Ascendance of a Bookworm

The urgent news brought by the magical tool letter prompted Georgine and Dietlinde to return immediately. Georgine’s final smile and her parting words, "We will meet again soon," gave off a rather ominous feeling.

“Foster Father, what was the urgent news from Arensbach?”

“It only said to return immediately. Something must have happened that they don’t want us to know about. Let’s head to the conference room.”

After those words from Foster Father, he gave a slight wave. The leadership, who had seen them off, followed suit and headed straight to the conference room. This meeting was to share the information each had gathered.

“Was there any new information?”

Information was exchanged from various tea parties and dinners held by the leadership. I quietly listened to everyone’s conversations. It seemed Dietlinde left her care entirely to the high priest while Georgine was actively engaged in socializing.

“Just a guess based on her parting smile, but I think the tea parties and dinners attended during their stay were important. At the tea parties where many from the old Veronica faction gathered, it seemed there were frequent rumors that Lord Sylvester was a terrible lord in other territories, and much was heard about Lord Ferdinand, who was to be taken as a son-in-law.”

Mother began the report.

“Georgine also seemed to have gathered information about books and printing. Since most nobles in Ehrenfest believe that the trendsetter is Lord Ferdinand, who is the guardian of Lady Rosemine, Georgine probably shares the same view after her information gathering.”

“That’s probably what she thinks. The high priest said Dietlinde asked him, ‘How many attendants will you take when you head to Arensbach as a bridegroom?’”

“How did he answer?”

The high priest chuckled softly.

“All decisions will be made to match the large territory, Arensbach.”

Depending on how you hear it, it could mean “only as many as are suitable for Arensbach,” but the high priest’s true meaning is undoubtedly “just the bare minimum based on Aurelia’s marriage.” If they didn’t bring attendants, Arensbach, which was counting on incorporating Ehrenfest’s trends, might get angry.

“Wouldn’t it be better for Lord Ferdinand to have as many cards up his sleeve as possible? Maybe bring along a few craftsmen…”

“No, without a royal decree, there’s no need to care about commoner craftsmen in Arensbach when we don’t know how they’ll be treated there. Ehrenfest’s craftsmen should be dedicated to Ehrenfest.”

I bit my lip lightly as the high priest firmly rejected Mother’s suggestion. His words now implied that he expected a state where they wouldn’t even have the luxury to care about trendsetting craftsmen.

“I have information from a lower-ranking noble of the old Veronica faction…”

Foster Mother furrowed her brows slightly and looked toward Foster Father.

“Since Lord Ferdinand, who plays a vital role in mana and administration for Ehrenfest, will be taken by Arensbach, there is a plan to return the lord candidate to Ehrenfest once Arensbach’s situation stabilizes.”

“What did you say?”

“It seems to have been said during a dinner gathering of mainly the core old Veronica faction. The lower noble who brought the information did not hear it firsthand, so its credibility is low, but it’s the most concerning information for me.”

Everyone’s faces turned serious upon hearing Foster Mother’s information. Looking at the current state of Arensbach, stabilizing the territory would not be an easy task.

“Once Arensbach stabilizes? When will that be? If you can say that, does that mean Sister has a plan?”

“Whether it’s stable from the outside or stable for Georgine makes a big difference in impression. Also…”

The high priest trailed off. I encouraged him to continue, “What is it?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“No secrets, please. Ehrenfest must consider every possible situation.”

When I said that firmly, everyone in the conference room agreed. The isolated high priest grimaced and spoke up.