Apprentice Shrine Maiden Volume 4

by Miya Kazuki

  In the end, it was on the morning of my fifth day of being stuck inside that Fran and Damuel came to pick me up at my house.

  “Good morning, Sister Myne.”

  “Good morning Fran, Sir Damuel.”

  “Morning, apprentice.” Damuel nodded in response to my greeting before turning to look at Dad, who was still at home since his work didn’t start until the afternoon today. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m here for the apprentice.”

  “Please take good care of her, sir.” Dad thumped a fist twice against his chest in salute. Damuel responded in kind, a serious look on his face as he spoke again.

  “Gunther, I have a message from Lord Ferdinand. The archduke is presently visiting the Sovereignty and will not be around to grant any entry permits in the near future. You may be shown fake permits, so take care not to accept any as valid. Understood?”

  “Sir, yes, sir!” Dad gave a firm nod, a hard look on his face. He was always so cool when he was doing his job.

  “Okay, bye everyone.”

  “Be careful.”

  We met up with Lutz in the plaza and headed to the temple. I could see Fran’s expression darken as we got closer.

  “Fran, what’s wrong? Your brow is furrowed.”

  “I will explain in a moment. It is not something to talk about in transit,” he said before closing his mouth into a bitter expression.

  “You will know once we arrive at the temple, whether you want to or not,” Damuel added. I looked up at him and saw that he was wearing his usual noble-esque smile that hid all emotion and conveyed absolutely nothing.

  “Alright, well, I’m off to the forest,” said Lutz.

  “Okay. Bye-bye.”

  We split up with Lutz in front of the workshop like usual before heading to my chambers. I waited like a proper lady for Fran to open the door for me, but the atmosphere when I went inside felt so different that I couldn’t help but blink in surprise.

  “...It certainly is quiet in here.”

  It was almost uncomfortably quiet. I would normally be able to hear Dirk crying, or Delia playing with him, or the sounds of several people moving around, but today there was nothing. It was so quiet, in fact, that I could hear the chefs working in the kitchen all the way at the front.

  Dirk must be asleep, I thought to myself while climbing the stairs as silently as possible. When I reached the top, I found Rosina wiping down the table. That actually worried me, since Rosina usually only played music and did paperwork so as to not hurt her fingers; it was always Delia who did minor chores like that.

  “Good morning, Rosina. Where is Delia? Is she feeling sick?” I asked, looking around. Rosina lowered her eyes, then put down the cloth she was using and headed for the closet.

  “Delia is no longer with us. She took Dirk and returned to the High Bishop.”

  “Wha?” The news came so suddenly that I couldn’t even process it at first. I looked up at Rosina, confused, and with my robes in hand she searched for words before giving a sad smile.

  “Sister Myne, let us get you changed before we talk. Fran cannot come upstairs until that is done.”

  Rosina changed me into my blue apprentice robes, then asked me to sit down as she rang a bell. Fran came up the stairs holding some tea he had prepared and set a cup down in front of me. I took a sip, but despite Fran’s tea always tasting good I didn’t taste much of anything this time.

  I set my cup down and looked at the both of them. Rosina spoke first.

  “It happened yesterday. Fran and I went for our daily naps, and when we awoke Dirk’s cushion and diapers had vanished from the room. We couldn’t find Delia either so, already worried, I went to the orphanage to look for them. But Dirk was nowhere to be seen. According to Wilma, Delia had come to get him, saying that she was taking him with her since they’re family.”

  Wilma had apparently let her go, since she wanted to show her support for Delia having gone all the way to the orphanage despite her misgivings to see Dirk. She hadn’t even considered that one of my attendants would take him anywhere except my chambers.

  “I heard this from Rosina and requested an audience with the High Priest. I thought it would be necessary to report the disappearance of a blue shrine maiden’s attendant so that a search could begin,” Fran said with a sigh. It would be serious business if she had gotten in trouble with a blue priest while I was absent. But on his way to see the High Priest, Fran saw Delia with the High Bishop, Dirk in her arms. He tried to question her there, but the High Bishop stopped him; he had no other choice but to ask the High Priest what he knew.

  “How was that allowed? Taking Delia makes sense given that she used to be one of the High Bishop’s attendants, but Dirk isn’t allowed to leave the orphanage, is he?” I had previously been told not to bring Dirk to a discussion with the High Priest, and the High Bishop seemed like he would be the kind of guy to demand that “disgusting children” be locked in the orphanage until their baptism, so it didn’t make sense that an orphan like Dirk would be allowed in the noble section of the temple.

  Fran lowered his eyes. “Dirk is no longer an orphan.”

  “Wha?”

  “Dirk has been adopted by a noble, with the High Bishop’s authorization.”

  The High Bishop’s signature was enough to validate an adoption, even without my signature as the orphanage director or the High Priest’s—if the adopting parent was a commoner, that is.

  “Do noble adoptions not require the approval of the archduke? Sir Damuel told us just this morning that the archduke is absent.”

  “According to the High Priest, adoptions involving nobles from other duchies do not need the approval of our archduke.” In other words, no matter where you went, there were people who would specialize in exploiting loopholes in the law.

  Adoptions to those outside of the duchy only needed the blood prints of the High Bishop, the adoptive father, and the child; Dirk had already been adopted by an outsider noble.

  “...This isn’t something to be happy about, is it?”

  “No, the High Priest looked quite displeased.” Fran crossed his arms and furrowed his brow just like the High Priest often did, then raised his head and looked me straight in the eyes. “Sister Myne, please give up on Delia and cut her off. I know well that you are a deeply compassionate person, but she acted on her own without the approval of her mistress, bringing you great misfortune in the process. She cannot continue to serve as your attendant. You should relieve her of her duties if she elects to stay with the High Bishop.”

  Delia would remain as my attendant until I announced that I was dismissing her. Rosina was fervently nodding, agreeing that she should have alerted me before going to the High Bishop for anything.

  It would be one thing if this had happened right after Delia had become my attendant, but I had thought we were getting along quite well lately. Delia’s sudden betrayal made my head hurt. Why? That was the question that stirred my heart most. I looked down at my swaying tea before saying anything.

  “...I will dismiss Delia. Please call her so that I may inform her.”

  Fran’s stiff expression softened; it seemed that he thought I would be more hesitant to dismiss her. His arms still crossed in front of his chest, he said “Understood,” then left.

  I picked up my cup again now that the discussion had settled down. The tea that tasted like nothing before was now unbearably bitter.

  When Fran returned, Delia was with him. The rather pleased expression on her face was a sharp contrast to Fran’s grimace. She casually walked over to me, her crimson hair fluttering behind her.

  “Good morning, Sister Myne. What would you like to talk about?” There wasn’t a trace of malice in her expression. She looked so normal and spoke so much like she usually did that I felt a little dizzy; for a second I even wondered if she hadn’t actually taken Dirk to the High Bishop at all. But Fran and Rosina’s stiff expressions brought me back to my senses, and I shook my head.

  “I heard that you
returned to the High Bishop.”

  “I did,” Delia said with an expression so full of glee that she was positively sparkling. “When I told the High Bishop that the High Priest had looked for someone to adopt Dirk but couldn’t find anyone, he found someone for us immediately! And a noble father at that. Isn’t that incredible? Since adoptions by nobles here would require the archduke’s permission and thus be delayed, he went out of his way to search among nobles from other duchies. He has many more connections than the High Priest does.”

  “Does that not mean that you and Dirk will end up separated?” I would have thought that Dirk would be sent to the other duchy at once. Perhaps Delia would be sent with him as a caretaker. Either way, the High Bishop had certainly gone out of his way to get an adoption that wouldn’t need the archduke’s approval.

  These ominous signs were making me visibly worried, but Delia just laughed. “Dirk will be raised by the High Bishop until he comes of age, as he is no longer an orphan. The High Bishop will give us one of his attendant rooms and allow Dirk and I to live together.”

  ...Wasn’t that odd? If Dirk was going to be raised in the temple until he came of age, he wouldn’t be able to go to the Royal Academy despite being adopted, nor would he be able to grow up with his new family. For what purpose, then, would the noble have adopted Dirk? Even assuming he was just after his mana, it seemed like a strange decision to let the High Bishop raise him.

  I was getting increasingly worried the more I learned, but Delia gave a happy smile, her cheeks blushing a rosy red. “Now I won’t have to be separated from Dirk. Had I remained with you, he would have been sent away to the orphanage in no time at all.”

  Since Delia still couldn’t bring herself to go to the orphanage, in her eyes, Dirk being sent there while she remained in the director’s chambers was the same as them being ripped apart entirely. It was true that they wouldn’t be living together even if she grew more comfortable going to the orphanage, and once Dirk was baptized he would be sent to the boys’ building where it would be even harder for them to meet. What could I say to Delia, considering that she had taken matters into her own hands to spend more time with Dirk?

  “The two of you aren’t being treated poorly, are you?”

  “No, of course not,” Delia replied with a firm shake of her head.

  At the moment, the High Bishop was only showing Delia his good side. If she only knew him as a kindly grandpa, then she wouldn’t believe anything bad I said about him.

  I took in a deep breath. “In that case, I hereby dismiss you as my attendant. You will now serve the High Bishop. Are you okay with that?”

  “Very. If that’s all you have to say, Sister Myne, I would like to return to Dirk. His adoptive father will be arriving soon.”

  It had felt like there was ash in my mouth when I forced myself to announce her dismissal, and yet Delia didn’t seem to feel anything in particular at all. She was just excited to leave and get back to Dirk as soon as possible.

  “My apologies for calling you over here. But I hope you know that Fran and Rosina were both worried sick looking for you and Dirk when you left unannounced. Wilma was surprised, Gil was shocked to find the room empty when he came back from the workshop, and I myself was shaken when I heard the news this morning. We were all worried about what might have happened to you and Dirk. I would have liked for you to have at least said something before you left.”

  In the end, I did let her know how I felt, hoping more for her to understand what she had done than to make her feel bad for it. Delia thought back, then smiled to hide whatever she was really feeling.

  “...The High Bishop said you wouldn’t approve of me taking Dirk, so I decided to be more stealthy. I do apologize for that. I’m sorry,” she said, averting her gaze as she shifted the blame to the High Bishop.

  So she had known that she was doing something I wouldn’t approve of after all.

  “Well, good luck raising Dirk. I imagine things won’t be easy for you.”

  “Thank you, and goodbye.” Delia gave me a true smile this time, then left to return to Dirk. I was glad to see that she was happy, but I knew there was no way that would last.

  Once she was gone, I looked to Fran and Rosina. “...Will Delia and Dirk be okay?”

  “There is nothing more we can do now that Dirk is no longer an orphan. Delia chose this fate herself,” Rosina said firmly.

  I gave her a hesitant nod. “...You’re right.” But I still wanted to help her however I could, and as I thought about what I could do, Fran knelt down beside me. He took my hand and looked up at me with deadly serious eyes.

  “Sister Myne, even if Delia is to come calling, you must never visit the High Bishop under any circumstances,” he said. I blinked in confusion, and with a face full of worry he continued. “When I went to get Delia, the High Bishop was extremely insistent that you go to his room to fetch her yourself. I repeated that it would not be proper for a mistress to leave her chambers for her attendant, and in the end successfully left with Delia, but his change in behavior is frightening to me.”

  The High Bishop had ordered that I never be brought to his room—he didn’t even want to look at me. Yet now he was telling Fran to bring me to him. He wanted me to dismiss Delia in his room. That change in behavior made Fran feel uncomfortable, and it certainly was strange.

  “Furthermore, it seems that it was the High Bishop who had given the letter of invitation to the noble who caused a stir at the east gate the other day. His name was on it, and the Knight’s Order went to question him. He claimed that he just wanted to strengthen the bonds between our duchies, but the High Priest predicts that he wanted the noble inside the city so that he could acquire Dirk.”

  “Why would the High Bishop send a letter of invitation if the archduke hadn’t approved it?”

  “It seems he didn’t know,” Fran said. I tilted my head in confusion, and he lowered his voice with an uncomfortable expression. “The High Bishop spent most of the winter in the temple for the Dedication Ritual, and since he is not legally a noble, he is rarely invited to winter social gatherings. He simply was not aware that the rules had been changed.”

  The High Bishop technically wasn’t a noble, and was thus not invited to the gatherings of noble society where the archduke had announced the change in rules. He had therefore tried inviting a noble from another duchy just like he had in the past.

  “We do not know why the High Bishop has given Dirk to an outsider noble and drawn Delia to his side. I request that you take great care and approach the future with great caution.”

  Fran’s hands were shaking, perhaps out of worry for me. I squeezed them and gave him a nod.

  The Shadow Falls

  “Sister Myne, would you consider taking on a new attendant to replace Delia?”

  “Do I need a new one right away?” I wasn’t living in the temple like I had been during the winter, so as far as I was aware there wasn’t enough work to require immediately replacing Delia.

  “The sooner the better.”

  Now that Dirk was gone, Fran could sleep at night and handle the more physical labor with Gil. Rosina, however, didn’t want to hurt her fingers doing chores, and Fran went on to explain that it would be better for everyone if Delia was replaced soon.

  “If I may speak frankly for a moment, I know that you are still worrying about Delia and have a tendency to be soft on those you care about. It would be easier for me to relax if there was someone other than Delia here for you to direct your compassion toward.”

  I fell silent, unable to disagree that I was still soft at heart. He must have seen me looking around the room aimlessly for Delia at times, and in the end, Fran was right: it was more important for me to work toward easing Fran and Rosina’s worries than for me to keep worrying about Delia, who was gone and would stay gone.

  I sighed and briefly lowered my eyes. “...If I am to pick one from the gray shrine maidens, perhaps Monika and Nicola will do?” They had both helped Ella
cook throughout the whole of winter. Wilma had recommended their services, and I already knew they were diligent workers, not to mention that I could entrust both chores and helping the chefs to them.

  In reality, since the Italian restaurant was on the verge of completion, all of the chefs except for Ella would soon be leaving. Ella wanted to stay to learn more recipes, and I had already negotiated with Benno to make that a reality. It had worked out for the best anyway since we needed someone to direct the new chefs Benno would be sending our way. Plus, it would be easiest for Ella to work with Monika and Nicola since they already knew each other.

  “Monika and Nicola? Sister Myne, would you be capable of taking both on at once?” Fran, knowing the financial state of my chambers, whispered his concerns to me in a low voice. It was true that they might be a slight strain on my wallet depending on the season, but I already had more orders for the games we had made for our winter handiwork, and if the picture books continued to sell well then I would be perfectly fine.

  “They both worked hard over the winter, didn’t they? If I only picked one of them to be my attendant then it would be hard to ask the other to help again. Ultimately, I think it would be best to take them both on at once.”

  “I do not believe you need to concern yourself with the feelings of gray shrine maidens, Sister Myne.” Rosina gave a bemused smile, but there was a big difference between living in the orphanage and living as an attendant. It would be hard to pick just one while knowing that.

  “It will be easier to rest with them as your attendants instead of Delia,” Fran interjected. “Shall I go and summon them?”

  “Please do. They have no experience as attendants, so the faster we get them involved the more time we will have to train them. Fran, will you be available to teach them?”

  I wanted them to learn their duties before the Italian restaurant opened and took most of our kitchen staff, but Rosina was too concerned about hurting her fingers to be a proper example for cleaning. Either Fran or Gil would need to teach them, but that would be a lot harder to arrange if Fran didn’t have the time.