Killing the Possessor - Chapter 88

The vest reflected light from multiple angles, and upon closer inspection, it was covered in black cubic stones. The dazzling sparkle was almost painful to the eyes, and feeling a bit overwhelmed, I greeted him with an awkward smile.

“Good evening, Count. Happy birthday.”

“Thank you. It is a great honor that the renowned Miss Camilli has graced us with her presence.”

The deliberate use of “renowned” clearly carried an intention—to toe the line and gauge my reaction.

But knowing his true nature, I calmly responded without getting flustered.

“The honor is mine for being invited.”

“Haha, to be honest, I didn’t expect you to come. Actually, Prince Wyner is here as well.”

Perhaps disappointed that I didn’t respond as he hoped, he pressed further with a more direct remark.

But I’d grown tired of hearing about my ex from the Public Security Bureau already, so hearing Wyner’s name mentioned in front of me no longer felt special. After all, he wasn’t someone I had actually dated, so just hearing his name wouldn’t faze me.

“Yes, I know. I saw him just a moment ago.”

Maintaining my composure, I looked him directly in the eyes and smiled faintly. At that, the corners of the Count’s mouth, which had seemed nailed in place, twitched for the first time.

Of course—that was what he wanted. A drama, like the time Camilli slapped Wyner and it became the talk of the town.

“You must have already caught up, then. I hope my party was of some help to you both.”

“There’s nothing to catch up on. That’s all in the past.”

“…Is that so? Haha.”

Seeing the sharp glint in his eyes beneath that smile, I turned my gaze away as if I hadn’t noticed, adjusted my shawl, and gave a subtle hint that I was about to move.

Being a well-known figure in society, the Count wasn’t someone who would miss that cue. He shifted slightly, stepping aside from my view, and said,

“I’ve kept the lady too long. I hope you enjoy your evening.”

“Thank you.”

Finally freed from that unpleasant presence, I hurriedly left the scene.

But being free didn’t mean I was off the hook from my survival duties. While exchanging brief pleasantries with a few young ladies who greeted me first, I kept scanning my surroundings without pause.

If the story followed the game’s flow, there should definitely be something here.

“Found you.”

I thoroughly examined every wall, then rolled my eyes to locate Count Midas.

Though the room spanned an entire floor and was filled with people, his dazzling attire made him easy to spot.

I spotted him deep in conversation with a large man boasting an impressive mustache, and quietly moved away, slipping out of the game room to head upstairs.

“So this is what it means to ‘acquire the map.’”

Even though it was my first visit, I moved confidently as if I knew exactly where I was going—almost like I’d been here multiple times. I wished I had this kind of superpower in real life.

Though I had seen the map once in the game, there was no way I’d have memorized exactly where each room was. This had to be the “map” mentioned in the messages.

The second gift from Mockingbird—the map to Count Midas’s mansion.

Could this be its power? Thanks to it, I never got lost, as if a navigation system was installed in my head.

“Game room, study, bedroom.”

There were three rooms with clues.

According to the game’s setting, I was supposed to keep an eye on the deer depicted in Count Midas’s family crest in those rooms.

Of course, it wasn’t a living deer but the mounted head as a hunting trophy. True to his taste for luxury and extravagance, every deer head mounted on the walls sported long, impressive antlers—meaning they would be hard to miss.

While in the game room, pretending to chat with noblewomen, I had already discreetly counted how many there were. Now I only had to check the study and the bedroom.

“There are three in the study.”

I’d found four mounted heads in the game room. Even though the game room was large, it was a bit much to have three in the relatively smaller study. Quite a peculiar taste, indeed.

“The guest bedroom is this way…”

Normally, if an outsider wandered around this much, a butler would step in to stop them. But maybe because this was a playfield, the usually crowded mansion’s upper floors were completely empty of people.

Or so I thought.

“Take it easy… Ugh!”

Before I could hear the embarrassingly soft moan, I saw through the crack of an open door—

“…Wyner?”

The prince who had harshly confronted me just moments ago.