Chapter 2
While Kerris was away, there was nothing I could do except stare blankly at my reflection in the mirror.
Sometimes I watched the maids who came in to clean the room.
Once or twice, while I was absentmindedly watching them like usual, one of the maids suddenly looked at me strangely.
It was almost as if she could feel my gaze.
Whenever that happened, I would instinctively panic.
But since I looked like nothing more than an ordinary doll, the maid would soon dismiss the feeling and go back to her work.
Several weeks had already passed like this.
I was unbelievably bored.
Since I couldn’t move at all, I felt like I was going crazy.
I was honestly amazed I had managed to stay still for so long.
Why did I have to transmigrate into a doll of all things?
At this point, it wasn’t just because I wanted to comfort Kerris anymore.
I desperately wanted to become human simply because I couldn’t stand living like this.
Surely I won’t have to spend the rest of my life like this…?
Whenever that thought crossed my mind, fear gripped me.
Perhaps heaven finally took pity on me.
That day was no different from any other.
Kerris returned to his room after finishing his work.
As always, he spoke to me—the doll—about everything that had happened that day before going to bed.
Watching Kerris fall asleep peacefully, I gradually drifted off as well.
Even as a doll, I could still feel sleepy.
I don’t know how long I slept.
While I was fast asleep, I had a dream.
In it, I had become human, and I was walking alongside Kerris.
I must have wanted to become human so badly that I even dreamed about it.
Still wrapped in the warmth of sleep, I slowly opened my eyes.
Thin rays of morning sunlight were streaming into the room.
Feeling stiff all over, I stretched.
After all, no morning felt complete without a good stretch.
“…”
Then I froze with my arms still raised.
I… stretched?
I can move?
Slowly, I brought my hand in front of my face.
A slender, pale hand was right there.
It was unmistakably a human hand.
And it moved exactly as I wanted.
I hurriedly looked around.
It was the same bedroom where I had spent yesterday as Kerris’s doll.
Without wasting another second, I ran to the mirror in the corner of the room.
A woman I’d never seen before was staring back at me with the same shocked expression.
She had skin as white as fresh snow and a delicate figure.
Her large blue eyes and long, wavy platinum-blonde hair made her look exactly like a porcelain doll.
She was wearing a beautiful blue dress decorated with ribbons, lace, and countless frills—something only a doll would wear.
When I reached out to touch the mirror, the woman inside did the same.
She wasn’t a stranger.
Or rather…
I had seen that appearance before.
She looked exactly like Sarina, Kerris’s beloved doll that I had been staring at in the mirror every day.
Did I… no, did the doll really become human?
Everything slowly began to make sense.
The doll had literally become a real person.
I’d wished to become human countless times.
But I never expected it to happen so suddenly.
And in the doll’s exact appearance.
Completely stunned, I looked behind me.
Maybe the doll had somehow appeared where I used to be.
But there was nothing there.
No doll.
Nothing at all.
As I stood staring at the mirror in disbelief, I suddenly heard rustling behind me.
My entire body stiffened.
Only then did I remember.
Kerris!
I quickly turned around.
Kerris was beginning to wake up, slowly moving in bed.
I desperately looked for somewhere to hide before he noticed me.
But it was already too late.
Kerris opened his eyes, looked around the room, and spotted me.
Just like me, he froze.
His expression barely changed.
But I noticed his eyes dart around as he tried to understand the situation.
Completely awake now, he looked at me with open hostility.
“Who are you? And why are you here?”
His voice was so cold and sharp that it sent chills down my spine.
What am I supposed to say?
Unable to answer, I simply stood there like a mute.
But perhaps staying silent only made things worse.
Kerris’s gaze became even colder.
“I’ve heard that lately there are people who secretly send young women into noblemen’s bedrooms to bear children of noble blood.”
Panic surged through me.
At this rate, he’ll think I’m one of them and throw me into prison!
In the end, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“If you won’t tell me who—”
“I’m the doll that was here!”
“…What?”
Kerris stared at me in disbelief.
Stammering, I desperately tried to explain.
“The doll that was in this room. When I opened my eyes this morning, I’d suddenly become a person.”
“…”
Kerris said nothing.
Honestly, I sounded insane even to myself.
How much worse must it sound to him?
He’s definitely going to think I’m crazy…
But I couldn’t think of any better explanation.
Without saying a word, Kerris slowly looked toward the bedside.
The place where I had always sat as a doll.
When he saw it was empty, he looked back at me.
His eyes travelled slowly from my head to my feet.
Only then did he seem to realise that I looked exactly like his doll.
The same face.
The same dress.
“So you’re telling me that the doll in this room suddenly became a human? I don’t know where you heard that I own a doll, but enough with the childish joke. Return my doll.”
“I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true! I’m the doll that was in this room—Sarina!”
The moment I said the name Sarina, a crack finally appeared in Kerris’s calm expression.
That name was known only to him.
He had only ever called me Sarina when he was alone in his bedroom.
There was no way anyone else could know it.
“You’re really… Sarina?”
He’s finally starting to believe me!
I had always thought it was strange that he’d even given a doll a name.
I never imagined it would actually help me like this.
Maybe…
Maybe I could earn his trust.
Filled with hope, I opened my mouth to explain more.
Just then—
Knock. Knock.
“My lord, it’s time to leave for the Imperial Palace. Aren’t you coming?”
A man’s voice came from outside the bedroom.
My already pale face felt even whiter.
Being discovered by Kerris was bad enough.
But if someone else saw an unknown woman inside the lord’s bedroom…
The situation would spiral completely out of control.
Kerris glanced at me before speaking loudly enough for the man outside to hear.
“I’m coming. Don’t worry about it.”
The footsteps outside gradually faded away.
Did he stop him from entering… because of me?
Hope filled my heart.
Maybe…
Maybe he really believed me.
I looked up at Kerris with hopeful eyes.
But the words that came out of his mouth shattered that hope instantly.
“I don’t know how you learned the name Sarina, but you’re seriously expecting me to believe that a doll became a human? Your little game has gone far enough.”
His cold tone and icy stare made his distrust painfully obvious.
At the very least, it was clear he hadn’t sent the servant away for my sake.
“Then… why did you send him away?”
“Did you really think I did it for you? If someone saw an unknown woman inside the lord’s bedroom, it would damage my dignity and reputation. That’s the only reason.”
“…”
“I’ll ask you one last time. Who are you?”
“I really am Sarina, the doll that was in this room.”
“So you refuse to tell me.”
His voice turned even colder.
“If you won’t tell me, then I’ll find out myself.”
Before I could react, Kerris grabbed my arm and began dragging me away.
“W-Where are you taking me?”
He didn’t answer.
He led me to a small room that looked like a storage closet.
There was a room like this here?
Before I could understand what was happening, Kerris shoved me inside.
He immediately slammed the door shut and locked it.
I rushed over and tried to open it.
It wouldn’t budge.
“Please wait! I can explain everything! Please open the door!”
I shouted desperately.
But Kerris’s footsteps only grew more distant.
