Hartmut/Story

Hartmut introduces himself to Rozemyne in the winter playroom following her winter debut. However, she is overwhelmed by trying to remember the names and families of all the children present and seems to pay him no particular notice.

After arriving at the Royal Academy, Rozemyne chooses her retainers from a list of pre-vetted candidates. Rihyarda recommends Ottilie’s son Hartmut as a good candidate for her head scholar, to which she agrees.

Later, Rozemyne announces her plans for the Better Grades Committee. Hartmut comments that the guard knight apprentices have an unfair advantage, since they have access to Eckhart’s old study guides, and Cornelius and Angelica have been learning mana compression. To even the playing field, Rozemyne prohibits Angelica from using Stenluke in her classes, dismaying the knight apprentices and satisfying Hartmut.

Hartmut serves as Rozemyne’s scholar during the fellowship gathering and gives her a cheat sheet summarizing each duchy’s color, rankings, and archduke candidates.

During the meal, he asks Rozemyne about her plans for establishing her reputation at the Royal Academy, and is taken aback when she says she intends to live as a normal student. He explains that he views her as a true saint and wants to spread the legends of her sainthood as far as possible. Although she insists that her reputation was concocted by her guardians as a political ploy, he remains unmoved.

As the school term continues, Hartmut instructs Philine and the other scholar apprentices to spread Rozemyne’s exploits to other duchies at every opportunity.

While visiting the library with Rozemyne, Hartmut asks for reference documents about ditter strategies and previous Interduchy Tournaments. He works with Philine and two other apprentice scholars to transcribe it for use in the Ehrenfest dormitory.

Hartmut is assigned to copy the magic circles on Schwartz and Weiss’s clothing. Although he has good grades in the subject, he comments that the circles are so complex they’re completely beyond his expertise.

When Rihyarda demands that Rozemyne dismiss Traugott from her service, Hartmut is unsurprised. He mentions that Traugott intended to resign the moment he learned the mana compression method and says that he often expressed contempt for Rozemyne in private. Hartmut praises Rozemyne for how cleanly and efficiently she handles the situation, but she reprimands him for withholding important information from her. Stricken by her words, he apologizes and promises to do better in the future. .

Like the rest of Rozemyne’s retainers, Hartmut is shocked and worried when she collapses at her meeting with Prince Anastasius. When she returns to Ehrenfest, he remains at the Royal Academy to continue gathering information.

Although Hartmut learned from his mistakes during the Traugott incident, he still believes Rozemyne is better suited than Wilfried to be the next Aub; Cornelius mentions that he talks about it incessantly in private. Ottilie asks Leonore to keep an eye on him and keep his enthusiasm from getting the better of him.

Rozemyne decides to train Hartmut and Philine as key figures in the printing industry, and requests that Justus share some of his expertise with them while he is staying at the Royal Academy.

When Justus disguises himself as a woman to secure entry into Rozemyne’s tea party with Eglantine,  Hartmut is initially troubled by the idea that she might expect him to do the same. However, he later becomes interested by the advantages it might offer. Rozemyne tries her best to persuade him to abandon the idea.

During her absence, he and Philine compiled a list of quirks and specialty products of each duchy to help prepare Rozemyne for a tea party with all the duchies.

After their return to Ehrenfest,  Hartmut accompanies Rozemyne when she briefs her guardians on the intelligence they gathered at the Royal Academy. Ferdinand is highly impressed by the valuable information Hartmut gathered on the current internal state of Ahrensbach, and offers him a position as his own retainer, much to Rozemyne’s dismay. Hartmut refuses, citing both his duty to Rozemyne and his ongoing research on the nature of her blessings. Ferdinand seems interested in discussing the research, and they agree to meet later to share information.

When Philine does not arrive at the mana compression lecture, Hartmut persuades Rozemyne to contain her emotions and finish the lecture first.

Ferdinand warns Rozemyne that she can’t interfere with Philine’s family affairs without serious political repercussions, but Hartmut quickly creates a viable excuse for her to use. He suggests that Philine was mistakenly given a sum of money allotted for students of other duchies, and they need to rectify the mistake to avoid an interduchy scandal.

Hartmut goes with her to Philine’s estate and later accompanies the group to the the temple. He is interested in visiting again when Rozemyne next returns. However, Ferdinand loads him down with work at the castle so that she can have one final opportunity to say goodbye to Lutz and the Plantin Company in private.

Spoilers for Part 4 Chapter 5

When Hartmut accompanies Rozemyne to a meeting with the lower city merchants, he is disconcerted by the furnishings of the orphanage director's chambers, which he believes are not appropriate to her status as an archduke candidate. Later, he sharply reprimands Freida for speaking too directly to Rozemyne. However, Rozemyne tells him that she wants to hear Freida's honest thoughts, and that she won't allow any of her retainers to interfere. Hartmut apologizes for misjudging the situation.

Later, he expresses his envy of the diptychs she gave to her temple attendants, prompting Rozemyne to wonder how she should show appreciation to her noble retainers.

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