Chapter – 18
The office inside the toy shop was small, cozy, and warm.
But Marie sat there stiff with tension, her palms soaked with sweat as she clenched her fists.
Did he look for me? Has a lot of time passed?
She couldn’t figure out a single thing, and the uncertainty made her chest feel tight.
If only she at least knew where her lost doll was.
When Marie asked him to find it, Letus had replied:
“Finding your doll among fifteen hundred others… may take a little time. But I’ll find it quickly, so don’t worry! First, I need to contact that person. Your guardian, after all.”
Marie let out a long sigh, then tilted her head at the unfamiliar word.
Contact.
What did that mean?
Though she had devoured countless novels and fairy tales at Crofrot’s house and was unusually knowledgeable for a child without formal education, she had never heard that word before.
After thinking for a moment, her eyes narrowed at the metal device sitting on the low table in front of the sofa.
A square frame with numbers engraved into it. A cylindrical receiver resting neatly on top.
Every surface was carved with intricate, breathtakingly delicate patterns.
Was that what he meant?
Curiosity about this new invention bubbled up inside her, but she shook her head. Now wasn’t the time.
Letus was directing his employees as they cleaned up the shop, and opening time had been delayed by an hour.
When he had made the announcement, the resentful looks from the children had been something else…
Feeling gloomy, Marie rubbed her face.
Just then, the office door opened.
“Goodness, did you wait long?”
“N-No.”
Letus sat down on the sofa opposite her, looking thoroughly exhausted.
“The shop’s been properly cleaned up. The Duke is very meticulous.”
The Duke of Lactea — father of Cecil and Caligo.
What sort of position did nobles hold in Magia, for a duke to personally help clean up a mere toy shop?
Of course, since it was the Lactea twins who caused the trouble, it made sense to apologize—but wasn’t that usually handled through servants?
Lost in thought, Marie shrank into herself.
“But more importantly, you should head home soon. That person must be worried.”
Marie’s face turned pale.
Letus waved his hands quickly to calm her.
“Don’t worry so much! Or… are you perhaps afraid of going back to the antique shop?”
“No, it’s not that…”
She was afraid of being thrown out.
But she couldn’t possibly explain that to Letus.
“Um, Mr. Letus, is Crofrot—”
“Gah! The name!”
Letus shrieked, squeezing his eyes shut and covering his ears.
“Oh! I’m sorry!”
“No, it’s fine. It’s—fine.”
“Are you afraid of him?”
Since he trembled whenever Crofrot’s name came up and treated him like some criminal who locked children up, it seemed like fear—or deep distrust.
Then how on earth had they formed a contract?
Letus avoided her gaze.
“Afraid? Of course not… He’s a very great person.”
Before he could answer properly, he hurriedly changed the subject.
“A-Anyway! Shall we contact him now? Are you ready?”
Marie’s shoulders drooped.
Right now, the one she needed to worry about was herself.
“Yes. I’m ready.”
Letus took a deep breath, steadied himself, and picked up the round receiver attached to the metal device.
After wiping his sweat again, he carefully began pressing the numbered panel.
Marie watched closely, tense. She had no idea how it worked, but clearly it would connect them to Crofrot.
After several fumbled attempts, Letus finally pressed the last number and handed the receiver to Marie.
Caught off guard, she took the round device and examined it.
Complex spell formations were engraved across every surface. Even the magic circles Crofrot summoned in midair didn’t seem this complicated.
How in the world was this made—
—What?
“Eek!”
Suddenly the device glowed bright green and released a voice. Startled, Marie nearly threw it.
“…Mariposa?”
It was Crofrot’s voice.
How could a person’s voice come out of this?
Marie stared at it blankly.
Letus whispered urgently.
“Marie, answer him.”
“That voice… the toy shop owner?”
Even from the faint whisper, Crofrot had picked up Letus’s presence.
Letus swallowed hard and clamped his mouth shut.
So this was “contact.”
Marie answered in a trembling voice.
“C-Crofrot. I…”
—You’ve got to be—
From the other end came a string of rough curses, the sound of objects clattering, and faintly, Sasha’s crying.
Marie’s worry overcame everything else.
“Crofrot? Is Sasha crying?”
“Is that what matters right now? You weren’t in the shop, so I thought you went outside—but you weren’t there either. And suddenly I get contacted through a communication device!”
“I-I’m sorry—”
“You’re at the toy shop right now? Did you go to Magia? Did you take the Foramen? I told you not to enter my lab. Is staying put really that hard? And you’re not even your brother! Knowing full well what might happen if you went—!”
Marie froze.
It was the first time Crofrot had unleashed his anger like this.
Her green eyes filled with tears, and her breathing grew uneven.
After a moment of silence, she spoke carefully, trying not to sound like she was crying.
“Crofrot… coming here was a mistake. I’m sorry. But I caused some trouble here…”
“…Trouble? What kind?”
His voice held faint anxiety.
“Not the kind you’re thinking of. I just… made a mess of the shop.”
“What?”
“My baby doll ended up being displayed here…”
“Huh?”
Letus, unable to bear watching her tearfully confess, gently took the receiver.
“H-Hello. This is Letus.”
“Put Mariposa back on.”
“Ahem. There seems to have been a delivery mistake. The child’s doll was mixed in with the merchandise, so she came looking for it.”
He rubbed his hands awkwardly.
“It’s not a major issue. She entered before business hours and rummaged through the toys. Opening time was delayed, so we’d like some compensation—”
“That’s it? That’s the trouble she caused?”
“Yes.”
Crofrot let out a deep sigh.
“We’ll discuss compensation later. It seems I mistakenly put the doll into the Foramen in the first place…”
Then, still unable to understand, he snapped:
“Even if it got mixed in, you could’ve just asked me to get it out! Why enter the Foramen? If you wanted another toy, I could have bought one!”
“I’m sorry…”
“Enough. We’ll talk when you get back. And Mr. Ludicer, contact the antique shop again within a week. I’ll compensate for the damages.”
“Yes, understood.”
Just before the call ended, Marie hurriedly spoke.
“Crofrot!”
“What now?”
“Please… we have to find the doll.”
“Why?”
His voice lowered.
“I accidentally made the doll swallow something of yours.”
“…Something of mine?”
“Yes. It looked like a jewel. Red. Round. About the size of candy.”
“The one in the bottom drawer of my dresser?”
“Yes…”
Silence fell.
Then Crofrot spoke calmly.
“That’s not a jewel. It’s just a red marble. Not important. There’s no need to find it.”
“…What?”
“You broke into the shop over that?”
Marie went silent.
“Forget the doll. Don’t try to retrieve it. Come back to the antique shop immediately.”
Her head spun.
What did I struggle so much for…?
She nodded weakly, then realized he couldn’t see and whispered, “Yes.”
Crofrot instructed Letus to prepare the Foramen and send her back at once.
After the call ended, Letus gently stroked Marie’s snow-white hair.
“My dear. I’ll keep looking for the doll. If it’ll ease your heart.”
“…Thank you. I’m sorry for causing trouble.”
“It’s alright. Everyone makes mistakes.”
Watching her slump on the sofa, he realized how unnaturally quiet and restrained she was for a child.
With a gentle smile, he left to prepare the Foramen.
Marie lay limply against the sofa and let out a long, exhausted sigh.
