—Morning—
Sweet sunlight spilled over the sleeping girl's face.Warm. Sticky like honey.Creeping shamelessly over her long, dark-blue hair.
She turned with a groan, buried her face into the pillow, then dragged the blanket over herself, wrapping tight—like a stubborn cocoon.
"I swear I'll kill the idiot who opened the curtains…"
She muttered, her voice sleepy, irritated, barely audible.
Then she sat up suddenly.
"Why is there sunlight at all…? It's still morning and I—"
Thud.
A heavy, brutal sound slammed into her head.
"Aah!!!"
Her eyes flew open, pain biting into her forehead as sleep vanished in an instant.
In front of her—
A shadow.
The shadow of a woman standing tall, holding something long.
"W-Who are you?!"
No answer.
A second strike.Then a third.
The broom crashed into her body without mercy.
"Stop! Stop! You crazy woman!"
She screamed, twisting as she tried to shield her head with her arms.
"Asleep?!""Asleep while the sun is high in the sky?!"
The voice was sharp. Old. Filled with scolding.
"Do you think you're a lady?""Work is waiting for you!""And I'll dock your pay if this laziness continues!"
The blows finally stopped.
The dark-blue-haired girl gasped for breath, heart racing, eyes darting wildly.
The woman before her was elderly.Faded brown hair pulled back carelessly.Old black servant's clothes.
Her face was strict—and terrifyingly familiar.
"Eating… drinking… sleeping… then sleeping again?""Is that all you do?!"
She didn't hear the words.
Something else was collapsing inside her.
She looked around.
Rough, dull walls.A shabby room.Small.
But—
The bed was soft.The pillow was soft.Clean.
"…Huh?"
She whispered.
This isn't my bed.This isn't my apartment.
She slowly raised her hands.
Slimmer than she remembered.Pale, white skin—cold.
"I…"
Her voice trembled.
"Where… am I?"
She looked back at the woman, her eyes widening little by little.
Joanne.
The maid.
The maid who—
Died.
"…That's impossible."
Her heart pounded violently.
"Didn't I die?""I'm… I'm sure I died."
She stepped back, hit the wall, swallowed hard.
"Then…""Where am I now?"
Joanne, the head maid, scolded her once more in a tone that allowed no argument.Then she turned her back and left the room with heavy steps, the door shutting behind her with a short, wooden cry.
Silence fell.
Two seconds.
Three.
Then—
"What the hell is this?!"
The girl exploded.
She jumped off the bed like she'd been bitten by a snake, spinning around the room—opening drawers, lifting the pillow, peering under the bed, checking every corner in frantic haste.
She moved lightly, eerily—like a panicked spider.
"No, no, no… impossible… this is impossible!"
She stopped suddenly.
There was a crack.
A small crack in the wall, barely visible.Inside it—
A mirror.
She approached slowly, as if afraid of what might stare back at her.
She looked.
And froze.
Her eyes widened to their limit.
"…What?"
She grabbed her cheeks and pulled hard.
"Ow!""That hurts…!"
The image didn't disappear.
Dark navy-black hair, slightly wavy, falling down to her waist.Pale sky-blue eyes—terrifyingly empty.White, ghostly skin, closer to paper than flesh.
But the worst part—
Her body.
Thin… no.This wasn't thin.
Bones wrapped in skin.A sunken waist.Arms that looked like they hadn't known food in weeks.
"I'm… a skeleton?!"
She screamed, slamming her palm against the mirror.
"What is this supposed to mean?!""Is this a dream?!"
She stumbled back, pressing her spine to the wall, breathing fast.
"Joanne…""Why is Joanne here?"
Her body trembled.
"Didn't she die?""Wasn't she killed?!"
She slowly lifted her head.
"Wait…"
A dark thought crept into her mind.
"Where did Joanne even come from in the first place?"
She swallowed.
"No… no way…"
A short, broken laugh escaped her lips.
"Did I…""Did I reincarnate as some random maid?"
She looked at her body again.
"Suspicious…""Lazy…""Skinny like a skeleton sunbathing under moonlight…"
She gasped.
"Wait."
The blood in her veins turned cold.
"That means—"
Her head snapped up.
"That means I'm in the Marquis's mansion."
Her heart nearly stopped.
"And that means…"
She couldn't finish.
Only one name crashed inside her mind.
Adrian.
"Wait, wait…"
She raised her hands in front of her, trying to calm herself.
"Calm down.""Calm down, So-Rin— no… Elizabeth now."
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"Maybe…""Yes.""Maybe this is a dream."
A strained smile formed on her lips.
"A dream sent by a god who got bored of me…""A ridiculous reward for an even more ridiculous death."
She laughed.
But her heart—
Didn't believe a single word.
—The door burst open.
"Elizabeth!!!"
A sharp scream cut through the room, followed by a body rushing toward her.Arms wrapped around her without warning.A face buried itself into her chest.Hot tears exploded, unstoppable.
"Elizabeth…!""I was so scared…!""I thought you— I thought you—!"
Elizabeth froze in place.
The girl hugging her had golden hair tinged with orange, blazing like fire, and wide pink eyes drowning in tears.Her body was warm.Alive.Too real.
"…Huh?"
Elizabeth swallowed.
Oh no.I don't know her name.
She slowly raised her hands—then suddenly grabbed the girl by the shoulders and shook her.
"Listen to me!""What happened?!""Please, tell me!"
"E-Elizabeth…!"
But the shaking was stronger than it should have been.
"Say something!"
"Stop—!"
The girl never finished her sentence.
Her eyes rolled back.Her body went limp.
"…Oh."
Elizabeth froze.
"No, no, no—!"
She let go in a panic.The girl collapsed onto the bed like a doll with its strings cut.
"…She fainted."
Silence.
"Great.""Excellent start."
After a short while, the girl regained consciousness, and the two of them sat side by side on the bed.She wiped her tears shyly while Elizabeth watched in silence.
She's pretty…
The thought slipped out before Elizabeth could stop it.
Her features were gentle.Her expression sincere.Her worry wasn't an act.
She looked at Elizabeth as if she were a treasure returned from the dead.
So… she's a close friend.
Elizabeth sighed inwardly.
"You worried everyone…"
"You didn't wake up since yesterday…"
The girl spoke with a trembling voice.
Okay.That explains the hug.
But—
Elizabeth's gaze slowly shifted into quiet unease.
Useless.
She stared at the orange-red hair.At the pink eyes.
A side character.
Hansio never mentioned her.
No name.No role.No ending.
A chill crept into Elizabeth's heart.
This is more dangerous than I thought.
Side characters…They're always the first to die.
Her eyes widened slightly.
And she's worried about me.
Her chest trembled.
"…It's okay,"
Elizabeth finally said, forcing a smile.
"I'm fine now."
But inside her—
The other poor girlwas the one she feared for most.
The orange-golden–haired girl looked at her with concern…then smiled, a pure, foolish smile.
"My name is Lucy, Elizabeth…""Did you really forget?"
Elizabeth's eyes widened slightly.
Lucy.Okay… at least she have a name.*
Lucy continued lightly, unaware of the storm inside the other girl.
"You lost consciousness yesterday.""Everyone was worried about you… even Lady Joanne, the head maid!"
She let out a short laugh.
"We thought it was because of malnutrition.""You barely eat, you know…"
Malnutrition.
The word hit Elizabeth like a stone.
She looked down at her hands.
Thin.Prominent.Too close to bone.
She quickly hid them behind her back, like someone concealing a crime.
"I-I'm fine!"
She said it too fast, her voice more strained than she meant.
She stood up abruptly.
"Lady Joanne will get angry if we don't go to work now."
Lucy hesitated for a second—then smiled right away.
"Oh! Right!"
She jumped off the bed and followed her without question, her steps light, as if all her worry had vanished the moment Elizabeth stood up.
…She's so innocent.
Elizabeth thought as she headed for the door.
She glanced at herself in passing.
The black maid uniform was—a little big.Loose.Not clinging to her body.
Thank God.
She sighed in relief.
At least it doesn't show how disastrously skinny I am.
But another thought followed immediately.
I'm literally…a skeleton wearing a maid's dress.
She stopped mid-step.
"…"
She imagined herself from the outside.A head slightly too big.Limbs unnaturally thin.A maid's dress hanging off her like it was draped on a hanger.
She broke.
"Damn it…"
She muttered under her breath.
I'm going to get bullied.One hundred percent.
She clenched her fist.
Out of all possible bodies…why this one?
She took a deep breath.
Calm down, Elizabeth.You're in the mansion of a serial killer… and bullying is your concern right now?
She lifted her head.
…Yes.