Chapter 52 - Our Horror House <2>
III
"So this is it…"
"Yes."
Guided by Kenny, who had insisted on accompanying them despite their refusal, the three arrived at the house in question.
There was a reason they had arrived at this house at the delicate hour of approaching dusk.
One reason was that they had prepared after having lunch, and the other was to verify the existence of the ghost. If the rumors were true, the ghost in this house cried at night.
Franz's opinion that there was no need to go out of their way to see a ghost was swiftly rejected. Since their primary goal was to exorcise it, it couldn't be helped.
He understood, but he still disliked what he disliked.
And so, they had arrived here with a great deal of luggage, as if they were setting out on a journey.
Dressed in warm clothes, carrying blankets to wrap themselves in, and even bringing Sara-chan along… of course, they also had a basket for dinner. They planned to leave here tomorrow morning.
The entrance gate was made of what looked like heavy bronze. The gate, chipped and blackened in places, was adorned with a beautiful plant motif and formed a gentle, arched curve, symmetrical on both sides.
Had it not been neglected like this, it would surely have been beautiful.
It was much taller than Ritz, and looking up at it felt intimidating. A red, rusted chain was wrapped around the gate multiple times, as if to refuse all intruders.
This state of rust indicated that the house had spent a very long time in solitude after losing its master and being abandoned.
"…"
Franz, carrying his own blanket, secretly gasped. The dilapidated state of the gate exuded an unfathomable eeriness.
While the surrounding houses were all beautiful, this one corner alone was desolate, like a different world. It felt as though opening this gate was the same as opening the gates of hell.
They were about to break this ominous seal. And without any hesitation. A shiver of fear crept up his spine.
He glanced at Ritz and Anna. Ritz, carrying blankets for two and something like a tool bag, was calmly assessing the situation.
Anna, holding Sara-chan and the dinner basket, was staring intently at the garden. It seemed she was trying to determine if it was suitable for farming.
Following her lead, Franz also looked at the garden.
The garden visible from there was overgrown with weeds, creating a rather desolate atmosphere. The house visible beyond it, perhaps because he had heard the rumors of a ghost, felt gloomy despite its luxurious exterior.
"Turning the garden into a field is going to be really tough."
Anna's muttered words were far from what Franz was thinking. Since she was calmly assessing its practical use, perhaps Anna was the more realistic one in this situation.
Right now, he was just scared and had lost his composure.
"Well, shall we have a look inside?"
"Yeah!"
"…Yeah."
Ignoring the two with their contrasting replies, Ritz began to remove the chain with Kenny. The tight binding and rust made the task more difficult than expected. It might be a bit hard to remove it by hand.
"Hey, you got anything to cut this with?"
Ritz grimaced, rubbing his hands, which had turned red from the rust. Kenny, whose hands were also stained red, shook his head apologetically.
"I didn't expect it to be this rusted."
"…I see."
He decided to sit with Anna and watch the two continue to wrestle with the chain. If he tried to help, he would probably just get in the way.
As he sat there silently, trying not to be noticed, Anna silently stared at the garden. A former farmer must have a discerning eye for determining whether or to not a garden is suitable for cultivation.
In silence, he deliberately averted his eyes from the mansion he didn't want to see and looked at the main street in front of the house. It was a peaceful, ordinary evening scene in the city.
People were coming and going, chatting with each other, perhaps on their way home from the royal castle. Watching them, the word 'ghost' that had been thrust before him felt so divorced from reality that it seemed incredibly unreal.
As he sighed, Anna looked up with a start and glanced around restlessly.
"…? Ritz, did you hear something?"
"Nothing."
Ritz replied, stillガチャガチャ and pulling on the chain.
"What about you, Franz?"
When asked, he shook his head. For a moment, Franz had a paranoid thought that she might be trying to scare him, but that didn't seem to be the case.
With a puzzled look, Anna tilted her head and murmured.
"Right?"
Another period of silence. As he watched Anna's expression, feeling a little creeped out, Anna looked up as if startled.
"…I hear it… Franz, you can hear a voice, right?"
"…Eh?"
His voice cracked.
"It sounds like a woman's voice?"
Being asked so seriously, he remembered. There was a voice that Franz and Anna could hear, but Ritz couldn't. The voice of a spirit.
But Franz couldn't hear anything.
Thinking about the haunted mansion behind him and the overgrown, weed-choked grounds, goosebumps rose on his skin. But he tried his best to sound calm as he spoke.
"…What do you hear?"
"You can't hear it, Franz?"
A voice that only Anna could hear… Was such a thing possible? He furrowed his brow and looked at Anna, who was earnestly asking Sara-chan in her hands.
"Can you hear it, Sara-chan?"
"Kii, hear, kii!"
It was completely unclear whether she could hear it or not.
"…Is it just me…?"
As Anna murmured this, a change occurred behind him. The chain, which had refused to budge no matter what they did, suddenly loosened and, as if it wished to be removed itself, slipped to the ground with a heavy, cold sound.
Red rust scattered as it hit the ground.
"What the? It came off all of a sudden."
As he listened to Ritz's anticlimactic voice, Franz looked toward the house. Then he looked at Anna.
"I wonder if we're being invited…"
Anna muttered. The one line, though whispered, was so terrifying that his hair stood on end.
Anna's voice from earlier echoed in his mind. 'It sounds like a woman's voice.'
He wanted to scream, Please, stop, but his pride would never let him say it.
An image of a woman beckoning from beyond the fallen chain flashed in his mind, and he shuddered.
"Alright, Kenny, we'll take it from here. Lend me the key."
Without noticing Franz's premonition, Ritz wiped his dirty hands lightly with a cloth and held out his hand.
"Understood. Please be careful."
Kenny handed him a key ring with many old-fashioned keys on it and explained them.
There were three obviously large ones. These were the keys to the gate and the front door of the house; the third was unknown. The remaining small keys were apparently for the rooms.
Listening to the practical explanation was calming.
"I must return for some business. If anything should happen, please go to the Inspectorate office at the royal palace gate."
"Yeah, got it."
"Well then, please be very careful…"
He had to swallow the urge to say, 'Please don't leave me,' to Kenny's retreating back. Franz's pride simply wouldn't allow it.
"What exactly are we supposed to be careful of?"
To Ritz, who muttered with a bitter smile, Franz managed to nod back as usual. He hadn't shown any signs of fear, so he should look normal.
"First of all, a mansion where a ghost lives sounds pretty fishy, doesn't it?"
Ritz said cheerfully. He was all for that opinion. But the next words plunged him into a gloomy mood.
"But if one really does show up, even I'd be at a disadvantage against a ghost. It's impossible to be careful, you know."
"…Y-You're right."
His reply stuttered.
"Is something wrong?"
"N-No, nothing…"
He averted his gaze to cover it up. The only ones who could defeat ghosts were priests who could use light spirit magic. He had used light spirit magic once, but that was only because of the item his master had given him. Right now, there was nothing Franz could do.
"Well, we'll figure something out."
With a carefree attitude, Ritz looked back.
"Alright, let's go in."
It was then that Ritz made a suspicious face.
"What's wrong?"
The one Ritz addressed was Anna. Franz looked at Anna too.
Anna, who was always energetic and the first to stick her nose into things, gave a slightly troubled smile, unlike her usual self.
"It's nothing."
It seemed she wasn't going to tell Ritz about the voice that no one else could hear.
Since Ritz's eyes turned to him as if asking about Anna's condition, Franz gave a small shrug. If Anna was keeping quiet, there was no need for him to say anything.
Besides, if he were to recall his earlier exchange with Anna again, he would lose his will to enter. His pride prevented him from saying, 'This is creepy, let's stop,' even if it killed him.
He would rather die than be thought of as a coward.
"? If you say so."
Ritz still looked worried, or rather, puzzled, but he shrugged and began to check the key ring. He selected one made of the same bronze as the door.
Peeking at Ritz's hands, he saw that the same relief carved on the door was also carved on this key.
"Alright, is this the gate?"
When he inserted it into the large double doors, they began to move inward with less resistance than expected.
At the loud, creaking sound of giiii, Franz flinched for a moment, wondering if the gates to the land of darkness had just opened.
But he quickly shook his head to dispel the cowardly thought.
Anna slipped past Ritz into the property and started walking ahead. She was silent, whereas she would usually say something like, 'First one in!' which felt strange.
"It's more run-down than it looked from the outside."
Anna said as soon as she stepped into the garden. Overgrown vines were tangled in the untended bushes, stretching from tree to tree like ropes.
It was as if several thin, long snakes were writhing and intertwining.
"Yeah, it's a real mess."
With a grimace, Ritz pulled out a tangled vine with all his might. The surrounding trees were pulled along, scattering a great number of dead leaves.
It was like a garden of death.
There was no sign of life. While it was to be expected given the season, it felt as though there was something more sinister in this garden.
Franz furrowed his brow and averted his eyes so as not to see it. But the sight that met his averted gaze was a similarly gloomy scene. It would probably be the same no matter where he looked.
"…Can we really live here?"
To Franz, who muttered to himself with a distorted expression, Ritz replied with a serious face.
"If we can't, we'll just be sent back to that life in the palace."
"…I know that."
Franz didn't want that either.
"Let's do our best to inspect the house. We might be living here, after all."
Anna turned back to the two of them with a smile. It felt as if that smile was somewhat forced.
"I'm done with the garden, so I want to see inside the house. Is that okay, Ritz?"
Franz was surprised by Anna's words, as she had been so fixated on the garden just a moment ago. Ritz seemed to feel the same, nodding with a hint of confusion.
"You're right. We can't start without seeing the inside."
Anna was a girl, too. It was only natural that she would be more interested in the inside of the house she might be living in than the garden.
He decided to think of it that way.
"Well then, shall we go in?"
Ritz took the lead in Anna's place and pushed his way through the overgrown garden.
The withered weeds were as tall as Anna, and it would have been impossible for anyone but Ritz to proceed smoothly.
Anna walked behind him, and Franz, feeling a little nervous, brought up the rear. During that time, Anna, who was usually a one-woman show of liveliness, barely opened her mouth.
It was a strange feeling.
Even while walking at the very back, Franz was beginning to feel a vague sense of unease about Anna. Ever since she said she could 'hear a voice,' Anna's behavior had been somewhat strange.
But he couldn't say specifically what was strange. It was just a feeling, so he didn't know what to say to Ritz.
"…What's so strange about it…"
He muttered to himself, but saying it out loud didn't dispel the feeling of unease.
At last, the three arrived at the entrance of the mansion, which was wider than it had appeared from a distance.
The magnificent pillars, though cracked, were plastered white at regular intervals, and the fired bricks that spread out like a pattern on the floor were laid in a concentric, flower-like design.
But here, too, the passage of time had left its mark. It might have been beautiful once, but now it was overgrown with weeds and dirty.
The large double doors, made from a single slab of wood, exuded an air of expense and overwhelmed the viewer. The relief on the door was the same as the bronze gate at the entrance.
Standing at the entrance, the three noticed a chain lying in front of the door. A red, rusted chain… the same as the one on the bronze gate.
When on earth had it come off?
"Good thing it was already off. It would've been a pain to take it off if it was still on."
Ritz laughed jokingly and picked up the fallen chain.
"You're right."
Franz casually agreed, but he found himself fixated on Ritz, who was now lost in thought.
"What's wrong, Ritz?"
"This is strange."
"Eh?"
When he asked again, Ritz crouched down and touched the brick on the floor where the chain had been.
"What's so strange about it?"
Following his lead, Franz crouched down and touched the brick. The gritty sensation of sand met his hand. There was nothing particularly strange about that.
"Ritz?"
"If the chain had been off for a while, wouldn't there be a red stain from the rust?"
"Ah, you're right."
Franz nodded and looked at the brick again. It was then that he finally realized what Ritz was getting at.
He glanced at the palm of his hand that had just touched the brick; it was only slightly stained with sand and yellowish-brown. The brick where the chain had been was clean.
If the chain had been off for a long time, it was natural that the recent weather, with its snow and rain, would have washed away the rust, leaving a red stain on the brick.
And yet, there was no stain. There was also no scattered red rust like there had been when they removed the chain from the entrance gate earlier.
"The only possible explanation is…"
Ritz muttered. He knew, but he didn't want to hear it. Franz shook his head slightly while still crouching. He couldn't cover his ears, as that would reveal his fear.
Oblivious to Franz's inner conflict, Ritz continued calmly.
"…Someone took it off and placed it gently on the floor?"
"Stop it!"
He was at his limit. With goosebumps covering his entire body, Franz couldn't help but cry out.
"Who would enter a heavily sealed house and how would they remove the chain?"
When he unintentionally shouted, Ritz also shouted back in a low voice.
"That's why I said it's strange."
It seemed Ritz also found it creepy.
"Who would take something like this off!"
"How should I know!"
Ignoring the two who were inadvertently whispering-shouting at each other, Anna absentmindedly touched the door.
"It was easier to get in, so I think it's fine."
"…"
Now that she mentioned it, that was true, but not knowing who did it or how was incredibly creepy.
"Anna, aren't you scared?"
Ashamed of having made a fuss out of fear, Franz spoke to Anna, who was gently touching the door. But it seemed Anna was no longer concerned with the two of them.
Or rather, it seemed as if the only thing that mattered was inside this door.
"Yeah. I'm not scared, but it feels strange."
"Strange?"
"Yeah."
Anna's expression as she continued to absentmindedly touch the door was somehow strange. It was concerning that her eyes were vacant, as if she were intoxicated by something.
"Anna, do you feel sick?"
Anna smiled at Ritz, who had leaned in to look at her face with concern. Even Ritz seemed to have noticed the faint, forced smile. Something was definitely wrong.
"You're not feeling well, are you?"
"…Is it called not feeling well… I don't know."
At her uncharacteristically weak voice, he fell silent, not knowing what to do. Ritz naturally placed a hand on Anna's forehead. He seemed to be checking for a fever. If she was unwell, staying in a place like this would only make it worse.
"Anna, should we go back to the palace?"
Anna shook her head at Ritz's worried suggestion.
"I'm fine. I'll probably be okay once we go inside."
But they were staying here tonight. They couldn't say for sure that she would be alright.
"It's cold here. It might be better to come back tomorrow…"
Franz also tried to persuade her, but Anna shook her head firmly.
"I'm fine."
Anna's resolve seemed firm. Once she made up her mind, she would definitely see it through. That was Anna's personality, so it couldn't be helped. When he looked back at Ritz, Ritz scratched his head and said to Anna.
"Let's go inside for now and take a short break. Is that okay, Anna?"
If she still wasn't well after resting, he would forcibly make them leave for the day. That was written all over Ritz's face. But Anna didn't notice the expression that was so obvious even to Franz.
"Yeah. It's warmer inside, after all."
Once that was decided, their top priority was to get inside. Even for Franz, being in a creepy mansion was no reason to hesitate.
Though he was concerned about her saying she heard a woman's voice, his companion's poor health was the top priority. Ritz took out the key made of the same material as the front door from the key ring he had earlier.
"Alright, this is the one."
When Ritz inserted the key into the keyhole without any hesitation, the door opened smoothly without any resistance. This time, it didn't even make a sound.
"It's like we're being welcomed, isn't it?"
"Stop it!"
Franz protested with all his might against Ritz, who was saying creepy things even at a time like this, but as usual, he was brushed off with a grin.
When the three of them were inside, the door slowly closed by itself. It was as if an unseen hand had quietly closed the door.
"…Haha, I wonder if there's a doorman?"
The next joke Ritz made was, under the circumstances, rather lame. Hiding his fear, Franz decided to reply sarcastically.
"An invisible doorman, I suppose."
Peering into the dimly lit mansion, he could see that it was an entrance hall in the shape of a corridor.
The three of them proceeded down the corridor for the time being and opened the door immediately to their left. It was dark, likely because the old-fashioned curtains were blocking the light from outside.
"It'll be bright if we open the curtains."
Ritz entered the room a step ahead and reached for the curtains. It was a large, bay window, so opening the curtains was a bit of a struggle, but he pulled them open all at once with force. Dust scattered and the curtain rings made an unpleasant sound.
"What a terrible amount of dust…"
Muttering to himself, Ritz also opened the window and started beating around with the blanket he was holding. He was probably trying to get rid of as much dust as possible.
The room still had a somewhat gloomy feel, but with the outside light coming in, it was much better. It seemed like it would finally become a space where they could rest.
"This looks like a drawing-room."
Urging on the slowly advancing Anna, Franz muttered as he looked around the room. Now that it was brighter, he could finally see what was inside.
"Looks like it. Let's tidy it up a bit and use it."
"Got it."
Most of the furniture in the room was covered with cloth, but the magnificent mantelpiece by the wall was exposed, covered in dust.
The cloth-covered object in the center of the room was probably a drawing-room set.
Ritz and Franz first removed the cloth from what looked like the drawing-room set in the center. As expected, what emerged was a set of low, cloth-upholstered wooden chairs and a table.
"Anna, just sit here for now."
"Yeah."
With a vacant expression, Anna sat down in a chair.
"Are you cold?"
Ritz asked gently, and Anna gave a small nod.
"I'm fine."
After most of the dust had settled, Ritz closed the window. There was no point in entering the mansion if the room got too cold.
"Well then, Franz, shall we go?"
"Eh?"
At Ritz's abrupt words, Franz asked back quizzically.
"Go where?"
Ritz replied to the stupid question with a look of exasperation.
"I mean, let's have a look around the mansion ourselves. There's no point in the two of us just sitting here with Anna, right?"
That was true. But Franz was hesitant to leave Anna alone in this room.
"It's not that huge of a mansion. We can come right away if something happens."
"…You think so?"
It was Anna herself who pushed the still-hesitant Franz.
"I'll be fine. I'll shout if anything happens, so go on."
"But…"
"I have Sara-chan with me, too. I'm not alone."
"Sara, kii!"
Whether it knew or not, Sara in the lamp also replied. Being told that by the person herself, he had no choice but to go.
Franz sighed lightly and shrugged. It was indeed a waste of time to just sit here blankly watching Anna. Ritz laughed and patted Franz's shoulder.
"I want to get this fireplace working, too."
That was true. To light a fire in this long-unused fireplace, they would have to go up on the roof and remove the chimney cap. Without a fireplace, even one night would be tough in this season.
"…Alright."
Urging on Franz, who had finally decided to leave the room, Ritz waved to Anna.
"We'll be going then. Shout if anything happens."
"Okay. Be careful."
Seen off by Anna's uncharacteristically quiet voice, Ritz and Franz left the drawing-room. After closing the door, they exchanged a look.
"Anna's acting strange, isn't she?"
"She is."
From their recent exchange, he had gotten the impression that Anna wasn't so much feeling unwell as she was distracted by something else.
"Let's have a quick look around and come back to the drawing-room."
There was no objection to Ritz's reasonable proposal. Franz shook his head as if to shake off the persistent feeling of unease and the bad premonition that had been clinging to him.
IV
After seeing Ritz and the others off, Anna collapsed into her chair. She had been trying not to worry them, but the thread of her tension had snapped.
Ritz and Franz didn't know that Anna's smile was a forced one. Because they couldn't hear that woman's voice.
In Anna's ears, the woman's voice had returned.
A faint, yet firm and determined voice…
'Come now, here. I am here… Come.'
Hearing that voice, for some reason, Anna felt a sense of urgency. In her mind, the woman's voice was calling her, and that voice was controlling her… that's what it felt like.
For some reason, the more this voice controlled her, the less she felt like telling Ritz and the others about it.
She knew she had to tell them, to have them listen, but for some reason, her body wouldn't do as she wished.
In her mind, she was screaming, 'Ritz, something's strange! Franz, don't you notice?'
But none of it came out. It was a strange sensation, as if she were becoming someone else. Her tongue felt frozen, and only those words refused to come out of her mouth. Instead, other things came out.
Anna, while feeling a strange sensation about herself, was absentmindedly looking around the room.
She didn't know why, but something in her mind was telling her, 'Not here…'.
All the while, the unknown woman's voice continued, repeating, 'Come here.'
Her head was heavy and she was sleepy. To feel sleepy in a situation like this was strange compared to her usual self.
Although she was aware of this, she couldn't stay fully awake, and her consciousness was slowly drifting away.
"Ann-kii!"
Sara was desperately trying to say something to Anna, but she couldn't even listen to that. It felt as if something was slowly, stealthily crawling up from her feet, trying to drag her into a bottomless swamp.
"Sara-chan, I'm going to sleep for a bit. Will you wake me if something happens?"
Would she feel better if she slept for a little while? Anna closed her heavy eyelids.
It really was a little easier. She could just shout if something happened, so she decided to sleep for just a little while… Anna drifted in and out of the space between wakefulness and sleep.
It felt like she might really fall into a deep sleep… Just as she thought that, something inside Anna urged her to wake up. Something inside her was desperately pleading that something terrible would happen if she didn't.
The part of her that wanted to sleep and the part that wanted to wake up clashed and fought fiercely. Anna's instincts were surely warning her of some danger.
The struggle finally subsided, and Anna decided to wake up. But she was still sleepy.
"Ann-kii, Ann-kii!"
Sara, noticing that Anna was trying to wake up, was making a racket to help her awaken.
"Ann-kii!"
Thanks to that, she managed to shake off the drowsiness and open her eyes, only to see a woman standing there. A woman she had never seen before.
"Eh? Who are you?"
Peeling her heavy body from the chair, Anna finally sat up and turned to face the woman.
From her appearance, she seemed to be a maid, but it was strange for her to be in a place like this.
…Because this had been an empty house for a long time.
"Who are you?"
Anna asked again. The woman silently, smoothly approached Anna. Come to think of it, did she hear the door open when this woman entered the room?
'We finally meet, Anna.'
She recognized that voice. It was the same woman's voice she had been hearing since before she entered this house.
Something cold slithered up her back. But Anna couldn't help but ask.
"How do you know who I am?"
At that question, the woman gave a small laugh and replied.
'Because your companions were calling you that.'
"But this is the first time I've met you. Where were you listening from?"
'Inside this house, the garden, around this house… I can hear everything.'
The feeling of being manipulated by something that she had felt since entering this house had vanished, and Anna was completely back to being Anna. That was probably because the purpose of that voice was to meet her directly like this.
Now, that purpose was fulfilled.
In her fully awakened mind, she finally began to understand what the woman of this voice was.
"…Are you a ghost? The ghost of this house that cries at night?"
At Anna's words, which were uttered as if for confirmation, the woman smiled brightly.
'I am a ghost… I suppose.'
"What do you mean, 'I suppose'?"
'Because I can't leave this house… I want to leave, but I can't…'
Again, the woman silently approached Anna. At the same time, a creeping chill began to drift over her. A numbness gradually spread from the tips of her toes.
It wasn't the cold of a blizzard. It was a clinging cold, like being thrown into ice water. It tingled as it climbed up from her toes.
At this rate, she might die.
'Hey, won't you give me your body?'
"! You're kidding, right?"
'It's true. Give me your body.'
"Even if you say 'give me'…"
Overcome with a sense of crisis, Anna tried to stand up, but for some reason, she couldn't get to her feet.
If she couldn't move, she had no choice but to call for help. Just as Ritz and the others had reminded her when they left, she just needed to shout… Remembering this, Anna shouted.
"I'll never give you my body!"
No, she had intended to shout, but what actually came out of her mouth was a small, dry voice due to the cold.
…This was a major crisis. After thinking that as if it were someone else's problem, she truly turned pale.
"Ann-kii!"
Sara, noticing the abnormality, began to scream, but unfortunately, Sara was trapped in the lamp and was powerless. Sara thrashed about, but the sturdy glass lamp wouldn't break from that kind of impact.
"No, stay away!"
With her immobile body, Anna desperately leaned back. The chair creaked with a gii sound. If she could just get onto the floor, she might be able to crawl away, so she pressed her body against the backrest again.
But unfortunately, the chair didn't tip over.
But she didn't want to give up. She tried her best to resist, but the only part of her she could move was her neck. Anna stared intently into the woman's eyes. She felt that if she didn't, she would lose.
It was then that she noticed for the first time. The woman's eyes as she looked at Anna were somewhat lonely.
The moment she saw that, Anna's good-naturedness began to rear its head. There must be a reason for doing something like this. There were no truly bad people in this world, after all.
"Why me?"
At Anna's sudden change of tone, the woman answered with a slight hint of confusion.
'Because your name is… Anna.'
"Eh?"
Not understanding, Anna asked again. What did her name have to do with anything?
'I was so happy, Anna. That you came.'
"Why?"
The cold that enveloped her entire body hindered Anna's movements. Not just her feet. Her hands and body wouldn't move either. When she realized it, the woman was right in front of her.
A hand as cold as ice caressed Anna's cheek. It was just like ice.
'My name is Annie, Anna Hall.'
"? The same name?"
She couldn't recognize her own voice in her ears. It seemed her voice wasn't coming out anymore. At this rate, something terrible was going to happen, though she didn't know what.
Anna desperately struggled to move her body. The more she struggled, the colder and stiffer her body became. It was as if it wasn't her own. But this was no time to just sit and wait for something to be done to her.
This was terrible. Her body was really going to be taken over. At this point, she resented her own good nature, but it couldn't be helped. That was who she was.
'That's right, we're both Anna. That's why I was waiting for you.'
"Waiting…?"
As she forced out the words, her eyes momentarily caught sight of Sara's lamp. If she could knock that to the floor, she could alert Ritz and the others.
If she did that…
But Anna's hand couldn't reach the lamp. Her arm wouldn't lift anymore. In the end, with just a slight movement of her fingertips, Anna's willpower was exhausted.
"Ann-kii!"
Sara's pained (?) cry sounded somewhat distant. It wasn't that she was sleepy. It was more like her consciousness was being locked away somewhere.
Her struggling heart was in vain, and Anna's body slowly began to tilt.
"This can't be happening…"
As she murmured and fell, the voice of the ghost… Anna Hall, reached Anna's ears.
'A body of someone with the same name is easy to possess and hard to be driven out of. That's why I wanted your body.'
In her fading consciousness, Anna thought, 'If you had just told me your reason, I would have helped you.'