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Chapter 37
Hesil, wearing a serious expression, answered firmly.
[There is such magic, but I can’t teach it to someone with impure intentions.]
[Why not!?]
[It goes against the wizard’s code of ethics.]
[There’s such a thing?]
[Don’t call it “such a thing.”]
The wizard’s code of ethics was a set of principles born when the first assembly of wizards was formed—a code of history and tradition.
[Magic is dangerous. Just because you learn it doesn’t mean you can use it, but if someone has the ability, even a child could turn a person into roasted meat.]
That’s why wizards have always conducted magic education according to proper ethics. Of course, there were those who failed to uphold this code, and all of them met horrific ends…
‘I can’t let the same mistakes happen again.’
If Piani were to truly return as a human, she would be a wizard reborn into this world.
And since wizardry is inherited by bloodline, it was entirely possible that a child born from Piani’s marriage could become a wizard.
Therefore, Hesil had to educate Piani even more carefully—for the sake of the future!
Clearing his throat, Hesil spoke.
[Don’t think of it as purely bad. Honestly, your body is just cloth right now, right? What if you make a mistake and it catches fire?]
[Whoa. Thinking about such a scary scenario… Hesil, you’re crueler than I thought.]
Piani shivered as she spoke.
[Ah, that’s not the only reason it won’t work. Magic is also the power to materialize the image in your mind. Casting a spell isn’t just for show.]
In other words, precise and detailed imagination is the most crucial part of magic.
[But can you imagine a person burning alive?]
[Ugh… true.]
Piani rubbed her chubby chin.
It was fascinating to see the embroidered eyes on the doll stretch straight as she did so.
[So, for now, try imagining peaceful magic. Something that won’t cause danger even if you make a mistake.]
[Peaceful magic…]
Piani’s eyes brightened as she pondered. Then she saw the cores of the three dolls.
‘Huh?’
They glimmered elegantly, shining in different colors. But the light was blocked by something. It looked trapped and distressed.
‘W-why am I seeing this all of a sudden?’
But the more she looked, the more puzzled she became.
‘Why can’t they move?’
If it were only mana that allowed movement, then the three dolls, filled with mana, should also be able to move.
‘It must be because of those shells. That’s why they can’t move.’
[…Hmm!]
Piani, having decided which magic to learn, nodded with a sharp gaze.
[Alright. I’ve thought of it!]
[What is it?]
[Umm…]
If she spoke and failed, how disappointed the dolls would be. So…
[I can’t tell you.]
Piani twisted her body and pouted.
[What? I need to know to teach you.]
Just then, Ope intervened.
[It’s probably another weird thing, right? Peeking at male muscles…]
Piani clenched her fists and trembled.
[No! It’s a really brilliant idea!]
[Then why not just tell us?]
‘Really! So nosy!’
Piani spun her head around.
[Ah, no! If I fail later, I’ll be embarrassed, so I can’t say!]
Hesil let out a deep sigh.
‘So sensitive.’
Hesil, who would have shook his head if he could move his body, said:
[Anyway, it’s not dangerous, right?]
[No. I know my body is precious too.]
[Good. Then I’ll teach you the basics of all magic first.]
Piani swallowed hard.
If she succeeded in learning magic, she would become the only wizard in this world.
‘So cool!’
Hesil, now speaking in a louder voice, cleared his throat and began.
[First, feel the mana inside you.]
Piani frowned at the abrupt, unfriendly start.
[How do I do that?]
[It’s simple. Take deep breaths, detach yourself from everything in the world, and focus solely on feeling your “mana.”]
Hesil said in a solemn voice. Piani furrowed her brows in seriousness.
‘Feels kind of cultish.’
What kind of magic training was this? It was more like mental discipline.
‘Well, I’ve got nothing to lose.’
Piani sat down and closed her eyes.
‘Detach myself from everything…?’
Not knowing how to do that, she tried to sense the unusual power inside her. She hadn’t noticed it when still, but now deliberately seeking it out, she could feel something.
‘The warm, full power I felt when I touched the Duke…’
Following that power, a bright yellow light formed in her mind.
[Oh! A light chunk is forming in my head!]
Piani said urgently, like a fisherman pulling a rod at a bite.
‘On the first try?!’
Hesil, equally surprised, quickly said:
[Now imagine grabbing that power!]
Following Hesil’s instructions, Piani imagined holding it.
But in her imagination, her hands were chubby and small, like doll hands—not human.
The mana vanished as if mocking her.
[Ah!]
As soon as the mana disappeared, Piani fell backward onto the bed. Soft!
[What’s wrong?]
[Ah, I lost the mana. And I can’t move my body.]
[Oh dear.]
Lying down, Piani tried again to sense the power within her, but it wasn’t as vivid as before.
[Ugh! Why isn’t it working?!]
Seeing her flustered, Hesil calmly reassured her.
[Don’t be impatient. It’s your first day; just feeling the mana is already a success.]
After all, the mana couldn’t leave Piani’s body yet. Slowly and accurately mastering mana control would eventually let her use it freely.
‘That’s how one becomes a wizard.’
Hesil felt thrilled, almost electrified, having finally done something as a wizard again after a long time.
[By the way…]
Ope, who had been silent until now, spoke.
[You really can’t move, can you?]
[I told you!]
Piani complained.
Ope looked concerned.
[You’re lying in a very weird way.]
Chris had clearly laid Piani down neatly before leaving. Yet now, she was sprawled like a drunk person on the floor. Even Chris, who could notice a few millimeters of difference, would surely see that!
Piani panicked.
[What do I do?!]
Could her mistake put the lives of the innocent staff of the Duke’s household in danger again?
At that moment, someone approached the bedroom quickly.
[Here they come.]
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Piani and the three dolls tensed.
[What should I do, what should I do!]
Unaware of Piani’s distress, the newcomer knocked boldly on the bedroom door.
“Duke, you’re not sleeping at this hour, I hope?”
Johannes. Seeing no answer, he frowned and turned the doorknob.
“I’m sorry, but it’s urgent… huh?”
Finding the bedroom empty, Johannes entered with the door wide open.
“Where did you go?”
Johannes, who rarely relaxed his expression, suddenly felt a chilling gaze and lowered his head. There he saw Piani lying on the bed, stomach exposed, looking up at him.
“Oh my, what a surprise!”
Startled, Johannes glared at Piani with his displeased eyes.
“Why is this doll lying like this? Scared me half to death.”
[Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden?]
Piani felt offended. At least it wasn’t the Duke!
‘By the way, why did Chris leave a doll he cherishes so carelessly?’
Was he busy? Even so, it was unlike Chris.
Johannes, suspicious, picked up Piani.
[Ah! Don’t touch me carelessly!]
Piani said sharply.
Johannes examined Piani’s face.
Though she was only a small doll that fit in one hand, she seemed oddly uncanny.
“I just don’t like the look. Feels like she could cast a curse.”
Johannes said, glaring at Piani.
[What? Sir! Are your eyes okay?]
Not hearing Piani’s shout, Johannes turned his head and saw the three dolls sitting neatly on the headboard.
“Hm. That’s how dolls should be! So cute.”
[There’s someone appreciating you.]
Ope said proudly. Piani was dumbfounded.
[I knew something was off when he grinned gloomily in the meeting room. This person’s strange! He doesn’t know the charm of a lovely, cute, sexy doll like me.]
[Lovely, cute, sexy…?]
Ope muttered in disbelief. Hesil whispered so quietly that Piani couldn’t hear:
[The first two are acceptable somehow, but the last one? Absolutely not.]
[Gyao gyao…]
Johannes was also creeped out by Piani’s odd smile, but her hair was the strangest part.
“Ugh, the hair feels so human-like…”
Johannes touched Piani’s hair with his fingers. Its realistic texture gave him goosebumps.
“Please tell me they didn’t plant real human hair in her…”
