Chapter 10

Chapter 10

“Butler! It’s not what you think—not at all!”

I caught up to him—he was already a good distance from the study—and shouted.

“…….”

No answer again. Come on, man! Say something!

The butler’s expression as he looked at me was inscrutable. I couldn’t read its exact meaning, but somehow I felt like he was silently reproaching me. It made me feel like some piece of garbage who’d just taken advantage of someone’s body and then tried to plead ignorance. No, I’m not that kind of trash!

“Butler, it’s not like that. His Grace was unconscious—out cold…”

“…….”

“He was completely out of it, so I laid him down on the sofa. And okay, we were pressed together in that situation, but…”

Ugh. The more I explain, the more I sound like scum. Shut up, Laura Highen!

I raised my right hand and slapped myself across the cheek. Hard enough that my whole scalp went numb. The butler flinched and grabbed my wrist.

“Butler, listen. This is a huge misunderstanding.”

I snapped back to my senses and started explaining to him from the beginning. I laid it all out—every detailed, blow-by-blow account of what had happened between the Duke and me.

“……And that’s how it all went down.”

“Is that so?”

The butler replied. He almost sounded a little disappointed.

Ha… No… It’s probably just my imagination, right?

“Yes. Well, I’ll head back to my room now. And please tell His Grace I’ll be coming in a bit late to work…”

Letting out a long sigh, I passed the message to the butler and trudged back to my room. The whole commotion today had worn me out. This is why you shouldn’t meddle! Why did I have to get my nose into it again?!

* * *

When I clocked in, the Duke was sitting upright at his desk, handling work. With his sharp features and impassive expression as he reviewed documents, he looked pretty damn impressive. But at the same time, the image of his frail (?) form fainting at the sight of a ghost came right back to mind.

‘Trying to act all impressive…’

I grumbled inwardly, pulled out the fancy chair, and sat down. Then I dragged the art philosophy book I’d left on the edge of the desk over in front of me.

‘Where was I up to…’

“What happened to your face?”

Just then, the Duke asked abruptly. I carefully touched my right cheek. It was a little warm. Yesterday, I’d slapped myself hard across the face. The blow must have made my cheek swell slightly. When I got up this morning and looked in the mirror, it wasn’t too obvious, so I hadn’t noticed—but the Duke seemed to have keen eyes.

Anyway, I wanted to say, “This is all your fault, you bastard!” … but instead I just smiled and brushed it off with, “Something like that happened.” What good would the truth do, anyway…….

Then that day, as evening came, a visitor arrived at the study. He was wearing a long white cape, embroidered with several X-shaped patterns. That was the symbol of the Temple. Apparently, the visitor was a priest.

“Greetings, Your Grace the Duke.”

He strode right up to me and offered his greeting. Huh? Right up to me?

“That gentleman is the Duke.”

The butler, who had followed him in, gestured with both hands toward the duke. The priest faltered, caught off guard. I faltered right along with him. After a moment of hesitation, he turned and moved to stand before the real duke.

“Good day, Your Grace.”

He bowed his head to the duke in greeting. The earlier mistake seemed to have been erased from existence. In that interval, I quickly pieced together the situation. It was clearly because of the absurdly lavish desk-and-chair set I was sitting on.

See, Your Grace? When you give me a desk and chair like this, people mistake *me* for the duke! Even though everyone knows the duke is a man, the sheer opulence of this setup is bound to cause momentary confusion!

“I’m grateful you came.”

“As if I could refuse?”

The two of them carried on an easy conversation beside me. Even the duke seemed to be treating the priest’s earlier mistake as if it never happened. Or perhaps he simply couldn’t be bothered.

“You’ve probably heard by now—there’s a soul lingering in this manor.”

“Yes. Dealing with them is my job.”

The two spoke in a hushed, solemn tone. I nearly choked. Wait—dealing with souls? Unofficially, there were priests who knew exorcism. He must be one of them. After the near-fainting incident last night, the Duke had summoned an exorcist.

‘So he’s a priest who knows exorcism.’

Of course, I’d never actually seen a priest perform an exorcism. I had no idea how the process worked. But I found myself wondering—maybe this could help Theo ascend.

“Show me the location in question.”

“Very well.”

At the priest’s words, the Duke rose from his seat. Then, together, they slipped out of the study. No word was given for me to follow, but I quietly trailed after them.

The moment they reached the Madam’s room, the Duke showed the priest the wardrobe, charred black. Inside, Theo still huddled, body curled. Thankfully, the fiery red had faded — his skin was back to normal. But in its place, he watched the people before him like a lost puppy, gauging their every move with wary eyes.

“I can certainly feel a soul. But the energy is somewhat murky.”

The priest reached a hand toward the wardrobe and spoke.

“Can you do it?”

“Of course. I’ll begin at once.”

At the Duke’s words, he nodded in reply.

“But it would be best if you all left. Do not enter this room while I perform the rite. It could be dangerous if you do.”

Then he set a black bag down on the floor.

That was how the duke, the butler, and I got expelled from Madam’s room. The three of us stood in a row against the corridor wall, facing the door. Soon, the priest’s voice seeped through the room—he was chanting something, muttering an unknown language with slurred, mangled syllables.

“Aaaaaah!”

Before long, Theo’s young voice cut through the priest’s incantation—a piercing wail, like something breaking.

I startled so badly I nearly bolted straight into the room. The duke caught me. I turned my head to look at him; he was just as rattled, his brow narrowed into a tight furrow. Only the butler, who couldn’t hear a thing, stared at us with a dazed, questioning look.

“Theo! Theo!”

Suddenly, a blonde girl appeared and dashed into Madam’s room. A racket followed—objects clattering and clashing together. I swallowed a breath, my heart tight, and stared at the closed door.

A brief, serene silence held the room. Then a muffled explosion—*Bang!*—shook the air. At the same instant, the door groaned open as if recoiling from the blast.

“What? What’s that?”

I hesitated, then edged toward the door. Through the gap, I caught sight of the priest slumped on the floor. He was staring at something, wide-eyed with shock. And the direction of his gaze was unmistakable—the side of the room where the wardrobe stood.

“What happened?”

“What was that?”

“What’s all that noise?”

The ruckus drew the manor’s staff. The butler stepped forward to block them.

“It’s just the burned wardrobe from yesterday—it tipped over. Please, go back to your work.”

He spun a plausible excuse and sent the servants away. In the commotion, the Duke slipped into Madam’s room. I followed him without a second thought. The blonde little girl was standing guard in front of the wardrobe, but when she saw us enter, her face crumpled into a pout.

“Unnie! Oppa! This person is weird! He sprayed something on Theo. When he sprayed that, Theo was in terrible pain. And he even hit him! I told him to stop hitting!”

Hearing the child’s words, I turned to look at the priest who had been sitting slumped. He awkwardly got to his feet and opened his mouth.

“What is it? What’s in here?”

“Huh?”

“I’ve never seen a soul with energy this strong.”

He had to mean the blonde girl. I’d never seen a ghost that powerful in this place, either. That explosion earlier—it must have been her doing.

“Waaah. It hurts. Please stop.”

Theo’s small voice cried out then. I turned back to the wardrobe. He was still curled up inside, big green eyes spilling thick tears that fell in heavy drops.

“Don’t hit me. It hurts so much.”

I’d never heard Theo string together a sentence that long. And of course it had to be a sob. Even for a ghost, it didn’t sit right with me.

“I think we’d better call someone more skilled from the Central Temple.”

“Hold on.”

I stepped in front of the priest. The exorcism at the temple was nothing like I’d imagined. According to the little girl a moment ago, the priest had been spraying something at Theo and hitting him. That could never help a soul ascend. It might shatter the spirit and scatter it, but nothing more.

And Theo hasn’t even become an evil spirit yet. Wasn’t that method a bit too harsh? After a moment, I made a big decision and stepped forward toward the priest.

“I can do it.”

The Duke and the priest’s gazes turned to me at the same time. Their expressions demanded an explanation. I bit my lip for a moment, then looked at each of them in turn.

“I have another way.”