A More Private Meeting (Second Year)

A More Private Meeting (Second Year)

A More Private Meeting (Second Year)

“I’m clearing the room,” Sylvester said. “Out.” He waved everyone away, then plopped down into his seat. I could tell from his posture and the sharp glint in his dark-green eyes that he was in an incredibly bad mood. “Hurry up,” he growled as the retainers shuffled out.

“I can talk with Ferdinand later; don’t let me interrupt you,” I said, attempting to escape this terrifying atmosphere... but Ferdinand grabbed me by the shoulder and secured me in place. He leaned in close, still wearing that false smile that made my skin crawl.

“Stay here,” he said. “I expect that both you and Sylvester will ask the same questions anyway, so it will save me time to have you both in one place.”

Nooo! My escape plan, torn to shreds!

Soon enough, my retainers were gone as well, leaving me at Ferdinand’s mercy. I could only watch as the door shut behind them.

“Now, speak,” Sylvester said. “What were you told when the king summoned you? Why was the marriage decided without my consultation?!”

“What?! Our aub was absent?!” I shouted. Archducal permission was always necessary when deciding on marriages between duchies, and with Ferdinand being a member of the Ehrenfest archducal family, it was absolutely unthinkable that Sylvester hadn’t been there.

“If you hadn’t been so stupid and consented while being questioned, I could have turned them down a thousand ways,” Sylvester said. “But because you did, the matter was settled before I was even told about it.”

To my disbelief, Ferdinand had been summoned under the pretense of discussing the severe casualties that had resulted from the ternisbefallen attack, and it was during this meeting that the king had broached the topic of marriage.

“It’s normal for people to be questioned separately during inquiries,” Sylvester said. “That’s the only reason I sent you off without a second thought. Had I known that Ahrensbach intended to discuss marriage, I never would have let you go. I don’t want you to suffer any more than you already have, Ferdinand!”

Sylvester’s worried cries made my chest pang with emotion, but Ferdinand seemed to be unmoved. He crossed his arms, looking down at the aub with cold eyes. “I moved things along before you could get involved precisely because I knew you would protest as you are now, even when given a direct order by the king. You should know how foolish it is to defy him—or, what, did you intend to put our entire duchy at risk for my sake? Good grief... You are as soft on your family as always. Did you learn nothing from the incident that ultimately forced you to convict your own mother?” He paused for a moment with his eyes closed and then muttered, “There is no choice but to obey a king’s order. You understand that, Sylvester, do you not?”

“If you hadn’t accepted on your own, we could have put forward so many reasons to refuse,” Sylvester said. He then started to list all of the excuses he had first used to reject the request from Ahrensbach.

Ferdinand crossed his arms and scoffed. “Saying that we are neutral may be pleasing to the ear, but consider this—Ehrenfest has shot up through the ranks while making no effort to assist the king. Meanwhile, Ahrensbach is being ravaged by a mana shortage, having even been forced to demote two of its archduke candidates to archnobles. One can deduce without a moment of thought which duchy the king would prioritize.”

It was generally said throughout Yurgenschmidt that Ehrenfest’s rise through the ranks was due to the duchy having escaped punishment through its neutrality and thus having the leeway to grow. We were resented by many duchies that had lost in the civil war and were suffering for it, as well as many duchies that had won but were still struggling with mana shortages due to the purge and having to offer up their nobles to the Sovereignty. At the same time, we were seen as being dangerous, for our influence was rising despite our loyalty to the Sovereignty and the king remaining so uncertain.

“It is important that we demonstrate our willingness to listen to the king—that we have no intention of opposing him,” Ferdinand concluded.

“That’s not a good enough reason for you to accept a proposal from... from Ahrensbach , of all places!” Sylvester protested. “There are plenty of duchies above Ehrenfest in the rankings that could have provided a fine husband for Detlinde. They must have men closer to her age and without a reputation for being in the temple.”

Another duchy certainly would have been able to provide a better husband. Ehrenfest had only recently started to climb the ranks, and many loud voices still claimed that our success was temporary. Many would surely view a greater duchy accepting a spouse from Ehrenfest as very unreliable in the long term.

“My involvement with the temple was a problem as well, you know. The king seems to have heard rumors from various sources that I am being mistreated here,” Ferdinand said. Despite coming first-in-class every single year at the Royal Academy, he had ended up in the temple almost immediately after his graduation and the death of the former aub. And then there was me; I was serving as the High Bishop despite similarly coming first-in-class and being adopted by the archduke.

“The king heard many pleas,” Ferdinand continued. “‘Ehrenfest never sends children of the first wife to the temple, but all others are abused.’ ‘It is unthinkable that they would crush such young talent.’ ‘Please, save them from Ehrenfest.’ It would seem they were quite convincing.”

Wilfried and Charlotte were helping with Spring Prayer and the Harvest Festival, but this information wasn’t widely known. Not to mention, Ferdinand and I would return to the temple whenever we had the opportunity. I enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere there a lot more than the tension of the castle, and Ferdinand similarly got enough leeway there to enjoy his hobby of researching.

“I suppose that other duchies wouldn’t know we’ve been turning down requests to spend more time in the castle so that we can stay in the temple,” I said. “Still, who were making those pleas anyway?”

“I am told they came from many in Dunkelfelger and Drewanchel,” Ferdinand replied. “The king is surrounded by powerful people, many of whom were telling him to rescue me from the temple and marry me to a greater duchy so that I might stand upon the stage once again.”

Okay, I guess they were acting with good intentions... but wow, that certainly backfired.

I was well aware that my opinion of the temple was far from the norm, but I still wished that everyone else had just minded their own business. I also felt that Ehrenfest’s information management skills were severely lacking in areas, since we hadn’t managed to guide these other duchies in a way that would benefit us.

“If you were to ignore the will of the greater duchies and oppose a marriage ordered by the king, your reputation as Aub Ehrenfest would plummet,” Ferdinand noted. “You understand the consequences of that, surely.”

Sylvester’s eyes shot open. “Do you seriously care more about my reputation than the marriage you’ll be spending the rest of your life in?! To begin with, I find it hard to believe you’d let rumors like that impact anything. You would have knocked them down on the spot. You’re hiding something. Something happened after the first time you refused the marriage that forced your hand, didn’t it? Spit it out. You’ve got a bad habit of trying to shoulder everything yourself.”

Ferdinand let out a single sigh, then looked away. “I would rather not discuss it, as its veracity is uncertain.”