4. Finally took a bath..

The travel took longer than Mona had expected. She began to feel really itchy, so along the way, she kept scratching her head and slapping her body as if slapping some flies off. Which also made the Grand Duke vigilant to any approaching imaginary fly.

"We have arrived, my lord." The coachman informed them.

As soon as the door was opened, the Grand Duke bolted out immediately.

"Walk ten steps behind me."

Mona had no choice but to roll her eyes. She got that she looked and smelled unpleasant, but weren't noblemen in this kind of era brimming with manners and gentlemanly? How come the first nobleman she met was so rude and foul-mouthed?

"Where are we going?" She asked instead of grumbling.

She knew that the place was the palace of the empire, it was obvious due to the knights stationed from their positions and some noble-looking men wearing uniform clothing rushing here and there. Some even bowed toward the Grand Duke and glared at her.

"Meeting hall." Grand Duke answered.

"With me looking like this?!"

Surprisingly, the man stopped and turned back. He realized it would be rude to present the dirty woman in front of the dignitaries of the Holy Nation and His Majesty. He then grabbed a passing servant and pointed at her.

"Clean that lady. Dress her properly. Make it simple. Then send her right away to Lotus Meeting Hall. Make it quick." Said he, then walked away after.

Mona was left looking at his back. He seems to be in a hurry.

"Follow me." The servant who received the order spoke to her condescendingly.

She wanted to retort. Her attitude doesn't like people who judge easily, are prejudiced, and are narrow-minded. She always wanted to slap words to those kinds of people. Nag at them for being so self-righteous and narcissistic.

But Mona knew she had no power to do that right now. In a world unfamiliar to her, she has no other choice but to follow along in the meantime. Once everything was settled, she was thinking of studying her new world. Its history, norms, language, and culture.

'That is if I come out here alive.'

She followed the female servant. They entered a room with six single wooden beds. The servant took a pile of worn-out clothing above one of the beds and threw it at her.

"The bath is that door. Clean yourself and come out quickly." She said while pointing at the other side of the room.

She went inside and saw a tub filled with water. The room seems like a servant's room. She stepped inside and submerged herself after observing the temperature of the water. Once she was already settled, she leaned her head on the edge of the tub and closed her eyes.

After all the things that happened to her, exhaustion enveloped her body, and not even a few minutes passed, her vision already became dimmed and gradually fell into darkness...

***

Mona opened her eyes to an unfamiliar place once again. It wasn't the bathroom where she was supposed to take a quick bath only. It was a room belonging to a child.

The room was filled with books, she thought it even belonged to a student or a young adult at first, but when she saw the dolls lined up on the clean white bed, she realized it was the room of a young girl.

A face flashed in Mona's mind.

'Is it her room?'

She walked around and looked over things. The books are all academic and some are even about theology. Some weird things are even scattered on the floor. But she thought kids sometimes picked up weird things after all.

There was no one in the room, so she decided to step outside. But when she was about to grab the handle of the intricate decorated double door, it was abruptly opened. Instinctively, she lifted her arms to block it, but the door only went through her.

A young woman, who looked only at her age of late twenties was dragging a young child. A child whom Mona had seen already.

"Stubborn child! Did I not tell you not to leave this room?!" The woman said and pushed the child onto the floor.

Young Luna grunted out of pain.

Mona looked at the woman. Her face was of a snobbish beauty. She gives off a vibe of a perfectionist and ambitious person.

"B-But, I wanted to play outside, Mom." the sobbing child replied.

"Don't you have enough playmates here inside?! Besides, no one would want to play with you!" She then grabbed the dolls and threw them at Luna. "They are the only ones that fit with you! So just play with them. And never go out again!"

After saying such things to her child, the mother bolted out of the door immediately. Mona even heard a clicking sound behind. She knew the child was locked up.

Luna continued sobbing. And Mona only stood there. Even if she wanted to, she cannot comfort the child. In those memories she was seeing, she was no more than just a viewer.

A witness.

Without any knowledge of why was it shown to her.

These memories belong to the body's owner, Mona was aware of that. But why does she need to have her memories as well? She felt like invading the only thing that was left of Luna. She pondered if it was really necessary to witness all of it.

"You're not humans. I don't fit in with you. I won't play with you!" Young Luna shouted and kicked the dolls. She jumped on the bed, covered her face with a pillow, and continued crying.

Mona was puzzled. Who was the child was talking to? The dolls? Of course, they aren't human, but they are toys invented and created for humans. It is not a matter of fitting or not. They exist to be played with.

But before she can make her argument more sensible, she notices movement in her peripheral vision. She turned and looked down. And they were the dolls, getting up slowly with their soft and plushy bodies, taking small steps and even climbing on the bed...

***

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

The servant who was yanking her arm was startled by her scream. And yelled back at her.

"I didn't put a lot of force on it! So, stop screaming! You'll put me in trouble!"

The annoyed face of the female servant welcomed Mona. She frantically looked around and even scooted over the servant. What she saw somehow scared her. It reminded her of the famous horror movie where dolls are alive and haunt people.

She had goosebumps all over.

She was still out of her wits when she got suddenly shoved in the face with a towel.

"Dry yourself! I told you to be quick but you slept instead. What if the Grand Duke gets mad?!"

Only then did she remember she still needed to meet some people? She calmed herself and did what the maid ordered her.

When she's finally ready, the servant asks her to follow. They walked along a hallway decorated with paintings of varied subjects. There were faces of people, horses, and even captures of splendid scenery. But Mona, being an art enthusiast and a bit good at it, noticed that the paintings have distinctive traits.

"These paintings....were they drawn and painted by the same person?" She couldn't help herself but asked.

Not expecting an answer, the person who was asked replied.

"Yes. They were all painted by His Majesty himself."

"Wow. He sure has lots of free time, huh." She was amazed at the fact that a king still had time to paint. She wondered about what kind of person the king of this empire was. Is it someone who just recklessly approved a public execution and willfully canceled it at his call? Mona pictured an old man looking so carefree and bubbly.

"You really have no fear, to be speaking like that towards His Majesty." The servants respond, seemingly misunderstanding her sentence. "You'll soon be executed anyway. May you rest in peace."

She glared at the maid who suddenly became so talkative. So, Mona tried to scare her.

"You seem to be aware of who I am. Are you not afraid I could harm you?"

"You can't. The palace has a barrier restricting unregistered magic users from using their powers. You can't harm me."

She wanted to strangle the maid for speaking so smugly. The servant really looked so satisfied with herself, so Mona really wanted to.

"We have arrived."

They stopped before a huge double door decorated with intricate designs of lotuses.

The door opened and everyone inside the room shifted their gaze to the front. Mona stood there, gaping at the faces greeting her arrival.

They all look so gorgeous!

She no longer pays attention to the grumpy-looking Grand Duke sitting on one end looking at her nonchalantly. She immediately shifted her gaze to the man next to him instead. The man somehow exudes warmth and kindness, perhaps because of the bright golden-colored hair he possesses. But Mona felt she was being examined by his eyes already.

The other two men are standing tall behind them, one looking like a knight and the other looking like an attendant. Sat across them was a shining beauty! With golden hair and a sophisticated face, the woman was looking at her solemnly. Sitting beside her was a man with white long hair tied loosely and gentle bluish eyes, smiling at her kindly. Behind them are two other men, wearing overly all-white clothing.

To Mona, they appear like humans only decorated with white curtains.

She chuckled at the thought. And immediately covered her lips upon realizing she might get misunderstood.

The silence felt heavy and longer until the white long-haired man spoke. "Truly, the body is the same, yet the soul bears no resemblance to its owner."