Simone looked around the castle gardens with a relieved heart.
Now all the work to be done in the capital is done.
The contract was completed, and she was treated to a delicious meal at the Emperor's invitation (the Emperor's excessive praise was quite burdensome), so Simone slowly began to prepare to return to the Illeston mansion.
“Then, as soon as Lady Simone’s training grounds are ready, I will go to work at the mansion.”
“Yes, but don’t prepare so much that it feels burdensome.”
Simone saw the mischief on Louis' face when he said he was going to prepare the training ground.
She was secretly uneasy because it seemed like he was going to prepare a training ground that would definitely embarrass Simone.
Louis chuckled.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything. Simone, do you need a house?”
Those words that sound like a joke are not a joke, they are serious. Simone glared at Louis with a suspicious look.
"No."
In fact, now that she's here, she feels quite comfortable at Illeston Manor, so she guesses she can put off looking for a new house.
Above all, the perception of necromancers is still at rock bottom, so how could Simone go out on her own and make a living?
No matter how much help the royal family gives, it will take a considerable amount of time to change people's perceptions.
It's still too early to make any hasty decisions about where to live.
“The house is fine.”
As Simone added, Louis showed his signature smile as if he had expected this answer.
“Understood. I have a carriage waiting at the entrance to the castle.”
“I’ll go alone.”
“Haha, I knew it.”
Simone seemed to not want the people of the castle to misunderstand her relationship with Louis even a little bit.
Louis shrugged and raised his palm toward the entrance as if to tell her to go ahead.
Simone turned to the entrance of the castle, let out an exclamation of 'Ah', and turned her head to Louis and asked.
“By the way, when did Abel and his group return?”
“Abel? It seems like he's discovered the World Tree and is planning to stop by there, but it seems like he's having trouble in the village that’s like a guard.”
"Yes."
Abel hasn't made any progress wandering around the fairy village, but El will be there soon, so he'll figure it out and come back within a month.
Then, at that time, they will begin the operation to completely eliminate the Occult Society...
'Why should I do this?'
Simone quickly shook the thought away.
In the original, Simone was sold from an orphanage to an occult society and tortured before being discovered by the main characters. At that time, the occult society and its institutions were immediately destroyed by the group.
In other words, the Occult Society's disposal is an area that Abel and Louis can handle on their own, so Simone doesn't have to worry about it.
'Of course, the situation at the Occult Society is very different from the original.'
Since Simone did not move as originally planned, the Occult Society believes that there is still a vessel left to resurrect Anasis, and so they must have prepared countermeasures in case they are attacked aggressively.
Even if there is a sudden attack, they won't be easily defeated like in the original.
But even so, Abel and his group and Louis will be able to completely eliminate the Occult Society.
'Abel and his party become stronger after meeting the World Tree.'
Abel's teacher joins them on this journey.
“Yes. Then I’ll take my leave.”
Simone parted ways with Louis and boarded the carriage heading to Illeston Manor.
The carriage set off.
“Oh my.”
Even though he was on his way back home, Simone sighed because he was worried that a new curse might have appeared in the mansion while he was away.
Illeston Manor is not a safe place.
A place where the world changes in the blink of an eye, people disappear when you wake up, or a curse spreads while you are away for a moment.
“Simone, how was your trip?”
“Yeah, I’m done with everything outside.”
Simone looked around the mansion as she answered Anna who had come to greet her.
For some reason, there seemed to be no fuss today.
“Nothing happened?”
“Yes! Nothing happened. Should I prepare dinner?”
“No, I ate at the castle.”
Judging from Anna's bright expression, it seemed like nothing had really happened. Simone felt relieved and headed to her room.
And then she returns to her room and looks around the space again.
'Then that's right.'
Simone laughed out loud.
“No problem?”
"Yes?"
When Simone's expression suddenly changed, Anna tilted her head as if she didn't know why.
Simone pointed to the head of her bed.
“Is there really nothing wrong?”
“What’s the matter?”
All the servants in the room, including Anna, looked in the direction Simone pointed.
To be exact, a human-shaped doll sitting on the bed, next to Simone's pillow.
There were no dolls in Simone's room.
Even if there were, she would have told them to throw the doll away because there are so many strange stories that come to mind when she thinks of 'dolls'.
But there's a human-shaped doll on the bed, not just another doll? That's absolutely impossible.
"Uh?"
Anna belatedly discovered the doll and approached it in a panic, but was stopped by Simone's hand blocking her.
Simone pushed Anna back and slowly approached the doll.
A blonde ball-jointed doll, the kind you'd see in a noble's room. It didn't move at all, but it met Simone's gaze from the start.
“Who brought this here?”
Simone roughly grabbed the doll, ignoring the cold sensation in her head.
Then the servants opened their eyes wide and glanced at each other.
It seemed that no one in this room had brought a doll.
“It wasn’t there until I cleaned today?”
"Weird..."
Since none of the servants knew about this, Anna quickly tried to snatch the doll from Simone.
“Dude, I’ll throw it away quickly!”
“Don’t touch it, Anna.”
Simone held the doll in her hands above her head to prevent Anna from moving away, and Kaylee, her face reddening, shouted at the servants.
“Who is it!? All the people who work in this room are here, but how can it be that no one brought a doll?”
No wonder Kaylee is so upset.
“You don’t know even after going through all that? Didn’t you read the instructions properly? Don’t you know that you shouldn’t bring things like this?”
A new curse is triggered when someone breaks the guidelines.
Ninety-seventh, dolls with eyes and mouths are not allowed in the mansion.
If any servant sees the doll, they should immediately abandon it and leave the mansion.
Simone recalled the instructions for the doll written on the last page of the manual.
Of course, not all of the previous lords of the Illeston family were as considerate of their servants as the current Grand Duke of Illeston.
If they didn't know the cause or solution, and they weren't even from the family, there were many cases where they would just take the curse and kick them out of the mansion.
Simone pushed Anna away and looked at the doll.
So, anyone can clearly see that this doll is a curse, and there is no other solution to it than sacrificing one person, and it is a curse that may even lead to some kind of curse.
“It’s okay if I throw it away, right, Simone?”
Anna asked worriedly. Simone shrugged.
Of course, she doesn't think she can avoid the doll-related guidelines by simply throwing them away.
“But we can’t keep it in the mansion forever. Let’s just abandon it for now and see what happens.”
Kaylee glanced at the servants watching Simone and Anna's conversation.
'Who said that?'
Simone seemed to be focused on the curse caused by the doll rather than finding the culprit among the servants, but no matter how she looked at it, it seemed like it was nothing but malice towards Simone.
The instructions state that dolls with eyes and mouths should not be brought in, and since there is no way to solve or avoid these instructions, these curses are especially emphasized when training new employees.
To Simone, it was just a curse and a guideline, but to the servants, it was common sense not to bring dolls into the mansion.
“Hmm...”
As Kaylee glared at the servants, the innocent servants flinched and looked at Kaylee.
Soon, as Simone fell asleep, the other servants who would be questioned by Kaylee also had the same thoughts as Kaylee.
'Who brought it here?'
Simone headed out with the doll as if to collect her thoughts.
“Kaylee, go and tell the butler the situation. He will relay it to the Grand Duke.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Simone frowned, clutching the doll tightly in her hands.
'Can't we just throw it in the trash?'
Usually, cursed objects like these are burned or buried in the ground.
She doesn't know if that applies in this world, but let's burn it for now.
Simone headed away from the mansion, carrying a candle and a doll.
'How can the development not break expectations...?'
"Ha..."
A dark dirt road opened up before Simone's eyes. The Illeston mansion was located in a wooded area, making the darkness seem even darker.
She's a necromancer.
She is a necromancer who can become a world traitor if she puts her mind to it.
It's a shame to go to a legendary hometown and burn a cursed doll on a bumpy, stone-paved road like a country road at night.
Simone burned the doll in a fire where no one was present.
“Oh..."
The doll itself can be eerie once you start to have scary thoughts.
The hard doll's hair started to burn, and soon the eyelashes and skin began to burn.
“The very act of doing this is repugnant...”
Just by holding a doll shaped like a person on fire.
Simone put the doll down on the floor because she didn't like the sight of it and started digging the ground to bury it.
The eyes of the dying doll slowly shrank as it looked at Simone.
Now all the work to be done in the capital is done.
The contract was completed, and she was treated to a delicious meal at the Emperor's invitation (the Emperor's excessive praise was quite burdensome), so Simone slowly began to prepare to return to the Illeston mansion.
“Then, as soon as Lady Simone’s training grounds are ready, I will go to work at the mansion.”
“Yes, but don’t prepare so much that it feels burdensome.”
Simone saw the mischief on Louis' face when he said he was going to prepare the training ground.
She was secretly uneasy because it seemed like he was going to prepare a training ground that would definitely embarrass Simone.
Louis chuckled.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything. Simone, do you need a house?”
Those words that sound like a joke are not a joke, they are serious. Simone glared at Louis with a suspicious look.
"No."
In fact, now that she's here, she feels quite comfortable at Illeston Manor, so she guesses she can put off looking for a new house.
Above all, the perception of necromancers is still at rock bottom, so how could Simone go out on her own and make a living?
No matter how much help the royal family gives, it will take a considerable amount of time to change people's perceptions.
It's still too early to make any hasty decisions about where to live.
“The house is fine.”
As Simone added, Louis showed his signature smile as if he had expected this answer.
“Understood. I have a carriage waiting at the entrance to the castle.”
“I’ll go alone.”
“Haha, I knew it.”
Simone seemed to not want the people of the castle to misunderstand her relationship with Louis even a little bit.
Louis shrugged and raised his palm toward the entrance as if to tell her to go ahead.
Simone turned to the entrance of the castle, let out an exclamation of 'Ah', and turned her head to Louis and asked.
“By the way, when did Abel and his group return?”
“Abel? It seems like he's discovered the World Tree and is planning to stop by there, but it seems like he's having trouble in the village that’s like a guard.”
"Yes."
Abel hasn't made any progress wandering around the fairy village, but El will be there soon, so he'll figure it out and come back within a month.
Then, at that time, they will begin the operation to completely eliminate the Occult Society...
'Why should I do this?'
Simone quickly shook the thought away.
In the original, Simone was sold from an orphanage to an occult society and tortured before being discovered by the main characters. At that time, the occult society and its institutions were immediately destroyed by the group.
In other words, the Occult Society's disposal is an area that Abel and Louis can handle on their own, so Simone doesn't have to worry about it.
'Of course, the situation at the Occult Society is very different from the original.'
Since Simone did not move as originally planned, the Occult Society believes that there is still a vessel left to resurrect Anasis, and so they must have prepared countermeasures in case they are attacked aggressively.
Even if there is a sudden attack, they won't be easily defeated like in the original.
But even so, Abel and his group and Louis will be able to completely eliminate the Occult Society.
'Abel and his party become stronger after meeting the World Tree.'
Abel's teacher joins them on this journey.
“Yes. Then I’ll take my leave.”
Simone parted ways with Louis and boarded the carriage heading to Illeston Manor.
The carriage set off.
“Oh my.”
Even though he was on his way back home, Simone sighed because he was worried that a new curse might have appeared in the mansion while he was away.
***
Illeston Manor is not a safe place.
A place where the world changes in the blink of an eye, people disappear when you wake up, or a curse spreads while you are away for a moment.
“Simone, how was your trip?”
“Yeah, I’m done with everything outside.”
Simone looked around the mansion as she answered Anna who had come to greet her.
For some reason, there seemed to be no fuss today.
“Nothing happened?”
“Yes! Nothing happened. Should I prepare dinner?”
“No, I ate at the castle.”
Judging from Anna's bright expression, it seemed like nothing had really happened. Simone felt relieved and headed to her room.
And then she returns to her room and looks around the space again.
'Then that's right.'
Simone laughed out loud.
“No problem?”
"Yes?"
When Simone's expression suddenly changed, Anna tilted her head as if she didn't know why.
Simone pointed to the head of her bed.
“Is there really nothing wrong?”
“What’s the matter?”
All the servants in the room, including Anna, looked in the direction Simone pointed.
To be exact, a human-shaped doll sitting on the bed, next to Simone's pillow.
There were no dolls in Simone's room.
Even if there were, she would have told them to throw the doll away because there are so many strange stories that come to mind when she thinks of 'dolls'.
But there's a human-shaped doll on the bed, not just another doll? That's absolutely impossible.
"Uh?"
Anna belatedly discovered the doll and approached it in a panic, but was stopped by Simone's hand blocking her.
Simone pushed Anna back and slowly approached the doll.
A blonde ball-jointed doll, the kind you'd see in a noble's room. It didn't move at all, but it met Simone's gaze from the start.
“Who brought this here?”
Simone roughly grabbed the doll, ignoring the cold sensation in her head.
Then the servants opened their eyes wide and glanced at each other.
It seemed that no one in this room had brought a doll.
“It wasn’t there until I cleaned today?”
"Weird..."
Since none of the servants knew about this, Anna quickly tried to snatch the doll from Simone.
“Dude, I’ll throw it away quickly!”
“Don’t touch it, Anna.”
Simone held the doll in her hands above her head to prevent Anna from moving away, and Kaylee, her face reddening, shouted at the servants.
“Who is it!? All the people who work in this room are here, but how can it be that no one brought a doll?”
No wonder Kaylee is so upset.
“You don’t know even after going through all that? Didn’t you read the instructions properly? Don’t you know that you shouldn’t bring things like this?”
A new curse is triggered when someone breaks the guidelines.
Ninety-seventh, dolls with eyes and mouths are not allowed in the mansion.
If any servant sees the doll, they should immediately abandon it and leave the mansion.
Simone recalled the instructions for the doll written on the last page of the manual.
Of course, not all of the previous lords of the Illeston family were as considerate of their servants as the current Grand Duke of Illeston.
If they didn't know the cause or solution, and they weren't even from the family, there were many cases where they would just take the curse and kick them out of the mansion.
Simone pushed Anna away and looked at the doll.
So, anyone can clearly see that this doll is a curse, and there is no other solution to it than sacrificing one person, and it is a curse that may even lead to some kind of curse.
“It’s okay if I throw it away, right, Simone?”
Anna asked worriedly. Simone shrugged.
Of course, she doesn't think she can avoid the doll-related guidelines by simply throwing them away.
“But we can’t keep it in the mansion forever. Let’s just abandon it for now and see what happens.”
Kaylee glanced at the servants watching Simone and Anna's conversation.
'Who said that?'
Simone seemed to be focused on the curse caused by the doll rather than finding the culprit among the servants, but no matter how she looked at it, it seemed like it was nothing but malice towards Simone.
The instructions state that dolls with eyes and mouths should not be brought in, and since there is no way to solve or avoid these instructions, these curses are especially emphasized when training new employees.
To Simone, it was just a curse and a guideline, but to the servants, it was common sense not to bring dolls into the mansion.
“Hmm...”
As Kaylee glared at the servants, the innocent servants flinched and looked at Kaylee.
Soon, as Simone fell asleep, the other servants who would be questioned by Kaylee also had the same thoughts as Kaylee.
'Who brought it here?'
Simone headed out with the doll as if to collect her thoughts.
“Kaylee, go and tell the butler the situation. He will relay it to the Grand Duke.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Simone frowned, clutching the doll tightly in her hands.
'Can't we just throw it in the trash?'
Usually, cursed objects like these are burned or buried in the ground.
She doesn't know if that applies in this world, but let's burn it for now.
Simone headed away from the mansion, carrying a candle and a doll.
'How can the development not break expectations...?'
"Ha..."
A dark dirt road opened up before Simone's eyes. The Illeston mansion was located in a wooded area, making the darkness seem even darker.
She's a necromancer.
She is a necromancer who can become a world traitor if she puts her mind to it.
It's a shame to go to a legendary hometown and burn a cursed doll on a bumpy, stone-paved road like a country road at night.
Simone burned the doll in a fire where no one was present.
“Oh..."
The doll itself can be eerie once you start to have scary thoughts.
The hard doll's hair started to burn, and soon the eyelashes and skin began to burn.
“The very act of doing this is repugnant...”
Just by holding a doll shaped like a person on fire.
Simone put the doll down on the floor because she didn't like the sight of it and started digging the ground to bury it.
The eyes of the dying doll slowly shrank as it looked at Simone.
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