Chapter 10
The man had black hair and black eyes, his skin so pale and smooth that even in the dark it was clearly visible. His half-lidded eyes radiated decadent allure…
But more than that, what shocked and unsettled me was the fact that a grotesque Hydra could transform into a man who looked like this. I tried hard not to let my horror show as I spoke.
“Judging by that face, you must’ve been the final boss type all along…”
“…Pardon?”
“Nothing. Forget it.”
Thank goodness he didn’t hear properly. Whew. Maybe I was rattled and angry, but I still hoped no one would ever know that I had just called the snake bastard—no, the snake man—handsome. Anyone who found out, I would sincerely curse to die.
“Begging for your life? How frightening. I had no intention of killing you. I only meant to give you… just a little bit of—”
I paused for effect. When Hydra’s expression finally froze in tension, I finished.
“—pain.”
At that, Hydra’s face grew paler, but I kept my composure. Anyway, he was supposed to be immortal, right? He couldn’t die. So why was he begging for his life? Tilting my head, I voiced the question that came to mind.
“But really… don’t most people not even consider the possibility of dying?”
“…Excuse me?”
“Immortals usually don’t think about their own deaths.”
I thought it was a perfectly reasonable point—until Hydra’s face drained of color. What? Had I gotten something wrong? Was he not actually immortal?
[This is Charlie. Hydra knows. If he crosses Ellie again, he really could die.]
Ah. So that’s how it was. These ghosts just assumed I’d one-shot him without question. Which meant that, to this handsome Hydra, my words sounded like: “Sure, I can kill you, but how did you figure out so quickly that you might die, even as an immortal?” I wanted to cry. What did I do to deserve this kind of reputation?
[It’s Mary. An overwhelming force engulfed Ellie for a moment, yet she stayed perfectly fine in a human body!]
If you knew it was that strong, maybe you could’ve tried to stop me.
I couldn’t shake the suspicion that they’d ditched me the moment they thought they’d die, then came crawling back only when it looked safe. Still, I answered politely.
“So Hydra isn’t the master of the house… Forget it. Whatever else shows up will just be a hassle. Let’s stop here.”
Because really, did anyone think Hydra would be the only monster in this mansion? I’d been lucky with the candles this time, but I wasn’t about to keep betting my life on luck.
Shouldn’t I escape the mansion? Well, the terrified pretty boy in front of me would do that job for me. I did feel a little bad about scaring such a handsome man, but hey—he had tried to kill me. Fair’s fair.
Feeling a little self-satisfied, I closed my eyes and pretended to sense something.
“Hydra.”
“Y-yes?”
“I want to… see the outside. With this body.”
I was blunt—everyone already knew I’d possessed this body. Hydra stiffened, his posture snapping into attention like a soldier. I almost wanted to tell him to relax, but decided it worked in my favor and pressed on.
“Open the door to the outside. If you can’t, then…”
“N-no, I can… Huh?”
His voice shifted from confidence to fluster in an instant.
Figures. I hadn’t expected much anyway.
Things in ghost stories never went smoothly. Of course something had to go wrong the moment it looked easy. I sighed. If this were a romance novel, it wouldn’t be scary. But no—Hydra had already shown up, so we were way past the point of romance.
Not some supernatural male lead, but… huh?
A sudden thought made my eyes fly open. Hydra flinched when our eyes met, but I didn’t care.
“What’s your name?”
“Hydra.”
“Right.”
Nothing more to say. What else could I do if he didn’t have another name?
His expression seemed to say, You’ve been calling me Hydra this whole time, why the sudden fuss? But I was dead serious. Because…
In one of the novels I’d read—just one—there really had been a supernatural sub-male-lead. And he had been a Hydra. The heroine had even given him a nickname: “Hidi.” She’d met him on her home turf and… gasp.
Could it be that this was the sub-lead Hydra? And I’d met him before the heroine did?
A realization dawned on me.
This guy was a supernatural sub-male-lead from some romance novel! The problem was, I barely remembered the story. The only thing I recalled was that the villainess I liked most had been named Anastasia. Everything else was fuzzy.
While I was lost in thought, the sub-male-lead snake—no, Hidi—saved me from my spiral.
“…What should I call you?”
Even that melancholy tone sounded different now that I knew. He definitely had “sub-male-lead” vibes. The main lead had been the bright, puppy-like sunshine type, so naturally there had to be a dark, brooding counterpart as the sub. And this guy was it. No wonder he looked so damn good. Even while daydreaming, I answered seriously.
“Just call me Ellie. And I can drop the honorifics, right?”
“You already… Ahem. Yes, you may.”
Losers talk too much. But anyway.
Damn, he’s sexy… this snake bastard. Even if he did almost pickle me in snake wine.
The mansion was still dark, and the ghosts still made noise, but it wasn’t as scary anymore. Why?
Because I had a new friend—or rather, servant—Hydra.
He was surprisingly useful.
“I need a chair.”
“Here is one.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Maybe he felt guilty for not having been pickled, but the arrogant, domineering attitude from before was gone. Now he behaved meekly, nothing like the raging monster who’d tried to kill me earlier.
“I think I’m a little thirsty.”
“Here’s some water.”
Truthfully, I wasn’t thirsty at all—I was just wondering if this mansion had a dining room. But Hydra fetched water anyway, probably with the help of other ghosts.
“So considerate…”
Of course, all this was just Hydra’s desperate struggle to survive, but I had no way of knowing that—and even if I had, I might’ve ignored it. Not my problem.
The fear I’d felt when I first entered the mansion had long since evaporated. Humans adapt. I was human. So I wasn’t all that scared anymore. The ghosts sometimes annoyed me with poltergeist tricks, but none had actually tried to kill me. I could see how people developed a false sense of security.
Even Hydra, who really had tried to kill me, was now like my footstool, diligently waiting on me. What was there to be afraid of?
After taking a sip of water, I asked him,
“Do you know why you can’t open the door?”
“I… don’t know.”
I stared at his face, sharp and clear even in the dark, and asked again.
“Really?”
“….”
“It would be nice to have a little light. Too dark.”
At my words, flames suddenly flared into existence all around.
I almost thanked Hydra, but stopped—he looked terrified. Right, of course. Fire. After I’d seared him with it, he must’ve been frightened when I asked for it again. I realized I’d been inconsiderate, and took another sip of water.
Still, I couldn’t help feeling a strange mix of guilt for not sparing him that fear, and appreciation for his delicate thoughtfulness in obeying me anyway. It left me momentarily speechless before I managed to continue.
“The master of the house—”
“I… I do have a suspicion. But you go first.”
“No, you.”
“Very well… There’s one other candidate besides me. It seems they’ve gained strength. But three hundred years ago, I was in a much stronger position.”
Which meant—
There was someone else besides Hydra I’d have to defeat before I could leave this cursed mansion. Unbelievable.
“Ugh… what a pain…”
At my muttered complaint, Hydra flinched and stammered.
“M-my apologies.”
“Nothing for you to apologize for. So… you can’t tell where they are?”
“I can’t. But… probably underground.”
That was when it happened.
Something began writhing up from Hydra’s shadow.
The black mass squirmed, taking shape. Whatever it was, it had to be strong. Even Charlie Charlie and Bloody Mary, who were relatively powerful ghosts, shrank back in Hydra’s presence. The true master of the house had to be far stronger than normal spirits. It wouldn’t make sense for an ordinary ghost to hijack Hydra’s shadow to attack.
And since Hydra himself had no reason to openly attack me with some shadow trick, the conclusion was clear.
“You said underground.”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
At my pressing, Hydra looked around as if wondering if something really was there, then replied in a small, unsure voice.
“…Probably.”
“Then what are those adorable things crawling out of your shadow?”
He blinked dumbly, then looked back at his own shadow. But to his eyes, apparently, there was nothing there.
I narrowed my gaze, watching the shapes writhe their way out of his darkness. The shadow was so stark, so distinct against the light I’d summoned, that it was impossible to miss.
He couldn’t see that?
Was he blind?
It was right there, plain as day.
