Chapter 2: Doll’s Death?

How long did we walk? Slung over her shoulder, I could only look back in the direction of the village, which was now out of sight.

I didn’t know what Lilac was thinking.

Why she was taking me, but it seemed she wouldn’t harm me, at least. Otherwise, I’d already be dead.

For now, I was just grateful she saved me.

Judging by the village and her attire, it looked medieval, so there was a high probability of a status system like nobles and commoners.

Therefore, I, clearly a commoner judging by my clothes, couldn’t say anything to her, who might be a noble.

Before long, we stepped into a forest quite far from the village, and as we went further, I heard people’s voices in the distance.

The sounds grew closer, and soon we arrived where the people were. Lilac took me off her shoulder and gently placed me on the ground. There was a slight carefulness in her touch.

I was down, but my legs had no strength, so I collapsed. At that moment.

“Lady Lilac. What about the village…?”

A large man, who seemed to have been waiting, approached and carefully asked Lilac.

Lilac, still expressionless, glanced at me once and replied.

“The village is already burned down. The residents were already engulfed in flames. This girl is the only survivor.”

Hearing Lilac say that sparked a question in my mind.

‘Girl?’

‘Was she perhaps talking about me?’

When I came to my senses, I was dropped alone in a burning village, so I didn’t know exactly what kind of body I was in.

Even my throat was already dry, producing only a scraping sound, so I couldn’t tell if I was male or female.

Only now did I belatedly notice the long, silver hair that fell into my view.

The hair, which seemed to reflect moonlight, was dry and brittle. As if the moon itself had dried and cracked.

I was shocked, but I soon accepted it. Having already been possessed, a change in body wasn’t a big deal.

More importantly, there was something more crucial for me right now.

What would these people do about my situation? My life depended on them.

The large man looked at me with pity in his eyes.

Was my appearance so wretched as to evoke such pity? Besides the large man, the others were also looking at me with pitiful expressions.

An unfortunate girl whose village was burned by Majin, losing her home and family. The last survivor of the village, no less.

The large man and his companions couldn’t even dare to imagine the immense despair this girl must feel.

However, the person in question was thinking about something else.

‘Will they give me food…’

It was a truly trivial thought.

I had overcome a near-death crisis, and judging by their expressions, the man and his group didn’t seem intent on killing me either.

So, I relaxed and remembered the goal I had pushed to second place until now.

I needed to eat something to regain strength, so the desire for even a piece of bread was strong.

As I endured my hunger, Lilac, who was standing beside me, spoke.

“This child’s name is Sia. She is a child I will protect for the time being.”

At those words, the man and his companions’ eyes widened, then their faces stiffened as they knelt on one knee, showing respect.

“””Loyalty!!”””

The man and the others, who looked like knights, shouted so loudly it seemed to make the mountains echo.

As the sound, like a blow to the eardrums, spread, birds could be seen fleeing from nearby trees.

Their master had declared she would protect the girl.

The meaning was by no means to be taken lightly.

It held many implicit meanings, but to summarize in one line: the protected girl was now directly under Lilac.

In other words, if the knights were Lilac’s knights, they were also the girl’s knights. Since protecting Lilac was their duty, the girl protected by Lilac was also under their protection.

Again, I merely closed my eyes and covered my ears due to the ear-splitting sound.

‘Why are they acting like that.’

As mentioned, I wasn’t very sharp, so I didn’t immediately grasp the implied meaning of Lilac’s words. In any case, since Lilac had expressed her intention to protect me, it seemed I wouldn’t starve while staying with her.

The knights left briefly to set up camp. The large man introduced himself as Edwyn and followed them.

Thus, Lilac and I remained where we were.

……

Amidst the flowing silence.

“Your age… how old are you?”

Lilac asked suddenly, surprising me, but I quickly thought and answered the question.

“Probably… nineteen, I think.”

My voice, still cracked, was so damaged it was impossible to tell if it was male or female.

It seemed it would take quite a long time for my throat to heal.

Lilac nodded, then plopped down on the ground and stared intently at me.

Feeling burdened, I turned my head away, but Lilac said, “Turn your head back,” forcing me to return to the original position.

She seemed to be the type to just say what she wanted without thinking.

She stared like that for several tens of minutes, and it felt like her gaze would pierce through my face.

I wanted to break the awkward atmosphere, but my voice wouldn’t come out properly, so I had to just stay quiet.

After a while. The large man named Edwyn, whom I saw earlier, approached from a distance, bowed his head, and spoke.

“Camp preparations are complete, Lady Lilac.”

As soon as Edwyn finished speaking, Lilac slung me over her shoulder again and walked past Edwyn.

Edwyn also followed behind us.

“……”

Being carried, I was looking not ahead, but at Edwyn behind us. His body was incredibly toned, the kind you’d imagine a soldier achieving after a lifetime of grueling training.

Perhaps sensing my gaze, Edwyn looked awkward and let out an uncomfortable laugh.

…For reference, I’m heterosexual. My gender has changed now, but I still like women.

‘Even if I die, I have no intention of being taken by a man.’

As I lowered my head, thinking useless thoughts to relax, a savory aroma began to drift by.

Soon, we arrived at the campsite.

At the arrival point were the knights I saw earlier and some new ones; in a wide clearing, there was a long table and a large pot in the middle simmering what looked like stew.

The savory smell seemed to come from that pot.

My desire to eat was immense, but it wasn’t the right time yet.

I’d probably need Lilac’s permission to eat.

This somehow made it feel like Lilac had become my master…

Does it matter?

For now, I need to fill my stomach and survive.

Isn’t there a saying that a well-fed ghost looks better?

As I thought this, perhaps my earnest wish was conveyed, Lilac took a seat at the table where plates of what looked like stew were laid out.

And naturally, I expected her to put me down beside her… But she placed me not beside her, but in front of her.

So, the situation looked as if Lilac was holding me like a doll.

Her height seemed to be around 175-179 cm, while I only reached her shoulder.
I seemed to be around 150-155 cm or so.

It seems this body grew up malnourished, so perhaps its height stopped here.

Finding myself unexpectedly held in her arms, a knight approached and asked.

“Uh… Lady Lilac. It seems that…”

Even the knight seemed speechless at the absurd situation.

To that, Lilac spoke in a cool tone. As if saying ‘you don’t need to know, mind your own business’.

“Bring one more plate.”

“Loyalty.”

The knight, who had been flustered just moments ago, quickly wiped his expression, bowed without complaint, and brought a plate from a short distance away.

It seemed Lilac was like a king here. I didn’t know much about noble titles like Duke or Lady, so I just broadly thought of her as nobility.

But it seems the title ‘Lady’ is much higher than I thought.

Maybe my life could take a turn for the better…?

I didn’t nurture such unfounded dreams and discarded them. You only bet on things that have a possibility.

As I stared intently at the bowl the knight brought, I felt a gaze from above my head.

Lilac’s beautiful yet dead ruby eyes watched me steadily.

“You…”

‘You…?’

Curious about the next words, I tilted my head.

Because my ruined throat made communication difficult.

“…have the same eyes as me.”

……

‘Does that mean my eyes are also red? I don’t know.’

Thinking that, I turned my gaze to the plate.

I wanted to eat before it got cold, but with no muscle or strength in my arms and hands, eating by myself was impossible.

‘Do I have to eat face-down…?’

While I was briefly pondering, Lilac picked up the spoon placed beside her, scooped some stew, and brought it close to my mouth.

Feeling a sense of ‘no way’, I looked up and met the ruby eyes still watching me.

However, in those eyes that were dead moments ago, I glimpsed the slight expectation I had seen back in the village.

…To think, at my age, someone would spoon-feed me.

I never imagined it.

Once again, I wasn’t given a choice.

‘I need to eat and survive first.’

As I thought that and opened my mouth.

Lilac placed her other hand on my head.

Then, with a rough touch, she ruffled my hair.

“You’ve suffered a lot.”

She added those words, messing up my hair.

No matter how much I pondered what suffering she meant, I couldn’t understand.

Except for just nodding and accepting the spoon brought to my mouth.

The moment the spoon entered my mouth, I was startled and flinched violently.

The stew was so hot it felt like the roof of my mouth was completely scalded.

Because of that, a tear I thought had dried up squeezed out.

Was it because I moved so much?

Lilac brought her hand to my face and tilted my head back as if to check my condition. Meanwhile, the hot stew traveled down my esophagus, burning my insides.

“I’m, cough. Oka-, keuk.”

Even though I choked on the stew and coughed repeatedly, trying to say I was okay, Lilac opened my mouth and peered inside as if examining it.

However, even as Lilac scooped more stew, my coughing didn’t stop; it grew worse.

“Keuk, cough. Keu-eup. Keheuk.”

As the repetitive coughing continuously struck my throat.

Rip.

A sound like something tearing came from inside my throat and stomach.

Gush.

“Pffft.”

A metallic tang and bitter taste surged past my throat and out into the world through my mouth, forced open by the coughs.

Drip.

A gush of red liquid sprayed onto the stew, turning it into horror stew.

Bright red blood trickled down the corner of my mouth, beginning to stain the clothes I wore red.

The fresh blood soon poured out like a small waterfall, as if a dam had broken and a valley flooded.

Drip. Drip.

I wanted to cover my mouth, but this damn body seemed to have no intention of obeying its owner.

After openly spewing blood like that for about a minute, I noticed everything around had gone quiet.

Blood was still welling up, but not as intensely as moments before.

I wanted to avoid losing more blood as much as possible, but I had already lost a lot.

The chances of someone surviving after vomiting blood for a full minute?
In my opinion, zero.

If I died so futilely like this.

It felt like a huge waste.

If I stayed with the noble Lilac, I wouldn’t have gone hungry, but now it seemed I wouldn’t even be able to feel that hunger anymore.

Just as the coughing subsided slightly.

I slowly raised my head and met eyes that were looking at me, but were clearly different from before.
Eyes filled with emotion that anyone could recognize.

Towards those eyes, I moved my barely functioning facial muscles to form a faint smile.

Then, moving my ruined throat, I forced myself to speak.

“I’m, fi–“

Of course, I couldn’t finish the sentence and lost consciousness right then.