Surviving as a Maid in a Horror Game-Chapter 13.1

But I had a mantra I’d clung to ever since arriving in this game.

“This is just a game, a game. It’s a little too realistic, but still a game…”

The fear of death still gripped me, but the only thing keeping me grounded was the thought that this world was just a game. This belief had already begun to crumble long ago, but even a shattered illusion was better than nothing to cling to.

It’s a game, just a game. I repeated this to myself like a madwoman as I rounded the mansion and spotted the gravel path leading to the stables. The faint sounds of horses neighing told me I was in the right place.

As I crept closer to the stables, I realized too late that I hadn’t brought anything that could be used as a weapon. Damn it. I had been so focused on the act of murder itself that I’d completely overlooked the practicalities.

Should I go back and fetch something? A knife from the kitchen, maybe…? But I shook my head and scanned the area around the stables instead. If I went back now, I might lose the nerve I had painstakingly built up.

Just to be sure, I opened my skills window again, but as expected, there was nothing that could help with murder. “Perception” and “The Eye of Insight” were useless in combat, and “Sleep Tight” was definitely out of the question. It seemed I had no choice but to fight barehanded, without the system’s help. This might be my only chance to save Adrian. Even one sacrifice would help him significantly.

“This should do…”

Near the stables, a variety of tools lay scattered about. After dismissing the smaller ones, my hand settled on a shovel. It wasn’t too heavy, felt solid in my grip, and had a slightly pointed edge—perfect for improvised combat. I remembered hearing that Retisha had once accidentally struck someone near the eye with a shovel, leaving a nasty cut. Maybe this would serve as both a weapon and a form of karmic revenge.

Holding my breath, I stepped toward the small shed adjacent to the stables. The door creaked open in the wind, making a noise that echoed eerily. Inside, a loud snore confirmed that the occupant was deep asleep.

Thankfully, it seemed Jed was the only one inside. For the system to recognize Adrian’s contribution, I needed to leave the final blow to him. That meant I could only incapacitate Jed—just enough to render him helpless. How many hits would it take to knock him out without killing him? I had no clue. I thought back to the head chef in the kitchen, who would strike a fish the size of his arm two or three times to knock it out. Jed was sturdier than a fish, so maybe ten strikes would do the trick? I also braced myself for the possibility that I might have to finish him off myself.

I gripped the shovel tightly and stepped inside when the door swung open. The shed was even smaller than my room. Tools for handling horses lined one side, while a single table and bed filled the rest of the space. A candle flickered on the table, casting dim light on Jed’s sleeping form.

I bit my lip, gripping the shovel hard enough to make my knuckles ache. Slowly, I approached the side of his bed, counting silently. On three, I’d strike with all my strength. Just imagine it’s a fish—one clean hit to knock him out.

One…

“Who’s there?”

Crap! He woke up! Forget counting—just swing!

I squeezed my eyes shut and brought the shovel down, hitting Jed square on the head as he groggily began to sit up.

Clang! The sound of metal meeting bone reverberated through the room, sharp and jarring. Did it work? My hands felt gross from the dull impact, but I couldn’t afford to give him time to recover.

First strike wins! As Jed toppled backward with a groan, I swung the shovel again, and another loud clang rang out.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The first hit had been the hardest, but once I got going, I was able to keep swinging with my eyes squeezed shut. On the final strike, something warm splattered against my leg. It felt unbearably hot against my ice-cold skin. Was that blood…?

[Shovel durability has decreased, incurring a penalty.]

[Gold -5G.]

What the hell? My money! Even in this dire situation, the system was calmly and efficiently draining my funds. Couldn’t they cut me some slack for a main quest? At least give me a weapon that didn’t lose durability!

“You crazy bitch!”

Oh, right. I was still in the middle of knocking Jed out. I raised the shovel again, but Jed, now conscious and bleeding heavily from his head, caught it mid-swing. Apparently, five hits hadn’t been enough to knock him out completely. Maybe I really did need to go for ten. How was I supposed to know this kind of thing?

“You… you filthy little bitch… Do you have any idea who you’re messing with…?”

Jed’s teeth gnashed together as blood poured down his face in twin streams, his eyes glaring at me with pure malice. My shoulders tensed as fear coursed through me.

In the brief moment I hesitated, Jed yanked at the shovel, trying to wrest it from my grip. He seemed to think I’d be easy to overpower, but I held on with all my strength. If he took the shovel, I’d be as good as dead.

I pulled back with all my might, and surprisingly, I overpowered him, though the force nearly sent me tumbling backward. Barely managing to keep my balance, I watched as Jed doubled over, clutching at something thin near the bed.

Crack! My cheek stung with a sharp, searing pain, and my head whipped to the side. The sound echoed in my ears, leaving my head spinning. What the hell? Why did this lunatic have a whip on his bed?

“Damn it… I almost died because of you. Who sent you? Was it Karolina? Adele? Aleigh? Trisha?”

I had to get that whip away from him. As I moved, the whip struck again. Smack! It coiled around my calf like a snake, leaving a burning pain in its wake. The impact nearly sent me toppling over, and pain radiated from my leg up to my spine. A groan escaped my lips.

“Argh…”

Damn it, this hurts like hell. My cheek throbbed, and I realized my lip was bleeding. Forcing my blurred vision to focus, I locked eyes with Jed. His bloodshot gaze burned with a feral, predatory intensity.

“Was it Retisha? Did that bitch send you?”

“That’s none of your business.”

What’s the point in answering a dead man?

I spat out the blood pooling in my mouth, glaring at him. Attacking a long-range fighter like him with a shovel was impractical. The only way for a close-range fighter like me to win against a long-range one was to charge in, absorb the blows, and beat him senseless. A few more hits from the whip were nothing compared to what I was about to do.

“So it was Retisha after all. I should’ve killed that bitch back then,” he muttered, wiping the blood dripping from his face with his sleeve.

As he lowered his guard to clean his face, I rushed toward him. He sensed my approach too late, swinging the whip and striking my left arm with a sharp crack. The pain was searing, but I didn’t stop. I grabbed his arm, trying to wrest the whip away from him. However, his resistance was strong. Yet, fueled by desperation, I bit down on his arm with all my might.

“Argh!”

Even as I sank my teeth in as hard as I could, as if trying to tear his arm off, he stubbornly held on to the whip. His muscles, hardened from years of horse handling, made it nearly impossible to get a grip. My jaw ached, and the taste of blood in my mouth from the earlier whip strike didn’t help. It wasn’t until I nearly tore off a chunk of his flesh that he finally let go of the whip.

“You... crazy bitch! Let go! Let me go, you lunatic!”

This time, he drove his knee straight into my stomach. The impact knocked all the air out of me, forcing me to double over. The pain was so excruciating that I couldn’t even scream. My vision blurred, and all I could do was clutch my stomach and wait for the agony to subside.

“Guh... ugh...”

I stumbled backward, half-collapsed, holding my abdomen. My head felt fuzzy, and my ears were ringing. Somewhere along the way, I must’ve taken more blows to the face, as my cheek throbbed painfully. I coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood. It was sticky, warm, and dripping uncontrollably from my mouth. My vision swam as dizziness set in.

Was this how Adrian felt when he was in agony?

The thought flitted through my mind.

All that blood I’d seen on his blanket—was it this painful for him to cough it up? He must’ve endured this kind of suffering every day, collapsing and losing consciousness over and over. What must have been running through his mind during those moments? How much worse must it have been with all his other illnesses?

“Ahhh... my arm! Damn it... my arm!”

The sound of teeth grinding and his heavy footsteps snapped me out of my thoughts. From my bent-over position, I noticed his shadow looming over me. Despite the extreme pain and exhaustion, I forced my heavy eyelids open and tilted my head back with all my strength.

“Argh!”

This time, he let out a guttural scream as I headbutted him square in the chin. He stumbled backward, clutching his jaw, giving me a moment to grab the shovel from the ground. Summoning what little strength I had left, I charged at him. His wide-eyed expression of panic as he tried to retreat only fueled me further. I drove him against the wall, pressing the wooden handle of the shovel against his neck, pinning him there.

[Shovel durability has decreased, incurring a penalty.]

[Gold -5G.]

[Shovel durability has decreased, incurring a penalty.]

[Gold -5G.]

“Guh... ack...!”

Die. Just die already. You have to die...

Desperate words spilled from me like a prayer. Never in my life had I wanted someone dead so badly.

But as his neck strained beneath the weight of the shovel and his gasping breaths filled the air, I felt a suffocating dread. Driving someone to the brink of death, teetering on the line between life and death—it was horrifying. Even though I was the one applying the pressure, it felt as if I were the one being crushed. My mind fragmented into chaos.

But right now, Adrian has no one but me.

That thought brought me back to my senses, and the tears that had threatened to fall subsided. I could feel myself regaining composure, if only slightly.

“Grrr...”

Even after all this time, he just wouldn’t die. I’d never realized how tenacious the human body could be. What surprised me even more was how little effort it seemed to take to overpower him. No matter how hard he tried to push me off, it felt like I was arm wrestling a child. I knew I was strong, but I hadn’t realized I was this strong.

“Ahhh!”

With a final desperate burst of energy, he swung his leg wildly. Not wanting to get kicked in the stomach again, I twisted my body to dodge, but in doing so, I lost my balance and had to release him.

Why won’t you just die already?! I swung the shovel at him as he coughed violently, but my aim was off, and the blow missed.

He staggered out of the shed, coughing and spitting, but I couldn’t follow him. The shovel had lodged itself firmly into the ground, and no matter how much I tugged at it, it wouldn’t budge. Damn it—why didn’t I control my strength?

[Shovel durability has decreased, incurring a penalty.]

[Gold -5G.]

Even in this critical moment, the white text popped up, breaking the tension. It was so distracting I could barely concentrate on the fight. My gold was draining rapidly, and while I might’ve cried over this in the past, I felt oddly indifferent now. My wages had doubled recently, so this small loss didn’t bother me. Or so I tried to convince myself.

For now, I had to chase after Jed.

Leaving the shovel behind, I picked up the whip and ran after him. I could feel it—this was almost over.

The area around the stables was eerily quiet, with no sign of him anywhere. The only place left was the stable itself. He must have gone in there.

Gripping the whip tightly, I stepped cautiously into the stable. The moment I entered, a hand shot out from the darkness and grabbed my hair. The sheer force yanked my head back painfully.

“Heh heh heh... I knew you’d follow me. If you wanted revenge, you should’ve brought more than just your tiny self, you little bitch.”

His sinister laughter echoed in my ears as the excruciating grip on my hair made my vision go black. Before I could react, he slammed me to the ground. He bent over, shoving his grinning face in front of mine as his grip on my hair tightened further.

Grabbing my hair? This cowardly bastard...

“Even though you got a few hits in, your face isn’t half bad. Should I have a taste before I kill you, huh?”

His low growl made his intentions clear, and I felt a wave of nausea. I couldn’t die like this, not to some lowlife rapist! Desperately, I jabbed the butt of the whip handle into his foot with all the force I could muster, aiming to crush the bones.

“Arghhh!”

Jed howled in pain, clutching his foot. The moment his grip on my hair loosened, I scrambled to my feet and shoved him with all my strength. His large body slammed into the stable fence with a loud crack.

But that wasn’t the end. As Jed collapsed, the startled horses reared up, their movements triggering a chain reaction of chaos. In the commotion, Jed was trampled beneath the panicking horses, his body going limp.

Unfortunately, one of the horses—a pristine white steed that looked ridiculously expensive—got scratched in the chaos.

Damn it. I could practically feel the system reaching for my wallet with its greedy claws. If there were ever a time to pray, it was now. Please, God, wherever you are, destroy this game system.

[Stable fence damaged, incurring a penalty.]

[Gold -300G.]

[Count Palzgraff’s prized horse injured.]

[Gold -500G.]

[Count Palzgraff’s prized horse requires ongoing treatment for its injuries.]

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

[Daily wages reduced by 70G for 10 days.]

Of course. Not only did they drain all my gold except for 120G, but now my wages for the next ten days were docked. My attempt to console myself about my doubled wages had hit its limit. I could no longer shrug this off. How was I supposed to survive the next ten days without pay? No, it’s fine. I still have some money left...

“It’s... finally over, isn’t it?”

My entire body sagged as I slid down the wall. Jed was unconscious, and this was my chance to either fetch Adrian or drag Jed to him. But my legs refused to move. The pain coursing through my body was unbearable, and the shock of having taken such violent action myself was overwhelming. Even if he was a rapist who deserved to die, the weight of what I had done was crushing.

The white text flickered into view just as I was thinking I might die from the pain, as if mocking me.

“You can heal your injuries:

Bruise and swelling on cheek – 40GInternal bleeding in mouth – 30GLight bruise on right calf – 10GLight bruise on left arm – 10GInternal bleeding in abdomen – 100G”

My total remaining gold was exactly 120G. Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford to heal everything. While paying for healing made sense in principle, it stung that my savings—once a hefty 940G—had been gutted by the fence repair and horse treatment costs first. If only I could have used it all to heal myself. But that’s how this system worked—cold and ruthless.

Half-resigned, I read the text again. The cost seemed proportional to the severity of the injury. The choice was obvious. After spending 100G to heal my abdomen—the most agonizing wound—I was left with just 20G. Watching my hard-earned savings dwindle to zero brought tears to my eyes. But as the pain in my abdomen, calf, and arm faded away, I could finally breathe without feeling like I was being stabbed from the inside.

The memory of the beating I took lingered vividly, though, leaving me with a lingering sense of unease.

I still had to deliver that sacrifice to Adrian, but in this state…

“…Hilda?”

My ears perked up at the sound of a familiar voice. Was I imagining it? Or was it just the wind playing tricks on me? I wanted to turn and check, but my body was too weak to respond. If it really was him…

“Hilda!”

Just as my eyelids were starting to droop, someone grabbed my shoulder. The sight of bright blue eyes jolted my fading consciousness back to life. Was I hallucinating?

“Huh? Young Master? How did you…?”

“What happened to you? Who did this?”

“Should you even be out here? You’re not well.”

“I’m fine now. I don’t hurt at all. Now tell me—what happened to you? Who hurt you? If you don’t, I can’t promise what I’ll do.”

His voice was a low, dangerous murmur, as if he were ready to slaughter everyone in the mansion on my behalf.

Not hurting at all? That was a blatant lie. His pale, sickly complexion betrayed him. The seizures may have stopped, but his body was still ravaged by countless ailments—something I could confirm by glancing at the status window floating to my left. Somehow, despite his condition, he had dragged himself here after realizing what had happened to me.

A strange laugh bubbled up from my throat. Adrian looked at me oddly, but once it started, I couldn’t stop. I wasn’t laughing because it was funny—I wasn’t even sure why I was laughing. Maybe it was because both the demon and I were utterly pathetic.

“Hilda, right now—”

“Young Master, over there. The sacrifice.”

With great effort, I lifted a trembling finger to point at the broken fence. The horses, still agitated, occasionally pawed at the ground. Adrian turned to follow my gaze, then looked back at me with a mix of disbelief and something I couldn’t quite place.

“I knocked him out. You just need to finish the job. The system will count the final hit, right?”

“Hilda… you were terrified. Why would you…”

“He might wake up soon. Hurry up and kill him. It was so hard to knock him out,” I whined, weakly pressing my hand against Adrian’s chest to urge him forward. There was no way I could handle that rapist bastard a second time. If he woke up, I might just bash my own head in out of despair.

“Don’t tell me you can’t kill him because you think I’ll be scared. I came here fully prepared to kill him myself. Watching you do it won’t scare me.”

“…”

“Go on. Quickly.”

Despite my insistence and the feeble shoves of my fingers, Adrian remained frozen. He seemed unable to process the scene before him. For the first time, the demon looked completely dumbfounded. Did he want me to slit the guy’s throat myself and serve it up on a platter? Only when I threatened him with that did he finally start moving.

He staggered toward the broken fence, his steps slow and unsteady. As he approached, the horses stopped pawing the ground. Could they sense something? The moment he stepped past the fence, they shuffled to the far corner, away from him. It was oddly fascinating to watch.

“Hilda, don’t look.”

He didn’t turn to face me as he spoke, but I ignored him. Looking away now felt hypocritical. So, disregarding his words, I kept my eyes wide open, watching as he grabbed Jed by the collar and lifted him with ease.

I wondered how he would do it, but the method was surprisingly simple. He grabbed Jed’s head and twisted it sharply. The crack of his neck snapping was loud and clear, making me wince slightly. The execution was brutal and unrefined, starkly contrasting Adrian’s usually graceful demeanor.

Oddly enough, that was my only thought. Even though I had just witnessed a person die in a gruesome manner, it didn’t hit me as hard as when I saw Joanne’s death. Was it because this was the second time? Can you build a tolerance to something like this? Humans really are inherently cruel creatures, aren’t they?

“I told you not to look.”

Adrian sighed, turning back toward me. His face was dark, but I could see a noticeable change. His status window to my left confirmed it—the long list of illnesses had started to disappear one by one. Only then did I feel like I could breathe again.

However, there was no notification that the main quest was complete. I had assumed that, just as Adrian gained credit for landing the final blow, I would be recognized for assisting in the kill. But it seemed I would only get credit if I did everything myself, from start to finish.

What kind of insane difficulty was this? Just the thought of doing this all over again made my skin crawl. I had learned that deciding to kill was far easier than actually carrying it out.

Couldn’t I just change the main quest? The idea consumed me until the white text appeared suddenly, as if to console me.

[Main Quest failed for the first time. You have gained 2000 EXP.]

[Hidden skill unlocked! You can now use the skill ‘Deputy Summon.’]

[Level increased to 20. (Title: Demon’s Prospective Right Hand)]

[Skill unlocked! You can now use the skill ‘Footprint Tracking.’]

[Deputy Summon]

Hidden Skill

Unlocked condition: Upon failing a Main Quest…