Dirk’s and Bertram’s Baptisms

Dirk’s and Bertram’s Baptisms

Dirk’s and Bertram’s Baptisms

Once the Harvest Festival concluded, winter preparations began. This was nothing new, so I was comfortable entrusting the orphanage and my High Bishop’s chambers to Fran and the others. As for Melchior and the apprentice blues, they were receiving the guidance of their temple attendants. Since they would spend most of their time in the castle, visiting only for the Dedication Ritual, their temple attendants were the ones who would suffer if such preparations weren’t done properly.

Leaving the temple to its own devices, I focused on my own preparations. I was busy making the fey paper for Ferdinand and gathering the necessary materials to create my library shumils, but I’d still found the time to send food and sweets to Ahrensbach. My last delivery—the one I’d sent alongside my letters—was probably running out about now, but this one would last until we met during the Interduchy Tournament.

Eheheh... This time, I’ve sent an Ahrensbach dish with a delicious fish broth—tweaked to suit my tastes, of course. The resulting meal would probably make anyone used to the duchy’s cooking exclaim, “This is delicious but completely wrong! It’s a fake!” But that didn’t bother me.

“Do we even need to go gathering at this rate?” Clarissa asked, looking up from Hirschur’s list of ingredients while I continued to brew paper. “Lord Ferdinand must have everything we need in his workshop!” She was awestruck, and understandably so—the workshop was a veritable treasure trove for scholars into brewing.

“Most of those ingredients were from Justus’s treks across Yurgenschmidt,” I said, “but Ferdinand did gather some of them himself. During Spring Prayer and the Harvest Festival, he used to go out and find ingredients while I focused on the rituals and preserving my stamina.”

I used time-saving magic while glaring down at the brewing pot. This new recipe from Ferdinand involved so many steps and even more ingredients. It was agonizingly tedious.

If only I could just shoot out a bunch of mana, make a ton of gold dust, then dump it all in. Siiigh...

As I prepared for the Royal Academy, an ordonnanz from Gretia arrived. After searching through the confiscated goods and other available hand-me-downs, she and the others had managed to obtain formal attire for Dirk’s and Bertram’s baptisms, as well as for the apprentice blues.

“They will need to be fitted,” the ordonnanz said. “When can we bring them to the temple?”

“Let us say three days from now,” I replied. “My brewing should end then.”

“Five, then. To give you time to rest.”

The ordonnanz repeated its message twice more—and with that, the date was arranged.

On the day of the fittings, it was decided that the blue apprentices would go to Melchior’s room to select their favored clothes; a delivery from the archduke had recently arrived. There were plenty of outfits to consider: for the Feast of Beginnings, the children’s playroom, the Royal Academy, riding, brewing... The list went on.

“We shall sort out Dirk’s and Bertram’s clothes in the orphanage,” I said, then took Gretia and my attendants with me to the first floor, where one could find the large rooms for the pre-baptismal children.

Our two future nobles needed outfits for their baptisms and the playroom. Gretia busily fitted them with clothes, which she then placed into separate baskets.

“I can’t believe we’re getting clothes this pretty...” Dirk said, barely containing his amazement. He had only ever worn clothes that weren’t robes when going to the forest.

Bertram grimaced in contrast. “I don’t know... They look too old and cheap for a baptism.” Just a year ago, he had enjoyed a more opulent lifestyle as the son of Giebe Wiltord, so the garments did not come close to meeting his standards.

“My my... They are more than the child of a criminal would ever deserve,” Gretia sneered. “If you dislike them that much, then you should have bought your own. It would have saved me the trouble of finding these for you.”

“What?!”

Bertram spun around in shock and was met with Gretia’s cold smile. Her blue-green eyes, which were normally hidden by her bangs, were overflowing with scorn.

“It seems you do not understand your place,” she said, her tone merciless. “Aub Ehrenfest did not save the children of criminals out of compassion or kindness. His motivation was to increase the duchy’s noble population. If you give him reason to believe you might cause trouble, he will have you executed on the spot. Why should he allow you to live if you will only add to the conflict?”

Bertram went white as a sheet. He must never have heard anyone say that kind of thing in the temple.