Working at a Haunted Mansion Chapter 139 - Side Story 2 Chapter 5

<Side Story 2, Chapter 5>

When Zeon Dienta was young, he believed he would inherit his father’s merchant guild.

However, when reckless investments failed and the guild began to collapse, his future changed completely.

His father tried desperately to fix the situation, but unable to endure reality, he made a tragic choice.

In the end, the guild went bankrupt. Even after selling the two-story building that doubled as an office, the regional branches, the horses and carriages, a small amount of land his mother had brought as her dowry, and all their household goods, debts still remained.

His mother found a small boarding house with two rooms and began working as a private tutor.

Zeon couldn’t find a very good job. Being the son of a failed merchant worked against him. People thought he couldn’t be trusted with important work. Still, relying on his youth, he lived without refusing hard or dirty jobs.

After struggling with all his might, by the time Zeon got married, they had finally paid off all their debts.

For a while after that, they were happy. Life wasn’t as comfortable as before, but it was decent enough.

Then things changed again when they had a daughter. Living together in the already cramped boarding house became too difficult.

That was when they heard news that settlers were being recruited to clear land in the northern forests.

Hearing that housing would be provided, he left for Drindel with his wife. Their daughter, still just a baby, stayed behind with her grandmother.

From that time until now, he had been unable to return to Berelin, where the duke’s castle stood, and had been working as a tenant farmer.

There were times he wondered what his grown daughter looked like. But he simply couldn’t leave Drindel.

A tenant farmer’s wages were so low that after paying taxes and sending a small amount of living money to his mother, only just enough remained to avoid starving.

Then, one morning last autumn, just as he was about to head to work, the village chief burst through the front door.

—Zeon! Melissa! You’re both here, huh!

The chief scolded them right away, saying that if they had connections to someone important, they should have said so sooner.

Still confused by these words, Zeon was handed a letter.

The sender was his mother. She wrote that his daughter had made a great contribution to the lord’s recovery, and as a reward had been introduced to a good position and left for the capital.

Zeon was shocked. According to the last letter from two years ago, Lily had been working as a maid in the castle.

But now she had helped the lord recover? Had she found some medicinal herb in the garden or something?

That day, the village chief gathered people to repair various parts of Zeon’s house before leaving. After that, he would drop by from time to time, bringing supplies sent by a “high-ranking person.”

Thanks to this, the couple experienced their first warm and full winter since coming to Drindel.

And now, Zeon was staring blankly out the carriage window. He spoke to his wife.

“Dear, we’re passing through the capital’s gate.”

On both sides of the magnificent gate, guards stood holding spears, their eyes sharp.

One of the knights escorting the carriage presented a travel permit and a letter of guarantee from Duke Kashimir.

“I know… This really is the capital.”

Melissa replied faintly. She barely managed to look away from the window and asked,

“By the way, those rumors… do you think they’re true? How could something like that possibly be real?”

Melissa spoke hesitantly, as if her tongue wouldn’t move properly. Zeon completely agreed with how she felt.

While traveling here, they had stayed at several inns and heard the same rumors everywhere.

One was about the passing of Emperor Julius and the news of the regent empress. The other was the utterly shocking engagement of Duke Kashimir.

“There wasn’t even a hint of it in Mother’s letter. Lily… Lily marrying the lord—the Duke of Kashimir…”

“Exactly. Mother’s letter only said Lily had achieved another merit. She said she’d explain the details when we met. But as we got closer to the capital, the rumors became more specific, so it seems they’re not entirely false.”

“You think so too? Seeing this carriage, these knights, and the lodgings, it does seem like Lily did something to earn the duke’s favor. But how could that even be possible? A commoner like us and the empire’s only duke getting married…?”

They had repeated this same conversation every day.

Though Duke Kashimir’s men were nearby, they didn’t dare speak to them. Status was that absolute.

Zeon wanted to meet his mother as soon as possible and clear up his doubts.

The carriage rolled along a road wide enough to fit two of Zeon’s entire houses side by side. Then the road gradually narrowed, and before they knew it, they had entered a high-end residential district.

The driver opened the carriage door. They stepped down in front of a three-story building with a tall roof. Even the front steps showed how well the place was maintained.

While the driver handled the luggage, a knight stepped forward and knocked on the front door. Only seconds passed before a housekeeper came out to greet them.

The housekeeper quickly and politely offered them indoor slippers. That was a relief. Otherwise, the Dienta couple wouldn’t have dared step onto the glossy dark-brown wooden floor.

After only a few steps, they heard movement from inside, and their mother came toward them with quick steps.

Without a word, they opened their arms and shared a reunion embrace.

“You’ve grown so much, Zeon. Truly, so much.”

“It’s been a long time, Mother.”

Sadness welled up inside him. His mother was much smaller than in his memories. Too much time had passed while they were apart…

After patting her son a few times, Julia stepped back and greeted Melissa.

“You worked hard coming all this way, dear.”

“No, not at all. His Grace took care of everything, so we came comfortably.”

“That’s good, then. Come this way. I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”

Julia showed them the room the couple would use, briefly introduced the other areas, then led them to the living room.

Zeon was normally a polite son, but this time he couldn’t wait. Sitting stiffly on the cloud-like sofa, he asked,

“Mother, you said you’d explain everything when we met. Is it about Lily’s marriage? Is it true that Lily is marrying Duke Kashimir? Really?”

“So you already knew.”

“We heard it at every inn!”

Melissa exclaimed in a hushed voice.

“The duke… then, does that mean we become part of a ducal family?”

“I suppose so. Aren’t you happy?”

“We should live within our means.”

Zeon said gloomily.

“Like Father always said.”

His father had wanted a title. That was why he had married Julia.

At the time of their marriage, the Midroff family had already lost its title. But his father believed that by using Julia’s bloodline as Johann Midroff’s descendant, it might be easier than usual to purchase a title.

Of course, it still required enormous funds, so he rushed to expand the merchant guild.

And as everyone knew, the result was death. In his will, his father left his final words: “Live within your means.”

Those words carved themselves deeply into Zeon’s mind along with great shock. That was also why he hadn’t been able to fully rejoice over his daughter’s rise while traveling to the capital.

“If you keep that mindset, there won’t be any major problems.”

“By the way, where is Lily now?”

“She’s staying at Duke Kashimir’s residence. She’ll come here soon.”

Tension and anticipation appeared on Melissa’s face.

Zeon also began to tremble like her, but a fundamental question remained.

“What on earth happened for our daughter to end up connected to the duke?”

After a moment of thought, Julia spoke.

“In my last letter, I wrote that Lily played a part in the duke’s recovery, didn’t I? When he woke from his coma, their eyes met, and he fell in love with her at first sight.”

It was exactly the same as the rumors they had heard at the inns.

They hadn’t believed them until now because they didn’t know how much had been exaggerated.

But since his mother said it, Zeon accepted it without resistance.

He didn’t particularly doubt the part about love at first sight. He himself had proposed to Melissa for the same reason. If grown-up Lily resembled Melissa, it was entirely possible.

He remembered baby Lily having the same bright hair that lifted people’s moods and the same sparkling eyes as Melissa.

A powerful longing surged within him. It was a feeling he had deliberately suppressed over the years, believing it to be an impossible dream.

He wanted to return home—to his mother’s side, to his daughter’s cradle…

Meanwhile, Melissa seemed to have found something unsettling in Julia’s explanation.

“Then why did His Grace send Lily to the capital? You said he personally introduced her to a job. If he fell in love at first sight, but still tested her like that…”

“It wasn’t the duke who sent her. Lily left on her own. She’s a Dienta child too, after all. She was trying to live within her means. And in any case, this is how things turned out. Thanks to Lily taking the lead in stopping the revival of the heretics, the regent empress also approved of this marriage.”

The Dienta couple’s eyes widened.

Julia explained that incident briefly as well. Then, with some difficulty, she continued,

“And… there’s one more thing I need to tell you…”

Her words trailed off. Silence settled over the living room, and then the housekeeper appeared.

“Madam, Miss Dienta has arrived.”

A figure flickered behind the housekeeper. Zeon and Melissa jumped to their feet.

“Hello.”

A young woman greeted them cautiously.

She wore her bright, almost orange-brown hair elegantly braided, with pearl ornaments woven throughout. She was dressed in a flowing dress, and its forget-me-not pastel tones made her complexion look even brighter.

Though her eyes narrowed with tension, her expression was cute and cheerful.

She looked like a dearly raised noble young lady. Yet in her face, Zeon caught Melissa’s features and his own eyes.

“Li—Lily. It’s good to see you. I’m your father. Do you… do you remember me?”

Zeon knew his words sounded ridiculous. Sure enough, Lily gave an awkward smile and glanced at Julia with eyes asking for help.

He should have prepared his opening line! Excited by the thought of the whole family finally gathering in the capital, he hadn’t prepared anything at all.

“How could Lily remember? Lily, this is—”

Just as Julia was about to step in and smooth things over, Melissa rushed forward and pulled Lily into a tight embrace.