Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Chloe’s doll and my doll look the exact same.
“Iris?”
Declan asked with a puzzled face. However, because I was too dazed, I couldn’t answer.
Iris was a doll I received as a gift from my grandmother when I was a child. I went to the hospital with a grandmother, who accidentally fell on the street, and she gave it to me as a gift.
[ “Our old man bought this doll from Europe for our daughter. She’s grown up a lot now, so I hope that the little girl will be happy with this doll from now on.” ]
…But why does the same-looking doll exist in this world?
My mind started spinning chaotically.
“Hey, are you all right?”
Declan inadvertently struck my shoulder and smiled in vain at the hand that passed through. Trying to get a hold of me, he yelled again. “Hey, Erica!”
“Yes, yes?”
I was barely able to get it together at his call.
“Is your appearance so shocking?”
Although he was puzzled, Declan looked closely and observed my condition.
“Well, I didn’t know it would look like this…” Still confused, I muttered with an awkward face.
“Are you really okay? Is it that weird?”
“Oh, no. I was just surprised because it was unexpected.”
I glanced at the doll once again as Declan was talking.
“I’m going to the office, what are you going to do?”
“…I’ll go with you.”
Barely able to look away from the doll, I replied and turned to him.
“You’re coming, too?”
“The only person who can see me is Your Majesty. Where else can I go?”
For a moment, his expression changed for a little, trying to think it wasn’t a big deal.
“And you’re going to take the doll with you anyway, right?”
“That’s true…”
Still, he hesitated and did not readily say yes right away.
“Well, it doesn’t matter if you don’t allow it.” As I smiled and said that, Declan wriggled his eyebrows.
“You’ll have to get used to it in the future because I’ll be here all the time now. Come on.”
At my urging, he couldn’t say anything more. Declan walked out the door while holding the doll.
***
As I quietly followed him, I recalled Chloe’s doll again.
‘Did I commit a great sin in my previous life?’
The minor mistakes I had made in my previous life passed through my mind. With that thought, I started confessing about random things that popped up in my head.
‘Actually, I skipped class a few times at the academy… Also, in class before, I would sometimes read comics without my teacher’s knowledge.’
While I started rambling on the confessions, reality suddenly hit me, and I immediately shut my mouth. This problem was not something that could be understood just by thinking about it now.
‘Declan already said that he was looking for the doll company, so let’s think about it again when that time comes.’
As I continued to organize my thoughts, we eventually arrived at a large door with flower weather and a lion pattern.
Declan opened the door and entered the room.
Rows of bookcases on the right wall and a nicely decorated fireplace on the left greeted me as I followed him in.
The attendant, who rushed into the room, quickly laid down the cushion on the desk. He then placed the doll on top of it and rummaged through the piles of paperwork that were piling up on the desk.
“Since you didn’t get to eat earlier, I brought something simple.”
Noah peeked as he put a sandwich and tea on the desk.
“Call Mason.”
“Yes.”
After Noah left the office, Declan grabbed the sandwich and cut it in half, before placing it in front of the doll.
“Why are you doing that?”
“…I’m afraid you might get hungry as well.”
A peal of small laughter burst out as he swung out the sandwich he was holding in his hand.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. But… I can’t eat it.”
I put on a sad face.
“You really can’t eat it?”
“Look at me, how can I eat it when I’m like this?” As I dropped my eyes and spoke softly, Declan gazed at me with deep green eyes.
Wow, those eyes are irresistible…
“Have you never eaten food?”
Laughter exploded at the unexpected, funny question. I peered at him.
“How could a soul eat food? Oh, though I don’t feel appetite or hunger, I was curious about the taste.”
“Do you remember everything that I gave you?”
“Yes. You brought milk and desserts every time at tea time.”
“I see. You remembered all that.” He said. Declan’s mouth was slowly raised.
“I remember all the words Your Majesty ever told me. Like how you told me to blow on your finger that got hurt, and…”
“Stop.”
At that, Declan’s face was now slightly red. Seeing his reaction, I burst into a giggle. He coughed and turned his head away.
“What kind of food do you like?”
“Well, I would have to try it to know what my favorite food would be first, right?”
Because he still believed that I was born as a doll, I couldn’t possibly tell the truth now.
“Right…”
While looking at Declan nodding, a sudden great enlightenment hit me.
It was only now that I realized that I could talk and move freely. Being trapped inside the doll, I couldn’t help but be filled with joy whenever I saw a ray of hope for the future, which was only dark from where I was.
Being more relaxed, he squeezed his chin with his arms on the table. I quietly watch him eat.
Declan, noticing my gaze, looked up at me while taking a bite from his sandwich.
“How could I eat when you’re staring at me like that?”
“I’ve always done this.”
Realizing what I meant, he glanced back and forth between the doll and me, then avoided his gaze with an embarrassed face.
“From now on, don’t look at me anymore. Just look at the food instead.”
“But I want to talk to Your Majesty rather than the food. I have been so frustrated that I wanted to talk to someone.”
“Still, I can’t eat if you keep staring at me so intently.”
“Okay, I understand. Eat quickly then.”
I smiled softly and looked around to see what I could do to kill time in the meantime. Eventually, my gaze went to the bookshelves that were filling the entire side of the office.
“Do you want to see the book?”
Declan wiped his mouth with a napkin as he had finished eating the sandwich.
“I don’t have anything else to do, so I would like to see it. Though, I’m like this…” I laughed awkwardly as a reply and waved my translucent hand.
Glancing at me indifferently, he stood up and came to my side.
“Can you read it?”
“Of course!”
As I answered confidently, his eyes narrowed.
“I can read the books that Your Majesty read for me before. Oh, you were very good at telling fairy tales.”
Wanting to tease Declan, I strengthened my tone slightly. Again embarrassed, he blushed his face for a moment before composing himself.
I have always seen either his dull or scary expressions, but this was the first time I saw Declan look like this. To be honest, I found it quite cute, so I laughed a little.
He coughed and cleared his expression.
“Well, if there is a book you want to read, just tell me. I will take it out.”
Hearing his words, I scanned through all the books with my eyes and finally picked one up. The book was called 「 The History of the Continent. 」
In the original book, the history of the empire was briefly presented only in the background, but not in great detail. So, since I am going to be living here from now on, I should at least know what kind of place I’m in.
“This. Please take this out.”
Choosing a history book made Declan’s face become ambiguous.
“Are you really wanting to read this?”
“Although I will be with Your Majesty from now on, I still need to know the history.”
He glanced at me with an unknown look. As Declan tilted his head, he finally approached the bookshelf.
“Is it okay to put it here?”
He pulled out the book and laid it on the table in front of the sofa, before turning back to his desk.
“Your Majesty.”
At my call, he stopped and turned his head towards me again.
“What? I can’t just leave it behind?” Declan wriggled his eyebrows, asking what was the problem.
“You have to read it. Like the last time, with the soft tone as before, too.”
Wink. I gave a refreshing wink to the side of my eyes, making the stars splash. Staring at me for a second, he sighed briefly, turned away from the bookshelf and returned to his desk.
“Read it yourself.”
I looked and went down to read the sentence.
At the top was written, ‘The Birth of the Continent.’
[ In the beginning, according to God’s command, the sky and the earth were divided, and the first land, ‘Esteia,’ was created.
God created a beautiful garden and made humans, creatures that resemble him, lived there. God rejoiced as he watched humans live happily without pain in a peaceful and abundant garden.
Before long, God named the garden ‘Perseum,’ the land of the gods. ]
“Hmmm…”
Even though I was concentrating on the book, my face was sore on the side as I felt the intense stare.
‘Well… Why is he staring at me now?’
It was peculiar that he was looking at me when he was supposed to be focused on the papers instead. Confused, I tilted my head.
Knock, knock. Then, there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
“Your Majesty, have you called?”
It was Mason who opened the door.
“Have you heard from Noah?”
“Yes, I heard. The food was poisoned.” Mason’s face hardened as the words uttered from his mouth.
Declan nodded and continued, “It was undetected and odorless.”
“But there was no such kind of poison we know of?”
“It could possibly be a newly developed poison.”
“Is it Duke Otien?”
When that name popped up, I was startled and shut my mouth tightly.
He was the one who took the lead in killing the empresses’ in order to make Maxion the next emperor.
Declan’s father had two empresses, and the first empress was Declan’s mother.
While the second empresses, in turn, were killed at the hands of Maxion and Duke Otien. The Second Empress’ two sons also did not survive. Both the killing of Chloe and the attempts to kill Declan were also all conspiracies between them as well.
Not only that, but it was all Duke Otien’s work of joining hands with the villainess, Jennifer, and making Declan crazy.