Is he really serious?!
For a moment, it felt as though time itself had stopped. His words echoed again and again inside my head, like a blow that had struck me without warning.
Lord Valis spoke in his firm voice, not even blinking.
"Yes. I want the two of you to get rid of the doll today."
He looked at us with a decisive gaze before adding, as though encouraging us to complete the task:
"And of course, if you do, I will reward you appropriately for completing such a dangerous job."
Wait… what?!
How did this conversation take such a sharp turn?!
Something inside me collapsed.
A storm of questions rushed through my mind.
The doll… had already left the castle.
It had vanished without a trace, and no one had seen it since that night.
So how were we supposed to get rid of it if it wasn't even here?!
My mind began painting terrifying scenarios.
What if he finds out?
What if he learns that it escaped and we never told him?
Will he accuse us of lying?
Of betrayal?
Will he think we only wanted the reward?!
Will this be the end for us?!
The noble's voice cut through my spiraling thoughts.
"That is all, then… I will see you later when you have disposed of it."
He stepped forward and calmly closed the door to his room without waiting for a reply…
—or perhaps he simply didn't want to hear one.
I whispered, trying to grab hold of the words slipping away from me.
"W-wait—"
But the door had already closed.
Too late.
I stood there for a moment, staring at the shut door while my mind struggled to process what had just happened.
I took a slow breath, then turned and began walking away.
My steps felt heavy, like I was walking through a field of hidden mines.
I heard Cairo's footsteps quickly following behind me, his confused voice calling out.
"Are you serious?! Why didn't you tell him the full details?!"
I stopped and looked at him silently.
He continued sharply, anger clear on his face.
"Why didn't you tell him the whole truth?! Why did you only say the doll moves and talks?! Why didn't you tell him it escaped?! Why didn't you tell him what happened in the warehouse?!"
I tried to open my mouth, but no words came out.
I took a deep breath and finally said:
"I was going to… but… didn't you hear how much it's worth?"
My voice wavered, barely more than a nervous whisper.
"Half a million dollars, Cairo… can you imagine that?! Half a million!"
Cairo stared at me in disbelief at my reaction, so I continued bitterly:
"And you expect me to tell him it's gone?! Do you think he'll understand?! He might lose his temper! He might accuse us of lying and betraying his trust! He might… he might kill us!!"
Cairo hesitated for a moment before saying:
"Fine… let's forget that moment. But why didn't you tell him the truth after he said he wanted to get rid of it?! That was your chance! He doesn't even want it anymore, so what would the harm have been in telling him the truth?!"
I remained silent.
"You could have told him then! If you had, maybe he would've understood! But you stayed quiet! You didn't say anything!"
I looked at him and replied defensively:
"Do you think he'll thank us if he finds out it's gone? After learning how valuable it is?! He'll think we hid it because we wanted the reward! He won't believe us even if we tell the truth!"
Cairo didn't answer immediately.
He just looked at me with a mixture of frustration and worry before finally asking:
"…But aren't we deceiving him now?"
I swallowed, unable to answer.
"Didn't you say yourself that it wasn't our fault? That we didn't know it would escape?"
I nodded slowly.
"Yes… I said that."
Then I added in a weaker voice:
"But it's… already too late."
We walked together through the corridor, silent this time—not only because of the weight of the situation, but because of the strange feeling that we had stepped into a game far bigger than ourselves…
A game where we didn't hold all the cards.
A game whose rules we didn't even fully understand.
And yet…
All we knew now was that we were trapped in a situation with no escape.
…
Cairo and I descended to the first floor with slow, heavy steps filled with confusion and helplessness.
Neither of us had any clear plan for what to do next.
Everything felt blurry and terrifying, as if we were walking through a nightmare with no end.
When we reached the guard room, my mental exhaustion outweighed my physical fatigue. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
I quickly glanced around the room.
No one was there.
The place was completely empty, almost reflecting the isolation we felt inside.
I walked straight to the chair by the window and sank into it heavily, while Cairo sat in the chair beside me in a silence that was unusual for both of us.
The quiet was suffocating.
It felt as if the room itself had decided to remain silent with us.
The only sound was the faint whisper of wind slipping through the half-open window.
We could hear the distant rustling of trees outside, as though nature itself were mocking our confusion.
Several minutes passed like that.
Neither of us had the courage to start speaking.
Until Cairo finally broke the silence, his voice quiet but filled with determination.
"Hey… it's not too late yet."
He said it without looking at me, as if speaking to his own fears.
"Let's go back to Lord Valis's room and tell him the truth… let's tell him the doll already left the castle."
I looked at him silently for a few seconds before replying slowly, frustration bleeding through my voice.
"Do you think I don't want that?… I want to tell him the truth too, but…"
I paused before continuing, forcing the words out as if pulling them from the jaws of an inner struggle.
"But we don't know who Lord Valis really is… we don't know what kind of man we're dealing with. He might understand… or he might do something far worse."
Cairo let out a long sigh that filled the room before saying in a low, slightly broken voice:
"Then… what do you suggest we do?"
I lowered my head, thinking… searching for a solution, even an imaginary one.
Then I murmured hesitantly:
"L-let's pretend we got rid of the doll."
The next second, it was as if the words had shocked him.
He jumped to his feet and whispered sharply:
"What?! Have you lost your mind?!"
I gasped softly and quickly looked around before gesturing for him to lower his voice.
"Shhh! Keep your voice down—someone might hear us!"
He glared at me, anger still written on his face.
"You want us to deceive him?! That's… that's insane!"
I hesitated before whispering in frustration:
"It's not deception… okay, okay, I admit it—it is deception. But it's a necessary one! We don't have another choice, Cairo! This is the only solution we have right now!"
He remained standing, staring at me with disbelief and resistance, but I continued trying to explain—even if he wouldn't accept it.
"If I tell him the doll disappeared now, what do you think will happen? He'll think we lied to him… that we planned all this to get the reward… or worse, he might accuse us of secretly selling it. The man doesn't seem emotional. He doesn't seem like the type who gives second chances. We don't know his limits."
Cairo slowly sat back down, as if his body had finally realized how serious our situation was.
After a moment, he muttered as though blaming reality itself.
"But… it's wrong."
I looked at him.
I felt the same pain.
In a voice barely above a whisper, I said:
"I know… I know what we're doing is wrong. But our lives are at stake, Cairo… not just mine—yours too."
Silence fell between us again.
There was nothing left to say.
The truth was simple:
We had fallen into a trap we never planned for.
A trap created by a doll…
A small lie…
And an unbelievable price.
Finally, Cairo said after leaning back in his chair:
"F… fine. I guess we don't really have another choice…"
He looked at me with tired eyes and finished:
"Let's pretend we got rid of the doll."
And so…
That was the moment the decision fell into place.
Not because we wanted it—
but because we no longer had the luxury of refusing.