Headache-Inducing Meeting Request

Clang, clang…

「Sylvester-sama, Florencia-sama. Good morning.」

「Come on, come on, Sylvester-sama. You have a busy day ahead, so please wake up quickly.」

Upon the ringing of the second bell, my attendant entered the bedroom alongside Florencia’s attendant. Since anyone entering the bedroom will see my wife exiting bed, my attendant was the female Rihyarda.

As the thick curtains were drawn open, bright light streamed in. Today I have to deal with Defense of Ehrenfest’s aftermath again. Many were injured or killed, especially in the southern part of the duchy which suffered significant damage. I still need to sendoff the knights from Haldenzell and Kirnberger, and order the prayer ceremony at the temple.

「…As much as I would love to delay it, there’s a report from the knights about the memories of Sister’s body double, whom we transferred from the Ivory Tower to the prison. I guess I have to review their report first.」

「Yes, that sounds reasonable. We should try to wrap up the aftermath as quickly as possible. Let’s discuss today’s schedule over breakfast.」

With Florencia’s arm stroking me and pushing from behind, I reluctantly got out of bed. After changing clothes, we will be heading to Florencia’s room for breakfast.

「Oh, an Ordonnanz.」

The second bell may have rung, but most will have barely left their beds at this time of day. The message was not likely going to be a simple matter. With bated breath, Florencia and I watched as the white bird perched on Rihyarda’s hand.

「It’s Ottilie. When Roderich and I were holding a meeting in the attendant’s room, he suddenly experienced intense pain. The pain subsided within a few seconds, but according to Roderich, there was a significant change in Rozemyne-sama’s mana. It may be a good idea to inform the Aub about this.」

……A significant change in mana? What does that mean?

Major changes in mana rarely happen in normal living conditions. Upon receiving the unexpected news from Rozemyne’s attendant, Florencia and I exchanged glances. Rozemyne and Ferdinand should already have left for the Sovereignty right now, apparently in order to capture the enemies who headed there from Ahrensbach. Something must have happened to her there.

「Should we go check the situation at the Royal Academy after finishing breakfast?」

If we go to the Royal Academy, we should be able to contact Rozemyne or Ferdinand via Ordonnanz since we are both in the Sovereignty. Unexpected situations often arise around Rozemyne. That’s not to say that we should accept everything that comes, rather that we often have no way to avoid it. However, Rozemyne is currently the only one who possesses Grutrissheit. Any danger to her life can be considered a national crisis.

「Rozemyne is still a member of the Ehrenfest archducal family until officially appointed Aub at the Archduke Conference, or taken in by the royal family. I have responsibility for her actions and words as Aub Ehrenfest, so I need to know what’s going on. Ferdinand won’t explain everything in detail anyway.」

Upon hearing my words, Florencia gently placed her hand on her cheek and turned to her attendant, Maxine. I remembered that Maxine’s daughters serve as Rozemyne’s guard knight and attendant.

「I understand how you feel, but I don’t think it makes sense for you to rush out when we don’t know who is where and doing what. It would be more useful to contact the knights at the dormitory and order them to gather information, or to preemptively prepare for any communication from Rozemyne and be flexible in our response.」

「It is exactly as Florencia-sama says. We will receive immediate notification if something happens to Rozemyne-himesama. We must finish changing clothes and having breakfast first, otherwise we won’t be able to act in case of an emergency.」

The two of them rejected my idea of visiting the Royal Academy, urging me to change and have breakfast quickly. Florencia smiled and returned to her room with Maxine, saying, “See you at the breakfast table.”

「Rihyarda, inform the knights in the teleportation room at the Royal Academy. And make sure to tell Rozemyne’s attendants not to neglect their preparations so that they can accommodate any unexpected incidents involving her. I have a bad feeling about this.」

「Understood.」

After giving the instructions to Rihyarda, I left the bedroom and entered my own room, heading towards the changing room with my male attendant.


「I’ll review the reports from the knights after breakfast, see them off at the third bell, and meet with the scholars regarding the Archduke Conference in the afternoon.」

「Yes, even if the aftermath of the battle keeps us busy, we can’t neglect preparing for such customary events. This year’s Archduke Conference will involve various considerations regarding Rozemyne’s future. It’s better to proceed with preparations as quickly as possible and make some time for flexibility.」

As we discussed today’s schedule over breakfast, Rihyarda entered with a letter in hand and wearing a troubled expression. She showed me the letter and wooden plaque.

「I would rather not bring such a matter to interrupt your meal, but it seems to be urgent.」

「Is that from the knights at the Royal Academy? Isn’t it too soon for a response?」

「Just as your order reached the Royal Academy, they received a message from Justus requesting that the dormitory be opened. They unlocked the door based on your orders to act flexibly, then Justus requested an urgent meeting with the Aub. How shall we respond?」

The wooden plaque handed to me was from a knight, reporting how he complied with my orders and accepted Justus. The letter was from Justus, but it was not sealed and had unusually rough writing, disregarding the usual formalities. Ferdinand was always meticulous about paperwork, so I never expected one of his attendants to submit such messy documents.

「…Such a hastily written note that I can’t believe Justus wrote it.」

「Good grief, what does the boy think documents submitted to Aub should be like? He needs to be given a warning… but well, it’s an emergency situation now, and I don’t know if he brought proper paper and writing instruments to the battlefield.」

“I think it would be better to report directly, so I request a meeting.” was written at the corner of the piece of paper. Although it initially seemed to be a meeting request, the letter’s contents clearly contained several of Ferdinand’s demands.

……Wait, wait. I understand the part about “prepare a resting place for Rozemyne and give her light food before medicine”. But what is “we will be conducting a discussion with the royal family at the Ehrenfest Dormitory. Will inform you about date and details later” supposed to mean? What does he want from us?

My head started to ache, but Ferdinand’s demands were clear. It seems best to set aside the royal family discussion without any certain date for the time being. I handed the letter I finished reading to Florencia and instructed Rihyarda only regarding the matter mentioned as “urgent”.

「Rihyarda, sorry to bother you, but please gather Rozemyne’s attendants, including Brunhilde, and have them hurry to the dormitory.」

「Can I interpret that as an order for me and Brunhilde to act as Rozemyne’s attendants?」

「Yes, if it really is urgent, her remaining entourage members won’t be enough. Prioritize attending to Rozemyne for now since she possesses Grutrissheit.」

「I understand. I’ve already sent an Ordonnanz to Norbert, so he should be arriving soon.」

As Rihyarda hurriedly left, a pale-looking Norbert entered almost at the same time as her replacement. He is my head attendant and responsible for managing various schedules in the castle. Visiting the archduke couple’s breakfast with such a panicked expression is something he never does.

「I have just received an Ordonnanz from Rihyarda, informing me about documents suggesting that there will be a discussion with the royal family happening in the Ehrenfest Dormitory tea room…」

「That’s right, there will be significant changes in the schedule.」

Florencia, who was blankly staring into space after she finished reading, handed Justus’s letter to Norbert. His complexion got worse and worse as he read each line of the letter.

……I feel you. This annihilates our entire schedule.

The Defense of Ehrenfest happened when we needed to prepare for the Archduke Conference, and now, a discussion with the royal family was scheduled to take place at the Ehrenfest Dormitory before even finishing the cleanup. I can only imagine how hard the attendants will have it with their frantic preparations.

「We’ll discuss the details after the meeting with Justus. I’ll grant permission for him to teleport to the castle from the dormitory. Norbert, I leave the preparation of the meeting room to you. Florencia and I will likely be having our breakfast tea in the meeting room. If possible, let Charlotte know and have her join us.」

「Understood. I shall also prepare some light snacks for Justus-sama.」

Norbert quickly left. Surely his thoughts must be in disarray as well. I sent an Ordonnanz to the knights stationed at the teleportation circle, instructing them to teleport Justus. Karstedt, who has been observing the whole exchange by my side, crossed his arms with a puzzled expression.

「What circumstances would lead to the royal family having a discussion at Ehrenfest Dormitory’s tea party room?」

「It’s very clear that your daughter is deeply involved. Don’t pretend to be an unrelated party.」

「Rozemyne is your daughter by adoption as well. And by the way, the one making unreasonable requests and scheming is your brother, not my daughter.」

「Damn it, Ferdinand. You know how busy I am…」

I expressed my dissatisfaction, but Florencia calmly pointed out that we should finish breakfast quickly since Justus will arrive soon.

「I informed Kazimiel-sama at the temple about the schedule change.」

「So the sendoff for the Kirnberger and Haldenzell knights will remain on schedule?」

Despite still being in the middle of breakfast, attendants started coming and going busily. Everything was in disarray with the rescheduling notifications flying around.

By the time we had almost finished breakfast, Charlotte responded that she would join us. Her attendants must also be surprised by the upheaval in today’s plans.


「This is Norbert. I have brought Justus-sama to the meeting room.」

The Ordonnanz arrived around the time breakfast was over.

「I know we’re busy, but we can have tea in the meeting room. Let’s pray Ferdinand and Rozemyne haven’t caused any additional trouble.」

「It’s a bit too late to pray now. They wouldn’t have contacted us in the first place if there was no trouble.」

「I’m starting to get a headache before even hearing the report.」

I took Florencia’s hand and moved to the meeting room. It seems Charlotte hurriedly finished her breakfast as well. As we exited the Archduke’s residential area, we saw her figure at the end of the corridor. When we entered the meeting room, Justus was there enjoying a light snack served by Norbert.

「I managed to consume potions and rations during the battle, but it’s a relief to have a proper meal like this.」

After waiting for the attendant to finish preparing tea, I asked Justus about what happened.

「Due to the report I sent, you should already know the details of our journey to the Royal Academy in response to Dunkelfelger’s request. We arrived at the Royal Academy at midnight as planned, then met up with Dunkelfelger. Occupying the villa itself wasn’t too difficult, but some unexpected events followed.」

「Did they involve Rozemyne?」

「No. There was a rebellion at the royal palace, which required Dunkelfelger’s forces as reinforcements, causing them to abandon the front lines without consulting us. Prince Hildebrand was manipulated into opening the innermost chamber by the Central Knight Commander, allowing Lanzenave’s forces to obtain Schtappes. Also, Lanzenave’s king acquired Grutrissheit. Rozemyne-himesama was not involved in any of these events.」

Justus calmly listed off the unexpected events, causing myself and Florencia to widen our eyes and Charlotte to cover her mouth. Meanwhile, Karstedt let out a sigh of relief.

「It’s good to know that Rozemyne wasn’t involved.」

「Wait, wait, wait! There are so many things we can’t overlook, even if Rozemyne wasn’t involved!」

「That may be true, but none fall under Ehrenfest’s jurisdiction. We should have no problem overlooking them.」

……You may not find it problematic, but there’s no way I can do that!

Before I could voice my inner scream, Florencia was quick to restrain me.

「As Karstedt says, we don’t have the luxury of considering things unrelated to Ehrenfest at the moment. Justus, is there any event involving Rozemyne or one that Ehrenfest must take responsibility?」

Florencia questioned Justus, who pondered with his hand on his chin.

「…A massive magic circle and pillar of light appeared above the Royal Academy, probably due to something Ferdinand-sama and Rozemyne-sama did. Though this was flashy, it didn’t have any significant impact on the battle. Ferdinand-sama did summon Prince Anastasius with an Ordonnanz, send an Ordonnanz urging Trauerqual-sama to take the lead in battle, as well as take the initiative in striking at the auditorium. However, such may be viewed as actions born out of loyalty, since he was prompting the royal family to come to their senses…」

「That’s outright contempt! What was he thinking!?」

I didn’t expect it to be Ferdinand instead of Rozemyne causing trouble with the royal family. I sighed in frustration, but Justus merely shrugged.

「Do you think my master would put himself in a situation where he could be accused of contempt? On the contrary, he used a recording magical tool to store any testimony condemning the Zent, as well as the knights questioning his actions.」

「Oh my, Uncle is quite thorough. To think he maintained the presence of mind to think about recording tools even while commanding a battle…」

Charlotte, who was overwhelmed by the barrage of information during the defense of Ehrenfest, exclaimed in admiration. It’s certainly impressive, but am I the only one with the deeply felt wish to never have him as an enemy?

「The interior of the auditorium was transformed as during the graduation ceremony, filled with the knights led by the treacherous Central Knight Commander. Many of them were believed to be controlled by trug. The altar statues moved during the battle, revealing the king of Lanzenave wielding Grutrissheit. He was capable of stacking blessings like Rozemyne-himesama, as well as appearing to easily defend himself against Ferdinand-sama’s attacks.」

「Defending against Ferdinand’s attacks!? Isn’t that quite a formidable enemy?」

As I widened my eyes, Justus agreed saying, “He was stronger than expected”. Ferdinand has a ton of mana. Even if he only launched attacks relying on sheer mana amount alone, defending would be no easy feat. I gritted my teeth at Justus’s words.

「On top of that, he had instant-death poison too. The moment our enemy touched the silver tube, Rozemyne-himesama used an auxiliary magic circle for wide-area magic and cleansed the inside of the auditorium. I must say that was quite a surprise.」

「Cleansed?!」

「The auxiliary magic circle for wide-area magic combined with Waschen? Could it be the same one used during the Groschel Entwickeln?」

「I believe so. That had the scale to wash the entire city of Groschel. Onee-sama alone is sufficient if only washing the inside of the auditorium.」

Florencia and Charlotte nodded in agreement. Justus wore a shocked expression after seeing that.

「It seems many interesting things happened after we went to Ahrensbach.」

Justus seemed intrigued, but we don’t have time for such side discussions.

「Was the wide-area Waschen the only thing Rozemyne did?」

……If so, there isn’t much of a problem.

「No, afterwards is when the situation got serious. Following the Waschen, Rozemyne-himesama went atop the altar. A pillar of light emerged from the divine statues, seemingly reacting to the mana of the three present, then all of them vanished.」

「…What?」

「Despite their sudden disappearance, the battle wasn’t over yet. Everyone prioritized capturing our enemies. In the midst of that, Hartmut and Rozemyne-sama’s other namesworn entourage members burst into pain, claiming there was a significant change in her mana.」

「We’ve received reports about the same symptoms appearing in her entourage members remaining in the castle.」

「Then Hartmut caused a commotion, shouting that a goddess descended on Rozemyne-himesama. He was then restrained and thrown to the ground by Leonore.」

「A goddess descended? Another of his dramatic exaggerations…」

「I didn’t believe it when I first heard Hartmut’s outburst. But then Ferdinand-sama, who also vanished from the altar, said the same thing. It must be the truth.」

「What?」

「Are you saying that Onee-sama has literally become a goddess?」

「I’ve only heard what Ferdinand-sama passed onto Leonore and Clarissa, but he said we’ll understand when we see her.」

「When we see her?」

「Rozemyne-himesama hasn’t returned yet, so I can say nothing for sure. I do look forward to seeing her shining though.」

「Shining…?」

「I’ve heard the guard knights will be return to the dormitory via Highbeasts to avoid exposing her appearance to the other duchies.」

「Fine. I’ll order the unlocking of that door as well.」

「I apologize for the trouble. Oh, and by the way, the descent of the goddess made it so that we are forbidden from taking prisoners’ lives. This rule probably applies not only to the palace and Royal Academy, but also to those in Ehrenfest and Ahrensbach. We are not allowed to execute any enemies as punishment.」

「…What? A goddess meddling in such matters? I’ve never heard of such a thing.」

「Please take care not to offend the goddess. An order was immediately issued in the Sovereignty to refrain from taking the lives of prisoners.」

The faces of a few nobles passed through my mind, who were likely to get noisy over the difference in treatment compared to the purge. Such a pain.

「Justus. Ferdinand-sama is requesting to let Rozemyne rest in the Ehrenfest dormitory, as well as hold discussions with the royal family in the Ehrenfest tea room… That is all, correct?」

「To be more precise, he wants to entrust Ehrenfest with the logistical support.」

I frowned because I knew things wouldn’t be that simple, due to the long history we had together. Ferdinand will bleed us dry.

「If Ferdinand-sama is requesting logistical support from Ehrenfest, did he extract new information from the prisoners in the villa? Or are there dangerous individuals among the Ahrensbach nobles?」

In response to Florencia’s words, Justus revealed the information obtained from the prisoners at the Adalgisa villa.

「There are nobles who have unfavorable feelings towards Rozemyne-sama. Since she was able to take Ahrensbach’s Foundation Magic in just a few hours, they believe it is also possible to take it back into their own hands. This tendency is particularly noticeable among the nobles related to the former archducal family.」

「Not surprising… but definitely troublesome.」

「Yes, and thus we cannot fully trust the other nobles. That’s why I would like you to prepare rooms for Rozemyne-himesama and her guard knights. I would also like to prepare a room for Ferdinand-sama if possible, though I’m not certain if we can leave the Ahrensbach nobles unattended.」

「He should still have an attendant left in that mansion, right? Prepare the usual room for him. Might as well give him a place to take a little break.」

「Thank you for the trouble.」

「By the way, when is the planned meeting with the royal family? How many are attending? And will Ehrenfest as the organizer decide the invited guests?」

「I am only relaying the order to prepare the tea room, so I don’t have the details. Especially since the battle itself isn’t completely over yet. That said, Ferdinand-sama mentioned that this support would show the other territories that Ehrenfest was involved in the Battle for the Sovereignty. It will be a great advantage in the future. After all, the one who decides on the new Zent is Rozemyne-himesama, having become the avatar of the goddess.」

「Surely you mean Ferdinand, since he’s the one ordering Rozemyne around.」

「You could consider it an opportunity to put those two in your debt before they leave Ehrenfest.」

「Sylvester-sama, I believe we should accept this request. Preparations and the event itself will be time-consuming to be sure, but the return is worth it.」

「We don’t have much to spare after defending our own duchy, but I guess this is no time to be whining.」

「Especially irritating is how all of Ferdinand-sama and Rozemyne-himesama’s achievements may end up credited to Ahrensbach.」

Justus gave a cold smile. That smile alone made it clear how uncomfortable Ferdinand was in Ahrensbach.

「Speaking of the man, what is Ferdinand doing right now?」

「I only overheard the Ordonnanz delivered to Eckhart, so I don’t know the details. When I stopped by the dormitory and spoke with Leonore earlier, I heard that Ferdinand went to the Central Temple alongside Prince Anastasius and Hartmut.」

After telling Justus what to do, Ferdinand apparently gave detailed instructions to Rozemyne’s attendants on what to do when their master returned.

「So when will Rozemyne and Ferdinand be back?」

「Though I can’t say for sure, it probably won’t take too long. This is only a guess based on the instructions given to Rozemyne-himesama’s guard knights, but I think they will be back by noon at the latest.」

「I see. I would love to hear the detailed circumstances from Ferdinand himself…」

「I will inform you as soon as he returns. You will have to visit the dormitory if you wish to meet in person, so…」

「Fine, since we can’t leave the Ahrensbach side unattended. Take this. Ferdinand still needs one, right?」

I handed over the authentication brooch. I already gave one to Justus and Eckhart when they rushed into the Royal Academy dormitory, but not Ferdinand yet.

「Also, adjust the schedule so that I can have lunch or dinner with Ferdinand.」

「Understood.」

Justus got up from his seat, contacted Lasfam to prepare a room in the dormitory for Ferdinand, and immediately left the room.

I’ll be hearing from him again as soon as Ferdinand returns. We all started going our ways.

View the latest chapters at seeker142.github.io