“You proceeded with the blessing despite the stakes?” my escort asked me under his breath. “You truly are a fool.”
“Right back at you,” I said. “The stakes have been high for weeks now. No need to state the obvious.”
Even as we insulted each other, we kept polite smiles plastered across our faces. My legs felt like jelly as we hurried out of the auditorium, and my hands continued to tremble as I clung to Ferdinand’s arm.
No sooner had the door closed behind us than Ferdinand returned to his usual expression. “Let us act quickly. There is only so much time Hartmut and the others can buy us.” He glared in my direction, his eyes focused on the divine power swirling around me. “Are you well, Rozemyne?”
“Not really. Call it improper or image-shattering or what have you, but I want nothing more than to flop down onto the floor.” I was queasy to the point of wanting to throw up... but what I really wanted to vomit out was all the divine power inside me.
“Over here, Lady Rozemyne,” Gretia and Clarissa said. They had been waiting outside the auditorium and immediately covered me with a silver cloak. I could guess from the sudden looks of relief on everyone’s faces that the divine power radiating from me was especially intense.
“Gretia, Clarissa...” I said. “Why are you here?”
“Partway through the ceremony, Lord Ferdinand instructed us to prepare some silver cloth and wait here for you,” Clarissa explained while adjusting the neck of the cloak.
Gretia, who was pulling the hood over my head, looked at her fellow retainer with thorough exasperation. “Yet you still found it necessary to return to the auditorium and watch Lady Rozemyne’s performance.”
“Do forgive me, but I made it back here before Lady Rozemyne arrived.”
For all their bantering, they both looked openly concerned.
“Eckhart, Matthias, and Laurenz shall accompany us as guard knights,” Ferdinand noted. “Those who cannot approach Rozemyne in her current state must stay behind, no matter their role. This matter concerns national secrets, so only those who have given their names to Lady Rozemyne, Lady Eglantine, or me are permitted to come with us.” It was an ultimatum meant to silence Eglantine’s retainers—they could either give their names or wait patiently.
From there, Ferdinand rounded on Anastasius. “Of course, this applies to you as well.”
“Excuse me?!”
“You are neither the Zent nor bound to her. Our destination is no place for you.”
Anastasius must not have appreciated being told to wait with my blue-robed retainers; his outrage was beyond the point of no return. Ferdinand paid him no mind as he pulled me up into a sideways carry. Not having to stand did wonders for my fever.
“In that case, Ferdinand, the same should—”
“Anastasius,” Eglantine said, patting his arm in warning, “I am sure you can guess where we are headed. And can you not see that Lady Rozemyne is especially unwell? We do not have time to speak right now. Consider what will happen if the worst befalls her.”
Anastasius looked between Ferdinand and me. He was still vexed, but he seemed to understand. “You need me to help buy time, correct?”
Ferdinand shook his head. “As soon as we are done, Lady Eglantine, acting as the new Zent, must collect the criminal imprisoned in one of the country gates. You and the knights staying behind should prepare for this mission.”
Anastasius and the knights nodded, then turned on their heels and got straight to work. Only the name-sworn remained.
Eglantine looked around, then up at Ferdinand. “Let us hurry. I can sense Lady Rozemyne’s divine power getting stronger.”
“Rozemyne, can you order those who accompany us not to speak of the events to come?”
“Do not... inform others... of the events to come,” I ordered.
Ferdinand nodded and strode forward. I swayed in his arm, causing the heat in my body to rampage. I clung to him, hoping it would steady me somewhat, but it stopped working entirely when he picked up the pace.
Eglantine was almost left behind on our march to the library. Ferdinand was moving too fast for her to keep up.
“Professor Solange, the situation is as I described in my ordonnanz,” he said upon our arrival. “Please wait in your office. I must ask that you let nobody else in the library until we are done.”
“But of course. I know how to face the arrival of spring. The rest is up to you.” She moved aside to let us pass. “Lady Eglantine, I celebrate the birth of a new Zent from the bottom of my heart. May your reign be long and prosperous.”
“I shall depend upon your guidance, Professor Solange.”
One could hardly dismiss the library after learning how deeply it was connected to the rise of new Zents. Eglantine promised to speak with Solange again soon, then followed after Ferdinand and me.
“Roderick, contact Hartmut and permit him to end the ceremony. Justus, Eckhart, stay on guard for anyone approaching the library. All other knights, face away and protect this area.”
“Understood!”
After directing the knights who had accompanied us, Ferdinand instructed Gretia and Clarissa to remove my silver cloak and take the key hanging from my neck.
“If you will excuse me, Lady Rozemyne...” Gretia said.
I could only nod in response as my retainer pulled down my hood and retrieved the key. With some help from Clarissa, she soon managed to remove it from its chain.
“Pass the key to Lady Eglantine and turn your backs as well,” Ferdinand said. He waited for them to finish, then gave the new Zent a brief summary of how to use the key. She opened the cover of the statue’s Grutrissheit and revealed the stairway to the foundation.
“Goodness...” Eglantine said, her eyes wide.
Ferdinand sent her ahead, then carried me downstairs. We passed through the iridescent barrier to reach Yurgenschmidt’s foundation.
At last, Ferdinand set me down. I clapped my hands on the foundation and wasted no time channeling my mana into it. The divine power flowed out as well, causing my breathing to get easier, the pain racking my body to fade, and the heat rampaging through me to cool.
Aaah! Back from the brink of death!
“The key to the Sovereign temple’s bible also unlocks Yurgenschmidt’s foundation,” Ferdinand explained to Eglantine. “In the same sense, the keys in the possession of the duchies’ High Bishops open the paths to their respective foundations. It dates back to when Zents and aubs served as High Bishops and should make it clear to you why the royal family and archducal families must return to serving their temples. You may read your Grutrissheit if you wish to know more.”