thinkoutsidethebox | Memory 16 (trivial neutral)

Who's the woman in that portrait? [EP6] Form of a Jasper-colored scrap of burlap. Tie it around your wrist. Infinite uses.

The cousins plus Erika and Shannon are heading out to go back to the guesthouse after dinner. Chronologically this is shortly before her fight with Maria.

ERIKA: ......Did you hear something just now?
GEORGE: I think I heard it too. It sounded like a clunk......
JESSICA: It's probably just the wind hitting a window. Heheh, this is a beat-up old mansion, after all.
BATTLER: Yeah, it is pretty creepy. When I was a brat six years ago, I remember spending a lot of nights all scared that the witch really was walking around the mansion.
MARIA: Uu-, exists! Beatrice exists!
ERIKA: .........What's at the other end of this hallway?
SHANNON: There are guest rooms there, but they aren't being used now.
GEORGE: Yeah. After all, we have the guesthouse now. Until then, we would always stay in these guest rooms.
BATTLER: Yeah, I remember too. When I saw the guesthouse today, I was surprised at how beautiful it was.
JESSICA: Well, that's because it was just built. I wish I could move my own room over there. Shannon, Erika-san's room is in the guesthouse too, right?
SHANNON: Yes. We have prepared a room for her in the guesthouse.
ERIKA: ......And, since the guesthouse is a good distance away from the mansion, ......no matter what kind of trouble happens, you can't hear what's going on in one from the other.
BATTLER: Heh. Are you still in detective mode? Ihihi, sounds as though you'll be disappointed when we wake up tomorrow and everyone can say 'good morning' to each other.
ERIKA: *giggle*, true. It would be troublesome if our numbers haven't thinned by tomorrow morning. Right?
SHANNON: A, ...allow me to guide you all to the guesthouse...

The adults were apparently about to begin a conversation that they didn't want the kids to hear.
......The real family conference was about to start.
As the kids and Erika followed Shannon on their way to the guesthouse, they passed through the entrance hall...

GEORGE: Looks like it's pouring down at its hardest right now.
BATTLER: ......Should we watch TV in the parlor until it dies down a bit?
MARIA: Mama said to go back to the guesthouse. Have to go or she'll get mad. Uu-.
JESSICA: I think it'll be a lot more relaxed over there... I'm more than happy to stay away from our parents' unpleasant voices and faces.
ERIKA: .........*giggle*giggle*. It looks like everything's falling into place.

Erika giggled, an openly indiscreet look on her face.

SHANNON: I'll go prepare some umbrellas for everyone. Please wait here.
ERIKA: Oh, wait a second. It's been bugging me for a while. ......Who's the woman in that portrait?

Well, to be honest, I already know that it's Beato's portrait.
......Still, we only just walked past it in the last game, which is no fun.

Erika whispered to herself, but of course no one heard her.

SHANNON: ......This is the Master's benefactor, Beatrice-sama.
GEORGE?: I've heard that she gave Grandfather a vast quantity of gold, meaning that she's to thank for the Ushiromiya family's revival.
JESSICA: .........She's just a witch of Grandfather's delusions. They say that her ghost walks the corridors of the mansion every night.
BATTLER: Hey, quit it... That story always freaked me out when I was little, so much that I couldn't stand being in the mansion at night.
GEORGE: Oh, right, that's true. What about now, six years later?
BATTLER: I'd totally forgotten, but looking at this portrait head on, I can feel that old fear coming back a bit.
MARIA: Uu-. Beatrice isn't scary. At least, as long as you respect her. If you don't, .........kihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihi! Right, Shannon?!
SHANNON: Uh, ......yes. ......That rumor does exist among the servants as well. ......Rumors about servants patrolling at night bumping into mysterious silhouettes...or gold butterflies...
JESSICA: Yeah, was it last year or the year before? Didn't one servant fall down some stairs and get so badly injured that they quit? Wasn't there a rumor that it was Beatrice's curse? Ihhihihihi~!

Jessica told it like a ghost story, trying to scare Erika, but Erika just laughed disdainfully.

BATTLER: C, come on, that's creepy... It was probably just an accident, right? Just a coincidence?
GEORGE: ......It happened just after Grandfather had this portrait hung here, so it was probably the year before last. ......In fact, if I remember, this here is the staircase that servant fell down, right?
JESSICA: Yep. After all, this insanely huge portrait really stands out. Shortly after it was put up, everyone was talking about what it might be. ......And then, when the accident happened shortly afterwards, people started calling it Beatrice's curse.
ERIKA: So, these ghost stories about Beatrice started after the portrait was displayed...?
SHANNON: ......N, no. Rumors about Beatrice-sama's ghost walking about had been around even before that. However, I think those stories grew in number after the portrait was put there...
GEORGE: ......Before then, even though they had heard about the witch Beatrice, they didn't have an actual distinct picture in their heads of what she'd be like. I imagine that this portrait made that picture distinct for them, strengthening the rumors even more.
ERIKA: So, ......who started talking about the witch Beatrice in the first place?
JESSICA?: Grandfather. He would get in a rage and start yelling about 'my beloved witch Beatri~ce'. Though until we saw that portrait, we had no idea what she looked like.
GEORGE?: It's no surprise that you'd get one or two ghost stories with a creepy portrait like this hanging around. You'd always get ghost stories cropping up around things like a portrait of Beethoven in the music room or the statue of the school founder.
ERIKA: ......True. It wouldn't be strange for a few ghost stories to arise in an old, gloomy mansion with the sound of wind and rain present in the background for so long. ......Well, it's nothing more than a ghost story, a delusion, a fairy tale. Worth less than the useless drivel of a half-sleeping nitwit.

Erika looked up at the portrait and smiled at it hostilely......

As though she felt that this smile was disrespectful to Beato, Maria's face soured.

MARIA: ......Uu-. Beatrice exists. If you say things like that, you'll definitely feel the curse of the witch.
ERIKA: Oh, how frightening. Please, curse me if you can, Beatrice. ......*giggle*giggle*.
BATTLER: Ihihi. So, if we find you mysteriously dead next morning, it'll be the start of a witch's murder case. ......You're the detective, right? Wouldn't having the detective get killed off in the beginning be a little too radical?
ERIKA: Ah, that would be troubling. That would get in the way of the crime scene inspection. ......I see, even the Knox rules don't prohibit the detective being killed.
MARIA: I have something good! ......It's a charm that'll protect you from Beatrice's curse...!
BATTLER: A charm? You have a charm for something like that?

After fishing around in her bag, Maria pulled out a string of beads attached to a medal that had a scorpion drawn on it. ......It looked like a cheap prize from an arcade or something.

ERIKA: What are these?
MARIA: Uu-! They're magic-repelling charms! Their effect is very weak, but if you use them, you'll definitely be able to avoid Beatrice's curse all night long.
SHANNON: I've heard that spiderwebs are also useful for repelling magic.
MARIA: Uu-. That's probably because Beato is the incarnation of a butterfly.
JESSICA: Huh? Wasn't it the evil spirits of Akujikishima that were weak against that? Kumasawa-san knows a lot about that sort of thing.
ERIKA: ......Witches...and evil spirits? Heheh, this is getting a bit interesting. Would you mind telling me about it in a bit more detail when we get to the guesthouse?
SHANNON: Here are umbrellas for everyone. It is still raining very hard outside, so please take care.

Shannon handed out the umbrellas she had brought.
Everyone headed towards the exit......

Effects:
- Mostly just slightly more backstory on Beatrice's legend!