It was when Ruperi took me to a meal with Duke Kreuz to tease me.
"This doll is Paul? I have heard a great deal about him."
"Pin, prepare a place for Paul, too. He is my little brother's friend."
"Seeing you carry Paul around puts my mind at ease. I am glad you like him, Ruperi."
They welcomed us warmly the moment we entered the dining room?
'Have they lost their minds?'
Rather than scold Ruperi for showing up carrying a teddy bear, they had even prepared food for me.
Gulp.
The sweet and salty scent of the steak made my mouth water.
'Slurp. Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I last ate.'
All the servants, Anchina, even the Kreuz family.
So much attention from everyone in the manor was unbearable.
'How did I end up in House Kreuz?!'
This closeness made me instinctively recoil, and I found myself making escape plans more often than before.
And I reached the same conclusion: with Ruperi always beside me, physical escape was difficult.
How could I escape House Kreuz?
'All that's left is magic.'
The Soul-Exchange Ritual.
If I could activate that spell one more time, I might escape the dreadful House Kreuz.
So I began quietly creating a mana core.
'Gather already! You need to stay put, mana, so I can make a mana core!'
The meager mana I had gathered could not even take shape before scattering.
'Damn it! How am I supposed to escape this place?'
Even after wrestling with mana all night, the mana core remained unfinished.
***
The days were peaceful.
Ever since I came to inhabit the teddy bear, ever since Ruperi found me out, the days had grown warmer.
Before I knew it, there was no chill in the wind, the leaves had deepened in color, and I could hear birds chirping.
Yet even as time passed, I still could not escape House Kreuz…….
'How can this be?'
Whenever I gave up on manipulating mana and tried to flee physically, Ruperi immediately noticed.
Whenever I waited for night, Blanc, my sworn enemy, would somehow come running.
As a result,
-Paul, you're my friend. So you have to stay by my side all the time.
I had even been reduced to sleeping in Ruperi's arms.
That left only magic.
'If I gather just a little more mana, I think I can somehow maintain its form.'
The problem was that I was in House Kreuz.
'Should I just gather an enormous amount of mana, prepared to be found out? If I'm caught, I can play dumb, can't I?'
But what if that made Ruperi suspicious?
Just as I was mulling it over.
Knock, knock, BANG!
"Young Master!"
Anchina suddenly burst into the bedroom.
When Ruperi lifted his head, Anchina launched into an explanation.
"M-Master and Madam have time!"
"What?"
"In a few days, there is going to be a circus-"
Anchina caught her breath, as if it had been knocked out of her, then continued,
"A circus is coming in a few days!"
"Really?"
"And Master and Madam's schedules are open!"
"What?"
"Their schedules are open on the day the circus comes!"
Anchina let out a shrill squeal, hopping anxiously as she pointed at the door.
But Ruperi, apparently not understanding at all, furrowed his brow and asked,
"What are you talking about? What do you mean Father and Mother's schedules are open?"
"Oh, honestly! It means exactly that their schedules are open! It means you can go on an outing with them!"
CLATTER.
The wooden block Ruperi was holding fell. Now that he understood the situation, Ruperi jumped to his feet.
"I-I have to go! Their schedules are open!"
"Phew, you finally understand……. Ah, Young Master! You need to go the other way!"
Ruperi hurried out, and Anchina followed him out of the bedroom.
The bedroom was a mess, as though a whirlwind had swept through.
Suddenly left alone in the bedroom, I blinked at the open door.
'What was that?'
***
Q. Was it really such a wonderful thing that Duke and Duchess Kreuz had an open schedule?
A. Of course, it was welcome news to Ruperi.
Recently, Ruperi had been spending less time feeling hurt, since he had been busy tormenting Nellis, but he had always been a child who wanted to spend time with his parents.
However.
"Paul! You're listening to me, right?"
With Ruperi hounding her every day, Nellis was at her wit's end.
With Anchina's help, Ruperi succeeded in making plans with Duke and Duchess Kreuz.
As Anchina had said, Duke and Duchess Kreuz apparently had a free day.
Excited, Ruperi held the teddy bear and rattled on about all sorts of things every night.
-Paul! It's been a while since I went out with Father and Mother. What should we do?
He asked what they should do.
-Since it's a circus, there will be scary animals too, right? I hope Father and Mother enjoy it!
He even told Nellis to hope Duke and Duchess Kreuz would enjoy themselves, despite her complete lack of interest.
-Anchina says there is a good restaurant nearby. But I want to look around the streets more. What do you think?
He forced her to choose an answer he had made obvious, and so on.
Ruperi tormented Nellis for several days.
'No, go to sleep already!'
You need to sleep so I can manipulate mana!
Perhaps Nellis's feelings showed on her face, because Ruperi grew serious.
"Paul, I don't like that expression."
At that, the teddy bear smiled brightly.
The sight caused Ruperi to stick out his lip and flop back on the bed.
"Well, Paul, you don't have parents, so you wouldn't understand."
He had not told the story hoping for sympathy, but he did not like the smile that seemed meant to escape the situation.
"Do you know how wonderful it is to have Father and Mother?"
'Why would I?'
"Watching a circus together, going to a good restaurant, walking around the streets……."
Imagining the future a few days away seemed to lift his irritated mood.
For a little while, Ruperi gave himself over to happy imaginings.
"Do you know how wonderful it is to be together, just sharing the same space?"
Nellis watched Ruperi intently.
"Father holds my hand with a happy smile, and when I call Mother, she turns to me kindly. And my brother finds things for us to do together."
Perhaps because the bedroom was so quiet, Nellis felt something stir inside her.
Ruperi said softly,
"Paul doesn't know that, right? That merely being together can make you happy and excited."
Nellis was about to answer reflexively that she did not know anything like that, but stopped herself.
A distant memory bloomed in the depths of her unsettled heart.
Nellis, too, had memories of going sightseeing in a bustling shopping district, just as Ruperi's family would soon do.
-Nellis, this way! If we go this way, there is a bookstore full of wraith books you like!
-Let's not go only to the bookstore! I have looked up all kinds of other shops to suit your tastes, too!
Aplin had taken Nellis out, while Mirus had looked up a variety of shops his young sister might like.
At the time, Nellis had not understood why she had to bother going outside, but looking back, they were quite good memories.
As she pushed down the memory she did not want to recall, Ruperi turned to look at Nellis.
"You don't have a family, so you don't know, but I still want you to understand that being with family makes you happy."
'This is annoying.'
"Huh? What did I say for you to make that face?"
That was right. Nellis was annoyed.
Nellis tried not to let her mood sink.
Ruperi got up and spoke playfully in response to the teddy bear's unusual manner.
But even when he threatened to call Blanc or poked it with his finger, the teddy bear only wore a stiff expression and did not react.
"Paul?"
The distance that had somehow opened between them frightened Ruperi, and he called to the teddy bear, but Nellis did not answer.
'I understand why he was so happy that their schedules were free.'
***
But on the day of their plans, Ruperi could not go on the outing.
Before they could leave, Duke and Duchess Kreuz received word concerning the Miten Kingdom and hurried to the Grand Temple.
As a result, Ruperi returned to his bedroom and cried bitterly.
Because he had been looking forward to the outing so much, he fell seriously ill.
"Y-Young Master!"
"Cough! This is so annoying……."
"You should not use that kind of language!"
"Those Miten bastards are so annoying……."
'I must never let them find out that I am from Miten.'
Watching him, I renewed my resolve.
Not long afterward, Duke and Duchess Kreuz returned to the manor upon hearing about Ruperi.
On seeing Ruperi groaning in pain, Duke and Duchess Kreuz were shocked.
"Ruperi, are you all right? You were fine just this morning!"
"You are burning with fever. Anchina, what happened?"
"Ah, well……."
Anchina hesitated.
Naturally. She could not tell the busy Duke and Duchess that their son had gotten seriously ill because they had been unable to go out with him.
The answer came from Ruperi, whose fever had only just gone down.
"……I'm fine. It was about time I caught a cold, wasn't it?"
But there was something subtly strange about Ruperi's answer.