["The Word Spirit That Constructs Worlds" clears its throat loudly and corrects that this is from the Countess’s perspective—the protagonist’s point of view is that of a thriller escape.]

["The Cynical Balancer of Order" says that since you’re already possessed as the Countess, her perspective is what matters.]

["The Scales that Judge the Soul" secretly hopes the high content rating of the /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ original will be honored in the confinement setting with just the two leads.]

["The Inspector of Forbidden Revelations" falls into turmoil, unsure if they should agree as the original-purist authority.]

In The Secret of Heisenberg’s Mansion, there are only two characters.

Judging by my attire and role, I was obviously the Countess who had just lost her husband. That meant it was time for the protagonist—here to offer condolences and about to suffer various ordeals—to appear.

Right on cue, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed in my ears.

One corner of the hall was connected to a long, dark corridor that resembled a cave. From deep within the tunnel, where the vanishing point was swallowed by darkness, the presence slowly drew closer.

Eventually, the visitor appeared.

"Hello, lady."

It was someone entirely unsurprising. But I still opened my eyes wide in shock.

"Tesilid?"

The moment the veil of darkness lifted, standing before me was a handsome man with silver hair and ocean-colored eyes.

To top it off, he was dressed in ascetic clerical garb and idly rolling a rosary in one hand.

Tesilid Arzent, purged of all his darkness. Though, of course, the expression and gaze were pure Reid.

"What? You like this shell that much?"

"...Yeah. It’s just the outside. That sobered me up."

Apparently, the visitor’s profession in this setup was a priest. It wasn’t exactly the kind of setting Reid would enjoy, which made it all the more ironic.

[ Notification. ‘Countess’ and ‘Guest’ have met. The story begins.]

Time to brief him quickly.

"Reid, you basically get the situation, right?"

"Of course, Countess."

He seems to be enjoying this. Maybe because the novel fits his tastes perfectly.

"So that coffin has your late husband inside, huh?"

"Wait—Reid, what are you—!"

Suddenly, the guest started acting out. He opened the coffin lid without warning.

"Hmm?"

But inside there was no corpse—just a coffin full of white flowers.

"Good thing it’s empty. Don’t you agree, madam?"

["The Scales that Judge the Soul" is thrilled, saying the way he said ‘madam’ makes it sound like you’re his wife.]

["The Cynical Balancer of Order" informs you that, according to the setting, your husband escaped being posthumously punished.]

I gently closed the coffin lid for my ‘husband’ in place of Reid.

"Okay, let’s get the situation straight first, Reid."

"Alright."

"As you’ve probably figured out, this dungeon is a real-world implementation of the novel The Secret of Heisenberg’s Mansion you once read. For the next 15 days, we have to act out the roles of the two characters from the story."

"Seems that way."

"I’m the Countess. You’re the guest priest. What are the characters’ names?"

"There aren’t any."

"What?"

"There are no proper names in the entire story. The only named thing is the family name ‘Heisenberg’. The characters are called ‘the guest’ and ‘the Countess’ from beginning to end."

["The Scales that Judge the Soul" is delighted, saying it makes immersion easier.]

Of course, that was just the Scales’ preference.

"And the fact that the protagonist is a priest... That’s the only fatal flaw in this entire work."

Getting to see White-Reid was a personal bonus, but I didn’t say that out loud.

Around that time, Reid grew more serious.

"Ai, I think I told you the basic plot before. Do you remember?"

"Roughly? The Countess keeps the protagonist at the mansion under some believable excuse, and he pretends to fall for it because he likes her, but it backfires. It’s kind of a push-and-pull between a villain trying to confine him and a protagonist trying to escape."

"You remember the core well."

Reid gave a more detailed explanation.

"The Countess treats the guest with utmost hospitality. Then starting from the fifth day, she begins asking one favor a day. If the guest completes the task on time, he receives a reward. If he fails, he has to pay a price. Like a system of rewards and punishments."

"What kind of favors?"

"Things like finding something, or fixing something."

"And the price?"

"That’s..."

For some reason, Reid couldn’t seem to finish his sentence. Like someone who’d lost his voice, he just moved his lips without sound.

Naturally, my suspicion went in a very familiar direction.

"Why can’t you say it? Wait—is it because of the Inspector of Forbidden Revelations?"

["The Inspector of Forbidden Revelations" snaps at you not to blame them out of nowhere.]

["The Word Spirit That Constructs Worlds" scolds the Inspector, threatening to do the same to their follower if they raise their voice again.]

["The Inspector of Forbidden Revelations" meekly backs down.]

It seemed Reid was simply hesitant to speak.

Luckily, there was a helpful clue.

["The Scales that Judge the Soul" slyly whispers for you to remember that R-19 is the first tag in this trial genre.]

Ah. So the rewards and punishments were those kinds of things.

I probably didn’t need to hear the details.

"...Let’s move on. What’s the ending like?"

"Ah, that part’s kind of special. There are three endings."

"Hmm?"

So like a game, there were branching endings. Reid listed them one by one.

"The first is the protagonist finds an escape route while exploring the mansion and runs away."

Let’s call that the escape route. Seemed reasonable.

"The second is the protagonist learns both the escape method and the mansion’s secret, but breaks a taboo and ends up dead."

That would be the death route. Dark. Now we’re living up to the ‘dark romance’ genre.

"The third is the protagonist falls in love with the Countess, puts aside all thoughts of escape, and chooses to stay with her forever in the mansion."

That’s the imprisonment route. Ugh... The Scales is already dancing in delight.

Right then, the system window popped up like it had been waiting.

[ ‘The Guest and the Noble Lady of the Mansion’ (Difficulty: Unknown)

You have entered a dungeon implementing the demon-world literary work The Secret of Heisenberg’s Mansion. Fulfill the role of the Countess and reach one of the original endings.

Rewards vary depending on the ending achieved.

‘Escape Route’ reward: 50 luxury dresses from the Countess’s wardrobe

‘Death Route’ reward: Wristwatch of Regression

‘Imprisonment Route’ reward: Forced application of the “R-19 Dark Imprisonment Romance Fantasy Possession Story” genre lock]

The regression watch meant “die and start over in life #2,” and the forced genre lock meant getting trapped in the mansion forever—just like the original.

In other words, aside from the dresses, the other two rewards were basically penalties in disguise.

That left the escape route as the only acceptable answer. This genre would no doubt be full of tricky puzzles, but I could handle that.

"Reid, since you read the whole book, you know how to escape, right?"

"Yeah."

As expected, Reid didn’t disappoint. With his memory and reading style, I knew he’d remember everything.

"Great. Then we can escape anytime. No problem at all."

I clenched my fist and looked at Reid as if to get confirmation. Reid just smiled at me silently.

...That’s a yes, right? Right?

And then—

["The Scales that Judge the Soul" recommends staying in the mansion for at least 15 days.]

Because it was the Scales, I almost dismissed the suggestion. But thinking about it again, it made sense.

"True. This dungeon is fulfilling the ‘imprisonment’ and ‘possession’ conditions to prevent a genre detachment penalty."

Until the trial version period ended, we needed to stay here.

"We’ll wait to pursue the escape route until the trial’s almost over. No need to rush. Let’s take it slow for 15 days."

A new system message appeared.

[ Due to the enforcement rules of the ‘Suspicious Count Heisenberg’s Mansion’ dungeon (Difficulty: Unknown), a subquest has occurred.]

[ ‘Duties of the Countess (1)’

After completing the funeral with the guest, find an appropriate reason to persuade him to remain at the mansion.]

It was more of a narrative guide than a real quest.

There was no reward, but since we couldn’t leave the hall without finishing it, I decided to go along.

"Alright, Reid. Let’s hold my ex-husband’s funeral. You’re a priest, so say a prayer."

"May he not covet what isn’t his in the next life."

"...That’s it? Nothing more?"

"Nope, that’s all."

What a refreshingly brief eulogy.

Reid grinned and teased me.

"So, Countess. Where will I be staying?"

"You’re already planning to settle in when I haven’t even asked you to stay?"

["The Cynical Balancer of Order" enjoys the fast-forwarded development skipping over worn-out buildup.]

["The Scales that Judge the Soul" nods vigorously and urges you to head to the bedroom quickly.]

"Can’t I?"

"Well, I didn’t say no."

Apparently, the dungeon didn’t object either. The tightly closed door at the back of the hall opened, revealing another corridor.

I opened the system map and marked the location labeled ‘Guest Room.’

"I’ll show you the way. Come on, Reid."