Chapter 50
“This must be a dream.”
I didn’t know much about magic, but I had my own way of understanding it. I thought of magic as being the same as dreams.
When you used magic, dreamlike things happened. You could easily clean, win wars, and even make someone fall in love.
However, there were things even magic couldn’t do. You couldn’t revive the dead.
So, this magical scene unfolding before my eyes must be a dream.
“It’s Anna.”
I muttered, looking down at my smaller hands. I was in a luxurious garden. There was no way someone would put a bed in a garden.
To wake up in a plush, luxurious bed in a beautiful garden filled with my favorite flowers…
This had to be a dream.
Of course, it could be magic. But that was impossible.
Even with magic, my body, which had died five years ago, couldn’t be revived.
“Do dolls dream?”
I murmured hazily. Perhaps to make the dream feel more real, my throat was parched, and my eyes were dry, making me blink constantly.
The physical sensations, which I hadn’t felt in a while, were strange and unfamiliar. It was uncomfortable, and I could almost feel the familiar pangs of my past illness.
How did I end up having this dream? As I tried to recall, the young master’s face came to mind. His bewildered and distraught expression had been more shocking than the sight of the lady eating zombies.
A disobedient doll was useless, after all.
Perhaps he would reflect on his actions if he felt my absence? I should run away sometime.
I had been too obedient, so he seemed to think I would always be. Was that even logical?
No matter how skilled a mage was, they couldn’t cook or clean better than a maid.
I always made choices that benefited him. If he just trusted me, I could even conquer the world for him.
He needed to realize how valuable I was, not as a person, but as a doll.
But there was one problem. My body could only move with his magic, so how could I run away?
I couldn’t even leave this beautiful garden right now.
“What kind of dream is this? I’m not even free.”
I couldn’t get out of bed. It was partly because I couldn’t move my limbs, but the real problem was the anklet.
Whenever I tried to swing my legs out of bed, black smoke rose from the anklet.
“Hey, anklet! Is there a rule against moving? Are you a talking anklet? Answer me. I’m a talking doll. Well, a former one, I guess.”
The anklet, being just an object, didn’t answer. I tried moving my ankle up and down, side to side. The smoke only appeared when I tried to lower my legs to the floor.
“I guess I can’t leave the bed.”
I gave up quickly. It was just a dream, so I might as well relax.
I let my body go limp and lay back down on the soft, comfortable bed. It was incomparable to the rickety old bed in the servants’ quarters.
It was similar to the bed the young master had promised me when he was very young.
Back then, I had complained endlessly about the heavy blankets and creaky bed. It was the day I had run away from the servants’ quarters to play with him.
‘If it’s that uncomfortable, I’ll get you a better bed someday.’
‘It would cost a fortune to replace all the beds in the servants’ quarters. The master won’t allow it.’
‘I’ll just replace yours.’
What had I replied back then?
‘Special treatment! Are you promoting me?’
‘…I suppose so.’
‘I’ll work hard.’
Ah…
Had he meant that he liked me?
“Hmm.”
It was too late to wonder now. Anna was gone. Well, technically, she was in this dreamlike garden, but not in reality.
If I could appear before him again, in this form, would I get a different answer?
A more direct and exciting answer!
“Ah! I want to annoy the young master!”
I rubbed my cheek against the soft blanket and exclaimed. A cool breeze, moving like clockwork, carried the floral scents.
Perhaps it was the gentle air or the soft darkness, but I felt drowsy. I felt dizzy and nauseous, like riding in a bumpy carriage. It felt like my consciousness was being pulled away.
“What a strange dream.”
I murmured, slowly blinking my eyes.
“Young Master, do dolls dream?”
I closed my eyes, trying to fall back asleep.
But as an unexpected, melancholic voice answered me, I snapped awake.
“I don’t know.”
“…Young Master?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know if dolls dream or not.”
I was lying on a bed, just like in my dream. No, wait, it wasn’t a bed. It was a flat wooden workbench. Blueprints, flasks, and various experimental tools were scattered around me. Magic tools were also lying around everywhere.
“Castor must have opened the workshop.”
I sat up. My body felt better than before. My arm was reattached, without a trace of the break.
Seeing the dust and fragments around the young master made me feel a strange mix of emotions. Those were pieces of me.
If I gathered them all, could I make another Estella? That might be helpful for work. Although it would double the trouble for the young master.
It was strange that he wasn’t scolding me as I examined my body.
I cautiously observed his expression. It wasn’t menacing. Did he know that this was even more frightening?
He was leaning over the workbench, staring intently at me. Why was he staring like that! It was unnerving.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
I asked, trying to sound nonchalant, hiding my nervousness.
“…”
I had finally mustered the courage to ask, and yet, frustratingly, he didn’t answer. Had I done something wrong?
As I briefly reflected on my past actions, there were too many mistakes to choose from. I shouldn’t have ripped off my arm like I was pulling weeds.
How should I atone this time? Should I do a handstand with my newly repaired, stronger arm as a sign of repentance? Wouldn’t that just make things worse?
“Tell me.”
Here it comes. It was a clear sign that he wanted me to figure out what I had done wrong.
Ugh, there were so many things! Did he find out that I had wiped his coat with a dusty cloth? But wasn’t Estella more valuable than a coat?
“Tell you what?”
I decided to play dumb. It might be better to lead him on.
“About your dream.”
He asked a completely unexpected question.
“Did you dream while you were asleep?”
So that’s why he was sulking? Now it was my turn to be sulky. For some reason, I didn’t want to answer him directly. I wanted to tease him.
“Well? Guess. Did I dream or not?”
“I don’t know.”
He looked dejected. It must have been a serious question for him. Mages were so hard to understand.
Were dreams that important?
“I didn’t know if you were asleep, if you would never wake up again, or if you had ever even been awake in the first place.”
His voice was filled with confusion.
“At first, I thought I could fix you, of course. Since I made you. But then, I became anxious.”
He buried his face in his arms.
“I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to wake you up again.”
“You were worried that I was having too much fun in my dream?”
I hopped off the workbench and sat down in front of him. He raised his head slightly and looked at me.
He was older than me, but sometimes he felt like a fragile, delicate child.
There were many ways to comfort a crying child. First, it was best to empathize with their sadness.
“I would have felt the same way. If you suddenly disappeared, I would be sad and worried that I might never see you again. I don’t have tear ducts, but I would probably stick my face in a river. So I could at least feel like I’m crying.”
He chuckled softly. Was he feeling a bit better? This was a success.
I moved closer to him, acting like a spoiled puppy. I leaned forward and placed my hands on his knees, looking up at him with the most innocent expression I could muster.
“But I woke up.”
“Yes, you did.”
“Dreams aren’t important. We can have more fun in reality.”
“How much more fun are you planning to have?”
I glared at him.
“Don’t stop me. I know you stopped me on purpose.”
He flinched and lowered his eyebrows. So he was the puppy.
“But it’s fine since I woke up! You were just worried because you’ve never broken me before. It was your first time, mistakes happen. I’ve broken myself many times, and I’m very durable.”
His eyelashes fluttered as he sighed.
“You made a mistake this time, so I’ll make a mistake next time. Then it’s fair, right?”
He pretended to think about it for a moment, then sighed again.
I wasn’t expecting him to agree. I had just said it to make him laugh…
“Fine.”
To my surprise, he nodded.
“I’ll let you off the hook just this once.”