Promise

When I walked in, everyone else filed in after me. I took my seat in the chair Lutz had pulled out for me, confirmed that Fran had gently closed the door, and slowly looked around at them all.

Dahmuel, my guard, stood in his usual spot behind me. Fran took his position before the door, and Gil stood to my right as an Attendant in his designated place. But the three from the Plantan Workshop were exchanging uncertain glances between Eustachius and me, unable to decide where to stand.

"Lutz, Benno, Mark, Eustachius is here, but just take your seats like usual. Don't worry about it—Eustachius already knows everything."

"Huh?"

Lutz let out a surprised voice and looked up at Eustachius. Eustachius gave a slight shrug and looked down at Lutz.

"By order of Lord Ferdinand, I was the one who investigated Mine in the lower city. That is precisely why I was entrusted with the Plantan Workshop and the orphanage for two years. My presence here today is also an order from Lord Ferdinand."

Lutz's expression soured at Eustackius's words, and as he sat down across from me, he turned toward me with a worried look.

"Lady Rozemyne, did the Chief Priest say something to you?"

"Lutz, please. Just talk normally."

"Normally…?"

Lutz looked around at everyone, then slowly exhaled, shut his eyes tightly once as if frustrated, and then fixed his green eyes directly on me.

"Fine. What happened?"

Hearing that familiar voice and tone made me relax for a moment, but it was immediately followed by an overwhelming sense of loneliness I couldn't hold back.

The backs of my eyes grew hot of their own accord. Through my blurring vision, I could see Lutz and Benno reaching out toward me.

I clenched the hands resting on my lap.

"Lord Ferdinand said… today is the last time I can use this hidden room. So he told me to come say a proper goodbye…"

The tears that had been trembling on the verge of falling let go all at once, dropping with a deep sigh I couldn't identify. As I stared at the teardrops rolling over my knuckles, Benno let out a groan-like voice.

"Just as I thought. Your appearance and your mind may not match, but to everyone else you're already ten years old. When a noble girl turns ten, it's only to be expected that she can no longer use a hidden room."

At Benno's bitter words, Lutz's eyes widened in surprise. Lutz was the only one who hadn't anticipated this parting—Benno and Mark had apparently already known this was coming.

"That's true in the age-sense as well, but Lady Rozemyne personally has very few merchants she favors and maintains relationships with," Mark said gently, smiling with a troubled air.

"There are already opinions among the merchants that Lady Rozemyne favors the Plantan Workshop and the Gilberta Company too much. If rumors spread that you've been bringing Commoner men into the Temple's hidden room, the blow to you, Lady Rozemyne, and to us as well, would be enormous."

If it became believed that the Plantan Workshop's success was entirely due to my patronage, it would have cascading consequences. Benno had said it would especially affect the employees' morale. I couldn't let the Plantan Workshop earn a bad reputation because of me.

"Ah, right—it really would be bad for a saint to have that kind of reputation, huh?"

"It's more than that. Your engagement announcement is coming up soon."

Lutz blinked several times with a blank expression, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"…Whose?"

"Mine. The engagement announcement between me and Wilfried, the Lord's son."

Even that was clearly a surprise—Benno and Mark both widened their eyes. Lutz tilted his head, his face showing that the words "engagement" and "Me" simply didn't connect in his mind.

"…Huh?… Uh, engagement? Isn't that really soon?"

"Yeah. A lot happened at the Royal Academy. To avoid trouble, things ended up this way."

"You really cause problems wherever you go," Lutz said with an exasperated look. Then, after a moment, his face became deeply troubled, and he smiled sadly. "Man, this isn't the kind of problem I can help you with anymore." That complicated smile made my chest tighten.

I wanted to hug Lutz tight like I always did, but I couldn't reach out. It felt like there was a wall I couldn't cling to—or rather, a distance had grown so wide that clinging to him now felt hesitant. Or maybe the moment had come when I had to face what I'd been deliberately ignoring all along. Putting my current feelings into words was incredibly difficult.

"…Apparently, it's considered extremely inappropriate for a noble woman who's gotten engaged to be bringing a Commoner man into a hidden room."

"Well, bringing a man in when you're engaged looks bad even outside the nobility."

"You really still lack common sense," Lutz pointed out immediately.

When I pouted my lips in protest, Lutz scratched his head vigorously, a habit he'd picked up from Benno.

"Ah, well, I get that we won't be able to meet here anymore. …But, are you really going to be okay with this?"

"…Not okay at all."

My real feelings and tears spilled out together.

I hadn't been okay for a long time. Lutz had acknowledged my existence. He'd managed my health while making paper and hair ornaments together with me. When I hit a wall in frustration, he'd helped me figure out solutions. When I was lonely and anxious beyond endurance, he'd been there. He'd carried letters from family I'd been forced to part with. That's how I'd managed to get by.

I didn't think I could handle things on my own.

"If you're not okay, then—"

I raised my hand to cut Lutz off before he could finish.

"Even if I'm not okay, it's over. Everyone kept saying 'until you go to the Royal Academy,' they kept letting me off because I'd spent two years asleep and was unstable, but really, I should have been separated long before this…"

Lutz's face twisted as if in pain. Benno and Mark lowered their gaze and quietly looked away.

"I understand why we shouldn't be together—I understand that well enough to make me sick—but I don't get it. Why did I sleep for two years? Why am I still not completely recovered even after sleeping for two years? Why did this farewell have to happen so suddenly? Even though they keep telling me I'm ten, I just can't feel that way myself."

Lutz's hand started reaching toward me to comfort me.

Midway, his hand stopped and clenched into a tight fist.

"…Don't cry."

A low, almost groaning voice escaped Lutz's mouth.

When I looked up, Lutz had risen to his feet, teeth clenched, looking down at me with a frustrated expression.

"Stop crying already, Mine!"

The rebuke and the sound of my name "Mine" startled me into momentarily stopping my tears.

"From here on out, no matter how much you cry, I won't be able to comfort you anymore. …So stop crying."

With a pained expression, as though desperately holding something back, he lamented his own helplessness. Then Lutz sat back down.

In the silence that settled over the room, I noticed Eustackius quietly watching me. It was the same scrutinizing gaze the Chief Priest also shared.

Just as I, feeling weak-hearted, was about to avert my eyes and look down, Lutz called out "Hey, Mine" at the same moment. His voice kept me from bowing my head, and I shifted my gaze instead.

"Do you remember the dream you told me about that time, when we were walking to the forest?"

At that question, I remembered trudging toward the forest out of breath, carrying a small backpack on my back to gather firewood and forest bounties. Lutz had set the pace, Turi was there organizing the other children, along with Ralph and Fey. We went to the forest as a group of kids, but because I was slow, I always ended up being the first to set out and the last to arrive.

I think we'd been talking about our dreams when I'd been desperately trying to make clay tablets. Lutz had said he wanted to become a Traveling Merchant. Back then, I didn't know anything about Citizenship, or what a Traveling Merchant's life was like, or how that profession was viewed by others—which meant I'd been all the more carefree and fearless.

"If I remember right, Lutz, you said you wanted to become a Traveling Merchant?"

A faint softening came to my cheeks from nostalgia. Unlike me, lost in wistful memories, Lutz nodded with a serious expression.

"Yeah. I'd always wanted to visit other towns. I wanted to become a Traveling Merchant and leave this town. …Now, thanks to you, my dream came true. As a Gutenberg, I left this town, went to Haase, went to Ilkgner, went to Haldenzel. Haldenzel was too far to reach by carriage, so I passed through lots of towns and villages along the way. I've already been to all sorts of places. I'll keep going. I still need to set up printing workshops."

Lutz rattled off the names of the towns and villages he'd visited, his jade-green eyes fixed directly on me.

"…Do you remember what your dream was?"

At Lutz's question, I blinked several times, searching through my memories.

Back then, there had been no paper, no ink. I'd wanted so desperately to leave words behind, but I had no stamina, no arm strength, not enough height, and no money—a complete litany of "not enough." I'd been desperately trying to create a recording medium. All I wanted was to read. I wanted to read so badly it was unbearable.

"…To live surrounded by books. To have several new books come out each month, to get every single one of them, and to spend my days reading to my heart's content. That's what I…"

…Ah, right. Compared to back then, I'm incredibly blessed now.

Paper was made. Ink was made. Printing presses were built. The foundation for spreading books was laid. Cooperative partners came forward to help make books a profession. There are libraries in both the Temple and the castle, and because of my current status, I can go in and out freely and read to my heart's content. I realized that I'd actually obtained everything I'd ever wished for.

I looked at my own hands, then turned my gaze back to Lutz. He gave a single nod.

"Right now, only a few books are made in Ehrenfest each year, but if we keep expanding the printing workshops, eventually it'll be one book a month, then several books a month. The number of books will keep growing."

"Yeah."

Ehrenfest wasn't the only place—Haldenzel now had a printing workshop too. There were other Giebes who wanted to start printing. If the Gutenbergs moved around and taught others, printing workshops would keep multiplying. That was synonymous with the one thing I wanted most: more books.

"I'll make them multiply. I'll keep making more and more books for you."

"…Why would you go that far for me?"

I'd asked this before, I thought, and Lutz shrugged as though the answer were obvious.

"My dream came true because of you. So I'm going to make your dream come true. I'm going to make tons of books for you and deliver them to you, so stop crying. You just have to smile and wait for them to arrive."

Listening to Lutz's words, I felt less happy and more strangely like something was off.

Lutz, who'd been with me all along, was telling me to just wait. The idea that books would come to me if I waited was certainly wonderful, but coming from Lutz, it somehow didn't sit right. Furrowing my brows, I thought about what felt off, and then it hit me.

"…I'm not cut out for this, am I?"

"Huh?"

Of course it didn't sit right. Up until now, we'd been in this together. Whether making paper and hair ornaments, or rescuing orphans at the Temple, or selling books at the castle—no matter the place or the task, I hadn't just been sitting around idly waiting.

"The things I think of, Lutz makes. If Lutz is going to make books and deliver them to me, then I can't just sit there with my mouth open in a daze. I have to do what I can. A me who does nothing and just waits has no right to read the books Lutz makes."

At my words, Lutz grinned.

Benno narrowed his rust-colored eyes and said, "Ah, that's right. If you've got time to cry, work. Earn. Turn a profit."

"So that Gutenbergs can work happily, and as many books as possible can be made—I'll cooperate, and I'll support you. …Just like I promised Father, I'm going to protect all of you, this entire town included."

"That's right. From now on, the Plantan Workshop and the Gutenbergs will constantly be involved in work with nobles. The only one who can protect us Commoners, who are in a weak position, is you—now that you've become the Lord's adopted daughter."

Encouraged by Mark's words, I nodded in response. Then Lutz stood and placed himself in front of me. He thrust his hand out with a sharp motion.

"It's a promise. Even if we can't meet like this, I'll make books for you. This promise is good forever."

I stood up too and took Lutz's hand. I squeezed his hand, tensed my stomach, and declared: "Even if we can't meet like this, I'll think about what I can do for Lutz and the others. I promise."

Still holding hands, we grinned at each other.

After Lutz and the others said "See you later—keep that promise," they left the hidden room. Gil saw them off as far as the Temple Gate.

With my eyes already swollen, I called out "Bye, Lutz" as I watched them leave the hidden room.

"Eustackius."

"Yes, Princess?"

"Am I smiling right now? Do you think Lutz left without worrying?"

Eustackius gave a quiet nod.

"You are smiling. …However, there is still some time before we return to the castle. Might I suggest using the High Priest's hidden room? If you use this hidden room, the Attendants won't be able to move."

Eustackius explained that a noble lady of high rank must not show her emotions, and so she should use a hidden room to be alone and pull herself together.

"After all, Princess, your hidden room up to now has been your relationship with your own family and the merchants of the lower city."

Eustackius's analogy slid smoothly into place. For me, the lower-city family had been like a hidden room where I could show my true self.

"That's right. The family whose door has now closed, and Lutz and the others—who, once the tent flap is shut, are the kind of bed that gives me a little freedom, or the futon that, when I curl up and sleep, makes me want to try my best the next day…"

…I've lost both my hidden room and my bed.

Where would I go to rest from now on? Perhaps I needed to become stronger—strong enough to sleep rough, like a knight.

As I turned to head back to the High Priest's room, Fran brought over a veil and gently draped it over my head. My face was surely bright red from crying, and this kept it hidden from the others. Fran murmured "Pardon me," then lifted me into his arms.

"I'll leave the cleanup here to Monica and Nicola. I'll be escorting Lady Rozemyne to the High Priest's room."

Fran stepped out of the hidden room, said that to Monica and Nicola, and began walking briskly. I had been about to say "I can walk on my own," but I bit my tongue and leaned lightly against Fran. I realized this was about as far as he could go in indulging me while still not crossing the boundary between master and Attendant.

…He's as hard to read as the Chief Priest, as always.

Dahmuel and Angelica came along as my guard knights, and Eustackius walked beside me. When we reached the High Priest's room, I was set down in front of the hidden door.

"Princess, I will call for you when it's time to return to the castle. Until then, please use the hidden room. This document box—I imagine it holds something important?"

He spoke as though he knew about the family letters tucked among the papers, then handed me a document box that he must have brought along.

"Thank you, Eustackius."

In the hidden room of the High Priest's room, I took out the letters from the box and unfolded them.

They were replies to the letters I'd entrusted to the Plantan Workshop during the sales event at the castle. Everyone had read about how Turi's hair ornament received praise from the Prince, and how I'd taken first place among first-year students at the Royal Academy, and they were showering me with unreserved praise.

"Mine, you really worked hard. It must have been tough, right? Be careful not to let your health slip again—that's the only thing I'm worried about."

"Turi got praised by the Prince, and Mine got first place among the nobles—both our daughters are amazing. I'm so proud as a father."

"More craftspeople are making hair ornaments now, but I'm working hard so I can keep making yours the way you like. I don't want anyone else making them for you."

Just opening the letters made me want to cry.

Once I read them, the tears wouldn't stop.

From now on, if a scribe was always accompanying me, even these small exchanges would become impossible.

"Father, Mother, Turi…"

My hidden room—my relationship with my adoptive father—was now blocked by the door of Contract Magic.

"Benno, Mark, Lutz…"

From now on, there wouldn't even be a futon to cling to and cry on.

"I'll keep my promise, but… stopping the tears might be impossible, Lutz."

It had been Lutz's turn for so long.

Rozemyne walks forward with the promise held close to her heart.

It's a little short today, but I'm ending it at a natural stopping point.

Next time, it's the Chief Priest's turn.