Thanks to the stardust from the fairies sent by the goddess Eos, they could move their bodies, so the toys, too, expressed their gratitude to the goddess and came out to the streets to enjoy the festival, not staying at home or the shop.

Of course, it was after midnight when people returned home, but the nights were long enough, and the lanterns decorating the streets during the festival period were as bright as daylight.

All the toys were excitedly waiting for the upcoming festival, but for Larien, who had recently come of age, this year’s festival was a day of great significance. Her eyes, looking at the calendar, were as expectant as the shop owner’s.

Especially her gaze toward the last day, when the Festival Queen would be chosen, was hotter than the fireplace burning on one wall.

Her violet eyes, glaring at the calendar with a burning gaze, gradually narrowed.

For some reason, it felt like the festival date had crept up much closer than when she last saw it, so Larien slowly counted on her fingers.

‘One day, two days, three days… ten days!’

What? Ten days?

Her face, looking down at her folded fingers, grew paler. Thinking she might have miscalculated, she tried again, but the result was the same.

Has so much time passed already?

Realizing there were only about ten days left until the festival, she shook her head, aghast.

‘Get a grip. And stop looking at Jayden too.’

Scolding herself, she tried to focus on ballet again.

Just then, she noticed the dolls from the East getting much closer to him.

Contrary to her determination, her body, which had been taking various ballet poses, kept turning toward where he was sitting, like a spinning music box. Her hair, tied up with a pink ribbon, moved toward him on its own, as if someone were controlling it.

Even as she bit her lip trying to resist, she couldn’t bear but be curious about how Jayden would react to the new dolls.

Though she was confident he would refuse their confession as always, her eyes flickered with anxiety due to the underlying unease.

Especially today. The dolls seemed quite beautiful even to Larien, doubling her anxiety. There was a slim chance that this time, among the dolls, there might be one who caught his fancy.

No way.

She shook her head slightly, trying to shake off her nervousness, but the moment the porcelain dolls stopped at his feet, her body, betraying her owner’s will, flew off with a jump known as pas de chat.

With a light, heartfelt gesture, she quickly reached a distance where she could clearly hear their conversation. She barely managed to stop her feet just before the edge of her voluminous ballet skirt would poke one of them in the backside.

Fortunately, they were so focused on him that they didn’t notice her approach.

Phew.

Catching her breath, Larien spun around and connected her movements, without leaving her spot. It looked so natural that even she almost mistook it for her original move.

She didn’t direct her gaze towards them, fearing her jealousy might be revealed, but all her attention was focused on them.

If her ears had perked up as much as her curiosity, they would probably be sticking up like a rabbit’s.

A ballerina, the symbol of elegance, with cute rabbit ears. The ridiculous image almost made her chuckle.

But even upon getting closer, no conversation could be heard.

The dolls from the East seemed to stand still in front of him, perhaps expecting him to speak first.

After several minutes passed without him showing any interest, they finally opened their mouths, clearing their throats awkwardly.

“Hey, we just arrived this morning. What’s your name?”

“……”

“You’re really handsome.”

“……”

“Should we introduce ourselves first? This is Ming, I’m Soo, and this is Lien.”

“……”

His head, which had been still regardless of what they said, suddenly lifted at the mention of Lien. His gaze landed on the porcelain doll that seemed alluring even to his eyes.

Even with his head half-bowed, the dolls, seeing Jayden’s flawless face from the front, let out squeals.

Unlike them, who were excited to see him, Larien felt her heart sink.

It was because even a minimal reaction from him, who rarely responded when spoken to, was encouraging.

Was she his type?

Comparing herself to the Eastern doll Jayden was looking at, Larien’s violet eyes fell like the short hand of a clock pointing to six.

Black hair and silver hair, black eyes and light purple eyes, a voluptuous, seductive woman and her own slender self. No matter how hard she looked, there was nothing similar between them.

Just as she was about to droop her shoulders with a gloomy face, Jayden’s gaze returned to his book. His expressionless gaze seemed as indifferent as ever.

It seemed he had quickly lost interest. Larien twisted her head and let out a small sigh of relief.

Despite his near-indifference, the dolls twisted their bodies, trying to win his favor.

“If you’re reading because you’re bored, do you want to play with us?”

“……”

“Or could you show us around here?”

“……”

Even after their continued words, his tightly closed lips remained sealed, as if he had never shown interest.

Larien struggled to suppress the corners of her mouth from rising, pressing her lips together to hold back the smile at Jayden’s ironclad refusal. Half of her plump, pink lips disappeared into her mouth from biting down.

“Come on, let’s play together.”

“Instead of this boring book. We’ll show you something more fun.”

The ones surrounding him were persistent, and one even snatched away the book he was reading.

Gasp.

Not only Larien but the surroundings froze instantly.

There were always dolls who bothered him, but such rude behavior was a first.

Before Larien could swallow her surprised breath, he stood up, leaning against the wall with a chilly expression.

At a glance, his face seemed unchanged, but the angle of his once-straight eyebrows had slightly tilted. Having observed him frequently, Larien quickly noticed that this small change meant Jayden was in a very bad mood.

Perhaps unnoticed while sitting, his broad shoulders, like the largest shelf in the store, cast a huge shadow over them. The dolls, intimidated by his unexpectedly large stature, belatedly watched his reaction.

“As you can see, I can’t play in such a situation. Return the book and leave quickly.”

Their gaze, following his fingertips down to his legs, turned to shock.

Unlike his left leg, which was clad in tight military leather pants and appeared robust as if about to burst, his right leg, as if after a severe battle, was nothing but a bare bone below the knee.

Their eyes filled with confusion as they saw the hem of his pants fluttering in the breeze, with no flesh or muscle.

The woman named Lien took a half step back with a face as white as a sheet.

Tsk.

Larien clicked her tongue inwardly as she heard their stammered apologies.

“S-sorry.”

“We didn’t know.”

“Take care. We’ll give the book back.”

Without even picking up the book that had fallen to the floor, they hurriedly left the spot. It was like they were escaping from a monster.

In his eyes, watching their retreating backs, there was no trace of hurt or resentful hatred. It was a routine occurrence every time new toys arrived, so he casually leaned back on the floor again.

However, perhaps due to the commotion, he didn’t seem to intend to read the book again, as he closed his eyes instead of picking up the book that lay a step away. His long eyelashes, like curtains, blocked out the surroundings.

Watching the book from afar and him leaning against the wall, Larien closed her eyes tightly, then opened them and slowly walked over to gracefully bend her knees and pick up the book.

Her pointe shoes stopped near his shiny military boots.

Expecting a reaction as hard as his boots, she cleared her throat and opened her mouth.

Initially worried that her voice might tremble miserably, she was relieved when her usual clear voice, like a warbler, flowed out.

“Jayden.”

His closed eyes snapped open at her call. The movement was as quick as a hummingbird’s wings.

His deep blue eyes, bathed in moonlight, sparkled at her like ripples on a lake. His blinking eyelashes, like a theater curtain changing, captivated her gaze.

Facing his enchanting eyes, that were reminiscent of fairy stardust, her heart pounded fiercely.

Seeing Jayden up close for the first time in a while, he looked even more handsome. It shone so brightly that one might suspect the shop owner of polishing him diligently, though that couldn’t be the case.