Working at a Haunted Mansion Chapter 134 - Side Story Chapter 10 - End

“If that’s truly what you wish, then you may go now. I’ve kept you long enough. When the weather warms, I shall summon you again.”

For the first time, the Empress smiled faintly.

“Or sooner, if need be — tell me if ever there’s something I can help with again.”

Lily bowed deeply in thanks and descended from the platform. When she glanced up at Aiden, he bent down at once so she could speak softly to him.

“‘Help again’? Your Majesty helped me? When?”

“Just now,” Aiden murmured. “I asked her beforehand to forgive a bit of noise during the banquet. If I hadn’t, both you and Nobert would’ve been thrown out before I could intervene.”

It was true — what they had done was nearly the same as ruining the host’s own celebration. And that host also happened to be the regent empress, acting as the emperor.

To cause enough of a commotion to stop the music at a superior’s banquet — they were lucky indeed that the empress had shown mercy.

Now that Lily thought about it, the music had resumed at some point. And near the staircase, a crowd was waiting for them.

Aiden leaned in so close his lips nearly brushed her ear.

“See, Lily? Everyone’s gathered.”

Before the banquet, Lily had been briefed on which noble families were allied with the Kashimir dukedom, which were neutral, and which stood opposed.

Aiden’s words meant that all of them — friends, neutrals, and rivals alike — were now mixed together, waiting for them.

It was largely thanks to the empress’s influence.

Her public dispute with Nobert had proven the scandal false, and when she was the first person called forward by the empress herself, Lily’s reputation had flipped completely.

Lily smiled at Aiden as if responding to a secret whisper — a small, sweet gesture that proudly said: This man is mine.

Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Aiden formally introduced her to the waiting nobles.

Not to all of them, of course — a few people who had once hosted Nobert were smoothly ignored, even if they were standing right there.

The countess who had first asked to be introduced spoke warmly.

“Since His Grace the Duke announced the engagement so suddenly, we were all terribly curious about the young lady who had captured his heart. I asked Countess Dorian several times, but she is not one to gossip about her acquaintances. I’ve been waiting eagerly to meet you in person.”

Another noblewoman chimed in.

“Yes, indeed. How did the two of you meet? There must be a romantic story behind it.”

Their faces and tones were entirely different from earlier — soft and pleasant, their masks switched effortlessly.

It was Aiden’s turn to answer. He spoke with perfect composure, as if narrating a tender memory.

“It was when I had just awoken from my coma. My servants were gathered around, praying for my recovery. As I looked at them, dazed, my eyes met Lily’s for the first time. I saw emotion and joy sparkle in her wide eyes — and at that very moment, I fell in love.”

Fact and fiction blended seamlessly in his words, delivered with moving sincerity.

And because Aiden truly looked like a man unable to hide his love, it was all the more convincing.

Someone, unable to hold back curiosity, asked pointedly:

“I heard Miss Dienta’s outstanding skills had already caught Baron Burnett’s attention before that.”

— Meaning, how do you explain her working closely with your aide before you woke up?

Aiden didn’t bother with long explanations.

“Yes. That only confirmed I had chosen my aide well.”

Rumors about Johan Midroff and Julia were already spreading steadily. Anyone curious enough would find the story on their own.

What Aiden needed to do now was make sure the crowd remembered his words — the ones only he could say.

He spoke calmly yet sincerely about how much Lily had supported him during his uncertain times, and how devoted she had been to him in the capital.

“When I saw her tears during the attack in the square, I vowed I would never again make her cry.”

At that, several ladies blushed. So did Lily herself.

After tonight, the scandalous ‘Lily Dienta’ will be forgotten — and the capital will remember only the hopelessly smitten Aiden Kashimir.

Lily quietly studied the faces around her — the faint discomfort, the sympathy, the awe, the doubt, the sentimentality, the envy, and the quick mental calculations.

Overall, it seemed they had decided, somewhat reluctantly, to accept her.

They understood now that their opposition or gossip no longer mattered.

Lily finally allowed herself to fully believe Aiden’s promise — Whatever it is, you need not worry.
With complete, unshaken trust.

Truly, nothing seemed to trouble this man.

And she prayed that this would be the last deception she would ever have to live through.

 

 

****

 

 

 

When Nobert opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a familiar-patterned ceiling.

An old wooden ceiling half-swallowed by shadows, flickering faintly in the light of a single candle.

He groaned, clutching his throbbing head, and pushed himself upright.

Did I fall asleep with the candle still lit? No, wait— I was at the Imperial Palace. And then…

“—Hrk!”

As he tried to recall, Nobert turned his head and gasped. Someone was sitting quietly at the table.

“You’ve finally regained consciousness.”

“Y-you’re…!”

It was one of Caleb’s men — the same one who had taken him by carriage and handed him his latest assignment.

Nobert scrambled off the bed, glancing around for something—anything—he could use as a weapon. But his eyes landed on another burly man blocking the doorway, and despair washed over him.

He dropped to his knees without hesitation.

“I-I apologize for failing the task! But it wasn’t my fault. Please, allow me to explain. That woman—she started saying nonsense! That she knew me! Then the duke came over and—”

“Silence.”

The candlelight flashed off the man’s spectacles. Nobert swallowed hard. The man looked utterly exhausted, as though sick of hearing yet another fool’s excuses.

Wolfram Burnett truly was grinding his teeth over this ridiculous public scandal.

Under normal circumstances, Lily Dienta’s noble debut should have gone smoothly — supported by her “fateful romance” with the duke and her bloodline connection.

But because of Caleb’s scheming, Wolfram had been dragged into this farce, forced to play the role of some errand boy rattling a coin pouch.

And that wasn’t even the end of it.

He’d had to petition the Empress for cooperation, fend off a flood of inquiries from other families’ aides, and now he was stuck wrapping things up in a dingy boarding house.

Thinking of all the vital information that must be flowing through the palace halls and waiting rooms right now made him twitch with frustration.

Wolfram let that irritation drip from every syllable as he spoke.

“Do you have any idea how much disgrace your blunder brought upon His Lordship? Already there’s talk that he’s taken to underhanded schemes out of spite for not becoming regent.”

He calmly adjusted his glasses, as if foretelling the very rumors he himself intended to spread soon enough.

“You’ve made a mess of the job, so your payment will be reclaimed.”

Before Nobert had even woken up, Wolfram and his knight had thoroughly searched the room and found his coin purse — which only deepened Wolfram’s sour mood.

Half the money was already gone. Between investigating Nobert’s identity and paying for props for that idiotic play, the expenses had piled up alarmingly.

“W-wait, please, my lord!”

The family knight intercepted Nobert as he lunged forward in panic.

Wolfram’s voice was cold, almost bored.

“Don’t ever involve yourself in noble affairs again with such pathetic incompetence. Next time, there will be no mercy.”

Lily Dienta’s intervention had spared him this time — but there would be no second chance.

The duke would make him pay for every bit of the damage he’d caused, and Lily herself wouldn’t step in to save him then.

Ignoring Nobert’s noisy pleas behind him, Wolfram left the room.

He hoped, at the very least, that his performance tonight had been as convincing as Lily’s.

In truth, though, he no longer cared about this particular job. It was finished, and that was enough. A faint sense of accomplishment and relief was all it left behind.

Now it was time to throw himself into the next task.

The carriage wheels rolled, carrying him back toward the Imperial Palace.

As they did, Wolfram mentally reviewed the long list of duties awaiting him, glittering like stars in the night sky:

Preparations for his lord’s wedding in the bright spring season, redecorating the marital chambers both in the capital and the duchy, arranging Lily Dienta’s parents’ relocation to their new lands, refining the servants’ training, and a few additional rounds of public sentiment management…

Nothing out of the ordinary — just everyday work.

 

 

Working at a Huanted Mansion – The End