Episode 3: “Onward, to the Territory”
A magic doll lasts only a single day. That meant their stay at the Haydn Marquessate would be just one night and two days — short enough that both their bags fit into a single one.
“Fiine. Another letter came.”
Yuria had checked the mailbox before they left and came back holding a familiar white envelope. There was no need to check the sender; she already knew.
“…Just leave it where it usually goes.”
“Are you sure? They’ve really piled up.”
“Yeah. At this point, I don’t even know what I’d say back.”
“You could at least look at what’s inside, you know.”
Grumbling as she said it, Yuria didn’t push any further than that. She went off to put the letter in the tin box in the bedroom.
(…I’m sorry, Burkhardt-san.)
She apologized silently in her heart. She knew it didn’t mean anything, doing that.
Fiine ate the sandwich Yuria had prepared, then took her bag and stepped outside the shop. Right on schedule, Heinz arrived in a two-horse carriage.
They climbed into the carriage bearing the Haydn family crest. Heinz sat in sullen silence, but she couldn’t afford to give up on conversation entirely.
“U-um, excuse me—”
“…What is it?”
“Could you tell me more about your daughter? Everything you remember.”
She strung the words together despite her nerves. Beside her, Yuria gave her a secret pat on the back — well done.
“This is for the magic, I take it?”
“Yes. I need information to raise the precision of the magic doll.”
“…I see.”
After a deep sigh, Heinz began to speak about his daughter. The way she talked, the little habits she had, the foods she loved and hated, how she treated the household staff, the toys and stuffed animals she’d been fond of.
Without pause, Heinz kept talking about his daughter, on and on.
Fiine took careful notes on each detail, building up a picture in her mind of a girl named Christa.
By the time they reached the territory, she’d gotten a fairly solid grasp of who Christa had been.
“What a beautiful estate…”
At the entrance to the Haydn manor stood a tall arched gate. The garden was in bloom with flowers of every color, and at its center stood a splendid fountain.
The path to the front door was paved in marble, polished so perfectly it reflected their figures as they walked.
“It’s a house with history and tradition behind it. Rare, for commoners like you, I’d imagine.”
“Excuse—!”
Fiine hurriedly stopped Yuria before she could finish her complaint. It had certainly been a rude thing to say, but it wasn’t unusual coming from a noble. Besides, it was clear Heinz had no room left in him right now to consider anyone else’s feelings.
“Is your wife in her room again today?”
“…Yes. She doesn’t leave it, except to bathe or use the privy.”
“If possible, I’d like to speak with your wife as well. Would that be all right?”
She could manage to make the magic doll from Heinz’s account alone, but the precision of her information would directly determine the precision of the doll.
(Besides, it sounds like it’s mainly the wife who wants to talk to the doll this time.)
If that was the case, then she needed to build a doll that would be perfect in Lady Haydn’s eyes specifically. Hearing her account firsthand was necessary for that.
“…Understood.”
They stepped down from the carriage and followed Heinz’s lead. His wife’s room was at the far end of the second floor.
Fiine knocked, but there was no answer. That seemed to be usual too — Heinz called out and opened the door himself.
The instant it opened, Fiine couldn’t help but clap a hand over her nose.
(The smell—!)
She managed not to say it out loud, but she still took an involuntary step back. Yuria went into the room in her place.
“It’s really cluttered in here.”
Fiine peered into the room from behind her. Scattered everywhere were toys and clothes, all of them a child’s. On the table sat a set of dishware, also child-sized.
And at the very back of the room, curled up on a child’s bed with a blanket pulled over her head, was a woman.
The source of the smell was, almost certainly, her.
(I assumed the wife was just shutting herself in her own room, but I don’t think that’s right. This is a child’s room.)
The woman slowly turned her gaze toward them, but her eyes were hollow, unfocused, never quite meeting theirs. What little hair was visible was matted and unkempt, and her face, faintly lit, showed skin badly worn down.
According to what they’d heard in the carriage she was thirty, but she looked a decade older.
“Claudia. Fiine Fellner-san has come. She’s the one who can let you see Christa.”
Heinz’s voice was gentle enough that he almost sounded like a different person from moments before. He walked to his wife’s side, met her eyes, and gently pulled back the blanket covering her.
(…Could it be…)
Her frail, painfully thin body made her swollen belly look strikingly out of place — enough that Fiine wanted to look away.
She was almost certainly pregnant right now.
“Please. Do something for her.”
Heinz said it in a voice on the verge of tears. In this state, there was no doubt it would take a toll on the child in her womb as well. Things were apparently more urgent than Fiine had realized.
She steeled herself and drew in a deep breath. Enduring the smell, Fiine stepped closer to the woman.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Fiine Fellner, owner of the magic doll shop Lux.”
“…Can I really see Christa again?”
Claudia’s hands shot out and gripped Fiine by both shoulders. She was clearly putting all her strength into it, but it didn’t hurt at all.
“Yes. Please leave it to me.”
The moment Fiine nodded, tears spilled from Claudia’s eyes.
“So, Lady Haydn — no, Claudia-sama. Would you please tell me about Christa-sama?”
“That girl was… she was truly such a kind child.”
Claudia began to speak through her tears. Watching her, Heinz pressed a handkerchief to his eyes. It might have been a long time, Fiine thought, since Claudia had spoken like this at all.
“…I’m sure Christa-sama is looking forward to seeing you too, Claudia-sama.”
As she spoke, Fiine gently rubbed the woman’s fragile, bird-like back. Averting her eyes softly from Claudia, who kept repeating thank you, thank you over and over.