I returned to my body to find Ferdinand right in front of me, his face unusually close to mine. He wore the same expression as the last time Mestionora had returned to the realm of the gods.
“You are Rozemyne, correct?” he asked. “How do you feel? The goddess descended, but I am unsure what she did. The divine power that surrounded you remains. Are you truly well? Have you lost anything else that you hold dear?”
Ferdinand was suspicious. He had noticed the divine power of several gods within me, but Mestionora’s descent hadn’t seemed to change anything.
I moved my hands a little. Though my fingertips still tingled and my shoulders felt uncomfortable, I was no longer in agony. “I don’t feel completely better, but the pain is a lot more bearable.”
“Good. I was told you were overcome by the divine power of other gods. As time passes and your mana recovers, their power will increase as well, so expend it as soon as you can.”
“Do I just need to use it?” I asked. That didn’t seem too hard; I’d promised to dye the country’s foundation, and Ahrensbach’s Spring Prayer was right around the corner.
“Yes, but be warned that it will return as your mana does—to a lesser extent each time, at least. According to the goddess... the pain will endure until the gods’ influence has completely faded.”
“Just a moment. How long will that take? I don’t want to spend entire months in agony. Is there anything I can do to speed up the process?”
“It would seem so...” Ferdinand replied, averting his eyes as he helped me to my feet.
“Goodness, Lord Ferdinand...” Eglantine shook her head. “Your phrasing will only concern Lady Rozemyne further. You must reveal everything the goddess told you.”
I stared up at Ferdinand, in full agreement. It wasn’t good to keep secrets from someone so prone to causing trouble. He grimaced in response and eventually conceded.
“Mortal mana stands no chance when one is overwhelmed with divine mana, as you were before Mestionora’s return. But it can regain control when one is drained to the point of being almost completely empty.”
“So we just need you to dye me when I’m nearly out of mana?” I asked, surprised that we had such an easy solution. “That sounds doable—though I will need to spend all of my mana soon.”
Eglantine smiled, though her slightly lowered eyebrows betrayed some concern. “It will mean putting winter before autumn, Lady Rozemyne, but that is nothing compared to your life. You have no choice, and yet...”
“Oh, do you mean summoning winter early in Ahrensbach? Ewigeliebe’s sword would drain almost all of my mana, but it seems a little wasteful, don’t you think?” Not to mention, channeling so much divinely charged mana into the sword when spring was almost over would result in too great a change. It would seem like the seasons had moved in reverse, which was a spooky thought.
“No, Rozemyne,” Ferdinand interjected with a heavy sigh. “That is not what she means.” He shot Eglantine a look as if urging her not to reveal so much, then said, “I will explain the matter to Rozemyne later. Lady Eglantine, have you registered your mana to the Grutrissheit?”
“Yes, I am done.”
Eglantine showed us a bracelet with a rather large feystone. That must have been her magic tool Grutrissheit; it took the form of an ornament so the wielder could make it seem like they were producing it with their schtappe. Zent Albsenti really had produced a technical marvel when she’d created the first iteration for her beloved son; even Ferdinand considered it an impressive achievement. A mother’s love truly was profound.
“That is a single-generation Grutrissheit,” I said. “You are the only one who can use it, Lady Eglantine.”
“I am aware,” she replied, then knelt before Ferdinand and me. “I am more grateful than I can put into words that I—and, by extension, the royal family—have been graced with the Grutrissheit.”
“Myne has returned,” Erwaermen said with a frown, then started waving us away. “Leave, all of you.” An entrance appeared, and he slowly started morphing back into a giant white tree. Given the circumstances—he had striven to save Yurgenschmidt and called upon the gods to provide their aid, only to be brutally attacked—one could say he was a pretty tragic figure.
“Erwaermen,” I said, “I promised Mestionora that I would dye the foundation, and that is what I shall do. You may rest easy.”
I was sure I saw him nod in response before he turned fully into a tree.
“Rozemyne, dyeing the foundation would—”
I shook my head, cutting Ferdinand short. “It must be done; that is why the gods gave me their power. And as it is too much for a mortal to bear, it makes sense that I should use it. Even as we speak, the divine power that the goddess put in order for me is starting to swell.”
It wouldn’t be long before the pain returned in full force. Collapsing in front of the country’s nobles and screaming in agony wouldn’t be wise—not while I was being treated as the avatar of a goddess.
“We have less time than I expected,” Ferdinand said. “Let us finish the ceremony at once. I will arrange for the dyeing of the foundation.” He started collecting what appeared to be ivory branches strewn across the ground.
“What are those?” I asked.
“Branches of the white tree, I would imagine. They appeared after I cut Erwaermen’s hair.”
“Wait, what?! You cut his hair?! No wonder Mestionora deemed you an enemy!” Worse still, he must have done it while she was inhabiting my body. Comparing him to a beast made a lot more sense.
“If you would rather I put them back, I shall, but they are most valuable materials. Would you not like to find out what kinds of fey paper we could make with them?”
“Now that you mention it, one should maximize the value of any resource found scattered across the ground.”
Ferdinand grinned, and the divine power within me began to stir.
I’ll make sure he never returns to the Garden of Beginnings, so please! Overlook him just this once, O gods!
Ferdinand reactivated Verbergen’s charm and went on ahead. I took Eglantine’s hand and followed, moving slowly due to the pain and discomfort that remained.
“It feels like the ceremony is already over...” I said.
“Truly. Too much has happened in this short time,” Eglantine replied quietly as we descended the altar. “I am awestruck that Lord Ferdinand managed it all on his own.”