by Miya Kazuki
Prologue
Effa listened to Karla the entire time she was washing dishes. From both her chattiness and her returning plumpness, she could tell that Karla was relieved at Lutz finally coming back home. She had fallen disconcertingly quiet while Lutz had been gone.
“Not to mention, I’ve never seen my husband talk that much before. It’s still hard for me to believe!”
Karla, while hiding that they had been summoned to the temple, talked at length about how much her normally quiet husband Deid cared about their son. It seemed they finally understood all too well how hard Lutz was working after they went to the Merchant’s Guild and saw him do his job.
“Sure, he said he was learning his letters with Myne, but I never thought he’d know how to read paperwork that confusing and wordy.” Karla gave an exaggerated laugh, but it was clear that she was happy to see her child’s growth. She had basically started to brag non-stop.
Effa had paled with terror when Myne told her that the Lutz family had been summoned by the High Priest for a discussion, remembering her own experience at the temple, but it seemed everything had gone perfectly well for them. That was a relief.
“By the way, how’re you doing, Effa? You seem kinda sick a lotta the time, but I’m guessing it’s calming down by now?”
“I think it’s about time to tell the kids about it,” said Effa with a smile as she rubbed her stomach. Her once-awful morning sickness had begun to calm down, which meant she had most likely survived the most dangerous time for miscarriages. Effa began tidying up the cleaned dishes, feeling happy.
“Right, Effa. Myne was a big help to us this time. Tell her thanks for me, would you?”
Effa nodded to Karla and went back home. Myne was waiting right at the door, having probably heard her footsteps. She said she would help put away the dishes, then stood on a chair in order to reach the shelves and lined up the cleaned dishes, one by one. Myne couldn’t draw water from the well, nor could she wash dishes. Effa knew that she was just trying to help where she could, but when Myne tried too hard, she ended up collapsing. Being a bit more restrained would be ideal.
“Mom, are you feeling better yet? Are you sure you’re okay?” asked Myne after putting away all the dishes.
“Myne. You see, I have a baby in my belly. You’re going to be a big sister.”
“Bwuh?! Bwuuuh?!” Myne got so surprised she nearly fell off the chair. Effa smiled as she held her steady. Waiting until she finished with the dishes had been the right call.
Myne climbed off the chair and looked at Effa’s belly curiously. It wasn’t large enough to be visible yet. For a second she thought that Myne didn’t believe her, but then she grabbed her head and started saying unfathomable things again.
“NOOOOOO! I barely remember anything from the pregnancy books I read since I didn’t think any of it would matter to meeeee! Gaaah! Um, what was that breathing technique again?! I guess we should be quiet when the (morning sickness) hits, make sure you get enough to eat, and encourage consistent exercise?! I think?!”
...What has gotten into her? Myne was cradling her head as if she was extremely anxious about it. Maybe she was nervous about having a new sibling. Effa began to wonder if she should console Myne, when Tuuli (who had been preparing for work) came rushing into the kitchen with an excited cry.
“Really?! Wooow! I’ll sew some clothes and diapers for the baby!”
Effa smiled at Tuuli, who immediately thought of things she could do to help the baby. Myne began almost competitively murmuring about what she could do for the baby too. Effa didn’t expect Myne to be able to do anything, so just celebrating the baby would be enough for her. But that wouldn’t be enough for Myne, so after some thought, her head shot up with a beaming smile.
“I’ll make a (picture book) for the baby!”
“...A what? I’m not sure what that is.” Effa and Tuuli looked at each other, heads tilted in confusion.
“It’s a book with pictures! I’ll make a book to help kids read!”
“Ahahaha, that’s just like you, Myne.” Tuuli’s eyes widened at Myne’s explanation, then she burst into laughter. Myne always did think about books, but in the end Effa was just glad she wasn’t opposed to getting a new sibling.
“Working hard for the baby means you’ll be a good elder sister too, Myne.”
“I’m gonna shower that baby with tons of love. Tuuli’s going to use her sewing skills to make clothes and stuff, so I’m gonna put everything I have into making educational toys. I’ll work hard for the baby. I’m definitely, definitely gonna be a good older sister!”
...Oh no. She’s getting too excited. In no time at all, Myne’s excitement turned from cute to terrifying. This was no doubt the start of an unfathomable rampage. Effa knew this deep inside from all her past experience with Myne’s frenzies. Tuuli probably felt the same.
“You’ll get a fever with all that excitement, Myne. Try to calm down a little.”
“Uh huh. It’s going to be real hard for Mom, Myne, so you need to take better care of yourself.”
“I know that. I will.” So Myne said, but her expression made it clear that she wouldn’t. Her head was no doubt already filled with those (picture books).
One Wilma, Please
“Eheheh, heheheheeeh. Good morning, Lutz. Let’s stop by the store before the temple today!”
When Lutz came to get me, I greeted him while humming. Lutz took a quick step back as if he had seen something horrifying, then looked at Mom for an explanation.
“Myne, I’ll explain to Lutz. Hurry and get your stuff ready,” said Mom while rubbing her temples, so I went to the bedroom.
What were some good books for babies? Thinking back to best-sellers, I was pretty sure there was one where it was just a series of pages alternating between someone hiding their face and showing their face. A game of “peekaboo,” but in picture book form.
...But I didn’t know what the equivalent of peekaboo was in this world. I could guess that the process of hiding one’s face then showing it was universal, but I didn’t know what they said to the baby. Maybe I could ask someone and they would know what I meant. Eh... I think it’ll be best to just turn one of Mom’s stories into a picture book. That seems like it’ll be for the best.
“I’m sorry, Lutz. She got a little too excited over becoming a big sister, so maybe she shouldn’t go outside today...?”
“Nah, she’s gonna end up like this when the baby’s born anyway. She takes after your husband.”
“You’re right. Gunther got just as excited.” Mom shook her head with exasperation, but her smile was still a happy one.
“Okay, I’m ready. Bye, Mom. I’ll be back. Don’t push yourself when you’re feeling bad. I’ll work hard and make lots of money so you can take it easy.”
“Myne, your father said the exact same thing this morning.”
I left home while Mom giggled at me. First, we were going to the Gilberta Company. I needed to report that I was becoming a big sister and along the way order karuta for the orphanage. I talked to Lutz at length about picture books as we walked.
“Tuuli’s going to make clothes and diapers for the baby, so I’m going to make (picture books).”
“What’re those?”
“Books with pictures that are easy for kids to read,” I explained while puffing my chest out with pride, which led to Lutz sighing and shaking his head.
“...C’mon, a kid that’s just been born won’t know how to read.”
“Reading aloud to kids is important! I’ll read lots and lots of books to him. We’ll probably need to make thick paper first. But since babies like to put all sorts of things in
to their mouths, I think maybe thin boards will be better than paper. Or maybe we could make a book out of cloth? Oh, but I’ve never seen (felt) here before. And I won’t be able to help at all with cloth books. Lutz, what should I do?” I looked up at Lutz, but he was avoiding eye contact, his gaze wavering.
“I mean, uuh...”
“I’ll be sad if I don’t get to help make a picture book. But paper picture books will tear easily or maybe even get chewed up, and just thinking about ink in a baby’s mouth is... aaah! It’s too dangerous!” I cradled my head, imagining a baby with ink in its mouth and chewed-up paper everywhere.
Lutz sighed with exasperation and slapped a hand on my shoulder. “Calm down, Myne. It’ll be next spring before he’s born, right? It’s not happening tomorrow.”
“But I want to make lots of prototypes and improve, improve, improve until I have something perfect!”
“You going crazy never ends well. You’re just gonna end up on the floor. Calm down and listen to what people tell you.”
We arrived at the Gilberta Company as Lutz admonished me. Mark was inside the store as always, working briskly.
“Mark, is Benno here? I want to go to Sieg’s carpentry workshop again to order more wood boards for karuta sets.”
“I’ll handle it. You certainly seem pleased today, Myne.” The moment Mark said that while getting out supply order boards, my hype shot up so high I could feel it.
“Eheheh. Guess what, Mark? I’m going to be a big sister! I’ll be really busy making books, karuta, building blocks, and all sorts of things in preparation.”
“Oh, a book for a baby, hm? While you’re here, you may want to inform the master of this.” Mark took us to the office with a smile and I immediately ran up to Benno.
“Good morning, Benno. I’m going to be a big sister when spring comes. So, I’m going to make a (picture book) for the baby!”
“Huh? What’s that?”
“A book for kids!”
“A book for kids, huh? But kids can’t read.” Benno said the same thing Lutz did. Picture books were perfect for building bonds between parents and children; just looking at the pictures was fun on its own, and they helped kids get used to letters from a young age. Why did nobody appreciate their glory?
“Reading aloud to kids is important. It’ll help them learn letters from a young age.”
“Hmm. One of those might be a good gift for Corinna. But who’s gonna be drawing the art?”
“Me, of course! Filled with love!” It was going to be a gift for my little brother or sister. Of course I would make it myself.
“No. Use the artist you got last time. Otherwise you’ll mess with the kid’s taste in art. They might never recover.”
“So mean!”
“The truth hurts. You should thank me for warning you.”
Benno forced me to promise to use the same artist as last time, Wilma. I headed for the temple feeling pouty, as if my love as an older sister had been rejected.
“Hey, Myne. If you’re gonna be making lots of picture books from now on, maybe you should hire that artist full-time or something? I’m guessing one picture book won’t be enough for you.”
“It definitely won’t.” If I was going to end up getting Wilma’s help for a countless number of picture books, it would be wise to make her my attendant.
“Morning, Fran. Guess what? I’m gonna be a bi—”
“Watch your language, Myne. And that can wait. My report comes first.” Lutz interrupted me, pointing out that I was talking too casually, then explained to Fran why I was excited and warned him that I might collapse at any time. “I’m guessing she won’t calm down until she gets a fever at least once. You can just let her be and wait for that to happen.”
“...Understood. I will guard her with caution. However, Sister Myne, please take care not to inform Delia about the baby. The High Bishop has not made any moves as of yet, but he is certainly continuing to gather information on you. Judging by your excitement, I believe the pregnancy and baby will become significant weak points for him to exploit.”
Fran’s warning made the blood drain from my face. If something happened to Mom or her baby now, I had no confidence that I could hold my mana back.
“There should be no issue with discussing your new products or the Myne Workshop, but your little sibling should go unmentioned. In the temple, the birth of newborns is not a joyous occasion.”
I felt my excited mood plummet as I thought back to what happened to the flower-offering gray shrine maidens who ended up pregnant. Fran, trying to cheer me up a bit, changed the subject. “You are planning to make many books, surely. Perhaps now is the time to ask for Wilma?”
“You’re right. I would like to make Wilma my attendant if possible, but I’m not sure how to go about it.”
Fran fell into thought, then suggested we seek the High Priest’s permission first. I wrote a letter stating that I had a request, then asked Fran to deliver it to him and get a date for a meeting. At fourth bell, after work was done, the High Priest skimmed the letter then looked at me.
“Myne, what is your request? I have the time to answer if it is a minor issue.”
“High Priest, please give me Wilma!” I made the request as short as I could, which for some reason made the High Priest rub his temples.
“I do not understand what you’re saying. Be more clear.”
“Please give me Wilma, the girl with the smile of a saint, a talent for art, and a deep compassion for others.”
I tried explaining who Wilma was to the best of my ability, but the High Priest just looked at Fran with utter bafflement. Fran seemed to understand what he wanted just from a glance, and began his explanation immediately.
“She would like permission to make Wilma her attendant. Wilma is a gray shrine maiden specializing in art who once served as Christine’s attendant.”
“Ah, she served that art-loving shrine maiden... I believe an expert of music will be more fruitful to Myne’s education than an artist. There was a gray shrine maiden talented in music, was there not? Select her instead.”
“Rosina is the musician, I believe.”
Before I knew it, the conversation had shifted from Wilma becoming my attendant to Rosina. I hurriedly interjected before it was too late. “High Priest, I need Wilma’s help, not Rosina’s. How could I make (picture books) with music?”
“What are those?”
How many times had I been asked that question in one day? I would have thought that picture books for kids would at least exist in a place with book-owning nobles, but the High Priest was furrowing his brow hard enough to engrave wrinkles into it.
“They’re books for kids with pictures in them. Surely nobles have books like that.”
“With books as expensive as they are, it would make no sense to make any for kids that might treat them poorly. Books are for learning, and they need only present their information clearly and concisely.”
It seemed that books aimed at children simply didn’t exist at all. Since paper was expensive and each book had to be hand-written from the ground up, each page was packed to the brim with letters. Putting aside the charts and maps necessary for teaching, no books were built around pictures.
I nodded, now understanding why picture books didn’t exist here, and for some reason the High Priest also nodded in understanding.
“I understand that you desire an artist to craft books with pictures. But what you need is education and enrichment. Make both Rosina and Wilma your attendants, not just one.”
“Bwuh? I couldn’t take on two new attendants at once, that’d be so wasteful. Not to mention that I don’t even have an instrument, much less the opportunity to play one. I don’t have the funds to buy an expensive instrument and I don’t feel the need for music to be involved in my religious education.”
“I see. You certainly cannot practice music without an instrument.”
I went ahead and nodded with the High Priest, but I didn’t have mu
ch interest in music either way. I liked listening to it, but I had never wanted to play any myself—even if it would be a lovely skill to have, I would rather spend my time reading than practicing to learn an instrument.
I expressed my need for an artist and got approval to make Wilma my attendant, so that was that. I started to leave the High Priest’s room with satisfaction.
“Now, Fran. Let us go to the orphanage this afternoon to see what Wilma thinks of all this.”
“What Wilma thinks? Are you not making her your attendant?” Fran blinked in confusion at my statement.
“...She might not want to serve me because I’m a commoner.” My attendants had all been ordered to serve me and not a single one of them had wanted to. Not Fran, not Gil, not Delia. It wasn’t too long ago that Gil was telling me to my face that he didn’t want to serve a commoner.
Things were going so well now that I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s mood by taking in someone who would be unhappy about serving me all the time. Wilma could keep doing the art for me even if she didn’t want to be my attendant, though I’d end up constantly nervous about someone stealing her away.
“Sister Myne, you wished to talk to me?” Wilma, who normally discussed how the orphans were doing and what the orphanage needed with a calm smile on her face, looked at Fran and me anxiously.
“Wilma, would you consider being my attendant? This isn’t an order, but a question. You can say no if you like.”
Wilma’s eyes wavered nervously, then she sighed and lowered her eyes. “...I truly appreciate the offer, but it would be wise to ask Rosina instead.”
Wilma glanced at Fran, then looked away with a troubled expression. She furrowed her brow a bit, then slowly opened her mouth, as if she really didn’t want to say what she was about to say.
“In the past, I was... I was once fooled by a blue priest and taken to a flower offering. My mistress Christine noticed my absence and arrived in time to rescue me, but ever since then I have been uneasy around men. I will obey if you order me to be your attendant, but if you do value my desires, I would like to stay in the girls’ building of the orphanage. There are only children and girls here.”