Lieseleta's perspective
"How's Lady Rozemyne doing?"
"She's suffering from a fever, but the fact that we noticed it before she collapsed makes it a little bit better than at the book lover's tea party."
As soon as I entered the small room at the back of the first floor, Cornelius, who was worried, asked me, Lieseleta, how Lady Rozemyne was doing, and I answered with a wry smile. Cornelius is an apprentice knight escort for Lady Rozemyne, but he is also a cousin by blood. It is undeniable that he is a little overprotective, perhaps because he has known Lady Rozemyne since childhood when she was even more frail than she is now.
However, I can understand Cornelius' concern. After losing consciousness at a book-loving tea party, it took five days for the fever to break completely, and another three days before she was able to get out of the bed. On top of that, the fever returned when she was rooted in practising the harspiel she had to perform at a music teachers' tea party because she had fallen asleep and had lost her plans, and it was only yesterday morning when it finally broke.
I would have liked her to spend a few more days in the dormitory to see how things were going, but as the princess was also attending the tea party, she couldn't refuse them, so I had to go there with some uneasiness.
In the small room, there now are the guard knight apprentices Cornelius, Leonore and Laurenz, the scholar apprentices Hartmut and Philine, and the attendant apprentices Brünhilde and myself. The retainers that accompanied the tea party has gathered together and will now have a review meeting.
Ottilie also accompanied us, but she is not here now because she is with Lady Rozemyne. Cornelius exhaled with relief and took his seat, perhaps a little relieved to know that Lady Rozemyne was OK.
"It's fortunate that she didn't collapse in front of the princess, but it'll be a while before she's able to go outside again."
"She was just on the verge of recovery ….. Shouldn't she have forfeited her participation in the tea party after all?"
"But she would not have been able to refuse a tea party attended by royalty. And she seemed to be progressing well on the way there. If only there hadn't been so many unnecessary interruptions, she could have finished the whole thing without any problems?"
"Laurenz is right.It all started with Prince Ludwig, you know."
As soon as the prince's name comes out of Hartmut's mouth, everyone's expression becomes cloudy. No one said that it was impolite.
Since the fellowship gathering, the prince has been trying to invite Lady Rozemyne to the pavilion whenever he sees an opportunity. Lady Rozemyne does not seem particularly interested and does not take any notice of them at all. Where does he get that mental strength to remain undeterred no matter how many times he is rejected?
No matter how much the prince has wooed Lady Rozemyne, it is unlikely that Lady Rozemyne, the next Archduchess, will ever marry into the royal family, and it is even less likely that the prince will be able to groom himself as a son-in-law. We are puzzled because we don't know what on earth the Prince intends to approach her with.
"Wouldn't it still be better if the archduke protested once? I can't stand to see her being pushed around again, as he has done this time, and causing Lady Rozemyne so much trouble."
"I understand how Brünhilde feels, and I agree with you, but you've reported this to the archduke, haven't you Hartmut?"
Hartmut nods in agreement to Cornelius' question.
"Then it is the archduke who will judged on what to do after reading it. It's not our place to interfere any further."
"Although that may be the case……"
Brünnhilde clenches her fists in frustration. It is considered not a good idea for adults to intervene in the Royal Academy, so the Archduke is probably watching what is going on.
"The archduke is very protective of his family. If it is too much for you to see, we can always get help. We will do what we can to protect Lady Rozemyne."
When I gently placed my hand on Brünhilde's shoulder, a little strength relaxed from her stiffened body. Philine, who is sitting next to me, is also nodding her head, holding her hands tightly in front of her chest. When I was relieved that the tense atmosphere in the room had eased, an ambush came from an unexpected source.
"But Lord Ferdinand was brilliant. I didn't know he could beat that prince."
…..Ah...Laurenz. Why do you always say unnecessary things?
I don't have to look to see that Leonore and Brünhilde gave him a cold stare. Philine lowered her eyebrows in annoyance and began to fret.
"Brilliant, you say?"
"The princess and the teachers were complimentary and everyone was listening, weren't they? Wasn't that a great performance...?"
Laurenz's voice gradually becomes quieter and quieter at the sight of the two unusual behaviors. He looked towards Cornelius as if asking for help, but Cornelius just shook his head without answering.
"Certainly the performance was excellent, and it was thanks to Lord Ferdinand that she was able to avoid the impoliteness of collapsing in front of the royal family. But in the first place, if Lord Ferdinand had not been so provocative, the prince would not have been offended and left the room, and Lady Rozemyne would have played a piece with Rosina as planned, and the tea party itself would have ended peacefully. The Prince's fondness for Lady Rozemyne is well-known throughout the Royal Academy, so of course Lord Ferdinand should know about it, don't he? Knowing that his actions would incur the Prince's wrath, Lord Ferdinand dared to be provocative. I cannot allow him to use Lady Rozemyne as a distraction, even if it is just a coincidence! If they want to fight, please do it on your own, those two lords, where no one will bother them!"
Brünnhilde lets out her frustration at such a rate that she doesn't know when she's catching her breath. To follow up, Leonore now started to speak.
"Moreover, Lord Ferdinand was aware that Lady Rozemyne had not fully recovered from her illness. He saw the princess fall in front of him once, and I think he could have foreseen the possibility of some harm to Lady Rozemyne, depending on the actions the prince took as a result of being offended. In fact, Lady Rozemyne's complexion became even paler immediately after the Prince angrily left the tea room. If Lady Rozemyne had been in perfect physical condition, that might have been fine. But the best thing for that place today was to end the tea party quickly, without making waves."
Gulping at the quiet anger in Leonore's voice, Laurenz recklessly uttered a counter-argument.
"I'm sorry to say this, but why should Lord Ferdinand care so much about Lady Rozemyne? It's not he's part family or a fiancé..."
"Laurenz. The thought of the possibility of that happening is what makes them both so angry."
"…... Huh? ... No, I don't think so, no matter how much he wants to! Lord Ferdinand is from Ehrenfest!"
... Are you serious?
Laurenz's surprise was met with a look of dismay on most faces.
"By all accounts, isn't Lord Ferdinand the leading candidate for a potential fiancé at the moment?Did you mean you didn't realise it?"
"The only ones who haven't noticed are Laurenz and Lady Rozemyne."
"In the case of Lady Rozemyne, it's not so much that she doesn't realise it, but rather that she lacks the very idea of going in that direction."
"Spot on, Philine. The Archduke should have told her to go to the Roysl Academy to find a potential fiancé…"
Lady Rozemyne, whose mind is occupied with the library, has probably forgotten about it. Once magical sensing develops, she will be aware of the opposite sex even if she doesn't want to, so perhaps there is no need to be so hasty yet.
"Oh, Oh no ... Is everyone moves with that intention…?"
Tapping Laurenz on the shoulder, who was aghast at the women's conversation, Cornelius said a few not so good words.
"'Your house had a policy of status, which is unusual in meritocratic Alexandria. It may be hard to change the way you feel since you were a child, but if you intend to serve Rozemyne for a long time, you must stop thinking with about the territory and status in mind, or you will not be able to read the Lord's intentions, and that will be fatal, Laurenz."
"…..No... but…"
I began to feel a little sorry for Laurenz, who was devastated by the shock that he was the only one who didn't understand. It doesn't seem to be quite clear, and does he need to explain in more detail? I quoted Lady Rozemyne's beloved book and told him about the current situation in an organized manner.
"Lady Rozemyne is so fond of books that she prioritises reading over eating. The ideal gentleman to be engaged to was once mentioned as having a lot of books or a library. I don't know yet whether Lorx Ferdinand will be able to clear that point, but they started their exchange in the library, and even though the social season has not yet started in earnest, they have already had tea parties twice, and Lady Rozemyne herself invited him to collaborate with her, regardless of his territorial ranking, and he has been certified as a member of the library committee. And the fact that he lent her a book, the likelihood of her liking it has gone right up."
"When you hear it worded like this, it's a not unreasonable development for the bookish Rozemyne to be softened in such a short period of time."
Cornelius nodded sagely as he said this. Laurenz is still not convinced.
"... I can see that Lady Rozemyne likes Lord Ferdinand, and I understand why everyone thinks he is likely to be chosen as her fiancé. But what about the Archduke? Did he really think that the spouse of his daughter, the next Archduchess, would mind if he came from a bottom territory?"
"I was told via Ottilie that the most important quality wanted for Lady Rozemyne fiance was 'the ability to hold the reins'."
"Is Lady Rozeyne a rampaging horse or something ..."
Laurenz shrugged his shoulders in disappointment, but I fully agree with what the Archduke says. Lady Rozemyne needs a lord to be her reinsman, which is why Prince Ludwig will never be able to do it.
When the female retainers had finished speaking, Hartmut was the next to open his mouth.
"Lady Rozemyne often does and says things that are out of the ordinary because her way of thinking is completely different from that of ordinary aristocrats, but if we listen carefully, there is a good reason, and it is not uncommon for her to be surprised. If we can't help and lead that side of things well, there won't be a son-in-law."
Once out of words, Hartmut then refers to Lord Ferdinand.
'The next Archduke of Ehrenfest is Lord Sylvester, the brother of Lord Ferdinand, who graduated the year before last. So, after graduation, Lord Ferdinand will either stay in the territory and support the Archduke or be groomed by another territory, but as he does not seem to have a good experience in the territory, he probably wants to be groomed by another territory. He is so talented and research-oriented that he has been a practical assistant to their dormitory supervisor since his first year. This is a unique opportunity because such a person was able to get close to an Archduchess candidate of the great research city of Alexandria as soon as she joined the Royal Academy. And yet, he gave priority to protecting his own pride, not to Lady Rozemyne's health condition. Didn't hefind that shallow?"
Apparently, it was Hartmut who was the most annoyed. At first glance, the smile is refreshing, but there is an indescribable pressure to keep eye contact for long periods of time. Sweat could be seen running down Laurenz's cheeks.
'However, Lord Ferdinand has only known Lady Rozemyne for a short time, and I'm sure that his understanding of Lady Rozemyne's frailty is limited, so I will let him take credit for avoiding a situation where she could collapsed in front of the royal family, and for his good eye in being able to tell from her complexion that Lady Rozemyne was in poor physical condition. I have no intention of offering anything to Lady Rosemine this time."
The words 'this time' implicitly mean 'there will be no next time'. We do not yet know what Lord Ferdinand felt about this. However, if he snubbing his nose at the fact that he made arrangements for Lady Rozemyne to leave the room before she collapsed, I must say that we in the retainers would find it difficult to accept Lord Ferdinand as a potential fiancée of the Lord with pleasure. Of course, no matter what we say, it is ultimately Lady Rozemyne who chooses her partner. But we cannot just sit back and watch, knowing that it will make the Lord unhappy.
"A letter of sympathy will be sent tomorrow. Maybe that will tell us what Lord Ferdinand thinks about this matter."
"I can't wait to see what he'd come up with."
It was four days after the music teachers' tea party that Lady Rozemyne was able to read the letter of sympathy, which arrived the next day as expected. In tge solemnly spelt out apology, 'Why is Lord Ferdinand apologizing? It wasn't Lord Ferdinand's fault." to which Ottilie replies, "Lord Ferdinand has a strong sense of responsibility, doesn't he?" to Lady Rozemyne, who is genuinely curious. My impression of Lord Ferdinand has been revised upwards for the moment. Brünhilde's anger seems to have eased a little.
How will Lady Rozemyne's feelings change in the future, as she likes Lord Ferdinand now, but is not have the slightest bit awareness of the idea of a potential fiancé? I will continue to watch by her side as an attendant apprentice.
