Surviving in the Cursed Mansion

Chapter 6: The Portrait of a Maid (3)

After Asche had a brief rest, we left the common lounge and resumed our exploration.

However, no meaningful results were forthcoming. The mansion was so vast that it was difficult to explore all of it, and there were no items we could call clues.

“Asche, are you not tired?”

“I just rested, so I’m fine.”

She dismissed the concern curtly.

In a short time, a peculiar change had occurred.

When she first set foot in the mansion, Asche had been reckless and headstrong. But now, it seemed she had regained a sense of reality. Her sense of responsibility and initiative had also come alive.

Although her mischievous and headstrong personality remained unchanged…

It was evident that she had somewhat adapted.

“It will be night soon. I was concerned you might be too tired.”

“Nonsense. What’s there to be tired about? I’ve spent countless nights playing and partying. This is nothing.”

“If that’s the case, then I’m relieved…”

Still, it was a little unnerving.

The greater the enthusiasm, the greater the disappointment when there were no results. I worried that her newfound determination might falter if we failed to achieve anything for too long.

“Butler, what exactly are you?”

“Excuse me?”

“You lured me here deliberately, yet you treat me decently. And now you’re even concerned about whether I’m tired or not.”

“…”

“Why are you doing this? Tell me the reason. At least let us both avoid feeling wronged.”

I couldn’t answer.

Even if I tried to claim I was also a victim, it felt like there was a lock on my tongue, preventing me from speaking. At best, all I could do was put on a bitterly aggrieved expression.

Silently, ever so silently.

In the corridor where only the sound of our footsteps echoed, Asche’s piercing red eyes surveyed the chilling surroundings.

“Aha…”

Unexpectedly, Asche let out a faint chuckle.

“Butler, are you… a clue?”

“…”

“It is strange, isn’t it? A foreigner serving as the butler of such a grand mansion? And despite that, you don’t even know the names of the decorations in your own house. You know the layout, but that’s about it. And if your claims of ignorance are true… isn’t it all too unnatural?”

I hesitated to speak. Asche wasn’t simply making wild guesses; her reasoning struck at issues even I couldn’t be sure of.

I had established my identity as Asche’s assistant. But the notion that I might also be a clue in this mystery was unfamiliar and unsettling.

I only believed that I had to fulfill the role given to me.

The idea that I might be a puzzle for Asche to solve was unprecedented.

“Butler.”

“… Yes, Asche.”

“What’s your name? Is it something like S or M?”

There was an odd suggestiveness in her choice of letters. But I could only shake my head once again at her question.

“I don’t know. I don’t even know my name.”

“Hmph, so the butler doesn’t even know his own name? How incompetent.”

“I can’t argue with that.”

It was the truth, after all. I admitted it plainly. Asche’s eyes gleamed, as if she had just resolved a major puzzle.

“See? I knew it. Uncovering your identity must also be connected to the secrets of this decrepit mansion!”

“My identity, huh…”

Until now, I had dismissed my circumstances as simple misfortune—being trapped in a cursed body and stripped of my freedom was just a cruel joke of fate.

But… was there more to it?

Was there a reason I had to become the sole guardian of this mansion?

“Butler, don’t you want to know who you are?”

“… Of course I do.”

“Ufufu, then serve me even more diligently. I will uncover all your secrets!”

“I shall do so.”

Asche stared at my compliant response, seemingly puzzled.

Until I spoke again.

“If it’s required, I’ll even assist you with your bath.”

“Shut up! You filthy, lewd, perverted butler…!”

She hurled a sharp insult and glared at me with seething indignation.

“Hmph, I bet someone like you would’ve fallen head over heels for Maid B, shamelessly fawning over her like every other male servant!”

“Not a bad notion. That would mean she was a woman of exceptional beauty, unlike Asche, who doesn’t even look like a woman.”

“Wh-what? How dare you! A mere maid could never have skin as smooth as mine, soaked daily in flower baths, nor features as defined as a royal like me!”

Preposterous!

After that indignant outburst, Asche crossed her arms and grumbled.

“Butler, you promised, remember? You’re on my side. So don’t go running off to Maid B as if you’re infatuated.”

“Why am I suddenly being accused of being a lecher?”

“Anyway! I’ll find your name, and you’ll be my loyal servant! Forget about being the lady of this mansion—I’m calling the shots now. Got it?”

“Well, it seems I’ve gained a new tyrannical master.”

“Hiss!”

Asche wagged her finger at me, a clear warning not to badmouth her.

Her behavior, like a bristling cat, was somewhat amusing, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“My, my! Butler, you can laugh?”

“I didn’t laugh.”

“Liar! You just laughed! How dare a servant lie to their master? You insolent wretch.”

“The master’s opinion isn’t always right.”

“What did you just say…”

“Guiding a misguided master back onto the right path is also the duty of a proper servant.”

Asche placed her hand under her chin, pondering my words.

For a moment, at least.

She quickly realized she’d been drawn into my pace.

“W-what do I care! You laughed, admit it, liar!”

“… Tsk.”

So it doesn’t work after all.

“Tsk? Tsk?! I ought to fire you!”

Thud!

Asche delivered a full-force kick to my shin.

[Indestructible Object.]

The mansion’s absolute protective barrier activated.

As a result, her emotionally charged strike ended in vain.

“Indestructible? What kind of absurd magic is this…!”

It’s troubling magic for me, too.

Without this annoying barrier, I would’ve gladly passed on long ago.

It was an endless source of frustration.

“Thinking rationally, I get it. An incompetent butler like you couldn’t cast such a spell on your own. So… you’re cursed, aren’t you?”

A perfect answer.

… Although the logic was a bit convoluted, it hardly mattered.

“Hmm, I’ll need to factor your role into my deductions. To do that, I might have to dig into the maids’ connections. As a fellow servant, there must be something written about you.”

And I’ll also need to find out why you’re the only servant left in this mansion…

Muttering to herself, Asche sank into deep thought.

While she pieced together her deductions, our footsteps led us back to the lobby.

Inevitably, Asche’s body stiffened. The menacing atmosphere of the corridor, marred with scars, seemed to weigh on her.

Instinctively, she grabbed the hem of my sleeve again.

“Butler… I’ll be okay, right?”

“Are you scared?”

“To be honest… maybe just a little, a teensy bit…”

“If that’s all, there’s nothing to worry about.”

I pretended to move forward, and, as expected, Asche panicked and clung to my arm.

“W-wait!”

Her face twisted in worry, and despite the tension, she looked strangely endearing.

“Um, Butler.”

“Yes, Asche.”

“You’ll protect me… won’t you? Please?”

“Where has the confident Asche from the common lounge, who swore to protect me, gone?”

Fwoosh!

Asche’s face turned beet red, her past arrogance flooding her with unbearable embarrassment.

“I… I-I’m…”

Her voice trembled, on the verge of tears.

Perhaps I had teased her too much.

As I considered taking back my words, Asche pulled a hefty longsword out of a leather pouch.

“Hyah!”

Shing!

The newly polished blade gleamed sharply. Weapons like this, tools of mortal defense, were effective at soothing one’s anxiety.

“I’ll kill anyone who dares come near…!”

Asche spat out this chilling declaration.

I was silently observing her imposing figure when, suddenly, she extended the sword toward me.

“Butler, want to give it a try? I’ll teach you the basics of swordsmanship. You can’t just stand there and keep running your mouth like some weakling.”

“Your words are deeply cutting, but I understand your intention.”

Asche thrust the sword’s handle toward me as if to force it into my hands.

I reached for it instinctively, but the moment I tried to grasp the hilt, my hand recoiled, as if repelled by a magnetic force of the same polarity.

… No, this was different.

It felt as though my entire body was seized by an overwhelming compulsion, forbidding me from holding the sword.

‘… What is this strange sensation? Ugh.’

Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed at my chest, and my vision began to tremble violently.

It was a phenomenon unlike anything I had experienced during my countless years of existence.

“Butler, what are you doing? You look like you’re about to collapse.”

“… It looks heavy.”

“That’s too much! Your incompetence knows no bounds.”

“…”

I deflected her scolding with an excuse, maintaining my composure. If I showed signs of instability, it would crush her morale. It wasn’t the time to shatter Asche’s newly found courage.

Perhaps sensing my efforts, Asche patted my shoulder lightly, offering words of consolation in her typically smug and infuriating tone.

“Ah well, what can you do? How could I expect anything from a commoner like you? Leave it all to me, the top of my swordsmanship class. I’ll slash through everything like the heroes of old.”

“… I’ll leave it to you, Asche.”

Her insults, though exaggerated, were meant in jest. But as things stood, I was only burdening her with responsibilities.

It was no longer possible to brush off her jokes.

For the first time, I felt genuine self-reproach.

“Ugh… Don’t be afraid, Asche. You can do this. Showing off your courage to your new servant shouldn’t be a big deal, right?”

Sigh.

She shone.

In this dim and grim mansion, it felt as though Asche was bathed in radiant light.

I finally understood why she was chosen as the heroine.

It must be because of qualities like these.

Courage that pushed her to take one step forward, even while trembling in fear.

That might be the gem-like essence of Asche as a person.

She boldly gestured at a door we had yet to open.

“Watch carefully. Witness your master’s fearless spirit. I’ll fling open any door like this…!”

Click.

Thus, she pushed open what turned out to be the very gates of hell, steeped in malice.

Crunch! Crunch crunch crunch!

It happened in an instant.

Something rotten, with flesh peeling and muscles barely clinging to its frame, opened its massive jaws and violently crushed Asche’s torso.

“Asche…?”

“…”

She did not respond to my call.

Her blood-soaked red eyes stared blankly, devoid of the light of life. Blood trickled from them, staining her pallid face.

Her mangled body was discarded mercilessly.

The creature—a grotesque monstrosity. Its ears were mutilated, its empty eye sockets gouged out and shrouded in shadow.

It was enormous, far beyond the size of an average man, exuding overwhelming menace.

Its blood-drenched form turned toward me, its ragged flesh swaying precariously.

The fresh scent of death brushed against my nose.

[Quest: The House Where a Thief Lives]

It endlessly chases the echoes of two individuals.

The one who gave it something precious.

The one who stole something precious.

Retracing their footsteps, it recalls the happiest moments of its life.

Return it.

Return it!

Return the happiness you stole from me!

Reward: Gift Box

Special Reward: The Hunting Dog’s Memory