This Doll is So Exquisite

Xie Shenhong’s eyes fluttered open in the profound darkness.

The ceiling, identical to the one etched in his memory, loomed above him.

As his gaze swept across the room, it landed upon the familiar tables, chairs, bookshelves, and wardrobe. There was no mistaking it; this was his home from four years prior.

‘Have I been reborn?’

He picked up his phone, his gaze fixated blankly on the displayed time, as a deluge of memories instantaneously surged through his mind.

In his original life, he had been nothing more than an ordinary male high school student on Earth.

After a falling cargo plane abruptly ended his life, he found himself transmigrated into an alternate world—a realm where swords and magic coexisted with modern technology. He had become a twelve-year-old orphan, devoid of both father and mother.

Fortuitously, aside from his distinctive red hair, the boy bore a striking resemblance to Xie Shenhong’s original self, and even shared the identical name.

Following a fleeting moment of panic, he came to terms with his new reality, embarking on a life of mutual reliance with his younger sister.

Five years elapsed in this manner. Just as Xie Shenhong was beginning to acclimate to his new existence, an unforeseen upheaval abruptly shattered his peace.

The Vermillion Bird Kingdom, his adopted home, was brutally assaulted by the Western Rhine Empire and ultimately fell.

Xie Shenhong, having miraculously clung to life, found himself utterly powerless, forced to witness his loved ones and friends perish, one by one.

Even more despairingly, as the Rhine Empire stood on the precipice of unifying the three kingdoms, the Demon Race unexpectedly breached the Northern Permafrost Mountains, unleashing an invasion upon the human world.

Humanity, ravaged by years of ceaseless internal strife, proved utterly incapable of resisting the Demon Race. They suffered one devastating defeat after another, until their forces ultimately crumbled and scattered across a thousand li.

In the midst of the brutal conflict against the Demon Army, Xie Shenhong, consumed by a fierce unwillingness, drew his final breath.

Yet, to his utter astonishment, the destination awaiting him after death was neither heaven nor hell. Instead, he had been thrust back to the very eve of his seventeenth birthday, just before the new school term began!

Three months now remained until the Rhine Empire’s invasion, and a full three years until the Demon Race would descend!

Every single thing still held the potential for redemption!

“This time,” he vowed, “I will ensure everyone survives!”

Xie Shenhong hurriedly opened his contacts, then promptly dialed a phone number.

“Hello, Sister Yun, I…”

****

Duanmu Yun, the formidable leader of the Saintess Knights, commanded the third-highest combat prowess within the entire Vermillion Bird Kingdom.

She was also the one who had adopted Xie Shenhong and his sister, serving as a figure who was both an elder sister and a mother to them.

He intended to reveal everything he knew about the future to her.

However, before he could utter a single word, an intense, unbearable pain abruptly flared within his chest.

“Shenhong, what is it you need?”

He struggled to open his mouth, desperate to force out at least a single syllable, yet his breathing had already grown alarmingly labored.

“I apologize, Shenhong,” she stated, “but I have commitments today and cannot speak for long. I will return home early tomorrow morning; we can discuss whatever it is then.”

The call disconnected, and with it, the agonizing pain receded, allowing his breathing to return to its normal, unlabored rhythm.

Yet, the moment Xie Shenhong entertained the thought of calling her back, the searing pain and suffocating sensation would once again flare up with renewed intensity.

A chilling realization immediately dawned upon him.

There was no such thing as a free lunch.

He had, without a doubt, been reborn.

However, as the inherent price, the future he possessed foreknowledge of could not be directly imparted to anyone.

‘Heavens, are you toying with me?’

Letting his phone clatter to the floor, Xie Shenhong collapsed back onto his bed, consumed by despair.

It had not been long since his transmigration to this world when he made the startling discovery: he was utterly devoid of magic.

In a world where magic could enhance one’s physique, where even mobile phones and automobiles were powered by magical energy, he was nothing short of a complete and utter failure.

During times of peace, he could manage, subsisting on magic stones. Yet, should war erupt and magic stone resources grow scarce, he would be utterly incapable of protecting even those dearest to him.

His only recourse had been to impart his foreknowledge of the future to those capable individuals, empowering them to avert humanity’s destined demise.

Yet, this singular path had just been irrevocably sealed off. How utterly absurd.

Even as a reborn individual, he remained as utterly useless as before.

At that precise moment, a gentle knocking resonated from a short distance away.

“Brother, is something wrong?”

Hearing this voice, both intimately familiar and yet buried deep within the recesses of his memory, Xie Shenhong was suddenly struck by a profound sense of temporal displacement, as if an entire lifetime had elapsed.

He could not simply surrender.

At the very least, he could not remain completely inactive.

He drew a deep breath, consciously suppressing the potent emotions threatening to overwhelm him, and offered a faint smile.

“Nothing at all,” he replied, “I merely recalled something I need to discuss with Sister Yun. Please, go back to sleep. There’s no need to worry about me.”

“I see… Brother, please be careful on your way.”

“Indeed, I will.”

Once the faint sound of the wheelchair receding had completely faded, Xie Shenhong swiftly rose, changed into his clothes, and departed from his home.

While he yearned to see his sister, he feared that facing her now would only lead him to break down in tears, thereby needlessly burdening her with additional worries before her school day tomorrow.

Furthermore, the most critical task at hand was to ensure the Kingdom initiated preemptive measures against the Empire’s impending assault, scheduled to occur three months hence.

To achieve this, he resolved to convey this vital intelligence to Sister Yun, whether through subtle gestures, coded messages, or any other means available.

A loud *thud*!

Perhaps due to his overwhelming urgency and deep immersion in thought, Xie Shenhong, while hastily rushing along the road, collided head-on with a young boy.

In a split second, the other boy had erected a magical barrier for defense, yet Xie Shenhong was still sent careening backward by the sheer force of the impact, landing heavily upon the ground.

‘Ah, this body is truly useless.’

Gazing up at the inky black night sky, Xie Shenhong let out a weary sigh.

“My apologies!” the boy exclaimed, rushing forward to help Xie Shenhong to his feet. “Are you injured anywhere?”

“I’m fine,” Xie Shenhong assured him. “It was entirely my fault for not watching where I was going; there’s no need for you to apologize.”

Xie Shenhong gently shook his head, consciously casting aside the gloom that weighed on his heart, and forced a reassuring smile, hoping to alleviate the boy’s evident concern.

However, the moment he clearly discerned the boy’s features, Xie Shenhong’s entire being froze rigid.

That exquisitely handsome face, that cascade of golden hair shimmering like brilliant sunlight… Xie Shenhong knew he would never forget it, even if his own body were reduced to ashes.

Lyte…

No, that wasn’t right.

His true name was Reinhardt, the Third Imperial Prince of the Rhine Empire.

He was a spy, insidiously lurking within the Vermillion Bird Kingdom, the very architect of the Empire’s invasion three months hence!

‘Scum! A degenerate! A demon!’

Xie Shenhong had never once anticipated encountering his greatest nemesis in this place, and his usually gentle features rapidly contorted into a mask of rage.

“What’s the matter?” Lyte asked, his brow furrowed. “Are you in pain somewhere?”

Xie Shenhong, evidently mistaking Xie Shenhong’s gritted teeth for a sign of unbearable agony, hastily began to cast a healing spell upon him.

“I said, I’m fine!”

Xie Shenhong roared, swatting Lyte’s hand away, and swiftly retreated beyond his reach.

Lyte paused, momentarily stunned, before beginning to scrutinize Xie Shenhong’s features.

“Could you possibly be…?”

Xie Shenhong, however, simply spun around and fled.

Indeed, he yearned to tear Lyte limb from limb.

Yet, as someone utterly devoid of magic, he was incapable of defeating anyone.

His only option was to ingloriously flee.

He would have to rely on Sister Yun, rely on others.

Just as he had done before.

‘Damn it…’

As he continued to run, Xie Shenhong’s footsteps gradually faltered.

His strength had completely abandoned him.

Ever since he had discovered his lack of magic and resigned himself to that fate, he had been living a life of utter indolence.

He had spent each day in carefree idleness, foolishly presuming that this fragile peace would endure indefinitely.

In the end, he had paid a truly devastating price for that assumption.

“No,” Xie Shenhong muttered, “now is not the time for regret.” He drew a deep, bolstering breath, preparing to set off once more.

At that very instant, a raucous shout from a drunkard erupted from a nearby tavern—

“As long as Lord Hai Zhu stands with us,” the voice slurred, “what is the Imperial Army even worth…?”

Xie Shenhong found himself utterly unable to move.

His strategy involved having Sister Yun dispatch forces to confront Lyte.

But… could such a plan truly succeed?

While the Empire’s official invasion was set for three months hence, its spies had already been insidiously infiltrating various parts of the Kingdom for an untold number of years.

Moreover, the Empire’s core fighting strength vastly surpassed even the Kingdom’s elite forces.

Even if they merely dispatched a single Battle Duke, the Kingdom would be utterly incapable of resistance.

Compared to the formidable Empire, the Kingdom was tragically frail.

Its eventual demise at the Empire’s hands seemed almost an inevitable conclusion.

Indeed, for the Kingdom to have maintained such an extended period of peace, and to have even stood as one of the three dominant powers, was nothing short of a miracle in itself.

Yet, miracles had undeniably existed.

The Saintess, Hai Zhu, who had once saved the nation.

A decade prior, with a single stroke of her sword, she had annihilated a colossal Imperial army of four hundred thousand, utterly shattering the Empire’s grandiose dream of unifying the realm.

Nine years ago, she had established the formidable Black Tortoise Grand Array in the northern reaches of the Kingdom, a feat that had since deterred the Great Desert Khanate from ever daring to encroach upon their borders again.

Three years later, even as the Empire suffered successive defeats in the west, the Black Tortoise Great Sword Array had valiantly held back the Demon Race’s primary forces for an entire year.

It was solely due to her indomitable presence that the Kingdom had been able to rest easy for a full decade.

Regrettably, however, the Saintess Hai Zhu was no longer among the living.

The precise reason remained unknown, but Xie Shenhong only knew that the ‘Saintess Hai Zhu’ who had appeared before the public all these years was, in fact, merely a royal puppet, used to appease the populace and deceive the Empire.

This very deception would be exposed by Lyte three months hence. It was not difficult to imagine that even with foreknowledge of the impending events, the Kingdom would possess no real confidence to wage war against the Empire.

They might even be incapable of, or too afraid to, purge the spies within their own ranks.

The most sensible course of action might well be to surrender to the Empire… but was that truly possible?

Even if the corrupt nobles were willing, would Sister Yun, Brother Yan, and others—those who had fought the Empire to their last breath in his previous life—ever capitulate?

And even if everything proceeded smoothly, could humanity truly triumph over the Demon Race?

He found himself recalling a sentiment many had lamented in his past life:

“If Lord Hai Zhu were still alive, how could humanity have fallen to such a state?”

But Saintess Hai Zhu was gone.

With their current predicament… was there truly any hope left for them?

‘Damn it, was my rebirth utterly meaningless?’

The more Xie Shenhong pondered, the more despondent he became, and without realizing it, his breathing once again grew labored.

He tried to regulate it, but no matter how hard he struggled, it was futile; even his eyelids felt too heavy to open.

Could it be that he was dying again?

From sudden death due to overexertion?

Or had Lyte discerned his secret and moved to assassinate him?

‘No, don’t let this happen… I refuse to die so uselessly.’

Filled with unwillingness and despair, Xie Shenhong’s consciousness faded.

At that exact moment, the clock’s hand struck midnight.

A new day had dawned.

****

‘Where is this?’

Gazing at the somewhat unfamiliar room before her, the young girl furrowed her brow slightly. It took her a considerable moment to identify, from the view outside the window, that this appeared to be the office building of the ‘Deep Sea Vermillion’ Knights.

The Deep Sea Vermillion Knights, also known as the Saintess Knights, stood as the most powerful magical knight order within the Vermillion Bird Kingdom.

As for the moniker ‘Deep Sea Vermillion,’ it was derived from Hai Zhu’s distinctive appearance—

A cascade of soft, lustrous azure hair, and eyes the color of crystalline scarlet gems.

Indeed, much like the reflection of the girl herself, currently mirrored in the glass window…

‘Eh?’

The blue-haired, crimson-eyed girl raised a hand to touch her exquisitely fair face, then exclaimed in a voice that was nothing short of celestial:

“I… how have I become Lord Hai Zhu?”