PrePub - Ascendance of a Bookworm

I wonder what's up with Letizia being "invited" to the Lanzenave estate and getting sweets and toys from Leonzio, without Detlinde going through the roof.

At first I thought that Leonzio was also drugging the girl, but she shows no sign of infatuation with him, changed behaviour, or gaps in her memory, so I think that guy is only using the gifts to get closer to her, but hasn't escalated to chemical warfare with her (at least not yet).

What really surprises me however, is how Detlinde isn't just allowing it, but actively enabling her sweetheart giving another female gifts.

Does that mean she's in on whatever Leonzio is trying, or is she just so high on whatever Leonzio is giving her that she's just doing as he says without resisting or complaining anymore.

Or could the happy drugs he's giving her, make forget all about how much she hated Letizia just a few weeks earlier and she's inviting her, because there is no one else she can bully into sharing her happiness with her, no one who has high enough status for her to consider taking along anyway?

Where's Rihyarda to scold Ferdinand for being cold to Letizia!

Also it sounds like Lanzenave has invented hard candy.

I feel bad for Dirk and Bertram. Everyone is such jerks.

Fast prepub; Felt a bit like a speed run to the RA.

Yass go to the farthest hall! Make things do stuff!

Ferdinand has been spoiled by Rozemyne's culinary inventions where everything is edible and not just rock candy.

Looks like we're in for a good volume. We've already set the expectation of something substantial happening at this dedication ritual and having Wilfried and Charlotte lead their respective rituals is a great way to get Rozemyne out of having to do multiple and highlight that hers is the only one where something crazy will happen rather than just a side effect of the ceremony itself.

Not sure when we'll get time with Hirschur, she clearly is raring to go, but that'll probably have to be after the start of term and I'd have thought the rituals would be completed first- which presumably would derail any free time Rozemyne has to deal with her.

This is more an issue for the previous Volume, but eh, probably better chances for people to see it here. It's about the timing of Lanzenave wanting to send a princess to the Adalgisa villa.

King Chiaffredo is old enough to have an adult grandson, so shouldn't he have arranged for a successor long ago? Does Lanzenave wanting to send another princess mean that something happened to the crown prince, are they just building up the next generation early, to be on the safe side or is it part of a ploy?

If it's the first, I wonder if Leonzio was involved in the death, or if he's just taking advantage of the opportunity it opens up.

If it's the second, why is Leonzio claiming that it's so important and time-sensitive? Is that Lanzenave's actual position, or is it just part of his manipulations?

Aah, this is bliss. I don't feel alive without a book in my hands.

Don't worry Roz. The lost ancient technology can transplant G-book inside the body.

I can't wait to see what happens in the cover.

color insert

Ha... back when Rozemyne agreed to give Charlotte a pendant, I said they should make it so that it incorporates both Rozemyne's crest and Charlotte's maternal symbol and so it was. Guess I'm on the same wave-length as Kazuki-sensei here. ^^

Back in the previous volume, I thought it would be a nice touch if Rozemyne wore one of those combined crest medallions as well, to show their mutual friendship, rather than what could be mistaken as onesided, unreciprocated affection or servitude, but with the brothers also getting their own medallions, with their own unique designs, that would mean Rozemyne would have to wear three of them, so it's probably better only Sylvester's children have them.

I'm rather glad that all three siblings are going to get a pendant from Rozemyne. With all of them having one, they won't become a factor in the race for Aub, even if Wilfried or Melchior choose to go for it, or any other political issues, and the pendants can remain just what they were meant to be, a sign of continued connection and affection.

It's nice to see Wilfried mellowed out like that. I guess this means that Barthold hasn't found any cracks to pour poison into recently, or that Wilfried might even have wisened up about him and shut down his sabotage attempts with some specifically worded orders. Should be pretty easy to do to a name-sworn, once you've become aware of their duplicity.

The moment Sylvester announced Dirk's name to the gathered nobles something hit me: When Myne was turned into Rozemyne, they made a big deal about noble names needing a certain length and yet Dirk is about as short as names get. Isn't that giving away his origins? Why didn't they give him a new, longer name too, like they did with Rozemyne? Though I guess the stigma of being exposed as an ex-commoner isn't much different from being believed to be a child of criminals, so it might not be a big deal to them.

I guess Dirk having wind as his dominant element, means he is actually an autumn child and not one born in winter, as the red ring given to him would suggest. With him being given to the temple without any information, they probably got their guess at his birth season wrong when picking the ring colour. But considering how devouring children grow slower, it makes sense that their estimate would be off by a season and he's slightly older than they thought.

I'm surprised that Bertram has only two natural affinities. With his almost-archnoble mana capacity, I would have expected him to have three or maybe even four. I guess Laurenz family is quite a bit behind Matthias family in regards to mana. I wonder if that means Laurenz also had only two natural affinities, before giving his name to Rozemyne.