Published: September 6, 2025
In Ehrenfest, since printing was possible, I was able to lend books to everyone. However, the others understandably couldn't bring out many books from their territories. We decided on an order for how to share them, lending and borrowing the books in turn. The book that came into my hands was brought by Solange from the closed stacks.
"Lady Rosemine, you have a great deal of mana, don’t you? This book is old and was moved to the closed stacks for preservation, but it contains several rare magic circles. It’s said to have been written by a scholar who studied Schwarz and his group long ago. It should be very educational, don’t you think?"
"I am honored."
If I copy this book and study it with Ferdinand and Hilsure, I might be able to create a Schwarz collection for my library. I wanted to start reading immediately, but I couldn’t just open the book right here. Books are exchanged among the attendants and civil official apprentices who brought them; they don’t come directly into my hands.
"Um, Rosemine."
"What is it, Prince Hildebrandt?"
Hildebrandt timidly spoke, shifting his gaze to the book in Arthur’s hand.
"You like reading difficult books, don’t you, Rosemine?"
"Yes, I love them."
"Since I haven’t yet entered the noble academy, it takes me a long time to read difficult books like this. You should read it first."
Hildebrandt said that, offering me the book he was supposed to borrow. I desperately suppressed my urge to grab it and looked up at Arthur.
"Is it alright? I mean... for me to borrow a prince’s book..."
"Prince Hildebrandt is very fond of Ehrenfest books and has read them many times. It’s better to let Lady Rosemine enjoy this one."
He asked me to lend it back when new Ehrenfest books arrived, and I nodded without hesitation.
"Thank you very much, Prince Hildebrandt."
"I’m glad you’re pleased, Rosemine."
…Prince Hildebrandt, such a good boy!
Thus, as a reward for becoming the keeper of the keys, I borrowed the Royal Palace Library books lent by Prince Anastasius, Solange’s books, and the Altansia book that Hildebrandt was supposed to borrow. A marvelous achievement.
The book lovers’ tea party, which I was bracing for since it was hosted by the royal family, ended up being more enjoyable than expected.
"It was very fun, wasn’t it? Well, considering we all managed to finish without fainting, that’s quite an accomplishment. But before you read the books you borrowed, Lady, you have many reports to make to Aub Ehrenfest, don’t you?"
"…Yes."
When I returned to the dormitory and tried to reach for a book immediately, Richarda scolded me. I wished I could just remember the fun parts, but that wasn’t going to be possible.
"I’ll write in the secret room."
Sighing, I stood up and headed toward the secret room. I also planned to write a letter to Ferdinand along with the report. The important points were that I had been asked to serve as head priest for the coming-of-age ceremony of the first prince and Adolphine, and that my duties as a library committee member had changed to keykeeper.
In the letter to Ferdinand, I used disappearing ink to write what I thought was important. At the end, I added, “The librarian will check whether the books in the locked stacks are okay to read before allowing me to read them. Teehee.”
While the ink dried, I finished the report for Ehrenfest. The content was basically the same, except I added something like, “I told them to get permission from Aub, so please curry favor with the royal family wisely.”
By then, the ink in the letter had dried, so I wrote more casual content with regular ink — things like the sweets served at the tea party and the books borrowed. After some consideration, I avoided mentioning the borrowed books.
"…There’s nothing that would get me scolded here, right? Yeah."
After reviewing the letter once more and sealing it, I left the secret room with both the letter and the report.
The day after the book lovers’ tea party, an invitation arrived from Dunkelfelger for another tea party. It seemed Aub had granted permission for joint research. Brynhildr brought back the invitation.