chapter 13

“Did you kill Jack?” Zack asked in disbelief. “How did you get in?”

Tu Nan’s face flushed bright red, and the Dagger in her hand clattered to the ground. Zack saw it and kicked it away with disdain.

The air in her chest grew thinner and thinner. She clung tightly to Zack’s hand, trying to pry it off, but his hands were like cast bronze-she couldn’t budge them at all with her strength.

Her consciousness began to blur…

Was she really going to die here?

But the Rule clearly stated that before the last day arrived, the Fairy Tale World must remain beautiful.

Wait…

A flash of clarity passed through Tu Nan’s muddled mind. She looked at the ferociously enraged Zack before her, and a question surfaced.

Why hadn’t his appearance changed?

Not just him… Jack, that Woman from earlier, Ariel’s sisters… None of their appearances had changed at night.

She had originally thought that the Mermaids hadn’t changed because their tears could lower their Pollution Value, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Not everyone would be polluted.

Did the Rule only restrict those who would change at night?

Tu Nan’s eyes were bloodshot from suffocation, a faint shadow of death covering her face.

Just as she was about to lose consciousness, Zack’s grip suddenly loosened.

Tu Nan collapsed to the ground, opening her eyes in disbelief, only to see the ferocious, triumphant expression on his face freeze, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes.

That mountain-like body toppled before her, and even in death, he maintained that same expression, never understanding why he had died.

Tu Nan leaned against the wall, clutching her neck, wiping away the involuntary tears from the corners of her eyes. Through her blurred vision, she saw the person standing behind Zack after he fell.

-It was that mysterious Woman, holding the Dagger Zack had kicked away, staring at everything before her in terror.

Beads of blood still dripped from the Dagger. The Woman blinked, released the Dagger, and crouched down, clutching her head.

“Sea God above, what have I done?” Her body trembled as she muttered prayers, begging the Sea God for forgiveness.

Tu Nan steadied herself against the wall and struggled to her feet. She walked over and crouched beside the Woman, picked up the Dagger, and patted her on the shoulder.

The Woman shuddered violently and looked up at her in confusion.

Tu Nan’s face was covered in blood, but her gaze was resolute.

She dipped her index finger in the blood on the ground and wrote on a relatively clean patch of floor: The Sea God will forgive you. You only killed an evil man to protect yourself.

The Woman looked at what she wrote, and a hint of color finally returned to her pale face. She asked, “Who are you, and why are you here?”

Tu Nan continued writing: [My name is Ariel. I am investigating the truth behind the disappearance of the Maids in the Castle.] She wrote with great certainty, [You are Emma, right?]

Tears streamed down Emma’s face. “That’s me.”

[What about the other Maids?]

Emma covered her face and began to sob. “They’re all dead.” Her body trembled with fear. “The Prince… the Prince is a complete pervert. He actually… actually did those things to them…”

“I saw with my own eyes-he killed a Maid I worked with right in front of me, and then…” She bent over and retched.

As soon as Emma finished speaking, the System’s voice sounded in Tu Nan’s mind:
Every so often, young and beautiful Maids would mysteriously disappear from the Castle. Prince Eric claimed that their disappearance was due to angering the Sea God, but was that really the truth?

The surviving Maid, Emma, finally uncovered the truth: the seemingly elegant Prince was, in fact, a complete pervert. All those young girls in the prime of their youth had fallen into his clutches.

Congratulations to the Player for uncovering the truth behind the Maids’ disappearance. You have received a Side Quest Reward: Magical Seasoning.

Description: This is a bottle of Magical Seasoning. Just a pinch added to food will make its flavor irresistible to anyone… though it may also have a slight numbing effect on the body.

Everything now had an answer.

Why did the Prince look at her with such eyes when they first met? And why did he seem satisfied after learning she was a “vegetarian”?

This so-called Storeroom was actually the place where he indulged in his twisted pleasures.

She felt a wave of nausea.

Emma, beside her, was still retching. Her stomach was empty, so nothing came out. It took a long time before she painfully straightened up, her eyes bloodshot, and looked at Tu Nan, asking, “I’ve never seen you in the Castle before. Are you a new Maid?”

Tu Nan shook her head. [Strictly speaking, I am the prey he has set his sights on.]

A look of sympathy appeared on Emma’s face.

Tu Nan had many questions at this moment, but this was clearly not a good place to talk. She quickly wrote: [I think we should leave here as soon as possible.]

Emma had been knocked out and brought here, so she had no idea where she was. She could only choose to follow Tu Nan.

A shipment had just been unloaded in the Storeroom, so no one should come by again for a while. Tu Nan glanced around: there were piles and piles of dead fish, packed in bags and carelessly thrown into the corners.

Together, she and Emma struggled to drag the two dead bodies into a corner and covered them with whatever they could find. The lighting here was dim, so unless someone looked closely, it would not be easy to discover them.

Even more fortunately, the temperature in the Storeroom was very low, so the bodies would not start to smell quickly, buying them some time.

The two of them went up the stairs, and when they reached the entrance, Tu Nan locked the door again and brought Emma back to her own room.

“What do we do now?” Emma asked nervously as soon as she entered the room.

Tu Nan pointed to the bathroom, signaling her to wash up first.

“What about you?”

Tu Nan managed a rare, bitter smile.

Both of them were covered in blood. Walking from the basement to the second floor, they must have left plenty of traces along the way. She had to clean everything up.

Tu Nan changed into clean clothes, took a wet towel, and left the room.

She wiped away all the bloodstains they had accidentally left behind, then dragged her exhausted body back to the bedroom.

Outside, the first light of dawn was beginning to break through the clouds. Only then did she finally relax, realizing that her whole body ached terribly, as if she had been run over by a truck again and again.

She forced herself to wash off all the blood and grime from her body, but she was completely out of strength and collapsed onto the bed.

Emma had already fallen asleep by the time she returned. Tu Nan could no longer hold on either-her eyes closed, and she drifted off to sleep.

She didn’t know how long she slept. Her eyelids felt impossibly heavy, refusing to open, and in a daze, she heard someone calling her name.

“Miss Ariel, Miss Ariel, it’s time to get up for breakfast.”

The third day had begun.