I was worn to the bone from running myself ragged. The reason being that I was studying day and night to meet the demands of my new little sister
On top of that, there were countless other tasks as well. Winter preparations for the orphanage and my own chambers, arranging winter handicrafts and printing, studying how to handle nobles at the winter social gathering as instructed directly by the Chief Priest, and lectures on Magic Power compression. My head was already spinning.
For the ceremony itself, the management of the medals used to register Magic Power and the telling of the myths — the parts where my voice wouldn't carry — were assigned to the Chief Priest, because it was deemed too unreliable to entrust to me. But I had more or less memorized everything I needed to do. I worked incredibly, incredibly hard.
However, I had no intention of showing Charlotte any of this effort.
...Because I wanted to make it look effortless and have her say, "Sister, you're amazing!"
I limped toward the end of autumn in a half-dead state, and winter arrived. Through the fluttering snow, the winter baptism ceremony was held in the lower town.
At that baptism ceremony, I genuinely began to think that there might really be gods in this world. The gods rewarded me for working so incredibly hard. My family actually came all the way to the door!
While my family peered in with worried expressions, Camille came running, bundled up in fluffy winter clothes. He toddled along unsteadily, looking so precious and fragile.
...E-everyone, look! My little brother is seriously adorable. So adorable I'd genuinely worry about someone trying to kidnap him. Because I would absolutely want to scoop him up. What is with that little bottom! Thank the gods!
At a single glance, all my fatigue vanished. And on top of that, Camille waved at me. It was because Turi told him to, but that didn't matter at all. He waved bye-bye to me!
...Aaagh, what do I do!? I'm so excited I might not be able to make it back to my room on my own from the prayer hall!
While I stood on the dais trembling with excitement and emotion, the grey priest heartlessly closed the door, but when I closed my eyes, Camille's adorable form was seared into my mind.
"
"...Ah, Chief Priest. I'm a bit too excited and my head is spinning, so please let me rest."
Leaning against the altar where the Holy Book was placed, the cool white stonework felt delightfully refreshing against my skin. I cooled my head on the cold altar and closed my eyes, savoring the image of Camille's adorableness.
"So excited you can't move? Are you truly an idiot?"
When the Chief Priest — who looked awful, like he had a hangover from compressing too much Magic Power — said this to me, I pouted, but I really couldn't move.
"Rozemyne, if you're going to rest, then do it in your room after taking your medicine. You won't recover in time for Charlotte's baptism ceremony."
"That would be a problem."
When I snapped my eyes open, there was the Chief Priest with his terrifying expression. As I recoiled in surprise, he wordlessly scooped me up, carried me down from the dais, and handed me over to
"Fran, make sure she recovers before we depart for the castle."
"Understood."
Fran carried me off as we walked. As soon as we returned to my room, I was given medicine and tossed into bed along with a wooden tablet listing the ceremony's instructions.
"Lady Rozemyne, we have reading material as well, so please rest at your leisure in bed until it is time to depart for the castle."
"...Y-yes ma'am..."
Without being allowed to do anything other than practice for the ceremony and give instructions for the winter season, the day to depart for the castle arrived. This year, the baptism ceremony would be held the very next day after moving. According to Fran, the Chief Priest had arranged for us to stay at the
From early morning, I was changed into the High Priest's ceremonial robes by
Since I was to enter the grand hall before Charlotte — who was actually the one being baptized — I was taken to the waiting room even earlier than last year. My guard knight was Brother
Through the waiting room window, I could see the main building's front entrance, where carriages were arriving one after another. Nobles with their families stepped down, and from the next carriage, people who appeared to be their Attendants descended. I could even spot some carrying instruments — presumably musicians.
"...That's quite a crowd."
"On the first day and the last day, every noble in Ehrenfest gathers. Congestion is to be expected." Brother Cornelius said this with a slight shrug while looking out the same window. In the meantime, magical beasts continued arriving from the sky, and the front entrance was thoroughly jammed. The grand hall would be packed as well.
"You've arrived already, Rozemyne?"
"Good morning,
The Chief Priest entered the room in his ceremonial robes. Shortly thereafter, one of the attendants came to call us. It was time to enter the grand hall.
I entered together with the Chief Priest.
Just like last year, an altar had been constructed at the center of the stage. To the left of the stage stood the Lord and his wife, along with their guard knights and Attendants. To the right of the stage, musicians holding feysicles stood in a row, while the families of the children receiving their baptism ceremonies held their Magical Tool rings.
I walked about three or four paces before the Chief Priest took a single step, and we crossed the center of the grand hall together. After ascending to the stage and sitting in the prepared chair, I received a muttered complaint of "You're slow," but it was too late for such things to matter.
With our arrival, my adoptive father, the Lord, ascended to the stage.
"This year too,
Once the Lord's announcement of the social gathering's opening was made, the nobles raised their Stabs to light them, praying for the Goddess of Spring's swift recovery.
Then, the outline of the incident at the autumn hunting tournament and its consequences were announced. It was declared that
Some received minor demotions, reduced stipends, or fines — the punishments themselves were light. But it was made widely known at the social gathering that none of them would ever be entrusted with important roles again. That, for them, was the greatest punishment.
After the remaining minor announcements directed at all the nobles were concluded, the baptism ceremony and debut finally began.
The Lord descended from the stage, and I took his place, climbing onto the prepared step at the center of the stage while being careful not to step on my hem. The Chief Priest stood beside me and spoke.
"Welcome the newest child of Ehrenfest."
At the sound of the Chief Priest's voice echoing through the grand hall, the musicians began playing in unison, and the doors slowly opened. The children who had been lined up before the doors began to move. Charlotte, the Lord's daughter, was at the front. I could see her walking down the center of the packed grand hall with a tense expression.
Charlotte's outfit was fitting for a baptism ceremony — a fluffy, warm-looking white ensemble adorned with red decorations and embroidery in the winter's noble color. A red collar knitted from yarn was attached, which set off her curly, silvery-golden hair beautifully. The red flower hair ornament I had lent her looked wonderful against her light-colored hair.
Her navy-blue eyes, which had been wavering with anxiety, spotted me and lit up in a small smile.
...Hang in there, Charlotte. I'll do my best too.
When the children halted before the stage, I gestured for Charlotte to come up, locking eyes with her as I waved her forward. Following my instructions, Charlotte and the others climbed onto the stage and lined up in a row.
There were eleven children receiving their baptism ceremonies this year, and five of them would have their ceremonies performed. The ceremony proceeded almost exactly as it had last year. The only significant difference was that I was standing in the position of the High Priest conducting the rituals.
After the Chief Priest narrated the myths in his resounding voice, I called out each child's name. Starting with the children of the lower nobility, Charlotte was the last.
"Charlotte."
When called by my voice, Charlotte approached me with a beaming smile. I held out the Magic Power testing Magical Tool, wrapped in thin leather that wouldn't conduct Magic Power.
Charlotte took the Magical Tool's wand and activated it. Applause erupted, and I produced the medal. After having her stamp it like a seal, I registered Charlotte's Magic Power onto the medal.
"You are blessed by the five gods — Light, Water, Fire, Wind, and Earth. By striving to live in a manner befitting the gods' blessings, you shall receive even more."
Once the registration of Magic Power onto the medal was complete, it was immediately placed in the box managed by the Chief Priest.
At the same time, my adoptive father, holding the Magical Tool ring, ascended to the stage. He presented Charlotte with the ring that would release her Magic Power, and his eyes softened tenderly before his beloved daughter's growth.
"As my daughter, and as one recognized by the gods and by all, I present this ring to Charlotte. Congratulations, Charlotte."
"I am most grateful, Father."
Charlotte happily stroked the red magic-stone ring now resting on the middle finger of her left hand.
My adoptive father looked up and sent his gaze toward me. I gave a slight nod and bestowed my blessing upon Charlotte.
"To Charlotte, the blessing of Earth Goddess Geduldh."
A red light from my blessing flew toward Charlotte. In truth, practicing this blessing had been the most difficult part of the ceremony rehearsal. Adjusting it to the right amount was extremely hard for me.
According to the Chief Priest, my blessing was heavily influenced by my emotions. If I did it unconsciously, the blessing given to an unknown noble versus Charlotte would be drastically different.
A High Priest administering blessings at a baptism ceremony couldn't possibly show such blatant favoritism, so I had been made to practice controlling my blessing extensively.
Thanks to that practice, I was able to give a blessing comparable to what others received. While I was inwardly relieved, Charlotte, having received the blessing, began charging her own Magic Power into the ring.
"My apologies."
A soft, fluffy red light floated gently toward me. This blessing-in-return drew applause from the nobles, and Charlotte's baptism ceremony came to an end.
After all the ceremonies were completed came the debut celebration. To celebrate the noble children who had received their baptism ceremonies this year officially joining the ranks of the nobility, and to pray for the gods' continued blessings, they would play the feysicle, sing, and offer music.
A chair was placed at the center of the stage, and just like last year, the children of the lower nobility began their musical offerings in order.
"Now, let us offer our prayers to the gods and present our musical offerings."
When I called a child's name, that child would sit in the center chair with a nervous expression. A musician would come up onto the stage with a feysicle and hand it over with a few encouraging words.
After each performance, I had to say, "You did wonderfully. The gods must be pleased," to every child, then call the next one. I broke into a cold sweat each time, making sure I didn't mix up any names or the order.
"Charlotte."
Charlotte, the Lord's daughter, was the last. When she sat in the chair at center stage, a musician came up carrying a feysicle. Charlotte took the feysicle and held it at the ready.
...Beautiful, beautiful. As expected of my little sister!
Unlike Wilfried, who had slacked off on practice and was performing poorly, Charlotte had practiced earnestly as the Lord's daughter. She played beautifully. As her older sister, I would need to practice so I wouldn't fall behind.
"You played wonderfully. The gods must be pleased."
"You are too kind."
With Charlotte's descent from the stage, the debut celebration concluded. The Chief Priest delivered the closing remarks, and I left the grand hall together with the Chief Priest.
"You must change during the investiture, Lady Rozemyne, Ferdinand."
"I know, Rihyarda."
"Let us return to your room quickly."
After finishing our duties as High Priest and Chief Priest, we now had to appear at the social gathering as nobles.
The investiture was a ceremony in which the Lord presented mantles and brooches to the new students heading to the Noble Academy. After that, departure schedules and such would be announced, so the guards assigned to me now were
"Everyone, please hurry!"
Scolded by Rihyarda, who was striding ahead at a brisk pace, Damuel and Brigitte broke into a jog. I increased my lesser beast's speed so as not to be left behind.
When we returned to the room, Ottilie had already prepared my change of clothes. With Rihyarda and her working as a team of two, the High Priest's robes were stripped away one after another, and I was dressed in an outfit based on red — the noble color of winter.
"Come now, Lady Rozemyne. Do hurry."
My hair was fixed, my hair ornament reinserted, and then, driven forward by Rihyarda, I dashed out of the room. Mounting my magical beast, I headed to the dining hall where lunch was being prepared.
"You performed your duties as High Priest splendidly, Lady Rozemyne. Princess Charlotte must be overjoyed as well."
At Rihyarda's words, my cheeks relaxed into a grin as I entered the dining hall. It seemed the investiture had already ended, and everyone had been waiting for my arrival.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting."
The moment I took my seat, my adoptive mother addressed me with a gentle smile.
"It's quite all right, Rozemyne. Charlotte apparently made a selfish request, saying she wanted your blessing at her baptism ceremony. It must have been difficult for you?"
"Not at all, Adoptive Mother. She is my adorable little sister, after all."
It had indeed been difficult. Winter preparations for the orphanage and my own chambers, arranging winter handicrafts and printing, patrolling
I worked hard to earn my adorable little sister's admiration and praise.
"Sister, you looked so magnificent as the High Priest. It was truly wonderful. I want to be like you someday."
Charlotte gazed at me with her navy-blue eyes sparkling with admiration.
...Yes, this was what I wanted. My efforts have paid off!
After lunch, we returned to the grand hall for the social gathering. We would have to exchange greetings with the adults. Last year, I had caused a massive blessing incident during my feysicle performance debut, which resulted in the order of the investiture and lunch being swapped, and I had made a hasty exit before receiving any greetings from the nobles. But this year was different.
As the Lord's children, the three of us had to move together and receive greetings from the nobles. Moreover, we needed to demonstrate to them that Wilfried's incident at the hunting tournament had not created any rifts in our relationships.
As I scanned the nobles chatting in the grand hall, I quietly pressed a hand to my stomach. It wasn't that I had eaten too much for lunch. The thought of the exchanges that lay ahead was simply making my stomach churn.
...How many of them in here are enemies? Not all of them would be on Mother's list, and the hidden enemies were the scariest of all.
I had memorized all the names on the list Mother had sent, but I couldn't match them to faces. I had distributed a list of former
"Lady Rozemyne, Lord Wilfried, Lady Charlotte, good day."
At first, we were greeting and chatting with members of the Florentia faction, so it wasn't too painful. Part of my enthusiasm also came from wanting to properly introduce Charlotte, who would soon be entering the world of noblewomen.
However, once the Florentia faction greetings ended and the conversations shifted to nobles probing into the scandal Wilfried had caused at the hunting tournament, my stomach inevitably started to ache.
A noble approached Wilfried with a pleasant smile. I stepped in to shield Wilfried and Charlotte behind me and exchanged formal greetings, all while maintaining a pleasant smile despite knowing this was someone on the black list.
When the noble said, "I was concerned whether a soft cloth might have been draped over the White Tower, you see..." I replied with the line the Chief Priest had drilled into me, laughing as I said, "The Wind Goddess
The noble said, "Oh my, is that so?" and departed, but the thought that this kind of exchange would continue indefinitely sent a chill down my spine.
"Rozemyne, what was that noble just saying?" Wilfried, who had been smiling along in agreement, quietly whispered to me. Checking that our guard knights were surrounding us, I whispered back.
"He was saying he'd heard that you visited Lady Veronica in the White Tower, and thought that meant you'd joined the former Veronica faction."
"And what did you say in response?"
"That you would never abandon the Aub Ehrenfest."
Wilfried tilted his head as if the meaning was completely incomprehensible.
"...This is hard. How do you know how to say things like that?"
"The Chief Priest drilled it into me for today's occasion."
I had been told to stand in the line of fire. Since Wilfried didn't fully understand the situation, and Charlotte, having just completed her baptism ceremony, had never interacted with nobles before, the Chief Priest had warned me not to leave them to handle it alone. So I had been trained in the sort of snide remarks and sarcastic expressions that might come up today.
"I'm sorry. It's because I'm so incompetent."
"Um, Sister. Wasn't it truly terrible for you because of my selfish request?"
"As the High Priest, these are things I would need to learn eventually. You needn't worry about it, Charlotte."
Though surrounded by Attendants and guard knights, the stomach-churning period finally ended. We sampled the various dishes laid out in the grand hall, and it was time for us children to withdraw. What followed was the adults' time.
The three of us each took one Attendant and four guard knights and headed back to the northern wing.
"Brother, Sister. I'm glad everything went well."
"Tomorrow in the children's room, we'll play cards. I'll show everyone what a year's worth of practice can do."
"The others have been practicing too, Brother Wilfried."
Chatting amicably with Charlotte about life in the children's room during winter, we circled from the front of the main building to the back.
"Oh?"
Just before we reached the northern wing, I thought I noticed a window shift slightly.
"What is the matter, Lady Rozemyne?"
"Rihyarda, I thought that window over there moved a little."
I said, "It must be my imagination," and continued forward, but Charlotte's Attendant, who was standing near the window I had pointed at, moved toward it.
"The lock is..."
As those words were spoken, the window was flung wide open, and nearly ten figures dressed entirely in black burst in, weapons in hand. The force of their entry sent the nearby Attendant tumbling into the corridor.
"Gyaaah!"
"!"
The guard knights instantly moved to protect their masters, simultaneously transforming their Stabs and forming a formation that enclosed the attackers.
The attackers with weapons drawn and the guard knights locked in confrontation split me and Charlotte toward the northern wing side, while Brother Wilfried was separated toward the main building.
"Half of you, take the targets!"
At that cry, two of Wilfried's guard knights, two of Charlotte's guard knights, and my own guard knights — Damuel and Brigitte — drew their weapons and charged into the attackers, and a chaotic battle erupted.
"Brother Wilfried! Go back to the main building and call for help! Brother
At my shout,
"Sister, let's hurry to the northern wing! There's a barrier there!"
Already running, Charlotte's voice grew fainter even as it reached me.
I spun around in a panic. Charlotte, accompanied by two guard knights, was already dashing toward the northern wing.
A cold sweat ran down my back at the sight of our reduced number of available knights. I unbuckled my seatbelt, leaned out, and shouted.
"Charlotte, wait! It's dangerous!"
Just as Charlotte was about to reach the corridor, three more figures in black burst through the window. Two guard knights reacted immediately, but the remaining one grabbed Charlotte, who was frozen in shock, and leapt out through the window.
The sound of large wings beating the air echoed through the night, and a white pegasus appeared against the dark winter sky.
The black-clad figure holding Charlotte mounted a magical beast that spread its massive wings wide and took to the sky.
Rozemyne, you did your best as an older sister.
Now, you must do your best once more for your captured sister.
Next time: The Captured Princess.