The Doll's Final Tick
I never imagined such a reaction, even in my dreams, so Canna was quite taken aback.
Wait a minute.
Now that she thought about it, that bastard was clutching his own collar with both hands.
…His right arm has healed?
When? And how?
Was something like that even possible overnight? Nothing but incomprehensible events.
Canna placed a hand over her chest.
Her heart was pounding violently—whether from shock or something else, she couldn’t tell.
That damn bastard, always scaring people half to death.
He had shown up reeking of blood and then pulled that stunt before leaving.
Canna opened the window. The metallic scent he left behind still saturated the room.
Whose blood is it, exactly?
Orsini had been covered in it from head to toe. The amount was more than enough to cause fatal blood loss.
Yet he was walking around perfectly fine, so it had to belong to someone else.
Well, killing people is his specialty, after all.
But Orsini had said he’d encountered her doll.
He must have tried to kill Orsini using that doll.
Since he came back alive, it seems Orsini didn’t fall for the trap.
Wait.
Orsini said he met my doll today?
Then what about Yeonwoo?
A chill ran down the back of her neck.
She had thought she hadn’t walked into any trap today. But what if taking Yeonwoo itself was the trap?
What if Yeonwoo… was a doll?
The realization struck like lightning. Canna kicked the door open and burst out, then flung open Ren’s bedroom door.
“Ren!”
Ren was pinning Yeonwoo down. He had thrown the boy onto the bed and was pressing down on his throat.
“Don’t come any closer! This bastard’s gone mad! He suddenly latched onto me!”
“Get away from him!”
“What?”
“Get away from that thing!”
But Ren only looked at her as if she were spouting nonsense. Unable to hold back, Canna rushed forward and yanked his shoulder.
In that instant, her eyes met Yeonwoo’s.
Yeonwoo grinned, baring his teeth as he whispered.
“Tick… tock… boom.”
Alchemical Doll — Self-Destruction Sequence
A silent explosion. No sound, no warning. Pure, merciless destruction.
The next moment, his body detonated like a bomb.
It was a soundless explosion. A terrifyingly quiet act of annihilation. The air ruptured without the slightest noise.
Canna grabbed Ren and threw them both to the floor.
The instant she covered him with her own body, something scalding hot rained down on her back—splattering, searing. The heat was enough to bring tears to her eyes.
“Tatiaaaana!”
Canna clenched her teeth.
It hurt like hell. What on earth had splattered onto her back?
“Oh my god, Tatiana!”
Her vision blurred.
Through the hazy sight, Canna stared at Ren. The arm and shoulder she hadn’t managed to protect were glowing a vicious red, as if they had been dipped in lava.
So that’s what my back must look like.
Damn it. My pretty back.
“Wait here. I’ll call for a physician—”
“No.”
Canna bit back a groan and seized Ren’s wrist.
“No physicians.”
“Have you lost your mind? Your back is—!”
“No one can know about this. Absolutely no one.”
“But—!”
“Take me to my room. Quietly, so no one notices I’m injured. There are healing potions there.”
“You’ve completely lost it. You’re not in your right mind!”
Even as he cursed, Ren scooped her up in his arms.
Because the explosion had been completely silent, not even the servants passing by seemed to have noticed.
He hurried her back to her room.
“The bag—inside, the yellow glass bottle. And the disinfectant too. Yes, that one.”
While Ren frantically gathered the medicines, Canna took deep breaths and peeled off her clothes.
She looked at her back in the mirror. The skin was peeled back in angry red patches. The flesh had completely melted away.
And in that moment, Canna thought of Raphael.
Once, Raphael had been burned from head to toe just like this.
Had he endured this same agony when he threw himself into the flames to save her?
No. This is not the time to think about Raphael.
Canna pushed him out of her mind. She also shoved away the shattered promises between them.
“Is this the right one?”
“Yes, that’s it. Apply it.”
Fortunately, the medicine she had prepared back then was still there. If Ren applied it properly, the wounds would disappear without a trace.
“I’m going to disinfect it.”
“Okay.”
“It’s going to hurt.”
“I know.”
Her calm demeanor made Ren sigh. He handed her a towel.
“You’ll probably scream. So bite down on this.”
“Thank you.”
The moment she bit down on the towel, Ren slowly poured the disinfectant over her back. For an instant, her vision flashed white.
It really hurts.
She couldn’t even remember how she endured it.
A short while later, Canna collapsed onto the bed, drenched in cold sweat. Ren gently wiped the sweat from her back and arms with a towel.
“Does it still hurt?”
“It’s a little more bearable now.”
“You really are an infuriating woman.”
“Watch your mouth.”
“You didn’t have to protect me.”
I did.
Because I was the one who was fooled and brought that doll bomb here.
But Canna didn’t have the strength to explain, so she simply let out a long sigh.
“There should be some bead-like pills in the bag. Take out five of them for me.”
When Ren brought them, Canna tried to sit up.
But she had no strength left. She couldn’t even lift her hand to take the pills from him.
Noticing this, he carefully lifted her body and let her lean against his shoulder. Then he gently placed the pills one by one into her mouth.
Canna swallowed them along with the water he poured between her lips.
And she thought of Juhwa.
Juhwa.
This was definitely Juhwa’s idea.
Are you trying to kill me?
Strangely, she wasn’t surprised.
Instead, she felt hollow, as if an ominous fortune had come true.
So you really do hate me.
Juhwa, who had once lived in this body.
Her memories, emotions, and thoughts remained in this body like stubborn residue.
That was why Canna understood Juhwa better than anyone.
If it was Juhwa—if it was her way of thinking and her personality—then it made sense that she would hate her.
She must think I stole her life.
Canna felt pity for Juhwa.
She felt sorry for the girl who had lived out her miserable life in her place. She even felt a sense of guilt.
But that didn’t make it her sin. It wasn’t her fault, and it wasn’t her responsibility.
After all, none of it had been her doing in the first place.
The swapping of our bodies might have been the Black Apostles’ scheme as well.
If she wanted revenge, she should direct it at them.
Yet this foolish girl was venting her anger at the wrong person.
“Canna,”
Juhwa smiled sweetly.
“She will never, ever think it was her own fault.”
Instead, she would be angry at Juhwa for picking a fight.
No one in this world knew Canna better than she did.
Because every single one of Canna’s memories, emotions, and thoughts remained inside this body.
“Do you think my rage is unjustified?”
Juhwa whispered softly. She stared at her own eyes reflected in the sharp edge of the dagger. She looked at them as if gazing at the girl who had once lived inside this body.
“It’s because you’ve never experienced what I have.”
The corners of Juhwa’s mouth lifted.
“One day, someone else entered your body, received the love of your family, and enjoyed every happiness that should have been yours.”
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
“And I entered that person’s body, received all the hatred that person was supposed to receive, and endured every misfortune that person was supposed to suffer.”
Her eyes burned red with tears.
“Even so, can you really tell me not to hate her?”
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
“There was no place for me there.”
Juhwa murmured blankly.
The family she had met after twelve years casually called out, “Juhwa!” “Noona!” with such warmth and familiarity.
They talked about what had happened yesterday.
They looked at her with eyes full of trust.
But what they loved wasn’t her.
It was Canna, who had taken over her body.
Hehe. A laugh escaped her. That’s right. My family never even realized I was gone. And they loved someone else, thinking she was me.
That girl.
Canna.
“Ah, I’m sorry. You can’t answer, can you?”
Juhwa seemed to remember only then and quickly approached. She removed the gag that had been stuffed in the woman’s mouth.
The woman—Josephine Elvester—immediately screamed.
“Who the hell are you! What kind of nonsense are you spouting!”
“After I went to Korea, I thought about Mother a lot.”
“Let me go! Untie this right now!”
“Why did I just let Mother torment me my whole life?”
“I—I don’t even know who you are!”
“I told you. I lived inside Canna’s body. I was abused by Mother.”
Josephine’s face turned deathly pale.
She couldn’t believe it. She didn’t want to believe it.
“Maybe it’s because I have Canna’s memories? I think I might have taken on her personality as well.”
Juhwa smiled sadly.
“Canna had so many good qualities. So I’m going to learn whatever I can from her.”
When Juhwa raised the dagger, Josephine’s eyes twisted with terror.
“What are you going to do?!”
“Get revenge.”
“F-forgive me, please! Aaaagh! Somebody help!”
As Josephine began to shriek, Juhwa frowned and shoved the gag back into her mouth.
She tied it so tightly that Josephine’s lips nearly split, then spoke in a gentle voice.
“When I begged Mother to forgive me, what did she say to me?”
The smile completely vanished from Juhwa’s face.
All that remained was a pitch-black hatred, like charred bones.
“You filthy bitch. Something like you should just die.”
She brought the dagger down.