episode_0038

‘It was a bad relationship until the end.’

The butler looked at the ghosts that had fallen in the day. They were the words of those who had once dominated the era and were called the stars of the empire.

The soul was bound to the mansion, transformed into a demon, and loyal to the royal blood just like 500 years ago. Yes, it was called by the hand gestures of Arsent, who resembled the royal family of that time.

Asher’s legs were freed just by receiving one of their swords.

It is the natural result of the outcome.

Although they lost their intelligence, were transformed into hideous corpses, and had their abilities deteriorated due to the curse of the mansion, their true identities were the Holy Works that led the great empire to its heyday.

The ending where they were destroyed again by the butler can only be described as a continuation of a bad fate.

‘I’m sorry, Arsent.’

The butler looked at Arsent’s lower body, where half of his body had evaporated. If she had not been intoxicated by the power she had been lucky enough to gain, and had aimed for mutual prosperity even once, the results might have been different.

If he had such a personality, the butler would have been greatly shaken. However, in the end, Arsent was unable to overcome the limitations of the royal family that reigned 500 years ago.

As the butler was feeling lost, a message appeared before his eyes.

[The mansion collapses.]

[Recovery operation begins.]

.

.

.

[The mansion’s reconstruction is complete.]

[Gives a time limit to visitors to the mansion.]

[At midnight on the next full moon, all living things inside the mansion will die.]

The mansion announces an extreme time limit.

The butler seemed to have a vague idea of the reason.

As the memories of the past become clearer, I begin to accept my fate. The decisive event was the return of part of my life body in exchange for Asher’s use of the spellbook.

He finally recalled most of his memories.

Memories of an immature and sad past.

The karma of those who have lived their lives the wrong way.

A mass of time that I would like to turn back somehow.

I ended up remembering it all.

“…”

Exactly!

The butler snapped his fingers, and a reward descended from thin air.

[Item: Old Key]

[A key that can open any door only once.]

He put the old key in the pocket of the unconscious Asher’s clothes. In addition, he absorbed the star fragment specified as a special reward into Asher’s skin.

The work that needed to be done was finished.

The butler carried Asher in his arms and headed to the bedroom of Duke Herais Arkaden. The side that had burst while absorbing the star fragments had somewhat closed up, but it wasn’t dramatic enough to completely heal her.

So the butler took out the wine that had been stored in the Duke’s personal refrigerator.

[Item: Hereis’ Wine]

[It frees the drinker from physical pain and rapidly heals wounds.]

The butler felt the cold drink and sneered.

‘How foolish… Duke Arkaden.’

…and me too.

The butler stood in the same spot, dumbfounded, until Asher regained consciousness.

◇

I had a dream.

When the Emperor was wide awake, memories of a relatively peaceful time came back vividly.

I was under the illusion that the unchanging daily routine would continue forever.

She envisioned a future where she would marry a reasonably good groom and grow old quietly while enjoying decent luxury.

The brothers just became like antagonists, and Arsent tried to live with a soft attitude that if he apologized sincerely, they might accept it…

Swish, squeak.

But then a crack appeared in the world I was living in in my dreams. My whole body ached, and a strong sense of anxiety swept over me like a storm.

Asher recognized the worn-out reality in the middle of the collapsing dream world. It only took a moment for her to regain consciousness.

“Ugh…!”

Her whole body creaked like a doll made of scrap metal. Every part of her limbs ached as if they were pierced with razor blades. Even a quick glance showed her many wounds.

“Ugh…”

I groan in excruciating pain. I haven’t come to my senses.

People who come back from the brink of death often experience extreme confusion. This is exactly what happened to Ashe.

My memories before and after losing consciousness were incomplete, and I was overly swayed by my emotions.

In the butler’s hometown, this symptom is commonly defined as ICU syndrome.

Ashe looked around for a moment. The butler was caught in her sight.

“Did you sleep well? Ash.”

“… Ha!”

He shamelessly asks how I am doing. He abandoned me like an old pair of shoes and stuck with Arsent, and yet he’s here so nonchalantly…

Here…

By the way, what happened to Arsent?

… He’s dead. Yes, he’s definitely dead. I don’t know why, but he’s dead. So that’s why he came looking for me without any shame, this guy.

In fact, this man’s help to me wasn’t out of favor, but out of obligation. After all, he had imprisoned an innocent man and unilaterally forced him to reveal the secrets of the mansion.

If you had even a modicum of conscience, it would have been natural to assist.

this…

Something like this…

In that horrible space where they scrape away the old dirt from the bottom of what was once a family… If you were in your right mind, you should help.

But how was it?

He betrayed me like turning over his hand. He pledged his loyalty to Arsent, who had gained mysterious powers.

I’m tired.

I don’t want to wait, and I’m tired of seeing the dark side of people.

So, Asher threw a tantrum like a child throwing a tantrum and appealed.

“Please…”

She, who had been silencing the sound boiling deep in her stomach, suddenly shouted.

“Please get me out of this fucking mansion!!!”

She was covered in wounds.

Pus was pooling in her torn lip, blood was gushing from her knees and scabs were peeling off. Her dress was torn to reveal her thighs, as if she had thrown away her ladyship.

She was born on the earth as a human being and she shed tears in front of a mere butler.

But the butler stubbornly says,

“… It’s out of my control. Ah, huh.”

“Don’t lie!”

She vents her anger. She lets out her frustration in a loud scream. But before her momentum can die down, a look of cowardice appears on Asher’s face.

“No, no. I was wrong. So don’t lie… I’ll do anything, okay? ”

“Anything.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anything…!”

Asher nodded vigorously. He was looking forward to it, even though he knew deep down that it was a promise that could not be kept.

Then the butler poured wine into a clean wine glass and handed it to Ashe.

Healing the wounds was the priority. And the emotions had to calm down. The conversation took priority after that.

“Drink.”

“Please…”

“Shouldn’t the injury be treated?”

Asher stared at the butler with eyes dripping with betrayal.

As he observes him, Asher learns to give up. This man will always be blunt and reserved.

“Ugh…”

He accepts the wine and gulps it down. He doesn’t know what it is, but he subconsciously believes that it won’t be harmful. He barely manages to suppress the laughter that is about to burst out in laughter at the ridiculous trust.

Strangely enough, the wounds healed quickly. New flesh grew over the cut knees, the split lips, and the excruciating wounds all over his body.

“Now is the time.”

“… What?”

“We have to reveal the secret of the mansion.”

What needed to be said had to be said, and what needed to be kept silent had to be kept silent. At least the intention was to give hints as much as possible.

But Asher hesitated and took a step back. His eyes, wide open and trembling violently, the whites of his eyes standing out.

Then Asher shouted, his face distorted with anger.

“I am the princess of the empire! The only daughter of the late majesty! Do you think I will leave you alone? Soon, you and this mansion will be burned alive!”

“…”

The butler nodded silently.

I sympathize with her anger. Especially when her judgment is still not perfect, her resentment must be extreme.

It was also my honest duty to take all the hate.

First, we had to calm them down and sit them down for a conversation.

The butler’s plan was outlined like that, but Ashe, who was devoted to evil, immediately caused an emergency situation.

“… Oh, right. I’ll do whatever you want. Okay. Can’t you just get out of this mansion, dead or alive? ”

Blame, blame, blame, blame, bang!

Suddenly, Asher, wearing a torn dress and barefoot, strode violently across the cold marble floor. Her senses were so exhausted that she slammed the door hard in anger.

“Ashe…?!”

The butler sensed something ominous and followed Ashe right away. And the moment he opened the closed door, he regretted having moved Ashe to Hereis Arkaden’s room.

The stairs leading to the fourth floor were right in front of us.

Thanks to that, Asher was already more than halfway up the stairs to the fourth floor.

“Wait, Ash!”

Boom, boom, boom!

The butler hurried up the stairs. But the more the butler became anxious, the more Ashe, ironically, quickened his pace.

As a result, the butler was only able to catch up with Ash after he reached the fourth floor.

… this was the best the ghost could do, barely able to obtain a form.

“Please wait, Asher. You are just waking up from a serious injury and your judgment is not perfect.”

Perhaps the disappearance of Hailey’s urn also played a part.

It is said that a strong mind resides in a strong body, but the current Ashe is just a girl who is stronger than others due to her royal family traits.

It would have been difficult for her to easily get out of this panic.

“Please, Asher. Calm down and listen to me.”

“Calm down? Calm down? No, I’m in my right mind.”

Asher stubbornly turned his back and walked forward bravely.

It was an act of life-disregard. In reality, Asher was acting as if he was throwing away his own life. It was close to the extreme tantrum of someone whose mind was pushed to its limit.

One step, two steps, four steps, Asher moves forward with a refreshing and brave spirit.

Asher, who was walking down the hallway as if he was asking me to come out and see something, looked very manly.

It wasn’t long before Ashe, who had been mentally unstable for a while, began to feel uneasy.

… At some point, the butler’s dissuasion is no longer heard.

Have you given up?

No, no. I am not a person who gives up so easily. Someone who is cunning enough to cling to Arsent would not let me go so easily.

“No way…”

Whoosh!

Look back quickly.

Immediately afterwards, I feel dizzy at the empty space that fills the hallway.

The ever-rising sense of discomfort calmed the agitated emotions and revived the fear.

Thud, thud.

Go back on the path you have taken.

I reached the location where I had heard the butler’s worried dissuasion, feeling the bare marble skin.

“Uh, where are you…?”

No matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t find the butler. Could it be that he went down the stairs alone?

At that moment, I was about to go down the floor, assuming a number of convenient cases.

Bam.

Something caught Asher’s foot.

It was a diary.

Asher picked up the pitch-black diary as if possessed.

“This is…”

She read the title of the diary unconsciously.

[Arkaden Butler’s Diary]

The bad feeling that had been lingering in my fingertips brought about belated regret.