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Chapter 05
Grrr…
From far away, the sound of a beast growling echoed.
There was no way a wild animal could exist in the middle of the capital.
…Do ghosts hear hallucinations too?
No matter what, the dignity of the ducal house was on a completely different level from the Grang count’s mansion.
It was larger than any noble residence in the capital, and its atmosphere was dark and gloomy.
Perhaps because she felt overwhelmed from the start, even taking a single step forward was difficult.
But she had no other choice.
When Avery finally passed through the mansion doors, a completely different scene from what she expected unfolded.
A magnificent chandelier brightly lit the interior.
“I couldn’t tell from outside…”
It was strange for the mansion to be this bright so late at night.
The lights were shining everywhere—yet not a single person could be seen.
That made it even more unsettling.
“Of course. You need to be rich to live this luxuriously.”
She knew it was nonsense.
No noble house would keep all the lights on in the middle of the night.
…I just said that because I’m scared.
It was clearly bright.
And clearly silent.
Avery slowly climbed the central staircase of the strange mansion, one step at a time.
A sense of déjà vu crept in.
She remembered the description from the original novel.
The Graham Ducal House was grand and magnificent, but inside, it was surprisingly hollow.
There was no human warmth here.
Not even the usual secret romances between servants that were common in other noble houses.
There was even an unspoken rule in this mansion:
No one was allowed to walk around at midnight.
And if someone ignored the warning and wandered around…
Right now, Avery was boldly breaking that rule.
Why does this description have to come to mind now…?
It was the perfect timing to create a terrifying atmosphere.
“I just need to find Karl Graham.”
In the original novel, Karl Graham was the key to the serial murder case.
That was why the female lead, Helen Ford, joined hands with him—to avenge her friend who had been killed by the murderer.
Because Karl Graham was—
“Huh?”
At the top of the long staircase stood a man.
He leaned against the railing, reading a book.
From just his side profile, Avery could clearly tell one thing.
That man is handsome. I can tell just from the side.
But at the same time, something was strange.
All the bright lights from the first floor had disappeared.
In complete darkness, faint moonlight illuminated the man’s silhouette.
His white hair shimmered softly, along with the gold chain of his glasses.
But… why read a book in a place like that? Isn’t it uncomfortable?
As Avery moved closer, she could read the title of the book.
The title was—
“On the Human Body?”
A medical scholar?
While she was observing him carefully, the man seemed to notice her presence as well.
She could feel him glancing at her from the corner of his eye.
“Oh, you’re a ghost too?”
Only now did she see clearly.
The man was barefoot and dressed in a light shirt.
There was no way a servant would slack off like this.
But if he were the duke, his appearance did not match the description in the original novel.
There was dark red blood on the hand holding the book.
And a stab wound in his side.
If he were alive, he would not even be able to stand properly.
“Since we’re both ghosts anyway, let’s get along. I think I’ll be staying here for a while.”
As Avery climbed the stairs to approach him, the man suddenly turned his head sharply and walked further up.
“Is he shy?”
Avery followed the ghost up the stairs again.
The man seemed just within reach, yet always out of grasp.
That only made her more determined to catch him.
One floor.
Two floors.
Three floors.
Four floors.
By the time she reached the top, the man had disappeared.
“……”
Only then did Avery realize that her surroundings were completely dark, without a single light.
“Excuse me…? Is anyone there?”
No answer came.
Avery slowly looked around the mansion.
“I wanted to see his face one more time…”
His side profile was already handsome.
How outstanding must his full face be?
The corridor seemed endless.
The strange tension she had felt when entering the mansion had eased somewhat.
Just as she gave up searching for him and began exploring instead—
the white-haired man appeared in front of her again.
He was incredibly good at playing hard to get.
The man walked ahead, leaving Avery behind.
At this rate, she would lose him again.
“Excuse me!”
Now almost running, she chased after him.
Finally, her hand touched his shoulder.
Turning him and speaking happened almost at the same time.
“Why do you keep running away—”
The beautiful man who had only shown her his side profile finally revealed his full face.
The corner of Avery’s lips, which had been lifting slightly, froze and fell.
The man’s face was undoubtedly beautiful.
Or rather—it must have been.
“……”
The opposite side of the face she had admired was completely crushed.
One eyeball bulged out so far it was slipping past his glasses.
Every bone in his face seemed shattered.
Only then did Avery realize she had overlooked two facts.
First—the Graham household had more non-human beings than humans, including servants.
Second—
“Aaaahhhhh!!!”
She was extremely afraid of ghosts.
Extremely.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
“Gasp… gasp…”
Exactly one hour after entering the mansion, she was still wandering inside.
Not to explore.
But to escape.
In her panic, she tried to find the staircase she had climbed earlier—but it was nowhere to be seen.
There wasn’t even a single candle on this floor.
Avery slipped into an empty room and curled up in the farthest corner.
As a ghost, she did not run out of breath.
She was just scared.
After meeting the ghost with the falling face, she had encountered all kinds of ghosts.
A ghost whose head was separated from its body.
A ghost walking around with its organs exposed.
Even a baby ghost with two faces on one body.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
The baby ghost was especially persistent.
The footsteps she heard now were all from that baby ghost running around.
If we’re all ghosts, shouldn’t there at least be some level difference?
Avery looked down at her own body.
There was a stab wound on her abdomen, with blood staining it—but overall, she looked relatively clean.
Should I go back to my body and ask Oliver to make me look scarier?
She considered it briefly but shook her head.
She had never seen a novel or movie where a ghost was afraid of another ghost.
First, I’ll leave the mansion. Then I’ll come back in the morning.
This isn’t running away. It’s a tactical retreat. Yes, that’s right.
Avery carefully stood up and slowly moved toward the door.
“…It’ll be less scary when it’s bright. Right?”
“I don’t think so.”
…Who said that?
She couldn’t bring herself to turn toward the voice.
If I look, I’ll faint. I’m sure of it.
Instead, she slowly rose and headed out of the room.
Five steps to the door.
Just five.
Calmly. One, two, thre—
“What are you doing?”
“Gyaaahhh!!”
Unfortunately, the ghost did not wait for her to leave.
It grabbed her shoulder.
Avery shook off the hand violently and ran.
She had glimpsed the ghost’s appearance.
The face between the long strands of hair had seemed covered in blood.
It’s fine.
Maybe its wrist was twisted the wrong way too.
It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s fine.
“It’s not fine!”
She ran down the long corridor.
After wandering for an hour without seeing the end, she finally saw one.
At the end was the staircase again.
If she could just go downstairs—
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Step. Step.
The footsteps of the long-haired female ghost behind her—
and from below the stairs, the sound of someone else approaching.
The desperate situation only grew worse.
Why doesn’t God help me at times like this?!
Behind her was the long-haired ghost.
Ahead was an unknown ghost.
The worst option—or the second worst?
That was the question.
“I can’t! I can’t choose! What do I do?!”
No matter what she chose, it would be the same.
What should I do?
There was no time to think.
If she hesitated, she might run straight into the unknown ghost below.
The moment of choice arrived.
And Avery’s answer was only one.
Her hesitation disappeared.
She ran straight forward, even faster than before.
“Aaah! Everyone move!!”
If it’s come to this—
I’ll break through head-on!
