The Missing Two (Part 2)

“A noble has adopted Dirk, this was all approved by the High Bishop.”

The High Bishop had the authority to approve an adoption without the notifying the orphanage director or the High Priest as long as the adoptee was a commoner.

“Is the archduke’s permission not required when it comes to noble adoptions? I heard from Sir Damuel that the archduke isn’t around.”

“The High Priest mentioned that the archduke’s approval is not needed if the to-be-parent is a noble from another duchy.”

So there was a loophole in the law. Any adopter from beyond the duchy borders only needed the blood stamps of the High Bishop, the adoptive father and the adoptee. In other words, Dirk had been adopted by a noble from another duchy.

“…This isn’t a good thing, right?”

“No, the High Priest wasn’t happy to hear about it.”

Fran crossed his arms over and frowned, he looked just like the High Priest right now. He looked back up to me.

“Sister Myne, please fire Delia and cut off all contact from her. We all know that you are a very caring person, but this is unforgivable. She acted all on her own without seeking her mistress’s approval and caused so much havoc too. She cannot stay by your side as an attendant. If she wishes to stays with the High Bishop, she needs to be relieved of her duties.”

Delia would continue to stay as my attendant unless I declared her dismissal. Rosina nodded along to say that she found it rude for Delia to approach the High Bishop without a heads up.

This wouldn’t have been that much of a shock if it happened right after Delia became my attendant. Just when I felt that we were finally on great terms, I had been stabbed in the back by Delia.

Why? I couldn’t stop asking myself.

I looked back into my cup of swirling tea before speaking again.

“…Delia will be dismissed. Please have her summoned.”

Fran stopped frowning, it seemed like he was worried that I couldn’t bear to let her go. His arms were still crossed and he replied with a “as you wish,” before making his way out.

I sipped on my tea again after that, but the tea no longer tasted like it did before, it was horribly bitter.

Fran came back with Delia behind. Delia had a rather pleasant expression plastered onto her face, which was a stark contrast to Fran’s gloomy face. She strolled over with light steps as her red hair swished around.

“Good morning, Sister Myne. You called for me?”

She looked just like normal and I could tell that she wasn’t out to get me, in fact she was speaking like nothing had happened that it gave me headache. Her behaviour made me question if she even went to the High Bishop with Dirk. Looking at Fran and Rosina’s stern faces slapped me awake and I shook my head.

“I have been informed about your return to the High Bishop.”

“That’s right,” Delia’s face lit up so much that it made her entire body glow.

“I told the High Bishop that the High Priest was looking for someone to adopt Dirk and had yet to find someone. After hearing about it, the High Bishop found someone right awar! And the adopter is a noble too.That’s amazing, right? Any noble adoptions here take some time to be approved because they have to go through the archduke, so the High Bishop sought someone outside the duchy. He knows so much more people than the High Priest.”

“So you and Dirk can continue staying together?”

I was worried that Dirk would have been taken to the duchy and that maybe Delia would follow along as his caregiver. Despite all that, it was fishy that the High Bishop had sought someone to adopt Dirk in a way that did not need the archduke’s approval. I had a bad feeling about it.

Delia laughed, “Dirk will be under the High BIshop’s care until he is old enough, he’s not an orphan anymore. The High Bishop has bestowed us with a room so that Dirk and I can stay together.”

…Why does that sound off?

Delia said that Dirk would live in the temple until he came of age, but that would mean that he wouldn’t be allowed to study in the Academy or be able to stay with his new family. Then, why did the noble even go out of the way to adopt Dirk? Even if he was adopted for his mana, why was the High Bishop looking after him? Thinking about it got me even more worried, but Delia continued smiling, completely oblivious to my suspicions.

“Now me and Dirk won’t be separated. If Dirk stayed with you, he would have to eventually move into the orphanage.”

Delia struggled with entering the orphanage, so to her, Dirk being there and her living in the director’s chambers felt just like being torn apart. No matter what, even if she got used to being in the orphanage, Dirk would be moved to the boy’s hall after he gets baptised which would make it even harded for them to meet. So how could I bear to chastise Delia when she had gone to such lengths to stay with Dirk?

“I take it that you both aren’t being mistreated, are you?”

“Nope, not at all,” Delia shook her head.

For now, the High Bishop was treating Delia nicely. Since she only saw him as a caring old man she wouldn’t take too kindly to me speaking bad of him. I sucked in my breath.

“Alright then, you are officially dismissed as my attendant. You will have to return to the High Bishop. Are you sure about this?”

“Entirely. Sister Myne, if that is all, I would like to take my leave to see Dirk. His new father should be arriving.”

A bitter taste washed over my mouth when I said the words to relieve Delia of her position as my attendant, but Delia didn’t seem bothered at all. She only seemed concerned about leaving so that she could reunite with Dirk again.

“I apologise for asking you to come here at this time. I would just like you to know how worried Fran and Rosina were when you and Dirk disappeared without notice. Wilma was absolutely shocked and so was Gil when he learned about it after returning from the workshop. Even I was shaken to learn of it this morning. For all of us to discover Dirk’s and your disappearance, we were all worried about the both of you. I would have appreciated it if you had said something before.”

After much deliberation, I finally decided to tell her how I felt, I wanted her to realise the effects of her actions. I could tell that that sent something through Delia, but she tried to smile to cover up her emotions.

“…The High Bishop told me that you wouldn’t let me take Dirk away, that was why I decided to take action by myself. I see my mistakes now. I’m sorry,” she apologised and looked away from me as she tried to push the fault onto the High Bishop. It looks like she wasn’t that oblivious to how problematic her actions were.

“Anyways, I wish you and Dirk all the best. It won’t be easy looking after him by yourself.”

“Thank you. Goodbye, Sister Myne.” Delia gave me a genuine smile before taking her leave. I was happy for her that she was happy now, but I was sure that that joy would be short-lived.

When she left the room, I turned around to Fran and Rosina.

“…Do you think Delia and Dirk will be alright?”

“We cannot do anything for Dirk because he is not an orphan under the temple. This was something Delia decided for him,” Rosina said with a harsh tone.

I nodded back with uncertainty, “…I guess so.”

But I still wanted to help them with what I could. I started brainstorming ways to help them when Fran knelt beside me. He gently took my hand into his and raised his head to look into my eyes.

“Sister Myne, no matter what Delia does or say, you must never agree to meet the High Bishop,” he said. I was confused why he said that, and he continued speaking with a concerned look.

“When I went to call Delia over, the High Bishop kept asking for you to head to his chambers instead. I insisted that it was unheard of for a mistress to leave her chambers to fetch her own attendant. He finally agreed to let Delia go, but seeing him that assenting was quite unnerving.”

The High Bishop had previously ordered that I was never to set foot into his chambers ever, and he always ignored me. However he was now telling Fran that I should go to him and that I had to meet Delia in his chambers. That sudden change in his attitude towards me concerned Fran, and I agreed that it was strange too.

“And it turns out that the High Bishop knows the noble who tried to enter the east gate a few days ago, and he was the one who gave him the letter of introduction too. His name was on the letter and the knights questioned him about it. He brushed it off by saying that it was to strengthen diplomatic relations between the duchies, but the High Priest suspects that he wanted to grant the noble entry into the city so that Dirk could be taken.”

“Why did the High Bishop invite the noble into the city without seeking the archduke’s approval first?”

“It would seem that he had not been informed of it,” Fran replied.

I blinked in confused and he spoke again with a disturbed look.

“The High Bishop spends his winter in the temple for the rituals and he doesn’t get invited to the social gatherings because of he isn’t seen as a full-fledged noble. He was completely aware of the new rules implemented.

The High Bishop was not exactly a noble so he wasn’t invited to social gatherings for nobles, which the archduke had announced the new changes to the system. That explained why he had invited an outsider noble.

“It isn’t clear why the High Bishop had allowed an outsider noble to adopt Dirk and called for Delia to return. Please be more careful from now on,” Fran said and I felt his hands tremble. He was probably worried for me.

I squeezed his hands firmly and nodded.