《Surviving as a Maid in a Horror Game》 Chapter 0 Clang, boom! At the iron bars that closed without remorse, I stared blankly. Beyond the prison cell, contemptuous eyes flashed. ¡°How dare you poison the Madam. Know this¡ªyou will never walk out of this prison alive. How despicable. You don¡¯t even know any grace.¡± Albert, the guard who brought me here, gritted his teeth and pretended to spit. Fortunately, he turned around without actually spitting, but what he said was clear enough. If the findings would really turn out as me being the one responsible for the poisoning, I wouldn¡¯t ever be able to get out of this prison alive. As an orphan from a faraway land and an ordinary servant, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if I disappeared. ¡°Albert! Albert! Please allow me one thing. Please let me see the Count!¡± I shouted with all my might as I held the prison bars tightly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me! I wasn¡¯t the one who mixed poison in the Madam¡¯s tea! I know who the real culprit is¡ªplease let me see the Count!¡± ¡°What you¡¯re saying doesn¡¯t make sense. It¡¯s you who brought the poisoned tea leaves. Who else is the culprit? Who are you going to blame for your crime?¡± He spat and pointed a finger at me, seething in something like genuine rage. ¡°I didn¡¯t do it! The real culprit is¡­!¡± ¡°The real culprit?¡± As soon as I was about to say the name of the real sinner, a quiet voice rang through the air. My tongue hardened reflexively, and his cold presence permeated into my skin. Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump. The pounding of my heart was so loud that my eardrums were about to burst. The even sound of his footsteps over the stone floor sent shivers down my spine. He¡¯s coming. ¡°Goodness, Young Master. You shouldn¡¯t be in a place like this!¡± Instead of towards me, as I was so frozen to the point that even my fingertips couldn¡¯t move, the guard made a fuss over that man. The guard¡¯s voice became smaller, and now only his approaching footsteps echoed into my ears. The moment he finally stopped in front of me, I couldn¡¯t face him. ¡°Young Master, if you do this, I¡¯ll be in big trouble with the Count.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Albert. I¡¯ll explain it to my father properly.¡± ¡°Goodness, Young Master¡­ What if I really get into big trouble.¡± Albert just shifted his weight on one foot to the other without knowing what to do, but Adrian answered his worries leisurely. Perhaps because it was only me and Albert here with him, but the angel-like appearance he reserved for the public had long since disappeared. All I could feel from him was the pressure and fear that weighed heavily over my head¡­ ¡°Tell me. The real culprit that you know, who is it, hm?¡± He asked with a beautiful, lilting voice that everyone praised. And in turn, I was just shaking without moving from where I was standing. It was faint, but the sound of my teeth chattering could be heard. Hmm. As though contemplating, he hummed and stared at me intently. ¡°I knew it. You¡¯re different.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°You know, hm? Who I am, what I did.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°How did you know? I¡¯m good enough at it that no one should have known.¡± Rather than anger, all that was in his gaze towards me was interest. My body flinched reflexively as though I¡¯d been stabbed by a blade. The more I appeared to be frightened, the darker his smile became. I didn¡¯t dare to look up to face him, but I could still feel his change in demeanor. Adrian Caesar von der Paltzgraff. The successor to the Paltzgraff family. The world praised him as an angel¡ªbut only I knew. The public was set abuzz by the news of the recent serial murders and attempted murders, and that all of them had been committed by a handsome young man. No, it was only me who knew. That the world I¡¯m living in right now is a crazily ridiculous horror game. Chapter 1 Until a few months ago, I was just a run-of-the-mill gamer who liked playing games. I would buy a game that looks fun, play it, but only until a point where I wouldn¡¯t need to spend a lot of money. After I got a job, I had to focus on my work, so I had to give up many games, but I still tried out a few new games once in a while. But that day was different. That day was so painstaking that I bought some alcohol, even though I couldn¡¯t hold my liquor, on my way home from work. Because I was already drunk, not even a few drinks in, I clicked on some ¡®horror game¡¯ reviews by mistake. I usually don¡¯t play games of this genre because I¡¯m too much of a scaredy cat. ¡°There¡¯s so many new horror games.¡± I scrolled down and looked through the game titles that filled the main page. In general, what could be seen were black and red monsters and ghosts that had an ominous atmosphere to them. If I had been sober, I would have closed the window immediately because I¡¯d be scared, but this time, I wasn¡¯t all that frightened. Maybe because I was drunk. Why do people play horror games anyway? Unless it was really a hobby, I couldn¡¯t understand the appeal to such things. Even so, I did still have some curiosity about it. While clicking on a review or looking down at some posts with a lack of sincerity, I eventually stopped scrolling because I noticed a title that¡¯s been repeated for a while now. ¡®The House of Paltzgraff¡¯s Murderer.¡¯ ¡°Hmm, isn¡¯t this the game I saw earlier? The new A-Comms game¡­¡± Crushing a can of beer that I just downed and throwing it away somewhere, I began to read the review again more attentively. A-Comms made games that had minor sensitive themes, but the company was famous for their elaborate OSTs, plus their historical backgrounds and stories, so there was always a lot of hype from their fans every time a new game was released. They released much better work than most mass-produced games that saturated the market, so expectations were always high. Perhaps that¡¯s also why they were hit with a ton of criticism, too. People anticipated the release for this game and bought it as soon as it came out, but apparently it wasn¡¯t good, it¡¯s buggy, it¡¯s disappointing¡­ The more bad reviews I read, the more curious I became. How bad of a flop was this game that all the reviews were saying it¡¯s indeed a flop? No way, it might not really be a total failure. What most game communities on the internet called flops were actually masterpieces. The more cynical bashers there were, the better the game might be and the higher the sales ranking would be. It¡¯s a strange correlation, but this was reality. Even more so for A-Comms games. ¡°I¡¯m curious. Should I give it a go¡­¡± Even while saying this, my hand already brought me to the A-Comms website and I¡¯ve already finalized my check-out. It wasn¡¯t too long until the game was fully downloaded and booted up. As soon as I clicked open, my entire screen became stained with dark red blood. Along with the sound of the classic thunder and lightning through the rain, a magnificent mansion appeared. It was just like A-Comms, since they were especially particular with artistic details, that the mansion was elegantly designed with a European architectural style that could be seen in any movie. Just this alone made me doubt if I bought this in Korean Won or another currency. I casually chewed on my leftover snacks as the menu appeared on the right side of the screen. ¡ï New Game ¡ï Exit As I clicked on my selection on the simple menu, the screen turned black once again, and the magnificent yet gloomy orchestral score of the OST began to play, the deep tones of a cello taking precedence of the melody. And then¡ª ¡°Ah! What the hell!¡± With a terrible scream, a man¡¯s face filled the monitor. I was so surprised that I almost fell out of my seat, but as the face got smaller. I managed to calm down and sit properly again. The man was so pale that even his veins were visible on his skin. No, wait, he seemed to be a little younger than an older man¡­ The young man looked exactly into my eyes and lifted something. It didn¡¯t take long for me to realize that it was a woman¡¯s head, lopped right off from her body. She had bloody and tangled hair, and she had the frozen expression of fear she had right before she died, her eyes not yet closed¡­ Because the frame was drawn so realistically, I even thought that it looked like a picture. Eventually, when he began to chew on the woman¡¯s head, my brows became furrowed. ¡°What the, what kind of minor sensitive themes¡­ This is just gross.¡± At one point, the young man¡¯s actions began to slow down, and words began to appear on the monitor. There was a brief explanation of the game¡¯s worldbuilding, and the plot roughly went like this¡ª The devils¡¯ underworld had been reigned over by monarchs for the longest time, and the monarch¡¯s daughter, Lilith, had been dominating the country. It¡¯s said that there were two factions, splitting the devildom in half. The strongest being in hell, Satan, was the representative of the monarch¡¯s faction and decided to stand against Lilith. The devildom then became divided between those who stood behind Satan and those who stood behind Lilith. And so, the two factions lead a boring war of attrition¡­ On the day when Lilith was on the verge of becoming completely destroyed with an overwhelming power, she decided to sacrifice her life in order to cast terrible curses upon Satan. Satan, who lost all his strength, opened his eyes and found that he now had a human body. He was left with no choice but to live like a vampire, killing humans and absorbing their life force. He¡¯d kill, and he¡¯d kill again. Until he could regain all his power and become a complete being once more, or perhaps, until he was executed as a murderer. The game¡¯s player was set to play as the Count household¡¯s young master, Adrian Caesar von der Paltzgraff. If he were to be executed or if he were to violate the rules of the game before gaining his full power, it would be game over. ¡°This worldbuilding is kinda depressing.¡± There was an illustration there of a body being ripped open and eaten¡­ It¡¯s just too grotesque. I shouldn¡¯t have bought this. I wonder if I should get a refund now. Chapter 2 After a short consideration, I clicked on the screen and the monitor became bright. The magnificent mansion I saw in the home page of the game showed off an even more opulent splendor in the light of the sun. It had pristine white walls that had no faded parts, exquisitely sculpted marble statues in the likeness of gods, and pillars that had harmoniously blended curved lines and straight edges. There was also a large, well-landscaped garden that would make you wonder if you can see the end of it even if you walk across it the entire day. In Korea, where people couldn¡¯t live in their own houses even if they saved up their salaries and overtime pays for their entire lives, the scale of this mansion was unimaginable to any new recruit who just got a job in a small-to-medium sized company. ¡°Ha, I don¡¯t want to live in a place like this¡­¡± While looking around my own studio apartment and feeling depressed, character introductions and expository lines began to appear on the screen one after another. ¡ï Leticia: Hey, Hilda! Hilda! Hurry and wake up! Leticia. She immigrated from another country and she¡¯s a faithful servant of the Pfalzgraf household. No such word as ¡®betrayal¡¯ existed in her dictionary when it came to the Pfalzgrafs. ¡ï Leticia: Hilda! You¡¯re going back to sleep again! Wake up and bring Young Master Adrian his medicine! ¡ï Hilda: I¡¯m already awake. Hilda. Abandoned on the streets and naturally becoming an orphan, she was saved by a priest and sent to the Pfalzgraf family as a servant. ¡ï Leticia: Hilda, medicine! ¡ï Hilda: Yes, yes. Older sis Catarina already went. ¡ï Leticia: Don¡¯t even think about passing off your duties to Catarina and just go right now! Goodness, our Young Master Adrian¡­ I feel so sorry for him. His disease won¡¯t even allow him to go outside that much and he¡¯d have to take medicine for the rest of his life. No matter how chaotic the outside world is nowadays, it¡¯s still such a pity that he can¡¯t be free like his peers. ¡ï Hilda: What do you mean, chaotic? ¡ï Leticia: Didn¡¯t you hear what happened? There¡¯s someone walking around with a knife so blatantly. There¡¯s even rumors that someone was actually stabbed. But why haven¡¯t you gone to Young Master Adrian? Hurry and get up! Can¡¯t you just get up and go?! ¡ï Hilda: Owww. I¡¯ll take it to him already. I¡¯m going, I¡¯m going! As Hilda grumbled, the screen showed a hallway¡ªat the end of it was a large door. It was bright, yet somewhat eerie. With two raps on the door, Hilda¡¯s dialogue came up again. ¡ï Hilda: Young Master, I¡¯ve brought your medicine. ¡ï ???: Come in. Creeeak. With a sound that did not match the elegant and expensive mansion, Adrian finally made his appearance. As the count¡¯s successor, he was the main character of the game with the role of a weak young master and the hidden identity of Satan. He was about twenty years old. Compared to his bloody appearance in the introduction, he smiled softly now, his impression completely different. ¡ï Hilda: How are you today, Young Master? ¡ï Adrian: The sun is a bit too bright on my eyes. ¡ï Hilda: I shall close the curtains for you. ¡ï Adrian: You don¡¯t have to. Leave the medicine on the table. Thank you. ¡ï Hilda: No need for thanks, Young Master. Please get well soon. Miss Leticia is very worried about you. Of course, I as well. Adrian currently suffered from numerous chronic diseases apart from his asthma. It wasn¡¯t possible to relieve his pain, let alone heal him with the undeveloped medical practices of this era. Even though she knew that his illness was something that could not be healed, Hilda sincerely wished for his recovery. At this, Adrian smiled softly. He was a character inside a game, but he looked so beautiful that you could practically see the glow of a halo over his head. He looked so pure and innocent that one would never imagine he was a murderer. ¡ï Adrian: Thank you. You may leave now. ¡ï Hilda: Yes, Young Master. Please rest comfortably. Creeeak. The moment Hilda left, his angel-like smile vanished. As he walked in front of the table with an expressionless face, he held the medicine pouch and glanced out the window. ¡ï Adrian: Huu¡­ It¡¯s not easy to move when there¡¯s a lot of eyes around. ¡ï Adrian: But it¡¯s alright. This way, I won¡¯t be suspected of being able to kill someone with this body. He looked dissatisfied with his frail body, but he still seemed to like the benefits that it came with. Considering that the count¡¯s estate was enormous, there were many eyes watching him. It was impossible for Adrian to kill anyone when there were so many who were focused on nursing him. ¡°This game¡¯s difficulty is called ¡®hell¡¯ for a reason. That¡¯s why it was a flop.¡± Several people needed to be killed, but it took a long time to kill even one. Perhaps at this rate, Satan would grow old and die of age in the body of Adrian that he possessed¡­ With that thought, I sat back on my chair and controlled Adrian¡¯s actions in the game. After clicking around insincerely, I pulled up the scenario outline on the game¡¯s wiki page on my other screen to read the strategy guide. Then, I looked back at the game with drowsy eyes. Returning after a failed murder attempt, Adrian stood still, deep in thought. I turned the perspective screen around and zoomed in to see his face. ¡°Well¡­ Aren¡¯t you handsome.¡± I didn¡¯t know if it¡¯s because I¡¯m just plain drunk or if it¡¯s because of the character design, but I couldn¡¯t help but admire his face while looking at it. And I had to admit what was obvious. He had dark, angular eyebrows, neat features, moderately reddish lips, and slanted eyes. He even looked gentle as he smiled. ¡°I should sleep now. I have to go to work tomorrow¡­¡± I urged myself to rise to my feet so I could wash up and go to bed, but my body inadvertently felt like heavily soaked cotton, unable to move and stuck on the chair. And somehow, even if Adrian was drawn to look as though he was looking back straightforwardly through the screen, it felt like I was having eye contact with a real, living being. I guess¡­ I drank too much¡­ All of a sudden, I became dizzy as the world around me spun. Regardless of my will, my eyes drew shut like heavy iron and I fell asleep right then. Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 3 I woke up to a massive headache. Ah, shi¡­ I already know. I should have controlled the number of drinks I had and just went to bed early. This is why people shouldn¡¯t do things they don¡¯t normally do. After stretching out, I rubbed my stiff eyes. What time is it now? I have to go to work. ¡°Phone, my phone¡­¡± I habitually reached while stuttering, but when I couldn¡¯t find my phone anywhere, I turned over once and stretched my hands out again. But I¡¯m sure I left my phone here on my bed, and my bed isn¡¯t that big, so I should have normally found it by now. But my phone wasn¡¯t anywhere here. No, it wasn¡¯t that my phone wasn¡¯t here. It¡¯s just that this wasn¡¯t my room. ¡°Where¡­ am I?¡± What did I do last night? Where did I fall asleep? Did I stay out overnight? No, I definitely bought some liquor last night and went straight home. Then I played some games. With my mind still groggy, I fumbled through my memories. But then, a white letters popped up in the air. ¡¸ Level 1. No skills available. ¡¹ ¡¸ When Level 5 is reached, the skill of ¡®Perception¡¯ can be used. ¡¹ ¡°What the, have I gone crazy. I¡¯m seeing things, still¡­¡± I might still be half asleep. When I shook my head and opened my eyes again, the letters had disappeared, but the room remained unfamiliar. I looked around with bleary eyes. What? Where is this? Did I sleep while playing a VR game or something last night? I need to go to work. But, at that moment¡ª Bang, bang, bang. Someone was knocking violently at the door. ¡°Hey, Hilda! Hilda! Aren¡¯t you getting up yet?!¡± ¡°¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Hilda! You slept in again! Come out and bring Young Master Adrian¡¯s medicine!¡± I swear I¡¯ve heard those words somewhere before. But I don¡¯t remember where exactly I heard it¡­ ¡°Hilda, you¡¯re just hopeless. Until when will I have to wake you up like this myself?¡± The door slammed open and an angry face was revealed. I looked around several times already. It¡¯s not me she¡¯s looking for, someone else¡­ But there¡¯s no one else here. ¡°Hilda? ¡­Me?¡± But she¡¯s the maid I saw in the game I played last night. I pointed at myself perplexedly and muttered. Now that I thought about it, the woman who had opened the door and was looking at me pitifully seemed familiar. She wasn¡¯t someone I¡¯ve met before, but someone I¡¯ve seen in a game. ¡°Who else would it be if it¡¯s not you? Stop spewing nonsense and just get up already!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Gosh, take out one functioning person and everyone¡¯s slow like this, hmph! I can¡¯t trust anyone! No one at all!¡± Leticia? She¡¯s really Leticia. With a uniquely sharp voice, she nagged like that and left through the door once more, slamming it closed. What¡¯s going on? I need to go to work and submit a report today. If I don¡¯t, my section chief¡¯s going to hound me again. Staring at the closed door, I thought blankly. ¡°Hilda, did you sleep in again? Miss Leticia¡¯s fuming.¡± The door opened once more, and someone else who had a familiar face like Leticia came in. Surprisingly, she also reminded me of the character I saw in the game I played last night. Blankly, my lips moved. ¡°Emi¡­ Emily?¡± ¡°Why are you calling me so awkwardly? Are you sick?¡± ¡°What the hell is this¡­?¡± ¡°You¡¯re probably not awake from your dreams yet, Hilda. Hurry up and get dressed. If Miss Leticia comes back, you might get in trouble if she sees that you still look like that.¡± For a moment she looked at me with a hand on her waist, then she took something out of the closet and threw it on the bed. It was a gray skirt made of moderately thick cotton. There was also an old apron meant to be worn around the waist so that the skirt wouldn¡¯t get dirty. In the game, all the maids wore the same thing. I was gobsmacked. My mouth opened and closed several times as I set the clothes down. ¡°Wow, this dream feels so real. It¡¯s very realistic. You said I¡¯m Hilda?¡± ¡°Hilda, just hurry up and get changed¡­ No, this won¡¯t do. I¡¯ll be the one who¡¯ll bring Young Master Adrian¡¯s medicine.¡± ¡°I¡­?¡± Emily sighed. ¡°You better not stand out in Miss Leticia¡¯s eyes today. She¡¯s really strict ¡®cause she thinks the servants¡¯ discipline has become lax these days.¡± She looked sincerely at me with a worried expression as she said this. Then, she added, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t anger Miss Leticia any more than this,¡± then closed the door behind her as she left. ¡°What? What¡¯s this?¡± Though I hadn¡¯t gotten past halfway through the game, I can clearly remember that this was the first time in the game that the character ¡®Hilda¡¯ brought Adrian his medicine. ¡°Did I go inside the game?¡± That, or I¡¯d gone bonkers¡­ While staring blankly into the air for a moment, I slapped myself. I hit the side of my face to the point that my ear rang, but I still didn¡¯t wake up. And apart from the intense pain and the vivid touch¡­ There was the sound of the wind whistling through the window accompanied by the chirping of birds perched on a tree. If this was really a dream, that shouldn¡¯t be possible. ¡°Real¡­? Did¡­ Did I really go crazy?!¡± I went into a game¡ªno, not just a game, but a horror game rampant with murders! Why wasn¡¯t it an otome game that¡¯s swarming with handsome guys! Of all things, why did I have to go into a horror game¡­ ¡°AH, log out! Log out!¡± If this was really a game, wouldn¡¯t I be able to get out if I log out? Please, just don¡¯t log me out of life. With a trembling hand, I pressed the small menu that I saw in the upper righthand corner of my field of view. Then, the ¡®New Game¡¯ and ¡®Exit¡¯ options emerged in the air. There was no choice to log out. Then, what if I press Exit? Nervous, I pressed the Exit button. But what appeared in front of my eyes next¡­ ¡¸ You cannot exit the game. ¡¹ Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 4 ¡°Wow, isn¡¯t this game a prison then?¡± I sank down on the bed with a plummeting pulse. When I went on my computer, I didn¡¯t know that it¡¯d be like this. Anyway, it didn¡¯t seem like I could choose anything on the officially provided menu. Would I need to choose ¡®New Game¡¯? What if I wouldn¡¯t be allowed to choose that either? I slowly raised a hand to press it, but before I could¡ª ¡°Hilda! Why didn¡¯t I hear you come out?! How long do I have to tolerate you?!¡± The door slammed open, and once again, I saw an angry Leticia. She looked like she was about to rush in and hit me dozens of times on the back right away. Nervous, I reflexively closed the menu, but it didn¡¯t seem like the menu was visible to the other characters. ¡°You¡¯re wasting time here and you¡¯re even forgetting to bring the Young Master¡¯s medicine. And you haven¡¯t even changed yet? So you¡¯re going to be like that all day long? What¡¯s wrong with your hair?!¡± ¡°Uh, ah¡­ I¡¯m sor¡ª¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stand it anymore. Everyone line up! You all haven¡¯t pulled yourselves together!¡± Leticia disappeared while shouting, and in the meantime, Emily returned from Adrian¡¯s room. She urged me to come with her quickly, so I picked up my clothes and followed her. This reminded me of a time when I was still in either middle school or high school, when the entire class was called to attention. We were spun round and round to death¡ªwas that going to happen here, too? With Emily in the lead, we ran out, but I couldn¡¯t help but be filled with awe. A huge and colorful garden reminiscent of the Palace of Versailles was right there. Wow. It¡¯s so much more vivid compared to just seeing it in a cutscene in the game. ¡°Why are you standing so far away?! Hurry up and come here!¡± ¡°Hilda, Hilda.¡± Emily poked me on the side with her elbow, and I belatedly noticed the glances coming my way from all sides. I took a small step forward and stood in the back. ¡°There¡¯s no one to blame! I called you all out here not just because of one person, but it¡¯s because everyone seems so relaxed these days! Today, I expect everyone to work together and straighten up the garden!¡± ¡°Haa¡­¡± As though it was rehearsed, sighs broke out in unison. Garden cleaning seemed to be like spring cleaning. I mean, with such a humongous garden like this, it seemed like it would take all day to straighten it out even if there were so many people here for the job. ¡°Quiet! You won¡¯t settle down?!¡± At Leticia¡¯s scolding, everyone quieted down. She looked ten times more livid than before. Ha, we¡¯re screwed. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d receive disciplinary punishment even once. We¡¯d have to do well from the start the moment it¡¯s ordered so that it¡¯ll be easy¡­ The more people whined about not wanting to do it, the heavier the amount of work would be. ¡°Are you not going to pull yourselves together?! Take this opportunity to clean up the rear garden together!¡± Look, see. I¡¯m right. Nevertheless, some couldn¡¯t pull themselves together and grumbled while picking up their choice of gardening tools, but fortunately by then, Leticia had left after saying that the count had come. If she¡¯s talking about the count, then it¡¯s Adrian¡¯s father. Until the part of the game that I played, the father didn¡¯t make an appearance, so I didn¡¯t know anything about him in detail. I think I read the detailed character introductions in the game¡¯s wiki, but because I was so wasted, I couldn¡¯t remember anything. ¡°Haa, and I had a bad feeling about today.¡± Even Emily, who figured that this would happen, let out a sigh after being scolded first thing in the morning. I made a furtive glance at her¡ªwhy does she look so much like a typical NPC?¡ªand picked up a weeding blade used for removing weeds. I went to a place where weeds were abundant, grabbed a bunch, then cut them with the knife. As the weeds were cut off with a distinct sound, it was at that moment¡ª ¡¸ Gained 1 EXP from removing weeds. ¡¹ As the notification flashed, I saw ¡®+1¡¯ flickering in a white, shiny font at the corner of my field of view. Oh? What¡¯s this? ¡¸ Gained 1 EXP from removing weeds. ¡¹ Again, the moment I cut up some weeds, ¡®+1¡¯ flickered in and out. So, by removing two handfuls of weeds, I got two experience points. When I looked closely at the bottom left, I saw an experience bar right there, like the ones in an actual online game. With only those two points, the bar was a little fuller just now. Wow¡­ It¡¯s no different than an MMORPG. I couldn¡¯t believe that such a realistic game existed. If this game was actually released, it would be a smash hit. What do I get from gaining experience points? Do I get any skills? I looked around and found ¡®Skills¡¯ at the upper righthand corner and pressed it. ¡¸ Level 1. No available skills ¡¹ ¡¸ Level 5. ¡®Perception¡¯ ¡¹ ¡¸ Level 10. (Locked) ¡¹ ¡¸ Level 15. (Locked) ¡¹ ¡­¡­ Oh my god, is this real? I can¡¯t believe I can really use skills. If it¡¯s ¡®Perception¡¯, is it like a sensing skill? Should I gun for level 5 first? But can I really use a skill? ¡°Gosh, Hilda! You can¡¯t just cut weeds like that! You have to take out the roots, too!¡± ¡°Huh? Ohh, you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°These are weeds so they¡¯ll grow even if you twist them around, and just cutting them wouldn¡¯t make them go away¡­ But you¡¯re really weird today, you know?¡± Emily snatched the weeding blade that was just vaguely in my hand, and she stuck it to the ground. Then, effortlessly, she uprooted the weeds that I had cut up poorly. So that¡¯s how you do it¡­ I took the weeding blade from her, feeling a little embarrassed and awkward. As I was born and raised in the city and have since only been living in apartments or studio buildings, I never had to pull out weeds with my own hands. And in the game, a character would just need to click on them to take them out. Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 5 ¡°Sorry, I guess I¡¯m still half-asleep. Here, there and ooover there, I¡¯ll clean everything on my own, so you can just scoot over theeere.¡± ¡°Really? All of this? It¡¯s too much for just one person to clean up. Aren¡¯t you overdoing it?¡± Emily asked in surprise as she looked at all the places I pointed at. But rather than a tedious work area, what I saw in my eyes was a bountiful field of EXP. All that EXP¡¯s mine! I shooed away the worried Emily while appeasing her. Then, I gripped the weeding blade. Let¡¯s go ahead and level up first. I¡¯m basically a level up hustler in games anyway. If I reach the highest level in this game, I might even be able to get out of here. ¡°How did Emily do it a while ago. Kind of like this¡­¡± Pull on the weeds, chuck the weeding blade near the roots, then heave it up. My technique looked shabby compared to how Emily easily did it. Apart from the roots getting pulled out, a chunk of soil got scooped out as well, but hey, I got rid of the weeds. I was proud to see the bar filling up again. The beauty of an RPG lies within the fruits of labor, and those fruits of labor being leveling up. Alright, let¡¯s just do it. Rolling up my sleeves in earnest, I started pulling out those weeds that were waiting for me. My hands were slow at first, but I gradually picked up the pace¡ªand piles upon piles of weeds stacked up next to me. With how enthusiastic I was, Emily was worried and approached my side. The other servants who happened to pass by saw me and whispered amongst themselves. ¡¸ Gained 1 EXP from removing weeds. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gained 1 EXP from removing weeds. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gained 1 EXP from removing weeds. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gained 1 EXP from removing weeds. ¡¹ ¡¸ Promoted to Level 2. (Title: Insignificant Worker) ¡¹ ¡¸ Gained 1 EXP from removing weeds. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gained 1 EXP from removing weeds. ¡¹ As I pulled out more weeds like crazy, the notification window for EXP updates popped off. At the same time, my EXP bar rose faithfully as well. Good, if I continue doing this, it wouldn¡¯t be long until I get a skill at level 5. I curled down to the ground for more than half a day and tirelessly pulled out weeds, but I was surprisingly fine throughout it all. My mind was my own, but was it because the owner of this body was Hilda, who¡¯s a servant and a manual laborer by nature? My own physical and muscle strength in reality were nothing compared to hers. If I personally worked this hard, everything would hurt instantly. While admiring this body of a natural hard worker, tears brimmed my eyes. I¡¯m not going to just work like a horse here and go back, right? No, I mean, I am going back, right? While thinking about this and that, I reached level 3. As with any game, the higher the level, the more EXP would be needed to reach the next level. If the EXP needed to reach level 2 was just 100, then the experience needed to get to level 3 was 200. From the player¡¯s perspective, an increase of 100 points wasn¡¯t much, but with me being a mere servant right now, that very difference meant 100 more weeds to be pulled. What about level 4? And level 5? To get one skill, maybe even one week of weed whacking would be enough. I continued to pull out weeds mechanically, but the road ahead became bleak. Was there any other way to get EXP other than with weeds? A daily, weekly, monthly quest or something, or some other type of achievement¡­ ¡°Oh my goodness, Hilda! What did you pull out just now!¡± Hearing the shocked voice beside me startled me back to my senses. What I¡¯m pulling out, well it¡¯s an ordinary bundle of weeds. ¡¸ Gained 5 EXP from pulling out Count Pfalzgraf¡¯s prized kalanchoe. ¡¹ The very kind and detailed notification window made me gape at it. Count Pfalzgraf¡¯s¡­ prized¡­ kalanchoe¡­? No, but why was I given only 5 EXP for it? Wasn¡¯t there a problem with the efficiency of this game¡¯s quest system? ¡°Sorry, Miss Leticia! Hilda¡¯s feeling very sick today, so¡­!¡± She had already been frantically covering for me since this morning, but poor Emily rushed in and defended me again. ¡°What the hell kind of sickness is it. Is something wrong with your head? The Count looks at that kalanchoe every morning, how could you even touch that!¡± Leticia screeched. ¡°Fortunately Hilda pulled it from the roots, so it hasn¡¯t wilted. We can just plant it again! So neatly that the Count won¡¯t even notice!¡± Emily tapped my hand in a hurry as she said that it could be planted again. I pretended to be very scared, placed the kalanchoe back on the ground and gathered the surrounding soil to plant it back in. Nevertheless, the expensive-looking bright pink flower withered and drooped because its roots had been lifted to the fresh outside air. Emily immediately made an excuse again, saying that water would definitely revive it. I was just nervously looking into the air, staring at nothing in particular for another reason. It was planted back in, but that doesn¡¯t mean my 5 EXP¡¯s going to be taken back, right? ¡°It¡¯s not just the kalanchoe! You pulled out so many other plants that aren¡¯t weeds here!¡± While searching through the mountains of weeds next to me, Leticia shrieked once more. This time, Emily could only sigh deeply. It¡¯s a lost cause now. Well, there was no notification about retracting the EXP I gained. The gamedev at least has a conscience. My small, precious 5 EXP¡­ Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 6 ¡°Do you even know that these are all top of the line plants?!¡± ¡°Miss Leticia, it was a mistake! Just this once¡­ please forgive her!¡± ¡°Hilda¡¯s the one who wasn¡¯t in her right mind all day and wouldn¡¯t even apologize, so why are you the one asking for forgiveness?¡± Leticia turned to me as she said this, a terrifying glare directed at me. Oh, then if I ask for forgiveness, will you let it slide? ¡°I¡¯m s¡ª¡± ¡°Forget it! I won¡¯t forgive you even if you prostrate on the ground! Just get rid of this mess! The rest as well!¡± I was about to say sorry already, but the moment I started, she quickly shut me down. Emily also glanced towards me with a sigh, but I continued to stand there without a clear sense of reality. No matter how much ¡®they¡¯ talked to me with human faces, I knew that they weren¡¯t actually human. They were just pixels drawn by someone, and they moved according to data computed with zeroes and ones. The wind brushing against my cheeks and the warm sunlight shining down on me were all so realistic that it¡¯s creepy. But in the end, these were just pixels. That¡¯s why there¡¯s no way she could exert any emotions for them. It was like not feeling sorry for an NPC even if they die. ¡­But I did feel a little apologetic towards Emily. With the gazes of the other servants gradually fading and with Emily¡¯s comforting words, I cleared up the piles of ruined weeds. * * * As a result of running around all day and getting some EXP, I managed to get to level 4. Meanwhile, one thing I learned was that every action I did in this world was ranked according to the level of difficulty, and the appropriate EXP would be given. I got my EXP from manual labor today, but if I¡¯d think about it more broadly, talking and accompanying someone were tasks that could also be converted to EXP. As if I was opening a gacha prize, I got pumped up. If this was a real game, then it¡¯s all the more reason to be excited! ¡°Hilda, go back and get some rest.¡± The kind-hearted Emily must¡¯ve been greatly disappointed in me, but she took me back to my room nevertheless. Her compassion must be a programmed trait in this character, right? The way she looked at me, too, and even the goodwill she extended to me. Everything. ¡°Emily.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Emily turned around and looked back at me. My emotions overtook me, so I belatedly thought up what to say. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about today.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°It seems like I just caused you a lot of trouble.¡± Apologizing to an NPC? I scratched my forehead, feeling complicated. As Emily was still looking at me, she smiled tenderly. ¡°It¡¯s fine. What¡¯s something like this between us. Sleep tight now, I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡± After saying this, she turned around once more and walked along the corridor. She was an NPC, but she¡¯s really nice. I watched the back of her head until she disappeared. Soon, I opened the door and went in, and I was back in the room I found myself in the moment I opened my eyes. Its size was a bit more than twenty square meters, and it was densely occupied by a small cabinet, a dresser, a bed wide enough for one person, and a desk. When I entered the room, a notification window popped up as though it was waiting. ¡¸ The daily rewards have arrived. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gold +30G ¡¹ Oh, there¡¯s a daily reward, too? When I glanced up, I saw ¡®330G¡¯ floating above next to a gold coin icon. I guess this means I originally already had 300 gold¡­ But at that moment¡ªwhite letters twinkled in the air along with the sound of a beep. ¡¸ Losses have been incurred due to the garden being ruined. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gold -250G ¡¹ And that very instant, the floating white ¡®330G¡¯ was reduced to ¡®80G¡¯. I gaped blankly at the status window. This was the dreadful reality. I got paid chopped liver, and it was exactly the same as my bank account¡ªeverything inside would just be eaten up by credit card dues. I can¡¯t believe it. My entire fortune vanished just because I dug up that kalanchoe and a few others. This meant that those few flowers were more expensive than the cost of my labor for an entire day. Will I need to live like this from now on? Trapped in this unfamiliar world, not getting paid properly, and without a smartphone! I don¡¯t know how high the difficulty of the game is, and I can¡¯t level up easily. I have no skills. Earlier, I wondered if I¡¯ll be able to get out of here if I level up fully, but at the rate I leveled up today, I just might be able to get the max level when I¡¯m fifty. No, maybe I can get out of here at like level 10, right? ¡°Seriously, just please let me go home!¡± I tried pressing here and there on the menu with my eyes on the lookout for a way back. I saw only one ¡®Exit¡¯ button that looked kind of like a logout option. ¡°Please! I want to go back!¡± Every time I pressed the button, a warning window would pop up, saying that it was an action that could not be executed. But without any care for this, I continued to spam the ¡®Exit¡¯ button like crazy. There were some games that had a bug that would get triggered when a deactivated feature got mashed dozens or even hundreds of times. Every game was bound to have a bug, and it had always been up to the player to discover and use these bugs. ¡°Come one, please work, please.¡± As though on the verge of crying, I continued to press the ¡®Exit¡¯ button, but only a warning window appeared after. What the, it really won¡¯t work? Then how am I gonna go back home? I went on and spammed ¡®Exit¡¯ with disappointment, but at that moment, my hand slipped. I pressed ¡®New Game¡¯ instead, and unlike before, I didn¡¯t realize until the button shone brightly. Light was emitted from the letters, and its brilliance devoured the dark room. My eyes widened. N-No way. ¡°N¡­ no¡­ no¡­¡± My small murmurs diminished in volume. When the bright light shining over my eyes disappeared, the first thing I heard was the sound of bird singing first thing in the morning. Chirp, chirp, chirp. Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 7 With my mouth gaping wide open, I looked around me. The previously dark room was now filled with the sunny morning light. It¡¯s exactly what I saw when I first woke up inside the game. And when I glanced down, the clothes that had gotten ruined from all the weed pulling were now clean and as good as new. No, it can¡¯t be. No way, no way¡­ As if I was anticipating the number of a lottery draw, I squinted at the EXP bar. It¡¯s all gone. ¡°No, no. My¡­ My EXP¡ª¡± All of the EXP I gained from all that hard work to get me to level 4 disappeared¡­ I was back to level 1, without even the irrelevant title of ¡®Insignificant Worker¡¯. Frustrated and filled with indignation, the moment I heard Leticia¡¯s voice, I collapsed. ¡°Hey, Hilda! Hilda! Aren¡¯t you getting up yet?!¡± The same words during the morning I arrived at this place, I¡¯m hearing it, hearing it again¡­ ¡°Hilda! You slept in again! Come out and bring Young Master Adrian¡¯s medicine!¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m awake.¡± I answered reflexively at the loud yelling. The angry steps went down the stairs. Unlike the first morning that was no different than a mirage, Leticia opened my room¡¯s door and wasn¡¯t angry this time. Does this mean I won¡¯t have to pull out weeds? I looked at the status window with somewhat exhausted eyes. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because I returned to the first morning, but not only the objects were restored, but even my body was in tip-top shape without any tiredness. Though my mental fatigue still remained. I can¡¯t believe I have to spend another day without even being able to sleep¡­ But the good thing was that all the money I had blown off from that kalanchoe was returned. My entire fortune of 300 gold¡­ It¡¯s a pitiful amount, but it¡¯s still better than nothing. ¡°Hilda!¡± Thinking that Leticia would come up again if I dithered any longer, I rushed down to the kitchen. I knew my way around the mansion a little now because it wasn¡¯t all that long ago that I was playing the game. In the spacious and clean kitchen, the count¡¯s exclusive chefs were preparing breakfast. And Leticia was¡­ ¡°Hilda!¡± She was nagging at me like a habit. I don¡¯t know if she practiced her vocalization or anything. As I pretended to be apologetic and to reflect on my actions, Leticia only sighed and had a look in her eyes as though I was a lost cause. Clatter. She pushed forward a tray with various bowls on it, including a medicine bowl. ¡°Here. Bring this to the Young Master.¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°Why are you so surprised? This is something you always do.¡± Why must I be Hilda? Why must I be this Hilda who brings medicine every day to the murderer with a devil within him¡­ It was mentioned in the game that Adrian occasionally had seizures and had a weak physical strength, to the extent that it was difficult for him to move. But I can¡¯t let my guard down. There¡¯s still a devil inside him. Was there anyone else here who was easier to kill than the servant who was tasked to bring him medicine every day? ¡°Goodness, our Young Master Adrian¡­ I feel so sorry for him. His disease won¡¯t even allow him to go outside that much and he¡¯d have to take medicine for the rest of his life. No matter how chaotic the outside world is nowadays, it¡¯s still such a pity that he can¡¯t be free like his peers.¡± Leticia clicked her tongue and shook her head briskly. I asked reflexively. ¡°What do you mean, chaotic?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what happened? There¡¯s someone walking around with a knife so blatantly. There¡¯s even rumors that someone was actually stabbed. But why haven¡¯t you gone to Young Master Adrian? Hurry and go!¡± ¡°Ahh, ow ow ow. I got it already. I¡¯m going, I¡¯m going!¡± If I wouldn¡¯t go this time and just idle away, I just know she¡¯d grab my ear. I quickly left the kitchen with the tray as though I was making a quick escape. There¡¯s no one I could pass this onto, so I¡¯d have to bring it anyway. If I throw the medicine away somewhere, Leticia just might strangle me to death. Feeling the tension rising within me, I headed towards the infinitely long corridor that had a spectacular hall at the end of it. Adrian¡¯s room on the fourth floor was a large room, which had the best sunlight coming in and a great view of the south garden. Taking in a stifled breath, I took one step at a time, still thinking of how I could get out of bringing Adrian his medicine. ¡°Hu¡­¡± My strides were short and slow, but nevertheless, I reached the fourth in an instant. Adrian¡¯s room. I stopped in front of the large door and gulped dryly. I didn¡¯t dare knock because I knew who it was inside. It was a room where a devil was residing, so even if this side was where the sun shone the best, it was still gloomy and chilly. The walls were white everywhere, but dark energy seemed to creep through the gaps of the door. I-I¡¯m scared. My hands were shaking, and as the tray quivered, so did the bowls. I was just drunk that night and fell asleep like that, but I really never usually played horror games. A-Comms was known for cruel and minor sensitive themes, and at the same time they were also known for making games with great cinematic artistry. Because of this, I avoided their games even more. Some horror game enthusiasts actually pee their pants if they ever played a real escape room with horror elements, but me? Someone who couldn¡¯t even watch horror movies? I¡¯m in a horror game? I can¡¯t do it. Never ever. If I see a single cutscene in the game happening right before my eyes, I just know that my heart would stop right then. ¡°Young Master.¡± I called him with a very small voice. There¡¯s no way that the person inside would answer because I spoke so quietly that even a person next to me wouldn¡¯t be able to hear. ¡°Young Master, are you there?¡± There¡¯s no way that a voice, which was so close to the whisper of a breath, could be heard twice. ¡°It seems like Young Master had gone out for a walk? Hmm, then there¡¯s no choice¡­ I¡¯ll just leave the medicine here.¡± Good. No one answered, right? I asked if you¡¯re inside. Since a servant wasn¡¯t allowed to enter an empty room without the owner¡¯s permission, even if Leticia were to interrogate me later, I have a good enough excuse. Checking around me again if there was anyone watching, I gently placed the tray down in front of the door and ran away. I even got a bonus¡ª1 EXP gained from bringing Adrian¡¯s medicine from the kitchen to his door. Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 8 Just like that, three and then four days passed. The punishment of pulling weeds never happened because I made sure to wake up on time everyday, and I only left the medicine tray in front of Adrian¡¯s tray, too. It was nice not having to meet him in person. Every morning after breakfast, us servants had to gather in the hall for a simple assembly (read: Leticia¡¯s sermon), and Adrian¡¯s schedule was also regular and had no deviations, so I was able to avoid him well enough. It didn¡¯t seem to bother him that I was only leaving the tray in front of his door, so it was peaceful. If I had offended the young master, then Leticia would have already keeled me over long before. Nothing terrible happened so far either, nothing like someone dying and nothing like Adrian regaining his demonic power. Since I had tried playing the game myself, the difficulty really was ¡®hell¡¯, so it¡¯s hard to kill someone without being noticed. But on the other hand, this was very good for me. While carrying out the character Hilda¡¯s missions, I could quietly look for a way to return to the real world. Though¡­ I¡¯ve yet to find a clue in these past few days¡­ I paused for a moment and sighed. A notification window for EXP came up in front of me and disappeared. ¡¸ Gained 1 EXP from peeling onions. ¡¹ Getting EXP for skills like this was so slow-going. I looked at my pitiful EXP bar with a rather gloomy expression. Back then, I rose to level 4 in just one day from pulling weeds, but after resetting the game, my progress was at a snail¡¯s pace now, perhaps because I lost my motivation. I couldn¡¯t collect a lot of experience points from the repetitive tasks in the dull daily life of a servant, and I quickly got tired of doing things on purpose for accolades. Getting more EXP was easier when taking on the main quest, but this game wasn¡¯t showing me a quest window or anything. I should at least gain a skill. That way, I¡¯d know what kind of skills they were and how they could help me return to the real world. Right now, I¡¯m so low level that even if I look at the skill window, I wouldn¡¯t be able to see what kind of skills were available. Since this was now my reality, I was feeling anxious even when seemingly nothing was happening in my daily life. As I bit my nails, I furtively looked to the side. Aside from voluntarily peeling onions here at the kitchen, there was another reason why I woke up early today. ¡°Haa¡­¡± It¡¯s Catarina, Emily¡¯s sister. I heard that she was having a hard time peeling onions in the morning. She tried to talk to the other servants to swap tasks last time, but in the end, she had to come back here because she couldn¡¯t find another person willing to take the job. ¡°Sister, peeling onions is hard, isn¡¯t it? Give it to me,¡± I told her. ¡°Uh, mmh. Thanks¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it hard to peel onions like this everyday? I¡¯m asking because I¡¯m worried.¡± There was pity in my eyes as I looked at her runny nose. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s really hard to wake up so early in the morning, too¡­¡± ¡°I know. I feel sorry for you, Sister, and you even have to cry like this every morning. Mm, it would be nice if there¡¯s someone who could replace you, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯d be great. But the problem is, no one wants to do it.¡± Answering lifelessly, she picked up yet another onion, sniffling with her red nose all the while. ¡°Um, then, Sister. Can I do it?¡± ¡°Huh? You? You said you didn¡¯t want to do it before though.¡± ¡°Thaa¡­ aat¡¯s because¡­ I just thought it over, and I think it suits me now. I think the only good time to peel onions is in the morning, isn¡¯t it? See, just like today. I came earlier than you to peel onions. So why don¡¯t we exchange our tasks starting tomorrow?¡± ¡°Which task?¡± ¡°Bringing medicine to Young Master Adrian. Why don¡¯t we swap with that?¡± ¡°Really? Is that okay with you?¡± Her eyes widened into saucers as she asked back. Certainly, anyone would think this was weird. It¡¯s much easier to bring Adrian¡¯s medicine than to peel dozens of onions every morning. At least, that would be the case for someone who didn¡¯t know who Adrian really was. ¡°Yeah. I really can¡¯t go on knowing that you¡¯re having such a hard time, Sister. I couldn¡¯t sleep at night while thinking that I¡¯m the only one who has it easy. I wake up early anyway and I can peel onions effortlessly, so don¡¯t worry and leave it all to me!¡± There! I don¡¯t have to be so nervous every morning! Resisting the urge to jump up in excitement, I waited for Catarina¡¯s answer with eyes sparkling with hope. Catarina opened her lips with a bright expression as though she was about to accept it, but then she looked away and sighed. ¡°No, we can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Why!¡± I jumped up, throwing the onion in my hand without realizing it. Catarina looked up in surprise, but I had no time to notice this. ¡°Why not! Why can¡¯t we do that! Isn¡¯t it hard peeling onions like this? I already said I¡¯ll do this difficult job for you, so why¡­!¡± ¡°Hilda. Young Master Adrian personally ordered you to do that, so how can we trade our tasks?¡± ¡°H-Huh?¡± ¡°I knew it, this won¡¯t work. Young Master Adrian will be very disappointed.¡± Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 9 Catarina sniffled, threw away the onion in her hand and then picked up another one. Meanwhile, I was just confused and flustered by this new information. Adrian personally ordered Hilda for that task? Why? Were the two of them close? I didn¡¯t see any explanation of that in the game. ¡°It¡¯s time for you to bring him the medicine. Hurry up and go. If you get there late again, they¡¯ll come looking for you.¡± While wiping her nose, she looked towards the exit as a signal. I stood there motionless and out of sorts, and as I always did, I left the kitchen somewhat depressed while holding a tray with a light breakfast and some medicine. I messed up. If Adrian asked for me himself, there¡¯s going to be no way out of this for me unless he dismisses me from the job. I can¡¯t even personally say that I won¡¯t do it anymore. ¡°If I run into him like this, will I die?¡± I trudged up the stairs with a gloomy cloud over my head. And when I reached the fourth floor and saw that the door was still tightly shut, I felt a little relieved again. If I just left the tray there and went back, I wouldn¡¯t encounter Adrian. Nothing happened after I¡¯d been doing this for about three or four days, so there shouldn¡¯t be any trouble in the future. There¡¯s no law that a person would really, absolutely die, right? ¡°Young Master, are you there?¡± As I did for the past few days, I whispered with a small voice, far away from the door. ¡°You¡¯re not here today, too, right? Or are you still sleeping? I¡¯ll just leave your medicine and breakfast here by the door and leave.¡± It was quiet inside, not one peep of an answer. The sound of the wind blowing from this side of the door was louder than my voice, so of course it couldn¡¯t be heard. Yeah, let¡¯s not think about this negatively. I just have to live quietly like this every day. Leaning down, I barely suppressed my heart from pounding out of my chest from all this tension. Tak. A very small sound came out when I set the tray down on the floor. But right then, a clear voice suddenly called out to me from the front. ¡°Hilda.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Did you call me?¡± It was such a soft, gentle voice, as though it would melt into my ears. As I looked up reflexively, my gaze met Adrian¡¯s eyes. My body reacted belatedly with my mouth hanging open and my heart plummeting to the ground. Atop Adrian¡¯s appearance, the devil I had seen in the game¡¯s intro, overlapped. ¡°Ahh¡­ AACK!¡± Clatter! CRASH! I was so taken aback that I plopped on my but and threw the tray, which was now upside down. The glass bowl that was on the tray now lay scattered in pieces on the marble floor, and the liquid inside had oozed out along with six pills that scattered on the floor and rolled away. It was a mess. ¡°I-I apologize, Young Master. I-I was just so surprised.¡± ¡°Hilda, are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m really sorry.¡± I hurried over and began to pick up the scattered pieces of glass and put them back on the tray. Adrian¡­ It¡¯s really Adrian. Oh my god, oh my goodness, how in the world did you know I was here¡­ My jaw was trembling so hard that my teeth started to chatter. I was so shocked that my vision started to spin. What kind of gaze, what kind of expression did he have while looking down from above? To him, I could only look like prey, right? Unfortunately, there was no one else in the hallway right now. What he needed to regain his powers as a devil was to murder people. There was a condition to the murders he needed to commit, and that was to not be caught. In other words, right here, where there was no other witness, it was the perfect chance to kill this servant who could disappear easily without any consequences. Am I really going to die here? Seriously? Without even finding a clue about how to return to the real world? With such overwhelming fear and trepidation, I wanted to cling onto his leg and beg. I don¡¯t care about anything else, just please don¡¯t kill me! I¡¯ll disappear quietly. I¡¯m not a game character, I¡¯m just a poor player who¡¯s trapped here after buying an A-Comms game! ¡°Hilda, calm down.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sor¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m¡­¡± Please. Please spare me. * * * ¡°Hilda, it¡¯s fine. Were you surprised to see me all of a sudden? I¡¯m sorry.¡± It was such an uncannily soft, calm voice. He even went down on his knees and gave me a light pat on the back. And as we were like this, I¡¯m sure that he could see the tremors passing through my body and hear how short of breath I was. But at that moment¡ª familiar white letters popped up in front of me. ¡¸ Gained 1000 EXP for the first conversation with Adrian. ¡¹ My dismal EXP bar suddenly shot up before I could read all the notification windows. 3, 4, 5¡­ As the bar filled up rapidly, it stopped just a little over level 5. ¡¸ Skill unlocked! You can now use the skill ¡®Perception¡¯. ¨C Passive ¡¹ What the, what is this? Even amidst the chaos of meeting Adrian, who just appeared so suddenly, the fact that I shot up to level 5 just made me so terribly depressed. A simple exchange of a few words with Adrian was equivalent to 1,000 EXP, in other words, 1,000 weeds. It¡¯s been a while since the smoke had disappeared, but the moment I recalled my hard-earned imaginary furnace that took me to level 4, I cried. All the weeds I pulled¡­ ¡°Hilda?¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing. Please¡­ give me a moment.¡± At the stinging memory of hard labor that suddenly came to mind, I pressed the inside of my eyes hard. ¡°You¡¯re crying?¡± ¡°I¡¯m nwot. It¡¯s just, I peeled some onions before¡­¡± ¡°Right. The pills smell like onions.¡± ¡°I had to pick them up with my hands, I¡¯m s-sorry.¡± I got so frustrated at rising 3 levels at once that I forgot, but right now, the one in front of me was an outstanding murderer. I quickly went back to picking up the pieces of glass to appear busy. Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 10 ¡°The medicine¡­ I¡¯ll get some more and bring them back for you¡­ I apologize for having surprised you, Young Master.¡± ¡°No, you were surprised because I came out of nowhere.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯ve only been hovering in front of the door for the past few days, so I wanted to ask you about it today.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s just¡­¡± ¡°Was there something I did wrong towards you?¡± As I placed a shard of glass, which fell in front of the door, back on the tray, I listened to his sweet voice. Wait, sweet¡­? As if I was chewing on the grains of sand, there was a sense of incompatibility here. Other than being sweet, was there anything else out there that didn¡¯t suit him? He acted harmless like this in front of others, but while he was alone, he showed his true self as a devil. Even while slashing necks¡ªwhether it would be horizontally or vertically¡ªhe would make such calculations with an angel-like face. Oh my god. Please don¡¯t cut me up vertically. That would be so terrible. Please at least leave my face intact¡­ ¡°O-Of course not. It¡¯s nothing like that. I am a mere servant, so how could the master do something wrong. That¡¯s not possible, sir.¡± ¡°Then why did you act like that?¡± Glass-like eyes stared at me. They were so brilliantly clear and transparent, as if those orbs contained sunlight. But once our eyes met, they looked so dangerous as if they would never let go of anything. I felt like a hyena in front of a huge, majestic lion. ¡°Hilda?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± His saccharine voice was so soft that it seemed to melt, but to me especially, his voice sounded so sharp as if it could cut my ears. The eyes that looked into mine also seemed to have a distorted look. No, if I do this, I¡¯ll look more suspicious. If he thinks I¡¯m interfering in his business, I¡¯m done for. I finished taking all the glass pieces, my hand a little calmer now. It wasn¡¯t because of Adrian, but I was surprised for a moment because of the broken glass. It¡¯s as if I finally calmed down. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s for your sake, Young Master.¡± I said this in a surprisingly clear voice.¡± ¡°For me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just, you know. As people get one year older, doesn¡¯t that mean we lose our time in the morning that could be used for sleeping? We wake up at a fixed time every day, but suddenly, it will be one hour short, and then suddenly again, it¡¯ll be two hours short. Little by little, you¡¯ll find yourself opening your eyes earlier, and next thing you know, you¡¯ll wake up even in the middle of the night!¡± ¡°¡­So?¡± ¡°I thought about it every morning. Wouldn¡¯t people be able to sleep early at night if they just complete their work much faster in the day when they get up earlier in the morning? If I live like that, wouldn¡¯t I no longer be a mere servant, but a person who just strives to do a better job? Even so, isn¡¯t the most important and most prominent task of my day to bring medicine to you, Young Master? But I couldn¡¯t move up the schedule because of my poor sleeping habits, sir. Young Master, you¡¯re at the prime of your youth and you¡¯re growing up a lot. So, I started leaving the tray in front of the door so that you don¡¯t have to wake up.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­It was a pity that I couldn¡¯t see you, Young Master.¡± A strong desire to live was directly proportional to how pathetic a person could look. I added that one thing in the end, but fortunately, it didn¡¯t sound like I said that against my will. This was also a test to see how close Hilda and Adrian really were. Huuu. There was no setup like this when I was playing the game. Why are there so many more details in the worldbuilding now? Anyone could see how incomplete it all is here! Currently in a different world, I imagined grabbing the gamedev by the collar and shaking him. ¡°Young Master, oh, how can I say this. Seeing you every morning is like hearing the sound of birds chirping in the morning. A great beginning to the day, like that!¡± So, please spare me. ¡°I¡¯ve felt so bad about it several times whenever I just left the tray behind. The conversations I had with the Young Master were like, um, how can I say this, like the brilliant light during daybreak that brightens the sky¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Hilda. You¡¯re one of the few people who listens to me so well, that¡¯s why I was sad that you just left every time. The one I was talking to just disappeared.¡± I just spat those words out because I thought that no matter how impersonal their relationship was, Hilda would still have at least talked to him about taking the meds. But it seems like the relationship between these two was much better than I expected? Seeing how much more disappointed Adrian was than I could have predicted, he looked strangely human. Was this really the Adrian who I thought he was? For a moment, I grew suspicious of his normal appearance as a person. But I soon shook my head and came back to my senses. Don¡¯t fall for that look. You know the true face of that devil. ¡°I¡¯m a little relieved that you were as disappointed as I was, Hilda. Now, come in.¡± Pardon? Go in, you say? ¡°Young master, your medicine fell on the floor. Your meal also got turned upside down. I can¡¯t allow this to go on because I¡¯m the one who¡¯s in charge of your medicine. I¡¯ll go to the kitchen and get some more and hurry back.¡± Adrian looked at me as I actively expressed my willingness to go this far. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Fine? Oh no, it absolutely isn¡¯t, Young Master. You have to take your medicine on time. I¡¯ll be back soon. I¡¯ll go to the kitchen and¡­¡± And I don¡¯t have any plans of coming back again. ¡°Hilda. You¡¯re strange these days.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Is there something you¡¯re hiding?¡± The corners of Adrian¡¯s lips went up. Those eyes glinted with an unknown light, like hell¡¯s inferno. I froze as I was. No matter how big it pretended to be, a hyena was just a hyena in the end. A hyena that would have its chest be pierced through as soon as the lion reveals its teeth¡­ Step by step, he approached. W-Why are you coming closer. What, why. Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 11 I reflexively took a step back. Every time he drew closer, it was like thunder was raging in my heart. And when my back hit the wall, I stopped breathing. ¡°Done, right?¡± Contrary to how I thought he¡¯d surely kill me, he picked up a pill from amongst the scattered shards of glass on the tray, then he popped it into his mouth. He looked down at me calmly as he gulped it down without one sip of water. I couldn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Come in.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°I just want to talk like we did before. Are you going to keep standing there like this?¡± He stirred my conscience in such a devilish way. The more pitiful and pathetic he pretended to be, the higher my fear soared. ¡°O-Of course not. The Young Master has ordered me after all.¡± If I keep being like this, he might kill me just because I¡¯m annoying¡­ Since I couldn¡¯t take another step back anymore, I had no choice but to close my eyes and go in. Adrian watched me walk into his room like a mole crawling into a tiger¡¯s den. As I had seen in the game, the room was quiet and impersonal. I could appreciate how neat and tidy it was, but it gave off a more lonely and empty feeling. The warm sunlight, the refreshing wind, and the sound of the friendly birds¡¯ chirping all died down the moment they seeped through the windows of his room. It was a place where nothing but a few withered pots of plants by the window had the warmth of life. ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Our Young Count, who was tough enough to swallow glass shards and dirtied pills at once, had begged me to come into his room, yet now that I was here, he wasn¡¯t saying anything. Are you trying to figure out how to kill me? ¡°Um, what did I used to talk to you about, Young Master?¡± ¡°Why are you asking that?¡± ¡°Um¡­ I was wondering what kind of conversations you found to be the most fun.¡± Even I thought it was ridiculous to have ¡®forgotten¡¯ entire conversations with him, so I changed the wording of the question slightly. Adrian sat on the other side, on the bed. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I¡¯ve never thought of that before.¡± As expected, it¡¯s clear that his mind was occupied right now with contemplating how to kill me. Even if he wasn¡¯t thinking of that now, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll kill me someday. If I¡¯m going to be in the same room with him like this, I should at least have a weapon to protect myself. Oh, right. I leveled up earlier and got a skill. Please. God of this game world, o great gamedev. Please, give me a skill that I can fight back with when he rushes in for the kill. I prayed earnestly to myself then pressed the skill window, pretending to shake off some dust. For the first time, a sparkling skill name could be seen in a status window that¡¯s been inactive and full of lock icons until now. ¡®Perception¡¯. Hm, perception¡­ All my hopes and expectations that swelled up like a balloon quickly popped and turned to dust. It was obvious to anyone that this was a skill that wouldn¡¯t help me in dire situations. But it¡¯s better than nothing. When I sighed out a little bit, I pressed the skill and familiar white letters came up. ¡¸ The skill of ¡®Perception¡¯ has been activated. It shall remain activated until manually turned off. ¡¹ I was perplexed at what this was supposed to perceive, but I quickly found the answer. The pounding of my heart suddenly began ringing behind my ears, and red emergency sirens, like a police car¡¯s, suddenly began to light up. The skill seemed to be like a warning in advance for me to avoid something urgently. No way. ¡°Hilda, please close the curtains. The light is blinding.¡± ¡°Y-Yes. I¡¯ll do that.¡± And at that exact moment, Adrian lay back down in bed and asked me to do something. To check this, I looked at the emergency sirens and moved away from Adrian¡ªit felt like the vivid red lights were fading. The sound of my heartbeats, too, which was so loud that it felt like my eardrums would burst, also became a little softer. Sure enough, it was also a skill to sense Adrian¡¯s presence. It seemed like it would warn me whenever I got closer to Adrian, but this was going to be a useful skill in the future too if I want to avoid him in advance. But next time I meet him, this function would only be annoying. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°No need to be thankful, Young Master. Please get well soon. Miss Leticia is very worried about you. Oh, um, of course, me too.¡± ¡°Mm. You may leave now.¡± I tried to recite the lines I saw in the game from what I can remember of them, but it didn¡¯t sound too bad. Adrian allowed me to leave right away. I, will I really live? I guess he really called me here without any meaning to it. Right, he¡¯d need to kill someone more prominent so that he could level up. What¡¯s the point in killing a maid? It would be the same as pulling out weeds for 1 EXP. Bowing politely, I tried to control the smile that was threatening to lift the corners of my mouth. ¡°Yes, Young Master. Please rest comfortably.¡± ¡°You have to bring me my medicine tomorrow, Hilda.¡± ¡¸ Adrian¡¯s favorability has risen by 1 point. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gifts given ¨C 5/5 ¡ªYou can increase a character¡¯s favorability faster by giving gifts. ¡¹ And then at that moment, I paused as I read this unfamiliar content which appeared right before my eyes in the same white letters. I had no choice but to doubt my own eyes. Favorability¡­? Isn¡¯t this something that could only be seen in otome games? ¡°Hilda?¡± ¡°Ack. Yes. Of course. Tomorrow for sure¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t disappoint me.¡± ¡¸ Adrian¡¯s favorability ¨C Lv.1 (2/400) ¡¹ I stared at the words in front of me then glanced alternately between the white letters and Adrian. Then, as I met Adrian¡¯s gaze, his eyes curved into crescent moons. It was a smile of the eyes that could captivate anyone who¡¯d see it, but I closed the door quickly. Chills ran down my spine. t/n: RPG ¨C role-playing game Otome game ¨C a kind of RPG, but a dating simulation where the main focus is romancing the characters Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 12 After finishing all my tasks of the day and returning to my room, I looked through the game interface in earnest. I couldn¡¯t understand everything before because I was so flustered, but in fact, the basics of any game was the most important law. In order to survive in this place, I¡¯ll need to make the most of the game system that¡¯s been made available to me. First, the character status window. ¡¸ Hilda Occupation: Maid Title: Insignificant Worker Level: 5 Skills: 1 ¡¹ There were no HP or MP gauges that¡¯s like the staple in other RPG games. Floating in the air was the indication of my 300 gold and other properties. Even after working hard for three to four days, my money stayed the same. When I looked to the right, I saw the red emergency siren icon that¡¯s for the passive skill of ¡®perception¡¯. Of course, it was turned off for now. Then, another thing on the right side was a heart shape that I had never seen before meeting Adrian. The status window that appeared near Adrian earlier clearly said ¡®favorability¡¯. And it seemed like the number of gifts that could be given was also limited. When I carefully pressed the heart icon, the same list window¡ªlike with the skills¡ªpopped up. ¡¸ Adrian Lv.1 ? ? ? ¡¹ Having more question marks in this list meant that there were more characters I could raise the favorability with for a good relationship. A favorability system in a horror game? The genre doesn¡¯t match! Then, at the bottom was the experience bar that I was more familiar with. The interface looked simple now, but the higher my level and the favorability of other characters, the more new systems could be introduced. ¡°Haa¡­¡± Maybe I can still wake up from this dream. Would I still be able to wake up from this survival-thriller game and go back to being a normal gamer? However, it felt like this flop game wouldn¡¯t let me go until I¡¯ve achieved a certain goal. Unfortunately, I had a hunch like that. If a player chooses the wrong class in an RPG, they¡¯re going to suffer all throughout the game. If the player chooses to be a warrior, they¡¯ll need to strengthen their weapons and raise their level. If it¡¯s an archer, another archer of a similar level could hit them with an arrow, too, and that¡¯ll be the end. If it¡¯s a mage, they could make ice walls all they want, but if they faint due to mana depletion, it¡¯s also the end. That¡¯s why players try to look through the occupation or class choices before starting a game. In that sense, even from the very beginning of this game, I¡¯ve already failed. Regardless of how high I can level up this character, if I can¡¯t do a class change, it would be better to throw away the character and start over. Due to the nature of this game¡¯s genre, regardless of whether I could raise his favorability later, Adrian might still kill me because, of all things, I¡¯m a maid whose purpose is to serve him. Though I¡¯m a small fry, if a hungry person¡¯s faced with just any kind of food, wouldn¡¯t it still look appetizing to them? Still, there¡¯s hope. I didn¡¯t reach the end of the game, and I was drunk throughout my gameplay so my memory¡¯s a bit woozy in the middle, but I can still remember the people he¡¯s going to kill and what tools he¡¯d use to do the deed. Needless to say, all the characters of this mansion were candidates for murder victims, but the tools that could be used were limited. Besides that, Adrian could hardly use his demonic power at the start of the game, so maybe I could sneakily hide the dangerous tools from the weak young master. There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of if the evil devil can¡¯t gain any strength, right? Rather than running away from everything recklessly, maybe it¡¯s safer to be close to him while preventing him from getting stronger. Aight. Unexpectedly, maybe it¡¯s not going to be that difficult to survive. While looking at the pitch-black ceiling, I took a deep breath. When I first opened my eyes in this game, I was so flustered that I ran away and just screamed all the time. But now, as I organized my thoughts one by one, I could remain calm now. ¡¸ The daily rewards have arrived. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gold +30G ¡¹ Yeah, I don¡¯t have to think so pessimistically. I¡¯ll be able to do anything once I collect my salary every day. After all this, I can even hire a bodyguard! Or, if I save enough, I can even get out of this mansion completely! ¡¸ Losses have been incurred from breaking the Countess¡¯ plate. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gold -300G ¡¹ As though laughing at my hopeful thoughts, those white letters quickly popped up and disappeared. I recalled how Adrian suddenly opened the door and made me break the plate. That small thing is 300 gold? The moment my shabby 300 gold had dwindled down to 30 gold, my own inner devil woke up. ¡°This stupid flop game! This is why no one¡¯s playing this!¡± I poured all my wrath at the pillow I punched dozens of times while shouting ¡®flop game¡¯. ¡¸ Damages have been incurred from lowering the pillow¡¯s durability. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gold -5G ¡¹ ¡°AAAAARGH!¡± When my salary¡¯s already at 30 gold per day, I first wondered why I had only 300 gold in total. But after experiencing this for a few days, I realized the reason with such despair. This balance of wealth is sh*t! This place was plastered with only disgustingly pricey things all over, so there¡¯s more chances to lose rather than gain money. At this rate, rather than Adrian killing me, I might just starve to death first. Ha. Should I just try to find out more about class changing? t/n: Class change ¨C a character can change jobs or raise their job position (kinda like evolving in pokemon). in hilda¡¯s case, she could do a class change by raising her maid status to a ¡®lady-in-waiting¡¯ maybe, or if it¡¯s a complete class change to another occupation like a seamstress or some other job, that might be possible too. (i¡¯m basing this logic from my limited knowledge of rpgs mostly via fire emblem XD i¡¯m not actually sure if the game system here is the same) Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 13 The next morning came. In the past, my first thoughts as I woke up would be, ¡®I have to go to work,¡¯ ¡®I haven¡¯t even gone to work yet but I already want to leave,¡¯ ¡®Hell subway,¡¯ and ¡®Salary when?¡¯ But nowadays, my first thoughts would be, ¡®It¡¯s time to bring Adrian his medicine,¡¯ ¡®Which ones can I live without, my arms or my legs?¡¯ and ¡®Let¡¯s survive today and maybe not die.¡¯ Considering how roughly aristocrats lived in the era of this game, it was natural to bring him medicine like that¡ªbut it became another story if her life was always threatened. Adrian was terrifying. Even if he didn¡¯t act scary, his backstory and role in this game frightened me. And even if he wouldn¡¯t kill me directly, just feeling the threat to my life would eventually shorten my lifespan. Though Adrian was, in many ways, of no help to my life at all in this game, I was jealous of the other servants who think that it¡¯s nice bringing the medicine to him. It¡¯s already so difficult to raise Adrian¡¯s favorability, and even aiming for being his lover would just be like going around in circles rather than solving the problem. Adrian has had a weak body ever since he was young¡ªhe still couldn¡¯t regain his power of the devil back then¡ªso, let alone doing his work as the only successor of the family, he had yet to enter high society. I¡¯ve already caught his eye. Since I started my life here as a servant, if I can¡¯t be even the tail of a dragon, I¡¯ll be the head of a snake. I¡¯m just trying to think about it that way. But I¡¯m really not underestimating my opponent. All I want is to survive, I don¡¯t even dream of success or anything like it! This is all really unfair. I couldn¡¯t help but feel so taken aback by this. ¡°You¡¯ve been bringing medicine for the Young Master these days, so it¡¯s like you can¡¯t see anything else, huh?¡± ¡°You do know it¡¯s isn¡¯t true that you¡¯re talented enough to be the Young Master¡¯s attendant, hm?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re being so arrogant when you¡¯re not even qualified.¡± Similar to a bullying scene in a teen drama, I was dragged to the backyard as soon as I went to the kitchen for my other task, and here I was forced to listen to harsh but not really harsh words. There were about ten people surrounding me, plus their leaders. I pretended to widen my eyes as I turned to look around at them. There were three main leaders¡ªSerena, Louise, and Delores. Their names were written in pixels beside them. ¡°You¡¯re not worthy!¡± ¡°How dare you seduce the Young Master!¡± ¡°You need to know your place!¡± ¡°If you think you have any weight in the County, you should just go ahead and quit and leave this place! You don¡¯t have any shame, you¡¯re just sticking like a pesky tick!¡± Just for doing my work as the young master¡¯s attendant who brings his medicine, they¡¯re telling me to leave the mansion. Please, I want that for myself. They gathered the day before and became united as one to fight together. I dunno with you, but I don¡¯t want this either! My body¡¯s all twisted up because of the frustration I¡¯m feeling. I¡¯m the one who wants more than anyone here to get out of this place! ¡°We¡¯ve heard all these, but you¡¯re still keeping your mouth shut?¡± ¡°Get out of my way.¡± Finally, one of the leaders stepped forward. Delores¡­ She has golden blond hair that seems a bit faded. She¡¯s definitely one of Adrian¡¯s sacrificial victims. Not just her. Everyone here would eventually be Adrian¡¯s victims one day. I suddenly became sad. Everyone¡¯s so full of vigor right now, but unfortunately¡­ ¡°Do you know what people are whispering about behind you?¡± ¡°How can I know when they¡¯re all whispering behind me?¡± Suddenly, Delores¡¯ lips became distorted as if she didn¡¯t know what to answer. ¡°If you want to serve the Young Master¡¯s medicine so badly, just tell me. Yesterday, I broke all the plates and bowls and dropped the medicine on the floor. Since I made such a mistake, maybe he¡¯ll let you do it. You¡¯re qualified enough, right? I don¡¯t really have any skills either. You all have seen how many times I¡¯ve been scolded by Leticia just from washing dishes.¡± ¡°W-What?¡± I expressed my wishes sincerely, but Delores¡¯ face just turned red, perhaps thinking that I was making fun of her. As giggles broke out around us, she yelled. ¡°What did you just say! Are you mocking me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not. You know I grew up in a temple when I was young, right? I prayed so hard that I¡¯ve been imbued with the holy spirit. That¡¯s why, sometimes, I see people¡¯s futures.¡± I said this while recalling Hilda¡¯s character backstory. She had been abandoned by her parents and was left on the streets, until a priest had found her. So, before becoming a maid of the Pfalzgraf family, she had lived in a temple for some time. As I mentioned this, everyone flinched, whether or not they knew this backstory. ¡°God has spoken to me. In the year 473¡ªso that¡¯s this year¡ªthe mansion shall be besieged by demons.¡± ¡°What do you mean, demons?¡± ¡°Right. You still can¡¯t understand, but this is not the time for us to fight amongst ourselves. You don¡¯t know it, but we all have one enemy. If you don¡¯t want to die, never go around alone. Yes, especially you.¡± I pointed at Delores, who was standing right in front of me. Who else? ¡°And you, and you¡­ Even you. No¡ªyou, too. You should be careful as well.¡± ¡°What kind of nonsense are you spouting right now? Just who do you think you¡¯re fooling here?¡± ¡°Remember what I¡¯ve said. Even if it¡¯s not a demon, maybe a pot could still fall over your head, right?¡± Pointing towards the pot that was barely hanging on at the railing in a third-floor balcony, Serena quickly moved away from the wall she had been leaning against. The eyes that previously disregarded and looked down on me now suddenly regarded me as though I was a shaman. They didn¡¯t want to believe my words, but they couldn¡¯t just ignore me either. ¡°Then, I need to go and bring the Young Master¡¯s medicine soon, so if you excuse me¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°If you guys are late, too, you¡¯ll be scolded by Leticia.¡± As I turned around after saying this, they all looked at me in disbelief. Their murmurs followed. ¡°What the, this girl. Besieged?¡± ¡°What a cowardly excuse just to keep bringing the Young Master¡¯s medicine.¡± ¡°But wasn¡¯t Hilda originally a timid kid?¡± At a time when I was being called several times a day by a promising serial killer, such a thing like bullying didn¡¯t even faze me. Right there waiting for me was someone who¡¯d make me want to cry even more¡­ Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 14 With a dark expression, I arranged Adrian¡¯s medicine and meal on the tray. I got used to it, so it took me less than five minutes now. I should go inside Adrian¡¯s room today, right? If I leave the tray in front of his door again, he¡¯d just come out and surprise me again, right? Maybe he¡¯d even say that I went against his order and claim damages for being disrespectful. In reality and in this game as well, a worker¡¯s salary would pass through a bank account, of which the balance would hit the ground, and then the worker would have to open up if the boss told them to. It¡¯s a tearful, vicious cycle. ¡°Hilda! Ah, you¡¯re bringing the medicine to the Young Master. Good work. While you¡¯re there, go clean up the Young Master¡¯s room with me.¡± ¡°Huh? C-Clean? But it¡¯s already spotless.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even try to make excuses. It¡¯s a mess right now.¡± Leticia suddenly made a face as she clicked her tongue. What happened? ¡°It¡¯ll be difficult if it¡¯s just the two of us. Catarina, follow me.¡± ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Catarina, who was peeling onions meticulously in one corner of the kitchen, quickly stood up and followed behind Leticia. ¡°What are you doing right now? Hurry up and follow.¡± ¡°Yes, yes!¡± It felt like I was grabbed by the collar and lifted up in the air. A companion! It¡¯s a rule that he couldn¡¯t get caught killing someone, so I don¡¯t have to fear for my life today with Adrian. ¡°Did something good happen to you in the morning? Why are you so happy?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s nice to walk together with you, Miss Leticia.¡± When I said this with all my heart, Leticia looked at me as though I was speaking nonsense. But really, I mean it. Thank you for saving me. ¡°Good morning, Alvan.¡± ¡°Good morning, Leticia. Are you heading towards the Young Master¡¯s bedroom?¡± Leticia and Alvan, the butler I had encountered in the hallway, greeted each other. Then suddenly, Leticia glanced around and lowered her voice. ¡°The Madam?¡± ¡°The physician came and prescribed a stabilizer. She must have been extremely agitated.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the cause this time?¡± ¡°It must have been a dream. About that day¡­¡± ¡°Gracious.¡± ¡°When you go up, pretend you don¡¯t know. It¡¯s a mess.¡± Seeing Leticia be intimidated, Alvan looked away and shook his head slightly. He typically had the image of a benevolent, competent but strict grandpa butler. He soon turned and spoke to me and Catarina. ¡°You both are going to have a hard time today. You especially, Hilda. I heard that you¡¯ve been diligently in charge of the Young Master¡¯s medicine. Take good care of doing that task. Don¡¯t disappoint.¡± ¡°¡­Ye¡­s.¡± ¡°Yes. You have to lend your strength. I¡¯m so proud to see a child, who used to be so troubled, grow up to be such a gentle young woman. Oh, I¡¯ve been holding you here for too long. Miss Leticia, please go upstairs. It¡¯s time for the Young Master to take his medicine.¡± ¡°Yes, then.¡± As Alvan politely stepped out of the way, Leticia politely bowed her head and took the lead. I looked alternately between Leticia and Catarina with a curious gaze. A dream about ¡®that day¡¯? What¡¯s it about? What happened between the countess and her son? You¡¯re supposed to gossip behind the scenes at times like this, right? After passing the hall, we climbed the stairs. Catarina was the first to open her lips. ¡°So it¡¯s that.¡± ¡°Yes, it seems to be that.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Right?¡± As if testing the waters, I drew their attention. ¡­What is it? ¡°It¡¯s¡­ that, right?¡± ¡°Seeing that you reacted like this, Hilda, it really seems to be that.¡± Even though there were clear question marks behind my eyes, the two just nodded to themselves and said, ¡°As expected, right?¡± and ¡°Yes, it is.¡± I¡¯m sad. Why is the world so against me. ¡°That¡¯s why, our Hilda, you should take care of the Young Master very well.¡± Am I the only servant in this entire mansion? Why do you all keep telling me to take care of everything? I saw dozens of other servants just this morning clamoring to be next to Adrian. I choked up the moment I recalled my days as a newbie at the office and everyone left their tasks to me. ¡°Even so, I guess you¡¯re praiseworthy this time. Back then, you were such a lost cause. There was nothing you could do¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°When you were told to sew something, you¡¯d mess up the fabric. When I told you before to organize the cupboards, you just destroyed all the ceramics.¡± ¡°It used to be like that, but you¡¯re amazing now, right? To be honest, Miss Leticia cherishes you a lot, too,¡± Catarina added. ¡°Cherish, what are you saying,¡± Leticia replied. No matter how much more I hear, this Hilda character seemed to have gotten herself in so much trouble. She caused a lot of ridiculous accidents and became a beggar just to compensate for the damages she caused. I didn¡¯t miss this opportunity. With a slightly discouraged, gloomy face, I spoke. ¡°Then Miss Leticia, wouldn¡¯t it be better to have another servant with you? If I make another mistake in front of the Young Master, I won¡¯t be able to show my face.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible.¡± I was speaking in such an excited tone, but I was immediately cut off. ¡°To be honest, the other servants don¡¯t want to work well, they just want to look good in front of the young master. But you¡¯re not like that. I think it¡¯s because you¡¯re older than them, that¡¯s why you¡¯re not scared.¡± No. I¡¯m really scared. The person in the mansion who¡¯s the most afraid of Adrian¡ªif you ask me who it is, I¡¯ll tell you. It¡¯s me. ¡°My hands are no good, so¡­¡± But we arrived in front of Adrian¡¯s door, so I stopped speaking. Even if I knew that I wouldn¡¯t die here since I was with two other people, it¡¯s still scary. It really was still so frightening that, as soon as I stood in front of the door, the emergency siren began to shine faintly, but it was the crescendo of my pounding heart that made me cower even more. ¡°Young Master, it¡¯s me, Leticia. I¡¯ll be going in.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The moment permission was granted, Leticia held the doorknob and turned it around. I entered the room last after Catarina, and without any time to look at Adrian¡¯s condition, I was left shocked. The silent room was a chaotic mess. Ripped curtains, smashed vases and cups, soaked carpet and ink splattered everywhere¡­ Nothing in this place was intact. Even if you tell me that a storm had passed through, it was still so unbelievable. Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 15 Preventing herself from bursting out in astonishment, Catarina covered her lips with both hands. ¡°Goodness gracious¡­ Young Master, are you alright?¡± ¡°Good morning. Yes, I¡¯m not hurt.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief. You must have been very shocked.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. As you can see, it¡¯s a lot, so you can go ahead and clean them.¡± He ordered us in a gentle, yet dignified tone. It could be said that he was characteristically aristocratic. It was ingrained in him to act in this way. ¡°Yes, of course. We¡¯ll clean up quickly.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± At the formal exchange of words, Adrian smiled brilliantly¡ªominously. At the same time, the emergency sirens rang so loudly that my vision turned red as my heart pounded rapidly. Ah, it¡¯s so distracting. ¡°The medicine is here, no¡ªhere, no, here¡­ I¡¯ll leave it here, Young Master.¡± With the sirens ringing so loudly, I looked for a place to set down the tray. I usually placed it on the table, but since it was turned upside down at the moment, I tried to put it on the bedside table. But that was a wreck, too. Eventually, the only place left was the bed, so I set it down at the bottom edge. Who was it? Who¡¯s responsible for this? I¡¯ll have to call that person here and make them clean this with their own hands. ¡°My mother, she did this.¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± My heart plummeted to the ground. It wasn¡¯t because of the perception skill¡ªit was really my heart. When he saw my surprised face, Adrian¡¯s eyebrows shot up. The emergency sirens were ringing like crazy, telling me to get away from him right this second. ¡°It¡¯s because you looked so curious. Were you very surprised?¡± ¡°N¡­o. Not one bit.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t leave the tray at the door today.¡± ¡°Yes, yes¡­ Of course.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. I thought you¡¯d continue to avoid me.¡± It hurts. It hurts because you keep hitting the nail right on its head¡­ Adrian smiled brightly, then he looked back at the book he¡¯d been reading since we came here. Perhaps listening to our conversation, Leticia sneaked up to my side and threatened me with a hushed voice. ¡°What¡¯s this about leaving the tray at the door. We¡¯ll talk about this later.¡± I stood there, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but suddenly, it felt like I heard a low voice laughing behind me. Doubting my own ears, I turned around, but I could only see Adrian reading with such concentration. This jerk, are you trying to screw with me? ¡°Huu, look at the state of this curtain¡­ Huuu. My goodness, the chair also got trampled and scratched. This one, gosh, this one has been carefully shipped from across the sea¡­¡± ¡°If it¡¯s to this extent, did the Madam get hurt?¡± Catarina asked. ¡°I heard that the doctor stopped by, so if she was hurt, he would have already treated her. Let¡¯s clean this room up quickly. I have to stop the others from speaking of it.¡± I think he could still hear everything even when they were whispering quietly, but Adrian pretended not to hear anything and relaxed alone. He didn¡¯t seem to even care a little bit, and he might have looked the same when the room had gotten wrecked like this right in front of him. Come to think of it, it looked natural for him to read books quietly like that. He looked so much like a beautiful, precious young master that no one would ever think he was a devil. Even his long eyelashes exuded elegance. And it was so strange to see the favorability numbers floating above his head and disappearing. I¡¯m wondering. Did he perhaps not dislike people who acted a bit distant? Originally, there was no such feature of ¡®favorability¡¯ in this game, but I could see it plain and clear in front of my eyes right now. If it all wasn¡¯t exactly the same as the game I knew, wouldn¡¯t Adrian¡¯s character setting be different, too? Maybe he¡¯s not the devil, or maybe he doesn¡¯t get his demonic power through killing people. It was a plausible enough hypothesis. But as I was in deep thought¡­ WEE-OONG WEE-OONG! The constant ringing of the sirens was so irritating. That¡¯s it. I¡¯m going to mute it. ¡°Take the carpet and go downstairs. Ha-yah.¡± When I rolled up the stained carpet that looked like a drink was spilled on it, Leticia beckoned me to go out. While I was in the kitchen with the carpet, I found the setting button in the skill window and lowered the volume of the sirens appropriately. Good. This much wouldn¡¯t be loud. ¡°Hilda, place the carpet over there. Let¡¯s wash it together later.¡± Catarina said this as she followed. Seeing that there was a crackling sound as the carpet was moved, some shards of glass seemed to have gotten stuck in it. Ah, now¡¯s a good time to talk. After setting down the carpet on the floor, dragging it up and hanging it on the wall, I hurriedly approached Catarina. She was carefully checking whether the plates and teacups she brought with her were cracked anywhere, separately filtering out some fragments of glass. ¡°Um, Older Sis. You know, in Young Master Adrian¡¯s room. What happened?¡± ¡°What do you mean? We talked about it before already.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t. Apart from that¡­¡± ¡°Ah, that. What happened fourteen years ago.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m asking about that. How is it related to what happened to the Young Master¡¯s room?¡± There wasn¡¯t a backstory like this in the game. Or maybe I just don¡¯t know about it because I didn¡¯t get to reach the part where the countess comes out? I shouldn¡¯t have slept while thinking about going to work the next day. I should have just played the game until the end. ¡°What the, Hilda, you don¡¯t remember? The mansion was turned upside down for quite a while, but you really don¡¯t remember?¡± ¡°Mmh. Actually, it¡¯s like that. You heard what Miss Leticia said earlier, my head¡¯s no good. I guess I forgot about it.¡± ¡°Wow, I can¡¯t believe it¡­¡± ¡°So what happened?¡± I eagerly asked Catarina, who was still at a loss for words. Biting her lower lip with a frustrated expression on her face, Catarina soon gave up and sighed. Then, she soon opened her lips with a gloomy look. ¡°Young Master Adrian is the household¡¯s precious son. The Madam was already weak because she had a miscarriage once, so she was so happy to be pregnant once more after such a hard time¡­ Miss Leticia often says that she couldn¡¯t forget the Madam¡¯s happy expression at that time. Since Milord was so busy, the Madam was almost entirely in charge of raising the Young Master, but even so, she was so happy. That is, until she tried to hold a baptism for the Young Master.¡± ¡°Bap¡­ tism?¡± I hiccupped in surprise. ¡°Yeah. It happened during the Young Master¡¯s sixth birthday. The Madam invited a priest to baptize him as a surprise gift.¡± Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 16 ¡°So, did he get baptized?¡± ¡°Thing is, the Young Master refused, so the priest decided to go back¡­ Still though, he left some holy water behind to wish him a happy birthday. The Madam took it and splashed some on the Young Master, and that¡¯s where this whole mess started. The Madam said that the Young Master¡¯s skin burned where the holy water touched, and she kept saying that it was clear that the devil was within him. But if that¡¯s the case, there should have been someone else who also saw it.¡± ¡°H-Huuuh¡­ A devil?¡± ¡°I know right? Devils don¡¯t exist in this world. If the Young Master really was one, why are all the people in this mansion still fine? Something should have already happened. I was scared at first because the Madam shouted so loudly that the Young Master was the devil, but now everything just thinks she¡¯s gone off her rocker. Back then only a few people stayed to work.¡± ¡°What about the rest? Did they quit?¡± ¡°They quit and suddenly disappeared. Well, you know. There¡¯s a lot of workers out there who run away when things get tough. There¡¯s no reason for us to look for such people either.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Since then, the Madam has mostly stayed in her room because of her anxiety. She keeps muttering to herself, but you know, when I listen to some of it, chills go up my spine. That¡¯s why if there comes a time that you need to attend to the Madam, just pretend you can¡¯t hear her and come out after you¡¯re done with work. If you happen to mention the Young Master even a little, she¡¯ll get agitated again.¡± ¡°Then today, in the Young Master¡¯s room¡­¡± ¡°While no one was around her, the Madam went to the Young Master¡¯s room. I¡¯m sure she made a fuss there and shouted at him that he was the devil. When this happens, everyone¡¯s shushed. There¡¯s nothing good about leaking out the fact that the Madam isn¡¯t in her right mind.¡± ¡°Wait, so only a few people know about it now? You, Miss Leticia, me, Emily¡­ Who else?¡± ¡°Um, the Count, the Madam herself, the butler Alvan, Delores¡­ only those people I think?¡± For a moment, I tried to place myself in Adrian¡¯s shoes. Adrian¡ªa literal devil¡ªwould have been put on the spot during that baptism, and it was common sense that his constitution wouldn¡¯t agree with holy water. What would Adrian do if these things would be used as evidence to reveal his true identity? Wouldn¡¯t the first people he¡¯d kill¡­ the ones who knew the truth? ¡°Wait, Older Sis. Did you come out of the room alone?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s left in that room right now?¡± When I asked her urgently, Catarina¡¯s eyes grew bigger. ¡°Oh, it must be just the Young Master and Miss Leticia. No one else is going to visit the Young Master¡¯s room.¡± ¡°Oh my god!¡± ¡°Why are you so shocked? Are you afraid that the Madam¡¯s there? Even if you worry about that¡­¡± I didn¡¯t have time to explain. I shook off Catarina¡¯s hand and ran straight out of the kitchen. I was relieved that Catarina left with me when I left the room earlier, but as I was busy trying to figure out the story she told me, I forgot who was left with Adrian. ¡®You can¡¯t be dead. Oh my god. Oh Jesus Christ.¡¯ As I climbed the stairs two or three steps at a time, I could barely catch my breath. I ran all the way up to the fourth floor without taking a breather. The emergency siren icon, which had stayed silent as I went down to the kitchen, now began to glow with a red light once more. Bang! As soon as I arrived at the door, I grabbed the knob without hesitating and threw the door open. Leticia was sitting with her back facing me now as she was folding the ripped curtains. And¡­ Adrian was looming right behind her. ¡°Miss Leticia!¡± The moment I yelled, Adrian paused for a moment. When Leticia turned around, Adrian already hid his hand behind his back. Trying not to look at him, who slowly straightened his posture, I tried to slow down my breathing. ¡°E-Excuse, me. Miss Leticia, please, with me, come¡­ Please come with me to the kitchen.¡± ¡°Why? Did something happen in the kitchen? I need to clean up a little more here.¡± Leticia turned back to the thick curtains in front of her and started folding them again. Feeling restless, I bit my lips. ¡°Urgent! It¡¯s really urgent. We have to go. Now.¡± ¡°Right now?¡± ¡°Right now! Hurry!¡± When I stomped my feet and shouted again, Leticia sighed heavily. At this rate, trouble would befall this mansion if I let this slip even once¡­ Leticia continued to mutter like that, but as she was about to get up, she found a shadow over her. ¡°Oh my, Young Master. When did you get up from the bed?¡± ¡°A little while ago. I was going to help you because it looks hard folding the curtains.¡± Adrian took a step back. While I was staring at him, my nerves shooting through the sky, Leticia seemed to be so moved to tears at what he said. ¡°How is it possible for the Young Master to have such a lovely heart? Please don¡¯t worry. The Madam will soon be herself again as she¡¯s being treated by a marvelous doctor. Do you remember? The Madam cared very much about you, Young Master. It would be wonderful if there¡¯s a chance for you to take a walk in the garden again¡­¡± ¡°Yes, yeees. That¡¯s right. Ahaha, I remember that, too, Miss Leticia.¡± As I tried to hurry along Leticia¡¯s words, Adrian¡¯s gaze turned to me right then. Slowly, every time he looked at me slowly like this, it felt like a fire was gradually rising. In front of a predator, I shrank back as if I was his prey being backed into a corner. All that¡¯s on my mind at this moment was I want to get out of this room right this second. ¡°Haha, ha. Those were the good old days, but¡­ Miss Leticia, hurry!¡± ¡°Alright, alright. Really, what¡¯s going on that it¡¯s gotten you so worked up?¡± ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll carry the curtains!¡± ¡°Goodness, fine. You¡¯re strong anyway. Young Master, I apologize. As you heard, there¡¯s a commotion in the kitchen, so¡­ I¡¯ll take a look for a moment and I¡¯ll come back up to continue cleaning.¡± ¡°¡­Okay, go ahead.¡± ¡°Quickly, quickly!¡± I picked up a bunch of curtains and pushed Leticia on her back. At this, she clicked her tongue, but she soon began to walk. Quite literally pushing her out the room, I glanced behind me. Two eyes gleamed in the darkness. Those dangerous orbs seemed to be taking everything in. As soon as our eyes met, I averted my gaze towards my front quickly, as though I¡¯d been burned. My heart was pounding wildly. Even though there was a rule that he couldn¡¯t kill anyone in the presence of multiple people, it felt like this tenacious, sharp killing intent could urge him to pounce at any given moment. I tried to calm myself down as I recalled what I saw when I entered the room a while ago. Leticia, sitting down. Adrian, approaching stealthily. Those two pale hands reaching out were so white that it seemed like he had no blood, and they had been slowly heading towards the woman. I gulped. My throat was exceedingly dry. He was definitely about to reach towards her neck¡­ You were going to strangle her, weren¡¯t you? Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 17 I was in a hurry to save her, so I made a huge fuss and dragged Leticia away with me. But, the problem was what to do next. Naturally, the kitchen was quiet and peaceful, so no matter how much one would wipe their eyes, the problem I bugged her about so urgently couldn¡¯t be found anywhere. In the kitchen, Catarina was relaxedly looking at the condition of the plates, then she looked up and asked, ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re back already?¡± before she turned back to her task again. ¡°Hilda. What did you say was wrong in the kitchen.¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s, you know.¡± ¡°Hm? Tell me. There must have been a reason why you dragged me out of the Young Master¡¯s room and committed such discourtesy to him. Did a mouse scuttle by in the kitchen? Is that it?¡± Leticia¡¯s voice gradually got deeper and deeper. I could almost see a dark energy rising from her entire body¡ªit made me wonder if she was actually the real main character of this horror game. I took several steps back, but I was soon caught by the other maids. I was then sentenced to three days of weed pulling penalty. Actually, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m fully being penalized because when I went down to pull those weeds, she seemed to have ordered a few other people, saying that more hands were needed for the task. It was such a relief. No, wait. What do I mean, relief? Why am I glad? I was entirely beside myself in agony. Really, if I thought about this simply, these people were all just dots and pixels, even if they died. They held no warmth within them, and they acted only according to their programming. They¡¯re not actually alive, so even if they ¡®die¡¯, they¡¯ll come back alive if only I press ¡®New Game¡¯. There was no need for me to be empathetic and save them. I think I¡¯m the only one who won¡¯t come back to life if I die in this game. Seriously, I can¡¯t believe I saved Leticia so obviously and blatantly like that. Adrian¡¯s eyes towards me¡­ When I think about it now, it¡¯s amazing that I didn¡¯t faint in front of him. I knew it. I¡¯m sure I got caught. What I did was practically getting a shovel, digging on the ground and tucking myself in my own grave, right? Was getting out of this game too lofty a goal? It was hard enough just to survive. ¡°Haa, let¡¯s stop thinking and call it a day.¡± The sun shall rise once again. Tomorrow¡¯s me, I¡¯ll leave it to you to deal with Adrian. I comforted myself as I returned to my room. Then, just as I was about to lie down and rest, the white letters I¡¯d come to love and hate popped up before my severely tired bloodshot eyes. What, why. What now. ¡¸ The daily rewards have arrived. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gold +30G ¡¹ ¡¸ The pillow was left unrepaired, and so its durability has been reduced. ¡¹ ¡¸ Would you like to visit Anna to have it repaired? ¡¹ Come to think of it, I remember one message about the pillow I punched last night, about its durability or something. No way, I¡¯m not going. I just know this is going to cost me money. Don¡¯t you dare threaten my life¡¯s savings comprised of a staggering 55 gold. I just stared at the letters, thinking that this game system might have been created after extensively researching how to get me angry and effectively squeeze me dry of my property. If this pillow would get repaired, I just know that the system¡¯s going to charge me like 100 or 200 gold. Ridiculous, right? I already know. I¡¯ve figured you out, game system. Without hesitation, I pressed ¡®No¡¯ and turned the pillow upside down. I don¡¯t know if this pillow had once been beige or white, but right now, it looked yellowish and filthy¡­ It¡¯s uncomfortable and shabby that you couldn¡¯t really call it a pillow anymore. But then, if this pillow¡¯s durability would also run out, will I have to compensate for the damages again? I doubt this thing could even cost 5 gold. I can pay this much. I¡¯m a working woman who gets paid her wages. But then, the moment I shook the pillow off with a smile on my lips¡ª ¡¸ Damages have been incurred from lowering the pillow¡¯s durability. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gold -5G ¡¹ ¡¸ Damages have been incurred from lowering the pillow¡¯s durability. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gold -5G ¡¹ ¡¸ Damages have been incurred from lowering the pillow¡¯s durability. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gold -5G ¡¹ ¡¸ Damages have been incurred from lowering the pillow¡¯s durability. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gold -5G ¡¹ ¡¸ The pillow¡¯s durability has reached zero. Items with zero durability are considered irreparable and thus destroyed. ¡¹ ¡¸ Damages have been incurred from the pillow¡¯s destruction. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gold -50G ¡¹ ¡¸ Your gold is insufficient. The payment has not been processed. ¡¹ Huh¡­ This¡­ What is this¡­ Even before I finished reading each sentence, I got hit with the message that popped up at the bottom, leaving me dazed. Uh, I just tapped it super lightly, but the durability reached zero like that. Then it got destroyed, and the compensation for damages got taken from me again, and all my money vanished and reached zero¡­ What? Perhaps to make a show out of reaching zero for its durability, the pillow was now torn here and there with cotton sticking out of it. ¡°What? Does this even make sense?¡± The moment I saw my assets showing a plain and clear ¡®0G¡¯, I shrieked. The white letters disappeared like smoke, but the shock that was left with me only increased over time. That shock turned to despair. That despair turned to rage and frustration. ¡°Why the hell are you doing this to me?! It¡¯s already such a bullshit situation that I got sucked into the game, but nothing¡¯s going right for me the entire time I¡¯m here! What kind of game is this! Why are you doing this to me!¡± t/n: i¡¯ve also recently added some images to chapters 0, 4 and 12~ Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 18 Even if I just continued shouting into the void, my anger would not subside, so I started punching the bed. Did I commit a terrible sin? What did I ever do to deserve going through something like this? I just¡ª! ¡°I just played a horror game while I was drunk¡­!¡± It was so ridiculous just saying it out loud, so it was both funny and sad. My emotions had been bottled up lately, and the destroyed pillow became the trigger. Tears trickled down my cheeks, but dejected laughter slipped out my lips at the same time. And as I was smiling and crying because I couldn¡¯t handle my emotions any longer, those detestable white letters appeared once again. ¡¸ Damages have been incurred from lowering the pillow¡¯s durability. ¡¹ ¡¸ Your gold is insufficient. The payment has not been processed. ¡¹ My fist stopped in its tracks, merely one millimeter away from the bed. If even the wind that would blow towards the bed would count as touching, I slowly loosened my fist. That decrepit yellow pillow cost me 50 gold. I couldn¡¯t imagine just how much I¡¯d be charged for the bed. I was angry at the game system, but I was more overcome with the sorrow of losing my gold. Okay. Let¡¯s sleep. Let¡¯s just think about it tomorrow after waking up. If I just get angry at the system, I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold back and let out my screams at the wall. Let¡¯s calm down and just lie down¡­ ¡¸ You cannot lie down because there is no pillow. ¡¹ ¡°UUUUGH! THIS CRAZY LITTLE¡ª!¡± I was about to lie down on the bed, but I suddenly got pushed away by an invisible hand. After stumbling a few steps away from the bed, I tried to come closer again. ¡¸ You cannot lie down because there is no pillow. ¡¹ ¡°This is crazy! Crazy! Are you really crazy?!¡± ¡¸ Damages have been incurred from lowering the bed¡¯s durability. ¡¹ ¡¸ Your gold is insufficient. The payment has not been processed. ¡¹ ¡¸ Damages have been incurred from lowering the bed¡¯s durability. ¡¹ ¡¸ Your gold is insufficient. The payment has not been processed. ¡¹ I got robbed. I couldn¡¯t lie down. Naturally, anger soared through the roof. What kind of rule was that? I can¡¯t lie down because there¡¯s no pillow? There¡¯s so many people in the world who live without pillows! I tried to calm myself down and stop the leg that was kicking the bed recklessly. If the durability of the bed would get any lower, I might really have to pay more. All my thoughts were now dedicated to officially protesting against this shitty rule. I don¡¯t know who I¡¯m protesting against, but in any case, I approached the bed again and opened my lips. ¡°I can sleep without a pillow. Let me lie down.¡± ¡¸ You cannot lie down because there is no pillow. ¡¹ ¡°If you let me lie down on the bed, I¡¯ll figure out the rest! Just let me lie down!¡± I kept trying to lie down, but after being pushed back about five times, I collapsed to the floor. A mistake. The system wasn¡¯t something that could be persuaded. This is why nobody plays this game¡ªit has absurd settings that only stress out the players¡­ Slumping down against the cabinet, I stared blankly at the torn pillow and dilapidated bed. I should have just had it repaired when I was asked if I wanted to repair it. I had two choices: let myself get robbed, or let myself get robbed while being able to rest. I¡¯d rather be a well-rested beggar rather than an exhausted beggar¡­ As the night deepened to the tune of regrets and all curse words in the world being muttered under my breath, I couldn¡¯t overcome the drowsiness that gradually rushed in. I didn¡¯t have it in me anymore to stay annoyed, so I pulled my knees close and rested my forehead there, dozing off. When I fell into a deeper slumber, my head would hit the cabinet so I woke up. I fell asleep once more, stumbled, woke up again. I really just wanted to sleep, so I tried to use my arm as a pillow, or I rolled up a few of my clothes and tried to use them as a replacement for my pillow, but I kept being stubbornly disturbed by the system, telling me that it was, in fact, not a pillow. Whenever I would get startled awake a few times, the system notification was right there in front of my nose, shamelessly making itself known. ¡¸ Your fatigue is rapidly increasing. ¡¹ ¡¸ Your stamina is decreasing. ¡¹ ¡¸ Caution! If you fail to sleep at the right time, you will not be able to work the next day. The daily salary will not be given. ¡¹ The system nagged at me and kept telling me to sleep, all kinds of notification messages popping up one after another. As though I had gained an anger management disorder, I teared up again. Do you think I¡¯m not sleeping because I enjoy staying awake? ¡°You said I can¡¯t lie down because there¡¯s no pillow!¡± Tears of resentment came out. Do you want me to sleep on the floor without a blanket?! Still, the messages about me not being able to get my salary urged me to move, so I tried to get up and force my way to the bed again. But as if laughing at my efforts, that invisible hand continued to push me away and the notification window popped up once again, telling me that I can¡¯t lie down because I don¡¯t have a pillow. Freaking pillow, pillow, pillow! Goddamn, goddamn it¡­ I cried tears of sorrow and frustration at the same time, going back to crouch against the cabinet and trying to sleep. My butt soon became sore because of the cold, hard wooden floor. As I grumbled for a very long time, ¡®It hurts, what kind of damn game is this,¡¯ I soon fell asleep. Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 19 ¡°Oh my god! Hilda!¡± While I was sleeping deeply, someone suddenly started shaking me. Annoying. Go away. I pushed off those hands angrily, but the other person persistently held onto my shoulders and shook me once more. I wanted to say that I was still sleepy, but I couldn¡¯t even open my eyes because of how drowsy I was. ¡°Hilda, come on, wake up! Hilda!¡± ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± ¡°Hilda! Are you awake now?¡± Emily began to hit my arms now, perhaps thinking that I had fainted and collapsed to the floor. The pain was pulling me back a bit, but the deep swamp of slumber held me hostage. And the root cause of me not waking up was because I didn¡¯t want to. ¡°What the¡­ It¡¯s already morning?¡± It felt like I had just closed my eyes not that long ago and woke up again, and sadly, that really was the case. I think I slept for about two hours, minus the few times I tossed and turned, fell to the floor, cursed at life, approached the bed, bounced right off. Right here, right now, my eyelids were the heaviest things in the world. A deadly kind of drowsiness filled me entirely. ¡°Yeah, the sun rose a long time ago.¡± ¡°Adri¡­ I mean, the Young Master¡¯s medicine, I need to give it to him¡­ Haaaahm.¡± ¡°This fellow. You yawn as soon as you wake up. You don¡¯t have to bring the Young Master¡¯s medicine today. Miss Leticia already did it earlier.¡± ¡°What? Why?¡± Starting today, the only tasks that would earn me money other than weed-whacking punishment was bringing medicine to Adrian. And I lost even that. ¡°Young Master Adrian suddenly vomited blood at dawn. The doctor came and asked if he hadn¡¯t been taking his medicine regularly these days. But that¡¯s not the case, right? You¡¯ve been delivering his medicine every morning at the same hour, right?¡± ¡°O-Of course.¡± As I nodded my head, I felt my conscience being stabbed at. It¡¯s true that I did give the medicine to him at the same hour. But since I only left the tray in front of his room and ran away, I wouldn¡¯t know if he really drank it or just threw it out¡­ ¡°Right? I knew it. I told the doctor that that couldn¡¯t be the case because Miss Leticia was about to come and scold you again. Hilda, are you feeling sick? Why were you sleeping on the floor?¡± ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t have a pillow¡­¡± As I answered her, I got choked up again. I couldn¡¯t believe I was forced to be this exhausted just because of a stupid reason. Apart from that, no matter how much of a game character I was right now, I just couldn¡¯t get in line with not being able to sleep just because there¡¯s no pillow. ¡°Goodness. So you can¡¯t sleep without a pillow. I was like that too before.¡± Whether a game, whether a character in it, Emily nodded. You understand? What do you mean, you can¡¯t sleep without a pillow either? If you have a body and if you have a place to lay that body down in, you can just go ahead and lie down and fall asleep! Why is it impossible to sleep without a pillow?! ¡­was what I wanted to say, but I was so tired that I couldn¡¯t even move my tongue. ¡°Since the medicine has already been given to the Young Master, can I have an off day? Emily, let me borrow your pillow. I¡¯ll use it for just a little while, then I¡¯ll give it back to you.¡± ¡°Poor Hilda. I know you¡¯re tired because you couldn¡¯t sleep last night, but you can¡¯t. Miss Leticia will really blow up this time.¡± ¡°Please, just for an hour¡­¡± ¡°You can¡¯t, Hilda.¡± Emily was nice, but she seemed to resemble Leticia in her strictness. Haa. Well. It¡¯s not the time to idle away in my room. With my bountiful wealth of 0 gold, I didn¡¯t deserve to rest more than I did two days ago when I still had 300 gold, or a day ago when I still had 25 gold. Then, I¡¯d deserve to rest tomorrow more than today. Seeing my hollow cheeks as I woke up, Emily felt a little sorry for me, but she was like a sharp blade when it came to work. While handing me the weeding blade, she kindly introduced me to the workplace I¡¯ll be in for the next few days. ¡°It¡¯s here. From this side to that side, I was told that you have to remove the weeds and clean up over here.¡± Luckily, I knew this place like the back of my hand, more than I do with my own room. The first day I entered the game, I worked my butt off right here. That is, I knew just what kind of traps there were. While clutching the weeding blade tightly, I stared intently at the hot pink flowers that were hiding like trap cards between the weeds. Just thinking about how much gold I lost because of that kalanchoe made me want to shed tears of blood. It would have been better if I could get some kind of warning message before I¡¯d do something wrong, but because the daily rewards came after the day had ended, I wouldn¡¯t know what I had done wrong and just continued to work hard. However, now that I have the wisdom of playing through this game system as much as I had¡ªsince I had bitten more than I could chew¡ªI wouldn¡¯t get caught anymore in such an obvious trap. I¡¯m going to get all the EXP and gold that I can today! With a strong determination, I vowed not to lose anything to the game system. Like a soldier going to war to save her country, I gripped the weeding blade resolutely. Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 20 ¡¸ Gained 1 EXP from removing weeds. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gained 1 EXP from removing weeds. ¡¹ ¡¸ Gained 1 EXP from removing weeds. ¡¹ ¡°It¡¯s a relief that you seemed to have recovered your energy while working. Right, let¡¯s keep up the good work!¡± Emily ran back after saying such a line with such vigor, that line being something that you¡¯d only hear in some sports anime. I looked at her for a moment before I focused right back to my weed-whacking. My goal for today was to reach a decent enough level from the EXP I¡¯ll get! For these few days while I¡¯m safe from Adrian, I should level up and gain some skills. But maybe because I spent last night not sleeping, I had to shut my eyes a lot whenever I found myself staring blankly into the air. I woke myself up in a hurry and shook my head. If I get caught sleeping in a place like this, I might get kicked out of this mansion and really become a beggar. Then I¡¯ll be homeless and I¡¯ll die in a ditch somewhere without ever knowing how I could go back to the real world¡­ That can never happen! ¡°But I¡¯m so tired¡­¡± The grip I had on the weeding blade loosened slightly. If I could lie down and sleep right now, I might even sell my soul to the devil. As I yawned and hit my stiff neck and shoulders, those white letters popped out as though they¡¯d been waiting for the chance. ¡¸ Work is not going smoothly because your fatigue is too high. ¡¹ ¡°Huh? No. No way. Think this over again. I¡¯m not tired though? I¡¯m doing a good job?¡± I quickly pulled out more weeds, my eyes as wide as saucers. Wow, I barely slept a wink last night, but I¡¯m not tired at all? Hilda¡¯s a natural at manual labor, I guess. While working, my mind becomes so clear, like this much! As if shouting into the air, I quickly handled the weeding blade. Don¡¯t ever show any openings. I don¡¯t know how this game system¡¯s going to screw me over again if I ever give it the chance. But no matter what I did, the system was relentless. ¡¸ The success rate for weed pulling is dropping. ¡¹ ¡¸ Weed pulling: Failed. ¡¹ I stared back at the white letters with a look of devastation. The notification windows that popped up every time I gained some EXP didn¡¯t appear this time. You¡¯re not going to give me even this nail sized EXP? ¡¸ The success rate for weed pulling is dropping. ¡¹ ¡¸ Weed pulling success rate: 80% ¡¹ ¡¸ Your daily wage has decreased. ¡¹ ¡¸ The amount of EXP acquired has decreased. ¡¹ ¡¸ The success rate for weed pulling is dropping. ¡¹ The more weeds I pulled, the more tired I got, and because of that, the only notifications I received were about my success rate and my salary dropping. I thought about quitting, but I pushed that notion aside. I couldn¡¯t give up hope that if I just kept trying, my success rate would go up and I¡¯d get more EXP again. ¡¸ The success rate for weed pulling has reached rock bottom. ¡¹ ¡¸ Your daily wage has decreased by 20%. ¡¹ I worked hard on pulling weeds until the late afternoon, and yet the only thing I got in return was¡­ nothing. I couldn¡¯t get any EXP and my fatigue had reached the limits. This was all caused by a single pillow. I couldn¡¯t help but burst out laughing in despair. ¡°Hilda! How could you make the garden like this?!¡± What the system kept spitting out about the success rate failure turned out to be true. Leticia came by after she was done with her work for the day and started nagging me, asking why the garden looked like this. Since I¡¯d been causing one ruckus after another, she seemed to be thinking that I was rebelling. Out of all the crimes out there, the scariest one was the crime of disgrace. ¡°Hilda, what¡¯s wrong with you these days? Did you catch a disease that you¡¯ll die from? Or is there something you¡¯re upset about with me?¡± In the end, Leticia took my hand and asked me imploringly. Now that I thought about it, it didn¡¯t seem like this game should be categorized as horror. A tragedy. The trashiest tragedy out of all trashy torture-fest tragedies. Nothing big or amazing was happening, but it wasn¡¯t like I gained the talent to deal with something like stopping blood from flowing. I was just going through the motions of bothersome and cumbersome things to do, as if I needed to scratch an itch that I couldn¡¯t reach. If there was some sort of determination not to make this game into a tragedy, how was it that everything somehow got wrecked anyway? ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not doing it on purpose.¡± I answered honestly. I meant it. I suddenly found myself inside this game and I¡¯m just trying to survive. I never tried to make a mess out of things. That¡¯s why it¡¯s all the more unfair. ¡°Huu. Okay. I know you¡¯re not like that. You¡¯re not an ill-tempered kid, and¡­ things just didn¡¯t work out for you, I guess.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really sorry.¡± ¡°¡­Okay. I¡¯ll finish cleaning up here, so go up and rest. Oh, but I have a favor to ask you before you go back to your room.¡± Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 21 I nodded, feeling apologetic about leaving the clean-up to her. I was a little tired, but it wasn¡¯t to the point that I couldn¡¯t do a simple task she¡¯d ask me to do. ¡°You already know about the mess that happened at dawn, right? The Young Master¡¯s duvet got dirty and I had it washed. It must be dry by now, so go and put it back on the Young Master¡¯s bed.¡± ¡°At this late hour? He must be resting. Maybe he¡¯s already asleep.¡± ¡°The Young Master said he¡¯d be at his study until late tonight. His room has been empty all day, and it should be like that until now.¡± ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll do as you say.¡± It wasn¡¯t so difficult as long as Adrian¡¯s not in the room. I rolled up the dried sheets that were laid out under the sun the whole afternoon, then went up to the fourth floor with the duvet in my arms. As dinnertime approached, this was the busiest time of the day for the servants. The count, the countess and Adrian always ate separately, so the amount of food and the dishes prepared for each meal was a lot more compared to a single table setting where three people would eat together. That¡¯s why now was the time when each servant had things to do and had no interest in each other¡¯s business. I climbed the steps quietly as I heard the serving carts rattling and moving hastily. Adrian should be eating now, too, so I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll bump into him in his room. Oh, thank god. If he noticed how I wrenched away Leticia earlier in the day, I don¡¯t want to imagine what he¡¯d do to me while we¡¯re alone. ¡°Young Master?¡± I glanced around the room, sticking my head through the slightly opened door. Fortunately, there were three candelabras lit, and none of them moved to indicate any movement. I¡¯ve entered this room a lot of times now, but I couldn¡¯t get used to how dreary and gloomy it is. It¡¯s strange how this room is supposedly the one that¡¯s in the best spot for sunlight to come in. Before Adrian returns, I gotta finish this quickly and make my escape. Feeling a bit spooked, I glanced left and right at the corridor and turned back to look into the room. Finally, I tiptoed in. I changed the bedspread at the speed of light, pulled over the duvet I had set aside for a moment, then arranged the pieces one by one. Just as I saw in a hotel before, I layered the pillows daintily against the headboard and spread out the duvet. Will I be paid for this too during the daily rewards? ¡°Ah, stop thinking about idle things. Just run away before Adrian comes.¡± If I get caught, I might really die. With this thought in mind, I carried the bedspread that I had removed earlier in my arms. As I was about to turn around, something white and fluffy caught my eye. An invisible hand grabbed my chin and made me ¡®look¡¯. ¡°¡­Pillow¡­¡­¡± The word slipped out of my lips as though I was possessed. Of all the pillows I¡¯d ever seen, this large, fluffy pillow looked so mesmerizing that I was salivating even though it¡¯s not something meant to be eaten. Dropping the bedspread to the floor, I approached the bed. And, slowly, I reached out one trembling hand towards the pillow¡ªbut then I recoiled in fear. Can I touch it just once? Because it looks really soft. It¡¯s just one touch. What¡¯s wrong with that? Adrian must still be in the middle of his meal. The hand that was recoiled earlier finally reached out fully and touched the pillow. My expression was instantly tinged with amazement. ¡°It¡¯s out of this world¡­¡± It was so vastly different from my poor yellow pillow. Under my touch, it felt as gentle as an angel¡¯s feather, soft yet durable at the same time. With this kind of durability, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll ever break even after a few punches. I caressed it gently, as though it was a kitten. It was so soft that it felt like my palm would melt. I gave into temptation and leaned my head against the pillow. Then, unable to resist the heavenly sense of satisfaction, I eventually lay down on the bed and covered myself with the duvet. Oh, how comfortable, how warm. It felt like all the fatigue I had accumulated since last night vanished without a trace. If I die now, I will have no regrets¡­ As I let out a deeply satisfied sigh, the white letters that I hadn¡¯t seen for a while blinked in front of me. ¡¸ Your fa¡­ tigue¡­ has¡­ mode¡­ ¡¹ What the. What¡¯re you saying? Grumbling inwardly, I squinted at the white letters that were no better than a bully. Why can¡¯t I read the letters? I wasn¡¯t even crying, but my vision was wavering as if there were tears over my eyes. Just to read those blurred letters, I had to really squint and make an effort to understand. Fatigue¡­ and then what. The rest was like a watercolor painting, but with water spilled over it. What on earth was it trying to say? ¡°Fatigue¡­ stamina¡­ uh¡­ haaaahm, slee¡­eep, mode¡­¡± I literally read it just now, but I couldn¡¯t understand what it meant¡ªas if my consciousness had been completely separated from reality and had gone to a faraway place. I¡¯m sleepy. I¡¯m comfortable. With how sleepy I was, I yawned even in my thoughts. Like the shadow creeping across the wall as illuminated by the candles, my consciousness grew dim. Soon, I closed my eyes. Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates! Chapter 22 Adrian was bored. He¡¯s been bored ever since he opened his eyes in this world. Perhaps it¡¯s even something he¡¯s been feeling since he had been in hell, where he lived countless years before. Adrian Caesar von der Pfalzgraf. Before being reborn into this body, which seemed like it would die with just one measly touch, his name was Satan. The most faithful vassal of the netherworld¡¯s monarch, the sharpest sword, the demonic army¡¯s commander-in-chief. He was the epitome of what a devil should be as he lived in honor. There was no devil out there who would not bow at the mere mention of Satan¡¯s name. Tens upon thousands of demons looked up to him as they bowed at his feet. The monarch he served had a daughter. Born with the blood of royalty, Lilith was born to be a devil. She was the very picture of pure evil, and Satan was quite pleased with her. He loved her as he would his child, cared for her as a disciple, and served her loyally as his future liege. Known as the night itself, as a curse¡ªLilith, the devil of lust. Perhaps due to her lineage, but everything for her was natural. Her growth was fast, more so her ability to learn and her adeptness with gaining her subordinates¡¯ trust. As she grew up as a devil day by day, her desire to take the throne, too, came early for her. ¡°Daughter, you do not have to start a way. When the time comes, you will take this place naturally instead of being branded as a traitor.¡± ¡°I shall take the throne that I deserve, old king.¡± Since then, the netherworld had been thrown into a war that would last for hundreds of years. Those who had something and someone to protect, against those who wanted to win. It was a war between a firm hold over the throne and those who wanted change. Lilith wanted Satan to be on her side, but Satan instead raised his sword in the name of the monarch and swore to punish all those who dared to revolt. Every time they faced each other on the battlefield, Lilith would cry out with resentment against his betrayal. The war did not end easily. Each and every battle that was waged, whether small or large, left a great wound on both sides. As time went by, Lilith grew more resentful of Satan, and every time she faced him, she would spin a curse on him. And finally, when Lilith¡¯s blood had been spilt, the curse came to its completion. ¡¾ My teacher and my friend, traitor and the one who leads the enemy. Just as I had lost everything because of you, so too will you lose everything because of me. ¡¿ Already on death¡¯s door, her lips uttered out a terrible voice. The blood that trickled down to the floor transformed into the devil¡¯s language and spread out. ¡¾ You shall be born into a human¡¯s body, considered to be the most inferior, and you will not be able survive lest you eat away their vitality. ¡¿ ¡¾ Endure eternity with those parasites and suck the blood of those pigs. The moment the herd¡¯s watchman finds you, they shall tear you to pieces. ¡¿ ¡¾ At last, you shall meet a natural enemy that you will not be able to kill with your own two hands. ¡¿ ¡¾ And if you are killed, so too will your world come to its end. ¡¿ The curse crawled over his skin, seeping in like poison, and soon became engraved into his blood. It was a curse made by a devil that had inherited the blood of monarchs, completed with the last of her vitality. Even Satan, who was considered to be one of the strongest of all devils, could not completely nullify the curse. And so, as his body received this curse, he became exiled from the netherworld. Exactly as Lilith had pronounced, Satan lost all his strength and opened his eyes to the body of a human. As he had lived with the strength and body that was incomparable to any devil out there, the frailty of man came to him as a shock. Devils could walk around as soon as they opened their eyes and could also already naturally use their powers, but humans needed to lie down for such a long time even after their birth. He couldn¡¯t speak, he couldn¡¯t stand up, he couldn¡¯t even eat without the help of another human being. When he could finally get up on his own, each step he took was slow and complicated to do. And even if he barely endured that time, it still wasn¡¯t enough. But he persevered. He figured that just as devils would grow up perfectly after six, so too would humans. However no matter how long he waited, this human body never grew stronger. This human skin was so fragile that it was so easy to penetrate, this body was so vulnerable to numerous diseases, and he was prone to falling sick. Rather than getting stronger over the years, rather, he grew even weaker. There was also the matter of a weak mentality. The woman who gave birth to him was so weak that she had gone mad the moment she realized that her son could not be baptized. ¡°That¡¯s why they¡¯re more interesting, right? Isn¡¯t it fun that they have weak bodies yet such arrogant souls.¡± Lilith used to be interested in humans. She said that they were interesting and that they were worth observing. As her teacher, Satan took the curiosity of his young student for granted and thought that her interest would soon fade. It was something along the lines of living in the moment. This was because she tended not to be interested in the same thing for a long time. However, Lilith¡¯s curiosity lasted for much longer, to his surprise. Besides that, she spent more time observing the humans rather than the devils. That¡¯s probably why she had cursed him to the body of a human body. Just to make him feel how weak and insignificant he was now. Moreover, Adrian¡¯s body was much weaker than that of a normal human being. If he didn¡¯t take his medicine on time every day, he would vomit blood. If he walked for a long time, he would often lose consciousness. So to speak, if he was a devil and this was his condition, the other devils would have already eaten him as food. But human society wasn¡¯t like that, and thanks to the high peerage of his birth parents, he could even control other humans at will. The humans of this mansion were so deferential that he could recognize the tops of their heads more than their faces. Then, at seven years old. He inadvertently killed one human. Don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates!