ENGDB 06

Chapter 6

Before the incident at the training grounds, the pale lump known as Irene had been enjoying the happiest time of her ghost life.

“As expected. That Grand Duke guy is afraid of me.”

From the very first moment they met, Irene noticed how Calid flinched and avoided her whenever she got close.

That was when she finally discovered the fun of being a ghost.

“So even a war hero is scared of ghosts. Still, seeing someone who looks fearless react like that only makes me want to scare him more.”

Honestly, when Calid first returned to the castle, Irene had not thought much about him.

She was only mildly curious that the owner of the castle had finally returned after being away.

But by chance, she noticed the surprise in Calid’s eyes and somehow felt as though he could see her.

Her days had been painfully boring because nobody could see her.

So the thought that she had finally met someone who might actually notice her made her excited.

“Hey, look at this. You can see me, right? You’re pretending you can’t, but I already caught you.”

Filled with hope that Calid might somehow hear her voice, Irene endlessly chattered while following behind him.

Then she saw him entering a room and realized it was the room she had claimed as her own.

“Ghosts are still people too, you know? The first person to use it owns it!”

Irene quickly flew over and occupied the bed before stomping her feet angrily in the air.

With her hands on her waist, she tried making the scariest expression possible to threaten him into giving up the room.

She completely ignored the fact that Calid was actually the owner of the castle.

But for Irene, this room was the only place where she could comfortably stay.

Of course, Calid knew none of this.

After staring at the bed for a moment, Calid let out a deep sigh and left the room.

“Oh, as expected. That Grand Duke guy really can see me! But… maybe I’m a little scary?”

She became so happy that he noticed her that she convinced herself he had left because he was frightened.

Naturally, this was only Irene’s misunderstanding, since she had no idea Calid simply saw her as a pale lump.

“Well… if a transparent human figure suddenly floated around in front of me…. Ugh, I’d hate that too.”

Imagining herself floating around like a ghost made Irene shiver for no reason.

At the same time, she also felt satisfied that she had won the little battle against Calid.

It was the first sense of accomplishment she had felt since becoming a ghost.

Enjoying the sweet feeling of victory, Irene proudly followed Calid around everywhere he went.

“This Grand Duke idiot! I don’t hurt people or steal things! What kind of person does he think I am?!”

“Seriously, how stupid. It seems like you’re the only one who can see me…. Asking Sebastian or Henry won’t help at all….”

“Calid, you’re more cowardly than I thought. What’s so scary about a ghost? If you look closely, I’m just a transparent person. Sigh, you can’t even look in my direction.”

“Calid, look at this! I can even pass through walls like this. I didn’t realize it before becoming a ghost, but it’s actually really convenient for moving around. It saves time when you’re in a hurry. It’d be nice if you could do it too.”

“Calid. You’re not a ghost like me who can’t eat, so why do you keep skipping meals? People need food to stay healthy. You have to eat properly to keep a healthy mind.”

Like that, Irene followed him around talking nonstop until he went to sleep every night.

All while secretly hoping that maybe—just once—Calid would hear her voice.

And while Irene quietly built up a sense of closeness toward him by herself, an unexpected event occurred.

It was the incident at the training grounds.

While watching Calid spar with another knight and enthusiastically cheering for him, Irene suddenly saw the sword swing toward her.

But she simply stared at it.

After all, she was a ghost.

A physical attack should not affect her at all.

At least, it should not have.

“Huh? Why am I…?”

Irene became completely confused.

When she regained her senses, she found herself sprawled far away from where she had originally been standing.

The sword had merely swung in her direction from a distance.

Naturally, she thought nothing would happen.

And because she firmly believed she could never be physically affected, the shock became even greater.

“Why… did I fly away? I didn’t even feel anything?!”

She had no idea what had just happened.

She only felt confused.

Looking at Calid frozen in the distance while staring at her, Irene suddenly felt strangely betrayed.

“Don’t tell me…. He attacked me on purpose? Was all that talk about me being a monster actually serious?”

People had always called Irene a monster rather than a ghost.

But she never imagined Calid truly thought of her that way as well.

“I thought you could see me! You really thought I was a monster? Calid, I won’t let you get away with this!”

Irene jumped up furiously.

For some reason, tears almost formed in her eyes.

She had finally met someone who seemed able to see her, yet that person attacked her.

Even though she was not hurt, Irene had already built up an emotional closeness toward Calid on her own, so she felt deeply hurt.

While she pouted and tried to swallow her disappointment, Calid shook his head as though looking at something completely useless before leaving the training grounds.

That expression shocked Irene more than she expected.

And at that moment, she decided she would show Calid the true terror of a ghost.

Thus, Irene began preparing for her one-sided war.

After the training grounds incident, Irene and Calid’s relationship moved in the exact opposite direction.

Calid, who had previously given up his room to Irene, returned to using his own bedroom again.

Of course, Irene had no intention of giving back the room she had occupied without permission.

And so, an unwanted form of cohabitation began.

“Sebastian. I think these curtains should be replaced. Change them to black.”

“…Yes, Your Highness.”

“Wait a second, Calid. Black curtains?! The room will become way too dark! And they’re not even blackout curtains…!”

The room Irene had occupied was already mostly black and white, making the change even more horrifying to her.

“Sebastian. Replace the bedding with black as well.”

“……Yes.”

“Even the bedding too?! Then the entire room will turn completely black!!”

“And remove this, this, and this as well.”

“…….”

“Calid! If you remove all of those too, what kind of room is this supposed to be?!”

Irene was horrified by Calid’s actions.

As if he had wanted to do this for a very long time, Calid slowly began changing everything one by one.

Meanwhile, Irene watched from the side in frustration.

“No… it was already clean and modern enough…. But this is…. too clean! No, this isn’t clean anymore. It’s barren and lifeless!”

Unable to hear Irene’s protests, Calid smiled in satisfaction while looking around the room.

Then he gave one final victorious smile toward the pale lump that somehow looked depressed.

After that, Calid clearly began ignoring Irene.

Before, he used to pretend not to notice her even when he saw her.

Now, he did not even look at her at all.

That made Irene feel hurt once again, and she gradually became more stubborn.

“Hmph. Just wait, I’ll definitely get my revenge! First, I’m taking this room back.”

Of course, Irene knew she was only exhausting herself emotionally over something one-sided.

But for over a month, she had been unable to talk to anyone or even sleep.

So she decided she would at least stay true to her current feelings.

Besides, she had nothing else to do anyway.

After Calid left for the office, Irene remained alone in the room.

Slowly, she reached toward the necklace hidden near the bed—her secret weapon.

“Alright, just like I practiced. Imagine transferring my power into it…. Focus.”

After experimenting with the necklace for a long time, Irene discovered she could inject her own energy into it.

And whenever she did, the energy inside the necklace flowed back into her and was absorbed.

“Hmm…. It’s faint, but this energy definitely feels familiar somehow….”

Every time Irene used the necklace, she felt an energy that strangely did not feel unfamiliar.

As she absorbed that energy little by little, her form gradually became clearer.

“Good. With this much, I should at least be able to touch objects slightly, right?”

Dreaming of revenge against Calid, Irene recalled his daily schedule.

“At this hour…. He should still be in the office.”

Moving quickly through the door the maids had left open while cleaning, Irene headed straight toward Calid’s office.