The Queen dragged us to her own art studio where there were hundreds of dolls. There were dolls in every shape and size. They had been made out of wood and fabric while the face was painted and molded with clay to give it a more natural appearance. However, it wasn't very effective. Instead it made their faces look like they had been melted. The worst part was that some of them had chunks of hair while others were bald. They were incredibly disturbing and their eyes seemed to follow us as we walked.

Millie followed close behind me completely unperturbed by the ominous dolls. To her this was probably normal. On the contrary, Mary was extremely terrified. She wanted to hold onto someone, but she knew that the situation wouldn't permit her to hold on to anyone other than Millie. She was far more afraid of Millie than the creepy room full of dolls.

The Queen skipped along the room filled with the human like dolls. She spoke in a carefree manner, "Aren't they just lovely?"

I stopped and looked at one doll in particular. It had long blonde hair (?) with two glass balls for eyes. It looked frightening to see that the glass balls didn't have any irises, but instead were only milky white. If I didn't know any better, I would think I was in some kind of horror movie involving a creepy doll.

I picked it up and the glass eyes rolled back revealing green gems in place of a pupil. The mouth dropped open and a howling sound came from it, "Huaaaa."

I swallowed down my screen and tried to refrain from dropping the doll. I broke out in a cold sweat and forced myself to speak, "O-Oh look... I-It talks."

The Queen turned to me and smiled, "Isn't it just magnificent?"

That is certainly not the word I would use.

I put it down slowly, "So, Your Majesty-"

"Call me Hypatia." She interrupted callously and picked up one of her own dolls.

"Queen Hypatia-"

"Just Hypatia."

My face twitched, "Right. Hypatia. I'm curious... These dolls..."

She walked over to me holding one with a smile, "What do you think of them?"

Seeing her so eager and excited to know the answer, I knew I had to lie. I forced on a smile, "They are incredible. They look so realistic."

She beamed, "I know!!! Everyone is always surprised by that!"

Surprised for a different reason I'm sure.

"But just now... I think one talked to me." I muttered, "Or it attempted to at least..."

Her eyes lit up as she began to show off the doll, "I made some of them with a pressure system in the chest. When they are tilted a certain way, a tube moves through the stomach causing a noise to appear." She opened up the back of a larger doll, "By using gears, I am able to make them move. Everything you see was personally invented by me."

She cranked the handle on the back of the doll and it's arms slowly started to move in a rough fashion. My eyes widened in surprise, "They are like ancient automatons."

She glanced at me with a slight frown, "I'm not sure what exactly that is. However, my dolls are one of a kind." She sighed and stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, "Except my dolls are still imperfect."

"Imperfect?"

"They are still incapable of taking over the world..."

"..."

The three of us were rendered speechless as she looked at her army of dolls with a glum expression. I stepped closer to the Queen and looked at her closely. My eyes narrowed as I tried to read her reaction. "Lydia? Is that you?"

She paused and looked at me with a frown, "I told you. My name is Hypatia. I know you are from another Kingdom, but it is not that hard to pronounce."

I chuckled and scratched my cheek awkwardly, "Oh no. I was talking to the doll. Not you."

"... To the doll?"

"Yes."

"Not me?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Yes." I added quickly, "They are just so lifelike. I thought it was someone I knew."

Her face lit up when she heard this, "Ah! I knew they were so lifelike they could fool anyone."

Good thing she is conceited like my friend was. Although, for a second I really thought that was her. She had the same look in her eyes as she talked about creating an army of robots, or whatever these things were, to take over the world. However, the Queen's reaction just now was genuine. She really didn't recognize the name.

But they are still much too similar. The only difference is their appearance. Perhaps this really is Lydia and she just may have forgot her memories. Or maybe... We are all reincarnations of people from my world and I was the only one who recovered my memory. Would that mean that reincarnation is real?

D*mn. I really wish I could have met the god in charge of all this so I could ask.

"Lady Seri?"

I snapped back into focus when I heard her call my name, "Sorry I was distracted by a profound realization just now."

"A profound realization?"

Seeing her quizzical sharp look, I instantly knew it was time to lay down my charm. I sauntered close to her with a confident smile, "You must be the smartest person in this Kingdom. To create these yourself, it is really ingenious. You must have a lot of peers who look up to you and want to be just like you."

She smiled arrogantly, "Well, I am the leading professor in math and astronomy here."

I blinked in astonishment, "You are a professor?"

"What? You don't think a Queen can be a professor?"

"No. No I don't. Well, not at least where I am from."

She walked over to me and patted me on the back, "Here, our motto is simple. Follow your desires. I desire to study math and astronomy, thus I do so. No law will hold you back here."

Ahh.. So this is what Millie had meant when she said they lived freely.

I smiled, "I like that. My Kingdom is far too stuffy. I think we could learn a thing or two from your society."

She chuckled genuinely then handed me a doll. "You know what. I like you. I will give you one of these as a gift."

I took it from her with a smile, "Why thank you." I quickly gave it to Mary to hold for me without giving it a second look. Mary took it and looked at it with a pale expression.

Hypatia looked at me with a sly smile then put her arm around me. I raised an eyebrow in confusion, but didn't resist. It felt a bit strange... But I quickly understood that this was just how people communicated here.

She spoke in my ear causing it to turn pink, "You know. I said I would give you a tour. Now, I will show you one of the best places in my city. It will be unlike anything you would ever find in that prudent Kingdom of yours."

My heart lifted at this, "Oh?"

She led me away still holding on to me, "Yes. Your handmaidens are free to enjoy it as well." She led us to a building on the Palace grounds. It looked like a heavenly oasis. There were trees, palm leaves, a small waterfall, and a lot of flowers.

I looked at the building in the middle of all of this, "What is it?"

"This is the House of Eros. It is a public bath house that only the highest ranked in society may enjoy. It is a great way to relieve stress. I usually come here to relax."

My face scrunched when I heard the word Eros. Why do I feel like I have heard that word before? I asked, "Eros? What does that mean?"

She smiled not giving anything away. "You will learn." She spoke so close to my ear that it tickled. We walked inside and she motioned to the workers, "Treat these three to the best service possible. My treat."

They each led us to our own private room. Millie and Mary frowned, but I nodded to them to go with the workers. When the workers brought me into a private room, three scantily dressed ladies sauntered out and began to massage my arms and back as they adeptly stripped me of my clothes. I blushed, "Ah! Wait!"

Although I was used to taking public baths in the nude, I haven't done that after my body became covered in scars. I was still a little insecure about how my skin looked. The women smiled as the touched my scars.

"Ah~ My lady... Your skin is beautiful..."

"It-It is?" I looked at them in disbelief.

They nodded enthusiastically and came closer to my body. They seemed to be appreciating the scars up close... Too close in fact.

They brought me into another room where there was a flowing hot spring surrounded by trees and wild flowers. It looked really similar to an onsen. I sat down on a stool while the attendants started to bathe me. They continued the "massage" and their hands started rubbing my body. Although I was used to being bathed by Lona, this sort of bathing seemed....

Off.

I spoke nervously, "T-This is a really nice bath house you have here. Pretty decorations and- Ah! Y-You people like to touch don't you? Wait! Where are you touching?!"

I smacked one of the girls hands off of my upper thigh. She looked at me innocently, "We are here to bathe you completely. The Queen asked us to give you the full package and attend to your every need."

Another rubbed my shoulder pressing her chest against my back, "Don't be so nervous, it will feel good."

"Yes. You will feel all of your problems melt away~"

My face flushed when I figured out just what kind of bath house this was. I smacked off the touchy hands, "N-No thanks!"

They reluctantly pulled back. One asked, "Do you prefer men?"

My mouth dropped down, "NO! I-I think I'm done here!" I quickly stood up and ran back out to get dressed.

I walked outside of the bath house and slapped my face. I sighed in relief as I realized that I just managed to escape such a place. I paused when I saw someone out of the corner of my eye, "Millie?"

I looked over to see Millie crossing her arms and tapping her foot in irritation. She stopped and turned to me with a smile, "Ah. Seri. Did you enjoy the bath?"

I frowned, "No. Why are you out here?"

She spoke in a mocking tone, "I got kicked out for being too violent."

My face twitched, "V-Violent?"

"Someone tried to grab me somewhere private so I broke their hand."

I looked at her in disbelief, "God d*mn Millie."

She just shrugged without remorse. I leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, "So when you said that they live freely... You meant..."

"I meant that they believe sexual relations should be embraced and be part of everyday life. They believe that having *ahem* sex is the way to truly worship their gods."

Ah. Ancient civilizations. You have to admire their thought process.

I sighed, "Now I understand what Hypatia meant by follow your desire."

I quickly realized that this Kingdom was completely opposite from ours. While sexual relations in our Kingdom is something considered holy and between one man and woman, sexual relations here are to be enjoyed by everyone. Regardless of gender or even if they are your partner or not.

We waited outside for a while while enjoying the nice breeze and sunlight. I stretched and realized something was off. I looked around, "Where is Mary?"

Millie answered nonchalantly, "She hasn't come out yet."

I frowned, "Hasn't she been in there for a while?"

After a few more minutes, Mary walked out with a large grin and rosy cheeks. Millie and I froze when we saw how relaxed she looked.

Mary sighed in relief, "Ah... That was such a relaxing experience. They really make sure they bathe every part of your body."

I nearly fell over from surprise, "M-Mary! Y-You actually?!"

She nodded happily, "They gave me the deluxe package. They said it was free so of course I wouldn't turn it down! I didn't even know a bath could feel so good!"

Was... Was she not even aware?

I held my forehead in exasperation, "Mary. How. How do you not even know?! Why are you so naïve!?!"

Even Millie looked at her in pity, "Oh... Mary..."

She looked at the two of us in confusion, "Huh? What? What is it?"