Meanwhile at the Temple
Before me was Lady Rozemyne, silently floating in a box containing a light-blue potion, bright-red lines streaked across her body. The High Priest removed his hands from the concoction, the small ripples on its surface making her hair sway ever so slightly.
He wiped his hands on a towel as he stood up, handed the towel to me, then opened the door. I couldn’t enter or leave this workshop on my own, so I hurriedly followed him out. He glanced back a single time at the box in which Lady Rozemyne was sleeping, then quietly closed the door.
“And now, only I can enter this room,” the High Priest said. “Rozemyne is safe.”
Even if attackers came to the temple, there was nothing they could do to reach her. Only once the High Priest knew that she was safe did his expression return to normal. He now looked as he usually did while at work.
“Fran, if you have any of the letters or memos Rozemyne left behind, show them to me. I wish to establish what plans she had for this winter.”
“As you wish.”
I promptly went to Lady Rozemyne’s work desk and took out the letters she had written to people. I also gathered the notes she had made for herself; she always copied them from her diptych onto proper paper so as to not forget them, which meant we would not have any issues identifying her immediate plans. It was initially a shock to see her using such expensive paper for mere notes, whether it was ripped or not, but I had since grown used to it. Lady Rozemyne felt most at home writing on plant paper, not wooden boards.
As I was organizing the letters into those for her noble associates, her temple associates, and her lower city associates, an ordonnanz flew into the room. It announced that the criminal had been caught, then returned to its yellow feystone form. The High Priest replied, “Very well. I shall return at once,” then sent the ordonnanz back.
“Fran, there is work for me to do at the castle,” he announced. “I will not return until it is time for the Dedication Ritual. I entrust the temple to you and my attendants. Use the blue priests as needed to finish the necessary preparations.”
The High Priest took the letters for Lady Rozemyne’s noble associates at once, then strode briskly out of the room. Once he was gone, the other attendants—who were supposed to have retired to their rooms for the day—returned to the High Bishop’s chambers.
“Fran, what did the High Priest say? Is Lady Rozemyne going to be okay?” Monika asked, looking up at me with worry. Nicola and Gil waited just as expectantly for my answer; they were all worried about Lady Rozemyne being rushed to her workshop so quickly.
“He said it is likely she will remain asleep for over a year. The poison she was given has put an unexpected strain on her body.”
“No way...”
Everyone looked to be on the verge of tears, but it would be a long time before Lady Rozemyne awakened; there was no point in rushing things.
“I will provide more details tomorrow. It is late, and you all need rest.”
The apprentices returned to their rooms, still unable to accept what had happened, while I alone stayed behind. It was my turn on night duty, and so I organized the room before writing a letter for Lutz, who could explain the circumstances to both Lady Rozemyne’s lower city family and the Plantin Company.
I spent the following day having to explain Lady Rozemyne’s situation again and again. The apprentices were up early, having been unable to sleep out of worry, so I gave them the explanatory letter I had written to Lutz and went for a much-needed nap.
Fourth bell rang before I knew it, and when I sat down for lunch, everyone demanded yet more explanations. The High Priest had not given me very precise details in the first place, so despite all their questions, there was not much I could say.
“As Lady Rozemyne said previously, please think of this as her staying at the castle for an extended period of time. We have no choice but to continue as if she were simply away. Please resume what you have been doing so that she does not encounter any complications upon her awakening.”
After finishing lunch, Zahm and I organized documents relating to Rozemyne’s work before leaving for the High Priest’s room. He would need to handle her High Bishop work while she was gone.
“Will the High Priest not collapse at this rate?” I asked, worriedly eyeing the mountain of documents before us. Zahm paused for a moment, then shook his head.
“I assume he will survive, thanks largely to him taking Lady Rozemyne’s advice and training other blue priests to help him. I shudder to imagine a world in which he had not done so. Even if she had done nothing else, this fact alone would have earned her my utmost gratitude. Praise be to the gods!”
Zahm had once served the same blue priest as Fritz, so he had quickly come to appreciate both the High Priest’s competence and the ease of working beneath him. He had been praising Lady Rozemyne for her skill ever since she was an apprentice blue shrine maiden, thankful for her ability to help the High Priest with his work.
When the time had come to choose one of the High Priest’s attendants to leave and serve Lady Rozemyne, Zahm had volunteered sooner than anyone. The food in the High Bishop’s chambers was of a higher quality, and the greater workload for each attendant made one’s contributions feel that much more meaningful—not to mention that Lady Rozemyne taking on more work would ultimately relieve the burden on the High Priest.
“Now then, shall we go? The High Priest’s attendants will need matters explained to them as well.”
With that, Zahm and I carried the box of documents from the High Bishop’s chambers to the High Priest’s chambers.
“Fran, Zahm—we have been waiting for your arrival,” one of the attendants said. “This shelf has been cleared for you.”
The High Priest must have made arrangements ahead of time, as space had already been cleared for the documents we brought with us. Everyone worked together to organize them and collect information on the events of the previous night, agreeing to do our best to minimize the High Priest’s burden and select what jobs could be entrusted to the blue priests.
“Zahm, might I ask you to explain the situation to Brothers Kampfer and Frietack?” I said once the documents were organized. I then headed for the orphanage, and Wilma came rushing over the moment I arrived.
“Fran, I heard from Monika that Lady Rozemyne is going to be asleep for a long time. What will happen to the orphanage?” she asked, so worried that her face was sickly pale. All those who knew how terrible the orphanage had been before Lady Rozemyne became the orphanage director were deathly afraid of her giving up the position, as this introduced the possibility of things returning to the way they had been before.
“Everything is going to be fine. Authority over the temple will shift to the High Priest while Lady Rozemyne is asleep, but I have been instructed to continue overseeing things as I have been. As for the budget, we cannot use Lady Rozemyne’s guild card, but the High Priest is managing the High Bishop’s payments and the money she is given for being the archduke’s child, so we will surely not lack in that regard. As winter preparations are complete, we will be able to last until spring without issue, so long as we are not wasteful.”
“...That is true,” Wilma murmured with an understanding nod. I also took it upon myself to assure the worried orphans that we would not run out of money while the workshop continued to operate.
I hadn’t mentioned this to anyone, but Lady Rozemyne had a locked box—her “under the mattress bank,” as she called it—which also contained a considerable sum. Those funds would serve as a safety net, hopefully preventing our circumstances from ever becoming too dire.
“Wilma, those in positions of authority must show neither worry nor panic. Please calm yourself. Lady Rozemyne is going to be fine.”
“...Forgive me.”
“I will now announce the goals Lady Rozemyne wishes to be completed over the winter.”
The task Lady Rozemyne had entrusted the orphanage with last year was for everyone to learn the alphabet, as well as single-digit math. Everyone must have remembered the additional meat they had previously been rewarded with for succeeding, as their concerned gazes soon hardened.
“This year’s task is for everyone to learn the basic knowledge required of an attendant before reaching ten years of age. Gray priests who have served as attendants will work as teachers.”
Having learned from the situation with Volk, Lady Rozemyne wished to increase the value of all the gray priests. She would rather they be sold as skilled attendants than lowly servants, since their treatment would vary dramatically based on their position, and servants that were more capable went for more money.
“Delia, Lady Rozemyne was worried about Dirk,” I continued. “Please contact me at once should he begin to show any abnormalities. The High Priest is exceedingly busy, so his treatment could otherwise be delayed.”
“Understood.”
My final task was to go to the workshop, but it became clear pretty soon after I arrived that Gil was putting his all into making books, convinced that they would encourage Lady Rozemyne to wake up faster. He did not seem to need my help, and so I simply handed him the letter for Lutz and left.
The next day, Lady Rozemyne’s personnel returned to the temple. Without her there to protect them, staying in the castle not only ran the risk of their recipes being leaked, but also of those with authority forcibly stealing them away to serve someone else. Lady Rozemyne had specifically asked that Ella and Rosina not be left there, since they were both especially vulnerable as young women.
The personnel were informed that Lady Rozemyne would remain asleep for over a year; then they were given their instructions.
“Ella, Hugo—please continue preparing food for the attendants and the orphanage, as you have been. Lady Rozemyne also wishes for Nicola to be given an opportunity to advance her dreams of becoming a chef, so please accept her services and guide her as an assistant. You are to assist with the completion of the recipe book, on which little progress has been made due to how busy things have been, and should you have any spare time once that is done, she suggests that you start trying to invent new recipes of your own.”
“Understood.”
Nicola wrote down on her diptych everything that needed to be done in the kitchen with a broad smile across her face. She would be handling all the writing, as neither Ella nor Hugo could read, which was also likely a contributing factor toward the recipe book having progressed so little.
“Rosina, please teach the orphanage children to play music. Lady Rozemyne has said that you may recognize some of them as having musical talent, even if they do not see it themselves. She believes that affording them an opportunity for their skills to blossom may change their futures for the better.”
“In other words, I need only teach them as Lady Christine taught me? Very well. I will do what I can.”
Upon hearing that Lady Rozemyne wished to improve the value of the orphans to secure better workplaces for them, Rosina—who had been purchased to serve as a personal musician once herself—smiled softly and nodded.
So began life in the temple without Lady Rozemyne. Nicola assisted the chefs while working as an attendant, while Gil and Fritz continued their duties in the workshop and in the orphanage over the winter. Zahm, Monika, and I generally spent our days working in the High Priest’s chambers, taking breaks only to eat and sleep.
“Preparations for the Dedication Ritual are complete.”
“Does that mean the firewood is also ready? Brother Kampfer, have you decided on an order for the priests?”
“Brother Frietack, please send word to the other blue priests.”
We were able to finish preparing for the Dedication Ritual before the High Priest returned, just as we had the previous year. The work was completed without any considerable issues; not only was this the second time Brothers Kampfer and Frietack were being entrusted with the preparations, there were also more blue priests willing to help.
“Is everything ready?” the High Priest asked upon his return. He checked to make sure the preparations were properly completed, then praised the blue priests for their work. “Well done. You may now rest until the Dedication Ritual in two days’ time.”
He had the blue priests leave the room, then went into his hidden room to retrieve a bag of feystones. Once he had it, the two of us headed to the hidden room in which Lady Rozemyne was still asleep. She looked just as she had on that fateful night, though the blue in the potion was darker than before and the red lines on her skin seemed to be glowing.
“I left her alone for too long...” the High Priest muttered, his brow furrowed and the frustration clear in his voice.
He instructed me to put the feystones into the potion, and so I promptly obliged. There were black feystones and clear feystones; I took them out of the bag and dropped them into the potion one by one. They started to absorb Lady Rozemyne’s mana, causing the potion’s color to fade before my very eyes.
“This fool compressed her mana far too much,” the High Priest sighed, taking Lady Rozemyne’s hand and glaring at the red lines on her skin. “These feystones won’t suffice at all. She is fortunate it is time for the Dedication Ritual.”
I then heard him murmur that the process would take longer than he had expected.
While the High Priest recorded something about Lady Rozemyne’s health on a board, I removed the feystones that were now filled with her mana, delicately wiped them, and then carefully put them back in the bag.
“That should do for today,” the High Priest said.
It became a daily job for me to take the feystones the priests had emptied during the Dedication Ritual and put them back into Lady Rozemyne’s potion to refill them. It was thanks to her mana that the Dedication Ritual concluded without issue, but even afterward, we needed to continue storing mana in preparation for Spring Prayer.
The High Priest and I entered the workshop once again. It certainly was a relief seeing Lady Rozemyne each time, but the fact that she appeared completely unchanged was disheartening.
Please wake up soon, Lady Rozemyne...
With the Dedication Ritual complete, the High Priest focused his efforts on the paperwork that had accumulated. Despite the increase in workload, both Lord Damuel and Lord Eckhart were busy receiving special training with the Knight’s Order, so the High Priest was once again supporting his lifestyle with potions, such that his attendants would murmur about how often they saw him reach for them.
It was easy to see that he was being buried under an avalanche of work—not just his own as the High Priest and from the castle, but also Lady Rozemyne’s High Bishop work and her duties with the orphanage, the workshop, the Plantin Company, and the like. Despite having invested much time training blue priests to assist with his work, they were not capable of managing the orphanage, nor could they do business with the Plantin Company.
“It is rare for members of the Plantin Company to visit during the winter, and the orphanage likewise spends most of that time in hibernation, so I do not foresee any problems,” I said.
“Indeed. Rozemyne already has her attendants handling the workshop and orphanage, and I would like for them to handle some measure of the work.”
Once spring came, however, it was necessary to sell the winter handiwork and start making paper, which inevitably meant dealing with money and taking on duties that could not be put off. The High Priest had work being loaded onto him from the castle as well, despite his numerous temple duties, so there was nothing he could do but give a bitter frown and pick up another potion.
“There is nothing I would like less than to ask him for help, but I suppose I have no other choice...”
The High Priest sent an ordonnanz, and after what was no more than a brief wait, we saw a highbeast racing toward the temple at immense speed. In mere moments, Lord Justus, who had no reservations about visiting the lower city and understood Lady Rozemyne’s predicament, was kneeling before the High Priest with sparkling eyes.
“Lord Ferdinand, I have arrived at your summons. You may count on me to manage the workshop and handle business with the merchants.”
“Fritz, take Justus to the workshop and explain to him the finances of our business with the Plantin Company. Justus, I am too busy to deal with you causing problems. Contain yourself. Is that understood?”
“As you wish. Now then, Fritz—let us depart.”
“Fritz, report to me the moment something happens. I shall not hesitate to beat Justus down in an instant, if necessary.”
Lord Justus, not even trying to hide his excitement, practically dragged Fritz out of the room with him. I was terribly concerned about this; had calling for him truly been a good idea?
“High Priest...”
“Fear not, Fran. Justus has a love for gathering information, but he does not disclose his secrets lightly. Furthermore, he is my retainer; his eccentric nature belies his competence.”
As the High Priest predicted, Lord Justus quickly grew accustomed to the workshop. He wasn’t the kind of person to lord his status over others, and according to Fritz he was exceptionally skilled when it came to fitting in with groups and working with others.
After many more visits to the workshop, Lord Justus asked me about the general workflow prior to Lady Rozemyne’s situation. I started preparing the relevant documents from the High Bishop’s chambers, in the meantime deciding to ask him what he thought about his time there so far.
“Lord Justus, how has the workshop been?”
“Very stimulating. Everything is so interesting there, as I would expect from something overseen by Lady Rozemyne. She has trained quite fascinating subordinates; they even allowed me to swish the water when I first visited.”
It was neither proper nor acceptable for a noble to perform manual labor, so I could easily imagine how conflicted the workshop workers must have been when Lord Justus asked to do such a thing. Fritz must not have had an easy time.
“But the second I touched the paper on the boards,” Lord Justus continued, “one of the leherls from the Plantin Company yelled at me. ‘What’re you doing, you idiot?!’ he shouted, loud enough for everyone to hear.”
Lutz, why in the world would you do that?! And Fritz, how could you allow that to happen?!
But as the blood drained from my face, Lord Justus continued with an endlessly amused expression. Silence had apparently fallen over the entire workshop after Lutz’s outburst, with even Lutz himself realizing he said something that he shouldn’t have. Before anyone else could speak up, however, Fritz had protectively stepped forward wearing the kind of cold smile one would normally expect from Lord Ferdinand, immediately giving Lord Justus a strict lecture that he recalled verbatim.
“I did not expect the High Priest to send us someone so incompetent that they would not understand the time and money lost from damaged paper, even after having the entire process explained to them. He surely must have made an error in judgment due to being so busy. A manager who destroys products cannot take Lady Rozemyne’s place, and so I will report this to the High Priest at once. We do not need someone who fails to understand the importance of our work.”
“...A-And what did you do then, Lord Justus?”
“I obviously didn’t want to be called useless and kicked out on my first day, especially knowing that Lord Ferdinand was desperate enough to have actually requested my help, so I gave them enough to cover the cost of the paper and a little extra to keep them quiet. Whew... It sure was close. I need to use this opportunity to show off my talents and regain my honor. I’ve got to admit, I expected nothing less from Lady Rozemyne’s subordinates, considering how she herself always stands up to Lord Ferdinand, lecturing him about his reliance on potions being unhealthy and all that.”
That was probably not how most nobles would have reacted, but in any case, I kept my silence; he had evidently deemed it necessary to pay them off, and with the incident already over, I saw no reason to question his decision. There was equally no need to trouble the High Priest with such a matter, so I took Fritz’s lead and spoke not a word about it.
Lord Justus did not come to the temple particularly often, no doubt busy with his own matters, but he was just as skilled as the High Priest had said: each time he arrived, he finished up multiple days of work all at once. While here, he would report to the High Priest on both the workshop and some other duty he had been given before returning to the Noble’s Quarter with yet more work pushed onto him. From the snippets of conversation I had managed to catch, it seemed that he was gathering information on the culprit who had harmed Lady Rozemyne.
The midpoint of spring approached, and so began preparations for Spring Prayer. It seemed that the archduke’s children would be taking Lady Rozemyne’s place this year, traveling the Central District with feystones in hand. Their plan was to divide the journey threefold to shorten the overall process, much like Lady Rozemyne and the High Priest had done, except this time while borrowing two important people from the archduke. It was truly heartrending that the High Priest was enduring such an overwhelming workload that he was forced to use any means available to him to get things done.
As I knew more about the ceremonies than Lady Rozemyne’s other attendants, I accompanied Lady Charlotte as a guide. The High Priest gave me special instructions while we were preparing.
“Fran, use this opportunity to create a new saint. Tell a moving story to all those you can: ‘Saint Rozemyne was poisoned protecting the archduke’s children, both of whom have declared their wish to offer blessings in the place of their sister to repay her noble deed.’ If they are showered with praise for being as compassionate and extraordinary as Lady Rozemyne, then it will become easier for us to use them next year as well.”
After the High Priest had explained how to lay this groundwork, he handed me a considerable number of the improved-flavor rejuvenation potions. He seemed to have noticed my hesitation to exploit the still-young children of the archduke, as he then gave me a dismissive scoff.
“If Charlotte and Wilfried do not finish Spring Prayer feeling confident in their own abilities, and subsequently refuse to also take Rozemyne’s place for the Harvest Festival, it is the orphanage that will suffer first due to the lack of food that would have been paid to Rozemyne for the winter,” he noted.
His message was clear: I had no choice but to accept the duty of establishing the legend of Saint Charlotte. The past few years had taught me all about the importance of money; this Spring Prayer needed to go well no matter what, or the temple and orphanage would suffer.
As it was not traditional for underage apprentices to perform religious ceremonies, the only child-sized ceremonial clothes available to us belonged to Lady Rozemyne. We gave Lady Charlotte her white High Bishop robes, which required no alterations whatsoever, and Lord Wilfried her blue ceremonial robes, which did need some alterations to accommodate his marginally greater height. These adjustments did not take long at all though, thanks to Corinna of the Gilberta Company having accounted for Lady Rozemyne growing when she made the outfit.
We requested the usual carriages from the Plantin Company and prepared to bring back Achim and Egon, who had been staying in Hasse’s winter mansion. We also had knights accompanying us at the High Priest’s request—twice as many as usual to guard against a potential attack by members of the nobility.
Lady Charlotte did not have a highbeast, as she had yet to enter the Royal Academy, so I traveled in a carriage for the first time in quite a while. She seemed to have great respect for Lady Rozemyne, as she rejoiced when I told her about her sister’s experiences in the temple. In return, I was graced with stories of Lady Rozemyne’s time in the castle, so it was a very productive journey overall.
When Richt first spotted Lady Charlotte upon our arrival in Hasse, he mistakenly thought they hadn’t been forgiven after all. Following my explanation that Saint Charlotte was dedicating herself to bless the land in her sister’s absence, however, he welcomed her with tears of gratitude.
Lady Charlotte was notably tense about performing her first ceremony, but she took the feystone with Lady Rozemyne’s mana and completed it brilliantly. We reunited with Achim and Egon before moving to the monastery, where I first checked to see that everything was in order, then had Lady Charlotte award the soldiers with their payment.
“Fran, may I ask how the High Bishop is?” Gunther asked upon receiving his money, his expression clouded over.
“It seems the burden on her body was even greater than the High Priest expected, and her sleep will most likely continue for longer still.”
“I see...”
While we were on the road, Lady Charlotte used far fewer potions than Lady Rozemyne, and when Spring Prayer came to an end, she had used only a small portion of all those we had brought. I couldn’t help but sigh at how unhealthy and weak Lady Rozemyne truly was, that she had needed to use the bulk of our potions just to survive to the end.
Upon returning from Spring Prayer, Gil came to me for advice, wanting to know how we should proceed with the printing. My understanding was that Lady Rozemyne had gathered stories from the noble children while at the castle, and after discussing matters with the High Priest, he delivered to me the stories collected in the winter playroom. I promptly gave them to Gil, but he merely scratched his ear uncomfortably and shook his head.
“I can’t print these. They’re written the way kids talk, so they need to be fixed up to read more like a book. Do you know anyone who can do that?”
“I can say with all certainty that nobody has the time to do such a thing at the moment.”
With that said, Lady Rozemyne had managed to write her manuscripts alongside assisting the High Priest, memorizing the procedures for many ceremonies, and heading to the castle to play her role as a noble daughter. Despite all the time we had spent together, I still found myself stunned by her love for books and her obsession with making them.
Several days later, Gil came to say that Tuuli wanted us to teach her proper etiquette. She would pay us with a book of collected short stories that Lady Rozemyne had made for her and her family. The text was already edited to be readable, and Gil wanted to have it printed next after the collection of knight stories.
Tuuli was Lady Rozemyne’s true sister, and she had provided much help to those in the orphanage. The High Priest therefore granted her his permission, determining that this would be a good opportunity to repay her for all she had done. There were no better people for this task than Rosina and Wilma, since they had been strictly trained in the way of proper etiquette beneath Sister Christine, and so I asked for their assistance. It seemed that Lutz would be learning alongside Tuuli as well.
I came by to see how the lessons were going for a short while. The sight of their struggles made me a little nostalgic for when Lady Rozemyne had continuously gotten her long sleeves caught in everything she possibly could.
While I was there, Wilma mentioned that Tuuli was offering advice on how to raise Dirk. The orphanage had lost all of the gray shrine maidens who had given birth themselves, so nobody was quite sure how to raise a toddler. Lady Rozemyne had provided some guidance, but Wilma and Delia wished to know all they could, and so they were endlessly grateful for Tuuli’s wisdom; she had learned much from helping raise her younger brother, who was a similar age to Dirk.
Nicola came of age at the end of spring. We held a small celebration just as we had for Rosina, but she largely just wailed about how Lady Rozemyne wasn’t there to teach her new recipes as she had expected. This outburst was somewhat short-lived though, as a smile returned to her face the instant Ella brought out some sweets and mentioned that Lady Rozemyne could simply teach her the recipes when she eventually awoke.
The Italian restaurant came asking for new recipes around the same time as Nicola’s coming of age ceremony, but we simply said they would need to come up with some themselves, as it was due to be another year before Lady Rozemyne woke up. This somehow turned into Hugo and Leise sharing information about their original creations, which in turn fired up the kitchen staff. They spoke as though their pride as chefs was on the line, determined to produce food that was worthy of Lady Rozemyne’s name.
Halfway through summer, sometime after the Starbind Ceremony, Lady Rozemyne’s guard knight Lady Brigitte was relieved of duty and returned to her home province of Illgner. It seemed that she was preparing to get married.
Lord Damuel seemed to be exceedingly depressed, so I could imagine things had not gone well between them. I could not say I was surprised, though: the High Priest had mentioned that a relationship would be trying for them, given their different classes and circumstances. I did not understand marriage much myself, but I could at the very least pray to the gods that he would see more success in his duties as a knight than he had trying to procure a wife.
Hugo and Ella walked up to me, passing by Lord Damuel as he continued to mope.
“What is this important announcement you spoke of?” I asked.
The two exchanged a look, bright grins creeping onto their faces. “We’re getting married,” Hugo announced. “Both of our parents approved.”
I could see Damuel covering his ears out of the corner of my eye; this evidently wasn’t something that he wanted to hear about right now.
“So, we thought we’d come to you to discuss what happens next,” Hugo continued.
“I understand, but this news has come too suddenly for me to say anything for certain. Please give me time to discuss the matter with the High Priest.”
What is one meant to do in this situation...?
I couldn’t have been more unprepared to discuss this with them. Under normal circumstances, the word “marriage” was never even spoken within the temple walls. I went straight to the High Priest, only for him to grimace with exceeding annoyance and dismissively wave his hand.
“Those two are Rozemyne’s personnel. It is not my place to give them permission or instructions in her absence, and so I cannot allow them to marry before she awakens. Simply instruct them to prepare a successor for Ella in the case that she does marry and subsequently needs to resign.”
I passed the High Priest’s message on to them, which ultimately made Ella blow up with anger. “I’m not gonna quit being a cook, even when I do get married!” she barked.
“What? Is that true?” I asked. “Will bearing a child not leave you unable to work?”
“I’d need a little time off, obviously, but how would we survive if I quit my job right after getting married?!”
“Is that customary in the lower city...? The High Priest mentioned that women cease working once they are wed, but as priests are forbidden from getting married, this subject is quite honestly not one that I understand.”
The married life Ella spoke of was significantly different from what the High Priest had said. It seemed that he was just as unfamiliar with the circumstances of commoners as I was.
“Nobles are a lot different from us commoners. I plan on working even after getting married, but if that’s new to you guys, I guess I’ll need to wait until Lady Rozemyne wakes up for sure. Oh well,” Ella said, seeming to give up relatively quickly. Hugo, on the other hand, was not so understanding.
“Hold it, Ella. Don’t give up that easily!”
“Hm? I’m not giving up. There’s no getting around the fact we’ve gotta wait though, is there?”
“But waiting means not being the stars of next year’s Star Festival, right? Right?!”
“Who can say? It all depends on Lady Rozemyne,” I said, earning me a sharp glare from Hugo.
“Gah! Am I fated to never get married?! I can get girlfriends, but not wives?! Is that how it is, Fran?!” he exclaimed, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me about. There was no answer I could give him, though; this matter truly was beyond me.
Summer ended and development of the new ink was completed, which meant the Rozemyne Workshop could now start printing higher-quality playing cards. The new paper they were being printed on was firm and glossy, producing cards entirely unlike those made of wood, while the various colors of ink meant that each suit could now be easily differentiated and decorated with beautiful visuals.
One autumn day close to the Harvest Festival, Brother Egmont suddenly visited the High Bishop’s chambers with a single gray shrine maiden in tow. She looked sick with anxiety, and the sight caused me to defensively tense up a little.
“Brother Egmont, I do not recall you arranging a meeting...”
“Why would I need to when the High Bishop’s gone and there are only gray priests here?” he retorted.
I glanced at Zahm, who smoothly disappeared into the kitchen. He was likely leaving through a back door to inform the High Priest of this sudden arrival, so I needed to buy time until they returned.
“My sincerest apologies. We have not welcomed a blue priest without an appointment before, and so we are somewhat unprepared. I can imagine some urgent business has inspired your arrival. May I ask what it is?”
“Take Lily back to the orphanage and get me a new attendant. Bring me gray shrine maidens.”
I swiftly looked over at Monika, who spun around and exited the room at once to inform Wilma, before turning back to Brother Egmont. “My sincerest apologies once again, but we cannot accommodate such a request without advance warning.”
“Why not?”
“The gray shrine maidens all have duties given to them by Lady Rozemyne. It will take time to gather them together, and given the manual labor they have been engaged in, they will not be clean enough to be presented so suddenly to a blue priest.”
Brother Egmont crossed his arms, not really seeming to understand. He evidently wasn’t familiar with the concept of a gray shrine maiden not being immediately presentable.
“If you are to be taking a new attendant, it is necessary that they look as beautiful as possible, rather than being brought in the midst of their work,” I continued. “I believe it is in your best interests to return to your chambers for today and wait for the candidates to be prepared.”
Despite his frustration, Brother Egmont ultimately agreed; he was a blue priest repulsed by even the thought of something unsightly.
“With that settled, might I ask why you are returning Lily to the orphanage?” I asked. “It is important for us to know how she has displeased you.” My question was purely for appearance’s sake, though. There was only one reason gray shrine maidens were ever returned to the orphanage, and so I simply kept my eyes down and pretended to write things on a form.
“She got pregnant,” Brother Egmont said tersely, looking down at Lily with a disgusted grimace. “She’s been whining about feeling sick for days, and now she’s throwing up everywhere. I’ve never seen an attendant this useless in my life.”
“I see. It certainly is unacceptable for an attendant to be unable to do their duties.”
Seeing that we were in agreement, Brother Egmont lightened up a little, his tone now slightly less harsh. “Exactly. I need a replacement immediately.”
“...That said, it is the High Priest who handles the ownership of attendants, not the High Bishop. I must ask that you schedule a meeting with him.”
“Excuse me?! You’re the High Bishop’s attendant. Handle it yourself!”
Brother Egmont had been favored by the previous High Bishop, and so he was used to speaking solely to him whenever he wanted something done. Things were different now, though—the High Priest was working hard to return the temple to how it had been before the previous High Bishop’s reign.
“The transfer of priests and shrine maidens comes under the High Priest’s jurisdiction,” I explained. “I am aware that such distinctions were at times ignored in the past, but that is no longer the case.”
“You’re pretty cocky for a gray priest!”
Brother Egmont raised a hand to strike me, but before he could, there came a small chime. I internally sighed with relief; that was the High Priest’s bell, meaning Zahm must have returned with him.
“My apologies, Brother Egmont, but I have already arranged a meeting with the High Priest here. However, I will yield my meeting time so that you may settle this matter with him first.”
“Ngh...”
He had no problem arriving unannounced when only gray priests were present, but he wouldn’t be so rude to the High Priest himself. Members of the former High Bishop’s faction remained uncooperative with the High Priest, and for that reason, their income was slowly being slashed, forcing them into more uncomfortable lifestyles.
“Fran, why is Egmont here?” the High Priest asked upon entering the room, meeting him with a displeased stare. “I believe I am already scheduled for a meeting at this time.”
“Brother Egmont arrived without warning. It seems he wishes to replace one of his gray shrine maidens posthaste,” I responded promptly.
“I see. The transfer of priests and shrine maidens comes under my jurisdiction, Egmont, so you are to arrange a meeting with me, not the High Bishop’s attendants. Return to your chambers for today; my time is already occupied.”
Brother Egmont dragged Lily out of the room, ultimately having no choice but to arrange a meeting at a later date. Zahm shut the door firmly behind him, at which point I knelt before the High Priest.
“I truly apologize for the disturbance.”
“There is no need. I predicted that incidents of this manner would occur with Rozemyne gone, but replacing a gray shrine maiden, hm? I imagine she will be quite upset if she discovers I did not handle this as she would. What a pain.”
The High Priest went on to explain Lady Rozemyne’s will. She had been quite firm that while she did not mind gray shrine maidens who wanted to be attendants being given to blue priests, she would under no circumstances accept someone being forced into it, even if that necessitated her taking them on as her own attendants.
Lady Rozemyne truly is soft when it comes to the orphanage...
It was of course heartwarming, since it was so much like her, but it also made me worry for the future when Lady Rozemyne was no longer the High Bishop.
“Fran, I imagine that Egmont will send his request for the meeting without hesitation. I intend to meet with him at fifth bell three days from now. Be prepared to bring shrine maidens from the orphanage, with Rozemyne’s will in mind.”
“As you wish.”
After seeing the High Priest off, I left the chambers to Zahm and went directly to the orphanage. There was no escaping that someone would be chosen to become Brother Egmont’s new attendant, so preparations would need to be made before it was time for the meeting.
When I arrived, I was welcomed by a trembling Wilma, her hands clasped tightly in front of her chest. “Fran, what happened?” she asked me. Monika was at her side, looking worried for her.
“Lily has become pregnant. A new attendant is going to be selected for Brother Egmont three days from now.”
“Three days from now...?”
“The High Priest has said we are going to respect Lady Rozemyne’s will, so it should not be as tragic as you may think.”
Wilma’s fear of men meant she did not want to leave the orphanage, so her position as one of Lady Rozemyne’s attendants was more than she could have ever hoped for. The other gray priests and shrine maidens stuck in the orphanage, however, saw leaving to serve a blue priest as moving up in the world. To many, even becoming an attendant for Brother Egmont was considered worthwhile.
There were more adult gray shrine maidens in the orphanage than before, with many having come of age just like Rosina and Nicola had, but there were still only twenty or so in total. They were all lined up, some tightly clasping their hands as they hoped to stay at the orphanage, others debating with themselves whether or not this was something they wanted, and still others looking ahead with sparkling eyes, eagerly looking forward to being chosen just as Delia had in the past.
“Do any of you wish to become Brother Egmont’s attendant?” I asked. Four women shot their hands up in an instant. I gazed across them, completely ignoring those who still seemed to be unsure about the decision, then nodded. “Very well. You four shall accompany me to the meeting three days from now.”
“Fran, won’t you be bringing them all...?” Wilma asked, blinking several times in surprise. She was used to all shrine maidens of adult age being taken out of the orphanage, with the blue priests then choosing whoever they liked most.
“It is Lady Rozemyne’s will that each orphan have the power to choose their future. Those who wish to become attendants will therefore be prioritized.”
Three days later at fifth bell, I brought the four shrine maidens who had volunteered to the High Priest’s chambers. Brother Egmont looked at them and frowned.
“Just four?”
“Many shrine maidens were executed by the former High Bishop. Were you not aware, Brother Egmont?”
“No, I was. Anyway... these girls aren’t bad.”
The former High Bishop had prioritized appearance above all else when choosing which shrine maidens to keep alive, so it was only natural that those who remained had praiseworthy beauty. Brother Egmont compared them with a vulgar look in his eyes, then pointed at one.
“Alright. You.”
The selected shrine maiden was left behind as I returned to the orphanage with Lily and the other three. The High Priest would handle the contract himself.
I didn’t know the specifics, but I was aware that those being assigned to serve blue priests were made to sign a magic contract preventing them from leaking details of Lady Rozemyne’s recipes, workshop, or personal life.
Wilma was already waiting for us when we returned to the orphanage. “Welcome back, Lily. It must have been quite the struggle to work while so unwell. Here you may rest as much as you need to.”
Lily suddenly burst into tears. Wilma stroked her back, listening compassionately as the girl sobbed about being deathly afraid of her body changing in ways she did not understand, and the blue priest she had served calling her useless and in the way. It had hurt her heart beyond words.
Deciding to leave Lily to Wilma, I exited the orphanage. This was surely the best possible result—just as Lady Rozemyne wished, a shrine maiden who desired to become an attendant had done so, while one who did not was allowed to quit.
In any case, there was now a pregnant woman in the orphanage, and that introduced its own problems. Lily had said that she did not understand the changes her body was going through, but neither did we. I asked the High Priest what he knew, but he merely said to ignore her, explaining that the baby would simply be born on its own after enough time. We all trusted his judgments, and as the whole orphanage seemed particularly relaxed about it all, Tuuli and Lutz visited to learn etiquette as planned.
“Ignore her?! Born on its own?! That’s ridiculous!” Tuuli exclaimed. “Childbirth is a crazy big deal! Do noble babies just pop out of thin air or something?!”
“It’s not somethin’ you can do without preparing! You’ve gotta deliver the baby with a ton of people helping!” Lutz added.
The blood drained from my face. Tuuli had assisted when her mother gave birth, and as a boy, Lutz always raced to help when a neighbor was in such a situation, so their words held considerable weight. It was only then that I remembered commoners and nobles had distinct cultures and understood things differently. It was likely that they had their own understandings of childbirth as well, and given that the orphanage didn’t have mana or magic tools, the commoner perspective was a lot more relevant to us.
With the High Priest’s advice on the matter now no longer of use to us, we had no choice but to rely on outside help. But there was nobody in the orphanage with childbirth experience, and nobody in the lower city was eccentric enough to come somewhere so widely scorned to help.
If only Lady Rozemyne were here...
Her absence was painful. She had likewise seen her little brother’s birth up close, and it would have been simple enough for her to gather commoners in the lower city to assist.
“My mom would come for sure, but I don’t think she can do it all on her own,” Tuuli said.
“I’ll see what Master Benno can do,” Lutz continued. “Corinna’s given birth before, so I’m sure he knows what we’ll need.”
And so Lutz went to consult Master Benno, who had apparently responded with: “Babies don’t just come out on their own! It’s too dangerous to have people that ignorant handle this! That woman’s gonna die there!” Everyone went pale upon hearing that, never having considered that this would be so difficult.
When Lutz and Tuuli asked Master Benno to think of a solution, his conclusion was to bring Lily to Hasse during the Harvest Festival. The monastery there had a better relationship with commoners than the temple, and if Achim and Egon asked for help after having spent the winter there on the High Bishop’s orders, it was likely that at least a few women would volunteer. Furthermore, Master Benno had said that even the orphans from Hasse would know more about childbirth than the shrine maidens in the temple.
As expected of Master Benno... Thank you for providing advice even during these busy times.
Following Master Benno’s recommendations, we made the necessary preparations to move Lily to Hasse. We also asked the Plantin Company what tools we would need for the childbirth itself and made sure they were at hand.
It wasn’t long before I was boarding one of the carriages heading to Hasse for the Harvest Festival with Lily, Achim, and Egon. I had written a letter addressed to Richt in advance, requesting his assistance with the childbirth.
Lady Charlotte delivered the letter for me, then confirmed that he had agreed to help. As expected, Nora had previous experience assisting with such matters, so she played an important role inspecting everything we had brought, checking on Lily’s health, and figuring out when she was likely to give birth.
“I’d estimate somewhere around the end of spring,” she said. “When it’s time for Spring Prayer, please bring a few extra shrine maidens. We don’t need many men, since they can’t come into the room while she’s giving birth.”
I see. Men not being allowed in explains why Tuuli and Lutz know different things...
Lily remained in Hasse as we departed for our next stop during the Harvest Festival. We were receiving Lord Wilfried and Lady Charlotte’s assistance here as well, as planned, so we easily gathered what we needed for winter preparations.
We cooperated with the Gilberta Company to butcher the pigs, just as we had the year before, and everything was progressing smoothly—that is, until the end of autumn approached. Master Benno from the Plantin Company was summoned by the High Priest and told that he was to expand the printing industry. It seemed that Lady Rozemyne’s mother, Lady Elvira, wished to establish a printing workshop in her family’s home province.
“It will simply be impossible to begin right away. Even if we do leave immediately, not a single piece of paper can be made in a province with frozen rivers. Plus, how will you support us with food and materials when Haldenzel freezes over, trapping us there?” Benno asked, protesting the immediacy of the demand.
“I imagine Giebe Haldenzel would provide you with food, but it certainly would be pointless to send you there before any work can be done,” the High Priest replied, falling into thought. I could tell from the troubled look on Master Benno’s face that he was wishing Lady Rozemyne was present to support him.
“Every workshop will require its own preparations, and I will not be able to establish them all myself without first securing the assistance of the Merchant’s Guild,” Master Benno explained. “Using noble authority to force matters will only breed discontent and cause problems in the future. Nobles, merchants, and craftspeople each have their own distinct customs. You and Lady Elvira surely both understand how necessary it is to lay the proper groundwork, correct?”
“In that case, prepare a list of everything you will require and have it delivered to me by the winter baptism ceremony. It is necessary to provide concrete evidence of what needs to be arranged before work can begin.”
Master Benno left the High Priest’s room, cradling his head as he trudged to the front gate.
He later returned for a business negotiation with Lady Elvira, with the High Priest present as the one responsible for the printing industry in Lady Rozemyne’s absence. Lady Elvira had something that she wanted printed for winter socializing no matter the cost, and it was to that end that she required her own workshop, which she wanted to be constructed immediately.
“In that case, we will print what you need ourselves at the Rozemyne Workshop,” Master Benno suggested. It would mean them abandoning winter preparations to desperately run the workshop at full capacity for a while, but his proposal was accepted, buying him some time before they needed to build a printing workshop in Haldenzel.
Master Benno went straight to the workshop to directly ask the gray priests for their help. Not a single person refused; they owed much to the Plantin Company, and so they wanted to do whatever they could to repay them. He promptly took out the manuscript that Lady Elvira had given him, with both Gil and Lutz frowning upon seeing how thick it was.
“It’ll take too long to set the letters with this many pages. We don’t even know how many characters this is,” Lutz said.
“Yeah. We should go with mimeograph printing for this one,” Gil agreed.
They both nodded, then headed to the orphanage with wax paper and their tools in hand. Everyone else had already started making the necessary preparations, having sprung into action the moment they heard the words “mimeograph printing.”
Master Benno blinked, impressed at how well-organized their workflow was, at which point Fritz walked over to him.
“Master Benno, we intend to do everything in our power to help, but what about winter preparations? There is much we are going to lack if we miss the opportunity to gather in the forest.”
“I went ahead and charged them a huge express fee. If we’re going to make this happen, we’ll need to buy most of our winter prep.”
“In that case, I have a list of things we will need. Can I ask you to take care of them?”
“Yep. I’m the one forcing all this work on you, after all. That’s the least I can do.”
With Master Benno handling winter preparations for us, we would be able to keep working until right before winter socializing began.
“Thank you. In which case, you may return to your store now, Master Benno. I imagine we are not the only ones you need to discuss this with.”
“Nope. Thanks, Fritz. See you later.”
With that, Benno spun around and exited the workshop.
“Fran, it is as you heard. I will entrust the orphanage’s winter preparations to you,” Fritz said, pushing the workshop’s list of necessary goods into my hands.
I went ahead to the orphanage, since I needed to collect a list from them as well. When I arrived, Lutz and Gil were already lining up tools on the dining hall tables.
“Rosina, can I ask you to make stencils for the letters, then have Wilma make stencils for the art?” Lutz asked.
“If there’s anyone else who can write nicely, please have them make stencils as well,” Gil added. “It shouldn’t be too much of a problem for the pages to have kinda different handwriting...”
“I came here to teach music, but I suppose I can help,” Rosina said with a single sigh as she accepted the manuscript. “Oh...? This handwriting is already quite elegant. We can make stencils directly out of these sheets.”
“Perfect. Let’s get more people making stencils, then. We’ll just trace the handwritten pages we’ve already got.”
As Lutz and Gil rushed around explaining the circumstances to everyone, I went over to Wilma and acquired the orphanage’s winter preparation list. It was similar to the one Lady Rozemyne had prepared during her first year here, with everything organized so that one could tell at a glance what was and wasn’t yet done.
“At Fritz’s request, I shall be handling the orphanage’s winter preparations,” I explained. “Please do your best to help the workshop, Wilma.”
“I thank you ever so much, Fran.”
With Zahm and Monika’s help, I organized what we needed the Plantin Company to acquire for us. The list was fairly sizable, since our preparations involved the High Bishop’s chambers, the orphanage, and the workshop.
As for the food we had received during the Harvest Festival, I was trusting Hugo, Ella, and Nicola to prepare it all. We were all busily running around with far too much work for us to reasonably complete.
We all threw ourselves into our duties, leaving no time to even assist the High Priest with his work, and as a result we were just barely able to finish Lady Elvira’s order before winter socializing began. The workshop was filled with glee, and as the workers burst into cheers, I started flipping through one of the books.
“Erm... Excuse me, Master Benno. It seems to me that the illustrations in this book strongly resemble the High Priest. Has he given his permission for this to be printed...?” I asked, recalling Lady Rozemyne complaining about him getting mad and forbidding her from printing any such pictures in his likeness.
Master Benno, looking slightly sicker and more exhausted than usual, shot me a glare. “He ordered us to print this himself, and we got the manuscript from Lady Elvira. Who are we to ask questions? Who’s gonna pay for all our losses if someone doesn’t keep their mouth shut and sticks their nose where it doesn’t belong? Huh?”
The gleam in his dark-red eyes silenced me at once. I hadn’t the will to argue with Master Benno when he was irritated and sleep-deprived, and it was indeed true that the High Priest had asked us to satisfy Lady Elvira’s request by printing whatever it was she desired.
What in the world is going to happen at this year’s winter socializing...?
It would soon be a year since the incident with Lady Rozemyne, but the High Priest had said she was still far from waking up. I did not understand the details, but it seemed her mana was so extremely compressed that it was taking an excessively long time to dissolve.
The High Priest instructed me to replace the feystones in the jureve while he examined Lady Rozemyne, grumbling complaints all the while. “How did you ever survive with this much mana inside of you, Rozemyne? How?” he muttered.
As I stacked a new book atop the growing pile beside Lady Rozemyne, I thought to myself that she had most likely lived due to the will of the gods.
Winter socializing began, and with the High Priest absent, we once again had to prepare for the Dedication Ritual without him. We were all used to this by now, and so things progressed smoothly even without an authority present to direct us.
Unlike last year, the High Priest did return once during our preparations, but he went back to the castle soon after checking on Lady Rozemyne. It seemed that feystones filled with her mana would once again be used for the Dedication Ritual.
At Tuuli’s recommendation, we elected to compile a book explaining noble etiquette and euphemisms during the winter. Master Benno had concluded that while it would not sell to nobles, it would be popular among rich merchants and the authorities of towns and cities.
Spring arrived without any significant change in Lady Rozemyne’s condition. The Plantin Company was busy hurrying about, not knowing when Lady Elvira’s next request would come, and in the midst of all this, Master Benno graciously attended a meeting about Spring Prayer at our behest.
The meeting was held within the orphanage director’s chambers, with Wilma and three gray shrine maidens who would be joining Lily in Hasse in attendance. As the Plantin Company primarily employed men, Tuuli was there as well, due in part to Master Benno having determined that her experience with the orphanage would make discussing matters with the shrine maidens easier.
“I expect that by Spring Prayer, Lutz and I will be in Haldenzel,” he began. “I’ll leave Mark behind this time to make communication easier, so just send word to him once it’s time. The Gilberta Company would be fine as well with Tuuli there.”
Tuuli nodded in agreement with a smile. Her etiquette studies had truly paid off, such that she looked naturally graceful even while seated.
“Is it safe to assume these four shrine maidens will be leaving to help with the birth?” Master Benno asked.
“Um, not quite... I am going to be staying behind,” Wilma said quickly, shaking her head with an openly nervous expression.
Master Benno raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you the attendant Lady Rozemyne left in charge of the orphanage? That’s how you were introduced to me. I’m pretty sure you should leave the orphanage to someone else and go help with the birth. There’s a lot of stuff you’ll need to learn to do.”
“That is... That is certainly true, but...” Wilma trailed off, shaking her head over and over again as if fanning the air with her face. She then looked to me for help. I could imagine she was deathly afraid of even speaking to Master Benno, so I swiftly explained her circumstances to him.
“A blue priest tried to force himself on her, and she’s been too afraid of men to leave the orphanage ever since, huh...?” Master Benno repeated. His previously calm face suddenly flashed with anger, and his voice dropped into a growl. “Don’t make me laugh.”
“Um...”
“You’re in charge of the orphanage, right? Cut the crap! Who knows how many births you’re gonna have to deal with from now on? How’s this place gonna survive when the person in charge doesn’t know jack about childbirth? Don’t think Hasse is gonna help out every time. They’re doing it this once as an act of kindness so you can handle it yourselves from here on out, and don’t you friggin’ forget it.”
Master Benno fixed Wilma with such a wrathful, frightening stare that tears began to stream down her face. She desperately shook her head, not knowing what else to do.
“But I... I...”
“You came to me ’cause you had no one to rely on without Lady Rozemyne, and despite how friggin’ busy I am, I agreed to help get you out of this mess. And what do I get in return? The very person who asked for my assistance saying she doesn’t wanna do anything but stay locked up in the orphanage!”
“Th-That was not my...”
Wilma looked completely taken aback, likely having never expected to be chastised so harshly, but Master Benno faced her head-on and continued, not once breaking eye contact.
“Then what was your intention, huh? Stay locked up inside and pray that everything magically solves itself? This is your job! I don’t have time to help someone who’s not even willing to go out and learn for themselves. If you don’t go to Hasse, I’m not lending you any carriages! It’s just half a day away, right? You can walk!”
“Master Benno?!”
Lady Rozemyne had paid for carriages and guards such that the sheltered gray priests and shrine maidens weren’t exposed to danger, but here Master Benno was suggesting that they walk a road that would take an average commoner half a day to travel.
“I don’t have time for cowards with no motivation,” Master Benno said bluntly, standing up from his seat. “I’ve got work to do. The Plantin Company has to prepare to depart for Haldenzel, so I’m leaving.”
“Please, wait! I’ll... I’ll go! S-So please... grant us your help!” Wilma pleaded between sobs.
Master Benno sat down again, his brow knitted in a deep frown. We discussed what needed to be prepared for Spring Prayer, then concluded the meeting.
The very moment Master Benno left the room, Wilma collapsed onto the table, continuing to cry. I looked down at her with sympathetic yet distant eyes.
“...I understand the fear of being forced to do something that you do not wish to do, but you were rescued before ever being thrust into such a situation yourself. There are some people who never get saved, and are forced to do things against their wishes repeatedly. It is necessary that you learn to live on even in those situations and gradually conquer your weaknesses.”
“Fran?”
“Does Lily wish for the child she is about to give birth to? I imagine not. But even so, she is fighting against her fear and doing her best to see it through.”
Wilma raised her head, a look of realization slowly dawning on her face. I continued, now speaking more quietly.
“For how many years has Lady Rozemyne protected you? It was because of your encouragement that Rosina worked so hard to overcome her inability to do paperwork. Lady Rozemyne likewise worked hard in learning to live as a noble. You advised them both, and now I believe it is time for you to conquer your own weaknesses as well.”
The Gutenbergs waited for Giebe Haldenzel to return to his home province before beginning their move. They departed for Haldenzel along with Gil and several gray priests.
Not too long after, it came time to leave for Spring Prayer. Tuuli came to see us off, since she was so worried for Wilma, and started encouraging her as best she could.
“Wilma, I am certain there is nothing to fear,” she said, sounding far more like a well-raised noble than she had prior to her etiquette training. “Our father is among the soldiers serving as your guards.”
“Our father...? Ah!” Wilma suddenly recalled that Tuuli and Lady Rozemyne were sisters, then looked over at Gunther, who was watching his daughter with a worried expression.
“There are none there who would mock or assault one of Lady Rozemyne’s precious attendants,” Tuuli assured her. “You may rest easy. I promise.”
“I thank you ever so much.”
Driven by Tuuli’s encouragement and Gunther’s silent approval, Wilma stepped forward on trembling legs and climbed into a carriage.
Spring came to an end, and we received word from Wilma that Lily had safely given birth. On an early summer day with pleasant weather, I requested carriages from Master Mark and departed for the monastery in Hasse. I then returned with Wilma, the gray shrine maidens who had gone to help, and Lily with her newborn baby.
Wilma’s expression was much brighter now that she had experienced life outside the orphanage, and there was a strength in her eyes that made her seem much stronger and more reliable than she was before.
Everyone in the orphanage began taking turns looking after the baby, just as they had done with Dirk. It wasn’t long before Wilma and Lily were wearing exhausted expressions at almost all times.
Summer too ended before we knew it. Lady Rozemyne had not awoken even by the time Monika came of age, but on one autumn day near the Harvest Festival, the High Priest gave a small smile after checking up on her.
“She has begun to move her fingertips. Her recovery is around seventy, perhaps eighty percent complete. All we must do is wait for her to awaken.”
“I am glad.”
After spending such a long time asleep, it was a relief to hear that she was finally showing signs of awakening. We still could not expect anything in the immediate future, but after enduring so many seasons without even the slightest change, even the smallest good sign was enough to fill me with joy.
“Good grief... Just how much trouble do you have to give me before you’re satisfied...?” he asked the still sleeping Lady Rozemyne. Despite his tone sounding as annoyed as usual, there was both immense relief and intense worry in his eyes.
During the Harvest Festival, the High Priest returned to the temple every two to three nights by highbeast to check on Lady Rozemyne. “She must be immensely important to the High Priest,” Zahm noted with a somewhat bemused smile after seeing him off yet again.
“...She is. Out of everyone he has ever met, Lady Rozemyne is the only one who has actively tried to reduce his workload. She sincerely worried about his health, scolded him for relying on potions so much, and challenged the archduke himself on his behalf—there is surely no other High Bishop in the world who would show him that much consideration.”
My words prompted Zahm to rub his forehead and sigh, no doubt recalling the High Priest’s current workload and unhealthy lifestyle. “I pray for his sake that she awakens soon,” he said, looking toward the hidden room where she was asleep.
“Though I imagine that even then, his days of constant headaches will only begin anew...”
It was a number of days after the Harvest Festival ended that the High Priest informed me Lady Rozemyne had awoken and would need to be given a bath.
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