Working at a Haunted Mansion Chapter 103

It was none other than Wolfram who thwarted her only wish. Isn’t it a bit much to tell her to calm down after something like that?

The sky grew steadily brighter, and the surrounding landscape began shedding its dawn hues to reveal its true colors. If this continued, the carriage would depart.

Wolfram spoke to her as she anxiously glanced toward the rear door.

“If this goes on, Marie Green will find herself in a difficult situation.”

Lily snapped her head around.

“Marie just delivered a letter.”

“All letters addressed to you must undergo an interim report. While your concern for your friend’s recovery is commendable, skipping protocol seems to warrant reprimand.”

“Don’t you dare touch Marie.”

“I will. As soon as you step inside.”

Lily glared at Wolfram.

He was acting as if he owned her. Even if she quit her role as the Kasimir family’s exclusive advisor right here, nothing would change.

The freedoms granted to commoners ultimately depend on the nobility’s tolerance. Once nobles lose all sense of shame and start acting arbitrarily, there’s no recourse.

Anger welled inside her. Glancing down at the stinging pain, she saw her clawed fingers digging into her flesh, leaving marks.

There was no time. Every moment was critical. She had to do something immediately…

She stared briefly at the red marks embedded in her palm, then blurted out.

“If we miss the carriage because of you, I’ll hang myself.”

“Miss Dienta.”

Lily threatened Wolfram with the most horrific scenarios she could imagine.

“Whether I jump out the window, tumble down the stairs, or slit my wrists on shards of glass, I will make you regret this, Advisor.”

If he dragged her along, she would carry it out right before his eyes.

Of course, she had no real intention of dying. To exact revenge, she needed to stay alive. What she aimed for was a full-body contusion.

Once he saw her resolve, he’d send her off without complaint next time.

Lily warned him with a pale face.

“I’m the kind of person who follows through.”

Wulfram’s complex emotions were written plainly on his face.

She sensed it instinctively. She had broken him, and he could no longer hold her back.

Lily turned away, certain of this. He might be flustered now, but given time, he would see her decision was right. He might even thank her.

She had taken only a few steps when Wolfram grabbed her wrist from behind. Lily’s face twisted in anger.

“Advisor!”

She shouted, filled with rage.

“Even after I explained it so clearly, you still don’t understand? Do you really need to see me jump…!”

“You don’t have to go.”

Wolfram said with a resigned expression. He repeated to the frozen Lily.

“You don’t need to go.”

Lily blinked. The words sounded strangely off.

While he was still trying to stop her, the nuance was different. Not out of concern or protection, but because she didn’t ‘need’ to go…

Amidst her confusion, she suddenly recalled the man named Aiden Casimir. More precisely, his play.

The incident where he’d seamlessly arranged a fraudulent job placement in the capital, the breathless commotion he’d caused at the imperial palace, and other events he’d concealed from her flashed through her mind in an instant.

Aiden Casimir had always staged them with astonishing perfection. He’d fooled others, and even her, his ally, without a trace.

She even secretly wondered if there might be more instances she hadn’t realized she’d fallen for.

Lily, overcome by a certain premonition, asked.

“Are you saying I don’t need to go, Advisor? That there’s no reason for me to? Am I understanding this correctly?”

Wolfram hesitated before slowly nodding. Lily’s eyes widened.

‘No way? No, that can’t be…’

Despite Aiden’s past actions, she simply couldn’t believe it this time. Because she had seen the facts with her own eyes.

She had clearly seen the blade piercing his chest, the spreading bloodstain. The weight of the body crushing her and the pain-filled breaths were still vivid.

How could those things be false?

She was still filled with doubt. Her mind couldn’t grasp it.

But Wolfram, perhaps thinking she had grasped the truth, spoke with a somewhat troubled expression.

“So let’s go inside.”

Only then did complete realization finally dawn on her.

Ah! He was alive! No, he had never been in danger!

A brief wave of relief flooded her chest. Simultaneously, all her strength drained from her through her feet. Betrayal filled the void. The shock was so profound she momentarily forgot to breathe.

It had all been a well-staged play. She had been treated no differently than the other humans present…

Since moving to the mansion, she had consistently exercised patience, living exactly as Aiden desired. She willingly endured the isolation that came with her protection, and the loneliness it brought.

But this crossed her limit.

How long must she respect him? How much longer must she be trapped as an ignorant fool?

“I need to see him.”

The desire grew stronger the moment she voiced it.

“I need to see His Excellency right now.”

It was a voice so subdued that it hardly seemed like the usual Lily Dienta.

She cut Wolfram off before he could speak with a troubled look.

“If you can’t even grant me this much, fine. I’ll just have to show you what I can do.”

Wolfram’s frown deepened.

Normally, Lily Dienta would have read her superior’s mood and backed down on her own. But Lily stood firm without batting an eye, already planning the mess she would make if things didn’t go her way.

The thought of doing something stupid like hurting herself had completely vanished. If Aiden was alive and well, why should she bleed?

Instead, smashing a window to pieces with a mop handle, or charging into the kitchen to break every dish and utensil, sounded like a better option.

And if she got restrained and locked in her room, she’d rip up her pillow and throw every chair out the window.

She just wanted to wreck everything, no matter what. Whether Wolfram listened to her or not. Yes—she wanted to let her anger out.

Never in her life had she wanted to vent her feelings through violence. At worst, she might sweep a little rougher than usual.

But this time was different.

‘Because I can’t beat that man to a pulp!’

Betrayal and rage clasped hands and tore apart her insides.

How could he even think of deceiving her in this way?

She had tasted hell, to the point her nerves felt shredded. Did Aiden really not know she would suffer like this? Or did he know, and still go through with it? Either way, it was wretched.

She loved Aiden. But she had never imagined that loving him would mean something like this. That Aiden Kashimir himself, of all people, would tear her apart like this.

Watching Lily’s condition, Wolfram reluctantly answered.

“…Very well. Follow me.”

He turned first. Lily retraced the path she had come, following him. Her footsteps dragged, and her breathing sometimes mixed with the sound.

She forced herself to calm down, so she wouldn’t explode in front of Aiden.

‘At least he’s safe. That’s better than it all being a lie, better than it being just a play. Yes. That’s right. Much better.’

She repeated that thought countless times, until at some point, she was already standing before a door.

The knights standing guard on either side froze like statues when they saw her. At Wolfram’s nod, one of them opened the door.

Lily stepped inside. Heavy curtains shrouded every window, leaving the room dark.

Her eyes were naturally drawn to the faint light spilling from the far side of the room, near the ceiling. The source lay beyond a partition. Her chest felt like it would burst.

Without a groan, a clear male voice rang out.

“Wolfram. What of Lily?”

Lily rushed past the partition. There sat Aiden Kashimir, dressed simply. She let out something like a sigh mixed with a laugh.

“Ha.”

Aiden’s eyes widened. But soon, he calmed himself and rose slowly to his feet.

“Lily.”

In that brief instant, his sharp mind had already worked out how to soothe her. The fact that he hadn’t wasted even a few seconds in confusion made her stomach churn all the more.

Her head understood everything. Really, what was there not to understand?

That he had colluded with the knight commander, obtained knowledge of the emperor’s ambush, and used it to feign near-death in order to turn the tables—that much became clear the moment Wolfram nodded.

Once you knew the outline, the strategy of using the enemy’s numbers was easy to see through.

Hadn’t she herself stepped out the back door with a similar intent?

So if he had just given her a hint, Lily would have understood everything and gladly cooperated.

There was no need to explain everything, nor to tell her too soon.

If he wanted to make their play more convincing by letting her show genuine panic to the whole town, then so be it.

Just one word at the end.

“You could have said it only for me to hear. Whispered, ‘It’s just acting, Lily. Don’t worry.’ If you had done that… it would have been fine.”

At last, Lily began to cry.