Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.01 - Chapter SS2

Myne Awakes 

“Whew. That was heavy...” Kamil said, setting his carrying basket down on the table with a thump. Today was market day, and we had gone to buy meat for winter preparations. I set the things I had bought onto the table as well, then looked at my son, who was now resting on the floor. 

“Time for the next step. Kamil, could you fetch the salt for me?” I asked. We needed to get the base preparations done, since pig-killing day was coming fast. Kamil frowned and grumbled about being tired, but he stood right up and went to the storage room. I chuckled to myself as he went. 

At this rate, he’ll be ready to go by spring. 

Kamil had been begging me to let him go to the forest, most likely because there were so many other kids his age going there for winter preparations, but I feared he didn’t have the stamina to handle the trip, or the strength to make it back with the older kids before the gate closed. Right now, I was testing him by sending him to the market and on errands to the east gate where Gunther worked. 

“Okay!” I took out a somewhat large board, covered it with cloth, and started setting some meat atop it while Kamil came back in with a bag full of salt. The sight reminded me of the time Myne had found the salt much too heavy to carry. She had ended up crying to Tuuli, asking her to help with tearful eyes. Kamil didn’t really look like Myne, but his similarly colored hair and eyes meant I often thought about her when I looked at him. 

Has Myne woken up yet, I wonder...? 

We were currently keeping ourselves going by believing in the letters Lutz occasionally brought to us, which said she was still alive. We had gone quite a while without any updates, until we finally received good news in the middle of autumn. It was around the time Lutz had gotten back from a trip to some distant city. 

“Looks like there are some signs of change popping up. It’ll still be some time before she wakes up, but it’s progress,” he had said. That good news had warmed my heart amid all the business bearing down on me, but then a whole month passed. Before I knew it, the end of autumn was on the horizon. It had been almost two years since the winter Myne was poisoned. 

I hate the winter... The more blizzards keep me stuck inside, the more bad thoughts I have. I can’t believe it’s this time again already... 

I played back the memory of when Lutz had read that terrible letter aloud, and my heart twinged with the same pain that had washed over me when I was told Myne had been poisoned. 

“I just hope she wakes up before winter...” I muttered to myself with a sigh. 

“Huh? Mom? Did you say something?” Kamil asked, looking up at me. I smiled and held out the water jug. 

“It’s nothing. Go wash your hands. We need to start rubbing salt on the meat.” 

“Okay! I’m excited for pig day!” 

Pig-killing day was something of a small festival. All the kids looked forward to it, mostly because we got so much food. Myne had always gotten sick around this time of year, and she would pull a face whenever the occasion was mentioned, but Kamil would immediately gaze up with renewed enthusiasm, even when he had just complained about being tired. 

We bundled up the salted meat, took it to the winter storage closet in our storage room, then started preparing dinner. Gunther was on afternoon duty today, so he wouldn’t be getting back until after the gates closed. 

“Are we steaming the bird with wine?” Kamil asked. “Dad said that’s his favorite.” 

“No, we’re cooking it with herbs this time. The salt needs to rest a day before we can steam the bird with wine,” I replied while preparing the herbs. It was then that someone suddenly started pounding on the front door. No sooner had Kamil and I exchanged worried glances than we heard a familiar voice from the other side. 

“Mom! Kamil! Open the door! It’s me, Tuuli!” 

“What? Tuuli...?” I asked aloud. She usually only came home on Fruitday afternoons or Earthday mornings. On top of that, she had completely mastered the etiquette the Gilberta Company was teaching her, such that she always acted graceful and polite even when at home with us. She never pounded on the door or yelled. 

I opened the door in confusion, and in raced not just Tuuli, but Lutz as well. Given how much they were gasping for air, I could guess they had sprinted all the way up the stairs. 

“What happened, you two?” I asked. “Don’t you have work today?” 

“We do, but Lutz came to see me, and they said I could go home for today. Lutz can tell you why. Haah... I can barely breathe...” Tuuli gasped. 

Kamil rushed over and gave her a cup of water as she rubbed her throat. She gulped it all down before casually wiping her mouth; her usual elegance was absolutely nowhere to be seen. 

“Thanks, Kamil. Give some to Lutz as well.” 

“Okay. Here you go, Lutz.” 

Lutz accepted the cup with a thank-you, gave Kamil’s dark-blue hair a quick tousle, then downed the drink in one go. Kamil responded with a broad smile. He liked Lutz a lot, since Lutz was always the one who brought him new picture books. 

“So, what happened then?” I asked while watching Kamil celebrate. Lutz looked at me with a wide grin. 

“Myne woke up yesterday!” he announced. 

My eyes widened; this was the very news I had been hoping to receive for quite some time now. Tuuli, meanwhile, clapped her hands together in excitement. 

“I knew it was going to happen sooner or later!” she said, but something about the whole situation just didn’t feel real to me. I had been hoping that she would wake up before winter, but not once had I thought it might actually happen. 

Hold on... Maybe I’m asleep, and this is just a dream... 

I couldn’t help my skepticism. I mean, I had already witnessed countless dreams in which Myne woke up—happy dreams where the whole family jumped for joy at Lutz’s message. The fact that Gunther wasn’t back and things weren’t as good as they could have been made it feel more realistic, at least. 

As I wavered between thinking this was a dream and accepting it as reality, Tuuli and Lutz excitedly talked among themselves. 

“Lutz, when are you going to go see Myne?” Tuuli asked, a noticeable glimmer in her blue eyes. 

Lutz rubbed his nose with a proud smile. “I got word from Gil this morning and we had a meeting this afternoon.” 

“Huh? You’ve already seen her, Lutz?! No fair! I thought we all found out together!” Tuuli complained, puffing out her cheeks. Lutz shrugged at her, but there was still an overjoyed smile spread across his face. 

“Hey, it caught me off guard too. Seems like she’s moving to the Noble’s Quarter tomorrow or the day after, and they wanted to have a work meeting before that happened.” 

Lutz met her...? Myne? 

I was still struggling to process their conversation, and for some reason, my heart was pounding harder than ever. It felt like things were gradually snapping into place, and the dream was becoming reality. 

“Was Myne okay?” Tuuli asked. “Remember how we talked about how crazy it would be if she got super tall while she was asleep and came out looking like a totally different person? Did that happen?” 

Lutz laughed and shook his head. “Not at all. She’s better now, but she looks and acts exactly the same. I kinda couldn’t believe how tiny she is, but she certainly seemed to be self-conscious about it. She cried about how she wanted to get tall.” 

Myne cried...? 

Myne had never cried in any of my dreams; she always wore pleasant smiles and waved, apologizing for worrying us but being happy to be healthy again. 

“Oh... Well, Myne’s always been uncomfortable about how tiny she is, and I hate to say this knowing she cried about it, but I’m super relieved to hear she’s the same Myne I remember.” 

I feel the same way... 

I agreed with Tuuli without voicing it. I was very glad that my daughter was the same as I remembered. 

“So, Lutz... Do you think she’ll order a new hair stick?” Tuuli asked. 

“Who knows? But I’ve got plant paper, ink, and new stationery ready. No matter what she needs, I’m prepared.” 

“Act as smug as you want; it doesn’t bother me at all. I mean, I’ve made so many hair sticks for Myne over the past year in preparation for when she wakes up,” Tuuli said, puffing out her chest. Lutz grinned at her, and she smiled back in turn. 

This never happened in any of my dreams... 

My dreams always ended not long after the news came; I would always wake up in the dark and sigh to myself. But now, it was progressing beyond Lutz and Tuuli’s initial celebration, and they started talking about the future—about more practical things. It was then that I finally accepted this was real—that Myne really had woken up—and tears began welling up in my eyes. 

“I’m so glad... This isn’t a dream... Myne really did wake up...” I said aloud. 

“Mom...” 

It had been a long two years... A very, very long two years. Sometimes I had worried that she would never wake up; other times I wondered whether the nobles were just hiding the fact she had died. But my fears were unfounded. Myne had woken up. The strength drained from my body, replaced with joy and relief. 

Thank goodness, Myne... Thank goodness. 

Kamil blinked his golden-brown eyes and looked around at us, confused to see our tears. He then asked a question that pulled me back to my senses like being doused with cold water. 

“Who’s Myne?” 

Tuuli, Lutz, and I all frowned at each other. We hadn’t been talking about Myne much so that our neighbors wouldn’t press for details, and we didn’t really talk about her being asleep since it would always just make us depressed, but the fact that Kamil outright didn’t know who she was blew me away. 

How should we explain this to him...? 

Kamil would turn four when spring came. He was at the age where he would tell people everything he knew, and ask everyone about everything they knew. We couldn’t risk him talking about Myne to the neighbors. I wiped my tears away and started to think things over. I would need to speak to Gunther about what we’d say to him. 

“We can talk about this after dinner, once Gunther gets back. Tuuli, you’re happy to help with dinner, right? Could you and Kamil get the potatoffels and rannyehs from the storage room? Let’s make this fancy, since you’re back. And Lutz, thanks for coming all this way for us.” 

I plucked my purse off the shelf as I walked Lutz to the door. Then, once I had confirmed that Tuuli and Kamil were gone, I slipped a small silver into Lutz’s hand. 

“I’m really sorry about this, but could you go ask Gunther to stay out drinking until the time Kamil usually falls asleep?” I asked. 

Lutz shot an awkward glance at the storage room. “Sorry, Mrs. Effa. I just...” 

“Don’t apologize. I’m very thankful you came to tell us this, and it’s our fault for not thinking about Kamil properly. You can tell Gunther the news.” 

Lutz nodded, then turned around and hurried down the stairs.

“Is Dad not back yet?” Kamil asked. “I hope he gets back soon.” 

“Why don’t we just go ahead and eat now?” Tuuli asked. “I’m starving here, and Dad’s like, super late.” 

“Agreed,” I said. “He’s probably at the bar, and I can’t wait any longer. Let’s start without him. Tuuli, how has work been lately?” 

We finished preparing for dinner while blatantly avoiding talking about Myne, then started eating. Kamil sadly looked over at the door before joining us. He was hungry too, and it wasn’t rare for Gunther to come home late after drinking. 

Once we had finished dinner, Kamil leapt into bed, excited to sleep next to Tuuli for the first time in a while. They chatted for a short while beneath the covers, but it wasn’t long before Kamil was fast asleep. In all honesty, I was relieved that he had fallen asleep before Gunther got back. It probably helped that he was tired from walking to the market, carrying things about, and preparing for pig-killing day. 

At seventh bell, the front door quietly opened. Gunther was back. 

“Welcome home, dear.” 

“I heard it all from Lutz... About Myne and Kamil.” 

Gunther removed his coat and put it aside while Tuuli poured tea for everyone. We picked up our cups, then collectively sighed. 

“As his father, I want to tell him the truth... but how would we even do that?” Gunther asked with a sigh after drinking some tea. 

“I can’t believe Kamil still doesn’t know Myne,” I said. “I want to tell him who she is, since they’re family, but the story is that nobles took her away and she died. Wouldn’t he just get confused if we told him the truth and called it a family secret?” 

“I’m less worried about him being confused and more worried about him telling everyone what he heard without really getting why it’s important,” Tuuli replied, turning her blue eyes to Gunther. “I’m absolutely against telling Kamil the truth; we don’t know what he’ll do. Our best option here is to tell him what everyone else knows.” 

My eyes fell to my cup. Tuuli had a point, but the hardness in her voice made it seem like she really didn’t care about Kamil in this situation. 

“You and Lutz kept secrets when you were just old enough to be baptized, didn’t you?” Gunther asked. “We don’t have to tell him right away. We can wait until after he’s been baptized. He’ll surely understand then. He wouldn’t just tell people our family secrets.” 

Tuuli pursed her lips, then shook her head, rejecting Gunther’s compromise. “No, Dad. Words won’t be enough to explain how dangerous Myne’s situation is, and why we can’t tell people about her no matter what. He won’t ever get it.” 

“Tuuli...?” I asked. She was being strangely obstinate for some reason. Before I knew it, she lowered her head; tears were welling up in her eyes and dripping down onto the table. 

“She told me not to come to the temple because it was dangerous, but I didn’t get it... I didn’t understand...” she sobbed. “I thought I needed to protect her, since she’s my little sister... I thought I was supposed to protect her from danger, and... It’s my fault she’s stuck where she is now...” 

“No, Tuuli...” Gunther said, trying to comfort her. “That wasn’t your fault. How many times have I told you this?” 

He had said it more times than I could remember, but Tuuli never seemed to agree with him. There had been times when it seemed like he had gotten through to her, but in the end, the regret still weighed on her heart. 

Gunther and I glanced at each other, at which point Tuuli wiped away her tears and looked up at us. 

“I just wanted to protect Myne,” she said, “but all I ended up doing was making things worse for her. It was because we were there—because our own actions caused this much damage—that Lutz and I know how important secrets are. Kamil won’t understand. He hasn’t gone through that. And even if we do explain this all to him, how can we be sure he’ll grasp how serious it is? He’s family, but that doesn’t fix the problem.” 

Tuuli’s words had weight to them, but above all else, she was right. She and Lutz hadn’t known to keep secrets just because they were old enough to have been baptized; they knew from experience, keeping secrets whether they liked it or not because they knew they had to. 

“You’re right, Tuuli. Kamil doesn’t have the context or the life experience he needs to understand the situation, so he could put us all in danger,” I said. “And Myne would desperately try to save us, wouldn’t she?” 

Gunther nodded. “Yeah. Myne put her all into protecting Hasse and the gray priests. If anything happened, she’d do everything in her power to try and save us.” 

Myne would try to save us no matter what, even if doing so put her in a bad situation or meant breaking the contract that stopped us from calling each other family. Considering that she wanted to stay connected with us in any way she could, even after becoming a noble to save our lives, it wasn’t hard to see what lengths she would go to. 

“We can’t put Myne in danger when she’d do anything to protect us. We have to wait until Kamil comes of age... No, until Kamil figures things out on his own,” Gunther decided, earning him an agreeing nod from Tuuli. 

“That’s fine with me, but how do we explain Tuuli and Lutz being so overjoyed earlier today?” I asked. 

“It’ll depend on how much Kamil remembers, but we can just frame it as part of the story about Myne getting killed by nobles. Let’s say... Lutz and Tuuli were happy because they found something of Myne’s she left at the Gilberta Company,” Gunther suggested, pulling an old but familiar-looking hair stick out from his pocket. The yellow flowers were rather dirty from being handled so much, and the red flowers were faded. 

“I remember that one... It’s the hair stick I made right after Myne became a noble. I based it on the design Myne described in a letter she wrote and slipped into a book she printed...” Tuuli said, her eyes watering as she poked at the hair stick. It was completely different from the more complex ones she made now, serving as a reminder that she really had gotten a lot better. 

“Lutz got it from Otto. They were keeping it in their workshop to use as an example, but they’ve got so many experts now that they don’t need it anymore. Should be perfect for the whole Kamil situation.” 

“It’s old and dried up now that it’s been used as an example for years. It’s perfect to say Myne used to own it,” Tuuli said, glancing over at the bedroom where Kamil was asleep with a tearful smile. Gunther looked over as well, his eyes just as watery, then I did the same. We were making a big secret in our family, and I couldn’t help but feel terrible. 

“I suppose we can’t talk about Myne anymore, even at home...” I whispered. 

Tuuli spun back around to look at me, her face scrunched up in pain... but after a moment, she nodded too.