I Got Transmigrated into a Horror Game Instead - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 

 

Chewing on his food, he suddenly turned his head towards Rachel. She didn’t say anything, but he pointed at himself with a fork making a ‘When did I?’ expression.

 

“Father said he seemed to have been too indifferent to me, so he told me to go with him!”

 

Rachel declared, looking as innocent as possible.

 

‘This is the condition. Father!’

 

Rachel then waved her finger, the one that had been pricked and bled. He saw a red dot-like wound.

 

Henry, seeing the wound, had no choice but to listen to Rachel.

 

“I decided to do that. To be honest, I’ve been raising her too strictly since she’s the first-born.”

 

‘You weren’t just strict.’

 

Rachel dipped her fork in the salad. Unaware of her feelings, Evelyn was delighted.

 

“I see. This is Rachel’s first trip to the capital, so what should she prepare?”

 

She was excited about her daughter’s first trip to the capital. Rachel wondered if this was actually something to look forward to.

 

“When I first went to the capital, I found everything amazing.”

 

She chattered as she recalled her memories of her first trip to the capital. Henry smiled happily, as if he was sharing the memories of his wife.

 

After the meal, Rachel was caught by Henry. He took Rachel to his study, telling the others that he would be talking to his daughter for a moment, perhaps conscious of his wife’s gaze.

 

“What were you thinking?”

 

Rachel did not immediately answer Henry’s question. She crossed his desk and flopped onto Henry’s chair.

 

“Uncle is after me, but I have no power. So, I’m going to join hands with Abyss, uncle’s enemy. His merchant guild is in the capital, so I’ll meet him this time.”

 

“You’re still saying that!”

 

At his daughter’s words and actions, he pressed down on his temples with his middle fingers and spoke. Rachel said, tapping her index finger on the desk.

 

“Shall we make a bet? Sooner or later the Crown Prince will die.”

 

The whole country was in turmoil due to the death of the person appointed to be the next king. Rachel, who was imprisoned in the mansion, heard the news.

 

“That kind of thing!”

 

Henry said as if her words were nonsensical, but Rachel looked up at him with a confident expression.

 

“Father will soon have no choice but to admit what I said.”

 

“Are you really Rachel?”

 

He asked. Rachel didn’t even flinch. The amount of time she had lived as Rachel was not short enough for her to be flustered.

 

“Of course. Who else do you think I am?”

 

“You’re so different from before.”

 

Wasn’t he hostile to the Rachel he remembered? He didn’t come home very often, so Rachel wasn’t afraid if he doubted her.

 

“It must be my rebellious phase. To be honest, I found out that my father didn’t consider me his real daughter, wouldn’t it be more strange if I was fine?”

 

Rachel answered skillfully.

 

The real Rachel loved Henry enough that when she saw Henry being captured by a monster in front of her eyes, she went to rescue him. She could tell just by looking at her diary. How much she respected and loved Henry.

 

That was why she felt betrayed. She knew how Rachel felt even though she was not the real one.

 

“I’m really sorry about that.”

 

“Father, let’s act like how we used to. Even if father is kind to me now, I will never forget what happened today.”

 

He should apologize, not to her, but to the real Rachel,. She couldn’t forgive him, and she didn’t want to.

 

Rather, she felt relieved when the reason why he was cold to her was revealed.

 

“Aren’t you going up to the capital soon? Take me to your lodging in the capital and take care of your business. I will try to approach Abyss’ merchant guild.”

 

Rachel got up from the chair. She had said all she wanted to say.

 

“Then have a good night.”

 

Rachel left Henry’s study. Henry didn’t chase after her.

 

Rachel came out of the study and tried to go back to her own room. But there was someone in the hallway.

 

***

Factors in Unexpected Places

***

 

His short silver hair gleamed in the moonlight streaming in from the window in the hallway. The owner of the silver hair felt a presence and looked back. It was Enoch.

 

“Young miss.”

 

“Yes.”

 

He called Rachel the moment he ran into her, but he didn’t open his mouth for a long time as if he didn’t know what to say.

 

Rachel then approached the window, turned her back to the moonlight, and spoke to him.

 

“Why are you in the hallway? Did you lose your way?”

 

“I did not. I thought it was just an ordinary dispatch as usual, but the situation has changed…….”

 

Rachel was surprised at Enoch’s words. She already knew that his skill was considerable when he used his divine powers and when Priest Peace told him to stay here.

 

However, it was the first time she learned that he was strong enough to be dispatched.

 

“You look young but you’re already out on a mission? That’s great!”

 

“No. It’s not that great.”

 

The boy blushed as Rachel clapped her hands in praise. He was modest but he didn’t seem to hate compliments.

 

He hesitated, then cautiously asked Rachel.

 

“Have you ever held a sword, young miss?”

 

“No. Today was my first time hearing that mother used to wield a sword. How famous is mother?”

 

“Evelyn-nim is the youngest person ever to become a White Knight!”

 

The title White Knight was given to the highest ranking paladins of the temple. It was a title given only through swordsmanship, so it was separate from divine power.

 

“What age is usually the youngest?”

 

“Normally, one becomes a White Knight around the age 30, but Evelyn-nim was just 17! It feels like a dream to be able to spar with the Evelyn-nim.”

 

Enoch put his hands together in a prayer pose, covering his nose and mouth.

 

The boy, excited by the fact that he had personally met his object of admiration, looked no different from a boy of his age.

 

Rachel naturally laughed at the fact that the main helper in the original story was such a cute boy three years prior.

 

“I’ll be rooting for you! Please catch the black magician with mother.”

 

Rachel’s cheering made Enoch’s ears red. To Rachel, he seemed a little shy.

 

“I won’t hold her back, will I?”

 

“Of course not. It’s a task that Priest Peace entrusted to Enoch.”

 

“Thank you for saying that. Thanks to you, my anxiety has decreased.”

 

Rachel realized that he could be anxious too. ‘Enoch’ in the game was the one who always calmed Rachel down and never showed fear nor anxiety.

 

Rachel admitted that she had been overlapping Enoch with ‘Enoch’ in the game. She acknowledged that he could get nervous too.

 

‘If the game I played was real, then it wasn’t that he was never nervous, he was just holding it in for Rachel.’

 

“Are you worried?”

 

“Yes. I worry that Evelyn-nim will be disappointed because my skills are poor.”

 

Enoch showed little emotion, but he was human like her. Rachel realized it and walked over to him and patted him on the back.

 

“It doesn’t matter if she is disappointed, if you know your shortcomings, you can grow as much as you can, right? You can then show her how much you’ve improved later.”

 

Rachel comforted him but became bitter. She was saying this now, but even if he tries hard, it will not happen if she returns.

 

She wondered how long it would take for her to see the results of Enoch’s efforts.

 

It may be three years in other people’s time, but it would be at least three years for her, and may be several decades at most.

 

‘So, I must make sure that I don’t die and return.’

 

She now knew that the opponent was close. Therefore, as long as she defeated the enemy within those 3 years, this d*mned curse and regression will end.

 

Rachel believed so.

 

“And thank you for today.”

 

“I just did what I had to do.”

 

“Even if it was something you had to do, I am sincerely grateful. Enoch, would you like to be friends with me?”

 

Rachel hoped that this wouldn’t be a thing of the past. Hence, she offered to be friends with him.

 

Rachel didn’t have any friends. It may have been due to her status as she couldn’t be truly called a noble, but she wasn’t entirely a commoner either.

 

Rachel had no one to call a friend because she repeatedly returned. This right now is her first friendship proposal.

 

‘I know friendly relationships shouldn’t really start with the word “friend”, but…….’

 

If she didn’t say this now it seemed like Enoch would only consider her as Evelyn’s daughter.

 

Rachel was unfamiliar with this situation of proposing to be friends, so she turned her head and waited for his answer. However, the desired answer did not come immediately.

 

“Is it weird to ask to be friends because I’m younger?”

 

Rachel asked while still having her head turned away at the unanswered question.

 

She was so ashamed that she could not look at Enoch’s face.

 

‘Should I not have said that?’

 

“No, it’s not like that…….”

 

Enoch’s bewildered words continued.

 

“Rachel is my first friend.”

 

Rachel turned her head back. Enoch’s face was as red as a ripe tomato. He, too, was speaking with his head turned to the other side.

 

“Because my situation is unique, I didn’t have any friends my age, and everyone around me were adults…….”

 

His hands flailed about in the air. He was rambling without any sense.

 

Rachel realized that he was as flustered as herself, and grabbed his moving hands.

 

Enoch flinched as Rachel caught his helpless hands. He slowly turned his head to face Rachel.

 

“Enoch is also my first friend.”

 

Rachel’s words made his face blush even more. Rachel smiled brightly at the naive reaction and said,

 

“We are each other’s first friends.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Regardless of who was first, the two burst into laughter at the same time. There was nothing funny in particular but laughter suddenly erupted.

 

“Let’s get along. Enoch. You are forbidden to call me young miss.”

 

“Alright. Rachel. Please take care of me.”

 

The boy’s smile under the moonlight was so beautiful. Rachel gazed at his smile and gently put his hands down.

 

“Shall we go back to our rooms now? If there are any inconveniences while staying here in the future, please feel free to tell me. As a friend, I will do anything to help.”

 

“If Rachel is having a difficult time, tell me. I will help as much as I can.”

 

Although it was a brief conversation, Rachel felt that she had grown closer to Enoch. The two walked down the hallway and reached Rachel’s room.

 

“Then sleep well. Enoch.”

 

“May Rachel have a peaceful night too.”

 

The door closed. Rachel jumped onto her bed.

 

“Wow, he’s so handsome I thought he was the moon fairy.”

 

When she saw him frown in the daytime, she thought he was a great beauty, but when she saw him smile, the impact was much more significant.

 

Rachel couldn’t control her pounding heart.

 

“My heart races when I see a good-looking person. It’s bad for my heart.”

 

Rachel didn’t think she was in love with him. She thought her heart just fluttered when she saw someone cute and handsome.

 

***

“What?”

 

The next day, while eating lunch, Rachel dropped her fork as a blue message window suddenly appeared.

 

Evelyn scolded her that she had done something rude, but she couldn’t hear her nagging because Rachel was concentrating on the contents of the message.

 

[Risk rate: 72%]

[As of the present time, all possible risk factors in the mansion have been resolved. The checkpoint has been updated.]

 

The risk rate suddenly dropped by 2%, and the same message as it was now appeared.

 

‘This can be updated?’

 

It was the 14th round, but it was the first time she found out that updating the checkpoint was possible. If Rachel had known this, she would have cared about the risk rate.

 

‘What the hell have I been doing all this time!’

 

Everyone was taken aback by the sight of Rachel tapping on the table and the sudden contortion of her face.

 

“Did you see anything by chance?”

 

“Is it serious?”

 

Those who knew that Rachel saw an ominous future looked at her with concern.

 

Rachel saw the future through her dreams, but as her abilities were at the early stages of manifestation, the phenomena or form may have yet to be fully revealed, therefore, it  could be different compared to how it began.

 

Rachel soon lifted her head. Her expression had cleared up.

 

“Mother, did you give any special instructions to the employees today?”

 

“I told them to catch the rats. Why, is there a problem?”

 

“No. You did a great job.”

 

It was the rats. The rats accounted for 2% of the risk.

 

“Then what about just now? Did you see something?”

 

She did see. A notice that the checkpoint has been updated. Rachel couldn’t explain this at all so she said something else.

 

“It’s going to rain a lot this year so there will be a bad harvest. Keep enough grains in stock and tell the villagers to build strong dikes.”

 

In the summer of the first year when Jung Yu-ri became Rachel, it rained heavily. The mansion, where Rachel lived, was on high ground, so there was no major damage.

 

However, many suffered from the famine, but Paris Emporus, as if foreshadowing the flood, bought a lot of grain in advance and made a huge profit. With those funds, he supported the 3rd Prince, Damian, and was awarded the title of Count when he became king.

 

‘I can’t let that happen.’

 

As Rachel clenched her fists and made her resolve, Priest Peace opened her mouth.

 

“It’s so kind of Miss Rachel to sympathize with the pain and suffering of others.”

 

Priest Peace misunderstood something.

 

“The Temple will also prepare for it.”

 

There was nothing wrong with the temple preparing. Rachel nodded her head. Then her eyes met Enoch’s, and he gave her a pure smile.

 

‘It’s good for the eyes but bad for the heart.’

 

Rachel thought to herself as she looked at Enoch’s face. She wouldn’t be able to see his face for a while. Henry is going up to the capital today, and Rachel will go with him.

 

“Please. Priest.”

 

After the meal, Rachel got to the carriage. As Rachel was about to board the carriage, she made eye contact with Henry.

 

He got on first and held out his hand to Rachel, who grabbed his hand and climbed inside.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Ahem. yes.”

 

The atmosphere was awkward. Even Rachel had no idea that she and Henry would be alone in such a small wagon.

 

‘Let’s think about something, think about something else. There are so many things I have to worry about now.’

 

Rachel was consciously trying to think of other things. Then her thoughts drifted to the message she saw at lunch.

 

‘Come to think of it…….’

 

She was so busy while eating that she inadvertently passed over the message. However, checking the contents again, there was a part that cannot be overlooked.

 

‘At present time and within the mansion.’

 

In other words, 72% of risk factors remain or will occur in the future, and they were not limited to the mansion.

 

Also checkpoints can be updated.

 

‘Should I get rid of Baron Emporus to lower the risk and update the checkpoints?’

 

That was the only thing that came to her mind right now.

 

‘I want to know why he’s after me.’

 

And the opportunity came right away.

 

The carriage, which had been running for a long time, stopped. It was night time so she thought that they had stopped at an inn in another village, but somehow she saw a familiar face.

 

‘Huh?’

 

Rachel was perplexed by the face she saw approaching.

 

“Welcome! I think it’s your first time coming here with Rachel?”

 

Paris Emporus welcomed Rachel and Henry.