The CEO's Seductive Doll-Chapter 151: Traveling with the Doll

"You know, Evan," Freiheit began, rubbing his temples in annoyance. "If there was an alternative, I would’ve asked the Maestra about it and informed you what you should do."

"If she withheld the information on how to undo the curse, she would most likely do the same about the possibility of an ’alternative’," Evan pointed out.

"I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation," Eternity butted in. "But the ship has now arrived."

Just like Eternity said, a new ship had arrived at the docks of the harbor.

The ship wasn’t exactly great, to be honest, it was probably best to label it as ’small.’ It had barnacles growing on its bow, a sign that this ship was of old age already. The wooden planks of the hull were worn, while the sails were frayed at the edges, fluttering noisily in the wind.

"Heading for Manika! This ship is heading to Manika!" A harbor personnel announced, gesturing for people to line up and prepare their tickets.

People started standing up and exiting the waiting area, where seagulls occasionally flocked and pestered the people as they waited.

"For a ship that travels to an obscure and magical island," Evan said as the three of them joined the line for the ship heading to Manika. "I thought there would be more secrecy."

"This is actually as ’secret’ as it can get," Freiheit explained. "This is the only harbor that caters to travelers to Manika. Meaning," he emphasized, knowing that the two of them would question him. "There is no other harbor in the world that has a ship whose destiny is Manika. Also, this ship only docks here once every 1 and a half months, on a specific day and time of the week."

"Thank the heavens and the pure coincidence that the ships docked here the day after we decided to visit the island!" Evan exclaimed. "Also, it finally made sense why it took you so long to go to Manika."

Freiheit could only offer a smile, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

"This is a sign that the universe is on our side."

"Sir," the harbor personnel nodded at Freiheit, who was the first in line among the three of them. "Your ticket, please."

Freiheit brought out his ticket from his pocket and handed it to him. The personnel briefly scanned the paper before giving it a stamp. He gestured for Freiheit to enter the ship, so he did. He followed the same process with the other two, and once they were done, he gave them a toothy grin and said.

"We hope you’ll have a safe trip to Manika, where I guarantee you that you’ll return here with a lady or two with you."

They all knew the personnel was merely talking in jest and was probably just stating an observation from his usual passengers, but Freiheit didn’t seem amused.

"Oh, worry not, Sir," he said coolly. "You’ll only see two of us when we return."

Evan knew what Freiheit truly meant: they were going to destroy Eternity and only he and Freiheit would return to this ship. But he felt an ominous double meaning in his words.

It was sure that one of the returning passengers would be Freiheit, but his companion with him would either be Evan or Eternity.

Evan shook his head in dismissal.

’There’s an alternative,’ he thought to himself, 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 to himself. ’There’s going to be an alternative.’

***

"I forgot to ask," Evan began, only to realize that Freiheit, the person he was attempting to talk to, had dozed off just a few minutes into the ship ride.

Evan sighed and stared out the window, watching the waves roll and crash against the ship’s sides as they continued on their journey.

The seating area consisted of plush armchairs and sofas made out of velvet fabric. But because of the passing of time, some of the cushions were noticeably old and almost disgusting to touch. The red carpet had faded to a softer shade, possibly because of all the shoes that stepped on it.

"What were you going to ask?" Eternity inquired, peeking over at him. "I might know the answer. Well, if it’s about Manika at least," she added as an afterthought.

The sleeping Freiheit sat between them, effectively separating the two and making it difficult for them to converse freely.

"How long is the travel time to get there?" Evan asked.

"About three hours," she replied automatically.

Evan frowned, a crease forming between his eyebrows. "How do you know this?"

Eternity gave him a look as if he had just asked a stupid question.

"I was created there." She then shook her head, realizing that her answer was vague. "I have basic knowledge about Manika ingrained in me from my creation."

"Do you know this because once you suck every life force inside of me and you finally become a true human, you’re planning to go back to Manika?" he asked, his tone suspicious of her.

Eternity looked at him in surprise before her expression morphed into sadness.

"It seems like Freiheit has influenced you to be hostile towards me."

"I’m not being hostile, Eternity," But his tone implied otherwise. "This was my default tone whenever I talked to anyone before I met you."

Eternity looked at her lap, closing her hands until it formed into a tight fist.

"I don’t know," she admitted.

Evan’s blue eyes widened, looking quite confused.

"You said if I was planning to go to Manika once I’ve successfully killed you," she reminded bluntly. "To answer you honestly, I didn’t think that far ahead."

"Even if you can physically see that I am close to dying already?" Evan pointed out. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

She bit her lips but nodded in admission.

Evan could only give her a sad smile before he rested his back on the cushion of their seats. Eternity assumed he was planning to take a nap, like Freiheit, but he spoke.

"Was everything just an act?" He asked bitterly. "Or were you just playing along as I fell deeply in love with you because of your ability to attract people, dark magic or whatever you call it?"

"What, no!" She denied. "Everything we have is real. I wasn’t playing pretend when I told you I love you, Evan. I loved you from--"

Before she could finish her sentence, Eternity heard a soft snore. She blinked blankly and gazed at him much closer, only to see that Evan had fallen asleep in a matter of seconds.

Eternity smiled sadly.

"I loved you from the moment I saw you."