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Chapter Text

Sleeping Beauty in the Library

Once upon a time, there was an Aub and his wife who were worried about not being able to have children. The Aub was from the lowest class in a medium territory, and his wife was from a large territory. The wife fell in love with the Aub at first sight and married him, but the difference in their magical powers was so great that they were unable to have children. Everyone noticed this, but it was not an atmosphere where they could speak out.

Tired of his terrifying wife, Aub went to Adalgisa's villa as part of a male social event. He met the beautiful princess there and was enchanted by her graceful demeanour. The princess was also attracted to Aub's gentlemanly demeanour, and the two met several times after that. A beautiful boy was born to the couple.

When Aub brought the boy home, naturally, the lady was very angry with him. Her rage was so intense that it seemed to Aub as if the goddess of chaos had possessed the lady. Even after many years, the lady stubbornly refused to acknowledge the child as the heir to her territory. As a last resort, the child was renamed Fernestine and raised as a girl.

Preparations for Fernestine's baptism have begun. All of the clothes, underwear, and furniture must be replaced with girl's clothes. Justus, the attendant, is very busy. Justus, the loyal one, dressed up as a woman to serve as the chief attendant of Fernestine, who was to live as a woman. Gudrun was born.

Madame Aub compromised by making Fernestine an "adopted girl," which was disadvantageous for an heir, but she was not at all convinced about treating her as an heir. She ignored the busy aides preparing for the baptism ceremony.

"Lord Gabriele, we only have seven dishes to welcome the Great God. What shall we do?"
"It would be fine to invite only seven people! How presumptuous of us to invite the Great God for such a child! How ignorant of ourselves!"

After being harshly criticized by Madame Aub, the aides shrugged their shoulders and apologized, saying, "I'm sorry. It would be a big loss for Lord Gabriele." After that, the day of the baptism ceremony arrived, leaving it entirely to the aides.

On the day of the baptism, Fernestine was very nervous. She had to walk alone among the many guests and complete the ceremony without being recognized as a boy. However, Fernestine had no need to worry at all. Fernestine was originally a beautiful boy with a beautiful face and flowers that suited him well, but just by growing his clear light blue hair and putting on a dress, he transformed into an unparalleled beauty.

The baptism proceeded smoothly, and with the assistance of the temple chief, he received the blessings of the Seven Great Gods. The power of water to purify impurities, the power of fire that cannot be cut by anything, the power of wind that does not bring disaster, the power of earth that accepts everything, and the power of life that never gives up. Then, just as the Goddess of Light had finished her blessing, an intruder appeared.

"What kind of thinking are you, not calling me!?"

The Goddess of Chaos. She has the same power as the Seven Great Gods, but she often causes trouble, so even humans shun her. This time, when they found out that they could not invite one of the goddesses because they did not have enough tableware, they unanimously decided to exclude the Goddess of Chaos.

"What an ungodly person! I will not make such a person happy. I will make a prophecy! Fernestine, you will prick your finger on a needle and die in the winter when you are fifteen years old. Leave this land young, without ever marrying anyone! Hohohohoho."

The Goddess of Chaos disappeared, leaving behind a nasty laugh. The hall was in an uproar, the Aub was pale and panicked, Gabriele was pleased with the turn of events, and the aides were on the verge of fainting at their terrible blunder. Fernestine herself froze at the unexpected event. Then the voice of the God of Darkness rang out, "Calm down."

"Son of man. Chaocipher has done a terrible thing. I cannot remove all of her curse, but I will give you my blessing to weaken it."

The God of Darkness recited the words of the talisman in a loud voice.

"After you prick your finger with the needle, you will fall into a hundred years of sleep. Black thorns will surround you to protect you. No one can break the thorns. After a hundred years, when the protection of the thorns is lifted, you will be awakened by a kiss from a person of the opposite sex who truly loves you."

The God of Darkness was quite forgetful as he spun the words of the talisman, completely forgetting that Fernestine was actually a man and that due to certain circumstances, she would continue to live as a woman.

After the baptism ceremony, Fernestine, who was a twisted and cold child because of her birth, thought.

"It's too late now that I'll never be able to marry anyone because I'm cross-dressing, and with Gabriele bullying me, I doubt I'll even live past the age of fifteen. Being cursed won't make much difference."

Having made up her mind, Fernestine devotes herself to her hobbies. Her (temporary) hobby is talking about new knowledge. Especially since she went to the Noble Academy, she has become absorbed in making magical tools and improving healing potions. At the same time, she compresses her magical powers vigorously, and with a strong determination like conviction, she does not allow any suitors to appear. Now there is no one whose magical power is a match for her. Worried about her daughter (temporary), the Aub calls out to Fernestine.

"Fernestine, don't you think it's okay for a female lord candidate to stay overnight in the civil servant building to study?"

"The teacher is a woman, so there's no need to worry, Father. Besides, public reputation is of no concern to me, as I'm not tying the stars with anyone." After being coldly told by his daughter (tentative name), whom he loves, the Aub secretly cried in a hidden room, wondering if she was going through a rebellious phase.

Still, she is a cute daughter (tentative name), so he wants to let her do as she likes until she turns fifteen while he's still alive, and he spoils her to his heart's content. He removed all needles from around Fernestine, and even banned her from embroidery when she turned fifteen. Perhaps because he knew of her love, Fernestine had been sending her extremely effective, bad-tasting healing potions and handkerchiefs embroidered with magic circles since she was a child.

And at the Noble Academy, Fernestine was considered a "man-hater," and only Fernestine and her father knew that many female students secretly called her "big sister" and adored her. Maybe he'd be happier not knowing. Justus, or Gudrun, was secretly laughing in the background.

By the time he was in his senior year at the Noble Academy, Fernestine's cross-dressing equipment boasted protection on a par with Schutzaria's shield. She had a voice changer disguised as an ornament around her throat, gloves that made her hands look smaller, she was taking medicine to slow her growth, and she had researched hairstyles. She had long ago mastered speech and movement. Thanks to the medicine, she was tall for a woman, but on the small side for a man.

And she had also prepared all her defences for the hundred-year slumber. When she turns fifteen, she plans to shut herself away in a secret room and devote herself to research. In the secret room, she won't be pricked by needles or attacked by surprise.

Entry restrictions based on the amount of magical power in the hidden room, traps set by magical items, the magical items of her aides that she reluctantly made into shumil shapes, a walking fortress made of cruel amulets, poisons, numbing potions, healing potions, antidotes, and Jureve. What on earth are they fighting against?

But Fernestine is desperate, saying, "Being kissed by a man is disgusting. It will only bring misfortune to both parties." She believes she was sensible enough not to bring the instant-death poison.

At her father's begging, "Please," she makes a brooch that can enter the hidden room. With this, she can enter the hidden room regardless of the magical power limit. Her father's love for her gave in to her parental love.

And so, in the winter of her fifteenth year, Fernestine finished her exams early at the Noble Academy and quickly retired to the civil servants' building. The only exception to this is the occasional visit to the library to look for materials.

After the graduation ceremony, she heads to the underground stacks of the library with two of her aides, knowing that this will be her last time seeing them. Then, mysteriously, she finds another hidden door in the stacks. Fernestine is very curious about this door. She doesn't hear the magical tools in the library muttering curiously, "Fernestine, where are you going?", and for some reason, she stumbles into the room. She has already been cursed by the Goddess of Chaos.

When she stumbles into the room, she finds a spinning wheel for spinning thread. A woman with a hood pulled down over her eyes is spinning the wheel.

"Hey, you beautiful girl. Would you mind sharing your magical power with me? If you do, I'll give you this thread."

The thread, which at first glance appears whitish, shines with divine rainbow colours of all attributes depending on how the light hits it. It is the finest material. "If I embroider this thread on a cloak, it will be a wonderful protection," Fernestine thought, and for some reason she nodded to the woman's request. She thought it was the right thing to do. She didn't question the unnatural situation.

"Place your finger on this weight and give me a drop of your blood. I need the magic power contained in the blood."

Fernestine was a little taken aback, and hesitated, not being able to prick her finger. She had been avoiding needles since her baptism.

"Don't worry. This isn't a needle. Nothing will happen if you prick yourself. I will get your magic power, and you will get this thread."

That seemed natural to Fernestine, and she finally pricked her finger on the weight. The blood ran down her slender fingertip and soaked into the thread, which quickly turned red. Then Fernestine's body tilted unsteadily.

"Fufufufufu. You hateful Fernestine who humiliated me. You may rest here forever. As you wished, I have made it so that only those with greater magical power than you can enter here."

A gentle voice joyfully spun a curse. The red thread wove itself and turned into a luxurious bed.

"In recognition of your efforts, I will give you a bed. It was so amusing to watch you struggle. Ufufufufufufu..."

The Goddess of Chaos vanished like mist, leaving only her voice behind.

A little later, black thorns covered the Noble Academy Library. These thorns were blessed by the God of Darkness. Only Fernestine, her aides, and the librarians were in the library at the moment. The thorns entangled them inside as well. When they touched the thorns, they also fell asleep. A hundred years of sleep.

Suddenly, the Noble Academy, whose library was covered in black thorns, caused an uproar. Even when the Central Knights use black spells to gain the blessing of darkness and attack, the thorns do not budge. Of course, they are thorns made with the power of the dark god. Aub, who is pale with the situation, goes to Zent to explain. After hearing the situation, Zent shows pity and understanding, saying, "It is inevitable as it is a curse from the goddess of chaos." So Aub presents a brooch.

"This brooch was made with Fernestine's magic. It may be needed to release the child from his slumber in a hundred years. Please keep it in the care of the royal family, who are the administrators of the Noble House."

The brooch is originally meant to open a hidden room, but Aub, who knows about Fernestine's fortress-like amulet, presents the brooch as a countermeasure against the amulet. There are so many things he cannot bring himself to say, such as the fact that he is actually a man, that it makes his stomach churn.

In a hundred years, neither he nor Zent will be alive. I thought I would take it to a much higher level. In a hundred years, lying about one's gender may not be punishable. Above all, the fact that the princes had fallen in love with Fernestine's beauty and had repeatedly proposed to her cuts Aub's heart.

And so Fernestine fell into a long sleep at the Noble Academy.

＊＊＊＊＊
Afterword
When I was thinking of the story, I remember Ferdinand naturally appearing and falling asleep, not realizing it until halfway through and then struggling to make it Rozemyne, thinking, "No, that's no good."

I wonder what kind of difficulties Rozemyne will overcome (bitter smile)
The first thing I have to think about is her family environment.
In the original, the prince has a mother who is like Veronica. It looks like Veronica will have an opportunity to appear.

Chapter Text

Sleeping Beauty in the Library 2

A hundred years have passed since then. The black thorns have grown little by little, and now the white walls of the Noble Academy Library are completely invisible, turning into a pile of black thorns.

The kingdom has also changed a lot in the last hundred years. Until now, Grutrissheit was obtained from the library, but since it was no longer possible to enter the library, the king and his aides at the time used all their knowledge to create the magical tool Grutrissheit and passed it on to their children. The Grutrissheit that was created was an inferior version with limited functions. The king had never regretted Fernestine falling asleep more than he did at that time. Because she was a genius at creating magical tools.

If this continues for two generations, the royal family will gradually relax. Inheriting magical tools was easier than obtaining Grutrissheit from the library. The third king became king without hearing the specific method of obtaining Grutrissheit.

And then, tragedy struck. Immediately after the third king's death, the heir prince inherited the Grutrissheit magical tool and climbed the stairs to a much greater height. To prevent the magical tools from being misused, they were returned to the depths of the Noble Academy's treasure vault upon the death of their owner.

The king who created the magical tools at the time thought, "By that time, Grutrissheit will be possible to obtain again and magical tools will become unnecessary," and "It would be less confusing to unify by saying that Grutrissheit is in the Noble Academy." It will not be told, but the king who had struggled to obtain Grutrissheit and create the magical tools secretly thought to himself, "It's fine if his descendants have to work hard too!"

The royal family, which had not been passed on in this way, caused a commotion like the subordinate gods of the fire god running wild. They searched the palace thoroughly, but they could not find Grutrissheit. Just to be sure, they even opened the queen's closet, but they still could not find him. The royal family was in a desperate situation. That was the current situation under King Traokvar.

As the king suffered nightmares every day, he remembered a fairy tale he had heard as a child.

"Once upon a time, many people who lived in an area covered with white cloth and white sand prayed to God. One day, they met a white man. The white man was a friend of God, and he gave them a magic branch so that their prayers would reach God.

When they held the branch and prayed, God appeared. God was pleased with their prayers, and began to give them blessings in return. The person with the strongest magical powers among them received a copy from God and became king.

And so Yurgenschmidt was created. A library was built on the spot where the king received the copy. People gathered around the library, and it eventually became a capital city. Everyone lived there with smiles on their faces.”

The King had an idea: 'The library of the Noble Academy!' But he couldn't leave the palace often, and he couldn't let his work slow down. The King was in a difficult position, so he called the first prince, Sigiswald.

'Sigiswald, could you go and look for Grutrissheit in the library of the Noble Academy?'

'I understand. But, father, the library is covered in thorns and no one can enter.'

The King nodded and looked at his aide. 'Take this brooch. It will surely be useful.'

'What is this?'

'This is the brooch of the cursed princess who sleeps in the library. It's been exactly 100 years this year, and the princess will wake up. If you can love the princess, please give her a kiss and lift the curse.'

Sigiswald visited the library of the Noble Academy with all the brooches of the attributes. The hero sets out. When they reach the thorns, his attendants try to attack them to clear a path, but the thorns do not cut at all. So Sigiswald holds up his brooch, and the thorns move left and right to open a path. Sigiswald and his party follow the path that has been created and enter the library.

As they enter the library, small things come hopping towards them. They are the library's magical tools, the Shumils. When they tell them, "I'm looking for Grutrissheit," they lead them to the underground library, saying, "Grutrissheit, this way." Sigiswald is relieved, thinking, "That's easy."

In the square in front of the underground library, people who appear to be librarians are sleeping, trapped among the thorns. Then, when they enter the library, another Shumil suddenly says to them, "Sigiswald, you're not enough to pray, you're not enough to cry." They try to ask him what it means, but they don't get the point.

"Where is Grutrissheit?"

"Up ahead. Sigiswald, I can't pray enough, I can't shake it. I can't make a picture."

"Huh?"

While he was thinking, Shumil and the others brought a stone tablet written in an ancient language. It may have instructions on how to obtain it, but sadly, Sigiswald couldn't read it. He couldn't read it himself, and his aides couldn't enter here. The prince borrowed a wooden tablet and ink from the reading room on the first floor and copied it himself.

Tired of copying, he looked up and noticed a door at the back. When he asked Shumil and the others, "What's there?" they just kept repeating, "Curse, it won't come out," and "Kiss." Looking inside, he saw Fernestine with beautiful light blue hair lying on a red bed. Sigiswald sensed Bluanfa's arrival at a glance, and said, "I must be the one to break this beautiful woman's curse as the next king," and entered the room. Since he had the brooch, he was able to enter the room regardless of the magical power limit.

Surrounded by Fernestine, Sigiswald blushed at her beauty. Her long light blue eyelashes, lightly coloured lips, slender limbs, and the fact that she was a little tall were all that caught his attention, but other than that she was perfect. Seeing the flower goddess, Effloremme, Sigiswald felt it would be a shame to end it with just a kiss. He was also annoyed by what Shumil and the others had said.

He glanced behind him, but he couldn't see his aides. He had confirmed that they couldn't hear him when he entered the library. He didn't think that she would defy him as the first prince after waking up, but he didn't want to let the beautiful girl leave him, so he covered Fernestine with his long sleeves and reached out to her, hoping to hasten the arrival of winter before she greeted the Supreme God.

"Hmm?"

He felt something strange when he touched her chest. Sigiswald was suspicious, but when he saw Fernestine, he became convinced.

"A man?"

He backed away to the wall with such force that it made a thud. Sigiswald turned pale, and his spirit suddenly withered, and he fled the room where Fernestine was. He copied down the instructions for obtaining Grutrissheit, which was written in an incomprehensible ancient language, and then quickly left the library.

After Sigiswald and his friends left the library, the thorns returned to their original position and the path disappeared. Another mistake by the God of Darkness. Now only the bearer of the brooch could enter the library. However, in the last hundred years, the library functions necessary for students have been moved to another building, so no one will be inconvenienced. Except Fernestine and her friends.

When they returned to the palace, the king asked them how it went, and they replied, "There was information written in an ancient language, and the princess was asleep."

"And did the princess wake up?"

Sigiswald's smile deepened as the king asked excitedly.

"Something was in the way, and I couldn't enter the room."

"...I see."

It would be strange not to go in and try kissing her, and it would be humiliating to say that he kissed her and didn't wake her up. If he were to honestly tell her that the princess was actually a man, he would have a dark history of having been captivated by a man, and he would have to be scolded for how he knew she was a man. Sigiswald quietly acted as if nothing had happened.

The disappointed king also thought that Grutrissheit was more important than waking up the princess. He decided to put the issue of Sleeping Beauty aside for the time being and focus all his energy on obtaining Grutrissheit.

And so Fernestine was left alone for a while.

Chapter Text

Sleeping Beauty in the Library 3

It was around the same time that Sigiswald discovered Fernestine. A young girl who grew up in a temple was adopted by the lord right after her baptism. Her name was Rozemyne. She had navy blue hair blessed by the God of Darkness, golden eyes like the Goddess of Light, and was a very adorable little girl who loved books too much. She had a secret. In fact, she was a commoner girl who had memories of her past life.

Her adoptive father was a very kind and good person, but her adoptive mother Veronica was a strong-willed person. Fernestine's parents adopted a child from her stepmother Gabriele's family after Fernestine fell asleep, and their descendants have continued to be the lord's family to this day.

Veronica, who had the same personality as Gabriele, detested Rozemyne. This was because Rozemyne had more magical power and was more talented than her eldest son, Sylvester. However, because she was a woman and frail, making it difficult for her to carry out her duties as a lord, she was mostly ignored and only harassed at tea parties. She didn't act like an adoptive mother at all.

Even so, after her baptism, the room given to Rozemyne was one without a hidden room. To be precise, it was a room that had been used by a certain princess long ago, and it was decided that it would be preserved for generations until she returned. The princess's magical power was registered in the hidden room, and it was not allowed to be changed.

For nobles, the hidden room is a place to calm their mind. With her environment changed and the hidden room sealed away in a difficult place, Rozemyne became more bedridden than before. She has already been on the verge of death several times. She herself was unaware of it, but each time this happened, the magical power in the center of her body gradually solidified. Normally, the best thing to do in a situation like this would be to drink some Jureve, but being raised in a temple was a lie to deceive the world. In fact, Rozemyne, who is of commoner descent, has no relatives who are nobles. She can't even compound it yet. There is no Jureve to drink. She had no choice but to make do with healing potions and get by day to day.

About three months after the baptism, Veronica, the Aub's wife, came to her room and offered Rozemyne a ``very effective medicine.''

``As your adoptive mother, I am worried about your frailty. This is a secret healing potion passed down through the Aub family. It's in a magic tool that stops time, so the quality is fine. Come on, drink it.''
``Oh, thank you.''

You can't refuse a cup offered by Aub's wife unless you have a reason. A worried aide had checked it for poison, so it must really be a healing potion. But I didn't want to see Damuel choke after a sip of the poison, his eyes rolling back afterwards. Here you go, the potion is offered to me, and just bringing the bottle to my mouth brings tears to my eyes with its strong pungent smell. It has the offensive power of an onion. I prepare myself, ahhh! I gulp down the contents in one go, but Rozemyne groans and covers her mouth.

"Lady Rozemyne!"
"Are you okay!?"

Her aides are panicking, but Rozemyne has no time for that. The potion is too bitter for her childish tongue to swallow. It really is a taste that makes you want to rise to a great height. Holding back the tears and nausea that threaten to overflow, I swallow the potion, exhausted and exhausted. Veronica was satisfied with seeing Rozemyne suffering, and said, "There's still plenty left," as she left a bottle full of healing potions and laughed loudly.

Huh? Are you feeling much better?

"Are you okay? Here's some Felizine juice."
"Thank you. The taste and smell are awful, but it seems to be the most effective potion I've ever taken."

The potion tasted like an otherworldly poison, but it was extremely effective. I may need your help again, so I'd like to ask the Lieselotte to put this potion in the time-stopping magical device. With sparkling eyes, Hartmut began to analyse the potion, saying, "For Rozemyne!" Rozemyne was taken aback by his enthusiasm.

This continued for about a year. Rozemyne became less likely to fall asleep than before. And from that time on, she began to have strange dreams.

In her dreams, she always saw a beautiful woman with light blue hair and golden eyes. Rozemyne secretly calls her "Sky Princess." Sky Princess stands alone in a black space, reading a book or playing a harspiel. She can hear the other side, but she can't hear her. She would love for Rozemyne to see the book, and the song sung by her soft, beautiful alto voice is enchanting and dreamy, but she worries that "she always seems lonely and alone."

I wish we could read books together and sing songs. Schlertraum. I want to talk to her in my dreams. And please let me read books to you too!

"Pray to God!"

That night, when she went to sleep at the same time as usual, Sky Princess was standing in the usual black space as usual. However, what was different from usual was that Sky Princess was staring intently at her. Rozemyne mustered up her courage and decided to call out to her.

"Good day, Sky Lady. I'm Rozemyne. May I join you?"

For a moment her eyes narrowed as if assessing something, then she gave a sociable smile.

"Yes, please. Come over here."

Sky Lady replied in a soft alto voice, and when she realized that Rozemyne was too small to climb onto the chair by herself, she escorted her elegantly and smartly. It was so cool that Rozemyne felt like she was being treated like a princess by a female lead in a certain musical, and her cheeks blushed.

"Welcome, Lady Rozemyne. Are you referring to me as the Sky Princess?"

"Yes, that's right! Your bright blue hair like the sky and golden eyes like the sun make me think of a beautiful spring afternoon. It's strange, I've always dreamed of you."

At first, the Sky Princess was wary, but after a few conversations, she realized that Rozemyne was just a child with no hidden meanings, and enjoyed a long-awaited conversation. It is rare for the Sky Princess, who is naturally very wary, to accept someone in such a short time.

"How long have you been here, Sky Princess?"

"There is no sense of time here, so I'm not sure. Is it a year, two years, or even longer? I found myself here, and since there was nothing to do, I played the harspiel and read books."

Thinking about the Sky Princess' loneliness, Rozemyne shed tears. Startled by the sudden tears, Sky Princess pulls out a white handkerchief from the empty space and kneels beside Rozemyne's chair.

"What's this? A lady shouldn't shed tears in public."
"But Sky Princess... huff."

And then, letting her emotions take over, she hugged the Sky Princess tightly. Sky Princess stiffened when she was hugged. Normally, nobles don't interact like this, even between parents and children.

"From now on, I'll come over to play every night! Sky Princess won't be alone anymore. I won't let you be alone!"

Feeling the warmth of the hearth-like warmth of the young being crying for her, Sky Princess felt an emotion sink into her heart. Ah, she was lonely. The Sky Princess covered Rozemyne with her sleeve, and feeling her heat, quietly spilled a single tear.

"...You should have a bit more discretion."

Not understanding what the Sky Princess meant when she tiredly admonished Rozemyne, who had finally stopped crying, Rozemyne tilted her head. What discretion was needed in embracing a female Sky Princess? Rozemyne thought that being a noble was difficult.

***

Since then, they have had many dream rendezvous. This dream space seems to be recreated based on Sky Princess's memories. If she says she wants to read a book, Sky Princess will bring out a book she has read, and if she says she wants to drink tea, Sky Princess' favorite tea will be brought out. Sometimes she will play the harspiel, or compose a new song and sing together.

Whenever Rozemyne comes to her in a dream, Sky Princess always treats her to delicious tea and sweets. She will talk about the happy and sad things that happened that day, and Sky Princess will scold or advise her, and sometimes she will hug her tightly. These were very precious times for Rozemyne. Before she knew it, Sky Princess had become like a hidden room to her.

"But why are you so small? It's been almost half a year since we first met, and you don't seem to have grown at all."

Before she knew it, the tone of their conversation had become more casual. Sky Princess was a bit of a foul-mouthed princess.

"...I'm actually a commoner's devourer. I'm weak, so I've been close to death many times, but I don't have a medicine called Jureve that I can take, and I can't move unless I keep a certain amount of magical power in my body."

Rozemyne decided to tell the truth. Sky Princess's face changed color and she asked about her health one by one. She was puzzled and tilted her head.

"...Sky Princess, don't you make fun of me for being a commoner?"

"Whether you're a commoner or not is irrelevant to me, who lives here.... It's only natural to worry about you like family, isn't it?"

Sky Princess remembered what Rozemyne had said before. Rozemyne's heart warmed at Sky Princess' words, and she laughed and cried, saying, "I'm so happy." She also revealed that she had memories from her past life, and he pinched her cheek with a good smile and said, "Just how much are you hiding? Tell me everything," forcing her to confess many things. Why on earth am I being scolded? I don't understand, Rozemyne thought.

After starting over and considering various things, she discovered that there was indeed a mass of magical power in the center of Rozemyne's body, which was making her weak.

"You should make a Jureve right away."
"... Should I make it?"

"I know this is harsh to say, since you haven't yet entered the Noble Academy, but it's best to make a Jureve using materials that you yourself have collected. Once you get used to handling magical power, you can use materials that others have collected, but I think it's difficult to use materials from others right from the start."

"But I've never done any synthesis either."
"That's okay. I'll teach you. You can experience the feeling of synthesis in this space. Think of it as preparation for the Noble Academy."

As it's almost the year you will enter the Noble Academy, the switch in the Sky Princess has been turned on. It's time for intensive training in studies, magic, and synthesis.

"Now, let's start by creating a mount."

"What! You promised to let me read a book today!"

"If you pass the test, I'll let you read it. Let's get started!"

The Sky Lady's teaching method was Spartan. No normal child would be able to endure it. Rozemyne was truly glad that she had memories of her past life. After that, she was given a reward book to read, called a textbook, and woke up in high spirits.

At the same time as experiencing such a strange dream, strange events occurred in reality. The morning after learning how to register magic in the hidden room, she woke up and stared at the hidden room next to her pillow, thinking, "There's no way it can open," and as she held her hand over it to play, the magic was absorbed and a pale blue magic circle appeared, and the door to the hidden room opened. Rozemyne and her attendants could only stare in amazement at the sight of the red light from the ring circling the magic circle.

"What should we do, Brunhilde? The secret room has opened."
"As expected of Lady Rozemyne! An unprecedented feat is fitting for Lady Rozemyne. The red light shining from Lady Rozemyne's delicate fingers is divine..."
"Clarissa, please stay quiet."

After discussing it with her aides, it was decided that this would be kept a secret between Lady Rozemyne and her aides, so that no one would find fault with her.

***

"...That's what happened. It's strange."
"...I see. So the secret room belongs to the princess, right?"
"Yes, it is."

Unsure of what the Sky Princess was worried about as she furrowed her brow and tapped her temple, Rozemyne tilted her head.

"Let's check the attribute. Touch this."

"What kind of magical tool is this?"

"You don't need to know yet."

When Rozemyne touched the magic stone on one side of the magical tool that the Sky Princess had taken out, the seven-coloured rods arranged along the magic lines like piano keys all shone brightly.

"...As expected."

"Sky Princess, what did you find out?"

"Do you remember the attribute from the baptism?"

The Sky Princess didn't answer Rozemyne's question, but instead asked a question.

"I didn't really understand it. There was a faint, dim light of various things, and if I had to say, it was like a strong yellow wind?"

"That's only natural."

"Huh!?"

Seeing Rozemyne sigh and jump up in anxiety, the Sky Princess smiled softly. Rozemyne, who was a little weak to the Sky Princess' smile, fell silent.

"It's okay. I should say that it's convenient for you at the moment. You just need to remember that you have all the attributes."
"Really? But why?"

"I don't know? I heard that praying to God increases your attributes, so maybe God heard your prayer."
"Then I have to thank God. Thank God!"

Sky Princess smiles as she prays to God without realizing that she's been tricked. Sky Princess is a little, no, quite secretive.

"So, when I entered the secret room, I found a lot of materials and medicines. But they belong to the princess, so I can't use them freely, right? I found a lot of materials that I used in Sky Princess' classes, but I’m still depressed."
"They belong to the princess who has risen to a much higher level, don't they? I think materials only have meaning if you use them."

Sky Princess warns Rozemyne, who is puffing out her cheeks while resting her chin on her hand, that she is not beautiful. As usual, Sky Princess was thinking with her fingers pressed to her temples, but she narrowed her golden eyes and glanced at Rozemyne.

"...I guess so. Was there a Jureve in the hidden room?"
"I think there was."

"Hmm. Then borrow a little bit of Jureve for emergency use. You and the princess are probably compatible. I think it will be just as effective as your relative's Jureve. Also, borrow one of each of the seasonal materials used to make Jureve. I think it will be more suitable for you than materials collected by others. You should compound it immediately."

Sky Princess' goddess-like smile and boldly encouraging her to steal something made Rozemyne take her aback. She knew Sky Princess had a pretty good personality, but this record has been updated.

"What?! If I steal it, won't I get in trouble later?"
"Don't say such nasty things. You’re just borrowing it. You can just return the same materials later. Your need to make a Jureve is more urgent than the princess who is far above you. Rozemyne, you should immerse yourself in the Jureve right away. Do you understand your condition?"

"...No."
Rozemyne is surprised to be met with unexpectedly serious golden eyes. According to the explanation of the Sky Lord, Rozemyne's current condition is impossible for a noble. Besides, immersing herself in the Jureve would require days of sleep.

"If you don't at least soak in Jureve before going to the Noble Academy, it will be a loss for you. That would be unpleasant for you, wouldn't it?"
"I understand."

"It's fine. No one knows about the secret room, and keeping something belonging to a princess from a hundred or two hundred years ago is a bit too much, even though he was a loving father. To put it bluntly, it's disgusting."

The Sky Princess spoke harshly, "Let's learn how to make a brooch first," and turned on the mad teacher switch.

After that, Rozemyne was able to make the Jureve as the Sky Princess had instructed.

Chapter Text

Sleeping Beauty in the Library 4

This year, Rozemyne is ten years old. It's her year to attend the Noble Academy. She boards the teleportation circle and heads to the dormitory, where her stepbrother Sylvester, who is one year older than her, welcomes her with a "Welcome!". Sylvester is a mischievous boy who is always in elementary school, but he is a loving boy who treats Rozemyne like a real sister. It seems that there is a woman who has caught his eye recently.

Because she received special training from the Sky Princess, the lectures and practical training at the Noble Academy were too easy for Rozemyne. While tilting her head to the side, wondering if this is how it is for a first-year student, Rozemyne's head is already full of books. As soon as all the lectures are over, she convinces her stepbrother and his aides, and heads to the library annex with a spring in her step.

As soon as she arrives, she poses in prayer and scatters yellow blessings, saying "Pray to Mestionora," and lists her feelings for the library. After settling down, she holds an exciting exchange time to get to know the librarian.

"Why is this the Annex?"

The white-haired grandma librarian smiled and explained to Rozemyne's obvious question.

"There used to be a two-story library on the south side of the central building, but now it's covered in black thorns. Apparently, a beautiful woman cursed by the Goddess of Chaos sleeps there, waiting for her beloved man to come and wake her up someday. But you shouldn't try to challenge the thorns carelessly. If you are trapped by the thorns, you won't be able to get out. It's said to be one of the 21 wonders of the Noble Academy."

Behind her, the female attendants blushed and said with sparkling eyes, "That's wonderful." Rozemyne thought, "That sounds like a story I've heard before," and "This is definitely more like a reading room than a library." But what interested Rozemyne was the other mysterious story. Her eyes sparkled as she asked the question energetically.

"Do you know any other stories of the 21 Wonders, Professor?"
"I think I know about the Forbidden Library. The story goes that in the library covered in thorns there is a library that cannot be opened, but as of now no one can enter the library, so perhaps the Library of Thorns and the Forbidden Library are the same thing?"
"The Forbidden Library! What a wonderful sound!"

Having obtained this wonderful information, Rozemyne is now in a dreamlike state. There may be other wonderful stories. I will immediately instruct my aides to gather stories of the 21 Wonders.

For Rozemyne, libraries are sacred places on earth. Even though she knows that libraries exist there, there is no way she will not visit them. "If there is a library there, a true book lover would see it even if he cannot enter it," says Rozemyne, a girl who is quite crazy about books.

After borrowing a book, he convinces his aides, partly through tears, and flies through the sky on Shumil mountable beast to the thorny hill that used to be the library. Lesser is rudely rejected by the Lord of the Sky.

"It really is covered in thorns."

"Lady Rozemyne, please stay away and wait here with Leonore."

The black thorns are so densely tangled that the white wall is no longer visible, and they are covered with long thorns that look painful to look at. Cornelius and Angelica approach the thorns first to check their safety. The thorns are not shaken at all by their attacks, but they do not move or attack on their own. Following the words "Please, do not touch them," they quietly approach closer. Even though they say close, they are afraid of the thorns, so they are hesitant and slightly far away.

"That's strange. I wonder what material it's made of? If it's a rare material, I'd like to use it to make paper, but the thorns are too dangerous."
"Don't do that! It will kill the maker!"

Cornelius interrupted without a moment's hesitation. Rozemyne wasn't serious either, so she brushed it off with a "I know." Then, saying that since she had come to the Holy Land, she had to do it, she raised both hands in a pose and gave her blessing, saying "Pray to God!" The thorns then started to rustle and move left and right on their own, creating a straight path to the library door.

"What is this!?"
"Wonderful! Lady Rozemyne's prayers have reached God! Another new page has been added to Lady Rozemyne's legend as a saint! Ah, I'm glad I was able to witness such a scene with my own eyes and was Lady Rozemyne's aide. Lady Rozemyne's..."
"Hartmut, you're so noisy."

Ignoring Hartmut's string of meaningless praises that followed, she tried to think about what had happened. However, Rozemyne quickly gave up. For a book-crazed Rozemyne, methodologies such as why and so on are of no interest. There was a library that no one could enter. The entrance to it has opened. That is all, nothing more.

...Now I can enter the unopened library. That is the most important thing! Thank you, God!

"Come on, let's go! The library is calling me!"
"Please wait! You can't go ahead alone!"
"At least bring out your mount."

And so, everyone surrounded Rozemyne and opened the door to the library and went inside. After walking a little way from the service entrance, they came across a door that looked like an office, and found the reading room behind it. There were many bookshelves, packed with books, books, books, and carrels. It was truly worthy of being called a library.

"Wow!! What an exciting sight! Aah!"
"That's an incredible number of books. I'm certainly overwhelmed."
"But I think it's a little different to be excited about."

A Shumil hopped along as Rozemyne and the others continued to operate normally. Just like Rozemyne's mount, it had a round gold magic stone on its forehead.

"Princess, you've come. Would you like to read a book?"
"Is it a magic tool?"
"It looks like Lady Rozemyne's mount."

Rozemyne realized that this was Schwarz, the magic tool from the library. The Sky Princess had shown it to her when she was creating the mount in her dream. The women, especially Lieselotte, placed both hands on their flushed cheeks, writhing in agony at Shumil's cuteness.

"Hello, Schwarz. I'm Rozemyne. Can you show me around the library?"
"Okay. I'll show you around, Rozemyne. Follow me."

She looked around the reading room, following Schwarz's wobbly steps. Rozemyne was overjoyed to be in the library of her dreams. Then she noticed a door at the back of the reading room, wide open.

"What's over there?"
"There's a hidden library. Beyond that is a nearby library. There are lots of old and important books."
"Oh! Please show me around!"
"Okay. Rozemyne, I'll go in. I'll follow you."

Rozemyne and the others follow Schwarz into the closed stacks. Along the way, they are blocked by a barrier, so only high-ranking nobles can follow. Cornelius, Leonore, Hartmut, and Clarissa are the only ones who follow.

"What an incredible library with an underground."
"I'm so glad I made it here!"

While the group is stunned by Rozemyne, who is already on the verge of tears from savouring her joy, they arrive at the underground library. There, the librarian and nobles are sleeping, wrapped in black thorns. The sight makes Rozemyne a little scared of this place.

...Ugh. But coming all this way and not entering the enchanted library is a desecration of books! Mustering up what seemed like useless courage to an outsider, Rozemyne decided to charge into the archives. She couldn't let anyone take the first step into the underground archives, so she entered first, followed by Cornelius, but was blocked by a barrier.

"Lady Rozemyne, please go back," he called out, but she didn't notice because her voice was blocked. Rozemyne was so overwhelmed with emotion that she couldn't even hear Schwarz say, "We can't pray enough." She took a deep breath to enjoy this wonderful archive, and was intoxicated by the ancient scent.

"This is the crystallization of wisdom! It's wonderful! Pray to God!!!"

After looking around the stone tablets and books and confirming that they were written in an ancient language, she noticed that there was another room further back. Even this archive was storing old documents like this. Rozemyne thought that there must be even more wonderful things further back.

"Weiss, what's in there?"

"Princess, you're cursed, she won't come out."

"Kiss."

Wondering if that was the Sleeping Beauty, Rozemyne cautiously looked inside through the door. There she saw a beautiful woman with light blue hair hanging down on a red bed.

"Sky Princess?"

Throwing all sense of caution aside, Rozemyne ran over to the sleeping beauty.

"Sky Princess! Are you okay? Wake up."

She couldn't see the color of her eyes because she was asleep, but her beautiful face, as if made by God, her hair, height, build, and ear shape all matched Sky Princess's. Even when Rozemyne shook her, Sky Princess continued to sleep motionless like a doll.

"Are you alive?"

She gently put her hand out in front of Sky Princess' mouth, and felt her breath hit her palm. So Rozemyne finally felt a little relieved and was able to think about what to do next.

"Why is Sky-san here? No. I need to find a way to wake her up."

Going outside, she asked Weiss, "How do I wake her up?" but he only replied, "A kiss." Since ancient times, it has been the prince who wakes a princess. However, Rozemyne is a girl, and she never had a lover in her previous life, so a sudden kiss is a bit too much for her. Besides, she is hesitant to try kissing Sky-san without her consent, who is like family to her. Rozemyne went outside and borrowed Shumil's stuffed animal, Adlet, and came back.

"I might not be able to do it, but I have to try everything. It's okay. It's just a stuffed animal. So, here we go!"

She pressed Shumil's stuffed animal (Adlet, male) face into Sky-san's mouth, but of course there was no reaction. Rather, he looked a little short of breath and his eyebrows furrowed.

"I guess it's no good after all."

Rozemyne is disappointed, but it's only natural to anyone.

...Sky Princess is alive.

Rozemyne stares intently at Sky Princess's beautiful face. Her light blue, fluttery eyelashes, her straight nose, her beautiful lips. It's a familiar face, but she feels like she's looking at someone unfamiliar. Her image of her playing the harspiel alone in a pitch black space flashes through her mind, and her heart aches.

...I'll never leave you alone again.

"I'll definitely help you."

Chapter Text

Sleeping Beauty in the Library 5

When Rozemyne emerged from the underground archives, Cornelius and his aides sighed in relief. Rozemyne is crazy about books, and once she starts reading, she can't hear anything. However, they were worried about Rozemyne's gloomy expression.

"Did something happen in the back?"

When Cornelius asked, Rozemyne hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should tell him. However, she couldn't gather enough information on her own, so she told him a little bit of the truth and asked for his cooperation.

"There is a pre-adult woman sleeping in the back. She may be the Sleeping Beauty from the 21 Wonders. I don't know if it's okay to make her existence public, so as part of my story gathering, I would like you to prioritize obtaining information on the Library of Thorns, Sleeping Beauty, and the 21 Wonders."

"I don't think it's okay to leave them asleep like this," Rozemyne says, and her aides are shocked, saying, "There's no way Sleeping Beauty really exists," but they nod at her request to gather information.

"I understand. Please don't tell anyone else that you put her here today until you know the details."
"I understand."

As I was about to go up to the first floor, both Schwarz and Weiss said, "Praise me." I tilted my head and stroked her head, and magic power was sucked out of the magic stone.

Ah, what is it? Magic power supply.

After the stroking time was over, I was guided to the second floor, this time for "Princess's work," and she asked me to supply her with magic power. I thought that Rozemyne must have been in trouble because she lacked magical power. To her, there was nothing more important than supplying magical power to a place related to the library, which was a paradise on earth.

Hmm? Magic circle? What is this?

After pouring a certain amount of magical power into her, a magic circle was engraved in Rozemyne's mind. It was the same feeling as when she was making an offering to the sacred objects at the temple. She had heard from the Sky Lord that it was used to transform the Schtappe, but she didn't know the essential spell. Rozemyne thought there was no point in brooding over something she didn't understand, so she gave up on the thought and supplied magical power to several other magical objects as asked, then returned to the dorm.

At lunchtime, I immediately asked my brother-in-law Sylvester and the others at the dorm to gather stories for me.

"Brother Sylvester, do you know anything about the 21 Wonders?"

"Yes, the gazebo is famous and everyone knows about it. It's a place where lovers meet."

As Sylvester talked about the gazebo, he spoke passionately about how beautiful, modest, and wonderful his older beloved Florence was. At first, Rozemyne listened to him with nods, but when he started to list meaningless expressions of God, she just ignored him.

"So then!"

"Yes."

"...You weren't listening, were you?"

"Hahaha. I was thinking about how I could use your wonderful words of love in my next new book."

Surprised by the loud voice, Rozemyne came to her senses and tried to cover it up with a polite smile. Sylvester looked back at him with a dumbfounded expression, but he was well aware that his sister-in-law had no interest in anything other than books, so he decided to let it go. Sylvester was a generous boy.

"Well, that's fine. You've already enrolled in the academy and your classes are over, so please invite Florencia to a tea party. You can find out what she likes, recommend me as her escort, and basically, I want you to mediate between Florencia and me."

"Yes? By me?"

"Yes."

"I believe Florencia is about two years older than me and comes from a middle territory, close to the top, right? Are you asking her to come to our territory, which is close to the bottom? As a sister, I would like to support Brother Sylvester's love, but isn't that reckless?"

"Ugh."

Sylvester clutched his chest at the blade of Rozemyne's merciless words.

"You should do something about that with your useless wisdom! A sister should support her brother."
"...My foster mother told me so, so I don't mind supporting you, but I won't do it for free, you know?"

When Rozemyne said this with a smile, Sylvester seemed hesitant and at a loss for words. But for Sylvester, this was a big deal that would put his life on the line. For the sake of his first step towards a life of love with Florencia, he couldn't back down now!

"Hmm... What do you want?"

"While you're studying at the Noble Academy, please help me gather stories together with my brother's aides."

"Hmm. I don't mind that much."

"And if I'm successful, please give me permission to add Brother Sylvester's story to the love story. It's rare for a younger gentleman to propose to a princess from a higher-ranking territory, and if I succeed, it'll be a dream come true. I'm sure it'll be a good one."

While many people were reluctant to be the model for a love story, Sylvester was happy instead. He even felt a mysterious fighting spirit burning.

"Very well! I'll think of some passionate words of courtship now!"

That was the end of the day, and we decided to have a strategy meeting in a few days. And in the afternoon, Rozemyne had a slight fever from moving around too much, so she was forced to go to bed. Still, Rozemyne couldn't give up, so she left a minimum of attendants in her room and had the rest go out to lecture and gather stories. My body is hot and painful from the fever, but I have so much to think about that I can't get sleepy.

In the end, I couldn't come up with any good ideas, so it was time for dinner. During dinner, the lords quickly gathered up various stories, including the legend of Queen Ditter, but the only additional information they could find about the Library of Thorns and Sleeping Beauty was that she was cursed by the Goddess of Chaos. With a vague feeling in my heart, I went to sleep at night.

"Sky Lady, good day."
"Ah, good day, Rozemyne. Welcome."

The Sky Lady welcomed Rozemyne with a beautiful smile, just as she had seen her at the Library of Thorns. If the story was true, she looked the same as she did a hundred years ago. I couldn't just leave this person in this lonely space. Rozemyne mustered up her courage and spoke.

"Sky Lady, um, I have a story to tell you."
"So, you've found me. I thought you'd already risen to much higher heights."

The Sky Princess' expression showed a hint of surprise, but no other special emotions could be read from her. Rozemyne seemed to be in much more pain.

"Sky Princess, why are you asleep?"

It's best to ask her about the curse herself. The Sky Princess sighed, not really wanting to explain, and reluctantly spoke, "You won't understand until I explain, will you?" She was given a brief explanation that she had been cursed at her baptism, that the god of darkness had weakened the curse, and that to wake her up, she would need a kiss from a loved one of the opposite sex.

"...So gods really exist."

"What are you talking about? There are gods. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to use magic."

"That may be true, but I don't see any gods these days."

"Gods always come at the baptismal ceremony of a lord candidate or at the level of a star knot. For some people, they are subordinate gods or their messengers."

"What! They don't come. I don't think there is anyone alive today who has met a god face-to-face."

"Huh?"

The Sky Princess was tapping her temples in thought, muttering to herself, "Is it because I can't enter the library anymore?" However, for Rozemyne, it was more important to think about how to break the Sky Princess's curse than why the gods had stopped appearing in public.

"I was the one who muttered it, but that's not the issue. Sky Lady, let's find someone who can break the curse together!"
"Are you stupid? If it were that easy to find someone, I would have been engaged before the curse put me to sleep."

He looked down at her coldly, as if he was truly astonished, and Rozemyne almost flinched. However, she was not the type to give up at this point.

"But you shouldn't give up from the start! You don't want to stay here forever, do you?"
"No, I don't hate it that much. I have you, and I don't have any troublesome relatives, politics, or social interactions."

Even Rozemyne was astonished at Sky Lady, who seemed to really think that.

"I will die someday too. And when I do, you'll be all alone again."
"When that happens, I'll play the Harspiel again. Would it cause all sorts of trouble if I returned after sleeping for a hundred years? If that's the case, there's no problem with the way things are. No one will lose anything, and no one will be inconvenienced."

...Sky Princess, you're a liar! You said that this place is boring because you can only recreate memories and you can't do experiments!

Sky Princess's insincere attitude made Rozemyne's heart ache and anger welled up inside her.

"You should at least try to find someone of the opposite sex that you like. Since I have the opportunity to come and go here, if you don't look for one on your own, I'll gather information about male lord candidates every day like an arranged marriage meeting and whisper it in your ear."
"..."
"Then, think of a way to curse the Goddess of Chaos, find a way to meet the God of Darkness and the God of Light, and then the royal family..."
"Wait a moment!"

Sky Princess is shocked and stops Rozemyne. It was Sky Princess who lost the test of endurance.

"I will not hesitate to oppose the goddess if it means I can free Sky Princess, who is like family to me, from the curse!"
"...I get it, so don't pick a fight with God, you idiot!"
"I'm sorry!"
"You were the one who was at fault."

Sky Prince stretches out his arm and pinches Rozemyne's cheek, venting his frustration. Then, he sighed, folded his arms, narrowed his eyes and told Rozemyne the information she wanted.

"You should remember that magical power is an essential condition for a fiance. The Goddess of Chaos seems to have set up a barrier just before he fell asleep, so unless you have more magical power than me, you won't be able to enter."

"I understand. I'll need magical power to enter, so please tell me your preferences in the opposite sex. How about appearance?"

"...As long as it's not unpleasant, I'm not that picky about beauty. Ah, I don't like blond hair and blue eyes with a harsh look."

He said it with a smile, and Rozemyne was a little taken aback, but she wrote "Anyone but blonde hair and blue eyes" on the wooden tablet in her dream.

"Next, age. Do you prefer someone older?"

"...If anything, I prefer someone younger."

Rozemyne tilted her head a little and said "Hmm?", but she thought that was the case and wrote "I prefer younger men."

"Next, would you like to be rich?"
"I can earn as much money as I want, so it doesn't matter."
"Next, what profession would you like?"
"The professions of lord candidates are all pretty much the same, aren't they?"

...Indeed. Royalty, lord, lordship, knight commander, civil commander, that's about it.

"Well, then, what about personality? A calm, energetic, etc."
"At the very least, they should have the dignity of a lord candidate and not be a useless idiot, right?"
"...That's too rough. So, if you were to compare them to an animal, what would they be?"

The Sky Princess glanced at Rozemyne with her golden eyes, then looked away. "...If I had to say, maybe Shumil."

"Shh, Shumil? At least a puppy."

"What's a koinu? Is it an animal from a previous life?"

"A puppy is a baby dog. Dogs are creatures that value hierarchical relationships and are obedient and loyal to their owners. They give the impression of being obedient, energetic, and friendly."

"Ah, an animal like Volhenir. That's right. Well, a koinu wouldn't be bad, but I don't need one because I have plenty of them under my command."

...There are.

Pushing away Hartmut and Clarissa, who came to her mind, Rozemyne recites the contents of the conversation so far to confirm.

"To sum up, someone with more magical power than the Sky Lord, someone without blonde hair and blue eyes, with a nice face, younger, regardless of money or occupation, someone with the dignity of a lord candidate, and because she has a lot of dogs under her command, she wants a fiancée like Shumil."

"I wonder if that's the case?"

...Yeah. Huh? Isn't something a bit strange? No, I don't mean to criticize other people's hobbies, but a younger boy like Shumil... Sky Lady is really your big sister. Or rather, your queen?

"Sky Lady, are you... no, it's nothing. I'll ask my brother-in-law if he knows anyone suitable for Sky Lady, sir!"

Rozemyne had a lot to say, but she swallowed it. And yet, "You were trying to say something bad, weren't you?" He pinched her cheek again. It was a dream, but the pain was real, and if he kept pinching her, her cheek was in danger. Rozemyne held her throbbing cheek.

"So what about your ideal partner? I can pretty much guess, but I'll ask anyway."

"Yes! My ideal man is someone who has a lot of books and will give me a library! My dream is to be proposed to by someone who says, 'I've prepared this library for you!'"
"...I don't want you to tell me what the opposite sex likes."

The Sky Prince looked at Rozemyne as if she was looking at something truly disappointing, and Rozemyne thought, "I don't understand."

"Hmm. That's right, Sky Princess. Please tell me your name now."
"...I'll tell you if you can wake me up." The Sky Princess smiled seductively.

Chapter Text

Sleeping Beauty in the Library 6

Rozemyne's first year at the Noble Academy was busy with social events, the dedication ceremony, Ditter, and the matchmaking between Sylvester and Florencia, and before she knew it, it was the territory competition. Since then, Rozemyne has not been able to go to the Thorny Library. In order to avoid being seen as much as possible, she can only go when everyone is in class, but she would complete her social events and collapse, and sometimes she would be unable to enter because there were people from other territories around, and this was repeated over and over, and before she knew it, the dedication ceremony had arrived. And when she returned from the dedication ceremony, the social season had fully begun, and she was unable to go to the library without being noticed by anyone.

So she asked her brother Sylvester, "Do you know any men like Shumil who are candidates for lordship?" to which he replied, "I don't know anyone." Before she knew it, the misunderstanding had arisen: "Lady Hannelore of Dunkelfelger likes men like Shumil. As expected of Dunkelfelger." Rozemyne held her head in her hands and cried, "Nooooooo!" This was probably because Hannelore was Rozemyne's only female friend. It was bad timing.

When she met her adoptive mother Veronica for the first time in a long time at the territory competition, she made snide remarks to Rozemyne, "I thought Sylvester's wife was supposed to be from my bloodline," causing her adoptive father Aub to frown in annoyance. The territory competition began on an awkward note, but this year it was more lively than usual. In order to welcome Florencia, Rozemyne used a paper fan to slap Sylvester and the rest of the dormitory on the buttocks, which raised the territory's ranking. This worked, and the royal family endorsed the territory's ranking at the next lords' conference. Then, finally, the lord intervened for Veronica.

In her second year at the Noble Academy, Rozemyne finished her lectures as quickly as possible and headed straight for the Thorn Library. As soon as she entered, Schwarz and the others asked for her magic, saying, "Princess, please pet me." After enjoying a soothing petting time, the group headed to the basement where the Sky Princess was sleeping.

"Good."

In the basement, the Sky Princess was sleeping in the same form as last year. I looked at the Sky Princess from all directions to confirm her, but there didn't seem to be any surprises like her suddenly getting old and wrinkled like Urashima Taro, or that she was actually no longer breathing. Rozemyne relaxed her body, gently smoothed the hair of the Sky Princess, and left the room. Then she returned to the rest area where she could talk with her aides.

"Well, I'm off now."
"Lady Rozemyne, please come over here for each book! Absolutely!"
"I know, Cornelius."

Since Rozemyne can't stop reading once she starts, the compromise with her aides was to take a break after each book. Then, she looked up things like "How to curse the Goddess of Chaos," "How to meet the gods," and "About this library." Rozemyne would actually like to read from the top left in order, but if she does that in a library where she doesn't come often, she doesn't know when she'll find the information she wants. It was a decision as difficult as Eviliebe losing Geduldh to Flutrane.

The main social event for second-year students is the announcement of printed books. In addition to the battle-focused knight tales and romance-focused knight tales, she published "The Twenty-One Wonders of the Noble Academy - The Age of King Traokvar." What surprised Rozemyne was that it was a story that collected and linked together the legends of the beautiful Queen of Ditter who flew through the heavens. It was so superhuman that she wondered whether such a person really existed, whether it was exaggerated or embellished.

Long ago, there was a beautiful woman who was a candidate for lordship. She was a talented woman who achieved the highest honours in all courses, including lordship candidate, knight, and civil servant, and she also possessed great magical powers. Many suitors appeared who were after her, but she would always fend them off in a Ditter battle.

The way she galloped through the sky on her white mount was just as beautiful as the wind goddess Steifebriese. Without a helmet, her long hair fluttered in the wind, and a flash of her Schtappe could turn the tide of battle. Her intelligence was unmatched, like that of a Kamövarain, and the magical tools she made herself caused merciless damage to her opponents. She also received a marriage proposal from the royal family, and with the help of her rival, she settled the matter in a Ditter match, saying, "I'll marry a man stronger than me." She was undefeated during her time in the army, and made the name of the Ditter Queen known to the world.

When she told this story in her dream, the Sky Princess choked, which was unusual for her. Curious, Rozemyne asked, and the Sky Princess replied, with a faraway look in her eyes, "I've never met anyone called the Ditter Queen, but I know her." It seems that the Sky Princess and the Ditter Queen are from the same generation. Perhaps there were many strong women in the past, Rozemyne thought.

After exchanging books with everyone at the tea party, Rozemyne continued to socialize with them afterwards, with a beaming face. In particular, Hannelore of Dunkelfelger lent her a valuable history book, so Rozemyne prayed to Mestionora, the goddess of wisdom.

And somehow, she ended up doing an illustration Ditter with Dunkelfelger. Ehrenfest's question of "Why did you put illustrations on Ditter?" is left aside. It may be a good memory of youth that Ehrenfest won by erecting mysterious pillars of light with a generous use of sacred items, but Ehrenfest ran out of healing potions and used too many magic items, so it was a disaster in terms of materials and money. Above all, it was a big weakness that Dunkelfelger labelled Ehrenfest as "a fan of Ditter." It was Dunkelfelger who was pushing Ditter.

"Brother, shouldn't we challenge Dunkelfelger next in something he's not good at? Like how many books you've read so far and their contents within the time limit (only for knights)?"

"That's right, little sister. I'll allow it. Let's come up with an idea now. How many calculations with more than 10 digits you can solve within the time limit (only for knights) would be good, too?"

It seems that such a conversation may or may not have been exchanged between some siblings.

And so, after the graduation ceremony, Rozemyne planned to go to bed. Since finding a partner for the Sky Princess was proving difficult, she went to look around at the shrines necessary to obtain the "Book that will make more prayers reach the gods," a document in the underground library that had caught her attention. "Getting the book is our top priority!" "We need to get the gods to work harder and lift the curse on the Sky Princess," said Rozemyne, full of motivation.

A few days after the graduation ceremony, when the Aub couple returned to their territory and Rozemyne and her party came out to the living room on the first floor, thinking that all the students had gone home, Sylvester greeted them with a grin and said, "Let me join in too." He said, "I sent the aides who dislike you home first," and Rozemyne and her party were dumbfounded and their mouths dropped open.

In the end, they decided to take the curious Sylvester to the shrine. It was the end of winter, so the snow was starting to melt and the entire shrine was visible. Standing in front of the door, Rozemyne washed off the snow and dust with Vaschen, and when she put her hand on the shrine door to take a peek inside, she was let in easily. Inside the empty shrine, the statues of Leidenschaft and the fire gods stood together, gazing at her. Thinking it was a god, Rozemyne offered a prayer and magic, and the mysterious stone tablet merged with the Schtappe inside her body, and when that was done, she was thrown out.

"Brother Sylvester, what was that just now...!?"
"Huh? What's that? It won't open?"

For some reason, Rozemyne was the only one who was able to enter. When she looked up to see Sylvester's face, she saw a blue glowing line in the sky, but it seemed that she was the only one who noticed it. Rozemyne liked Sylvester as her brother, but she didn't trust his aides. She decided not to tell him anything here.

"Let's go next. There might be a shrine that can be opened."
"That's true."

Going from one shrine to the next, Rozemyne gets a mysterious stone tablet and the lines of light in the sky increase. But even after collecting them all, nothing else changes. They don't get the "Book that will make more prayers reach the gods." Both Rozemyne and Sylvester tilt their heads in agreement, with the same confused look on their faces.

"Sister, is this meaningless?"
"It seems so, brother."

They go home that day, and the next day they head to the Library of Thorns in search of new information. When they arrive, Rozemyne carefully makes the knight check that there are no other people or the knight in the center in the vicinity. This is because when they pray to God, the light dances and stands out.

"It's really a secret, Brother Sylvester!"

"I know. So hurry up and pray. I want to enter the Library of Thorns of the 21 Wonders!"

Sylvester is so excited that he doesn't even look at Rozemyne. While worrying about whether Rozemyne was really okay, she blessed them as usual with a "Pray to God!" and opened the way to the library. Dragging Sylvester, who was making a fuss over "Wow," "What is this?" and "That's cool! I want to be able to do that too," (just imagining it), Rozemyne and the others entered the library. Then, guided by Schwarz, they headed to the underground archives.

"Brother Sylvester was able to get in as well."

"It seems so.... I guess the aides can't get in. It seems they need more magical power than the lord candidates."

Sylvester, who had been watching the aides touch the barrier of the archives, turned to look at Rozemyne. Then, Rozemyne's figure was completely hidden by Sylvester, and the aides could not see her.

"And?"
"Yes?"
"Don't play dumb, Rozemyne. Isn't there something you haven't told me? The aides can't enter here, so it seems they won't hear you. You can say whatever you want."

Rozemyne was taken aback by Sylvester, who leaned back with his hands on his hips, but it was Sylvester's good point that he treated Rozemyne, an adopted commoner, as an equal and was concerned about her. He probably wanted to act like an older brother to his new step-sister after the baptism ceremony. Rozemyne accepted his kindness and told him about the strange thing that happened at the shrine.

"Hmm. I don't know what's going on, but I think it's best not to tell my father or mother yet. It's not too late to check the documents here."
"I agree. It would be troublesome if they stopped me midway."

"So? Where is your rendezvous partner?"
"Huh?"

"The Sleeping Beauty. She's here, isn't she? I have Florencia, so I can't lift the curse on the princess, but isn't it normal to want to have a glimpse of her? After all, she is a living witness to the 21 wonders."
"Wait! A rendezvous is a word used between the opposite sex! You're a woman, so you're not a rendezvous partner."

Sylvester laughs and doesn't take the matter seriously, saying, "We're meeting secretly, so it's the same thing." Rozemyne angrily says, "Come on!", but leads her to the room where You're sleeping. Unlike Rozemyne, who slipped through the barrier, Sylvester was blocked by it with a bang. He doesn't have enough magical power.

When Rozemyne told Sylvester, who was rubbing his forehead, about this, he was astonished and said, "My magical power has increased quite a bit this year." Sylvester was now in his third year and had received the protection of others besides the Great God, and was a promising boy with a bright future, enough to be recognized by the father of Florence, a lord of a higher territory. Then, looking at Rozemyne, who didn't seem to understand very much, with a troubled look in her eyes, she said quietly, He muttered.

"... It seems like it'll be hard to find a partner for the Sleeping Beauty."

Rozemyne is now in her third year at the Noble Academy. This year she will begin the specialized course for lord candidates. In order to fulfil her ambition of becoming a librarian someday, she will also be taking the civil servant course. This year's lesson plan is to learn the names of the gods, receive the names of the God of Darkness and the Goddess of Light, and then perform the protection ritual.

"It's exciting."
"We have to be careful not to make any mistakes."
"Okay, everyone, be quiet. I'll explain the steps for the protection ritual."

The protection ritual is performed in the order in which the prayers are learned. Since it was similar to the prayer at the dedication ceremony, Rozemyne was the first to perform the ritual. She and the teacher entered the innermost room, kneeled in the middle of the large magic circle on the carpet that stretched to the altar, and placed her hands on the magic circle.

"I offer prayer and gratitude to the gods who created the world."

As Rozemyne begins her prayer, the magic circle begins to glow as magical power flows through it.

"The Supreme God, who rules over the high, towering sky, is the husband and wife goddess of darkness and light. The five great gods who rule over the vast, vast earth are the Goddess of Water, Flutrane; the Goddess of Fire, Leidenschaft; the Goddess of Wind, Schutzaria; the Goddess of Earth, Geduldh; and the God of Life, Eviliebe."

Each time Rozemyne recites the name of a god, a pillar of light rises above the symbol of each god, and the pillars of the great gods rise higher. It is unclear how much magical power was poured into the pillars, but as the magic power spilled out of the pillars and ran down the carpet to the altar, the statues of the gods began to move left and right.

"Oh my! What is it!?"

The teacher who was present opened and closed his mouth, unsure of whether to stop or not, and his hands wandered about. The gods on the completely opened altar all seemed to be pointing at the flickering door at the top. It was as if they were telling him to climb the stairs and go to the heights.

"If my prayer is sincere, I will grant you your protection."

As he spoke the final words, the pillar of rainbow light from the magic circle rose up, swirling and raining down on Rozemyne. The remaining light then sparkled and ran up the carpet, being absorbed into the sacred objects on the altar, which all at once erected dazzling pillars of precious colors.

And while the teacher was captivated by the divine sight, Rozemyne suddenly disappeared.

Chapter Text

Sleeping Beauty in the Library 7

This is a dream protected by deep, deep darkness. It is a place that the God of Dreams established in the bosom of the God of Darkness to connect dreams. It is a place prepared by the gods with the thoughtfulness of the Sleeping Beauty, who has slept for a hundred years, so that she can meet someone who will awaken her. It is also known as the place where the God of Darkness follows up on the careless. First of all, only those with magical power equal to or greater than that of the Sleeping Beauty can enter. Among them, those of a different gender from the Sleeping Beauty and with a similar wavelength of magical power can enter without resistance. In that condition, Rozemyne should not have been able to enter, but a coincidence that even the gods could not predict was spun from the goddess' thread.

The gods did not tell the Sleeping Beauty about this place. It is not that they did not tell her, but that they could not. With the loss of the Book of Mestionora from the earth and the gradual decrease in prayers and magical power, it has become difficult for the gods to descend to the human world. The first priority of the gods' work is to maintain the world. Day and night repeat every day, the seasons go by in regular cycles, and various things sprout, grow, harvest, rest, die, and regenerate over and over again. Time, distance, and space are all gifts from the power of the gods. The world was maintained by the power of the gods. That is why the life within the cradle could live without confusion. The gods, with their powers weakened, did not have the capacity to focus on and interfere with each person in the cradle.

Unaware of the gods' compassion, the sleeping princess Fernestine waited alone in the cradle of dreams created by the god of darkness and the god of dreams, waiting for Rozemyne today. It had been five years since Rozemyne first visited this space, and this was the first time she had been absent for such a long period of time. Fernestine rested her elbow on the table in an unruly manner and tapped the fingers of her other hand on the desk.

"Where is Rozemyne and what is she doing?"

In this space where the concept of time is vague, one can only tell if a day has passed by subjective sense. Fernestine spent the first day or two wondering if her senses were messed up, and feeling embarrassed when she realized she was eagerly awaiting Rozemyne's arrival. After a few more days, she began to think that something was wrong, and became anxious, worrying that perhaps she had been caught up in some unforeseen situation and was immersed in Jureve. After more than two weeks had passed in subjective time, it became clear to her whether or not this was something normal.

"Isn't Rozemyne already heading for much greater heights?"
"With her frailty, I can't deny that it's not entirely true."
"Or is it a prank by the gods?"
"No, from the way Rozemyne talks, it seems that the gods have lost a lot of their power."
"Is she in some magically isolated place?"
"Is there such a place?"

Fernestine's mind was filled with one theory after another, and the creases between her brows deepened.

Why am I so irritated?

Rozemyne is a rare presence who can visit this boring space. She is a young, cheerful, and unusual girl who is crazy about books, and she and Fernestine have a master-disciple relationship when it comes to studying. Rozemyne, who loves books, is a worthwhile student, and her classes were very enjoyable. Fernestine is aware of her bad personality, but he calls her "Princess of the Sky" and worries about her, saying that she is like family to him. Fernestine also treated Rozemyne like family, worrying about her health and her growth, and hoping that in the future she would find a good partner who could control this wild and out of control girl.

... Did she know that a day like this would come someday?

She had accepted the fact that one day Rozemyne would go to a much higher place and not be able to visit here again. If, before that, Rozemyne had bound a star with someone and been dyed, she might not have been able to come here. I don't know what coincidence it was, but I once speculated that the reason Rozemyne was able to come to Fernestine's space was because she was dyed by Fernestine's magic. And then, perhaps even now? Is she unable to come here because someone forced her to be dyed? This unsettling thought occurred to her, and a blizzard of the snow and ice god blew around her, centering on Fernestine.

Until now, I had thought that it would be best for Rozemyne to bind a star with someone else. Because they were too young when they first met and because they had a long relationship with her, Fernestine did not consider Rozemyne as a love interest. But now, just thinking that someone might be standing next to Rozemyne, or that she might be influenced by someone, makes Fernestine's mind go wild as Ifaznite spreads his cloak wide and Evilive draws his sword to summon his followers.

I see. I am...

"Come back quickly, you fool."

Meanwhile, at the Noble Academy, there has been uproar since Rozemyne suddenly disappeared. The teachers are pale-faced at the lack of supervision, and both the Aub and Sylvester are worried about Rozemyne. Veronica is probably the only one who feels refreshed and thinks, "I wish she would just keep going and reach even greater heights."

The day Rozemyne disappeared, the ceremony was canceled and the students were sent home. At one point, the idea of cancelling the blessing ceremony altogether was floated, but doing so would have exacerbated the current lack of magical power. After consulting with the royal family, it was decided to have several teachers carry out experiments on regaining the blessing and confirm its safety before having the students perform the ceremony.

As it turns out, bad things happen in succession, and at the time, the current Zent, Traokvar, was bedridden due to years of overwork. Now, the first prince, Sigiswald, is solely in charge of government affairs. "All of this is because we lost Grutrissheit, and the lack of magical power has reduced the amount of magical power poured into the foundations of the country, and the blessings of God have been lost. I must somehow take measures, either marry a princess with abundant magical power, or start looking for Grutrissheit in earnest," Sigiswald thought.

Since their first visit to the library about ten years ago, Sigiswald and his friends have frequently visited the library between spring and autumn while the students are away to decipher the ancient documents, but although they have found fragmentary clues, they have not made any progress in obtaining them. For example, when they are told to go around praying, they have no idea where to pray, or how to pray. Also, a magic circle appears on the stage for the dedication dance to select the Zent candidates, but no graduates have ever made the magic circle light up. Sigiswald himself performed the dedication dance at his graduation, but the magic circle did not light up.

Then, news arrives that Rozemyne from the Central Territory has disappeared for an unknown reason. There is no concrete proof. But perhaps Rozemyne knows something, and perhaps the pillar of light last year was a carefully planned preparation for something. Such suspicions cross Sigiswald's mind.

...At the very least, Rozemyne seems to be a princess with abundant magical power. If that's the case, there must be many uses for it.

The royal palace began to move in secret.

Deep in the basement of the Library of Thorns, in the room where Sleeping Beauty sleeps, a hole appears in the ceiling. It shimmers with rainbow colors like an oil film, and resembles the door one passes through to enter a hidden room or between foundations. After a moment, a thin leg pops out from it. The door is horizontal to the ground, as if it is attached to the ceiling, so the leg naturally points from the ceiling toward the floor. And there is no ground there. In the next moment, a girl falls from the door in the ceiling, horizontal to the floor, as if pulled by the weight of her foot that has slipped off the ground.

"Kyaaaaaaah!"

Bam! The girl fell precisely on top of the Sleeping Beauty, who was sleeping on the bed, and with a bouncing sound, her heart pounded as she let the bed rock for a while. Then, she finally puts herself on her elbows and struggles to lift her face.

"Ouch! Enough! Lord Airvermine is so clumsy!"

With tears in her golden eyes, the girl complained to Lord Airvermine for creating this situation.

Chapter Text

Sleeping Beauty in the Library 8

The missing Rozemyne was in a strange state, but she was doing well. During the Ceremony of Protection, pillars of light rose from all the sacred items, and while she was thinking how dazzling it was, she was transported to the place where she had obtained the Schtappe, where her body was forcibly grown by a former god who called himself Airvermin, who didn't listen to her. Her clothes were torn and ripped, her body was in pain, she couldn't walk properly, and it was a mess. The only good thing was that she got the "Book that will make your prayers reach the gods more".

The former god didn't listen to Rozemyne, so he unilaterally demanded various things from her. He told her to dye the foundations of the country, to kill people to make the book complete, and all the things Rozemyne didn't want. Also, Ordnance doesn't work here, and the door to the innermost room can't be opened, so she can't go outside. Rozemyne was dissatisfied with what she had been told and complained, "I can't get out like this," to which he replied, "Ever since the God of Darkness created the barrier, this place has been a bit warped. If you don't mind a little error, we can connect you somewhere." As a result, she fell from the ceiling.

... How unfortunate for Airvermine! If there wasn't a cushion underneath, she would have been seriously injured! ... Now that I think about it, where am I? It's hard to move.

Rozemyne was grumbling to herself, but then she suddenly came to her senses. What on earth was she struggling on? Even the weak Rozemyne could turn over in her bed or on a cushion. What on earth was this cushion that was soft but had hard things built into it in places, making it unstable? She somehow managed to lean her torso up on her elbows and cautiously try to discern what it was.

"Yes, right... Sky Lord?! What?! Is this the library?! Why are you here? And from above?"

Even if space-time is distorted, Rozemyne thought that she would normally end up in the corridor of the central building or in the woods outside the building. It was completely unexpected that it would turn out like this. There were many other things she was thinking, but Rozemyne is well known for not having much stamina. Her arms soon began to tremble and she began to feel pain.

"...Ugh. This is bad, my hands...Ahhh!"

Smack. Rozemyne was no longer able to support her own weight and collapsed again on top of Sky Lord.

"Aaaaahhhh. Sorry, sorry. I'm coming! Hyaaa! ....Wah. Wait a minute! ...Phew. Just a bit more. ...Ah!"

Even though she's good with words, like a swamp the more she struggles the deeper she sinks into, no matter how many times she tries to get up, she can't. Fatigue accumulates in the trembling muscles of her arms, and her body, which has suddenly grown larger and has lost all sense of control, does not move according to Rozemyne's will. Every time Rozemyne struggles and moves her arms and legs, or tries to move at least up or down, various pieces of fabric get pulled up and their hair gets tangled, making for an unsightly situation.

...Someone, help me! Come here right now and get me out of the way!

"Panty, pant...Just hold on. Come on...Ouch! Ouch!"

She gets up with force and can do it! The moment Rozemyne was sure of this, she was hit with a pain that pulled her scalp in a strange direction, and her body was pulled back in an odd position.

"Pchu"

...Huh?

"..."

What is this soft feeling against my mouth? Rozemyne's thoughts stopped as she remained in that position. What was she on top of now? What was the flesh color and light blue in front of her? The light blue slowly moved upwards, and in its place beautiful round golden eyes appeared, and Rozemyne stared in amazement.

...Ahh, what beautiful eyes.

As Rozemyne was disappointed to see the golden eyes narrowing harshly, she felt a sickening vibration in her semicircular canals and a shock ran down her back. Next, someone pressed down on her neck and she heard a husky voice say "Messer." Before she knew it, their positions had been swapped, and the Sky Prince was pointing a blade at her.

"Who is that?"

Sky Princess's straightforward words and her frowning eyes are emotionless, as if she is looking at a stranger. Sky Princess is like family to her, and when she says this to her, Rozemyne, who is still unaware of her appearance, is shocked and her eyebrows droop.

"It's Rozemyne! Sky Princess! I met you every night in my dreams."

"... Rozemyne?"

Sky Princess looks quizzically. They have the same hair and eye color, and her beautiful, well-formed features are similar, but she is much more mature. When he looks down, he sees a fuller figure that was not there when she was young. She looks more like Rozemyne's older sister than Rozemyne. There is such a big difference in their ages that Sky Princess can't believe it and wants to be sure.

"Rozemyne was smaller. About the same age as Schwarz and the others."

"Ervermine and Ernvax helped me grow. But more importantly, I took away your virginity, Sky-no-kimi. I'm sorry! It was an accident! Ouch!"

As Rozemyne tried to stand up, she plunged into the Messer and cut her cheek. A small amount of blood trickled down her cheek.

"What are you doing!... You're the only fool like me, Rozemyne."

"Yes!"
"... Let Lungschmer heal."

Sky-no-kimi's face was twisted with agitation and regret, and Rozemyne was happy to hear her words. Sky-no-kimi slumped her shoulders in exhaustion and started to stand up, but then realized halfway through and picked Rozemyne up too. They then sat facing each other. Now that she had finally seen Rozemyne in person, Sky Princess opened her eyes wide in shock, her eyes turning red, and while looking away from her she spoke quickly.

"Rozemyne, hurry up and get your clothes ready. I'll lend you my jacket. Then move away a little."
"No, I don't need to borrow Sky Princess' clothes. I can just call one of my attendants. And it's fine to move away, but my hair is tangled, so if I move away too far it will hurt."

Sky Princess looked suspiciously at her hair, asking "What's that?" Rozemyne's hair was tangled around the amulets Sky Princess had attached in various places in her hair. When she realized that it wasn't something that could be undone right away, she casually took her own hair and cut off the relevant parts with Sheele.

"Hey! What are you doing, Sky Boy?"

"Your hair is more important than mine, isn't it?"

"No way. Hair is the lifeblood of a noblewoman."

"...You still haven't noticed?"

Rozemyne didn't understand why she was being stunned. Sky Boy closed her eyes and slapped her brow. Then she sighed loudly. She then looked away from Rozemyne and spoke.

"How deplorable. I told you so many times to be more modest."

"Hey Sky Boy, you're being mean without even explaining the reason."

"I'll explain now....I told you, didn't I? 'My curse can be broken by a kiss from a member of the opposite sex that I love.'"

"That's right. I know it's a little late to say this, but what is it?"

"My curse was broken by you. In other words, you and I are of different genders. If you're a woman, then what am I?"

...What, it's obviously a man...?

Rozemyne opened her eyes wide.

"Whaaaaaaat?! Did you like cross-dressing, Sora-san?"

Without a moment's hesitation, SPAN! The paper fan made a loud noise on the top of Rozemyne's head.

"Don't just treat people like weirdos. There was a reason behind this (cross-dressing), and that's not the issue! Rather than that, think carefully about how long you intend to continue wearing such shameless clothing in front of me, a man!"
"Huh?"

Rozemyne took another look at her current outfit. She could just about keep her underwear on, but her socks had been slashed open from her thighs to her toes with a messer, exposing her bare skin through the large slits. Her cloak was just hanging over her shoulders because it didn't fit her shoulders, but it had fallen onto the bed when she had fallen. The high neck of the dress was relaxed close to her chest, and the fabric around her chest was stretched to the limit, and even if the strings on the back were cut, some of the threads at the joints between the shoulders and torso and under the arms had broken in order to fit her body in. The sleeves were about three-quarter length, and even with the hem of the dress skirt out, it was only above the knees. Moreover, after her struggle earlier, the hem had risen and her thighs were completely visible.

She had grown rapidly from about 120 cm to over 150 cm. It was natural that she couldn't wear her old clothes, but it was equally clear that her current clothes were not suitable for a noblewoman. And in front of the gentleman, the Sky Prince. This would make her a slut. When Rozemyne realized this, her body became hot from the neck up, and she quickly turned bright red like Gedullich's noble color.

"Aaaaaaaaah! I-I'm so sorry."

Rozemyne hurriedly lowered the hem of her skirt and held it down with her hands. Tears of shame welled up in her eyes. The Sky Princess closed her eyes and covered them with her hands.

"I'm sorry for showing you something so unsightly."

"...For now, I can't send the Ordnance here. But if I go outside, there might be a man on guard, like the Central Knights. I wish I could send the Ordnance for you, but I don't know your aides, so I can't do that. For now, I want you to obediently wear my jacket."

"...Yes."

Rozemyne had only one choice to make.
With her eyes closed, the Sky Princess pushed the cold weather coat over her dress towards Rozemyne, then spun around and turned her back to her. Then, thinking of something, she removed the magical tool around her neck and began to check the other preparations and equipment she had.

The coat that was handed to Rozemyne was made from black fur and was perfect for keeping out the cold. It was a loose, one-piece silhouette that didn't show her body lines, with a V-shaped opening at the neck and long hanging sleeves befitting a lord-in-training. The Sky Princess was tall for a woman, so the hem of the dress, which should have been shorter than her dress, reached almost to Rozemyne's knees. The fluffy fur around her neck and hands trapped warm air, gently enveloping Rozemyne's chilled body.

...It's quite a luxurious outfit. There are lots of magic stones sewn into it. Oh, these are all amulets.

"Sky Lord, everything's fine now."

He turned around slowly to Rozemyne's voice, checked her outfit, and nodded that there was no problem. Then, he got off the bed and walked around to Rozemyne's side, knelt down with a smooth movement, and held a necklace-shaped amulet of all attributes in his hands.

"I was able to meet you thanks to the guidance of the husband and wife gods who dwell in the highest heavens."

Sky Lord spoke in a low, masculine voice, gazing into Rozemyne's eyes. Sky Lord's golden eyes were shaking with a heat she had never seen before. As if consumed by that heat, Rozemyne gasped.

"I am Ferdinand. I have been in a hundred years of sleep due to the curse of the Goddess of Chaos. You, Rozemyne, have illuminated my darkness and freed me from my long sleep. Please become my goddess of light."

"Ferdinand?"

Sky Lord's name rolled around in her mouth for the first time. When Rozemyne calls Ferdinand's name, Ferdinand's face lightens and he replies, "Yes, Lady Rozemyne." Ferdinand's sweet voice is unfamiliar to her and she becomes restless. Her face flushes and her eyes dart around in all directions.

...Does this mean that right now, you in the sky... no, Lord Ferdinand is proposing to me? Huh? Why?

"I didn't want you to call me by my female name. I wanted you to call me by my real name. That's why I couldn't tell you my name.... I finally understand that."
"Lord Ferdinand."

Ferdinand's voice and tone were different from before as he spoke his feelings, and Rozemyne realized that the man was really wooing her.

"Well, not only your name, but your voice and the way you speak"

"You wouldn't recognize me as a man unless I did this. I couldn't do anything about my clothes, so I took off the voice-changing magic device I had around my neck and changed my tone to speak like a man. Now that I'm awake, I'm going to live as a man, so this is fine."

Ferdinand suddenly smiled refreshingly. He seemed to have let go of something and was unconcerned. Rozemyne was startled by this.

"In that dark world, you were my salvation. Since my baptism, I had lived as a woman, and had never formed any deep friendships with anyone, so meeting you in my dreams was a whole new experience for me. Above all, I was able to be myself when I was with you."

Ferdinand's smile deepened as if he was looking into the distance.

"I was far from my family. My biological father showered me with love, but the first wife, who was to become my official adoptive mother, had no children and disliked me, refusing to even make me a candidate for lordship. The compromise was for me to live as an adopted girl. That would have been disadvantageous for me to become lord. But you showered me with the love of your family."

Thinking about Ferdinand's past, Rozemyne's heart ached. And she felt that she had finally solved many mysteries about Ferdinand.

"Even so, I hoped that you would find happiness with someone else. Not a ghost like me, but someone who lives in the same time. But you suddenly disappeared. You no longer came to me in my dreams, and I realized with fear that you had risen to a much higher level. I can't let you go. With you, I can walk through this troublesome world, and I'm sure I will find happiness."

Ferdinand then once again presented the magic stone necklace in his hand to Rozemyne.

"I will take responsibility for taking your first time. I think I am worthy. Please rest assured and choose me."

"What do you mean, first time?"

"You mean a kiss?"

In an instant, Rozemyne's face boiled again. She moved her hands aimlessly.

"Oh, that was, you see, it was like artificial respiration, so it's okay if you don't mind, Ferdinand! I won't tell anyone, so it's okay. It doesn't matter, that's right, it doesn't matter."

"...I said it poorly. Let me correct that. But don't get the wrong idea. It is I who wish to marry you. I'm not proposing out of obligation. I can't bear your love being directed towards anyone other than me. ... Will you accept my proposal or not? I want you to choose me, not out of obligation."

Ferdinand's eyes were serious. Feeling intimidated by this, Rozemyne also spoke.

"I, I... well, I don't understand the subtleties of men and women, and I only have eyes for books."
"I know."
"I cause a lot of trouble and I always get scolded, and I think I'm causing trouble for Ferdinand."
"That's much better than boredom."
"I'm weak, and I don't know if I can have children, and I might reach a higher level sooner than the average lifespan and leave Ferdinand behind."
"Hmm. You need the highest quality medicine. It's fine. I'll take care of your health myself. I'm willing to go to even greater heights with you."
"What?! That's not the issue."
"That's the issue for me."

Silence reigned for a while. As Rozemyne was thinking about something with her mind going around in circles, a look of resignation appeared in Ferdinand's eyes. The hand that had been offering the magic stone was lowered, and his eyes were averted for a moment.

...No!

Rozemyne stretched her body, letting her emotions get the better of her, and stretched her arms out as if to collapse onto Ferdinand. Ferdinand caught her as she nearly dove to the floor.

"No! Ferdinand-sama must be happy! You can't give up! I won't forgive you."

"But you don't want me to be your partner, do you? I don't like forcing things on people who don't want to be your partner."

"No, I'm sorry, I'm not sure I can return the same amount of love as you do to me, Ferdinand-sama."

"I don't expect that much. It's enough if you show me what you think is family love."

"Really? Is that enough?"

The two of them looked at each other from close range. Whose throat made the gulp? Tension, a little fear, and expectation. Those were the emotions that seemed to flicker in Ferdinand's eyes. Ferdinand only wanted Rozemyne. Rozemyne had never seen such sad, strong eyes.

...Ah, I can't leave this person alone.

Rozemyne reaches out her left hand, which she had placed on her chest, to Ferdinand's cheek. Ferdinand flinches.

"...The thread between me and Ferdinand, spun by the Goddess of Time, has now intersected. Ferdinand, please be my God of Darkness. I will definitely make you happy."

Ferdinand places his hand on top of Rozemyne's.

"Those are my words. Rozemyne, my Goddess of Light. I will protect you with all my might."

Ferdinand's ears turn red as he laughs heartily with delight. Seeing his never-before-seen expression, even Rozemyne blushes and her heart pounds. And just like that, Rozemyne is wrapped up in Ferdinand's sleeve and hidden.

Ferdinand himself placed the makeshift amulet around Rozemyne's neck in place of the magic stone of marriage proposal.

Chapter Text

Sleeping Beauty in the Library 9 (Final Episode)

"Now, Rozemyne. I just heard the word Airvermin, what does that mean? What on earth were you doing while you were missing? Tell me everything."

"Um, well, that's..."

Rozemyne couldn't keep up with the sudden change of direction after the love confession. Moreover, this was a case of being scolded. Ferdinand's face looked just like the sulky face he makes before being scolded, and Rozemyne felt like running away. However, with Ferdinand still holding her close, there was no way for Rozemyne to escape.

"Oh, if you don't want to say it, I'll make you want to say it."

"Hii."

Seeing Ferdinand's bright and refreshing smile, Rozemyne's throat twitches in fear. After that, she screams voicelessly at Ferdinand's treatment, and with her face red and crying, she confesses that she was told to "obtain a book that will make more prayers reach God," and "kill someone named Quinta to complete the book and dye the foundation," and holds her cheek that was grabbed by the sword.

"Ugh. It hurts."
"You're the one who got the Book of Mestionora without permission. Do you understand? Even a hundred years ago, it was something that only royalty should have had access to."

"Huh?"

Sighing at Rozemyne's lack of understanding, Ferdinand explains a little as he lectures her, thinking about what to do next. He also warns Rozemyne about her future behavior.

Then, her days were like being swept away by the torrent of Flutrane.

The curse of the Library of Thorns was broken in the middle of the Lords' Conference. The moment Rozemyne gave Ferdinand a kiss, a huge pillar of black light rose up, enveloping the entire library building. The thorns that completely covered the library turned into particles of black precious light from the top and dissolved into the sky. This was witnessed by the nobles who had gathered at the Noble House for the Lords' Conference and the Central Knights on guard, and the Knights stormed into the library. This was quickly reported to the royal family, and the conference was thrown into chaos for a while.

Rozemyne and Ferdinand decided to meet with the royal family in three days to get their costumes ready. Ferdinand and his friends took refuge in Rozemyne's hometown of Ehrenfest, just like Rozemyne. The Aub had a complicated expression on his face, Veronica had emotionless eyes as if she were seeing a monster, and Sylvester greeted Rozemyne and the others with an excited look on his face, wanting to bombard them with questions.

Ferdinand cut his messy hair a little shorter and put it in a ponytail below his shoulders. The costumes were difficult, Sylvester's clothes as a lord candidate were not long enough, and Bonifatius' clothes were too big in many ways. The women's dress he wore as Fernestine a hundred years ago was left behind by order of the Aub, who was Fernestine's father at the time, but the only clothes he could wear as a man were the beast riding clothes and the knight course clothes, which he wears now. However, a lord candidate cannot wear clothes with short sleeves like the beast riding clothes or knight clothes when appearing in front of royalty. The Aub was quickly given some of his formal clothes and everyday clothes from his youth, and he is currently adjusting the size. Fernestine's father never imagined that his daughter would choose to live as a son.

When Ferdinand told the Aub couple of his engagement to Rozemyne, Rozemyne panicked, while the Aub parents looked on with amusement, but he soon realized how clever Ferdinand was and decided to leave it up to Ferdinand to deal with the royal family, which he didn't really know how to do. From there, the Ferdinand Theater began. The story progressed before Rozemyne knew what was going on.

What was unexpected was that Ferdinand's registration medal was kept in the collateral royal family section of the Central Temple. It seems that the medals of the aides who went to sleep with him are also in the custody of the Central Temple.
When Fernestine went to sleep, no one could guarantee her territory for a hundred years from now. The lifting of the curse, which the God of Darkness had so kindly alleviated, could not be thwarted due to human circumstances. After privately confirming that Fernestine's biological mother was from the Adalgisa Villa of the Noble House, the royal family temporarily placed her in the custody of the Central Temple.

The truth is that she was made a collateral royal because that was the only position in the central government that qualified as a lord candidate, and the sons of the king at the time were worried that Fernestine would be treated unfairly after waking up from her hundred-year slumber. It is a sin to be beautiful, but no one knows the reason for this anymore.

Negotiations were held with Sigiswald, the royal representative. Zent Traokvar was in bed and intended to be present when the final decision was made, but he was worried about his physical condition otherwise, so he asked that the lords' meeting be prioritized.

Sigiswald was relatively tolerant of treating Ferdinand as a collateral royal until he completed his star knot, as had been the ancient legend, but he was reluctant to engage Rozemyne to Ferdinand. He sensed Bluanfa's presence in Rozemyne's beauty in order to alleviate the royal family's lack of magical power, and so wanted her to become his third wife. He could not ignore the incident in Grutrissheit, and the fact that he had almost caused a tragedy in the past was still lingering in Sigiswald's mind, making it difficult for him to deal with Ferdinand.

Sigiswald and Ferdinand exchanged smiles and difficult words with each other in the language of the gods, but it seemed like no conclusion was coming. So Ferdinand smiled brightly, and said,

"Then, let's have a bride-taking Ditter between myself and Prince Sigiswald."

"... A bride-taking Ditter, you say?"

"Yes. Since ancient times, it has been a custom for men to settle matters that have not been resolved. In addition, in the past, I was given the right to choose a marriage partner in a Ditter by the royal family in exchange for cooperation in the provision of magical tools and magical power. I am not so naive as to think that this still applies today, but I am now a collateral royal family member. In that case, I believe that it would not be a crime of disrespect to challenge Prince Sigiswald to a Ditter match for the woman I love. What do you think? Of course, when I obtain Lady Rozemyne, I will provide Prince Sigiswald with appropriate compensation."

It is a de facto declaration of war. After receiving Sigiswald's approval, Ferdinand sends Ordnance to Aub Dunkelfelger to be a witness on the spot. He had been working with Lord Dunkelfelger beforehand. The match was in seven days. After finalizing the requirements, such as a limit of two lord candidate class, adults, and compensation, the match was dismissed for the day.

As he reported the situation to the territory and selected the knights, Rozemyne's uncle Bonifatius, with a look of blood on his face, confronted his brother Lord, so he decided to take Sylvester's place and participate in the Ditter. Bonifatius was not sure whether Ferdinand would be a good husband, as he seemed weak, but it was better than having Rozemyne taken by royalty and losing the only girl in the family (excluding his wife). At Bonifatius's call, a forced summons was made to his muscle-brained family to participate.

The match ended with Ferdinand's victory. Lord Dunkelfelger was thrilled by his brilliant fighting style and his many devious schemes. He accidentally blurted out "I want her to be my wife," earning a cold sneer from the lady, and then corrected himself by saying "Ahem. Ah, I mean that I want my grandson and his daughter to receive the protection of Liebeskhilfe."

Rozemyne and Ferdinand's engagement was guaranteed by royal decree of Zent Traokvar. Traokvar was thin, had dull skin, and had dark circles under his eyes, making him look more than ten years older, which made Rozemyne and the others frown. In exchange for Rozemyne, Ferdinand agreed to "provide magical power as a member of the royal family," "teach Sigiswald how to obtain the Grutrissheit [taught by Mestionora during his hundred-year sleep] as an envoy of Mestionora," and "create a one-of-a-kind Grutrissheit and present it to him [in secret] one year."

The fact that Ferdinand has obtained the Grutrissheit will not be made public to anyone other than Zent and Prince Sigiswald. Three years later, when Rozemyne comes of age, he plans to become a vassal and marry her. Until then, the Adalgisa Villa of the Nobles' Academy has been closed for a long time, so he will live in the Ehrenfest dormitory for about six months until it is ready. Nobles have many things to consider, such as public reputation.

Ferdinand and his companions will return to Ehrenfest to pack their remaining belongings. They plan to spend the time there until the Summer Star-Knot, order clothes, and then make an announcement of their engagement to Rozemyne before returning to the center. Until then, they have lent several large magic stones to the palace as a temporary measure, so the problem of magic power should be solved. On the day of the Summer Show, Ferdinand captured the hearts of the women and stunned the nobles with the rainbow magic stone hair ornament and necklace he gave to Rozemyne, which were lavishly decorated with gold chains. Everyone raised their stalactites in honour of a collateral royal family entering Ehrenfest.

"See you in the winter at the Noble Academy. Don't take off the amulet even when you sleep."

"Yes. Make sure you eat three meals a day. I'll write you a letter."

And so their long-distance relationship began. Small things that she had never thought much of before tickled Rozemyne's heart. She was not good at embroidery, but when she thought of Ferdinand's happy face, she felt motivated. She still didn't understand the subtleties of men and women, but Rozemyne thought it was wonderful to be able to work hard at something for someone like this.

Towards the end of summer, information was received from Ferdinand that "Zent Traokvar may have gone to great heights," which shocked the upper echelons of Ehrenfest. Then in the fall, Ferdinand wrote a letter saying, "I'm going out to gather materials as I'm short of materials to make an offering. I'll also look for magic stones for your amulet," and after that, there was no contact from Ferdinand.

"Ferdinand, where are you and what are you doing?"

Veronica reaches out to Rozemyne, who is worried and heartbroken, as she goes about her days. Veronica is an ally of the Lanzenave, a foreign nation that is after the magic stone. The Lanzenave people are a new race of people who live off magic stones, born when the gods' blessings have weakened.

They are magic stone eaters, and live off magic stones. By eating magic stones that have received the gods' blessings, they are able to absorb the gods' blessings into themselves and survive in the harsh outside world. Since they do not have magical or supernatural powers, apart from trade, they mainly target people who are weaker than the monsters. In recent years, they have made allies within Yurgenschmidt, and have developed various tools to seal magic powers as a countermeasure against the nobles.

Veronica orders Viscount Darldorf, whose name she owes to, to kill Rozemyne, saying, "I want to see Rozemyne's magic stone." However, Viscount Dahldorf leaves the scene saying, "I would like to take a little time," and thinking, "Doing something like this would bring chaos to Ehrenfest and incur the displeasure of Ferdinand, a collateral royal family, which would be bad for nobody," he secretly contacts Rozemyne's aides.

He then cooperates with Aub and Sylvester to arrange the transference.
The knights in the room staged a kidnapping when Rozemyne's faction was alone, and had Rozemyne hide in the Noble Academy, and instead presented Veronica with a large rainbow magic stone the size of an adult's fist that Ferdinand had left behind. This rainbow magic stone was still Rozemyne's (belonging to her). Veronica's phrasing, not wanting to be held accountable, helped. At the moment, Veronica cannot be punished, but she has been kept under observation and subtly kept away from politics.

Rozemyne, hiding in the Ehrenfest dormitory of the Noble Academy, was unable to leave her room. Some of the knights in the room are on Veronica's side. It is unusual for her aide to be in the Noble Academy, but if she shows herself, Veronica will know that she is still alive.

Rozemyne is an indoor person who is crazy about books and would like to stay locked in her room and read books for the rest of her life if everyone around her was happy and there were no problems, but with the situation changing so suddenly like this, she cannot stay still. However, she knew that if she made any moves herself, she would quickly fall and make a fool of herself. First, she had to find Ferdinand and reunite with him. She trusted that if they could be reunited, she could leave the rest to him.

Rozemyne had her aides investigate Ferdinand's whereabouts. Then, in the process of applying to the royal family for permission to stay at the Noble Academy, she realized that she was unable to contact the royal family. Ordnance was not even spreading its wings towards Prince Sigiswald. Something was wrong. Her aide quickly contacted the Aub about this, and they kept in contact with each other. Then she got in touch with Dunkelfelger. If something unusual were to happen with Yurgenschmidt or the central government, Dunkelfelger would be the most reliable military force.

Dunkelfelger already had a certain understanding of the situation. It turned out that the Magic Stone Eaters country was attacking the central government. "The royal family in the center are missing, and the royal palace has probably been taken over by the Magic Stone Eaters," he said. He then said, "From now on, we will move to retake the palace with Ferdinand, the only royal family we can contact, at the forefront as the next candidate for Zent," and "We will also request that Ehrenfest march out and provide logistical support to support Ferdinand."

Rozemyne heads to the Dunkelfelger dormitory with the Fairbelcken Seal and meets up with Ferdinand, where she hugs him wholeheartedly and complains.

"Ferdinand, you're so stupid! Do you know how worried I was?!"
"... I'm sorry. I was in a situation where I couldn't let people know I was alive easily."
"But even so, you could have at least left a code."
"Look, ladies shouldn't cry in public."
"It's all Ferdinand's fault, you know."
"Yeah."

Ferdinand gently puts his hand on the shoulder of Rozemyne, who clings to his chest in a panic, expressionless. He orders his aides to leave while looking at her, activates a magic device to prevent eavesdropping, and spends some time alone with Rozemyne. Ferdinand places a soothing hand on Rozemyne's calm eyes.

"Sniff. Lord Ferdinand, what are you going to do now?"

"The magic stone eaters must be expelled from Yurgenschmidt. To do that, the surest and fastest way is for the holder of the Book of Mestionora to dye the foundations of the country and bring back the protection of the gods to Yurgenschmidt."

"Is that what you're going to do, Lord Ferdinand?"

"That's right. I'm also a member of the collateral royal family. With the central royal palace in the hands of the enemy and the safety of the royal family unknown, there's no one else suitable for the job."

"So, what will you do after that? Will you be happy, Lord Ferdinand?"

"..."

Ferdinand was at a loss for words. Dyeing the foundations of the country means becoming the Zent. Rozemyne knew that much. Ferdinand's real mother was a collateral royal family member, but it was unclear whether the nobles would easily accept him as the Zent. First of all, there is the discrepancy that has been dormant for a hundred years, and he has only just come of age and does not have much experience in office. The fact that he is a collateral royal family is also a newcomer, and he was only introduced to each territory on the last day of the spring lords' conference. In order to stabilize the political situation, he needs the support of at least some of the large territories.

"Dunkelfelger seems to support me, but what about the others? If Ferdinand becomes Zent, what will happen to me? Will I marry the princess of a large territory?"
"That is..."

"You said you would be happy with me! That you can't let me go, that you can't stand me being with another man! Is that a lie? You also said you would take care of my health. And I'm not good at embroidering my cloak... so do your best."
"...Don't cry, Rozemyne. It's troublesome when you cry."
"Hii... Ferdinand... is... bad..."

Rozemyne spreads her arms and cries, begging for a hug. Ferdinand sighs in response and strokes her back as if to comfort her. Rozemyne sobs as she thinks. What can she do to make Ferdinand walk with her, to make her happy? I thought frantically with my head getting hot from the constant crying. One idea came to my mind.

"Rather than leaving Ferdinand, I'll become the Zent!"

Rozemyne looked at Ferdinand with a strong light in her eyes.

"Rozemyne, calm down."

"I'm calm! I'm the one who will make Ferdinand happy. So I'll become the Zent and make Ferdinand the king! That will solve everything, right?"

"... Nothing has been solved at all. But I understand your enthusiasm."

Ferdinand suddenly gave a bitter smile, as if he couldn't help it. He looked annoyed, but deep down he was very happy. Ferdinand also wanted to choose a life where he loved only Rozemyne.

"I lost. I'll think of a way to walk with you, so don't worry."

Rozemyne's face lit up like the sun.

"Thank you, Lord Ferdinand. I love you!"

The two of them lead Dunkelfelger together to fight against the magic stone eaters. When they sensed something was wrong with the central temple where Ferdinand's registered magic stone was located before they joined forces, they used the authority of the collateral royal family to step in and secured the medal along with the key to the scriptures, and now Dunkelfelger's knights and civil servants are stationed there again.

They let Dunkelfelger go first to the central royal palace, and Ferdinand and his friends first try to head to the foundations of the country from the Noble Academy Library. On the way, they are found by the magic stone eaters' ally and a battle breaks out. Gervasio, the chief ally of the magic stone eaters, is trying to obtain the Book of Mestionora.

In the midst of the fierce battle, Ferdinand and his friends are somehow transported to Airvermine in the Garden of Beginnings, and Rozemyne has Mestionora descend upon her body. The gods don't care if the magic stone eaters are there or not, but they do protect those who have magical powers.
The fight with Gervasio was mediated, and the three decided to have a peaceful race to see who could supply magic to the border gate the fastest. Then, as soon as they arrived at the border gate, Ferdinand discarded the registration medals of Gervasio and the others that he had been carrying just in case, and locked them inside the border gate. His medal was also kept by the Central Temple. It turns out that he, too, had a complicated upbringing.

After dyeing the border gate, they returned leisurely to the Garden of Beginnings, where Rozemyne had already returned. Rozemyne, dyed by Mestionora's power, seems to have a different sense of the magic she can use than before. However, Ferdinand was worried that she looked like she was about to collapse, even though she was so proud.

"The winner is Rozemyne," Airvermin told Rozemyne, showing her the way to the foundation. Ferdinand leaves the room after confirming a few things, such as "How can we fill the country with the protection of the gods?", and reunites with Rozemyne in the Foundation Hall using the Key of the Scriptures. They then have a short meeting.

Rozemyne dyes the foundation once. After that, as the incarnation of the goddess who descended Mestionora, Rozemyne bestows the Book of Mestionora on Ferdinand. Rozemyne then becomes the first wife of Ferdinand, the new Zent. There is no arguing with Ferdinand's argument that "It would be less chaotic for me to become the Zent than for you, who is underage, crazy about books, and operates by the standards of another world." If the other royal family had survived, he would have wanted to force the troublesome role onto them, but Airvermin had said, "If we want to completely purify Yurgenschmidt, it must be someone who possesses the Book of Mestionora," so it would be difficult.

The country's foundations were so large that it was not possible to completely dye them on the same day that so much magical power was used. Feeling unwell, Rozemyne returned to the Ehrenfest dormitory to avoid carelessly scattering the power of the goddess. By this time, the dormitory had been arranged so that only pro-Aub and pro-Rozemyne faction members were present.

Meanwhile, Ferdinand joined forces with Dunkelfelger and took control of the royal palace. There, he discovered that Ahrensbach was the territory that had invited foreign invasion. After resting, he put Rozemyne, the incarnation of the goddess, in charge of opening, closing and moving the border gate, and attacked Ahrensbach. Many of the people remaining in Ahrensbach were magic stone eaters who did not have magical powers, so it was not difficult to take them down. The remaining nobles were also selected by passing them through a wind shield to expose any allies.

Meanwhile, while Ferdinand and his companions were heading to the royal palace, Georgine, who had married Ahrensbach, was invading Ehrenfest in an attempt to seize control of the city. Bonifatius and Sylvester prevented this. At this time, Veronica's connection to the Magic Stone Eaters through Georgine was discovered, and she was imprisoned in the White Tower along with her followers.

Three days after all the fighting was over, the foundations were dyed and the Zent succession ceremony was held in the innermost chamber of the Noble House. The head priest was Rozemyne. Both Rozemyne and Ferdinand performed a votive dance and easily erected seven-coloured pillars, opening the way to the Garden of Beginnings. In the Garden of Beginnings, the gods blessed Rozemyne, who was the new Zent in their eyes, to "purify Yurgenschmidt." The succession ceremony then ended safely and divinely.

The next night, Rozemyne and Ferdinand used the ancient magic circle and the power of the gods to purify the entire land of Yurgenschmidt. They also received help from Airvermin. The magic circle drawn in the sky shone divinely, reminding the people living in Yurgenschmidt of the breath of the gods.

Ferdinand and Rozemyne's star knot once again filled Yurgenschmidt with protection and magical power, and just like in the old days, all the great gods gathered together in it. The birth of Zent Ferdinand and his wife, who had received the true seven-coloured blessing from the true gods, moved the nobles throughout Yurgenschmidt, and made their Stabs sparkle and shine.

The two were blessed with children and lived happily ever after.

(The end)