I decided to cremate Aplin instead of looking for a suitable place.
Watching the fierce flames, Mirus, a brother who had also been close to Aplin, asked me,
-Do we really have to cremate her?
-I think those bastards will keep targeting Aplin.
Mirus accepted that, and I gathered Aplin's remains and handed them to him.
-Why? Aren't you going to keep them?
-I don't need them.
-You don't need them?
I had made that excuse because I would soon leave Teneris.
I was going to leave House Teneris magically—in other words, mentally.
Mirus did not know the truth and looked puzzled, but he readily accepted Aplin's remains.
The Soul-Exchange Ritual.
It was magic I had been researching for some time in order to leave House Teneris.
Of course, I could have simply left the house, but I had chosen this method because of my appearance.
Pristine, cool white hair and blood-red eyes darkly clouded over.
Even the quiet, ominous aura unique to Teneris.
'Changing my coloring or appearance won't alter the aura I already have.'
That was why I chose the magic: to evade the house's relentless pursuit.
I wanted complete freedom, and I did not want to take the body I had as a Teneris with me.
Several months passed like that.
Cold air seeped into the laboratory, giving me chills.
The coldness at my fingertips suggested that my birthday had passed and I had turned ten.
But age no longer mattered. I would soon switch to a new body.
"……It's complete."
It was a spell that would exchange my soul for a body that had only just died, allowing me to evade the house's pursuit and discard this damned Teneris body.
Using the body of a living person would be morally questionable, so I deliberately chose a dead one.
At the sight of the completed spell, I grinned broadly.
"Perfect. And beautiful."
As expected of Nellis Kere Teneris, a second-tier necromancer. What a beautiful formula.
No necromancer could understand this spell unless they delved into it for years.
"At last, I can escape the house."
With my long-cherished wish so close at hand, I murmured in bliss.
Heh heh. I chuckled under my breath, tidied the area, and carefully drew a magic circle on the floor.
Then I cast the spell without looking back.
I should have escaped the house like that…….
'What is that?'
The sight before me left me speechless.
Soft, golden wheat-colored fabric.
An adorable jet-black nose.
Even translucent red eyes.
'So, instead of a dead body, I've possessed a teddy bear?'
That was right. After casting the spell, I opened my eyes to find some teddy bear sitting in the window before me!
I calmly recalled the moment I had cast the spell.
But I could only confirm that the magic had worked smoothly; I could find no other error.
'Why a teddy bear?'
Why on earth had I possessed a teddy bear?!
I wanted to clutch my head, but I froze when someone passed in front of me.
The situation was absurd. Despite possessing a teddy bear, I could move my arms and legs.
But that was all.
Since I had no vocal cords, I could not make a sound.
Since I had no mouth, I could not utter a word.
Most importantly…….
'I don't have a mana core?'
Naturally, a teddy bear made of cloth and stuffing had no mana core!
Mana core.
A reservoir of mana that every mage had to possess.
Only by creating a mana core within the body could one accumulate mana and use it to cast magic.
'Calm down, Nellis. All I need to do is make a mana core, right?'
If I did that, I could cast magic again, and perhaps find a proper body……. Really?
Misgivings took hold. I almost gave up.
I had gathered every bit of patience I could to overcome this situation, yet that patience had already run dry!
'Damn it—!'
Just as I was about to get angry over this thoroughly unwelcome situation—
JINGLE.
"Welcome!"
A clear bell rang, and someone entered the place where I was.
In fact, I was in a toy shop in a busy district…….
'What a tangled mess.'
That thought lasted only a moment before my body stiffened instinctively.
I looked toward the wide display window and saw a man with strikingly handsome features.
"……Gasp!"
"Why is that gentleman here……."
Judging by their reactions, he seemed to be a noble of considerable rank.
'Since I don't know who he is, I can be sure I'm not in Miten after all.'
Where there is darkness, there is light.
Only one country could match the Holy Kingdom of Miten in power, so I must be in the Holy Horein United Empire.
As I bemoaned how I had somehow ended up even in an enemy country, an employee approached the man.
They seemed to exchange a few words, but he shook his head at every toy the employee showed him.
'Did he come to buy a toy?'
"There are plenty of toys like these at the estate. Do you not have anything else?"
"Other toys, sir? Please wait a moment."
The employee hurriedly searched the shop with a colleague.
The man looked around as well.
"A doll. Dolls are not bad either."
He looked toward the doll section and said just that.
"How about this teddy bear?"
He even pointed at me and asked the employee.
'Why, why was he pointing at me?'
"This doll, sir? The young master will not like it."
"He will not like it?"
"It has had an eerie air about it lately. Every child who sees it recoils in fright and bursts into tears, so I was about to remove it from the display shelf……."
Though the employee subtly tried to dissuade him, the man lifted me and inspected me.
Silky jet-black hair and perfectly clear violet eyes.
His appearance was enough to leave anyone spellbound simply by looking at him.
As I truly stared at him, spellbound, the man smiled faintly.
"It merely has that sort of atmosphere. There is no bad energy clinging to it. Give me this doll."
"Pardon?"
"Why? Is it not better for me to buy it than for you to remove it from the display shelf?"
"Ah, yes! Then I will wrap this doll for you!"
The employee promptly took me and carried me away.
When I was placed in a small box and its lid closed, I finally understood the situation.
'So right now…… I've been sold?'
The Youngest Daughter of Teneris Becomes a Doll and Is Sold.
'Amazingly, it really is true.'
There are so many other dolls. Why me?
I could not make sense of the situation at all.
At the moment, I—or rather, the box containing me—was being carried somewhere in the man's hand.
Since he had come to buy a toy, he was probably headed to an estate.
Before long, there was a clunk, followed by a very elderly voice.
"Welcome back, Master."
Judging by the talk of household affairs, it seemed we had truly arrived at an estate.
Not long afterward, I also heard a young boy's voice.
"Father, you're back? But what's that?"
"Ruperi, have you been well? You wanted to go on an outing, but could not, so I brought you a present."
"A present?"
The box seemed to be set down on a bed. The boy murmured in an odd tone.
"……You did not have to buy me a present."
"Still, will you open it? I hope you like it."
The boy hesitantly opened the gift.
The lid the employee had closed came open, and dazzling light seeped inside.
As the darkness faded and I waited for my eyes to adapt to the light,
"……Huh?"
I heard the boy's startled voice.
The boy took me out.
He had jet-black hair exactly like his father's.
He had delicate features as well, but he did not look merely cute.
His deeply furrowed brow made it clear that he did not have an easygoing nature.
'Blue eyes.'
Blue eyes like the summer sky, just like Aplin's.
However, a faint violet hue lay within the boy's eyes.
As I held my breath, the boy suddenly smiled brightly, as if he had never been startled.
'Huh?'
"……It's a teddy bear."
"Actually, I wanted to buy you a sword or toy soldiers—the things you like. But, Ruperi, as you know, there are plenty of those toys at the estate. I do not think I have ever bought you a doll, so I thought I would buy one as a friend this time."
"A friend."
"Yes, a friend. Why? Do you not like it?"
The boy shook his head.
But his forced smile told me that he did not like me.
'Um, Father? I don't think he likes me?'
However, the man failed to notice and merely watched the boy with a satisfied expression.
The boy, who had been stroking me with an odd expression, burrowed into the man's arms as though to conceal his feelings.
"Thank you, Father! Going out is nice, but I think teddy bears are nice too!"
"Ahaha, Ruperi, you will get hurt if you rush at me like that!"
'What a ridiculous situation.'
The boy did not like it, while his father was pleased.
As I watched to see how long this farce would continue,
'Huh?'
Something in one corner of the bedroom suddenly caught my eye.
A massive tapestry. A lion with a white mane that looked like a blazing sun.
My eyes widened at the sight of that lion.
'Isn't that the crest of the Holy House of Kreuz?'