Chapter 9
—Let’s escape.
From the very beginning, Calion had been able to hear Riri’s voice.
Ever since she entered the basement, and began diligently moving objects with her doll body, stacking them in front of the small barred window.
He wanted to get up, but his body—beaten by Henry—felt like wet cotton. He couldn’t even move a finger.
No, actually, Calion thought he had finally gone insane.
‘Has God finally responded?’
He had cursed God so many times, denying His existence completely.
It made sense. To Calion, the “God” that the kingdom so firmly believed in was nothing but cruel. People said God decides all fate—then why was his fate this kind of hell?
So he cursed, blamed, mocked. If God truly existed, he demanded salvation.
When no answer came, he concluded God did not exist and continued resenting an invisible being.
And on his 15th birthday, in response to all that hatred toward God—
He thought he was being shown something impossible.
A doll that talks.
A doll moving and speaking like a person.
As if a wrathful God had decided to drive him completely insane.
He was sure of it.
Until—
—Who did this?
—Even if you don’t tell me, I can guess.
—Henry… that bastard, right?
Before that ugly doll—clearly made to be unpleasant—gently touched his face.
The sensation felt strange.
Calion finally lifted his heavy eyelids.
‘Still disgustingly ugly.’
Yet somehow, his expression had loosened without him realizing it.
He talked aimlessly with the doll, learned its name was Riri, and that it became very happy when it saw handsome or pretty things.
‘I’m… handsome?’
He had never heard that before, never even thought it himself.
But he didn’t say it out loud.
And then, in the silence that followed, unease crept in.
What if this wasn’t divine punishment—but something sent by Duke Button?
‘If that’s the case—’
Then God truly didn’t exist.
That thought chilled him.
He quickly pushed it away, thinking of the Duke instead. That man could easily have used black magic to make a doll move and speak just to monitor him.
After all, a cursed sorcerer who used forbidden magic was still staying in the mansion to treat his illness.
Calion suffered from a condition where powerful divine energy and magic coexisted in his body, clashing violently. Some called it madness.
Without a powerful purifier nearby, his body would eventually be consumed—leading him to bloodlust, killing others, even himself.
That was his illness.
And the reason he had been adopted by the Duke in the first place.
‘A curse, nothing more.’
A life of hell followed.
The Duke treated him like an experiment, the servants ignored him, and the Duke’s children abused him.
No one had ever treated him like a human being.
So of course he had to suspect Riri.
He stared at her and finally asked:
“…What are you?”
He bit his lip slightly without realizing it.
As if hoping she wasn’t what he feared.
And then—
—I’m your birthday present.
—Happy birthday.
—Thank you for being born.
Words he had never heard before.
No one had ever congratulated him.
No one had ever said they were glad he was born.
His eyes burned.
He didn’t understand why.
But he was sure—his expression must look strange.
So he blurted out something impulsively.
“I’m… Calion.”
Even introducing his own name felt foreign.
Everything about this doll made him experience things for the first time.
Meanwhile
I already knew his name.
But I couldn’t say that.
So I nodded and grabbed his awkwardly offered hand with both of mine, shaking it energetically.
“Nice to meet you, Calion!”
“……”
“I’m really happy to be your birthday present.”
That last part wasn’t entirely sincere.
But what else could I say? I had tried my best to avoid the original story’s ending, but the moment I thought I had changed something, everything snapped back into place.
I had already ended up in the Duke’s mansion.
And I was one step away from becoming Calion’s doll.
‘At this rate, I’m going to die exactly like in the original story…’
No way.
I tightened my grip on his hand, burning with determination.
I needed to survive first—then worry about saving him.
Just as I was thinking that—
Thud.
“Calion…?”
He collapsed right beside me.
My stuffing instantly tightened in panic.
I rushed to check him.
“Your body is burning up!”
“……”
“Can you hear me? Calion!”
His entire body was scorching hot. He wasn’t responding properly. His face had gone pale, breathing ragged, sweat pouring down like rain.
“…This is bad.”
I didn’t need medical training to know.
He was in critical condition.
No one would come here. The only people who came were servants dumping trash, or Henry and Vivi.
None of them would help him.
So right now—
I was the only one who could.
‘But what am I supposed to do…?’
Then I suddenly remembered something.
A voice I had heard earlier while stuck inside the gift box:
—Isn’t this just for show?
—If you make a good impression on me, I might allow your children into the Magic Tower.
A man who constantly challenged the Duke instead of flattering him.
—The Magic Tower must be bored lately, for the Tower Master to come personally.
The Tower Master.
A genius magician. The youngest ever to hold the position.
A man with every title imaginable.
“If it’s him… he might be able to help.”
But how do I even contact him?
The Duke had hosted a three-day birthday banquet, meaning the Tower Master was staying somewhere in the mansion.
Somewhere.
“I should go out—”
I looked at the makeshift stack I had built like a ladder.
Just as I stepped forward—
—I was planning to stay quiet, but this is impossible.
A voice echoed.
I startled and looked around.
A broken hand mirror in the trash pile flickered faintly.
“…You?”
I asked.
The mirror glimmered brighter, confirming it.
It was an object with consciousness.
—I can help you.
“You?”
I eyed it suspiciously.
Offended, it huffed.
—Don’t underestimate me. I’m a Mirror-Type Artifact. Just a little old.
“How old?”
—5…
“Five years? Or fifty?”
—Five hundred.
“What?! That’s ancient!”
This was getting more and more suspicious.
But I had no time.
I had to trust it.
—I can find what you want. Just think of it and reflect the surroundings in me.
I held it up carefully and muttered:
“Please find something that can help Calion…”
I searched the basement desperately.
But nothing appeared.
Just as I was about to give up—
—I found it!
Something finally appeared in the mirror.
“Is that… a soccer ball?”
A worn-out soccer ball.
Stamped with the emblem of the Magic Tower—the winter mountain crest.
