Chapter 15

Chapter 15

“Ah. Yes. Hello.”

I grabbed the hem of my skirt, bent my knees, and curtsied to him.

“Let’s talk over there.”

The Duke slid the sorted papers aside and rose from his seat. The Young Marquis followed his lead and moved toward the table. I quietly trailed after him.

“Just as you said, I’ve decided to meet that child.”

The Young Marquis was the first to break the silence.

Thank goodness. He really had come here to see Theo.

“If reincarnation is truly possible, I didn’t think I could just leave things as they were. And… I want to meet him again in his next life.”

“……Yes. You’ve thought well.”

The Duke cut into the conversation, his voice flat. I nodded along. Now that the Young Marquis had made such a big decision, only one tiny problem remained.

“Young Marquis. Theo’s soul only appears after the sun goes down. So I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a while.”

“Then I’ll wait. I took leave to come here anyway, so my whole day’s free. I suppose I should use the time to prepare myself.”

The Young Marquis shrugged once, then turned his head to look at the Duke.

“I’ll go rest in my room. Is the room I used to stay in still available?”

“Yes.”

With a ‘see you later,’ he left the study. I watched his back and felt that now, finally, I could relax.

After the Young Marquis left, the Duke returned to his desk and started working. I also went to my usual seat by the throne. But as always, there was nothing for me to do.

I was a secretary in name only, after all—if the Duke didn’t give me work, whether I did it or not hardly mattered…

Instead, I’d ended up keeping company with the little blonde boy who’d been sprawled in the corner of the study since a while ago.

“Sister. Who was that big brother sitting in Theo’s spot earlier?”

The child rolled onto his back and asked me, still lounging on the floor.

“He said he’s Theo’s older brother.”

“The Young Master? He came to see Theo?”

“Mm.”

“Theo kept wanting to meet him, didn’t he? That’s great!”

“Right?”

I answered the child, then walked over to the bookshelf and started browsing the spines. A sudden thought struck me, and I turned back to look at him.

“But are you okay with the fact that Theo isn’t here anymore? I mean, that you won’t get to see him again?”

“You mean ascension? I know about that. My friend told me. She said you can’t stay here forever. So it can’t be helped.”

Friend…? She meant the Duke’s mother, didn’t she?

I lifted my eyes, sneaking a glance at the Duke. He was absorbed in his work, apparently not having heard our conversation. After confirming he was scanning a document, I shifted my gaze back to the child. He was staring back at me, eyes wide and round.

“Come here.”

“Okay!”

The child scampered over and stopped in front of me. I slowly raised my hand and placed it on top of his head. But my hand passed straight through his little blonde head as if it were empty air.

“Ahhh!”

A startled shriek burst out of me.

Right. This child was a ghost—and I was terrified of ghosts! And yet I’d just tried to pet one!

No, hadn’t this happened before? Humans, animals of forgetfulness, just kept repeating the same mistakes!

“…What… what are you doing?”

The Duke’s voice came, sounding flustered. My shout must have drawn his attention. I yanked my hand back from the child’s head, then turned to face him, answering in a quavering voice.

“I… I forgot…”

No matter how hard I tried to get used to ghosts, I just couldn’t…

“…Enough of that. Get back to work…”

The Duke said, looking back down at his papers. Hey? You need to give me work first! I pouted and looked away from him.

At that moment, a chill surged through the air. I turned back to the Duke, and behind him, black smoke was rising. The sun must have dipped below the horizon. It was finally time for the ghosts to show themselves.

“Duke, I think Theo might have appeared.”

“…I know.”

He answered, rising from his seat at my words. I quickly took the lead, and the Duke followed behind me.

When we reached the Madam’s room, there was Theo, still huddled inside the wardrobe. He looked up at us, his body glowing an even deeper red than yesterday. But his pupils were charred pitch-black, reflecting nothing. The sight felt unbearably sad and haunting.

“Theo. The young master you spoke of is here. He said he came to see you.”

The child’s eyes went wide. And then his body, that fiery red, began to fade, slowly, degree by degree.

“He’s in his room now. Do you want to go with me?”

“Yes.”

The child answered as he climbed down from the wardrobe.

“Lead the way. I’ll follow.”

This time, it was the Duke who stepped forward first. And we made our way to the young marquis’s room, where he was said to be resting.

Upon arriving at the door, the Duke rapped his knuckles against it in a loose fist. But no answer came back right away. Without a hint of patience, he simply pushed the door open.

The room was pitch black. A cold draft brushed against my skin, carrying a chill that felt like it had seeped into the very air.

“Young Marquis-nim?”

I called out from behind the Duke’s back, pressed close to him. Still, there was no reply. We stepped fully into the room, and I switched on the light.

“He’s not here?”

What my eyes landed on was an empty bed, an empty table, an empty sofa. It seemed he must have stepped out for a moment.

“……He’s not here?”

I muttered the thought aloud without really thinking, then glanced down at Theo. His body was reddening at a terrifying speed. A wave of scorching heat was rising around him.

“Theo?!”

Why is he doing this now? Why now, of all times? We were so close to meeting the young marquis!

Of course, I knew that if Theo couldn’t resolve his wish in the land of the living, he’d one day become an evil spirit. But why did it have to be right at this moment? With his brother just a room away, and he still hadn’t managed to see him.

Where the hell has that young marquis gone, and why won’t he show his face? Your little brother is right here!

The child’s skin, once a livid red, began to melt like candle wax. I gasped, scrambling to stop his transformation by any means. But the moment I stepped closer to him, flames erupted and caught the hem of my dress.

“Aaahhh!”

The fire, starting from the hem, climbed up past my thigh. I yelped at the heat that seared into my flesh, stumbling backward until I tripped and fell flat. The Duke rushed to wedge himself between me and Theo, ripping off his coat to smother my leg.

Thankfully, the flames died out quickly. My leg was still stinging from the heat, but it didn’t seem badly hurt.

“Are you alright?”

The Duke grabbed my shoulder urgently as he asked. That was when I saw it—the black smoke hovering above his back spread out wide, coiling around him like a protective shroud. It built a thick wall, as if trying to shield him.

When Theo hesitated and stepped forward, flames kindled around him. But they guttered out almost instantly, sucked swiftly back into the barrier of smoke.

‘What is that? Could that ghost be some kind of guardian spirit for the Duke?’

I stared dumbly at the smoke as it writhed in small currents, lost in thought.

“Snap out of it!”

The Duke shook my shoulder hard, calling out. I snapped back to my senses and looked up at him. His face was so close I could feel his breath on my skin.

“I’m fine, Your Grace.”

At my answer, he frowned slightly. Somehow he seemed a little angry.

“Really…”

My voice trailed off into a whisper. He let out a quiet sigh and released my shoulder, then turned toward where Theo was. I looked at the child too.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I wouldn’t…”

Theo’s voice was thick with tears. The boy’s body was melting, turning red and then black. Murky smoke seeped from his eyes.

“…It’s wrong…”

As the child slowly parted his lips, sparks like lightning began to burst around him. The Duke quickly stepped between us, and the black mist clinging to him thickened into a wall, encircling him again.

I peered over the Duke’s shoulder at Theo’s precarious form. The boy was forcing his melting body upright, looking like a single, wavering flame.

*I’m scared…*

I thought as I grabbed hold of the Duke’s arms. But that child was turning into an evil spirit right now. I couldn’t just stand here trembling.

“Theo. Snap out of it! Your brother’s nearby, so let’s go find him together, okay?”

For a moment, the flames died down slightly. Maybe he was reacting to my words. I clung to that hope, wishing the child would come back to normal.

“——”

Theo opened and closed his mouth as if trying to say something to me, but no sound came out. The flames that had briefly subsided swelled up again. Small embers fell from the boy’s body and hit the floor. They vanished quickly, but I was certain that if this continued, the floor would eventually catch fire.

*Ah… It’s not working…*

I stared blankly at Theo.

“Theo!”

Just then, a blonde girl ran through the wall, her footsteps pattering. She threw her arms around Theo.

“Theo. Don’t hurt!”

At the same time, the flames vanished. The smoke from the child’s eyes dispersed into the air, and his skin returned to its normal color. I was relieved, but half of me was bewildered.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

Theo nodded at the girl’s question.

“Let’s go see the young master you mentioned.”

“…Okay.”

At the children’s exchange, the Duke stepped away from me and turned around. Then he blocked their path as they approached us.

“Don’t come any closer.”

I couldn’t fathom where that coward had found the nerve to stand up to a ghost. But somehow, he narrowed his brow and tucked me behind his arm.

“Brother. Theo doesn’t set fires anymore…”

“…….”

“It’s true though…”

The little girl mumbled hesitantly. She looked up at the Duke with an imploring, cautious gaze.