An Order to Return to Ehrenfest

An Order to Return to Ehrenfest

An Order to Return to Ehrenfest

I was finally feeling better. I didn’t know whether it was because the Royal Academy was unexpectedly exhausting or because I hadn’t yet built my stamina back up, but I had ended up so sick that it took three full days for me to recover.

“I am truly relieved to see that your fever has gone down, milady. The past three days have been difficult to say the least,” Rihyarda said. She then went on to explain everything that had happened.

First of all, Anastasius and his retainers had been exceedingly panicked about me passing out in the middle of our meeting. Oswin in particular had been extremely apologetic, considering they had forced me to give a report despite knowing about my weak constitution and that I wasn’t feeling well. My new retainers had also never seen me pass out before, and the sight of my unconscious body had disturbed them so much that they hadn’t been able to help at all. In the end, Rihyarda had needed to take care of matters herself, picking me up and leaving Anastasius’s villa.

Even after getting back to the dormitory, however, I didn’t regain consciousness. Cornelius and Wilfried had gone pure white; my being asleep and not responding to any calls must have brought back strong memories of my two-year coma.

“It seems I will need to apologize to them all...” I observed.

“Your recovery takes priority,” Rihyarda said, stressing that I wasn’t allowed to leave my bed today either. “We do not want you getting sick again in the middle of apologizing.”

“Right...”

In return for agreeing to rest, I was permitted to read the books I had borrowed from the library. I ultimately spent the whole day relaxing in bed.

“I can go to the library today, right, Rihyarda?” I asked. She noted that the color had fully returned to my face and nodded, so I jumped out of my bed with joy.

“We were told much about your poor health,” Leonore said, having stood guard in my room while I was sick, “but when I saw you faint, my mind went completely blank. I had no idea what to do.”

With that, she opened the door so that we could go to the dining hall for breakfast, visibly relieved to see that I was better. It was common enough to see apprentice knights pass out during training, but this had been her first time seeing someone faint for seemingly no reason. Clueless as to why I had suddenly fallen unconscious, she hadn’t known how to react, and so she had ended up floundering in place.

“Good morning, Lady Rozemyne.”

Hartmut and Cornelius were waiting on the second floor. They too looked relieved to see me up and about again.

“My apologies for having shocked you, Hartmut,” I said.

“My heart veritably stopped,” he replied. “All those who attended the playroom during the year of your debut had already seen you collapse from a single snowball, Lady Rozemyne, but this was my first time seeing such a shocking display.” He had heard about my fainting from his mother, Ottilie, but still couldn’t help but be surprised.

Once we arrived at the breakfast table, Wilfried gave Rihyarda a suspicious look.

“As she spent all of yesterday in bed with nary a sign of a fever, it is safe to say she has recovered,” Rihyarda said in response to his silent question.

“Alright then. Rozemyne, go back to Ehrenfest.”

“Um, what...?” I asked, tilting my head.

Wilfried sighed and said that he would explain after breakfast, meaning my confusion remained the entire time we were eating. Only once we were done did Wilfried and I gather in a meeting room with our retainers.

“This arrived from back home. It’s an order for you to return,” Wilfried said, holding up a letter from Sylvester and Ferdinand. It contained three clear messages:

“Hurry up and get back now that your classes are done. You keep causing unexpected problems one after another.”

“Leave the Royal Academy at once. There is a mountain of things you must explain upon your return.”

“The reports we are receiving explain nothing.”

In short, my guardians intended to interrogate me the moment I was back in Ehrenfest, entrusting future socializing in the Royal Academy to Wilfried.

“A-Absolutely not! I was told I could stay here until the Dedication Ritual, which means I’ve still got ten days left! I’m going to continue going to the library for as long as I can!” I exclaimed. I had already lost four whole days due to my poor health, so I was desperate not to lose even more.

“Rozemyne, this is an order from Aub Ehrenfest himself,” Wilfried emphasized.

“I-I’m regrettably too ill to return to Ehrenfest before the Dedication Ritual. It is essential that I lock myself away in the library, for the sake of psychological stability and physical enrichment.”

“I get that you’re panicking here, but could you at least say things that make sense?” Wilfried sighed, folding his arms and giving me an exasperated look.

“But this is just too cruel. Too sudden!”

“That’s right! It’s much, much too sudden!” Angelica suddenly cried, throwing her full support behind my protests. “She can’t go home yet! The exam for my last class is three days from now! I’m going to pass it and get the fourth step of the mana compression method! Don’t go home yet, Lady Rozemyne! Please, just three more days! Stay for three more days!”

Angelica gripped me in a tight hug as if to stop me from leaving. I hugged her right back; I needed her valuable support.