Chapter 87
*A Plan to Plan a Great Plan*
His hand reached for my cheek. I thought he was going to attach my head, but he didn’t. His trembling hand caressed my cheek, and he gasped.
“Are you alright? You can’t collapse before finishing me. Then we’ll both be stuck here. You locked the workshop, so no one can help us.”
His hand was still trembling. Had he been injured during the fight with the zombies? I wanted to pick him up and take him to a doctor, but my limbs were scattered around.
He had to assemble me first.
“Young Master, calm down and attach it. My head to my body. You can do it. Just make sure you get the front and back right. You know how to tell the difference, right?”
“I…”
His fingertips brushed against my hair, then retreated. Tears welled up in his eyes and started to fall.
“Young Master?”
Was attaching a head and body that difficult?
“I… I can’t do it.”
“You can. If you can’t tell the front from the back, I’ll tell you. See? The part where the waist bends forward is the face…”
“That’s not what I mean.”
He lifted my head and hugged me tightly. I could smell his familiar scent, the scent of wood from his workshop.
The hug was nice, but if I were human, I might have fainted from lack of air. He was holding me so tightly that I couldn’t even speak.
He held me for a long time, then said in a trembling voice,
“So… you were with me all this time?”
“Well, yes. Although it’s a bit late for that realization.”
“I…”
His hand, stroking my hair, was incredibly gentle. Too gentle. It didn’t feel like he was going to attach my head.
“Young Master? Young Master!”
“Anna.”
“Yes. But you can still call me Estella. It’s less confusing.”
“Anna, Anna, Anna.”
“Fine, if you prefer that name…”
He lifted my head and brought it close to my body. Was he finally going to attach it?
No.
He placed my head gently beside my body, crossed his arms, and stared at me, his face flushed like a lovesick boy.
“I’m not going to attach you.”
“What?”
This was a disaster. He wasn’t going to attach my head?
“Then how am I supposed to live?”
“I’m… afraid.”
“I can tell you which way is the front if you’re confused! The side where the waist bends! That’s the front!”
“That’s not the problem.”
He leaned closer and caressed my cheek again. His teary-eyed expression made my heart waver. I had to be firm and tell him to fix me!
“What if you attach me and I leave again? What if I break before returning to Anna’s body?”
“That’s…”
“I can’t bear to see that.”
He kissed my forehead and then stepped back.
“I need to find a place to store you.”
“Hey! You’ve been carrying me around just fine! Why suddenly store me away! If you’re going to store me, at least attach my head!”
“No. I can’t do that.”
He wiped his hands, which were covered in various materials, and then retrieved some clothes from a corner of the workshop. Was he going to dress my headless body?
“I can dress myself! Attach my head!”
“No.”
“Hey!”
“That won’t work.”
“Young Master!”
He dressed my body and carefully placed it in a corner of the workshop. He placed my head on a soft cushion and even brushed my hair.
His calm demeanor made me even angrier. Was this the time to be brushing my hair?!
“Stay here. You’ll be safe.”
He patted my head, ignoring my protests.
He seemed confused and distraught.
No matter how much he liked me, he couldn’t stay by my side forever.
After the zombie attack on the mansion, he had to leave to oversee the repairs. I had argued with him for half a day, but to no avail.
He trembled every time he touched me. He would turn pale and almost faint if even a strand of my hair came loose.
It was completely different from when he didn’t believe I was Anna.
“You don’t even store jewels in a corner like this! And you’re leaving a person here?!”
I fumed, but it was no use.
He had left for work. What was I supposed to do? I felt frustrated. He could have at least chained me up. That would have been better. No, wait, we were both being irrational.
How could I escape?
It would be difficult on my own. I needed help.
“Secret agents! Assemble!”
I shouted in the empty workshop. After calling them several times, my lazy secret agents finally appeared.
Sparrow perched on my shoulder, and Zomrat climbed onto the cushion.
“Zomrat! Sparrow! Push me onto the floor!”
My plan was this: if I could get closer to my body, I might be able to move.
The problem was their intelligence. I hated to admit it, but they were too stupid to understand.
“I just need my body to fall towards me.”
Sparrow preened his feathers on my shoulder. I just needed to shift my center of gravity.
I called out to Zomrat, who was sniffing my cheek.
“Zomrat, Zomrat, Zomrat!”
Please, at least recognize your name!
“Squeak?”
He finally reacted.
“Go to Sparrow!”
“…”
“Climb onto Sparrow and push my body over!”
“…”
“Sparrow, push my body towards Zomrat!”
They looked at me with blank, adorable expressions.
Oh, my cute idiots!
Then how about this?
“Guys!”
I shouted, putting all my desperation into my voice.
“Snacks!”
“Squeak!”
“Chirp!”
It worked! They instinctively tried to climb onto my body, since snacks usually came from my apron pocket.
Motivated by snacks, they were no longer an ordinary rat and a baby bird. They were predators. They climbed on me, searching for snacks, their movements so vigorous that the chair wobbled.
Yes, this was it!
“Snacks! Snacks! Snacks!”
The snack-driven predators finally pushed my body over. They clung to the side where my voice was coming from, just as I had hoped.
“Good job! I’ll give you snacks later.”
Unfortunately, they weren’t smart enough to understand.
As my head and body came closer, I focused on my physical senses. My body was powered by magic. If they were close enough, I might be able to control it!
My prediction was correct. I could feel a faint sensation in my hands.
It must have been a grotesque sight, but I struggled with all my might. And I finally did it. I could move my body!
But only the young master could reattach my head.
I carefully held my head in my arms. I definitely didn’t want to look in the mirror in this state.
“I have to find the young master and ask him to fix me. Zomrat, Sparrow! Let’s go find him!”
“…”
“…”
They just stared at me blankly. I walked out of the workshop, shouting,
“Snacks! Snacks!”
“Squeak! Squeak!”
“Chirp!”
I took my animal companions and went to the mansion, searching for the young master. I couldn’t carry my head around forever.
“Young Master! Young Master!”
I checked his office and the drawing-room, but he wasn’t there. Had he gone out?
As I was wandering around, I heard screams coming from the maids’ quarters.
“Aaaah!”
Were there zombies? I ran towards the screams.
“What’s wrong? Are there still zombies?”
I didn’t know. That to the maids, I was more terrifying than zombies.
“Aaaah! It’s a headless maid ghost!”
They screamed and ran away.
“I am headless, and I am a maid, but I’m not a ghost!”
“Aaaah!”
“Run!”
The commotion even brought Head Butler Godora out.
“What are you doing, slacking off instead of work…!”
Would he recognize me?
“Head Butler!”
“Squeak!”
“Chirp!”
Did he smell good or something? Zomrat and Sparrow rushed towards him. Startled, he dropped the tray he was holding.
“Creatures! And a headless maid!”
“That’s a bit harsh!”
“It talks!”
He pressed his hand against his forehead and fainted.
“Head Butler!”
The nearby maids rushed to his side, worried.
And then it was a series of unfortunate events. Hearing the maids’ screams, other servants came running and fainted as well.
The commotion attracted the guards, who pointed their weapons at me.
“I’m the young master’s creation!”
The situation was finally resolved when the young master returned with the Captain of the Guard. He saw me and shouted,
“Anna!”
“Yes!”
“I wasn’t calling for a response!”
“But I couldn’t just not answer…”
He approached me and reached for my face. I pulled back slightly, avoiding his touch.
“You’re going to lock me up, aren’t you?”
“I’ll fix you.”
“Can you do it now?”
“I have to. Are you going to keep wandering around like this?”
He had a point. I let him do as he pleased. Thankfully, he didn’t take my head or try to store me in his subspace.
He honestly reattached my head to my body.
“We should go to the workshop for a proper repair.”
He said hesitantly. I moved my head around. It seemed fine…?
I wasn’t going back to the workshop! He might lock me up!
“I’d rather be chained up than locked up.”
He didn’t react to my words, but Head Butler Godora, unfortunately, overheard.
“What was that?! Young Master! Oh, I feel faint…”