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Chapter : 09
“Mary tells me evewything. No matter what it ish.”
Sometimes, I felt that other people treated me like a baby.
Of course, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
I really was a child, after all.
What caught my attention was that Mary was a little different.
The casual things she told me—the atmosphere of the house, little stories here and there—were always helpful.
There had even been problems I solved thanks to the clues I got from her.
Though I could never tell her that.
“I wanna give a reward to Mary, because she’s someone I wike.”
Mary bit her lip.
Her eyes turned glassy.
“Do you wanna wead the newspaper?”
“……Yes.”
I squatted down on the floor and unfolded the newspaper I had carried all the way here.
Mary sat beside me in the exact same posture and looked at it together with me.
Then she suddenly let out a soft laugh through her trembling voice.
“It’s hard to see.”
“Y-Yeah.”
Not only Claude, the First Prince—even the other members of the imperial family were impossible to make out properly.
The heavy backlighting darkened the image so much that all you could tell was that people were standing there.
“If we get another newspaper later—”
“It’s okay.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Her throat was still tight, and her nose was red, but Mary smiled.
“I don’t need to look at things like this anymore.”
Her smile dimmed slightly.
“……Because there’s something even brighter now.”
Her voice came out faintly.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
Mary shook her head, avoiding the question.
“Ah. By now, Aunt Benny has probably started baking cookies. Should I bring some for you?”
Benny was the head cook.
She was one of the few people in the mansion who got along well with Mary, and whenever Mary visited the kitchen, Benny would hand her walnut cookies.
Getting walnut cookies carried special meaning.
Because they were the only cookies Grandfather liked.
‘When I go, she never gives me walnut cookies. She says I might choke on them.’
“Sounds good.”
And so, the whole newspaper incident ended with us securing a bribe for Grandfather.
Then, four days later—
Just as I had completely forgotten about the incident, that thing happened.
I was on my way to the playroom when I heard loud voices nearby.
‘What’s going on?’
“T-That’s nonsense!”
When I turned my head, I saw Ian standing in the hallway outside the playroom.
He was talking with a servant, and his lips had gone pale blue.
His posture remained stiff, but his fingers floated awkwardly in the air, unable to stay still.
I quietly crept up behind them.
“I’m telling you the truth. If I had been the only one who saw it, that would be one thing—but Hans saw it too.”
“R-Really?”
“You know how he is. He doesn’t make things up. Though he is a bit cowardly.”
“But still….”
Ian hesitated for a moment before suddenly clenching his fists and shouting,
“There’s no such thing as ghosts! I don’t believe in that stuff!”
I poked him in the back.
“AAAHHH! A ghost!”
Ian screamed and collapsed onto the floor.
“What’re you doing?”
“……Elisha?”
Only then did Ian recognize me, awkwardly smiling as he got back up.
“I heard something suspicious has been appearing in the mansion.”
“It’s definitely a ghost.”
“No it’s not!”
Though Ian tried acting brave, the corners of his eyes twitched.
He was obviously terrified.
‘He’s still just a kid….’
It struck me again just how young Ian really was.
By the standards of my previous world, he was around a fourth grader in elementary school.
Not very old at all.
“What did you see?”
“It was blurry. Semi-transparent too. And it moved like it was alive, but the moment I approached, it disappeared.”
“Where’d you see it?”
“On the third-floor hallway.”
That was where Grandfather’s room was located.
“D-Don’t worry, Elisha! If a ghost appears, your big brother will protect you!”
He was trembling while saying that, so it wasn’t reassuring at all.
I turned my gaze away from Ian.
“……Does Daddy know too?”
“Master said it’s nothing important and that we shouldn’t concern ourselves with it.”
So the Duke apparently knew what it was.
“I see.”
Meaning it wasn’t a ghost.
‘Somehow… I think I know what it is too.’
Something translucent.
Something like white heat haze.
Something that formed into a thin membrane-like shape before suddenly disappearing.
I had seen something described exactly like that in the original story.
If so, then it definitely wasn’t a ghost.
For some reason, my interest cooled immediately, and I started walking toward the playroom.
Ian hurried after me.
“E-Elisha, are you okay?”
“With what?”
“The gh— I mean, the strange thing appearing in the mansion.”
“I’m fine.”
“If you’re too scared, it’s okay to cry. If you stay behind me, you won’t even see it.”
Hearing Ian say things like that made him more cute than dependable.
“Behind you!”
“AAAH! Where?! Which side?!”
I teased Ian for quite a while before finally leaving him behind.
And then evening came.
‘This really seems like that.’
I had my suspicions, but since I couldn’t be certain, I headed for Grandfather’s room to confirm the answer I had come up with.
I wanted to quietly check it by myself.
But that plan failed the moment I stepped outside.
“Where are you going, Miss?”
I never imagined a maid would be standing outside the door.
“Outside.”
“What? But it’s almost bedtime.”
“I’m going to see Gwampa.”
If my guess was correct, then it would be better to meet Grandfather sooner rather than later.
‘Because I know the answer to solving this problem.’
As soon as I started walking, the maid followed after me.
“Should I bring your pillow?”
I paused briefly to consider my current situation.
A small child, dressed in pajamas, visiting her grandfather’s room late at night.
……It definitely looked like a child unable to sleep alone and seeking comfort from an adult.
“……No.”
I puffed out my cheeks and marched away, but the maid silently picked up my pillow anyway and followed behind me.
Though it was late, the lights in Grandfather’s room were still on—
And he wasn’t alone.
“So how long were you planning to keep hiding it?”
‘The Duke’s here too?’
I quietly pressed myself beside the door.
Once the Duke left, I planned to ask Grandfather privately.
“Two people have already seen it. You can’t seriously think silencing the servants will solve this.”
Grandfather let out a long sigh.
Unlike usual, it sounded deeply exhausted.
The fatigue in it felt unfamiliar.
“……Since when did you know?”
“Not long ago.”
“…….”
“I’ve thought something was strange for a while now. So that’s why you suddenly came to the capital and requested support.”
“M-Miss? What are they talking abou—”
“Quiet.”
I covered the maid’s mouth and pressed my ear tightly against the door.
At that moment, something translucent appeared beside the wall.
The formless thing drifted in the air for several seconds before scattering apart.
“Yes. This is my limit now.”
“…….”
“I’ve grown old.”
I bit my lip.
What the servant had seen wasn’t a ghost.
It was Grandfather’s life.
His unfinished efforts.
An incomplete shield that could no longer be sustained.
“Since things have come to this, please return to the mansion and rest. The imperial capital is safe, and there are excellent soldiers at the frontier. They can handle your duties in your place.”
“So now that I can’t use my ability anymore, you want me to retire like some washed-up relic? Not happening.”
Grandfather snorted.
“Do you think people without abilities don’t struggle too? Even if I’ve lost my power, my body still works! I’ll die holding a sword, and wherever that sword falls will become my grave!”
“That’s a dramatic way to put it, but in the end you’d just become a feast for magical beasts.”
“You little—!”
Grandfather grabbed something angrily.
At that moment, the maid who still hadn’t left whispered softly,
“S-Sir can’t use his powers anymore? What should we do?”
She had lowered her voice as much as possible, but her shock and confusion made it louder than intended.
“Who’s outside?”
Grandfather called out.
“Come out at once—”
The Duke opened the door, only to freeze upon seeing me.
“……Elisha?”
‘Crap.’
I hadn’t planned on getting caught at all!
I clamped both hands over my ears and shouted,
“I didn’t hear anything! I heard nooothing!”
……Though nobody believed me.
“Leave us.”
Glenn dismissed the maid who had followed Elisha.
There was no way to pretend she hadn’t already heard everything, and he likely couldn’t scold her harshly in front of Elisha either.
The maid hesitated, glancing worriedly toward Elisha.
But perhaps feeling uncomfortable being caught between the Duke and the former Duke, she bowed quickly and disappeared.
She took the pillow she had brought back with her.
As the Duke closed the door, he looked toward his daughter.
“Elisha.”
Elisha sat on the bed, pretending not to notice anything.
Seeing the countless thoughts obviously racing through that tiny head made him want to laugh despite the situation.
“Did you hear everything?”
