And now, everything before her matched that cursed story perfectly.
To materialist Torimaru Naoko, the "Curse of the Schobel Mask" was merely a legend meant to add value to the collection. Nonsense like "the mask drinks its owner's blood" was something to hear and forget.
Yet now, that very scene had been completely recreated before her eyes.
Torimaru Naoko: "..." First, it definitely was not the mask at work.
Second, Mrs. Suho was not the sort of person who would commit suicide, much less imitate this scene for no reason and kill herself.
That left only one truth.
—Uzo.
As that codename flashed through her mind, a cold bead of sweat slowly ran down Torimaru Naoko's temple. She had painstakingly chosen such a peaceful villa, yet only days after Uzo's gaze had turned this way, everything had taken a sharp turn for the worse and become this.
...That man had to be using this bloody scene before her to tell her that no matter how many little tricks she tried, she could never escape his palm.
No wonder Uzo had specifically given them the right to "pick wherever they wanted" when he had them apply for maid positions.
At first, Torimaru Naoko had thought it was a scrap of freedom slipping through Uzo's fingers. But now it seemed that this had merely been one of Uzo's little amusements—watching with interest as pet birds escaped their cage. Once they finally hid somewhere they thought was safe and believed they had escaped alive, their unscrupulous owner would descend from the sky, chop down and burn that tree, play a game of cat and mouse, and incidentally show everyone his ability to answer a prompt composition.
Takamori Masumi was frightened badly as well. Her fake sister had repeatedly reminded her of so many