‘Godness, what’s going on here?’
I’d spoken to the baby doll countless times before, but this was the first time it ever moved or spoke on its own.
I blinked, wondering if I was hallucinating.
‘Is it because I’ve been overthinking?’
But it couldn’t have been just my imagination—not when I could clearly see it flapping its tiny wings, shaking its head, and stretching out its little body.
To my surprise, the baby doll opened its eyes.
「Yawn, how long did I sleep? My head is splitting.」
It didn’t even have a mouth—so how was it yawning?
As I stood frozen in shock, the doll I had always called Pepe continued grumbling as it moved around.
「Goodness. Why are my legs so short? It’s hard to balance. And why is my head so big?」
Pepe waddled around awkwardly, spinning in place, then let out a shriek as he looked down at his hands.
「No way—this is knitted! Wait, my hands? What is this? I turned into a knitting doll!」
Pepe twirled around frantically, trying to get a better look at his body. The problem was… he was absolutely adorable.
‘What do I do? I want to hug him.’
The doll was cute enough already, but now that it was moving around in confusion, it was five times cuter. Pressing my pounding heart, I clenched my hands together.
‘Is that doll… Pepe?’
The grand and beautiful dragon who saved me.
The dragon, which had collapsed in a pool of blood.
The one I couldn’t even cover properly with a shawl.
‘Did Pepe… become a knitting doll?’
The moment I realized it, my heart, once fluttering from the cuteness, froze like ice. I clenched my pale hands tightly.
If such a great dragon had turned into a mere knitted doll, there could be only one reason.
‘It’s my fault.’
I didn’t know exactly what had happened, but as soon as I covered him with the knitted shawl, Pepe disappeared—and in his place was a knitting doll. There had to be some kind of dark magic involved.
‘In the end… I couldn’t even keep Pepe warm properly.’
My lips pressed together in guilt. Pepe, who had been spinning around like a dog chasing its tail, suddenly stopped. He looked back at me and tilted his head.
「Who are you?」
“…!”
The question hit me like a blow. I hadn’t prepared an answer. My heart tightened, and my face went pale.
The baby dragon blinked his big eyes and asked again, still tilting his head in innocence.
「Are you… Yvonne?」
“…Pepe?”
Oh God, he remembers me!
I hugged the baby doll with a wide smile. Even so, I could only rub my cheek against it, since it was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand.
“You’re really Pepe!”
「Yvonne! You’ve grown so much since I last saw you. Grow up, grow up! Did you eat some kind of grown fruit or something?」
“What are you even saying?”
Grown fruit? Is there even such a thing in the world?
I giggled, then gently stroked Pepe’s soft, knitted head with my index finger and said,
“It’s been decades since you disappeared, Pepe.”
「Eh? Decades? That long?!」
I briefly explained everything that had happened. How Pepe had suddenly started bleeding, disappeared, and how Count Kleene found me clutching the doll he had become.
“Hic… I’m sorry. It was all because of me.”
As I spoke about those old memories, tears welled up in my eyes again. The little dragon gently comforted me.
「Eh, I don’t really remember what happened, but there’s no reason for you to cry. Dragons never die, you know. I was probably just… really hurt.」
Pepe patted my forehead with his round little hands and gave a cheerful laugh.
「I think you used magic to transfer me right when I was dying. So thank you, Yvonne.」
“Pepe…”
At his kind words, my tears burst out all over again. Pepe flailed his tiny arms in mock horror.
「Ugh! Is my body getting wet? Stop crying already! I’m a knitting doll, remember? I get all heavy when I soak up water!」
Still, my tears wouldn’t stop. Pepe clicked his tongue at me in mild frustration.
「What a crybaby. I guess I’ll just have to give a good girl a present. So stop crying, okay?」
“A present?”
Pepe puffed out his round belly with pride.
「Perfect timing! I’ve finally recovered enough energy to do a little magic. Is there anything you want to see? Or something you need help with? I’ll grant you one request—anything at all.」
Magic. The word startled me. My mind went blank. I couldn’t think of a single thing I wanted at that moment. All I could think about was Pepe.
It had been so long since I’d seen him—since we could talk like this. What if using magic now made him sick again?
I looked at him with worried eyes and spoke gently, my voice barely above a whisper.
“… Don’t overdo it. If you faint again, I’ll cry my eyes out.”
Though I meant it out of worry, Pepe stomped his stubby feet and snapped.
「You brat! It’s been decades since I’ve talked to you, and now you’re doubting me? Hmph! Fine, I’ll show you just how amazing I am!」
“Ah! Pepe, wait!”
No, seriously, I didn’t mean it like that…
Before I could stop him, a bright light burst from Pepe’s body. It was the same kind of glow that had flared up when I wrapped the shawl around him as a child.
“W-Wait!”
Panicking, I hugged Pepe close to my chest.
The light grew so intense I had to squeeze my eyes shut. Then, slowly, the brightness faded. When I dared to open my eyes again, I was no longer in my room.
“Huh…? This place is…”
The wind rustled through tall grass. A chilly breeze brushed my cheeks. The land stretched out wide, familiar round hills, vast wheat fields swaying in the wind.
This was the estate of Count Kleene.
‘Why am I here?’
It was summer, yet the wind brushing my cheeks felt oddly cool. Dressed in a short-sleeved gown, I instinctively hugged my arms, shivering at the sudden chill.
“That’s strange. The weather’s been sunny every day lately… but now it feels like snow could fall any second.”
Pepe, still nestled in my palm, puffed out his round belly and said proudly:
「Of course, it feels different. This place is the future.」
“…The future?”
「Dragons are spiritual beings—we’re not bound by time or space. Think of it as a little gift for a girl who’s endured so much, all alone.」
“The future…”
「Since you’ve lived your whole life filled with anxiety, wouldn’t it be nice to finally know what lies ahead?」
I slowly raised my eyes to Pepe. He grinned, his stitched mouthless face somehow expressive.
[You’re curious, right? I heard someone proposed to you.]
Well.
‘I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t.’
As soon as Pepe mentioned it, Emil’s proposal resurfaced in my mind—the words, the bouquet, the Countess’s pressure. I nodded slowly, eyes fixed ahead.
‘If I accept the marriage… what kind of future is waiting for me?’
Nothing came to mind right away. At most, I imagined a quiet life: a son with Emil’s gentle smile, a daughter with my features, and peaceful days in the Kleene estate.
‘Emil would be a good husband. And I… I’d be a good wife, too.’
It wouldn’t be a passionate love story, but after so many years together, we knew each other well. We could live by supporting one another, with respect, if not romance.
‘If anything were to change that future, it’d be something dramatic… like risky investments or sudden upheaval. But Emil and I—we’re steady people. We’d live quietly as Count and Countess Kleene.’
A plain, almost boring future. The kind most people imagine. Then Pepe flapped his tiny wings and pointed.
「It’s people there!」
But the future he brought me to wasn’t the one I’d pictured.
Following the direction he pointed, I saw a crowd. A lot of people, all dressed in black.
‘A funeral…?’
Why would I land in a moment like this?
‘Whose funeral is this?’
It was strange—I could move freely through the crowd, yet no one noticed me. With growing unease, I stepped closer toward the coffin.
‘Huh?’
A woman with a pale face, who seemed to be sprinkled with white paint, was lying in the coffin. Countless lilies fell on it. My lips trembled.
‘That’s me, isn’t it?’
I was lying in a coffin as a corpse. And it was none other than Emil, a man with brown hair, who stood in front of it. My blue lips trembled.
‘Am I dead…?’
No family was around the coffin except Emil. It meant that no child was born between me and Emil.
‘It seems like I just got married….’
Emil’s face had no wrinkles. It felt like this wasn’t a far-off future.
‘Did I… die this early?’
It was a future I couldn’t have imagined. I couldn’t even blink as I stared at my own face, as if possessed. Then I bit my lip and looked up.
‘What about Emil? Is Emil okay?’
