Chapter 5
Chapter 5
In the days that followed, I became even more cautious.
On the surface, I remained that arrogant, willful Young Lady.
I ate when I should and drank when I should.
Charles took care of me with even more meticulous detail than before, even testing the temperature of my water before handing it to me.
But I knew the castle had changed.
At a corner in the hallway, a mirror had appeared where there was once nothing.
When I passed by, it reflected my image, but the curve of my lips in the mirror didn’t quite match my own.
On the staircase railing, a white ceramic cat had appeared at some unknown time.
Its eyes were two black glass beads that seemed to follow me no matter which direction I walked.
Even the servants who usually hid in the shadows and never showed their faces began to appear frequently within my line of sight. They scrubbed floors, arranged vases, and changed curtains, each excuse more clumsy than the last.
They were watching me.
Every pair of eyes served as a reminder: Charles had not forgotten my last escape attempt.
He simply chose not to mention it.
Chills ran down my spine repeatedly.
At night, I lay in Charles’s arms, listening to him tell a story about a ritual in an ancient village.
As I listened, I watched the Bullet Comments floating in mid-air.
The Bullet Comments said that the Female Lead, whom Charles would fall in love with at first sight, would arrive in a week.
I rolled over and buried my face in Charles’s chest.
He stopped and looked down at me. “Master?”
“Keep reading,” I said muffledly.
“Very well.”
His hand patted my back rhythmically, as if coaxing a temperamental cat.
I closed my eyes.
I had already mapped out the path through the Back Garden.
However, there were monsters patrolling the route. With my weak, sickly body, it was impossible to cross those areas without being detected.
Suddenly, a key piece of information in the Bullet Comments caught my attention:
“On the Night of the Full Moon, the big boss falls into a brief, deep sleep, and all the monsters in the castle become sluggish. This is the dungeon instance’s only period of weakness. Unfortunately, no one has ever lived long enough to wait for the Night of the Full Moon.”
The Night of the Full Moon.
I looked up out the window.
Tonight’s moon was missing a small sliver.
Counting the days, there were three left.
Three days later would be my chance.
Three days later.
Charles told me he had to go on a long journey and would return soon.
My heart leaped with joy.
My chance had come!
Night fell, and the castle tonight was deathly silent.
The Bullet Comments said the monsters in the castle would become sluggish on the Night of the Full Moon, but they were still aggressive.
After some thought, I disguised myself as a headless female ghost.
I followed the route I had scouted beforehand, taking every step with extreme caution.
Candles burned in the hall, but not a single monster noticed me.
Their movements were as slow as rusted machinery, their eyes hollow as if they were sleepwalking.
I hurried through the hall at a light run.
Finally, I pushed open the door leading to the garden.
Under the moonlight, the Back Garden was eerily still.
Those Man-eating Flowers were curled into balls, their petals closed, also deep in slumber.
I stepped onto the soil, bypassed them, and walked step by step into the depths of the garden.
Then, I saw the Ancient Well.
The mouth of the well was built of green stone and covered in moss.
I leaned over the edge and looked down, smelling only a damp, decaying odor mixed with a faint scent of blood.
It was very deep.
I might die if I jumped.
But if I didn’t jump, I would certainly die.
I gritted my teeth and leaped into the well.
When I woke up, I found myself sitting on a bus.
Outside the window was a darkness so thick it wouldn’t dissipate. The lights inside the carriage were a sickly white, making everyone’s face look bloodless.
I was stunned. Where was I?
Seven or eight people were sitting in the bus, and they all stared at me in unison.
In the corner, a Buzzed-Hair Man spoke with a tense voice, “That person definitely wasn’t on the bus just now.”
“Could it be a monster?”
Someone pulled out a weapon.
My heart tightened violently.
A girl with a high ponytail stood up and blocked them from me.
“Wait.”
She turned to look at me, her gaze very calm. “Are you a Player?”
I hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“How did you get on the bus?”
My throat felt dry. “I jumped down an Ancient Well, and when I woke up, I was here.”
She stared at me for two seconds before turning back to the others.
“She’s human. Monsters don’t tremble all over like that.”
Bullet Comments drifted by:
“The Female Lead has appeared! So cool and calm, I love her!”
“As expected of the woman who can clear the SSS Rank dungeon instance; she saw through the fact that the Female Supporting Character isn’t a monster at a single glance.”
“That spoiled drama queen really has great luck, stumbling into the Female Lead like this to carry her.”
It was her.
The Female Lead who would make Charles fall in love at first sight.
I looked at the girl in front of me.
She looked to be in her early twenties with delicate features, but her eyes held a depth that had clearly seen bloodshed.
She turned back and introduced herself to me:
“My name is Su Qingran. Don’t be afraid. We are all Players; we won’t hurt you.”