‘I must not die. In the original work, I’m the first to die, but I can’t let that happen.’

Even in her real life, she had not lived in luxury. She was just an ordinary woman who had grown up in an ordinary home.

But she had not been unhappy. It was already unfair enough to have possessed a character in a horror novel, but to die immediately after? That was something she absolutely refused.

‘Is there no way to avoid it? Like running away…’

She had already missed one chance. She should have escaped from the carriage, but she had let that opportunity slip away.

‘There’s no way out once I’m inside here, but still…’

Now that she had entered the cloister, her chances of escape were much smaller. But that didn’t mean she could just give up. Reyna looked around.

‘About the third floor, maybe.’

Judging by the number of stairs she had climbed and the view from the window, it seemed to be about the third floor.

‘Would it be bad if I jumped from here?’

Her thoughts kept going to extremes. She was trying to escape to avoid being murdered by a man. She could not die by falling from a window. And going through the door would be practically announcing her escape attempt.

In contrast, escaping through the window reduced the number of variables. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with another way.

In the end, her thoughts leaned toward jumping out of the window. Unfortunately, there was still the problem of possibly getting seriously injured.

‘Let’s think about escaping through the window for now.’

High risk, high return, as they say.

It was reckless, but the chance of not meeting anyone was higher. Reyna began to justify herself in absurd ways.

‘Then let’s try it.’

Reyna looked out the window. This height was not too bad. And if she tied clothes or curtains together to make a rope, all the better.

After checking the height, Reyna quickly opened the wardrobe.

‘If I just tie the dresses together, it should reach the first floor.’

She took out all the suspiciously gaudy dresses and tied them together haphazardly. Then she carefully tied one end to the leg of the bed.

‘Surely the bed can support my weight.’

Thinking positively, Reyna tugged on the knotted dresses. Fortunately, they didn’t show any signs of coming loose. Relieved, Reyna threw the other end out the window.

‘I can do this.’

Repeating “It’s fine” to herself several times, Reyna put her foot on the window frame. Without the slightest hesitation, she moved her body outside.

‘If I had known this would happen, I would have taken at least a one-day climbing class.’

It was a regret that came far too late. She had to focus on surviving, not on useless thoughts. The knotted dresses were sturdier than expected, supporting her weight. Gripping the fabric more tightly, she moved her legs.

It was just a matter of moving down, yet it was far more difficult than she had imagined. Even just keeping her balance was no easy feat.

‘Don’t panic. Stay calm.’

By the time she was about halfway down, her fear had disappeared. Now she believed that even if she fell, she would get away with just a fracture.

‘Ah!’

Unfortunately, she saw a guard posted outside. At this rate, they would surely notice her. It was impossible to climb back up or go further down. Reyna quickly slipped into the nearest window.

‘Let’s hide for now.’

Reyna climbed into the room through the window and barely caught her breath. But only for a moment. Footsteps approached.

She quickly pulled the curtains to hide the makeshift rope of dresses and slipped into the wardrobe.

No sooner had she hidden herself than two women entered the room. Judging by their attire, they were clearly maids. Their faces were pale, as if they had been frightened out of their wits.

“Did you hear the rumor?”

The short-haired one spoke first.

“What rumor?”

“They opened the door again today.”

“Opened the door?”

“Why are you suddenly pretending not to know? …The crematorium door. They said another person died in the special ward.”

The short-haired maid’s voice carried an ominous tone. The other maid’s footsteps halted.

“Yesterday, a fallen baron attended to him.”

“That’s right…”

“This time, the body looked a little different. Compared to usual.”

‘Fallen’ and ‘baron.’ Thinking of someone who must have been in a similar situation to her just yesterday, Reyna stiffened.

“You see…”

The maid slowly opened her mouth.

“They said the head was gone. Just the head.”

“The head?!”

What on earth did that mean? How could a person’s head disappear?

Goosebumps spread all over Reyna’s body. Yet she couldn’t help but listen more closely. She wanted to know exactly what was going on.

“That’s why the crematorium door was opened again today. To get rid of it immediately, without leaving a trace.”

“…Can you not say things like that?”

“In any case, it’s chaos here because no one lasts a day. Do you think the next person will be able to endure?”

The maid clicked her tongue and began setting things down. Reyna’s body gradually stiffened. This did nothing to give her courage.

‘Think carefully, Reyna. You cannot crumble here.’

Reyna racked her brain. She was at a loss for how to break through this desperate situation.

There was a reason the cloister spent a large sum to bring someone in.

The VIP of the special ward was the second prince, so the work could not be entrusted to someone of low status.

And Ruth Cromfin, the cloister’s overseer, despised commoners out of aristocratic pride.

In effect, Reyna had been half-exiled under the pretext of protecting the second prince. It was only natural for Ruth to vent her temper in this way. Unfortunate for Reyna.

At present, there was nothing in her favor. She bit down hard on her lower lip.

Along with the sound of items being moved came footsteps. Then, silence once again.

‘Once I get to the first floor…’

Cautiously slipping out, Reyna approached the window. She slowly parted the curtains.

‘……!’

She had thought no one would be there.

The moment she pulled back the curtain, she came face-to-face with none other than Ruth. Before she even realized she was on the second floor, Ruth seized her wrist.

“Stay put once you understand the situation.”

“……”

“Since it’s come to this, we may as well go right now.”

“P… Please spare me.”

Reyna instinctively begged. But Ruth’s expression did not change in the slightest.

“If you valued your life, you should have behaved properly from the start.”

Ruth yanked hard on Reyna’s wrist. Unable to make a sound, Reyna was dragged away.

When she had climbed in through the window, Ruth had not been there. Reyna had no idea how Ruth had gotten inside, but she had no time to wonder.

All Reyna could do was tremble in fear.

“Move.”

At the forceful command, Reyna’s vision blurred. Tears streamed down without stopping.

“Let go!”

Reyna struggled violently. But Ruth’s strength was not that of a woman her age. Strong enough to believe she could overpower a grown man.

“Stop your nonsense.”

Reyna was dragged like a paper doll. Past the door, into a hallway blackened with soot.

“Help me!”

Even at Reyna’s desperate cry, not a single person appeared. As if there had never been anyone there to begin with.

They walked for quite some time to a place she couldn’t identify. Underground, with only a small candle for light. Reyna still refused to give up resisting.

“I will give you a task. Give him the medicine. If he takes it today, I will repay a significant portion of your debt.”

One of Reyna’s wrists was cuffed. The other side of the cuff was attached to a long pole fixed to the wall.

“Please…”

“If you refuse, I will set fire to this place as it is.”

“…What?”

If a fire broke out in this enclosed space, with no possibility of escape, she would die. It was so absurd that a hollow laugh escaped her.

Regardless, Ruth placed a tray in her hands.

“He might be hungry, so give him this as well.”

In Ruth’s hand was the candle. It was her way of saying she would burn the place if Reyna disobeyed.

Which option gave her a better chance of survival? If she didn’t want to die a meaningless death like in the original story, she had to think carefully.

‘If she sets the fire, it’s the same as dying. I have to at least buy some time.’

Pretending to comply, Reyna lowered her head.