Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Episode 3
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The carriage door opened, and the guests stepped out. But the first one to alight wasn’t Priestess Peace—it was a boy with short silver hair.
Rachel knew the boy in his pristine white priestly robes.
‘Why are you coming out of there?’
Enoch, the supporter treated like a true male lead in *Hello, Dad*. He was someone Rachel had once diligently searched for. Yet she hadn’t found him until now, and here he was, appearing in this unexpected situation.
A gentle breeze blew, ruffling his silver hair. The boy’s beauty was so striking it seemed as if a halo glowed behind him.
Rachel saw illusory flowers fluttering around him. She quickly slapped her own cheeks to snap out of it.
The boy who had gotten out first stood by the carriage door, helping Priestess Peace as she descended.
“Welcome!”
“Sister!”
The two women embraced each other. Watching their familiar affection, Rachel thought it was different from how they acted at the temple.
Was it because they were at the mansion? Evelyn had cast aside all etiquette and formality.
The two soon parted and inquired after each other’s well-being, spending nearly five minutes just on responses.
“Oh dear, look at me. How could I leave our guests standing in the courtyard? Come inside and let’s talk.”
Rachel stared at Evelyn like that. It was a silent signal to remember why she had called the priestess.
Evelyn, sensing Rachel’s gaze, gave an awkward smile and led Rachel over.
“This is my daughter, Rachel. You’ve met her before, haven’t you?”
“You’ve grown so much. But...”
Priestess Peace hesitated to speak. Rachel wasn’t surprised by the reaction, as she knew what words might come from her mouth.
Instead, Rachel looked at the boy behind the priestess. He looked younger than in the original story, but he was definitely Enoch.
In the original, he first appeared in the first-floor lobby as [Silver-Haired Man of Unknown Name]. He emitted holy light to dispatch enemies, carried Rachel when her legs gave out, and when a trap in the annex separated them, he resolved other issues.
It was only right before heading to the basement that he revealed his name.
‘A holy knight from the temple! He wasn’t there when I visited before.’
Even if it was the next loop, she could find him now. Rachel stared at his face.
From the courtyard to entering the mansion, he had been frowning uncomfortably the whole time, but even that suited his handsome features.
In the original story, he never got angry and was always gentle, but at his current youthful age, he was honest with his emotions.
“Priestess.”
“No. Let’s discuss it in the drawing room first.”
Enoch tried to say something to Priestess Peace but was stopped. Rachel became convinced her guess was correct.
They moved to the first-floor drawing room, and a maid followed with a tray to serve tea.
Cups were placed before everyone, tea was poured, and then the maid was dismissed.
“Were you startled by the sudden summons?”
“I wouldn’t be fazed by something like this. I wouldn’t even be surprised if Sister Evelyn said she was going to slay a dragon.”
The priestess answered Evelyn’s question calmly, while Enoch, seated beside her, widened his golden eyes. He was reacting specifically to the name Evelyn.
“Is that true? This is *that* Lady Evelyn?”
The boy, who had looked displeased the entire way here, now had eyes sparkling like he’d met the hero from his heart. Rachel couldn’t understand his reaction and glanced at Evelyn.
“I don’t know which Lady Evelyn you mean, but if it’s the Evelyn who served at the temple in the past, then yes.”
At Evelyn’s response, Enoch’s face lit up like a child who’d received a Christmas present.
Rachel suddenly grew curious about Evelyn’s past. The Evelyn she knew was just a beautiful, ordinary noblewoman, so she couldn’t fathom why Enoch was acting this way.
“Priestess, who is this fine young boy?”
At Evelyn’s question, Enoch straightened his shoulders and puffed out his chest.
“He’s a child I’ve taken an interest in.”
“You, Priestess?”
“Introduce yourself.”
“I am Enoch, servant of Lux.”
Meanwhile, Priestess Peace slurped her tea heartily. Realizing he’d gotten too excited, Enoch calmed himself.
“Actually, the one with business for you, Priestess, isn’t me—it’s my daughter.”
All eyes turned to Rachel. Rachel gave a calm smile.
“Hello. As Mother said, I’m the one who asked to summon you. You’ve probably sensed it already, but I wanted to consult about my abilities, my body, and this mansion.”
At Rachel’s words, Priestess Peace let out a hum and asked,
“Miss Rachel already knows quite a bit, I see.”
“Ever since the accident falling down the stairs, I’ve been seeing ominous futures in my dreams. Mostly involving my own death.”
There was no need to say she died and regressed. Dreams were the most innocuous explanation.
“In the first dream, I was crushed to death by materials falling from the roof.”
At Rachel’s words, Evelyn nodded.
“On the day Rachel woke up, a plank fell from the roof. She predicted it before the accident happened.”
“And the next?”
“A statue, a well, a carriage, hornets, bandits, rose bushes, a hammer, basement stairs. And even a doll—these are the causes of my deaths I’ve seen in dreams.”
She hadn’t died by knife-wielding doll yet, but Rachel included it anyway.
“That many?”
Evelyn, hearing this for the first time, looked shocked.
‘Even if she called it an ominous future, she must have thought it was just a few incidents.’
She seemed surprised that Rachel knew far more than she’d anticipated.
Soon, Evelyn spoke up.
“Priestess, actually, the accident Rachel suffered wasn’t from the stair railing giving way.”
Rachel turned to look at her own Evelyn. This was the first she’d heard of it. Until now, Rachel had believed the pre-possession Rachel’s stair accident was just that.
Priestess Peace nodded as if to say go on, and Evelyn continued.
“For days before, I’d been feeling a gaze on me. I sensed a presence and chased it, but it vanished in an instant.”
“Even Sister’s abilities couldn’t catch it?”
Priestess Peace naturally mentioned Evelyn’s abilities. Rachel inwardly thought, *What abilities does a normal mother even have to catch something like that?*
“Yes. To the family and servants, we said Rachel was leaning on the railing and fell... but...”
Evelyn looked at Rachel. Her demeanor was hesitant, drawing it out.
“In truth, a black shadow was dragging Rachel away, but when I spotted it, it vanished right there. Rachel doesn’t seem to remember that moment.”
What? That’s scary! Chills prickled Rachel’s skin, and she rubbed her arms.
It was true the original was a horror game, but ghosts or monsters hadn’t appeared so far. There were plenty of accidents, but she’d thought they were far from horror—until now, with a black shadow emerging from Evelyn’s mouth.
“Then it’s my turn to speak. I sense an ominous aura on Miss Rachel’s body and in this mansion.”
Rachel felt nothing since she’d heard it before, but Evelyn snapped the fan in her hand.
Rachel scratched her cheek watching Evelyn break a fan that looked too sturdy to snap with one hand’s grip strength.
“An ominous aura?”
“For example, the aura of the Demon King?”
It was Rachel, not Priestess Peace, who answered Evelyn’s question. At Rachel’s reply, Evelyn gasped in horror.
She rose from the sofa and grabbed Rachel’s shoulders.
“What are you saying? Have you dabbled in black magic?”
Black magic. In this country, black magic was seen as utterly evil power. Black sorcerers were thoroughly suppressed by the Kudus Church.
In the past, a black sorcerer had summoned an archdemon, wiping a small kingdom off the map.
Evelyn was a finite mother to her children, but she glared down at Rachel as if black magic was something she absolutely could not tolerate.
Rachel’s shoulders hurt so much she couldn’t respond. Priestess Peace stood and restrained her.
“That’s not it. This isn’t a contract with the Demon King—it’s being targeted by him.”
At Priestess Peace’s explanation, Evelyn released her grip and plopped back onto the sofa.
“Why?”
Priestess Peace approached Rachel and infused her with Divine Power. The throbbing pain in her shoulders vanished instantly.
“Don’t worry too much. Thanks to the gods’ blessing, they can’t touch her.”
Only then did Evelyn sigh in relief and apologize.
“Miss Rachel knew about this too?”
“It was another ominous thing.”
Rachel brushed it off like that. She was actually surprised at how naturally they accepted her abilities.
“Then shall we take a look inside the mansion as Miss Rachel mentioned?”
The four left the drawing room. Rachel spotted Henri pacing in the hallway. Evelyn called him in a joyful voice.
“Dear?”
He was usually heading to the capital by this time. Yet in this loop, he hadn’t gone to the capital and stayed at the mansion.
Evelyn was delighted, but Rachel narrowed her eyes.
‘Why didn’t he go?’
“It’s because you’re worried about Rachel, right? You never listen to me—let’s hear it together!”
Evelyn smiled with her eyes and patted her husband’s back. Rachel prayed for the safety of Henri’s back as she saw him grimace.
“Priestess. Could we speak privately before you go?”
“Of course.”
“What is it, dear? I can tell you everything if you ask me.”
Evelyn spoke in a playful tone, and Henri replied that it was nothing.
“You two make such a lovely pair. Then I’ll make time before I leave. Or would you like to join us now?”
At the priestess’s suggestion, Henri decided to move with them.
The first place they checked was the first-floor hallway near the drawing room. The priestess and Enoch stopped right in front of a bust in the hallway lined with paintings and statues, as guests often passed through.
The pure white plaster statue was meticulously sculpted down to every wrinkle.
It was a well-crafted statue, but this was the one that killed Rachel in the second loop.
Priestess Peace glanced at Rachel’s expression, seemed to confirm something, and requested it be moved to the courtyard. Evelyn summoned a servant to have the statue carried out.
Next, they fetched the doll from Rachel’s room and brought it to the courtyard.
“Let’s examine these first. Where did these items come from?”
At Priestess Peace’s question, Henri’s expression subtly hardened. Rachel’s eyes narrowed instinctively.
Come to think of it, Henri was suspicious. He was the brother of Paris Emporus, who had killed her.
She didn’t want to suspect him, but since he was cold only to her, she felt a tiny bit wary.
“The statue was originally in this mansion, and the doll was a gift from my brother-in-law to his niece. What’s the problem?”
“Yes, there is a problem. Look at the base of the statue—there are traces of added plaster. If I scrape here...”
Priestess Peace tapped the bottom of the statue with her staff. Then she peeled away the cracked section.
Someone sharply inhaled. Amid the shattered statue pieces, a yellowish skull emerged. The priestess carefully smashed the statue to avoid breaking the skull further, fully revealing it. A skull with its cranium sliced off as if by a saw.
Rachel had seen that skull in the game.
A massive skull that chased her relentlessly, thumping along. In the first-floor stage, this persistent skull meant instant death if encountered, and while fleeing, it triggered floor-collapse traps on the first floor.
In the game, it only vanished after meeting Enoch.
[Danger Level: 89%]
Rachel checked the blue window that appeared before her.
‘The danger level dropped!’
It hadn’t decreased just from avoiding it before.
“The statue was originally hollow, but someone stuffed a skull inside and sealed it.”
Priestess Peace examined the broken statue fragments as she spoke. Her gaze then turned to the hide-and-seek doll.
“Let’s check that one in front of everyone too.”
The small doll with curly golden hair, blue eyes, and a pink dress was exceedingly cute, but encountering it in the game turned it into a thriller.