Chapter 3
2. A Maid’s Virtue is to Show Up to Work Before Giving Notice
Liar!
The young master didn’t give me nostrils. After the repairs were finished, he even heartlessly kicked me out of the workshop.
“Figure it out yourself.”
I stuck my finger in the gap just as the door was about to slam shut. Taking advantage of the young master’s momentary hesitation, I protested.
“You said you’d give me nostrils!”
“Dolls don’t need such things.”
“I want to smell the flowers! You know I love flowers!”
“How would I know that?”
“You know it now, at least! Because I just told you.”
“Stop talking back to me.”
“Seeing as you’re diligently answering back, it seems your heart is wavering a little…”
The door swung open. I gave my best smile with my awkward, new doll body.
“Ugly thing.”
He says that after making me himself? Just as I was about to retort, the young master shoved me aside and slammed the door shut.
Bang! The sound was harsh.
“How dare he call me ugly after making me so pretty.”
I wanted to stomp my feet in anger, but since dolls don’t breathe, I could only force my shoulders to heave. It looked a little strange, so I stopped.
“When you first made me, you said I was pretty. You said I was the most beautiful doll in the world because I colored the lips.”
The young master is a liar.
Muttering just loud enough for him to possibly hear, I sat down on the low steps in front of the workshop. My white doll legs peeked out from the torn dress.
Although my legs were clearly touching the wooden steps, I couldn’t feel the texture. Only a vague sensation of having placed my body somewhere floated hazily in my mind.
“To actually become a doll… No, I shouldn’t be gloomy.”
What’s done is done. I wanted to find something positive about this situation. Since I can’t feel hot or cold, it would be advantageous for cooking. I could become an elite maid assisting the chef.
Since I have a pretty face, I might become popular among the other maids. On my days off, I could wear pretty clothes and go out, and…
The closed door opened slightly. A moment later, it slammed shut again! What landed in front of me was the young master’s work clothes.
He must have noticed my torn doll dress. Even if he couldn’t believe I was Anna, it was clear I was a sentient doll.
Should I be touched by his consideration in giving me clothes?
“Look how dirty these work clothes are. I told you to send them to the laundry as soon as they get stained.”
Grumbling, I changed into the young master’s work clothes. The sleeves and pant legs were much too long, so I rolled them up. I might not look stylish, but at least they’d be comfortable to move in.
“Time to do the things I couldn’t do while I was dead!”
Turning my back on the young master’s workshop, I headed towards the mansion along the familiar path. As I walked, I rummaged through the pockets and found a stemless freesia blossom.
Even though I couldn’t smell the fragrance, I could feel the young master’s thoughtfulness. He must have hurriedly tucked it in before giving me the work clothes.
“Honestly, such a tsundere.”
The servants’ quarters were bustling with activity. The whimsical young master’s demolition of his cherished workshop and garden had made everyone busier.
“Send all the trash to the incinerator, and separate the metal!”
Head Butler Godora’s booming voice resonated. He was slender and short, but he had a loud voice and an intimidating personality. He was a kind person, though.
While the other servants ignored me when I was battling the plague, the head butler would often visit and offer words of comfort.
Telling me to get better soon so I could work.
Hmm? Was that not actually comforting?
“Head Butler Godora!”
Overjoyed, I rushed towards him. He looked at me, startled, his eyes widening.
“Goodness! Your voice sounds just like Anna’s!”
“You recognized me right away! It’s me, Anna!”
“Anna? Are you really Anna?”
Isn’t he believing me too easily? I was the one who felt bewildered.
Still, it was better than the young master saying, “You’re not Anna!” I quickly grabbed the head butler’s hands.
“Yes, it’s me, Anna. Is there anything I can help with? What can I do? Cooking? Cleaning? Laundry? Gardening? Just leave it to me.”
“So, you say your name is Anna?”
The head butler’s nose started to turn red. The wrinkles on his hands, tightly gripping my cold doll hands, deepened.
Quietly sniffing, he pulled a handkerchief from his chest pocket and dabbed at his moist eyes.
“Poor Young Master Lupin. To think he would create a doll named after Anna because he misses her so much.”
“Huh?”
“It’s been five years since Anna passed, but his innocent heart, still unable to forget a young maid, is just like his late mother!”
The head butler seemed on the verge of bursting into tears while clinging to me.
The workers around us, carrying pieces of the golem’s arm and broken dolls, brushed past us roughly.
Several times they expressed their annoyance at us standing there motionless.
“Excuse me! Hey, old man! The golem is huge, why are you blocking the way?”
It was time for me, with my quick wit, to step in.
“Head Butler? Shall we move somewhere else? People are finding us inconvenient.”
“To think you can speak so fluently. As expected of the young master’s magic doll! As expected of Young Master Lupin! He’s been so bright since he was young, just like his late father…”
“How about we move over here for a moment?”
“Postponing his marriage to protect the earldom, and now finding solace in a doll!”
The sobbing head butler’s feet were firmly planted, refusing to budge. The workers glared, and some even spat.
The laborers often looked down on the head butler, calling him a frail old man. This was because they followed the Captain of the Guard instead of the head butler.
I was worried the head butler might get hit by one of the muscular workers. And I might get hit along with him. I couldn’t let that happen.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
When it came to strength, I was confident. I instinctively knew. I could do anything in Estella’s body.
I grabbed the head butler’s waist and lifted him up.
“Whoa!”
The head butler was as light as a feather. I hoisted him onto my shoulder and headed towards the office in the servants’ quarters.
“Let’s continue our conversation while sitting down.”
“Uh, uh?”
Who would have thought such strength could come from a slender doll? The head butler was so surprised that all he could say was, “Uh, uh.”
The workers were also startled and pointed at me. How rude.
Still, it felt good. They were surprised by my strength, right?
“The, the girl is kidnapping the old man!”
“What?”
“The woman who stole the young master’s work clothes is kidnapping the old head butler!”
“Oh my god! Inform the Captain of the Guard!”
Ignoring the commotion, I walked on. The head butler had stopped crying.
“Head Butler.”
“Uh?”
“Please continue telling me about the young master.”
I still had many questions.
“About what happened during the five years since I died.”
The unknown fever that swept across the continent of Sdirco. Those infected would languish and die within a year. The very same disease that led to my death.
Also known as the Puppet’s Curse.
The bodies of the infected would gradually stiffen. Their joints would creak, their flesh would soften, and they would vomit blood and pus before dying.
Speaking from experience, it was a plague that was painful for both the sufferer and those who witnessed it.
But the real problem was something else.
“Those who died from the disease started coming back to life. A few months ago, they started clawing their way out of their graves. With their flesh still a ghastly blue.”
“Eek.”
It sounded grotesque just hearing about it. People called the resurrected corpses “zombies.”
Devoid of consciousness or anything else, they wandered around groaning, “Uuuhhh.” This was the reason for the young master’s deepening sorrow.
“The earldom is no longer safe. Hordes of zombies have appeared even in the cemeteries in the borderlands. Last month, the western forest was affected. It’s only a matter of time before they reach the earldom.”
The young master was taking precautions to prevent zombies from appearing in the earldom. He stationed golem knights in nearby cemeteries and ordered that all recent deaths from the disease be gathered and burned.
The village festival was temporarily suspended. People rarely left their homes. Golem knights and the Count’s knights occupied the marketplace.
To eliminate any zombies that might appear.
“The dead are coming back to life.”
Wait, isn’t that my story? A chill ran down my spine. Around the time zombies became rampant, I awakened in a doll’s body?
I definitely died. It was a miracle I had lasted as long as I did in that condition.
Could I be… a zombie?
“That’s preposterous. Well, how dreadful. As a doll, I really wouldn’t know anything about such things.”
I feigned nonchalance and played dumb. I’m not a zombie! Look, my skin is porcelain. Smooth and flawless!
“By the way, you said your name was Anna?”
“Me? No? What a misunderstanding. I’m Estella. The young master’s greatest creation, a perfect doll without nostrils. A doll.”
“Huh? But you clearly said Anna…”
“The young master, longing for the deceased Anna, breathed magic into me. I think you misunderstood. My joints don’t creak, I don’t bleed, and anyway, I’m not a corpse. As you can see.”
I flicked my wrist with my finger for emphasis. A clear “Clink, clink” sound of inorganic material hitting inorganic material rang out.
“Yes, I can certainly see that you’re a doll.”
“Of course. I’m a doll. Not a zombie, or Anna.”
I picked up the teacup in front of me and then put it back down. Did I even have a throat? If I drank the tea, it might just pour right back out.
Just as the head butler tilted his head in confusion, a voice boomed.
“Who kidnapped Head Butler Godora!”