✦ ✦ ✦
I now understood the reason for Eglantine’s perplexed, somewhat uncomfortable expression, and it made me want to cry. The embarrassment was too much to bear. I slid out of my seat and pounded my fists against the thick carpet, thwarted in my desperate attempt to dig a deep hole and dive straight into it.
“Figured it out, did you?” Sylvester asked. “And now you want the earth to swallow you up. We’ve all been there, believe me.”
“No... Y-You don’t get it,” I choked. “This is awful... Calling winter early, skipping autumn, dyeing one’s mana... It all... It all means...!” My mouth merely opened and closed as words failed me.
Ferdinand peered down at me, an understanding look on his face. “You have nothing to fear. I will not be doing anything of the sort.” He had told me that asking to be dyed in someone else’s colors was a fairly direct invitation, so why hadn’t I noticed the connection to dyeing mana?
Because he dyed me with potions and magic tools whenever the need arose.
“The fault lies with you, Ferdinand!”
“No, the fault lies with your abnormal upbringing. And if you wish to point fingers, then you are even more to blame for your poor intuition and failure to grasp noble euphemisms.”
“Her abnormal... upbringing?” Florencia asked, looking around in surprise. She must not have known that I was a commoner with the Devouring or that I bore the Mark of Ewigeliebe. Was now the time to tell her?
I eyed the two men in the room. They exchanged glances, then shook their heads at me.
“Though I cannot yet tell you the details,” Ferdinand replied in my stead, “Rozemyne has physical attributes that distinguish her from other nobles—attributes that have put her under the influence of my mana since before her adoption into the archducal family. If I dye her again, her name-sworn will sense only that her mana has returned to normal.”
It wasn’t that hard to detect changes to another person’s mana capacity. Changes to the color of their mana, however, were another story. If someone dyed my mana, only my name-sworn would notice, no matter how great the change might be.
“In other words,” he continued, “there is nothing to worry about. I will spread the news that Rozemyne’s divine power faded when she gave Lady Eglantine the Grutrissheit.”
“Just a moment!” I exclaimed. “My mana was still divinely dyed when Lady Eglantine gave me her name! She’ll come to the same conclusions as Sylvester and Florencia! And even if we use a potion... Um... Mana-dyeing is, I mean... D-Doesn’t one need to be Starbound before...? Ngh, it’s all one big misunderstanding!” I cradled my head and groaned in shame, tears welling from my eyes.
“Keep your emotions under control,” Ferdinand warned me. “The divine power within you will grow as unstable as your mana.”
“How can I? I mean, we’re...”
It was my first time being the focus of such an embarrassing discussion. I didn’t have any experience with the subject matter, and the last thing I’d ever expected was to be drawn into a conversation like this. My only fiancé had said that being engaged to me was painful, for goodness’ sake! I was so uncomfortable that I wanted to die.
Sylvester looked at me and sighed. “There’s no point arguing with him. Anyone else would understand what you’re going through even now that we’re all on the same page, but Ferdinand doesn’t know the first thing about a young woman’s heart.”
“Yes, I’m aware...” I muttered, though I still gave Sylvester my sharpest glower.
Ferdinand grimaced and gestured to my seat. “Then enough with this unseemly behavior of yours. You cannot use a rejuvenation potion until your mana has been fully drained, and your stamina must not run dry before then.”
Faced with such a thick carpet, I wouldn’t be burrowing into the earth anytime soon. I got up and returned to the table.
“Now, if we could return to the matter at hand...” Ferdinand said. “Rozemyne’s mana must be fully drained to eliminate the divine power within her. Of course, that is much easier said than done.”
Divine mana was tough to drain, and that was far from the worst of our problems. If my normal mana regenerated too soon, it would clash with the divine power that lingered in my body and eventually kill me. Sylvester’s and Florencia’s eyes widened as Ferdinand continued with his explanation.
“As I am sure you know, Ahrensbach is in dire need of an entwickeln. I plan to use Rozemyne’s excess mana to produce gold dust, a portion of which I shall give to Gerlach as compensation for the estate she destroyed. To that end, I ask that you deliver materials to her over the course of today. The materials from Ahrensbach’s gathering spot will not be enough, so I would request Ehrenfest’s assistance as well.”
There was a brief pause before Ferdinand said, “Oh, another point of note—as part of our entwickeln, we intend to construct houses for the Gutenbergs. I would appreciate copies of the schematics used for the entwickeln in Groschel; the Plantin and Gilberta Companies designed their own stores there, as I recall.”
For the city’s other workshops, Ferdinand would take inspiration from Ahrensbach’s standard architecture.
“Could you tell the Gutenbergs to start their move?” he continued. “Rozemyne will need subordinates, so I wish for at least some of them to be living in Ahrensbach by the end of the Archduke Conference. They should already be preparing to leave, so I doubt this will cause them much trouble.”
I nodded in agreement. Even for commoners, Ferdinand’s demands were anything but unreasonable. The Gutenbergs needed to move at the same time as me if they wanted to settle into their new roles.
“That won’t be a problem, but...” Sylvester turned to me. “Rozemyne, won’t you want to meet with them and give the order personally?”
Despite the circumstances, I still remembered some of the Gutenbergs. Benno and Mark, for example. I missed them and would have appreciated a reunion, but there were huge gaps in my memories of the lower city.
I shook my head and replied, “The goddess’s descent fragmented my memory.” Then I gazed at Ferdinand. “Would my hairpin craftsperson attend such a meeting?”
“I suspect so,” he replied. “I would advise you against seeing the Gutenbergs. It would end in disarray whether you remember them or not, and your untamed divine mana would endanger your life and the lives of all those around you. At the very least, wait until your divine mana has been purged and a meeting without retainers can be arranged.”
I cocked my head at him, not really understanding his concern. It was hard to imagine how I might react to people I couldn’t even remember.
Ferdinand’s eyes lowered when he saw my reaction. “Sylvester—though we plan to stay here tonight for the creation of our gold dust, we will need to return to Ahrensbach tomorrow whether Rozemyne’s mana is depleted or not. If we do not finish draining her now after everything we have done, there will not be a second chance; she will succumb to the divine power clashing with her restored mana and climb the towering stairway... as will all those name-sworn to her.”
Sylvester squeezed his eyes shut; in that worst-case scenario, Eglantine would die immediately after becoming the Zent. “At this rate, Rozemyne really will end up with the country’s future on her shoulders. And she’s lost her memories? This is far too great a burden for her. Rozemyne, do you go out looking for trouble or are you unlucky enough that it simply finds you?”
“I am quite alright,” I replied, trying to console him. “I am barely even aware of my lost memories. As long as I do not focus on them, they do not inconvenience me in the slightest.”
Ferdinand shook his head. “That is no excuse to act so unconcerned. As it stands, you will never be able to regain your memories.” He then picked me up without so much as a warning and strode toward the door.
“She’s in your hands, Ferdinand,” Sylvester called after us. “I’ll do everything I can to help.” He sent out an ordonnanz announcing that our meeting was over, and the doors opened as his retainers moved to enter.
“Ferdinand, let me down,” I said. “I’m perfectly capable of walking.” I would really rather he not carry me to my room when I’d just learned the meaning of winter coming before autumn and the significance of asking someone to dye you with their mana.
“Certainly not. We must preserve your stamina at all costs. If we do not drain the rest of your mana tonight, you will need to supply Ahrensbach while unable to use rejuvenation potions. Do you not understand the gravity of your situation? We must put you at the greatest ease.”
Which is exactly why I want you to put me down! Geez! Just how dense can one man be?!