Being at Myne's house always made Lutz feel...warm. And comfortable. And...if he was being completely honest with himself, just a little envious. But he tried to focus on that feeling of warmth when he finally sat up and waved goodbye to Myne.

He held on to that feeling when he strode into their living room, Gunther-san patting him on the back and Tuuli chirping a goodbye to him. When Effa-san winked at him and slipped a slice of bread into his hands. When he made it down the staircase and out the door, the brisk winds biting his skin. When he walked the short, quiet distance to his house and stuffed the slice into his mouth before his brothers could see it, savoring the slight sour twang and the lightness of the bread.

But when he stood in front of his door, that feeling seeped out until it was like all the blood and warmth inside him had drained away.

He opened the door, and noise immediately spilled out. His brothers were yelling. Something about Zasha hogging the sheets at night. His mom was in the kitchen, stirring the pot without looking as she yapped at his brothers. Lutz ignored it, instinctively dodging the shoe that someone had thrown at another brother, and steered towards the table where his dad sat chopping vegetables. He was a silent giant, oblivious to the chaos around him. Lutz sat down in the chair beside him. His dad handed him another knife, and they continued chopping root after root in silence.

His mom swept up the sliced vegetables in her meaty palms and threw them into the pot. Moments later, she set the pot down in the middle of the table with a solid thud . Dinner was served.

Immediately, the brothers clamored to the table, scraping back chairs and thudding down bowls. Lutz stayed in his seat beside his dad, and was grateful when Ralph claimed the stool on the other side of him. At least he wouldn't have to worry about someone shouting in his ears. Although, he was still at risk of Zeke or Zasha sniping his food.

Dinner continued as usual. Messy and loud.

" Mom ," Lutz said hurriedly when his mother stood.

She barely glanced at him as she started to pick up the bowls. "What, Lutz?"

He took a deep breath. "I...want to talk to you. To everyone, actually."

Quiet fell over the table. For once.

It lasted about a heartbeat. Zeke elbowed Zasha and the two leaned over to whisper in each other's ears—loudly, he bet. And rudely. Mom shushed them. Then glanced worriedly back at Lutz, and sat back down again. "What is it, Lutz?"

He took another deep breath. "Mom, Dad… I'm sorry I haven't told you more about what I do at work."

"Talk to fancy nobles, that's what," Zeke teased, and Zasha snickered. Mom shot them a silencing look, then glanced back at him.

"Where's this coming from, Lutz? Is something wrong at your apprenticeship?"

"No, no, that's not it. It's—" He inhaled. "I want you to come to the store with me. See me work."

His dad stood up.

Silence. Dead. Silence.

No one broke it this time. His father didn't always look it, since he was usually crouched over a piece of furniture he was making or slumped at the dinner table, but he was a large man. Taller than Gunther by at least a few inches, and with none of his smile, either.

He bent over but did not crouch to his level when he took Lutz's hands. Just a touch, and Lutz could feel the hard calluses on his fingers scrape against his skin.

"Soft." He spoke quietly, but the word fell harshly from his mouth. Hard.

Lutz swallowed, but his dad had moved onto his hair, threading it between his fingers. "Clean."

He straightened. Looming over him. "Merchants don't know of hard work. Only how to talk pretty."

"That's—THAT'S NOT TRUE!" The words ripped out of his throat.

" Lutz! " his mom cried.

Lutz whipped towards his mom. Her worried eyes.

His father grunted, and Lutz looked back at him. His hands were shaking and he could feel his blood pumping, heating his skin. All the hollowness and coldness he'd felt was blasted away until he was like a raging this how Myne felt when she was angry?

"I know it's a different job than you expected. That you wanted for me," he said, struggling to keep his voice level. Empathize, not demand. "But it's what I want to do, Dad. It's not the same work you and Ralph and Zeke and Zasha do, but I still work just as hard! You four can support each other—but I'm learning this on my own! And I've learned so much , Dad. Being a merchant isn't just about talking to people, or—or making as much money as you can. It's part of it, but not the whole part. I've had to learn math, and writing, and how to speak almost a whole other language to people! And, and—" He was going to say that for once in his life, he didn't have to fight over what was his. But he knew how hard his dad worked to give him anything at all. Appeal to their interests. "I can make my own living, Dad." he said instead. "I can provide for myself, and for my family. This isn't some passing fancy. With or without Myne...or you...I will become a merchant."

Silence.

His father looked at him for a long time. His expression was hard. Unreadable. "Do as you will. You don't need me."

The fire in Lutz sputtered. "Dad… That's not what I—"

But Dad's heavy footsteps were too loud in the suddenly silent house. He slumped back in his chair, like he'd never gotten up.

Lutz looked at his mom. Tried to hide the desperation in his eyes. But by the way her face fell, she saw it, anyways.

She went over to her husband and put a hand on his shoulder. She looked at Lutz. "We'll...we'll come see you work, Lutz. All of us."

Dad made a sound—a scoff—and his brothers immediately whined. But his mother scowled at all of them. "Just because you don't say anything, don't expect me not to, Deid," she said, scowling at her husband. Then looked at Lutz. "Go to bed now, Lutz. It's been a long night."

He couldn't do anything but nod. He trudged silently to the bedroom, resisting the urge to slam the door behind him. Zeke's and Zasha's voices carried into the room as he undressed.

"Do we really have to go?" whined Zasha.

"Yeah, a store's only for lazy bo— OW! What's that for?! "

"Shut up," came Ralph's low voice. "Don't talk about things you don't know."

A laugh crept into Lutz's throat, coming out as a muted puff. He got what he wanted...but why did he still feel so bad?

The next day Lutz worked, he kept glancing at the door, his eyes tracking each customer as they left. The last one seemed to dawdle forever, heaving and hoeing about whether or not to buy one of Myne's hairpins. He tried to hide the tic in his eyebrow. Honestly, if he had that much time to heave and ho, he'd make better use of it.

Finally, the fifth bell rang, and the last customer teetered out. Without Myne's hairpin. No taste.

He kept sweeping, gnawing on his bottom lip. His family should be finishing work by now.

"Stop worrying."

Lutz almost jumped, whipping around to see Benno-san beside him. "Yes, Master." His master wasn't looking at him, though; he was peering down his long nose at the papers on the counter. Lutz swallowed, raising his chin. He'd told Benno-san about his family coming over, and he agreed to welcome them. Getting his family to support him was a "wise investment," as Master said.

Lutz continued dragging the broom across the floor, but after a moment, Benno-san made a sound of annoyance and took it from him. "You're not going to get anything right if you're too wound up. Go count the register."

"Yes, Master."

Lutz tried not to look sullen as he took the money out from the register. He'd just double-checked his work when the doorbell rang. His family filed in. They were in their best clothes, and yet they still looked out of place with the finery around them—especially when they started gawking at it.

But Benno-san immediately swept towards them with his most charming smile and offered them a tour. His dad simply crossed his arms and grunted. Looking embarrassed, his mother said that'd be good. Lutz hurriedly closed the register, and he, Benno-san, and Mark-san walked them through the shop, explaining Lutz's responsibilities.

He tried to convince them how he did more than just clean and talk to people. Benno-san let him show them the paperwork he did, and explained how he could do math and keep balances. His mom showed an interest, but couldn't hide her confusion. Because she'd never had enough money to keep a balance, he thought, too late. Then thought a word that'd earn him a boxed ear if she'd ever heard it. Why didn't he start with something simpler?

His dad... seemed above it all. And Zeke and Zasha just looked bored. Only Ralph elbowing them in the ribs kept them from complaining out loud.

When the tour didn't seem to impress his family, they tried to have his mom "shop" around to give a demonstration of how Lutz would advise a customer. But the whole time he worried that it came off as arrogant, especially when his mom couldn't keep the fine dresses he suggested for her.

Lutz wished he didn't have to keep Myne's workshop a secret. Then he could just bring them to the workshop, and let them see for themselves how much work went into…

Wait…

Lutz barely kept himself from racing to the shelves lined with Myne's hairpins. Snatching one, he brought them over to his family. "Remember these? You guys helped make them."

Zeke and Zasha peered at the hairpin. "Yeah, we made the stick," said Zasha.

"What about 'em?" said Zeke.

"You're right, you two did make the sticks. One medium copper for the sticks. Tuuli and Myne's mom got two for making the flowers."

"They're pretty," his mom said tentatively. "But Myne's the one who came up with the idea. What'd they have to do with you?"

"A lot, actually." The excitement had started to quicken his voice. "Myne invents things, yeah, but she's not the one who builds them or sells them. When all of you make something, it's between you, the craftsman, and the customer. But being a merchant puts you in connection with all sorts of people. It's not about cheating people, or at least it shouldn't be. It's about… It's about..." He struggled, searching for the right words.

"Making everyone around you happier, too," Ralph said. Their brothers gave him odd looks, but Lutz smiled.

"Exactly." He raced over to the counter where the new playing cards were being featured. He passed out the cards to his family. "These are made of paper. It took Myne and I months to figure out how to make paper." He met Ralph's eyes. "Remember when we had to help Myne make those clay slabs after Fey and you stepped on them? That was just one try."

"Even after we made paper, we had to figure out how to produce more, and faster. We went to other craftsmen so they could do the specialized work we couldn't yet. Then we had to sign a contract. I'm still learning about contracts, but I know I have to write my own someday. That's why I've been learning how to read and negotiate with specialists." He looked at Zeke, who was taken aback. "That's also why I was speaking to your master the way I was. I wasn't trying to be rude, but it's my job to get the best products for Myne."

Mark-san inclined his head. "He did an admirable job. He is learning quite quickly."

Zeke flushed, but didn't say anything.

"After we made the paper, we started—" he bit his lip, catching himself. He couldn't tell them about Myne's workshop… but he could tell them his responsibilities... "I was in charge of training other people how to make the paper for us, so we could focus on other projects. We tweaked what we did to make these cards."

He looked at his dad. He hadn't said anything else, and his expression hadn't changed. Lutz swallowed, his throat tight, but he forced the words out. "I promised Myne I'd build whatever she thinks of, but I'm a merchant, too. Not only will I build what she wants, but I'll sell it, too, and make sure she gets everything she deserves. That's what merchants do."

His father stared at him. He didn't speak.

Lutz felt some of his spirit deplete. Benno-san cleared his throat, then began to explain what else he and Myne had sold, drawing extra emphasis to Lutz's role in the inventions. But Lutz couldn't stop glancing at his family, weighing their expressions.

Finally, the tour was done. Benno-san gave them a measured look as he opened the door for them. Lutz couldn't tell if his expression was hopeful or not, but Benno-san managed a smile at him.

The door closed behind him and his family, the little bell chiming. It sounded too happy for the turmoil tearing him up inside. His father started walking. "Deid…" his mother said, grabbing his sleeve.

Dad stopped. He turned around. Lutz swallowed but held his ground as his father stared at him, his body seeming to block out the sun. His expression was unreadable.

Finally, he spoke. "Do as you will. You don't need me."

Lutz sucked in a breath, his head falling to his chest. Tears stung his eyes, even as he tried to blink them away. After all this...after everything, he still—

Mom cuffed Dad over the head. "Use your words, Deid. Don't confuse the child."

Lutz could only stare in surprise. ...What?

He looked up to see his dad shuffle uncomfortably. "What I mean…" he said slowly, his eyes looking anywhere but at him. "You don't need me. To approve. You're...committed. You work hard. That's all you need." He swallowed, then cleared his throat. His mouth was still in a firm line, but his mom...she was laughing.

"That's better," she said. Then with a hefty arm, pulled Lutz's small body to her. "You'll have to get me some of that fabric. Did you see how thick it was?"

He could see Zeke and Zasha gape at him, but Lutz didn't pay them any mind when he smiled. "I think I can do that…"