Just like that, the two retainers were glowering at each other. I dared not think what might happen to anyone who strayed into the cross fire.
“Enough. The details are irrelevant,” Ferdinand interjected, waving the pair away. “Rozemyne, do you truly expect this to work?”
“The instruments took a good chunk of my mana before, and we shouldn’t need to worry about them breaking. I can’t think of any other way I could rest while still getting rid of my divine power.”
“I see...” Ferdinand nodded, then gave his temple a few contemplative taps, as he always did when organizing his thoughts. “Very well. We shall attempt your plan after breakfast. Once your retainers have eaten, they shall restore the land, hunt feybeasts, and perform Spring Prayer. I, meanwhile, will teleport to the castle; there are several matters I must take care of. Activate the teleportation circle for me, then rest until this afternoon, when we shall travel to Seitzen’s west side or Vulkatag. There, we shall replenish the earth and slay feybeasts.”
Having said his piece, Ferdinand turned on his heel and exited the dining hall. Justus dumped the plates he had started gathering into Sergius’s arms and followed. I tried to get up as well, but Lieseleta put her hands on my shoulders and urged me back into my seat.
“Lady Rozemyne, you have not finished your breakfast.”
I ate the rest of my vegetables under my attendant’s watchful gaze, then copied and pasted a teleportation circle from my Book of Mestionora. Ferdinand approached it with Justus, Eckhart, and several other knights. He was leaving Sergius behind to prepare lunch and carry out other duties and a few of the other guards to protect Lessy and my retinue.
“Lady Rozemyne, what should we do?” my retainers asked.
“Angelica, I want you to guard my room,” I said. “You have keen eyes, so I trust no one will get past you. Leonore, stand outside with Schutzaria’s shield and protect Lessy. Everyone else may choose between hunting feybeasts or guarding Hartmut while he carries out Spring Prayer.”
“I would advise Matthias and Cornelius to hunt feybeasts while Laurenz and Clarissa accompany me,” Hartmut replied.
“Would it not be better for Clarissa to hunt feybeasts?” I asked, my eyes wandering to the woman in question. It didn’t seem right to drag someone from Dunkelfelger into one of my new duchy’s religious ceremonies.
She shook her head. “If you would allow me, I would much rather stay with Hartmut. Now that Yurgenschmidt has a Zent with the Grutrissheit, the country’s perspective on religious ceremonies has changed, whether the nobles like it or not. We must continue to promote the ceremonies’ importance—and what better way than for me, your loyal vassal, to participate? I even memorized the prayers!”
Partway through her speech, Clarissa had spared a brief glance at Ahrensbach’s knights. Though she hadn’t uttered a single falsehood, I could tell she was laying it on thick for those still resisting the temple and its ceremonies.
She continued, “Even those in Dunkelfelger are performing religious ceremonies outside the Royal Academy. Spring Prayer won’t require us to enter any temples, so my involvement shouldn’t pose an issue.” Temples were still a sore spot for many duchies, but only because we hadn’t yet revealed the true nature of the bibles’ keys and the foundations. Once we did, the country’s aubs and their families would rush to start visiting them.
There’s no harm in letting her participate. She’s so excited that she already memorized all the prayers...
Beneath her outlandish and somewhat confusing veneer, Clarissa was a very competent scholar. I didn’t want to admit it, but she was an excellent partner for Hartmut.
“Matthias and Cornelius are on feybeast duty...?” Angelica muttered, eyeing the pair enviously. She was so physically active that I suspected she would rather have gone hunting than stay home as a guard.
“It won’t be feybeast hunting as you know it,” I said. “Their main objective is using the divine instruments to drain them of mana. I do not believe it would suit you.”
To use the divine instruments, my knights would need to pray. That wasn’t true in all cases—if you took an instrument when it was empty and managed to fill it, then praying became unnecessary—but the instruments here already contained my mana. Using a simpler version of the prayer was an option if you formed the instrument from your schtappe or used a feystone completely dyed with your mana, but again, that wasn’t an option. Those tasked with slaying feybeasts would need to recite the entire prayer without errors. It had to be precisely memorized, as it was normally used when multiple blue priests and shrine maidens dedicated their mana.
“That said, if you are that eager to join them...” I gave Angelica a serious look. “Memorize the ceremony’s prayers. Only then will you have permission to go hunting.”
“Prayers... Never mind. You were right, Lady Rozemyne. I shall protect your room with my life.”
As expected. If she’d actually agreed, I wouldn’t have known what to think.
While my knights checked and practiced the prayers necessary for the divine instruments, I asked Strahl to divide the Ahrensbach knights into squads. They were tasked with protecting the feybeast hunters, those performing Spring Prayer, and my Pandahouse.
“Farewell, Lady Rozemyne. Do get some rest.”
My retainers took their leave, carrying the divine instruments Hartmut had given them.
Fourth bell rang while I was lounging in bed. My fever had gone down a bit, but my rejuvenating mana had caused the divine power within me to swell, leaving me drowsy and a little queasy. It was bearable, but my fingers and toes were stinging.