Sigh.
The door made a clanging sound as if it had not been opened for a long time, slowly revealing the inside.
“Huh...”
Simone walked up to Lise and held her arm tightly.
As if her body couldn't move as it should, Lise just rolled her eyes and looked at Simone, her face covered in cold sweat and tears.
What on earth is going on?
To lift the curse, she must know its identity.
To that end, she deliberately went underground and tried to face the curse head-on, but she had no idea that Lise would also be swept away by the curse.
She was very confused by the sudden situation, but she knew one thing intuitively.
If you go in there, you'll be in big trouble.
“Mo, my body...”
Simone held on tight to Lise to prevent her from entering the open door, while also looking around the room.
The room was strangely dark. Even though she was this close, even with Lise's lantern shining brightly, Simone had to frown as hard as she could to see the silhouette in the room.
“No, what on earth is going on!”
Simone's voice suddenly rose. No matter how much she pulls, Lise won't budge, and just looking at it, that door looks dangerous.
However, it is not possible to drag Lise, who is holding on, by force.
She had plans to save Anna, but she didn't plan on suddenly facing a crisis like this!
“Huh!”
At that moment, Lise, who had been shaking as she stopped, took a breath.
Lise's eyes trembled endlessly, and the young servant desperately tried to look behind her with her head not turning.
“Lise?”
“Huh...”
Simone, who had been looking at the change in Lise strangely, also stopped moving.
A small hand reaches out from behind Lise, who is shedding tears silently as if she is buried in fear and not even able to voice her voice.
Pale arms hugged Lise tightly and pulled her inside.
Simone couldn't help but be embarrassed. Although the hand was bloodless, it belonged to someone familiar.
The hand that always kindly poured tea for Simone. She remembered her saying that her small hands had a lot of scars.
"Anna."
The moment Simone called her name, the black shadow that had been hiding its face behind Lise's back raised its head.
Simone's eyes quietly widened.
That wasn't Anna. Tangled orange hair, small hands, and freckles.
Something unfinished.
Anna's features were highlighted, but the eyes looking at Simone were not human.
Closer to a reptile than a human-
When it made eye contact with Simone, it grinned and hugged Lise closer.
“Aaaaaah!!!!!!!”
“...Ah."
Simone barely came to her senses after hearing Lise's screams.
Lise was desperately looking at Simone as if asking her to save her quickly.
Simone hurriedly channeled the mana into her hand and placed it on the pale hand that was holding Lise tightly.
The scream was heard at that moment.
A darkness deeper than darkness enveloped her pale hand.
'This...'
Lise's eyes trembled with yet another fear.
Mana of Death. This is the mana of death that necromancers use.
Simone's hair was unable to withstand the power of mana and flew along the wave.
Just a little stronger. A little bit more.
Move her hand away, but just a little so as not to hurt Lise.
The moment Lise rolled back her eyes, unable to overcome her fear as the huge mana of death gradually thickened, the pale hand trembled as if in pain, and soon let go of Lise and disappeared inside.
Then, with a squeak, the door that was wide open closed again.
“Huh... OMG...”
“...Ugh!”
Lise, who barely escaped it, fell down on the floor and let out a painful cough.
The suffocating breath became easier, and her immobile body finally began to move.
Her pale complexion, which looked like she was about to faint, gradually returned to its original color.
“Huh... Simone, thank you...”
She thought she was going to die like this.
Lise looked at Simone with tear-filled eyes and clung to her.
If Simone hadn't been here, she would have been dragged to death by it like this.
“Yes, suddenly I heard Anna’s voice... After that, the memory... When I came to my senses, it was here... Ugh...”
Simone pretended not to have heard her and headed for the door.
“Can you go back alone?”
Lise, who was crying endlessly at her question, was startled and grabbed Simone's arm.
“Do you want to go in? No! It’s dangerous...Simone, come back with me...”
Of course, going alone was scary, but more than that, Lise was more worried about Simone, who seemed to be trying to open that door at any moment.
Simone looked at the trembling hand tightly clutching her arm.
Then, with a smile, she took her hand away and looked at Lise.
“I’m staying in this mansion to do that dangerous thing.”
Because she does dangerous work, she is able to stay proudly and receive luxurious treatment in this mansion.
“If you’re scared, take me there, otherwise, go back quickly.”
Lise's dissuasion had no effect on Simone. Finally, Lise bit her lip and let go of Simone's arm. Judging by the way she was so resolute in not even looking at herself, it seemed like persuasion and dissuasion would never work on her.
"Yes, I’m going back. Simone, please be careful.”
Simone nodded, and Lise kept glancing at Simone but quickly left the place.
When Simone could no longer hear Lise's footsteps, she opened the door wide.
As expected, even though it was this close, the inside could not be seen at all.
But Simone wasn't particularly scared. Of course, she was surprised when someone's hand wrapped around Lise's body, but it wasn't as creepy as the tree monster.
Simone stepped into the room without hesitation.
“...Hmm.”
There is nothing.
Simone stretched out both hands and scribbled. It was hard to see clearly in the dark room, but she couldn't touch anything.
Neither Anna nor the owner of the arm she saw earlier was here. All there is is a mouse that makes an uninhabited room its home.
Nothing happened and no voices were heard. However, a small crackling sound of someone chewing something hard was heard from somewhere.
Simone felt around the wall and sighed.
“You hid.”
She's sure it's there because she can hear the sound. It looks like it doesn't plan on making an appearance today.
Simone, who stayed in the room for a while, eventually gave up and returned to her room.
And the next morning, Simone was able to meet Anna, who calmly greeted her in the morning.
***
Anna poured tea into a teacup.
Simone looked around the quiet room while drinking the tea Anna had poured for her.
There was only silence that was so quiet that it was even cool.
The employees went about their own business, ignoring Anna with stern looks on their faces, and Simone did not bother to ask Anna where she had been.
Unless she were extremely oblivious, there was no way she would have known that the Anna in front of her was not real.
Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-
Simone recalled an unforgettable sound in her head.
The sound of chewing on something hard.
There is a story that comes to mind because of that sound.
Knock knock.
While I was helplessly looking through the instructions and drinking tea served by fake Anna, someone knocked on the door.
A butler with an unfamiliar face came in and announced that Wren, a swordsman from the Adventurer's Guild, and Crown Prince Louis had come to visit Simone.
“It’s been a while, Simone.”
Louis said hello and looked around.
Her room was normally quiet except for Simone, but today it was so quiet that he felt reluctant to speak.
'What's going on?'
Simone, who noticed Louis's thoughts, silently raised her hand and sent everyone in the room out.
Louis asked as soon as all the employees left.
“What’s going on?”
“What is going on?”
“The atmosphere is strange today. Has there been a new curse?”
Louis' eyes turned to the instructions on the table. Simone asked him as she closed the instruction booklet.
“Do you know that it’s a disguised rat?”
"Yes? A disguised rat? This is my first time hearing it.”
“Where I lived... It’s a legend going around in the village.”
It's a story about a rat that picks up people's fingernails, eats them, and pretends to be its owner for a long time.
The story is about a rat that transformed while the owner left the house and takes over as the owner, and the family believes that the rat that transformed into a human is real and drives them out, calling out the real one as a fake.
“There is a story like that. If that were real, it would be really scary.”
Louis said seriously.
“From the owner’s perspective and the family’s perspective. The owner will see a fake pretending to be him, and the family will live together without knowing that the person next to them is a fake.”
Simone stared at Louis. This story must have touched him as well.
Louis suddenly came to his senses from her gaze and asked.
“Then why are you suddenly talking about folk tales?”
“Well, something suddenly occurred to me.”
Crack-crack-crack-
The sounds she heard in that room last night still linger in her ears.
"Anyway. Skipping that, what brought you here? You must be busy looking for jewels.”
“The search for gems continues. There is no progress yet. More than that, I have come today to respond to the suggestion you made last time.”
"Oh."
Simone smiled. Louis's expression looked very solemn.
The sound of chewing on something hard.
There is a story that comes to mind because of that sound.
Knock knock.
While I was helplessly looking through the instructions and drinking tea served by fake Anna, someone knocked on the door.
A butler with an unfamiliar face came in and announced that Wren, a swordsman from the Adventurer's Guild, and Crown Prince Louis had come to visit Simone.
***
“It’s been a while, Simone.”
Louis said hello and looked around.
Her room was normally quiet except for Simone, but today it was so quiet that he felt reluctant to speak.
'What's going on?'
Simone, who noticed Louis's thoughts, silently raised her hand and sent everyone in the room out.
Louis asked as soon as all the employees left.
“What’s going on?”
“What is going on?”
“The atmosphere is strange today. Has there been a new curse?”
Louis' eyes turned to the instructions on the table. Simone asked him as she closed the instruction booklet.
“Do you know that it’s a disguised rat?”
"Yes? A disguised rat? This is my first time hearing it.”
“Where I lived... It’s a legend going around in the village.”
It's a story about a rat that picks up people's fingernails, eats them, and pretends to be its owner for a long time.
The story is about a rat that transformed while the owner left the house and takes over as the owner, and the family believes that the rat that transformed into a human is real and drives them out, calling out the real one as a fake.
“There is a story like that. If that were real, it would be really scary.”
Louis said seriously.
“From the owner’s perspective and the family’s perspective. The owner will see a fake pretending to be him, and the family will live together without knowing that the person next to them is a fake.”
Simone stared at Louis. This story must have touched him as well.
Louis suddenly came to his senses from her gaze and asked.
“Then why are you suddenly talking about folk tales?”
“Well, something suddenly occurred to me.”
Crack-crack-crack-
The sounds she heard in that room last night still linger in her ears.
"Anyway. Skipping that, what brought you here? You must be busy looking for jewels.”
“The search for gems continues. There is no progress yet. More than that, I have come today to respond to the suggestion you made last time.”
"Oh."
Simone smiled. Louis's expression looked very solemn.
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