Dinner with Ferdinand

Dinner with Ferdinand

Dinner with Ferdinand

“Could we place the food-preserving magic tool here? It would allow the trolley to pass through without incident.”

“Has there been a change in how many retainers he is bringing?”

The moment we returned from the Interduchy Tournament, my retainers began preparing the tea party room. I glanced around and then nodded; everything was perfect. Wilfried and Sylvester were here too, waiting for Ferdinand.

Partway through directing the preparations, Rihyarda turned to the other students who had returned with us and said, “You have your own arrangements for dinner, do you not? Go to your rooms for now.”

The students did as instructed. Soon enough, aside from Wilfried, Sylvester, and me, the only other people in the tea party room were adult attendants like Rihyarda, Sylvester’s retainers, and those of the Knight’s Order who would be guarding us during our meal.

A bell rang from outside the tea party room.

“Lord Ferdinand has arrived,” announced Sylvester’s attendant who had been waiting by the door. He allowed our guests to enter, and into the tea party room came Justus, Ferdinand, and Eckhart. Also with them was a man I didn’t recognize, pushing a trolley with a large preservation magic tool atop it. He was probably one of Ferdinand’s retainers from Ahrensbach.

“Welcome home, Ferdinand,” I said.

Ferdinand stared at me for a moment, surprised, and then gave a hesitant “Yes...”

“That won’t do. You should say something like ‘It’s good to be back.’ Proper greetings are important, are they not?”

“It is... good to be back,” he forced out, looking very reluctant all the while. He then turned away from me and started greeting Wilfried and Sylvester. “I am going to be in your care tonight. My apologies for the burden. Wilfried, I need not introduce you to Justus or Eckhart, correct? The other man with us is Sergius. He serves me as an attendant in Ahrensbach and is the son of Lady Letizia’s head attendant.”

That meant he probably wasn’t a member of Georgine’s faction. I examined him casually. He had blue-green hair, yellow-green eyes, and a peaceful, attendant-like smile.

“It is a pleasure to meet you all,” Sergius said, concluding his greeting and introduction.

Sylvester proceeded to offer Ferdinand his seat. He then gestured for Wilfried and me to sit as well before turning to the door. “I need to go eat dinner with the students, but I’ll be back once that’s over. Ferdinand, let’s go at least one day without over-scolding Rozemyne, alright?”

Ferdinand watched Sylvester hurry out of the room and then muttered, “If you need to be elsewhere, then why waste your time here waiting for me...?”

“Probably because he wanted to see you again more than anything,” I said. “But putting that aside... As you saw—and as you asked—I came first-in-class again this year. Two of our joint research projects also received awards. Now, praise me.”

Before the inevitable lecture began, I wanted to receive some praise. After that, I would be able to endure any amount of scolding. Sylvester had even confirmed that Ferdinand would compliment me as long as I outlined my accomplishments, so I puffed out my chest and bragged my heart out.

Except, rather than praising me... Ferdinand gave me a swift flick to the forehead.

“What was that for?!”

“Is it not obvious that I must interrogate and scold you before uttering even a word of praise?” he said. He reached toward me in what could only be an attempt to pinch my cheeks, so I hurriedly covered my face.

“Sylvester just told you not to chastise me today, didn’t he? At the very least, start with some compliments. I am prepared to listen to a lengthy lecture afterward.”

Ferdinand shook his head, exasperated. “I do not care how prepared you are to be lectured. I would rather you grow accustomed to not doing things that will get you scolded in the first place.”

I pursed my lips. This didn’t make sense. I’d mentioned my achievements loud and clear, but Ferdinand still hadn’t said anything even remotely positive.

“That is precisely why I think you should praise me first. If not even coming first-in-class is good enough, then what is?!” I demanded, exploding at him in dissatisfaction.

Ferdinand paused for a moment. Then, in a voice completely devoid of emotion, he said, “You did very well.”

No! That’s not the praise I was hoping for!

“There was no heart in that whatsoever!” I cried. “You leave me no choice—I’ll use the tournament shumil to—”

“I apologize for that, Rozemyne,” he said all of a sudden. “It was my error that I could not stop her from stealing the magic tool you intended to give to another.” His face was twisted in the same bitter expression I always saw when he spoke about Veronica, and at that moment, I realized he had seen Detlinde as her grandmother when she stole the stuffed toy from me.

Eep... I must have brought some traumatic memories to the surface.

“Erm, Ferdinand... I want you to praise me, not apologize. The way I see it, there is no reason for you to feel responsible for her actions.”

“But...”

“Did something happen?” Wilfried asked. He hadn’t been within earshot at the time.

“Nothing significant,” I replied. “Basically...”

Wilfried spent a moment listening to my overview of the situation, then said, “Yeah, that really isn’t your fault, Uncle.”

“See? Wilfried agrees with me. But we can forget about praise and gratitude for now. Let me show you your room.” I decided to move the conversation along—it seemed that Ferdinand was going to keep apologizing forever—and guided everyone over to one of the screens in the room. “Rihyarda worked very hard on this.”

“Yes, milady—because you insisted that we help Lord Ferdinand rest as well as possible,” Rihyarda added. She must have been trying to lighten the mood, as she cackled and started explaining the accommodations for Ferdinand and his attendants.

She continued, “Here, we have prepared a place for Lord Ferdinand to sleep. Naturally, there are no bed-curtains, but the screens should allow you to relax at least somewhat.” She then noted where to put belongings, daily-use magic tools, and so on. That part was more for attendants, so I tugged on Ferdinand’s sleeve to get his attention and pointed at the bench.

“Ferdinand, I brought this from Ehrenfest for you to use today.”

“It was finished...?” he asked.

“Yes. I expect it to be far more comfortable than other benches or sofas. Do try sitting on it.”

Ferdinand sat down with great interest, then began squeezing and pushing against the cushioning. We were now roughly face-to-face, which made his sickly pallor all the clearer. He sounded sincere as he said, “Ah, yes. This is good,” but his exhaustion was too much for him to hide.

Has he been chugging tons of ultra-nasty potions?

I was still analyzing Ferdinand when Wilfried quietly asked, “Rozemyne, what is that?” It was his first time seeing the mattress bench.

“It is a new creation that I asked my Gutenbergs to make. Ferdinand ordered it some time ago, but he moved to Ahrensbach before it was finished.”

Ferdinand then interjected, “You may feel it, if you are curious.” He was stroking the mattress with a hint of what may have been pride.

Wilfried approached, a noticeable glint in his eyes. Oswald, his retainer, looked similarly intrigued.

“If you rest here, Ferdinand, then you might look a little less tired,” I said. “It’s been a long time since you’ve looked so openly exhausted. You remind me of the Zent when I saw him at the Dedication Ritual. Just what kind of life have you been leading in Ahrensbach?”

Wilfried examined Ferdinand, looking dubious, then shook his head. “He doesn’t seem much different from usual to me... I’m impressed you could tell, Rozemyne.”

“It’s understandable that you couldn’t. You never had many opportunities to see him, after all.”

Pretty much all nobles hid their emotions, but Ferdinand was an expert after so many long years of dealing with Veronica. That was why only someone very close to him would see through his facade.

Ferdinand grimaced—probably uncomfortable that Wilfried was still staring at his face—and extended a hand to me. “Rozemyne, you don’t look very well yourself. You did not get any rest between the Interduchy Tournament and the awards ceremony, did you? You have been pushing yourself much too hard.”

After squeezing my cheeks, Ferdinand inspected my health as he had always used to. He checked my forehead, wrists, temperature, pulse, and so on. I closed my eyes; feeling his touch was actually kind of nostalgic.

“I’m really healthy now thanks to you,” I said. “I didn’t collapse at all today, and I’ve barely ended up bedridden as of late. Even when I do catch a fever, I usually recover after a couple of days.”

“Even so, your temperature seems a bit high. Have you not had any potions since returning from the Interduchy Tournament? As you are now, you will surely feel the repercussions tomorrow.” His chilly hand on my nape actually felt pretty nice, so he was right—I was probably coming down with a bit of a fever.

“I drank one made with kindness, so I think I’m fine, but...”

“Good, then.” After performing his last few checks, Ferdinand removed his hands. “Exercise regularly to increase your strength. You are still relying on supporting magic tools, no?”

“I will do my best,” I replied. But when I finally opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Wilfried staring at me.