Jin, who was now sitting on the ground now that Deon had broken one of the chairs, asked. "Regret...?"

"Yeah," Deon nodded, trying not to wince from the pain. "The patriarch’s name was Marcel. He was sick, like really sick."

Mina frowned. "How bad was it?"

"Like coughing up blood, shaking hands type of sick. The kind that made rich people start looking for other methods when medical options run out...type of sick."

Vivian’s eyes narrowed, already catching his drift. "And the Miracle Royale answered?"

"Seems like it."

Deon looked toward the desk, where the letters were still scattered. "There was the Miracle Royale’s insignia on one of them, the same one as our invitations, I assume."

"Though Marcel didn’t seem like a contestant, at least I don’t think so," he continued. "He wasn’t being invited to play."

Vivian folded her arms. "He was being invited to pay."

"Something like that."

Nami, still sitting upright on the guest chair, frowned. "I don’t get it. Pay for what?"

"Time."

Deon practically blurted the answer out. But the moment he said it, he knew it was right. "Or a cure. Or a miracle. Whatever word these bastards use."

Hana, who had been in thought for a while, finally spoke up. "You said regret earlier...what exactly does that mean?"

"Mmm," Deon nodded. "Apparently, there was supposed to be a meeting he was forced to attend with Miracle Royale production. But it coincides with his son’s birthday."

"In the end, he decided to skip the birthday," he continued on. "Not the first time either. His son said that Marcel had already missed three birthdays."

"That’s not really that important," Vivian sighed before leaning back in her chair.

"Hey! How could you say that?" Hana immediately turned.

"Relax, princess. I’m saying it’s not escape-the-death-mansion important."

"But still..."

"She’s not wrong," Deon clicked his tongue. "The theme is regret, but that doesn’t mean we have to unpack every depressing family issue."

Vivian nodded. "Exactly. So did you see anything actually useful?"

"Useful?"

"Objects. Rooms. Names. Something that might give us a lead on other stuff."

"Not really? I mean, did you forget about the part where I was being attacked by an ink monster and had to fend for my life?"

But even as he said so, Deon slowly stood up and turned toward the desk.

"Deon?" Hana frowned. "Where are you going?"

"Just checking something..."

He pulled away before she could argue further and limped toward the desk. Deon moved the stack of papers aside, hoping to find it.

Nothing.

He frowned and pushed the lamp a little to the left. Still nothing.

Vivian stood behind him now, arms folded. "Looking for something?"

"A frame."

"A frame?"

"There was a picture in the memory."

He crouched, checking behind the leaning books on the far corner of the desk, before his fingers finally brushed against something cold and metallic.

Gotcha...

He hooked a finger around the edge and pulled. A small silver picture frame slid out from behind the books, leaving a clean rectangular mark in the dust.

Deon turned it over, only to find the same picture he had seen during [Playback]. The same woman, in the same garden, giving the same gentle smile.

Jin’s eyes widened. "So it was real!"

"Looks like it. Apparently, her name was Rosaline."

Both the twins frowned before Nami spoke up. "Why was it hidden? It’s just a picture frame?"

"Not sure," Deon shook his head. "From what I heard, Marcel and Rosaline don’t seem to have the best relationship."

As he held the frame, he realized that the picture and the edge hadn’t aligned one-to-one, causing a small protrusion that he felt with his hand.

"Maybe..."

Deon turned the frame over and found the mechanism.

"Deon, maybe you should ask for permission first? It seems important..." Hana spoke softly from his side. "Maybe his ghost is in the mansion, a–and—"

"Hana."

"What?"

"If Marcel’s ghost wants to complain, let him. I’d rather be nagged by a ghost than be trapped in this mansion."

Hana opened her mouth to reply, but seemed to think better and closed it instead. Deon slipped his finger under the back of the frame, onto the little latch and pried it open.

Click!

The entire thing gave way as the picture floated softly onto the desk. But with it, something metallic and heavy landed straight on wood.

A key.

Its handle was shaped like a blooming rose, the petals curling around a tiny blue gem in the center. The teeth were delicate and strangely elegant, more like something made for a jewelry box than a normal door.

But as Deon thought about it for longer, maybe the assumption did make sense. He picked up the key gingerly, inspecting it once more. "Maybe it is for a jewelry box..."

Vivian leaned closer. "Looks like it."

Hana frowned. "Why would there be a key behind her picture?"

"Great, what now?" the twins said simultaneously, causing Deon to flinch. But he eventually recovered.

"That," Deon muttered, closing his fist around the key, "is the annoying part."

Vivian’s smile returned by a fraction. "Looks like we need to find her jewelry box."

"Yeah," he nodded. "Problem is, we still don’t know where it is. And the second problem..."

He looked back at the Master Office’s door. "Is how to get to our goal without the others on our backs the entire way..."

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The Master Office door shook violently. Jin immediately grabbed the [Fire Axe] Card while Mina moved closer to Nami without even thinking.

Vivian stood up from her chair, her easy smile long gone. Deon made his way slowly to the door, hand in his pocket, reaching for [Blade].

"Who is it...?"

"It’s me!" a voice shouted from the other side. "The spear guy from earlier!"

"Alright, what do you want? I told you before, if you’re here to trade information, follow the rules I set earlier."

"Please!" the man’s voice cracked. "We need help! Something happened downstairs!"

"Then ask Joshua," Deon said flatly. "He seemed very eager to lead."

"Deon..." Hana said softly.

"No."

"If someone’s hurt—"

"That’s the point of a trap."

"And if it isn’t?"

"..."

"Tch..." Deon clicked his tongue, gesturing for Vivian to move beside the door. He summoned the katana to his right whilst his left hand gripped the door handle.

Creak...

The man stood outside, face completely drained of color. His shoulders were trembling and he could barely stand straight.

"What’s going on?" Deon asked.

"T—there..." the man pointed just below the balcony. "Th–there’s been—"

Deon couldn’t stand his stuttering any longer, pushing the man out the way as he made his way to the balcony. And only then, did he understand why.

The black and white checkered floor had been stained red as Joshua dragged a body from one of the rooms and laid them in the center of the hall.

Several others gathered around with horrified expressions on their face. A second later, the rest of Deon’s party caught up. Hana gasped immediately, throwing a hand over her mouth whilst Jin curled his fingers at his side.

Ding!

[A contestant has died inside the Velvet Mansion.]

[Mansion Truth System Activated.]