Ascendance of a Bookworm

Volume 6 Chapter 12: The Temple Stay had been Extended (Part 2)

Three days after Lutz gave the letter, my parents came to the waiting room by the temple gates. It was the first time I had seen my mum in a while. Her familiar smile and big belly (it was so big that she might go into labour any moment now) welled up feelings of joy in me.

“Mum…”

“Sister Myne, you are not in your chambers. I know how you are feeling, but please remember your current situation.”

Fran gently held me back with a guilty expression. Mom drew her hand back, and Dad soothed her by wrapping an arm over her shoulders.

“Please follow me.”

Fran walked in front of us and I followed close behind. Damuel was beside me, with my parents trailing behind.

When a hand gently caressed my hair (a hand that was gentler than Dad), I fought the urge to turn around and continued walking. I couldn’t stop grinning.

When I tried to turn around, the hand squeezed me as if telling me to look forward. I found it hilarious that the hand kept retreating back whenever Fran looked back. The gentle hand would occasionally swap out for a larger one. This was how our silent interaction went until we reached the High Priest’s chambers.

“Good morning, High Priest,” Mum greeted…

“You called for us, sire?” Dad saluted the High Priest.

The High Priest nodded back and gestured them to their seats. One side of the table was a bench, and there were two chairs across it. Noting our statuses right now, my parents would sit on the bench, me and the High Priest would take the chairs. My mum had some difficulty sitting on the bench because of her belly, so Dad offered her a hand as they sat down together.

“The rest of you, please take your leave.”

Once his attendant had poured us tea, the High Priest had everyone else leave the room. He also soundproofed the area around the table with a magic tool.

Dad got a shock and looked around. “What the…?”

“This is to soundproof our voices to the outside. Since it’s just us, Myne, you may go to your parents. I’m sure you must have tried your best to hold back the entire time.

The High Priest gently nudged me towards my parents after explaining the purpose of the magic barrier. I had been standing the entire time because I was unsure where I should have sat…

“Thank you so much, High Priest.” I smiled and thanked him

I jumped into the seat between my parents, and looked at them before giving Mum a big.

“It’s nice seeing you again, Mum. I missed you so much. Seems like the baby is going to pop out any time now!”

“Not yet. The baby still has to get a little bigger,” Mom said while hugging me.

I rubbed her belly and sighed in content…

“…I see that you have been satisfied. Shall I start?”

“Yes, please.” I sat up and looked across the table at the High Priest.

“Very well. We’ll skip the bothersome introductions and jump straight in”

Because of his time with me, the High Priest had that there was no point in doing the usual noble greetings with commoners, so he didn’t do all the long greetings he did with Karstedt.

“Myne will stay in the temple until the end of Spring Prayer.”

“Wait a second. Why? We only agreed that she would stay till winter ended” Dad tilted forward with his breath caught in his throat.

The High Priest gave him a cold glance and kept an indifferent look. “She is in greater danger than she had ever been.”

That short response was enough to tell Dad that things were getting beyond him. He lowered his gaze and used his other hand to grasp his fist.

“Danger?”

“Myne has more mana than we could have ever imagined. This mana is vital to the city because of the shortage we are facing. As such, some nobles want her, while others wish for her demise.

He said that nobles had set their sights on me for a variety of reasons. I could feel Mom and Dad’s hands shaking on my back, and watched the colour drain from their faces.

“The worst that could happen is Myne getting kidnapped and taken away from the city. As a result, several adjustments to the regulations nobles need to undergo when entering the city have been made. As a soldier at the gates, I’m sure you’re aware of this, Gunther.”

Dad’s eyes widened at the current topic of the conversation, but he did his best to stay calm. “Yes… I am aware. For the nobles to enter, the Knight’s Order has implemented some rules.”

“Yes, because if Myne were to be kidnapped, it would most certainly be by a noble. We will not know if it will be a noble from this duchy or another, so we had to get the Knights Order involved and urged the archduke to limit nobles’ access to the city.”

Karstedt and the High Priest appeared to have been working hard behind the scenes.

“All of these have been done for Myne?” Dad was dumbfounded.

“Of course there are other reasons, but one of them was for Myne’s safety. I will not speak of anything else other than this. This reason should be enough for you, I hope.”

Dad nodded as he loosened up a little.

“When Spring Prayer comes, nobles with ruling territory will return to their lands. With fewer nobiles in the city, keeping tabs on them will be an easier task. I respectfully suggest that you live separately until then. All of this is to keep Myne safe.”

The High Priest’s word had a calm but definitive power to it. It was reasonable to say he was a natural leader. After all, he was once the Knight’s Order’s commander.

Dad’s soldier instincts clicked in and he saluted.

“Thank you for all of your hard work. But why are you doing this for Myne…?”

“Did I not emphasize how valuable her mana is? She must be protected at all costs. The High Priest sighed in irritation, “We would not have gone to such exhausting lengths if she just agreed to be adopted.”

“Adoption?!” yelled Dad who had his eyes stretched all the way. My mother strengthened her grip on my hand.

“What do you say to this, Gunther, will you approve of Myne’s adoption?”

Dad’s teeth were grinding together and Mum gripped on tighter that my hand started to hurt, it felt as though she was saying she will never let me go again. They said nothing, but their answer was clear as day.

“Like parents like daughter…” The High Priest tapped his head with his finger and spoke to himself “To hope that her parents would give in… ” before looking back up at us.

Myne shared the same sentiments too, no matter what she refused to leave her family. We agreed that we could wait till she turns ten. She has way more mana than what was expected from a commoner with Devouring. Hence a noble will adopt her when she turns ten. This is absolute. “

“What…?!”

My parents froze, as though they had been shot. They had no say, they were basically told that no matter what they said, the adoption would still go through. They seemed unsure how they should react to the High Priest’s actions, he was obviously trying to protect me, but at the same time he was breaking us apart.

“A person who cannot control their mana will only pose a threat to themselves and everyone else. If they are seen as a threat to the city’s peace and well-being, execution is imminent.”

“Execution?!”

“The protectors of the city must eliminate those who pose a danger to others. As a soldier, I think you would know that better.”

Dad struggled to imagine that his daughter was that dangerous, he looked dazed and Mum just gripped my hand tighter that it started to hurt. The High Priest continued to look at them with an indifferent expression, making his emotions untellable, he resumed his vague explanation of the situation.

“The only way to avoid her execution is for her to gain control of her own mana. Thereby the adoption is needed. She may continue to live with you until she is ten, but by then she will have to leave for the Royal Academy. There will be no negotiations then. Adoption or execution. The decision lies in your hands

“Ten years old…” Dad muttered the deadline with despair, we would only have two years tops left together.

A soft sigh escaped from the High Priest’s mouth. “A respectable noble will adopt Myne, he is someone who I have placed my utmost faith and confidence in. He will not mistreat her. I assure you.”

My mother’s head sprang up as soon as he said that. She nodded while giving a firm look into the High Priest in the eyes.

“Understood. Please look after Myne for us.”

“Effa?!” Dad exclaimed in shock. But Mom ignored him and kept her stare onto the High Priest.

“When I came to know of Myne’s stay in the temple for the winter, I was worried that her poort health would have made it difficult for her. Yet Tuuli has informed me that Myne was fine due to everyone’s care and guidance. I strongly believe that that was thanks to your hardwork, High Priest.”

She was aware that I made it through the winter without being sick in bed the entire time because everyone had properly cared for me the entire time.

“Effa, you… It’s not like I don’t understand the circumstances, but adoption is—”

Dad wanted to make another point, but he quickly shut up when Mum raised her hand towards him. I saw her look downwards before shaking her head slowly…

“Enough, Gunther. Please reconsider this. Remember that many children will move out from home when they reach ten years of age to become an Ieherl? There is no way I will let Myne get executed for being dangerous. If a noble who doesn’t know her well kidnaps her, I can’t imagine the danger she would be in. The High Priest has treated Myne well. If we had to give her up, at least be someone I can trust.”

Mum turned back to the High Priest and hugged herself.

“High Priest, look after Myne for us, please.”

Dad stopped resisting with Mum’s words. His back dropped in despair, after a while he straightened up to salute by tapping his right hand against his left chest twice. My parents had given their approval for my adoption when I turned ten.

“I don’t want to be ten…”

I knew that whatever had just unfolded was for my sake, but I still felt an unbearable amount of despair stab into my heart. I hugged Mum as long as possible, wishing that the warmth would wipe off the depressing feelings that overwhelmed me.