Chapter 7
Come to think of it, I vaguely remember reading in some book once, that ghosts do everything in reverse.
If that’s the case, maybe if I speak backward too, I could blend in naturally with them.
After pondering for a moment, I decided to imitate their speech.
“madaM ,og em tel esaelP”
[“Please let me go, Madam”]
Madam Ranart stared at me blankly for a while without answering.
Please respond. Please.
Finally, the strength in her hands loosened. Madam Ranart, who had been looking at me with unfocused eyes, slowly backed away from me.
I sighed in relief, wiping my chest.
Now, there’s only one left. I just need to find one more person to tell about my news before naptime.
But then,
“deraeppasidderaeppasidderaeppasidderaeppasidderaeppasiD”
[“Disappeareddisappeareddisappeareddisappeareddisappeared”]
“deraeppasidsahydolemderaeppasidsahydolemderaeppasidsahydolemderaeppasidsahydoleM”
[“Melodyhasdisappearedmelodyhasdisappearedmelodyhasdisappearedmelodyhasdisappeared”]
Suddenly, people started looking for me.
This is bad. Where did it go wrong?
This wasn’t part of the plan.
“If they notice your absence, from that point on, you need to pretend to be like them as much as possible.”
Acting like them means only one thing—acting in reverse.
I put on my clothes backward and then slowly walked backward.
The servants of the Ranart mansion saw me and passed by.
“deraeppasidsahydolemderaeppasidsahydolemderaeppasidsahydolemderaeppasidsahydoleM”
[“Melodyhasdisappearedmelodyhasdisappearedmelodyhasdisappearedmelodyhasdisappeared”]
They kept muttering that Melody had disappeared, seemingly not recognizing me at all.
Cold sweat ran down my back.
‘What should I do?’
I struggled to suppress my footsteps from faltering due to tension.
The servants of the Ranart mansion looked around, searching for me.
Fortunately, they seemed to pass by without seeing me because I was acting backward.
I slowly opened the front door and left the mansion. Backwards, of course.
Beads of sweat formed on my forehead.
If I made even the slightest deviation from their behavior, everyone would notice the change in me.
What would happen then? Would they lock me up to prevent me from escaping, or would I become their prey?
“It’s too difficult. Can’t I just run away right now? I can just run without getting caught. Or hide.”
“After acknowledging the ghost story, it’s impossible to just leave the village. You don’t know where that road you’re taking might lead. There’s a higher chance it’s turned into a road of no return.”
I wondered why this was happening to me of all people.
That’s when it happened.
Meow.
A cat’s meow was heard from somewhere.
Puzzled, I looked up to see a black cat standing on the wall, looking at me.
Its sapphire-blue eyes were staring intently at me.
It was a cat with a strange aura. As if it was watching over me, you could say.
Could this cat also be an incomprehensible monster like those things?
“Where did you come from?”
Meow.
“?morf emoc uoy did erehW”
Meow.
As expected, the cat only meowed and didn’t speak human language.
“deraeppasidsahydolemderaeppasidsahydolemderaeppasidsahydolemderaeppasidsahydoleM”
[“Melodyhasdisappearedmelodyhasdisappearedmelodyhasdisappearedmelodyhasdisappeared”]
Just then, I hear urgent voices from inside the mansion looking for me.
This wasn’t the time to be doing this.
I grabbed the luggage I had hidden earlier and opened the gate of Baron Ranart’s mansion. The gate where I had made an X mark with red paint.
“If you fail to tell at least 5 people about your news, it’ll be hard to just leave the village. In that case, without getting caught, come out right away through the door you marked with an X.”
The black cat that was on the wall jumped down and followed behind me.
But I didn’t have the mental capacity to worry about the cat.
Because the place I came out to after opening the gate was a completely different location.
A dark room.
People covered in bright red blood were huddled together in the room, chomping on something.
Surprisingly, inside the gate of Madam Ranat’s mansion was the interior of the village chief’s house.
It was all utterly incomprehensible.
“Remember, Melody. Opening the X-marked door is just the beginning. From there, all doors connect to different places.”
I swallowed dryly, recalling the student council president’s advice.
“We don’t know where the doors will open, but among them is a door that can lead to escape. I wish you luck.”
As I stopped momentarily in confusion, I felt soft fur against my calf.
Looking down, I saw it was the black cat from earlier.
It rubbed its body against me as if asking for attention. It must be a cat that likes people.
Even when I gestured for it to go away, the cat kept following me.
Thankfully, the cat that had been meowing constantly became quiet after the change of location. As if it knew it shouldn’t make noise here.
I decided to leave the following cat be and surveyed my surroundings.
The people in the village chief’s house were still busy eating something, not noticing us.
I could see another door in the distance.
The problem was that I had to pass by the people who were eating frantically.
If I die here, there’s no point in having turned back time by a year, is there?
‘Did I do the right thing?’
For a moment, I regretted making the contract with that man.
Of course, the regret was brief. I have to overcome this much for Raven’s sake.
‘Yes, let’s focus.’
I slowly started walking.
Splash, splash. I stepped in puddles of blood on the floor.
The villagers gathered in the living room were getting closer.
The time I spent in Chesswind village flashed through my mind.
Despite the difficult circumstances, I wanted to send my younger brother to school.
If I looked troubled, Raven would refuse to go to school.
So, I never showed any signs of struggle.
To me, Chesswind Village was simply salvation and light. Everyone was kind and friendly.
They even paid my wages properly without trying to cheat a young girl, didn’t they?
The village chief was as helpful to me as Madam Ranart.
I wonder how long they had been hiding their true nature. If they were never human, probably from the beginning?
Why didn’t I realize it until now?
“rehhctacotdeenewogehsdiderehwderaeppasidsahydolemrehhctacotdeenewogehsdiderehwderaeppasidsahydoleM”
[“Melodyhasdisappearedwheredidshegoweneedtocatchhermelodyhasdisappearedwheredidshegoweneedtocatchher”]
“ydolemhoerehwynaogrehteltonstelemitsihtrehhctacewfiyawynaepacsetnacehserehwynaogrehteltonstelemitsihtrehhctacewfiyawynaepacsetnacehS”
[“Shecantescapeanywayifwecatchherthistimeletsnotlethergoanywhereshecantescapeanywayifwecatchherthistimeletsnotlethergoanywhereohmelody”]
The people continued to mutter backward about my disappearance while chomping on something.
I turned around and slowly walked backward.
Despite it being close to noon, the room was excessively dark.
This was because the curtains were drawn over the windows.
Splash, splash.
Chomp, chomp.
The room was filled only with the sound of my footsteps stepping in blood puddles and the villagers eating something.
I slowly passed by the gathered people.
That’s when it happened.
Suddenly, the people who had been eating something lifted their heads and started conversing.
“Oh my, have you all heard? Melody has disappeared since this morning. Where could she have gone?”
“She couldn’t have left for another village, could she? Poor thing.”
“Our savings must be running out, right? Shouldn’t we let her go now?”
I had no choice but to stop in my tracks.
Our savings?
Could it be that the money I earned working in the village all this time…
🐈⬛
Thank you for reading! ♡
