Vale could only resign himself to following the puppet girl's lead as Lily pulled him along. The two of them exited the bedroom and were greeted by a pink-hued hall. Redrick and his family's photos were displayed on the walls, and a few wooden puppets dressed in maid outfits roamed around the hall.
Lily continued to guide Vale until they arrived at a rectangular dining table. Vale's gaze immediately fell upon Brenda, Colbert, and Yor, who were still in puppet form. Brenda and Colbert were sitting, pretending to drink from empty glasses, while Yor remained motionless, just like an ordinary puppet.
"What's going on?" Vale murmured. He was aware that something strange had happened, causing Brenda and Colbert to behave the way they were.
"Sit next to your spouse, bro," Lily signaled for Vale to sit beside Brenda.
"Wait, I'm not--" Vale didn't finish his sentence when he felt a strong gaze from Brenda. He didn't know what was going on, but he felt like he had to do what Brenda and Colbert were doing. Pretend.
Lily drew everyone's attention with applause.
"Alright, now that we're all gathered, let's start eating," the puppet girl said.
One of the maid puppets walked towards the dining table. She then took the plates one by one and opened a large container. She scooped something resembling rice from the container and put it on the plates. Afterward, she poured a type of soup onto each plate. Finally, she placed a plate in front of each person.
Vale touched the rice and found it to be very hard. He didn't want to think about whether the liquid poured onto the rice was actually soup or something else. It was clear that this was not something Vale wanted to eat, even if he wasn't in his original body now.
The table suddenly shook, startling Vale. He saw that Colbert seemed unable to contain his anger. Vale was a little surprised by this action. Colbert was a person with a level head, and based on Vale's observation of Colbert's actions since they first met, Colbert always showed an ability to stay calm and make the right decisions. Now, provoking Lily was clearly not the right move.
"Is it because of that girl?" Vale glanced at the puppet that held Yor's soul. Since Vale arrived at the dining table, the puppet that looked like Yor had not moved an inch.
"If you want to kill us, then kill us. If you intend to spare our lives, then release us. Don't force me to keep playing like this. We're not your acquaintances, we're not your family. You're just an ugly puppet with a little consciousness!" Colbert unloaded all of his pent-up frustrations and verbally attacked Lily.
Lily lowered her head as a faint red aura emanated from her puppet body. Her long blonde hair swayed as she raised her head to look at Colbert with cold eyes. Her blue eyes turned blood-red as she spoke in a stiff manner, "This princess offered you the chance to become a conscious puppet, yet you rejected this opportunity and chose to be a mindless puppet instead."
Raising her right hand, Lily spread out her tiny fingers, and the red aura surrounding her extended into threads. The threads reached towards Colbert, who quickly attempted to chant a spell, but the five red threads stabbed into his head, both hands, and both feet.
Colbert gritted his teeth and glared hatefully at Lily before turning his gaze towards Vale and Brenda. "What are you waiting for, you bastards! Attack her!" he yelled at them.
But Vale and Brenda remained still. Brenda seemed eager to help, but Vale held her back. He knew that even though Lily was fixated on Colbert, it didn't mean she wasn't aware of their presence. Vale felt that they would both die if they tried to help Colbert now.
"You! Do you think that devil puppet will spare you? You both will die here too!" Colbert continued to provoke Vale and Brenda to help him, but once again, they remained silent.
At that moment, the parts of the puppet containing Colbert's soul, including the head, both hands, and both feet, twisted unnaturally. The sound of cracking wood was audible, and a few moments later, the puppet's body stopped moving. Lily then removed the red aura around her, and the puppet body of Colbert fell apart broken.
The frightening expression and aura around Lily disappeared, leaving only the innocent and beautiful face of the puppet. She turned to Vale and said, "I'm sorry to have disrupted your dinner, brother. I think we should postpone our meal for tonight. It's better if you and your spouse return to your room."
"Very well. You should rest too; you look exhausted," Vale replied.
Lily then clapped her hands, and a maid puppet approached them. "Please escort my brother and his spouse to their room," she instructed.
The maid puppet bowed and looked at Vale and Brenda, motioning for them to follow her. Vale and Brenda got up and followed the maid puppet.
However, before they left, Lily suddenly shouted something, "Please be patient, brother and sister-in-law. In three days, you will be with Lily forever."
Upon hearing that, Vale furrowed his brow. "Does that mean I have to return to my original body in three days, or I'll be a puppet forever?" Vale pondered.
He didn't know for sure, but what was certain was that he needed to return to his original body as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the maid puppet finally arrived in front of a room. However, something unexpected happened. It turned out that only one room was provided for Vale and Brenda.
"Wait, shouldn't there be another room for me?" Brenda asked, to which the maid puppet shook her head in response.
Before Brenda could protest any further, Vale quickly interjected, "Thank you for showing us to our room, you may leave now."
The maid puppet bowed once again and then left. Meanwhile, Brenda looked at Vale, who let out a sigh.
"You and I are still in puppet bodies now. Do you really think I would be attracted to a piece of wood?" Vale asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That's not what I'm thinking, but still…" Brenda trailed off, her eyes glancing around the room.
Without a word, Vale opened the door to the room and entered. He hopped onto the bed and began rolling around, trying to clear his mind.
"Instead of worrying, it's better for you to rest first. It's important to clear your mind in the midst of a problem like this," Vale advised.
"How can I rest peacefully in this condition? Sigh, can we really return to our original bodies?" Brenda complained, taking a seat in a nearby chair.
"Of course we can," Vale reassured her, a small smile playing on his lips. He glanced at the words floating in front of him that Brenda couldn't see.
[Mastering Basic puppet Control Technique (Magic Technique Level 0): 0%]
[Use it 150 times again to master this magic technique]