SIHG 04

The moment we stepped onto the western staircase, the sounds from the upper floors cut off as if it were a lie.

As soon as the silence settled in, Yenniel’s strength gave out from her legs.

We barely made it.

“Lady. Are you alright?”

The Crown Prince supported Yenniel.

Her heart, pushed to its limits, was pounding wildly.

Even though her strength had left her, there was no time to rest or stop here.

They were still inside the Mansion of the Great Mage, and there was no telling when those monsters from earlier would catch up—or whether new ones would appear.

The possibilities were endless, but none of them were pleasant to imagine.

“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness.”

“You need not thank me. Are we not old acquaintances?”

Among the four founding noble houses, Yenniel’s House of Genes was the only one that had fallen into ruin.

Even so, thanks to its legacy as one of the founding houses, some of its prestige still remained, which allowed the current Lord Genes to serve as the Crown Prince’s tutor during their youth.

“Cian. Have you discovered anything about what just happened?”

At the Crown Prince’s words, the man turned.

With golden hair and sky-blue eyes, Cian Isengriff was the Crown Prince’s cousin and the heir of the most prestigious scholarly family in the Empire.

Though his sharp temperament was a flaw, he was a genius.

A born mage and spirit summoner, endowed with an exceptional intellect, he served as the Crown Prince’s strategist.

“It appears… to be a form of black magic. This space resembles the typical structure of a ‘reverse world’ created through black magic.”

A faint cold sweat formed on Cian Isengriff’s face, as if even he found the situation alarming.

“A reverse world? What is that?”

“It is a small dimension fueled by souls and mana. It is formed based on the caster’s memories or inner world. It is a space created for purposes that would normally be impossible—curses, murder… in this case, murder. Once you are pulled inside, everything in this world will try to kill you. The monsters we saw earlier, objects within this space, even its laws themselves.”

Because we are descendants of the Emperor and the four founding noble families.

He forced the words out with difficulty, tightening his expression.

Yenniel began calculating their chances of survival.

The use and study of souls had long been forbidden, considered a divine taboo.

It was both a violation of the sanctity of life and an act of overwhelming power, which made it even more dangerous.

“So the conclusion is that the Great Mage violated a taboo, used souls as fuel to create this reverse world, and now intends to kill us all in here. This is going to be a long day.”

She sensed it would be an extremely long day.

Wherever they went, those grotesque monsters and aberrant beings would appear, trying to kill them.

Though Cian did not say it outright, the Crown Prince—bearing the pure blood of the founding Emperor—would likely be the first target.

As members of the pro-Imperial faction, they had to protect the Crown Prince, the future Emperor and the future of their faction.

Just as despair and helplessness began to weigh heavily upon them—

“Oh my, Lady Yenniel. Everyone. So you were here?”

A voice far too pure and cheerful for the oppressive atmosphere rang out.

They all looked up toward the staircase.

“Lady April…?”

At that moment, there was no sight more welcome than Lady April in her pure white lace dress.

The infamous “empty-headed noble lady” of high society.

The youngest daughter of Marquis Sharon, said to have muscles where her brain should be.

“Nice to see you! Lady Yenniel! Everyone!”

April skipped down the stairs and grabbed Yenniel’s hand, smiling brightly.

As if nothing had happened at all.

Normally, even though House Sharon stayed away from politics, a member of the noble faction like Lady April would not have been welcomed.

And yet, that pure smile that reminded them of normal life was exactly what they needed in this situation.

Yenniel’s eyes widened slightly.

I had finally reached the western staircase.

Most of the others who had fled after me seemed to have taken the central staircase, so there wasn’t a single person following behind me.

“This was basically a fixed route in the game.”

West was the heroine’s faction, east was the villainess Evelin’s faction.

That rule almost never changed until the end of the game.

After a few steps, I heard voices chatting just below.

“Once you’re pulled into this place, everything here will try to kill you…”

It was Cian, explaining the situation to everyone.

Then it hit me.

“…Oh no.”

I had played this game for hours before ordering fried chicken, so why didn’t I remember a single thing about this reverse world setting?

I was sure I had been playing The Mansion of the Great Mage right before I fell asleep.

But if someone asked me to recall detailed lore or use any information properly, the answer was no.

I just ran through patterns like “something spawns here,” “this part was easy,” “after getting that trait, I just cut everything down.”

Because my stats were good, I played without thinking.

Lore? Hidden clues? Puzzle-solving? That was for obsessive fans.

I skipped story scenes or half-ignored them. Fast clears were my style.

“I really should not have done that if I knew I’d get isekai’d into it.”

I felt oddly unfair about it.

Luckily, there was a perfect timing window to interrupt them.

Right when the heroine’s group was sinking into despair and silence after understanding the situation.

I casually stepped in.

“Oh my, Lady Yenniel. Everyone. So you’re here?”

They reacted with surprise.

“Lady April…?”

I quickly ran down the stairs.

“Nice to see you! Lady Yenniel! Everyone!”

I grabbed Yenniel’s hand—the apparent leader who could get me out of this situation—and smiled brightly, as if we were close friends.

A notification popped up.

[ Yenniel’s favorability has increased significantly. ]
[ Cian’s favorability has increased significantly. ]
[ Crown Prince Azeph’s favorability has increased significantly. ]

“…Huh?”

Wait… there was a favorability system?

And why was it increasing right now?

Since this was a romance fantasy-based horror game, such a system did exist.

But this kind of “significant increase” was rare.

At least when I casually skipped through the game, I never saw it happen often.

“Oh. I get it now.”

When I looked at their faces, I finally understood why their favorability had risen so sharply.

It was the same expression my brother used whenever he saw April while playing The Mansion of the Great Mage—when he was scared and tense.

Relief.

A sudden ray of light in the darkness. The feeling of finding a savior.

“May I ask how you got here, Lady April?”

Yenniel asked calmly, so I lightly swung our joined hands.

“I ran away from monsters and ended up here! I’m so glad I found my friends!”

I giggled brightly for effect.

In April’s mind, almost everyone is a “friend.” Yenniel was probably a friend too.

“Friends?”

Cian’s sharp blue eyes narrowed.

“It is improper to refer to people you have no relationship with as friends, especially in front of His Highness the Crown Prince—”

“Enough, Cian.”

The Crown Prince raised his hand, stopping him.

“Having Lady April with us is somewhat fortunate. For now, until we escape this reverse world, we should allow her to stay with us.”

“…Understood, Your Highness.”

Cian fell silent, though he had clearly intended to reject me outright.

I just smiled innocently, pretending not to notice.

“Lady April, what happened to the aberrant monster?”

The Crown Prince stepped closer. His crimson eyes—officially the color of the imperial bloodline—looked at me.

“Monster? What’s that?”

I tilted my head.

Cian immediately interjected.

“‘Aberrant’ refers to something with an abnormal form. We are referring to the giant female monster with a blue face. What happened to it?”

His gaze was cold and sharp, fitting his character as a blunt and strict strategist.

“Hmm… that monster?”

“Yes, the monster.”

“April doesn’t know~!”

I smiled brightly.

Cian looked like he was staring at something unbearable.

“Sigh… why does an adult speak like that? Referring to herself in third person… Be grateful for His Highness’s generosity.”

“Yes! Sir Cian!”

I brushed off his insults with the energy of a true “empty-headed noble lady.”

Then I casually moved closer to Yenniel, acting like I naturally belonged there.

After assessing the situation, it seemed the Crown Prince allowed me to stay, and the others were also willing to include me.

Yenniel gently loosened my hand from hers and asked:

“Where did Lady Evelin go?”

“Lady Evelin? I saw her! She went very far away, so I couldn’t keep track of her though.”

“So she must have gone toward the eastern side of the mansion.”

“The east? Where’s that? Father said east is to the right…”

I pretended to confuse left and right with my fingers.

“This is the west. So the opposite side is east.”

“Ohhh! Lady Yenniel is so smart! So Lady Evelin went east. Amazing!”

It was a naive and ridiculous compliment, but no one doubted me.

[Yenniel’s favorability has increased.]

Only Yenniel’s, who had been slightly wary of me before, went up. She must have liked my praise.

Two indicators appeared in my vision: <Suspicion> and <Favorability>.

“Open favorability details.”

Error!

No player information found.

Tip: Favorability detail page cannot be accessed!

Unlike suspicion, favorability did not show percentages.

“So that’s how it is.”

Still, favorability couldn’t hurt.

I decided to continue increasing it as much as possible so I could stay with this group.

If I stayed with them, I might be able to survive.