Surviving in a School of Ghost Stories

Chapter 5

 

“That’s right.”

“Oh my god. Don’t tell me the owners of those graves are the people of Chesswind village?”

Noah didn’t answer.

Easton took that silence as affirmation.

There wasn’t much information about Chesswind.

It was a remote rural village, and it had been quite a while since it became ruins and people stopped living there.

The only information they could get was thanks to this one mansion that looked intact.

They said that a postman occasionally went to and from that village because of someone living there.

“As I said, this is both a school ghost story and an external incident. So it might be the most difficult ghost story to solve.”

Noah’s gaze was still fixed on the woman in the photo.

“If there’s anyone involved with this village, they won’t be able to survive. No one.”

It seemed like he was speaking directly to the woman in the photo.

🐈‍⬛

When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar space.

It was Madam Ranart’s mansion.

I looked around in bewilderment.

On the workbench in front of me, flour dough was scattered haphazardly, and my hands were also covered in flour.

I seemed to be in the middle of making bread dough.

‘…Did I really come back a year ago?’

It was hard to believe.

What if all this was just a bad dream?

Meeting the student council president, even Raven’s death.

The kitchen wall clock was pointing to noon.

I glanced at the corridor beyond the kitchen. There was a calendar hanging there.

August 27, 902.

It’s real.

I had come back exactly one year.

“If that calendar is real.”

If so, it would be just about a year since I settled in Chesswind village.

I slowly recollected what had just happened while wiping the flour off my hands.

“Melody? Are you alright?”

A familiar voice calls me.

I looked up to see an elderly lady looking at me.

It was Baroness Ranart.

“I called you several times, but there was no answer.”

Madam Ranart looked worried and came closer to me.

“If you’re not feeling well, why don’t you rest for today?”

I was about to answer, “Should I?” when I noticed the flour dough on the kitchen counter.

 

“Have you ever seen the villagers eating?”

 

The student council president’s question echoed in my mind.

No matter how hard I tried to remember, I had never seen the villagers eating.

‘No, Melody. Maybe I just didn’t see it. Maybe I just don’t remember.’

I think I secretly wished that everything from Raven’s death to coming back to the past was just a dream.

‘But shouldn’t I figure out which side is the truth?’

I finally decided to cautiously bring it up.

“I was in the middle of preparing dinner, so I’ll just finish this and go. You need to eat too, Madam.”

Then Madam Ranart silently stared at my face.

She started to gaze at me intently with a completely expressionless face.

 

“Ah. And if you turn back time, they’ll notice that you’ve changed. But it’s okay. Just act naturally.”

 

I don’t think I’m very good at acting.

I felt cold sweat running down my back.

Did I touch on something I shouldn’t have?

“There are people to take care of my meals even if it’s not you, sweet Melody. You’re so kind.”

Madam Ranart smiled with her eyes and patted my head.

“Go home and rest now.”

I returned home as if in a trance.

On the way home, I looked up at the sky absently. It was getting dark as the sun was setting.

I returned home, locked the door tightly, and lay down on the bed, but sleep didn’t come easily.

‘No, don’t think negatively. I’ll leave the village as soon as the day breaks tomorrow.’

If I succeed, I can just pack my things and leave the village. But if I fail, I would need to find another way to escape.

‘I should pack in advance.’

I got up and started packing.

Knock knock knock.

At that moment, someone knocked on my room door.

That someone was knocking on the room door, not the front door.

“W-Who is it?”

“Melody. Are you in there? It’s me.”

It was Madam Ranart.

She was knocking on my room door from our living room.

How did she get into the living room when both the gate and front door were locked?

“I have something to give you, can you open the door for a moment?”

“I’m sorry, but I’ve already changed into my pajamas, Madam. I’d like to rest now.”

“Melody, why are you being so cold? Are you perhaps…”

Madam Ranart, who had been trailing off, suddenly asked me in a chilling voice.

“Have you figured it all out?”

My neck stiffened instantly.

“Sweet Melody. Are you really going to make me break down this door…?”

She really seemed like she might break down the door.

After frantically thinking for a brief moment, I finally opened the door.

As expected, Madam Ranart was standing outside.

The elderly lady straightened her bent back and smiled. She brought forward the basket she was holding.

“I tried making strawberry pie, would you like to try it?”

Baroness Ranart doesn’t know how to cook.

Even though she lives in a rural village, she’s still a noble with servants.

Above all, it’s not strawberry season now. Where did those strawberries come from?

But I swallowed my questions.

Instead, I feigned a delighted expression, clapping my hands.

“Oh my. Thank you, Madam. Would you like to eat together?”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“I’m full.”

“Come to think of it, you don’t seem to eat much, Madam. That’s why you’re so thin.”

I said worriedly, looking at Madam Ranart’s thin arms.

However, Madam Ranart remained unfazed and smiled softly at me.

“I’m fine. I have no appetite. I don’t like eating.”

Madam Ranart really seemed like a different person.

“I didn’t know you didn’t like eating, Madam. All this time, I’ve been preparing meals without knowing… You must have been uncomfortable because of me.”

“……”

“Madam?”

“I’m not sure if the strawberry pie turned out well. It was my first time cooking, and it was quite fun.”

“Madam, I appreciate the thought, but it’s getting late…”

“It’s late, but won’t you try the strawberry pie? I’m curious if it suits your taste.”

“If you leave it, I’ll try it tomorrow. It’s too late now.”

“Palmer was nagging so much while I was baking the pie. It was quite amusing to see him act all high and mighty when he didn’t even know how to bake a pie himself. Would you like to try it?”

“Madam, right now is a bit…”

“Why do you keep avoiding eating it when I’m telling you to eat it now?”

Startled by the madam’s sudden outburst, I stopped talking.

The Madam approached me briskly and pressed her forehead against mine.

And then,

“The descendants of Abaddon, you shall not receive salvation from Kritovan, for even the god of Klutha will not help. The descendants of Abaddon, you shall not receive salvation from Kritovan, for even the god of Klutha will not help.”

“Ma-Madam, are you okay?”

“Diemelodiediemelodiediemelodiediemelodiediemelodiediemelodiediemelodiediemelodiediemelodiediemelodiediemelodiediemelodiediemelodiediemelodiediemelodiediemelodiediemelodiediemelodiedie”

Madam Ranart suddenly stopped speaking and stared blankly ahead.

Her eyes were unfocused.

“I need to use the bathroom.”

“Madam, that’s the window…”

I couldn’t finish my sentence.

Madam Ranart had already climbed out the window and was gone.

Shocked, I clung to the window and scanned the surroundings. In the distance, I could see Madam Ranart running towards the center of the village.

I looked down at the plate of strawberry pie in my hand with a dazed expression.

When did I receive the strawberry pie? It was so natural that I didn’t even realize she had handed me the plate.

I was drenched in sweat from the tension. I roughly wiped the sweat from my chin with the back of my hand.

Then, I placed the strawberry pie on the table and covered it with a cloth.

I carefully closed the window and checked the room door and front door again. The front door was definitely locked tight.

‘Did she come in through the window? With a plate?’

I’m sure I locked the window too.

The current situation was clearly not normal. Everything was strange and weird somewhere.

An eerie feeling crept over me.

Would I really be able to escape this village alive?

🐈‍⬛

Thank you for reading! ♡