For no apparent reason, a chill crept down Juliet's spine.
After the conversation ended on an awkward note, silence stretched between them. Eventually, Juliet decided to speak again.
"We just need to wait a little longer. Someone from my circle will definitely come to help us..."
But her words lacked conviction, even to her own ears.
The same inexplicable anxiety that had briefly subsided now swelled again in her chest.
*Will anyone actually come looking for me?*
*Has anyone even noticed I'm missing? And if so, have they begun searching?*
"It's no use, my child. Don't even hope," Hildegard said quietly—as though reading her thoughts.
"And why not?" Juliet's voice sharpened, her mind churning.
"Because your friends and family won't even notice you're gone."
Juliet's eyes narrowed, catching the hidden meaning beneath his words.
Not that they won't search for her—but that *no one will realize she's missing*?
"...What do you mean by that?"
---
## — The Search —
"Where the hell could she have gone...?"
The moment Theo opened his eyes the following morning, he immediately began roaming the Terrarium in search of Juliet.
No matter how he considered it, he was absolutely certain the person he'd seen last night was her.
"Hey—you! Stop!"
After an exhaustive search, Theo finally spotted a familiar silhouette. Relieved, he hurried to catch up.
"Do you have *any idea* how worried I was?! How long I spent searching everywhere for you?!"
But when he found himself face to face with the person he sought, irritation flared through him.
It was a natural reaction—the sharp release of tension after feeling such enormous relief.
By the time the commotion had erupted in the banquet hall, Theo had already departed. He'd been the last to learn that Roy Baskal had been wounded during the duel, and that Juliet—stained with the werewolf's blood—had remained at his side.
Worried that something worse might befall her, Theo had gone searching. But Juliet had strangely vanished while he was following her.
In any case, seeing her now—standing before him in apparent good health—flooded him with relief.
Though he found it odd that she was emerging from the western wing of the Terrarium, where the priests' quarters were located, rather than the eastern wing that housed the guest apartments.
Theo glanced at the room she'd just exited.
*Isn't this a ritual preparation chamber...?*
"Sir Theoharis Lebatan."
"What...?"
*Did she just use my full name?*
Theo felt slightly unsettled hearing it from her lips.
Looking more carefully, he noticed something strange about her today—something almost unnatural.
Her complexion seemed unusually pale. Not like herself at all.
And her voice... it sounded completely different.
"Sir Theoharis."
"Yes?"
"I don't wish to talk right now. So leave me alone."
"Ah... y-yes."
At her words, Theo's expression grew serious.
*Knock.*
The door closed directly in his face.
Juliet returned to the room she'd just vacated.
Theo stared frantically at the door sign again, reading the inscription.
*Why did she enter the ritual preparation room?*
"What kind of attitude is this toward someone who was worried about her?" he muttered under his breath, displeasure coloring his tone as he began to turn away.
Though Juliet had seemed somewhat off, seeing her face had reassured him.
And then—
*Creak. Creak. Creak.*
"What the...?"
Theo froze in shock as a faint sound reached his ears from beyond the closing door.
It was so unpleasant it seemed to slice through his skull.
---
## — The Dolls —
"Dolls...?"
"Yes."
What Hildegard revealed was extraordinarily difficult to believe.
These dolls moved and spoke exactly like real people. Distinguishing them from living humans was nearly impossible.
Juliet blinked in astonishment at the explanation.
She had lived in the North for seven years, witnessing countless strange phenomena and monsters. Yet she'd never heard a single word about such dolls.
*I could understand if he'd said a corpse was reanimated to move like the living. But a moving doll...?*
The notion seemed utterly absurd.
"My child, if you don't believe me, then tell me—why does the entire world believe I'm dead?" Hildegard raised his voice for the first time, seemingly upset by Juliet's skepticism.
In this, he had a point.
The cause of death for Hildegard VIII—a man renowned for his robust health—had been attributed to an unknown illness.
"But why would he go to such... troublesome lengths?"
When Juliet asked cautiously, Hildegard smiled with bitter irony.
"Are you surprised he left me alive instead of simply killing me?"
"Yes."
"It's all because I refused to follow tradition."
"Tradition?"
When Juliet stared at him in confusion, Hildegard elaborated.
From his brief explanation, she understood it resembled a transfer of memories—a legacy passed from predecessor to successor upon death.
However, since Sebastian had fraudulently seized the bishop's position, he'd been unable to acquire the necessary memories from Hildegard. So he kept the old man imprisoned here by force, periodically extracting whatever information he required.
It was an incredible story.
"He locked me here. From the outside, using a doll, he arranged everything to appear as though I'd succumbed to an incurable disease—after first fabricating a will."
"But how can you be certain? I mean..."
It seemed unlikely Sebastian would simply confess his crimes. So Juliet couldn't help wondering why Hildegard was so convinced that Sebastian had used a doll to forge the will.
"How do you know this?"
Hildegard grinned again—but this time, there was nothing cheerful about it.
Watching him, Juliet sensed the inexpressible bitterness and fury lurking beneath the surface. Gradually, understanding dawned.
"So... there were other people besides you."
After Hildegard VIII's death was faked, people who disappeared under mysterious circumstances had been placed in this dungeon—under the same conditions as him.
"Yes. As you might have already guessed, that's precisely how I learned the truth."
With a quiet sigh, Hildegard confirmed her suspicion.
"Many people have been kidnapped and brought here over the years. Especially in the period immediately after Sebastian seized the bishop's position through his lies."
*Cough-cough...*
A faint cough echoed from somewhere in the dark corridor. Juliet flinched in alarm.
"Is there anyone else nearby? Someone imprisoned like you?"
"Perhaps. Sometimes I hear sounds, but I can only guess there's someone close by."
Hildegard answered with the calm of long habit, but Juliet's expression turned grave.
All the cells near Hildegard appeared empty. Yet if they could hear such a faint cough, how vast was this prison?
And how many more people were imprisoned here?
Suspicious rumors about the new bishop flashed through her mind once more.
*Whether these were his political opponents or ordinary citizens, no one knew. But the fact that people had disappeared without a trace in Lucerne was confirmed.*
"So those rumors weren't unfounded after all."
"Tell me—why haven't you asked me anything yet?" Juliet voiced something she'd been wondering for some time.
Throughout their conversation, Hildegard hadn't even asked her name.
But the old man's response, as he regarded Juliet through the darkness, was unexpected.
"Because you look so much like Viya."
"Who is she?"
Though Juliet asked, she already harbored suspicions about this woman's identity.
Earlier, when that madman had come to her, he'd called her "Viya."
Judging by the way he'd pronounced the name, this woman had been precious to him—perhaps a wife or lover.
But it seemed rather strange for a priest who'd dedicated body and mind to the Goddess to have a romantic attachment.
Then again, who knew what transpired in the mind of a lunatic?
Hildegard's next words interrupted her speculation.
"There should be a medallion on your clothing. Open it."
"...?"
Looking down, Juliet discovered a golden locket around her neck—one whose existence she hadn't even suspected.
She removed it and began examining it carefully.
A tiny clasp on the side allowed it to open, and inside was a small space designed for a portrait or a lock of hair.
Though the medallion's design had long since fallen out of fashion, unlike other objects in the dollhouse, this piece was genuine.
*Click.*
With a barely audible sound, the locket opened as Juliet pressed the clasp.
"...Is this woman Viya?"
Looking inside, Juliet felt so disoriented she couldn't speak immediately.
Within was a beautifully detailed portrait of a woman.
"Yes, my child. That is Xenovia. She was such a beautiful girl in life."
So the girl in the portrait was named Xenovia.
And everything was exactly as Hildegard had said.
Except that the shyly smiling Xenovia appeared somewhat gentler and possessed violet eyes rather than Juliet's own—she could easily have been mistaken for Juliet's twin sister.
"I've never in my life encountered a child born with such immense divine power. If she were still alive today, she'd probably be a high-ranking priestess."
Hildegard spoke in a somber voice that somehow sent a shudder through Juliet.
*How can we be so similar?*
"My first assignment, when I was still a junior priest, was to manage an orphanage."
According to Hildegard, this was several decades ago, when he'd been very young.
As he spoke, Juliet recalled the abandoned building she'd noticed when entering Lucerne.
A major fire had occurred there. Afterward, the structure hadn't been restored—it was already too old and dilapidated.
The orphanage had been housed in that old building.
And Sebastian and Xenovia were the children who had lived within it.
This wasn't uncommon.
In poor families barely making ends meet, parents often surrendered their children to temple orphanages, where they would be properly cared for.
Moreover, if a child possessed divine power, then even if they came from a common background, they could still rise to become a high-ranking priest.
"Besides possessing vast divine power, Xenovia was also extraordinarily gifted. But despite all her talents..."
One day, a fire broke out—its cause remaining unknown to this day.
Many children burned alive or suffocated from smoke. Those who survived suffered severe burns. And tragically, Xenovia was among those who perished.
"I see," Juliet murmured quietly.
By lamplight, she began carefully examining the dungeon walls.
The chances seemed slim, but perhaps by studying her surroundings she could discover some clue leading to escape.
Even if this deranged bishop harbored such a tragic past, did that justify committing such crimes?
Of course not.
However, Hildegard suddenly sighed heavily and said something that made Juliet's breath catch.
"Those two were such close friends as children. In fact, it was the first time in my life I'd witnessed siblings bond so deeply."
Hearing the old man's words, Juliet doubted her own ears.
"...What did you say?"
"Didn't I mention it? Xenovia was Sebastian's sister."
*Click.*
*Creak... creak... creak...*
At that moment, the grinding sound echoed through the silence once more.
Hearing it, Hildegard turned his gaze toward Juliet and quickly pressed his index finger to his lips—signaling for silence.