Chapter: 19
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 6
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room – Mansion of Fear)
Sage’s Advice: 3]
“Unnniiiii! Ugh, uh…”
“Noona! Are you alright? Can you see me?!”
The whole mansion echoed with crying sounds, moans, and screams, numbing my ears and driving me to madness. Songee was crying again, as if there were holes for eyes to weep from, but others didn’t look particularly better either.
What on earth happened?
About two hours ago? Back when noona strolled into the study alone, we never imagined it would come to this. Apart from the mansion’s ominous vibes, when noona walked in, everyone peered in from the back with curious glances…
The study was neat and surprisingly felt stable, like a cozy place. So we promised to chat about what she discovered once she emerged from the study.
It was nearly midnight, yet noona showed no signs of leaving her secret hideout. We were anxious for Elena’s sake and kept calling her name from outside.
“I’m busy!”
“It’ll take a while!”
“Just sleep first. Let’s talk tomorrow.”
The replies we got were frantic rejections, telling us they were too busy to deal with interruptions.
Eventually, we threw in the towel, deciding to talk tomorrow since it was getting late. Besides, both Jincheol-hyung and I were worn out after our stormy excursion to the cathedral. So, tired adults and a young Seungyub retreated to our rooms while only Songee remained behind to wait for noona. Then, about an hour later…
A gut-wrenching shriek pierced through the mansion.
No one had drifted off into deep slumber, so we all jumped out of our rooms in a panic. Songee was wailing and supporting Eunsol-noona, who looked worse for wear, while Jincheol-hyung was busy shaking her like he wanted her to faint faster.
A sharp skewer. Or maybe a spike.
That horrendous thing pierced through her neck, blood gushing out like a fountain as the mansion reverberated with screams that wouldn’t die down.
Before I knew it, Ahri rushed in, flustered and confused, and the butler wrapped a bandage around her neck, but…
Everyone instinctively sensed that was useless.
Who could survive a hole the size of a finger in their neck? Somehow, she was still breathing; the artery seemed to have narrowly escaped full decapitation. But it was clear that her survival was ticking down like a time bomb.
At that moment, noona raised her arm and pointed at me.
How hard must it have been for her to make such a clear gesture with a hole in her throat? My heart raced as I hurried over to her, feeling a lump choking me.
She was in no condition to speak and couldn’t even turn her head to meet my gaze.
All she could do was hold my hand tightly.
Was that her last ounce of strength? In less than three minutes, her body went limp.
The mansion was flooded with tears.
It wasn’t over yet. How many nightmares and tragedies did this mansion—and this hotel—hide away?
Leaving everyone behind, I trudged back to my room.
My heart felt like it was frozen solid.
I wanted to cry like Songee. I wanted to explode like Jincheol-hyung. I wanted to tremble and hide like Seungyub.
But I couldn’t.
It was crystal clear that the others were losing their sanity. If I joined in the crying, yelling, and hiding…
Then who was left to survive until the bitter end, and who could turn this tragedy into a happy ending?
That’s probably why noona held my hand at the last moment.
Sitting on the bed, I opened my hand.
Inside was a small note. There weren’t many words.
Creek
[c cathedral, maid, bell]
Was the extra ‘c’ a slip-up in her spelling of ‘cathedral’?
Creek
In any case, I understood at least two words. We’d been to the cathedral, and there was only one maid in this mansion. But what did this ‘bell’ signify?
Creak
If she intended to leave a dying message, I wished she’d been a bit more specific. However, judging by her hastily scribbled handwriting, it seemed she might’ve been in a frantic hurry when writing it.
First thing’s first—I needed to crack what this ‘bell’ meant.
And to prepare for the hectic schedule starting tomorrow…
I had to get some shut-eye.
Elena had died in the morning. Eunsol-noona had perished at night.
The mirror was engaged in a staring contest with my soul; the clock was covered in blood more than ten times; dolls tilted their heads anytime someone walked by and cups wandered about like possessed servants. This was a bonkers mansion!
Thud-thud-thud! Screech!
But regardless—
I had to survive until the end, to escape this mansion alive with everyone else, to preserve enough energy for whatever searching and surviving lay ahead tomorrow…
I had to sleep.
Kikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikiki
So please, just shut the hell up, you son of a bitch!!!
I stabbed beneath the bed with the silver dagger from my pocket. Although I didn’t hit anything tangible, I distinctly heard something slither away.
What was lurking under my bed or where it scurried off to didn’t pique my curiosity in the slightest.
*
“Speak properly! Do you think I’m a fool? You think I haven’t noticed your odd vibes since yesterday when you started grinning like a creep!!!”
“Ugh… Hyung, please stop. Ahri doesn’t know anything.”
I woke up to the booming voice resonating through the mansion.
What’s going on now? This place never seems to have a quiet moment.
I darted into the living room, hastily skipping the morning scrub, only to find Jincheol-hyung, his face flushed red, bellowing at Ahri. The comedic twist? Ahri looked surprisingly calm while Seungyub bawled his eyes out beside her.
Is Seungyub seriously going through a solo production of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ or something?
Setting aside Seungyub’s romantic escapades, it was clear we needed to defuse this chaos pronto.
“Hyung, calm down. What is this fuss about?”
Internally, I was slightly concerned that the enraged Jincheol-hyung might lash out at me like a raging boar. Honestly, that would freak me out…
Fortunately, Jincheol-hyung had enough sense to recognize his allies.
“You came at the right time. I’m not yelling at this kid without reason. Do you think I want to scream at a kid? I planned to confront that old man, but he just vanished!”
“Grandpa didn’t vanish! I told you, you can’t see him in the morning because he’s busy cleaning the mansion and the garden.”
“What? Cleaning the garden in this storm? What kind of—”
Don’t you think I’m looking down on you because you’re an idiot? Bet you won’t get out in ten years!
?
What?
In that moment, Ahri seemed like a completely different person. Of course, she might’ve been mad because she got yelled at for something unrelated, but did she always have such a sharp tongue?
Her tone and voice were entirely different from the norm.
Even Jincheol-hyung himself was too dumbfounded by her words to counter with anger.
Thud
“I’m sorry. With this storm raging, I was just worried about finding a way out… I seemed to have caused everyone concern by being around.”
Just as the butler returned at the most unexpected moment, the atmosphere turned awkwardly tense.
Even Jincheol-hyung, who had raged like a wild animal moments ago was caught yelling at the grandfather’s granddaughter and couldn’t hide his embarrassment.
“And Ahri, you should apologize to the guests right away. I also apologize. She’s still young. It seems she couldn’t hold back her emotions. Please forgive her.”
Could anyone in the world, who had just yelled at a granddaughter in front of her grandfather, declare they couldn’t forgive her simply because the child couldn’t control her feelings? Jincheol-hyung wasn’t that thick-skinned, at least.
“No… I wasn’t even trying to get mad at her. Just, um… things are…”
A feeling of dragging silence crept in. Didn’t this feel utterly unproductive? So I just had to cut in.
“It seems the situation has been stressing everyone out since yesterday. So let’s leave it at that. By the way, Mr. Butler, did you find a way out? I think you mentioned fixing the boat yesterday.”
“Sadly, I have yet to find any alternate routes. Therefore, we must proceed with the repairs on the boat, as discussed. Would you lend me a hand? I’ve prepared the necessary tools.”
“Well, then, I’ll just go change my clothes—”
“You should stay here, hyung.”
Jincheol-hyung gave me a bewildered look as I subtly pointed at Seungyub with my chin, silently asking if we’d leave him alone in such a dangerous mansion. Thankfully, he caught on and nodded in agreement.
Of course, leaving Seungyub alone was nerve-wracking, but…
More importantly, I didn’t think this hyung would keep his emotions in check while accompanying the butler.
Plus, I also had some questions I wanted to discuss with the butler—just the two of us.
“Having such terrible incidents happening back-to-back is highly concerning. Kain-ssi, being able to maintain calmness in this situation shows your impressive mental discipline.”
“Well, it’s not like I’m cultivating some impressive discipline. I’m just preoccupied with thoughts on how to survive. That’s how I keep my stray thoughts at bay.”
“That is precisely what we call mental discipline. Nothing else.”
Was he throwing shade at Jincheol-hyung for being unable to control his emotions? I couldn’t care less about the butler and hyung’s face-off. I had my own question to get to.
“Mr. Butler, is there something related to a bell in this mansion?”
“A bell? Hmm, I wonder where you heard that.”
Should I come clean? No, spinning a tale might be wiser.
“Ah, I thought I might have heard a bell in my sleep. Given that there have been ghostly things roaming around the mansion since yesterday…”
“A bell sound… I didn’t hear anything, but the mansion has indeed faced some bell-related issues.”
“Could you elaborate?”
“The cathedral you visited yesterday indeed had a rather significant bell. The sound that rang every morning and evening was once renowned in our region. Yet, suddenly, the Master grew incredibly averse to that sound. Whenever the bell chimed in the morning or evening, he’d clutch his head in pain.”
“Hmm. Could that be the reason why the mansion and the cathedral started to have a rift?”
“Exactly. The Master wanted to buy the cathedral just to chase the bells out, but I was ignorant and know nothing of the lawsuit. Things didn’t go as the Master anticipated back then. Still, eventually, the cathedral became half-abandoned, and now there’s nobody left to ring the bell, so you could say the Master has gotten what he wished for.”
“So, does that mean the bell is still inside the cathedral?”
“Of course. The bell belongs to the cathedral, and the Master didn’t touch it since it no longer has anyone to ring it. If you go up the ladder to the top of the cathedral, there’s a small bell tower, and I believe the bell is still there.”
I learned two things.
The Master absolutely loathed the sound of the bell. The bell was still located at the top of the cathedral.
As I desperately pieced together these newly discovered facts with what I already knew, I somehow found myself arriving at the cathedral.
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