Yui Amaya (Current obsession: AoB)

“Lady Letizia!? Have you finished replenishing the foundation already!?”

“Please open the door. I’m in a hurry.”

The voice of Lady Letizia echoed behind the door, even though she had only just entered the archduke’s office to replenish the duchy’s foundation.  

Justus’ gaze met Eckhart’s. Ferdinand had been asked to supply mana to the foundation even though he and Detlinde had yet to marry.  Their Lord had accepted this request and was simultaneously using it as an opportunity to educate Lady Letizia and hear her woes. They were both supposed to be in the mana replenishment hall right now.

When a duchy’s foundation was being replenished, only archnoble retainers related to the archducal family were allowed inside the archduke’s office. Therefore, Justus and Eckhart were not allowed in. The other retainers kept telling them to rest in their rooms while the foundation was being replenished, but they would always wait outside the office’s door. Because Ferdinand had ordered them to keep Detlinde away and inform him immediately should she show up.

“…did something happen?” Justus muttered.

“But that woman isn’t here,” Eckhart replied skeptically.

It had never occurred to Justus that something might happen without Detlinde present. However, the worst had happened. As soon as Letizia left the archduke’s office, she offered him the cage in her hands. It was the cage Ferdinand usually wore on his belt and contained his highbeast and three white, cocoon-like name-swearing stones.

“Ferdinand said… Go…”

An audible gasp escaped Justus’ mouth. A high-pitched ringing sounded in his ears. He could not believe what Letizia was holding in her hands. It was at that moment that Justus’ life in Ahrensbach turned upside down.

The days in which he had frowned upon Detlinde’s words and actions and been stumped by the arrogance of Lanzenave’s representatives. The days in which he had felt increasingly frustrated watching his Lord’s health deteriorate, because meals had run out due to Rozemyne’s disappearance. As everything was coming apart, he realized how relatively peaceful life in Ahrensbach had been until then.

…Lord Ferdinand!

Justus snatched the cage from Letizia’s hands. There was no doubt about it, these were their name-swearing stones. He was sure Ferdinand would never entrust them to anyone else unless he had no other choice.

…what happened? Who did this….?

As his mind went blank, the order Ferdinand had previously given them resounded in his head. It was almost as if Ferdinand had known this day would come.

“When I believe my life is in danger, I shall return your names. For I do not want you to die with me, and I need you to deliver my findings to Ehrenfest. Do not fail me.”

Justus glanced at the cage in his left hand, then touched his chest with his right hand to confirm all the necessary documents were still safely in his inner pocket. The permission slip to use the teleportation circle, the information to be delivered to Aub Ehrenfest, and the name-swearing stones that proved Ferdinand’s life was in danger. Everything was right there.

…do we really have to go?

Justus’ whole body started trembling. His legs refused to move and leave his Lord behind as he was ordered. What exactly had happened to Ferdinand was a mystery to him, but one thing he knew for certain, although Ferdinand was in serious straits, he was still alive. Yet no matter how badly Justus wanted to save him, his Lord was beyond his reach.

“What did you do to Lord Ferdinand!?” Eckhart roared.

“Hii…”

His partner’s shout brought Justus back to his senses. Eckhart, who was trying to restrain Letizia, and the guard knights, who were trying to protect their charge, were staring daggers at each other.

…that idiot!

Realizing Eckhart had completely lost his cool, Justus quickly regained his composure. He could not allow Eckhart to draw his weapon here. Justus’ hand swiftly reached out, grabbing Eckhart by the collar, and he yelled, “Eckhart, the interrogation can wait! We should prioritize Lord Ferdinand’s orders! Remember what he said!?”

Eckhart turned back in surprise. However, anger was still burning in his eyes, and he continued glaring at Letizia through gritted teeth. It was clear to Justus he did not have the time to wait for Eckhart to cool his head. If they did not leave soon, Eckhart would no doubt be captured and questioned for pointing his sword at Letizia.

…this is no laughing matter.

Justus glared at Letizia and the archduke’s office, then turned around. Ignoring the inquiries coming from Sergius and Strahl, he ran off toward the teleportation room. They could not afford to be arrested right now.

“This way.”

They would stand out running through the castle. To lose any pursuers, Justus quickly turned into one of the small hallways used by the servants. Eckhart silently followed him.

Walking at a brisk pace, Justus greeted the passing servants with a smile and a light wave as if nothing was amiss. Meanwhile, he took his name-swearing stone from the cage.

“Justus!?” Eckhart yelled in shock.

“If we do not undo the binding, we shall climb the towering staircase before we can complete Lord Ferdinand’s orders.”

“Don’t jinx us!”

Ignoring Eckhart’s angry glare and cry of outburst, Justus firmly gripped his name-swearing stone and started dissolving the mana binding him. As the white cocoon fell apart, all that remained was a bare name-swearing stone, stripped from its white box. The mana of his Lord that had surrounded him for so long had vanished. He usually took no note of it, but now that it was gone, he felt a strong sense of loss.

“…no matter what happens, I shall carry out Lord Ferdinand’s final orders,” Justus said calmly. “If you want to die with him, that’s fine with me. I can return your feystone to Lord Karstedt and Lady Elvira when I report to Lord Sylvester. Now, what is it going to be?”

The moment Justus suggested he would reunite Eckhart with his parents, even if he failed to complete their Lord’s final orders, Eckhart send him an angry glare and grumbled “Give it to me,” with an outstretched hand. “I shall deliver the information and proof Lord Ferdinand gathered to Aub Ehrenfest, then follow him once I have confirmed his death.”

“That isn’t so bad, is it?”

Thinking the reaction was very in character for Eckhart, Justus handed him the cage with name-swearing stones. You could only distinguish your own stone, because it would react to your mana. Telling other people’s stones apart was impossible.

“This one.”

Eckhart grabbed the stone with trembling hands and returned the cage to Justus, who quietly accepted it. Keeping their brisk pace, Justus watched as Eckhart started to undo the binding with tears in his eyes. He could tell at a glance that the hand holding the name-swearing stone was shaking.

Eckhart had lost his wife Heidemarie and their unborn child to poison mixed into her food. Back then he had wanted to follow her in death, but as a name-sworn retainer, his life belonged to their Lord. Ferdinand had not allowed Eckhart to take his own life and follow his wife in death. He had ordered him to, “Live your life for both of you.”

It had been Heidemarie who had originally suggested, “Let’s serve Lord Ferdinand as man and wife.” Ever since he lost her, Eckhart had faithfully served Ferdinand on her behalf as well. By now, serving Ferdinand had become the reason for his existence.

…this must be even harder on Eckhart than it is on me.

They had to undo their ultimate show of loyalty with their own hands. Few would be able to understand the frustration and disgrace they felt right now. They had failed to protect their Lord, proving their loyalty and devotion had not been enough.

…it’s only Lasfam now.

Justus looked at the final name-swearing stone that remained in the cage. It belonged to Lasfam. Ferdinand had judged that as a laynoble attendant, he was unable to protect himself. He had therefore been told to wait in Ehrenfest until after the starbind ceremony when Ferdinand’s position as the Archduchess’ husband had been established before moving to Ahrensbach. Lasfam must have been the one who regretted the postponement of the starbind ceremony more than anyone else.

…I guess we failed to keep our promise to Lasfam then.

They had promised Lasfam to play their cards wisely to ensure his smooth acceptance by the Ahrensbach retainers, and to protect Lord Ferdinand from Lady Georgine’s schemes and the various rumors going around. Yet Justus and Eckhart had ultimately failed to protect their Lord.

…I wonder if we’ll be able to return Lasfam’s name-swearing stone in time.

Lasfam’s name-swearing stone would respond when Ferdinand’s life ran out. It was hard to say if Ferdinand would last until they could return it. Just thinking about Ferdinand’s inevitable death, Justus felt his stomach turn. However, if he allowed himself to vomit, he was certain all the tears, anger, and despair he was desperately trying to suppress would come out too, and nail him to the ground. Swallowing everything back down, Justus focused on moving his legs, telling himself to prioritize Ferdinand’s final orders.

Justus took a deep breath before leaving the servant’s passages to clear his mind and plastered his usual smile on his face. The teleportation room was right ahead. They could not let the knights in there know something was amiss.

“Eckhart, your emotions are showing on your face. Quell your anger. Don’t forget, we are simply going to see Raimund at Lord Ferdinand’s request.”

There was the possibility the knights had been informed by ordonnanz, therefore some caution was required. However, when she handed him the cage with name-swearing stones, even Letizia had seemed unsure of what exactly happened. They would certainly prioritize questioning Letizia, trying to contact Ferdinand in the mana replenishment hall, and obtaining Detlinde’s permission to arrest Eckhart and him. They would not think to contact the teleportation room, right?

“Oh, off to the Royal Academy again, are we?”

“We are just going to deliver the corrected assignments and some ingredients Professor Hirschur asked for…. Extorting the necessary brewing ingredients for her research from Lord Ferdinand is unfortunately one of her specialties. It’s really quite troubling.”

As expected, no one had contacted the knights stationed at the teleportation room. Although the two knights on duty gave Justus and Eckhart looks of surprise, they immediately started preparations to activate the teleportation circle upon seeing their permission slips.

“Lord Ferdinand isn’t joining you today, is he?” One of the knights asked. “It’s rare to see both of you leave his side at the same time.”

The teleportation circle was generally only used during the Royal Academy term and the Archduke Conference. For that reason, the knights stationed at the teleportation room had been informed that Raimund was holing up in Professor Hirschur’s laboratory, that Ferdinand was keeping an eye on him, and that Detlinde had given them permission to use the teleportation circle for research purposes. That said, Eckhart and Justus had never visited the Royal Academy without Ferdinand. Justus shrugged lightly, hoping to avoid any suspicion.

“He has the former knight’s commander, Strahl, with him, and I very much doubt anything will happen while he’s replenishing the foundation. Lord Ferdinand should be fine without us for a bit. Professor Hirschur always forces whoever comes to see her to assist with her brewing, so it is not a task he can easily entrust to someone who does not know how she rolls.”

The knights, who just contacted the dormitory to inform them of their upcoming arrival, blinked in surprise.

“What? She even asks attendants and knights to assist with her brewing?”

“That’s right,” Justus answered. “She constantly had us help her while Ferdinand attended the Royal Academy. Although I am officially an attendant, I can brew as well as any scholar. To be honest with you, I fear she will be keeping us all night.”

“Haha. Joint research with Ehrenfest certainly is rough.”

With all preparations completed, the knights beckoned Justus and Eckhart to step onto the teleportation circle. As they did, they were engulfed in black and golden flames. Feeling a slight floating sensation in their stomach, they left Ahrensbach’s castle behind them.

They smiled at the knights stationed at the dormitory as they left the teleportation room. Then walked at a leisurely pace until the sound of their footsteps could not be heard anymore. As they turned around the corner, Justus pulled out the magic letter he always carried on his body. It was a permission slip that was preemptively signed by Sylvester, authorizing them to use Ehrenfest’s tea party room as a place of refuge in case of emergency.

“Eckhart, get rid of that vase.”

After Eckhart swiftly moved it away, Justus unfolded the letter on the empty pedestal and transformed his schtappe using stylo to write a request for an emergency meeting with Aub Ehrenfest and signed his name. He then passed it to Eckhart, who signed it as well.

As Justus put it in the accompanying envelope, the letter turned into a white bird and flew off. That’s when Justus and Eckhart started running. There was no one in the empty dormitory to chastise them for it.

As they exited the dormitory from the entrance hall, they ran towards the door to Ehrenfest’s tea party room in the central tower. After a short wait in front of the eighth entrance, the knight who had received their letter hastily opened the door.

“I have contacted Aub Ehrenfest. Please wait inside.”

The knight allowed them inside, then left the room. Since Justus and Eckhart no longer had their authorization brooches, they could not enter Ehrenfest’s dormitory itself. They had no choice but to wait in the tea party room for Sylvester to arrive.

Justus looked around the room and quickly rearranged the furniture for the upcoming meeting. Then, he plopped down in a chair, showing not a shred of the grace expected of a noble. He could not help it, his body just felt too heavy.

“…Is Lasfam still okay?”

Hearing Eckhart’s whisper, Justus glanced at the golden cage. Lasfam’s name-swearing stone was still there. Nothing had changed. It meant Ferdinand was still alive. However, that knowledge was not enough to stop the feeling of hopelessness eating away inside him.

…when everything is said and done, it’s not like we can save Lord Ferdinand.

Exploiting the information they carried, Justus and Eckhart would likely be accepted back into Ehrenfest, and it would give them good cause to attack Ahrensbach. However, that would not save Ferdinand. Neither Aub Ehrenfest nor the Grutrissheit-less Zent could change that. There was no one in this world who could save Ferdinand from Ahrensbach’s mana replenishment hall.

…after everything he has been through, this is what he gets?

Their attitude was inexcusable. Be it the Zent, who issued the royal order, or Ehrenfest, who completely cut them off from any information and stopped sending them food, medicine, and such after Rozemyne disappeared. Justus decided that, depending on Sylvester’s attitude at this meeting, he would take revenge on Ahrensbach’s archducal family without even considering the consequences it would have for Ehrenfest.

He would never forgive Detlinde, for pushing all of her work onto others and doing nothing herself, Lanzenave’s people, for stealing Detlinde away and increasing their workload, and Letizia and her retainers, for wasting Ferdinand’s time and putting him in danger despite him bothering to educate her.

The desire to assassinate Detlinde and Letizia, and completely ruin Ahrensbach’s archducal family surged through Justus’ body. Let the Zent tear his hair out deciding how to deal with a greater duchy that had lost its entire archducal family.

“Justus, what are you thinking about?” Eckhart asked.

“I was wondering where and what kind of magic tools I might set off in Ahrensbach’s castle.”

“…Hm, I’d rather kill all of them with my own hands first. I would not want any to get away in the chaos.”

“We could leave a single way of escape. Then, as they think they are safe, we will sink them into the depths of despair.”

They both chuckled, a devilish glint shining in their eyes. Although their laughter was light, the air in the room felt sharp and heavy. Possibly because they were suppressing their desire to go on a rampage immediately.

Suddenly, the door opened with a click.

“Excuse us.”

A few attendants entered the room and started preparing tea for their meeting with the Aub.

“My apologies for our knight’s incompetence.” One of them said. “Leaving without serving our guests some tea…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Justus responded. “We arrived rather suddenly. It’s not the knight’s fault. …when is Aub Ehrenfest expected to arrive?”

The attendant forced a smile, as she put some snacks on the table.

“He should be here soon. We were instructed to hurry.”

“Sorry for the wait.”

The attendant had not lied, Sylvester had arrived much quicker than expected. Justus briefly glanced at Lasfam’s name-swearing stone. No changes yet.

“I see the tea is done. Then you may leave and start preparations for our next guest.”

Justus and Eckhart were not the only ones, Sylvester himself seemed to be in quite a hurry too. Right after instructing the attendants to leave the room, he placed two sound-blocking magic tools on the table. After checking everyone was holding one, Justus opened his mouth to speak.

“Aub Ehrenfest, Lord Ferdinand was…”

But before he could complete his sentence, Sylvester interrupted him.

“I know. He was poisoned, right? Rozemyne told me.”

Justus and Eckhart were taken aback.

“Wait, Lady Rozemyne has returned?” Justus asked in surprise. “We heard she went missing…”

“Who told you that?” Sylvester replied with a stern look. “I gave strict orders to everyone to keep that information from leaking.”

Eckhart quickly tried to change the topic.

“Let’s focus on Lord Ferdinand’s situation for now.”

If possible, they would rather not reveal their information source, but Sylvester would not have it.

“A royal order was issued to keep it under wraps. So, state your source. I don’t want more of our information to leak.”

“…it was Professor Hirschur.” Justus admitted reluctantly. “She told us in exchange for helping her with her brewing.

Sylvester gave a heavy sigh, and grumbled, “Seems I must be more careful with what information I share with Hirschur.” with a bitter look on his face. Even so, he seemed to be relieved the information did not leak from a more threatening source. Then, his expression suddenly softened.

“That reminds me, these are a gift from Rozemyne. Should bring some color back to your faces.”

As he said that, Sylvester plopped two rejuvenation potions on the table. Eckhart and Justus had been hesitant to use any at all, since their stock had been running low in Ahrensbach. So, they were quick to accept Rozemyne’s consideration and downed the potions without delay. They tasted awful, but the rejuvenating effects were excellent.

“Where did Lady Rozemyne get her information?” Justus inquired. “We headed here immediately after the events took place….”

“She received Ferdinand’s Last Words.”

“What!?”

In this context, Last Words referred to the event in which a person in mortal danger started emitting mana to inform someone else of their situation. The person on the receiving end would be able to watch the situation like it were a video and was always a person the sender cared for very strongly. The image was generally transmitted subconsciously, and it often happened to people engaged in battle. Since it was hardly ever possible to save the person in question, people referred to it as their Last Words. In short, Rozemyne had witnessed events that Eckhart and Justus had not seen.

“What is Georgine up to?” Sylvester inquired. “According to Rozemyne, she is the mastermind behind Ferdinand’s downfall.”

Since Georgine had left her villa days ago and had not had any interactions with Letizia at all, Justus had not yet considered she might be pulling the strings.

“She left her villa roughly ten days ago to perform Spring Prayer,” Justus replied through gritted teeth.

“Then, I guess that means she could be arriving in Ehrenfest any day now?”

Sylvester let out a heavy sigh.

“Is Lady Georgine truly pulling the strings?” Justus asked.

“Yeah, Rozemyne said Georgine planned it all, then Detlinde flung the powder at him.”

…Lady Detlinde? But only Lady Letizia was there?

Detlinde wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near the mana replenishment hall. Ferdinand had made sure of that. There was a large discrepancy between the information Rozemyne had and what they knew for themselves to be true. But before Justus could ask for clarification, Sylvester suddenly grinned widely.

“Rozemyne is going to save Ferdinand tonight.”

“What?”

Unable to process the full meaning of Sylvester’s words, Justus’ eyes merely opened wide in surprise. As far as he knew, there was no one in this whole world who had the power to save Ferdinand from the mana replenishment hall of another duchy. There was supposed to be no chance of success.

“You say it is possible? That little princess can…”

“Hm? Oh, she isn’t that little anymore. Just wait till you see her, you’ll be surprised.”

Justus hadn’t seen Rozemyne in over a year. So, he agreed she probably would have grown some, but that was not what he had meant.

“Did Lady Rozemyne say it is possible to save him?”

“She persuaded Bonifatius to let her try, claiming she could save him and decided to leave at midnight. So, she must have seen something that makes her feel there is some leeway. It seems to me there is a good chance of success.”

Even if they departed at midnight, there was still a good chance of success. That meant their Lord would not die just yet. As the realization struck him, Justus felt the coil of tension snap and his body started to relax. The pitch-black darkness of despair that had engulfed him while they were waiting for Sylvester to arrive cleared up in an instant. The relief of learning there was still some hope left nearly brought him to tears.

“I have a message from Ferdinand for Lady Rozemyne. That if she stays in Ehrenfest and waits quietly, she will be able to save Yurgenschmidt and Ehrenfest. Do you think she will listen to him?”

“You think a mere message could stop her?” Sylvester replied with a smirk. “When all is over, Ferdinand will be at his wit’s end trying to clean up her mess, but that is what he gets for getting himself into trouble.”

Wry smiles appeared on Justus’ and Eckhart’s faces as they remembered how Ferdinand would always tap his finger against his temple as he dealt with Rozemyne’s unexpected actions. It was easy to imagine Ferdinand pinching her cheeks, and grumbling, “Why didn’t you listen to me?”, after she successfully saved him.

…Lady Rozemyne is truly extraordinary.

The way in which Lady Rozemyne exceeded Ferdinand’s expectations and plans time and again was exhilarating, to say the least. Now, was there anything else they could do to increase Ferdinand’s survival rate? All of a sudden, Justus had the leeway to consider the option. There was very little he could do if he limited himself to orthodox methods. No, he needed to be prepared to play his full hand, irrespective of the consequences.  No matter how questionable, if he prioritized his Lord’s life, there should be something he could do.

…that reminds me, we have that.

Ferdinand would be furious and Rozemyne would absolutely hate the idea. However, he would do anything to save his Lord’s life. A way to help Rozemyne, prolong Ferdinand’s life and in passing, pay one out to his Lord. Realizing he had found a way to do it all at once, a smile played on Justus’ lips.

Eckhart however, still had a stern expression on his face.

“You say that Rozemyne is going to save him, but wouldn’t that be an act equivalent to invading another duchy. Did you give her permission for this, Aub Ehrenfest?”

“Yes, I gave her my permission. I told Rozemyne she and her retainers can do as they want. I’m sorry, but I cannot spare more manpower while Georgine could arrive at Ehrenfest’s doorstep at any moment.”

Upon hearing the words, “I gave her my permission.” directly from Sylvester’s mouth, Eckhart finally seemed to relax too. He heaved a sigh, then wiped away some tears. Taking a deep breath Eckhart stood up and kneeled before Sylvester, took his hands in his, and pressed his forehead against them.

“I thank you from the bottom of my heart for committing to invade a greater duchy. I am beyond happy that you are willing to try to rescue Lord Ferdinand. I cannot express in words how grateful I am he has an older brother like you….”

Except for ceremonial purposes, it was extremely rare for Eckhart to kneel before anyone but Ferdinand. Aware of this, Sylvester should understand how deep Eckhart’s gratitude truly ran. His dark green eyes narrowed softly.

“I will accept your gratitude, but Ferdinand isn’t safe yet. The battle has yet to begin.”

Eckhart lifted his head with a snap. Sylvester pulled his hands free from Eckhart’s and gently gestured for him to sit back in his seat.

“I shall be speaking with the royal family after this. If they grant us permission, that would be greatly appreciated, but even without it, Rozemyne will go ahead.”

“And that’s fine with you?”

Eckhart’s facial expression tightened again upon hearing they still needed to get permission from the royal family.

“You came here, leaving Ferdinand’s side while his life is in danger. I bet you have something for me, don’t you? Show me already.”

If he wanted to have any success at convincing the royal family to give him permission to attack Ahrensbach and subjugate Lanzenave’s envoy, Sylvester needed proof to support his claims. He spoke with complete confidence that Ferdinand had gathered just that.

Prompted by Eckhart’s gaze, Justus pulled several recording tools from his bag and several sheets of paper from his inner pocket, arranging everything on the table.

“Lord Ferdinand intended to use these as evidence to show that Detlinde is not suited to become Aub Ahrensbach, but if you emphasize the close relationship between Ahrensbach’s archducal family and Lanzenave, and the harm they brought to Lord Ferdinand who headed there at the Zent’s orders, it should be possible to keep the royal family from interfering.

As Justus explained the contents of the documents and recording tools, an ordonnanz arrived. It contained a message from the first prince.

“Rozemyne is waiting for you at Ferdinand’s esta…” Sylvester began but quickly corrected himself. “Ah, no, it’s Rozemyne’s library now. She decided to prioritize preparations instead of meeting you here.”

He then placed two authorization brooches on the table. The proof they would be treated as nobles from Ehrenfest from here on. It hit Justus this meant Sylvester had prepared them before even hearing their circumstances.

“Having people that are familiar with the castle’s layout and can guide her to the mana replenishment hall, will dramatically increase the success rate.” Sylvester continued. “Be sure to save your Lord, my little brother. I’m counting on you.”