SIHG 03

Fortunately, the suspicion level stopped rising once I showed even a single instance of April—the “idiot noble lady” behavior.
There’s still that remaining 1%, but it’s only 1%.

What bothered me more was that the execution threshold for suspicion had changed.

As far as I remember, becoming a “temporary execution target” started at 80% suspicion. From there, penalties gradually began, and at 90%, an execution event would trigger.

‘Status window.’

I tried calling it out, remembering those game fantasy novels.

Error occurred!
No player information found.
Tip. Status window cannot be used!

So I wasn’t a player.

‘Or does that mean April isn’t the playable heroine Yenniel or the villain Evelyn?’

Either way, it was clear that the suspicion system had become stricter.

‘I just need to be careful about raising suspicion.’

Meanwhile, realizing it was a waste of time to pay attention to me, the villain Evelyn and the heroine Yenniel had already turned their gazes away.

“Well, fine. There’s merit in Lady Yenniel’s words too. We might as well cooperate to escape. I don’t want to waste too much time here.”

Evelyn spoke arrogantly to Yenniel.

“Any noble lady of lower status than me should quietly follow my instructions. I’ll make the plan. This mansion is divided into central, west, and east wings. Traditionally, the east wing is where the head of the family stayed. If you open the banquet hall door, you can use the east staircase to go down to the first floor.”

“No.”

“What?”

Evelyn looked slightly surprised—just like her game illustration.

Yenniel calmly stated her opinion.

“If we open the banquet hall door, we will escort His Highness the Crown Prince and head west to descend.”

Only then did I notice the Crown Prince standing beside Yenniel, with blond hair and crimson eyes. Alongside him were his attendant and his strategist.

They were Yenniel’s fixed party members.

Evelyn also had her side: her cousin, Grand Duke Kyle, and a slave knight, standing behind her with arms crossed.

“The west? Ridiculous. That’s the direction used by servants and outsiders.”

“The east, used only by the head of the family, might actually be more dangerous due to its isolation.”

“What did you just say? A mere baron’s daughter dares talk back to me?”

Evelyn’s eyes sharpened dangerously.

The atmosphere was about to turn hostile when—

Thud. Thud thud.

BANG! BANG!

The walls and windows shook.

In <Mansion of the Great Mage>, monsters appeared in each section and each event.

The monster in the prologue was the Shadow Monster.

While everyone was looking around, a massive shadow wriggled out from beneath the banquet table.

Everyone had been focused on the walls and windows—no one was watching the floor.

Shadows stretched beneath several people. In an instant, it grabbed multiple victims and swallowed them whole.

“Aaaahhh!”

“Kyaaah!”

What made this monster infamous wasn’t its appearance—it barely had one—but the horrifying sounds coming from within the shadow.

Screams mixed with crunching, grinding, breaking noises echoed grotesquely from inside.

As blood splattered out of the shadow, everyone’s faces turned pale.

As if the hunt had just begun, the Shadow Monster searched for its next prey, extending itself toward other feet.

Realizing anyone could be next, people screamed and panicked.

“Get out of the way!”

To avoid stepping into the shadow, they scrambled in chaos, climbing onto banquet tables.

Some even shoved others, desperate to survive.

“Help me!”

“No! Stay away!”

Some, completely panicked, banged on the banquet hall doors until they died there.

‘Don’t feel sympathy. It’s just game content…’

I forced myself to stay calm and observed.

The monster’s pattern was not much different from when I played: only dash, pause, dash, pause.

But there was also a way to avoid it besides running.

Realizing it, the villain Evelyn and her group were already calmly avoiding it.

The heroine Yenniel shouted as if trying to save the others.

“Everyone, calm down! That monster has rules!”

If you stalled long enough or survived in safe zones, the event would end and the monster would disappear, unlocking the doors.

“That monster cannot enter areas without chandelier lighting where no shadows are cast! Stay in the lit areas!”

Hearing Yenniel’s shout, people ran desperately.

In this chaotic situation, no one cared about the idiot noble lady April.

Meanwhile, the shadow targeted a few people—including me.

‘How simple.’

I dodged slightly as it lunged at me.

Eventually, everyone managed to gather under the lit areas.

‘If possible, I should stick with Yenniel.’

What I needed to do now was naturally attach myself to either the heroine Yenniel or the villain Evelyn.

As the idiot noble lady April.

Once everyone had moved into the shadows, the swirling Shadow Monster seemed to realize there was nothing left to eat and slipped out beneath the banquet hall door.

But the door did not open.

‘The event ended… so why?’

Then a memory surfaced.

From my first playthrough—back when I had done everything my older brother asked, even the weird requests.

“What? We have to keep moving for 10 minutes?”

“It’s a hidden event in the prologue. That shadow monster gets faster over time. You have to keep running without ever stepping into shadow for 10 minutes. Please! I’ll buy you cheese balls!”

“Cheese-flavored powder ones.”

A hidden event.

Special conditions that unlock secret stories or spawn hidden monsters. Sometimes even the original monster becomes enhanced.

After controlling it long enough to memorize its pattern, it had become so boring I’d forgotten about it.

“Wait… is there a sound coming from outside?”

A dragging, massive sound approached.

Everyone, who had been waiting under the lights in tension, turned toward the banquet hall door.

Something was approaching.

Bang! Bang!

CRACK—! CRAAACK!

With a deafening roar, something began tearing apart the other side of the door.

That was not human strength.

The door shattered from the outside.

Broken fragments fell heavily to the ground.

[Are you there?]

Before the frozen crowd appeared a woman with unnaturally long limbs and a bluish, clay-like face.

Her arms stretched grotesquely through the doorframe, flailing as if trying to grab someone.

She wore an elegant dress, but her massive size and mouth split to the ears made it clear she was not human.

[Come out.]

The woman twisted her body, trying to crawl into the banquet hall.

Her face had no eyes—only black voids staring inward.

Upon detecting humans inside, her mouth split even wider into a terrifying grin.

[Found you.]

Ssshhh—

Rows of sharp teeth filled her mouth, blood dripping down as she opened it fully.

Someone made a strangled breath.

“Run!!”

At Yenniel’s scream, chaos erupted instantly.

The corridor stretched long in both directions.

Most survivors ran toward the nearest central staircase.

I followed the movement patterns, eyes tracking both Yenniel and Evelyn.

‘Yenniel, Yenniel… found her.’

The geography matched the game.

Outside the banquet hall, the building was indeed divided into west, central, and east wings, each with its own staircase.

It would take time to reach either end.

Not knowing which side was which, I had to follow Yenniel.

Through the crowd, I saw Evelyn heading one way with her fixed knight Yurel and her cousin, the sly Grand Duke Kyle.

‘Then the opposite side is the west.’

Yenniel was running with her fixed companions: the Crown Prince, strategist Sian, and his attendant.

Going with Evelyn would bring better treatment thanks to noble status—but after what I saw in the banquet hall, I chose Yenniel.

In the game, you could recruit 1–2 additional companions outside the fixed party.

One slot should be enough for me.

Ignoring the sight of people being devoured, I ran.

Screams and crashes echoed behind me.

Soon, the western end of the corridor came into view.

It was the west staircase where Yenniel’s group was heading.