Published: September 6, 2025
After finishing the embarrassing public confession, it was time for Angelica, Liselotte, and Leonore to return home, so the discussion came to an end. I saw off the three of them at the entrance as Brother Cornelius and grandfather split up to escort them.
“Mother, I will also return to my room.”
“Wait a moment. Let’s have a little talk in your room.”
Mother said this and headed to my room. Although I had used this room for only a short time, I was genuinely happy that it was always kept ready for me to use.
“Rosemine, you didn’t register the secret room here, did you? Come this way. By your age, secret rooms are not usually shared with parents, but let’s use one together at least once. You need to know how to do it when you register with your own child.”
…It’s probably better not to mention that I once registered a secret room at the temple with Lord Ferdinand. A notebook might suddenly appear from somewhere if I say that.
Since I could easily picture Mother’s eyes lighting up, I simply said, “Thank you very much,” and proceeded with the secret room registration without any unnecessary words. Placing my hand on the mana stone on the door behind the bed, we flowed mana together, and Mother narrowed her eyes with a nostalgic look.
“The truth is, I wanted to prepare this for you as a mother before the baptism ceremony… when you were brought to this new house and mentally unstable. But thanks to Lord Ferdinand visiting every two or three days to check on you, you didn’t show any particular signs of instability despite being in a strange house with strangers you had to call family, right? It seemed like you felt more at ease with Lord Ferdinand than with me, who had just become a mother, so I missed the chance to create this.”
Mother’s hand on mine was warm. Feeling somewhat shy, I watched as the mana threads formed the secret room. I realized anew that Mother had truly prepared herself mentally to accept me as her daughter when I first came to this house.
In the newly created barren secret room, two chairs and a table were brought in by attendants, and tea was prepared. It was a tea party just for the two of us.
“What shall we talk about first…? Right, let’s start with the matter of Darmel and Filine, which we didn’t discuss earlier.”
“Darmel and Filine?”
I tilted my head, not understanding why Mother had deliberately avoided that topic earlier. She smiled.
“If I had talked about it then, it would have seemed like a decision had been made. It’s your role to decide your attendants. I’m just conveying my wishes, so you should judge for yourself.”
In a slightly casual tone, Mother said, “Would you consider leaving Darmel and Filine behind in Ehrenfest?”
“There are several reasons, but the common one for both is that there are hardly any lower nobles at the center, so their sense of place would be even more lost than in Ehrenfest.”
Mother explained that among attendants brought by senior and middle nobles, there are some lower nobles, but she had never heard of lower nobles going to the center as knights or civil servants. Especially as attendants of the royal family, it’s unheard of.
Since they are still considering moving the Gutenbergs after seeing the situation at the center, it’s better to wait before moving the two lower nobles.
“Also, I want you to keep for as long as possible people who can maintain good contact with downtown and those who understand your way of doing things. There is a big concern that the nobility’s mindset will revert to old ways if you are absent.”
There are still few nobles who can communicate well with downtown and understand my methods. I plan to hand over things over the next year, but it’s difficult to change the nobles’ mindsets quickly. And with only Brynhildr, who will become Aub’s second wife, it’s tough to keep frequent contact with downtown—that’s Mother’s view.
“It’s the same with the temple handover. Whether Darmel and Filine, who helped Lord Ferdinand’s work closely and for a long time, remain or not, makes a huge difference. Right now, Melchior and his attendants are under too much strain.”