“I want to rest. Watching Luna and Shine makes me a bit tired… Like Miss Libya said, who would harm the Duke if she behaved too badly dressed like this?”
“That…”
“I am really tired. You don’t have to worry about it.”
Luke, on the subject of killers, pretending to be really cultured and caring gentlemen, invited me to go with them a few more times. However, when I stubbornly repeated my refusal, he barely left my side with a strangely regretful expression on his face.
“…phew.”
No one would ever know how much energy you could get from just exchanging a few words with Luke. Tiredness was an excuse, but after he left I was so tired I couldn’t even stand up. I headed to the terrace looking for a place to rest my wobbly legs.
“…Aren’t there many ghost stories that have been handed down in the Rearmond family as well?”
“There is a ghost story that there is a chained body in the basement.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of that too. I hear you hear the sound of chains every night?”
“Oh, I’m scared!”
“A cursed corpse is sleeping?”
“Kyaaak!”
I tried my best to get rid of the obvious ghost story that I kept hearing even if I didn’t want to hear it, and moved quickly. The sound finally became quiet when I went out onto the terrace where the thick white curtains were half-draped. The dim lighting, the cool outside air pouring into your face, and the dimly visible late-hour garden buried in darkness.
‘Ah, I think I’ll live a little longer…’
I was out of breath. I sat with my buttocks pressed against the long chair on the terrace and watched the dark garden in a daze, when suddenly a footstep approached.
‘Who is it?’
Turning my head, I was startled.
‘Catherine Hunt?’
She, who kept trying to talk to her, came to my side on her own feet. She was a woman who would soon become a victim. Even though she cries, she seems to have come to rest for a while because she is tired of the crazy atmosphere of ghost stories. Somewhere, a pale face looked tired. I hesitated for a long time whether to speak to her or not, then she slowly parted her lips.
“Excuse me…”
“Yes?”
I met her red eyes, but the hesitation grew stronger.
‘I don’t know if I should warn Catherine or not.’
I spoke to her first, but when she kept her mouth shut, Cather blinked at her and then suddenly laughed.
“A while ago, I saw you fighting Miss Libya. Is that you?”
“…ah. You saw it.”
“Ms. Libya has been acting so rude lately that it was uncomfortable to see… I was thrilled.”
She seemed to like the incident earlier, and she opened her mouth easily.
“The name…?”
“It’s called Arbice Green.”
“I am Catherine Hunt. Please take good care of me.”
[Catherine Hunt’s affinity has increased.
Lv.2 (28/198)
Favorability Event: Invitation]
“If it’s Miss Green, I’d like to invite her to a party at least once.”
Somehow, the moment I saw that bright and lively smile, the idea that she was nothing more than her game character was blown away. She really only felt like a person who existed in front of her eyes, so she heard from the thought that she wished she somehow lived.
‘But even so, what should I say?’
A murder case could happen soon, and you might be at the center of it, so take care of yourself? Was there anyone around you who was likely to commit murder? Don’t meet my duke in a week?
I chose my words for a long time.
‘Ah, what should I say?’
After sipping my wine and racking my brain the best I could, I finally decided to speak bluntly.
“…There has been a recent murder case, so the entire estate is in a bad mood. What are you doing?”
At the mention of her murder, Catherine frowned in discomfort.
“It was a hideous incident. There is no article saying that the culprit was properly caught.”
“Looking at such an incident, I can’t even bring guests into my house carelessly these days.”
“It really is.”
“Catherine, you should never bring anyone you don’t trust into your house. OK?”
‘Especially after 8 days.’
Catherine Hunt closed her red eyes and smiled, as if my words, out of context, seemed a little funny. She seemed like a really nice person… There’s no other way to explain it. For a moment, I remembered what Inspector Triver had said about Baron Beria, and I threw the words without my knowledge.
“That… A letter with a crow drawn on it… Have you ever heard of it?”
She stared blankly out of her window and then glanced back at me. I saw the momentary emotion in Catherine’s eyes. It was fear. A very deep fear.
“…Miss Green?… I am.”
“I saw in the newspaper that something like that was going around.”
“…No. Come to think of it, this is not the time. Her husband will be waiting. I’d better go first.”
“Wait!”
Without further ado, Catherine ran off the terrace and across the tea-room.
‘Did I make a mistake? Why did she have those eyes? What should I have said?’
I looked out the window with bitterness at her carriage pulling away. Even if I told her when and where she would die in the first place, no one would believe it.
I felt so helpless.
* * *
Nothing special happened for a week after that day. In the meantime, I had become close with the children, and I had adapted a little to the strange task of living as Arbice in this game. In the job of being an out-of-the-box tutor, in attending breakfast with a breathtakingly handsome murderer. The only change was that I was getting a raise as a private teacher, and I had a fairly repetitive and peaceful life for being in a horror game. Because I tried not to run into Luke except for a meal, and I only tried to live like a rat, I couldn’t do any special investigation. However, I did hear a lot about Luke.
‘The more I dig, the stranger he is.’
Unfortunately, the reviews for him were all positive. He was a Duke trusted by the royal family, and it seemed that he was sometimes called to the palace. He seemed to be famous for being nice to people, although he was strict about handling things in many ways. I really didn’t know how the criticism was that he was so full of compliments and never got angry.
‘No, have you ever seen subordinates only praise their boss at work?’
As long as their employer was Luke, surely there must be some complaints in some corner? When a person shakes, even dust comes out.
“If it’s your fault that only the locals know about you, Master, it’s your fault.”
“Because it is. He takes care of people too much. He should take care of himself too.”
“We don’t pay too much tax, and how diligently does he donate?”
“Is that all? How hard he works to take care of the poor and the sick… Well, are we the only ones in the territory without beggars?”
His reputation pierced the sky. I wondered what would come out if I built up a good impression. I thought I had gotten to know some of the misunderstandings with the employees who had been ignoring me for a week. However, it seemed that he did not have many friendships to maintain especially for such frequent arrangements for tea parties, and he did not even have a history of making a lover with such a proud face. After all, he only has a good reputation, but there was no doubt that he was a psychopathic killer wearing a good-looking mask.
‘Ah, I should have gathered all the evidence and saw the true ending when I was a player.’
I went right up to the last chapter where I could see the true ending, but it was very regrettable that I couldn’t enter the last chapter because I was blocked there and wondered for a long time. Even if I came now, I kept regretting that it was too late.
It’s the 11th day since I entered the game. And a guest came to the Rearmond Mansion. Despite the enormous size of the mansion and the high status of the head of the household, and the large number of employees working to maintain it, the Rearmond Mansion was strangely lacking in guests. Except for me, Luna, and Shine wandering around the rooms in the mansion, giving lessons, and playing tag, it was really quiet.
I was nervous at first, but I was getting a little wet with the repetitive daily life, so I was happy to have a new customer. I met the customer while I was looking at a storybook to read to the children in the drawing room. The tall man with curly silver hair who came in without any notice had a familiar face to my eyes. Although it was a pity that he did not have a good memory.
Lambiel McRae.
‘The eighth victim… Was it?’
I don’t remember the exact order, but I’ve seen in the case notebook that it was published in the newspaper as a victim of a murderer. If it weren’t for the absolute beauty of Luke, he would have been quite popular with his soft smile.
Eyes as thin as those of a cat found me and gently curved.
“There was someone here. Come to think of it, I heard that the picky Luke officially hired a new person after a long time… Are you that lady?”
“…yes?”
“I know this is the first time he has hired a new person unless it was someone coming from a family that has served the Rearmonds for generations. It’s fun.”
There were so many people in the mansion… I didn’t know that such a story existed.
‘And this person, don’t you feel something? I think I ate ten pieces of butter.’
An overly smirking tone was not very pleasant to hear. At that time, Luke frowned and entered the drawing room.
‘Well, compared to a murderer, a man who sounds like butter is better.’
While I was weighing the two on my own, Luke spoke in an uncharacteristically annoyed tone.
“Don’t talk nonsense to Miss Green, Lambiel.”
At that moment, a new message popped up in the notification window.
[Lambiel McRae’s affinity has increased.
Lv1(12/189)]
‘Huh? Is there anything that would make him like me right now?’
I looked at Lambiel in bewilderment.
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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