The Day the Doll That Should Not Be Loved First Received a Name
The doll's ego awakened on the day it first received a name. Along with the name Hia.
They say that when a bird hatches from its egg, it imprints on the first thing it sees as its mother and follows it. The doll, whose ego had awakened, decided to follow the person who had given it a name.
"Wanna read a picture book together?"
"…"
"…Damn it, give me some kind of reaction. I don't know what to do when you just stare at me blankly without saying a word…"
Hia silently observed Schuett, who was pacing frantically in front of her. Schuett was drawing Hia's gaze like a human mobile. In truth, that alone was already plenty fun and fascinating for Hia. The only problem was that she couldn't express it in words.
"Sh-should I read you a picture book? There are tons of them over there!"
"…"
In the direction Schuett pointed with her finger, picture books that Bathory had brought from the library before were stacked up.
"Don't like it?"
"Oh, why? Don't like picture books? More importantly, why are you talking now…"
"No, I like picture books."
But Hia shook her head, turning Schuett's hard-squeezed idea to dust.
"I like it when Bathory reads them."
The reason was simple. Bathory's voice sounded better to Hia's ears.
Bathory always softened in front of Hia. She lowered her voice, refining it to sound as gentle and kind as possible. In contrast, Schuett's voice wasn't particularly pleasant to Hia. It was a forced high pitch, a noisy and messy acting tone. Of course, Hia didn't know it was deliberately raised or why, but to her sensitive child's ears, that voice was terribly grating.
"…Damn it, that woman… How much has she sweet-talked this kid? She's totally like a duckling imprinting."
Stunned by Hia's response, Schuett dropped her act for a moment, plopping down on the edge of the bed and grumbling.
"Why the hell is that woman trying to raise a kid all of a sudden? And sleeping with her too."
To Schuett, who knew Bathory Mirhane's true nature better than anyone, that behavior felt alien and out of place. Every time she saw it, the dissonance made it hard to control her expression.
Weak against children? Bathory was the type to give her all even in front of elementary schoolers. Knowing Bathory's vile nature—how she strangely grew stronger in front of the weak—Schuett couldn't shake her suspicion.
"Hmm… If you don't like picture books, wanna go outside, Hia? You had a blast last time."
But Schuett wasn't the type to hold a grudge against a child Bathory cherished just because she hated Bathory. So she racked her brain for ways to have fun with Hia and finally found the answer from past experience.
"Yeah."
"Nice!"
If Bathory were here, she might have tried to stop the two from going out. A child in a maid outfit was a hugely out-of-place sight in this mansion, and though she'd gotten permission using Urtic Mirhane's name, that didn't mean Frederica had officially acknowledged Hia's existence. Bathory didn't yet know that Frederica knew Eclair au Chocolat and had long since recognized and permitted Hia, whom Eclair had brought.
"Let's go! Oh, wait a sec."
Suddenly rummaging through Bathory's wardrobe, Schuett pulled something out from inside.
"If that woman knew she had this in her closet, she'd flip. But she'll never open her own wardrobe herself in her life, so she'll never find out!"
"…"
"Oh, obviously a secret from that woman? Keep it secret, and I'll let you play with this from now on."
Hia stared blankly at the object Schuett had placed in her hand, her eyes asking what on earth this unfamiliar thing was.
"What's this?"
"That? That's called… a yo-yo."
The identity of the item Schuett had pulled out was a yo-yo. A toy for children made of string and bearings, one that subtly required many skills.
"Like this, and like this… Ugh, it's hard."
Schuett's demonstration was terribly clumsy. She'd never even used one before; she'd just hidden away a yo-yo she'd picked up somewhere, so it was only natural.
"If amateurs like us play with this indoors, we could smash everything if we're not careful."
This room alone had tons of breakable things. And most of the items in this room were things Bathory, obsessed with luxury in the past, had collected. Break one wrong, and life as she knew it was over.
"So… let's go outside!"
"Yeah."
At Schuett's suggestion, Hia nodded readily. The previous outing had been so much fun, and the yo-yo Schuett had brought out piqued Hia's curiosity and interest.
"Let's go~ Oh, is this another country's language here?"
Following behind Schuett, who was mumbling nonsense, Hia stepped outside.
"When's she coming back? Her schedule's all over the place; can't even guess."
At Schuett's words, Hia turned her head toward the direction of the library.
"When's she coming back."
"No casual talk. You're a kid. A maid."
"You use casual too, Schuett."
"I don't in front of that woman, so it's fine."
Even as they exchanged silly banter, Hia's gaze didn't waver.
"Oh, Hia. Wanna try practicing? Be careful not to break anything."
Only after Schuett handed over the yo-yo did Hia shift her gaze to it. The bearing and string. Hia's eyes fixed on the string.
Whirr— The sound of the yo-yo being thrown and returning. After throwing it a few times, Hia quickly grasped the yo-yo's properties.
"Fun—!? Wh-what's that? How'd you do that?"
By the time Schuett turned her head, Hia had already mastered all sorts of tricks on her own.
"Handling the string feels familiar."
For some reason, Hia's hands already had a ingrained sense for manipulating string.
"That woman wouldn't have taught her that, so did she know it already? Where'd Ecl… Lady Urtic Mirhane pick up a kid like this?"
Forgetting to walk ahead, Schuett turned fully to watch Hia's feat.
"You're amazing~. I always wanted to play with one back in the day."
"Couldn't?"
"My body was super weak. Lady Urtic's healthier than me, right? Oh, do that last one again!"
"Outside."
But Hia had no intention of playing more in the hallway. Her goal was to enjoy an outing like last time, after all.
"Got it, got it~. Then… ack."
Only after the yo-yo stopped did Schuett turn back to walk forward, but she collided with something without looking ahead.
"Who… eek..!!"
"…Hey."
The moment she realized what she'd bumped into, she shrank back in fear.
"Having the time of your life lately? Bumping around without even looking."
"H-hello… Senior…"
It was the senior maid who had bullied Schuett before and gotten brutally punished by Bathory in return.
"Oh my, doing well these days, our little owl Chouette? Your face looks so bright."
To make matters worse, unlike last time, she wasn't alone.
"Wh-what's going on? Why are you all together…"
"Friends hanging out isn't special, is it? You wouldn't know without friends."
Even with the obvious mockery, Schuett forced a smile and stepped aside. She knew the best move was to let them pass quickly.
"But what's with this brat?"
"Her? That's the girl Bathory's been dragging around lately."
"This is her? Haven't gone near that bitch's side lately, so I didn't know."
Schuett stepping aside alone only made Hia stand out more.
"H-Hia!"
"She's been pampering her like crazy. Must be cute or something."
"Cute my ass. Those red eyes are just creepy."
Hia showed no particular reaction to the maids' mockery.
"Hey, say something."
"Leave her. Seems a bit slow. Last time, her, that woman, and that one were digging in the dirt like crazy."
"Bathory was digging dirt? She's finally lost it? Guess her head got cracked following the eldest lady."
The maid leading the trash talk about Bathory soon met Hia's red eyes staring at her.
"…Hey, say something, will ya?"
"…"
"Can't understand me? Really slow in the head? No wonder that psycho drags her around like a pet dog."
Did the red eyes staring at her feel unpleasant? The trash talk grew harsher.
"Hey, say something. You're a kid; greet your elders properly instead of standing there all stiff-necked."
"…"
"Getting all cute from that bitch makes you think you're hot shit? Huh?"
"…"
"This little—!"
No matter how much they cursed and yelled, Hia remained unmoved, so the maid, seemingly recalling the humiliation she'd suffered before, raised her hand.
"Staring just like that bitch!"
Slap— Hia's head snapped to the side.
"Hia!!"
"Why? If you get on Bathory's bad side again…"
"Frederica's around; what can that wench do? Besides, you think she really cares about this brat?"
The sensation of pain, felt for the first time, froze Hia's circuits for a moment.
"She'll get bored soon and toss her. You all know that, right?"
"Still, hitting an innocent kid is a bit…"
"What, so I deserved it then?"
Slap— slap—!!!
"Like this? Like this!"
Under the continued violence, Hia's small body finally toppled sideways. The stinging pain on her cheek. But what struck Hia's heart most was something else.
"…She won't throw me away."
"What?"
For the first time, Hia spoke in front of the maids.
"Bathory won't throw me away."
"You can talk? Then why not speak till now?"
More than the insults directed at her, more than the violence.
"She won't throw me away."
"That's all you know? Want me to teach you some words? A few more hits and…"
What had provoked Hia was the words claiming she'd be abandoned someday.
"She won't throw me away."
For the first time, those words.
"I won't be abandoned."
They were like a black dot on a pure white canvas.
——I thought it might become a problem someday. Hia's knowledge was too pure, lacking even basic common sense. A baby born with just a slightly larger body, having learned nothing. I always pondered what to teach her first.
"What… is this…"
And now, I realized the answer to that dilemma.
The first thing she needed was morality.
"Hia…?"
The landscape drawn by a child ignorant of good and evil was like hell itself. A maid hanging upside down from the chandelier, blood dripping. The other maids collapsed in terror at the sight. At that gruesome scene, even I collapsed, legs giving out.
"Bathory."
And the one who had drawn that scene approached me and spoke.
"You won't throw me away, right?"
What was that emotion in her eyes? The longing of a child craving affection, or the hunger of a spider eyeing prey?
I felt cold sweat trickling down my spine.