Part 1. The Haunted Manor and the Maid
“The main building? You’re assigning me to the main building?”
Lily almost jumped out of her skin.
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Do I look like someone who jokes with you?”
The head maid’s eyes were razor-sharp. Lily instantly sensed danger—push any further, and she might get into real trouble. She switched tactics on the spot.
“Ah, no… I didn’t mean it like that…”
As she shook her head, her simply braided hair swayed behind her back. It was a bright chestnut color, leaning more toward orange under the light.
“But Head Maid, you know what they say about that place… don’t you?”
She treaded carefully, choosing her words like walking on glass—but the head maid still frowned deeply.
“Do you think this is the place to bring up such ridiculous gossip?”
This woman had worked in the castle for years, loyal to a fault. To her, the Duke’s honor was no different from her own. So naturally, bringing that up was like lighting a fuse.
Still, Lily couldn’t just accept being dumped into the haunted manor like this.
“It’s not just gossip! Everyone says they’ve seen things!”
“Dienta!”
The head maid’s voice shot up.
“Are you seriously suggesting that the prestigious House of Kashimir is haunted? Is that what you’re saying?”
Lily really wanted to say, “Yes! That’s exactly what I’m saying!”—but she wasn’t nearly brave enough. Instead, she mumbled, “It’s just… you know…”
The head maid sighed, pressing her forehead like she was getting a headache. Honestly, Lily wanted to sigh too.
“Mari swore it was real! Swore on her life!”
Mari was Lily’s closest friend—same level, same role, and their names even rhymed. They’d clicked instantly. Unfortunately, Mari had drawn the short straw and gotten assigned to the manor a few days ago. Ever since then, she hadn’t stopped talking about it.
—”Out of nowhere… bam! The door slammed open. I swear, no one was inside. All the windows were shut. Not a single breeze. So how? Who else could it be but a ghost?”
And Mari wasn’t the only one. The stories were piling up. The girl who worked there before her had to quit after getting cut by shattered glass—for no clear reason. Books flew off shelves. Chairs rattled on their own. It was a horror show.
Lily Dienta hated anything supernatural. Just hearing Mari’s story had given her nightmares for three nights straight.
She clasped her hands together, almost begging.
“Please, Head Maid. I’ll clean the stables, I’ll scrub every toilet in the castle, by myself! I’m great at cleaning, remember? Just… please don’t send me to the manor. Please?”
“Yes, you are good at cleaning.”
Lily’s eyes lit up—only for the next words to crush that little spark.
“Which is exactly why you should clean the manor.”
“Head Maid!”
“You just need to air it out regularly and dust here and there. It’s the easiest job on the list. Why are you trying to swap it for something worse?”
Because it’s freaking haunted, that’s why!
She didn’t say it out loud, but her eyes screamed it clearly enough.
The head maid shot her a warning look.
Ahh… That was too much, wasn’t it…?
A chill crawled up the back of Lily’s neck. She knew better than to give the head maid attitude. This woman controlled every aspect of the maids’ lives. Making her an enemy was a terrible idea.
One more refusal, and I’m just gonna say yes. No questions.
Lily swallowed hard.
“Haaah…”
The head maid looked up at the ceiling, sighing like she was making the ultimate sacrifice.
“Lily Dienta.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Twenty percent.”
She held up two fingers.
“I’ll increase your pay by twenty percent. You’ll get paid vacation once a month. I heard your grandmother lives nearby, doesn’t she? Wouldn’t it be nice to visit her?”
Lily’s eyes blinked fast, processing.
“Well? Still saying no? Because if so, I’ll just—”
“I’ll do it! I’ll clean the manor! It’d be an honor!”
The switch-up was instant. For a bottom-rung maid with no hope of promotion, that kind of bonus was impossible to ignore. She could practically hear the clink of coins in her ear.
“Good. I’m not trying to burden you for long anyway. Just until His Grace wakes up. After that, you’ll go right back to your old post.”
“Yes, Head Maid.”
Okay. Let’s think positive. Like she said, it’s not even hard work.
The Duke had been in a coma for over three weeks now. Hardly anyone visited the manor anymore. Only a few areas were even open, and the floor he was staying on was managed directly by the head maid herself.
In other words, this was actually a golden opportunity. Only a fool would say no. All she had to do was steel her nerves and ignore the ghost part.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Angela—the head maid—sounded like she’d just remembered something.
“I don’t want to hear the Duke’s name being dragged through the mud over nonsense like this.”
The moment Angela said it, Lily knew: This wasn’t just a rule. It was an order carved in stone.
“If something breaks, report it for repairs. If you get hurt, see the doctor. Simple. There’s no reason to stir up drama—especially not while His Grace is unwell. Right?”
“Yes. Right. Absolutely.”
“And lucky for me, I’ve heard you hate hearing ghost stories almost as much as telling them. So I know I can count on you.”
“Yes, Head Maid. I won’t let you down.”
Assigned to a haunted house… just because I hate ghosts? Lily could practically taste the absurdity of life. As she stood there, still reeling, Angela gave her a brief wave of the hand—twice—and just like that, their conversation was over.
Stepping out of the head maid’s office, Lily leaned against the hallway wall and let out a huge sigh.
Well… this was a chance. A rare one. Even if she worked another ten years, her pay would probably never increase like this again.
Temporary or not, it didn’t matter. Combined with her savings, she could finally treat her grandmother to dinner for New Year’s… maybe even buy her a new pair of shoes.
Yeah, just close your eyes and power through. You can do this. You’re not scared. Nope. Not at all…
Lily prayed that her greed would somehow be strong enough to overcome her fear.
—
The next day.
Lily gathered supplies from the main building’s storage room and began her cleaning duties on the first floor.
The manor was eerily quiet. Her nerves were still on edge—after all, who knew when a ghost might decide to start throwing things? But as the silence stretched on without incident, she slowly began to relax.
And to her surprise… the job was ridiculously easy.
No nobles to tiptoe around. No complicated tasks. Just sweeping and dusting to her heart’s content. She breezed through the first floor in record time.
Grinning, Lily packed up her tools.
Not bad! Didn’t even run into a ghost!
Hope bloomed in her chest. Maybe… maybe Angela was right.
All that ghost talk was just nonsense. The castle was old—of course things broke down sometimes. People were just linking it all to the Duke’s illness and letting their imaginations run wild.
Buoyed by optimism, Lily headed upstairs to the second floor. But the moment she laid eyes on the hallway, she froze.
There was something… standing by the window.
Something unreal.
That’s a ghost! That’s totally a ghost!!
Her eyes nearly popped out of her head.
Why? Why now? Of all times, why while I’m working?! No one said they ever actually saw one!
Sure, there were tons of stories about ghostly incidents—but as far as she knew, no one had laid eyes on the thing itself. Lily had quietly hoped she’d be no different.
But this changed everything.
It was one thing to clean up after a spooky mess. It was a whole other level to come face to face with the source of the terror.
She stood there for a long moment, taking deep breaths. Rubbed her eyes with both hands.
Maybe I imagined it. Maybe I’m just on edge and mistook a statue or a column for something else.
Clinging to that slim hope, she cautiously peeked back into the hallway.
Nope. Still there.
A translucent figure, completely drained of color, just standing at the window. Motionless. Looking out.
Lily immediately pulled her head back.
Oh my god. I knew it. I knew there was a ghost!!
Panic wrapped around her like a cold fog. She felt faint.
“R-right. I—I forgot to finish cleaning downstairs. Y-yeah…”
She muttered to herself and bolted down the stairs like her life depended on it.
She scurried all the way to the farthest window from the staircase and started flailing her dust rag around just for the sake of doing something. Anything to distract herself from the image burned into her brain.
The ghost looked like a tall nobleman. She hadn’t gotten a clear look, not from that distance, but… something about him had felt strangely familiar.
Which made no sense. She was just a low-ranking maid—what noble would look familiar to her?
Then again, it didn’t really matter who he was. The real question was…
What do I do about the second floor?
She really wanted to quit on the spot and run. But causing a fuss on her very first day would only put her on Angela’s blacklist.
Then, a memory surfaced—her grandmother’s advice.
“Lily, if you ever see something strange like that, just act like you didn’t. Don’t look, don’t speak, don’t react. The best way to deal with those things is to pretend they’re not there.”
Her grandmother had always been into ghost stories and paranormal tales. She used to tell Lily about them all the time.
Back then, they’d made her cry. But now… maybe they were finally useful.
Lily sent a silent thank-you to her grandmother, steeling herself for a second attempt at the second floor.
“Okay… just pretend I didn’t see anything. Nothing there. Nope. Totally normal…”
[“Pretend you didn’t see what, exactly?”]
“EEK!”
Lily squeezed her eyes shut and collapsed right onto her backside. Her legs had given out completely. The dust rag tumbled to the floor beside her.
[“You can see me, can’t you?”]
The voice echoed inside her skull—not like normal speech, but like a strange vibration, humming through her bones.
[“You do see me, don’t you?”]
