Welcome to the Rose Mansion - Chapter 67
“AHHHHHHH!”
Mrs. Otis crouched down and screamed as if her throat would tear. Her flailing arms swept all the tea sets and snacks off the table onto the floor.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! Die, Rick Otis!”
“Mrs. Otis!”
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill youuuu—!!”
Her limbs flailed wildly, as if she might fall over at any moment. Richelle quickly pushed the broken glass shards far away. Just as she rushed to calm Mrs. Otis down, the door to the reception room suddenly burst open.
“…!”
Unexpectedly, the head maid Josephine led a group of maids who swarmed into the room.
They wore identical expressions, like dolls made from the same mold. They were calmly smiling, seemingly indifferent to the mistress’s hysterics.
It was an eerie sight. Instinctively, Richelle stepped in front of Mrs. Otis.
“What is the meaning of this, Josephine? Why are you being so threatening…?”
The maids ignored Richelle completely. They walked past her calmly and grabbed Mrs. Otis by the arms and the nape of her neck.
“Oh my God! What are you doing?!”
Richelle tried to protect Mrs. Otis, but a couple of maids blocked her path. Their surprisingly strong arms pushed her back like a wall.
In the end, Richelle could only watch helplessly as Mrs. Otis was subdued. The maids skillfully twisted her arms, pinned her down, and covered her mouth. Mrs. Otis struggled for a while before finally fainting, her eyes rolling back.
Only then did Josephine move. She carefully examined Mrs. Otis’s face, then gestured towards the door, signaling to take her out.
Josephine then turned to Richelle with a friendly smile.
“Hello, Miss Howard. Good afternoon.”
Richelle couldn’t respond. What could she possibly say?
Without hesitation, Josephine left the room. Richelle was left alone in the wrecked and empty room.
She remained frozen in place for a long time.
***
After witnessing Mrs. Otis’s breakdown, Richelle was in a daze until the next day.
The sound of Mrs. Otis screaming and writhing, yelling for someone to die, echoed endlessly in her ears. Richelle stared blankly out the window.
“…Teacher.”
“…”
“Teacher!”
“Huh, what?”
Startled by the child’s annoyed voice, Richelle turned her head. Penny and Nero stood with their hands on their hips, glaring at her.
“Why aren’t you answering!”
“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking… What is it?”
“We’ve been saying we’re hungry!”
Penny stomped her foot petulantly, and Nero eagerly nodded beside her.
“Hungry! Hungry!”
“Can’t you get us something tasty? Please?”
They had refused to eat and skipped breakfast again today. Richelle glanced at the clock. Eleven o’clock.
Incidents like this were no longer a big deal. Richelle stood up calmly.
“Then, I’ll go check if there’s something you can eat.”
“Okay!”
The children cheerfully resumed their block play. Richelle quietly left the children’s room.
‘What on earth happened to the Otis family?’
The empty hallway was so quiet that it was perfect for organizing her thoughts. The information she had gathered floated neatly in her mind.
1- Mr. and Mrs. Otis were originally a couple united by love. Mr. Otis had ardently pursued her.
2- The Otis family was once very harmonious and actively engaged in social activities.
3- The Otis family has been holed up in the mansion for six years. Mr. Otis’s current whereabouts are unknown.
4- Mrs. Otis loathes her husband to the point of having fits.
5- Mrs. Otis avoids all her children but particularly doesn’t seem to consider the twins as her own.
6- The mansion’s servants are not real ‘people’.
7- Rogéros Walter arrived at the mansion six years ago. Strangely, he seems free from the mansion’s rules.
This is the gist of the information she had obtained. It was far from enough to deduce anything concrete.
It was certain, however, that everything changed due to some incident six years ago. She had a strong intuition that she needed to find out what that incident was.
‘How can I gather information?’
