For Sally Melbourne, who was the firstborn of a working-class family with six sons and six daughters, life had always been a series of pain.
It might be funny to say for someone who was just over twenty.
For her, reality was synonymous with “hard work that never ends”.
However.
Just a month ago, Sally’s life changed quickly after she met the evil spirit of Room 333.
“Miss Melbourne, what do you think about working for me?”
Emily Carter, was a popular author of Weird Fiction, which Sally read every week. She was happy to meet her in person, yet who knew she’d be offered a job!
“S-So you want me to work as a maid?”
“Well, that’d be nice, but someone already works as a maid. I want you to be my assistant.”
An assistant!
Excited by the words reminiscent of a detective’s assistant, Sally agreed to the suggestion.
And now, it was like this.
The first-class train car she never thought she’d be on in her entire life. Sally’s eyes twinkled as she watched elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen having a cultured conversation.
And when she turned her head. Two beauties, shining brilliantly under the sunlight pouring in through the window, came into view. Emily had platinum blonde hair and fair skin, and Helena had slightly darker skin and dark, lovely hair.
I can’t believe I’m going with them to Scotland. Sally, who stared blankly at the women with contrasting charm, asked, “Ma’am, how did you two meet?”
One was the most famous widow and horror novelist in London. The other was a Russian aristocrat divorcee and a female scholar at the center of academia. Sally had a hard time figuring out the connection between the two.
“Oh, we both attended the old North London Girls’ School.”
Sally’s eyes widened at Helena’s response which was accompanied by a smile. A boarding school only famous women go to! The memory of A Little Princess, which Sally enjoyed reading as a girl, appeared in her mind. Were the two best friends like Sara and Becky?
Emily opened her mouth to add to that. “Helena and I shared a room.”
“You were roommates!”
“We fought every day. Should I say we became close friends after fighting so much?”
“What do you mean by fight?”
When Helena scolded her, Emily smiled mischievously.
“If you look at Helena now, it looked like she was elegant since she was born, right? It’s true. During a time of pure fury, her sharpness even put rose thorns to shame—”
“Stop…” Helena said with a lowered voice, and Emily quickly backed down.
“Well, I’m just saying.”
They were two people who had the demeanor of ladies who weren’t normally close to each other. Sally laughed as if she were a child when they quarreled like this.
How long had it been since she had such a good time on the train?
“Next stop is Edinburgh, Edinburgh…”
Sally looked out the window at the sound of the conductor’s voice and shouted, “It’s time to get off!”
The train came to a slow stop.
Sally didn’t know at this time. In Edinburgh, the place she visited for the first time in her life with a happy heart, her “madam” would encounter a terrible existence.
***
When we got off the station with a small package, a luxury carriage sent by Mr. Henry arrived.
“I will take you to the house.”
I looked out the window as we headed to the country house, which was said to be located on the outskirts. The scenery of Edinburgh, where medieval ruins remain, was visible at a glance. My heart was also pounding at the very different atmosphere from London. It affected my mood.
Was it really only ten minutes? The carriage entered an old town with a quiet atmosphere. We kept going and stopped in front of a palace-like mansion.
“Get off, ma’am.”
We were guided into the country house just like that. A Georgian mansion that was equally proportionate and symmetrical. As we walked into the big, magnificent front yard, dozens of maids bowed their heads. Inside, Mr. Henry Langham, a man with a sturdy build and fine appearance, appeared.
“You’re here, Emily… with your friends.”
I could sense the bitterness behind his smiling face. It might be because he learned that the demon in Room 333, which occupied his body, was none other than Edward Hyde, his biological father.
I immediately approached the distressed young man and hugged him tightly. “Henry, how are you?”
He smelled pleasant. Let’s greet him casually and look him in the eye.
“Well, uh, Emily…”
I could see Henry’s red face.
…I also could sense the eyes of the servants who blushed at the sight of both of us.
I should let him go then. Meanwhile, Sally, who was standing next to me, managed to hold back her laughter. Helena sighed and shook her head.
“Thank you for coming all this way. Let’s go inside first.”
We followed Henry who showed us the guest rooms.
***
“Emily, I’m going to rest.”
Helena, whose room was next to mine, disappeared into the guest room.
Sally, who was looking back, glanced at me awkwardly. “Oh, I’m…”
“Sally, you should rest too.”
“But ma’am…”
Seeing that she was at a loss, she seemed to have never followed a lady around and cared for her. But I’m also not used to having a maid around, so it was a predicament.
“I didn’t bring you here as a maid. You didn’t forget, did you?”
“No!”
“Then rest when I tell you to… We also don’t know when or where we’ll go through the same thing as before.”
Sally was surprised as I deliberately lowered my voice and gave an order.
“All right!” She ran into the room on my right.
When I entered my room, I saw an interior decorated for someone with sophisticated tastes. As soon as I saw a spacious bed, I threw myself on it.
“Ah, it’s nice.”
I’m sure Helena would have something if she saw what I did…
“What kind of lady throws herself onto the bed without changing her clothes first?”
When I was at the girls’ school, she and I were at each other’s throats. If I was a free-spirited colt, then Helena would have a thorn in her mouth when I didn’t follow the rules.
“Emily, you should watch and learn from Helena.” The dormitory superintendent put the two of us in one room, and we, who unexpectedly became roommates, fought again and again.
No, to be exact…
“Emily, aren’t you going to make your bed?”
“Emily, you can’t be so comfortable with the maids.”
“Emily. Emily. Emily.”
Helena, who nagged every day, and me, who yelled at her.
“Hey, didn’t I tell you to take it easy?”
“Are you my mother? No, my mother doesn’t do that either.”
“My ears are going to bleed because of your nagging.”
The two of us, who bumped into each other every day, came to understand each other more with each incident. Since then, we became inseparable best friends. We still talk to each other ten years later. Some say the friendship between women means nothing. Especially after you get married and start a family, it would fade into memory.
But I didn’t agree with that at all. Back then and now.
My life, dotted with many twists and pains, was something I couldn’t have endured without Helena.
My husband, Randolph Carter, was the only man who truly understood me, but he was long gone now. So, I can assure you that no one dared to understand me as much as Helena. Even at that time. Even when Randolph died mysteriously, beyond reason and logic.
“Emily, you have me.”
Had it not been for Helena, I would have thrown myself into the Thames a dozen times already.
The death of Randolph. When the terrible, unfortunate memory came to mind, I suddenly felt bad.
“Stop. Let’s not think about useless things.” I quickly got out of bed and sat at the mahogany desk to sort out my thoughts.
No new orders had been given yet. After the last order to destroy Hyde, no orders had been issued from the King in Yellow. The orders had no scheduled time. Should I say it was more like selling something and then looking for it yourself?
When I accidentally entered a realm of “unknown mystery”, then an order was given. That was why I went around here and there under the pretext of collecting data as a horror novelist. Also, the reason why I was obsessed with the orders of the kin was because of the “remaining days” given as a reward. If I wasted my time doing nothing, as I heard a while ago…
“Apostle Emily, there are 72 days before the end of the world.”
Exactly after this time, the world would be destroyed… Just like when Cthulhu appeared off the coast of Cardiff. There was no guarantee I’ll end up like that next time. I shuddered at the thought of “another world existing” from what I saw. No matter how many times I can come back alive, I didn’t want to experience it again. If I just die and go back to a few days ago, it was like a game in my previous life. It was like having a save file.
To start life again after experiencing the end of the world felt no different from restarting the game after watching a bad ending. Because I was a completely different person before and after seeing the end. The end of the world wasn’t any different than dying to me, who had revived no matter how many times I died. In that sense, maybe I wasn’t living a life that repeated itself and instead lived a life that had a time limit where I could just delay the inevitable.
I was immersed in such deep thoughts when suddenly, I heard a voice in my head. At the same time, letters appeared on the top of the desk.
[I sense traces of the unknown around here.]
The letters disappeared as if they were written on a beach and washed away by the waves. Another sentence appeared.
[The person you’re looking for will give you my next order.]
If it was someone I was looking for…
Was he talking about James Miranda Barry?
