"At first, it came from the kitchen."
Next were the living room, the reception room, the storage room, the guest room... Finally, the footsteps chased right up to the front of the bedroom. The story was that every time the sun went down, a creak, creak, creak, creak, creak sound was heard from outside.
"These days, I can even hear crying sounds."
It wasn't just any crying sound, but a sound of sorrowful weeping as if someone had truly died. Even when she tried to open the door, it wouldn't budge, as if someone was pushing it from the outside every time that happened.
"What could be the reason? Surely, by any chance, my fiancé is..." "Excuse me, I'm saying this because I'm worried."
Laceil, who had been trying to keep her mouth shut wondering if it was too excessive of a worry, threw a question.
"Surely you aren't thinking that it's because of your fiancé, right?" "Huh?" "Do you think your fiancé became an evil spirit and came to find you?" "Yeah." "That can't be! Who says ghosts move fast?"
At least all the ghosts Laceil knew were slow as molasses and so sluggish it was frustrating.
"The ghosts I know..." "Ghosts you know?" "No, anyway. Let's move on. So you're saying that's the problem?"
Laceil, who roughly wrapped up the conversation, organized the story.
"So you mean you want to know the identity of those footsteps?" "...Yeah." "I'll go over tonight. It should be a bit better if there are two of us..."
It would be better to have at least one person who is used to ghosts.
"What about the Young Lady's escort?" "Luzea will do it."
Since she was Yujire's lady-in-waiting, naturally Luzea also followed down to this territory. At the same time, she was also taking on the role of Yujire's escort when Laceil wasn't there. Surely no one would have known that even Luzea, who was brought in as a lady-in-waiting when Laceil became a knight, would end up becoming a knight too.
"Then, um. Okay..."
Elian, who let out a sigh again, left the reception room looking much more drained than when she came. Maybe after saying it out loud, she was able to realize the situation she was in anew.
"What do you think?"
As soon as Elian disappeared from sight, Yujire threw a question.
"About the ghost? I don't think it will particularly cause harm." "No, I mean the Marquis family. Don't you think they are hiding something?" "...It seems so."
There must be a reason why they suddenly engaged the second son, whom they treated as if he didn't even exist. Even more so since the Count's family wasn't exactly a place that would bring benefits to the Marquis Lemain family either.
"I should go visit again later... What is that hair tie? Where did you get it?" "The Head Maid gave it to me and left."
She was the person Laceil met on the first day she came to the mansion in this territory. She looked quite young for a Head Maid, but she was quite helpful because she knew a lot about this and that. The hair tie she received then was sturdy and perfect for tying up her thick hair.
"...That, Head Maid is, no."
Yujire, who knew that the mansion's Head Maid had died about ten years ago, struggled to cut her words short. She didn't want to make Laceil notice the problem unnecessarily when she wasn't aware of it herself. And suddenly she recalled the words her mother, the Duke of Resean, had said.
'She said there was no need to bother taking other maids or servants.'
If that meant there were ghost servants in the mansion, it would have been nice if she had told her a little sooner.
"What's wrong?" "It's nothing... Are you planning to go in the evening?" "Yes, wouldn't before sunset be better?"
At those words, Yujire nodded and cast her gaze out the window.
'They are there today too.'
Since starting to live in this mansion, she could see eyeballs that constantly followed them around. It was fortunate they didn't cause harm, but she couldn't get a grasp on why they became interested in Laceil. If she knew it would be like this, she should have read the occult-related books in the mansion more thoroughly.
"You came early?" "Better than being late."
Laceil arrived at Elian's house before the sun had fully set. The cozy cabin, perfectly sized for one person to live in, didn't seem to have changed much.
"There's no problem on the outside though." "I told you the night is the problem..." "What will you do if you open the door and there's no one?" "It would be scary, right?" "Not try to have a conversation?" "...?"
Elian looked at Laceil with questionable eyes. Laceil returned the same gaze.
"Why is that the conclusion?" "If you don't have a conversation, what are you going to do?"
Elian quietly shut her mouth. It was because she thought something seemed strange, but no words to refute came to mind.
"There's nothing to do until sunset... Do you want to play a board game or something?"
And seeing Laceil talking about such things nonchalantly, it really seemed like it would be okay either way.
"I don't have anything like board games... Did you adapt well to the mansion?"
Elian hurriedly changed the subject. It was better to talk about something else rather than being swept away by Laceil's logic like this.
"Yeah, because everyone is kind." "...?"
As far as Elian knew, only exactly three people lived in that mansion: Yujire, Laceil, and Luzea. Because the Duke didn't assign any maids or servants, saying they needed to cultivate an eye for people. It meant they should find talent in the territory and hire them on their own.
"...Who is kind?" "The Head Maid, the Head Butler, and other maids..."
'Shouldn't we be solving her problem first instead of mine?'
Elian started to worry seriously. No matter how she heard it, it seemed like all the people in the mansion were ghosts.
'In the first place, that mansion is...'
It was a place where all the servants had died on the same day at the same time. Because almost ghost story-like rumors had spread, no one had tried to approach it until now.
"Excuse me."
Elian finally opened her mouth after contemplating.
"That mansion, in the past..."
At that moment, a familiar sound began to be heard from outside. It was the sound of someone walking, creak...
'Did the sun set already?'
Elian hurriedly cast her gaze out the window. The sky, which was bright until just a moment ago, had turned dark in an instant.
"Is it normally like this?"
Laceil asked without being surprised at all.
"Or is it like this only today?" "...Only today."
While answering that question, Elian fell into contemplation once again.
'Actually, isn't she the most dangerous one?'
Maybe she had invited the opponent she should avoid the most into her house.
"It's okay to open the door, right?" "What?"
Laceil threw the door open without even listening to the answer to the question.
"...Is it normally like this?" "No!"
Outside was in a state where nothing could be seen. Only darkness filled the space, with the floor or the dining table all gone.
"It's stranger than usual!" "You're saying you can't see anything, right?"
While Elian was freaking out again, Laceil came back to the desk on her own accord.
"Have you ever done necromancy?" "No!"
Elian shouted desperately.
"I won't do it!" "Is there another way?" "No..."
Elian eventually lost all will. Since it seemed like a big deal would happen either way, she thought it might be better to try something at least.
"Then shall we start for now?" "Wait a moment, my house doesn't have tools suitable for necromancy though?" "I have them." "Why?"
Hearing that question, Laceil blinked. It was an attitude as if it was perfectly natural for everyone to carry at least one necromancy tool.
"Doesn't everyone carry them around?" "Who?" "Don't you have the experience of waking up on your birthday morning to find a strange necromancy set and instructions placed by your bedside?" "I don't!" "Anyway, let's try to have a conversation for now."
Laceil rummaged through her pocket and took out a thickly folded paper along with a small arrow model. Because she had folded it with all her might, she didn't know, but upon unfolding it, the paper was wider than she thought. It was a structure where answers to questions were written on the paper, and the ghost who visited would move the arrow to answer.
"Is there a reason you have to carry it around to that extent?"
Elian, who was blinking blankly from the side, asked.
"It's useful at times like this." "That, is true, but."
Elian still had a face that looked dubious about something, but she seemed unable to find anything to say in the end. In the meantime, Laceil cleared the desk and completely finished preparations for necromancy. Since the surroundings were already dark enough, it seemed there was no need to bother extinguishing candles.
"What do you want to ask first?"
Laceil, who glanced outside, asked. Since the creaking sound was still being heard, it was certain that the ghost was probably next to them.
"...Name...?"
Elian, who seemed to have finally adapted to this situation, mumbled with blank eyes.
"...How do you intend to hear the answer?"
The answers written on the paper were roughly like this. 'Yes, No, I did not understand the question, Could I get a cup of tea, I was murdered, Thank you, I do not intend to harm you.' Looking at it like this, it seemed like quite a lot, but anyway, it would be difficult to hear a concrete answer.
'By the way, it changed again.'
The answers written on that paper became different content every time she unfolded it. Laceil found that quite interesting, but Luzea and Yujire's reactions to the board were so poor that she couldn't bear to say it.
"Then... first, I want to ask if it intends to harm me."
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