Chapter 3
3
In the original story, Simone is rescued by the protagonist Abel and his companions, after which she joins them on their journey.
"About your hair. You don't have to hide it."
"But..."
"Yeah, Abel's right. We'll protect you if anything happens."
The group instilled confidence in Simone and taught her how to use her powers.
Responding to their support, Simone gradually began to reveal her hair and openly identify herself as a Necromancer.
But that was the problem.
The night the group arrived in the second town of the Luan Empire, Simone disappeared without a trace.
The group began an investigation to find Simone and soon heard about the cursed Archduke Illestone family outside the walls of the Luan Empire.
It was a short episode, about the fifth or sixth chapter in the story, designed to show how immense Simone's potential abilities were, but it was incredibly impactful.
As an episode centered around Simone, it was filled with occult elements and eerie descriptions, which divided readers.
In short, Archduke Illestone kidnapped Simone to break the curse on his family.
But Simone couldn't break their curse.
"I, I can't break the curse..."
"How dare you lie! If not a Necromancer, then who can break this curse!"
"N-Necromancers! Are only granted the right to bind souls by making a contract with the God of Death... I, I don't have the power to help the Archduke... I'm sorry..."
Archduke Illestone despaired at Simone's words, and then the protagonist and his party burst in, rescued Simone, and the episode ended.
She only appeared in the latter half of the first volume and the beginning of the second volume of the fifteen-volume series, so she wasn't particularly memorable, but for now, this Archduke Illestone was the only person who could save Seo Hyun-jeong.
'There's no other way.'
He needed Simone enough to commit kidnapping, and even though he despaired at Simone's words, he never drew the sword at his hip.
Seo Hyun-jeong decided to pin her hopes on his human side for now.
'If even Archduke Illestone deviates from expectations, I might as well just find an easier way to die.'
"Haa, oop!"
Late at night, after confirming that the moon had passed its peak, Simone slung the packed luggage over her shoulder. Simone's expression as she attempted to escape the orphanage was quite determined.
'Anyway, he's the one who wanted me, right?'
Even if he turned out to be a cruel person, unlike the description, if he needed Simone, he would keep her alive until her value decreased.
Yes, let's believe that.
In any case, she was now going to Archduke Illestone to make a deal.
Die.
Die together.
Jump off the roof.
As she left the orphanage, the Nine Feet Ghost, giggling and whispering about death, followed her.
Chapter 1. Red Tree
One morning, something happened in a noble family.
A young servant who brought washing water to Archduke Illestone's wife's room every morning suddenly disappeared.
The next day, a servant who went to the market, then a coachman who came to pick up the Archduke, a butler, and a secretary who was supposed to come from the castle all disappeared, leaving their clothes behind.
Archduke Illestone couldn't take it lightly.
It was strange that people who had set foot in the mansion were disappearing one by one.
But no matter how much he investigated the cause, nothing came up, and time just passed.
"Again today..."
"Yes, sir. Today, the young master's tutor disappeared, leaving his clothes behind."
"What on earth..."
The Archduke closed his tired eyes and rubbed his face.
Even in the midst of all this, people continued to disappear.
Then one day.
Archduke Illestone discovered that a small tree that had sprouted at the entrance of the mansion had grown taller than him and was reaching towards the mansion.
"Lennon, what's the name of that tree?"
"I'm sorry, sir. I don't know the tree. Shall I ask the gardener for its name?"
Archduke Illestone shook his head.
"Never mind. You don't know the name of the tree. Amazing."
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry I couldn't be of help."
"I was just wondering what kind of tree grows so quickly. Anyway, it's not aesthetically pleasing. Get rid of it."
"Yes, sir. I will take care of it immediately."
And the next day, the head butler Lennon and the gardener disappeared.
People kept disappearing.
Moreover, the Archduke, who couldn't hide his grief at the loss of his elderly butler, whom he had been with for a long time, looked out the window.
Then, his gaze fell on the tree that had grown even larger than yesterday.
'Dark red.'
Was that tree dark red?
'I'm sure it was light brown when I first saw it.'
Now it was like the color of human blood...
Was his memory wrong?
The Archduke unknowingly left the mansion and approached the tree.
Then, he heard a sound of something hard being chewed inside the tree.
"...Is anyone there?"
He heard the sound of a beast savagely chewing, crushing, and tearing meat.
All the sounds came from the tree.
The Archduke reached out as if possessed, and then thick branches writhed and rushed at his hand as if to devour it, then disappeared and hid.
"W-what is this!"
Thud.
Something popped out from between the hard, dark red branches and fell to the ground.
"..."
It was a human leg bone, with blood and flesh still attached.
Only then did Archduke Illestone realize that something was wrong.
"No, this can't be..."
This can't be happening.
A tree eating people.
He stepped back and took in the entire tree in his view. And he froze.
The tree he looked up at had stretched out both branches like long arms without the Archduke noticing, and was slowly bending its waist as if to swallow him.
The sight was like a human figure, a bloody giant.
After that, the main gate of the Illestone Mansion was sealed.
No matter what they did, people only disappeared, and they couldn't get rid of the tree.
It was a story that had started 300 years ago.
"I finally found it."
Simone let out a sigh of relief as she looked at the gloomy entrance of the huge mansion.
It had been quite a struggle to find it based on descriptions from the novel that she barely remembered, but as she got closer, she could easily tell which one was the Illestone Mansion.
In a town where colorful lights were lit up at night, the largest mansion was shrouded in deep darkness.
"Amazing."
Simone unknowingly let out a hollow laugh.
The Red Tree blocking the entrance to the Illestone Mansion.
In the original story, the protagonist Abel called it the 'fishy tree' because it smelled like blood.
The first root cause that gradually isolated the Illestone family in the corner of the outer castle.
The heads of the Illestone family had tried every possible way to get rid of the tree for generations, but they had failed.
'Even the protagonist couldn't do anything about it at first.'
At most, he could only cut off the branches that wrapped around him and his companions.
Even that was regenerated, resulting in zero damage.
"Hoo."
And Simone is now standing alone in front of that cursed 300-year-old tree.
But she wasn't scared at all.
After coming to this world, she had become strangely insensitive to the bizarre, and above all, Simone's power as a Necromancer was much stronger than such monsters.
Simone slowly released Death Mana. Simone's power was so strong that even Seo Hyun-jeong, who hadn't learned anything separately, could use it naturally.
The Power of Death that the protagonist Abel expected from Simone.
This power would subdue that bizarre plant and safely take Simone into the mansion.
Simone watched the tree's movements as it felt the threat and wriggled back for a long time. Then she opened her mouth indifferently.
"Hey, if you don't want to die, stay away for a while."
At Simone's words, the woman with Nine Feet arms let go of Simone from her arms and slowly retreated and disappeared.
The Nine Feet Ghost only listened when she was in danger.
"Hoo."
Simone sighed and took off her shoes and held them in both hands.
A tree that eats people, a tree that no one has been able to find a way to deal with for 300 years.
But this is actually a possessor of surprisingly insignificant stats. No, it's insignificant, but it's a smart guy.
'Actually, this isn't a tree...'
Simone smiled softly.
At that moment, her energy began to intensify. From Simone's fingertips, her skin gradually darkened, and a cold wind mixed with the aura of death blew.
'Open the way.'
She can't get rid of this man-eating tree right now.
According to the original story, the time to get rid of it is fixed.
'It would have been a more dramatic appearance if I could have gotten rid of it now.'
Since there's no other way, she has no choice but to be satisfied with safely passing through the entrance, just like Abel did.
Simone moved forward without hesitation.
Then, the branches that had been wriggling and slowly retreating sharpened their ends aggressively, withered, and repeated the process of retreating.
'Easy. Too easy.'
She wondered if the protagonist Abel really had such a hard time with this.
'My power is amazing.'
Simone was newly impressed by her own overpoweredness and entered the section where the branches were completely overgrown.
The smell of blood pierced her nose.
But it was just a smell, not scary.
"This is nothing compared to that Nine Feet Ghost over there?"
That Nine Feet Ghost over there is at least persistent. This is just a coward.
She casually swung the shoes in her hands, thwack, at the branches and stems that came even a little closer, and moved forward.
How long had she been walking like that?
Soon, she heard the voices of frightened people. At the same time, she felt the clear evening air, and then she saw the faint light of a lantern.
Simone emerged from the monster tree and appeared inside the mansion.
"G-Good heavens! How did a person get in here..."
"I-It's a child! Master!"
Words full of shock poured out towards Simone. Expressions of disbelief.
Simone had risked her life and broken through the monster tree head-on to get this reaction.
Simone spoke to them, pretending to be as mysterious a girl as possible.
Although her appearance was a mess.
"I will break the Mansion's Curse."
Wouldn't it be better to be the savior of the Illestone Mansion and live in luxury here than to die sacrificing herself or starve to death?
She was the first guest to enter through the main gate in 300 years.
