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chapter 6
“Ugh!”
“Hm, it seems your mind is clear. As you can see.”
“…I see.”
“Still, I think I should prescribe some medicine and keep an eye on your condition for a while.”
For some reason, it seemed she intended to check whether there was something wrong with my head. I placed my hand on my chest for a moment to calm myself and awkwardly greeted her.
“Hello.”
A stern-looking woman with glasses, who seemed older than the Duke, gave me a slight smile. Her fully white hair made her look dignified.
“Nice to meet you, young lady. I’m Helen, the personal physician of Hilberg. How are you feeling?”
“Um… I feel nauseous, and my vision is a bit dizzy.”
“Just a bit? Bearable?”
“Hmm, yes. It was worse earlier, but I think I’m okay now.”
“I see. It seems Your Excellency carelessly gave you poisoned tea, so you experienced mild poisoning symptoms. Can you take pills?”
At that, the Duke standing behind frowned but didn’t complain. He really seemed to think it was weak poison.
I was relieved I had spat it out earlier because it tasted awful. I nodded in relief.
Then Helen handed me two small pills with some water. Leaning against the bed, I managed to swallow the medicine.
“If you feel the need to use the bathroom, don’t hold it in. Got it?”
“Yes. Thank you, Helen.”
“If your condition worsens, ring the bell next to you. Ah, young lady, do you usually have weak bronchial health?”
Helen asked suddenly, as if recalling something, while preparing to leave. I nodded.
“I do tend to cough a lot.”
“Just as I thought. Judging by your breathing, if this continues a bit longer, it might develop into asthma. You should be especially careful about hygiene. Dusty rooms, mold, fabrics—none of these are good.”
“Ha ha… thank you for worrying. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Helen gave advice as if she had looked into my room at the main house, then left. Somehow, I thought that maybe all those symptoms I thought were colds in my previous life were actually asthma.
The Duke who remained quietly seated then spoke.
“I didn’t expect you couldn’t handle even this. My apologies. It’s been a while since I had tea with a commoner. Is there really nothing wrong with your head?”
I felt like he asked the same question even as I was about to lose consciousness. He seemed to naturally assume something must be wrong.
“I feel dizzy.”
“Not that.”
“I don’t think so.”
“I see…”
The Duke briefly stroked his chin and spoke slowly.
“Strange.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“You did pick up that bracelet, didn’t you?”
“The bracelet Your Excellency dropped? What’s wrong with that?”
“Anyone who touches it, except direct descendants, goes insane. Without exception.”
“…What?”
I forgot my fatigue and sat upright in shock, only to feel the room spin and collapse backward onto the bed. Wait…
Drinking poison and now a bracelet that drives people mad? What kind of family is this?
“Excuse me, but why do you wear something like that on your wrist?”
I thought they could just store it somewhere. Glancing at him, the Duke smirked crookedly.
“You’re curious, aren’t you? Simple. If you leave it lying around, it moves on its own to find its owner. Countless servants went mad without knowing why.”
‘Is this really the mansion of a ruined noble, or a horror house?’
My body shivered slightly. A piece of paper fluttered down in front of me. My vision blurred, making it hard to read, but I slowly went through it.
“Since I owe you as well, I’m handing this to you as an apology.”
『Guardian Consent Form』
Even after reading the top line several times, it didn’t change. Insane… all of a sudden?
“Have you come to a positive conclusion?”
“Yes. With the bracelet included, I understand. You have an unusually strong resistance to Hilberg. Worth investigating.”
As I read through the contract carefully, I checked the last clause: “Additional clauses may be added by mutual agreement.” That meant…
“All right, but could you add a clause here? ‘Under no circumstances shall the rights over the children of Marquis Clinton be exercised.’”
“…I can modify it, but are you sure?”
“That’s exactly what I wanted.”
“Understood. Since it’s late today, we’ll continue this tomorrow.”
Outside the window, the darkness was beginning to fade into light. It felt like Blair’s voice congratulating me for working late echoed in my ears.
“Yes. Good night, Your Excellency.”
He stopped me from rising and walked to the door. Then he paused abruptly and turned to look at me. His dark purple eyes gleamed eerily under the shadow.
“By the way, after you’re free from the Marquis, what will you do? Is that all your purpose?”
The familiarity in his probing gaze made my breath catch.
The Duke was certainly a better choice than my biological father, but he would judge my usefulness and discard me if the result didn’t meet his expectations.
‘…Naturally.’
My mouth felt dry, but whether in my past life or now, the only person I could truly rely on was Aria. In fact, a distant, dry relationship would be better long-term.
Still, the Duke shouldn’t sell me out. I steadied my breath and answered.
“For now… I want to earn money.”
“Simple enough, I like it.”
With money and power, I’d have leverage to challenge your heir. Smiling modestly, I saw the Duke off and lay back down to rest. Taking the medicine had made me drowsy quickly.
In just a few hours, I woke up as dawn was breaking. My head still heavy, I staggered to the bathroom and felt a bit better afterward.
I hadn’t realized earlier, but my hands were bandaged. Checking my face and ankle, I saw they were treated too.
‘Wow, how did they notice all this? Truly a skilled physician.’
However, my stomach still felt uneasy. I wanted fresh air, so I approached the window.
A light drizzle had started. As I opened the window, I felt a strange gaze from above.
‘…?’
Shrinking from the rumbling thunder, I looked up and saw a pale, childlike face upside down between the upstairs railings, staring directly at me.
“Ah!”
Startled, I slammed the window shut and quickly stepped back.
‘This is really a horror house, isn’t it?’
That black shadowy hand, everything—it felt like <This is the Duke’s Haunted Mansion>.
Tears threatened as I ran back to the bed, clutching my chest.
‘Please, it’s just my imagination. Like last time…’
Even thinking like that didn’t calm me, until I remembered I was technically already dead. Slowly, my fear eased.
Even ghosts must have their reasons. Ghost, how did you end up like this? Even if I die, I won’t become a ghost—just reset, maybe.
After this self-mocking thought, I calmed down and left the blanket. By now, the sun had fully risen, lighting the room. Finally, morning.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten anything but that tea since last night.’
As my stomach settled a bit, I felt hungry. Should I ring for someone to bring breakfast? But I felt bad if Helen, the physician, arrived.
I hadn’t been told anything else.
As I debated going out to find someone, a sound caught my attention. Something was thumping against the door at a steady pace. Yet, no voice accompanied it.
Just thump thump thump… in a consistent rhythm.
Feeling spooked, I instinctively stepped back. The moment my footfalls echoed in the room, the thumping stopped.
‘Should I open it?’
Whether it was a person or a ghost, I was terrified. I glared at the door in tension, and the doorknob turned silently.
Through the slowly opening crack, a black head popped up. I was too shocked to scream.
It was at my eye level, and our eyes met.
It was the same child ghost I saw earlier. Jet-black hair not a strand out of place, and sakura-pink eyes staring calmly at me.
The hostility transmitted through the gaze froze me. But… wait.
‘…Pink eyes?’
Looking closely, I covered my mouth in shock.
This wasn’t a ghost.
If this child grew up, he would be incredibly handsome. I had already seen his adult self.
Because he was none other than the original story’s male lead, Sian Hilberg, who became obsessed and deranged.
Yes. The very man responsible for my being here.
The scent of Aria’s blood hit my nose again. Frozen by the image of death, Sian fully entered the room.
Crossing his arms, he looked at me with arrogant eyes.
“Hey, what are you doing? When did you crawl in here?”
Regaining my composure, I finally faced the current Sian Hilberg. He sounded childlike, but his tone was deeply hushed.
His voice confirmed it: the arrogant black-haired boy I had met in the hallway was the same.
‘…He must be at least two years younger than me.’
Then he was barely single-digit age. Where did this insolence and boldness come from?
