Kleberg

In the 19th century Victorian era in Europe, a young artist couple bought a large estate in a remote mountainous area at a low price. Due to ominous tales attached to previous owners, the estate had a bad reputation. However, the couple did not care about superstitions and rumors. Then misfortune indeed struck, and the couple was murdered by bandits. The estate changed hands several times but remained notorious, left abandoned for a long time. In 1923, a mysterious young man purchased the estate. Under his substantial investments, the estate regained vitality, but many areas remained neglected (such as the forest, hunting grounds, and church). Just as everyone thought the estate would prosper under this young man's management, strange events began to unfold; people noticed that the gaps in staffing were seemingly insatiable, with recruitment never ceasing. Numerous missing persons cases in society ultimately pointed to this place, yet multiple investigations by the police yielded no results.

In 1926, detective Orpheus arrived at the estate to investigate the disappearance of a young girl following a mysterious commission letter. Throughout his evidence investigation, Orpheus began to deduce and reconstruct the case. A great fire burned down most of the estate. People found that the cause of death of the victims in the fire had no relation to the fire itself, with only a few survivors found unconscious on the ground. Their positions seemed specially arranged, as if a certain mysterious ritual had taken place, with Orpheus among the survivors. Strangely enough, upon waking, all the survivors found themselves having completely forgotten why they had come to the estate and what had happened there. The encounters faced by the survivors were classified as victims of some ritual, while the causes of death of the remaining personnel remained inexplicable. The estate was then closed, and since then, no one dared to approach or inquire about the area, which came to be known as "the notorious estate."

Behind the scenes: the mysterious young man conducts estate games every three years. Survivors must escape from various scenes while overseers must capture the survivors. Scores are then calculated, and rewards and punishments are determined based on the comparison of scores over the three-year period. After each competition, all participants return to the estate for unified meals and accommodation. Participants enter the game for various reasons. The estate master, whether true or false, falsely promises participants that their wishes will be fulfilled if they win, attracting both humans and supernatural beings to join. For example, the factory owner may wish to rebuild his arms empire, while Hastur hopes to break the seal, and a lawyer wishes to clear his debts, etc. The estate game does not take place inside the estate but is held in other places in England or even farther away, preferring the territories of the overseers: for instance, Factory Head Leo's Minerva munitions factory or Joker's Moonlit Park. When the three years are up, the estate master rewards and punishes participants through mysterious rituals, with the degree of rewards and punishments based on scores; those with excessively low scores will lose their lives, their souls being used to repay debts. Detective Orpheus suffers from memory loss as a consequence of his punishment.
Frederick Kleiberg was tormented by ghosts in his head throughout childhood, until he attended his father's concert for the first time—splendid music enveloped everything and silenced the demonic whispers in his mind, like the dawn breaking through imprisonment.

From then on, he became enamored with music. Only music could free him from the voices in his head; he believed music was his redemption in this world, the ark of life in the flood.

He thought he would receive the protection of the Muse like the others in his family and shine as a new star in the arts, but Orpheus did not love him more.

Over time, people's "appreciation" of him relied more on his outstanding appearance and emotionally "overwhelming the ladies," rather than the nearly exhausted "talent."