Chapter 56
Sherry was cautious of its surroundings right now.
That was right.
“…It seems I shouldn’t speak carelessly.”
Just as we were discussing being prepared, Enfrise’s eyes sharpened.
“Chaperil, don’t leave my side.”
I nodded and stepped back slightly, then turned my gaze away from where Enfrise was looking.
Sherry had sent an alert in the direction he was watching. It was clear that someone was there, but it was uncertain if someone else might be on this side. It would be better to be prepared even if there was no one. Better safe than sorry.
“….”
Enfrise remained motionless. He couldn’t afford to leave my side, but the enormous tension felt like heat emanating from him.
Speaking now would certainly be a distraction. It could prevent him from hearing even a slight noise. Why hadn’t I started learning self-defense as I had decided before?
‘…This time, I really need to learn.’
The future was the future, and I, who was utterly useless at the moment, held my breath. Even my breathing could disturb him.
How much time had passed?
“Ppiriri—ppik! Ppiririri—! Hwiiiii! Ppirik! Ppik ppik!”
Sherry’s cries became more urgent.
That must be a warning that someone was getting closer. Even though I didn’t know who it was, they were incredibly cautious. They weren’t approaching quickly—whether they were wary of us or just a lost person.
It was difficult to say, but I felt it was probably the former.
“… They’re coming.”
Enfrise, who had been tense and still, drew the sword from his waist. The white blade gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
“….!”
As Enfrise moved, someone burst out of the bushes. And from behind me, something came flying.
“Get down!”
There was no time to reply.
I quickly crouched down as a flaming arrow passed just over my head, narrowly missing. Enfrise, having narrowly dodged the sword from the man who had leaped from the bushes, struck the arrow from above, causing the flaming arrow to scatter into nothing in the air.
Magic.
This time, a wizard was involved.
“Chaperil! Eyes…! Kugh!”
Seizing the moment when Enfrise’s posture was momentarily disturbed, another man burst from the bushes. I thought the foliage wasn’t dense enough to hide someone, but where were they all coming from?
From the previous arrow alone, it seemed these people didn’t intend to hurt me. Their target is solely Enfrise. It might be easier for him to act if I step away, but…
If their goal was to kidnap Chaperil, the moment I separated…
“Chaperil, close your eyes!”
Eyes? Why?
I glanced at Enfrise, who was struggling to fend off the two men’s swords. Or should I say, doing it with ease?
He wasn’t focusing on the men but on me. Why was he telling me to close my eyes? Still, there wasn’t time to ponder deeply, so I immediately closed my eyes and crouched down as much as possible, trying not to hinder him.
“Uugh…!”
“Kuh!”
A groan mixed with pain filled the air just as I closed my eyes.
Enfrise’s voice? No, that couldn’t be.
Knowing yet…
I opened my eyes.
“Chaperil!”
A shout that seemed almost like a scolding.
It didn’t bother me at all. Ah, this was why Enfrise told me to close my eyes. Him confidently saying that he could protect me wasn’t a lie. He had been intercepting the men’s swords up until now to prevent me from seeing this scene.
It was… a scene I had never seen before.
A sight often glossed over or deliberately focused elsewhere in novels or comics to avoid direct description. Something that had just now painted our peaceful green surroundings red. From the wounds, something protruded…
“Chaperil! Close your eyes! Don’t look!”
I thought I shouldn’t look.
I was told that extreme stress was a trigger for my excessive magical output. I knew this would likely cause me to overheat significantly after this.
Yet, I couldn’t look away.
As if frozen.
My gaze.
“D*mn it!”
Enfrise, while keeping an eye out for the unseen wizard, moved towards me. He rushed over and hugged me tightly, blocking my view.
“Chaperil, calm down. It’s okay. I’ll protect you.”
However, that wasn’t the point. I wasn’t worried about dying. Like all heroes in stories, Enfrise would undoubtedly display superhuman strength to protect the female lead. And Enfrise and I would safely return to the mansion.
Yet, something would inevitably change.
“The wizard…”
“Yes?”
“The wizard… is still out there.”
I closed my eyes.
The gruesome scene clung to the inside of my eyelids. Finally. I felt like I’d truly seen the reality of the world I was in.
And then.
Something snapped.
* * *
When I first entered this body, I was as excited as a child with a new toy. What kind of toy should I compare it to?
Ah, perhaps a dollhouse.
It was so beautiful, like something out of a fairy tale. I imagined living inside it.
Then, as if I was dreaming, I found myself transformed into the prettiest doll I had admired in that very house. What could I do with it? What were its features? How should I play with it? What couldn’t I do? How could I have the most fun in it?
My mind was filled with ideas on how to play with this new toy. The situation was so unique and fun that I was ecstatic.
I wanted to try everything I had ever wanted. I slept in the fanciest room’s bed dressed like a princess, ate delicious-looking fake chicken with other dolls, moved cute furniture around as I pleased, and read toy books.
While playing with the accessories, my attention eventually turned to the other dolls.
There were a few dolls inside.
Shall I play pretend with them? You looked handsome, so you would be the dad. You were pretty, so you be the mom, and you, you looked a bit mischievous, so you would be the villain. And you, looking the gentlest, should be the baby.
I’ve been assigning roles to dolls based on their appearances, sometimes deliberately giving them roles that contrast with their looks. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that each doll had its characteristics, and discovering these was quite entertaining.
Then, I made a startling discovery.
The dolls were alive.
Well, I knew that from the start. The dolls talked and moved. It seemed like I could control them, but that wasn’t the case. They moved according to the roles they were programmed to perform. They were just adapting to accommodate me.
I thought of all this as mere programming by the toy company. But gradually, as the hours of playing with the dolls stretched on, I began to ponder. Even if it was a programmed personality, they lived with that character.
Within a programmed world, it struggles like an ordinary human, contemplating and wondering how to live.
Could I truly call this a doll?
And I finally realized.
I, too, was a doll inside this dollhouse.
What I had been viewing from a distance as someone else’s scenario was, in fact, my reality. The doll playing my role was myself. Unsure if it was a dream or reality, I thought I should enjoy the situation I had longed for, but my heart crumbled dryly.
I couldn’t actually leave this place. Now, this is my reality.
Not someone else’s story.
Not Chaperil’s story.
My story.
“Chaperil…”
It wasn’t Chaperil who was in danger; it was me. If captured, it wasn’t Chaperil but I who would be experimented on. It wasn’t Chaperil who had become an orphan by fate; it was me.
What lied before me…
Was a real person living in a world crafted by a God named the author.
“Foolish, me…”
My throat was dry.
A heat far more intense than the slight fevers before fills me, feeling as though I could burst at any moment, which seemed like it would bring relief.
If I really explode, I might die.
I.
Why didn’t I realize this simple fact until now?
I haven’t been ignoring it, but rather, I really just didn’t feel it.
As my feelings for Enfrise grew, I thought I had gained a sense of reality. I came to like him as a man, not just a character in a book.
But it wasn’t enough.
Somewhere in my heart, I kept thinking of Chaperil as Chaperil, separate from me. I perceived all her misfortunes as having nothing to do with me, including the dangers that lay ahead for her. In a way, I regarded it as someone else’s problem.
Like half-playing a game or watching a novel, even anticipating dangers, I didn’t feel a genuine sense of crisis.
But then.
I saw someone die right before my eyes. It was a scene I had never witnessed before, but instinctively, I knew. If the same method were used in my world, the same scene would unfold. That was when I truly became afraid of death.
I finally realized this narrow heaven wasn’t just a world on paper.
Now.
How foolish of me.
“….”
Enfrise’s hands hurriedly changed the towel. He must have noticed the fever rising.
Because I could feel it myself.
To only understand reality at this point… I felt incredibly foolish for only being excited—like a clown in a black comedy.
“Grand…Duke.”
Thinking like that, I called out softly.
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