episode_0034

The two sisters and their guide walked on the blood-stained floor.

The third floor, which I had finally arrived at, was a place that seemed to depict a scene of tragedy. When I closed my eyes and recalled the scene I had witnessed, I felt like the sound of people screaming would ring in my ears like constant tinnitus.

Bloodstains of dark red connect the corridors from end to end. Above all, the stench does not leave the tip of the nose. Asher has never encountered such a tragedy even in a low-class novel.

Stop.

Suddenly the butler’s footsteps stopped.

“Thank you for your hard work, both of you.”

The butler opened his mouth. His voice was strangely subdued. It gave off a somewhat tired, even insensitive impression.

Especially the unusually black eyes. The eyes of a color that had been oppressed since ancient times as a symbol of death and misfortune, did not seem to belong to the butler Ashe knew.

“I don’t know who will be the next person to climb the stairs. But I can tell you one thing for sure: Only one person will be qualified to climb the next floor.”

“What?”

“…”

Asher asked back, and Arsent remained silent.

The butler didn’t bother to add an answer. Instead, he snapped his fingers and suggested a task for the sisters to do. Then, a message that was originally only visible to the butler appeared before their eyes. Asher calmed her startled heart and looked at the task she had to perform.

=====

Long, long ago, there were foolish devils.

Greedy, indifferent, arrogant, and malicious.

Then one day, a divine punishment came down.

Numerous bright stars trampled and annihilated the demons.

After some time, a new demon entered the mansion.

Those who discern the devil are humans. And those who judge the devil are also humans.

Lastly, the one who selects humans is the one the young lady loves the most.

Punish the devil and face sin and truth.

-Reward: Old Key

-Special Reward: Star Fragment

=====

For a while, silence hung heavy over the surroundings.

Although there were many metaphorical expressions, there was no problem in inferring what the message was claiming.

‘Perhaps the devil refers to the people of this mansion. The circumstances are unknown, but it seems that the people of the mansion have become very corrupt.’

After clearing the task on the first floor, Asher recalled the confession that Hailey had recited.

[I’m sorry, I’m sorry… Belle. I couldn’t protect anything you loved.]

[The mansion is weird. I hate the mansion without you, it’s so cold. And, and…]

[Everyone hates Letia. I wanted to protect Letia too… but I couldn’t.]

[Now, there is only one person left who loves Letia, but that person’s expression is dark… so I don’t know.]

At the same time, Ash continued his deduction by drawing similarities between Mirelda and Hayley.

‘The ghost of the Holy Grail had a hole in her chest. And indeed, the lady had met her end with a knife in her chest while she was alive. So, Haley’s ear was cut off and her eyeball was gouged out…’

That would mean that Hayley’s end was terrible.

It seems that something was seriously wrong with this mansion, to the point where it gouged out the eyes of a charming hunting dog and cut off its ears. If that’s the case, then it makes sense to compare the people in the mansion to devils.

‘But who on earth is this lady? At first I thought she was Letia, who Hayley was talking about… but maybe not. Why did Mirelda worship the lady out of nowhere? Mirelda probably had no contact with Arkaden?’

There weren’t enough clues. Still, I could continue guessing, like patching up rags.

‘The expression that the demons were wiped out is probably a metaphor for the day Arkaden was erased from history. And the demons that entered the mansion after time passed are probably us…?’

Mirelda denounced the blood of the royal family as original sin. That is why she tried to kill Ashe, contrary to her true intentions that she was not aware of.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Ashe and Arsent, children of sin, are likened to devils.

There’s only one problem.

‘Only one of us is human.’

The content of the message was the same, but the butler himself delivered it by word of mouth. There was only one person who was qualified to ascend.

Above all, the last sentence of the message hinted at a cruel challenge.

‘To punish the devil…’

Kill them here. Not me, but someone else.

The blood-stained hallway pushed Asher to a conclusion as if it were urging him to do so.

Asher slowly turned her head and projected Arsent into her red eyes. Her sister, who had foolishly opened the door to the mansion and entered on her own two feet, was holding her hand under her chin.

It doesn’t matter who is a demon and who is human.

If Ashe were human, she would have to kill Arsent, who is a demon. On the other hand, if Ashe were a demon, she would have to kill Arsent to avoid dying.

A blatant competition for survival that requires no accidents.

This was the essence of the rules enforced by the mansion.

“… Haha, haha.”

At that moment, Arsent let out a giggle.

“Yeah… That’s what I’m saying?”

Arsent also projected Ashe into her red eyes. Their images mirrored each other in the red mirrors the sisters both possessed.

“… Sister.”

Asher spoke first. However, even though he was the first to speak, he soon fell silent.

What should I say? What kind of conversation and negotiation is possible here?

The task is this, so die. I came in first, so die. I want to live, so die.

It was something I couldn’t bring myself to say, and it was something I couldn’t force.

‘ah…’

Only then did Asher realize.

That I lack courage.

That I am not yet ready to harm any living being.

“Ugh…”

In the world of paintings, it was easy to kill assassins because they were aware that they were nothing more than illusions created by paintings. In addition, there was a situational background that if you did not harm them, you would die.

The circumstances and justification were enough to dilute Asher’s guilt.

But now it’s different.

‘Sister… even if she wakes up from the dead, she can’t hurt me.’

The gap in ability has become too wide.

Arsent was an ordinary person who happened to be born into the royal family, and he is nothing more than a freeloader in the mansion.

On the other hand, Asher gained experience by roaming around the mansion. He even acquired the physical ability to fight the Madame de Sacre.

The difference in available capacity is clear. If Asher were determined, he could climb to the 4th floor, the highest floor, in no time.

But…

‘Lord, you’re going to kill me? A real person… unilaterally…?’

Suddenly my hands started shaking.

Asher had never even slaughtered an animal himself. He simply enjoyed the delicacy of meat when it was served on the table. He had no idea about the weight of life.

Moreover, the opponent was Arsent.

Although he persecuted her, he did not attempt to assassinate her like his eldest brother. He was just a petty person who made a fuss about her when she was not around. That was all.

Looking back, I’m angry, but… I never once thought that it was a mortal sin. If I really hated him that much, I would have strangled him to death when we shared a room on the second floor.

“Hey, butler… I, I don’t do things like this…”

“…”

“Butler…”

The butler did not respond to Asher’s pitiful call. He kept his expressionless face and deliberately avoided her gaze. And when Asher tried to grab the butler’s sleeve as usual, he deliberately withdrew his hand.

“What the… Why are you suddenly doing this? I’m nervous…”

“I have nothing to say.”

He took a step forward, coldly, and distanced himself from Ashe. Arsent snorted, finding the sight so amusing.

“You’re weak. And you’re a royal?”

“Weak? Weak…? Are you saying such a peaceful thing right now?”

Asher asked in an agitated voice.

“If I wanted to, I could kill you right now. I could even cut off your head without you even knowing that you’re dead. I hate that, so I’m doing this… Weak? Is that something you should say?!”

“Oh, my. I have learned something I never thought I would. I am just now hearing that my brother’s brain is filled with compassion. I am so surprised that I can’t close my mouth.”

“… Have you lost your sense of humor, Unnie? Are you like this because you want to die?”

Before the anger, I was curious.

Have you lost your mind?

I couldn’t understand what he believed and why he was making such provocative remarks. I seriously wondered if he was just scratching me out of ignorance and with the intention of killing me.

‘Anyway… I’ll think about it later. For now, let’s just knock him out and think about whether there’s another way.’

When the policy was thus established, Ashe drew his sword from his leather pouch.

Sling.

A chilling metallic sound rang out. The sword felt unusually heavy today. Still, Asher forced himself to stop shaking and took a stance.

“It’ll hurt a little, Arsentina…!”

Pfft!

Ash leaped nimbly. She rolled her wrist, bringing the blade forward instead of the blade.

The intention was to simply stun him using the technique of a sword strike.

Either they couldn’t react, or they had no intention of reacting.

Arsent was just waiting there calmly.

Wedge!

The gap narrowed in an instant.

It was the moment when Asher’s sword was about to strike Arsent’s torso.

Thud!

[This is an indestructible object.]

Ashe’s sword bounced off, printing text into the air.

She looked at my sister in disbelief.

No, to be exact… I watched the intruder who had invaded the narrow space between my sisters.

“Butler…?”

There stood the absolute ally who had always been on Ashe’s side.