Following the hotel staff down the halls, Vanitas couldn’t shake the eerie atmosphere. The sound of footsteps echoed ahead of him, yet there was a faint ringing. An unnatural hum that usually echoed whenever sound was absent.
By his perception alone, he should have been walking for nearly ten minutes now.
——Room 201. Room 202. Room 203....
And yet, after all that ti, they had only passed three doors. He was certain they had walked past far more than that.
The farther they walked, the more the corridors seed to stretch without end.
——Room 207. Room 208. Room 209....
Vanitas’s gaze turned to the walls. The sa faded wallpaper lined either side, repeating without variation. It was as though the hallway folded back on itself while maintaining the illusion of progress.
Finally, Vanitas spoke, "How much longer?"
The staff did not look back. "Not long now, esteed guest. Your room is being prepared."
For what felt like nearly an hour, the hotel staff finally ca to a halt. Vanitas, caught off guard by the sudden stop, nearly walked into him but managed to stop himself just in ti.
"Before we enter," the staff said, "there are rules you must know."
Vanitas narrowed his eyes. "Rules?"
"Yes." The man adjusted his cuffs. "Every guest of the Lily of the Valley must abide by them. Failure to do so may... compromise your stay."
He raised a hand, as if counting invisible lines in the air.
"First: Never open a door unless it bears your room number. The others may look empty, but they are already occupied. Their tenants do not take kindly to intrusions."
His fingers raised a second count.
"Second: If soone knocks on your door after midnight, do not answer. Whatever stands there will not be a guest, nor staff, nor friend. The mont you respond, you will be inviting it inside."
A third finger lifted.
"Third: If you hear your na whispered in the dark, you must not answer. It will sound like soone you love, soone you miss... but that is only how it draws you closer. Answer, and you will belong to it."
The man’s hand stopped, four fingers raised now. His polite smile remained, but his eyes turned cold.
"And lastly, under no circumstances should you ever attempt to leave before your stay has ended. The Lily of the Valley chooses when your ti is over, not you. Guests who break this rule do not leave."
"What happens to them?"
The man only smiled and offered no answer. Instead, he extended his hand. On his palm was a single brass key.
Without a word, Vanitas reached out and took it.
"Enjoy your stay, Mister Vanitas Astrea."
Vanitas unlocked the door and stepped inside. But the mont he glanced back over his shoulder, the staff was gone, completely bypassing his senses.
"...."
——....Vanitas.
Right on cue, that familiar voice echoed through the room, as if the very walls themselves were speaking to him. A voice that had been haunting him the past month.
"I was beginning to wonder if I really was going insane..."
Vanitas exhaled sharply and leaned the back of his head against the door with a dull thud.
"Turns out, it’s both."
Once again, it was Charlotte’s voice.
* * *
As agreed, ten minutes after Vanitas entered the palace, the scholars assigned to in-site observation began to follow, entering in order of hierarchy.
The first group moved with carefully. Behind them, others prepared their notes and instrunts, determined to record every anomaly they encountered.
"Huh?"
The mont they crossed the threshold, things went to a different turn. Though they had entered together, the instant their feet touched the floor inside, each of them found themselves utterly alone.
"Welco to the Lily of the Valley. Have you co to inquire about a room?"
Before them was the receptionist, smiling politely as if nothing were amiss.
One by one, each scholar experienced the sa scene. Each was greeted with the sa words, given the sa rules, and led to their assigned rooms.
Yet not once did they catch sight of their peers. It was as if the very space of the hotel folded in on itself, isolating every guest the mont they entered, severing them from the others despite the dozens who had walked in.
The Lily of the Valley was not a place to share.
It was a place that consud each person, alone.
* * *
The knights stood on standby as the scholars continued filing into the palace. Yet their eyes were not on the looming structure, but on a different spectacle altogether.
"I bet she’ll never even glance your way."
"You know what they say, ’you miss the shots you don’t take.’"
"You fools should stop. She serves under the Astrea banner. They say that man is even more ruthless than Lord Nietzsche."
"As if. Rumors are rumors. Besides, what business is it of his if soone woos his attending knight?"
Their hushed voices evoked a mix of jest and envy as most of them began weighing their chances at winning the attention of none other than Margaret Illenia, who at the mont was engaged in lively conversation with the other ladies present.
The Princess, Astrid, was already far beyond their reach. So, there was no need to discuss such topics.
Still, a few eyes were drawn to the red-haired girl standing discreetly behind Margaret. Of course, it was none other than Selena, disguised as an attending maid.
Just like Margaret, she had caught the interest of more than one knight.
"Yeah, yeah, you lot go waste your ti chasing the impossible," one of them muttered. "anwhile, I’ll try my luck with sothing more realistic."
"Oh? And what’s that?"
"That young woman with Admiral Vermillion. Karina, wasn’t it? Heard she’s a commoner, like us, who managed to climb the ranks of the Dominion’s military."
"Karina, huh?" another knight said, raising a brow. "She doesn’t look half-bad, but aren’t you worried? Dominion soldiers aren’t exactly known for being soft."
"Bah," the first scoffed. "All the better. A woman like that won’t cry over scratches or demand pampering. Besides, if she made it that far as a commoner, she’ll appreciate soone who knows how to survive the sa way."
"Or she’ll run you through the mont you say the wrong thing," a third cut. "Don’t forget, her banner isn’t ours. You think the Admiral will just look away if one of us starts getting too close?"
That comnt silenced a few of them, though not for long.
"Still," the first insisted, a grin tugging at his lips, "better odds than chasing after Lady Illenia or the Princess. At least with Karina, there’s a chance."
The others exchanged doubtful glances, so scoffing, others chuckling.
anwhile, Astrid was already scheming how she might persuade Margaret to let her inside the palace.
"Apologies, Princess," Margaret said firmly. "But I’m under orders. No ans no."
Astrid pouted. "Orders, orders, orders... everything is always about orders with you and the professor. Don’t you think I can handle myself?"
"It isn’t a matter of what you can or cannot handle. My duty is to keep you safe, even from yourself if I must."
"Tsk." Astrid clicked her tongue and turned away.
If Margaret refused her outright, then she would just have to find another way inside.
"My apologies for intruding, Princess," Selena said. "But... I can’t help it. That structure gives a terrible feeling."
Astrid turned to her, curious. "Bad vibes?"
Selena nodded. "It feels like it’s waiting... No, watching. Almost as if it wants us to step inside."
Margaret’s arms crossed firmly at that. "All the more reason you are not setting foot in there, Princess. If even she senses it, then my orders stand all the stronger."
As their conversation turned from one topic to another, with Astrid occasionally grumbling that she was a full-fledged scholar too, a third voice suddenly cut in.
"Are you people not going inside?"
"You..."
Margaret stiffened at the unexpected intrusion, startled by Karina’s sudden appearance. Astrid, however, pressed her lips into a thin line.
"...."
There had been a ti when she absolutely loathed Karina, resenting her irresponsibility and her lack of accountability. But ever since overhearing Karina’s argunt with Vanitas a few days earlier, Astrid no longer knew how to approach her.
She had promised Vanitas she would remain by his side, but how far could a promise stretch before it broke under the weight of doubt?
If Karina truly spoke the truth, if Vanitas had been involved in her mother’s death, then Astrid’s patience would only go so far.
What unsettled her even more was Karina’s confidence. She knew Astrid did not see her in a favorable light, yet she had spoken with such certainty about matters that not even the Empire’s most skilled intelligence officers had uncovered.
Why, then, had Karina so suddenly pointed fingers at Vanitas, in a case she supposedly had no part in?
It left Astrid in a dilemma.
So, even after Margaret had dismissed Karina, Astrid chose to follow her.
"What can I do for the Princess today?" Karina asked when Astrid poked her lightly on the back.
"There are two sides to a coin," Astrid replied. "I have the right to know the other side."
"...."
Karina paused. The words struck a chord, for once upon a ti, she had thought the very sa thing a year ago, when she was begging the professor for an answer that never ca.
"Even when there isn’t enough evidence?" Karina tilted her head.
"An incomplete truth is still better than silence," Astrid replied firmly. "I’ll be the one to decide whether the other side is nonsense or not."
"You may regret hearing it. Once spoken, words can’t be taken back. And if what you’re searching for destroys the image you’ve built of him... will you still stand by him?"
Astrid’s lips pressed into a thin line. Her chest tightened, but her voice gave way regardless.
"There’s no need for such pretenses. What does it matter to you? Are you going to tell , or not?"
Karina only laughed. "Very well."
* * *
Thump! Thump! Thump!
From inside his room, Vanitas could hear the sound of doors shutting in the distance, most likely other guests being led to their designated quarters.
What caught his attention, however, was the absence of footsteps or idle chatter that should have followed. It was as though the entire place only allowed its guests to hear what it wanted them to.
"It truly is a peculiar place..." he murmured.
There had been no record of anything like this in the ga he rembered. And yet, from the way everything was set up, the atmosphere eerily resembled the horror films he had once watched in his past life.
"...."
As Vanitas glanced upward, the steady tick-tock of a clock echoed through the room. The hands struck twelve. It was ti for lunch.
According to the rules, there was no danger in roaming the halls during the day. The real threat only ca with the fall of night.
So, with that in mind, Vanitas opened his door. At the sa mont, the door to the room across from his swung open as well. A scholar he did not recognize stepped out, blinking their eyes in surprise.
"Oh, my god! M-Marquess Astrea, is that you?!"
"Yes," Vanitas replied evenly. "And you are?"
"Scholar Vincent, sir. My goodness, it really is you! I thought sothing terrible was going to happen when I ca in and realized no one else was with except that creepy receptionist!"
"No one else?" Vanitas’s brow furrowed. "What happened?"
Vincent quickly recounted his experience. Vanitas listened closely, rubbing his chin as he considered the details.
"I see. Then it seems the isolation only occurs upon entering. Once the rules are given and we’re led to our rooms, we’re returned to the sa space."
"Yes, that seems to be the case, but..." Vincent trailed off.
Vanitas nodded slowly. "Yes. I share the sa concern. The fact they can so seamlessly isolate us, and then reintroduce us without error... it speaks volus about the nature of this place."
Thump! Thump! Thump!
One by one, the doors to each room opened. The scholars, overjoyed to finally see familiar faces again, practically lit up with relief. So even looked as though they might cry as they rushed to greet their peers.
Vanitas glanced back at Vincent.
"Would you care to join for lunch, Sir Vincent?"
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