Volume 1, Chapter 32 – Angelica and Charlotte

“Eeeeeek, they’re coming again!”

Hearing Chris-san’s scream, we started running.

Yes, we were running for our lives inside the mansion.

The doors leading outside wouldn’t open, and not even the Holy Sword could cut through them.

What’s more, we couldn’t even break the window glass.

What the heck is up with this mansion?!

The one saving grace was that those dolls chasing us were slow.

They only pursued us at a walking pace.

And now, we had reached the entrance hall for what must have been the dozenth time.

The evening sun streamed through the windows, bathing the hall in crimson light.

“The sun will be setting soon. Night is when evil spirits’ power grows stronger. This is bad,” Cedric-san muttered, wiping sweat from his brow.

“But to think there are evil spirits that even Fiene-sama’s Purification Magic can’t affect at all. And the fact that their numbers increase the more we defeat them is troublesome,” Chris-san also seemed to be having a hard time. She already hated ghosts, so being chased by doll-like ghosts must be incredibly tough for her.

“Hmm, I’m pretty sure I purified the area where those dolls were. But it’s like… there’s no sense of impact. Something’s strange.”

Yes. My Purification Magic should have enveloped and purified those dolls.

But it felt like trying to grab hold of thin air; I just couldn’t make them disappear properly.

And by the time they came back, their numbers had increased.

“Fiene-sama, how is your MP?”

“Um, if it’s a small-scale one, I think I could use Purification Magic once.”

“Fiene-sama, this is the real deal now!”

No, that’s not the issue here.

While we were going back and forth like this, it grew dark outside.

Night—the time when evil spirits grew stronger—had arrived.

That’s when it happened.

A man in a suit appeared on the landing and addressed us in an oddly pretentious voice.

“Welcome, everyone. To this mansion of mine and Ange”s. Look, Ange. More guests have come to see you.”

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Perched on the man’s left shoulder was a beautiful girl doll.

One look was enough to tell it was modeled after Angelica.

It looked exactly like Angelica depicted in the paintings decorating the walls.

“Dollmaker Joseph! You! You’re alive?!”

“Oh my? If it isn’t the butler who killed me back then. Let’s see, the name was? Hmm? Do you know, Ange? Ah, thank you. It’s Cedric, right?”

“Wha-?!”

Um, what’s going on? Wait, does that mean that doll really is Angelica-san?

“M-My lady?!”

“Hmm? Even though you killed Ange. What face do you have to show yourself to Ange now? Huh? Isn’t that strange? Ange?”

The doll’s head moved with a clack-clack sound. The gesture made it look as though she were agreeing with him.

“Th-that can’t be… My lady… I have always acted with your best interests in mind…”

“Pfft. Thinking of Ange is meaningless if you couldn’t save her, right? But I’m different. This way, Ange is freed from pain and suffering and can spend eternity with me. Isn’t it wonderful? Right, Ange, you think so too, don’t you?”

Once again, the doll’s head moved with a clacking sound.

“Th-that’s…”

Cedric-san’s knees buckled. It seemed his spirit had been broken.

“Now then, how shall we punish the butler who was not only useless to Ange but harmful? Huh? Ah, I see. Understood. Let’s do as Ange says.”

Then, in the next moment, light eManated from Joseph and enveloped Cedric-san.

“Waaaaaaaaaah!”

Cedric-san let out a scream.

And the next instant, Cedric-san had transformed into a stuffed animal about the size of a bag charm.

“Wh…”

Chris-san was dumbfounded.

“Now then, the remaining two ladies, hmm? Is that so? If Ange wants to do that, then let’s.”

He’s still talking to that doll. What a creepy guy.

“Ange says she wants to play with you two. Let’s have a game. If you haven’t become dolls by dawn, you win. I’ll let you leave this mansion. If you lose, you become eternal prisoners of this mansion. Do your best, okay?”

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Saying that, Joseph and the others vanished suddenly.

And as if to replace them, the dolls that had been chasing me since daytime arrived.

“There’s no point dealing with those. Let’s quickly capture that man Joseph and cut him down!”

Oh, Chris-san isn’t scared. Is it because she can see them now, so they’re not scary anymore?

I picked up Cedric-san’s doll and began exploring the mansion to find Joseph.

◇ ◇ ◇

We started going through every room in the mansion.

“He’s not here either.”

We finished checking the rooms on the first and second floors.

The only places left unchecked were the chapel, whose door wouldn’t open, and the room at the very end of the third floor.

We first headed to the room at the end of the third floor.

We tried to open it, but this room seemed to be locked.

“Leave it to me, Fiene-sama.”

Chris-san delivered a powerful kick to the door of the room at the very end of the third floor.

With a loud noise, the door’s lock was destroyed.

Now we could get inside.

And what we saw inside were three dolls.

“C-could that be Charlotte-sama and Hugues?”

“It seems so. The last one is probably the member of the Count’s household who came here to guide us. So, the last place is the chapel.”

“Eh? Fiene-sama? Are you planning to leave them here?”

“Eh? But they’re not exactly useful, and I can’t carry around that many dolls.”

“Surely Fiene-sama knows a magic to turn them back—”

“I don’t know any such magic?”

“No way!”

“If we defeat that Joseph, something might work out, right? Probably. Besides, my MP was depleted until just a moment ago, so it’s impossible.”

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“Hmm, that’s true, but… Speaking of which, has your MP recovered?”

“Yes. It’s recovered quite a bit. I mean, all I did was walk around.”

“Then, could you at least turn Charlotte-sama back to normal?”

No, no, I just told you I don’t know any magic to turn people back!

“Though she cannot compare to Fiene-sama, Charlotte-sama can use Holy Magic. If you restore her, she should become a fighting force.”

“Ehh, if I fail on the first try, don’t blame me, okay?”

“It’ s fine. Fiene-sama is strong when it’s the real deal!”

No, that’s not it. Well, whatever.

“Don’t blame me no matter what happens, okay?”

—By the power of magic, return to your original form~

I enveloped Charlotte-san’s doll in light. But it wouldn’t return to normal easily.

—Oh, this one’s putting up quite a resistance. Hey, just hurry up and return! Mana Double Push—Don!

An even more powerful light enveloped the doll. Chris-san turned her face away from the intense light.

The next moment, the light seeped into the doll, and cracks appeared on its surface.

Then, black smoke rose from the cracks, which my magic dispelled.

The cracks gradually spread across the entire doll, and black smoke rose from all over.

As this happened, the black mist stopped rising, and then the entire doll was enveloped in light.

Oh, it seems I succeeded.

When the light faded, Charlotte-san, asleep, was lying on the floor.

“Fiene-sama, splendid work.”

“Phew, I Managed somehow. That was pretty tiring.”

“As expected of someone who’s strong when it counts!”

No, that’s not it.

“U-un?”

Ah, looks like Charlotte-san is waking up.

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“Good evening, Charlotte-san. Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

When I approached and called out to her, her eyes snapped open, and she jumped up in surprise.

“Y-You’re that girl from Christina’s side! A mere commoner! Keep your distance, you insolent woman!”

“Charlotte-sama, your words are too harsh. Fiene-sama is the one who saved you after you were defeated by the evil spirit Joseph and turned into a doll!”

Ah, Chris-san is angry.

“Wh-what? I-I was turned into a doll? What a foolish joke!”

“Um, your knight is lying right next to you as a doll, you know?”

“Eh? Hugues-sama? Ah…”

Oh, it seems she remembered something.

“A-ah, ah, Hugues-sama… Hugues-sama shielded me… And Ange…”

I see. Looks like her knight was turned into a doll while protecting Charlotte-san. Hm? Does she know about Angelica-san?

“Charlotte-san, do you know about Angelica-san?”

“What do you mean, know her? Ange and I were best friends! Although, it seems only I thought so…”

Saying that, Charlotte-san made a deeply dejected expression.

“What happened?”

“No. Ange said… she actually hated me. That she couldn’t stand me, healthy and living freely, coming to talk about things that happened outside or in social circles.”

Charlotte-san spat those words out through her tears.

“And now, she said she’s glad to have been given a doll’s body by that man?”

“Yes, she said that.”

I see. That kind of pattern.

“I… was shocked by that. I practiced Healing Magic and Holy Magic so much because I wanted to cure Ange’s illness! And yet, and yet…”

Saying that, she covered her face and began to sob.

We quietly stayed by Charlotte-san’s side until she finally stopped crying.