Previously
The 24th squad receives a reward vacation, and Henrietta heads to the village to send a letter to her aunt using the free military mail service. While waiting out a rainstorm, she is splashed by a passing carriage, which turns out to be carrying Duke Krakow.
Lately, in the capital or more developed cities, plenty of seal shops were adopting sleek sales tactics.
Having an oversized, flamboyant seal engraved with a surname and full given name had once been the exclusive domain of the nobility. But as commoners increasingly relied on seals instead of signatures for contracts, casual designs were catching on.
Novelties like a heart-shaped crystal cut in half to bear lovers’ names sold well, despite their hefty price tags.
Among younger buyers, hybrid designs featuring a built-in fountain pen and charming miniature seals suited to wear as accessories were all the rage. Such pieces were reasonably priced, and better yet, they let people carve original, free-spirited emblems that expressed personal identity rather than family lineage.
“It seems they don’t carry quite as wide a variety out here yet. A fountain pen seal makes a lovely present for a child, though.”
“A fountain pen and a seal serve completely different purposes. Why bundle them together? What if the ink splatters while you turn it upside down to stamp?”
“One just needs to be careful, and isn’t it practical to carry one item when you happen to need both?”
“If someone finds it so difficult to carry a pen and a seal separately… can they even walk on their own? It sounds like they need a priest or a physician, not a fountain pen.”
“I overwhelmingly agree, but it is the trend.”
Henrietta gave an indifferent shrug and turned her attention elsewhere.
“How about this? The monster set.”
Charming seal sets were also popular gifts for children. Parents broke their backs trying to collect every variation—animal sets, carriage sets, five-hero sets, and more. Fortunately, this shop carried no other varieties, only the monster set.
“It strikes me as remarkably fitting for a gift from the Duke who governs the Monster Forest.”
“Hm…. The monsters depicted here aren’t in our forest….”
“Shopkeeper!”
Henrietta cut right across the Division Commander and called out loudly to the owner.
“Yes? Did you find something to your liking?”
“This monster set here—can it be custom-made?”
“Of course. Provide the designs, and we will engrave them exactly as shown.”
“Then we will send the designs later. As for the body, this Magic Stone would be best, after all.”
Magic Stones were remarkably expensive gems. Milky and translucent in an assortment of shades, they seemed to cradle faint vestiges of ancient, lingering sorcery, their interiors shimmering with an aurora-like glow. Whether real magic truly resided within was anyone's guess, but people called them that simply because the northern lights in miniature looked so marvelous. The clearer the aurora within, the rarer the stone became, priced far beyond what ordinary nobles could ever fathom.
The Magic Stones supplied for seal bodies were the lowest of the low tier, yet they still matched quartz in cost, making them excellent for a meaningful keepsake.
“The case would look best in this Rosewood. Ah, and please engrave ‘Krakow Monster Forest’ onto the box. The gentleman here will cover the bill.”
Having picked out the present entirely to her own liking, Private Matyas neatly handed the bill off to the Division Commander standing behind her.
Kalinin felt certain his nephew would adore the gift. In the letters the boy occasionally sent inquiring after his welfare, he invariably showed far more interest in the monsters’ well-being than his uncle’s.
‘Uncle, are you still hunting monsters these days? Please don’t get hurt. And did you catch any new monsters lately? I want to hurry and grow up so I can hunt monsters too. I miss you, dear Uncle.’
That parting note about missing him never made it clear whether the boy missed him or the monsters. Because of that ambiguity, Kalinin had once pulled the claws from a rodent-like monster and mailed them as a present, only to receive a truly chilling letter of threats from his older sister.
A Monster Forest seal set. One of a kind, no less. His nephew was bound to love it. Even Kalinin had momentarily felt a brief urge to keep it for himself.
Kalinin mentally sorted through the monsters to include in the set. The ones that sprang immediately to mind were the Elek, Bubalis, Leproka… Apota, well. Might that be a bit too grotesque?
While Kalinin busied himself narrowing down the beasts, Henrietta was choosing a seal for herself.
What caught her eye in particular was a green Magic Stone seal said to bring fortune and wealth. The body was sculpted into a lush, leafy branch, making it gorgeous purely as an ornament. The price, however—
‘…Out of the question.’
It wasn't merely out of reach; with her meager means, even staring at it felt presumptuous. Yet even knowing it was impossible, she couldn't tear her gaze away, utterly bewitched.
“It is expensive.”
The Division Commander’s voice sounded behind her, snapping her back to reality with crisp certainty.
“I’m just looking. I’ve already settled on this one.”
Henrietta picked out an Olive Wood body carved with petals. It couldn't compare to a Magic Stone, but looking at it up close, she quite liked the glossy grain unique to olive wood.
“Shopkeeper. Please engrave this here.”
Her heart thumped as she handed the shopkeeper a slip of paper bearing her surname.
“You have an eye for quality. Olive Wood is refined and lightweight, making it quite popular among ladies. You must take care when storing it, however. Cracks can form, so please keep it away from excessively dry places.”
“Oh. I see.”
Henrietta made a mental note to keep it out of direct sunlight, but paid the drawback little mind. She was already far too captivated by her very first seal to care. One’s first of anything was always thrilling, precious, and dear.
Just then, another seal caught Henrietta’s buoyant gaze.
“Oh? Please give me this one too.”
It was a mass-produced seal already bearing an inscription, and quite cheap.
“What is that?”
The Division Commander stepped closer to ask.
“Would you hold out your hand? Not your palm—the back of your hand.”
When Kalinin held out his hand in a daze, Henrietta promptly pressed the seal down against the back of it and lifted it away.
“What is this?”
‘Well Done.’
Unable to make sense of the phrase, Kalinin looked at her.
“It’s a gift. I thought you could use it to stamp your praise.”
“No seal serves such a purpose.”
“Please consider it a token of my gratitude. For taking me in and giving me a special promotion. Thank you.”
When Henrietta bowed low with sudden, immaculate deference, the Division Commander’s face hardened.
“If that is the case, I cannot accept it. Accepting a bribe is—”
“Good grief. Fine, then consider it payment for the jellies. Those jellies were expensive.”
“Those were sent by my nephew, and since you helped choose a gift, the debt is more than settled.”
“I’ve already stamped it once, so it can’t be returned. Just keep it. Consider it discarded by me. Since it’s used goods, it hardly counts as a bribe, does it?”
“Anything with an underlying expectation—”
“Excuse me….”
Listening to the two of them, the shopkeeper could no longer bear the frustration and cut in.
“I’ll include it on the house. You have purchased quite a lot, after all.”
“You certainly know how to run a business, Shopkeeper.”
Henrietta pressed the stamp firmly into the Duke’s hand so he could refuse no longer, then asked the shopkeeper:
“How long will it take?”
“It won’t take long. Though you will still have to wait a little while.”
“Then I’ll take care of an errand and return.”
Having felt hungry for some time, Henrietta decided to grab a bite to eat while she waited.
When Henrietta stepped outside, Kalinin followed her out.
Yet the moment they left the shop, Henrietta and Kalinin parted ways. Henrietta had no intention of asking the Duke to join her for a meal, not even out of mere courtesy.
“See you in a bit, my lovely seal.”
Muttering to herself, she strode briskly away alone.
Kalinin stood watching in utter disbelief before stepping into his carriage. Belatedly realizing which way Henrietta had vanished, however, he clicked his tongue.
‘She’s wandered down a dangerous road….’
***
Henrietta was unfamiliar with these streets. During her brief stay at the inn, she had rarely gone outside to save money, and ever since, she had lived exclusively within the military camp, leaving her completely ignorant of the town.
The seal shop was situated along the main avenue, making it easy to find, but perhaps because this was a bustling commercial district, affordable eateries were nowhere in sight. Left with no choice, she turned down an alleyway in search of cheaper food.
Yet she seemed to have taken a wrong turn somewhere. The curious gazes of the onlookers whispering in surprise at the sight of her were gradually curdling into something far more sinister.
Unsettling eyes trailed her persistently. Lingering here felt unsafe.
‘Let’s just head back.’
Just then—
“!”
Without warning, a dark silhouette blocked her path.
“Wh-what is this?”
Flustered, Henrietta took a cautious step backward, only for her back to bump into someone else.
“Ah!”
Smirking figures were already closing in all around her.
Sensing the danger, Henrietta recalled the training she had worked so hard to master, clenched her fists tight, and spoke in what she hoped sounded like a threatening tone.
“Do you have business with me?”