Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 4, Volume 1, page 32
“Now that you mention it, I do remember hearing about that... Guess it really wasn’t an exaggeration after all. Karstedt, does that mean you weren’t joking when you said Rozemyne rolled out of bed while sick and literally crawled down your halls in an attempt to reach your mansion’s book room?”
“Ah. The day after she was so excited about the book room that she fell unconscious in the hall. That absolutely happened,” Karstedt noted, then shot Ferdinand a glance. “A wise man advised me to keep a book on the table beside her bed to keep her contained.”
Sylvester had originally dismissed the story as a comical exaggeration, but as it turned out, it had been completely true. She was now going on a similar rampage in the Royal Academy. He didn’t even want to consider what nobles from the other duchies were thinking about the matter.
“The first-years wrapped up in her chaos have my sympathy, but Wilfried is to blame for involving them in the first place,” Ferdinand said. “It is too late to back down now. I advised him to offer them his sincerest apologies.”
G-Good luck, Wilfried... Your father’s on your side!
After his silent proclamation, Sylvester pointed to the most confusing board of all. “But yeah, what’s all this about her becoming the master of magic tools when she was registering at the library? Neither report tells me anything. Does the library have some kind of special magic tools or something?”
Unlike Rozemyne, Sylvester did not have an abnormal obsession with the library. To him, it was nothing more than a place where documents were stored. He had never gone there himself, since he could just have scholars bring him whatever he needed, so he wasn’t aware of any magic tools being kept there. Ferdinand, however, had often gone to the library when serving as Hirschur’s assistant.
“The tools in question are Schwartz and Weiss,” Ferdinand said, tapping his temple. “My understanding is that they once served archnobles assigned there by the Sovereignty, so why Rozemyne became their master, I do not know. Did she steal them through sheer force of mana? I cannot imagine so. From what I am aware, they are covered in protective charms to prevent anyone but their master from even touching them.”
“In other words, we’re completely in the dark here,” Karstedt mused. He was at as much of a loss as Sylvester.
Ferdinand alone gave an amused grin. “The work of the gods, hm? Blessings might be involved here. I cannot say for sure, and I do not know why it would work if such is indeed the case, but her becoming their master means I may now have the chance to study them. One more reason to look forward to Rozemyne’s return.”
Like teacher, like student... What a bunch of research-obsessed weirdos.
“The first-years have passed their written classes, and now all she needs to do is dedicate herself to finishing her practical classes,” Ferdinand continued. “I imagine she is going to hide away in the library once she is done, at which point she will have little opportunity to cause problems.”
That seemed likely. There were some causes for concern, but when looking at the reports as a whole, it was safe to say that Ehrenfest’s grades were rising and new trends were being started. Sylvester decided not to think too hard about the rest.
Another week passed, and Sylvester received yet more headache-inducing reports from Hirschur.
“Lady Rozemyne made contact with the second prince during her dedication whirl class. It seems the prince is on guard around her, due to her reputation as a saint.”
“In order to dispel the negative rumors forming around Lady Rozemyne’s highbeast, I am now overseeing her highbeast class.”
Sylvester exchanged a look with Karstedt, then immediately summoned Ferdinand before once again clearing the room. He had a feeling that Rozemyne having any contact with royalty was exceedingly dangerous.
“I’d assumed there was nothing for us to worry about, since the prince is only there for one more year and there’s only one class he shares with Rozemyne, but it looks like we weren’t so lucky,” Sylvester said, sliding the reports over to Ferdinand. “What’s the plan?”
Ferdinand crossed his arms with an exasperated expression. “There is no plan; the prince was simply interested in Rozemyne’s highbeast. He ultimately prioritized other engagements over her, and now that Rozemyne has passed her dedication whirl class, they will no longer have any point of contact. Our main concern here is that Rozemyne has such a stunning lack of awareness that she forgot her promise to the prince.”
“SHE DID WHAT?!” Sylvester and Karstedt balked, their eyes bulging as Ferdinand slid over copies of the reports he had received from Wilfried. As it turned out, had it not been for Wilfried, she would have rushed straight back to the dormitory, leaving the prince in the dust. They couldn’t believe it; her priorities made no sense whatsoever.
“There is no use agonizing over it; Rozemyne’s obsession with the library cannot be fixed,” Ferdinand continued. “It would be a more valuable use of your time to consider how to manipulate those around her in the Royal Academy, but even that is not likely to go well. In any case, we have another matter to discuss—Wilfried is due to attend an Ahrensbach tea party.”
“Come again?! I wasn’t informed of that!” Sylvester exclaimed, lurching forward and snatching the report Ferdinand was holding out. A tea party like that was incredibly important, yet it hadn’t received so much as a passing mention in Hirschur’s reports. “A tea party between cousins... with Frenbeltag’s candidate joining in too?”
“Rozemyne’s attempt to join was rebuffed, since she is not a blood relative. For now, I advised Wilfried to carefully consider what topics might be brought up and discuss how to respond to them with Rozemyne.”
Sylvester’s breath caught in his throat. Wilfried had somehow managed winter socializing by learning how to specifically deal with members of the former Veronica faction, but who knew how he would deal with those of a higher status than him?
“Proper socializing in the Royal Academy starts once all the archduke candidates and archnobles have finished their lessons, right? Is it really safe for Wilfried to go to a tea party while Rozemyne is back in Ehrenfest for the Dedication Ritual...?” Sylvester asked, earning him a dismissive look from Ferdinand.
“If your son is such a buffoon that he cannot handle a tea party with his own cousins, he would never survive as an archduke. He has plenty of time to prepare; do not interfere unless he comes seeking your counsel himself. Remember that duchies are largely forbidden from interfering in the Academy’s affairs.”
That was the last thing Sylvester wanted to hear from the guy who was secretly responding to reports from Wilfried. His lips curved into a frown, at which point Karstedt gave him a few supportive pats on the shoulder.
“Your boy’s growing up just fine; in fact, he’s more reliable than you were at his age. He won’t have any problems so long as he’s willing to ask for advice and actually listens to it.”
To Sylvester, the Royal Academy had been a fun playground where adults could no longer disturb him. It had never occurred to him how much his parents must have been agonizing back home, and now, as a parent himself, he was experiencing that same worry firsthand. He clenched his fists and put his heart into one single prayer.
Please don’t cause any more problems than you already have...
Of course, his prayers went unanswered.
A Productive Earthday
The sound of a bell rang through the darkness.
Without missing a beat, I sat up and pulled aside my bed curtains. I had been waking up at first bell ever since beginning my apprentice attendant training at another house, so it came almost naturally to me now.
My older sister, however, was another story. She never woke up on her own, under any circumstances, and today was no exception; she showed absolutely no sign of getting up anytime soon.
After watching her sleeping form for a moment, I stood up and activated the light-creating magic tool on my bedside table, illuminating the dark room. I then lit the fire in the hearth so that it wouldn’t be cold come changing time and climbed back into bed. My attendant Emerika and my sister’s attendant Friedel would come to wake us up soon enough. They were both older female relatives who had finished raising their children, which made them very comfortable to be around.
“Lady Lieseleta, am I correct that you have no apprentice attendant duties today?” Emerika asked, using a green feystone pitcher to prepare a small tub of water for me to wash my face with.
I nodded. Attendants normally still worked on Earthdays even though there were no classes, but Lady Rozemyne was going to be staying in her room to nurture her Divine Will, so I was getting a day to myself.
“Friedel, I would like to wear not my work clothes or my black clothes today, but rather something normal,” I said.
“You wish to wear clothes for rest, while Lady Angelica will be wearing light armor to motivate her studies, correct? That is quite standard,” she replied, preparing the outfits. We did not have a room dedicated to clothing like Lady Rozemyne, so our clothes were all either in a closet placed in our room or in boxes.
“I was truly worried when you were taken as her retainer...” Emerika admitted while combing my hair. “It was an immense relief to learn there was a double bedroom for retainers.”
I agreed with a smile. Archduke candidates could leave all the menial labor to others, and archnobles did largely the same—albeit with fewer retainers than they might be used to. Mednoble and laynoble students, however, could only afford to pay their servants so much. As a result, we had to sleep in shared bedrooms to minimize the amount of cleaning and bathwater required, allowing us to survive with fewer attendants between us doing less work.
My older sister had been Lady Rozemyne’s retainer since before Lady Rozemyne arrived at the dormitory and announced her retainers. I was a more recent addition, meaning I had not been prepared to shoulder the costs of staying in a retainer’s room by myself. After thinking about how to best save money and lessen the load on my attendant, I decided to room with my sister.
Judithe and Philine were currently sharing a two-person room for the same reason. Brunhilde and Leonore had been shocked to see us not using our right as retainers to secure individual rooms, but archnobles were given individual rooms whether they were retainers or not, so we weren’t in similar positions whatsoever. It wasn’t that our family was too poor to afford single rooms for the both of us, but we would have needed time to make preparations.
“I suppose I am going to have my own room regardless after Angelica graduates this year...”
“You will do just fine in your own room, Lady Lieseleta. You are an excellent retainer who any archduke candidate would wish to have. Lady Angelica often fails to properly communicate with her attendants, and I was quite fearful of serving here alone. It truly is a relief that you are here with her, my lady.”
I could not help but smile. Attendants could not do their job unless they were kept up to date, and Friedel was informed of Angelica’s plans only when I conveyed Rihyarda’s and Cornelius’s reports to her. She surely would have been thought of as incompetent among the attendants had I not elected to live with my sister.
“I still cannot believe Lady Rozemyne values Lady Angelica so much as a retainer...” Friedel mused aloud. Emerika nodded firmly in agreement, then held out a hand to help me stand up. My chair was repositioned and my socks prepared, and it was as I was putting them on that I recalled the fuss my parents had made.
“There was quite a stir when my sister was chosen to serve as Lady Rozemyne’s apprentice knight, wasn’t there?”
“Of course there was,” Friedel replied. “Lady Angelica is hardly considerate of anyone else, and so she chose to be a knight, not an attendant. Who ever would have thought she would be capable of serving the archducal family without causing any problems?”
It was not unusual for female attendants to be replaced after giving birth, which meant it was inevitable that Lady Florencia—who had taken only female attendants—would need to take on someone new. When the time came, she had wished to avoid taking any retainers with close bonds to Lady Veronica, and so she invited my mother to serve her. It had been very significant that she kept her distance from Lady Veronica somewhat while my father served the previous aub.
Lord Karstedt, impressed with the diligence of my parents, had taken Angelica to serve as Lady Rozemyne’s apprentice guard knight. My parents surely would have indirectly refused had they been consulted on the matter in advance, but he had gone straight to Angelica, who had then agreed on the spot.
“I thought everything was over when Lady Angelica failed her final exams and was told to take supplementary lessons,” Friedel continued while shaking her head.
Needing supplementary lessons was in itself cause for one to become a laughingstock in noble society, and if Angelica had been relieved of guard duty as well, she surely would have lost all hope of ever finding a proper partner. What’s more, she had only been selected to serve as an apprentice guard knight due to the trust my parents had earned themselves; her being relieved of duty would suggest that the archducal couple and the knight commander had misplaced their trust in our family. No one of any notable status would want us as retainers, and we would all most likely struggle to find employment and get married. It truly was a frightening time for us.
Angelica, meanwhile, showed no concern over being required to take supplementary lessons; in fact, at one point, it seemed as though she might fail to graduate entirely. Those who failed to graduate from the Royal Academy were not considered nobles in the eyes of society, meaning her schtappe would have been sealed and she would have been reduced to serving our family as a lowly servant.
Even so, Lady Rozemyne kept her as a retainer, and even helped organize a study group to ensure she passed her supplementary classes. She had saved not only my sister, but our entire family. There truly was no end to the gratitude I felt for her.
“Even my sister is motivated to study with Lady Rozemyne here at the Royal Academy. She is not the same woman she was last year,” I noted.
Emerika nodded. “She must be glad to have been afforded this opportunity in her final year.”
“If only she and Lady Rozemyne had been in the same grade from the start...” Friedel said with a wistful sigh. “We all would have had a much easier time.”
I adjusted my skirt while the two attendants shared a laugh. Once I was ready, it was time for my sister to wake up. Friedel was the first to act.
“Do wake up, Lady Angelica. Lady Lieseleta has finished getting ready.”
“Mnn... But there aren’t any classes to go to, and we’ve got no work today...” Angelica murmured, hugging her blanket and turning away, her silky blue hair flowing behind her. She was just as beautiful and enchanting as ever, but also just as unladylike. Friedel sighed with exasperation as I stepped forward to try next.
“Sister, you have ditter practice in the morning even on your days off, do you not? Please remember that Cornelius has said you cannot participate in practice if you do not finish your studying first. I understand that you are finding it a struggle, but Lady Rozemyne will be disappointed if you do not try your best nonetheless.”
“Oh, right... I have to study in the morning... I have to study even though I don’t have class...” Angelica groaned in a sleepy voice as she started to move. It took her some time to get moving at first, but once she was up and moving around, things went a lot quicker. She would manage just fine without me now.
“Lieseleta,” she said, rubbing the sleep from her blue eyes. “I’ll get changed and study, so you go ask Rihyarda how Lady Rozemyne is doing.”
It still came as somewhat of a surprise that “study” and “Lady Rozemyne” were among Angelica’s first words upon waking up. Last year, she had studied only when Cornelius cornered her in the common room, but now she would study alone in her room. That said, this willingness likely only stemmed from the fact she was forbidden from serving as a guard until she passed her written classes.
Lady Rozemyne’s presence truly does make an enormous difference...
“Certainly,” I replied. “May our parting be brief.”
I exited the room, entrusting Angelica’s morning preparation to Friedel and Emerika. I cut down the hallway, knocked lightly on the door where the other retainers were gathered, then opened it as silently as possible.
“Good morning, Rihyarda. How is Lady Rozemyne?” I asked.
Rihyarda paused midway through refilling some tea leaves and looked at the door leading to Rozemyne’s room. “I checked up on her a moment ago, and it seems the potion she drank last night has made her all the better. She should be right as rain after a full day spent resting in bed.”
Yesterday, Lady Rozemyne had gone to the Farthest Hall to gather her Divine Will, only to fall unconscious on her way back. She had returned in her highbeast, moving much slower than usual, and was then left exclusively in Rihyarda’s care to minimize the risk of the Divine Will being contaminated. We were all strictly forbidden from going near Lady Rozemyne until she had finished absorbing the Divine Will into her.
“I was just so worried, since I had never heard of anyone losing consciousness in the Farthest Hall before... Cornelius and Hartmut were particularly concerned at dinner last night, as neither of them are allowed up to the third floor. Even my sister mentioned Lady Rozemyne almost immediately after she awoke.”
“Inform them about her recovery at breakfast. I have work to do here while Lady Rozemyne is absorbing her Divine Will.”
I returned to my room and studied with Angelica until second bell, then left for breakfast. Angelica had somehow managed to finish everything she needed to do before practice, so she stepped into the hallway with a lively expression. Ahead of us we could see Judithe, her fluffy orange hair bouncing as she walked.
“Good morning, Judithe. How is Philine?” I asked.
“Good morning to you both. Philine is still stuck in her room to prevent anyone from touching her. I understand how important it is, but I still felt lonely this morning without anyone to talk to. I couldn’t wait for second bell.”
