Ascendance of a Bookworm

“Grandfather has been hardened by hatred, having been embittered by Lady Gabriele’s marriage into the family, coldly treated by Lady Veronica, and living with growing resentment. I understand his feelings, having witnessed the decline of the Reizegang family firsthand…”

Turning his gaze back to us, Gibe Reizegang slowly exhaled. Then, surveying everyone in the room—including the close aides present—he smiled wryly.

“Unlike five years ago, the lord family’s close aides are now mostly Reizegang affiliates.”

“We have protected Reizegang long before Ehrenfest became what it is today,” he continued.

He then recounted the history of the Reizegang family. In Ehrenfest, where winters are long and the northern territories are blanketed in snow and ice, the southern lands of Reizegang served as a vital food reservoir. Generations of ancestors had cultivated the land with mana, expanding farmlands and, even as Aub changed, maintained this vast food storehouse through submission and marital alliances.

“To protect Reizegang, we demonstrated loyalty to Aub. That was our way of life. I intended to show submission to Lady Veronica once grandfather passed away.”

“What did you say?” Wilfried’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Reizegang harbors hatred and resentment toward grandmother…”

“It's rare for anyone not to feel ill will when treated so coldly. However, regardless of personal feelings, they remain members of the lord family. If showing submission to protect the land is Reizegang’s way, then even if reluctantly, they must demonstrate it.”

Unlike great-grandfather, who experienced the fall from the top and was coldly treated after a princess from another domain married in, Gibe Reizegang had known neglect from birth.

He faced reality, chose to show submission, and believed things could improve again. Plans were made for Foster Father to take a second wife from Reizegang and to marry a Reizegang daughter to the next lord, maintaining ties through marriage as before.

“However, circumstances suddenly changed. Lady Veronica was deposed before grandfather’s death. Almost simultaneously, Lady Rosemine, daughter of Karlstedt, had her baptism ceremony and was adopted as the lord’s adopted daughter.”

When I recounted the story of the blessing light I sent at the baptism ceremony and the adoption with Aub, great-grandfather rejoiced, calling it a blessing for Reizegang’s glory! He became unusually lively.

As an adopted daughter, I now qualified to be the next lord. Given Wilfried’s poor reputation at the time, most nobles assumed Foster Father sought to secure his own bloodline by making me the next lord and Wilfried my spouse.

A significant reshuffling of the castle’s civil servants and Wilfried’s close aides took place, the children’s quarters underwent major renovation, and new books and toys, led by me and the high priest, began to be sold. The castle changed visibly—even Gibe, spending time far away, noticed.

“If Lady Rosemine becomes the next lord, a Reizegang lord without blood from Lady Gabriele of Arensbach will be born. Upon grandfather’s call, the Reizegang faction, who had been coldly treated by Lady Veronica, united and began to act as a support.”

However, the attempted kidnapping of Charlotte occurred, and I fell into a coma for two years after immersing in Yureve. Without a figurehead to carry, the revival of Reizegang was impossible. Upon hearing of the attack, great-grandfather cried out, “Are there no gods?!” before losing consciousness and remaining unconscious for some time.

“Even while Lady Rosemine was asleep, Ehrenfest changed rapidly.”

The Reizegang faction gradually began filling important posts, replacing Lady Veronica’s faction. An atmosphere arose where Wilfried and Charlotte competed to be the next lord. The united Reizegang faction backing “Lady Rosemine as next lord” began to splinter as my awakening remained uncertain.

“Just as hope waned, news of Lady Rosemine’s awakening at the Winter Social Season arrived.”