poltroon

I also think Ferdinand is pretty confused about what Rozemyne is thinking. There's a hint that he suspects she is choosing him above all others, but when he asks in the indirect noble fashion she refuses to answer. She's got the royal family amulet. He's having trouble making sense of this and when he can't figure that out his trust level plummets.

This is complicated by the fact that Rozemyne does not herself really seem to want to answer these questions, not even to herself.

It's only when he decides to put himself back in the familiar role of her guardian that he can tease out some of the answers about what she doesn't want, and from there I suspect he's putting some pieces together about what she might want and how to get her there. Like that he's talked her out of going through with any integration into the Royal Family.

If they do ship in the end, I suspect it will be a relationship of friends and equals.

I don't really see him as being intentionally cruel to her, especially once he came to know her at all. I think he is often clueless at her and doesn't always explain himself well. Sometimes he has been harsh when he thinks that protects her.

She is also sometimes the same right back.

They share a love for books and research and knowledge and enjoy simply being in each other's company.

They have protected each other and know inner secrets about each other that no one else knows. This has created a (non-sexual) intimacy in their relationship. In a world where adult men and women aren't allowed to be close friends, it is a challenge to find a path where they keep this where they aren't officially paired off. Thank goodness we don't live in a world like that ourselves, any longer anyway.

Normally I would squick about the age difference and worse the mentor/student relationship but it helps that (a) Rozemyne is actually older than him if you count both lives and (b) Ferdinand has never shown any romantic overtures at any time to anyone during the story. Also, at this time she actually has power over him in multiple dimensions. She literally has his life in her hands and she was urged by a god and even Ferdinand himself to kill him so she would receive the full book of Meistionora. And she now outranks him politically and socially, and has plenty of alternatives for partners if she will so choose.

I thought it was a curious break in security to allow Judithe to ask her parents anything.

I don't know what "used as a pawn" means in Ehrenfest or even Japanese, but I understand that phrase to mean that the person had no agency, possibly neither control nor knowledge, about their actions or how they might affect others.

Not to mention, this girl is not even old enough to go to school yet. Of course she is easily manipulated and fooled by someone experienced in human manipulation.

I love the cover and where it suggests the story is going!

Justus' point of view - wow, that was very welcome and it surprised me how powerfully it landed with me.

And then when Justus and Rozemyne get to confer - them coming together with resources and ideas is as fabulous as I had hoped. And high praise from Eckhart!

Of course Rozemyne is not going to start following Ferdinand's instructions now. Sylvester's amusement at the prospect of Ferdinand dealing with the mess she's about to make... I look forward to that too.

Although, only because she's suddenly beautiful.

To be fair to him, marrying a child would reasonably feel creepy. But to be unfair to him, I hope he shows soon that he cares about more than her looks.

I find myself oddly distressed for poor Letizia. I hope she survives all this - she seems a useful player in the end. Plus I'd hate to see all of Ferdinand's training go to waste.

I also loved that illustration; I quite lingered over it.

Tagline suggestion: Ferdinand: "Indeed. I am very interested in seeing where your infinite source of energy for books comes from. More than anything, I would like to dissect it.”

Tagline suggestion: Ferdinand: “They gave me the unreasonable request to cheer you up with something other than books..."

Tagline quote suggestion: “My my, Rozemyne. A kind man incapable of plotting or exterminating his enemies is simply no good at all.”

This Part was just a freight train of goodness. I can't wait to see how everyone, especially Ferdinand, reacts to suddenly-grown Rozemyne and now suddenly Ferdinand's trove of unusual knowledge makes a lot more sense.