Chapter 566 As If We Could Be Happy!
Leonard's ambiguous thanks seemed like a reminder that, amongst the few people still present, Natalie had chosen to give the lamp to him, as if there was something special between them.
Natalie forced a smile: “No need to thank me, Leonard. What I mean is, now that you and your fiancée have a source of light, you won’t have to stick so close to me anymore.”
Leonard didn’t seem offended at all; instead, he arched an eyebrow with evident amusement.
A man and a woman stood facing each other, the warm glow of a lamp between them, casting shadows that, from a distance, resembled a classical painting.
"Natalie, come here."
She turned and saw Oliver holding a lamp, its soft yellow glow casting a luminous spot on his forehead while shadows danced across his sharp features, giving him a look of antique charm.
"What's going on? You look like you've stepped out of some ancient aristocracy," Natalie said as she approached Oliver, who was holding a lamp. She naturally gravitated towards the light.
"Why are you sulking again?" Natalie eyed Oliver skeptically. Even though he remained expressionless, she had a keen sense for his moods.
Oliver scoffed silently. How could he be happy after seeing her chat with Leonard?
He had warned her about Leonard, yet she wouldn't listen!
Natalie had grown accustomed to Oliver's inexplicable mood swings.
Get mad all you want, she thought. I'm not your wife, and I don't have to deal with you.
Finding the room door locked, the need for a key or another way in became apparent. Those who've experienced escape rooms knew how one clue leads to another.
"Found a piece of paper!" Susan suddenly exclaimed.
She had discovered it among some weeds.
"What does it say?" Cadence inquired.
"I... I can't make it out," Susan admitted awkwardly. "The writing here is strange; it's not normal at all."
Natalie, dragging Oliver—or rather, dragging the light over—took the paper from Susan and gave her a peculiar look.
"It's a letter," she said. "Basically, the lady of this old manor says she was assaulted and murdered, then thrown into... a well, but she... didn't die." Her speech slowed towards the end, confusion seeping into her voice, but the sharp could read between the lines.
"Typical ghost story," Cadence remarked, unfazed. "But how can you understand the writing, Natalie?"
Natalie flipped the paper to show the others. "I never expected Susan to be unable to read cursive," she said.
Cadence couldn't help but let out a snort. It was like a slap in Susan's face, hardly different from hinting she was illiterate.
"I… I've spent years abroad; it's normal not to recognize cursive," Susan said, her embarrassment evident.
Natalie snorted disdainfully. I don't care if it's normal; not knowing is not knowing.
Susan immediately looked towards Oliver, the person whose opinion mattered most to her. However, he had already moved in a different direction with Natalie, treating Susan as if she were invisible.
Susan felt awkward, and the feeling was overwhelming, as if it were suffocating her.
The well was quickly found, concealed under a blanket of dead leaves, its mouth secured by a locked iron grate.
"What do we do now? We need more clues," said Barrett, an experienced hand in these situations. When faced with a lock, finding clues was his forte.
Natalie called out a sequence of numbers for Barrett to try.
To their surprise, it worked!
Mrs. Windsor was indeed clever. Oliver asked with a smile, "How did you know?"
Even he hadn't noticed that clue.
Challenged in a way that even Oliver found difficult, Natalie couldn't help but lift her chin proudly and point at the ranking next to the door lock, "The deceased's constellation was listed there, and since this was the well where the body was discarded, I thought I'd give it a go."
constellation? You understood astrology?
Cadence and Barrett were astounded.
"Miss Watson is truly ingenious," Leonard remarked, his tone teetering between teasing and genuine admiration.
Only Susan's envy grew more apparent by the second.
Clang—
"Wow—"
The ghostly figure of a woman that had appeared and vanished so suddenly, it was as if she had smashed through the window.
Already standing a safe distance from the well due to fear, Susan now found the spectral woman bearing down right behind her!
"Ah!"
Startled, she bolted forward, spotting Natalie near the entrance. Wicked thoughts flashing through her mind, she seized the opportunity to shove Natalie into the well.
"Natalie!"
"Natalie!"
Oliver, with the lamp in hand, reached out to grab Natalie but missed her by a hair's breadth.
As Natalie fell, Susan felt a chill at her ankle, her own scream piercing the air as she too was pulled into the dark abyss.
Click—
The iron lock clicked shut once more.
"Natalie!" Oliver frantically tried to dismantle the lock, but human strength was no match for steel.
"I'm okay!"
The comforting, calm voice of a woman echoed from the depths of the well.
It was dark inside, cloaking the bottom in shadow, but Natalie could look up and see Oliver's anxious face. His frantic attempt to break the lock struck a chord within her.
"Don't worry, the well isn't deep, and there are cushions below. There must be an infrared sensor around here that automatically secures the lock when two people enter. There's also another passage." Natalie assessed her surroundings, updating those above, "Don't be concerned, I'm fine."
"I'll keep looking for clues down here; you guys search upstairs. There might be some kind of switch up there to open that door," She said, her voice carrying a hint of command.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, finally realizing it was all just a game. It was impressively realistic, but there was no real danger.
"Be careful," Oliver hissed, a surge of anger beneath his breath directed at this damned game.
Natalie chuckled internally, touched by the warmth of his concern. Oliver had no idea that his current pout made him look like a kid squabbling with a toy.
She glanced at Susan by her side and asked pointedly, "Who's Mr. Windsor telling to be careful?"
"Who else but you, Natalie?" Oliver snapped.
Susan's face grew sullen.
With a laugh and a quick "Okay," Natalie remembered how Susan had deliberately pushed her earlier and couldn't resist a further jab: "Say, Leonard, don't you have any advice for your fiancée?"
Leonard, the lamp in hand, chuckled at the question as if it were a joke. "Miss Watson need not worry."
What do you care about Susan's choices?
Everyone could see Leonard's indifference towards Susan; he didn't bother to hide his lack of affection, and he certainly didn't spare her any pride.
Imagining Susan grinding her teeth in mortified anger, Natalie snorted contemptuously and then ducked into the passageway without another word to her.
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