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Chapter 18
In the North, many legends and myths had been passed down. Having lived his whole life in the North, Taibern had once heard tales of strange and mystical beings.
“A spirit, perhaps.”
He had heard rumors of spirits who governed the five elements of nature—strange beings who could make the impossible possible.
The blessing that had come to this land could not be explained by anything other than such a being.
Taibern curled his lips into a smile.
There was a legend passed down through the House of Katieron.
Long ago, a knight was ordered by the emperor to head north—to drive out the monsters that had overrun the land and turn it into a place fit for humans to live.
The knight led his troops into the North, where he met a mysterious being.
It was a spirit who dwelled in the pure and untainted North.
With the spirit’s help, the knight defeated the monsters and planted the Katieron banner in the soil. That knight became the founding lord of the Katieron family.
Thinking of the old legend, Taibern chuckled.
Perhaps the gods were offering the world another chance by watching over it again. After taking one last look at the field, Taibern disappeared without leaving a trace.
“Honestly, it doesn’t matter what it is.”
As long as it helped Hider… as long as it helped him survive.
A being close to nature could never be harmful.
With that, Taibern set aside his needless worries.
From that day on, strange rumors began to circulate within the ducal household.
They said a ghost had appeared.
“Since the young master saw it, it must be real!”
Dania chatted while trimming herbs. It had now become routine for her to prep herbs in my room every night.
“Really? Ghosts don’t exist.”
“They might! Ugh, they say a wooden sword moved on its own! And now Young Master Karte has been too scared to leave his room for a week! And once the rumor spread, more and more people started speaking up. Someone even said they saw a bookshelf turn its own pages in the library!”
Dania looked around cautiously and whispered.
Yeah, that was me.
It must have been when I was transcribing that swordsmanship manual or whatever. So someone did see it.
“And that’s not all! They say they hear clattering noises and someone cooking in the kitchen at dawn! But when they go to check, no one’s there.”
That’s also me.
I was secretly making food for Hider. I only used the kitchen when the chef was away. To stay hidden, stealth skills were essential.
“The fire would be on, and the frying pan would move by itself. And more than one person has seen it! Isn’t it terrifying?”
Not at all.
There were reasons for everything. Has no one ever considered that even ghosts might have their own circumstances?
“The chef said a maid once hanged herself in the kitchen. Maybe she’s appearing because she hasn’t resolved her resentment?”
Oh… so now they’re inventing new ghost stories.
Well, I don’t mind that.
“To exorcise the ghost, they’re apparently calling someone from the temple. But listen to this…”
Dania lowered her voice as if to create a spooky atmosphere. But as the actual protagonist of this ghost story, I couldn’t feel less scared, so I replied indifferently.
“Yeah?”
“According to the rumors, that ghost is Young Master Hider’s birth mother. She can’t leave her son’s side, even in death.”
Wow. So that’s where the rumor’s gone now.
It also meant that some people were feeling guilty.
In the original novel, Hider believed his birth mother had died from an illness. Was that not true?
Maybe there’s a secret I don’t know.
Katieron really is dynamic.
Duchess Kiera chewed on her nails.
A suffocating sense of anxiety filled her chest. Karte hadn’t left his room in a week, claiming he saw a ghost.
And now, testimonies kept pouring in.
“This can’t be.”
There was no way such irrational things could be happening in this world. Ghosts were nothing but nonsense made up to inspire fear.
But as the rumors grew, they began to take shape—gaining weight and form.
“Even in death, you cling to my ankles, Amy.”
Duchess Kiera gnashed her teeth.
Amy had been a maid in the Katieron estate before Kiera ever arrived.
Amy had grown up with Herden, and she had been exceptionally beautiful—always catching people’s attention, radiant like sunlight.
When Amy came of age, Herden forced her to become his mistress.
Though Amy had tried to step back, knowing her social position, Herden refused to let her go.
Eventually, Amy became Herden’s woman and bore his child. Herden dreamed of a future with her. But reality was never so sweet. Amy died, and Herden married Kiera instead.
At the time, Herden’s mother had arranged the marriage.
Kiera could never stand the fact that another woman had borne Herden’s child before her. That damn woman constantly got under her skin.
So Kiera decided to remove her from sight, just as she had been taught. Whether Amy was naive or just plain stupid, she trusted people far too easily.
She even let Kiera close.
‘Duchess… One day, His Grace will grow tired of me too. I’m just a childhood crush to him. When that time comes, he’ll look at you, Duchess.’
Amy had comforted Kiera with all sincerity. But Kiera knew Herden would never let Amy go, even if the world split in two.
Even if Amy didn’t realize it, Kiera had seen the obsession in Herden’s eyes whenever he looked at Amy.
That chilling look—Kiera would never forget it.
So she helped Amy leave. This world, completely.
She remembered Herden’s face, sobbing while holding Amy’s corpse.
At the time, she’d felt a strange relief.
“You should stop tormenting me already, Amy.”
From the moment she bore Herden’s child despite her lowly station, tragedy had already been written.
With a cold expression, Kiera lowered her hand.
If Amy still hadn’t left… If that was why she was haunting Karte…
“I’ll help you again, just like before.”
There were exorcists at the temple. Heretics, yes—but they’d do the job if done in secret. The only obstacle was Taibern.
In that case, Taibern needed to be handled first.
Kiera decided to set everything straight as quickly as possible.
She slipped out for a secret errand.
Had I been too careless?
On my way back to my room after preparing Hider’s dinner, I sighed at the thought of spending the night handling herbs again.
When will this detox end? I grumbled.
That’s when the Katieron mansion erupted into chaos.
“Lani! Laniii!”
Dania came running toward me, pale as a ghost and waving her arms.
“What’s with all the fuss?”
Since Hider always stayed far from the main mansion, I was usually the last to hear any gossip around here.
Dania gasped between breaths.
“M-Master Taibern collapsed! The duke is staying by his side now, and they’ve called all the doctors from the capital and even his personal physician!”
My heart sank. The sewing I had been holding fell and rolled across the floor.
“…What?”
This is too soon.
I tightly shut my eyes, then opened them again.
“He’s not… dead, is he?”
“I don’t think so. But what on earth is happening?”
“……”
To Dania, this was just another piece of gossip.
But…
Unconsciously, I turned toward the wing where Hider stayed.
It wouldn’t be gossip to him. He truly respected Taibern—and had recently been overjoyed to be learning swordsmanship from him.
