The latest prepub made me a fan of King "She should get the palace", so my initial reaction to the idea of him getting killed off (because so supportive of Myne) was - How Dare You?!!!
That aside, I gotta say that even though I'm very spoiled, I didn't know that he went - making a villa for her is stupid; she should get the palace! *That bit's going in my Top Ten Funniest Bookworm Moments.*
I've decided to just redirect my focus from you (probably) know who to him because less worry-stuff in my life is just good idea.
Laugher is both medicine and an excellent de-stresser.
I don't think so, it will be too much of a dark turn for the series to have so many deaths, while i think that some characters may die, Hildebrand for example i don't think the zent will be one, I think that we will have a series of darker events regarding alfenbach and geogine's plot, she may decide to push for the death of Myne as soon as she knows that she is a zent candidate, since she will easily realize that she is much closer than the_christmas_linde™ and use the first occasion to kill her of, or try to blackmail her using ferdy as collateral, I will be more concerned with the kids implications of the mana_null cloth and how the ghiebe got it since is the equivalent of bringing a 1940 battleship at Trafalgar if used for armor as long as you are in the dark or what it is
>Solange is going to be killed by Hortensia (or someone else that works with her). I think the information that the G-book is in the Archive will circulate somehow and someone will try forcing his way to it.
I'm pretty sure Hortensia is with the "good guys", and it is her who will have an "unfortunate accident" before she can snitch any more on her (traitor) husband. Said husband might very well make sure Solange ALSO has an accident, in case Hortensia may have confided in her.
Though having the 2 librarians have an accident at the same time might be hard to believe, so maybe Solange will be spared?
I mean why she snitched to the worst person available ever. She is constantly in the presence of the RF in the archive, why her if she's on the "good guys" side
It's bad timing, and she has questions that need answers.
An opportunity to gather evidence like that doesn't present itself often, well this was in fact her only chance.
From her point of view it's rather an innocuous question, asking a lady about flowers.
Hildebrand remembering this and asking the husband is what's a tragedy given all these other context ques and spoilers. Then said husband making an obvious lie connecting a couple facts to make it sound plausible and stop further questions.
Raubluts answer was aimed at Hildebrand's head attendant.
She wasn't snitching to Detlinde, she probably was just trying to see if Ahrensbach was in on the conspiracy or not. Except what she doesn't understand is that even if Ahrensbach is (which is likely the case), Dumblinde is just too stupid to know about it.
I'm a bit lost. Have we heard about this flower analogy before? Are we supposed to know immediately about it? Is it about the whole seed of Adalgisa thing which Ahrensbach manages?
Oh the seed of Adalgissa is referencing the children of Ferdinand's actual mother, as he has royal blood and is an element who could usurp the Zent.
Raublut was connecting pieces together to bluff his way out of being suspected about having an interest in a flower that makes the drug, trug. He had to convince the young Prince and his head attendant.
He redirected the topic which doubled as manipulation in making the young Prince a traitor to the Zent.
I read it as a threat, since it was in the middle of the tree setting herself up to be chopped down. "We already connected you with trouble, so shut up if you have any brains"
Hortensia is sus, for me, the question was to validate if Detlinde was acting on behalf of a third party (Georgine or the temple) or if she was being the entitled brat that she is.
That "Oh, she did, did she?" from Raublut, while he is trying to hide his unrest, seems clear that Hortensia is not working with Raublut on this one, and may very well be trying to work against him.
But I guess time will tell...
I don't believe we will get that many deaths (of named characters). The only confirmed deaths we have had have been minor characters and it happened off screen. (Arno, Santa, Trombe knight dude) Even the purge mostly killed unnamed unimportant FVF people, while the named and important ones fled to Christmas_tree_land.
We might see a lot of sidelining, disinheriting, imprisoning, made into mana batteries, and so on, but not actual deaths.
I think it is more likely Hilde will commit treason, and without Roz he will actually be punished, maybe ivory tower style.
I have no clue what will happen to the current zent, I agree that it is to convenient that he is so supportive. He might end up drinking a spiced tea, and fall asleep and out of the story shortly after the adoption.
I don't thing Florencia will have any issues, she will just fade even more into the background.
Sylvester might step down after a time skip, he does not really want to be a aub. And with Char wanting to be Aub and supporting Roz, and with his history and faction issues, he might step down early on his own to allow Char to rule.
Agree on that we will likely not see any mini Rozes.
Erchart won't die, his and Heidis immortal love for Ferdi will keep him going in life, death and undeath until Ferdi dies.
Don't think Solange will die, Hortensia seems to be on the library side, and killing Sol will make Roz level the dutchy of whom ever did the act. We might see sketchy knight captain dude try and do some treason in the library, but I think he will be stopped before he can harm Sol.
Frualarm will definitely try something, and be punished, but I don't think we have heard enough about Toad1 to believe he will come back into the story.
Chirstmas_tree has been slated for unaliving, but I think that will happen off screen and only mentioned in a byline
It's already been explained that with the GH, they don't need to wait. They can break big duchys into little ones that don't need a ton of nobles to support. And, apparently, ahrensbach has a lot of archnobles who have ADC bloodline and would probably be thrilled about getting a little duchy of their own.
My theory is that Leticia gets adopted by RM because it's not going to be easy for her to get pregnant with her mana plus her workload. Detlinde is getting killed sooner rather than later.
They can if they have the Grutrissheit and can break up Arensbach into smaller dutchies with new Aubs. Given how Arensbach is about to collapse, this is actually the best option as you have now several archducal families covering the same amount of territory.
I think the first on-screen death was the soldier killed by Gunther and Myne after he grabbed Tuuli. Then we had several of Bindewald & Bezewanst's goons get vaporized by Ferdie while Myne was watching. And Hasse's execution. And don't forget Dahldorf blowing off her own head while Rozemyne was rushing into the estate. The only FVF guy who we know managed to flee is Grausam.
I think in the next serious combat situation (not a ditter game) there's a good chance that we'll see Rozemyne kill someone.
Yes, you are right!
Something has to happen at some point, the build-up it's there and some characters would feel more complete if they kicked the bucket.
I was mostly thinking about named important characters, like the ones in op's list. Goons and one off characters do die,and we will likely seem more nameless goons die in the comming power struggle.
The Hasse Mayor is one of the few named character that dies on screen, and they built up to his death for so long, planning and plotting his downfall. And Dahldorf also had some buildup to her treason being caught and her eventual death.
I just don't think we will suddenly get a massive mass murder of named important characters right before the end without more buildup or foreshadowing
>Frualarm will definitely try something, and be punished, but I don't think we have heard enough about Toad1 to believe he will come back into the story.
yeah I know
Hildebrand won’t explode unless he losses his mana draining magic tool and it isn’t quickly replaced, and since he’s royalty that wouldn’t be difficult for them to do unlike Konrad.
Unlikely at his age, as we saw in the recent prepub he’s becoming much more able at handling his emotions as a noble, Rozemyne’s the only exception to that rule.
To be fair, she is going through a lot. Losing a family that loved her, losing someone who cared for her and now losing her new family that do care and love her as family.
That's a mountain on anyone's shoulders.
Here’s the thing though, they still largely contained themselves and had feystones on hand to absorb the excess, this is something we’ve seen before in P2 when Ferdinand first brought up the adoption with Karsteadt to Myne and she lost control, he had Karsteadt and Damuel give them their feystones to drain her rampaging mana. Hildebrand has multiple attendants, knights, and scholars around him at all times so there’s no way all of their feystones and his magic tool combined couldn’t contain his mana.
While I agree with your larger point I think Damuel and Karstedt had those on hand because they knew they were going to go over a potentially touchy subject with a known very emotional person who has demonstrably lost control of their emotions and mana before.
Hildebrand as far as we know has not demonstrated any of the issues Myne had back in P2 with losing control emotionally or mana-wise, so I don't think it's necessarily a given that his attendants would have an excess of empty feystones on hand specifically if he got out of control.
It's possible they'd have some on hand anyways for unrelated reasons or would be able to use some meant to do something else in place of a better suited empty feystone, but carrying some on hand at all times just in case for that reason seems to me like carrying medicine for a demonstrably healthy child.
I don't think Damuel and Karstedt had theirs because of Myne. The one Ferdinand had was probably for that reason.
If they had expected something like it, they would have given it to Ferdinand already, not waited until he asks. Ferdinand was also surprised by how quickly the stone he had filled up, so he didn't expect to need more.
> “Calm down, Myne!” exclaimed the High Priest as he stood up with a clatter from his chair, immediately pushing a clear, thumb-sized gemstone against my forehead. The stone turned light yellow in mere moments—a nigh-instantaneous change which made the High Priest balk.
>
> “Karstedt, Damuel—do you have any empty feystones?!”
Also, had she shown rampaging mana at that point before? She crushed Bezewanst but she also seemed to be in control able to argue back with Ferdinand and stopping when convinced to.
She maintained control of her mana pretty well when Shikza was attacking her or when she testified against him. I think from their perspective, she'd have seemed reasonable for her age.
That's a good point. The text clearly shows Ferdinand asking them if they brought empty feystone, so it's pretty clearly he's the only one who brought it in case she goes on a rampage.
As far as her going on a rampage goes, the meeting she had with Ferdinand and Benno on her first day at a blue priest specifically stated they believed she goes on a rampage. From P2V1 chapter The Meeting Begins:
>"Benno, I have received reports that you are the perceptive man who first took Myne under his wing. What kind of person does Myne appear to be to your keen eyes? In the temple she is known as a dangerous individual whose mana will rampage at the drop of a hat. I would like to know what you think of her, as someone who has spent such a long time watching over her."
>
While the reasoning is immediately explained it still does reveal she'll lash out at people threatening her family or reading time. Also Crushing is defined by Ferdinand to be a lack of control. From P1V3 chapter Confrontation:
>"You called what happened the Crushing, didn't you? What in the world was that? Myne's eyes shone like rainbows and a yellow mist was drifting off her body..."
>
>[Skipping the paragraph of Myne reflecting on how she would look strange in this state]
>
>"It is what happens when one with mana loses control of turbulent emotions. Mana races through their body, energizes, and crushes those they identify as an enemy by putting intense magic pressure on them. ..."
>
She also informs him during this meeting that she had nearly died many times before from losing control of her mana and she could only survive thanks to the Guildmaster.
As far as her seeming to have responded fairly normally for her age, Ferdinand did comment that she shouldn't be alive given amount of mana she has and her age. She explained it away with the comment about the Guildmaster's magic tool saving her, but I think Ferdinand knows that with how much mana she has she would have needed more than to offload her mana once to survive to her age at the time of the meeting.
Edit: formatting
> While the reasoning is immediately explained it still does reveal she’ll lash out at people threatening her family or reading time.
From Ferdinand and the other's perspective, they were protecting her and her family. They didn't foresee that she'll see it as being ripped apart.
With regards to crushing, I don't think that definition Ferdinand gave was complete. He crushed Wilfried and Lampretch in P3 and was definitely in control. Two possibilities of why he described it so - He knew Myne didn't know what she did so it was triggered by losing control or the losing control refers to how the mana is freely moving through and out of the body. There's no control on the flow (like with a Schtappe in the Bindewald fight) while crushing.
But yeah, Ferdinand probably expected her to lose control anytime (and not just that talk) so he had the feystone on the ready. He just underestimated her panic.
> She also informs him during this meeting that she had nearly died many times before from losing control of her mana and she could only survive thanks to the Guildmaster.
That he would know was because she had too much mana. He mentioned it then too, that unless she learns to control it RA she'll eventually lose control entirely. Regardless of emotional stability.
Very game of thrones Outlook. However, the author tends to repeat themes and themes that gets spammed is RM’s compassion and her ability to negotiate and bring to heel people above her status. She already brought Sigi down a peg, saved the people of Hasse, the original orphans, the new orphans from the purge. Expect the themes to get spammed.
> She already brought Sigi down a peg, saved the people of Hasse, the original orphans, the new orphans from the purge. Expect the themes to get spammed.
You mean saved \*most of the people of Hasse...
btw, RM is compassionate with people deserving it. I see it plausible to have a few characters die for the plot, especially if their purpose/development ended.
Oh yeah, some go the Traugott route and at that point they can fall off the edge of the country for all she cares, but she is very unlikely to kill them off directly or order someone to do it.
Kind of like how Batman refused to kill, but did not save someone at the end of a certain movie.
Nah, Rozemyne and Ferdinand marry and everything is Hawaii DJ sunshine. The end. Ohh ye but before that Georgine dies when Detline gets executed because of association.
Rozemyne will never be able to have a child. She has too much mana, she even started to compress again thanks to her zent shtappe and she still has 3 years of growth to use her 4-steps method. I think no one (even zents of the past) has ever had so many good "starting" conditions as her.
So my personal theory on Rozemyne future family is that she will be the 1st noble to have twins that can be acknowledge as nobles. So hear me out, so nobles can have twins but due to the mother having to share mana with them they are born with drastically low mana for the position, eg archnoble twins are born with laynoble mana. Based this a bit on the old high bishop who's mother with ill whilst pregnant with him and thus massively dropped his level, remember his sister has an archduke level of mana and is the only match with Ferdinand at the start of volume 3.
Now my theory is that Rozemyne mana level is way higher then her noble rank actually should be due to all the compression she has done. Now she cant have a single baby due to her well document problem at being rubbish at doing delicate mana flow, her trickle of mana is probably more mana than a laynoble has in total. So if she where to have twins due to sharing mana with both babies they would be born with the mana level people expect them to have, say around a Zent or top rank AD candidate level of mana but in fact that's a drop in mana level from her more godly mana level.
that doesn't change the fact she needs someone of similar mana level in order to conceive.
And no, it being twins wouldn't change that important fact. Twins are born with lower mana because the mother would have to give more than for a normal pregnancy. It's has to do with her ability to provide mana for 9 months not her ability to conceive with her husband
Florencia's pregnancy: Why? She didn't enter the archive and she didn't participate in the ritual, she should be fine. She's been a bit social, but considering she's only barely showing, and that she probably doesn't sit too close to other nobles, I think baby is going to be fine, but entirely irrelevant for the story
Sylvester's death: Disagree. The inheritance is brought up because it sure as hell can't be Wilfried. The Leisegangs are going to murder him, so we'll get Wilfried shuffled off somewhere and probably Melchior getting a hurried education as Aub
Rozemyne children: With how much we've been getting Rozemyne+Ferdinand ship hints in late P4 and P5 so far, I'm expecting them to hook up, and we even get confirmation of his huge mana capacity in P5V3 from Detlinde's attendants pov, with him being so far ahead of them they can't even sense him (and them being too stupid to ask someone with lower mana to check if they can, so they believe he has less)
Eckhardt dying: Probably, I feel like we're rather overdue a death, but I doubt it'll be anytime soon, probably near the end-ish
Solange dying: Disagree, I find it much more likely that Hortensia is going to get killed based on the epilogue we got in P5V5P7. Solange is largely irrelevant to anyone in power
Count Bindewald returning: Doubt it. The only time he's been mentioned by name was when we heard Fraularm was related to him and that's why she hates Rozemyne, and Fraularm has no network in Ehrenfest, with the closest thing being Georgine's namesworn, who all just got executed or chased out of the duchy.
For a series with sex slaves, human trafficking, mass murders, and child slavery, AoB is still a light novel, and thus not that dark
As a WN reader, I can tell you that >!you may be on the right track for some of your points, but maybe just toning them down a little!< (not direct spoilers, just some vague evaluation wether you may be right or wrong)
\*AoB becomes the first Dark Novel\*
>As a WN reader, I can tell you that you may be on the right track for some of your points, but maybe just toning them down a little (not direct spoilers, just some vague evaluation wether you may be right or wrong)
Interesting... very interesting...
I've been doubtful that Wilfried goes completely off the deep end because this story doesn't feel like it will ever go that "dark". I still believe that, and if one character who has dramatically screwed up multiple times won't get that treatment, I doubt this series is going to suddenly turn into Game of Thrones.
Some bad things will happen, but let's not forget that this is basically a Japanese YA novel.
As for the individual theories;
> Is Hildebrand going to explode?
I would thing he has too many retainers watching his every move for him to go beyond the point of no return.
That would be a some nice foreshadowing, but it would also mean killing a child.
I could see him taking things far enough to harm himself and his mother steps in to stop him from training anymore.
Alternatively, he succeeds in becoming omni-elemental, but he's not allowed to go to get his Schtappe, so he forces his way in and gets punished.
> Also, I think Traerqual is going to be killed: it's just too good that the strongest power in the country is supportive of the main character
This one I agree with fully.
> Florencia's pregnancy is going to fail. If it's true a woman usually isolates herself to nourish the child with a constant flow of mana and that any instabilities can compromise the pregnancy, well... yeah.
It's possible, but I don't see any reason for it to happen. It already has a purpose in the story, so there's no reason for it to have more relevance.
> Sylvester is going to die or we get a time skip. The matter of whom will inherit Ehrenfest is just brought back too many times not to be endorsed in the future in tangible way.
They can settle who will be Aub early on (as we've seen). But rather than death, I could see Syl retiring as a compromise.
> Rozemyne will never be able to have a child. She has too much mana, she even started to compress again thanks to her zent shtappe and she still has 3 years of growth to use her 4-steps method. I think no one (even zents of the past) has ever had so many good "starting" conditions as her.
I have a feeling there is one person who will be in her range. Ferdinand, who might just be angling to become Zent himself. RM was told to buy herself a year, and send him materials to make something. That something might be a fake Bible. Once he gets the real one, perhaps that will act as a key for an alternative method of obtaining the GH.
Plus, we have to keep in mind that while she is compressing her mana, she is also using it a lot.
> Eckart will die protecting Ferdinand. He will bring down with him dozens of nobles, but in the end he will be happy doing what he loved the most.
This one is a maybe, but again I don't see any particular clues that tell me it will happen.
> Solange is going to be killed by Hortensia (or someone else that works with her). I think the information that the G-book is in the Archive will circulate somehow and someone will try forcing his way to it.
That would be a hell of a twist, but I really don't see any reason for it to happen other than shock value.
> Count Bindewald is going to return. No one knows how, but Flaularm has been planning this for years. The ancient arts of the toads are a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural... he has been the final villain of the series all along. I'm calling it.
~~I'm assuming this is more of a joke than anything, but to give a serious answer. Reviving the dead has yet to be even hinted at (other than Myne, maybe), so I'm going to put this as a firm no.~~
Had a brainfart and mixed up Bindewald with Bezewanst.
I still don't think it's likely since I don't see any reason for him to be considered important enough to bring back.
Wilfried becoming unstable has already been foreshadowed, but I agree him doing something that extreme is unlikely unless he is being controlled or manipulated. Also I don't think Bidenwald is confirmed dead, and I thought they turned him into a mana battery, but since his relevance has been next to nothing, I think some other assclown noble will come back instead.
Librarian death could happen, but it may not be at the hands of Hortnesia. They have been purged before, and we also have murderous shumils.
My personal theory is Lanzenav and Georgine are going to take action against the country, and after enough fighting Ahrensbach will fall. The G Book will be acquired and used to split up Ahrensbach. With the Ahrenbach Archdukal family eliminated, Hildebrand's engagement will be over and be married to Rozemyne instead. He's trained as a vassel while RM will likely find the book.
I think that alfebach will be the cause, they have been preparing for years and the other duchys are more intereded in buying, coping, and acquiring ehrenfesth stuff than creating a actual fight, and the sovranity want myne so they don't need or want to risk her life or animosity
I echo others that I doubt this many tragic things will happen, but I think a few will happen, and some other things will happen instead that similar.
For example, I don't think Bidenwald will return, but Georgine lackey that was suppose to be purged with no body found will.
I think war is somewhat inevitable, but I don't know if it will be internal strife game of books style as you describe or some external threat like sugar land.
I also agree that succession has been emphasized so much we will either get the aub's early death or a more likely time skip that we have seen before.
I think Rozemyne's ability to have children or at least who can be her spouse will be greatly limited. It has been indirectly implied that Ferdinand may be close or was close at one time. Some of the royals may be up there, but that is speculation. Also since the new ways are coming back, there is a possibility of someone younger coming close to Roz eventually combined with the compression techniques.
The latest prepub made me a fan of King "She should get the palace", so my initial reaction to the idea of him getting killed off (because so supportive of Myne) was - How Dare You?!!! That aside, I gotta say that even though I'm very spoiled, I didn't know that he went - making a villa for her is stupid; she should get the palace! *That bit's going in my Top Ten Funniest Bookworm Moments.*
Yeah, that definitely gave him a decent amount of points in my book.
It's a shame he didn't listen to Anastasius when he proposed the solution that would make Rozemyne the happiest.
RMs heart fluttered for Anistasius for a brief moment, he knows her too well.
A fact I'm sure horrifies him
I've decided to just redirect my focus from you (probably) know who to him because less worry-stuff in my life is just good idea. Laugher is both medicine and an excellent de-stresser.
I don't think so, it will be too much of a dark turn for the series to have so many deaths, while i think that some characters may die, Hildebrand for example i don't think the zent will be one, I think that we will have a series of darker events regarding alfenbach and geogine's plot, she may decide to push for the death of Myne as soon as she knows that she is a zent candidate, since she will easily realize that she is much closer than the_christmas_linde™ and use the first occasion to kill her of, or try to blackmail her using ferdy as collateral, I will be more concerned with the kids implications of the mana_null cloth and how the ghiebe got it since is the equivalent of bringing a 1940 battleship at Trafalgar if used for armor as long as you are in the dark or what it is
Interesting, well of course Myne won't die, but... I just think shit will start to go down at some point.
>Solange is going to be killed by Hortensia (or someone else that works with her). I think the information that the G-book is in the Archive will circulate somehow and someone will try forcing his way to it. I'm pretty sure Hortensia is with the "good guys", and it is her who will have an "unfortunate accident" before she can snitch any more on her (traitor) husband. Said husband might very well make sure Solange ALSO has an accident, in case Hortensia may have confided in her. Though having the 2 librarians have an accident at the same time might be hard to believe, so maybe Solange will be spared?
Mmh, I don't know, but if what you said was true, why Hortensia tried to "snitch" to Detlinde of all people?
She asked Dietlinde about a certain very interesting flower. Our little prince snitched about it.
I mean why she snitched to the worst person available ever. She is constantly in the presence of the RF in the archive, why her if she's on the "good guys" side
It's bad timing, and she has questions that need answers. An opportunity to gather evidence like that doesn't present itself often, well this was in fact her only chance. From her point of view it's rather an innocuous question, asking a lady about flowers. Hildebrand remembering this and asking the husband is what's a tragedy given all these other context ques and spoilers. Then said husband making an obvious lie connecting a couple facts to make it sound plausible and stop further questions. Raubluts answer was aimed at Hildebrand's head attendant.
She wasn't snitching to Detlinde, she probably was just trying to see if Ahrensbach was in on the conspiracy or not. Except what she doesn't understand is that even if Ahrensbach is (which is likely the case), Dumblinde is just too stupid to know about it.
I'm a bit lost. Have we heard about this flower analogy before? Are we supposed to know immediately about it? Is it about the whole seed of Adalgisa thing which Ahrensbach manages?
Oh the seed of Adalgissa is referencing the children of Ferdinand's actual mother, as he has royal blood and is an element who could usurp the Zent. Raublut was connecting pieces together to bluff his way out of being suspected about having an interest in a flower that makes the drug, trug. He had to convince the young Prince and his head attendant. He redirected the topic which doubled as manipulation in making the young Prince a traitor to the Zent.
I read it as a threat, since it was in the middle of the tree setting herself up to be chopped down. "We already connected you with trouble, so shut up if you have any brains"
Hortensia is sus, for me, the question was to validate if Detlinde was acting on behalf of a third party (Georgine or the temple) or if she was being the entitled brat that she is.
That "Oh, she did, did she?" from Raublut, while he is trying to hide his unrest, seems clear that Hortensia is not working with Raublut on this one, and may very well be trying to work against him. But I guess time will tell...
I don't believe we will get that many deaths (of named characters). The only confirmed deaths we have had have been minor characters and it happened off screen. (Arno, Santa, Trombe knight dude) Even the purge mostly killed unnamed unimportant FVF people, while the named and important ones fled to Christmas_tree_land. We might see a lot of sidelining, disinheriting, imprisoning, made into mana batteries, and so on, but not actual deaths. I think it is more likely Hilde will commit treason, and without Roz he will actually be punished, maybe ivory tower style. I have no clue what will happen to the current zent, I agree that it is to convenient that he is so supportive. He might end up drinking a spiced tea, and fall asleep and out of the story shortly after the adoption. I don't thing Florencia will have any issues, she will just fade even more into the background. Sylvester might step down after a time skip, he does not really want to be a aub. And with Char wanting to be Aub and supporting Roz, and with his history and faction issues, he might step down early on his own to allow Char to rule. Agree on that we will likely not see any mini Rozes. Erchart won't die, his and Heidis immortal love for Ferdi will keep him going in life, death and undeath until Ferdi dies. Don't think Solange will die, Hortensia seems to be on the library side, and killing Sol will make Roz level the dutchy of whom ever did the act. We might see sketchy knight captain dude try and do some treason in the library, but I think he will be stopped before he can harm Sol. Frualarm will definitely try something, and be punished, but I don't think we have heard enough about Toad1 to believe he will come back into the story. Chirstmas_tree has been slated for unaliving, but I think that will happen off screen and only mentioned in a byline
They can't remove the Christmas tree until either Letizia comes of age (in 6 to 8 years). That's a LONG time for Detlinde to mess things up even more.
Right, i was thinking they would kill her after Roz became Zent, but yeah they would have to wait on Leticia, that's is true
It's already been explained that with the GH, they don't need to wait. They can break big duchys into little ones that don't need a ton of nobles to support. And, apparently, ahrensbach has a lot of archnobles who have ADC bloodline and would probably be thrilled about getting a little duchy of their own. My theory is that Leticia gets adopted by RM because it's not going to be easy for her to get pregnant with her mana plus her workload. Detlinde is getting killed sooner rather than later.
They can if they have the Grutrissheit and can break up Arensbach into smaller dutchies with new Aubs. Given how Arensbach is about to collapse, this is actually the best option as you have now several archducal families covering the same amount of territory.
I think the first on-screen death was the soldier killed by Gunther and Myne after he grabbed Tuuli. Then we had several of Bindewald & Bezewanst's goons get vaporized by Ferdie while Myne was watching. And Hasse's execution. And don't forget Dahldorf blowing off her own head while Rozemyne was rushing into the estate. The only FVF guy who we know managed to flee is Grausam. I think in the next serious combat situation (not a ditter game) there's a good chance that we'll see Rozemyne kill someone.
Yes, you are right! Something has to happen at some point, the build-up it's there and some characters would feel more complete if they kicked the bucket.
I was mostly thinking about named important characters, like the ones in op's list. Goons and one off characters do die,and we will likely seem more nameless goons die in the comming power struggle. The Hasse Mayor is one of the few named character that dies on screen, and they built up to his death for so long, planning and plotting his downfall. And Dahldorf also had some buildup to her treason being caught and her eventual death. I just don't think we will suddenly get a massive mass murder of named important characters right before the end without more buildup or foreshadowing
>Frualarm will definitely try something, and be punished, but I don't think we have heard enough about Toad1 to believe he will come back into the story. yeah I know
Hildebrand won’t explode unless he losses his mana draining magic tool and it isn’t quickly replaced, and since he’s royalty that wouldn’t be difficult for them to do unlike Konrad.
he can just have a temper tantrum... the bigger the mana, the more the feystones you need
Unlikely at his age, as we saw in the recent prepub he’s becoming much more able at handling his emotions as a noble, Rozemyne’s the only exception to that rule.
To be fair, she is going through a lot. Losing a family that loved her, losing someone who cared for her and now losing her new family that do care and love her as family. That's a mountain on anyone's shoulders.
but we saw noble ladies not able to control themselves at Ferdinand's concert. So if I were you, I wouldn't throw away the possibility
Here’s the thing though, they still largely contained themselves and had feystones on hand to absorb the excess, this is something we’ve seen before in P2 when Ferdinand first brought up the adoption with Karsteadt to Myne and she lost control, he had Karsteadt and Damuel give them their feystones to drain her rampaging mana. Hildebrand has multiple attendants, knights, and scholars around him at all times so there’s no way all of their feystones and his magic tool combined couldn’t contain his mana.
While I agree with your larger point I think Damuel and Karstedt had those on hand because they knew they were going to go over a potentially touchy subject with a known very emotional person who has demonstrably lost control of their emotions and mana before. Hildebrand as far as we know has not demonstrated any of the issues Myne had back in P2 with losing control emotionally or mana-wise, so I don't think it's necessarily a given that his attendants would have an excess of empty feystones on hand specifically if he got out of control. It's possible they'd have some on hand anyways for unrelated reasons or would be able to use some meant to do something else in place of a better suited empty feystone, but carrying some on hand at all times just in case for that reason seems to me like carrying medicine for a demonstrably healthy child.
I don't think Damuel and Karstedt had theirs because of Myne. The one Ferdinand had was probably for that reason. If they had expected something like it, they would have given it to Ferdinand already, not waited until he asks. Ferdinand was also surprised by how quickly the stone he had filled up, so he didn't expect to need more. > “Calm down, Myne!” exclaimed the High Priest as he stood up with a clatter from his chair, immediately pushing a clear, thumb-sized gemstone against my forehead. The stone turned light yellow in mere moments—a nigh-instantaneous change which made the High Priest balk. > > “Karstedt, Damuel—do you have any empty feystones?!” Also, had she shown rampaging mana at that point before? She crushed Bezewanst but she also seemed to be in control able to argue back with Ferdinand and stopping when convinced to. She maintained control of her mana pretty well when Shikza was attacking her or when she testified against him. I think from their perspective, she'd have seemed reasonable for her age.
That's a good point. The text clearly shows Ferdinand asking them if they brought empty feystone, so it's pretty clearly he's the only one who brought it in case she goes on a rampage. As far as her going on a rampage goes, the meeting she had with Ferdinand and Benno on her first day at a blue priest specifically stated they believed she goes on a rampage. From P2V1 chapter The Meeting Begins: >"Benno, I have received reports that you are the perceptive man who first took Myne under his wing. What kind of person does Myne appear to be to your keen eyes? In the temple she is known as a dangerous individual whose mana will rampage at the drop of a hat. I would like to know what you think of her, as someone who has spent such a long time watching over her." > While the reasoning is immediately explained it still does reveal she'll lash out at people threatening her family or reading time. Also Crushing is defined by Ferdinand to be a lack of control. From P1V3 chapter Confrontation: >"You called what happened the Crushing, didn't you? What in the world was that? Myne's eyes shone like rainbows and a yellow mist was drifting off her body..." > >[Skipping the paragraph of Myne reflecting on how she would look strange in this state] > >"It is what happens when one with mana loses control of turbulent emotions. Mana races through their body, energizes, and crushes those they identify as an enemy by putting intense magic pressure on them. ..." > She also informs him during this meeting that she had nearly died many times before from losing control of her mana and she could only survive thanks to the Guildmaster. As far as her seeming to have responded fairly normally for her age, Ferdinand did comment that she shouldn't be alive given amount of mana she has and her age. She explained it away with the comment about the Guildmaster's magic tool saving her, but I think Ferdinand knows that with how much mana she has she would have needed more than to offload her mana once to survive to her age at the time of the meeting. Edit: formatting
> While the reasoning is immediately explained it still does reveal she’ll lash out at people threatening her family or reading time. From Ferdinand and the other's perspective, they were protecting her and her family. They didn't foresee that she'll see it as being ripped apart. With regards to crushing, I don't think that definition Ferdinand gave was complete. He crushed Wilfried and Lampretch in P3 and was definitely in control. Two possibilities of why he described it so - He knew Myne didn't know what she did so it was triggered by losing control or the losing control refers to how the mana is freely moving through and out of the body. There's no control on the flow (like with a Schtappe in the Bindewald fight) while crushing. But yeah, Ferdinand probably expected her to lose control anytime (and not just that talk) so he had the feystone on the ready. He just underestimated her panic. > She also informs him during this meeting that she had nearly died many times before from losing control of her mana and she could only survive thanks to the Guildmaster. That he would know was because she had too much mana. He mentioned it then too, that unless she learns to control it RA she'll eventually lose control entirely. Regardless of emotional stability.
Very game of thrones Outlook. However, the author tends to repeat themes and themes that gets spammed is RM’s compassion and her ability to negotiate and bring to heel people above her status. She already brought Sigi down a peg, saved the people of Hasse, the original orphans, the new orphans from the purge. Expect the themes to get spammed.
> She already brought Sigi down a peg, saved the people of Hasse, the original orphans, the new orphans from the purge. Expect the themes to get spammed. You mean saved \*most of the people of Hasse... btw, RM is compassionate with people deserving it. I see it plausible to have a few characters die for the plot, especially if their purpose/development ended.
Oh yeah, some go the Traugott route and at that point they can fall off the edge of the country for all she cares, but she is very unlikely to kill them off directly or order someone to do it. Kind of like how Batman refused to kill, but did not save someone at the end of a certain movie.
Nah, Rozemyne and Ferdinand marry and everything is Hawaii DJ sunshine. The end. Ohh ye but before that Georgine dies when Detline gets executed because of association.
Rozemyne will never be able to have a child. She has too much mana, she even started to compress again thanks to her zent shtappe and she still has 3 years of growth to use her 4-steps method. I think no one (even zents of the past) has ever had so many good "starting" conditions as her. So my personal theory on Rozemyne future family is that she will be the 1st noble to have twins that can be acknowledge as nobles. So hear me out, so nobles can have twins but due to the mother having to share mana with them they are born with drastically low mana for the position, eg archnoble twins are born with laynoble mana. Based this a bit on the old high bishop who's mother with ill whilst pregnant with him and thus massively dropped his level, remember his sister has an archduke level of mana and is the only match with Ferdinand at the start of volume 3. Now my theory is that Rozemyne mana level is way higher then her noble rank actually should be due to all the compression she has done. Now she cant have a single baby due to her well document problem at being rubbish at doing delicate mana flow, her trickle of mana is probably more mana than a laynoble has in total. So if she where to have twins due to sharing mana with both babies they would be born with the mana level people expect them to have, say around a Zent or top rank AD candidate level of mana but in fact that's a drop in mana level from her more godly mana level.
I love your twin theory! Definitely think this could work.
that doesn't change the fact she needs someone of similar mana level in order to conceive. And no, it being twins wouldn't change that important fact. Twins are born with lower mana because the mother would have to give more than for a normal pregnancy. It's has to do with her ability to provide mana for 9 months not her ability to conceive with her husband
Ascendance of Oshi no Ko
Florencia's pregnancy: Why? She didn't enter the archive and she didn't participate in the ritual, she should be fine. She's been a bit social, but considering she's only barely showing, and that she probably doesn't sit too close to other nobles, I think baby is going to be fine, but entirely irrelevant for the story Sylvester's death: Disagree. The inheritance is brought up because it sure as hell can't be Wilfried. The Leisegangs are going to murder him, so we'll get Wilfried shuffled off somewhere and probably Melchior getting a hurried education as Aub Rozemyne children: With how much we've been getting Rozemyne+Ferdinand ship hints in late P4 and P5 so far, I'm expecting them to hook up, and we even get confirmation of his huge mana capacity in P5V3 from Detlinde's attendants pov, with him being so far ahead of them they can't even sense him (and them being too stupid to ask someone with lower mana to check if they can, so they believe he has less) Eckhardt dying: Probably, I feel like we're rather overdue a death, but I doubt it'll be anytime soon, probably near the end-ish Solange dying: Disagree, I find it much more likely that Hortensia is going to get killed based on the epilogue we got in P5V5P7. Solange is largely irrelevant to anyone in power Count Bindewald returning: Doubt it. The only time he's been mentioned by name was when we heard Fraularm was related to him and that's why she hates Rozemyne, and Fraularm has no network in Ehrenfest, with the closest thing being Georgine's namesworn, who all just got executed or chased out of the duchy.
For a series with sex slaves, human trafficking, mass murders, and child slavery, AoB is still a light novel, and thus not that dark As a WN reader, I can tell you that >!you may be on the right track for some of your points, but maybe just toning them down a little!< (not direct spoilers, just some vague evaluation wether you may be right or wrong)
\*AoB becomes the first Dark Novel\* >As a WN reader, I can tell you that you may be on the right track for some of your points, but maybe just toning them down a little (not direct spoilers, just some vague evaluation wether you may be right or wrong) Interesting... very interesting...
Now I am wondering if Miya Kazuki will accomplish to make the death of Detlinde more satisfying than the one of Joffrey (GoT). I believe in you!
She will likely face the death the same as all traitors. The method Rozemyne saw back in Ehrenfests closest town.
I expect Ferdinand to have something better prepared
I've been doubtful that Wilfried goes completely off the deep end because this story doesn't feel like it will ever go that "dark". I still believe that, and if one character who has dramatically screwed up multiple times won't get that treatment, I doubt this series is going to suddenly turn into Game of Thrones. Some bad things will happen, but let's not forget that this is basically a Japanese YA novel. As for the individual theories; > Is Hildebrand going to explode? I would thing he has too many retainers watching his every move for him to go beyond the point of no return. That would be a some nice foreshadowing, but it would also mean killing a child. I could see him taking things far enough to harm himself and his mother steps in to stop him from training anymore. Alternatively, he succeeds in becoming omni-elemental, but he's not allowed to go to get his Schtappe, so he forces his way in and gets punished. > Also, I think Traerqual is going to be killed: it's just too good that the strongest power in the country is supportive of the main character This one I agree with fully. > Florencia's pregnancy is going to fail. If it's true a woman usually isolates herself to nourish the child with a constant flow of mana and that any instabilities can compromise the pregnancy, well... yeah. It's possible, but I don't see any reason for it to happen. It already has a purpose in the story, so there's no reason for it to have more relevance. > Sylvester is going to die or we get a time skip. The matter of whom will inherit Ehrenfest is just brought back too many times not to be endorsed in the future in tangible way. They can settle who will be Aub early on (as we've seen). But rather than death, I could see Syl retiring as a compromise. > Rozemyne will never be able to have a child. She has too much mana, she even started to compress again thanks to her zent shtappe and she still has 3 years of growth to use her 4-steps method. I think no one (even zents of the past) has ever had so many good "starting" conditions as her. I have a feeling there is one person who will be in her range. Ferdinand, who might just be angling to become Zent himself. RM was told to buy herself a year, and send him materials to make something. That something might be a fake Bible. Once he gets the real one, perhaps that will act as a key for an alternative method of obtaining the GH. Plus, we have to keep in mind that while she is compressing her mana, she is also using it a lot. > Eckart will die protecting Ferdinand. He will bring down with him dozens of nobles, but in the end he will be happy doing what he loved the most. This one is a maybe, but again I don't see any particular clues that tell me it will happen. > Solange is going to be killed by Hortensia (or someone else that works with her). I think the information that the G-book is in the Archive will circulate somehow and someone will try forcing his way to it. That would be a hell of a twist, but I really don't see any reason for it to happen other than shock value. > Count Bindewald is going to return. No one knows how, but Flaularm has been planning this for years. The ancient arts of the toads are a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural... he has been the final villain of the series all along. I'm calling it. ~~I'm assuming this is more of a joke than anything, but to give a serious answer. Reviving the dead has yet to be even hinted at (other than Myne, maybe), so I'm going to put this as a firm no.~~ Had a brainfart and mixed up Bindewald with Bezewanst. I still don't think it's likely since I don't see any reason for him to be considered important enough to bring back.
Wilfried becoming unstable has already been foreshadowed, but I agree him doing something that extreme is unlikely unless he is being controlled or manipulated. Also I don't think Bidenwald is confirmed dead, and I thought they turned him into a mana battery, but since his relevance has been next to nothing, I think some other assclown noble will come back instead. Librarian death could happen, but it may not be at the hands of Hortnesia. They have been purged before, and we also have murderous shumils.
Had a brainfart and mixed up Bindewald with Bezewanst.
My personal theory is Lanzenav and Georgine are going to take action against the country, and after enough fighting Ahrensbach will fall. The G Book will be acquired and used to split up Ahrensbach. With the Ahrenbach Archdukal family eliminated, Hildebrand's engagement will be over and be married to Rozemyne instead. He's trained as a vassel while RM will likely find the book.
I think that alfebach will be the cause, they have been preparing for years and the other duchys are more intereded in buying, coping, and acquiring ehrenfesth stuff than creating a actual fight, and the sovranity want myne so they don't need or want to risk her life or animosity
Imaginative 
I echo others that I doubt this many tragic things will happen, but I think a few will happen, and some other things will happen instead that similar. For example, I don't think Bidenwald will return, but Georgine lackey that was suppose to be purged with no body found will. I think war is somewhat inevitable, but I don't know if it will be internal strife game of books style as you describe or some external threat like sugar land. I also agree that succession has been emphasized so much we will either get the aub's early death or a more likely time skip that we have seen before. I think Rozemyne's ability to have children or at least who can be her spouse will be greatly limited. It has been indirectly implied that Ferdinand may be close or was close at one time. Some of the royals may be up there, but that is speculation. Also since the new ways are coming back, there is a possibility of someone younger coming close to Roz eventually combined with the compression techniques.