Flutter, flutter—the fins trembled.
—Ugh, my whole body aches. Forcing out strength that doesn’t even suit me… I feel like I’m about to die, and now what little life I’ve got left is being sucked dry!
A doll moving and speaking on its own—an absurdly surreal sight. And yet, that was what managed to pull Justyn’s dazed mind back into focus.
—Hey, get a grip, boy. At this rate they’ll be holding your funeral right here. Do you really think he looks like he’s about to die?
The words dragged Justyn back to reality. His vision, distorted and narrowing as though it would collapse, slowly returned to normal.
“…Why?”
The word slipped out instinctively, little more than a faint whisper.
—Why is the doll talking, is that it? That’s what matters most to you right now?
The sharp retort cut him off before he could say anything more, leaving him speechless.
His gaze drifted down again—not to the doll, but to Ries.
“……”
The doll was right. Ries hadn’t been wounded, just collapsed from exhaustion. No visible injuries, nothing life-threatening. The frantic pounding of Justyn’s heart, which had been battering his ears, gradually calmed.
Only then did he begin to notice what he had missed before: the cracked floor, the ruined furniture, the unconscious knights scattered across the ground, and another odd doll rolling nearby.
As he was piecing everything together, the fish-shaped doll flapped and hurried him on.
—What are you standing there for, fool? Any moment now, noisy idiots will come swarming in. You really want them to see the kid like that?
…It was right. Justyn accepted it instantly and moved at once.
He bound Averitt, laid the unconscious knights flat, and gave them simple first aid. Then, gathering Ries carefully into his arms, he picked up the talking fish doll—and…
—Take that one too.
…the lumpy, grotesque yellow doll as well. Just touching it made his skin crawl with disgust.
The moment he stepped out, a desperate voice stopped him in his tracks.
“Your Grace!”
It was Ketir, with a group of knights at his back.
As Ketir hurried forward, his eyes faltered, unable to process what he was seeing.
The urgent news had reached him after Justyn’s sudden departure. Though the matter was grave, he believed above all that it should be reported directly to the Duke. The first place he had searched was the office.
If he left so abruptly without warning, it must have something to do with Ries.
It was the kind of sharp insight only a long-serving steward could have—and, in this case, the exact truth.
Yet now, Ketir found himself doubting his own judgment.
…A person?
Justyn, stepping out of the office, was cradling a human figure in his arms. And he held them with the utmost care.
Who is that?
He carried them so delicately, as if handling the most precious treasure in the world. If there had been someone Justyn cherished that much, surely Ketir—who had always been at his side—would know. The only one who came to mind was Ries.
But Ries was a cat, not a human, and certainly not with limbs of that length.
“The Count has been restrained. Take him to the underground dungeon and make sure he’s locked up tight, with no chance of escape. Tend to the knights’ wounds as well. I’ll question them about what happened once they regain consciousness.”
The crisp order cut through Ketir’s confusion. Before he could even nod, Justyn had already turned his back and strode away. His pace was so swift it was almost hard to believe.
Both Ketir and the knights who had followed him could only stare, bewildered, at the Duke’s retreating figure—for a moment. Soon enough, they turned back to carry out his command, stepping into the office and taking in the wreckage.
Even to someone untrained in swordsmanship, it was clear that a fierce and desperate battle had taken place here. And yet, something about it was… off.
Leaving the others to their work, Ketir frowned.
Strange.
From the scene, it looked as though the three knights had clashed with Count Averitt. But no matter how many times he reconstructed the events in his head, the fight didn’t add up.
The only variable was the unknown person the Duke had taken with him. Beyond that…
“Ah.”
A sudden thought struck him. By now, the cat would surely be hidden away, tail bristling stiff, watching this way from the shadows.
For all his bravado, he was secretly quite timid.
A mistake. Ketir felt guilty for not realizing it sooner.
The only thing that nagged at him was the fact that Justyn hadn’t taken Ries. But with so much happening at once, his thoughts couldn’t linger there.
“Have any of you seen the cat?”
“Ah, you mean the Spirit Beast His Grace always keeps by his side? It may be hiding somewhere—I’ll search for it.”
The knights grew even more frantic, scouring every corner for signs of the small creature. But of course, there was no way they would find Ries inside that office.
***
Crackle, crackle—the soft sound of sparks in the fireplace lingered like background music. The quiet bedroom was a perfect sanctuary for someone worn out with exhaustion.
But its master, Justyn, was sweating.
—Hot, is it?
“…A little, yes.”
—Thought so. You really are hopeless.
“……”
He bit back a reply and stayed silent.
After bringing Ries back to his chamber, Justyn had laid him safely on the bed. But then he’d run into a problem.
Ries was covered only by a hastily pulled blanket, still completely bare beneath it.
He’ll… catch a cold like this.
The blanket was thick, and the room was warm enough, but Justyn wanted to eliminate even the smallest risk.
Maybe it was Ries’s gentle, soft presence. Or maybe it was his skin, so pale it looked almost translucent. Whatever the reason, Ries seemed unbearably fragile in Justyn’s eyes. Leaving him like that simply didn’t feel right.
So he brought clothes to dress him in. …And of course, the task fell to Justyn alone.
He tried to treat it like nothing—cold, practical, detached. But his body and heart betrayed him. Each time his hand brushed that smooth skin, sparks seemed to jump across his fingertips, and heat rose uncontrollably to his face.
The warmth became so stifling he even considered taking off his mask for a moment—though, in the end, it remained only a thought.
Beside him, the fish-shaped doll clicked its tongue in disapproval. Yet it didn’t forget to give advice.
—Word of warning: don’t even think about showing him to a doctor.
Justyn’s gaze shifted from Ries to the doll.
—You’ve guessed at least part of what he is, haven’t you? If word gets out, the wrong sort of people will notice. And then trouble you can’t even imagine will follow.
“…Understood.”
The blunt warning hit him like a splash of cold water, pulling his thoughts back into line.
He shut his eyes tightly, opened them again, and repeated the motion several times. The rush of urgency welled up once more, but this time it was bearable.
Instead, he slowly turned his eyes around the room—the talking doll, and lying nearby…
His gaze sharpened. He didn’t fully understand what Ries had done, not being versed in spiritual matters, but instinct alone told him what that grotesque yellow doll represented.
Touching it was revolting. Sometimes he felt an almost overwhelming urge to smash it to pieces, to rip it apart.
He kept those feelings buried, suppressing them—but the urge to move it as far away from Ries as possible was harder to ignore.
Deep within, his crimson eyes flickered toward the fireplace.
…Should I burn it?
The thought hadn’t even settled before the doll cut in.
—Don’t. Ries needs it.
“I see.”
That single reply was enough. Because Ries’s name was tied to it, Justyn abandoned the idea without a shred of hesitation.
—Tch… Anyway. That thing fought back until the end, but being sealed knocked it flat. It won’t be able to move on its own for a while. Just tie it up so it can’t run off. Once the kid wakes, he’ll use it to treat your curse.
“Will it hurt him?”
—Who, the kid? Don’t be ridiculous. At most, he’ll just be sore from swinging his little paws too much.
“……”
When no answer came, the doll craned its head out to peek at him.
At that moment, Justyn was gently massaging Ries’s arm, as though easing away any lingering ache.
The doll’s expression shifted into something unreadable.
—……
“……”
An awkward silence stretched between them. Neither of them was much good at conversation, so naturally it was the doll who broke it.
Sefiut smoothly shifted the topic, as though he couldn’t stand watching the scene any longer.
—Judging by your reaction, you already knew the kid could turn human.
Silence again—but silence that was clearly an admission.
—And with how much you fuss over him, how much you worry, he’s obviously precious to you. But do you really think it’s wise to keep at your side a doll with some unknown spirit sealed inside?
That cut straight to the heart of the matter Justyn had been putting off.
His eyes lowered, long lashes casting deep shadows across his face.
“From the moment I was born, I’ve lived with this curse as part of me.”
The words came after a long pause, seemingly out of nowhere.
“In you, I felt something familiar. I thought perhaps you were one of my ancestors—someone cursed, who eventually returned to the earth. Was I wrong?”
—…Tch. You really are dull.
But even in his bluntness, there was the faintest note of trust. The fact that Justyn addressed him formally suggested he’d already guessed the truth.
Sefiut, embarrassed, hesitated before steadying himself. Since things had come this far, he might as well introduce himself.
But Justyn spoke first, derailing the attempt.
“Besides, Ries is clever. He treasured the doll I made for him with my own hands. There’s no way he would’ve accepted it if something evil had been sealed inside.”
—……
The one who so often stayed silent was suddenly speaking at length.
Sefiut squeezed his eyes shut and let out a long sigh, releasing the pent-up frustration in his chest.
—Unbelievable…
lmaooo feeding your great great great great great great great grandfather dogfood