Chapter 30
The expressions of the people turned pale, and a chilling silence spread.
On the floor of the lounge, traces of the previous night still remained—dark bloodstains.
The demon’s head had turned to stone with the coming of dawn. Yet, even after several hours, the blood had not dried completely, making it clear that it was once truly the demon’s head.
“Did you sleep well, Lady April?”
Yeniel answered calmly.
“Yes! Somehow, I feel like something good will happen today. Whenever April wakes up in a good mood, good things always happen.”
“That’s right. Many good things will surely happen to Lady April.”
The Crown Prince answered after a slight pause, but in his usual tone.
At least Sian could not meet my eyes. His face was twisted with guilt, as though he might die from the weight of it.
Not that I care.
Suddenly, the only closed door slammed open. Max stumbled out in a panic.
“Eek! Your Highness! Everyone! It’s morning! Daylight has come! Something’s wrong! Wh-why are you all looking at me like that?”
“Max… I always thought you were a nuisance, and I’m sorry. But sometimes your antics were, in their own way, a comfort. A little annoying to be soothing, though…”
The Crown Prince confessed with a dazed expression.
Wait—you thought that too?
“What? Your Highness? What do you mean? How could Max be annoying!”
“It’s a joke.”
It was clearly not a joke.
After ending that pointless exchange, we turned again to the discussion of escape.
“We’ve been trapped nearly 72 hours. Outside, it would already be the third day. Yet we strongly perceive this as ‘the next morning.’ That means this mansion itself is fixed in a certain time.”
Sian, pale as death, still did his duty.
“Hmm? But isn’t this clearly the first morning?”
I tilted my head. Sian flinched and avoided my eyes, his face full of guilt near despair.
“Everyone else likely thinks the same as Lady April. In any case, can’t we escape through the windows?”
The Crown Prince diverted the topic. Max quickly approached the window.
“You’re right, Your Highness! I, Max, will—”
“Remember the law of equivalent exchange. The windows must have their own trap. Let’s explore the third floor and descend to the second instead.”
Yeniel calmly stopped Max, then opened the window herself.
Outside, only endless blackness stretched into the void.
“Wha…?”
Max staggered back.
A void. Nothing but darkness and blood.
In normal mode, the windows showed stars and galaxies. But in hard mode, it seemed the background was made more horrifying.
And most of all—open the window too many times, and you die.
“I kept opening the windows and then died?”
“Why would you open it!”
“Thought space would appear.”
“If you keep opening them before escaping, you die… Ugh, space is terrifying. And they say that void shares vision with Yoan!”
Yoan was the name of the final boss.
The monsters had been designed with terrifying, horror-game aesthetics, yet the final boss alone was unnecessarily beautiful, like a romantic fantasy character—hence very popular.
Just as I thought of him, several bloodstained hands rose from below the window.
“Lady Yeniel! Close the window!”
The Crown Prince didn’t even waste time ordering her. He rushed to slam it shut himself.
What were those hands?
From the shadows, the hands swayed slowly—fluttering, almost like waving.
Almost as if mimicking me. Almost as if they were greeting me specifically.
Once the window closed, the view returned to the normal scenery of the archmage’s mansion.
“Of course there’s no easy way out.”
The Crown Prince sighed.
“Sian. Is there nothing outside this mansion?”
“No, Your Highness. We cannot see it because we cannot reach it. Remember, we remained stuck in one place until we entered the fourth floor. It means we are meant to descend ‘properly’ to the first floor and escape.”
“I see. Then let’s explore the third floor. And don’t ever open the windows.”
The Crown Prince emphasized firmly.
We stepped out into the third-floor corridor.
The fourth and fifth floors had already been splendid like noble estates, but the grandeur of the third floor was on another level.
It resembled the dazzling ballrooms and imperial halls often depicted in romance webtoons.
“Wow, it’s so beautiful! April has never seen such a pretty place before!”
I smiled brightly, of course holding my trusty halberd firmly in hand.
“That’s why it was called the Flower of the Mansion a thousand years ago, Lady April.”
Yeniel kindly explained.
“A thousand years ago, demons made it difficult for nobles to go outside. So they used the second and third floors as reception halls. Likely, we’ll keep seeing beautiful areas until we reach the first floor.”
“I’m so happy. April loves pretty things.”
I laughed cheerfully.
But soon we encountered a group of monsters.
“Mon… monsters!”
Max was the first to spot them approaching from the other side of the hall.
Figures like they had stepped out of a black-and-white photograph—dressed as maids and servants, but headless.
They were the infamous headless servants of the third floor.
Everyone tensed in preparation. Yet, the headless servants simply walked past us.
When they had gone a certain distance, their forms faded away.
“Did they not perceive us? No… it was like they deliberately avoided us.”
Yeniel’s eyes followed them carefully.
“They must have recognized us. For now… it’s better to keep watching. We don’t know under what conditions they might attack.”
Sian, still pale, gave his cautious opinion.
Indeed, each time we walked a little further, more headless servants appeared. Yet every time, nothing happened.
“It seems safe. Conditional, but safe.”
Sian concluded.
He was right.
The third floor was a neutral zone.
Most monsters here did not attack the players—unless provoked, obstructed, or betrayed in quests.
Of course, I knew this because I had already tried everything.
Once, I even broke a plate the servants were carrying. That time, the entire floor turned hostile, and I was swarmed by endless headless servants…
I didn’t have long to reminisce.
Up ahead, we saw people.
Our group halted.
“Look! Up there! Isn’t that people?”
Max pointed hastily.
Yeniel nodded.
“Yes, I think so. The headless monsters would already be fading at this distance. And more importantly… I recognize them from the banquet.”
We grew wary.
In this mansion, even survivors could not be trusted easily.
As we drew closer, we saw that the other group was also tense and on guard.
One of them recognized the Crown Prince first.
“Huh? It’s the Crown Prince!”
“Be quiet! Without his title, it’s treason!”
Despite the comedic tone of their words, their eyes were sharp.
They, too, looked battle-worn—bloodstained clothes, wrapped in bandages, weapons in hand.
