Chapter 17

Chapter 17

“…He ascended.”

At my words, the grip of the young marquis’s hand, which had been clenching my wrist tightly, loosened slightly.

Theo ascended. It seemed that speaking with his brother one last time had been his final wish, the thing that kept him tethered to the land of the living. A simple enough wish on its face—but for dead Theo, making it real could never have been easy. And now. He’d had his wish, and at last, he could ascend.

I saw the young marquis’s shoulders tremble as he bowed his head. I stayed silent at his side. The tremor traveled through his wrist, still caught in my loose grip. Then, after a moment, the young marquis lifted his head and looked at me. His eyes were wet, the rims flushed red.

“……I never expected he’d simply want to see me. I thought he’d want something from me. Or resent me……. That’s what I believed. But Theo was just…… still the little boy who adored me, frozen in those days of childhood.”

“His memories with you, young marquis, must have been precious to him.”

“……They were to me, too.”

“……Are you all right?”

“Of course. It’s a joy to meet my younger brother again. And as Miss Laura says, if reincarnation exists, we might meet again someday.”

“You will definitely meet again.”

“Thank you, Laura. Truly.”

He offered a light smile as he spoke.

“What are you two doing here?”

Just then, the duke appeared, barging in between us. I turned to face him. He was breathless, as if he’d sprinted all the way out. And behind him, I could see a ghost of black smoke blazing like a roaring fire.

“Gyaaah!”

Startled, I threw myself behind the young marquis to hide.

“Wh-what’s wrong with you?” the duke asked, flustered.

I peeked my head out from behind the young marquis’s back and looked at the duke. The flame-like smoke was still writhing behind him. It seemed somehow angry at me.

“Your Grace. It’s that thing clinging to your back… it startled me.”

“What… clinging to my back?”

I glanced at him, reading the room. The Duke’s body stiffened instantly. The smoke that had been wavering suddenly shot into a sharp shape, then slithered away, vanishing from sight.

What the—? Could it hear me? That smoke?

“Uh… it’s gone.”

“Gone?”

“Yes.”

I nodded in reply. Then it hit me—had I spooked the Duke’s guardian spirit for no reason? It didn’t seem like the kind of ghost that would hurt anyone, so I felt a little sorry.

“So it really is invisible to everyone but me, huh?”

The Young Marquis muttered it like a thought aloud.

“Why are you here? What happened?”

The Duke turned to him and asked.

“The Young Marquis and Theo met here.”

I answered for him.

“…Met?”

“Yeah. That’s why the kid ascended.”

The Young Marquis gave a shrug.

“…Are you alright?”

“What’s there not to be okay about? I’m grateful I got to talk to him one last time.”

“…Yeah. It’s late. Let’s head inside.”

“Mm. Since it’s so late, I’ll impose on you for the night.”

The Duke gave a small nod and turned his steps toward the manor. I quickly fell in behind him, and the young marquis followed me.

“Laura, you’re Illiaje’s secretary, right?”

The young marquis had somehow materialized at my side, his voice dropping to a whisper.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“My parents were wondering if you two were lovers. That’s not true, is it?”

Huh? What? Why? That’s a misunderstanding! A complete misunderstanding!

I shook my head frantically.

“Absolutely not!”

“Haha. I see. My parents only thought that because Illiaje’s past marriageable age but has never been seen with another woman. They care for him deeply. So please don’t take it the wrong way.”

I suppose it was suspicious — the Duke had brought me along to the marquis’s estate, a family he’d been close to since childhood. And the marquis and his wife didn’t know I could see ghosts. They’d just filled in the blanks however they pleased.

“Of course. I don’t think badly of it.”

I looked up at the young marquis as I answered.

“Thank you.”

He gave me a faint smile in response.

“Come on, hurry up.”

While we’d been dawdling in conversation, the Duke had already reached the front door and was calling us impatiently.

“Coming~ We’re coming~”

The young marquis laughed and quickened his pace. As he brushed past me and strode ahead, I watched his back and followed suit.

“Sister.”

Just then, the blonde little girl I’d forgotten about appeared at my side.

“Theo’s really gone, isn’t he?”

She looked up at me, her voice thick with an emotion I couldn’t quite name.

“Yeah, that’s right. Are you sad that Theo ascended?”

“Can’t be helped. I’m okay.”

“Good. Theo won’t be in pain anymore. Let’s hope he can be reborn and live happily.”

“Mm.”

The child answered brightly. Then, side by side, we walked toward the manor. The Duke, the young marquis, myself, and the blonde little girl — one after another, we stepped into the House Cuvershaiden estate.

* * *

I woke up late, rubbed my bleary eyes, and headed for the dining hall. The moment I opened the door and stepped inside, every lady-in-waiting turned to stare at me in unison.

“Wha… what?”

I asked in bewilderment as I took a seat at the table. Their gazes tracked my every move. Truth be told, I’m a bit of an attention-seeker — but the timid kind. So I don’t appreciate this level of blatant scrutiny.

But what on earth was going on? One lady-in-waiting sitting directly across from me even braced both hands on the table and leaned toward me.

“We saw everything.”

She said, looking at me.

“Huh? Saw what?”

“You with the young marquis last night! Are you two…?!”

“Guh.”

The ladies-in-waiting on either side chimed in, and I choked on my water.

“*Cough—cough.* What?”

“We were in Ann’s room when Sonia suddenly called us out into the corridor. We looked out the window and saw you with the young marquis. The atmosphere didn’t seem ordinary?”

“Huh?”

I turned to Sonia right then. She nodded emphatically, her expression proud as she opened her mouth.

“I spotted it first!”

*You’re proud of that? Human? What if rumors spread before we’re even married?! My engagement’s doomed!*

Bitterly, I scanned the maids. Their lips were twitching. They’d likely already spun a full romance novel in their heads with me and the young marquis as leads.

*Wow. This is a total mess.*

“Guys… it’s a misunderstanding…”

Surprisingly, they didn’t believe me at all. No, they just didn’t want to. Apparently, I’d become their amusing topic of the day.

The talk about me and the young marquis didn’t die down until we finished the meal. Even as we left the dining room and walked down the corridor, each maid had something to add.

“She was such a quiet cat…”

“Right? Was it from when you went to the young marquis’s estate with the Duke? No wonder he came visiting so suddenly yesterday.”

*Guys… that’s not it. The young marquis came looking for Theo, I tell you…!*

I furrowed my brows as I walked among them. I kept my mouth shut since they wouldn’t believe my excuses anyway.

*Well… time will eventually settle this story down…*

“Laura.”

Sonia called out to me. I replied with a “Yeah?” and turned to look at her. With a deeply serious expression, she tapped my shoulder once and opened her mouth.

“Get engaged first.”

*Huh?*

I stared at her in disbelief.

“High nobles have complicated marriage situations. You’ve got to stamp it so it can’t be undone!”

“Right! Get engaged!”

“Get engaged!”

*Clap!*

*Who just clapped?*

I looked back at the maids with a flustered expression. They all wore serious faces.

*Are you kidding me? Is this situation not a joke at all? Or, wait—am I being bullied right now…?*

“Everyone, you’re too noisy. Please head inside.”

Just then, the butler approached us, waving both hands. The maids instantly fell silent and scattered to their duties. I sighed in relief and turned toward the Duke’s office. But I caught a glimpse of the butler’s face—it didn’t look good—and paused mid-step.

“Butler?”

When I called him, he wore an expression that seemed drained of energy.

“What’ll happen to our Duke…”

*?*

*??*

*???*

*Huh?*

He muttered that under his breath, then circled around to my other side.

“Wait, wait, wait!”

This is because of that time you collapsed, isn’t it? When I was with you? We cleared up that misunderstanding back then, didn’t we?

“……This time it’s a misunderstanding too.”

I grabbed him as I spoke.

“Is that so.”

The butler answered. I couldn’t tell if he was really convinced. So I explained the whole story from start to finish, putting in the effort. He nodded along at every word I said, but somehow I couldn’t trust it. Who knows what he was thinking in his head—probably ‘Not buying it again, huh.’

I held the butler back and repeated that it was a misunderstanding dozens of times. I felt like even a few hundred times wouldn’t be enough, but I was afraid I’d be late for work, so I couldn’t keep going. I left the butler, his mind full of questions, and had to head to the Duke’s office before it got any later. I felt completely drained before the day had even properly started.

When I knocked on the office door and stepped in, the Duke was the first thing I saw. And sitting in my seat beside him was the young marquis. He spotted me and waved cheerfully.