“Um, Dad. Can I hold Kamil?”
“Yeah.” Dad undid the sling, needing Mom’s help to do so since he could barely move his arm, then held Kamil out to me.
I held him properly, having finally learned how to, and his eyes opened the moment I peered at his face. Kamil’s sweet baby scent caught my nose as I rubbed my cheek against his; I inhaled deeply, then gave his cute forehead a kiss. “I don’t think you’ll remember me, but I’ll make lots of picture books for you. Be sure to read them all for me, okay?”
I handed Kamil back to Mom before he could start crying. After a moment of hesitation, she made a small cut on his finger, then stamped it against his name as he started crying in pain.
Mom left while consoling Kamil, leaving me with Dad. He hugged me using just his right arm since the burns on his left stopped him from being able to move it much.
“Dad, is your arm okay? It hurts, doesn’t it? I’m sorry... You got hurt because of me.”
“No. I’m your father, but I wasn’t strong enough... I couldn’t protect you. I’m sorry, Myne,” Dad forced out in a low voice, his face twisted with regret and tears trickling down his cheeks. As I felt his arm tighten around me, I shook my head over and over.
“No, Dad, you’ve protected me my whole life. If I ever get married, I hope it’ll be to someone strong who can protect me just like you have.”
Hearing that, Dad furrowed his brow and shook his head, now wearing a tearful grin. “Myne, if whoever you marry can’t protect you, I’ll come beat him up myself.”
“Uh huh. I know you’ll always be there for me, Dad.” I hugged him tighter, and Dad buried his face in my shoulder.
“Yeah... I’ve always wanted to hear a daughter of mine say that, but now that I have and now that you’re going to leave, it hurts more than anything.”
Dad had protected me and raised me my whole life, and I couldn’t stop crying. “My name’s going to change, and I can’t call you ‘Dad’ anymore, but... I’ll always be your daughter. I’ll protect this city, and you, and everyone. I will.”
“Myne.” Dad squeezed me tighter, and I couldn’t stop the explosion of emotions inside of me. The ring the High Priest had lent me started shining as my mana poured into it.
“What?!”
“Myne!”
Dad stepped back in surprise, looking between my shining ring and the three nobles who had all stood up with their shining wands in hand.
“Myne, contain yourself!”
“No. My mana is overflowing because of my love for my family, so I have to use it for their sake,” I murmured. The ring shone brighter, and my lips started chanting a prayer almost on their own.
“O mighty King and Queen of the endless skies, ye mighty God of Darkness and Goddess of Light; O mighty Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm, ye mighty Goddess of Water Flutrane, God of Fire Leidenschaft, Goddess of Wind Schutzaria, Goddess of Earth Geduldh, God of Life Ewigeliebe; I ask that ye hear my prayers and grant thy blessings.”
I gradually spread my arms, and a faint, fluttering yellow light gleamed from inside the ring as I spoke the name of each god. I looked at the light of my mana and continued my prayer, all so that my family could be blessed as much as possible once I was gone.
“I offer thee my heart, my prayers, my gratitude, and ask for thy holy protection. Grant those I love the power to strive toward their goals, the power to deflect malice, the power to heal their pain, and the power to endure trials and tribulations.”
A gentle yellow light filled the room, then started to trickle down from above like shining snowflakes. The light didn’t just land on my family; I could see some of it flying out of the room, as if going toward the other people who were precious to me.
“The burns are gone...” Dad said, running a hand along his now-unscathed left arm.
“That’s the healing power of Flutrane.”
“Myne, I’m proud to have a daughter like you. Use the powers you’ve been gifted right, and protect this city.”
“I won’t use them to do anything you’d get mad about. I promise.”
After bumping his fist against mine, Dad turned to the contract paper and signed it, his hand shaking as he did so. He then cut his finger using a knife and stamped it against the contract, before lowering his head and gritting his teeth.
I took the pen in hand and looked at my family one by one. Tuuli was looking at me with bright red eyes; Kamil was no longer crying, perhaps due to my blessing having healed his cut; Mom was crying quietly, hugging Kamil to her chest while she watched me; and finally, Dad was standing next to me, his head lowered and a hand covering his eyes.
“Dad, Mom, Tuuli, Kamil. I love you all.”
In front of me were two contracts: one to stop me from referring to my family as family, and one to change my name from “Myne” to “Rozemyne.” I clenched my teeth and signed both in quick succession, then held out my palm to Dad. Crying, but resolved, he made a slight cut on my finger for me, and I stamped the blood that puckered up onto both contracts. In an instant, they both burst into golden flames and disappeared, along with everybody’s signatures.
“The contracts are sealed. Before us stands Rozemyne, the daughter of an archnoble,” Sylvester said as my family jolted in surprise at the sudden flames. They looked down at the floor, then knelt.
“We will take our leave, then.”
“Please take care of yourself, milady.”
“...Farewell.”
Now that I was the daughter of an archnoble, we could no longer act
