Ascendance of a Bookworm

“Tulli, what’s going on? What happened? Is Lutz okay?”

I lay face down on the bed and asked rapidly. Tulli looked like she had failed me. She furrowed her brows in worry and stroked my head repeatedly.

“I’m sorry, Myne. I should have told you after your fever went down... You can’t get excited, or your fever will rise again.”

“Tulli, please tell me.”

I held Tulli’s hand and pleaded with her to tell me. With a resigned sigh, Tulli gave in.

“I’ll go get Ralf. You just rest, okay?”

I nodded, and Tulli turned and left the room. I heard the front door open and close, the lock click, and Tulli’s footsteps fading away. Still lying weakly on the bed, I strained my ears to listen.

Anxiously waiting for her to return, I soon heard light footsteps approaching. The front door unlocked and opened.

“...Ralf, how’s Lutz?”

Ralf, brought by Tulli, sighed upon seeing me bedridden with my fever still high.

“I thought Myne was hiding him.”

“I told you before, didn’t I? I’ve been sick in bed for three days. How could I know anything about Lutz running away yesterday evening?”

Tulli said indignantly. Ralf apologized to her, “Sorry for doubting you,” and then faced me.

“Yesterday, as soon as he came home, Lutz yelled at Dad. ‘Why are you interfering with me!?’ He’d been holding back, but then he shouted he was leaving this house for good—with a fierce look.”

From Ralf’s words, I understood why Lutz ran away. Probably, Benno had told him why he couldn’t be taken to another town. That gave me some relief. Most likely, Benno was protecting Lutz. Even if the adoption hadn’t happened yet, he was probably being treated like family.

“Mom is flustered, but Dad says just to leave him be because he’ll come back soon. We also thought he’d come back when hungry, but he didn’t return by morning or noon, so we got worried. Myne, do you know where Lutz is?”

Hearing that, unease crept up my chest. If Benno was protecting him, Lutz should be working. There’s no way I wouldn’t know where he was.

“You don’t know where he is... Lutz hasn’t gone to work either?”

“Well... we don’t know where he works...”

Ralf looked troubled, his gaze wandering. I couldn’t immediately grasp why they didn’t know where he worked. It’s been nearly a year since Lutz got involved with the Gilberta Trading Company, the shop he’d been connected to before even becoming an apprentice.

“What do you mean, you don’t know? It’s Gilberta Trading Company, right?”

“...We know the name. Lutz came to Sieg’s workshop before, right? But Sieg doesn’t even know where the shop is.”

“If Lutz and I hadn’t gone to Sieg’s workshop... would we still not know now?”

I asked nervously, and Ralf awkwardly looked away. Tulli exclaimed, “Unbelievable!”

“Hey, Ralf! You don’t even know where your own brother works? Families talk about work, don’t they?”

Even among siblings, I thought girls and boys might have different ways of talking, but this seemed excessive. Whether it was indifference or stubbornness, not being able to find him after he ran away was a serious problem.

I reached out and grabbed Ralf’s shirt hem tightly.

“...Hey, Ralf. It might be none of my business, but please try talking with Lutz a bit more.”

“Lutz won’t talk. Honestly, I’m the one holding back. No matter how much the family opposed him, he got the job he wanted and even on his days off, he goes out to the forest to gather instead of resting. What exactly is Lutz holding back?”

Ralf shook off my hand and glared, shouting.

“Ralf, don’t be rough with Myne! Her fever’s still not down!”

“Sorry...”

The loud voice throbbed in my head. I knew I was the one dragging Lutz around on his days off, so I tried to back him up.

“Going out on Lutz’s days off is work, right? Even when Benno called or I was bothering him, he still got paid. It’s not like he’s just playing.”

Ralf was a little surprised by how little conversation there was between the brothers, then shook his head lightly.