Chapter 8
I never imagined there would be a person inside this place.
Even the servants casually dumped the trash and rushed out… no, this wasn’t a place where people were supposed to exist in the first place.
Cracked floors covered in mold, garbage ranging from freshly discarded items to things that looked like they had been there for a while, withered ornamental plants, and a decayed old bed that had turned into an eyesore. On top of that, the foul smell was so strong that a normal person would get a headache just from staying there a little while.
I never thought I would meet my favorite character again in such a place.
‘And collapsed on the floor, no less.’
I stopped mid-step and went back down.
Rushing toward him was only natural.
And when I saw him up close, his condition was far worse than I had seen from above.
The moment I confirmed it was Calion, the stuffing inside me began to riot. Then it turned damp again, as if soaked in water. I slowly reached out my hand toward him.
Blood stains at the corner of his mouth and bruises under his eyes were still fresh, as if they had appeared recently.
Dust all over his clothes, footprints covering his back, and torn trouser hems clearly showed how much pain he had endured.
Startled, I paused mid-air—then carefully reached out again and gently touched his ruined face.
Even that seemed to hurt him, as he let out a faint groan and frowned. It felt like my heart dropped and rose again.
“…Who did this?”
“……”
“Yeah… I don’t even need you to tell me.”
Henry. That bastard.
I asked, knowing I wouldn’t get an answer, and answered myself anyway. I sat down beside Calion without realizing it, completely forgetting my earlier plan to escape and survive.
‘How could I run away after seeing this?’
The one who actually wanted to run away right now… was me.
I stared at Calion lying motionless on the ground, and my chest felt strangely tight.
The marks of violence covered his face and body.
‘I never imagined the brief past mentioned in the original story was this much of a hell.’
I liked Calion, the so-called “final boss” of the original story, without knowing anything about him. Without realizing his past was a living nightmare.
My throat tightened, and I couldn’t speak properly.
And then—without even realizing it—I had been happy just to meet my favorite character from a book.
A drop of water fell onto the old cement floor.
One drop… then another.
My entire body, made of stuffing, became soaked as tears kept falling. It was an experience I had never had while living as a doll.
‘So this is what it means for a doll to cry.’
I wiped the falling drops roughly from my face, arms, and legs.
But once the tears started, they didn’t stop.
If I had been the protagonist… if I had even been human… I could have taken him somewhere better than this hell.
Even if that place wasn’t much different, it would still be better than here.
But blaming myself for being a doll wouldn’t change anything.
I forced down my emotions and stood up abruptly.
I started searching the trash pile for anything usable.
“If I’m lucky, maybe there’s an ointment or something to treat wounds…”
Even if we escaped this disgusting basement, there would still be a problem. Henry would be furious—and Calion would be the one to suffer it again.
So I just wanted something to treat his injuries and bruises.
Of course…
“Damn it!”
There was nothing like that.
No one would casually throw away expensive medicine. And if there had been anything like that in Calion’s birthday gifts, the servants would have taken it already.
I kicked the ground in frustration and lifted my head to swear again.
But then—
Our eyes met.
“……”
“……”
It was Calion—who had clearly been unconscious just moments ago.
When did he wake up?
I swallowed hard and froze completely. His ash-gray eyes, like those of a wild predator, didn’t leave me.
‘No, this must be a hallucination… so right now I should just…’
I let my strength go and fell backward.
I landed carefully on the trash pile, pretending to be a perfectly ordinary doll, as if I had never moved.
“…Isn’t it a little too late to pretend to be a normal doll?”
Not until Calion said that.
Even though I stubbornly continued pretending, his gaze felt painfully sharp. Eventually, I slowly lifted my head again.
Our eyes met once more.
This isn’t a dream.
“…Since when…?”
I muttered in disbelief.
“…Henry… that bastard… I guess…”
“…from when.”
“…you can hear me?”
Calion’s POV
“Uh… uh…”
I was in a full panic.
‘I don’t remember this setting from Calion…’
I knew he could read minds, but this was something else.
I tried to recall the original story, but couldn’t hide my confusion and just opened and closed my mouth.
Then suddenly, I shouted without thinking—
“…Since when can you hear me?!”
At my shocked scream, Calion slowly opened his heavy eyelids.
His cracked lips parted slightly, still stained with blood.
He looked like it still hurt badly.
Seeing him like that, I frowned.
It was nice being a doll right now—because I couldn’t show how upset I was.
My emotions were complicated.
I was shocked that he could hear me… and also heartbroken seeing his condition.
The heavy silence filled the basement.
Eventually, I spoke first, trying to sound casual.
“No! Maybe it’s better if you don’t hear it…”
“……”
“If you don’t want to, I don’t have to say it…”
But before I could finish, Calion slowly sat up.
“…From the beginning.”
“……”
“…I could hear you from the beginning.”
Oh no.
I let out an exaggerated sigh, spun around dramatically, and plopped down on the moldy cement floor.
Calion watched me silently, as if fascinated.
Well… mission accomplished.
Honestly, part of that performance was also to ease his mood.
And maybe… a little bit to ease my own emotions too.
This was basically me living out the “I might end up praising my favorite character in front of him” scenario.
I sighed dramatically again, thinking about everything I had said earlier.
What did I even say when I first saw him?
Headache.
I placed a hand on my soft doll head.
Too late.
The damage was already done.
I quickly tried to explain.
“It’s a misunderstanding. I just get really excited when I see handsome or pretty people…”
“…I think so.”
He accepted it too easily.
That made me strangely annoyed.
‘I’m not some shallow fan! I’m loyal!’
But I couldn’t say that out loud, so I stayed quiet.
After a moment of awkward silence, I scratched my head and spoke again.
“Even if it’s weird talking to a doll… since we met like this…”
“….”
“Hi. I’m Riri.”
I extended my hand.
But Calion just stared at it cautiously, not moving.
After a long silence, I slowly tried to pull my hand back—but then his voice came.
“…What are you?”
His voice was rough, like he had been holding back tears.
Only then did I notice the sweat on his forehead.
I hadn’t realized before. I had been too focused on everything else.
That was reckless.
He had just been beaten, yet I assumed he was fine just because he was sitting up.
Before I could think further, he spoke again sharply.
“…Did the Duke send you?”
“……”
“To watch me?”
I shook my head hard.
I opened my mouth to explain, but stopped when I saw him clutch his chest in pain again.
His ash-gray eyes flickered strangely for a moment—then returned to normal.
I looked at him worriedly.
“…I am…”
He slowly turned toward me again.
His eyes carried pain, exhaustion, and the resignation of a child barely 14–15 years old.
Those emotions sank deep into my stuffing.
‘That’s not what I meant to say…’
I tried again.
“You’re my birthday present.”
It came out impulsively.
Maybe his past birthdays and future ones would still be hell… but I wanted this one to be slightly less painful.
So I smiled brightly.
Even if my doll face couldn’t fully show it, I hoped he could feel it.
“Happy birthday.”
“……”
“Thank you for being born.”
And with that feeling, I smiled with all my heart.
