ENGDB 16

Chapter 16

“Ahem…. I’m not angry.”

Calid awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

To be honest, he had been a little angry that Whitey interrupted his work.

But seeing Whitey completely depressed and drooping sadly, he could not bring himself to stay angry after thinking from her perspective.

Instead, he even worried that he might have sounded too cold.

“So if there’s anything you want to say now, you may say as much as you want.”

‘Y-You can really hear my voice?’

“Hmm… rather than hearing your voice, it feels more like your thoughts are being delivered.”

Calid pointed at his head with his finger and tapped it lightly a few times.

‘Delivered? Then is it something like telepathy?’

“Tele… what?”

‘Ah…. I guess there’s no word like telepathy here. It’s like the ability to sense another person’s thoughts and communicate with them.’

“Is it a type of magic?”

‘Probably a little different from magic.’

“Telepathy….”

Afraid Calid might ask for a detailed explanation, Irene quickly changed the topic.

‘Then how do I look to you?’

“Hmm…. Just a white lump? Though it seems like you have arms and legs now.”

‘As expected, I really do look like Casper…! Ah, and now that I finally say it, I’m not a monster!’

Irene had already decided not to reveal her true identity or real name carelessly.

No matter how much she claimed to be human in this state, she did not think Calid would believe her anyway.

“That seems true. Monsters cannot speak human language.”

‘Exactly! I felt so wronged being treated like a monster. I’m not a monster. I’m more like… um….’

“Hmm?”

‘Uh… well. I’m called a ghost….’

“A ghost?”

‘Yes, a ghost. Umm… just like humans, birds, dogs, and cats exist, ghosts are also one type of being like that.’

“…….”

Irene received a very suspicious look from Calid, but she could not bring herself to explain what a ghost truly was.

How could she explain that it was the soul of a dead person?

Moreover, Irene herself knew nothing about her current condition.

She had no idea why she came here looking like this.

Glancing carefully at Calid’s expression, Irene quickly changed the subject before his suspicion deepened further.

‘But since when could you hear me?’

“Relatively recently. It hasn’t been long.”

‘Hmm. Really? Relatively recently….’

At Calid’s answer, Irene quietly thought back on the past days.

Her first meeting with Captain Gray.

The meetings with the retainers.

There had been moments when she sensed something strange, but she had not thought much about them at the time.

Now, however, suspicion slowly grew.

‘Then… since the time with Captain Gray?’

“No. Later than that. Probably around the time you started humming those ridiculous songs.”

‘W-What? Ridiculous songs? Those were my work songs, you know.’

“Ah, work songs.”

Calid shamelessly answered, then suddenly remembered Whitey’s songs and narrowed his eyes again while trying not to laugh.

While glaring sharply at Calid as if he were teasing her, Irene hurriedly searched through her memories.

Had she ever spoken about her previous life or said anything suspicious about her identity?

Fortunately, most of her recent conversations had only been about work, so she relaxed slightly.

“But Whitey, where exactly did you come from?”

‘Me? Uh…. I’m from very, very far away! Somewhere extremely far from here. A place that absolutely cannot be reached easily.’

Apparently flustered, Whitey rapidly waved her white lump-like hands around while expressing her panic with her entire body.

Then she quickly changed the topic again.

‘M-My turn to ask! How old are you, Calid?’

The moment Irene asked, she immediately realized her mistake.

Even after reincarnating and becoming a ghost, a Korean would always remain a Korean.

Whenever she panicked, the first thing she asked was age.

“Age? That’s a completely unexpected question. I’m twenty-five. What about you, Whitey?”

‘Huh? Me… well… how should I even count my age?’

Irene became flustered because she never expected Calid to ask her age back.

How exactly was a ghost supposed to count its age?

“Don’t tell me you don’t even know your own age?”

‘No, it’s not that. It’s just hard to count properly. Forty….’

“Forty?”

‘N-No! Twenty-three! I’m twenty-three!’

At Calid’s suspicious gaze, Irene flinched.

Still, since she was probably the soul of her past-life Irene anyway, she quickly convinced herself that twenty-three was technically correct.

“Then what’s your name? I’ve been calling you Whitey, but surely you have your own name too.”

‘Huh? My name? Uh… that’s…. Ah, what was it again? I-I can’t remember. Haha.’

Whitey scratched her head awkwardly while avoiding Calid’s gaze.

‘Oh really now? This Whitey answers everything else easily, but avoids questions related to herself.’

Calid found it absurd.

Whitey had desperately wanted to talk with him, yet now that they were finally talking, she kept making excuses and avoiding answers.

Because of that, Calid decided he should also hide some truths during their conversations.

‘Still, the name Whitey that you gave me… I don’t think it’s bad. It’s kind of cute.’

“I thought you would like it. Then I’ll continue calling you Whitey from now on.”

It was an incredibly shameless statement.

But Irene had already grown used to the nickname Whitey, so she nodded.

‘Okay then. Should I call you Grand Duke? Or Your Highness? Or Lord Duke? What should I call you?’

“…Calid is enough.”

‘But you’re still the Grand Duke though? Then… Master?’

“W-What?! Master?!”

‘But you said I’m basically just a lump anyway….’

Calid pressed a hand against his forehead and let out a deep sigh at Whitey’s shocking choice of title.

If he still thought she was just a monster, it might have been one thing.

But now that he knew the appearance of the woman she became, he absolutely could not allow it.

“Haa…. You’ve been calling me Calid just fine all this time anyway. And I’m the only one who can hear it, so call me comfortably.”

‘Well, if you say so. Then I’ll keep calling you Calid comfortably from now on.’

“Yes. Please do.”

Since childhood, no one except his family had ever called Calid by his name.

And now, even the one person who still could had grown distant from him.

That was why Whitey’s casual way of calling his name reminded him of his childhood.

A small warmth settled into the lonely heart Calid never realized he had.

‘You already kept me around like a pet anyway. Calling you Grand Duke or Your Highness feels embarrassing. But “Master” is absolutely impossible.’

And honestly, hearing Whitey call him “Calid” did not sound bad at all.

After having a secret half-conversation with the mysterious Whitey, Calid fell into deep thought.

He had expected that once they could properly communicate, he would finally learn more about Whitey’s identity and abilities.

But contrary to his expectations, Whitey held many secrets.

It was obvious that Whitey possessed special powers, yet if she continued acting like this, he doubted he would ever receive clear answers no matter how much he asked.

‘I can’t exactly tell Whitey to use her powers openly. First, I should check whether she can even sense mana.’

Calid decided not to rush things.

“Whitey. There’s something I need your help with. Can you help me?”

‘You need my help?! Of course! Absolutely!’

Even before they could communicate, Whitey always tried her best to help whenever she saw someone struggling or something going wrong.

Because of that personality, Calid knew she would never refuse him now either.

Just as he expected, she agreed immediately.

“Come here for a moment.”

Calid positioned Whitey so they faced each other, then slowly released his mana.

“Can you feel anything right now?”

‘Huh? I’m not sure? It kind of feels like something is there?’

But Whitey only tilted her head, seemingly unable to properly sense Calid’s mana.

“Try sensing another unfamiliar energy around me. Focus carefully.”

‘Hmmmmm.’

Irene concentrated hard while staring closely around Calid.

After watching carefully for a long time, she finally saw something shimmering.

‘Huh? Calid, there’s something there. What is this?’

Irene stared curiously at the wavering energy flowing from Calid.

Instead of answering, Calid slowly held out his hand toward her.

‘Hm?’

“Now, try holding my hand.”

‘But my hand would probably just pass through yours?’

“Who knows. Then at least try placing your hand lightly on top of mine.”

Irene looked back and forth between herself and Calid before carefully placing her hand over his.

Fortunately, her hand did not pass through him like she feared.

But even so, neither of them could feel warmth from the touch.

Calid looked at the transparent white lump resting on top of his hand and focused his mana.

“Whitey. What you saw just now was my mana.”

‘Mana?’

“That’s right. Now try accepting this mana into yourself.”