To Meet with Myne

「Tuuli, you shouldn’t move that fast. More slowly now.」

「And, as I’ve said many times before, you need to stop looking downwards or it ruins your posture. Do it over.」

With a warning from Corinna-sama in front of me and Benno-san watching from the side, I went back to the door.

How many times have we had to start over?

Today is the day that Corinna-sama is going to teach me about etiquette, and testing if I remember the greetings for the nobility. I haven’t even gotten to the greetings, since I have yet to walk to Corinna-sama, who is playing the role of the noble.

……The end of summer is already approaching……

Myne left us and became Rozemyne at the end of spring, and the star festival in the middle of the summer is already over. And yet, I still haven’t passed etiquette training. The panic in my chest keeps going.

「Tuuli, pay attention when you walk to the door too. Your legs start flailing when you lose focus.」

「Yes!」

I am just going back to the door, but Corinna-sama gives me another warning with her pale gray eyes slightly scary, even though her voice is always the same and gentle. The reddish-brown eyes of Benno-san, who decides whether I pass or fail, are even scarier.

「When you are in a panic because of a mistake, your true form comes out. The best thing you can do is stop to take a deep breath and think.」

「Y-Yes, sir!」

……Deep breath! How was I supposed to take a deep breath again?

As I stood in front of the door, remembering how to take a deep breath, I recalled how we got into our current situation. This is no time for confusion. This is what I asked for.

After Myne’s funeral, I went with Lutz to the Gilberta Company to fulfill the last promise I had made to Myne…… I asked Benno-san to join the Gilberta Company and work in Corinna-sama’s workshop when I switched my ten-year-old dalua contract, and that Corinna-sama would teach me etiquette when she had time. I think I did my best.

……But Corinna-sama is also very busy, so I can only go to her every two weeks or so. It’s taking a long time.

Just like how Lutz had a hard time, I don’t know the common sense and etiquette of a merchant. Benno-san tells me I will not be able to meet with the adopted daughter of the archduke who has become a high bishop. Even though I have not yet signed a dalua contract with the Gilberta Company, Benno-san said that he will be accommodating since Myne wants to be with her family.

……So I’ll need to be able to perform a proper greeting fitting for a Gilberta Company apprentice.

Unlike before, she is accompanied by a guard knight of the nobility at the orphanage. I was told by Benno-san that I would be a suspicious commoner who would not be allowed to approach the adopted daughter of the archduke. Lutz is a member of the Company, which they have known since before the baptism, so there is a big difference between us.

……I want to see Myne.

It’s my fault Myne became a noble. If I had listened to Myne’s words, “Don’t come to the temple because it’s dangerous,” and if I hadn’t gone to the temple that day to welcome her, she might still be at home now.

……I can’t stop thinking about the fact that even if I couldn’t treat her as family, she would have wanted to see our faces. I need to pass this test and give her the hair ornament.

After remembering how to take a deep breath, I look down at my hands. They hold a handbag containing the hair ornament I made for Myne.


I step out from in front of the door as if walking in a straight line. At a steady speed, slower than usual. I take care to keep my posture and my chest out, but not too enthusiastic and not raising my shoulders. I keep my face pointed straight, or slightly raised since I’m younger. I avoid tilting my eyes downward, instead staring at the other person’s nose area.

……I think it’s surprisingly difficult to walk in a straight line without looking at your feet.

Remembering what I was warned about, I walked carefully. Without receiving any warning from the two, I finally arrive in front of Corinna-sama with some challenge. Once I stopped, the next step was to kneel before the nobles.

To kneel means to cross your arms in front of your chest, pull your right leg back slightly, and crouch down with your left leg on your knee. This is a gesture of respect, and nobles also do the same to those of high status. I remember when Fran and Gil did this to Myne in the temple.

……Ugh…… They made it look so easy……

Crossing my arms made my body shake, probably because my balance was offset. It’s hard to get my head down as far as possible without wobbling. The trick for beginners who have just started practicing is to put your right foot a little further back. It will give you a little more stability. Just a little bit. Then, after kneeling, don’t look up until you have permission from the noble’s side.

「Blessed be the gods for this meeting on this good day of the majesty of Leidenschaft, the god of fire.」

After many redos, I was finally able to address Corinna-sama. I couldn’t even read the note Lutz had written for me because of all the difficult words. It was so long so I had to ask Lutz many times before I remembered the greeting. I had only memorized it by sound, so I didn’t really know what the words meant. Lutz told me that it was a summer greeting for nobles we had never met before. I felt faint when he told me that I had to memorize three more greetings because they change depending on the season.

……It’s so long, so why can’t they just have one?

「Hoh, did you manage to remember it?」

「You’re working very hard. I think that’s enough for today. You’d better practice saying it more smoothly before the next time.」

Benno-san sounded impressed, but Corinna-sama gave me a warning. It seemed that I had failed again today. Neither of them said they would take me to Myne. I replied with a disappointed “yes” in a small voice.

「Tuuli, did you finish your new hairpiece?」

「Yes, I did. I tried the new way Myne told me about……」

I took out from my handbag the hair ornament that I just finished yesterday. I tried to make the petals separately and wrap them around the core of the flower using glue. It was much more flower-like than the previous hair ornaments that were wrapped around the core using lace braiding.

「How lovely, would you be able to teach me too?」

「Um… That’s…」

I remembered what Lutz said in the back of my mind.

「The method that Myne sold to the store a year ago is now being used by skilled craftsmen in Corinna-sama’s workshop. Keep the new method that Myne has been teaching you through letters as secret as possible.」

Myne already sold the method of making hair ornaments to the Gilberta Company, so I wondered why we had to keep it a secret. Lutz’s voice was quiet as if he didn’t want to be heard.

「People don’t know about the relationship between you and Myne, so they would think it strange if the Gilberta Company hired a craftsman from downtown who could only make the same hair ornaments that Corinna-sama could make in her workshop. If there is one thing we can do that others can’t, we can be proud of our work in the store. Since we’re born and raised differently, it’s important to have one thing that other people can’t beat us at.」

I can’t even greet people and I don’t know the common sense of a merchant, so I can’t get rid of the reason why Benno-san and Corinna-sama value me so much.

「Can we wait until I get better at making them……? There’s still many things I need to try out.」

I looked away slightly to avoid eye contact with Corinna-sama, who was admiring the new hair ornament that I was still experimenting with. It was very painful to refuse Corinna-sama’s request, who has been so kind to me in many ways.

……But I’m not lying, because unlike before, I’m no longer able to ask Myne questions about things that are hard to understand.

「Makes sense. You can make a few more and let me know when you get used to it.」

The bitter feeling vanished as Corinna-sama smiled at me and gave her approval. With a sigh of relief, I turned my attention to Benno-san, who was inspecting the hair ornament that Corinna-sama had given him.

「How do you like the new hair ornament? It’s more flowery than the last one, isn’t it?」

「……Yes, it’s suitable for an adopted daughter of an archduke.」

Benno-san nodded his head in satisfaction, then looked at me with a difficult expression on his face.

「Can you manage to deliver it with a greeting?」

「Benno-san…… are you saying I passed? Will you take me to the temple?」

I looked up at him expectantly, and Benno-san scratched his head, letting out a heavy sigh.

「You can’t talk to you at all, except to say the greeting.」

「Oh……」

I hastily held my mouth, but the words that came out didn’t come back in. I was so disappointed in my lack of success that Benno-san chuckled.

「For Tuuli, it’s “already been two months”, but for us it’s “only been two months”. It takes years for an ordinary apprentice merchant to learn how to do this, so it’s no wonder she can’t do it perfectly.」

He patted me on the head as if to comfort me.

「I’m worried about the reaction of contract magic and guard knights. Even if we take you with us, you will just stand silently behind Lutz. Do you still want to go?」

「I’m going!」

When I looked up, Benno-san grinned.

「Well, write her a letter, telling her that you’re going to deliver the hair ornament. Then she will send you a summons.」


I hurried home. I made sure that the front door was closed and that no one could hear me before I made my report.

「Dad, Mom, I’ve passed! I passed the test! I’m going to the temple to deliver the hair ornaments!」

「Really? That’s great!」

「We have to thank Lutz too.」

Mom and Dad were as happy as me. Unlike Lutz, who has access to the temple, our family was happy to get a glimpse of Myne at the temple entrance during the Star Festival.

「My speech is not yet good enough for chitchat, so I’m afraid I’ll just have to say hello and see her face……」

「If you’re going to say hello, you should at least be able to hear her voice. Well done, Tuuli.」

Dad pats me on the head and says, “Good job, Tuuli.”

「Do you think I can come with you? I can be your guard knight or something and just stand next to you.」

「Come on, Dad! What are you talking about!? You can’t go if you’re not invited. Besides, didn’t you pass the etiquette exercise? If you mess up anything, they won’t take me there again.」

If it were that easy, I wouldn’t have practiced walking so much. When I got angry, Dad’s lips twitched in frustration.

「I’m now a captain. I have to greet the knights of the nobility. I can do a greeting.」

「That’s a soldier’s greeting, isn’t it? Is it the same as a merchant’s greeting? How can you act as a member of the Gilberta Company?」

「Well, I thought it was a good idea.」

Seeing my father’s frustration at not being able to go to the temple, I took the letter writing set out of the crate, feeling a little better about it.

「We have to write a letter to get a summons from the temple. You guys want to write one too, right?」


As Benno-san told me to, I wrote the letter together with Mom and Dad. A few days later, Lutz delivered the summons to our house, and Mom, holding Kamil in her arms, looked at the wooden slab with delight.

「This is the most exciting summons we’ve ever received from the Temple.」

Myne’s handwritten summons. Accepting the delivery of the hair ornament, and authorizing the presence of the hair ornament maker of the Gilberta Company.

「Tuuli, go check on Myne.」

「Okay.」

I lightly touch Kamil’s cheek, who is waving an unevenly stitched stuffed toy made by Myne.

「Kamil, Kamil, I’m going to see Myne. How lucky, right?」

Kamil, who had been staring at me with a vacant stare, broke into a smile. Myne would definitely get jealous when she heard about how Kamil always smiled at me. I felt a twinge in the back of my nose as I recalled Myne’s desperate struggle to take care of him.

……I’ll have to tell her about how Kamil is playing a lot with the toys she made.

View the latest chapters at seeker142.github.io