Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Summer after Ferdinand's 4th year at the Royal Academy. Age 14.

The sky was of a magnificent blue just as if Leidenschaft himself was currently residing in it. The sun shone with full force, standing directly above the center of the Royal Academy showing that the Goddess of Light was clearly in power right now with the shadows she was casting for her husband, the God of Darkness, being at their minimum size.

High above the ground was a young man, still in his summer, riding on his highbeast in the shape of a winged lion, with a cape of the same color as the sky around him billowing in the strong winds of Schutzaria. The young man was staring at something below him that had piqued his interest for the last few weeks and had teased him beckoning to be investigated.

As he had finished praying at all the different shrines on the Royal Academy grounds and as his schtappe had grown as a consequence, a giant magic circle had manifested in the sky that seemed like nobody but him could even see. But to his great frustration he could not activate it by whatever he tried. So now he was falling back to a brute-force approach. He had several large feystones with him filled to the brim with his mana and the belt on his hip was equipped with as much high class rejuvenation potions as he could stomach.

His first attempt was rather cautious. He created a small ball of mana and sent it to the magic circle below him to gauge its reaction. To his satisfaction the magic circle actually accepted his mana and began shining ever so slightly. 'So this is indeed worth a try', he concluded optimistically and began his onslaught of mana. The shadows cast by the sunlight grew longer as he labored alternately through his feystones and rejuvenation potions in hopes to finally activate the circle. But while it grew more shining over time it did not do anything at all. The sun was already setting and the boy began to feel the side effects of his excessive mana usage and potion consumption. His breathing became irregular and cold sweat formed on his forehead as he emptied his last vial. Any more and he knew he would overdose with fatal consequences.

“What kind of trial by Glucklitat is this magic circle?! Why won't it activate?! Which of Mestionora's blessings do I miss?!” He finally voiced the frustration with which he shot the last of his mana into the circle and everything around him became blindingly bright.

“Enough of this vandalism!” The deep voice was angry and the sheer pressure of mana was crushing the boy. He nevertheless tried to stand up but could not do more than kneel in this presence. The boy was unsure how he should react, which was a rare occasion for him actually. Similarly rare to the occurrence of somebody actually being able to crush him.

“How dare you bombard me with your mana and then even say her name in vain?!” The voice was growling and the boy began to tremble slightly. Whose name had he used in vain? Glucklitat? Mestionora?

“I apologize for apparently activating the magic circle the wrong way. As I clearly lack wisdom, may I ask you to bestow it on me?” As the boy spoke with opportunism the intensity of the light and crushing reduced. He could finally breathe freely and actually see who he was talking to.

“Very well, I acknowledge that you have the elements and the piety to receive it, even though you clearly lack manners. Come here, Quinta.”

Ferdinand, still kneeling, widened his eyes. He quickly debated whether he should argue with the being that seemed half human and half tree but then decided against it. It did not matter that it had his name wrong. All that mattered was that he could receive his Book of Mestionora. It seemed that the documents he had read in the underground library had actually been true with their description even though they had lacked everything about the part on how to actually proceed with the resulting magic circle.

He stood up and came closer to the figure, still eyeing him carefully. He then knelt under the light that shone through the ceiling.

“Now pray and empty your mind, Quinta. Do not spill anything.” Ferdinand was not sure what was exactly expected from him.

The only prayers that he knew where those to obtain divine protections and to dedicate mana at the foundation – and those were eerily similar anyway. He decided to just go with a variation of those as he had done inside the shrines and put his hands on the ground.

“I am one who offers prayer and gratitude to the gods who have created the world. O mighty and wise Mestionora, I honor you who has blessed all beings with your wisdom and pray that I may be blessed further with your divine book.”

It seemed to work as yellow light began raining down on him and the most intricate magic circles were inscribed into his mind. He was fascinated by them, but the speed at which they occurred was overwhelming even for him. While he could concentrate at five of these simultaneously it was more like hundreds that were raining down on him.

“Clear your mind! Do not observe the knowledge, just let it inside you!” The growling voice of the half human half tree being was pulling at Ferdinand's attention and he lost where he was with one of the magic circles in consequence. What did that even mean? Empty his mind when he was gifted all this knowledge that he had been after for so long?! He focused back on the stream that was flooding him when it suddenly ended.

“The first candidate in so many generations and you spill more than two thirds of it. What a pitiful state your book must be in.” The disappointment in his voice was clear to Ferdinand but he could not share that sentiment.

“Grutrissheit”, he cast and went to reading more about these magic circles that had fascinated him. He had never known that that was how the country gates could be closed and opened!

“Quinta, your book even lacks the path to the foundation, come here and let me fill that information personally or your book will be completely useless.”

But Ferdinand was lost in the text he was reading. A text about the place that resembled more than just a bit the place where he grew up before his baptism.

“Quinta!” The amplitude of his voice as well as the wave of crushing that accompanied his shout took Ferdinand's attention from the very distracting things that he had just read.

“How do you even know that name?!” He shouted back angrily.

“It is the name under which you were baptized. Is it not obvious that this is the name the Gods know you by?”

“And you want to tell me that you are one of the Gods?” Ferdinand eyed him suspiciously, keeping his distance.

“I am Erwaermen, I sacrificed part of my divinity in order to keep this Garden of the Gods safe. Even though this Garden is in dire straits due to no Zent having emerged in so many human generations. And now that you have come here you have even missed to obtain the information on how to reach the foundation! This is unacceptable, come here and let me add it to your book!”

“I refuse.” At these words, Ferdinand was hit by another wave of angry mana.

“How else do you intend to fulfill your role as Zent?!” But Ferdinand just stared at the angry former god.

“If you want me to become Zent then you want me to die. We are in the midst of a civil war over the next Zent and I have less than no political support. I cannot be the Zent you want me to be!”

“How can there be a dispute when nobody in several human generations came to get his Book of Mestionora?”

“What do you mean? The last Zent had a Grutrissheit. He was just murdered before he could grant it to his successor. Then his murderer was murdered and his as well. Currently a former fifth prince is Zent and still searching for it. As soon as he finds it I will not have any chance at all to gather any support.”

“Look it up in your Book of Mestionora. I believe you actually acquired that part of wisdom.”

Ferdinand stared at Erwaermen before he began searching for any mentions of the Grutrissheit. He was surprised that quite a lot of text appeared for what he thought would end up as a self-reference. As he read the text, he grew paler with every page. As he finally arrived at the end of the passage he looked up and stared at Erwaermen again.

“Is that true?”

“The Book of Mestionora contains only truth.”

“I see.”

Ferdinand could not unread it. He could not willingly forget that the whole royal family was just a farce derived from one mother who favored one unsuitable son over another when the whole role of Zent had not even been hereditary from the beginning. Everything in Yurgenschmidt was just plain wrong. So there will be no harm if he tried his hand at this. The country needed to be restored, it might as well be by him. And a former God had just told him to do it after all.

He finally took a few steps forward and knelt in front of Erwaermen.

“I apologize for my rude behavior. I would be more than honored if you added the path to the foundation to my Book of Mestionora after I so foolishly spilled that knowledge as it was bestowed on me."

“So you will take on the role of Zent?”

“I will try to make that happen without getting killed. But I cannot be crowned tomorrow. It will at least take until my coming of age. But I can and will take care of the foundation in the meantime. As long as nobody comes to visit you, there will not be anybody else who will notice that anyway.”

“Then I will await you upon your graduation. Take the proper route next time and open the path to this garden via the dedication whirling ceremony. I will ask Mestionora to grant you another chance for acquiring her wisdom. But prepare your mind thoroughly. If you spill her knowledge again you will lose more than just knowledge.”

With that he mysteriously turned back into a tree at the same time as Ferdinand was teleported outside into the night sky of the Royal Academy. Despite his mana exhaustion he managed to produce his highbeast fast enough to not fall directly to his death.

Chapter Text

Late summer after Ferdinand's 4th year at the Royal Academy. Age 14.

Aub Drewanchel looked at the wooden board in his hands and started to grin. He had taken a page out of Aub Dunkelfelger's book and had installed one of his brightest apprentice archscholars in the knight's course that Lord Ferdinand was taking after official classes had already ended. While he knew that it was unlikely that they were in range mana-wise, her blessings from Efflorelume were already coming in nicely and her obsession with research was another avenue to draw his interest.

And now it seemed that he could finally grasp him.

The blank letter of invitation that he had left behind in case of exactly that happening had now found his way back to him at her hands. Aub Drewanchel's grin widened with satisfaction at finally having the boy at his negotiation table. He sent a concrete letter of invitation for two days in the future back together with a brooch for Ferdinand to be able to enter Drewanchel's dormitory. Only students with explicit permission to take additional classes were allowed to set foot into the Royal Academy in the off-season, so the only opportunity for them to meet in a discreet way was to do it in Drewanchel's dormitory.

Apart from his first wife, his head attendant and his Knight Commander nobody would know that he was going to the Royal Academy at all. And even they were not informed on what exactly he intended to do there.

The boy was a paramount of noble behavior as he was escorted to a meeting room in the dormitory by the resident Drewanchel knights. His face did not show even the slightest hint of what he was thinking. As he knelt for his greetings he fulfilled every expectation one could place in him and Aub Drewanchel allowed himself to smile in hopeful anticipation of what the boy was clearly here to discuss. After he allowed Ferdinand to sit with him at his table he invited him to speak freely, but Ferdinand instead openly scrutinized Drewanchel's Knight Commander who was standing behind him.

“Aub Drewanchel, I truly appreciate your generosity in meeting with me even under the burden of traveling to the Royal Academy. May I ask to discuss matters of utmost confidentiality with you under Verbergen's shroud and without your retainer present?”

Aub Drewanchel was sure that his Knight Commander was currently staring daggers at Ferdinand for the audacity of his words, but there were no signs of being intimidated on his face. Under normal circumstances it was unthinkable that an aub would dismiss all of his knights in a meeting with a noble from another duchy but he had come here with the intention of adopting the boy. If he could not trust him enough at this point to not be a threat to him then there was no reason to bring him into his family at all anyway.

He dismissed his Knight Commander with the wave of a hand and activated the sound blocking tool that was integrated into the meeting room. No sound could escape this room now. But his retainer seemed to protest.

“Aub Drewanchel, is it really wise to meet him alone? I imagine you are firmly aware how highly esteemed his martial skills are even by Dunkelfelger.”

“A boy who only got his schtappe last year will be no danger to me, rest assured. Please leave this room”, he ordered and his guard knight departed with a clearly disgruntled expression. While Aub Drewanchel phrased it with utter confidence he also knew that he could call him in immediately by pressing the alert button hidden on the underside of the table. Confidentiality was good, a backup plan was better.

Aub Drewanchel looked at Ferdinand as soon as they had both confirmed that the door was closed and they were truly alone.

“Now, Ferdinand, am I correct to assume that you finally wish to discuss the matter of your adoption into Drewanchel?” He allowed himself a fatherly expression on his face. It was a shame that he had been so neglected in Ehrenfest. There was no telling what he could achieve with the full support of Drewanchel. His current conditions were just so wasteful of his potential. It was truly painful to watch. Ferdinand reacted with a small smile of his own that seemed more calculated than honest.

“My adoption is indeed part of what I intended to discuss with you, Aub Drewanchel, but I would not have asked for your guard knight to leave for that. There is something even bigger at stake, which is why I am forced to apply another layer of security as a precaution. The information I am going to reveal will put my life at risk so I find myself in the unfortunate position to ask you to sign a magic contract to keep what I am going to share with you today secret and not share it with anybody else without my explicit consent.”

Aub Drewanchel stared at him with a raised eyebrow. He had dismissed his guard knight to show him that he trusted him, but Ferdinand did not seem to share the sentiment. Had this meeting been a mistake?

“And you expect me to sign such a magic contract just for the chance to talk to you about agreeing to an adoption?”

“To be totally honest, I do not. I usually do not chose fights that I am not sure that I will win, but I am in a somewhat desperate situation here. My intention is not to disrespect you, Aub Drewanchel. If you can not agree to this then I apologize profusely for wasting your time. I can only hope that my bonds with Dunkelfelger are strong enough for them to agree to this instead.”

Aub Drewanchel scrutinized the boy in front of him. He had not detected any lie or malice in his demeanor so far.

“You will not disclose any further information what this is all about before the contract is signed?” Ferdinand nodded and Aub Drewanchel frowned.

“I will deduct the costs for this contract from your personal spending money, you know.” At that Ferdinand's eyes widened and for a split second Aub Drewanchel thought he had seen Ferdinand chuckle. But the moment passed so quickly that he could not be sure whether it had been his imagination or not.

He then opened one of the drawers under the table and took out the utensils and parchment to write the contract.

“I imagine you do not have any objections that I will set up the terms, Ferdinand?” He stared at the boy in front of him. If he had intended to trick him with a magic contract full of loopholes then he would now insist on writing it himself. At which point the negotiations were over.

“I have no such objections, Aub Drewanchel. I am truly grateful that you are humoring my conditions which must seem quite unreasonable to you at this point.” He nodded and wrote up the contract.

As Ferdinand read over it he immediately took the magic pen that Aub Drewanchel offered him and signed his name. Aub Drewanchel then signed in turn and as the contract went up in flames, he saw a few signs of relief on Ferdinand's face.

“Aub Drewanchel, I intend to show you something that requires me to use my schtappe. Will that be okay?” Aub Drewanchel was confused. What kind of information that involved a schtappe could possibly put Ferdinand's life at risk if revealed?

“A new spell? Please feel free to draw your schtappe for the demonstration.” At that Ferdinand smirked at him shortly.

“An old spell. Grutrissheit.” And at that Ferdinand's schtappe transformed into a book. It was adorned with feystones of all colors and shone with a light that made Aub Drewanchel think of the word divine. He stared at it with a slightly ajar mouth before he remembered the situation at hand.

“Ferdinand, is this what I think it is?” After he had spoken it dawned on him that he should maybe stop to drop the honorifics for the man in front of him. Before him sat no mere boy.

“Indeed. This is the Book of Mestionora, bestowed by the Goddess herself and embedded into my Divine Will. It is what the royal family has been looking for for years now and will never be able to find inside their palaces.” He allowed himself a smirk that was actually discernible for more than a moment before his expression hardened again.

“Aub Drewanchel, I wish for you to read these pages”, he said and opened his book in front of him. Aub Drewanchel stared at him wide-eyed as Ferdinand ushered him to read.

And what he read made him crestfallen.

The Grutrissheit of the Royal Family was a mere magic tool. An abnormally sophisticated one, but it was still a human made magic tool.

The title of Zent had never been intended to be hereditary. And there could be more than one person at the same time with the Book of Mestionora.

He opened a different drawer under the table and produced a bottle of vize. He always stashed one here in case something needed to be celebrated, but now he felt the strong need to calm his nerves with a glass or three. Ferdinand eyed him carefully.

“Am I the first to whom you revealed this?” Aub Drewanchel poured himself a cup of vize and downed it in an instant. He then poured himself another cup which he drank more slowly.

“My name-sworn are aware. And sworn to silence as well.” Aub Drewanchel nodded to that.

“Do you wish to rule?” He leaned back into his chair swishing his vize inside his cup in contemplation. So much depended on his answer here.

“I do not. But Erwaermen told me that it is my role to fulfill as the first one in several generations to have received the Book of Mestionora and I intend to honor this. The current royal family is a trombe in the Gods' garden. They suck it dry when they should fill it.” Ferdinand's expression grew noticeably dark. So he is capable of showing his emotions?

“Even though we signed that magic contract I honestly did not expect you to speak words of treason in my presence.”

“Trauerqual is no zent of Yurgenschmidt. He has not dyed the foundation and the amount that he is supplying to it is miniscule.” The anger in his voice was actually palpable.

“What do you mean by that? Has he not dyed the Sovereignty's foundation?” Ferdinand glared at him.

“That he did. But the consequence of his ancestors' actions is that the Sovereignty is just another duchy. Nobody had supplied the country directly since the last zent who had a Grutrissheit died. It has been years. There is currently no zent. Therefore, speaking out against the so called 'royal family' cannot be considered treason.”

“I understand. So, which are the next steps? Increasing your standing by getting adopted by me is the reason why you told me all this today in the first place, right?”

“Drewanchel's support will indeed be very beneficial in the long run and securing it through adoption is a very agreeable way of achieving that, but I am asking you for your support in a more urgent matter beforehand. As it stands, Aub Ehrenfest holds my namestone. I need to secure it before I can make a stab at the throne.”

Aub Drewanchel gulped at that reveal. Disbelief and disgust entered his eyes as he stared at the man in front of him.

“He took his own son's name?” He had always thought Aub Ehrenfest a weak man who took a neutral stance not out of conviction but because he could not even decide which side to take in the civil war. But that he was even so weak that he had taken his own son's name? This was outrageous!

Chapter Text

Early autumn after Ferdinand's 4th year at the Royal Academy. Age 14.

Veronica was sitting in the Aub's Office as usual. Her husband had been called away by the scholar who was monitoring the water mirror. That was an incredibly rare occurrence since the other aubs usually did not care much about involving Ehrenfest in their schemes. And even Aub Ahrensbach usually only made use of it in preparation for the archduke conference which had been just a season ago.

But she knew that Adelbert would tell her as soon as he returned so she kept patient and worked on the ledger in front of her. In the end it took him almost half a bell before he returned. Quite extensive for an emergency communication.

“Ah, Veronica, still diligently at work. I could have hoped for no better wife”, he said with a smile but she could see his hesitation behind his facade. Was he disappointed to still find her in his office?

“Greifechan smiles upon those who work hard, my dear”, she answered with a smile that did not let on her own emotions.

“Greifechan, hm?” Adelbert looked around the office. Due to how late it had already become there were only her and his retainers with them but none of the castle scholars. He gestured to the sound blocker that was hanging from his wrist and she immediately activated the matching one on her own right wrist.

“Aub Drewanchel made me an offer. He wants to adopt Ferdinand and offers one of his adopted daughters to be wed to Sylvester as first wife in exchange.” Veronica raised an eyebrow at that. What had that bastard done now? Running to a greater duchy to flee? How pathetic.

“Which of his daughters is he offering?” She intended to get the full picture first before steering him to her decision.

“Lady Esmeralda. She graduated last year, you might remember her for her bright purple hair.” And for being first in class twice over the years. And for her ample bosom. Sylvester had not been the only one in the audience who had actually leered at her at that time.

“Oh? A young lady of her prestige is not already engaged?”

“According to Aub Drewanchel he usually allows his children two years after their graduation to chose their own most desirable partners before he arranges something for them. And as it stands she is not opposed to moving to Ehrenfest and becoming Sylvester's first wife.” Adelbert seemed confused by that. He should be more confident in his duchy even if it was currently just him and her.

“And where is this now coming from? Did Ferdinand go behind your back and run to him?” A slight mocking grin formed on her mouth as she asked that.

“You know that Aub Drewanchel had been tempting him for years with promises about unlimited research funds. Ferdinand had never humored him. Instead he had turned him down immediately every time and reported those attempts to me.” Adelbert was almost glaring at her with a scolding expression.

“However, Aub Drewanchel admitted quite openly that he had not given up and instead set up a scheme to have Ferdinand name a price to agree to an adoption. Apparently he was pressured enough to answer. 'Something that benefits Ehrenfest.'” Was that regret in his voice?

“My, how diligent.” Adelbert sighed at that comment.

“He is always diligent, Veronica.” But Veronica did not answer him. Instead she smiled.

“How big would Lady Esmeralda's retinue be? I am sure that you covered that topic if you spent almost half a bell discussing it”, she prompted him with a teasing smile.

“At least four female attendants and four female knights. Aub Drewanchel also mentioned two of her favorite scholars being willing to follow her, but I am not sure whether I want such spies in my duchy.”

“I think if we agree to that then we should definitely take the scholars as well, Adelbert. I imagine anybody in Drewanchel is a scholar at heart anyway, so limiting her retinue to knights and attendants would not limit the risk at all. But a total of ten new med- and archnobles, at least eight of them women, from a greater duchy would be quite a boon for Ehrenfest. Unless... How big of a retinue did you name for Ferdinand?” She raised an eyebrow at him. He had a soft spot for this bastard at the worst times and it was hard to predict when it occurred.

“Only his name-sworn. I do not care for the danger of those with loyalty not to me or you being left behind.”

“So one knight, two attendants and one scholar? If he agrees to a reduced priced and early access to any magic tool they sell over the next twenty years, it could actually be worth it to send Ferdinand on his merry way.”

She did not even have to feign her reluctance. While she was glad to have an opportunity to get rid of him for probably the rest of her life she did not like the fact that he could actually end up happy like this. But if the price was so high that Aub Drewanchel began to regret Ferdinand's adoption then his life would still be one of pain while Ehrenfest had only profited. That bastard could indeed be useful for once.

But Veronica noticed that Adelbert still had something to add. And his eyes were wavering while he started to speak.

“There is however the fact that Aub Drewanchel asked to receive Ferdinand 'whole'. Which he then specified to mean including his namestone.” Adelbert narrowed his eyes at the recollection of the scene. She knew that he had mainly taken his name to ensure her that he meant no harm and that he had not liked to take the name of his son. Even if that son was only a bastard.

“That must have been an impressive scheme by Aub Drewanchel to arrive at that insight. Do you think he asked Ferdinand for his name in exchange for proceeding with the adoption at the price of his Esmeralda and learned that it was not available at that point?” That was at least something she would have done. She could not even think about adopting somebody into the archducal clan without securing their namestone.

“You might be right. People do not call him an 'old sly fox' for nothing, after all.” Adelbert stared at his wife who closed the gap between them and took his hand.

“Let's see whether Sylvester can be convinced to take another wife now that he has accomplished to get Florencia pregnant. Whether this trade will be worthwhile or not hinges on his cooperation after all.” Adelbert nodded slowly. He seemed still torn between negotiating a deal where one party was willing to pay almost any price and keeping his son in Ehrenfest. But he agreed nevertheless to bring the matter to Sylvester's attention. If Sylvester agrees then that bastard will finally be gone.

“Mother, how nice of you to invite me for tea”, Sylvester grinned at her widely. She knew that he would immediately accept her invitation as she had chosen a time at which he usually had to work on the duchy's paperwork. He was eyeing the rafel tarte quite openly and as she wanted him in a good mood she took the demonstrative bite as early as she had taken her first sip of tea.

“My dear boy, how is Florencia currently? I hope everything is quite alright”, she began and smiled at Sylvester over her tea cup.

Sylvester interrupted his dignified but speedy demolition of the tarte in front of him to answer her dutifully.

“Florencia is quite well, she is now radiating a special kind of mature beauty that I have grown quite fond of. I wonder whether that is due to the increased flow of mana to the baby”, he admitted with a nonchalant smile.

“My, is that so? I am glad to hear that, Sylvester.” Was he going to reject her proposal immediately? Maybe she needed to take another approach than the one she had intended at first. Veronica decided to proceed with more small talk first before she could then change her direction. As Sylvester had his attendant put his third piece of tarte on his plate, Veronica deemed it the right point in time.

“Say, Sylvester, have you been in contact with your brother lately?” Sylvester widened his eyes slightly and started coughing as some of the tarte seemed stuck in his throat. She was pleased that her addressing that bastard Ferdinand as his brother for the first time had enough impact to startle him that much.

“Not much to be honest. I heard he managed to sell another magic tool to Drewanchel a few weeks ago, but I did not care enough for the details to ask. Why do you ask, mother? Are there any news from my little brother?” Oh, he sold more than just a magic tool. That little bastard sold his soul. But well. Maybe Sylvester would also accept another – better – wife if he thought it was to that bastard's benefit.

“Ah, am I allowed to tell?” She giggled and hid behind a hand which only made Sylvester more curious.

“What?! Did he find a girl he liked?!” The sudden realization hit him and made him jump up from his chair.

“My, my, Sylvester, you never know who is listening. Let us discuss such delicate matters under Verbergen's shroud”, she giggled once more and grabbed the sound blocking tool on her left wrist. Sylvester immediately did the same for his own.

“Well, it was not stated that directly, but it seems he put a lot of work into engineering his way into Drewanchel at huge benefit for Ehrenfest. The compensation that Aub Drewanchel is willing to pay to adopt your brother is more than generous. I am sure he has negotiated to his hardest. I am actually impressed by the results he could achieve.”

While Veronica could stand nothing less than actually praising Ferdinand, it had the desired effect on Sylvester. He was puffing out his chest in pride at her words, almost as if he felt a sense of true brotherhood with that bastard. She sighed internally and showed him how ostensibly pleased she was with a satisfied smile.

“Oh, are you and father considering to accept this arrangement? He must be so happy about a future surrounded by scholars!” Sylvester was positively beaming now.

“Are you not sad to lose your little brother like this?”, Veronica asked with a pretense of motherly care, but Sylvester shook his head enthusiastically. He seemed almost close to tears.

“A little bit, maybe. But just imagine what he could do there! And all the people who would be actually interested in all this boring research stuff with whom he could talk. I can only support Ferdinand in this! Especially since you said he made it so that Ehrenfest would profit from this greatly? What did he negotiate for us?” His eyes shone brightly and Veronica allowed him and herself a short moment of that bliss.

“Do you remember Lady Esmeralda? The lady with bright purple hair at last year's graduation ceremony”, Veronica began and, judging from the expression on Sylvester's face, he did remember.

“She was first in class twice, if I remember correctly. And she was quite blessed...”, Sylvester began but omitted the 'by Efflorelume' in the presence of his mother. She was aware of his thoughts even when they were left unspoken. She then tilted her head slightly.

“Lady Esmeralda has also expressed interest in you, Sylvester. It seems that Aub Drewanchel is now offering his beloved adopted daughter as a first wife to the future Aub Ehrenfest alongside ten of her retainers for the privilege to adopt your brother and moving four of his retainers to Drewanchel. And I am certain that that was only their opening offer. Reduced rates for Drewanchel made magic tools will surely be included in that deal as well once proper negotiations start.” Veronica was sipping her tea while Sylvester stared at her with his noble smile. She knew he needed a moment to process all that.

“Mother, but I already have a first wife. Florencia is currently even pregnant with our first child. I cannot take another wife anytime soon and not a first wife in particular.” Veronica was relieved that he was only contesting the timing and position but not another wife at all. A quite large divergence from his usual position that he did not need another wife next to Florencia. Was that him willing to compromise since his beloved little bastard brother put that offer on the table? That was better than expected.

“My, Sylvester, I imagine Ferdinand was not yet aware of Florencia's pregnancy. It has been barely a season and you have last seen each other at the interduchy tournament, no?”

“You are right, mother, Ferdinand could not have known that, but still...” He looked down. Did he feel betrayed by this bastard? That had been convenient at any other time, but just this once she needed his 'brotherly love' when it now seemed to be so useful for a change.

“Sylvester, I am sure Ferdinand knows about your feelings for Florencia, but I have to agree with his judgement that this is also the most favorable way to get an archduke candidate from Drewanchel into Ehrenfest without challenging your position as next Aub Ehrenfest, my dear Sylvester. He had quite the foresight in negotiating for a wife for you instead of anything else.” Sylvester seemed skeptical of her words, but she knew he would come to agree in no time. After all, Veronica was his mother. She knew everything about him and how he thought.

“See, Sylvester, let us assume that your father and I instead adopted Lady Esmeralda. As a woman her claim to the throne would be weak but not zero and I could already hear the voices that would support her since she had the backing of a greater duchy. You would then be expected to marry her anyway and it would be seen as a sign of weakness to do it so late. If we instead negotiated for a male archduke candidate to be adopted by us then he would definitely contest your claim to the throne, Sylvester. I do not want to put you under that stress ever again and I imagine Ferdinand felt similar”, she said emotionally and allowed her eyes to get teary.

Sylvester seemed taken aback by that possibility and looked away from her to grant her an opportunity to discreetly recover. He was such a sweet boy.

“Excuse me, Sylvester. That was unsightly.”

“No, mother, I feel honored that you both care so much about me”, he took her hand and squeezed it which she returned with a pleased expression.

“But I could never hurt Florencia like this by demoting her to second wife, mother. But a Drewanchel wife could also never be anything less than first wife. This just cannot work out.” She squeezed his hand once more.

“It is indeed unfortunate that this is the implication of accepting such a valuable bride from a greater duchy. But are you sure that Florencia cannot see the value in her sacrifice? She has not been raised to be a first wife since her birth, so maybe she might even prefer the calmer side of innerduchy socializing over the battlefield of interduchy socializing. And when it comes to your feelings, Sylvester, can there be any doubt that she will ever be anything but your first wife? Are you not doing her injustice by assuming that she is willing to cling to a role at great costs for the duchy and Ferdinand?”

Sylvester massaged his eyes as if he started to get a headache. She allowed him a moment to consider all these points. For all it was worth Florencia also seemed to harbor great feelings of love for Sylvester so if he followed Veronica's line of argument then she was sure that Florencia would fall in line.

She began to resume her original train of thought.

“If instead of an adult we asked for an archduke candidate that was still a child so that he or she might be adopted by you and Florencia then there will be basically not a chance for your unborn child to succeed you. Your adopted child would be older and backed by a greater duchy. How could your child with Florencia ever compete? Not to even speak of the lack of retainers that such a child has. We would not be receiving ten fully educated adults from Drewanchel, but maybe three very replaceable attendants. This would never be enough to make up for the loss of your brother, Sylvester.” Veronica shook her head sadly.

“That much is true. He is worth at least ten people.” Pride for his little brother had tinged his voice, but Veronica did not comment on it. So he was back on track.

“But even marrying her as a first wife will put my child with Florencia out of the race for aub, mother, do you not see this?” Veronica noticed how his focus of arguing was shifting with the flow of their discussion. So he was truly not sure what he wanted in the slightest.

“Your child will be older by a year, Sylvester. There is always much benefit in being the older child. Just remember how much your older sister challenged your claim to succession. And she had the drawback of being a woman as well. There is power in age, Sylvester and your child will have a strong claim by just that.” That was a lie. Veronica smiled at Sylvester encouragingly.

“Hm, you are not wrong mother. It might even be more like three years older”, he mused but Veronica interjected.

“No, we cannot have that. Lady Esmeralda would be expected to conceive immediately with your reputation for being a deeply loving man, Sylvester. It will be seen as disrespectful of Drewanchel if she does not conceive in the first year after her starbinding.”

Sylvester stared at her in disbelief, but Veronica could not allow for that misconception to settle. She would make him believe a lot of things to agree to this but he had to take his duties as husband serious as well then. A white marriage or one that was perceived as such would be a disaster.

“Mother, Florencia will give birth only some time in spring. Are you asking me to abandon her and our child?!” Veronica noticed how he could barely contain his anger and his eyes started to flicker dangerously. She took another sip of her tea before she answered with teary eyes.

“I would never suggest something like this, Sylvester. It hurts me that you could even think of me like this.”

Sylvester calmed down at her words and showed now a more helpless expression on his face.

“We will tell Drewanchel of your circumstances and ask them to send several large feystones for you to store your mana in advance so that Florencia may dye herself and your child in your colors even after you will have exchanged engagement feystones at the beginning of winter.”

“Mother, that will be almost two seasons that I will not be able to interact with Florencia at all.” Veronica noticed how he was not arguing against marrying Lady Esmeralda anymore.

“I imagine that will be quite a hard time for you, but you could then use the same feystones for storing your mana again and begin to synchronize with Florencia again. It will be only two seasons. But, Sylvester, I promise you that this is all the sacrifice you two would be expected to make. After one timely child with Lady Esmeralda you will only be expected to be cordial with her. You may spend all your private time with Florencia.” Sylvester nodded with hesitation.

“I will need to talk to Florencia about this.”

“Please do. She might even favor the idea to focus on Entrinduge's blessings instead of the political side of Ehrenfest.” Sylvester frowned slightly as if he had to agree against his own will.

Chapter Text

Winter of Ferdinand's 5th year at the Royal Academy. Age 14.

Ferdinand had expected that Veronica would milk the opportunity that he had created to the maximum but their counteroffer had shown so much disrespect for Aub Drewanchel that he was beginning to understand why every duchy looked down on Ehrenfest so much. It was not only because they were a backwater duchy. The same could be said for Losrenger. But while Losrenger was even lower in ranking than Ehrenfest due to their size they were recognized for their few but relevant export goods such as their highest quality shumil leather.

But Ehrenfest had nothing. And they traded with nobody but Ahrensbach. It was at that point when he saw them negotiating that Ferdinand was beginning to understand that this was just due to the archducal couple.

Aub Drewanchel had frowned quite heavily at their ridiculous demands for twenty years of discounted magic tools and early access to buying them. While Ferdinand could ensure him that Ehrenfest's coffers were empty enough to not allow for a large volume of trade anyway he had eyed the transcript of their 'offer' with open disdain. Ferdinand had thought Aub Drewanchel's initial offer exceedingly generous to begin with. But Veronica was laughing in their faces without an ounce of regret.

The only point he could accept was Sylvester's need for several large feystones, enough to store at least half a year worth of mana to be supplied to his first child. Ferdinand had not known that he was about to become an uncle and it had not been his intention to risk their health with his sudden push for another wife for Sylvester. He had expected that Sylvester would not be totally in favor of demoting Florencia but Ferdinand knew that Sylvester also would not deny Ehrenfest such a profitable opportunity. He was reasonable where it counted after all.

When Aub Drewanchel had commented that he might just agree that Lady Esmeralda's first child could be born at a later point without him taking offence Ferdinand had reminded him of the engagement feystones they were expected to exchange. Sylvester's mana would be impacted by that. And since his adoption had to happen at the next archduke conference in order to allow for his ascension upon his graduation, their starbinding had to happen so early as well.

He promised Aub Drewanchel that he would hunt for these feystones himself at the Royal Academy so that he was not burdened by this part of the negotiations. It seemed Aub Drewanchel was dissatisfied with that solution even though he agreed. Ferdinand then advised him additionally to act disgruntled when talking to Aub Ehrenfest and Veronica especially. He wanted him to complain subtly that he was paying more than Ferdinand was actually worth since he expected that Veronica did not want this deal to end with two happy sides.

In the end the negotiations took several weeks and ended in very heavy favor of Ehrenfest. As the movement of archduke candidates required the Zent's approval the aubs had then requested an audience to finalize their contract.

Aub Drewanchel later told him that Trauerqual had seemed surprised at the price that he was willing to pay for Ferdinand. But since a lower ranked duchy was the one obviously profiting he did not object. After all he knew that Drewanchel did not have to proceed if they deemed it unprofitable. And the political weight of Ehrenfest that was added to Drewanchel's through that marriage was almost negligible.

Ferdinand was not allowed to be present as the engagement feystones were exchanged at the Royal Academy in Drewanchel's tea party room on the day before classes began. He only quickly saw Sylvester hurrying through the dormitory on his way back and forth. Sylvester's noble facade had been firmly in place and he could only guess at his brother's thoughts.

To Ferdinand's great surprise he did not encounter any further poisoning attempts at all after the negotiations had begun. Before that at least one third of his meals had been poisoned in one way or another but now that they were selling him off they had actually stopped. He felt a sad frustration at that.

Justus however still insisted on keeping all security measures up until the adoption went through and Ferdinand agreed immediately. He was still expecting the poisoning attempts to continue despite the fact that his life now had a very concrete value to Veronica. After all it had always seemed that she derived her greatest pleasure from seeing him suffer.

“Lady Magdalena, I appreciate that you made this meeting possible once again”, he began after they had exchanged the typical noble greetings and he had taken the demonstrative first sip of tea. On his face was his usual pleasant, noble smile that he had spent so many years on perfecting already.

Magdalena seemed to be still lacking some training in that regard as he noticed slight signs of frowning in her expression.

“Think nothing of it, this is just another token of how much Dunkelfelger values you personally, Lord Ferdinand”, she responded with a poised smile and Ferdinand tilted his head slightly in understanding. He never had any illusions that the match that Aub Dunkelfelger had proposed to him could result in anything but a political union. But her rather rude response right now made it clear to him once again that he actually could not stand her. And Magdalena was just not fit to become a Queen.

“Lady Magdalena, I apologize if I might come across as rude but I am under the impression we are moving against the guidance that Dregarnuhr is applying to our threads.” He sipped his tea and noticed how her eyes had widened slightly.

“While you are dutifully following the guidance of the Hawk it feels like instead of Bluanfah or Liebeskhilfe only Jugereise is descending for us. Do you disagree?” Ferdinand was willing to take the blame for their break up at this point. He knew that Aub Dunkelfelger would understand it as soon as his adoption was made public at the upcoming archduke conference. While Aub Drewanchel had not been particularly against him marrying a Dunkelfelger bride he also had not been in clear favor of her. He had made it clear to him that it was his own choice to make.

“Lord Ferdinand, you speak quite brazenly today. One might even arrive at the impression that you are speaking from the heart for once.” She seemed confused and blushed ever so slightly. Was the first thing he said that actually touched her his suggestion that they break up? How utterly ironic.

He smiled at her patiently until she gave a conclusive answer. They were in Dunkelfelger's tea party room, surrounded by her and his retainers and he had very deliberately omitted the use of a sound blocking tool for their current discussion. He needed Dunkelfelger's support in the future. But he did not want an antagonistic fiancee from them, he wanted their aub. And anything but an amicable separation could impact his support in the future.

“Might we continue this discussion under Verbergen's shroud?”, she asked after several long moments of them smiling at each other politely had passed. One of her retainers handed him a sound blocking tool which Justus routinely checked for poison before handing it to his lord.

“Let us omit Grammaratur's dance for a while, Lord Ferdinand”, she said with an intense glare and he nodded while intensifying his own smile.

“I am inclined to agree with your previous observation, Lord Ferdinand. I will however need to make it clear to Aub Dunkelfelger that it was you who asked for us ending these talks. You are aware that there is no other woman in Dunkelfelger who could be suited to save you from that backwater Ehrenfest, right? Because if there was then I would have pushed for her to be courted by you instead already.”

Ferdinand was impressed how openly she was speaking. He was once again assured that she did not have what it needed to be at the side of a zent. Her comment about Ehrenfest might have hurt him only a year ago but by now he could only agree.

“I prefer to view these matters more separately, Lady Magdalena. The primary question at hand is whether our threads would end up in a strong and reliable weave if we tied them together. As I see it, this will not be the case so I ask that we do not proceed in that direction. I truly appreciate the sacrifice you were willing to make for Dunkelfelger, Lady Magdalena, and also Aub Dunkelfelger's willingness to offer me his prestigious daughter as a bride but sometimes willingness is just not enough. You may blame Jugereise's descent on me in front of your aub, Lady Magdalena, but do you not agree that she might have just descended on her own volition?”

“Her impact at least is clearly noticeable”, she nodded and gestured him to return the sound blocking tool.

“Very well, Lord Ferdinand. We shall not enrage the Goddess of Time by tangling threads that Dregarnuhr herself is so clearly working hard to pull apart.”

“I pray that you live in peace with the divine protections of the gods”, Ferdinand concluded.

“I pray the same”, she answered with a relieved smile.

End of spring after Ferdinand's 5th year at the Royal Academy. Age 15.

The archduke conference had arrived and Ferdinand was still in the Ehrenfest dormitory due to his extracurricular classes. He had not talked with his father in half a year apart from public exchange of polite pleasantries when necessary. But this year, even though he had been first in class again, his father had not taken him to talk without Veronica's gaze. He had only really recognized him as his son at this one occasion per year and he had revoked his right to this interaction when Ferdinand had arranged for his adoption. Ferdinand was annoyed that this withdrawal of fatherly love was Adelbert's way to show his frustration with him. He had known that it had always been conditional but it somehow still stung him to be directly confronted with that fact.

But now that the archduke conference was about to begin there had to be at least a chance to say goodbyes. Ferdinand could not imagine Adelbert to be this indifferent to him after all these years. And surely Veronica would not let a chance pass by to hurt him one last time. But there was no invitation to a meeting for him. He had spotted Sylvester on the first official day of the archduke conference, but he had been so busy that they did not have a chance to exchange even one word. He had been wearing almost the same clothes that he had worn for his starbinding with Florencia. Only minor details had been changed to reflect the current trends of noble fashion. Ferdinand was sure that he was not the only one who would notice that. It was a clear sign of disrespect to his new Drewanchel wife, but Ferdinand knew that nothing could be changed at that point anymore.

He had warned Aub Drewanchel that something like this might occur and that Lady Esmeralda was sent into hostile territory despite the smiling faces. He had accepted that without any further questions.

Ferdinand had been even more impressed by the lengths Aub Drewanchel was willing to go for him. Was this just his investment in ties to the future Zent? Or was he allowed to cherish the illusion that Aub Drewanchel cared for him as a person? Or even as a son? Ferdinand did not know what to believe.

Later that day, Sylvester had returned and he had looked even almost happy as he had been chatting with Lady Esmeralda who he then escorted nonchalantly in the direction of the Ehrenfest teleportation hall. The rooms in the dormitory were strictly gender separated after all.

And amidst all this they had not been able to exchange more than some pleasant words of congratulations. It seemed to Ferdinand that Sylvester wanted to talk for longer, but the circumstances did not agree with that sentiment.

But even though that part of the deal had been fulfilled there had been no further communication to him about his adoption. He was tempted to ask Aub Drewanchel for any new information but he did not dare to disturb his scheme. They could not show those in Ehrenfest how absolutely fundamental this transfer was. For them it had to be the deal of an old man who just wanted that one boy at any price even if it was way too high.

“Ferdinand, you will join us today. Be ready for a meeting at third bell.” They were currently at breakfast and it was second and a half bell. He barely had time to get ready. But he did not complain.

“Understood, father.” He savored the word in his mind as he knew it was one of the last times that he would call him like this. Adelbert looked at him for a moment with sad eyes before he handed him a sound blocking tool.

“Ferdinand, deregister your hidden room and have your attendant pack all your things. Lasfam is currently packing your things from your chambers in Ehrenfest. He will accompany your belongings as they will be sent by carriage. It might take two weeks until they arrive. This is what you wanted, yes? Make sure to remember that when the Goddess of Time asks you how you could have left Ehrenfest behind.” Ferdinand was not surprised by the bitterness in his words but he stumbled over the last part. Surely the Goddess of Time was in favor of him becoming a Zent without his name taken.

“I thank you for agreeing to his, father. I will take it up with Dregarnuhr if she ever ends up displeased with this development.”

“You'd spout such blasphemy so carelessly?” He narrowed his eyes but it was Ferdinand who was taken aback. Since when had his father been so pious? And why had he never acted in accordance with that? But it was too late to wonder now.

“I will let the Gods judge that”, he simply responded and returned his sound blocker. He then went to his room where he informed his retainers of the meeting that was soon to start.

Ferdinand went inside his hidden room and removed the teleportation circle to the country's foundation before he took the single chair and small desk outside on his own.

“Is that everything, milord?”, Justus inquired and Ferdinand nodded. The room was now as empty as Ferdinand felt after his father's words. He removed the mana from the registration feystone and watched Justus as he packed up the few things he had in his room. His research materials were safe in Hirschur's laboratory and he never had anything else of value as it would not have been safe from Veronica anyway. There was nothing left that could not fit into four medium boxes.

The meeting took place in Drewanchel's tea party room and was attended by only a select group of people. Aub Drewanchel had only brought his head attendant and three guard knights, not even his wife was there. His father had brought Veronica, their head attendants and two knights. Ferdinand had brought Eckhart and Heidemarie so that they could transfer to Drewanchel with him immediately while Justus would join only half a bell later with his luggage.

After they exchanged standard greetings an area wide sound blocking tool was activated before they went over the details of the contract. To his relief everything was exactly as he had hoped.

Both his namestone and medal were mentioned as well as the medals of his retainers in order to fulfill the adoption part that they had apparently already agreed on in another magic contract. He knew that Aub Drewanchel was no fool. But that he had split the magic contract in two to accommodate that not all parts could be fulfilled at the same time must have put his mind greatly at ease.

As he signed the contract with Aub Drewanchel's magic pen he could hear him mumble “let's hope you will be worth it, boy” to which he stiffened and Veronica's smile intensified. They had agreed on that beforehand but it still surprised him how it could sting so much. Since Veronica had never been his mother her signature was not required. She had merely joined to see him gone, he mused.

As the contract went up in flames, Aub Ehrenfest took two small boxes out of his sleeve.

He put one in front of Aub Drewanchel and opened it for him. He immediately began checking their authenticity by collecting drops of blood from Ferdinand, Eckhart and Heidemarie and chanted “auswahl” after the blood was placed on a sheet of parchment. Three of the five medals reacted and Aub Drewanchel nodded.

“I will verify the other two as soon as those people are ready to enter Drewanchel, but I trust that you would not violate a magic contract with such petty tricks anyway, Aub Ehrenfest.” At that Aub Ehrenfest nodded with a stern expression.

He then placed the second small box in front of Ferdinand.

“Please remove your mana and confirm that it is yours”, he instructed and Ferdinand obliged. He could feel the mana that had bound him lift from his body and he felt like he could breathe freely for the first time in years. The small cocoon changed its shape to reveal the original namestone. He kept his face from distorting as he read 'Quinta' in neat rainbow letters. Aub Ehrenfest then closed the box and placed it in front of Aub Drewanchel who then placed it into a leather bag and put it into his own sleeve. Veronica's smile intensified even further at that.

Ferdinand knew that they had agreed to this upfront to invoke the impression that Aub Drewanchel had demanded his name, but it still left him feeling absolutely vulnerable to know his namestone out of his hands. But there was no way around this. It had to be done. And he had to trust his new adoptive father in this. He had gambled his life on this after all.

“Ferdinand,” Aub Ehrenfest began and Ferdinand stiffened at that. He had not expected any more words from him.

“Aub Ehrenfest”, he responded and it seemed that he was actually hurt by their sudden distance. Ferdinand wondered where those feelings might have been coming from and where they had been all these years.

“May Dregarnuhr be kind to you”, he said mysteriously before he and Veronica left.

“May Dregarnuhr be kind to you, too”, Ferdinand responded, unsure what those words should actually mean.

Aub Drewanchel then supplied Ferdinand, Eckhart and Heidemarie with brooches and handed them their new capes.

“Why are you even wearing a Dunkelfelger one, Ferdinand? That will have to stop now.”

“But this one is just so magnificently embroidered by Lord Heisshitze's fiancee. It would be a shame to not put it to good use”, he grinned at his new adoptive father.

“Oh? But if it is embroidery you are after I could search for somebody who would not mind doing that for you, my boy”, he grinned back with a smile full of fatherly love. Ferdinand did not know how to react at first.

“I'd appreciate it if you could hold off arranging any engagements for a while, dear adoptive father”, he answered with slight embarrassment on his face.

“Were you unaware? I grant all my children time until two years after their graduation before I become active in getting them wed. You do not need to fear, it was just an offer”, he laughed.

“And call me Leopold. No need to be so formal now.”

“Very well, Leopold. I believe this emerald cape will suit me most handsomely.”

They then headed to Drewanchel's dormitory where Ferdinand was given his room. It had already been 'decorated' with several books and tools used in magic tool development. Ferdinand felt immediately more at home than he had just this morning in Ehrenfest's dormitory.

“Please register your hidden room, Ferdinand”, Leopold instructed and he complied immediately. He had to reinstall his access to the country's foundation after all. But it seemed Leopold had also something in mind.

“Mind if we take a look together?” He said and nodded to the just established door.

“It would be my pleasure”, Ferdinand responded and invited him inside.

“As expected, your mana capacity is befitting the aub of a greater duchy”, Ferdinand commented as Leopold entered his hidden room without problem.

“What do you mean?”, he asked clearly confused.

“I have made it a habit to install a barrier to any hidden room I create. It keeps out those who do not belong there and prevents that anybody can enter just because they are in possession of my feystone”, he commented dryly which made Leopold wince.

“You habitually consider the consequences of your death while creating something as mundane as a hidden room? Do I even want to ask?” Ferdinand considered his question for a moment before he shook his head.

“It should not be important anymore. And it would only enrage you. I do not believe you truly want to ask.” Leopold nodded at that glumly then reached into his sleeve.

“Here, your namestone. I could not believe that Aub Ehrenfest really thought I would just take you over like this. How can he believe me so weak? Since he touched the box all over I do not believe it can be poisoned but please be careful anyway. You are far from my first adoption, Ferdinand, but I have never seen so much disdain in the eyes of the parents who give up their child. This was disgusting.”

“I will never forget your role in this, Leopold. You have my gratitude. And I always repay my debts.” Leopold nodded.

“I know. But I do not think of this as debt. The old generation always has to invest in the new generation. And you are well worth the bet, Ferdinand.”

Summer after Ferdinand's 5th year at the Royal Academy. Age 15.

What could Erwaermen have meant? How should he prepare his mind to receive all of Mestionora's wisdom?

Ferdinand was strolling through the Royal Academy grounds on his highbeast. His retainers were following behind in some distance. Tomorrow would be his final exam after which he was about to visit Drewanchel for the first time if he discounted the short time directly after his adoption when Leopold had been so shocked to find out how few clothes he actually had that he set up an emergency meeting in the castle with his tailors and seamstresses. But he had not met anyone back then apart from some castle officials and his room had not been ready yet either.

While still an Ehrenfest noble he had spread his extracurricular classes in a way that allowed him to spend basically the whole year at the Royal Academy. But now that he actually did not have to hide out in fear of Veronica and her henchmen he had finished them as soon as possible to be able to leave. Heidemarie had finished embroidering his new cape with circles he had designed in the meantime and he was proud to have it protect his back.

But despite all this, Erwaermen's words had not left him alone. It had been almost a year since he had received his partial Book of Mestionora and while he had achieved more status and backing by now he had done nothing yet to prepare his mind.

He felt that the wind had gotten stronger in his face and looked around for the source. The sky was still cloudless, no sign of a storm brewing.

“Has something happened, milord?”, Eckhart asked dutifully as he noticed that Ferdinand had halted his highbeast in the middle of the sky.

“This wind is unexpectedly strong. But the weather seems stable. I wonder what is going on.”

“Maybe we are too close to the border of the Royal Academy? I sometimes had a similar experience during ditter practice”, he remarked but Ferdinand did not believe that to be the case. There was still quite some distance. He checked his surroundings and noticed that he was close to one of the small shrines. That all but confirmed that there was still some distance to the border.

But he felt intrigued anyway. On his way to the Grutrissheit he had ignored the small shrines and went directly to the large ones since his schtappe was already omni-elemental. Would they also suck him in? He descended, willing to try it out.

“Lord Ferdinand?”, Heidemarie asked but she did not receive an answer so she followed after him with a bit of a distance. She saw him dispell his highbeast and close the distance to the small shrine in front of him on foot. He smirked at the irony that it was the one dedicated to Anhaltung, the Goddess of Advice. Could he really lose anything if he just asked her for help? Erwaermen was real after all, Mestionora seemed so as well, so maybe Anhaltung was as well. He entered a prayer pose and ignored the thoughts on what his retainers must be thinking of him right now. They must have never seen him praying before. He kept his voice low so that they would not immediately be aware of what he was praying for.

“O Anhaltung of the Goddess of Light's exalted twelve, I pray for your divine guidance. How shall I prepare my mind to receive all of Mestionora's wisdom?” He pushed some mana out of his ring for good measure and he then observed the golden lights that flew to the sky.

But what could he actually expect? A voice in his head? A bird carrying a message? All this was unrealistic. 'The Gods help those who help themselves' was something he had heard Veronica of all people say often. If that was the case how could he help himself?

He forced himself to think.

What made Mestionora's wisdom so special apart from the fact that it was basically her domain? There was the legend that she was allowed to control all of the divine instruments of the Supreme Gods and the Eternal Five, a privilege that nobody else was granted. Could that be the key? He had wondered why some of the records in the underground archive had included such irrelevant things as the spell to create a crown. But might it have been to recreate the divine instrument of the Goddess of Light with one's schtappe?

Ferdinand was lost in thought. The idea of creating the divine instruments intrigued him almost independently of the question whether they might help in preparing his mind. But he knew he needed a strong mental image to create them with his schtappe. And so far he had basically none.

Should he visit the temple to study them? And was that now truly Anhaltung's guidance or was he just convincing himself of something that had piqued his interest? The temple that would accept his interest in the divine instruments the easiest was most likely that in Drewanchel. He was sure it was suffering from similarly bad rumors as the one in Ehrenfest but he could definitely not ask to be allowed to touch those there anymore or even those in the Sovereignty temple. There was not so much choice for him. Maybe Leopold could advise him further.

Summer after Ferdinand's 5th year at the Royal Academy. 2 weeks later. Age 15.

“Leopold, I feel like I need to go the temple”, Ferdinand said after the sound blocking tool had been activated in Leopold's empty office. He had been surprised at how widely they were used in Drewanchel. Ehrenfest only used them very sparingly and scholars installed them every time anew instead of having some fixed into the furniture for ease of use.

“Ferdinand, I guess you are that age now, but you should think of your reputation more. And mine. Visits from the Goddess of Water can be arranged way more discreetly than visiting that place.” Leopold had stared at him with hard eyes and Ferdinand struggled to keep a straight face.

“This is not what I meant. I am not in search of a Goddess of Water. I wish to study the divine instruments.” Leopold raised an eyebrow at him, unsure whether he was serious or just trying to distract him.

“What use could the tools of mere priests have for the future Zent? Aren't they just there because priests who lack elements cannot succeed in their rituals without them? You are omni-elemental and have a schtappe. What could they possibly offer to you?”

“Are you aware that there is an underground archive below the library of the Royal Academy?”, Ferdinand asked and Leopold nodded.

“I imagine all the aubs and a lot of the archduke candidates know that archive.”

“Did you ever read all the records that are kept there? Because I did. They mention all the spells that are necessary to reproduce the divine instruments. Some, such as lanze for Leidenschaft's spear are well known but do you know the one for the Goddess of Light's crown? Or the God of Darkness' cape? Because they were stored there. And that must be for an important reason.”

“I see where you are coming from. But still... the temple?” Leopold seemed more than unwilling to consider even allowing Ferdinand to go there.

“I am aware of its bad reputation and imagine that it might even be warranted. But that should be one more reason to go actually. Leopold, please consider the following possibility: The Gods are real. How might they feel when they look at the places where they are supposed to be worshipped?”

Leopold's face hardened.

“I imagine something on a scale from disappointed to severely angry. In that case it would be important to correct that posthaste. But your supposition is extremely hypothetical, Ferdinand, is it not? The temples are like this for a long time already. Why have the Gods not acted yet if they were displeased with that?” Ferdinand shrugged.

“Who is to say that they did not already do that? According to the old records nobles had way more mana at their disposal in earlier times. It is also rare for anybody to achieve any divine protections from a subordinate god. Maybe they have refrained from granting their divine protection due to their disdain of us nobles in general?”

“This is speculation at best, Ferdinand”, Leopold chided, clearly unwilling to budge.

“But Erwaermen is not speculation. He exists and being crushed by his mana is an otherworldly experience if I may say so.” Leopold raised an eyebrow at him.

“He crushed you? Why?”

“Suffice it to say he stopped when I clarified that I had come to receive the Book of Mestionora.”

“Come to think of it, why do you refer to the Grutrissheit like that?”

“Grutrissheit is merely the spell to make the book appear. But since it seemed quite convincing to me that the Goddess herself bestowed it on me, I prefer to keep it accurate.”

“The Goddess herself? Ferdinand, you should have started with that information. You could have kept your hypothetical musings far away.” Leopold stared at him with exasperation.

“It is not like I saw her. It was more like her blessing rained down on me and filled my mind with her wisdom.” Leopold nodded. He seemed incapable of doing anything else.

“I will summon the High Bishop and inform him that we will soon be visiting regularly and with a large retinue but without a fixed schedule to study the divine instruments. He should make efforts to make the temple presentable for our visits.” Ferdinand nodded. Ordering concrete measures without knowing what was wrong exactly would only lead to chaos. Allowing the High Bishop to cover up the corruption and depravity inside the temple was most likely the fastest way to achieve reasonable change.

“Thank you, Leopold. I imagine you will receive quite some backlash from that decision.” But he just shook his head.

“If you are correct, Ferdinand, then the backlash I should be concerned about is that of the Gods not that of nobles. But I might feel pressured to include my wives on these visits. I hope you do not mind.” Ferdinand chuckled.

“I do not. They may find studying the divine instruments worthwhile on their own as well. If I remember correctly all of them are quite research-driven themselves.” Leopold smiled at him.

Autumn after Ferdinand's 5th year at the Royal Academy. Age 15.

“Everyone but Ferdinand, please clear the room”, Leopold announced as he returned to his office after being called away to the water mirror. Everyone immediately followed his command. The scholars had already left for the day anyway so it was basically only their own retainers who were made to leave. Unsurprisingly to Ferdinand Leopold then also activated the sound blocking tool that was installed into his desk. Leopold dropped his noble facade as soon as they were alone and what he showed was sheer anger.

“Today, almost one thousand nobles lost their lives. Trauerqual gave in to the sweet words of vengeance that Aub Klassenberg was whispering into his ears for more than a year and purged all those who he deemed to harbor feelings of vengeance themselves and might plot for another round of bloodshed and murder. So instead he instigated his own bloodshed. Aub Dunkelfelger just informed me and asked me where I stood on this.”

“Did Dunkelfelger join in this onslaught?”, Ferdinand inquired. If they had sworn fealty to Trauerqual now it would be harder to win them over to his own side.

“No. They kept their neutrality similar to us. They had been acknowledging Trauerqual as the regent but not as the zent so they had refused to act as his sword. The duchies who joined in the slaughter were Klassenberg, Gilessenmeyer, Hauchletzte, Ahrensbach, Gaussbuttel and Immerdink. It seems they even had their scholars fight to fill their ranks. I imagine they suffered a lot of losses as well.” Ferdinand nodded at that with a solemn expression.

“And how did you answer Aub Dunkelfelger?”

“That I would make my position very clear at the next archduke conference and that I will stay neutral until then.” Leopold smirked at Ferdinand.

“That is indeed one way to put it. How did he react?” Ferdinand did not expect Aub Dunkelfelger to be especially pleased with such a stalling for time.

“He was enraged, to put it mildly. He was questioning my suitability for my position. I reminded him that he had stayed neutral all the same till now. And I asked him what outcome he expected if he went against the acting regent at this point. The lives had been lost. Losing more and continuing this war when there was no alternative at hand was just wasting even more lives.” Leopold shook his head sadly.

“Did you convince him to wait till the archduke conference?”

“I did. He is not Aub Dunkelfelger for nothing. He might be easily excitable but he is no fool.” Ferdinand nodded at that assessment.

“Do you believe it might be wise to reveal my plans to him now already?” But Leopold shook his head.

“No, stick to your original plan and tell him on the day before your graduation. I would not be willing to bet on his patience otherwise.” Ferdinand could understand the feeling. So much wasted potential. Why was death the only tool available to these fools?

Late autumn after Ferdinand's 5th year at the Royal Academy. Age 15.

“Ferdinand, I am beginning to sympathize with Aub Dunkelfelger's outrage. This latest missive from Trauerqual is so dastard.” Once again they were alone in the Aub's Office with the sound blocker enabled.

Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at the sudden shift in demeanor.

“What does he want? More rejuvenation potions at less than half their price again?” He was not only wasteful with the lives of those living in Yurgenschmidt but with all of its resources...

“No. He wants scholars and blue priests since they depleted their own temples of anybody who might pass as a noble mana-wise. And now they need to fill their ranks again or they will suffer at next year's harvest.” Leopold was speaking through gritted teeth and Ferdinand felt the urge to give in to his anger as well. What was that fool Trauerqual doing again?

“And he even has the arrogance to pass off his demand for my scholars as a golden opportunity for Drewanchel to show its support to him since I stayed neutral during the purge....” Leopold was clearly seething with rage.

“Try to stall for time until the archduke conference. If that is not possible please remember that you will get them back in spring the latest anyway after Trauerqual is gone.” Prior to the purge Ferdinand had considered to leave Trauerqual as aub of the duchy of the Sovereignty but that had been out of the question ever since.
“Stalling for time might work for the scholars but not for the priests. They do not possess anything officially and are free to move between temples at a moment's notice in theory.”

“Then send him those who seem to be missing the old days of temple life the most. The High Bishop had to make so many changes already to not embarrass himself for our visits that I am sure several of the blue priests are currently wishing to go somewhere else. You might even just ask for volunteers at this point and receive enough applications.” Ferdinand did not care about those who willingly chose to go there.

“You are not wrong. And since we have been filling the divine instruments with so much mana already our next year's harvest should not be impacted too much. Very well, I will give him the blue priests and promise him the scholars for the next archduke conference.” Leopold seemed like he could not see Ferdinand on the throne soon enough and Ferdinand was glad for such passionate support.

Winter of Ferdinand's 6th year at the Royal Academy. Age 15.

In the end it took him almost one and a half years to finally dye the foundation of the country. Ferdinand mused that now, after he had further improved his mana compression to the maximum and had fully grown his vessel that it might have taken him only six weeks if he could have dedicated all his mana and rejuvenation potions to this task alone but he had not had that luxury.

He still had to excel in his classes, dedicate mana to the divine instruments to burn their magic circles into his mind and charge feystones for Aub Drewanchel to supply Drewanchel's foundation as well.

The archducal family in Drewanchel was way larger than the seven slots at the Replenishment Hall allowed to be registered at the same time so nobody had batted an eye that he was not registered there. Of course in truth he just physically could not register there as he was dying the country's foundation but he had needed a cover up anyway. Unfortunately, just because there was no room to be registered it did not mean that no mana contribution was expected from him. All that had slowed him down.

But now he had achieved it. The foundation of Yurgenschmidt was dyed in his colors.

Chapter Text

Winter of Ferdinand's 6th year at the Royal Academy. Day 1 of the interduchy tournament. Age 15.

“Aub Dunkelfelger, it is a pleasure to see you well”, Aub Drewanchel began after they had exchanged their official greetings.

“I did not expect you visiting today, Aub Drewanchel. I thought we might speak earliest at the archduke conference in spring. What a pleasant surprise”, Aub Dunkelfelger answered while trying to hide his annoyance. He had made him test his own patience for quite some while now with his proposal to not speak out yet against the misdeeds that had happened in autumn.

“Oh, and I see you brought young Ferdinand with you. Are you here to rub it in that you could snatch him up before I had the chance?” But Aub Drewanchel did not answer. Instead he merely chuckled politely. Aub Dunkelfelger had liked it to see the boy wear the lightblue cape of Dunkelfelger in the past. It pained him more than he liked to admit that Ferdinand was now proudly wearing an emerald one.

“Ah, might you activate that sound blocking tool for us, Aub Dunkelfelger? I see that it is made in Drewanchel's style even. My, I am honored.” Aub Dunkelfelger glared at him but activated the tool nevertheless. If he wanted to talk then so be it. The sooner they did the better. Even though he somehow doubted that they should do that so openly. Who knew who was out there reading their lips. And he had even brought Ferdinand into the area of effect with him. Was that truly alright?

“Aub Dunkelfelger, I have come today to you with a request from my son's side. He eagerly wishes to talk to you alone in a room with only you and him. And I am strongly in favor of granting him that opportunity.”

“Just let him talk here and now”, he answered with a wave of his hand, but Ferdinand shook his head.

“Aub Dunkelfelger, I must insist on a private meeting. I believe you will regret not making this possible”, the boy warned him which made him snort.

“Are you threatening me, boy? My men may call you 'Lord of Evil' and acknowledge your ditter skills but you are still twenty years too early for that. What is the meaning behind all this, Aub Drewanchel? Are you mocking me?” His patience had never been one of his praised abilities but the whole situation of the country had him more on edge than usual.

“Oh no, this is not our intention. Ferdinand is not threatening you in the least. He is merely offering you information that we are both very sure you will want to be aware of.” But Aub Dunkelfelger was now glaring at them without saying anything.

“Aub Dunkelfelger, I am sure you remember that favor that I did you eight years ago. I am willing to consider you agreeing to this meeting with my boy as you repaying that favor if you deem it a waste of your time afterwards.” At that Aub Dunkelfelger widened his eyes slightly before they then ended up narrowed.

“The favor that you did not allow me to repay over all these years? You would wager it on what the boy has to say?” What was this old, sly fox planning? They had been allies for too long for him to really consider the probability of an assassination attempt at the hands of his boy. So was this some kind of different trick?

“Absolutely. Even though I'd appeal to your honor that if in hindsight you deem that meeting worth your time that you do not claim otherwise.” Aub Dunkelfelger scoffed at that.

“I will put the threshold to make it worth my time quite high, just so that you are aware”, he warned.

“Oh, absolutely. I know how valuable the time of an aub is and how unusual it is to meet completely in private. Please choose the threshold to which kind of information could make it worthwhile to you at your own discretion.” Then this boy better hand him a plan how to get rid of Trauerqual. But that was ridiculous wishful thinking. He would listen to the boy and be rid of having to repay that old favor to Aub Drewanchel.

“I will hold you to your word, Aub Drewanchel. So, when should I schedule for this meeting?”

“Sometime today.” The nonchalance with which Aub Drewanchel answered so unreasonably was almost insulting.

“Are you serious?”, Aub Dunkelfelger growled and furrowed his brow. But neither Aub Drewanchel nor Ferdinand flinched.

“It is rather time critical”, the boy informed him in a neutral tone and Aub Drewanchel simply nodded as if he did not have anything to add or to explain. What were they thinking? How was this appropriate?

“I will consider scheduling the meeting so urgently on the day of the interduchy tournament enough to repay that old favor, Aub Drewanchel. And if his information is not relevant enough for me then you will owe me a favor instead.” He narrowed his eyes at Aub Drewanchel who seemed to consider his words for a moment before he nodded.

“That is acceptable. However, please evaluate afterwards whether I am doing you a favor right now by agreeing to this, Aub Dunkelfelger.” This old, sly fox. What was he even thinking right now?!

“It is rare for you to be so cocksure of something.” He stared at both Aub Drewanchel and Ferdinand with firmly narrowed eyes. What was the source of their confidence? What was so important that they risked angering him?

“Quarter to fourth bell at the Dunkelfelger tea party room. You have time until fourth bell. I really hope this is worth my time, boy.” Both, Aub Drewanchel and Ferdinand, seemed relieved at that. They even expressed their gratitude before they begged their leave and left a very confused Aub Dunkelfelger behind. Considering that it was already third bell he would at least know soon enough what was going on.

Aub Dunkelfelger had arrived almost at the same time as Ferdinand. He could therefore see with his own eyes how the boy was patted down by his guard knights and he noticed how they glared at him at finding several offensive magic tools at his belt and in his pockets.

“What is the meaning behind bringing offensive magic tools to a private meeting with our Aub?” His Knight Commander seemed not amused in the slightest at what the other knights had just confiscated from him. But the boy merely raised an eyebrow.

“I am always prepared for ditter. And I do not consider those to be particularly offensive. They are merely blinding an opponent or distributing an offensive smell. You are insulting your Aub if you believe I could harm him with these toys. But please feel free to keep them in your custody during my meeting with Aub Dunkelfelger.” Was that the attitude of somebody who he should meet in private? But the boy was right. He did not pose a real threat to him.

“Then you should definitely schedule some more ditter sessions over the next few days, Ferdinand. Heisshitze is always lamenting how you avoid his challenges to win back his cape”, Aub Dunkelfelger jokingly suggested and the atmosphere relaxed immediately.

“Let us get over with this already, boy”, he ordered and entered the Dunkelfelger tea party room. Ferdinand followed mere moments after him and knelt upon entry before he then began the exchange of noble greetings.

“Aub Dunkelfelger, I appreciate your willingness to meet with me”, he said with a demure tone but the eagerness in his eyes was more than obvious to the Aub.

“Rise, Ferdinand. Tell me, what is so important that your adoptive father, that old, sly fox, is wasting his favor for that he has been lording over my head for years? Is this because you want to apologize about how things went with Magdalena?”

He was more curious about what had truly happened than he was offended that his scheme had not worked out. Aub Dunkelfelger understood that he must have already been arranging for his adoption by Drewanchel at this point. Halting the courting was not unreasonable in this situation. But Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at that suggestion.

“If you wish we can talk about that as well but since we only have a quarter of a bell I would prefer to talk about something more important first”, he stated calmly. Aub Dunkelfelger was surprised at the eagerness that the boy was hiding in his eyes had increased even further. He gestured with his one hand for him to continue and activated an area wide sound blocking tool with the other. Ferdinand acknowledged that with a nod.

“I deemed it important to inform you personally, Aub Dunkelfelger. As of last week I have dyed this country's foundation.” He stared at the boy with wide eyes. Ferdinand's noble smile was so impressive that Aub Dunkelfelger could not tell his intentions just from these words.

“Your sense of humor is lost on me, Ferdinand”, he simply stated while trying to allow his mind to make sense of the statement.

“An understandable response. But I am serious, Aub Dunkelfelger. And at tomorrow's graduation ceremony I will lay claim to the throne publicly.” They both stared at each other. Ferdinand with calm determination, Aub Dunkelfelger with stern disbelief.

“In order to provide more details to my explanation I will need to produce my schtappe, Aub Dunkelfelger. Will you allow me to draw it in your presence?” Would a Zent really ask an Aub for this?

“Please do, I am ever so curious about your intentions”, he replied and put his guard that he had relaxed at the beginning of the meeting back on. Ferdinand nodded and produced his schtappe.

“Grutrissheit.” At his chant a book appeared in his hand where his schtappe had been. Its glow seemed out of this world and the feystones that were embedded in its cover were clearly exquisite.

Aub Dunkelfelger took a step back from it.

“You found the Grutrissheit? The whole royal family has been looking for this book for years, killing each other in search for it, and you just found it?” Ferdinand could not have gotten access to the royal palaces. Where had he then found the book? Where had it been hidden?

“What the so called royal family is looking for is their magic tool that served as an outdated and limited substitute for the real Book of Mestionora. Which is aptly named like this because it is the wisdom of the Goddess Mestionora that she bestows upon those she deems worthy and imbues it directly into their schtappe. None of the last zents had a Book of Mestionora. They had indeed only the Grutrissheit.” Ferdinand opened the book and turned a few pages.

“If you wish to confirm this with your own eyes you may read these passages yourself”, he offered but Aub Dunkelfelger shook his head. If this book was indeed a gift from the Gods then it would be blasphemous for him to lay his eyes on it.

“And the foundation is truly dyed by you? How could Lord Trauerqual not notice that?” That was the part that still stood out to him. But Ferdinand smirked at that question.

“Well, that is since Trauerqual had never dyed the foundation of the country. He dyed the foundation of the Sovereignty – which is technically nothing more than a duchy itself.” The smile on his face was dark and menacing, similar to how Aub Dunkelfelger imagined his own face to look at this moment.

He knelt down on the spot.

“Just say the word, my Zent. Dunkelfelger is at your command.”

Zent Ferdinand nodded. He had felt the urge for months now to right the wrong that had befallen Yurgenschmidt.

“I will rely on your protection tomorrow, Aub Dunkelfelger, when I will reveal my true status to everybody present at the graduation ceremony. I expect that to cause quite the stir and I honestly do not know how Trauerqual and the Sovereignty Knight's Order will react upon that.” Aub Dunkelfelger nodded.

“Thus is the duty of the Zent's sword.”

“Rise, Aub Dunkelfelger. It is important that this is kept secret until the moment of my reveal. I am sure you understand that.”

“Yes, my Zent.” Zent Ferdinand nodded at that and Aub Dunkelfelger began considering the tactical aspects of the mission in front of him.

“I will send home everybody who is not strictly necessary and not a knight and instead replace them with trained and experienced knights for tomorrow. I imagine Aub Drewanchel is already aware of your true status?”

“He is indeed. And he is supporting me fully.” Aub Dunkelfelger snorted at that.

“Now I understand why he was so cocksure that I would want to make this meeting possible. And I hate to admit it but he was definitely right that I would not want to miss that kind of crucial information. I guess I still owe him.” He chuckled to himself but his Zent seemed to have more questions.

“I imagine Trauerqual asked you to send him knights as a sign of your support. Did you already comply with that?” Aub Dunkelfelger stiffened at that and his mind grew heavy with regret.

“I apologize deeply for my lack of foresight, my Zent, I could not forestall that without looking suspicious. Previous to this meeting I planned to instigate the aubs at the archduke conference to dethrone Trauerqual. If there had been no other choice I would have even intended to serve as regent until the Grutrissheit was recovered”, he admitted with a firm glare.

“Yurgenschmidt was not lost then if you were ready to step up, Aub Dunkelfelger. I am glad to know that such people still exist”, Zent Ferdinand praised and Aub Dunkelfelger felt overwhelmed.

“You are not taking offence at that? I am relieved”, he said and the man in front of him smiled.

“How many of the Sovereignty's Knight's Order are currently hailing from Dunkelfelger?”, he then inquired.

“It is hard to say as I do not know the numbers but Trauerqual asked for fifty of my knights. That must be at least a quarter. But I truly do not know how many he lost during his foolish purge last autumn. My men might even be half of his Knight's Order.”

“Will they follow you over him?” That should not even be a question to ask.

“Of course they will. I made it quite clear to them that I am merely lending their service to the Sovereignty.”

“I am glad to hear that.” The dark smile on his Zent's face felt truly inspiring to him.

“So is your intention tomorrow to execute Trauerqual for his transgressions immediately? Or do you wish for a lengthy trial? I would like to know as much as possible about your orders for tomorrow.”

“If Trauerqual does not abdicate immediately and opposes my ascension then you may slay him on the spot. I would like to avoid that however as I imagine this will lead to heavy fighting and a lot of unnecessary deaths. Yurgenschmidt is already bleeding dry after all.” Aub Dunkelfelger's face clouded over at his words.

“I understand. So he shall be merely detained to be put into the ivory tower?”

“Yes, him and his wives at least. If I remember correctly he also has a son who might still be salvageable. If he is not too rebellious I might be inclined to let him offer his name to me. But if he is then he may keep his parents company in the ivory tower.” Zent Ferdinand seemed quite void of emotion as he was going through the options that he imagined but Aub Dunkelfelger could only nod in agreement. This might prevent another unnecessary bloodshed.

“There are rumors that he has a second, yet unbaptized, son, my Zent”, he supplied and that information was received with a cold gaze.

“Thank you for that valuable information, Aub Dunkelfelger.” He then seemed to fall into thought.

“I will also need a new aub for Trauerqual's duchy as I do not intend to personally claim more territory than what is currently the Royal Academy”, he mused and Aub Dunkelfelger racked his brain for a possible candidate but none came to mind. If he was not already considering one of his many adopted brothers for the position then it was hard to propose somebody even better suited with enough loyalty. He could only think of his own son whom he had raised as his successor but he could not bring himself to tear him from the duchy he loved so much. And Werdekraf's sweet little Hannelore had just been born last year. He could not force them to move to another duchy in that situation.

“My Zent, if I may make a proposal”, he began after he had arrived at a conclusion with conviction. Zent Ferdinand seemed almost amused by that.

“You may speak freely”, he admitted and Aub Dunkelfelger nodded with firm eyes.

“You may consider me for the position. My successor is already fully equipped to handle Dunkelfelger and considering my age I will only be able to serve another ten years at most anyway. I may serve these as an interim aub for the duchy of the Sovereignty instead until a new generation of suitable archduke candidates has been raised to take over.” His Zent mustered him with a stern gaze, then nodded.

“With you at my side I am sure of our success in restoring this country. I thank you for the sacrifice you are willing to make.”

In that moment an ordonnanz arrived and settled on Aub Dunkelfelger's hand.

“Forth bell has already rung quite a while ago, my Aub. Please respond whether everything is alright”, the voice of his Knight Commander resounded and his Zent smiled apologetically.

“I apologize for interfering with your lunch break on such a busy day, Aub Dunkelfelger. I suggest you answer your guard or I fear he might barge in any time now.” The Zent smirked at that. Not that he was wrong. His Knight Commander was not to be messed with.

“Everything is fine, I will depart shortly”, he sent back and Ferdinand nodded.

“I guess that was everything I wanted to tell you today, Aub Dunkelfelger. I appreciate your support on the matter”, he concluded as if they had not discussed anything more severe than a change in ditter plans.

“If I may, my Zent, since the heavy topics seem to be covered for now, what did happen between you and Magdalena? Did she offend you? Do I need to take action?” He did not want his daughter to stand between them. That was just not worth it now that a true Zent had returned to Yurgenschmidt.

“Lady Magdalena is simply not fit to be Queen, Aub Dunkelfelger. I imagine few women are.” Aub Dunkelfelger nodded with relief. She was still lacking maturity and foresight. He could not blame his Zent for noticing the same.

“Oh, and she hates me”, he added with a smile so bright that he could not tell whether his Zent was joking or not. He decided to just nod in acknowledgment of this information but the relief he had felt just a moment ago was now gone.

Had she truly shown open hostility to their Zent? Even if she could not have known his true status.... This was a rather unfortunate development....

“I am truly looking forward to seeing you tomorrow”, he then added with a polite smile before leaving the tea party room. His Knight Commander immediately entered in turn.

“Has anything happened, my Aub? You look quite tired.” Aub Dunkelfelger noticed how he had allowed himself to slack on his noble facade. He quickly recovered and shook his head.

“No, nothing happened. We just had a nice talk.”

Chapter Text

Winter of Ferdinand's 6th year at the Royal Academy. Day 2 of the interduchy tournament. Age 15.

Ferdinand really had to thank Leopold for lending him his personal tailor. The whirling dress for his role as God of Darkness was truly magnificent. Its dimensions fit his measurements perfectly and never had he felt sleeves that could flow so easily. It was a dress befitting the occasion of visiting Erwaermen and receiving the missing part of his Book of Mestionora.

He knelt down with the other archduke candidates as the music began to play and prayed honestly to honor this day that would change the whole of Yurgenschmidt. In order to allow him to offer his mana more freely into the whirling stage he had decided to wear shoes out of feystone – a measure that was usually employed by knights that wished to wear armor even at their feet.

The high pitched note that reverberated through the auditorium signaled the beginning of the dance. Ferdinand rose with grace and elegance and began whirling in unison with the Goddess of Light who hailed from Gilessenmeyer. Her form was outstanding enough that she did not look totally out of place with him as her whirling partner but the keen eye noticed easily that Ferdinand put his all into it and it showed.

With the increasing tempo of the song he also increased the flow of mana that he was offering to the gods. He had spent a lot of time in the temple over summer and autumn and he actually had felt a bit closer to them as a result. Or he just interpreted it like this since he had now all the magic circles that were necessary to produce the divine instruments engraved into his mind.

He was fully enraptured in the flow of his movements and the whirlers around him as well as caught up in the beauty of the music. But while he did notice the magic circle that had risen at his feet he excluded the growing agitation of the audience from his focus of attention. As the song finally came to an end and they all knelt down again he offered another huge amount of mana directly into the stage which caused a pillar of light to appear and the crowd to shout.

“What is happening?” and “Are the archduke candidates alright?” as well as “Is that an attack?” were all things that Ferdinand could identify now that he did not have to pay attention to the whirling anymore. Another “What are these stairs behind the altar?!” shout made him turn around. He smiled as it was obvious to him that Erwaermen was begging him to enter.

He elegantly stepped forward but took a look at the crowd before he passed through the iridescent barrier. Aub Dunkelfelger was staring at him with wide eyes. Maybe he should have warned him how exactly he had intended to reveal his status. He smiled at him and went through the barrier and up the stairs where he was greeted by a pleased looking Erwaermen.

“So you have indeed returned, Quinta”, he commented and Ferdinand nodded with a polite smile.

“I have indeed. I hope this was the correct way to enter your Garden of Beginnings, Erwaermen”, he answered and Erwaermen confirmed.

“Yes, you did quite well. Please step under the light so that Mestionora may bestow the rest of her wisdom to you. It seems that you have indeed familiarized your mind with the divine. I have great hopes in you.” So going to the temple had indeed been the answer? Why could he not have said that clearly during his first visit? Ferdinand was slightly exasperated at this revelation but he kept his smile on and stepped forward.

But as he was about to kneel Erwaermen seemed distracted.

“More vandalism? How dare they! These mortal fools!”, he shouted and Ferdinand was confused by his sudden rage.

“What is happening, Erwaermen? Who is vandalizing right now?” Were people forcefully trying to barge in after he had already entered? Could they succeed?

“There are several children who are forcefully seeking entry to this Garden, and one is even registered to the foundation of a duchy.” Ferdinand stared at Erwaermen in disbelief. Who might be so foolish?

“To which duchy does he belong?”, he inquired and Erwaermen just sighed.

“You children change their names all the time, I do not know how you call them currently. But he seems to belong to those who swore Leidenschaft fealty. As he possesses all divine protections of the Supreme Couple and the Eternal Five he is in principle allowed to visit me. But can he not see that we are currently in a meeting? He should come to me on his own achievements!” Erwaermen seemed furious to Ferdinand.

“Erwaermen, is it possible to allow that child that belongs to Leidenschaft to enter? He will be crucial in my ascension to zenthood and having him as a witness might prove beneficial.” Erwaermen seemed confused.

“If he can behave himself. Right now he is attacking my barrier quite forcefully.” Ferdinand could imagine that already.

“Please let him enter. I will calm him down.”

“If you believe it will help you rule, then so be it.”, he agreed without any further discussion. Only moments later, Aub Dunkelfelger appeared at the top of the stairs. He had his sword drawn and seemed more than ready to attack.

“My Zent, you should not go anywhere without a knight”, he chided and Ferdinand sighed in exasperation.

“Aub Dunkelfelger, may I ask you to apologize for the rudeness you showed by attacking Erwaermen's barrier?” Aub Dunkelfelger eyed the being that was half human and half tree with clear cautiousness but then dispelled his schtappe and knelt.

“I meant no disrespect, your Divinity”, he spoke with clear deference. Ferdinand was surprised to see the man so humble. But maybe it was him who should act more humble instead in Erwaermen's presence?

“Erwaermen, might I ask you to share the knowledge on how to receive Mestionora's wisdom with him in case I perish before another candidate has reached you?” Erwaermen went silent as Aub Dunkelfelger stared at both of them with wide eyes. But he had said that he had been willing to step up. And there was still the possibility that he spilled enough of Mestionora's wisdom again to enrage her enough to smite him.

“Very well. The Garden requires a Zent. I will honor your wish.”

“I appreciate that. Now we can save the Garden.” Now that he had an audience Ferdinand put on more of an act to appear tough and in control. To his great relief Erwaermen did not call him out on that.

“Indeed, now kneel and pray”, he commanded and Ferdinand followed his words. Once again he prayed to Mestionora to bestow her wisdom onto him but this time he knew what he was asking for. It was not his sheer desire for the knowledge of old. It was his desire to rule those, who were too foolish to live without his guidance. Those, who preferred to kill each other instead of finding ways to solve the conflict in a way that did not lead the country close to destruction. Those, who were enticed by Chaocipher instead of Gebordnung. He wished to rule them all. For their own benefit but even more for the survival of Yurgenschmidt.

He noticed how more and more of Mestionora's wisdom entered the back of his mind but this time he did not pull it to his attention. He was focused on nothing but his goal and it made everything just so easy.

“Well done, Quinta. Your Book of Mestionora is now complete and the foundation of the Garden is already dyed by you. No mortal should dare to oppose your rule as Zent.” Erwaermen's words were very pleasant for Ferdinand to hear but it was even more important for him that Aub Dunkelfelger had heard them as well. Those words from a semi-divine being should ensure his loyalty till the end.

“No mortal should but they will still require proof. And they might be foolish enough to doubt their own eyes even if they see the Book of Mestionora in my hands. Grutrissheit.”

His book was now complete since his mind had been prepared successfully to take all of Mestionora's wisdom in and it showed itself in the sheer glory that was now at this fingertips. And just as before it immediately opened at the page with the information he desired.

Previously he had only found the spell to close the country's gates if he was standing directly in front of one, but fragments of text had hinted at another one that allowed for all gates to be closed at once. And now this spell was included as well. Ferdinand was very satisfied with that development.

As he drew the circle in front of him he noticed how Aub Dunkelfelger was still kneeling while he watched him with an intense gaze. He was truly pious it seemed.

“Einbunkern”, Ferdinand chanted and the circle vanished into light that then seemed to spread into all cardinal directions.

“Why are you closing all the gates, Quinta? The Gods wish for all their children to find refuge in their Garden”, Erwaermen commented and Ferdinand was not very pleased by his words that could be interpreted as criticism.

“It is a temporary measure, Erwaermen. The Garden needs to focus on itself for a while, and most importantly, I need to make a move that confirms my zenthood which is visible to anybody immediately.”

“I see. I will leave these matters in your hands then. Farewell.” Erwaermen then returned into the shape of a tree and Aub Dunkelfelger rose.

“My Zent, I did not wish to disturb those clearly important happenings, but I need to warn you that your sudden departure caused indeed quite a stir.”

“I imagine so. Did the atmosphere turn confused or violent?” The moment he descended the stairs would be critical.

“Both. The other whirlers tried to follow you but were rejected by the barrier. The Sovereignty's Knight Commander then claimed foul play by you and that you had clearly disrupted the ceremony in a blasphemous way. He then charged after you but was rejected by the barrier as well. Trauerqual then ordered my men to charge after you. I naturally interfered and ordered them to stand down.” Ferdinand nodded in acknowledgment at his words.

“Trauerqual grew quite irritated at that and demanded to know what was going on. Aub Drewanchel then offered the seemingly mocking suggestion that I was clearly volunteering to charge after you personally and Trauerqual then actually ordered me to do exactly that. As I thought you should not stand without a guard knight at your side, my Zent, I allowed myself to be misunderstood at following that command.” He smirked at Ferdinand who had been listening with rapt attention.

“I see that both you and my adoptive father are already laying the groundwork for my ascension”, he praised their quick thinking.

“Well, we should not let them wait any longer, Aub Dunkelfelger. I appreciate you acting as my guard knight today.”

“It is my utmost pleasure, my Zent”, he confirmed with eagerness in his eyes.

Ferdinand's field of vision was limited by Aub Dunkelfelger's broad shoulders but he could still clearly see that the whirling stage that they were currently approaching was full of the Sovereignty's Knight Order and Dunkelfelger knights who grew agitated as they noticed their arrival.

Those hailing from Dunkelfelger lowered their swords as they saw their own Aub in a clearly guarding position while those from the Sovereignty hardened their expressions.

“What is the meaning of all this?!” A voice echoed from the audience and when Ferdinand turned around his head to locate the source he identified Trauerqual as the one having spoken. He seemed agitated enough to even stand up from his seat. Ferdinand allowed himself to smile as he locked eyes with him.

“Grutrissheit”, he chanted without breaking eye contact with Yurgenschmidt's current regent. The audience's chatter grew deafening in an instant as they saw a book appear in his hands. Trauerqual's eyes widened while those of his Knight Commander narrowed.

“You found the Grutrissheit? That might truly be the only excuse I am willing to accept to cause such an uproar during the dedication whirling ceremony, Lord Ferdinand”, he commented and Ferdinand bowed his head ever so slightly in acknowledgment of these words.

“How exceedingly generous of you”, he then responded with a polite smile and turned his whole body around to face him.

“But I beg to clarify something, Lord Trauerqual. This is not the Grutrissheit, which is just a very elaborate magic tool of your family, this is the Book of Mestionora, bestowed to me by the Goddess herself.” At that he heard a loud clash behind him as the Sovereignty's Knight Commander charged at him and was deflected by Aub Dunkelfelger's own instantly conjured sword.

The atmosphere immediately turned as Dunkelfelger knights rushed to defend their own aub. In mere seconds they had formed a circle around those of the Sovereignty.

“Raublut, you are a fine sparring partner but now is not the time”, Aub Dunkelfelger chided with a grim expression only to be met by an equally grim one.

“You are defending a traitor, Aub Dunkelfelger. What did he promise you in return?”, Raublut spat while the discussion between Ferdinand and Trauerqual continued.

“So you are saying that you do not have the real Grutrissheit, Lord Ferdinand?”, Trauerqual clarified with a somewhat smug expression.

“You just cast a spell to make it seem so?” The audience stirred at that and Ferdinand chuckled.

“Calling the magic tool made by your ancestors to cement the claim to the throne for just one - your - family the real Grutrissheit while implying that the wisdom granted by the Goddess Mestionora herself is somehow inferior to that is truly blasphemous, Lord Trauerqual. You were never suited for the title of Zent if you believe these things”, he judged with a hard glare causing the knights of both sides to stiffen again. Trauerqual was furious.

“Aub Dunkelfelger, do you truly stand by this child who openly spits treason?!” But Aub Dunkelfelger scoffed at him.

“Dunkelfelger has always been the Zent's sword, Lord Trauerqual. And just moments ago I was allowed to witness how his Divinity Erwaermen entrusted him with the role of Zent and how the divine blessing of Mestionora rained down on him. A true Zent has risen, Lord Trauerqual, and a wise regent should see that in an instant.” His voice had lowered into a growl at the last part and Ferdinand was truly glad that Erwaermen had allowed Aub Dunkelfelger to enter for this strong conviction to emerge.

“A true Zent?”, Raublut laughed in an uproar.

“The one you call that is just a bastard Seed of Adalgisa, Aub Dunkelfelger”, he corrected him quietly still face to face with him while their swords were crossed. Aub Dunkelfelger's eyes widened at that.

“I will not stand that disrespect”, he growled back and Raublut's eyes narrowed again.

“I saw that boy often enough while I was still a guard there, Aub Dunkelfelger. He is just an escaped Seed. You know what that means, right? I also remember you visiting from time to time”, he added with a smug smile.

“And still the Gods judged him worthy to receive Mestionora's wisdom.” Raublut was not amused by the defiance of Aub Dunkelfelger but they were interrupted by a shout from the audience.

“My, Aub Dunkelfelger, are you certain that you have not been tricked by him? He is quite crafty with magic tools after all.” Ferdinand would be able to identify the source of that mocking voice under any and all circumstances.

“Lady Veronica, how rare for you to praise me so openly”, he responded with a radiating smile.

“Fear not, I anticipated the need of the weak minded to see undeniable proof”, he continued and searched the audience for Aub Ahrensbach.

“Aub Ahrensbach, I wonder whether the word might have reached you already and if that is the case I would like you to speak up.” Ferdinand could see the moment his confusion turned into rage.

“You did that?! Why would you close the last open country gate?!”, he spat and Ferdinand lessened the intensity of his smile.

“To allow Yurgenschmidt to focus on healing after a ruthless purge ordained by a mere regent and false Zent, Aub Ahrensbach. A purge that you participated in, might I add.” Ferdinand let his eyes wander across the audience and allowed his own rage to show for a moment for all of them to see. They seemed confused by the implication that he had indeed controlled the country's gate to close.

“How laughable! You speak of healing the country and obviously came here with knights in your attempt to take over!”, Trauerqual chided.

“So I did. Will you order even more blood to be shed just to secure a throne that was never yours to begin with?”, Ferdinand dared him and sent out his mana in an attempt to crush him.

“You never even dyed the country's foundation, Trauerqual. Right now you are only aub of the duchy of the Sovereignty. The country's foundation was left at only a quarter full when I found it.” The crushing intensified fueled by his cold rage. Ferdinand knew that Trauerqual was not weak mana-wise but he still showed signs of feeling the pressure he lay on him. It felt quite satisfying to Ferdinand.

“And the duchies that you purged are lying bare since nobody knows how to access their foundation. Were you so obsessed by the desire for vengeance that you deemed it acceptable to curse them with a slow but inevitable decay over the next years? How can you call yourself Zent when you show so much disdain for your subjects, Trauerqual?” The audience had quieted down at this point. It was obvious that Ferdinand was not the only one who wanted answers to this kind of questions.

One of Trauerqual's guard knights noticed the signs of crushing in his charge and stepped in their line of sight to stop the attack. Ferdinand smirked at the futile attempt. While Trauerqual had strong defenses the guard knight did not. He sunk to his knees almost immediately after his attempt of defense which sent a stir through the rest of his knights.

“Relinquish your non-existent claim to the throne and I might even allow you to contribute to the country's restoration”, Ferdinand suggested with a mocking grin. Trauerqual seemed taken aback by these words.

“Raublut”, he called with ever so slight signs of pain and exhaustion in his voice.

“My Zent!”, was the shout that returned. Ferdinand and Aub Dunkelfelger were waiting for the command that would decide how much blood was about to be shed this day with eager anticipation. They were ready for either outcome.

“Withdraw your men”, Trauerqual ordered and Raublut widened his eyes in fury before he obliged. The knights of the Sovereignty disengaged from the strained stalemate but did not undo the weapon transformations of their schtappes yet.

“I will not wage war with Dunkelfelger and lose any more lives. Securing their allegiance was certainly the winning move, Zent Ferdinand. I did my part and prevented the ascension of the fourth prince who would have thrown the whole of Yurgenschmidt into ruins as a mad Zent. I refuse to go down in history as his likeness. May your rule be peaceful under the guidance of the Gods”, Trauerqual said with a strained voice and knelt.

Spring after Ferdinand's 6th year at the Royal Academy. Beginning of his 1st year of zenthood. Age 16.

Ferdinand had been relieved that he had not immediately caused another round of civil war over his ascension but he knew that the nobles of Yurgenschmidt were way too bloodthirsty to hope for that momentary peace to last on its own.

Even though there was no open opposition to him being crowned officially at the archduke conference in his first spring of adulthood he was aware of the whispers.

Inaugurating Werdekraf as new Aub Dunkelfelger while inaugurating the former Aub Dunkelfelger as the new Aub Lebensruh who ruled over the former Sovereignty territory with the exception of the Royal Academy grounds quieted at least some of the dissenting tones but not all. But that could hardly be expected to happen so soon.

Aub Lebensruh chose to continue the use of black as the duchy's color and Ferdinand in turn settled on white for the color of the 'new' Sovereignty.

Aub Lebensruh then made his first decree that allowed all those hailing from other duchies originally to return to their home if they so wished. Without much surprise the first to follow that decree was Raublut and Aub Gilessenmeyer took him back with glee. But there was no doubt that Aub Lebensruh was glad about that as well. He had no faith in his continued obedience.

Ferdinand could remove the last doubts from those who did not believe he had dyed the foundation in the run-up of the archduke conference already by performing an entwickeln at the Royal Academy grounds. The place that had seemed just an empty flower field before now featured a new and quite spacious ivory tower. He imagined only few had been aware that it was the true location of the former Adalgisa villa but he hoped that those who were aware found the same pleasure in the irony as him.

The spot was once again hosting and imprisoning those of 'royal blood'. But this time it was not hidden by Verbergen. And the mana extracted from its inhabitants was fed directly into the country's foundation instead of being sent to Lanzenave as feystones.

After word had spread of this new building the discussions about duchy borders that ensued at the archduke conference were actually driven by pragmatism and feasibility.

Ferdinand had urged those last remnants of the fallen duchies to participate as well but only those of Zausengas and Werkestock dared to follow his invitation.

None of them had received an archduke candidate education but at least some of them were rich enough in mana to be worth a try.

Ferdinand offered the same opportunity to all of those who had stepped forward. They would receive their former duchies' foundation and the education to use it in exchange for their names. In both cases a pair of archnobles accepted and he ended up holding the names of the newly appointed archducal couples. Ferdinand was glad that they had accepted these terms so that he was no longer pressured in allowing Ahrensbach and Klassenberg to keep their undeserved spoils of the purge.

Scharfer and Trostwerk however were unclaimed by its former ruling houses. Whether they had truly all perished or whether they did not dare to appear in front of their new Zent did not truly matter to Ferdinand. He redrew the duchy borders so that Aub Lebensruh could take care of their former territory properly.

But these were not the only names he took over the course of the archduke conference. While it stung a little to force a boy before his baptism to swear his name to him as it reminded him of his own past, that was the easiest way to actually use him to his potential. Trauerqual's second son, Anastasius, was rich in mana as expected and the new duchy Lebensruh could use any mana contributor they could get. And the boy behaved reasonably enough when almost all of the rest of his family was transferred to the ivory tower. Ferdinand was hopeful that he could outgrow his heritage under Aub Lebensruh's guardianship.

The same could not be said for his brother Sigiswald however. Even though Ferdinand allowed him as well to swear his name to him he was sure that Trauerqual's oldest was unlikely to stay away from the ivory tower forever. He considered sending him into it just now but mana provided 'freely' was more efficient than if only siphoned away by an ivory tower. So he ordered Sigiswald to obey his new aub and supply Lebensruh's foundation as part of his new duties. Maybe he was still salvageable with the right retainers.

The last name that Ferdinand received however was given freely and of his own volition. Heisshitze had knelt down at the end of the archduke conference with a white box in his hands.

Ferdinand endured the little speech the man had prepared while seriously considering the pros and cons of the situation. Another faithful retainer and a skilled knight at that was nothing he could discard so easily but his path ahead was clearly paved in solitude.

“Does your fiancee agree, Heisshitze? Was she not mad already when I took your cape from you? What will she say if I now take your name?”, he commented with an evil grin and Heisshitze grinned widely in return.

“She is willing to move to the Royal Academy grounds as well, my Zent! Fear not, I have considered all implications!” Ferdinand nodded at that.

“So you will follow every command that I will deem necessary?”

“I will!”, Heisshitze confirmed enthusiastically and Ferdinand released a sigh. If it was his conviction...

“Then I will accept your name alongside your service, Heisshitze”, he concluded and pushed his mana into the box after he had confirmed the name on the stone. Heisshitze had buckled over in pain from the process but stood up immediately as it was over.

“Your fiancee will need to embroider yet another cape for you. I truly hope she will not hate me for that”, Ferdinand smirked and handed him a white one. But if she was as dutiful as Heidemarie then she would not mind. She had finished his own and Eckhart's white capes in record time once again as well.

“My Zent, might I talk to you about a more personal matter?”, Aub Klassenberg inquired after they had ended their discussion about the trade arrangements that Klassenberg wished to establish this year. Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at him and gestured him to continue. They were still protected by sound blockers after all.

“I thank you very much, Zent Ferdinand”, he continued eagerly and Ferdinand already did not want to know where this discussion was going.

“I wished to talk to you about my granddaughter, Eglantine, who will be baptized this winter. She is a very kind and caring girl with well balanced colors and omni-elemental at that. Her mana capacity is also already quite excellent.” Why should he care about that?

“I see. Congratulations, Aub Klassenberg.”

“I thank you ever so much, my Zent. But I wanted to inquire whether you might be interested in baptizing her as your child instead. She had lost both her parents, the former third prince and his wife, during some of the infighting two years ago and would be otherwise baptized under me. But she definitely has the right pedigree to be baptized as a princess instead.” He seemed confident in his proposal but Ferdinand glared at him.

“You would be dooming her to a motherless fate, Aub Klassenberg. I am not interested in raising a child nor am I interested in weakening my security to shield another individual from all these assassination attempts. I will not declare her my daughter. Nobody would believe it anyway considering that I only came of age last season. This is ridiculous.” Aub Klassenberg seemed dumbstruck at the mention of assassination attempts which made Ferdinand snark at him.

“As if anything of what I just said was a surprise for you, Aub Klassenberg”, Ferdinand remarked with an evil smile and Aub Klassenberg nodded uncomfortably. A few dissenters had to be expected anytime and Ferdinand was not fool enough to believe that Aub Klassenberg did not have an extensive information network on his own as well. Surely there was no way around him being aware.

“I apologize, my Zent.”

“So, was that all?”, Ferdinand asked as he was about to leave.

“Actually, my Zent, might you instead consider an engagement with her?” Ferdinand sent him his frostiest glare.

“I have just declared myself Archbishop of Yurgenschmidt two weeks ago, Aub Klassenberg. Have you not paid any attention? As all members of the clergy I will not enter any marriages. And she will only be baptized this winter, Aub Klassenberg. What are you even saying?”

“Well, it will be eight more years till then and you might decide to entrust somebody else with that spiritual role at that point. Eglantine is a very empathetic and impressionable child, my Zent. At her age she can easily be formed in a way to suit your tastes perfectly. And she is already now exceedingly cute and will surely grow up with strong blessings from Efflorelume.” Aub Klassenberg tried to argue his case but Ferdinand just continued his frosty glare.

“This discussion is over, Aub Klassenberg.”

“Yes, my Zent. I apologize once again.”

Chapter Text

Summer in his 1st year of zenthood. Age 16.

The High Bishop of the Sovereignty, Relichion, had not protested Ferdinand's introduction of the position of Archbishop. He even seemed delighted that a Zent was not only willing to enter the temple but even serve as its figurehead.

The High Priest, Immanuel, on the other hand was a cause of constant headache for Ferdinand. While he did not openly object any changes, he did his utmost to undermine them indirectly. Most prominently in everything that involved forced flower offerings.

In the end Ferdinand decided it was best to not extend him an invitation to the new location of the Sovereignty temple on Royal Academy grounds and instead fill the position of High Priest with another more cooperative blue priest.

Ferdinand never cared to ask Aub Lebensruh whether he had kept him around in the old Sovereignty temple that was now that of his duchy. But given the new piety in that man he somehow doubted it.

He was also exceedingly glad for the scholars that his adoptive father had sent to him as they were now partly tasked with uprooting all the filth and corruption that was only haphazardly documented in the temple's documents.

But he was even more glad for the knights that Aub Dunkelfelger and Aub Lebensruh had sent to him. He could trust in a Dunkelfelger knight anytime. The same could not be said about those hailing from other duchies.

Those who had not returned home after Aub Lebensruh had offered them the opportunity were all from duchies who were in one way or another not safe right now. Ferdinand noticed with light feelings of wistfulness that all those that Ehrenfest had sent in the past were among those who had refused their former home. Which was understandable considering the trombe that was still growing there.

But those that had returned home were those he was now most wary about.

Autumn in his 1st year of zenthood. Age 16.

“My Zent, an emergency signal from the water mirror room has occurred. It seems Aub Werkestock wishes to talk to you immediately”, Justus informed him with a mixture of urgency and curiosity.

“Thank you, Justus”, he replied and hurried to the water mirror. Was this his mana-enforced command to inform him immediately about any security critical rumors at play? Or was it something different?

“My Zent, you are in danger”, Aub Werkestock warned as soon as he came into view and Ferdinand urged him on to report more details.

“Raublut has instigated a rebellion with a small but well built army from Gilessenmeyer, Immerdink and Lortzing to attack the Sovereignty tonight under Verbergen's shroud. Their goals are twofold. Eliminate you and free the former royal family from your ivory tower.”

“Who is your source? How sure are you of this information?”, Ferdinand pressed and Aub Werkestock's eyes grew distant for a short moment.

“My own Knight Commander, my Zent. He is currently in schtappe sealing bracelets and his mind has been read. He had convinced half of my archknights to join him for this. He was caught as he was trying to teleport to the Royal Academy but I had deactivated the circle as a measure of caution at the end of summer.” Ferdinand put a finger to his temple, massaging it while processing the new information.

“Why was he so eager for this? I did not think anybody from Werkestock was willing to go to any length for Trauerqual after how much you suffered from his purge”, Ferdinand noted and Aub Werkestock shook his head.

“The houses of Werkestock are deeply intertwined with those of other duchies, my Zent. The allegiances of many here are not easily understood. As for my Knight Commander in particular... he was baited with a rumor of your origins that Raublut has been spreading.” He had not seemed very eager to speak of this but Ferdinand just nodded and thanked him for relaying this information.

He informed his knights that they were challenged to a game of real ditter with two treasures at risk. Himself and the ivory tower. The news were met with loud cheers. Those Dunkelfelger knights....

'The Night of the Traitor' was how it went down into history books and stories that were shared while drinking massive amounts of alcohol. Several catchphrases were attributed to their Zent, such as “I am always prepared for ditter” and “I only chose fights that I will win”, but if asked for who had actually heard him utter these it was only circular finger pointing.

The men told stories of huge walls of flame and massive downpours of hail while others spoke of poisonous gases that seemed to have slowed down the invaders.

Only few of them survived the onslaught that caught them by surprise long enough to have their minds read and their medals retrieved from their duchy of origin to be then properly executed as those who committed treason were ought to be.

The Aubs Gilessenmeyer, Immerdink and Lortzing were presented with a choice as they had failed to notice their dissenters and to acknowledge their responsibility in the subsequent investigation. The choice was to either abdicate and enter the Sovereignty's ivory tower, to abdicate and enter the Sovereignty temple as blue priests with a destroyed schtappe, or death. All three of them chose the ivory tower which confirmed for Ferdinand that they were still plotting rebellion at heart and could not be kept at large.

Spring at the beginning of his 2nd year of zenthood. Age 17.

“As you might have heard already, the futile attempts of undermining my rule, the only one in this whole country who knows where its foundation lies and with a Book of Mestionora, if I may remind you all, were smitten in autumn last year. The instigator was the former Knight Commander of the former Sovereignty, Raublut. And in his hazy rage he managed to lead Gilessenmeyer, Immerdink and Lortzing very astray. Despite my wish to restore Yurgenschmidt even more blood was shed and mana wasted. It might even amuse one or another that Raublut was not even acting out of loyalty to his former lord as he harbored quite treasonous thoughts against him as well.” His smile was devoid of joy. He hardened his stare and addressed everybody in attendance at the opening event for the archduke conference.

“Do not mistake my willingness to restore this rotten country as weakness. The former Aubs Gilessenmeyer, Immerdink and Lortzing now all share the same view that the ivory tower provides. In that regard, is anybody from Gilessenmeyer, Immerdink or Lortzing willing to step up as next aub? Preferably those not overly interested in petty games of rebellion and who instead share my wish for restoration? It would be quite displeasing if I had to waste the gold dust for changing the locations of the foundations next year once again. So please come to me if you wish to get access to your duchy's foundation and are able to align with my vision of Yurgenschmidt”, he smiled almost heavenly.

This time, he demanded the names of not only the new archducal couple but those of their baptized children as well. Ferdinand was aware that by now rumors were spreading about the conditions he demanded of those 'new' aubs, but he did not care. They were allowed to think him ruthless, calculating, unforgiving and even evil as long as they all just yielded to his rule.

“Zent Ferdinand, may I inquire when you intend to open Ahrensbach's country gate again? Closing it has clearly served as proof of the legitimacy of your zenthood but considering the impact the lack of trade had on Ahrensbach last year I ask of you to open it again to allow us to prosper fully.” Aub Ahrensbach had asked for a private meeting with Ferdinand who had been surprised that it took him more than a full year to swallow his pride and ask for the reopening of the gate.

Ferdinand smiled at him and sipped his tea as if in serious contemplation.

“The prospering of all of Yurgenschmidt's duchies is indeed something that I strive for. Aub Ahrensbach, what kind of goods were you trading with Lanzenave? Is it not possible to establish these kind of trades just internally?” Ferdinand wore his polite noble facade with an unreadable smile.

His connections to the new Aub Werkestock had revealed some very interesting rumors about the dealings of Ahrensbach and Lanzenave and he was ever so curious how much truth they contained.

“Our contact to Lanzenave has allowed us to import a high quality sweetener called 'sugar', Zent Ferdinand. Even though the supply has now dwindled due to the closed gate, I am sure you were already able to taste it. The former Sovereignty had a quite a liking for it, so I imagine some of it has reached you as well.” Ferdinand nodded at these words. He had indeed tasted it and found the overly sweet taste repulsive but he did not reveal that.

“Ah, yes, indeed. Do you believe it to be a foreign substance that cannot be found in Yurgenschmidt?” Ferdinand took another elegant sip from his tea.

“Those from Lanzenave described its acquisition process as somewhat similar to mining gold. So I came to the understanding that it is something unique to them.” Another polite sip.

“So, what did you offer them in return?”, he asked and hardened his eyes which made Aub Ahrensbach hesitate for a moment.

“Our main export to them was jewelry, Zent Ferdinand”, Aub Ahrensbach stated and Ferdinand could see the slightly distant look in his eyes. His telltale sign of a half-truth.

“I can only hope that you are referring to those accessories made by skilled smiths and craftsmen, Aub Ahrensbach. It would be unthinkable if that included those made from feystones. Considering the severe mana shortage that Yurgenschmidt is suffering.” Ferdinand glared at him and allowed himself a short moment of crushing. Judging from his reaction right now the rumors that Aub Werkestock had told him had been true. The gate to Lanzenave was a drain to the country's mana.

“Of course I was referring to those goods made from the hands of our craftsmen”, Aub Ahrensbach tried to cover up his deeds and Ferdinand decided to allow it for the time being. Looking for just another new aub would not guarantee more stability than trying to keep the current one in check.

“That comes as a relief.” Ferdinand released the pressure of crushing from him but did not soften his gaze.

“The gate will remain closed for the foreseeable future, Aub Ahrensbach. I am afraid you will have to focus on new trends instead and strengthen your trade dealings with the other duchies.”

Summer in his 2nd year of zenthood. Age 17.

The news of his father's death had reached Ferdinand at the last archduke conference but he had been too busy to really reflect on it. Had it been natural? Or did Veronica have enough of Adelbert and poisoned her husband as she had tried to poison him so often in the past? Was she now trying to rule through Sylvester as the more impressionable man?

The funeral was eventually scheduled to happen in summer. Ferdinand had therefore teleported to the country gate of Ehrenfest with his twenty most loyal knights. All of them hailed from Dunkelfelger originally. He had to attend as Zent anyway but he was not sure whether he had made the trip if his only role had been that of a son.

He was welcomed at the country gate enthusiastically by Sylvester who led him to Kirnberger's giebe estate and the large teleportation circle on it.

Ferdinand had found mentions of these and the corresponding spell to activate it while reading his Book of Mestionora and revealed as such to the archdukes. They should not waste the tools at their disposal just because they were forgotten for centuries.

“Nenluessel. Ehrenfest.” And with that his whole party teleported to the castle grounds. Ferdinand gave his brother a sound blocking tool as they walked to the gardens were the funeral was about to take place.

“I am glad to see that you already dyed the foundation, Sylvester. It will be my honor to inaugurate you at the next archduke conference despite the sad circumstances.” Ferdinand's comment made Sylvester smile slightly.

“I was wondering whether you were truly okay with that. Everybody tells me that I am still too young to be taken seriously as an archduke”, he confided with an unusually nervous expression.

“You will just have to act the part. At the end of the day age does not matter too much. If you ever have any doubts about that just look at my case. I took the throne on the day of my graduation. It will work out.” But Sylvester still did not seem totally convinced.

“You were always destined for something great, Ferdinand. You cannot imagine how proud of you I am as your big brother.” Was he just buttering him up or did he really mean that?

“Then you will have to work to your hardest to make me proud as well as your little brother”, he smirked and Sylvester nodded.

“And I have many people who support me. Mother, uncle, Esmeralda and Florencia all provide very valuable insights for me. I cannot let anybody of them down and especially not you.” Ferdinand froze up shortly at the mention of Veronica listed as a pillar of support to Sylvester but it seemed to go by unnoticed.

Ferdinand took his place in the front row and noticed that Leopold was also in attendance to pay his respects. To his great relief Aub Klassenberg had chosen not to attend. Ferdinand had almost expected to see him here and with his now baptized granddaughter at his side to make yet another attempt to grab his attention for her. But the only other aubs were those from Frenbeltag and Ahrensbach. Were they here to pay their proper respects or were they just accompanying their wives who had lost their father?

He had already interacted a few times with Constanze, who had been at the archduke conference as the first wife of Aub Frenbeltag, but it was his first time actually talking to Georgine.

It seemed to him that she intended to exchange more than just polite greetings but they were interrupted by Veronica.

“My, I am feeling very honored that the Zent took time out of his busy schedule to pay respect to his dead father. Adelbert had often lamented the spareness of interaction that seemed to stem from that busy schedule. But he would be relieved to know that Dregarnuhr wove your thread in his direction at least when his own thread was cut.” Ferdinand smiled at her politely. Her insinuation that he had not prioritized his father enough while he had still been alive was mildly infuriating.

“Lady Veronica, my condolences regarding the loss of your husband. You must surely be stricken with grief. I imagine this might be one of Glucklitat's hardest trials to overcome”, he commented neutrally and Veronica answered with her own very noble smile. It was a pity that Adelbert had died before Veronica.

“I thank you ever so much for your kind words. There will be a lunch after the ceremony and all of Ehrenfest would be honored if you attended, Zent Ferdinand.” Ferdinand's smile grew wider and more intense at that.

“Unfortunately, due to my extremely busy schedule I will have to decline, Lady Veronica.” He was never going to eat anything from a kitchen that she had access to.

Ferdinand noticed how Georgine, who still stood next to him, had smiled knowingly at his refusal. Had she been the target of her abuse before him?

“It must have a been a long time since your last visit to Ehrenfest, Lady Georgine”, he changed both topic and the partner of his conversation at the first opportunity that seemed a polite enough stopping point in his chat with Veronica. Georgine seemed amused by that and entertained his talk.

“Indeed. I have not visited ever since my starbinding to Lord Gieselfried. It feels strange to visit after such a long time to see how much has changed now, and how much has stayed the same”, she replied while letting her eyes linger on Veronica. Ferdinand subtly raised an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly in understanding.

“May your rule be long and out of Chaocipher's claws, my Zent”, Georgine concluded with a smile as the sound of a bell marked the beginning of the funeral.

The ceremony itself was more pleasant than Ferdinand had expected. It seemed that Veronica had actually cared about her husband even though she had exploited him so much. Her illegitimate little brother Bezewanst officiated the funeral as Ehrenfest's High Bishop and Ferdinand had to admit that he fulfilled his duties to a satisfactory degree. Even though he had seen the smugness in his eyes.

Bezewanst had greeted him as Archbishop and not once acknowledged his position as Zent. Was that his pettiness to somehow rub it in that Ferdinand was now a member of the clergy as well and they were therefore somehow at one level? But Ferdinand felt no shame at being the spiritual head of Yurgenschmidt so he did not correct him in his addressing. After all it was still correct. And he was still very clearly his superior.

Late spring at the beginning of his 3rd year of zenthood. Age 18.

“Aubs of Yurgenschmidt, I have heard you pleas loud and clear. You are all feeling the impact of all those lives lost in the civil war, the purge and the latest attempt of usurpation. Yurgenschmidt has indeed suffered a lot and is in dire need of more who are graced with the gift of mana and educated to wield it.

Therefore, to ease your and the country's burden, I am announcing two new decrees. The first one comes from me as Zent and involves a change in the curriculum of the Royal Academy. New students will receive their divine will at the beginning of their first year. They will therefore be able to support noble society earlier and with more experience in using their schtappes upon graduation.

The second decree comes from me as the Archbishop of Yurgenschmidt. I will allow my blue priests to return to noble society even though it comes at the heavy price of losing them for their temple duties. They can be educated over the summer and autumn at the Royal Academy. You may however remind them upon their return that this does not change the oath they have made in front of the Gods upon entering the temple. They shall continue to live with just hearts, calm hearts and resolved hearts.”

The aubs in attendance seemed surprised by his announcement even though they had begged him so constantly to do something.

“And as a personal note. You may use your ivory towers more efficiently. Instead of removing a valuable source of mana from the surface of this country I urge you all to be more open to make use of those who have acted against you. While execution is still a very viable solution, I implore you all to widen your perspective in that regard”, he concluded with an evil smile. He himself was considering another entwickeln to build a second ivory tower as he was slowly but surely running out of empty cells in the first one. More than one aub seemed to agree to that notion only with quite obvious hesitation.

Late spring at the beginning of his 5th year of zenthood. Age 20.

The archduke conference in this fifth year had been utterly peaceful in comparison to the years before. It was the first time that he did not have to inaugurate a new aub or change the location of a foundation. So things were stable enough to inject some change.

“After Drewanchel, Dunkelfelger, Lebensruh and the Sovereignty have already established this new way of working inside their temples I am now targeting the remaining temples of Yurgenschmidt to change their ways as well. It is disgraceful that the places of worship for the Gods are only known as dens of sin and depravity. As Yurgenschmidt's Archbishop as well as its Zent I will supervise these reforms personally. Therefore, I will visit at least one duchy per year with personally selected blue priests from the Sovereignty that I will install as Inquisitors to drive these reforms. They will act on my authority so that this trombe of corruption that is plaguing the temples may be eradicated fully.” Ferdinand let his eyes wander across all the aubs in attendance but few dared to look him in the eye for long. Not like he had expected them to fight over who would be allowed to volunteer first. So he had to select one by himself? Should he just go by rank? That would be Klassenberg then.

“Zent Ferdinand, please allow Ehrenfest the honor to welcome your Inquisitors as the first duchy”, Sylvester declared after Ferdinand's announcement had been met with silence from all in attendance for way too long. Ferdinand raised an amused eyebrow.

Sylvester must have been aware of the implications. His uncle Bezewanst as the High Bishop was clearly involved in any corruption happening at the temple. Did his wish to reform Ehrenfest's temple imply that Sylvester was willing to loosen the iron grip that Veronica still had on everything in Ehrenfest? Ferdinand still felt like he owed his brother for his support in his adoption by Drewanchel and maybe now was the time to repay him.

“Very well, Aub Ehrenfest. I will arrive with my Inquisitors at the beginning of summer to teach those of Ehrenfest about my temple reforms.” Sylvester nodded and shortly revealed a boyish grin hidden behind his archduke persona as if he was truly looking forward to that.

Chapter Text

Summer in his 5th year of zenthood. Three days after summer baptisms. Ferdinand age 20. Myne age 7.

Ferdinand teleported to Ehrenfest's country gate at third bell. He was accompanied by his most trusted retainers, two of his blue priests who were most skilled and diligent at paperwork, and a squad of twenty knights.

He had chosen this date, three days after the summer baptisms, to not interfere with the general temple business and instead kick off the reform of Ehrenfest's temple personally at a point in time when he assumed them to be least busy. He did not intend to stay overnight just because they had other duties they could claim to do instead.

But Ferdinand truly wondered whether he would be as well received as his half-brother Sylvester had made it seem when he had volunteered his duchy as the first to be reformed under him. Ferdinand did not have any doubts that Veronica had been everything but pleased with Sylvester's exuberant display of obedience to and trust in his Zent.

And her little discarded brother was currently High Bishop in Ehrenfest. He already wondered how he could get rid of him without making the reasons too obvious. Maybe he would just retire quietly when the corruption was gone?

Even though Sylvester had offered him to teleport his group into the City of Ehrenfest he had declined. He wanted to see at least partially the current state of the duchy and therefore opted for travel by highbeast. In order to not inconvenience the blue priests in his entourage with this additional mana expenditure he had them ride with his knights. Otherwise they would waste too much of their mana just to keep up on their own highbeasts with trained and very eager archknights.

As he had feared, Ehrenfest was in a bad spot manawise as well. But it was not just not that. There were clear differences from province to province that they passed, indicating mismanagement of small chalices based on politics instead of need. His mood began to darken already.

“We will land directly on the balcony”, Ferdinand announced to his group as the temple came into view, when Heisshitze suddenly raised a hand to put the whole group to a halt.

“My Zent, there seems to be a commotion inside the High Bishop's chambers”, he began and Ferdinand enhanced his eye sight to see what Heisshitze had seen.

“Oh? Is that a little girl currently crushing Ehrenfest's High Bishop?”, he mused aloud and contemplated for a moment to see whether she would actually finish him off. But then he would have to execute a little girl for basically doing him a favor. That somehow did not sit right with him so he decided to interfere. Also he did not care to deal with Veronica's outrage at that.

“Well, we cannot have that. I have a meeting scheduled with him after all.” Flanked by Eckhart and Heisshitze and his group of knights behind him, he dashed forward to the balcony of the High Bishop's chambers. The doors were already open, most likely to let in a light summer breeze. But even though the room suddenly got way more occupied than before the little girl with hair as dark as the night sky did not even look at him or acknowledge his presence in any kind of way.

Ferdinand noticed how there were several gray priests lying on the floor and it seemed that this was the result of one of the two commoners in the room having fought with them. Ferdinand glared at him for that.

No matter the circumstances he did not want any violence inside his temples. The commoner at least had enough awareness to understand his place in Ferdinand's presence and hastily began kneeling. The woman to his side followed suit immediately even though she seemed clearly distressed and focused on the little girl who was still not paying any attention to him at all. Even as the High Bishop was passing out she did not stop to crush him.

“Calm yourself immediately, girl”, he ordered which actually made the girl look at him.

“How could I when he orders to kill my parents just in front of me?” Her voice was cold and distant as her oppressive force of mana was now actually trying to crush him. Ferdinand had thought himself beyond crushable by anyone but Erwaermen and maybe some of the greater duchy aubs if they really tried but the little girl in front of him made him taste blood in his mouth. Was that maybe possible due to her clearly heightened emotional state? He was more surprised than anything by that development but that even made it more clear that she had to stop.

“Cease this foolishness, girl. Continue with this outburst and you and your whole family will die for your attack on a noble.” At that her eyes suddenly widened and her rainbow-colored eyes changed to pure gold. She tumbled back and slumped down next to who seemed to be her parents.

She was lucky that Eckhart had worked on his self-restraint, he thought when he saw his most trusted guard knight twitching slightly during this whole interaction. But it would be a waste to just smite a child that was already so full of mana at such a young age. The country experienced a mana shortage after all. She might at least get a place in an ivory tower where her mana could be siphoned off.

“Fill me in on what you were discussing.” Ferdinand's cold gaze rested on the unconscious High Bishop and the grays lying on the ground.

“Everybody else, out.” At that, the gray priests that were still conscious began tending to the High Bishop and carried him out of his own chambers. They seemed relieved to be offered an opportunity to depart from the scene. The balcony was meanwhile filled to the brim with his knights. He could understand how the grays were intimidated by that.

Justus and Heidemarie had entered the chambers as well by the time only the commoners remained.

“We were discussing the conditions under which our daughter Myne might enter the temple, honorable-”, the man looked up for a moment, unsure how to address Ferdinand. He was currently wearing his Archbishop robes, so he was clad in pure white robes that were embroidered in all colors of the rainbow.

“Archbishop”, he neutrally supplied and the man bowed his head again. The girl had named the commoners her parents and they had just confirmed that relation. But that just did not seem likely to Ferdinand based on her impressive display of crushing. He nevertheless gestured the man to continue.

“Honorable Archbishop, due to her sickly condition and her suffering from the Devouring we can only allow her to enter with blue robes. Otherwise she will not even be able to do the work assigned to her.”

A case of Devouring? And he expected him to actually believe that? Was she not obviously the child of a noble?

“How can she be free to join the temple then? She must have for sure already signed a contract with a noble, no?” A petty conflict over a Devouring commoner was not something he wanted to involve in his temple reforms so he was already losing interest in her. It was however the girl, who seemed to have recovered enough to change into an appropriate kneeling position herself, that answered.

“I did not sign a contract with a noble and I do not intend to do so. The High Bishop seemed to agree to me joining the temple to put my mana into the divine instruments but he changed his mind today out of nowhere.”

Ferdinand narrowed his eyes. How much mana did she actually have? Enough to be worth the effort?

“Justus, test her.” At that Justus enthusiastically stepped forward. How could he always be so easily amused? Ferdinand hid his annoyance behind his noble mask but he still wondered about that easy-going side of his retainer. At least the smile had a somewhat calming effect on the commoners who had frozen at his command.

Justus was currently squatting in front of the kneeling girl and handed her a feystone that she accepted with reluctance.

“Sir?” Her anxiety was written clearly on her face but it was mixed with signs of confusion. It was actually relaxing to look into someone's face that was so overwhelmingly easy to read.

“There is some heat inside you, little girl. Release it into this stone.”

Ferdinand was once again impressed by the flexibility in Justus' social interactions. He did not show even one sign of hesitation to change into his commoner-friendly persona. And Ferdinand knew that he even enjoyed having this rather rare opportunity right now. It had taken Ferdinand over a year of learning from Justus to be even somewhat comparable in skill but he still despised that casual talking style.

The girl still seemed skeptical of him but she actually grabbed the feystone with both hands and closed her eyes in concentration.

At first the stone began to glow but before Justus could even tell her to stop it had already been turned into gold dust. Oho?

As the girl realized that the stone in her hands was suddenly gone she opened her eyes and stared at her empty hands. She seemed close to tears but the hungry look in Justus' eyes that he had not covered up fast enough seemed to have shocked her into not crying.

“I- I am terribly sorry for destroying your beautiful stone!” She looked between Justus and Ferdinand in hope of conveying her emotions but Justus stopped her with a gesture of his hand.

“Don't worry, this is fine”, he assured her while carefully collecting the gold dust from the floor. Ferdinand could not deny that he began feeling amused by the little girl. Maybe she could be used to continuously generate gold dust if it came so easy to her?

“Myne, was it? What were your other conditions apart from blue robes?” Ferdinand took a step closer and leaned down slightly to inspect the still trembling girl and her parents. He even offered them one of his pleasant and approachable smiles. If she was to become a blue robe to offer her mana freely that was indeed preferable as it was a more efficient way than draining it in an ivory tower. And there were only so many cells available to begin with. And so many were already occupied.

But despite having asked the girl herself, her father took over to answer his question. He really had to commend Eckhart afterwards for showing so much restraint today. Maybe he had noticed his amusement and was therefore allowing their behavior to continue.

“Due to her sickly nature she needs to take off days when she lies down with a fever. And she is still a little girl who needs her family, so we want her to live at home in the city and not at the temple.” Ferdinand raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. These were privileges granted to all blue priests anyway. It was unfathomable why they thought they would need to negotiate for them.

“Commuting and only working on days when she will be able to are nothing out of the order.”

They seemed to drastically relax at that. It seemed to have been one of their major concerns. He thought that was all of it but the little girl now actually spoke up.

“I will also need to keep my workshop. I am a forewoman. But I can offer a part of the profits to the temple as a donation.” Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at her ever so slightly again.

“Those who serve the gods typically do not need any other occupation. What kind of workshop is that and how are you already its forewoman?” He narrowed his eyes at her and his stare hardened.

“Honorable Archbishop, my workshop produces plant paper as a cheaper alternative to parchment and I am its forewoman because I invented it together with a friend.” A plant based alternative to parchment invented by this little girl?

“I am intrigued. We can discuss this plant paper in extensive details at some later point. At this point, I do not see a reason to stop such an endeavor. Send twenty percent of its profits as a donation to the temple and you may keep it.” He noticed how the girl in front of him flinched as he grinned at her in a quite pleased manner. Talking to her had been far more enjoyable than he had imagined talking to Bezewanst would be.

“Very well, Myne, your conditions are acceptable, I will see to it that you will be given blue robes. Heidemarie, take her measurements before we leave.”

“Understood, Zent Ferdinand.” He was barely surprised that none of them reacted to him being addressed by his full name and title. It seemed that commoners were not privy to the information who actually ruled their country. Their area of interest was limited to their city, or maybe their duchy at most. He was about to gesture his retainers that he was about to proceed with their next point on their agenda, when the little girl spoke up again.

“I apologize for the disturbance, but there is actually another condition I was made to believe would be met if I joined the temple to offer my mana.” Ferdinand stared at her with hardened eyes. In contrast to him his retainers were basically staring daggers at her.

“Oh?” He was not sure whether he should acknowledge the courage to negotiate even after an agreement had been reached or teach her about the foolishness of her current action.

“I need access to the book room.” Oddly specific. Did she know its importance for the duchy? Was that really something a commoner would ask for?

“Why?” She raised her head to look him in the eyes and immediately flinched as she noticed his hard glare. He would not miss any lies uttered by her.

“Because I want to read, milord.” Ferdinand was slightly confused but did not soften his eyes.

“You can read?” Was that not supposed to be rare for commoners of her age? Were commoners even able to read at an acceptable level? But if she was able to then she could help out with the paperwork as well.

“Yes, milord.” The sparkle in her eyes threw him off. She had not been this lively before. She wanted to read so badly?

“Every blue priest has access to the book room. There is no need to negotiate for it. You will just need to ask for the key.” At that she suddenly jumped up and entered a clumsy praying pose. Both Eckhart and Heisshitze had acted quite uneasy at her sudden movement.

“Praise be to the gods!”, she exclaimed with raised arms and a raised left knee before she suddenly collapsed. Her parents seemed torn between remaining in their kneeling position and rushing to their daughter but Ferdinand could only stare at the girl with contempt.

“This is unsightly, girl. Stand up.” But she showed no reaction to neither his words nor his tone. Had she lost consciousness? Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at the girl lying on the floor.

“Heidemarie”, he ordered and she immediately began checking the girl for any signs of sickness or harm. At least her parents had the presence of mind to stay where they were.

“She appears to have a fever. I can find no other cause for this at this moment.” Was that typical for those with the Devouring? Or was she genuinely sickly on top of that? He scrutinized the girl for a moment before he decided to do something nice for a change. She had crushed Veronica's little brother for him after all. A smirk crept on his face.

“I am feeling generous, Heidemarie, apply Heilschmerz.” Heidemarie's eyes widened at that unexpected order but she complied immediately. Judging from the looks of the rest of his retainers she was not the only one who seemed surprised.

But as the green light descended onto Myne her condition did not improve. Ferdinand furrowed his brow in annoyance.

“Try Flutrane.” Another green light descended onto the little girl still on the floor at which she seemed to recover slightly. At least she seemed to now react when spoken to.

“Well, take her measurements while she can still cooperate.” Ferdinand then stared at her parents.

“Is this typical for your daughter?”

“Yes, honorable Archbishop, she most likely overexerted herself today. Her fever will last for a few days, I imagine.”

“I see. If she has recovered, send her to the tempel at third bell in three days time. If she has not recovered, send word to the Inquisitors with her expected recovery date.”

Chapter Text

Summer in his 5th year of zenthood. Ferdinand age 20. Myne age 7.

Her parents had been surprised at how fast Myne was recovering from her latest fever. She had collapsed at the end of her negotiations for blue robes with someone who had seemed to outrank even the High Bishop. He had frightened all of them at first but he had been very indulgent with Myne. That had been quite a relief for her after she had misjudged the High Bishop so severely before. He had only been kind and caring as long as he had not seen how poor her parents actually were.

But this Archbishop had been different. And he had not even batted an eye at her demands for commuting and being allowed to enter the book room!

Her mom told her that he might have even ordered healing magic to be cast on her. She had described the green lights that had rained down on her and that that might have been the reason why she was now almost recovered after only two days. Myne was unsure what she should think of that. Healing magic existed?

She only remembered waking up on the floor after trying to express her thanks to the Gods with a very foggy mind and then being handled by a female noble who seemed to be equipped with a tape measure tool. They had said something about her getting measured for blue robes before that point but she had not understood why it was necessary to do that while she very clearly belonged into a bed. And actually, the next memory she had was that of her waking up in her own bed with Tuuli in her arms. That had been nice.

“Myne, I know I cannot accompany you today inside the temple but I fear for you. This High Bishop will be your enemy now. You must avoid him at any chance. Instead you must try everything to stay on the good side of this Archbishop. He seemed quite reasonable and he might be the only one who can protect you there. You must do your best today, Myne!”, Gunther demanded and Myne responded with a firm nod and a soldier's salute.

She was nervous herself but how bad could it actually be? Her plan was just to get her robes and read some books, surely nothing too complicated.

Talking to Lutz on her way to the temple had been fun and Myne agreed to visit the Gilberta Company in the afternoon on her way back in order to report everything that had happened in the meantime to Benno.

As they arrived at the temple gate she told the guard why she was there and he immediately ushered her into a waiting room and summoned a gray priest who would act as her guide. Myne followed the young man with green hair and way too long strides as he led her to her destination. He only turned around to her at one corner as he heard her panting from the exertion of keeping up with his pace and smiled apologetically. But after he had waited for her to catch her breath again he continued with almost the same walking speed.

Fortunately for Myne the last part of their walk was short.

Her guide took a small bell out of his sash and rang it in front of a heavily ordained door which was promptly opened. She was glad for that since the guard next to it was looking her all over with a harsh glare.

She followed behind her guide and was struck by the sheer beauty of the room. It had a clear divine shine to it and as she saw the large altar with several large objects displayed on it at the end of the room she knew that it must have been intended to evoke exactly that impression. In front of the altar stood three men who all wore blue robes but two of them wore white capes in addition.

“Inquisitors, High Priest, I bring the new apprentice blue shrine maiden with me”, the gray priest announced and all three men nodded.

“Thank you, Arno, please wait outside the altar room”, the priest without a cape instructed and now Myne was alone with the three men towering over her.

“Welcome to the temple. I am Waldemar and this is Maximilian but you may address both of us as 'Inquisitor' since that is the position the Archbishop has assigned to us.” The blond blue priest with a white cape had spoken and was scrutinizing Myne with an unreadable gaze while he pointed first at himself and then at his bright purple haired colleague. She nodded and tried to burn their names into her mind.

“Myne, in order to serve as a blue shrine maiden you will need to make an oath to the Gods. Great misfortune will befall those who break this oath as all Gods will be watching as you swear it.” She nodded once again with determination.

“Then kneel next to me and repeat my words.”

Myne did as instructed and received some harsh glares from all three men at her insufficient praying pose at the end of her oath. While she was then allowed to pick up her robes there was no place for her to change into them. And she somehow had a feeling that it would be improper to just pull them over her head in this sacred place.

“A blue shrine maiden who cannot pray properly? Brother Egmont, please see to it that she gets educated immediately”, Waldemar asked of the one without a cape who agreed on the spot.

“The need seems to be indeed quite urgent, Inquisitor, I will personally take care that she acquires skilled attendants.” Myne wanted to interject that she did not need attendants at all, but Waldemar answered before she even had a chance.

“That is much appreciated, Brother Egmont. See to it that one of them is able to teach her the harspiel as well. And those with experience serving blue shrine maidens should be preferable to teach her what will be her expected behavior.”

“The harspiel? That is usually not necessary”, Egmont replied with a raised eyebrow but the Inquisitor just brushed him off.

“The Archbishop added a note to her file to include that in her education. It is said to help one feel closer to the Gods so I did not see a reason to argue against that.” Myne was glad that his suddenly dark glare was not directed at her. She flinched almost involuntarily at imagining to be the target of his scorn.

“There is naturally nothing wrong with what the Archbishop has decided”, Egmont replied with a slimy face before he ordered Myne to follow him. They reunited with his gray priest Arno at the door and she had to break into a jog to keep up with both of them.

“Sister Myne, this is unsightly. Do not move like this is somewhere in the slums that you are so familiar with. This is the temple. You need to move with elegance and grace”, Egmont chided her as he turned around to look at the exhausted mess she had become after just a few turns.

“I- I apologize, Brother Egmont, I am just physically unable to move any faster without running”, she said while trying to catch her breath. She could hear his disgruntled click of a tongue before he answered.

“You will address me as High Priest, Sister Myne. Arno, carry her. It is unacceptable like this”, he frowned while Myne was suddenly lifted up into Arno's arms where she tried to suppress a pained whimper at his overly tight grip. The High Priest seemed unlikely to accept any further delays. She just had to endure this one trip.

They left the main temple complex and soon arrived at a separate building with large stairs leading up to its entrance. Arno carried Myne up these stairs as well before he sat her down at the top. He then opened the doors and they were welcomed by a large group of gray priests and shrine maidens who were hastily lining up and kneeling. Myne could see how Egmont smiled at that.

“Come to think of it, I could also do with another attendant...”, he mumbled to himself before he addressed the room.

“All those with experience serving blue shrine maidens, step forward. All those with an adequate level of skill for the harspiel, step forward”, he ordered and sixth of the grays rose and lined up in front of them. Egmont then began inspecting them from all angles. He was inspecting them like animals on the market. What kind of place was this?

“Look me in the eyes, show me your face”, he ordered the only adult gray shrine maiden who kept her bright orange hair in a tight bun.

“I apologize, High Priest”, she responded while clearly fighting against her trembling body and forcibly raised her head to look him in the eyes. But even then she could not stand his gaze for long before she looked at the floor again.

“Ts. You have experience with blue shrine maidens?”, he asked in annoyance.

“Yes, High Priest. I have served Sister Christine”, she answered quietly but still audible.

“Ah, yes, Sister Christine.” His eyes took on a distant and almost lecherous expression. Why were they talking about her in the past? Had she fled the temple?

“It was always a pleasure to see her walking around the hallways”, he reminisced while the gray shrine maiden in front of him was still obviously fighting with keeping her body under control.

“Yes, you will do. Did you learn to play the harspiel?”

“My skill is only that of an amateur, High Priest. It is Rosina who received the highest praise from Sister Christine.” He scoffed at that in annoyance.

“Who of you is Rosina?”, he demanded and a girl close to her coming of age raised her hand shyly. Her wavy, auburn hair made Myne wonder how good it would look if she used rinsham on top of whatever else her hair care routine was. Egmont seemed a bit taken aback as well.

“You are quite pleasant on the eye, Rosina”, he commented and Myne felt like struck by lightning. Was this not about selecting attendants for her? Why was it important how she looked? Especially since all the gray shrine maidens seemed to be exceptionally beautiful to her.

“When will you come of age?”, he inquired and wet his lips involuntarily.

“At the end of winter, High Priest”, she answered with slightly widened eyes.

“More than half a year still? Ts. Not worth the wait”, he lamented.

“Sister Myne, take these two as your attendants. You will also need a male attendant for the more physically demanding jobs. Take that one as well”, he said and pointed at one of the lined up gray priests at random who looked up in surprise.

“High Priest, you are not looking for attendants for yourself?”, the selected gray priest inquired in a polite tone.

“I might as well since I am already here but you three will serve Sister Myne. Ask Arno about the location of her chambers and then change her into her robes already.”

At that they knelt before Myne, who was still in her Gilberta Company apprentice clothes and held her robes in her own arms. Rosina relieved her of the burden to carry them while the gray priest spoke with Arno. Meanwhile Egmont was eyeing the third girl who had lined up.

“You are also not bad. When will you come of age?”, he inquired and she smiled at him with clear signs of distress.

“At the end of summer, High Priest.” Egmont's eyes took on a predatory look.

“Perfect. You are my new attendant”, he declared and she knelt in acceptance with a fearful smile.

“Sister Myne, please follow me”, her new attendant said in a polite and emotionless tone as he guided her back to the main temple complex. Her female attendants were to her left and right and once again Myne hated her stubby legs that could not keep up with the long strides of an adult. It was the one with bright orange hair who then saw her struggle and saved her.

“Fran, please slow down. Sister Myne is a bit troubled by the pace you propose”, she commented in a shy voice at which Fran halted abruptly and turned around, visibly appalled as he confirmed its truth.

“I apologize deeply, Sister Myne”, he said while kneeling and it took Myne more than a moment to understand that he was waiting for a reaction before he would continue.

“Don't worry about that, it is me who must grow up and get longer legs”, she tried to wave it off but his expression hardened.

“Sister Myne, please do not speak so casually with your attendants”, he chastised and Myne nodded in confusion. Was everybody so uptight in the temple? She studied the woman to her right who had spoken up to slow down the one she had then called Fran.

“May I help you with something, Sister Myne?”, she inquired after she had noticed her gaze.

“What is your name? The High Priest did not seem to ask for it during his selection...”, she asked with confusion still written on her face. Nobody had bothered to explain anything to her so far.

“I am Wilma, Sister Myne.” Her smile was utterly calming to her.

“Sister Myne, it seems that there might have been a miscommunication as the chambers that Arno told me to guide you to are in no way prepared”, Fran informed her after he had opened the doors and had a quick look inside.

“Who might have been responsible for preparing them?”, Myne tried to ask in what she imagined to be a polite tone and was met with a surprised expression on Fran's face.

“The families of the blue priests and shrine maidens usually take care of sending furniture and necessities of the daily life, Sister Myne”, he explained with a confused tone.

“Then I imagine that these are indeed the correct chambers. Let us enter, Fran.”

“Sister Myne, you should first change into these robes as the High Priest has instructed”, Rosina remarked as she let her eyes wander across the room.

The furniture was very bare bone and wildly different in style and quality from piece to piece. The bed even lacked curtains, mattress and bedding.

“There is no screen here...”, she mumbled and glanced at Fran in clear discomfort.

“I will wait outside the chambers then while Sister Myne is changing”, he proposed and both Wilma and Rosina nodded. Myne noticed how Wilma visibly relaxed now that he was gone. Had he bullied her in the past?

A light ring of a bell announced Fran's return into her chambers.

“There has been a message for Sister Myne. She is invited for lunch with the Inquisitors.” Wilma's and Rosina's eyes widened at that.

“On which day, Fran?”, Rosina begged him to clarify and he forced a small smile as he answered.

“Today. Considering that we should not rush her walking speed I imagine we must depart now without further delay.” He stared at the now blue robed Myne for confirmation and she nodded. What was she actually expected to do in such a situation? And was it not nice of them to invite her for lunch? Why were her attendants suddenly struck by fear?

“Sister Myne, thank you for following our invitation”, the blond priest with the white cape named Waldemar said with a neutral expression as he gestured her to take a seat.

“I am honored, Inquisitors”, she answered and sat down, hoping that her tone was polite enough. If even her attendant was insistent on being spoken to politely she was willing to bet that those above her were paying attention to it as well.

“Due to the hastened circumstances of your entry into the temple, I imagine you did not yet have the chance to acquire chefs of your own.” Myne nodded at that. Chefs? She would need chefs?

“I am thankful for your concern. I was not aware that I will need to hire chefs”, she looked around with an unsure expression and was met with polite but unreadable faces.

“You are free to just buy the ready meals for you, your attendants and the divine gifts instead. It is by no means a necessary requirement. Although it is usually the preferred way.” Now the bright purple haired blue priest with a white cape named Maximilian had spoken and Myne froze. Divine gifts? And she had to feed all of her attendants? Was it wise to ask for clarification now or should she ask her attendants later?

“I understand. I thank you ever so much.” Myne decided to fake her understanding which caused her opponents to smile.

“Very well, then we should start the meal in order to not delay the divine gifts too much”, Waldemar suggested and at that several gray priests started moving inside the room and to her surprise her own did as well.

She noticed the scrutinizing glances on her but she did not dare to comment on that. Were they waiting for her to fail with the cutlery? Then they were in for a disappointment! She reached for it with confidence but stopped as she saw Fran's panicked expression to her side. Was this a trap? What kind of faux-pas had she committed? She folded her hands in her lap and looked to the Inquisitors who had invited her.

“Sister Myne, it is customary in the temple to pray before a meal. Have your attendants teach it to you till dinner today so that your commoner origins will be less obvious in the future. Now, speak after me”, Maximilian explained and Myne copied his prayer. She had noticed how her own attendants had looked at her in surprise as he mentioned her 'commoner origins'. Hopefully it was only surprise and nothing worse.

“Sister Myne, did you already have a chance to inspect your chambers?”, Waldemar asked after the first course had been finished. Myne nodded hastily to confirm his inquiry and was met with a stern glare. So it was an open question not a yes/no one? Why did he not just say so?

“Yes, it seems to be quite well equipped already with only some bookshelves missing to make it perfectly livable”, she answered and was met with raised eyebrows.

“I see. I was under the impression that it still lacked quite a lot more but I am glad that you already took care of these things then. The furniture that had been provided by the temple consists of the remnants of former blue priests who did not take everything with them. If you decide to exchange some pieces against those more suitable to your own tastes please return the old ones to the temple's storage.” Myne paled slightly. There were more things missing? Right, Rosina had mentioned a screen. She had to ask Benno to help her equip her chambers then. He should know what she was still lacking.

“The High Priest confirmed that you now have an attendant who is capable of playing the harspiel?”, Maximilian then inquired while the second course was being plated. Myne tilted her head at him in confusion before she picked up a subtle gesture from Rosina.

“Yes, Rosina is the one with this skill, even though I am unfamiliar with the word. I apologize.” She was met with another raised eyebrow at that but there was only so much she could do about her lack of knowledge.

“If you are even unfamiliar with the word then you will require more practice time than anticipated as well, I imagine. Come to the temple at second bell and practice the harspiel till third bell as part of your daily routine, Sister Myne.” Now it was Myne's turn to raise an eyebrow at them.

“Will my duties not consist of offering mana and reading the bible?”, she asked in open confusion.

“Hm, we might as well discuss your schedule right now”, Waldemar noted and his companion nodded.

“After your harspiel practice, you are expected in our office from third to fourth bell to help with the temple's paperwork. Since you have been helping out at the south gate with their paperwork this should not pose an issue.” He was scrutinizing her reaction. Myne was not sure why and how they knew about her help at the gate but there was no way to deny anything like that. She wanted to shrug but caught herself halfway through and instead nodded politely.

“After lunch you will offer your mana to the divine instruments. Have one of your attendants retrieve it from the altar room and fill it with as much mana as you can safely spare. You may dedicate the rest of the day to learning the ways of a blue shrine maiden. This may include reading and memorizing the bible but your first task will be to improve that poor prayer pose of yours.”

Myne felt blood rush to her cheeks as she imagined herself spending hours on that Glico pose. But the eager glares from her attendants kept her from commenting on it. This seemed to be a challenge directed at them.

“The Archbishop mentioned that I could go to the book room if I borrowed the key to it. Who might I need to ask for that?” Myne still needed to address her most pressing topic of interest.

“You may send an attendant to retrieve it from me”, Waldemar answered and Myne nodded eagerly.

“However, I will only provide it to you after you have fixed your prayer pose”, he remarked and Myne nodded even more eagerly. A very clear goal!

They were currently at the last course, some pleasantly sweet fruit tarte, as the topic shifted once again.

“Sister Myne, the High Bishop has noted with quite some insistence that – even though he does not wish to interact with you at all – you still promised to donate a rather large sum of money to the temple and he wishes to hold you accountable to that.” Myne tilted her head.

“That is correct, Inquisitor. But how should I pay this? I imagine you do not have a guild card to transfer it easily.”

“You need merely bring it here, Sister Myne”, he answered with slight confusion at her question.

“Inquisitor, I am a little girl who has never in her life transported such a large sum. What if I am robbed?” The worry was clear in her voice but Waldemar still looked at her with bewilderment.

“If you are that concerned about safety I am willing to lend you one of the knights that are currently stationed at the temple.” But Myne still hesitated.

“Are you afraid that he will rob you as well?”, he spoke with a mocking tone and Myne was not sure whether she was allowed to nod. Because that was exactly her worry. This was one large gold after all!

“Are you serious, Sister Myne? Take Lord Heisshitze then. He is one of the Archbishop's trusted retainers. Surely you can trust in him as well”, Maximilian dared her with a suspicious glare and nodded in the direction of the guard knight who was currently stationed inside their room.

“I would feel honored to be under such esteemed protection to deliver my donation at an appropriate time”, was all she could answer. Did that really make him trustworthy just because her 'boss' trusted him?

She felt awfully drained after this lunch that doubled as a briefing and was glad that the next part on her agenda was just releasing some of her mana into one of the divine instruments that Fran had brought her.

Her attendants had adapted exceedingly quickly to the news that she was no noble by birth and were trying their hardest to drill the correct prayer pose into her during her first afternoon. To her dismay she was limited by the strength in her arms and the stamina of her whole body. But the multitude of necessary breaks was then used to ingrain the prayer before a meal into her head. As fifth bell rang she felt overloaded and was glad for the respite that returning to her family offered. But just as she was about to leave her chambers and when Fran was about to open the door for her that guard knight from before was begging entry.

“Sister Myne, the carriage will arrive shortly. May I have a moment of your time to discuss another matter first?” Why was he here? Did he want to go collect the donation money now?

“Of course, please come in, Lord Heisshitze”, she invited him with a nervous smile and stared at Fran in search for help but he just seemed to wait for her command. Maybe she should at least warn Benno?

“Fran, there should be a blond haired boy about my age by the name of 'Lutz' waiting for me at the temple gate. Please inform him that I will be visiting Mister Benno by carriage shortly together with Lord Heisshitze.” Fran nodded and left. Had she sent away her only chance of support? Wilma seemed frozen in fear and Rosina seemed lost in her thoughts.

“Apart from your duties that you have discussed with the Inquisitors today, I am here to inform you of another task that the Archbishop expects from you.” He then handed Rosina a small leather bag that seemed to be filled with marbles judging from the sound it made when handled. Rosina looked at it with elegant curiosity.

“You are to fill the stones inside this bag with mana until they turn to dust. This bag is not allowed to leave the temple. As soon as its contents are fully turned to dust have your attendants return it to me and I will prepare a new one.” Myne's eyes flitted between the bag in Rosina's hands and Lord Heisshitze's face unsure what answer was expected of her.

“The Archbishop wants me to destroy more of his beautiful stones?” She very clearly remembered the stone that she had destroyed during his 'test'. The man had claimed that it was no problem for him but Myne had not believed him. But now Lord Heisshitze confirmed this as well.

“Think of it like changing the material instead of destroying it. The Archbishop has requested this from you explicitly, Sister Myne. You may not be aware of it, Sister Myne, but you are also not of high enough status to refuse him.”

Myne's eyes widened at that. She had not intended to refuse him! She had just wanted to clarify!

“Rosina, please hand me the bag”, she instructed and was given the bag almost immediately. Myne put her hand inside and could feel the many small stones.

She grabbed one and tried to release some of the heat into it but noticed how it did not work at all. Were these some special stones that were like super hard to release the heat into? But then she noticed how her inner heat was gone and she remembered how she had poured it all into the divine instrument after lunch. If she wanted to dust these stones here she needed more of that heat. So there was a first time for everything. Even for the want for more of that heat. She opened the imaginary box and let out more of the heat that she had locked up there. It felt oddly relaxing to her at that point. Like entering an onsen after a long day.

She then tried once again to release some heat into the stones and to her great relief ended up with dust at her fingers. Myne smiled at that which earned her a raised eyebrow from Lord Heisshitze.

She practiced the release of the heat into the stones some more before she decided that opening the box must have done the trick.

“Will it be okay if it takes more than a day, Lord Heisshitze?”, she inquired as she guessed that she had now pulverized roughly one quarter of the bag and felt like it was best to stop.

“Yes, of course. Do not overexert yourself, Sister Myne. Just let me know when you need a new bag to continue.”

Myne had an exceedingly bad conscience as she arrived in front of the Gilberta Company in the carriage that Lord Heisshitze had arranged for her. At least the store was completely empty with the exception of Benno, Mark and Lutz even though it was not yet officially closing time.

Mark had let them in with hurried grace and Benno had only seemed slightly furious at her as she asked him to accompany her to the Merchant's Guild to withdraw one large gold from there. He had then glanced at Lord Heisshitze who had said nothing and Fran, who had joined her at the insistence of Lord Heisshitze and had been standing slightly behind Myne.

Benno had then excused himself for a moment and returned with ten small golds from his private reserves as it seemed. He had tapped guild cards with Myne and then handed her the money in a nicely decorated box. She was not very eager to let Fran carry the box but Lord Heisshitze had glared at her as she tried to carry it herself so she felt the sudden dread of having to trust both of them with way too much money.

Fortunately they returned to the temple without being robbed and then went to the Inquisitors' office with her donation.

They had not said much in acknowledgment of the hefty sum but had seemed quite pleased by it nevertheless.

She was glad that she could finally return home and she was not surprised that she woke up with a fever the next day.

Day by day and week by week Myne learned to deal with her new routine without overexerting herself. Practicing the harspiel still felt daring, especially since she had learned that the instruments that she and Rosina were using were a special lending arrangement from the castle. Myne did not even dare to ask what would happen in case of a scratch on the expensive instruments.

The leather bags that were provided by Lord Heisshitze were exchanged about weekly. She had to admit that it was actually a lot of fun to make them pop and turn to dust even though she still wondered what all this was about. What did he do with so much dust? Maybe it was used for gilding some new statues for the temple? Were they getting bored of the ivory look?

And even the paperwork was kind of fun to her. She now felt like a detective who followed the stream of money to find where it went. Why were they buying so many flowers anyway? And where were they displaying them? It was such a huge budget point but there were rarely any visible. But when she had asked one of the Inquisitors about that his expression just went blank and his eyes distant before he told her to not concern herself with that kind of question. Her job was barely to check the paperwork and do the math not to question anything further. And she did not see the need to antagonize the Inquisitors. They at least seemed reasonable behind their strictness unlike most of the other blue priests.

“And now let us decide who will visit which cities and provinces during the Harvest Festival this year”, the High Bishop began and seemed especially smug to Myne.

She hated these meetings as they were the only time when she actually had to encounter the man who had ordered her parents' death right in front of her and whom she had then crushed quite heavily in return. He still seemed to fear a similar outburst so he kept his schemes petty but she was still annoyed by that. She forced herself to smile as he explained where everybody who had participated during spring prayer was going to earn their well deserved tax money.

Myne sighed and did not comment. She herself was not very eager to travel through half of the duchy by carriage just to collect taxes. As she did not rise to his bait he looked almost disappointed.

“High Bishop, have you made a decision about the orphanage? Its current state is disgraceful”, Waldemar noted. He had brought up the topic at the last meeting two weeks ago and the High Bishop had promised he would do something about it. And now that High Bishop was grinning widely.

“Yes, Inquisitor, it seems the orphanage is suffering from the lack of an orphanage director. Sister Myne, since you will not be occupied with any other official temple duties for the time being, I want you to take over that role”, he ordered with a smug smile and Myne froze.

“I feel honored, High Bishop, but should this not fall into the hands of somebody more experienced?”, she tried to avoid refusing him outright but she could not see herself as orphanage director either.

His grin widened.

“'The Gods favor those who help themselves', Sister Myne. I am sure the task will not be too much for you. You have experience in managing your workshop after all and I imagine you are quite accustomed to dealing with ever hungry pre-baptism younglings due to your... background.” His smile was almost diabolical but nobody objected his reasoning, not even the Inquisitors.

Myne had no chance but to accept.

And she almost vomited when she entered the basement in the girl's building with Wilma on the next day to see what all the fuss about its 'disgraceful state' had been about.

It was mostly thanks to Lutz that Myne managed to deal with her new role as orphanage director. He had shown her a perspective that allowed her to work for them without feeling the immense pressure of all their lives on her shoulders.

Together they established the orphanage branch of her Myne workshop and the orphans began to understand that they could save themselves in the future by their own hands' work. The one who had brought them that change was almost like a saint to them. Their dread and despair from just a few weeks prior was blown away whenever she taught them something new or gave them a new task to learn.

Even as the Archbishop announced a visit at the end of summer to evaluate her progress and learn about her workshop as promised during her interview they did not lose their smiles. They all worked hard to show him how they produced the paper and, judging from his smile, the Archbishop seemed quite pleased with what they were doing.

As he took a look at her financial report his smile toned down a bit but Myne was not too worried. They were still in the investment phase of the workshop after all. Of course the development of printing took some of the profits. But she was more than motivated to make it work. Her mom had just told her that she was going to be a big sister – there was no way that she was letting anything stop her from showering her little brother or sister with lots of picture books!

Early autumn in his 5th year of zenthood. Ferdinand age 20. Myne age 7.

“Fran, thank you for accompanying me to the book room even though you are so busy once again”, she said while passing through the hallway.

Fran started to respond but stopped as he noticed the nobles with ocher caps that had turned around a corner and where now merely a few steps away. Myne was more than used to these encounters by now since these were the knights that the Archbishop had arranged for and they patrolled the hallways regularly. Their task was to protect 'the peace in the temple' as Lord Heisshitze had explained to her after she had wondered aloud why the temple had guards to begin with.

She stepped to the side and knelt like she always did at these occasions, but this time they did not simply pass by. Instead one of the two, the one with yellow-green hair, stopped in his steps and looked at her with open disdain in his eyes.

“Aren't you that commoner scum?”

Chapter Text

Summer in his 5th year of zenthood. Ferdinand age 20. Myne age 7.

“This assignment is a huge chance for you, Damuel”, Lord Karstedt said with a compelling tone that was befitting for Ehrenfest's Knight Commander. Damuel just nodded with a neutral expression.

He had just graduated the Royal Academy a season ago and had been looking forward to participate in real missions for the Knight's Order, but he seemed to have drawn the short stick of the lot once again.

“By ensuring the peace inside the temple during its reformation you become a representative of Aub Ehrenfest himself and his conviction in supporting the Zent's will. As a member of Ehrenfest's noble society yourself I expect you to have more sway on quarreling blue priests than the Sovereignty's knights that are stationed in the temple. If you do a good job you might even receive direct praise from the Zent himself.”

Damuel felt like the Knight Commander was definitely overselling his new assignment. And even though he was a 'member of Ehrenfest's noble society' he was not sure whether the blue priests would be willing to listen to him. They had their families' support after all and he was just a laynoble of the lowest stratum. And even though he knew that they were in the middle of a mana and noble shortage, he felt it disrespectful to the Zent to send him to serve a position that the Zent had requested to be filled with Ehrenfest knights. After all, Damuel knew about his own weakness and lack of mana.

But he was not in a position to question Lord Karstedt on this. So instead he donned his light feystone armor on his first day and waited for the second knight assigned to this position and therefore his colleague. Damuel was surprised to see that it was a mednoble. He had thought the other one was a laynoble like him as well.

“Good morning, Shikza, I am honored to be working alongside you”, Damuel tried to butter his colleague up a bit since he seemed to be in a bad mood already.

“Ts. Morning, Damuel. So you drew the short stick as well? This is such a shameful assignment.” The disdain was palpable in his voice but Damuel did not know how to react.

“Yeah, going to the temple... don't know what to expect from this”, he mumbled and Shikza seemed somewhat pacified by that.

Early autumn in his 5th year of zenthood. Ferdinand age 20. Myne age 7.

“Have you seen how smug he was? All high and mighty with his 'the temple is now merely a place of worship' blah.” Shikza seemed more angry than usual to Damuel.

They had just left a meeting with the High Bishop where Shikza had nonchalantly inquired about flower offerings but the High Bishop had declined. In a way Damuel was really glad for that even though the mood of his colleague was now at absolutely rock bottom.

“Do not look at me like this, Damuel. As if you were not interested as well”, he lashed out, but Damuel deflected.

“Shikza, I am engaged. I will tie my thread next year to a layknight from Frenbeltag and I intend to wait for her without any flowers in between.” At that he pulled out the engagement feystone that hung around his neck for Shikza to see.

“Ts. You are such a wimp. It is not like she will ever know of this.” But he let go of his verbal attack on Damuel for which he was glad.

“I just cannot get over this smugness. Who is he intending to lie to about the true purpose of all these female attendants he has? He is even already raising the next generation for him to enjoy. And he cannot even spare to share one of them with me?” Shikza got more furious with each word but Damuel knew by now that it was best not to interrupt his colleague during one of his rages.

“'Only blue priests may acquire gray priests and shrine maidens in the temple. If you instead wish to buy one from the orphanage that could indeed be arranged. But as you clearly wished to leave your blue robes behind there is nothing I can do about the current circumstances' – How dare he? I mean... really?! He is holding that against me? Over some frigging flowers?! Like he had not taken the same chance!” Damuel nodded empathically at the moments he thought most critical but did not offer any further opinion. He just wanted to be kept out of stuff like this. Especially all this flower offering stuff.

They turned around a corner and he noticed the apprentice blue shrine maiden with one of her attendants in the hallway. Damuel had not interacted much with her before, she was always just kneeling when they passed by. According to the High Bishop she was a commoner that the Archbishop had granted blue robes just to drive him out of the temple and he hated her with a passion. But to Damuel she seemed meek enough to ignore.

The rest of the blue priests were always scheming against each other but that girl always just seemed on her way to the book room or the orphanage. From a guard knight's perspective she was irrelevant.

But as Shikza noticed her his grin widened and his visage turned frightening.

“Aren't you that commoner scum?”, he almost shouted at the kneeling girl who seemed to shrink into herself even more but did not answer.

“What? Are you not answering my question, commoner scum? Are you defying a noble so openly?”, he demanded to know from the trembling girl. Damuel was not sure whether he should interfere. If he was just abusing her with words it should still be okay.

“I am indeed only of common birth, milord”, she answered with a voice that made her anxiousness obvious. Damuel hoped that it would be over with this exchange.

“Ts. To think that they would allow something like you to defile these robes”, he ranted while the girl just endured his words in her kneeling position.

“Say something, commoner scum”, he demanded.

“I apologize deeply, milord, but this was the Archbishop's decision, not mine”, she tried to deflect and Damuel felt really bad where this discussion was going. Was Shikza going to openly criticize a decision made by the frigging Zent?!

“Ts.” Damuel was relieved to see that Shikza would not speak words of treason even in his fury.

“It's way too obvious that you are just some commoner scum hiding behind these robes. What's up with that kneeling pose? Has nobody taught you yet how to kneel?!”, he accused her and she shrunk even further. During the whole exchange she had not once looked them in the eyes, Damuel noticed.

“I apologize deeply, milord, I will strive to correct my posture in the immediate future”, she conceded and Damuel was not sure whether her voice betrayed her tears. Damuel could only hope that Shikza lost his interest in her soon on his own.

“Just look at your feet, commoner scum. They are not even bending enough at the ankles. How about I correct that for you?” The expression on Shikza's face triggered Damuel's danger sense. The girl seemed to feel similar as she started trembling even more.

“How about I cut those pesky tendons for you so that you can learn to kneel properly right now”, he suggested and then cast messer to Damuel's dismay. This had definitely crossed a line!

Damuel stepped between him and the girl while eyeing the knife in his hand.

“Shikza, I imagine the apprentice is now firmly aware of her shortcomings. There is no need to waste more of your energy on her. We are here to guard the priests after all”, he tried to defuse the situation but the sparkle in Shikza's eyes revealed his murderous intent in an instant.

“Step down, Damuel, we are here to ensure the peace in the temple and that commoner scum is clearly threatening it by her mere existence”, he declared but Damuel did not follow his demand to stand down. He was a guard knight!

“Undo the knife, Shikza, please”, he said and readied his own schtappe at which Shikza scoffed.

“Know your place, Damuel. I am the one in charge here”, he spat and kicked Damuel in the stomach with an intensity that pushed him to the side and out of Shikza's path. It seemed that the girl's attendant used that moment as a distraction to pick her up and flee with the clearly frightened girl. But Damuel knew that their chances were slim. What commoner could hope to outrun a knight?

And true to his fears Shikza went after them immediately while Damuel stood up and checked for the impact Shikza's kick had left on him. What should he do? Damuel decided to run after them while fumbling for an ordonnanz from his belt.

He caught up to them outside. Shikza did not seem in a running mood so he had casually thrown something that looked like a charged feystone at the running attendant which made him fall over with the girl still in his arms. Both cried at the pain but the little girl continued to run for some boxes. But even though Shikza was by no means currently running he was about to close the gap between them in mere moments. Damuel decided to call for help whoever might be willing to listen.

“Lord Heisshitze, Lord Karstedt, this is Damuel, I request your immediate support on the temple grounds. One of the blues is under attack!”, he shouted while trying to keep ahead of the situation. It seemed that the girl now tried to throw something like a fruit at Shikza but she failed miserably as the fruit landed directly in front of her. Which seemed to cause the sprouting of several wiggly branches? Damuel did not know what exactly he was looking at but his danger sense was still heightened.

Damuel tried to draw closer to see whether he maybe could interfere with a shield between them and he was grateful for the distraction this fruit seemed to have provided.

Shikza was attacking the branches now with his knife which seemed utterly ineffective. The branches just grew and grew further and tried to wrap around both Shikza and the girl. But while Shikza tried to fend them off, the girl was saved by her attendant instead who pulled her out of reach. Shikza now seemed actually in a quite dire situation even though Damuel was unable to identify it. So the only thing he knew he could do was to cast a rott.

Never was Damuel more glad to see highbeasts arrive on the horizon. It was only a handful of knights but they were led by Lord Karstedt and his mighty griffon.

“Damuel!”, came another shout from inside the temple and he identified Lord Heisshitze's voice before he saw his mad dashes.

“Stay back, Lord Heisshitze, that is a trombe! Darkness weapons are necessary!”, Lord Karstedt shouted and Lord Heisshitze put a bit more distance between himself and the branches that had captured Shikza.

“Understood!”, he responded and began enchanting his broadsword with the God of Darkness' blessing. Damuel opted to transform his schtappe into a normal sword and followed his example immediately.

The trombe was then dealt with after a few slashes from everyone. The most difficult part had been to not accidentally hit Shikza as a collateral. His blood would otherwise feed the trombe even more than his slashes with his mana knife had already.

“I demand an immediate explanation!”, Lord Heisshitze shouted after the trombe was confirmed to be exterminated. He glared at Shikza, Damuel and the apprentice blue shrine maiden but nobody said anything.

“Damuel, your report”, Lord Karstedt demanded. Damuel just wanted to run away but he knew there was no escape. Not now.

“Yes, Sir. Lord Shikza and me patrolled through the temple hallway as usual where we then encountered the apprentice blue shrine maiden. Lord Shikza found fault in her kneeling. He cast messer and threatened to cut the tendons at her ankles to make the kneeling easier for her. I tried to dissuade him but he pushed me aside. Her attendant used that opportunity to run away with the apprentice blue shrine maiden. They ran here, Lord Shikza threw something to make the attendant fall to the ground and I decided to call for support. Then the apprentice blue shrine maiden threw some kind of fruit at Lord Shikza which hit the ground instead. These branches emerged. Lord Shikza attacked them with his knife while the attendant rescued the apprentice blue shrine maiden out of the dangerous zone of branches. Then you and Lord Heisshitze appeared and have seen the rest yourself.” Shikza had glared at him all the time but Damuel could not lie to his Knight Commander. The situation at hand was bad enough already! Lord Karstedt was staring at him with exasperation.

“Shikza, your report.”

“Yes, Sir. As Damuel stated we were patrolling the temple hallways as usual and encountered that commoner. I noticed a severe defiance in the way she acted and intended to correct that. Then she ran away with her attendant who stumbled and dropped her outside. She then threw a frigging trombe at me! I demand her immediate execution for willfully attacking a noble!” Damuel looked to the ground. The law was clear what happened to commoners who had attacked a noble. He felt a pang of sympathy for the little girl. Lord Karstedt nodded with an unreadable and hard stare.

“Apprentice, your report.”

“I merely ran away from Lord Shikza and his knife, milord. As I fell to the ground I grabbed the next thing available and threw it at him in desperation. It was just a fruit and did not even hit him, milord. Then Lord Shikza attacked these wiggly branches instead of me and the tree grew and wrapped around him while Fran saved me from the same fate.”

Lord Karstedt glared once again at all three of them.

“I put all of you under house arrest while the investigations will be ongoing”, he declared and Damuel sighed. Shikza was throwing a murderous glare at the girl who seemed frozen in fear.

“I agree with your judgment, Lord Karstedt. I will also inform the Zent of what has happened today. Since this has happened inside the temple and involves one of the blues at its center he might be interested in these investigations”, Lord Heisshitze said and made Lord Karstedt pale slightly before he nodded. Damuel felt the urge to run away again.

“Return to your chambers, Sister Myne. You are forbidden to leave them under any circumstances. You may keep your attendants but will not be allowed any visitors”, Lord Heisshitze ordered her with a stern face which seemed to pull her out of her stupor.

“My chambers? The house arrest will not be at home?” The little girl seemed close to crying but Damuel was not sure what exactly she had expected instead. Shikza let out a mocking laugh at her reaction but was immediately silenced by a firm glare from Lord Heisshitze.

“As an apprentice blue shrine maiden you belong to the temple. As such your house arrest is naturally in the temple as well”, Lord Heisshitze explained.

“I see...”, she conceded with her head hung low. If Damuel had not been so occupied with his own uncertain fate he would have felt bad for the obviously very troubled little girl.

Chapter Text

Autumn in his 5th year of zenthood. 10 days after the incident. Ferdinand age 20. Myne age 7.

“So that Ehrenfest knight confessed to attacking an apprentice blue shrine maiden with the intention of hurting her?” Ferdinand looked at the report in his hand and allowed the smallest signs of anger to actually appear on his face. Heisshitze, who was basically his representative at the Ehrenfest temple, seemed to notice it but did not react in any way.

“Yes, my Zent. He claimed that there should not be any issue with that since she is only a commoner. A story that the current High Bishop of Ehrenfest is telling everybody who is willing to listen.”

Tch. How annoying.

“Well, it does not matter whether that fool does not understand his crime. As a former blue priest himself he should know better already. Inquire with Aub Ehrenfest whether he wants to execute him and his house himself for not following his orders or whether he prefers just him to be executed on grounds of breaking the vow he made when he was sworn into the temple. Small fry like him is not worth to be kept in an ivory tower. I expect this matter to be settled by the end of today.”

“Consider it done.”

“Good. Now, about that apprentice blue shrine maiden herself. Was it confirmed that she conjured a young trombe intentionally to hinder that knight attacking her?” Ferdinand had never heard of something like this happening before. Trombes were calamities native to Ehrenfest that seemingly appeared out of nowhere in some of its vast forests after all.

“It remains unclear whether she knew what was about to happen, but the investigations showed that she actively threw some kind of fruit at him and that the seeds of this fruit then allowed a trombe to sprout. The knight attacked it with messer and thereby fed it to its final size. Fortunately, he did not have much mana, so it only grew a small amount before Ehrenfest's Knight's Order quickly slew it.” Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at that explanation.

“Why did that remain unclear? Did you not ask her?”

“She denied knowing what would happen, but I believe she is either lying or not telling the full truth.”

“So? Why was her mind not read?” Heisshitze hesitated for a moment before recovering his neutral facade.

“There are no female knights here who I would trust in that matter, my Zent. Doing it myself seemed inappropriate concerning the scale of the suspected crime.” Ferdinand's glare made Heisshitze flinch.

“Tell me, Heisshitze, which crime would you rank above conjuring a feyplant that is stealing the scarce mana out of Yurgenschmidt?” His voice was cold as ice and intended to intimidate Heisshitze but he bravely or maybe desperately stood his ground. Heisshitze knew that he had to stay and endure his wrath despite maybe wishing to flee.

“Any crime involving harm to you directly, my Zent.” Heisshitze knelt down as he seemed no longer able to resist the urge to yield.

“Hm. I am just one person, but what I am protecting is the whole country as we know it, Heisshitze. And a trombe is a direct enemy to our country. Each and every one has to be eradicated. If anybody deliberately grows them, they have to be eradicated as well. Your priorities are still those of the Zent's guard knight and not those of a knight of Yurgenschmidt.” Heisshitze paled and began trembling slightly.

“My deepest apologies, my Zent.” Ferdinand continued staring at him for a long time before he allowed him to stand again. He would forgive him but not forget his mistake here. And Heisshitze seemed to understand that as well.

“Where is she currently?”

“She has been put under house arrest for the last ten days and is therefore in her chambers in the temple. Her attendants have requested on her behalf that she may be allowed to receive members of her family as visitors but I denied these requests as they are contrary to the inherent isolating nature of house arrest.” Ferdinand nodded.

“Send word to her attendants to have her presentable at third bell. I will interrogate her myself.”

When Ferdinand entered Myne's chambers he was shocked to see how unwell she seemed. His glare wandered over her attendants. Had they been abusing their master for risking their own lives? Her appearance was impeccable, she was clean and visibly unharmed, but her lifeless voice during her greetings as well as her pale face and unsteady eyes as she knelt in front of him were clear signs of having endured abuse.

“Attendants, out of the room”, he ordered and they hurriedly complied with worried looks on their faces. Ferdinand memorized their faces to be sure that they would not escape his judgment if they had indeed hurt their master.

At his word, the girl in front of him rose and took a seat opposite to him at the table. He then activated an area wide sound blocking tool. Justus, Eckhart, Heidemarie and Heisshitze all remained inside its area of effect.

“Myne, do you know why I am here?” The girl in front of him nodded while trying to keep her trembling under control.

“You want to know what happened when Lord Shikza attacked me, just like Lord Heisshitze already asked me, Archbishop.” Ferdinand acknowledged that this little girl was at least not stalling for time like so many nobles in her place would. He allowed himself to show a small smile on his face.

“Tell me how that whole situation happened. Do not leave anything out and tell only the truth.” Myne looked up and at his face at that and shuddered as their eyes met. She then quickly averted her gaze. Her emotions were so obvious. Had her original plan included lying and was she now second-guessing it?

“Ten days ago, I was on my way to the book room with my attendant Fran to continue reading the bible there. We encountered Lord Shikza and Lord Damuel on their patrol through the hallway and respectfully knelt while they passed through. Lord Shikza then found fault in my kneeling and threatened to cut through the tendons at my feet to allow a greater range of movement there.” At that her paleness increased even more as even the last of her blood seemed to drain from her face. So far Ferdinand had not detected any lies.

“He said some word and then there was a huge knife in his hand. Lord Damuel interjected at first that they were assigned to guard the priests, but Lord Shikza said that their order was to 'ensure peace inside the temple' and that 'a disgusting commoner was disturbing that peace right now'. Lord Damuel did not seem to agree and tried to protect me but was forcefully overruled by Lord Shikza. During that commotion Fran took me and tried bringing me to safety but was unsure where that might be. Fran knew that around that time one of your own knights, Archbishop, was usually patrolling the orphanage grounds so he tried to bring me there.” Ferdinand had to admire the observance of a mere gray priest if he had figured out the patrol pattern of his knights. Had he been expecting the need to find one of them quickly at some point or had he tried to exploit gaps in their surveillance?

“Lord Shikza followed us and threw something at Fran which made him stumble and drop me. We were outside of my workshop. I knew I could not fight him head on since Lord Shikza is a noble after all. Intentionally crushing him was not an option. But at that point Fran was clearly in danger as well due to that thrown thing and the knife.” Ferdinand noticed how her eyes began to change color at her reliving these memories and grew wary.

“Myne. Breathe. Calm yourself.” To his relief she was receptive to his orders. She took several deep breaths and drank from the tea in front of her with trembling hands.

“I apologize for the unsightly display.” Ferdinand was amused by how hard she was trying to behave like a noble girl even though she had been a commoner through and through not even two seasons ago. However, she now seemed to have lost her train of thought in her report.

“So you decided against crushing Lord Shikza. That was indeed wise. What did you do instead?” He already had a good grasp at the answer but he was more than curious how she would respond. He took a sip from his own tea cup.

“I grabbed one of the taue fruits we had in the workshop and threw it in Lord Shikza's direction so that he would not be able to pursue us any further. Upon hitting the grassy ground a trombe sprouted. Lord Shikza immediately attacked it with his huge knife but it did not seem to be very effective. The trombe grew quite fast and Lord Shikza was wrapped by its branches. Fran pulled me away from its branches and then some knights arrived and killed the trombe.”

“What is a taue fruit?” Ferdinand had never heard of that particular fruit before. And even though Myne had not explicitly stated that she knew she would grow a trombe like this, she had already admitted as much by the way she phrased her report. Was that an oversight? Had she intended to hide that and just failed in its execution?

“A fruit that can be found in the forest close to the city. It grows full of water over the summer and ends up roughly fist sized. The people in the lower city use it for celebratory water fights after the Starbind Ceremony which they call Star Festival.” Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at her which urged her to continue.

“When that fruit manages to suck out enough mana it instead begins to sprout as soon as it touches the ground. There are then roughly two dozens of quickly growing wiggly branches that I was told are then called a trombe.” Ferdinand noticed that he was involuntarily glaring at her explanation and that his retainers had reacted in a similar way. It had been such an obvious shift that even Myne picked up on it and recoiled after seeing their faces. She shifted to the back of her seat in a not very subtle manner.

“So you threw that fruit with the intention of it growing into a trombe? Were you not aware that they are not just 'wiggly branches' but a very dangerous feyplant?” There had been much stronger men that had wilted under his harsh glare but Myne was still struggling on to look him in the eyes.

“A group of five little children with knives of rather dubious quality is able to subdue those wiggly branches, Archbishop. How can a knight of noble birth be seriously endangered by it?” Ferdinand deemed her confusion to be honest which made him place a finger on his temple while contemplating how to handle her.

“That seems like an insight that you have gained after quite some trial and error, Myne. How many trombes did you grow so far? And for which purpose?” Her gaze grew unsteady as if she was unsure how much she should reveal before she took another deep breath and calmly began counting on her fingers.

“The first was almost sprouting on its own, I believe. It did not look like a taue at all. When I touched it out of curiosity a year ago it sucked out my mana and I threw it away because it grew hot from that. The other children in the forest helped fighting it. We were looking for different kinds of wood to turn into paper at that time so we tried these trombe branches as well. The quality was really good.” Ferdinand noticed how she seemed to actually be quite fond of that memory which made him question her sense of taste and reality.

“The second was an accident. The orphanage children had gathered lots of taues to have their own kind of water fight after the Starbind Ceremony separate from the lower city and as the orphanage director I had to throw the first one. As it began sucking out my mana I identified it as a trombe seed and told the children to get their knifes ready.” Ferdinand nodded. So far it sounded almost forgivable, but that changed as soon as she continued.

“Since they are very good for paper making I had the children harvest a few more trombes on that occasion. Even though that was totally foolish in hindsight. I lost my book room privileges for two weeks since the earth in the back of the workshop was scorched and some stone of the pavement had ended up slightly moved.”

Ferdinand remembered that report. Sylvester had informed him about the curiosity of a danger alert coming from the temple that only showed kids playing around. Another finger went to his temple as it all began coming together. At first he had grown more furious with each instance she reported but now he was merely exasperated. How could that girl in front of him already be such a seemingly unaware menace?

“I see that my inquisitors are too soft still.” 'If it had been my call I would have put her at least in the repentance chamber, her blue robes be damned', he mused.

“They were not soft! That was an absolutely terrible time for me, Archbishop!”, she began to protest but was immediately silenced by the harsh glares of his retainers. Since his scolding of Heisshitze just this morning they were all preciously aware of the seriousness of the crime that she was admitting to so nonchalantly.

“Did you learn from that experience that growing trombes is dangerous?”, Ferdinand asked in a disinterested tone, already keenly aware of her answer. She slumped into her seat.

“I learned to not do that in the temple anymore, Archbishop”, she mumbled.

“But the paper we can make from them is very valuable and the money made from it is necessary for the orphanage's winter preparations. Food and firewood for so many people is really expensive and I was not given any increase in budget for them.” Ferdinand stared at her with a blank expression. Was she now trying to put the blame on him? Or was she really so unaware of who had signed to keep the orphanage's budget constant?

“I see. So, how many?” In the end, her justification for growing these agents of Chaocipher did not really matter to him.

“Another four in the forest outside the city. And we kept another two taues in the workshop in case some unexpected expenses occurred.” She deflated in her seat, it seemed she did not have any more to say on that matter.

“Since one of those two was then thrown and grown ten days ago, I assume one of these taue fruits is still in your workshop?” He was definitely curious about that fruit. Nobody so far was aware what made a trombe sprout and what its seeds looked like. Myne just nodded at his question.

And this little girl with the knowledge to develop a new kind of paper just stumbled upon that? And she could use that particular feyplant to make her most valuable paper so far? With an amount of mana that was unheard of for a Devouring child?

Ferdinand closed his eyes as he remembered some of the other reports he had received about her. His inquisitors had sent such reports about all the blue priests but hers were the most surprising. She had not only been willing to do the temple's paperwork but was also scarily competent at it. They had described the speed at which she did calculations, most of them in her head, as comparable to that of his most skilled scholars. And they had reported how she had found sincere mistakes and intentional embezzlement in it and had been able to clearly differentiate between the two.

There were so many things that did not add up about that girl in front of him. She had only been baptized this summer as a commoner. Yet she showed clear signs of not only extreme intelligence but also of having received a very extensive education. Was she some hidden princess? Sent as an agent of Chaocipher to Ehrenfest's temple to undermine him?

But he had to acknowledge that she had been surprisingly open about her misdeeds so far. Ferdinand decided to just ask her plainly.

“Myne, who are you?”

Chapter Text

Autumn in his 5th year of zenthood. 10 days after the incident. Ferdinand age 20. Myne age 7.

“Myne, who are you?” Ferdinand noticed how her eyes widened and how her sickly pallor returned after she had been somewhat more lively over the course of the interrogation so far. Her breathing became more labored and her eyes quickly changed color before she regained control of herself again. That was not the normal reaction to that question. Ferdinand felt more than justified in his suspicions just from that physical reaction to his question. He narrowed his eyes as she began to speak.

“I am Myne, the daughter of a soldier and a dyer, born and raised in the city of Ehrenfest.” He could not detect any signs of lies but it was clear to him that she was omitting something important about her identity. Ferdinand allowed the silence to build up but Myne just stared at him to convey that she had finished saying everything there was to say. What was she hiding now after she spoke the harmful truth about the trombes before?

“I will not repeat my question.” He could see her beginning to panic under his glare but she did not budge. How could a small child even hope to hide something in an interrogation with him?

But instead of giving in and telling him the full truth she began hyperventilating and sweating. A faint yellow mist exuded from her whole body and her eyes became firmly rainbow-colored. Ferdinand reacted with an exasperated click of his tongue as he took a feystone out of his pockets and placed it on her forehead. If she wanted to donate even more mana to the country then she was definitely free to do so.

“Keep your emotions under control, you fool, or you just doom your family's and your own fate.” However, it seemed that repeating the same threat that had calmed her down the last time, when she had let her mana go on a rampage, did not work a second time. Ferdinand noticed how her panic was even more intense, filling up his feystone with mana at an unheard of speed.

He only had three feystones of that capacity on him and in that instant he judged it more than possible that that was insufficient for her. Tch.

“Somebody get me Schutzaria's shield, quick”, Ferdinand ordered and Heisshitze was the first to react. Since he had spent the last months in Ehrenfest's temple, he was also the one who could get there the fastest.

As Myne was unable to calm down he filled up his second feystone as well while he waited for Heisshitze to return. Just as he considered to ask Justus for another feystone from his personal stock the divine instrument was eventually delivered.

Ferdinand took it from his retainer instantly and pushed it right into Myne's hands. To Ferdinand's relief she grabbed on even though she showed clear signs of confusion now added to her panic.

“Offer your mana to Schutzaria and pour all of it into her shield until you can regain control again, Myne”, he ordered with a calm voice that did not reflect any of his doubts and suspicions. It seemed that allowing her to focus on sending out her mana actually helped her in calming herself.

But that was only the second thing he noticed. The first thing had been that she was currently charging well beyond twenty small stones of Schutzaria's shield in addition to the three large ones in his own possession. That was way too much mana. There was no way that this seven year old girl was who she claimed to be.

Her breathing had now steadied and she had stopped leaking mana. But even though she at least seemed in control of her emotions Ferdinand chuckled internally at how lackluster her facade was. Not even a shumil in the face of death allowed itself to look that frightened.

“I apologize for the unsightly display.” 'Unsightly display' did not even begin to describe it. Ferdinand wondered how to best get the information he wanted.

“You seem to be quite mentally unstable today, Myne.” After ten days of house arrest it was expected that a little girl such as her would become restless, but that did not seem to be the case here to Ferdinand. Instead she seemed tired, weary and almost depressed to him.

“Myne, tell me what happened during your house arrest.” At that the expression of fear on her face lessened drastically and was replaced with slight confusion. Not what he had expected.

“I do not understand the question, Archbishop. Are you asking whether I continued my harspiel practice?” She tilted her head slightly, her expression now completely devoid of fear. How could her emotions change so fast? Had she already forgotten what she had been afraid of just moments prior?

“No, I am not.” Ferdinand rose from his seat and began to leave the area of effect of the sound blocking tool.

“Heidemarie, I'll leave that to you. Eckhart, Heisshitze, Justus, to me.” Their eyes hardened at the sudden command but they immediately followed suit. Only Heidemarie was left to continue Myne's interrogation. And Justus provided him with an almost synchronous reading from their lips as they waited, protected from being overheard by using individual sound blockers themselves.

It seemed that Heidemarie had intended to ask about his concerns discreetly at first but had to rephrase her question so often that she finally relented and asked Myne rather plainly, whether her attendants had abused or hurt her in any way in the last days. Ferdinand was already disgusted just by listening to Justus and he was glad that he did not have to ask her such a depraved question himself.

But her reaction was completely nonchalant. She even seemed to laugh at the absurdity of the question and showed clear disgust as Heidemarie clarified what she was asking about. He noticed her signs of exasperation as she finally asked the question that had prompted that rather unpleasant part of the interrogation and Myne answered even without avoidance. According to her she was just missing her family and felt lonely. She even went as detailed as complaining that nobody in the temple was allowed to hug her and she wanted to go home soon.

When Justus came to the point where she said she was afraid to die from loneliness, Ferdinand could not suppress an “is that even possible?” at which point Justus looked up from their lips and at his lord.

“I heard about cases of that. Apparently, at some point the person just refuses to eat and slowly succumbs to weakness. If the person has mana then it is said that in such a situation the flow slows down so much that it begins to accumulate in the mana organ where it hardens similar to water freezing in winter.” Ferdinand stared at him.

“May I ask what your current intentions are for the girl?” Justus now looked at her curiously as she was trying to negotiate with Heidemarie to at least be allowed visits from her family.

“I was considering putting her in an ivory tower due to her blasphemous growing of trombes if the interrogation did not reveal anything even worse. But it seems that siphoning off her mana for the rest of her life would result in a rather short time frame. For how long would you expect her to survive there?”

“It is hard to say. But I imagine it will not even be a full season. If she looks like this after merely ten days in her chambers with multiple attendants that she actually likes, then she might be dead after only one month in an ivory tower.” Ferdinand clicked his tongue annoyed by how wasteful that would be.

“Milord, please allow me to observe her if you do decide to put her in an ivory tower. I imagine it will be a most rare opportunity to study this phenomenon of 'death by loneliness'.” Ferdinand did his best to hide his disgust at his retainer's improper curiosity.

“Let's see whether she will be even allowed to survive this day. I have more questions now than when I started”, he said and returned back to the table. Heidemarie immediately stood up from the chair and took her usual position standing at his side as he sat down.

“Myne, why did you let your mana build up to such an amount that you struggle to keep it under control today?” Ferdinand wondered whether she was already surpassing Sylvester's mana capacity. Was his brother able to dye three large feystones and over twenty small ones in just a few moments? And with only minor signs of exhaustion afterwards? Ferdinand somehow seriously doubted that. But once again he was met with a confused expression on her face.

“I apologize once again for that unsightly display, Archbishop. I do not know how and why it builds up inside me. Every time I push the heat down into that box, I get a short time of relief but after that there is just more of it again. And I do not think that the box was actually full to the brim today since I did not have any fever. It just somehow all tried to rush out. Maybe because I did not dedicate any of it over the last days?” Myne seemed embarrassed to Ferdinand who was resisting the urge to cradle his head.

“So you have been compressing your mana already?” But all he got was a questioning glance in response.

“Tell me how you visualize pushing the heat in the box”, he ordered and he could see Justus hastily ready a wooden board and his pen. Myne caught this as well and hesitated to speak. She was now eyeing Justus and Ferdinand carefully.

“Honorable Archbishop, am I wrong to assume that this is valuable information? I was taught not to talk for free and I fail to understand how that is relevant to our discussion in the first place.”

Was she really negotiating in the middle of an interrogation? How could she be so brazen?

Ferdinand was so amused by that that he allowed an evil grin to show on his face. It had been years since somebody defied him so openly. No commoner would dare to behave like this. Maybe she really was some hidden princess, raised to stand her ground in any situation?

“Who taught you that, Myne?” He leaned closer to not miss even one tiny part of her reaction. She recoiled only slightly and seemed firm to hold her ground. Why was she so inconsistent in her reactions? Afraid to the point of panic about her identity and yet so brave for this?

“A-a merchant. He owns a large store in Ehrenfest and has become my business guardian.” She stumbled over her words at the beginning but then she recovered exceedingly fast considering the circumstances.

“I see. You are not wrong, your information might be valuable. Or it might not be valuable. I give you my word that I will compensate you fairly afterwards and give you something of equal value in return. Surely my word will be enough?” He widened his evil grin and could see her hesitate for a second. She then gulped and nodded. Had Eckhart just moved behind his back?

“Of course, honorable Archbishop. There is no reason for me to doubt your integrity”, she replied demurely and began looking around the room with searching eyes. Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at her change in behavior.

“Is something the matter?” Ferdinand tried to follow her eyes but he could not identify anything particularly interesting.

“I apologize, I just thought that it would be best to demonstrate what I do with a real box and a cloth but naturally nothing is lying about. Since it is a bit hard to explain with just words for me would you allow one of my attendants to enter?”

“No. Tell Justus where he can find the things you need.”

“Ehm, okay. Lord Justus, I believe there should be several boxes available in the adjacent attendant's room. Please pick one about this size”, she said and gestured for something about the size of her head. They waited for Justus in silence while he no doubt took his time to ensure the absence of poison on the box, before he put one of the discussed dimensions on the table in front of her.

“I thank you ever so much. Now, I need something made of cloth. Lord Justus, could I ask you to open the closet and pick the black and white outfit hanging there?”

“Milady, does it need to be that particular outfit? I'd rather not put the clothes of a maiden such as you on such open display. If all you require is cloth of some kind, may I offer my cape instead?” Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at Justus wondering about the reason for this blatant lie. Was he running low on the ingredients he used for poison testing?

“Oh, that will be all right for my demonstration but I fear your fine cape might end up wrinkled, Lord Justus. Is this truly acceptable?”

“I do not mind about that, milady”, he replied jovially and began removing his white cape which Myne received hesitantly. She then stood on her chair in a most inelegant way.

“So, the first step is basically like stuffing the cape into the box”, she began her demonstration by randomly stuffing the cape into the box which took up roughly all of its space. When she tried to close the lid, she actually had to apply a lot of her meager strength.

“But this is not very efficient. It is better to fold the cape before putting it into the box.” And at that she took the crumbled up cape out of the box and spread it out on the table. She then made quite precise and careful folds which took her a rather long time due to her clumsy and small hands, but in the end the cape ended up in a neatly folded way. When she then put the cape into the box it took up only half of its space. And the lid closed very comfortably.

“However, the cape can take up even less space, if you do this”, she said and placed the folded cape back in front of her on the table. She then took the lid of the box and pressed the cape down with her whole body weight. Ferdinand just stared at her incredulously as she then proceeded to put the cape back into the box where it took up only a quarter of the space inside. After everybody had taken a look at it, she took it out again and began unfolding it. She cringed as she noticed the deep creases and tried to pull them straight while Ferdinand gave in to his curiosity and began folding and compressing his mana in the way she had just described.

The first two steps yielded roughly the same level of compression that he already employed but as he then tried to imagine the third step he felt so much space freeing up inside his vessel that he reached for one of the rejuvenation potions at his belt and hastily drank one. It took him a lot of concentration to actually keep it so drastically compressed but the effectiveness became immediately obvious. He allowed himself to stare at her in disbelief. A barely baptized child could never have this kind of mental strength.

“You are quite strong, Myne. Mentally speaking.” His eyes narrowed and she froze just as she was about to return the somewhat smoothed out cape to Justus. The impeding headache from mana sickness was vying for his attention but he chose to ignore it.

“Ehm, I thank you very much for the kind words”, Myne responded in an unsure voice.

“Who taught you this technique, Myne?” Who in his right mind would teach a small child such as her such an advanced compression method without simultaneously securing it by a magic contract? And who even could have developed it in the first place?

“Nobody did, Archbishop. As you know I have the Devouring and had no access to magic tools before joining the temple. It was either pushing as much heat as possible into the box or being eaten by it. This is the result of skirting death more times than I can count”, she explained looking kind of glum. Ferdinand was actually inclined to believe her. Even though it was an incredible feat.

The value of her compression method was absurdly high and Ferdinand was a man of his word. He was at a bit of an impasse on what he could actually offer her as compensation. Maybe he should consider pardoning her for the growing of trombes. Her life seemed quite like a valuable thing if she was able to come up with something like this on her own. But only if she was actually still free to work for his benefit.

“Myne, did you sign any magic contracts so far?” He asked out of the blue which made Justus raise an eyebrow at him ever so slightly.

“I did. One was for the funding of our paper development and another was for ensuring that all the products that I come up with will be sold by my friend Lutz. Oh, and I have considered signing a third one to secure that my chefs do not leak my recipes, but I did not have the chance yet to make that happen.” Ferdinand tapped his temple with his finger. It was more than worrisome that such a young girl was already so familiar with magic contracts. Was she even able to understand all the implications of signing them so frivolously?

“You had to secure your funding through a magic contract? What did you sign away as collateral?” If the other party had acted maliciously then Myne was already signed away to a noble that she did not even know about. Or maybe she already knew that and was now just acting the part. He had a really bad feeling about the whole thing.

“The rights to a hair cleaning liquid that I developed which is now called 'rinsham', my (simple all-in-one-shampoo).” To his side Justus raised an eyebrow at her in surprise and Ferdinand could not deny that he felt similarly. Was she really so industrious that she did not only mingle in paper making but also cosmetics? If she had not signed her life away she might even prove to be a constant source of innovation for Yurgenschmidt.

“I see. Who is the other party?” While he listened to her answer he gestured for Justus to provide him with some feypaper.

“My business guardian who I already mentioned earlier. Mister Benno of the Gilberta Company. He is the one who is currently producing and selling rinsham after he provided the funding for our paper making. And then there is Lutz who helped me develop the paper in the first place. He is also the one with the rights to sell all my inventions.”

As she ended her explanation Ferdinand cast stylo and began drawing a magic circle on the feypaper in front of him. It was an old one that he had found in his Grutrissheit as he had been looking for a way to rule out secret arrangements by magic contract between Raublut and several of the aubs in his first year of zenthood. He was glad that it could come in useful once again. Justus immediately began to prepare a needle when he identified the circle and its purpose. When Ferdinand was finished Justus placed both the feypaper and the needle in front of Myne who stared at both in hesitation.

“Do not stare at it, Myne. Put a drop of blood on it”, Ferdinand ordered but Myne seemed more than just unwilling. She halted a shake of her head only a split moment after she had started that movement, but to Ferdinand's exasperation she did not even pick up the needle.

“What will this do?”, she asked timidly.

“It will confirm the identities of those you have signed magic contracts with.” He glared at her with narrowed eyes. Even though she had nodded in understanding and picked up the needle she did not act. Why was she stalling for time in such a laughable way? Was she afraid of revealing that information to him?

He saw that he was not the only one growing impatient as Heidemarie moved over to Myne's side of the table, wordlessly took the needle out of her hand and pricked her thumb on her left hand with it before she then pressed the bleeding thumb on the magic circle. Myne did not show any resistance to that but she was more than close to tears. How could she be so weak when she was simultaneously able to compress her mana to such a degree? She just did not make any sense to him.

“Ubersicht”, chanted Ferdinand and the magic circle began to glow in golden light. To his relief the names matched those that Myne had given. Benno. And Lutz. Names very typical for commoners. If the content of the contract is actually what she believes it is, then this should not pose any problem.

“Myne, you signed your first contract even before your baptism? And your second on the day of your baptism?” What did this Benno think he was doing there? Bringing those to the attention of the Gods who had not been acknowledged in their weave yet was truly blasphemous. Another thing to talk about.

“Yes, Archbishop. I needed to develop paper before my baptism to secure an apprenticeship.” Ferdinand glared at the feypaper in front of him. The contracts were only citywide so it was unlikely that she was already spoken for even if tricked. If he could confirm that to be true he should indeed come up with a plan to make the most use out of the girl.

Over the course of not even a single bell she had shown him not only her vast amount of mana but also her creativity with regard to mana compression which might actually help him to increase his own capacity as well. If she swore to never again grow a trombe he was almost inclined to let her live her life with only minor restrictions. After all, she seemed to serve as a fountain of innovation for products that did not rely on mana. Something that was very compatible with the current mana shortage of the country.

But at the same time he could not fully judge her character yet. Even though she was blatantly open with her emotions she was still hiding part of her identity. Ferdinand was sure that she was also hiding her ambition – nobody would invent so many things without an ambition. But she had not revealed that yet. That was dangerous.

He looked up from the feypaper and now glared at Myne. She had endured the silence while he was lost in thought, but the nervousness was plainly written on her face. She is very aware that she is hiding something. He had to know what it was. He clicked his tongue with annoyance.

“Justus, please prepare the tool.”

Justus' eyes widened for a moment before he hastily complied to take a flat box out of his satchel and put it onto the table. Ferdinand touched the feystone at its lock which allowed Justus to open it and take out two identical circlets, each with a large red feystone in their middle.

Myne stared at them curiously at first until she noticed Heisshitze's rather unrestrained reaction. He only recovered his noble facade upon being glared at by Ferdinand. But at that point Myne had already grown worried. Not that that particularly mattered.

While Justus was preparing the circlets Ferdinand took several vials from his belt. He eyed Myne and estimated her weight and amount of blood from her stature before he began measuring three different potions into the same cup. The mixture of synchronization potion, liquid mana and a mild sleeping draught almost filled the cup to the brim. He then placed the full cup right in front of Myne who eyed it suspiciously.

“You will drink the contents of this cup no matter how bad they may taste. If you find that too difficult I can also force it down your throat.” She looked at him incredulously at the second part but he did not soften his glare. Instead he narrowed his eyes further as she began to hesitantly reach for the cup and sniff it.

The deep frown on her face made it clear that the color of their respective mana was far away from each other. The larger the gap to bridge the more intense the vileness was. He knew that but it did not matter to him at all. He had to know what she was hiding. And it was only taste.

She held her nose with one hand and took a mouthful of the potion which she quickly swallowed before she almost dropped the cup due to how violently her body was convulsing. Ferdinand reached over the table to keep the cup from spilling as he looked at the little girl in front of him fighting with the clear urge to vomit the potion back up. He could see the sweat forming on her face and the blood draining from it at the same time. Her short legs were almost kicking against the table and both of her hands were pressed against her mouth to keep it all in. After several convulsions more Myne seemed to have calmed down enough to be receptive to her surroundings again.

“You almost wasted the potion by spilling the cup”, he scolded her with a cold glare.

“And do not dare to waste it by spitting it out”, he added as the slumped over girl fought against a new wave of convulsions. As she seemed to have finally calmed down he placed the cup back in front of her.

“Now drink the rest of it.” The cup was still three quarters full. He noticed how lifelessly she stared at the cup and then directly into his eyes. For once it seemed to Ferdinand that she was in control of her emotions.

“You are a cruel man to make me drink poison and not tell me about my execution. Can't you ask your knight to slay me instead?” Ferdinand was surprised at her sudden calmness. What seven year old child was so calm in the face of her assumed execution? But he did not take the sharpness out of his glare when he answered.

“This is not poison and you are currently not set up for execution. Drink it.” He noticed how she twitched at the word 'currently' as she continued to stare at the cup with timid eyes.

“Archbishop, was your offer serious that you could also force it down my throat?” Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at that.

“My offer? The utensils are here and ready to be used if you refuse to just drink it.”

His tone made it clear that he had no scruple to apply force even to a little girl. He was however slightly amused that she was phrasing his threat as an offer. He was sure that no matter how bad it tasted it was still easier to just drink it. Myne however seemed to disagree.

“Please use them. I do not refuse but my body is paralyzed at the mere thought of taking even one more sip.” Ferdinand had to suppress a sigh of frustration.

“Justus.”

It had been some time since he had last ordered Justus to utilize the tools required to force a potion down someone's throat. If he remembered correctly then the last time had actually been the preparation of reading Raublut's memories. It had come as a surprise at that time that Raublut did not only hold treasonous thoughts about Ferdinand but even about his predecessor Trauerqual as well. While Ferdinand did not enjoy casting the God of Darkness' spell in general, it had felt particularly satisfying in that one instance.

Justus had placed several instruments on the table and was now evaluating them for the best fit. It seemed he was dissatisfied that none of them were really suitable for a child that small but he proceeded nevertheless with his task. When he had selected the tools he intended to use, he donned some tight mana blocking gloves and handed another pair to Eckhart.

“Eckhart, hold her”, he instructed in a disinterested tone as he approached Myne with the first tool in hand. At that, Eckhart went around the table and grabbed her shoulders. His large hands basically covered her whole upper arms as he effectively kept her whole upper body in an iron grip. Ferdinand wondered whether he even needed to use body enhancement. Most likely not. But that did not mean that he would not use it anyway.

Myne's eyes widened at the metal funnel that had several leather strips attached to it in order to fix it to a head. As Justus forced her mouth open and pushed it into her throat she instinctively tried to wiggle away from him. But with Eckhart holding her torso and Justus keeping her head in his one hand she could not even hope to escape the installation of the utensil. The sounds that she was making sounded actually quite painful. Painful enough for Justus to offer his sympathies, Ferdinand noticed with amusement.

“I am sorry, little girl, this is the smallest one I have. Bear with it”, he said, while tying the leather straps around her head. He then finalized the setup by using a contraption of leather and metal that forced her head in an upward position. Ferdinand noticed just how uncomfortable Myne looked, but she had asked for it.

“Hold your breath, little girl.” Ferdinand had never seen Justus act so careful during this. Maybe because she did not actually refuse to drink the potion and is somewhat cooperating? He had to ask him afterwards. He even waited a moment until he had confirmed that she was holding her breath. Fascinating.

Almost immediately after the potion was poured down her throat the convulsions began again. With her upper body and head firmly affixed basically only her legs had any degree of freedom to move. Justus hastily removed the funnel out of her mouth and replaced it with a gag. Like that he could ensure that she could neither spit it out nor accidentally bite her tongue. And it seemed to be an absolutely necessary precaution in her case.

Ferdinand might have believed that she was currently fighting for her life if he had not known that while the potion could be vile it was harmless. She flailed around for several long moments, throwing her upper body against Eckhart's firm grip again and again before she finally slumped down. As Justus deemed it safe to remove the tools from her, he encouraged her to fall asleep.

“Do not fight against the sleepiness, little girl”, he advised softly as Ferdinand put the circlet on her head. She shrieked as she noticed it shrinking around her forehead before she eventually succumbed to the sleeping draught and dropped her head to her chest.

Chapter Text

Autumn in his 5th year of zenthood. 10 days after the incident. Ferdinand age 20. Myne age 7.

After Eckhart had placed the small girl on her bed Justus prepared a chair for Ferdinand in front of her. He sat down and lowered his head to connect the feystone on his part of the magic tool with the one on her head and began pouring mana into her. He was met with basically no resistance which surprised him after she had just reacted so violently to his synchronization potion and liquid mana. However, he was met with darkness and silence.

“Myne, can you hear me?” A feeling of surprise and fear reached him which confirmed to him that the synchronization of their minds was indeed working.

“Archbishop? What is happening? That potion not being poison was a lie, wasn't it? Did I die again?” The sudden calmness of her mind was as unexpected as the conclusion she arrived at. And what did she mean by 'die again'?

“I am using a magic tool that allows me to view your memories and prevents any falsehoods from being told. The potion is merely designed to aid in that process. You are currently asleep, not dead.”

“Currently, hm?” A vision of him only a few moments ago telling her that she was currently not set up for execution flashed through her mind and his in consequence.

“Myne, you have a vast amount of mana and are clearly struggling with controlling it when your emotions rise. And it is similarly clear that you are hiding part of your identity. All this makes you a risk.” Her heartbeat increased drastically with fear before it calmed down in resignation.

“So why this effort? Just have your knight slay me then.” There was slight regret in her emotions. Regrets about leaving behind those she loved and not having finished even a single book. Ferdinand was more than confused by the second part.

“Because your vast amount of mana is also a great opportunity. You dedicated more mana to the divine instruments in less than two seasons than the rest of the blue priests combined did for the whole year. It would be a waste if you were just an uneducated child with an unreasonable stubbornness.” A sense of amusement came from her at his words. She seemed to believe that he was not so far off with his characterization which made him wonder at the level of sophistication and insight of this supposedly seven year old girl.

“So, what do you want to see?” A sudden eagerness was palpable to Ferdinand as she was determined to show him that she was no threat.

“Show me those who your loyalty lies with”, Ferdinand demanded and he noticed how Myne hesitated already. His suspicions grew.

“Please don't kill them, just because you find me creepy or something”, she mumbled before conjuring memories of what Ferdinand recognized as her mother and father. With them was a green haired girl who seemed a bit older than Myne who he assumed was her sister.

“Tell me about them”, he demanded and Myne obliged. Scenes of her, her mother and sister doing winter handiwork and scenes of her father taking her to the gate arrived in his mind. He was fascinated by the level of love and care everybody had for each other. Their familial bonds seemed genuine to him. But he knew that one could have more than one loyalty.

“Who else is important in your life?”

“That'd be Lutz and Benno, I suppose.” Images of her and a blonde haired boy playing around in the forest, hugging, cooking, even more hugging, and being carried by him popped up in her mind as well as several scenes of a middle aged man shouting or glaring at her.

“Why is he so angry at you?”

“That first one was because I gave a recipe away for free basically instead of selling it for a high price. That second one was because I told the High Bishop that I have the Devouring. That last one was because I lowered the price for a hairpin.” She seemed exasperated at him for maximizing his profits but the second one stood out to Ferdinand.

“Why was he angry at you for telling the High Bishop about your Devouring?” Did he already have a buyer at hand and was now worried that this girl was not free to move anymore?

“Because I was stupid. He knew I did not want to become involved with nobles and end up as a slave in exchange for magic tools and then I basically went and told a noble and my whole life changed. If he had not supplied me with enough information to successfully negotiate for blue robes I would be dead by now, I imagine.” Ferdinand could tell that she was not trying to deceive him but she could obviously not know whether her insight in Benno's thoughts was actually accurate.

“Show me the contracts you signed with him and how that came to be”, he then demanded and was shown a strange series of events of two dirty little kids who argued their way into an apprenticeship test with a wealthy merchant. The words on the contract as Myne remembered them seemed inconspicuous enough.

“And the second one you signed on the day of your baptism?”, he asked while considering the possibility of her missing a second layer of parchment for the first one.

“Ehm, sure. I hope you do not find it offensive”, she began and then showed him the full scene of Benno getting angry at her and arguing how another magic contract could protect her from nobles enough to at least allow an opportunity for letters to be exchanged. Ferdinand was more amused than offended at that plot. He was a firm believer of 'the Gods help those who help themselves' after all.

“Who else is there beside those people you already showed me?” More memories followed of people she would call friends or even only acquaintances who he concluded to be commoners from the lower city as well. The only potential threat seemed this Benno who had signed those two magic contracts with her. He definitely had to investigate him.

“Myne, what are you hiding about your identity?” Ferdinand decided to cut to the chase and ask the question that was the root of all his worries. Who was this girl really?

“Ah, I knew it was futile to hope that you would just drop that topic. I apologize for evading the question but I figured my sheer existence might be outright sacrilegious. What is this world's view on the afterlife anyway?” Ferdinand was shocked by the direction this discussion took. This world?

“After your death you climb the towering stairway and rest at the side of the Supreme Couple. Nobody knows what happens after that.”

“Huh, guess the part of them being dead went straight over my head when I read the bible”, she mused while thinking about the several versions of bibles she had read in the temple's book room. Those memories were quite vivid and even included the smell of ink and parchment.

“Myne, do not get distracted.”

“Oh, right. Sorry. You see, this life is not my first one. I have lived in another world in a country called Japan already until I was crushed to death by books during an (earthquake). Then I woke up in the body of this little girl roughly two years ago.”

Memories of a little girl's voice rose to the surface, afraid of the heat that threatened to eat her alive until the voice finally ran out never to be heard again. Ferdinand shuddered internally and was grateful that it was not him who was sharing his every thought right now. He also struggled to understand how it could be possible to be crushed by books. Surely, that was some strange euphemism. There could not be enough books for that.

“Show me that old world of yours”, he ordered and she complied. She was now standing on some kind of gray pavement, surrounded by ludicrously high buildings.

“Let's start with the best part of it! The library!” Ferdinand followed her thoughts in disbelief that she thought of the library as the first thing to show him. As she walked through some doors that moved on their own he grew curious.

“What kind of magic tool is this?”, he asked but Myne chuckled.

“It is no magic tool, it is physics. Like an apple that falls from a tree is not magic. This world had no magic.” He was confused by her explanation.

“Elaborate.” She reacted with annoyance.

“I was never that interested in physics, you know. But I guess I read a book or two about that”, she said with reluctance and conjured a memory of her reading a book with letters he had never seen before and very detailed and neat illustrations.

“These letters and illustrations look very accurate. So you had access to books of the highest quality here?” He noticed how Myne reacted with surprise at his question, almost like she had forgotten he was there.

“Oh, ehm, sorry, I got lost in the book. This is actually a rather low quality (print). See how there are smudges here and there and how thin the paper is? But that is okay since it was a textbook for younger children, so nobody really wanted to pay for high quality.”

“What is (print)? And how can you call this low quality?”

“I mean, just look at something like this”, she said and their location changed into what looked like a reading room inside a huge library. On her lap was a large book with the most beautiful pictures.

“Printing is the process of applying ink in a specific and reproducible pattern on paper such that is allows for the mass production of text and illustrations and therefore of books.”

“This is indeed very pleasing. And you are telling me there was more than one of these books available?”

“Yes, usually there were hundreds to thousands to millions of books of one kind depending on their popularity. It is very different to your world where books are so rare and expensive because they have to be written by hand. I really miss the feeling of having more books available than I will ever be able to read.” He could feel her honest regrets, but there was something more interesting to him then her lust for books.

“Where are we currently? Why are there so many people allowed inside this library? Especially those of questionable sanity such as those.” He had spied in the corner of their vision how a woman with clearly disorganized makeup and a skirt that did not even cover her knees had taken one of the books into her hand.

“This is the public library in my hometown. There were many places like these all over the country. Everybody is allowed inside. And I do not know whose sanity you question here, Archbishop, but these people around here are all normal people.” He knew that she spoke the truth but it was still unbelievable.

“So, take me back to that explanation of physics.”

“Don't you want to see its applications instead?”, she asked and dragged him back onto the gray pavement. In front of him were cubes of metal that seemed to propel on their own. Then Myne raised her head and looked at the sky where something white was flying.

“Oh, so your world had highbeasts as well?” Had she not said that there was no magic here?

“No, Archbishop, that is an (airplane). It is a (machine) that is able to fly. It burns (gasoline) and uses its energy to reach a certain speed and the shape is optimized for (aerodynamics) so that it stays up there.” Following her explanations was confusing to Ferdinand as she was using several words that simply did not exist in Yurgenschmidt.

“Explain those words.” He immediately felt Myne's annoyance.

“How about I show you memories of when teachers explained it to me. That will be easier for both of us.”

They changed their location into a neat room filled with roughly thirty tables and at every table was a single student looking at the one adult in front attentively. Myne seemed to be reading under the table in at least half of the memories she showed him, but she at least remembered the words being spoken. Ferdinand tried to burn all the bizarre concepts of explaining the functional principles of her old world into his memory.

“So show me more of those applications of these physics.” His head was spinning slightly from all the information while Myne was obviously bored out of her mind from listening to her teachers again and again. It seemed to him that being taught had been a lifelong experience for her. That might also explain why she is so good at paperwork.

Myne then took him into her old home. She showed him (television) which made Ferdinand think of his own magic tool and how it lacked image quality in comparison as well as audio information. The device was clearly top notch. She then got almost lost in memories about different crafts her mother had made her do which explained where her knowledge on actually creating products came from even though she was lamenting missing even the tools to make the tools for basically all the things she wanted. Ferdinand noticed how there were a lot still on her list. He grinned internally at the inherent worth of all the trends she could be creating if one could enable her with some of those tools or materials she had been desperately looking for as a poor commoner.

“So your ambition is to recreate all those things you had in your past life?”, he tried to confirm his conclusion but to his surprise Myne did not agree.

“I would not call that ambition. I mean, do you like how itchy your head is without proper (shampoo)? And how brittle your hair gets from just using soap? Most of these things are just necessary, Archbishop.” She had vividly remembered the itchiness of her head which now made Ferdinand feel his own scalp very prominently. Her hair cleaning liquid was the solution for that?

“And that is all you want in life? Having your basic needs met and that is it?”, he asked incredulous at her seeming apathy. But that lack of enthusiasm was quickly overcompensated as her intense feelings for books crushed over him.

“I want to live a life surrounded by books! I want more books than I can ever read! And to that goal I will need to make many more books!” Alongside her words she bombarded him with a multitude of pictures of books, libraries and tools as well as with the smells of them and the sound of turned pages. It was almost unbearable.

“Myne, stop.” His order was harsh and instead of way too many book related things he was now met with a memory of his own face, coldly glaring at her during her interrogation. It must have been her first association to his words. Ferdinand was taking this short moment of respite to allow his own mind to recover from Myne's sheer emotional jumpiness.

“This is like looking into a mirror”, he commented after some time as he was still staring at his own visage. Myne seemed to relax at that and was reminded of herself looking into a mirror.

“Ah, how I have missed a real bathroom!” Her mood brightened drastically. She was brushing her hair and cleaning her face with an incredibly soft cloth and enjoying every moment of it. Her wariness was gone as soon as they had changed the topic. Ferdinand thought it weird how comfortable she had grown with his presence. She seemed to have forgotten completely that she was currently being interrogated and that the result of this would decide about her very own future.

“Myne what are you doing?!”, he suddenly demanded to know as Myne got lost in a very shameless memory of her taking a bath.

“Hm? Don't be so mean, Archbishop, let me enjoy this feeling. It has been forever since I could feel so relaxed.” She was begging him but he could not stomach the shamelessness in front of him.

“Stop it. Have some shame.” Myne seemed to get instantly depressed at being ordered out of her memory but – to his relief – complied. He had to make her think of something else fast.

“You also mentioned some potential magic contracts with your chefs. Are you telling them recipes from this world?” At that he got hit with another wave of enthusiasm as she was now remembering a huge variety of food in quick succession. He noticed how he actually grew hungry from those memories.

“Did you cook all these?” He had to make her focus her thoughts or she would just get lost in those food related sensations.

“Sometimes. But my mom did most of the cooking at home.” A scene of a small room with a table with various brown dishes occurred. Myne took a seat at the table and the black haired woman that had already been present for a lot of her craft related memories smiled at her.

“That tastes so good”, Myne rejoiced after she took a few bites and he noticed how her emotions were growing more intense with a sense of nostalgia.

“Oh, a compliment for my cooking is such a rare thing from you. Is there a book you want?” The black haired woman asked with slight amusement but Myne shook her head. Ferdinand could feel another wave of Myne's emotions beginning to crush over him.

“No, mom, I-”, he disconnected their minds before it became unbearable for him. She had been dragging him around and bombarded him with her emotions more than enough and he had received his answers.

As he slowly recovered his sense of reality after using the tool, he noticed Justus at his side who was now removing the circlet first from his head and then from Myne's.

“What is the verdict, milord?”, he asked with clear curiosity. Ferdinand was cradling his head trying to clearly separate his own thoughts from her lingering emotions.

“Useful, highly valuable, but hard to handle. Books should work as bait and her family as leash.” Ferdinand shook his head to remove the last of Myne's influence as he heard how she began stirring on her bed.

Then the stirring was overshadowed by her sniffling as tears began to stream down her face. It took her several moments after that to actually open her eyes and return to reality. Ferdinand eyed her cautiously, uncertain whether she would be able to actually keep her emotions and especially her mana in check.

“Mom!”, she wailed in her hazy state and reached out into the air in front of her. At this point Eckhart took a step forward to protectively stand between him and her. His movement finally seemed to bring her back. She focused her tear-filled eyes on Ferdinand and glared at him.

“Why did you have to stop just before I could apologize?!”, she screamed with a strength that he had not expected her to possess before she writhed away from him, rolling into a ball and sobbing intensely. Ferdinand waved his hand to signal Eckhart to not retaliate for her current display of disrespect.

“Just let her cry. We are finished here for today. Justus, instruct her attendant to send letters of invitation in her name to Benno and Lutz of the Gilberta company for tomorrow at third bell as well as to her parents for third bell the day after.”

Chapter Text

Autumn in his 5th year of zenthood. 11 days after the incident. Ferdinand age 20. Myne age 7.

Ferdinand was sitting next to Myne at the table in her chambers as he was waiting for the merchant who apparently took on the role of Myne's business guardian. It seemed to him that Myne was barely holding it together despite having ingested one of his generously provided potions. He wondered whether she was feeling the repercussions from struggling against Eckhart's grip or the more emotional damage she seemed to have taken at the end of his investigation of her memories. At least she did not seem to be leaking mana.

Ferdinand himself was also suffering from a headache as he had continued compressing his mana with Myne's technique and was experiencing a case of mana hangover. But the effectiveness was just so addicting.

Heisshitze, who was stationed to guard the door, opened it at the ring of a bell from one of the gray priests. Ferdinand noticed how the merchant's eyes widened slightly at the unexpected participant to their meeting. Benno looked quite different from the images Myne had shown him when he had been shouting at her. His hair was kept in place by pomade and his clothes were actually adequate to meet with nobles. The boy to his side was way more obvious the young boy Myne knew as Lutz.

Benno shortly let his gaze wander across the room where it flitted over his retainers and then lingered on Myne. Her eyes were quite dim, her face pale and slightly sweaty and her body clearly lacked tension. Ferdinand considered to keep the meeting short on her side. He noticed however how a slight glimmer reappeared in her eyes as she looked at the boy, even though she clearly restrained herself from showing any larger reaction.

Her business guardian then quickly began to kneel and offer faultless noble greetings. Ferdinand was impressed by how educated he was but that also made him worried about his potential involvements with other nobles.

When Ferdinand simply introduced himself as the Archbishop he could see Benno freeze. The merchant then lowered his head even further in his kneeling position. Oh? Was he aware that the Archbishop was also the Zent? That was one well-informed commoner.

He also twitched only lightly when Ferdinand activated the area wide sound blocking tool. Just how familiar was he with these things?

“Sister Myne, boy, please step outside the area of this tool for a moment. Heidemarie, please watch over them. As long as they do not talk I do not mind what will happen.” At that announcement Myne immediately shot her eyes at him with a now very prominent hopeful glimmer. The boy had been the one who managed her health in her memories. Surely he could do something to get rid of that unsightly state. He waved her away and she followed with more energy than he had assumed her to possess at the moment. She truly was a slave to her emotions.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see how she was now clinging to the boy who was patting her back awkwardly, still unsure whether it was actually appropriate in the current situation. So even that boy had more situational awareness than her.

Benno also seemed unsure on whether he was allowed or even expected to comment on that but clearly decided to just remain kneeling and waiting. Ferdinand was amused by how well he could actually endure the current situation. He decided to take a slow sip from his tea before he began addressing the man in front of him.

“So, Benno, I have a few questions to you as Sister Myne's business guardian.”

“My knowledge is yours, my Zent.” So he was truly aware.

“Since we are currently in the temple, address me as Archbishop. And while my true status is nothing secret, I'd appreciate it if neither the boy nor Sister Myne became aware of it.” He took another sip from his tea while Benno hastily nodded and shrunk even further. If he knew his place so well then this interrogation could prove far easier than the one with Myne yesterday.

“Raise your head and tell me what makes Sister Myne valuable to you”, he ordered and was impressed that Benno could brace himself enough to actually follow through.

“Sister Myne is a constant source of innovative products such as hairpins, rinsham and plant paper with a huge profit margin, honorable Archbishop. I expect her to develop many more such things in the future and aim to find mutually profitable agreements with her for all of them”, he responded while looking him in the eyes without wavering too much. Interesting, so this merchant knew about her as a vast source of knowledge and ideas and he was striving for profit. Quite befitting for a merchant.

“But Sister Myne has the Devouring. You could not have hoped for her to live long enough to give you that many more products.” Ferdinand stated it as a fact but it was basically several different questions at once. How long had he known about her Devouring? Did he intend for her to sign with a noble to prolong her life for more innovations? Had he intended to sell her to a noble to cut his losses before she died?

“Indeed, honorable Archbishop, I could not have hoped for that. In fact, I expected her to die in around a season from now at the latest. But it was her wish to stay and die with her family instead of seeking help from a noble and I respected that.” Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at him. That did not seem fitting for the profit-hungry man he had seen Myne lament about in her mind.

“And how has her joining the temple as an apprentice blue shrine maiden impacted your plans for her?” He kept his neutral smile and his disinterested voice on the outside, but on the inside he was curious whether Benno would admit to having objected about Myne joining the temple. Benno's eyes wavered for a short moment before he answered.

“I am glad that Sister Myne is able to prolong her life by joining the temple and her future inventions could surely bring great fortune to my store, but I did stop to include her in any actual plans for my store, honorable Archbishop. As she is now constantly exposed to those of noble birth she may be out of reach without even a moment's notice. I am unable to plan for something so volatile. Therefore I simply accepted the need to take any product she could offer to me in stride and market it as soon as it arrived.”

“Oh? But did you not have her sign that magic contract with the boy to keep that reach?” Benno flinched and Ferdinand narrowed his eyes.

“They had arrived at this agreement beforehand already, honorable Archbishop, I merely helped them to secure it with a magic contract.” Ferdinand allowed himself a slight grin.

“That seems oddly generous from a merchant's perspective. Contract magic should already be priced high enough to prevent such frivolous use, no?” He noticed how the merchant began to sweat. Was he afraid to be found out? Had he tempered with the contract so that it did not say what Myne believed it did?

“While I cannot deny that ensuring that link between Sister Myne and Lutz might also be beneficial to my store, I must politely object to calling it a frivolous use of contract magic, honorable Archbishop.” Ferdinand narrowed his eyes, urging him to continue. But even though Benno's voice grew quite quiet he did finish his explanation.

“Contract magic is the only tool available to commoners to protect themselves from nobles. As Sister Myne had just created an opening to be taken, I had her sign this magic contract to allow at least a path of communication from the Noble's Quarter to the lower city.” So he was still framing it as him helping her?

“An opening to be taken, indeed”, Ferdinand murmured with slight amusement. Benno trembled slightly at that and paled as Ferdinand then hardened his eyes again.

“So you bet on the profitability of her inventions as a means to apply pressure on whoever might take her? Why not have her sign with somebody of your choosing instead?” Ferdinand took another sip from his tea while he mustered Benno's reaction.

“That was the only avenue possible for me, honorable Archbishop. There are also no such connections available to me, even if Sister Myne had not been totally opposed to the idea, which she was.”

“I see. So this was just you looking out for her to the best of your abilities then?” He took another sip from his tea while Benno nodded hesitantly.

“Then let me look out for you this time, Benno. Are you aware what gives contract magic its power?” The merchant in front of him seemed perplexed by the unexpected question.

“I apologize, but matters of magic are beyond my comprehension, honorable Archbishop.” That much was to be expected.

“It is the Goddess of Light herself, Benno.” His eyes widened in seeming disbelief and his pale visage lost even a bit more color. Ferdinand continued in a disinterested voice.

“Do you know the meaning behind baptisms?” Benno hesitated.

“To grant citizenship to the children and recognize them as official part of society”, he answered, clearly unsure about the direction this discussion was taking. Ferdinand smirked at him slightly.

“That is not wrong per se, but you are missing the most important point. To announce their existence to the Gods.” Ferdinand could see the realization sink into Benno's head. So he was smart enough to understand what he had done.

“I was not aware that contract magic had an age limit, honorable Archbishop. It will never happen again.”

“I am sure of that”, Ferdinand agreed with a deep smile that seemed to send the man in front of him almost into a panic.

Ferdinand then gestured for Justus who promptly put a sheet of parchment with an already drawn magic circle on it in front of Benno's face. He then held out a needle to him.

“I'll need to confirm the exact phrasing of the magic contracts you three signed. For that purpose put a drop of blood on that circle, Benno.” Ferdinand had to give him credit for not showing any hesitation to follow his order despite his apparent confusion. Justus then took the parchment over to where Myne and Lutz stood. Due to the sound blocking tool filtering out outside noises as well, Ferdinand could not understand word for word what Justus said to them, but the boy was convinced quickly and put his own blood on it before he then pricked Myne's finger and placed it on the parchment while she kept her eyes closed. So it was not just yesterday that she was so afraid of blood. Good grief. Her upbringing in her dream world had seemed quite sheltered but this was almost unbearable to watch.

As Justus returned with the sheet, Ferdinand produced his schtappe.

“Abschrift”, he chanted and a clear copy of both contracts that those three had signed appeared on the paper. They were indeed worded exactly as Myne had remembered them. His fear that Benno might have tricked her with a second layer of parchment was ultimately unwarranted. That made him smile slightly. So she was absolutely unattached.

Ferdinand turned his head to look at Myne who was still clinging to the boy. Maybe 'unattached' had been the wrong word. She seemed very attached to that boy. And he had only been second rank on her loyalty list.

Myne's eyes were swollen and her face was wet as was the shirt of the boy. But despite the unsightly look Ferdinand could not deny the positive effect this seemed to have on her. She had been slumped over and looked close to collapsing at the beginning of the meeting but now she seemed almost lively again. Benno had followed his gaze but had kept silent.

“What is the best way to handle her?”, he asked while observing her further. The boy had noticed his gaze and had stiffened up again which made Myne aware of it as well. But she only looked up quickly before clinging back to him and seemed to rub her cheek all over his chest. What indecent behavior for a girl past her baptism.

“I honestly do not know. She is extraordinarily weak so she needs to be watched all the time or she collapses just from moving around too much in a day or getting too excited. Her innovations occur at the most random times and she is bad at explaining them. Even my apprentice Lutz, who is the most experienced in handling her, is often at a loss with her. Despite her weakness she nevertheless barges toward her goal and gets depressed at the slightest setback before then barging forward twice as hard to overcome it just a moment later. She cares for nothing more than for books and her family and friends. Both to the point of fault. But using those to motivate her in a certain direction is a double-edged sword that will either lead to great success or absolute disaster.” Tch.

Ferdinand gestured for Heidemarie to bring both of them back to the table. To his relief, Myne let go of the boy when he knelt down next to Benno and she returned back to her seat. So she has at least some sense of appropriateness.

“You will now cancel your magic contract that granted Lutz the rights to selling Myne's products”, he ordered neutrally and it seemed that even Benno was surprised by that. However, he was wise enough not to object.

“Archbishop, why-”, Myne began but was silenced by his glare.

“It is bothersome and useless at the same time. A city wide contract like that only serves as an annoyance, so have it canceled.” Myne seemed to want to argue further, but it was actually Benno who spoke next.

“May I speak, honorable Archbishop?” Ferdinand raised an eyebrow and glared at him. Had he found the foolish courage now to object as well? And there he had thought him rather reasonable to deal with.... He was grumbling at the fact that the cancellation of contracts actually required everybody's consent. Applying too much pressure would anger the Goddess of Light.

“You may”, he said with narrowed eyes.

“I thank you ever so much, honorable Archbishop. Sister Myne, please agree to the cancellation. It was always only intended as a last resort and if it is now detrimental to your life in the temple then I can only encourage you to see the wisdom in canceling it. Sister Myne, I imagine as a member of the temple yourself that the word of the honorable Archbishop holds the most value for you. You will for sure find great fortune in cherishing the foresight he has in his guidance.” Myne stared at Benno who was pleading with his eyes to not object any further and to Ferdinand's surprise Myne actually agreed.

Benno knew that there was nobody above Ferdinand, but Myne didn't. But by referencing the temple hierarchy and framing it as 'guidance' he had reminded her to just obey Ferdinand. That might actually be convenient to him in the long term since she seemed to trust her business guardian. Even though it was worrisome that she had to be told at all at this point.

Justus quickly drew up the contract and all of them signed without further objections. This time it was Justus who had to prick her finger, by now it seemed almost ridiculous to Ferdinand. As the cancellation contract went up in flames, Ferdinand looked them all over.

“One last thing. I hereby forbid the production of any more trombe paper and the growing of those dangerous feyplants. And I am aghast that this even needs to be said.” He glared at all three who shrunk into themselves unable to withstand his admonishment.

Chapter Text

Autumn in his 5th year of zenthood. 12 days after the incident. Ferdinand age 20. Myne age 7.

Once again, Ferdinand was in Myne's chambers, this time waiting for her parents to arrive. He had forbidden the merchants to talk about their meeting yesterday, but he was curious whether they had actually kept their silence and did not warn her parents about him as a possible participant in their meeting.

Myne was looking way better than yesterday before their meeting. It seemed that crying into that boy's chest while clinging to him for almost half a bell had done the trick to improve her condition. Keeping her retained against her will might really not be worth the effort. It seems really to be best to make use of her while granting her some minor accommodations.

“Archbishop, what will this meeting be about?”, Myne asked timidly as third bell drew near. Today she was seated across from him on a bench instead of next to him on a chair. Ferdinand had not informed her yet of the agenda in order to keep her mental state somewhat stable but he figured he might as well do it now.

“Your punishment for intentionally and deliberately growing about ten trombes despite their despicable nature and the great potential danger they pose to the country.” As expected Myne's eyes flickered at that and she looked at him with fearful rainbow-colored eyes.

“Will you-”, Myne began but her voice broke before she could finish the sentence. Ferdinand however understood what she wanted to ask without her finishing the question.

“No. I did not invite them for their execution, nor will they be here to watch yours. Calm yourself, Myne.” She closed her eyes and seemed to focus on her breathing while Ferdinand stared at her cautiously. She could save herself from so much agony by just thinking things through before she jumped to conclusions. How exhausting.

When her parents were finally led into the room they seemed in a similarly bad condition as their daughter. Her mother especially looked even physically ill. Were they similar fools who could not endure even the tiniest amount of separation even though they were full adults?

They tried to hide their surprise as well as their worry as they saw him sitting at the opposite side of Myne at the table in her chambers. Their immediate kneeling was acceptable but their greetings were awfully lacking in grace. It seemed that they had not talked to Benno beforehand about what to expect from this meeting. Good.

“Honorable Archbishop, to which circumstances do we owe the honor of kneeling in your presence?”, her father asked without being spoken to. If he had been looking up while posing the question he would have noticed the admonishing glares from all of his retainers. Incidentally, Myne had noticed them and was trying to hide her fears behind a blank expression and failing at it. He gestured for Justus to activate the sound blocking tool on the table and told them to rise and sit next to their daughter.

Myne looked at them with hopeful eyes as they took their seats next to her on the bench. Ferdinand noticed how close they were sitting, with Myne leaning against her father and discreetly holding hands under the table with her mother. Her aura changed immediately to that of a small child, the years from her former life were nowhere to be seen.

“I invited you here today to inform you of a grave crime that Myne has committed and her punishment”, Ferdinand began and her parents immediately stiffened. While her mother was staring at him in disbelief, her father was staring at Myne. The question “what did you do?” was plainly written on his face.

“As it stands, Myne has, at several occasions, intentionally and actively grown a dangerous feyplant known as trombe. As a soldier at the gates I believe you are familiar with those, Gunther.” Ferdinand judged from their behavior shown so far that they would rush to her defense immediately if they did not understand the crime. Therefore, he deliberately aimed his words at her father who was the most likely of the two to not argue against the severeness of the crime.

He could observe the exact moment as his words sank in and stirred a mixture of disappointment, fear and anger in him. But all he said was a whispered “Myne...” as he looked at his daughter with fear in his eyes. Myne herself let her head hang down.

Her mother seemed to want to say something but seemed to be unable to open her mouth. Ferdinand, who could guess what she was trying to say, continued his little speech.

“She has admitted as such. It is beyond doubt that she did it. The records list about ten instances. The first and maybe the second one might have been an accident, but every single trombe after those was grown with the exact purpose of growing a trombe. Usually this would be handled as a severe case of terrorism.”

Ferdinand let his words sink in once again to make them aware of what was actually at stake. Her mother began to cry silently and turned her face away from him. Despite her initial discretion she was now openly pressing Myne against her chest and quietly sobbing into her hair. Her father had grown pale.

“Usually, Sir?”, he asked with slight indications of hope in his voice.

“Myne is an impressive fount of innovation and has sold one such innovation to me for a favor of comparable value and I am willing to honor this compensation by sparing both her and your lives despite these charges. However, even then she cannot go completely unpunished.” Ferdinand stared at them with narrow eyes.

Myne had turned her head away from her mother and was now watching him with a surprised and almost touched expression. Almost as if she had not put any trust into him giving his word on this at all. So she was at least capable of distrusting people?

“We are grateful for your compassion and magnanimity”, Gunther said with his head lowered. He put his arm around his daughter as he braced himself for his next question.

“How do you intend to punish her, honorable Archbishop?”, he asked quietly through gritted teeth while keeping his daughter close. Myne was hardening her expression as if she was willing to accept his judgment.

“It will consist of several parts. First, she will lose her right to sign magic contracts. It is not necessary in the first place for a child and I believe that she might not have been tempted to grow trombes if her industriousness had not been furthered by one of those.” Her parents were looking at him with clear lack of understanding. For them this seemed like a minor punishment but Myne let her head hang down at this announcement.

“The way this will be implemented is by having her, and you as her parents, sign a so called “Legal Guardian”-contract that will appoint me as her mandatory cosigner for all magic contracts she wishes to sign until she officially comes of age. Incidentally, this will even serve as a shield against her being coerced into signing with a noble who might become interested in her.” Ferdinand knew that this last sentence would basically ensure their eagerness in signing their daughter's legal rights over to him. Contract magic was very powerful but the constraints of not signing them under force made them quite tedious to use efficiently.

He could see their parents nod at that while Myne seemed to be suspicious.

“Does that mean I will be signing with you, Archbishop?”, she asked in a jaded voice. Her parents stared first at her and then at him.

“No.” Not at this point, anyway.

“Devouring commoners usually sign one out of three contracts with a noble, depending on multiple factors. These three kinds are submission contracts which demand absolute obedience in exchange for access to magic tools which prolong the life, concubine contracts which are similar in effect but usually more generous for the commoner and adoption contracts which basically ennoble the commoner. Assigning me as your guardian in regard to magic contracts is a fundamentally different kind of magic contract. Incidentally, a submission contract is special in the way that it does not even need consent from the commoner. It only needs to be stamped with their blood. Just imagine how easily you could be forced or tricked into signing one”, he remarked and he saw with satisfaction how her eyes widened. Was she now wondering whether any of those blood drops she was made to offer yesterday or during her interrogation was maybe used for something else? She should definitely start to think about how she could be exploited beforehand.

“I see. I gladly accept your protection from such dishonest contracts”, Myne conceded with her head down and her parents seemed relieved at that as well. Making sure that she could not be taken by anybody else was thereby accomplished.

Justus wrote up the contract and Myne read it out to her parents, clarifying several phrases to them where necessary. This time her father pricked her finger and led it to her name on the parchment. Ferdinand himself signed with a magic pen which made Myne stare at him in envy. So she also showed interest in magic tools? That might become useful.

Her parents recoiled in fear as the contract then went up in flames but Myne only seemed more depressed than before. Did she actually understand how important those rights for being her legal guardian were and what they implied? And did she sign it despite that understanding since she now knew that she could just be forced into a submission contract anyway?

“The second part of her punishment will consist in the loss of her commuting privilege. Myne will not be allowed to leave the temple outside of temple business. This does not impact her right to receive visitors or conduct her work as orphanage director and forewoman of the Myne workshop.” Ferdinand noticed how her parents embraced her even stronger at understanding that Myne would not return home with them. Myne herself seemed stricken as well.

“I will reevaluate the need for this measure in a year based on her behavior up to that point. Currently she has lost all trust that she will not grow another trombe. She therefore cannot be allowed outside and without monitoring. She will also be assigned a guard knight both to ensure her safety in the temple as well as her compliance with this ordinance.”

“At least one year?”, her father whispered in disbelief and Myne clung to him. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

“That means I will miss the birth of my cute little sister or brother – Dad, you have to cherish them twice as much for me!” And at that she buried her head in his chest while hugging him quite energetically.

So her mother was currently pregnant? It had to be quite early as her body did not seem to give any clear indication either way. But why had she gone pale? Her father seemed frozen as well. That seemed like quite a harsh reaction to her words. Unless... Ferdinand almost reflexively reached for the empty feystone in his pocket.

“Heisshitze, the shield”, he quietly instructed and Heisshitze immediately departed. He could see Eckhart stiffen slightly.

Myne looked up at the leaving knight and glanced at Ferdinand quizzically. When she looked at her parents' faces anxiousness entered her voice.

“Mom? Dad? Is something wrong?” In response she was only embraced by both of them, but they did not say anything. Her mother however was crying silently once more.

“Mom?”, she whispered and her eyes began to flicker.

“Myne, we did not want to tell you like this-”, her father began and Myne began crying before he could finish his sentence. She threw herself at her mother, hugging her belly. How bizarre. Losing a child that early is nothing uncommon, neither for commoners nor for nobles. While it might be sad for a moment, it definitely was not worth such an outburst.

“How-”, Myne whispered with a broken voice and her mother just embraced her in return.

“It just happens sometimes, Myne. It happened twice in the past already. I should have waited with telling you”, she whispered back to her. Was Myne currently keeping her mana under control because she was aware that it might hurt her parents if she lost control? As Heisshitze returned with the shield it turned out that it had not been required at all. The feystone in his pocket remained empty as well. So she was not as hopeless as he had feared.

Ferdinand began coming up with a plan to harden Myne's weak soul while they were comforting each other. It was obvious to him that part of the problem were her parents who both seemed to love her to the point of fault. Eliminating that reliance on their emotional support had to begin right now.

As he told them to leave they suggested to visit next Earthday with their other daughter as well and Myne seemed calm enough due to that outlook as she waved them goodbye. She let out a long sigh as the door closed again. It seemed that she only remembered at this point that she was technically still in a meeting with Ferdinand and straightened her back again.

“Now, Myne, there will be a third part to your punishment”, Ferdinand began ominously and Myne's swollen eyes flitted to the door through which her parents had just left.

Justus produced a slender bangle and another sheet of parchment out of his bag. Ferdinand took the accessory into his hand and turned it around. It consisted mainly of metal and one small, golden feystone. As expected, Ferdinand could find no fault with Justus' brewing. It was exactly what he had wanted, completely unadorned and without any indication who had brewed it. Myne looked at him through her still teary eyes full of anxiousness and only the slightest glimmer of curiosity.

“I will have you wear this magic tool and have you sign a magic contract that forbids you from removing it.” The worry only grew more prominent on her face but Ferdinand continued before she could even ask.

“It will allow me to track your whereabouts over the whole country. And it will alert me as soon as you leave the temple, the city and the duchy. I can only advise to not even think about running away, Myne.” At that her eyes widened and she seemed frozen in fear. At least it seemed to have stopped her approaching tears. But had running away actually been her plan? Or was she now just scared because he expected her to flee a place that she herself had not considered to be something that necessitated fleeing from? When she eventually regained control over her facial expressions she spoke with a calm and monotonous voice.

“I truly doubt I could even run from here as far as to the orphanage, Archbishop. And even then I am slower than an adult who is walking at a slightly increased pace. Assigning a guard to me will already eliminate all chances of escape, not that I even had anywhere to run to. Without the temple's divine instruments I will simply die in a short amount of time as I am now unable to sign with any noble. Not that I actually ever intended to do that. And I am not foolish enough to believe that my family and friends will not be taken hostage in such a case anyway. If you want me to sign that contract and wear that tool then I will not object. You know as well as I do that I already have to rely on your magnanimity if I want to hope for any kind of future.”

Ferdinand did not like the expression on her face. It was the same she had had two days ago when she had asked him to show mercy by having her executed with a sword already.

“While you are wise beyond your years, Myne, you do not need to paint such a dull picture here. Invite that boy for lunch or tea today and talk it through, I am sure that will let you see your current situation in a much brighter light.” Myne took a deep breath and nodded. She actually seemed a tiny bit more lively at that thought.

“I thank you ever so much, Archbishop.”

He smiled at her in return with his wide and fake smile as they then signed their final magic contract of the day, forbidding her from removing any magic tool he might put on her before then attaching the tracking device to her left upper arm, where it shrank to fit her.

Chapter Text

Autumn in his 5th year of zenthood. 12 days after the incident. Age 20. Myne Age 7.

Damuel had been on house arrest in the knight's barracks ever since the incident. Nobody had even spoken to him after his initial questioning and he had grown more worried by the day. While Karstedt had informed him that the matter may not be handled swiftly as the Zent had to be involved he was deeply afraid of how he might be punished for not being able to keep Shikza under control. But how could they have even expected him to be able to do that in the first place? A guard knight attacking those who he was ordered to protect had been an absolutely unthinkable risk.

On his twelfth day of house arrest, Karstedt came to Damuel with news. While he had been found guilty for failing at his job he was now given the chance to show that he was not beyond the point of redemption. Damuel sighed in relief before stiffening up again as he noticed Karstedt's hard glare.

“If you ask me, Damuel, you got incredibly lucky since both the archduke as well as the Zent were very clearly angry about the incident that had happened at the temple. Your failure in protecting the blue priests, resulting in the necessity to send out the Knight's Order to overcome the situation, was highly dishonorable and put even Aub Ehrenfest's dedication to the Zent's temple reforms into question. That you are only sentenced to one year of all-time guard duty of that blue shrine maiden that you failed to protect once already is clearly a sign of the Zent's leniency and might just be due to the blue shrine maiden having actually spoken out for you.”

Damuel stared at Karstedt with a slightly open mouth before he remembered his manners. He had done his best but it was still only due to luck that he could live? He hated noble society and Shikza even more.

“I will absolutely honor this chance that was given to me, Lord Karstedt”, he swore with a stern face and Karstedt nodded. In the end he was still better off than Shikza.

“As it stands, your guard duty begins in half a bell. You will meet with Lamprecht in a quarter bell and head to the temple together.”

“Lord Lamprecht will accompany me?”, Damuel asked with clear confusion at not having expected the Knight Commander's second son, who had been working as the guard for the archduke's oldest child, Lord Wilfried, so far, to be his new colleague.

“He has volunteered himself for that position to show that Ehrenfest takes the Zent's temple reforms quite seriously.” Karstedt's face was unreadable to Damuel. He could not tell whether he really approved of his son taking over such an undesirable position. But Damuel knew better than to ask further questions. Instead he quickly grabbed his belongings to be able to relocate to the temple without delay.

He hoped he could get the materials for a magical letter somehow from inside the temple or he had to dictate his words to his fiancee from Frenbeltag via ordonnanzes to his brother. He had to inform her that he would not be able to have a starbinding next summer under these circumstances. He could only hope that she was willing to wait for him. But his hope was faint.

“Ah, Damuel”, Lamprecht acknowledged him as he approached the barracks on his highbeast.

“Do you need help with your luggage? I heard that you would not commute to the temple but rather live in one of its guard rooms there, but to think that to be actually true....” To Damuel's relief Lamprecht did not seem to be particularly mocking him. But even his honest surprise made him feel sad.

“I thank you, Lord Lamprecht, but this bag is all I need for the time being and it should fit on my highbeast all right.” At that, Damuel conjured his own winged horse and loaded the bag on its back.

“Just Lamprecht is fine. We are coworkers at the temple, right? Feel free to share your experiences with me.”

“I imagine your experiences will be quite different as an archnoble and the son of the Knight Commander, Lamprecht. There won't be anyone who would dare to look down on you.” Damuel frowned as he thought back at how unsatisfying his guard duty had been. They both departed for the temple while spurring their highbeasts.

“The blue priests are technically not nobles but they still have houses backing them. Your main task is to basically make sure that they do not kill each other with their petty schemes.” Lamprecht's eyes widened at that.

“That is what was meant with 'ensuring the peace in the temple'? I thought it was mainly making sure that they did not offend the zent and his representatives.” Lamprecht's face darkened.

“That is an important part as well, but do not underestimate how much they all despise each other.”

“So in truth I will be guarding more than ten people alone who cannot be trusted to not kill each other?” Damuel nodded.

“That I am now only guarding one of them is quite the improvement even though it will be around the clock and without commute. But Lamprecht, you may trust the knights from the Sovereignty to aid you. While their priority lies clearly with the blue priests from the Sovereignty they have the same order as you. 'Protect the peace in the temple'. And they are quite diligent. Their commander, Lord Heisshitze, is even one of the Zent's personal retainers. His mere presence is enough to ensure peace. Unfortunately, he cannot be everywhere at once.” Lamprecht nodded. They had arrived at the temple.

“Lord Damuel, please follow me.” One of the gray priests that Damuel remembered as the head attendant of the little girl that he was to guard greeted him and guided him to the room that would be his new home for a year. This was better than being executed alongside his whole house. He put his bag down and was then given a wooden board signed with the Zent's crest. Damuel paled immediately.

Damuel, as you have already been informed at this point by Lord Karstedt, your punishment consists of being assigned as Sister Myne's personal guard knight for a full year.

In addition to keeping any harm from occurring to her you are also responsible for her adhering to her own punishment. She is not allowed to leave the temple outside of official temple business. If she is to be found outside the temple at any other time, you will share her punishment.

Report everything she does daily to Lord Heisshitze. Arrange for a proper replacement during that time. I will interpret any future failure as an expression of unwillingness to comply with my commands.

Damuel gulped at that. The sudden realization that he was not only her guard knight but also her warden made him want to scream but he suppressed the urge as the gray priest was still in the room with him and observed his reaction with calm eyes. If failure was no option then the only way out of this mess was powering through it. He followed the gray priest into the chambers of his new charge.

He had expected to be greeted and to be able to exchange introductions but the little girl that he had sometimes met in the hallway was currently nowhere to be seen. The gray priest next to him noticed that as well and quickly called the other attendants who had been gathering around a bed with closed curtains to attention.

“Rosina, Wilma, please welcome Lord Damuel. He is assigned to guard Sister Myne for the next year.” At that the attendants lined up in front of him and knelt.

“I am Fran, I am Sister Myne's head attendant”, the gray priest who had guided him here spoke first. Damuel nodded and then let his eyes wander to the next one, a female attendant with bright orange hair who was already of age and decided to stare vehemently at the floor.

“I-I am Wilma. I take care of Sister Myne's daily necessities.” That was the first time that somebody seemed actually afraid of him. He was so used to cowering as the lowest of the lowest of laynobles that he did not know how to react to this change. He nodded as well and then let his eyes wander to her third and last attendant. This one was also female and, judging from her wavy auburn hair that was still let down, had not yet come of age.

“I am Rosina. I take care of Sister Myne's daily necessities together with Wilma and educate her in playing the harspiel.” Damuel nodded once more. He had not been aware that blue shrine maidens were actually required to learn an instrument as well.

“I appreciate your cooperation”, Damuel firmly stated at which all three of them rose to their feet.

“Were is the apprentice blue shrine maiden currently? If she is not here I will have to move immediately to her current location”, he glared at Fran who had brought him to her chambers and who gestured to the bed with closed curtains.

“Sister Myne is feeling unwell and is therefore resting”, he stated which made Damuel twitch. The Zent's order for keeping harm away from her was very much on his mind. Now that he knew she was there he could hear muffled cries and whimpering. His stomach dropped at the possibility of having failed before he even had a chance to do something.

“I will have to verify her current condition”, he immediately stated and headed over to the curtains. Her attendants seemed to want to protest him but remembered their standing. Propriety be damned, if the girl was being hurt then he was dead. He had to protect her at all costs!

Rosina rushed to the apprentice's bed.

“Sister Myne, please excuse the disturbance”, she warned just as she moved the curtains to the side for him. He could see for his own a curled up little girl with swollen eyes and tear streaked cheeks. She was startled by the sudden light of the opened curtains and turned around to see what Rosina might have wanted from her only to stare into Damuel's face. Her own expression clouded even more.

“Sister Myne, this is Lord Damuel who has been assigned as your guard knight.” He saw her golden eyes shortly flicker into a rainbow color as she spoke to him with a fearsome tone before she curled up again with her back directed at him.

“Welcome, Lord Damuel. As you can see I am not going anywhere. Rosina, please close the curtains again.” At that Rosina looked at Damuel with clear hesitation but Damuel just nodded and retreated from the bed again. What an awesome start.

“Fran, why is the apprentice crying?”, Damuel asked from his position close to the door in a lowered voice. The muffled crying was still audible even half a bell later. One of her attendants had begun to play a soothing sound on the harspiel but it did not seem to calm the girl down at all.

“I do not know, Lord Damuel. We attendants were dismissed during her meeting with the Archbishop today. It seems something grave has been discussed, but Sister Myne has not yet shared any details. She has only asked to arrange for a visit from an acquaintance of her, an apprentice merchant named Lutz, which will be due in half a bell.” Damuel had to suppress a twitch on his face.

“Attendant, I need to be aware of her whole schedule for the day in advance. Inform me as soon as something has been decided”, he scolded Fran who immediately vowed to not repeat his mistake. If he could not rely on her attendants to keep him informed then his job was going to be ten times harder. Hopefully, this Fran kept his word.

But Damuel could sympathize with the little girl after hearing that she had a meeting with the Zent Ferdinand. That man was known for making seasoned knights cry so her having that reaction was not too far fetched. But still... How could she still have tears left by now?

Half a bell later there was indeed a young boy who seemed taken aback at encountering a noble guard knight as soon as he was led into her chambers. But he hastily recovered and performed acceptable greetings for a commoner kid his age.

“I am Lutz of the Gilberta Company. I am here to give Sister Myne the report over the last few days of her workshop in the orphanage.” Lutz looked up at Damuel who was scrutinizing him.

“Put anything you carry with you on this table before you approach the apprentice. Especially anything that could be used as a weapon like a knife.” The boy's eyes widened but he quickly obliged. To Damuel's surprise he carried quite a lot of things with him. And of course these things included a knife.

While Damuel then patted the boy down he heard a weak “Lutz” being uttered from behind the curtains. The boy seemed to have heard it as well as he stretched his neck in her direction. To Damuel's relief the boy kept in his place until he allowed him to move. He was really not in the mood to hit a child.

But the apprentice shrine maiden did not come out of her bed even as the boy was led to stand in front of it. A tiny hand appeared between the layers of fabric of the curtain that seemed to search for the boy. Damuel was exasperated at that.

“Attendants, open the curtain fully.” Rosina quickly nodded and complied. The little girl did not look any better than before but at least she was sitting on the edge of her bed and not curled up anymore.

“Lutz! Lutz! Lutz!” She exclaimed while basically jumping at him. Damuel wondered whether he should interfere but it seemed that the boy was used to catching her. Their situation soon turned into a firm embrace that made Damuel deeply uncomfortable despite their young age.

Lutz seemed to share some of the discomfort as he was looking at Damuel with a questioning glance whether he was allowed to actually be in that situation. Damuel nodded slightly and kept monitoring them. It was unlikely that the boy could or even would do anything to her, but he was not going to bet his own life on that estimation. So far he only seemed to pat her back while she cried onto his chest.

“Myne, what happened? I thought everything would be alright after yesterday?” But the little girl shook her head vehemently.

“Lutz! Mom and Dad, they...”, she began but was shook by a heartbreaking cry that made her unable to talk.

“Hm? Myne, I cannot help you if I do not know what is wrong. Has something happened to them at the meeting?” So her parents had been part of the meeting with the Archbishop? Damuel began to imagine a few scenarios that might have led to such an emotional outburst. He still remembered Shikza calling her a commoner, which meant that her parents were commoners as well. Their lives meant even less than his own to the Zent.

The apprentice seemed to recover slowly in the arms of the boy.

“... I told you that Mom was pregnant... But she lost it while I was away-”, another ugly cry emerged from her. Lutz embraced her tightly instead of only patting her back. He seemed to be crying now as well.

“Myne, I am so sorry”, he mumbled between sobs and Damuel was standing there, staring at two grieving children who were comforting each other at their lowest. He felt terrible.

Late autumn in his 5th year of zenthood. Age 20. Myne Age 7.

Those visits became almost daily routine. It seemed that they helped her emotionally as the crying lessened over time and her initial distrust of him seemed to vanish similarly.

The apprentice often shared lunch with either the boy or her sister, sometimes both. Damuel still considered their hugging highly inappropriate but turned a blind eye as her attendants did. It was not his task to educate her, only to guard her.

But he was still forced to watch to make sure that they were not too rough with her. By now he had seen how weak and sickly the girl was. Even on his first day she had ended up with a fever that stayed for three days. Just from being emotionally exhausted as Fran explained to him. He was not willing to bet his life on any normal assumptions on what was safe for a normal girl her age.

In general, normal did not seem to be a good description of her at all. She had been practicing the harspiel for maybe one and a half seasons but she was already as good as a mednoble child at their baptism. The paperwork that she was doing for the temple seemed complex even to him – and he had graduated the Royal Academy after all – but she just sped through an enormous pile of wooden boards while barely touching her calculator. And not once did he see her get scolded by the Inquisitors for making a mistake.

When she went to the workshop he also saw what a complex process her plant paper required. How could a kid have come up with something like this? That is not some mere trial and error. Even though it did not require magic a skill comparable to high complexity brewing was necessary for this. Damuel was impressed and confused.

He could not gauge how much mana she was pouring into the divine instruments daily but he saw how fast she was generating gold dust on the side for Lord Heisshitze. It had exasperated him at first just to know that she or her attendants were carrying around something so valuable all the time but when he noticed how often she was sent a new bag to dust he felt close to crying.

And on top of all that she was also being educated as a blue shrine maiden, learning so many complex prayers that sounded awfully similar to his ears but diverged at the most forgettable parts. Damuel only knew the prayer to obtain the God of Darkness' blessing and it had been quite the effort to hammer that alone into his memory. But the apprentice did not seem bothered at all. She endured all that without a word of complaining.

The only times when she did seem uneasy was when the rare visits from her parents ended. She then stared out of the window in the direction of the lower city with a solemn expression.

But to his relief she had not once shown any indication of running away from the temple. Damuel knew that he was faster and stronger than her – basically everyone was – but he feared he might hurt her in the process.

And then there were the rumors. One of the blue priests had warned him quite openly that the apprentice was very dangerous to be around. That she had attacked the High Bishop with mana. That she had killed him if the Archbishop had not appeared coincidentally. But Damuel was not sure whether he could believe that. The High Bishop was Aub Ehrenfest's uncle after all. Even if he was lacking mana befitting his birth he must still possess quite a lot. And the apprentice was only seven years old.

One day, late in autumn, the apprentice was called to support the Knight's Order. She seemed immensely confused by that but complied with getting changed into her ceremonial robes. Fran then took her in his arms to rush her to the Noble's Gate while Rosina rushed to get a divine instrument. Damuel was more than alert.

Supporting the Knight's Order at this time of the year could only mean a trombe. He had heard before that blue priests were tasked with restoring the devastated land afterwards but he had never expected that this role would fall to the only apprentice in the temple. And that would be the first time he had to guard her outside the temple? Glucklitat must have hated him.

Lord Heisshitze was already waiting for them at the gate.

“Ah, there you are. Good. Come here, Myne.” He quickly inspected her ceremonial robes, then nodded and put a magic ring on her finger.

“The Archbishop instructed me to make you wear a ring for this mission, Myne.” Her eyes widened and she nodded with barely hidden fear. Anybody would be terrified by explicitly being included in his orders.

“Myne, as we will be dealing with a trombe I wish to lay down some firm rules: No tears, no blood and no crushing”, he instructed with a stern tone and the apprentice's face paled further as she hastily confirmed the order. The 'no tears' was most likely the most critical part. She almost seemed close to tears right now.

“Damuel, ensure that she adheres to these rules”, he instructed further.

“Understood, Lord Heisshitze.” At that he opened the Noble's Gate leading to the Noble's Quarter where the Knight's Order was already kneeling in wait. They were dealing with one of the Zent's personal retainers after all. It made sense that they showed proper respect. But it still felt strange to not kneel with them. Their commander then introduced himself as 'Lord Karstedt' primarily to the apprentice as everybody else already knew who he was, including Lord Heisshitze.

As their group passed through the temple's gate, a small golden bird appeared out of nowhere from the apprentice's left side. She quite notably winced at that and tapped her left upper arm. Meanwhile, the bird circled over her head once and then landed on Lord Heisshitze's finger. He seemed surprised at first but then produced his schtappe, tapped the bird and chanted “genehmigung”. At that the bird disappeared into golden light.

“Ah, right, forgot about that”, he mumbled before he then briefed the Knight's Order on today's mission in an authoritative tone. It was so obvious that he hailed from Dunkelfelger originally.

The apprentice rode on Damuel's highbeast and her attendant who held the divine instrument of Flutrane rode with one of the other knights. As they crossed the city's border another small golden bird emerged from her left side that once again flew over to Lord Heisshitze. She seemed deeply unsettled by this.

“Will this really be okay, Lord Damuel? I was told that I am not allowed to leave the temple. These birds are telling on me, aren't they?” The uneasiness in her voice was palpable but she seemed to work hard to keep herself together.

“I imagine that they do. But they are flying to Lord Heisshitze who is the one who ordered you to come here, so you will be fine. This is official temple business after all, apprentice.”

She seemed to calm down at that and nodded to herself. A short while later he could see that they were almost there. The apprentice also seemed to notice the huge circular area of wasteland with the huge, rampaging trombe in its center.

“Lord Damuel, what happened here? Where did the forest go? And what is that huge tree?” It seemed that she had not been fully aware what a trombe actually did.

“Apprentice, this is the trombe that the Knight's Order will now exterminate. It steals mana from the country to grow. That is why it is the temple's task to restore the mana to the earth afterwards or nothing will grow here for a very long time.”

“That is a trombe? That looks like Chaocipher reincarnated into a tree. No wonder he was so mad...”, she began and Damuel could see that she was now trembling with slumped shoulders.

“It might just be so. Apprentice, do not show any weakness here”, he advised quietly and she stiffened up.

“But will the Knight's Order really be okay? O Verdraeos of the God of Darkness exalted twelve who is tasked with dispelling the Goddess of Chaos. Please bless these knights in their fight against her agent so that they may return this land to its intended peaceful state.” Damuel was surprised at first that she would actually pray to calm her nerves but when black light emerged from the ring on her hand he hastily halted his highbeast mid flight. The rest of the knights that had black light rain down on them unexpectedly similarly seemed on high alert and halted their highbeasts. All but one.

Damuel felt the sudden urge to fly away as he saw Lord Heisshitze dashing in his direction. But he seemed way more excited than angry.

“What was that?! Who of you both did that?!” He urged for an answer and Damuel could tell that Myne did her best to look at him without trembling.

“I- I am terribly sorry, Lord Heisshitze. I just prayed for the knights' success and then that just happened.” Damuel could hear the forced smile in her voice. Don't cry, apprentice, please just don't cry here!

“Don't apologize, girl. Which blessing did we get?! What does it do?!” His enthusiasm was totally unexpected for Damuel but it at least seemed to calm down the apprentice, much to his relief.

“I prayed to Verdraeos, but I do not know what this will do.” Lord Heisshitze was getting uncomfortably close now but he then relented.

“Guess we will have to find out! Damuel, you and Myne stay up in the air and out of range. Karstedt, have the knight who has her attendant wait here with them as well. And everybody else will now exterminate that trombe with me!” His orders were confirmed immediately by shouts, before they dashed to their target.

Damuel observed the fight from afar. He was disappointed that he could still not join the Knight's Order in this mission, but at least he got to spectate. The apprentice seemed to do the same as she was looking at the fight in a similar fashion.

“Their weapons look strange”, she remarked at one point and Damuel explained to her the meaning of weapons imbued with the God of Darkness' blessing. She nodded and continued watching.

When one knight was not fast enough to evade one of the trombe's branches she physically recoiled.

The knight was smashed right in front of the trombe and then immediately tangled in some of its other branches. Damuel winced at the sight as well. It was a race against time whether the knight could be saved and the whole Knight's Order was aware. Half of them immediately focused their attacks on the offending branches while the other half was defending those knights.

Damuel held his breath. This was taking way too long. The trombe could succeed in mere seconds to suck him dry. It must have been an archnoble as well if he even had enough mana to not have crumbled to dust by now.

Damuel could do nothing but stare. They were not going to make it in time. Another knight soon to be fallen to a trombe. He suddenly remembered the emotionally unstable girl in front of him. If she saw that sight then a lot of tears were doomed to fall! Damuel hastily took his cape to shield her view from what was going to happen any moment now.

She turned around and looked at him with worry very clearly written on her face.

“Lord Damuel?”, she whispered. Just in this moment he heard shouts from the fighting scene and he hurriedly looked back from her face and to the trombe. One of the knights now had a passenger on his highbeast as he dashed away from the scene similar to the others as they regrouped out of range. The fact that he had not been turned to dust meant he would survive. Damuel let out a big sigh and removed his cape.

“They made it”, he confirmed for the apprentice and she as well let out a relieved sigh.

“Still... that was way longer than I had ever imagined anybody survive the grasps of such a huge trombe. That must have been one of the archknights”, Damuel murmured only to be corrected by his companion who was keeping the apprentice's attendant safe.

“Damuel, that was one of the layknights. I sparred with him just this morning.” Damuel turned his head to him.

“Are you serious?”

“That was why he in particular was the victim in the first place, I imagine. He could not get his highbeast away fast enough with his amount of mana.”

“How could he survive then?” Damuel asked with widened eyes.

“Your guess is as good as mine, Damuel.”

They observed the rest of the fight in silence. It took awfully long, even though Lord Heisshitze was participating, but in the end they prevailed.

As they were called to descend into the center of the dark brown crater, Damuel was glad that they could return to the temple soon. It was his first outing in weeks but seeing one of his colleagues almost die had dampened his mood considerably. Said colleague was now placed lying on the ground while all other knights were kneeling in wait.

Damuel helped the apprentice down from his highbeast. She seemed quite nervous to him but there was no helping it. She was then handed the divine instrument by her attendant and was clearly struggling with keeping the large staff stable.

“The land will now be healed by the apprentice shrine maiden.”

Damuel was, apart from Lord Heisshitze, the only one still standing as the apprentice began to recite her prayer begging the Goddess of Water to heal her sister Geduldh. The staff in her hands began to shine intensely with her mana and strong winds whirled around her as the ground below her feet suddenly sprouted grass.

The perimeter of the circle of greenery widened with every moment and Damuel stared in disbelief as he saw how the immense wasteland around him turned green. But the apprentice did not stop there. She continued her prayers and poured even more mana into the land which made the plants grow almost up to her hips. At that point a branch of a newly sprouted tree seemed to pull at her ceremonial robes which led her to open her eyes. She seemed shocked by the sudden and drastic change of her environment and her flow of mana was halted.

“So that is what he saw”, Lord Heisshitze murmured before he seemed to notice that he had spoken aloud. The other knights were murmuring as well. Things like “Why is somebody with that much mana stuck in the temple?” and “Such a waste that she is a blue shrine maiden.” reached Damuel's ears.

He could see their hungry eyes and judging from the sudden wincing reaction that the apprentice showed she had noticed their predatory glares as well. Was he really expected to protect her from all these knights now?!

“Thank you, Sister Myne. I am sure the Zent will be most pleased that the one he personally has bestowed blue robes on is executing her duties most diligently.”

At that the knights stopped their murmurs immediately and their eyes grew distant. Understandable. Who would want to get involved with the Zent of all people?

“Lord Damuel, what did Lord Heisshitze mean, when he said the Zent gave me blue robes? That was the Archbishop. Or is 'Zent' another word for 'Archbishop'?” Damuel's eyes widened. They were currently on their way back to the temple on his highbeast.

“Apprentice, are you serious?” Had Zent Ferdinand intentionally not introduced himself as the highest authority in the country? But would his retainer then reveal his role in front of her? Was he supposed to play along with her or educate her? Why did nobody inform him if that was important? Would that count as failure on his side? Damuel fought hard against his sense of dread while he stalled for time.

“I have never heard that word before, Lord Damuel. What does it mean?” She seemed more curious than suspicious to him. He decided against educating her.

“'Zent' is a title that those outside the temple use to address the honorable Archbishop, apprentice. He is referred to as 'Zent Ferdinand' then. But he is the same person. As you are part of the temple you should continue to address him as Archbishop.” Hopefully, somebody else had to educate her on the implications of who she was actually working under.

“I thank you ever so much, Lord Damuel.”

Another small golden bird emerged as they crossed the barrier into Ehrenfest. Damuel noticed how the apprentice was now rubbing her upper left arm as if in pain.

“Did that hurt, apprentice?” It was by now obvious that she wore a magic tool at that place but on their way out of the city it did not seem to bother but only surprise her. No harm was to come to her. But what about a magic tool that she was obviously wearing at the Zent's order?

“It sucked some of my mana and yes that hurt”, she admitted. That worried him.

“You expended a lot of mana during the ritual. You must be currently running low on mana”, Damuel mused which made her turn her head around.

“I am running low on mana? Is that also why I am feeling so cold right now? I thought that was just due to the robes and being in the air for so long...”, she seemed to drift off, lost in her thoughts now.

When they passed through the temple gate another small golden bird appeared and went once again to Lord Heisshitze who made it disappear with his schtappe. But the apprentice did not seem hurt this time.

“It did not hurt this time?”, Damuel inquired, confused by the sudden change.

“No, it seems you were right, Lord Damuel. I opened the box with my mana to let more flow through my body and it did not hurt anymore when my mana was sucked out just now.” Damuel nodded as if he understood her weird explanation. He then helped her down from his highbeast. She seemed on the edge of exhaustion by now.

“Lord Heisshitze, will the knight make it? The one that got wrapped up-”, she began only to lose her words half through. Lord Heisshitze seemed to understand her anyway.

“Yes. I believe it was your blessing from Verdraeos that shielded him from being sucked completely dry by that trombe. We should definitely have that investigated further.” The apprentice stared at him in disbelief.

“That's what blessings can do?”, she whispered.

“Is that something an apprentice blue shrine maiden should even question?”, he remarked with a smirk and she stiffened.

“Sister Myne, please return that ring to me.” He held out his hand and the apprentice stared at her left hand where she was wearing his ring. But she did not remove it. Damuel tensed as he saw that she was clearly hesitating.

“Myne”, Lord Heisshitze's tone had become more firm.

“Lord Heisshitze, please remove it yourself. You know I am not allowed to”, she whispered, which confused Damuel. She was not allowed to remove a ring?

“You did not sign that contract with me, Myne. And I put it on you. It is fine.” A contract? A magic one?

“But you put it on me under his orders, Lord Heisshitze. That is the same thing as him putting it on me, no?” Damuel really hoped that the order about 'no tears' had ended with the extermination of the trombe because he noticed how awfully close to crying she was by now.

“No, that is not the same thing, Myne.” Damuel could feel the exasperation that he was exuding by now but the apprentice did not make any moves to remove the ring on her own.

“But if you are wrong, I will be the one who dies”, she said desperately holding out her hand to him.

“Fine”, he sighed and took the ring from her hand.

“You look tired, Sister Myne. Go to your chambers and rest.”

She was down with a fever for five whole days.

Chapter Text

The last days of autumn in his 5th year of zenthood. Age 20. Myne Age 7.

Myne looked at the paper in front of her that was the manuscript for her first book and sighed. She knew it had been a lot of work and she should cherish the moment but she still felt heavy about it.

When she had still thought that she was going to be a big sister in spring she had wanted nothing more than to shower her little brother or sister with picture books along their way to adulthood but that goal was unachievable by now.

At first it had taken her awfully long to decide on what kind of book she should make due to the problem at hand that the only artist that she could rely on was Wilma. And Wilma only knew the scriptures. She did not even know what a pig looked like since their food had always arrived perfectly cooked. And even the delivered meat for the winter preparations had been already butchered.

So Myne had been somehow locked into the decision to focus on picture books with a biblical focus which also required some preliminary research. But her mom losing her pregnancy had stolen much of her motivation to the point where she had just stopped.

Until there was Lutz.

At some point Lutz had told her that her mom losing the baby did not mean that she could never be a big sister. It just meant she did not become one right now. It just meant she had more time to prepare the picture books. How did he always know what to say?

His words had restored her somewhat and working on the book had helped distracting her from the thoughts that were plaguing her at night.

Was it her fault that her mom had lost the baby? Had it been the stress over her uncertain situation after the trombe incident that had caused her so much worry that she suffered a miscarriage? Myne knew that she would never get answers to these questions but she still felt the guilt gnawing at her conscience at night.

To make things even worse, she felt like her parents were hiding their own suffering during their visits. Her dad sometimes managed to visit in the afternoon due to his shifts at the gate but her mom could only visit on Earthdays. Myne felt so utterly disconnected from them already even though they visited so regularly but just not often enough.

“Lutz, how are Mom and Dad? Are they truly okay?”, she asked during his latest visit a few days before the end of autumn but Lutz hesitated to answer.

“Myne, I do not see them very often anymore. I- I had a serious disagreement with my dad. He did not want me to visit another city with Master Benno. Ever since I live in a room in the Gilberta company that Master Benno allows me to rent”, Lutz explained without looking in her eyes.

“Lutz... I am so sorry. I don't know what to say...”, she mumbled and reached out to hug him. He immediately returned the hug and sighed.

“But I still cannot leave the city with Master Benno like this. My parents could still claim me kidnapped and Master Benno would be charged with a serious crime for that.” Myne squeezed him very tightly.

“Maybe there is something we can do? Maybe if I talk with Benno we can find a way?”, she suggested and Lutz patted her back with uncertainty.

“I don't know, Myne. But sure... I just hope he does not die from the stress of another letter of invitation from you. That last one left him... shaken for a while”, Lutz commented with distant eyes.

Myne had not seen Benno for weeks and was surprised as he knelt before her to greet her in the lengthy way he had also greeted the Archbishop before. She was not even sure how to respond properly.

“Benno, please treat me the same as always. It is only me today, no need to be so formal”, Myne explained but she noticed how Benno's eyes shortly flitted to Damuel. She turned her head to look at him as well. Right. There was a noble in this room.

“It's alright, Benno. He sees me and Lutz interacting normally all the time”, she explained which caused Damuel to cough uncomfortably. Benno did not seem to relax at that at all.

“Sister Myne, I would not want to involuntarily show any disrespect to you or your esteemed guard”, he mumbled and Myne relented. He was not going to ease up today.

“Then please rise and take a seat at this table, Benno. Let us discuss how we can help Lutz”, she said and Benno complied.

“Lutz had a disagreement about his parents not allowing him to leave the city to visit the place where I am currently establishing another plant paper workshop, Sister Myne. As no conclusion could be reached he sought shelter with me which I provided by renting him out one of my rooms. There has been no reaching out from his family so far to bridge the gap and Lutz is also not interested in giving up and returning to them. It is indeed a very stuck situation.” Benno's explanation made Myne look at him glumly.

“Could you not go to them and talk to them?”, Myne suggested and Benno seemed uncomfortable at that.

“Sister Myne, I already sent Mark to inquire about the issue but he was only welcomed with angry shouting. Apparently they see Lutz standing his ground on the issue as 'being a baby'. I feel that there is no room for negotiations.” Benno looked Myne in the eyes who was taken aback by that report.

“So now Lutz has to live as a live-in apprentice? Is that not like the worst lifestyle ever?”, she asked and Benno frowned.

“It is indeed quite harsh on him, Sister Myne. It is unfortunate that I cannot ease the burden on him without causing a rift between him and the others employees in turn as that would be clear favoritism. If his parents were in any way amendable I would even propose that I adopt Lutz, but after they chased Mark away like this I am not very hopeful that this is an option anytime soon.” He looked frustrated by the whole situation.

“You would adopt Lutz?”, Myne asked in surprise and Benno nodded.

“I think he would make a good successor for me. He is smart, learns exceedingly fast, has a good grasp on profit and sees the value hidden in plain sight. I see him as a very valuable member of the Gilberta company in the future.” Myne smiled at that and nodded.

“Sister Myne, may I ask you to not speak of these plans with Lutz? They might take a lot more time to implement and would excite him unduly beforehand.” Myne nodded with sad eyes.

“I understand, Benno. I will not talk to him of that...”, she agreed with a long sigh.

“Your understanding is highly appreciated, Sister Myne.” Benno himself exhaled at that as well. It was only now that he allowed himself to taste some of the tea in front of him.

“Now, Sister Myne, may I talk to you about another topic? It concerns the smith that you seemed to favor.” Myne looked at him with curiosity. She had not expected to talk about something so mundane today.

“Yes, please do, Benno. Is there an issue with Johann?” She liked his impeccable and precise work but was confused why he could come up in a discussion with Benno.

“I thank you, Sister Myne. I would not call it an issue per se. Johann has approached me in search of you as he is in need of a patron to order something from him for his leherl task. Smiths with a leherl contract close to their coming of age are required by their guild to secure a large enough order by an established patron or they lose their position as leherl. It seems for Johann the only one who could be willing to provide such a task would be you, Sister Myne.” Benno seemed somewhat apologetic but inside Myne's head the ideas began to race.

“So you are asking me whether I want something to be made by him? Something grand, something complex?”, Myne tried to confirm his intentions and Benno nodded. He seemed a bit taken aback by the sudden sparkle in her eyes that then illuminated her whole face in a smile that he had not seen from her in long while.

“Ehehehehe, in that case I have something I want him to make for me, Benno”, she cackled and Benno's polite face that he had sported so far twitched. His eyes darted to Damuel who just seemed to ignore her sudden change in behavior.

“He can make (metal letter types) for me! I thought it was still a bit early for that, but if he wants something grand and complex who am I to deny him that? And then I do not have to cut out all these letters for the stencils in the future like I thought I had to! Benno, I will send the blueprints to the Gilberta company tomorrow. Can I count on you to deal with the bureaucratic side of all this?”, she inquired and Benno nodded while trying his hardest to suppress the twitching on his face. Myne chose to ignore the growing thunder behind his eyes while she was ordering her attendant to gather her writing materials so that she could immediately start sketching the blueprints. Damuel however seemed to grow uncomfortable by his expression and drew closer to Myne.

“Apprentice, call the meeting to an end”, he whispered and both Myne and Benno froze by his sudden interruption. Myne turned her head and looked at him with wide eyes.

“What, but why?”, she mumbled back without thinking. Damuel glared at her and then at Benno.

“Your guest is getting agitated. If I allow this to continue I will have to restrain him and I am quite certain that you do not wish to see that, apprentice”, he had lowered his head to whisper directly into her ear and she nodded with clear apprehension. There was no arguing here. She had to take care in the future to not summon Benno's thunder with Damuel around.

“Benno, I thank you ever so much for visiting today. Please take care on your way home. As discussed I will send the blueprints for Johann's leherl task to you by tomorrow.” Myne tried to save the situation by being more formal than she liked to and Benno bowed his head in understanding before he left.

Myne looked at Damuel with an unsure expression afterwards.

“Lord Damuel, Benno does not mean me any harm. I make him angry all the time and the worst he does is pinch my cheeks”, Myne tried to explain to him but was met with a distant look in his eyes. He sighed.

“Apprentice, I will not gamble on matters that concern your safety.”

“Understood. I thank you for your diligent service”, Myne responded with a deflated voice.

Her mood however recovered instantly when Fran placed her writing utensils in front of her on the table. She tried sketching the metal letter types in several ways on her diptych first before she arrived at something that she felt was understandable to Johann. A wide and satisfied smile snuck on her face as she drew the seemingly boring blueprints and labeled every little detail with as much information as possible. It had been a while since she had felt so relaxed.

“Sister Myne, the rules that apprentice blue shrine maidens and priests are not participating during the baptism ceremonies have been changed. You are therefore expected to participate at tomorrow's winter baptism ceremony”, Waldemar, the blond inquisitor, announced as she handed him some of her calculations for double checking. Myne's eyes widened at the sudden task on her agenda.

“I have not prepared for that possibility at all, Inquisitor, I hope I will not disappoint your trust in me”, she responded with eyes searching for Fran but he was busy with his own paperwork right now.

“Fear not, you will only be registering children, you do not need to lead them in prayer as this will be done by the adult blue priests as per usual”, Waldemar explained and Myne nodded with hesitation.

“You just prick their fingers with a needle and put a drop of their blood on a medal, Sister Myne, there is nothing to get confused about”, he emphasized with first signs of exasperation and Myne nodded more firmly this time. There was no arguing with that. But the thought to make little children bleed caused her discomfort.

“Sister Myne, I feel like it might be worthwile to practice for tomorrow's baptism ceremony”, Fran suggested and Myne looked up at him from the wooden boards that she had been reading that detailed the course of the ceremony. She tilted her head slightly, unsure what he was trying to say.

“You have shown clear signs of apprehension to the task in front of the Inquisitor, Sister Myne. You must not show such weakness or unwillingness to your superiors. And not to the children tomorrow”, Fran warned and Myne nodded glumly. Of course he was right. But what could she do?

He then placed a needle in front of her and knelt to her side.

“Please practice on my hands, Sister Myne. You must not show hesitation tomorrow.” Myne stared at him with wide eyes before she nodded. Was this really okay? How deep did she have to push the needle to make him bleed? Would she be okay to see him bleed from her action? Deep inside herself she knew he was right and she had to practice if she did not want to fail during the real baptism ceremony.

Myne took the needle in her right hand and Fran's left hand in her own left one. She tried to prick his little finger but instead of a drop of blood she just caused a light scratch.

“Sister Myne, please look at my finger and the needle while you prick it. Otherwise you will delay everything and need to prick a second time.” Myne nodded. Her mouth felt dry. There was nothing more she wanted than closing her eyes. But she had to look.

She made another try close to the scratch that she had caused to Fran. This time she pushed with more force and concentration than before. Fran's little finger twitched in response and more than just a drop of blood rushed out.

“Eeek! I am so sorry, Fran!”, she shrieked and pulled her hands away from him, but Fran did not react further. He put the finger into his mouth to avoid some of his blood falling on the carpet.

“Please do not worry about something so inconsequential. You applied a bit too much force but this is still just a needle, neither a knife nor a sword. You have done me no harm, Sister Myne”, he tried to convince her, but Myne had paled already.

“Are you really okay, Fran?”, she asked close to tears and Fran nodded. He then showed her his little finger. Next to the scratch was a red dot but the bleeding had stopped already. She nodded and gathered her courage as he urged her to try it once again.

It took her several more tries before she felt somehow confident in her finger pricking skills to produce reproducible results. She felt enormous gratitude towards Fran for guiding her through this and sacrificing basically all of his fingers.

The real baptism ceremony still shocked her however. It seemed that the skin of little children was way thinner and softer than Fran's, who was working with his hands all day already and a grown adult to boot. The first few children all put their fingers into their mouth after their registration but Myne could do nothing but power through. She felt completely drained afterwards but at least she had succeeded.

Winter in his 5th year of zenthood. Age 20. Myne Age 7.

The Dedication Ritual started around the middle of winter, a few days after a blizzard cut her off from all contact from outside the temple. The first days of snow still had been passable for Lutz, who only had a short way, and her dad, who was used to making his path to the south gate in any weather, but after the blizzard truly set in their visits stopped.

Myne looked out of the window only to stare into white nothingness. She knew there was no way around it as the weather was just too bad but she still felt the loneliness encroaching on her mood.

On the first day of the Dedication Ritual she was welcomed by the High Priest who glared at her with disdain but gestured her nevertheless to enter. It was the first time since almost a season that she was alone with somebody without a guard and even though she had lived so long without one before she now felt somehow defenseless in this room. Myne hoped that it was just her paranoia.

“Come here, Sister Myne. Kneel down over there and pray the words you have been taught.” Myne nodded at that and began praying with her hands on the carpet.

It felt a bit odd to pray with an audience but there was nothing she could do. If the High Priest wanted to observe her first Dedication Ritual then she could not object to that.

As she began to recite the words that Fran had tried to hammer into her head she felt how her mana began to flow into the carpet. She was surprised at first but did not resist. It even felt oddly freeing to send such a stream in the direction of the altar. At some point she wondered how long she should remain in the prayer pose but she did not receive any sign from the High Priest to stop so she just continued until she felt slightly tired and drained. At that point she lifted her hands from the carpet and looked up to see that the High Priest was now inspecting the small chalices on the altar.

“Oh, five small chalices all on your own? I see you have been praying most diligently, Sister Myne. Well done. See to it that you do not dedicate any less in the upcoming days”, he instructed and Myne nodded. She felt a little bit groggy from the amount of mana that had flown from her but made her way back to her chambers without issue even though Fran looked slightly worried.

“Sister Myne, do you feel alright? Do you maybe wish to read in bed till lunch?” Myne was touched by his kindness and nodded.

“It is still a bit sad to eat lunch alone. I wonder how long it will take till I can receive visitors again”, she mused but Fran only tilted his head. So he did not know either.

“Lord Damuel, are you aware how long it will be until I may receive visitors again?”, she inquired while trying to hide her exhaustion but Damuel seemed to give his answer some serious thought.

“I imagine it will be till the Dedication Ritual is finished”, he suggested and Myne nodded. Maybe there is a rule that outsiders are not allowed into the temple till it is over.

After the first day she was always alone while praying but she did not mind that too much. In a way it was comforting to be alone with the Gods.

Myne also began to grow accustomed to dedicating five chalices worth of mana in each session but the same could not be said about the longing feeling in her chest that grew more intense with the passing of each new day. The blizzard that was raging outside had not lessened in the slightest. Today was her fifth day of the Dedication Ritual and she was not sure how much longer she could wait to see her dad.

As she entered the ritual chamber she counted the empty chalices on the altar. There were over twenty. That meant it was at least four more days till she could see him. But if she filled them all then she could see him maybe even today. How much mana could that reasonably take? She decided to give it a try and dedicate all she had.

Even as she felt the first pangs of hunger she continued to pray.

Even as she felt her body grow cold she continued to pray.

Even as she felt her vision become dark she continued to pray.

Chapter Text

Winter in his 5th year of zenthood. Age 20. Myne Age 7.

“Attendant, is there a reason why the apprentice is taking more time than usual today?”, Damuel inquired while standing guard before the ritual chamber that his charge was currently in to offer her mana for the Dedication Ritual. She had done so for the last four days and she had emerged from the room after roughly the same time each day. But today she was taking her time.

“I am not aware of any possible reasons, Lord Damuel. Maybe she is lost in prayer”, her head attendant responded stiffly but Damuel was not convinced. He knew that she was alone inside and that there was no other entry or exit except the one he was guarding but he still did not like this irregularity.

“Attendant, please open the door”, he demanded and was met with hesitation.

“Lord Damuel, this is a sacred ritual. We must not disturb it”, he tried to object but Damuel glared at him.

“Open the door or I will do it myself, attendant”, he growled and Fran complied. From afar it looked like the apprentice was still praying as she was genuflecting but something felt off to him.

“Attendant, make sure she has not collapsed”, he glared at Fran who was clearly unwilling to disturb his master's prayer but he was in no position to refuse a noble on her behalf. Since the apprentice was in no position to refuse a noble such as Damuel, her servants were the same.

As her head attendant was only a few steps away from her, Damuel noticed how he froze before he reached down and shook her shoulder which made her fall to the side. Damuel ran into the ritual chamber in horror. She looked absolutely lifeless!

“What happened?!”, he shouted at the little girl who did not react at all. He tried to calm himself and check her vital signs but they were awfully faint.

He was no healer! Screw this!

The only means of healing available to him were his rejuvenation potions so Damuel unplugged the one at his belt and fed it to the apprentice as his only avenue of aid. But if it did help then it had barely any effect.

Screw this!

He pulled out an ordonnanz from his belt and was torn who to actually ask for help. Lord Heisshitze was the obvious choice but if he deemed the situation Damuel's fault somehow then he did not want to involve him before he even had a chance to do something.

“Lamprecht, I need your help in the ritual chamber immediately!”, he shouted and sent the white bird on its way. Meanwhile he tried to position the apprentice into a stable position that facilitated breathing. She felt so utterly cold to him.

Lamprecht arrived merely moments after with clear signs that he had been running with physical enhancements.

“Damuel! What happened?!”, he shouted before he saw the lifeless little girl on the ground. Lamprecht immediately sprinted to them without any restraint.

“May Heilschmerz' healing be granted”, Lamprecht shouted and green lights rained down on her without any noticeable effect.

“Why is that not working?”, Lamprecht asked in confusion after the girl remained as lifeless as before.

“Did she get poisoned?!”, he shouted and looked between Damuel and her attendant with piercing eyes but both of them looked as worrying as him.

“She is so cold”, Fran muttered while touching her hands. At that Lamprecht looked up at the altar with the neatly lined up chalices.

“She was in the middle of the Dedication Ritual”, Lamprecht mumbled.

“Did she just dedicate too much for her limits?”, he suggested but Damuel shook his head.

“The first thing I did was feed her a rejuvenation potion but it showed no effect”, he explained but Lamprecht was not convinced.

“You are a laynoble, Damuel. Your potions may be too weak”, he said and grabbed one from his own belt. Damuel knew that archnobles used a different recipe and far more expensive ingredients that yielded better results but could they be so different in effectivity? To think Lamprecht would now even spare one on the apprentice.

Her attendant took her upper body in a way that she would be able to drink the potion that Lamprecht poured into her mouth. To Damuel's great relief that actually seemed to help as she now fluttered her eyes open slightly.

“Daaad....” The weak whimper that emerged from her lips made Damuel shudder. Lord Heisshitze had warned him to watch out for signs that she was suffering mentally, but was that it? He had phrased it as her even being able to die from the feeling of loneliness. Was this here what he had meant? Damuel could not shake off the feeling of alert in his mind.

“Lamprecht, can I ask you to guard her for half a bell?”, he asked with uncertainty whether it was truly okay for him. Lamprecht already gracefully took his place in the evenings when he was reporting to Lord Heisshitze but this was clearly different from their usual arrangement. Lamprecht however agreed without hesitation.

“Where will you be going, Damuel?”, he inquired while keeping his eyes on the apprentice.

“I will get her dad here. Attendant bring her to her chambers and see whether you can somehow warm her up”, he said before he ran out of the ritual chamber. On his way he sent another ordonnanz.

“Lord Heisshitze, this is Damuel. The apprentice has collapsed during the Dedication Ritual, she is on her way back to her chambers with Lamprecht as her guard. It might just be too much expended mana or it might be that other thing you warned about. I will get her dad just in case”, he reported before he ordered the doors to be opened and jumped on his highbeast without coming to a halt first.

He was welcomed by a blinding mess of white. The blizzard still held the city in its clutches.

But Damuel knew that her dad worked at the south gate. If he was on shift he could easily grab him from there and if he was not then some coworker should be aware where he lived. And the south gate was easy enough to find despite the flurry of snow that blocked so much from his sight.

Damuel was glad for his armor that shielded him from the cold. On his arrival he was met with surprise as he descended on his highbeast on the top of the gate and knocked on the door to be let in but the soldiers were at least somewhat used to that. He ordered to be led to their commander but while they were clearly lacking in grace they complied immediately.

“What matter brings you to the south gate during this blizzard, milord?”, the commander inquired immediately after offering his salute.

“I am looking for one of your soldiers. Gunther. His presence is required right now.” Damuel stated in a firm voice that showed some of his urgency and the commander paled at that.

“He is currently on shift, I will have him brought here immediately”, he replied and opened the door to his office just to shout “Someone bring Gunther here, now!”. Damuel stared at him with his noble facade which seemed to make the commander nervous.

“Milord, might I inquire what kind of business you have with Gunther?”, he dared to ask but Damuel just glared at him.

“No. This does not concern you. Don't worry, you will get him back eventually.” The commander seemed to relax somewhat at this but seemed to be sweating profusely even though his office was not that warm.

“Understood.” They stared at each other silently for a few more unpleasant moments before the door was swung open and Gunther hastily entered. As he saw that the noble who had requested his attendance was the one who had been guarding his daughter the last weeks, he paled as well.

“Lord Damuel, how may I be of service?”, he asked while kneeling and Damuel nodded for him to stand up.

“I need you to accompany me immediately, Gunther. Commander, this may take more than a day before he can return.” Both just nodded and Damuel exited in haste with Gunther at his heels.

They left the gate on the top where Damuel pulled Gunther behind him on his highbeast.

“Lord Damuel, what has happened?”, Gunther shouted over the icy wind that was hitting him straight into the face.

“Your daughter collapsed”, Damuel answered and urged his highbeast on against the blizzard.

Once they had landed inside the temple and had rushed to the apprentice's chamber, Damuel noticed with a pang of fear that Lamprecht was nowhere to be seen. Instead Lord Heisshitze was standing in front of her bed and staring at her with a fearsome expression.

“Lord Heisshitze, I apologize for leaving my post but I managed to bring her father”, Damuel announced as the attendant closed the door behind Gunther. To his relief Lord Heisshitze nodded and took a step back from the bed.

“No need for kneeling. See that you calm her down”, he commanded and Gunther immediately rose and rushed to his daughter.

Damuel heard another faint whimper with the sound similar to “Daaaad...” as Gunther arrived at her bed and knelt at her bedside with his upper body seemingly over her. It took him a moment to then notice that Lord Heisshitze was approaching Damuel.

“Damuel, you do not need to worry. I sent Lamprecht away as soon as I arrived. Quick thinking to get her dad. I appreciate your dedication to your charge”, he commented and Damuel was not sure whether he was honest or sarcastic with his last remark.

“I share your concern that she is suffering too much from her loneliness right now. I will come back in two bells to talk to her then. Do not talk to her on your own about this. Just guard her while she recovers”, he instructed and Damuel nodded. He allowed himself to breathe in and out a few times when Lord Heisshitze had left the room.

Should he stand close to her bed in order to be able to prevent her dad from punishing her? Or was that unlikely enough that he could offer them a moment of privacy and guard her from the doors of her chambers? He decided to do the latter. If her dad was any risk to her than he screwed up already anyway.

“Myne, how do you feel right now?”, Lord Heisshitze asked her while she was sitting in her dad's lap and basically clinging to him while Gunther tried his best to show his proper respect. Damuel sighed internally but Lord Heisshitze did not seem to mind too much. He was quite lenient with her.

“I still feel cold and tired but way better than before thanks to Dad”, she answered quietly and burrowed her head into his chest.

“That is relieving to hear, Myne. Can you explain what happened today?”, he was trying to look her in the eyes but she did not seem up for the challenge yet.

“I don't know. I just wanted to meet Dad. And since Lord Damuel said I would not be able to see him before the Dedication Ritual ended I thought it would not hurt to speed it up.” Her father seemed to embrace her a bit more upon these words and Damuel noticed the slight exasperation on Heisshitze's face.

“Myne. You have filled eighteen chalices today. Forgive me for putting it so bluntly, but did you try to kill yourself?”, he asked with a neutral tone and Gunther's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the girl in his arms.

“Myne would never-”, he began but Lord Heisshitze cut him off with a gesture of his hands.

“I have asked your daughter, not you”, he stated coldly and Gunther nodded without saying another word.

The apprentice shook her head in response which almost seemed like she was trying to burrow even further into her dad.

“Myne, look at me and answer with words. Did you try to kill yourself by overexpending your mana?” Damuel could feel him growing impatient with her and it seemed that the exhausted little girl noticed the same as she turned her head around to face him.

“No. I did not. I was not even aware that that could happen if I spent too much mana”, she answered with defiance in her eyes before she hid in her father's arms again as Lord Heisshitze nodded.

“Nobody has warned you yet about not expending too much mana?”, he tried to confirm and she nodded. She turned her head around once more when she seemed to remember that he had wanted words as answers.

“Nobody told me anything apart from that I should keep my mana under control. Nobody ever said anything about not using too much of it. I justed wanted to fill these chalices so that I could see Dad again.”

“About that... Damuel, why did you tell her something like this?”, he now glared at Damuel who recoiled slightly.

“I was referring to the blizzard which I estimated to stay at least for another week. And the Dedication Ritual was estimated to take at least a full week as well. I only spoke of a date that should have felt more tangible for the apprentice, Lord Heisshitze.”

“What?”, she asked with disbelief.

“There is no visitor restriction due the Dedication Ritual in place?”, she whispered and Lord Heisshitze sighed.

“No, Myne, there is no such restriction. Your family is merely unable to visit due to that blizzard that will hold up for a few more days. No matter how much mana you dedicate that will not change the weather.” She shrunk into herself and Damuel saw how her father tightened his embrace of her.

“Myne, I will allow your Dad to stay till lunch tomorrow. He can stay in your chambers while Damuel is also here but he has to stay in the guard room over night. Understood?”, he asked and the apprentice nodded once more.

“Understood”, she confirmed while tightening her own embrace of her father.

That night Damuel was woken by a sharp knock on his door. That was the first time since the beginning of his in-temple duty that that happened and he immediately jumped to his feet and out of bed. If anything further had happened to the apprentice, then... he did not even want to think of it.

He noticed how Gunther behaved similarly, most likely used to shifts that entailed being on call for the gate.

The door then opened and faint light illuminated the face of the apprentice's more timid female attendant. And right now she seemed deathly afraid.

“Lord Damuel, I apologize for disturbing your rest and opening the door, but Sister Myne is requesting the presence of her father. It seems she is suffering tremendously from a nightmare”, she explained with her eyes focused on the floor.

Gunther basically rushed out of the room and into the apprentice's chambers. Wilma showed reflexes that Damuel did not think she could possess as she sprung out of the way of the charging man. Damuel then followed afterwards since he still had Lord Heisshitze's words in his ear that they were only allowed together under supervision.

“Daaaad...”, sounded the by now familiar whimper and Damuel saw how Gunther sat down next to her bed and took her hands into his own.

“Myne, everything is alright. It was just a bad dream. You are safe”, he began to calm her down but it seemed to have the opposite effect on her as she began to cry more openly at his words.

“Daaaad!”, she exclaimed and struggled out of her bedsheets to jump on his lap and cling to him once again. Damuel sighed. Was he really always made to witness such open displays of affection? At least this time they were actually family and not 'friends' which always sat wrong with him when the boy visited.

“Dad, you know that I did not try to-”, she began but her voice broke before she could finish the sentence. He patted her back and seemed to squeeze her slightly.

“Of course I know that, Myne. Of course I know that. You would never....” Damuel felt the urge to look away as he saw that her father was now crying as well. They were sitting and embracing each other and crying openly. Damuel did not begrudge them that moment together even though it cut deeply into his sleep schedule.

Father and daughter spent almost all time till breakfast like this. And after breakfast as well. Damuel was glad that Lord Heisshitze had specified that Gunther had to leave after lunch, otherwise he was not sure when he could ever take a break again.

At least it seemed that the apprentice had recovered dramatically due to the presence of her dad. Damuel almost felt a bit bad that Gunther now had to walk back through the blizzard but there was no way for him to leave the apprentice unguarded.

“Lord Damuel, I thank you ever so much for bringing my Dad to me through this blizzard yesterday. I do not know whether I could have kept up without him. You are truly my savior”, the apprentice declared and Damuel had to fight with the blush that was rising to his face. Nobody had ever thanked him so honestly for anything he had done.

“It is merely my duty, apprentice”, he tried to deflect but she did not seem satisfied by his response.

“You always call me 'apprentice', Lord Damuel, but would it really hurt so much to call me by my name? I am a human beyond my job, Lord Damuel”, she pouted and Damuel was unsure how to react to that sudden declaration. Maybe he really should try to see her more for the little girl that she actually was. And ignore all the highly irregular stuff about her.

“'Apprentice' is just easier to say, Sister Myne. If it makes such a difference for you I can switch it up”, he promised and was met with a smile on her face.

“Yes, please”, she insisted and Damuel allowed himself to smile as well.

“Understood, Sister Myne.”

End of winter in his 5th year of zenthood. Age 20. Myne Age 7.

“Myne, Johann has delivered your order to the Gilberta company yesterday”, the boy reported and Damuel remembered how she had been so excited to draw the blueprints for those strange metal blocks that she had wanted the smith to make for her.

“So early? That is super impressive! I thought it would take him at least half a year!”, Myne reacted with one of her rare expressions of sheer joy and eagerness.

“How do they look? Did he do a good job?!”, Myne inquired but the boy seemed a bit taken aback.

“Myne, calm down. Since you are the patron it is your job to appraise his work. I am merely telling you that he has finished it”, he explained and Myne looked at him quizzically.

“Have you brought them with you?”, she asked and looked around whether he had brought a box with him but he shook his head.

“Master Benno told me that you would have to do that while Johann and his boss are there as well. Since this is official business that decides over his leherl contract, you know.” She tilted her head with hesitation.

“How can that work out, Lutz? Are you saying that I have to invite them to the temple?” Damuel could hear her apprehension just from her tone alone and the boy seemed equally disinclined.

“It would be best if we could do that at the Gilberta company. Master Benno does not want to draw any unnecessary attention to you or involve Johann into all this temple business.” He sighed and Myne nodded slowly.

“I will see what can be possible”, she said with a quiet voice that did not sound very hopeful.

“Just tell me how we can do that. In the worst case Master Benno will stand in as your co-signer, but it will be a really bad look for Johann then if his original patron bails on appraising his task.” Myne nodded.

“Lord Damuel, do you think it is possible for me to visit the Gilberta company for this?”, she asked after the boy had left. Damuel looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“I do not know, Sister Myne. As far as I am aware you are not allowed to leave the temple outside of official temple business which does not seem to be the case for what you want to do here.” His words were met with a glum face.

“Being locked up is such a pain”, she complained and Damuel sighed while shaking his head.

“Sister Myne, you are far from being locked up. Staying in the temple is leagues above a cell in an ivory tower....”, he mumbled the last part but she stared at him like she did not understand what he had said.

“What is an ivory tower, Lord Damuel?”, she asked with slight hesitation.

“A place for criminals to rot, Sister Myne. No visitors are allowed and only one attendant who is rotated out routinely to prevent any chance of growing comfortable in the situation. It has become somewhat of a fashion over the last years to put criminals in there to still use them for their mana instead of executing them directly for their transgressions. But if you ask me I am not sure whether that is actually preferable to execution.” His own face was now as glum as hers.

“Compared to that your current situation is quite relaxed. You can receive visitors as often as you like, can stand directly in the sunlight, make money with your workshop and spend your day actually doing things.” Even his current fate was worse than hers. But at least it was limited to just one year.

“So there are always worse fates, hm”, she mumbled and Damuel could only agree with her assessment.

“But the Archbishop said that the loss of my commuting privilege would not impact my workshop. But if I cannot appraise these metal letter types then that does impact my workshop. Maybe I have to just ask him whether it would be okay...”, she thought out loud and Damuel suppressed the urge to comment on her thoughts.

Who in their right mind would ask to meet with the frigging Zent over something so minor?

To Damuel's great frustration that was exactly what Myne set out to do. She formulated a request for meeting with the Archbishop and sent her head attendant out to deliver it to Lord Heisshitze.

Much to Damuel's surprise Fran then returned with a letter of invitation from Lord Heisshitze for three days from now.

“Sister Myne, what do you wish to discuss with the Archbishop? If it does not require his input directly I am authorized to act in his stead here”, he explained after they had entered his office at the appointed time and exchanged the relevant greetings.

“I wish to appraise an order from a smith that is necessary for my workshop and would therefore need to visit the Gilberta company in the lower city, Lord Heisshitze”, Myne explained and Damuel was impressed how strongly she withstood Lord Heisshitze's scrutinizing glare.

“As far as I remember you are only allowed to leave the temple on official temple business which this is not”, he responded and Damuel hoped that she would give up before he found firmer words. But instead Myne doubled down.

“The Archbishop said that the loss of my commuting privilege would not impact my workshop, Lord Heisshitze. If I cannot appraise my order then that will impact my workshop as I need this for my next product”, she stated firmly and did not flinch even as he hardened his glare.

Was that the same girl who had needed over thirty tries to be able to somewhat consistently prick a finger because she could not stand to look at a single drop of blood? Damuel was more than confused by her sudden fierceness.

“He did say that indeed. Very well, I will accompany you for that appraisal. Tell them to expect you five days from now at fifth bell. I will take care of the carriage. But, Myne, this will be a one-time exception. Do not try to skirt the limits of your restriction by labeling meetings outside of the temple as necessary for your workshop.” Damuel stared at him flabbergasted. Had she just won that debate?

Damuel joined the carriage with Myne, Fran and Lord Heisshitze that then departed for their appointment at the Gilberta company. They had opted to wear only light feystone armor underneath their clothes and Myne wore a dress that she had originally ordered for the upcoming spring prayer. A servant ushered them in quickly and it seemed to Damuel as if it was not the first time that Lord Heisshitze had entered that place.

When they were led to the meeting room there were already several people seated. Damuel recognized the boy and Benno but had not seen the other two before. Judging from their stature they were most likely the smiths.

They seemed slightly overwhelmed with the apparent entourage of Myne and began calling her “Miss Myne”. So Benno had kept her connection to the temple hidden. That might be a wise decision.

The younger smith then put two boxes on the table and Myne began to look at them with an expression that Damuel might have attributed to Bluanfah. Was that an appropriate face for a seven year old girl to make?

But she seemed to like the product quite a lot. Even as she scrutinized it quite critically it seemed that she was utterly satisfied. She was smiling to the absolute maximum. Maybe only her parents had made her smile this much so far.

“Johann! You have done it! You have truly become the Gutenberg of this city!”, she exclaimed while looking just utterly happy and excited. But Damuel was alerted as the boy suddenly stood up from his chair and was looking her directly into the eyes with a stern expression.

“Myne! You need to calm down! Think of what will happen if you collapse here!”, the boy basically screamed in her face causing Damuel to interfere. He took a step forward and pushed the boy away from her which caused him to freeze. The boy looked into his face with desperation clearly written into his eyes and Damuel was unsure which course of action would be best. The boy knew her best. If he feared that she was about to pass out anytime soon then there was no reason to doubt him on that, but....

“Benno, is her appraisal sufficient? We are about to leave”, he said curtly while keeping an eye on Myne who seemed to begin to understand the severity of the situation and took deep breaths to calm down.

“Yes, it is clear that she is satisfied with her order, I will handle the rest”, Benno answered with a pale face. The two smiths seemed overwhelmed as well by the sudden change in atmosphere, but Damuel was just glad that Lord Heisshitze had not seen the need to interfere yet. If they could just return to the temple before anything happened he could relax again.

“I apologize for getting too excited”, Myne said dejectedly as they had finally left the office of the Gilberta company. Damuel was quite sure that this exception would not be repeated any time soon if the subtle frown on Lord Heisshitze's face was anything to go by.

Chapter Text

Spring at the beginning of his 6th year of zenthood. Age 21. Myne Age 7.

“So, Myne, what exactly were the words of prayer you said back at the trombe extermination last autumn?” Ferdinand stared at her curiously but she seemed taken aback by his intensity. She had been invited to a meeting about preparing for spring prayer but he had more important things to ask than that pretense. He had tasked Damuel with standing guard outside and had activated a sound blocking tool as soon as they sat down.

“Honorable Archbishop, I wrote all that down in the report I had to write on it. I do not remember the exact phrasing anymore by now. That is half a year in the past”, she explained looking clearly inundated.

“I tried the words you wrote down in that report. They did not produce a blessing. Consequently, you must have made a mistake. But if you do not remember it like this then I guess I will have to use that tool again”, he glared at her and she winced.

“And that potion?”, she asked with clear disgust written on her face.

“It will be exactly the same”, he confirmed and allowed himself to grin menacingly.

“Are you sure you do not remember the words anymore?”, he asked a second time and Myne flinched under his glare. He did not want to use the tool on her again anytime soon either. Her emotions were way too unstable for him. Even though he might use the opportunity to dive back into those 'physics' she had shown to him the last time.

“I apologize deeply, honorable Archbishop. But may I try to reproduce the blessing with the words from my report before you resort to that? I am really sure that I wrote them down correctly back then”, she tried to negotiate. Ferdinand was amused that she thought insinuating that he had simply failed where she had succeeded would win her any sympathy. Judging from Eckhart's twitching eyebrow that was definitely not the case for him.

“Very well, you may demonstrate that the reason for the failure in reproduction does not lie within your words. Justus.” At his word, Justus placed a wooden board with her report in front of her as well as a magic ring.

She hesitantly put the ring on and read the report. She repeated the line of prayer several times before she put the wooden board to the side.

“Who should I bless, honorable Archbishop?”, she inquired and Ferdinand gestured to Heisshitze.

“Heisshitze already received your blessing in autumn, so if there is any dependency on the target of the blessing it will be eliminated by choosing him”, he explained and Myne nodded at that. She then closed her eyes and began intoning the prayer when she suddenly stumbled over her words.

“Is something the matter? Did you remember the correct words by now?”, he inquired with an annoyed smile but Myne shook her head.

“Honorable Archbishop, it feels blasphemous to ask His Divinity Verdraeos for His support when Lord Heisshitze is not actually fighting in His name right now.” He chuckled at that. Had he actually found a blue robe with real faith in the Gods? And it then had to be this girl who had only learned about the Gods less than a year ago? How utterly ironic.

“Well, we may as well test it immediately against a real trombe, if you prefer”, he agreed with a poisonous smile.

“But Heisshitze will be the one who suffers if you fail to reproduce that blessing. Are you sure that you can deal with that?” Ferdinand did not think that she had hardened by any notable degree yet, but she nodded nevertheless. Well, if she fails she will be hardened by that experience then.

“Follow me then”, he ordered and stood up. As they left her chambers he ordered Damuel to take the next two bells off and left him behind together with her attendants.

He instructed Myne to ride with Heidemarie as they flew to a deserted area in the central district. He noticed how the magic tool she was wearing on her arm was functioning exactly as intended by notifying Heisshitze about every crossed barrier which he then acknowledged immediately to not escalate the notification to Ferdinand himself.

After they had landed Ferdinand and Eckhart produced weapons to eliminate the trombe and whispered the darkness prayer to turn them black. Meanwhile Heidemarie helped Myne down from her highbeast a good twenty steps away from them to prevent her from catching the words of the darkness prayer.

“Myne, Justus had some taue fruits collected last autumn and kept them fresh over the winter. He will use it to grow a trombe which will then attack Heisshitze. I hope your blessing will protect him well enough till Eckhart and I will have it eliminated.”

Myne nodded at that with a stern expression. He gave Justus the sign to begin and soon enough a trombe sprouted right in the middle of them all.

“O Verdraeos of the God of Darkness' exalted twelve who is tasked with dispelling the Goddess of Chaos. Please bless this knight in his fight against her agent so that he may return this land to its intended peaceful state”, she shouted and black lights rained down on Heisshitze who stepped directly into the trombe without any drawn or enchanted weapon. And he did not even have to say anything for him to do that.

“Say, when you want us to kill it”, Ferdinand said with his scythe firmly in his hands. But Heisshitze seemed utterly relaxed.

“It drains barely anything. I do not believe this is just due to it being so small. This is truly Verdraeos' blessing to help those who stand against the agents of chaos!”, he exclaimed and Ferdinand raised an eyebrow. It even seemed that the trombe was now spreading in the direction of Heidemarie and Myne instead of the target directly in its middle. As if it knew what was the easier prey.

“Interesting.” Ferdinand was intrigued. He eyed Eckhart before he tried to bless him just as Myne had done with Heisshitze a moment before.

But despite using the same words as she had, nothing happened. Tch.

“Myne, bless Eckhart”, he commanded and she immediately complied while retreating into Heidemarie's arms as the trombe quietly grew closer to them. They seemed ready to depart hastily at any moment.

To Ferdinand's massive confusion more black light rained down on Eckhart at her words. How was that possible? They were in the exact same situation, using the exact same words.

Eckhart now stepped between the trombe and Heidemarie and culled some of its branches while others tried to entangle him in retaliation.

“Hm, this is truly impressive. The drain is basically nonexistent. No wonder that layknight survived that massive trombe long enough to be rescued.” His judgment confirmed once again the nature of the blessing but Ferdinand could not understand why only Myne was able to grant it.

What was different about her? The wish to dissect her very being rose in his mind and he smiled at the thought what he might discover at that.

“Myne, what do you think is the difference between your blessing and mine?” He swiped at some of the branches of the trombe to keep it from expanding unnecessarily. Myne seemed to hesitate to find the right words.

“Stop trying to dance with Grammaratur. If you have an idea, name it”, he ordered and her eyes widened as she inadvertently burrowed herself into Heidemarie's chest.

“You do not actually care about them getting hurt, do you?” He glared at her. Of course he cared about his name-sworn. But they were not truly in danger right now. The worst that could happen was a bit of stolen mana. Such a small trombe posed no danger to any of them. But he now understood that Myne saw that differently. He remembered that she had also called it blasphemous to bother a God without need. Was she actually praying in earnest? Did it make a difference? It was worth a try at least.

“O Verdraeos of the God of Darkness' exalted twelve who is tasked with dispelling the Goddess of Chaos. Please bless Heidemarie in her fight against her agent so that she may return this land to its intended peaceful state.” And this time, Ferdinand tried to put the feeling of loss he would feel if danger befell her into the prayer that begged for her protection.

Black lights fell on her as soon as he spoke the last word. He noticed that he did not even have to put any mana in his ring. Instead it was sucked out seemingly by the prayer itself. Interesting.

He then ordered the extermination of the trombe, produced Flutrane's staff and healed the slightly browned land where the trombe had raged. Myne stared at him with wide eyes as she recognized the staff in his hands that disappeared as soon as its job was done.

As they flew back to the temple he eyed Myne carefully. She did not seem aware that she had discovered another way of using magic than the one that was traditionally taught in the Royal Academy.

“Myne, how did you choose the words for this prayer? Did you find it in some old bible?”, he asked while they were still outside the city. She seemed surprised that he wanted to talk to her but she recovered her somewhat neutral face quickly enough.

“Well, Verdraeos is tasked with dispelling the Goddess of Chaos especially, so I just thought to pray to him to help doing exactly that in the politest words that I could come up with. I have not read that anywhere.”

“I see.” He really needed to dissect that strange mind of her. There would be a lot to discover. More than what was accessible to a mere blue shrine maiden.

Spring at the beginning of his 6th year of zenthood. 2 days after the trombe experiment. Age 21. Myne Age 7.

“I am honored that you are taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me so soon again, honorable Archbishop.” Myne's face showed clear signs that she was not feeling honored by that but Ferdinand let it slide. Her being so bad at lying was convenient for him after all.

“Myne, it is a bit dissatisfying that the High Bishop is still absolutely livid with you. Care to explain your side of the story?” She slightly tilted her head and looked at him with confusion.

“I have avoided the High Bishop whenever possible and obeyed his commands whenever I could not avoid him, honorable Archbishop. But I am not going to apologize for defending my parents from him.” Ferdinand had expected basically as much. He put a finger to his temple.

“How are the other blue priests treating you?” Myne raised an eyebrow as if she had not expected him to actually care about her living conditions. And she was right to think that.

“Those who seek favor with your Inquisitors treat me professionally while at work and ignore me otherwise. Those who seek favor with the High Bishop still mock me for being a commoner and lord their status over me.” She sounded tired to him. Tired was good.

“In that case, I want to propose to you a change in living conditions, Myne. It would also include you regaining your commuting privilege.” At that she basically jumped up from her seat but remembered her manners at the last possible moment. Her eyes were gleaming.

“What do you say to getting adopted into an archnoble house?” Her face clouded almost instantly.

“No.” Ah, her education in proper noble communication was still so lacking. Had nobody told her to not directly refuse an offer from one above her even if she did not intend to accept it? Ferdinand continued to massage his temple.

“No?”, he asked with an amused tone.

“That commuting privilege is worthless if I cannot use it to live with my family. My real family. I cannot understand how that is not already obvious to you.” She was now staring daggers at him. It was rare that somebody dared to look at him with eyes like that. The last one might have actually been Raublut. But his eyes had also been full of scorn which hers lacked.

“You are a disrespectful fool to assume that this is not already obvious to me”, he chided her with a stern voice.

“And yet you propose this to me”, she seemed unsure where the discussion was going.

“And yet I do exactly that.” He kept his noble smile, waiting for her to understand the implications. The best threats were left unspoken, after all.

“Do I even have a choice in this?” He deepened his smile at her question.

“In a way. If you had said 'yes' then that had been your choice.”

“But I said 'no'.” Myne was stone-faced. He just continued smiling at her until she looked away from him.

“What kind of archnoble house?” Ah, she was learning to keep up with the dance. She was truly a fast learner.

“You have already met its head twice, I believe. Lord Karstedt, Ehrenfest's Knight Commander.” Myne looked at him again and tilted her head in confusion.

“I remember him introducing himself during that trombe mission”, she admitted, racking her brain for their second encounter.

“Oh, was he the knight who stopped the trombe that Lord Shikza was fighting?” Ferdinand smiled at her and nodded while sipping his tea.

“At least he did not have those eyes...”, she mumbled which intrigued Ferdinand.

“Oh, what kind of eyes might you be talking about?”, he asked curiously. Was she judging his character just based on his eyes?

“Those scornful eyes with which nobles tend to look at commoners. Those that remind you that they could kill you with the wave of their hand.” He knew those eyes all too well. Veronica had showed him the same expression all too often.

“Indeed, one might describe Lord Karstedt's character as caring and kind. He would not look down on you for being born a commoner. His first wife is also not known for her cruelty. You might ask Eckhart for further details at a later point. He is Lord Karstedt's oldest son.” He noticed how her expression froze at his last sentence. Did she fear Eckhart? Even though he had been so lenient with all her disrespectful behavior so far? Tch.

“And why do you want me to get adopted?” Her voice was faint. She would break soon enough, but he did not need her broken. Just compliant.

“Apart from your status as an archnoble fixing basically all the minor grievances you encounter in the temple – and which sow discord between the blues that I do not favor – you will need to be a noble to attend the Royal Academy as soon as you turn ten.” He put down his cup and waited for her to ask the obvious followup question.

“And why do I need to attend the Royal Academy?”

“Because you will be wasting your potential otherwise”, he answered with a grin which seemed to make her recoil.

“That is such a stupid reason...”, she whispered while looking down into her tea cup.

“You will also inevitably die from a loss of mana control otherwise and create some kind of disaster when that will happen”, he added dryly and took another sip from his tea.

She stared at him as if she was unsure whether he was making an inappropriate joke. He was actually not joking. He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Your vessel will grow as you do and your mana is already replenishing at an incredible speed. Pouring it into the divine instruments once a day will only work until you are maybe ten or eleven years old. Doing it twice or thrice a day may tide you over till you are maybe twelve but after that you run the risk of losing control of your mana in your sleep. At that point you will be a liability and the danger you pose will outweigh your usefulness.” He stared at her with cold eyes, observing her every reaction.

“My usefulness?” The hands that were holding her tea cup were trembling slightly. He allowed himself to scoff.

“Myne, did you cherish illusions that I might be a philanthropist? You should know by now that I merely value competence and usefulness. Both are characteristics that you showed so far. And I wish for you to keep them up.” Myne nodded glumly. He had pushed her far enough for the day. The groundwork was laid. She did not need to agree today.

“Myne, I will grant you two years to come to terms with your need for an adoption. You have time until you will enter the Royal Academy to say 'yes'. Until then feel free to enjoy your life as a commoner apprentice blue shrine maiden.” She noticeably exhaled at that. So she had been preparing herself to be pushed to say 'yes' even now? Good girl.

“Now, Myne, let us discuss Spring Prayer.” She stared at him wide eyed at the sudden change in topic. At first she seemed to relax at that but then she suddenly grew pale and a sense of panic was written on her face. She looked around the room with searching eyes and grabbed the edge of the table with both hands as if to steady herself. Was she poisoned? Had somebody managed to include a subtle dose in their tea? One that only somebody as small as Myne would react upon? He glanced at Justus who seemed surprised as well.

“You suddenly look unwell”, Ferdinand commented at which point Myne stared him intently in the eyes before she nodded slowly, visibly stressed to keep her body under control. Her breathing was fast and short and she swallowed way more than a normal person did. Clear signs that she was going to throw up.

“Heidemarie, please take her before it gets unsightly”, he ordered at which Heidemarie frowned and maneuvered her into the bathroom. He was glad that the bathroom was outside of the installed area of effect of the sound blocking tool.

“Justus, check her seat, her tea, her side of the table.” Justus eyes widened before he followed the order but all his tests returned negative.

“It might have just been the stress, milord”, Justus concluded and Ferdinand put his fingers back on his temples.

“Did I push too hard? I thought I had a good grasp on her already but it seems I overestimated her limits then.”

“I believe she might have actually cherished these illusions about you, milord. And I believe you were insincere when you denied that you were a philanthropist, might I add”, Justus commented and earned himself a mocking glare.

“I seriously doubt that she would be able to understand the scale on that this would be true, Justus”, Ferdinand chided and Justus tilted his head in acceptance.

“Ah, it seems that Heidemarie is returning with her”, Justus noted and Ferdinand glanced around in her direction. She still looked sick to him.

“If you believe me such a philanthropist, Justus, then I allow you in my absolutely generous magnanimity to cast Heilschmerz on her”, Ferdinand snarked at him.

“See, I believe this is what makes it so confusing for the little girl, milord”, he smirked and waited for Heidemarie to return Myne to her seat.

“May Heilschmerz' healing be granted”, Justus chanted and Myne's face resumed a more natural color as the green lights of his blessing rained down on her. She looked at him with wide eyes.

“I thank you ever so much, Lord Justus”, she said while rotating her shoulders a bit as if to try if they hurt.

“So it is not only Verdraeos who grants blessings but Heilschmerz as well?”, she asked quietly while staring at her own hands.

Ferdinand was intrigued by her way of thinking. She thought Justus' spell was the same as her prayer to Verdraeos? Could there be any truth to it? Should he let her pray to one god after another with a magic ring on her hand to see how many blessings she could produce? Maybe he could find a day or two for these experiments over the summer.

“These are questions that commoners need not concern themselves with, Myne. After all, magic is something only nobles wield”, Ferdinand reminded her and she stiffened as he spoke to her.

“If you are interested in trying these things out then you can also agree to the adoption anytime before you turn ten”, he then suggested and she looked away. Yes, she was not ready yet. Forcing the issue now would only result in the lowest grade of cooperation, greatly diminishing her value.

“So, spring prayer. You have learned the prayers to enrich the land with your mana and Geduldh's chalice?”, he inquired and Myne nodded firmly.

“Good. You will visit the central district of Ehrenfest which consists of quite a few farming towns. Most blue priests would describe it as tedious but I am inclined to believe that it might actually end up excruciating for you if you were not granted some accommodations. Which is no doubt one of the reasons why the High Bishop assigned those to you specifically, might I add. He is indeed quite petty in his schemes.”

Myne stared at him while following his explanations. At the mention of the High Bishop her face darkened involuntarily.

“Heisshitze noted that you are not good at riding a carriage, Myne”, Ferdinand remarked and he noticed clear signs of discomfort at that mention. Was that because of her memories of carriage rides or was she concerned that he was criticizing her directly?

“I was therefore considering the possibility to let you travel by highbeast”, he continued and at that she seemed to shoot up her head in an instant. Oh? Had that been one of her own concerns as well?

“Yes, please”, she confirmed immediately with a sudden intensity in her eyes. He allowed himself to smile. That attitude was way better. Maybe Justus had been right and he should not have destroyed her illusions of him. Well, he could build them up anew.

“However, that will require a second knight since the divine instrument may only be handled by those belonging to the temple. Therefore your head attendant will have to join you on highbeast and you cannot both ride with Damuel at the same time”, he explained and Myne stiffened again.

“Do not fear, it will not be another Shikza. Personally, I thought about asking Lord Karstedt to accompany you during spring prayer. I imagine you can feel safe with him?” Myne looked at her hands and nodded. Of course she could see through such an obvious plot. But she had said herself that he had not looked at her with scorn. Surely she saw that as a relief.

“I will also supply him with potions for you to keep you healthy during spring prayer. You may feel honored as I usually do not share these with others”, he smirked at her and she nodded with clear hesitation. Right, she had only tasted one of his potions so far and that had tasted utterly revolting to her.

“As you seem somewhat sensitive to taste I imagine it would be wise to warn you that I sacrificed the taste of these potions for maximum effectiveness.” Ferdinand could see the doubt rising in Myne's eyes. But there was no way around it that she would need to drink at least a few of them over spring prayer to keep up with her tight schedule.

He noticed how she eyed Justus carefully from the side.

“Will they be forced down my throat if I cannot stand them?”, she asked with clear apprehension. Ferdinand suppressed a sigh.

“No. Justus will not join you and neither Karstedt nor Damuel are experienced enough in using his tools safely. Drink them on your own or don't. But you will want to drink them.” She seemed to relax at that and nodded. So she was indeed more receptive to a longer leash? He had to confirm after her return from spring prayer whether she had truly stomached them on her own.

Chapter Text

Late spring at the beginning of his 6th year of zenthood. Age 21. Myne Age 7.

Myne knew that there was no way to avoid the adoption that the Archbishop had 'proposed'. When he had taken her right to sign magic contracts he had stolen from her the only tool that commoners had to protect themselves from nobles. At least Karstedt did not have those scornful eyes.

They had been cold at times and even terrifying but not once had he looked down on her for being a commoner like Shikza or most of the blue priests had. But they were also not any substitute for those of her real family. Could they ever be so full of love as theirs?

It had surprised her that the Archbishop had enough influence to make Ehrenfest's Knight Commander guard her during spring prayer but she knew that this was not for her protection alone. She saw it for the not so subtle attempt to make her come to terms with her adoption by him.

She swore to herself that she had to make as much use as possible out of those two years she had left. Now that she had secured the metal letter types and had ordered the first components for a printing press she could almost feel the birth of her first book. The stencils that Wilma had made looked so awesome that she just regretted that she did not have any suitable ink available yet.

At least Benno now had acquired some drying oil for her and Lutz had cleaned his chimney for the soot it contained after the long winter. He had promised her to go to town with pestle and mortar and experiment on his own while she was away for spring prayer.

“I thank you ever so much, Lord Karstedt, for guarding me during spring prayer”, Myne said with a slightly forced smile. Her attendants had loaded her carriage with all the stuff they would apparently need and while Wilma stayed at the temple to take care of any orphanage and workshop matters, Rosina had climbed into the carriage already.

Fran stood next to her with Geduldh's chalice in his hands and seemed mindful of both Damuel and Karstedt in front of him. Just as they were about to leave for their first farming town the High Bishop entered the open area in front of the noble gate.

“Ah, Sister Myne, I see you are about to depart for spring prayer”, he said with his 'kind grandpa' facade on full display which forced Myne to act along as a faithful servant of the temple. She knelt in front of him.

“High Bishop, this is indeed the case. I thank you ever so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to see me off.” He seemed unsatisfied by her answer and scoffed.

“Oh? But I only see one carriage here which is clearly one for attendants. Sister Myne, I hope you did not intend to save on costs for another carriage for yourself. It would be shameful if you arrived in the same one as your attendants”, he remarked. Myne had her head still low.

“I thank you for your concern, High Bishop. Due to the Archbishop's sheer generosity he allowed me to be accommodated for my poor health by traveling by highbeast. Lord Damuel and Lord Karstedt will accompany me so that I may reach the many farming towns on a fast schedule.” Myne still did not dare to look up. She feared that even fending off his petty schemes of inconveniencing her would earn her more of his ire.

“I see. He is indeed very generous to guard you so profoundly”, he agreed with obvious disdain.

“Lord Karstedt, I am surprised that my nephew can spare your services for so long”, he commented which made Myne question who that nephew might be if the Knight Commander was serving him. But Karstedt seemed utterly unimpressed.

“The archduke himself offered up my service for supporting spring prayer in the central district. There are many others who I trust to guard him during that time.”

At that revelation Myne was glad that she was still kneeling and facing the ground. Lord Karstedt was not only the Knight Commander but also the guard of the archduke?! Was that really okay that he was not following that duty just to do the Archbishop a favor? And had the High Bishop really just called the archduke his nephew? Why was everybody secretly so high rank!

Myne decided that she did not even want to understand all the implications. She knew that her opinion did not matter in either case so she just kept quiet and tried to put a more neutral expression on her face till the High Bishop left them alone in a somewhat disgruntled fashion.

They had already spent several days visiting farming town after farming town and Myne had grown somewhat accustomed to their daily routine. She felt drained from being cheered on by the crowd while she prayed and she then felt drained from all the mana she expended. The potions she was provided by Karstedt at behest of the Archbishop then restored all that but the terrible taste and the mental fatigue remained.

And on top of that she had been shocked on her first evening when she was asked to demonstrate her harspiel skills. Her shock had only intensified when Rosina revealed that she had packed Myne's instrument and not only the adult version that she used to provide background music during their meals. It had taken the last rest of her concentration to pluck at the strings that night.

But by now they had already covered roughly two thirds of their schedule and Myne felt like she finally had a bit of energy to spare even at dinner. And she decided to use that energy to gather information. What else could she even reasonably do?

“Lord Karstedt, might I ask what kind of relationship you and the Archbishop have?”, Myne looked up from her dinner plate as she posed the question. Karstedt eyed her curiously as this was a topic so different from all the small talk they had entertained on their trip so far.

“Well, there are several ways to answer that question. The Archbishop is my cousin since our fathers were brothers. Is that what you were you asking about?”, he inquired with an amused smile and Myne just stared at him in disbelief.

“But he usually lives somewhere far away from Ehrenfest, doesn't he? How does that work out? Did his father move?” Myne was unsure whether she was allowed all that information but it seemed that Karstedt was the first one who actually knew anything about the Archbishop personally and was willing to share. Karstedt chuckled.

“He got adopted when he was fifteen years old and moved to another duchy. A lot of political stuff happened after that and now he is the head of all temples all over the country.” Myne was surprised to hear that.

“He was adopted?”, she tried to confirm and Karstedt nodded.

“It is quite common to adopt children into families that provide a more suitable environment for them. There are also quite a lot adoptions happening between lay- and mednoble families if for instance a mednoble child has too low mana and a laynoble family that they are acquainted with is in need of a heir.” To his surprise Myne looked kind of glum at that piece of information.

“Are you truly so opposed to the whole concept of adoption?”, he inquired and Myne did not know how to react.

“I guess it is a useful option for all those who actually want to use it...”, she admitted but Karstedt kept looking at her.

“But I do not want to leave my family. Not ever.” To her despair Karstedt laughed at that notion.

“You are aware that you will leave them when you marry anyway, right?” He shook his head at her childish naivety.

“I do not intend to marry. My sewing skills are bad and my health is poor. No man would want to marry me anyway”, she proclaimed and Karstedt widened his eyes.

“With your abundance of mana you will be a sought after bride, Myne. You might not have heard about it yet, but only those with comparable amounts of mana can have children together. Upon your coming of age everybody will line up for your hand. Highly manaed, unengaged women are just that rare and valuable. That is a fate that you will not escape even if you somehow survive till then without being adopted, Myne”, Karstedt explained while eyeing her carefully. She noticed his gaze and stared at her plate.

“I have never heard of a noble marrying a commoner”, she finally commented and Karstedt seemed uncomfortable.

“Well, in case that you do not join my house – and somehow survive till your coming of age – it might indeed not end up with a marriage for you. But Myne, there will be no chance that you will not end up bearing the children of nobility. Does it really matter whether that happens as a wife or concubine then?” Karstedt was clearly not pleased with discussing something like this with a seven year old girl.

Myne felt bile rising in her throat and fought against the urge to vomit.

“Nobody ever said something like this before...”, Myne mumbled but Karstedt did not seem surprised.

“I imagine the only one who might have explained that to you so far could have been the Archbishop. But he must not have wanted to create an atmosphere of threat around your decision to be adopted”, Karstedt suggested but Myne scoffed at that derisively and stopped herself immediately as she noticed Karstedt's questioning gaze.

“I apologize for my disrespectful reaction”, she tried to save the situation but Karstedt only raised an eyebrow.

“What caused that reaction? Was anything I said particularly funny?” He was now scrutinizing her with a stern glare. Myne wished she had not let her guard down for just that moment and cursed internally.

“It is merely the suggestion that the Archbishop did not intend to create an atmosphere of threat that came as a surprise to me, Lord Karstedt”, Myne tried to explain while keeping her voice under control. Karstedt's expression was unreadable to her.

“I see. He indeed sometimes invokes that feeling in others”, he conceded with a frown. Myne was silent for a while.

“May I ask you something in confidence, Lord Karstedt?”, she asked quietly and Karstedt looked at her with a raised eyebrow. He fumbled for something on his belt and handed her a small magic tool that she looked at with curiosity.

“These are individual sound blocking tools. If you channel your mana in it then only I can hear you as I have the second part of the pair”, he explained and Myne nodded with wide eyes. She had not expected him to prevent eavesdropping. She just wanted him to not tell anybody. But they were indeed not alone. Fran and Damuel were still in the room as was Rosina playing a soft song at the far end of the room.

“Please do not tell the Archbishop that I asked this”, she began her plea. To her great relief, Karstedt nodded.

“Will you be able to protect me and my family from him if I agree to this adoption?”, she asked and she could feel the tears rising in her eyes. She focused all her willpower to keep them down. She needed an honest answer from him and not guilt him into some pleasantries that meant nothing to her.

“Myne...”, Karstedt began and seemed hesitant what to answer.

“I do not believe that he means you or them any harm to begin with”, he continued and Myne looked away to hide her tears. She had gambled on his integrity as a knight but it seemed to her now that she had miscalculated. If he could not say 'yes' then it was a clear 'no'.

“Only as long as I am useful...”, she mumbled reproachfully and Karstedt sighed.

“And is that really such an unreasonable request? Every noble is measured by his benefit for the duchy. If you were not distributing your mana over the central district during spring prayer then the people living there end up with a sparse harvest. You are currently being very useful to them. And to the duchy as well. Because the duchy requires the harvest to feed its people and as a source of income. Are you not glad that you can help?” Karstedt looked at her encouragingly and Myne stopped her silent tears from flowing.

“Everybody always just called spring prayer 'enriching the land'. But this has a direct impact on their harvest?”, she asked for confirmation and Karstedt looked at her with disbelief.

“Yes, it does. If a town is excluded from spring prayer this usually means several of its people die from starvation in the upcoming winter. Why did you think were we welcomed so enthusiastically each time?” He seemed slightly amused by his own question.

“Because they did not want to upset nobles with a lukewarm welcome...”, Myne admitted. She was confused about Karstedt's words but he now just shook his head.

“And what about those inventions of yours? Would you not call them useful? Does that not make you useful to society as well for having invented them? Is that really something that you wish to avoid?” Karstedt now stared at her with curious eyes. Myne shook her head, unsure how to answer.

“But I am only a little girl, Lord Karstedt. What will happen if I fail to be useful? I cannot even count all the times when I have been dead weight. There will be more times like that – what will happen then?”

She was exhausted by this discussion. Myne knew her parents had been special to not give up on that sickly child that could not even go to the forest until she was five while all the other children went at age three. She knew that she had been a drain on their meager resources and she was only alive because she was so loved by them. There was no way she could betray them now. And no way that she could fulfill all these expectations in her.

“It is not that I am unaware of your weakness, Myne. How could I after I have seen you chugging all these potions each day for spring prayer? I will not ask the impossible from you, you may believe me as much.”

Karstedt furrowed his brow at her question and Myne was even more unsure what to think. Her head was spinning so much that she felt the need to steady it with both her hands. Karstedt looked at her with pity.

“Shall we end this discussion for today? You seem quite tired. It might be best for you if you went to bed early today”, he suggested and Myne nodded. She handed him his sound blocking tool and excused herself for the rest of the day.

Myne tried to pay full attention to their reception in the next farming towns and had to agree with Karstedt's prior assessment. The people might indeed be honestly happy to see them to participate in spring prayer. While they seemed a bit stiff in their communication with them she did not really see them as afraid now.

When they departed from the farming towns on their highbeasts she could even feel a nice tingle in her spine at the uproar of thankfulness beneath them. That was not cold and calculated usefulness. Those were honest emotions of gratefulness. To her. As a human being. Not as a mana source.

For the first time on this trip she felt the urge to smile which seemed to put Karstedt in a good mood as well. He had been somewhat broody during their trip so far but it seemed that he as well had grown accustomed to the situation.

Her smile stuck to her for the rest of the day even though she had to drink another of those awful tasting concoctions. But compared to that first potion the taste was almost bearable. If she gulped it down in one instant then she was able to keep it down. And she had to acknowledge that the effect was truly impressive.

It was their last evening on her schedule for spring prayer. They were once again eating dinner but Myne could barely chew it. She was thoroughly distracted by her thoughts and could not decide whether she should use this last opportunity to possibly get information from Karstedt or not. If he misunderstood her intentions then everything might escalate in a wrong direction.

“Is something wrong with the food, Myne?”, he asked after he saw her poking at her plate for a while. She hastily shook her head.

“No, Lord Karstedt. I was merely lost in thought”, she tried to deflect but he just raised an eyebrow at her.

“You still have three more farming towns to visit tomorrow before you can return to the temple, Myne, you need all the energy you can get”, he chided and took another bite from his own plate.

Myne nodded and tried to eat some more. But the usually so tasty food in front of her seemed tasteless and dry in her mouth. The last time she had gambled on his answer had ended in disappointment, but this time she just wanted information, not a promise of protection. Maybe it was worth it to gamble on him providing that? He had been quite open with regard to those questions during their last serious talk...

“Lord Karstedt, may I ask you something?”, she inquired quietly and he put down his cutlery next to his plate.

“Sure, Myne, I will help you sort your thoughts where I can”, he offered and Myne exhaled slowly.

“What happens exactly when one loses control over their mana?” Her voice was barely a whisper. But she needed that information to make sure that the Archbishop did not just have a twisted and dark sense of humor. To her surprise, both Damuel and Karstedt were looking at her with a slight frown now. Was that something she was not allowed to know?

“The mana that is usually circulating through your whole body cannot be contained anymore within when you lose control. It will therefore try to find a way outside. At first this will be a faintly colored mist exuded over the skin. This is already quite taxing for the body but still salvageable.” Karstedt looked her firmly in the eyes and she nodded hesitantly. Her parents had told her that that was how she had looked when she had crushed the High Bishop. So she had already lost control over her mana at that point? Was that really so bad then? Had the Archbishop been joking about her dying in her sleep even if she stayed in the temple?

“But if even more mana tries to leave the body then the vessel will break. It depends on the individual how that manifests itself, but basically the mana rushes out and makes the skin and flesh bubble similar to how a pot of boiling water might bubble. If it is a lot of mana with an incredible speed then this might even look like an eruption or explosion of fle-”, Karstedt interrupted himself as he saw how pale her complexion had become and how small her pupils were by now. He seemed to regret having answered her question as he noticed that the thin mist of mana that he had just described began to rise from her body.

“Myne, calm yourself. Breathe”, he commanded with his firm voice and Myne tried her best to follow. She peripherally noticed that he pressed several feystones to her forehead that sucked up some of the mana she had just recovered by that nasty potion. That had not gone as planned. So wasteful.

As the mist vanished she looked up at Karstedt with uncertain eyes but he just looked back at her with pity.

“I apologize, Myne. I usually only deal with knights who are made of much sturdier stuff. I should have chosen my words more carefully”, he said but Myne shook her head.

“No, I thank you for your honest and unfiltered answer, Lord Karstedt.” Myne still focused quite intently on her breathing to keep herself calm but his words and the images they had drawn in her imagination were fighting for her attention. She was unable to finish the rest of her dinner.

As they returned to the temple on the end of the next day Myne was kind of glad to return to her chambers. She wanted to invite Lutz for a meeting but her attendants objected. It was already past sixth bell and they looked at her like they feared she was going to collapse at any moment. After a bath and a light dinner she went to bed and nobody was surprised that she suffered from a fever for three more days.

The dreams that haunted her during that fever were those full of bubbling and bursting skin and images of walls splattered with blood.

Chapter Text

Late spring at the beginning of his 6th year of zenthood. 2 days before the archduke conference. Age 21. Myne Age 7.

“My Zent, Aub Ahrensbach is contacting you via the water mirror”, Justus informed him just as he was about to retreat into his hidden room for his last brewing session before the archduke conference was about to use up all his free time. Ferdinand could not fully suppress his annoyance at that.

“I truly hope it is urgent if he cannot even wait the two days till we will see each other at the archduke conference anyway”, he commented and Justus answered with a shrug.

“He is accompanied by his by now second wife, my Zent, it might not be just another try to convince you of opening his gate.” Ferdinand looked up at that.

“Oh? Lady Georgine is involved? That is indeed rare.” He had not seen her since their first meeting at their father's funeral. When he had asked Sylvester about her he had insinuated that she was quite skilled with poison and a masterful schemer that Veronica had married off at the first chance to stop her from eliminating Sylvester. Ferdinand had been surprised at that piece of family lore that had been hidden from him. Quite a mixed bag then, but an interesting one.

“Zent Ferdinand, I apologize to disturb you at this late hour but my wife Georgine has brought me most troubling news concerning an equal terms petty and sinister plot against you. It seems that one of my own giebes is currently orchestrating a scheme in order to steal one of your blues from you while you may be distracted by the archduke conference.”

Ferdinand was amused by the subtle signs of unwillingness he could read in Aub Ahrensbach's face which were overcompensated by the eagerness in Georgine's face. So she had convinced him to relay this message even though he did not agree fully with its assumed severity?

Ferdinand smiled politely into the water mirror and tilted his head in understanding.

“I appreciate that you would reach out to me for that, Aub Ahrensbach. It would indeed be a shame if people were to think poaching my blue priests was in any way an acceptable practice. So, what are the details of this plot?” Ferdinand did wonder why he was not just dealing with this on his own if he already knew the culprit and the target. But it was Georgine who cleared that up as soon as she spoke.

“My Zent, Lord Grausam of Ehrenfest who is an old friend of mine informed me that Lady Veronica of Ehrenfest had contacted him with a request a week ago. She had asked him to invite one of our giebes, Count Bindewald, into his estate. He complied as he thought she intended to meet with him there in preparation for the archduke conference. But instead of her the High Bishop of Ehrenfest arrived to the meeting.

Lord Grausam was surprised by that, but even more when they were inquiring his help with their plot to force an apprentice blue shrine maiden of Ehrenfest into a submission contract. Apparently there is currently one such of common birth present which is why they deemed it an exploitable opportunity.

Lord Grausam played along by offering five of his own devouring soldiers as support to the five that Count Bindewald had brought with him himself from Ahrensbach.

He then contacted me after they left by carriage. He knew that he could not contact the temple of Ehrenfest directly without risking the High Bishop noticing it and also the path via Aub Ehrenfest was blocked by Lady Veronica. He therefore saw only this opportunity.”

Ferdinand listened with his polite smile. Was this a 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' situation or were they plotting a most intricate scheme to trap him instead?

“I see. So it will be just Count Bindewald and ten devouring soldiers?”, Ferdinand confirmed.

“Yes, my Zent. Even though Lord Grausam offered to withdraw his five immediately should you give the command. He also offered to order them to assault Count Bindewald's devouring soldiers even though he is not convinced that they could take out the Count as well.”

“Zent Ferdinand, do you wish for me to destroy his schtappe while he is currently in Ehrenfest?”, Aub Ahrensbach inquired with an uncertain frown but Ferdinand shook his head.

“No, that would throw him off – and preventing a crime before it happens by destroying a schtappe would set an undesirable precedent. We will have to wait until he actually tries to steal one of my blues.” Not that they could even succeed in that. But they might kill her if they learned that they cannot make her sign a submission contract.

“Please act like nothing is amiss. I will handle this myself. I will inform you of your reward for this warning after the matter is settled, Aub Ahrensbach.”

Late spring at the beginning of his 6th year of zenthood. 1 day before the archduke conference. Age 21. Myne Age 7.

“Sister Myne, Lord Heisshitze begs to enter”, Fran informed her while she was sitting at her desk and trying to memorize some more prayers. While she did not dislike the knight on a personal level she knew that a visit from him meant new orders from the Archbishop. Myne tried to steel herself as she allowed him to enter.

And he entered with a book in hand!

The book was large and thick and decorated with several gemstones and gold as it seemed. Myne had trouble to look Lord Heisshitze in the eyes as she was absolutely drawn to the tome in his right arm. And the perceptive knight seemed to notice that immediately.

“Sister Myne, I apologize for the unannounced interruption but I am here on orders of the Archbishop”, he began and Myne gulped. Why had he brought a book for that? Was she allowed to read it?

“He was very pleased with your efforts over spring prayer and therefore wishes to reward you. You may choose between borrowing this book from his personal library-”, as he noticed how Myne's eyes absolutely followed each and every move he made with the book he seemed amused enough by that to make a short pause so that she had enough time to actually listen to his words.

“How very generous of the Archbishop, indeed. So I may choose between this book and...?” She shortly looked away from the book to show her willingness not to forget her manners but as soon as Heisshitze began speaking again her eyes darted back to the book.

“...and a ten day break from your temple duties at your parents' apartment.” Myne immediately shot her head in his direction again and lost all interest in the book.

“I can go home?”, she asked in a breathless voice and Lord Heisshitze nodded.

“Some restrictions obviously apply. You will not be allowed to leave your apartment. I would install a barrier at their door that triggers your bangle. But that is mainly to ease the burden on Damuel in that case. I imagine your parents' apartment does not have the space to accommodate him so he would be basically on call during that time with him only checking in once a day.”

“When?”, she asked still perplexed by the absolutely unexpected chance to get just a bit more time with her family. Lord Heisshitze seemed surprised by her intensity.

“I would ask of you to arrange your visit starting tomorrow around third bell. You need to be back some time before the summer baptisms to prepare for them after your return so we cannot delay it.” Myne nodded at each and every word from him.

“Fran, please go and inform Lutz that he must tell my parents that I will return home tomorrow at third bell for ten days”, she instructed without looking at him as all of her attention was still on Lord Heisshitze.

“In that case the Archbishop instructed me to put a protection charm on you. It is for situations similar to what happened with Shikza but worse. You can activate it by putting some of your blood on it but only do that if you are certain you will die soon otherwise. If you ignore that restriction and activate it without need you will regret that dearly, I imagine.” Myne stared at him unsure what she should answer.

“Why will I regret that, Lord Heisshitze?”, she asked timidly and made him seemingly search for words.

“You do not want to call upon this help for nothing”, Lord Heisshitze answered ominously and made Myne want to refuse to even wear the charm but she knew that she was not in a position to refuse anything.

So she swore to herself that she was never going to activate it instead. Nothing could be so bad that it was worth it to rely on something that would call on the Archbishop's help.

She was not sure whether it was even possible to fall even deeper into his clutches than she already was but it seemed like activating that charm would achieve exactly that. No, thank you.

But she still turned her back to Lord Heisshitze as he asked her to so that he could put the necklace on her. He chided her softly when she did not put her hair out of the way and asked her whether nobody before him had ever put a necklace on her. But she just smiled uncomfortably instead of answering. The necklace with the black stone at its center felt heavy around her neck. She could only hope that they would allow her to remove it after her stay at her parents.

Late spring at the beginning of his 6th year of zenthood. Day 1 of the archduke conference. Age 21. Myne Age 7.

Bindewald was tapping his fingers impatiently on the table in the High Bishop's chambers.

“When will she return?”, he grumbled once again and Bezewanst's own face darkened in turn.

“The Inquisitors claim that she is on a special mission for the Archbishop and that she may return any day now but that is obviously a lie”, he responded which made Bindewald clench his fist.

“But she is not accompanied by the Knight Commander again?”, Bindewald inquired with a dark face to which Bezewanst shook his head.

“No, of that I am certain. According to my sister, he left together with the archduke for the archduke conference. We won't have to call off anything again just because he guards her.”

“That is relieving to hear. But that all but confirms that I will definitely have to leave Ehrenfest before the end of the archduke conference, Lord Bezewanst. If we cannot find her till then then we will have wasted time and effort for nothing”, he lamented and Bezewanst frowned. Bindewald was the one who would gain the most from this after all. He just rid himself of that pesky commoner.

“That commoner brat still has that wimpy layknight attached to her. Finding him should be easy enough if somebody sends him a message”, Bezewanst suggested but Bindewald waved his hand as if to discard the idea.

“Sure, he could be located by checking where the ordonnanzes fly but then he will be aware that something is amiss.” Bindewald was not convinced. He gulped down the almost full cup of wine in his hand before he allowed himself to think aloud.

“The temple has that brat's medal, right?”, he suddenly asked with an evil grin and Bezewanst nodded unconvinced.

“Since the commoners come to us to get them for their deceased, we naturally have access to those. But we need her blood to select it from all those who were baptized at the same time. And how could that even help?” Bezewanst sipped from his own wine in frustration.

“There is an innate connection between the medal and its owner – and there is a spell to locate the owner with it. You only need the medal and a map for that”, Bindewald explained and Bezewanst nodded. That sounded indeed convenient to him. But there was just no way to determine which of the many summer baptisms' from the last year was hers.

“But as I said, you need some blood to do that. And if we had her blood already then there is no need to go for the medal. You could just force that submission contract on her with that.” Bezewanst took a deep gulp from his wine. They were running in circles.

“How about that medal from her knight then? There are way less of those from nobles and they should be better documented for ease of access”, Bindewald suggested and Bezewanst frowned.

“But the medals of nobles are kept in the castle...”, he grumbled into his cup.

“But you have excellent connections to the castle, Lord Bezewanst”, Bindewald praised with a self-indulgent grin. Bezewanst rotated the almost empty cup in his hand in serious contemplation.

“Hm. It could not hurt to ask”, he conceded and Bindewald nodded eagerly.

Late spring at the beginning of his 6th year of zenthood. Day 7 of the archduke conference. Age 21. Myne Age 7.

“Myne, you look terrible”, Damuel stated simply as he visited her in the morning on the seventh day of her stay at home like he had done each day so far. His daily visits were mainly to check in on her but she had somehow managed to develop a fever since the day before. Myne fluttered her eyes open as she heard his voice.

“The heat... came over night... can't get it back... into the box”, she explained under great effort before she closed her eyes and seemed completely out of breath just from working out a few words.

Damuel stared at her with great worry as he fumbled for a feystone in his pocket before he touched it to her forehead. He had seen Lord Karstedt do this at the end of spring prayer as a way to deal with her loss of control. He was unsure whether it was really okay for him to technically 'steal' her mana with that feystone but she looked really unwell and it had seemed to help back then.

“Argh, screw this”, he cursed under his breath as he was not fast enough to remove the feystone from her skin again and had now only produced gold dust that rained onto her bed. At least Myne's breathing grew calmer in turn.

“Myne, do you have any magic tools?”, he inquired but she just shook her head slightly. Her father was standing in the room with him but he seemed even more worried than Damuel.

“Then you need to return to the temple, Myne. Immediately.” She shook her head at that as well but Damuel was not open for negotiations.

“I do not have any magic tools with a big enough capacity to help you channel that leaking mana, Myne”, he explained and Myne's eyes widened in fear at his words. After all Lord Karstedt had explained to her what happened in such a case. Damuel had been there as well.

“Your dad will carry you and he may stay with you until your mana has calmed down. After that you can return to your parents' home. It will be just a visit, Myne. Keep your control.” At that Myne nodded with a forced expression on her face while her dad wrapped her in a blanket and took her into his arms.

He chanted “genehmigung” as the golden bird landed on his hand just as they passed through the door and her father's eyes widened at that.

“What was the meaning of that, Lord Damuel?”, he inquired while pressing Myne close to his chest but Damuel did not answer.

“It tells on me, Dad. Should I ever run away”, her voice was rather quiet and forced but both Damuel and Gunther had both heard her.

“Is moving her to the temple truly okay then?”, he asked with narrowed eyes and Damuel nodded.

“I am allowing her to leave, don't worry, Gunther”, Damuel said before they finally left the stair case.

“Now, let us hurry”, Damuel said and started walking with a fast pace.

“Another one?”, her dad asked in surprise as another golden bird emerged from Myne's upper left arm and flew towards Damuel who was currently occupied with explaining the gray priest who was guarding the temple gate that he did not want any mention of their visit to be made to anybody.

His gestures were quite protruding while he made the importance of his order clear. So protruding that the small golden bird did not find an avenue to land on his finger. Poor little bird.

Myne watched Damuel from her almost comfortable position embraced in her dad's arms until he had finally finished talking to the guard. Ah, now the poor bird finally has a chance.

But just as the bird landed on Damuel's finger it flew off again. She was not sure whether she had really seen Damuel's horrified expression for a split second just then and there or whether she had blinked at the wrong moment and the fever had played a trick on her eyes.

“Hurry”, Damuel then urged her dad on and she felt a bit shaken at her dad's increased pace until they finally arrived at her chambers.

Fran seemed surprised as he opened the door to them but let them in immediately.

“Sister Myne, what happened?”, he asked with worry but Myne just shook her head.

“Attendant, where is the leather bag from Lord Heisshitze?”, Damuel pressed and Fran went to get it immediately from a box on her desk.

“Gunther, set her down and free her from that blanket. She needs to put her hands inside this bag”, he commanded and her dad followed immediately. Mere moments later Myne was dusting all the stones at her fingertips. She felt the relief rushing through her and she sighed at the sensation.

“Phew. That feels so good. All the heat, gone”, she stated and allowed herself to slump over on her desk with a satisfied expression.

Her dad however touched her forehead which did not seem to ease his worry.

“Myne, you are still so hot to the touch”, he grumbled and she put her hands all over her face to check for herself. She then checked the box inside of her. It was still full to the brim. Dusting the stones in the leather bag had only drained that which was overflowing.

“You are right, Dad. There is still so much mana left. If I do not get rid of more then it will be the same tomorrow”, she sighed.

“Shall I bring you a divine instrument then, Sister Myne?”, Fran inquired with a slightly worried frown on his face and Myne nodded.

“Understood, I will return as fast as possible. Rosina, Wilma, please change her into her blue robes for her offering to the gods.” And with that he left the room.

“I apologize, Sister Myne, but I would prefer to not show myself too much in the hallway so please change behind a screen while I guard the door from inside this room”, Damuel asked and Myne did not object. The robes were just being put over her current clothes anyway. Nothing embarrassing even if he saw that.

Fran returned just as Rosina had finished tying her sash so Myne emerged from the screen to welcome Fran and take the divine instrument that he had chosen. But his hands were empty and the worried frown on his face had deepened.

“Sister Myne, the High Bishop is on his way to your chambers. He seemed highly agitated as he was shouting something similar to 'Why is that knight in the temple?! So that means she has returned?!' to a man who seemed to be a noble. And they have several people with them.”

Myne noticed how Damuel's eyes widened at that and the alertness spread to her dad as well.

“Gunther, take her, we leave immediately”, Damuel commanded and Myne found herself in her father's arms a mere moment later.

But even though Fran tried to guide them on a path that should not have intersected with that of the High Bishop they heard their footsteps seconds before they turned around the corner.

“Ah, Sister Myne, how glad I am that you have returned”, the High Bishop greeted her with a sinister smile and her dad tightened her grip on her.

“High Bishop, Sister Myne is currently feeling unwell. It would not behoove her to meet with you in her current state”, Fran tried to refuse his approach but the High Bishop just walked past him. Next to him was a man that reminded Myne of a toad that had somehow turned into a human. She shuddered as she saw his off-putting visage.

“It will not take long, I imagine. I just wish for Sister Myne to greet an old acquaintance of mine.” Myne stared at her father and nodded subtly. He then sat her down.

“I am honored that Dregarnuhr the Goddess of Time has intertwined our threads for this serendipitous meeting ordained by the pure rivers flowing from Flutrane, the Goddess of Water. I am Myne.” Myne knelt in front of the unknown man who chuckled at that.

“Better educated than expected, Lord Bezewanst. Myne, I wish for you to sign this”, he said and pushed a sheet of parchment in her face. She stared at the letters with clenched teeth. Did he really think she would sign her life away just like this?

“I apologize, but I am incapable of signing this”, Myne responded while trying to sound demure but even to her own ears she knew she sounded sarcastic.

Her sudden pain came only fractions of a second after she had heard a loud smack and felt herself being flung to the side. Who hits a child with full force to the face?!

Damuel finally reacted at that and produced a sword out of thin air before he hurried in the position between her and the toad.

“Oh right, you have a knight to protect you”, he chuckled and produced some kind of wand out of thin air as well. At its tip a bright ball was formed.

“Don't think that he has any chance against me. You will make a fine addition to my estate's basement and gift me many high manaed slaves in the future. You are even cute for a breeding sow.” Myne could not believe her ears. Like hell she would live like this! The mana was begging to be released and she felt like the crushing came almost naturally to her as she glared at him with all her hate.

He seemed to struggle with breathing and fumbled for something at his belt. The High Bishop seemed to understand what he was doing and helped him free a big black stone from a leather pouch. As soon as Myne saw that stone the toad man seemed to recover.

“Ha! I have been warned that you like to crush people!”, he crowed victoriously. Myne did not understand what was going on. Why was she not able to crush him anymore?

“Soldiers, fight! Kill everybody but the girl!”, he ordered and about half of the men in their entourage moved forward. Damuel launched an attack at the first who approached him while her dad defended himself with bare hands against his first opponent. Fran readied a knife in a clumsy fighting stance but two more were readying their swords.

Myne still focused her will on crushing the toad as the shouts and clinks from the fighting ensued. But the man who wanted to steal her life away just let out a deep belly laugh.

Until the stone in his hand showed first cracks.

“Impossible!”, he shouted and stared at the High Bishop who seemed surprised as well. The stone in his hands was crumbling into gold dust. Myne let out a sigh at that and tried to crush him once more when a sudden swing of a sword directly in front of her made her awfully aware of her surroundings again.

The sword belonged to one of the toad man's soldiers and instead of her head it had hit the wall.

“Fool! I said the girl is the only one to live!”, he shouted and then Myne's mind refused to acknowledge what she saw. The head of the man in front of her had just exploded, but she could not comprehend that. The spray of blood that had landed on her face was not making this any easier to understand.

“Let this be a warning to heed my orders!”, he shouted viciously and Myne just stumbled back to lean against the wall behind her.

Her dad had somehow stolen the sword from one of the soldiers and was now fighting his second opponent while Damuel dealt with four at once but she barely registered that. Fran was fending off one as well but now two were still free to reach for her. Help! Anybody! Somebody! She was frozen by the sight. She could not move at all.

A big ball of mana was flying in Damuel's direction but she could not even shout a warning. The toad man hit his own men as well with the attack but he cackled as he saw her guard knight going down as well. He did not rise up again.

She tried to walk towards him but was grappled by the strong arms of one of the High Bishop's female attendants as soon as she had taken just a few steps. Even though she had to be only a gray shrine maiden without outstanding strength Myne felt as helpless as she had in Eckhart's iron grip during the Archbishop's interrogation. Her wiggling and flailing did not bring her closer to being released and a sudden sharp pain in her hand made tears shoot up into her eyes.

Her left hand was cut and bleeding intensely.

The gray shrine maiden dropped the knife and stretched out Myne's arm in the direction of Bindewald who now held out the contract again that Myne feared more than anything else.

“Ah, yes, just a bit of your blood and this whole commotion can end. Then you can spend the rest of your life like the pig you are in my estate's basement”, he cackled with malice and Myne tried her hardest to get away from the parchment. She tried to turn her head and bite the one who was holding her, but the gray shrine maiden just shook her until Myne was all dizzy.

And then she felt her hand connect to the parchment. She widened her eyes and heard the victorious laughter of Bindewald but Myne's world grew black before her eyes.

The sound of a loud smack made her return to the world. The gray shrine maiden who had kept her firmly in her grip had now loosened it and Myne fell. She tried to brace the impact with her hands and another sharp pain jolted through her whole arm radiating from the deep cut in her palm as it connected with the cold stone floor. When she looked up she could see her dad towering above her before he grabbed her again and ran.

“Dad!”, she cried and was acknowledged with his firm embrace before he came to a sudden halt. She turned her head and saw two of his soldiers blocking their path. Her dad tried to turn back but there was Bindewald who charged another of his mana balls to throw at them.

“Myne, come here. Running away is of no use. You are mine already, I have the contract right here!”, he shouted with glee and held up the parchment.

But had the Archbishop not said that it was now impossible for her to sign one? Was she not bound by a magic contract to require his signature as well? Had she been forced by that toad to break a magic contract?! Her heartbeat increased and she looked around in panic.

How could she tell the Goddess of Light that she never meant to break the contract? Was there a time limit?! If there was then the Archbishop had to know about this, right? He could help her before she got smitten by contract magic, right?!

With her uninjured hand she fumbled for the necklace that Heisshitze had made her wear. Now was definitely a moment when she could use any help that she could get!

She grabbed the necklace with her bleeding hand and saw how it got all bloody. That should be enough to activate it, right? Did it work?

The sudden movement as her dad jumped out of the way of the mana ball shook her thoroughly. He had tackled the door with his full momentum and pushed it open like this. Myne felt her blood pulsing in her wound as the dread of having ended in a dead end crushed over her.

They were now in the ritual chamber that was mocking their pain and despair with its immaculacy and the subtle divine sheen emitting from the seven divine instruments neatly aligned on the altar at the end of the room.

Her dad sat her down on the floor as he readied his stolen sword again to fend off their enemies. Myne stared at his back, trying to sit upright, her bloody hand smudging the lush green carpet. The bloody necklace around her neck did not show any signs of reaction.

The charm had done nothing? Nothing...?! Would the Goddess be amendable by her own words alone then?

“O Goddess of Light, ruler of the endless skies and presider over all contracts, hear my plea”, she began to whisper under her breath while her dad shifted into position to defend her against the toad man that was entering. He was grinning so widely with his contract in hand.

“So foolish, Myne. Stop resisting. You signed this contract already”, he cackled at his own words but Myne did not want to acknowledge that. She would die as soon as she did that!

“Please, o Goddess of Light! I did not consent to any magic contracts without him present! They may have my blood but not my will!”, she cried out and felt a chunk of mana drained from her hands.

Myne saw how the eyes of the toady man widened and how he stopped cackling. His eyes seemed transfixed on something behind her and she saw the room suddenly being illuminated by a bright light originating behind her but she did not turn around.

Instead her attention was caught by the parchment in his hand that suddenly crumbled to dust in front of her eyes. Her plea had been heard?! Thank you, Goddess of Light! She had to hold back tears of relief at having averted her impeding doom.

Which became easy as soon as she saw the next ball of mana that was charged. How could Dad even defend against something like this?

Her dad seemed to have similar concerns as he instead chose to attack first. He charged towards him with his sword in hand.

“How dare you, worthless commoner”, the toad spat and blasted the mana ball at her dad. He was propelled to the wall by the blast and crashed into it with an unpleasant sounding smack.

Myne stared in despair as he did not make any move to stand up. His arms that he had lifted to wield the sword looked burned and the sword had been dropped.

“How annoying”, he grumbled and kicked him while Myne tried to crawl away from him into the back of the room. Her dad grunted in pain from that kick.

“Thank you for stopping that nuisance, Count Bindewald”, the High Bishop commented as he now entered the room with a jovial grin on his face.

Myne continued her slow crawl that she hoped went unnoticed as her path was suddenly blocked. She looked around and noticed that she had reached the altar. Her gaze fell upon the divine instruments. Could the shield defend her against these mana blasts?

“You are trapped, you have nobody left to fight for you. Even if that contract was voided you will just sign another one. There is no escape.” The threat in his words was serious. Myne knew that.

Her eyes flitted from the shield to the spear in an instant.

“O mighty Leidenschaft, forgive me but I need your spear!”, she prayed quickly before she lunged towards the stairs of the altar and grabbed the divine instrument. She then turned around and, now with her back to the altar again, was facing both the High Bishop and his companion.

They laughed in her face.

“I should expel you from the temple just for trying to use a divine instrument as a weapon you shameless commoner brat”, the High Bishop sneered but Myne did not react. She only focused on the spear in her hands and angled it roughly in the direction of the two men and their heads. The spear was way too long for her to wield as an effective weapon but at least its tip was sharp.

O Angriff, of Leidenschaft the God of Fire's exalted twelve, help me fight off my foes!

She could feel the spear drawing her mana at this and she did not even try to halt the flow. In her hands it began to glow before it suddenly crackled from her mana. Myne was stunned by the unexpected behavior of the weapon in her hands and it served at least as enough distraction to shut up both the High Bishop and his companion for once.

The toad like man stepped forward with a suddenly appearing sword in hand.

“I may not be a knight, but against you this will more than suffice”, he mocked and pushed her spear down with his sword in one powerful swing.

She was toppling over from the sudden force but she was unwilling to just drop her spear. By taking a step forward Myne tried to regain her footing while simultaneously wobbling the spear for balance.

Myne saw his wide smirk at her clear struggle from just his first hit. He was even laughing louder now than the crackling from her spear. For him this was only fun. Because to him she was just an expendable breeding sow.

Something in her snapped at that thought.

With the rest of the momentum from her stumble she lunged forward and pressed the spear into him.

She did not expect much damage, maybe a cut deep enough to make him reconsider, but she still remembered Benno's words firmly. Flail as hard as you can!

She may be weak, but she would flail as hard as she could!

And with that thought alone in her mind she impaled the toad. Her spear had been pointed at his head initially but due to his own diversion of her path it had now landed directly in his crotch. Myne felt a mixture of convulsion and deep satisfaction as she heard the loud burst from the release of mana that was stored in the spear and saw how fast his clothes were soaked in massive amounts of blood.

She pulled the spear back out of him and pointed the bloodied weapon at the High Bishop. The man who had spouted all these threats just moments prior now keeled over in a fetal position and loudly shouted in pain.

Her spear was not crackling anymore but it still seemed to intimidate the High Bishop enough to keep him out of range. Myne was panting heavily and she could feel how the spear was trying once again to suck out her mana. The first hit had taken so much from her. That box inside her had been full to the limit of bursting just this morning but now she feared for how empty it was.

Despite all the exertion she felt her hands grow cold from the recharging spear.

But she had to flail as hard as she could.

Chapter Text

Late spring at the beginning of his 6th year of zenthood. Day 7 of the archduke conference. Age 21. Myne Age 7.

Ferdinand was in a briefing with his retainers before the beginning of another stressful day of the archduke conference when a small golden bird flew directly to him and landed on his hand. His expression darkened in an instant.

Karstedt had reported quite some progress with Myne over spring prayer but had she just tricked him so that she could try to run now? Even though she had been so aware of the hopelessness of her situation in that case?

“Bericht”, he chanted while pointing his schtappe at the bird who responded with a curt “Entering Ehrenfest temple”. Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at that.

“If she somehow got rid of Damuel should the first message of the bird not be “Leaving apartment”? And why would she go into the temple if she has decided that now would be the perfect time to disobey my orders?” He glared at Heisshitze who involuntarily flinched.

“Maybe something has happened at home that made her run for the temple? Could those devouring soldiers maybe have found her home?”, Heisshitze suggested and Ferdinand put a finger on his temple.

“If Damuel is occupied with fending them off she might think of the temple as the only safe space left”, he conceded with a frown.

“That could also explain why Damuel waved the first message from her tracker but could not do so for the second. Or maybe he voluntarily let it fly as a means of calling for help since ordonnanzes cannot fly across duchy borders”, Justus chimed in.

“But since she has not activated her charm it at least seems that she does not immediately fear for her life right now.” Ferdinand now had both of his index fingers at his temples.

Should he call off the meetings he had scheduled before and over lunch and investigate personally? Or was it enough to just send Heisshitze back? Either way he needed Sylvester's cooperation to use his dormitory for the teleportation circle.

“Justus, Heidemarie, take over my meeting with Aub Jossbrenner and inform Aub Werkestock that he might have lunch without my presence. Ordonnanz. Aub Ehrenfest, I am on my way to your tea party room. Await me with some spare brooches”, he commanded and both Justus and Heidemarie flew off similarly to his ordonnanz.

He was already in the hallway when Sylvester's ordonnanz returned with a curt “Understood.”

The door to Ehrenfest's tea party room was opened immediately as he came into view and Ferdinand was glad to see that only Sylvester and Karstedt were inside and behind an already erected barrier of a sound blocking tool. He strode towards them with Eckhart and Heisshitze in tow without delay.

Sylvester then knelt down and offered the traditional greetings but Ferdinand cut him short.

“I do not have much time, Sylvester. I will need you to allow Heisshitze to teleport back to Ehrenfest immediately. Did you bring a brooch for him?”

“Yes, I did. Karstedt, hand it over to him”, he ordered and Karstedt complied.

“Ferdinand, I got a warning about some damage to the ivory building that constitutes the temple – is that what this is about?”, Sylvester asked with clear signs of uneasiness and Ferdinand frowned. Physical damage to the temple?

“That might just be the case. I got a distress signal from my little mana donator.” Ferdinand glanced at Karstedt whose presence might become required if his initial plan of having him adopt Myne needed to be hastened. But he could not just ask for an archduke's guard knight in the middle of the archduke conference.

“Sylvester, I imagine you want to check on that alert personally. Let me accompany you as this concerns the temple as well”, he suggested and Sylvester grinned at him mischieviously.

“You honor me, my Zent”, he responded before he ordered Karstedt to distribute brooches to Ferdinand and Eckhart as well. Sylvester then sent an ordonnanz to his first wife that he unfortunately had to take care of an urgent matter in Ehrenfest at the Zent's behest and could not participate in at least their first meeting of the day.

Ferdinand glared at the men who were littering his temple's hallways with their blood. It seemed to him like some heavy fighting had occurred not very long ago. Why would she not consider something like this serious enough to activate her charm? Was she following her stubbornness to death?

Sylvester seemed equally displeased to him as he stepped over the lifeless bodies. His archduke persona was good, but he saw the subtle signs of a frown between his brows.

“Is that not Lord Damuel?”, he asked with hesitation as they turned around a corner and saw him lying on the floor. He seemed in a bad condition, severe mana burns on his hands and deep cuts on his arms, and he had very obviously trouble breathing.

So he had indeed fought to protect her? There was only so much fighting strength that one could expect from a layknight after all. If the ones they had encountered before were all his own doing then he must have really gone all out.

A sudden eruption of mana tingled his senses and Ferdinand immediately turned his head in the direction it had come from. The ritual chamber? Was Myne there?

“Eckhart, Heisshitze, we must hurry”, he commanded and dashed in the direction. The door was already open and he saw her dad lying on the floor lifelessly and another unknown man lying on the floor closer to the altar with a puddle of blood. Meanwhile the High Bishop was held at spearpoint by...Myne.

“Myne, put down the spear”, Ferdinand ordered in a calm tone but internally he was angry. It did not need the loud shouting from Bezewanst to make it obvious that Myne had taken a divine instrument to attack a noble. Or had maybe even killed a noble judging from the amount of blood that had pooled around the man.

Her own condition was also not very good. She seemed exhausted and had trouble keeping her eyes open. Was she currently ignoring him or had she serious difficulties in understanding his words to put down that spear?

“Archbishop, do you now see what kind of depraved creature this commoner is? I warned you something like this would happen! More than once!”, Bezewanst was fuming behind his fear of the little girl who still directed the bloodied spear at him.

“High Bishop, who is this man? And what is his business?”, Ferdinand inquired neutrally while keeping an eye on Myne. She seemed close to losing her consciousness but was still pushing more mana into the divine instrument. Bezewanst seemed surprised by the sudden change in topic but still complied.

“A good friend of mine, Count Bindewald of Ahrensbach. I invited him to share a few cups of wine with me”, he explained but Ferdinand saw through the thin veil of half-truth.

“I see. He seems to be in quite a serious state.” Ferdinand then turned around to face the man who was just entering.

“Aub Ehrenfest, might I borrow a time-stopping magic tool from you? One of considerable size if you were so kind”, he inquired with a disinterested voice and gestured Sylvester to the Count laying on the floor and bleeding all over the carpet. The poor gray priests who will have to clean that up.

“Of course, my Zent”, Sylvester responded with his archduke persona firmly in place. He then sent out an ordonnanz to the vice commander of Ehrenfest's Knight's Order to request the tool immediately.

To Ferdinand's disappointment Myne had not yet reacted at all even though he had granted her more time to process his order. It seemed like she was frozen in a desperate stupor and her hands were glued to the spear. With a click of his tongue he produced his schtappe and bound her with light which finally made her drop the spear and fall to the ground herself.

“Ah, I thank you ever so much, Archbishop”, Bezewanst grinned with a dark face and stepped over to her.

“Finally you get what you deserve you despicable commoner brat. Attacking a noble with a divine instrument at least means you are dead”, he spat full of rage and kicked her in the stomach. Ferdinand glared at him and bound him as well with bands of light.

“Please do not enact your own sense of justice on her, High Bishop, this is clearly under my jurisdiction”, he chided and gestured for Heisshitze to grab her. She seemed almost lifeless at this point.

“Aub Ehrenfest, I entrust you with the investigations that led to your ivory building being attacked. I imagine both the Count and the High Bishop might provide valuable insight on that.” Sylvester nodded at Ferdinand's order. Bezewanst was already fuming at being bound and trying to get his nephew on his side.

“I will join you shortly after I have interrogated her”, he added and gestured to Eckhart and Heisshitze that they were leaving.

They went into an empty office and after Heisshitze had sat Myne on a chair Ferdinand removed the bands of light. Not like she was in any condition to run or fight. Still, he needed to know what had happened. Eckhart meanwhile installed an area wide sound blocking tool next to them.

“Myne, I do not have much time so I will keep this short. You attacked a noble and wounded him deeply. Maybe even mortally. What happened to make you do that? Why are you even in the temple?”, he asked and she seemed to gather her bearings again at his questions.

“I had a fever since yesterday. Lord Damuel thought I was losing control and made me go to the temple to get rid of all that mana. There was still that bag of stones in my chambers so I dusted that first. But it was not enough so I wanted to offer more to the divine instruments.” Ferdinand nodded. That explained why she had come here. To think that she was already overflowing with mana after just one week now....

“But there were people in the hallway. That man wanted me to sign a contract but I refused. Then they attacked. Dad managed to take one of their swords and fought against them. Lord Damuel also fended off quite a few simultaneously until the High Bishop's friend threw this huge ball of mana at Lord Damuel....” Her words trailed off and Ferdinand could imagine what had happened. He had seen the flesh wounds on him from the mana burn. As she noticed his urging gaze she quickly resumed her report.

“He wanted me to sign a submission contract and the High Bishop's attendant caught me and cut my hand before she forced my blood on it. Then Dad freed me from her and escaped with me as far as to the ritual chamber. But that man hit him with one of those light balls and Dad crashed into a wall. He said more mean things and wanted me to come to him but I did not want to. I then asked Leidenschaft to borrow his spear and Angriff to help me defeat my foes. The spear drained my mana and as that man hit it with his sword I basically just lept forward and pushed... The next thing I remember is being on the floor bound by light.”

She had asked Leidenschaft to borrow his spear? What a strange girl to waste time in such a situation by talking to the gods.

“Myne, so you undoubtly used the spear to attack Count Bindewald. Thank you for your report even though I cannot use it to save you.” He sighed in frustration. So they had stolen her from him even if they could not acquire her themselves in the end....

“Unfortunately for you, the law is clear and not bendable for this. A commoner who attacks a noble – regardless of the reasons – will be executed. And their family and associates alongside them.” He stared her firmly in the eyes where he recognized that same expression she had showed him before whenever she thought she was about to die. Was this her older soul peeking through?

“I see”, she merely commented before she sighed. But then she looked up and he noticed the small burst of fighting spirit that had returned to her eyes.

“I guess this is what I get for fighting a noble.... But is there no way to save at least my family and friends? Is there nothing I can do? Is there nothing you can do?” She somehow had the audacity to almost glare at him now. Was that her attempt to appeal to some strange sense of justice in him? Ferdinand scoffed. Did she really think she had any room for negotiation?

“I gave you the means to protect yourself from something like this. If had you chosen to activate the charm before attacking the Count then this situation was much easier. You have only yourself to blame for your stubbornness”, he noted with a disinterested voice which seemed to confuse Myne. Why was he even entertaining this discussion? He could be questioning the High Bishop by now about this 'friend' instead.

“But I did that. Are you not here because of that?”, she said and pulled the charm up from under her robes. It was encrusted in her blood, but the black feystone did not show any activation. A malfunction? In a tool made by himself? Impossible.

“When did you do you that?”, Ferdinand asked and opened the chain of the necklace to take it from her to inspect it.

“After my hand was cut and pressed on that contract from the Count. I was forced into signing that one with my blood but I was afraid that it still counted as a breach of the contract we signed. The one that forbids me from signing anything without you. I thought that charm would call for your help.”

“There was no such contract in the Count's possession”, Ferdinand remarked while still eyeing the necklace. Had it gone up in flames despite his preemptive measures that should have made that impossible and thereby prevented his necklace to work?

“The Goddess of Light crumbled it to dust”, Myne said with a wistful expression.

“She worked so hard for me and now it still does not matter.” The Goddess of Light had worked hard for Myne?

“What do you mean by that? How did the contract crumble?” Myne did have neither a magic ring nor any magic education, what had she done? Was there even a way to crumble a contract?

“I prayed to the Goddess of Light that I did not mean to sign any contracts without you present and I believe her crown must have lit up in response before she crumbled the contract in the Count's hands”, Myne explained with melancholy. Ferdinand just stared at her.

She had been in the ritual chamber which had a mana conducting carpet so it made sense that she could actually pray there for a blessing... but that the Goddess of Light heard her plea and annulled the contracts she had just signed was unthinkable. And yet here he was with a non-activated contract device in his hands that was teeming with her blood.

“That must have deactivated your charm then, Myne. It contained a magic contract as well. One that would have granted you enough status as Karstedt's newly adopted daughter to make the circumstances of your attack on the Count very relevant.” Ferdinand looked at her in contemplation.

Her thinking was completely unrestrained by the bounds of common sense and it seemed that the realm of magic basically expanded at her struggling attempts. First that blessing from Verdraeos, now that prayer... or spell... to make an appeal for a dishonest magic contract.

And all that on top of those eighteen small chalices full of mana that she had dedicated in just one session even though it had brought her close to death at that time. While she was only seven. Ferdinand grew somewhat wistful at the thought.

The gold dust that she had so casually provided for him without even questioning it had also served him as a valuable tool to reward those who supported his reign openly. They had been so utterly grateful to be granted the opportunity to provide bags of feystones and receive them dusted just a week later. He had hoped to gather even more support like this for a while longer.

And all this was about to end now just because that Count tried to steal her and the situation escalated? Ferdinand had been warned even and he had even acted to prevent it. Such a regrettable waste at the hands of an unfortunate chain of events and an unexpected implication of her own prayer. And now he could only kill the culprit once.

“Ah... being adopted by Lord Karstedt would have been better than this...”, she sighed and Ferdinand had to agree with her.

“By now it is too late for that”, he simply stated and Myne slumped over in her chair. Judging from the sound she now made she had begun crying. Ferdinand heard her calling for her mom and dad, her sister and that boy. Still so weak.

He was about to leave and stand up from his chair opposite to her when she suddenly spoke again.

“Can you not like... get rid of all the evidence?”, Myne inquired with a raspy voice and swollen eyes that had stopped crying. Her tiny hands were clenched into fists and grabbing the fabric of her robes. Ferdinand's grin turned menacing at that suggestion but he chose to remain seated.

“What makes you think we have that kind of relationship, Myne?” But she looked up and stared him right into the eyes. That was no doubt the fearless side of her born from desperation that would grab for Leidenschaft's spear in an attempt to struggle on against her foes.

“I just need to be more useful to you than this will bother you, right?”, she proposed with hard eyes and Ferdinand's grin widened.

“You can just easily borrow the archduke's guard knight, you must have some power you could wield”, she pressed on and Ferdinand chuckled with a dark expression.

“This cannot be contained so easily anymore, Myne. The archduke of the attacked Count is somewhat aware of this as well. Not just the one of this duchy. Deleting today's event from history would be more bothersome to me than you could ever pay back.” Which was somewhat regrettable but not every trial by Glucklitat was meant to end with treasure. Sometimes it had to end with knowing when to cut one's losses.

“Then... then... please at least declare me an orphan! Surely that much should be easy for the Archbishop!”, she recovered immediately as she arrived at her next avenue for negotiation. Ferdinand's grin widened even further as her attempts to save her family grew more futile and desperate.

“You would discard your family? You? Who almost dies from not seeing your dad for ten days?”, he scoffed at her ridiculous proposal but Myne was looking at him with fierce eyes. In principle that was not too difficult for him. He was her guardian in all legal things so declaring her orphaned was well within his rights. And as the Archbishop nobody could overrule who he took into the orphanage either.

“Prove it”, he dared her and to his utter amusement she did not flinch from his mocking words.

“I am an orphan living in the temple. I do not have any parents nor any brothers or sisters. I have no home outside of the temple”, Myne declared through gritted teeth and with eyes full of defiance. She was so bad at lying. But she did indeed give her best to try.

“Impressive. Now tell me what I will get out of acknowledging this”, Ferdinand lowered his head to stare directly into her eyes. He was not even a hand's breadth away from her. She was so obviously racking her brain for something to offer to him.

“I can give you all the mana you want-”, she began but Ferdinand shook his head.

“You are currently low on mana and will be executed soon. The amount you can offer is negligible.” Her eyes widened in shock at the sudden realization that he was absolutely serious about this.

“I can give you my cooks and the recipes I taught them”, Myne offered out of the blue but Ferdinand waved the idea away.

“Your personnel will suffer the same fate as your family, friends and attendants. You cannot offer them to me for a favor”, he explained. And who could trust the chefs of somebody who they had executed anyway?

The sudden realization of what he had meant with 'associates' seemed to shock her at first but then it only seemed to fuel her creativity for bribing him.

“You liked physics, right? I can write down everything I remember about that. And teach you all the calculations I do in my head”, she then spouted and Ferdinand grinned at her suggestion. He could indeed read her mind one last time before her execution to get some more of her knowledge. That proposal was not bad.

“How much could you reasonably teach in a day or two?”, he asked her and she paled slightly before she shook her head and refocused her will to fight again.

“D-Do you like music? I can teach you songs of all genres-”, she continued but she seemed intimidated by Ferdinand's intensifying grin of darkness. She was indeed a fount of knowledge. Maybe he should entertain the idea of turning this whole thing around. But not by getting rid of all the evidence. On the contrary, he needed to gather and create some more.

“I am not sure whether you can really offer me enough that you can also fulfill in the short time frame that you will still be alive, Myne”, he announced wistfully. He leaned back into his chair and let his gaze rest on her. Should he risk it? Klassenberg would be at his back immediately if he created that opening. Could that Eglantine be scared away from him without losing Klassenberg's support in that case? Was Greifechan whispering into his ear or Chaocipher?

“There exists a possible avenue to basically give you all the time you would need to pay me back. But I do have neither the time nor the energy to bring you in line. The moment you stop giving me your best this deal will have to be called off”, Ferdinand mused aloud but Myne did not seem repulsed by his calculating tone. Instead she seemed willing to comply.

“I will do whatever it takes to... cut ties with those strangers...”, Myne confirmed with a hard stare. What an act. Ferdinand could see the tears she was holding back. Could she keep that up for the rest of her life? But at least she seemed willing to try exactly that.

“In that case, let me explain something to you, Myne. The Gods see the world in the way of mana. Commoners, who possess only the faintest amounts of it, are almost invisible to the Gods. People like you and me however are like a beacon. So when I intertwined our threads so that all your magic contracts required my oversight it resulted in a very similar picture to what a proper adoption contract would result in since those that you were born under are shining so very very dimly.”

Ferdinand noticed how she was gripping her robes at his explanation but only nodded at his words.

“So you are saying you basically adopted me last autumn already, making me not a commoner anymore?”, Myne tried to confirm his words, clear disbelief in her voice, and he smiled at her.

“I am at least willing to argue that this is indeed the case.”

“Is that so easy? You say it is almost the same for the Gods but do you not need to... I don't know... register me somewhere officially?”

“You do not need to worry about the technicalities, Myne. The important part is that the Count attacked you, my adopted daughter. Thereby, he is the one who committed an unforgivable crime and not you. Now that I think of it, the High Bishop kicked you as well”, Ferdinand noted with a satisfied smile.

Depending on the amount of evidence they could acquire from the Count and the High Bishop it might even be enough to entangle Veronica in all this as Georgine had hinted at. Was this truly Greifechan's blessing after all?

Myne just nodded without questioning his words any further. If she kept up this level of obedience this could indeed work out quite to his benefit.

“You look tired. Drink this potion and then rest. I will come to you with further instructions at a later point.”

Ferdinand handed her one of the same rejuvenation potions that Karstedt had supplied her with over spring prayer. But he did not notice any of her struggle that Karstedt had described.

Myne downed the potion without hesitation and only shuddered slightly after having ingested it. Ferdinand was almost impressed by her commitment.

Chapter Text

Late spring at the beginning of his 6th year of zenthood. Day 8 of the archduke conference. Age 21. Myne age 7.

“Myne, come here”, Ferdinand ordered the girl behind the screen while he checked once more the accuracy of the magic circle that he had installed on the floor. He turned his head in the direction of the hesitating foot steps and clicked his tongue as he saw that she was still clothed.

“Did I not tell you to take off your robes behind the screen, Myne? I will not be able to diagnose anything while you still wear them.” He glared at her and she flinched in reaction but did not move to take off her robes.

“Do I really need to call in Heidemarie for this? Do you want more people in the room during your examination?”, Ferdinand inquired in exasperation and saw her shaking her head. What was up with this sudden shyness? At least she had already taken off her shoes and socks.

“Then take off your robe so that I can see your bare back”, he growled and she slunk behind the screen as if she was obliging. A moment later she returned while hugging her robes close to her chest so that her front was still covered.

“Now stand on this circle”, he ordered and she complied. He was now looking at her back that was completely hidden by her hair. Ferdinand suppressed the urge to sigh in frustration. Instead he gathered her hair first to the side and shifted it to the front of her since her arms were still occupied with holding her robe. Her whole body stiffened at his touch. Could this really be called a willing participant? Was this her best cooperation?

“Your subtle hostility is quite annoying, Myne. You do understand that we do this to determine why you are so sickly, right? That this is for your own benefit, yes?” Her hair fell back on her back as she nodded.

“Cease this wordlessness”, he ordered as he put her hair out of the way again.

“Yes, Archbishop”, she whispered.

“As my adopted daughter you should address me by my name”, he corrected her and she stiffened again as if he had screamed at her. Karstedt had told him that she was deeply afraid of him to the point of trying to secure his allegiance to protect her from him but this was getting ridiculous.

“Understood, Ferdinand”, she confirmed barely audible but he let it slide this time.

“Better. Now, hold your breath”, he instructed while he supplied the magic circle at her feet with mana. Her mana veins were now bright red which made the underlying problem quite obvious. There were huge areas that were oddly dimmed and malformed instead of the bright and well-defined lines that they were supposed to be. He clicked his tongue as he stared at her back until he noticed how she began to tremble. That she was so overly compliant now was somehow even more infuriating considering her unreasonable stubbornness before.

“You may breathe normally again, Myne”, he advised her and rose from his squatting position behind her. She needed multiple deep breaths before she seemed calm enough again.

“You may also put your robes back on”, he informed her and she hasted behind the screen as fast as her short legs seemed able to.

“Myne, when you told me how you stuff your mana inside the box you said you had arrived at that technique by skirting death more times than you could count”, he began as she emerged back from behind the screen and after he had dropped a sound blocking tool into her hands. She nodded seemingly on instinct before she remembered his words and stopped the gesture.

“Yes, Ferdinand”, she answered with an unsure voice.

“Are you sure that you did not die at one of these points?”, he continued and her eyes widened at the question.

“I am not. On the contrary I believe this little girl died as she succumbed to the heat before I arrived”, Myne admitted hesitantly and Ferdinand nodded in acknowledgment.

“When was that?” The longer the death was in the past the higher quality was required.

“Autumn, two and a half years ago, Ferdinand. But she was sickly before that as well. She might have been skirting death several times on her own before that. Why is that important?”, she dared to ask and Ferdinand raised a finger to his temple unsure how much he should tell her. Would she despair over it or deal with it? Why not find it out?

“You are in a half-dead state, Myne. Skirting death has started the mana-hardening process inside your body and those hardened mana blocks are interfering with your mana flow. Your body most likely knocks you out when your mana boils too hot from your emotions and in contrast to normal people you require a larger mana flow at all times to allow you to keep moving otherwise it gets just stuck behind these blocks.” Ferdinand observed her reaction but his explanation did not seem to shock her.

“I see. That makes sense”, she mumbled more to herself than him when she suddenly looked up and stared at him with a fearful expression. Over which kind of mad conclusion was she agonizing now again? He raised an eyebrow at her and he saw her gulp.

“Does that inconvenience you, Ferdinand?”, she asked shyly to which he responded with a fiendish grin.

“Not overly. It will however inconvenience you as you will need to gather the ingredients for the potion to overcome this condition”, he commented and her expression changed. Was that hopefulness? Did she just ignore the part where she has to gather the ingredients herself?

“I-I can become healthy? This body can stop dragging me down?!” She was now basically beaming at him.

“Yes, it is not overly complicated to heal a half-dead state. Basically every adult noble has such a potion at their belt.”

“Praise be to Heilschmerz!”, she exclaimed while jumping into a sudden prayer pose and green light emerged from her ring. Praying really seemed like second nature to her.

“About that, Myne”, he said while gesturing to the green lights that slowly rose out of view, “I expect you to write a report on any prayer you make, the exact wording, whether mana is drawn from it, which effects you noticed, which effects you intended, everything.” She nodded until he glared at her.

“Understood, Ferdinand”, she confirmed with skeptical eyes.

“That includes the prayer from tonight”, he hardened his eyes while looking at her which made her stiffen up again.

According to Heisshitze she had awoken from a nightmare with rampaging mana and was brought Flutrane's staff by one of her attendants. The attendant claimed to have chosen it since it was still her season and there had not necessarily been a reason to distrust her words for that. But considering the convenience that by providing her with Flutrane's staff Myne had been able to somehow pray at least for her dad, her head attendant and even Damuel to heal fully the whole thing felt a bit suspicious.

“Are you angry that I am wasting my mana?”, she whispered and he smiled at her.

“I am willing to file that under research as long as you write everything down. You being so pious is also a nice story line I can use as motivation for your adoption by me. So feel free to keep that up.” She exhaled sharply at that with seeming relief.

“However, I get angry when people try to get cheeky with me”, he declared and he saw her twitching face. Was she just anxious or was that her bad conscience?

“So, tell me, Myne, did you intend to heal that random soldier that happened to help defend the temple against those intruders or was that just an unexpected side effect from a prayer made in earnest?” He had hardened his eyes once again and tried to make sure that no lie was slipping by his notice. She seemed surprised and delighted by his words almost like she had not known that her dad had been healed.

“I just prayed to Flutrane and her subordinates to look out for those who protected me with their life, Ferdinand. So when Fran returned to my chambers this morning without a scratch on his face it was due to that prayer?” Ferdinand nodded. He could not find a sign of dishonesty on her face or in her words.

“Praise be to Flutrane and the twelve Goddesses who serve by her side!”, Myne exclaimed and another bout of green mana emerged from her ring. Had it been a mistake to give her one this morning? But with her unstable mana she needed an outlet and the divine instruments would prove too dangerous in her uncontrolled hands....

“Myne, keep your emotions calm. Your attendance is required for another meeting at fifth bell today and I do not want you to collapse before that. Understood?” His harsh glare seemed to have the desired effect on her. She nodded before she remembered that he wanted her to answer properly.

“Understood, Ferdinand.”

“Elvira, my dear, may I have a moment of your time?”, Karstedt spoke as soon as her attendant had announced his unplanned arrival. He had spent so much time in the knight's barracks over the last years that he had made it a habit to actually arrange a meeting with his own first wife. That he had not done so this time came as a surprise to Elvira. An unwelcome one. But she kept her noble smile perfectly in place.

“Of course, Karstedt. I will tell the attendants to prepare some tea for us”, she suggested without revealing her annoyance at being interrupted at planning the guest list for her next tea party with their faction.

“That, eh, will not be necessary. May I ask you to join me in my hidden room?” Karstedt's suggestion made Elvira frown and this time she allowed her displeasure to show. When was the last time that he had wanted her in there? Was he in a sudden winter mood and thought to bother his oh so obedient first wife with that?

“Are you sure about that?”, she verified with narrowed eyes but Karstedt did not budge.

“Yes, I am.” The fact that he did not elaborate any further was maybe the most infuriating thing about this whole discussion.

Elvira rose from her seat and took Karstedt's arm that he had offered her for his escort.

She did not say anything on their way to his hidden room and kept quiet even after they had entered. It did not seem like he had planned anything for her visit. It was as barren as she had expected it for a room that saw use only rarely. Elvira just continued her smile and waited for Karstedt to say something.

“I thank you for humoring my vagueness with this request, Elvira”, Karstedt began and she saw signs of exasperation on his face. Was he exasperated at her? He better not dare to voice any displeasure. She continued smiling and did not say a word which seemed to trip him up. Good.

“Elvira, you and I are expected at the temple at fifth bell today for a meeting with Zent Ferdinand”, Karstedt began and Elvira raised an eyebrow.

“My, and to what circumstances do we owe this honor? Are we to witness Lamprecht's name swearing now?” Elvira allowed herself a difficult frown. Strengthening their ties to the Zent was not wrong per se, but he already had taken Eckhart with him when he had left for Drewanchel. If everyone who could flee also did flee from Veronica then Ehrenfest was doomed to be a skeleton duchy fully under her control.

“No. As far as I am aware, Lamprecht is just fulfilling guard duty in the temple. I do not think he is outstandingly loyal to the Zent. He is aware that he spited the archduke with his inquiry to be released from Lord Wilfried's retinue and is now just laying low for a while in the temple. We will not see him swearing his name, I imagine.” Karstedt seemed caught off guard by her suggestion if he was now elaborating so much. But Elvira could not deny the relief she felt at his words.

“No. Instead of losing a son we are to gain a daughter.” He exhaled sharply, seemingly fully aware of the bomb he had just dropped. Elvira stared at him incredulously.

“I will need a few more details than that, Karstedt”, she expressed through gritted teeth. A daughter? Considering the amount of time that he had spent with his sons this was not a 'we' situation, but a 'her' situation.

“There is an apprentice blue shrine maiden currently in Ehrenfest's temple. As she is quite industrious and showed a vast mana capacity the Zent allowed her to wear blue robes despite her origins”, Karstedt began and Elvira's smile twitched at the word 'origins'. To her delight Karstedt noticed that at least and quickly elaborated before she had to ask.

“She is a commoner with the Devouring. An exceptional case of the Devouring.” Karstedt looked at her with uncertain eyes but Elvira was fully in control of her emotions. She gestured for him to continue.

“The original plan was for me to adopt her so that she could attend the Royal Academy and learn to control her large mana quantity. However it seems that the girl has now caught his full attention as he intends to adopt her himself. But the Zent cannot adopt a commoner when he has been refusing to adopt any child at all so far.”

“So he needs us to claim she is an archnoble by birth just so that he can adopt her in peace?” Elvira allowed herself to show her frown once again. Karstedt nodded with hesitation.

“I appreciate that you took the time to warn me of this demand beforehand, Karstedt. How old is she?” Elvira noticed his signs of hesitation and felt a headache drawing closer.

“She has been baptized last summer but she is so tiny that we will have no problem claiming that she will only turn seven this summer”, he elaborated and Elvira exhaled slowly. So she could just be baptized under them then? Simple enough.

“Judging from your words you have already met her? What kind of girl is that? I have a hard time imagining how a commoner could draw his attention to the point of adoption. If she is a blue shrine maiden he already has the effective monopoly on her mana anyway, right?” Elvira was scrutinizing her husband's reaction but she was not sure how she should interpret his hesitation. What could be so special about a barely baptized girl?

“If I had to describe her in only a few words I would say that she is blessed by Mestionora. She is exceedingly intelligent and learns incredibly fast. Her knowledge is strange but deep in the most bizarre ways. She is also apparently quite rich already from selling her inventions such as some new plant paper that she produces in her own workshop in the temple's orphanage even though she uses part of the profits to improve the living conditions of the orphans and another large part to donate directly to the temple.”

Elvira just stared at Karstedt before she remembered to keep her facial expression neutral.

“My, new paper is definitely not something I would expect a merely baptized child to develop. That sounds indeed intriguing”, she commented and Karstedt nodded.

“She is also way more sophisticated than a normal seven year old. Timid to the point of gloomy in uncertain territory but willing to stand her ground when cornered. She was the one I guarded for spring prayer this year and her work was more than just diligent especially when you consider that she only understood at the last third of the trip what was actually meant by 'enriching the land'.”

“The poor thing will be eaten alive in noble society if she is not even able to decipher such straightforward euphemisms”, Elvira commented with a neutral tone and Karstedt grimaced. And there was still one thing that was unclear to her.

“Why would we have felt inclined to hide such a daughter in the temple, Karstedt?” His expression now was totally stone-faced.

“I am not allowed to disclose this information yet.” She raised an eyebrow at that but did not dig deeper.

It was her first visit to the temple in her whole life. They took a carriage so that Elvira did not have to change into riding clothes and the gate to the temple opened almost immediately.

To Elvira's surprise the one who was guiding them to their meeting was nobody else but Justus. She felt a bit nostalgic as she greeted him and he answered with his unreadable but amused expression.

“Lady Elvira, Lord Karstedt, I thank you for accommodating the rather short notice period of today's meeting”, Justus began.

“My, Lord Justus, an invitation from Zent Ferdinand is something I will always make time for”, she replied with a refined giggle. Willing and competent to take the whole country on his shoulders while very easy on the eye – could there be more pleasant company to spend an afternoon with? If one disregarded the mysterious topic of their meeting of course.

Justus smiled in return and continued with small talk while he led them through the hallways. To Elvira's surprise they were sparkling clean and decorated with great taste. They only encountered some gray priests and shrine maidens along their way but they all knelt with practiced grace as they passed them by.

Elvira could tell that they had reached their destination when they arrived at a door that was heavily guarded. The man that was leading her on his arm seemed on guard as well at being so vastly outnumbered but his telltale signs should have been invisible to the untrained eye.

A large table came into view to her left side as soon as Justus opened the door and led them inside. At the head of the table sat Zent Ferdinand, somehow looking older than he was at twenty-one years but in a more mature than exhausted way. He was flanked by two knights and she was glad to see Eckhart well.

She was still mad that the former Aub Ehrenfest had moved him to Drewanchel while still underage at that time. Ferdinand had secured himself an adoption but there had not been any security for his retainers. Still, the archduke had not cared about that.

She fought back against the sudden rush of anger. It would not suit her to show such emotions in the presence of the Zent. Instead she focused her attention back to the meeting in front of her. And to the other person that was already sitting at the table with him.

A little girl in a simple yet well-made green dress sat with her back to the door so Elvira could not make out her face. If that was her then Karstedt was indeed right. Nobody would doubt a girl so tiny to receive her baptism only this year.

Elvira and Karstedt both knelt in front of the table and began their greetings. When they were invited to sit at the table as well she felt relief that this was intended to be a meeting somewhat on equal terms. Even though her curiosity about the girl that had remained silent so far had been piqued she focused her full attention on Ferdinand whose smile was pleasant but unreadable as always. She barely noticed how Justus activated an area wide sound blocking tool.

“Elvira, Karstedt, I appreciate that both of you were able to follow my invitation. Am I right to assume that Karstedt already informed you about the purpose of this meeting, Elvira?”, he inquired politely and took a sip from his tea. Elvira smiled in return and took a sip as well.

“Yes, indeed he did, my Zent. He told me that you intend to adopt our daughter that we had hidden in the temple as a blue shrine maiden”, she allowed herself a difficult smile to convey her irritation at the sudden request for such a charade, but Ferdinand's smile widened at her phrasing.

“It is naturally a great honor to have mothered a princess of Yurgenschmidt, my Zent. I merely wonder about some of the details”, she began and tried to stare into his eyes. So cold and calculating. Befitting for a true zent.

“Oh? What kind of details might that be?”, he inquired with a perfectly sweet tone.

“I imagine her original name has not survived over the years so I would like to inquire about the name our daughter is going by right now.” Her hands were folded in her lap and she tilted her head slightly. She was met with a barely raised eyebrow that seemed to be directed at her husband.

“It seems that her name was shortened to 'Myne' over the years. Nobody seems to remember the 'full' version anymore”, he let his words hang in the air and Elvira immediately understood that he was open for name suggestions. All of a sudden a name? That could be shortened to 'Myne'?

“Myne, are you sure you do not remember your longer name that clearly shows your archnoble birth?”, Ferdinand then addressed the little girl directly much to Elvira's surprise. She thought the girl was supposed to stay quiet for the whole time given the fact that she had not greeted them yet. But now that Ferdinand himself had included her in the conversation Elvira allowed herself to satisfy her curiosity and look at the girl properly.

She was even tinier than she had looked from the door. It seemed that her seating position had been propped up with cushions so that she could sit at the table. Just judging from her size Elvira might have estimated her to be five years old at most. But apart from her tiny size she had to admit that the girl was cuter than expected. She would not have to be embarrassed about claiming such a girl as a daughter at least from her looks.

Her eyes were wide golden moons and her hair was a dark blue shade that reminded Elvira of the night sky. But what was truly mesmerizing about her hair was that sheen it had. What had she done to her hair to make it so beautiful? Was that part of that strange wisdom that Karstedt had claimed her to have?

“I apologize, Ferdinand, only this shorter version, 'Myne', feels like my name”, the little girl answered quietly with her eyes directed at her hands in her lap and Ferdinand's smile changed back to his politer more neutral version. This little girl was obviously intimidated by the situation. While that was understandable enough she could not allow herself to show that so openly....

“My Zent, may I shortly become Anhaltung for my daughter?”, she inquired and for once she thought that his eyes had changed from cold to amused. Even though the expression did not last for long.

“But of course, Elvira. I imagine Anhaltung, Erwachlehren and Wiegemilch fall into your domain once again”, he commented and took his cup. With a short side glance to Karstedt Elvira felt like she had to agree. How much could she reasonably expect from him here?

“Myne, while I am sure that the whole situation must be confusing, you must not show your feelings so openly. We will work on most of that in the future but for now you must stop to look down. You are an archnoble that will soon be a princess of Yurgenschmidt. Looking down is not an option for you. Act regal and confident even when you are not.” To Elvira's surprise her new daughter followed her instructions immediately. Only the shallowness of her breathing and the slightly widened eyes revealed her frightened state now.

“Just so, Myne”, Elvira nodded with an acknowledging smile.

“Karstedt, my dear, since you seem to be aware of these plans for a bit longer, I imagine you had more time to try to remember her name, right?”, she then inquired with her husband. Was he at least willing to contribute in naming her?

“Well, the circumstances changed a bit. I had intended to claim her as Marigold's child and thought I could reflect that choice in the name 'Goldmyne'. But since we do not have to hide the fact anymore that she is yours, Elvira, this will not be fitting anymore”, Karstedt admitted and Elvira hid her anger. Had he really intended to fan these old flames that had finally burned down from his third wife's house? What kind of disaster had he been willing to risk?

“Indeed. A terrible name.” Elvira glared at her husband. But naming her after one of their relatives did not seem too bad of an idea.

“I feel like we named her after my aunt, Rozemary. Does 'Rozemyne' sound familiar?” Elvira smiled at Myne, urging her to confirm the name choice. The little girl glanced in Ferdinand's direction but if she had been able to glean anything from his facial expression it had to come as a surprise to Elvira. She seemed to begin to express her consent by nodding only to freeze halfway through with increased signs of fear again behind her somewhat regal act. What was the cause for that?

“'Rozemyne' does sound oddly familiar, Mother. I am thankful that you still remember it from all these years ago”, she confirmed bravely and Elvira was impressed by her pattern of speech. She was relieved that she did not talk like a commoner but was already more refined.

“Excellent, then we will make it official with a small contract”, Ferdinand announced neutrally and began to write down something on a sheet of parchment that Justus readily supplied. He handed it to Karstedt first together with a mana pen and while her husband read it she already glanced on the text since it was clear that she was expected to sign it as well.

Elvira could find no fault with the phrasing. The contract basically declared the former blue shrine maiden that was called 'Myne' to go by the new name 'Rozemyne' and attached to the Linkberg house as Karstedt's and her daughter. She had many more questions but she knew that the order of events did not matter. Even if she did not receive any convincing answers there was no way they were to refuse the Zent here.

After Karstedt had put his name under the contract and handed both, parchment and pen, to her she signed the contract without hesitation. When Justus then carried both to Rozemyne she worried shortly whether the convoluted legal phrasing was too complex for her. It was unreasonable to expect a seven year old to be able to understand such contracts.

“Rozemyne, do you want me to explain the terms to you? You should never sign something that you do not understand or agree to”, Elvira warned but Rozemyne refused with a small smile.

“I thank you ever so much for looking out for me, Mother, but these legal phrases are actually way easier than all these euphemisms. They are at least put in a comprehensive way even though they are quite thorough.” And with that slight smile she read the contract in her hands. She seemed mesmerized by the parchment as she let her fingertips slide over its edges and surface. Was she checking for a second layer? In general that was indeed advisable but showing open distrust in the Zent and her adoptive father was not. Elvira noticed that Ferdinand was now glaring at her as well.

“Rozemyne, surely there is no need to inspect the parchment so thoroughly, please just read and sign it”, Elvira instructed with a slightly uneasy smile and Rozemyne looked up from the contract as if she had been busted. She then hastily signed the contract but it did not go up in flames after that. Was she not an orphan and the contract still required her birth parents' signature?

But then Justus brought the contract back to Ferdinand and only with his signature did the contract go into effect.

Elvira raised an eyebrow at that and was met with a polite smile from Ferdinand.

“I already took on the role of her Legal Guardian, Elvira. She is already in my custody. In that regard, please do not arrange for her to sign any magic contracts as they all require my signature as her co-signer to become effective.” Elvira tried to limit the staring she felt compelled to do and nodded politely in understanding even though she currently lacked that understanding.

“Might there be anything else that we should be aware of, my Zent?”, Elvira inquired innocently but internally she was mad at being so uninformed.

“Tell your attendants to not remove any magic tools from her. Currently it is only a tracking tool to locate her easily in case of kidnapping and such but I intend to add some protective charms in the future”, he explained and Elvira nodded even though she wondered why a tracking tool came with the highest priority instead of some counterattack charms.

“Karstedt also informed me that you hid Rozemyne in the temple to protect her from Lady Veronica's poisoning. Unfortunately it seems that at least one of those attempts was partially successful as Rozemyne now suffers from a weak and sickly body. I will of course support her in brewing her own jureve so this should only be a limitation for roughly one year.”

Elvira stared at her husband who did not dare to look her in the eyes. They were going into open opposition to Veronica for this 'favor' for the Zent?! Why now over some commoner girl and not ten years ago already when he had been forced to take that viper Trudeliebe as second wife?!

To her dismay Ferdinand chuckled at her open glaring directed at her husband.

“You do not need to fear for your daughter anymore, Elvira”, Ferdinand informed her but Elvira did not understand in what way he meant that.

“Lady Veronica broke the whole duchy's trust by committing treason in her foolish attempt to have your daughter abducted and will receive the proper punishment for that.” Treason meant death. Veronica was going to die? Just like that? Because she messed with the commoner that Ferdinand had an interest in?

“These are most surprising news, my Zent. Is this beyond any doubt? There is no way for her to weasel herself out of these charges?” Elvira just had to make sure even if it meant questioning the Zent.

“There is no way to blame somebody else for stealing a medal of a noble from the duchy's registry while the archduke is conveniently unavailable due to the archduke conference and then handing it to a noble of another duchy. This is watertight.” He grinned at her with what she assumed was genuine joy even though it felt like poison. But she could feel the same poisonous smile emerge on her own face.

Damuel jerked out of his bed in the middle of the night out of nowhere. He had been suffering from a loss of consciousness so he was confused why he had now woken up in his room in the knight's barracks when he had just been in the temple. The last thing he remembered was being hit by that mana blast but while his clothes were tattered his arms seemed unharmed. Had somebody cast healing magic on him?

As he was gathering his senses the sudden realization hit him that he was still technically on guard duty. He immediately channeled mana into the ring on his right thumb that allowed him to locate his charge. If he read that right it seemed like she was still in the temple?

He stormed out of his room and jumped onto his highbeast in haste. He knew that he could not abandon his post. Not now when her future was so uncertain and the danger from the High Bishop and his 'friend' was still so fresh on his mind.

Damuel ran as fast as he could through the empty hallways and stopped only as the ring indicated to him that she was indeed behind the doors to her chambers.

Should he knock? Should he just enter? He did not know what time it was but everything was so dark outside still that he was sure that first bell was still far away.

He decided to open the door as quietly as possible with his schtappe in hand and was welcomed by a sword to his throat. His whole body froze at that but he tried to let his eyes wander to identify the knight to which it belonged. The room was dark but the silhouette seemed familiar.

“Lord Heisshitze? It is me, Damuel”, he whispered and dispelled his schtappe while lifting his hands to show that they were empty. To his great relief the sword was removed from his throat.

“I did not expect you to sneak into these chambers in the middle of the night, Damuel”, Lord Heisshitze hushed.

“What are you doing here?”, he asked with hints of suspicion in his voice.

“Confirming the safety of my charge, Lord Heisshitze. I lost consciousness in the middle of a battle and awoke moments ago. Considering that you are currently guarding her may I assume that she is well? Did you manage to arrive in time due to that golden bird?” Damuel could not really read Lord Heisshitze's face due to the darkness.

“She is safe. This discussion will have to wait till later, Damuel. For now return to your room in the knight's barracks and stay there until you are contacted. Do not talk to anybody about what happened. And please return the ring to me”, he instructed and Damuel had no choice but to comply on the spot.

So he was under house arrest again? Was he punished for being too weak to defend her against somebody with archnoble level of mana? But he could not allow himself to wallow in despair. He had to wait. And hope for the best.

It was almost seventh bell when Damuel was alerted by a knock on his door. As he went to open it he was greeted by one of the Zent's personal retainers, Lord Justus, whom he hastily begged to enter before he began the proper noble greetings.

He was met with a sound blocking tool in response which he immediately accepted.

“Damuel, first of all, let me commend you on your dedication to your charge. From what I heard you fought willing to sacrifice yourself in order to protect her. While that is naturally expected from a guard knight many fail to prove that in a critical moment. It is clear that the only thing that held you back from solving the situation on your own was your clear natural limitations.” Lord Justus' jovial tone made Damuel uneasy. What kind of 'but' was he building up to?

“I thank you for your kind words, Lord Justus.” Damuel had waited the whole day already, he was sure he could wait another few moments until Lord Justus revealed his true motive. A sudden change in his facial expression indicated to Damuel that the real talk was about to begin.

“As it turned out, the apprentice blue shrine maiden that you have been tasked with guarding is actually the daughter of Lord Karstedt and Lady Elvira who has been hidden in the temple from poisoning attempts originating from Lady Veronica. Her real name is Rozemyne.”

Damuel's eyes widened at these words. No way this was true. Her dad was a soldier working at the south gate. He had flown him to her during that snowstorm. He had seen so many meetings between her and her parents and sister. But he knew that that did not matter now. If the Zent's personal retainer told him that that was the truth then that was his new truth.

“I see. What an unfortunate upbringing Sister Rozemyne had to endure. I guess some poison still found its way to her that rendered her so sickly?” Damuel tried to look Lord Justus in the eyes even though it was hard for him.

“At this point we can only speculate about something like this, but the possibility should not be discarded too easily”, Lord Justus chimed in with a hint of regret in his voice. He must be a master deceiver for faking his tone so convincingly.

“Will this information be made public?”, Damuel inquired. He wanted to do nothing more than stall for time now. He did not want to know whether he was considered a risk for leaking the truth about her birth family.

“At her baptism this summer, yes.” But she had already been baptized last year. Another lie. He began to fear how tall the stack of lies was intended to grow and whether he had to be crushed under it in order to not make it topple.

“But will the archduke's mother not retaliate upon that reveal? She must not wish for that to become public”, he commented, unsure where he was even going with this discussion. But to his big surprise Lord Justus grinned at him now.

“She will be awaiting her execution for treason at that point. She will not be a danger to your charge”, he remarked with a mischievous grin and Damuel just stared at him wide-eyed.

“Lady Veronica committed treason? Against the archduke or the Zent?”, he begged to clarify and Lord Justus chuckled.

“You are quick on the uptake, Damuel. Amusingly so. Both, actually, but the Zent allows Aub Ehrenfest to deal with her on duchy level in order to not escalate the whole situation unnecessarily.”

“His magnanimity truly knows no bounds”, Damuel commented demurely while Lord Justus' facial expression became unreadable to him.

“Indeed, it does not.” Lord Justus seemed to let the silence build up intentionally at that point.

“Now, Damuel, there is one more point I would like to inform you about concerning your charge. 'Sister' Rozemyne is not necessarily the correct title to address her with. 'Princess' Rozemyne will be more appropriate considering that she has been adopted by the Zent in private for now and he will do it again in public just after her baptism.”

Damuel felt Lord Justus' scrutinizing gaze on him and felt like throwing up. She will die from that. No doubt. When had he grown so attached to her that the thought of her perishing made him sick to his stomach?

“You suddenly look unwell, Damuel”, Lord Justus commented with what felt like slight amusement to Damuel.

“I merely cannot help but fear for the impact such a huge change might have on Princess Rozemyne”, he tried to skirt the truth as closely and inoffensively as possible.

“You are truly dedicated to your charge in all aspects it seems”, Lord Justus commented with a smirk. Damuel felt mocked once again in his life but he was as powerless to defend himself as always.

“Lord Justus, may I ask whether she will continue to be my charge for now? The Zent will surely want to surround her with archknights from the Sovereignty Knight's Order and not with a layknight from Ehrenfest, no?” Lord Justus turned serious at this question.

“That depends entirely on you, Damuel. The Zent sees value in your service to her. And risk. You may therefore choose to offer your name to continue your life as her guard knight.”

And if he chose not to offer his name he is not allowed to continue his life. He had heard Lord Justus loud and clear. A layknight like him was expendable when it came to guarding such big secrets like the true background of the Zent's adopted daughter. He did not cherish any illusions here.

“I do not have the materials ready yet but I will gladly prepare a namestone, Lord Justus.” To his great relief, Lord Justus nodded at his offer.

“Do not fret, I will gladly provide you with the materials and some rejuvenation potions so that you may start brewing it immediately. And maybe this requires further clarification, but to honor the loyalty to the Princess that you have shown so far and the inherent nature of name-swearing the Zent would prefer it if you offered your name to her directly and not to him. Unless you have any concerns about that then you may also choose him.”

Damuel nodded at that. The chances that the Zent would allow her to die after her adoption were basically zero. The risk in attaching his life to hers should be less than that from giving his name to the Zent.

“Swearing my name to Princess Rozemyne does indeed feel like the more natural choice at this point, Lord Justus. And I appreciate your generous offer to support my brewing.”

Late spring at the beginning of his 6th year of zenthood. Day 10 of the archduke conference. Age 21. Rozemyne age 6.

It still took him two full days to dye all the necessary feystones. The brewing itself had then went by in a haze and when Damuel took the yellow stone with his name engraved into it out of the cauldron his heart dropped for a second. He was really going to become the guard knight of a princess. By virtue of what actually? Knowing her the longest? Had she maybe asked for him to continue guarding her?

When Damuel reported to Lord Justus that he was now beginning to brew the box he was instead informed to come to the temple half a bell later and that a box would be provided.

At first, Damuel was surprised at how spontaneous a meeting with a princess could be arranged but then he remembered that she was still an apprentice blue shrine maiden currently which made scheduling easier.

But as he arrived at the temple the abundance of knights with white capes made it clear that the Zent must currently be present as well. Did he intend to be the witness of his name-swearing?

Damuel landed inside the temple and was glad that Lord Justus appeared to guide him to his meeting before the knights could question his arrival too much.

“Princess Rozemyne, I, Damuel, swear my name and my undying loyalty to you. As your Schutzaria and Angriff I will protect your life with my own. Allowing you to reach your goals is my own goal henceforth. I will be honored to receive your commands and swear to serve you with my whole being.”

Damuel knelt in front of Rozemyne and due to her short stature they were exactly at eye level. The only witness with them inside the room was indeed Zent Ferdinand. He had dismissed anybody else before they began and had installed an area wide sound blocking tool.

“Channel your mana into the box, Rozemyne”, he instructed and only seconds later Damuel's whole world became pain. He had heard about this effect but he had not expected it to be the worst pain he had ever felt. Every single nerve only sent suffering to his brain and he registered only subconsciously how he had fallen to the ground and was not kneeling anymore. But he lacked the full control over his body in order to correct that.

“Speed it up, Rozemyne. He will only feel relief when his namestone is dyed completely.” These words had reached his ears but his mind refused to compute them while he was overwhelmed by pain and agony. Only after these sensations ended could his mind analyze and understand what had been said.

His breathing had grown heavy by now and he felt exhausted to the core but he had recovered enough to resume a kneeling position. It felt like a thin veil of her mana was now surrounding him. An odd sensation but not necessarily unpleasant.

“Now give him your first command, Rozemyne. Channel some mana into his stone and swear him to silence”, the Zent ordered and Damuel just continued kneeling. He knew it was unorthodox to command somebody to use their namestone but at the end of the day he was still the Zent. His word was almost as binding as a command by namestone anyway.

He felt the pressure from the mana around him intensifying before she spoke.

“Damuel, you are forbidden from sharing my secrets with anybody.” The pressure was almost suffocating him before he made the conscious decision to oblige her command. Then he only felt relief.

“Understood, Princess Rozemyne. Your secrets are safe with me”, he vowed but Zent Ferdinand did not seem impressed by that.

“Rozemyne, be more specific. In cases like these you must not leave any room for interpretation”, he instructed her and he could feel the mana around him intensifying again.

“Damuel, you are forbidding from telling anybody in any way such as spoken word or written word or gestures about my original background, especially my birth family and my associates from the lower city. This also includes what has happened last winter during the dedication ritual and whatever you might have gleaned during my time as apprentice blue shrine maiden.”

“Nothing of these matters will cross my lips, Princess Rozemyne”, he confirmed and remained kneeling waiting for further instructions.

“Why do you need to be told to do things properly if you obviously do know how to do them already, Rozemyne?”, Zent Ferdinand asked with an exasperated tone and Damuel could not suppress a pang of sympathy for his lady. Direct criticism from the Zent was not good for anybody's wellbeing.

“I apologize for not guessing your intentions correctly”, she humbly responded but even Damuel could tell that that was the wrong answer. The Zent however remained silent at that. He noticed how Rozemyne grew uneasy and began to fidget with his namestone, taking it from one hand into the other and back.

“Stop playing around, Rozemyne”, he scolded her and, judging from his view on her feet, she froze immediately.

“Ferdinand, where does one keep a namestone? Should I get a bag to hang around my neck?”, she inquired with an unsure voice. It should not be so surprising that she still knew barely anything. Had it really been the right choice to tie his life to her and not him? Could she keep his name safe at all?

“A necklace is absolutely out of the question, Rozemyne. One may choose to keep it inside a hidden room or tied to one's belt but in your case I will relieve you of that burden and do the safekeeping for you.”

Damuel was glad to still be kneeling with his head down as it hid his shocked expression. He intended to take the namestone of his daughter's name-sworn?! Why then did he have to prepare it in the first place? A magic contract should have been enough if the only intention was to swear him to silence.... Damuel heard the hesitation in Rozemyne's next words.

“Is that truly okay? Is it not my duty now as his lady to protect it myself?” Damuel was touched by her words. She was willing to protest the Zent's decision for him?

“And how do you intend to do that, Rozemyne? You will not always have Leidenschaft's spear in reach and using it almost sent you up the towering stairway.” His words sounded worried at first but Damuel quickly picked up on the mocking that it contained. That bit about Leidenschaft's spear sounded oddly specific. Had she used it during the battle?!

“You should not be so quick to risk going there, Rozemyne. As your name-sworn Damuel's own life depends on you staying alive.”

“Understood, Ferdinand”, were the only words that she uttered after that. She did sound quite deflated to Damuel but there was nothing he could do.

“Just come to me if you want to give him a command”, he continued and Damuel could hear the faint clink of a feystone falling on other feystones.

This was clearly not about him in the slightest. If the Zent had wanted his namestone he could have done so easily from the start. Was Damuel now just some learning opportunity on name-swearing that the Zent intended to supervise? Was that the value of his service that Justus had mentioned?

Late spring at the beginning of his 6th year of zenthood. Day 11 of the archduke conference. Age 21. Rozemyne age 6.

Benno had stared at the letter of invitation ever since Fran had brought it to him without any further explanation. The fact that Myne's head attendant had been the messenger had been comforting at first but that this invitation had been signed in the name of the High Bishop had cost him several hours of sleep last night.

He only knew the High Bishop from what Lutz had told him and that could be summarized as a petty and mean spirited individual with still too much power and status for Benno to oppose. But there was no way around this invitation. Or summons.

And to make things worse Lutz was also listed as being invited.

What was going on while Myne was having her respite from temple duties at her parents' apartment? Did the High Bishop intend to use them in a way to get back at her?

Lutz was already waiting for them when Benno eventually emerged together with Mark, both dressed in their best clothes suitable for meeting with nobles.

They spent their time in the carriage in preparation of the meeting but since they still did not know what to expect they could only come up with containment plans. One of those containment plans was to make the High Bishop favorably disposed toward them by preparing gifts such as a bolt of fine cloth, some plant paper and rinsham. Benno hoped that this was enough to spare their lives in exchange for a more business oriented partnership.

When they departed from their carriage after they had arrived at the temple it was once again Fran who was guiding them through the hallways and who quickly acquired some more gray priests to carry the gifts. But despite his attempts at small talk Benno did not receive any answers from Fran.

They arrived in front of an unknown door when Fran rang his small bell and opened the door. But the man who was sitting at the table inside the room was not clad in robes. Instead he wore finest noble clothing and was adorned with a white cape. Benno only shot him a short look before he immediately knelt down for a greeting but he was quite sure to remember the man as one of the Zent's retainers. Was this a good sign? Or a bad sign? Had the Archbishop invited them while signing as the High Bishop to not tip them off?

The noble only acknowledged them after the gray priests had finished lining up the gifts on a nearby shelf and had thus excused themselves.

“May this meeting, ordained by the divine guidance of the gods, be blessed by the Goddess of Water Flutrane on this auspicious day of spring. I am Benno and with me are my attendant Mark and my apprentice Lutz”, Benno began after he had noticed a slight nod from their host.

“May this meeting be blessed by Flutrane the Goddess of Water. I am Justus”, he responded and a green light crept unto Benno.

He noticed that Lord Justus activated an area wide sound blocking tool before they continued.

“You may all rise and take a seat at this table”, Lord Justus instructed and they followed immediately.

“Now, Benno, tell me. How much have you heard in your preparation of this meeting?”, he inquired with a wide grin that was half hidden behind his hands which were folded in front of his face.

“I apologize for being seemingly unprepared, Lord Justus, but if I should be aware of anything that has resulted in the necessity of this meeting then I can only appeal to your magnanimity to close this gap in my knowledge”, Benno basically groveled. Had Myne done something? Or was this still about their underage magic contract?

“Truly? And there I thought you were an especially well informed merchant since you were already aware of the true status of the Archbishop and had planned so well in advance to keep your reach to that apprentice blue shrine maiden”, Lord Justus commented and Benno shuddered.

He had also seen Lutz' short glance to his side at the mention of the 'true status' of the Archbishop. No doubt was his curiosity now piqued. What was the endgame here?

“Well then, Benno, let me ask you something. How far are you willing to go for the paper making and printing industry?” Benno had expected a few scenarios but not this. Was that a question whether he was willing to eliminate his competition like it was said to be the case for the master of the ink guild?

“Due to the inherent importance and profitability of paper making and printing I am willing to work my hardest for its success, however, I would prefer to stay within the confinements of the law, Lord Justus”, Benno answered hesitantly and was met with a chuckle.

“Ah, that is indeed one way to interpret my question, Benno. Good to know, but not what I had intended to ask actually. Let me rephrase it. Are you willing to move all over the country to spread printing and paper making?” Had that been the first time that a noble had talked literally? 'How far was he willing to go?'

“It would be difficult to leave at a moment's notice but with maybe a year of preparation I could set things up in a way that will allow me and Mark to move”, Benno answered even though he was not sure where all this was coming from.

From his understanding the first book was just barely at the finishing line and while the flow for setting up paper making workshops seemed established enough by now printing was still in a very prototype state.

“But not the boy?”, Lord Justus concluded from the fact that Benno had not included his name in his answer.

“Unfortunately, I believe that his parents will not be in favor of him moving away. They were already not in favor of him leaving the city to visit another paper making workshop.”

“Is that why he is currently living as your live-in apprentice?”, Lord Justus inquired and Benno nodded hesitantly.

“How about you hasten your plans of adopting him then?”, he proposed with a smirk and Benno almost choked on his own spit. How could he know that?! Only Mark and Myne should know about that.... But why should she reveal something like this to a noble? Oh. Her guard was a noble too. And he had been quite attentive.

Benno tried to ignore the firm stare from Lutz at this point.

“I do not believe that his parents will agree to me adopting him, Lord Justus. This is not for me to hasten”, he tried to diffuse the situation but Lord Justus waved his point away with a gesture of his hand.

“Lutz, have your parents not abandoned you?”, Lord Justus asked him directly and Benno widened his eyes at the implications.

“The temple has a whole orphanage full of those children who either lost their parents or were abandoned by them. And sometimes other people choose to adopt those orphans”, Lord Justus elaborated since Lutz seemed struck by indecision on how to answer.

Benno gritted his teeth into a smile while Lutz's eyes flitted between him and Lord Justus.

“We have not talked since the end of autumn, Lord Justus. They do not support my career choice and they did not take any effort to stop me from living as a live-in apprentice in Master Benno's attic. As they have not had a place in my life for half a year now I feel it is appropriate to say that they have abandoned me and that I have been fending for myself for a while now”, Lutz admitted and Benno held his breath.

“My, how tragic. If you like to seek refuge in the orphanage please sign here”, he then said and held out a sheet of paper and a pen with ink. Benno did not dare to interfere but he wanted to shout so badly right now. Lutz! Why would you sign something like this on the spot?!

Lutz still seemed to hesitate a bit before he signed the paper. At least this is not a magic contract.

“Benno, I heard you wanted to adopt an orphan from the orphanage? How about Lutz here?”, Lord Justus helpfully suggested and placed another sheet of paper in front of both of them.

Why was a noble so helpful with a conflict among commoners? What kind of strings were attached to all this? But was he even in a position to argue?

He exchanged another glance with Lutz before both of them signed it.

“The High Bishop is currently indisposed so the Archbishop will provide his signature. Please act under the assumption that the adoption is hereby concluded”, Lord Justus then announced and Benno exhaled sharply. Where was the catch?

“I thank you ever so much, Lord Justus, for facilitating this otherwise lengthy process”, Benno began but he stopped as soon as he saw the wide grin on Lord Justus' face. What was the catch?!

“Now that there will not be any road stoppers in the way of legalities, we will change the location of our meeting to the room next door”, Lord Justus announced and Benno was afraid what awaited them if this had only been the pre-meeting.

Benno's heart sank as he saw the 'Archbishop' once again sitting next to Myne who had an almost unreadable expression on her face. Was she well? Had she always looked so pale? At least it did not seem as bad as the last time he had seen her sitting next to the 'Archbishop'. But something was still off.

He began once again his lengthy noble greetings and prayed for Lutz to stay calm and not rush to her side. What was she even doing here? Was she not still on leave at her parents' place?

“Ah, Benno, Justus informed me that my signature was required and I thought I might use this opportunity to introduce you to Lady Rozemyne who has returned to noble society just a few days ago.”

“May I pray for a blessing in appreciation of this serendipitous meeting ordained by the pure rivers flowing from Flutrane the Goddess of Water?”, Benno began while his mind raced.

'Returned' to noble society? What had happened over the last few days? Had the Zent just taken her? Not like he could do anything against that, but still....

“You may”, Rozemyne responded with a rather broken voice but this was not the right place to break out of his role as a humble merchant in front of a noble and the frigging Zent.

Their exchange of greetings continued until another green light rained down on him, this time it was way larger than before and it also seemed to rain down on Lutz and Mark. She definitely had a ring that only nobles had. And she was distributing blessings for greetings like a noble.

Benno however noticed the glare that the Zent shot in Rozemyne's direction upon her blessing but if she noticed it she did not show it. Judging from her general expression however it seemed more likely that she had not been aware of his disapproval.

The Zent then signed the paper that Lord Justus had provided him with.

“Congratulations on your adoption of Lutz, Benno”, he said which elicited a reaction out of Rozemyne as her head shot into the direction of the Zent and her eyes had widened.

“Congratulations also from my side, Benno, Lutz”, she said with a bit more liveliness than before.

“You honor us, my Zent, Lady Rozemyne”, Benno deflected.

“Benno, Rozemyne told me that her workshop was awfully close to finishing her first book and that almost only the binding step was missing. Will her direct input be absolutely necessary or will you be able to achieve the desired results by following some of her written instructions?”

“We would not want to bother a young noble lady like her with such menial tasks and will gladly work from her written instructions, my Zent”, Benno confirmed before Lutz could react and run the risk of talking when not spoken to.

“And concerning the further development of the printing press, will this be an acceptable course of action as well?”, he inquired but Benno was not so sure this time. Her explanations always worked best when she could talk to the craftsmen directly and not just provide schematics....

“Lady Rozemyne's schematics are certainly of the highest quality, my Zent, so it should be possible to achieve a first prototype without her direct involvement but I fear that her firm judgment will be required at least for a review.” There were few things that Benno would call more intimidating than the narrowed eyes of the Zent but there was nothing he could do. Not like he could lie to the frigging Zent!

“I see”, he finally commented after a disapproving click of his tongue. Benno felt like he was about to die.

“Oh, and since everybody is here right now, I think a small magic contract on keeping everybody aligned going forward will be necessary.”

Even though Benno had expected something like this it did not mean that he was in favor in signing something that could kill him if broken.

“I do not want any rumors to circulate concerning Lady Rozemyne's assumed background. So if you would be so kind as to sign this contract stating as such with the clear confirmation that the relationship between you is a pure business one between merchants and a noble who happens to be the forewoman of a workshop....”, he suggested and Benno nodded with a polite smile.

Being sworn to silence and to not endanger Myne's standing in noble society by improper behavior was like the minimum he had expected over the course of this discussion.

“From my understanding she also had a few encounters with craftsmen in the lower city before her return to noble society, Benno. I would appreciate it if you took care of keeping them in line and quiet. If that proves to be beyond your abilities let me know and I will let somebody else handle this”, the Zent remarked and Benno suppressed a shudder.

There was no telling what was meant with 'handling this'. He did not want Johann or Ingo to die for this whole, strange development.

“I will not disappoint you, my Zent.”

“See that you don't”, he confirmed with a smirk that almost made Benno's heart stop.

Late spring at the beginning of his 6th year of zenthood. Day 8 of the archduke conference. Age 21. Myne age 7.

Sylvester had locked himself into his office and had not allowed anybody else to enter. He had even sent Karstedt away while he pitied himself with a bottle of vize that Florencia had gifted him in celebration of Wilfried's baptism earlier this spring. He was not in a state to return to the archduke conference today.

Somewhere, covered under several layers of doubt and denial, his mind noticed that the vize was indeed a superb product but right now its best feature was that it was the closest bottle in reach that he was sure was poison-free.

Who could have thought that things would spiral so massively out of control?

Sylvester tried to remember his reasoning for inviting his brother to clean up Ehrenfest's temple. A sign of loyalty and trust, for sure. A sign of favor as well that Ehrenfest had the honor of being chosen first even though there had not been any other volunteers at that point. And a chance to drive his uncle into retirement as he was getting increasingly irritating with his petty crimes that were too irrelevant to argue about with his mother but still annoying.

But Bezewanst had tried to steal away a valuable apprentice blue shrine maiden that the Zent himself had claimed as his property. Since her mana was benefiting Ehrenfest directly Sylvester had not minded Ferdinand orchestrating a punishment for her involvement with trombes that basically saw her locked up in the temple. It seemed mutually beneficial and in the end it had only cost him a layknight and a weak medknight and his house who seemed to be prone to insubordination anyway.

Karstedt had even hinted at a large increase in harvest this year judging from the sheer amount of mana that she had poured into the land over spring prayer.

But his own family, his mother and his uncle, had betrayed him with their petty scheme to steal from the frigging Zent and the duchy! Bezewanst had invited a Count from Ahrensbach for this plan, whose men then even damaged an ivory building in their fumbled kidnapping plans, and his own mother went behind his back and took from him what he had sworn to protect.

All his subjects relied on him protecting their medals from being messed with. They lay their lives quite literally into his hands. There was no way that he could forgive anybody who dared to steal such a medal.

Sylvester had already seen enough condemning evidence when he had read Bezewanst's mind yesterday that it felt unnecessary to read that of his mother as well but he had no other choice. He had to bring as much evidence about any other potential crime to light as he could.

As he glared at the vize in his hand he suddenly felt ill. The red color of his drink reminded him of the synchronization potion he had to force her to ingest.

A sudden ordonnanz made him stop in his musings. When he tapped it to release its message he shuddered at hearing Ferdinand's voice. And to make things worse, it seemed actually happy. He asked for Karstedt to participate in a meeting with him at fifth bell. Taking his Knight Commander now as well?

But he was not drunk enough to actually disobey his Zent. Their relationship was complicated enough as it stood right now. He sent his affirmation back via ordonnanz and grumbled into his cup that somehow grew emptier every time he blinked.

Sylvester had been surprised to learn that Ferdinand considered the 'little mana donator' – as he had called her just a day ago – his technically adopted daughter. Why had he not guarded her more heavily in that case? Had he been just overly cold or had he intended to create an opportunity for his mother to act against him? Did his mother fall into a scheme that made her condemn herself?

He cradled his head in his hands and cursed at his cup for being empty. He then cursed even more when he saw that the bottle was empty as well.

The next day Sylvester took his time on his way to the ivory tower. Veronica was in there, wearing schtappe sealing bracelets as was customary, waiting for the continuation of the investigation. Karstedt was at his side but he did not feel like talking to his guard knight. The few words they had exchanged in the morning where he had been informed of the outcome of his meeting with the Zent had already sent his mind into a spiral.

Painting even Karstedt and Elvira as victims from his mother made him taste bile. Having the honor to be the duchy to have raised the First Princess of Yurgenschmidt at least meant that he did not have to expect countrywide repercussions since Ferdinand could have claimed her as a transplant from another duchy in the case that he was about to hold the whole duchy accountable. No, it seemed that this whole thing could end at the execution of his mother. But the foul taste in Sylvester's mouth did not ebb down.

“Sylvester, my dear boy, have you returned to your senses already?”, Veronica inquired with slight desperation as he came close to her cell. He found it hard to speak with her but his harsh archduke persona seemed reliable enough.

“Mother, you may prove your innocence on the charges of illegally removing an identification medal of a noble from the duchy's registry. Considering the gravity of this crime and the evidence gathered so far, you may only do this by having your mind read by me.” His hard eyes focused on the spot between her eyes so that he could try to tune out her face.

“Sylvester, tell me that this is not why you are here!”, she demanded but he did not acknowledge her pleading.

“Will you drink the potion willingly or do I need to order Karstedt to force it down your throat, Mother?”, he inquired while trying to hide the dead tone in his voice in fake sternness. He noticed how her eyes widened at that before they got slightly teary.

“All I did I did for you, Sylvester”, she whispered and Sylvester felt the bile rise again. He handed her the vial with his synchronization potion without another word while staring her down.

To his relief she drank it without another word and did not resist him as he put the circlet of the magic tool on her head. He was glad that he did not have to fight her in this situation.

“Sylvester, see for yourself how that bastard always tried to take your rightful seat as aub from you”, she began and conjured memory after memory for him.

A little Ferdinand, barely baptized, was reading a complex book in one.

A little Ferdinand, maybe a year older, was discussing something about feybeasts with a large group of knights.

A little Ferdinand, still not old enough for the Royal Academy, begged their father for his own chefs, claiming a sensitive stomach.

A not so little Ferdinand received recognition as first in class and was smiling proudly.

A not so little Ferdinand took on Justus as a retainer who had done his best to refuse any prior advances of serving the archducal family.

A not so little Ferdinand now had a fanatic guard knight at his side.

A teenage Ferdinand received again recognition as first in class.

A teenage Ferdinand was courted by both Aub Dunkelfelger and Aub Drewanchel to join their duchies.

A teenage Ferdinand was adopted by Aub Drewanchel and his medal and namestone were given to his new 'father'.

Sylvester could not fathom how his mother thought any of these things were condemning his little brother.

“Why the namestone? Did you make him swear himself to you?”, Sylvester asked in shock but it seemed that that had not been the case.

“Your father was the one who held his name to make sure that he would not act against you, Sylvester”, she explained and Sylvester felt the urge to cradle his head but this was currently impossible for him.

“I see. Mother, you know I am not here for this. You know the charges, show me what you know about Lord Damuel's identification medal and how it ended up in your little brother's hands”, he demanded and he could feel the reluctance in her mind. She still complied however.

The scene was infuriatingly simple.

She just walked into the office where the registry was kept. The knights at the door had been name-sworn to her so a short 'I have never been here, open the door' accompanied by some mana sent into her namestones was all it had taken for her to enter.

The scholar on duty to keep the registers accurate had then looked up at the unexpected visitor but he as well was a name-sworn. She had just ordered him to select Damuel's medal for her and to not tell anybody that it was her who took it. Then another of her name-sworns was tasked with delivering it to the temple.

There had been no finesse. Just absolute power displayed without restraint or second thought. Sylvester was utterly disgusted.

“Did you place your name-sworns strategically for that day?”, he inquired surprised at the fact that all those involved were utmost loyal to his mother.

“While I did make sure to confirm that the guard rotation had not changed from what I had expected I did not arrange for any changes there”, Veronica replied in her mind and Sylvester understood that she did not lie to him.

“So you just have name-sworns everywhere?”, he continued with slight hesitation. How many deaths would her execution really mean?

“There are forty-one who have sworn their name to me, Sylvester. Two thirds of them are in the castle, the rest is part of your giebes”, she informed him with a feeling of pride that Sylvester could not share.

“Are you aware that what you did was treason, Mother?” He knew the answer before he even raised the question but he just wanted to cherish the illusion of a farsighted mother at his side a bit longer.

“You were willing to execute that layknight last autumn already if that bastard had asked for it, but now you want to kill your own mother for doing something effectively harmless?” Her words were pure poison.

“You are right, I had no intention to oppose the frigging Zent for a layknight last autumn. Tell me, Mother, why did you feel the need to help steal a blue from him?” He tried to keep his thoughts clear of his exasperation but he was not sure whether he had succeeded.

“The writing on the wall was clear, Sylvester! You received the same reports, did you not? Her mana capacity was way too large for an apprentice blue shrine maiden. That bastard even took your own head knight from you to guard her during spring prayer. How could you not see that he was installing her as your successor? Claiming some connection to Karstedt and his archduke blood in the long run. She had to disappear sooner rather than later!”

Sylvester's own mind was racing. His mother's paranoia was clear at this point but what shocked him was that she truly believed that she was just protecting him.

“Mother, your crime cannot be overlooked. There is no way for me to cover it up. If I do not execute you, the Zent will do it. And the whole archducal family with you”, he informed her and he noticed how the shock sank into her.

“On what grounds could he do that? If you claim to have known about the medal being taken then he has no leg to stand on”, she began but Sylvester sighed internally.

“That apprentice blue shrine maiden is his adopted daughter that was hidden in the temple. You facilitated a kidnapping attempt on the Zent's adopted daughter.” The flood of emotions that was now rushing in was hard to weather. It seemed that in the end 'vindication' prevailed for her among all the others.

“See?! I told you he installed her there to usurp you!”, she exclaimed in her thoughts.

“It does not matter, Mother. Your execution cannot be changed. And it seems I will lose a large chunk of my castle personnel and my giebes as well. You doomed Ehrenfest.” His disappointment was now evident and he noticed how she reacted with ever so tiny signs of regret.

“Tell me what else you have done, Mother. I need to know where I have to make amends for your crimes to not have a rebellion by the remaining nobles on my hands as soon as you are gone”, he ordered and to his suprise he did not have to force the memories from her mind.

The list was endless. Poisoned children, poisoned adults, bribes and blackmail went hand in hand. Sylvester was shocked to learn that contrary to his assumption not all of the namestones were offered out of free will as well. There were underhanded deals and denied favors. And so much blood.

At one point he just stopped to ask for more information. He felt absolutely overwhelmed.

“Sylvester, you will not be able to weather the storm to come if you execute me”, she warned and Sylvester felt like he had to agree.

“But I do not have a choice, Mother. The only alternative is to give up without even trying.”

“Not losing my name-sworns would increase your odds”, she suggested but Sylvester was exasperated at her audacity.

“Or it could worsen them even more if they end up begrudging me for being your executioner”, he commented dryly.

“You misunderstand me, Sylvester. I am not asking you to let me return their namestones. I am asking you to take them on.”

“You want me to steal their names?!” He was unable to keep his calm at this unexpected suggestion.

“Surely that is a better fate than certain death”, she countered and he could not deny that.

“Where are these namestones currently?”, he inquired and a picture of a box inside her hidden room rose to her and his mind.

“You are aware that I cannot take the risk of removing your schtappe sealing bracelets?” What had she been thinking? And was he really considering it?

“It seems that my death is inevitable. Give my medal to that bastard beforehand if you think I will run, but I will not. We have to give you a fighting chance with a strong supporting faction, Sylvester!” Disgusted as he was by his own mother he could not deny that she was honest here.

“I need a full list of names of your name-sworns so that I can bring only knights that are not under your control”, he demanded and Veronica obliged.

She showed him every single pledge of loyalty that she had received. Half of his retainers and Wilfried's head attendant were among them. Even two of Florencia's retainers. But none of Esmeralda's. At least that came as a slight relief.

Sylvester had almost expected to be betrayed another time by his mother when he removed her schtappe sealing bracelets for the purpose of her unlocking her hidden room. But to his great relief she did not try anything. As soon as the room was opened she accepted them back on her wrists without a fight and instructed him on his path to find that box. It was almost small in comparison to how many lives he held in his hands.

That night, when he extracted his mother's mana out of the first namestone and dyed it with his own mana he sent out a simple command. 'Keep it secret from everybody that your namestone has been taken. Continue life as usual until further notice. Do not try to contact me beforehand. Do neither speculate nor investigate what happened to your former lady.'

And then he repeated that with the next one. And the next one. It seemed never-ending.

But even by taking the maximum dose of rejuvenation potions he could reasonably dye only five stones per night. Consequently, it took him more than a week to dye all forty-one namestones that his mother had kept inside her hidden room. The weight of all their lives already was quite heavy on his shoulders. In a way he was glad that the rooms inside the dormitory were gender separated. He could not yet face his first wife on this topic.

While Esmeralda had noticed that something had happened in Ehrenfest that occupied his mind even after he had returned to the still ongoing archduke conference she had not pried for details. Sylvester was glad to be granted at least a short time to arrive at his own conclusions before he had to tell her what had happened and was about to happen.

Should he be glad to have been given a whole faction on the silver tablet which could also never turn against him? Or should he give in to the despair of knowing how much he had perverted the old tradition that had never been meant to be used for such cases and the outlook of having to execute his own mother who despite her flaws still loved him?

Late spring at the beginning of his 6th year of zenthood. Day 8 of the archduke conference. Age 21. Myne age 7.

Gunther gasped for air in the middle of the night as if he had finally remembered how to breathe properly. The floor on which he was lying was overly cold and the blanket that seemed to cover him did not do much to keep him warm.

He stood up to shake his arms and legs and recover some body heat from moving. The chamber he was in was illuminated only slightly from the moonlight falling in through some small windows on top. But there was also not much to illuminate as it basically consisted only out of four short walls and one door without any furniture.

Gunther was not overly surprised when the door did not open when he tried to push or pull it.

But he knew that this was not the city jail. That was a far dirtier place than his current one. Why was he locked up? Should he make some noise or keep quiet?

The one thing he had noticed however was that he was healed. His clothes were still in tatters but none of the cuts and burns that he had suffered were showing anymore.

Did the fact that he was alive – and healed – mean that Myne was also alive?

He knew that the city jail lived by the ironclad rule to never annoy the wardens. He had taught that to the people he had to arrest in the past and if it was in any way a universal rule then he now had to be patient and not wake up somebody unnecessarily.

Surely they would visit him anytime soon. There was neither water nor food in here right now. They had to visit in hours or days at the latest or there had been no meaning to healing him in the first place.

Wrapped into the blanket he huddled himself into the corner opposite to the door and tried to keep watch. He was used to staring at walls at the gate so that was not too overwhelmingly boring now.

First bell rang and Gunther was surprised that the door to his small, empty chamber was opened only shortly after that. It was still dark but the white cape of his visitor reflected the spare moonlight quite effectively already. A cape meant a noble. He remembered that the white ones seemed to belong to the Archbishop.

Gunther slowly removed his blanket and knelt.

“Ah, so you received healing as well”, a slightly chuckling voice addressed him and Gunther tried to place it. The one who had tested Myne last year?

“Rise”, he said and closed the door behind him. Gunther did as instructed but kept his quiet. Questioning a noble was not an option.

“So, what do you think about this repentance chamber, Gunther?”, he inquired with an amused undertone but Gunther was not sure why that was funny.

“I guess it fulfills its function”, he replied and tried to look into the face of the noble that was still hidden in the shadows.

“Oh? It does? Well, let me check”, he said and then went once across the whole chamber while placing strange stones on the floor before he placed a fifth one in the middle of the room and touched it. The chamber was now illuminated in dim blue light and Gunther could confirm the identity of the man in front of him.

“Tell me everything from why you left your apartment with your daughter up to the point where you lost consciousness”, Lord Justus demanded and Gunther obliged. He tried to include as many identifying details about the aggressors as he could in order to make sure that they could be caught. The last thing he did remember and report was being crushed to the wall by a large ball of light.

“Your experience as a soldier shows itself in the accuracy of your reports, Gunther”, Lord Justus acknowledged and Gunther was relieved to not be reprimanded.

“Lord Justus, may I ask whether my daughter is safe?”, he finally gathered his courage and asked the one thing he needed to know.

“Ah, a complicated question, Gunther, but we may as well talk about why I am here with you. And why you are still here.” The blue light made his smile look ghostly and Gunther felt the sudden urge to not continue this discussion. Not that he had a choice here.

“Do you know what happens to a commoner that attacks a noble?”, he asked out of the blue and Gunther was not sure whether he was being mocked. Everybody knew that.

“Execution, Lord Justus. For the offender, their immediate family and, if known, close associates.”

“Correct”, he acknowledged with a wicked expression that turned into an even nastier grin.

“And do you know what happens to a noble that attacks a noble?”, he then inquired but Gunther was not exactly sure.

“I assume it depends on their respective statuses, the circumstances and maybe the verdict of the archduke?”, Gunther guessed and judging from Lord Justus' reaction he might not have been very far from the truth.

“You are not too far off. I am almost impressed by your insight. Would you be surprised if somebody who had attacked a noble beyond any doubt might prefer to be considered a noble instead of a commoner?”, Lord Justus asked almost innocently and Gunther shook his head.

“No, Lord Justus”, he admitted and Lord Justus nodded in agreement.

“Indeed, it allows one to save at least those one holds dear to one's own heart, does it not?”, he continued but Gunther was still not sure how all that related to his question whether Myne was safe. Lord Justus seemed to pick up on his confusion and chuckled.

“To answer your initial question, Gunther: Your daughter died yesterday. The apprentice blue shrine maiden however that is currently living in the temple and who was thought to be an orphan is safe and seems to be of noble birth much to everybody's surprise, which may come as some relief to you.” Gunther just stared at Lord Justus with his eyes almost as open as his mouth.

Had Myne attacked a noble to defend herself which only doomed all of them in consequence? And had she now sacrificed herself to live as a noble so that her family could survive?

Tears rose in his eyes as the realization set in. His nose began to run and while he could suppress the convulsions he could not stop the tears.

Myne! MYNE! What have you done?! Why could he not protect her when it counted?! Why did she have to endure this and now shoulder a life as slave just to protect them instead?!

He did not know how long he stood like this but at some point it seemed that Lord Justus became bored.

“Gunther, I imagine you are aware of the practice of keeping loose ends tied up properly”, he began and Gunther stared at him in terror. Was he just kept alive to be executed after suffering these news despite Myne's sacrifice?

“I need you, your wife and your daughter to sign a magic contract that simply acknowledges the death of your youngest daughter and your understanding that you should not interact with the young noble lady who currently resides in the temple however familiar she might appear.”

Gunther stared at him. Could he give up on being with his daughter ever again? But could he throw away her sacrifice that she only had to make because he could not protect her in her moment of need?

“How might that young lady's life be like?”, he dared to wonder aloud and he was met with an amused grin.

“Plenty of status, attendants and guards as well as highly skilled teachers, I imagine. And I am sure there will be also a book or two in her future”, he added with a conspiratorial wink and Gunther grimaced.

So it might be better than they had feared? Was there even an alternative that did not just lead to them dying?

“And if we do not sign?”, he asked hesitantly and Lord Justus raised an eyebrow.

“Individual accommodations such as this chamber will be provided in such a case for you, your wife and your daughter”, he answered and Gunther was taken aback.

Imprisonment? So Myne had really struck a deal with them to keep him, her mother and sister alive? Had she signed a magic contract for that already? Then it would be futile to try to save her from it. And resisting to sign a contract as well was just spitting in her face.

More tears were streaming down his face.

Myne.... Why were you shouldering everything on your own?

“Understood. We will sign that contract.”

Chapter Text

Beginning of summer of his 6th year of zenthood. Four weeks before her baptism. Age 21. Rozemyne Age 7.

Rozemyne had been confused at first when Ferdinand had told her that despite him being her new adoptive father she was to move into Karstedt's house first until her baptism into nobility.

It seemed that it was a better look if Rozemyne was an archnoble before being adopted and so Karstedt and his wife were posing as her birth family who had hidden her in the temple for fear of assassination.

But how could a story like this convince anybody? Was that something that happened regularly in noble society? That children were threatened and had to be hidden?

Rozemyne felt sick at the thought so she quickly shelved it.

Not thinking about things she did not want to think about came easier to her than she had expected since her life now was utterly busy.

And that was not solely due to her desperate preparation on anything physics related that she could remember. Or the math that she noticed she needed to explain in order to properly explain the physics. She was provided with copious amounts of wooden boards and ink for that task, which she was glad for, but the ever increasing pile on her desk began to frighten her with each day.

The main time sink in her daily schedule however was instead the noble education that was now hammered into her head.

Her new mother, Elvira, was drilling her on noble manners, behavior patterns and speech without so much as allowing for a break any time of the day. Every meal, every tea time, even excusing herself to go to the bathroom with the creepy slime, everything was turned into a lecture.

Currently they were discussing the implications of their status based society and the telltale signs of the different strata.

“In your case, Rozemyne, once your adoption by the Zent becomes official, your status will exceed basically anybody but the Zent himself. You will find yourself in a position of great authority but also of even greater expectations placed on you. And you must understand that every wish you announce will be understood as an order. You must therefore learn how to dance with Grammaratur as soon as possible.”

Her words were to hold so much weight? Surely that could not be the case. She was just a mana and knowledge providing commoner girl. The fact that she was writing all that knowledge down and pulverizing more feystones than ever since she did not have access to the divine instruments was telling enough of that. Ferdinand would not allow her to become anything more than that in reality even if they were acting out some strange roleplay that made her his daughter on paper. Or magical parchment.

But she did not want to disappoint Elvira. She as well was caught in this strange web of lies and half-truths and Rozemyne doubted that Elvira had been overly eager to accept this role. Somehow, they were in this together.

“Understood, Mother”, she said even though she did not understand.

“Rozemyne, your emotions are showing again. Focus on your eyebrows, let them sink down a bit and remove the tension between them slightly. You do not want to look worried but you still want to look attentive”, Elvira instructed and Rozemyne sighed before she tried again.

“I apologize, Mother”, she stated but she knew that the reason her emotions were showing on her face was clearly due to the simple fact that they were becoming harder to subdue with every passing day.

Elvira was scrutinizing her face harshly when she finally sighed.

“This just will not do, Rozemyne. But the error may not be your responsibility. You are currently lacking a safe outlet for your emotions, correct? Let us register you at the hidden room in your chambers”, she declared and Rozemyne looked at her quizzically.

“A hidden room?” Was this like a ninja base?

“A room that only you can enter. You may use it to let your emotions out in a place that is safe from observation. Even though, I apologize, but I will need to register myself to it as well. I cannot run the risk of nobody being able to get you out of it again”, she stated matter-of-factly and Rozemyne gulped. Limited hiding was still better than no hiding at all. But Elvira openly mentioning her distrust in her was bad. She had to work harder.

Her new hidden room was indeed quickly becoming her favorite place even though she was barely allowed inside for longer than half a bell. But at least there she could process her feelings for her family that she could never see again if she wanted them to live.

“O Jugereise, of the Goddess of Wind Schutzaria's exalted twelve, please hear my cry and soothe my mind. Guide those who were burdened with the brunt of the separation of our threads to calmness and acceptance. Alleviate the pain they must feel at knowing that Dregarnuhr may never weave our threads together and smooth the creases and ripples that may have arisen in Ventuchte's loom. Let them be hopeful of the future again and make them forget I ever existed.”

By the end of her prayer tears were streaming down her cheeks and the lump in her throat was making it hard to breathe.

Rozemyne was really glad for being allowed refuge in her hidden room. The thought that anybody could see her like this, that anybody could hear her words was unbearable. But the stream of yellow light that had emerged from her ring during all of her prayer was tantamount to the fact that she could not just keep it a secret.

Ferdinand had made it clear to her that he was only okay with her spending her mana on prayers if she reported her words, her mana expenditure and the observable outcome.

She also knew it was written on her face that she had cried but there was no way to avoid these signs. Her attendant provided her with a handkerchief as soon as she left her hidden room and praised her for remembering to not use her sleeves for drying her tears.

The stupid things they were praising her for....

She then sat down on her desk and began to write down her prayer while it was still fresh. The lump in her throat thickened again but she managed to write her report without any further tears.

The paper she was using was from the gifts Benno had brought as he thought he was to meet with the High Bishop. He had insisted on gifting them to Ferdinand instead since he did not have the opportunity to do so during their first meeting and Ferdinand had acknowledged that in the end.

Benno had looked so frightened at that time. He must hate her for dragging him down with her and into the clutches of nobles.

While she was lost in thought the ink dried enough so that she could fold the report in half. She then looked over to Eckhart who stood expressionless at the door to her room.

He was currently her head knight. Ferdinand had assigned him to her since he was also Elvira's oldest son and thereby now technically her oldest brother. That connection made it easy enough to station him at her side, but Rozemyne would have preferred Heisshitze instead.

Damuel currently received special training from her 'grandfather' as she had been told. By now she only saw him when he joined her lessons with Elvira concerning what to expect about socializing after her adoption became official since he as well was lacking in that part of education as a simple layknight. But it seemed that he would change his center of life to the Sovereignty as soon as she was officially adopted by Ferdinand. But if he was concerned about that then he had not shown it so far.

“Eckhart, can you send this report to the Zent for me?”, she inquired hesitantly as she handed him the folded sheet of paper.

“It is not urgent, he just wanted reports from me for his research. Please don't read it yourself”, she pleaded and was met with a disapproving glare which made her shudder even though she was getting better at not showing it so openly.

“Who do you think I am that I would pry the Zent's correspondence”, he chastised her as he took the letter into his hands and placed it in a small bag at his belt.

“I will send your message without delay since you lack the attendants with the proper standing to do that for you, Rozemyne”, he confirmed while simultaneously insinuating that it was not typically a task a guard knight was expected to do.

“I thank you ever so much, brother”, she answered with an uneasy smile which earned her another glare, albeit without the disapproval in it now.

“Mother, how would I go about ordering something from a merchant? I am running out of rinsham soon and I do not wish for my hair to become damaged and my scalp itching again.”

Rozemyne had contemplated the issue for a few days already before she was finally desperate enough to ask Elvira for help.

“Rinsham? My, is that the secret behind the gloss of your hair?”, she answered while elegantly sipping her tea.

“It is not really a secret since it can be bought readily at the Gilberta company for a while now, but indeed, this particular hair cleaning liquid after a recipe I developed and sold to a merchant during my time at the temple is the reason why my hair looks like it does.” Rozemyne looked at Elvira curiously.

“Mother, are you perhaps interested in the product as well? You could have just asked me”, she suggested and Elvira subtly shook her head.

“Very well, let us use this opportunity to teach you further about the unspoken rules in noble interactions”, she began and Rozemyne raised her tea cup to hide behind it. Asking about her hair was a bigger thing?

“If you were just my daughter that we retrieved from the temple, I could indeed just ask such a question. And I naturally would since, yes, I am indeed interested in this product's effects. But you are the Zent's adopted daughter, Rozemyne, or will be soon in the eyes of the public. While I could use my current position to pry for copious amounts of information this does not align with the blessings Seheweit has bestowed on me. The Zent has an interest in your blessings from Mestionora and trying to have you reveal them to me before him is merely asking for Chaocipher to descend.”

Rozemyne took a short moment to digest what Elvira had said and how the Gods she mentioned were relevant to that but she thought she understood. Elvira could not risk to anger Ferdinand by profiting from her knowledge so she withheld any questions that could lead to such an affront.

“I see. I was not aware that you could be in such an unforgiving situation, Mother. I apologize for lacking Anhaltung's divine guidance”, she acknowledged but Elvira showed small signs of disapproval.

“Seheweit, my dear. By mentioning Anhaltung you are implying it is my fault for not telling you about it earlier, while it seems you meant that you did not have the foresight or insight to see the issue from my perspective”, she corrected and Rozemyne nodded hastily.

“Thank you for becoming Anhaltung once again for me, Mother”, she hastily confirmed and this time Elvira nodded.

“Referring to the Goddess of Guidance is indeed correct in this case, Rozemyne”, she noted and Rozemyne sighed. It felt truly like a dance with Grammaratur. But why did the music have to change every twenty seconds?

“Coming back to your earlier question, the usual way to order something from a merchant is to summon the merchant into your house. And I tend to agree that we should do that in order to acquire this rinsham that you spoke of. However, you already entertained business relationships with this Gilberta company during your time in the temple, correct?”

Rozemyne understood the implicit question immediately.

“The Zent approved of me continuing these business relationships, Mother. They will also be pivotal in spreading the printing and paper making industries so future interactions are not too far on the horizon anyway”, she explained and Elvira thoughtfully sipped her tea.

“Then I will invite them.” But Rozemyne noticed how she looked over to Eckhart. But if he reacted in any way then it was without any words that Rozemyne could hear.

Rozemyne's small hope that Benno would be accompanied by Lutz since he was now officially his son remained unfulfilled. Mark stood behind Benno in his role as attendant and nobody else had joined them.

But Rozemyne found that Benno looked way better than during their last meeting. He still seemed nervous but at least he did not seem like he was about to die any second now.

As he presented them with several variants of rinsham she took her time to smell each version. Her self-made rinsham always had just some seasonal herbs from the forest, but she really liked what he had done with the apfelsige peels that she had recommended to him. Elvira seemed to prefer it as well. So her tastes were not completely off. That was somewhat relieving.

“Might I also interest you in some accessories that our store has developed at the hands of expertly trained craftswomen? We offer hairpins such as these and naturally take custom orders to provide you with any combination of thread, color and flower that will underline the inherent beauty of a lady most naturally.”

Benno had laid out several hairpins on a fine cloth and one took Rozemyne's particular interest.

It was a new design, one that she had discussed with Tuuli and her mother at the beginning of spring which meant that it had to be made by them.

She tentatively tried to reach out to it but a sharp glare from Elvira made her stop. Had she been too obvious? How much did Elvira know about her birth family?

“They are beautiful”, Rozemyne whispered but Elvira subtly shook her head. Why? It would be just an invisible token of her family still being in her life... why could she not be allowed such a hairpin?

“Rozemyne, these will not do in your position”, Elvira merely commented and delicately brushed a strand of hair behind Rozemyne's ear. She felt surprised at the first touch in over two weeks. And even more surprised as she noticed that Elvira must have held a feystone in her hand as she felt her mana being pulled out. What was going on? Was her mana rampaging right now?

She faced her attention inward and noticed the leak in her box. Shit.

With as much self-control as she could she pushed the mana back inside, calming herself and breathing steadily to overcome her inrush of emotions. As she opened her eyes again she saw how Benno seemed scared now. Of her? Please don't.

Benno hurriedly put the hairpins away as Elvira had made it clear that she was not interested in buying those and he then went over to the paper products he offered.

In the end Elvira agreed to buy more normal paper for Rozemyne to write her reports on and some of the paper that had flower inserts for more unique letters of invitations.

When Benno was gone Elvira informed her that her eyes had turned rainbow-colored at the reveal of the hairpins and that she could not allow her to have such an obvious weakness. Rozemyne just nodded sadly in understanding. That day, another prayer to Jugereise was sent and another report on it was written and forwarded by Eckhart.

If Ferdinand disapproved of her prayers for those strangers then he did not show it by ordering her to stop. In fact he did not contact her at all.

The next time he saw him was therefore at her baptism.

And nobody had bothered to tell her that he was the one who officiated it as the Archbishop.

Karstedt and Elvira were guiding her through a large hall full of nobles straight to a small altar. Next to it, clad in his beautiful Archbishop robes, stood Ferdinand. His smile was calm and friendly but it still made her tremble with fear internally.

She had known that she was to see him today, but not that he was the one who baptized her as well. She had expected Egmont to be the officiating priest today since she had been told that the High Bishop was already executed for his crimes.

But there he was.

The audience seemed surprised by that as well. It was not everyday that one would be in the presence of the Zent. Hushed words of speculation reached her ears on why he might be here and performing something as mundane as a baptism for an archnoble girl. They wondered whether it was due to his personal ties to Ehrenfest and Karstedt but why had he not performed the baptism of the archduke's own son in spring then as well? Surely a half-brother was closer than a cousin?

Rozemyne forced herself to not listen to those words anymore and focus on her own task today. Elvira had drilled every single step she was to take today into her mind and she just followed that guidance now.

To her surprise and relief this baptism did not require any blood from her. Instead she had to touch some kind of magic tool.

“All seven have granted you their divine protection, Rozemyne”, he congratulated her loudly and a murmur spread through the room along with applause. Was that something out of the ordinary? Should she be concerned?

Karstedt then stepped up next to her and gave her the ring that they only removed for today to begin with.

“I gift this ring to Rozemyne, now recognized as my child by society and the gods”, he declared and another round of applause started.

“Rozemyne, may you have Leidenschaft the God of Fire’s blessings”, Ferdinand then spoke and blue light rained down on her emerging from his own ring. Being blessed by him was somehow scary.

And then she spoke the words she had been told to say.

“I am honored, Archbishop. May all those in attendance and the Archbishop be blessed by Leidenschaft the God of Fire for celebrating my baptism with me today”, she declared and put as much mana as she dared into the ring.

The hall erupted with blue light that rained down on everybody in attendance. And then the hall erupted into loud confusion. Bwuh? Had she messed up?

She cautiously looked over to Ferdinand who was still smiling serenely. Since he was not glaring at her she allowed herself to hope.

“You truly are a child blessed by the Gods, Rozemyne”, he commented and the hall quieted down in an instant.

Ferdinand then began some kind of speech, calling her blessed by this God or that Goddess, referencing her deeds in the temple's orphanage, her compassion and mercy that drew his attention and the sheer amount of her mana that should be used for the whole country. Rozemyne nearly lost the control over her face as he called her 'the Saint of Ehrenfest' as well. She was no Saint! Just a commoner who protected her family from the stupid laws of this world!

He finally declared that he was now going to adopt her and it seemed the whole hall had frozen over. So really nobody could see him in that role? That did not give her much hope.

They signed the adoption contract officially, only to then have him announce her as staying in Ehrenfest for the time being and taking care of his temple reforms as the new High Bishop. Another thing nobody seemed to have bothered to inform her about beforehand. She suddenly was really grateful for all the prayers that Fran had made her study all the time.

“Aub Ehrenfest, no, Sylvester, I appreciate your generous offer to stand in as guardian while Rozemyne resides in Ehrenfest which I will gladly accept”, Ferdinand continued and then turned his attention to a man with long purple hair and a stern and harsh expression.

The archduke was her guardian now?!

“I will not disappoint the trust you place in me and Ehrenfest, my Zent”, Aub Ehrenfest answered and knelt in front of Ferdinand. He then took his hand and led it to his forehead which caused another stir.

Seriously, how scandalous was this whole event today?

Ferdinand then clasped a white cape similar to the one that he was wearing around her shoulders. She now understood that this was what Elvira had been embroidering during several instances as she was supervising her studies with her additional teachers.

To think that she would wear a piece of clothing that an archnoble lady had embroidered for her.

Rozemyne almost felt bad for having her cost so much of her time and effort. But for all that Rozemyne could tell Elvira seemed happy today.

Beginning of summer of his 6th year of zenthood. Three days after the starbind ceremony. Age 21. Rozemyne Age 7.

For once Rozemyne was glad to know Eckhart by her side. While he scared her with his usually harsh glares that made her wonder whether he was disapproving of her and informing Ferdinand of any possible misstep, she was now firmly aware that he was glaring all the Ehrenfest nobles away.

Rozemyne did not understand why they thought that today was a most fortunate opportunity to socialize with her. Damuel did his best to stand his ground but by now she had understood quite profoundly that archnobles only really acknowledged other archnobles as their superiors independent of the fact that Damuel now wore a white cape.

There were more guard knights around her, but they had not introduced themselves yet. A sea of white capes began to surround her more closely as she walked slowly through the training grounds of the Knight's Order so that she could arrive at her designated spot next to Ferdinand for this most official matter. With that at least she was finally able to tune out the large number of onlookers.

Rozemyne had expected that they were given front row seats to the no doubt cursed spectacle that was going to take place on the stage where Aub Ehrenfest and his wives already waited but she was guided on stage instead as well. The Aub stood next to an opaque cube that was easily three meters in every dimension and seemed to consist of some kind of magic barrier. Her stomach churned. Just how close did she have to watch this?

She closed her eyes shortly and calmed her breath as she ascended the few stairs leading up to the stage. They had been made clearly with adults in mind and thus her speed slowed down even further as she climbed them in what she hoped was a regal way.

As she finally reached the top she involuntarily froze as she noticed that somebody had climbed the stairs immediately after her and was now standing next to her. Rozemyne gulped before she looked up to the only man that the guard knights would allow through in this situation. Zent Ferdinand was standing not even a full step away from her and his smile was eery.

He was discreetly gesturing with his eyes to his hands which were conveniently more on Rozemyne's eye level. He held a small sound blocking tool in there. Eckhart seemed to have noticed that as well and positioned himself between them and the audience so that she could take it from him in an inconspicuous way.

“Rozemyne, tell me what you understood you must do today”, he commanded in a cold tone and Rozemyne shuddered at the thought of what he might do if she failed here.

“I will observe the full scene. I will not look away nor close my eyes. I will not show any reaction to the scene. I will keep my polite 'princess smile' on my face”, she repeated the instructions that Elvira had hammered into her memory over the last two days that she had spent in bed while she was recovering from her fever that the exhaustion of holding two starbinding ceremonies in one day had brought her.

“Good. Keep the sound blocker in your hand as a backup. Only I will hear you then if you mess up. But I strongly advise that you do not mess up”, Ferdinand commented and Rozemyne involuntarily widened her eyes before she recovered her 'princess smile'.

“Understood, Ferdinand. I will not disappoint you”, she confirmed. Failure was just not an option today.

“There is no need to be so tense, Rozemyne. Today is a beautiful day and this day's events will come as great relief to many. Remember that you yourself are a victim of her plots as well. If not for her scheming you would be still in the temple, idly developing your printing press or what have you, while biding your time till your adoption by Karstedt in a year or two. And she threatened Damuel's life as well. Observing the demise of your enemies is a joyous occasion.”

The bile that was already rising in her throat at the mere thought that she was to witness an execution made her doubt that she could really share his point of view here.

“I am just not good with seeing blood”, she remarked and she swore she could hear him chuckle now.

“Oh, there won't be any.”

The thought that instead of a beheading she was about to witness a poisoning did not really help to calm her down. By now she just wanted him to stop talking.

It seemed that Aub Ehrenfest himself was the one who saved her from further awful anticipation as he began to address everyone in attendance with the help of a voice amplification tool.

“Nobles of Ehrenfest, on this day under Leidenschaft's most vibrant summer rays I have asked you to assemble on these grounds to witness and confirm the righteous execution of a traitor to Ehrenfest. The betrayal runs deep, as the one who stole that which you all so faithfully entrusted me with, the very identification medal of a noble which was stored in the secured registers of Ehrenfest castle and which should only be accessed with my clear approval and proven need, was no other than my own mother.”

Rozemyne followed his words with bated breath. Up close she thought she could see thin cracks in his mask of the harsh and righteous archduke who was going to pass judgment on the one who betrayed him. But she could not say for certain.

As Aub Ehrenfest moved to one of the corners of the opaque cube he chanted a word and the barrier became almost transparent. Rozemyne recognized it now as a mere sound blocking tool that revealed a woman, close to or even beyond the age of retirement, standing against a vertical pole with her hands tied to her back and around the pole. It was the first time that she saw this 'Veronica' that everybody she had talked to seemed to hate with a passion. The audience had grown noticeably loud in the mean time. Many seemed surprised by that development. But the general atmosphere seemed disgustingly approving and almost overjoyed to Rozemyne.

“As those who commit treason deserve neither a burial nor a gravestone and may not be allowed to climb the towering stairway to rest at the side of the Supreme Couple, it falls to the God of Darkness to reclaim the mana that was granted in this life and misused by the traitor.”

At that Aub Ehrenfest's wives moved away from him and close to the edge of the large stage, where Rozemyne and Ferdinand were standing.

Did they want to keep a bit of distance to not see the execution at just two steps' distance? Was that acceptable even though she herself was not allowed to merely twitch when the inevitable was going to happen now?

She kept her eyes on Aub Ehrenfest who had produced his schtappe and seemed to draw a magic circle into the air. Was this some kind of ceremony? Or was there really a 'death' spell?

Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed the different reactions across the audience. Some seemed overly anticipating and eager to witness the next step while others seemed to align more with her own feelings of just getting it over with.

Aub Ehrenfest now seemed to chant something but she could not make out the words. He must have deactivated the voice amplifying tool and had a hand before his mouth to further muffle any noises. Was that some secret spell then?

She continued watching as dark mist began to rise in front of Aub Ehrenfest. He then stretched out his arm and let a single piece of metal fall into it. As she strained her eyes she noticed the distinct shape of an identification medal. Exactly like the ones that had been used for her own baptisms and that she had stamped with the bloods of so many kids already.

It seemed like the medal corroded from the outside as it made contact with the dark mist.

Movement from inside the sound blocked cube made her turn her attention to Veronica. She seemed to scream even though no such noise made it outside. Rozemyne fought hard to not imagine what she might be feeling now for a truly noble lady to show such a distorted face.

She was not allowed to look away, but she was not required to look at her face.

She regretted her choice to look at Veronica's feet as soon as she noticed how gray they had turned. And how that grayness seemed to wander up. First it was only up to her ankles, then up to her calves, then to the middle of her thighs.

Petrification?!

Rozemyne tried to flood her mind with different images just so that she could continue breathing and not start vomiting but the requirement to continue watching made that a futile approach.

She stared on as now also the waist had turned gray and the struggling of the woman became calmer but not any less painful as it seemed. Rozemyne could have sworn that this Veronica was now shouting something with fervor but she still could not make out anything.

In an attempt to allow her attention to rest on something less disrupting she tried to focus back on Aub Ehrenfest who was staring at his own mother's death with unmoving eyes. Her medal seemed almost gone as if it had rusted into nothing due to the dark mist.

There was nothing to observe anymore so she knew she had to focus back on Veronica who was now almost completely gray and turned to stone.

Tears and bile both rose in Rozemyne but she could allow neither to show. She swallowed the vile tasting fluids back and kept her eyes open longer in an attempt to ward of the tears.

And then – in just one instant – the stone statue turned to dust and was blown away by a gust of wind.

She was just gone.

As if she had never existed.

The disconnect between her expectations and reality was so hard and otherworldly that she could not understand the next words from Aub Ehrenfest. There was sound but her mind did not compute it back into words.

She still clenched the sound blocking tool in her hands as she was guided back from the stage. She had no idea whether her 'princess face' had stayed with her but she had no way to check. The awareness over her own facial expression was gone. All her mind could circle around was that struggling, screaming face that just turned to stone and then dust.

Subconsciously, she registered that Ferdinand was talking to her but if he was angry at her or praising her for achieving her tasks was beyond her current cognitive capability to detect.

At one point he stopped talking to her and instead had her stand at his side.

It seemed that Ferdinand expected her to stay for socializing after the main event but she could neither understand any questions nor provide any answers. She just stood next to him and stared at whoever Ferdinand was talking to. She really hoped that none of the questions were directed at her and made it obvious that she did not follow.

Ferdinand seemed disgustingly happy.

Had he even showed such emotions before? Why was he so happy over somebody dying?

Rozemyne's only relief so far was that Ferdinand did not seem disappointed in her right now. So hopefully her smile was on point.

At some point she registered that the one guiding her around all these interactions was Ferdinand. Every time he wanted her to move in a certain direction he would touch her shoulder shortly and she instinctively followed where he turned her to.

That was somehow really grounding. It had been so long since anybody had touched her in such a familiar way.

The fact that it was Ferdinand's touch did not even faze her right now even though she was sure that the panic at that would set in soon enough.

It was when Elvira came into view as their next conversational partner that Rozemyne's recognition of spoken words returned at least partially.

“... Rozemyne... really tired... should rest... home”, were the words out of Elvira's mouth that made it past the barrier that Rozemyne had seemingly woven around her own mind.

She raised the arm closest to Ferdinand and tucked slightly at his long sleeve. She still needed to return the sound blocker.

He turned around to face her with an amused expression on his face and even though she could not really hear him she understood that he had addressed her.

She forced a smile on her face that was bound to look exhausted.

But he did not make any attempt to reclaim his sound blocking tool. Instead he talked some more with Elvira who then led her away from the gathering.

Rozemyne did not remember any details on how she then returned back to their estate but she was glad as Elvira took her by hand and brought her into her chambers. But Rozemyne did not let go of that hand. In contrast to her own ice cold one this hand was warm and alive.

Elvira asked her something but Rozemyne only stared at her as she once again could not make out any of her words. She noticed how Elvira then led her to her hidden room and opened it for her. They went in together.

Elvira then guided her to an armchair and lifted her on her lap as soon as she sat down. The sudden movement reminded her of the existence of her stomach and its fluids inside but that feeling subsided as soon as she registered Elvira's firm embrace.

Rozemyne lost basically all tension in her body as she melted into this woman's arms whom she had known for merely a few weeks but she did not question her luck.

That there was still somebody in this messed up noble society who was willing to hug her came as such a huge surprise that she just lost it.

Tears streamed down her face as the sobbing began to emerge. Cautiously at first, but violently just moments after. But Elvira just held her and the soothing noises she made finally registered as well.

“There, there, Rozemyne, that must have been overwhelming”, Elvira said when her sobbing finally calmed down a bit.

“...gone... just gone...”, Rozemyne mumbled and was answered by a reassuring squeeze of her embrace.

“The God of Darkness spell is really something else. It is the harshest means of execution reserved solely for those who commit treason”, Elvira explained in a calm tone and Rozemyne shuddered as the images of Veronica turning to dust flashed before her eyes.

“Are you not scared?”, Rozemyne whispered hesitantly and burrowed her head into Elvira's soft chest which made her giggle softly.

“I am not. I am not so foolish as to commit treason. People rarely are”, she explained and cuddled her a bit more. Rozemyne shivered at the thought what a man who did not stray away from executing even his mother would do.

“What is stopping the Aub from just claiming that somebody committed treason?”, she asked the question that was flaring through her mind. Veronica had not been allowed to be heard on stage. What if she had pleaded her innocence?

“He, too, is bound by the laws, Rozemyne. If he acts against them then the Zent will remove him. There have been cases of this in the past. Ehrenfest is a rather young duchy with the current Aub Ehrenfest being the seventh generation. The Aub before that had been removed and the duchy's borders had been redrawn”, Elvira stated but that did not calm Rozemyne down in the slightest. Ferdinand was the control instance of the Aub?

“Is that why he attended?”, she asked and tried to squeeze Elvira around her waist in search of reassurance.

“That was definitely a part of his reasons, I imagine. Executing a part of an archducal family is indeed a deeply political affair that justifies observation through the Zent”, she began but Rozemyne noticed how Elvira was building up to more.

“Veronica committed a lot of crimes, Rozemyne. She was very skilled in her scheming and managed to avoid judgment for many many years. It was worse when she was still first wife of the former Aub Ehrenfest but it did not get much better when her son took over. The surprising fact today for many was not that Veronica was accused of treason but that she was caught.” Rozemyne shivered. How corrupted was this whole society?

“There are very convincing rumors going around that several of her crimes were also targeting your adoptive father before his adoption into another duchy. So I imagine he was in attendance today also partly because he wanted to see her gone with his very own eyes.”

Elvira's explanation floored Rozemyne. It was hard to imagine Ferdinand as the victim who was seeking his own retribution.

“... If the Zent is keeping the Aubs in check, who is keeping the Zent in check?”, she dared to ask and Elvira gasped before she tightened her embrace.

“Cautious, Rozemyne, questions like these could be misconstrued as questioning the Zent's rule”, she advised with a strained voice. Rozemyne froze.

“I will answer your question since you did not grow up in noble society and need to know but do not ask something like this outside of a hidden room”, she continued and Rozemyne held her breath.

“The Zent rules by a divine mandate. His reign is sanctioned by the Gods.”

“What?” Was that why he was also the Archbishop?

“The wisdom to rule the country is bestowed onto the Zent as the Book of Mestionora. Wisdom provided by the Goddess herself. Only a Zent who is bestowed this wisdom is able to rule at all.”

“A book?”, she asked for confirmation.

“Indeed. He showed it to the whole country upon his graduation and proved its authenticity. He is the first Zent in many generations who could prove his divine mandate.”

Rozemyne removed her head from Elvira's chest and looked into her face for the first time since they had entered the hidden room.

If his word was considered absolute it made so much sense that he did not even entertain the notion that something he demanded was not met.

“Did I mess up today? Or could I keep my face in place?”, she asked timidly and Elvira seemed surprised at that.

“You were perfect. You evoked the image of the compassionate saint who could not excuse a crime against those who deserved your compassion more. By neither rejoicing from nor condemning the scene in front of you you showed everybody your strength.”

Strength, huh?

“And the socializing?”, she inquired with slight feelings of dread.

“As far as I could tell, you were an obedient daughter who stood by her father's side without raising to any bait directed at you.” Elvira's judgment surprised her even further. And it seemed like her surprise surprised Elvira in turn.

“Was that not what you intended to do?”, she inquired with a slightly raised eyebrow and Rozemyne shook her head.

“I did not intend anything. My mind was still occupied with that....” Rozemyne immediately regretted her words as they made her remember Veronica's violently painful face as she slowly turned to stone.

Elvira squeezed her reassuringly again.

“That is most discomforting to hear. If we only got lucky with your reaction then we need to work hard so that you can stay in the moment, Rozemyne”, she stated and Rozemyne was not sure how to react to that. How could that even be worked on?

She burrowed her head back into Elvira's chest and held that position for several more moments.

“Thank you for allowing me to hug you”, Rozemyne said as she finally felt strong enough to leave the embrace and the hidden room again.

“My, that should not come as a surprise from your mother, Rozemyne”, she commented with a smile and Rozemyne froze for a second.

“Thank you, Mother”, she replied.

She had called her 'Mother' countless times in the last weeks in order to keep up the charade that was her life now but this was the first time she actually, somehow, meant it.

Mother.

Chapter Text

End of summer of his 6th year of zenthood. Age 21. Rozemyne Age 7.

“Damuel, carry her. If we continue at this speed we will be too late for her meeting at third bell”, Eckhart commanded and Damuel followed his order immediately. Rozemyne knew that she did not have any room to complain about this measure. She herself did not want to be rude to Ferdinand by being too late due to her terribly slow walking speed. And she liked being carried by Damuel. He was by far the most gentle while doing so. With him it almost felt like a small hug.

Rozemyne touched the brooch that kept her white cape in place to confirm that it was still there. Aub Ehrenfest had given it to her so that she could travel freely via teleportation to the Sovereignty even though she still could not really grasp the whole concept. When they stopped in a room with several knights Rozemyne was surprised but neither Eckhart nor Damuel acknowledged that encounter specifically.

“Princess Rozemyne, we have been informed by Aub Ehrenfest to expect you passing through. Please proceed”, one of the knights stated as Damuel sat her down from his arm. She was then urged on to stand on a magic circle with Damuel and Eckhart on her sides. As specks of gold and black light emerged around her she could feel herself getting dizzy and nauseous. Damuel picked her up again before she could gather her senses and Rozemyne decided to just lean into him for the time being. The place they were currently at looked eerily similar to the castle anyway.

“Damuel, did this teleportation thing not work? This looks like just another hallway in the castle”, she commented after she decided that the urge to vomit had finally subsided. Damuel looked down at her with a confused expression.

“No, it did work, Princess Rozemyne. We are currently at Ehrenfest's dormitory in the Royal Academy in the Sovereignty. The style might look quite similar but we actually traveled a considerable distance via the teleportation circle”, he explained and Rozemyne nodded hesitantly.

“As soon as we leave the dormitory you will notice the differences more clearly”, Damuel tried to assure her but Rozemyne only stiffened at these words. Leaving the dormitory then meant that they were coming closer to her meeting with Ferdinand. She really did not want to see him. But she knew there was no escape. She had to give it her best. This time. Every time.

Eckhart went ahead and opened a large door at the end of a hallway and Damuel followed him with Rozemyne still in his arms. As soon as they passed through the door they were surrounded by several knights. Be regal! She resisted the urge to cling closer to Damuel and instead tried to display her noble princess face that she had worked so hard for and the knights all knelt.

“Princess Rozemyne, we welcome you into the Sovereignty. May I pray for a blessing in appreciation of this serendipitous meeting ordained by the vibrant summer rays of Leidenschaft, the God of Fire? I am Loyalitat”, the apparent commander of the squad introduced himself.

“You may”, Rozemyne answered and was thus blessed with a small blue light.

“Please allow us to guard you while you reside in the Sovereignty, Princess Rozemyne”, Loyalitat then proposed and Rozemyne knew that the question was merely rhetorical. Ferdinand had surely ordered them to do that. Denying him was not an option.

“I appreciate your service. Now, may we proceed to my meeting with the Zent?”, Rozemyne suggested more driven by fear of what he was about to do if they were late than by any eagerness to see him. They immediately rose and took a protective formation around her while Eckhart took the lead.

It seemed that they were already quite close to their destination as Damuel set her down in front of some big doors at the end of the hallway that were guarded by two more knights with white capes who opened the door for them without another word.

Rozemyne was confused why she was having a meeting in such a grand hall but there was no mistaking the man who was standing close to what looked like an altar. On second glance she was sure that it actually was an altar and that the divine instruments were displayed on it. Was she here for a ceremony? But why had nobody told her to wear her High Bishop robes in that case?

As soon as she and her envoy reached him, she knelt and began her lengthy noble greetings. Ferdinand just stood there and smiled at her with an unreadable expression.

“Welcome to the Sovereignty, Rozemyne. I hope there was no trouble on your way here?”, he inquired and Rozemyne shook her head with a light tilt and a calm smile just as Elvira had shown her.

“Everything went pleasantly under the guidance of Verdraeos and Schutzaria, Ferdinand”, she answered while still feeling strange addressing him in such a casual way. She saw how his eyes flitted to Eckhart and Damuel but she could not see their reaction.

“Good. Follow me, Rozemyne. The guards may stay behind”, he ordered and Rozemyne suppressed the urge to gulp. That was the first time since her medical examination that he even ordered his own retainers to stand down. What was going on? Did he intend to examine her a second time? But there was no arguing here. He was the Zent. And she his obedient adopted daughter.

She followed him to a place behind the altar and stood in awe at the statues of the Supreme Couple and the Eternal Five that were arranged around a large magic circle.

“Rozemyne, I take it that you know all the names of the subordinates?”

“Yes, I do. I read up on all of them in preparation of the manuscripts for my picture book bibles”, she confirmed.

“Oh? So I take it all five of them are now ready for printing? That is faster than expected”, he commented but Rozemyne shook her head slightly.

“Only the texts are finished. Wilma still needs another two weeks for the illustrations, I imagine”, she corrected his assumption but if he had any reaction to that then she could not read it.

“I see. That will then coincide with your return to Ehrenfest. Here, memorize this prayer quickly”, he said and handed her a wooden board. She read it while her mind raced at the sudden reveal that she was to stay here for two weeks. Longer than she had hoped but it should be still tolerable.

As she read the prayer she noticed how she had already learned that one.

“This is the prayer for the Dedication Ritual, no? Are you testing me?”, she asked with a confused expression but she was only met with his unreadable smile.

“So you still know the prayer, good. I want you to pray in this circle, Rozemyne and to fill it completely with your mana. But instead of only naming the Supreme Couple and Eternal Five and their domains you will do that for all the Gods. Understood?” She nodded firmly at his instructions and he gestured her to move forward.

She felt awfully vulnerable when she genuflected in the middle of the carpet, facing the statues of the Goddess of Light and the God of Darkness, while she knew that he stood close-by and observed her every move. But as soon as she began to dedicate her mana into the circle those thoughts vanished.

Rozemyne just focused on her prayer and was surprised by the large amount of mana it took from her. She subtly noticed something lighting up around her but she did not pay much attention to it since Ferdinand had not said that she should do anything besides praying. Rozemyne felt drained as she reached the subordinates of Ewigeliebe in her chanting and was relieved when she finally concluded her prayer with Dauerleben, the God of longevity.

It took her a few breaths until she felt capable enough of rising again but when she looked up Rozemyne thought she was hallucinating from her exhaustion. The statues of the Supreme Couple were rotating fast and it seemed that some path had opened between them. She stared at it in utter confusion, unsure what she should do now. It seemed awfully inviting. Was she expected to go there?

She rose from her prayer position and tentatively took a step forward only to be shocked by the firm hand on her shoulder that held her back. Rozemyne did not dare to turn around as she knew already who it belonged to. Her heart beat increased while she held her breath.

“Rozemyne”, he began and Rozemyne shuddered at the sudden sweetness in his voice.

“You will not go there. Consider yourself forbidden from walking this path.” Her shoulder ached from the sudden force that he was applying to it and she immediately nodded to confirm that she had heard him. But the grip did not loosen.

“You will also not tell anybody anything about this”, he continued and tears rose in her eyes from the pain.

“I will do as you say so please stop hurting me”, she pressed through gritted teeth and he removed his hand immediately.

“Just how weak are you...”, he mumbled behind her while she rubbed her aching shoulder where he had grabbed her.

“May Heilschmerz' healing be granted”, he said and Rozemyne felt the pain subside immediately.

Was that his way of apologizing? What was wrong with him that he could not keep his strength in check on a little girl like her?

She gathered her strength before she turned around to face him.

“Why did you have me pray here if you so very clearly did not want this to happen?”, she dared to ask and Ferdinand smiled at her in a truly intimidating way. She felt like a mouse in front of a cat.

“Why, I wanted you to increase your mana efficiency by obtaining the divine protection of some subordinate gods before you started supplying the foundation of the country with me”, he explained and smiled with sweet poison. Rozemyne shuddered at that. So it was just another step to increase her usefulness to him? She should have guessed that.

“Was it successful?”, she inquired while focusing on a spot on his face just between his eyes.

“It seems that four subordinates have granted you their divine protection today, Rozemyne. Mestionora, Wiegemilch, Jugereise and Angriff”, he smirked at the last one and Rozemyne shuddered with fear of having somehow offended him by that.

“How does one gain these protections?”, she inquired shyly but Ferdinand just shook his head.

“Nobody knows really. But it is said that one has to draw the respective god's attention with a lifestyle that impresses them. To already have four protections at your age is actually outstanding. I guess Wiegemilch agrees that your deeds at the orphanage make you a worthy Saint of Ehrenfest”, his dark grin was frightening her so she just nodded hesitantly.

“So Mestionora likes that I am making books?”, she inquired with a feeble voice and Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at her.

“Or she is impressed with your donation of one large gold just to get access to the temple's book room. Who knows for certain what drew their attention in the end?” He gestured her to follow him back to their guards and Rozemyne obliged.

The Goddess of Separation's divine protection was only a small consolation considering the loss and fear she had to endure.

“Ferdinand...”, she began hesitantly but regretted having spoken up as soon as he stopped and turned around with a glare.

“Speak or keep quiet, but do not waste my time with your struggles with Grammaratur”, he scolded her and she immediately froze at the harsh reaction before she hastily nodded.

“Are you offended by my last divine protection?” To her horror he reacted with another frightening smile.

“Offended? No. If anything I am rather feeling a sense of pride at that, Rozemyne”, he said before they reunited with their guards. Rozemyne was not sure how she should react to that revelation. Why was he proud that she had garnered the God of War's attention?

“Rozemyne, as I intend to withdraw Eckhart from you, you will need a new head knight. Do you have any reservations against Loyalitat in that regard?”, Ferdinand asked her unexpectedly.

The sudden reveal that she would not have to endure Eckhart's harsh glares anymore came as relief but she did know nothing about the knight who had guarded her for all but two minutes so far. But so far he just seemed like a neutral professional.

“I do not, Ferdinand. I thank you ever so much for lending one of your trusted, personal retainers to me until now.” She hoped that her face did not betray her feelings of relief to him but she was not so sure of that. He nodded.

“Good. Loyalitat, I hereby assign you as Rozemyne's head knight. Rozemyne, select three more of his squad to take on as retainers before your return to Ehrenfest, two of those female”, he instructed and Rozemyne nodded. She was actually allowed to choose some of her retainers? They were obviously preselected but still....

“You may now go to your chambers where you will also meet your new attendants while in the Sovereignty, Rozemyne”, he said while dismissing her and Rozemyne did not raise any objections. Every moment not spent in his presence at least had a chance to be a good one.

It seemed that her guards knew the way as they led her through several hallways and up two flights of stairs. Rozemyne was surprised how much attention they paid to her walking speed which she was sure must have felt like a slow shuffle for the fully grown adults but not one commented on it. They all stayed eerily quiet until they reached some heavily guarded smaller hallway whose entrance also seemed to be covered by an iridescent film that shimmered slightly in all colors of the rainbow.

“Princess Rozemyne, we will need you and Damuel to register your mana in order to pass through this barrier before we may reach the Zent's living quarters”, Loyalitat informed her in a polite tone.

“Greetings, Thorben. This is Princess Rozemyne and one of her retainers, Damuel. Both have permission to be registered today so that we may proceed to her chambers”, Loyalitat spoke to one of the guards who nodded at his words and reached out to a box that was located behind the barrier. Rozemyne eyed him with curiosity as he returned with two small feystones in hand.

“Please dye this stone with your mana, Princess Rozemyne”, he said while kneeling down to reach her height to hand her the feystone. Rozemyne took it from him and carefully released a tiny amount of mana into it in order to not accidentally turn it into gold dust. To her surprise it seemed to require a bit more mana than that and she released another, not so tiny, amount of mana to dye it fully. It was almost white with only a slight yellow tint as she returned it to Thorben who nodded with approval.

He then handed the second stone to Damuel who took a bit longer than her to dye it to a firm yellow with an ever so slight white shine to it. Rozemyne noticed that Loyalitat flitted his eyes shortly between Damuel and her but he did not say anything.

Thorben then called somebody via ordonnanz to bring the feystones to their destination inside the barrier. She was surprised to see that she knew the one who arrived already.

“Princess Rozemyne, may I pray for a blessing in appreciation of this serendipitous meeting ordained by the vibrant summer rays of Leidenschaft, the God of Fire?”, Justus intoned with his usual mischievous expression and knelt in front of her.

“You may”, she answered reflexively while trying to keep her noble facade intact. She only knew by now that he was easily amused by anything new but she felt incapable of judging more of his character. At their first interaction he had seemed more like Ferdinand's torturer than his attendant or scholar. Even though he had tried to be kind to her he had seemed way too experienced in using these tools. And now he was kneeling in front of her without hesitation even though he knew that she was just a commoner at the core.

“Welcome to the Sovereignty, Princess. Please do not hesitate to let me know whether anything about your chambers is amiss. I tried to follow Lady Elvira's descriptions to the letter concerning the interior fittings so they should feel familiar already.” Rozemyne nodded and smiled at his greetings. There were only few things that she cared less about than the decoration of her next new room. But she tried to not let this on.

“I thank you ever so much, Lord Justus”, Rozemyne acknowledged with a slight head tilt and Justus begged his leave to complete their registration. She obviously granted that as there was no other way to proceed anyway.

Justus had not lied to her. Another room in pink and red tones awaited her after they followed a few more turns through the hallways. The furniture was carved with elaborate floral patterns and stood on filigree and curved legs that made her wonder once again how they could bear any weight. But there were two differences to her other rooms.

The first was a bookshelf to the side that was currently empty and thus begging to be filled. Had the Inquisitors reported on their first meeting and her comment on missing bookshelves? Or was the need for one finally obvious to anyone but her?

Rozemyne went over and touched the wood with a somewhat hopeful expression.

To think that she could find a touch of normalcy at this place out off all the places in this world.

She could feel the eyes of her whole guard squad on her but she did not care too much about that. She turned around with her hand still on one board of the bookshelf and let her eyes wander across the rest of the room. As she spied her bed her heart skipped a beat.

In stark contrast to any other room that had been decorated for her this one came with a book on her nightstand!

“Praise be to Mestionora!”, she shouted with glee as she entered a spontaneous praying pose and yellow lights flew from her ring to the sky.

“Princess Rozemyne”, Damuel began with hesitation as he looked between her and the somewhat surprised rest of the guard knights.

“Please try to keep your emotions under control”, he then ended quietly and with pleading eyes.

“But Damuel, someone was obviously thoughtful enough to prepare a book for me!”, Rozemyne exclaimed and Damuel nodded.

“Yes, I understand. But I imagine it to be advisable to not get overexcited today, Princess Rozemyne. It will inadvertently look bad on your new attendants if you end up with a fever on their first day.”

At that remark she steadied her breath and tried to calm herself. She had noticed how the rest of the guards had stiffened at Damuel's words and she did not want to put them on edge.

“Princess Rozemyne, your new attendants beg to enter”, Loyalitat informed her while she was still staring at the book. She turned around to allow them entry and face them with her princess smile.

The exchange of noble greetings felt unnecessarily lengthy once again but she smiled through it and let the two women, the elderly Auguste and the youthful Therese, bless her with blue lights.

“I am looking forward to your service”, Rozemyne ended the lengthy process and both of them stood up.

“Auguste, do you have any information on what my schedule might be for the rest of today?”, Rozemyne inquired and was met with slightly widened eyes. When would be the time to read her new book?

“Of course, Princess Rozemyne. You are invited to have lunch with the Zent in roughly half a bell. Afterwards you are scheduled for a meeting on (physics) with him till sixth bell. At sixth and a half bell you are then invited for dinner with the Zent. You are then expected to join him in the Replenishment Hall for mana dedication.”

Rozemyne tried her hardest to not let her fear and disappointment show on her face. So she basically had to spend the whole day with him? He had to be super busy, right? Had he made time specifically for her? At least teaching him physics should not bring forth too many opportunities to make him mad at her.

“I understand. So there will be half a bell before dinner that I can dedicate to reading this book then?”, she inquired with a smile while trying to focus on the only good thing that could happen today but Auguste shook her head with slight signs of indisposition.

“I apologize, Princess Rozemyne, but this time will be necessary to prepare you for dinner.” She had almost expected something like this but had dared to hope anyway.

Bland. So bland. He was the most powerful man in the whole country and his food was just bland.

Rozemyne sighed as she took another bite. She was hungry enough to be able to ignore the blandness, it did not make it difficult to eat per se after all, but she was already missing her chefs.

Did he like it that way or was this some kind of harassment?

She glanced at Ferdinand who seemed to have only taken a few bites himself. But while she thought she had been quite subtle and inconspicuous he now stared at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, Rozemyne?”, he prompted her and she involuntarily choked on the food she had still in her mouth upon his unexpected – and unwelcome – words.

Auguste rushed to her side in a panic, trying to help her resume normal breathing and after several coughs and some deep gulps of water Rozemyne resumed her composure. But his inquiring gaze had not lessened. Instead it was now accompanied by a slightly mocking grin.

“Please pay more attention, Rozemyne. You are only causing your attendants to suffer otherwise”, he scolded her.

“My deepest apologies, Ferdinand. I will work my hardest to not repeat something like this”, she responded with an unsure voice. Had he spoken about her causing them to worry or had he meant that he would punish them if she choked on her own food?

“I would appreciate that. People always assume the worst if somebody chokes on their food”, he commented and Rozemyne was not sure what he meant. Her lack of understanding must have been written on her face as he shot her a disapproving glance before he elaborated.

“You would do well to heighten your awareness of the dangers around you, Rozemyne. Poison is incredibly popular among the nobility. While your attendants will no doubt do their best to shield you from it as much as possible you should act prudently as well.”

“I understand. Thank you for acting as Anhaltung for me, Ferdinand”, she commented with an apprehensive face.

Why would he talk about the possibility of being poisoned while they ate? Was he threatening her?

“So, Rozemyne, what caused your displeasure with the food?”, he inquired more directly and Rozemyne flinched at being read like an open book. She tried to hide behind her still imperfect princess smile and the noble persona that her mother had tried to instill in her. It was for cases just like this, right?

“My, Ferdinand, displeasure is such a hard word, ohohoho. Clearly your chefs are blessed by Cuococalura, the God of Cooking. I was merely worried whether you might suffer from a sensitive stomach given the somewhat unexpected lack of spices used in the dishes”, she tried to phrase it as politely as possible but his facial expression was totally unreadable. Was that his 'Zent face'?

“Spices can be used to hide a lack in quality of the ingredients and poison in general. My chefs are therefore instructed to not use any in their dishes. Instead they provide meals that are satiating and nutritious as these are the most important requirements for food.”

Rozemyne stared at him, her 'Princess face' thoroughly broken.

What had she even expected from somebody who brewed the most vile potions available to mankind?

“I see. Taste is not a priority. Understood.” Rozemyne tried her hardest to end the topic there and then but his mocking grin had only intensified.

“Rozemyne, let me become Anhaltung once more. Do not utter thinly veiled insults if you wish to withdraw from a discussion without agreeing”, he chastised her and she froze.

Eeeep! He felt insulted at her words? But she had put it so diplomatically! She noticed how her attendants had frozen beside her as well.

“I apologize, Ferdinand. That was not my intention. I merely wished to express my understanding of your priorities.” His grin only widened at her attempts to end the situation.

“Is your own weak body not testament to the danger of poisoning? Just because one viper has been eliminated does not mean that there will not be any poisoning attempts in the future”, he warned her while alluding to her fake backstory that framed her brushes with death due to the devouring to Veronica's poison instead. Rozemyne knew that she had to stop any opposition to his point of view but she had tried that twice already now. What was the correct answer to end this?

“I thank you ever so much for taking the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our food, Ferdinand”, she stated with her best attempt at resuming her neutral face and it seemed at least enough to stop him from mocking her.

“I am glad you understand.” They continued the rest of their lunch in almost silence and only resumed small talk at their after-lunch tea.

“So, Rozemyne, is your room to your satisfaction? Or are you still missing something?”, he inquired while elegantly sipping his tea and glancing at her.

“It is a very pleasant room, I thank you ever so much for having it furnished for me, Ferdinand. That bookshelf really ties the whole room together. I was especially touched by your consideration to also already have a book placed on my nightstand”, she answered and grew more enthusiastic the longer she spoke. When speaking about books she could even forget to whom she was speaking.

“Ah, you have to thank Justus for insisting on these finishing touches. He was quite adamant to place your first book already in your room to welcome you”, Ferdinand responded with a polite but not unpleasant smile and nodded in the direction of Justus.

Rozemyne's eyes widened at that slightly but it made sense to her that Ferdinand had not personally done something so thoughtful.

“I truly appreciate the gesture, Lord Justus”, she acknowledged with a wide and honest smile.

“How is your health, Rozemyne? You had to expend quite some mana this morning, do you feel drained?”, he suddenly inquired and Rozemyne was confused why he might care about that.

“A bit drained, but not overly so. I should have recovered by tomorrow”, she answered the second part of his question but did not know what to say to the first part. As bad as always?

She was not sure whether she actually saw signs of frustration on his face for a fraction of a second due to her answer.

“Damuel, what are the chances of her collapsing today?”

Rozemyne had learned quite fast that guard knights should not be addressed while they worked unless it was critical for the current situation and here he was, talking to her guard during his shift about non-imminent danger. Was she allowed to feel incredulity at that? Because that was what she felt.

“My Zent, I estimate the chances of Princess Rozemyne collapsing should she continue her day at her current pace to thirty percent”, Damuel responded and Rozemyne turned her head around. Where did he get that number from? She had not done that much today. If one did not consider the long hallways, or the flights of stairs.... Maybe he was right after all.

“I see. Thank you, Damuel. Rozemyne, drink one of your potions now and do not walk any more through the hallways.” His instructions were clear so she simply confirmed before she pulled a potion from her belt. Once again she felt mocked by the pleasant green sheen from the liquid that told nothing about its taste.

Willing to not worry her attendants too much she downed the potion as fast and as calm as possible and only shuddered slightly at the vileness.

As she began skimping through the wooden boards that she had prepared for the lectures that Ferdinand had demanded from her about math and physics she was glad that she had spent so many bells over the last weeks to prepare them ahead of time and arrive at something akin to a study plan.

The stack that her attendants had carried into the meeting room was even higher than herself if stacked all atop of each other. And then she had even only prepared the things she remembered most vividly from her former classes and some books.

She had also asked for a huge slate similar to the one that Otto had used in the south gate to teach his apprentices how to write. Now she tried to copy a few graphs from the first board before Ferdinand arrived but she had merely drawn her first coordinate plane on the slate when he entered with his most trusted retainers in tow.

Her own retainers were currently eyeing her from the side of the room. No doubt they must be wondering why a seven year old was lecturing the Zent on anything.

Since they had just met over lunch she did not have to redo all the lengthy noble greetings again. She needed all the time she could get for her lecture anyway.

“I appreciate that you are invoking Erwachlehren on the matters of Mestionora's blessings that have been bestowed on you”, he intoned with a polite smile and Rozemyne summoned her presentation persona back from her Urano days. Even though she had not liked it too much she had always gotten good grades for the presentations she held.

“I am pleased that Dregarnuhr has woven our threads together tightly for this opportunity, Ferdinand. I pray for Erwachlehren's guidance that I may impart Mestionora's blessings on Yurgenschmidt's estimeed Zent today.” She had been proud to come up with such a turn of phrases but his face did not reveal any thoughts from his side. Was it too much? Or not enough?

“Since I plan to utilize (graphs) for my visualization during my explanations, might I first inquire whether you are familiar with the concept of a (coordinate plane) such as this where two variables are assigned to two (orthogonal) axes such that a dependency in the form of a (function) might be derived?” While Ferdinand was still unreadable, Justus at least seemed to allow himself a glimmer in his eyes at every word that he did not understand from her.

She sighed as she saw how many times that happened during her question.

“This way of visualization is not common. You may explain it as the first thing”, Ferdinand suggested while raising an eyebrow at the board.

Rozemyne then began to explain the concept of linear functions and slopes and also included parables and the concept of 'squaring' a number as an alternative example.

Her arm felt heavy already after just establishing that basic vocabulary.

“Rozemyne, you have all your drawings on the wooden boards already, correct? Let Heidemarie do the sketching and pointing on the large slate or you will surely overexert yourself”, he noted with a scrutinizing gaze.

“Your arms are also too short to really use it effectively”, he added and Rozemyne frowned slightly. Sorry for being too tiny!

She then dived into the topic of velocity, mass, force, and energy. As she arrived at the 'law of conservation of energy' she noticed how Ferdinand had gotten quite serious. He asked many follow-up questions that had her flustered the deeper he dove.

At some point she felt like she was the one having to defend herself at her graduation instead of teaching middle school physics to people who had no idea that it could be described like that.

“So what about that gravity then, where does that (force) originate from”, he continued his slew of questions and Rozemyne was close to crying but she powered through.

“Ferdinand, we are reaching a point where Verbergen is shrouding us from further following Mestionora's traces”, she tried to shut him up because as far as she remembered there had not been any consensus yet. Or she had never taken such an elaborate class on it. She had tried to become a librarian for god's sake!

But judging from the twitching on her retainer's faces and the sharply narrowed eyes on Ferdinand it seemed like she misspoke.

“Ehm, what I meant is that I am not aware that an answer to that question is yet known, Ferdinand. I do hope that Grammaratur did not abandon me right now”, she tried to clarify and it seemed that that had been exactly the case as everybody seemed to relax at her words.

“It seemed like she did, Rozemyne, as your answer before your clarification implied that you knew the answer but wanted to keep it to yourself”, he explained and Rozemyne shuddered. Eeep! No wonder that everyone seemed disapproving at her seemingly cheeky refusal to provide an answer to the Zent!

The lecture continued on as she then dived into further forms of energy and how they might be transferred from one form into another.

Never had she been more glad to be told to prepare herself for dinner and to therefore end the meeting.

She knew she was under his scrutinizing gaze even before she looked up to him.

This had to be harassment.

The food in front of her was the absolute same dishes with the absolute same taste – or not-taste – as lunch had been.

At this point he had to be just mocking her for not liking it during their last meal. But that he was so petty as to have his chefs make the exact same food again was something she had not expected of him. Why did the man who had absolute power over her and her family's life have to be so childish? And how could she appease someone like this?

For starters, she decided to eat her dinner without complaining any further. The meat was at least tender and while salt based soup was not her favorite by far it was edible enough. Only two weeks.

Then the sudden realization hit her.

Was he petty enough to continue this for the full two weeks?!

“Rozemyne, tell me what is on your mind”, he demanded and only remembering his firm reprimand during lunch stopped her from choking again at the unexpected address.

She hastily gulped down the food that was still in her mouth before she dared to look at him in hopes of getting some insight on his question. Unreadable again.

“I apologize but I feel bereft of Grammaratur's divine guidance. May I speak plainly?”, she inquired and prayed to all the gods that he could agree to this. Her mother had taught her this euphemism to only be used in a pinch and not to rely on it too often but considering her failure over lunch to politely tell him that his food sucked she saw no other choice.

To her great relief he waved her concerns away with a gesture of his hand. He still only showed her his unreadable face.

“You may.”

“Is the reason that the food is the same as for lunch that you are punishing me for speaking out against it?”, she inquired and she saw her attendant and Damuel flinch, while Justus seemed to suppress a chuckle. Eckhart sent her another of his harsh glares from his place beside Ferdinand. But she really did not know how to phrase that politely.

Ferdinand narrowed his eyes at her in disapproval.

“No. The food is the same for every meal. This allows for easier detection if somebody has tempered with it.” His explanation made Rozemyne's smile twitch. This poison talk again? If people were so willing to poison him maybe he should try to improve as a person instead of eating bland food every day?!

“Seriously?” But she was met with a mocking grin.

“So you seriously think it is so bad that I serve it as punishment?”, he sounded amused but his eyes were threatening.

Eeeep! She did not know what to answer and with every second that she hesitated she could feel the pressure increasing.

“Ferdinand, can you become Anhaltung on behalf of Grammaratur? What is the right answer here?”, she pleaded in hopes that he could just chalk this up as a teaching experience and not as some serious criticism that she did not even want to utter in the first place.

He chuckled at her desperate attempt. Was that good? Or bad?

“Very well, I shall provide you with some guidance here.

Not ending up in such a situation is the reason why one should always strive to converse in euphemisms in the first place, Rozemyne. As you have noticed it does not end very favorably if criticism is placed too directly. You need to learn to embrace the vagueness of one's speech as an opportunity and not a burden.

As of now, if you agree to my question you will make the criticism even harsher. Since your status is below my own and this is hardly a topic worth fighting for I cannot say I would advise this path of action.

However, since you already firmly stated your opinion beforehand you cannot deny it now or you will seem like a spineless laynoble. Unbefitting for a princess of Yurgenschmidt.

Consequently, your current path of action, causing a diversion from the question and hoping that I do not push for an answer is already the correct one.

There remains just one question from my own on this. Were you unaware that this is the case or are you better at Grammaratur's dance than you want me to believe?” Ferdinand ended his little lecture with another question that Rozemyne did not want to answer.

But he really disliked lying from what she could tell so far. Way more than rudeness. So if she had to choose between a lie and rudeness the answer was clear.

“It is not like I had planned this meticulously as a diversion, but yes, I had hoped we could shift the topic by this”, she admitted with a twitchy smile. That at least seemed to be the right answer as he leaned back and ceased his mocking grin.

“You will find I am hard to manipulate, but it is indeed part of noble culture to always at least try to do it to each other. So feel free to try your hardest as well so you may understand what those around you are doing”, he commented which made Rozemyne relieved and confused at the same time. He would not mind that?

“But, Rozemyne, you have not answered my question yet. Is the food I serve seriously considerable as a punishment in your eyes?” His glare did not seem threatening anymore but his intense smile was still off-putting.

Ugh. Not like he actually cared about that. He only cared about not being poisoned.

“Ferdinand, may I be allowed to bring my chefs into the Sovereignty and just demonstrate the many more blessings that Cuococalura could offer at this table?”, she inquired with another twitchy smile, hoping to just let the food speak for itself.

“No. This would double the effort in poison testing for little benefit. A wasteful proposal.”

What little hope she had was shot down immediately.

“Understood”, she conceded and began munching the bland food on her plate. At least he had allowed that to be her answer. What a stupid display of power.

After dinner, they went to a room that only his knights seemed to be allowed to enter as Rozemyne's had to wait in the hallway. He made her dye a feystone, not dissimilar to the one she had dyed earlier this day to get access to the inner living quarters.

And not quite surprisingly she was then urged to pass through another iridescent barrier that had been hidden behind some tapestry at the end of the room. Ferdinand entered first and she did not wait long to follow after him into the ivory room.

“Take your position here on the sigil of the Goddess of Wind, Rozemyne”, he instructed and she was relieved that it was almost as far away as possible from his spot at the sigil of the God of Darkness.

“The prayer is the same as for the Dedication Ritual and the same you used this morning. Tell me, when you are at your limits”, he explained and Rozemyne nodded before she genuflected at the spot he had told her. She was surprised to see him do the same and not take an observing role as he had this morning.

“I am one who offers prayer and gratitude to the gods who have created the world...”, he began and Rozemyne tried to synchronize with his words. At the end of the prayer they were actually chanting in unison which felt odd and calming at the same time. She also noticed how her mana was flowing more freely than usual and wondered whether that was the increased mana efficiency that he had made her pray for.

But that was not all of it. She felt somehow caught up in the flow that she so far had always been in control of. It felt nice to give in to the stream that was pulling at her mana for once while she prayed.

But at some point she wondered how much mana he intended to dedicate. She could feel the drain by now and a subtle fogginess permeated her mind as the exhaustion from that long day began to hit her.

“Take your hands from the carpet, Rozemyne.” His voice sounded distant to her. And angry. Why?

She removed her hands from the carpet as told and tried to sit up but the movement was too much for her and her head began to spin. As she tried to steady it with her hands she noticed how she lost her balance, fell to the side and rolled over. But even lying on her back did not stop the spinning. Closing her eyes helped a bit but not enough.

“You are not impressing me with your attempts at killing yourself, Rozemyne”, his angry voice reached her ears but she did not understand his words. She shuddered involuntarily as she felt his hand at her shoulder to prop her up and she stiffened fully as she felt the distinct shape of one of the glass vials that he used for his potions at her lips.

“You have only yourself to blame”, he commented as he forced her mouth open enough to pour the liquid into it. Was it just the exhaustion that made her hallucinate the taste to be slightly sweet and overall pleasant or did he actually have some potion that was not utterly disgusting?

It took a moment before her head eventually stopped spinning and she was able to open her eyes again. Only for her to wish that she had not done that. His eyes were so full of ice-cold anger that she froze over in an instant. He removed his hands and let her lay down again but she did not feel safe like that. When she tried to sit up, he scoffed.

“You are better at hiding your emotions than I thought, Rozemyne. I did not expect a suicide attempt today”, he lamented with narrowed eyes and Rozemyne gulped at the accusation.

“I-I did not try to-”, she began but stopped as she saw the grotesque face that Ferdinand made at her denial.

“Oh? Do you intend to claim once again that nobody told you you could die from overexpending your mana?”, he inquired with a mocking tone and Rozemyne paled at that.

“And to think that the Goddess of Mercy and the God of War both found you worthy of their divine protection if you are giving up so easily without a fight and apparently have no qualms making Damuel ascend the towering stairway together with you”, he continued his mocking but Rozemyne desperately shook her head.

“No. No! I did not try to die! Please don't kill Damuel because you are mad at me!”, she cried but Ferdinand just shook his head in exasperation.

“The one who is threatening Damuel's life is only you, Rozemyne”, he chided her with a raised eyebrow. But she did not care for his twisted logic.

“How do you expect him to protect me at a place that he cannot even enter?”, she glared at Ferdinand with teary eyes who seemed oddly taken aback by her words.

“Rozemyne, what did you think I meant when I told you that his own life now depends on keeping you alive?” She met his odd questioning with a glare that might have revealed her uncertainty on where this question was leading to.

“That failure to keep up his oath is an inexcusable crime punishable by death”, she answered with an unsure voice and was met with a sigh from Ferdinand.

“Execution for failing to protect their charge is the case for any of your guard knights, Rozemyne. But Damuel's dependence on your life is literal. By swearing his name to you he has attached his thread to your own. If yours is cut so will be his.” She noticed his searching eyes but she did not know what he was looking for. Her mind was occupied with trying to make sense of his words but it just refused to compute them. Consequently, she just stared at him.

“Rozemyne, why did you not stop the mana dedication when you began to feel drained?”, he inquired with a calculating glare but Rozemyne did not think of it as angry anymore.

“You said to tell you when I was at my limit. Feeling a bit drained is not my limit”, she explained with defiance. Was he now punishing her for his own unreasonable expectations?

“Do not go below that level. Consider that your limit from now on.” He sounded exasperated to her so she just nodded.

“Are you able to stand and walk?”, he asked out of the blue but Rozemyne was not sure herself. As she tried to stand up she felt her legs wobbling and sat down again in a not very ladylike manner.

“Not now, it seems. So when you do not sacrifice the taste the potion really becomes less effective?”, she asked, dissatisfied with her own weakness right now. That nasty potion might have helped more by now.

“That potion did not have a repulsive taste to you?”, he inquired with slight surprise in his voice. Rozemyne was glad that he seemed to have calmed down by now and that he had stopped accusing her of attempting to kill herself. What would he even do to punish her in such a case? Was he about to order the execution of her whole family? Or just one of them to send home the message? She did not even want to think about that.

“It was slightly sweet and tasty”, she replied while trying to suppress those thoughts and earned herself a raised eyebrow from Ferdinand.

“I see. You cannot take another rejuvenation potion today or you will overdose on them which will be more unpleasant than recovering without their help”, he explained while squatting down to her level.

“As nobody else can enter here, I will have to carry you out. It will however be a bad look if you appear overly frightened in my arms. So, try to relax. I will not hurt you.” He cared about not appearing like a monster? Or did he not want to hurt her own image by making it obvious that she was easily frightened? And why did he feel the need to assure her that he will not hurt her? Did that mean any time he did not specify that in particular that was an option? Had he actually meant to hurt her this morning then?!

Rozemyne had to stop this whirlwind of thoughts or she knew she could not relax at all in his arms. She took several deep breaths before she nodded to him. But she had not expected him to lift her up into a bridal carry!

“Ehm, Ferdinand are you sure about the (bridal carry)?”, she asked timidly after he had lifted her up and had taken a first step in the direction of the entrance.

“Another strange word from your dream world?”, he seemed exasperated once again. Rozemyne began to regret having said anything but his harsh glare now urged her to explain herself.

“I guess this style of carrying does not have any connotations to newlyweds here?”, she tried to laugh it off but flinched as she now saw him smiling heavenly at her.

“It does, that is why it is called a bridal carry. But I have the sudden urge to just drop you”, he replied sweetly. Was his nice smile his sign for being angry?!

“Do not get the wrong idea here, Rozemyne. It is just that both alternatives of grabbing you at the neck like a zantze or having you cling to my chest like you do with Damuel are even more unsuitable. Or would you prefer to be thrown over my shoulder?” Why was he so scary now? She just wanted to get out of his reach fast!

Rozemyne threw on her noble smile and tried to suppress any negative emotions.

“I understand and thank you ever so much for your consideration, Ferdinand. Please feel free to proceed with leaving this place.” The mocking grin that was playing around his lips was suddenly more calming than the bright smile he had shown her before.

As they exited through the iridescent screen Rozemyne was met with unreadable expressions on both Eckhart's and Heisshitze's faces. At least it did not fall to her to explain her current predicament.

“Let her guards in”, he ordered and merely moments later Rozemyne could feel all their worried gazes on her with Damuel being the easiest to read. And the most honest.

“Get her back into her chambers and make sure she rests. She has overexpended her mana and cannot drink another rejuvenation potion today so this current state might continue for a while”, Ferdinand explained to them while handing her over to one of her new female knights who had stepped forward. She as well carried Rozemyne in the same style. Maybe it was just the most polite style?

Rozemyne felt a strange mixture of exhaustion and unrest. The necessity to still bathe at the end of the day only amplified that state in her but she did not resist. Not that she even could with her inability to stand or walk right now. Or even properly lift her arms.

Her mind was strangely absent and only as she saw her new attendants reaching for soap instead of rinsham did she find enough presence of mind to say something to them. They seemed surprised at her firm opinion about her hair products given her exhaustion but complied immediately. Thank you, Mother, for taking care of including some in the luggage.

The hot water however did not help her relax. Was this a side effect from overexpending mana? How had that played out after the dedication ritual again? She had collapsed, then awoken in her bed, then... Dad....

Tears dared to enter her eyes and she quickly blinked them away. This was not the right place nor time. She could not even explain them to her attendants.

Damuel had brought her dad to her and in her dad's arms had she found the strength to recover. That was just not an option now. Or ever again.

She dunked her head in the water to hide the tears that she could not hold back anymore but while that was successful her attendants were doused in fear that she might be drowning in her powerless condition. At least they told her as much as they pulled her up almost immediately.

She still felt oddly cold even when her attendants were eventually drying her off quickly. The bath had not helped in the slightest in that regard. Rozemyne was finally changed into her nightgown and tucked into bed but she did not participate in the careful small talk Therese and Auguste tried to entice her in.

As they closed the curtains everything around her went dark and any remaining sound got muffled. At least the book was still on the nightstand even though she could not read it without light. Ah, but she also still missed any strength in her arms to even hold it and turn the pages. At least she could smell it still.

With thoughts like these she fell asleep only to be woken by a nightmare of Damuel, screeming silently behind a wall from a sound blocker, as his whole body started to turn to gray dust starting at his feet and slowly rising to his head.

As she opened her eyes she stared into the faces of Therese, her attendant on night duty, and Klothilde, the female archknight who had carried her back into her chambers that day. Rozemyne felt the cold sweat on her whole body and judging from the soreness of her throat and the alertness of those two she must have screamed quite furiously.

“You seemed to be having a nightmare, Princess”, Therese explained with a soothing voice and Rozemyne tried to shake the mental image away that was tormenting her now every time she blinked.

“I feel like I did not sleep at all”, Rozemyne mumbled and she noticed the pity in her attendant's eyes.

“You only went to bed half a bell ago, Princess”, she confirmed and Rozemyne exhaled slowly trying to steady her breath.

“Do you wish for a bath and a change of clothes, Princess?”, Therese inquired and pulled back the blanket to assess the state of her sweaty nightgown. Rozemyne weakly let her hands glide to her sides and let out a sigh. It was indeed absolutely drenched in her sweat. But she could not stomach another bath right now.

“Just a change of clothes, please”, she mumbled and was thus freed from the rest of her blanket.

“As you wish, Princess.”

O Schlaftraum, please bless me with a dreamless sleep.

But her prayer went unanswered. If she was spared from the image of Damuel dying by the God of Darkness spell she was instead haunted by Ferdinand's ice-cold glare and his angrily growling voice as he accused her of breaking their deal. She awoke multiple times that night, each time feeling more exhausted than before. As first bell rang she decided to give up on sleep for now. She did not want to see any more of these frightening images.

To her relief Therese reluctantly agreed to her demand to read in bed instead. At least her mana had recovered enough already that she was able to sit upright and hold the book in her own hands.

The book itself was very dry. It contained names upon names of former zents and their achievements. What a weird choice to provide her with for bedtime reading. But well, a book is a book and deserves to be read!

The distraction reading provided kept her calm till second bell when Therese was relieved by Auguste and her next day had to start. But the bath time that Auguste had insisted on only provided her with ample opportunity for her thoughts to race again.

Had Damuel entered this one-sided suicide pact really out of free will? The whole absolute command thing had been revolting enough already but why was he now irrefutably destined to die if she did? Who in their right mind agreed to this? And especially considering how close to dying she was all the time.... Damuel had served her well in the temple and he had even been kind to her but that had to be on a completely different level to this name-swearing thing. Right?!

Ferdinand's threatening eyes rose to her mind and she froze despite the warm water. Had he forced Damuel into this vow? Could she do anything to undo it? Could a name be returned?

She just let her attendant do everything to prep her for the day as she hung on these thoughts and decided she needed to talk with him about this.

Alas, when she was greeted by her guard knights for the day Damuel was not there.

Chapter Text

End of summer of his 6th year of zenthood. Day 2 in the Sovereignty. Age 21. Rozemyne Age 7.

It was strange to sleep in the building where he had once taken so many classes for the knights' curriculum. But Damuel had to admit that his new chambers in the Sovereignty were way better than the knight's barracks in Ehrenfest.

More space, better furniture, finer tapestries. Everything was up to code to house archknights and he did not cherish any illusions that he was not the sole layknight in the whole of the Sovereignty's Knight's Order. He was not even sure whether any mednobles had joined it yet. It might have been for that reason then that he was also assigned a personal attendant instead of the communal ones that the layknights in the barracks tended to share to save on costs.

Damuel knew that it had been just a formality to have him transfer to the Sovereignty and assigned to their Knight's Order so that he could be Rozemyne's retainer and guard knight in full capacity but he still felt out of place. His new coworkers had been utterly professional yesterday so he did not have a chance yet to gauge their possible animosity towards him.

But he had an inkling that he was about to find out about that today. After all, Loyalitat, who had been assigned as Rozemyne's new head knight had scheduled the assessment of his skills starting at second bell. Since they currently had a surplus of guard knights it was not strange to assign not all of them to Rozemyne's side all the time. That way they could get some days off or do administrative stuff. Such as his skills being evaluated.

O Glucklitat, please help me today!

Damuel wondered whether Rozemyne's habit of praying over any- and everything had started to rub off on him. But he also did not see any harm in doing it. After all, his meeting with Loyalitat was scheduled for right about now. He left his chambers and exited the building to stand on the training grounds.

“I see you are early, Damuel”, Loyalitat stated as he entered the training grounds shortly after him. He began to kneel down but was stopped almost immediately.

“No need for that, Damuel, we are coworkers after all”, he explained and Damuel was relieved that Loyalitat did not seem intent on lording his status as an archnoble over him.

“Greetings, Loyalitat”, he greeted instead and was met by a firm nod.

“As I told you yesterday, I need to be aware of everybody's skills and limitations in order to assign the appropriate roles to all of Princess Rozemyne's guard knights. Let us begin this evaluation with some sparring.” He went to the rack with practice weapons students usually used and threw a wooden sword to Damuel who caught it in surprise. A manaless fight?

They then took their positions roughly ten steps away from each other. Damuel weighed the sword in his hand, trying to get accustomed again to a weapon that was not weightless like the ones produced from his schtappe. And in that moment Loyalitat rushed toward him.

Damuel hastily readied his weapon and diverted the slash that had aimed for his waist and could just barely evade with a step to the side. The momentum of his opponent continued forward even though Damuel was no longer in his path but with a firm step Loyalitat changed his course and propelled back to Damuel.

This time he blocked the hit with his own sword but regretted it almost instantly as he felt pushed back with brute force. Damuel tried to dig his feet into the ground but all that led to was disheveled grass. He decided to fall on his back leading to Loyalitat pushing over him and Damuel tunneled through his legs to then jump up back on his feet. He was already breathing quite heavily after just that short exchange of blows. Physical enhancement magic in a sparring match was really like cheating from Loyalitat.

Loyalitat turned around and smirked at him as if he could have read his mind.

Damuel knew that if he wanted to get any hits in he had to earn them while he was still somewhat fresh. He could not hope to achieve anything towards the end of the match.

And with that thought in mind he switched to attack rather than defense. Loyalitat seemed to humor him for a short while by merely fending off his strikes but decided to turn the match around after Damuel almost scored a hit to his shoulder.

But the following flurry of strikes was weak enough for Damuel to parry. He was wondering shortly whether that now was a test for his speed rather than strength but he quickly ceased such musing as a particularly fast swing almost crushed his ribs had he not jumped out of its way at the last possible moment. That had been meant to hurt. And it had been awfully close.

“Do not daydream, Damuel”, Loyalitat commented and Damuel nodded while trying to catch his breath. It seemed that his opponent was not even properly warmed up by now. Archknights from the Sovereignty were truly something else. How could he have even hoped to compare?

But he was only allowed a short moment to recover before Loyalitat continued his attacks, now mixing in heavy hits as often as soft ones, making Damuel rely on his instincts which strikes he could block and which he had to evade.

After several minutes of this Damuel had to call for a break to properly breathe again which Loyalitat graciously granted.

“Your sense for danger and ability to evade is not bad, Damuel”, Loyalitat commented and Damuel was unsure whether that really was the praise that it sounded like.

“You honor me, Loyalitat”, he deflected humbly and was met with a face full of contemplation.

“But you are slow. I can see that you took your physical training quite seriously, you could vastly improve your speed if you started using physical enhancement magic”, he proposed and Damuel's smile froze. That's such an archknight thing to say.

“I apologize, but I do not possess enough mana to simultaneously enhance my body and wield a weapon from my schtappe”, Damuel explained while trying to hide his embarrassment and was met with a raised eyebrow.

“You are still young, Damuel. You might still profit from improving your mana compression”, he suggested and Damuel nodded without conviction. Everybody knew that the chances for that being successful were merely non-existent more than a year after graduation. But what was the point in arguing here?

“Now summon your highbeast, Damuel. I want to see how you deal with hunting feybeasts”, he proclaimed and Damuel immediately complied. He knew from the beginning that he was going to be pushed to his limits today.

“Tell me, how many feybeasts you are currently aware of and where they are, Damuel”, Loyalitat instructed after they had landed in a small clearing inside the forest surrounding the Royal Academy.

“What would be the weakest one that I should include in that listing?”, he begged to clarify and was met with a curious glance from Loyalitat.

“Include everything that could pose a threat to the Princess if it somehow escaped our perception”, he specified and Damuel suppressed a sigh. Even a shumil could pose a threat to Rozemyne....

“There are two eifintes in that tree over there and another in that dead tree on the other side. That one is hiding from a zantze which in turn is currently hiding from us under that bush.” Damuel pointed in the general direction and he could see that Loyalitat nodded.

“Is that all?”, he inquired and Damuel shook his head.

“No. There are also signs of a fetze that must have passed through just a few moments ago and the subtle yet distinct smell of a grun or maybe two is in the air. Judging from the direction of the wind they should be somewhere over there”, he gestured in the opposite direction of the zantze and Loyalitat nodded once again.

“Not bad. Anything else?”, he inquired and Damuel sighed.

“There is a group of shumils hiding over there near that patch of rutrebs. If I had to guess at least five of them. A pair of rattenvogels is breeding over there and I believe a nest of blindschleichs should be hidden among all these stones there.

And, even though they are not feybeasts, I feel like I should mention that beehive in that big tree over there.” Damuel let his eyes wander one last time to make sure he did not miss anything but when he returned his eyes back to Loyalitat he noticed that he seemed somewhat confused.

“You would rate shumils, rattenvogels and even blindschleichs as potentially dangerous to the Princess?” Absolutely understandable to question that considering that two of the three were pets for normal little girls.

“Unfortunately, yes. Princess Rozemyne is abnormally weak on the physical side, Loyalitat. The shumils get furious if cornered too much and have their poisonous claws, the rattenvogels have a sharp beak and get protective during their current breeding season, and the blindschleichs, well, they could lead to exhaustion from her trying to get away from their unappealing sight.” Damuel allowed himself a difficult frown. The little worm-snakes were utterly harmless but absolutely disgusting.

“I see. That must be the insight gained from guarding her for almost a year now”, he commented absentmindedly and Damuel nodded.

“I started my guard duty while she was still hidden in the temple. The main threats there are commoners and blue priests so a layknight like me is usually more than enough and also discreet enough”, Damuel acknowledged and Loyalitat seemed lost in thought. Damuel did not push him to any conclusion.

“You also foresaw that she would collapse at the end of the day, yesterday”, Loyalitat continued his musing.

“But not by mana overexpenditure. She walked quite a lot and got too excited when she was introduced to her room. That was what made me raise concern. I did not expect her to dedicate too much mana.” Loyalitat raised an eyebrow at him.

“Did she walk a lot in Ehrenfest that morning? Was that why she walked so slowly?”, he inquired but Damuel shook his head.

“No. We were a bit too late to accommodate her walking speed so I carried her all the way in Ehrenfest. You were present for all the walking she did yesterday”, Damuel confirmed and he could have sworn that Loyalitat flinched for the fraction of a second. It had not been that much walking and at a speed that was comfortable for her. Yep.

“I see that you are quite attuned to the Princess' physical limitations”, he stated and Damuel allowed himself a difficult smile.

“It comes with the territory of keeping any harm away from her”, Damuel deflected and Loyalitat nodded.

“I tend to come to a similar conclusion. But now, Damuel, I want to observe you hunting those feybeasts you mentioned earlier. Do you think you can manage them all alone?”

“If the grun is alone, yes, if there are two I would kindly ask for your support, Loyalitat”, he confirmed and Loyalitat nodded. But even one grun was borderline difficult.

The eifintes, shumils and rattenvogels had been turned into feystones but the zantze had run away in the meanwhile. Now, there were only the grun – or gruns – and the fetze left. But maybe the fetze had run as well. They had agreed to spare the blindschleichs since there was really no challenge in hunting them.

Damuel turned his sword into a halberd in order to go after the grun. Its distinct smell intensified with each step he took in its direction. He considered taking a rejuvenation potion before he launched his attack but he did not want to waste resources for a mere evaluation. Therefore he continued sneaking to the tree that he suspected currently housed the vile feybeast.

He charged his halberd with mana and sneaked around a large rock, ready to impale the grun. Only to be met by the screeching feybeast directly jumping to his face.

He diverted its path with the halberd and managed to injure one of its front legs but the attack that he had intended to use to instantly kill the beast was now wasted for a merely injuring attack. Damuel panted heavily as he began to recharge his weapon. The grun was now angry and intensified his screeching before it jumped once again in his direction with a full-on attack directed at his face again.

Since his weapon was not ready to strike yet he could only jump to the side in order to avoid colliding with its razor sharp claws. That was when something small and fast caught his attention at the corner of his eye. Another grun?

“Loyalitat, to my right!”, he shouted and could see the archknight dashing forward, blocking off his right side from attacks with a halberd of his own in his hands.

Damuel used this opportunity to finish recharging his weapon. As the grun jumped at him for the third time he finally managed to impale it properly right through the mana organ. A feystone fell to the soft ground with a thump.

He was exhausted but did not allow himself to rest before he had confirmed that Loyalitat had everything under control. To his surprise he seemed to have finished already as well since he had undone his weapon transformation. Loyalitat then gestured to Damuel's shoulder where a small, white bird was begging for his attention.

“Seems like you got an ordonnanz instead of a second grun”, he commented but it did not seem mocking to Damuel.

“I apologize for that misjudgment in the heat of the moment”, he said while steadying his breath and turning his weapon back into his schtappe to tap the ordonnanz in order for it to release its message.

“Damuel, this is Auguste. The princess is a bit worried about your current state and is asking for a short message from you to ease her mind.”

Damuel stared at the ordonnanz as it repeated its message two more times. She must be worried quiet badly if her new attendant agreed to sending such a message. Had anything happened? Should he be worried as well?

“Please answer it, Damuel, we do not want the Princess to worry unnecessarily”, Loyalitat commanded with a thoughtful expression and Damuel complied.

“Thank you, Auguste. Princess Rozemyne, please rest assured that I am well. I am currently undergoing an evaluation of my skills so that Loyalitat may assign the best role in your squadron of guards to me. This is standard protocol after a change in head knights so please do not worry about my absence.”

“You are quite close”, Loyalitat noted and Damuel suppressed a frown. Instead he kept his polite neutral face.

“There have been quite a lot of changes in her life recently and I might be the only constant currently”, he suggested and Loyalitat nodded with slightly narrowed eyes.

“Damuel, forgive me for asking such a personal question, but, did you offer her your name?” Damuel froze.

Was that one of her secrets? Or was that allowed to be shared? Should it be shared?

He could feel her mana enveloping him in that moment. He would not risk his death just to find that out.

Damuel just stared at Loyalitat blankly.

“It is honestly the only explanation that remotely makes sense why she was allowed to keep you around as a guard knight after returning to noble society”, Loyalitat continued but Damuel did not react.

“It would also explain the slight white shimmer in your otherwise perfectly yellow mana”, he pressed but was met with silence.

“Damuel?”, he urged him to answer but the threat of immediate death was far more relevant to him right now than potentially angering Loyalitat.

“I am not comfortable answering that question, Loyalitat. If you feel the need to pose such questions please direct them at the Princess herself”, he stated firmly and was met with a knowing smirk.

“I see. I might then just do that”, he confirmed and Damuel exhaled silently.

“Let us return to the training grounds. I think I have seen enough by now. Drink one of your potions now so that you had some time to recover when we arrive.” How wasteful. Those potions did not come cheap!

“Damuel, I will now teach you how to use physical enhancement magic. You do not need to worry about using it in parallel with a weapon. Just try to learn it to increase your speed in general.”

But why should he do that? Was that not a waste of his precious mana?

It seemed that his confusion was slightly written on his face as Loyalitat then elaborated.

“Your fighting strength is negligible, but your senses are quite fine. I therefore see you in the role of the 'dasher', Damuel. Protect your charge by escaping with her from the danger while the rest of her guards either stalls for time or fights off the foes. And the attribute you need for that most is speed. With a focus of enhancement magic into your legs you should fill that role quite formidably.”

Damuel felt surprised at that benevolent evaluation. Loyalitat did not just see him as dead weight that Rozemyne just insisted on keeping around but as a useful part of her retinue? Had anybody ever seen any potential in him? He fought hard against the tears rising to his eyes and nodded.

“I understand. Please teach me how to do that!”

He felt sore from all the training he had done yesterday but knowing that he could be more than just some name-swearing lecture had come as an incredible relief to him. It was one of the rare days over the last year that he actually felt optimistic and somehow even pleased with himself. After his guard duty today he planned to continue his practice of physical enhancement magic.

His mood plummeted as soon as he saw her. He had only been off-duty for one day, why did she look like she was on the verge of death?!

Her attendants seemed concerned as well and Loyalitat, who was on guard duty with him today, as well as three more female knights seemed equally shocked.

“What happened yesterday?”, Damuel inquired breathlessly but they all just answered that they were not aware of anything happening. She was just plagued by nightmares and losing sleep over it.

“Princess Rozemyne, please tell me what is wrong”, he begged her and he saw how her tiny hand started to reach out to him only to be halted after the first few centimeters. Letting her cling to that merchant boy should do the trick but that was no longer an option....

“Damuel...”, she began with a whiny voice and he began to dread how this could play out if she raised the inappropriate demand that she should be allowed to cling to his chest instead. Was it feasible to bring her to Elvira? Was their relationship close enough that they were hugging? Rozemyne had seemed quite stable even after Veronica's execution so the chances were high that Elvira was able to calm her down...

“Auguste, what is her schedule for today?”, he inquired with a complicated frown.

“The same as yesterday. She is meeting with the Zent basically from second and a half bell on till mana dedication after dinner.” What were the chances that the Zent would allow her to depart for Ehrenfest if it meant to calm her emotional state? But was Elvira even free to help out today? If she was not at home right now it would mean to annoy the Zent for nothing.

“..., can we talk?”, she continued her demand and nodded in the direction of one of the walls. Had she gotten a hidden room yesterday? That might actually work out then. If one ignored the fact that he should not be alone with a girl in a hidden room.

Loyalitat seemed to have caught her nod as well and raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Princess, may I ask you something?”, he inquired while squatting down and handed her a sound blocker which she took without really looking at it.

Only a few moments later her eyes began to flicker in rainbow colors. Loyalitat seemed oddly frozen in place at that. Was she currently crushing him?!

Damuel hurriedly took the bag of dustable feystones from his belt, moved towards her and put her hand that was not currently holding the sound blocker in it. While the sudden movement seemed to have alerted the rest of her knights it had also pulled Rozemyne back from whatever had trapped her emotionally.

She returned the sound blocker to Loyalitat with a harsh and tearful glare.

“I apologize, Princess. It was not my place to ask”, he humbly noted and rose back to his feet.

“What is in that bag, Damuel?”, he then inquired and Damuel showed it to him.

“Feystones that may be turned into gold dust. They are quite helpful in a situation of rampaging mana”, he explained while Loyalitat looked inside.

“The Zent's personal retainers provide me with these bags to allow Princess Rozemyne an immediate outlet”, he continued since Loyalitat looked at him suspiciously. That explanation at least seemed to have calmed that look.

“Quite a valuable thing to casually have at your belt”, he noted but Damuel shrugged.

“It is crested with the Zent's own crest. I doubt anybody would be so foolish as to steal from the Zent”, Damuel pointed at the bottom of the bag and saw how Loyalitat flinched slightly before he returned the bag to him.

“I guess I have my answers”, Loyalitat mumbled. Yeah, being crushed for asking whether he was her name-sworn and casually carrying around a bag of expensive feystones and gold dust would remove the last of his doubts.

“Damuel, it seems the Princess has something to talk to you about inside her hidden room”, he then stated and Damuel noticed how Rozemyne instantly looked up. Did she really think her very open demand would just be ignored? She was a princess now after all. Of course she would be accommodated wherever possible.

“Please try to keep it to maximum an eighth of a bell, Princess”, Auguste advised as she prepared a chair for Rozemyne to stand on in order to open her hidden room. Her tiny size was really inconvenient at times.

But while he had tried to push the thought away he knew what was about to come. Hopefully nobody would ever find out.

“Damuel, are you truly okay?”, she asked almost immediately as the door closed behind them. Damuel was taken aback that that was what she had wanted to talk about.

“Yes, Princess Rozemyne. I was merely off from guard duty so that Loyalitat could become aware of my skills and limitations. He then devised a training regimen for me so that I could fulfill the role he sees me in.” Her teary eyes did not seem convinced to him so he tried to change his angle.

“Princess Rozemyne, has anything happened that makes you so concerned for me?” Was she just anxious or was he truly in danger and yet unaware?

“You... you have given me your name...”, she began but Damuel was confused. That was not such a recent thing.

“Indeed, I did”, he confirmed before he froze.

Had the Zent threatened her with taking it from her since he already held the stone 'for safekeeping'?

Damuel did not even want to think about the implications of that possible case.

“Why did you do that?”, she asked and he could see the first tears falling from her eyes. How much should he say? She was already so emotional.

“It was a prerequisite to continue working as your guard knight, Princess Rozemyne. And I do not mind having done it at all. I meant my pledge”, he tried to assure her but it somehow seemed to have the opposite than intended effect.

“I am so sorry, Damuel!”, she now cried openly but he was overwhelmed by the question of what to do. At that rate she might really lose control over her mana. Not good. Not good at all.

“Please don't be, Princess Rozemyne. How about we talk about something else? Are you perhaps curious which role Loyalitat has assigned to me? It is called 'dasher' and in a moment of threat I am supposed to do this”, he clumsily explained while squatting down and reaching out to her.

He then grabbed her and took her on his arm which she used immediately to sling her own arms around his neck and cry on his chest.

Yeah, as expected. But at least he had a thinly veiled excuse now.

“I did not know that your thread is bound to mine now, Damuel”, Rozemyne sniffed between sobs and Damuel slightly patted her back like he had seen Lutz do in the past. It seemed to help at least a little bit.

So that was what she had learned yesterday? To know that his life was somehow on her shoulders was maybe not the easiest thing to stomach but still... her reaction seemed over the top even for her... unless.... He squeezed her to his chest.

“How much did you overexpend your mana?”, he inquired with a lump in his throat and her shivering and sobbing confirmed his fears.

“He got so angry”, she managed to say before another wave of crying shook her and Damuel squeezed her once again. What else could he even do right now?

“He said I did not even care that you would die with me”, she pressed through gritted teeth even though she was interrupted several times by more convulsing cries before she eventually managed to finish the whole sentence.

So she had used so much mana that the Zent had thought she had tried to end her own life?

“Myne, I know you would never”, he assured her with the same words that her father had used in hopes that that would calm her down. But it seemed like he had miscalculated massively as he was met with a truly blood-curdling scream.

He took her head in his hand and squeezed her even firmer. He wondered how long her attendants would wait before they became impatient with them. That eighth of a bell was definitely over by now.

But he still could do nothing more than to let her cry herself calm again. Her sobs became less frequent and less severe after a few more minutes.

“Damuel, is there a way to give it back?”, she whispered with a tinge of desperation but Damuel froze.

“Please don't”, he pleaded quietly and he noticed how she pushed her head back from his chest for the first time since he had taken her into his arm. Her eyes were swollen from all the crying as she looked up at him.

“Why? I don't want to drag you down with me”, she mumbled and he squeezed her once more.

“You are not dragging me down, you are rising me up”, he admitted but she did not seem convinced.

“I am a layknight of the lowest stratum of a middle-ranked duchy who is now working as the guard knight of the Zent's only daughter in the Sovereignty”, he tried to explain but Rozemyne's eyes were still lacking understanding.

“The rules of society basically make it impossible for me to withdraw from such a jump in status”, he continued, carefully stretching his words to make them less severe. The rules of society would definitely end his political life in that case, but the Zent would end his literal life.

“In order to keep your secrets he would take my name if you decided that you do not want it anymore. And I do not want him to have it. Even though he must never know that this is how I feel”, Damuel explained and Rozemyne gasped at the sudden reveal.

“But he has your namestone right now”, she remarked sadly.

“I know. And I pray to all the gods that that is merely to prevent you from returning it to me”, he admitted with a long sigh.

It was now her who was squeezing him.

She was so warm as she did that. At first he thought he was just imagining things but she soon grew incredibly hot.

“Myne! Please don't! Control your mana!”, he shouted, using her given name in order to reach her at her core, but as she opened her rainbow-colored eyes she just shook her head.

“I have to use it to protect you, Damuel”, she explained matter-of-factly as she thus began to pray.

“O mighty King and Queen of the endless skies, ye mighty God of Darkness and Goddess of Light; O mighty Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm, ye mighty Goddess of Water Flutrane, God of Fire Leidenschaft, Goddess of Wind Schutzaria, Goddess of Earth Geduldh, God of Life Ewigeliebe; I ask that ye hear my prayers and grant thy blessings.

I offer thee my heart, my prayers, my gratitude, and ask for thy holy protection. Grant him who bound his thread to mine the power to strive toward his goals, the power to deflect malice, the power to heal his pain, and the power to endure trials and tribulations.”

Golden light rained down on him like soft flakes and he could feel the immediate effect of not feeling hurt from his training anymore.

Had she just prayed to all the seven at once? And her prayer had been granted? What kind of blessing was that?

“I thank you, Myne”, he said while squeezing her once more.

“We need to flail as hard as we can, Damuel”, she advised in her strange wisdom. He noticed how her temperature at least had returned to normal.

“But we have to keep that our secret”, she then declared. Was she aware that she was invoking her command by such a declaration? Should he inform her?

“Understood, Princess Rozemyne”, he said while returning to his guard knight persona. She nodded and gestured for him to set her down. She then stared at his shirt that was absolutely drenched in her tears but he just slightly shook his head.

“Do not worry, there is a spell for that”, he explained and produced his schtappe to cast a waschen on his shirt. After roughly ten seconds it was clean and dry again.

“Please hold your nose and close your mouth, Princess Rozemyne”, he proposed and waited till she complied before he cast waschen on her as well.

“Unfortunately I am unable to heal your puffy eyes, but I am sure one of your attendants is capable of casting Heilschmerz on you, Princess Rozemyne. Shall we depart?” It was still obvious that she had cried but hopefully her new retainers would not pry for the details.

“Yes, let's face them.”

Chapter Text

End of summer of his 6th year of zenthood. Day 1 in the Sovereignty. Age 21. Rozemyne Age 7.

Her comment about his liquid mana tasting 'slightly sweet and tasty' when it had been repulsive beyond reason last autumn did not leave Ferdinand's mind. After he had given her over to her own retainers he just had to verify it.

He stared at the two feystones that were set into the registration frame for the Replenishment Hall and could not deny that they were considerably close in color. Rozemyne had a slight yellow tinge but apart from that there was not much difference from his own almost-white color. Ferdinand was sure that she had not faked her disgust at his potions last year and he knew for sure that the sleeping draught on his belt was mild enough to be basically tasteless.

Was there a chance that she was still dyed in his colors after almost a full year? Was that maybe something that was different between nobles and commoners with the Devouring?

“Grutrissheit”, he chanted and he ignored the sudden eagerness in the eyes of his most trusted retainers. His only intention was to read.

He had not bothered so far with searching explicitly for content on the devouring since it usually only yielded weakly manaed individuals which did not concern him. The page that had opened for him also only provided barely relevant information. Apparently commoners with the devouring were slightly omni-elemental with a dominance of the color of the gate closest to their place of birth.

That might explain her inclination towards the wind attribute, but this feystone here was definitely not 'slightly' omni-elemental.

He was frustrated at having wasted his time by reading this. But he finished even the last paragraph in hopes that it could provide an explanation. His book was now referring to something called 'the mark of Ewigeliebe'.

Ferdinand was unsure what that should be. A mark on the skin similar to a love bite perhaps from that God famous for his possessiveness of his Geduldh?

But Ferdinand had seen her undressed during her medical examination and had not seen anything out of the order on her skin. Her body seemed absolutely unharmed if one ignored all the clumps of hardened mana inside of her from her brushes with death.

Brushes with death? Was that maybe what his Book of Mestionora referred to since Ewigeliebe was the God of Life and Death?

He continued reading the referenced article about those with the 'mark of Ewigeliebe' and his smile froze.

Well, not like the colors she was now stuck with were exceptionally bad or anything....

He swore to himself that nobody may ever know about that part.

Ferdinand was positively surprised that Rozemyne felt well enough on the next day after her overexpending of mana to continue their lecture on math and physics even though he noticed the clear signs of lack of sleep and exhaustion on her still.

She also seemed quite skittish which only worsened with every word he seemed to say, independent of whether he was praising something, questioning something or merely asking for clarification.

Was she trying to bury herself in work to distract herself from whatever had made her unable to sleep that night? Would she calm down on her own over time or should he interfere?

For the time being he decided to not stress her out any further and let Justus do all the talking. Which he did a lot of.

Heidemarie once again was tasked with copying her drawings from the wooden boards Rozemyne had prepared beforehand to the large slate in their room.

“..., and as you can see you can use this principle to determine all angles inside any shape as long as you divide it into triangles first and apply all that we discussed about triangles to that.”

Ferdinand was unsure where he could ever apply such strange academic knowledge but he was fascinated nevertheless. He wondered whether even Drewanchel's scholars had ever bothered with describing geometric shapes in such detail and in such a consistent way.

But even though he had not said anything over the last bell and just let her explain everything, she still seemed to have increased in nervousness. So his initial approach was not the correct one?

“Rozemyne, it seems that something else is on your mind”, he commented after she had given Heidemarie the next board she wanted drawn on the large slate. Her eyes flickered into rainbow colors shortly as she froze, confirming his suspicion that she was barely holding it together.

Was she trying to dance with Grammaratur or avoiding to answer him?

“You may speak plainly if you feel bereft of Grammaratur's divine guidance”, he offered smiling neutrally and she seemed like she was gathering her courage to answer him.

“I have not seen Damuel since yesterday evening and I am worrying about why that might be the case”, she mumbled.

So she doubted his own words that he was not the one threatening Damuel's life yesterday? Should he feel insulted at that? Or glad that she was not totally trusting in anybody's words?

“Did you not ask your retainers?”, he inquired. Since he had not ordered Damuel away from her it was most likely just a day off for him. The first one in weeks even. Was she so selfish as to begrudge him that?

“They said that he is assigned to training with Loyalitat today”, she confirmed and Ferdinand raised an eyebrow. That was expectable enough from her new head knight. What was the issue then if she already knew the answer?

“I fail to see the cause for your concern. Training days are part of a knight's duty. If you are so worried just have your attendant send him an ordonnanz or something.” She widened her eyes in surprise as if she had not thought about that being a possibility before.

She was really not as familiar with life as a noble as he had hoped by now.

“May I do that now?”, she asked with eagerness and he waved his hand in agreement.

“You may.”

“Auguste, please send an ordonnanz to Damuel and ask him whether he is okay”, she requested clumsily and her attendant complied immediately although with slight signs of reluctance on her face. Did she disapprove of Damuel? Or of her lady showing such open worry about one of her retainers? Not that he cared too much about that. Managing her retinue would surely help her grow as well.

The answer however took longer than expected. Did he record such a long message or did they not want to interrupt their training session?

Rozemyne did not seem to take the waiting period well until the ordonnanz finally returned to Auguste's arm. He made a mental note to teach her about the limitations of an ordonnanz anytime soon so that she knew not to worry too much as long as the little bird took flight.

When his answer finally sounded from Auguste's arm it seemed that they had indeed been in the middle of some strenuous exercise as Damuel sounded still slightly out of breath as he spoke. Loyalitat must be surely questioning his assignment and was trying to figure out how to make the best out of it. He could not blame him for that.

It seemed at least that Rozemyne calmed down at hearing his voice.

So she was indeed majorly concerned about his life. Now that she understood that his survival literally depended on hers she should finally become less reckless. If only he had been aware of her not understanding this aspect of name-swearing beforehand.... He had wondered why he had not seen any change in her behavior after the name-swearing but at least by now the risk of her just giving up and running away to the towering stairway should be eliminated.

She seemed so lost in thought over lunch that he could not even spot the signs of disapproval for the food on her face anymore. That had been such an important topic for her yesterday. It was unlikely that she had just accepted his point of view as factually correct and superior to her own selfish desires.

Only after lunch, with her focus back on the lecture she was giving, her condition seemed to improve if one disregarded her clear signs of tiredness which Ferdinand was willing to do.

She was now talking about more practical things again, about how pressure increased with how small a pipe was. She referenced the concept of 'squared' that she had introduced yesterday in her math lecture and now used is as 'squared of squared'. He actually needed a moment to digest that concept. Could he apply that to his image of the flow of mana? He had to try that out later tonight.

She almost fell asleep over dinner but jerked up quick enough to not put her head on the table. Her attendant seemed slightly concerned about that but since Rozemyne seemed intent on powering through she must have decided against speaking out. Maybe he had to send her a remark about speaking out a bit more on her behalf. Or maybe he should wait whether Rozemyne intended to do that herself. A bit of adjustment period for a new master-retainer-relationship was to be expected. He should not interfere directly at the beginning.

“Rozemyne, remember our discussion from yesterday”, he began as soon as they knelt down on the carpet in the Replenishment Hall. The sudden alertness in her eyes had removed all signs of tiredness in an instant. So she does remember. Good.

“I will inform you as soon as I feel a slight drain on my mana, Ferdinand”, she confirmed immediately and Ferdinand nodded. She was indeed a fast learner. Just her susceptibility to misunderstandings seemed to hinder her.

And indeed, as she called their mana dedication to an end she was still able to stand and walk. But she had still dedicated more mana than he had expected. Her recovery speed mana-wise was truly impressive.

“Good. I am glad you kept your word”, he acknowledged but his praise seemed to make her flinch nevertheless. She does not deal well with sleep deprivation.

“Now get back to your chambers and get some sleep”, he advised while guiding her out of the Replenishment Hall. She seemed to comply immediately.

Justus informed him the next morning of the possibility that Rozemyne was not well enough to hold another lecture on math and physics. Her night attendant had reported another night devoid of any sleep for her with the most rest seemingly being gained while reading the book on her nightstand. She had also reported that Rozemyne might be in a state of 'emotional unwellness' right now.

But why? Today was only her third day in the Sovereignty. Even if Elvira had merely replaced her birth family and friends as her emotional support system there should not be any problems for at least another week if it was that 'death by loneliness'-phenomenon again. He raised one finger to his temple.

He had taken care not to schedule her for more than two weeks in order to not deal with that again. And according to both Eckhart's and Damuel's reports from her time in Ehrenfest she had been doing fine emotionally. Even witnessing Veronica's execution had only disturbed her for a few days. This could not be the food thing, right?

He informed Justus that they would occupy themselves with paperwork as well if Rozemyne was indeed not in any condition to continue her most curious lectures and he saw the signs of disappointment in his retainer's eyes. Ferdinand was well aware of Justus' interest in new and unknown things.

Another ordonnanz arrived for Justus, inquiring, whether the meeting with Rozemyne till lunch should still take place as she seemed to be eager to continue the lectures even though they were quite late by now. So they had managed to calm her down? Even better if he did not have to deal with helping a child who should have the mental strength of an adult regulate her emotions.

He agreed in an instant since her otherworldly knowledge was way more interesting than reading just another request from Aub Ahrensbach to open his country gate. Had he not told him that he would choose an appropriate reward for telling him about Veronica's plan himself? The audacity to insinuate that he would gladly accept the opening of his gate as reward....

As Rozemyne entered the meeting room, Ferdinand was not sure whether he should have agreed to holding the meeting still. While he was no stranger to working while sleep deprived it seemed to take a heavy toll on Rozemyne.

She took longer between boards to gather her thoughts and explain the principles on them and weaving them back to the mathematical concepts that she had already introduced came harder to her as well.

As Justus then asked what would happen if the thought experiment changed just one detail she dropped her noble facade that she was still working on and basically shot him a very annoyed glare. Justus at least seemed to take it in stride.

“I do not intend to open that can of worms that is (differential) equations, thank you very much”, she stated with clear signs of exasperation. Ferdinand was amused by that reaction and decided to probe deeper.

“Do you refuse because you do not know it or do you just not remember?”, he inquired with a grin which seemed to make her remember her manners as her noble face immediately returned, albeit in a frightened version.

“I do not refuse, Ferdinand”, she hurriedly clarified with a pale face and Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at her.

“Then that was just a slip in Grammaratur's dance?”, he begged to clarify and he could see her face become even paler before she gathered her breath and courage to answer him.

“Believe me, Ferdinand, you do not even want to know about this stuff. It is confusing, will take me two weeks of lectures just to even make it remotely make sense, and then it all ends up at 'educated guessing' anyway if you ever want to use it in an application.” Grammaratur was really not on her side today, it seemed.

“I see. Maybe we should shelve that for today then and come back to it at some later point”, he agreed.

“Or never”, she mumbled under her breath. He shot her a glare that made her freeze. She really seemed to be forgetting herself if she let her internal monologue slip so easily.

“Rozemyne, your lack of sleep does not excuse such rudeness”, he chastised her mildly but her reaction was full-on fear.

“That's it for today, Rozemyne. Get back to your chambers and get some sleep. If that is not possible for you, I can also provide you with some potion even though I doubt you will like it.”

She had enough awareness still to apologize for her behavior before her quite disturbed attendant guided her from the room. Ferdinand noted how necessary that guidance was as he saw her almost crashing into the door frame if Damuel had not pulled her back at her shoulder at the last possible moment before her inevitable collision.

He then offered to carry her back and she agreed almost immediately. Loyalitat was not pushing for one of her female knights to carry her instead on only his third day? That must have been quite some insightful evaluation of Damuel yesterday then. Ferdinand made a mental note to inquire more details from him.

Close to fifth bell he let Justus inquire with her attendants whether she had finally found some sleep but was met with an ominous answer.

Rozemyne had apparently insisted to go into her hidden room first to talk some more with Damuel, implying that they had already such a private chat before.

Had that been what had calmed her down this morning? Had she made use of him as a confidant who 'kept her secrets'? Not the worst use of a name-sworn.

But Ferdinand was worried that she would waste the time that she should be sleeping with talking instead. He grabbed one of his sleep potions that all but guaranteed one bell of restful, deep sleep – only to be awoken by harsh nightmares after that – and headed over to her chambers with minimal retinue in tow.

And exactly for situations like these he had registered himself to her hidden room as well during its creation yesterday when her attendants had asked for it due to the quite obvious need for a place for Rozemyne to release her emotions safely.

Justus had sent an ordonnanz to her attendant as soon as they departed but since her chambers were not really far from his office they basically arrived at the same time as her confirmation returned.

Her guard knights let him in immediately and he ignored her kneeling attendants as he strode over to her hidden room.

“Rozemyne, I thought I told you to get some sleep and not to spend it talking.” He used the communication magic tool on the door first to announce his arrival but even though he waited for a reaction for a few moments nothing happened.

Thus, he opened the door on his own and entered. The light adjusted as soon as the door closed behind him but he still did not receive any acknowledgment of his presence.

As he turned around the rather empty room he saw Damuel sitting in the corner furthest from the door and Rozemyne curled up against his chest and covered in his cape. While Rozemyne seemed content in their position, Damuel seemed scared to death.

As he should be. What kind of impropriety was going on here?

Ferdinand donned his brightest smile to hide his fury and inquired with a voice as sweet as honey:

“What might you be doing with my daughter, Damuel?”

If it was possible to send somebody to the towering stairway just with one question it seemed to Ferdinand that this one was an applicable case. He took a step forward and drew his schtappe as an open threat but Damuel did nothing to detach himself from Rozemyne.

A quiet sigh escaped her lips as Damuel shifted slightly below her and drew both of their attention. Was she currently asleep?

“Please, I merely tried to prevent her from collapsing from exhaustion”, Damuel pleaded quietly and Ferdinand narrowed his eyes.

“Elaborate”, he demanded but withdrew his schtappe.

“She cannot sleep because she always sees me dying in her nightmares”, he immediately provided and Ferdinand crossed his arms in front of him with a raised eyebrow. That was within the realms of possibility.

“So you derived the plan to let her sleep on your chest?”, he inquired with a disapproving glare which made Damuel flinch again.

“She did not let go of me after I had carried her into her chambers and insisted on having something to discuss still so we went here. But she fell asleep almost as soon as the door closed. I did not want to wake her in her exhausted state but I clearly could not leave with her like this as well”, he explained with clear desperation in his voice.

After he had seen her cling to that merchant boy and heard from Heisshitze's report how she had basically attached herself to her father after her brush with death during the dedication ritual it was unlikely that Damuel was lying here.

“How long have you been comforting her like this?”, Ferdinand inquired with a mocking grin.

Eckhart had not indicated that anything out of the ordinary had happened between them. He had commented on Rozemyne seemingly preferring to be carried by Damuel but since it was also the most sensible choice to have the weakest knight carry her he had not objected. So was this right now a recent development?

Damuel shook his head slightly with wide eyes.

“I let her cry on me this morning for the first time ever as she looked so close to death. I could not risk her to continue in such a fragile state”, he tried to explain and Ferdinand's grin widened.

“Right. The risk of her dying due to losing control is naturally a concern not only for me but for you as well”, he stated with a bit of mirth. There were far more disturbing rumors about what name-sworns had done to keep their master and therefore themselves alive. Hugging and letting her cry on him was rather tame in comparison.

“I will overlook what is transpiring here but see to it that it stays inside a hidden room if a repetition ever becomes necessary. I will let Elvira handle educating Rozemyne on why what you two are doing here is absolutely inappropriate behavior. You are walking a very thin line here, Damuel. One misstep and her nightmares might become reality”, he warned and Damuel seemed to have gotten the message as he was quite pale.

“Understood, my Zent”, he confirmed and Ferdinand turned around in the direction of the door.

“Wake her up in one bell. I expect her attendance at dinner and mana dedication”, he instructed and did not wait for a response. What should he do about the shamelessness of this girl?

He naturally had not expected her to have recovered the missed sleep of two nights in just two bells but even though she had seemed so relaxed on Damuel's chest she still seemed on the verge of death.

He could not really blame Damuel for taking his chances with impropriety instead of her demise due to... nightmares? He had to do something about her soft soul. Rather soon as well.

Rozemyne still did not seem energetic enough to register her distaste for the food. Since it really was exactly the same every day for lunch and dinner he did not cherish any illusions that she would actually like it anytime soon. She was still too childish and inexperienced in life to understand the delightful taste of a guaranteed poison-free meal.

She was still overly quiet as they changed their location to the Replenishment Hall. Once inside she took her position without being prompted.

“Rozemyne”, Ferdinand began but even just that seemed to send her over the edge.

“I will tell you as soon as I feel a slight drain in my mana, Ferdinand”, she confirmed mechanically and Ferdinand nodded.

So she had really learned her lesson. Good.

Praying in unison was still a rather unfamiliar experience for him. Ever since he had left Ehrenfest it had been basically only him and the foundation of the whole country. By now he almost regretted not getting a second contributor earlier.

A bit more leeway mana-wise goes a long way. Maybe he should reconsider that Eglantine from Klassenberg in that regard. Not as a wife, of course. But a second adopted daughter could not be that much more effort than the first.

“Ferdinand, I apologize for my behavior that, while founded in sleep deprivation, was utterly unacceptable. I pray you find it in you to forgive me for my missteps”, she uttered quietly after she had removed her hands from the carpet but was still kneeling on it.

Had Damuel said something to her?

“Oh? To which behavior might you refer?”, he inquired curiously while rising from the carpet.

“My rudeness in regard to (differential) equations”, she clarified which made Ferdinand smirk at her.

“You will be forgiven if you tell me why you hate them so”, he teased her and she immediately rose to her feet and began her justification that boiled down to them being hard and that she had never truly understood them or their application. She only knew that they were used for some applications but felt utterly uncomfortable in solving or teaching them.

“If you want, I can show you the class I had in my memories, but it was really bad. You will only get angry at me for wasting your time”, she concluded evasively and he could not detect any lie on her face.

Interesting that she was even offering to let him peek into her memories right now. She could not be aware that her mana had changed in a way that it was now close enough to his to not result in the revolting taste of her first experience.

“No. I will trust you on that. We will only revisit that topic if it becomes absolutely necessary for solving a problem.”

So Damuel had not said anything. Was he afraid that she would not be able to sleep that night if she knew of his disapproval?

They were once again in the Replenishment Hall dedicating mana. It had been three days since her last sleepless night according to her attendants. Apparently, Damuel was now on night shift together with one of her female guards and Rozemyne called for his name several times a night but was able to fall asleep again as soon as he answered.

But while the signs of exhaustion had lessened she was still way too anxious to Ferdinand's liking. Rozemyne still flinched at almost every interaction even though she should have grown accustomed to him enough by now to at least not show her fear so openly anymore.

Was she still wondering whether he had meant to threaten Damuel? Had he not made it clear several times that he had referred to his status as a name-sworn that put him at risk to her own recklessness?

“I am at my limit”, came their agreed upon indication to stop from her spot behind him. Due to her contribution he was not required to go to his own limits each and every day anymore so he stopped his own flow of mana as well before he reached the point of exhaustion.

He heard her shuffling to stand up and he did the same before he turned around to face her. Once again he was looking into a face full of badly hidden fear.

“Rozemyne”, he began in a quiet, neutral voice but she flinched as if he had screamed at her full of anger. He suppressed the sigh in order to not show her his annoyance. Ridiculous. It seemed all the energy that she had recovered with proper rest went into being on edge around him.

“Yes, Ferdinand?”, she answered in a timid voice while quite obviously forcing herself to not look down. At least that part of Elvira's lectures seemed to have taken root.

“I intend to have you start your socializing in three days with my own adoptive father and one of his sons but your current state will not do for that”, he began to explain but she seemed already frozen at this slight hint of criticism.

“I am growing tired of this, Rozemyne. Cease this fearfulness at every little interaction we have if you would be so kind. It is unsightly and gives people around us the wrong idea on how I treat you. I cannot have you interact with anybody like this”, Ferdinand continued but she did not even nod in acknowledgment. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other which made her eyes widen further and her pupils narrow down.

What? Did she expect him to resort to some kind of physical punishment that she saw just a shift in weight as an increase in threat? Was that some remnant from her life as a commoner?

Ferdinand clicked his tongue in frustration and squatted down in front of her. Being on eye level with her should be less intimidating if that was her concern.

And she actually seemed to calm down slightly at that. Really?

“Rozemyne, I have no intention of hurting you. So stop acting like you expect me to hit you after every word of chastisement.” Her reaction was at least a nod even though she had arrived at that annoying wordlessness again. Was that solely fear and not refusal from her side then? What could make her feel safer then?

“Raise your right arm, Rozemyne”, he instructed and even though her gaze showed her state of confusion she at least followed his command. Ferdinand then plucked the bracelet on his own right arm and put it on her wrist instead. She inspected it shortly after it shrunk to her size. At least her quizzical expression was better than that from a moment before.

“One of your own magic tools?”, she inquired with an unsure voice and Ferdinand was glad to have made her speak again.

“A protective charm that counters physical attacks with the threshold set such that somebody merely barging into you will trigger it. It does not discriminate against the aggressor and will merely protect you and retaliate the attack against whoever made it. Tell me immediately if it came into use as it only has one charge”, he explained and she visibly relaxed at that.

“So, you mean-”, she began before she quite literally bit her tongue and Ferdinand grinned at her in understanding.

“Indeed. It will work against me as well. I can send some more to you at a later point if that helps to reduce your anxiety”, he suggested and now there was a hungry glimmer in her eyes. Ah, so magic tools really held some interest to her.

“I assume this issue of your fearfulness is now overcome by increasing your defenses?”, he inquired after standing up again but while her reaction at his question had definitely improved it was still not something suitable for company.

“Hm, it seems not. Speak, Rozemyne, what makes you flinch so much? I must admit that I do not care for walking on eggshells around you so much”, he commented with slightly narrowed eyes. Always taking care to not induce some mana rampage in her that would just waste her mana was surely annoying. He had chosen to have this talk with her after mana dedication for exactly the reason that currently there was not much to rampage.

“You do not want to walk on eggshells?”, she whispered with eyes shimmering from tears.

“Sorry for being on edge when every misstep means that my family and friends might die”, she now sobbed quietly while glaring at him. Still not looking down. Good. But her reasoning was completely unhinged.

“Rozemyne, while the lives of some strangers definitely depend on your willingness to cooperate with me it is utterly foolish to believe I will hold them over your head for merely educational purposes. Why would I take all this effort with you if I were to throw you away over something as inconsequential as a misunderstood euphemism I had to explain to you or disagreement about the food I serve? Think, fool, and save yourself some agony.” He allowed himself to show his exasperation on his face but her tears did not stop.

“What?”, she brought forth but Ferdinand merely shook his head.

“You have never pulled at somebody's threads and it shows”, he commented with a mix of disappointment and confusion. People usually resisted differently against being manipulated and threatened. They usually knew enough from their own games what reasonable retaliation at which point might entail. But she once again seemed to take his reprimand way too much to heart.

“Rozemyne, I just explained to you that they are not going to die over some lack in education on your side. You may relax.” He noticed how she exhaled at that and then began to calm her breathing.

Elvira still had a lot to do if that level of plainness was required to get through to Rozemyne.

“How can I tell when I annoy you so much that it outweighs my usefulness to you?”, she dared to ask and Ferdinand actually chuckled at her directness. His grin reappeared.

“Oh, you cannot tell?”, he inquired innocently and he could see her shudder. At least this time this was exactly his intended effect. Then her eyes hardened in defiance. That would be her 'just slay me already face' then.

“Your face is always carved from stone, Ferdinand. Mother would be really proud of me if I could hide my emotions so well. Your death glares are calculated and even your grin does not feel natural, just something you want me to see. I get that you are mocking me right now and if I had to guess it is because you think my question is too straight forward, but, no, I cannot tell just how much I annoy you at any given point, Ferdinand. Just that I obviously do. Are you really surprised that I therefore try to not make you mad at all?”

He raised an eyebrow at her explanation and ceded his grin. Instead he now opted for his neutral noble smile. She was already trying her hardest to not make him mad and that was her result? Maybe he had to instruct Elvira to include some more lectures about noble society in general in her study plan.

“I see. You may act under the assumption that I will tell you when you begin to cross that line”, he concluded and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Honestly?”, she asked for confirmation and Ferdinand widened his smile out of habit. If she thought him generous for that he should make it seem intentional.

“Yes, honestly”, he confirmed and was surprised as she instantly jumped into the prayer pose.

“Praise be to Verdraeos!”, she exclaimed and a black light rose to the ceiling. What a peculiar choice in this situation.

“Why did you thank Verdraeos and not Anhaltung?”, Ferdinand inquired with a hint of curiosity and Rozemyne blinked at him before she answered.

“Because I feel like this will deliver me from Chaocipher's clutches”, she admitted.

That made sense actually. A strange, literal sense.

Chapter Text

End of summer of his 6th year of zenthood. Day 8 in the Sovereignty. Age 21. Rozemyne Age 7.

Ferdinand was full of anticipation about his upcoming meeting tomorrow with Leopold and his adoptive brother Constantin, who would be inaugurated as Aub Drewanchel at next year's archduke conference due to Leopold's well deserved retirement.

Ferdinand had hinted in his invitation that this was a familial meeting and not an official one as Zent and Aub but he had not made any mention of Rozemyne at that point. This had been mainly due to his uncertainty whether she was ready to meet anybody outside of his very carefully selected – and magically sworn to silence – circle for her outside of Ehrenfest.

It had come as some kind of relief to him how their most recent talk inside the Replenishment Hall had finally stopped most of that flinching and taciturnity from her side. He had even raided his hidden room afterwards in search of suitable protection charms for her and had emerged with a box of five additional ones that he had then sent to her chambers with the clear message that these were merely 'an option' for her to wear.

He knew that if he made it seem like he ordered her to wear them that she would not put them off over night. But sleeping with too many charms got uncomfortable quite fast. And he had just seen how badly she coped with a lack of sleep.

According to her attendants' report however she opted to wear all of them at all times. That was her own choice then. He would not take any blame for that.

Loyalitat however had inquired for a meeting to discuss her current security level in reaction to that. Ferdinand was almost amused at the diligence of her new head knight to investigate potential reasons for her upped defenses.

“My Zent, I appreciate that you would honor my humble request for a meeting. As it seems that you recently decided to equip the Princess with several protective charms I merely sought to confirm the reason for that rather strong increase in her defenses.” Ferdinand smiled at him with his pleasant socializing smile. 'Rather strong increase' was putting it mildly already. Anybody who now just stumbled into her would regret it quite deeply.

“The considerations that should be taken into account for her security have not changed since you started as her head knight, Loyalitat, so you may rest assured that no adjustment from your side is required. Rozemyne is merely feeling a bit uneasy on unfamiliar terrain so I am indulging her with a bit more tangible safety that those charms provide”, Ferdinand explained politely and Loyalitat nodded.

“Please be aware that they are all only of the physical damage variety. I might add some to reflect mana attacks in the future, but currently this is not the case. Make sure to account for this”, he then instructed.

“Understood, my Zent.”

“Incidentally, Loyalitat, what was the result of your evaluation of Damuel?”, Ferdinand inquired and Loyalitat seemed surprised at that sudden change in topic.

“His senses are rather fine and he has good rapport with the Princess already so I assigned him the role of dasher and a training regimen that focuses on physical enhancement magic to increase his speed for dashing”, he reported and Ferdinand allowed himself to smirk at that. Good rapport, hm?

“The role of the dasher? Not what I had expected but very well. Incorporate him in that role.”

“My Zent? Might I inquire which role you did expect for him?” Loyalitat seemed unsure whether he had upset him with his evaluation but that was not the case for Ferdinand.

“He is quite attuned to her health so I expected him mainly to report on her current state in such a way that she did not collapse or develop fevers unnecessarily”, he remarked and Loyalitat's eyes widened slightly at that revelation.

“I must admit, Loyalitat, I did not expect you to be so trusting in him already. Even a weak layknight could be more than enough danger to Rozemyne if left alone in a hidden room”, Ferdinand then noted with narrowed eyes but Loyalitat did not avert his gaze.

“I judged the risk to be minimal, my Zent, considering that he is her name-sworn and assigned as her retainer by you”, he explained and Ferdinand's smile widened.

So he had figured it out already. Being surrounded by intelligent people was always so reassuring.

“Oh, did they tell you that?”, he asked wondering how they had decided to handle communicating this link between them. Most people decided to keep their name-swearing private after all.

“No, my Zent. Damuel politely refused to answer and referred to the Princess. And the Princess crushed me when I asked her about it”, he summarized with a snort but Ferdinand was not all that amused.

“She crushed you? When was that? Why was I not informed?” Ferdinand had stopped smiling and was now glaring at Loyalitat.

“On the morning of her third day in the Sovereignty, my Zent. I do not believe it was intentional as she was already in a heightened emotional state at that time. It was more the fact that my question disturbed her enough to lose control than the fact that she ended up crushing me that all but confirmed his status as name-sworn for me.”

Ferdinand tapped his temple. The morning of the third day might have been the peak of her sleep deprivation. And if she had thought that Loyalitat was in some way threatening Damuel while she was full of worry for his life then it was not overly surprising that she had decided to crush him. Unintentional crushing was not really likely in that case.

“How oppressive was her mana?”, Ferdinand inquired out of curiosity and Loyalitat's eyes grew distant.

“I had trouble breathing and I remember the distinct taste of blood in my mouth, my Zent”, he reported and a smirk returned to Ferdinand's face.

“Impressive, considering how exhausted she must have been”, he remarked more to himself with a hint of pride. He knew that she had a vast amount of mana but using it under harsh conditions was always a bit more difficult than usual.

“Loyalitat, do not omit reports about any further crushing from her independent of whether you judge it intentional or unintentional.”

He was definitely not allowing her to be raised into a tyrant.

“Rozemyne, how fare your preparations for tomorrow's meeting?”, he inquired at post-lunch tea. The question was more about the work that her attendants had to do in preparation as her own tasks were minor, but he knew that it must have already been a challenge for her. At least she seemed rather unperturbed by his question.

What a difference compared to only a few days ago.

“They are progressing well, Ferdinand. The dress is selected, my attendants have taught me the nuances of status between your guests and me and I have arranged for some gifts. Might I ask you to confirm that my choice of picture book bibles is appropriate?”

Ferdinand judged her noble facade to be still a bit shaky as he could see slight signs of anxiety as she asked for his opinion. He savored his tea for a moment before he considered the question more thoroughly.

“Why did you choose that as a gift, Rozemyne? And why a gift at all? It is not exactly necessary to provide one”, he remarked with a slightly raised eyebrow but she did not recoil. His question was actually not about the gift but to gauge whether Rozemyne could now keep her emotions in check even at slight criticism.

“I asked my attendants about who those guests are and they told me that Drewanchel prided itself as a duchy full of researchers. Researchers like books and new technology so the picture book bibles should be of interest for them. They also surely have children in their house who could already like to read them for their content. And as I imagine you wish to showcase my potential value to them a product from my own workshop is an obvious choice.” She looked him in the eyes without doubt about her reasoning and he actually felt a bit of pride at her calculating approach.

Teaching her the fine art of manipulating others should bear fruit rather fast. And it should be best to lead by example.

“Indeed, an appropriate choice. I see you are taking your studies quite seriously. I am therefore offering you a reward if tomorrow's meeting proceeds in a satisfactory manner.”

Rozemyne seemed surprised by his words. But her behavior over the last days had once again confirmed his suspicion that she was more easily motivated by potential rewards than by potential punishments.

“You are too kind, Ferdinand. A successful meeting will be all the reward I need”, she said but the faint glimmer in her eyes revealed her curiosity and betrayed her words. Was she hoping for a new book?

“I will allow your chefs to join you for your future stays in the Sovereignty and they will be allowed to prepare one dish for lunch and dinner each in a side kitchen”, he revealed and her expression brightened with every word he said. Too easy.

“May we quickly take shelter under Verbergen's shroud?”, she suddenly inquired while glancing at the area wide sound blocking tool on the table and Ferdinand was curious what that was now about.

But he decided to humor her since she rarely seemed so eager to discuss something with him. Justus activated the tool after a quick gesture from Ferdinand.

“Well?”, he prompted and she straightened her back, albeit not in fear but more in determination.

“I apologize, but my attendants always seem so disapproving when I speak plainly and I need this discussion to be plain and direct. Please define what will make tomorrow's meeting a success. I cannot risk to work on assumptions here”, she declared with an eagerness that he had not expected her to show. Properly motivated indeed.

“First of all, you need to behave like the newly adopted daughter of the Zent”, he instructed but she already seemed confused by that.

“As in 'cannot believe how lucky I am' or 'shy and obedient'?”, she begged to clarify and Ferdinand's grin widened.

He should have tried that earlier. The extra effort on Justus for checking on her chefs would be easily compensated by the saved effort he had to make on managing her.

“Obedient, yes, shy, no. A certain amount of gratefulness for your situation would help, indeed. But you are too bad at lying to keep it believable, so do not overplay that angle”, he instructed and she nodded with conviction before she looked at him as if to say “Next?”.

“You were right in your assumption that I wish to showcase your value. So if they leave the meeting with the feeling that they are missing out by not having you, I will call it successful from that perspective”, he clarified but she seemed to have questions even over these so very plain and clear words.

“Are you referring to mana, product ideas or (physics)?”, she inquired with a furrowed brow.

“All three, naturally. You may ask them whether the gold dust was helpful for the first and talk about printing and paper making for the second. For (physics) I will provide some opportunities”, he elaborated but she still seemed unsatisfied.

Had she stopped asking for details in the past because she did not want to annoy him way too early for her to actually understand him fully? And now, with the appropriate bait and not fearing for her birth family, she was casting aside all her restraint to achieve her goal?

“All that gold dust went to them? And how detailed should I talk? For products I know when I will enter the realm of trade secrets, but where is the cut-off for (physics)? For me that is all common knowledge but it is worth a lot of money, right?”, she asked with a very calculating expression on her face.

“Not all of it went to them. I expected as much from you for the products. Do not worry about the physics. I will tell you when to stop”, he declared and she finally nodded once again.

“Rozemyne, I need you to understand that they are valuable allies and supporters for me, but they are not without their own motivations. If you feel like you need help in handling them place your hand on your cheek”, he instructed after some serious thought that she might say something unnecessary in an attempt to solve an overwhelming situation.

“Like so?”, she asked and tilted her head with a hand on her cheek in an objectively adorable way that made him grin.

“Just so”, he confirmed.

Hopefully, this ridiculous amount of preparation now would mean a very successful meeting tomorrow.

Ferdinand had left his office as the ordonnanz that announced Rozemyne's departure from her chambers had arrived. He knew that it would not take her long to reach the hallway before his office so he decided to wait for her there.

Since neither Aub Drewanchel nor his son were allowed into his private living quarters their meeting naturally had to happen in one of the publicly accessible meeting rooms on the Royal Academy grounds. But as Rozemyne turned around the corner on the hallway he could not really believe his eyes for what he saw.

She was currently radiating with joy. She obviously tried her best at her princess face but the underlying emotions that peeked through the cracks were very positive ones.

How much had she hyped herself up in preparation for this meeting? And just how much did she want to change his food? Was she really so obsessed with the dishes her own chefs prepared?

“Which meeting room have you chosen, Justus?”, he inquired and was immediately supplied with the answer. It was the closest to the living quarters and the way to it did not even include stairs. Close enough then for her to walk. Should he escort her there? Had her fear of him calmed down enough for that?

He decided to offer her his arm to gauge her reaction. They were still in his private living quarters after all so if she declined nobody would tell.

But to his surprise she did not decline. She also did not lean heavily on his arm but she did accept his escort.

However, he also did not miss how she touched one of her charms for confirmation that it was still there. What was wrong with her that she expected him to resort to violence against such a weak little girl as her?

Her pace then was a test of his patience but he knew that she was not trying to anger him. She was just that slow. He sighed internally but did not let his frustration show.

The meeting room was close. And arriving there while escorting her sent the right message. An acceptable sacrifice of his time.

As they entered the meeting room, Leopold and his son Constantin were already kneeling in wait. He did not expect them to do that but he appreciated the gesture anyways.

As they looked up to greet him he noticed the shortly lived signs of shock on their faces as they hastily scrutinized the little girl at his arm with a white cape around her shoulders.

But they were not Aub Drewanchel and his successor for nothing. They recovered their noble facades in the blink of an eye.

Did Rozemyne even notice that? If so she did not seem to react.

“This is Rozemyne, my recently adopted daughter. She had her baptism just this summer and you may be looking forward to her official debut in spring”, he then introduced her so that they would know how to proceed with their greetings which they immediately did.

Constantin's expression seemed already calculating to Ferdinand while Leopold's was a bit harder to read. Amusement, curiosity and... pride?

Rozemyne graciously accepted their blessings and provided appropriate ones in return without requiring any cue from him. At least one thing less that Elvira had to continue working on with her.

“As I wrote in my invitation, I do not intend this meeting to be one between Zent and Aub, but a familial one”, Ferdinand then opened the meeting with a pleasant socializing smile which the two adults returned while Rozemyne even seemed to show an honest one right now. Just how much did she want that food?

“I'd therefore like to omit the honorifics for today”, he then continued and naturally nobody raised any objections. Ferdinand however then gestured for Justus to activate the area wide sound blocking tool on the table before he continued any further.

While he trusted Leopold and Constantin to keep things confidential it was always best to keep the number of people who knew something that should not be spread as small as possible.

“I must admit, Ferdinand, I did not expect you to continue Drewanchel's long standing tradition of adopting promising children so soon. You are still so early in your autumn”, Leopold noted with a caring smile and Ferdinand chuckled slightly at that remark. He noticed Rozemyne's rising signs of confusion but since she did not say anything he did not pay any further attention to that.

“Rozemyne, I must admit I am ever so curious – how did you manage to draw the Zent's attention even before your baptism?”, Leopold inquired with a grandfatherly smile that proved his expert skills in the art of information gathering. Ferdinand just smiled and observed. He himself was curious how she would answer.

To his amusement she blushed slightly. Oho? Was she better at socializing than he had expected? Or was the mere thought about admitting that he stopped her from crushing Ehrenfest's High Bishop now embarrassing to her?

“I have been living in the Ehrenfest temple and I believe it must have been a report from his Inquisitors that were observing his temple reforms that drew his attention. Something about me dedicating more mana in half a year than the rest of the blues in a whole year and my skillful handling of paperwork. Do I remember that correctly, Ferdinand?”, she inquired with an unsure, but adorable smile and Ferdinand's own smile widened. Was she actually skilled at twisting the truth? More than he had known so far?

“That was at least part of that, Rozemyne. They also mentioned your workshop and what you had done to help the orphanage with the means you were provided”, he then added and he saw the slight signs of disbelief on their faces. Of course. Those were quite a lot achievements for an unbaptized child. And of course they knew that he did not care about the orphanage in particular.

“As it then turned out, Rozemyne is blessed by many gods even though her life started with a trial from Glucklitat and Dauerleben”, he summarized and was met with a raised eyebrow from Leopold.

“That viper messed with her as well?”, he inquired and Ferdinand nodded before he elaborated a bit more on her fake backstory. He was satisfied to be the one to inform them of Veronica's execution. Rozemyne also supplied some details here and there that might or might not have been founded in truth and it seemed that they grew accepting enough of her story. That was relieving. This first test run was proving satisfactory.

“Ferdinand, when you said that she is blessed by many gods, are you speaking in a figurative way or in a literal way? With anybody else I would not need to ask, but with you I cannot exclude the possibility of the latter being true”, Leopold then begged to clarify with an eager expression on his face and Ferdinand's smile turned into a wide grin.

“You are as perceptive as always, Leopold”, he acknowledged and he noticed how Constantin had flinched slightly at that revelation. Rozemyne however did not seem to mind the implication.

“One might say that Schlaftraum helped her to sneak into Mestionora's library and read to her heart's content from many books that might be forever forgotten by the rest of the world”, he proposed and while Leopold and Constantin widened their eyes Rozemyne now seemed slightly upset by his words.

“Ferdinand, please do not phrase it like that. I would never sneak into a library. The doors were always open”, she then corrected him with a slightly twitching smile and it amused him that that was the notion she wished to correct. And not that he had basically alluded to her having divinely guarded knowledge.

“What topics might those books have covered, Rozemyne?”, Constantin now asked cautiously.

“Math and (physics), ehm, principles of nature, are the topics that I told Ferdinand most about so far, but there were many more about human nature in general and quite a lot about music as well. It might be easier to ask what was not covered and that I would answer with 'magic'”, she answered which seemed to confuse both Constantin and Leopold while Ferdinand chuckled.

He should maybe help her out a bit to drive the discussion into easier terrain.

“Ah, Leopold, Constantin, just observe her problem solving technique. It is driven by that forgotten knowledge and truly fascinating to watch”, Ferdinand commented with a knowing grin which made his adoptive father raise an eyebrow in amusement.

“Oh? Now I am intrigued if even you find it fascinating”, Leopold chuckled and presented her with one more of his grandfatherly smiles.

“Constantin, I am sure there is some minor grievance that is plaguing you right now. Tell Rozemyne about it without offering any hints on what you might have tried already. Only provide information that she actively asks for or that will be a hindrance to her proposed solution.”

Constantin seemed slightly confused by that but then gave it some serious thought before he decided on something.

“Very well, I am most curious now as well. Rozemyne, there is this large statue in the castle's great hall, which is on the ground floor. During winter socializing I like it there, but over the summer I would prefer for it to be placed in my private chambers, which are on the third floor. How should I do that?”, he proposed and Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at that. Indeed an interesting issue. Pulling it out through a window and lifting it up via highbeast might work, but he remembered that statue. It was huge and definitely heavy. Doing it like this was a massive waste of mana.

“You could put the statue on wooden logs to move it more easily”, she proposed before she went into more details on how with just a few wooden logs that statue could be rolled across the floor almost like it would be floating.

“That will help to move it across the great hall, but the statue is too large to fit through the doors”, Constantin commented and Rozemyne tilted her head.

“So you put it in there through the windows?”, she inquired and Constantin nodded with clear signs of anticipation of her next suggestion.

“Are your private chambers by chance located directly above that great hall?”, she then asked but Constantin shook his head.

“But there is a balcony which is connected to my chambers via a spacious hallway. Does that help?”, he supplied and Rozemyne furrowed her brow.

“Ferdinand, can I ask my attendant to give me some paper to sketch something?”, she inquired and Ferdinand nodded before he gestured for her attendant to enter the range of the sound blocking tool.

“I need some paper and ink, Auguste”, she ordered and her attendant complied immediately. Was this such a common order for her that her attendant already carried those things readily with her?

“So, if I understand it correctly, the statue is here, the balcony maybe here, the hallway like this and your chambers somewhere here?”, she asked while scribbling something on her paper.

Constantin looked at it and nodded hesitantly.

“What kind of parchment is that?”, he asked mesmerized while cautiously touching one corner of the sheet and Rozemyne looked up from whatever she was calculating or trying to remember.

“Plant paper from my workshop. I developed it as a cheaper alternative to parchment”, she explained with her head tilted as if she was confused at his confusion before she stared at the sheet in front of her again.

“Is there any reason why you are not just using a (pulley)?”, she then asked while scratching her head not very ladylike.

“You might want to elaborate on what that is, Rozemyne”, Ferdinand prompted her and she looked at him as if she had forgotten that he was there.

“Oh, I mean, the thing with the rope and the (sheave). Ehm, the rope and the rolls?”, she tried to clarify but was met with silence.

“I mean that mechanism, where you trade the length of rope you have to pull with the amount of force you have to apply to it. Similar to the principle of (leverage).” But the repeated lack of understanding seemed to irritate her. She smiled shyly before she tilted her head and put her hand on her cheek. Calling for help during the demonstration of her skills? Hm.

“You may want to explain those mechanisms, Rozemyne. They are not common knowledge”, he suggested and she immediately nodded and switched into what he had started to call 'lecture mode'. That had been salvageable easily enough.

Both Constantin and Leopold shot him glances multiple times as she dove into her explanations but he only smiled at them knowingly. As they had finally understood Rozemyne's proposal they did not offer any counterpoints and instead deemed it a usable solution.

“That was impressive”, Leopold acknowledged and the first signs of hunger showed in his eyes similarly to those of his son.

“Truly fascinating”, Constantin confirmed while still staring at the sketches she had used to explain it to him. Including a quick dive into the principles of the graphs she liked to use for her illustrations.

“Rozemyne, might I ask you a bit more about this 'plant paper' that you used?”, Constantin then inquired and Rozemyne smiled at him. Where did she take all that positive energy from? That was not her facade, that was her true mood right now. Was that perhaps pride in her product?

“I will try to answer as long as trade secrets are not at stake”, she then confirmed with a calculating expression that did not really fit a barely baptized girl but it definitely fit the current point of discussion. And it would not do for a Princess of Yurgenschmidt to be tricked into spilling valuable secrets in her first socializing session at that.

“Then, might I ask, roughly, how this paper is made?”, Constantin inquired and Ferdinand had to suppress his own slightly angry reaction. He wanted to see how Rozemyne reacted to this, but this attempt was just too obvious.

“You need wood, a few specialized tools and roughly two weeks of time”, she responded and then just smiled at him. Indeed a rather rough explanation of the whole process. Ferdinand joined her in smiling.

“No skilled workers are required?”, he then asked and Rozemyne shook her head slightly.

“My workshop workers are the children of the orphanage. While they are indeed very hardworking and some are more skilled than others I do not have any particular requirements for them. Even though it helps if they are at least baptized just due to the length of their arms and their respective strength”, she mused and the hunger in Constantin's eyes grew deeper.

Not that Rozemyne seemed intimidated by that. Was she currently just ignoring everything that usually scared her in exchange for achieving her food related ambitions right now? Or did she actually like that haggling for information right now?

“May I invite you to set up such a workshop in Drewanchel as well? Our temple has been reformed for several years now and the orphanage children would surely appreciate the opportunity to improve their quality of life in such a way as well”, he suddenly suggested with an open and inviting smile.

Ferdinand was ready to interfere as soon as Rozemyne would start to make concessions that she should not do. But his fear was unfounded. Instead she had started to glare at Constantin.

“Constantin, we may be meeting without requirements for formality today, but I find it hard to see how you are not currently overstepping by trying to lure me into promises that actually require proper negotiations and contracts to be set up with my dear adoptive father who is sitting right next to us. Pray tell, are you being abandoned by Gebordnung or Grammaratur?”

It seemed she still had trouble to politely refuse something. But her firm declaration that she was his still worked in this specific situation. A bit risky, but acceptable.

The mood naturally turned serious in an instant. Constantin seemed taken aback by her open retort and Leopold was flitting his eyes between Rozemyne and Ferdinand.

Ferdinand allowed the tension to rise for a moment longer before he put a hand on Rozemyne's shoulder who stopped glaring in an instant and resumed her noble facade. The underlying mood behind her facade however was not as bright anymore. She really did not like to be touched.

“I apologize for my outburst, Ferdinand”, she immediately conceded but Ferdinand chuckled slightly.

“There is no need for that. It seems my brother was trying to garner Greifechan's attention but got led astray”, he commented before he removed his hand from her shoulder. That whole exchange right now could definitely count as an obedient daughter. To think she could actually deliver so thoroughly.

“Incidentally, Constantin, I plan for plant paper and printing to be spread to Drewanchel as soon as the flow for establishing new workshops has been optimized in Ehrenfest. With proper contracts in place, of course”, he added with a smirk while glancing at Rozemyne.

“We appreciate this consideration greatly, Ferdinand”, Constantin confirmed immediately and the tension was gone again.

“But what might this 'printing' be that you just mentioned?”, Leopold inquired and Ferdinand widened his smile again.

“Rozemyne, I believe you prepared some gifts for our guests today?”, he remarked and she immediately gestured for her attendant to provide the two picture book bibles. Drewanchel's attendants then performed the standard poison tests on the gifts before they then placed them on the table in front of their lords.

“These are the first books that were printed in my workshop. They cover stories about the Supreme Couple in a manner of speech that is easy to understand for children and can be used to teach them both about the gods and how to read at the same time”, she declared while they were scrutinizing the books discreetly.

“You do not only use this new paper but also some new ink, correct?”, Leopold asked after he had opened the first page and had seemingly noticed immediately the difference in color to normal ink. A researcher's mind always noticed such details.

“Indeed. The existing ink is not very suitable for printing”, she informed them. But they still did not seem to get the full picture which she picked up on as she then elaborated further.

“Those two books in front of you are identical. And there are currently about eighty books more that are identical to them. This was achieved in roughly three days of printing them instead of the many many weeks it might have taken to copy them by hand”, she suggested and their eyes widened.

“Including those illustrations...”, Constantin noted absentmindedly and Rozemyne tilted her head as if she did not see much difference between a page of text and a page of illustration.

“That text is also quite well put. I remember the original bible texts and they were quite convoluted and antiquated. Was that your doing, Ferdinand? To make the words of the gods more accessible?”, Leopold asked after he had speedily read the first two pages but Ferdinand shook his head with a slight chuckle.

“Apart from the actual manufacturing, everything was developed and provided by Rozemyne, Leopold. Of her own accord, I'd like to add”, he emphasized with a grin.

“You must truly love the gods, Rozemyne, to go so far to spread their word”, Leopold commented kindly and Rozemyne smiled at him a bit more brightly than was strictly necessary.

They were getting along well enough. And it seemed like Rozemyne could actually hold her position against Drewanchel. They were of course going easy on her, but he had expected it to go worse.

“That is not truly the reason, Leopold. I just love books! I want there to be many, many more books in this world!”, she exclaimed and Ferdinand had to suppress a sigh.

That enthusiasm was way too telling of her motivations. Drewanchel might just agree with that notion but even they would see it as the weakness that it was.

“Oh, then the Royal Academy library must be your favorite place in the whole Sovereignty”, he suggested with his grandfatherly smile and Ferdinand noticed how her eyes widened. Ferdinand had decided against telling her about that place for a good reason. He had to stop that before it could escalate.

“It is still too early for Rozemyne to get registered there, Leopold. She did not even have her debut yet”, he remarked and he noticed how Rozemyne deflated barely noticeable at his words. At least she was aware that now was not the time to raise objections.

“Something to look forward to, then”, Leopold agreed and Rozemyne recovered her smile at that. Really, who was this girl who was smiling so much?

“Ferdinand, I must say, you look healthier. Is parenthood actually suiting you?”, Leopold commented with a slightly raised eyebrow as he took a sip from his tea.

“Ah, I am not sure whether I would agree with that notion. It certainly comes with its own set of challenges”, Ferdinand mused while glancing in Rozemyne's direction over his tea cup. But since this seemed to make her slightly uneasy behind her princess facade he turned his attention back to Leopold before she would reveal too much.

“But it is certainly true that Rozemyne's contribution to the country's foundation is providing me with a bit more leeway mana-wise”, he acknowledged which seemed to surprise both Leopold and Constantin.

“Rozemyne is already supplying the foundation not even a season after her baptism?”, Leopold begged to clarify and Ferdinand smiled at him with a bit of pride.

“What could be a better use of her abundance of mana, Leopold? There are only so many feystones available to be turned into gold dust, no? And she is still a bit young for complex brewing”, he countered and was met with a disbelieving head shake and a chuckle.

“Oh, do I actually need to thank young Rozemyne for all that gold dust? And there I was left wondering what kind of experiments you were conducting that left you with more gold dust than you could use yourself, Ferdinand”, Leopold commented with a teasing grin.

“It turned out to be quite a valuable exercise for teaching her how to move and control her mana. The divine instruments are designed in a way that they actually draw the mana that is offered to them so that is not the best practice”, he explained with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, I certainly do not complain about profiting from these exercises, Ferdinand”, Leopold conceded with a grin and then turned his attention back on Rozemyne.

“If you ever need some more for practice, just ask me or Constantin and we will gladly provide you with a new bag”, Leopold offered with a wink. But while his hunger was hidden quite well behind his grandfatherly facade, Rozemyne picked up on it still.

And she seemed distressed enough by that already to tilt her head and put her hand on her cheek. Seems like her willingness to fight back against inappropriate demands had already died down over the course of this meeting. Was she reaching her limit?

“It should go without saying that all her mana donations are to be sanctioned by me, Leopold, so please do not tease her like that”, he chided his adoptive father softly and he relented immediately.

Of course Leopold was not so foolish as to actually show any insistence on that topic. He had profited already from her gold dusting activities and it stood to reason that he or Constantin were to profit from it in the future again.

“It is nice to see you so protective of another human being, Ferdinand”, Leopold acknowledged with a smile full of fatherly love but Ferdinand did not respond with more than a smile on his own. It would not do to discuss the details of their very transactional relationship with anybody else anytime soon.

“In that regard, Leopold, Constantin, as the use of the sound blocking tool might have already suggested, I do not wish for any of the details that we discussed today to become public knowledge. So far, the nobles of Ehrenfest are aware of her adoption but I put a gag order on them. I would prefer it if news about her would not spread. Especially not in the direction of Klassenberg”, he noted with his pleasant socializing smile firmly in place.

“Your wish is our command, my Zent”, Leopold acknowledged immediately even though they had agreed to not use honorifics today. His senses to discern the undertones of a conversation were sharp as always.

“I appreciate your understanding on that matter, Leopold”, he noted with a smile and gestured for a change of tea. While Rozemyne seemed like she was not able to contribute much longer he still had more things to discuss with the two of them.

He therefore allowed her to just watch from the sidelines for their next discussions about their current research projects. To his amusement she seemed to follow their words eagerly even though he knew that she could not have understood more than a quarter of what they were talking about.

Was she actually interested in magic tool development talk or was she trying overly hard to appear involved in their meeting still even though she could not contribute anything?

As soon as their visitors had left he saw how her shoulders slumped down and a sound similar to “phew” was testament to her relief at the meeting having ended. In a very unladylike behavior she then put her arms and head on the table as if to rest.

“That was exhausting”, she commented absentmindedly and Ferdinand chuckled at her sudden switch in behavior. So she had hyped herself up for the meeting to an extraordinary extent.

“You count this as a success, right?”, she inquired with her head still on the table. All those smiles she had shown during the meeting were gone now.

“Those predatory gazes were what you wanted from them, right?”, she continued and Ferdinand was glad that the sound blocking tool was still activated. What plain phrasing. Even from her.

“I really thought they wanted to eat me alive”, she mumbled towards the table and Ferdinand scoffed before he answered.

“Indeed, you did well. However, you should not drop your facade so early. In the future, wait till you have returned to your chambers”, he advised and she immediately sat up straight again. Her facade was not back in place yet but at least her posture was acceptable again.

“You have earned your reward”, he confirmed and her smile returned on her face.

“Yes! All the hard work was worth it!”, she exclaimed and he smiled at her childish and sudden display of joy. For something as unimportant as food at that.

But he noticed that something seemed to be on her mind now that the tension had dropped. She seemed eager to say something but battling with the decision whether she should. He observed her steadying her breathing as if gathering courage but then she just looked at him.

“May I return to my chambers now, Ferdinand?”

That was surely not what she had been agonizing about to ask just now.

“Ask your other question first, Rozemyne. I see that you decided against it but it seemed to bother you enough to seriously consider asking it. So, speak up and know that I will not consider it rude since I explicitly wanted you to say it.”

Was she wising up on what to say and what not to say or was she reverting to her timidness?

He saw her exhaling slowly before she looked him firmly in the eye and spoke with a twitching smile.

“Why did you say it was too early for me to register at the library, Ferdinand? You know that I am not some child that does not appreciate that paradise by the gods for what it is and that I would treat all its treasures with care.”

Ah, she was wising up.

“Your initial decision to not ask this question was correct, Rozemyne. It would have seemed like trying to negotiate for a higher reward after the fact. But as promised, I will not hold it against you. I will even humor you by answering it”, he declared which seemed to calm her twitching smile.

“Because the registration at the Royal Academy library consists of signing a magic contract, Rozemyne. And I do not intend to publicize the fact that you are not allowed to sign one on your own”, he answered with his neutral socializing smile but he saw how Rozemyne's eyes flickered shortly into rainbow colors at that explanation.

Really? She was fighting for control over her emotions over a library registration?

“Rozemyne, you are struggling with your mana. Mana dedication has to be earlier than usual today, it seems”, he noted and she did not object. Instead she seemed relieved to him to be provided with an outlet.

Chapter Text

Beginning of summer of his 6th year of zenthood. Age 21. Rozemyne Age 7.

“It seems like Aub Ehrenfest is truly Lady Veronica's successor in every way”, her 'father' scoffed as he emptied his cup of vize.

Gretia swiftly approached the table to refill it for him which earned her a mocking glance.

“You are too slow with your pouring, temple girl”, her older 'brother' commented and made her 'mother' snicker with disdain.

“Ah, but 'temple girl' might be too high praise now that the Zent has really adopted such a girl. Do you think she might be his true child that he got on a temple flower just before he left for Drewanchel?”, her 'mother' asked her husband while rotating her own cup of vize in her hand. Gretia deemed it best to retreat to the wall lest she drew their ire with her presence.

“Hard to say, my dear. That explanation might be easier to swallow than that new princess being a Leisegang. But were there really flowers in the temple with enough mana for the Zent? Even if he was still in his growing phase at that time?” He took another deep gulp.

“She also seemed already properly educated, if you ask me. Maybe this was just some ploy at deleting her history and she is actually like the last of Trauerqual's own that he now deemed worthwhile to keep around. Her poise was excellent today. Just imagine Gretia in her situation as reference. She would have diminished the honor of our whole house by divulging her rotten core with her unsightly behavior. I am glad that you decided against her attendance at Lady Veronica's execution today”, she summarized and Gretia let her head sink as she tended to agree.

“But to think that he really executed his very supportive mother...”, her father continued his rumbling.

“It might have been at the Zent's order, my dear. You are aware of all the rumors.” He nodded solemnly.

“I am just glad to see that our faction still stands strong. The way so many of our people were flogging around the Aub and basically ignored the Zent I believe that Aub Ehrenfest took over his mother's namestones. May his rule be long and prosper”, he mocked and raised his cup in cheers. But since nobody had reacted in time that only led to him spilling the deep red liquid.

Gretia hurried immediately to the carpet to save it from stains. She rubbed a towel into it with her bare hands to the roaring laughter of her 'parents'.

“But if the Zent is truly behind today's execution then we should start to consider ingratiating ourselves with him as well”, her 'mother' commented while she stared at Gretia with open disdain.

“And how do you suppose we do that? If one ignores that one wimpy layknight only archnobles are allowed to join the Sovereignty and it is not like we could invite the Zent for a tea party to begin socializing with him. While I am sure he would not scoff at some donated mana it is not like we actually have any to spare”, her 'father' lamented.

“How did that layknight even join the Sovereignty?”, her 'brother' inquired with a concerned expression and her 'father' downed his cup again.

Gretia hurried once again to refill it. She knew she had to exchange the whole bottle soon but she did not know whether they even had another one of this specific vize. She was concerned how they might react in that case.

“I guess his new daughter gave him puppy eyes until she could keep him”, he laughed and her 'mother' and 'brother' joined him in that.

“Sure, that seems totally in character for the 'Lord of Evil' to be charmed by some little girl's puppy eyes”, her 'mother' responded sarcastically but her 'father' seemed shortly taken aback.

“But what if it is true? The Zent has high standards based on mana, competence and loyalty for his own retainers but maybe not for those of his new daughter? According to my sources that girl is said to be highly compassionate. Not like I expect her to stay like this for long under the tutelage of the Zent, but maybe he will allow her to pick her retainers just based on her whims for a while?”

“I would have discarded this train of thought immediately if not for the real existence of this layknight with a white cape”, her 'mother' mumbled deep in thought.

“Can we expect the princess to be in Ehrenfest's winter playroom this year?”, she continued as if she was considering several options.

“That might just be the case. We could send Gretia to seek employment with her”, her 'father' commented and Gretia's heart skipped a beat.

They wanted her to serve a princess?!

“But the winter playroom is full of children both higher in prestige and skill than Gretia. And I somehow doubt that Lady Elvira will be all too pleased to have her socialize with those outside of the Leisegang faction.”

“Why not then let them meet without any competition? The princess is also Ehrenfest's High Bishop, is she not? Let the temple girl join the temple and serve her there”, her 'brother' suggested with a smirk.

“That would be an utter disgrace for our house, my foolish son”, her 'father' chided him but her 'brother' shook his head with a mischievous grin.

“But father, how can that be when the one and only Princess of Yurgenschmidt is the High Bishop of that place and the Zent is the Archbishop of all the temples in the country? And he already deemed the Ehrenfest temple reformed by now. Surely you are merely supporting his efforts at reforming the temples by letting your beloved daughter acquire blue robes.”

Gretia did not like the glee in his eyes as he suggested that. It was the same glee he showed just moments before he hit her.

“You should also not discard the possibility that the Zent might have a weakness for little temple girls”, her 'brother' continued and Gretia shuddered even though she did not know exactly why.

It was more the how he had said that instead of the what. From what she had heard so far it seemed unlikely that the Zent would pity her so her 'brother' must have meant something else.

Beginning of autumn of his 6th year of zenthood. Age 21. Rozemyne Age 7.

It was almost a season after that fateful talk between her 'parents' and her 'brother' that she was sent off to the City of Ehrenfest. To its temple to be more precise.

A single servant was joining her in the carriage but none of her 'family' accompanied her on that trip. She was not sure whether she should be grateful or not for that.

After several days on the road where they only stopped to sleep at cheap inns they finally reached their destination. The guards at the gate were surprised to truly find a noble girl inside the carriage without any adult supervision but they quickly remembered to only do their jobs and waved her through.

From what she could tell there was no further commotion as she then made entry into the temple.

Her servant departed first, then Gretia hurriedly exited the carriage as well. Her legs were still wobbly from all the shaking but she was glad that she did not have to endure that any more at least.

In front of her knelt a young man in gray robes with pale purple hair. He greeted her as 'Sister Gretia' and introduced himself as the head attendant, Fran, of the High Bishop before he led her through the hallways without any further word.

Her servant left her at that as she instead instructed the driver of the carriage to load off her luggage and return home as soon as possible. Even though she had whispered the last part Gretia had absolutely heard her. Acquiring information like his was often crucial. Even though it currently did not come at a surprise.

Before she even entered the High Bishop's chambers she noticed the guard knights with white capes stationed in front of the wide doors. Gretia continued following the gray priest while trying to ignore their presence but she could feel their scrutinizing gazes on her.

The door opened as her guide rang a small bell from his belt. Gretia did not know what she really expected to see inside, but the sheer girlishness and cuteness of the room surprised her even as much as the little girl in white robes that was standing in front of an altar and who was flanked by two more guard knights with white capes in addition to the two who were stationed close to the doors inside the room.

Of course. The Zent could not risk the safety of the Princess. Even in a temple full of weak blue priests and commoners.

Gretia knelt in front of her and began the introductions that she had been made to learn by heart over the last weeks day after day.

When she sent out the small yellow blessing it seemed to please the Princess as she smiled quite genuinely. Or more likely: Her noble facade was just that good.

“I am grateful to join the clergy of Ehrenfest's temple on this auspicious day ordained by the guiding winds of Schutzaria”, she intoned and was met with another smile.

“Are you already familiar with the praying poses?”, the Princess inquired with a friendly tone and gestured to the carpet in front of the altar.

“Please speak after me so that you can swear your oath in front of the gods and may receive your blue robes”, she instructed and Gretia hastily complied. Her 'parents' had already inquired with some blue priest what words she had to say and had made her practice those as well.

She was not allowed to disgrace herself or her house in front of the Princess.

Gretia felt hollow while she repeated the words that the Princess spoke for her to copy but she managed them with aplomb.

The Princess herself then took some blue cloth from the stairs of the altar and handed them to Gretia.

“Wilma, please take her to her room and help her to change into her new robes. Please guide her to the orphanage afterwards so that she can select attendants for herself. I imagine one adult and two apprentices should be agreeable?”, she inquired and Gretia nodded. Her 'parents' would be glad if she kept the expenses that she spent on attendants low. If two were only apprentices they should be on the cheaper side.

“Yes, Princess Rozemyne, I thank you for your kind consideration”, she acknowledged but it seemed she had misspoken as the Princess' face twitched slightly.

“Please address me just as High Bishop, Sister Gretia, as we now both belong to this temple”, she suggested with a slightly tilted head and Gretia exhaled stealthily. A minor mistake then. That should be forgivable if she did not repeat it.

“Of course, High Bishop”, she corrected herself and the Princess nodded in a satisfied way.

She was surprised that one of the High Bishop's personal attendants helped her change into her blue robes but she felt immensely grateful for that. Without those robes she would look totally out of place while strolling through the hallways under the guidance of a gray priest or shrine maiden.

But she was even more surprised when she entered her new chambers and found them almost fully furnished. Her sparse luggage had already been brought here but there was even a changing screen installed and the bed seemed to have both bedding and curtains.

Her 'parents' must have gone all out in their attempt to make it seem as if they had sent their beloved daughter to the temple and not the servant girl they had baptized at the last minute.

Wilma then guided her to the orphanage as instructed but seemed struck by the lack of female attendants who had experience with serving blue shrine maidens or even blue priests.

In the end she advocated for two apprentices named Nicola and Monika while Gretia had selected an adult gray priest named Fritz just based on the calm vibes he was emitting.

Wilma excused herself then and Gretia was alone with her new attendants.

As she had lived as a servant for most of her life so far she knew that a good first task for new servants was to have them serve tea so that was what she suggested. To return to her chambers and have tea.

It was only half a bell later that a quiet chime at the door made her look up. Fritz then went over there to open it and Gretia was surprised to see the High Bishop's head attendant seeking entry. In his hands were several wooden boards.

“Sister Gretia, it is essential that you study these prayers as fast as possible. If you are able to finish all these over the next two weeks you will be able to participate in the Harvest Festival which would be ideal”, Fran explained and Gretia nodded eagerly. She would be entrusted with collecting taxes so early in her temple carreer? Her family would surely be delighted if she actually earned some of the money she needed for herself.

“Please study them over the next bell. Afterwards, you are invited for lunch by the High Bishop”, he explained and Gretia froze.

She would be eating with the Princess of Yurgenschmidt for lunch with only one bell to prepare her mind?!

“Understood. I truly appreciate the High Bishop's generosity”, she commented while panicking on the inside.

The food was like nothing Gretia had ever even seen before. She had not even been aware that food could taste so good. The Zent must have shared his own recipes with his daughter. And now she was tasting these as a better servant girl.

The feeling that she did not deserve any of this kindness and attention had been creeping up on her over the course of the meal but she knew that she could not just excuse herself.

If the Princess of Yurgenschmidt invited somebody for lunch there was no room for discussion, just obedience.

“Sister Gretia, do you need help in acquiring a chef or is already somebody set up to join your service?”, the Princess suddenly inquired as the finished main course was taken away by their attendants.

“Some-somebody from my family's winter estate will join me in the temple in the next few days and at least till the beginning of winter.” They did not have high hopes for her success. They would only get her her own chef in the temple if she could get close enough to the Princess in that time frame.

“Ah, you intend to commute over the winter when your family is also in Ehrenfest? Understandable, but you should consider the blizzards that make commuting nigh impossible and you cannot miss the dedication ritual over the winter. Please plan accordingly”, the Princess advised and Gretia nodded with a polite smile.

No. She did not intend to commute. If she was away from all of them it could actually only be for the best. And missing part of the winter playroom for this ritual also sounded very promising.

Gretia made a mental note to solve her chef situation till then. Otherwise she feared that the compassionate Princess would invite her for lunch every day. Her 'parents' would rage at that impropriety of burdening a Princess with lunch preparations when she was about to aim for an attendant position in her retinue.

As dessert was served she was informed that dedicating mana to the divine instruments was the next step on her agenda.

“Say, Sister Gretia, who is your favorite subordinate god?”, the High Bishop suddenly inquired and Gretia tried to hide her frozen expression behind her polite smile.

What kind of question was that? Was that a test? She had been drilled with religious knowledge over the last weeks so that she would not end up a total embarrassment but her teachers were neither very good nor patient. She did not know all the subordinates by heart yet. A third at most! Was that just the opening question that led her down a path where she would reveal her lack of knowledge?!

But Gretia was firmly aware that she had been asked a very direct question from the Princess of Yurgenschmidt. She could not just deflect with noble euphemisms which even incorporated more names of the gods. She knew she had to answer. And she could not risk to start their relationship with a lie.

“I find it difficult to apply the term 'favorite' to one of them since that would imply in a way that I do not favor some of them, but I find myself praying to Verbergen, the God of Concealment, most often, High Bishop”, she finally admitted with a quiet voice and she noticed the slightly narrowed eyes of her guard knights at that.

Understandable. The God most favored by spies and assassins was cause for concern. But she just wished to be hidden from anybody's attention so that she could live in peace.

But to her astonishment the Princess laughed in surprise.

“Oh, just like Fran then!”, she exclaimed delighted which made her head attendant blush slightly.

“For me, I find myself favoring Mestionora, the Goddess of Wisdom, most often in my prayers! As she is the patron deity of libraries I cannot deny being a bit biased”, she chuckled to herself until Fran refilled her tea which seemed to calm her down instantly. Ah, a good attendant kept their master's composure in check. Her head attendant was truly skilled. And he kept attention away from himself while doing so.

“But since today is your first day we shall start with the domain of your favorite subordinate god. Fran, please bring us the God of Darkness' cape”, she instructed and he knelt before he excused himself from the room.

“Your head attendant seems very skilled, High Bishop”, Gretia commented when the silence between them became unbearable for her. Her words seemed to please the Princess. Gretia made a mental note that praising those in her service seemed like a safe choice for small talk then.

“Impressive, that you can tell that so soon, Sister Gretia. He is indeed among the best attendants in Ehrenfest's temple. I am very grateful for his service”, she explained with a bright smile.

“Think nothing of it, High Bishop. As I aim to take the attendant course at the Royal Academy in two years I imagine I might just be already attuned to what constitutes a good servant”, she answered while trying to weave in her own intended profession. She had been instructed to aim for employment with her as early as possible. Surely that right now counted towards that goal already?

But while the Princess herself seemed content with their seemingly small talk she could feel the scrutinizing gazes of her guard knights on her. She had to tread carefully. Very carefully.

Chapter Text

End of summer of his 6th year of zenthood. Age 21. Rozemyne Age 7.

“Damuel, please join me”, Rozemyne suggested with what she hoped was a neutral tone as she stood on a chair to open her hidden room.

While the mana dedication directly after the meeting with Drewanchel had helped her in at least that regard that she by now did not feel like she could lose control of her mana her emotions still needed sorting out. Especially since Ferdinand had outright refused to let her enter the Replenishment Hall alone claiming that he saw her at risk of overexpending mana in her unstable state.

Why was he always reminding her of that?

“As you wish, Princess Rozemyne”, Damuel confirmed before he followed her into her hidden room where she immediately dropped the rest of her facade.

“You look terrible. We should not stay here for too long, you clearly belong into bed with a book to read”, Damuel stated before Rozemyne could even voice her feelings. Tears were daring to enter her eyes but she was not in the mood for the crying. She was in the mood for shouting.

“Gods, I hate him! Would it really kill him to just be nice for once?! It would, wouldn't it?!”

A library. This place had a library. One that the head of the research duchy was speaking positively of. And Ferdinand had neither mentioned it nor did he have any intention to grant her access!

“I did so well! He even said so himself! This whole frigging meeting was a success! And then he pulls this shit on me!”

“Princess Rozemyne? Has anything happened during the meeting?”, he inquired cautiously and Rozemyne took the short interruption as a chance to catch her breath.

“Apparently this place has a library. Leopold asked me whether that was my favorite place here. Well, I would have liked to confirm that but I had not even been aware of its existence! And apparently I will not even be allowed to register there!” She could feel the mana inside her box swell but due to it being depleted just recently it still was easily contained.

“You are angry about the library...?”, Damuel confirmed hesitantly and Rozemyne glared at him.

“No, I am angry at being kept in the dark and denied entry into paradise!”, she clarified and Damuel nodded reluctantly.

“But this will surely change as soon as you become a student at the Royal Academy”, he tried to console her but it had the opposite effect. She let her head hang down and sighed.

“It sounded very much like he would not budge on this. Ever.” The exhaustion of the day, the preparation of the meeting and the meeting itself in addition to mana dedication and her outburst were catching up to her. She leaned against the wall and sank down into a very unladylike sitting position.

“This is like absolutely top-secret information, Damuel, but Ferdinand is not only my adoptive father but also my Legal Guardian. I cannot sign anything without his signature next to it. And he does not want that to be known, so I will never get that library registration as others could see that he has to co-sign. I am doomed.”

Damuel seemed stricken by that sudden revelation. He looked paler to her and almost like he wanted to throw up.

“But Legal Guardianship should end as soon as you graduate, Princess Rozemyne. It might be eight more years but after that he will not be required to co-sign anymore”, he proposed hesitantly and Rozemyne raised her head to look him in the eyes.

“Don't give me hope, Damuel”, she begged but Damuel shook his head slightly.

“And it might even be earlier than that. He has already shown how lenient he is with you and offered you rewards. Engineering a situation in which you can register without revealing that Legal Guardianship contract should be only a minor inconvenience for the Zent. He has solved way more complex situations in the past already. He might be open for negotiations, Princess Rozemyne”, he suggested and Rozemyne stared at him in disbelief.

Lenient? Because she was still alive and adopted instead of executed alongside her family?

“But I already promised him everything I have. I have no further leverage”, she sighed and Damuel frowned slightly.

“And yet he offered you a reward for the success of today's meeting. Maybe that was not the last time?”

“Hm.... He did say that he was fine with me trying to manipulate him....”, Rozemyne mused as she fell into thought. When he had said that her only concern was that of everybody's survival but he had said that that would only be on the line for her general cooperation. Not the minutiae of every interaction they had.

“Damuel, how does one manipulate somebody who outranks you?”, she suddenly inquired with determination in her eyes.

She would fight for that library!

“You either ally with somebody who outranks them even more and let them handle that or you try to make them like you so that they let you owe them a return favor for whatever they do for you”, Damuel summarized with a dead expression.

“But nobody outranks him....”, Rozemyne grumbled as she arrived at the conclusion that only the second part of his advice was actionable for her.

“Well, the Gods do, I guess”, Damuel commented wistfully before he seemed stricken by fear as if somebody could have heard him.

“But of course the Gods have chosen him to reign in the first place so there is no doubt that this cannot work out. Please do not even consider anything that might antagonize him!”, he immediately added and Rozemyne gritted her teeth.

Right. The worst that could happen if she tried to placate him in return for the library registration was a refusal. Then she just had to wait till her graduation. The worst that could happen if he somehow thought she was not okay with him being Zent was death. Everybody's death.

“... But, Damuel, ... is he even capable of liking somebody?”, she suddenly realized the crux of the problem in front of her.

Damuel sighed.

“According to the stories about him? No. But according to the stories he would have never adopted you either. I had expected to be dead for failing my guard duty in the temple and you either dead or in an ivory tower. Maybe he already likes you?”, Damuel suggested which made Rozemyne laugh so hard from the absurdity that she started coughing.

Damuel sprinted over to close the distance between them but his worry was unfounded. She calmed down on her own as she saw his concern.

“I am useful enough that he endures my annoying existence, Damuel. He humors me to increase my usefulness, but that is not the same as liking me. It is a very calculated investment from his side.”

“So if you exceed his expectations for his investment you might be met with some goodwill then”, Damuel suggested but Rozemyne remained skeptical.

“Are you sure?”, she asked with clear doubt in her voice.

“In contrast to the many unpleasant rumors about him, basically everybody agrees that he keeps his word and pays his debts. Usually double.”

“Hm... I need to speak with Benno then.”

Damuel did not seem convinced to her but she now at least knew her next step.

Raising another industry should exceed his expectations. But she would need Benno's input to determine when and where.

On the day before she was scheduled to return to Ehrenfest Loyalitat had approached Rozemyne to inquire about her choice for her guard knight retainers but she had not known how to choose in the slightest.

All of them had been exemplary guard knights to her as far as she could tell but none of them had really allowed her to peek behind their facade of professionalism and none of them had seemed to be of the glaring kind to her.

In the end she had just asked everybody for their favorite book and as luck would have it only two of the female knights and one of the male knights could give her an answer that seemed deeper than their last study guide. The lack of widespread books in this country was really troublesome if even archknights were not particularly interested in general.

Therefore, she was now accompanied by Loyalitat, Klothilde, Sybille, Bernhard and Damuel on her way back to Ehrenfest.

The thought that she was to return to the Sovereignty in five days already and that she had to routinely spend two days each week there was not a welcome one but after the last two weeks that she had spent basically constantly in his proximity she hoped that she could stomach it well enough.

Ferdinand had even allowed her to leave in the morning already after she had offered to do her mana dedication after breakfast instead of after dinner.

It had confirmed to her once again that as long as he got her mana and knowledge he was agreeable enough.

When she finally reached Ehrenfest's teleportation hall, after Loyalitat, Sybille and Bernhard had gone first to ensure no unwelcome surprises on Ehrenfest's side, she felt utter relief from being able to leave mixed into the nausea from the teleportation magic. It took her a few breaths before she could open her eyes when she was then overwhelmed by the sudden inrush of feelings as she saw that her new mother was already waiting for her.

“Welcome back, Rozemyne”, Elvira greeted her with a polite smile and Rozemyne suppressed the sudden urge to fall into her arms and ask for a hug. If only they could already be inside a hidden room.

“My, is Eckhart not with you today?”, she inquired as nobody teleported after she had left the magic circle.

“No, Ferdinand took him back since he is his retainer after all. Loyalitat is my new head knight. Everyone, this is my mother Elvira from before I got adopted”, she introduced her so as to avoid any potential confusion or unnecessary aggression. It seemed however that Loyalitat had just waited for that as he then broke standard protocol as her guard knight and handed Elvira a letter from his bag.

“Lady Elvira, the Zent asked me to hand you this letter personally and for you to read it without any prying eyes”, he commented and her mother accepted it gracefully.

Ehm? Was that like a list of complaints about her behavior and education? Should she be concerned?

“Now, Rozemyne, please follow me. I have arranged for a private tea party with Lady Esmeralda so that you may experience some proper socializing in a friendly atmosphere”, she revealed and Rozemyne worked hard to suppress any negative reaction.

Mother! Why would you do this? She could not have had more than a day to prepare for this since she had not even known that she was allowed to depart early before yesterday! What about proper noble decorum and laying the groundwork?!

But while Rozemyne expected the sway of noble euphemisms to be the most daring part of this rather sudden tea party it turned out that she was already overwhelmed by the greetings.

Sylvester had been appointed as her guardian, but his wife had not. Was she here today as Elvira's daughter, the archnoble, or was that not an option anymore and everywhere she went she was only the Zent's adopted daughter? Who ranked above whom and who had to greet first? Was she expected to kneel or would that be a crucial faux-pas?

While she tried to hide her growing anxiety behind her princess smile and considered to break decorum to ask her mother discreetly it was Esmeralda who solved that question for her as she knelt down as soon as Rozemyne entered the room.

Since it was a tea party for women only Klothilde and Sybille entered the room with her while the rest of her knights, Damuel included, guarded the room from the outside. She knew that it was standard protocol and part of the reason why Ferdinand had insisted that she took two female knights but she still did not like it when Damuel was outside of her view.

With Esmeralda graciously taking the lead for the greetings and establishing that Rozemyne was visiting as princess and thus ranking above everybody else her mother's practice sessions guided her well enough through the formalities and pleasantries.

“I thank you ever so much, Princess Rozemyne, for sending over this gift of rinsham through Lady Elvira”, Esmeralda praised after taking an elegant sip from her tea while Rozemyne tried to hide her confusion.

Had she done that? Or had Elvira worked for her sake here?

“My, think nothing of it. A lady as blessed by both Efflorelume and Kunstzeal such as you deserves to bring out all of their gifts and I thought that rinsham might underline those blessings even further”, Rozemyne commented only to see Esmeralda blushing slightly and to hear uncomfortable coughing from two of the attendants in the room.

“My, Rozemyne, while your praise surely comes from the heart, please be aware that it is commonly only the God of Darkness or those who aspire to become Him who speak of Efflorelume's blessings so directly”, her mother noted and now it was Rozemyne who was blushing and hastily tried to save the situation.

“Oh, I apologize, Lady Esmeralda, I merely meant to say that you are already such a natural beauty that-”, but she faltered under Elvira's slightly hardening eyes while Esmeralda chuckled elegantly.

“Rozemyne, please do not apologize. Merely refer to a misstep in Grammaratur's dance and let Dregarnuhr take care of weaving it into place”, her mother advised and Rozemyne nodded.

“I thank you ever so much for becoming Anhaltung and Erwachlehren for me, mother”, Rozemyne confirmed and then not-apologized to Esmeralda correctly.

“But to think that such a magnificent product was hidden in only that one store in the lower city”, Esmeralda continued as if her faux-pas had not happened at all.

“Might it not be worthwhile to spread it as a trend under your name, Princess Rozemyne?”, she proposed which made Rozemyne tilt her head slightly.

“A trend? Is that something I can just do?”, she asked and tried to not sound as confused as she felt.

“It is indeed something that you should do, Rozemyne”, her mother clarified but Rozemyne remained skeptical.

“Will I not need Ferdinand's approval for something like this?”, she asked cautiously and it seemed that just speaking his name had made the atmosphere in the room a bit more frosty.

Namedropping the frigging Zent was apparently not something that was well-received. Not that she could not understand that....

“I would be surprised if the Zent was interested in the minutiae of the trends in Ehrenfest's ladies' society, but it may indeed be advisable to include him formally”, Lady Esmeralda finally ended the brewing silence that had become quite uncomfortable. It seemed that Esmeralda had noticed the signs of confusion on Rozemyne's face as she then added an explanation on how to do that.

“This might be as simple as sending some to him as well, Princess Rozemyne.”

But would he use that? Would he use anything but things that Justus had procured for him because he was so afraid of poison? If she sent him some she had to make sure that it was enough for whatever poison tests he had to do. In that case should she maybe include the production method with a sample so that Justus could just make some for him? As long as they were not selling it it should not be a breach of contract with Benno. She had to check in with him.

“My, but in that case which version should it be?”, Elvira mused seemingly thinking back to the selection Benno had showed her.

“That at least is an easy decision, mother. He will definitely prefer the unscented version”, Rozemyne commented and was met with slightly widened eyes from both Elvira and Esmeralda.

“To think you already grew so close that you can state the Zent's preferences with such certainty”, Esmeralda remarked and Rozemyne decided to just answer that with a polite smile.

No need to dive into his paranoia about being poisoned in front of others.

To Rozemyne's surprise preparing the spreading of a trend as simple as rinsham required careful planning and consideration with regard to the timeline and the circles from which it should start to spread outwards. While Elvira and Esmeralda were discussing all the details quite fervently, Rozemyne allowed herself to lie back and mainly observe after she had agreed to becoming the figurehead of that trend. Her tea was refreshed thrice before it seemed that both of the ladies were satisfied with their discussion.

“Princess Rozemyne, Sylvester has asked me to inquire which factors you would deem most beneficial for the creation of new workshops for the printing and paper making industries as he wishes to support you in establishing more of those in Ehrenfest. He was under the impression that this was a topic that was dear to both you and the Zent.”

Elvira had told her that a change in tea signaled a change in topic but to see it happen in a real situation suddenly felt quite jarring. And there she thought everybody else just had enough of their first blend after four cups.

“My, excuse my confusion but is this topic not a bit too political for our informal tea party here?”, Rozemyne asked. After her encounter with those from Drewanchel she was a bit more aware of how suddenly the topic could drift in an unwanted direction just to take advantage of her.

Even though it was unlikely with mother present.

Esmeralda seemed slightly taken aback by her words and Elvira sighed quietly to her side.

Had she messed up?

“Rozemyne, you are too direct. Your words just now came across as a rather harsh refusal to even discuss the topic. If you wish to express a notion such as that you wish for more time to prepare an answer or to involve Aub Ehrenfest and his scholars directly in the meeting you might refer to Dregarnuhr's elaborate weaving deserving proper care or fearing to stray from Gebordnung's divine guidance when Ordoschnelli is charmed by Greifechan.”

That was how she came across? How harsh had she then been in that talk with Drewanchel?! Was Ferdinand now quietly mad at her for messing up? But he had called the meeting a success... Was that part of the atypical leniency that Damuel had mentioned?

“That said, Rozemyne, the topic that Lady Esmeralda proposed is fine. It is not more political than the spreading of rinsham that we had just discussed. In fact, you should work under the assumption that every word you say is highly political as you are the Zent's adopted daughter”, Elvira explained which made Rozemyne smile uncomfortably.

The rinsham had been political? Eeeep.

“It seems there was a misstep in Grammaratur's dance, Lady Esmeralda. Considering the paper making workshops it will be advisable to select a location with ample forestry and access to a river. If it was in a place that did not suffer from being frozen over in the winter the seasonal impact on the workshop could be reduced further and productivity increased. The printing workshops on the other hand will require good road access and some skilled smiths that do not shy away from precision work. As everything can be done indoors it does not rely on any environmental factors too much”, she then answered and the discussion dove more into the particular details until they agreed that Esmeralda would consult with Sylvester to select one or two promising provinces for those workshops in the nearby future.

“Rozemyne, now that you have first-hand experience of living in the Sovereignty please tell me where you, personally, see the largest gaps in your education so far”, her mother inquired politely while sipping her tea. They were at the Linkberg estate on the day after her return from Sovereignty.

Rozemyne was not a fan of discussing this so openly in the presence of their attendants and guards. But she had not been offered any sound blocking tools yet.

“Might we first take shelter under Verbergen's shroud?”, Rozemyne asked but was met with a slightly furrowed brow.

“We might at some later point if the topic diverges as such but as of right now I wish for you to not become too dependent on Verbergen's shroud or it might obscur Grammaratur's dance even further for you”, she noted with slight disapproval and Rozemyne's face twitched slightly.

Had Ferdinand complained about her ineptitude for noble euphemisms in that letter from Loyalitat? Or was that now a more in detail lecture about her missteps during her tea party yesterday?

“I see. Erwachlehren's divine protection is radiating strongly from your words, Mother, which I naturally appreciate”, she declared which seemed to at least lessen the small signs of disapproval on her mother's face.

“While it is true that Grammaratur's dance was eluding me quite often, the most noticeable gap might be my lack of Anhaltung's divine guidance on how to dispel Verbergen from Verdraeos.” Ferdinand was just unreadable.

“I imagine that to be a task even more difficult than Ewigeliebe's search for Geduldh in spring”, Elvira noted with a difficult smile. Rozemyne was shocked that her mother basically told her to just give it up.

“But Ewigeliebe succeeds in redeeming his Geduldh each year”, Rozemyne suggested with the intention to show that no such task should be impossible.

“And he is spurned by the rest of the pantheon in return, Rozemyne.” So the price for success was too high?

“Mother, so which is the correct way then?” If she could not hope to read him how could she know what he wanted?

“Following Gebordnung's path should provide you with the blessings that you seek to receive from Seheweit”, Elvira suggested and Rozemyne smiled uncomfortably.

“Mother, forgive me for parting with Grammaratur shortly but I tried to be meek and non-confrontational and it was not received well.” Elvira raised an eyebrow at that slightly.

“He can see right through my polite facade and he does not care for it. He always asks me what I am thinking and I know that he hates being lied to. I am sorry that my thoughts are rude sometimes, but whatever should I do, mother?”

Elvira seemed taken aback at that revelation.

“He asks what you are thinking and you answer honestly, Rozemyne?”, she begged to confirm and Rozemyne nodded reluctantly.

“My, Rozemyne, you ought to refuse him there”, her mother advised but she just sadly shook her head.

“I tried avoiding to answer, to shift the topic to something else, but he always insists on receiving an answer, mother”, she reported with an exhausted sigh which made Elvira furrow her brow.

“Does he take offense by that?”, she inquired thoughtfully and Rozemyne had to force her smile.

“I have absolutely no idea. Eckhart certainly does while Justus seems more amused than anything. But I just cannot read Ferdinand”, she summarized her impressions and Elvira sipped her tea lost in thought.

“Eckhart is always very protective of his lord, so you need not read too much into that”, she began but then trailed off.

Rozemyne was glad to see that her mother activated the area wide sound blocking tool on their table when she seemed to continue their conversation.

“Rozemyne, the letter from Zent Ferdinand informed me that you struggle with refusing not only those above you but also those below you in a polite manner. Seeing your interactions with Lady Esmeralda yesterday I tend to agree. Please tell me about those situations in detail, what you were asked and what you answered”, she proposed and Rozemyne complied with a twitchy smile.

With each and every interaction that she described she could see Elvira growing paler and paler but to her great relief her mother kept her chiding short and instead focused on educating her how she should have reacted.

But those were not refusals. It was just trying to wiggle away from committing to something and not even acknowledging the request. Was the way to politely refuse something in noble society really to go full Japanese? Those cultures aligned at the strangest of times. But at least she had a guideline now.

“Yes, that was a good refusal, Rozemyne. It seems you have understood it by now”, Elvira praised after she had given her a test request that she had to refuse and she had opted to talk about the shifting seasons instead.

What a nonsensical answer, but apparently that was what was expected of her now.

Her mother gestured her attendants for a change of tea and they ceased their discussion while they were working inside the range of the sound blocker.

“Rozemyne, there was another topic addressed in this letter and I must admit it came as a bit of surprise considering your age”, Elvira began and sipped the new brew of tea.

Hm? Whatever could that be about?

“Seeking the comfort of your male guard knight is improper on so many levels that I am uncertain what to address about it first”, she sighed with clear disappointment.

What? What?!

“Ehm, mother, I am not sure I understand you here correctly, but nothing improper happened with any of my guard knights”, Rozemyne hastily spat out but Elvira just shot her a look that made Rozemyne flinch.

“The letter stated that you were sleeping curled up on Damuel's chest, Rozemyne”, Elvira noted succinctly.

“Wha?! Why did he know that?! Was he in my hidden room?!”, Rozemyne exclaimed in panic and felt the sudden need to run away.

And he had not said anything to her?! What kind of move was that to stalk her like this and then not talk to her like he usually did but tell Elvira to handle the lecture?!

“This is not the point of the whole discussion. It does not matter how he learned about it, the matter is that you did that, Rozemyne”, she noted with stern eyes while Rozemyne sunk deeper into her panic.

“Rozemyne, breathe. Calm yourself. Tell me why you did that. It seems that you are at fault for it since Damuel is still allowed to be at your side despite this incident. You risked more than just a scandal with that.”

The unbidden image of Damuel dying from petrification appeared before her mental eye again and she hastily shook it away.

“I-I had a brush with death on my first day”, she eventually admitted quietly. She barely registered how Elvira put down her cup.

“Ferdinand told me how I was threatening Damuel's life with that since he gave me his name”, she added while fighting hard against the tears that threatened to rise up to her eyes.

“I could not sleep at all. I felt like I was dying and then Damuel would just die with me just because I could not sleep because I saw him dying in my dreams-”, she spoke with ever-increasing speed before she was stopped by the sudden embrace of her mother.

At some point she must have left her chair and closed the distance. And judging by the drain on her mana she was noticing Elvira was also putting a feystone somewhere against her skin.

The dam broke for her at that and she just let the tears flow. She noticed only barely how her mother lifted her up and placed her in her lap as she sat down again.

“There, there”, Elvira soothed her through her break-down.

“I was not aware that he was such a firm pillar of support for you, Rozemyne”, she commented as Rozemyne's tears ebbed down and her cries began to stop.

“It was smart of you to keep it confined to the hidden room”, she noted while Rozemyne curled up even tighter into her embrace.

“But you will need to learn how to handle such emotions on your own, Rozemyne. Entering a hidden room with a man, even if it is one of your retainers and even a name-sworn, will raise questions from those around you when you are old enough to attend the Royal Academy at the latest, Rozemyne”, Elvira explained and Rozemyne removed her head from her curled up position to look at her mother.

“So it is okay for now?”, Rozemyne asked with doubt in her voice and noticed the difficult smile on Elvira's face.

“You should still keep it to a minimum because you will have to learn to be self-sufficient soon. But yes, for now, be discreet and stay inside the hidden room and it should be okay if you have no other choice to stay calm.”

Rozemyne remained snuggled up to her for a while longer.

It might have been embarrassing to break down in front of their attendants and her guards but resting like this felt much too nice to care about that now.

“Benno, thank you for following my invitation”, Rozemyne began after the greetings had been exchanged and under strict watch from her mother at her side. They had invited him with as short notice as possible so Benno sat in front of them with a straightened back just two days after she had returned from the Sovereignty.

“We of the Gilberta Company are honored for your continued patronage, Princess Rozemyne. How may we be of service today?”

Rozemyne knew that he could not revert back to a more casual speaking style but his utmost politeness still stung a little.

“I would like to discuss the receptiveness of the market for potential new products from me, Benno.” Her proposal made him widen his eyes.

“New products, Princess Rozemyne? Are they related to the printing industry or would these fall into completely new categories?”, he begged to clarify while Mark opened his diptych and began to take notes.

“Oh my, Benno, what kind of tool is your attendant using right now?”, Elvira inquired with gleaming eyes while Rozemyne was surprised that she would interrupt their barely started discussion. Benno seemed torn between answering an archnoble's question and focusing back on a princess.

“That is a diptych, mother. It allows to take notes without the need to carry ink or the availability of a desk”, Rozemyne supplied to save Benno from his dilemma. The relieved smile on his face showed her that he seemed to appreciate that.

“Princess Rozemyne has allowed our store to buy the rights for this invention from her so we have added it to our portfolio just recently. It can be bought as is or custom-made to fit the size of the hand of the user”, Benno elaborated demurely and Elvira seemed more than eager to order one.

“That seems indeed quite convenient”, she began and then did indeed order one for herself.

“Mother, how about I order one for Justus as well? I often see him handling wooden boards and ink so he might be appreciative of one as well. Or would that be inadvisable?”, Rozemyne asked.

Justus had seemed to like new things and maybe it was easier to get into Ferdinand's good graces if Justus was on her side.

“This will indeed be perceived as a nice gesture, I imagine”, Elvira agreed and they worked on deriving the correct specifications for such a gift.

As the discussion then circled back to potentially introducing new products to the market Rozemyne noticed how Benno grew more and more uncomfortable with every potential avenue she suggested. It seemed his discomfort grew so apparent that her guard knights began to glare at him which did not help the situation at all.

Usually he would have just told her by now in a moment of sudden indoor thunder what she was messing up but that was just not an option anymore.

“Benno, are my suggestions perhaps contrary to my other goals? It seems that you are unnaturally hesitant, so I imagine there might be some oversight from my side at play? Please speak freely so as to not waste time and resources on unproductive patterns”, she suggested and Benno cautiously explained that with printing, paper making and rinsham he was already spread thin enough that he was close to being ripped apart.

So a completely new trend would have to wait. But there was no helping that. Benno was crucial in getting her the right workers with the right motivation to create her products and if there was currently too much on his plate she had to accept that.

“So, Benno, since Wilma has now finished all the illustrations and the stencils are close to completion, are you ready to market the whole series of picture book bibles as soon as they are printed?”, Rozemyne inquired with barely hidden anticipation. A report from the temple had confirmed that all stencils were now ready to use.

If the groundwork for her library registration required more time than expected she could at least relish the feeling of releasing more books into this world!

Benno however seemed a bit uncomfortable by that.

“Of course, Princess Rozemyne, the Gilberta Company is fully prepared for the sale of all five books. However, I am unsure whether the printing is already about to begin. According to my latest reports there was some issue with procuring sufficient amounts of ink for the workshop”, Benno reported with an uneasy expression and Rozemyne raised an eyebrow at him.

“Is this something that you would want me to look into, Benno?”, she asked hesitantly, unsure how to interpret his face but he calmly shook his head.

“I would not want to bother you with something so minor, Princess Rozemyne.”

Rozemyne was surprised to see Karstedt at breakfast the next day. His duty as the archduke's guard knight often saw him in the castle more often than in this estate. In fact, it was the first time she had seen him since her return to Ehrenfest.

“Good morning, father. I appreciate the rare opportunity to share breakfast with you”, Rozemyne greeted him as she entered the dining room and was met with an encouraging smile from him.

“Good morning, Rozemyne, my pleasure”, he responded but seemed like he wanted to say something more only to decide against it.

They ate together in almost silence with only the occasional word of small talk exchanged before Karstedt eventually looked at her with clear hesitation.

“Rozemyne, I have received the Zent's request to have you participate in the hunting excursions of the Knight's Order”, he revealed and Rozemyne was glad that he had waited for her to finish eating beforehand or she would have choked hard on her food right now.

“But I am no knight. Will I not just be dead weight for everybody?”, she inquired cautiously.

Her knights seemed like they had been informed already since they had not even flinched at Karstedt's reveal. But what was the meaning of this? Surely he would not want to risk a hunting accident, right? Or was that the actual goal?!

“Will this not be dangerous?”, she continued and hoped against hope that she could just refuse.

“Fear not. I will have an additional squad of knights assigned for your safety and you will only participate from the back. The Zent wishes for you to gain experience from observing real combat and gain further data for your prayer research”, he explained and she nodded.

So it was just like during that trombe extermination?

This was nothing like that trombe extermination.

She had blessed the knights with Angriff, Schlagziel and Steifebrise as soon as they heard the telling cries of the graubaers that they were after but now all she could do was praying to Heilschmerz and Flutrane again and again.

She herself was indeed safe as the squad of knights that Karstedt had ordered to protect her were the strongest of Ehrenfest's Knight's Order in addition to her own retainers, but it seemed that their presence was in return painfully missed at the front line.

The wounded were carried to her to recover and more than one had lost so much blood that she felt the need to also pray to Dauerleben for them. And as soon as they were healed enough to stand they returned to the fight.

Rozemyne did not even have time to cry since the wounded were rushing in constantly without a moment of peace for her.

Why were they not retreating under these circumstances?! Were they truly okay with suffering so much pain?!

Another prayer to Glucklitat escaped her unbidden for the knights to finally overcome this trial and it seemed at least that their hunt was over soon after.

What kind of experience was this? Why did she have to endure that? To have all these knights rely on her for survival? This was madness. Why did Ferdinand want her in this situation?!

But while Rozemyne barely held herself together on their way back to the City of Ehrenfest the knights were oddly cheerful as if they had not been the ones so close to death so many times.

Shouts about the 'Saint of Ehrenfest' reached her ears and she shuddered on Klothilde's highbeast at the thought that all this was just part of her Saint propaganda.

Had they been in pain just to have her save them? Was that his great scheme behind having her participate?

Sleep came hard to her that night. The images of flesh wounds flashed through her mind and the smell of blood was ingrained into her nose even though she had taken a bath and asked her attendants to scrub her without restraint.

Her former life, locked up in the temple and only caring about printing and dusting feystones, seemed oddly relaxing right now.

And she could at least talk with her family and Lutz.

A heavy sigh escaped her as she put the blanket over her head.

Sybille, who was on night shift, did not a say a word to her despite her restlessness. She never spoke much anyway.

What wouldn't she give to hear Damuel's reassuring voice right now.

Unfortunately for her, that hunting excursion seemed to become a weekly occurrence. But even when she asked Karstedt to not give her his best knights and he actually complied to rotate the ones who were assigned to her it did not lead to less pain overall. On those occasions they just seemed to hunt stronger feybeasts.

“We are suffering from a general lack of manpower, Rozemyne, like basically every duchy in the country. You do not need to feel bad about the knights that guarantee your safety as they are easily offset by your generous use of healing magic. Without you we could only maybe hunt half of those feybeasts compared to what we did now since we do not need to take such long breaks between each excursion anymore. You are doing well, Rozemyne”, he said and patted her head encouragingly only for her to feel utterly lost.

What kind of existence was that? They were having brushs with death at least once a week and nobody batted an eye?!

“O Dauerleben, of the God of Life Ewigeliebe's exalted twelve, grant of all of those brave knights your divine protection so that they may live to see another day”, she mumbled under her breath as she lay in bed, hidden under her blanket, after just another of those hunting excursions. The white lights that emerged from her ring reminded her to write just one more report for Ferdinand.

If she continued like this she would need a new paper making workshop just for her prayer reports.

Beginning of autumn of his 6th year of zenthood. Age 21. Rozemyne Age 7.

“Fran, is everybody in the workshop aware of today's tour?”, Rozemyne inquired as she was going once again over the topics she wanted to cover today.

“Yes, they are, Princess Rozemyne. Everything is presentable and everybody has been informed of today's importance”, Fran confirmed and Rozemyne relaxed at that.

Two giebes, from the provinces of Gerlach and Haldenzel respectively, had voiced their interest in establishing new workshops and had received approval from Aub Ehrenfest. Therefore, Rozemyne had invited them for a meeting in the temple to show them how the workshop functioned in principle and to have them meet the merchants and craftsmen that would be lent to them over the winter and potentially spring to set everything up.

Esmeralda had voiced her confusion at that since it was not common to have the commoners involved so early in the planning stage but Rozemyne had insisted with the smash hammer of authority as the head of both industries that it would be beneficial in the long run.

To Rozemyne's great surprise and joy Elvira had officially joined as a scholar from Ehrenfest for these meetings and was now sitting next to her. She was filling her in on the last minor details about both giebes, the factions they belonged to inside Ehrenfest and her own relations to both. Surprisingly enough Giebe Haldenzel was Elvira's brother and thereby her own uncle.

“But you are not allowed to show any favoritism, Rozemyne. You are acting in the name of both the Zent and Aub Ehrenfest so you must not show preferential treatment just because you are related”, her mother emphasized and Rozemyne nodded.

Well, she did not even know him yet, so there was not really a reason for her to do that anyway.

A chime from the direction of her door made her straighten her back and don her princess persona as her guests walked in.

“So the sheets of paper are already produced in that rectangular shape? I see how the printing can therefore be so streamlined after that”, Giebe Haldenzel commented and Rozemyne felt right at home in giving this tour. He was not just trying to earn some brownie points with the Aub or her, he was actually interested in the products! Discussions like these were so much better than all this noble bullshit! It even offset all the small talk she had to make with them up to this point!

“Indeed, compared to parchment this plant paper does not waste any material just for the correct shape. Actually, even if a sheet ends up ripped it may just be turned back into pulp and mixed into a new batch of paper”, Rozemyne explained happily.

“Princess Rozemyne, if I may ask. Is the creation of this plant paper limited to volrin wood? Gerlach features a wide variety of trees and I am wondering whether we might even be able to produce a local specialty product”, Giebe Gerlach inquired.

Ah, what bliss. People who were thinking ahead and seeing the possibilities instead of the limitations. She allowed herself to get lost in her role as head of industries.

“You are most certainly correct, Giebe Gerlach. If you are so inclined you may have the workers experiment with local varieties of wood. You might even try some feyplants, even though I must emphasize that those should not be harvested by the workers I am going to lend you to ensure their safety”, Rozemyne explained and Giebe Gerlach nodded gracefully.

“But of course, Princess Rozemyne. Your workers will naturally not be exposed to any such dangers”, he confirmed.

“Now, about the printing press, you see, this is how it works”, she began the next part of the tour that showed both printing with metal letter types as well as the stencil based one for Wilma's illustrations.

“Ah, Bartz, is that really the total amount of ink we still have left? What about that delivery we were expecting for weeks now?”, she inquired spontaneously as she noticed the almost empty jar of ink that was getting used up by the demonstration right now.

“My apologies, Princess Rozemyne, we are indeed running low by now. What you see here has been procured exclusively for today's demonstration.” Rozemyne sighed under her breath.

“I see. Thank you, Bartz, for securing at least enough for today”, she commented with a slight smile. They must have scoured the whole temple for any soot they could get then.

After the tour through the workshop was finished they entered the orphanage director chambers were Benno and the others had been assembled and been kneeling in wait. There was only one face she could not place, but since Benno had sent her a list with those he was about to bring she knew that it must have been Wolf, the head of the ink guild.

“You see, the printing and paper making industries are very dear to me”, she began with a soft smile and gestured across the room of kneeling commoners.

“And those gathered here have made my ideas a reality.”

Johann was the first in line so she just began with him.

“Johann here is the one who basically made the whole printing press possible by being the first and so far only one who can work precise enough to create the metal letter types for printing. For those achievements I bestowed the title of 'Gutenberg' on him”, Rozemyne introduced the kneeling smith whose face grew redder and redder with every word from her. Oops, sorry Johann, but you are just that amazing!

“Giebe Haldenzel, I am sure your dedicated smiths will be able to hone their skills over the winter to follow Johann's lead there”, she proposed and Giebe Haldenzel tilted his head gracefully in acknowledgment.

“Zack is a smith who was just recently introduced to me. He had worked in the background, supplying Johann with schematics whenever he was stuck at the drawing board and he has just recently joined my endeavor. He is like the Gutenberg of innovation!”, she spontaneously bestowed Zack the title of Gutenberg as well so that he did not look so sad next to Johann.

Zack looked up at her with eyes wide in shock before he started to grin with pride. As you should! Be proud!

“This here is Ingo, my personal carpenter who has basically built the printing press you just saw in the workshop. He is like the Gutenberg of woodworking”, she suggested and neither Giebe Haldenzel nor Giebe Gerlach seemed overly concerned with her enthusiasm which put her at ease.

“My, Rozemyne, it is really impressive that you have such a sturdy foundation of craftsmen for your industries at hand”, Elvira praised her and Rozemyne just cheerfully deflected to Benno.

“One could attribute this all to Benno, mother, since he is the one who finds the best of the best for me. And without him financing the development of plant paper through Lutz in the first place we might have lost years to that”, she praised and gestured to both Benno and Lutz who reacted more gracefully than the craftsmen before them.

“And this is Wolf, the head of the ink guild, who has bought the rights to produce my printing ink”, Rozemyne finished her introductions. If only the ink delivery could be here already. She hoped that the small frown on her face stayed hidden behind her princess persona.

Chapter Text

End of summer of his 6th year of zenthood. Age 21. Rozemyne Age 7.

“Lutz, can you inquire with the ink workshops when the next delivery is to be expected? We could cope for the time being by cleaning the ovens of all blue priests and gathering their soot, but it has only been a minor amount since the last cleaning was not that long ago”, Fritz noted with his calm smile and Lutz groaned on the inside.

The ink delivery was still behind? He had made his own fair share of their printing ink and he knew it could not be so difficult.

“Of course, Fritz. I will immediately work on resolving the issue so that you have all the materials at hand that you require. Now that Wilma is so close to finishing her illustrations for the fifth picture book, we are expected to jump directly into mass production.”

Lutz was glad to have Fritz working in the workshop. He was a calm young man who did not complain unnecessarily but also did not shy away from raising valid concerns.

Ever since Benno had hinted to him that they might set up printing and paper making workshops all over the country he had begun to focus on raising more talents for the printing industry and Fritz was definitely one of them.

And now Rozemyne had sent them invitations to be introduced to those within Ehrenfest who wished to establish their own workshops within the industries. It had only been with a week of preparation that he had learned that he was going to spend his winter and potentially spring outside of the City of Ehrenfest to establish a workshop in a foreign province.

The outlook excited him but it was still hard for him to place all his emotions.

It had however been a nice gesture from Rozemyne to have them meet their interim bosses for that. It could not hurt to establish rapport early in case of any misunderstandings.

And the week of preparations had been necessary in the end so that they at least could make a minimum amount of ink themselves which could be used for the guided tour.

And this Wolf guy had not even apologized while they had waited for the nobles to arrive inside the orphanage director chambers. Was he not aware that he was the bottleneck in their current operations? Or did he not care as long as he got paid in the end?

When Rozemyne had said his name and introduced him as the one who had developed plant paper for her he had felt oddly flattered. They had done it together. But of course that was nothing a princess would do, so he would shoulder that achievement for her.

Beginning of autumn of his 6th year of zenthood. Age 21. Rozemyne Age 7.

“Bartz, has something happened to Fritz? I have not seen him in a few days now”, Lutz inquired with the workshop's second-in-command as he was making his rounds across the workshop to see how far along they were with their current batch of paper.

Benno had told him that they could finally expect the delivery of printing ink in the next few days so Lutz had intended to inform the workshop of this. He had a somewhat strange feeling about this delivery since Benno had seemed oddly concerned about it without wanting to elaborate on it. Maybe they had a shouting match after everybody had left the temple after those introductions.

“Fritz has been assigned as attendant to Sister Gretia two days ago. It is unlikely that he will have any opportunity to return to his former duties in this workshop”, Bartz reported and Lutz froze.

Sister Gretia? Who was that? And why was she taking somebody as heavily involved in the printing industry as Fritz? He had to speak to Myn- no, Princess Rozemyne about that.

“I see. Then you will be the new spokesperson of this workshop, Bartz. The new ink delivery will arrive in the next few days, so please prepare the workshop to be ready to receive and handle it. Also, please think about who of the apprentice gray priests might be ready to take a larger role in both printing and paper making. Please consider that they are required to be somewhat presentable to nobles as they might be lent out to some of the giebes to establish new workshops over winter with me.”

It was just thanks to Rozemyne's awareness that commoners had lives themselves that they had received a full season of preparation time for this duchy-wide move. Normal nobles would have just told them to jump into a carriage the next day.

As if they could just drop everything in their lives and work in another province at the drop of a hat.

Lutz tried to cease his exasperation for this almost-disaster and continued his round. There was still work to do.

But as he observed the gray priests and their current steps in the process flow of making paper, it seemed to him that the current batch of paper was close to being finished. With the ink being scheduled to arrive in a few days they could already prepare the workshop for printing a few days earlier as well, but if the ink got delayed again they would risk an even larger idling period.

'Better to have the ink waiting for the printing than the workshop sitting idle waiting for the ink again', he mused and announced that they were to start the next batch of paper instead.

For that reason, on the next day, he intended to take the orphanage children for gathering in the forest.

But the guard at the south gate seemed doubting about the origin of all these children despite their robes.

Just as Lutz was considering the possibility that they had to return to the orphanage without having achieved anything Gunther came to the rescue from one of the guard rooms inside the gate.

“Lutz, are you taking the orphanage children from the temple to the forest again? It's okay, Jorg, I know them, they can pass”, he judged and Lutz gestured the children to proceed while he went over to Gunther.

“Hey Gunther, thanks for your help here”, Lutz greeted the man who looked like he had aged more than ten years since spring.

“Don't sweat it, Lutz. Those children work for the High Bishop, right? Would not want to displease somebody so high ranking”, he commented with a gloomy expression.

What was the meaning of that? Since when did the thought of his daughter cause such a face?

“Your colleague was just diligently doing his duty, the High Bishop as the compassionate Saint of Ehrenfest would surely not find fault with him for that”, Lutz remarked cautiously and Gunther's face lit up a bit.

“You are right, must have been thinking about typical nobles, but the Saint of Ehrenfest must be different”, he agreed and patted Lutz' shoulder. The separation must be hard on him. But was there anything he could do?

“How is Tuuli doing right now? It has been months since I have seen her last”, he commented and was relieved to see that a glimmer had entered Gunther's eyes again. He loved his daughters just way too much.

“Oh, haven't you heard? She has been spending quite some time with Ralph lately. They are always together just like you and- Myne were, when you were younger. And when she was still there....”

The mood darkened instantly and Lutz could hear the lump in Gunther's throat as his words became more forced.

“Ah, no, I have not. But he always liked her a bit more than all the other girls, so that makes sense. Glad to hear that it seems to be working out then”, Lutz tried to save the situation but he was only rewarded with a forced smile.

“But if you are still worried about what the High Bishop might think, I can include in my report how accommodating everybody at the south gate was”, Lutz suggested in an attempt to cheer him up and Gunther nodded.

“But there is no need to include any names, I think everybody will feel more at ease if we remain hidden”, he proposed and Lutz agreed immediately.

He was not sure what kind of contract Gunther and the rest of his family had to sign but he was sure that one was at play. He himself and Benno had to sign one to treat Myne only as a merchant would so there was no chance in his mind that her family was not at least similarly restricted. Or even worse.

It had taken more than a week since his initial request to discuss the state of the workshop with Rozemyne before he was finally guided to her chambers by Fran for the meeting. Lutz was surprised to see that the amount of guard knights around her had increased once again. Now there were four in the hallways directly before the High Bishop's chambers and an additional four inside. Two at the entrance and two flanking her from half a step behind. But he was even more surprised to see that Lord Damuel was still one of them.

But it was good to know that she had somebody around her who knew about her origins. It could only help her to deal with everything. Even though he could not be the one who helped her deal with that.

Benno's extra strenuous lessons in proper behavior around nobles over the last months were properly ingrained into him, but he somehow doubted that he was at any acceptable level to converse with a princess under normal circumstances. As the one managing her workshop for her he knew that he had to be under exceptional leniency for them to be allowed to meet.

He knelt down as graciously as he could and kept his head low before he offered the seasonal greetings that Benno had taught him.

Why would they need to change them with each season? Just as he had grown used to the summer version he had to switch to the autumn one.

“Fran told me you have a report for me that requires a discussion, Lutz?”, Rozemyne asked him with a curious tone and he looked up to address her directly.

Gunther was not the only one who had aged noticeably. She was still small of course but if he had to describe it he would have said that her eyes had grown older.

“Yes, High Bishop. I regret to inform you that due to difficulties in procuring a sufficient amount of ink the workshop could not start with printing the fifth volume of your picture book bibles until yesterday even though Wilma provided us with the stencils for the illustrations weeks ago. The workshop therefore had to switch to paper making in preparation of the time when this bottleneck was to be resolved.”

Rozemyne nodded with a slight frown on her face.

“You did well to focus on paper making in the meantime. What was the reason for the delay in ink production?”, she asked and Lutz took out his diptych to make sure he did not miss anything in his report.

“There was a dispute between the head of the ink guild and the linseed oil workshop in Leisegang. It seemed that they were in conflict about a trade agreement. This issue has now been overcome and production of printing ink has finally begun. Furthermore, I'd like to add that one ink workshop in Ehrenfest has finally been selected to begin their research for the colored ink that you requested, High Bishop. I am unaware of their projected timeline however. I expect their estimations to reach your workshop in the upcoming days and I will immediately forward this information to you as soon as it arrives.”

“It is good to know that they have reached an agreement with their oil workshop. Maybe we should spark the development of printing ink based on other oils as well to not be so dependent in the future again”, Rozemyne proposed and Lutz noted that down on his diptych.

“In that case I will encourage the workshop who is working on colored ink to spread their research also in the direction of different oils. Do you have any suggestions for alternatives?”, he inquired but, judging from the harsh glare the knight that was standing behind her and who was not Lord Damuel now sent to him, he understood that he had messed up in his level of politeness.

“I apologize for the rudeness of my words, High Bishop”, he immediately added which seemed to calm down the knight but upset Rozemyne.

Whatever was the right course of action here?

With a gesture of her hand she waved his apology away.

“Any missteps in Grammaratur's dance shall be forgiven”, she noted, speaking more to her knights than to him. He should ask Benno later what that meant.

“I am not aware of the names of any further suitable oils, but please advise the workshop to focus on oils that become dry and sticky when exposed to air for too long”, she then suggested and he hastily noted that down as well.

“I truly appreciate your insight and guidance on these matters”, he confirmed with a phrase that Benno had taught him and it seemed indeed appropriate as she now smiled at him encouragingly.

“Was there anything else you wished to discuss, Lutz?”, she asked him well aware that so far he could have just sent his usual written reports instead of asking for a personal meeting.

“Indeed, High Bishop. There is the matter of the gray priests that are currently working in your workshop”, he began and he saw the slightest signs of concern on her face.

“Have there been any issues with the gray priests?”, she inquired cautiously and Lutz had to think hard once again how to address it most diplomatically.

“Not directly, High Bishop. I am more concerned about their current status. As of now they are not officially assigned to you but instead they work in your workshop as members of the orphanage who are performing tasks beneficial to the upkeep of the temple. In that way they are not different from those cleaning the hallways, for instance”, he began his explanation and was met with a quizzical glance from her and neutral expressions from her guards.

So he had not messed up again with his choice of words. That was relieving.

“They are therefore available to be taken in as attendants by other blue priests or shrine maidens, High Bishop. As those are clearly temple affairs it is out of my control to keep the workshop's skilled workers if they find employment otherwise.”

Lutz decided to let his words hang in the air so that he did not run the risk of accusing any blue robes of stealing the workshop's workers outright.

But that was exactly what had happened! Fritz had been the effective foreman of the workshop and he was just gone from one day to the other! How was the workshop expected to work like this?! He could not even complain to the blue robes about it – they were nobles after all!

Rozemyne seemed to have noticed the anger in his eyes as she was showing him a difficult, but sympathetic smile. But as his eyes shifted to the knights behind her, their hardened expressions told him that they had seen his anger as well.

“Do you know which gray was taken by which blue?”, she inquired thoughtfully while shooting her knights at the door a stern glare.

Was she ordering them to stay put right now? Benno had warned him that staying calm had utmost priority in all interactions with Rozemyne, but was his rightful anger already perceived as such a threat? He gulped and tried to ban all emotions from his mind.

“Fritz has found employment as an attendant for Sister Gretia is what I have been told, High Bishop”, he answered demurely and he saw Rozemyne relax at that.

“Oh, that is indeed unfortunate. But I doubt that that was malicious, Lutz. I will speak with her to see whether she can allow him some transition period to transfer all his knowledge to the rest of the workers. And I will introduce a two week waiting period for those who are currently working in the workshop before they can become attendants or be bought so that such an abrupt interruption does not occur again”, she proposed and he exhaled slowly.

Not a perfect outcome, but like this they should have a bit more leeway with proper handovers.

“I appreciate and thank you for your consideration, High Bishop”, he confirmed and felt like he was about to be dismissed as Rozemyne added one further question.

“Is everybody in the lower city quite alright, Lutz?”, she inquired hesitantly but Lutz understood immediately.

“Yes, everything is peaceful and everybody seems to be in good health as well. On occasions when I take the orphanage children to the forest we have to pass through the south gate and the guards there seem quite relaxed as well, so I imagine that this sentiment is generally shared among the lower city even for those I do not interact with often”, he confirmed and her eyes lit up at that ever so slightly.

“Thank you for your insight, Lutz. You know, I care about my workers.”

It broke his heart to see how hard the separation and all the acting was on her as well.

“Your compassion is surely felt by them, High Bishop”, he agreed before he was dismissed.

Was there even somebody who was willing to hug her and let her cry on them? She was acting so tough, but it had felt so wrong.

“Are you Lutz?”, the shy voice of a little girl inquired from behind him as he was proofreading a page they were setting up for printing one hundred times. He suppressed the urge to groan as he had just lost all his concentration from that interruption.

Since they were currently in the temple she had to be either of higher rank than him or she had to be working for somebody of higher rank than him so he could not allow himself a slip in his professional behavior.

He turned around slowly and saw a timid young girl with gray hair, turqouise eyes and blue robes standing in front of him with Fritz half a step behind her and two apprentice gray shrine maidens one more step behind Fritz.

Damn, Rozemyne was working fast, it had only been one day since he had voiced his complaint and here she was already. But was that a good sign, or a bad one?

“Sister Gretia, I am indeed Lutz”, he confirmed as soon as he knelt down and he noticed how everybody else had paused their work to do the same.

Argh, halting the whole workflow just because a noble walked by was surely a pain.

“I see. I was informed that it would be beneficial for the High Bishop to have Fritz continue working here for a few more days, so I wanted to see for myself how he has been supporting the High Bishop prior to gaining employment with me”, she explained and Lutz froze.

Was Rozemyne aware of this? Paper making and printing were overflowing with trade secrets after all. He could not just let anybody observe the production process. Not even a blue shrine maiden or a little girl.

“Sister Gretia, my apologies, but I am under strict orders by Princess Rozemyne to guard the trade secrets that this workshop harbors. I can only allow this with her explicit consent”, he deflected and tried to pull rank which seemed to be somewhat effective.

“I see. In that case I will leave Fritz in your care for a week so that he may properly transfer his tasks to his successor”, she stated quietly and turned around with only her two gray apprentice shrine maidens in her wake.

He had to make the best out of the one week they were granted. And send another letter to Rozemyne to ask about that Sister Gretia.

Chapter Text

Middle of autumn of his 6th year of zenthood. Age 21. Rozemyne Age 7.

“Rozemyne, what is the meaning of this report? Why is that apprentice blue shrine maiden now doing organizational work for your workshop? I am sure more than one person already warned you about keeping your distance to her. She is very obviously placed there by her house in order to get closer to you. Parents often act through their children”, Ferdinand chided her with a raised eyebrow at their post-lunch tea. Rozemyne put down her own cup with elegance and without hurry before she looked him in the eyes to answer.

“I am indeed well aware, Ferdinand. I am also aware that I am away often enough from the temple that the workflow is impacted even though everybody is giving it their best. Why does it matter whether I delegate this work to a gray or a blue robe?”

“The point that matters is that this blue robe is the one who is making a very deliberate attempt at manipulating you and now it seems to be successful, Rozemyne. More will follow then.”

“And more people in the temple with the actual mana of a noble and who are willing to work for me is a bad thing? I am putting her to good use, Ferdinand. You should be praising me, not questioning me.”

“Well done, Rozemyne, you are encouraging spies and leeches to flog around you”, he congratulated her with his most radiant smile.

“If you think her a spy and a leech why did you even allow her to enter the temple?”, Rozemyne inquired while frowning into her tea cup.

She had noticed how everybody with them in the room had frozen at their rather heated exchange but she did not care about their feelings. He was just being an ass and she had every right to be angry at him for that!

“It helps the temple's reputation if not only rejects of society enter it. The opportunistic ones will always be the first and it would be foolish to refuse them. But even more importantly, because you lack experience in being manipulated. I thought 'how much damage can an eight year old girl in the temple actually do?'. Apparently more than I expected.” His glare hurt her more than his mocking praise before.

“I am far from being manipulated, Ferdinand. Do you know what little girls hate most when they are used as pawns for some risky political endeavor? The house that uses them. And do you know what they need most to regain their own agency? Independent income. Gretia is not winning me over, Ferdinand. I am winning her over.” She now returned his fierce glare with one of her own.

“Oh? So you are telling me that this is part of your grand scheme? Indulge me, to what end?” Ferdinand was now scrutinizing her so hard that Rozemyne felt the urge to shudder but suppressed it.

“The more reliable people who work for the printing industry the better. If I get them young I can mold them to my requirements.”

“Hm. Very well, I will accept your reasoning for now and we will see how it will play out. You lack experience in scheming as well so we might just use this opportunity as practice”, he conceded deep in thought and Rozemyne sighed out the breath she had held.

“But Rozemyne, to make that one point clear, she is absolutely unacceptable as a retainer. And that is not open for discussion.”

Rozemyne had expected as much but it still hurt her to receive that confirmation.

“I appreciate your understanding in that matter”, he noted with a tone that Rozemyne could not clearly discern as truly appreciative or covertly mocking instead. But since there was no gain in confronting him she chose to choose to ignore her doubt.

“Very well, then let us head to the training grounds”, he suddenly declared and Rozemyne froze for a second. Did he intend to have her buff and heal the knights here too? How badly did they usually get wounded in the Sovereignty? Surely not as bad as in Ehrenfest, right?

“What might be the reason to go there today, Ferdinand? Was not another (physics) discussion planned?”, she inquired cautiously but was met with a slightly frowning face. Had she said something wrong?

“You will need a highbeast for the upcoming Harvest Festival and the gathering for your jureve. And I am under the impression that you will require my direct supervision for your high beast creation”, he commented with a scrutinizing glance at her as her attendant pulled back her chair and helped her down from it.

“You are granting me my own highbeast?”

Was she succeeding in placating him? His hair showed that he had to be using the rinsham she had sent him through Justus but he had not commented on it yet in any way. She had also seen how Justus was routinely using his new diptych but apart from Justus thanking her personally there had been no reaction from him. But was this now the first sign of a change? Was this now the first milestone in becoming allowed to register at the library?!

“It will make things easier for your retainers as I am under the impression that you do not do well in carriages”, he remarked before he gestured for Klothilde to carry her and follow the hasty pace he set. Maybe not.

As they had entered a training hall he handed her a feystone and told her to dye it with her mana before he then instructed her how to envision it changing its shape with her imagination. Their guards were sent to the entries and around the perimeter of the hall to give them enough space for this task.

“Ferdinand, is that really okay? Is this unlike a (balloon) then?”, she inquired with increased nervousness as she inflated the sphere shape of her highbeast feystone.

“Yes, just continue increasing its size”, he commented before he added a “What is a (balloon)?”.

But before she could answer she heard a suspicious cracking noise originating from the highbeast feystone in front of her. Then, it just suddenly burst.

Rozemyne just stared at the flying shrapnel when she was suddenly lifted up, pressed against a chest and covered in white fabric.

Eeeep!

As the sounds of shrapnel hitting something stopped, the fabric that was covering her was lifted and she looked up at who was actually holding her. To her dismay it was Ferdinand and not one of her guards.

Her heartbeat accelerated with her rising panic as the circumstances of her current situation sunk into her consciousness.

He had protected her? But was it really necessary to hold her so closely now still?!

Rozemyne steadied her breath and tried to gather her courage to ask to be let down but Ferdinand was faster. With a heavy frown he released her from his embrace as soon as she was firmly standing on her own feet again. As he then took a step back he massaged his temples with his fingers while his eyes were closed.

“Why were you imagining it exploding? Are you aware just how wasteful you are?”, he scowled and Rozemyne flinched as she noticed all the tiny pieces of feystone that were now scattered on the floor.

Had she messed up? That had to be fixable, right?!

“No, no, see, those are like clay, right? I will just roll them back together into that stone!”, she hastily exclaimed and scrunched down under his exasperated glare.

“That is not how that works, Rozemyne”, he sighed while she poured more mana into the shards and began to roll them together. To her great relief they actually did stick together.

By now it seemed that they had garnered Justus' attention as he approached the two of them with a highly amused grin on his face. But Rozemyne chose to ignore him after just looking up at him shortly to confirm that he was not interfering and continued with her salvaging approach.

She would not lose goodwill here over this stupid mistake!

“May I help you with gathering the pieces, Princess?”, Justus offered as the feystone in her hand had already regained half its initial size.

“Thank you, Justus, please do”, she agreed and she did not miss the glee in his expression as he began collecting all the pieces that had flown even several steps away.

“Do you mind to tell me how you are doing that?”, he inquired while he basically stared at her hands in his own squatting position and dropped the pieces he had collected close to where she worked.

“The pieces are clay, and clay sticks together. See? No harm done”, she insisted as she was rolling the new pieces into the bigger one. She could feel Ferdinand's gaze on her back all the while until she finally managed to combine everything back together.

“Please excuse the interruption, Ferdinand, I believe you were about to explain how to change the shape of my highbeast?”, Rozemyne finally inquired as innocently as she dared and was met with another exasperated sigh.

“Show me your feystone”, he demanded and began to inspect it before he then handed it back to her.

“You never cease to surprise me”, he commented and continued his lecture.

But while Rozemyne tried her hardest to come up with a highbeast as she was tasked to do, it seemed like he did not agree with any of her designs. Ferdinand had suggested that she may use a lion due to her connection to Ehrenfest, or a snake due to his connection to Drewanchel but since all she could imagine were basically children's rides with overly cute forms he rejected all of them before he basically forbade her to use those heraldic animals and just choose something on her own.

Functionality-wise she had liked the lion bus the most as she had even been able to imagine him flying just like the cat bus from that movie.

So, if the lion was too cute to be respectable then she could just go all-out with regard to cuteness, right? As long as it was nothing that he did not like in a cute context.

“Rozemyne, are you intending to bring shame on yourself and me in association? Why would you ever choose such a shape?”, he demanded to know and Rozemyne gulped at his sudden intensity.

Why was he so angry at her cute panda bus?

“When did you even have the chance to see a grun? I did not receive such a mention from your reports with Ehrenfest's Knight's Order”, he grumbled while he stared at her panda bus with open disdain.

“That is not a grun, Ferdinand, that is a (lesser panda). And it is super cute”, she tried to defend her choice but his intensifying frown made her reconsider whether that was a good idea.

“If you were going for 'cute' then just make it a shumil”, he suggested monotonously and she was willing to agree just to make this whole issue disappear. There was just one problem.

“Ferdinand, what does a shumil look like?”, she inquired hesitantly with a twitchy smile. Ferdinand seemed to shoot a glance in the direction of the ceiling while he sighed barely audible.

“Somebody get me a shumil, now”, he barked and stared at the lesser panda shaped miniature bus while two of the guard knights immediately left their posts and sprinted out of the training hall.

“How come you do not even know what a shumil is?”, he commented while they waited for the guards to return with whatever animal he had ordered them to bring. Rozemyne glanced around the hall before she settled on an explanation that was safe to be uttered in public.

“Growing up in the temple might have sheltered me a bit too much from the typical experience of noble children”, she suggested cautiously and Ferdinand stared at her before he dropped the topic.

“I see. I will inform Elvira of this gap in your education”, he then declared to her relief. Talking with Elvira about things noble children learned early on was not a bad outlook. Maybe she would tell her even some of those bed time stories noble children knew and that she was technically too old for. She could even turn them into books afterwards!

It did not take long before the first knight returned with a small animal in his hand that showed dark blue fur, light blue feathers around its neck and very long ears on its small head.

“Oh, a (bunny)? (Bunnies) are for sure cute, you are right, Ferdinand! Let's go with a (bunny) bus for my highbeast!”, she declared enthusiastically and began changing the form immediately.

While the feathers around the shumil's neck were something new to her she liked the extra fluffiness of that so she incorporated that detail without any restraints.

He did not look exasperated anymore. Whew.

The tension left her body at that and she noticed her own exhaustion.

Just how much mana did she use for the creation of her highbeast? By now she could feel the drain on her mana. Not good. Would he get mad at her for that? But she was in no condition to perform mana dedication later today like this.

“Ferdinand, may I drink one of my potions? I just now noticed the drain on my mana”, she admitted with a forced smile and was met with a mocking grin.

“It took you long enough to notice how wasteful your approach was”, he chastized her but then granted her permission to drink one. The taste was as awful as ever but she could not allow herself to show any weakness – or the illusion of being poisoned – in front of their retainers.

“Rozemyne, since you seem to lack the experience, how about you keep a few shumils as pets from now on?”, he suggested and she tried her hardest to not stare at him in open shock.

Was he trying to be nice?! That was unlikely, since she was sure that that would be killing him. So why was he suggesting that?

As she remembered the reason she had read in one book about raising children into successful adults she shuddered involuntarily. Hell no.

“My, accepting such a sudden proposal will surely burden my attendants unnecessarily”, she tried to refuse his 'offer' the way Elvira had taught her but when she saw his bright smile she knew he would not give up so easily.

“Fear not. If you find that you are in need of another attendant or two I can easily arrange for that, Rozemyne”, he offered gracefully and she suppressed the urge to run away and hide.

She knew what he was planning for. And she would not have that. She could not allow for her heart to be broken like that.

“My, that does not seem like an efficient use of resources, Ferdinand. As my whole lifestyle is financed by taxes it would feel wasteful to employ another attendant just for me to keep a few pets”, she tried to deflect his offer further but his expression turned thoughtful at that.

“Rozemyne, one could arrive at the conclusion that you do not want a few pet shumils. Did you not just say that you find them cute?”, he inquired with a more guarded expression and she knew he was done with her lame refusals, but she just could not accept that.

“They are cute, very cute indeed. It is just... may we speak under Verbergen's shroud?” How could one even refuse the highest authority in this country? If he just insisted then she eventually had to comply.

He handed her an individual sound blocking tool with a raised eyebrow.

“What about a discussion about some shumils requires the use of anti-eavesdropping tools, Rozemyne?”, he inquired with an amused grin and Rozemyne steeled her nerves for her answer.

“I imagine everybody will think I am rude to you, so I hope to keep the damage contained”, she explained while glancing at his face to gauge his reaction. Still amused. That was better than frowning.

“Oh? And what about a discussion about some shumils requires you to resort to rudeness?”, he continued with a teasing grin which made her shiver slightly.

“Ferdinand, I am well aware why children get pets. And as I already manage my workshop, my High Bishop duties and am the head of two whole industries I am quite certain it is not about me learning to take responsibility for something. This is about me learning to deal with death. But I do not care for that heartbreak”, she stated while trying to hold her tears at bay.

Shuu had kept a cat once. It had not even been her own pet, just her best friend's. And she had cried for more than a week when it had crossed the rainbow bridge.

Ferdinand's expression had returned to a more guarded one but he did not answer her yet.

“Healing those knights on their hunting trips over and over again is hard enough already. I do not care for having one of those cute (bunnies) die in my arms after I have grown to love them!”, she pleaded and Ferdinand just shook his head and retrieved the sound blocking tool from her hands again.

“Return that shumil to where you found it”, he ordered the guard who still held the shumil in his hand in a neutral tone before he returned his attention to Rozemyne.

“Rest till dinner and practice flying your highbeast in the coming days under strict supervision of your guard knights”, he instructed and she immediately agreed.

Had he just accepted her refusal?

Chapter Text

Late autumn of his 6th year of zenthood. Age 21. Rozemyne Age 7.

“Rozemyne, I received the confirmation from Aub Ehrenfest that you may gather your autumn ingredient in Ehrenfest in return for performing the Harvest Festival and relinquishing your part of the taxes to the castle”, Ferdinand announced at post-dinner tea just three days before Rozemyne was scheduled to leave for the Harvest Festival anyway, but she was unfortunately distracted by her own thoughts as he spoke.

She had counted the times she had been sharing her meals with him since her chefs had been allowed to cook soup here in the Sovereignty and by now it had been fifty times.

And not once had he dared to taste it, even though Justus had observed her chefs for the first ten times and poison-tested it every time since. Just how stubborn was he with his paranoia? How was she going to get him to ask for more recipes and to earn his favor if he did not even give her soup a chance?

“Rozemyne, are you listening?”, he suddenly asked and she could see the small signs of displeasure on his face by now.

If he was so expressive it meant that he wanted her to see it. Not good.

“My apologies, Ferdinand, I was distracted by a sudden thought. Might I ask you to repeat yourself?”, she inquired apologetically but his own smile in return was rather poisonous now. Eeep.

“Oh? What thought might have stolen your attention away from me?”, he asked with a clearly mocking tone and she suppressed the urge to sigh outwardly.

Why did he think himself the center of everything? Ah, right, because he was the Zent....

“I was merely wondering whether my chefs or I might have displeased you since you did not once try their soup, Ferdinand”, she commented only to see his poisonous smile intensifying.

“Oh, you have been keeping track? For what purpose?”, he questioned and Rozemyne pressed her lips together before she threw something rude at him.

'To see whether you truly had no sense of taste anymore' was surely not an answer he was about to appreciate.

“I was merely curious whether you liked it, Ferdinand. But now I fear that I might have done something that causes you to spite me”, she suggested and allowed herself a difficult smile on her face.

Was he so paranoid that he really thought she wanted to poison him?

“You are definitely missing out, Ferdinand”, she emphasized and he tilted his head politely with his pleasant smile back in place.

“Your worry warms my heart, Rozemyne”, he noted ominously before he repeated his initial announcement before her inattentiveness had derailed the conversation.

“It did not seem right to be receiving those taxes to begin with since I am not an Ehrenfest citizen anymore anyway at this point”, she commented as he had finished speaking and thoughtfully sipped from her tea which earned her a mocking glare from Ferdinand.

What? Was he going to call her a fool again? That somehow got old fast.

“Fool, those taxes you receive personally are first and foremost payment for your temple duties. The color of your cape does not matter in these things”, he chided her and she sighed.

At least she was getting good at predicting when he was about to call her a fool.

“Understood. What kind of ingredient will I be gathering, Ferdinand?”, she asked matter-of-factly and hoped it would not have to be a feybeast like in one of the knight stories that Elvira had started to tell her. With a family of knights it seemed that those were all the bed time stories she knew.

“A fruit of a feytree called ruelle. In the Night of Schutzaria it will be the best, and easiest, wind ingredient you could think of. You will just need to fly up with your highbeast, dye the fruit with your mana and then cut it off with a knife”, he explained and Rozemyne nodded. That sounded indeed like something even a fragile girl like her could do.

“Eckhart knows all the details and will accompany you as an additional guard knight”, he continued while Rozemyne tried her hardest to suppress her frown.

She would really prefer such a long trip to be without his harsh glares. Should she dare to ask for somebody else? Was that going to cost her in regard to the brownie points she had hoped to have accumulated by now for her library registration?

When Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at her questioningly she knew he was about to ask about her hesitation anyway so being straightforward would not hurt any further. She glanced at Eckhart, who was glaring across the whole room, and then focused back on Ferdinand.

“Might I ask for Heisshitze's support instead, Ferdinand? Having my brother as my guard knight still feels off.”

Since Ferdinand narrowed his eyes slightly she was quite sure that he had seen right through her pretext but she hoped he would accept it if she gave him her best princess smile right now.

“Oh? If that is how you feel, I imagine you are also opposed to having your mother accompany you as official tax scholar”, he mused loudly but Rozemyne reflexively shook her head as her mood had brightened immediately at the thought. Mother would be there as well? Then the trip could actually be good!

“My, Mother is planned to accompany us for the Harvest Festival? No, that is indeed an arrangement that pleases me, Ferdinand. I thank you ever so much for asking for her”, she immediately clarified which made Ferdinand nod politely with a charmingly neutral smile that she knew by now meant nothing. But neutral was better than displeased. The whole discussion had started on the wrong note anyway.

“How about I lend you both, Eckhart and Heisshitze, for your trip. And please wear all the charms I gave you while you are outside of the City of Ehrenfest”, he instructed and Rozemyne had no choice but to accept.

So he was aware that she was only wearing all of his charms while in the Sovereignty? Or was he just making sure she would wear them anyway?

“Your generosity to ensure my safety is deeply appreciated, Ferdinand”, was all she could say to that. She knew that she could not reject Eckhart now but with their mother at her side she at least had an ally that could maybe hold his glares at bay.

“Aub Ehrenfest also informed me that the spreading of the printing and paper making industries has begun”, he began and Rozemyne hastily gulped down her tea to give the report he now surely expected.

“Indeed, I have met with Giebe Haldenzel and Giebe Gerlach a few weeks ago in order to discuss the expansion of the industries into their provinces and Haldenzel will receive my personal smiths and somebody from an ink workshop who is familiar with printing ink over the winter, while Gerlach will receive some personnel from the temple workshop including Lutz. Haldenzel will focus on establishing a printing workshop, while Gerlach will use its beneficial location and the fact that its rivers do not fully freeze over in winter to establish a plant paper workshop and possibly develop some new kinds of paper based on the local variety of trees”, she summarized while Ferdinand sipped thoughtfully from his tea.

“Benno will be the one to sign the necessary contracts as the head of the printing and paper making guilds?”, Ferdinand inquired and Rozemyne nodded.

“Indeed, he will have to visit both locations for that. Since I will have to do the same as the de facto head of the printing industry I planned on just taking him along on my highbeast on my trip from Haldenzel to Gerlach”, she began but as she saw the slight signs of disapproval on his face she hastily added an “unless you disagree.”

“I do indeed disagree with that idea. Rozemyne, do not offer rides on your highbeast to anybody who is not family to you. It is not only a glaring security risk but also highly improper for a young girl such as you to ride with an unrelated, adult man such as Benno”, he instructed and she suppressed the urge to retort with the question how it could be improper to just have somebody sit on the backseat of her bunny bus.

“May he ride with Damuel then to allow a timely closure on the setup phase of both workshops?”, she asked. It would have been nice to chat with Benno on their way halfway across the duchy but if that was not possible she at least did not want to delay everything by two weeks just because Benno had to take a carriage. And riding with Damuel would hopefully not lead to Benno having a heart attack from sheer stress.

“Hm. Why Damuel?”, he probed while taking another sip from his tea.

“I was under the impression that such a task would be assigned best to the weakest knight, Ferdinand”, she tried to offer a pretext again and Ferdinand smirked ever so slightly. Was it really a good thing that she started to notice such signs from him? Maybe ignorance had been bliss all the time?

“Very well, that is indeed acceptable”, he judged and Rozemyne exhaled quietly. He obviously knew that she was not sincere here but he accepted it nevertheless. Elvira had been right after all.

But the rules of their interactions changed drastically as soon as they entered the Replenishment Hall after dinner.

Ferdinand smiled at her widely as if he wanted to say something but he only gestured her to her usual spot with the Goddess of Wind's sigil while he took the one for the God of Darkness before they began their dedication prayer.

And, as usual, they ended it as soon as she gave the indication of feeling a slight drain in her mana. Unfortunately, Ferdinand did not show any signs of wanting to exit the Replenishment Hall. Instead he looked at her intently before he began to speak.

“It seems Elvira made great progress in teaching you how to hide your intentions politely. Very good”, he remarked and Rozemyne just stared at him in shock.

Had he just praised her? And not in a mocking tone but honestly?

“I am relieved that you do not find that offensive”, she admitted with a slightly twitchy smile which made his smile wider.

“Oh, why would I find it offensive when you are finally learning to become a proper noble, Rozemyne. Did I not tell you that you are free to try to manipulate me? Hiding your intentions and evading to answer questions in a polite manner are skills you are well advised to acquire for this task”, he noted with a slight chuckle.

Was he aware of her grand scheme for the library registration? Or was he just speaking in a general manner?

“However, honing those skills is one thing but while we are here where nobody else can see or hear us I still expect you to not hide anything, Rozemyne”, he explained sternly and Rozemyne gulped. What was he building up to?

“What kind of problem do you have with Eckhart, Rozemyne?” Oh. Just that.

“He is scary. He always glares at me, Ferdinand. I have no idea how you can stand his presence so much”, she admittedly quietly and earned herself some narrowed eyes from Ferdinand in response.

“Eckhart is a most diligent guard knight but he is indeed sometimes a bit overzealous in protecting me”, Ferdinand mused and seemed to scrutinize Rozemyne's reaction to that.

“Was he protecting you when he held me while Justus made me drink that potion? Because it took more than two weeks for the bruises in the form of his fingers to not be visible on my arms anymore”, she remarked with a sullen expression which seemed to surprise him.

“You are holding a grudge from that?”, he inquired with a more guarded expression than before. Nice. So he was already siding with Eckhart here? What had she even expected?

“It is not a grudge. But somebody who is so forceful with a little girl like me is scary and you cannot convince me otherwise”, she clarified and glared at him.

“Holding you so firmly that you are bruised for two weeks would definitely trigger your protection charms, Rozemyne”, he finally commented but it only made Rozemyne scoff at the notion.

“I am more afraid of what he will do to others, Ferdinand. I know that he only acts on your orders so unless you order something different I know that he will protect me and not hurt me. But I doubt he is capable of remorse or empathy and that makes him scary. Those commoners in the villages are not always perfectly polite and I fear what he will do to them in that case”, she concluded and Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at her once again.

“I see. I will instruct him to rely on Heisshitze's judgment in those cases”, he offered and Rozemyne was surprised that he was actually willing to accommodate her feelings even a bit.

“I thank you ever so much, Ferdinand”, she acknowledged and turned in the direction of the exit.

“Wait.” His direct command made her freeze and she turned back to him as gracefully as she could.

What else did he want to discuss? Was he indeed aware of her grand scheme to get the library registration granted?

“Yes, Ferdinand?” She pondered for a second whether she should amp up the innocence of her smile or not. But she decided against it given the fact that he read her like an open book anyway and appearing like she tried to hide something would not help her case. His own intensifying grin however was unnerving enough on its own.

“Why do you want Benno to ride with Damuel? For such a long trip an additional passenger will surely bring Damuel to his limits. Choosing the weakest knight is only good for short trips, Rozemyne. And I am sure you are aware of that by now. So, why him?”, he inquired with a wide grin and Rozemyne sighed stealthily. So just that?

“Because Benno is stressing out about every interaction with a noble even if he tries to hide it. Damuel is the kindest of them all so I hope that this will be the best for his heart”, she explained much to his seeming amusement.

“Stress is bad for the heart?”, he asked and Rozemyne froze at the sudden realization that this world's medicine was abysmal and relied mainly on magic and luck. And obviously Ferdinand would now want to know everything about it.

“Yes, there were studies that showed a clear correlation between increased stress levels and heart attacks. If you want I can prepare some lectures about common medicinal knowledge from the dream world but I do not know how mana plays into that so I cannot give any guarantees on it being totally transferable.”

The disclaimer did not seem to dissuade Ferdinand. On the contrary there was this faintest glimmer in his eyes that she had suspected meant that he was interested.

But, actually, that was really good! Another way to get some brownie points! Surely like this he would eventually acknowledge all her hard work by allowing her to become registered at the library!

The Harvest Festival in the central district that she had assigned to herself at behest of Ferdinand who had planned her route in such a way that she would end at the village of Dorvan for her gathering went almost painfully slow.

Every town chief seemed to believe that it was the height of decency to invite the little girl to meetings where alcohol and willing women were offered. Even when she declined they invited her mother to them. And since Heisshitze was indeed the knight in charge of how to handle the commoners it fell to him to accompany Elvira to those meetings while Eckhart had the first part of the night shift stationed in her chambers.

She was just glad that he did not say anything while he was guarding her. But she knew that it had to be obvious to him that she did not like him. His only reason to guard her was not loyalty like it was for Damuel or a general retainer contract as the rest of her knights but just that one explicit order from Ferdinand.

He was dangerous. And only restrained by a few words.

Falling asleep had been difficult if not for the sheer exhaustion of attending all these harvest festivals and performing all the ceremonies.

When she had seen the commoners play soccer with that poor armadillo-like feybeast she was so glad that Ferdinand had relented when she had begged him to not make her keep some shumils. Animal welfare was definitely not a concept here.

And the days continued one after another and all were so very similar. Until they reached the village of Dorvan.

“Rozemyne, did you sleep as instructed?”, her mother asked her as they were setting up to harvest her jureve ingredient.

“Yes, I napped for one and half bells”, Rozemyne confirmed while Wilma and Rosina changed her into riding clothes. She noticed with great satisfaction that Elvira was also wearing something similar.

“Princess Rozemyne, you will need this knife for your gathering tonight”, Eckhart suddenly spoke up and held a strange knife in her direction with the handle for her to grip.

“I thank you ever so much, Eckhart”, she responded automatically and inspected the new tool in her hand.

“You would do well to put it into the bag on your belt and only use it for the gathering”, he instructed further and she immediately complied.

His eyes spoke very clearly that he did not trust her with a knife. No reason to antagonize him.

As soon as they left the building that they were staying in everybody produced their highbeasts and followed Eckhart's lead to their destination.

Nobody seemed as surprised as Rozemyne by the stark purple moon but as Elvira came up next to her she asked her quietly whether that was normal. And then her ride to that feytree spontaneously turned into a lecture about the Night of Schutzaria and its apparent counterpart of the Night of Flutrane.

Since they were happening so close to winter it was not absolutely surprising that she had not happened to witness those before, but it still bothered her to not know something as awesome as the whole moon changing color....

The tree was beautiful. The fragrance it exuded was oddly calming and the flowers mesmerizing.

“Princess, please focus”, Damuel advised from his highbeast flying next to her so that she may return from her captivated state. Her own other four guard knight retainers as well as Eckhart and Heisshitze were currently protecting the ruelle tree from minor feybeasts who were rushing to the tree as if they were similarly mesmerized by its presence.

“Rozemyne, Damuel is right, you need to focus”, her mother chimed in from her highbeast flying to her other side and Rozemyne channeled her whole concentration on the falling petals and the fruits that were slowly increasing in size.

It was like watching paint dry, just way more enticing. While the shouting from the knights below grew more intense with the growth of the fruits Rozemyne could just watch and wait.

“Now is a good time, Rozemyne”, Elvira declared and Rozemyne maneuvered her bunny bus close enough to the nearest fruit to be able to dye it.

“Channel your mana into it, Rozemyne. Full force, don't hold back”, her mother advised and Rozemyne just followed those instructions.

It was harder than expected but her mother's words turned out to be quite helpful.

“It is yellow now!”, she exclaimed and Elvira confirmed that the dyeing had been successful.

“Now cut it, put it in your bag, and then we can leave. Your knights might appreciate if you hurry”, she commented.

The knife went through the branch that held her ruelle fruit like a hot knife through butter.

Ah, that was so satisfying!

With the knife in her right hand and her fruit in the left, she noticed only at the last second that something was jumping at her from a nearby tree with widespread claws and bared fangs.

“EEEEEEEK!”, she screamed and closed her eyes reflexively only to feel a sudden drain on her mana on her right arm and to hear a loud explosion directly in front of her before she felt some fluid drop on her. She felt how her right hand lost its grip and she knew she had just dropped the knife that was her only weapon. But despite all that she still did not know what was going on.

“Rozemyne, inside your highbeast, now!”, came a shout as harsh as his usual glares and Rozemyne immediately complied and pulled her head and arms in. Without yet opening her eyes she just hugged the fruit to her stomach and tried to understand what had just happened.

Had she messed up? Was Ferdinand going to be angry?

When she finally dared to open her eyes she saw that she was covered in some black sludge that made her wish she had not seen it at all.

Had that been a cat? What was this goo?

“Rozemyne, may I come in?”, the voice of her mother sounded distant, but she immediately envisioned a door at the passenger side of her bunny bus and soon she heard the soothing voice of her mother directly next to her.

“You still have the fruit, right?”, she asked and Rozemyne nodded with her eyes pressed firmly closed again.

“Good. You did well, Rozemyne. Put the fruit in the bag on your belt and then I will free you from this sludge, okay?”, she proposed and Rozemyne nodded once again while fumbling for the leather bag at her belt that she was only wearing as a storage space for her gathering.

“Hold your breath, my dear”, Elvira then spoke softly and as soon as she did that she was engulfed in water that quickly vanished and with it the goo as well.

“What happened there?”, she finally asked as she felt like a human again.

“A zantze attacked you and wanted to steal your fruit, but your defensive charm reacted and defeated the zantze before it was successful. You should head back to your bed now, Rozemyne. I am sure this was exhausting”, she explained and put her hand discreetly on her back to help her calm down.

“Will you ride with me, mother?”, she asked helplessly and Elvira nodded with a smile.

“Of course, my dear daughter.”

As she finally dared to look out of the window she saw that she was circled by all the knights who had their shields drawn to form some kind of defensive ring around her.

“Is Eckhart angry with me?”, Rozemyne whispered for only her mother to hear who giggled quietly in return.

“No, he is not. Why should he anyway?”, she tried to calm her down but Rozemyne could think of many things why he could be angry.

“I almost lost my ruelle. And I did lose my knife”, she admitted with barely a whisper but Elvira just patted her back.

“Don't worry about that. You did well, Rozemyne”, Elvira stated once again before she informed Eckhart that the knife was still somewhere below them. With a grunted confirmation he then left the protective circle and dove down to the ground.

“Your knife, Princess”, he commented as he held it out once again for her to take. The purple moonlight did not help to make his face less intimidating in the process.

“Mother, how do I contact Ferdinand?”, Rozemyne asked hesitantly at breakfast the next day. The fever she had feared had been staved off by one more of Ferdinand's disgusting potions but she still felt sick.

“A magic letter would be the easiest way, I imagine, or if it is exceedingly urgent then an ordonnanz to Aub Ehrenfest in which you ask him to use his emergency communication tool”, Elvira suggested with her noble facade firmly in place.

“May I ask what it is about to help you decide on the best way to proceed? I imagine Eckhart already sent a report on your gathering yesterday”, she suggested and Rozemyne forced a smile on her face.

“He said to tell him immediately when the charm is triggered as it has only one charge. But I forgot yesterday with all that stress and now it is already the next morning, so how urgent is this 'immediately' by now?”, she asked cautiously and Elvira patted the back of her hand in reassurance.

“This will then need to be recharged, my dear, so there will be no need to employ means of emergency communication. We will just return to Ehrenfest and then you should go directly to the Sovereignty”, she proposed and Rozemyne noticed how she was eyeing Eckhart and Heisshitze for their potential disagreement, but none was voiced.

“Lady Elvira is indeed correct, Princess, as I already included the activation of your charm in my report no further action is required from you but to return to the Sovereignty to ask the Zent to charge your charm again”, Eckhart confirmed after several moments of awful silence.

So that was what she did. She felt like a failure as she walked through Ehrenfest's castle to visit the Sovereignty without having scheduled for it.

Originally she had planned to use the potential days after the Harvest Festival to prepare for the establishment of the new workshops and her visits to both Haldenzel and Gerlach.

But now she was instead meeting with Ferdinand. Since he himself was always awfully busy she knew that she was disturbing his schedule as well.

“Welcome back, Rozemyne. Congratulations on your first gathered ingredient for your jureve”, he said and it seemed almost like honest praise to her.

But he had received Eckhart's report, right?

“I thank you ever so much for your kind words, Ferdinand, but I stand before you today because I messed up enough that the charm you gave me was triggered to protect me”, she admitted and bit her lip.

“Oh? How did you mess up? The report I received did not make it seem like such”, Ferdinand commented with a raised eyebrow and shot a glance to Eckhart.

“When I had my ruelle and that zantze jumped at me I just panicked and closed my eyes. If the charm had been on my other arm I might have dropped my fruit instead of my knife. I should have just retreated immediately into my highbeast, because now you have to be bothered to recharge my charm for me”, she reported and braced herself for his reaction but he just chuckled after a short pause.

“Rozemyne, why do you think I gave you guard knights? Surely not because I have any hopes that you would be able to defend yourself appropriately. The fault for your charm being activated lies with them. It is not your task to defend yourself from feybeasts, Rozemyne”, he noted and she saw how he was now scrutinizing her knights.

Oh please don't. Was he going to punish them?

“Now, your right arm, please”, he ordered and she held out her arm for him to remove the by now spent protection charm.

He seemed to inspect it before he produced his schtappe to charge each individual feystone from it with his mana in what seemed to be a particular order.

“Here, all done”, he said after he seemed satisfied with his work and put it back on her wrist.

“I thank you ever so much, Ferdinand”, she confirmed and he looked at her with an unreadable expression.

“Just come to me whenever it gets activated”, he reiterated and she nodded.

“Ehm, Ferdinand, about my guard knights...”, she began hesitantly but his slightly narrowed eyes urged her on to not delay her words.

“...will you punish them?”, she finished her question and he smiled at her expectantly.

“Yes, I will”, he confirmed and she gulped.

She had grown to like them. She did not want to see them punished.

“And how?”, she asked, bracing herself for an answer she might not want to hear only to be met with an even wider smile.

“Propose something to me, Rozemyne. If I find it acceptable I will follow your idea, if not I will use my own”, he suggested and she gulped again.

What kind of mind game was this?

“A pay cut. Halved for one season.” She did not know what an appropriate penalty fee was but she hoped she was not off by too much. Money was only temporary after all.

“You can be surprisingly harsh, it seems. Very good. So be it”, he agreed and she really hoped her guard knights agreed with that as well.

He thought her harsh for proposing a financial punishment?

She was not surprised that he invited her spontaneously for mana dedication before he sent her off to return to Ehrenfest on the same day still. Not surprised at all.

Chapter Text

Early winter of his 6th year of zenthood. Age 21. Rozemyne Age 7.

Apparently, just a few days after the Night of Schutzaria, every noble of Ehrenfest was expected to be at the castle to join for the beginning of winter socializing and observe the winter baptisms and debuts of the new Ehrenfest children.

And that apparently meant that Rozemyne did not have even one day of free time after the Harvest Festival and the gathering of her autumn ingredient. She could spend one night at the Linkberg estate before they had to depart for Haldenzel for the establishment of the printing workshop.

There, she was about to spend one evening and one night before she then had to fly to Gerlach, spend another evening and night and then head back to the temple.

It was a neck breaking speed but nobody wanted to risk missing the beginning of winter socializing for anybody involved.

At least Rozemyne had somebody to talk with during her flight as Elvira had taken a seat next to her inside her bunny bus. And even though her mother did not waste any of the time they spent traveling together with small talk and instead continued her lectures on noble society and Ehrenfest geography as they crossed several provinces, Rozemyne really appreciated her presence and closeness. Since her mother was even casually allowed time alone with her inside her hidden room at home nobody had bat an eye at them sharing the ride in her highbeast.

It was a great relief for her to know that her mother was now officially appointed Ehrenfest's head scholar of the printing industry and since she was on friendly terms with her brother Giebe Haldenzel it felt almost like visiting relatives that happened to live far apart.

The snow that had been only ever so light as they had departed from Ehrenfest had grown thicker and thicker the further north they went. According to Elvira Haldenzel was only green during summer as the snow came early and left rather late. She also noted that this year had been the first time since many many years that her home province had received the correct amount of small chalices. Giebe Haldenzel had at first appointed this improvement to the Zent's temple reforms and supervision but as soon as he had learned about his own niece's mana dedication he immediately attributed a large chunk of his gratefulness to her as well.

That was apparently a large part of the reason why he now wanted Rozemyne's printing industry to succeed and for Haldenzel to prosper from it.

As soon as they landed their highbeasts and she had to return her bunny bus to its feystone shape she regretted each second it took her before they could finally move inside where it was warm again.

After the lengthy noble greetings had been exchanged Rozemyne was led immediately to the printing workshop that had been established in Haldenzel so far so that she could confirm that all the infrastructure was as specified.

“As you can see, Princess Rozemyne, your smiths are accommodated in this smithy and eight of Haldenzel's finest smiths have been selected to learn the necessary skills to produce metal letter types”, Giebe Haldenzel explained as they went through the underground building that not only housed the commoners but also provided them with a place to work.

Rozemyne noticed that Johann and Zack were already in the middle of setting up their workspaces so she only greeted them shortly. As she asked them how their trip had been they already seemed to be stressed out so she ended the discussion as soon as possible to not disturb them any further.

Speaking to a princess must be truly terrible for a commoner. Maybe as terrible as speaking to the Zent was for her.

“And this is the workshop we have installed for ink production”, Giebe Haldenzel explained as he led them to another door that was thus opened by an attendant.

Inside was a young woman and young man who seemed to be quite close to each other and an older man who was instructing them on something until they noticed the door had been opened and everybody immediately knelt down. She did not recognize any of them.

“Oh, did the ink guild decide to send somebody else?”, Rozemyne inquired as they introduced themselves. The younger pair, Heidi and Josef, were the workshop workers that Lutz had mentioned in his reports after the bottleneck situation had been overcome, but she had not even heard the name 'Bierce' before.

“In the name of all ink workshops that are united under the ink guild, I wish to express my deepest apologies for the unsatisfying performance that my predecessor Wolf has caused. I was therefore elected by all ink workshops to represent our craft in the future and hope that you may never be displeased with the quality and quantity of our products again”, the man named Bierce recited in a nervous tone but something felt off about his words to her.

“...unsatisfying performance?”, she mumbled more to herself but since everybody seemed focused on her reaction her words had not been missed.

“Your workshop has indeed been suffering from the delay in the ink delivery over several weeks, Rozemyne”, her mother at her side commented and Rozemyne tilted her head in understanding.

“I am glad that you have been able to overcome the issue”, Rozemyne acknowledged with a smile and followed Giebe Haldenzel to the heart of the new printing workshop.

“Your carpenter had already started working on a new printing press during the last season in Ehrenfest so that he could already install a finished one here, Princess Rozemyne”, Giebe Haldenzel noted and gestured to Ingo. Several carpenters who seemed to belong to Haldenzel were kneeling next to him and side by side to an almost fully functional printing press as well as one that was very clearly only a skeleton yet.

“Please keep up the good work”, she merely commented while delighting in the sight of a new printing press having been born into this world.

“Everything seems indeed very good already, Giebe Haldenzel. I see a bright future for your printing endeavors”, she praised as they were about to change locations to a meeting room where Benno was already kneeling in wait.

He looked even more nervous than the last time she had seen him.

At this rate he might really suffer from a heart attack in the near future. Could she do anything to lessen his workload?

The contracts were signed with Elvira acting as Ehrenfest's official head of printing so Rozemyne just had to observe as the contract went up in flames.

But even though she had not seen any faults in the contract and the hardest part should have been over by now, Benno still seemed unwell.

“Giebe Haldenzel, I'd like to speak with Benno for a short while, might I ask you to lend me one of your meeting rooms?”, she inquired and was offered the one they were currently in from which he and his accompanying retinue swiftly departed with promises to meet again for dinner.

Elvira and her own knights however stayed behind.

“Mother, may I ask you to set up a sound blocking tool?”, she continued and was met with a very thin-lipped smile from her.

“There is already one installed in this desk”, she commented and went over to touch a particular spot on the underside of the desk. The by now familiar blue walls appeared around them and made Rozemyne exhale a small sigh.

“Thank you, mother.” But Elvira did not show any indication that she would leave the range of the tool in contrast to her guard knights that stepped out immediately.

Not like she was allowed to speak with Benno as they used to anyway. Their relationship was forced to stay on business terms after all.

“Benno, please speak freely. You seem particularly unwell. Am I piling too much work upon you? If it is indeed too much I am sure I can distribute it in a different way”, she suggested with her noble facade in place but her voice full of worry. But it seemed her idea of lessening his workload somehow frightened him.

Was he really such a workaholic?

“Princess Rozemyne, I am more than grateful for your continued patronage and it could only come across as a sign of your dissatisfaction with my skills if you reduced the amount of work that you are entrusting me with. I can therefore only beg you to not distribute any work elsewhere”, he pleaded and the intensity behind his words shocked her.

“Benno? What is wrong?”, she asked hesitantly. She knew that he would not revert to speaking plainly, not since she had been adopted and especially not with Elvira at her side, but his whole behavior was off.

“Your endless compassion is wasted on me, Princess Rozemyne”, he tried to deflect but she did not understand why he was so evasive.

“Rozemyne, merchants such as Benno depend on the satisfaction of their customers, so you really should not try to give the tasks you would usually give to him to somebody else, unless you intend to make it known that he has lost your favor”, Elvira noted with slightly narrowed eyes as she seemed to be scrutinizing him more closely.

“I see. I would not want to damage your reputation with my worries, Benno. Rest assured that I will continue to seek your services”, she confirmed and saw him relax at that visibly.

Life as a merchant who was working with nobles must be really hard on the nerves.

“By the way, Benno, who is this Bierce? Lutz had mentioned Heidi and Josef already in his reports as those developing my colored ink so I guess they will be alright, but I have never heard his name. Do you know more about him?”, she asked in hopes that talking about business related stuff would put him more at ease. But the opposite seemed to be the case. He was stiffening up.

“He is the head of his own ink workshop and Heidi's father, Princess Rozemyne. The other ink workshops seemed to have chosen him as their new representative since he is closer to the actual production process than Wolf ever was. The latter was more a businessman than a craftsman”, Benno explained with clear signs of discomfort.

“Ah, that makes sense. But still, I did not expect to see such a swift change there. It must have been a really stressful situation for them with that whole delay for my workshop's order”, she mused.

Supplying duchy or even country business was indeed a quite high-stakes endeavor. They must have been awfully on edge to please her.

“They did not have much choice, Princess Rozemyne, considering the circumstance that Wolf disappeared over night”, Benno said as the silence in the room grew uncomfortable.

The distant expression in Benno's eyes finally made her understand.

Disappeared. Or rather... dead.

“Benno. How? When? Who?”, Rozemyne was unable to properly phrase her questions as she was still shocked by the revelation.

“A few days after the tour through your workshop, Princess Rozemyne. The rest, I do not know. I did not dare to dive deeper into it”, he admitted and Rozemyne felt her mother's hand on her shoulder.

She began to see how frail her whole industries still were. If more of her workers were to disappear at this vulnerable stage still they would be thrown back for years.

“Is somebody sabotaging me?”, she whispered as she was reminded of Ferdinand's criticism that she still lacked experience in both scheming and being manipulated. Had she already garnered the attention of some of Ferdinand's opposition and her industries were deemed an easy target?

She gritted her teeth at the thought of that. But Benno widened his eyes and shook his head ever so slightly.

“I believe it might be the opposite, Princess Rozemyne. Since Wolf was responsible for inconveniencing your workshop and was the only one who did not clearly hold your favor, rather than intending to sabotage your industries whoever is responsible for this might have wished to efficiently support you”, Benno remarked quietly while Rozemyne just stared at him.

“Benno?”, she whispered but she could not hear his response. She felt a feystone pressed to her temple and saw how Damuel had entered the range of the sound blocking tool with the trusty leather bag full of feystones in his hands.

His mouth opened and closed as he said something but all sounds only reached her as indistinguishable noise. She tried to push some of her mana into the feystones he offered her but she could not feel if it actually worked. When she eventually removed her hands she noticed that they were lightly covered in gold dust, so it might have worked after all.

The atmosphere around her seemed to have shifted. At some point Benno might have left the room and it seemed Giebe Haldenzel had returned.

Had it been him?!

The sudden thought how he was the one to profit from a functioning printing supply chain hit her like a brick and she glared at him with her wordless rage. He seemed to wilt quite literally under it before Elvira suddenly appeared in the line of sight between them and her anger faded immediately.

She spread out her arms to ask for a hug and her mother complied without hesitation. Rozemyne noticed only barely how she was lifted up by her and buried her head into her chest to tune out the rest of the world.

The next time she lifted up her head she noticed that she was lying down, on top of Elvira. It seemed that at one point she had carried her to bed but might have been incapable of separating her from her chest. The fact that they were both still wearing their clothes while it was obviously dark by now supported that observation.

And together with the perception of her surroundings the gravity of the situation returned to her and she gave in to the urge to just burrow herself into her mother's chest again in an attempt to drown the unbidden thoughts. Without success.

“My, my, Rozemyne”, Elvira cooed soothingly and Rozemyne looked up at her.

“Mother-”, she began but the lump in her throat hindered her from speaking.

“Don't push yourself, Rozemyne”, she said while continuing to cuddle her and Rozemyne allowed herself to relish that warmth that was such a rare occurrence in her life by now.

“Mother... was Benno right? Was Wolf killed to support me?”, she voiced the thought that was tearing her apart from the inside.

“Since we do lack the insight we can only work on assumptions, but yes, I arrive at a similar conclusion”, her mother confirmed and held her firmly in her arms. Rozemyne just allowed herself to be held and tried to sort her thoughts.

“But why? Somebody would kill for a late delivery? That was not even for them?”, she asked and tried to keep herself from sobbing.

“Concerning that late delivery, I investigated it a bit by myself. Wolf apparently threatened the workshop that produced the linseed oil that you need to lower their prices to less than half their original agreement. He had his own small network of nobles who he could actually ask for certain favors in exchange for some dirty work he seemed to do for them. But the workshop did not budge and stopped selling any oil to Wolf and the ink guild. That was the reason for the bottleneck”, Elvira explained quietly.

“Why didn't you tell me?”, she asked sadly. The shock that Wolf was apparently not a good person did not even reach her.

“He was already replaced by that new man at that point. And they were working hard to solve your ink related issues so I did not see any reason to decrease their image for you”, Elvira said and Rozemyne could see the wisdom in that.

“You might not like the method but the effect for your industries was unquestionably positive”, Elvira remarked calmly.

“Mother, are you-”, Rozemyne pushed herself away from her mother's chest to stare at her in sheer disbelief.

“No, Rozemyne. And I asked my brother the same and I believed him when he denied any involvement. But it is a very typical way for a noble to solve an issue such as Wolf. Somebody very clearly did you a favor, Rozemyne. When you openly voiced your displeasure with his work and then praised everyone of your workers but him during the introductions even I thought you wanted him replaced with somebody more competent”, Elvira noted and Rozemyne froze before she crumbled back into a ball on her chest.

“I do not want such favors”, she whispered quietly and her mother embraced her even firmer.

“I know, my dear, I know. But other nobles do not. You are an unknown entity to them so you will have to lay the proper groundwork to make your perspective known.”

“How?”, Rozemyne asked feeling overwhelmed by the sheer impossibility of the task that was hanging over her head.

“Socializing will help you here, but as you did not even have your debut yet this option is limited for you. You could build up the image of a Saint that the Zent has started to spread. That particular image might deter others from repeating such dark favors. But most importantly, you need to be always in control of your words, Rozemyne. Otherwise, if you evoke the impression that you might wish for someone's disappearance that might just be what happens.”

Elvira's words chilled Rozemyne to the bone. Even though she was huddled to her mother's chest she shuddered intensely.

“Let it all out, Rozemyne”, her mother encouraged her while moving her hand over her back in slow circles.

“As soon as we leave this room you cannot allow anybody to see how hurt you are by this, Rozemyne. This time it was somebody who wished to support you so they might relent if they saw you like this, but for somebody who wished to hurt you you would be displaying an incredible weakness”, Elvira noted and Rozemyne twitched at the thought that her feeling sad about somebody being killed for her goals could lead to even more deaths just to hurt her.

A faint bell in the distance announced that it was first bell by now.

In the end she had fallen asleep curled up on her mother in her dress from the day before.

Noble society was rotten. So incredibly rotten.

That thought had begun to soothe her as she had tried to reconcile this world's moral system with her own inherent moral compass.

This was indeed a world were being a normal human being already made one akin to a Saint.

She suppressed a dark chuckle because she feared to laugh hysterically from it if it broke through.

Elvira noticed that she was awake again and seemed relieved to see that Rozemyne had calmed down enough to have the attendants prepare a bath, a change of clothes and breakfast for her.

While she was soaking in the hot bath she noticed how the tension in her muscles slowly disappeared and she let herself be overwhelmed by the mixture of relief and soreness she felt at that.

There was just one thing whose sudden realization made her want to leave the bath and hide deep inside a hidden room for all eternity.

Elvira had not arranged for Wolf's death and she had believed Giebe Haldenzel when he had declared the same. If it had been indeed her words during the tour that had encouraged somebody to do that then that only left one option. Giebe Gerlach. The noble they were going to visit today.

When they were about to say their farewells, Rozemyne asked for a private meeting with Giebe Haldenzel. She wanted to apologize for crushing him and disrupting his evening, but he did not seem particularly bothered and instead asked where he should send the feystones filled with her mana that they had drained from her in an attempt to help her keep control. When she told him to just keep it and to use it for his province he actually allowed some of his emotions to leak through his sturdy facade as well.

If he was so happy about that mana that hurt him then it was the least she could do to lessen the burden on him.

The flight to Gerlach was another chance to talk with her mother but this time it seemed they were both just trying to keep each other awake and not discuss things that ran too deeply. At the end they merely discussed the decrease in snow and lessening snowfall on their way south.

From time to time Rozemyne shot a cautious glance to Benno who was indeed riding with Damuel and at one point she noticed how he was looking back at her. His whole expression seemed sad.

When they landed their highbeasts on the grounds of Giebe Gerlach's estate she summoned her princess persona and tried to push the thought away that the man who was currently expressing his highest thanks for their visit was the one who had arranged for a death for her sake and the sake of printing.

It seemed that, contrary to Giebe Haldenzel whose family had already departed for the City of Ehrenfest to be ready for the beginning of winter socializing and had only stayed back with a handful of retainers, Giebe Gerlach had decided to welcome her with his whole family.

His wife was as elegant as one could expect from such a lady and their sons were diligently falling in line with their parents.

It surprised her at first that somebody as young as Matthias was allowed to participate in those greetings but then she remembered that she herself was only seven years old as far as everybody was aware and that some overly eager nobles had already sent their daughter to the temple in an attempt to form a connection with her.

Those nobles were really ever-scheming.

Her training with Elvira had kicked in as soon as the noble greetings were about to be exchanged so she had indeed managed to keep her princess smile plastered on her face the whole time of her visit even though it came at the price of a bad taste in her mouth.

When she visited the workshop that they had set up directly by the river and listened to Lutz' judgment of the available kinds of woods she was glad to know that at least Lutz and her gray priests were to have some fun over the winter with developing new kinds of paper.

She made a conscious effort to praise all of them in front of Giebe Gerlach and to express her best wishes for their success.

They even entered a nearby forest for a short excursion before the sun went down that was led by Giebe Gerlach's sons.

Matthias seemed to spend a lot of his free time in the woods for knight training, but he was also able to name each and every kind of tree that they encountered and their general properties. She was actually impressed by that.

But despite his very obvious, and without a doubt instructed, attempts to keep her involved in a discussion he was wise enough to know when to back down. Her guards had glared at him only twice. A stark contrast to their behavior around Gretia in the temple. Or even compared to his older brother Janrik who decided to walk in quite some distance from her after his third strong, non-verbal cue from her guard knights in just a few moments.

Since everything seemed quite aligned for paper making in Gerlach over the winter and potentially spring, the contracts were soon signed again and Rozemyne fell asleep as soon as she lay down in her bed.

On the next morning, soon before they were about to leave, Rozemyne decided that she could not just not say anything. Giebe Gerlach had not made any insinuation at all that he might have been involved with Wolf's 'disappearance' and while she was not sure whether she actually wanted him to admit to it, she knew she could not keep quiet about the whole thing forever herself.

So she has asked her mother for the proper euphemisms to express that, while she saw his involvement as a sign of support and appreciated it as such, she did not appreciate any meddling in decisions on which craftsmen she intended to use.

Elvira had sighed at that before she had taught her the proper phrasing. It had felt wrong to include so many gods in such dishonest talk but for once she was glad for the ambiguity of those words. If he decided to play dumb she could apparently just claim that she had meant to congratulate him on his new workshop and that she had selected the workers to lend to him with great care.

But the thoughtful smile with which he had acknowledged her words had told her enough.

Winter of his 6th year of zenthood. Age 21. Rozemyne Age 7.

The winter was actually rather pleasant for her as she spent it completely inside the temple. As she did not have her debut yet she was not allowed to participate in winter socializing and she did not mind that at all.

Sometimes she spoke with Gretia or some of the blue priests who had been professional with her during her time as an apprentice blue shrine maiden and she spent many peaceful hours practicing the harspiel and reading books from the temple's book room.

Ferdinand also did not summon her to the Sovereignty and she did not ask to go there. He did however ask her to lend him one of her chefs for the time being.

What was the meaning of that? Was he finally succumbing to the smells of her soup and just did not dare to eat something that was prepared while she had somehow access to her chefs?

She asked Hugo whether he was okay with such a seasonal gig and he did not seem too averse to the idea, especially once she offered him a noticeable bonus for that time. If anything, Ella had seemed like the one who was about to object.

A good coworker was worth a lot. She might need to get her one or two gray shrine maidens as helper over the winter to compensate for Hugo's absence.

The only interaction she had with Ferdinand was the constant supply of feystone pouches that she dusted dutifully for him and the prayer reports for her 'research' that she sent back to him.

Was he surprised that she prayed for the safe ascension of the towering stairway for a man she had only met once and who had only been a bother to her industries? If that was the case, he did not react at all.

As the dedication ritual was almost fully done and the blizzard that had made Ehrenfest a world of pure white for the last two weeks now she however received visitors.

Eckhart, Heisshitze and about twenty more knights from the Sovereignty's Knight's Order took residence in the temple to help her gather her winter ingredient.

“Eckhart, is this indeed correct? I am going to hunt a monstrous feybeast called 'The Lord of Winter' with Leidenschaft's divine instrument?”, she asked cautiously as she had read Ferdinand's letter with instructions three times in a row to be sure that she had not read that wrong.

“Correct, Princess Rozemyne. As soon as the dedication ritual is over you are to fill Leidenschaft's divine spear with your mana and then wait for the call from Ehrenfest's Knight's Order.

We will join them with our own squadron of knights and you will land the finishing blow on the Lord of Winter. The thereby procured feystone will be your winter ingredient. Aub Ehrenfest has agreed to this in exchange for several bags of gold dust and money to compensate the knights from the Knight's Order for their efforts towards slaying the beast.”

Rozemyne stared at him, still unsure.

“I will deal the finishing blow?”, she begged for confirmation and Eckhart glared at her before he nodded.

“If you are fearing that you might drop Leidenschaft's spear then I can tie it to your gloves, Princess”, he commented matter-of-factly and she suppressed the urge to retort something rude.

Just because she had dropped that knife during autumn...

But when the day finally came that Ehrenfest's Knight's Order reported the emergence of the Lord of Winter it was nothing like Eckhart had described. Even though she had blessed them as usual it took them more than a day to finally have the beast 'weak' enough for her to attack it.

And to make things worse she had been forbidden from healing the knights in order to save her mana.

So she had just been flying on the sidelines, waiting and waiting inside her highbeast for the moment that took forever to come.

She had been about to fall asleep as Eckhart suddenly appeared and shouted for her to jump on his highbeast.

When she had opened the door to comply, the spear firmly in her hand, she had been shocked by the suddenly freezing air on her face and Eckhart had took that moment of hesitation to just pull her to him with some kind of magic rope before he gripped her body firmly in a mad dash to the beast.

It was apparently some kind of tiger. If tigers could spawn additional minions and were as tall as a three storied building.

Eckhart shouted something about her having to pour even more mana into her spear and she did not even consider thinking about the consequences as she opened her box of mana and offered everything to Leidenschaft.

He had lent her his spear in the past already, so hopefully he would not mind her using it again to fight.

As she was about to land the finishing blow she noticed how Eckhart truly did not have any trust in her capability to hold on to her weapon and gripped around her hand that was gripping the spear in turn. Rozemyne feared that her fingers might break from that alone but it seemed that Eckhart knew at least some of her limits.

In the end, the beast was indeed slain by her. The winter ingredient found its way into her leather bag and they returned to the City of Ehrenfest immediately after.

But while her hand had indeed not been broken, it had taken her a week before she was able to hold a pen again.

Eckhart must have restrained himself to the exact amount of force that did not trigger her charm. There was no other explanation. So Ferdinand had told him the threshold?

Beginning of spring of his 7th year of zenthood. Age 22. Rozemyne Age 7.

The gathering of the spring ingredient was, in contrast, a piece of cake. The townsfolk warned them about the talfroschs that were swarming the Goddesses' Bath and so they went earlier in the day to exterminate them.

When the talfroschs separated into hundreds of tiny frogs that clung to her nose and ears, Damuel was the only one who actually heeded her cry and freed her from those.

Damuel was in general way cooler than just a year ago. The way he was dashing from talfrosch to talfrosch to exterminate as many as possible was really impressive to Rozemyne.

“You really trained hard, didn't you?”, she praised him after all the disgusting feybeasts had been slain but he only sheepishly refused such a claim. He was still so self-conscious just because he was around archknights all the time....

The night of the gathering however went not according to plan. All the women had been sleeping inside her comfortable bunny bus in one moment and then they were having a picnic with music and dried fruits with the Goddesses in the next moment.

As Rozemyne then asked whether she was allowed to gather a bit of the nectar, she was even invited to step on the plant with the spoon that she had been given by Ferdinand in advance of this particular gathering. Amusingly enough the price she had to pay to Sylvester to be allowed to gather this particular ingredient was merely to bless the lands over Spring Prayer.

When she had bowed down to gather the rarein nectar it had almost been like a dream. And just like in one of those she suddenly became lucid from the fall she was experiencing as soon as the sunlight touched the plant and forcibly removed her footing.

At least her landing in the spring water was smooth and without pain. Only a moment later she was embraced by Klothilde who seemed to have followed her into the spring to ensure her survival.

But all in all it was really relaxed in comparison to slaying a whole schnesturm.

“I refuse to take the blame here, Ferdinand. The Goddesses invited us, how do you expect me to not comply?”, Rozemyne uttered in defiance as he was glaring at her. At least he had agreed to activate a sound blocking tool before his devastating lecture on safety and not separating yourself from your guards.

“You claim a divine intervention as the reason why you not only ditched more than half of your guards but also fully ignored the highbeast I gave you just so that you could bring yourself into danger by falling from a height that might have killed you if not for some happy coincidence in how you fell into that spring?” Rozemyne could tell that he was not convinced, but there was only so much she could do about it now.

“What do you want me to say, Ferdinand? I told you the truth. The Gods obviously exist and apparently they sometimes play games! Don't blame the mortal for that! And don't blame my guards! I did not ditch them and they did not abandon me. You have a divine mandate, right? Ask the Gods then what all that was about! I am curious as well!”, she shouted with her own hard glare now pinned on him only to be stared at in exasperation.

“Rozemyne...”, he growled at her and she immediately stopped her heated defense. Had she gone too far?

“I apologize for my outburst”, she hastily spat out and he stared at her with a distant look in his eyes before he waved his hand in a dismissing gesture.

“You are forgiven. Now go back to Ehrenfest and practice your harspiel. I expect a performance the next time you visit in preparation of your debut.”

Chapter Text

End of spring of his 7th year of zenthood. Age 22. Rozemyne Age 7.

With her debut fast approaching Ferdinand had scheduled Rozemyne to stay the full two weeks till the beginning of the archduke conference at the Sovereignty.

But could she actually return to Ehrenfest while it was in place? Last year he had called even all the Sovereignty knights back from Ehrenfest temple so was he low on manpower during that time? Would he deem it most efficient for her to just stay in the Sovereignty during that time as well?

She had instructed Gretia in full detail with the tasks she expected from the several workshops but she had hoped to personally hear back from her personnel. Was Lutz well? How did he fare in Gerlach? And what about Johann in Haldenzel?

But the outlook of being stuck in the Sovereignty for up to a full month was daring. At least Ferdinand should be fairly busy during the archduke conference. Hopefully she would only see him during mana dedication.

But since spring prayer had ended successfully and she had recovered from her fever in Elvira's care there was no point in trying to avoid the fact that he had now basically summoned her to make sure she was polished to a shine for her debut.

“Oh, is Damuel off duty today?”, she inquired while trying to hide her disappointment. Rozemyne knew that Damuel deserved days off as well but usually that did not happen when she was visiting the Sovereignty. And yet, he was not there to greet her with the rest of her knights on day shift today.

“I assigned him for today, Princess Rozemyne, but he got summoned for a meeting with the Zent just before we arrived at your chambers”, Loyalitat explained with the slightest signs of a frown.

“I see, I thank you for telling me, Loyalitat.” Rozemyne tried to not let Damuel's absence bother her too much but in the end she could not stop worrying.

“Auguste, what about my meeting with the Zent then?”, she inquired while trying to stop her fingers from fidgeting with some lace on her dress.

Ferdinand had told her that he wanted to confirm her harspiel skills before the debut at the end of spring and she had brought Rosina with her just in case.

“I have received no information on any change in your schedule, Princess”, Auguste supplied with a slightly furrowed brow.

“I imagine the meeting with Damuel will not take too much time to impact your harspiel performance”, she suggested and Rozemyne nodded uncertainly.

What had Damuel done? Or was it some kind of special task that he was given now?

She decided that she would know that soon enough and cleared her mind with another practice iteration of the song she would play at her debut.

Rosina, as her personal musician, had helped her to transcribe one of her beloved anime childhood songs and even find new lyrics that praised Leidenschaft so that it would fit her seasonal patron deity.

At least the essence of striving to fulfill your dream, of fighting against obstacles, and overcoming trials and tribulations was kept.

As their appointed meeting time drew close they began to change locations with Rosina carrying her children sized harspiel.

“Rozemyne, I see you are well”, Ferdinand greeted with an overwhelmingly bright smile that made her hold her breath. The sight of Damuel still kneeling in front of him and not even looking up at her entry made her fear for the worst. What was happening? Had Damuel made a mistake? Was he being punished? He had been in this meeting for more than half of a bell already. Eeeep.

“Rozemyne, discard your retainers”, he commanded with a pleasant voice and Rozemyne hastily complied. So the demonstration of her harspiel skills was spontaneously cancelled?

“Please wait outside while we chat”, she asked them with a forced smile that she hoped looked almost natural at this point. Ferdinand was angry. When had been the last time that he had been so angry?

“So, Rozemyne, do you have anything to say to me?”, he inquired with the sweetest tone she had ever heard from him but she was completely clueless what he was asking about. She dropped her attempts at her noble smile and showed him her confusion directly.

“Might I receive a hint?”, she asked and was met with a head tilt that would have been cute if not for every fiber in her being shouting at her about the imminent danger of this situation.

“Maybe something that you did to Damuel?”, he suggested and Rozemyne's facial expression froze. He should have known that for a while now already, since he had sent that whole letter to Elvira and all.

“I imagine this might be best discussed under Verbergen's shroud?”, Rozemyne suggested and Ferdinand dropped his fake smile.

“This whole room is sound blocked, Rozemyne. Stop stalling for time and spit it out”, he ordered and she nodded hastily. He was utterly pissed.

“I thought you were already well aware, but okay, I will say it: I sometimes still hug Damuel inside my hidden room. But I thought you were okay with that if we kept it discreet and stopped before I have to attend the Royal Academy”, she stated but his glare now was deathly and oddly oppressing. It took her breath away and she was not sure whether that was just her anxiety or whether he did something.

As soon as he closed his eyes the feeling subsided.

“I am quite sure I told you that I do not care for you getting cheeky with me”, he growled and Rozemyne's eyes widened with fear. What did he even want her to say?

“I am not getting cheeky with you, Ferdinand, I just do not know what you are getting at. Surely you are not angry for being left out of the parue cakes at the orphanage”, she commented with uncertainty. Or was he? He had just recently admitted in his dismissive manner that he actually liked her soup recipe... was he becoming a gourmet now?

She allowed herself a difficult frown but Ferdinand's mocking face made it clear that it was something else still. She hesitantly shook her head.

There was no escaping him. She knew that. But he very obviously wanted her to admit something. Just what?

“So you deny that you told him to keep secret whatever you did to him?”, Ferdinand inquired with his deathly glare that made her breathing so incredibly difficult. Wait. Was this pressure mana? Was that the feeling of being crushed?!

Rozemyne racked her brain about what he could have meant but nothing came to mind. She had not done anything to Damuel!

At last a saving idea came to her mind.

“Damuel, I do not have secrets before Ferdinand, you may tell him whatever he wants to know”, she declared and the pressure from his glare immediately vanished. She noticed Ferdinand's skeptical expression as he turned his attention to Damuel who in turn sighed with relief.

“Well?”, Ferdinand probed and Damuel stiffened immediately again.

“I believe the reason for my growth is the blessing that Princess Rozemyne bestowed upon me at the end of last summer, my Zent. I apologize for not answering sooner”, he hastily reported but Rozemyne was surprised at his words.

“Damuel, that was never a secret. I have to report all my prayers anyway”, she made clear but as she looked back to Ferdinand to confirm that this was not his question she saw his blatant anger. Eeep! Or was it?

“Indeed, Rozemyne, you have to report all your prayers”, Ferdinand confirmed with a growl that made her shudder.

“Yet, it seems that you conveniently forgot to report that one prayer that buffed your one knight who is bound to be more loyal to you than to me from the level of a layknight to that of a medknight. Care to explain your reasoning here? Because it comes across as a crude attempt at bolstering your own military might”, he spat.

“What? No! I did write that report! Everything was so hazy from that lack of sleep, I had to start over like three times! I did write that report...”, she began while desperately trying to remember all the details under his scrutinizing and mocking eyes.

“I-I did not want my attendants to read it, so I stored it inside the book on my nightstand before I could hand it to you personally...”, she tried to retrace her steps as the sudden realization hit her that the report had to be inside the book still.

But that book had been exchanged as soon as she had finished it. He had made her answer questions about its content before he had agreed to that but since she could answer everything he had soon provided her with a new one to read.

“Ehm, I might have forgotten that I put it there with all that had happened at that time”, she ended lamely and let her head hang.

“I apologize deeply for my oversight, Ferdinand”, she then clarified with a straightened back and was met with a raised eyebrow.

“Justus, get that book”, Ferdinand ordered and Justus immediately departed from the room.

“So you mean to tell me that you merely forgot to give that report to me? And why did Damuel think this prayer was to be kept secret?”, he inquired sweetly with obvious disbelief. Rozemyne blushed with embarrassment as she thought back to that scene half a year ago.

“I said something after the prayer that I wanted him to keep secret”, she admitted. His facial expression was surprisingly obvious for her to read now. 'Spit it out before I even have to ask.'

“'We need to flail as hard as we can'”, she supplied and Ferdinand stared at her in disbelief.

“Elaborate”, he demanded with incredulity.

“It is something Benno once said to me. That I had to flail as hard as I could in order to survive. Those first days in the Sovereignty were scary, Ferdinand”, she concluded with a dark expression.

Justus' return then saved her from any further immediate questions. He skipped through the pages of parchment and confirmed that a sheet of paper had been tucked between the last few pages. Justus opened it for Ferdinand to read, whose eyes widened slightly in turn.

“Rozemyne, this prayer worked?”, he begged for clarification and she nodded.

“Golden light rained down on Damuel and he said he did not feel sore from his training any more when I asked him later about the effects”, she provided.

“You invoked the Supreme Couple and the Eternal Five to bless Damuel?”, he added in seeming confusion and Rozemyne nodded once again.

“It just felt right at that moment”, she responded with uncertainty.

Ferdinand scoffed at her for that.

“I see. Considering that this whole situation was merely an oversight from you in combination with an unfortunate misunderstanding from Damuel, both of your punishment will be to demonstrate your prayer research on the ditter field.”

“I do not fully understand, Ferdinand”, she responded and Ferdinand's smile grew dark.

“You and Damuel versus Eckhart and Heisshitze. I want to see how much he can do if you bless him however you see fit. Hopefully you will be more careful in the future to keep me informed on all the things I request from you.”

Rozemyne gulped at that prospect but Ferdinand continued his smile.

“Rejoice, Rozemyne, I had seriously considered how else I would have to punish you if not for this resolution. Surely, you do not even need my confirmation to understand that buffing up the fighting capabilities of your name-sworn in secret would have crossed that line that we had talked about”, he smugly added and Rozemyne froze.

That was the first time that he had mentioned that line. That line that she was not allowed to cross in order to keep her family in Ehrenfest alive.

“Understood. We will gladly demonstrate the results of my prayer research”, she confirmed before he could decide to escalate the whole situation further.

“Call in your retainers. You were originally scheduled to show me how far you have come with your harspiel skills, were you not?”, he then suggested and looked as serene as if they had only talked about the weather. As if he had not just casually reminded her that her family's life depended on her behavior. Playing in front of all the archdukes at her debut could at least not be more stressful than what he demanded right now.

Five days.

Five full days of dread.

The wait and feelings of doom she felt in anticipation of having Damuel fight alone against two archknights had to be part of the punishment. What was even the meaning of punishing her for an honest mistake?

In order to calm her mind she asked Ferdinand for access to all the reports that she had sent him in order to analyze the data available.

If he wanted to frame the whole thing as a presentation of research results he might just punish her further if she did not actually prepare at least a little.

And to her relief she was allowed access to the sheets she had sent him. Justus was watching over her shoulder – ostensibly to ensure that she was not destroying any data – but obviously just to satisfy his own curiosity. Her nerves were not strong enough to even endure that breach in privacy.

“Justus, I'd appreciate it if you did not read all these reports. They were never meant for anybody's eyes but Ferdinand's”, Rozemyne said with a glare and turned her head around to face him. The only other person with them in this office room was Damuel, but he dutifully stood at the door and averted his gaze from the paper.

The rest of her guards and attendants stood outside.

“Princess, I am merely interested in the way you process all this data. Surely there is a system at work that helps you to organize the relevant entries and group them together”, he said while gesturing at the several stacks that she had made. They were sorted by 'successful', 'failed', and 'undecided' and in ascending order by the amount of mana she had offered.

The first trend was already quite obvious – bigger favors demanded more mana. But the rest? Had those prayers to Jugereise been successful? Had her family been able to move on from losing her?

She hastily pushed the thought away to focus at the problem at hand. Saving Damuel had full priority. Because if Ferdinand wanted to make it seem like an accident this was his chance.

“You are aware that this is like reading my diary, right? Stop reading, Justus”, she growled while trying to keep her tears at bay.

“Oh, you keep a diary, Princess?”, he inquired with a cheeky tone and Rozemyne almost lost it. Of course not! Because people like him would read it anyway and tell Ferdinand!

“Justus, please stop teasing the princess. She has to prepare for her demonstration”, Damuel noted with a voice that only barely betrayed his discomfort at having to chide an archnoble and one of the Zent's personal retainers at that.

But as he then handed her the leather bag that he kept at his hip to dust a few feystones Rozemyne registered that she had begun to leak mana. With one hand sunken into the leather bag and routinely pulverizing the stones at her fingertips she tried to formulate several hypotheses and tried to match them to her data. Justus had at least developed the decency to stand to her side and half a step further away. And he had not said another word since.

Rozemyne had dreaded the day of her presentation but she was at least glad that she did not have to endure that particular horror even one day more. She had forced herself to eat even though she had lost her appetite completely. The soup from her chefs had tasted almost as tasteless as the rest of her meals which spoke volumes about her current state.

The walk to the ditter field as Ferdinand had called it felt like being on death row. Even though she felt even more helpless as she was not even walking by herself but being carried by Klothilde for the largest part of the trip. She had argued that it was prudent to not let Rozemyne waste her meager stamina with this meaningless walk and while she tended to agree it did not help with her headspace.

She was surprised when she was led not directly onto the field but up some stairs up to the ranks of the audience.

And then to the premium viewing spots.

She ignored all the people sitting and standing in the audience as Klothilde sat her down and let her walk the last part on her own. Why were so many people in attendance? Was he now throwing away the last precautions of hiding her away in case she failed on her way to her debut?

As she finally arrived in front of him she noticed his guests to his side. They seemed like knights who had fought and trained for the majority of their lives. Their sheer aura demanded respect and yet they had yielded the throne of Zenthood to Ferdinand.

Her studies about geography made it clear that the man with the light blue cape belonged to a duchy called Dunkelfelger and the man with the black cape belonged to a duchy called Lebensruh.

Why were those from the duchies here today? Why would he want to spread her humiliation of being punished to strangers?

She nevertheless began her lengthy greetings for him before he then introduced her to his guests as his adopted daughter and Princess of Yurgenschmidt. If she had not spent the last months with scrutinizing Ferdinand's face for the tiniest reaction she might have missed the surprise on theirs as well.

“Rozemyne, I have invited Aub Lebensruh and Aub Dunkelfelger to your presentation today as they share a constant curiosity on all the things that might improve the combat abilities of our knights. In that regard, which theories have you derived after reviewing all the data?”, he inquired politely and evoked almost the impression as if she had asked to demonstrate her results to him.

“Thank you, Ferdinand, for providing this opportunity to showcase my research endeavors and share my humble results with those interested in the matter. I am currently working under three assumptions. First, the amount of mana that is offered or demanded is directly related to the size of the favor that I prayed for. Second, the success rate increases with the precision of the phrasing. Third, and I must admit the amount of data to support this theory is still sparse, the honesty of the prayer.”

There was no point in antagonizing him in front of his supporters. She had no leverage with them so she could only show her obedience to his ploys in hopes of the best possible outcome for her and Damuel.

“I am looking forward to your demonstration, Rozemyne. Naturally, I will provide you with the best knights to help you show to which heights a layknight may ascend”, he generously 'offered' and gestured for Heisshitze and Eckhart. While everybody in their small group produced their highbeasts to go to the ditter field Rozemyne could not shake the thought that he had just openly alluded to Damuel ascending the distant heights.

It seemed that Eckhart and Heisshitze allowed her one or two prayers' time before they started their attack, so she was willing to use that time. She would not let him die!

“O Dauerleben, of the God of Life Ewigeliebe's exalted twelve, o Glucklitat, of the God of Fire Leidenschaft's exalted twelve, hear my prayer and grant my wish that Damuel may survive today's trial of the sword and not ascend the towering stairway at my wailing”, Rozemyne begged with already slightly shimmering eyes as white and blue lights rained down on Damuel who shot her a scared glance at her words.

As if Damuel had not considered the possibility that Ferdinand intended to end this 'demonstration' in an 'accidental' execution.

She stood a few steps behind and to the side of Damuel and several more steps away from Heisshitze and Eckhart. The scholars that Ferdinand had so generously provided for today's event so that she would not be burdened with remembering all her prayers of the day were already scribbling down her latest words from the sidelines. Loyalitat was also standing there but she doubted that he would interfere to save anybody but her directly. Damuel could only count on her.

“O Steifebriese, of the Goddess of Wind Schutzaria's exalted twelve, o Greifechan, of the Goddess of Water Flutrane's exalted twelve, grant Damuel your divine protection so that he may evade swiftly all those attacks that may bring him harm – be it by speed or sheer luck”, Rozemyne intoned and yellow and green lights rained down on Damuel under the hasty scratching noises of pens on paper.

It seemed that Eckhart grew impatient and readied his broadsword as he now slowly approached Damuel.

Could he not wait until she had finished buffing Damuel?

She was glad that she had started with the survival focused subordinates first but she was still exasperated at not being granted just a few more minutes before Damuel had to fight two absurdly well trained archknights.

Was Ferdinand really mad enough at her to punish her with Damuel's execution? The chances of that seemed only to increase.

“O Chaosfliehe and Verdraeos, of the God of Darkness' exalted twelve, ward him from malice and deliver him from the woes that Chaocipher tried to plant by stalling Ordoschnelli”, she then begged and the black lights rained down on Damuel just at the moment as Eckhart executed his first slash at him.

With bated breath she almost expected she needed to invoke Heilschmerz already, but Damuel deflected the attack well enough so that he could dodge the sheer force behind it.

Eckhart was for sure still holding back, but that had been meant to hurt nevertheless. He was so brutal in executing his orders.

The attacks grew faster and heavier and the first cuts appeared on his skin. Damuel's own attacks on the other hand never connected.

“O Angriff, o Schlagziel, of the God of Fire's exalted twelve, I pray for you granting Damuel your divine protection so that he might stand tall against his overwhelming foes”, she prayed and Damuel was showered in blue lights. Rozemyne had made sure to offer a decent chunk of mana for her last request to even get a chance at closing the gap between a layknight and an archknight but it seemed the gods under Leidenschaft were both overly eager and overly hungry for mana as the cost was way more than she had anticipated.

She already felt that drain in her that Ferdinand had hammered into her head meant she was at her limit already.

No! NO! The fighting had only started, there was no way for Ferdinand to already be satisfied so soon....

But she pushed the despair away and chugged one of the potions at her belt.

Should she laugh at the irony that Ferdinand himself had provided her with them?

The awful taste distracted her only for a short time before the new inrush of mana made her return her attention to Damuel.

It seemed that Heisshitze had joined the attacks. He had only a normal sword and not the same broadsword as Eckhart but that did not make him any less lethal.

Eeeeep!

While Damuel did his best to dodge and counterattack wherever possible it was obvious that he was carried by Greifechan's blessing more than anything else.

“No way...”, Damuel sighed as Eckhart began to concentrate mana in his broadsword and dropped his sword in favor of a shield.

But could such a small shield really stop Eckhart's attack? The oppressive feeling of mana reached even Rozemyne and made her grit her teeth.

Eckhart WAS trying to kill Damuel! Was there not some better shield for Damuel? Did Schutzaria grant that for a prayer? Of course she would! The shield was her whole thing after all!

“O Goddess of Wind Schutzaria, protector of all. O twelve Goddesses who serve by her side. Please hear my prayer and lend me your divine strength. Grant Damuel a shield of wind so that it might blow away those who mean to cause ill”, she chanted while picturing Damuel encased in a shield that protected him from all angles and sides so she was not surprised when it manifested as a dome.

As Eckhart's mana blast hit the shield he was thrown back with force while Rozemyne gasped at the sudden drain of mana.

She had to pay mana per hit?

Heisshitze then pressed forward to attack the shield only to share Eckhart's fate.

They continued for a few more hits before an ordonnanz on Heisshitze's arm distracted both of them enough to fall back a step and pause their onslaught.

Had Ferdinand accepted her shield as a perfect stalemate and was calling the demonstration to an end?

The first part of the ordonnanz gave her hope.

“Cease your attacks on the shield, you are only wasting your own and Rozemyne's mana like this”, he ordered and they narrowed their eyes to not miss anything else from the message.

“Rozemyne, dispel your shield. That prayer is well-known and no further insight can be derived from them attacking it.”

That asshole. As if this was still about that pretext of research.

Rozemyne glared at the little bird on Heisshitze's hand as it repeated its message two more times. With trembling steps she went through the shield to Damuel. As expected it did not see her as a foe.

“Damuel, I am so sorry”, she began but he just shook his head.

“I might have not survived that mana blast with only my own shield”, he admitted and Rozemyne worked hard to not cry openly at that.

She prayed to Heilschmerz and Flutrane to heal him both in their own ways before she decided that there was no way around dispelling her shield after that short moment of respite.

“Damuel, I feel like I already blessed you with all the subordinates that could be helpful in this battle. But if you feel that there is any whose protection could give you the edge, just tell me. I will pray to all of them if it makes you see another day”, she promised and a tear broke free from her eye.

Damuel smiled at her solemnly. Was that the smile of somebody who had already accepted his death? No, please do not give up, Damuel! There is so much to fight for!

It was really just a whim.

He had told her in the confidence of her hidden room how he had lost his engagement upon failing as a guard knight in the temple and that that was what he regretted most to have lost. Anything was worth a try if it gave him the will to continue fighting.

“O Liebeskhilfe, of the Goddess of Light's exalted twelve, pull Damuel's thread in the direction of a cute wife and twist their fates so that they may meet”, Rozemyne prayed from the bottom of her heart for a happy future for Damuel and golden lights rained down on him as a result.

“Princess, I do not understand...”, he mumbled but Rozemyne shook her head slightly.

“I am praying for your future, Damuel. And for a future you need to survive”, she explained before she left the shield and dispelled it when Damuel had readied his sword again.

The onslaught from Heisshitze and Eckhart continued almost immediately. She noticed how the scholars were still scribbling her latest prayer and she suppressed the urge to sigh. Explaining a prayer to Liebeskhilfe to Ferdinand was easily one of the last things she wanted to do today. But the damage was done. She just had to endure.

A loud shout from Damuel made her run through her options again and again.

Healing him without changing his chances was just a waste of mana and prolonging his suffering. She needed a plan!

She prayed to Anhaltung to let him anticipate the attacks better, to Mestionora to grant him the wisdom to differentiate between attack and feint, but it only improved his abilities ever so slightly.

Another hit and another shout from pain.

Was feystone armor actually protecting the bones below as well? Or just some superficial protection? And how good was the quality of Damuel's armor anyway? Was it still the ones for laynobles?

She prayed to Schneeahst to increase his armor with his ice and to numb his pain with his cooling touch, but also this time the effect was only minor.

Damuel was clearly losing.

Rozemyne could only observe as Heisshitze sprinted towards Damuel with his sword in both hands. He did not even bother with a shield. Instead he seemed to go all out with his attack that ended in a loud 'clank'.

But while the slash had only hit Damuel's feystone armor it was clear that Damuel had been hurt from that quite intensely. If Rozemyne had to guess she would have bet on a broken rip or five.

Damuel tried to generate some distance between Heisshitze and himself but was soon again in a pincer attack with Eckhart at his back who attacked his knee while he avoided getting hit another time by Heisshitze.

Damuel just sunk to the ground in consequence.

Rozemyne did not hesitate and prayed for Heilschmerz' healing to help him get back to his feet but she saw how much willpower that took out of him and how much mana out of her. When would Ferdinand be satisfied?!

“O Wiegemilch, of the Goddess of Light's exalted twelve, spread your endless compassion and mercy across this unnecessary battlefield and end this madness!”, she cried without paying any more attention to holding back her tears.

Did nobody see that Damuel was at his limits?!

Her vision became blurry from her tears as she glared at Eckhart, Heisshitze and even Ferdinand at his spot among the ranks of the audience.

She was only a hair's breadth away from shouting 'ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!' but while the golden light seemed to evenly distribute across the field and the ranks it only rained down on some of the people.

That became most notable as she stared at Eckhart and Heisshitze. Only the latter seemed receptive to the blessing she had given. Eckhart on the contrary seemed totally out of Wiegemilch's reach as he changed his broadsword into a halberd and readied it once again in the direction of Damuel.

How could her cry be heard by a Goddess but ignored by her own so called brother?! Could he not see how heavily Damuel was panting by now?! The bruises on his whole body that even Heilschmerz was not healing fully and the difficulty he had just standing in a somewhat defensive position?!

“O Duldsetzen, of the Goddess of Wind Schutzaria's exalted twelve, o Heilschmerz, of the Goddess of Water Flutrane's exalted twelve, hear my outcry of despair and restore Damuel's stamina and health as there seems no way around this madness”, she shouted to the heavens and another vast shower of green and yellow lights rained down on Damuel.

“Princess, you are giving me too much”, he mumbled as he steadied his stance and breathing to counter Eckhart's next relentless attack that soon turned into another onslaught. At least Heisshitze seemed to have taken a step back. He still had his weapon drawn but he seemed hesitant by now with a small frown on his face.

Damuel was wrong – she was not giving him enough. Just with buffing and healing him he had no chance at winning which seemed to be the actual end condition for this test. How could Ferdinand be so cruel?!

But she did not have a weapon. The divine instruments were somewhere in the Sovereignty temple and firmly out of reach. Nobody would run and fetch Leidenschaft's spear for her. And she did not have a schtappe to produce one like the knights did.

What could she even do? Was there any prayer that she could turn into an attack? Anything which could at least cause a bit of damage? Without her help Damuel could never win. But what could a little girl even do? A little girl with an adult mind, but the only fight that adult mind had fought was that against an avalanche of books and she had lost that fight.

Her eyes widened at the sudden realization which subordinate she had not called upon yet and who had a chance to blast Eckhart into at least a retreat.

There was not much mana left inside her as the fight had dragged on for so long by now. Should she dare to drink another rejuvenation potion? Ferdinand had warned her that one was her maximum daily dose and she had downed one already. But did it matter? He would not let her die and if it was just a few days of pain and suffering she knew she could stomach that way better than knowing that she had not done everything to save Damuel.

She fell down into the genuflecting prayer position and drank the second potion on her belt in one smooth motion. The taste did not even register to her as she was focusing on her prayer and the feeling of the rapidly regenerating mana.

“O Elbberg, of the God of Fire Leidenschaft's exalted twelve, show your might and crush my foes. Shake the ground to steal their footing, split open the crust of earth and engulf them in your fiery wrath. Erase all doubts on why the God of Mountains belongs to the Fire pantheon and let your divine power erupt in the faces of my enemies”, she shouted fiercely.

Instead of blue lights rising through the air and raining down on her target as before, the mana was channeled into the ground directly and became visible in a form that reminded her of blue lightning rushing in Eckhart's direction.

But Eckhart was by now again in close combat with a once more exhausted Damuel.

Oh Gods, no! Damuel had to fall back immediately!

“DASH!”, she shouted without thinking the agreed upon command for him to immediately run to her and bring her to safety. And to her great relief he instantly jumped back and disengaged from Eckhart.

The blessings from Steifebriese and Greifechan showed themselves in Damuel's impossibly swift reaction at just the right timing before he then dashed to her and grabbed her still genuflecting body before producing his highbeast and dragging her with him.

From her position she could glance over Damuel's shoulder and saw the ground erupt just at the place where Damuel had been seconds prior.

At the sudden noise behind his back Damuel turned his head to stare at the flying rocks and lava before his attention returned to the girl in his arms who had lost almost all tension in her body.

“Damuel, can we not just fly away?”, she proposed with a tired voice and missed his heavy frown as he shook his head slightly.

“We can't. The only thing we can do is flail as hard as we can”, he suggested with a hurt expression and Rozemyne grabbed her arms around his torso in confirmation until she noticed the sudden halt of Damuel's highbeast.

No. Please don't. Stop already.

It took all her willpower to turn around and endure the harsh glare that was waiting for her.

“The Zent has determined this demonstration to be over. Return to your chambers immediately. Do not drink any more potions.”

The way Eckhart emphasized the last part made it clear that Ferdinand was not fond of her overdosing on those potions.

And the suffering she had to endure the next four days was testament to the side effects of overdosing on those rejuvenation potions.

Headaches.

Nausea.

Sweating and shivering at the same time.

Hallucinations.

Anxiety.

This was hell.

But at least every time she awoke and asked for Damuel, he answered her.

He sounded weak and exhausted himself, but he was alive.

They had both flailed as hard as they could. And now they were both alive.

“Praise be to Dauerleben”, she mumbled as she fell asleep at the end of her fourth day of recovery. She felt her mana to be moving according to her will again and white lights emerged from her ring to fly to the ceiling.

Chapter Text

End of spring of his 7th year of zenthood. Age 22. Rozemyne Age 7.

Ferdinand had just finished listening to Justus' report on Rozemyne's current condition. The overdosing on his highly efficient rejuvenation potions seemed to be as unpleasant for her as he had expected but now that the physical symptoms seemed to have stopped the report painted her as unwell enough to skip eating with him for lunch and dinner still.

“Justus, do you believe the report is true? Or is her attendant lying on her behalf because she does not dare to face me?”, he mused with a frown on his face.

In hindsight, he should have expected Rozemyne to go well beyond her limits again when he threatened Damuel. In truth, he had only created the whole illusion of Eckhart and Heisshitze executing Damuel in front of her because he had expected some very creative use of prayers to be developed from that.

That she had prayed to Wiegemilch not to buff Damuel but to sway his opponents to show mercy had been such a development. Especially since it still had seemed to depend on the recipient whether the blessing took effect or not.

Aub Dunkelfelger and Aub Lebensruh had also received some of the golden lights and he had noticed a slight shift in their mood from that. It had seemed to him that their curiosity about how far a simple layknight could be driven had shifted to pity with said layknight and the little girl fighting for his survival.

He had noticed the side glances from them as Eckhart continued his onslaught and Rozemyne seemed to fall into such despair that she did not even notice the obvious solution.

He had framed the whole event very deliberately as a demonstration of her research work. She could have called it to an end just by declaring she had showed everything she could. Or even just mentioning her depleted mana.

He had been about to call it to an end himself just before he saw her genuflecting and his curiosity had been sparked, wondering what she was about to do as it so clearly diverged from her previous praying and 'fighting' style.

That she had downed her second potion for that however made him furious. Apparently he had not been clear enough with the side effects if she dared to risk that for a mere demonstration so close to her debut.

He was glad that she at least still had the presence of mind to order her own retreat after she had unleashed that unprecedented prayer to Elbberg. The scale was smaller but it played out exactly how he had imagined that almost-incident at Mount Loheberg to play out. It was the sheer force of Leidenschaft's wrath.

Calming that wrath after she had collapsed in Damuel's arms had been an interesting challenge that involved both Aubs to manifest their staffs from Verfuhremeer and himself to summon Flutrane's divine instrument to heal the ditter grounds afterwards.

And all that from a spontaneous prayer.

He could not deny that his tactic had been a success and that much insight had been gained but the timing was really bad if she now fell back into that avoidance behavior. Most likely with all that flinching at his every move again.

“I believe her attendant did not lie outright but that the Princess is also not in such a severe condition anymore that joining for lunch would be contrary to her health”, Justus shared his judgment while Ferdinand was lost in thought.

“Summon Damuel over the next time she falls asleep”, he ordered.

Interrogating Damuel was bound to be less impacting on her emotions than questioning her directly. It was only five days till she had to debut at the archduke conference, after all. Really inconvenient timing.

“My Zent, how may I be of service?”, Damuel asked while kneeling in front of him in the middle of his office. Ferdinand only looked up shortly from the wooden board he had been reading in preparation of the archduke conference and gestured Justus to provide him with an individual sound blocking tool.

No need to bother everybody's work just to have that discussion in private.

“How is her condition?”, he inquired while scribbling something on another board. He could not wait for more paper workshops to emerge that could keep up with both Rozemyne's demand for her bookmaking and his own bureaucratic needs.

“The effects from the overdosing on potions seem to have subsided but her emotional state is still... rough”, he reported with his head down while still kneeling.

“Is she aware that the level of threat imposed on you was merely part of the demonstration?” Ferdinand looked up from his paperwork to gauge his reaction and he saw Damuel lifting his head and flitting his eyes between Eckhart and him in uncertainty.

“Are you aware of that?” Ferdinand suppressed a sigh and shook his head slightly.

“Do not look so shocked, Damuel. Have I not announced every execution beforehand that I have ordered so far?” Ferdinand raised an eyebrow at him before he focused back on the wooden board and put it on a stack with several others.

“I am grateful for your leniency, my Zent”, Damuel declared and bowed his head again.

“Ease her worries then when you return to her chambers”, he ordered and did not even look up when Damuel confirmed them.

But the chances were still high that Rozemyne would keep her distance now. There was a rather huge risk that she would not display her 'grateful and obedient princess'-persona at her debut like this. O Dregarnuhr, the timing was really bad.

“Damuel, I am sure you know what Rozemyne is striving for currently”, he suggested without any leading up to it and he could see her guard knight freeze.

Oh? Was that a question that he should have asked earlier? Why was he afraid at his words?

“My Zent, are you asking me to betray her trust?”, he asked with a pale face and Ferdinand allowed himself the faintest smirk on his face.

“She told you just a few days ago that she has no secrets before me. And I am keenly aware that she is plotting something. She has been placating me with gifts in a way that makes it very obvious that she is investing in a future favor. But she is not the kind of person who does not already know what she wants to ask for”, he commented and his smile widened as he saw Damuel regaining control over his body.

“I see. I apologize. As far as I am aware her goal is acquiring your support in registering her at the Royal Academy library”, Damuel stated and Ferdinand stared at him with his own smile frozen in place.

That could not be all. She had been ingratiating herself with him for more than half a year just for that library registration? Since he was in control of her schedule while she was in the Sovereignty he could control her hunger for books anyway so it was more the inconvenience of swearing the librarian to silence than anything else.... But obviously she thought that this was a favor that required multiple seasons of groundwork.

“And are there any other goals?”, he inquired innocently and Damuel flinched ever so slightly. Oh? So there were?

“Leading her industries to success, gathering more stories, creating more books, reading more books...”, he began but Ferdinand only narrowed his eyes. Those were no goals that required flinching when being asked about them.

He remained silent and waited for Damuel to continue. It did not take long.

“...to learn how to not accidentally kill somebody with a misplaced word...”, he added silently and Ferdinand furrowed his brow.

That the death of a commoner she had known for all but one bell and who had been antagonizing not only her but her whole industry still stayed on her mind like this half a year later....

But he still remained silent. It did not seem like Damuel was already finished with his list.

“...to keep alive- I apologize I am forbidden from mentioning it.”

Damuel had frozen in the middle of the sentence and Ferdinand could guess that he had wanted to end in “her birth family”.

And that was why he had instructed Rozemyne to phrase her command as specific as possible so that it could not be reframed like he had done with her command to Damuel to 'keep her secrets'. It was basically impossible to circumvent a specific command. But he had his answers nevertheless.

“Return to your charge and calm her down. Tell her that I expect her for dinner and mana dedication today.” And with those words Damuel was dismissed and Ferdinand returned his attention to the paperwork in front of him.

Even though he knew that Damuel would now do his best to explain to her that he had, in fact, not threatened Damuel's life, Ferdinand expected her to take a few days before she truly calmed down and he wondered whether he could speed up the process in any way.

Inviting Elvira was unfortunately not really an option since she was heavily involved in Ehrenfest's preparations for the upcoming archduke conference. Sylvester would obviously comply but he felt like he had demanded a lot from his half-brother over the last year already and he did not want to strain their relationship beyond repair.

Sylvester was sentimental when it came to those he considered his family. For reasons unknown that had included Veronica and tasking him with her execution had put a heavy weight on him. While Ehrenfest's support was not crucial for his reign there was also no gain in unnecessarily antagonizing a middle duchy over nothing.

He shortly considered to send for that merchant boy, but that came at too many questions asked from anybody involved. Eyebrows would be raised if he sent for an underage commoner who then would not only be allowed to meet with the princess but with minimum security in the form of Damuel and without attendants and scholars at that.

And she might even misinterpret the gesture as another threat. As a sign that he had total control about her treasured 'associates'. He had seen her jumping to similar conclusions in the past already after all. Ferdinand discarded the idea to get Lutz to her almost as soon as he had thought about it.

He had to gauge her reaction to the promise of a reward then. If that library registration had her on – for her – best behavior for more than half a year then it might get her over her current emotional state as well. But she treasured both books and the people she cared about. Could one outweigh the other?

Once again Benno's words came to his mind when he had asked him how to handle her best. He had called both books and her family and friends a double-edged sword that would either lead to great success or absolute disaster.

So far, he had not found any fault in that assessment.

He opened his eyes and removed the finger from his temple.

There was one thing he could do to help her calm down.

Ferdinand gestured for Eckhart and Heisshitze to step closer before he activated the area wide sound blocking tool on his desk. They eagerly awaited his commands as usual.

“Eckhart, from now till the day after Rozemyne's baptism I want you to not be seen by her. You may volunteer for night shift to that end, I do not mind for the details”, he ordered and Eckhart hid his pain at those words well.

“Did I displease you, my Zent?”, he inquired stoically but Ferdinand shook his head.

“This is not a demotion, Eckhart, merely a tactical decision. Rozemyne is still too soft and I cannot risk a lackluster performance from her for her debut just because she is scared of you for doing your job”, Ferdinand clarified. An honor that not many people received from him.

“Heisshitze, take over guard duty from Eckhart whenever Rozemyne might cross my path. She seems to appreciate your softer attitude”, Ferdinand remarked and noticed with satisfaction how Heisshitze stiffened at that for the fraction of a moment.

Smart, as expected. That he got struck by that plea for mercy in form of Wiegemilch's blessing on the ditter field had come as a surprise. The bystanding aubs being impacted had been one thing, but for his own knight to hesitate on the ditter field in the middle of his orders was a different beast. Was he wavering in his loyalty and on his way to defect to Rozemyne? Or was he just generally softer than expected?

“As you wish”, Heisshitze confirmed without any further signs of discomfort.

“Eckhart, leave the range of the tool. Heisshitze, stay”, he commanded before he channeled mana into Heisshitze's namestone and ordered him to speak only the full truth.

There was no reason to take any chances with a name-sworn.

“Heisshitze, why did you accept that blessing in the middle of a fight?” Ferdinand had narrowed his eyes, unwilling to miss even one tiny detail of his answer.

“Because I shared the Princess' wish for the madness of that fight to end”, he answered promptly.

It did not seem like he had been forced by his enveloping mana to answer. So he had offered that up on his own. Good.

“Why are you calling my orders madness?”

It was one thing for Rozemyne in her heightened emotional state to not see the underlying reasons and motivations, but Heisshitze should have been aware.

“It was just torture at this point, my Zent. Physical torture for Damuel who was healed only to be hurt again and mental torture for the Princess who was shown time and time again how futile her attempts at healing him were. I do not condone torture, my Zent.”

“And you believe I do?”

“I do not know nor do I need to know, my Zent. I am your sword for you to wield as you see fit. I will follow your orders and will deal with the aftermath as all knights do.” Ferdinand had to acknowledge that Heisshitze showed an exemplary knight mindset in this moment, where he could ignore the discrepancy between his own values and his orders as required.

“How close to your breaking point are you, Heisshitze?”, Ferdinand inquired after a few moments of thought. He had known him to be softer than Eckhart but this had been the first time he had actually acted on that. Or wasn't it?

“Not close at all, my Zent”, Heisshitze confirmed and Ferdinand nodded. A rampaging knight would have been rather inconvenient right now as well.

“One last thing, then. Do you wish to be transferred to Rozemyne's retinue?” Ferdinand knew that it would sadden him to lose a trusted knight like this but in case of crumbling loyalty an amicable separation that still secured his service was preferable to unaccounted defecting.

“No, my Zent. I wish to remain your knight. I stand by my pledge when I gave you my name and I do not carry any regrets on that matter. Me pitying a little girl for the harshness of her fate is in no way comparable to my honest desire to serve you, my Zent.”

“Then so it shall continue to be, Heisshitze. I appreciate your sincerity and your service. Come to me if you ever come close to your breaking point. I will find less taxing uses for you then”, he concluded and he noticed the small signs of relief on his face that were immediately hidden behind a mask of knightly pride.

Rozemyne joined him for dinner just as he had asked of her but he could see why her attendant had originally excused her for the day.

She was rather pale, even paler than usual, and the dark rings under eyes spoke of her exhaustion.

To his great relief she was not flinching at his every word like he had half expected her to do but her mood was gloomy and her answers at his attempts of speaking with her were curt at best.

Could she recover in time? Those attending the archduke conference were naturally quite skilled at peeking behind her still imperfect facade.

Ferdinand noticed her cautious glances across the room as if she was looking for something, or somebody. Had she already become aware of Eckhart's absence? But if so she did not seem overly relieved. Hm.

“Rozemyne, I'd like to ask you for a favor”, Ferdinand began and he noticed with satisfaction that Rozemyne's interest was somewhat sparked as she focused her so far rather absentminded expression on him with reluctant intent.

So her grand scheme to get him indebted to her still seemed to register as a priority. Good.

“Of course, Ferdinand, if it is something in my control I will gladly provide you with it”, she answered with more words than she had said for their small talk so far.

He suppressed the urge to chide her for that unconditional confirmation before she had even listened to what his request entailed. That had to wait until after her debut. Right now it was actually convenient that he did not have to apply any pressure. She seemed in a fragile state after all.

“In that case, Rozemyne, I would like to borrow your chefs during the archduke conference so that they may produce more of this outstanding soup for the occasion”, he elaborated and he could see her rising confusion that was soon replaced with her noble facade. That had been faster than he had expected under her current circumstances.

“I am glad that I and them could earn enough trust to be considered for such an important task, Ferdinand. May I ask whether you intend to sell this particular recipe at the archduke conference?”, she inquired and her expression hardened.

“And if I was?”, he asked her back with a slightly teasing grin to gauge her reaction to minor acts of antagonism from him. She responded with a polite smile and hard eyes. She was actually taking it better than the last time she had wrongly thought he was close to executing Damuel. So there had been progress in hardening her soft soul.

“Then I ask for the price you have in mind, the restrictions you intend to apply to its further distribution and the split of the profits from this endeavor, Ferdinand. My recipes are worth a lot and I do not wish for them to be undervalued”, she stated and Ferdinand did not suppress the smile that rose on his face.

Whatever Benno had done to drill those merchant skills into her had obviously been very fruitful. Was it all that angry shouting that had left an impact on her? But that was not an approach that he could copy with her. She would get that heart attack from sheer stress she had spoken about. But here it seemed to even help rejuvenate her mood.

“Good answer, Rozemyne. You may work on these questions yourself since the profit will go to you alone. You may assume that at least three and at a maximum ten duchies will be interested in buying that recipe. So, you do not have any objections to lend your chefs to me?”, he asked her for her confirmation.

“As long as they still provide me with soup for lunch and dinner as well, you may put their skills to good use.” Her eyes grew distant at that and Ferdinand tilted his head in polite understanding.

“Of course, I would not want to withhold Cuococalura's blessings from you as you care about them so dearly”, he noted and glanced at his own half-eaten plate. The only thing he had actually finished was the soup her chefs had provided. Maybe he himself cared about Cuococalura's blessings more than he had been aware so far.

As expected by Ferdinand, Rozemyne's mana had been close to overflowing after almost five days spent in bed recovering from her overdose of rejuvenation potions. From his position in the praying circle it was actually hard to keep an eye on her so he just called her to a stop when he assumed her close to her limits anyway.

He would not risk an overexpenditure of mana on top of all this.

“Rozemyne, keep a bit more mana as a reserve than you usually do”, he advised after he had seen her signs of irritation at his order to stop her mana dedication.

“Understood”, she merely confirmed and he noticed how she was glancing in the direction of the exit without actually taking even one step. She had learned quite fast to wait for his dismissal first.

“Rozemyne, I assume you already had a talk with Damuel”, he began and he saw her body stiffen at the mention of his name.

“Yes, Ferdinand”, she merely confirmed but did not elaborate further. That again? So talking about her chefs had only helped temporarily?

“What did he tell you?”, he asked and hid his annoyance at having to ask a follow-up question when she should have just elaborated on her own without being prompted.

“That his life had not been truly in danger however realistic the threat might have seemed”, she stated with a distant voice.

“And?” The implicit question whether Damuel had also told her about his questions about her goals hung in the air.

“And I have quite a difficult time to believe that to be true”, she answered instead with a rather dead expression. Had she misunderstood his intentions or had Damuel not said anything further?

“It is, however, the truth. I announce my executions, Rozemyne. I did not announce his, so he was not at risk. Why would I eliminate one of your strongest pillars of support anyway, Rozemyne? And one who is such an interesting research object at that”, he asked with a conspiring grin which made Rozemyne glare at him. Glaring was better than that apathy from before.

“He is a human being, Ferdinand”, she chided him sternly with an even angrier glare.

“You said you are no philanthropist, Ferdinand, but is it really so hard for you to see other people as fellow human beings?”

He mustered her quietly for a short while as she waited for his answer but then she just shook her head and sighed.

“No, do not answer that question. Let me keep my illusion that you are capable of that”, she whispered barely audible and he decided to grant her that wish. The whole discussion had gotten way more philosophical than he had expected at the beginning and he was not sure whether this was in any way helpful in restoring her mood enough for a successful debut.

“Rozemyne, you did not answer my question. Why would I want him dead?”

“To punish me”, she responded after a short pause with a tone of voice that suggested she was currently fighting hard not to cry.

“Oh? Do you suggest that you might have missed the point of always making sure to keep me in the loop if Damuel still lived after this demonstration?”, he inquired curiously and she hastily shook her head.

“That message was loud and clear as soon as you threatened my family for it”, she stated.

“That was not a threat but providing context for you to learn which consequences your actions can have”, Ferdinand suggested and he saw her hiding behind her noble facade.

“Remember that you yourself stated that you have difficulties to see that line. Did I not promise you that I would tell you if you were close to crossing it?”

She remained quiet for a rather long time as she seemed to process this perspective. Truly, that girl. If she just started to think things through properly.

“Rozemyne, you yourself proposed that you need a situation that actually requires help from the Gods or you could not pray sincerely, so I merely provided that. Heisshitze and Eckhart were not under orders to execute Damuel”, he reiterated but was met with silence.

“Speak with me, Rozemyne”, he ordered as he saw several emotions peek through her facade and he saw how another emotion was now layered on top of all of them that he could not place at all.

“So Eckhart went against your orders? Was that why he was not with you at dinner? Because you saw his murderous intent as well?”, she asked quietly before she bit her lip as if to stop herself from speaking any further. Ferdinand's eyes widened slightly in sheer disbelief.

Just how compassionate was that girl? Now she was fearing for the one she thought had wanted to kill her most trusted knight? Had all his effort in hardening her over the last two seasons been for naught if she did not agree with Eckhart's potential death in this situation?

“He is on night shift”, he explained while carefully gauging her reaction. If she was this distrustful over not seeing Eckhart she would have definitely seen it as threat if he had sent for that merchant boy. Good then that he had decided against that.

“Eckhart, start your shift early and come to the entrance to the Replenishment Hall”, he ordered via ordonnanz without looking away from her and he saw her eyes widen as the bird took flight.

“I have a hard time to grasp the source of your worries here, Rozemyne”, he commented just as Eckhart's ordonnanz with an “I am on my way, my Zent” returned.

“The conflict lies between you and me, Ferdinand. Others should not die for that”, Rozemyne whispered barely audible.

How bothersome that she still harbored such an aversion to death. Even for her perceived enemies.

But Ferdinand noticed another misconception in her reasoning.

“As far as I am concerned, Rozemyne, there is no conflict between us”, he corrected her with a raised eyebrow that he hoped conveyed his confusion.

“The demonstration of your prayer research on the ditter field surely instilled the importance of proper reports into you”, he suggested and she nodded despite her suddenly frozen state.

“Punishments are educational tools, Rozemyne. Their purpose is to resolve conflict not brew it”, he added and noticed the doubt on her face again.

“Unless you agree more with my predecessors who saw punishments as a huge risk for stability and therefore preferred to purge any offenders alongside their whole houses.”

Ferdinand knew that she could never agree with that notion considering how many executions he had just implied.

“They could not have been so removed from humanity”, she declared with narrowed eyes and he allowed himself to chuckle.

“Oh, they were. They did a lot of things that were foolish, depraved and outright malicious. So many lives were wasted for that mindset”, he confirmed. A new emotion flickered around her eyes besides her anger but he had a hard time placing it. She was usually so easy to read, but currently she must be experiencing rather complex emotions.

“The reports on the latest purge by Regent Trauerqual are not even seven years old, you can ask Justus for access if you are interested in reading them. Though they might be hard to stomach for you”, he offered.

“Are there also reports on the death toll under your reign that I am allowed to read?”, she inquired with a face that suggested a bad taste in her mouth.

“There are. If you are interested in the more recent history of Yurgenschmidt you may ask Justus for all the details, though I suggest you do that after the archduke conference as the current season is utterly busy for him.”

His busyness however was not the main reason for the delay. Reading all those reports was going to disturb her greatly and he did not need that before her debut or with a Sovereignty full of other people.

“You are not angry at me for asking?” Her voice was cautious again while her face showed more confusion than he had ever seen her show before.

“You are asking for things to read all the time, Rozemyne, why should this time be different?”, he countered and allowed himself to overlook the notion that Rozemyne was trying to judge his reign. As if not everybody else also did that all the time. And if her criterion was the death toll he knew that he would come out on top of that evaluation. An easy win. Fear for her family would not work as a leash forever and her otherworldly experience might make her receptive to the embers of opposition otherwise if he did not also lay more groundwork for her continued compliance. Even though he had to admit that threatening her family was still way more effective than he had expected it to be after a year of no contact between them.

“Speaking of reading material, Rozemyne, you have been investing in a favor from me for some time now. Was Damuel correct in his assumption that you have been working towards your registration at the Royal Academy library?”, Ferdinand decided to change the topic and was amused by how busted she seemed to feel right now.

“I am not offended, if that is your fear right now, Rozemyne. I told you to try your hands at manipulating me and placating me with gifts through Justus' hunger for new things was not a bad play. It still lacked subtlety, but I have seen worse attempts from way more experienced schemers”, he praised and he could see Rozemyne exhale at his words. But she still seemed cautious.

“Well, yes. I was hoping to accumulate enough goodwill to ask you to engineer a situation where I can get registered without anybody knowing about that Legal Guardian contract, but I thought it still too early to enter negotiations with you”, she admitted with a twitchy smile pulling at her noble facade while he had to suppress his chuckle so as to not hurt his own position now.

“I am willing to offer you the library registration as a reward for a successful debut”, he proposed and he saw her eyes flicker into rainbow colors shortly. Seriously? That topic was more effective than expected.

“When would this registration happen in case of a successful debut?”, she asked with as much self-control as she could seem to muster. Her eyes had her usual golden color again, so she seemed to be working very hard on that.

“On the morning of the first day after the archduke conference”, he offered and he saw her nodding. Such self-restraint.

“So in three or four weeks?”, she begged to confirm while he kept his noble facade firmly in place. Was she expecting him to change the year after their agreement had been placed or something?

“Yes, I was referring to the archduke conference at which you are to debut, the one this year”, he noted and her relief was palpable before it was replaced by barely concealed eagerness.

“So, what will make my debut a success? Playing the harspiel is a given, but what else? The same as for my meeting with Drewanchel last year? Obedient, grateful, valuable?”, she inquired matter-of-factly with only her slightly higher voice revealing her state of excitement. This time he did not suppress the naturally widening grin on his face.

“That will indeed be a good start as displaying anything less than 'absolute loyalty' will only invite unnecessary scheming from opportunistic fools. However, in contrast to what you showed Drewanchel, do not include any lectures on otherworldly concepts. Those are too valuable to use just to impress the masses”, he noted and she nodded. The setting of a debut did not lean itself to holding any lectures anyway.

“What about printing? Should I prepare more of the picture book bibles as gifts for those who attended my debut?”, she inquired, but Ferdinand shook his head thoughtfully.

“There are too many people for that. This would deal you a fundamental financial blow that could even throw the printing industry back by a season at least or a year at worst”, he advised.

“But if I make it a sale they will feel compelled to buy some just to get into my good graces and not because they actually care, aren't they?”, she countered with a raised eyebrow.

Why was her immediate reaction to plan for a sale instead. At the archduke conference. At her debut. That girl....

“Indeed. The sudden demand would be too overwhelming considering the current state of Ehrenfest's printing industry. You need to give the industries a bit more time before you may spread them as your trends, Rozemyne, or you will only doom them when you cannot meet the demand.”

“But rinsham could face similar problems...”, she mumbled sadly.

“You may just thank every single archduke for the feystones they have so graciously provided you with”, Ferdinand suggested and Rozemyne's eyes widened slightly.

“You want me to brag that I am so bad at controlling my mana that I needed more than a bag of feystones per week?”, she inquired inelegantly and Ferdinand chuckled.

“Learning mana control at your age is already very advanced, Rozemyne. Most children learn this only later in life as they are getting closer to the Royal Academy. And the amount of mana you have gifted them by dusting their feystones speaks for itself”, he explained and she nodded even though she did not seem convinced.

“You may also suggest that you are already supplying the foundation with me”, he added and she tilted her head slightly.

“Will this not come across as exploitative from your side, Ferdinand?”, she asked and he had to suppress his glare. Was that how she saw his invitations for mana dedication? Did she still not understand the importance of the foundation of this whole country?

“It will only emphasize your vast mana capacity, your importance for this country, and that I trust you enough to be alone with you in a room without guards”, he clarified.

“Supplying the foundation of this country is a great burden but also a great honor, Rozemyne. Under no circumstances are you allowed to show any signs of displeasure with this. Without us offering our mana, this whole country will turn into white sand and all the people within will perish. Everybody's lives depend on our mana dedication, so treat it accordingly”, he warned sternly and she gulped with widened eyes.

So she had not been aware? How should he address all the gaps in her education?

Ferdinand noticed how she was now glancing at her spot in the prayer circle and how she almost took a step in its direction.

“Rozemyne, stop. All is well. The foundation is currently filled to almost ninety percent. Do not consider overexpending your mana in a naive attempt to save lives that are not threatened right now.”

To his relief she did indeed stop but stared at the prayer circle. Then she turned around to stare at him. It seemed to him like she was looking for words.

“..., Ferdinand, before you adopted me, was there anybody else who supplied the foundation with you?”, she asked cautiously with her head turned to the ceiling as if she was not ready to hear his answer. Ferdinand was getting curious where she was going with this.

“No. And before I dyed the foundation there had been nobody who did it. It was almost empty when I found it”, he answered and was surprised to see a rather visceral reaction from her. Her hands rushed to her mouth and the paleness on her whole body intensified at the same time as she started to sweat.

“I need to get out”, she mumbled before she basically rushed in the direction of the entry but it seemed she was not fast enough as she broke down just a few steps beforehand and emptied her stomach disgracefully.

“Waschen”, he chanted as he cleaned up both the floor and her face, but she did not seem to really react to it as she just continued staring in the direction of the entry.

Had he messed up? Would she recover in time for her debut? He should have taken her aversion to death into more account before he had alluded to the almost-death of everybody in this country. Dregarnuhr did not seem on his side today.

He decided against speaking any further with her and instead guided her outside. Eckhart was already waiting for him, but judging from Rozemyne's reaction she had already forgotten her worry about him and was instead thinking of him as the knight who had threatened Damuel again.

Ordering Eckhart out of her perception had been the right decision. She did not seem more stable now that she had seen him. Trying to cater to her whims of compassion did not seem to yield the best result. He should not deviate from his decisions anymore.

Since she had lost not only the five days she had effectively needed for her recovery but also the days leading up to her demonstration for preparing for it, Rozemyne was now forced to cram everything she still needed to know for her debut in just four days.

But Ferdinand noticed how she indeed seemed to recover fast enough to not outwardly show any weakness at least.

She did not speak much over the days leading up to her debut but he noticed how she was staring at him while seemingly in thought. Ferdinand however decided to not push her right now and to arrive at her own conclusions instead. He could set her straight after the archduke conference when another setback would not impact his image in public.

It was only on the evening before her debut and after mana dedication that she finally decided to talk to him beyond pleasantries again. At least still in time. Considering that today had already been the welcome feast for the archduke conference this had been her last possible chance for interaction.

“Ferdinand, I wanted to sincerely apologize for the trombes I have grown in the past. At that time I did not understand why you considered it terrorism. You tried your hardest to keep the country alive with mana and I spawned beasts that would suck it dry. You were right and I was wrong”, she stated and bowed in a rather peculiar fashion. Her hip was tilted in a way that her back was perpendicular to her legs and her face was looking down on the floor. And then she just stood there, waiting for his reaction.

That... was an unexpected development. To think it was those trombes that were gnawing at her conscience right now. She was obviously still in a deeply emotional state so he had to tread carefully in order to not risk her performance at her debut tomorrow. But still... it was such a good chance.... She had told him to his face that she preferred to keep illusions about him, didn't she?

“I now see that it was indeed a lack in education that led to your misgivings, Rozemyne, since you are demonstrating your capability to take responsibility for your actions and that you truly regret them. I do not hold a grudge against you for that. As far as I am concerned these are truly things of the past”, he offered graciously but he could not gauge her reaction with the way her face was angled towards the floor. When she finally lifted her upper body up again her noble facade was firmly in place. Impressive. Especially for her.

“I am looking forward to your debut tomorrow as my adopted daughter, Rozemyne”, he emphasized and she nodded with a difficult smile. Was that nervousness? Or had she noticed that he had kept the sarcasm out of his voice for the first time while calling her his adopted daughter?

Chapter Text

He had to be a psychopath. There was no other explanation left.

Rozemyne had fought hard to not give into the despair she had felt as he had revealed the meaning of supplying the foundation with mana.

She had known on an intellectual level that it was important for the upkeep of the country, but she had thought it was more about the buildings. After all, spring prayer was what supplied the land with mana that then led to a good harvest.

But that the dependency was quite literal had not been clear to her at all.

Everybody would turn to sand?!

For a short moment she had allowed herself to hope that she might have just misunderstood Ferdinand the whole time. That he was actually the savior of this country and that his apparent disinterest in the fates of individuals was a sad side effect from having everybody's lives on his shoulders. That his unhealthy focus on 'usefulness' was just his way to give his own life a meaning where he was bleeding himself dry to keep everybody alive.

But no. Of course not.

The moment when he revealed that he had not allowed anybody to join him in mana dedication before her it became clear that he had other motives.

The sudden realization that, upon saving this country from turning into white sand, he basically took everybody hostage so that nobody could oppose him hit her like a brick into the abdomen and made her whole body convulse.

And then everybody called it 'divine mandate'! What was divine about this?! He was quite literally their lifeline. Of course everybody had to obey him!

She was glad that he seemed to give her space after that reveal.

For whatever reason he acted nice now after having thrown her into a valley of despair himself by threatening Damuel.

Rozemyne was still doubtful that Eckhart had acted against Ferdinand's orders. If she had not prayed for that shield Damuel had died. That was not realism to get her in the right mood for praying. He could claim the opposite however many times he wanted but she had seen the truth directly herself. If she had not defended Damuel with everything she had, he was dead by now.

As soon as she returned to her chambers she entered her hidden room and asked Damuel to join her.

He had already talked to her this afternoon to reveal Ferdinand's perspective, but now she just needed to be held. As soon as the door was closed she spread out her arms in his direction and he complied immediately, albeit with a difficult frown as she sat down on his lap and cried on his chest.

Damuel did not say anything apart from some soothing noises and wordlessly adjusted the pressure of his embrace depending on her own intensity of cries. By now he had gotten quite experienced.

But she did not voice her thoughts since Ferdinand had immediately exploited the opening she had created by declaring him to be safe for her secrets in front of Damuel. She could not continue to put him in the dangerous position to know things that she did not want Ferdinand to know. And so she kept quiet apart from her cries.

She would have liked to explore together with Damuel the actual implications of her adoption. To discuss why he was now allowing her – a commoner who was so rude that he must feel spited by her at every interaction – to ease his iron grip on the country if only by introducing a second supplier to the foundation.

What was he thinking? Surely everybody who saw him for what he was would try to flog to her then if he himself presented them with an alternative. Was that not too risky?

But his words about what constituted a 'successful debut' came to her mind and removed any doubt that he was acting from oversight.

Absolute loyalty.

When she had proposed the 'obedient daughter' persona she had assumed that he just did not want to deal with any quarrel in front of other people, but now that he had phrased it like that she saw it for what it was.

He was building her up as something. Either as his amusing source of knowledge, trends and mana or as the figurehead for his opposition, ready to be slaughtered as soon as the right point in time came. And it all hinged simply on the fact whether she was perceived as absolutely loyal to him, or not.

The sheer amount of names of the archdukes and their first wives, their relationships to Ferdinand, their relationships to the other archdukes, their primary exports and imports, everything helped her to get distracted from her thoughts during the day but as soon as she had to join him for lunch or dinner he and his schemes for her were the only thing she could focus on.

At least he did not seem to take offense by her increased staring. And he did not even pressure her to talk with him in the Replenishment Hall.

That, in combination with his offer to register her at the Royal Academy library, actually spoke for his own preference for her choosing loyalty over luring out his opposition. But was that truly an option for her or was she set up to fail anyway?

She tried to evaluate all her actions so far to gauge how he might see her. That she had asked for the number of people he had executed had to come across as standoffish, but to her he had not seemed offended by that. He had also let it slide when she had told him to ask the Gods instead of her about what happened at the Goddesses' Bath.

If she just focused on the times when he got really angry the list grew quite short. He had told her to her face that gaining military strength behind his back would have crossed the line but in the end he had accepted her explanation that that had been an unfortunate misunderstanding. And according to him it had been resolved with her and Damuel's punishments.

The time he thought she had tried to kill herself by overexpending mana came to her mind next. But there as well he had accepted her excuse and had even given her a protective charm. And then five more on the next day. All that spoke to the explanation that he wanted her alive. But to what end?

While she was feeling slightly optimistic that 'absolute loyalty' was indeed the safe choice, she remembered the first time she had seen him really angry. When he had learned about her growing trombes.

The extermination of one a few weeks later had made her aware of how dangerous they were but now with the added context that they were sucking out the mana that he alone had supplied to the whole country it must have come across as a direct attack on him.

If he still counted that against her then she was never going to be allowed to be anything but a sacrificial pawn in his schemes.

And so, on the evening before her debut, she apologized. She did not know exactly how to convey her feelings so she defaulted to the Japanese customs that were still ingrained into her.

Every second that he did not say anything felt like an eternity but she needed to know where he stood on that topic. And to her utmost relief he chose to be nice about it.

If she wanted everybody she cared about to be able to live long and happy lives there was no way around it to become this country's second lifeline. And if that meant she had to work with a psychopath for the rest of her own life then she had to accept that.

At least he was offering her books. A life surrounded by books had been her dream, right?

She was glad that her posture during her apology had hidden her face from his scrutinizing gaze or he would have seen how hard she had been fighting with her tears at that point. Only when she felt like her noble facade was firmly in place did she lift up her upper body again.

“I am looking forward to your debut tomorrow as my adopted daughter, Rozemyne.”

A sudden pang clenched her heart at his insinuation that they were indeed something like family, but she did not comment on it and hoped that her facade had held.

'Don't call us family, Ferdinand. You don't even know what that word means', was the thought that consumed her whole consciousness before he dismissed her to return to her room.

Her attendants had fussed about her since first bell. Rozemyne did not even think about when they might have woken up themselves and just let them handle everything. It had surprised her that there were even more possible steps that could be applied to her daily routine but both Auguste and Therese were applying more oils and creams to her than ever before and dressing her in more layers than she thought was even possible to wear.

Rosina joined around second and a half bell to help her warm up her voice and she was glad for the distraction while her attendants were styling her hair and applying make-up so thinly that one might not even notice that she was wearing any at all.

Her usual guard knights were accompanying her from inside the living quarters but as soon as those were exited she was surrounded by at least twenty knights with white capes and Heisshitze was one of them.

With Eckhart on night shift did that not mean that Ferdinand now had none of his favorite knights at his side? Was that meant as a sign of favoritism?

All of them adjusted their own pace to hers as they walked to the hall where she was to debut and it allowed her to enter the right state of mind.

Failure was not an option. She had to give it her best. She could not risk to act from anything but conviction.

“We welcome the new child of the Zent”, an announcer spoke in a deep and reverberating voice as the doors to the hall were opened for her.

Rozemyne ignored the inrush of whispers just like she had done during her baptism. She also ignored the sudden silence when everybody had seemed to remember their manners.

If she was now a princess she had to embrace the awkwardness. Memories of the Japanese Emperor came to her mind and how graceful and yet distanced he had shown himself in public. And she strove to copy him by making it seem as if her slow walking pace was deliberate and everybody else beneath her.

She could not even tell how long it took her to reach the stage where Ferdinand welcomed her and began to tell a similar tale as he had during her baptism.

Calling her the 'Saint of Ehrenfest' had always felt wrong but now she did not even care anymore. If that was the image he envisioned her to project then so it shall be.

In response she donned a saintly smile and let her eyes wander across the hall. The audience was comparable in size to her baptism and she even spotted a few known faces. Sylvester, Esmeralda, Leopold and Constantin – everybody followed Ferdinand's tale with rapt attention while she just waited for her cue to play the harspiel.

“Now then, Rozemyne, pray to the Gods and offer them a song”, Ferdinand announced with an encouraging smile as she sat down and Rosina handed her harspiel to her discreetly.

And then she did just that.

With closed eyes she began to play the former anime song from her childhood and she tried to put her sincere feelings behind the pleas for growth, the ability to fulfill her dreams and the striving for success.

She could feel the pull on her mana from her ring but she did not care about it. Leidenschaft, may this prayer reach you.

When she opened her eyes she was not surprised to see blue lights rain down on the audience.

“May you all be blessed on this auspicious day so that we all reach the heights that Leidenschaft guides us to”, she stated with a smile and was answered with a wave of lifted schtappes that were emitting sparks.

She focused hard on her memory of the Emperor as everybody now lined up in front of her to greet her personally. Ferdinand stood half a step behind her but whether it was as a demonstration of his support or to make sure that she did not mess up was something she could not say, but she really hoped it was not the latter.

It came as relief that the first encounters were those she had already met once before.

Her 'uncle' now seemed to be the official Aub Drewanchel while her 'grandfather' was now officially delegated to Aub Drewanchel Emeritus. After they and their wives had left the greeting line, Aub Dunkelfelger and his wife came forth. The fact that he had seen her desparation during her 'prayer research demonstration' was making her feel embarrassed but she willed the emotion away. It was just a demonstration of research. Ferdinand did not use it as an opportunity to traumatize her. She did not have hard feelings about that 'event'.

As she was lying to herself internally the other spectator, Aub Lebensruh, introduced himself and his wife. Now that she was capable of thinking a bit clearer she could clearly see the resemblance between him and Aub Dunkelfelger. They truly looked like father and son.

The next one in line however was a completely new face. Aub Klassenberg was almost as old as Aub Lebensruh and Aub Drewanchel Emeritus.

Why was he smiling so much? Was that not totally untypical for a noble? He did not know her, why was he so happy to see her?

“Princess Rozemyne, I am impressed beyond measure by your generous blessing just from playing the harspiel. It must truly be so like Zent Ferdinand said that you are blessed by many Gods. I can only congratulate you to your adoption and am looking forward to your magnificent deeds in the future”, he lauded and Rozemyne accepted his praise gracefully. But she could not shake the suspicion that he had been talking more to Ferdinand behind her than to her directly.

Many more followed but she managed to greet everybody with a personal note.

Everybody seemed to be standing in groups to socialize over these news and Ferdinand had warned her that she was expected to participate. She turned around and smiled at him to which he responded with offering her his arm for an escort. And she graciously accepted it.

Show that you trust him. Follow his guidance. Do not question him.

The mantra in her mind clawed at her own self but she did not let the scratches distract her. She had an image to project.

Failure was not an option.

When she thanked every archduke she encountered on her way through the hall for their feystones she was met with the smallest signs of confusion before they hastily recovered and thanked her for turning them into gold dust in return.

Ferdinand had been right. They did not judge her for needing them to learn control. Instead they were hungry for her mana.

She felt reminded of all the stares she had to endure after she had restored the land during the trombe extermination but this time it was a bit different. They felt predatory but also cautious.

“Congratulations on your debut once again, Princess Rozemyne”, Aub Klassenberg began and she noticed the slightest signs of anger in Ferdinand. Eeep?! Had she done something wrong?

“I thank you ever so much, Aub Klassenberg”, she responded and hoped for the best regardless of the sudden shift in Ferdinand's mood.

“Parenthood seems to suit you exceedingly well, my Zent. Princess Rozemyne must be outstanding beyond measure that she was able to convince you to revise your stance on the matter”, he commented and Rozemyne could feel the arm with which he was escorting her slightly tensing up.

“I thank you for your kind words, Aub Klassenberg. You are indeed correct that Rozemyne is everything one could wish for in a daughter”, he deflected and Rozemyne knew she was currently losing to the rising blush on her cheeks.

Why was he so good at lying? No, she could not think that now. No open disagreement. Not now. Not ever. She could not allow herself any openings to be perceived as even slightly opposing to him.

“Princess Rozemyne, if I may ask, what do you like to do most? When my granddaughter was your age she was already smitten with whirling, might you be inclined to share that passion?”, Aub Klassenberg asked and Rozemyne tilted her head elegantly as if in thought.

“I must admit I really adore the feeling of accomplishment after having supplied the foundation with mana, but if not for that I had to say that I really like to read”, she answered with a jovial smile and hoped that it had sounded smoother to him than in her own head.

She noticed how everybody in earshot seemed to have fallen into silence at that. Aub Klassenberg also took a short moment to recover.

“Oh? At your young age you are already supplying the foundation? Is that not too much a burden for you, Princess?”, he suddenly seemed slightly concerned to her but she just shook her head.

“It is not so different from the dedication ritual in the temple. And Ferdinand always pays attention that I do not overexpend my mana, so it is not too much for me”, she explained and tried to keep her jovial tone in her voice.

She was not lying. He was paying attention. On some level he cared. She was not lying. No.

But she still felt the strain on her from this conversation. Something about Aub Klassenberg felt really off. She hoped that Ferdinand still remembered the sign that they had agreed on for her silent cry for help as she tilted her head slightly and put her hand on her cheek.

“We should continue our round, Rozemyne, it does not bode well to only talk to a selected few on the day of your debut”, Ferdinand suggested with his pleasant smile and bade Aub Klassenberg farewell.

“Oh, to think it was your yet undebuted adopted daughter who so generously provided us with that gold dust, Zent Ferdinand”, Aub Ahrensbach commented in his direction after Rozemyne had thanked him as well for their supply of feystones.

“It proved quite beneficial in her practice of moving mana and understanding the feeling of it, so it was rather pleasing that she could support the duchies with these exercises as well”, Ferdinand replied politely and Rozemyne was not sure what to think of that exchange happening completely outside of her.

“And to think that such a gem as her was hidden in the temple of Ehrenfest”, he continued his praise but Rozemyne could not get rid of the impression that he was dishonest here.

“Those who seek to avoid Chaocipher often find refuge in the house of the Gods”, Ferdinand remarked and Aub Ahrensbach nodded with a knowing smile.

“My second wife wished to send her regards concerning that particular Chaocipher.”

Ferdinand narrowed his eyes slightly.

“It seems Ordoschnelli found a way around Verbergen's shroud”, he commented and Rozemyne noticed the signs of displeasure that she had seen so many times directed at her.

“Has Ordoschnelli not always been described as fleet-footed, Zent Ferdinand?”, he countered and Rozemyne had to attest Aub Ahrensbach quite some gall to speak to Ferdinand like this.

“Indeed, she has”, Ferdinand confirmed and let the topic rest.

“Ordoschnelli has however been awfully quiet on the blessings Cuococalura bestowed upon us during yesterday's feast”, Aub Ahrensbach praised with clear intention of acquiring more information. Ferdinand simply smiled at him before Rozemyne felt his hand on her back pushing her forward. She straightened her back and intensified her own smile.

“That has been Rozemyne's influence. When she revealed to me the blessings from Cuococalura that her recipes contained I deemed it only appropriate to ask her to share those with the rest of the country”, he explained with a serene expression that could be mistaken for pride.

“I am glad you liked the consomme, Aub Ahrensbach. The recipe is actually for sale if you are interested”, she offered politely and she noticed how the man was now looking at her properly for the first time since their initial greetings.

“Oh, to think you could directly discern which particular dish I was talking about, Princess Rozemyne”, Aub Ahrensbach praised with signs of confusion that made her feel like she was mocked.

“Are you perhaps also distributing Cuococalura's blessings in the domain of sweets?”, he suddenly inquired more sincerely and Rozemyne tilted her head with an apologetic smile. She had noticed that Ferdinand showed slight signs of displeasure again but she could not place them.

“So far I have been focusing on the savory side of food, but Cuococalura's blessings may fall in this direction in the future as well, Aub Ahrensbach. My, are you perhaps particularly fond of sweets?”, she tried to strike a conversation but instead of pleasant small talk it seemed like she had woken up a dormant feybeast if the predatory glare in his eyes was anything to go by.

“I am indeed. Maybe Dregarnuhr can weave our threads together in a pattern that brings forth Cuococalura's blessings”, he commented and Rozemyne nodded politely.

“May Dregarnuhr weave our threads together under Gebordnung's divine guidance”, she agreed with her head tilted in Ferdinand's direction. She was definitely not going to agree to any meetings without him.

“Indeed, may Gebordnung's divine guidance be involved in this weaving”, Ferdinand chimed in before he said their farewells to continue their socializing round.

She was confused from her observations during this first socializing and the notes she had been made to learn. Relationships that were claimed to be good seemed oddly frosty and those that were claimed to be strained seemed overly cheerful.

After maybe the fifth aub she just began to play it by ear as her head was spinning from all the conflicting information. She just took her cues from Ferdinand when to engage and when to smile politely and was glad when her debut was officially over and she was allowed to retreat to her chambers.

Unfortunately, there was no opportunity for her to ask him how he judged it. She spent the afternoon in bed, reading to calm her thoughts and provide both her body and mind with some rest. Dinner was brought to her chambers since Ferdinand was using that opportunity for even more discussions with the archdukes.

She was half expecting him to call off mana dedication since he might have other appointments, but the ordonnanz still came and she changed to the Replenishment Hall immediately.

After offering her mana, he finally spoke the words she had waited for.

“Your debut was a success, Rozemyne. Congratulations, your performance was very good”, he declared and she felt the tension leave her body as so she let herself lean against one of the walls.

“Now, please don't collapse, Rozemyne”, he remarked with a teasing tone while Rozemyne had involuntarily entered manual breathing mode.

“Ferdinand, am I allowed to know what Aub Klassenberg and Aub Ahrensbach were scheming? They both felt so... off.”

“Ah, those two. Aub Ahrensbach was trying to set you up to pester me in his stead to grant him a favor that I do not intend to provide. Aub Klassenberg was just really, really, happy that I created a precedent by adopting you. I might be pressured to accept his granddaughter as my second adopted daughter now that I cannot claim to not want to adopt any children anymore.” He seemed more amused than annoyed by that thought to her.

“Is any of that my fault?”, she inquired cautiously and was glad as he shook his head.

“No, those were calculated risks I took that were not in your control”, he stated and she recovered enough to stand up again.

“But, Rozemyne, I must admit I am a bit surprised. No jumping for joy over your library registration? Did you not work so hard for that?”, he inquired with a quizzical glance that made her wonder how much she should say. But he had seen just right through her shifted priorities.

“That will come in the next days, I think. I just need a bit of time to process everything. There was more at stake today than just my library registration, wasn't it?”, she asked with a difficult frown.

“Indeed. It is good to see that you are wising up on your own so much and begin to understand the bigger picture.”

What would she give to return to those days of paper making before her baptism, when the bigger picture was just to live long enough to make one book and then die in the arms of her family. And not that, in order to ensure the survival of everyone she cared about, she had to become political support to the psychopath who took the whole country hostage to secure his reign.

Chapter Text

End of spring, on the last day of the archduke conference of his 7th year of zenthood. Age 22. Rozemyne Age 7. Eglantine Age 12.

“Attendants, do everything you can to present her in her most desirable form. The Zent has finally agreed to negotiations for returning Eglantine to royalty. The meeting will be in three days from now and she just has to be perfect! There might be no second chance with him.” Aub Klassenberg's declaration made her attendants stiffen. The pressure was immense but the prospect of helping their lady ascend in status according to her birth right was spurring them to do even more than their best.

Eglantine smiled politely as they began to undress and bathe her in preparation for all the treatments that were to follow. Every unnecessary hair was plucked, her skin rubbed in oil and then smoothed with stones before she was bathed again to remove the excess oil.

Her nails on her fingers and her toes were filed before her hands and feet were massaged and oiled again. It was a different kind of oil, one gathered from a fruit that contained trace elements of light. Eglantine knew it was expensive and reserved for special occurrences but she liked how it made her skin glow slightly in consequence.

Her attendants instructed her chefs to serve only meals that were bland and easy to digest for the next days so that her stomach would not bulge unduly and they loaded her schedule with additional harspiel practice in an attempt to beautify her mind further.

But while all this busyness helped her to stay calm during the day she grew restless over night. Her attendants were at a loss as they were fearing for the impact on her vibrancy due to the lack of sleep. They tried to urge her to nap during the day, during her baths, during her massages, but Eglantine refused. She actually needed all this time to think about her future.

Her grandfather, Aub Klassenberg, had worked relentlessly over the years to ensure her a relation to the Zent even though he had abolished the regency of the royal family to which she originally belonged. Nevertheless, he wanted to keep his promise of returning her to the status of Princess or even Queen.

But Zent Ferdinand had rejected any and all attempts to convince him of a starbinding with her. At the bottom of her heart she had been glad for this. The only recent times when she had seen him up close had been at the interduchy tournament and all she could think about him was 'cold'. There had been no warmth in his eyes, nor in his words, as he had congratulated her on becoming first in class. She knew that he was genuinely handsome but it was only a minor consolation for her. Eglantine could not get rid of the impression that he despised her for her grandfather's forceful approaches.

It was undoubted that he was a hard worker who cared about Yurgenschmidt as a whole, but his focus on reforming the temples and his unwillingness to open any of the country's gates were seen with great contempt even in Klassenberg.

He had even created a new religious role just for him to take. The Archbishop. And as such he refused to take a bride. It was just beyond the common sense of any noble that he could prioritize that role over a starbinding.

But just three weeks ago at the archduke conference an avenue separate from marriage had been opened as he had announced the debut of his newly adopted daughter. She had been raised in the temple of Ehrenfest, hidden by her father to protect her from poisoning attempts, returned to noble society and had been adopted by the Zent immediately after her baptism due to her efforts to clean up his temple and her vast mana capacity. Apparently his new adopted daughter was even called 'the Saint of Ehrenfest'. Eglantine wondered what kind of girl could have achieved the status of a princess through her own deeds. And she was expected to do the same? Could her grandfather's push alone really be enough for him to adopt a second daughter? One who had done nothing for his temples that he seemed to care about so much?

They were kneeling in wait in a meeting room of the Royal Academy. As this meeting was of utmost importance their retainers had not been allowed to enter with them. Only one of the Zent's attendants was already on standby near the walls but her grandfather had made it more than clear that they would continue kneeling until the Zent arrived. Everything depended on this meeting. Everything he had worked so hard for. She could not disappoint him. And she could not risk displeasing the Zent. Eglantine kept her noble smile plastered on her face. She knew it would stay firm under all circumstances. After all she had practiced it so much.

After she had accomplished her greetings to perfection and stood up at the Zent's command with the elegance and grace she had been practicing in her whirling classes she looked up and smiled at him demurely.

He returned her smile with a quite pleasant one that seemed to show her a bit more than his normal neutral facade. Maybe she really had a chance.

She silently took place beside her grandfather and sipped her tea elegantly after the Zent had demonstratively taken the first sip. Meanwhile her grandfather began to exchange further pleasantries with Zent Ferdinand. Eglantine smiled and listened attentively, but did not talk without being asked.

“Lady Eglantine, Aub Klassenberg has brought it to my attention that he wishes for you to join me as my adopted daughter. Is this your wish as well?” She had not expected the question to be so direct but she had practiced many versions of this discussion in her head already so she answered without hesitation and without breaking her smile. She tilted her head slightly and shifted a bit forward in her seat.

“Yes, Zent Ferdinand. I would feel deeply honored if you considered me fit to join your family.” His smile intensified at that and he nodded. She must have given the correct answer.

“As you surely are aware I took on the role of Archbishop for the whole of Yurgenschmidt and I expect those who are part of my family to serve the Gods in a similar fashion. Rozemyne is currently Ehrenfest's High Bishop. Would you be willing to accept the role for your own duchy, Lady Eglantine?” His smile was inviting and bright but his words seemed to surprise her grandfather.

Was he going to abort the negotiations at this point on her behalf? What was going to happen to her in that case?

A cold sweat ran down her spine but she kept her smile in place.

“As I was not raised in the temple, my Zent, I am currently unaware of what this role entails. I apologize deeply for my lack of education”, she smiled apologetically and he tilted his head with understanding.

“As you have been first in class last year I am sure you will be perfectly capable to learn everything that is necessary to fulfill this role in merely a few weeks. You do not need to remember everything at once, there will be the other members of the temple to help you, after all”, he smiled widely and Eglantine nodded. But her grandfather looked very clearly stressed.

“Do you have any objections, Aub Klassenberg?”, Zent Ferdinand inquired politely which made him recover his facade.

“I must admit to feeling a bit uncertain of sending a young lady such as Eglantine into the temple alone, my Zent”, he conceded.

“Ah, these fatherly feelings of wanting to protect them are surely overwhelming from time to time”, he nodded with a seemingly understanding smile.

“How fare your efforts with reforming the Klassenberg temple, Aub Klassenberg?”, he inquired and her grandfather's eyes widened slightly.

“If you fear for Lady Eglantine's safety even though you already tried your best in cleaning it up for a year, may I ease your and my worries by sending some of my Inquisitors as well so that they may ensure it is a place safe for a princess of Yurgenschmidt?”

Eglantine felt as if she had done him injustice before. There was definitely warmth in him. He did care about her safety in these conditions. Her smile relaxed a bit at his words.

“You are more than generous, Zent Ferdinand. In that case I would gladly invite your Inquisitors to implement your temple reforms in Klassenberg personally as well.” He still seemed a bit unsure to her but his nervousness seemed drastically reduced.

Was the temple without the Zent's reforms really such a dangerous place that her grandfather might have halted the negotiations for her adoption otherwise?

“Very good”, Zent Ferdinand commented while sipping his tea thoughtfully.

“Is it agreeable to let Lady Eglantine stay in Klassenberg as my ward with you for the time being, Aub Klassenberg? I would invite her to the Royal Academy for two days per week to further her education and ensure the necessary socializing she will need as a princess but otherwise would like her to mainly work as your High Bishop. As you are also aware, I do not have a wife, so I would greatly appreciate it if somebody of Klassenberg continued her ladies' education. If that is not feasible for you, I will of course find a solution for that in another way.”

Her grandfather seemed surprised by the terms that made her spend so much time away from him, but he nodded slowly.

“I imagine these are the same conditions under which Princess Rozemyne is raised?”, he inquired and Zent Ferdinand nodded with a very intense smile.

“Indeed. I would not want to sow discord by treating them differently. She may change her schedule in accordance with business needs, but in principle Rozemyne shares this schedule.” Her grandfather's smile returned to normal at that. She was not surprised that the Zent who was said to lack both mercy and compassion was not suddenly doting on an adopted daughter. She actually appreciated that he intended to keep their lives quite separated.

“Then these terms are indeed agreeable.”

Were the negotiations over?

“There is however still one condition that I need both of you to agree to before we may sign the adoption contract”, he said and his attendant put a sheet of parchment in front of both of them.

“A contract of silence? There is indeed no harm in agreeing to keep these terms secret, although I must admit it seems a bit excessive”, her grandfather commented and searched his pocket for a magic pen.

“It is indeed a contract of silence but I need to insist that you read it more attentively, Aub Klassenberg. This contract is merely in place to secure the confidentiality of my last condition. Whether or not you agree to that condition will be your own free choice but you will be forbidden from sharing it with anybody else.” He sipped his tea and was now scrutinizing them with cold eyes.

Eglantine had to suppress every urge inside of her to shiver. Her grandfather seemed equally scandalized.

“If you instead wish to leave now, you may do so without fear of repercussions. It was you after all who seeked me out for this adoption.” Her grandfather seemed to waver for a fraction of a moment before he recovered enough.

“Did Princess Rozemyne fulfill the same condition prior to her adoption?”, he inquired while readying his magic pen.

“She did”, Zent Ferdinand confirmed with a pleased smile and her grandfather signed the contract in front of him then handed his magic pen to Eglantine. She read the words carefully, unwilling to be tricked at such a critical point, and let out a small sigh of relief as she saw that it really only ensured the confidentiality of their negotiations and the conditions that were named. She wrote her name in her neatest handwriting. The Zent's attendant then brought the contract to his side of the table where it went up in flames as the third signature was added.

“Very well. Aub Klassenberg, as you will surely understand allowing nobles of a foreign duchy into your house is a quite risky endeavor. And I do not intend to invite vipers into my house.” He was gazing at both of them coldly and Eglantine felt the urge to escape while she still could. It made her blood freeze.

Was she really going to be adopted by that man? What was the value of being a princess for her grandfather if she had to endure this glare for the rest of her life? But what would he do if she refused now? Was her only hope for her grandfather to cancel the negotiations now or be married away early if he did not? Why had she ever thought this was a good idea?

She did not allow any of these thoughts to show on her face but her heartbeat increased involuntarily. She hoped that he would not notice.

“Zent Ferdinand are you asking for Eglantine's name?!”, Aub Klassenberg exclaimed and Eglantine almost shrieked at his sudden intensity. But name swearing was supposed to be something private and personal. Surely that could not have been his condition? To her relief Zent Ferdinand slowly shook his head.

“No, Aub Klassenberg, that was not my intention. Especially since just the possession of one's name does not help too much if somebody was trying to circumvent its constrictions daily. It is not the suitable tool in this case.”

He then gestured his attendant to bring a box and open it. In it were two circlets. Was she going to wear a crown as a princess? But her grandfather's eyes widened as he saw the contents.

“You cannot be serious, Zent Ferdinand! These are only used for those who committed or witnessed great crimes!”, he exclaimed with clear anger written on his face, but the Zent merely smirked at him. How could he smirk in this situation?

“They are also quite useful to determine how trustworthy an individual might be”, he explained while his attendant now placed a potion in front of Eglantine.

“Your grandfather said you were already omni-elemental with very balanced colors?”, the Zent inquired and she nodded in confusion.

“Then you might not suffer too much from the taste. Our colors should already be quite similar.”

She tilted her head. What was he implying?

Then she noticed the familiar color of the potion in front of her. She had learned to brew it just this year at her grandfather's recommendation a whole year earlier than the standard curriculum. A blush rose to her cheeks that she failed to suppress.

“Enough of this already. I will not allow for this to happen!” Aub Klassenberg seemed adamant on this. Eglantine herself was not very keen on drinking a synchronization potion from the Zent but this clearly could not mean what she thought it meant.

If he had wanted to take her as a bride he was definitely in a position to just make it so without faking to go for an adoption.

“This may seem inappropriate now, but may I inquire about the meaning behind all this? Surely you are not asking me to drink your synchronization potion for its standard purpose. That would not even be calling winter before autumn but before full summer as my mana sense has not even awakened yet.”

To her surprise she noticed how even the Zent showed signs of discomfort and embarrassment at her words. Were the tips of his ears turning pink?

He coughed, then answered.

“I intend to use this magic tool on you, Lady Eglantine, to view your memories. As it will be impossible for you to lie under its influence it will ensure that I can trust your answers to my questions.”

She opened her mouth to answer something but closed it again as nothing came to her mind.

He wanted to view her memories and interrogate her without her being able to lie or hide anything? How bad could this actually be? Would he mind that she thought him scary? He must be aware already that every noble thought of him like this, no?

“Will you punish us if you find my thoughts offensive?”, she asked quietly. To her surprise he actually chuckled.

“The inherent nature of this tool is to violate the privacy of those who are under interrogation. A certain amount of offensive thoughts is expected. That said, I will be able to tell if you do not even try to be polite.”

He suddenly seemed amused to find out what kind of offensive thoughts she might be having. She shuddered internally and kept her smile in place. Although it might have grown thin at this point.

“Grandfather, I am willing to bring this sacrifice”, she stated and looked into her grandfather's eyes firmly.

“Eglantine, no, you do not understand.... He will be able to see everything. You will not be able to object. He can see and feel everything you think of with this tool. And that will be after he has dyed you in his colors. You are twelve already, Eglantine! I cannot allow this to happen!” He seemed so desperate to her that she felt the need to squeeze his hand. And she actually allowed herself to follow that need.

“Grandfather, you have worked so hard for this opportunity. If this is how I can earn his trust then so be it. My color will return in one month and there is nothing on my mind that I need to hide before the Zent.”

Her grandfather's eyes grew wet and he shook his head in frustration.

“Zent Ferdinand can you not have your scholar search her mind for you?”, he began to negotiate and nodded in the direction of the only other woman in the meeting room.

“If your wish is to have Lady Eglantine be adopted by Heidemarie then I do not mind for that. However if you wish to sign her adoption contract with me then this is non-negotiable.” He was mocking Aub Klassenberg for his futile attempts but Eglantine knew that he was doing this out of love for her.

“If I agree to this then I will stay as chaperon”, he declared through gritted teeth but she noticed how the Zent's two guard knights were stiffening at that.

“You will have to wear schtappe sealing bracelets for that. You should be aware of the vulnerable position one enters when using this tool, Aub Klassenberg.”

Eglantine winced as they both glared at each other with huge disdain.

“This is disgraceful for a zent”, he grumbled and looked away.

“You may as well just leave and cancel the negotiations. I am in no way insisting on this adoption. The choice is yours alone.”

Eglantine looked at her grandfather who was currently so far away from being the solid rock she was able to lean on in the past. She squeezed his hand one more time.

“If you cannot trust in him not harming me then we should leave, grandfather. I know you only wish to protect me here but think of what power he will hold over me as my adoptive father then. Shall we leave?” She asked him wide eyed almost hoping that he said 'yes' but he remained quiet.

“Or shall I stay?”, she then added and he nodded without looking at her. She nodded as well.

“Please use this tool to convince yourself of my trustworthiness, Zent Ferdinand.”

She then took the potion in front of her and drank it in one go.

He had been right. The taste was not too bad. It reminded her of cold tea that had been brewed by an inexperienced attendant. Nothing she would seek out but also nothing unbearable.

The Zent's attendant then seemed to put the circlet on her head but she was already too distracted from fighting off the drowsiness.

It would be unsightly to fall asleep at the table....

“...tine”, a faint voice reached her consciousness. She was confused for a moment whether somebody was calling for her to wake up.

Was it morning already? Everything was still so dark.

“...glantine, stop resisting!” The voice sounded angry to her and she felt like she was hit by a sudden headache that originated from that voice.

She was resisting? What was she resisting?

She began to focus on that voice to hear it more clearly.

“Ah, finally. Your mind is well guarded, Lady Eglantine”, the voice that she now identified as the Zent's commented and the pain that she had felt up to now vanished as instantly as it had occurred. She remembered how she had agreed to sharing her memories with him and panic struck her.

She had resisted his attempts to enter her mind?! Had she screwed up already?!

“I-I apologize for that, Zent Ferdinand”, she began while trying to suppress her panic.

“You may calm yourself, Lady Eglantine. It is quite normal for a mind to guard itself. I do not take offense for that.” She felt the relief almost instantly.

“So, what are these thoughts you feared would be offensive to me?”

She hesitated until the headache suddenly returned.

“Show me”, he ordered and she understood that he was the source of that sensation.

She decided to just show him their current conversation from her perspective. How his cold glare had frozen her blood and she had wished to just run away from him.

She added the scene of when she was told for the first time that her grandfather intended her to marry the man at the top of the country since she was a princess. How she had felt nothing but confusion at imagining a future with somebody that most people did not even want to speak about.

She added another memory of their first meeting at a dinner in Klassenberg. It had basically been not more than a greeting. Her grandfather had drilled into her how she had to behave and she had worked so hard to execute it perfectly. He had reacted with a very kind smile but had then skipped over her without another word to be greeted by the next person. She had been annoyed at him by that.

“Enough”, he ordered and Eglantine stopped thinking back about all the bad stuff she thought about him.

Did he take offense?

Her nervousness grew.

“I do not. Those were all very human and quite tame reactions. Some were even intended by me.”

Wait! He could read her current stream of thoughts as well?!

“What do you seek to accomplish by getting adopted?” His tone was neutral but she knew that he was good at hiding his intentions. Had she ever allowed herself to ask what he was getting out of this adoption anyway? Was her grandfather just so annoying that he had given in?

She suddenly remembered that he very clearly could hear her musing. She conjured up memories of her past before he could assault her with that headache again.

“Grandfather told me that a lot of the aubs will see me being returned to the status of a princess in a very positive light and that this will legitimize your claim to the throne even further”, she remembered and showed him several instances of these discussions that had happened over the years in varying degrees of complexity.

“And why does that align with your own goals?”, he inquired with an almost amused tone.

Was he mocking her?

Her unbidden question was met with silence. She was not sure whether she should be glad about this or not. But she quickly recovered and answered his question.

“I do not want to see another war in this country. So many people died. For nothing.”

She tried to stay detached from the visions she showed him. Reports and heartfelt talks about another one of her friends being killed, poisoned or executed all before she was even baptized.

Another retainer who was never going to return.

Until her mind wandered to the place she had tried to never visit again.

The shrieks came first.

The smoke before her eyes came next.

She was hastily waken up, wrapped into a blanket and carried away. For the first time in years she could even remember the face of her attendant who was carrying her. And the deep fear that was carved into it.

How she had stumbled and fell and how Eglantine fell in her arms as well.

The fall did not hurt too much, it was more the surprise that had made her scream but her attendant's eyes widened in despair at that.

She was told to stay quiet, to not give away her position as she was hurriedly stuffed into a cupboard. Her position was uncomfortable but she had not dared to move. The smoke was hurting her lungs and making her eyes wet but she had not dared to cough. The steps on the other side of the door were growing louder, shouting ensued, then more of these shrieks she had tried to forget for so long.

The small girl inside the cupboard was trembling, but she kept still as good as she was able to. At once the door to her hideout was pulled open and before her stood another one of her attendants. She had widened her eyes in surprise at her discovery, but the little Eglantine was still keeping quiet.

She was now staring behind the one who had opened the door. And only saw a massive puddle of blood that was soaking the clothes of the attendant who had pulled her out of bed. The adult Eglantine screamed now while the little girl of her memories had kept quiet.

She just wanted to cry but it felt impossible. She remembered that she was just in her head and that was why she could not cry but that did not provide any relief.

“Calm your mind. Your grandfather praised your whirling. Think of your whirling practice.”

She had even forgotten that he was still there.

Right now she just wanted to run but there was no escape.

But in the end there was no harm in trying to follow his direction.

Memories of endless whirling sessions rose in her mind.

She focused on all the details that she had needed to accomplish to hone her skill. Eglantine allowed herself to get lost in the memory.

But he was still watching.

The thought tripped her up and she ended the scene.

“I see you have calmed down. Very good.”

Had that been praise from the Zent of all people?

“So you yearn for peace and stability? I am sure your grandfather has a different plan in mind”, he commented and Eglantine thought back to her meeting in preparation of today. Her grandfather was instructing her on the conduct he expected from her, that she was to appear as meek and pleasant as possible and so on. Eglantine felt embarrassed as she showed him that scene.

Then her grandfather told her ways she could turn this adoption into a marriage if she pulled the right strings.

How she had to focus on her mana compression to be in range with him once she came of age.

How she should parade her youthful body in front of him whenever she had the chance.

How she should support him by building a ladies' faction across all the duchies that he could not afford to lose by marrying her off.

That her rightful place was that of Queen, not just Princess.

That she should not even refrain from compromising herself if it could lead to that outcome.

“If you ever do that last thing I will have you executed before you will have even left the room”, he growled at her and she just wanted to run away as far as she could.

Eglantine had not liked to show him any of these meetings but every time she interrupted her recollection of the events a new wave of pain filled her mind until she complied again.

“I do not intend to! That was just grandfather's talk, not mine!”, she voiced directly and with clear desperation but he did not acknowledge her.

She was wondering whether that was now the end. Whether he would risk bringing her near himself if he feared she was to follow her grandfather's schemes. And how he could even stand to listen to her endless stream of thoughts that were leading to no clear goal.

“It is indeed exhausting. I have only two more questions for you, Lady Eglantine. First, show me your memories for your ceremony to receive your divine protections”, he ordered and she was surprised at the sudden change in topic.

Memories of just a season ago entered her mind and she showed him how she had prayed and filled the circle with mana, how every pillar had lit up and even two of the subordinates had confirmed their support.

Kunstzeal and Efflorelume. Grandfather had been so proud.

“Do not get distracted, show me the rest”, he remarked and she hastily complied even though she was not aware what might have interested him.

Ah, right, the statues had danced. Was he after the Academy's twenty mysteries?

She continued to show him their strange dance and then how Professor Gundolf had sent her away after he had explained to her that what lay behind that barrier was off-limits.

It had been strange, but why did he care?

“You do not need to know my reasons”, he commented in a displeased tone and she tried to not think of anything. As she noticed how she failed to do that she returned to memories of whirling until he spoke to her again.

“Lady Eglantine, what are your thoughts on Rozemyne?”

That surprised her. What were her thoughts on her indeed?

“Grandfather described her as blessed by the gods, deeply compassionate for the country and with an apparently outstanding mana capacity even among those who may be considerable for adoption by you. But I cannot believe that to be all true. However, she managed to catch your interest and she did not have an aub of a greater duchy to pester you. I doubt that Aub Ehrenfest went out of his way to convince you of this girl after you had him execute his own mother. So there must be something special about her. And she is clearly too old to be your true child as some are rumoring even though she apparently looks younger than she claims to be. It all intrigues me very much. There is a huge element of mystery around her.” What did he actually want to know? How many thoughts could one even spend on somebody they never met before?

“You are quite insightful, Lady Eglantine”, he murmured.

And then there was only silence and blackness.

Had he left?

She opened her eyes and looked at the polished surface of a table. Her grandfather was sitting next to her and staring at her intently. She needed a moment to remember where she was as she tried to sit up as elegantly as possible but she still felt sleepy.

Had he added a sleeping draught to the synchronization potion?

She noticed that Zent Ferdinand was writing something.

“Is everything alright, Eglantine? It seems the Zent deemed you trustworthy as he is currently writing up the adoption contract”, he explained with a mixture of pride and worry.

“I still feel a bit drowsy from the potion, I imagine”, she answered and tried to steady herself. The tea in front of her had been freshly remade as it seemed and she began to savor it with only little restraint.

“Can I count on you to carefully check the contract, grandfather? I am not feeling at my best”, she inquired quietly but as it seemed she had not been discreet enough as Zent Ferdinand looked up at that.

“Lady Eglantine, never sign any magic contracts when you are not in your right mind”, he scolded her with a glare and she averted her eyes.

But it had been him who had made her drink that potion....

“May Heilschmerz' healing be granted.”

She heard his voice and looked back at him in surprise as green light landed on her and the fog left her mind.

Had she just received healing from the Zent?!

But he did not acknowledge his uncharacteristic behavior at all. Instead she was now presented with her adoption contract. It was exactly the same wording that her grandfather had told her to expect.

She was still not sure what exactly her soon to be adoptive father had been looking for but she was glad that she had not doomed herself with her answers. He must be more lenient than he usually lets on.

Their signatures were added in quick succession and as the contract went up in flames her grandfather smiled widely as he congratulated her.

“Princess Eglantine, I am so proud of you”, he said and squeezed her hand once again. However, this time the gesture made her recoil her hand. A sharp pain where their hands had touched had surprised her. He widened his eyes shortly.

“I apologize, Princess Eglantine. I should have paid more attention”, he mumbled and she understood. He had always sent out small amounts of mana when they had squeezed hands in the past. But her color had changed. There was no helping that. They spoke their goodbyes and her grandfather left.

She was alone with her new adoptive father and his retainers.

“A guest room has been prepared for you, Eglantine, I imagine you might appreciate the opportunity to take a break for today. You may use this time to select some of the Sovereignty's Knight's Order as your personal retainers. Choose at least two female knights so that they may accompany you anywhere. Heisshitze will provide you with their details.

Concerning attendants, feel free to keep those already in your retinue. You should however choose at least one who can keep your chambers here in order while you are away.

Scholars... will be a case by case decision. If you wish to keep some of your retinue introduce them to me in a week.

Heidemarie will provide your attendants with a schedule for the next days.

Most importantly, Rozemyne will arrive tomorrow at third bell. You may use this opportunity to ask her about her High Bishop duties and begin socializing with her. I would prefer if both of you were to interact cordially with each other. If this is not possible for whatever reasons, tell me immediately. I can easily arrange for you to not meet at all during the non-academic year and I will prefer that over both of you antagonizing each other.”

He was looking her firmly in the eyes and she nodded to all that. How could she do anything but that?

“Ehm, dear adoptive father-”, she began but he glared at her so sternly that she winced and stopped mid-sentence.

“Call me Ferdinand. Rozemyne does the same.” She nodded. She would definitely need some time to get used to that.

“Ferdinand, do you really think there is a risk for discord between Rozemyne and me?”, she inquired and Ferdinand put his finger to his temple.

“In principle you should get along well enough. But your upbringing has been quite different so far. Your desire for stability might clash with her striving for innovation.” Innovation? But Rozemyne was only seven years old? She nodded as if she understood what he meant by that.

He snorted derisively as if he had seen right through her.

“You will understand after you have met her a few times. Just be sure to understand that if you hurt her, I will hurt you.”

His smile was poisonous as he said that and Eglantine knew that the threat was serious. Was this his way of expressing his care for Rozemyne? Or was that indicative of him having a favorite daughter even though he had claimed to treat them the same? It had not been her intention at all to fight with a girl so young who was now technically her little sister as well to begin with. Were was this coming from so suddenly?

“I assure you that this will never be the case, Ferdinand”, she promised with a slightly pale face and he nodded.

“Good girl.”

Chapter Text

End of spring of his 7th year of zenthood. First day after the Archduke Conference. Age 22. Rozemyne age 7. Eglantine Age 12.

It had been a while since Ferdinand had seen her so giddy. True to her words it had taken her a few days before she had seemingly worked through her experiences from her debut and the fact that she was about to be rewarded with her long anticipated library registration had garnered her full attention again.

It was almost adorable how single-minded she could be.

While Justus had suggested that he should rest for today, since it was the first day that everybody had went home to their respective duchies and security could be reduced again, Ferdinand had different plans. Now that he could allow himself a bit of free time he intended to use it to set up some research.

And for that he had invited Rozemyne to a meeting in the auditorium for second and half bell. He kept his smile in check as she entered with her guard knights in tow, Damuel among them. But while she seemed confused about their unusual meeting place she was definitely beaming with joy under her princess facade. Not even Eckhart's presence seemed to dim her mood.

“Ah, Rozemyne, what a pleasure to see you. Join me and bring only Damuel with you, everybody else stay back”, he ordered as soon as she was close enough and before he took the lead in the direction of the magic circle to obtain divine protections. He heard a slight hesitation in her footsteps behind him but since she resumed her slow shuffle almost immediately he did not turn around to chastise her for that.

As soon as they were alone and next to the statues Rozemyne raised an eyebrow at him and glanced in Damuel's direction as if to question whether she was allowed to say anything in his presence. Ferdinand shook his head slightly to indicate that she should indeed remain silent on her past visit to this place.

“Rozemyne, I must admit I am ever so curious. When I went over the protocol of all the blessings you bestowed upon Damuel, there was one that somehow stood out”, he began and smiled at her widely in anticipation which made her own smile slightly twitchy.

A bit of embarrassment was fine as long as she did not fall back into that gloominess at the thought of her demonstration.

“Liebeskhilfe's blessing was intended as motivation for his fighting spirit...”, she mumbled while blushing slightly.

Oh, she knew exactly what he was talking about and did not even try to cause a diversion?

“I figured as much, Rozemyne, but the question is: Do you want to keep your support of this endeavor limited to this blessing? Or do you intend to do more?” He knew that her compassionate side and her strong bond with him could only lead to one answer. Which would serve as perfect base for the experiment he had in mind.

“Bwuh?” Her confusion almost made him chuckle. Of course she must think such a question out of character for him.

“Damuel, can you sense anybody in the Sovereignty?”, he inquired directly with her guard knight who widened his eyes at being so suddenly addressed.

“My apologies, my Zent, but I cannot”, he answered with a neutral face and Ferdinand acknowledged it with a nod.

“As expected, considering that everybody besides you is an archnoble”, Ferdinand commented but Rozemyne still seemed confused. Had Elvira's lectures not yet covered the intricacies of noble matchmaking?

“But don't you have very fine senses, Damuel?”, she asked and Damuel flinched ever so slightly.

“I was referring to a different kind of sense, Rozemyne. Adults are able to sense who is in range mana-wise as this is a prerequisite to be able to have children together”, Ferdinand clarified and Rozemyne shuddered slightly. Right, Karstedt had explained that to her already a year ago over spring prayer. Maybe not the most pleasant memory for her.

“So he has to find a wife outside the Sovereignty?”, Rozemyne inquired hesitantly and Ferdinand tilted his head as if to consider the question. Even though the answer was already obvious to him and Damuel most likely as well.

“That is effectively impossible for him, Rozemyne. While there are without a doubt lots of unengaged, noble ladies available outside the Sovereignty, they are without a doubt lay- or mednobles at best. As such I will not allow them to move to the Sovereignty. And Damuel is bound to you, so such a union where he had to move to another duchy is not feasible”, he explained and braced himself for her obvious counter, but she remained quiet much to his surprise. She did not even try to argue with him to just make another exception to the exclusivity of archnobles in the Sovereignty?

Since Damuel did not react in the slightest to his words he must have indeed already been fully aware of those constraints.

“So, you are telling me it will not happen naturally? Is there something I can do then? Or are you just trying to keep me from wasting effort on the endeavor?”, she asked cautiously and Ferdinand widened his smile at her question.

“Well, the obvious solution is for Damuel to increase his mana capacity and colors to an extent that he is in range with some of the unengaged archnoble ladies in the Sovereignty”, Ferdinand proposed with a conspiring grin. While Rozemyne seemed already on board with the idea, Damuel seemed absolutely terrified. It was indeed unheard of. But he had already made the jump from laynoble to lower mednoble. And Rozemyne's prayers had brought him to higher mednoble level according to both Eckhart and Heisshitze, even though that was only a temporary effect. It was definitely worth a try.

But Rozemyne's expression suddenly hardened. What was that about?

“Your proposal is indeed quite generous, Ferdinand, but I would not want to unduly boost my military might with such endeavors”, she noted demurely, throwing his own words from a month ago back to him. Ah, she was such a fast learner, it was a sheer pleasure to educate her. Even if she missed the mark a bit.

“This is different, Rozemyne, since I will approve it from the start”, he clarified and she nodded hesitantly.

“So, since we are here, you want him to gain divine protections?”, she inquired and glanced at the magic circle and statues surrounding it.

“Indeed. Damuel, do you remember all subordinate gods and their domains?”, Ferdinand asked and was met with an expression of sheer incredulity on Damuel's face.

“I do, my Zent”, he confirmed and Ferdinand was actually surprised by that answer. Was that due to his time guarding Rozemyne in the temple? Or did he indeed remember them from his third year at the Royal Academy?

“Good, then you may use this wooden board to refresh the prayer and then repeat your divine protection ceremony”, he instructed and handed him the wooden board in question while he put an individual sound blocking tool into Rozemyne's hand.

“After that I want you to teach him your mana compression method and swear him to silence about it”, Ferdinand noted while Damuel was focused on burning the prayer back into his mind.

“May I keep his namestone after that? I now wear that birdcage at my belt all the time anyway for my highbeast feystone so I feel the safekeeping should not come as an issue anymore”, she asked with her eyes focused on Damuel. That must have been on her mind for a while now to come so immediately at the first opportunity when the topic came up.

“Oh? Are you perhaps regretting that you told him that you do not have secrets before me?”, he said while scrutinizing her reaction. She seemed quite calm to him despite his provocative tone.

“I do, but not like you might think. If you want to know something just ask me directly. You know that I do not lie to you. But I do not want Damuel caught in the crossfire of your curiosity again”, she stated and looked him directly in the eyes.

She had shown quite an increase in insight over the last year. Such a demonstration of trust from his side came at a quite cheap price all things considered. And she might rid herself of the assumption that he was constantly threatening Damuel which might be a net benefit after all.

“Under one condition”, he began but she immediately nodded.

“I will not return his name to him. I am aware”, she confirmed before he even had to say it out loud.

“I appreciate your understanding in these things”, he noted before he fumbled for his birdcage and picked out the one stone that was not dyed in his own mana which he then handed over to her.

“I thank you ever so much”, she said with clear signs of relief on her face. But no smugness. Good. So she was indeed not trying to trick him.

He then gestured her to return his sound blocking tool as Damuel was by now approaching the magic circle.

The difference between laynobles and archnobles was immediately obvious to him as Damuel struggled so dearly with filling the whole magic circle with his mana. If not for being under his scrutinizing eyes he might not have taken all three of his rejuvenation potions at his belt, Ferdinand mused. And the whole ceremony took way longer than he was used to from monitoring his retainers or even Rozemyne.

But as Damuel finally began praying in earnest, Ferdinand was surprised to see that he had indeed gained three more divine protections. Anwachs and Glucklitat were indeed quite fitting for his lifestyle, but also a new fire element for him. That he additionally garnered Duldsetzen's attention strengthened his birth attribute of wind. And one could argue that he had endured quite a lot lately. Interesting. The Grutrissheit was so infuriatingly vague on that topic after all – the one thing that was not explained properly.

Damuel seemed quite groggy as he finally rose out of his genuflecting position but that was somewhat expected after having expended so much mana.

“Congratulations, Damuel. Anwachs, Glucklitat and Duldsetzen granted you their divine protections. You now have officially two elements”, Ferdinand praised and he saw how Rozemyne was beaming with pride at that. Had she not seen their sigils lighting up? Or was she yet unaware how to read the circle?

“Thank you, my Zent”, Damuel responded, visibly exhausted but obviously relieved.

“Say, Damuel, did you pray to any of those three perchance?”, Ferdinand inquired and Damuel nodded.

“Glucklitat has received quite a few, my Zent”, he admitted hesitantly and Ferdinand tilted his head slightly.

“I see. You may return to the auditorium, Damuel”, he said and Damuel followed his words immediately.

According to the reports most students only received the divine protections of the pillars they already received when they were born. And now there was Damuel who received the divine protection of three subordinates after one and a half years of temple related duties. Was that Rozemyne's impact or an impact from the temple? Maybe he should have one of his name-sworn archdukes repeat the ceremony as well. He had urged them to reform their temples after all as well.

“Rozemyne, repeat the ceremony as well”, he instructed and was met with only slight signs of confusion before she immediately followed through.

“Improving my mana efficiency will indeed not hurt”, she agreed before she genuflected just as Damuel had done moments before.

In comparison, her mana flowed beautifully into the circle, saturating it in her pale yellow hue while she intoned the prayer.

While Ferdinand had expected an increase in divine protections, the sheer number nevertheless came as quite a surprise. Was that the effect of her sending so many prayers alongside her mana to the gods? Or was she a special case?

As she reached the end of her prayer with Dauerleben, a sigil that lit up as well, she removed her hands from the carpet and looked up at the once again dancing statues. But this time she did not even take that first step in their direction and instead turned around to ask him about the results.

“It seems in the future, whenever I tell people that you are blessed by many gods, it will be less and less of an euphemism, Rozemyne”, he stated with a grin which made her blush slightly.

“I already suspected that you caught Elbberg's attention after that one prayer, but he is not the only one. Next to him you also gained Anwachs, Erwachlehren and Glucklitat from the fire pantheon. Heilschmerz and Dauerleben might also not come as a surprise. And, congratulations, you are now officially blessed by Cuococalura”, he jested but it seemed that she was actually pleased by those results.

“So now I have the divine protection of eleven subordinate gods?”, she asked after she had counted them on her fingers.

“Indeed, and all that just before you turn eight years old”, he praised. Even he was impressed. Erwachlehren and Cuococalura were the only new subordinates in that list that she did not regularly pray to. So there were other factors at play apart from the amount of prayers and mana offered?

“Now, let us head to the library”, Ferdinand proposed as they were returning to their retainers that they had left behind in the auditorium. He could hear the exact moment when Rozemyne registered his words as the frequency of her footsteps increased drastically at that particular point.

“Rozemyne, have one of your guards carry you or you will collapse before we reach the library”, he said without looking at her.

“May I use my highbeast instead, Ferdinand? It's part of the defense strategy that Loyalitat derived for me. If anything happens he said that it will serve as quite a shield and I can pray for Schutzaria's shield on top of that”, she explained and Ferdinand took a moment to consider her proposal. If she was surrounded by the mana inside her highbeast it was indeed quite the shield already. An efficient method to increase both her mobility and her defenses.

“You may. Now come”, he instructed and soon enough a shumil shaped thing was trotting next to him with Rozemyne in its belly. It was really good that her jureve ingredients were already gathered at three out of four. That physical weakness was ridiculous.

The door was opened by the sole librarian, Professor Solange, of the Royal Academy. He had several of his scholars routinely supply the magic tools that preserved the documents inside the library with mana but he could not spare the traditional three archnoble librarians yet. Their numbers were still too sparse for that.

He noticed however how her kneeling was not as graceful as he remembered her to be and it was quite obvious that her age was already taking a toll on her. Maybe another five years before he really had to look into a replacement?

“Zent Ferdinand, the library is honored by your visit and the registration of Yurgenschmidt's princess”, she declared after they had exchanged their greetings and he had gestured her to stand up again. Rozemyne had left her highbeast as soon as they had reached the door and he could almost feel her anticipation as she was eyeing the reading room quite obviously.

“Take only Damuel with you, Rozemyne, and have the rest of your guards be stationed outside the library”, he instructed and she immediately complied. Was she currently sniffing around? He remembered her memories of the old bibles that she had read and how each and every sense had been part of those. Was she trying to perceive the library with every sense now as well?

Ferdinand smiled a bit brighter to hide his displeasure and guided her to the reception while she was clearly drawn in the opposite direction.

“Just to make one thing clear, Rozemyne, you are only getting registered. You will not have time to read today”, he declared and one could have thought that he had hit her considering her sudden sullenness.

“Rozemyne?”, he asked and she immediately recovered and started smiling again.

“That's totally fine. The registration is the important thing today!”, she confirmed but he did not miss her longing gaze in the direction of the reading room. She was not going to collapse today, was she?

He shot Damuel a glance who seemed concerned as well.

“Rozemyne, if you collapse today I will consider the library as a risk for you”, he remarked neutrally and she straightened her back immediately.

“Your worry warms my heart, Ferdinand, but please rest assured that this place of the Gods could never pose any threat to me”, she declared proudly and Ferdinand could not suppress a smirk. She could not know how close to the truth her words actually rang. But the irony was kind of sweet.

“Then I am glad”, he merely commented and waited for Solange to prepare the contract while Justus prepared one as well.

“Now, please read this contract that swears you to treat everything inside the library with proper care and then sign it to complete the registration, Princess Rozemyne”, Solange proposed with a gentle smile that Rozemyne seemed to bask in. Was Solange about to become a major part of Rozemyne's socializing circle? Maybe Justus had to investigate her extra thoroughly once again just in case that created an opening for her.

“Regarding that, Professor Solange, I'd like to ask you for confidentiality concerning the specific circumstances of Rozemyne's registration today”, he proposed and Justus put his own contract in front of her. It was really nothing overly restrictive, just a contract of silence.

“My, Zent Ferdinand, I do not have any objections to that even though I do not fully understand the need for that”, she agreed with another peaceful smile and signed it with a mana pen before he added his signature as well and the contract of silence went up in flames.

He then handed the mana pen to Rozemyne to sign her own contract for the library registration and took it back so that he could co-sign it. Only then did it go up in flames as well and Solange showed a knowing expression.

“It is very sweet that you are protecting her like this, Zent Ferdinand”, she noted with another grandmotherly smile that seemed to surprise Rozemyne as she looked up at his face in confusion only to then have her gaze drift beside him to the reading room behind his back.

“Ferdinand, I know you said no reading today, but surely I can take a little tour?”, she asked hesitantly and he raised an eyebrow at her.

Was it maybe advisable to monitor her first interaction with the library? Was she at risk of accidentally offering the statue of Mestionora on the second floor her mana? Would it even have any effect without a schtappe?

“If I have to drag you out, you will be banned from returning for a full season, Rozemyne”, he declared sternly and she widened her eyes at that.

“So that means 'yes'?”, she begged for clarification with hopeful eyes and he was about to deny that as she seemed unduly agitated by that outlook. But it was also such a very easy way to grant her an apparent wish at basically no cost for him apart from a few minutes of his time. What did he have to lose? He had already warned her to not collapse today. If she did then that was on her.

“Yes”, he confirmed with a smirk and was only slightly surprised to see her enter a prayer pose at that. Such piety....

“Praise be to Mestionora!”, she exclaimed and yellow lights emerged from her ring and flooded the whole library. He quickly scanned her whole body whether she was actually collapsing from that sudden outburst but it did not seem to be the case. That came as somewhat of a relief.

But she was absolutely at risk of accidentally donating mana to Mestionora's statue if just the prospect of a quick tour already led to such a display of devotion.

He looked up as Eckhart suddenly cast geteilt to his side and Ferdinand produced his own schtappe in expectation of an attack.

“Milady?”

“Time to read?”

Ferdinand peered in the direction that Eckhart was facing his shield and noticed the library shumils Schwarz and Weiss approaching.

“Those are harmless, Eckhart”, he declared and noticed how they were hopping in Rozemyne's direction.

Solange however seemed close to tears.

“My, Schwarz, Weiss, that I would ever see you activated again”, she remarked and dabbed her tears with a hastily procured handkerchief.

“They have not been active until now?”, he inquired skeptically and Solange shook her head sadly.

“The purge took their last master away, but I lack the right elements to supply them. I kept their clothes actively charged so that they were safe from being stolen, but I could do nothing to supply them again. And without them being activated their master cannot be changed either”, Solange explained while Ferdinand eyed the shumils that were now standing in front of Rozemyne.

Was that due to her blessing? That was unlikely, but what else could it be? She had Mestionora's divine protection after all....

Rozemyne was by now patting their heads hesitantly which all but confirmed her ownership of the tools to him. But that actually opened up an avenue for research as well. Those shumils were masterpieces of rather ancient magic tool design after all. Dissecting them could reveal a lot of lost knowledge.

“Rozemyne, tell Schwarz and Weiss that I am allowed to touch them”, he instructed her almost instantly while she seemed mesmerized by their fluffy fabrics and large eyes.

“Oh? Okay. Schwarz, Weiss, Ferdinand is allowed to touch you”, she said with a look that told him she did not understand anything of what had just happened. The shumils however seemed to scan him as they registered him.

While Solange then explained to Rozemyne what those tools actually were Ferdinand already traced the magic circles that were embroidered into their clothes. They were absolutely excellent. Providing them with the traditional change in clothes would also serve as perfect motivation for Rozemyne to focus more on her embroidery lessons which she did not seem to enjoy so far.

As it turned out, what Rozemyne thought of a 'quick tour' was more akin to greeting every single bookshelf and looking into every single carrel while apparently mentally filing away their suitability for reading depending on the time of the day and the distribution of sunlight.

He urged her on to remember that he had only agreed to a 'quick' tour and so they changed locations to the second floor at that. Her attention was immediately drawn by the chained books and it was fascinating to see how much concentration it took her to not dive into reading right now – as she had agreed on.

When she was at least satisfied enough to proceed from the chained books to the shelves hosting research materials from former professors he himself remembered that it had been a while since he had looked through the wisdom that was stowed away here. Maybe he could indeed now use a bit of his time just for researching again. It had been years since he had truly indulged those interests.

The most critical part came as Rozemyne spied the statue of Mestionora with the Grutrissheit in her arms. Would she be drawn to touch it? That girl was ridiculous enough for something like this.

But to his relief she only entered a praying pose and a comparatively small yellow light emerged from her ring.

If she did that every time she visited then this is absolutely a risk. But how to contain her here?

“Rozemyne, this second floor contains far too advanced books and research materials for those who have not even yet started at the Royal Academy. You should therefore stay on the first floor for the time being”, he advised. An outright ban would be too harsh and she might revert to that underlying animosity from before. The benefit of reinforcing her recent shift to more proper loyalty was quite clear.

“Understood. I will dedicate myself to reading everything on the first floor first”, she agreed with another ridiculous notion but he let it slide since it should keep her from the second floor for a long, long time.

“Now come. You need to prepare for the spring coming of age ceremony tomorrow, Rozemyne. Hurrying back to Ehrenfest will be for the best.”

To his surprise he indeed did not have to drag her out.

End of spring of his 7th year of zenthood. Day 4 after the Archduke Conference. Age 22. Rozemyne age 7. Eglantine Age 12.

“Justus, your report”, Ferdinand asked with the individual sound blocking tool firmly in hand as he entered the dining hall. He was about to wait for both of his adopted daughters to enter and intended to use the time efficiently. He had tasked Justus with attending to their first meeting so now he was eager to know how it went before he had to interact with both of them at the same time for the first time.

“Princess Eglantine's clear experience with socializing melted Princess Rozemyne's caution quite easily away. While she seemed apprehensive at first, the official part of their discussion ended with her promise to send over the wooden boards that she herself had used for studying all relevant prayers for her High Bishop position alongside a jar of rinsham since Princess Eglantine had commented on the sheen of Princess Rozemyne's hair. While Princess Eglantine seemed surprised by that development she seemed appreciative of it so I would summarize that part as quite promising concerning their general compatibility”, Justus said and Ferdinand nodded along.

Rozemyne had proven in the past already to be quick to find fitting gifts. It was good that their relationship seemed to start on a good note then.

“You make it sound as if there was an inofficial part as well?”, Ferdinand asked after letting Justus' words sink in a bit deeper. The sly grin on his retainer's face made him fear for the worst.

“Indeed. After the talk about the High Bishop duties came to a natural conclusion, Princess Rozemyne instructed the activation of an area wide sound blocking tool”, Justus reported and Ferdinand felt a headache approaching.

Why would she feel so at ease during a first meeting to discuss something that demanded the activation of sound blocking tools?

“Princess Rozemyne then briefed Princess Eglantine on socializing techniques concerning you, my Zent”, Justus continued and Ferdinand groaned at the sheer thought of that.

“Do I even want to hear that, Justus?”, he asked with a finger on his temple.

“I must admit, I found her quite insightful even though Princess Eglantine was visibly appalled by those suggestions.”

“Pray tell then, Justus, what is Rozemyne's wisdom here?”, he asked even though he was still not sure whether he really wanted to know.

“'If you find yourself torn between being 'rude' and being 'dishonest', you must choose 'rude'', was her first advice. 'Never just nod. If he does not get words he gets angry', was the second”, Justus began and Ferdinand was already exasperated.

“The first one does not really come as a surprise, but that she is actually so self-aware of that strategy that she even recommends it... I just have no words”, he grumbled which made Justus chuckle.

“'Do not comment on the food. He is paranoid about poison and if you suggest you want something different he will think you want to poison him', when I read that from her lips I had to work really hard not to laugh”, Justus commented and Ferdinand began to massage his second temple as well.

“She is still hung up on the food? To think the compromise with her chefs being allowed to provide the soup was still not satisfactory to her”, Ferdinand muttered much to Justus' amusement.

“I would not mind if you decided that her chefs may prepare a second dish apart from the soup for the meals. I am sure she has many more recipes up her sleeve”, he commented while Ferdinand glared at him.

“Any further strange wisdom that Rozemyne decided to impart on Eglantine?”, he inquired without acknowledging Justus' comment and Justus had indeed one more thing to report.

“'Do not antagonize him.'”

“That she even thought that that required being said....”, Ferdinand sighed.

“All in all not the worst kind of advice”, Justus judged which earned him another glare from Ferdinand.

Chapter Text

Rozemyne was definitely something else.

Eglantine found it exceedingly difficult to judge her character.

The initial caution from her side had been something she had naturally expected and Eglantine had tried her best to put the little girl who was now officially also her little sister at ease in her presence, but she had not expected to succeed so thoroughly over the course of just one bell.

Ferdinand's words had still rung in her head that he expected them to behave cordially with each other – something she did not mind to strive for at all – and that Rozemyne had his full support and protection – which had been somewhat unexpected given the rumors about his uncaring personality during that first meeting – but it seemed that Rozemyne was very willing to go even beyond the level of 'cordial'.

Rozemyne seemed overly eager to help her settle into her new life as the Zent's adopted daughter from the immediate beginning. She did not only promise her study materials for her new High Bishop role in Klassenberg but even shared her own insights into socializing with Ferdinand. But to say she had been appalled by her words would have been an understatement.

Was Rozemyne not aware that the Zent's attendant and scholar was with them in the room? Or was she perhaps unaware that particularly skilled scholars were able to read from the lips, rendering sound blocking tools moot if one did not pay attention to also prevent the lips from being read?

Eglantine was shortly considering to tell Rozemyne about that possibility when she was instead struck by incredulity at her soon emerging words.

She suppressed the urge to glance in Justus' direction to confirm for herself that he had 'heard' Rozemyne here.

How could Rozemyne consider rudeness a viable approach in socializing with the frigging Zent?!

Eglantine shortly considered the possibility that Rozemyne was setting her up for failure but it quickly became clear that the actual truth behind her words must have been to not lie to the Zent and that she must be lacking the experience in Grammaratur's dance to do so without rudeness. But still. She was routinely rude to him? And not only lived to tell the tale but also gain his full support? What was her secret?

Her second advice to answer his questions properly confirmed her suspicions that Rozemyne was still struggling in Grammaratur's domain and that Rozemyne was indeed looking out for her to not cause the Zent's wrath unduly. Which was kind of sweet.

That he was overly cautious of poison was something that her grandfather had told her already, but the way Rozemyne described it, it seemed they had already quite some history concerning the available food. While she had not necessarily delighted in the meals that had been brought to her current guest chambers the day before, they somewhat resembled Klassenberg's own cuisine, which was very light on the spices and instead quite heavy on the meat, well enough to be agreeable.

But what had truly shocked her was the very insistent advice to not antagonize him. Had she actually done that? It absolutely sounded like this....

Eglantine stared at her new little sister and was absolutely confused how she could have arrived at that particular kind of wisdom and had still been allowed to debut under him. And Justus was just casually reading all of those words from her lips and reporting them to the Zent without a doubt. She was not going to end up as an only child quite soon, right?

Her first lunch with Ferdinand and Rozemyne went surprisingly pleasant. She took Rozemyne's advice to heart and did not comment on the food, even though she felt like the soup deserved some kind of compliment.

Grandfather had said that the Zent had attributed an outstanding soup recipe to his daughter but he had assumed he was just propping her up with one of his own achievements. But maybe that had truly been her own recipe? One that she had fought really hard for to be incorporated in the food rotation?

They only exchanged small talk about her first day and her plans for her chambers while they ate and as they switched over to the post-lunch tea it almost felt like they were chatting for leisure. Ferdinand seemed way less guarded than she had seen him before and she began to grasp the person he might be behind his zent persona. To her surprise he seemed awfully well versed in all things that she could attribute to Kunstzeal's domain, be it whirling, harspiel or even art.

“My, Ferdinand, might Kunstzeal's blessings be bestowed in Erwachlehren's name such as that even Bluanfah might be visited by Eifersuneid?”, she asked to inquire about a potentially new whirling teacher for her and Ferdinand nodded with a slightly tilted head while smiling into his tea.

“Eifersuneid might unduly descend into the mortal realm if Gebordnung is not heeded, I fear. Erwachlehren may be called upon if Dregarnuhr permits a fruitful pattern of the weave”, he agreed and she did not see any reason to not time those practice sessions in a way that Rozemyne could participate so that she did not feel excluded there.

She smiled at Rozemyne with an expectant smile but her little sister hid behind her noble facade. Oh no, did she not want to take whirling classes with her?

She noticed how Ferdinand sighed quietly as he took another sip from his tea.

“Rozemyne, please state, in your own words, what we just discussed”, he instructed her with a divine smile that Eglantine might be tempted to call full of fatherly love but it seemed that Rozemyne did not appreciate the sudden attention on her. Grammaratur's dance might really not be her strength yet. How troublesome in her position.

“Eglantine asked about an arts teacher because she really likes to learn how to draw plants? And you refused her inquiry since you think she is too young for that?”, Rozemyne suggested hesitantly while Eglantine did her best to hide her disbelief at Rozemyne's clear lack of understanding of such a straightforward discussion.

Ferdinand seemed equally disturbed by that even though that must not have been the first time something like this might have happened. A short glance in the direction of Rozemyne's retainers revealed only a slight shock at her words. It became clearer and clearer why she felt the need to default to rude honesty when pressured.

“Eglantine indeed inquired about a teacher, but it is not for the arts per se, but for whirling specifically as indicated by her wish to put even the ever dancing spring goddesses to shame with it. However, you completely missed the mark from my answer, Rozemyne. As I, in fact, did not refuse her request. Instead I proposed to include you in scheduling those practice session so as to not potentially cause discord between you two by providing you with different teachers.”

Rozemyne nodded at that and hid behind her tea cup before she seemed to remember her own advice.

“Thank you for becoming Anhaltung for me, Ferdinand”, she added with a polite smile and Ferdinand seemed to ponder his next sentence.

“It might be advisable for you two to spend a bit more time together today. How about you meet for embroidery? Eglantine, you surely wish to start the embroidery of your new cape and, Rozemyne, Schwarz and Weiss will require a new outfit provided by you. While I am willing to help you with the materials and magic circles for the task, you yourself will have to embroider them so it would suit you well to practice that skill in the meantime”, he suggested and Eglantine found this to be a very agreeable idea. Clearly there was no hurt in showing off her proficiency in her bridal skills. And spending some time with Rozemyne over that was such a charming thought. Were Schwarz and Weiss her pets?

But Eglantine noticed that Rozemyne was not in favor. Was she opposed to embroidery or to spending more time with her?

“Why will I be the one who has to do all the embroidery, Ferdinand? That will take me ages if the pattern should be anything comparable to what they are currently wearing. I really planned to spend this afternoon in the library too...”, she said with clear reluctance but Ferdinand did not seem particularly concerned by such an open refusal. Instead he smiled at her even more openly. He must be doting on her quite a lot. Would he react to an open refusal from her side in a similar fashion? That seemed rather unlikely.

“Oh? You do not want to spend more time with your big sister today?”, he asked and Rozemyne's eyes widened slightly.

“No, that would be lovely. But can't we do that in the library as well?”, she argued weakly.

Why was she antagonizing him over her afternoon schedule? Rozemyne herself had warned her very clearly to not do that and yet, here she was. Or, gods forbid, did she not see her current action as antagonizing?

Eglantine noticed the minor snarl that had entered Ferdinand's face as he answered Rozemyne. Was he being so overly expressive so that Rozemyne could understand better what she was actually doing right now? Or was he so displeased that even he could not keep his facade in check?

“You would disturb the peace of the library with talking? Surely, somebody who wanted to be registered there as passionately as you would not break its rules in such an uncaring manner”, he proposed with slightly narrowed eyes and Rozemyne immediately shook her head.

“Of course not! The library is the Gods' gift to the world, I would never dare to disturb the peacefulness of that paradise!”, she hastily objected and Ferdinand took another contemplative sip from his tea.

“Then you should be able to understand on your own already that the library is not a place for socializing, Rozemyne”, he summarized and she nodded reluctantly. He was so patient in educating Rozemyne and arriving at his conclusions on her own. He seemed quite different from what she had been told to expect. What was real and what was just his Zent persona?

“You must also not overlook how much you can learn from Eglantine and her excellent socializing skills, Rozemyne. Surely you are able to understand that there are things you cannot learn from books but need to obtain through practice and exposition?”, he suggested and Rozemyne nodded reluctantly once again.

He considered her socializing skills excellent? Such high praise from him and only on her second day. Helping Rozemyne to improve her own skills would surely be something he came to appreciate. A convenient avenue to earn his favor then.

“I will be looking forward to sharing the afternoon embroidering with you, Eglantine”, Rozemyne confirmed with a polite smile that Eglantine returned to her almost instantly.

“It seems that Grammaratur has forsaken me for a moment here, Eglantine, could you choose a different phrasing?”, Rozemyne said hesitantly after she had stared at her with a difficult smile for maybe a moment too long.

“But of course, Rozemyne, I said that, since I was following your advice – Anhaltung's divine guidance that was bestowed upon me - I refrained from commenting on the food – Ordoschnelli did not spread her wings on Cuococalura's behalf – but that I was in fact deeply impressed by the soup – Forsente's bounty condensed into a sea so rich that even Verfuhremeer might weep”, Eglantine explained her last sentence in detail so that Rozemyne could understand and learn from it. Surely the Zent would learn of her efforts here, even though they were currently not accompanied by Justus again. There was not a doubt that every word they spoke was about to be relayed to him.

“Oh, thank you. I will forward your compliments to my chefs”, she said and smiled a very happy smile in her direction.

“My, this soup was cooked by your own chefs?”, Eglantine asked in surprise. Had she not said that the Zent was absolutely paranoid about poison? And yet, her chefs were allowed to provide one of their dishes? Was that not contradictory?

“Yes, Hugo and Ella are just so amazing, aren't they?”, Rozemyne declared with pride, clearly missing her implied question. But Eglantine was also not very eager to discuss Ferdinand's supposed paranoia without even the guise of a sound blocking tool.

“Indeed, they are truly blessed by Cuococalura”, Eglantine agreed and focused back at her embroidery. It was a bit sad that nobody else could do it for her, but it was a worthwhile task that demonstrated her bridal skills after all so she just made the best out of it.

“All these euphemisms are really hard”, Rozemyne suddenly said and Eglantine looked up from her handiwork.

“But since you grew up in the temple you must be already very familiar with the Gods, no? Surely it will come to you very easily once you become a bit more used to it”, Eglantine suggested gently, but Rozemyne frowned slightly before she stared back at her embroidery.

“It seems to me that the whole of noble society agreed on some meaning for the Gods that just ever so slightly strays from scripture. Just look at Chaocipher. She is the Goddess of Chaos, so that meaning should be simple enough, right? But somehow everybody agrees that she is somehow inherently evil? If a woman is labeled a Chaocipher I might think that she is just not very tidy. That her attendants have to clean up her messes all the time. And while that may be annoying for them it does not mean it was caused by malice. But apparently I am the only one who might think of something like this. Everybody else understands it as that woman causing deaths for a dark scheme of hers”, Rozemyne explained while glaring intently at the embroidery in her hands.

“But is it not reasonable to assume malice when the results of her deeds are so painful?”, Eglantine suggested and put her own embroidery hoop down for a moment.

“I mean, it is not like I do not understand where that notion is coming from. But this is not the impression I got from reading the texts in the High Bishop's bible”, she sighed and made a few more stitches before she put her hoop down as well.

“Is the scripture in the High Bishop's bible different?”, Eglantine asked hesitantly and wet her lips with a sip from her tea.

“Oh, absolutely. I read several editions of the bible and they all introduce new differences between each other. Basically every hundred years it seems that about ten stories are just cut out completely and just get lost. But sometimes they also add new stories to make up for that.

Did you know that up until 500 years ago the bible did not feature many stories about the spring goddesses being overly involved in romantic affairs? Sure, there were always references to growing new life, budding feelings and changing from your experiences, but this whole romance aspect seems like a much later addition.

Did something happen that involved the spring goddesses at that point of time? Or did somebody take creative liberties? It is indeed a fascinating topic, but it is utterly confusing when all the euphemisms are based on all the different editions of scripture and everybody just picks their favorites as it seems. Why not stay with the original texts for that?”, she grumbled and seemed to poke her fabric rather forcefully. But those were written in the ancient language, right? Did she mean to imply that she was fluent in it?

“Eeeep!”, she suddenly exclaimed rather adorably as she had apparently not only poked the fabric but also her finger below it.

Her attendant immediately rushed to her side to pull it away from her before she ran the risk to smudge it with blood. Eglantine was slightly bewildered to see that Rozemyne then put her finger into her mouth to stop the blood from flowing.

“Rozemyne, may I?”, Eglantine suggested gently and Rozemyne nodded hesitantly, seemingly unsure to what she had just agreed. That was just so dangerous for her if she did not ask for clarification before agreeing.

“May Heilschmerz' healing be granted”, Eglantine chanted, causing a small green light to fly in Rozemyne's direction and settle into her. She seemed surprised but took her finger out of her mouth to look at it.

“I thank you ever so much, Eglantine”, she then said with a wide smile and her attendant cast a small waschen on her hand before she returned the embroidery hoop to Rozemyne.

“Think nothing of it, Rozemyne. It is only natural for sisters to look out for each after all”, she noted with a gentle smile before she as well picked up her own embroidery hoop with her new cape.

“It is still a bit strange to think that I now have a sister. And one already so accomplished as you”, Rozemyne said quietly with a small blush. She was not feeling threatened by her, right? Surely she must already be aware how much the Zent favored her.

“Ah, but you also have three older brothers, no?”, Eglantine commented, trying to gauge her relationship to those and the past experiences she might now project on their relationship.

“...Yes, I do”, Rozemyne answered curtly. Was that not a good topic then?

Rozemyne must have noticed her curious glance as she quickly elaborated a bit more.

“I just do not know them really well, since I grew up in the temple away from them. Eckhart even left with Ferdinand for Drewanchel before I was born, so I basically only know him as Ferdinand's guard knight. My middle brother spent a bit of time as a guard knight in the temple, but at that time neither of us knew of our connection so we were just greeting each other, basically. And my youngest, elder brother, hm. I mean, I sometimes see him over dinner or breakfast, but I think mother does not want us to grow too attached to each other with the adoption and me belonging to the Sovereignty. So there is also no real bond. Do you have any siblings, Eglantine?”, she asked but Eglantine shook her head. Not anymore.

“Not in the actual sense, even though some were labeled as such. My grandfather adopted me after my parents died so I have uncles and aunts who were technically my siblings, but they are a whole generation older than me and now that Ferdinand adopted me they are also not my siblings anymore officially”, Eglantine explained and Rozemyne seemed to map her family tree in her head from that.

“That sounds complicated”, Rozemyne eventually commented and sighed with a smile before she seemed struck by a sudden thought that darkened her whole mood.

“My condolences about your parents. I can only imagine how painful their loss must have been for you”, she said with clearly forced neutrality in her voice and Eglantine was unsure whether she was maybe even currently holding back her tears.

The part about her compassion might not have been exaggerated at all.

“Thank you for your kind words, Rozemyne. It has been many years since and the pain has lessened over time, even though it truly never goes away fully”, Eglantine said but Rozemyne still seemed overwhelmed by her emotions. The more she saw of Rozemyne, the more she was surprised that the Zent accepted such unnoble-like behavior in his adopted daughter. Of course, she was still young, but already baptized and debuted.

Eglantine pondered whether she should say anything more to help Rozemyne regain control over her emotions or whether she should politely ignore her struggles and focus on her embroidery.

Maybe she was missing her mother right now as well? Visiting the Sovereignty must be quite hard for her. Was the reason for their schedule to only spend two days per week here maybe not the seeming disinterest of the Zent in his 'daughters' but him accommodating Rozemyne who still needed her mother? Was that in the realms of possibility or was she deluding herself because he had acted so unlike the rumors when it came to Rozemyne?

Eglantine reached her hand out to Rozemyne. She had always appreciated it when her grandfather had done it to her so she hoped that Rozemyne would appreciate such a familial gesture right now as well.

She seemed surprised at first and cautiously looked at her attendants but they did not raise any concerns. Of course not. They were sisters after all.

Rozemyne then extended her tiny hand in Eglantine's direction and she squeezed it reassuringly.

“Everything is quite alright”, she stated with a smile and Rozemyne's glum expression returned to a more hopeful one.

“That's relieving”, Rozemyne confirmed and squeezed her hand back.

After dinner, Ferdinand invited both Rozemyne and Eglantine to join him for mana dedication. Eglantine was surprised to learn that Rozemyne was indeed already supplying the foundation of the country with mana, even though her grandfather had relayed as much to her.

Eglantine herself had already been supplying Klassenberg's foundation so she knew what to expect from the process in and of itself. She was, however, surprised to see that Ferdinand did not even allow one of Rozemyne's guard knights to enter the room with them and she wondered whether that was just an excuse to not be called out for denying her own guard knights entry as well.

She had chosen all four of the female Sovereignty knights that had been presented to her, so she knew that if Ferdinand had hoped for one specific choice in her retinue that she was available. But alas, only his own retainers were allowed. And Rozemyne did not seem surprised by that, so it must have been the common procedure so far.

The registration process was as smooth as expected and she was surprised to see that he put her stone in the spot with the sigil of Geduldh. The other occupied ones were those of the God of Darkness, which was obviously his own, and the Goddess of Wind, which must have been Rozemyne. Had she been given that particular sigil since he saw her neither as his Goddess of Light, Water or Earth? So he saw Rozemyne neither as his future first wife, his mistress or his most beloved? Or was the system behind that a different one? It was unlikely that he already considered her his Geduldh, after all.

They entered through the iridescent barrier, Ferdinand first, then Rozemyne and then her. Should they not rank by age as princesses?

But Eglantine did not voice her questions. Maybe there is truly no ranking between them and it was just a coincident.

“Eglantine, I am sure you still remember the prayer you spoke for obtaining your divine protections?”, Ferdinand inquired while Rozemyne already went to the spot with Schutzaria's sigil. So they mapped those?

“Yes, Ferdinand, I do”, she responded with slight confusion at the sudden topic. Why was that relevant now?

“It is advisable to pray while dedicating mana, so I ask you to speak the words of that prayer together with us”, he said and Eglantine agreed immediately. He truly loved the Gods, it seemed. Was his Archbishop role maybe truly born out of piety and not out of avoidance of a Queen?

“Since you hail from Klassenberg, you will take the spot of the Goddess of Earth which corresponds to the element of your country gate”, he explained and Eglantine understood immediately the meaning behind Rozemyne taking the wind sigil. Ehrenfest was home to the wind gate, after all.

He then seemed to consider saying something else as he hesitated for a moment, before he reluctantly clicked his tongue.

“Rozemyne, Eglantine, I do not wish for a competition over who can dedicate more mana. If you reach your limit, I expect you to state as such and stop dedicating more mana at that point”, he declared and Rozemyne froze under his scrutinizing glare. Eglantine herself had quite a difficult time to maintain her calm expression as well.

“Understood”, came Rozemyne's rather tense response and Eglantine immediately confirmed her understanding as well. But had that message really been intended for her? She was more than four years older than Rozemyne who also had not been taught compression yet at the Royal Academy. Surely it was obvious that Rozemyne would be the first to reach her limit?

Praying in unison heightened the experience of mana dedication way beyond what Eglantine had expected. The mana was flowing so easily and intently into the foundation that it was a rather distracting sensation. It took her a while to notice the slight drain that indicated to her that she had by now dedicated almost half of her mana. Was Rozemyne alright? Had she ignored the Zent's very clear order?

She lifted her head slightly to glance in Rozemyne's direction but she seemed to be praying without any indication of having a problem.

What an incredible mana capacity at her age!

But to Eglantine's relief Rozemyne soon called their dedication to an end.

“I feel a slight drain on my mana, Ferdinand”, she stated and took her hands off the carpet. Eglantine followed her lead as she saw that Ferdinand also began to rise.So the slight drain was what they considered the limit? So basically half the capacity? But, did that not mean that Rozemyne had about the same amount of mana as her right now? Maybe even slightly more?

“How do you feel, Eglantine? You seem a bit drained as well”, he noted with those scrutinizing eyes fixed on her as she suppressed the shudder that was rising up inside her.

“I thank you for worrying about me, Ferdinand. I believe it will be best to rest for the rest of today”, she conceded and he nodded cautiously.

“Indeed. Pay attention that you do not overexpend your mana while dedicating. There is no benefit to doing that”, he instructed and eyed her still cautiously.

“You may leave”, he then dismissed her, but Rozemyne did not give any indication that she would leave with her. Eglantine raised an eyebrow at her as if to ask what that was about.

“I intend to become Anhaltung and Erwachlehren for her without constraints placed on us on behalf of Grammaratur, Eglantine. You may leave”, he repeated after his initial explanation and Eglantine excused herself immediately.

Judging from his words and Rozemyne's facial expression it was very clear that she was going to be lectured.

She involuntarily shuddered at the thought of receiving a lecture from him without anybody possibly being able to help.

'Poor Rozemyne', she thought as she turned her back and left.

Chapter Text

Ferdinand waited until Eglantine had left the Replenishment Hall before he turned his attention to Rozemyne who seemed quite displeased with having to stay behind.

“Rozemyne, did you try to show off with your mana capacity in front of Eglantine?”, he asked and seemed to surprise her with that question. Did she not anticipate it that he noticed when she dedicated more than ten percent more mana than usually?

“No, Ferdinand. I have absolutely no intention of overexpending ever again here, so I gave the signal at the usual point”, she claimed with a stern expression which made Ferdinand thoughtful. Could it be her increased mana efficiency from gaining more divine protections then? But was that effect truly so noticeable? All of his retainers had only ever gained two or three at the same time before, so maybe gaining seven new ones had such an impact.

“I see. Then that was only from her side”, he commented, the clear signs of beginning exhaustion on her face still very clear on his mind.

“Or that was just because you did not specify what you consider her limit, Ferdinand”, Rozemyne noted with the slightest hint of resentment in her words. Once again that ridiculous notion?

“To think you are already defending her after knowing her for only a few bells”, Ferdinand commented with a slightly raised eyebrow and an amused grin. Eglantine's socializing skills were well honed of course, but surely this fast development also meant that Rozemyne had lowered her defenses around her almost immediately.

“Is that wrong?”, Rozemyne asked hesitantly which made Ferdinand consider his answer for a moment.

“No, just unusual. You are way more trusting in her already than I expected”, he eventually decided to answer and Rozemyne tilted her head.

“Trust is such a big word here. Eglantine is genuinely nice so I do not see a reason to not reciprocate. And I mean... am I wrong to assume that you vetted her before her adoption?”, she proposed and he responded with a smile.

“Oh, so you place your trust in me rather than her?”, he teased and she raised an eyebrow.

“I absolutely trust in you considering and planning for every eventuality, Ferdinand. If you allow her to be this close, she is obviously harmless”, she stated.

She still understood so little about noble politics.

“Rozemyne, nobody is ever harmless. Eglantine's and my goals overlap and I expect her to prove quite useful in the future, but that does not mean she does not have her own ambitions as well. Do you perchance assume that I consider you harmless as well, Rozemyne?”, he proposed and Rozemyne's facial expression told him that she had thought exactly that. He chuckled at that.

“Your threat level is indeed quite low, Rozemyne. As is Eglantine's. But it is not zero. It never is”, he stated and she nodded hesitantly. Was she really able to understand that?

“But you need indeed not fear for any underhanded strategies from Eglantine at this point. I mentioned to her that you have my full support and it seems that she immediately arrived at the conclusion that an avenue to my favor is supporting you as well. I expect that she will work quite hard to fill the role of your big sister. It might even be genuine in a way”, he elaborated and was met with a disapproving face.

Was she upset about the level of manipulation? She was truly still so unaware of that happening around her.

“Understood. Thank you for facilitating this relationship by stating your support for me and for enlightening me about the intricacies at play here”, she commented rather stoically.

She really liked those illusions she had about other people, it seemed.

He was unsure whether he should really discuss the next point with her or whether he should leave that to Elvira. But maybe it was not too good to involve Elvira here while Rozemyne was outwardly just on the cusp of being eight years old. What an annoying consequence of Aub Klassenberg's scheme to erode Eglantine's boundaries so thoroughly.

“Rozemyne, when Eglantine took your hand this afternoon was that all that happened?”, he asked with an emotionless expression, not very eager to have that kind of discussion with either of his adopted daughters. Rozemyne raised an eyebrow at him.

“She squeezed mine and I squeezed hers in return, if that is what you mean. That was okay, right? Considered a sign of weakness at our age, but as sisters it is about similar to what I am allowed with Elvira, correct?”, she asked cautiously and Ferdinand nodded.

“Yes, your understanding of these matters is correct. I was merely curious, whether there might have been a short moment with a kind of pressure or pain in that”, he clarified vaguely and Rozemyne tilted her head in confusion.

“No, it felt really warm and comforting”, Rozemyne confirmed and began to eye the direction of the exit. She was not comfortable with this kind of discussion either, it seemed. But at least Eglantine did not seem to have defaulted to sending mana then. Like her grandfather had done even in his presence.

But his eyes widened with the sudden realization that both girls were currently dyed by him.

Rozemyne due to her devouring and Eglantine due to him having read her mind just yesterday. Their mana would not feel foreign to each other currently. Oh, please gods. Why were both of his daughters so devoid of shame?

Ferdinand sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. Maybe Heidemarie could have a talk or two with Eglantine to speak with her about mana-mixing.

He heard Rozemyne shuffling about and opened his eyes again. Nobody was ever harmless, after all.

“By the way, I was surprised to hear that you did not only read all different editions of the bible in Ehrenfest temple but that you apparently also compared them quite thoroughly with each other”, Ferdinand noted but Rozemyne tilted her head as if his surprise surprised her.

“The book room is not that big after all. I noticed how few books it actually held after I introduced a new organization scheme. So of course I read all of them and compared them in turn. Is that not the natural thing to do?”, she asked with honest confusion and Ferdinand smiled at her in return. That was definitely not the natural thing to do. But definitely an interesting thing to do.

The sudden arrival of an ordonnanz distracted him from his thoughts.

An ordonnanz after sixth bell was rarely a good sign.

Rozemyne eyed the little bird curiously as he tapped it for its message.

“My Zent, Princess Eglantine has left already a quarter of a bell ago. Do you perhaps wish to change locations to a place where you might be served some tea?”, Justus voice resounded and Ferdinand smiled at his diligence.

“That will not be necessary, we will be leaving in a moment”, Ferdinand responded and sent the ordonnanz back. He then focused back on Rozemyne who had not said anything since.

“I'd like you to prepare your findings, Rozemyne. Ideally, I'd want you to prepare one page per god and the different ways they are presented in each edition”, he proposed and Rozemyne nodded.

“That will, however, take a few weeks at least”, she noted and Ferdinand smiled at her.

“That will be quite alright”, he stated. If her own perception had been correct then this was still the fastest method to help her understand noble euphemisms.

Beginning of summer of his 7th year of zenthood. 2 weeks after the archduke conference. Age 22. Rozemyne 8. Eglantine 12.

“My Zent, as instructed, I led Princess Rozemyne through the archives beginning around the records from twenty years ago, but I am not sure whether it is really advisable to have her work through all those lists of names and family trees”, Justus reported to him just as Ferdinand decided to take a short break from the paperwork in front of him.

Apart from his name-sworn retainers nobody else was still there with him in his office as seventh bell had rung a long time ago.

He could feel his concentration drifting away due to sleepiness so he took one of the potions at his belt that were specifically designed to counteract such an annoying tendency.

“Oh? Why do you think so? Has she reacted in inappropriate ways?”, he inquired while he could already feel the potion taking effect. Another bell of work should still be possible like this.

“I would not call it directly 'inappropriate', but I had to get her another bag of feystones after the first bell of reading those”, Justus noted.

“Ah, yes, she said something like this when she could not dedicate as much mana as usual to the foundation today”, Ferdinand remembered her rather glum composure which had also made him refrain from holding her back to talk as she clearly belonged into bed as soon as possible.

“How far did she come with reading those records?”, he asked with a finger at his temple.

“She has not reached the civil war yet”, Justus reported.

“So she is already quite enraged about those records during 'peaceful' times? I will refrain from inviting her for mana dedication then until she is finished with reading all those records. Do we still have enough dustable feystones available?”, he mused and Justus opened his diptych to verify something.

“There are currently ten bags available. But ever since her debut the offers for sending you more of those bags to be dusted are increasing by the day. It seems people were slightly concerned about the cause of your generosity but now that it was cleared up they do not have any restraints anymore.”

“Fools. Everybody is experiencing a mana shortage and they hesitated even ever so slightly at being offered some for free out of... caution?” Ferdinand did not suppress the snarl forming on his lips and Justus chuckled.

“Ten bags should indeed be enough for the time being, please inform me if there are less than three available”, Ferdinand declared and ended his break.

The archduke conference had just been over for two weeks and the work was already so much again.

“Rozemyne, please head to bed already. Eglantine, please let Eckhart and Heidemarie accompany you on your way to the Replenishment Hall. I will dedicate mana at a later point before I go to sleep, but I would not want to keep you up so late”, he instructed as he left their post-dinner tea after merely having taken the demonstrative first sip.

He noticed how Rozemyne seemed close to objecting, but it was Eglantine who raised an actual eyebrow at him.

She was becoming more daring, it seemed. The initial plan had been for Rozemyne to be impacted by Eglantine and not the other way round.

He shot her a stern glare and that eyebrow went down immediately. He did not need two daughters who were constantly testing his boundaries. One was effort enough.

Heidemarie then later reported that Eglantine had spent the usual time inside and did not look noticeably exhausted.

So Eglantine could be trusted to dedicate alone. That was good, since he did not intend to spend any time at all with her alone inside a room. Not with those well-ingrained schemes from Aub Klassenberg so firmly in her mind.

“My Zent, may I ask you to visit the archives?”, Justus' ordonnanz resounded while Ferdinand was glaring at some new paperwork.

Was Aub Ahrensbach now instigating some of the other archdukes to pester him about the country gates? To think that all aubs of the four duchies that shared the sea connected to the water gate were sending another request to open it this year as well. At least they were a bit more creative by claiming that the sea itself was impacted by the closed gate, but wasn't the general mana shortage in the country the far more likely explanation here?

As he looked up he noticed that he had missed the shift change of his not personally assigned guard knights.

So it was already past lunch?

It was only at that point that he also noticed the tray of food that had somehow appeared on his desk. Had Justus come in with it when he had apparently skipped lunch for work?

But since he did not remember when and by whom it had been brought in he decided against eating it. Instead he took one of his nutrition potions from his belt and chugged it before he answered Justus' ordonnanz that he was on his way.

With phrasing like that it seemed that Rozemyne was causing some kind of issue right now. And that a week after she had starting going through the reports? Had she arrived at the records of the purge?

As he went to the archives with his trusted retainers in tow, he noticed immediately that Rozemyne was struggling immensely with keeping her mana in control as was apparent from the thin yellow mist that her body was exuding. Only Damuel was still by her side – her literal side as he clearly avoided being looked at by her – but everybody else seemed to have chosen a bit of a distance. Justus included.

Apparently, she had reached the purges under Trauerqual's orders.

“Activate a sound blocking tool, Justus”, he instructed and wandered into her line of sight.

“Rozemyne, if Damuel stays in range, it can occur that I will ask you to order him to silence afterwards”, he warned her and was met with a rather distant stare of her rainbow-colored eyes. He took a feystone out of his pocket to drain the excess, then a second. But he stopped as he noticed that she already had two bags of feystones in front of her. Was she at risk of overexpending while out of control?

He took a look across the room and scanned her retainers. All trustworthy per se.

With a gesture he ordered all of them to turn around and face the walls. Damuel looked at him hesitantly, seemingly unsure whether he was meant to follow the gesture as well or not.

“Calm her down, Damuel”, he ordered and massaged his temples while turning away from them. To think he had to be present for that.

The approaching headache seemed so strong that he took a potion to stave it off. That was the last one? So he had to spend some time on brewing new ones tonight as well?

He shot Rozemyne and Damuel a side glance and saw that Damuel was now kneeling in front of her to hug her and pat her back. And the thin yellow mist stopped. Meanwhile it seemed that now a growl came from her.

“Rozemyne?”, Ferdinand asked and she turned her head away from Damuel's chest and into his direction. She was barely able to suppress her anger it seemed. Damuel meanwhile seemed torn between separating himself from Rozemyne to end his pitiable situation and staying as he was, since Rozemyne had not yet released him from her own hug.

“Continue that inside your hidden room later, Rozemyne. I do not wish to see that more than I absolutely have to”, he told her and she reluctantly let go of Damuel.

“I imagine you have some questions?”, he proposed while she was glaring at the sheets of parchment in front of her.

“What kind of context is missing here? Why did they think it was such a nice idea to kill off those 1132 nobles basically over night? That was not war, that was a (massacre). And why did the aggressors suffer so many losses as well? So many of the lives lost on their side were attendants and scholars even. Not knights. What kind of madness was that?”, Rozemyne demanded to know and Ferdinand could only agree.

“The word 'madness' describes it indeed most aptly, Rozemyne. You see, with all the infighting between the princes and their respective factions a lot of lives were lost already during the civil war. That caused a lot of grief. And that grief then turned into madness. Regent Trauerqual might believe he tried his best to keep the country afloat, but when he gave in to Aub Klassenberg's sweet whispers of revenge he signed his own fate”, Ferdinand commented and Rozemyne's eyes widened.

“That Aub Klassenberg? Eglantine's grandfather?”, she asked with a forlorn expression and Ferdinand nodded sternly.

“Indeed. He had Trauerqual's ear and his own feelings of revenge were satisfied with that purge of madness. Since Dunkelfelger did not support him as Zent, only acknowledged him as Regent, he was lacking in knights and, hence, that purge was executed by a quite mixed battalion, leading to even more unnecessary losses”, he explained further and she seemed to be overwhelmed by a massive headache herself. Too bad he did not have any more potions to share with her right now.

“Then why is he still allowed to be aub? Why do you allow him to pester you? Why... is somebody that Eglantine holds in such high regards such a rotten man?”, she asked and her anger seemed to be turning into sadness.

“His son who is his heir is not that different from him. Basically everybody in his house shared his perspective on the need for this purge. So it had to be a completely new house to reign over Klassenberg if I had wanted to get rid of that mindset. And that would have led to massive faction wars inside Klassenberg. While at the same time a few other duchies were all looking for new archdukes themselves with the implied unrest already happening at their doorstep as well. Politics are complicated, Rozemyne. And surely you would not advise me to just execute everybody who was opposing me, correct?”, he ended with a smirk that made her gulp and shake her head distinctly.

“What happened to Trauerqual?”, she asked and glanced in Damuel's direction with a longing gaze. He had to keep it short. So that she could enter her hidden room and he could return to his paperwork. Even though this right now was admittedly quite important education for her, the timing was just really off.

“He abdicated without a fight when I presented him with proof of my divine mandate and now resides in the Ivory Tower here in the Sovereignty together with his wives. His sons were adopted out”, he provided, hoping to prevent her from asking further follow-up questions by providing a few answers upfront.

Would she arrive at the conclusion that he was soft at the core? Or could she by now see through a plot to conserve some of the country's sparse mana?

“Return to your chambers, Rozemyne. You need rest. And maybe a few more moments inside your hidden room”, he advised.

“Ah, but swear Damuel to silence first”, he added just as he was about to leave the range of the sound blocking tool. And while it was some rather inelegant phrasing she did so without providing any openings.

Beginning of summer of his 7th year of zenthood. 4 weeks after the archduke conference. Age 22. Rozemyne 8. Eglantine 12.

“Eglantine, at Rozemyne's recommendation I will send Waldemar and Maximilian as Inquisitors with you to Klassenberg's temple. Aub Klassenberg also already agreed to sponsoring a few knights, so your own retainers and Eckhart will be the only ones from the Sovereignty that will stay with you. I will, however, accompany you as well for the first day so that everything that requires my personal input can be discussed”, Ferdinand explained to her over dinner.

Justus had urged him to return at least for a few 'real' meals to the dinner table and since he had to discuss their temple reform schedule for Klassenberg anyway, he relented even though the food did not really draw his attention – apart from the soup which was as fascinating as always.

It had to involve a process not dissimilar to brewing to reach such a result. That commoners were able to do that....

But he quickly refocused his attention on Eglantine as she began to speak and confirm his plans.

Always so willing to agree and accommodate him. So she had learned exceedingly fast to not try Rozemyne's 'techniques'. Good.

Rozemyne herself seemed to have recovered by now from the shock of learning about Yurgenschmidt's more recent history. Lending her Justus for her dives through the archives had indeed been quite beneficial for the purpose of educating her, but it also meant that his most trusted scholar was occupied with tasks that had nothing to do with the administration of the country.

But now that Rozemyne had finished even the most recent years, and only the 'Night of the Traitor' had elicited any further reaction than a few small questions for context, Justus could return to his actual job. Maybe he could even get two bells of sleep per night again then. That was worth it even just to get rid of Justus' nagging.

Summer of his 7th year of zenthood. 5 weeks after the archduke conference. Age 22. Rozemyne 8. Eglantine 12.

“Aub Dunkelfelger, welcome to the Sovereignty”, Ferdinand said, trying his hardest not to let his headache peek through his noble facade. He was about to negotiate with Dunkelfelger for a favor regarding Rozemyne's summer ingredient after all and showing signs of weakness or pain were a clear no-go.

The knowledge that his headache potions lost their potency if more than one every two days was ingested was something that he had not minded to never know. But the work had to be done. And he could still do it with a headache anyway.

“My Zent, how may Dunkelfelger serve you?”, Aub Dunkelfelger inquired and Ferdinand smiled at him almost genuinely. Loyal supporters were truly worth their weight in gold.

“I wanted to discuss with you Dunkelfelger's upcoming Lord of Summer hunt.”

Chapter Text

“Ferdinand, this may not be my place to say, but please consider to drink less potions”, Rozemyne said hesitantly after he had asked her why she had been scrutinizing him so closely over the last few days. Eglantine was currently staying in Klassenberg to officiate several archnoble baptisms over the week so it was only the two of them in the Replenishment Hall again.

“You are monitoring my potion consumption? For what reason?”, he inquired but despite the seemingly curious tone she noticed how his gaze hardened at that.

“It is not healthy. I imagine you do the same for me, so what's the issue with that?”, she asked back with a slightly raised eyebrow. He was reeking of them even now. And she had overheard Justus saying something about him having skipped a meal and replaced it with a potion instead more than once in the past weeks. She might have been distracted by learning about all those unnecessary deaths but that did not mean she had been able to cut out everything else. This was not a lifestyle that led to old age. Which was, ironically, what the country needed with how irreplaceable he had made himself with his ironclad claim to the throne. And his admittedly more agreeable death count. At least compared to his immediate predecessors.

“I also think it is about time that you shared some paperwork with me, Ferdinand. You are obviously drowning in it and it is easier to have some of the blue priests take over my paperwork in Ehrenfest's temple than for you to get some more scholars that you can trust. Or just me not preparing my bible findings to make time for that. You know how fast I am with math, let me help you”, she then stated but his glare was unexpectedly deadly at her offer to support him.

He was obviously missing out on sleep for some time now. It showed in his whole complexion and even in the easiness with which she could read him right now. He was not in a good state. Not at all.

“How selfless and generous of you to offer your help like that”, he noted neutrally but she knew that he was being sarcastic.

“Do not concern yourself with my paperwork, Rozemyne. If you feel like you might have too much free time I can surely arrange for some more socializing or embroidery lessons”, he commented in a tone that made it clear that he was not up for negotiations.

Why did he have to be so stubborn and self-destructive in this? Could he not see how thin he was running himself? She naturally had to comply now since he had just told her to give it up, but it still made her angry. He was acting like a fool.

“I see. I will refrain from mentioning it in the future then. May your sleep nevertheless be blessed by Dauerleben and Schlaftraum tonight so that it may be deep and rejuvenating”, she said as she was about to turn in the direction of the exit only to be surprised by white lights emerging from her ring and raining down onto Ferdinand.

His eyes widened at first before his eyelids suddenly began to droop and he tumbled slightly.

“Rozemyne, what did you do?”, he growled while trying to regain firm footing but it did not seem like he was successful in that. He stumbled in the direction of one of the walls and steadied himself by leaning against it.

“Roze-”, he began again but it seemed the only thing he was still able to manage was a somewhat controlled descent to the floor where he then remained somewhere between sitting and lying with his back leaning against the wall.

Rozemyne was frozen in shock. Had she just forced him to fall asleep? Was that even possible?

“Ferdinand?”, she whispered but he did not react. She could hear his steady breathing and he seemed so calm right now that she considered it indeed likely that he was currently sleeping from her well-wishes.

Should she just... leave?

But the people in the room leading up to the Replenishment Hall were all his most trusted personal retainers. Surely they were about to question her should she emerge alone. And how long would it take him before he woke up again? Eckhart was going to beat answers out of her before the first bell was over. Ah, no, he was currently in Klassenberg's temple. But still....

And so, she decided to sit at the opposing wall and wait for him to wake up. After a while an ordonnanz arrived on Ferdinand's shoulder but since he was not awake to tap it, its message remained unheard.

“Ferdinand? Somebody sent you a bird”, she said hesitantly but he once again did not react. It did not take long for a second bird to arrive. And a third soon after. They all remained silent.

As the forth arrived just a moment later, she took all her courage and stood up.

“Ferdinand!”, she shouted at only a minimal distance away from his face but he still did not react. Could he really sleep so deeply? What if it was something else? Maybe he had a weak heart from all those potions?

Cold sweat ran down her spine as she thought about how nobody but him knew where the foundation was and how screwed the whole country was without his knowledge.

You absolute psychopathic egoist! Don't you see the risk you put everybody at with your claim of absolute power?!

But her anger was soon replaced by utter fear. And the arrival of the fifth ordonnanz pushed her to seek help.

She steeled her princess face and headed to the exit. As soon as she passed through the iridescent barrier she was welcomed by three very concerned faces. Justus was the first to speak and she took the opportunity to put her focus on anything but the fear that was screaming inside of her.

“Princess, has anything happened inside the Replenishment Hall? You have spent quite some time in there since you entered and it seems the Zent is not responding to any ordonnanzes”, he inquired politely, but she saw the doubt behind his usual kind face.

“At first I thought he only fell asleep, but he is not waking up at all”, she explained and let her worry peek through her facade.

Justus recoiled ever so slightly from that before his eyes hardened and began to search her face for answers.

“Princess, did he ingest anything prior to that? Or touch anything? Did he touch his face?”, Justus asked while staring at her intently as she tried to remember everything that had happened.

“He did not ingest anything. And he only touched the carpet of the prayer circle. However, he touched his right temple with his right index finger like he usually does”, she reported with uncertainty and Justus nodded along.

“May I see your hands, Princess?”, he asked monotonously and she stretched them out in his direction. Justus then dabbed them in several liquids and inspected their reaction to those before he cast a small waschen on them. She was also quite certain that he was now sighing under his breath at that.

“Can you go inside and pray for Heilschmerz', Flutrane's and Dauerleben's protection of him, Princess? After that, please uncork this vial directly under his nose. Return to me immediately, if that does not wake him up”, he instructed and handed her a vial with a strange yellow powder. Heidemarie and Heisshitze had not said anything yet but she could feel their scrutinizing gazes on her as she went back through the iridescent barrier.

Ferdinand was still in his weird sitting and lying position against the wall. Absolutely unchanged. Rozemyne tried once again to wake him with words but he still did not react.

“O Heilschmerz, of the Goddess of Water Flutrane's exalted twelve, please heal Ferdinand so that he may wake up”, she prayed with a bit of desperation and she was glad to see the green lights flying in his direction and settle into him. But he did not wake up.

“O Goddess of Water Flutrane, wash away everything that may bring harm to Ferdinand so that he may wake up”, she continued and more green light flew from her ring and settled into him. But he did not wake up.

“O Dauerleben, of the God of Life Ewigeliebe's exalted twelve, please conserve his life force so that he may live a long and healthy life”, she invoked with quite some urgency and she could feel a huge chunk of her mana drawn into her ring and raining down on him in the form of white lights. She began to regret that she had dedicated so much mana to the country's foundation beforehand as she was sure she should not use any more by now. And yet, he still did not wake up.

She looked down at the vial in her hand and hoped that Justus' proposal would lead to Ferdinand finally waking up. This was definitely no normal sleep.

As she awkwardly tried to reach with her hands close to his nose so that she could uncork the vial there as instructed, she tried her hardest to suppress the thoughts on the consequences of him dying here. He is just asleep. He will wake up.

Her own eyes were growing wet at the thought how this moment right now could possibly doom any- and everybody.

She did not know how fast Justus would expect the powder to act so she waited a few moments for Ferdinand to potentially wake up from that. But as the stench that was even more vile than her memory about that cursed potion suddenly hit her own nose she immediately closed the vial again. What could even wake him up if not even that stench could?!

She forced herself to remain calm. Justus had told her to immediately return to him if the vial with the powder did not work and so she put all her trust in his skills.

He had to know how to help, right? He was Ferdinand's most trusted attendant and scholar after all! He did all his poison tests for him! He had to know something that could help!

Rozemyne assumed that her whole expression had to be quite pitiable as Justus immediately hardened his whole face, took the vial out of her hands and put something that was oddly similar to a tiny hourglass into it.

“Princess, flip this time tracker around and count how often he breathes. Then flip it around again and count the number of beats from his heart. Do you know how to do that?”, he asked with urgency but Rozemyne shook her head with shame. Justus then took her empty hand and put her index and middle finger somewhere on his own neck.

“Can you feel this spot, Princess? Concentrate on the feeling at your finger tips”, he instructed and Rozemyne pushed all distracting thoughts away and focused on his pulse. And indeed she felt something like blood rushing through it. How could he appear so calm with a heart rate so high?!

She stared at him before she retracted her hand and nodded.

“Please also take a look at the color of his eyeballs, Princess”, Justus continued his instructions but Rozemyne shook her head in apprehension. His eyeballs?!

“You need to pull the eyelid up like this, Princess”, he said and showed her how to do it on his own eye before he led her hand to it as well for her to repeat it, but she was frozen at the sudden task.

“Princess, this is important. I need two numbers and a color”, he said with insistence and Rozemyne braced herself to pull at his eyelid. It did not seem to require much force at all.

“Two numbers and a color, Princess. Return to me immediately as soon as you have all this information”, he instructed her sternly as she went inside again.

Counting his breaths was the easiest part. They were calm and even and she counted eight in the short time frame that the time tracker marked. She then braced herself to touch his neck, almost expecting him to wake up from that alone, but he did not even stir from her fingertips being placed on him. It took her a few calming breaths of her own before she felt secure in having found his pulse. She then turned the hourglass again and began to count.

Sixty-two.

At least it did feel neither overly fast nor overly slow so she allowed herself to exhale with a bit of relief at that as well. Now the color of his eyeballs. That was spooky.

But she knew that Justus' diagnostics relied on her information gathering, so she steeled herself for the task and reached out to pull his eyelid away. And not even that woke him up.

Staring at his eyeball was nevertheless something she hoped she would never have to do again. She shuddered before she removed her hand and immediately returned to the exit again.

“Eight, sixty-two, white, but bloodshot”, she reported as soon as her head poked out of the barrier. Justus frowned at that slightly.

“Princess, can you try to drag him out?”, he asked but Rozemyne did not have high hopes.

“I can certainly try, but you know how weak I am”, she said.

“Maybe we should just get him a blanket and some pillows? Maybe he is really only very firmly asleep?”, she suggested against all hope but Justus only stared at her.

“Do you have any reason to believe that something could have caused such an exhausted sleep that not even the riechsalz powder could wake him up?”, Justus asked with slight suspicion and Rozemyne flinched involuntarily.

“I mean... I did wish him a good night and...”, she began hesitantly while Justus narrowed his eyes.

“A traditional good night in which Schlaftraum's blessings are referenced?”, he begged to clarify and Rozemyne nodded cautiously.

“I asked both Dauerleben and Schlaftraum to grant him a rejuvenating sleep”, she admitted and bit her lower lip to brace herself for his reaction.

“How... generous of you, Princess”, he noted cautiously and Rozemyne shook her head.

“You are his attendant, you must have seen his exhaustion as well. And his potion consumption. He must not die from something so avoidable”, she glared at him with a dare to object her words.

“I see. It might indeed be just the effects from your blessings then, a blanket and some pillows are indeed well-advised”, he commented and signaled Heidemarie to retrieve some.

“While we wait for that, please return inside and wash his hands and face with this cloth that you will have to soak in this potion, then return with the cloth to me”, he instructed further.

So he was still doubtful of the sleep explanation?

As she stood once again in front of the non-reacting Ferdinand she braced herself for this next task. It was obvious to her that Justus suspected a poisoning attempt so the removal of any potential poison was an understandable approach, but the thought that she had to wash him still made her grit her teeth.

He must not die. Everything depends on him.

So she soaked the cloth with the potion Justus had given her and started with his hands. Even though they were so much bigger than hers it was an easy enough task.

Now his face.

Rozemyne had enough experience with people washing her own sweaty face when she was suffering from a fever so she began to dab cautiously at his face like her attendants tended to do for her. But this was not to get rid of a bit of sweat. If there was really poison on his face it had to be a proper wash....

She exhaled deeply once again before she changed her approach and washed his face with the cloth more forcefully. At one point he reacted with a slight tilt of his head which made her hopeful that he could wake up.

But he did not.

As she returned to Justus with that cloth in hand he inspected it thoroughly for any potential traces of poison. Or at least that was what she assumed he was doing when he was putting more potions and powders on it. Heidemarie returned with a blanket and pillows before Justus had deemed the cloth inconspicuous.

“It might indeed just be your... blessing, Princess”, Justus summarized with still slightly narrowed eyes before he sent her inside to improve his sleeping arrangement.

It felt more than just a bit strange for Rozemyne to tug him in with the blanket but trying to wedge some of the pillows between his back and the wall was an even more daring task. She knew at that point at the latest that she never could have hoped to drag him out of the Replenishment Hall.

But he really seemed like he was only asleep. Hopefully that was really the case.

“Princess, since Princess Eglantine is currently in Klassenberg and having her return to the Sovereignty at this late bell will only give grounds to unwanted rumors, I must ask you to stay with us in this room until the Zent awakes as nobody but you can enter the Replenishment Hall right now”, Justus declared as soon as Rozemyne had returned with her report that Ferdinand had been tugged in.

“That seems indeed reasonable”, she agreed and tried to ignore the lingering atmosphere of suspicion around her.

“So, should I go inside and keep an eye on his condition?”, she proposed but Justus shook his head ever so slightly.

“No. Stay here with us and only check on him in regular intervals”, Justus instructed and gestured to a chair for her to sit on.

“Would you like some tea?”, he offered and Rozemyne hesitantly agreed.

“Shall I instruct my attendants to enter, maybe?”, she proposed as it seemed strange to her to be served by Ferdinand's attendant and not her own.

“That will not be necessary. I will take the demonstrative sip myself so you need not worry”, he said as he began to brew the tea. Implying that she feared for being poisoned by him had not been her intention. Even though it became quite obvious that she was currently politely detained by his retainers.

She fell asleep in her chair multiple times and each time she was shaken awake by Heidemarie when it was time again to check up on Ferdinand's condition. Each time then she provided Justus with an update on the two numbers and the color he wanted, but while he did not seem to get concerned by the almost unchanging values it became obvious that he grew more restless the later in the night and eventual morning it became.

“It is almost third bell now. Princess, if he is not waking up anytime soon, I will send for Princess Eglantine and both of you will have to drag him out”, Justus declared and Rozemyne nodded. He had seemed exhausted, but maybe her assumption that it was just her blessing had been wrong after all and something more sinister was going on? Had they wasted time with relying on her sleep-hypothesis?

“Then I will check up on him one last time for now”, she declared and headed through the iridescent barrier one more time.

He still lay as she had left him. Even as she addressed him by his name he did not react. His breathing was a bit less deep right now but it had changed over night as well. Justus had declared that to not be a problem as long as he was still breathing properly overall. Ten breaths in the time of one twist of the time tracker. Still in range of what she had seen over the course of this whole ordeal.

She then positioned her fingers now with practiced precision on his neck and twisted the time tracker as soon as she felt the pulse under her finger tips. His pulse was slightly faster than before. It would likely end up at eighty this time. Was this bad?

She pushed the thought about the possible implications away and focused on counting properly while staring at the time tracker. Fifty-eight. Fifty-nine. Sixty. Sixty-o-

She felt the movement of him shifting away from her just a split-second before her wrist was caught in a death grip. Reflexively, she tried to pull away but she was absolutely powerless against him. But that meant he had waken up! Praise be to the Gods!

She turned her head around to speak to him, but the absolutely murderous expression on his face made her lose all strength in her legs. The feeling of relief from just a second ago was gone in an instant.

Eeeeep! Why was his first reaction murder?!

“Ferdin-”, she began but was interrupted by the feeling of being completely incapable of movement, no doubt due to the suddenly erupting bands of light that were tying her up tightly.

In combination with her uncooperative legs she just fell on her back away from him before she was then hit by a sudden wave of water that was as disorienting as it was drowning her. She coughed as soon as it vanished again but due to her being restricted by the bands of light she could not even ball up as she wanted right now.

“You should have finished me off when you had the chance, Rozemyne”, he whispered sweetly into her ears from behind her back. She threw herself around to look him in the eyes. But it was still the absolutely murderous expression. Was that the end? Everything she fought for, gone, because she wished him a good night?

Tears streamed from her eyes at the unfairness of that all.

“Crying will not help you. Who set you up for this, Rozemyne? And when? Do not even think that I will let you escape up the towering stairway before I have all the answers”, he continued his sweet whispers and Rozemyne froze.

He thought this was going to be so bad that she was about to attempt suicide to avoid what was about to come?!

“Nobody did! I just wanted to wish you a 'good night'!”, she exclaimed but his visage was distorted into the most wicked expression she had ever seen.

“Sssssh, Rozemyne, do not lie to me. I thought we were beyond that”, he chided softly and stood up from his squatting position next to her.

“Let me see what kind of ordonnanzes I have missed”, he commented with his outwardly calm voice that made Rozemyne's blood freeze over as she lay on the floor of the Replenishment Hall absolutely incapable of further movement.

“My Zent, it has been almost half a bell since you entered with the princess. Is everything alright?”, Justus' voice resounded in the Replenishment Hall three times in a row and she saw the snarl forming on his face.

“Your execution speed is really pitiable, Rozemyne. You had so much time apparently, and yet you did not see it through. You had the whole element of surprise and all”, he mocked her openly. Why had she even cared so much about trying to save him?!

“I was only worried about you!”, she spat back and he chuckled.

“Of course you were”, he replied softly, his words dripping with disbelief as he activated the second ordonnanz.

“My Zent, may I ask when you intend to leave the Replenishment Hall today?”

“My Zent, may I ask to receive a confirmation that you have received my messages?”

“My Zent, please respond.”

“My Zent, your unresponsiveness worries me deeply.” Rozemyne had to admit that Justus' tone conveyed as much.

“Five ordonnanzes? You really should have had more than enough time, Rozemyne. If you try to kill somebody you really need to be fully prepared to do it, or it will not be worth all the effort”, he chastised her while she just shook her head and glared at him through her tears.

“Like I said! I did not try to harm you! I tried to help!”, she shouted once again and soon became the victim of his derision again.

“Sure, sure, Rozemyne. You could never harm anybody, right? Just maybe the former High Bishop when he threatened to execute your parents. Or Count Bindewald who almost killed your father and threatened your own future quite dearly. And having the whole ground erupt with scorching hot magma under Eckhart's feet was in no way meant to hurt him. Surely these were just exceptions, right?” His words were full of venom and she paled at the implications. Those had been life-or-death situations!

“Justus, prepare the circlets”, he ordered as he sent off one of the ordonnanzes. Rozemyne's eyes widened at that. Did he mean those mind-reading circlets?!

“Oh, there is no need to fear, Rozemyne. The taste of the potion has improved”, he commented sweetly before he narrowed his eyes into a hard glare.

“Unless you fear that all your lies will be unearthed. Then that reaction will be justified”, he added coldly.

“My Zent! You are awake! The circlets will be prepared posthaste”, was the response that the next ordonnanz brought and Rozemyne could hear Justus' honest relief in his voice.

“Excuse me for a moment, Rozemyne, I will return quite soon”, he promised with a sweet voice and turned away from her before he halted his steps.

“Why are there a blanket and pillows in the Replenishment Hall?”, he asked neutrally and Rozemyne regretted having ever argued for them to be brought.

“Just ask your retainers or wait till you search my memory. Not like you will believe any of my answers anyway”, she noted bitterly and she saw how Ferdinand left at that without another word.

How could he really believe that she had tried to kill him?!

“Justus spun quite the tale”, Ferdinand commented after he had returned to the Replenishment Hall.

“And it paints you in quite a favorable light”, he noted and scrutinized her reaction hard.

“However, it all hinged on the quite unbelievable notion that you were severely invested in my well-being”, he added with narrowed eyes which made her gulp. Did he want her to apologize for that or something?

“Will you drink the potion on your own or do I have to force it down your throat?”, he asked and Rozemyne knew that it was not an offer but another threat.

“I'll drink it on my own. Just let us get over with this”, she said and with some kind of gesture from his hands she was untied. She tried to stand up but her legs were still not trustworthy enough. In consequence, she just reached out her hand in anticipation of the potion and a vial with a red liquid was pushed into it almost immediately.

She uncorked it without hesitation and just gulped it down as fast as she could. He had said the truth. The taste was rather pleasant. Had he improved it as an act of kindness should the need to read her mind come up ever again?

But as she felt a slight sleepiness approach the periphery of her mind she just gave in to it. The exhaustion of the night with only intermittent sleep in a chair had been gnawing at her and she saw absolutely no reason to resist it now. She only barely registered when he put the circlet on her head.

“Rozemyne, show me everything from after we ended our mana dedication to the moment I woke up”, his monotonous voice resounded in her mind and she suppressed the urge to throw a 'You better get ready to apologize' at him before she recalled the memory of their discussion about sharing some of his workload with her.

“Why were you so keen on getting your hands on the country's paperwork?” was the question that suddenly popped up and she was at a loss for what she had actually expected from him.

“Ferdinand, I am trying to prevent you from the fate of (death by overwork). You may still be quite young, but that condition can occur basically at any age”, she explained but was met with silence from his side.

She decided to keep on recalling their discussion. He had by now declared in her memories that her help would not be necessary and for her to cease any further attempts on changing that.

“What is (death by overwork)?”, he mused loudly and she noticed how that was still a Japanese term, even in her mind.

“It is 'death by overwork', Ferdinand. Look at you as of yesterday evening, just for a moment. Your eyes were bloodshot, your complexion pale, you reeked of potions and even your movements were sluggish for you. And you were fully intent on continuing to work after mana dedication, right? That is how people die, Ferdinand. Or at least several people in my old world did.”

Rozemyne was not sure whether he wanted to discuss that further, but since he did not say anything more she continued the events of the evening.

As she wished him 'good night' she relived her own surprise at her ring suddenly drawing in her mana and white lights raining down on Ferdinand, effectively knocking him out.

“So it was really a spontaneous blessing?”, he inquired and she suppressed the urge to shout profanities at him for still being suspicious of her.

“As I said already, I was merely worried about your health and lack of sleep”, she clarified but was met with silence once again. So she just continued showing him what happened after that.

How she had waited at first to see whether he would wake up on his own and how she had grown more worried over time that he was not just asleep but maybe actually at risk.

“I see that Justus is quite trusting in you”, he commented even though she disagreed.

“We just had the same goal of saving you, he was still suspicious as heck, but he had no other avenue with you behind that barrier”, Rozemyne clarified and was met with silence once again.

She then continued with showing him how she prayed for him and as she relived the large chunk of mana being drawn by Dauerleben, Ferdinand's voice reemerged.

“Show that again, Rozemyne”, he instructed and she obviously obliged, even though she did not know why.

“I only acted on Justus' instruction as you have seen. I trusted his words as your retainer”, she commented, but Ferdinand just asked her to show it to her once more again.

“How much of your mana did that take?”

“Half of what I had left maybe? It's hard to gauge because I really do not believe that point of slight drain to be my limit”, she answered and was met with silence again. So she just continued with her memory.

“Justus really gave you riechsalz powder?”, he asked with slight incredulity. Was he easing up on the interrogation if he now allowed his musing and curiosity to peek through?

“He called it like this when I returned it, so I guess the answer is yes”, she commented and showed him the scene.

“So you really touched my eyelid”, he suddenly spoke as if he had had doubts from just Justus telling him about that.

“Not like I wanted to! Blame Justus for that!”, she immediately objected, but he did not acknowledge her defense at all.

As she arrived at the scene where she was washing his hands and face with the potion soaked cloth another question was sent into her consciousness.

“Why do you care so much for my life, Rozemyne?”

“What a hypocritical question, Ferdinand. You set it up like this, didn't you? You are the only one who knows how to access the foundation of this country and without you everybody will just die even if my and Eglantine's registrations at the Replenishment Hall still stay active somehow. In the end this will just delay things. So of course I want you to live a long and healthy life so that not everybody living in this country will turn to white sand.”

She wanted to glare at him for asking such a stupid question but since they were currently inside her own head that was not really an option.

“Oh? You are not thinking about alternatives for me?”, he asked with some curiosity and she shuddered internally.

“Noble society is rotten to the core. While I do not see you as an exception here, I am not going to run the very high risk of dooming the whole country to have you replaced by somebody who might very well be worse than you. What was up with those purges from your predecessor?!”, Rozemyne allowed herself to become enraged but calmed down as she was met with silence once again.

“I only want you to take responsibility for your plot to make yourself irreplaceable. By actually taking care of yourself.”

“And no ambitions for the throne yourself?”, he remarked casually but Rozemyne rejected the idea almost immediately.

“Putting the former commoner with otherworldly memories who cannot even hold a proper 'noble' conversation about her hobbies on the throne will surely not lead to unrest. Glorious suggestion, Ferdinand, really. As long as everybody lives I do not care for all these politics. Stop being paranoid and let me read in peace, knowing that this whole country is not at risk of being doomed from your reckless lifestyle.”

She knew that she was awfully rude with those thoughts but in her mind it was clear that he was the one being ridiculous with such a hypothetical ambition.

She was met with silence once again so she just continued with her memories of the night. How she was woken over and over again, how she then checked his breathing, pulse and eye color before she returned under Justus' watchful eyes again.

As she finally arrived at the scene were he suddenly woke up she was appalled at the sheer vividness as she relived those very fresh memories.

“You may stop”, his voice declared but she could not focus on anything else. The despair at his unjust accusations, the feeling of powerlessness, the feeling of drowning. Everything crashed over her and she only noticed that he was gone from her mind as she slowly opened her eyes again and found herself lying on the floor. With a pillow under her head.

She noticed that he was watching her. Quite intently.

“Rozemyne”, he began and she stiffened immediately at his words. Had she been too rude for his liking? Did he still consider her 'good night' an assault despite what he had seen?

“I acknowledge that my initial reaction was misplaced. The notion that you actually wish for my well-being is quite unexpected. I apologize for mistaking your care for an assault and threatening you in consequence”, he said with a calm voice while Rozemyne suffered from a processing error.

Had he just apologized? Of course, nobody was here to witness it, but... he had said 'I apologize' to her. He was actually capable of forming those words?!

She stared at him for a moment before she remembered that it was rude to do so.

“I will gladly refrain from bothering you with that in the future if you start to take proper care of yourself”, she responded stoically and he nodded.

“I will instruct Justus as such as this is indeed not a task I would want to fall to you”, he confirmed with slightly narrowed eyes as they headed to the exit. So they were on the same page here? Good. Very good.

“More diverse food instead of that potion abuse will help in that regard as well”, she noted quietly before she stepped through the barrier and out of the Replenishment Hall with him just a step behind her.

She noticed how his retainers were scrutinizing her in the split-moment before Ferdinand emerged behind her. He apparently returned the magic tool circlets to Justus who seemed somewhat amused by that.

“Anything we should be aware of, my Zent?”, Justus inquired as he stored the circlets away into a box and closed the lid.

“Rozemyne's compassion extends even my way, it seems. I have agreed to giving her less reason to burden herself with worry”, Ferdinand stated and Rozemyne focused intently on her polite princess face.

“Use today to rest, Rozemyne. I expect you in my office tomorrow for your share of paperwork”, he stated which made her widen her eyes involuntarily. Had she convinced him to stop overworking himself and accept her help? And all that had taken was him thinking she had wanted to kill him....

“I am looking forward to that, Ferdinand”, she simply stated and looked expectantly at the doors, but they stayed firmly closed.

“One more thing, Rozemyne”, he said and took a step closer to her. He was now within reach. And he used that to actually hover his hand over her eyes. Way too close!

“May you sleep well with Schlaftraum's blessings”, he chanted and the white lights before her eyes were the last thing she saw before she fell asleep while standing. She barely noticed the hands that were steadying her or Ferdinand stating “A really interesting spell.” as she fell firmly into Schlaftraum's domain.

Chapter Text

“Justus, prepare the circlets” were the words that broke the spell on him.

Just hearing the sound of his lord's voice after that anxious night brought Justus close to tears and Heidemarie and Heisshitze naturally seemed to share his relief as he could hear their long sighs in unison with his own.

“Finally”, Heidemarie whispered while Heisshitze pressed his lips together and shook his head as if still in disbelief.

“We got no time to waste. We finally got orders. Heidemarie, retrieve the circlets”, Justus spoke with authority but he noticed how jovial his tone truly was. He was safe!

It was only a few moments later that his lord emerged from the Replenishment Hall, but Justus could not believe his eyes.

Rozemyne had reported that the color of his eyeballs had improved over night, but Ferdinand's whole complexion could only be described as rejuvenated.

After a whole night full of stress and worry relief now flooded Justus' whole body.

He immediately began to check his vitals himself while Ferdinand scrutinized him with a hard glare but did not disturb the process.

“How do you feel, my Zent?”, Justus inquired as he stopped listening to his pulse and instead cast several minor diagnostic spells on his wrists that all returned rather inconspicuous.

“I am feeling fine, but I have no idea what she did to me inside”, Ferdinand said neutrally.

“She must have left the Replenishment Hall at some point. Why did you allow her to enter again?”, he inquired with a scrutinizing glare but Justus just picked up a wooden board with the events of the night and handed it to him.

“She spent roughly half a bell inside before she emerged, informing us that you might have fallen asleep”, Justus began and Ferdinand scoffed at that while he glanced over the written text.

“At her own doing by weaponizing a blessing from Schlaftraum”, he commented and Justus nodded.

“She said it was Schlaftraum and Dauerleben”, Justus supplied absentmindedly and poked Ferdinand's finger for a few drops of blood that were then caught in a vial that already contained a potion that could detect rarer poisons. To his relief there was no reaction.

“My Zent, the princess seemed honestly concerned about your well-being so I instructed her with first-aid measures and countermeasures in case you were poisoned. She only revealed that blessing as a possible cause after the first steps were already done”, Justus explained while Heidemarie returned with the box containing the circlets.

“And then you had her get my vitals four times a bell the whole night?”, he asked with a raised eyebrow as he read all the data points and Justus nodded.

“You believe she did not just invent a few numbers and used the time inside to finish whatever plan had prompted her assault?”

“My Zent, I did not expect the princess to be so invested in your well-being either despite her high levels of compassion. But her fear that something different than her blessing was the cause for your collapse seemed very genuine.”

“Hm. Her memories will definitely reveal what was going on”, he declared and took the tool with him back into the Replenishment Hall.

When Rozemyne emerged first, unbound and apparently unharmed, but noticeably displeased behind her facade, Justus wondered what might have occurred during the viewing of her memories. Especially since his lord seemed quite content with the outcome.

So he had decided to not see it as an assault? That came as a relief. A treasonous princess would have meant a lot of additional work at this point.

His declaration that Rozemyne was to be allowed to work on the country's paperwork came as a surprise, but the sudden display of Schlaftraum's blessings bestowed upon her was even more unexpected for Justus. Heisshitze steadied her as she began to lose all tension in her body before her retainers were allowed to enter to return her to her chambers.

Their faces spoke of all the questions they had, but his lord just shortly lied to their faces how she had overexpended her mana again, collapsed and had reacted badly enough to a potion that he had then decided against moving her until she was more stable.

Justus was surprised to see that Ferdinand decided against visiting his office then and instead returned to his own chambers with all three of them in tow. They were greeted by Lasfam who seemed concerned at first since they had not returned in the evening but quickly recovered as he as well noticed the improved condition of their lord.

The gesture with which Ferdinand reached for their namestones came only a short moment before Justus felt the mana that was overwhelming his whole body with its might.

“Nothing of what I will now tell you can be shared in any capacity with anybody else. Do not discuss it afterwards.”

As the order was one he had received many times before and had never felt any difficulty in adhering to, Justus immediately embraced his lord's command and he could see everybody else doing the same.

“Rozemyne noticed that I was close to a condition she called 'death by overwork' and might have actually prevented it from occurring with several of her blessings. Surprisingly, she did so not due to her general aversion of death but to save my life specifically. Even though her compassion rather exclusively stems from her understanding that this country will return to white sand upon my demise. Amusingly, she is even convinced that there is no one better than me as a potential zent. She is in a rather interesting spot loyalty-wise”, he summarized his findings and was met with stunned silence.

“That is rather unexpected considering the way she always opposes you, my Zent. Is she firm in that position? And was it impacted by forcefully viewing her memories today?”, Heidemarie asked and Justus shared her doubts. Rozemyne had looked quite displeased afterwards.

“She does not really mind sharing her thoughts, which might not come as a surprise by now, so she does not feel truly disturbed by that”, Ferdinand commented while he walked in the direction of his hidden room. She might be the only noble in the whole country with that attitude.

“However, I cannot deny her very raw feelings of being betrayed by my initial disbelief in her words and quite forceful reaction from waking up with her hand at my throat”, he noted and passed through the door to his hidden room.

“That must have been quite traumatizing for her”, Heisshitze noted quietly and nobody disagreed. With her hand at this throat to sense his pulse it was more surprising that she was not absolutely cowering in fear afterwards.

“We might only see the fallout from that after she wakes up”, Justus remarked, thinking back to her first day in the Sovereignty and her delayed reaction to understanding how she had threatened Damuel's life with her recklessness.

“Being surprised by Schlaftraum's blessings might further strengthen a negative reaction upon waking”, Heidemarie added while Ferdinand departed from his hidden room with a rather large box in his hands.

“Most likely, yes, but I do not wish to be surprised by that myself ever again so Rozemyne experiencing it for herself should make her aware of that”, he commented as Justus rushed over to help him with the box.

“The diagnostic circle, my Zent?”, he asked as he opened the box and discovered the large embroidered cloth and the four distinct feystones in it.

“When Rozemyne followed your instructions to bless me with Heilschmerz, Flutrane and Dauerleben, her prayer to Dauerleben stood out. Despite her divine protection from him, he took an amount of mana from her that I would deem necessary to save somebody from the brink of death. I wish to see how close I came”, he explained coldly as he set up the magic circle on the floor.

“There is also the fact that her blessing from Schlaftraum and Dauerleben put me into a sleep so deep that not even the riechsalz powder could wake me”, he continued before he suddenly glanced at Justus.

“Maybe I should first verify whether I still react to that”, he mused and Justus immediately handed him the vial with the powder from his belt. As Ferdinand uncorked it, he immediately recoiled and closed it again.

“As I thought. My sense of smell is not impacted. That sleep might have just been as deep as one inside a jureve and maybe for a reason”, he commented and returned the vial to Justus.

“Did Princess Rozemyne elaborate on that 'death by overwork' that she suspects as a risk for you, my Zent?”, Heidemarie inquired and turned away as Justus and Lasfam began to undress their lord for the effect of the diagnostic circle to be read on his back.

“It seems related to the lecture she gave about stress and those 'heart attacks', but from her own rather vague understanding it might have been more of a 'brain attack'. She seemed to assume a combination of lack of sleep, lack of proper nutrition, overuse of potions and stress as a risk of death independent of age or general physical state”, Ferdinand summarized.

“Where does this strange wisdom come from? Is it really wise to trust in something so unheard of?”, Heidemarie asked with clear doubt while effectively speaking to a wall. Justus was curious about that as well, but he knew that their lord had provided that information if he had been willing to share it, so he did not really expect an answer now.

“A strange corner of Mestionora's library that she entered under Schlaftraum's guidance. Her (physics) stem from the same place and have proven themselves true and useful in cases where mana was not involved.”

Nobody said a word at that explanation before Justus broke the silence with a surprised cough.

“This was not just an euphemism with which you wished to avoid further questions from Drewanchel?”, Justus asked curiously when he and Lasfam had finally removed all his clothes apart from the undergarments.

“Ah, correct, you were in the room back then. No, I was neither lying to them nor speaking overly euphemistically. You remember how Rozemyne herself only corrected the notion of having sneaked into that library? She did not deny that she had visited, and her skills of using euphemisms was even worse back then”, Ferdinand noted while he crouched down to activate the magic circle. He went silent and held his breath so that Justus could study his flow without interruption which he immediately did.

The faintly shimmering mana veins of his lord's mana system seemed even larger than during his last checkup more than a year ago.

So he had worked on his compression even further? Had he constantly optimized the visualization technique that Rozemyne had sold to him almost two years ago?

But as he studied the flow further he noticed some very minor abnormalities. And the pattern of those was even stranger.

“There seem to be crystals the size of sand grains in your mana system, but they do not seem to cluster close to your mana organ. They are more spread out, almost comparable to sediment in a river”, Justus stated after inspecting his lord's mana flow most diligently.

“So I was not on the brink of death yet, but a few days away from it”, Ferdinand commented and stepped down from the circle.

“But this is your condition after you were bestowed a generous blessing from Dauerleben, no?”, Justus noted as he put a simple robe over his lord's shoulders.

“Factoring in that blessing makes it a bit harder to gauge. But yes, Rozemyne might have indeed saved my life even tonight”, Ferdinand mused and everybody in the room stiffened at that.

But it was not because their own lives depended on his own survival. They were not reacting out of fear for themselves, but out of true fear for him.

“How do you wish to proceed?”, Heidemarie inquired with a forced neutral tone as far as Justus could tell. She was always so diligent in trying to anticipate his orders and fulfilling them without requiring even a word to be said. That she now asked for his direct input was a clear sign for Justus how shaken she must be feeling.

“I am considering a jureve at this point. It feels unnatural to only rely on an unprecedented blessing for recovering from a near-death event. How long would you estimate me to be submerged, Justus?”, he inquired with his finger on his temple.

“If the distribution of those mana crystals was more typical, then two days maximum. But I have never seen something like this before and I do not know how it might impact the jureve”, Justus admitted and Ferdinand now massaged both of his temples.

“So it might be up to a week. The Lord of Summer hunt will be in approximately two weeks, so the only risk would be somebody noticing my absence if things came to a halt”, he mused but Justus did not really see any reason to even debate the use of the jureve.

“My Zent. Imagine the consequences if you do not recover properly from this near-death condition. Surely there cannot be anything more important than ensuring your health”, he pleaded and earned himself a glare.

“I heard that train of thought quite often today already”, he noted begrudgingly and Justus tilted his head to convey the implicit question of “when?”.

“Rozemyne's mind was quite preoccupied with that notion”, he elaborated before he sighed. That 'rather interesting spot loyalty-wise' seemed to be rather firmly on his side.

“Is there any reason to find fault in that?”, Justus inquired politely which earned him another glare but no denial.

“What is Rozemyne's schedule for the next two weeks?”, Ferdinand inquired and Justus consulted his notes on that to confirm their contents.

“Tomorrow in the afternoon she is scheduled to return to Ehrenfest, but she has only appointments of minor importance which she should be able to postpone easily. The week after that there seems to be a major meeting with her Gutenbergs to derive a more streamlined setup for new workshops since they only managed to return recently, more than half a season later than even their most generous estimates”, Justus summarized and Ferdinand tapped his temples.

“Did all of them return?”, he asked and Justus double checked his notes.

“All but one. One of the adult gray priests was bought. Ehrenfest's High Priest signed the contract while the Princess was in the Sovereignty”, Justus supplied but Ferdinand waved his answer away.

“So no major issue to be expected on that front”, he commented.

“Have her spend the next week or until I end the jureve on checking the trade agreements that involve the lesser duchies. Invite Eglantine back to the Sovereignty for mana dedication as Rozemyne must not enter the Replenishment Hall alone”, he declared and they all nodded.

“But will she really be able to work after waking up? Her mental condition after stressful events was so far rather unreliable”, Heidemarie noted and Ferdinand massaged his temple again before he went to one of his bookshelves where he quickly picked one particular tome.

“Tell her she may read that one in peace”, he instructed without elaborating further. A book about feyplants? That might indeed be to her liking. But was that truly enough if she felt betrayed by him after effectively saving his life?

“My Zent, may we be allowed to indulge her a bit further to assure her in her decisions that led her to save your life?”, Justus inquired and was met with a raised eyebrow.

“Such as?”, his lord asked suspiciously.

“Granting her more influence on the food would both serve as a constant reward as well as a clear demonstration of your trust in her”, Justus suggested which made Ferdinand scoff.

“I'll leave that to your own discretion since it will only lead to an increase in your own workload in the end”, he decided and Justus was surprised that he did not have to argue any further for that. The only concern with that proposal was the increased workload for the customary poison testing? Rozemyne must have convinced him quite profoundly of her will to keep him alive and in power then.

“You all should rest as well. Do not overwork yourself while I recover. You might be at risk from that as well”, he noted and let his eyes wander over them. A nap for a bell or two might indeed be in order after that night.

Lasfam shook Justus awake gently to inform him about the arrival of an ordonnanz. As soon as he tapped it, he identified it as Auguste who was informing him that Rozemyne had woken up.

“The Zent has asked me to deliver a book to the Princess, I therefore intend to visit her chambers in a quarter of a bell”, he informed her in response and tried to gauge how much time had passed since he had laid down for that nap.

“Sixth bell has rung just recently”, Lasfam informed him as he made himself presentable enough.

To think that her obsession for books had not even stopped at the doors of the library of an actual Goddess. Since his lord had viewed her memories it was out of the question that he must have at least caught glimpses of that place as well to make that claim. So Mestionora had allowed her to enter while Schlaftraum facilitated that? Had it then been Dregarnuhr's divine guidance that had placed her into his hands? Maybe even to prevent his 'death by overwork' which might have truly doomed the whole of Ventuchte's weave?

Justus could not shake the thoughts about how involved the Gods might truly be in their life.

If the Zent was bestowed one book from Mestionora, what did that make of Rozemyne, who had been apparently allowed to visit at least part of her library?

With the feyplant tome firmly in his arms Justus went over to Rozemyne's chambers. Her guards let him in without any delay and he saw her sitting at her desk, writing something as it seemed. She looked up as she noticed his approach and the look in her eyes was full of caution but also determination.

This girl... she had managed to knock out the Zent with just a few words. When she prayed the gods answered. And she was not even aware of the power she wielded by that.

But the Zent was aware. That he had felt threatened enough by this little girl with neither physical strength nor schtappe to see her accidental blessing as an assault was proof of that.

“Good evening, Princess. I am glad to see you have awoken. The Zent wished for you to be given this book with the explicit instruction that you 'may read it in peace'”, Justus said while he handed the tome to Auguste who then placed it on Rozemyne's desk after only a short inspection.

He could see Rozemyne torn between the joy of acquiring a new book and the disbelief at his words.

“That is very nice of him, you may express my thanks”, Rozemyne said cautiously as she eyed the book and quite obviously restrained herself from immediately diving into it.

“May Verbergen's shroud be shortly placed over us, Justus?”, she then inquired with slightly narrowed eyes and Justus immediately handed her attendant an individual sound blocker to be checked before it was forwarded to her.

“What is his condition? He did not dive directly into work again, right?”, she asked and Justus was surprised that that was her most pressing question.

She really wanted to know him safe. That he had not endeared himself personally at all was apparently not an issue as she seemed capable to understand his worth for the proliferation of the whole country independent of his impact on her own hardship. That mindset absolutely had to be fostered, not destroyed.

“He is well, and currently resting”, Justus stated simply. All the details of his condition and his current jureve were topics that he had been sworn to silence about but even this short summary seemed to bring Rozemyne great relief.

“Then I might indeed be able to read that book in peace”, she sighed and smiled a bit more sincerely.

“I also wished to express my own gratitude for your efforts tonight, Princess”, he said and was met with a complicated expression peeking through her facade.

“It is nice to hear that from at least someone”, she stated wistfully and handed him the sheet of paper that she had been writing on when he entered. He took it but did not read it yet as he was too preoccupied by trying to gauge her state of mind.

Of course. A direct expression of gratitude and acknowledgment of her saving his life had been unlikely. But she obviously felt hurt by the lack of that. Something to remedy immediately.

“Princess, I am sure you are aware by now, but the Zent is exceedingly hard to read and he rarely explains himself beyond what he deems absolutely necessary. But this does not mean that he does not acknowledge your proven loyalty. In fact, as of today I am allowed to offer you full control over the recipes that will be served here. Even though, as the one who has to conduct all the necessary checks, I'd like to ask you to introduce new ingredients only gradually over time.”

Her eyes widened as she did not seem to have anticipated any of his words. She actually seemed at a loss for words herself now. That this came as such a surprise made it awfully clear that she had not been expecting any kindness from the Zent at all. No doubt a result of the harshness of the education she had received from him.

Justus decided to take a look at the sheet she had given him to allow her more time to process his words.

“Healthy living practices, Princess?”, Justus asked surprised as he read the list titled as such which seemed to draw her back to the present.

“He promised to instruct you to keep an eye on him, but I wanted to make sure you do not overlook something you think is normal”, she said and bit her lip.

At least two and a half bells of sleep.

At least two days per week without any potions.

Diverse food that does not get replaced by potions.

At least two pitchers of water per day in addition to any tea.

A break every two bells, preferably outside.

And the list continued for a while longer.

Nobody outside of his name-sworn retainers might have ever cared for his lord so much. And she did not even like him.

The moment Justus headed to the door to leave her chambers, he heard her calling for Damuel to 'join her'. Justus was not surprised that she needed help to sort her thoughts as she had still seemed confused by his offer for her to take control over their food.

But Damuel was a good choice for that. His calm and deescalating tendencies were actually perfect as a confidant for somebody as emotional as the Princess. Considering the rather forced circumstances of his name-swearing Damuel seemed to have grown quite into that role.

Chapter Text

Thanks to Rozemyne's graciously provided study materials for her High Bishop duties, Eglantine did not really feel out of place during the ceremonies she started to conduct but she did feel oddly out of place in the temple itself.

It touched her that her grandfather had decided to offer fifteen of Klassenberg's own knights to ensure the temple's peace during the hastily enforced temple reforms that Ferdinand had been advocating for a while now. Even though she was not sure why so many knights were required to keep almost as many blue priests in check. Blue priests were not particularly known for posing a threat to anybody with a schtappe.

Fortunately, the former High Bishop, who had been demoted to a normal blue robe upon her own inauguration, did not seem to hold any grudges from that. Or he had a better noble facade than one usually expected from a priest.

However, the deeper she dove into the temple paperwork the more she began to understand why her grandfather had paled at the idea of her becoming High Bishop. A lot of those things listed in the seemingly endless reports were more than just questionable. They were outright depraved.

The Inquisitors that Ferdinand had assigned to Klassenberg seemed quite used to all those things she stumbled upon and more than once merely thanked her for bringing it to their attention. She did not dare to ask for all the details of how they took care of the issues.

But Eglantine could tell how the atmosphere changed over just a few weeks from strained and almost fearful to somewhat relaxed and more like a business. And it was also a lot more work than she had expected from the way Rozemyne had described it. Not that Eglantine truly minded. Working hard for Ferdinand's beloved temples was supposed to be a fruitful endeavor.

But if she did not have to overhear yet another noble asking for the new procedure on how flower offerings might be acquired it could be finally peaceful.

Being spontaneously summoned back into the Sovereignty had come as a surprise for Eglantine but not necessarily an unwelcome one. She had to admit that she had underestimated the amount of work that just a few archnoble baptisms had added to her already quite large workload as she had agreed to her grandfather's request to officiate those.

In contrast to the mass baptisms of the commoners, archnoble baptisms were held individually and every ceremony included almost never-ending socializing for her.

Everybody seemed to angle for a good relationship with her, now that she was officially a princess of Yurgenschmidt and it was notably exhausting to deal with all those people day after day. And a summon by her adoptive father was the perfect excuse to get a break.

Even though she was not sure why he was calling her back with only one day of advance notice. When she asked Eckhart whether anything had happened that she was not aware of he merely shook his head. Since he always seemed a bit grumpy she was not sure yet whether he showed additional signs of concern or not.

As they emerged from Klassenberg's dormitory they were welcomed by the Zent's head attendant and scholar, Justus. But while he guided them back to the living quarters where her chambers had finally been finished he did not explain at all why she had been summoned.

Did Ferdinand intend to inform her directly of the reason?

But instead she did not receive any immediate summon so she spent her time settling further into her chambers until dinner time came. Eckhart had separated himself from her, surely to return to Ferdinand's side now that he was not in Klassenberg's temple with her, but she did not mind either way. Having Ferdinand's personal retainer assigned to her was an obvious display of respect and appreciation for her, so it was nice to have him at her side in public. But in private she did not really care for an additional male guard knight who basically just stood outside her chambers anyway.

However, contrary to her expectations, Ferdinand was not there for dinner either. Only Rozemyne, her retainers and Ferdinand's retainers were in the room.

It was only as the first course was about to be served that Justus deemed it acceptable to ease her confusion.

“Princess Eglantine, thank you for heeding the Zent's request to return to the Sovereignty for the few days that he will be occupied with a personal project. He asked for you to take his place during mana dedication so that Princess Rozemyne does not have to enter alone”, he explained and Eglantine raised a polite eyebrow at him for that.

She was here merely to supervise Rozemyne during her mana dedication? A task that she actually already exceeded at? What a strange pretext. And what kind of personal project could that be? If he had the leeway for something like this now after he had looked so stressed before, should he not maybe consider taking a rest?

But Eglantine was aware that she would not receive any answers from Justus. But if she was to dedicate with Rozemyne alone afterwards she might get her answers then.

So instead of focusing on the unachievable she paid more attention to the exceedingly temptingly smelling food now in front of her.

“Oh, did the menu change?”, she inquired as she tried the salad dish that was not dressed in the typical gravy but something far lighter.

“A courtesy of Princess Rozemyne's own chefs”, Justus supplied and Eglantine almost choked on her food but she recovered gracefully enough to not make an unspoken accusation out of her surprise.

Rozemyne had gained full control over the food? Just what kind of battle might she have missed? Could that correlate to him now focusing on a 'personal project'? But how? No, that just had to be an illusion in Dregarnuhr's twisted weaving.

Each and every dish, while seemingly still consisting of the same ingredients as all her meals in the Sovereignty had incorporated before, was such a feast, she had to restrain herself to not overindulge.

But really, what had happened?

“Rozemyne, may I ask you to become Anhaltung for me?”, Eglantine said as they both rose from their kneeling position after the mana dedication had ended.

Rozemyne stared at her for a short moment with a neutral expression before she sighed with a more apologetic smile.

“If you want to know what happened to Ferdinand, then I am not sure whether I am allowed to say anything about that, Eglantine”, Rozemyne said and shook her head sadly.

So something had indeed happened to Ferdinand.

“I see. I will then refrain from asking anything about that as I do not want to put you in such a difficult position”, she immediately relented with a smile and Rozemyne seemed already thankful for that.

“But maybe you can enlighten me how you managed to gain full control over the food? It was absolutely delightful and I cannot understand why you were ever barred from that privilege beforehand when your chefs are obviously so blessed by Cuococalura”, Eglantine said but that somehow made Rozemyne's smile twitch ever so slightly.

“I believe, I could convince him finally that more diverse and tastier food is just better. And using my recipes taught by my chefs is the most efficient way to implement that change”, Rozemyne offered as an explanation but Eglantine was not sure what to think of that.

That sounded like several of the steps which led to this 'convincing' were left out. But putting pressure on her here might not be the best way.

“My, I will have to thank you then, for winning that particular fight against him”, Eglantine praised her little sister but it seemed that a certain exhaustion was mixed into her expected reaction of pride.

“The food is really great now, isn't it?”, Rozemyne agreed rather forced before she sighed almost sadly.

“Is everything alright, Rozemyne?”, she asked hesitantly but Rozemyne only bit her lip instead of answering. Eglantine reached out to squeeze Rozemyne's hand but she felt a faint repulsion as she did that.

“Bwuh? Why did that hurt?”, Rozemyne asked and looked at their hands with slight confusion.

“My apologies, a matter of habit for a squeezing of hands as family”, Eglantine hastily tried to explain but Rozemyne did not seem to catch on. Maybe it was for the better that she was not aware of what mana-mixing was. Even the one practiced among family. Of which she had known none when she grew up in Ehrenfest's temple.

But while Eglantine thought about that she suddenly noticed that this issue should have occurred a few weeks ago already, when she must have done it already – as she had done ever since she got her ring – during their meeting over embroidery.

At that point Eglantine had been freshly dyed in Ferdinand's colors so by now her own colors must have returned to normal which made it understandable that the reaction was different, but only if Rozemyne had been dyed in his colors during that first meeting as well.

Had her mind been read as well? Her debut had been three weeks earlier, had he done it then? As a last check before he could not remove her anymore without expending great effort? How cold and calculating was he?

“Oh, no problem then. It stopped hurting almost immediately so no harm was done, I guess”, Rozemyne confirmed but there was still so much left unspoken between them.

It was at that point of uncomfortable silence that an ordonnanz arrived that landed on Eglantine's arm. She tapped it reflexively and was surprised to hear Justus' voice.

“Princess Eglantine, Princess Rozemyne, is everything quite alright inside the Replenishment Hall? Do you require help? Or do you wish to change to a location where tea might be served?”, he proposed and Eglantine stared at the bird while she considered how to answer.

Just how closely were they monitored? Were they not allowed to spend even a bit of time outside his watchful eyes? Could she refuse him without raising suspicion?

“Can you activate that magic bird, Eglantine? I will answer him”, Rozemyne proposed as she seemingly noticed her hesitation and Eglantine did not object. In fact, she was glad that Rozemyne absolved her from that undesired task.

“Justus, everything is fine, we are just talking but we don't need tea”, Rozemyne said and Eglantine sent the bird back with a raised eyebrow.

She had just refused to acknowledge his implicit demand that they leave the Replenishment Hall? How bold.

“He is just worried that I might have collapsed, I think”, Rozemyne explained as she noticed her raised eyebrow. Right, he had said something like this as the reason for why she had been called back. To make sure that Rozemyne could dedicate safely. But could that really be all?

“... Eglantine, did you mean that? As family? For whatever you wanted to do with that squeeze?”, she asked quietly after another pause and Eglantine smiled at her genuinely.

“I did. You are my cute little sister. It does not matter to me that we are not related by blood, Rozemyne. We might be still getting to know each other, but I really already see you as family”, she confirmed and a small smile reappeared on Rozemyne's face.

It was almost relaxing to see somebody showing their emotions so openly still.

“I feel like I have so much to learn from you, big sister”, Rozemyne said a bit helplessly.

“My, just tell me what I can help you with”, Eglantine offered, unsure whether she was referring to embroidery, whirling or just Grammatur's dance.

“You are such a master at socializing. You have barely met with Ferdinand and each and every interaction I see between you is just pleasant and peaceful. How do you do that, Eglantine? How can I learn that skill?”, Rozemyne asked almost desperately but Eglantine was taken aback.

Rozemyne thought she was good at socializing with Ferdinand? When all their 'discussions' so far were so meaningless that they could have been handled as an exchange between attendants?

“Rozemyne, we are just exchanging polite pleasantries. I am much more impressed that you managed to build a meaningful bond with him. Meaningful enough that he trusts you with his food”, Eglantine refused to acknowledge her observation and was met with a wide-eyed expression of disbelief.

“Eglantine, I seriously doubt that he is capable of forming bonds”, Rozemyne's words were so quiet they were almost inaudible.

Was she just not aware? Was that even possible? She did not seem to be lying... but still.

“Rozemyne, if not for the ages not adding up, I might believe him to be your true father just from the way you are interacting”, Eglantine said and immediately regretted her words as she saw Rozemyne's intense reaction. Her whole body was frozen and her eyes quickly flickered between her usual golden tone and the whole rainbow concentrated into them.

She had messed up. This was apparently not a good topic for her.

“Rozemyne? I apologize. I did not mean to say it like that”, she tried to reach her little sister but she seemed to not react to any words at all as she tried to keep herself under control as well as she could.

Eglantine tried squeezing Rozemyne's hand again – and that brought a small reaction from her – but in the end it had no real effect. Her breathing was way too fast, this was not good. Should she lead her outside to let her retainers take care of that? Was that even possible now? Or did she have to carry her? But surely her retainers would not appreciate it if she just carried her out in such an undesirable condition.

How could she reach her little sister if not by words?

Giving in to a hunch she embraced Rozemyne and hugged her in an attempt to calm her down. And those little arms hugged her back.

Much to her relief, Rozemyne's breathing grew calmer by her efforts even though it now seemed to turn into quiet sobbing. She just held her for a while until Rozemyne herself showed signs of wanting to be let go that she honored almost instantly.

“Rozemyne, I apologize. Being adopted out must be hard if you still have parents of your own”, she tried to console her little sister who by now seemed to work quite hard to stop crying.

Was that her true emotional side? If that was the case then her polite facade was indeed already quite admirable. Rozemyne just had to hide more than the typical noble, it seemed.

Eglantine decided against diving deeper into the topic about their relationship at this point. Instead she had to make sure that it was not so obvious that Rozemyne had cried when left alone with her as she did not fancy the idea of having to explain that in detail.

But while a waschen and a short prayer to Heilschmerz was nothing too strenuous for her, it seemed that Rozemyne did not appreciate the waschen spell cast in her face at all. Even though she had warned her to hold her breath and Rozemyne seemed to have managed that.

Something to keep in mind with her then.

It was only at her fourth day back in the Sovereignty that Ferdinand graced them with his presence for lunch.

Whatever he had done for this 'personal project' it must have been the right thing. He looked so well and rejuvenated, nothing like the last time she had seen him when she had been close to asking him when he had last slept. But of course, she had not dared to ask him. Not after that glare he had shot her.