Chapter 6
The chilly darkness had settled over the late dawn. In the central hallway, where all the lights were out, only the cold click of shoe heels echoed.
I shouldn’t have listened to that. Now I just feel uneasy.
With the excuse of wanting to have a word with Adolf, Isabel had left the parlor. Yet her steps felt weighed down, as if lead had been tied to them.
It was a relief that Adolf hadn’t been there; had he been, she wouldn’t even know what kind of face she should put on in front of him.
“Still… I should go talk to him, right…?”
Isabel narrowed her eyes toward the far end of the corridor.
In the distance, a faint, translucent shadow shimmered, then soon revealed itself as a small, human-shaped ghost.
“Mama!”
“Rosie? Where have you been until now?”
“Followed Sophia and went to look around the village!”
Earlier in the evening, Sophia had been making a fuss about how there were no ingredients for tomorrow’s breakfast. Apparently, she had gone shopping in the nearby village.
Isabel lifted Rosie, who had raised her arms, and asked,
“Where’s Sophia?”
“She’s playing a game of cutting up a big cow with a knife. Tomorrow’s breakfast will be fresh beef stew and sirloin steak!”
Oh, even a butchering show? She must’ve really caught something big.
“Rosie… you didn’t bother Sophia, did you?”
“No! Even when I talked to her, she wouldn’t answer me.”
Isabel patted the ghost’s back as Rosie sulkily rubbed her face against Isabel’s shoulder.
Well, humans with as little spiritual sensitivity as Sophia were rare.
Even if every ghost in the world charged at Sophia at once, she probably wouldn’t bat an eye.
“Mama, I’m sleepy.”
“By the way, why do you keep calling me Mama? You know I’m not your mom now.”
“It’s just easier. Can’t I?”
Rosie’s green eyes sparkled like they held little stars.
It’s only for a while anyway. No harm in it.
Isabel shrugged as if to say “Do as you like” and continued walking.
She planned to drop Rosie off in her room and then visit Adolf. After hearing about his circumstances, it didn’t feel right to just ignore him.
“Oh, right! I saw a really handsome person in the mansion!”
“Handsome person? What did he look like?”
“He was super tall. Blonde, with sparkly eyes—really pretty.”
Isabel stopped in her tracks, one man coming to mind.
“…By any chance, was his face good-looking too? Fair skin?”
“Yeah! When I saw him under the moonlight, I thought he was a prince! But… he looked kind of dangerous. His expression was scary.”
She didn’t need to hear more. That was Adolf.
But dangerous?
Has he already woken up? While still possessed?
If that were true, it was serious. Wandering around with an unknown ghost possessing him—without any countermeasures—was dangerous. If he happened to leave the mansion grounds, the consequences could be disastrous.
“Rosie, where did you see him?”
“Over there! At the balcony at the end of the hallway!”
Isabel hurried toward the place Rosie mentioned, praying she wasn’t too late.
The balcony was tightly shut. There was no sign anyone had come or gone.
Pushing aside the fluttering curtains, Isabel stepped out into the night. Through the thick fog, the gentle moonlight welcomed her.
Leaning on the railing, she slowly scanned the surroundings.
The dense ash forest whispered eerie rustles in the early summer breeze.
But it was the same view as always—nothing suspicious.
Of course he wouldn’t still be here… I should check his bedroom. But…
A purple spark crackled over her gray eyes as she gazed into the air.
Gradually, countless ghosts appeared in her vision. They varied in appearance but were all desperately trying to squeeze themselves past the barrier into the mansion.
They wouldn’t succeed easily with the ward in place.
The problem was the number.
There seem to be way more than usual tonight.
Normally, ghosts who had heard rumors of her would come seeking her help to settle their grudges. But tonight… their numbers were extraordinary. Twice—no, five times as many.
Even Isabel, who wasn’t afraid of ghosts, felt a shiver seeing so many clustered together.
“Uuuh… Rosie’s scared…”
If it was unsettling for an adult, how much more for a child?
Isabel covered Rosie’s eyes with her hand and turned back inside. Until she left the balcony, her gaze stayed fixed on the shrieking ghosts.
A sticky, ominous presence clung stubbornly to the hem of her dress.
Bang. Isabel shut the balcony door, cutting off the feeling. When the eerie cries stopped ringing in her ears, her pounding heart calmed as well.
She headed straight for Adolf’s bedroom, pausing at the door to catch her breath.
Rosie asked what was wrong, but Isabel didn’t even have the focus to answer.
After several deep breaths, she opened the brightly lit bedroom door.
“…Haa…”
She let out a long sigh of relief.
Her eyes, dulled from the dark, adjusted to see Adolf lying in bed.
The tension drained from her body, making her sway. She had been worried he might have gone outside and been harmed by the ghosts—but thankfully, that hadn’t happened.
“…Sleeping well, I see.”
He was in the exact same position as when she’d left earlier, deep in slumber.
Then maybe Rosie saw wrong?
“Rosie, the ‘prince’ you said you saw earlier…”
“This is him! This is who I saw!”
“You’re sure?”
“Uh… maybe not?”
“Rosie.”
Rosie hesitated, her voice losing confidence.
“It was too dark, so I couldn’t see clearly. His hair color was the same though…”
“The person you saw—was he human?”
“I don’t know…”
Then maybe it had been a ghost that slipped through the barrier into the mansion.
Once this is over, I should cleanse the place. Can’t just let strange ghosts wander freely.
Setting Rosie down, Isabel scolded her gently.
“Don’t say things you’re not sure about.”
“Sorry, Mama.”
“Don’t do it again, okay?”
“I promise.”
Hooking her pinky finger with Isabel’s, Rosie gave a gloomy face and quietly vanished.
Isabel sat by the bed, opening her spiritual sight to examine Adolf.
No other spirit presence, and his soul’s flow was steady.
She reached out, brushing aside the hair that had fallen over his face. Her fingers moved carefully through his tousled hair.
When she was done tidying it, her hand lingered on his slightly swollen cheek.
“At least when you’re asleep, you look as gentle as a—hic.”
Her quiet mumble was interrupted by a sudden hiccup.
Because Adolf, who had been sound asleep, had opened his eyes and was staring at her.
A cold sweat ran down her back as she froze with her hand still on his cheek.
In a flash, Adolf grabbed her slender wrist, his expression twisting dangerously.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“…No. Hic.”
“Then are you begging me to kill you?”
“…Of course not. Hic.”
Clicking his tongue, Adolf threw her hand aside.
Ugh, his temper is awful…
Isabel pouted at him as he straightened his disheveled clothes.
“Are you feeling better now?”
“What is that supposed to mean? Are you asking if I’m fine after you knocked me out twice?”
As he fastened his gold cufflinks, he asked without looking at her.
“…That was clearly self-defense.”
“Self-defense? You laid hands on the body of the Emperor of this country. You should be grateful I’m not killing you on the spot. I guess your curse is the only thing saving you right now.”
Does he have to say it like that…!
Anger boiling, Isabel shot to her feet, gripping the bedframe.
“Must you always speak like that? Does it not matter to you how the other person feels?”
“I don’t see why I should care about your feelings.”
Looking like he didn’t even find her worth responding to, Adolf straightened his crooked cravat and headed for the door. Isabel quickly followed.
“And what do you plan to do if you just walk away like this? The ghost possessing His Majesty’s body—”
Adolf stopped and turned.
Isabel accidentally bumped her nose into his chest, rubbing it red before stepping back.
“Isabel d’Or Herphelder.”
His voice dropped low as he stepped toward her again, closing the space she’d made. Between the shadows of his lashes, his red eyes glinted with a dangerous light.
The sheer size difference—nearly two and a half head-lengths—made her shrink back.
He gripped her narrow shoulders, leaning close to her ear.
“You’re already far too presumptuous. Best to keep that mouth shut… unless you really do want to die.”
Pressing her shoulders firmly, Adolf opened the door and left.
Only after a long while did Isabel finally release the breath she’d been holding. She hadn’t even realized she’d been holding it from the tension.
Glaring toward the empty doorway, she muttered,
“Acting all high and mighty… when in the end, you still need my help.”
