After the Sendoff

「I believe you are up to the task. Finish your exams as soon as possible, and be sure to come back before you do anything superfluous. What is your answer?」

At my words, Rozemyne only smiled and didn’t answer, and boarded the teleportation circle. Only Wilfried and Charlotte are surprised, since this is their first time seeing the scene.

「……Rozemyne and Rihyarda are really gone.」

The others are not surprised since they use it when they go to the Royal Academy. Lamprecht, Wilfried’s guard knight, explains, “When the light stops, we will carry Wilfried-sama’s luggage.”

「She’s gone…… Well then, Damuel, let’s get to the training grounds. I want to train as much as possible before we defeat the Lord of Winter.」

After a shrug of the shoulders, Bonifatius-sama leaves the waiting room with Damuel trailing behind him, disappointed at Rozemyne’s disappearance. Those who had come to see Rozemyne off are leaving to make room for Wilfried, who is stepping up. Elvira also says goodbye to Karstedt and the others.

……We have to finish the work that has piled up.

Today I will be working after seeing Rozemyne off. In the office, Justus should be working ahead of me. I turned around to say to Eckhart, the guard knight, “I’m leaving,” but Sylvester held my shoulders firmly.

「Hey, Ferdinand, where are you going?」

「To the office, of course. I have a lot of work to do since I’ve spent so much time on Rozemyne’s education.」

I scowl and brush off the hand on my shoulder. I have neglected not only in helping the archduke at the castle, but also in this information gathering. In fact, the temple has not been in full operation since I moved to the castle as soon as Rozemyne woke up, and I’ve yet to read all the materials that Justus had prepared for me, even though it was the most crowded time of the year. I’m worried. Besides, I would like to finish making the magical tools for defeating the Lord of Winter by the time of the dedication ceremony, since it will use mana.

「At least see Wilfried off. It won’t take much time.」

I look at Wilfried who is talking with Florencia and Charlotte, then at the servants who are carrying their luggage to the teleportation circle, and at the piles of luggage in the waiting room.

「No. It’s a waste of time.」

I ended the conversation with Sylvester with a few words and left the waiting room with Eckhart following behind Elvira’s exiting back. Elvira, who had been walking ahead of me, turned around and opened her mouth with a wry smile.

「Ferdinand-sama, I think you might be misunderstood as being cold to Wilfried-sama when you speak to him like that.」

「It’s not a misunderstanding. The only words I can think of to give to Wilfried are a few scoldings and words of advice. It will only lead to a ridiculous argument with Sylvester who will ask me if I have anything else to say to someone who is going to the Royal Academy for the first time.」

Eckhart gave a small laugh when I said that it was easily predictable.

「I’m sure Wifried, who is looking forward to his first time, will be glad to be surrounded by a kind family rather than being subjected to Ferdinand-sama’s complaints. In that sense, it is the utmost consideration from Ferdinand-sama.」

As usual, Eckhart is beautifying my words, although I simply thought it was a waste of time and a pain in the ass. Elvira looked at Eckhart as if she wanted to say something, then turned to me.

「Ferdinand-sama, is Rozemyne all right? As a noble and as the adopted daughter of an archduke, I know she needs to attend the Royal Academy, but I am still worried.」

Rozemyne is two years behind in her education, and she is at the Royal Academy with an ailing body that cannot move properly without magic tools. Elvira has a valid point. However, when Rozemyne showed signs of awakening, I talked with Sylvester and decided to send her to the Royal Academy to reduce the number of flaws she had as much as possible.

If I wanted to convince Elvira and get her cooperation in the future, I had to tell her the situation in a certain way.

I gave Elvira and Eckhart the magic tool to prevent eavesdropping, and then opened my mouth.

「As I discussed with Sylvester, there are many reasons why she must attend the Royal Academy, the main one being that a one-year delay in coming of age is fatal to the nobility. You can understand that by looking at the exception made for blue priests being sent back to noble society. Also, the marital period of noblewomen is short, giving her a disadvantage compared to men.」

We already subtracted a year from Rozemyne’s age at her baptism. We must not allow any further delays.

「Second, as the adopted daughter of an archduke, Rozemyne should not have any weaknesses other than her temple upbringing. In my experience, archduke candidates should have as few weaknesses as possible that others can take advantage of.」

「Mother, if we use the exception to delay her enrollment by a year, she is likely to be viewed as a lesser person from the Temple. Wouldn’t it be better to eliminate the possibility that the archduke candidate Rozemyne will be looked at that way?」

Elvira raises her eyebrows slightly in puzzlement and lets out a sigh.

「Rozemyne is not only from the Temple, but is still involved with the Temple as a high bishop. That’s not a very good reason to send her to the Royal Academy.」

It was Rozemyne who chose to stay in touch with the downtown area by not leaving the temple. In part, it is understandable that she has been criticized and disadvantaged for doing so. As a high priest, I am tempted to chasten the hearts of the nobles who do not understand that our mana and rituals are increasing the harvest…

「Elvira, the two years of sleep is due to the fact that she saved Charlotte. Rozemyne does not need to receive a permanent disadvantage due to that fact, as I see it.」

It is not so difficult for first-year students to finish the lecture, although it is more difficult for older students. It is better to send her to the Royal Academy even if it is too much for her, compared to being dragged down by her flaws forever.

「Even if we postpone the admission for one year, her age will not match her appearance. The same is true for the strange looks she will receive. Then, with the two-year gap caused by Jureve and the fact that the application for special measures at the Royal Academy is known, people will be more sympathetic and it will be easier to get the cooperation of the teachers.」

「But it’s not just for Rozemyne’s sake, I can’t help but feel that there are a lot of people around her who have their own agendas about sending her to the Royal Academy.」

Elvira’s jet-black eyes looked at me intently as she said this. She seemed to want to know about my and Sylvester’s intentions, not about general reasons. Perhaps Karstedt told her something.

「There is also the reason of making Charlotte feel a little less guilty. When I told Rozemyne about it, she agreed to go to the Royal Academy.」

If they are in the same grade, it is certain that Charlotte will be considered an older sister by those who meet them for the first time. Whenever she sees Rozemyne depressed about it, whenever they are in the same grade at the Royal Academy, whenever they make fun of Rozemyne’s late coming of age, Charlotte is likely to be very worried.

「So, Rozemyne did it for Charlotte-sama?」

「Yes. She is strangely obsessed with her position as Charlotte’s sister.」

This was the case from the very first meeting with Charlotte. Rozemyne had worked incredibly hard to become a respected sister.

「I thought it was a matter of factions. In the last two years the power of the Leisegang nobility declined and the old Veronica faction has been on the rise. I wonder if Aub wants to adjust the balance of factions by showing Rozemyne that she is back in line for the Royal Academy.」

「That too.」

Elvira seems to think that Rozemyne has been pushed too hard to adjust the balance of factions. It would be better not to tell her that. In fact, it is Sylvester’s intention to use the trends in order to raise the level of Wilfried, who has been tarnished by the Ivory Tower incident.

Sylvester dismissed the students who wanted to promote hair ornaments, rinsham, etc. at the Royal Academy until only after Rozemyne entered the school. Therefore, Rozemyne must be enrolled at the same time as Wilfried if we want to spread her ideas at the same time as Wilfried’s enrollment. It would be too late if she enrolls with Charlotte instead.

「I understand your concern, but Rozemyne has come out of Jureve because she has recovered. Her body has already detoxified.」

I shifted the subject to Rozemyne’s physical condition to divert Elvira’s thoughts from Sylvester’s speculation.

「In two years she has lost a surprising amount of strength, but with the help of some auxiliary magical tools she can move about as well as anyone else. This is confirmed by her training with Bonifatius-sama.」

「As Ferdinand-sama said, a normal person can return to their daily life once they leave Jureve. You don’t have to worry too much, Mother. She hasn’t been sick in the period leading up to today’s departure either.」

……That’s easy for you to say. It is only because I carefully adjusted her schedule.

I paid close attention to the changes in her health because if she got sick, Rozemyne would say, “I can’t go to the Royal Academy after all”.

「Rozemyne is frail by nature. I should say that she is used to moving in poor physical condition and has mastered the art of moving in such a physical condition. This would be no different than if she had gone to the Royal Academy two years ago in the same physical condition.」

If she had not been poisoned, it would have healed more, however. Even now, compared to two years ago, the mass of mana in her body has melted away. Once she regains muscle strength and becomes accustomed to handling mana, she should feel healthier than ever before.

「As you are thinking, the gap of two years is big. Rozemyne’s common sense as an noble was not enough at all.」

A lot had happened during the preparation for the Royal Academy. Elvira looked as if she remembered something and nodded her head in agreement.

Rozemyne is from a commoner background. This is a departure from the usual ten year old noble who has the common sense of a noble from the very beginning, and on top of that, she was in Jureve for two years.

「But I took all possible measures. I got her to master the contents of the classroom lectures so that she can get a good grade as an archduke candidate. The classroom lectures will not be too difficult to complete.」

「Well, Ferdinand-sama. What about the practicals?」

Rozemyne has been wearing a support magical device all the time since Jureve, when the cluster of mana in her body was melted. Therefore, the flow of mana was unstable and she had a hard time training to produce a highbeast while strengthening her body.

「I am not particularly worried about it, though she will have to work very hard to finish it before the dedication ceremony. I know she can do it for the library and the books. I also asked for Hirschur-sensei’s help so that she could keep an eye on the practicals.」

Hirschur being a dorm supervisor who was very helpful to me during my time at the Royal Academy. I have informed her of Rozemyne’s condition, so I am sure she will keep an eye on her.

「I have also ordered her to return for the dedication ceremony, to restrain her from socializing with the other duchies with her lack of noble common sense. It will reduce the chance of social failure and help her to get back on her feet.」

「Well, so you made the return order for Rozemyne’s sake then?」

Elvira blinked her eyes in admiration, but of course not only for Rozemyne. The Blue Priests do not have that much mana, so it would be difficult for me to perform the dedication ceremony alone.

「Considering Ehrenfest’s ranking, we don’t need to be particularly socially active to avoid attracting attention. There is also Wilfried-sama, so we will be able to operate in Rozemyne’s absence.」

Eckhart said as he nodded several times. Sylvester wanted to promote Wilfried as the next archduke, and that’s why he needed to spread the latest fashions at the Royal Academy. If so, it would be better for Wilfried if Rozemyne is not there.

「The library is the only source of concern… Rozemyne will become excited for libraries, but she will also act reckless. It is both a medicine and a poison. That’s why we sent Rihyarda. If anything goes wrong, Rihyarda can stop her. Above all, I don’t think that anyone in their right mind would push the unwell Rozemyne to do anything unnecessary.」

「I also told Cornelius to think only of Rozemyne’s safe completion of her first year. He will fight hard as her brother and a guard knight to protect Rozemyne this time.」

Her guard knights deeply regretted being able to protect Rozemyne from the attack. I have heard that he has grown up a lot during the past two years under the training of Bonifatius-sama. I nodded lightly to Elvira who had high expectations for her son.

「Sylvester will be receiving a report from her entourage. If Rozemyne is over-straining herself, we can give her instructions or urge her to return. Beyond that, the ones at the Royal Academy will have to handle the rest.」

「I am relieved by your concern. I look forward to her return in mid-winter.」

Elvira smiles reassuringly. I am glad to see that she is convinced about Rozemyne entering the Royal Academy.

「When Rozemyne returns to Ehrenfest in mid-winter, she may have a chance to meet with nobles. I would like to have someone to meet with her to get her accustomed to socializing a little bit, and I would like to leave the selection to you.」

It is likely that there will be an influx of Leisegangs happy at her awakening. Rozemyne will certainly be unable to handle this. We will have to start slowly, making mistakes only under Elvira’s watchful eye, and carefully selecting those who can be handled.

……Even if the nobles treat her as a relative, they are only strangers to Rozemyne.

Going to Royal Academy or staying at Ehrenfest, either way, Rozemyne doesn’t seem to have any time to relax. She should try her best to finish her lectures and go to the Royal Academy library. This would probably count as the best recuperation to her.

At that time, I had no idea that Rozemyne’s reckless behavior to enter the library would come back to haunt me.

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