“It’s a misunderstanding. Anyway, because of your reaction, Mary, I’m really disappointed. You’re all in big trouble now.”
“W, what are you talking about? Hmph. So what if you’re disappointed?”
Mary spoke in a tone full of disbelief.
“That food I got for you back then—it’s running out, isn’t it? You’d better stay on my good side if you know what’s for you. Hahaha!”
For the first time in a while, I let out an evil laugh befitting an evil spirit.
“What the… We can farm and take care of ourselves just fine without you!”
Thud—thud—thud.
Suddenly, the ground began to tremble, and a heavy sound echoed through the air.
“…What the…? Do earthquakes happen in this world too?”
“Evil spirit! Evil spirit!”
It turned out it wasn’t an earthquake—it was the sound of Havel running from afar.
“Wow. Evil spirit! G, give me cake! The afternoon tea set!”
Havel Acron, who usually struggles even with a short run, was coming at quite a fast pace.
“You crazy b*stard…”
“…Evien. You can’t say such mean things.”
Evan must have heard me muttering to myself, because he scolded me as if he were disciplining a child.
“Seriously. What’s it got to do with you?”
Evan grinned mischievously, apparently finding my reaction amusing.
“Mary. Just admit it already. Without me, you’d be living off the same potatoes or sweet potatoes every day, gnawing on vegetable roots. I know you crave cake sometimes too.”
“Oh my, Havel! Where have you been slacking off that you’re only showing up now?”
Mary ignored me and scolded Havel, who had suddenly appeared.
“Ugh… boring. Evil spirit! I want to eat cake.”
“Hah. Why should I bother getting food for you? Mary treats me coldly, and there isn’t a single one of you who actually welcomes me!”
“Evien. I welcomed you, didn’t I?”
Evan reacted with disappointment.
“I like you, evil spirit. I’m not treating you coldly. Mary’s the one being bad.”
“What did I even do to deserve that?! And you, Havel—you’re nowhere to be seen all day!”
“Whoa, whoa. Enough. Don’t fight. What were you all even doing here? What did Lilith say?”
At my question, Havel, Evan, and Mary exchanged glances, hesitating. Without Lilith here, they seemed to be wondering whether it was okay to tell me everything.
“Hmph… Evil spirit, it’s something you don’t need to know.”
Mary crossed her arms, clearly showing that she had no intention of telling me anything.
‘So cheeky…’
I shifted my gaze and looked at the book Mary was holding in her hands.
〈The Legendary Heirlooms of Ravenwood〉
〈Alchemical Studies on the Human Body〉
And I quietly glanced at the book Havel was holding, as well as the one Evan had.
〈The Secret to Immortality〉
〈Ravenwood Human Experiments〉
Heirlooms, alchemy, immortality, human experiments…? For someone like me who lived in the real world in Korea, these words feel extremely unfamiliar. This rare book storage room is hidden on the third floor of the manor.
Considering that this is a restricted area, it’s not really surprising that such bizarre book titles exist. But in the actual game, I only grabbed the necessary clues and left quickly, so I never even imagined that books like these would be shelved here.
“Alchemy… immortality… human experiments…”
Mary heard my mumbling and hurriedly hid the books behind her back.
“Mhm. Want to take a look?”
But Evan smiled brightly and handed me the book he was holding, titled 〈Ravenwood Human Experiments〉.
“Hey, Evan! What are you doing! With Lilith not even here, telling the evil spirit…!”
“Heh… Mine too! Mine too!”
Seeing Evan’s actions, Havel also handed me his book. Judging by his expression, it was obvious he was hoping for some scraps in return.
“Oh my, these people are unbelievable!”
Mary stamped her feet in frustration and stormed off to another spot.
“Honestly… I don’t care. Whether Lilith scolds you or not, it’s your own problem!”
I examined the books Evan and Havel had given me. Judging by their worn and faded covers, they were clearly very old. 〈The Secret to Immortality〉 detailed research on how to live forever. The book on human experiments contained horrifying content, so I skimmed it with narrowed eyes before quickly closing it.
“Could it be that Lilith told you to collect these kinds of books?”
“…Hmm. Evien, I gave you the books since you already saw them, so you can look. But as for anything about Lilith, it’s a bit iffy to talk about without permission.”
Evan looked a little embarrassed.
‘What the… still got some loyalty, huh? Or is he just pretending to be loyal?’
Just then, Havel spoke up.
“Evil spirit, mhm. Lilith ordered it. The world repeats. There might be a way to solve it.”
A repeating world? Ah. So in the end, Lilith must have revealed everything she knew to the three survivors.
“Havel Acron!”
Evan scolded Havel for spilling everything.
“Ugh… I said I want to eat cake… The evil spirit is kind. You’ll keep the secret, right?”
“Havel, Evan? What are you guys doing?”
Lilith’s voice came from behind me. When I turned around, Lilith was standing there, looking straight at me.
“Wait.…Don’t tell me—evil spirit?”
Lilith spotted me, and her face twisted in shock.
Thud!
Lilith threw a few books she was holding at me. But they passed right through me and fell to the floor.
“Why did you come here!”
“Lilith, calm down. I’ve already heard a rough idea, so I know what you’re planning.”
“You heard it?”
Lilith looked at Evan, Havel, and me in disbelief. I gestured toward Havel, indicating who was responsible.
“Ha…”
Lilith rubbed her forehead, her head aching.
“Havel! We promised ourselves not to tell anyone!”
“But… I wanted cake…”
“Seriously… You guys are going too far.”
Lilith slumped to the ground, seemingly losing all her resolve.
“It’s all over. The evil spirit got the information, so the Duke of Ravenwood will find out soon too.”
Then she buried her face in her knees. I carefully approached Lilith.
“Hmm. I’ll help you, Lilith!”
“…Don’t be ridiculous.”
For now, my top priority seems to be earning Lilith’s trust.
“You must have noticed too—haven’t you felt that Basileon has been distant lately? I mean, that he’s not actively trying to kill you anymore.”
“So what about it?”
Lilith asked in a resigned voice.
“That’s all because of me. Basileon’s attention is completely on me now, so you don’t even register to him anymore. I deliberately persuaded him—so that he wouldn’t kill anyone!”
Lilith raised her head and looked me straight in the eye.
“You.”
Lilith, who had suddenly stood up, looked at me with a look of contempt and disgust still on her face.
I felt like becoming close to Lilith was probably a distant dream.
‘Still… was it really enough to make her look like that?’
“What kind of scheme are you up to?”
“What are you talking about, Lilith? There’s nothing wrong with what I said—it’s all true.”
While I was speaking, Lilith drew a sharp dagger from somewhere in her skirt. All four playable characters—the survivors—had starting items. Lilith’s dagger—it was a starting item she had hidden even before coming to the manor. She brought the sharp blade up to my jaw. Of course, it didn’t actually touch my body.
“Evil spirit Evien Montrose. You torment the survivors and report to the Duke. You speak like a child, but you’re an evil spirit who constantly does bad things. Do you only bother people? No. There are rumors that you also harass or punish ghosts and monsters in this world.”
For a moment, goosebumps ran down my spine.
“Lilith. How do you know that?”
Evan looked confused at Lilith’s words. Of course, Havel just chuckled, seemingly focused on the cake.
“You don’t need to know. You obviously have a plan.”
“Uh… can you put the dagger away for now? You know it won’t do any good anyway.”
I still pointed at the dagger resting near my chin.
“We’ll see whether it’s useful or not in time. By the way, your body… do you know it’s gradually becoming more opaque?”
“….!”
Startled by Lilith’s sudden words, I instinctively glanced at Evan, only to see him looking back and forth between me and Lilith.
“Lilith…? Do you see me differently, too?”
“What are you talking about? Your appearance is still covered in blood, but only the transparency has changed.”
As expected, Evan and Basileon see me differently, but Lilith sees me in my evil spirit form. However, it became clear that everyone knew my body was gradually becoming more opaque.
“No. Evil spirit, you’re pretty! Your hair is silver. You’re not covered in blood!”
Just then, Havel suddenly jumped in and intervened.
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