A Turning Point in Life

“Along with the change in your standing, have you truly considered—seriously, as a matter concerning yourselves—that the Aub has chosen Rasantark as the one for milady?”

As Cordula admonished us retainers, she cast a meaningful glance at me when she said “a matter concerning yourselves.”

…Hm? That has nothing to do with me. Once Lady Hannelore marries, I will be transferred to serve Lady Eineliebe, so it is unrelated. But…? Cordula should know that, shouldn’t she?

For a brief moment, I didn’t understand what she meant and tilted my head slightly in confusion, but she did not look away. Instead, she narrowed her eyes even further.

…No, no, wait a moment! “My own matter”? Does that mean I have to think of it as my own problem too?!

You have got to be kidding me?!

✦✦✦

“Luitpold, I would like you to become one of Hannelore’s retainers.”

Around the time when Lady Hannelore’s retainers were being selected in preparation for entering the Royal Academy, Lady Sieglinde personally approached me with this offer. I was grateful for being chosen directly, but I could not accept it immediately and found myself frowning.

If I had been a woman, I would have accepted without hesitation. By the time Lady Hannelore married into another duchy, I—being of the same year—would also be of marriageable age. Serving as a retainer to a member of the archducal family would add prestige to my name, making it easier to find a good match.

However, I was a man—and a scholar. Even if I became a retainer to a member of the archducal family who was destined to marry into another duchy, it did not mean I could follow her to her new home. The uncertainty of what would happen after my lady married was a serious concern. I had heard that whether one could remain a retainer to the archducal family or would instead become an ordinary scholar could even affect one’s engagement prospects.

”…After Lady Hannelore marries into another duchy, what position would I hold? If I could be reassigned to serve another member of the archducal family… Yes, perhaps Lady Sieglinde or the future Aub’s spouse, then I would be willing to become Lady Hannelore’s retainer. The experience would serve me well in the future. However, if I am to become an ordinary scholar afterward, then I would aim for that path from the beginning.”

There were not many retainers who could follow their charge to another duchy through marriage. Those who could were usually ones already engaged to nobles of the destination duchy, personal attendants who handled daily affairs, or trusted guard knights—perhaps about half at most. The rest might be taken in to serve another member of the archducal family, but some would simply become ordinary scholars serving in the castle.

If one had experience serving a female archduke candidate, it would be useful later when serving the next generation of the archducal family—such as the future Aub’s wife or children—since one would already know how to maintain proper distance with the opposite sex. It could even open the path to becoming an instructor for the next generation of archduke candidates.

However, if I became a castle scholar, I would be entering a workplace where the other scholars had already been working for years since their apprentice days. Instead of making use of my own accumulated experience, I would have to learn entirely new duties while seeking guidance from those who were effectively my juniors. If that were the case, then rather than spending years as Lady Hannelore’s scholar only for it to amount to nothing, I would choose from the beginning to become an ordinary scholar.

“Oh my, to think you are considering the future so carefully at your age. How reliable.”

After exchanging a promise with Lady Sieglinde—that unless I committed some grave fault, I would be reassigned to serve another member of the archducal family upon my lady’s marriage—I became a member of Lady Hannelore’s retinue.

What was expected of me was to serve as an apprentice scholar who would support Lady Hannelore in navigating her life at the Royal Academy smoothly. At the Academy, interactions with other duchies were essential, and someone was needed to compile and send reports back to our duchy. Furthermore, since Dunkelfelger was a greater duchy, it would not do for an archduke candidate to have too few retainers. In other words, one could say I had been chosen simply to make up the numbers.

Because I had been taken in under such circumstances, the relationship between myself and my lady, Lady Hannelore, remained shallow and rather thin.

In the castle, adult attendants took the lead in handling duties, so as an underage apprentice scholar, I spent more time receiving instruction than actually working. Moreover, at the Royal Academy, I was of the opposite sex and could not enter Lady Hannelore’s private chambers, so there were few opportunities to speak with her beyond what was strictly necessary.

In addition, Lady Hannelore always consulted about everything with Cordula, her head attendant, and the two of them made decisions before issuing instructions to the rest of us. It was clear that she did not seek a particularly close relationship with retainers such as myself, who would only serve her until her marriage into another duchy.

I had no particular issue with that. I had never been especially interested in Lady Hannelore as an individual to begin with, and it was enough for me to fulfill my term without trouble and then focus on building a relationship with the next lord I would serve. Lady Hannelore likely valued the relationships she would form with retainers in her future duchy more than anything else.

…In that sense, the lack of interest was mutual.

Although she was not a lady with whom I shared a particularly close relationship, there were still things about Lady Hannelore that caught my attention. As an archduke candidate of Dunkelfelger, she seemed unusually timid—often glancing around with a lack of confidence. She was constantly watching others’ reactions, hesitant and uneasy, and rarely took initiative on her own.

One might call her shy, but more than that, she always seemed to hold herself back in everything she did. Lady Sieglinde and Cordula often admonished her for this, yet it never improved. If anything, being scolded only seemed to make her even more hesitant.

She trained diligently every day in combat, and there was no issue with her fighting ability—so why was she so lacking in confidence? I could not understand it.

Still, since the others did not interfere, I had no intention of involving myself either. A quiet master was, in many ways, easier for a retainer to serve.

…It was best if no problems arose.

And yet—Lady Hannelore caused an enormous one.

During the ditter with Ehrenfest, she took the enemy’s hand, left her own formation, and brought about her own duchy’s defeat. Dunkelfelger, who initiated it, Ehrenfest, who accepted it, the Sovereign Knight Order that barged in, and even the lesser duchies—everyone involved had seemed completely out of their minds. I referred to it as the chaos ditter.

As one of her retainers, if I could have prayed to the Goddess of Time to turn it back, well it was a ditter I would have erased without hesitation.

…Though, when it came to that chaos ditter, I believed the one most at fault was Lord Lestilaut.

I had no issue with Lord Lestilaut proposing to Lady Rozemyne in itself. One might think it improper to pursue someone who already had a fiancé, but if she had accepted, it would have brought considerable benefit to Dunkelfelger. After all, Lady Rozemyne was the avatar of the Goddess of Wisdom, capable of granting the Grutrisheit to the Zent.

Bringing the matter to bride-stealing ditter was also not inherently a problem. Ideally, he should have withdrawn immediately upon being rejected, but even if it escalated into a duchy-wide conflict, I could accept it if the next Aub judged that the gains for the duchy were worth it and had obtained the Aub’s approval.

…However, there had been no such approval from the Aub.

If he truly intended to bring it to a bride-stealing ditter, he should have obtained the Aub’s permission. And the moment Lady Rozemyne involved Lady Hannelore, Lord Lestilaut should have withdrawn.

Trying to pass off bride-stealing as bride taking, and forcing the matter of an archduke candidate’s marriage without even consulting the Aub—those were the actions of a fool. I did not know what reasoning he had, nor how deeply infatuated he was with Lady Rozemyne, but it caused trouble in every direction.

The foolishness of the future Aub, who had forced the ditter through, and the weakness of my lady, who had accepted it without proper resistance despite her own marriage being at stake, had given me quite the headache. No matter what an archnoble might say, it would be useless once two archduke candidates had decided. And I had no desire to draw the ire of the future Aub, so I remained silent—but inwardly, a storm of curses had been raging.

…And in that chaos ditter, the one who had acted in the most incomprehensible way was Lady Hannelore.

I could not understand at all why she had suddenly taken Lord Wilfried’s hand. Certainly, the Sovereign Knight Order and Lord Lestilaut’s group had been clashing, but an aftermath of that level was something Lady Hannelore could have handled on her own. If she had felt it was beyond her, she only needed to raise a rott, and her apprentice guard knights would have rushed to her side immediately.

Right in front of her stood Lord Wilfried—an enemy—and yet she made no move to deal with him, instead taking his hand. In that moment, I understood that she had chosen of her own will to marry him.

But before the ditter, Lady Hannelore had not shown even the slightest sign of such intent. It was a sudden betrayal. After she, our lady, took the enemy’s hand, did she not consider—even for a moment—how we, her retinue, would be seen and judged by those around us? It was beyond careless not to be aware of her surroundings. None of us had imagined that an archduke candidate would suddenly act on her personal feelings in the middle of a ditter and betray her own duchy. We were left utterly stunned.

…Seriously, these siblings are both far too blinded by love!

After that, the nobles of the duchy began to call Lady Hannelore “a schemer who even brought down her own brother to fulfill her love.”

I had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

On top of that, although she had supposedly gone to the Interduchy Tournament to discuss marriage, she somehow ended things by declining marriage with Ehrenfest. I truly could not understand what she had defeated her own duchy for in the first place. If being called a schemer softened the criticism even slightly, then she should at least have made some effort to maintain that appearance.

And yet, despite having refused it herself, she kept casting lingering, almost regretful glances toward Lord Wilfried.

I truly could not make sense of any of it.

…As if Lady Hannelore had any kind of scheme! She was acting entirely on impulse, without a shred of forethought!

And we were the ones being blamed for it, despite receiving no instructions whatsoever—just try being in our position!

In my heart, I hurled insults like “you foolish lady!” over and over, but I never let it show on my face. If I acted on those feelings and got dismissed—or quit in frustration—then there would have been no point in becoming her scholar in the first place. I had made a promise with Lady Sieglinde: unless I committed some grave fault, I would be reassigned to serve another member of the archducal family.

No matter how harsh the scrutiny and treatment from those around me became, I only had to endure until Lady Hannelore married into another duchy. During that period of cold treatment, how many times did I repeat to myself, “Just a few more years… endure it…”?

However, the period of cold treatment that I had expected to last for years came to an end in little over one. It was because, in a meeting where the upper ranks including the knight order’s commanders had gathered, it was decided that Lady Hannelore would participate in a true ditter.

I had watched her off with skepticism, wondering whether the ever-hesitant Lady Hannelore could truly lead the knights into a real ditter and redeem her honor. However, according to the knights who accompanied her, she had handled planning, command, and combat in a manner befitting a Dunkelfelger archduke candidate.

I was honestly grateful that my lady had restored her honor. The environment of cold treatment we had been enduring had eased considerably because of it.

I was grateful—but from the bottom of my heart, I had wanted to shout it out loud:

…If you can act like an archduke candidate, then do it from the start!

A few days later, the Aub departed for the Sovereignty, and several days after that, a new Zent was installed. The one who granted Grutrisheit at that time was Lady Rozemyne, the avatar of the Goddess of Wisdom. She had seized the foundation of Ahrensbach in a true ditter, became the first underage Aub in history, and named her new duchy Alexandria.

Ordinarily, even if one were to obtain an enemy duchy and become its Aub, it would only lead to hardship. It was uncertain whether an underage Aub could skillfully navigate dealings with seasoned, cunning Aubs at the Archduke Conference.

But Lady Rozemyne was no ordinary person. Not only had she obtained the Grutrisheit—something no one had been able to find since the civil war—but she had also rediscovered the true meaning of rituals and prayer, and had secured consecutive victories in ditter against Dunkelfelger. Lady Rozemyne had a record that made one believe she would somehow manage.

…The one I truly can not bring myself to believe in is Lady Hannelore.

At the succession ceremony and the Archduke Conference, Lady Hannelore began to attract attention as the close friend of an avatar of the goddess.

However, that attention came solely from her connection to Lady Rozemyne—not from her own abilities. Attention without a foundation of personal merit was dangerous; there was no knowing how others might make use of it. Combined with the fact that she had redeemed herself after the disgrace of the chaos ditter, the option of keeping her within the duchy rather than marrying her off to another began to emerge.

…Wait, hold on. Hasn’t the situation changed far too drastically in less than a month?

“Cordula, I have heard that there is talk of keeping Lady Hannelore within our duchy. If that happens, what will become of us? I was meant to be reassigned to Lady Eineliebe upon Lady Hannelore’s marriage, and discussions for my engagement with the daughter of one of her retainers have already been progressing…”

What mattered most to me was my own future. My engagement had been quietly moving forward on the assumption that Lady Hannelore would marry into another duchy. If I were to remain as her scholar, it could very well interfere with those arrangements.

Whether Lady Sieglinde’s promise would be honored or not—I sought confirmation from Cordula.

“It will remain as it has been until now. Even if Lady Hannelore stays, we will ensure that your engagement is not affected.”

“My thanks.”

✦✦✦

Because I had confirmed it with Cordula, I had assumed that—regardless of the other retainers—I alone would be reassigned to serve Lady Eineliebe.

That was why, even when Lady Hannelore continued casting lingering glances toward Lord Wilfried despite her fiancé candidates having been chosen by the Aub, and said incomprehensible things like being unable to choose because she had no romantic feelings, I had been able to remain an observer. I could simply stand back and think, “The retainers who have to deal with a lady who acts on her emotions must have it tough,” and treat it as someone else’s problem.

And yet, Cordula had looked straight at me and told me to consider it as my own matter.

…Could it be that I will remain as Lady Hannelore’s retainer after all…?

In that instant, I realized that I had misunderstood what “as it has been until now” meant.

I had thought it meant I would be reassigned to serve Lady Eineliebe, just as had been planned. But it seemed Cordula had meant that I would continue serving Lady Hannelore as before, and that she would simply make the necessary arrangements so that my engagement would not be affected.

…You have got to be kidding me. Someone, please tell me this is a lie.

I had not become her scholar with the intention of serving Lady Hannelore for the rest of my life. The understanding had been that it would last only until her marriage.

And Lady Hannelore herself—if it had been decided that she would remain in the duchy, then she should reassess her retinue from that perspective and choose those who would serve her with lifelong loyalty.

After all, they were her retainers.

However, it seemed that Cordula—and likely Lady Hannelore and Lady Sieglinde as well—had no intention of reviewing her retainers from the perspective of lifelong service or replacing them wholesale.

…Give me a break.

In other words, at this point, I was being told to serve for life a master who still said things like she did not understand her own feelings of love, who remained indecisive and absentminded, and who showed little consideration for her retinue.

”…Ugh.”

A voice of despair slipped from my lips before I could stop it. The fate of Lady Hannelore’s retainers—the very ones I had pitied from a distance—had now come crashing down upon me.

Yes… if Rasantark were to be decided as Lady Hannelore’s fiancé, then my future would likely be that of a ditter treasurer…

…This is the worst.

I had not become a retainer to the archducal family just to end up as a ditter treasurer. It was obvious that neither Rasantark nor Lady Hannelore would be able to properly handle the work, and that the burden would fall entirely on the scholars. I would refuse that outcome at all costs.

…Wait. Maybe there is still a way!!!!

If not Rasantark—if I could make Kenntrips her fiancé instead, I should be able to avoid becoming a ditter treasurer. If I could not escape the position of Lady Hannelore’s retainer, then I would just have to take this seriously.

…I will make absolutely certain that Kenntrips becomes her fiancé!

If I truly had to serve her for life, then I would strip away the complacency I had previously ignored in Lady Hannelore. I would drill into her that an archduke candidate stood in a position that affected the futures of her retainers as well, and make her listen to our opinions. Whether she liked it or not, I would make her understand what it meant to bear that position.

The same went for my colleagues. The female retainers who planned to marry early and leave, and the male retainers who thought they could continue serving at a leisurely pace—all of them would be drawn in. I would make them understand what it truly meant to serve Lady Hannelore for life.

…None of you want to end up as ditter treasurers either, do you?

Lifting my head sharply, I laid out the likely future and stirred a sense of urgency among my colleagues, then pressed Lady Hannelore to choose Kenntrips as her fiancé.

“First, let us obtain the conditions for a proposal from Kenntrips. We, your retainers, will support you with everything we have.”

”…But this is quite troubling.”

Lady Hannelore said that she could not choose because of the words she had received from the Zent, but she had had ample time to decide before all the talk of her being the avatar of the second goddess began. It could only be an excuse.

…This time, I will not let you escape.

Lady Hannelore kept fumbling for excuses and trying to avoid giving an answer, so when we suggested that we choose on her behalf, she said that was not within a retainer’s authority.

…Then, as an archduke candidate, make your decision already.

Nobles and members of the archducal family—who were bound to political marriages—should not be trying to choose a spouse based on something as vague as romantic feelings. She had been far too influenced by Ehrenfest’s love stories. I truly wished she would separate fiction from reality.

“Decisiveness is an essential quality for an archduke candidate. And I do not believe that Lady Hannelore—who has been praised for her excellence on the battlefield—lacks it. At present, it is simply that she lacks a sense of urgency.”

The moment I seized on Ultzdolf’s point and pressed her on the need for decisiveness in battle, Lady Hannelore’s gaze sharpened.

”…Very well. Then let us go to Kenntrips at once and obtain the conditions for his proposal.”

“Right now!?”

It was a relief that she had finally shown some resolve, and it was reassuring to see that—just as I had heard from the knights who fought alongside her in a true ditter—she possessed more judgment and leadership than I had expected.

But still, I could not help wanting to shout out loud:

…If you can make decisions that quickly, could you not have done so from the start!?

After making arrangements for how to “capture” Kenntrips, it was decided that I would call out to him and bring him to the meeting room together with Elusia.

“Is Lord Kenntrips present? Elusia wishes to discuss the Interduchy Tournament with the final-year scholars…”

Since he was not in the common room, I went to the private rooms on the second floor to call for him. After conveying the matter to his attendant, he appeared at once and readily agreed. I told him that a meeting room was being prepared for the discussion, and we began walking together.

“How did you decide on your research theme for your final year, Lord Kenntrips? I have been wondering whether I should deepen this year’s research or choose an entirely new topic…”

“I expanded on last year’s theme.”

…Just looking at that composed expression of his always irritates me for some reason.

Lord Kenntrips was from a collateral branch of the archducal family, served as a retainer to the future Aub, and was a candidate for Lady Hannelore’s fiancé. By virtue of his lineage, he was someone given priority and carefully protected.

I had wanted, if possible, to become a scholar to the future Aub—but instead, I had been assigned to Lady Hannelore, who was meant to marry into another duchy.

Meanwhile, Lord Kenntrips had been selected preferentially based on his lineage, under the pretext of strengthening the future Aub’s retinue. And, if I recalled correctly from something I had heard, he had originally wanted to serve Lady Hannelore. That was only possible because, whether he realized it or not, his future was secure even if his lady were to marry out. Though we shared the same rank as apprentice archscholars, the stability of our futures was entirely different.

It was infuriating.

…And yet, during that chaos ditter, he had failed to stop his own lord, Lord Lestilaut, had allowed Lady Hannelore to be dragged into it, and had ultimately stained his lord’s record with defeat!

In truth, for the year and some months until Lady Hannelore redeemed herself, the retainers of Lord Lestilaut and those of Lady Hannelore had been on very poor terms.

Lord Kenntrips and the others had accused us, saying, “How could an archduke candidate allow her own duchy to be defeated? What were her retainers doing?”

In response, we had shot back, “If you had stopped Lord Lestilaut, the ditter would not have happened in the first place. Why did you not restrain a lord who would even drag his own full sister into a conflict between duchies?”

In short, we had glared at each other, each side asking, “Why did you not stop your lord’s foolish actions?”

…But now, I was a retainer who was pushing my own lady toward such foolishness.

So, I decided to let go of the past and let bygones be bygones.

Even knowing that the Aub had privately chosen Rasantark as the fiancé, I was now urging my lady to choose Kenntrips instead.

It was foolish. I knew that fully well.

But if it meant avoiding the role of ditter treasurer, I had no intention of yielding.

…Last time, we were dragged into trouble because of you. This time, I will be the one dragging you into it.

Lord Kenntrips was now in a position where he could even enter the archducal family as Lady Hannelore’s fiancé candidate. Meanwhile, my own future plans had been thrown into disarray simply because Lady Hannelore would remain in Dunkelfelger. Even if Lord Kenntrips did not become her fiancé, his position as a retainer to the future Aub would remain unchanged. The stability of his future was on an entirely different level.

For the record, I did not actually dislike him. I was simply envious—and that made him irritating.

That said… right then, I did not mind it at all.

…Enjoy that composed look while you still can. Before long, you will be pinned down by Lady Hannelore. Heh.

Lord Kenntrips was an apprentice scholar with a strong martial inclination. He trained diligently, and as a collateral member of the archducal family, he possessed considerable mana. Considering the difference in height and build, nobles from other duchies would assume it would be difficult for Lady Hannelore to overpower him.

But as her retainer, I knew the truth. Precisely because Lady Hannelore was usually timid—hesitant and lacking confidence—anything she declared aloud was something she could undoubtedly accomplish.

Lady Hannelore had said, “To restrain Kenntrips, I must first bring it to a one-on-one situation.”

If it was one-on-one, she had a chance of winning.

As planned, I led Lord Kenntrips to the meeting room.

I was surprised to see that the arrangement of the furniture had been changed in the short time we had been away—and that Lady Hannelore was waiting toward the back of the room. In the worst case, she had said she would restrain him the moment he was pushed inside, so I had expected her to be positioned closer to the entrance.

Without thinking, both Elusia and I stopped in our tracks—and Kenntrips did as well.

…Is it really alright to stop here?

Sensing our unease, we frowned slightly—but Lady Hannelore responded with an apologetic smile. There was not a trace of the battlefield-like determination she had shown earlier. Instead, she perfectly exuded that usual air of unreliability.

She truly was a lady who could act when she chose to. I only wished she would do so more often.

“I am sorry, Elusia. I have something I wish to ask Kenntrips. It will not take long. May I speak with him first?”

No archnoble could refuse such a polite request from an archduke candidate. As expected, Lord Kenntrips stepped forward before Lady Hannelore.

…Good, good, good… That’s it! Now, pounce!

Just as I thought that, Lady Hannelore softly called, “Kenntrips,” and tugged on his sleeve. That alone prompted him to move as if to kneel, asking, “What is your request today?”

It was an exchange I had never seen before as her retainer, yet it felt strangely natural—almost practiced.

“Today”? As if this were something that happened regularly?

It was true that ever since she had been called the avatar of the second goddess and proposals from other duchies had begun pouring in, the distance between her and her fiancé candidates had suddenly grown much closer. She even seemed to have overcome the awkwardness she once felt. But that had only been very recent. From the time I entered the Royal Academy as her scholar up until the incident of the Goddess of Time’s descent, I had never once seen Lady Hannelore and Lord Kenntrips act so familiar with each other.

Just as I began to wonder about the unexpectedly close air between them—far more than I had ever known—Lady Hannelore suddenly lunged forward and forcefully pinned down the crouching Kenntrips.

“Now then, Kenntrips. Please give me the conditions for your proposal.”

”…Lady Hannelore, are you quite alright?”

…Yes, I could understand why he would question her sanity. If she had simply made her choice earlier, there would have been no need to obtain proposal conditions now. It was far too late for this.

“Rather than stopping her, did her retainers actually take the lead in this? To act in defiance of the Aub’s decision…?”

Being glared at by Lord Kenntrips did not bother me in the slightest. Even if the Aub had made a private decision, it had not been publicly declared. More importantly, this was necessary if we were to avoid becoming ditter treasurers.

“Because… Kenntrips, you like me, don’t you?”

Pressed down by Lady Hannelore—who spoke as though stating an unshakable fact—and watching Kenntrips flush red as he was thrown off balance by her words, I could not help but grin, feeling a sense of petty satisfaction.

…Serves you right—Lord Kenntrips’ you can suffer being dragged around by Lady Hannelore as well! This lady of ours will brood endlessly over the strangest things, only to arrive at an emotional, short-sighted conclusion and act on impulse without consulting her retinue at all!

Kenntrips protested that he felt he would be left to clean up after Lady Hannelore’s delayed realizations and decisions, and that matters which should normally be handled together with her retainers were being pushed entirely onto him—but he was absolutely right.

All the more reason for him to become her fiancé and properly share in the burden of being tossed about by this runaway lady, just as we had been.

Told by Cordula that “if it is Kenntrips, I expected he would take the initiative in handling Milady’s aftermath, so this is the perfect opportunity,” Lord Kenntrips found himself with no escape and presented his conditions for a proposal. By any measure, it seemed like an unusual inclination, but if he would actively take care of Lady Hannelore’s messes, it would be a tremendous help.

“Have you already forgotten… that you once said, ‘Because I love Kenntrips’…?”

After deliberately removing the soundproofing magic tool, Lord Kenntrips said that loud enough for all of us to hear, and everyone erupted into an uproar.

…He is far too composed about this.

In the end, it seemed things would go exactly as he wished. Rather than feeling a sense of accomplishment at having obtained the proposal conditions, I found myself feeling a faint irritation instead.

At the same time, I noticed Lady Hannelore covering her ears, her face flushed bright red—and inwardly, I cried out.

…If that was the kind of relationship you had, couldn’t you have just chosen Lord Kenntrips from the very beginning!?

Even now, unless the conditions for his proposal were fulfilled, he would not become her fiancé.

Because of my lady’s painfully slow decision-making, we were now forced to expend needless effort, and I could not help but feel an overwhelming sense of futility.