Chapter 151 – Side Story １

Side Story 1

Part 13: Side Stories

When Sonia first went to Cuvershaiden Manor looking for work, the duke’s impression was chilling to the bone. His expression was a little fierce, even rough, as if it reflected a sharp-edged personality. Still, in desperate need of money, she signed the contract the head maid shoved at her without a second thought. And so, the connection between Cuvershaiden and Sonia began, wrapped in an odd sense of unease.

But as she worked there over time, the duke she came to know was nothing like that first impression. He was more easygoing than high-strung. Sure, he replaced people who couldn’t do their jobs quickly, but if you did well, he gave proper rewards. On top of that, he had the generosity to overlook minor mistakes — or rather, it felt less like generosity and more like he just couldn’t be bothered with small disturbances. But still. Whatever the case.

Whether it was luck or just unexpectedly comfortable atmosphere, Sonia adapted to Cuvershaiden Manor quickly. The problem lay elsewhere. Every late night, she heard a thumping racket in the corridor. Sometimes a child’s giggle mingled in with the noise.

‘The duke has no children, let alone a little sibling… and there’s no way the servants would bring a kid in at night…’

There was only one answer.

Ah. This must be a dead spirit or something.

Of course, she couldn’t see it. That made the unknowable source of the noise all the more terrifying. And she couldn’t tell anyone about it. She didn’t want to be treated strangely and kicked out of a good job, so she just gritted her teeth and endured it alone.

Then one day, her roommate came back from vacation. She was sleeping in the bed right next to Sonia’s when the thumping started — and immediately, she shot up, threw the door open.

“Keep it down! Go play in the garden! I need to sleep!”

And just like that, the corridor went silent in an instant. Sonia flinched and stared at her roommate. But the woman just crawled back under the covers, face heavy with sleep.

“What was that?! What did you just do?! Can it even understand people?”

Sonia shook her awake and demanded an answer.

“Ah… you’re new here, so you wouldn’t know… It’s fine. It’s fine. That kid’s a good one. See, she listens now.”

“Huh? So you can hear it too? What about everyone else? And what do you mean, good? Does that thing even have a personality?”

“Mm-hmm… Everyone knows. A long time ago, there was a young daughter of the ducal house who died early — they all think it’s her.”

“Everyone… is just fine with it?”

“Mmhm. You’ll get used to it soon too. More importantly, I’m really sleepy, okay? Don’t wake me up. Let me sleep a bit. Talk to me when I get up.”

With those final words, her roommate sank into deep sleep, leaving Sonia alone with a churning sense of confusion.

‘What the hell? Get used to it? Get used to ghosts roaming the manor? That doesn’t even make sense! Is this… is this why the servants keep quitting and getting replaced?’

That day, she’d seriously thought about quitting on the spot. But she kept dragging herself to work, and somehow ended up staying at Cuvershaiden for several more months. Time really was medicine. In the meantime, she did indeed grow accustomed to the sound of ghostly footsteps. Eventually, whenever the ghost got noisy, she’d just open her door and yell at it to be quiet. And like her nice roommate said, the ghost would fall silent right away.

‘Ugh. This manor… it’s seriously weird. But they pay well, so I’ll stick around. Where else am I gonna find a job like this?’

Once the ghost’s ruckus became bearable, Sonia no longer felt like giving up such a good position. And so, a few more days passed.

One day, as the unusually long monsoon season was finally drawing to an end, a new person arrived at Cuvershaiden. A girl with blazing red hair and a pretty face. Her name was Laura. Plucked out of nowhere to be the Duke’s secretary, she had to undergo the initiation that everyone entering Cuvershaiden was due — that exhausting, terrifying rite of passage of being harassed by ghosts running through the corridors every night.

Sure enough, on her first day working at Cuvershaiden, Laura showed up in the dining hall with a hollow face. To anyone watching, it looked like she’d met a ghost and was trembling in fear.

‘She’ll get used to it too, eventually. But I should probably let her know…’

Sonia quietly watched Laura’s face, dark circles carved deep beneath her eyes, then opened her mouth to tip her off on how to avoid the ghosts.

“By the way, did you hear someone running in the corridor last night? A light, quick footstep, like a child’s?”

At that, Laura spat out the juice she was drinking. Her eyes went wide as saucers. Her reaction must have been amusing, because the other servants at the table burst out laughing. Laura’s face, on the other hand, only grew stiffer.

‘What the? Her whole face gives her away. Kinda funny, actually? She seems like a really entertaining person.’

Laura’s dramatic response sparked Sonia’s interest intensely. By now, she was deft with the manor work and could take the rowdy ghosts in stride. But that had made her daily life a bit dull. Watching Laura wear her emotions so transparently, though, seemed to bring a smile to her lips. She even thought she might miss it once Laura got used to the ghosts.

But days stretched on, and Laura never got used to the ghosts. She’d startle at empty air, or bolt down corridors as if something were chasing her. Whenever Sonia asked why, Laura always tacked on a plausible excuse—but it was never the real reason.

“Um… Sonia. I actually need the bathroom. Emergency bathroom! Don’t follow me…”

One day, when Sonia suggested they head back to the room together, that’s what Laura blurted out. And even as she spoke, her gaze kept darting toward the space beside Sonia’s hip—as if something was standing right there.

“Alright.”

Sonia waved Laura off without hesitation and returned to her room alone. But as she walked down the long corridor, a thought struck her out of nowhere.

‘Laura… can she actually *see* something? The way she acts—it’s like she’s really watching a ghost dash through the hallways and can’t sit still.’

Honestly, watching Laura flail and fuss was pretty entertaining. It was pitiful seeing her so constantly terrified, but in a way, it was also endearing. For the same reason, most of the servants around Laura’s age liked her—she was harmless, innocent, and occasionally hilarious.

And ever since Laura arrived at the manor, the Duke had changed too. The deep, dark shadows on his face had gradually, bit by bit, begun to fade. At first, Sonia thought it was because Laura, as his aide, was shouldering some of his burdens. But after catching a glimpse of the two of them together, she reconsidered. The Duke treated Laura with surprising closeness. And Laura, in turn, seemed pleased to be around him.

‘Oh. I get it! They’re dating.’

When two people at work start dating, eventually everyone finds out. The Duke and his aide were no exception. The servants never discussed it aloud, but whenever they happened to see the pair together, they’d steal glances and gauge the atmosphere. The class gap didn’t matter—besides, their budding courtship was rather charming to watch. After all, Laura was a noble herself; if the Duke pushed for it, they might even marry. And everyone at Cuvershaiden wanted to see this story end happily.

Whenever someone brought up the Duke in private, Laura’s face would flush. She’d flinch with her whole body when ghosts got rowdy, but her fondness for someone was just as obvious. Laura had a bold side, but when it came to her own love life, she was absurdly shy. She fumbled like someone who’d never so much as had a crush before. Sonia never asked, but she guessed that between raising her younger siblings, Laura had never had the luxury to.

In any case, the Duke and Laura had traveled abroad together and attended banquets at the Imperial Castle. They enjoyed the sort of dates nobles might take for granted. The young marquis would sometimes barge in, turning it into a squabble over love. Then, without much trouble, they became engaged. The story, it seemed, had reached its end.

‘What am I supposed to live for now?’

Sonia felt a strange pang of regret at the thought of never again seeing Laura’s fresh, flustered reactions. Still, seeing a dear friend find someone to love was a happy thing, and she could congratulate her from the heart.

And then, one day, it happened. In the dead of night, Sonia woke with a sharp cramp in her stomach. She’d bought street food at the marketplace during the day, and something must have gone bad.

‘Damn that cheating merchant — selling spoiled food? Ugh… there’s no medicine in my room. I’ll have to go to the manor’s infirmary.’

She grabbed only an oil lamp and hurried out of her room, heading toward the infirmary. Passing through the dark corridor, she was about to go by Laura’s door when — creak — the sound of a door opening came, and a figure emerged. Sonia instinctively raised her lamp. The flame caught the Duke in a state of disarray. His neck was marked with red and purple blotches.

“Ah!”

The Duke was a man who always kept his buttons fastened up to his collar. Sonia had never seen his shirt hanging open or his hair so disheveled before. She let out a startled gasp before she could stop herself.

But the Duke was hardly flustered. He calmly buttoned his shirt back up, then glanced at Sonia sidelong. He raised his right index finger to his lips.

Quiet.

This stays a secret.

Sonia could only nod frantically. In any case, she was the only witness — there was no way any rumor would get out. If something did slip, the source would be obvious, wouldn’t it?

Seeing Sonia’s reaction, the Duke gave a single shake of his head and walked off down the corridor. Sonia was left standing there, blinking.

‘Ah… ah, right. Well, they’re engaged, after all.’

For a moment, her face burned. She fanned herself with her free hand — the one not holding the lamp — and made her way back toward the infirmary. This, she decided, was one thing she absolutely had to keep secret from Laura.