Chapter 3
Tiya looked around and quickly grabbed a poker from the corner.
“First strike wins…!”
This was the moment when the Grand Duke’s strict lessons would finally pay off—
<Stop!>
The ghost’s voice made Tiya freeze in place.
The ghost stood in front of her and asked in a scolding tone,
<Do you hunt bears like this? Charging in without a plan?>
Of course not.
‘I only smashed that grizzly’s head because I lured it with scent and attacked when it let its guard down…’
“Aha?”
Her eyes suddenly gleamed like a hunter spotting its prey.
Click.
The locked door opened.
The intruder moved cautiously, as if they knew someone might be inside.
Their eyes scanned the dark room until they spotted what they wanted.
Curled up in a corner, a small figure slept like a child who had dozed off while waiting.
“Heh, of course. No kid could stay awake until dawn.”
The intruder turned away from Tiya and headed toward their real target.
The masked thief stretched out a hand toward the Spirit Egg when—
<Now!>
The thief couldn’t hear the ghost’s voice.
But Tiya could.
Like a crow swooping down, she darted out from her hiding spot behind the door.
Tap-tap-tap!
Her light steps made no sound, her dress fluttering like tiny wings.
In a flash, her weapon gleamed dangerously above the thief’s head.
“Yaaah! Wolf’s Fang!”
She shouted loudly as she swung the poker down.
“W-What the—!”
The startled thief just barely avoided the strike, which whistled past their head.
<Idiot! Who yells the name of their attack during a sneak strike?>
“But—calling out the skill name is the rule when fighting!”
Tiya protested, but the thief quickly tossed a small metal ball from their pocket.
Bang!
Thick smoke burst out, filling the room in seconds.
“Eek! I can’t see anything!”
Disoriented, Tiya swung wildly, nearly hitting herself.
Then, the ghost’s calm voice floated through the haze.
<Close your mouth. Calm down. I’ll sense where the enemy is.>
“You can… sense them?”
<Of course.>
It was a lie. The ghost couldn’t see either—but she could feel where the thief moved.
Through the dense smoke, she raised a finger and pointed.
<Third Form. Wolf’s Claw. Strike at head height.>
“Thir—”
<No talking!>
“Haaap!”
Tiya swallowed the rest of the words, puffing out her cheeks like a sulking child.
She gripped the poker, following the ghost’s guidance, and swung.
Clang!
Thud.
The thief collapsed without a scream, eyes rolling back.
Feeling the solid impact through her fingers, Tiya knew she had won.
But instead of jumping around in excitement, she put on a cool act.
“Heh. Did I get them?”
<…You did. But don’t say that. It’s like a resurrection spell—makes half-dead enemies get back up.>
“Eh? There’s such a scary spell?”
Tiya blinked in confusion just as the smoke cleared and noise came from outside.
“What’s going on inside—huh? Smoke?”
“Is there a fire? Quick, bring water!”
Servants rushed into the room, eyes widening at the sight of the unconscious thief and Tiya standing proudly beside them.
“A thief? They’re knocked out!”
“Wait, did the young miss do this?”
How could such a small girl capture a thief by herself?
The servants crowded around, checking if she was hurt.
None of them noticed the ghost standing only three steps away.
Then, someone pulled off the thief’s mask.
“What the—this is…!”
Under the lantern’s glow, the culprit’s face was revealed.
It was Erin—the maid assigned to Tiya.
The very one who had lured her into the room, locked her inside, and planned to frame her for theft.
The ghost, who had been watching with a cold expression, finally smirked.
In the original version of events, Erin never got caught.
Everyone had believed that the youngest daughter of House Vladijeff—unable to become a Spirit Master—had stolen the Spirit Egg.
Naive Tiya, who only knew how to tell the truth, had been branded a liar and slowly isolated by the household.
All the while, she never suspected her trusted maid, Erin, was the real culprit.
Watching Tiya puff up with pride as adults fussed over her, the ghost muttered irritably,
<Stupid spirits. What am I supposed to do with a kid like this?>
But her mind was already racing with new plans.
Her eyes turned toward the Spirit Egg.
A sly smile curved her lips.
<From here… everything will change.>
The Next Day, Noon
After falling asleep from exhaustion, Tiya woke up late.
“Ugh… I feel like something huge happened yesterday…”
Blink.
The feel of the poker in her hands came back to her.
Blink.
The memory of being locked in a strange room returned.
Blink.
Her sleepy gaze sharpened—until a voice spoke.
<Awake?>
“G-ghost!”
The ghost sat cross-legged in midair, looking down at her.
Tiya yelped and ducked behind the sofa, peeking over the edge.
But the ghost didn’t vanish.
‘So… it wasn’t a dream!’
And this time, the ghost had come… in broad daylight.
‘Still, they helped me. So… maybe they’re not a bad ghost?’
Tiya gathered all her courage and slowly stood up from behind the sofa.
She looked up at the ghost and thanked her for yesterday.
“Th-thanks for helping me yesterday. My name is Tiya. From Astiya—Tiya.”
The ghost looked at her silently. Or at least, Tiya thought she did. The ghost’s face was hidden under a dark veil, so she couldn’t tell where she was even looking.
The silence went on for a long time.
Tiya squirmed, now more from boredom than fear, and her eyes wandered to the ghost’s clothing.
Yesterday, she thought it was just a plain black outfit because of the dark room.
‘Wait… that’s the uniform of the Vladizef Knights!’
At that moment, after what felt like forever, the ghost finally spoke.
“…Call me Winter.”
It was a short reply, but Tiya was happy enough.
And when she realized Winter was wearing the knight uniform of her own family, her fear melted away like snow.
“Okay, Winter! Then… um…”
She took a big breath and blurted out her questions in one go.
“Are you really a ghost? How long have you been living in this mansion? Have you seen me before? Actually, I used to live here when I was a baby! No one else can see you, but I can, right? Oh! But I still can’t see your face! So could you take off that… uh… um—”
Tiya suddenly stopped talking and clapped her hands over her mouth.
Winter was wearing a mourning veil.
Grandmother always said that in the North, people wore black veils to hide their sorrow, because showing emotions was not considered proper.
Asking someone to remove their veil was very rude—especially when they were deeply sad.
So, Winter must be very, very sad. Too sad to show her face at all.
