Published: August 15, 2025
“Fran, while I am at the castle, I am entrusting you with everyone's education. Zaam, please assist Fran as much as possible.”
“Understood.”
From today until the spring coming-of-age ceremony, I will be living at the castle. This is because, while the lord and lady go to the lords' council in the capital, I must supply mana for the foundation magic.
“Rosemine, let’s go.”
“Yes.”
I put Ella, Hugo, and Rosina on their mounts. Brigitte takes her usual spot in the front passenger seat. With Darmel’s mount guarding from behind, I follow closely behind the head priest.
The moment we took off, Hugo let out a pitiful “Uhiii,” but Ella, accustomed to mounts, laughed at him, and he quickly shut his mouth.
“Pfft, you don’t have to be so scared, Hugo. You’ll get used to it soon enough.”
Listening to their conversation, Ella seemed to be acting a bit like an older sister. She seemed to enjoy teasing Hugo; her voice was a little higher and more lively than usual, which I found amusing.
“I was surprised the first time I rode, too, but now I think it’s more comfortable than a carriage.”
“Rosina! …Ella, switch seats.”
Hugo exclaimed with excitement. I understood why he was happy to get a supportive comment since Rosina was beautiful, but his attitude was too blatant.
“We can’t switch while driving~. Too bad.”
“Tch…”
Ella turned away with a pout, and Rosina chuckled quietly. It sounded like they were having fun behind us, and I was a little envious.
When we arrived at the castle, Norbert came to greet us. Behind Norbert were Brother Eckhardt, Brother Cornelius, and attendants Richarda and Otilier.
“Welcome back, Lady Rosemine. Welcome, Ferdinand. Everything is already prepared for you all.”
I tilted my head, wondering what preparations he meant, but the head priest, after seeing the mounts secured, slowly nodded.
Norbert got off my mount with the three assigned staff and looked around before giving instructions.
“Rosemine’s personal chef should head to the kitchen. Otilier and the others will carry the luggage and guide the musicians to Lady Rosemine’s room.”
“Understood.”
“And from now on, Darmel and Brigitte may not enter the place we’re heading to. The guard knights will be replaced by Cornelius, and the two will be granted leave.”
“Yes!”
Darmel and Brigitte stepped back and knelt on the spot. Hugo and Ella, each carrying their luggage, headed to the kitchen with one attendant, and Rosina carried Fischpiel, walking toward the North Wing with Otilier.
“Lady Rosemine.”
“What is it, Norbert?”
“Please prepare the mounts. We will be walking through the main building for a while.”
It seemed we weren’t going directly to our rooms but somewhere else. I brought out a one-person mini-bus and boarded it.
“I will guide you.”
I followed behind Norbert and the head priest in the one-person mini-bus. Brothers Eckhardt and Cornelius came along as guard knights, and Richarda followed as an attendant.
We entered the main building through the back entrance, went up the stairs, and headed to the lord’s office.
“Aub Ehrenfest, Lady Rosemine and Ferdinand have arrived.”
In the lord’s office, the lord and lady were gathered along with their respective guard knights and attendants, as well as Wilfried, Brother Lamprecht, and Oswald.
Seeing us at the doorway, my foster father stood up.
“Ah, you’re here. Then, let’s go.”
When the head priest and I entered the office, Brothers Lamprecht and Eckhardt stepped outside, standing guard to ensure no one else could enter. The door was then closed by attendants, and in front of the inner door stood Brother Cornelius and the guard knights of my foster mother.
“What is going on?”
Feeling the tense atmosphere, I instinctively grabbed the head priest’s sleeve. He raised his eyebrows lightly.
“I explained that we will be infusing mana into the foundation magic, didn’t I?”
It was a simple explanation, and he said it wasn’t much different from dedicating mana to the divine relics or imbuing mana into the Lesser Holy Grail during dedication ceremonies. Who would imagine it would be such a cautious and tense affair?