Chatper 31: Lost in translation
A white bird stopped talking and morphed into its yellow feystone form. In the subsequent quiet pause, Anastasius realized that the corners of his lips curved into a smile, so he reinforced his facade to hide the emotion.
While Oswin—his head attendant—returned the ordonnanz with a short acknowledgement, Anastasius was replaying Solange’s words of gratitude to the royal family in his head. Thanks to him, a part of the library was accessible once again. He dared to hope that maybe this time it was the right path forward.
It was a hidden archive that hadn’t been accessed since the civil war, which, according to Solange, was visited by archduke candidates and sometimes even by royalty prior to those “unfortunate events.” It felt like a suitable place to inspect in their search for the Grutrissheit. At this point, the royal family had already checked every corner of the royal palace. With mounting desperation, even the less important locations, like the Academy’s library, became worth a try.
“We should secure the keys posthaste. I wish to inspect the place before anyone else,” Anastasius declared.
“Prince Anastasius, a royal visiting the library would bring too much attention at this time of the year,” one of his scholars pointed out.
I know, Anastasius retorted in frustration—silently, in his mind, as was proper. His head merely nodded a bit.
He was slowly getting desperate. Eglantine, his long-sought Goddess of Light, had proven to be too elusive. Even this whole library business had come to be when she and her dormitory supervisor had discussed the issue. Anastasius had been determined to show Klassenberg that his competence was worthy of the throne by quickly resolving the problem, and smoothly maintaining operation of the Academy.
Only after Solange’s summons and further explanation, did the place itself pique his interest. The security around its access alone made it look valuable. Though, Anastasius hadn’t mentioned his conjectures to the rest of his family.
As it stood, his brother had the advantage as the firstborn prince. Should the hidden archive contain any leads to the Grutrissheit, and the royal family used the archive to find it, the subsequent search wouldn’t have made it clear enough who had contributed the most.
If I found it myself, the achievement alone should be enough to tip the scales in my favor. Eglantine would surely choose me.
“The best time for an inspection should be after most of the students return to their duchies,” Anastasius mused out loud, giving up on his wish to storm the library immediately.
Those few students who remained would be fully focused on packing and preparation for their departure. All while Anastasius was still required to be present on the Academy’s grounds as the representative of the royal family.
“However, we cannot risk anyone accessing the archive before we confirm it is safe to use.” He crossed his arms, trying to think of a way to bar others from the entry.
“There is no need to worry.” Oswin smiled. “We are talking about three keys requiring archlibrarians to dye them. As a mere mednoble, Professor Solange cannot hope to dye them all.”
“Indeed.” One of the scholars nodded. “There are too many tools to maintain the library as it is. She had petitioned the royal family for new librarians for years. There is no way she has mana to spare on additional tools.”
“So, we should merely wait?” Anastasius summed up with a slight frown.
He understood the logic behind their claims and it was sound, but some uncertain feeling was still making him wary.
“You could order Professor Solange to deny access to anyone asking, but that would risk further exposure,” his head attendant warned him.
A royal order could be incriminating, Anastasius thought bitterly.
As it stood, he had merely performed his duties as the supervisor and helped to access an archive for the benefit of the students. If he had found a lead on the Grutrissheit as a result of his duties, his father would have rejoiced and no doubt would have supported his claim to the throne.
However, if it comes to light that Anastasius forbade access to others, it might look like he was hiding the royal magic tool.
In this case, there was a delicate balance between gratitude and support on one side, and treason on the opposite side. He needed to act carefully.
It’s a mere month; my retainers are right. There was no way for Solange to find enough leeway to supply the keys. As such, Anastasius didn’t have to use his status to force anything. He merely needed to wait. The archive was technically opened for everyone, and yet still inaccessible.
However, the wait in the subsequent weeks proved to be quite excruciating. All his attempts to court Eglantine were unsuccessful. After each failure, his mind refocused on the hidden archive as an antidote to his current struggles, filling him with hope that it might truly contain the answer.
As Anastasius’s impatience grew stronger, he was determined to start as soon as possible.
On the second day of the Interduchy Tournament, he sent one of his scholars to acquire the keys.
“To ease the burden on my scholars, we should start dyeing the keys sooner. By the time most of the students depart for home we will be ready, with no need to rush the process,” he declared with a benevolent voice.
Tenzeln, the scholar ordered to retrieve the keys, departed right away.
We will end up watching Dregarnuhr weaving anyway, Tenzeln thought with a wry smile on his way to the library. It was rather clear to him that his lord was merely impatient.
As Tenzeln entered the library, it was as expected—Solange was the only one present. Everyone else was deep in fervent preparations for the upcoming ceremonies.
“Professor Solange, I have come to retrieve the keys to the underground archive. Prince Anastasius wishes to help the library and make the archive accessible now that we have more leeway with the upcoming end of winter,” Tenzeln divulged with a relaxed smile. “He will no doubt visit himself to inspect the place.”
“Oh goodness, a royal visit?” Solange replied with a happy smile. “Although, the archive is already accessible. There are students visiting right now.”
WHAT?! Tenzeln froze for a second, his smile stuck in place. How can this be? “The students are already present?” he managed to speak up.
“Indeed, they are quite hard workers, coming here even at a time like this.” Solange nodded, keeping her content smile.
Tenzeln still couldn’t believe those words. He was among those in their retinue who had tempered Prince Anstasius’s impatience, finding his worry about the archive unsubstantiated.
How am I supposed to report on this? Tenzeln panicked on the inside. “I was under the impression that the library lacked mana. Were you able to dye all three keys?”
“It is rather embarrassing to admit this, but the students themselves offered their mana. I am woefully inadequate to dye all the keys myself.” Solange clasped both of her hands on her chest.
Students? Offering their mana freely? “I’m going to inspect the archive to prepare for Prince Anastasius’s visit,” Tenzeln declared without showing how shaken he really felt.
“Certainly, but be aware of the barrier…” Solange began.
Yes, yes, I have enough status for this. Tenzeln was too distracted with his thoughts to listen.
He crossed the barrier and walked downstairs.
The students were really there; it seemed he wasn’t dreaming. The reality was happening right in front of his eyes. With a quick glance, he saw four of them. Three younger ones, who looked like first-years. And one older girl, who seemed to be their guard knight.
They are all from Ehrenfest. Noticing the color of their capes made Tenzeln recall yesterday’s awards ceremony. It had been quite surprising to hear even laynobles had been awarded honors. Ehrenfest’s youngest students had been doing unusually well in their classes, and with their presence here, it was easy to understand why.
I see, Lady Marianne and Lord Ignaz, apprentice archscholars in their first year. And, Mila? What kind of name is that, really? The peculiar name from the awards ceremony popped up once again. It sounded too short, even for a mednoble from a lower-ranked duchy. Tenzeln was stuck in deep thought after the introductions.
As luck had it, they mistook him for a professor, which Tenzeln didn’t outright deny. He didn’t want to spread word of a royal retainer visiting the archive before he and his colleagues could investigate it by themselves and ascertain its worth.
Tenzeln walked around a massive magic tool of light green and violet color, though he didn’t pay much attention to it. First and foremost, he wanted to access the archive. Everything else was secondary. However, he was repulsed by another barrier.
Marianne, one of the young students, explained their conjecture that this second barrier required higher status than being an archnoble, which sounded like a reasonable assumption to Tenzeln.
Although, hearing that made him even more suspicious. With this kind of security, the archive must have contained some highly restrictive materials. He asked for permission to look at the transcriptions of the students, expecting to be refused, but they allowed it without any protests.
Maybe their research is indeed innocent, Tenzeln mused. History of the ancient temple? In his eyes, such a topic could interest only the most enthusiastic professors of history.
The tablets and their transcriptions were in a really old vernacular, which Tenzeln couldn’t read.
Hopefully, some of my colleagues took the classes on ancient language. He suppressed a grimace.
Though, one of the tablets had been accompanied by an actual translation. One of these children is actually educated in this subject? It was yet another shock.
On the other hand, the content was uninteresting. It was an old administrative document with no value to anyone beyond historians.
Tenzeln returned upstairs and headed to Solange’s office.
“It seems the students mistook me for a professor. For security’s sake, could I ask you not to correct their mistake? With so many visitors on the Academy grounds, I would like to avoid spreading rumors that a prince will visit any particular location. This way, we would not have to involve the students’ home duchy.”
“Certainly.” Solange nodded. “They would no doubt prefer to prepare for their departure without further complications.”
The excuse must have felt strange to her, but status dictated for her not to question the decisions of royalty.
Tenzeln nodded as well. “When may I collect the keys?”
“I assume the students do wish to attend today’s ceremonies.” Solange smiled impishly.
To Tenzeln, it seemed like a good enough time. He was a scholar, unlike the knights, who were on high alert to secure the members of the royal family during the whole Interduchy Tournament, he was present as a mere spectator among the public today. Nobody from his family in Drewanchel was currently attending the Academy anyway, so he would not miss anything.
After acquiring the keys later that day, Tenzeln waited until evening, when Prince Anastasius was finally free to hear his report. Because of the error in their assumptions, it had been quite a nerve-racking duty.
“There were already students there?!” Prince Anastasius uttered with wide eyes.
“Regretfully, it seems the students themselves supplied enough mana to gain access.” Tenzeln was tense, as this was a complete blunder, especially for those who had advised against visiting sooner. Nevertheless, he continued with his report until the end.
“So, you couldn’t continue beyond the second barrier,” Anastasius mused. “If the students were right and a higher status is needed, how were those from Ehrenfest able to get inside?”
Something about that arrangement seemed highly suspicious to him.
“I assume one of their archduke candidates retrieved the tablets for them and then left to prepare for the ceremonies. The tablets were placed closely behind the barrier, and their writing utensils in front of it,” Tenzeln recalled from memory.
“Ehrenfest doesn’t have any archduke candidates in the Academy. At the fellowship gathering, I was greeted by their archnoble representative.” Anastasius glared at his hand as suspicion was seeping in.
Was someone among the stude…
“Prince Anastasius, maybe someone from the visiting adults retrieved the tablets,” One of his retainers proposed.
I’m being silly. Anastasius deflated. The Interduchy Tournament was visited by the aubs themselves, their spouses, and sometimes even other family members.
If that was the case, the students from Ehrenfest couldn’t have covered too much of what was inside. They had a bell of time at best. Such a thought relieved at least some of the annoyance he had felt in his chest.
“You said they investigated ancient temple ceremonies?” Anastasius turned to Tenzeln.
“That’s what they claimed,” his scholar nodded. “I was able to read only one document on the country’s administration. They have most likely picked those tablets randomly.”
That seems most likely. Anastasius nodded, though the suspicion remained. Knowledge of the country’s past administration was useful only if one intended to use it in some kind of reform. And that power belonged to the Zent.
“Could they be connected to the bible fundamentalists?” another scholar asked. “During our information gathering, their duchy was mentioned a few times in connection to the temple.”
“Temple?” Anastasius wondered.
When it came to Ehrenfest, he had been only aware of the general discussion about the grades of their first-years. Yesterday, he had witnessed the public stir firsthand, as even their laynobles had managed to attain honors, and surprisingly, one of their mednobles ended up first-in-class.
One of their laynobles collapsed during the practical classes, right? Anastasius recalled a report from his scholars. Ehrenfest's leadership must have pushed them too hard to achieve such a stunt.
It seemed odd for such a feat to come from a duchy that otherwise appeared to be an unremarkable backwater to him.
“They are trying to clean their temple and restore its authority,” the second scholar relayed.
Restore the temple’s authority? Anastasius narrowed his eyes.
“I heard the direct opposite, that their temple is worse than normal,” a scholar next to him remarked.
“That doesn’t make sense. Their archduke candidates apparently participate in the temple ceremonies. I can’t see them standing for such a thing to occur in their presence. Their reputation would be ruined.”
The scholars began an argument. Their sources were clearly conflicting.
I don’t want to listen to such a topic. Anastasius got annoyed.
It was both irrelevant to their goal and crude.
“Does anyone know any other rumors about Ehrenfest and their temple?” he asked to stop the debate.
“There was a bizarre rumor that they brought a commoner from the temple, but it turned out to be a mere blue shrine maiden.”
Anastasius wanted to roll his eyes. “Anything else?”
“One of their archduke candidates is called the Saint of Ehrenfest. She has apparently achieved a great many things?”
Like what? Anastasius wondered. Such a title sounded too boastful and arrogant to him.
“Though, she is apparently too humble to spread around her deeds.”
Naturally. He sneered on the inside.
However, taking all the rumors together, there seemed to be a reason for suspicion. Anastasius frowned.
Ehrenfest was trying to restore their temple, and their archduke candidates participated in the temple ceremonies. One of them being this so-called “Saint.” And their students expended valuable mana to access a hidden archive that had been closed since the purge, to search for ancient temple ceremonies. Do they want to gain favor among bible fundamentalists?
There were too many connections that pointed to some kind of preparation.
Once most of the students departed from the Academy, Anastasius visited the underground archive with a small retinue.
The room was empty, making it look as if he was the first visitor in many years.
“That is odd, the large magic tool is gone?” Tenzeln muttered.
“What tool?” Anastasius turned his way.
“Apologies, I didn’t pay it much attention, but it was a massive light green device.”
There were no traces of any such tool. Although, as the knights swept the area, they found dozens of tubes with hooks behind one of the pillars. However, no one seemed to know their intended use.
After opening the archive itself, the knights tried to cross the invisible barrier, though no one succeeded.
Anastasius put his hand forward. After so many unsuccessful attempts by others, he had become a bit nervous. The hand got through as if there was nothing there, which was quite relieving. He firmly stepped forward.
Sadly, just like Tenzeln had reported, the ancient tablets were in an ancient language.
This is quite troublesome, Anastasius grumbled as he was showing a random tablet to his scholars on the other side of the barrier.
Only one of them studied old vernacular, and by the looks of it, even he struggled to read it as the tablets contained an even older version of the language.
The problem was that Anastasius had to be personally present for this to work. However, in a couple of days, the last students would depart for home, taking away his justification to remain within the school. His duty of presiding over the Academy would be over.
As a prince, he couldn’t visit without attracting unwanted attention. This would force him to wait for the next winter unless he wanted to involve his whole family, which would have defeated the whole point.
Anastasius left the archive in a defeated mood. If there actually is something valuable here, he won’t be able to ascertain that quickly. Not without involving more people, or spending more time he didn’t have.
“Do you wish to borrow translations of ancient language and other teaching materials?” Solange wondered as she was speaking with Tenzeln.
This feels like a waste of time, Anastasius grumbled, his mood worsening.
The tablet they had managed to partly translate was a mere prayer. The value of the content didn’t seem to correspond with the overwhelming security.
“Did the students also use them?” Tenzeln inquired.
“Indeed.” Solange smiled. “From what I saw, the language there is incredibly hard to read. They struggled for weeks, so I suppose they will spend the next year practicing on the tablets they had transcribed.”
Weeks?!
Anastasius’s eyes widened as he turned sharply towards their conversation. It couldn’t be an adult during the Interduchy Tournament. How exactly did Ehrenfest manage to get inside? They didn’t have an archduke candidate.
While Anastasius was fuming in his thoughts, Tenzeln managed to keep his facade despite the shock. “Will they be able to practice without proper translations?” Tenzeln faked worry for the students.
“Apparently, one of Ehrenfest’s archduke candidates works as the High Bishop in their temple and is familiar with the old language from the bible.”
Is that the so-called “Saint?” Anastasius narrowed his eyes slightly. Ehrenfest is hiding something. I can feel it.
His mind was racing through all sorts of memories: bible fundamentalists demanding a Zent with Grutrissheit; Ehrenfest’s archducal family suddenly taking positions in their temple and trying to clean its reputation; a “Saint” educated in the ancient language; their students being willing to give up their own mana to access an archive that hadn’t been visited since the civil war. There was too much.
Even that circle of spring weather… The royal family had questioned Klassenberg’s and Lortzing’s dormitory supervisors, but if one discarded the closed dormitories of the fallen duchies, Ehrenfest wasn’t that far away from that particular spot.
“It seems like a worthy task,” Anastasius spoke up nonchalantly, smiling at Solange. “We will borrow the translations as well.”
They had three seasons before the next winter. Whatever Ehrenfest tries next year, we will be ready. Anastasius clenched his fist.