Chapter 40: CH 39

Mikael looked at Yul with relaxed eyes. It was entertaining to see him often running around with his short legs. To put it more extreme, he even felt full even though he hadn’t eaten.

For the past few days, while Yul was a human, he did not seem to eat even if he ate, and he did not seem to sleep even if he slept. He was anxious and nervous the whole time, and it was hard to bear.

It was because of Yul, who felt like he was going to disappear somewhere despite being in front of him.

To be precise, it felt like he was going to meet a guy called ‘our Changhyun’.

However, now that he had become a doll with short legs and a large head, it must be difficult to escape.

As if to prove that fact, Yul only moved from the end of the room to the middle only after running for a long time.

“Huff, huff, aiyo, aiyo. I’m dying.”

Yul made a sound of pain after running, and lay flat on his back.

Then he should just be meek, even though he couldn’t understand why he was overdoing it with that body, Mikael was entertained.

[Bii! Bii!]

“Huff, Lucky, w- wait. Dad’s having a hard time. Let’s rest a little, a little…”

[Bii!]

“Whew. I know, I know.”

At Lucky’s cry, Yul took back the handmade fishing rod toy that had been thrown away.

It was a toy he made to get acquainted with Lucky, who was awkward with him as a human being, but he couldn’t even use it as a human for a few days.

Lucky, who had fun with the fishing game, begged Yul, who became a doll, to play with him. Thanks to this, Yul was only 20 centimetres tall and had to run around and shake the fishing rod with a handle that was five times larger than his body.

He was out of breath, so he felt like he had seen a couple of times a vision of a man in a black hat beckoning him to come from afar, but it’s probably just him. Probably. That’s how it should be.

He had asked Mikael to play for him a few times, but Lucky didn’t respond to Mikael’s swinging the fishing rod.

Yul, who was moved by the fact that Lucky, who was always trying to eat him, showed affection to only him when he played with a fishing rod, shook the fishing rod excitedly.

“Huh, huff, uh, good, good!”

For several tens of minutes, Yul ran around the room again with an unknown cheering sound. Then, a knock was heard.

Surprised by the sound, Yul looked at the door, then turned into cotton doll mode and laid flat on the floor.

“It’s Caleb. His Majesty, Emperor Andrei, has visited.”

What? The emperor guy?

Yul jumped up and sat down. Still, his big eyes were startled and became the size of a candle. He looked at the door and Mikael alternately, wondering what was going on.

However, Mikael did not know what the situation was either.

Even though Andrei was the emperor of a free spirit in front of him, in the eyes of others ignorant of the circumstances, he was a good emperor. It was strange in many ways for him to go to the Archduke’s mansion in person without sending a notice.

“Let him inside.”

Mikael, who foresaw that it was likely something out of the ordinary if something happened, ordered Caleb.

Andrei, who appeared with only his escort knight Isaac, was wearing a robe hat that covered half his face.

“Hello. It’s a surprise gift.”

“…”

“Of course, I’m the surprise gift.”

“… It’s not necessary.”

“Such sorrow to hear that. Of course, Mikael, you don’t have a choice.”

Mikael was relieved only when he heard Andrei’s unseemly banter. Of course, he couldn’t put his mind at ease knowing that it was Andrei who started playing around with words and pretending not to be serious, no matter how serious it was.

He leisurely took off his robe and handed it to Isaac. Then he sat down on the sofa familiarly and pretended to sit down with a chin gesture to Mikael.

“Sit down for now. I want to talk to you.”

Even though the two have been friends since childhood, Andrei had the arrogance of an emperor.

Mikael knew he wasn’t being arrogant with him on any purpose, but he didn’t like Andrei’s behavior because he wasn’t the type of person to bow his head to anyone.

“You’re quite fussy for someone suddenly barging in.”

Andrei, who was slowly leaning on the sofa at Mikael’s words, paused. No, to be precise, everyone in the room was startled.

Isaac’s eyes gleamed, and Caleb, who was standing opposite him, reacted without a beat.

Unfamiliar with this situation, Yul was startled and covered his mouth with his small hand.

No matter how crazy Mikael was, Yul was worried about whether he could do that against the emperor. What if Andrei thought of cutting off Mikael’s head, saying he was impudent? If he did, Yul did not know where he’d go.

While there had been ups and downs, it was Mikael who fed him and saved his life in the meantime. It would be troublesome if he died.

“M- Mikael. Mikael!”

Yul, who felt the chilly air pressing down on his body, gathered up the courage to open his mouth. Mikael’s eyes, who had been staring coldly at Andrei at the urgent voice, shifted to Yul. The moment Yul entered the eyes that were burning like flames, Mikael’s eyes softened.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sit me down!”

Yul spread his short arms wide toward Mikael and pretended to hug him. Seeing this, Mikael’s stiff lips softened.

Andrei’s eyes narrowed on Mikael’s lips, drawing a small arc. He had seen Mikael for a long time, but this was unfamiliar.

“How interesting.”

“What is interesting?”

“I didn’t know that a nanny life would suit Archduke Orlov.”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

Mikael dismissed Andrei and ignored it.

He still carefully picked up Yul, who was stamping his feet with his arms open, and sat him down on the sofa, and sat down next to him subsequently.

“What’s going on?”

“Oh, I have a something to tell you.”

“I won’t let you go if it’s useless.”

“What a disappointment.”

Andrei laughed at Mikael’s words.

In the relatively soft atmosphere, Yul secretly sighed in relief. It’s still several times smaller than the others, with a heart the size of a pea – of course he knew it didn’t actually exist – but because of Mikael, it almost shrunk and disappeared.

“It’s about Yuri.”

“Me?!”

Yul’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden appearance of his name. Andrei nodded him head leisurely. On the other hand, Mikael’s expression hardened.

“Tell me.”

Mikael said in a calm voice. Andrei nodded his head lightly and opened his mouth.

“I couldn’t figure out how to turn from being a doll to a human, but when I inquired through a wizard affiliated with the imperial family, I found out that there was something similar in ancient magic.”

At Andrei’s words, Yul’s jaws dropped. It was surprising that he was able to explain this strange phenomenon that had happened to him, but it was also shocking that it was an ancient magic.

“The name is ‘Soul Transfer’. It is said that even among the magicians of ancient times, it had been kept secret.”

“Soul Transfer?”

“Yes. It is a magic that can transfer the soul to another body or object from the main body.”

Yul couldn’t close his open mouth. ‘Soul transfer’ was a magic that seemed like a huge thing just by its name. He couldn’t believe it had to do with anything else that happened to me.

In shock, he glanced at Mikael’s eyes. He was so startled himself that he wondered what he was like.

But Mikael’s expression was colder and more frightening.

Yul gulped down dry saliva because he didn’t know what was wrong.

“Why is Soul Transfer kept secret?”

There was a distinct edge to his voice. As sharp as a blade, his tone was as though he was interrogating the other.

The tone may seem arrogant toward the emperor, but Andrei didn’t seem to care. Instead, he opened his mouth with a serious face.

“Soul transfer is the black magic that allows you to live forever.”