Volume 3, Chapter 14-3 – Imperial Expressway

Stealing eggs, packing things, tying bows.

Helping them find a whiteboard.

And just now, hiding in the attic and applauding.

Truthfully, Stella really was becoming curious about what kind of existence the other party was.

There was no hostility, and she was actually quite friendly.

The Primordial Doctrine had regarded her as useful special personnel, while the ghost granted practically every request made by the people in Blood Demon Manor, even mysteriously hiding in the shadows to spy on them.

What was this supposed to be?

Some kind of weird landlord?

Come to think of it, since the ghost was a native resident of Blood Demon Manor, asking her about the manor’s history might give Stella some clues.

Stella happened to see Remedios, Dorothy, and Cheryl gathered together. The three of them were pointing at a small notebook, apparently discussing which city-state they should visit next to establish a mirror teleportation gate.

“Remedios,” Stella called out to her. “Let me ask you something.”

“Hm?” Remedios tilted her head in confusion, the quill in her hand still caught between her fingers. “What is it?”

“How much do you know about the history of Blood Demon Manor?” Stella asked.

“You’ve asked the right person,” Remedios said. “I happened to do some research on it, but to be honest, there wasn’t much I could find.”

“But Elder Sister… isn’t Blood Demon Manor your property? Even the previous owner was from a collateral branch of the Valentine family. Mother didn’t tell you about this?” Cheryl asked as well.

“No.” Stella answered directly.

“Alright.” Cheryl shrugged. “That’s Mother’s usual style, I suppose. I seriously wonder if you’ll still be kept in the dark when you get married someday.”

“Married? I don’t think so.”

The corner of Stella’s mouth twitched.

“Ahem, back to the point.” Remedios paused to organize her thoughts. “Blood Demon Manor really was once the property of a collateral branch of the Valentine family. Its owner was… how should I put it, quite a special person.”

“Special?” Stella tilted her head.

“Supposedly, she was a succubus with such severe social anxiety that she never left the house,” Remedios said with a shrug. “She spent all day holed up in the manor researching blood magic and barely went outside more than a few times over the course of several decades. But I have to admit, her talent really was astonishing. Using the Valentine family’s innate blood manipulation ability, she somehow managed to develop an entire method of bloodline rebirth.”

“A method of bloodline rebirth?”

Rеαd oո ΚаtRеαԁіոɡСаfе

“Mm. A forbidden ritual that uses close blood relatives as a medium to resurrect the dead.” Remedios’s tone became subtle. “Supposedly, it caused quite a sensation in the Abyss at the time. After all, bringing the dead back to life is something that overturns common sense no matter where you are.”

“And then?”

“Then?” Remedios spread her hands. “Then that was it. During the Pale Lord’s reign, everyone in this manor was massacred. Supposedly, that method of bloodline rebirth was lost as well and never appeared again.”

“Massacred?”

“Though the version I heard did have one rather mysterious detail. Supposedly, the owner was killed by an extremely vicious curse. It was the kind of curse that condemned the caster for all eternity, and the moment the caster found happiness, their soul would scatter and vanish.”

“But it’s only hearsay. Just treat it as an interesting story.”

Stella frowned slightly.

‘A curse that made the caster forever unable to obtain happiness?’

‘That sounds a little… melodramatic?’

She remembered the riddle from the Primordial Doctrine.

「When the daughter of the sea steps onto the shore, she will dissolve like foam.」

「And when she obtains happiness, she will die.」

That did line up.

“Alright.” Stella nodded. “Thanks.”

She thought it over.

According to Remedios, the ghost was most likely the former owner of Blood Demon Manor.

The question was whether Stella should try talking to her.

The other party was the true owner of Blood Demon Manor, after all. Having a bunch of outsiders occupying her home all day couldn’t possibly feel pleasant.

Yet not only had she made no attempt to drive them away, she had helped bring over the eggs, found them a whiteboard, and even hidden in the attic to applaud and cheer them on…

For a ghost, she was absurdly hospitable.

Stella should thank her.

She took out the Marauder’s Map, unfolded it, and spread it across the table.

Rеad оո KαtRеаⅾiոɡСafе

Ink lines rapidly crawled across the parchment, outlining the entire structure of Blood Demon Manor. The main hall, corridors, staircases, bedrooms, underground wine cellar, rear garden…

And among the dense network of ink lines, small black dots representing the members of the Lionheart Society were moving around the manor. Patolize was in the corridor west of the main hall, seemingly measuring something. Ophelia and Beatrice were in the rear garden, probably checking the abandoned shrubbery there.

Dorothy, Cheryl, and Remedios were still where they had been, their three ink dots almost overlapping.

But right now, at one particular spot on the map, a special name was displayed with perfect clarity.

Ariel Casteya.

She was right behind the door at the rear of the main hall, apparently spying on them even now.

Stella thought for a moment.

Being watched by a ghost all day wasn’t exactly ideal. Since the other party wasn’t hostile, she might as well take the initiative and say hello.

She crossed the main hall, walked to the door where Ariel was located, and stopped.

“Your name is…” Stella cleared her throat. “Ariel Casteya, right?”

The ghost said nothing.

“My name is Stella, Stella Valentine,” Stella continued. “I’m currently staying in this manor temporarily. Those noisy girls outside are my… uh, subordinates. We didn’t mean to disturb you. I just wanted to come say hello.”

Still no sound.

Stella scratched her cheek.

“Thanks for helping with the fruit, the eggs, and the whiteboard earlier.” She added. “Although eggs are a slightly awkward gift, but… thanks.”

Silence still answered her.

Stella waited for a few seconds and was just about to give up and leave.

Then she heard it.

“…Please be careful of the person beside you.”

Stella froze. “What?”

“…She is the one who killed me.”

“I lied to them, but…”

Reаⅾ oո ΚаtReαԁіոɡСafe

The voice gradually faded away.

Stella blinked in confusion.

The one who killed her?

Remedios?

She instinctively looked over at Remedios, who currently had her arms around Dorothy and Cheryl.

Although Remedios was rarely serious and had certainly done plenty of sneaking, scamming, swindling, and petty theft, the Pale Lord’s reign had ended decades ago.

Remedios couldn’t be more than a few decades old even now, right?

When everyone in Blood Demon Manor was massacred, she would’ve been a tiny succubus who had only just learned how to walk at most. How could she possibly have run around murdering people and setting fires?

“May I ask what you meant just now?” Stella pressed. “Who were you talking about?”

Ariel did not speak again.

Stella also saw that Ariel Casteya’s name had already vanished from the Marauder’s Map. Only the names of the Lionheart Society members remained, quietly moving through the main hall, corridors, and rear garden.

She ran away fast.

Had she left?

Or had she hidden herself?

Stella was still thinking when her gaze accidentally swept across a corner of the map.

Then she stiffened.

At Blood Demon Manor’s front entrance, a brand-new ink dot was slowly moving.

【Gehenna Jelansika】

‘Oh no.’

‘Master is here…’

She had come to deal with her.

Sure enough, Gehenna had discovered that Stella had secretly violated the prohibition, slipped out of school, and run off to Nightmare Street.

Reаⅾ on КatReaԁіnɡСafе

If Gehenna found out that not only had she come to Nightmare Street, but she had even crawled under Young Miss Belphegor’s bed, been chased through the sky by a dragon, killed a higher demon, swallowed the essence of a dragon species, and was currently leading a group of people in preparation to construct the Imperial Expressway…

She’d probably skin Stella alive.

Forget it.

Either way, the blade would fall whether she stuck her head out or pulled it back.

Stella straightened her collar, smoothed out her skirt, took a deep breath, then strode toward the entrance of Blood Demon Manor.

At the very least, she needed to call out Master before Gehenna tore the house apart.

Maybe, for the sake of that one word, Principal would go a little easier on her.

‘Right?’

‘…Probably?’

Translator Note

Whoa whoa whoa…

What a plot twist is this?

The ghost was killed by Remedios?

So Remedios is a member of Ash Drinker?!

No, that isn’t right… Mara seemed like intended to kill her before, right? So there’s no way Remedios is an Ash Drinker…

Also, what does that line mean?

“I lied to them, but…”????

The ghost lied to them? about what?