Chapter 29: Bloody Mary, bloody marry (2)
I hoped that no one else remained in this house.
Fortunately or unfortunately, it seemed that besides Mary and me, no one else was left in the mansion. Liam Moore seemed to have taken Christine and escaped. He was always quick to sense danger.
As I ran through the burning hallway, I began to understand Mary’s decision. A maid who had killed her master, or whose master had been killed, would be employed by no one. She would not be needed anywhere. To those who believed that knocking over a salt shaker brought bad luck, a maid from a ruined household was akin to an ill-omened crow.
Whether by her own choice or not, living or dying must have seemed equally impossible for Mary. She had surely given up.
I thought about Mary as I descended the stairs. I felt a slight sense of guilt for having burdened that young maid with the murder of James Stranden. If I had had more time, if I had known more about the tragedy surrounding this mansion, neither Christine nor Mary would have had to go through this. If anyone was to blame, it was me for being late.
But could I give up on Mary just because of that? If Mary gave up on herself, there would be no one in this world to care for her. I can only protect myself. Mary must do the same. So, she must not give up on herself. If she did, I would drag her back to life by force if necessary.
Yes, I know. It’s madness to run back into a burning mansion after barely escaping the flames chasing me.
The quest was a failure. The NPCs had acted unpredictably, and it seemed there was no set quest flow in this game. Finding out who killed Christine Besson’s brother (likely someone close to James Stranden) or uncovering the truth behind the incident was doomed from the start. In fact, I had half-forgotten that it was something I was supposed to do. The system didn’t enforce it. This world was driven by interactions and my actions were shaping the story.
The murderer was dead. The maid wanted to burn with the mansion. But I couldn’t accept that.