The creaking of the door echoed through the silence as I stepped into the room, the light spilling into my eyes, blinding for a moment as I adjusted.
The bright lights were immediately overpowered by a heavy, suffocating stench.
One that clung to the air...
Immediately, my nose srunched up upon smelling the air.
’What is this smell?’
The smell was sickening, and it made me want to leave.
But those thoughts quickly faded as I looked ahead and saw all the faces turned in my direction.
Every single person was staring at me.
My legs nearly locked on the spot upon seeing the sight.
I clung to the teddy bear in my arms with even more force.
’Five meters... five meters...’
I measured the distance between me and the table. It was a little over five meters.
I swallowed nervously as I kept my head down, taking a steady step forward while holding onto the teddy bear.
My only goal was to get close enough for the bear to have an effect.
This was the plan, however...
Each step that I took felt defeating as the hair on my entire body rose on end.
The stares from everyone within the room.
Not a single person was looking away, and I unconsciously clenched the bear with even more force.
’Just keep walking. Don’t mind the stares. So long as I get near enough...’
The sound of my steps grew more pronounced the longer I kept walking.
It felt like hours, but I had barely taken a handful of steps. Time seemed to stretch, the room closing in with every breath I took.
The atmosphere felt incredibly tense, and each breath felt suffocating.
Right before me, I caught a glimpse of the cloth that covered the white table.
Slowly, I raised my head.
Four blank faces stared in my direction. Their empty faces peered right into me as I held onto the teddy bear and stared at them.
’Please work. Please work...’
Biting my lips, I eventually forced a smile.
"Was everything to your liking?"
My words were met with silence as the four faces continued to stare at me.
A slow, suffocating dread began to seep into my bones, digging into my flesh and body as I tried my best to remain composed.
"Yes, it wasn’t bad. What do the kids think?"
An immediate sense of relief washed over me the moment I heard their voices, and my grip on the teddy loosened slightly.
"I see. That’s good to hear."
I continued to smile while staring at the current plates on the table, most likely their second entree, covered by metal lids.
"Should I open up the plates for you?"
"Yes, just give me a couple of seconds."
The family head grabbed a napkin and dabbed it onto his face. Almost as if he were trying to clean his mouth. But it was just that... he had no face.
The entire scene felt weird.
In some way, it almost felt comical.
Swallowing, I gradually turned to look at the servants standing not far from where we were. Standing with their backs straight, they stared in my direction, their figures not moving an inch from where they were.
’Good. This seems to be working.’
I felt a lot better knowing that the bear was working. But of course, I didn’t relax.
I remained vigilant and turned my attention towards the plates as the family head finally extended his hand.
I smiled before reaching for the metal lids.
The moment I opened the lid, the pungent smell from before became even more pronounced as my entire nose scrunched up, forcing me to breathe from my nose.
On the other hand, the four family members looked utterly delighted by the smell as they commented things like, ’Smells great,’ ’That’s wonderful...’
However, that feeling only became more pronounced the moment I took a look at the source of the smell, and my stomach rumbled intensely, my cheeks inflating as I truly felt something rise up from deep within my stomach.
I had to cover my mouth in order to prevent myself from puking.
Clenching my teeth, I pulled my eyes away from the plates as I tried my best to forget what I had witnessed.
And yet, regardless of how hard I tried, I couldn’t forget.
I couldn’t... forget the skinned face of the family head, resting on the plate as though it were some sort of gourmet dish.
The reason I could recognize the face was because it was exactly the same as the painting beneath.
’...What sort of sick situation is this?’
I wanted to do nothing more than run away from this place. However, knowing that I really had no other choice, I could only force myself to open up the three other plates as I struggled to keep myself from puking.
It was only when I opened up all the plates that I bowed and tried my best to excuse myself.
"I hope that you enjoy your meal."
"Ah, yes... You may go, thank you."
Making sure that I had the direct approval of the family head, I grabbed the teddy bear and began walking towards the door where I could hear the crying coming from.
The closer I came to the door, the louder and more pronounced the crying became.
For some reason, my chest ached upon hearing the words coming from the little girl.
The situation was quite clear to me.
She was being mistreated.
While it had already been quite obvious by what I had previously seen, I didn’t know it was to the extent of starving her as well.
I could only force my feelings down and move closer to the door.
The crying grew louder the closer I got, and just as I reached for the door, a certain voice echoed in the air.
It was the family head.
I slowly turned my head in his direction.
Then... my entire body came to a sudden stop as I saw everyone staring at me.
I swallowed nervously.
The family head lightly said, placing his utensils down.
"You can first help me by telling me why you’re going in that direction? The kitchen is on the opposite side. Eh... hm? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before. In fact, who are you?"
The atmosphere suddenly changed at the question as I felt the temperature around me significantly drop.
In that moment, I knew that the effects of the bear had run off, and my entire body tensed.
But quickly, I moved as I saw the servants rush in my direction.
Without a second’s hesitation, I spun around, flinging the door open with a violent yank. I entered through the opening, and I slammed it shut behind me, the sound of the door’s final thud echoing out loud.
Hastily looking around, I pressed the lock button on the door before pulling away.
A faint click reached my ears, followed by the soft tremor of the door.
Came the thundering thud of fists pounding against it, the sound reverberating through its wooden frame.
Taking a step back, I spun my head and stared in the direction from which the crying was coming.
I didn’t waste a single second and rushed in that direction.
’Huuuuury. I have to hurry!!’