Chapter 2
‘Crazy. I’ve transmigrated.’
I moved my body alone and pinched my arm to reconfirm the sensation of pain.
I was pretty sure I just dozed off while waiting for fried chicken.
But when I opened my eyes, the outfit I saw myself in was none other than April’s.
And looking around, I realized the prologue party of <The Archmage’s Mansion> was just about to begin.
[Error!]
Welcome to the Ma■ian’s ■sion.
System Error: Player information not found.
The glitching message window disappeared in an instant.
Other than that, everything proceeded exactly as I remembered from the prologue event.
The chandelier lights flickered ominously. For a moment, crimson blood flowed down the walls.
<The Emperor, and the four I trusted as comrades.
They betrayed me.>
Screams erupted at the sight of the blood-written words.
Shadowy hands surged from beyond the windows.
Bang! Bang!
Bloody palms slammed against the glass in unison.
The chandelier lights went out completely.
Darkness.
The cheerful waltz that had been playing moments ago vanished, leaving behind a chilling silence. Only the sound of heavy rain pounding on the windows remained.
Lightning flashed. The hall was briefly illuminated, followed by a thunderous roar.
<I will not forgive you who killed me.>
The cursed message was etched on the wall.
Lightning struck again.
<Even your cursed descendants who carry your blood shall surely die.>
<You will never escape this place.>
When some of the lights finally returned, the grand hall was filled with nobles of the Emperor’s faction, aristocrats, and commoner guests.
The bloody words remained, dripping endlessly until the carpet was soaked red.
Whispers spread through the hall:
“Wasn’t the Archmage the one who sacrificed himself for the Emperor and his companions?”
“Then why would they have killed him…?”
But after seeing the cursed words, everyone instinctively knew the truth.
‘It’s not ending?’
I blinked.
No matter how many times I pinched myself, I didn’t wake up. Instead, the pain only confirmed that I had really transmigrated into a side character of the game.
Panic grew. Someone tried the door.
Clunk.
The grand hall’s doors would not open.
A suffocating tension filled the room. The atmosphere felt ready to shatter at the slightest scream.
Then, a calm voice cut through the silence.
“Everyone, please calm down. Let’s review the situation.”
The girl with half-tied brown hair and intelligent green eyes stepped forward.
She was the game’s heroine, Yeniel.
“Hah. Yeniel Lady speaks as if she’s the only one who understands what’s going on.”
A cold laugh followed.
The speaker was a woman with flowing dark-purple hair and sharp violet eyes.
The villainess of the game, Evelyn.
The two exchanged sharp words.
Yeniel insisted on cooperation for survival, while Evelyn mocked her, unwilling to cooperate.
I reached a conclusion:
‘Looks like I’m stuck here as April for a while.’
Still, I felt secretly relieved.
‘Since it’s <The Archmage’s Mansion>, that’s actually lucky.’
It was one of the easier horror games, and survival was almost guaranteed if you sided with either Yeniel or Evelyn. Even more so if I stuck with the heroine.
Then Evelyn suddenly turned to me.
“And what does Lady Sharon think?”
Everyone’s eyes shifted toward me. Evelyn herself looked faintly regretful for asking.
“…Pardon?”
I tilted my head innocently, just like April would.
“Since you’re of the noble faction as well, Lady Sharon, surely you have an opinion. Do you agree we must all cooperate to escape?”
I gave a vague, harmless answer.
“Well… I don’t know, but Lady Yeniel’s words do sound reasonable, don’t they?”
[Suspicion Level +10%]
The chilling metallic sound rang in my ears as a translucent status window popped up.
Suspicion rose when a character acted unlike their role. For Yeniel, it was acting too foolish. For Evelyn, failing to answer sharply.
But me?
[Suspicion rose because April the airheaded noble lady used a word beyond her character’s vocabulary.]
Evelyn squinted.
“…Did Lady Sharon just use the word ‘reasonable’?”
Ah. That was it.
The real April—the empty-headed noble girl—would never know such a word.
“I-I meant… um…”
The nobles stared at me with wide eyes.
Then I smiled brightly.
“Doesn’t ‘reasonable’ mean ‘cuter’? Right, Lady Evelyn?”
“…It seems I misunderstood you. My mistake.”
Evelyn admitted defeat, visibly flustered.
[The crowd senses a mysterious twist of fate! Suspicion -9%]
[Current Suspicion: 1%]
‘Thank you, everyone. Really. Thank you so much.’
