Dinner was served, and everyone started eating. I scanned the hall while picking at my zelene salad and confirmed that I was no longer the center of attention. The respite that followed started to restore my appetite. I scooped up a spoonful of steaming bohnebnis soup—one of my favorites—and slowly brought it to my mouth. The thick, sweet broth eased my weary body as though I had just been blessed with healing magic.
“Lady Hannelore, may I ask you a question?” Andrea said, eyeing me nervously.
I nodded and encouraged her to continue. The unease faded quickly from her expression.
“Do you know Lady Rozemyne’s thoughts on Clarissa? Um... Is she standing out? Has she failed enough to earn her ire? Have her long speeches led to her ostracization?”
Andrea’s questions confused me—I did not think she and Clarissa were close enough to warrant them—but I answered nonetheless. “Lady Rozemyne stated that Clarissa is always in good spirits.”
“I see. I was a little concerned, given how Clarissa can act. I would not want Lady Rozemyne to develop an aversion to our duchy.”
“Oh? Are you seeking the hand of an Alexandrian?”
“I am actually asking for my mednoble friend Herluga. She hopes to be bound either to Lord Roderick, an apprentice scholar, or to Lord Raimund, a retainer of Lord Ferdinand. Of course, Lord Raimund has entered his final year, so he might have found a partner already.”
I nodded along. As I recalled, Herluga’s elder sister was close friends with Clarissa. Herluga would no doubt use that fact to seek Clarissa’s aid.
“That said,” Andrea continued, “I, too, would very much appreciate the chance to forge bonds with those serving Lord Ferdinand and Lady Rozemyne.”
“You wish to marry into Alexandria?” I asked. She had never said as much before.
“Yes, at the aub’s recommendation. He hopes to have more people who can contribute to your friendship with Lady Rozemyne. I appreciate the choice, but her most trusted retainers tend to be mednobles or laynobles, leaving few good partners for an archnoble such as I. Clarissa is willing to help me, having secured a place in Alexandria before any other, but that might not be enough in my case.”
Father was advising my retainers on the assumption that I would stay in Dunkelfelger. I supposed that was only natural, considering that he had chosen my suitors for me, but the very thought of the walls closing in around me made it hard to breathe. Still, I knew better than to say anything; Andrea was so clearly overjoyed to be able to choose any husband she wanted within my father’s boundaries.
“I hope you find a good partner,” I said.
“Indeed. It might not happen yet, but Lady Rozemyne should take more retainers from among the nobles of Old Ahrensbach.” A smile graced Andrea’s features. “I shall pray to have a chance with one of their archnobles.”
Luitpold leaned forward slightly. “Lady Hannelore, I imagine you have scheduled a tea party with Ehrenfest to exchange books as you normally do. Might I ask you to put in a good word for Eduard? He seeks a binding with Ehrenfest.”
My throat went dry. He was, in essence, asking me to inquire with Lord Wilfried or Lady Charlotte about an engagement between our duchies. “For you to have made such a request now, can I assume that Father also requested engagements with Ehrenfest?” The very idea seemed absurd to me; my father had nothing to gain from Ehrenfest at the moment.
And yet, Luitpold nodded. “Indeed, he did. He is contemplating whether he can pair Lady Lungtase with the Ehrenfest archduke candidate who attended the transference ceremony in High Bishop robes. To better our chances, he wants as many Dunkelfelgerians to marry into Ehrenfest as possible.”
The blood drained from my face. If what my apprentice scholar said was true, then my assumption that Father did not value Ehrenfest was sorely mistaken. I would have given up on Lord Wilfried if marrying into the duchy was undesirable, but I saw now that I was not completely without hope.
If the aim is simply for a Dunkelfelger archduke candidate to marry into Ehrenfest, could it not be me instead of Lungtase?
My heart, dejected from my lack of options, regained its enthusiasm with a mighty thump.
Is there a way I can turn this situation around...?
I placed a hand on my cheek and fell into thought. Despite being my retainer, Luitpold had waited until now to share this information with me. He was watching me closely as if to gauge my reaction.
Even if I tell my retainers that I wish to bind my star to Lord Wilfried’s, I doubt they will provide their aid.
Instead, I resolved to prioritize gathering as much information as I could. Aub Ehrenfest had been reluctant to accept a bride from a greater duchy. I had heard about how such an arrangement with Ahrensbach had thrown his domain into chaos, as had my retainers.
If the consensus in Ehrenfest has since changed, I was not informed. But perhaps my retainers know something I do not.
Ehrenfest policy was of critical importance to my next actions.
“I would not mind consulting Ehrenfest, but they are reluctant to form engagements with greater duchies,” I said. “You are aware of that, no? If there has been some kind of change to that sentiment, fair enough, but I will not assist Father in bothering its archduke candidates. Has my mother given her permission, do you know?”
In response to my sharp look, Luitpold performatively scanned the hall, then nodded. “The order came after the Archduke Conference, so I would imagine that Lady Sieglinde is aware.”
I suppose that Lady Rozemyne becoming Aub Alexandria means Ehrenfest is already bound to a greater duchy. They must have seen no need to keep their policy as it was.
As I considered this new information, I turned to Luitpold with a look of relief. “Good, then. But I should warn you that my recommendation alone might not be enough for Eduard.”
“Of course. The sooner he knows where he stands, the sooner he can decide on his plans and inform the aub.”
That could mean Ehrenfest has not yet approved an engagement with Lungtase.
It would never have been set in stone—it was a union between two children who had yet to even enroll at the Academy—but I took comfort in knowing that the plan had scarcely advanced at all. At the same time, I felt a surge of anxiety that Ehrenfest might not accept a Dunkelfelger archduke candidate in the first place.
I must convey my feelings and obtain proposal challenges before socializing season begins and everyone else scrambles to secure their partners.
Now that I wanted to take action, Kenntrips’s urgency became my own. Time truly was of the essence.
Having eaten my food, I sipped my tea and racked my brain for ideas.
Before anything else, I must pin Lord Wilfried down and obtain my challenges!
My next step was clear, but how was I to manage it? My target was a boy—even if his future of becoming an archduke had changed, he had still surely received the appropriate education and training. My chances of defeating him in combat felt slim to none.
Not to mention, he protected his Noble’s Quarter during true ditter.
I could remember Lord Wilfried celebrating that fact during my visit to Ehrenfest. Coupled with the wartime victories Lord Ferdinand and Lady Rozemyne had secured—even in the face of their shortcomings—I could say without a doubt that Ehrenfest’s archduke candidates were abnormally strong. I would need to go all out to even stand a chance of pinning Lord Wilfried down. Unless I could succeed against Ehrenfest’s archduke candidates and their wiles, I would not even obtain the proposal challenges I so desired.
Am I really capable of doing this...?
So daunting was the task ahead that I almost wanted to cry. I would need to pick the best time and place to make my move, and work out any other techniques that would maximize my chances of victory.
Retainers will prove my main obstacles, without a doubt.
It was hard to imagine securing conditions from an archduke candidate constantly surrounded by his retinue. Were I to even attempt to grab Lord Wilfried, his retainers—and mine—would move to obstruct me. Overcoming them all was as good as impossible. How had those before me won against the odds?
The only archduke candidate I can think of who managed it was Lady Magdalena. But how?
She had been a member of Dunkelfelger at the time of her proposal, whereas Lord Trauerqual had been a prince. And she had cornered him in the midst of the civil war, when his knights would have been on high alert. The fact she had succeeded made my head spin.
If I can find out how she did it, I might have a chance as well.
“Lady Hannelore, it would appear your cup is empty. Shall we head back to your room?”
“Indeed...” I said at length, returning to the world around me. I set my empty cup on the table and rose to my feet.
“Um, Lady Hannelore...” one of my retainers muttered, “you look ready to march to war.”
“Is that so?”
I forced a look of complete detachment from the thoughts running rampant in my mind. It would not be wise to put my retainers on their guard. At the very least, I could not tell them of my intentions until I knew how Lord Wilfried felt about me.
This would be so much easier if I could trust them to cooperate.
My actions during bride-stealing ditter had thrust me into a deeply uncomfortable position—and of course, my retainers had needed to carry that burden with me. Many of them were still furious with Lord Wilfried for the damage that had come to my reputation. I could hardly announce that I wanted to marry him, especially when Father wanted me to stay in Dunkelfelger and Cordula was already cautious about Lord Ortwin and Korinthsdaum. They expected me to be a good archduke candidate—one who obeyed the aub and contributed to her duchy.
To have any chance of success, I must do this alone.
Lady Magdalena must have been in the same situation. In matters of marriage, society expected women to act on their fathers’ wishes. If one tried to carve her own path, everyone around her would try to intervene, leaving her with nobody to rely upon.
If I wished to end up with Lord Wilfried, then I could not let anything stop me.