LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 2
Chapter 2
“Crazy. I’ve been possessed.”
I moved my body around and pinched my arm to confirm the sensation of pain.
I was pretty sure I’d dozed off while waiting for the chicken.
But the moment I opened my eyes, the way I was dressed was exactly like April.
Moreover, when I looked around, it seemed like the prologue party of “The Archmage’s Mansion” was just about to start.
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Wel■ome to the ■rchmage’s Man■ion.
Error! No player information.
—
The cracked and glitchy notification window disappeared in an instant.
Apart from that, everything else was happening exactly as I knew from the prologue event.
The banquet hall lights flickered ominously. For a moment, red blood ran down the walls.
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—
Several people screamed at the ominous writing in blood.
Then, shadowy hands began to rise outside the windows.
Bang! Bang!
Blood-soaked palms hit the glass all at once.
The chandelier lights went out completely.
Darkness.
Everyone froze at the sudden darkness. The lively waltz music that had been playing when I first got possessed was gone, leaving only an eerie, chilling silence.
The only sound that could be heard was the heavy rain pouring and tapping against the windows.
As it always is in the horror genre, a thunderstorm followed the rainy night.
As a bolt of lightning struck, the surroundings briefly lit up, followed by a thunderous roar.
Rumble, crash!
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For a brief moment, the lightning illuminated the banquet hall walls, revealing the curse written on them.
Rumble, crash!
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Lightning flashed inside the room. It was as if it wanted to make sure everyone saw those words clearly on the wall.
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—
A phrase that wasn’t in the game had been added.
The chandelier lights partially came back on shortly afterward.
Several people remained inside the now desolate and ashen-colored banquet hall.
The Emperor’s faction, the Noble faction, and the commoner guests.
The blood-written words showed no signs of drying.
The blood slowly, ever so slowly, seeped into the carpet of the banquet hall.
The blood didn’t stop, and the carpet became completely soaked with it.
Nervous whispers filled the air.
“Didn’t the Archmage… clearly help the first Emperor and the founding retainers and sacrifice his life?”
“That’s what we were taught….”
“To think they killed the Archmage.”
However, anyone who saw those malicious words of the curse knew intuitively that it was the truth.
‘It’s not ending?’
I blinked my eyes.
I pinched my arm again, but this dream didn’t end. Instead, the pain only reminded me that I had been possessed by a supporting character in a game.
If the chicken had arrived, my brother would have woken me up no matter what.
The murmurs gradually turned into fear as if they’d realized something.
“Does this mean we’re really cursed…?”
“We have to go outside and check.”
Some people approached the banquet hall doors and tried to pull the handles.
No one went near the blood-stained windows.
Click.
The banquet hall doors didn’t open.
“……”
A strange tension filled the banquet hall.
There was a chilling sense that something was about to appear and charge at us any moment.
If someone screamed, it seemed like it would turn into pandemonium instantly, a situation on the verge of exploding.
But even in such a place, there were always those who tried to take control of the situation.
“Everyone, please calm down.”
The sound of heels clicked, and a woman’s voice, unnervingly calm, spoke up.
“Let’s sum up the situation. ‘The Emperor, and the four who I once believed were my companions.’ ‘I will definitely kill all your cursed descendants who have inherited your blood.’ It seems that we’re all trapped here because we meet this condition.”
The woman had half-tied brown hair and intelligent green eyes.
It was the heroine from the original story, Yeniel.
“Hah? Lady Yeniel speaks as if she’s the only one who knows exactly what’s going on.”
Another woman scoffed as if she wanted everyone to hear.
With black hair that shimmered with a hint of purple and eyes raised in arrogance, it was the villainess from the original story, Evelyn.
“It’s simple. As you can see, only those who meet those conditions remain here. This is a curse, or perhaps a spell, targeting people with specific conditions.”
“How can we believe that? There are many commoners here. Are you suggesting, Lady, that the Imperial Family or the four founding families deliberately mingled with commoners? Maybe that’s plausible if it’s a family like Genes, which is barely better than commoners.”
These two characters, whom players could choose to play as, had very contrasting personalities befitting the titles of ‘heroine’ and ‘villainess.’
Yeniel was a baroness of low status but was wise and intelligent, the type of protagonist who took matters into her own hands.
The villainess Evelyn possessed power, status, and beauty but was arrogant and looked down on others based on their status.
In the story, the Imperial faction supported the royal family, while the Noble faction pursued the interests of the nobility over the royal family, and the two came from families aligned with different factions.
Yeniel’s expression stiffened slightly.
“Please refrain from insulting my family, Lady. They could be distant branches or remote descendants. Of course, there’s a high probability that many of Genes’ bloodline are among them. We need to overlook such trivial matters now. We must cooperate to escape.”
“Why should I?”
Evelyn retorted.
I made my conclusion.
It seemed that I would be stuck in this horror game as April for the time being.
At least it’s “The Archmage’s Mansion”.
As the two of them stood off against each other, I cheered inwardly.
Because, among horror games, this one had relatively low difficulty. If I joined the faction of either of these two, I could escape fairly easily.
In short, it was the best for enjoying the sweet benefits. Especially if I joined the heroine Yeniel’s faction.
In this game, there was a suspicion meter, but it wasn’t something that increased easily, so there was no need to worry.
At that moment, the villainess Evelyn turned to look at me.
“What does the Lady think?”
All eyes, including the heroine Yeniel’s, fell on me.
Realizing who I was, Evelyn showed a momentary expression of subtle regret.
“Pardon?”
I tilted my head brightly like April would.
“Since you’re also part of the Noble faction, you must know, Lady Sharon. Do you believe we must cooperate to escape?”
Pretending not to understand, I gave an appropriate response.
“Um, I’m not sure, but doesn’t Lady Yeniel have a point?”
The moment I answered Evelyn’s question.
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Suspicion level has increased by 10%.
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A status window appeared before my eyes, and a cold metallic voice rang in my ears.
For reference, suspicion level increases when you behave ‘out of character’ for that particular individual.
For the heroine Yeniel, suspicion rises when she acts too foolishly.
For the villainess Evelyn, it increases when she fails to answer one of Yeniel’s sharp questions.
‘But why is my suspicion level rising?’
As if in response to my question, the translucent game status window quickly updated.
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People have become suspicious of your response, which is unlike that of the idiot young lady.
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Ding! A clear notification sound rang.
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Current Total Suspicion Level: 10%.
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A threatening warning message was displayed beneath it.
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Tip: If the total suspicion level exceeds 50%, you will become a ‘provisional execution target.’ If the total suspicion level exceeds 70%, an execution event will occur!
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I quickly looked around to assess the situation.
The villainess Evelyn, who had asked me the question, awkwardly inquired.
“…Did Lady Sharon even know the word ‘point’?”
It was only then that I realized my mistake.
The idiot young lady, April, was a character who… didn’t know such difficult words. Like ‘point.’
“Yes! That means….”
“That means?”
The people gathered in the banquet hall were staring at me with wide eyes as if they had seen something impossible.
I gave a wide, innocent smile.
“It means cuter. Right? Lady?”
“…I almost misunderstood you for a moment, Lady. That was my mistake.”
Evelyn, at a loss for words, apologized with a bewildered expression.
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People are marveling at the mystery of coincidence! Suspicion level has decreased by 9%.
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Ding!
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Current Total Suspicion Level: 1%.
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Thank you, everyone. Seriously, thank you so much.