Not one of the servants would dare do something like this to the countess’ room, so there was only one suspect.

Trying to move my neck, which wasn’t working well, as I looked to the side, I stared at the countess as she was sitting in that rocking chair in front of the wide window. With a low voice, she hummed the melody of a lullaby, singing to the thing she was cradling in her arms. It was wrapped in a blanket.

Oh my god… I forgot about it because of that shitty system, but this game’s genre was horror. But it was supposed to be because of Adrian, not the countess!

“Rock a bye… rock a bye… baby… sleep… sleep now… my baby…”

Creeeak, creeeack.

Whenever the chair rocked back and forth, the creaking sound mixed together with the humming voice, and it created an even more terrifying atmosphere. My heart shrank and my heartbeat raced. My hands were trembling uncontrollably, and the teacup on the tray clattered endlessly.

I-It’s fine. Let’s calm down. She’s just a bit coocoo. Let’s just give her the tea right away and book it…

I calmly placed the tray down on the table and poured the pot of tea that Emily prepared over the cup. The rich, thick scent of Early Grey wafted through the air as the tea flowed down, but when it became mixed with the metallic smell of the room, it stabbed harder at my nose. My eyes were already burning with tears.

“……”

What was she thinking. The countess was watching me as my hands quivered while pouring tea. Usually in a horror movie, if someone like the countess appeared on the screen, there would be a jumpscare as she’d suddenly come running at me with a loud sound effect.

Just imagining it… made me feel even more terrified.

Let’s just hurry and finish what to do here.

“P-Please drink, Madam.”

“……”

“I’ll leave the tea here on the table. I’ll wait until you’re done drinking, so dri… drink slowly. Uu…urk.”

Trying to control the tremors passing through my hands as much as I could, I placed the cup on the table—but then I finally saw what the countess was holding.

With flies hovering over it, what’s in her arms was the severed goat head. It’s unknown when exactly that head was chopped off.

Why the hell are you holding such a…

“Sleep now, sleep now… my… baby…”

She did not even look at the teacup I had set down for her to drink. She only stared back at me with eyes that were so black that her pupils couldn’t be identified.

Ten seconds passed by as slowly as ten years. No, did time even pass by? How would I possibly be able to wait until she’s all done drinking the tea?

I’d rather be killed.

“Sleep now, sleep now…”

“Um, Madam. Perhaps, is there something that you’d like me to do for you?”

I asked, barely pressing down on the urge to scream. What I meant to say is that please, please don’t look at me if there’s nothing you want me to do—but it didn’t work. Oh, you don’t have a task for me. Haha.

Even when I walked away with an awkward smile, her eyes were persistently on me. It’s so terrible. In terms of atmosphere, Adrian was much better than the countess.

As my fear shot through the roof, I recalled one resentful person at a time.

Why did Leticia send me here as a substitute? Hilda’s a natural worker, but she’s not fearless!

And Emily. Why did she let me come here anyway when she knew that I was gonna be scared? She even went as far as telling me to wait until the countess was done drinking her tea. Why couldn’t she repay my kindness when I even made her that coffee…

“……”

But wait a sec. Was the countess staring at me… or maybe…?

I paused and looked alternately at the coffee on the tray in my hands, then to the countess. Come to think of it, her eyes were fixed at around my chest, not at my face. Was she looking at the coffee? I made this for myself so I could drink it later though.

“Um, perhaps, Madam. Do you like coffee? I made this myself, but would you like to have a taste?”

“……”

“Oh, um, I’ll pour some for you. I don’t know if you’d like the taste of it though.”

After pouring out the tea inside the cup, I replaced it with the coffee and frothed milk together. Then, the countess slowly raised her hand and took the cup.

Seeing her sip it quickly, she must have wanted the coffee instead of the tea.

You should have just told me then… You looked at me with those terrifying eyes. I thought you were gonna come running at me…

「 You gifted Priscilla some ‘Rare Coffee’. 」

「 Priscilla is immensely delighted. 」

「 Priscilla’s favorability has risen by 300 points. 」

「 Priscilla’s favorability : Lvl.4 (0/200) 」

Just like when I had my first conversation with Adrian and when my level went up by five, the bar over Priscilla’s head was suddenly filled as her favorability points shot up.