ENGDB 04

Chapter 4

In front of the enormous castle gates, the servants, retainers, and knights stood in neat lines to welcome back their master, who had returned victorious from war.

Soon, the owner of the castle appeared in the distance, riding a black horse at the front while leading the knights forward.

Everyone waiting for them wore expressions filled with joy over the end of the war and pride in the lord who had led them to victory.

Following the noisy atmosphere of the castle, Irene also came outside and hid among the servants while watching the group arrive at the castle.

“Duke. You have returned safely.”

Sebastian, who was always stern, approached the tall man stepping down from the black horse with emotional eyes and greeted him respectfully.

“Butler Chief. Duke, you say? He is now His Highness the Grand Duke. Hahaha.”

“Ah, Sir Luke. You are still the same as ever.”

After that, a cheerful-looking knight with blond hair, Luke Adler, stepped down from his horse and exchanged greetings.

The man receiving the greetings had black hair, the symbol of the North, and golden eyes, the symbol of the imperial family.

The owner of this castle.

The ruler of the North.

Calid Ernst walked forward with dignity.

“Sebastian. You have worked hard all this time.”

“It is nothing, Your Highness. Compared to me, Your Highness has suffered far more. I am simply happy that you returned safely.”

“……”

“You have grown so much before I even realized it…. If the late Duke and the former Empress could see you now, how happy they would be….”

Sebastian, the butler who had served the rulers of the North for generations, eventually became teary-eyed while looking at Calid.

And Irene, who was secretly watching everything from among the servants with curious eyes, could not help but be shocked.

“That person is the Grand Duke? He looks incredibly young. Wow… just look at his face. He’s as handsome as a famous foreign actor. It would be even better if he relaxed that frown a little…. What a shame.”

In her previous life, Irene had seen many handsome men, so she thought she was already immune to good looks.

But Calid’s appearance was more impressive than anyone she had ever seen before.

Without realizing it, Irene continued staring blankly at him.

His breathtaking appearance naturally drew admiration from her, and her body slowly floated toward him as if being pulled in.

If she had a human body instead of a ghostly one, her cheeks would surely have been red.

At that moment, Calid’s gaze turned toward Irene’s direction, and their eyes met.

“Huh? W-What was that? It felt like our eyes met…. Did he see me? Hmm. That shouldn’t be possible, though?”

But as if it had only been Irene’s imagination, Calid soon turned his head toward the knights again.

Tilting her head in confusion, Irene quietly moved closer to observe him more carefully.

Then, for some reason, Calid seemed slightly flustered.

“Everyone has worked hard. Rest for the time being and dismiss yourselves.”

Calid quickly gave the order to dismiss the knights before immediately walking into the castle with fast steps.

And Irene followed closely behind him.

Strangely, it felt like Calid’s steps were becoming faster and faster.

Soon, he entered a certain room.

It was the fourth-floor bedroom Irene had been occupying without permission.

“Huh?! This is my room!”

Irene hurriedly chased after Calid into the room.

Then she flew onto the bed, claimed her spot, and glared at him firmly.

“T-This place! Is my room! I was here first!”

Irene stubbornly tried to insist that this room belonged to her, even with her ghost body.

Of course, Calid could not understand a single word.

Watching him show no reaction at all, Irene became more and more heated on her own.

Since becoming a ghost, Irene had grown very attached to her own territory, and she absolutely did not want to lose this room.

Thus began the one-sided room battle between a ghost and a human.

Calid Ernst.

There were many titles used to describe him.

The Emperor’s only younger brother.

Third in line to the throne.

The ruler of the North.

The last descendant of one of the four founding dukes.

The only remaining member of the wolf clan.

The youngest Sword Master and magic swordsman.

Commander of the Imperial Knights.

The Emperor’s finest sword.

And the Empire’s hero.

Although he possessed countless titles that others could never obtain even one of, Calid himself did not welcome them.

Rather, they felt like chains he could never escape from.

Without knowing anything, he had been pushed toward the battlefield, and afterward came endless years that felt like hell.

Finally, after ending the long and exhausting war, he rode toward the territory he had missed for seventeen years.

“Calid’s eyes look just like the moon.”

With every step closer to home, it felt as though a faint voice drifted through the wind.

“Hello, my moon fairy.”

The memories that had allowed him to endure the battlefield became even clearer as he approached his territory.

His hometown.

His home.

After riding for ten days, he finally arrived at the castle gates and saw several familiar faces.

Only then did Calid truly feel that he had returned home.

The tension that had kept his nerves sharp the entire time finally relaxed.

But only for a moment.

Something entered the sight of Calid, the last descendant of the brave wolf clan whose strength and stamina had no equal, and sent a chill down his spine.

It was a pale, blurry lump that completely shattered his peace and relaxation.

There were not many things Calid feared.

In fact, aside from “that person,” there was almost nothing he feared at all.

Yet now, for the first time, a being that made him feel fear had appeared.

That pale thing currently wandering around him.

Most likely, it was the cause behind the fear spreading through the territory over the past month.

“What exactly is that pale thing…?”

It had not been a coincidence that he saw it hiding among the servants at the castle gates the previous night.

It stood out too much to him.

As if asking to be noticed, it kept moving around between the servants, making it impossible not to see.

But perhaps the problem was that he kept staring at it, wondering why nobody else seemed to notice something so obvious.

Even though it had no eyes, nose, mouth, or even limbs, somehow it felt as though their eyes had met.

“Everyone has worked hard. Rest for the time being and dismiss yourselves.”

That was why he quickly sent the servants away and hurried toward his room.

Throughout the entire walk, Calid’s attention remained fixed on the strange being following closely behind him.

He glanced briefly at Sebastian walking beside him, but Sebastian did not seem to notice the creature at all.

And when it followed him all the way into his room and even occupied his bed, Calid realized his life in the castle would not be peaceful either.

“Sigh…. I really wanted to rest today….”

Calid brushed back his hair tiredly while thinking deeply.

For today at least, he truly did not want to draw his sword.

He had finally escaped the battlefield.

And after finally returning home, he did not want to spend his first day covered in blood again.

“What kind of monster is that thing? It seems others cannot see it. Since I still need to investigate what it is… I suppose I should leave it alone for now.”

For the time being, Calid decided to spare the pale creature since it appeared harmless.

As he left the room to rest elsewhere, he glanced at the uninvited guest occupying his bed.

“Hmm… somehow it looks strangely proud….”

Calid could not understand why he was even having such thoughts about a pale being with no visible expression.

But somehow, it truly looked proud and happy.

The pale lump even seemed slightly puffed up compared to before and appeared to bounce excitedly.

“Ah, I must really be tired.”

Calid rubbed between his brows and concluded that exhaustion was affecting him badly.

Then he quickly walked away to rest.

The next day, Calid received reports from Sebastian and Henry inside his office while trying his best to ignore the being moving back and forth beside him as if proudly showing off its existence.

“Your Highness. Did you rest well last night?”

“Yes. I rested comfortably for the first time in a while.”

“That is good to hear. We were worried after hearing you still could not sleep properly. Has your headache improved a little?”

“It is the same as always. Since there will be fewer matters to worry about for a while, it should slowly get better.”

Sebastian and Henry both knew Calid only said those words to ease their worries.

Calid’s insomnia and headaches began after a certain incident during his childhood.

They had tried countless treatments, but nothing completely cured him.

At best, the symptoms only improved slightly.

Because of that, neither of them could say much.

“Very well. Sebastian, I checked the report you sent me. Explain everything once again in detail.”

“Yes, Your Highness. The rumors first began about a month ago. One of the maids returned late while searching for something she lost and claimed she heard footsteps coming from the room at the very end of the second floor.”

“The room at the end of the second floor…. If I remember correctly, nobody uses that room.”

That room had once been one of Calid’s childhood playrooms.

His grandfather, the former Duke, had turned the entire second floor into playrooms for his only grandson.

“Yes. Currently, that room contains the belongings Your Highness used during childhood. The maid opened the door after hearing the sound, but there was nobody inside. However… it seemed as though someone had definitely been there.”

“Evidence, you say…. Did you confirm it yourself, Sebastian?”

“Yes. I personally checked it as well. There were faint footprints in the dust that had gathered there for years. However….”

“However?”