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Isabella II: Something finally happens
'October 21, Friday | Ermengarde Mansion | Afternoon'
Music: Ambience Mansion Exterior
It takes a few more minutes until I finally reach the infamous mansion. I have to admit: The entire property does look wonderful from the outside.
For some reason, they cut a descriptive line in recent version of the game at this point. Here's what it was: Beautifully situated in the middle of a vast, open field, with several lush, green trees dotting its vicinity that converge in a small woodland nearby.
Yet, despite all of this, it does nothing to hide that something is just… wrong. The surrounding area is unusually silent, and only the rustling of the leaves can be heard as the occasional breeze passes. While Anslem Village is just a few miles away, everybody keeps their distance on purpose. Perhaps out of fear, the horror of falling under the mansion's curse. Somehow, it makes me feel sad.
The lack of immediate human presence just makes this place all the more eerie than it has any right to be. If it's uncanny in broad daylight, I can't imagine how this place looks at night.
TAXI DRIVER: Are you planning to go inside that place, missy?
The voice nearly makes me jump out of my skin.
Yes, even that no-face cab driver who (probably) never shows up again is actually voiced. Basically anything that isn't internal monologue is voiced. The only exceptions i've come across were obvious bugs. It's kind of impressive.
Without completely taking my eyes away from the house, I give the driver a confused nod. A beat passes while I wait for him to say more, but his only answer is a non-committal hum. Belatedly, it occurs to me that he must've been waiting for my payment. I mentally slap myself for spacing out and promptly hand him the fare with an apologetic look. I expected him to leave as soon as I've paid, but there's a hesitant expression on him, as if something hasn't been said yet.
TAXI DRIVER: Look, missy. I'm sure you've heard what the people are telling everyone about that place. Nobody likes to be disturbed when they're at peace. And I'm pretty sure whatever they say is in that house, doesn't want to either. I admit they did a good job fixing it up. But there must've been a reason why even distant relatives of the family who used to own the house, never lived in there despite inheriting it. No wonder they wanted to get rid of it.
: Ma-Maybe they just didn't like it...?
TAXI DRIVER: You never know.
He drives off after, but what he said has left a foreboding feeling in my gut.
I breathe out a heavy sigh as I approach the house. After hearing enough of the rumors, I should've expected the conversation to take that turn! But I'm already here. Backing out is completely out of the question. It's not like I have a choice, anyway. If I want to get that bonus and commission, one way or another, I've got to sell this property.
The door is ajar when I get to it, however, while my own copy of the keys dangle uselessly in my hand. Rose must have left it open when she arrived. That's... weird. We may be the only people here this early but I've never known her as someone careless.
'October 21, Friday | Mansion Foyer | Afternoon'
It's a very pretty house. The chandelier is gently swaying, and the light periodically gleams through the stained glass in the back and on the bannisters. This game's locations are animated so nicely for being basically static backgrounds.
Entering, what greets me inside leaves me gaping. They've cleaned every corner, waxed the floor, dusted the antiques; searched every nook, cranny, and crevice, and made it spic and span. All for the sake of making the mansion more enticing to the modern-day lords and ladies. But no matter how hard they try, the mansion still looks as soulless as ever... As though it's going to eat you alive.
If you ask me, they should've just listened to what other people have been telling them and leave this place alone. Some things in this world are better left alone, never to be disturbed ever again.
Rose?
I call out.
Rose, I'm here. Where are you?
My voice echoes softly throughout the hallways. … Oh, who am I kidding?! In a place this big? I don't think she'll hear me no matter how deafening the silence is. She could be all the way on the other side of the property, for all I know!
But…
OPERATOR: The number you have dialed has not been recognized. Please check and try again.
What do you mean 'has not been recognized'? We were just talking awhile ago! It's not like she was eaten by the house, right?
Uh, that's kind of a stretch there. You're trying to lay on the panicked horror thing a little too thick.
Or— Or maybe, the ghosts did hear us talking and spirited her away? Right? Right?! … No, Isabella. Don't be ridiculous! She probably just wandered deeper into the house and lost signal or something. I dial her number again, hoping the call will connect this time.
(*click*)
But to no avail. Oh, boy. I have a very bad feeling about this.
No! Bad Isabella! That line is reserved for campy action heroes! In every other genre, you should never utter that sentence.
Rose? If you can hear me, please come out… Come on, Rose! This isn't funny! You know this place gives me the creeps!
No answer.
This isn't going to work. The place is big! She could be anywhere! I need to start looking for her. I take a deep breath before venturing deeper into the mansion.
(*horror sting plays*)
Taking a couple of steps forward, I notice something move above the grand staircase.
Not funny! I'm leaving you if you don't come out! Not coming out, huh? Fine! I'm going!
Okay, that's a lie. She's my friend. I can't really leave until I know she's alright.
Growing desperate, I try to contact her number again. Come on, please give me something. Please, Lord? …
(*phone rings*)
Yes, finally!
Hello? Hello? Rose, I'm here at the mansion. Where the hell are you?
She doesn't respond. There's also heavy static coming from her side. I sincerely hope it doesn't get cut off again before I can get an answer from her!
Rose, come on... where are you?
A few moments pass until the static eventually starts to quiet down.
(Ominous static plays in the background)
Heeey... that noise sounds familiar... We should definitely go check that out and not immediately get the fuck outta here. I learned that from Fatal Frame.
What? The attic? Why?
…Crap. It got cut off.
(*click*)
Man, do I really need to go there? With how deep inside the mansion the attic is, there's barely any signal there. No wonder I can't contact her! But why is she there? Out of all places, she just has to make me go fetch her in the creepiest room of this place. Is she doing this to get back at me for being late?
Whatever. I'll just go. The sooner I meet up with her, the sooner I'll feel better about being here.
I carefully make my way up the staircase. My legs wobble as I mentally curse the fact that I've chosen real estate, instead of picking a career that doesn't involve strange, abandoned houses. Upon reaching the top, the grand hallway greets me.
'October 21, Friday | Mansion Hallway | Afternoon'
Music: Ambience Mansion Exterior
It branches out to the two major wings of the mansion — the East and West Wing. There are two attics here, one on each side. But the east one has been converted to a storage room of sorts, and somehow, I find it least likely for Rose to wander there by herself. Besides, she never did like going into stuffy storage rooms. So I head towards the West Wing first, where a simple wooden door at the end of the hall opens to a small room.
Inside is another set of steps leading to the second attic. Unlike the grand staircase though, the stairs to the attic are steep and narrow; made of old stones and covered with a thick coating of dust that kicks up into the air with every step.
Thank God it's still daytime. If it wasn't for the light streaming through the door behind me, I might easily stumble and fall. With how old the place is, there are no light fixtures to illuminate the cramped passage up. Why they didn't bother to add one here when they renovated, escapes me! Sheesh, they did it with the rest of the house!
Wow, you're kind of a nag, Isabella.
A small bedroom welcomes me at the end.
'October 21, Friday | Mansion Attic | Afternoon'
Music: BGM Maid Room
It looks exactly as it did since the last time I've been here: full of dust, worn out, and faded by time. Odd. I thought they cleaned everything? Did the crew miss this room? Ugh, cleanliness is the least of my concerns right now. The more pressing matter is Rose.
She's not here! Was I dreaming when I talked to her a while ago? Did I mishear her? No, no. It couldn't have been a dream. After all, the creepy ambiance of this estate is doing such a remarkable job of making sure I stay alert and awake. And I'm sure she said she's here.
...Is this a prank? Or maybe... that phone call was Rose's last message to me before the curse got to her… Ugh, shut up, brain! You are not helping!
Yes, please do! Man, that's a lot of 
and angst and not a lot happening. If this was a horror shooter, Rose's mangled corpse would spontaneously drop from the ceiling riiight about.... now.
Don't make this scarier than it already is! But if she's not here— Then where is she? …
(*clunk*)
Well, something fell, but we don't get to see what it was.
What the hell was that?! … That's it! I can't do this anymore! I'm leaving! We must have angered the spirits living here. I knew disturbing this mansion was a bad idea! Right from the very start!
But nobody listened!
Okay, calm down! Nothing happened! I'm sorry for swearing earlier on, you don't have to follow suit.
Me and my "outlandish, backwater country beliefs"!
I guess it's really not a good time to be an immigrant in Great Britain right now. Maybe the professional opposition Isabella faces has more reasons than just superstition.
I've always strived to be a model employee, but not this time, no! I'm turning back for the sake of my sanity! Briar Realty can find another agent who is more "fucking realistic" to tour people around this haunted house!
Before leaving, I take one last look at the gloomy, old room. Just to check.
Huh, what's this?
My worries about Rose's whereabouts must have caused me to miss it when I first entered the room. But there's clearly something on the floor. It looks like...
About damn time we finally get to see this game-naming letter. Though to be honest, it has less of an impact than you might think. It's still mainly about the spoopy house. I guess 'The House' wasn't quite catchy enough for a title. Or they couldn't decide whether to go with a haunted place like in The Grudge or with a haunted object like in The Ring and decided to do both! 
Lying on the ground, just a couple of inches away from my feet. Out of sheer curiosity, I lean down and pick it up.
(click for video until end of update)
Now and then, special short scenes get these custom CGs. They are more animated than the usual backgrounds and are often the game's way of showing us a not-first-person viewpoint for a change. They usually have some parallax scrolling around, characters moving a certain way, and sometimes new things appearing in them while the scene plays out. I'll try to supply a video whenever an interesting one comes up. This one is mostly silent monologues, but it's the first one, so hey.
In this particular example, Isabella keeps slowly picking up the letter all the while we read through her internal monologue below.
Music: BGM Tension 1
Strange. I don't recall seeing this the last time I was here.
A few days back, me and a few other agents inspected the mansion to prepare for today. I had been the last to look inside the attic and leave, and this certainly hadn't been here before. Someone must have left it in this room since then. Did Rose leave this for me? Was she here a while ago? I couldn't have missed her though, could I? There's only one set of stairs leading to the attic.
The letter isn't exactly in pristine condition. In fact, it looks rather ancient. The paper is so thin and rough, I'm worried it'll fall apart if I so much as touch it. But with great care, I open it and what I read shakes me to my core.
(*horror sting*)
Nothing but the words "HELP ME" fills the page. All of it, seemingly written with a crimson-shaded pen… Or blood. I gulp. The same phrase just goes on and on, until...
The camera pans down to reveal the lower part of the letter.
Send this to five people or else… Or else… what?
You know, i was half-joking about the game ripping off the The Ring video tape earlier, but this is literally a cursed chain letter. 
We even get an achievement that tells us to pass it to our friends!
Pass It On - Find the Letter
As quickly as I can, I scan the back of the paper and peek into the envelope to make sure I'm not missing out on a second page. But there's nothing.
No... oh, please, no.
My hands tremble as dread creeps over me. The room is suddenly getting colder. I need to get out of here!
Music: BGM Tension 2
(*Camera pans up with a horror sting*)
A pair of blood-soaked feet enters my field of vision: covered in gaping wounds, with skin eaten away to reveal flesh, bone, and all manner of things one isn't meant to see.
It's too much. All of it is too much. I want to cry, call for help, but the words catch in my throat. Even my feet won't move, completely paralyzed out of terror.
Something finally happened! So, what do we do now?
Do we really want to look up and risk becoming Lot's second wife, metaphorically? Maybe it's just a corpse that came from.... somewhere, and we'd feel mighty silly just sitting around.
Or would we rather not take a closer look at a mangled corpse and stay down, and pretend to be dead or a statue juuuust in case this isn't just dead body that fell out of a ceiling sofa?
Decide this and the outcome of the previous decision below!
POLL: What does Isabella do now?
POLL: What did Isabella say to Rebecca earlier?