The Doll Has a Name Chapter 23.2 - About Us

As the old woman’s gaze shifted and landed on her, Kise immediately produced a smile—crisp on the inside, soft on the outside.

 

It was a smile that, from any angle, seemed to invite camaraderie. 

 

Yet, though nearly impossible for anyone to notice, she was currently extremely tense.

 

This stern-looking grandmother seemed the type who would have you detained at customs even if you were empty-handed.

 

Beneath her well-crafted smile, Kise subtly rolled her eyes. The situation before her was unusual, stirring an instinctive craving for safety.

 

And within this space, the most familiar and secure presence for her at that moment was, ironically, the man named Leonhardt.

 

Perfectly timed, Leonhardt—having changed his clothes and come downstairs—stepped between the old woman and Kise. 

 

As he placed a hand over her shoulder, as if to introduce her, Kise felt an inexplicable sense of relief from the contact. So she tilted her body and leaned into him.

 

“This is the person I mentioned the other day.”

 

“I see. So this is the new one?”

 

“Yes, since yesterday.”

 

The old woman scanned Kise with a sharp gaze and muttered to herself.

 

“Quite a flow of venomous energy, yet in some ways, she also seems weak. No, somewhat innocent, yet not someone to be taken lightly either…”

 

She was certainly seeing right through her. Kise was sweating buckets out of sight when the old woman closed in on her.

 

“You have the look of someone who would report me to the Citizen Affairs Bureau for overtime if I made you work late. Isn’t that right?”

“If there’s overtime pay, I’m willing to compromise with any unjust reality, no matter what.”

“Well, now, that sounds just like something Leo would say. Where did you find someone just like me?”

 

The old woman narrowed her eyes and shot a glance at Leonhardt, but he just gave a light, smiling smirk and let it pass. 

 

That was his specialty. 

 

As the initial tension eased, the old woman relaxed into a more friendly demeanor than before.

“I am Monique Crune. Call me Monique, call me ‘old woman’ like that Pinky fellow, or call me ‘elder‘ like Leo—I don’t care, suit yourself. I’ll call you whatever I please as well. While you’re staying here, make yourself comfortable, but you must strictly follow the rules of this house.”

“Rules…?”

“Yes. As long as you follow them well, you’ll never hear a word of complaint from me.”

 

Looking at Kise’s delicate features, Monique explained that the rules of this house were simply about humans acting like decent human beings—things that shouldn’t be broken anyway.

For example—don’t litter, always keep the surroundings clean, don’t push your tasks onto others, clean up after your own meals, and so on.

“And on weekdays, wake-up time is six-thirty.”

“…”

Six… thirty…

Kise pressed her lips together tightly as if they were glued shut.

“Cat got your tongue?”

 

“You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.”

 

“Being a morning person is a good thing. Don’t you know the saying? The early bird catches the worm.”

 

“But some wise person also left this lesson: the only difference between a morning person and a night person is that the one who wakes up early is just overly smug.”

 

“What’s wrong with living smugly?”

 

“Sir, I wish to live humbly.”

 

Placing both hands neatly in front, Kise gently explained, “I make humility and frugality my life’s motto.” 

 

Around the time Monique was speechless for a second, Leonard shrugged his shoulders and chimed in.

 

“Sir, I agree with that. I also wish to live humbly like that.”

 

“Me too! Me too! I want to stop waking up early and being smug!”

 

Kise held up three fingers.

 

“Just push it back by 30 minutes.”

 

“No!”

 

Due to their established tradition, Monique cut her off sharply, but the number of Kise’s fingers remained unchanged. She was utterly determined, as if she would turn into a statue right there in that pose if she didn’t get her 30 minutes.

 

“Ugh… 10 minutes!”

 

The fingers still showed three.

 

“20 minutes. No more than that. Really, no more.”

 

Still three fingers.

 

“My goodness! Look here, young lady. You said you could compromise earlier, but you’re not sticking to your original resolve! If it’s 7 o’clock, when do you plan to eat?! Waking up at that time?!”

 

“…Eat?”

 

I heard a bizarre sound. Kise immediately raised her head and looked back at Leonhardt behind her. 

 

Food? Wasn’t he the one preparing the meals? 

 

At her desperate look, Tristan quickly responded.

 

“The old woman doesn’t make breakfast. She’s unnecessarily fond of her morning sleep for someone her age. That’s why she’s getting old. Ugh. She should try living a bit more youthfully, like me.”

 

“Be quiet! What’s wrong with an old woman getting old?! An old woman should live to be old! Ah, why am I even called an old woman?!”

 

“And yet she spends all day scrubbing and polishing something. The hygiene is at quarantine levels.”

 

“What’s wrong with you grown-ups making your own food! At your age, you should be self-sufficient! How long do you expect an old woman to take care of you?!”

 

So, in this house, the cleaning is the old woman’s responsibility, but the food is a shared duty.

Inferring this fact from their conversation, Kise turned pale. 

 

For 18 years, she had only ever eaten what others prepared and brought to her; she had never cooked anything herself.

 

Unaware of this, Tristan was already drawing lines next to several spots on the duty roster hanging on the wall and began writing Kise’s name in those spots.

 

“Ah, finally, I can breathe a little easier in this tight schedule! I might get a brief respite from the housewife’s worry of ‘what should I cook today?’!”

 

Hahaha! Hahaha! 

 

Tristan’s laughter, almost a cheer, echoed through the room.

 

Kise spun around halfway and faced Leonhardt.

 

Excuse me, but it seems lodging isn’t provided here so much as it’s… self-provided?

 

He must have clearly read the flash of understanding in her eyes. Yet, Leonhardt just laughed softly and bent down towards her. He came down so close their noses almost touched, and whispered as if to seduce her. 

 

No, it wasn’t seduction, but it certainly sounded like it.

 

“Shall we eat together?”

 

A heat, like a flame, spread through her.