Chapter 106

Chapter 106

We slipped straight out of the marketplace. After a few more steps, we entered a dim alley bathed only in moonlight. By then, a deep darkness had already settled over the world. It seemed the sun had set while we were leaving the market. Almost instinctively, I began frantically scanning my surroundings, terrified that a ghost might appear from somewhere.

“What’s wrong?”

The young marquis turned to ask me. I shook my head, gesturing that it was nothing. But just then, over his shoulder, I saw a shabbily dressed man standing starkly alone.

‘Huh…? That thing?’

A chill ran down my spine. I realized at once he wasn’t among the living. So I pretended not to see anything, pressing myself close to the young marquis’s side.

“What’s wrong? Is there something?”

“Yes. So pretend you don’t notice.”

I whispered softly in reply to his question. Then I started walking, staring straight ahead. The young marquis followed without asking further questions. But my efforts were in vain, as the ghost seemed to have recognized that I could see it. Every time we passed through the alley, that spirit kept appearing in my field of vision. It was clearly following me.

The ragged man soon began glaring at me with a piercing gaze. I could feel a deep malice radiating from him. At a glance, he seemed to be an evil spirit, or a soul on the verge of becoming one.

No matter what, I couldn’t go home like this. If I did, that ghost might follow me inside. There were even two young children in our house—Ren I wasn’t so sure about, but Roti and Ryan would definitely be harmed by it.

“Young marquis, I’m sorry, but could we take a detour?”

I whispered, grabbing his arm to steer him toward the opposite side of our street. He followed the slight tug of my hand without resistance.

“What’s going on?”

“A ghost is following me. I need to shake it off so it doesn’t reach our house.”

“Where is it now?”

“I’m not really sure. It keeps appearing and then vanishing again.”

“Alright. I’ll go with you.”

The Young Marquis cracked a faint smile and replied. And so we began wandering through the alleyways here and there. But even after we’d left the neighborhood entirely, the ghost refused to shake off. Instead, it was only narrowing the gap between us, bit by bit.

“This is bad. The ghost is getting closer. At this rate, it’s going to latch onto me.”

As fear swelled, my voice came out trembling, on the verge of tears. The Young Marquis grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him. Then he gripped my wobbling shoulder tight.

“Laura. Calm down. There has to be a way.”

A way… A way, huh…

At those words, I looked up at the Young Marquis and struggled to steady my nerves. Then I tried to think of some other way to drive the ghost away. But no real solution was coming to me.

“Hmm… Laura. You said dead souls are the same as when they were alive, right? So they gather where people are plentiful…”

Then the Young Marquis cut in and asked me that. I had no idea what his angle was, but I wordlessly nodded in affirmation.

“Well then, how about we head back to the marketplace? With so many people and spirits, maybe it’ll get lost in the crowd and stop following us.”

“……Huh? Oh! That’s a good idea.”

In that instant, I bobbed my head and raised my voice. He was right. To hide a tree, you put it in a forest. When shaking a tail, isn’t it easier to blend into a crowd? The same would go for a ghost. But the problem here was that I didn’t have the guts to stand in the middle of a marketplace swarming with spirits.

“But Young Marquis… I’m a bit scared to do that… There’ll definitely be so many spirits…”

Ridiculous as it sounded, it was true. I was a thorough coward, no matter what anyone said. My pea-sized heart felt like it couldn’t even bear the weight of mustering courage—like it might just drop out.

“Then how about I hold you tight and take you there? As un-scarily as possible.”

The Young Marquis tried to persuade me in a low voice. I blinked and stared at him for a moment. Come to think of it, I was clutching one of his arms with both hands. Because even seeing a single ghost was terrifying enough. But heavens—now I’d have to face a multitude.

I hesitated for a moment, letting go of the Young Marquis’s hand. But then he grabbed my arm and pulled me back toward him, didn’t he? With no other choice, I was forced to grip his arm again.

“Like this. If we go like this, it won’t be so terrifying.”

The young marquis gave a short laugh and continued. I merely lifted my eyes to gauge his expression before slowly nodding.

When I thought about it, it was a method—or at least a workable one. The young marquis seemed strong in presence, strong enough that even ghosts wouldn’t dare approach recklessly. So if I just stuck close to him, nothing too bad would happen, I figured. And besides, before I could go home, I’d have to shake off that ghost I’d picked up. This was no time to be picky about my means.

“Mm… okay. Let’s do it.”

After that, we went back to the marketplace. Unlike the other alleys in the neighborhood, it was flooded with man-made light. People still awake wandered the night streets with lively faces. And weaving among them, I could see beings dripping blood or rotting flesh. Of course—the souls must have gathered under cover of darkness. I hid behind the young marquis’s back, trying not to catch their eyes, and simply followed his steps.

“Aaaaaah…”

I’m scared. Scared. Scared. Why did a coward like me have to be able to see ghosts and suffer like this…

I choked back the tears threatening to spill and gripped the young marquis’s arm tight. He walked slowly, guiding me along. Then, at some point, he reached over with his free hand and patted the back of mine.

“Laura, if it’s too heavy, just close your eyes. I’ll make sure you don’t bump into anything.”

“…Then. I’ll trust you.”

I must have shown too plainly how terrified I was. Either way, at his words I shut my eyes almost eagerly, as if I’d been waiting for it. Through my eyelids, the bustling crowd and the ghosts vanished into black.

Once my sight was gone, the clamor of people and fireworks pressed in close. Against my palm, I felt the young marquis’s warm body heat. I leaned on that warmth, forcing down my fear, and moved forward step by step.

“Hey there, young lady.”

Suddenly a voice came from right beside me. By ear alone, it sounded like a young woman.

“You there, the red-haired young lady.”

When no answer came, she pointed at someone directly. Red hair—high odds she meant me. Curiosity pricked at me. But I couldn’t bring myself to open my eyes. I couldn’t even tell if that voice belonged to a person or not.

“Excuse me, Young Marquis, that voice looking for the redhead… can you hear it too?”

In the end, I had no choice but to ask the young marquis about the voice’s origin.

“Yes. I hear it too.”

The young marquis answered. So she can hear me. Then she’s among the living!

Only then did I open my eyes and turn my head. A woman in red was staring at me. Her long black hair trailed down, giving her an air of deep mystery—like she’d stepped out of another world. I hesitated for a moment before slowly parting my lips to speak to her.

“Excuse me… Did you call me? What do you want?”

“Yes, young lady. I called you because you seem to carry a special energy.”

Huh?

“Don’t you feel something unusual? A different kind of sensation?”

Huh?

Wait—ghosts? But how does she know I can see them?

I stared at her, puzzled. She met my gaze and offered a captivating smile—so at ease it felt like she already knew everything about me.

“Young lady. Don’t you want to change that fate?”

She asked me again. If seeing ghosts was my fate, then yes—I wanted to change it. To the side where they stayed invisible, of course.

“…How do I do that?”

“Your future—that fate of yours—you can ask them about it.”

“Them…?”

I swallowed hard and leaned in closer. I wasn’t about to blindly trust a stranger, but curiosity got the better of me. If there was a way to stop seeing ghosts, I wanted it. And I wanted to tell the duke about it too.

“…That is… you just need to buy this!”

Suddenly, she pointed at the items spread out on her stall. I looked down and saw several square wooden boards laid before her, inscribed with various letters. Combined properly, they’d form words and sentences. Along the edges, simple answers were written: ‘Correct,’ ‘Wrong.’

“What is this?”

“Light a candle here and recite an incantation. It’ll gather the souls around you.”

“…Is that necromancy?”

“They’ll tell you the answers.”

“…Hold on. This is dangerous, isn’t it?”

I shot her an incredulous look. Necromancy was perilous stuff—and here she was, telling me to try it. She coughed a few times, flustered, then quickly composed herself as if nothing had happened.