The girl with the petite figure suddenly stood up, her tear-filled eyes looking toward the butler. But before she could say anything, the tall man reacted even more strongly than she did.

Just as the butler was about to walk toward him, the girl's action seemed like a pair of scissors that completely cut the thin thread of the man's reason.

He suddenly sprang to his feet, sending the chair violently sliding backward before it crashed onto the floor. The harsh sound was followed by his heavy, desperate footsteps as he ran.

The castle door seemed as if it had been waiting for a brave soul. It opened with ease, and the comments in front of him were almost instantly flooded with cheers.

[Hurry up and run if you don't want to die!]

[You just made such a loud noise. The butler is already chasing you, you idiot!]

[Beyond the blizzard lies the world you've always dreamed of!]

But the man had no mind left to read those encouraging comments. All he knew was to run as fast as he possibly could in sheer desperation.

"Bang!"

The castle door suddenly slammed shut. The man's figure was completely swallowed by the blizzard. The crowd held their breath. They had not expected the escape to happen so simply and smoothly.

They looked at one another. Just as they still didn't know whom to follow, the butler suddenly shook his head, his expression full of regret yet clearly revealing a hint of gloating.

"It seems I didn't get the chance to remind everyone not to run around at night..."

After a brief pause, he said softly, "The blizzard contains hidden dangers..."

Before he could finish speaking, the castle door suddenly creaked open. A narrow gap appeared, but they could not see any figure at all, as if this were merely a visit from an invisible guest.

"Whooo—whooo—whooo!"

The howling wind surged in, carrying waves of freezing snow that caused the air temperature to drop in an instant. The candle flames swayed violently, making the shadows on the ground dance and twist into grotesque shapes.

It seemed that even the slightest change in the surroundings was magnified, striking directly at people's nerves. Silvanus silently made this assessment.

Sensing that the boy in his arms wanted to turn his head back, he could only gently pat his head and then press him a little more tightly against himself. Silvanus had a feeling that this would be the beginning of another bloody scene...

Sure enough, just as he thought that, a heavy sound—like a lump of flesh hitting the ground—suddenly echoed out, followed by something rolling across the floor.

The head of the man who had just run out into the blizzard had now returned. Only, no one could see the rest of his body.

Under everyone's fixed gaze, the head suddenly wobbled and rolled upright before straightening. His eyes were wide open, the corners of his mouth stretched upward in an exaggerated curve. The expression on his face was strangely vivid yet stiff, as if someone had tied strings to it and was manipulating it like a puppet made from a layer of skin.

Thump, thump, thump!

The head suddenly began bouncing repeatedly before abruptly leaping forward!

"Aaaaa!"

The bizarre sight made the crowd erupt into chaotic screams. Yet some people had not forgotten the butler's warning and could only grit their teeth in restraint.

But they did not have to remain in panic for long, because the bouncing head soon jumped straight into the fireplace.

With a puff, as if a thick layer of ash had been stirred up, the head vanished immediately afterward. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Silvanus seemed to begin smelling the scent of burning flesh.

Then again, how could it be an illusion? That head was clearly being burned together with the fire over there.

The magnificent castle was now filled not only with the smell of fresh blood, but also with the stench of roasting flesh.

The butler, however, acted as if he had not seen any of the commotion. He continued checking each person's identity until he stopped in front of the petite girl—the only one who had screamed at the scene just now.

"I sat in the wrong seat! I want to go back to my place!"

Before the butler could speak, she suddenly raised her voice.

Her voice was so high that it was almost a scream, completely out of control. She was nearly ignoring everything else, using the last shred of reason she had left just to say those words.

The butler narrowed his eyes, his heavy gaze fixed on her.

At that moment, everyone seemed to hold their breath, waiting for the final answer.

"Why panic like this? One of you is the future heir of the master. Naturally, I will do my utmost to fulfill all of your requests," the butler said sincerely, as if the one who had just killed someone was not him at all.

He walked over with elegance, lifted the chair that had fallen to the floor because of the man's earlier movement, then smiled at her and said softly, "Please."

Not only the girl, but the others as well seemed not to have expected things to be resolved so simply.

Yet the room remained strangely quiet. No one dared to say anything at this moment. Because of that, the narration from the TV began to draw people's attention again.

Silvanus noticed that the program currently playing seemed to be lagging, repeatedly stuck on the mysterious case deep within the forest.

"With all sincerity, I would like to announce the challenge that the master has prepared for you."

Just then, the butler spoke again, after confirming that everyone present had received an invitation and that there had been no mistakes.

"As long as any one of you can awaken the master, the enormous fortune will belong entirely to you!"

Clearly, he had just said that his master hated noise, yet now he was telling them to wake his master. It was no different from asking them to go seek death.

Nick could not help asking, "Then that person..."

"Lord Lethos."

Nick quickly nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, Lord Lethos. Where is he?"

Nick's straightforward question surprised the others. Even his overly calm expression made them feel somewhat disoriented. It was as if the series of bizarre events just now had not shaken him in the slightest.

The butler looked at Nick, his expression unchanged as he simply smiled and said, "I don't know." He smiled again. "In any case, I wish you all good luck. Remember not to make noise or go outside after midnight. Seven days from now, I hope we will have the honor of meeting the master."

After speaking, he turned and walked upstairs, completely ignoring the stunned expressions of the others.

At the same time, the cold automated system notification rang in everyone's ears.

Nine: [Please survive... bzzz... bzzzt... ple—]

Silvanus heard a series of sounds in his mind like a malfunctioning television and could not help frowning inwardly. Could this advanced system actually malfunction as well?

But the glitch did not last long before Nine spoke again.

[Please awaken Lord Lethos.] 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Silvanus: [What happened to you just now?]

Facing Silvanus's concern, Nine remained silent. However, his comment section had already begun scrolling rapidly.

[Awaken Lord Lethos?!]

[First time I've seen someone with a mission completely different from everyone else!]

[Main character script, or a side character who dies in three episodes?]