She was bleeding.

Yes, although it sounds incredible...... However, the painting did bleed.

Or rather, it could be blood.

The knife flew out and drove into her chest and abdomen. As if it had really been nailed into the chest and abdomen of a real person, the dark red liquid continued to flow down from the blade of the kitchen knife, dripping to the ground.

"Ahhhhh

The woman in the painting suddenly let out a scream of pain and hysteria.

The moment he heard that voice, Annan suddenly felt an extremely strong headache mixed with sleepiness and irritability...... For example, it's like waking up to the sound of a renovation drill next door or upstairs after only three hours of sleep.

And the kind of way you can feel your bed shaking – even more so – even more so than that.

Annan felt a flower in front of his eyes, and a fluttering dizziness came from his head.

But there was not the slightest boredom, fear or anger on Annan's face......

There is only caper.

He smiled happily, and without hesitation, he pulled out another kitchen knife from behind his back, got up and approached.

He held the kitchen knife in his backhand and stabbed it hard at the woman's face.

Poof—

After a strange, dull sound, another bright red droplet poured out of the new wound and slowly dripped downward......

But not before the dark red traces drip out of the painting.

Annan grabbed the second kitchen knife and pulled it out vigorously.

I saw that bright red traces burst out and fell on Annan's face, the fair and lovely face that belonged to Elle Morrison, which looked particularly shiny.

"Can you still call it......"

Annan muttered, the smile on the corner of his mouth becoming more and more pleasant: "What about this......

As he spoke, he continued to pull out the kitchen knife with all his might, and then stabbed it again with all his strength into the mouth, throat, eyes, forehead, hands, and no portrait in the background.

To Annan's disappointment, he pierced the portrait's mouth and slit its throat in time, but failed to stop the portrait's screams; When he pierced the eyeball, there was no liquid similar to the color of the eyeball, but it was still the same crimson, cold, slippery liquid to the touch...... Even when piercing the background, it also "bleeds".

It doesn't seem like blood. It just looks like blood.

But the color of the real blood should be darker than that.

And as Annan repeatedly cut through the kitchen knife with both hands, the screams of the portrait became quieter and quieter. Eventually, there was no movement.

Annan was a little disappointed, shook off the blood-red droplets on his hand, and wiped his face again.

“…… Damn, the clothes are dirty. ”

Annan muttered, "Won't be discovered by Amos?" ”

The tone and tone of his voice when he said this became more and more similar to that of Elle. If Amos had been outside the door at this time, he would never have doubted his identity.

After reading Elle's diary, Annan has a deeper understanding of imitating Elle:

She doesn't usually call Amos "Father", but usually calls him by his first name, "Amos". Before, Elle called him dad, and it seemed that she was just expressing her displeasure......

"It's an annoying thing."

Annan sighed lightly, and reached out to wipe the blood-like, oily-to-touch red liquid on his hands and kitchen knife on the portrait that was not screaming.

Originally, this painting was like being alive.

If the portrait of Elle that Amos drew before is as real as a photograph.

Then this screaming painting is as if it has a soul. Elle had just looked at it from afar, and she couldn't even decide if it was a painting, or if there was a real person looking at it hidden behind a transparent window.

But also because of this...... It's a little scary.

Because it's so much like a real person - it's gone beyond a limit, and it's become terrifying.

…… And now, it has lost that soul and has become mediocre. It's like an ordinary word, and at a glance, you will no longer have the illusion of "how is there a person hiding here".

But at this moment, Annan's footsteps suddenly stopped.

He could hear it vaguely...... The sound of someone downstairs opening the door with a key.

…… Damn, it still didn't catch up.

Is it because of the fifteen minutes of delay......

Thinking of this, Annan quickly ran back to his desk and put the two books he had read back in their original places.

He looked at the third book, The Curse and Seal of the Soul, which he hadn't had time to read, and hesitated for a moment.

“…… Take it away. ”

He made up his mind.

After all, the painting was broken, and if Amos returned to the room, he would definitely notice the problem. Then it makes no difference if the book is still here or not.

So Annan reached out and disrupted the original row of "The Curse and Seal of the Soul", making the gap in the empty book less conspicuous. Then he tucked it snugly into his clothes.

…… Fortunately, Elle's figure is relatively humble, and it doesn't take up much space on the top.

This is the kind of humility and tolerance that even if you stuff a thick book into it, you can even have a lot of space.

Then Annan patted her chest to make sure that the book would not fall out easily, and then pinned the slightly smaller kitchen knife back to her waist. Turning back to the portrait, he grabbed the first large kitchen knife that flew over and pulled it out with all his might.

He looked at the tattered frame, painted with red paint, and was silent for a moment.

Then turn it over and put it back in its place.

"So that Amos shouldn't notice it at first sight......"

Annan muttered, quickly opened the door of the study, and ran back to his room.

From the time he heard the door open to the time he ran back to his room, it took less than a dozen seconds.

Then he took the book out and put it under his pillow. He took out a few more kitchen knives and put them on the dresser, and then took off his "bloodstained clothes", stacked them haphazardly, and stuffed them into the closet.

After that, he took out another long dress.

— but don't put it on yet.

Annan pretended to be dressed, but stopped halfway through his movements.

Then he kept doing so until Amos opened his room, which he deliberately did not close.

Sure enough, soon he heard footsteps getting closer.

It was only then that Annan began to get dressed.

"Elle, I'm back- oh, sorry......"

"Please go out first, Mr. Amos!"

Annan pretended to be angry, turned around and reprimanded: "Go to the restaurant and wait for me, I'll come out right away-"

Seeing Amos leave in a bit of embarrassment, Annan's face turned expressionless again.

That's it.

As long as Annan does this, so to speak. It can control Amos from immediately searching Elle's room and not rushing back to the study......

This is Annan's simple method of manipulating people's hearts. The technique of conversation that even ordinary people can master.

Yes, he is just an ordinary ordinary person. Therefore, it is all the more cautious.