A dead silence had fallen upon the banquet hall, and all that could be heard were wet, kissing sounds. It resounded like thunder, and everyone froze, not daring to even move an inch.

However, Bastien didn’t seem to notice the awkward atmosphere and instead deepened the kiss. He ignored the groom’s struggles and only let go after his body had grown limp, dangling in his arms like a rag doll.

“Oh my, looks like he fainted,” Bastien hummed, laying down the man on the floor. “Jeez. It was just a little kiss.”

“…You call that a little?” Iris facepalmed. “And why on earth did you do that?! Don’t jump on people for no reason!”

“No reason? Dear, that pervert was hitting on teens. I just taught him a small lesson, that’s all.”

“…Bro. He’s an actor, not a pervert! He was just playing his role!”

“And I was just playing my role as his bride,” Bastien singsonged, standing up and dusting his pants. “Don’t worry, he should wake up soon enough. That is if he’s not faking it.”

“…”

The teenagers weren’t fools, neither were they blind. The actor obviously wasn’t faking it, looking more dead than alive. Perhaps being kissed by another man was too much of a shock and he had forgotten to breathe; who knows. But at any rate, it didn’t seem like he would wake up any time soon.

Although they thought this, they didn’t say it aloud. Melody was too shy to speak up, while Iris and Annabelle knew better than to argue. They were well aware that big brothers could not be reasoned with when a boy got too close to their little sisters.

Or at the very least, their brothers were like this.

But most of all, the teenagers didn’t want to cause a ruckus and draw the staff’s attention. If they were to discover that Bastien had sexually harassed one of their actors…

Sorry, but they still wanted to explore the haunted house, so the teenagers tacitly decided to turn a blind eye.

It wasn’t like the man was dead, anyway.

With this in mind, they fled toward the tables to take a closer look, wanting to distance themselves from the crime scene. The further they were, the easiest it was to pretend that nothing had happened.

Lit sticks of incense sat in the middle of the long tables. The strong smell dispelled the stench of corpses, and thus the girls’ noses weren’t assaulted despite standing only a few inches away. Again, they marveled at the props and praised whoever made them, beaming with smiles.

While the teenagers were distracted, Jules took the opportunity to bend over and verify the woman’s pulse. He put two fingers on the side of her throat, but no matter how long he waited, he felt nothing.

Pursing his lips, Jules shook his head at Bastien, letting the man know she was dead. It wasn’t anything surprising, but it was still upsetting. The woman wasn’t even in her thirties, way too young to die.

After closing her eyes, Jules peered at the demon, seemingly pondering over something. As he stood up, he tentatively asked in a voice just loud enough for the man to hear, “Incubus?”

“Uh-huh.”

There was a short silence as if to let the words sink. Then, Jules rubbed his neck, asking stiffly, “…How’s your stomach?”

“Feels like it’s on fire,” Bastien chuckled wryly. “I remember now why I don’t feed on jiangshi and the likes.”

A self-loathing smile hung on the demon’s lips. Incubi could suck people’s vitality through intimate acts that resulted in an exchange of fluids, like kissing, but jiangshi were reanimated corpses, not living beings. It would be like eating a plate of rotten meat for a human. And he ate enough to make his stomach bulge.

“Right, I shouldn’t have asked… But thanks to you, we got rid of it without alerting the girls.”

Jules sighed. If he had been the one to take care of the jiangshi, he would have had to summon his weapon and behead it. Not such a discreet way to dispatch the groom, if you asked him.

“Really, thank you.”

“You’re welcome. So… mind lending me your shoulder for a bit? My knees are about to give out, to be honest.”

Feeling the corner of his eyes twitch, Jules stared at the demon with a deadpan face but eventually nodded. A second later, the incubus was plastered against his back like a second skin, his head resting in the crook of his neck, thick arms wrapped around his slender waist.

“…”

That prick.

“Bastien… You said shoulder, not my whole body.”

“Hm?”

“Never mind,” Jules growled, pinching the bridge of his nose. “How long will it take you to digest the jiangshi?”

“Around an hour, maybe more. Usually, it doesn’t take me that long, but that thing was overflowing with corrupted life force, and it’s hard to digest. I do not know who or what created it, but I sure as hell hope we won’t cross paths with them.” Bastien nudged his nose against the man’s neck, adding with a self-mocking sneer, “We won’t come out unscathed if we did.”

Jules hummed in response, his eyes darkening. It didn’t matter if he or Bastien ended up half-dead, but the same couldn’t be said about his sister and her friends. If nothing else, the teenagers had to make it home safe and sound.

***

Annabelle tugged on Iris’s sleeve, whispering in an excited voice, “Is your brother flirting with mine?”

“What…?”

Iris frowned, glancing over her shoulder, and what she saw made her grimace. Bastien was being a leech, leaning over Jules with all of his weight—though Jules seemed utterly unbothered by it, his mind elsewhere.

“…It’s just my brother being touchy-feely, don’t mind it.”

Annabelle’s shoulders dropped at those words, and she pursed her lips into a cute pout.

“What’s with the face?”

“Well, you know? If our brothers were to get together, wouldn’t it make us sisters…? That would be awesome!”

“Is your brother even gay to begin?”

“…No idea. I mean, he never brought home a lover, so it’s hard to tell.”

“…Anyway, don’t let your imagination run too wild. I’m pretty sure my bro is just being a pain in the neck to yours. Oh, come on, stop staring!”

Iris elbowed Annabelle, who mumbled something unintelligible in response, then focused back her attention on the fake corpses.

The props truly were well-done, to the point of being fascinating.

The teenager hesitated a second before ultimately giving in to the temptation. She stretched a hand to poke the half-rotten jaw, curious about the texture. However, she barely had the time to shift her body forward when her brother had already raised his voice to scold her.

“Anna, don’t touch the props!”

“…I know, I know,” the girl grunted, withdrawing her hand. “I’m just looking, no need to shout.”

For goodness sake, why was her brother so uptight? Touching a little wouldn’t hurt anyone!

Inwardly complaining, Annabelle turned on her heels and walked to the other table. She carefully avoided the groom still lying on the floor, pretending he didn’t exist.

The teenagers looked around a bit more until they had their fill, then Annabelle dragged her friends toward the massive stairs. It led to the second floor, where numerous doors lined up next to each other. They were dark in color, and their silver door knobs seemed to shine, drawing the eye.

After walking back and forth along the corridor, Annabelle abruptly stopped before a door. With a grin, she opened it without warning and snuck in.

Jules, who was still supporting Bastien, had no other choice but to run after her, cursing under his breath. For God’s sake, he just told her not to disappear on him!

Couldn’t she think of his poor heart?!

The group had no other choice but to follow Annabelle inside the room. It was large and lavish, but the small bed and the overall design hinted that it was a child’s bedroom. However, there was no kid to be seen, only porcelain dolls scattered everywhere, sitting on old furniture or the tiled floor.

There were at least a hundred dolls, yet they all sat in the same submissive position with their heads hung low and strands of fine hair falling before their eyes, hiding half of their faces.

That was except for one peculiar doll.

This one appeared frailer than its peers, with thin limbs and delicate features. It sat on the bed, its head held high and its tiny legs dangling. Its long hair was as white as snow, and its eyes, as red as rubies.

“….I don’t know if I find the place creepy or beautiful,” Melody whispered as they ventured further inside.

“I’ll say both,” Annabelle laughed. “Gosh, the dolls are each a piece of art! You think the staff would notice if I brought one home?”

As if to answer her, an eerie breeze slammed the door shut behind them, startling the girls into screams.

The dim light started to flicker, plunging the room into semi-darkness. The temperature grew cooler as a heavy silence fell, but it didn’t last long. Childlike giggles soon disturbed the quiet.  

Suddenly, it was as if a hundred children were laughing all at once.  

And amid the laughs, a soft yet raspy voice echoed throughout the room. It seemed to be everywhere and nowhere, like a whisper caught in the wind. It said:

“Misters, misses, will you play with us?”

As the words hovered in the air, all dolls lifted their heads and tilted them to the same side, revealing their faces. Their eyes were empty, pitch-black like an abyss, while naive smiles rested on their lips.

“Say, will you?”