“So…exhausting.”

  As soon as Glen slumped to his death, the mansion’s lights flickered back to life. Shadows fled from the floor, revealing the aftermath of their little “experiment.”

  At the same moment, the marionettes, Benjamin and Rudolph’s bodies, dropped like broken dolls abandoned after play.

  Rudolph’s broken skull tilted at an unnatural angle before the rest of him followed. Benjamin’s bandaged head lolled to one side, the hammer clattering beside him. Arnold, too, slumped forward.

  Jack also relaxed slightly, slumping to the ground as Izzy, in control of the vessel, caught her breath.

  From the far end of the foyer, soft footsteps echoed. Out from the darkness stepped the girl in the simple white dress, her long black hair falling in waves over her shoulders. The girl’s face was lit by the warm glow of the lamps, her green eyes glinting with childlike excitement.

  Looking at her, Jack, or rather, Izzy in Jack’s vessel, furrowed her brows.

  “You do know that’s dangerous, right?”

  Isa stopped beside Glen’s corpse and looked up with an expression that made Izzy uneasy. Her eyes widened, sparkling like a child’s as though she’d just seen a street performance rather than a slaughter.

  ‘Wait a minute,’ Since their minds were linked, Izzy understood what her young mind intended to do.

  “That’s so cool!!!” Isa exclaimed loudly, practically bouncing on her bare feet, startling Izzy herself.

  The mature mind choked on her words. “Ahem...” She turned her head away, a flush of red spreading across her ears.

  “Ehem,” Isa mirrored the cough and tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear, pretending to be serious.

  She smiled a calm, unnerving smile, gracefully raised her hand to her face, curling her fingers just as Jack had before. Her bright eyes narrowed into slits as she imitated his taunting smile.

  “Oops, I’ve been caught, haven’t I?” Isa lowered her voice dramatically.

  ‘Aaaaaagh! Stop that!’ Izzy mentally screamed. So cringe! Why did she have to do that?!

  Since the fight started, knowing Isa could witness everything, Izzy’d gotten… a little carried away. She had momentarily enjoyed showing off her skills to her young mind.

  But she hadn’t expected to be complimented for it! Izzy clutched her metaphorical heart, groaning internally.

  Meanwhile, Isa chuckled and stepped closer, her white dress brushing against the blood-stained floor. Even with the soft smile on her face, her vivid green eyes had gone cold, devoid of emotion.

  The girl stopped before Jack, looking up at him through her dark bangs. Her black hair spilled over her shoulders.

  “No hard feelings, boss.”

  She traced her finger across the vessel’s neck, imitating the kill.

  “...”

  “Hmmm?” Isa tilted her head, noticing something amiss. “Izzy, why is your face red?”

  “N…Nothing!” The vessel quickly stepped back, before abruptly turning on its heel and vanishing through one of the nearby corridors.

  Isa blinked, her playful grin softening. She could have peeked into Izzy’s mind to find out what was going on, but decided against it. Izzy needed some privacy, after all!

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  “That’s so fun!”

  Isa waved her hand. Immediately, the corpses of Glen, Rudolph, and Benjamin slowly stood up. They were all dead and damaged beyond repair. There was no chance to revive them, unlike Jack and Arnold, whose bodies she could reanimate.

  Jack was already a vessel. They had resumed his blood and heartbeat, which is why Izzy used Jack’s vessel to move around, just as Isa was using the girl’s vessel.

  Arnold, on the other hand, was a different case. His body was still somewhat intact. He could serve as a vessel, but the count mattered.

  Isa frowned slightly; she tapped her chin, imitating Izzy’s habit. Although she did not know what purpose it could serve, she just enjoyed being closer to Izzy in some way.

  ‘We’re at our limit of five possessions already,’ she thought. ‘And this boy’s body is fragile. He wouldn’t last long anyway.’

  They didn’t revive Arnold immediately, but temporarily used him as a marionette earlier. Luckily for them, they did not experience the burning sensation, since they could cut off their marionette’s sense of pain.

  Besides, he was just a teenage boy; how could he deal with all these adults? Making him a vessel prematurely seemed unwise.

  Isa had Arnold’s corpse carried to one of the side rooms to “sleep”, while the rest of the corpses dragged broken furniture and cleaned the foyer at Isa’s direction.

  Technically, it was primarily Isa doing the cleaning. Izzy was suspiciously quiet again, having withdrawn somewhere deeper into her own mind, as was her usual habit.

  ‘How lazy,’ Isa grumbled with a puff of her cheek.

  Her mature mind always found some excuse to leave the chores to her. This was probably one of her future bad habits. How Izzy developed it, Isa didn’t know.

  Those memories of her seemed a bit foggy; some parts she couldn’t recall at all, no matter how deep she dived into their shared consciousness.

  She could hardly find anything relevant in the Memory Theatre. Only unrelated and entertaining memories, like movies, books, and general knowledge, could she access. Perhaps Izzy had already hidden them away somewhere else.

  “Maybe that’s what being grown-up means,” she said quietly. “Always pretending…”

  She giggled softly at the thought.

  “Isa really hopes she opens up to us more…”

  Outside, the wind howled faintly through the windowpanes.

  Taking a seat on one of the unbroken chairs, Isa rested her chin in her palm, legs swinging idly as she directed the marionettes with casual flicks of her fingers.

  The corpses shuffled around her in silence; they cleaned up blood, mopping the floor, righting toppled furniture. It was just slow, repetitive work.

  Controlling three marionettes at once wasn’t easy. Their motions were clumsy and imperfect. The best she could manage with them was simple motion like holding, grabbing, and throwing. Her imagination could only carry them so far without Izzy’s refined precision to guide it.

  Still, she managed. Thankfully, Izzy lent her some of her calculated brainpower to help control them.

  “Shut up! Isa doesn’t wanna think!~” Isa fluttered her arms back and forth. She didn’t have a habit of thinking as much as Izzy; she preferred to play more. So she always left the thinking to her mature mind.

  She leaned back in the chair, her green eyes drifting toward the chandelier above. The crystals swayed gently, casting hundreds of tiny, shimmering lights that looked like floating stars.

  Izzy’s vessel, Jack’s body, had vanished through the corridors. Looking in that direction, Isa felt relieved at her presence.

  “Isa hates being here.”

  Ever since Grampa’s death, something about the mansion repulsed her.

  To her, the mansion was just a hollow shell, containing many lies. After the ‘affection’–or so Izzy called it– had worn off, and after talking and learning from Izzy, the girl had no lingering reason to stay here.

  It wasn't that big of a deal, as Izzy would likely have already considered their future plans and left this place regardless.

  Isa only needed to follow Izzy, and everything would be alright.

  Thankfully, her mature mind was here with her; she was not alone. If it weren’t for Izzy, she might have already become a doll, Grampa’s doll.

  ‘Smelly doll,’ she muttered under her breath, a small puff that fogged in the cold air.

  When facing Grampa, as much as Isa’s affection had dripped toward Izzy, her mature mind’s hatred had also partially affected her. The girl now understood what hate tasted like, and she was not particularly fond of it.

  Why was something so powerful also so hollow? Isa wondered, why did it taste so sour, so bitter, so acrid… Yet, why was it so miserable and dreadful?

  Unlike Isa’s warm heart, the tender feelings that burned like spring, Izzy’s heart was just a void. It frightened Isa how empty and lonely it felt; she couldn’t find words to describe it. At that time, the sensation had hurt her chest, like a thousand needles pricking under her ribs.

  ‘Izzy, everything will be alright.’

  If it was not, they would force it to be.

  Izzy only needed to be their guide, and Isa would protect her heart. She would stay with them forever.

  With renewed energy, Isa stood up and clapped her hands.

  “Alright, let’s finish this, everyone!” With a soft hum, Isa returned to her work.

  Holysh*t! i just realize Izzy and Isa both have "I"! Sometimes even my own story surprise me!

  I'm officially out of backlogs. I only have a frontlog now. (lol)

  The previous month was quite hectic for me (very busy). I could not concentrate on writing and figure out how to smooth my plotline to make it more natural. A lot of the plot feels quite forced, even if I introduce more and more characters into the fray.

  Anyway, it's just my yapping. The deadline has not passed yet, but it is calmer somewhat. I will still release 2 chapters per week for now, until I am confident enough to do 3 chapters per week. I won't participate in Writathon; English is hard. I spend so much time editing a single chapter.

  Anyway, this chapter is quite short. It's just a rare chapter to switch from Izzy's POV to Isa's POV. I have to find a way to reduce the foreshadowing while still making it noticeable enough so readers don't miss it.

  Fun time is (not) over! The main plotline of vol. 1 will officially start in 2 chapters! (Yes, is it crazy? 32 chapters, and the main story of volume 1 had not picked up yet! so slow!)

  The main plot of vol. 1 will introduce the Bless, Cursed being, the Church's force, the power system, the Winterin Village, and more mysteries! Act 3 of the story gonna be slice of life and comedy. I want mc to rest before something bigger comes. else she really gonna die from overwork@@