HORS-RANG

Page 1

2:47 A.M.

Tokyo.

Page 2

Kanzaki Ren. 34. Systems engineer.

Third night in a row.

If Tachibana's module isn't fixed by nine, the clinic's booking system goes down.

Just this one... then I'll sleep.

Page 3

Three days earlier.

Tachibana Ren-san, I'm begging you! It's my daughter's birthday on Friday...

Tachibana The module's almost done! I just need someone to check it!

Ren Go. Be with her.

Ren I'll handle it.

Tachibana You're the best, Ren-san!

"Almost done."

He hadn't written a single line.

Page 4

Mori Kanzaki-san, the Monday slides... you're SO good at this!

Ren Leave them on my desk.

Hamada Ren-chan, you'll ruin your back for an old woman!

Ren Then we'll ruin it together, Hamada-san.

Hamada Thank you, dear.

I never learned to say no.

Being needed felt close enough to being loved.

Page 5

Kuroda ...and THIS is the system that saved the Sakura Clinic contract!

Kuroda Brilliant work, Tachibana!

Tachibana I just did my best!

Eight months of my nights.

It didn't matter. The clinic's system worked. That was what counted.

Page 6

Kuroda Your annual evaluation, Kanzaki.

Kuroda You're reliable, Kanzaki. Like a good screwdriver.

Kuroda Nobody promotes a screwdriver.

Ren ...I understand.

C. A letter on a sheet of paper.

Funny how much it weighed.

Page 7

That Friday, I bought a present for his daughter.

Tachibana Birthday? I don't even HAVE a kid! Ha ha!

Mori You're terrible!

Tachibana Just say "please" and Kanzaki does anything. He's free labour!

Page 8

2:47 A.M. Again.

...If I stop now, the clinic opens at nine with no booking system.

The patients didn't do anything wrong.

Kuroda Kanzaki. Your name is on the last commit.

Kuroda If it fails at nine, it's on YOU.

Ren ...Understood.

Page 9

Ren Done...

Ren The clinic will open on time.

Page 10

Ren My chest... I can't... breathe...

Page 11

Ren Somebody...

The floor was empty.

It always was.

Even now... I'm still waiting for someone to say it...

...thank you.

Page 12

Hamada REN-CHAN!!

Kuroda ...Did the deployment go through?

Hamada You foolish, kind boy... who will carry my bags now...

Page 13

I helped everyone.

And not one of them ever really saw me.

If there's another life after this...

I'll still help people. That's who I am.

But I will never again let anyone use me like a tool.

Page 14

Then — light.

A different ceiling. A different world.

Page 16

Seven days later.

He hasn't cried once since the first night.

Not once? How strange...

...Hands?

Those are... mine?

Don't tell me... I'm a BABY?!

Page 17

He watches everything. Just like Aymard did.

Aymard? ...A brother?

Éléonore Our seventh, Armand. Our last.

Armand Then let him be the best of them.

Those two... must be my parents.

My NEW parents.

Page 18

That first morning, I learned two things.

One: this house was rich. Very, very rich.

Two: I understood every word they said...

...in a language I had never heard in my life.

And on every wall, the same symbol. An Eye.

Everything else...

...I was about to learn the hard way.

Page 19

Dorian Shhh! He's sleeping!

Thaïs He's so SMALL!

Isaline Can he do magic yet?

Dorian Babies can't do anything, Isaline.

Aymard Out. All of you.

Dorian Mother said no one bothers him before the Revelation.

Page 20

Thaïs Look, baby! Fire!

Roseline LADY THAÏS! NOT NEAR THE BLANKETS!

Did that girl just... make FIRE?

Clémence Children. Out. NOW.

Page 21

Clémence Father Ambroise arrives at the tenth bell. The Revelation waits for no one.

Roseline His very first Revelation... I'm so nervous for him.

Clémence Nervous? Six children, six great gifts. He's a Vauclerc.

Revelation? Rank?

...What are they talking about?

Page 22

Roseline Today the Church reads the gift the gods gave you, little master.

Roseline Everyone gets one!

Roseline ...Even me.

Clémence Roseline.

Roseline Hehe... mine's nothing special, though.

A gift... from the gods?

Page 23

The tenth bell.

Armand Father Ambroise. House Vauclerc is honoured.

The honour is the Eye's, Lord Vauclerc.

Page 24

Father Ambroise As custom requires, I read the register of the house before every Revelation.

Armand Please, Father.

Aymard Vauclerc. First-born. Eight years.

Aymard Hmph.

Céliane Vauclerc. Seven years.

Céliane ......

Page 25

Dorian Vauclerc. Six years.

Dorian Present, Father!

Thaïs Vauclerc. Four years.

Thaïs Hiii!

Page 26

Isaline Vauclerc. Three years.

Isaline Hehe!

Maël Vauclerc. Two years.

Maël Birdie!

Father Ambroise Six children, six great gifts. In thirty years of service, I have never read such a register.

Armand House Vauclerc does not do things by halves.

Page 27

Father Ambroise Every soul born under the Eye carries a gift.

Father Ambroise The Crystal reveals it. The Church measures it, in seven ranks.

Page 28

Father Ambroise The gift decides the path. From the stables to the king's side.

Armand And a noble house stands on the ranks of its children.

S to F... Grades, like my annual review. I always got a C. Except here, the bottom floors are nailed shut.

Page 29

Father Ambroise By the Eye that sees all...

Father Ambroise ...let the gift of this child be revealed.

Armand Show us the light, Father.

Page 30

When it was my turn, the whole chapel turned gold.

Mine was gold AND red!

Father Ambroise ...Grey?

Father Ambroise Grey... no colour at all. That means—

Page 31

Thaïs What's that writing?

Clémence The Script of the Gods, child. No one alive can read it.

Clémence Only the Crystal speaks... and only to its priest.

Page 32

Wait.

I can READ that.

...There's another line. Sealed?

Page 33

Father Ambroise The Crystal speaks... [Tithe].

Father Ambroise "The bearer keeps but one hundredth of all he acquires."

Armand One hundredth... of what?

Page 34

Father Ambroise Of everything, my lord.

A gift grows as its bearer lives: through effort, through battle, through years.

The Church calls it experience.

Father Ambroise This child keeps one part in a hundred.

Father Ambroise The other ninety-nine... vanish.

Page 35

Where Lord Aymard gains a level in a season, this child would need twenty-five years.

Where another becomes a knight... he will become nothing at all.

Éléonore Nothing...?

Aymard Heh.

Father Ambroise A gift is judged by what it gives its bearer.

Father Ambroise This one gives nothing.

Page 36

It TAKES.

The Codex of the Eye is clear.

Classification:

Page 37

Ninety-nine parts out of a hundred... taken.

I knew that deal.

Eight months of my nights. His name on the slide.

I did the work. Someone else kept what it earned.

I had already lived this.

Only this time...

...it wasn't a boss doing the taking.

It was the world itself.

Page 38

Armand ...Read it again.

The Crystal does not err, my lord. The light was grey.

Page 39

Dorian An F...?

Céliane In House Vauclerc?

Thaïs That's never happened...

Aymard An F. In OUR house.

Thaïs Céliane, what's an F?

Céliane It means he's nothing.

Maël, two, didn't understand a word. He cried anyway.

Page 40

Rank F... just like me.

Clémence Hush.

I don't know what an F is here.

But those faces...

...those, I know by heart.

Page 41

Armand Father. You will not write this birth in the register today.

Father Ambroise The law gives the Church seven days, my lord. Today is the seventh.

Armand Then come back tomorrow.

One thing was certain.

They were not happy.

Page 42

That night.

Roseline Don't you listen to them, little master.

Hush now, little star... the night is long, but morning comes...

Page 43

Roseline Do you know what my gift is, little master?

My father owed money.

When I was nine, he sold my contract to this house.

Roseline F-ranks don't get to choose, little master. We serve... or we're sold.

She was the first person here who spoke to me like a human being.

Page 44

Clémence Roseline. Bed.

Roseline Madame Aubry... what will happen to him?

Clémence Not ours to ask.

Roseline But—

Clémence I nursed all six of them. I know the look the master had today.

What look?

Clémence ...Go to bed, Roseline.

Page 45

The study, across the corridor.

Armand Seven children.

Armand And the seventh is an F.

Page 46

Armand The Church will write him in the register. The whole court reads the register.

Éléonore ......

Do you know why the Duke seats us at his right hand?

That register.

Two S. Four A. No other house in the duchy can say as much.

Page 47

Armand A house is only as strong as the ranks it produces.

Armand One F, and the whole court says the Vauclerc blood is failing.

Éléonore Céliane's betrothal to the Duke's son next spring...

Armand Who weds the sister of an F?

Page 48

Éléonore He is our SON, Armand.

Armand He is a RANK F.

Page 49

Armand You know where F-ranks end up, Éléonore. Below the wall.

Éléonore ......

Hautemure, for those of rank B and above.

Contremur, for the rest. Servants, labourers, debtors. The rejects.

Page 50

When monsters come down from the hills, the gates close.

On THEM.

Not our son...

Page 51

Armand And when a reject falls into debt...

...he is sold under the Bronze Seal.

No one can break it. Not even his master.

Armand Is that what you want for him?

Page 52

Armand No. He will not be an F of House Vauclerc.

Éléonore ...What do you mean?

Newborns are fragile.

A fever... a fall from the cradle.

Éléonore ARMAND!

Page 53

Or a convent in the far south. Another name. An orphanage.

Armand The Church need never write "Vauclerc" beside the letter F.

......

Page 54

Registers. Walls. Seals.

I didn't understand half of it.

But I understood this much.

They were deciding whether to kill me... or to throw me away.

Page 55

Last time, I bowed and said: I understand.

I died at my desk for it.

Page 56

Someone else had been listening at that door.

Page 57

Clémence Shh... I know, little one. I heard it too.

Clémence I swore to the old lady of this house I'd raise every child born under this roof.

Clémence Every. One.

Not while I hold the keys of this house.

Page 58

Someone stood at the door for a long time.

She never came in.

Madame Aubry stayed until her candle burned out.

Page 59

Past midnight, the door opened again.

...So. You came to do it yourself.

Page 60

I stared back.

I'd stared down worse men across a conference table.

Armand ......Those eyes.

Armand ...MY eyes.

A tiny hand closed around his finger.

Armand ...Tch.

To this day, I don't know what stopped his hand.

Page 61

The next morning.

Armand The Crystal's light was grey, Father. Not dark.

Father Ambroise Grey.

Father Ambroise ...You know the Codex well, my lord.

Page 62

When the light is uncertain, the Codex allows a gift to be held "unread"...

...until the child's sixth year, when the Crystal is raised again.

Armand Then it was uncertain.

Father Ambroise ......

Father Ambroise The Church will be grateful for your generosity, my lord.

Page 63

Armand Six years.

Unread. Not F. Not anything. A blank page... for six years.

Page 64

Armand The child is Néven Vauclerc. His gift is unread.

Armand Anyone who speaks the letter F under this roof will leave it — without a reference.

Yes, my lord!

Page 65

Aymard Tch.

Armand Six years, Éléonore.

Armand Then we'll see what he's worth.

Six years.

Whatever happens then, they'd decide it without me. Again.

Page 66

Roseline He's staying! Did you hear, Madame Aubry?

Clémence For six years.

Roseline Six years...

Clémence Then we have six years to make sure he survives them.

Page 67

Unread. Rank F. Useless.

Fine.

In my last life, I let others decide what I was worth.

Not this time.

Page 68

...The first oath?

From F...

...all the way to the top.

Page 1

Five years.

Page 2

Sir Gauvain Again! A noble who tires before noon dies before dinner!

Three golems. Iron plate. Built to hold off a squad of soldiers.

Aymard All three at once. It saves time.

Aymard, show some respect for the equipment...

Thaïs Here it comes!

Céliane Show-off.

Page 3

One swing.

Aymard Done. Can I go?

Sir Gauvain I have nothing left to teach his sword.

Sir Gauvain ...Only to his manners.

Page 4

Céliane A swan. Since someone asked for 'something pretty'.

Dorian Stone wall. Three seconds. A new record!

Thaïs Five! Look, sir, FIVE!

Sir Gauvain Mind the trajectory, young lady—

Thaïs ...Oops.

Four A-ranks. Sir Gauvain had aged ten years in five.

Page 5

The leg's broken clean through. We'll have to put him down...

Isaline Shh. It's all right. Don't be scared.

Golden light. No incantation. No sweat.

Isaline See? Good as new.

Lady Isaline... a saint...

Eight years old. In my old life, the hospital would have hired her.

Page 6

Maël Higher, Pip! HIGHER!

Céliane He tamed a griffin. At seven. With a biscuit.

Dorian Two biscuits.

Six brothers and sisters. Six miracles.

I watch them from the gallery. It has the best view.

Page 7

Armand Two S. Four A.

Éléonore No other house in the duchy can say as much.

Armand At the Duke's table, the Vauclerc register is the finest in the land.

Armand ...Almost.

Six children on the register. The seventh, they turn the page on.

Éléonore Come. Don't look over there.

Page 8

The east wing. Nobody comes here except the dust... and me.

The gods' script. The priests copy it. Not one of them can read it.

Me, I read it like a technical manual. Badly written, but readable.

Néven "...the Eye weighs what the soul agrees to give..." Hm.

Roseline Young master! On a chair again? You'll break your neck.

Néven The chair is a load-bearing structure, Roseline. I checked.

Page 9

Roseline Tea first. Gods after.

Roseline. Rank F, like me. The only one who still says 'young master' without laughing.

No lessons: "a waste of a tutor's time."

No family table: "the Duke's envoys might see."

An F at five is a stain. And a stain, you hide in the east wing.

In my old life I had an open-plan office. Honestly? This is better.

Page 10

Every night, a little experiment.

Néven Ninety-eight... ninety-nine...

Néven ...one hundred.

A grown man would gain a bit of muscle. I keep one hundredth of it.

Gift [Tithe]. The world takes its ninety-nine percent off the top.

Day 1,214 of the logbook.

Page 11

But what itches isn't the 1%.

It's the last line of my card.

An oath. Whose? To whom?

Nobody swears anything to a rank F.

Three months until the Eye reads me again. Until then: patience, and push-ups.

Page 12

Corvin Weekly duties. The east wing. Volunteers?

I've got the silver, sir. So much silver.

They say F's bad luck rubs off...

Corvin Noted. Zero volunteers. As every week for five years.

Roseline I'll keep him, as always—

Corvin No. Read this. My lady's order.

Page 13

"Too attached." You are transferred to the kitchens. Effective tomorrow.

Roseline ...Yes, Mr Malebranche.

Roseline I'm only going downstairs... I'll bring you cake. Every day. Promise.

Néven Roseline. You're soaking my only jacket.

Too attached. In this house, love is a misconduct.

And somebody, somewhere, will have to replace her.

Page 14

Ten days later. Rain. The Church's carriage.

Brother Anselme Brother Anselme, from the Eye. Forgive the mud, the roads are a penance.

Corvin The tutor for the young lords and ladies. You're expected.

Brother Anselme And... the maid you asked the orphanage for. Come, child.

Page 15

Six years old. Shoes two sizes too big.

Eternity Eternity. From the orphanage of the Eye. I can scrub floors.

Corvin Rank F. Sent free of charge. The Church is generous with what nobody wants.

Page 16

Corvin You will serve the seventh child. East wing.

Corvin An F to serve an F. How fitting.

Brother Anselme The Eye ranks gifts, Mr Malebranche. Not souls.

Corvin Then the Eye doesn't keep the house's accounts.

Footsteps. Too light for Clémence. Too heavy for a ghost.

Page 17

Néven ...Hello. You're lost? The kitchens are the other way.

Néven Vauclerc.

Néven They told you my name.

No. Nobody tells me anything.

Eternity I'm your maid now. I'm F. Like you.

Page 18

Eternity Corvin Malebranche.

Eternity Anselme Delorme.

Brother Anselme ...Delorme?

Brother Anselme I haven't used that name since I took my vows.

Corvin A parlour trick. The cook can do the same with soups.

A gift that reads what people hide. Even from the Church's registers.

Rank F, they said. Interesting.

Page 19

Néven What else do you see? Ranks? Gifts? Hidden debts?

Eternity Nothing. Only names.

Eternity That's why nobody wanted me.

Everything she owns fits in a handkerchief.

Same as me, really. Mine just has more books.

Néven Welcome to the east wing. Rule one: you don't have to curtsy.

Eternity Rule two?

I'll think of one.

Page 20

Week one. Eternity breaks eleven plates.

Eternity That's twelve.

Néven ...Eleven and a half.

Eternity Marthe Boulanger. Two breads, please.

Marthe HA! Nobody's called me that since my wedding! A Boulanger who married a cook!

Marthe The cake's for the little master. Not a word.

Page 21

Néven Not even a little smile?

Eternity Smiling isn't in my duties.

At night, I teach her letters.

Eternity That's an E. Like in Eternity.

Néven And like in 'east wing'. You're a natural.

She teaches me the servants' gossip.

Eternity The second footman drinks the Lord's wine and fills it up with water.

Néven Excellent. Data.

A fair trade. The best contract I've ever signed.

Page 22

Eternity ...I didn't lie... I only said his name...

The orphanage of the Eye.

Néven Sorry. I'm thirsty. Could you get me a glass of water?

Eternity ...Again? It's the ninth night.

Néven I'm a very thirsty child. It's medical.

I drink a lot of water these days.

She's never once asked why.

I think she knows.

Page 23

Lady Odile Éléonore, darling. We were passing through. We couldn't resist.

House de Montbrun. Our dearest rivals.

Lucien So that's the famous F of the east wing. And he has his own F maid!

Eternity Lucien Gaspard Aymeric de Mont—

Néven Don't feed it.

Lucien How does a maid know my middle names?!

Page 24

Mirror Blade. He only needs to see a strike once.

Lucien Watch closely, F. This is what a real rank looks like.

Eternity ...!

Mass: two tonnes. Fall time: one second. Our legs: too short.

Lucien Oops. Did I do that?

Page 25

One finger. At a quarter of his strength, maybe less.

Aymard Don't touch my house's things.

Aymard Next time, I use my hand.

Lady Odile Boys will be boys. We'll speak of it... at the Duke's table.

"My house's things."

That's me. A thing.

Page 26

Five years of quiet. Then, one morning, a horse in a hurry.

Corvin From His Grace the Duke, my lord. The seal is still warm.

Armand The Duke will hold his Spring Banquet... here. In ten days.

Armand With an embassy from Valmarche!

Éléonore Ten days? Armand, the silver alone needs ten days.

Page 27

Armand The Duke, the Montbruns, Valmarche. Everything must be perfect. Everything.

Corvin Then one detail, my lord. The F child will stay in the east wing.

Corvin Doors locked. For the whole visit.

Armand ...Obviously.

Every company has an employee nobody shows to the client.

Here, it's me.

Eternity You were listening again.

Néven I was auditing.

Eternity That's the same thing with a bigger word.

Page 28

Brother Anselme Today: what a gift actually is. Not what it does. What it is.

Brother Anselme A rank. An element. And, sometimes, a third thing.

Thaïs Is the third thing lunch?

Officially, I don't attend classes.

Unofficially, doors are thin.

Eternity Corridor clear. Except a spider. I don't know its name.

Page 29

Céliane A third thing, Brother?

Brother Anselme A seal. A part of the gift the Eye keeps locked, until a condition is met.

Aymard So a sealed gift is a broken gift.

Brother Anselme Not broken, young lord. Locked. A door is not a wall.

Page 30

Unlock condition.

"AWAITING THE FIRST OATH."

So the seal is a condition. Not a defect.

I'm not broken. I'm a ticket waiting for its prerequisite.

Eternity Footsteps. A monk's. Run.

Page 31

Rule of the east wing: nobody comes here.

Exception: monks looking for shelf space.

Néven "...and the one who keeps nothing shall be given the share of all."

Brother Anselme You... you read that? Aloud?

Caught. Thirty years of office life and I still freeze like an intern.

Brother Anselme Nobody reads the gods' script, child. We copy it. We don't read it.

Page 32

Brother Anselme This line. I copied it in the Holy See. Three hundred years, no one has read it.

Néven "A seal is not a punishment. It is a promise the Eye keeps."

Brother Anselme I've copied that sentence four hundred times.

Brother Anselme And I never knew it was kind.

Néven Are you going to tell my father?

Brother Anselme Your father would ask what it's worth. I'd rather ask what it means.

Page 33

Brother Anselme The Eye gives strange gifts. It is not my place to judge them.

Brother Anselme The Codex of Gifts. Bring it back before the Duke's dogs sniff it.

Documentation. Finally, documentation.

Eternity Before the Eye. So you need the chapel.

Néven And an oath. Which nobody will ever swear to an F.

Prerequisite: impossible. Classic.

Page 34

In the yard, my siblings were growing up. Loudly.

Thaïs Melt, rock-head!

Dorian Stone doesn't melt, it sulks!

Sir Gauvain Again, the beard. Every week, the beard.

Five years ago she lit candles. Now she lights carriages.

Page 35

Céliane You're both too loud. And too slow.

Thaïs Céli! My feet are a dessert!

Dorian Again...

Aymard Wake me when someone's actually trying.

Maël Big brother's sulking because nobody can hit him!

Four A's who fight like a storm.

And one S who doesn't even bother. That's the real ranking.

Page 36

Isaline Mother says I mustn't come here.

Isaline I came anyway.

Eternity It's nothing. A plate disagreed with me.

She didn't heal a scratch. She healed the room.

Eternity ...Isaline Vauclerc. Thank you.

Isaline You always say people's whole names?

S at eight. She will be a saint, or a weapon.

Depends who holds her.

Page 37

Isaline's pastries had a side effect. They made Eternity talk.

Someone sold me to the orphanage. For the price of a goat.

Her voice didn't shake. That was the worst part.

Read F. Families came to choose. Nobody chose me.

Eternity They said I was rude. I say the names of people who don't want to be named.

Page 38

He said he was the merchant Bastien. Everyone believed him.

Eternity But your name is Gaspard Fouine. Not Bastien.

A thief. Wanted in three towns.

His friends paid the orphanage. That night, I was punished for "lying".

Page 39

Eternity So I learned. Names are dangerous.

Néven No. Names are data. Data is never dangerous.

Néven People are.

Néven That man was a thief. You were the only honest system in the market.

Eternity I don't know what a system is.

Néven Something that tells the truth even when it's inconvenient.

Eternity ...Then I'm a system.

That night, I didn't need my glass of water.

Page 40

Day eight before the banquet. The house became a war.

Marthe Forty pheasants, twelve pies, and nobody burns anything in my kitchen!

Marthe Hearth Hand, my dears. My ovens obey me.

Eternity This spoon has a face. It's mine. It's not happy.

Roseline Exiled to the kitchens has its perks, my little lord.

Néven Exile with snacks. I've had worse jobs.

Page 41

Day five. Banners: blue for the Duke, red for us.

Sir Gauvain Shine it again. The Duke sees his own beard in your armour or you sleep in the stables.

Corvin Three bottles of the 'eighty-two are missing. And one candelabra. And one footman's honesty.

H-how do you know—

Corvin I remember every coin. And every debt.

Page 42

Corvin Jeanne has the fever. You'll serve at the banquet.

Eternity Me? At the Duke's table?

Corvin Rules. Don't speak. Don't look at anyone.

Corvin Pour wine.

Eternity ...Don't speak. Don't look. Pour.

A girl who can't stop reading names...

...in a hall full of people who lie for a living.

Corvin An F to serve the Duke. The house is truly desperate.

Page 43

Banquet hall. Musicians' gallery: unused since grandfather's day.

Perfect view. Zero visibility. My kind of office.

Roseline The gallery key. The kitchens see everything, and lose things easily.

Roseline Promise me you'll only watch.

Néven I'm five. What else could I do?

Famous last words. I said the same about a Friday deploy.

Page 44

Néven Corvin's guest register. 'Borrowed.'

Néven Number one: the Duke. Rules the duchy, and our father's sleep.

Eternity Léopold d'Aubreuil. True name.

Néven You can read a painting?

Eternity If it was painted from life. The painter leaves a bit of the person.

Note for later: her gift works on portraits. Scope bigger than advertised.

Page 45

Néven The embassy of Valmarche. Baron Hugues Ferrand.

Eternity That isn't his name.

Néven Are you sure?

Eternity I only see names. I'm never wrong about names.

Eternity His is hiding. Like a word under a blot.

An ambassador with a fake name. Days before sitting next to the Duke.

Page 46

Step one: report the bug to management.

I waited two hours. Management has long meetings.

Néven Father, the ambassador from Valmarche—

Armand Who let you out?

Armand Go back to the east wing. Now.

Néven ...Yes, Father.

Ticket closed. Reason: reporter is rank F.

Page 47

Step two: escalate to the only adult who ever listened.

Clémence It's past ten. Either it's urgent, or you're both in trouble.

Néven The ambassador is using a false name. Eternity's gift sees it.

Eternity Like a word under a blot.

Clémence ...Do you understand what you're saying?

A painted smile. It looked more honest than the real one would.

Page 48

Clémence A rank F maid and a rank F child accusing an ambassador.

Clémence They would hang you both.

Clémence I believe you. That changes nothing. Proof does.

Clémence I'll double the guards on the Duke's side. Quietly.

Clémence And you, young man, will stay out of sight.

Technically, the gallery is out of sight.

Page 49

The night before. Nobody sleeps the night before a launch.

Eternity Stars don't have names. That's why I like them.

Néven Eternity. Whatever you see tomorrow, say nothing.

Néven I'll handle it.

Eternity ...Promise. Not a name. Not a word.

Page 50

Wheels. At midnight. A day early.

Corvin Welcome to House Vauclerc, Your Excellency.

Silas Vey Charming house. So many children.

She didn't say a word.

Tomorrow, she would have to keep that up for an entire banquet.

Page 51

The Spring Banquet. Two hundred guests. One Duke.

And one child nobody invited.

Musicians' gallery. The band plays on the other side. Nobody looks up.

Observation post. Like a server room at 3 a.m.

Page 52

His Grace Léopold, Duke of Aubreuil!

Armand House Vauclerc is honoured, Your Grace.

The Duke Sit. I came to eat, not to be stared at.

Page 53

Two S. Four A. The house's six trophies, polished for the Duke.

The Montbruns. Here to count our mistakes.

Corvin Pour. Don't speak. Don't look.

She promised. Say nothing. Whatever she sees.

Page 54

The Duke To spring. And to the houses that keep my borders.

Silas Vey Allow Valmarche a toast as well, Your Grace.

Silas Vey Two S in a single generation. In Valmarche, we only tell such tales.

Silas Vey I would give a great deal to see it.

Armand Aymard. Show our guest.

A guest asking for a demonstration of the house's weapons.

In my old job, we called that an audit.

Page 55

Aymard Just one spark, then.

Every candle... at once...?

Sir Gauvain A year ago, that spark would have burnt the roof down.

Page 56

Isaline The roses were sleeping. That's all.

Everyone applauds the show.

He's taking notes.

Page 57

The Duke's table. Corvin gave her the hardest place. A test, or a trap.

Silas Vey No harm done, little one.

Silas Vey Your hands are steadier than mine were at your age.

Don't look up, Eternity.

Eternity ...Thank you, sir.

First cup.

Page 58

Eternity (Not my business. Not my business.)

Second cup. She's holding.

Silas Vey Again, little one. Your wine is excellent.

Six hours on her feet. Two hundred guests. Six years old.

Page 59

Third cup. She's six. She's tired. And she says names all day long.

Eternity More wine, Mister Silas?

...Oh no.

Page 60

For half a second, the mask slipped.

Silas Vey Silas? I am Baron Ferrand. Is this how Vauclerc names its guests?

Lady Odile The girl insults an ambassador of Valmarche. Before the Duke.

She's right...

An insult at the Duke's table!

Page 61

Corvin (Her... at the Duke's table. I put her there.)

Lady Odile The Duke's own code, Lord Vauclerc. A servant who insults a guest of rank at his table...

Lady Odile ...pays with her life.

The Duke says nothing. He's watching the host. A lord who can't keep his servants can't keep a border.

Armand Take her out.

Armand The law will be done.

Page 62

Eternity I'm sorry. I was the one who talked.

She doesn't even cry. She's used to it.

She kept her promise for two cups.

My turn to keep mine.

Page 63

Hey! Little one, what are you...

Maël Whoa!

Page 64

Who is that?

No sash... A Vauclerc child?

Isaline Néven...!

Armand NÉVEN! Back to the east wing! NOW!

Page 65

Néven Your Grace. Forgive me for falling from the ceiling.

Néven My servant did not insult anyone.

Néven She said a name.

The Duke A name.

Néven Her gift is [Low Appraisal]. It cannot lie.

Eternity ...Why did you come?

Page 66

Lady Odile A rank F gift. Of course it lies.

Lady Odile It's barely a gift at all.

Néven Exactly, my lady.

Néven Low Appraisal is the simplest gift there is. It doesn't judge. It doesn't guess. It reads.

Néven To lie, a gift must know what you want to hear. An F gift knows nothing. It only reads what is written.

Néven And think. 'Pig' is an insult. 'Silas' isn't.

Néven A name only insults the man who's hiding it.

Page 67

Néven She has named everyone in this house. Never once wrong.

Néven Even a family name its owner never told anyone.

Brother Anselme ...It's true. Anselme Delorme. I had not spoken that name in twenty years.

Marthe Marthe Boulanger! Nobody here knew my maiden name either!

Rule one of any incident: don't argue about the log.

You check it against a second source.

Page 68

Néven Father Ambroise carries the Eye's crystal. The Eye reads every card.

Néven Let it read the ambassador.

Néven If she is wrong, take my life with hers.

Armand Néven!

Eternity Don't. I'm not worth that.

Page 69

The Duke A child who bargains with his own head. In my own hall.

The Duke Father. Read him.

Father Ambroise As Your Grace commands.

Silas Vey This is an outrage! An envoy of Valmarche, read like a common thief?

Silas Vey My king will hear of this!

Néven An honest baron would have nothing to fear from the Eye.

He's backing toward the door. Not the gesture of a man who's offended.

Page 70

Father Ambroise Eye who sees. Show us what is written.

Silas Vey No...!

Page 71

No Baron Ferrand. Never was.

Father Ambroise Silas Vey. Rank B. Shadow.

A spy! At the Duke's table!

Guards!

Page 72

Silas Vey Then let's skip the diplomacy.

Sir Gauvain YOUR GRACE!

Thirty metres. Gauvain will never make it.

Page 73

Aymard Not at my house's table.

The Duke ...Thirteen years old.

Page 74

Aymard Tch. Which one?

He's gone! Where is he?!

Sir Gauvain Seal the doors! Nobody leaves!

Isaline Brother. Let me.

Page 75

Saint's Light. A light that comes from every side at once.

Light erases every shadow. Except one made of Shadow.

Isaline There.

Page 76

Céliane Don't run on my floor.

Dorian Got him!

Aymard Move one face and I light you like a chandelier.

Thirteen and eight. Ten seconds.

The whole duchy will be talking about this.

Page 77

The Duke House Vauclerc. Your children saved my life tonight.

Armand Your Grace honours us.

The Duke I'm not finished.

The Duke The girl saved my life by breaking the law.

The Duke The boy saved her by risking his.

Page 78

The Duke Lord Vauclerc. Your seventh child. The one you hid.

The Duke What is he called?

Armand ...Néven.

The Duke Néven Vauclerc.

The Duke I will remember it.

Five years in the east wing. Ten seconds to be named.

Page 79

Lady Odile And yet, Your Grace... the words were spoken. At your table.

Father Ambroise The law is old, Your Grace. Even mercy has its form.

The Duke I grant her mercy. But custom demands a guarantor.

The Duke Someone of this house who answers for her every act. Life for life.

Nobody moves.

Page 80

Néven I will.

Eternity ...You can't. You're five.

Néven Five and a half.

Father Ambroise Then it must be sworn before the Eye.

Father Ambroise Tomorrow. In the chapel.

Sworn before the Eye.

An oath. My first.

Page 81

That night, the manor didn't sleep. Too many guards. Too much leftover wine. Too many questions.

Nobody knocks on my door. Except one person.

Néven It's open.

Eternity I can't sleep.

Néven Me neither. Come in. And close the door, the draft hates me.

Page 82

Eternity You jumped.

She says it like an accusation.

Eternity From the gallery. In front of the Duke. You could have died.

Néven I had calculated the rope. Mostly.

Eternity Why?

Néven Because you were right.

Néven And people who are right shouldn't die for it.

Page 83

Six weeks of broken plates, sharp words, no smiles. Never a single tear. Until now.

Ex-engineer. Managed teams of forty people. Zero training for this.

Eternity Then I'll give you everything.

Néven You don't have to give me anything.

Eternity Too late. I've decided.

The next morning, she would swear it. Before the Eye.

Page 84

Dawn. The manor chapel.

Éléonore He swore for a servant girl. In front of the Duke.

Armand Let him answer for her. Then it isn't our name on the line.

Clémence came too. She said nothing. She never says anything. But she came.

Two rank F walking up an aisle. The Church must have a word for this. Probably 'paperwork'.

Page 85

Father Ambroise The Oath of the Bound is older than this house. Older than the duchy.

Father Ambroise When a life is owed, the one who owes it swears obedience before the Eye.

By the old law, the bound one belongs to her lord. Entirely.

Father Ambroise He may make her his servant for life. Or his slave.

She didn't flinch.

Slave. A word with no business in a chapel.

Page 86

Father Ambroise Speak the words, child.

Eternity I, Eternity, owe my life to Néven Vauclerc.

Eternity I swear obedience to him, body and gift, until my last breath.

Page 87

Father Ambroise Grey...?

Grey. Like five years ago. The colour of 'unread'.

Armand Gold?!

Father Ambroise The Eye... answers.

Page 88

And in front of my eyes. Only mine...

Five years of 'awaiting'. And the ticket finally gets processed.

Page 89

Something warm. Like a cup of tea poured straight into my brain.

Néven ...Low Appraisal? Her gift?

Page 90

Names. Above every head. Like labels on server racks.

'Née de Lisle.' Mother never says her maiden name. Noted.

Néven So this is what she sees. Every single day.

Page 91

Eternity Ah—!

Eternity Néven... above you. It's not just your name anymore.

Néven What do you see?

Eternity Lines. Words. A rank...

Page 92

Eternity [Tithe]. Rank F. And underneath... a grey line. I can't read it.

Eternity My gift... it changed.

F to D. In a single oath.

Page 93

My copy only reads names. But the Eye shows me more: what I swore to answer for.

Néven ...Wait. There's a second slot.

Page 94

Ambroise didn't see it. Neither did Father. Nor the crystal.

Not even her.

She has a seal too.

Page 95

Father Ambroise The Eye has accepted the oath.

Father Ambroise Lord Néven, what is your first command?

Everyone waited. By the old law, the first command sets all the others.

Néven Stand up.

Néven And never kneel to me again. That's an order.

And for the first time... she smiled.

Page 96

That night. Experiment time.

Roseline Marthe let me slip out of the kitchens. Hot milk, little lord. What a day you've had.

'Roseline Marot.' Just the name. Rank F copy: names only.

Roseline Why are you staring at my hair?

Néven No reason. It's... very well labelled.

Page 97

Test 2: the cat. Nothing. Either cats have no names, or they keep them to themselves.

Test 3: myself, in the mirror. Nothing. A reflection isn't a person.

Eternity If you forget who you are, I can read you. Néven Vauclerc. Rank F. Still annoying.

Néven Go to sleep. That's an order.

Eternity You said no more orders.

Page 98

In my old life, I gave everything and kept nothing.

This gift... is the same law. Upside down.

Page 99

Across the yard, the house of two S and four A was still awake.

Three months before the Eye reads me again.

This time, I'll come with data.

Page 100

Eternity Néven. Where do we start?

Néven With what we know. Names. Then everything else.

Next: The Second Revelation

END OF CHAPTER 2