Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Sold as a Doll

For a moment, I cursed the gods of this world for my fate. I was worked to death in my past life, but here I am again being worked to death as a slave. The girl I ended up reincarnating into had been living like a canary trapped in a cage for the last five years. She lost her voice, due to her former owner being obsessed with her voice and wanted to monopolize it, and now she was in a state of being sold yet again.

If it weren’t for the medicine that the slave trader threw at me saying it would be a huge loss if I died, I would already be dead in this damn cage a long time ago.

Thinking about it made me furious.

‘As if it wasn’t bad enough, that asshole put me in a bird cage and made me sing for 5 years, he poisoned me so he could monopolize my voice. What a lunatic! Perhaps it’s because of this world, but all of the nobles and royal family are insane!’

At the peak of insanity for nobility, of course was the emperor. Externally he was revered by the commoners as a hero who saved a dying empire and its people. However, in reality he was nothing but a violent, murderous, uncontrollable tyrant. He kills for petty reasons, and attacks nearby countries just for being a thorn in his side even if they were allies.

The rumors were true and scary that even the nobles of the great empire, who held a humongous amount of power on the continent, crawled like beggars in front of their emperor.

‘His behaviour was due to trauma in his past, that made him unable to sleep without a doll, so naturally he was hard to deal with.’

After he met the female protagonist, his life turned around and became softer, but he eventually lost her and ended up going on a rampage and destroyed the world. Before the emperor met her, the “dolls” were almost the only way to calm him down. Just thinking about that, caused me to cover my face with both hands in despair. This world was truly unfair.

‘Why, was I reincarnated as the last “doll” on top of that! It was already unfair being an extra in a novel!’

According to the original story, I would soon enter the palace as a doll and die at the whim of the emperor within a year. Two years from now the emperor would fall in love with the female protagonist. And the world would be destroyed in the following year. So, there was only 3 years left until that unfortunate end.

I’ve been reborn to only get three years to live at maximum, if the emperor doesn’t kill me. What was wrong with my life!

‘Sure, let’s try to survive this somehow and leave the emperor to the female protagonist! Then I can live safely for as long as I can.’

If possible, I want to save the female protagonist so that the emperor won’t go on a rampage, and I want to grow old and die, but how the hell would I be able to do something that wasn’t even suggested in the original story!

But I still have my knowledge of the original timeline, so if I’m lucky, maybe I will be able to find a way somehow.

*

For the next five days I wondered how I could extend my life even a little inside these cold iron bars.

“Get out girl!”

At dawn, I was pulled out of my cage by a round bellied slave trader. I had only been given a bowl of grain porridge and slices of hard bread to eat the past few days, so when I stepped out of the cage, my legs trembled weakly and I stumbled a bit. The slave trader dragged me over to the centre of a cold stone room. He threw an ice-cold bucket of water over me and washed me a little, afterward he gave me a moderately clean dress to put on. Once I was finished getting dressed, he took me to a gorgeously decorated parlor room. He said he was going to bring in some customers and that I better behave. He then left me alone in the parlor.

As I waited, I lightly shook my heavy iron shackles.

Clang!

I let out a long quiet sigh. I can’t run away anyway, I don’t know why I tried.

The security of this place was very strict, above all even if I escaped, this world was too difficult for a woman to live in alone. Besides, being an unmarried female slave wandering the streets alone was pretty much saying “Look at me! Come and catch me!”.

During the past five years of the current emperor’s reign, the empire had improved its internal security to the certain extent that it could be said that it was transformed, but darkness of humans does not disappear that easily.

Thanks to this, I had no choice but to wait for “him” to come from the palace to pick me up.

‘Well, if I go to the Imperial Palace, won’t they at least feed me?’

I was so hungry, I could barely stand on my own feet. As I was contemplating my future, I heard footsteps coming closer to the room.

Before long, three men wearing gray hooded cloaks walked in with the slave merchant, and the leader of hooded men stared indifferently at me. He gently took off his hood and approached me.

“Is it this girl?”

I looked up at the man and saw his dark green hair and strong, intelligent eyes. While intensely staring at him,  I realized that it was the person I was looking forward to meeting and my eyes sparkled brightly in joy.

‘It… It’s Raven, he is the emperor’s closest aide!’

I couldn’t believe my eyes, I was standing before one of my favorite characters from the novel, Raven! He was a character full of charm who was absolutely loyal to the emperor, and his eyes were as cold and sharp as a razor blade.

“Yes, it was difficult finding her. But she perfectly fits your conditions!”

The slave trader rubbed his hands together eagerly, as he keenly answered Raven’s questions. Raven coldheartedly glanced at me, as if his eyes could see through my soul.

‘True, the conditions for becoming a doll were quite difficult.’

I recalled the content of the original novel. The requirements to be a doll for his majesty the emperor: First they must resemble the person who caused the emperor’s trauma. Second, they must be in their late teens. Thirdly, they must be gentle and obedient. Finally, and most importantly, they must be a virgin.

The last condition was unpleasant to think about, but it was very important to them, as the doll might be attending the emperor at night. However, it was very difficult to find any female slaves in their late teens in this world who have no experience in the bedroom.

‘Whew, whether fortunate or unfortunate, I am the one who fits those tricky conditions.’

Chapter 3 –

If I remember correctly, according to the novel, the emperor’s fifteenth “doll” would have been disposed of about a week ago. And knowing his disposition, that he couldn’t sleep at all, I’m guessing that the imperial palace was probably dealing with a bloodbath right about now.

That was probably why Raven, himself, actively came here to buy me.

Raven forcefully grabbed my chin with his gloved hand and thoroughly examined me. I quietly cheered inside from being so close to him and seeing him in the flesh, but I was a little angry at the same time.

‘If you read fantasy novels, you know that all the girls are reborn as a noble lady who gets to sleep well, eat well, and live well. Why do I have to be the odd one out that has to be a slave?’

Despite his rude and ruff gestures, I stood there quietly with an expressionless face, thanks to the habits that I inherited from the girl who learnt from being a slave for many years.

“How old are you?”

When Raven sternly asked, the slaver standing next to me responded immediately.

“She’s nineteen.”

“I didn’t ask you.” Raven bitterly replied.

“Sir, she can’t speak. She hurt her neck not too long ago.”

Raven’s gaze returned to me at the slave merchant’s explanation. He was checking me out a little more and finally lowered his hand.

“She really does look like a doll.”

Raven slightly nodded at me, who was stiffly standing in place, then turned his gaze to the slave merchant and spoke.

“I will take her.”

“Thank you for your business, it is a pleasure doing business every time, sir!”

The slave trader, who had responded habitually, was amazed by the intense glare from Raven’s bitter eyes.

“You better be careful with what you say.”

“O-Of course sir!”

The merchant became pale as a ghost, he bowed his haggard head that was covered in cold sweat. Raven threw a large, heavy leather bag at the feet of the slave trader with an expressionless face.

Even at a slight glance I could tell that the bag was full of thousands of gold coins. It was an excessive amount for a single slave girl.

“Take her to the palace.”

He ordered his subordinates to do so and then left the parlor without looking back.

I was sold as the emperor’s “doll” on that day.