🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 10
Avery had already stepped back and reached the end of the doorway.
Even though she knew he could not physically grab her, it was an instinctive reaction.
“…I had no intention of deceiving you, Duke. …I apologize.”
Avery clasped both hands tightly and trembled once.
Only now did she truly realize how reckless she had been.
He was a duke of the Empire. Considering her status, what she had done was indeed thoughtless. But this was not just about status.
It was a fear rising from her most basic instinct.
A passage from the novel engraved itself in her mind again.
Karl Graham was special.
He was born during the Empire’s most peaceful time—yet he brought upheaval.
The former Duchess of Graham died in disgrace.
The former duke slowly withered away and passed soon after.
When rumors spread that Karl could see ghosts, the nobles all agreed that the Graham family would never rise again.
But when Karl Graham destroyed his enemies and secured his position, those same nobles began to deify him.
He was a man born with the qualities of a ruler.
“……”
Even with such grand titles attached to the man standing before her—
she could not retreat.
Even if that opponent were the Emperor himself.
“But I truly mean it. I can deal with the ghosts tormenting you. And I can bring the duchess before you.”
“What would I believe?”
The duke still did not trust her.
Of course he didn’t.
No matter how favorable her offer sounded, it was only words. And she was nothing more than a ghost without substance.
She knew that too.
Avery slowly stepped forward again, narrowing the distance she had created.
“Sleeping pills. The knife dropped beside the bed. The pillow. The overturned vase and the roses.”
At the few words Avery spoke, Karl’s blue eyes darkened instantly.
“Weren’t all those things in the room when the duchess was killed?”
What Avery had just mentioned was known only to a small number of people within the Graham family.
It would have been natural for him to be shocked.
Yet Karl showed not the slightest sign of disturbance.
But Avery had no intention of stopping here.
If I say this, will those eyes sink deeper? Or…
“I heard that death by murder leaves deep resentment.”
Maybe she was speaking recklessly.
But she had to use every card she held.
That was the only way to seize this man.
“You must have seen the duchess’s ghost as well.”
“……”
“She wasn’t in a normal state… was she?”
The way to distinguish a ghost from an evil spirit was simple.
A black haze rose around them.
If such a haze surrounded the duchess—
becoming an evil spirit would only be a matter of time.
The dead could do very little.
Avery could not touch Karl. She could not even lift the small pen on his desk.
But there were things the living could not do.
Karl could not hold onto his mother—because he was alive.
But Avery was different.
She could hold onto the duchess.
And the Graham standing before her could not possibly fail to understand that.
“I can help you.”
Avery’s eyes held only his.
His gaze was no longer sinking into darkness.
In the small sea he carried within them, a faint light shimmered.
“Why?”
Though the question did not seem to fit the situation, Avery knew exactly what he meant.
It was a fundamental question.
What are you making this deal for?
His blue eyes examined her without wavering.
Inside them, she was being thoroughly dissected—measured to see what she was hiding.
Avery steadied her breathing.
“The murderer will kill again.”
“What does that have to do with you?”
You’re already dead.
He did not bother saying the rest.
He did not even ask why she thought so.
Strangely, his indifferent words gave her relief.
He must have guessed it too.
The killer who had tried to kill her twice had acted irrationally. Perhaps he had no intention of ending with this murder.
“If I can save someone, I want to.”
Avery revealed a fragment of her sincerity.
“Before it becomes too late—like it was for me.”
With a small lie mixed in.
It was not a complete lie.
Avery did not hold resentment. She had not truly died. But she was not fully alive either.
So it was not entirely wrong to say it was already too late.
She had thought countless times about telling the man before her the truth about her condition.
But every conclusion had been the same.
No.
She had to hide as much as possible from this dangerous man.
And yet—
she did not believe he would simply accept such a reason.
Graham was testing her.
“I know what happens to ghosts.”
“……”
Even if she had skimmed parts of the novel, she remembered the main setting clearly.
The final fate of ghosts wandering this world—
was to become evil spirits.
Consumed by hatred, they would burn everything with their own emotions as fuel, until they were finally extinguished.
The end of an evil spirit was annihilation.
They were given no second chance.
“I don’t want to become like that.”
But a ghost who had not yet turned evil still had one opportunity—
to resolve their resentment before leaving this world.
It would be the same for the duchess.
That was why Karl was trying to catch the murderer who had killed his mother—to settle her resentment.
Karl did not take his eyes off her.
And yet—
at the same time, it felt as though he was not looking at her at all.
She had a feeling she knew who he was overlapping her with.
Avery had solved the test Graham had given her.
She did not need to hear the result.
“Are you certain that you are dead?”
But perhaps it was true that a ghost’s life could not be predicted even a moment ahead.
Avery’s body froze where she stood.
His relentless gaze still pursued her.
“Good morning, Duke!”
“……”
“You’ve already started your day? How diligent.”
Early in the morning, Avery entered the duke’s office with a bright smile, chattering beside him as he worked.
“You look wonderful in that shirt today.”
Without blinking once, she showered him with compliments and flattery.
And Karl did not seem to dislike it.
“You even brushed your hair slightly back today? How does your appearance grow more radiant each—”
“Enough.”
“Yes.”
At least, that was how she imagined it.
Avery immediately closed her mouth and sat in the seat where she could see him best.
Her sudden change in attitude was entirely strategic.
She needed to earn points with the duke.
After their conversation yesterday, she had made up her mind.
“Are you certain that you are dead?”
“……”
The single stone he had thrown created waves that crashed over her.
Though she had remained silent only briefly, it had felt like an eternity.
“…Of course.”
That had been her answer, barely released with a thin breath.
Fortunately, her voice had not trembled.
But she could not stop her eyes from watching his reaction.
His expression was no different from when he had first spoken to her.
Perhaps it would have been better to look at the floor.
“I see.”
She flinched.
His voice carried unmistakable disappointment.
Her body trembled again.
Why?! What would you even do if I were alive?!
As a duke, there were many things he could do.
Avery had committed many acts in the ducal estate.
And among them were countless things a mere count’s daughter should never do to a duke.
If he found out now—
Avery carefully studied his face, hoping for even the smallest mercy.
“……”
There was no hope.
I’m dead. I’m a ghost.
There’s no way that man would leave me—or my family—alone.
And so, today, Avery was reborn.
Or rather—
she died anew.
Looking good in front of your business partner was basic courtesy.
Especially when you were the weaker party.
She had shown him many unfavorable sides before, but she believed it could still be reversed.
(There were many details she conveniently skipped over in that thought.)
Yesterday’s Avery and today’s Avery were different.
She would never provoke Graham’s temper again.
With bold determination, Avery began her day.
While Karl handled documents, ate, returned to work, and later trained at the practice grounds—
Avery did not speak once.
She did not even make a sound.
She simply waited quietly for him.
From the same seat she had taken in the morning, she watched the sun slowly set.
The evening glow spread across the mansion.
The day is ending.
……
Yes.
The entire day had passed.
This isn’t how it was supposed to go…?
