Chapter 06
Tears threatened to spill over.
Recently, I had noticed my emotions becoming much more unstable.
Ever since I became the Saintess and started seeing things I was never supposed to see, it felt like my sense of fear had awakened.
“Haa…”
I buried my face in my knees.
Suddenly, I felt pathetic.
“What kind of situation is this?”
I thought becoming the Saintess would finally turn my life around.
Instead, here I was, playing hide-and-seek—or tag—with a ghost.
Holding my breath, I endured the strong stench coming from the trash bin behind me.
No matter how cute the rabbit doll looked or how harmless the paper knife seemed, I couldn’t let my guard down.
The street was completely silent.
I listened carefully for any sign of movement.
For a long while, all I heard were the chirping insects.
Then—
Scrape.
Scrape.
At the sound of something dragging its feet, I quickly covered my mouth.
‘It’s here…!’
Even the rustling of my clothes in the wind made me nervous.
A shadow slowly appeared under the moonlight.
Long white rabbit ears stuck up from its round head.
The doll had only been made today, so every joint was stuffed full of cotton.
Its waddling movements looked ridiculously clumsy.
It dragged a paper knife as large as its own body across the road, struggling with every step.
“Pfft…!”
I bit my lower lip to stop myself from laughing.
With those tiny legs, it looked exhausted just from getting this far.
For a moment, it reminded me of an overworked office worker dragging themselves home after a long day.
Just then, the doll sensed me.
It suddenly raised its head.
It looked around a few times before continuing to drag the paper knife with slow, tired steps.
‘It’s not scary at all?’
My plan had worked.
If it had been carrying a real knife or an axe, this would have been a completely different horror story.
Besides, it had apparently stepped into a puddle.
Half of the paper knife was soaked and falling apart.
‘I almost feel sorry for it.’
Maybe I had breathed a little too loudly.
One of its drooping ears suddenly perked up.
“…!”
“Found… you.”
Not “Urrghhh…”
It was actually speaking.
Maybe it hadn’t been able to talk before because it didn’t have a body.
Wait.
Then why did we have to play this ridiculous game of hide-and-seek instead of just talking?
I forced myself to stop thinking.
I’d already been found.
I needed to run.
But unlike before…
The doll suddenly rushed toward me at incredible speed.
Wait.
It was crawling?
Scratch, scratch—
It really was.
The doll flipped itself over so its stomach faced upward to keep the stuffing from spilling out and crawled upside down toward me.
It held the paper knife in its mouth.
Like a spider.
Fast.
Disturbingly fast.
“W-WAAAAAHHH!”
This time I couldn’t help screaming.
“What the heck is that?!”
“Staaay stiiill!”
“Like I’d ever stop for you!”
I ran as fast as I could while glancing back.
The doll would crawl for a while, stop to catch its breath, then crawl again.
Eventually, it collapsed where it stood.
‘Huh?’
Its tiny body rose and fell heavily, as if panting.
‘Is it… tired?’
Suddenly, I became curious.
‘Even if it stabs me, it probably won’t hurt.’
Wouldn’t it be better to finish this game quickly and finally end this horrible relationship?
I made up my mind and cautiously approached it.
Bathed in the moonlight, the rabbit doll looked pitiful.
For that brief moment, it didn’t look like a terrifying ghost anymore.
It just looked like a cute stuffed rabbit.
“Hey.”
“…”
“Are you okay?”
The doll had been waiting for that exact moment.
It instantly raised the paper knife and stabbed me.
Poke.
Poke…
Poke.
“Ahaha! That tickles!”
Laughing, I scratched my shin.
“…”
The doll fell silent.
It looked completely shocked by its crumpled paper knife.
Then, with an applause sound effect, the system window suddenly appeared.
[It’s Time to Switch Roles!]
Chase the fleeing ghost and slash it with the paper knife~
Pay it back for everything it did to you!
[Timer: 00:09:59]
“Ah.”
It’s running away.
With those tiny little legs.
I stood there and watched as the doll hurried away.
Its ridiculous, adorable appearance kept making me laugh.
‘Have I ever laughed this hard before?’
It suddenly struck me how strange I looked.
I had no friends.
Yet here I was laughing hysterically while chasing a haunted doll.
Smacking my lips, I stared blankly into space.
It had been cold earlier.
Now it was getting warm again.
‘So that really was ghostly cold.’
Rubbing my arms, I looked at the timer.
Three seconds remained.
I rolled my ankle.
The paper knife the doll had dropped while escaping was now in my hand.
“You should try being chased too.”
Time to make you pay for scaring me all night.
No matter how hard I searched…
I couldn’t find it.
“It couldn’t have gotten that far… huff… in such a short time!”
I really needed to start exercising.
Left with no choice, I slowly searched the area.
The gloomy street was covered in darkness.
“Woooo…”
A strange sound echoed somewhere nearby.
My heart nearly stopped.
Clutching my pounding chest, I carefully looked around.
Rustle—
Leaves brushed against each other above my head.
There weren’t many houses in the direction the doll had run.
Only…
‘An alley?’
Following the alley led me to a small forest.
The entrance looked exactly like the kind of place where something terrible would happen if you went inside.
“It could’ve hidden somewhere else.”
[A ghostly presence has been detected here!]
Thanks for confirming my worst fears.
Holding back tears, I cautiously stepped forward.
Crunch.
The dry leaves beneath my feet made loud noises.
‘Why are there so many fallen leaves?’
Enough to completely hide…
something.
‘…What was I just thinking?’
A chill ran down my spine.
I slowly turned my eyes.
The rabbit doll that had disappeared earlier was standing there, staring directly at me.
My trembling hand raised the paper knife toward it.
“I’m going to stab you.”
“…”
“I really will. I warned you.”
Instinctively, I knew.
I shouldn’t get any closer.
‘Legs… please stop.’
As if I were under a spell…
Crunch.
Crunch.
Instead of running away…
I walked toward the doll.
As though it had been leading me here from the very beginning.
“Hey.”
The doll never looked away from me for even a second.
With a trembling voice, I asked,
“What… is this?”
Between the piled-up leaves…
A dark blue human hand was sticking out.
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
There was a human hand beneath the leaves.
The place where the doll had hidden…
was where a human corpse had been buried.
“…”
I instinctively stepped back.
‘Why does something like this always happen to me?’
Just then—
Plop.
Something like a pearl fell onto the ground.
The doll was crying.
“…!”
Fine.
Let’s do this.
I clenched my teeth.
Fear surged through me against my will.
Breathing rapidly, I carefully brushed away the leaves with a tree branch.
Honestly…
Corpses were less frightening than ghosts.
But this was the first time I’d ever seen one this close.
I was nearly panicking.
‘I have to do this.’
As I slowly cleared away the leaves from the exposed hand…
An arm appeared.
Then the torn hem of a dress.
‘She hasn’t been dead for long.’
The body hadn’t fully decomposed yet.
I could still recognize her.
Urgh…
I fought back the urge to vomit.
Then—
“…Don’t cry.”
Large tears rolled down through the purple button eyes and soaked the doll’s fur.
What was she thinking…
Looking down at her own corpse?
“Please don’t cry.”
“I’ll make sure you’re laid to rest properly.”
Only then did I stop seeing a rabbit doll.
I saw the elegant woman from the carriage.
“I’ll figure something out…”
Her tangled hair dragged through the dirt like worn-out threads.
My vision blurred as I hurriedly cleared away more leaves.
“I’ll… somehow…”
I remembered the first time I saw her.
The noble lady who had quietly watched Liam sitting in the sunlight, his white armor glowing.
Her beautiful brown hair had once flowed neatly over her shoulders.
Now it was tangled in the dirt.
Blood vessels had burst across her face.
She was cold.
Stiff.
My fingers caught on the torn lace of her dress.
“So…”
My hand froze.
I wasn’t a doctor, but…
The marks around her neck could only mean one thing.
“…”
She had been murdered.
Strangled to death.
By who?
Was I supposed to help her get revenge?
How?
“…Who was it?”
Ignoring the hot tears running down my cheeks, I asked,
“Who killed you?”
