BANG!

Instead of shattering as I expected, the window threw me back with a deafening boom. This wasn't an illusion. Unlike the rippling, shifting floor, the window hadn't moved. But I could sense the scent of mana over it, along with a powerful force pushing against me. Come to think of it, the rising floor, the walls, and the distorted corridor had all carried that same mana. It had the same scent as the mana flowing from the girl laughing behind the wall.

"Wow, you almost got out! They said you were knight-level, but you're even stronger than that!" Her voice came from behind the wall. She sounded delighted.

"Wow, you're amazing. I've never seen prey like you before. Can I add you to my collection?" She sounded like a little girl asking the baron to buy her a toy. His answer, however, was firm. "No. Kill him." "What a waste..."

BANG! BANG!

Even while she spoke, I did everything I could to break the window. Risking exposure, I pushed mana into my dagger and tried to cut through the glass. I tried breaking through the wall and smashing the floor that had risen to shield her. Nothing worked. The window wouldn't give, the hole I made in the wall filled itself in, and more floor kept rising behind every section I broke. I couldn't get a step closer to her.

"You really are impressive. But struggling won't help. I've declared this house my domain. It's my kingdom, and no one can defeat me here!" So all these absurd things were the work of her ability. Was it some kind of "domain declaration"? The ability was astonishing, almost beyond belief. Just as she'd said, catching her or escaping this place looked difficult.

The floor, which had gone still, began to ripple again. The walls, the ceiling, and every object in the room attacked me, even blocking my mana-coated blade. She was right: this room—no, this mansion—moved like part of her body. She had already swallowed me, and I was nothing but prey struggling inside her.

The sight made all my efforts feel pointless and left me speechless, but I resisted to the end. Honestly, I didn't think I could win, and winning right now wasn't my aim. Still, I kept fighting. It didn't matter if I lost this time. What mattered more was leaving my next life useful information. I had to learn how powerful her ability was and whether it had any weaknesses.

"You fight well, and you've held out a long time. But I have to listen to Father, so I think it's time to end this." The mana surrounding me grew denser as she spoke. The air became heavy, making it hard to move. Damn it. She couldn't control the air or gravity within her domain too, could she? As I struggled to hold out, I heard her proclamation.

"This house is my kingdom. I am its ruler!"

THOOM!

I collapsed to the floor. My arms and legs broke, and blood poured from my mouth. It felt as though my insides had burst. A fatal blow. 'Ah. Now I know how it works.' At least it had shown me the nature of her ability. But I still had another question.

"Cough... Wh-why are you trying to kill me? Did the Duchess tell you to? B-but if I die here, the Duke will... he'll find out everything, won't he?" I asked from where I lay, coughing up blood.

The room had returned to normal. The baron's daughter shrugged. "That's what I've been saying. What are you going to do after causing a mess like this? You're usually so meticulous, Dad." Despite her words, the baron stared hard at me. Then he approached.

"Cover your ears." "Y-yes." Once his daughter had stepped back, he knelt beside me and whispered in my ear why he had killed me. "You've got to be kidding..." I let out a hollow laugh as I looked at him. At the same time, my vision began to darken.

[You have died. Restarting from the autosave point.]

* * *

"I'll show you to your rooms." When I opened my eyes, it was the previous evening, just after we'd encountered the travelers in the lobby. We all followed the maid who was leading us to our rooms.

"Are you feeling unwell?" a concerned voice asked beside me. "Ah... No." I wasn't physically hurt, though the pain I'd suffered before dying still lingered. Phantom pain, perhaps. But that wasn't why my expression was grim. It was because of the girl speaking to me. The girl smiling at me was the baron's daughter who had just killed me. Or perhaps I should say she would kill me soon.

Maybe all my acting up to now had been child's play. Surely she'd already been told to kill me, yet look at that expression. If I hadn't known what she was really like, neither I nor anyone else would have noticed. Her ability to become nearly invincible within a certain area—though I still didn't know its exact limits—was frightening. Right now, though, her acting frightened me more. I did my best to act as though nothing was wrong, but I was no match for a professional.

After we parted from the others, I spoke to the maid as she was leaving me at my assigned room. "If I'm not in my room tonight, please don't worry. I often go for a walk when I can't sleep somewhere unfamiliar." Honestly, I'd never done that, but I needed to establish an alibi. "Oh, it's best not to wander around at night if you can help it. There have been times when... monsters took people away at night." The maid looked uncomfortable and spoke cautiously.

"What? Monsters? This mansion is in the middle of the baron's domain, right beside the village." It wasn't surrounded by a city like the ducal estate, but the baron's mansion stood on the edge of a sizable village. "No, no. That happened some time ago. The baron dealt with them alongside his soldiers, so it hardly ever happens now." "What kind of monsters were they?" The maid shook her head. "I didn't see them myself. I was only told that the baron had dealt with them. But after that, no one else went missing because of monsters."

"Did people go missing for other reasons?" The maid pressed her lips together. Her expression was answer enough.

"Don't worry. You've heard about me, haven't you? I may be young, but I have knight-level skill. If any monsters appear, I'll catch them." The maid gave me an uncertain smile at my bold declaration. It was hard to believe a boy so young, but it was also hard to contradict a noble's son with an ability, even if he was illegitimate. In the end, she accepted what I said and left.

I went into the room and opened the window. CREAK. Unlike before I died, it opened easily. "Well, shall I wait for sunset?" I leaned against the windowsill and looked out. Far away, red evening light spilled over the low mountains.

Watching the sun set, I recalled our conversation. A monster that abducted people at night. "That 'monster' must be the baron's daughter, right?" After what I'd heard from the baron and his daughter before I died, I couldn't reach any other conclusion. "Once the baron's daughter gained her ability, she used it recklessly. People started disappearing one after another, and the baron stepped in to cover it up..." Why had she abducted and killed people? Was she simply a murderer, or was there another reason? I thought about it for a moment, then shook my head. Whatever the reason, it no longer mattered.

The baron and his daughter were my enemies. All I had to do was deal with them decisively. Outside, it had grown dark. There were enough clouds that an ordinary person would have trouble seeing without a lamp. I strengthened my eyesight with mana, tapped the dagger at my waist, and jumped out the window. Last time, I'd died while poking around the mansion. This time, I intended to leave it altogether.

TAP.

Though I'd jumped from the second floor, the landing made barely a sound. I hurried across the garden in front of the mansion. It was laid out like a maze, but I'd studied it from the window before dark and could follow the right path. I cleared it in no time and climbed the fairly high wall beyond. In my previous life, there might have been security cameras or an electrified fence. Here, there were only pointed iron bars atop the wall.

Once outside, I made a wide circuit around the mansion and headed for the hill behind it. The baron's daughter's ability seemed likely to apply only to the mansion, but I didn't want to find out that its range included the village too. The hill wasn't very high and was covered in grass. From its top, though, I could see the baron's mansion and the village at a glance. The clouds had cleared, leaving a sky full of stars. The noble mansion and the village spread out beneath it like a painting. It was nothing like the night views of my previous life. A hint of bitterness rose in me, but I quickly refocused.

Now all I had to do was wait. I sat on a low rock with my dagger across my knees and watched the mansion. Time passed. Lights went out in the windows one by one, until the mansion and the entire village were submerged in darkness. It was the time when I had died. For a moment, I sensed mana ripple through the whole mansion. I wouldn't have noticed the change if I hadn't experienced it yesterday. The mana began in the main wing—in the baron's daughter's room, where I'd died—swept through the entire mansion, lingered around my room, and disappeared.

"Was she checking?" I'd suspected it was possible, but she'd really brought the entire mansion within her domain. Leaving early had been the right choice. There seemed to be a brief commotion inside afterward, but it soon died down. That was thanks to what I'd told the maid. After that, the mansion remained quiet until morning.

I returned to the mansion in the morning dew. Avoiding the soldier guarding its perimeter, I climbed back over the wall, crossed the maze garden, and walked toward the front entrance. They already knew I wasn't in my room, so there was no harm in coming through the front door. "Where have you been all night?" The baron's daughter stood by the door, looking tired. It seemed she'd been waiting for me all night.

"Ah, I couldn't sleep in an unfamiliar bed, so I spent the night practicing my swordsmanship." I tapped the dagger hanging from my waist. "The soldiers at the main gate said no one went out." "Ah, I didn't want to bother them, so I slipped out quietly. You were worried about me. I'm sorry." "Sigh... No. It can't be helped." She sighed, sounding disappointed but relieved at the same time. Pressing a hand to her forehead, she went inside ahead of me. As in other noble households, mornings at the baron's mansion began rather late.