Why did soft doll cloth make her feel naked? It was difficult for Elliot to understand.
‘No, it’s even weirder that you’re embarrassed in front of me in the first place.’
As Elliot approached, Hazel hid behind the table leg.
“Between us? I’ve already slept with Lulu’s naked body…”
“Stop, stop!”
“…I saw it all.”
Hazel folded her long ears into her hands. Elliot laughed, covering her ears and picking up the bunny doll that was purring at him.
“What were you doing?”
Her soft fur tickled Elliot’s palm. She usually tied up his handkerchief and wore it as clothes, but now why did she leave it on the table next to the bed?
“I was moving around trying to get used to my new body.”
It seemed like he had taken off his clothes because it was cumbersome to move around.
“What about the witch? Did she have a good day today?”
Hazel’s concern made Elliot shake his head at her young question.
“So far, the operation to hunt down the witch is going smoothly.”
The Grand Duchy was putting all its effort into controlling the witch like a shepherd dog herding sheep. He couldn’t let a witch do something suspicious in the grand palace. It was absolutely impossible to move around with Hazel’s body or use her body as desired, whether inside or outside of the Grand Duke’s residence. So,she pretended that he had always protected her closely and attached Luca and Daniel as her watchers. Only his younger siblings, Daniel, and a few employees knew that Hazel’s body contained the soul of an evil witch. Then, they drastically reduced the scope of their activities so that only those who knew the identity of ‘Hazel’ would encounter them.
‘Good thing you did that.’
It was a decision he made with the safety of his employees in mind, but after seeing what the witch was doing these past few days, he had one more reason to minimize contact with her.
“That witch, she’s far from smart.”
“Okay?”
The witch seemed to think she was a great actress, but she was clumsy in his eyes. Of course, she seemed like that in the eyes of the workers as well.
“Well, do you eat meat?”
Harold’s acting was much better. If he had let the witch meet anyone, rumors would have spread quickly inside and outside the palace that ‘Hazel’ was not that Hazel.
“What happened?”
“There are so many…”
The mistakes the witch made today passed through her mind one by one, and there was no end to the procession.
“Her last mistake was asking for meat at dinner?”
“Oh, I guess that witch didn’t know.”
“It’s sloppy. So she easily neutralized it by feeding it to her pepper. So there’s nothing to worry about.”
Hazel’s ears drooped when he said there was nothing to worry about.
“What’s the matter?”
“Pepper… My pepper…”
She became sullen because she couldn’t eat the peppers she had worked so hard to grow.
That wasn’t the only thing that Hazel couldn’t eat. No, it would be correct to say that she couldn’t eat it all. Because it’s a doll.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
The brown rabbit doll shook her head.
“Actually, I don’t feel hungry at all. When I become a doll, all my desires disappear and I feel free.”
“…Have all your desires disappeared?”
If Elliot had long rabbit ears, they would have flopped down. This time, when he became sullen, Hazel smiled and stood up. His soft hands cupped his strong jaw and he gently pressed his black embroidered mouth to Elliot’s. After their brief kiss, she lifted her head and saw his purple eyes looking down at her with a smile on his face.
“The Grand Duke, who is all grown up, not only sleeps with the doll, but also kisses it. If Giselle finds out, she’ll make fun of you forever.”
Elliot let out a mischievous sigh and sat down on her bed, picking up Hazel’s ‘clothes’ that were on the table.
“I will instruct the maids to make Lulu’s clothes.”
“It’s a hassle. This is all I need.”
“This won’t do. I might have to stay like this for quite some time.”
Because they couldn’t punish the witch right away. There were two reasons. The first reason was that the witch had proof that the emperor was the main culprit in the assassination of his parents. Over the years, he has grown in power both militarily and politically, and has gathered quite a bit of evidence regarding his parents’ assassination. But that alone wasn’t enough. The opponent was the emperor. In any case, it was a dangerous thing to accuse the monarch of a country. If he was not careful, you could be falsely accused of plotting a treason and be exterminated. So, while looking for the right opportunity, they gathered evidence and inquired about the whereabouts of their accomplice, the witch.
‘But the accomplice walked in on his own feet.’
As if that wasn’t enough, she offered the evidence with her own hands.
‘What on earth is that witch up to?’
It was obvious what would happen if it was revealed to the world that the Emperor assassinated his parents. The emperor who assassinated his brother and lord of the empire he ruled would be deposed from the throne. Then, the only remaining heirs to the throne were Elliot and his younger siblings.
‘Then it looks like the witch is targeting me.’
By the way, he felt strongly that she had an intention to make him a puppet emperor by taking over Hazel’s body.
‘It’s hard to understand.’
If she had successfully infiltrated the imperial palace, which was famous for being difficult to infiltrate, she could have taken over the emperor’s body or controlled the emperor using the empress’s body.
‘Is it because the emperor is already as infamous a person as he was in the past?’
Even after thinking about it in many ways, he couldn’t figure out her true intentions. Elliot was just taking advantage of the witch who was trying to use him. If he hints that she intends to bring down the emperor, he may produce even more evidence. While he felt it was a golden opportunity, he was also distressed. The witch was also his parents’ enemy. She was also an enemy with the face of the woman he loved. As he faced it, his anger and sadness surged together. He desperately wanted to reveal the emperor’s sins as soon as possible and punish the witch along with him. However, the second reason why this could not be was that Hazel might not be able to regain her body even if the witchcraft was extinguished.
“Hazel.”
“Huh?”
“I found out a way…”
Hazel’s ears perked up when she heard that he had figured out a way to get her body back.
“There is only one way to be sure.”
Her ears were half sunken, as if she had a bad feeling.
“As soon as the witch’s soul is destroyed, you have no choice but to use soul replacement and enter her body before she dies.”
Soul replacement was a forbidden black magic. However, if he was using black magic to get her body back, there was no need to feel guilty even if he was reluctant to do so. There was no way he, the lord with jurisdiction over that, would punish Hazel. But the problem lay elsewhere.
“But I…”
Hazel placed both palms on Elliot’s cheeks. Immediately he began to feel a warm, tingling sensation in his cheeks. It was mana. The mana tickling his cheek was not only weak, but disappeared before he could count to three.
“This is the maximum.”
From the beginning, it was impossible to succeed in highly complex black magic with a cotton ball body without a source of mana.
“Maybe it’s good?”
Hazel’s long ears drooped.
“Don’t worry. There must be a way. I will ask if there is a wizard who knows how to perform soul replacement.”
“A warlock will be hard to find. Besides, if the Grand Duke were caught hiring a warlock, he would be severely punished.”
“Anyway, I will eventually become a traitor who usurps the throne. Well, what do you think?”
Elliot, who cheered Hazel up, said something that would change her mood.
“Shall I give you a bath?”
“No.”
It was a firm refusal. Hazel even covered her curly, furry body with her arms.
“What are you thinking? I just want to clean the bunny doll.”
“I-I never thought of that either.”
“Thinking of that? What are you thinking?”
“Oh, no…”
Hazel, caught up in Elliot’s pun, was visibly embarrassed.
“That’s not it!”
Then she suddenly got angry and hit his chest with a cotton ball. Of course it just tickled.
“When Luca was five, he said he couldn’t take a bath because it would take away his mother’s scent.”
“Okay. Okay.”
Elliot comforted Hazel and opened her clothes as he comforted her cleavage. Then he raised her arms up as if asking Hazel to put them on. He neatly gathered her upturned ears, placed them under her clothes, and pulled her clothes down. The moment her round face came out of her clothes, she let out her words as Hazel let out the breath she had been holding.
“Your Highness, aren’t you old enough to play with dolls?”
Elliot chuckled.
‘You repay teasing with teasing.’
She was indeed his lover.
* * *
Elliot recognized him as soon as he saw his face, painted by the artist following the witch’s statement.
‘Ah, it’s him.’
He was one of the royal guards who stayed like a shadow by the emperor’s side. Although Elliot found out the identity of the person who participated in his parents’ assassination so easily, he was unable to take action, and he pondered for several days. He would do anything to lure him to the Grand Duke’s residence and arrest him on suspicion. The problem was that he didn’t know if the witch was telling the truth or just putting her familiar face on.
“When are you going to catch him?”
Meanwhile, the witch began to openly pressure him.
“Well…”
“I even revealed your identity, so I don’t know why you’re hesitating.”
The witch’s words became increasingly harsh, as if she had let go of the tension over the past few days.
“Because we cannot arrest the emperor’s close associates solely on charges with weak material grounds.”
“It’s poor…”
Although he was willing to bring the emperor to justice, he pretended to hesitate due to the lack of confirmation. The effect was immediate.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on March, 2.
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