Published: September 6, 2025
The reply regarding the Toruk came from Ehrenfest the next morning. The letter I sent in the evening arrived first thing in the morning. It was clear that they took this matter very seriously.
“Brother Wilfried, what did it say?” I asked.
“It said that since the Aub is the one who speaks to the royal family, don’t do anything unnecessary. Even if you send letters, given the censorship, information could leak to anyone who used the Toruk. Also, they can’t entrust you with how much of Ehrenfest’s internal affairs you might reveal…” Wilfried read aloud.
I understood the reasoning. Since someone in Ehrenfest’s civil officials had an idea about the Toruk, it was possible that someone in the central administration knew even more.
“Above all, if the Toruk really was used against the central knights, it means there’s a dangerous person inside the central knights order or someone close to the center. They don’t want you to be exposed to further danger. Since there is a need to discuss Rosemine’s starbinding ceremony with the royal family during the territory competition, they will talk directly then.”
Nodding at Wilfried’s reading, I decided to leave the matter of the Toruk to my foster father. Indeed, if asked how I came to know about this, I would have to mention Georgine. But I know little detail about the purge this winter, and I don’t know how much I can or should say about what has happened. I worried that if I spoke too much, I would just end up scolded from all sides.
“The letter repeatedly says: do not do anything unnecessary. Be careful, Rosemine.”
“I understand. Today I will go to Professor Hilsure’s research room to do a final check on the joint research with Arensbach.”
“Very well. I will help with the joint research with Drevannel. It seems that the more mana you have, the better the paper quality becomes.”
With a letter for Ferdinand, I headed to Hilsure’s lab. Today, I was accompanied by Liselotte and Grethia, along with the Guard Knights Theodore and Laurenz.
Everyone else was busy preparing for the territory competition. Brynhildr was the central figure among the attendant apprentices, and the civil official apprentices were all tied up with the joint research between Dunkelfelger and Drevannel. Meanwhile, Richarda was busy coordinating with Ehrenfest for preparations to welcome Ferdinand and the others.
“Today, Leonore and Matthias went to the library to study monsters. Last year, thanks to Leonore’s knowledge, we barely managed to win. Judith is practicing long-range shooting; her accuracy can drastically change the situation,” Laurenz explained.
Theodore smiled proudly and nodded. Everyone was doing their best. I had to do my best too.
“Is Professor Hilsure here?” Liselotte called out as we arrived.
Perhaps locked away preparing for the territory competition announcement, Raimund hurriedly straightened his messy black hair and greeted us.
“I’m terribly sorry, but please wait a moment. I’m just tidying myself up so I don’t look unpresentable.”
Raimund’s eyes were fixed on the wagon behind me, completely captivated—as if he were being fed. After closing the door, Liselotte chuckled.
“I sent Ordnance last night and this morning as Lady Rosemine said you’d be coming to the lab, but it seems it hasn’t been tidied up yet.”
He probably prioritized research and only started tidying up in a rush after the morning Ordnance arrived.
By the time the door opened again, both Raimund and Hilsure looked neat and clean. I entered and immediately asked Raimund about the progress.
“I received a letter from Lord Ferdinand. How is Raimund’s research going?”
“I have permission to present on recording magic tools and library magic tools. If possible, I hope Lady Rosemine can create these.”
Besides magic tools that light up at preset times, it seems they developed a magic tool that can search books and materials as part of Schwarz’s group’s research. If it doesn’t move or talk like Schwarz’s tools, it saves considerable mana.