Chapter 6

Star Festival

My plan to win Ferdinand to my side was a total success.

I had managed to snag a lunch meeting, so I made sure to prepare a meal full of his favorites, along with a bunch of goodies I thought he would like. Then, once he was nice and full with one-of-a-kind foods, I successfully negotiated for a jureve by teasing him with my future knowledge. I would have told him everything anyway, but he didn’t need to know that. His thirst to know everything was the perfect negotiation tool. Sure, he was still a bit suspicious of me, but he’ll get over it.

With my mind reading successfully delayed, I could now go full out during the trombe without worry. Eckhart and Justus being at lunch was just a bonus I hadn’t predicted. Maybe Eckhart will speak up for me since I fed him cookies.

Next up was the Star Festival. I didn’t want to get sick again, so I made my plans with the orphanage. This time, I wasn’t going to damage the buildings. Doing so would alert Sylvester—and in turn, Ferdinand—and earn me a one-way trip to the town of Ruined Plans. A few days before the festival, I told the High Priest of my plans for that day, sans trombe wood harvesting, and he agreed on the condition we were silent and cleaned up after ourselves.

On the day of, I directed the orphans to a far-off corner of the temple. As far away from the buildings as I could manage without arousing suspicion. I pulled Lutz aside while the orphans set everything up and lowered my voice to a whisper so Fran couldn’t hear me. “Hey, Lutz. These taues are going to turn into trombe wood.”

“What? How do you—oh. The other…?”

I nodded along. “Right. So I was thinking of just doing two or three of these things. I’m going to fill them with mana. Do you think you can throw them far enough? We can’t damage the white buildings at all, or else the archduke will know, and he’ll tell the High Priest.”

Lutz rubbed his chin and looked between the taues and the open space. He didn’t want to get caught either. Slowly, he nodded. “I can do that. We should move further in first, in that case.”

We went to where Lutz pointed, and by now Fran was looking at me suspiciously. I smiled at him. “I’m just going to make some extra money for the orphanage. This can get them more food and firewood for winter.”

The orphans cheered at the prospect. They were the last group to get firewood, and the temple, at this point in time, didn’t have the funds to spare for anything more than the bare necessities. Once Lutz handed out the knives and instructed the orphans, he went to stand next to me. “Ready.”

I nodded, and grabbed a taue from the basket. It instantly began to drain me of mana, and we both watched as it grew and its seeds bulged. “Now, Lutz!”

He yanked it from my hands and threw it fast. Having him throw the fruit was definitely the right call. I never would have made it that far.

The taue exploded once it hit the ground, and seeds flew everywhere, quickly digging in. Tendrils of new growth trombe rose up. I watched as the grass around it turned black, slowly spreading as it sucked up more of the land’s mana. The orphans burst into action and cut them down with practiced ease. While they did that, I glanced around.

The seeds had hit a wide area in the grass, but it looked like it had a radius limit. Beyond a few meters of the impact zone, no trombe wood sprouted. I didn’t spot any seeds on the white buildings either. I let out a sigh of relief. Hopefully that meant we chose a far enough spot and I was safe from a lecture.

We did two more taue fruits, and then the kids were free to play for the Star Festival. I stuck to staying dry this time. Still, I was a bit sad. This was my one and only chance to have fun like a normal kid before I became a noble. But I wasn’t normal. I would get sick in a heartbeat if I jumped in and got soaked. It wasn’t fair.

As if sensing my emotions, Fran cleared his throat. “Sister Myne. The High Priest has sent boards to study. Perhaps we should move inside?” I nodded and moved along. The kids won’t be able to have total fun if I were still here.

It wasn’t long before Lutz ran away again in this life. It was a growing opportunity for him, his family, and Ferdinand, so I hadn’t said anything. I asked the High Priest for help in arbitrating the situation between them one morning while working. He also hadn’t experienced my own family fighting for me, so—

“No.”

I blinked. “What do you mean, no? You have to help!” To my horror, he scoffed and completely dismissed me.

“This does not concern me. And it does not concern you, either. If this Lutz boy cannot overcome his family situation, then removing himself from the premises is the simplest route until he can properly face them. Leave him be.”

Oh. He was projecting. I couldn’t help but sigh. “Benno is looking to adopt him. Wouldn’t that fall under my jurisdiction? If Lutz’s parents disowned him, he would be an orphan, if only for a few moments. I want to talk with all parties to be sure this is the right move.”

He stared at me, evaluating me. “That is good practice. But you are strangely insistent. What is it you gain from this?”

It looked like I would need to spell it out for him. “Peace of mind. Lutz is my friend, and I care deeply for him. If his family were to give him up, I know that both sides would be upset. Family doesn’t give up on each other…”

He frowned and said nothing for the longest time. His brows furrowed in confusion, but I knew he was deep in thought, digesting my words. I thought he would deny me again. He then pulled out a blank board and some ink. “Fine. Have them come to the temple three days from now. But you must be silent.”

I nodded and took the summons board. Phew! That was a close one. I almost messed up the weave beyond recognition. Who knew my own tantrum to protect my family had such a profound effect on him? I know he doesn’t exactly have the best view of family, but come on! Maybe I should talk more about my own family while we were together. To get him used to the idea and ensure the weave doesn’t deviate further.

We worked in silence for a bit before an eavesdropping tool was passed on to me. “There is another matter I wish to discuss with you. Even though the height of summer had just passed, we should get the first ingredient right away. We are going to be heading to Mount Lohenburg for a Riesefalke egg, and you will be coming along. You need to collect the ingredient yourself, but I will be there with you so you will be in no danger.”

“J-just you and me? Isn’t Mount Lohenburg a volcano?”

“My guard knight will be coming along. I believe you have already met him—Eckhart.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. We were two less than last weave and we barely made it out alive. “Are you trying to kill us!?”

He blinked at me, evidently surprised by my outburst. “I can hear you just fine; there is no need to shout. Eckhart is a perfectly reasonable man. I assure you he means no harm.”

“I’m not worried about him! Aren’t two people too few to handle dangerous feybeasts? Not to mention, how am I meant to travel there? It’s on the other end of our duchy. I will end up sick in bed for days before we even reach our destination.”

He began to tap at his temple in thought. “The more people who know you, the more rumors that will spread about you. For someone intent on becoming a noble, you can be quite foolish sometimes.”

“Just be vague enough, and I can fill in the blanks when they meet me. And I know of two knights who can keep quiet, one of whom is a female knight.”

He silently glared at me. “I would ask how you came by such knowledge.”

Not a chance. Not yet, anyway. I gave him my best smile. “All will be revealed under Dregarnuhr’s grace.”

“A female knight would solve the travel issue. Fine. Who are these two individuals?"

“Lord Damuel of House Bernett and Dame Brigitte of Illgner.”

“A laynoble and a mednoble. Not the best, but I suppose it could work if their only jobs are to protect you. I will need to investigate them. Be ready to leave in four days, regardless of whether they accept the task or not.”

That was cutting our schedule close, but there was no helping it. I nodded, and handed back the tool. Once my morning work was done, I sent out the summons to everyone involved, and Benno added that he would bring my completed ceremonial robes by after the meeting.

Over the next three days, I told Ferdinand all about my amazing mom, my strong dad, and my angel Tuuli. He clearly didn’t like that, and I was pretty sure he tuned me out at one point after it was clear I was ignoring his attempts to silence me. But I knew in my heart he was absorbing it all. Plus, it helped lighten my own heart as well. Knowing they would soon step back from such a prominent role in my life hurt just a little.

The day came for Lutz, his family, and Benno to come in. Everyone walked into the office with determined faces and tense shoulders. Seats had been arranged, and I was already sitting beside the High Priest. Curiously, he had opted not to give me an eavesdropping tool to silence me this time around. He must have trusted me to actually stay silent. I would not betray such a huge step in his emotional development!

From there, the meeting passed as it should. Deid cleared up his thoughts, Benno made Lutz a leherl, and Ferdinand looked… Thoughtful. I nodded to myself at a job well done. Another fated knot in the weave successfully navigated.

Benno and I headed over to my chambers to try on my ceremonial robes, with Nicola and Delia’s help. The simple design was born of my own suggestions, but it didn’t have the techniques that allowed it to extend with my growth. I was almost sure it would be destroyed, so it was simple with the intention of using a more intricate design later. But with how I almost ruined this weave already, I was no longer sure I could successfully navigate the trombe situation in my own direction.

I needed Shikza to disobey his direct superior’s orders enough to harm me, trigger the trombe vines with my blood, and get Damuel on my side for also failing to protect his charge, but all in a way that won’t paint a target on my back by Shikza’s mother, who would later take part in stealing my bible key and attempt to poison me. Shikza doing so in the same way he did in the previous weave would get him executed at a later date, with express orders from Sylvester to his family to leave me be. But anything less and I risk Damuel not being assigned to me.

I was reasonably sure Damuel will show up to our jureve hunt, since his status as a laynoble was rather low on the social and money ladder. Our bonding experience during the stressful excursion might actually lead to him attempting to protect me during the trombe fight against Shikza. Unless Dregarnuhur steps in, Damuel might not be assigned to me either way. It would need to be a colossal failure.

I rubbed my head in frustration. Think, Myne.

Sylvester had used the excuse of dying in the line of duty to execute Shikza. Perhaps I could make it true. Him actually dying there wouldn’t tip off his mother. The trombe was after my blood since it was much more potent in mana than the other two. I can simply get some of my blood on Shikza and let the fey plant do the work, instead.

I immediately shivered. Having to plot someone’s death was just like the Hasse incident. I needed to save those orphans too, but as an apprentice shrine maiden, I held no power. There was nothing I could do about it, so I pushed them out of my mind and went to show off the robes to Benno. He was confused by the simplicity, but I assured him it worked for what it was needed for. There was no use wasting such high-quality fabric and techniques on something that would come back in shreds.

I also ordered some simple wooden placards, so once my book room became destroyed, I would be ready to jump in with my organizational efforts. They should be properly labeled, as all libraries are.

“Sister Myne, what are you making?” Gil inquired.

“I’m going to organize the book room with a decimal system. Here, these are the topics each book should be separated into, and each topic has a number. If we sort them this way, instead of by the date it arrived, specific books would be much easier to find.” My retainers crowded around the desk, looking over my papers. “So for example, this bible would go in the religious section.”

“And… when did you plan on doing this?” Fran asked with a strained smile. Honestly, I understood. He had a lot on his plate already, and from his perspective, I had no end of things to do.

“Not to worry, Fran. It will be done when the time is right.” I flashed him a comforting smile, but all I got was a frown in response. Well. Some things can’t be helped.

I happily sorted through my future decimal system while my attendants packed for tomorrow and left instructions on what needed to be done while I was away for a few days.

I awoke bright and early for my trip. Today I had to skip music lessons, much to Rosina’s dismay, just to arrive on time. Ferdinand was already up and packing his own highbeast. A small bit of satisfaction built within me upon seeing his luggage being strapped to his own highbeast. The previous weave had him stuffing my Lessy with his own luggage all the while complaining about it. Serves him right.

Also nearby were Damuel and Brigitte, like I had asked. My arrival was noticed, and they gathered around while my attendants packed my things onto Brigitte’s highbeast. The plan was simple. I would assume my identity as Rozemyne just a tad bit earlier than I should have, as a prebaptismal child, while not actually calling myself a noble to let them assume I am.

I crossed my arms and knelt before Damuel and Brigitte. “As a child not yet baptized, I do not have a ring, but may I pray for a blessing in appreciation of this serendipitous meeting, ordained by the vibrant summer rays of Leidenschaft, the God of Fire?”

“You may,” they both said.

“O Leidenschaft, may this new meeting be blessed. I am Rosemyne. I thank you ever so much for assisting with my jureve ingredients.” I spoke as the very essence of a noble, channeling all of the training my noble mother drilled into me. I spotted Ferdinand raise an eyebrow out of the corner of my eye, but he didn’t say anything. A silent assent, then.

Brigitte smiled. “So you are the child Lord Ferdinand mentioned. I am Brigitte. I am looking forward to our trip.”

I gave her my dazzling smile and turned to Damuel. “I am Damuel. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Are we ready?” Ferdinand asked. I pouted at him. He was always interrupting my sentimental moments. We all nodded. He came up to me with a closed fist.

“Oh? A gift?” I placed my open hand under, and a ring fell into it. As blue as the color of Leidenschaft.

“For protection. Do not use it.”

“I thank you ever so much,” I smiled at him. I can do so much more to help now. That bird was fast. Even a simple prayer to Steifebrise would help. Once Brigitte helped me onto her highbeast, we were off. I waved my attendants goodbye as they slowly turned to dots on the ground.