Would You Like to Receive a Guest?
Clang, clang, clang, clang.
Ah, that cheerful sound.
Today, once again, I was alone in the forge, swinging my hammer.
Lately my adoptive father had been away from home more often than not. This time he really was busy. With the atmosphere up north growing more and more unsettled, the city seemed to be calling up blacksmiths in droves. Talk of war was already thick among the customers; the only question left was whether the fighting would reach our city or not.
Whatever the case.
Clang, clang, clang, clang.
Thanks to that, I got to enjoy the forge all by myself—a definite win. And the scoldings from my adoptive father had dropped off sharply too. Another win.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Hic!”
But receiving customers was still entirely my job.
“C-come in…”
So once again I forced out a shy little voice to welcome the day’s guest.
“Oh my? There’s a child here?”
And the person who opened the door was…
“I was under the impression this forge was run by a middle-aged gentleman?”
A blonde woman dressed in the robes of a holy maiden.
“……”
Her half-lidded eyes, whose focus was impossible to pin down, swept the surroundings for a moment.
“Is the adult not present yet?”
“(Nod.)”
“Hmm… Will I have to wait long for him to return?”
“(Nod-nod.)”
“In that case I really ought to hurry back—I am rather pressed for time… yet…”
The half-lidded holy maiden fixed her gaze on me. Her right eye opened the tiniest fraction and flicked a glance downward. I shrank into myself and did my best to avoid those eyes.
“Little sister?”
“…Y-yes?”
“It would seem the people who work this forge are not limited to adults alone.”
“……”
“Might the little sister also know how to handle the forge’s work?”
“…(Nod-nod.)”
“Oh my. With those small, delicate hands…”
Stroke, stroke.
Her hand brushed over my hair. Soft. But a little scary.
“Little sister… then might you be able to repair this item for me?”
A moment later she set something down in front of me: a small brooch engraved with the church’s emblem.
“It is a brooch I treasure, and it has broken—most inconvenient.”
Only then did I notice she had been clutching the front of her robes with one hand the entire time.
“I am worried my clothes will slip. Could you fix it for me?”
“(Nod-nod.)”
“Ah, how fortunate. This too must be His grace.”
“……”
“A pleasure to meet you.”
With the hand that was not holding her clothes she offered the brooch together with a greeting.
“I am Marian.”
“T-Tina…”
I carefully accepted the broken brooch.
“Oh my. What an adorable name.”
“……”
“Little sister, do you happen to know what sort of person I am?”
“…A-a holy maiden?”
“Oh my?”
I had answered without thinking, and both of her half-lidded eyes snapped open to glare at me.
“Holy maiden? That is not a word one uses.”
“Hic.”
“One does not use the filthy language of those cathedral dogs. A holy maiden, of all things? Then would a male cleric be called a holy man? That is the title of His great Son—who is also Himself.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
Suddenly the soft-spoken woman was pouring out a passionate lecture.
“Not holy maiden—cleric. For men and women alike. All are equal before God.”
…Cleric, then.
“Have you understood properly?”
“(Nod-nod-nod-nod-nod.)”
Still terrified of meeting those half-open eyes, I whipped my head around and focused on the brooch.
“But it is fine that you know now. This too must be His grace.”
I forced my concentration onto the brooch. The decorative face and the pin had come apart. A simple soldering job should put them back together.
“Can you fix it?”
“Hic?! (Nod-nod-nod.)”
Marian had somehow sidled right up beside me; I jumped and nodded furiously.
Ah… I’ve never actually soldered before…
Rumble.
Whoosh.
I worked the bellows and built the fire high. Heated the soldering iron and the solder. Secured the brooch. Set the pin against the body and held it steady.
“……”
I could feel a scorching gaze on my back. I swallowed hard.
Sizzle.
I carefully dripped the molten solder onto the brooch. The beaded metal liquid began to harden at once.
Tap, tap, tap.
I tapped the brooch with a small hammer. The rounded solder flattened and filled the gap between brooch and pin.
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
I filed away the protruding bits of hardened solder. A short while later I turned the neatly joined brooch this way and that, checking my work.
“Oh my? How impressive.”
Marian’s admiring voice reached me. But I wasn’t finished yet.
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
I polished the brooch with an oil-soaked cloth. Moments later a gleaming brooch rested in my palm.
“Good heavens. It looks brand-new.”
Marian took the brooch and fastened her robes with it.
“This too must be His grace.”
Thud.
“Hic?!”
Just as I was relaxing because the job was done, Marian suddenly seized both of my shoulders with iron strength. I thrashed in panic, but the holy maiden’s grip was terrifyingly powerful.
“Let us pray.”
“……”
“Little sister? Look me in the eyes, please?”
“Ugh?!”
“If you do not meet my eyes, we cannot finish.”
“Eek…”
“Are you a demon, sister?”
“(Shake-shake-shake-shake-shake.)”
“Then look me in the eyes.”
“……”
I barely managed to turn my gaze. Half-open golden irises stared straight into mine.
“O Father and Sovereign of all who permeates the world…”
Marian recited something that sounded like a prayer, then:
“That too is the grace of the One…”
At last she released me.
“Heh heh. A delightful meeting, Tina. This too must be His grace.”
With that, Marian’s eyes returned to their usual slits. She set down some coins, waved, and vanished from the forge.
“Haa…”
I let out a long breath, feeling as though my soul had been drained—
Knock, knock, knock.
“Eek?!”
—only to jump out of my skin at another knock on the door.
“It’s been a while.”
But when I saw the face that entered next, I breathed a small sigh of relief.
“Ah…”
It was the female adventurer Helen. Yes—this person had helped me in various ways, so I could relax a little.
“Oh?”
“Mm… sorry. My sword’s taken quite a beating…”
What on earth had she been doing to turn the sword I had so carefully repaired into a rag?
“Uuu…”
“C-could I ask you again?”
Had she gone and slain a dragon or something? I had used expensive materials from the general store last time; I thought it would last at least a year…
“Uuu…”
The moment she saw the sword, Tina puffed her cheeks out in pure fury and glared at Freya.
C-cute…
Yet Freya could not hide her smile as Tina pouted and thumped tiny fists against her own chest in a fit of pique.
“I’m sorry. I’ll pay you properly, so could you stop hitting me?”
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.
After a long stretch of silent sulking, Tina finally snatched up the tattered sword and stomped into the forge. Freya watched her go with a fond smile.
If only I could take her with me soon…
Could Freya truly become the Northern Grand Duchess? It would not be easy. But could she at least save her own life and secure safety? That much seemed possible. And once everything settled, even a bastard child might be guaranteed protection. When that day came, she would bring Tina north.
Freya made the decision then and there.
Clack.
“Hmm? A customer?”
Of course, there was still another wall she had to climb first…
“Ah, the master of the forge.”
“Mm… come on in.”
Tina’s adoptive father—whose reputation around town was not bad, according to the “information” Freya had gathered. A father who treated even a non-blood daughter well. A blacksmith whose customer service was decent enough.
“Hmm…”
But the way he eyed Freya’s shabby appearance the instant he walked in made her distrust the man. Especially after seeing Tina crying the last time.
“Pardon me.”
“Need something?”
“Ah, as for forge work, your daughter is already handling my item.”
“Huh? That brat—I told her not to take customers when I’m gone…”
“…Separately from that, I have something to say about your daughter.”
So Freya decided to test what sort of man he really was.
“Huh?”
She drew a heavy coin pouch from her coat. Hatis’s eyes changed in an instant.
“W-what business might you have?”
His manner turned abruptly polite.
“Actually…”
Freya stepped close and whispered.
“I am the hand of a certain lord in the Empire.”
“I-is that so?”
“Our lord visited this forge some time ago and took a great liking to your daughter. To her blacksmithing skill, of course.”
“Ah, i-is that right?”
“Even now I see she has inherited fine handiwork from her father.”
“Ah. Yes. Hahaha, y-you’re making me blush.”
“Which brings me to the point. Our lord wishes to have that handiwork for himself…”
“What? Tina to the lord, then…?”
“Ah, not buying her with money. Simply that our lord will take good care of her. Naturally we will offer a generous token of gratitude so you are not left bored.”
Freya jiggled the coin pouch and watched Hatis’s reaction carefully.
“That is…”
And then—
“What wonderful news, haha.”
Hatis could not hide the smile blooming across his face. At the offer to buy his own daughter for money…
“……”
Freya’s expression went ice-cold. Instinctively her hand moved toward her sword—only the sword was currently being repaired.
“Then let me make one request.”
Freya was a woman who knew how to restrain her instincts.
“W-what is it?”
“Our lord prefers things clean.”
“Clean?”
“Yes. Body and heart, perfectly clean… Ah, of course I do not mean she should stop blacksmithing. Watching the child enjoy her work, I realized that is what keeps her heart clean.”
“Ah.”
“Therefore.”
Forcing a smile, Freya held out the coin pouch to Hatis.
“Do not scold the child. Treat her well.”
“Ah, yes-yes.”
“Our lord is a particular man. If even the slightest mark appears on Tina…”
“Yes-yes! Absolutely! I will never, ever pressure the child. I never have. I raise that girl as if she came straight from heaven, haha.”
“……”
And so Freya constructed a solid defense to protect Tina from Hatis.
“You never cease to amaze me. Repairing that sword like this…”
With that, Freya left the forge carrying a blade that looked brand-new once more.
“You went to see that child again.”
“I did.”
“My lady. Please look at this letter.”
“This is…?”
“Yes.”
Freya believed that for at least a year—yes, a year—the safety of the bastard child Tina would be secure.
“The First Prince Kilian requests an audience.”
But.
“My little sister.”
That had been Freya’s complacent delusion.
“Have you been enjoying your meetings with the bastard?”
“……”
“Did you truly think I would not know of your lie—that you failed to find the bastard?”
“How much do you know…?”
“That child staying at the forge—I can kill her with a single gesture.”
The secret she had believed thoroughly hidden had already been easily seen through by her eldest brother Kilian, unlike the second.
“So if you wish to keep that bastard and your retainers alive, you will obey me.”
