Chapter 116: A Puppeteer’s Promise (1/2)

I slowly looked Mauro over.

The first things that caught my eye were his neatly tied-back white hair, draping down his back, and his equally white, grizzled beard.

He had an elegant and pristine appearance, as if he stood a step apart from the world.

The monocle perched on his deeply wrinkled face only added to that air.

And then, he stroked his beard and winked playfully, making a lighthearted remark.

It was a stark contrast to his dignified face, a gesture that eased the atmosphere.

“You mean his apprentice?”

I asked, turning toward Mauro.

The man who had introduced himself as Coit bore no resemblance to him.

Yet, hearing that they were master and apprentice, I could suddenly see a faint similarity between them.

Mauro gave me a warm smile and nodded lightly.

That smile alone was enough to confirm the truth of his words.

Their expressions when they smiled were strikingly similar.

“It’s a story from a long time ago. It must have been when an accident changed my body like this. That was already two hundred years ago.”

Mauro gazed slightly upward, as if recalling the past.

His unfocused eyes seemed to sift through old memories before he resumed speaking, stroking his beard.

“At the time, I couldn’t bring myself to abandon my dolls. So I set out to find a friend who could inherit my dollcraft. I wandered across the continent for a long time, and that’s how I found Coit. He was an incredibly talented boy. So very adorable back then…”

And now, he’s put on quite a bit of weight.

Mauro clicked his tongue and shook his head slightly.

At that, Coit’s plump figure naturally surfaced in my mind, and with it, an unexpected pang of jealousy.

Coit was said to be on the sixth floor.

That meant he had reached the level of a completed tree.

In the two hundred years since meeting Mauro, he had learned magic, entered the academy, and climbed to the sixth floor.

The time seemed far too short.

I mentally calculated my own age.

I was nearing ninety, yet I had only reached the second floor.

The steps I needed to climb still stretched endlessly before me.

A desire to ascend as quickly as Coit had began to rise within me.

But even the path to the third floor was still blurry.

I had only just started to grasp it.

That alone was enough to tell me, instinctively, that I still had a long way to go.

I took a deep breath, suppressing my impatience.

There was no point in envying others.

Rushing ahead recklessly would only lead to taking a longer way around.

Thinking about it, ‘what did I lack compared to him? I hadn’t even been at the academy for ten years yet.’

‘But already, I had encountered many opportunities. Managing the tower itself was a stroke of fortune. It allowed me to accumulate points steadily and served as a foundation for my growth.’

‘And all of these opportunities had been made possible solely because of Professor Irien. I felt even more gratitude toward her as I pictured her radiant face.’

***

“Your expression seems oddly sinister.”

Mira lightly tapped my cheek, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Mauro, watching us, burst into hearty laughter.

“Well, it’s not like he gave it to you with ill intentions. He simply handles dolls like everyone else. I made sure to instill a proper mindset in him from a young age.”

He scratched his head as he spoke.

Then, smacking his lips slightly, he continued.

“Though, maybe I taught him too well—he ended up straying a little. As you’ve seen, he’s pouring all his efforts into earning points. He wants to expand our guild’s influence, along with that of dollcraft. He’s always been dissatisfied with the current state of our guild.”

Mauro glanced around as he spoke.

I followed his gaze and saw a group of dollcrafters chatting amongst themselves, each half-draped over their own dolls.

“It’s not necessarily a bad thing. Many guilds in other cities have tried to expand in similar ways. If anything, this guild’s current state is largely my fault.”

Mauro gave a faintly bitter smile.

At his words, I shook my head.

Personally, I found this simplicity more appealing.

There was a purity to it that didn’t feel like the work of magicians.

Seeing my reaction, Mauro let out another loud laugh and nodded.

“Well, you might as well visit his shop sometime.”

I blinked.

That was an entirely unexpected suggestion.

I hesitated, running my fingers over the business card in my hand.

The steady flow of magic forming the letters tingled against my fingertips.

Coit’s eyes, filled with greed as he looked at Mira, came to mind.

His shop was supposedly a kind of entertainment parlor.

Mira had mentioned that his gaze resembled mine.

Perhaps I needed to reflect on that.

Sensing my hesitation, Mauro patted my shoulder lightly.

When our eyes met, he gave me a small, wrinkled smile.

“It’s not the kind of place you’re imagining, so don’t worry. Well… though, it does have those kinds of services.”

“Oh my, really? I thought for sure it was a shop where dolls sold their bodies.”

Mira tilted her head slightly, a puzzled expression on her face.

I felt the same.

That was exactly what I had assumed.

Mauro stroked his beard as he watched our reactions.

“You’ll understand once you see it for yourself. Coit has designed the place in quite a peculiar way. As he said, if your lady were to join, she might earn a great number of points.”

“Of course, I know you wouldn’t do that,” he added with a wink.

His words piqued my curiosity.

I hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Is there something particularly special about it?”

“Hmm… Just think carefully about its name. I’ll leave the rest for you to discover. It wouldn’t be any fun if I spoiled too much. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it once you go.”

Mauro’s lips curled into a sly smile as he rubbed his hands together in the air in a rather blatant gesture.

Mira, leaning against me, giggled.

“Oh dear, do you really think Evron would do such a thing? He doesn’t even react when I cling to him like this.”

She lightly poked my side.

Mauro roared with laughter at our exchange.

“Haha! Is that so? You’re quite the unshakable fellow. It seems you haven’t yet developed a love for dolls.”

“Indeed. And yet, I wait patiently.”

Mira placed a hand over her chest, eyes gleaming mischievously as she glanced at me.

Then, she exchanged a knowing smile with Mauro.

Whenever these two were together, it always seemed like the conversation turned toward me.

***

“Hmm, but I don’t recall ever hearing that name. I thought I had explored most of the lower districts.”

I cleared my throat, steering the conversation in a different direction.

Mauro scratched his head briefly before leaning on his cane.

“It’s on the seventh floor. That’s probably why you haven’t heard of it.”

The seventh floor.

Hearing that, I let out a wry smile.

That was where the auction house was.

Memories of what had happened there resurfaced naturally—along with the mirror bugs, still trapped in captivity.

A wave of guilt washed over me for those creatures, unable to think or grow any longer.

I placed a hand over my chest, sensing the moon’s presence within me.

One day, an opportunity would come to free them from their chains.

Then, within the embrace of the moon, they could finally rest in love.

The moon was a sanctuary I had created for them, the only thing I could offer.

Somehow, the number seven never seemed to align with me—whether in the tower or in the city, something always seemed to go wrong on the seventh floor.

“I suppose that explains why I wouldn’t know it.”

I nodded at Mauro.

The seventh floor was the boundary separating the lower and upper districts.

For someone like me, it was still a distant place—yet also a goal to reach someday.

I fiddled with the business card.

I hadn’t expected the opportunity to come this soon.

A day or two of earning points should be enough to afford a visit.

I glanced at Mira, who was smiling brightly.

She, too, seemed intrigued.

“Well then, let’s end this conversation here. Coit wouldn’t like us talking too much about him in his absence.”

Mauro tapped his cane lightly.

I nodded in agreement.

With a warm smile, Mauro sat down in the chair beside me.