Rumi and Niel stepped out of the flower field, only to find muddy footprints in the backyard once again. This time, however, there were two sets of footprints.

  Rumi immediately became agitated.

  “What? Why are there two sets of footprints here? There weren’t any when we left earlier.”

  “...”

  Niel remained silent behind her.

  Without bothering to look back at Niel, Rumi followed the two pairs of footprints. When they reached the front door of the house, one set of footprints stopped, while the other faded.

  It was clear that at least one person had returned from the barn to the mansion. The question was whether it was the mummy grandmother or something else.

  Rumi waited there briefly for Niel to catch up. When Niel arrived, Rumi spoke as if nothing had happened.

  “Hey, I think someone’s inside... We’re not sleeping tonight until we find out who it is.”

  “Oh...”

  Niel replied weakly, and Rumi entered the mansion first.

  Rumi and Niel held their breath and began inspecting the house, starting near the front door. As they made their way to the living room where the mummy’s bed was, they saw a ghost with loose hair wandering around inside.

  “Rumi, over there...”

  “Shh!”

  The moment Niel spoke, the ghost suddenly crouched down and hid.

  “...?”

  Rumi, puzzled by the ghost’s unusual behavior, cautiously approached the hiding figure. She saw long, straight hair, thin shoulders, and exposed arms.

  “Eve...?”

  “Gasp!”

  Eve, hearing Rumi’s voice, practically buried her head in the carpet.

  “Hey, it’s me, Rumi. What are you doing?”

  “......”

  "What's wrong? Why aren't you answering?"

  Rumi tried to figure out why Eve was acting this way. Strangely, All her clothes were slightly damp, and her body was covered in dust and dirt. Her feet were bare.

  “What’s going on with you?”

  Rumi grabbed Eve’s shoulders to lift her head and noticed a rge scratch on her shoulder, bleeding.

  “Huh? How did you hurt your shoulder?”

  Rumi eventually forced Eve’s head up. But Eve couldn’t even meet Rumi’s eyes, trembling like a mouse caught in a trap. Her eyes were swollen.

  “Did... did you cry?”

  “...”

  Rumi examined Eve, who looked like a drowned rat.

  “You’ve got cobwebs in your hair, too.”

  Rumi picked a cobweb from Eve’s hair with her fingers.

  “Ugh, get it... get it off.”

  Eve shuddered and leaned her head toward Rumi.

  “This is so weird. Why would someone with a cleanliness obsession end up like this? Why are you so wet too? It’s not like there’s a ke around here...”

  “Oh, I... I just couldn’t sleep, so I went for a walk and tripped.”

  “So, you went to the barn and came back?”

  “What... what are you talking about? No... no way...”

  “Yeah... a coward like you wouldn’t dare to go there alone. So, what were you doing? You’re acting really suspicious!”

  “No, Medina’s house is just interesting... so I wandered around a bit... I told you, it reminds me of my old house...”

  “Were you trying to steal something...?”

  Niel approached and asked softly.

  Eve’s eyes widened.

  “Wh... what are you talking about?!”

  But Eve’s reaction was much more intense.

  “Eve... were you really trying to steal something?”

  Rumi also shot her a suspicious look.

  “No... no, I wasn’t. But... what are you two doing out here at this hour?!”

  “We were trying to figure out what Medina was lying about. But now you’re acting suspicious too.”

  Just then, Medina appeared from a corner of the mansion, muttering to herself.

  “Ugh, what the hell! Why are these thieving ghosts swarming around? You’re all dead, you crazy pieces of shit...”

  “Oh my, she’s still at it...?”

  Rumi muttered, watching Medina.

  But then Niel asked Eve a separate question.

  “Eve, is Medina looking for you?”

  “Huh?”

  “What? Are you after Medina’s family fortune?”

  “Why would I want anything from this filthy house?”

  “Well... your family’s falle...”

  Rumi trailed off, hesitating. Eve’s face suddenly turned red, and her expression twisted.

  “Do you think my family is that pathetic? I had a reason for searching the house. The damn Mora family stole something from us!”

  "Oh... so you did search the pce..."

  “...!”

  Eve realized she had said too much and immediately shut her mouth.

  “Hey, if that was the case, you should’ve told us earlier. We could’ve helped you steal it back. Right, Niel?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What...?”

  “Anyway, what about you two?! Aren't you worried Medina might be looking for you?!"

  “I told you. We have nothing to hide. We went to check what the damn Medina family was hiding in the funeral home. We were actually looking for you to come with us.”

  “...”

  Eve looked slightly surprised.

  “But you know what? Someone went to that barn before us and is now inside this mansion.”

  “Wh... what?”

  “We thought it was you, when we just found you. But if it’s not, then it must be Medina’s mummy grandmother...”

  Rumi suddenly stopped speaking, her expression bnk.

  “Huh? Why are you like that all of a sudden?”

  “We’re screwed...”

  “What? What’s wrong now?”

  Eve asked, confused.

  At that moment, the kids noticed a shadow looming over the bed right next to them.

  “...!”

  The shadow belonged to Medina’s mummy grandmother, sitting on the bed.

  “Ahh!”

  “Ahhh!”

  The kids all bolted up to Medina’s room on the second floor.

  “Ugh, what the... of all the pces why did you hide by the bed?!”

  But when they reached the room, they were startled by another strange scene.

  In the middle of the room was Medina’s doll, and there were faint muddy footprints around it.

  “......?!”

  Rumi stared at the doll in a daze, saying nothing.

  Both Niel and Eve could sense that Rumi was about to lose it.

  “Rumi, that’s not me. I’ve never been up here...”

  Eve panicked and tried to expin.

  “Rumi, you know it’s not me, right?”

  Niel also added an unnecessary expnation.

  “I know it’s not you guys. I’m just... in disbelief...”

  Rumi hadn’t expected someone to target the doll. She felt foolish for leaving it alone, even for a moment.

  “At least the doll’s still here, right?”

  Niel tried to comfort Rumi.

  Rumi immediately grabbed the doll, stuffed it into her bag, and held the bag tightly. Just the thought of losing the doll made her break out in a cold sweat.

  “Damn Medina’s house...”

  Rumi was still worried that whoever had touched the doll might still be in the mansion.

  Niel also brought up the same concern.

  “Do you think the mummy grandmother touched the doll?”

  "Honestly, that seems likely... but since we don't know for sure who did it... we need to be cautious."

  "Yeah, we should..."

  "Um... Rumi, sorry to say this now but, I really want to take a shower, Could you come with me to the bathroom...?"

  Eve asked, grabbing a towel and clothes from her bag.

  “Hmm... sure.”

  Rumi agreed readily. In truth, she thought she could investigate something while Eve was in the bathroom.

  Rumi accompanied Eve to the bathroom, and before closing the door, Eve asked Rumi for a favor.

  “Rumi, sorry, but can you wait outside while I shower, okay?”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  Rumi stood outside the bathroom, keeping an eye on her surroundings.

  “Rumi, are you still out there?”

  Eve, seemingly scared of showering alone, kept checking if Rumi was still there.

  “Yeah!”

  “Don’t go anywhere.”

  “Yeah...”

  But Rumi was already heading back to the room.

  As soon as she got there, Rumi rushed to Eve’s bag and began rummaging through it, looking for any signs of theft or suspicious activity.

  Niel approached and stared at Rumi.

  "So you don't trust Eve after all?"

  “No... just in case...”

  When nothing unusual turned up, Rumi roughly repacked the bag.

  "It really doesn't seem like it was Eve."

  “...”

  Rumi felt oddly relieved.

  Before returning to the bathroom, she went to her own bag, grabbed something, and headed back.

  Rumi knocked on the bathroom door where Eve was showering.

  "Wh-what? Ru-Rumi?"

  “I’m the grandma ghost. Who are you?”

  “Ahhh!”

  Thud!

  A sound of someone falling came from inside the bathroom.

  “...”

  “Hey? Eve, are you okay? It’s me, Rumi!”

  “...”

  The bathroom was silent.

  “Hey...! Should I break the door down?”

  The door suddenly swung open, revealing Eve’s ghostly face.

  “Ugh!! you scared me!”

  This time, Rumi was the one who screamed.

  “What are you doing... not answering and then pretending to be a ghost!”

  “Here, put this on your shoulder.”

  Rumi handed Eve the jar of ointment she got from Raoul.

  “What’s this...?”

  “Medicine.”

  "Sigh... if that was for me, you could have just given it to me like a normal person would..."

  “I thought I was being pretty normal for someone like me.

  “Ahem...”

  Eve couldn't argue with that and slowly disappeared behind the door.

  “Anyway, th... thanks.”

  And she smmed the door shut right after thanking Rumi.