Archducal Family Meeting

Archducal Family Meeting

Archducal Family Meeting

At third bell the next day, we archduke candidates left the northern building with all our guard knights, plus one scholar and attendant each. The situation was definitely being treated with more caution than was normal; instead of our usual meeting room, we were gathering in the one closest of all to the northern building. Sylvester, Florencia, Bonifatius, Wilfried, Charlotte, and I all went inside. Melchior and his retainers now took the spot that had once belonged to Ferdinand.

Thus began our meeting.

“There’s a lot to report this time,” Sylvester said. “First, Florencia’s pregnancy. We expect her to give birth either around the end of summer or the start of autumn. I want to distribute our current workload with her inevitable ill-health in mind.”

His announcement caused a stir. This was going to complicate both the plan for him to take a second wife and administration as a whole. But while everyone was exchanging looks of concern, I didn’t even blink. I already knew about Florencia’s pregnancy, so I took the opportunity to extend words of celebration.

“Congratulations,” I said to her. “I look forward to autumn.”

“I thank you ever so much, Rozemyne,” she replied, her expression softening into a smile.

Melchior beamed and spoke up as well. “Congratulations, Mother. This means I’m getting a little brother or sister, right?”

“Yup,” Sylvester replied on her behalf, then gazed across all of the gathered retainers. “But keep it a secret for now. Alright?”

Charlotte had been looking down at her feet, her expression stiff, but she finally looked up again in an apparent show of resolve. “We would not wish to put Mother in danger,” she said. “We will keep this a secret, and I will provide all the support I can.”

“I appreciate that. Now, moving on... I want to focus next on the purge carried out over the winter. We all understand that getting Ehrenfest back on its feet is our highest priority, yeah?”

And so, the reports began. The purge had started earlier than planned after Matthias and the others gave us an urgent update, and those who were found to have given their names to Georgine were targeted first. The most notable raid was on Giebe Gerlach’s estate; many of the people there had committed suicide, and only a few of them had been registered as Ehrenfest nobles.

“Father, I don’t understand,” Wilfried said. “Does that mean there was a large group of people from outside Ehrenfest in Giebe Gerlach’s estate?”

“You know how your mana was registered to a medal when you were baptized, right? The mana from those medals can be compared to the mana from a noble’s corpse to confirm their background. In this case... there were a number of corpses that we couldn’t identify.”

His phrasing sent a shudder down my spine, but I already had an idea of who those corpses might have once been. “Perhaps they were Devouring soldiers. They were used when I was ambushed and Charlotte kidnapped, correct?”

There had also been the time when, after visiting Gerlach during my first Spring Prayer as a shrine maiden, Tuuli and I were almost kidnapped in the lower city. And the time when the gray priests were abducted.

“Right,” Sylvester said. “The soldiers who exploded when attacking Charlotte’s baptism ceremony were also unidentifiable. We expect these to be the same.”

“Erm, did Giebe Gerlach explode too?” I asked, looking at Bonifatius, who had charged into his winter estate. “Somehow, I find that hard to believe.”

Bonifatius frowned. “The situation led me to conclude that he did, but I did not see it with my own eyes. The thing is... I wanted to charge in and grab him with my schtappe, but I was told that would be too aggressive. And, of course, the butler at the door tried to keep us from going in at all. That gave the giebe all the time he needed. By the time we reached the room where he was holding his meeting, it was all up in flames. There was nothing left inside but burning flesh.”

Though his explanation was quite bare, the state of the room sounded so nightmarish that I didn’t even want to imagine it. Part of me had wanted to cover my ears when he started telling us how the butler had also exploded the moment Bonifatius charged through the doorway... but I’d ended up listening anyway, rubbing my goose-bump-covered arms while trying to fend off the gory visuals.

“We compared our medals with whatever limbs still remained, but several of them couldn’t be identified. We found a left hand with Giebe Gerlach’s ring and crest, and that did respond to a medal... but I don’t buy that it was really him. There has to be more to it. There was far too little left behind...”

Bonifatius’s warrior instincts meant he was skeptical—but after seeing the scene with his own eyes, he still wasn’t confident that Giebe Gerlach was dead.

“Is it possible that he just cut off his hand and ran away?” Wilfried asked.

Bonifatius crossed his arms and grunted. “I could tell from the smell of the blood and the warmth of the corpses that I got in there right after he exploded. The estate was surrounded by knights, who didn’t see any fleeing highbeasts, and escaping through the sewers with its mana-eaters would be next to impossible for a noble. We also had commoner soldiers watching all other exits, and we received no reports of any of them getting hurt or acting suspiciously.”

Sylvester nodded. “I raised the city’s barrier to its maximum strength so that no nobles would be able to escape, assigned knights to even the northern gate, and told the commoner guards not to let a single carriage or wagon through. The reports say that no highbeasts or carriages left Ehrenfest that day.”

But even with that much evidence, Bonifatius hadn’t been able to accept that Giebe Gerlach was dead.

“Bonifatius was still doubtful, so we took the medals of all those Matthias confirmed were name-sworn to Georgine and carried out formal executions.”

“You mean... the God of Darkness method...?” I asked timidly, recalling the executions in Hasse. It was one of the spells I had learned when Ferdinand was helping me cram for the archduke candidate course.

Despite my vague description—there were people here who weren’t archduke candidates, so I’d needed to be careful—Sylvester seemed to understand. He nodded, his expression stern.

“But I thought that spell wouldn’t work on those not in the aub’s realm of control...”

“Rozemyne, how could someone escape Ehrenfest if not by highbeast or a carriage?”

“U-Um...” I paused to consider the abrupt question. “A teleportation circle, maybe?”

“Giebe Gerlach wouldn’t have been able to use one,” Sylvester answered, exasperated. “Magic circles that can teleport people require the aub’s authority.” I’d also heard as much from Ferdinand when he was teaching me about magic circles. Human teleportation was so consequential that only aubs could make and operate the means to it.

“Anyway...” he said, moving the conversation along. “We used the medals that matched corpses found on the estate to carry out the executions. Giebe Gerlach, real name Grausam, is dead—I want us to move forward on that basis. Our problem right now is figuring out whether other nobles are name-sworn. The process tends to be carried out in secret, and while the names that Matthias gave us seem to have been accurate, even their memories were distorted from trug. Continuing our investigation hasn’t been easy.”

As things stood, they had no choice but to make guesses based on the criminals’ associations. It was a precarious situation; they needed to be very careful not to execute any innocents.

“Ah, that reminds me,” Sylvester said. “Rozemyne, Wilfried, Charlotte—as part of their investigation, the Knight’s Order will need to borrow those who gave their names to you.”

As it turned out, they specifically wanted children of the giebes who had sworn themselves to Georgine. Giebes Gerlach, Wiltord, and Bessel were given special mention.

Sylvester continued, “After the purge, the Order began inspecting the giebes’ summer estates, but such mansions are teeming with doors that only open for registered family members. These hidden rooms and such will become completely inaccessible once new giebes are assigned, so we want to investigate them before then.”

Reregistering my mana with the hidden room in the orphanage director’s chambers would cause my old room to be lost forevermore. In the same vein, if the giebes were replaced and the registrations redone, several places in their estates would become inaccessible.

“I understand why it’s urgent for the estates to be investigated,” I said, then shot Karstedt a very deliberate look. “I will instruct Matthias, Laurenz, and Muriella to cooperate with the Knight’s Order, so please treat them well. They are my retainers now.”

He nodded with a reliable smile. “I will make sure the knights are well aware. Of course, we will treat those serving Lord Wilfried and Lady Charlotte with just as much consideration.” Then, his features began to harden, and a stern light arose in his light-blue eyes. “But in return we ask you, their lord and ladies, to stress that they are not to hide the crimes of their families.”

“Understood,” I replied, aware that they would need to cooperate if they wanted to survive. Wilfried and Charlotte nodded as well.

“Moving on,” Sylvester said. “As an adult myself, it pains me to admit this, but...” He trailed off, then very wearily tapped a stack of boards. “Ehrenfest has spent such a long time at the bottom of the rankings that not many of us know how to interact with top-ranking duchies. You know that, yeah? Well, we’re now so high up that we need to start acting like a top-ranking duchy ourselves.”

Again, we nodded. We had been made well aware of all this during our time at the Royal Academy.

“However,” he continued, “the purge has left Ehrenfest with even fewer nobles, and the rest are now plotting to secure the positions left by those who were imprisoned. We need to prioritize getting our internals in order over changing how we deal with other duchies.”

As he said, the execution of several giebes in such quick succession meant the remaining nobles were now jostling for their titles. It was hardly a good time to be focused elsewhere.

“We know how hard you kids are working. Even among the chaos of the purge, the three of you managed to unify the dorm and raise our grades and rank even higher than before. However, pathetically enough, we adults can’t keep up with you. That’s why we all want you to hold our current position in the Royal Academy—or even knock us down to tenth.”

My jaw dropped in sheer disbelief. I’d assumed that the adults would do their best to match our new ranking in Yurgenschmidt, but here they were, even humoring the idea of climbing back down a little.

“Is that really what you all want...?” I asked. During our time at the Royal Academy, we had divided ourselves into teams and all worked so hard to improve our duchy’s position. I could still picture the students’ proud smiles after their professors had praised their high grades. And what about our retainers? They had all run themselves ragged, using trial and error to figure out how to properly manage Ehrenfest’s new place among the top-ranking duchies. How could I ask them to cast aside all of their hard work?

“Rozemyne,” Karstedt said from where he was standing behind Sylvester, looking noticeably bitter. “This is the will of your support base—of the Leisegangs.”

“The Leisegangs...?”

“Yes. The purge was carried out early, and almost all of our duchy’s most powerful Ahrensbach-associated nobles were removed from their posts or eliminated. Satisfied that his lifetime rivals had at last met a grisly end, Giebe Leisegang Emeritus climbed the towering stairway to the distant heights.”

My eyes widened. “Great-Grandfather has gone to the distant heights?”

“He was finally at peace, confident in his belief that you were sent from the gods to aid Leisegang. His last request was for you to become aub after his passing.”

I thought back to my last meeting with Giebe Leisegang Emeritus, who had come across as a ball of extreme hatred and resentment toward Ahrensbach and Veronica. My assumption had been that he’d calmed down after speaking with Wilfried and making that promise, but apparently not. It was pretty disturbing to hear that he’d died of pure glee over the purge, which he’d said was thanks to me, and that even in his dying breath he’d asked for me to rule Ehrenfest.

“Um, Father... what does his passing have to do with our duchy’s ranking?” Wilfried asked, confused.

Florencia cast her eyes down a little. “His climb to the distant heights means that we no longer have to oppose the former Veronica faction. Our need to climb the ranks to defeat Ahrensbach has disappeared. From this point forward, we will need to devote ourselves to sorting out our internal matters—and, given the pressure that Ehrenfest is already under, the Leisegangs believe that nobody will rejoice over our rank rising even further.”

I’d already known that the adults were struggling to keep up, but it was a surprise to hear them say that nobody would appreciate our progress.

Do you mean to say we shouldn’t have worked together at the Royal Academy to boost our ranking?

My efforts to improve Ehrenfest’s position hadn’t been for the sake of the Leisegangs; it was just a good way to unify the dormitory and make sure that Ferdinand wasn’t looked down upon in Ahrensbach. But after asking me to help our duchy climb the rankings, Sylvester was telling me to drop it back down to tenth. How was I even supposed to respond to that?

You said that because Ferdinand is in Ahrensbach, serving as a tutor for Lady Letizia, Ehrenfest needs to work hard too. Didn’t you?

“This may sound a bit extreme,” Sylvester said to me, “but you’re the only one who’s actively interacting with top-ranking duchies and forming connections with the royal family. The nobles believe that, if you tone things down, our rank will stop going up. In other words, you stood out too much. You’re continually coming first-in-class and getting closer with royalty. If you do any more, we’re going to face unnecessary conflict over who should become the next aub. We want you to act very carefully from now on.”

He was basically saying that it was better for me not to work hard. Was that why Ferdinand hadn’t praised me this year? Because my achievements had caused Ehrenfest more trouble than anything? The moment that occurred to me, my excitement about having come first-in-class and the celebration I’d seen from atop the stage started to fade away. The world around me was losing its color.

“The giebes who have spoken with you know that you don’t want to become the aub,” Sylvester said, “but everyone else seems to think that you do. You have no choice but to prove them wrong.”

So... to prevent any weird disputes over who should be the next aub, I need to keep myself out of the spotlight? Would it be better if I weren’t here at all?

The pride I took in my duties, my desire to work hard... It felt like these integral parts of me were shriveling up and dying. I wanted to lock myself away in my library so that people would stop complaining about everything I did.

“Well... Good,” I said with a smile. “My absence when the factions are shifting and rewards and punishments are being divvied out will surely change their perspective. I entrust getting Ehrenfest in order and controlling the noble population to you and Wilfried, the current and future aubs.”

This really was for the best. After all, once I was at my library or the temple—which had the added benefit of being so close to the lower city—I wouldn’t have the motivation to do much else.

Wilfried nodded and said, “Right. I’ll focus on settling the chaos in the castle and noble society as a whole and get them to recognize me as the next aub in the process.” He was accepting his new duty with a dazzling smile.

Do you not think anything about being told that everyone’s hard work in the Royal Academy was for nothing? That we’ve been asked to give up the rank we all worked so hard to secure?

We were both a part of the same conversation, so how was he giving such a hope-filled smile? It was too bizarre to understand, but whatever. I continued to unload all of my burdens.

“I went to the Royal Academy’s library and copied out the schematics for the stage and the magic circle used in the spring ritual. The two of you may use them for the sake of your faction.”

At this point, I was just getting rid of anything that might get me called back to the castle. But rather than turn his nose up at the extra work, Wilfried rejoiced and thanked me.

“You are both helping me ever so much,” I said. “Now I can focus on the temple and the lower city.” This was a win for us all—or so I thought. Sylvester shook his head at me with a troubled frown.

“No, we want you to take on Florencia’s duties while she’s dealing with her pregnancy.”

He was asking me to start unifying the female nobles while socializing in tea parties and propping up Wilfried as his fiancée. To be honest, I wasn’t crazy about doing any of that. Now that Ferdinand was gone, there was nobody I could consult about temple work, and I really wasn’t sure whether the temple could function with just my retainers. Plus, now that there was no need for me to work hard in the Royal Academy, I didn’t have the slightest bit of motivation to attend any annoying tea parties.

Hmm... Maybe I should make a few very deliberate mistakes to lower our rank.

“I understand why those tasks would normally fall to me—because I am engaged to Wilfried—but Charlotte is much better suited to socializing and administrative work. I would rather focus on my duties as the High Bishop, overseeing the orphanage, and directing the merchants.”

We really couldn’t afford to slack when it came to preparing to host more merchants from other duchies. If we revealed to them that our internals were such a mess right now, our interduchy relations would surely suffer.

Sylvester thought for a moment, then nodded and said, “You’re right.”

Even now, I’ll still work hard for everyone in the lower city.

As I worked on pulling my scattered feelings back together, focusing in particular on my promise with Dad, Wilfried started pouting at Sylvester. “Father, don’t be so lenient with Rozemyne,” he said. “She needs to hurry up and get more socializing experience for next year at the Royal Academy.”

I decided not to say what was really on my mind—“Why the heck should I bother when I don’t need to give two hoots about our ranking?”—and instead gave him a ladylike tilt of my head. “But who will take care of all the temple work and business with the Merchant’s Guild if not I? Surely I’m not expected to do everything.”

I had only recently been put in charge of the temple work, and our scholars weren’t yet capable of understanding the lower-city merchants’ intentions. We were so lacking in competent manpower that I wanted to weep openly about having lost Justus. I was the only one who could do this work.

“I can understand you being needed in the temple, but why can’t you leave the Merchant’s Guild to the scholars?” Wilfried asked. “They dealt with them before, didn’t they? Getting more socializing experience is far more important, especially with next year in mind.”

It was only because I was actively balancing the needs of the nobles with the realities of the merchants that we were getting by at all. How, then, had he convinced himself that we could entrust things to the old scholars? It was clear as day that they would ignore the commoners’ circumstances, make unreasonable demands, and ultimately cause everything to blow up in their faces.

“I wonder, which scholars are you referring to?” I replied. “Surely not the ones who are incapable of adjusting to our new rank and who continue to work with the mindset of a bottom-ranking duchy. Not even Hartmut, who is very skilled at speaking with lower-city commoners, has the knowledge and experience necessary for business discussions. He would struggle to negotiate without me there. So, if we have raised scholars whom we can entrust with such matters, this is my first time hearing of them. I would even welcome such unique talent as my retainers.”

“W-Well, I mean...” Wilfried stuttered, his eyes wandering around the room. Evidently, there were no such scholars.

As I glared at Wilfried, Charlotte heaved an exasperated sigh. “Wilfried, I understand your wish for Rozemyne to secure more experience, but she makes an excellent point. I can take her place and socialize with other noblewomen, but no one else is equipped to manage the temple and cooperate with merchants. I will serve as Mother’s representative in her stead.”

Oh, Charlotte! You’re so smart and considerate! To think I was going to hole up in my library and the temple...

She was dazzling and so very reliable. It made me feel a little guilty for not wanting to work hard anymore.

“Charlotte,” Florencia said, “getting Rozemyne to socialize more is our highest priority. Even the reports we received made it clear that interacting with other nobles is her greatest weakness at the moment.” I could tell that I’d caused her plenty of headaches and immediately averted my eyes, feeling awkward.

In contrast to my own reaction, Charlotte began to grimace. She looked from me to Wilfried to Sylvester to Florencia, then gazed down and said, “Now that Uncle is gone, there is so much more to be done. Temple work; managing the orphanage, which has grown in size due to the purge; negotiating with the merchants; transporting the Gutenbergs; serving as an advisor for the printing industry... There is so much that only Rozemyne can do, and she already has more to balance than most adults, let alone other students. You snubbed her hard work at the Royal Academy, and now you want her to obtain more socializing experience? How will she find the time when you won’t even give her any extra manpower? And on top of all that, you expect her to take Mother’s place? Every single one of you is in the wrong.”

She finally looked up again, her indigo eyes now scathingly critical. “I do not believe for a moment that learning to socialize is Rozemyne’s highest priority. Mother, Father—you are both healthy and young enough to be having a new child. We have at least a decade before Rozemyne will need to start serving as the first wife and fulfilling all of the relevant duties.”