—and whenever her efforts fell short, she was scolded for not being strong enough. All things considered, Hannelore considered herself a bit of a failure.

But here was Wilfried, trying to keep her safe. Such a thing had never happened to her before, and she wasn’t being chastised either. Her heart was racing before she realized it, and when she gazed into his straightforward eyes, she felt strangely fuzzy inside.

“Come with me,” he said. “It’s much safer inside Rozemyne’s shield.”

Hannelore stood up. She dispelled her shield, willingly left her base, and took the hand being offered to her. The two then exchanged relieved smiles.

“Very well,” she said. “I shall go to Ehrenfest.”

By deciding to leave her base and go with Wilfried, Hannelore had cost her duchy the game. While attacks rained down from above and Lestilaut led the apprentice knights into battle against the intruders, she had quietly gone to Ehrenfest for safety.

Hannelore didn’t regret her choice or her actions, but the thought of everyone being so angry at her made her feet feel so much heavier. She was terrified about what might happen next.

I’ve made my bed; I must now lie in it.

After encouraging herself as best she could, Hannelore moved to join the others from her duchy. As an archduke candidate, she needed to stand beside Lestilaut and Rauffen in the front row. Her brother glared at her, but he couldn’t scold her in front of the royal family. That alone was a silver lining.

Once everyone was in neat rows and kneeling before the royal family, Anastasius demanded an explanation of the ditter game. Rauffen and Hirschur answered, which only made the prince furrow his brow; a simple time line of events was hard to understand in isolation.

This was no normal game of ditter, after all.

Gambling one’s engagement on a game of ditter on the Royal Academy’s grounds wasn’t normal, nor was underage archduke candidates leading apprentice knights—and the absurdities didn’t stop there. Hannelore had gotten wrapped up in things even without Wilfried proposing to her, then members of the Sovereign Knight’s Order had determined it necessary to interfere. The whole situation was peculiar.

“Now, what caused this mess in the first place?” Anastasius finally asked, irritated.

“You have my sincerest apologies,” Wilfried replied without hesitation.

Anastasius raised an eyebrow slightly, troubled to have received a “sorry” rather than an answer. Hannelore noticed this, then turned back to Wilfried. Ehrenfest looked sick with anxiety about being addressed by the royal family. They were so different from her brother, Lestilaut, who had merely clicked his tongue.

Oh, but wait...

Hannelore remembered seeing Rozemyne in the royal family’s villa. Back then, Rozemyne hadn’t looked at all shaken about being in the presence of royalty—in fact, she had even displayed the courage to assert her own opinion without faltering. Just watching her had given Hannelore chills, but compared to how the others from Ehrenfest were acting now... For the first time, she understood why her brother had said that Rozemyne was a cut above the others in her duchy.

That side of Lady Rozemyne certainly reminds me of my brother. Perhaps they are more alike than I originally thought.

Lestilaut may have been kneeling before Anastasius, but he wasn’t looking down at the ground; instead, he was looking the prince square in the face, strength in his eyes, showing that he had no intention of backing down.

“I also have a question,” Lestilaut said. “Why are you here, Prince Anastasius? Should matters of the Royal Academy not fall to Prince Hildebrand?”

In essence, Lestilaut was refusing to answer to anyone but the person in charge. He was right that Anastasius had not received the king’s permission to oversee the Royal Academy—in fact, one could argue that he was overstepping the bounds of his authority simply by being here. This was far from Lestilaut doing Hildebrand a favor, however; his true intention was to bring forth the younger royal, who would be easier to manipulate.

No, Brother! This is not what you want!

After interacting with Hildebrand during their tea party and at the underground archive, Hannelore had sensed that the younger prince admired—and perhaps even loved—Rozemyne. Having him arbitrate a game of ditter intended to decide his first crush’s future husband would only cause problems.

Hannelore frantically shook her head, silently imploring Anastasius to disregard her brother’s demand. The prince met her gaze, then gave a curt nod, his arms crossed.

“Hildebrand would find this incident troublesome to deal with,” Anastasius said. “The Zent has instructed that I temporarily take his place.”

Lestilaut sniffed dismissively, then adopted the broad smile he used when socializing. “In that case, I would also like to know the meaning behind this mess. We went through all the procedures necessary to use these grounds for ditter.” He glared at one of the restrained knights. “For what folly did the Sovereign Knight’s Order interfere with our holy game?”

It was a very impolite way of speaking to a royal—disrespectful, even—but Lestilaut was justified in his anger. The Sovereign Knight’s Order had tempted middle and lesser duchies into interfering with a game of ditter, all so that Rozemyne would not end up in Dunkelfelger’s hands.

“It was the Sovereign Knight’s Order that caused problems, not us,” Lestilaut continued. “I intend to petition the king for an explanation as to why our game was interrupted, an admission that he failed to keep his knights under control, and a guarantee that these three rogues will receive the strictest punishment.”

“What?! Lord Lestilaut, what are you saying?!”

This exclamation came not from Anastasius, but from Wilfried. Ehrenfest appeared more shocked than anyone else.

Lestilaut blinked as if confused. “What issue do you have with that? If any other Knight’s Order acted in this manner, their archduke would be reprimanded for mismanaging them. In the case of the Sovereign Knight’s Order, the royal family is responsible.”

“What issue...?” Wilfried repeated. “I... I mean to say, we do not need to treat this so serious—”

“But we do. They defiled a holy game of ditter—one that would have decided the fate of our archduke candidates.”

Now that they prayed to the gods and received blessings before playing ditter, those from Dunkelfelger had started to deify the sport even more than before. Interfering with a game being offered to the gods was equivalent to obstructing a religious ceremony or a dedication whirl.

This is... strange. Do those of Ehrenfest not consider it disrespectful to the gods for a religious ceremony to have been interrupted...?

As far as Hannelore could tell from Rozemyne’s rituals in the Royal Academy, Ehrenfest performed religious ceremonies considerably more often than Dunkelfelger. The duchy was closer to the gods and more accustomed to receiving divine protections and blessings... yet its representatives didn’t seem at all annoyed about the interruption. Even though they respected the gods more than the royal family did, they were being unusually calm.

Lestilaut continued, “Can you explain why none of you seem at all outraged about all this? I seem to recall that your apprentice knights made no effort to help disperse the intruders...”

“We had many wounded; it is only obvious that we would prioritize healing them and evacuating the noncombatants. Rather, I think you should explain how you could leave Lady Hannelore in such a dangerous place to—”

“Enough, both of you,” Anastasius said, stepping in before the discussion could become an argument. He then faced down Lestilaut with a piercing stare. “Indeed, these knights acted without an order from the royal family, and we intend to question them as to why. However, Lestilaut, I also have a question for you. As you said, you went through the proper channels for your game of ditter, but I remember your document describing it as the kind played during training. There was no mention of the outcome deciding the engagements of any archduke candidates. Rozemyne’s engagement to Wilfried already has the king’s approval, so it seems to me that you used underhanded means to make this happen. Am I correct?”

When requesting the use of the training grounds, one could get approval simply by writing that it was for ditter; there was no need to specify the kind of ditter or the reason it was being played. This was news to Hannelore, but Lestilaut had apparently exploited this loophole to achieve something that was otherwise unprecedented.

Lestilaut shook his head. “I thought that you, of all people, would understand my feelings, Prince Anastasius. After all, you employed all manner of schemes to obtain your own Geduldh.”

Please, no! It’s true, but saying that is so impertinent!

Under normal circumstances, by the king’s decree, Eglantine’s chosen partner should have become the next king. Lestilaut was protesting criticism from the prince who had done everything in his power to overturn that declaration.

Hannelore felt an uncomfortable pang in her stomach. She didn’t want to be next to her brother right now.

“I can understand the desire to obtain your Geduldh, but trying to decide archduke candidates’ fate through ditter, of all things, is outright unthinkable. And without even allowing the archdukes to discuss matters first...”

“Oh...? Are you looking down on ditter, by chance, Prince Anastasius?” Lestilaut asked, his voice getting sharper.

Two years ago, Rozemyne’s schemes had caused a lot of excitement, and these feelings had only continued to build when Dunkelfelger’s history was shared a year later. This year, with A Ditter Story and the ritual to obtain true blessings, those from Dunkelfelger had come to appreciate and even worship ditter more than ever before.

Anastasius was understandably oblivious to these private affairs, but he immediately realized that his words had caused offense to someone with very good reason to criticize the Sovereign Knight’s Order. “No, that is far from my intention,” he said. “However, if you wish to redo your game that was disrupted by the Sovereign Knight’s Order, then I would ask that the aubs of both duchies be allowed to decide the terms themselves.”

“A rematch would be more disrespectful to ditter and the gods than anything else,” Lestilaut replied flatly. “We cannot overturn the results of a game played with divine blessings, nor do I intend to.”

“Hold on,” Wilfried said. “We could not possibly consider our game valid after what happened...”

“But the results are clear. Hannelore left our base of her own will.”

“Yes, to escape danger. I invited her into Schutzaria’s shield for her own safety. At first, she refused, and—”

“Silence! The match was decided the moment our treasure left our base. Dunkelfelger lost. Ehrenfest won. I will not tolerate any further protest.”

After saying his piece, Lestilaut glanced over at Hannelore, his eyes narrowed slightly in what might have been a glare. His expression indicated that he wanted to demand answers from her—to know why she had chosen to leave their base—but was desperately suppressing the urge.

Hannelore averted her gaze, trying to escape her brother’s wrath. It wasn’t long before her eyes wandered to Wilfried. He was pale-faced, doubtless overcome with guilt; after all, he had assured Hannelore that they would be repeating the match.

“Prince Anastasius, we do not dispute the results of our ditter game,” Lestilaut said. “However, we of Dunkelfelger request the right to participate in the questioning and sentencing of those three knights. The last thing we would want is for them to receive punishments that do not match the severity of their crime.”

Anastasius grimaced at the implicit accusation that the royal family would do something so heinous. Before he could speak, however, Lestilaut continued.

“Luckily, this ditter match was performed in the Royal Academy. If we put the matter to rest now, then we can avoid having to involve every archduke during the Archduke Conference. The same goes for the pitiable apprentice knights whom the Sovereign Knight’s Order incited.”

Lestilaut was soon to graduate, meaning he was fully capable of participating in the next Archduke Conference and airing the misdeeds of the Sovereign Knight’s Order—misdeeds that had taken place in the Royal Academy, where adults weren’t supposed to interfere. From there, he could put pressure on the archdukes of the middle and lesser duchies that had participated.

If the royal family had ordered this unthinkable act, then they certainly wouldn’t want more attention drawn to it. Lestilaut was exploiting this fact... which made Hannelore sigh.

He who lives in a glass house, Brother... You would not want word to spread that you pressured Ehrenfest into a game of ditter, hoping to cancel Lady Rozemyne’s engagement, only to ultimately lose.

Lestilaut was effectively haggling with the royal family while trying to push his own vulnerability out of sight. Hannelore could only dream of being so shamelessly bold.

“I recognize Dunkelfelger’s request,” Anastasius said. “Does Ehrenfest have anything to say?”

“Ah...”

Wilfried exchanged a few words with his retainers, then replied, “No, Ehrenfest will obey the royal family’s decision.” They had resolved to demonstrate their fealty rather than kick up a fuss.

“I see. Now, with all that has been said, allow me to make one thing clear: if we learn of any further battles for Rozemyne, we of the royal family will settle things permanently by securing her ourselves. We will accept no debate.”

Not just Ehrenfest, but everyone present gasped at this announcement.

Anastasius continued, “Wilfried, you should have thought of a means to avoid this match before you received the challenge in the first place. You are Rozemyne’s fiancé—you could have spoken to the royal family and fought against Dunkelfelger’s demands. By accepting their terms, you have left yourself with no choice but to accept challenges from any other top-ranking duchies targeting Rozemyne. Do you understand this?”

Ehrenfest’s accumulating trends, the Royal Academy’s Dedication Ritual, the joint research projects to be announced during the Interduchy Tournament... With so many accomplishments under her belt, Rozemyne’s perceived value and popularity were rising drastically. The king had approved of her engagement, but this incident with Dunkelfelger had set a troublesome precedent, one that Anastasius believed would entice other duchies to attempt to claim her. In truth, it had already begun—that the Sovereign Knight’s Order had managed to persuade lesser and middle duchies was evidence enough. It wasn’t hard to imagine what would come of all this.

“You have prevailed this time, Wilfried, but you cannot rely on it happening again,” Anastasius warned. “Not all challenges will take place in the form of ditter. Whether or not Rozemyne stays in Ehrenfest will depend entirely on how you act as her fiancé and as the next archduke. Next time, you must do better.”

Wilfried hung his head. As the gathering came to an end, he couldn’t help but feel dejected.

Immediately upon returning to the Dunkelfelger Dormitory, Hannelore was surrounded by Lestilaut and the others.

“Hannelore, why did you willingly leave our base?” Lestilaut asked. “During last year’s Interduchy Tournament, you were praised extensively for having defied ditter’s infamous Lord of Evil. Nobody would believe that you gave up to escape danger. What did you have to gain?”

At once, a vivid image flashed through Hannelore’s mind. She could see Wilfried, his dark-green eyes brimming with worry, his hand so warmly extended. Her brother was right; she had not left their base to flee from danger.

“I want to go to Ehrenfest,” she finally answered.

Had the offer come from anyone else, Hannelore knew she would not have taken their hand. She wanted someone who would fight to protect her, even when there was so much danger to overcome.

“So you exploited Lord Lestilaut’s ditter game for the sake of your own love,” Cordula remarked, expressing her understanding. “Even as your head attendant, I would never have predicted such a move, milady. Your growth is splendid.”

Hannelore turned to her, taken aback. She wanted to dispute the claim, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak. As a result, everyone accepted Cordula’s interpretation as fact.

But, love...? Is that really what I’m feeling?

Hannelore had abandoned her base so that she could take Wilfried’s hand—so that she could go to Ehrenfest—but she didn’t feel that she could puff out her chest and declare she was in love. Her feelings were something more vague that she couldn’t quite express. As she mulled it over, the surrounding apprentice knights began reflecting on the game of ditter.

“I didn’t know that Lady Hannelore wanted to marry into Ehrenfest.”

“If we’d had even a suspicion, I wouldn’t have left her alone in our base...”

“We lost this time due to Lord Lestilaut’s negligence and poor information gathering.”

Nobody attacked Hannelore for her actions; their duchy had tasted defeat, but as far as anyone was concerned, she had achieved a personal victory and obtained the future she desired. Plus, this outcome would still secure them a connection with Ehrenfest. Lestilaut was displeased about having lost, but for Hannelore and the duchy as a whole, the game had still proven beneficial.

“Why did you not tell us sooner?” Lestilaut asked. “Were you colluding with Rozemyne? And when did you even begin to have feelings for Wilfried?”

Hannelore couldn’t have told them before the game; her heart had only changed when she saw Wilfried offering her his hand. She had ended up hiding important information from the others in her duchy, but she had done so entirely by accident. Lestilaut himself, on the other hand, had done the same deliberately. That was more problematic, in Hannelore’s opinion.

“Well, I did not know you wished to acquire Lady Rozemyne until you began taunting Lord Wilfried at our tea party, Brother. Not to mention, you are the one who made me resolve to marry into Ehrenfest.”

Lestilaut fell silent. Rozemyne had suggested that Hannelore marry Wilfried as his second wife if Dunkelfelger lost, but only because she had wanted to avoid playing ditter entirely. Lestilaut had ignored that and accepted the condition—and when Hannelore had tried pleading with him to reconsider, he had demanded that she be silent.

“Perhaps, but I did not think you wanted to marry into Ehrenfest,” Lestilaut groaned. “It is one thing to obtain a groom, but Ehrenfest places far too low in the rankings for a Dunkelfelger archduke candidate.”

One of his retainers patted him on the back. “Unfortunately, the results are what they are.”

“Yes, I know. This is my fault for not thinking that my little sister might surpass me. This is the result that she wanted.”

He sighed, but he made no attempt to overturn the results of their ditter game. His incessant grumbling was ultimately because he knew he would need to send a report home detailing everything that had transpired. His parents would surely chastise him for being soft on his family and not gathering intelligence properly.

Hannelore looked at her hand, and only then did she realize she had unwittingly extended her arm. She could remember Wilfried reaching out to her, and as she thought about the moment when their hands had met, a pleasant warmth spread through her chest.

There was such a broad, gentle smile on Hannelore’s face that everyone around her took in a sharp breath.