Published: August 25, 2025
After the spring celebration banquet ended, the nobles gradually returned to their own lands. But before that, there was the matter of meeting the representatives selected from the civil officials involved in the printing industry and those chosen by the guilds related to printing.
The day after the banquet, I was scheduled to meet with the civil officials involved in printing and papermaking.
However, at the end of the spring celebration banquet, our engagement announcement caused an uproar, as if a hornet’s nest had been stirred.
It was only natural. For those who had united around the Reizegang over the winter to promote me as the next lord, the information they had gathered during the winter had essentially dispersed. With the engagement, they now had to reassess how the power dynamics would change and gather new information.
Moreover, those in the old Veronica faction who were not fond of me would see this engagement as a sign that I would be deeply involved in the core administration, requiring them to discuss how they would respond.
By the time breakfast was over, a large number of urgent meeting requests had arrived marked as emergencies, and my attendants started scrambling about. No matter how many requests I received from important figures, I couldn’t respond to them. My guardians had forbidden me from doing so.
“I must first consult with Aub Ehrenfest about how to handle this, so please decline all meeting requests,” I instructed.
“Your Highness, these are not all people you can simply refuse to meet,” Richarda said, listing the names of the senders. Many were relatives judged by the high priest as belonging to the Rosemine faction. All the more reason to have a prior meeting before any face-to-face encounters.
“Lord Ferdinand, what should I do?”
By sending an Ordnance, I decided to leave the handling of this matter to the high priest. His response was that after finishing the meeting with the civil officials, I should return to the temple. Conveniently, the coming-of-age ceremony in winter and the spring baptism ceremony were scheduled. Having returned after two years, I had to perform the rituals as the head priest.
…Don’t think I’m lucky to be escaping trouble. I’m the head priest after all. It can’t be helped. Woohoo!
“After today’s meetings, I will return to the temple. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to hold any meetings. I truly regret this…”
“Your Highness, please at least look a little regretful,” Richarda said as she delegated the task of sending refusals to meeting requests to Brynhildr and Otilier, both senior nobles, then began preparing to attend the meeting with Lieselotte. Apparently, in the future, Lieselotte would be the one attending such meetings full of civil officials.
“I’ve heard that many civil officials involved in printing and papermaking are middle to lower nobles. While it’s one thing to have superiors present, the presence of attendants who are high-ranking nobles makes the atmosphere tense and hampers work,” Richarda explained.
By the way, today I am also heading out as a civil official apprentice. Without gaining experience as an apprentice, I cannot become a civil official. Without becoming a civil official, I cannot become a librarian.
Actually, I had hoped to be assigned to the castle library for my apprenticeship, but the high priest scolded me, calling me a fool. While tapping his temple, he said, “What is the head of the printing expansion project saying? Your apprenticeship assignment is papermaking and printing.”
…Since I already promised Lutz, I’m determined to do my best to nurture papermaking and printing industries!
“Filine, let’s work hard together.”
I smiled at Filine, who was also starting as a civil official, and she nodded nervously. Having secured a room in the castle meant we spent more time together, and I felt our relationship grow a bit closer.
“Hartmut has already been apprenticing in another department, so he’s senior as a civil official, right? Please teach me various things.”