~Chapter 105~
“Child?”
The clown nodded.
[Children must… be happy.]
Speaking slowly, the clown pulled three faded balls out of its bulging pocket. Then, like a circus performer trying to cheer up kids, it began juggling.
“Wow.”
The clown was very good at it—throwing and catching the balls with perfect control, showing off its tricks.
When I admired the performance, the clown nodded.
[Must make… children happy.]
“Child?”
The clown tilted its head and asked me.
[Child… happy?]
“Ruby, I think it thinks you’re a child,” Damien said.
“You do look younger than your age sometimes…”
“Ah.”
I looked awkwardly at the clown. The clown tilted its head again.
[Not… child?]
“No, I’m not a child. I’m an adult.”
[Ahh…]
The clown’s shoulders slumped, clearly discouraged.
I quickly added, “But I really enjoyed it—your candy and your tricks made me happy!”
The clown’s head shot up. Somehow, the black cross-shaped eyes on its mask seemed to sparkle.
[Then… that’s good.]
Relieved, the clown turned its gaze toward Damien.
[No children?]
“Children?”
[I want… to make children happy.]
The only ones who came to mind were the cursed twins. But… their mental age was questionable, and they didn’t seem like they’d like the clown. They preferred dramatic soap operas.
[I came here… looking for children.]
I asked, “So, there were no children where you were before?”
The clown didn’t answer right away. After staring at me for a moment, it finally spoke slowly.
[There were many.]
That raised a question. If there were already many children there, why come all the way here?
[I tried to give candy… tried juggling for them.]
Drip.
From the clown’s mask, big tears rolled out from the black cross-shaped eyes.
[But they were all… afraid of me.]
Damien and I exchanged glances.
[Sob… sob…]
The clown began to weep bitterly. I whispered to Damien, “So this is the same clown from Eastside, isn’t it?”
“Yes, I think so,” Damien replied, watching the crying clown carefully. “The children must have been frightened by its appearance. Their fear probably made its body grow so huge.”
“Then, if it’s with people who aren’t afraid, its size can shrink?”
“Yes.”
I got an idea. Whispering it to Damien, he agreed immediately.
“Hey, clown,” I called gently.
The clown stopped crying and turned to me.
“I think there are children in our house who would like you. Want to come with us?”
The clown nodded eagerly.
“Everyone, a new friend is here.”
I told the cursed dolls gathered together. They responded in their usual way:
[Friend? Who’s the friend?]
[Eh, we don’t need one.]
[We only need Rubiana~]
“No, you’ll like this one too,” I said, hugging each sulking doll.
“This friend knows lots of fun games.”
[Games? Games?]
At the word “games,” their eyes lit up.
I brought the clown inside.
“This is your new friend. Don’t fight. Play nicely.”
[Ooooh.]
The moment they saw the clown, the dolls became very interested.
[Are you a doll too?]
[Show us games!]
[You smell like candy!]
Surrounded by the dolls, the clown’s size began to shrink. Soon it was only as tall as me.
It pulled out several lollipops and handed them to the dolls one by one.
[Wow, amazing!]
[So sweet!]
[Can I have another?]
Winning over the dolls with candy was easy.
When the clown showed more tricks, the dolls laughed joyfully.
[Wow, so good at throwing!]
[The magic is great!]
[Where’s the pigeon?!]
The more fun they had, the smaller the clown grew.
After more than an hour of juggling and magic, the clown was nearly the same size as the dolls.
[Huh? You looked huge before!]
[So you’re just like us~]
[Sorry for saying we didn’t need you.]
Emily, the doll in a pink dress, held the clown’s hand tightly.
[You’re a doll too, right? Let’s live together.]
The clown nodded.
[Good.]
Holding hands, the dolls danced together with the clown. It looked truly happy.
Smiling in relief, Damien and I quietly closed the door to the dolls’ room.
“Our family has grown,” I said.
“Yes,” Damien agreed. “But it will be fine. Dolls always pay great attention to new things. They’ll give the same attention to this new friend.”
“That’s true.”
“It would be nice if this makes them a little less obsessed with you,” he added wryly.
“Haha, I doubt that.”
“Ruby, didn’t you say at first you were sad because the curses didn’t like you?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Now it seems many of them like you. Almost like you’ve become their princess.”
“Hahaha, what is that supposed to mean?”
Damien gave me a strange smile.
“I think I understand why everyone wants you so much.”
His eyes gleamed with a strange desire—cold and unsettling.
‘What’s this…?’
I thought it odd, but answered anyway, “Really?”
“Yes. People never realize such things about themselves.”
Then, holding out his hand again, Damien’s gaze returned to its usual warmth.
“Shall we go read more ghost stories?”
Seeing his gentle smile, I thought maybe I had imagined that earlier look.
‘Probably just the lighting…’
Taking his hand, I smiled.
“Yes, let’s go.”
That night.
As always, I fell asleep beside Damien, just like I had promised him. I slept deeply, unaware of anything.
At first, we had fallen asleep in each other’s arms. But even when Damien slipped away from my embrace, I didn’t stir.
‘She won’t wake up midway, will she?’
I never knew. I couldn’t have imagined… that while I slept peacefully, Damien stood over me, silently watching.
Anyone who saw the scene would have found it chilling.
But Damien had his reasons.
“Rubiana.”
When he spoke my name, his voice carried both affection and a dark, heavy sorrow.
He was always grateful to me… but deep inside, he also felt guilty.
Tonight, there was yet another thing to feel guilty about.
‘Still… I must do it.’
In his hand was a needle. So thin it would not even cause pain if it pricked skin.
Kneeling beside me, he whispered softly:
“I’m sorry.”
He pricked my finger with the fine needle and carefully collected the tiny drop of blood into a vial.
