Chapter 39
*Even Dolls Go Through Puberty*
Neither the whispers that slithered like a snake’s tongue nor the dress that accentuated her beautiful figure had any effect on Lupin. He simply turned a page and replied indifferently,
“You’re interrupting me.”
“Since I’ve already started interrupting, I’ll ask. What are you reading?”
“How to make a heart, as Estella so persistently requested. I’m confident in the design, but the mana manipulation requires further research.”
“Aha. The cute little maid.”
Lupin’s hand, which had been diligently writing down magic formulas, stopped. Estella’s image surfaced in his mind. The Estella in his imagination was never still. She was either running around, bashing zombies, or fidgeting restlessly.
He managed to focus and clear his mind, finally recalling the soulless doll, “Estella.” Beside her stood Anna, the maid he longed for.
Wearing the same expression as the current Estella.
“Who are you thinking about right now?”
“The person I love.”
“Estella?”
“No. The woman Estella is modeled after. The one and only person for me.”
Anna, in his distant memory, was a vibrant young woman. Anna probably didn’t know, but the reason Lupin rejected all marriage proposals was always because of her. He would always give Godora the same excuse:
“I can wait. I want Anna to get married first. She’s been working so hard.”
Yet he would secretly turn away any suitors who approached Anna. Their status was too low, they were too old, too young, too ugly, their voice was strange.
Anna deserved better. She was his friend. Someone precious to him.
So he couldn’t just let her go to anyone.
No, the truth was, he couldn’t let her go to anyone at all.
“It was all my selfishness. I didn’t know what to do with Anna, and I ended up losing her. Estella resembles her. I want to give Estella everything she wants. Even this is my selfishness. My selfish desire to atone to Anna, even if it’s too late.”
Lupin finally confessed his hidden feelings.
“You could just ask her for forgiveness directly.”
Baba said, swinging her legs as she sat on the desk. Lupin scoffed.
“How can I ask for forgiveness from someone who’s already dead? Should I kneel before her tombstone?”
Baba was unfazed by his sarcastic tone. Instead, she boldly approached him. They were so close that their skin would touch if he turned his head.
“I told you. I know your secret.”
The ink from the pen in Lupin’s hand slowly bled onto the paper.
“Ordinary mages wouldn’t know. You smell of death.”
“What do you mean?”
“The scent of death. But it’s different. There’s a hint of lingering life mixed in. Or perhaps it’s the scent of suppressed death…”
Lupin abruptly stood up, almost knocking over his chair.
“If you’re going to keep interrupting me, I’ll leave.”
“I know Count Lehman Zepetto. Your father, Lupin Zepetto. The man who called himself a doctor. Intelligent and audacious.”
Baba’s lips curved into a long, unsettling smile.
“He knew how to transcend human taboos.”
Lupin gritted his teeth and looked down at her. She was still casually swinging her legs, a relaxed expression on her face. A dull light flickered on her bright red shoes.
“There’s a different book you really want, isn’t there?”
“…”
“You didn’t follow me just to make Estella a heart.”
Baba raised her hand, her long, elegant fingers extended like claws. The magic circle she drew in the air was one that Lupin recognized. It was his late father’s, the previous Count Zepetto’s magic. His father’s secret, which he had never shared with Lupin.
Lupin had to learn that magic on his own, in his father’s laboratory. It was a complex and somewhat unsettling magic. As the witch had said, it was related to “human taboos,” existing on the boundary between life and death.
“How do you know that magic…”
“The forbidden book Lehman Zepetto consulted is at the top of this tower.”
“…”
“Do you want it?”
Lupin took a deep breath and said resolutely,
“Yes. I want it. My father’s forbidden book.”
“Unfortunately, there’s a condition. I may be the librarian, but the rights to this tower belong to the dragons. There’s no race more obsessed with accumulating knowledge than dragons, is there?”
Hearing her words, Lupin thought of her disciple. The boy who was born from a dragon’s waist. Perhaps Estella was right. He was indeed born from a “dragon’s” waist. The witch’s wordplay was infuriating.
“That Castor, he’s a dragon.”
“You should be focusing on more important things than making a heart, shouldn’t you?”
Baba stood up. The pen on the desk rolled off and clattered to the floor.
“You said you needed a raven’s magic for that fake heart? I’ll summon the Raven Chief of the West. In the meantime, little master, you can work on your designs.”
Lupin stared at the fallen pen and said in a low, quiet voice,
“I would appreciate it if you kept this a secret.”
“It’s probably too late for that.”
Baba pressed her finger against her lips and muttered absentmindedly,
“Lehman had a loose tongue.”
Just as Lupin was about to speak, the door burst open.
“Master!”
It was Castor, his face bright red.
“Please hold my hand!”
The fair and impartial rock-paper-scissors match had concluded that Castor should be the first to hold Miss Baba’s hand.
“Rematch!”
“Accept the results. That’s the first step to becoming an adult.”
“But, what, what should I say when I hold her hand?”
Castor babbled nervously. He rambled about how beautiful the Master’s hands were, how holding hands was a sacred act, and so on. Despite his mature appearance, he was just an awkward adolescent boy.
I tried to listen patiently to his inner struggles, like a mature adult, but his excuses were too long-winded. A true adult should be decisive.
“So are you going to hold her hand or not! Make up your mind! Or I’ll hold her hand!”
Castor flinched and blushed.
“Why would you do that?!”
“Because you’re hesitating! If you can’t decide, I’ll become your rival. What’s with that expression? You don’t like it? Then hold her hand!”
“I will! I will!”
Castor shouted. Just then, small but firm footsteps caught our attention.
“Sir Nova.”
It was Miss Baba’s goblin servant. He addressed Castor by his middle name, “Nova,” with a disapproving expression. He clicked his front teeth, his tongue a shade of purple.
“You must be quiet in the library. The spirits residing in the books might get agitated and cause trouble.”
“…Understood.”
“This may be Sir Nova’s tower, but Master Baba has the ultimate authority. Never forget that.”
The goblin glared at Castor, then licked his lips with his purple tongue. His gaze shifted to me, becoming menacing.
“A bound soul. Which impudent mage dared to break the taboo. Humans. Tsk.”
He looked at me as if I were something disgusting. How absurd. He was the disgusting one, with his unkempt appearance. He desperately needed a spa day: a thorough scrubbing, moisturizing, massage, eyebrow trimming, beard trimming, and maybe even some manscaping. And yet, he dared to insult me, a beautiful doll.
In my opinion, he wasn’t even worth a single punch. He would be body and soul separated with just one hit from me, and yet he dared to insult me.
My fist twitched involuntarily, but Castor grabbed my wrist.
“Ignore him. He’s not important enough to bother you.”
Perhaps realizing that Castor was right, the goblin just smirked and didn’t say anything else. Castor clenched and unclenched his fists, then asked the goblin,
“Where is the Master now?”
“She’s in the room where the mage is staying.”
The only mage here was the young master. That was strange. He never tolerated any interruptions when he was reading or researching.
“Does the young master have special feelings for Miss Baba?”
Their compatibility… was, in a word, terrible. Even I, who was considering her as a Countess candidate, couldn’t sugarcoat it. They had nothing in common besides their cold demeanor. Miss Baba was eccentric, and the young master hated eccentrics.
She was probably playing some prank, and the clueless young master wasn’t playing along. He wouldn’t dare to be disrespectful to her, the owner of the magic library, so he would probably be fuming inside. He might even lose his appetite and refuse to eat, just like when he was a child. Poor young master!
“We can’t leave them alone together.”
“We can’t leave them alone together.”
Castor and I said the same thing simultaneously. His face turned bright red, and he hurriedly pulled me along by the wrist.
“That mage, your master, he looks older than me!”
“He’s the perfect age for marriage!”
“And he’s rich, being a Count!”
“He’s so rich he could use magic crystals as garden pebbles!”
“We can’t leave the Master alone with a man like that!”
We quickly reached a large door. We could hear voices coming from inside.
“I wouldn’t mind if Miss Baba became my mistress, to be honest. Because I don’t think she would separate me from the young master.”
But it would be nice if I became his special person. That was something to think about after I became human. A doll bride… even the young master’s few friends would be horrified.
Just as I was about to knock politely, Castor flung the door open.
“Hey! That’s rude!”
“Master!”
He grabbed my wrist and suddenly demanded to hold her hand.
“I need permission for that.”
Miss Baba said, placing her hand gently on the young master’s shoulder. He frowned, then took her hand. What was I witnessing?
“We were just discussing marriage.”