Published: August 3, 2025
I am Lutz. It’s the height of spring now, and I’m about to turn eight.
On the way home, Myne and Tulli were attacked by a strange man, so we escaped to Otto’s house—Otto is Lady Corinna’s husband.
“Otto, Lutz, what happened?! Considering confidentiality, tell me as much as you can!”
Master came running up the stairs and said that. Otto narrowed his eyes and glared at Master.
“Benno, don’t raise your voice. Renate will wake up.”
“Ah, sorry, sorry. Lutz, just ignore Otto and tell us.”
Tulli had come to pick us up, and on the way back, we ran into Otto, who was searching for other nobles. While talking, I explained that we were attacked. The assailant seemed to be after Myne, but since he was saying “Which one!?” I thought he didn’t really know Myne well. Lord Darmel held off the attackers, and Myne and Uncle Gunther went to the temple to report to the high priest. By now, the knights had already been called by Lord Darmel.
“Come to think of it, it seems Myne was also calling for help.”
Otto muttered quietly, and everyone’s eyes turned to him. I hadn’t noticed Myne calling for help at all since I was running after Uncle Gunther.
“She had a blood seal stamped on the amulet she wore around her neck. If things got bad, someone would come to help.”
“Too soon! Damn it!”
Unlike me, who wondered what that was, Master seemed to know and clicked his tongue, turning to head back to the shop.
“Master, what’s going on...?”
“It’s a matter of utmost confidentiality!”
Master cursed under his breath, running down the stairs. Not understanding what was happening, I bit my lip hard. Even though such danger was unfolding, there was nothing I could do for Myne. No matter how hard I tried, there were walls I couldn’t overcome.
“See? Benno’s shouting woke Renate, and she started crying. Scary uncle, huh? There, there.”
Lady Corinna moved toward Renate’s crying, and Tulli’s stiff expression began to soften. She whispered about wanting to bring the rattle she made with Myne, talking about Kamil.
Otto started boasting about Renate, and Tulli countered with stories about Kamil. Honestly, I was tired of both their stories.
“Tulli, you’ll be heading to the temple now. Come on.”
A while later, Uncle Gunther came to fetch Tulli. His left arm bore a terrible burn-like wound, red and blackened, and Tulli’s face went pale.
“Father, what happened to your arm!? And Myne!?”
“Myne’s at the temple. Let’s go.”
Uncle Gunther, who always smiled at his daughter, showed no smile at all to Tulli and spoke in a low voice. Behind him was Aunt Eva holding Kamil. The whole family being called to the temple meant something had definitely happened to Myne.
“Uncle Gunther! I...”
“I’ll explain later. Just wait.”
Even though I was close to Myne’s family, I wasn’t family, so I couldn’t go to the temple. I had no choice but to wait at the shop.
“...I’ll be at the shop or in Master’s house upstairs.”
“The shop or the room upstairs, got it.”
Since I was only accompanying a worried Tulli, I didn’t need to be at Lady Corinna’s house. If all sitting still does is make me anxious and frustrated, it’s more reasonable to get some work done.
As I left Lady Corinna’s room with Uncle Gunther and the others to head for the shop, Uncle Gunther suddenly turned around and glared at Otto, who was holding Renate and soothing her.
“Otto, hurry back to the gate. Tell the sergeant that I went to the temple on orders from the knights.”
“Yes, sir!”
When I returned to the shop, Master and Mark were seriously discussing the printing workshop. After glancing at them, I began calculating the Myne workshop’s income and expenses. I couldn’t fully entrust it to Gil yet, so a review was necessary.
“Why don’t you just let the workshop people handle it? If they make a mistake and lose money, that’s their fault.”
Leon peered over my shoulder and shrugged. He said I was interfering too much with the Myne workshop. From his perspective, dealing with other workshops and shops, Myne’s workshop was being favored too much.