Beyond the Eternity

[The Shattered Fragment has ended.]

Fu!

As the memory concluded, the surrounding space warped and shifted, returning us to the desolate emptiness of the study. Yet, it left me with a faint glimpse of what might have ignited the entire tragedy.

"So the culprit was the Black Witch?"

"It's possible, considering how the Family Head was murdered in such a barbaric manner. Would any sane person do something like that?"

"I don't know what to think about the situation. This entire situation is seriously fucked up on so many levels. Tch! I don't get paid enough for this!"

Ryu Yeji and Moon Jiyeon spoke among themselves.

The main topic was about what happened at the end of the memory.

Quick summary:

When the other characters were engrossed in conversation about the manner of Reginald's death, Elena's gaze drifted to Reginald's hollow stomach. Amidst the scattered sweets and candy, something else caught her attention, drawing her closer with hesitant curiosity.

The mysterious item within the torn stomach was a letter.

But not just any letter. It bore the unmistakable Crest of the Raven, the emblem of the Valoment Family.

She called for everyone's attention and, with trembling hands, began to read the letter aloud:

To the Esteemed Descendants of the Valoment Family,

I am Minerva Blackthorne, the chosen contractor of your Family Head, Reginald. Some of you may know me as your mother, while others have come to call me the Witch of the Night or the Black Witch.

Regardless of the titles I hold, my duty has always been to uphold the contract that has bound us over the years. Now, the time has come for that contract to reach its conclusion. In accordance with its terms, Reginald's life has been designated as the final sacrifice.

Before proceeding, allow me to clarify a critical aspect of this agreement.

I, Minerva, loaned Reginald a significant portion of my wealth under a specific condition: upon the contract's conclusion, all wealth and properties held under the Valoment Family name must be returned. Furthermore, as interest, I reserved the right to claim the lives of the Valoment Family members.

You may consider these terms unjust or unreasonable. However, Reginald himself established a special clause to safeguard the family's lives and honor. I am bound to forfeit the entirety of the contract should this condition be fulfilled.

Special Clause:

Upon the contract's end, Minerva is entitled to claim the lives and possessions of the Valoment Family. However, should any member return the Crimson Heirloom, which contains the heart of the Black Witch, Minerva would relinquish her claim to the gold loaned and release all obligations tied to the contract.

As of now, I am commencing the collection process. Unless the Crimson Heirloom is returned, I will claim the lives, possessions, and wealth of the Valoment Family, including the gold used as collateral for the agreement.

Additionally, I have taken the ring of the Valoment Family Head as confirmation of the collection process. You may verify this through the Candle of the Seal.

The location of the Crimson Heirloom has already been inscribed by Reginald himself on the Black Epitaph in the Main Hall, beneath my portrait. Solve the mystery of the Epitaph, uncover the Crimson Heirloom, and I will relinquish the contract. There's ten thousand worth of Golds present in the same location, so you can claim that as well as a reward for your troubles.

Well then, from the depths of my heart, I hope you enjoy this little intellectual game between mother and children.

Let us have a splendid and elegant night.

Yours lovingly,

Black Minerva.

That was enough to make the characters erupt in chaos.

From a third-person perspective, it was absurd. No matter which angle I looked at it from, the entire incident seemed completely irrational.

The letter had effectively warned them that their lives were in danger unless they uncovered the Crimson Heirloom.

It felt like a cruel mystery, one in which the characters were doomed from the start.

The plot of such stories was always predictable.

Realistically, the most logical course of action would have been to call the police and leave the house immediately. However, the circumstances made that far from simple.

If they were to suddenly evacuate, what would happen to the murderer?

Surely, the killer was still inside, hidden among the family members or servants.

They might even use the chaos to slip away unnoticed. Moreover, since the Family Mansion was perched on a mountain, it would take the police a considerable amount of time to arrive and apprehend the murderer.

But the killer's identity remained another mystery.

After carefully reconsidering the situation, I devised three possible theories:

First, Reginald might have been murdered by an assassin hired by a rival family. However, it seemed highly unlikely they would go to such elaborate lengths to frame the Black Witch.
Experience tales at мѵʟ

Why would any rational assassin leave clues that could potentially lead back to them?

Upon reflection, it made no sense at all, and it was highly unlikely that a rival family would even be aware of the Evernight (Black) Witch.

So that theory was utterly baseless.

Second, it was possible that Reginald had arranged his own murder, orchestrating the entire ordeal in a twisted game of death. Considering his declining mental state, he could have hired someone to kill him and set everything in motion.

A person who no longer valued their own life certainly wouldn't care about the lives of others, not even his children.

Yet, out of all the theories, this one seemed the least likely.

Finally, it was entirely possible that Reginald had been killed by the Black Witch, just as the letter suggested. But I couldn't bear the thought of that possibility becoming a reality, or worse, the truth.

The clear condition of the Sixth Fable was to solve the mystery of the House of Secrets. This meant we had to solve it through logical reasoning.

There were no shortcuts.

If the entire family had been brutally murdered by the Black Witch, how could we possibly solve it with logic?

If magic was added into that equation, all semblance of reason would be thrown out the window.

I frowned.

This entire situation just became even more complicated.

...Wait, was that method work?

I turned to Soo Jinyoung and asked:

"Soo Jinyoung-ssi, have you checked the Fragment for any traces of magic?"

She shook her head.

"I tried, but it's too hard to read."

"What do you mean?"

"There are too many 'Errors' scattered throughout the memory. I can easily distinguish between a false memory and a normal one, but there seems to be some outside interference."

"So, you can't tell if Reginald was killed by magic?"

She nodded.

My brows furrowed even more.

In the world of Song of Nightmares, nothing was free from 'Errors'. Perfection didn't exist. Even the constellations and eternal dimensional objects like Fragments inevitably contained one or two flaws.

However, the ability to alter the Errors within Fragments, which were deeply rooted within the Ethereal Plane, was an entirely different matter.

Could it be that the Housekeepers tampered with the Errors to keep us from uncovering the truth?

Were those 'guys' really that smart?

"Tch, what a headache."

I clicked my tongue and scratched the back of my head.

Soo Jinyoung glanced at me, her lips parting as if she was about to speak, but Moon Jiyeon spoke up first.

"Jakga-nim, what's our next move?"

I shrugged. "What do you think?"

"I believe we should look into Julian and his wife, Victoria. They're both suspicious."

"I see. Is it because they were the only heirs living in this house?"

"Exactly. I refuse to believe a Witch was behind this. Besides, those two were already suspicious to begin with. It's very possible they killed Reginald and orchestrated the entire thing."

Her point of view made sense.

Julian, as Reginald's first son, was the primary heir to the Valoment Family's wealth and legacy.

Considering his financial troubles, it was possible he sought information about the gold's whereabouts from his father to escape the financial hole, but his father refused. In a fit of blind desperation, he may have killed Reginald and then ordered the servants to stage the scene.

However, there was a major flaw in that theory.

Looking at Moon Jiyeon, I began to lay out my perspective.

"If Julian and Victoria were really the ones who killed Reginald, wouldn't it have been too obvious?"

"You mean it would have been clear it was them?"

"Exactly. It makes no sense for them to kill Reginald and leave such a chaotic scene behind. Wouldn't it have been more logical to dispose of the body instead? On top of that, both Julian and Victoria were present during the family discussion, making it difficult to pin Reginald's murder on them."

"So you're saying they couldn't be involved?"

"I'm not saying they're innocent. I'm just pointing out that there's a massive lack of evidence linking them to the crime."

Moon Jiyeon gave me a meaningful look.

She had likely already pieced together what I was implying. Without sufficient evidence, we couldn't be certain of their involvement.

They could be innocent, framed by someone else, or they could very well be the masterminds behind the incident. The only way to uncover the truth was to investigate further.

For now, Julian and Victoria would remain the primary suspects.

Speaking of which, the letter referenced a Crimson Heirloom. At first, I might have dismissed It entirely, but the reactions of the others at that moment were impossible to overlook.

It seemed like the item was somewhat important, but the exact level of importance was unclear.

Didn't the letter state that the heirloom contained the heart of the Black Witch?

If I follow the Witch's route, it makes sense that she would want her heart back. But if this was the path of a mysterious murderer, it might just be a ploy to gather information about the location of the gold.

Witch or mysterious assailant.

There wasn't enough information to draw a conclusion, but the truth would reveal itself once we unraveled the heart of this mystery. Perhaps the key lay within the Black Witch's Epitaph.

What a lovely story this was.

I glanced at each member of the group, one by one, before raising a finger and flashing a cheerful smile.

Soo Jinyoung, Yoo Rin, Miyuki Kuroi, Moon Jiyeon and Ryu Yeji.

All of them looked at me as I opened my mouth.

"Alright, everyone, let's solve this mystery together!"