What was that? No way… could it be?
For a moment, a ridiculous thought crossed my mind but I shook my head, dismissing the thought and following the old man.
The interior of the mansion was enormous and grandiose.
Elaborate chandeliers hung from the ceiling cast scattered light downwards, and various carvings and decorations adorned the walls.
Enthralled by the splendid sight, my head swiveled to survey the interior of the house.
“A guest is here! Hehe!”
Suddenly, a young girl with beautifully done-up hair appeared on the upper floor balcony and shouted down at me. Then she dashed behind a wall and disappeared. Judging by her expensive dress, she seemed to be the daughter of this household.
“Does the Covozhalden family have a young lady?”
I murmured absentmindedly without thinking, facing the back of the old man. He turned his head slightly to look at me but continued walking without saying a word.
What’s going on? Why isn’t he responding?
Perplexed, I continued following him down the corridor. Various paintings adorned the long hallway, seemingly to explain the refined taste of the mansion’s owner.
I strolled slowly, observing each piece one by one. Reaching the end of the corridor, I noticed one of the paintings tilted at an angle.
Unlike the other paintings in the mansion, this one was different. Instead of depicting objects and people, this painting was an abstract representation of some sort with no clear image.
However, its vivid colors were particularly striking. Without an eye for art, I lacked the expertise to judge whether it was a good painting but I thought that the combination of colors was pleasant.
Lost in thought while gazing at the painting, I reached out to straighten the crooked frame. Before my hand could touch it, the old man turned to me.
“It’s better not to touch it. It holds a soul within.”
“What? A soul? Are you talking about a human soul?”
“Yes, a soul. A man who loved that painting so much, it’s said that he’s attached to it even in death.”
I quickly withdrew my hand that was reaching for the painting. The old man grinned briefly and then urged me to keep walking.
Was he joking? Or was he serious? What’s going on? Why is he trying to scare me?
Confused by his words, I stared at his back in bewilderment.
“I’m sorry, but please wait here for a moment.”
Upon reaching a certain door, the old man blocked my path with one arm and entered the room. I heard the creaking sound of the latch as the door opened and closed.
Standing quietly next to the door, I waited for him to come back out. Then the young girl I had seen earlier rushed by, barely missing me.
With a patter of steps, the girl ran from one end of the corridor to the other. Then she turned around and repeated the process. I turned my head left and right, following her movements.
She’s incredibly lively. Still, she should be taught not to run inside the house…
If it were my younger siblings, I would have scolded them thoroughly but this was someone else’s child. Educating another family’s child was not my responsibility.
So, I just watched silently as the child played around. After playing for a while, the child suddenly stopped right in front of me. She froze as if time had paused.
What’s this? Why did she suddenly do that?
I stared at the child, slightly taken aback. In that instant, the child swiftly turned her head toward me, locking her gaze onto mine. Her neck bent at a strange angle, creating an eerie sight.
“You can see me?!”
“Huh…?”
Oh no… that odd feeling. The chill I felt when I entered this mansion wasn’t just a casual sensation. This place was haunted.
“You can see me! You can see me! There’s another person who can see me?!”
The young ghost leaped around excitedly.
Ah… No, I don’t see you. Please, don’t do this.
I immediately averted my gaze, desperately hoping that the girl would lose interest in me. However, she seemed to find my lack of attention amusing. She stuck her face right in front of me and examined me closely.
“Good. I like you!”
I had no idea what I did to win her approval, but it seems that I have gained favor with a ghost.
Oh my gosh. I’ve never really seen any ghosts outside of a “haunted house” like ours, but to come face to face here? In a place this big, this clean, and this unlikely to hold any grudges…?
I silently prayed, including all the deities I had encountered in this life and the last. ‘Please make her disappear from in front of me.’
“Guest, please come in. The master wishes to meet you.”
While my eyes were still tightly closed, like a savior, the old man came out and called me. Amen! He had saved me.
It’s better to be with other people than to engage with ghosts. I quickly entered the room. Thankfully, the young female ghost didn’t follow me into the room. Instead, she continued to jump around outside the door.
To actually hear the sounds… That ghost seems to have a lot of energy! Why would such a powerful ghost be in a place like this?
“Your name?”
As I was calming my bewildered emotions, I heard a deep, authoritative voice. When I looked up, a neatly dressed man with an almost obsessive level of orderliness sat in front of me. He was quite handsome but shadows under his eyes suggested exhaustion… Huh?
Excuse me? There’s a ghost behind you…
A black, shapeless wisp of smoke curled around his shoulders. It was wriggling incoherently, as if dancing.
“What’s your name?”
He asked again and I answered with a slight tremor in my voice.
“…My name is Laura Haien.”
However, my eyes were fixed on the black smoke. It soon formed a long, tail-like shape behind the man’s right shoulder. Then it turned and stared at me.
Oh… That’s spooky.
For a moment, I thought about hitting myself on the head with my fist to see if I would faint. But if I then woke up with ghosts staring at me, it would be a worse horror. I calmed myself as much as possible and lowered my voice.
“On second thought, I don’t think I can work here. I apologize. I’ll be leaving now. Mr. Butler, could you please escort me out?”
I turned to the old man as I spoke. He shrugged his shoulders and remained silent.
“Excuse me? Can you please lead me? This place is so big that I can’t find my way alone.”
He remained silent again. What’s going on? Seriously? Wasn’t he just talking about the painting with a soul earlier?
With a slight suspicion, I grabbed the old man’s arm. His well-toned bicep met my touch. What a perfect physique. Luckily, he didn’t seem to be a ghost.
Then why on earth isn’t he answering?
I looked up at him with a mix of resentment in my eyes. He glanced at me briefly, then gestured forward with a nod of his chin.
As I turned my head, the tired-looking young man with an intense gaze was staring at me. He seemed ready to march into battle and cut someone’s throat like a ruthless commander.
Even the black smoke that had been hovering behind him had grown larger, flickering and rising like flames. It seriously looked like fire had ignited on the man’s shoulders and above his head.
Is that supposed to be a special effect…?
With the added smoke effect, he now resembled the final boss riding up from hell rather than a general. But come to think of it, something was strange.
Ghosts don’t usually attach themselves to people with strong energy. However, as the man kept looking at me, the ghost’s energy felt darker and stronger when he looked at me in comparison to when he looked away.
I discreetly hid behind the butler’s back and observed him.
How did that black smoke end up clinging so tightly to the man’s back? And did he even know that a ghost was attached to him?
Well, it’s not any of my concern. Everything is fine as long as I can leave this place.
Thinking that, I nodded my head lightly.
But suddenly the man in front of me uttered words that made my recent thoughts seem foolish.
“Let’s have you start working tomorrow.”
Wait, didn’t I just say that I can’t work here?
“Sorry?”
“Work won’t be difficult. It’s mainly managing my schedule and some simple paperwork.”
“Oh, yes. That work doesn’t seem difficult. However, as I mentioned before, I don’t think I can work here…”
“I’ll give you a monthly salary of 500 florins.”
“I’m ready to be an excellent worker.”
I came out slightly from behind the butler. Five hundred florins! That’s over three times the monthly salary a commoner would receive working as a maid.
Of course, I’m technically a noble so the situation might be different, but it definitely was not a low amount.
That’s right. Money is my motivation.
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