Mallory leads her guests through the dust-filled ground floor, describing the former grandeur of each room. She unveils a portrait of the handsome Count Bastien Saphir. A disembodied voice scoffs; Mallory recognizes it as Duchess Triphine Maeng, the snarky ghost of Le Bleu’s first wife, whom only Mallory can see and hear. Mallory follows her rule not to engage with spirits in front of mortals. Triphine, shimmering in a bloodied nightgown, complains about being ignored as they enter the ballroom, where Mallory explains that children once started a fire while trying to summon Le Bleu’s spirit. A thump overhead startles everyone, and Triphine insists it was not her. Sophia suddenly shrieks, pointing behind Mallory. A tall, slender man appears reflected in the mirror. His fingers graze Mallory’s sleeve. Reacting instinctively, she grabs his arm and throws him to the floor. The young man introduces himself as Axel Badeaux, the late tour guest.

Triphine mocks Mallory for attacking handsome boys and potential husbands, but Mallory is pleased with her quick reflexes. Axel and Mallory argue about his sudden appearance, and Triphine notices his striking blue eyes, which resemble a Saphir family trait. Mallory dismisses the connection. More footsteps thump overhead, and Axel suggests an accomplice is staging effects. Triphine tries to warn that something unknown is upstairs, but Mallory ignores her to collect Axel’s fee. She continues the tour, explaining that Le Bleu killed his next two wives at his country estate, and shows her portfolio sketches of the château and the three wives: Triphine, Lucienne Tremblay, and Béatrice Descoteaux. Axel compliments her on the empathetic portraits. When Sophia questions why later wives would marry such a suspicious man, Mallory explains Le Bleu chose vulnerable women. Lucienne was embarrassing at parties after too much to drink, and Béatrice’s family needed money; he was a convincing liar who offered solutions to their problems. She leads them toward the wine cellar to show where the first murder occurred.

In the cellar, Mallory dramatically describes the gruesome details of how Le Bleu sedated Triphine, tied her to the table, stabbed her through the heart, and cut off her finger. She displays what she claims is Triphine’s wedding ring under a bell jar and opens a merchandise box, selling Louis a replica ring and Sophia a handkerchief. Triphine sings in the background that Mallory is a liar. Axel asks Mallory if she is one of the Fontaine sisters rumored to speak with ghosts, and Mallory deflects the question. She recounts how Gabrielle Savoy, the fourth wife, escaped and her brothers beheaded Le Bleu at the country estate fountain, which allegedly runs red with blood annually. As midnight strikes, Mallory triggers her staged effects: the fireplace ignites, the door blows open, and a mannequin dressed as Triphine descends the stairs. Louis and Sophia expose the trickery and reveal they are Investigators Louis Garneau and Sophia Blaise, tracking the Fontaine sisters for fraud. Sophia shackles Mallory and adds a trespassing charge. Axel intervenes, asking Mallory to prove her abilities by questioning Triphine about what she held in her last portrait. When Mallory correctly answers that Triphine held her newborn son, Axel reveals he is Count Armand Saphir, the estate owner, and stops the arrest.

Triphine excitedly confirms Armand is her descendant. After inspecting his medallion with the Saphir family crest, the investigators release Mallory and depart, vowing to nab her on fraud charges. Mallory retrieves a hidden box from the hearth containing her earnings and Duchess Triphine’s real wedding ring. Armand takes the ring, claiming it belongs to his estate. A crash from upstairs interrupts their argument. Triphine confesses she has been too frightened to investigate the disturbance. Mallory grabs her dagger and the mannequin as a shield and heads upstairs with an unarmed Armand following. A voirloup, a werewolf-like creature, emerges from a bedroom and charges. Armand shields Mallory, and the beast bites his forearm. Mallory stabs the voirloup and kicks it down the stairs. They barricade themselves in an empty bedroom, and it breaks through. Armand attempts to repel the beast with silver and throws a replica ring he took from Mallor’s merchandise into its mouth, but the fake silver has no effect. He then grabs Mallory’s coin purse and throws her silver earnings at the beast, causing it pain. He opens a window and urges Mallory to jump despite her fear of heights, promising he will break her fall. As the voirloup recovers, Armand grabs Mallory and pulls her out the window. He catches wisteria vines on the wall, but they break, and both fall from the second story.

Mallory and Armand land in the garden; he breaks her fall and loses consciousness. The voirloup leaps down, cutting off escape. A young man dressed in black, later identified as Fitcher, emerges from beneath the willow tree holding a compass-like device. He whistles to the voirloup. A second colorfully dressed young man, Constantino, appears with a longbow and shoots an arrow into the voirloup’s throat. In a flash of light, the creature transforms into a small glass figurine. Triphine calls from the window asking if Mallory is dead. Constantino hands Mallory a shimmering business card for Fitcher’s Troupe, offering services as monster hunters and curse breakers, then both men vanish. Armand regains consciousness and, having witnessed the flash of light, concludes Mallory must be a real witch.

The next morning, Anaïs Fontaine wakes Mallory as their landlady, Madame Cellier, pounds on the door demanding rent 10 weeks overdue. Anaïs notices Mallory’s disheveled, bloodstained state, and Madame Cellier mentions rumors of their swindling. The narrative recounts how their mother and respected witch, Noele Fontaine, died of influenza when Mallory was 11 years old and Anaïs 13. The girls attempted to summon her spirit through a séance but failed. To survive and avoid the orphanage, Mallory decided they would pretend to have magic and take over their mother’s business. In the present, Mallory realizes her purse is empty because Armand used her coins fighting the voirloup. She tells Madame Cellier the true story about a count and a voirloup eating her rent money, but the landlady does not believe her and orders them out by nightfall. A knock at the shop door below interrupts the argument. Mallory worries it might be the investigators arriving to arrest them but is surprised when Madame Cellier returns to announce that Mallory’s has arrived.

Count Armand Saphir waits in the Fontaine shop, cleaned up and bandaged. Mallory fakes injuries to demand compensation for her lost money. Armand meets Anaïs, who is skeptical of his identity. He explains he needs their help exorcising the ghost of his great-great grandfather, Count Bastien Saphir, from his family château in Comorre. The violent haunting began seven years ago and is destroying his legacy and business. Mallory refuses, planning to flee the investigators. Armand threatens arrest for trespassing, then retracts it and admits his desperation. They agree on a three thousand lourdes payment upon completion, and Armand offers his Saphir medallion as collateral. When Armand mentions that the ghost returned on a Mourning Moon night, Anaïs exchanges a meaningful look with Mallory, hinting at a connection to their own past. In private, Anaïs confronts Mallory about not being real witches and worries their past séance attempt might be connected to Le Bleu’s return. Mallory dismisses it as coincidence and explains that investigators are after them, making this their only escape. Anaïs reluctantly agrees, and they pack to leave immediately.

The sisters travel to Comorre in Armand’s carriage, surprised to see the Count driving himself. Mallory shows Anaïs the card for Fitcher’s Troupe as her backup plan should they need real magic. They arrive at the sprawling Saphir vineyards and see the grand but decaying château. As they approach the front courtyard, Mallory recognizes the iconic fountain where Le Bleu was beheaded. For a moment, the water appears to shimmer red. Triphine’s ghost appears in the carriage, remarking she had fallen asleep with the luggage and was unaware she could leave the Morant house. Mallory spots two other ghostly women watching from an upper window and recognizes them as Le Bleu’s other wives. Armand introduces the sisters to the small staff: Yvette the housekeeper, Julie the maid, and Claude the butler. Yvette is openly skeptical, deeming a witch’s level of petty magic as inferior to god-given magic. The chef, Pierre, runs out reporting a lutin, a mischievous hobgoblin, in the larder. Armand explains that monsters have been common pests since the veil fell, an event seventeen years prior that unleashed dark magic and monsters into the mortal world. Mallory feels excited at the prospect of a house filled with ghosts and monsters, quipping to Lord Saphir that the monsters should be the ones bothered.

Yvette leads Mallory and Anaïs to their suite in the north wing. The room is grand but worn, with faded wallpaper and threadbare rugs. Triphine follows them into the room and complains about the musty smell and straw-stuffed mattress. Anaïs notes the staff dislikes them. She then teases Mallory for developing feelings for Count Armand, pointing out how she called him Lord rather than Monsieur. Mallory denies it but internally reflects on the contrast between rumors of a reclusive, solitary count and the brave, kind boy she met who promised to break her fall. She admits he is handsome but tells Anaïs to stay focused on the job. Anaïs jokes that Mallory marrying the count would be the greatest con of all.