The Saint’s Ritual

The Saint’s Ritual

The Saint’s Ritual

“Lueuradi, is everything ready?”

Today, I was going to participate in the ritual that Ehrenfest was performing as part of their joint research. I consulted my board of instructions for the umpteenth time; it had been given to me by Lady Muriella of Ehrenfest, with whom I often discussed Royal Academy Love Stories .

“Yes, Big Sister. I have cleansed myself, as instructed, and prepared the necessary rejuvenation potions. I was also able to memorize the prayer.”

“The prayer is almost the same as the one spoken during the third-year divine protections ritual, is it not?” my older sister asked. “Have you not had yours yet, Lueuradi? Don’t tell me you’ve yet to learn the names of the gods. Ehrenfest’s laynobles passed on their first day, so if a Jossbrenner apprentice archscholar hasn’t managed even that much...”

She looked exasperated but memorizing the names of all the gods was no easy feat. I also wasn’t keen on her comparing me to the students of Ehrenfest; their third-years had passed every single one of their written lessons on the first day since joining the Academy. Lady Rozemyne, the archduke candidate leading them, was blazing through her practical lessons on top of that, so using her as the benchmark really didn’t seem fair.

“You are slow to finish your classes, and you cannot even gather proper intelligence...” my sister concluded.

“Oh, but Sister—you failed to gather intelligence on Lady Rozemyne as well, did you not?” I retorted, looking up with a pout. There was no reason for me to tolerate her brassy remarks when her own efforts had produced no meaningful results.

Back when Lady Rozemyne was a first-year, my sister had attempted to gather information about her—only to find that Lady Rozemyne’s retainer, Hartmut, had exercised complete control over what was accessible. The most one could obtain was lengthy, boastful speeches that amounted to little more than “She is the Saint of Ehrenfest, after all.” My sister had tried again during her second year, only to be shooed away by Lady Clarissa of Dunkelfelger, who had asserted that she was Hartmut’s escort.

I continued, “Though your attempts all ended in failure, Sister, I was able to find out Lady Rozemyne’s favorite stories and discover her plans for returning to her duchy. Lord Hartmut and Lady Philine told me all. I also learned from a conversation between Lord Wilfried and Lady Hannelore that she is forming bonds with top-ranking duchies by lending them books. And now, I am rather close friends with Lady Muriella.”

Since her first year at the Royal Academy, Lady Rozemyne had been buying stories from other duchies at a high price. One of our own laynobles had wanted to ask what her favorite stories were, hoping to secure as much money as possible—but as the person in charge of acquiring the stories was an archnoble, they had asked me to accompany them. That had marked the beginning of my visits to the library, and from there, I was able to gain information from Lord Hartmut and Lady Philine.

It seems that Lady Rozemyne prefers love stories. They are said to be “cash cows,” though I cannot say I am familiar with the term.

I could tell that Lady Rozemyne and I would become fast friends, were we ever to meet. I, too, had a particular fondness for love stories. I was already getting along well with Lady Muriella, a new retainer of Lady Rozemyne’s whom Lady Philine had introduced me to. She was especially passionate about love stories, and that was often where our conversations headed. Gathering information quickly fell by the wayside.

I need to befriend Lady Rozemyne as well so that I might read Ehrenfest’s love stories sooner than anyone else.

As much as I enjoyed asking Lady Muriella about what stories awaited me in the next volume, as expected, I much preferred the thought of reading them myself. This year, I was lucky enough to be borrowing a volume from Lady Charlotte—and quite early on, might I add—but it wasn’t the newest volume, and I couldn’t borrow it whenever I wanted.

Lady Muriella says the new volume has a wondrous scene where the God of Darkness spreads his sleeve at the gazebo where the Goddess of Time plays tricks, shielding the Goddess of Light. Aah, when will I be able to read it?

“Would you please stop sighing about how you wish to wed into Ehrenfest to read new books?” my sister said. “Accept reality. Ehrenfest has so many honor students and so much attention being drawn to it these days that securing a husband from there won’t be easy. Things are not as they were years ago.”

“Perhaps I would have a better chance marrying an Ehrenfest mednoble?”

“Mother and Father only know Ehrenfest from when it was at the bottom of the rankings; they would never permit you to marry a mednoble from there. Again, stop being so wishy-washy. It is time to go to the auditorium.”

Fairziere called over Lustlaune, another apprentice archscholar. Lustlaune, my big sister, and I were the only students from Jossbrenner due to participate in this joint research.

Though reaching this day was by no means easy.

My eyes grew distant as I reflected on everything that had occurred.

Ehrenfest was a middle duchy that had drifted around the bottom of the rankings for as long as anyone could remember, only to abruptly shoot up after getting through the civil war. Compared to other duchies, its harvest was steady and growing by the year, proof enough that its lands were readily supplied with mana. Its position at the Royal Academy had also risen steadily over the past five or six years. Initially, only its first-years had obtained better grades—most noticeably in their written lessons—and the other duchies had mocked them for setting standards they wouldn’t be able to maintain.

Of course, this had all taken place before I joined the Academy, back when Jossbrenner still ranked above Ehrenfest.

Despite the constant gibes from other duchies, some of Ehrenfest’s students had started to perform better in practical lessons as well, even boasting larger mana capacities than was expected for a middle duchy. It wasn’t long before half of their student population was earning favorable grades, and rumors quickly spread that they were using some new, highly effective mana compression method.

Lady Rozemyne’s attendance at the Royal Academy drew even more attention to Ehrenfest, especially when every single Ehrenfest student in her year passed their written lessons on the first day. She also brought with her a number of new trends, which was interesting in itself. It wasn’t always the case that new goods introduced by middle or lesser duchies became fashionable; without the assistance and publicity of greater duchies, most fizzled out as mere curiosities.

Some time later, before socializing season, Lady Rozemyne took ill and returned to Ehrenfest. She became the subject of mockery at many middle- and lesser-duchy tea parties, during which participants would don sarcastic smiles and say that it would be “oh so nice” for her if the greater duchies picked up her trends.

And then came Ehrenfest’s own tea party, held at the end of the year and open to all other duchies. On this memorable occasion, it was revealed that Lady Rozemyne had connections to top-ranking duchies and the royal family. Prince Anastasius purchased an Ehrenfest hairpin, and Lady Eglantine personally received a jar of the product that makes one’s hair glossy.

Oh, how the middle and lesser duchies were taken aback. Oh, how they panicked.

I do not know the details firsthand—it was my sister who attended as Jossbrenner’s representative—but it was apparently quite the experience. Most notable of all was when Lady Rozemyne collapsed partway through.

They had scrambled to gather information about Lady Rozemyne, conscious that the Interduchy Tournament was right around the corner, only to find themselves unable to speak with any Ehrenfest students. The most optimistic among them believed that they might have a chance during the tournament itself, but Lady Rozemyne did not attend due to poor health. On top of that, Ehrenfest’s previously barren socializing spot was suddenly teeming with the archdukes of greater duchies, meaning that those of middle and lesser duchies were unable to properly approach.

In her second year, Lady Rozemyne once again blazed through her classes before vanishing. Lady Charlotte took over Ehrenfest’s socializing season in her absence.

Even during that year’s Interduchy Tournament, Lady Rozemyne was inaccessible to the masses. She and Lord Ferdinand were busy handling Dunkelfelger, so Lord Wilfried and Lady Charlotte hosted the middle and lesser duchies instead. Lady Rozemyne then ended up leaving the awards ceremony following the attack and did not attend the coming-of-age ceremony the next day.

Despite standing out so much due to looking like a seven-year-old, Lady Rozemyne was seldom seen around the Royal Academy.

This year, however, she was finally staying at the Royal Academy for socializing season. It was our first opportunity to speak with her. She gave soft, entertained smiles during discussions about books, and faltered with embarrassment when asked about the real-life love story that she was experiencing... but when it came to the negative rumors about Aub Ehrenfest, she always gave sad looks.

According to the stories exchanged during the Archduke Conference, Aub Ehrenfest was much harsher on his adopted daughter than on his blood children. Lady Rozemyne had apparently spent such a long time locked away in the temple that she could only stay at the Royal Academy for brief stints. It must have been very hard on her.

Lady Rozemyne denied the rumors, but everyone knew that she had returned to Ehrenfest while her siblings, the archduke’s blood children, had gotten to participate in socializing season. If they were truly seen as equals, then all three of them would have been made to leave.

“So, Lady Rozemyne. Forget about the temple; I wish to discuss your joint research. What manner of research are you doing with the greater duchies?” asked Lady Murrenreue, an archduke candidate from Immerdink. She had interrupted Lady Rozemyne’s conversation about temple rituals to very uncouthly ask to join her research with Dunkelfelger.

During last year’s Interduchy Tournament, an Immerdink archnoble had accidentally attacked Lady Rozemyne—a blunder for which they had been thoroughly chastised. Lady Murrenreue had mentioned during a previous tea party that “nobody acknowledged all the suffering Lady Rozemyne put Immerdink through,” so this was an especially shameless heel turn.

Lady Rozemyne was not to blame for the many casualties Immerdink had suffered during the ternisbefallen attack nor for their lower position in the duchy rankings after their archnoble was scolded. But as others moved to stop Lady Murrenreue, Lady Rozemyne, who had fallen into thought, suddenly looked up and smiled.

“As part of our joint research, Ehrenfest will be demonstrating a religious ceremony. Would you care to join? If we can obtain permission from Dunkelfelger, that is.”

“Oh my. You would allow me to?”

You are being too agreeable, Lady Rozemyne.

I was exasperated, but the representatives of other duchies flocked to join as well. Immerdink’s participation had opened a floodgate of sorts, with everyone now convinced that they should also get to take part.

Naturally, I made sure to get involved too.

“Sister, we may be able to participate in Ehrenfest and Dunkelfelger’s joint research!”

“Well done, Lueuradi.”

Jossbrenner wasted no time before reaching out to Dunkelfelger, though we received a most unusual response: “Play us in ditter, then!” I was unsure what the sport had to do with their joint research project, but it was apparently essential.

I didn’t have the authority to answer a ditter challenge from another duchy on my own, so we consulted our aub. We were told to accept—our priority was securing ourselves a position in Ehrenfest’s religious ceremony.

And so, we sent our apprentice knights to take on Dunkelfelger.

“Lady Lueuradi, it seems that Dunkelfelger wanted to play treasure-stealing ditter specifically.”

“That old variant?”

Treasure-stealing ditter was so old-fashioned that it had come up only briefly during class; we had never even attempted it during our practical lessons. We ended up facing Dunkelfelger alongside other middle and lesser duchies, but we still suffered defeat.

Now, our duchy’s students were so exhausted that we needed rejuvenation potions en masse. This wasn’t something we had accounted for—speed ditter never required so much mana—so it was quite a serious error on our part.

“Our gathering spot is rather sparse at present, and not many good ingredients can be found there...” I mused aloud. We had painfully little to work with, and we would need to invest a lot of our mana to brew the very potions intended to restore it. The apprentice scholars would all make them together, but they could not force the apprentice knights to pay them for their efforts.

I decided to petition the aub for his opinion—after all, these unexpected costs had resulted from his order. He covered the necessary expenses for our rejuvenation potions, but that greatly reduced the amount of money we had available for the Interduchy Tournament.

Thanks to the hard work of our duchy’s apprentice knights, Dunkelfelger allowed three of us to participate in the joint research, as we had requested. We now needed to deliver permission boards to an Ehrenfest apprentice scholar, who would then tell us the details of our participation.

Thus, I contacted Lady Muriella.

“What?” I said. “We will need rejuvenation potions to participate in the joint research?”

“Indeed,” Lady Muriella replied. “Lady Rozemyne said the ceremony will require mana, so those who do not bring any will surely struggle.”

This revelation left me quite vexed. We had received an order from our aub and gotten our apprentice knights to work so hard for our sake, so we more or less had to participate in the ceremony. But at the same time, I wanted to avoid using any more mana outside of classes, or needing more rejuvenation potions.

Perhaps it would have been wise to take after Immerdink and step down the moment ditter became involved.

Immerdink had suffered more casualties during last year’s ternisbefallen attack than any other duchy, leaving them with far fewer apprentice knights than was expected from a territory of their size. It was said that they had simply bowed out, unable to participate in the ditter.

“Jossbrenner does not have leeway as Ehrenfest does,” I said. “Is participating in this joint research truly worth depleting our mana even further?”

Lady Muriella looked somewhat confused. “I do not know about the leeway of other duchies, but I believe it is worth seeing one of Lady Rozemyne’s ceremonies. You will come to understand what it means to offer prayers to the gods and to be loved by them in turn.” Her green eyes usually sparkled with excitement for love stories, but that emotion was gone, replaced with an uncompromising seriousness.

After taking a sharp breath, I resolved to participate in Ehrenfest’s joint research.

Over two hundred people were gathered in the auditorium. The crowd was shockingly large, which made me even more uneasy about the fact that only two other people wore my duchy’s cream-colored cape.

I reached out and tugged on my elder sister’s cape. “Sister, will this many people be participating in the joint research?”

“Most archduke candidates are here, so I imagine the crowd is largely made up of their retainers. There will not be this many participants in practice.”

My understanding of archduke candidates being followed by retainers was spotty at best. My sister had served Jossbrenner’s last archduke candidate to graduate, so she had that experience to draw from, but said candidate had gone by the time I entered the Royal Academy, and we had no others here to speak of.

Even when working in the castle, I am rarely involved with archduke candidates.

“Um, Lady Fairziere... is that not the Sovereign Knight’s Order?” Lustlaune asked, pointing to the back of the auditorium, at the door leading to the Farthest Hall where we obtained our schtappes. Indeed, for some reason, there were black-cloaked Sovereign knights lined up there. Several among them even appeared to have been in battle not long ago; they had doubtless recovered themselves using rejuvenation potions or something of the sort, but their damaged clothing spoke volumes.

“What happened, I wonder...?”

“You are the one in charge of this little effort, Lueuradi,” my sister said, looking tense. “If you do not know the answer, then how would I?”

It was impossible to predict what would happen when Dunkelfelger and Ehrenfest were involved. Thinking about it, gathering this many people in the auditorium for joint research was abnormal to begin with.

Ehrenfest and Dunkelfelger students dispersed throughout the crowd, making a loud announcement: “The ritual will take place through the door, in the Farthest Hall. Participants must display their permission form. Those without one will not be allowed in. Please line up one by one.” I saw Lady Philine and Lady Muriella among them.

Klassenberg the First was the first to enter. As they had no archduke candidates present at the Royal Academy, five of their apprentice archscholars were participating instead. They all stopped right outside the door for some reason, which was unusual to me.

The archduke candidates of Dunkelfelger the Second were also participating in the joint research, so they were inside already. Drewanchel the Third followed after Klassenberg... but then there was a commotion.

“What do you mean I cannot enter?! I am Lord Ortwin’s guard knight!”

“Those without permission forms will not receive entry. Guard knights are no exception.”

The guard knight was now brimming with anger. “Do you really think anyone will—”

“Those without a form will not be allowed inside,” came a voice as those of the Sovereign Knight’s Order stepped forward. “Stand down.” They were unmistakably displeased and staring daggers at the disruptive student.

Lord Ortwin’s guard knight bit his lip, then backed away to rejoin the other knights. I never would have thought that retainers wouldn’t be allowed to follow their lords or ladies into the Farthest Hall.

“What are they thinking, separating guard knights from their charges?” I asked, gripping my own permission form with unease. Before I could ponder the matter further, however, I spotted another student being led away from the entrance, still gripping her form. Given her light-violet cape, she must have been from Ahrensbach.

Apprentice knights from Ehrenfest and Dunkelfelger were waving the girl out of the auditorium. “As guard knights cannot attend the ritual, we cannot allow those who may pose a threat to go inside,” one said.

“This isn’t right!” the girl cried. “I’m not malicious in the slightest! It’s Lady Rozemyne! This is all a plot by Lady Rozemyne!”

“You will receive a chance to state your case.”

The Sovereign Knight’s Order took the girl from the apprentice knights, and she left the room with a stiff expression.

“Wh-What happened there?” I asked.

Lustlaune quietly shook her head. “I do not know. However, if I were to extrapolate from her statements, I would assume they have something that can detect dangerous individuals.”

“They need to ensure the students are safe without their guard knights,” my sister whispered, “and I suppose the best approach is to remove all those with malicious intentions. None from Klassenberg or Drewanchel have been refused entry.” Her eyes wandered to a nearby group of lesser-duchy students; some of them spread many negative rumors about Ehrenfest during tea parties and wore their envy on their sleeves.

I complained about needing so many rejuvenation potions, but... that won’t be considered malice, will it?!

My heart pounded in my chest as I awaited my turn. Each participant was stopped at the entrance, as we had already seen, but only two of the five Ahrensbach apprentice scholars were turned away.

“I wonder what is on the other side of that door,” I said. “Everyone stops before passing through.” The door was open, but a complexly colored sheet of mana obscured whatever was beyond it.

Soon enough, it was my sister’s turn to enter. She stopped in place, like all those before her had done, and then she was gone.

“Next,” Lady Philine called.

I advanced, clutching my permission form to my chest. The Sovereign knights stationed on either side of the door were exceedingly terrifying, but I took care to keep my eyes forward; this was no time to be gazing down at my feet.

I passed through the film, saw the inside of the Farthest Hall, and stopped as everyone else had.

What’s going on?! Nobody told me so many members of the royal family were going to be here!

My first sight upon entering was the royal family lined up within a yellow, translucent dome. In front of them was Lady Rozemyne, wearing her High Bishop robes.

I froze in place, so stunned that I thought my heart might stop. Only when someone beside me asked for my permission form was I pulled from my stupor. I passed the board to Lady Clarissa of Dunkelfelger, still somewhat dazed.

“This is Schutzaria’s shield,” Lady Rozemyne explained. “It denies entry to all those with malicious intent. As guard knights cannot attend the ritual, we are having to filter the students like so. Please go inside and greet everyone.”

She then stepped to the side, revealing Lady Eglantine, Prince Anastasius, Lady Adolphine, Prince Sigiswald, Lady Nahelache, and King Trauerqual himself. Never in my wildest dreams had it occurred to me that I, an archnoble from a middle duchy, would one day interact with the royal family.

King Trauerqual did not have a Grutrissheit, so the duchies on the losing side of the civil war often accused him of being unfit to rule. Still, his royal presence could not be denied.

I resisted the shaking of my legs and slowly knelt before the king. “I am Lueuradi of Jossbrenner. May I pray for a blessing in appreciation of this serendipitous meeting, ordained by the harsh judgment of Ewigeliebe the God of Life?”

“You may.”

His voice was kinder than I’d expected. Feeling a bit relieved, I gave the blessing and then my greeting: “I am honored from the bottom of my heart to have this opportunity to meet you, Zent Trauerqual.”

“You have my thanks for your assistance on this day, Lueuradi.”

Never had I expected the king to speak my name and express to me his gratitude. It was far too great of an honor for an archnoble to receive; had Lady Rozemyne not been there to urge me to my feet, I actually might have cried.

“Lady Lueuradi, Hartmut will guide you from here.”

I stood up at Lady Rozemyne’s prompting and saw Lord Hartmut, clad in the robes of a blue priest. His attire made no sense; he was a noble who had graduated from the Royal Academy. I had just managed to adjust to my shock of seeing the royal family, but now I was starting to feel dizzy all over again.

“Lord Hartmut...” I said. “That outfit...”

“I am Ehrenfest’s High Priest—one who serves Lady Rozemyne, our High Bishop. Furthermore, I am not the only one wearing robes; Lord Wilfried and Lady Charlotte are as well. Today is a special occasion. Under normal circumstances, only priests and shrine maidens dressed in blue robes may witness Lady Rozemyne’s Dedication Ritual.”

Most others would mock Lord Hartmut’s temple robes, but he was looking down at them proudly. His expression was exactly as I remembered it from last year—the same smile that he wore when extolling Lady Rozemyne’s virtues. I could imagine him gleefully visiting the temple, but that was unthinkable for most nobles.

I shook my head to dispel the images.

“Wait here, if you would,” Lord Hartmut said, having led me to where my elder sister was standing atop a red carpet. The top-ranking duchies were closest to the center, where there was a circular space, with the lowest-ranking duchies being farthest away. It wasn’t a complete circle, and the vacant area was presumably where the royal family would stand once everyone had greeted them.

“It appears that Ehrenfest’s archduke candidates really do all go to the temple...” my sister whispered after Lord Hartmut went to fetch Lustlaune, who had entered after me.

Looking around the room revealed that, as Lord Hartmut had suggested, Lord Wilfried and Lady Charlotte were both dressed in blue robes. The clothes weren’t being borrowed for the sake of appearances either; the fit was perfect, even for two archduke candidates who were still growing, and this didn’t look like their first time being worn.

I nodded in response to my sister and replied in an equally low voice, “Putting aside the rumors that Aub Ehrenfest treats his blood children better, there is no mistaking that they all perform religious ceremonies.”

All of a sudden, a stiff breeze swept through the room. I turned to see that someone had been repelled by the shield protecting the royal family and was now being carried away by Ehrenfest’s and Dunkelfelger’s apprentice knights.

“I hold no malice!” the rejected student declared.

“Perhaps your venom is directed at me rather than the royal family,” Lady Rozemyne said. “Either way, I must ask that you sit this one out. We cannot afford to have those who may be a threat in a ceremonial hall without guard knights.”

So, Lustlaune and my sister had assumed correctly—those who were refused entry held malice toward either Lady Rozemyne or the royal family. But how could anyone prove such emotions? How could they reject participants with such confidence?

“Is this truly okay?” I asked. “What if these suspicions of malice turn out to be false? Those who were outed will have been wrongly accused in front of the royal family.”

“So you say, but they were clearly knocked back by the shield,” Lustlaune said. “Among the top-ranking duchies, only two from Ahrensbach were refused entry, and they were both clearly hostile to Lady Rozemyne. This person was from a losing duchy. I expect this will not be the last rejection we see today.”

And she was right. Many others who were subsequently knocked away by the shield were from duchies that had fallen down the ranks after the civil war or spent tea parties complaining about their lands being ravaged. I assumed they were antagonistic to the royal family.

Though hopefully they do not resent Lady Rozemyne for revealing those negative feelings.

After several more students were refused, the lengthy entrance procedure finally concluded. Ehrenfest’s and Dunkelfelger’s apprentice knights left the room, leaving the two Dunkelfelger archduke candidates at the entrance. The apprentice scholars then closed the door and stood among us.

“Please move to the center,” Lady Rozemyne said.

One by one, those of the royal family moved to the center of the carpet. Lady Rozemyne waited for them to take their positions, then dispelled Schutzaria’s shield.

“The ritual will now begin,” Lord Wilfried announced. He explained the process, and only then was I made aware that the purpose of the ritual was to collect mana from everyone as an offering to the royal family.

In what way is this ritual a part of any joint research?! Every duchy is going through a mana shortage, and this is what they ask of us? Were we all tricked?!

It seemed that I wasn’t the only person feeling this way. Everyone started exchanging looks with those around them—that is, until Lady Charlotte offered an explanation.

“This joint research began due to students from both Ehrenfest and Dunkelfelger receiving many divine protections from the gods. Through a common thread between our duchies—our regular performance of ceremonies that offer prayers to the gods—we have established the theory that prayer and rituals are essential to obtaining divine protections.”

At that, all those who had wished to complain closed their mouths. Everyone had known about Ehrenfest’s third-years obtaining multiple divine protections, but not that it had any relation to ceremonies. In practice, one laynoble had received the protection of an element she did not have an aptitude for, and one mednoble had ended up omni-elemental.

“My elder brother and sister respectively obtained twelve and twenty-one divine protections due to performing religious ceremonies in Ehrenfest’s temple,” Lady Charlotte continued.

“This is just how it feels to me, but I can now brew using only seventy percent as much mana as before,” Lord Wilfried added. “I sincerely believe that this research will prove essential in our mana-starved world.”

And that was coming from someone who had actually received twelve divine protections. As he had implied, needing less mana to brew was effectively the same as increasing one’s capacity.

Lord Lestilaut of Dunkelfelger, who was still standing by the wall, spoke next. “Many of you saw our duchy perform a ritual and obtain blessings before the games of ditter we required you to play. We have confirmed that said ritual greatly increases one’s strength and speed. That, too, has been a result of this research.”

In other words, Dunkelfelger’s frightening strength during our games of ditter was in part due to the blessings from the gods they had received from their ritual. I couldn’t help but blink in surprise.

Lord Hartmut leisurely made his way to the center of the room, holding something that looked a lot like a bell. “The first Zent of Yurgenschmidt was a High Bishop,” he began in a clear, resounding voice. “During that era, it was normal—expected, even—for Zents and aubs to offer prayers to the gods. It is Lady Rozemyne’s wish that, by participating in this ritual, you will all feel the power of the gods more closely and come to rethink your opinions of the temple. She also hopes that at least some of you will obtain more divine protections.”

Instinctively my eyes flitted about the room, searching for Lady Rozemyne. She was standing quietly by the door, having dispelled Schutzaria’s shield. Her desire to share the knowledge she had obtained with us all so that we could acquire more divine protections was beautiful to behold, especially when she would have gained so much by monopolizing it. I now had a better understanding of why Lord Hartmut was so insistent on calling her the Saint of Ehrenfest.

“The Dedication Ritual shall now begin,” Hartmut announced. “Please kneel where you are and place your hands on the red carpet. Then, you will need to repeat the prayer stated by Lady Rozemyne, the High Bishop of Ehrenfest.”

Those who had been sitting nonchalantly now knelt and pressed their hands against the carpeted floor. The royal family did the same, as did Lord Wilfried and Lady Charlotte after moving from the center of the circle to the edge.

Soon enough, the only people standing were the Dunkelfelger archduke candidates, Lady Rozemyne by the door, and Lord Hartmut at the center of the room. Then, there was the sudden, loud clanging of a bell.

“The High Bishop shall now enter!” Lord Hartmut declared.

On cue, Lady Rozemyne started toward the shrine, her every step exuding majesty. From where I was positioned, I could see her head-on. Her white robes made her stand out from the sea of colored capes and swiftly brought the word “tranquility” to mind. I could see that her eyes were set on the shrine; nothing else had her attention.

In contrast to her white robes, Lady Rozemyne’s dark hair looked more striking than ever. It was the perfect backdrop for her hairpin, decorated with such magnificent rainbow feystones, which sparkled like the brightest stars. Never before had I seen such a wonderful ornament. It really spoke to how much she was loved by her fiancé.

Oh, fortune... Bless me with a man who will gift me such marvelous feystones.

My sister often told me to keep my head out of the clouds and focus on the real world, but I was grounded enough already. I didn’t doubt that I would one day need to marry whomever my parents chose for me, but that was precisely why I wanted to dream now, while I was still able.

Though the only person who can empathize with my feelings is Lady Muriella.

As I thought back to our enjoyable discussions about love stories, Lady Rozemyne reached the empty space at the center of the room. There, while looking up at the shrine behind me, she raised both hands in prayer to the gods.

It was said that raising both hands and one’s left leg while praying was the best way to get close to the mighty supreme gods of the endless skies, and that placing one’s hands on the ground when offering gratitude was a way of approaching the Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm. Simply hearing about these forms of prayer had not been enough for me to truly understand them, but now, seeing Lady Rozemyne assume their posture, it was all slowly falling into place.

“ Erdegral ,” Lady Rozemyne chanted, her voice young and gentle, holding her schtappe aloft in her right hand while gazing intently at the shrine. At once, her schtappe transformed into a sizable chalice that was identical to the one Geduldh held on the shrine, even down to the complex engravings.