Published: September 6, 2025
“Therefore, I must become a good Aub for the sake of the love I lost.”
Dietlinde concluded with such determination, and while I felt a little somber, I suddenly became worried. The frequent mention of the next Aub made me wonder if the state of Aub Arensbach was not very good.
“By the way, how is Aub Arensbach’s condition? I was worried since Lord Ferdinand had to hurry to Arensbach.”
If Ferdinand has the medicine, maybe he could hold on a little longer. But I don’t think he would entrust the creation of the medicine to Ferdinand outside the territory. Since Ferdinand’s letters don’t describe Aub’s condition, I’m concerned whether the handover went smoothly.
Dietlinde sighed sadly, “...It certainly isn’t good. But I believe they feel relieved because with Lord Ferdinand here, the administration has stabilized somewhat.”
“Is that so?”
If she says it isn’t good even in such a tea party setting, then it must be quite bad. Ehrenfest knows about the poor condition because Ferdinand went there, but other territories probably don’t. At least, it hasn’t become a rumor in the noble academy.
“I would like to return to Arensbach immediately if I could, but my mother has told me to focus on social activities as the next Aub.”
Even if it’s a stable condition, if a family member is seriously ill, one would want to rush to their side. Holding back such feelings and attending lectures while socializing, I gained a little respect for Dietlinde. If it were me, I’d finish lectures as quickly as possible and return to Ehrenfest, staying by Father’s bedside no matter what anyone said.
“Therefore, I must show myself worthy of the next Aub at the graduation ceremony.”
“Please do your best.”
“Don’t you think I need Ehrenfest’s cooperation to attract everyone’s attention?”
“...Cooperation?”
I tilted my head, not understanding. Dietlinde seemed to think she was being straightforward, but I had no idea what she meant. I glanced at Wilfried and Charlotte, but they seemed equally clueless.
Frustrated by our collective lack of understanding, Dietlinde said, “That’s why, please teach me how to make the mana stones glow.”
“During the dedication dance practice, you made the mana stones light up to draw attention. I thought you were quite the show-off, but it’s a good way to attract the crowd. Isn’t it necessary for me, playing the goddess of light in the dedication dance?”
...What? Are you really going to be the goddess of light with electric decorations? Flashy? That’s definitely strange. It would attract attention for the wrong reasons.
I stared at Dietlinde dumbfounded. Wilfried and Charlotte also looked surprised.
“If you saw Lady Rosemine during practice, you’d understand, Dietlinde-sama, that it was gaudy. It’s not something to do at the graduation ceremony with many other Aub and royal family members present.”
“Well then, won’t Wilfried cooperate?”
She looked exaggeratedly surprised, but I was the one surprised. Does she seriously intend to do a flashy electric-light dedication dance?
“It’s not about cooperating or not…”
“Oh my, Lady Rosemine doesn’t want to teach me? You want to stand out all by yourself?”
With her deep green eyes glaring, I quickly added, “No, that’s not it... If you want to make the mana stones glow, you just need to put in magic power.”
“That won’t fool me. To light that many mana stones at the same time, there must be some method. Perhaps a magic tool to make the mana stones glow?”
...Eh? There’s no such thing.
Citing the example of all the rainbow mana stones in my hairpin lighting up, Dietlinde passionately argued that it couldn’t just be done by putting in magic power. I had to somehow steer the topic away or trick her.
While I was struggling, Charlotte whispered, “Dietlinde-sama, please keep this between us.” Dietlinde’s eyes glowed as she leaned forward, “So there really was a secret!”
“Actually, on the day of practice, my older sister was in very poor health and couldn’t stop her magic power from flowing out on its own. So she just absorbed the magic power into the mana stones; she wasn’t wearing any magic tools to make them glow.”