CH 12

When I went out, I saw Shanxi approaching with a water bottle. He walked quickly, tilting his head as if he found it strange that I’d come out of the office.

“You’re leaving already? Aren’t you going to see the High Priest?”

“I just met him. Thank you for guiding the way.”

“Oh, you’ve met…  Wouldn’t it be better to have lunch before you go?”

“Thanks for the suggestion, but I’m busy. I’ll be on my way, then.” I smiled sheepishly and quickly made my way out. I’d only stolen a key, but the wall felt so cramped.

The sound of footsteps echoing in the hallway was unusually loud. I got into the carriage waiting for me and headed straight to the mansion. My heart pounded as I wondered if Seniel had noticed.

I pressed my forehead with my fingers to eliminate tension and thoughts.

‘It’s not like there’s anything he can do about it.’

Suddenly, I wondered what he was doing. Why was it so hard to simply survive?

***

By the time I got to the mansion, it was close to 3 PM.

After fasting for a long time, there would be a moment when you would not feel hungry. And that was exactly how it was now. I could bear the slight hunger. Collecting evidence was my priority.

I put the video sphere I had hidden in my room in my pocket.

Just in case, I also brought the shocker device and self-defense gear. I know that Kid wouldn’t suddenly come to the mansion, but I couldn’t go without them.

I was about to move, but my nose tingled, and I felt like crying. I hadn’t moved to the first floor yet, but my eyes were already wet.

‘What if a body comes out of the secret room?’

I felt like purchasing a horror game in excitement, only to quit as soon as I saw the opening. But soon, I shook my head and steeled my heart. This may be my last chance to survive. I couldn’t throw away my chance without even trying.

I cautiously went down to the first floor. The employees didn’t pay much attention to me, so it was easy to get around.

There was no one passing through the hallway on the first floor, perhaps because they were told not to approach the first floor as much as possible.

The hallway was quite long, and I had to turn a corner, so no one should know I was there unless someone came close.

‘It wouldn’t be good for anyone to find out. Let’s move carefully.’

I took out the key I had in my pocket. The rose pattern key was inserted into the keyhole of the room’s far end. The door opened with a click.

I carefully opened the door and then closed it as quietly as possible.

‘It’s dark.’

The dark curtains made it difficult to see inside, even in the daytime. I took a deep breath.

My heart raced at the thought that there might be a murder weapon here. My fingertips tingled with tension. I was scared beyond comparison when I found the key.

It felt like Kid would suddenly open the door and walk in. I kept looking back in surprise.

After a while, I got used to the darkness and was able to recognize objects roughly.

The red carpet on the floor looked quite heavy, and a bookcase as high as the ceiling was placed on the left wall from the entrance. A dark curtain was on the right. In the center, a two-person sofa faced the tea table, and a large picture frame was hung on the wall behind it.

‘It’s more normal than I thought. It looks similar to the other room.’

There were many books and nothing special except the smell of stale dust, perhaps because I hadn’t gone to the secret space.

I stopped looking and approached the large picture frame on the wall in front of the entrance.

‘Oh, dear.’

I’d bluffed that it was nothing, but the hardwood floor creaking with every step I took made my heart pound. It had been left unattended for a long time, and the floor looked old.

As I approached the frame the size of my height, the picture on the frame became increasingly clear.

‘Oh, what is this?’

“… That looks bad.”

An angel in tears of blood was laughing with joy with arms wide open.

In the novel, it was only described that there was a frame in this room, but it didn’t describe the painting.

I frowned at the eerie and bizarre picture and pointed to the side of the portrait. I felt a hollow groove hidden behind the bookshelf. It slid gently when I grabbed it and pushed it sideways like a sliding door.

A small room without a window appeared. It was dark, and I could barely see ahead.

I pulled the video sphere out of my arm. It was expensive, so it was equipped with a light function. I could’ve turned it on from the moment I entered the room, but the light only lasted for five minutes, and I wouldn’t be able to record properly in less than five minutes. So I decided to save it first.

‘How the hell did Kid get in here?’

At first glance, there was no sign of a candle in the vicinity. I couldn’t see anything clearly. It seemed one had to have the eye of a tiger or a cat to see properly.

After a quick scan of the stuffy room, I hurriedly headed forward. I saw something like a thick iron gate.

I carefully opened the door with the key I’d found in Seniel’s office. There was a loud rattle sound, and the lock was released.

“Oh, dear…”

I stamped my feet. I’d only put my hand on the doorknob but hadn’t opened the door yet. I just stared at it like a cat with its fur raised.

What if dead bodies appear when I open it? The novel only explained roughly that there would be murder tools, so I didn’t have a clue how hideous the things inside would be.

‘I can’t do this.’

I repeatedly grabbed and released the doorknob while crying. Each time the cold iron touched my palm, my fingertips shrank.

Finally, I closed my eyes and pushed the door with a deep breath.

The heavy door rattled and creaked open at once, and I almost lost my balance for a moment. I’d used up quite a bit of my mental power just by opening the door, so I gasped and trembled.

Before I could properly grasp my surroundings, a moist and fishy smell pierced my nostrils one step ahead. My neck shrank instantly, and I was unable to move.

I barely dared to illuminate all directions with the light. I observed my surroundings with narrow eyes that could neither open nor close.

“What is this place…?”

At best, I thought it would have a similar structure to the previous room, but here the floor was made of a different material. The floor was made of polished stone, and the walls were plain white.

There were four long tables in front of me. It was similar to the desk you see in the science lab. There were glass shelves and drawers on the wall, and the glass shelves were full of medicine boxes and strange experimental tools.

‘It looks like a lab.’

A cage was installed out of the blue in the corner. It looked like it was to breed something.

‘This room looks like the room where Seniel was tested.’’

There was no mention of exactly where the experiment was conducted in the original. I was not sure if this was the place.

“Nggh…”

In the meantime, I found some glittering cutlery on the table. My legs weakened, and tears welled up.

I wanted to run away, but I couldn’t. I had to check it because my instinct sensed that the evidence I was looking for was there.

‘I can do this. I can do this.’

After murmuring like brainwashing, I finally dared to move. Hoo, haa… Hoo, haa… I breathed heavily with every step I took. Holding back the tears about burst, I bit my lip. As I got closer to the table, the identities of the cutlery became clearer.

‘I knew it!’

Weapons, strange documents, and clothes were neatly laid on the table as if a work of art was displayed.

It was the murder proof I was looking for.

‘I can’t do this… I can’t do this.”

Holding back my tears, I started recording with my hands on the video sphere. While recording, I unintentionally began to examine things in detail. A small white paper placed in front of the object caught my eye. On the paper, when, who, and what was done were written like the work’s title.

320th year of the imperial calendar, April 5th. Father, alcohol lamp.

‘… This is Kid’s first murder…’

I saw burnt clothes and cigarettes.

Shortly after he’d developed his second personality, Kid appeared, mutilated his father, and sprayed him with alcohol before burning him. Then, these burnt scraps of cloth were Seniel’s father’s clothes…

I got goosebumps and whined.

‘Wait a minute. April 5th?’

The date suddenly stood out. I remembered what day it was today. Yesterday was April 2nd, so today was April 3rd.

It meant that there were only two days left until the death of the previous marquis.

‘Will I just die…?’

It was like that in the original. Kid went berserk on his father’s anniversary. He’s already a madman, and the fact that he’d go madder… The road to hell unfolded itself before my eyes.

While recording carefully, I kept looking back and checked the entrance. I felt like it wouldn’t be strange at all if Kid suddenly popped out.

I kept moving to the side, praying to my mother to save me. The more I went to the side I went, the more documents I got. The handwriting was bad, but it was recognizable enough.

Marilyn Steuber, a lover. Every Friday, she visits the Abinen Salon and enjoys having an affair with the salon’s owner, Emile Abinen, under the guise of a literary discussion. She always goes out through the back alley of the salon at 10 PM…

After the article, the documents were plans for the perfect crime. Kid was apparently a meticulously planned killer. I’d thought he just chopped down anyone he didn’t like.

I walked slightly faster for fear that the recording sphere would go out. Sweat was dripping from my hands.

The last piece of evidence was in sight. And next to the last piece of evidence, only paper occupied the spot.

326, July, Sharon, a party wine on board.

Today was the 326th year of the imperial calendar, April 3rd. Seeing that ‘July’ was written on the paper and the spot for evidence was left empty, it seemed that the murder was being prepared at the moment. I was suffocated by the work being filled in real time.

I should be glad I wouldn’t be here in July. It may have nothing to do with me, but my attention kept being drawn to it. Ugh, I shuddered and turned my back.

‘That’s enough. I should go back.’

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Pause

Unmute

It was not enough evidence to overflow. I’d stopped the recording, and only the light function remained. I couldn’t move even a single step because I was afraid to just walk in the dark.

I felt like something was staring at me from behind. I finally walked, patting my back with one hand. After I finally checked that I did not leave any traces in the room, I headed towards the entrance.

‘… What else is this?’

Around the entrance were many papers on the wall that I hadn’t seen when entering. They were difficult to ignore because they seemed to be the main clues Kid had attached. But I didn’t want to stay any longer, so I read the first part quickly instead of reading it all.

“… What’s this?”

My stomach churned. This was insane. Not a sound came out of me. Coming here had used up much of my mental strength, but reading this summary nauseated me.

It was clear who the test subject was talking about here. There were also strange illustrations next to the type. They were all hideous and hard to see sober.

I read it halfway through and stopped because I couldn’t read it. I looked down involuntarily and saw a small table. And on top of that… Parts of the body were seen in the glass bottles. As if to show traces of time, the models grew larger and larger as they went to the right. I knew whose it was.

Insane.

I ran out of the room. This was an insane place.

***

Although I hurriedly left, I did not forget to carefully erase my traces.

“Ugh.”

As soon as I got to my room, I vomited in the bathroom. From the experiment report about Kid’s crime to the body fragments in the bottles, everything was insane.

‘It wasn’t that detailed in the original.’

The things I’d seen earlier were randomly interwoven and aired continuously in my head. I was scared to death, but my brain wasn’t on my side. I leaned on the bathroom floor and took a deep breath.

‘Compared to the body sculptures and experiments, Kid’s exhibits feel like angels.’

Maybe Kid was actually kind? Suddenly he looked pitiful.

As I re-evaluated Kid, I finally came to my senses and shook my head.

‘By comparison, Kid is better, pitiful, but he’s the killer who threatens me right now. Get hold of yourself.’

I had no time to defend and sympathize with anyone. My legs were weak from sneaking in and out, but I couldn’t just sit down like this because I hadn’t finished what I had to do.

First, I had to put the rose key in place.

‘… Mom and Dad in the sky. Please, help me.’

I prided myself on being strong mentally, but today was an exception. I wiped my tears and got up.