Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.8 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

Georgine had arrived at the Bindewald estate, a prime location for her to take stock of things. Not only did the province border Ehrenfest’s Gerlach, but it had also been in decline ever since its previous giebe’s imprisonment for attacking Rozemyne. Its residents thus harbored a profound grudge against Ehrenfest and its archducal family—a weakness that made them easy to exploit.

It was during her short stay at the giebe’s estate that Georgine received an ordonnanz from Detlinde. Their plans seemed to be proceeding smoothly.

“Did Lady Detlinde succeed?” asked Seltier, an attendant.

“Yes,” Georgine replied with a nod. “I thought we would need to wait another few days, but Lady Letizia must have reached her limits sooner than I expected.”

Georgine had predicted that Letizia would start to panic when her precious head attendant, Roswitha, disappeared without a trace. She had also guessed that the girl would turn to Ferdinand when her retainers’ search came up empty. Seeking help from Georgine or Detlinde certainly wouldn’t have been an option for her; they were of opposing factions, and she had barely even socialized with them.

But alas, not even Lord Ferdinand would agree to help her.

Ferdinand was a member of Ehrenfest’s archducal family. He was also Georgine’s half-brother, but as she had already been married out of the duchy by the time of his baptism, the two barely had a relationship to speak of. They had exchanged greetings and attended meals and meetings together since his arrival in Ahrensbach, but those were matters of business; they could hardly be described as socializing.

Still, he is much easier to read than Detlinde or Sylvester.

Through her research, Georgine had deduced that Ferdinand was the kind of man who could make exceedingly cold decisions when necessary. It was a trait they shared—maybe because their minds were wired similarly or because they had both grown up having everything they cared about taken from them by Veronica—which was how she had determined that Ferdinand would tell the frantic Letizia to give up on Roswitha. In his shoes, she would have said exactly the same thing.

Georgine had also predicted that being turned away by Ferdinand, the last person she could rely on, would make Letizia desperate enough to use Leonzio’s silver tube under the influence of a trug-infused sweet. To coax her into going along with their scheme, he had needed only say that ordonnanzes were still reaching Roswitha and that Letizia could secure her mentor’s help by using the device he had given her. She would never have given up knowing that her head attendant was still alive.

Head attendants normally started serving their archduke candidate charges before the latter were even baptized. They were seen as a second mother of sorts, especially in the case of someone like Letizia, who had moved to Ahrensbach from Drewanchel. Georgine understood all too well how much an archduke candidate relocated to the northern building would come to rely on her head attendant; she still remembered the crippling terror she had felt when her own one was stolen away from her.

“Things proceeded even more simply than we anticipated,” Grausam said, his brow furrowed as he touched his prosthetic left hand. “Lady Letizia must not have a very keen nose for danger. Or are Lord Ferdinand’s teachings to blame?”

“Her shortcomings were likely the result of being locked away in the northern building so that we could not socialize with her. Bear in mind that her isolation was not her own doing—rather than sensing the threats around her and making an educated decision, she merely followed the instructions given to her. As secluded as she might have felt, it should come as no surprise that she never grew wary.”

“I thought she would resemble you, Lady Georgine, since neither one of you has a mother to rely on, but I see now that I was mistaken. I might have been overestimating her...”

Georgine’s lips curved into a slight grin. “You would do well not to paint with such broad strokes. It seems unwise to compare someone who does not have a mother to someone who does but expects her only to cause harm.”

Even now, Georgine saw her parents as agents of malice who had played a personal and very deliberate role in her misery. She had wished for their deaths on countless occasions. Her retainers and name-sworn were far more reliable.

“Furthermore, it was by a royal decree that Lady Letizia was assigned to become the next Aub Ahrensbach,” Georgine continued. “Her position was unshakable, so why would she have noticed the dangers around her? Do not forget all the work I put into keeping her oblivious.”

They weren’t from the same faction, but Georgine had always shown Letizia respect during social events. She had also fed Detlinde the most indirect, ineffective means of expressing her spite for the girl, preventing any acts of open aggression. Thus, in the eyes of Letizia and her retainers, Georgine had seemed relatively harmless. Only when they were in her presence and their political rivalry became more apparent had they acted cautiously.

Open malice is best saved for when one is about to land the final blow.

By that same logic, Ferdinand was a far more dangerous opponent. Georgine had spent more than a year trying to lower his guard with smiles and other such niceties, but he had never given her an opening. They each knew that the other would go for the jugular as soon as an opportunity arose.

“Lady Letizia is too close to her retainers,” Georgine said. “I sincerely doubt she has the guts to drop them all when the need arises; foolish reluctance is a common theme among coddled archduke candidates.”

Georgine’s thoughts turned to Sylvester and the many ways he had allowed his love for his family to poison his rule. Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly beneath her veil.

“Lord Ferdinand is dead, and Lady Letizia is being moved onto a Lanzenavian ship...” she mused. “Still, I never thought this would all take place inside the Mana Replenishment hall.”

As a general rule, bringing unnecessary items into the replenishment hall was forbidden; the fact that only registered archduke candidates could enter had made it the scene of many a tragedy during battles for the archduke’s seat. Georgine had expected Ferdinand and Letizia’s discussion to take place in one of their rooms instead.

My hope was that we could wipe out their retainers at the same time.

Because the silver tube had been used inside the replenishment hall, Ferdinand had been the only victim; Eckhart and Justus weren’t even capable of entering the archduke’s office, so it stood to reason that they hadn’t been poisoned alongside him. To make matters worse, Detlinde was the only one able to confirm and report on the situation. As much as Georgine wanted to hear from someone who could actually be trusted, she had no other options for the time being.

“Still, I must not undermine the death of such a capable opponent,” she concluded. “I expected the overcautious Lord Ferdinand to be our hardest foe to eliminate.”

The man had once served as an assistant to Sylvester and continued to socialize with Ehrenfest even after moving to another duchy. He had been in a prime position to leak Ahrensbach’s intelligence, which had made him a most troublesome figure indeed. He had also come first-in-class each year he attended the Royal Academy and sorted out Ahrensbach’s disastrous administrative situation without a single complaint. Georgine had desperately wanted to get him out of the picture before making her move.

“His troublesome retainers remain, but let us advance to the next stage of our scheme nonetheless,” she said. “I wonder, will Eckhart and Justus reach Sylvester before his foundation ends up in my hands?”

“We have control over the border gate, and neither their letters nor their ordonnanzes will make it into Ehrenfest,” Grausam replied. “Perhaps they could reach him by highbeast, but it would take them two days to journey from Ahrensbach’s castle to the border gate. Then it would take them another day to reach Ehrenfest’s castle—and that doesn’t even account for the fact that our troops would stall them at the gate. There are no other options open to them, as they cannot pass through the barrier without silver cloth. Lord Sylvester will not receive a word about your plans.”

Ordonnanzes were unable to cross duchy borders. Maybe the retainers would send one to Ahrensbach’s side of the border gate, hoping they would relay the information to Ehrenfest, but Georgine’s faction was already in control of the knights stationed there. A magic letter would prove just as futile—they were always checked at the border gate, which deterred senders from writing anything of critical importance, and there was no guarantee that the knight tasked with reviewing it wouldn’t simply throw it away—and the teleporter to the Royal Academy couldn’t be used without the aub’s permission. Indeed, they could rely only on their highbeasts, which gave Georgine’s group the advantage.

“Now that Lord Ferdinand is gone, I suppose Lord Bonifatius is our primary threat within Ehrenfest’s archducal family...” Georgine mused.

“I concur,” Grausam said with a frown. “We will need to draw him away from the castle. He rarely acts as one expects.”

Georgine gave a wry smile of agreement; Bonifatius thwarted traps as effortlessly as he breathed, and his existence alone seemed to unravel even the most devious plots. It made no sense—anytime he was asked how he was able to detect such things, he would say only that he followed his instincts. He was anathema to people like Georgine and Grausam, who planned every last detail of their schemes before following them to the letter. Not to mention, he was a one-man army—a direct battle against him would surely end in disaster for his opponent. That was why they had devised the perfect countermeasure.

“If we first invade Illgner,” Georgine began, “the giebe there will request aid to supplement his mediocre army. Ehrenfest’s knight commander will need to stay at the castle, so we can expect Lord Bonifatius to join the fight instead. Then, after a pause, we will mount a simultaneous attack on Gerlach, forcing Aub Ehrenfest to divide his Knight’s Order between the two border provinces.”

A day or two after drawing Bonifatius to Illgner in the southwest, Georgine and Grausam would cause a disturbance in Gerlach in the southeast. Considering how long it took to move between the two provinces by highbeast, that would buy them more than enough time.

“The giebes of Old Werkestock are rather easy to manipulate,” Georgine continued. “We can trust them to perform excellently in Ehrenfest.”

The giebes ruled territories so deprived of mana that they could not grow their own food. They cared sincerely about their people, and that was precisely what made them so easy to take advantage of—the current Zent’s inability to redraw borders had put them in such dire straits that they had no choice but to cooperate.

“And as a result of my endeavors, we now have means of resisting Lord Bonifatius,” Grausam said, stroking his prosthetic hand once again.

“The depth of your loyalty makes me proud,” Georgine said with a smile. “Let us obtain Ehrenfest’s foundation together. This time, we will not fail.”

“The commoners made it clear that Ehrenfest’s giebes have been reinforcing their defenses. I expect their castle and Noble’s Quarter are just as well protected. May Angriff guide you.”

Georgine sent directions to the diversion squads due to accompany her, then put on silver clothes and a cape to stop anyone from detecting her mana. Commoners from Bindewald were driving her and the others’ carriages, as well as the carriage containing leather pouches and crates packed with the magic tools she would need.

Using her silver attire, Georgine passed through the duchy barrier and into Gerlach. There she moved into another carriage that would take her to Leisegang. Her driver this time was Laugo, a Devouring victim whom Grausam had ordered to hide among the commoners. He normally spent his days as a merchant, trading in plants meant for dyes and medicine, and would use his connections to get Georgine’s group on boats to the city of Ehrenfest.

The caravan paused their journey to spend a night at an inn before continuing into Leisegang the next day. Then, Georgine’s diversion squads were spread across a number of merchant vessels. It was a discreet method of transportation but also a slow one, as the boats would need to pick up and unload cargo along the way.

“The last of the merchant vessels should arrive at the west gate in two days at fourth bell,” Laugo explained. “Your boat will not depart until tomorrow, but because it will travel straight to Ehrenfest, you can expect to arrive at third bell instead.”

Georgine and her attendant Seltier stayed in Leisegang overnight, disguised as Laugo’s servants, and then boarded their boat as planned.

“The two of you will share this room,” Laugo said, speaking authoritatively to avoid arousing the suspicion of those around them. “I’ll come tell you when we reach Ehrenfest. Don’t go wandering about before then.”

As narrow as it was, the room would serve as the perfect location for the pair to relax away from prying eyes. Nobody had realized they were nobles—and with that in mind, Georgine gave her attendant a satisfied nod.

“This is a reward from your master,” Seltier said quietly before holding out a black feystone for Laugo to take. The mana within him must have been close to bursting out, because he immediately squeezed the feystone and heaved a heavy sigh of relief. “You must not have found many chances to ease the heat inside of you since the new giebe was assigned. We promised you only the one feystone, but rest assured, once our ship arrives at its destination, we shall give you another. Consider it a show of appreciation for your continued service.”

Grausam’s losing his position as giebe and moving to Ahrensbach had cost his Devouring servants all means of safely releasing their mana, more or less dooming them to an untimely demise. Now, however, Laugo was being offered not just another black feystone but also a connection that would benefit him long into the future. The feeling that his death might not be so certain anymore was indescribable, and he knelt before the compassionately smiling noblewomen in complete reverence.

Georgine accepted the gesture without question—it was only natural that someone would take a knee before her—and started shooing Laugo out of the room. “We shall remain here as advised. Be sure to keep up our little act.”

Once the Devouring victim was gone, there was nothing for the two noblewomen to do but await their destination. As an attendant, Seltier strove to ensure that her lady was as comfortable as possible within their inconvenient commoner vessel. Georgine, meanwhile, had nothing but free time. Perhaps because she was back in Ehrenfest, memories of the past came and went as she swayed along with the boat.

I don’t have a single good memory about this duchy...

Both now and in the past, Georgine had only ever felt alive when she was striving to become Aub Ehrenfest.

“Georgine—I want you to become the next Aub Ehrenfest.”

Georgine’s first, oldest memory was a conversation with her mother, Veronica. The woman was a strict parent who demanded perfection in all things, and she had made it abundantly clear that she didn’t want her daughter to lose the archducal seat to Bonifatius’s son, Karstedt, who was receiving an archduke candidate’s education. Under her cold tutelage, Georgine had learned to read and write with tears in her eyes, repeated greetings until she could no longer speak, and memorized etiquette while receiving steady beatings.

“You are going to become the next aub and save me, aren’t you?” her mother had asked, sadness in her eyes.

In response, Georgine had made a personal vow to work even harder to save her poor mother from the abuse of other nobles.

“Another girl...” Veronica had moaned when Georgine’s younger sister, Constanze, was born. She hadn’t even attempted to hide her disappointment and immediately neglected the poor girl.

As her concern for her abandoned sister grew, Georgine tried to give the child the same education she had received. But the harder she tried to bridge the gap between them, the greater it became. Georgine hadn’t understood why at the time, but now she knew that an archduke candidate’s education was much too harsh for someone without a hope of ever taking the role. The adults had simply allowed the misunderstanding to fester, not wanting Georgine to realize that her own education was much too strict.

In any case, although Georgine’s education was harsh and painful, she got support from those around her. She received praise from her mother whenever she did well and, upon her entrance into adolescence, protection from Rihyarda when Veronica became too strict. She was also loved unconditionally by her Uncle Bezewanst, even though their chances to see one another were few and far between.

Georgine innocently believed that as long as she beat Karstedt to the archducal seat, her mother would give her the warmth she so desired.

But then Sylvester was born.

In the blink of an eye, Veronica changed. She rejoiced over finally having a son, directing her love and attention exclusively at him. It didn’t matter how much he wailed or how little he tried; he was put first purely because he was a boy.

Georgine was confused. Her entire world was falling apart because of the birth of her younger brother. She began to worry that no amount of work would ever secure her the adoration she craved and even considered the change in her mother abnormal and disgusting.

If only Sylvester had never been born.

Karstedt had been a good rival for Georgine; despite having the advantage in both age and gender, he was the grandson of the previous archduke, not the son of the current one—a temporary candidate put in place to compensate for the reigning aub’s lack of a male heir. It would have been a close race between him and Georgine, the archduke’s actual daughter.

Georgine hadn’t been baptized at the time, so she’d rarely spoken with Karstedt face-to-face. They had a common tutor in Rihyarda, however, so information about him had been easy to come by. Georgine had considered beating him her long-term goal; he had been a rival she stood a chance of defeating with enough hard work.

But the first wife’s son, Sylvester, had forced Karstedt out of the battle for the archducal seat simply by being born. Georgine had witnessed a fellow archduke candidate be reduced to the status of an archnoble before her very eyes; it was only natural that she feared she would be next.

And this is only happening because of Sylvester...

Despite her alarm, things didn’t go as Georgine feared. Veronica’s main focus was putting one of her children in power, so while she got rid of Karstedt, Georgine was ultimately spared.

Like his father, Sylvester was sickly at birth. Thus, once Karstedt had been deposed, some began to fear for Ehrenfest’s future and pushed Georgine to continue her archducal education after her baptism.

So now Sylvester is my rival... I’ll need to study hard.

But no sooner had Georgine resolved not to lose to anyone than her head attendant, Rihyarda, was stolen away from her. It happened prior to Georgine’s baptism, partway through her move to the northern building. Veronica trusted Rihyarda more than any other attendant, so she transferred her to Sylvester, her ideal next aub.

Head attendants were generally seen as second mothers, but Georgine received far more love from Rihyarda than from Veronica. Having her most trusted retainer stolen away right when she was about to live separately from her parents seemed unforgivable. She cried to her mother that it was a terrible betrayal, but Veronica didn’t care.

“You are healthy enough, Georgine. Sylvester, on the other hand, is terribly unwell. I cannot leave him with someone I do not trust.”

Veronica convinced her husband to agree, and with that, Rihyarda formally became Sylvester’s retainer. Everything was moving in the boy’s favor. Everything.

I wish Sylvester would just die.

For the very first time, Georgine had the urge to dispatch her younger brother. He was the reason for all the unpleasant things in her life. His gender was the only advantage he had over her, yet it had been enough for him to gradually steal everything. It came as no surprise that she didn’t feel at all attached to him.

Once her baptism was over, Georgine finished moving to the northern building. Her education as an archduke candidate truly began, and she was so busy that she visited the main building only once a month to have tea with her mother and report on her progress.

Sylvester grew taller and healthier with each visit. He troubled the attendants with pranks and received frequent scoldings from Rihyarda, yet Veronica still seemed to think of him as a sickly child and never stopped doting on him. Georgine hadn’t been able to believe her eyes when she saw her mother actively stop others from punishing the boy. If she had dared to act out, she would have been screamed at and beaten.

Why should Sylvester be the aub at all...?

He only ever pulled pranks and messed around. Even when Georgine scolded him and said that he needed to work hard, he would shout that he didn’t want to rule in the first place. Then he would cling to his mother in tears, and she would criticize Georgine without hesitation.

“Do not damage poor Sylvester’s motivation,” she would say. “The boy’s still young. He doesn’t need to work hard yet.” There had even been a time when she had snapped, “You never dote on your little brother. All you ever do is complain. There is not enough love in you.”

Georgine was speechless. If everything Veronica had said about Sylvester was true, then why had she meticulously listed every single one of Karstedt’s flaws when he was the same age and still an archduke candidate? Every time Georgine had gone to the dinner table to say her good-nights, Veronica had been criticizing him without mercy.

In any case, not once since Sylvester’s birth had Georgine felt anything resembling love for him. Her mother had said she didn’t have “enough” in her, but the truth of the matter was that she didn’t have any at all.

Each time she was scolded, Georgine would be forced to apologize to her younger brother. And when she eventually did, he would stick out his tongue and pull a nasty face. It was the expression of a spoiled brat who knew he was monopolizing their mother’s love and that he would never be chided.

Would it not be in Ehrenfest’s best interest for this rotten child to die?

Georgine had to wonder: was this boy really a fellow archduke candidate? Each time they interacted, her disdain for him grew. Her one and only comfort was knowing that their situation couldn’t last forever—that her parents would one day realize that such a base fool could never serve as the aub.

I must keep working hard for when that time comes.

And so Georgine continued with her studies, working as passionately as she could in the hope that everyone would recognize her.

It eventually came time for Georgine to attend the Royal Academy... and that was when her struggles reached a climax. She was suddenly forbidden from meeting with her Uncle Bezewanst, the High Bishop—the man who showed her more love than anyone. And to make matters worse, Veronica had refused to give her any of the retainers she had desired, declaring that she wanted them to serve Sylvester instead.

Faced with this awful turn of events, Georgine almost had a breakdown. Her only remaining comfort—the one place she could truly feel safe—had now been stolen from her, and she wasn’t even allowed to choose the retainers who would support her in the future.

Why? Why won’t Sylvester just die?

Georgine’s relationship with her mother continued to deteriorate, but her father recognized how hard she had been working. He knew that, as a woman, she would need to take a husband from an archducal family to stand a chance of becoming the aub, so he arranged her engagement to an archduke candidate from another duchy and made sure that her husband-to-be would marry into Ehrenfest. It was her father’s support that allowed Georgine to continue striving to rule, even when she was driven into a corner time and time again.

Then came the day of Sylvester’s baptism when, once again, Georgine’s plans were turned on their head. The event had taken place during the spring feast to match the boy’s birth season, so the duchy’s entire noble population had been present when Veronica proclaimed it “the baptism of Ehrenfest’s next aub.”

Georgine had pleaded with her father, the current aub, to take back the announcement; unless they acted with great haste, the giebes would take the misunderstanding back to their provinces. Veronica’s rogue declaration would take root, making it all the harder to dispute.

In response, Georgine’s father shook his head. “The archducal couple cannot make contrasting declarations in front of the duchy’s nobles. I will speak with Veronica privately and then deal with the misinformation.”

Well, Father does have a reputation to uphold...

An archduke’s reputation was his lifeblood, so Georgine accepted her father’s response and stood down—a choice she would quickly come to regret. The nobles returned home under the impression that Sylvester was indeed the duchy’s next archduke, and come the next academic term, Georgine’s fiancé delivered a devastating blow.

“I was told you are no longer in the running to become the next Aub Ehrenfest. That violates the terms of our engagement.”

Georgine begged her parents to save her marriage—to reveal the truth about Sylvester’s position to her future husband. But instead, they elected to dissolve it.

“Sylvester is guaranteed to become the next aub, so why should your husband need to marry into Ehrenfest?” Veronica asked with a smile. “You should look for a partner from a higher-ranked duchy instead.”

“You are a smart and talented girl, Georgine,” her father added. “I want you to support Sylvester when he becomes the next aub. He needs someone like my elder brother to keep him on the straight and narrow. To that end, you could even just marry an archnoble.”

The world around Georgine began to crumble. How could her parents say such cruel things without the slightest hint of remorse? Looking back, it was hard to say how long she had spent frozen in place before realizing the truth—that she would never be given a chance to rule, that she was only being allowed to continue her archducal education so she could support Sylvester, and that her life’s work had essentially been cast aside and spat on. As soon as the pieces fell into place, though, she became so consumed by rage and despair that her eyes became hollow and her face entirely devoid of emotion.

Do they seriously intend to put the fate of our duchy in the hands of a fool who refuses to work even now that he is baptized? How will they keep Ehrenfest together when its aub has no motivation to speak of? Am I not good enough? Did my hard work mean nothing to them? I did not endure such a brutal education for Sylvester’s sake. I thought Father was supporting me, but was that merely an illusion?

Georgine started grinding her teeth, well aware that if she started screaming at her parents now, she would never stop. She balled her hands into such tight fists that her nails dug into her palms; it was all she could do not to take out her schtappe and unleash the fury writhing about within her.

“It was all for nothing...” she said to her retainers.

“That simply isn’t true, Lady Georgine. In a just world, you would have been the next aub. You worked more than hard enough to deserve it. We must obey the archducal couple’s decree that Lord Sylvester will take over as the archduke, but we will not accept his rule if we decide he is unworthy of your support.”

Georgine’s retainers took their lady’s side and suggested that she educate Sylvester into a deserving aub. It certainly was true that she would refuse to support him in his current state. To begin with, he didn’t want to work hard even now that he had moved into the northern building. His retainers could always be seen chasing after him, and not a single day went by when Rihyarda’s furious shouts didn’t resound throughout the corridors.

Thus, Georgine decided to give Sylvester the same education she had received from Veronica. It was much easier said than done; he bolted out of the room at every chance he got, and when forced to sit down, he would wail and refuse to even look at his work.

“I don’t even want to be the next aub!” he protested. “If you care about the role so much, Sister, why don’t you rule?! It means nothing to me!”

Then die, brat.

At last, something inside of Georgine snapped. She wanted nothing more than to kill her younger brother, who had seized the archducal seat she so desperately wanted without even trying—who had taken absolutely everything from her without a care in the world.

“That boy is not worthy of your support, Lady Georgine,” said Grausam, one of her retainers. “In fact, Ehrenfest would benefit from having him eliminated. If anyone should rule, it should be you.”

“That may be so, but my parents have made their decision. What more can I do?”

“You could expose his ignorance to the duchy’s nobles and flaunt your competence in the same breath. But first, you would need an unshakable foothold and trustworthy allies.”

Grausam went on to explain what name stones were before offering Georgine his own. Veronica had apparently demanded them from many of her supporters, stating that she wouldn’t be able to trust them otherwise.

“If your honest work is going unrewarded, let us learn from Lady Veronica’s methods,” he continued. “She married the current archduke to become the duchy’s first wife, strengthened her position with staunch, reliable allies, and started eliminating those who opposed her one by one.”

Veronica had mentioned on many an occasion that she had been scorned and abused by the Leisegangs from a young age. If one looked at the current balance of power, however, she was in an ideal position to get her revenge.

“The children and grandchildren of the retainers Lady Gabriele brought with her when marrying into Ehrenfest are expected to give their names to Lady Veronica,” Grausam explained. “I expect that once Lord Sylvester enters the Royal Academy and acquires a schtappe, she will expect everyone to make that vow to him. You should obtain their names first, thereby securing allies who will never be able to oppose you.”

It was a splendid idea. Still reeling from the loss of Rihyarda, Georgine desperately wanted retainers who could serve her without having to worry about them being stolen by Sylvester.

“Using my mother as an example, hm...?” she uttered. “Neither she nor Father could scold me for doing that.”

But first, I’ll need to learn more about the medicinal arts.

So that was what Georgine did. Back at the Royal Academy, she decided to join the scholar course as well as the archduke candidate course, deliberately taking as many classes about medicine as she could. Then, as her expertise grew, she spread information about Sylvester’s foolish behavior among the other nobles, sowing seeds of uncertainty about him, the archducal couple, and even Ehrenfest’s future.

At the same time, Georgine asked everyone descended from Gabriele’s retainers to give her their names, taking a particular interest in those who were her age. She knew from Grausam’s probing that some were hesitant to give their names to Veronica, fearing her advanced age, so she persuaded them to serve her instead. It certainly helped that Sylvester was continuously embarrassing himself during social gatherings.

“I shall be the next aub,” the slighted young woman declared. “That child cannot be trusted to rule.”

But as Georgine continued to secure more power behind the scenes, she received a summons from her father. He criticized her decision to start poaching names and the lack of support she gave Sylvester, then said that he could no longer trust her to remain in Ehrenfest as his ally. To that end, he ordered her to marry Aub Ahrensbach.

“I do not want to,” Georgine protested. “Why should I need to settle for being a third wife in another duchy?!”

“Be silent,” Veronica said. “You should feel blessed to be marrying into a greater duchy such as Ahrensbach. Because of the arrangements I made with our relatives, you have this excellent opportunity to enter its archducal family. I expect you to thank me, if nothing else.”

Thank you?! For what?!

First, Georgine’s family had disregarded the immense amount of work she had put into becoming the next Aub Ehrenfest. And now that she was finally taking matters into her own hands, she was being made to move to another duchy to marry a man about as old as her father. She would spend her days as a mere third wife, existing only for the sake of nighttime activities. How could she accept that? Greater duchy or no, third wives were forbidden from involving themselves in politics and thus had no power to speak of.

I worked so hard to become Ehrenfest’s next aub.

But the engagement was set in stone; Georgine’s father had already agreed to it. Ehrenfest saw her continued education as an archduke candidate as actively harmful to the duchy and wanted to curb her aspirations once and for all.

Georgine was so overcome with humiliation and rage that she feared she might lose her mind.

“Mother. Father. I’m going to marry Lady Florencia of Frenbeltag!”

Sylvester had developed mana-sensing during his second year at the Royal Academy and fallen madly in love with an archduke candidate two years his senior. It was yet another foolish development, Georgine thought. Marriages existed as a means of strengthening the bonds between territories, and their sister, Constanze, already had an engagement with Frenbeltag. There was no point in Sylvester taking a wife from the same duchy.

“She’s the daughter of a third wife, whereas I’m the next Aub Ehrenfest,” he continued. “Frenbeltag won’t be able to refuse! I won’t marry anyone but her!”

Georgine’s first engagement had been overturned by her parents. She had pleaded with them to reconsider, but they had shut her down nonetheless. Now she was due to become the third wife of a man as old as her father. She had said that she didn’t want to marry him, but her protests had immediately been quashed. Was it not unfair, then, that Sylvester could take a wife of his choosing? How could their father permit him to enter a marriage that wouldn’t benefit the duchy?

Sylvester had always neglected his archducal education and complained that he didn’t even want to rule, but now he was proclaiming himself the next aub of Ehrenfest. It was a shameless, unforgivable display meant only to secure him what he wanted.

The time has come. Sylvester must be stopped. How did my mother eliminate those who tried to oppose her, I wonder?

Georgine didn’t care about the consequences; her move to Ahrensbach had already been decided. Thus, she asked one of her name-sworn attendants to mix poison into Sylvester’s food—the same poison her mother had used so many times before.

“Guh...!”

Partway through dinner, Sylvester spat out his food and fell out of his chair. His parents’ eyes shot open at the unexpected development. Georgine was just as surprised; her plan had worked even more easily than she’d expected.

“Sylvester?!” Veronica exclaimed.

Georgine took great pleasure in her mother’s horror. How could the vile woman act so surprised when she had used the same method to assassinate so many of her foes? Her dearest son would die before her very eyes, sending her into the deepest, darkest depths of despair.

“Ngh... Gah!”

Seeing her younger brother clutch his throat and continue to choke made Georgine feel... elated. Rarely did she experience such pleasant emotions. She hoped to watch him struggle for a little while longer before he eventually slipped away.

But the brat survived.

Veronica had been too stunned to move, but her attendant had sprung into action and calmly administered an antidote to the dying Sylvester, saving him. Georgine’s hard work had once again come to naught, dooming her to an empty future in another duchy.

The day of Georgine’s marriage came and went, and she spent her days in Ahrensbach simply waiting to die. She had considered trying to seize power in her new home, but she took so little interest in the duchy that the thought had quickly lost its appeal. Her time was spent doing absolutely nothing of value.

Hm... Perhaps I could derive some amusement from becoming the first wife and standing over Sylvester during future Archduke Conferences.

This idea had come to Georgine out of the blue, and she immediately began plotting to make it happen. For once, her hard work bore fruit, and she secured enough authority to make Sylvester kneel... but not even that was particularly satisfying. Only by taking Ehrenfest would she finally be able to sate her hunger.

Georgine was despondent. Her dream was a hopeless one, she thought... but then she received the letters of her late Uncle Bezewanst, the former High Bishop of Ehrenfest.

“Lady Georgine, we are about to arrive,” Seltier announced, drawing her lady back from her thoughts. “Is something the matter?”

“Oh, no. I was just thinking that I owe my uncle more than I could ever put into words.”

Following the merchant acting as their guide, Georgine and her attendant made their way out of the ship. Discussions among the commoners revealed that Bonifatius was en route to Illgner. They also mentioned that the soldiers at the west gate were on high alert and closely inspecting everyone who attempted to pass through.

Grausam’s plot is going well, then.

Bonifatius had yet to return, so it seemed reasonable to assume the city’s soldiers were still on guard. Georgine determined it best to avoid the gate entirely.

“That will be all,” Seltier told Laugo. “We appreciate your service.”

“Can I ask where you’re going?” the merchant replied, his eyes flitting nervously between them and the west gate.

At her lady’s signal, Seltier gave the man a black feystone. “We will not be passing through the gate. That is a good enough answer for you, I trust?”

Laugo must have recognized the feystone as a bribe; he responded only with a nod before taking his leave.

Still posing as mere servants, Georgine and Seltier blended in with the other servants unloading boxes from the docked ships. Anyone who saw them with their luggage assumed they were moving cargo, so they slipped away from the west gate without issue.

“This should be it,” the attendant said when they arrived outside the entrance to the city’s waterway. The infrastructure had been made with an entwickeln—like the rest of the lower city—and would allow them to access the temple without passing through the gate. She pulled out and opened a scroll depicting the tunnel system’s layout, drawn by one of Georgine’s name-sworn scholars.

“I doubt it even crossed their minds that I might resort to such means...” Georgine mused. Another short trek, and the prize she longed for would finally be within her reach.

The time has come for me to steal this duchy’s foundation and make it my own. At long last, Ehrenfest is going to be mine.

“I never thought this day would come...” Georgine said, so elated that her red lips curved into a grin.

Gong... Gong...

It was third bell, and the final battle was about to begin.