Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke, Vol. 1 by Miya Kazuki, You Shiina
Series Name: Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! (Light Novel)
Genres: Fantasy, Isekai, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 9781718356078
Rating: 5/5
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Description from the Book
Following a disastrous encounter with a noble, Myne finally resolves to say goodbye to her family and friends in the lower city, changing her name to “Rozemyne” and beginning her new life as the adopted daughter of Ehrenfest’s archduke. However, her days as an archnoble are brutal, as she is put through rigorous etiquette and magic training on top of her duties as High Bishop and forewoman. It all proves too much for a weak little seven-year-old girl…Or it would, had the High Priest not offered her the keys to the temple’s book room as a reward. If she could get her hands on those, she’d be able to read all sorts of precious books! Her name may have changed, but Rozemyne’s passion for books remains the same as she charges into a whole new world!
Personal & Info
There are some funny bonus comics and a character poll in the back of the book. The author is surprised Damuel scored so high, but I can understand why. Damuel is one of my favorites.
Characters
The Archduke’s Family
Myne, previously Urano Motosu, and now Rozemyne, is the main character. Now that her Devouring is under control, she mainly just suffers from normal poor health. Myne constantly comes up with product ideas from modern Earth that can break or revolutionize the Ehrenfest market.
High Priest Ferdinand is Rozemyne’s guardian at the temple, and the illegitimate younger brother of the archduke. He handles the majority of the work that keeps the temple running, and must also occasionally assist the Knight’s Order.
Sylvester is the eccentric archduke of Ehrenfest and Rozemyne’s adoptive father.
Florencia is Sylvester’s wife, Rozemyne’s adoptive mother, and mother to Sylvester’s three children.
Wilfried is Sylvester’s oldest son and Rozemyne’s older brother.
Charlotte is Sylvester’s daughter and Rozemyne’s sister.
Melchior is Sylvester’s two-year-old son and Rozemyne’s younger brother.
The Knight Commander’s Family
Karstedt is the captain of Ehrenfest Knight’s Order. He’s also Ferdinand and Sylvester’s cousin, as well as Rozemyne’s noble father.
Elvira is Karstedt’s first wife and Rozemyne’s noble mother.
Eckart is Karstedt’s oldest son. He is around eighteen-years-old and works in the Knight’s Order.
Lamprecht is Karstedt’s second son. He is around sixteen-years-old and works as a knight serving as Wilfried’s guard.
Cornelius is Karstedt’s third son. He is around eleven-years-old and works as an apprentice knight serving as Rozemyne’s guard while she is in the Noble’s Quarter.
Trudeliede is Kastedt’s second wife. She lives in a separate building with her child and does not appear in this volume.
Rozemary is Karstedt’s third wife who passed. Karstedt always doted on her and she was often bullied by the other two wives.
Noble Retainers
Damuel is a knight and laynoble from Part 2, Volume 2, currently assigned as Rozemyne’s guard.
Rihyarda is Rozemyne’s head attendant in the castle. She is an archnoble who previously took care of Ferdinand, Karstedt, and Sylvester when they were children.
Brigitte is a knight and mednoble serving as Rozemyne’s guard alongside Damuel. She is the younger sister of Giebe Illgner.
Angelica is an apprentice knight and mednoble serving as Rozemyne’s guard alongside Cornelius.
Ottilie is an attendant at the castle. She is an archnoble and friends with Elvira.
Norbert is the butler in charge of attendants in the castle.
Lower City Family
Gunther is Myne’s father. He works as a soldier who guards one of the city gates.
Effa is Myne’s mother. She dyes clothes and makes hairpins for a career.
Tuuli is Myne’s sister. She is one year older than Myne. Her current occupation is apprentice seamstress and she strives to move up in the industry.
Kamil is Myne and Tuuli’s baby brother.
Temple Attenants
Fran is Rozemyne’s head attendant in the temple. He is in charge of managing the High Bishop’s chambers
Gil is one of Rozemyne’s attendants in the temple. He is in charge of running the workshop inside the orphanage.
Wilma is one of Rozemyne’s attendants in the temple. She is in charge of running the orphanage and therefore does not reside in Rozemyne’s own chambers. Wilma also provides the art for anything the workshop makes.
Monika is a cook who also helps in the High Bishop’s chambers. She helps fill the roles of Rosina and Delia’s previous jobs. Monika admires Wilma and does her best to emulate her to learn from her example.
Nicola is a cook who also helps in the High Bishop’s chambers. She helps fill the roles of Rosina and Delia’s previous jobs.
Zahm is the High Priest’s attendant who handles all matters between him and Rozemyne.
Personnel
Ella is Rozemyne’s personal chef.
Rosina is Rozemyne’s personal musician.
The Gilberta Company
Benno is the merchant in charge of the Gilberta Company. He assists and advises Rozemyne in her merchant endeavors.
Mark is Benno’s right hand man. He helps manage the store and train the apprentices, as well as cover anything Benno himself might miss.
Lutz is a leherl apprentice. He helps make sure the Rozemyne workshop is in order and acts as a go-between for scheduling merchant relevant visitors. Lutz also helps the workers at the orphanage understand how to use and make the things Rozemyne thinks up.
The Othmar Company
Gustav is the Guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild.
Freida is Gustav’s granddaughter with a nose for money. She has a contract with a laynoble to manage her Devouring.
Leise is Freida’s personal chef. She also assists with any projects the company has involving cooking.
Other
Johann is the smith Rozemyne usually hires to do precision work. He is not fond of his Gutenberg title.
Zack is a smith who views Johann as his rival. He envies the Gutenberg title and wants to prove he is the better smith.
Hugo is the head chef of the Italian restaurant.
Todd is the second chef for the Italian restaurant.
Story & Thoughts
This is one of my favorite volumes in the whole series. It’s exceptionally funny. Between the events of Rozemyne’s magic training, her interactions involving Ferdinand, and the renown of her chefs, I couldn’t stop laughing. None of the other volumes were this funny.
Rozemyne’s life is now a whirlwind of activity due to her transition into the daughter of an archduke. As part of this, she must undergo lessons to learn proper etiquette. After those lessons, and getting to know Ferdinand better, Rozemyne can now fight back against his scheming. She’s not an expert, but she now knows how to get revenge for whenever she thinks he’s being mean. Their interactions are getting more fun to read.
The characters in this series are all so lovable. I can’t emphasize enough how much I love the cast. Several more characters appear in this volume to fill out her life in the noble quarter. I can definitely say I like the ones that get any bit of spotlight. There are several that don’t get more than an introduction, but I’m looking forward to getting to know them more as the story progresses.
Despite rating this a five, I do have some gripes. My problems aren’t with the writing or anything significant. They are small things that I might feel something like disappointment about.
For example, Rozemyne and Lutz feel so distant. Sure, they are still seeing each other fairly regularly, but she can only be herself with him in her private room. Lutz doesn’t seem as receptive to her clingy behavior, either. They’re both growing in different directions. It makes me sad. There’s a certain warmth between them missing from before. It’s upsetting, but I wouldn’t change anything. I love the story as it is.
Being My Little Sister’s Knight
This bonus chapter covers the events of Cornelius finding out he is getting a new little sister, being assigned as her guard, and learning how volatile her health is. He’s not fond of his parents plans at first. It’s interesting to see things through his perspective. It makes it clear how nervous she actually is during that time and emphasizes how smart she really is due to her learning speed. Of course, this story also includes the traumatic experience everyone who spends any extended length of time with Rozemyne gets. But that traumatic experience teaches him what it will require to be her guard.
One Stressed-Out Chef
The second bonus chapter is Hugo’s perspective of the events regarding the lunch at the restaurant. Hugo and Todd are both very nervous to be serving archnobles. Todd is an absolute mess, but Hugo hides it better. He keeps a cool face and takes pity on Todd, but he’s probably going to get an ulcer. Neither of them seem enthused about about their employment for the next month.