An explanatory pop-up jumped out before Louis's eyes when the two figures appeared.

[This is your father. He has a mouth that can swallow anything—be careful!]

[This is your older sister. She is a clear-headed one—be careful!]

Louis could feel his sister's sharp gaze sweep over him. He lowered his eyes, saying nothing.

Mr. Adonis immediately burst out, his mouth wide, his voice booming like a giant toad:

"Cry, cry, cry—cry all day long! Why did you suddenly bring Louis to the Rose Mansion?! Don't you know how useless your son is?!"

Louis's sister also spoke up, her tone soft, though her face remained cold as ice:

"We just went to apologize. The family lost two skyscrapers to the Andersen clan in exchange for their forgiveness. But they still demand that Louis personally go and apologize to their heir."

Mrs. Adonis sobbed: "As long as everyone's safe, that's all that matters… I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

Mr. Adonis's thunderous voice roared again:

"Sorry, sorry—besides saying sorry, is there anything else you can say?!"

Mrs. Adonis sniffled again.

Lena gave her a sidelong glance before lowering her cold gaze onto Louis.

"Louis, come here. I have something to say to you."

Her voice was gentle, and that gentleness made Louis instinctively think of Layla's voice.

In horror stories, there always seemed to be these contrasts—the gentler someone looked, the more terrifying they became when they "transformed."

The moonlight in this world was particularly bright. Louis looked down at his shadow, then glanced toward Lena's feet—where there was no shadow.

Just then, Lena's voice sounded again:

"Louis, what are you looking at?"

Louis lifted his head and saw Lena staring down at him. Under the pale moonlight, her face was ghostly white, even her lips devoid of blood. Her skin gleamed faintly, and with that long, flowing hair, she looked like she'd just been pulled from a jar of embalming fluid.

Outwardly, Louis's expression didn't change. Tilting his head slightly as if curious, he asked,

"Sister Lena, why am I not the same as everyone else?"

At his words, Lena narrowed her eyes before finally replying:

"It's only because you haven't grown up yet."

"Tell me, why did you get into a fight today?" Lena asked again.

Unlike Mr. and Mrs. Adonis, Louis could sense that Lena wasn't angry about him hitting Alex. On the contrary, she seemed rather pleased.

"Alex tried to strangle me," Louis replied slowly, giving the same answer he had given to Mrs. Adonis.

At that, Lena narrowed her eyes. "Louis, you weren't wrong. Your only mistake was letting others know you were the one who did the hitting. Your actions were foolish, especially when faced with power you can't resist."

"My life is the most valuable thing," Louis said flatly, then turned and walked away without sparing her another glance.

Lena did not follow him.

Louis walked, and walked, until he reached his room. The moment the door closed behind him, his body almost collapsed to the floor, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

Just now, he had truly been afraid Lena would slit his throat right then and there! But it seemed he had gambled correctly. The most important thing was not to go OOC. Every action he made had to be grounded in the condition of staying in character.

Knock, knock, knock!

At that moment, the door was suddenly rapped upon. Louis shivered, goosebumps erupting all over his body.

Still, he didn't rush to change his posture, only pretended as though something on the floor had completely absorbed his attention.

"Tomorrow, come with me to the Andersen house to apologize. Go to bed early," Lena's voice came, gentle and caring. "And don't run around outside at night. If a good child doesn't go to sleep early, the monsters will come and take them away."

Louis: "…"

He didn't feel that was a standard warning at all.

He stood up, checked the doorknob to ensure it was securely locked, then climbed into bed and pulled the blanket over his head.

"666, 666, 666."

Louis whispered the call. When calling silently in his mind failed, he parted his lips and murmured aloud—but 666 still didn't respond. He realized that ever since he had been dragged into this place, he had lost all contact with 666. The only bit of luck was that the Store still functioned.

But this damned mission… marriage—no matter what, he'd have to wait until he was old enough before he could complete it!

Just imagining having to live in this monstrous world until he turned twenty made Louis feel like his whole body was falling apart.

As his thoughts spun endlessly, night quickly swallowed the entire Adonis mansion. Not a single glimmer of light remained, as though the moonlight outside the windows had been devoured.

Scrape… scrape…

In the darkness, Louis's eyes flew open. His whole body was buried beneath the blanket, his breath already hot and stifling, sweat trickling down his skin. His small body curled tighter, though he knew it couldn't soothe the fear clawing at his heart.

He was certain he hadn't misheard. There was a wet, squelching sound in the darkness—like some creature dragging slime along the corridor, slithering as it moved.

Knock, knock, knock!

The knocking rang out even clearer than in daylight, each thud pounding directly against Louis's chest. No—he thought maybe it was just his heartbeat, so loud he feared he might die of shock.

He even wished that whatever was outside was a monster—something inhuman, something unlike anything else—just a grotesque, ugly beast. At least then, maybe he could smile as he smashed its head apart, instead of trembling in this paralyzing fear!

"Sob sob sob… Louis, are you asleep? Louis… sob sob sob… Mommy's so sad… sob sob sob…"

Mrs. Adonis's weeping voice echoed. Clearly, whatever was out there sounded like Mrs. Adonis. Or maybe it was something far more terrifying… merely imitating her voice.

After all, that was how it always went in horror stories. Side characters who died within three chapters were always the idiots who opened the door after hearing a familiar voice—only to be killed on the spot, in the most gruesome way imaginable.

So Louis shut his eyes tightly, pretending he hadn't heard a thing, as though he had already fallen asleep.

Knock, knock, knock! The knocking came again, and Mrs. Adonis's voice followed, laced with doubt:

"Louis, are you asleep?"

Louis: "…" Yes, I'm sound asleep. Now piss off!

But not every wish was granted.

The slimy squelching grew louder, more distinct.

And then, in the place Louis couldn't see, something seeped through the crack under the door—pale white, translucent, bubbling with milky froth. It stretched forward, dragging across the carpet…

Mrs. Adonis's face suddenly slid into view across the floor.

Her body looked like nothing more than a sheet of pallid skin, drifting along in the sludge. Her torso lay prone, but her head was twisted upward, her face flattened as though pressed by a heavy roller. Her eyes were twice as large as usual, the lower eyelids sagging, from which mucus constantly dripped. Her eyeballs rolled wildly in their sockets, while her gaping mouth poured endless "tears."

Her body floated forward slowly, like an enormous flattened slug, inching toward Louis's bed.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.