Chapter 121 Annabelle [1]

In the small town of Dukka, something rare was happening. A new family was moving in, all the way from the capital of the Arvatra Empire. They were a humble noble family, Viscount House, who had chosen to leave their home country and start anew in the Celesta Kingdom.

The village chief welcomed the family of three with open arms. "Welcome to Dukka Town," she said.

"Thank you very much," replied the beautiful woman, introducing herself as Doris. Her husband, Jordan, greeted the chief with a friendly smile.

The chief's attention then turned to a little girl hiding behind Doris. "And who could this adorable little girl be?" she asked with a smile.

Doris smiled kindly and patted her daughter's dirty blond hair. "She's my cute daughter, Annabelle."

"What a nice name," said the chief. "How are you, Annabelle?" But the little girl only hid further behind her mother, her blue eyes peering out timidly.

"She's a little shy toward strangers," Doris explained with a sigh.

Ever since her father's death, Annabelle had become more reserved and less jovial. Even her stepfather Jordan had been unable to change this, and Annabelle barely talked to him.

"Then follow me, I'll show you to your house," said the village chief, leading the family down the winding streets of Dukka.

….

….

….

The family followed the elderly woman to a small but cozy house. It was a little old and needed some repairs, but it had a certain charm to it.

"I hope this house will suit your needs," the village chief said as she handed over the key to Jordan.

"It's perfect, thank you very much," Jordan replied with gratitude.

Doris and Jordan couldn't afford a big house, but they were happy to have a roof over their heads.

Annabelle peeked inside the house and saw that it was empty. She felt a little sad because they had to leave behind their old house and all of their belongings in the Arvatra Empire.

"Don't worry, little one," Doris said as she hugged Annabelle tightly. "We will make new memories in this house."

Annabelle nodded quietly, still feeling a little uneasy.

The village chief noticed Annabelle's uneasiness and decided to cheer her up.

"Hey, little Annabelle, how about I take you to meet some of the other children in the village? They are around your age and I'm sure they would love to play with you," the village chief suggested with a kind smile.

Annabelle looked up at her mother, who nodded in agreement.

"Would you like that, Annabelle?" Doris asked gently.

Annabelle hesitated for a moment before nodding her head.

"Great, then let's go," the village chief said as she took Annabelle's hand.

Doris and Jordan watched as the village chief led Annabelle away, feeling grateful for her kindness.

"Thank you for welcoming us so warmly," Doris said with a smile.

"It's our pleasure to have you here," the village chief replied before bidding them goodbye.

As the family settled into their new home, they knew that it was just the beginning of their new life in Dukka. That's what they thought and that's what they wanted…

"Annabelle, don't run on the stairs, dear," Doris said to her daughter who was excitedly up walking the stairs.

Annabelle was exploring her new home, running up and down the stairs and giggling with excitement. She had always loved exploring new places and this house was no exception. As she entered one of the rooms, she noticed a small doll sitting on a shelf. The doll had long brown hair and a pretty pink dress. Annabelle's eyes lit up with joy as she picked up the doll and hugged it tightly.

"Wowwww!"

From that day on, the doll became her constant companion. She took it with her everywhere, even to bed at night. Annabelle found comfort in the doll's company, especially in this new and unfamiliar place.

She is still hanging around with that doll?

As I watched that, I yawned despite my inability to sleep.

"Hm?" When I saw Annabelle approaching me, unaware of my presence, I flicked her cheeks jokingly while knowing well it wouldn't-

"Ouch!"

Huh?

I was speechless at that sight?

No, it couldn't be me…

I flicked Annabelle's cheeks and she yelped again.

"W-Who is here? P-Papa?"

'I'm not your papa…'

"Oh!"

She heard me?

"Papa!!"

No. I'm not your papa.

I said again but it didn't reach her ears this time.

Soon, I understood that I could only speak a few words to her every week or so.

However, as days went by, strange things began to happen in the house. Objects would move on their own, doors would slam shut, and eerie whispers could be heard in the halls. Annabelle's parents tried to rationalize it, blaming it on the old house's creaky structure, but deep down they knew something was wrong.

One night, as Annabelle was sleeping with the doll, she felt a chill run down her spine. She opened her eyes to find the doll's face twisted to her side with a twisted grin. Annabelle screamed and threw the doll across the room, waking up her parents in the process.

"P-Papa!!" Annabelle screamed looking around the room.

Why is she still calling me Papa?!

"A-Annab, what happened?"

As they rushed to her aid, they noticed that the once happy-go-lucky girl was now petrified and refused to sleep alone in her room. They decided to move her to their bedroom until they could figure out what was happening.

But the strange occurrences didn't stop there.

"P-Papa…"

It was really tiring to hear her calling me 'Papa' despite having told her countless times that I wasn't but I couldn't not answer her.

'It will be okay,' I just said and it put a smile on Annabelle's face. Unfortunately her mother and her step-father couldn't always be at home so they could only reassure Annabelle when they would come back at night.

But soon the family started experiencing bizarre nightmares and waking up with bruises on their bodies. Annabelle's mother, Doris, found herself waking up in the middle of the night, feeling as if something was watching her.

One day, it worsened. The school in which Annabelle was studying, called Doris. Annabelle had bitten one of her classmates, injuring the latter's arm.

"I-It wasn't me! Believe me Papa, please!"

I am not your papa!

'I know…' I still reassured her.

"Annabelle!"

"M-Mommy! I-I didn't do it! I-It's not me!" Annabelle cried over and over again in her mother's embrace. The genuine tears in such a young and innocent face even sprouted doubts on the teachers.

"I know dear." Doris patted and comforted her daughter, knowing well that her daughter would have never done something like that.

And she was right. That day she found the doll in her daughter's bag. She wasn't sure about that two weeks ago but now she was convinced. The doll was haunted. She quickly tried to discard it, throwing it to the garbage or even burning it to ashes but it didn't change anything. Soon she started to feel true fear. She finally decided to tell that to her husband but the latter was rather skeptical about it—at first.

A week later, Doris died. She was stabbed thirteen times by…Annabelle. The latter couldn't even deny it. She was petrified in front of her mother's lifeless body. Jordan tried his best to take care of Annabelle but even he reached his limits one day, when he heard that the classmate Annabelle had bitten previously died after killing his parents. Jordan couldn't endure it anymore and chose to entrust Annabelle to an orphanage despite the latter's cries. Annabelle didn't want to be alone but Jordan had since long lost patience.

As if it wasn't enough, I couldn't speak to Annabelle anymore.

I started to feel bad as the latter still tried to call me every day.

.....

.....

It was really hard.

I had been looking at Annabelle's hardest part of her life for now, what seems to be a month?

Yeah, a month.

I was like a ghost stalking a little girl…

Just after seeing Annabelle crying one day, the scenery would shift to another day where she was going to cry as well. I, of course, don't have any daughters but seeing such a little girl crying so much and cursing her life was really tickling my paternal instincts after all the time I spoke to her.

"Monster!"

"D-Don't approach us!"

The children in the orphanage weren't nice either with Annabelle. Everyone was avoiding, even the caretakers because of the strange things happening around her. She was literally crying every day.

I really wanted to beat up those brats and I tried to slap them but my hand had just traversed their body, harmlessly.

"M-Mommy…sniff…Papa…" In a corner of a room, Annabelle was crouched down and crying, burying her face in her knees. Next to her was the doll looking at her unmoving.

I already seen plenty of times, Annabelle trying to get rid of the doll but the consequences of that were terrible. Marks of bruises and abuse would appear as soon as the doll reappeared. By fear of receiving more injuries, Annabelle hung around with the doll despite her reluctance. She understood that the doll was the one behind her injuries and that she shouldn't try to get rid of it.

Her only salvation was during the dinner where they all gathered at that time. She felt less lonely and less scared of the doll despite that she was shunned by the others.

Three months later, the people inside the orphanage decided to get rid of Annabelle because of the ominous events. Rats, bugs and mold appeared in every corner of the orphanage. They all had nightmares on a daily basis, real enough to scare even the adults.

"..." Annabelle didn't plead anymore and just cried silently with tears streaming down her face. Sometimes, I could hear her muttering 'Mama' and 'Papa' and that was all.

The caretakers gave Annabelle to the Holy Church which shocked me a lot. Honestly, I didn't have a good impression of them.

The doll and Annabelle were obviously haunted by a Legacy and the Legacy in question was probably an Evil God. To get a Legacy, there must be consentment from both parties like I and Cleenah. Back then I really wanted to become stronger so I gave my consent to everyone.

As for Annabelle, she gave her consentment without even her awareness. It was thanks to her too much affection for the doll at the start. That Evil God was really twisted and smart. He tricked a little girl easily with a doll.

"Your name is Annabelle, I heard." A middle-aged man in a white robe smiled gently at Annabelle and grasped her hand.

The one who picked up Annabelle was a Cardinal of the Holy Church.

The Cardinal…

"Huh?"

I knew this guy…

The Cardinal Fabian.

He was also Maria's father…