Deeper into the Underground Archive

Deeper into the Underground Archive

Deeper into the Underground Archive

“I will need to inform Father that you have visited the shrines, and speak with him about what comes next,” Anastasius said. After bringing me back to the underground archive, he and Eglantine were going to have lunch and then attend an afternoon meeting.

“Prince Anastasius... were your actions here today done in secret, by chance?”

“I would not say that, but I am aware that I may have gotten a bit ahead of myself.”

Really? Just a bit?

Anastasius was trying to be expressionless, as was so common among nobles, but I could see the worry in his eyes. At the very least, he was much easier to read than Ferdinand.

Hm... He and Eglantine were really obstinate today. Could it be that something happened in the royal family?

I sighed at my own optimism—even now, I was trying to find a reason to trust them—and descended the stairs to the underground archive. Schwartz and Weiss were standing on either side of the transparent wall, beyond which Hildebrand and Magdalena were already at work. Hannelore must have been resting, because she was nowhere to be seen.

Our retainers were preparing lunch, but they stopped to welcome us when we arrived.

“We will be returning to the villa after speaking to Lady Magdalena,” Anastasius announced to his own retainers after reaching the bottom of the stairs. “There is much we will need to discuss with Father and my brother. Contact them at once.”

Anastasius’s and Eglantine’s retainers sent out ordonnanzes, started to pack some things, and told Magdalena’s retainers to summon their lady. I passed through them and headed to the rest area, where I found Hannelore. She set down her teacup and gave me a warm, healing smile.

“Welcome back, Lady Rozemyne. Have you finished cleaning all the shrines?”

“Indeed. I cleaned the last one just a moment ago.”

Weiss then hopped over, to my surprise; he seldom left his post by the transparent wall while we were visiting the archive.

“Weiss, what is the matter?” Hannelore asked, blinking her red eyes. “You moved so suddenly that I thought something had happened.”

The shumil offered no response. Instead, it came straight over to me, took my right hand, and said, “Follow me, milady.”

“Hm? Weiss?”

Before I could ask where, I realized that there was only one place the shumils would take me after I finished praying at all the shrines—the next location on the journey to obtain the Book of Mestionora. I swallowed hard, then saw Schwartz pushing Hildebrand out of the archive.

“Schwartz started telling me to leave all of a sudden,” Hildebrand griped. “What in the world is— Rozemyne?”

Everyone stared at the shumils for their strange behavior—and at me for being involved with it.

I guess I should keep going...

I turned to Anastasius, who gave me an affirming nod with a stiff expression. His gesture meant the royal family’s permission, so I went into the archive with Weiss. Schwartz took my left hand as soon as I entered.

“Transcribe, milady.”

I didn’t even need to ask what; the Book of Mestionora was no doubt awaiting me. Schwartz and Weiss guided me to one of the room’s white walls, and touched a recess in its surface. My mana was sucked into it; a magic circle sprang to life, like when we had unlocked the archive; and an opening appeared.

Well, looks like this is a path.

I turned to gauge the others’ reactions, only to realize that the transparent wall separating us had turned opaque. From within the archive, I couldn’t see any of them.

“Milady. This way.”

Together, Schwartz and Weiss pulled my arms and guided me through the newly formed, pure-white entrance. My heart was racing. Just knowing that the Book of Mestionora was ahead made my legs tremble in anticipation and my excitement swell.

I wonder what the book is like...

We soon arrived at a door marked with a complex, luminous magic circle. It was clearly locked tight, which made me even more tense.

“Here, milady.”

At the shumils’ behest, I reached out and touched the magic circle. My hand was instantly knocked back, and a spark of what felt like electricity shot through me. It was just like what happened whenever someone touched Schwartz or Weiss without permission.

“Eep!” I cried, withdrawing my hand in surprise.

Schwartz and Weiss looked up at me.

“Not registered, milady.”

“Cannot enter.”

Before I could even process what had just happened, the two shumils rejected my entry. “Registered with what?” I asked in a daze.

“The royal family.”

Their simple response made the blood drain from my face. The archive containing the Grutrissheit could only be entered by those with royal blood—Ferdinand had told me that already. He had said that my commoner origins would prevent me from ever becoming queen, but after being allowed into the shrines and easily obtaining the slates of each element, some part of me had remained stubbornly optimistic. In hindsight, it was obvious that an archive containing something so important would vet entrants with a magic-enforced blood checker.

What should I do...?

I needed to obtain the Grutrissheit this year; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to save Ferdinand. It had been the best option available to me, and the path ahead suddenly seemed much bleaker.

It would take me three years to be registered as a royal...

To prevent skilled archduke candidates from being taken by force, archduke candidates were forbidden from moving to the Sovereignty outside of marriage. In other words, I would only be able to enter the royal family by marrying Sigiswald—and our Starbind Ceremony would need to wait until after I came of age. That was three years away at the absolute least, which was completely useless; Ferdinand was getting married next year .

“Open...” I mumbled, then slapped the door. My hand was blasted away again, this time with even greater force. I gazed from my hand to the magic circle—the sparks had made my fingers go numb—then struck the entrance again.

“Open.”

Again, I was repelled, and with even more force. My hand throbbed, and a storm of emotions swirled in my chest: frustration that the Grutrissheit was just out of reach, despair that I wasn’t able to save Ferdinand, outrage that the royal-only magic circle kept rejecting me... They all made me sick.

“LET ME IN!”