Surviving in the Cursed Mansion

The Cursed Mansion

A neurotic woman’s scream tore sharply through the darkness of the mansion.

“Please, let me out of this cursed place!!!”

She was covered in wounds.

Pus welled up from her split lips, and blood trickled down from her scraped knees. 

Her dress was torn so much that it revealed her thighs, as though she’d cast aside all notions of ladylike decorum.

Though she was someone who must have been born into the highest echelons of society, she now shed tears before a mere butler.

“This isn’t what I wanted… Please, let me out of here.”

“This is beyond my authority, Lady Asche.”

“Don’t lie to me!”

The girl—Asche—shouted in a fit of rage. But before the force of her outburst had fully dissipated, an expression of pitiful desperation overtook her face.

“No, no… I’m sorry. I was wrong. So please, don’t lie to me… I’ll do anything, anything at all, okay?”

“Anything, you say.”

“Y-Yes, anything…!”

She nodded vigorously, even as she knew the promise was one she could never keep.

In response, I poured wine into a pristine glass and handed it to her.

“Drink.”

“Please…”

“Your injuries must be treated, mustn’t they?”

Asche stared at me with eyes brimming with betrayal. Yet, as if she had learned it would do her no good to resist, she silently drained the glass in one gulp.

Miraculously, her wounds began to heal rapidly. The grazes on her knees, her split lips, and the cut that grazed her cheek all mended as new skin emerged.

“It’s time now,” I said.

“…What?”

“You must uncover the secrets of this mansion.”

Asche hesitated, taking a step back. Her eyes, widened with terror, trembled violently.

Then her expression twisted with anger once more.

“I am the imperial princess! The one and only daughter of the late emperor! Do you think I’ll let you go unpunished? Soon, you, and this mansion, will all be burned to ashes!!!”

“…”

I nodded willingly.

Burn the mansion.

Sentence it to flames.

That’s fine.

If that resolve can kill me, I’ll gladly accept it.