The Two Who Disappeared

Damuel didn't come the next day, or the day after that.

With even going out to the well square forbidden, I had far too much time on my hands, so I stayed holed up at home, making a rattle for Kamil together with Turi and brainstorming content for the third picture book. The rattle Turi made was apparently going to be a present for Renate, Corina's daughter.

"We'll bring it when we go see the baby at Corina's place. We're going soon, right?"

"After all the help the Gilberta Company has given us, we can hardly show up empty-handed."

I was planning to visit once things calmed down. Turi was dead set on coming along, too. A baby girl would be adorable, and I was actually looking forward to seeing Otto's over-the-top doting.

"...But yours is cuter than the one I made, Mine."

Turi glanced down at the finished rattles in front of us and let out a small sigh.

Turi's looked like a white bear-like animal, while mine resembled a rabbit. The stuffing inside the white cloth was scraps of old fabric rather than cotton, so mine turned out a bit lumpy and uneven.

"The sewing is a total win for you, though."

As Turi said, my rattle's stitches were rather haphazard, but I thought it had turned out quite cute. When I was patting myself on the back, Turi peeked over from the side and gave a slight shrug.

"If you don't practice more, Mine, you'll never find a husband."

"I'm fine! I'm fully prepared to devote my life to books."

The ideal bride around here was healthy, hardworking, and skilled at sewing. I didn't match a single one of those criteria, so marriage was completely out of the question for me. I'd given up long ago. Just like in my previous life as Reunian, I'd be perfectly happy if I could spend my days with books as my lover. Honestly, I'd rather make and read books than become someone's wife.

If only I had a bell, the rattle would be finished, I was thinking—when on the evening of the third day, Lutz brought the bell that had been delivered to the shop.

"Johann brought this. What am I supposed to do with it?"

Lutz rolled several small bells around in his palm, tilting his head. They made a lovely little jingling sound as they tumbled. As expected of Johann—they were well made.

"The bell goes inside like this, and then you sew it shut. When you shake it, it makes a sound, see?"

The bell had to go inside to prevent small children from swallowing it. The eyes and mouth were only sewn shut with thread. I'd left the opening for the bell, so with Lutz watching, the rattle was finished in no time.

When I shook it, a cute jingling sound came through from inside the cloth. A resounding success.

"Kamil, it's done! Can you hear the bells?"

I held the rabbit up near Kamil's ear and shook it to make the bells ring. Kamil blinked several times. His neck still wasn't strong enough to turn his head, but his eyes drifted slightly toward the source of the sound.

"So cute! You're so cute, Kamil!"

My face broke into a beaming grin the moment he reacted to something I'd made—immediately after which he burst into tears.

Then, five days after I'd taken to staying home, Fran and Damuel came to pick me up in the morning.

"Good morning, Lady Mine."

"Good morning, Lady Damuel— I mean, Lord Damuel. Good morning, Fran."

"Good morning, Shrine Maiden Apprentice."

When I greeted him, Damuel gave a slight nod. Then he called out to Father, who was still at home for his day shift.

"I'll be taking the Shrine Maiden Apprentice from here."

"Please take care of her."

Father responded with the soldier's salute of tapping his chest twice, and Damuel returned the same gesture.

"Gunther, I have a message from Lord Ferdinand. The Lord has currently gone to the central region, so no new approvals will be issued for some time. Be aware that counterfeit permits may circulate—those were his words. I have conveyed them faithfully."

"Sir!"

Father's expression tightened as he pulled his chin in sharply. Dad looked really cool in his gate guard mode, his face stern and focused.

"Then, I'm heading out."

"Take care."

I met up with Lutz at the well square, and we headed for the Temple. As we drew closer, I could see Fran's expression growing increasingly grim.

"Fran, what's wrong? You've got a frown between your brows..."

"I'll explain later."

This wasn't something to discuss in public, so Fran clamped his mouth shut and clenched his teeth.

"You'll understand whether you want to or not once we reach the Temple."

Even looking up at Damuel, I couldn't find any trace of emotion behind his gentle, unbothered smile.

"Well then, I'm off to the forest today."

"Okay, thanks!"

As usual, I parted ways with Lutz in front of the workshop and headed for my room. I waited for Fran to open the door and stepped inside. The room felt different from usual, and I blinked in surprise.

"...It's awfully quiet in here."

The room felt eerily still. Normally I'd hear Dirk's voice, or Delia tending to Dirk, the sounds and atmosphere of multiple people present—but none of that was here. The cooks' voices and noises from the kitchen carried so clearly into the small hall precisely because the room was so silent.

I was wondering if Dirk might be sleeping and trying not to make too much footnoise as I climbed the stairs to the second floor.

There I found Rosina wiping down a table. She was someone who basically left all the room's chores to Delia to avoid hurting her fingers, doing only the music and paperwork. Seeing her working like this, I couldn't hide my confusion.

"Rosina, good morning. Where's Delia? Is she feeling unwell?"

As I glanced around the room asking this, Rosina lowered her gaze briefly, then walked over to the closet.

"Delia is no longer here. She went to the High Priest together with Dirk."

"What?"

It was so sudden that I couldn't process it immediately. Looking up at Rosina in a daze, she picked up the Blue Robe and furrowed her brows apologetically.

"Let's get you changed before we talk. Otherwise, Fran won't be able to come up."

After changing into the clothes Rosina brought, I was told to take a seat. Rosina rang the bell on the table, and Fran came upstairs carrying the tea he'd prepared.

The cup was set down in front of me with a soft clink. I took a sip, but the tea—Fran's tea, which should have been delicious—tasted like nothing at all.

When I set down the cup and looked between the two of them, Rosina spoke up.

"Yesterday, during our lunch break, I noticed that the cushions, diapers, and other things for Dirk had vanished from the room, and Delia was nowhere to be found. A feeling of dread came over me, so I went to the orphanage. Dirk wasn't there. When I asked Wilma, she said Delia had come and taken Dirk, saying she was family and taking him away."

Wilma, who had been so supportive of Delia overcoming her fear of the orphanage for Dirk's sake, had handed him over when told to. No one would normally ever imagine that my Attendant might take Dirk somewhere outside of my room.

"After hearing from Rosina, I requested an audience with the Chief Priest. A Blue Shrine Maiden Apprentice's Attendant had suddenly disappeared within the Temple—I felt it had to be reported and a search conducted."

Fran let out a slow breath. If my Attendant had gotten tangled up in trouble with a Blue Priest while I was absent, that would be serious. On the way to the Chief Priest's office to deal with the matter, they had apparently discovered Delia with the High Priest. Dirk was in Delia's arms.

When they tried to confront her on the spot, the High Priest blocked them, and after the Chief Priest was informed of the situation, they managed to hear the details.

"How did she even get to the High Priest's place? Delia used to be his Attendant, so maybe, but Dirk is an orphan—he's not supposed to leave the orphanage, is he?"

I'd been explicitly told not to bring Dirk along even when going to consult the Chief Priest. And the High Priest, who'd wanted orphans locked away in the orphanage until after the Baptism Ceremony because they were an eyesore—surely it was strange for him to have an orphan in the Noble's Quarter.

Fran gently lowered his eyes.

"...Dirk is no longer an orphan."

"What?"

"Through the High Priest's authority, Dirk has been adopted by a noble family."

Even without my signature as orphanage director, and even without the Chief Priest's signature, if the High Priest signed, an orphan's adoption could be processed. However, that was only possible if the adopting family was a Commoner.

"Wouldn't an adoption by the Nobility require the Lord's permission? Lord Damuel just said this morning that the Lord is away and no new approvals will be granted..."

"According to the Chief Priest, when the adoption is with a noble from outside the territory—from elsewhere—the Lord's permission here isn't required."

There were always people who were skilled at slipping through the cracks of the law, no matter where you looked. Even a document prepared in the format of another territory, bearing the blood seals of the adoptive father, the child, and the High Priest, would be valid. Dirk had already been adopted by a noble from elsewhere.

"...This isn't really something to celebrate, is it?"

"No. The Chief Priest was wracking his brains over it too."

Fran furrowed his brow as well and let out a sigh. Then he slowly raised his head and looked straight at me.

"Lady Mine, please sever ties with Delia. I know you are a person of deep feeling, but we cannot continue employing as an Attendant someone who acts without a single word of notice, does as she pleases, and brings disadvantage upon her master. If she is going to the High Priest's place, she must be dismissed."

Until I formally declared her dismissed, Delia was still my Attendant. In principle, she should have said something before relocating to the High Priest's quarters—Rosina was indignant about that as well.

We'd been getting along well recently, which made the sudden betrayal sting all the more. A whirlpool of questions churned in my chest. Why?

Gazing at the gently rippling surface of the tea, I spoke.

"...I'm dismissing Delia. I want to speak with her, so please bring her here."

"Understood."

Fran showed a slightly relieved expression, as though he'd expected me to resist the dismissal more. Crossing his hands before his chest, Fran left the room.

Once things had settled down a moment, I picked up the cup in front of me. The tea that had tasted of nothing before was now unbearably bitter.

When Fran returned, Delia was with him. Fran looked as though he were chewing a bitter worm, while Delia wore a radiant smile—their expressions couldn't have been more different. Delia walked over with light, bouncy steps.

"Good morning, Lady Mine. You wanted to talk to me?"

There wasn't a trace of guilt on Delia's face. Her expression unchanged, her tone unchanged—it made me dizzy. I could almost believe that Delia and Dirk going to the High Priest's quarters had all been some kind of mistake.

Delia's demeanor left me momentarily stunned, but the stiff expressions of Fran and Rosina standing by the table snapped me back, and I gave my head a small shake.

"I heard you went back to the High Priest..."

"Yes, that's right."

Delia's face lit up—she was practically glowing as she reported this to me.

"The Chief Priest tried to find an adoptive family for Dirk but said he couldn't find one. And when he told the High Priest that, the High Priest found a noble family from outside the territory who would take him! And they're a noble family!"

See? Isn't that amazing? Her expression practically radiated pride.

"The High Priest himself would need the Lord's permission and couldn't arrange the adoption quickly, so he found a noble from another territory instead. When you're the High Priest, the connections you have are on a whole different level."

"If Dirk was adopted by a noble from outside the territory, wouldn't that mean Delia and Dirk would be separated?"

Surely he'd be taken away soon. Or maybe Delia would be taken along as his caretaker? I furrowed my brows, and Delia let out a soft laugh.

"Dirk will stay here and be raised by the High Priest until he comes of age. He's no longer an orphan now. We've been given one of the rooms in the High Priest's quarters, so Dirk and I can live together."

If Dirk was going to be raised at the Temple until he came of age, then even though he'd been adopted by a noble, he wouldn't be going to the Noble Academy, and surely the family wouldn't treat him as one of their own. Why on earth had this noble agreed to adopt Dirk? If it was for his Magic Power, I couldn't understand the point of having him raised at the Temple.

Before my furrowed brows, Delia's cheeks flushed rose-pink as she smiled happily.

"This way, even after Dirk grows up, we won't be separated. Under your roof, Lady Mine, Dirk and I would have been split up right away since I'm just the Attendant."

For Delia, who still couldn't go to the orphanage, this was essentially a complete parting. Even if she could go to the orphanage eventually, they wouldn't be living together. What could I say to Delia, who had thought only about being with Dirk and charged straight ahead?

"You're not being treated badly, are you?"

"Oh no, not at all."

So far, the High Priest had only shown his best side to Delia. If he was keeping up that kindly old grandfather act for Delia's benefit, nothing I said would get through to her.

I looked steadily at Delia, who had nodded emphatically, and took a slow, deep breath.

"Then I am hereby dismissing you from your position as my Attendant. Going forward, I will deal with you as the High Priest's Attendant."

"Understood. ...Lady Mine, if that's all you wanted, I'd like to go back to Dirk now. His adoptive father is supposedly visiting soon."

I had delivered the dismissal feeling as though I'd swallowed lead, but Delia, the one being dismissed, seemed to feel nothing at all. She was fidgeting with nothing but eagerness to get back to Dirk.

"I'm sorry for calling you over. But the two of you just disappeared without a single word. Fran and Rosina searched so hard for you. Wilma, who had been watching Dirk at the orphanage, Gil, who came back from the workshop to find the room empty, and even I this morning when I heard the news—we were all completely shocked and worried. At the very least, you could have left a message."

I wouldn't call it a complaint exactly, but when I let my dissatisfaction slip at the end, Delia furrowed her brows apologetically and smiled.

"...The High Priest said that if you found out I was taking Dirk, you'd oppose it, so I arranged things quietly. I'm sorry about that. I truly apologize."

She'd been aware she was doing something that would meet with opposition. Delia averted her eyes and offered the High Priest as her excuse.

"Well, taking care of Dirk will be hard, but do your best."

"Yes. Excuse me."

With a bright, sunny smile, Delia went back to Dirk's side. As long as she was happy, I supposed it was fine, but I couldn't see a very bright future ahead.

"...Will Delia and Dirk really be okay?"

"Delia made her own choice, and Dirk is no longer an orphan. There's nothing we can do for him now."

"...Right."

I slowly nodded at Rosina's curt words.

Still, I was thinking about whether there was anything I could do to help when Fran knelt beside me. He took my hand and looked up at me with a serious gaze.

"Lady Mine, from now on, even if Delia summons you, please never go to the High Priest's quarters on your own. Be very careful."

"Huh?"

I tilted my head, and Fran pressed on with a worried expression.

"Just now, when I went to fetch Delia, the High Priest was desperate to get you to come to his quarters. I told him there was no need for a master to come for the sake of an Attendant, and I brought Delia out myself—but his change in behavior frightens me."

He didn't want me in his line of sight. The High Priest had always said I was never to set foot in his quarters, yet he'd apparently tried to summon me there for Delia's dismissal.

That was indeed strange.

"Also, regarding the disturbance at the East Gate the other day—the one who issued the letter of introduction to the outsider noble was apparently the High Priest."

The Knights had apparently gone to the High Priest to question him based on the name on the letter. The High Priest had apparently said something innocuous about deepening friendly ties, but the Chief Priest suspected the timing was connected to bringing in the outsider noble for Dirk's adoption.

"But the Lord's permission is required to let anyone in. Why would the High Priest have issued that letter?"

"He claims he didn't know."

When I tilted my head in confusion, Fran's expression turned uncomfortable and he lowered his voice slightly.

"During the winter, the High Priest was confined to the Temple for the dedication ceremony, so he wasn't aware of the rule changes."

Strictly speaking, the High Priest wasn't noble and wasn't invited to the noble gatherings held during the winter confinement, so he hadn't learned about the new rules the Lord had announced in person. As a result, he'd invited outsider nobles the same way he always had.

"I don't know what the High Priest is thinking, adopting Dirk to an outsider noble and keeping him close. Please, Lady Mine, be extremely careful going forward."

I squeezed Fran's trembling hand—I couldn't tell if he was shaking from worry alone—and nodded firmly.

Delia and Dirk had gone to the High Priest's quarters.

Next time: attempted kidnapping.