“…He has ascended.”
As I spoke, the Young Marquis’s grip on my wrist loosened slightly.
Theo had ascended. Apparently, talking to his brother was his last wish in this life. It might have been a relatively simple wish, but for the deceased Theo, achieving it would not have been easy. And now that his wish had been granted, he could finally ascend.
I could see the Young Marquis’s shoulders shake slightly as he lowered his head. I quietly remained in front of him. The trembling passed through to my hand that he had yet to let go of.
After a while, the Young Marquis raised his head and looked at me. His wet eyes were red at the corners.
“…I never thought that he would just want to see me so badly. I thought he would have something he wanted from me, or maybe he would resent me… That’s what I believed. But Theo… he was stuck at the time when we were still young, when he just followed me faithfully.”
“The memories he shared with the Young Marquis must have been precious.”
“…Yes, they were.”
“…Are you alright?”
“Of course. I’m happy to have been able to see my brother again. And if there is such a thing as reincarnation, as Lady Laura says, then we might meet again someday.”
“You will definitely meet again.”
He said with a faint smile, “Thank you, Lady Laura. Truly.”
“What are you doing here right now?”
At that moment, the Duke appeared and inserted himself between us. I turned to look at the Duke. He seemed to be out of breath as if he had just rushed out from somewhere. Behind him, I could see the black, smoky spirit burning.
“Ah!”
Startled, I jumped behind the Young Marquis.
“Uh… Why are you…?”
The Duke asked in confusion. I poked my head out from behind the Young Marquis and looked at the Duke. The flame-like smoke was still writhing behind him. For some reason, it seemed like it was angry at me.
I cautiously said, “I was startled because of that thing… behind you, Duke…”
“What… behind me?”
The Duke’s body stiffened for a moment. Then, the smoke that had been wriggling suddenly stretched into a sharp shape and disappeared.
What was that? That smoke? Did it hear me?
“It… it disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
“Yes.”
I nodded and suddenly felt a bit sorry for being so frightened of the Duke’s guardian spirit, which didn’t seem to be harmful to humans.
The Young Marquis muttered as if talking to himself, “Am I really the only one who can’t see?”
The Duke turned to him and asked, “Why are you here? What happened?”
“The Young Marquis and Theo met here.”
I answered his question.
“They met?”
“Yes. That’s why Theo ascended.”
“…Are you alright?”
The Young Marquis shrugged his shoulders, “Why wouldn’t I be? I’m just grateful that we could have one last conversation.”
“…Alright. It’s getting late. Let’s go inside.”
“Yes. It’s late, so I’ll be in your debt today.”
The Duke nodded slightly and turned towards the mansion. I quickly followed him and the Young Marquis followed me.
The Young Marquis suddenly appeared by my side and whispered, “Laura, are you Elias’s secretary?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“My parents were saying that Elias and Laura are lovers. Is that not true?”
Huh? What? Why? That’s a misunderstanding! A total misunderstanding!
I shook my head vigorously.
“Absolutely not!”
“Haha, I see. My parents thought that because Elias had never had any other women in his life, he’d always been single. They cherish him very much, so please don’t take it the wrong way.”
I guess it seemed suspicious since the Duke had brought me to a family he had known since childhood. Moreover, the Marquis and Marchioness didn’t know that I could see spirits, so they just misunderstood things.
I replied while looking up at the Young Marquis, “Of course, I won’t think negatively.”
“Thank you.”
He smiled at me as if acknowledging my response.
“Hurry up.”
While we had this conversation, the Duke, who had arrived at the front entrance first, urged us impatiently.
“Yes~ we know~”
With that, the Young Marquis quickened his pace. Smiling, I followed closely behind him.
“Sister.”
At that moment, the blonde girl I had forgotten about approached me.
“Theo has completely ascended, right?”
She looked up at me and asked, her voice filled with mixed emotions.
“Yes, that’s right. Are you sad that Theo has ascended?”
“It can’t be helped. It’s okay.”
“Yeah. Theo won’t be in pain anymore, so let’s hope he can live happily in his next life.”
“Okay.”
The child responded brightly. After that, we walked side by side towards the mansion. The Duke, the Young Marquis, and I, along with the little blonde girl, entered the mansion in that order.
• • • • • • •
With sluggish movements and bleary eyes, I made my way to the dining room. However, as soon as I opened the door and entered, all the maids turned to look at me in unison.
I sat down at the dining table and asked in puzzlement, “What… What’s going on?”
Their gazes were fixed on my every movement. I liked having some attention, but I didn’t seek such blatant attention.
But seriously, what’s going on?
Even a maid opposite me stretched her body forward while placing both hands on the table to lean towards me.
“We all saw it.”
She said, looking at me.
“Huh? Saw what?”
“Last night, you were with the Young Marquis, weren’t you? Could it be… between the two of you?”
“Cough.”
I choked on the water I was drinking, spraying it out.
“Cough, cough. What?”
“I was in Anne’s room when Sonia suddenly called us all to the corridor. When we looked out the window, you and the Young Marquis were outside together. The atmosphere seemed unusual, didn’t it?”
“Huh?”
I turned to Sonia. She nodded vigorously and then opened her mouth, wearing a proud expression.
“I was the first to discover it!”
Is she even proud? Oh, lord! What if rumors like this spread before I even get married?! My reputation will be ruined!
With a frustrated heart, I scrutinized the maids. They were all stifling their giggles. It seemed like they had already composed a short romantic story in their minds, starring the Young Marquis and myself.
Wow, this is crazy.
“Listen, it’s a misunderstanding…”
Not surprisingly, they didn’t believe me at all. No, it was more like they just didn’t want to believe me. It seemed like I had become entertaining gossip for their daily lives.
They continued to talk about me and the Young Marquis until they had finished their meal. As the maids walked out of the dining room and down the corridor, they kept chatting.
“So they were together…”
“That’s right. Ever since she went to the Marquisate with the Duke the other day, and then suddenly the Young Marquis unexpectedly visited yesterday.”
That… That’s not true. The Young Marquis came for Theo…!
I walked between them, frowning. I kept my mouth shut because they wouldn’t believe it even if I tried to explain.
Well… Anyway, these stories will naturally fade away with time…
“Laura.”
Sonia called me.
Turning towards her, I replied with a simple, “Yes?”
Sonia, who had put on a serious expression, lightly tapped my shoulder and spoke up.
“You should get engaged.”
Huh?
I stared at her in disbelief.
“The matters of nobility marriages are complicated. You need to quickly get officially married before anyone can oppose it!”
“That’s right! Get engaged!”
“Get engaged!”
Clap!
Who just clapped?
I looked at the maids with a perplexed expression. They all had serious faces.
Are you all really serious? Isn’t this situation just a joke? Wait… I’m being teased right now, right…?
“Everyone, you’re too noisy. Please go inside.”
Just then, the butler approached us, extending his hands and gesturing. The maids quickly quieted down and scattered to their respective tasks.
Sighing, I was about to head to the Duke’s study. However, I noticed that the butler’s expression seemed troubled.
“Butler?”
I called him, noticing his dejected expression.
“What about our Duke…?”
?
??
???
Huh?
Mumbling to himself like that, he turned away from me.
“Wait, wait, wait!”
Is this still about when the Duke collapsed last time when I was with him? We already cleared up that misunderstanding, right?
“…This time, it’s another misunderstanding.”
I held onto him and explained.
The butler responded, “I see.”
I couldn’t tell if he was really convinced, so I tried my best to explain. He nodded at every word, but somehow I didn’t believe he agreed. Who knows? Maybe he was saying, “I don’t believe you,” in his head.
Holding onto the butler, I repeated over and over again that it was just a misunderstanding. It seemed like no matter how many times I said it, it wouldn’t be enough, but I couldn’t be late for work.
I let go of the butler, leaving him in his doubtful state, and hurried to the Duke’s study. I felt drained before even properly starting the day.
When I knocked and entered the study, the first person I saw was the Duke. The Young Marquis was seated next to him and he happily waved at me as soon as he noticed me.
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