Prologue

Ehrenfest’s game of ditter against Dunkelfelger had come to an end. There had been some unexpected developments, such as an interruption by the Sovereign Knight’s Order, and the royal family’s decision to question all of the involved parties, but the match had ultimately ended with Ehrenfest’s victory. Rozemyne would not be married into Dunkelfelger.

Matthias sighed in relief, glad to have protected his sworn lady... but it was too soon for him to rest easy. He had noticed a faint scent during that questioning—something that everybody else had most likely missed.

“Can I ask you all to come with me to a meeting room?” Matthias said. “I wish to discuss today’s events.” He had gone around the dining hall to gather together Laurenz, Leonore, and Judithe—as well as Brunhilde, who had also participated in the ditter match.

“What about me?” asked the young Theodore, but he served Lady Rozemyne only within the Royal Academy. His true lord was Giebe Kirnberger, so he could not participate in these important discussions.

However, Matthias was hesitant to be so direct. He knew how upset Theodore would get about being left out, so he instead said, “I would like to keep this among those who participated in the ditter game.”

“But will you not want the perspective of someone who was in the audience?” Theodore asked.

Matthias fell into thought, trying to figure out how he could get Theodore to give up without hurting his feelings... but then Leonore heaved an impatient sigh.

“Theodore, as you only serve Lady Rozemyne here in the Royal Academy, we must draw a line. We do not want our every word to be leaked to Giebe Kirnberger. Or would you like to commit to becoming Lady Rozemyne’s retainer?”

Theodore had a lot of potential as a knight, and with Rozemyne already having a shortage of guards, her retainers were eager for him to join them formally. But after a moment spent in thought, Theodore refused the offer.

“My goal is to become a knight of Kirnberger,” he said.

After dinner, Rozemyne’s five retainers who had participated in the game of ditter gathered in a meeting room. Matthias confirmed that the door was shut tightly behind them, then turned to Brunhilde.

“How is Lady Rozemyne?”

Brunhilde was an apprentice attendant and could access Rozemyne’s room on the girls’ floor. Matthias could still remember how ghastly pale