“Your Grace, I’ll bring Miss Haien to her room and come back.”
Great! I was chosen!
The butler came out of the office with me. I followed closely behind him, keeping a narrow gap. As we walked down the corridor together, I looked around anxiously. Fortunately, we didn’t encounter any ghosts on the way back to the room.
“Thank you for escorting me.”
I bowed to the butler when we arrived at the front of my room.
“You’re welcome.”
He smiled faintly and turned to leave, heading back to the Duke’s office.
‘Being a butler seems to have almost no concept of free time…’
I watched his retreating figure and closed the door.
That night, as I lay in bed trying to sleep, I heard the sound of a child running outside the door. It must have been that girl.
I pulled the blanket up over my head. But the sound of the running footsteps—’thump thump thump’—was impossible to block out.
Who knows how tired I’ll be tomorrow if I can’t sleep? Come to think of it, the other maids said the ghost girl wasn’t bad… They mentioned that if you just tell her to be quiet, she quietens down quickly, right?
I got up cautiously, grasped the doorknob, and pushed. The latch made a creaking sound, and as the door opened in an arc, I saw a tiny foot stepping in.
“Sister, you’re here!” she smiled.
“Yeah…”
“You don’t act like you can’t see me!”
“Yeah, but I need to sleep. Could you keep it down?”
“But you’re the only one who can see me other than brother! No one else can see me! Can’t you just play with me?!”
Uh… I shouldn’t have come out like this…
“I have to work tomorrow, so I need to sleep.”
“Then play with me after you wake up tomorrow.”
“Well…”
“Play with me~ Play with me~”
The blonde ghost started whining. Oh no. It seemed I was in a different situation compared to the maids who couldn’t see the ghost. This kid didn’t seem inclined to give up on someone who could see her easily.
“Play with me! Play with me!”
“Alright, alright. Tomorrow. I’ll play with you tomorrow. But I can’t play for long. I have to work.”
“Okay! Got it!”
“Now, can you be quiet?”
“Okay! Goodnight!”
The blonde girl seemed excited, rolling her feet as if she was pleased, and waved her hands energetically. I also found myself instinctively waving my hand back.
After that, the child disappeared down the hallway, suppressing the sound of their footsteps, and I crawled back into bed. The noise that had been disturbing my sleep had indeed vanished completely, just as promised.
‘Do I really have to play with the ghost…? Still, it’s quiet now, so I should be able to sleep well.’
I was a little worried, but I closed my eyelids and soon fell asleep.
• • • • • • •
When I woke up in the morning and went to work, the Duke’s face appeared visibly tired again. His under-eye circles seemed even longer than yesterday. It was clear that he hadn’t had a good sleep, in stark contrast to me.
“Duke, wouldn’t it be a good idea to take a little rest?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“You look very tired. Resting a bit might improve your efficiency…”
“…”
“Ah, I’ve overstepped my bounds. I apologize.”
“No, you’re right.”
The Duke answered with a brief smile.
“Do you know that blonde girl? The one who lives here.”
He asked, his tone turning uncertain. I couldn’t quite grasp his intention, but I nodded and replied.
“Yes.”
“She’s always noisy. So, I thought if I’d be disturbed while sleeping anyway, it’s better to get up and work.”
That little blonde troublemaker. People need their sleep! How could she keep waking up people who are sleeping just because she’s bored?
People need a good night’s sleep. If you don’t sleep properly, your brain doesn’t get to rest. Then memory deteriorates, and immune system functions drop.
Growth hormones are released during sleep, especially in the growth stage. Hence, eight hours of sleep per day is crucial. If not, your personality could worsen, and in severe cases, you might end up sleepwalking.
In this sense, I felt sorry for the Duke, who hadn’t slept properly.
“It’s fortunate that it seems she didn’t wake you up.”
The Duke lifted his head to look directly at me and said. I nodded my head. Yes, I had managed a sound sleep without any ghostly disturbances.
My condition was very good. My skin was clear, and even the dark circles that had appeared briefly yesterday had disappeared.
That’s right. Only I was in such a great condition.
…So, I had to speak up even though I thought it was presumptuous.
“Duke, please rest a bit. I’ll be with the little blonde child. She won’t disturb your sleep.”
“You’ll be with her?”
“Yes. The other maids say she’s not a bad child.”
“Well…”
“Duke, why don’t you go to your bedroom and get some sleep?”
“…”
“Hurry and make a decision, so you can sleep a little longer. I won’t be able to be with that child all day.”
“…I’ll just stay here, on the couch…”
The Duke responded in a tone that seemed unwilling as if I was bothering him, but he didn’t outright refuse. I quickly went to the couch and lightly tapped the couch’s surface with my palm.
“Come over here, Your Grace.”
“…”
At that moment, I realized I had been treating him too much like a younger sibling. So, I glanced at him cautiously, wondering if he might be offended. Fortunately, he started walking towards me without saying anything and took a seat on the couch.
“Lie down, Your Grace.”
“I’ll just rest my eyes for a moment.”
“You should rest comfortably, even if it’s just for a little while. Here’s a cushion. You can use it as a pillow.”
I picked up a cushion and placed it at the edge of the couch as I spoke. The Duke gazed at it hesitantly for a moment before slowly reclining.
He listened to orders quite well.
“Get some rest. I’ll draw the curtains for you.”
“…”
For a moment, the Duke stared at me as if in a daze. As he was pushed by me and laid down on the couch in a rather unexpected manner, he wore a bewildered expression, much like someone who had witnessed a significant accident unexpectedly.
I looked down at him and gave a smile, then walked straight to the window.
When I drew the curtains, the room darkened as the incoming light was blocked. I turned around to draw the curtains on the opposite window. That’s when I spotted the couch again. The Duke, lying down with his eyes closed, was breathing shallowly. His chest rose and fell with each breath.
“Hey! Sister!”
Just then, the blonde girl burst through the office door.
“Hey! Shh! Quiet! The Duke’s sleeping.”
“Brother’s asleep?”
“Yeah. Brother has to sleep, so don’t wake him up. Should we step out for a moment? I’ll spend time with you.”
“Okay.”
The child responded with a hushed voice.
“Sister, then let’s play in my friend’s room.”
“Your friend’s room? Your friend has a room here?”
“Yeah. Just follow me.”
Saying that, the child went out of the room through the door. I let out a small sigh.
Is this really okay? It’s not like I’m comfortable with ghosts. Even if people say she’s not that bad, ghosts are still ghosts and they can be a bit scary…
However, the die had already been cast. I turned the doorknob and opened the door. Then, stepping out with the little ghost waiting in front of me, we left the room.
The child led me through the corridor. We passed by the abstract painting hanging at a slant, and we walked past the spiral central staircase. And then, we continued walking for quite a while.
“Laura, where are you going?”
Meanwhile, I ran into one of the maids I’d gotten to know over breakfast. She approached me and struck up a conversation.
“Hello, Sonia. Uh… well, I left something behind, so I’m going to get it.”
“I’m actually heading to my room too. Let’s go together.”
She responded with a sunny smile. However, the truth was, I wasn’t going to my room to retrieve anything.
“Uh… Well…”
“Why?”
Feeling flustered, I stumbled over my words, and she raised her big round eyes, gazing at me curiously.
“Sister is coming with me to my friend’s room to play!”
The little ghost interjected loudly. Of course, Sonia couldn’t hear the ghost’s voice or see the child. So, I found myself in a dilemma between the two. What should I do about this?
“Sister promised to play with me! You can’t even see me, so go away!”
The ghost swung its arms in front of Sonia. A tiny, fisted hand passed through Sonia’s body and out again.
“Let’s go together~ And I’ve been wondering what it’s like to work right under the Duke. I want to hear about it. Tell me.”
She approached me and hooked her arm through mine. However, since the young ghost was standing right in front of me, she went right through her body and ended up on my side.
For a moment, I worried that Sonia might get possessed or something. Luckily, the ghost reappeared behind her and swiftly ran toward me.
“No, sister, play with me~ Don’t go! If you leave, I’ll disturb your sleep!”
The girl ghost extended both arms, blocking our path. Since I could just pass through the ghost anyway, I couldn’t understand the purpose behind this action. Was it an intense way of conveying intent?
“Hey… Sonia. Actually, I need to go to the bathroom. This is urgent! Please don’t follow me…”
“Huh? Really? No wonder you were hesitating while speaking. Got it.”
Sonia smiled as she immediately let go of my arm. Then, waving her hand, she went her way. Somehow, I felt like I’d become quite embarrassed. I mean, I hadn’t known her for very long, and we had already talked about this kind of thing…
“Sister, do you need to poop?!”
The ghost shouted briefly and burst into laughter. Yeah, at your age, that’s the kind of thing you find amusing… But only for you. I feel embarrassed…
“Sister, are you going to the bathroom? The bathroom?!”
“No…”
“You’re not going?”
“Yeah… I don’t want to anymore.”
“Then let’s go back to my friend’s room.”
The child stepped forward again.
“Can’t you understand that I’m the only one who can see and hear you? I also have a reputation to uphold.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“…Never mind…”
And so, we walked down the corridor again and eventually arrived in front of a room.
“Sister, it’s here.”
The child said so and then passed through the door into the room. I hesitated for a moment. I was reluctant to enter someone else’s room without permission, especially when I didn’t even know whose room it was.
“Sister, the door is locked. I’ll open it for you!”
She stuck her head out of the room and said. This was soon followed by the sound of the door’s lock turning. I hesitated for a moment, then pushed the door open and stepped inside.
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