Chapter Text
Prologue
Despite Ferdinand’s mood, the weather in Ehrenfest was unseasonably warm, even for summer. He’d finished his last act as his father’s son and as an archducal candidate of Ehrenfest, and he had attended his funeral, watching his brother’s uncle plunge the Sword of Ewigeliebe in his father’s chest. He watched his stepmother cradle the remaining feystone, every inch the grieving widow in front of Sylvester and his wife.
He still suspected Veronica held some guilt for his father’s ascent of the towering staircase, but that was not a suspicion he could share with Sylvester without proof, and proof eluded him. After accepting the various well-wishes, mostly from Bonifatius’s family and few others, he returned to his mansion where Lasfam was continuing to pack.
“Clothes and components are, of course, finished. As is the furniture, I took advantage of the… circumstances to have those shipped to the palace already.”
Ferdinand nodded absently at the report. Only a modest amount of belongings could pass between the palace and the Ehrenfest dormitory of the Royal Academy anyway, and so there was no need to rush when it would take Sylvester unlocking the transport, and Ferdinand passing probably at least a dozen sets of boxes.
“Heidemarie’s books have been packed, Milord,” he said after Ferdinand asked. Ferdinand still felt awkward about taking books that were not his, however Heidemarie had insisted it was the only way to keep her late mother’s books safe from the new Veronican wife in her household. “The magic books, the fey species books, and histories,” Lasfam neatly indicated each in turn. “The fiction is still being packed.”
“I’ll head to the palace then, Justus will be waiting on the other side to direct the items to my new quarters.”
Technically as a professor at the Royal Academy, and due to the fact that Hirschur had tried to use her seniority to offload her dorm management duties onto him, he could have lived within the Ehrenfest dormitory. However, they were now nineteenth. The dorms were woefully out of date, and until Sylvester’s son was of an age to succeed him Veronica would doubtless continue to try to kill him even after he had renounced his position as archducal candidate. The scholar dormitories would be safer.
As he stood at the transport circle, he could feel Veronican eyes on him. He was leaving, that woman could at least accept that and move on. She had barely seen him since he’d entered the Academy, and yet she lived in constant concern that he was plotting Sylvester’s downfall. If anything, him leaving should have been seen as her triumph.
Sylvester eventually came to see him off, or, more accurately, to convince him to stay, if only for a bit longer: “You don’t have to leave today. Take a few days? A week? We’ve only just had Father’s funeral…”
Ferdinand was well aware of that. He was also well aware that he was surrounded by enemies within Ehrenfest, and even the simple act of staying in the palace a few extra days could lead to tampered meals or worse. As it stood, that woman hadn’t had the decency to even inform him of his father’s rapid decline in health. He hadn’t even had the chance to say farewell… he still remembered the viciously satisfied look on Veronica’s lips while she dabbed her eyes beneath her veil, robbing him of even that one final kindness. No, staying until Father’s funeral had been painful enough. He had no desire to continue to pick at the wounds that had been left.
You are my pride. That was it… the same thing he always said, every year, even after six years coming in at the top of his class, in three courses. His only consolation had been that as the new Aub, Sylvester had emptied father’s hidden room with Ferdinand and he had been able to retrieve his namestone without Sylvester seeing it or the name inscribed on it: Quinta. Proof that he was not Sylvester’s brother.
“Furniture has already been moved,” he answered instead. “And I am always a message or ordonnanz away, as always.” Sylvester thankfully heard the polite decline and didn’t offer a place in the palace for him even though he obviously wanted to.
“At least have a drink,” Sylvester answered.
That, at least, he would do. After all, Veronica would never poison Sylvester’s wine. They drank well into the evening, and Ferdinand finally left for the Academy the following morning, finding both Justus and Lasfam waiting for him.
“You’ve had a long couple of days,” Justus said as a greeting, excusing his tired and worn appearance. “Allow me to draw you a bath and you can sleep.”
Yes, that would be best.
“If you wish to leave my service…” he offered again, one last time, but again Justus refused him. It seemed that his most loyal retainers would insist on following him down this route of minimal status, he could only be grateful for that. One benefit of choosing professorship at the academy over priesthood is that his aides would be by his side. While he did not want them to suffer alongside him, their loyalty was welcome.
He bathed, Lasfam taking down his hair and brushing it out, Ferdinand contemplating the clip that his father had given him so long ago. Did he even deserve it any longer, abandoning Ehrenfest and his brother like he had?
Before he could decide anything, Justus took it from his palm and packed it away somewhere with his other toiletries. His life as a professor at the Royal Academy had begun…
Settling In
The following weeks as Ferdinand acclimated to living in the Academy were surprisingly peaceful. When he was not busy setting up his new lab space, he was either spending time researching with Hirschur or collecting materials. While the pain over losing his father did not go away, having something else to focus on was a balm of sorts.
Of course, he received plenty of letters from Sylvester asking him to come home and help with work. If it was not for the fact that there were prying eyes in the Sovereignty, no doubt his older brother would have sent crates worth of paperwork to him to complete. However, he did come home on the occasional Earthday when Veronica was outside of the castle.
As Leidenshaft’s rays began to wane, Ferdinand had nearly completed settling in and finally had time to consider his curriculum. As he and Hirschur both received no aid from Ehrenfest in the form of laboratory funding, Ferdinand would need to spend a year or three building up further reserves, likely through selling tools to Drewanchel or Dunkelfelger, and so he couldn’t take on a research assistant yet…
He would be teaching first year compounding, which was always far and away the worst class, third and fifth year compounding, several medical and compounding focused courses at the higher levels, and then thankfully he had been able to carve out some time for an experimental compounding course, available only by his recommendation.
Ferdinand had also been asked (ordered) to sit in on several day one exams for various written coursework, and he was not particularly looking forward to that. He spent a few days in the library, looking through some of the best student notes and his own notes.
“Ferdinand, working hard?”
“Ferdinand, studying?”
“I am preparing for next year’s coursework,” he answered the two schumils without even looking up.
“Not a student?”
He sighed and tapped his temple. “No, I am a professor now. Ask Professor Marian if she has the first, third, and fifth year compounding curriculum from the previous professor.”
Ferdinand found himself so deep in his work that he barely noticed that Gundolf had also arrived in the library, likely to check out or pull his own research materials as well. “Well, it seems you were hardly gone.”
He looked up and gave the professor a nod. “Yes, I arrived soon after… Aub Ehrenfest’s funeral.” They exchanged a summer greeting and Gundolf helped himself to a seat and ordered Weiss to bring a few materials from the upper floors.
“It can be a difficult adjustment for an archducal candidate,” Gundolf said, and Ferdinand realized he would need to have a proper conversation, putting his attention on the professor. “Losing so much status and privilege…”
“I cannot say I ever appreciated much in the way of privileges in Ehrenfest,” Ferdinand answered, more honestly than he perhaps should have. His trials and tribulations at the hands of Lady Veronica were well known in the Sovereignty. “And despite my attempts otherwise, my two attendants will not leave my side, so I do not think it will be too bothersome.”
“Your entourage was always so small,” Gundolf answered. “I hope you begin availing yourself of the cafeteria. There are many professors who are eager to chat with the living legend who has returned to become a professor.”
“By which you mean Pauline wants to listen to me sing and Rauffen wants to challenge me to ditter?” He had Justus bring the cafeteria meals over to his room to avoid those very people.
Gundolf nodded. “Yes, I imagine that is part of it. Still, it won’t do to have both of our Ehrenfest professors be incorrigible shut-ins. It is very important to make a good impression as a professor, not just as a former student.”
Ferdinand knew Gundolf was being polite, kind even, and the two of them also had the former position as archduke candidates to fall back on and share, so he imagined he would need to get used to being a mere archnoble now.
“You can also join us in our discussions to solve the most disappointing part of being a professor.”
“Students?” he asked.
Gundolf chuckled. “Budget cuts. With Dunkelfelger finally joining the war on Trauerqual’s side and the presumed final push at hand, the country’s budget is again given over to war… although that also means we will have less budget for magic tool experimentation, so I hope you are prepared to fall back on whatever caches of feystones you have tucked away from your student years.”
Of course, it seemed that wherever he went he was destined to have some level of annoyance when it came to pursuing his hobbies. At least in the Academy he did not have to worry about food and assasination attempts. There were also less incompetant fools, which was a benefit.
The old professor took a glance at the book Ferdinand had been reading. “Ah, teaching first years this year?”
Ferdinand nodded. Gundolf chuckled. “Then you will get to meet my grandniece this year, Rozemyne.”
Ferdinand raised an eyebrow. “Surely you have many adoptive nieces and nephews from Drewanchel.” From looking at the class roster, Ferdinand knew there was at least one or two Archduke candidates or minister’s children closely related to their main line. Which made it peculiar for Gundolf to mention one particular grandniece. Hopefully this was not another attempt to adopt or make him son in law of Drewanchel.
“I do. However, Rozemyne is a bit… well, different from the others. So many ideas and capacity for trouble all in one young mind.” Despite Gundolf’s words, his eyes showed a level of fondness. “She reminds me of you in your early academy days with her talents.”
Ferdinand’s brows furrowed. Was he requesting him to watch over his relative?
“I shall look forward to meeting her and treating her just the same as my other students.”
“Is that so? Well, be careful, that girl could even give you a trial of Glucklitate if you are not prepared.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
After some light discussion, Gundolf finally left and Ferdinand could resume his reading. Eventually he checked the remaining books out and returned to his quarters.
Dregarnuhr spun smoothly during Ferdinand’s preparation as a professor, and soon Ewigeliebe began to overcome Schutzaria’s shield. It would soon be time for the academy to begin.