Several men and women had gathered in the villa's living room.
They stood scattered around the room, mostly in pairs or groups of three.
Neither the pitch-black night sky, the magnificent snow-covered scenery, nor the howling wind could stir them.
That was because the situation in the living room was far from peaceful.
At the center of the room stood a miniature stage, half a foot high, with a glossy black floor.
A classical grand piano and a leather piano bench with a dull sheen sat on the stage.
There was someone else onstage, too.
Or, more precisely, a body that had not yet gone completely cold—
A gaunt middle-aged man in luxurious clothes lay slumped over the piano keys.
He looked as if he had just finished playing a stirring piece of music, then fallen into an exhausted sleep.
What made the scene horrifying was the winding trail of blood seeping from beneath him. It formed a nearly circular pool on the stage, with a sinister little knife, covered in blood, lying motionless in it.
Crimson blood ran down the hem of the man's clothes and across the piano keys. The handkerchief peeking out of his left breast pocket had been dyed a deep red.
The pool reflected the piano's light brown finish and the performer's gaunt, seemingly weather-beaten frame, creating a dark and eerie image.
At the same time, the prompts continued to update, and everyone watched in bated breath.
[Every challenger has a key that can open a blessed bedroom.]
[Each bedroom can accommodate no more than two challengers. The blessing will be nullified if that number is exceeded.]
[Solving the old mansion's mystery is of great importance to the regular challengers.]
[One of the regular challengers is a detective.]
Dekan and Cornelia both felt their pockets