Chapter 116

Chapter 116

The Madam had already turned back to smoke up to her shoulders. Then she began to change further, little by little.

“Mother…”

The duke reached out quickly, trying to grab her. But the darkly blurred smoke just slipped through his fingers.

“It’s really time to go now…”

With those words, the Madam became nothing but smoke. A moment later, she flew around behind her son’s back and clung tightly to him, as if she intended to return to being his guardian spirit.

For a while, I just watched the dark current rippling over the duke’s shoulder. She was much smaller now than when I’d seen her before. Maybe that was the result of using too much power to hold her original form.

“…”

My throat felt clogged shut. I couldn’t say anything to him. Any words I spoke would feel awkward and heavy. The duke seemed to feel the same—a quiet silence passed between us.

After that, we left the room and exchanged nods in parting. I went straight to my room and flopped down onto the bed. My head was pounding with chaos, my heart tossing wildly. Suddenly, tears I hadn’t noticed spilled down my cheeks. Pity, close to kinship.

* * *

He was handling his work as usual. No, that wasn’t right—he seemed a bit busier than usual. The desk was piled high with documents, and the ink in his pen nib kept getting refilled over and over. Maybe he was throwing himself into his tasks to keep from thinking about anything else.

I watched the Duke’s profile for a moment, then grabbed the stack of documents I needed to handle. I wanted to comfort him, but I had no idea how. The feeling left a sour knot in my chest.

“Found you!”

That was when the door burst open. Shion stormed into the study with a racket. I jumped at the sudden intrusion and turned to look at the child.

“What are you doing in here?! I looked everywhere for you! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find anyone in this huge place?! From now on, hide-and-seek doesn’t last longer than a day!”

The girl spotted me and immediately started whining. From the look of it, she’d spent a good while wandering around the relocated study.

“Er… sorry.”

I whispered the word back to her. Shion pouted her lips briefly, then trotted closer until she stood right in front of me.

“Hey. Little one.”

Before she could answer, the Duke’s voice cut in. The child promptly whipped her head toward him.

“Huh? What?”

“I’ve told you not to get too close. You might accidentally possess her.”

He answered. That alone was something of a surprise. The Duke used to be terrified of Shion — a ghost. But now he was speaking to her almost casually. It was truly a remarkable improvement.

“But I don’t even want to possess anyone!”

“Still no. Laura’s easy to possess.”

His tone as he addressed her was detached and firm. Shion, however, only scrunched up her face in confusion.

“I don’t care! Then you — you can’t stand next to her either!”

Huh? What are you talking about? Hey. That’s not okay.

I looked down at Shion, baffled by her attempt to drive a wedge between us. Then her lips parted, and she answered a question I hadn’t even asked yet.

“My friend is always right behind you! What if he possesses her?!”

Meaning: if I stood next to the Duke, the ghost trailing him might possess me, just as I could be possessed by the Madam. It was a logical concern, but poorly timed. I flailed my hands, trying to cover Shion’s mouth. Bringing up the Madam right now — of all moments — was a disaster. This wasn’t the time for any mention of her at all.

“Shion. Quiet now…”

“I don’t care anymore! You hide somewhere I don’t know and make me look for you! There’s hardly anyone who can even see me! My friend who’s always by him can’t talk to me anymore! If I can’t even be with you, who am I supposed to play with?!”

The child’s face flushed bright red as she huffed.

“Fine! I’m leaving!”

With that, she zipped straight through the wall and vanished.

Ah… damn it.

I stared helplessly at the spot where the child had vanished. I stood there for a moment, debating whether I should chase after her, then turned my gaze back to the duke. He was silent, looking rather flustered. No, he seemed to be thinking something over. Maybe he actually found some truth in Shion’s words.

“She’s still young, I suppose… immature and willful… especially about Madam. The things she says…”

An excuse-like remark slipped out before I could stop it. But soon I wondered if I’d said something I shouldn’t have. I’d brought up the very subject I’d tried to avoid—talk of Madam.

“Duke…”

I glanced furtively at the duke. He slowly met my eyes.

“What’s with that expression? Anyone would think something terrible had happened to you.”

He gave a light scoff, as if it were nothing remarkable. My heavy, sunken mood must have shown through clearly on my face. It was only natural, really. I couldn’t pretend as if nothing was wrong like the duke did. When I was angry, my brow furrowed; when I was happy, I smiled. And when I was sad, it was inevitable that my expression would crumble.

“It’s because you’re too guarded, Duke. It feels like your emotions will just fester inside you.”

“If that’s concern, I appreciate it.”

“…I’m the one who’s sad.”

“Right. You being sad—I should feel pity, I suppose. But strangely, it’s not unpleasant.”

“…”

At that, I swallowed a small sigh and rose to my feet. I didn’t know how to react to his playful words. Instead, I stepped closer to the duke and brought up the one thing I’d been wanting to say.

“And there’s something else. Before Madam turned to smoke, the two of you should have spent time together. I feel like I took that time away from you. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Mother wanted to talk to you.”

“…”

I took a few more steps until I was standing right by the chair he sat in. The duke looked up at me from his seated position. It felt strange to be looking down at his tall frame. I met his blue eyes and opened my mouth.

“You see… the fact that Madam turned to smoke so quickly means there isn’t much time left…”

Those were difficult words to say, but they needed to be said. Especially since Madam had so little time left.

“…Yes. Like your mother’s friend.”

He nodded in reply. It seemed he already saw Madam’s fate in Lady Bandark’s fate. In that case, there was no need for a long explanation. I cut straight to the point.

“Yes… so, Your Grace. I was thinking about it last night. You said the Madam was bound to the land of the living because she was worried about the souls left behind here. But now, only Shion and the headless man’s soul remain at Cuvershaiden. If we can send those two on their way, we should be able to help the Madam ascend.”

“……”

“Well… to ascend is to be reborn, and that’s a second chance at life. So come on—let’s help the Madam.”

“……”

The duke didn’t answer. I’d thought any talk of his mother would draw an immediate reaction. Come to think of it, didn’t he say once that he didn’t believe in reincarnation? Yes. I think I heard something to that effect when I first started working at Cuvershaiden. Maybe that’s why my persuasion feels so hollow. But I wasn’t just trying to unravel a soul’s lingering regrets.

“I… believe that death isn’t the end. As I said before, the bonds we forge in this life can carry over into the next.”

This time, he slowly dropped his head. I could see his black hair spilling forward.

What was he thinking? Was he sinking into grief?

Slowly, I raised my hand to touch his head. But he grabbed my wrist first and yanked it right in front of his eyes.

“Your fingers are quite slender. Your hands seem small for your height.”

He said it. The tone was unmistakably a deflection.

“Your Grace…”

I called to him quietly. He didn’t answer for a long while, just kept fidgeting with my fingertips. Then, in a single moment, he spoke again.

“I understand what you’re saying. But let me think about it a bit.”

“…I’ll help you.”

“It’s fine.”

“……”

“…No. On second thought, I don’t think it’s quite that fine.”

And in that instant, the man who had been so composed crumbled low. A tangle of grief and confusion reached me, prickling against my skin. I slipped off the outer coat draped over my shoulders and laid it over him. Then I pulled his head into my arms.

I never knew how to offer comforting words. So I used the method my mother had used on me when I was little. Whether it was my action that unsettled him, the duke’s body stiffened for a moment. But soon he reached out and wrapped his arms around my back. And so, a long stretch of empty time drew out between us.

“Looking back, there are too many memories. …When I couldn’t see them, I just thought my mother was talking nonsense. Ascension, reincarnation—those were nothing but silly stories to me.”

The voice that returned to my ear trembled faintly. Even he couldn’t stay unaffected in a moment like this, it seemed. I silently patted him and listened to what he had to say.

“It wasn’t until I could see the souls myself that I knew it wasn’t a lie. And I’d already told my mother it was nothing but delusion. Even then, my pride wouldn’t let me admit it. I was always like that as a child. Utterly, insufferably stupid.”

“All children make mistakes.”

“Truth is, I think I’ve been forcing myself not to think about her all this time. Guilt over my own actions. Seeing my mother’s spirit made it clear.”