Vol. 4 Ch. 19

“It seems like a card that offers a last-ditch chance,” Noa remarked.

“In most cases, if only one wolf and one good player remain, the wolf would win automatically. But with this card, there’s a glimmer of hope for a comeback.”

In the family games of Werewolf that Noa had played, the good side could only eliminate wolves through voting or by utilizing special roles’ abilities. So, most of the time, if one wolf and one good player were left, the wolf could easily win.

However, this interactive game differed from traditional Werewolf.

With so many clue cards and item cards available, the game encouraged strategic maneuvering, making it more immersive and suspenseful for the players.

“Then, Noa, you should keep this card,” Helena suggested. “As the **[Princess]**, your role is crucial. Our tasks revolve around protecting you, so you must survive until the end. And if a wolf remains in the end, you can use this card to try to turn the tables.”

“Exactly, big sister, you should hold onto it,” Moon agreed.

Noa nodded and stored the **[Cycle of Desperation]** card safely. “Alright, let’s keep searching for more clues.”

“Okay.”

The three young dragon girls set off once more.

The next few tasks they completed yielded relatively insignificant clues, mostly filling in background details about each character’s role.

The hints were vague, like thin strands that, even when grasped, didn’t lead to any substantial insights.

They spent the entire evening moving from task to task.

With two hours left until the 8 PM meeting, Noa suggested they return to their rooms for a quick meal before continuing.

Moon and Helena agreed without hesitation.

But as the little dragons were preparing to return, a sudden NPC announcement sounded from Helena’s Memory Stone:

**“[Guard], you have been killed; [Guard], you have been killed.”**

The voice from the Memory Stone echoed through the corridor, like the chime of a death knell resonating again and again.

One moment, the Melkvey sisters had been cheerfully discussing what to eat for dinner. The next, they were frozen in shock.

Though Moon wasn’t new to witnessing “crime scenes,” she instinctively hid behind Noa the moment the chilling kill notification sounded.

Noa’s pupils dilated as she stared at her friend in disbelief.

Helena, equally stunned, seemed unable to process what had just happened.

“I... I’ve been killed?!”

“But how could this be… We’ve spent the entire afternoon completing tasks without seeing anyone else. How could you have been killed…”

Noa rarely got frightened, especially in a game.

But for Helena to be killed, right after Aurora had been, and under such mysterious circumstances…

It felt as though a ghostly wolf lurked, unseen, lurking behind any one of them at any moment.

Moments later, a staff member arrived.

“Miss Helena, you have been eliminated. Please follow me to the Divine Observation Room for a break.”

Obeying the game rules, Helena left with the staff.

As she reached the corridor’s end, Helena paused, looking back at Noa.

“Forgive me, Your Highness. I can’t protect you any longer.”

Noa gave her a bittersweet smile. “Your duty is complete, my guard.”

Helena smiled, nodding and waving goodbye before disappearing around the corner.

After Helena left, Moon tugged on Noa’s sleeve.

Noa took her little sister’s hand.

“Big sister… What do we do now? It feels like that wolf could kill us at any moment.”

Noa frowned, biting her lip in thought.

After a brief pause, she said, “Let’s call an emergency meeting. We can’t wait until 8 PM, or someone else might be killed.”

“Okay.”

---

Ten minutes later, everyone gathered in the conference room once again.

“So… Helena was the latest to be killed?”

Claudia immediately noticed her daughter’s absence from the meeting.

Noa nodded. “Yes, I called the emergency meeting. All afternoon, Helena, Moon, and I were completing tasks together, without encountering anyone else. But just now, Helena, like Aurora, was inexplicably killed.”

“As I suspected, the wolf does indeed have long-range kill capabilities,” Leon commented.

Claudia rested her chin on her hand, pondering, “But since both Aurora and Helena were killed with Moon present, is it possible that…”

“It wasn’t me, Aunt Claudia! I was doing my tasks diligently the whole time,” Moon protested sincerely, though her words lacked persuasive weight.

But she was just a kid, and the game was meant to be fun. No one intended to interrogate her relentlessly.

Leon eventually stepped in to explain for his beloved daughter,

“Moon is part of the **[Friends Group]** and a member of the good side, so she couldn’t have killed Aurora or Helena.”

Claudia nodded. “True.”

Isha’s gaze swept over the group before she spoke,

“So, we can be sure now that this wolf has the ability to kill from a distance. We have no way to counter it, nor do we have any concrete leads on their identity, right?”

The remaining little dragons shook their heads in silent agreement.

Claudia’s silence also served as an answer.

Leon and Rosvisser exchanged a glance, seeming to communicate through a private “team language.”

Isha noticed their little exchange.

Her red dragon eyes narrowed slightly but moved on without lingering.

“Actually, Rosvisser and I previously found a clue regarding the **[Queen],**” Leon began.

“Me?” Claudia’s tone was neutral.

“Yes. That clue card mentioned that while the Queen loves her daughter, she seems to have an ulterior motive,” Leon explained calmly. “Then, after completing a three-person task with Moon and Aurora, we obtained another clue card that said, ‘That thing is a curse. It must be destroyed.’”

“That thing most likely refers to the Black Sacred Stone.”

“And according to the game’s background story, besides the deceased King and the Princess, the one most familiar with the Black Sacred Stone would be the Queen.”

“So, this line about ‘must be destroyed’ is likely something the **[Queen]** would say.”

“Given that the clue card also mentions the **[Queen]** having an ulterior motive… I have reason to suspect, Claudia, that you may be aligned with the wolves.”

Leon didn’t directly accuse Claudia of being a wolf, as this was just speculation based on the clue cards and background story.

There was no concrete evidence.

But it was the most promising lead they had. With two good players already dead, if they didn’t share clues and discuss them, the wolf with long-range kill abilities might continue to dominate the game.

After Leon finished explaining, everyone turned to look at Claudia.

The beautiful woman remained calm. After a moment of thought, she replied in a measured tone,

“If this wolf indeed has a long-range kill ability, then I no longer need to be so cautious.”

“First of all, I am not a wolf, but I’m also not strictly aligned with the good side.”

“Leon, the clue card you and Rosvisser found mentioned that the **[Queen]** has an ulterior motive, but don’t overlook the first part—it also states that the Queen deeply loves the Princess.”

“I am indeed on the Princess’s side, helping her retrieve the Black Sacred Stone.”

“However, once we find it, I have a hidden task of my own—to destroy the Black Sacred Stone.”

“To the **[Queen]** in this game, the Black Sacred Stone is a generational curse. It stirs conflict, and countless lives have been lost over it. Even her beloved **[Princess]** may one day be endangered by the Black Sacred Stone.”

“So, once the **[Queen]** finds the Black Sacred Stone, she intends to destroy it.”

“My task card specifies this:

“If I succeed in helping the **[Princess]** find the Black Sacred Stone, all members of the good side, including the **[Queen]**, win, and the **[Queen]** receives a reward. But if the **[Queen]** finds it first and uses an item card to **[destroy]** it, the **[Queen]** becomes the sole victor and earns the ultimate game reward—a ‘Black Sacred Stone’ crafted from Dark Spirit Crystal.”

“Once the **[destroy the Black Sacred Stone]** ending is triggered, not only does the **[Queen]** win, but the Princess’s side is also considered victorious, earning their own rewards.”

Claudia sighed softly, her gaze turning to Leon with a faint smile.

“In other words, I do indeed have my own objective, or hidden task. But I can choose not to complete it. As long as Noa wins, I’ll receive a reward as well.”

Leon’s deduction, based on the background story, was accurate—the **[Queen]** indeed aimed to destroy the Black Sacred Stone.

But due to information gaps between roles, he couldn’t have known Claudia’s alternate victory path.

It couldn’t be helped; drawing out Claudia’s hidden task was an impressive feat in itself.

“Alright, I misjudged you, senior,” Leon conceded.

“Not really a misjudgment. After all, I couldn’t reveal my entire task from the start, could I?” Claudia replied with a lazy smile, crossing her long legs as she looked at Noa.

“Well, my dear Princess, you know my hidden task and win conditions now. Are you going to vote me out?”

Noa gazed into those ocean-blue eyes.

She could tell that Aunt Claudia wasn’t trying to sway her decision but wanted Noa to choose for herself.

After a brief pause, Noa said,

“I won’t vote you out, Aunt Claudia. With two good players gone, we can

’t afford to lose a key role like the **[Queen].** Besides… your hidden task could help us secure victory in a crucial moment.”

Destroying the Black Sacred Stone would mean a victory for the good side.

*Snap!*

Claudia snapped her fingers, leaning forward to pinch Noa’s soft cheek with a grin.

“Smart little one.”

“So, we still haven’t identified the wolf responsible for these kills,” Rosvisser noted.

“But at least we’ve narrowed it down,” Noa said, glancing over at Leon’s side.

“If it’s not Moon, and it’s not Aunt Claudia, then the two lone wolves must be among Dad, Mom, and Aunt Isha. Three choices for two wolves… shouldn’t be too hard, right?”

“It’s not hard, Noa, but don’t blindly trust everything Aunt Claudia says,” Leon cautioned.

Noa blinked thoughtfully. “Understood, Dad.”

“Well, having a smaller suspect pool is progress. It’s better than wandering around aimlessly like before,” Isha said with a smile as she stood.

“For now, we’ll leave it at that. If another player gets killed, we’ll call an emergency meeting to narrow it down further.”

Leon noted his sister-in-law’s expression and tone as she spoke.

Why did it feel like… Isha was eager for meetings?

Could it be that as a leader, she just liked calling meetings out of habit?

“Alright then.”

The others got up and gradually left the meeting room.

With two good players eliminated by long-range attacks, the remaining players were forced to become more vigilant.

Though they knew vigilance wouldn’t help much; if the wolf planned to keep killing, they had no way to predict or prevent it.

But as Leon had mentioned, such an overpowered skill was bound to have limitations.

Now, Leon’s goal was to discover those limitations.

Only by knowing the wolf’s weaknesses could they counter them.

And—

Leon was the last to leave the meeting room, hands in his pockets, standing alone in the vast hall.

He slowly looked up at the large clock on the wall.

“6:30… Less than two hours until the next full meeting.”

“We need to find that wolf before then.”