Chapter 563 - Melting into Spring (12)

"Is this why you wanted the doll?" Luke had seen through my act.

"How would I know he would be so scared of dolls that he would hallucinate? Everyone carries a doll with them these days," I hoped Miliana was able to push her revenge through.

"Call Michelle," Luke wanted to confirm the facts.

Alex called Shelly through his marble. Surprisingly, Shelly accepted the video call, looking annoyed. I had to hide my smile when I noticed the background had three dolls resembling mine, laid out on her bed. Miliana was really working hard to spread the dolls everywhere. Alex froze from noticing the same dolls, questioning if everything wasn't planned. Luke couldn't take away the doll from me since I was supposedly telling the truth.

"See! Everyone has a doll these days!" I gestured to him to give Kristie back.

"The entire school is haunted," Charles was about to faint.

Luke gave Kristie to me back, still suspicious of the whole thing. We were visiting the school in the morning anyways. Everything would be confirmed by then. Luke sighed while letting Charles share his room again. Although I didn't understand why we couldn't come back to the school a bit earlier, it wasn't like I could do anything. We were only going to take our exams since we couldn't do them in the mansion.

The next morning, I stepped into the teleportation gate, dressed in my uniform. My eyes widened when I noticed everyone holding their own doll. Their dolls wore our uniform, detailed to the point I was impressed. Everyone matched the accessories they wore with the doll as well. Miliana had really outdone herself, making Charles' face go pale while looking at the same scene as me. Both Luke and Alex were stunned, facing the school that had greatly changed while we were absent.

"What's wrong with everybody?" Alex whispered.

"And you thought I was weird for wanting Kristie? Everyone else has more than one doll," I bluffed.

"I'll buy you another doll depending on today's results," Luke watched a few people holding two dolls at once.

I basked inside the warm spring air, my first time going outside after defeating Charlotte. I admired the rose garden, something I had always taken for granted. Everything appeared more alive, full of energy as the remaining reminiscence of winter had completely disappeared. It was a pity I would have to leave this place so soon. Meanwhile, Charles used Luke as a shield to block the view of the dolls.

I was filled with energy as I took the exam. One more doll meant double the torture for Charles. Since the results immediately came out, my jaw almost dropped from getting nearly Bs for every subject. I had to admit that Luke's schedule was more intense than school sometimes, going over everything more thoroughly. Meanwhile both Luke and Alex received perfect scores, something that wasn't unusual.

"Don't buy her another doll!" Charles knew what Luke was about to do.

"You'll need to eventually get over your fear of dolls," Alex was on my side.

"Rika!" Miliana came running towards me.

"Charles is so scared of dolls that he tried to get rid of Kristie," I remained ignorant it was my plan.

Miliana held three dolls in her arms. She slightly smiled when Charles instantly shifted away from her. Everyone could notice his hands shaking while his eyes were full of fear. There was nothing Charles could do against Miliana when she possessed clear power over him. Miliana and I quickly exchanged successful glances together. Before anyone could notice anything fishy, she left after greeting us.

Normally, I wasn't supposed to be close with Miliana. I rarely hung out with her, but many things changed when I tried to expand my revenge to a wider stage. Unfortunately, Luke gave into Charles, looking like he was going to faint any minute. He closed the screen where he was about to purchase another doll. I couldn't wait until I permanently returned to school. It was hard being stuck around the same three people all the time.

"You have a doll too?" Alex noticed Ethan walking towards us.

"Everyone has a doll these days," Ethan brightly smiled while watching Charles cower in fear.

"Dolls can be enjoyed at any age," I pointed out.

"You should get your own soon since the stores have trouble keeping up with the demand," Cillian joined us.

"I need another Kristie!" I grabbed Luke's arm.

"You should be more considerate towards others," Luke wondered why everyone was crazed with dolls.

"How is it my fault that he's shivering in fear because of a couple of dolls?" I raised my voice so everyone in my surroundings could hear.

"I'm not scared of them!" Charles shouted to defend himself.

"Then you should be fine if Kristie gets a friend!" I started to attract more attention towards us.

"It's a waste of money. How old are you to want to play with dolls?" He screamed, offending everyone in the process.

"Then don't get one for yourself. Don't bother others," Ethan instantly turned cold, pretending he wasn't doing this intentionally.

"It really seems the heir of the Lumiere family is scared of dolls," a person murmured.

"He was trembling the entire time," another person agreed.

"Poor Rika, all the dolls will be sold out before she can purchase one," a person pitied me.