“This place is huge...” I mused aloud. “Guess that shouldn’t surprise me when I’m looking for the country’s foundation. Aaand, wow, it really is almost empty... No wonder Erwaermen is panicking.”
I spent a moment admiring the foundation, which was several times larger than those found in the duchies, then carefully started pouring my mana into it. Exercising caution was more important than ever; I’d needed to use rejuvenation potions when dyeing Ahrensbach’s foundation, and collapsing here would cause all sorts of problems.
By the time I’d released enough mana to feel comfortable, the foundation wasn’t even one-sixth full. It was enough to bring the country back from the verge of collapse, if nothing else. I gazed upon the seven colored feystones swirling through the air and saw they were spinning faster now.
“Well, that should do it,” I declared once my mana was slightly more than halfway depleted. I returned to the others and said, “Sorry for the wait, everyone.”
No sooner had I locked Mestionora’s book than the statue moved back to its original place. Ferdinand waited for it to settle, then instructed my name-sworn, who covered me in silver cloth once again and returned me to the dormitory.
Though I could spend the next four days at my leisure, I wouldn’t be allowed to read in the library.
Relieved of my excess mana, I got some rest, practiced whirling, and participated in meetings about the upcoming ceremonies.
Ferdinand said my whirling was “sure to be sufficient”! Not bad, Rozemyne. Not bad at all!
The days seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, and it soon came time for the ceremonies. My female retainers inspected me in my ceremonial High Bishop robes and sighed in awe. I thought my appearance was the same as always—but then again, I couldn’t see my divine power.
“Lady Rozemyne, please hold out your arms so we can put these on for you,” Bertilde said, approaching with a box of charms and ornaments. I did as instructed and waited patiently as Lieseleta slowly adorned me.
“Never before have I seen charms with this many feystones...” I remarked.
Lieseleta nodded. “Lord Ferdinand made them specially so they would not obstruct your whirling.” They reminded me of gloves, except they were woven out of tiny but slender chains that reached from the back of my hand to my upper arm. Rainbow feystones shaved down into beads glittered across them, each with a protective magic circle inside.
“Was he making them instead of sleeping?” I muttered, my lips pursed. “He promised to get some rest, but these are too complex to have been made in three or four days...” As soon as the ceremonies were over, I would need to “encourage” him with one of Schlaftraum’s blessings.
Clarissa giggled. “He simply wishes to be prepared. In his words, these precautions are necessary to prevent the goddess from returning to your body as you whirl. I would have loved to witness something so divine... but as you lose memories in the process, I shall make do without it.”
It never even crossed my mind that my dedication whirl might summon Mestionora again...
I stroked the light chains covering my arms while thinking about my lost memories. Maybe these charms would protect my thoughts even if the goddess returned.
“Matthias, this is Leonore. Is our path secure?”
The ordonnanz shot out of the room, then returned with an “all clear” from Matthias. Today’s plan was to leave through our tea party room and use the back paths meant for royals to reach a waiting room near the auditorium. To my knowledge, it was the same room the royals themselves had once used. Judithe, Laurenz, and Matthias had gone ahead to make sure the coast was clear.
“Lady Rozemyne, since you are ready...” Angelica, who was wearing the robes of a blue shrine maiden, covered me with silver cloth and picked me up for the umpteenth time.
“Hartmut put a lot of work into today’s ceremonies,” Clarissa announced, sticking out her chest. “He mobilized Prince Anastasius, the Sovereign nobles, and everyone in the Sovereign temple to make sure things were ready for you.” She was trying to impress me, I gathered, but I was more worried about everyone forced to endure his enthusiasm.
We soon arrived at the waiting room, where Hartmut was ready to receive us. Eglantine and Anastasius appeared not long after. They inhaled sharply upon seeing me, then knelt to indicate my superior status. I’d seen the clothes they were wearing before.
“Lady Rozemyne,” Eglantine said, “I was dressed in these same clothes when you blessed me at the start of my graduation ceremony. I hope to receive your blessing once again and earn the notice of the gods by wearing the divine color of my birth season.”
I was admiring her outfit, feeling a little nostalgic, when Hartmut approached us. “Cornelius, leave Matthias and Laurenz here and go to the auditorium. I want you and Lady Rozemyne’s other guard knights to carry out the final checks.”
The royals had said there weren’t any issues, but maybe some of Raublut’s co-conspirators remained in the Sovereign Knight’s Order. At the very least, my knights were skeptical of anything the royal family told us. It probably didn’t help that Ferdinand was going to such great lengths with my charms and other precautions.
Cornelius, who was clad in the robes of a blue priest, responded to Hartmut with a stern nod before heading to the auditorium with the others. Anastasius turned to his own knights and made the same request.
“Go to the auditorium and perform final checks of your own. Leave only as many knights as I need to protect me. The transference ceremony must be completed without incident.”
Not once in Yurgenschmidt’s long history had an Ehrenfest archduke candidate serving as Mestionora’s divine avatar bestowed the Grutrissheit upon a new Zent. The nobles we’d invited were being kept in the dark, so many wanted to know why Trauerqual wasn’t receiving the Grutrissheit and why it was being bestowed upon Eglantine when there were other people more deserving.
“Those directly involved with the transference, come to the back of the room,” Hartmut said. The front portion was a waiting area for the royal retainers, whereas the back was for the royals themselves.
I moved to the back of the room with Hartmut, Eglantine, and Anastasius, who was serving as his wife’s escort. Hartmut then addressed us again.
“Let us perform the name-swearing before the transference ceremony. Prince Anastasius and I shall observe.”
“Right.”
Hartmut and Anastasius watched as Eglantine produced a small white box, which she held up to me. For a moment, my eyes were drawn to her magnificent golden tresses, but I quickly corrected my focus. Inside the box was a multicolor feystone of every element—and inside that, Eglantine’s name was written in golden letters.
I don’t feel great about this, but oh well...
I’d said it before, and I would say it again: holding another person’s life in your hands was absolutely terrifying.
Bonifatius’s concerns about us corrupting the meaning of name-swearing arose in the back of my mind. Still, Ferdinand thought this was necessary to ensure Eglantine wouldn’t be hurt by my goddess-dyed mana during the ceremony and to guarantee her silence on various matters. It was also a good way to prevent her from one day trying to abuse her power and give Ferdinand more unreasonable commands; she was the kind of person who would do anything to protect Yurgenschmidt’s peace.
I don’t plan to give her any orders. I’m just playing it safe.
Anastasius glanced between us with an indescribable look on his face. He wanted to stop this but knew there was nothing he could do. I imagined he had said everything he could to dissuade Eglantine while she was making her name stone.
Probably because he doesn’t want my mana surrounding his wife.
I bore the Mark of Ewigeliebe, so my mana would probably return to being like Ferdinand’s when the ceremonies concluded and the divinity faded away. Anastasius would find that disgusting beyond words, but he would need to learn to deal with it.
Unless... Ewigeliebe-marked people in my situation don’t end up having divine mana forever, do they?
That was a scary thought, but I tried not to dwell on it. Ferdinand had assured me that the divine mana would disappear eventually. I wanted to believe he was right.
“Um... May we begin, Lady Rozemyne?”
“Yes.”
Eglantine met my eye, then took a deep breath and bowed her head. “I, Eglantine, swear to become a loyal vassal of Lady Rozemyne, the Divine Avatar of Mestionora the Goddess of Wisdom, and to devote my life to Yurgenschmidt as its new Zent. As proof of my resolve, I give you my name and implore you to keep it with you at all times. In return, I ask that you grant me the Grutrissheit and show me how to lead Yurgenschmidt to a better future.”
Her delicate hands slowly held up the box containing her name stone. I accepted it and started filling it with my mana.
“Ngh...”
Eglantine clutched her chest and let out a small, pained groan, feeling the resistance. Anastasius cried out and moved to rush to her side, but Hartmut caught him by the hand.
“You must not interfere, Prince Anastasius. The ritual is not over until the stone has been completely enveloped. Based on Lady Rozemyne’s past name-swearings, it seems the process is more painful when there is a greater gap between the participants’ mana capacities. Lady Eglantine is suffering the least of everyone who has given their name.”
I slammed my mana into Eglantine’s stone and ended the name-swearing then and there. She let out a pained sigh in response.
“Are you well, Lady Eglantine?” I asked.
“Yes, I am fine now,” she replied with a smile like a blossoming flower. “I thank you ever so much for your consideration.”
I put her name stone into the cage on my hip, then sat down and gestured for everyone else to join me. Third bell rang as we went over the procedure for the upcoming ceremony.