novelraw Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Chapter 23: Howard Workshop
After parting with Ms. Hepburn, Lina and her two companions left the café and headed toward the market.
“Big Sister Lina, what’s wrong with you?” Annie tilted her head as she walked, asking with concern.
“It’s... it’s nothing!” Lina turned her head away, trying to use the sunlight to hide her flushed cheeks.
Damn it, why am I blushing!
Before leaving, Hepburn had given each of them her business card, with her contact information and her address in Gaul City written on it.
“Where were we just now... right, daily necessities—we should buy some daily necessities first!” Lina cleared her throat. “I know this market like the back of my hand. I know exactly where to find good stuff!”
“That’s great!” Annie’s eyes lit up. “I’ve been staying in hotels all this time, and I’ve basically been using disposable toiletries. This is a perfect chance to buy some!”
Lina felt her temples twitch as she listened, inwardly wailing at such inhuman wealth.
In this era, hotels that could provide disposable toiletries cost at least five gold coins per night—an entire month’s salary for an average person, just like that!
“By the way, should we stop by ‘Howard Doll Workshop’ on the way?” Sibyl suggested. “It seems Ms. Hepburn came to town this time specifically to gather scene references there. I’ve heard the dolls in that shop are incredibly lifelike and detailed, nothing like those mass-produced factory dolls.”
“I want to go, I want to go!” Annie’s eyes sparkled.
“Let’s go, I’ll take a look too,” Lina said, rubbing Annie’s hair as she nodded to Sibyl. “It’s still early. We’ll check out the dolls, grab lunch along the way, and it won’t be too late to head to the market in the afternoon.”
They passed through the main street, and after walking past a cluster of low-rise apartment buildings, the group arrived at the entrance of a rather unremarkable shop.
“This is it,” Sibyl pointed at the faded sign hanging above the door, speaking in a mysteriously hushed tone. “Howard Doll Workshop. It may look a bit run-down from the outside... but what’s inside will definitely exceed your imagination!”
Lina brushed her hair aside and surveyed the surroundings of the shop.
It was located in a shaded corner behind the market. Due to the lack of sunlight year-round, thick moss had already grown in some places.
Occasionally, a rat scurried past from a nearby drain, a piece of moldy food clamped in its mouth.
The shop had no display windows. Its entrance lay beyond a sunken passage that led underground—rather than a store, it looked more like some cellar abandoned in a forgotten corner.
Yet, driven by curiosity, Lina and Annie followed Sibyl to the shop’s entrance.
The heavy door was not locked. As Sibyl slowly pushed it open, a pleasant chime of wind bells rang out from inside:
“Ding-ling-ling~ Ding-ling-ling~”
The moment the door opened, Lina was immediately stunned by the sight within.
In a space of roughly seventy square meters, it was almost completely filled with dolls of all sizes.
They took on all kinds of poses and wore different outfits, yet all of them shared a striking feature—beautiful, unforgettable ‘eyes’.
The room was illuminated by several old-fashioned magic lamps; in this era, it was already difficult to find such primitive lighting devices powered by magic crystal stones.
From the depths of the shop came a rhythmic “click-clack” sound, seemingly the noise of a sewing machine at work.
A sign hung by the door: “You may touch and pick up items. Handle with care. Strictly no violent damage.”
Huh? Don’t shops like this usually strictly forbid touching the dolls?
Lina felt somewhat puzzled.
“Wow—” Annie’s eyes widened as she let out a soft exclamation, “So many, so many beautiful children...”
“Yes, they’re all incredibly beautiful,” Sibyl said softly. “The dolls here are deeply loved by many noble ladies, especially after that book by Teacher Crimson Moon became wildly popular... A single doll from the Howard Doll Workshop was even sold at auction for a four-digit sum in gold dragons.”
Lina casually picked up a dark gothic-style doll by her feet. Completely different from what she had imagined, the doll’s body and skin had none of the stiffness of ordinary dolls.
Its body was not made of wood, but of a special alchemical material that was soft and elastic.
It was somewhat like the silicone from a world in her previous previous life?
Their skeletons were all hidden within their bodies; only at the connection between the head and neck could one see relatively obvious seams.
The doll in Lina’s hands had a pair of ruby-like large eyes, along with straight-cut bangs and long black hair extremely similar to Lina’s own.
It wore a gothic long dress, with striking lip color. Its delicate features were cold and elegant—held in Lina’s hands, it felt as though she were holding a princess from another world.
Its expression carried a trace of melancholy, yet seemed to conceal a faint smile.
On a label on the doll’s back, written in graceful handwriting, were the words: “Lucy de Montpensier”.
This seemed to be the name of this “little princess.”
Unfortunately, Lina did not like dolls.
She always felt that among this pile of dolls, one might suddenly jump out at any moment as some grotesque being with a long health bar hanging over its head, accompanied by impassioned background music.
“On my sixteenth birthday, my two older brothers each gave me a doll from here,” Sibyl crouched down and gently stroked the hair of a doll dressed as an adventurer. “They were a pair of very cute doll sisters—the older one was called Lista, and the younger one was called Elina.”
“At the time, I was very happy. I was a child who loved fairy tales,” Sibyl’s voice carried a hint of loneliness. “My two brothers only bought the dolls, but didn’t expect that I would ask about the story of these two dolls... They said that the next time we met, they would definitely tell me the story of the sisters.”
“But... that was our last meeting,” Sibyl revealed a faint bitter smile. “When we met again... it would be at the meeting to decide the position of family head. Even though I have to compete with them for that position... I still hope they will tell me the story of those sisters.”
“They definitely will, Sibyl,” Lina spoke slowly. “When we sit together around a storybook, we are always children. Children do not understand schemes and power—they only know that there is a story yet to be finished. Believe me, your brothers will not forget.”
“Mhm,” Annie echoed, “When the creator made these beautiful children, they must have imagined their stories in their heart. When the dolls are passed into the hands of buyers, what’s being passed along isn’t just a product, but the stories behind them as well.”
“Well said, child,” a gentle, aged voice came from the depths of the shop. Lina followed the sound and saw an elderly man with a hunched figure and graying hair standing in the narrow passage, looking at them kindly.
“Mr. Howard, my regards,” Sibyl slightly bent her body, gave a soft nod, and with her left foot forward and right foot back, performed an extremely elegant curtsy.
Lina licked her lips, her gaze shifting between the two as she asked curiously, “Sibyl, you know this old gentleman?”
“Mhm,” Sibyl nodded lightly. “He is my instructor for magitech engineering... and also the last baron of the Howard family.”
“Hehe, that’s all in the past,” the old man smiled and shook his head. “Now I’m just an ordinary craftsman. I squandered most of that family fortune back in my younger days.”
“These dolls of yours... don’t seem to have price tags?” Lina asked curiously. “And you don’t seem worried that someone might steal them?”
“Because their price depends on who the buyer is, child,” the old man said unhurriedly. “As for thieves... hehe, my little ones are not merely lifeless objects. Being stolen would make them ‘angry’.”
Good grief, cursed dolls with on-the-spot price gouging? Lina felt a chill run down her back, as if all the dolls in the shop were staring at her viciously, ready to gang up on her in a righteous one-versus-many beating at any moment.
“Haha, you’ve misunderstood,” the old man guessed her thoughts from her expression and explained with a chuckle. “My asking price is usually not money. Although I squandered most of my wealth, what remains is still enough for me to live on until I’m buried. Perhaps it’s a story, perhaps a bottle of fine wine—my dolls are not vulgar things, so I won’t treat them as mere commodities for sale.”
Damn, the ugly face of a rich young master! Having money really does mean doing whatever you want!
Though Lina felt a bit displeased inside, she still had to admit the old man’s superb craftsmanship.
With the quality of these dolls, even if he weren’t a noble descendant with immense wealth, he would absolutely have a way to support himself.
After all... dolls that could be bid up to four-digit gold dragons at auction were not something an ordinary artist could create...
“Oh right... I still have one more question,” Lina finally couldn’t help asking. “You said... your dolls aren’t merely lifeless objects... If someone steals them, would they...”
“They each contain a magitech signal receiver I pre-installed,” the old man replied in a very serious tone. “It periodically detects the magical signal emitted by transmitters I’ve set up in the shop. Once a doll leaves the shop beyond a certain distance without my handling, it can no longer receive the signal and will emit a sharp alarm, repeatedly playing ‘I’ve been stolen, help me,’ enough to startle the thief and draw attention from others.”
Lina imagined the scene in her mind—the ‘cursed dolls’ instantly shifted from eerie to comical. That was indeed quite an effective anti-theft measure...
“Child, what is your name?” the old man turned to Annie, who was observing the dolls, and asked gently.
“My name is Annie, Annie Cavendish,” the blue-haired girl answered honestly.
The old man’s brow twitched slightly. He let out a soft sigh and slowly said, “Pick any one of the dolls here and take it with you... no charge, nothing required.”