Farewell, Ehrenfest

Farewell, Ehrenfest

Farewell, Ehrenfest

No sooner had my retainers moved to Alexandria than Ehrenfest nobles started going in and out of the dormitory to prepare for the Archduke Conference. To minimize the problems this would cause, Sylvester had instructed me that morning to stay in the dormitory instead of the castle until my inauguration.

“Are you ready to depart, milady?” Rihyarda asked. “The dormitory should contain everything you need to live there.”

“I am, but this feels so sudden... Though I understand it will only be for two days, I apologize for burdening everyone with this change of schedule.”

As it stood, my active retinue comprised only Judithe and Angelica as my knights and Rihyarda, Bertilde, and Ottilie as my attendants. Lieseleta and Gretia had gone to the Ehrenfest Dormitory ahead of us to clean my chambers and move in some of my belongings, while Leonore was guarding them. Everyone else was in Alexandria preparing for the Archduke Conference. I’d sent word to them that our plans had abruptly changed; I wondered whether my correspondence had reached them by now.

“You need not apologize,” Ottilie said. “As Lord Sylvester and Lady Charlotte informed you, there are many among the nobles presently at the dormitory who are unaware of your circumstances. Interduchy disputes might arise if you do not keep an eye on their movements.”

My attendants from Old Ahrensbach were exchanging intelligence and paperwork with my other retainers; there were more administrative documents from Alexandria that needed my approval. They were only using Ehrenfest’s tea party room, but the frequency of their visits risked displeasing Ehrenfest’s nobles, and even a small clash could spiral into a larger conflict. I was being told to remain vigilant so that my retainers wouldn’t become the source of trouble between our duchies.

Charlotte went out of her way to teach me a lot, so...

She had told me how Ehrenfest viewed Old Ahrensbach’s nobles and what I, the shining star of the Leisegangs, needed to do in becoming the aub of another duchy. Moreover, she pointed out that Leisegang had provided important food support during and ever since the Defense of Ehrenfest.

As the old proverb goes, it’s an ill bird that fouls its own nest.

I sent a letter to Alexandria describing the current situation and subsequently forbidding my violet-caped retainers from entering Ehrenfest’s tea party room. We urgently needed to explain our circumstances to the Ehrenfest nobles.

“Bertilde, is there anything we need for the inauguration ceremony that we do not have?” Rihyarda asked.

“I double-checked, and there is nothing we are missing.”

“Ottilie, take these to the dormitory as well, if you would. We shall return them here when we are done with them.”

“Understood.”

My room in the castle was fully cleared out under Rihyarda’s supervision. Now we just needed to ask the servants to move my belongings. Anything I might need in advance of the Archduke Conference would be taken to my room in the Ehrenfest Dormitory, where Gretia and Lieseleta were awaiting us, while everything else would go to either Alexandria’s dormitory or its castle.

“All that remains is to seal your hidden room, milady. Are you certain there is nothing left inside?”

I performed one last check. As expected, no furniture or anything else remained. I pressed a hand against the door and channeled my mana into it, blasting the room out of existence.

“How shall we proceed, milady? Lord Wilfried’s retainers have asked to know when you are departing, but should we inform Lord Bonifatius as well? Considering the fuss he kicked up at your engagement ceremony, Lord Sylvester said to prioritize your wishes.”

I thought back to Bonifatius stomping his feet in anger as Ferdinand wiped the tears from my eyes, and my lips curled into a smile. “My engagement was set in stone by a royal decree—it cannot be overturned no matter how strongly Grandfather feels about it.”

“I would understand the bride’s father being upset, but for Lord Bonifatius, not Lord Karstedt, to be the source of your troubles... Good grief. He really must show some decency, no matter how strong his love for you might be.”

Rihyarda’s comments were merciless, maybe because she had so much history with Bonifatius. I listened to her complaints with a smile, then said that we should give him the time of my departure.

“He might be a little much, but I do not particularly mind it,” I said. “I wish to at least give him a proper farewell. I owe him for looking after Damuel, and we will not have anywhere near as many chances to meet when I am Aub Alexandria.”

“Understood. I shall ask him to meet us in the teleportation hall.”

Rihyarda sent ordonnanzes to Wilfried and Bonifatius, then gave me a solemn look. “Now then, milady... my duty ends here. Lieseleta and Gretia have finished moving, and you can count on Bertilde and Ottilie to attend you at the Academy. Even in my absence, you should reach your inauguration without issue.”

It was easy to forget, but Rihyarda was Sylvester’s attendant, not mine; she had only served me since my return to Ehrenfest because my retainers were absent or busy with their moves. During the Archduke Conference, she would need to focus on her own work here in the castle, so she couldn’t accompany me to the Academy.

“It might only have been to fill a gap in my retinue, but I truly am glad we had this time together,” I said. “You even accepted my selfish request and called me ‘milady’ till the very end. Despite my overwhelming ignorance, you have taught me how to be a noble ever since my arrival at this castle.”

Rihyarda had guided me when my upbringing made me unused to noble customs, scolded Ferdinand when he was too harsh in educating me, allowed me to leave the castle when I missed the temple, and even followed me to the Royal Academy. She had played a crucial role in keeping me afloat as an Ehrenfest noble.

“If not for your loving lectures, I would never have reached the standards expected of a noble,” I said. “From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.”

“Oh, no, the gratitude is mine. If not for you, the tangled thread of fate would never have come undone.” A chain of misery had started with Gabriele, ensnaring Veronica, Georgine, Sylvester, and even Detlinde. Rihyarda had watched it grow and snarl for most of her life.

“To say I undid those knots is far too generous. I gracelessly sliced through them.”

“And the frayed ends are clear to see. That does not change your saving Lord Ferdinand, Justus, and so many others. Ehrenfest might never have survived without your intervention, but now we can find prosperity with our new neighbor.”

I exchanged a smile with Rihyarda, nodded, and said, “I will do my best. I do hope you will come to visit me in Alexandria when our situation improves.” If our duchies worked together and strove for mutual progress, interduchy travel would soon become simple.

“But of course. Please grant me the opportunity while I am still alive.”

Rihyarda spoke so casually, but her words reminded me just how hard it was going to be for us to meet again. Tears started to flow down my cheeks.

“You mustn’t cry, milady. Becoming an aub means being treated as an adult. Showing emotion or weakness will negatively impact your entire duchy. You must get a grip.”

I cried even harder. I wanted to keep relying on her, but this was the last lecture she would ever give me. Once I was an aub, no one would scold me like she did.