I hoped that no one else remained in this house.
Fortunately or unfortunately, it seemed that besides Mary and me, no one else was left in the mansion. Liam Moore seemed to have taken Christine and escaped. He was always quick to sense danger.
As I ran through the burning hallway, I began to understand Mary’s decision. A maid who had killed her master, or whose master had been killed, would be employed by no one. She would not be needed anywhere. To those who believed that knocking over a salt shaker brought bad luck, a maid from a ruined household was akin to an ill-omened crow.
Whether by her own choice or not, living or dying must have seemed equally impossible for Mary. She had surely given up.
I thought about Mary as I descended the stairs. I felt a slight sense of guilt for having burdened that young maid with the murder of James Stranden. If I had had more time, if I had known more about the tragedy surrounding this mansion, neither Christine nor Mary would have had to go through this. If anyone was to blame, it was me for being late.
But could I give up on Mary just because of that? If Mary gave up on herself, there would be no one in this world to care for her. I can only protect myself. Mary must do the same. So, she must not give up on herself. If she did, I would drag her back to life by force if necessary.
Yes, I know. It’s madness to run back into a burning mansion after barely escaping the flames chasing me.
The quest was a failure. The NPCs had acted unpredictably, and it seemed there was no set quest flow in this game. Finding out who killed Christine Besson’s brother (likely someone close to James Stranden) or uncovering the truth behind the incident was doomed from the start. In fact, I had half-forgotten that it was something I was supposed to do. The system didn’t enforce it. This world was driven by interactions and my actions were shaping the story.
The murderer was dead. The maid wanted to burn with the mansion. But I couldn’t accept that.
Retracing my steps, I felt the heat burning my skin. Even so, I headed back to the point where the fire was fiercest. Crazy? I knew that!
“Crazy, really crazy!”
My throat hurt from inhaling the hot air. I might have been burned. This could take a long time to heal. I was doing something stupid. I coughed involuntarily from the acrid smoke filling the area but there was no time to hesitate.
Back at the door, I lifted my skirt and pulled out the revolver strapped to my thigh.
Please, let this gun not explode in my hand. Let it hold up until I fire six rounds into that locked door!
I saw the firmly locked door and without hesitation, aimed at the hinges and fired. The wood, weakened by the fire, easily gave way and the door fell back with a thud, revealing a startled Mary behind it. She had been sitting in a chair, seemingly ready to accept the flames calmly.
But not in front of me. Not anyone I knew. Saving everyone in front of me might be foolish, but I would do it.
Taking a deep breath, I called out to her.
“Mary!!!”
Mary, who had half-risen from her seat, shouted back.
“Are you crazy? Why did you come back here?!”
She wasn’t someone who would be easily scared. I shouted back just as loudly.
“Why are you just sitting here? Are you an idiot?”
“What, what did you say? Idiot?”
Yes, an idiot. Only an idiot wouldn’t be afraid of dying. Every human is born with a fear of death. That’s why science and medicine advance.
Not afraid? Even God, the Devil, and Liam Moore out there fear death.
I strode over and grabbed Mary’s hand. I looked around the room. We couldn’t leave through the door I had just entered. The whole mansion was on fire now; going out that way would mean we’d burn to death. It was too late.
Luckily, there was an open window. Thank you, God. There’s no absolute law that we must die here.
I tore a petticoat to cover Mary’s nose and mouth, then headed for the window. Mary looked at me in terror.
“This is the third floor!”
“I know, Mary.”
“We’re definitely going to break something!”
“Ah, better than roasting to death.”
I seemed to have picked up some of Liam Moore’s recklessness. Muttering to herself, Mary kept talking about the height and the risk of falling.
In the chaos, I tore down the remaining curtains and wrapped them around Mary. Then, I draped the rest over my shoulders.
Holding Mary tightly in my arms, I placed my foot on the window sill and saw the garden below. It was quite high. It wouldn’t just be an arm or a leg that got broken. I hoped we wouldn’t die; I couldn’t imagine doing this again.
I leaned slightly and made eye contact with Liam Moore, who was looking up at me, pale. His lips moved silently. I couldn’t hear him. Sorry. But I could guess he was calling my name.
Right. You think I’m crazy?
I couldn’t help but laugh. What to do. Facing death, I strangely felt like laughing. Maybe I was sure I wouldn’t die.
Would this heavy, soft fabric cushion the impact of the fall? Landing on the grass might help a bit? I didn’t know. But.
“…Jump, guest.”
I heard a voice.
The fierce heat that had been engulfing us momentarily subsided. A gentle, kind voice was asking me to jump. It seemed only I could hear it because Mary, still trembling in my arms, didn’t react.
Behind me, Amelia Jokins laughed cheerfully.
“Jump.”
And I threw myself out of the window.
I heard Liam shout.
＊ ＊ ＊
A ringing sound filled my ears. Darkness. I couldn’t see anything.
Where am I?
“…Liam?”
Liam. Liam. Liam. I could hear my voice echoing far away.
This place seemed endless. I couldn’t easily move my feet, and I held my breath in tension. I turned my head here and there. I seemed to be standing on two feet. When I cautiously lifted and lowered my foot, I heard a splashing sound. Ah. Was it water?
No one was there.
Just a moment ago, I had been at the Stranden mansion on the outskirts of London, but now I seemed to be somewhere else. What happened? This wasn’t a scene I had ever seen before, even in the moments when I had repeated save and load countless times.
I suddenly thought I was close to ‘logging out.’ It felt like that. I was detached from the world, and this place was somewhere between reality and virtual. It strongly felt like if I left here, I could return home.
But without knowing the way out or the path, it was just an unending hope.
After rubbing my eyes a few times, I finally began to see silhouettes in the faint light. After a long time, I could see in front of me. It was so pitch dark that I had thought I was blind.
Thank goodness. I felt relieved and took a step forward. I walked through the water that endlessly pooled, into the darkness, the deep darkness.
“……What is this all about?”
There was no UI, no inventory, no save files visible. Was this the effect of the shock from dying? I didn’t know. If Liam were here, he would have given me effective advice.
I walked endlessly, sometimes stopping, sometimes lying down. The shallow water created gentle ripples that spread out. I heard whispers.
「…….」
Murmuring.
Many voices whispered. No, dozens. No, hundreds, thousands… even more… so many! They whispered, speaking in my mind, watching me from the darkness. They whispered. My head throbbed. Blood dripped from my nose. Murmuring.
「…Once….」
Murmuring.
“Speak clearly, don’t mumble!”
It was when I shouted, unable to stand it any longer. Something heavy pressed down on me. I knelt, trying to resist the overwhelming pressure, but I couldn’t stand up. My resistance was futile as my head was submerged in the water.
Through my nose and mouth, liquid forced its way in. It was suffocating, tasting salty and metallic, with a slight viscosity. It tasted like iron. Bad thoughts crossed my mind.
“Stop, stop! Are you feeding me this because I shouted? Let’s talk like civilized people—”
Wait. Am I even a civilized person? As soon as I thought that, my barely lifted head was pushed back down. Damn, damn.
The voice became clear once but seeing me struggling, unable to come to my senses, back to being submerged in the ‘liquid,’ it returned to whispering.
Only then did the pressure disappear. Breathing returned, and I coughed up the liquid I had swallowed. It was black.
“Damn, this is blood.”
「……But, ……this is….」
I couldn’t understand.
「…Go.」
Go away, huh? When I asked that back, I heard laughter. At the same time, light pierced my eyes.
The ringing sound filled my ears again.