The Archduke Conference’s Dedication Ritual

The Archduke Conference’s Dedication Ritual

The Archduke Conference’s Dedication Ritual

Hirschur made a rare appearance at the Ehrenfest Dormitory and gave me a board, on which was a list of all the ingredients necessary to make mobile magic tools like Schwartz and Weiss. “Lady Rozemyne, I will be participating in the Dedication Ritual,” she said, sounding extra pleased with herself. “Do give the aub my thanks.” Her announcement had nothing to do with the board, so I wasn’t sure whether to thank her or play along.

“Thank you ever so much for delivering this,” I eventually replied. “I am also glad to hear that you have been allowed to join the ritual.”

The first Dedication Ritual we hosted at the Royal Academy was for research purposes, so only archduke candidates and student archscholars had been allowed to participate. This had deeply troubled the research-crazy professors, who were very much interested in religious ceremonies that allowed one to gain more divine protections.

At first, the news that another Dedication Ritual was going to take place had come as another disappointment to the professors; only the aubs and their retainers had received invitations. Hirschur had grumbled about being left out again; then she had gotten Sylvester to send an ordonnanz to the royal family requesting that they include the professors as well.

I didn’t think the royal family would mind. The more participants, the better, after all.

“I am aware that participants were asked to bring their own rejuvenation potions this time,” Hirschur remarked. “Gundolf was rather frustrated. The students had said that Ehrenfest’s potions were particularly effective, so he wanted to try one for himself.”

I giggled. Just as I predicted, Drewanchel was thinking about our rejuvenation potions first and foremost.

All of a sudden, I noticed a twinkle in Hirschur’s eye. “The royal family wants to make this ceremony a yearly event, but the promise of divine protections and nothing more will surely lead to mounting dissatisfaction.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Although having a chance to perform the ritual once every ten years is fine in itself, one will need to obtain several divine protections before they feel an impact on their mana usage. One must continually offer mana during the ceremony to earn the right to repeat the ritual, but those who receive their chance during the first or second year will receive barely any divine protections.”

Hirschur was correct; how many divine protections one obtained was dependent on how much mana one offered and whether one’s regular behavior drew the attention of the gods. It wasn’t enough to perform the odd ritual and then proceed with one’s everyday life. If one considered the number of protections received by my retainers, who were visiting the temple every day as part of a silly competition to see who could transform their schtappe into a divine instrument first, and the number of protections received by Wilfried, who had performed Spring Prayer and offered mana to the foundation since I first entered a jureve five years ago, it became clear that quantity and consistency were tremendously important.

She continued, “It will most likely be the losing duchies who are made to repeat their rituals first. Their mana is sparse to begin with, and they are unlikely to obtain many divine protections after their first ritual. Then, they will need to wait an entire decade before they can repeat it again, locked into participating over and over for fear of getting left behind. All those years of struggling will doubtless inspire frustration—and so, Lady Rozemyne! Do you not think you should distribute rejuvenation potions to ease their burden and turn their painful struggle into a more tolerable one?”

I considered Hirschur’s point. It did seem like a good idea to provide an immediate reward to ease the nobles’ inevitable dissatisfaction.

“If you believe this is important, Professor Hirschur, then I would advise you to say as much to the royal family and suggest that the Sovereign professors work together to make those rejuvenation potions,” I said, turning her down with a polite smile. “At least one of you must have a recipe for a highly effective brew. This is not a problem that Ehrenfest must strive to solve.”

Hirschur shrugged, unamused. “You are correct that making rejuvenation potions for the defeated duchies would not be beneficial in the slightest. I would never waste time that I could spend researching on such a fruitless endeavor.”

“I agree from the bottom of my heart. Just as you would not want to surrender your chances to be immersed in your precious research, why would I want to fritter away time that I could spend reading? Furthermore, the royal family are the ones holding this ritual. I would not like to intervene.”

Hirschur let out a laugh. “So you claim, but it is clear as day that you are devising a solution to their discontent. It would not be the first time you have done something of no apparent value to you. On that note... a rather large change is being made to the Royal Academy’s curriculum. You inspired that as well, I imagine? You would do well to understand that your words move the royal family. At this rate, they will want to take you for themselves.”

Her warning had come too late, but it was a good indication that news of my adoption had yet to circulate.

“How are the lesson plans changing?” I asked.

“The royal family declared that it would make more sense to obtain one’s schtappe after learning mana compression and obtaining divine protections. They wanted a return to the old ways, when students would need to wait until the year of their graduation, but were forced to compromise when an overwhelming number of duchies proclaimed that they would rather the younger generation learn to use their schtappes at the Royal Academy than at home. Thus, students will now obtain them during their third year.”

As it turned out, the students obtaining their schtappes sooner made lessons easier for the teachers, so they hadn’t protested the event being moved to the first year. Hirschur suspected my involvement because the topic had come up so abruptly and during the second half of the Archduke Conference.

Ngh! As much as it hurts, her deduction is spot-on!

Hirschur continued, “We were also instructed to revert our lesson plans for the first- and second-years to what they were before. Gundolf’s group is overseeing this, with plans to have the process completed in time for the next academic year.”

The professors had initially opposed this schedule, arguing that lesson plans couldn’t be changed at such short notice—but Fraularm had already set a precedent for using the old plans during our second year, so their hands had ultimately been tied.

Oh? I guess there are times when Professor Fraularm’s little schemes actually benefit the royal family.

“There was also an inquiry into whether the Dedication Ritual could be added to the standard curriculum,” Hirschur informed me. “At the moment, many duchies still struggle to visit the temple, but the royal family stated that a degree of competition must be introduced at once. They want the students to experience plenty of religious ceremonies and pray as much as possible during class so that they can obtain more divine protections.”

This suggestion had actually been rejected, since the professors knew next to nothing about religious ceremonies. In the end, it was decided that the new content would be incorporated into the curriculum gradually over a much longer period—and that Ehrenfest and Klassenberg would continue to perform joint research focused on the Dedication Ritual.

“Once the term begins, Ehrenfest will be asked to participate in this joint research, I imagine. It is also my understanding that Klassenberg is helping the royal family get ready for the upcoming ritual so that they may learn the process and make their own preparations in the future.”

Klassenberg and the royal family both act fast, though I can’t imagine Ehrenfest will ask for much. I received a report earlier today that we brought a trial set of our picture-book bibles to the Royal Academy and started promoting them.

And then it hit me—I had said in the past that Ehrenfest would not have any qualms about repeating the ritual as long as Klassenberg took care of the preparations.

Hirschur gave me a look of understanding. “Ah, I see. So this had already been discussed. It was mentioned that the burden on Klassenberg would plummet when the ritual does eventually become part of the curriculum and duchies start bringing their own rejuvenation potions. Oh, regarding the potions—you may be interested to know that Klassenberg was suspicious of the apparent ease with which Ehrenfest prepared so many.”

Preparing rejuvenation potions certainly is a handful.

Just making them was draining enough, but the biggest complication was gathering the materials. Ehrenfest’s gathering spot hadn’t used to be very abundant, and it seemed reasonable to assume that the other duchies were still dealing with the same problem.

They could just regenerate their own gathering spots, but you need to know the prayer for that, so...

As I pondered this, Lieseleta entered with a warm meal packaged neatly in a box—our way of thanking Hirschur for actually bringing the board to me and providing so much additional information. She tried to stand near the wall and wait for us to finish our conversation, but the overeager professor gestured her over without delay.

“Lieseleta, if you would,” she said, then immediately took the box with a smile. “If you’ll excuse me, then, I must return to my laboratory.”

“U-Um, Professor Hirschur...” I stammered. “There are still things I must ask you about—”

“Good day to you, Lady Rozemyne. May we meet again during the Archduke Conference’s Dedication Ritual.”

Having obtained her food, Hirschur turned on her heel and swiftly departed, not even bothering to conclude our discussion. I was left in a daze, which made Lieseleta slump her shoulders.

“My apologies, Lady Rozemyne... I did not think she would beat such a hasty retreat. I should have taken longer to prepare her food.”

“I cannot blame you for failing to realize her intentions. Professor Hirschur may teach here at the Royal Academy, but she never behaves as a noble normally should.” Not even I had expected her to leave so abruptly. She was too much of a free spirit.

“I thank you ever so much for your consolation, Lady Rozemyne, but I have known Professor Hirschur for years now. It was my failure as an attendant that I did not anticipate what she was going to do. That was such a crucial opportunity for you to gather information as well...”

I get how you feel, but Hirschur is outright unpredictable. Attendants aren’t mind readers, so what can you do?

I continued to translate in the underground archive, then spent lunch with Magdalena, discussing the royal family’s Dedication Ritual. In no time at all, it was the final day of the Archduke Conference. Despite the suddenness of the whole affair, everything was made ready without incident.

After breakfast, I cleansed myself, changed into my High Bishop robes, then went with my blue-robed retainers to a specified waiting room, where we would await the beginning of the ritual.

Geh. It’s Immanuel.

No sooner had we entered the room than we found ourselves face-to-face with the Sovereign High Priest. I recalled his attempt to cut us off after the Starbind Ceremony and was struck with a sudden urge to step away from him out of disgust, but Cornelius placed a hand on my shoulder to keep me in place. He then moved me just a bit to the side, behind Hartmut.

I gazed up at Cornelius, who gave me a small, reassuring smile in response. He then adopted a more neutral expression and stood next to Hartmut. They both stared down Immanuel, with whom I exchanged the usual greetings before we took the seats offered to us.

“Lady Rozemyne,” the Sovereign High Priest said, “I am beyond grateful that we will soon welcome you as our Sovereign High Bishop.”

Hartmut shook his head. “As we have mentioned, Lady Rozemyne is an Ehrenfest archduke candidate. There are no plans for her to join the Sovereign temple. She is here only to carry out a request from the royal family.” He then directed the man a chilly smile that practically screamed, “Get this through your thick skull already.”