Act 2. The Ballerina Doll’s Reckless Plan.

“Girls, have you heard the news?”

One evening, a week before the festival, Anne, who had just returned from meeting her boyfriend, burst in excitedly among the ballet dolls who were practicing.

“What news?”

The ballerina dolls, expecting something significant from Anne’s flushed face, gradually stopped dancing and gathered around her. Their fluttering skirts formed a small circular ring like flower petals.

“Chris, who was playing upstairs with the owner’s son today, heard that a repair craftsman is coming on the festival day. He’s coming to see the festival, but apparently, he’ll also stop by our shop to fix broken items. The shop owner’s first priority is to have new feet made for the nutcracker doll. Said it’s been weighing on their mind. If that happens, Jayden might be able to live with proper feet.”

“What? Really? Is that true?”

Larien, who had never shown interest in anyone before, shouted in surprise.

Startled by her reaction, Anne opened her eyes wide.

“Larien, why are you so surprised?”

“Could it be you’re interested in Jayden?”

Even the other girls sent suspicious glances.

“W-well, it’s surprising news, isn’t it? I’ve only ever seen Jayden as he is now. You were all surprised too.”

Cold sweat trickled down her spine.

She considered hinting at her feelings to her friends, but with the festival right around the corner, they would naturally find out then. She didn’t want to risk ruining her plans by revealing it carelessly.

It wasn’t time yet to reveal her feelings.

“True, but still…”

Though they agreed with Larien’s response, their gazes toward her remained doubtful.

“W-what do you mean ‘but still’? The festival’s right around the corner, so let’s practice. What does it matter what happens to Jayden?”

“L-Larien!”

As she tried to turn away after speaking loudly to hide her embarrassment, Anne’s face turned pale as she called out her name.

Following their gaze behind her, she turned to see Jayden passing by with his crutch, who bowed slightly and continued walking.

The flush that had colored her face from her friends’ interrogation completely drained away.

Did… did he hear? He must have.

‘What does it matter what happens to Jayden?’

She didn’t need to say something like that.

She wanted to run after him immediately and tell him it wasn’t what she really meant, but while she hesitated, Jayden had already moved quite far away.

The sound of his shoes and crutch, which had been louder than her own heartbeat, gradually faded.

“Don’t worry about it, Larien.”

“Jayden probably knows you’ve never been interested anyway.”

“He won’t care.”

Her friends patted her shoulders saying it was fine, but Larien wasn’t fine at all. Her face remained contorted as she tried to hold back tears.

Ha, letting out a big sigh, she ended practice early, saying it would be difficult to do ballet in such a dejected mood.

With nothing else to do, Larien climbed up onto the music box placed on a high shelf. Sometimes on days when her heart felt heavy, even without going outside, she would comfort herself by looking down from here.

Sitting on the spinning music box looking down, she noticed a strange sight.

A group of dolls, including some of Alexander’s followers, had surrounded Jayden who was leaning against the wall.

His face showed a mixture of annoyance and indifference at being interrupted from reading his book, like candies with various flavors mixed together.

Some of them were even presenting gifts while swaying their bodies. Though their conversation couldn’t be heard from where Larien sat, she could guess what was being said just by looking at their faces. They had probably rushed over after hearing the rumor.

They all seemed quite expectant about the fact that he could become normal again.

As time passed and more people began expressing themselves openly, her chest felt tight. Her empty stomach churned like freshly boiled soup.

It felt like she would burst at the slightest touch. Along with fierce jealousy came anxiety.

‘What if the reason Jayden has been alone all this time was because of his injury? What will happen after he gets repaired? Will Jayden enjoy the festival then? What if he goes out with someone else that day? What if someone else comes along before I can confess as Queen.’

Just imagining it made her violet eyes fill with misty tears. At the same time, her head spun and anger burst forth.

That absolutely cannot happen!

She wracked her brain while wearing a serious expression, determined to claim Jayden before then.

Though she wanted to run down right away and confess her feelings, doing so hastily could backfire.

Besides saying those harsh words earlier without knowing Jayden was there, he might think she was just like the others, showing interest belatedly after hearing the rumor.

She didn’t want her feelings to be misunderstood as being the same as the others.

Rather than risk such misunderstanding, it would be better to delay confessing, even if it meant being late.

While Larien was lost in thought, some friends approached him wearing only form-fitting leotards. Seeing their outfits that clearly showed their hip curves, she returned to her spot with troubled feelings.

The dolls were still talking about Jayden.

“Look at that, no matter how desperate, how can they approach him dressed like that?”

“I know, right? Might as well go n*ked, don’t you think?”

Everyone maintained sharp attitudes while pretending not to care and subtly checking each other out.

“What’s wrong with it? They say if bodies connect, hearts will follow. I guess they want to win Jayden’s heart even if they have to do that.”

Only Anne, who had a boyfriend, was enjoying the scene with amusement.

“What are you saying? Surely you don’t think Jayden would fall for such tactics?”

Anne snorted at her friend’s questioning and retorted.

“That’s how physical intimacy turns into emotional intimacy. What makes Jayden any different?”

Though quite shocked by Anne’s words, Larien left her seat pretending to be unbothered. Even if she was half-joking, those words didn’t feel trivial.

While she had never imagined anything beyond kissing Jayden, rather than losing him by doing nothing, she decided to seek advice from senior dolls known for being flirtatious.

Their answers weren’t much different from Anne’s.

Larien resolved to make plans while seeking advice, pretending it was about a friend.

She gave up her share of desserts to the flirtatious seniors and learned their techniques every night.

During those few days, quite a few dolls had apparently asked Jayden to go to the festival together or confessed their feelings, but not one had succeeded.

He remained consistent despite the prospect of his body changing.

Since his leg wasn’t fixed yet, he probably wouldn’t go anywhere tomorrow, the first day of the festival, either.

Larien returned to bed early, thinking about the D-day that was just one day away. Next to her bed lay a large cloth bag containing carefully selected secret items. To curious friends, she simply said they were festival costumes while being vague about the details.

* * *

On the first day of the festival. Without fail, after the fairies sprinkled their stardust and left, the toys began to move busily.

“Larien, how’s my hair? I did it in a hurry, does it look tacky?”

Anne, who had braided her full brown hair in half and fixed it at the crown, showed her back view while stamping her feet.

“It’s pretty. The hairpin suits you well too.”

“Larien, look at mine too.”

“It’s my turn.”

The reason everyone was looking for Larien during their busy time was because she was the most free.

To stay here with Jayden, she pretended to sprain her foot, wrapped it in bandages, and said she needed to rest today. While they were sympathetic, they still pestered her to help with their grooming. Larien deliberately limped around while checking her friends’ hair and outfits thoroughly to avoid suspicion.

She didn’t forget to keep an eye on the entrance occasionally, worried that he might leave.

“Have a good time.”

She waved goodbye to her friends who had finished preparing.

“I’ll buy you a souvenir.”

“Make sure to come with us tomorrow.”

“Take care, Larien.”

Her disappointed friends waved goodbye to her with excited faces just before leaving the store.

“Larien, if you’ve changed your mind now, just say so. If your foot hurts, I’ll carry you on my back.”

Alexander, still reluctant to leave, turned his back and said something outrageous. Larien almost jumped up in protest, nearly forgetting about the bandage on her leg.

“It’s fine, I don’t need it.”

“But still…”

“I’m really fine, so hurry and go.”

After sending away even him who had been hesitating until the end, the entire store became quiet. In the dead silence, only the ticking of the wall clock could be heard.