ceui! ✩

“Please don’t worry about it, Lancer… If you had to apologise for everything he did, you’d never stop…” You hold no blame for this, my sweet child.

“...Master, did my Vatti say something wrong–– do I need to apologize on his behalf?” Lancer is  concerned. 

“Oh, of course–let’s go inside.” Wolfram beckons her to follow him around the well and down the side of the church. “It’ll be easier if we go through the kitchen entrance. It’s around the back. Going back to the topic of Herr Laurent, though, I haven’t met him yet. But Vatti talks about him quite fondly and he considers him a close friend.”

They hear sharp thuds as they walk and, before long, a burly man chopping wood comes into view. He swings down his axe with one hand and the two halves fall onto either side where other small piles of firewood rest. Wolfram looks back to Lieselotte and tells her, “He looks big and scary, but he’s very kind.”

“Friedrich, we’ve got company!” Friedrich looks up, chest heaving from his task, and silently raises a hand in greeting. Wolfram smiles and motions his head towards a door found at the side of the church. “The kitchen’s right through there.” He goes through the threshold first and let’s Lieselotte follow close behind.

His grandmother had been upstairs in her chambers for most of the early afternoon–she said she wanted to get some of his clothes mended–but had come down briefly to get an early start on dinner. The stew’s boiling away over the fire and, while his grandmother wasn’t there to watch it, someone else was sitting at the table. Ah, right. He almost forgot.

“I have your apples. Catch,” Wolfram tells the person. He throws one apple towards them and they catch it with ease.

“Finally. Took you long enough to get some.”

Wolfram takes the basket with the warm bread from Lieselotte’s arms and places it on the oven with the hopes that the fire nearby will keep it warm. “Do you know if Vatti’s up and about?”

“He went to bed later than usual from what I heard,” Ansel says, “so safe to say that he might sleep in. Anyway, aren’t you gonna introduce me to her?”

He turns back to his guest. “Sorry, looks I forgot to mention. There’s two of us now–children of my father’s, that is. Ansel, this is Lieselotte Ehrenberg. She works for Frau Holle, who graciously sent Vatti some bread.”

“Nice to meet you,” the other boy greets, politely not commenting on the obvious. “Like he said, my name’s Ansel. The story of how I came to be part of this household is long and complicated, so we ought to save it for another occasion.”

Lieselotte eagerly accompanies Wolfram, humming a tune to herself while doing so. When they see the older man, she can’t help but marvel at the sight. She recalls how at home, before staying with Mother Holle  she’d be the one to do the fire wood. Chopping it had been hard because she lacked the strength, but it slowly grew over time. She waves back to this Friedrich, shoots him a smile then follows him inside.

Upon entering, she couldn’t help but lick her lips after inhaling in the aroma. Mmm! It smelled so good! She didn’t want to be too intrusive, crash in on their dinner - because she planned to leave right after. Then again, she’d only stay if they allowed her to. She hands off the basket to him and makes an attempt to look over his shoulder but decides to just walk around him instead. 

“Nice to meet you too, Herr Ansel!” She grins, then nods in understanding. It surprised her, because, really!? Two sons? Ansel seemed pretty nice too, Herr von Friedhof was so so so lucky to have two well mannered sons! Although, it’s come to her as a surprise the conductor was still working. “Awh, Herr von Friedhof is asleep? Hope he rests well though! Hopefully when I visit next time he’ll be awake!” 

Perhaps she’ll come in the evening then? Their first meeting did happen at night, after all. 

“Hey, sooo you like apples? Maybe I can make some apple pie next time and bring it over! We got a whole lotta talking ripe apples ready to be picked!” Besides! She always wanted to try her hand at making it. “Or anything else apple related, hehe, what about you Herr Wolfram? What are your favorite foods?” 

Ahh, and there it is. He gives a small bow out of polite greeting. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Frau Lieselotte. Oh, I don’t usually make it a habit to be so casual with people I’ve just met, so please allow me some time to work my way to just calling you by name. But calling me ‘Wolfram’ is just fine, too.”

Wolfram walks over to her and gets the apples she’s carrying. Even though Friedrich had regained his original body thanks to a little persuasion and pulling some strings that come with his ‘birthright,’ he’s still so used to carrying something in his arms that it feels a little off when they’re empty. It’s why he had declined on the use of a basket, anyway.

The mention of those two names had surprised him a little. So she had gone back to Frau Holle’s employ, huh? Wolfram was very acquainted with the revenge tragedies of his father’s Seven Princesses. Though the tale had never mentioned her coming into contact with Herr Laurent. Then again, Marchen had said it had been a long time since he last saw the winter spirit.

“My Vatti hasn’t really gotten around to spreading the news very much,” Wolfram replies. It was only his very close associates–Herr Asutsuo Johann Faust and, he believes, Herr Hiruko from Japan–that he had really shared it with. But Wolfram thinks it was due to the nature of their jobs than simply relaying the news to friends. After all, a necromancer and a dream eater sound like they would have come in handy during the time they lacked information on Die Aschenprinz. “So it’s understandable that you didn’t really know about me. But I’m glad to have met you now.”

Now, let’s get back to business. He’s sure that the reason she popped out from the well wasn’t him. “Did you come to see my father?”

Her eyes brighten upon hearing his name, it makes her swell with such a strange feeling! What was this? Nostalgia? Familiarity? Must’ve been because Wolfram looked similar to his father, being so cool..... it must run in his family then!? 

“Heheh, that works for me! Forgive me, I do the same with others too, so... sorry if I take my time with it.” Politeness and etiquette was enforced in her former household, before she met with Mother Holle. She tended to fret if she addressed someone incorrectly, it stressed her out. Lieselotte then hands off the rest of the apples that he was carrying prior, then blinks in surprise. Woahhh, so that must’ve been the reason why! She’s amazed, she didn’t know that Herr von Friedhof had contacts out of the area–– aside from Herr Laurent of course! 

First a son, now contacts out of the area–– Japan? She vaguely recalls Herr Laurent saying he knew someone from there that started with a N and ended with an L. But she doesn’t remember the name too well unfortunately. “The same to you as well, Herr Wolfram! It’s a pleasure~”