The Ghost Mistress Of The Duchy

Ellie had a set of rules, almost like a set of guidelines, that she had imposed on herself for a simple life.

 

One. She didn’t expect a fairytale-like, fateful encounter, but she would still have a romantic relationship at least once.

 

Two. She didn’t dream of a marriage after a fiery love, but she would share a ring with a partner who could be devoted to the family.

 

And finally, three.

 

She would have a cute and lovely child and raise them with all her love.

 

It was a perfect and ordinary plan to enjoy life to the fullest.

 

She didn’t have to climb the social ladder in search of a husband and end up in gossip columns. She didn’t have to be dragged to all sorts of banquets and fight with sharp-tongued people to be treated like a flower, so wasn’t that great?

 

Surely, there was no more ideal form of life than living a life of duty as a young lady of a noble family.

 

‘I’ve definitely succeeded, right?’

 

But what on earth is this?

 

Ellie stood in front of the window of her room, which boasted an insane amount of sunlight, and muttered, looking at her hands.

 

My hands… they’re translucent?

 

She didn’t know what was going on, but something was terribly wrong.

 

* * *

 

Lady Ellie Mason, now the Duchess of Ratcliffe, was a woman who truly had nothing to regret.

 

Their marriage was the culmination of a romance that blossomed from childhood friendship, a union that began as a mere exchange between families.

 

After a blissful honeymoon devoid of any major issues, they were blessed with a child.

 

Though she couldn’t say she loved her husband, the Duke of Ratcliffe, she did cherish him as a friend. She believed that if she had to choose a spouse, he was the most suitable choice.

 

His demeanor aligned perfectly with the standards she had always upheld. It was a life of impeccable perfection.

 

…And then there was his exceptional beauty.

 

‘Well, if I’m going to get married, wouldn’t it be better to have someone with good-looking eyes? It would be nice to pass on those good looks to our children.’

 

Whatever the reason, she was immensely satisfied with herself for successfully producing a beautiful child who resembled her 30% and her husband 70%.

 

She looked forward to watching her child grow up and living happily with her handsome childhood friend, who adored her endlessly.

 

Even that day, Ellie fell asleep, her mind painting a picture of her peaceful life.

 

She was a truly admirable woman, one who could end her day by embracing her child and holding her husband’s hand tightly.

 

-…….

 

Why am I wearing this?

 

Ellie sat on the plush bed of her honeymoon suite, her head bowed.

 

A lavish white gown, adorned with lace and jewels, filled her vision, its design as extravagant as it could be.

 

‘This is a burial gown!’

 

The ostentatious peacock-like design had initially blinded her, but now she could clearly see that it was a burial gown.

 

The kind worn by the deceased.

 

‘I’ve been feeling unwell since childbirth, but surely I’m not dead?’

 

Was this their way of hinting at her impending demise, urging her to hurry up and leave?

 

It was absurd to think so, but the gown she was wearing served as undeniable proof.

 

Ellie quickly ran through the list of suspects who might have dressed her in this manner, her mouth tightening.

 

There were a few ladies who had relentlessly pursued her husband, trying to win him over.

 

‘Countess Garcia, the lady who followed me around banquets, stirring up trouble?’

 

No, she couldn’t be the one. She was already married.

 

Didn’t she run off with a wandering knight from a neighboring country in the middle of the night?

 

The scandal had rocked the social circles, and gossip had run rampant for weeks.

 

‘Then what about Duchess Veron, the lady who invited me to a tea party but gave me a different dress code?’

 

She even deliberately gave me the wrong time, so I was late. Assuming I wouldn’t show up, they removed my chair due to limited space, and I was forced to stand under the scorching sun for over 30 minutes until they brought it back.

 

‘And then there was Rutus, who came crying to visit me when I collapsed.’

 

I remember him rushing in, disregarding everything else, and forcing carp juice down my throat, claiming it was the best way to restore my energy.

 

Ellie shook her head as she recalled the scene.

 

‘But that lady came back a few days later and knelt down and begged earnestly.’

 

I really had a hard time stopping her from wiping her tears and snot while rubbing her hands.

 

Then there was Viscountess Pinto, who pretended to make a mistake at the hunting competition and deliberately drove a fierce beast around me.

 

Countess Cartagena, who was caught trying to curse me with a fatal spell and was dragged off to a convent.

 

Eillie sighed as she recalled Marchioness Marcus, who poisoned my champagne at the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet and accidentally drank it herself and died.

 

‘There’s no certain answer.’

 

They were all just mischievous nobles at a ridiculously cute level, so I didn’t take it too seriously.

 

But if I had known this would happen, I would have kept my guard up.

 

Most of them would run away in terror whenever they bumped into me after their schemes, so now I couldn’t even remember what they looked like.

 

So, there can’t be anyone among the people I’ve listed who would have the guts to do something like this.

 

Who the hell is it?

 

Eillie, with a troubled face, raised her index finger and tapped her knee, looking around the room.

 

And then she froze.

 

-…Is that really snow?

 

Eillie opened her eyes wide and approached the window.

 

It was spring, but the garden was full of bare branches and snow.

 

‘I must be seeing things.’

 

As she was about to put her hand on the window to get a closer look, she was startled.

 

Thump-

 

‘Oh, what?’

 

She was sure the window was closed, but her body, which was leaning forward, suddenly fell forward.

 

Eillie, who was completely bewildered, barely managed to regain her balance and looked back. She saw the window firmly closed.

 

Oh…?

 

She lowered her head.

 

Half of her body was still sticking out.

 

So, she had passed through the wall.

 

-…

 

She calmly raised her upper body.

 

The window was in front of her again.

 

Her mouth fell open.

 

-…What is this?

 

I’ve never heard of such magic.

 

Eillie, with a dumbfounded expression, reached out her hand to the window, still blankly.

 

It entered smoothly. Completely smoothly.

 

A chill ran down Ellie’s spine as she noticed the bizarre sight of a window sewn into the center of her arm.

 

The clothes she was wearing were strange as well. And so was the body that was now passing through the wall with her arms and head, were just as strange.

 

‘This doesn’t seem like a normal situation, does it…?’

 

Ellie frowned slightly, realizing that a considerable amount of time had passed since she had woken up, yet no one had entered the room yet.

 

Even if Rutus had told her not to wake him up because the sun was at its zenith, there should have been some signs of life if things were normal.

 

It was eerily quiet.

 

‘It’s like there’s no one around here at all.’

 

The child she had been sleeping with was also nowhere to be seen, but she wasn’t surprised as it was something that often happened when Rutus woke up first.

 

He always used to sleep a little longer and then take the child out with him.

 

But even then, it wasn’t that quiet.

 

‘Well, that’s how it is in a house with a newborn baby…’

 

No matter how careful you were, there was bound to be some noise.

 

But for crying out loud, she couldn’t even hear a single ant crawling around.

 

…Are they calling a bunch of mages over to play a prank?

 

Ellie blinked rapidly and then shook her head. Rutus wasn’t the kind of person who would pull such a prank.

 

‘I need to go out and see what’s going on. I can always find Rutus later… .’

 

Ellie tried to suppress the rising anxiety and took a step forward. She reached for the doorknob, but it didn’t catch, so she had to pass through it again.

 

Swoosh-

 

‘……’

 

Emerging from the massive door, Ellie lowered her hand and clutched the hem of her dress tightly.

 

She had already expected it, but

 

‘There really is no one here.’

 

Ellie quickly headed towards the stairs, feeling an unusually desolate atmosphere in the hallway.

 

Let’s go down to the lower floor first. Then let’s go to Rutus’s study first, and if he’s not there, let’s go find the butler or the head maid…

 

“Ah, I hate this floor…!”

 

“So what are you going to do? You’re getting paid a lot for this.”

 

“But it’s creepy and I don’t like it. In the first place, they shouldn’t let anyone in here unless they’re cleaning…”

 

Ellie, who was halfway down the stairs, stopped in her tracks. Two maids were climbing the stairs carrying buckets and mops.

 

‘There’s supposed to be a separate passage for the servants, so why are they coming this way?’

 

Even the guards who seemed to be guarding the stairs from below didn’t seem to care.

 

Ellie, her face hardened by the absurd situation, stood in front of the maid.

 

The maid, who had passed through Ellie, shivered and opened her mouth.

 

“And by the way, do you remember what happened to the girl who accidentally broke a vase last time you were cleaning? Her wrist was cut off and she was kicked out half-naked.”

 

“That was the one the mistress cherished in her lifetime, wasn’t it? She was caught trying to sneak it out through the servants’ passage to hide it, and she was severely punished. So, you forgot that the passage has been closed ever since?”

 

“Oh, I didn’t know. Anyway, the nobles’ savagery is really…”

 

“…Be careful with your words. If you’re caught saying that, you’ll lose your neck, not your arm.”

 

The maid shivered, saying she would die, and stroked her arm with her hand before climbing the stairs.

 

-…….

 

Eillie needed time to decipher what the conversation she just overheard meant.

 

A person passed by her. But more than that, Eillie’s fingertips trembled finely at the shocking remark.

 

‘In her lifetime? Flower vase?’

 

What does that all mean?

 

‘…I’m dead?’

 

Without time to think, her body moved first. Eillie, who had hurried up the stairs and stood in front of the door she had just left, swallowed hard.

 

Her Adam’s apple bobbed. No, was it her stomach?

 

Eillie cautiously stepped forward. Only then did she feel a sense of discomfort

 

The bedding, which should have smelled of human beings since it was used just yesterday, had not a single human scent.

 

The candleholder, which seemed to have not been touched for a long time, had a faint layer of rust, as if it had lost its color in a day.

 

Even the baby bed, one of whose corners was broken, had no trace of warmth left.

 

‘Rutus asked a dwarf to make it for me…’

 

She could still vividly remember his shyly smiling face as he said, “It has to be sturdy since it’s for a child to use.”

 

Eillie finally turned her gaze to the small table by the window.

 

Her legs gave way.

 

-…Huh?

 

Really.

 

The cherished flower vase was nowhere to be seen.

* * * *

 

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