Chapter 154
Chapter 154
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: The Substitute Doll
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"This is nothing but an illusion, so do as you wish."
"…Il, lusion…?"
"Yes."
He gave a casual reply and turned to walk away again. The mutt stood there blankly for a moment before staggering to its feet and following at a distance.
It was still wavering between killing him or not, faint flickers of murderous intent rising and falling.
In truth, killing intent of this level was unlikely to lead to action. But if the contract required his death, it might be better to let it play out.
If he unilaterally severed the contract, his power would be exposed, and who knew what might happen to the contractor.
Ignoring the stare from afar, Nihil entered his study and brewed a hangover remedy.
Annoyed by the mutt, he deliberately left out the bitter taste remover and stuffed it full of foul-tasting herbs.
Nihil carefully prepared the hangover cure, then fetched the rabbit doll from Lianus's bedroom.
He stared at it for a moment, stroking its drooping ears a few times. He hadn't grown particularly attached or kept it close, so he wasn't sure how effective it would be. But it was the only thing that was 'his,' with no substitute.
Still, better than nothing.
He squeezed out a bit of blood and fed it to the rabbit doll. The white fabric soaked it up and turned red.
And then,
"Sorry about this."
He blew breath into its nose.
The doll's eyes, previously dull, began to glimmer faintly. Nihil wrapped his own gauze around its face in place of a mask and laid it on his bed.
He himself sat roughly beside it. The blanket, deprived of its master's warmth, felt terribly cold.
Soon, heavy footsteps approached and stopped before the rabbit doll.
Thinking he might extract some information from the somewhat deranged mutt, Nihil spoke.
"Who sent you?"
"…"
"Where have you been?"
"…"
"Who is it for?"
"…"
But the mutt didn't answer, just stared piercingly at the doll lying there.
Whether it didn't want to speak or was too drunk to recognize his voice properly, Nihil couldn't tell.
"This is a dream. So it's fine to speak."
"…Dream."
"Yes. A dream. This is a nightmare."
Sir Evan stared blankly, then slowly opened his mouth.
"Aril."
Aril? Family? Or a lover?
Not the one who sent him. The mutt's face as it said the name looked tender and sorrowful.
"Where is she?"
"…"
"Bring her here."
If Aril was the contractor, securing her safety would be best. No need to take risks then.
"Can't… bring."
As he spoke, tears suddenly streamed from the mutt's eyes.
The sight of an adult crying while gazing at the doll was a bit comical, yet endlessly pitiable, tugging at his heart.
"…Why are you crying, you big lug?"
"Want to… wake from the dream."
"Finish your task, and you can."
"…But…"
The mutt began mumbling excuses.
If the wildcat disappeared, His Highness would be sad. The marquis would be sad too. And… and…
"Me too… a little. But… Aril…"
"Sir Evan."
"…"
"You can try. It'll all be as if it never happened."
"Even if I try…"
"Yes."
"…If only I'd had a nightmare like this back then."
Then it would have ended as just a dream.
Nihil didn't respond to the murmur. The mutt remained dazed for a long while after.
To avoid the breath he'd blown into the doll running out, Nihil urged Sir Evan on.
"Kill it quickly. If you don't now, I'll kill Aril."
"…Can't do that. Promised to protect."
"Then don't hesitate. Protect what you swore to."
At those words, Sir Evan's hand rose as if resolved. It trembled violently, but upon touching the doll, veins bulged as he gripped it savagely, as if to burst it.
Nihil watched the crumpled doll, figuring a stuffed toy wouldn't actually pop. But as the grip tightened, unease crept in.
'…Trouble if it bursts.'
But at that very thought,
Pfbt-.
Damn mutt finally burst the doll.
'Shit.'
He thought he heard a crunch-.
"Tch."
The damn mutt had torn the rabbit doll's neck with all its might, causing Nihil to black out briefly.
It was a makeshift measure, but the doppelganger he'd infused with his breath couldn't handle the overload, and some backlash returned.
When he came to, the mutt was sleeping on the floor.
He considered smacking it, but it was snoring with its nose twitching, curled up tight, so he couldn't bring himself to.
Even with his neck broken, he had to clean up. Swallowing the bloody froth rising in his throat, he hurriedly downed a potion.
Then he had to sew, of all things.
In the dark room, stitching the rabbit doll's neck felt utterly pathetic for his situation. But without the doll, his neck wouldn't have just broken—it would have been ripped clean off.
'Make it painless…'
The mutt had mumbled that in its sleep. No wonder it used such brute force—to send him off painlessly in one go.
It was so absurd that when he jabbed it hard with the needle, the mutt shriveled up like grilled squid.
After neatly repairing the rabbit doll, changing into fresh nightclothes, he went to find the butler.
If the high-grade potion's disappearance came to light, there'd be questions, so getting the old man's cooperation in advance seemed wisest.
After asking the butler to cover up the potion's use, Nihil returned and hoisted the still-curled-up Sir Evan from the floor.
No matter how disobedient the mutt, he couldn't just leave it in his room.
He could barely lift the upper body, so the legs dragged behind. He didn't have the energy to mind that.
Thud, flop.
'Ugh…!'
He'd barely reached the mutt's bedroom door when he missed a step and got buried under that massive frame.
For a moment, he thought he'd be crushed like the rabbit doll, but luckily the neighbor mutt rolled off quickly, saving his life.
Anyway, the mutt's contract was properly fulfilled, and he'd teased it plenty with the crystal ball the next day. Nihil had been feeling relieved with a light heart.
Who knew it'd suddenly come sniffing at his neck.
Sighing at the potion—its functions regressed from 500 years ago, unable to fix subcutaneous bleeding—Nihil rebuttoned his collar.
Unlike the initial irritation at the sensation creeping up his neck, it now felt quite familiar.
Just then, the clanging of metal rang out from outside. The two, who had been squatting by the bedroom door chatting, had dashed out to spar.
Nihil glanced at their duel visible from the terrace and gauged the outcome.
From the snippets of conversation drifting in, if Frederick won, Sir Evan would spill the beans.
'The neighbor mutt will win, but barely…'
In truth, Sir Evan had never beaten him in a spar. Battlefield experience couldn't be ignored.
But Frederick knew it too. With each bout, Sir Evan's momentum was visibly sharpening.
The spar soon ended, and Frederick burst in noisily. Then he cut straight to the chase.
"Young master, the junior had a dog dream—that's why!"
"…?"
"No, sir, how can you explain it like that…"
Sir Evan followed, rubbing his nape awkwardly and glancing nervously.
Frederick quickly corrected himself.
"Ah! Not a dog dream—a wildcat dream, he said."
Nihil's brow twitched upward. He got the gist.
"So in short, a bad dream drove him to check something on me."
"…Are you a genius, young master?"
Frederick stuck out his tongue, amazed at how Nihil inferred it from that. It was as good as admitting his explanation sucked.
"Hurry and do the manpower reinforcement training!"
Whatever, mission accomplished—Frederick demanded his reward. Maybe he was anxious about Sir Evan's rapidly growing skills.
But Nihil waved him off.
"Tomorrow."
"Pardon? Really? Then do I extend for another day?"
"…Extend what? It takes ten minutes—pop in on your way."
He was subtly hinting to return the kid since his dad would lend out others. Seemed Frederick wanted training for all his men, cleverly extending escorts.
"Since it's just ten minutes, can't you do it now?"
"Push too hard, and the mana heart might shatter."
"Pardon?!"
He clasped his hands, mimicking a shatter to scare him. Frederick backed off hesitantly. Sir Evan, facing double the training volume, had gone pale.
"Don't worry. I confirm limits precisely before training."
"Still, warn us ahead if it's risky."
"You gobble any pills I give without question, and now you pretend to be cautious?"
"Pills and mana hearts aren't the same."
Nihil narrowed his eyes. The mutt valued its knightly mana heart, it seemed.
"I explained the principle. It forcibly disperses aura stronger. Is that the same as voluntarily flexing muscles for strength, or directly wounding them to force enhancement?"
Nihil answered halfheartedly and gathered the letters before him, settling on the sofa.
One was from the prime minister—likely whining like the last ones: when to meet, when to teach magic, remove the mana restraints, etc.
-Dear Nil, the Sirentea you gave me misses you so much she's pining away…
Sizzle- rustle, whoosh- fwoosh~!
"Burns nicely."
"You just burned a letter from the prime minister…"
"I read it all first."
The prime minister's treatment was delayed, but it wasn't Nihil's fault. It was the prime minister's, still failing to split imperial studies despite his bluster.
Nihil picked up the next letter. Gaudy with unknown drawings, dye smeared on touch.
No sender or recipient, but he guessed who.
Opening the envelope revealed crooked writing.
-Come to Kara's birthday! Kara wants cat ears suuuper bad!
"Hm…"
This meant she wanted cat ears, right.
Nihil touched his ear. It'd vanish by day's end, so now or never to cut.
Cat ears, though. Kids these days were scary in all sorts of ways. Was this pure evil?
Then the mutt, scanning the invitation beside him, spoke up.
"Don't even think of cutting off your ear."
"Not satisfied with my tail, mutt?"
"…What're you talking about?"
"Don't get greedy. Yield the ear to the kid."
"…?"
Sir Evan puzzled over it blankly before yelling.
"Argh, seriously! I don't need your tail!"
"Wasn't it to your liking?"
Nihil said, flicking his tail toward Sir Evan. It'd vanish soon, but perfect control made him inwardly proud.
"I said I don't like it! Don't have it!"