Chapter 12
“A book?”
“It’s a type of prayer book. It has to be somewhere in this room, but I just can’t seem to find it.”
Now that she thought about it, he had mentioned something about prayers earlier too.
Sally shivered, wondering if Lord Henry might secretly be a follower of some heretical cult.
“Uh… what does it look like?”
“It’s about the size of a palm, bound in leather, and… there’s a star drawn on it.”
With that, Henry folded his arms across his chest and stood in silence. From his posture, it felt like he was silently ordering her to go on, find my book.
‘He doesn’t even remember where he put it?’
Sally wanted to grumble, but it was an order from the boss—what choice did she have?
She obediently began searching every corner of the room. From the grand bed with its towering posts, to the marble fireplace, the luxurious mahogany desk, and even the bookshelves filled with serious-looking titles…
“Huh?”
The moment she accidentally pressed the side of the bookshelf, it slid aside silently, revealing a hidden wall behind it.
Embedded in that wall was a small metal safe. Sally’s eyes widened at the sight—it was just like a “secret compartment” out of a storybook.
At that moment, Henry, who had silently approached from behind, pointed at the safe and said,
“Open it.”
“But…”
It was clearly password-locked, and she was very reluctant to touch it. But Henry insisted, in a commanding tone.
“The code is 666.”
“…”
Sally furrowed her brows uneasily.
‘Why isn’t he opening it himself? Why is he making me do it?’
“Um… wouldn’t it be better if you opened it yourself—”
“The code is 666. Open it.”
His voice grew more forceful. With a sigh, Sally opened the safe.
“Sir, is this the book?”
Inside was a small leather-bound book with a star on the cover, just as Henry had described. It looked vaguely like a Bible, but the thinness of it made her think it was more likely some heretical scripture.
“…”
“Sir?”
She prompted him, but Henry didn’t move a finger. Still standing with his arms crossed, he looked at her and motioned with his chin toward the book.
“You want me to take it out?”
Henry gave no reply. For some reason, his eyes looked even more bloodshot than before…
‘Let’s just get this over with and leave.’
Feeling increasingly unsettled by the young master’s strange behavior, Sally reached into the safe and retrieved the book. The leather cover felt surprisingly supple in her hand.
Gasp!
It didn’t just feel like leather—it felt disturbingly like human skin. She recoiled in horror.
“Here you go!”
She quickly offered the book to Lord Henry, but he didn’t take it.
“Um, sir…”
“Open it and read.”
“…What?”
The focus had vanished from Henry’s eyes. His voice was eerie, as if echoing from empty space, vibrating through the air.
–Open it and read.
“…”
…Should she just throw the book and run?
Just as primal fear surged through her, an invisible force seized her body.
“…Ah.”
Sally looked blankly down at her hands. They moved on their own, opening the book to its first page.
The yellowed paper was filled with strange, indecipherable symbols.
At that moment—her mind went blank.
“Ph’nglui…”
Her mouth moved on its own, pronouncing alien syllables she had never heard before. Her face slowly drained of color.
“mglw’nafh…”
A blue aura poured out from the book, swirling around her body.
Sally Melbourne was no longer in control—her body had been completely overtaken by an unknown will and was now heading toward the final stages of a ritual.
Standing beside her, Lord Henry Jekyll—no, the entity wearing Henry’s face—smirked darkly.
Just a little more…
BANG!
The door burst open with a loud crash.
–Who’s there?!
From the darkness of the hallway came a sharp bang! and the acrid smell of gunpowder filled the air.
The figure known as “Eddie” quickly checked his body.
Relieved to see the host body wasn’t injured, he relaxed—until—
“…What… what am I doing…?”
The sudden gunshot had broken Sally Melbourne’s trance. She blinked in confusion.
–No! I was so close to completing it!
Perhaps due to the half-finished incantation, Sally began to retch violently and then collapsed, unconscious.
–No, I can’t let it end like this!
If the ritual failed, then at least the sacrifice must be made.
As the thought crossed his mind, “Eddie” drew a ceremonial dagger and lunged toward Sally—
“Don’t move.”
–…
He slowly turned, dagger in hand.
A figure stepped into the room from the shadows, the sound of a rifle being cocked echoing ominously.
“If you don’t want a hole in your body, don’t move.”
A striking woman with long platinum-blonde hair tied up elegantly—Emily Carter—pointed a long rifle straight at him.
“Eddie” involuntarily stepped back.
–No!
If the host died, the soul he had possessed would also be destroyed. That would be equivalent to true death—his worst fear.
–Wait… that woman…
Amid the panic, he realized—this woman, effortlessly holding a heavy rifle, was the very one Jekyll had brought with him.
A smirk slowly returned to “Eddie’s” face.
–Ha… So now you’re threatening me with your lover’s life? Are you saying you’re fine if he dies too?
“…”
–Heh… go on, shoot if you dare. If you kill me, you kill him too.
Emily didn’t so much as flinch, but Eddie, having seen countless battles, could tell—
‘She’s shaken.’
Of course she was. No matter what, no one could just shoot their lover, even if he was possessed.
Grinning wickedly, he raised the dagger again.
The moment it hissed from its sheath—
BANG!
A loud gunshot exploded, echoing in his ears. Intense pain bloomed in his chest.
–Gaaah…
She shot him? To save a maid?
“Eddie” looked down in disbelief—and understood immediately.
“Did you really think I’d shoot Lord Henry?”
The object in his chest wasn’t a bullet—but a tranquilizer dart. His eyes widened as he felt the connection to the host rapidly weaken. The evil spirit, desperate now, used the last of his consciousness to speak.
–Hah! Hahaha! You made a terrible mistake!
A common error made by ignorant humans.
Sometimes they shoot the possessed with a tranquilizer to save the victim.
That may save the host body—but the real problem begins afterward.
Once freed from a human vessel, the evil spirit is no longer restrained. It becomes a pure Wraith, driven only by malice.
–A monster unshackled… do you know what horrors it might unleash?!
With that, the connection between “Eddie” and the host was severed.
Henry Jekyll collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, and a dark shadow seeped out of his body.
GRAAAHHHH!!
The fully formed Wraith Eddie shrieked and lunged at Emily—
And inside Emily’s mind, she heard the whisper of an ancient being.
–My apostle, Emily Carter.
–I shall protect your mind…
Lifting her beautiful face, Emily murmured lazily, almost bored:
“Try me, then.”
…Though the unspoken words that followed lingered behind her lips:
You’ll regret it.
* * *
A few hours earlier.
I was rushing toward Room 333.
Why?
Because—
‘It’s not just Eddie’s ghost that appears in Room 333,’ Jimmy had whispered to me after gathering info from other maids.
Apparently, in addition to ghost sightings, various paranormal phenomena occurred there.
‘The lights flicker on and off, doors open and close on their own, and sometimes objects fly through the air,’ he said.
The moment I heard that, I remembered a term from my previous life:
Poltergeist.
A spirit that causes physical disturbances—rattling, moving objects, loud noises.
If my hunch was correct, “Eddie”—no, Edward—was the source of all those supernatural incidents.
And if he really gained his power from the Book of Avon…
Lord Henry’s life might be in danger.
Reaching that conclusion, I headed straight for Room 333—
‘Here it is.’
Using the key provided by Lord Graham, I unlocked the door.
Creak.
Despite being locked tight, Room 333 looked surprisingly normal inside.
‘Looks like any other room.’
I carefully inspected everything—the bed, table, bookshelf, even climbed into the fireplace to check—but…
‘Nothing. Not a single clue.’
I’d hoped some hidden answer would be buried here, but nothing revealed itself. And the infamous “Eddie” Sally Melbourne saw didn’t appear before me either.
‘In that case…’
It might be best to strike the moment the entity did appear.
I pulled something from the inner pocket of my jacket. It looked like an ordinary makeup compact, but in reality—
‘A Mi-Go detection device.’
While handling missions from the King in Yellow, I’d encountered numerous eldritch beings—and acquired mysterious tools along the way.
This one could detect unknown supernatural presences and alert its owner.
“Now, where to place it…”
After a moment’s thought, I set it on the vanity. Blending in among the cosmetics, it looked perfectly natural.
That done, I left Room 333.
Back in my own quarters, I finished preparing for the confrontation with “Eddie” and lay down.
I only meant to rest for a moment, but perhaps I was more tired than I realized.
I dozed off.
How long passed?
WEEEOOO WEEEOOO!!
A shrill alarm jolted me awake. It was 3 a.m.
As I turned on the lights, red letters bled across the white wall like fresh blood.
It was a warning:
[Presence of a Wraith Detected.]
“…Finally.”
I left the room at once.
