A Bloody Honeymoon in a Haunted Hotel (6)

Meanwhile, Viscountess Borodin, who had entered the room, nervously licked her dry lips with her tongue.

She lay down on her bed, but her fear kept her awake.

“Did an evil spirit really……?”

She quickly shook her head.

As a devoutly religious person, it was unacceptable to believe in the existence of evil spirits.

“That can’t be true. There are no ghosts in the world. It’s all demons possessing us to put us to the test.”

As she chewed on her nails, her lips suddenly tingled and she lost all feeling.

Just then, someone started banging on the window of her room, 409.

It was definitely not raindrops.

It was a fist pounding on the window that shook it, even shattered it.

A chill ran down Viscountess Borodin’s spine, turning her to ice.

But at the same time, she was suddenly curious.

She wondered if it was a man or a ghost.

An evil spirit wouldn’t pursue a worshipper protected by the gods like herself.

Let me see the face of this maniacal killer.

‘I’ve done nothing wrong, I’m innocent!’

The need to prove to herself innocent was suddenly overwhelming.

No sooner had her thoughts reached that point than the Viscountess Borodin, who had descended from the bed, picked up the candlestick from the nightstand and moved forward, her footsteps slow and steady.

As she quickly drew the curtains, a white figure danced in the air and stared down at her from the window.

‘Kyaa! It’s a ghost!’

She tried to shout it out.

But no voice came out.

Her tongue and lips were completely paralyzed and unable to close, so drool began to trickle down the sides of her mouth.

The only person who could save her was herself.

In a panic, she threw open the window, stepped out onto the balcony, squeezed her eyes shut, and began swinging the candlestick wildly in the air.

But when she opened her eyes, there was no one in front of her.

‘Have I gone mad and seen things?’

There was nothing below the balcony but the river rushing menacingly by.

As Viscountess Borodin looked around for the missing wraith, something slender and sharp gripped her throat.

“Ugh!

She struggled to free herself, but the more she tried, the more it dug into her flesh, slicing raw into her neck.

In the midst of her death struggle, she heard voices in the hallway.

With all her might, she threw her legs out behind her and began desperately kicking at the window.

Nikolai heard a knock on the door and silently drew his sword from its shealth.

Before sending Boris and the knights away, the two of them had packed their own bags with weapons, just in case.

So when Mengano offered to carry their luggage to their rooms, they refused, not wanting to arouse suspicion.

While stopping Katya, who was trying to chase her out of fear of being a murderer, Nikolai opened the cabin door slightly, hiding the hand holding the weapon behind his back.

[Hello, guest.]

It was Mengano.

[What’s going on at this hour?]

[I just wanted to make sure your door was secured in case there were any intruders wandering around.]

[I see.]

Nikolai was still on guard and didn’t open the door all the way.

[I’m sorry you’re having such a bad trip. As the manager, I feel a great sense of responsibility. Have you encountered any discomfort today?]

[Not really, except for the bodies above our heads.]

[Hahaha…….is that right?]

Nikolai said, pointing to the ceiling, and Mengano smiled awkwardly.

Coincidentally, the murder scene, room 504, was just upstairs from their room.

[I’d love to move your room, but I don’t have the key.]

[Isn’t it strange that even though all reservations were filled and all the keys were handed out, the only guests staying were the four people, including the deceased?]

[Well. I thought so too……]

[If you’re done with the matter, why don’t you go back and take a rest.]

[Oh, I’m so sorry you had such an unpleasant experience at our hotel. I’ve prepared some peppermint tea to help you sleep, would you like some?]

Mengano asked, lifting the kettle from the trolley.

He turned to Nikolai and was about to close the door when Katya slipped under his arm and caught the closing door like a squirrel in a dead tree.

“Why do you have to be so naughty. A cup of tea wouldn’t hurt, would it?”

Katya pointed to the teacup and spat out a flurry of Archetian.

[Give, one tea, to me.]

Mengano laughed at that and tipped the teapot.

Nikolai wrapped one arm around his wife’s shoulders from behind and leaned his chin on the crown of her head, watching him with a disgruntled expression.

The glare was so stinging, the manager felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead.

“What if he’s got something in there?”

Nikolai said in Hersen, his voice drifting off as he looked at the manager.

Mengano remained unmoved and simply poured the tea.

“But how can you just send it back. After all the trouble he took to bring it here, how can we just let it go and send it back? It’s something that only requires acceptance, isn’t it?”

“You don’t drink the black tea your husband gives you, but you trust the one given to you by a strange man?”

“Why does the conversation go to that direction?”

“Don’t talk to other men. I’m jealous.”

“Ugh, that was seriously too much. How can I live without even talking when half of the staff are men?”

Katya said, tapping her arms around her neck.

“Leave it all to me. You won’t need any personal maids. I’ll handle everything the way you like.”

“Say something that makes sense. Do you even know what a personal maid does?”

“If you mean bathing, I’d be happy to– Ugh!”

During the altercation, a furious Katya struck Nikolai with her head, leaving him unable to speak as he clutched his injured jaw.

“I learned some self-defense techniques from someone, and they told me to do this strike if someone tries to overpower me from behind.”

“Your teacher must have taught you well.”

The man who taught her close-range combat skills chuckled.

At the ridiculousness of their behavior, Mengano, who was transferring dessert onto a plate with tongs, stifled a chuckle.

Then it happened.

BANG BANG BANG.

The loud bang came from room 409 across from where they were standing.

Nikolai and Katya locked eyes and, without warning, pushed the trolley aside and ran toward it.

“Madam, are you in there?”

Katya asked, knocking on the door, but only a thudding sound came back.

Nikolai stepped aside and kicked the cabin door with his foot.

The door slammed to the floor with a thud.

As Mengano marveled at his power, they rushed inside to find the viscountess on the balcony, tiptoeing in a bizarre position.

She was dancing in the rain, her body swaying as she clung to something unseen. As if strangled by an evil spirit.

Nikolai slashed at the air above her head with his sword.

She fell to the ground, gurgling and gasping for air.

She looked up but saw no one.

Nikolai, sensing a movement in the darkness, realized that the killer was upstairs and ran out of the room.

Katya helped Viscountess Borodin to her feet and sat her on the bed.

In the light of the fire, she examined the silk cord around her neck, which was embroidered with a goldfish.

“Why didn’t you scream this time?”

Katya asked her, sensing something strange.

When they had first encountered each other in Room 404, and at the murder scene, she had been quicker to scream than anyone else.

But she hadn’t made a sound until this moment. Until now that she was free of the invisible gallows.

When she realized that she had lost her voice, the Viscountess burst into tears, snot, and pointed to her mouth.

Her lips were twisted and set, and she was drooling profusely.

“You have no voice?”

She sobbed and nodded her head repeatedly.

“Did you put something in your mouth after you ate, like the tea the manager gave you…….”

Katya whispered, conscious of Mengano standing in the doorway.

But the viscountess shook her head vigorously.

Mengano’s first stop after pushing the trolley was room 404, where Katya and Nikolai were.

The viscountess was alone when she experienced an unexpected turn of events.

It was strange. Everyone in the dining room eat the same thing. If there was some sort of paralyzing poison in her glass, wouldn’t its effects have already manifested before?

But after the meal, when they found Lanzkoi’s body and stumbled off to find a ferry, the Viscountess didn’t show any signs of illness.

Katya searched her memory to see if she had done anything differently from the others.

Of course, with all three men under suspicion, she couldn’t let go of the suspicion that it might be the madam’s own play.

After all, the Viscountess hadn’t lost her life like Lanzkoi had.

Suddenly, the thought of Judith alone startled Katya and she ran to the next room, room 408.

If there really was an intruder, or an accomplice, she was in danger.

She knocked on the room door, but there was no answer.

Recognizing the urgency of the situation, Mengano pushed the trolley and rushed to the door with a sense of duty to rescue her client before he arrived.

With a creaking sound, the door to room 408 snapped off its hinges.

Judith, who was sleeping through her eye patch, jumped up, startled by the commotion.

“Judith, are you okay?”

Katya asked urgently, grabbing her by the shoulders.

Judith removed her eye patch and the beeswax earplugs from her ears and looked around sleepily.

“What’s going on at this time of night?”

“You didn’t hear it because you were wearing earplugs. Come out quickly for now. It’s safer if we’re all together in one place.”

“Yes? What happened…….?”

Katya grabbed her bewildered hand and pulled her away.

A bewildered Judith slid off the bed and limped to her feet.

“What’s going on?”

“There’s a killer out there right now who’s trying to kill Viscountess Borodin……!”

Then something flashed through Katya’s mind.

Nikolai, who had just missed the killer, came into Judith’s room and whispered something in her ear.

Katya nodded in agreement, having fully formed the conclusion in her head.

“Let’s all go to room 509.”

“What? What does that mean–”

“Because I found out who the killer is.”

At those words, the killer in the room held his breath and stared at her.

Had he seen through everything?

It couldn’t be. The plan was perfect.

What he’d overlooked was the variable Katya.