A light snow began to fall that evening. The players drew lots to assign the next day's tasks and were warming themselves by the fire in the living room.
The butler approached them without a sound and said, "Everyone, it's getting cold. Please put on these coats."
A maid emerged carrying several brown coats, but no one stepped forward to take one.
The butler narrowed his eyes. "What seems to be the problem?"
Under his icy gaze, Yu Shaoqiang stood up, took a coat from the maid, and felt it.
"Judging by the texture, this is made of dog hide, isn't it?"
"Indeed," the butler urged gently. "Please, put it on."
Yu Shaoqiang sneered and threw the coat on the floor. "Like hell! Haven't you screwed us over enough already? Every damn piece of information you gave us was a lie!"
Lu Mi jolted. "Yu Shaoqiang, stop talking!"
The butler smiled at Lu Mi.
He seemed to have used some means to keep Yu Shaoqiang from hearing Lu Mi. When Roman came over to drag Yu Shaoqiang away, an invisible barrier blocked him too.
The butler turned his gaze back and prompted, "Oh? Why would you say that?"
Yu Shaoqiang stomped on the dog-hide coat. "You told us to play with her until ten, to make her eat more-every single one of those things triggers Noel's frenzy!"
"Noel used to have a little brown dog, didn't she? We finally managed to calm her down, and now you want us to wear dog-hide coats. What are you playing at? Are you that desperate to send us straight into the line of fire?"
Having finished his angry tirade, he felt immensely satisfied, as though his extraordinary intelligence and meticulous reasoning had allowed him to give the NPC a thorough tongue-lashing.
Surely the viewers watching this episode would tip him plenty of gold coins.
The butler hunched his shoulders. "It truly saddens me to hear you say that. However, you are right."
Yu Shaoqiang gave a smug laugh. The next second, the butler's deathly pale face loomed before him. He grunted and clutched his abdomen, where a sharp pain had struck, feeling warm liquid cover his hands and trickle down.
He slowly raised his hands. All he saw was red.
"So you haven't been keeping Miss Noel company as I instructed, or feeding her enough dog meat."
Gripping his dagger tightly, the butler slowly traced a circle. The sounds of churning flesh and Yu Shaoqiang's screams made him smile with delight. "You're right. I do indeed want you dead."
On the brink of death, Yu Shaoqiang twisted his neck to look toward the hall.
The players had all fled without a trace. Only his companion, Zhang Zhizhang, remained rooted to the spot, stunned by what he had witnessed.
"How... how could this happen..." Zhang Zhizhang muttered, clutching his head.
Yu Shaoqiang was his childhood friend. They were the closest of buddies. Now he had watched his best friend get killed and had been powerless to do anything.
"It was Lu Mi," Zhang Zhizhang muttered. "It's all Lu Mi's fault. He told us not to listen to the butler. This is all his fault..."
Meanwhile, Roman had dragged Lu Mi to the stables to hide.
The snow fell harder and harder, covering their footprints.
Lu Mi felt cold all over. The sight of Yu Shaoqiang being killed remained vivid in his mind.
"Lu Mi." A pair of hands pressed down on his shoulders. "Lu Mi, listen to me. This wasn't your fault."
"...I know." Lu Mi patted the hand on one of his shoulders. "I'm just a little drained."
Roman said nothing more. Suddenly, something warm wrapped around Lu Mi's neck.
By the light of a nearby flame, Roman tied a scarf around him.
Screams rose one after another from the direction of the castle.
"Sir, are you aware of how poorly you taught your lesson?"
"Get away! Get away!! I didn't even teach today!"
"Oh, I meant that your arithmetic lesson on the first day was very poorly taught."
Then came the player's agonized screams.
The butler had probably noticed long ago that they weren't following his instructions.
He had simply bided his time, carefully recording each player's actions.
Once a player walked into his trap, he unleashed everything at once, making an example of them to frighten the others.
It was a deeply unsettled night.
When they returned to the castle, Lu Mi silently stepped around corpse after corpse.
It wasn't just the newcomers. Several veteran players had been killed too.
Jin Bi collapsed onto the sofa, panting. "I practically ran myself to death. I thought he was going to kill me."
"We did take our teaching seriously." He Shengguang hadn't been killed either, but judging by the sweat-soaked bangs plastered to his forehead, he hadn't been certain he would survive.
Those still alive were all people who hadn't underestimated the butler and had taught their lessons earnestly.
There was only one exception. That person was kneeling beside Yu Shaoqiang's corpse, taking no part in their conversation.
Jin Bi gestured toward him with her chin. "Zhang Zhizhang drew blank slips several days in a row. He didn't teach any lessons, so he escaped this time."
Lu Mi wearily closed his eyes, then remembered something and opened them to check the time. "It's almost ten."
Their expressions grew grave.
At ten at night, the butterflies would fly away, and if Noel was awake, she would go berserk.
"Teachers, please keep Miss Noel company and play with her." The butler appeared, wiping his dagger, his smile never reaching his eyes. "I trust you'll carry out your duties properly this time."
The maid led Noel into the hall. Lu Mi approached and stroked her head. "Good evening."
Jin Bi tilted her head back and sighed deeply. "What do we do now?"
They were caught in a dilemma.
"If we do what the butler says, Noel will go berserk. If we don't, he'll kill us."
Lu Mi took Noel's hand. "The butler is more lethal. For now, let's do as he says."
Remembering the two living people Noel had chewed straight through, Jin Bi shuddered. "But the one you're holding hands with is pretty dangerous too, isn't she?"
"Do you remember how Noel killed on the first night? She eats whatever food is right in front of her. If we hide, we still have a chance of surviving."
"Hide-and-seek? What a terrifying version... Where are you taking her?" Seeing Lu Mi lead Noel up the stairs, Jin Bi hurriedly asked.
Lu Mi glanced back at her, then bent down and gave Noel's head a gentle squeeze. "Let's play a game tonight, all right?"
It was nearly ten at night. Noel's breathing had already begun to grow heavy, like a panting beast.
She could no longer even understand what Lu Mi was saying. She merely tilted her head and licked her lips.
There was a large chest on the castle's third floor. If not for the few holes in it, putting a child inside would have been almost the same as putting her in a coffin.
So when Lu Mi locked the chest, the weight on his conscience kept him from looking into Noel's eyes.
The little girl lay quietly inside, still hugging her teddy bear. The moment the lid closed, the clock hand reached ten.
A pair of butterflies flew out, and the chest immediately began to shake violently.
"Is anyone there? Is anyone there?"
"I want something to eat."
Lu Mi watched quietly from beside it for a while, until the chest stopped shaking and the sharp sound of fingernails scratching wood came from within.
"She's tired," he told Roman. "Let's find somewhere to sleep too."
Noel was locked up, but there was no telling whether she might break the chest and escape. Lu Mi let Jin Bi and the others know, then found a room whose door and windows hadn't been damaged and settled down to sleep.
That night, Lu Mi remained awake even after turning into a cat, silently keeping his eyes open.
At around two in the morning, a long, chilling scream came from next door.
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