‘Love in Horror: The Eternal Curse of Hailik Manor’
Most people referred to it as ‘Love in Horror,’ excluding the subtitle. In any case, ‘Love in Horror’ was a horror game featuring well-designed, lifelike characters, where players had to navigate through threats to their lives. It may have seemed somewhat like a Mafia or murder game at first glance, but it was a bit different.
Moreover, it wasn’t just about avoiding the mansion’s ghosts and monsters; players had to follow intricate rules while doing so.
However, uniquely, if players wished, they could delve into elements like affinity and danger levels, making the game progress more like a dating simulation.
Thus, ‘Love in Horror’ gained cult popularity due to its peculiar combination of eerie and terrifying atmospheres alongside the romantic parts of the story.
Strangely enough, Luda had never pursued a full playthrough of the game.
She originally had little interest in dating simulations, and the affinity and other aspects were more of a hassle than she had expected. In fact, the only part that had piqued her interest was the rest of the game, excluding the dating simulation elements.
That’s how she ended up progressing by making the best choices available and achieving an ending where she survived without pursuing any romantic relationships.
As far as Luda knew, ‘Love in Horror’ only had endings related to escaping and those that continued with certain characters’ routes. So, the mention of a ‘true ending’ in the system window left her feeling perplexed.
No matter how she thought about it, she had never heard of a separate ending.
Luda pondered the last line of the system window once again:
‘After surviving the Ghost’s Night, achieve the true ending condition.’
Yes, for now, surviving the Ghost’s Night took precedence.
Luda set the white paper with the rules back on the table and picked up the pocket watch.
The watch was small enough to fit in her hand, and all the numbers on its face were Roman numerals.
4:44.
It didn’t feel like a particularly pleasant time to look at.
Besides, dinner time was approaching soon. Once dinner was over, she would need to stay on high alert from that moment onwards.
It was about to be the exact moment when the ‘Ghost’s Night’ began.
* * *
“It’s dinner time.”
Knock, knock.
At the sound of a knocking door, Luda opened it to find Rita standing there. Beyond her were Yulian and Kyren.
As their gazes met, Yulian exchanged a nod with Luda before she turned her attention to Kyren. Kyren, with an upturned tail of her eye, briefly met Luda’s gaze but didn’t react further.
‘As expected, it seems like Yulian is the only way to survive.’
Luda thought so and positioned herself a bit closer to Yulian.
When they gathered in the reception room earlier, they didn’t know who the offering was, but during their break, they must have all read the notes in their rooms.
‘They’re all probably ghosts, right?’
No matter how she thought about it, having two offerings among the four was highly unlikely. It was like that last time too.
Moreover, they were in Hell Mode now, which made it even less likely. Typically, when the difficulty increased, games didn’t become easier.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Yulian asked, lowering his voice. His voice had a gentle undertone.
Luda wasn’t surprised. She had been waiting for Yulian to notice her gaze.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Yes, after dinner.”
Luda deliberately replied in a soft voice. Suddenly, the system window popped up.
[Yulian’s affinity has increased.][Yulian (Route Available)]
[Affinity: 1 (Up 1 ▲)]
‘Oh, affinity increases immediately in his line of sight.’
Luda briefly glanced into thin air before returning her gaze to the others. She had come to accept this as a matter of course, even though it felt strange to realize she had been mysteriously transported to this strange world.
She wished it was all just a dream, but the memory of being hit by a car was still vivid in her mind. Could it really be a dream, even that?
She didn’t know for sure yet.
She checked the back of her hand, and it was still reddened. She had pinched herself in the room to confirm.
‘Alright, this might be a chance, so I need to do my best.’
Luda resolved herself.
Clang, clang, clang.
Rita began knocking forcefully on the closed door.
“Come out now! If you don’t come out right now, it’s a rule violation.”
She kept knocking intermittently, occasionally trying the doorknob, but it wouldn’t turn as if it was locked.
After a while, the door finally opened, and Esteban stepped out. His forehead was wrinkled heavily.
“All these rules are so damn annoying.”
“There’s nothing we can do. We have to eat together in the dining room.”
With Rita’s firm words, their conversation ceased.
During that time, Luda took a quick look at Esteban as he locked the door. It seemed to be the same key she had received.
* * *
The dining room was already prepared with food: steak and soup.
Luda looked at the candles on the table and took her seat. Naturally, she positioned herself opposite Yulian. Kyren sat a seat away from Luda, and Esteban was at the far end of the table.
Kaiden, who had been at the entrance, made sure they were all inside, closed the door, and disappeared.
‘I shouldn’t reveal too much information yet.’
Luda believed it was risky to open her mouth in a crowded place. She couldn’t know for sure if others felt the same way or what they were thinking, but the atmosphere remained tense.
“I’ll serve the meal.”
Yulian, on the other side of the table, had somehow taken his plate and started cutting the food. There was no time to object, so she just waited.
Yulian was the character who had been most crucial in helping her escape. He had a special ability that could drive away most ghosts when used.
In this context, when she referred to ‘ghosts,’ it didn’t mean ‘offerings’ but real, roaming spirits inside the mansion.
The attire they were wearing and the setting seemed to suggest this.
‘If I stick with him, nothing bad should happen.’
The reason she had asked him to talk when they left the room earlier was also because of this. It seemed prudent to propose an alliance early in the game.
While lost in thought, Yulian cut the meat into a good size for eating and pushed the plate back towards her.
“Thank you.”
In response, his bright green eyes curved slightly. Luda picked up her fork, not particularly excited.
‘I don’t have much of an appetite.’
The first one to stand up was Kyren, who had been muttering to herself the whole time. She had hardly touched her plate.
Next was Esteban, who shoved his chair back abruptly and stood up, making an unpleasant noise.
‘He’s got quite a temper.’
Finally, only two remained. Luda took a bite of the steak and then put her fork down. It tasted good, but she didn’t want more.
While waiting for Yulian, she glanced around the dining room. A large landscape painting dominated one wall, depicting an apparent view of the mansion.
With a darkened, eerie mansion under a blood-red moon, it was an unfamiliar image.
‘Who would hang something like that?’
Luda’s gaze shifted awkwardly. She could see the half-closed dining room door.
It seemed darker beyond the door than it should be, darker even than the view outside in the darkness.
“Miss Luda, is our agreement to talk after the meal still valid?”
At that moment, Yulian, who had risen from his seat, asked. She didn’t need time to think.
“Yes, it’s still valid.”
“Very well. Let’s move then.”
Luda gazed at the overly large dining table for a moment and then followed Yulian out of the dining room. When they were about to leave the dining room, a system window popped up.
[Will you accompany Yulian?] [Yes / No]‘At this point, rejection seems a bit late.’
She chose ‘Yes,’ and the dining room door closed on its own. Another window popped up immediately.
[Sub-Quest Triggered! (Importance: ★★)] [Reach the Maze Garden with Yulian] [Time Limit: 30 minutes] [Rewards: A small increase in Yulian’s affinity] [Warning! If you do not accept or fail, Yulian’s danger level will increase significantly.] [Will you accept?]She needed a moment to think this time. It required careful consideration; making a hasty choice might not be wise.
Moreover, there was a time limit.
However, the moment she read the last warning sentence, her thoughts changed.
‘A significant increase in danger level?’
This game had a system where as a character’s danger level rose, the risk of the player being killed by that character increased.
‘It’s basically telling me to die if I don’t accept.’
Of course, she wouldn’t die immediately, but it would significantly raise his danger level. And when that happened, it was unclear how long it would take to bring it back down.
She had no choice but to accept the quest. She selected ‘Yes,’ and the system window disappeared in an instant.
Instead, a small hourglass-like icon appeared in the top right corner of her field of vision. It immediately started flipping over, and sand started trickling down.
The quest countdown had begun.
“I think I’d like to go to the reception room. How does that sound, Miss Luda?”
“I’d prefer outside. It feels stuffy here.”
“Outside is dangerous. It would be better to go to the place we visited earlier…”
“No, I like dangerous things.”
Interrupting Yulian, who was about to continue talking, Luda reached out and took his hand.
