Apprentice Shrine Maiden Volume 4

by Miya Kazuki

  “Arno, Fran—leave.” The High Priest cleared the room, sending out the gray priests who had guided my family inside. The door shut tight, and Sylvester—the highest authority in the room—casually waved his hand.

  “Have a seat. I permit you to speak.”

  “It is an honor, sir.” Dad gave his soldier’s salute before sitting at the table. Mom did the same, trudging her way to an empty seat. Tuuli looked around anxiously, sensing the sparks in the air, then sat next to me.

  Sylvester crossed his legs and exhaled before beginning to speak. “The situation has demanded that I adopt Myne and have her as my daughter.”

  “...Understood.”

  “Make it so that the commoner Myne has died here.”

  Tuuli shot her head up and looked at me, her face pale. “Is this my fault?! You were attacked because I came to get you, right?!”

  “No, Tuuli. The culprit was inside the temple all along, so I would have been attacked even if you hadn’t come to get me.” I desperately explained the situation as best I could so that Tuuli wouldn’t blame herself. I told her how it had gotten so dangerous that I had needed to attack a noble, which was a crime that would put my family and attendants in danger too. “If this is anyone’s fault, it’s mine for getting you all wrapped up in this. ...It was scary, wasn’t it, Tuuli?”

  “It was scary. It was, but... adoption...?” Tuuli looked at the floor, tears dripping from her eyes. I reached out and stroked her hair.

  Sylvester looked at Tuuli, a painful grimace flashing across his face for only the briefest of moments before he quietly spoke with the hard expression of an archduke. “Myne needs to be the daughter of an archnoble so that I may adopt her. You, her family, are complicating that. I considered executing you all to tie up any loose ends, but since that would no doubt send Myne into a frenzy, I decided to spare your lives. However, that does not change that you cannot meet as family ever again.”

  Sylvester’s firm declaration made everyone in my family gasp in shock. They looked at him with wide eyes, their lips trembling.

  “The Myne Workshop will continue to exist and produce paper, books, and other products. She will also remain in possession of her chambers in the temple, so if you sign this contract you will be able to meet her on business. That is all I can permit.” Sylvester held out the magic paper being used for our magic contract—it was the one the High Priest had just finished making. “Myne, read this for them. They’ll trust you more than they would any of us.”

  Most commoners couldn’t read, which led to more than a few cases of people getting tricked into signing unfavorable contracts. I had heard there were even merchants who had suffered great losses after not understanding deceptive euphemisms that nobles had slid into their contracts. That was why it was important for the illiterate to have someone who they could trust available to read for them.

  I stood up and headed to the part of the table where the pen and ink had been lined up. Sylvester, Karstedt, and the High Priest were to my left, while my family was sitting to my right. I picked up the contract while looking at them all, then frowned hard; it hurt so, so bad that I had to read out loud a contract made to separate me from my family.

  “Myne will be announced to be dead. Henceforth, neither party may acknowledge the other as family, should they ever meet. Myne must be treated as one would treat a noble. Thus are the terms of this contract.” I set the paper onto the table and saw Tuuli, who was sitting the furthest away from me, start to cry again.

  “If I sign this, does that mean you won’t be my little sister anymore, Myne?”

  “We won’t be sisters even if you don’t sign it.” The contract was mainly there to allow us to continue seeing each other; my adoption was going to happen either way.

  “I don’t want that!”

  “Me neither, but I don’t want to put you in any more danger. You survived this time, but maybe you won’t next time. They might even go after Mom and Kamil next. All because of me...”

  A haunted look crossed Tuuli’s already pale face. She must have remembered the fear she had felt when being kidnapped. Not much time had passed since a knife had been held to her throat; it only made sense that she would be afraid.

  “I don’t want to keep putting my family in danger. Please understand, Tuuli. This is for your sake.”

  “But...” Tuuli bit her lip and groaned, unable to agree with me. I wanted to cry too. My vision blurred, and a tear rolled down my cheek.

  “Tuuli, please. Write your name on it. If you don’t, we’ll never see each other again. Even if we stop being family, even if I can’t call you my big sister, I at least want to keep seeing you. I don’t want this to be goodbye forever.”

  “Wha?” Tuuli looked at me wide-eyed, then abruptly stood up and raced toward me, tears trailing behind her as she ran. I immediately clung to her.

  “I’ll do my best to make books and toys for you and Kamil, okay? Come and visit me in the temple and my chambers. Just let me see you. I want to know how you’re doing.”

  “Myne. Don’t cry.” Tuuli tightened her arms around me and spoke in a halting voice, pausing as she tried to choke back her tears. “I’ll come... visit you in the temple. I’ll work hard... and learn to read... so I can... read your books. Okay?”

  “Uh huh. I want you to come visit, and then take the toys and books back home with you. Kamil can’t come to the temple until his baptism, so I’ll need you to give him my gifts for me.” I looked up at Tuuli, and her warmth forced my troubled frown into a smile.

  Tuuli wiped the snot from her nose while she responded. “Definitely. I’ll definitely give him your gifts.”

  “Also, you’re joining Corinna’s workshop, right? If you work hard and become a first-rate seamstress, I’ll order my clothes from you. I want you to make my clothes one day, Tuuli.”

  My request restored the light in Tuuli’s puffy red eyes, and she gave me a firm nod. “I promise. I’ll make your clothes, no matter what.”

  “I love you, Tuuli. I’m so proud to have an older sister like you.”

  We hugged tightly once more, then Tuuli signed the magic contract, sobbing all the while. It felt a little ironic that the letters she had worked so hard to learn over the winter would prove useful here.

  She took out her knife and cut her finger to make the bloody fingerprint. Her part done, she returned to her seat, still choking back sobs.

  “Myne.” Mom stood up from her chair, handing Kamil in his sling to Dad. She knelt beside me as I stood next to the contract, and while on her knees embraced me in a warm hug. Perhaps due to the smell of milk, I was enveloped by a sweet, nostalgic scent as I wrapped my arms around her too.

  “Mom...” I couldn’t think of what to say as I kept hugging her tight. As I stood there in silence, Mom whispered to me in a troubled tone.

  “It’s too soon for you to be leaving your parents.”

  “I’m sorry, Mom.” She was holding me so closely that I could hear her heartbeat as she spoke. She stroked my hair like she usually would at night when we went to bed, and started giving me her usual list of warnings.

  “Take care of yourself, Myne. You always get sick so easily. Ask the people around you for help when you need it. Listen to what they tell you so you don’t keep being a thorn in their side. And don’t charge off and do things on your own. Help where you can, but don’t rely on others too much. And...”

  Normally I would have stopped paying attention by now, but the realization that I’d never hear her lecture me like this again made my heart sink. I nodded, still clinging to her, and listened to every word, but she was saying so much that eventually she just started repeating herself. It almost made me laugh.

  “And finally, one last thing.”

  “There’s still something else?” I looked up and actually did let out a chuckle. Mom’s own smile broke down, and I could feel her tears drip down onto my face.

  “Don’t push yourself too hard. Stay safe and happy. I love you, Myne
. My precious Myne.”

  “I love you too, Mom.”

  Mom let me hold onto her for a little longer, then slowly let go and stood up.

  “Mom, do you need me to... Do you need me to write your name?” Dad could sign his name thanks to work, and I had taught Tuuli how to write while she was studying in the temple. I didn’t think Mom knew how to write, but she slowly shook her head at my offer.

  “I studied with Tuuli over the winter; I wanted to read the letters you wrote too. It’s not much, but I can write everyone’s names now.” Mom gave an embarrassed smile and picked up the pen before writing her name and Kamil’s with a shaky hand. Once that was done, like Tuuli, she also stamped the contract with her blood.

  Dad walked over to us, holding Kamil in his sling; he was probably about to hand Kamil over to Mom, as she stayed standing instead of going back to her seat.

  “Um, Dad. Can I hold Kamil?”

  “Yeah.” Dad undid the sling, needing Mom’s help to do so since he could barely move his arm, then held Kamil out to me.

  I held him properly, having finally learned how to, and his eyes opened the moment I peered at his face. Kamil’s sweet baby scent caught my nose as I rubbed my cheek against his; I inhaled deeply, then gave his cute forehead a kiss. “I don’t think you’ll remember me, but I’ll make lots of picture books for you. Be sure to read them all for me, okay?”

  I handed Kamil back to Mom before he could start crying. After a moment of hesitation, she made a small cut on his finger, then stamped it against his name as he started crying in pain.

  Mom left while consoling Kamil, leaving me with Dad. He hugged me using just his right arm since the burns on his left stopped him from being able to move it much.

  “Dad, is your arm okay? It hurts, doesn’t it? I’m sorry... You got hurt because of me.”

  “No. I’m your father, but I wasn’t strong enough... I couldn’t protect you. I’m sorry, Myne,” Dad forced out in a low voice, his face twisted with regret and tears trickling down his cheeks. As I felt his arm tighten around me, I shook my head over and over.

  “No, Dad, you’ve protected me my whole life. If I ever get married, I hope it’ll be to someone strong who can protect me just like you have.”

  Hearing that, Dad furrowed his brow and shook his head, now wearing a tearful grin. “Myne, if whoever you marry can’t protect you, I’ll come beat him up myself.”

  “Uh huh. I know you’ll always be there for me, Dad.” I hugged him tighter, and Dad buried his face in my shoulder.

  “Yeah... I’ve always wanted to hear a daughter of mine say that, but now that I have and now that you’re going to leave, it hurts more than anything.”

  Dad had protected me and raised me my whole life, and I couldn’t stop crying. “My name’s going to change, and I can’t call you ‘Dad’ anymore, but... I’ll always be your daughter. I’ll protect this city, and you, and everyone. I will.”

  “Myne.” Dad squeezed me tighter, and I couldn’t stop the explosion of emotions inside of me. The ring the High Priest had lent me started shining as my mana poured into it.

  “What?!”

  “Myne!”

  Dad stepped back in surprise, looking between my shining ring and the three nobles who had all stood up with their shining wands in hand.

  “Myne, contain yourself!”

  “No. My mana is overflowing because of my love for my family, so I have to use it for their sake,” I murmured. The ring shone brighter, and my lips started chanting a prayer almost on their own.

  “O mighty King and Queen of the endless skies, ye mighty God of Darkness and Goddess of Light; O mighty Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm, ye mighty Goddess of Water Flutrane, God of Fire Leidenschaft, Goddess of Wind Schutzaria, Goddess of Earth Geduldh, God of Life Ewigeliebe; I ask that ye hear my prayers and grant thy blessings.”

  I gradually spread my arms, and a faint, fluttering yellow light gleamed from inside the ring as I spoke the name of each god. I looked at the light of my mana and continued my prayer, all so that my family could be blessed as much as possible once I was gone.

  “I offer thee my heart, my prayers, my gratitude, and ask for thy holy protection. Grant those I love the power to strive toward their goals, the power to deflect malice, the power to heal their pain, and the power to endure trials and tribulations.”

  A gentle yellow light filled the room, then started to trickle down from above like shining snowflakes. The light didn’t just land on my family; I could see some of it flying out of the room, as if going toward the other people who were precious to me.

  “The burns are gone...” Dad said, running a hand along his now-unscathed left arm.

  “That’s the healing power of Flutrane.”

  “Myne, I’m proud to have a daughter like you. Use the powers you’ve been gifted right, and protect this city.”

  “I won’t use them to do anything you’d get mad about. I promise.”

  After bumping his fist against mine, Dad turned to the contract paper and signed it, his hand shaking as he did so. He then cut his finger using a knife and stamped it against the contract, before lowering his head and gritting his teeth.

  I took the pen in hand and looked at my family one by one. Tuuli was looking at me with bright red eyes; Kamil was no longer crying, perhaps due to my blessing having healed his cut; Mom was crying quietly, hugging Kamil to her chest while she watched me; and finally, Dad was standing next to me, his head lowered and a hand covering his eyes.

  “Dad, Mom, Tuuli, Kamil. I love you all.”

  In front of me were two contracts: one to stop me from referring to my family as family, and one to change my name from “Myne” to “Rozemyne.” I clenched my teeth and signed both in quick succession, then held out my palm to Dad. Crying, but resolved, he made a slight cut on my finger for me, and I stamped the blood that puckered up onto both contracts. In an instant, they both burst into golden flames and disappeared, along with everybody’s signatures.

  “The contracts are sealed. Before us stands Rozemyne, the daughter of an archnoble,” Sylvester said as my family jolted in surprise at the sudden flames. They looked down at the floor, then knelt.

  “We will take our leave, then.”

  “Please take care of yourself, milady.”

  “...Farewell.”

  Now that I was the daughter of an archnoble, we could no longer act as equals. They wouldn’t understand what a bow meant—the culture here hadn’t developed in the same way—but I didn’t care; I bent my hips in a ninety-degree angle and hung my head low, hoping to convey my respect and gratitude as much as possible.

  “Thank you for coming today. I pray from the bottom of my heart that we meet again one day.”

  With that, those who I had once known as my family left, and I, now Rozemyne, could not follow them. I was alone.

  Epilogue

  Lutz was in the Gilberta Company. He had just escaped there with the others after Myne and Tuuli were attacked by strange men on the way home, with Gunther, Damuel, and Otto managing to get them back following a tough fight.

  “Otto, Lutz, what happened?! Tell me everything you can without breaking any secrets!” Benno yelled, rushing up the stairs. Someone must have told him that they had fled here.

  Otto debated over what to say for a second, then narrowed his eyes at Benno in a glare. “Benno, keep your voice down. You’ll wake Renate.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Lutz, ignore Otto and tell me what you can.”

  Otto and Benno’s usual back-and-forth helped Lutz relax just a little. He started to explain the situation, starting with Tuuli having come to walk home together. They then met Otto searching for another duchy’s noble on the way home, and while talking to him, they were attacked. The attackers were after Myne, but given how they argued about which girl to get, they couldn’t have known her very well.

  Damuel stopped the attackers in their tracks, and then they ran to the Gilberta Company. From there, Myne
and Gunther went to the temple to tell the High Priest what had happened, while Damuel called the Knight’s Order over.

  “Oh yeah, Myne apparently called for help too,” Otto murmured.

  All eyes fell on him. Lutz, having been racing to keep up with Gunther, hadn’t noticed Myne calling for help. There was so much that Lutz didn’t know, especially given that Gunther had stopped him from going to the temple, and that just made him even more frustrated with himself.

  “She stamped some blood from her knee onto a charm hanging from her neck. Apparently someone would come help her if she was in trouble.”

  Lutz had no idea what all that was about, but Benno seemed to have an idea. “This is much too soon! Damn it all!” he spat, then spun around to return to the store.

  “Master Benno, what happ—”

  “It’s absolutely top secret!” Benno yelled as he raced down the steps, cursing at who knows what.

  Lutz bit his lip. Something was happening right now, and he had no idea what it was. Myne was in so much danger, but he couldn’t do anything for her. There was a wall he couldn’t climb over no matter how hard he tried. A wall keeping him from her. A wall no amount of guts or determination could overcome.

  “Look, Benno’s yelling made Renate cry. What a scary uncle he is. There, there.” Otto picked up Renate and started gently rocking her, which was enough to bring Corinna back to her senses—her widened eyes had been fixed on Benno’s intense expression.

  Tuuli also seemed to relax slightly, the stiff look on her face loosening as everyone moved toward Renate. She had been shaking and hadn’t said a word since coming here, but now she murmured something about how she was supposed to have brought the toy she made with Myne. That inspired Otto to start bragging about Renate, which Tuuli fought back against by bragging about Kamil.

  ...I’m tired of listening to you both, seriously.

  Lutz, unwilling to join the conversation about babies, walked up to a window and looked down at the street. He thought he might be able to see soldiers or knights moving around, but all he saw was the usual flow of people, as if the ambush had never happened at all.