“You seem to know this mansion unusually well.”
Crimson eyes glared at Luda from the darkness.
The distinctive, nauseating smell of the basement lingered in the air.
“Sacrificial subject.”
Esteban raised Luda’s chin with his fingertip, and she quickly slapped his hand away.
“Are you a demon, by any chance?”
Esteban asked indifferently.
“What nonsense.”
Luda scoffed. It wasn’t funny to be treated like a demon after all the time she had spent running from sacrifices.
“The reason my heart keeps racing when I’m with you is probably that. I despise demons.”
“It’s not racing due to hatred; it’s the opposite. Don’t you know that?”
While Esteban’s last confirmed level of affection was abysmally low, Luda decided to speak her mind.
Esteban’s lips twitched momentarily, then he pulled something out.
Luda immediately recognized it. It was a paper knife.
That’s right. It was just a black decoration on his belt, but that tiny knife was the only means he had to kill her.
‘The danger level’ was already at its maximum, and there seemed to be no way out.
‘I don’t want to die like this.’
But the location was terrible. Luda briefly glanced behind her.
The secret passage that led to the underground had many stairs and was quite steep.
It was like a cliff, and if she slipped, she could fall down below.
‘No, maybe that’s better?’
Upon reflection, it seemed plausible. Perhaps it would be better than dying at Esteban’s hands.
As Luda was weighing the two options and about to take a step forward into the void, she felt a strong grip on her waist.
“Unfortunately for you.”
With a clear mockery, she felt something pierce deeply into her flesh.
Before her eyes turned red, a translucent system window appeared.
[You were murdered by a ‘ghost.’]
[Bad Ending: Survival Failed]
[Returning to Day 1…]
* * *
Upon opening her eyes, Luda found herself in an unfamiliar place.
The last scene she had faced was a bright light and a truck rushing terrifyingly fast towards her in the middle of a crosswalk. Her body had been thrown into the air, and at that moment, she had thought everything was futile.
She had lived so insignificantly for something so trivial.
“Where is this?”
Luda looked around. This place didn’t seem like a hospital room, nor did it resemble an operating room.
Above all, every part of her body, from her fingertips to her toes, was pain-free.
Typically, if one had been hit by a truck and left unattended for a while, survival would be nearly impossible. Except for miraculous cases.
Luda had sensed death on the cold road, and she hadn’t thought she would be an exception. Misfortune always came directly to her.
“This is a rather strange place.”
The somewhat spacious room contained furniture like a coffee table, candles, a small round table, chairs, and what appeared to be a wardrobe. It didn’t give off a modern vibe.
Luda felt an eerie sensation and touched her body.
She was wearing a white and beige dress. The last time she had seen such a dress was in a game she had played recently.
As she rose to approach the curtain-covered window, the door to the room opened.
“You’re awake.”
Luda turned her head. A woman dressed as a maid had entered the room. She had red hair tied up in a bun and large, striking blue eyes.
And somehow, Luda knew this woman’s name. Rita.
Sure enough, above the maid’s head, the letters “[Rita]” briefly appeared in writing before fading away.
“They’re all waiting. Would you mind coming with me?”
Luda attempted to answer, but before her lips could part, a translucent system window-like thing appeared before her.
[Choose your response.]
[Caution! If you don’t select within 5 seconds, it will be randomly chosen.]
[1. Yes]
[2. Yes]
[3. Yes]
She tried to say something else, but as if time had frozen, her lips refused to move.
“Why bother with choices if they’re all the same?” Luda reluctantly selected the top response. They were all identical, anyway.
“Yes.”
As the brief response flowed out automatically, Rita smiled broadly.
“You’ve thought wisely.”
Following Rita, as they exited the room, another window appeared before her eyes.
On the faintly glowing system window were written unfamiliar sentences.
[Starting Tutorial.]
[Objective ▶ Head to the reception room]
The reason for the unsettling feeling Luda had been experiencing was likely due to this very phenomenon – her current situation bore a striking resemblance to the beginning of the game “Love in Horror.”
Though she couldn’t be certain, encountering Rita made it almost 99% certain. Among what Luda knew, “Rita,” the red-haired maid guiding her to the reception room, was a unique element of “Love in Horror.”
“But can something like this actually happen?”
To suddenly find herself inside a game after dying – that was what it meant to “possess.”
Until now, Luda had thought that possession-like events only occurred in novels or manga.
Of course, it was fortunate that she hadn’t met her end, but this game was far from a peaceful place. In fact, it leaned more towards the brutal side. Moreover, if she followed the maid, the game would officially begin, and that didn’t seem like a good thing.
Luda confirmed that Rita was looking ahead and turned her body around. She tried to return to where she came from, but her body bounced off thin air as if it had hit an invisible wall.
[Tutorial in progress.]
[Objective ▶ Head to the reception room]
Seeing the warning-like window, Luda chewed on the inside of her mouth.
“Why of all places?”
If she was going to possess, there were plenty of other easy and happy games. Although the last ending she saw was from “Love in Horror,” she distinctly remembered playing city-building simulations and simple puzzle games in between.
“Are you okay?”
Rita discovered Luda sitting on the floor and approached slowly. Then, she extended her hand.
Luda stared at that hand for a moment and finally grabbed it.
“It’s useless to try to escape. You can’t go outside.”
Rita smiled broadly while locking eyes with Luda.
* * *
[You have arrived at the reception room.]
[Proceeding to the next step of the tutorial.]
[Objective ▶ Listen to the Butler’s Explanation]
As Luda opened the reception room door, she saw people gathered around, along with a silver-haired man standing nearby.
Walking up to the long table at the center, Luda glanced back briefly. Rita didn’t follow her anymore; she merely stood by the entrance, guarding the reception room.
While Luda checked the system window, the silver-haired man, who had been standing still like a statue, had quietly approached her.
Above his head, the letters “[Kaiden]” appeared briefly before fading away. His monocled face appeared elegant but somehow weary, as if burdened by fatigue. She could feel his gray eyes staring at her.
“You can sit here.”
Luda took a seat in the chair Kaiden had offered. She didn’t feel comfortable since she knew what was coming next.
Looking around with a somewhat troubled expression, Kaiden began to speak.
“Now that everyone necessary for the first day has gathered, I declare the ‘Night of the Ghost.'”
This was the moment when the last remaining 1% of hope extinguished. This place was indeed the setting Luda knew from that game.
“I am Kaiden, the butler of the Hailic Estate. During the Night of the Ghost, I, along with the maid Rita, will guide you.”
In the part where he mentioned the maid Rita, Kaiden gestured towards her standing at the entrance to the reception room. Rita slightly lowered her head in response.
“You have all come here due to the curse of the Hailic Estate. I will now explain the ‘Night of the Ghost,’ where you will find and kill one or more sacrifices hidden among you.”
While half-listening to Kaiden’s explanation, Luda observed the humans seated at the table.
There was a black-haired man leaning back in his chair, gazing at the ceiling as if bored, a blond man who seemed to be paying quite a bit of attention, and a purple-haired woman on the opposite side who was staring intensely in their direction. Including herself, there were a total of four people.
“But were there always this few?”
Luda felt a momentary unease, but she turned her attention back to the butler’s words.
“Since it may become tiring if too long, I will briefly explain the important points.”
Kaiden began to speak mechanically, without changing his expression.
“First, those who are not sacrifices are referred to as ghosts. Second, ghosts can kill sacrifices only when they are alone with them. Third, sacrifices cannot kill ghosts. Fourth, if a sacrifice survives until the night after the red moon rises, they will gain their freedom.”
Luda swallowed dryly.
There was no need for anyone to explicitly say who was a sacrifice and who was a ghost. The content of this game ensured that players inevitably became sacrifices.
