62. Bloody Honeymoon at the Haunted Hotel (6)

Meanwhile, Viscountess Borodin licked her parched lips nervously after entering her room.

Though she lay in bed, fear kept sleep at bay.

“Surely not really a demon…?”

She shook her head immediately.

As a devout believer, she couldn’t accept the existence of demons.

“That’s impossible. Where in the world would there be such things as ghosts? It’s all demons trying to tempt and test us.”

As she nervously chewed her nails, strangely, her lips suddenly became numb and lost sensation.

At that moment, someone began banging loudly on her window in Room 409.

This was clearly not the sound of raindrops.

It was the sound of fists pounding hard enough to shake, no, almost break the window.

Viscountess Borodin felt a chill run down her spine and froze like ice.

But at the same time, curiosity arose.

Whether what was out there was truly human or a ghost.

No demon would dare pursue a faithful believer protected by the gods like herself.

Let’s see the face of whatever madman killer it is.

‘I’ve done nothing wrong! I’m innocent!’

The urge to prove her own innocence suddenly welled up.

With that thought, Viscountess Borodin got out of bed, grabbed the candlestick from the bedside table, and slowly moved forward with muffled footsteps.

When she quickly drew back the curtains, a pale figure was floating and dancing in the air beyond the window, looking down at her.

‘Kyaaaa! A demon!’

She certainly meant to scream that.

But no voice came out.

Moreover, her tongue and lips were completely paralyzed and wouldn’t close, causing saliva to drip down her chin.

Only she could save herself now.

The panicked Viscountess flung open the window and went out onto the balcony, wildly swinging the candlestick with her eyes tightly shut.

But when she opened her eyes, there was nothing in front of her.

‘Have I gone mad? Am I seeing things?’

Below the balcony, she could see nothing but the threateningly swirling river waters.

As Viscountess Borodin looked around for the vanished ghost, something thin and sharp suddenly tightened around her neck.

‘Uuungh!’

The more she struggled to break free by grabbing at it, the deeper it cut into her flesh.

In the midst of her death struggle, voices could be heard from the hallway.

She used all her strength to stretch her leg back and desperately began kicking the window repeatedly.

Nikolai quietly drew out the sword he had packed in his bag at the sound of knocking.

Before sending Boris and the knights, the two had separately packed bags containing weapons in case of emergency.

That’s why when Mengano offered to carry their luggage to the room, they declined, worried it might raise suspicion.

Nikolai hid the weapon behind his back while stopping Katya who tried to follow him out, suspecting a killer, and opened the room door slightly.

[Hello, guest.]

It was Mengano.

[What brings you at this hour?]

[I came to check if the doors are secure since there might be intruders about.]

[I see.]

Nikolai still didn’t fully let his guard down and kept the door partially closed.

[Your trip should have been enjoyable, so you must find this concerning. As manager, I feel great responsibility. Have you had any other inconveniences today?]

[Nothing in particular besides having a corpse above our heads.]

[Haha… indeed.]

When Nikolai pointed at the ceiling, Mengano smiled awkwardly.

Coincidentally, Room 504 where the murder took place was directly above their room.

[I’d very much like to move you to another room but I apologize that I don’t have the keys.]

[Don’t you find it strange that with all rooms booked and keys taken, there are only four guests including one dead person?]

[Well, about that…]

[If you’re done here, why don’t you go rest now.]

[Ah! I feel terrible about your unpleasant experience at our hotel, so I prepared some peppermint tea good for sleep—would you like some?]

Mengano asked while lifting a teapot from his trolley.

As Nikolai tried to close the door saying no thanks, Katya slipped under his arm like a squirrel crossing a dead tree and caught the closing door.

“Why so cold? One cup of tea should be fine, right?”

Katya spoke broken Arsetian while pointing at the teacup.

[Give, tea one, to me.]

At those words, Mengano smiled and tilted the teapot.

Nikolai wrapped one arm around his wife’s shoulders from behind, rested his chin on her crown, and watched him with a displeased expression.

The manager broke into a cold sweat from his piercing glare.

“What if he put something in it?” 

Nikolai spoke in Hersen deliberately to test him while looking at the manager.

Mengano simply continued pouring tea without showing any reaction.

“But he made the effort to bring it here—how can we just turn him away? We can just accept it without drinking.”

“You won’t drink the black tea your husband gives you but you trust what a strange man brings?”

“Why are you taking it there?”

“Don’t talk to other men. It makes me jealous.”

“Ugh, that’s going too far. Half the servants are men—how can I live without speaking to them?”

Katya said while tapping the arm around her neck.

“Have me do everything. You don’t need two lady’s maids. I’ll attend to all your needs.”

“Talk sense. Do you even know what a lady’s maid does?”

“If you mean helping with baths, I’d gladly— ow!”

Nikolai couldn’t finish his sentence and grabbed his injured chin after an angry Katya headbutted him mid-sentence.

“Someone taught me some self-defense moves. They said if grabbed from behind, headbutt like this?”

“Your teacher taught you well.”

The very person who had taught her close combat chuckled as he spoke.

Mengano tried to hold back his laughter that came unconsciously while using tongs to transfer desserts to plates at their silly behavior.

That’s when it happened.

Bang bang bang!

The loud noise came from Room 409 across from where they stood.

Nikolai and Katya’s eyes met simultaneously and without hesitation, they shoved aside the trolley and ran toward the sound.

“Viscountess, are you in there?”

Katya knocked on the door and asked, but they only heard thumping sounds in response instead of an answer.

Nikolai made her step back before kicking down the room door.

The door crashed to the floor with the impact.

While Mengano stood shocked at his incredible strength, the two who rushed inside witnessed the Viscountess suspended from her toes in a strange pose on the balcony.

She was dangling, like she was being strangled by an invisible demon, thrashing about like dancing in the rain.

Nikolai slashed through the air above the Viscountess’s head with his sword.

Only then did the Viscountess fall to the floor, coughing and gasping for breath.

Looking up, there was no one there.

But sensing a presence in the darkness, Nikolai instinctively knew the culprit was upstairs and rushed out of the room.

Katya supported Viscountess Borodin and helped her sit on the bed.

In the light, she could see silk thread embedded with glass shards wrapped around her neck.

“Why didn’t you scream this time?”

Katya asked her, sensing something strange.

When they first met in Room 404 and at the murder scene, she had been the quickest to scream.

But even after escaping the invisible gallows, she hadn’t made a sound until now.

When Katya recognized that she had lost her voice, the Viscountess pointed to her own mouth while tears and mucus flowed.

Her lips were twisted and stiff, drooling continuously.

“You can’t speak?”

She nodded repeatedly while crying.

“Did you consume anything after dinner? Like tea from the manager…?”

Katya whispered while conscious of Mengano standing at the door.

But the Viscountess shook her head vigorously.

The first place Mengano visited with his trolley was Room 404 where Katya and Nikolai were.

The Viscountess had been attacked while she was alone.

It was strange. They had all eaten the same food at dinner, and if someone had slipped a paralyzing poison in the Viscountess’s glass, shouldn’t the effects have kicked in earlier?

But after finishing dinner, discovering Lantskoĭ’s body, arguing, and going to find the ferry, the Viscountess hadn’t shown any unusual symptoms.

Katya tried to remember if she had done anything particularly different from the others.

Of course, since all three were suspects, she couldn’t dismiss the possibility this was the Viscountess’s own act.

After all, unlike Lantskoĭ, the Viscountess hadn’t lost her life.

Suddenly remembering that Judith was alone, Katya ran to Room 408 next door.

If there really was an outside intruder or accomplice, she would also be in danger.

There was no answer when she knocked on the room door.

Recognizing the urgency, Mengano, driven by his duty as manager to rescue guests before his arrival, pushed his trolley and charged straight at the door.

With a cracking sound, the hinges broke and Room 408’s door opened.

Judith, who had been sleeping with an eye mask, jolted awake at the commotion.

“Judith, are you alright?”

Katya grabbed her shoulders and asked urgently.

Judith removed her eye mask and the wax earplugs from her ears, looking around drowsily.

“What’s happening in the middle of the night?”

“You couldn’t hear because of the earplugs. Come out quickly. It seems safer if we all stay together.”

“What? What do you…”

Katya grabbed the confused woman and pulled her along.

Judith got out of bed in the confusion and stood up limping.

“What’s happening that you’re doing this?”

“There’s a killer outside who just attacked Viscountess Borodin…!”

Just then something flashed through Katya’s mind.

At that moment, Nikolai, who had lost the culprit, came into Judith’s room and whispered something in her ear.

Having reached a complete conclusion in her mind, Katya nodded, making a resolution.

“Let’s all go to Room 509.”

“What? Why—”

“Because I know who the killer is.”

At those words, the killer in the room held their breath and stared at her.

Had she figured everything out?

That couldn’t be. The plan had been perfect.

What the killer had overlooked was the variable called Katya.