Published: September 6, 2025
I burst out of Charlotte’s room with great force, but I couldn’t keep up with Wilfried’s speed. Riding my Mount, I headed towards the main building.
“You’re slow, Rosemine.”
I looked at Wilfried walking briskly at the front. Huh? I tilted my head involuntarily. I noticed a change in the positions of the close aides surrounding Wilfried. Brother Lamprecht, who was usually the closest, was now far away. Baltolt, who had offered his name, was much closer. Perhaps the trust felt when one offers their name made a difference.
Lost in such thoughts, I made my way to the reception room based on the information from Hartmut. I checked with the Guard Knights protecting my Foster Mother at the door whether any Reizegang-affiliated nobles had come, and asked to be allowed inside. With all the lord candidates gathered asking to be let in, the Guard Knights looked very troubled but inquired inside for us.
“All of you here together? What is the matter?”
From inside the room, Leberecht, Hartmut’s father, stepped out smoothly. As a civil official to my Foster Mother, he apparently had been present. Wilfried stepped forward.
“You must be expecting Reizegang nobles, right? We want to be allowed inside. We cannot let Mother negotiate alone.”
“Please, Leberecht. This must be regarding matters concerning me?”
Leberecht showed a reluctant expression toward us, then went back inside. After confirming with my Foster Mother, he allowed us in. Inside were my Foster Mother and her close aides; facing them, seated, were the Reizegang elders—people I had seen at banquets but never really interacted with.
“Oh, Lady Rosemine!”
“What exactly are you all doing here?”
“This is an important discussion concerning the future of Ehrenfest. Lady Rosemine is the hope of Reizegang. Making her the head priest of the Central Temple is outrageous. What in the world is Aub Ehrenfest thinking?”
The elders spoke boldly, as if it were unimaginable that we’d just shown up unannounced. My Foster Mother sighed softly.
“As I have said before, this is an important matter concerning Ehrenfest’s future, so please discuss it after Lord Aub Ehrenfest returns.”
The Reizegang elders shook their heads at my Foster Mother’s words.
“We must have Lady Florentia’s understanding and have her persuade Aub. Only the principal wife can rescue Aub, who has been blinded by Fairburken... Surely Lady Florentia is not captured by Fairburken out of maternal affection?”
The elders argued that their vision was clouded by their love for their child, sighing that Aub was so much like Lady Veronica in that regard. Their argument was that if we didn’t correct Aub’s favoritism, the domain’s future would be jeopardized. Ultimately, they wanted me, rather than Aub, to become the next Aub so I wouldn’t be made head priest of the Central Temple.
When my Foster Mother smiled gently and said, “I don’t believe Fairburken is around me,” the elders nodded happily.
“Then Lady Florentia should understand that Lady Rosemine cannot be allowed to leave Ehrenfest. If a lord candidate capable of performing royal rituals at the Central Temple is needed... doesn’t Ehrenfest have another suitable lord candidate for the temple? We can negotiate something.”
The elders glanced briefly at Wilfried and laughed. Raised by Veronica, who was a criminal, and having committed crimes himself, Wilfried was considered more suitable for entering the temple. Since he wore the azure priest’s robes at the prayer ceremony in Reizegang, he should be able to enter the Central Temple too. Wilfried pursed his lips in frustration at their subtle noble sarcasm.
...They must have been saying such nasty things when we visited Reizegang as well.
Seeing this made me deeply realize how childhood mistakes haunt a person forever in this world. Being faced with the elders’ impression of the temple left me sighing.
“Foster Mother, please leave the room. Hearing such words and worrying will not be good for the baby.”