Freida’s Baptism
I woke up to quite a stir outside my room. A maid other than Jutte was sitting in the chair by the door, waiting for me to wake up. She was fairly young, probably not even twenty years old, and seemed friendly. I climbed off the bed and pulled aside the surprisingly heavy curtains to get out. She smiled as she saw me push through.
“Good morning,” the maid greeted me. “How are you feeling today?”
“I’m not sick, but I don’t feel great either. So I’ll be quiet today until my family comes to get me.”
She let out a quiet laugh. “Dinner last night was quite something. Everyone was talking about the dessert you and Mistress Freida made. The entire family wishes to meet you now, Myne. They are all quite determined to get you working here at our store.”
Ahahaha, um. That’s pretty bad. Did I narrowly escape a terrible fate thanks to sleeping early? Should I maybe not take a single step out of this room? Even this maid just added that my future would be safer if I joined their store... She’s one of them. I can’t trust anybody. Nowhere’s safe!
“Um, it sounds like there’s a lot going outside the door...” I looked at the door to change the subject and the maid’s smile broadened.
“With breakfast over, the young lady is being prepared for her baptism. I will guide you to the kitchen once she is finished changing.”
To be honest I was pretty hungry since I hadn’t had any dinner last night, but my stomach hurt just thinking about eating with Freida’s presumably overbearing family around. I’d lost my appetite for just about anything.
“Um, could my food be brought to this room? I don’t need much since I’m not feeling well, and eating around so many new people would make me really nervous. I’d probably have trouble eating anything like that.”
“Ahaha, that’s fine. I’ll be right back with it.” After changing me into a pair of Freida’s old clothes, the maid left the room. I crouched to the floor and cradled my head the second I was alone.
...This is bad. Who could have seen this coming? I knew that the guildmaster and Freida had their eyes on me, sure. But what’s this about their whole family being after me now? All because of some pound cake? They have a whole lot of sugar, so that must mean that they make tons of sweets. Or maybe — and I don’t even want to consider this possible — but maybe sugar is a new product that just entered the market and sweets in general haven’t been developed in the culinary world yet? That can’t be what’s happening here, no way.
I heard the maid returning with food as I agonized on my knees. I immediately stood up and put on a poker face as she entered the room.
“Please enjoy your meal.”
They must have remembered what kind of food I liked, as breakfast was once again white bread with honey and jam on the side, plus sweet fruit juice. There wasn’t as much soup as last time, since I didn’t like it that much, but there was plenty of bacon and eggs. My weak points had been sniffed out in no time.
Once I finished breakfast, I decided it would be safest for me to stay holed up in my room until my family came, using my ill health as a shield. The guildmaster and Freida alone were threatening enough; I couldn’t deal with their whole family all at once on my own. If I could, I would have summoned Benno and Lutz to my side for help.
I was eating breakfast slowly, thinking up a plan for the rest of the day, when Jutte suddenly rushed into my room.
“Good morning, Myne. How are you feeling?” said Jutte, her tone sounding far too on-edge for someone merely asking a simple question. She seemed like the kind of person to only say what she found necessary, so I answered her question up front, having nearly dropped my bread in surprise.
“Not great, but I don’t have a fever.”
“Could you help us prepare Freida for her baptism? I do not know how to put on the hairpins.”
I had made the hairpins, so one could consider it customer service to explain how to put them on. That should be simple enough that I won’t draw any more unwanted attention.
I finished my breakfast relatively quickly then followed Jutte to Freida’s room. Hers was on the third floor. According to Jutte, the guildmaster’s generation lived on the second floor, and their children plus grandchildren lived on the third floor. But the floors were connected by a central staircase and they all ate meals together, so it didn’t feel particularly like living apart.
“Mistress Freida, I have brought Myne.”
Freida’s room had a partition by the door. Going around the partition revealed a room similar to the guest room with a canopied bed in the corner, only with what looked like a writing desk on the opposite end of the room. There was also a small table in the center of the room with several chairs around it. The curtains and canopy were red and pink, fitting for a girl, but it was otherwise a simple room lacking any dolls or toys.
There were several brushes and hairpins lined up on the table and Freida was sitting in a chair, getting her hair brushed. She looked like a life-sized doll as the brush went delicately through her flowing, lush pink hair.
“Good morning, Myne. Feeling better?”
“Morning, Freida. I don’t have a fever, but I’m not doing great either.” I stated my health in clear terms so that she wouldn’t ask too much of me.
Her expression clouded a little and she lowered her eyes. “I see. Sorry for calling you, then. I assumed that since you had made your elder sister’s hairpin, you were also the one that did her hair.”
“That’s right, I did.”
“Could you do my hair the same way?”
I had braided Tuuli’s hair half-up from both sides leading inwards. That wouldn’t look bad on Freida, but that would kinda be a waste of her two hairpins, and I thought she looked cute with twintails anyway.
“Mmm, since you have two hairpins, I don’t think the exact same hairstyle would be best here. I’ll make you two braids. Does that sound okay?”
“I would appreciate it if you taught me how to braid like that as well,” added Jutte with sparkling eyes.
We split Freida’s hair into halves and I explained what I was doing while braiding the hair next to her right ear. “You slide this under here, combine it here, and twist like this.”
Jutte watched from the left and began braiding as well. As expected, she did pretty well. My hands were small and while I wasn’t clumsy with them, it was hard to stop hair from spilling out. Tuuli’s hair was naturally a bit wavy so somewhat sloppy braids didn’t stick out much, and even looked a little fancy on her, but with Freida’s hair they would stand out in a bad way.
“I think it’ll be for the best if you do both sides once you learn how to do this, Jutte. My hands are just too small to work with hair well.”
“I imagine it is quite difficult to work with hands as small as yours. Very well, I will braid the rest of her hair.”
With the technique now memorized, Jutte smoothly braided Freida’s hair. I could tell she was used to touching Freida’s hair since she didn’t let any slip out of her hands. And since it was so well brushed, the braids were tight and not loose like the ones I had given Tuuli.
...Aww. It hurts to see my own incompetence thrown in my face like this.
“I would have liked more time to practice this technique, but...” murmured Jutte in frustration, looking at Freida’s braided hair. I opened my eyes wide, surprised to see Jutte openly voicing her emotions.
Freida gave a troubled smile. “It seemed that Jutte had planned to consult you about this last night and practice all evening.”
“Aaah, but I went to bed early... Sorry.” I apologized for having once again burdened another with my weakness, but Jutte just shook her head.
“You have nothing to apologize for. Your ill health is no fault of your own. I merely regret that had I asked earlier, I could have dressed the mistress up even more today.”
...I see. Jutte’s hobby is dressing Freida up. She is cute like a life-sized doll, after all. I understand. Even I put extra effort into her hairpins, so.
Once she finished braiding above Freida’s ears, Jutte inserted the hairpins past the strings she wove into the braids. Since each hairpin had four dark-red mini roses, you could see at least one from any angle. The white flowers went well with her light-pink hair and emphasized the roses further. The green leaves here and there added a nice accent too.
“Yep, these are even better than I expected! They’re perfect for you, Freida.”
“You look exceptionally cute, my lady.”
As the other maids who had been helping Freida get ready praised how she looked, Jutte brought her today’s outfit. Freida stood up and a maid pulled the chair back. She immediately held her arms out for the maids to put on her clothes, so I hurriedly fled the proximity.
When Freida lifted one arm, an open sleeve was slid over it, and when she lifted the other arm, the other sleeve was likewise slid over it. Several maids at once fastened buttons, tightened strings, and dressed Freida up as she stood in place. I let out a sigh as I saw what looked like a princess changing scene from a movie happen before my eyes. ...This definitely takes years of practice to get right. If it were me, I’d lower my arms at the wrong time and hit someone beneath me.
“Myne, if you would be so kind, could you watch the baptism procession from this room’s window? It just so happens that this window shows much of the outside, to give me a better view.”
The guest bedroom I was in had wavy glass, but Freida’s room had straight glass suited for looking outside. It would be accurate to say that Freida’s room was like VIP seating for watching the baptism procession enter the temple.
“You don’t mind?” I looked between Freida and the window. She smiled.
“Of course not. If you’re afraid to be in here alone, Jutte can watch with you.”
“I find that idea quite splendid,” said Jutte, a bright smile on her face. She probably wanted to see Freida fully dressed up in the crowd more than anyone, even if it had to be watching long-distance from a window. And if Freida assigned her to me, she would be justified in doing so.
I would have felt awkward staying in someone’s room when they weren’t present, so I jumped at the idea. “Jutte staying with me would be really nice.”
By the time we settled on that, they had finished putting her shoes on. The maids crouching by Freida’s feet stood up in unison and each took a single step back.
Freida, completely dressed up, spun in place. Her white outfit had warm-looking fur around the neck and it was embroidered with bright red and pink colors. It suited both her hair and her hairpins.
“Does anything look strange on me?”
“Not at all, you look adorable.”
“Wow, just wow! Freida, that looks so good on you.”
“My lady, I have brought your family to see you.” As we praised her outfit, Freida’s family was informed that she was ready and came to see her. The guildmaster was the first to walk past the partition.
“Goodness gracious, you look splendid, Freida! Such magnificent bundles of flowers are so rare for this winter season that you resemble the spring-bearing Goddess of Sprouts. Truly adorable.”
“The hairpins you bought look wonderful on me, do they not?” Freida smiled with a finger on one of her hairpins.
The guildmaster practically broke down where he stood. “Yes, they quite do. Your happy smile is worth all the money in the world.”
Freida’s family began entering her room one after the other, almost as if they had been waiting for the guildmaster to finish praising her first.
“Wow, Freida. Those look really good on you.”
“You’re cuter than any girl I know.”
Two younger boys, both probably around ten years old with one a bit older than the other, both heaped on piles of praise onto her.
Wait... I thought Freida wasn’t used to being complimented. What am I missing here? I tilted my head in confusion and Freida looked up, wearing an expression that made it clear she didn’t appreciate what they’d said.
“...Dear brothers, why are you here?”
“What do you mean, why? It’s Earthday and we promised to celebrate with you.”
“You did, but neither of you have ever made good on a promise, and I had not expected today to be any different.”
Ooof, her older brothers break promises with her all the time? Okay, that’s fair. I would have a hard time believing anything they said too if they broke promises all the time like that.
The brothers, noticing Freida’s lack of faith in them, paled and started making excuses. A relaxed-looking couple was looking down at the kids, and they noticed Freida’s hairpins.
“Huh. Those are some nice hairpins.”
“Indeed, I would like one for myself. How splendid they are.”
I watched the chaotic family in a daze, awed at the sight of them focusing entirely on themselves and ignoring others, when suddenly the guildmaster crouched right in front of me.
“Oooh, Myne!”
Crap...! I forgot I was hiding in my room to avoid meeting these people! Gaaah! I let out a tiny squeak and took a step back, but the guildmaster nonetheless clasped my hands and began speaking with emotional tears forming in his eyes.
“You have done me a great favor. I thank you, Myne. I have never seen Freida this happy over anything I have ever given her. You were correct, a happy expression is infinitely more valuable than a surprised one.”
“I-I’m just glad she likes it.” Gyaaaaah! Save me, Bennooooo!
“It is rare for me to meet one who understands these finer matters. I will consult you before giving Freida gifts from now on. In particular, Myne, I would like to ask you about... ngh?!” The guildmaster was pulled back with a grunt. For a second I was relieved to be free, but that relief lasted only a moment. Several over people rushed to take the guildmaster’s place.
“So you’re Myne, huh? My Dad and Freida have told me all about you.”
“Um, yes...” I started to properly introduce myself to Freida’s father, but within the span of a blink, her mother was right in front of me.
“Thank you for spending time with Freida. She’s been smiling a lot more than usual lately. As her mother, I would like to express my gratitude.”
“Sh-She’s been a very good friend to me, so I...”
Before I could even finish my sentence, the two brothers pushed their faces up close to mine. Please! At least give me enough time to respond! Also, your faces are close! Too close!
I was panicking so much I could barely speak, frozen in place and blinking rapidly, when out of nowhere the brothers began patting my head without any hesitation.
“Wow, you’re real. She’s said a lot about you, but I was sure you were just an imaginary friend. Didn’t think I’d ever see the real thing.”
“Yeah, ’cause this is the first time we’ve seen you at all and you’ve been here for days. Also, your mouth’s kinda flapping open and shut.”
What do you mean, wow I’m real?! Am I some kind of rare monster with a low encounter rate?!
“Brothers, it’s about time for the ceremony to begin. Shall we go downstairs? Step back from Myne, please.”
“Right, right. You don’t want to be late, do you? The sooner you leave the better.”
I clung to Freida’s helping hand and backed up as much as possible. One of the brothers grabbed my right arm and the other my left.
“Come with us, Myne. Let’s celebrate Freida’s baptism together.”
“You’re our guest, so you can come with us no problem. The more the merrier!”
They held me up from both sides and I shook my head desperately, but naturally nobody from this stubborn family would take no for an answer. Is this the power of genetics?! Does everyone in the guildmaster’s family have a gene that makes them not listen to people?!
“Brothers, even I was scolded for pushing her past her bodily limits. Please do not force her to do what she is not comfortable doing. Her family is coming to get her this afternoon and it would be unthinkable for her to fall ill before then.”
As the rest of her family just watched with warm smiles, Freida alone let out a sigh and got her brothers away from me. Today, she was truly my guardian angel.
“But we don’t want to miss this opportunity to spend time with her.”
“Myne is unwell, so she will be watching the baptism from this room’s window. She won’t be going outside. I would love for her to come too, but this is out of our hands.”
Her brothers suddenly let me go, looking glum. They must have remembered Freida’s past as a sickly shut-in, stuck in her room and looking out of the window enviously.
“Now then, the bell is about to ring. We must go outside and show our fine mistress to the world,” said Jutte, after which the ensemble of family members swarmed around Freida and went outside all at once. I could only stand there and watch the tornado of chaos recede.
It seemed that eating breakfast alone had been the right call. I would have been overwhelmed by their flurry of questioning and sent to bed unconscious in no time.
“Are you okay? They’re not bad people, but they are a tad bit forceful.”
What do you mean, a tad bit?! They’re the definition of forceful! I shot back a quip at Jutte in my head and approached the window. Despite the lit fireplace heating the room, the area around the windowsill was cold. I wrapped myself in a shawl Jutte gave me and looked down through the window.
It was very sunny, but the tiny flutters of snow sometimes floating by and my breath clouding the window indicated how cold it really was outside. I could see Freida surrounded by her neighbors, standing out like a princess. Her family surrounded her and she looked happier than I had ever seen her before. I could easily tell from above that few kids had on hairpins, which made the ones I sold Freida stand out all the more. I could understand how Freida had noticed Tuuli’s hairpin while watching from this window.
...Tuuli must have stood out a lot as well. She was so cute that I was sure she became the talk of the town afterwards. For a little bit, at least.
Despite today being Freida’s baptism, all I could think about was Tuuli’s baptism. Thoughts of Mom smiling in her best outfit and Dad trying to avoid his meeting flashed through my mind. Suddenly, I really wanted to see my family.
“Myne, you look unwell. Is everything okay?”
“Seeing Freida happy with her family made me miss my family. It’s weird, I’m homesick even though I’m going home today.”
“Did ya miss me, Myne? I sure missed you.”
My family came to get me right after noon bell rang, as if they had been waiting for it exactly. Dad’s love was usually a bit overwhelming for me, but now it warmed my heart.
“Just a little. I missed you just a little.”
Freida’s family invited us to have lunch with them, but my mother was firm about not wanting to burden them further, and I settled things by saying I wanted to eat my mom’s cooking for the first time in what felt like weeks. We managed to leave and get home without them stopping us.
“I wanted to eat their food too thoooough...” said Tuuli, pouting with cheeks puffed out.
I giggled. “Sorry, Tuuli. But I wanted to eat Mom’s food instead of their fancy stuff.”
“Yeah, ’cause Effa’s food is great.”
We returned home together with Dad, who was in a good mood, carrying me on his shoulder. I had only been gone from our poverty-stricken apartment for a few days, but it was home — and returning there filled me with relief from the bottom of my heart.
Freida’s home had expensive food, a lavish bathing room, fluffy beds, and basically everything you could ask for. Each of those things excited me, but at the same time, I was so anxious there that I just ended up exhausted. Life there was clean and convenient, but for some reason, I just couldn’t imagine living there.
Aaah... At some point, this place became home to me. My stay at Freida’s had made me notice a surprising change within myself.
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