Chapter Text
Royal Academy Mystery 27: The Lady of the Library. Her origins are unknown, one day she appeared in the inner chamber of the Chapel without warning. It is said that she is the living image of Mestionora herself. She has strangely shiny midnight-black hair and golden eyes. Attempts to communicate with her have failed; her mana repels or even crushes those who approach too closely.
Upon her arrival, she walked directly to the library, as if guided by some unseen force, passing unhindered through its formidable magical barrier. The most incomprehensible rumour is that the two magic tools, Schwartz and Weiss, instantly accepted her as their master when she entered the library. Many professors and students believe the Lady of the Library to be the avatar of Mestionora herself. The Librarians themselves have been accommodating her stay and remaining silent during socialisations and had apparently even met with royalty on multiple occasions.
So ended the report from Heidemarie, a soon-to-be third-year apprentice scholar tasked with gathering intelligence on this enigmatic figure. The recipient of her report was her master, Lord Ferdinand. Lord Ferdinand was an odd master with very few retainers. Technically, he was an archduke candidate, but due to the complexity of his birth, he had no political support from his own duchy.
The internal situation of Ehrenfest was unknown to other duchies, so they all found his lack of retainers incongruent with his actual standing at the academy. He was a celebrity at the academy, having come first in class for four years in a row, even with the disadvantage of taking on the workload of three courses. Not to mention his record in commanding the Ehrenfest ditter team.
Even a workaholic such as himself needed a hobby, and his was to solve the mysteries of the academy. The hobby frustrated his retainers as he would sometimes slip pass them to investigate them on his own. He had made progress in this and had solved most of them. This week, his interest lay in the oddity that was the Lady of the Library. It was the newest of the mysteries and Ferdinand believed this mystery would be easy to solve, but he still wanted to be as prepared as possible. Therefore, he requested his retainers to search for information.
Justus, his adult attendant and one of his best information gatherers, reported his findings next. “Milord, all the information I’ve gathered shows that no one knows what to do with the girl. She refuses to communicate, even with royalty. None have been able to approach her without being crushed except the librarians. It appears they are worried about offending the gods, so they haven’t taken a heavier approach.”
Ferdinand scoffed at the idea she was related to the gods. He believed in the gods but had a pragmatic view of their interests. “The gods have no interest in our mundane lives. I think the only way we can get accurate intelligence is if I meet with her myself.” His retainers were aware that trying to solve the mysteries of the academy was one of the ways their lord avoided his reality of cruelty and abuse. For this reason, they were willing to help him meet this young lady.
Ferdinand knew well that he should have left this mystery alone. It involved both the gods and royalty—groups he had no business meddling with. As an archduke candidate from a lower duchy, he lacked the authority and standing to involve himself in such matters. Yet, his curiosity could not be sated. This wasn’t the first time he had delved deeply into the secrets of the academy, but this particular enigma was something he simply couldn’t ignore.
The location of the mystery lady was always known. She spent all day, every day reading the books on the second floor of the library. It wasn’t hard for Ferdinand to come up with an excuse to visit the library. He was well-known to the librarians, as he was often there researching his other hobby of making magic tools. He decided to ask them first for any information they had on the mystery girl. Hoping that his previous relationship with them would help gather information that others couldn’t. He was unaware that the lady of the library had permitted the librarians to talk to Ferdinand about her.
“She has the blessing and protection of Mestionora; the gods have asked us look after her,” claimed one of the archnoble librarians before continuing on “She has been blessed with wisdom and intelligence that may even rival yours”. That worried Ferdinand a little, as he knew that librarians were loyal to Mestionora and had to swear an oath to her to become a librarians. He had learned this information during his research in the hidden archive at the base of the building. If those closest to Mestionora claimed she was related to the gods, he knew he should take note. Ferdinand didn’t believe in letting others dictate his choices, but he believed being informed of dangers was important.
This would normally have been the time for Ferdinand to back off and reassess whether this was a good idea, considering the implications it might have for Ehrenfest and his family. He knew he had no business approaching the lady, yet he felt inexplicably drawn to her. It wasn’t just because the librarians had piqued his interest with their comments about her intelligence; there was something more compelling, something he couldn’t quite explain.
Ferdinand slowly approached the Lady on the second floor. She remained engrossed in her book, oblivious to his presence. He tried calling out and offering the usual noble greeting, but she did not respond. With each ignored attempt, Ferdinand’s frustration mounted. His usual composure slipped as his fists clenched tightly at his sides. He could sense Eckhart, his guard knight, shifting uneasily behind him, his frustration palpable.
Eckhart raced towards the girl, his hand outstretched to grab the book from her grasp. “Listen! My master is trying to talk to you!” he barked. But before he could get within a meter of her, a fierce wind erupted, and a shimmering shield materialized, hurling him back with a force that sent him sprawling.
Ferdinand, ever the curious scholar, immediately focused on the shield. He circled it, observing its luminescent edges and the way it shimmered in the air. Tentatively, he extended his arm, passing it through the barrier without resistance. Intrigued, he tried striking it with his fist, but the shield remained unfazed.
“Interesting,” he murmured to himself. “It seems to work on hostility. Maybe she is favoured by Schutzaria and her subordinates. If I am right, I should be able to—”
With deliberate calm, Ferdinand walked straight past the shield, his movements slow and unthreatening. He managed to position himself directly in front of the lady, bracing himself for the infamous crushing, but it never came. Taking a deep breath, he slowly closed the book she was reading, ensuring his thoughts remained free of any hostility.
“Ferdinand How rude! I was reading that!” Her voice, young and sharp, matched her appearance. Ferdinand, taken aback by her youth, estimated her to be around 12-14 years old. His surprise deepened when he saw she was reading an advanced magic tool theory book written by a professor 120 years ago. He was also curious about how she addressed him by name and without a title. He decided he would repay her rudeness in kind.
“You may have been looking at it, but I doubt you were reading it. Reading requires comprehension,” Ferdinand taunted, raising an eyebrow.
“This is trivial. My mentor had me learn this in my second year. I was just reading it for a refresher,” she replied with a light laugh and a sly smile. Ferdinand watched her closely, noting the sincerity in her body language. Growing up around deceptive people, he could recognize her genuine demeanour, and she wasn't lying.
“That must have been one harsh mentor,” he remarked, intrigued.
“The harshest. He was evidently quite unreasonable as a mentor, but I was able to keep up,” she answered, her eyes shining with fondness. Ferdinand noted the contradiction between what she was saying and her body language. He was also curious about how she claimed to have been a second-year, yet he had never heard of anyone like her attending the academy. This mystery was proving more complex than he had anticipated. The information he had was so inconsistent that he couldn’t piece together a logical explanation.
Ferdinand decided to try and engage the lady in conversation to gather more information and to test her intelligence. He might even be able to trade information for more ingredients for his and his mentor's research. He started by testing her knowledge of the book she was currently reading. He was surprised at the depth of her knowledge. He hadn’t met anyone at the academy other than the professors who could keep up with him in his discussion of magic tools. Their talks became quite animated, especially when she disagreed with his ideas. It even appeared to Ferdinand that she was somehow predicting what he was about to say. He found it fascinating.
He wasn’t sure where the time had gone, but soon the coloured lights indicating the library was closing started to shine.
“Lord Ferdinand, it is time to return to the dorm for your dinner,” said Justus. Ferdinand knew that everyone would be put out if he didn’t return now, so he reluctantly left the library. As he walked away, he remembered he had forgotten to ask her something. “It seems that Dregarnuhr has weaved today's thread with exceptional speed and grace. But if I may, could I inquire about your name?” he asked.
“Oh, how forward of you, young Ferdinand. You can call me Myne.” The name was odd to Ferdinand. He believed she wasn’t telling the whole truth. It was the first time he felt like she was hiding something. The name Myne also did not fit with her clearly noble heritage.
“Farewell, Lady Myne. I hope that Dregarnuhr will bless us with her grace soon.” Ferdinand was pleased with the results of his investigation. He had gleaned a fair amount of information from the interaction. Her contradictory traits had only made him more intrigued. He could tell this was going to be a worthwhile mystery to investigate. She wasn’t as good as him, but he found that talking to her wasn’t a complete waste of his time, so he couldn’t wait to talk to her again.
His retainers, on the other hand, exchanged meaningful glances, their silent conversation amounting to a collective “Are you seeing this?” They had to wait until their master went to bed before the three of them could convene to discuss the afternoon's events. They had seen their lord interact with royalty, archdukes, and other high-level dignitaries, but his interactions were always contrived and calculated. He had mastered noble socialization and could blend in with any noble crowd, but that wasn’t what they saw this afternoon.
Heidemarie was the most excited of the three. She wasn't ready to jump to conclusions, but she had never seen her lord so relaxed. She believed she saw him give a genuine smile a couple of times. “You both saw that, didn’t you?” she asked. “He wishes to meet her again, and he appears to be sincere. I haven’t seen him like that, even with Lord Sylvester.”
“Lord Ferdinand was enjoying himself, but I am worried that she already knew his name without him supplying it. If she has never spoken to anyone, how does she know?” Eckhart’s voice was laced with concern. He was glad his lord had enjoyed himself, but the lack of information about the lady and the power of her shield troubled him. The way she looked at them was also unsettling, though he couldn’t pinpoint why. He resolved to do more scouting tomorrow.
Justus, though not as excited as Heidemarie, felt a warmth he hadn’t experienced in a long time. He had been powerless as he watched his curious and polite young charge get bullied and abused into his current form—a boy who grew up too quickly, unable to trust or show emotions. It had always weighed heavily on his heart that Ferdinand was so isolated from his peers. Today was different. He saw his charge act his age, showing honest interest in another person for the first time. He didn’t know how it had happened, but he knew he had to protect it.
While all of this was happening, Myne herself was struggling to maintain control of her emotions. She didn’t understand what was going on. One minute, she and Ferdinand were teleporting to the academy for her first Archduke conference, and the next, she was in the chapel. She didn’t understand what had happened, but it didn’t take long before she realized she was in the past. Determined not to be the butterfly that created the hurricane, she decided to avoid interacting with anyone.
She waited for Ferdinand to come and rescue her while researching on her own a way to return to her time. She believed that by becoming one of the mysteries of the academy, she could limit her effect on the timeline. Without a theoretical framework to guide her, she didn't know if there were multiple parallel worlds or if she was affecting the prime timeline. Either way, Myne knew she should remain isolated.
Her plan had worked well; her intentionally intimidating aura had driven away all but the bravest nobles. Yet, she was still no closer to finding her answers when she met the younger Ferdinand. She had intended to scare him off as well, but he was so endearing in his teenage form, with that hair. She made a mental note to convince the elder Ferdinand to grow his hair out. Talking and interacting with him had come so naturally. She was happy to see that Ferdinand still had a glimmer of hope. He might not be her Ferdinand, but maybe he could help her.
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Myne left the library under the cover of darkness, knowing that her current situation couldn't continue and knowing exactly whom to ask for help. She made her way to the gazebo linked to the Goddess of Time.
As Myne closed her eyes and focused on her prayer, a warm and soothing light enveloped her. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a different realm altogether, surrounded by the gods. The Goddess of Time stood before her, serene and majestic.
"Myne, I have been waiting for you," the goddess said, her voice melodic and calming. "You have summoned me, and I have answered. What troubles you, my child?"
Taking a deep breath, Myne explained her situation. She spoke of her mysterious transportation to the past and her careful efforts to avoid affecting the timeline.
The goddess listened attentively, her eyes filled with compassion. "I understand your plight, Myne," she said. "But you must know that this timeline was created by your own desires. Do you remember what you were thinking before stepping onto the teleporter?"
Myne thought back to that moment, recalling her wish to return to the academy for a normal school life rather than the Archduke conference. “I was wishing that I would rather be returning for a normal school life and not the Archduke conference,” she replied.
“Exactly. At that moment, you created a temporary parallel weave, splitting yourself into two parallel threads,” the Goddess of Time explained, smiling gently. “It appears there was only enough mana to create a weave that will last until your graduation. Afterwards, your thread will merge back with your original.”
Myne nodded, her heart tightening with the knowledge that any changes she made would only be temporary. They would all revert when she returned to her original weave. This meant she wouldn’t be able to save Heidemarie or countless others who would die between now and her original timeline.
Myne couldn’t comprehend why her subconscious had brought her back to this specific time. If she wished for a normal school life, why not return to the beginning of her fourth year? After a moment of reflection, she guessed it was because her subconscious couldn’t foresee the future with certainty. Perhaps this time, in its own way, seemed like the safest point to return to, a point where she could witness events unfold with some familiarity and intervene if necessary.
As she pondered this, she realized that despite the confusion, her subconscious had chosen this period for a reason. It was a time of both beginnings and endings, a moment where Ferdinand's personality was most flexible. It was as if a deeper part of her had decided that this was the best time to make a difference, even if only temporarily to Ferdinand's life. They could both enjoy a couple of years without the responsibility she felt in the primary weave.
"But fear not," the goddess continued. "You will not lose everything you have gained in this timeline. When you graduate in two years, you will take all your memories back to your time. And Ferdinand will also gain all the memories of this timeline due to you sharing a book of Mestionora, which transcends time and space." The book would act as a conduit between the two weaves.
Myne was amazed at the goddess's words. She had never imagined that there could be a way for her to keep her memories and experiences from this timeline. This only made it more important that she enjoyed these two years to the fullest.