Chapter 33: Dressing the Doll

The place the young lady brought me to was her room in the main house.

Normally, I would have needed to inform Ham-an-daek in advance to enter the main house, but since the precious young lady herself had brought me, it seemed this time was an exception.

“This is my room.”

I wanted to reply bluntly that it was obvious even without saying, but after being drained by her constant chatter—swinging between rudeness and innocence—I simply nodded.

“Sit here.”

I sat in the chair she offered and caught my breath.

She went to a shelf in the corner and brought back teacups and a small bottle.

“I’ll do it, miss.”

Ham-an-daek, who had followed us from the annex, stepped forward, but the young lady narrowed her eyes and waved her off.

“You can go, Ham-an-daek. I’ll be with Aedong, so don’t interfere!”

We had barely met, yet she was already calling me Aedong.

I was much older than her.

But I knew protesting wouldn’t work—it hadn’t worked the many times I had already pointed it out.

It wasn’t that I wanted her to call me “older sister,” but still, calling an elder so casually felt wrong.

Unlike me and the exhausted Ham-an-daek, the young lady seemed delighted, humming as she poured tea into a white Western-style teacup.

“This is tea imported from France. Father gave it to me as a gift.”

The reddish tea looked nothing like the jade-colored tea I knew.

So this was Western culture—different even in tea.

My throat was dry anyway, so I lifted the cup to drink, and she watched me with interest.

“Now that I think about it, you look just like a French doll. Wait here.”

She ran to her bed and returned with a doll nearly the size of her torso.

“Look. Doesn’t it resemble you? Big eyes, pale face.”

“Your face is pale too.”

She burst into laughter.

“Still, not as much as yours. Were you always this pale? Your skin’s a bit rough… but it’s like white jade.”

She asked with pure curiosity, without a trace of malice.

I thought for a moment.

I had always been pale.

Even under the blazing sun, my skin would only redden, never tan like others.

Seeing me lost in thought, her eyes lit up.

As if she had an idea, she clapped her hands.

“I’ve got it! Want to try on my clothes?”

“Why would I wear your clothes?”

I frowned.

“Well, I always wanted a sister so we could pick outfits together and do each other’s hair. You may not feel like much of a sister… but we can still play together.”

She headed to her wardrobe, still chatting endlessly as she picked out clothes.

“It’s not like I can dress up and play with the servants. Father would scold me. But you… well, you’re also a lady of this house, so it should be fine. Oh, and why do you call me ‘miss’ when you’re one too?”

Are all “ladies” really the same?

Would that man—my so-called father—really approve of me being treated the same as Eunjo?

Countless doubts crossed my mind, but I couldn’t explain them to someone so innocent.

“Then what should I call you?”

I swallowed my thoughts and asked bluntly.

She hesitated, then said—

“You can call me Eunjo. Calling me ‘miss’ feels weird.”

Eunjo smiled brightly.

It felt strangely unfamiliar—like when the man who bought me told me to call him father.

But she didn’t seem to care what I called her.

So I just nodded.

“Alright.”

She stared at me for a moment, then burst into laughter.

“You’re kind of interesting.”

As if there was anything amusing.

Resting my chin on my hand, I watched her, and soon she returned with several outfits.

“Here, try these on.”

When I only stared at them, she grew impatient and grabbed my arm, pulling me up.

“Come on.”

Like playing with a doll, she held out a red dress.

“Who even wears things like what you’re wearing? So outdated. With your pale skin, red will definitely suit you.”

She tried to undress me in her excitement.

“I—I’ll put it on myself, so stop rushing me.”

I took the red dress from her and looked around.

“What’s there to be shy about between girls?”

“That’s how I feel. Where can I change?”

She brought a folding screen from the wall.

“There. Now hurry and change.”

Behind the screen, I sighed, took off my clothes, and quickly put on the dress.

It was slightly loose, but since we were similar in height, it fit well enough.

Still, having my calves exposed felt strange.

When I stepped out hesitantly, Eunjo narrowed her eyes and examined me from head to toe.

Her sharp gaze somehow made me shrink.

“It doesn’t suit me, right? Let’s just forget it.”

“No, no—it’s not that… Your hair needs fixing. Just changing clothes isn’t enough.”

Satisfied with her plan, she pulled me to the vanity.

It was far more luxurious than anything I had seen at the circus.

She took out various items and began brushing my hair.

“Don’t you ever brush it? Such long hair, and it’s a mess. Mine’s short, so I can’t try many styles.”

Having someone brush my hair felt strangely unfamiliar.

Aside from the snake fairy when I was young—and briefly the spider lady after her—no one had ever touched my hair.

Not even me.

“From now on, don’t brush it. Don’t even push your bangs aside.”

Looking unkempt and shabby had been my way of surviving in the circus.

But I didn’t mind.

It had allowed me to stay by Gyesa’s side longer, and I found comfort in brushing his hair instead.

‘Now… I don’t have to do that anymore.’

Even if I started now, would my dry, straw-like hair ever shine like his—or Eunjo’s?

Doubt, a faint hope, and a small fear of change stirred within me.

Unaware of my thoughts, Eunjo finished styling my hair and hummed happily.

“There. Look. Don’t you look more like a proper lady?”

I looked into the mirror.

My long hair was elegantly pinned up, decorated with expensive-looking ornaments.

But the exposed face still felt unfamiliar.

“Now, let’s try some rouge.”

Excited, she treated my face like a canvas.

After a while, she smiled proudly.

“Look.”

In the mirror stood a well-dressed lady—with an awkward expression.

It was surprising.

Just a few cosmetics could change a person’s appearance so much.

“Don’t you think I have talent for beauty work?”

“You really are skilled.”

I had to admit it honestly.

Even to someone like me, it was clearly far beyond the simple makeup used in the circus.

Eunjo smiled brightly.

“You know, there’s something called a beautician certification exam. I want to try it.”

“Then you should. You’re good at it.”

At my words, her smile faded slightly.

“I want to… but Father would never allow it.”

“Why?”

“Why else? He says that kind of work is for commoners. And I’m not very healthy… Even without that, he’d never permit it.”

Sitting on the bed, she rested her chin on her hand and sighed.

“That’s unexpected.”

“What is?”

“I thought a beloved daughter would get everything she wanted.”

She laughed lightly, but there was a trace of bitterness.

“He does cherish me… but not like that. So you shouldn’t expect that either.”

I never had such expectations to begin with.

What kind of affection could exist between a father and daughter bound by blood as a transaction?

I wanted to laugh at her—but she didn’t know anything.

And somehow, her smiling face looked a little lonely.

So I quietly kept my mouth shut.

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