“Move,” Ferdinand said, brushing aside Sylvester’s retinue while carrying me out of the room. “You are in our way.” His quick march brought us back to our retainers, who looked stunned to see me in his arms.
“Did something happen to Lady Rozemyne?!” Hartmut exclaimed, rushing over at once. I’d thought he would tease or chastise me for being carried, but the panic in his voice told me he feared the worst.
Cornelius was watching us just as closely. Though he seemed to want to say something, he didn’t look upset that Ferdinand was holding me.
Um... Am I the only one who thinks this is weird...?
“Take care that Rozemyne does not try to walk anywhere,” Ferdinand said. “She must preserve as much of her strength as she can. Depending on the circumstances, she might not be able to use rejuvenation potions.”
“Really?” Hartmut asked. “Not even those that primarily replenish stamina?” He and the other retainers stared intently at Ferdinand as they awaited an answer.
“As you said, those potions primarily replenish stamina,” Ferdinand replied, his frustration more than apparent. “They still target mana to some degree, and even the slightest increase in Rozemyne’s mana will cause her divine power to swell and put a strain on her body. As we do not have time to research a potion that will serve our purpose, I would rather we avoid them entirely.”
And with that, he handed me over to Angelica.
“This must be very hard for you,” she said to me.
I averted my eyes. As much as Angelica was trying to console me, I wasn’t sure she truly understood the problem; her tone was too subtle for me to tell. There must have been a vast divide between the actual issue and what others thought I was going through.
I guess there are more important things to consider than how to save face the next time I see Lady Eglantine.
Ferdinand had picked me up without batting an eye, and not a single one of our retainers had considered it strange. Nobody had even mentioned it, which only added to my embarrassment. I was embarrassed for having been embarrassed in the first place!
Looking back, romance had always seemed alien to me, even when I was living in Japan. I already knew that nothing was going to happen, so why was I stressing? There was zero chance of me ever being caught up in some dramatic love story.
Books are my one true love! The Super Monster Bookworm—that was what people used to call me, right? No one this obsessed with reading needs to worry about getting drawn into a normal relationship. And a relationship with Ferdinand, of all people? Unthinkable. I’m getting worked up over nothing.
I took a few deep breaths to steady my nerves. As much as my blunder with Eglantine hurt, my interactions with Ferdinand weren’t scandalous enough to warrant any criticism.
But, wait... It wasn’t that long ago that everyone was telling me to keep the proper distance from him. Are they turning a blind eye to it because this is an emergency? No, that can’t be right. It was an emergency back then too.
I was about to query Ferdinand when he returned to addressing our retainers. “Though we hope to drain Rozemyne tonight by creating an excess of gold dust, her mana is depleting far too slowly for us to assume we shall succeed. We can also expect her mana to replenish overnight—not by much, but enough that it bears mentioning. I must ask you all to be ready for a trip across Ahrensbach tomorrow.”
I’d thought my retainers would oppose the sudden change to our schedule, but I was wrong. At most, a few asked whether I truly was that pressed for time, anxiety clear on their faces.
“Those of you who received permission to accompany Rozemyne to Ahrensbach, gather your things from the dormitory and prepare to perform Spring Prayer,” Ferdinand instructed. “The duchy’s last harvest was far from generous, so take special care to arrange chefs and whatever ingredients they might need. I shall bring stamina rejuvenation potions for Rozemyne in case they become absolutely necessary. Hartmut, stay in your robes and go fetch the divine instruments from Ahrensbach’s temple. Nobody will protest if you say we are using them for Spring Prayer. We might as well take this opportunity to fill the tools with divine mana.”
Everything made sense so far. The chalice might already contain mana from the blue priests, but that didn’t matter; we would use it all during Spring Prayer anyway.
“Rihyarda,” Ferdinand continued, “Ahrensbach knights should soon start arriving with materials to be turned into gold dust. Please station an Ehrenfest scholar or attendant by the door to welcome them. I also expect ordonnanzes to arrive asking to meet with Rozemyne about today’s ceremony. Reject them all, be they from the aubs of other duchies or the royal family.”
“Understood,” Rihyarda said. Draining my mana came above all else; any of the duchies’ or royals’ concerns could wait until the Archduke Conference.
Ferdinand then turned to me. “Rozemyne, I shall use these rainbow feystones to create as many large highbeast stones as I can. Dye them with your mana, stick them together, and turn them into a highbeast you can use with your current mana.”
“I thought you didn’t want me to make a highbeast.”
“I would rather you not modify any feystones while your memory is splintered, but alas... There is far too much at stake.”
This must have been a tough call for Ferdinand—the bitter look on his face revealed all—but I still didn’t understand the connection between my lost memories and using feystones. Highbeasts were a great way of getting around while also using up some of my mana; of course I was going to make the most of this opportunity.
“That said, won’t the highbeast become unusable once my divine power runs out?” I asked. “This feels like a waste of all those rainbow feystones.”
Making a highbeast was all well and good, but I wouldn’t be able to use it once my mana changed color. I supposed that Ferdinand might be able to use the feystone in a brew of some kind, but no ideas came to mind; it wouldn’t be anywhere near as useful as all-purpose gold dust.
“It very well might be a waste, but this trip will take days, and some of your retainers are not used to traveling. You will need somewhere you can all rest. Though staying at the giebes’ estates is one option, I intend to give each of them an especially wide berth; they would only drain your stamina further. That leaves us with staying in a farming town’s winter estate or sleeping outside. Your knights are used to both, I suspect, but I doubt the same can be said for your attendants. We must ensure they have somewhere safe and comfortable to stay.”
I clapped my hands together in realization. Staying at the giebes’ estates would mean long formal greetings and dinners spent socializing. I’d already been told to avoid rejuvenation potions, so I wouldn’t survive consecutive days of mingling with nobles I didn’t know. And then there was the matter of my attendants; they wouldn’t have any experience of sleeping outside, but my expandable Pandabus would put their minds at ease.