“Ayla, who should I entrust the doll-making to? If you have a craftsman in mind, I will make sure to entrust it to them.”
“…You don’t actually think I’m serious, do you?”
“Of course, I think you are serious.”
“Well, you could also think that I just said it to continue the conversation, right?”
“However, in your eyes when you said that, I could feel sincerity.”
“…What sincerity?”
“That you really want to beat Seila.”
“No, no matter what, I don’t want to compete with a child over dolls, right? Let alone arguing over which doll is prettier.”
“I see.”
I said as I politely bowed while clasping my hands together.
“I apologize if I misunderstood.”
“Of course, you misunderstood. But I’m glad we were able to have a natural conversation. I’ll give you credit for that.”
“However, Ayla, I’m sure Seila is expecting something from you.”
“Are you saying she expects me to beat her?”
“She is probably expecting you to talk about dolls with her.”
Originally, conversation can only take place when there are overlapping interests. Art, pottery, swords, or swordsmanship. People talk about martial arts or sometimes gossip or praise others.
In this case, it is dolls.
Seila doesn’t like Ayla very much. She feels uncomfortable when they eat together and complains about this and that. So, usually, there’s no reason to talk to her.
The same goes for Ayla, to the point that she even attached the condition of reconciling with Seila to me.
Now, these two have found a topic to talk about.
If Ayla doesn’t make the doll, then the one topic they can talk about when they meet will disappear.
“Arguing with each other isn’t such a big deal. What’s more dangerous is when you can’t even argue.”
“…………That’s true. Even if we argue, we need to be able to exchange words naturally to have a future.”
After all, beauty is a personal matter. In this case, it doesn’t matter if Ayla loses. If she wants to create a reason, all she has to do is slightly damage the doll.
So.
“I will grow my hair.”
“…Hair? Why are you suddenly talking about hair when we’re talking about dolls?”
“I didn’t know you cared about me this much, Ayla. I’m sure you want to make a doll and live together in the same bed.”
“No, I never said that.”
“Then I will cooperate as much as possible in making the doll. If I use my hair for the doll’s hair—”
“No, wait a minute. Oh my.”
Ayla touched her forehead.
“What is this uncomfortable talk?”
“High-end dolls often use real human hair.”
“Forget it. I don’t need that. Oh my. I’m not planning to sleep with such an uncomfortable thing in my bed. Isn’t dyed silk enough?”
“Then you plan to sleep with a doll that resembles me in your bed. I’m honored.”
“You know, sometimes you get a little weird and clingy?”
Ayla sighed deeply.
“Well, whatever. I’ll go along with it. I’ll make the doll based on your appearance, but I’m not actually going to use real hair.”
“So, the doll in your bed…?”
“No, why are you so fixated on such trivial things?”
Ayla exhaled softly.
Then, she blankly stared out the window. Despite all the stories unfolding around this Countess’s domain, the spring weather outside was just warm and pleasant.
“Well, fine. I can accept that much. After all, you’re planning to put your doll on my bed every time you clean my room.”
“It’s an honor, Ayla. Then I will find the best doll craftsman I can.”
“You get so excited when it’s about your story…”
Actually, it’s not my story, but rather Ayla gets excited when talking about mine, but I decided not to deny it.
There was no need for me to move to find the doll craftsman. When I told my shadow about it, they quickly responded saying they knew someone. When I asked if I could use my hair for it, they gave me a very uncomfortable look, so I decided to abandon that idea.
After all, even high-end dolls using real human hair seemed strange.
“Well, there is someone.”
However, as if denying my thoughts, the shadow said.
“But that person legitimately bought someone else’s hair and used it, so it’s okay. It was just used as a premium material. Making a doll based on someone’s face and using that person’s hair for it—of course, it feels uncomfortable. Especially since you’re planning to give it to someone you like, right? Are you thinking of cursing them?”
“A curse?”
“…Forget it, I shouldn’t say anymore.”
The shadow shook their head and turned away from my question.
Anyway, I heard it would take about a month for the doll to be finished. Originally, it would take much longer, but since I didn’t really want the best doll, I just wanted a doll that could serve as a conversation piece with Seila.
We can use parts that already resemble me, and make the eyes out of amethyst, so it’s fine.
Afterward, Ayla and Seila often talked to each other.
Seila, while pretending not to like Ayla, showed a little happiness at having more guests for her tea time.
To be precise, I persuaded her to be this way.
“In a ball, there are always young ladies who oppose the heroine. If those young ladies don’t confront the heroine, the story may not even take shape.”
It seems that Seila decided to think of herself as the ‘heroine fighting the villain’ after hearing those words. After that, Ayla didn’t show much resistance when she visited the villa.
Thus, for a brief moment, peace returned to this Count’s domain.
For about five days.
Before even a week had passed, an external problem arose for us.
“…The empress is moving again?”
“Yes, brother.”
The younger sibling, who brought the information, said to me.
“This information was obtained from Father… no, from Marquis-sama, so it’s certain.”
“Are these informants you’ve planted in the empire?”
“Yes. Well, they’re not exactly informants, more like just stories from noble acquaintances.”
“So, they are informants. Nobles in the kingdom maintain a certain level of independence, but the empire is different. After the civil war, most nobles are no different from the empress’s subordinates. In that situation, it’s not easy to pass on information.”
“Does that mean the information is wrong?”
I paused for a moment, thinking.
“No, I don’t think so.”
On the contrary, perhaps this is precisely why the empress might want to convey something important.
The other party, for example, a person from the kingdom whom she highly values, might have heard the information and wants to contact her, or might act in a way that makes it obvious.
“So, isn’t it more dangerous to react?”
“It seems the empress has already figured out that I am the illegitimate son of the Marquis.”
“…Well, it’s not exactly a big secret, is it? If anything, it’s a secret you’ve kept to yourself, but only within the empire.”
That’s right.
I am an illegitimate son, but I have been recognized by the Marquis.
I never really went to other balls under my “real” name, nor did I have many conversations with other nobles, so my presence was very faint in that regard. I did that on purpose.
In the empire, I even used a pseudonym and operated, and my very existence was a secret to most of the empire’s nobles.
But even so, I didn’t think the empress would never figure out my true identity. As my younger sibling said, I was the only one who actively hid my identity.
“Since the empress knows who I am, once she starts moving freely, it will be the Marquis who finds it uncomfortable, won’t it?”
“I didn’t know you cared so much about Father’s convenience.”
“Who are you calling a bastard?”
My younger sibling shook his head in disbelief.
He thinks of me as a bastard, though he doesn’t say it out loud.
…Well, maybe that’s true.
If everything had gone according to plan, I was going to disappear with Ayla forever. I planned to go somewhere far away, build a house for just the two of us, and live a relaxed life forever. That was my wish.
Even if that didn’t happen, I still wanted Ayla to live freely. And for that to happen, my existence could never be known to the world, so even if Ayla didn’t choose me, the outcome wouldn’t have been much different.
“There’s mother in the estate, isn’t there?”
At my words, my younger sibling chuckled softly.
“Right. Mother is there too.”
“So, if my identity being revealed would cause harm to her as well, it might be better to directly ask what she wants.”
“Is that so?”
My younger sibling shrugged and continued.
“Wasn’t it called magic that changes fate? Did it really work? It seems like everyone around you is gathering again.”
“……”
I couldn’t find a response to that.