Working at a Haunted Mansion Chapter 17

It was the first time Lily had ever looked directly at Aiden Kashimir’s face like this.

Beneath his thick eyebrows, his eyes seemed darker than usual. Those eyes, usually calm and composed, were now filled with worry and fear.

Unable to look away from the intensity in his gaze, Lily vaguely follow the straight line of his nose and the lips beneath it.

[Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?]

Lily couldn’t bring herself to speak. Her mind felt completely blank, bleached white.

She couldn’t tell whether it was because of the shock that almost cracked her skull, or because his face filled her entire vision.

[Lily, are you hurt? Please, say something.]

Aiden placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned in closer. He probably just wanted to check if she was alright.

But Lily felt as if she’d be swallowed up by something massive if she stayed like this. Ignoring the violent pounding of her heart, she finally managed to step back.

“I-I’m fine. I didn’t get hurt anywhere…”

As much as Lily retreated, Aiden stepped closer again.

[You don’t look fine. Hold on, let me see. Your face is bright red… Must’ve been a real shock.]

She knew her face was red. Her ears were burning, there was no way not to notice.

Aiden looked like he was about to cry, overwhelmed with regret.

[I swear I’ll never let this happen again. I mean it.]

“Y-Yes, thank you. I appreciate it. See you tomorrow. Tomorrow, okay?”

Lily blurted nonsense and bolted. She ran all the way to the maids’ quarters, clenching her fists until her nails dug into her palms.

‘I should’ve just ignored what Grandma said. Now I can’t stop thinking about it!’

With her heart still pounding, Lily felt like crying.

 

 

****

 

 

Julia’s work began immediately. Each day, she translated as much of the forbidden book as possible and passed the day’s interpretation to Wolfram.

Meanwhile, Lily was buried in cleaning the main building. Hauling rolled-up carpets endlessly, she deeply realized how blissful her time assigned to the office had been.

And there was something else besides cleaning she had to pay attention to namely, Duke Aiden Kashimir.

[Isn’t it time to go back to the office? I don’t think it’ll be a big problem if you step away.]

The Duke gently coaxed her. Lily reflexively chanted a calming mantra to herself.

‘He’s only doing this because he’s bored. He has no feelings for me. He’s just a mean boss trying to isolate me…’

After three days, he had lost his patience and clearly wanted her to leave the cleaning crew and return to her old duties.

What a ridiculous thing to say.

Everyone was putting their all into cleaning the main building, and he wanted her to skip out and stay in an already clean office? Yeah, that’d go over great.

Even if she had rocketed from lowly maid to junior administrator, she still had to act like a human being.

She didn’t spare a single glance at Aiden. Instead, she vigorously scrubbed away while whispering with her friends.

“At least we’re almost done.”

“Yeah. I never realized the main building had this much stuff.”

“And so much of it broken, too. Think they’ll just replace everything? Maybe redecorate the whole place? That’s gonna cost a fortune.”

“Head maid’s been grumbling like we’re in a war zone, the treasury’s bleeding money.”

“What if the food gets worse?”

“No way, that’s too much!”

They all giggled in unison. That seemed to make Aiden even gloomier.

[I’ve been talking to myself for so long, it’s starting to feel like even you don’t recognize me.]

Was Duke Aiden Kashimir suffering from memory loss?

Hadn’t they just been chatting two hours ago when she used the excuse of returning used tools?

[Lily, if you can hear me, tuck your hair behind your ear. Please?]

His soft, downcast voice made her sneak glances at him without even meaning to.

He had lost his usual easy smile and stood slumped, looking pitiful enough to prick anyone’s conscience.

‘No. Absolutely not. You’re not giving in to that pout again. But… he must be so lonely…’

With no choice, Lily tucked her hair behind her ear just like he wanted. She even picked up the wooden bucket she’d been using to rinse her rag.

“The water’s dirty. I’m gonna go change it.”

“You’re doing it again? You keep getting stuck with the heavy stuff.”

“It’s fine. It’s not that heavy. I’ll be right back.”

Once there were fewer people around, she stopped walking and pretended to gaze out an open window. In truth, she was looking at Aiden standing by the window.

He smiled like a blooming flower, all his gloom vanished.

‘Does he even realize what he looks like when he smiles like that? He probably does, right?’

Honestly, this was exactly the kind of “inappropriate behavior” Julia had warned her about. Every time this happened, Lily had to remind herself of the objective truth:

‘This man is only trying to earn my favor so I won’t run away again. I’m the only person he can interact with, that’s all. There’s nothing emotional or romantic here.’

Three days into this self-reminder routine, she could now calm her heart without much trouble.

Looking down at the floor, she muttered softly,

“Still, today should be the last of it. Just hang in there a little longer.”

She’d gotten so used to sneaking in words that she could almost do crude ventriloquism by now.

[Mm. Alright. I’ll wait just one more day. Tomorrow, no matter what, we’re going back to the office.]

“But you can’t really talk freely there either because of the aide, right?”

It was true. Even in the office, they didn’t exactly sit around chatting all day.

‘Wait. That story about the secretary’s first love was kind of personal, wasn’t it?’

She had only learned that Anna Cape, with her rosy cheeks, decided to marry Wolfram after reading one of his passionate love letters,
because Lily had asked about it while Wolfram was away.

They had also talked about Wendel’s apology, their reading preferences, and other small things.

She realized now that she had been speaking far more comfortably with Aiden than she had thought.

[No. The office is better. At least there, you’re not just talking to your friends. When that happens, I feel totally left out.]

Seeing his gloomy expression made Lily feel guilty too.

This man was depending on her just to get through the day. Before his soul left his body, he’d been the Empire’s one and only Duke, the type who might push others away, but certainly never got left out himself.

“Is it really hard for you?”

[Yeah. It’s really hard.]

Even if his pitiful act had some strategy behind it, she couldn’t help but feel sympathy. Lily encouraged him.

“Well, of course it is. When have you ever been in a situation like this? Just hang in there. My grandma will soon—”

[Wait. What exactly do you mean by ‘this situation’?]

He was the one who’d said it, yet Aiden asked again. Lily silently worried for his memory but kindly explained.

“Being treated like a ghost. Like you’re invisible to everyone. That’s what’s hard, right?”

By then, they had reached the kitchen. Since the main kitchen was temporarily closed, Lily could speak more freely here.

It was the perfect place to chat, but Aiden said nothing.

“…Am I wrong?”

[Yeah. No. I mean… it’s not that.]

He looked genuinely confused.

[It’s close, but not quite.]

“Really? Then how?”

[It’s not that everyone’s ignoring me… It’s… that you’re ignoring me…]

Aiden trailed off mid-sentence, his voice barely audible. He suddenly looked startled, as if some realization had just hit him.

Even as Lily filled the bucket with water, he kept staring at her in disbelief.

Eventually, she asked carefully,

“Um, is there something on my face?”

She wasn’t really curious—just trying to break the awkward silence.

Only then did Aiden snap out of it and force a stiff smile.

[Ah, no. Nothing like that. Sorry.]

Sensing the start of a very awkward moment, Lily hurried to change the subject.

“By the way, did you still can’t leave the main building?”

[Nope. Nothing’s changed.]

The Duke’s body had been moved to the East Wing for repairs due to the chaos in the main building. It was expected that his soul would also be bound to the East Wing, but strangely, he still couldn’t leave the main building.

That’s why the temporary office was set up on the fourth floor of the main building, not the East Wing.

“What could be the reason?”

[Who knows. We’ll just have to hope Mrs. Dienta finds a clue.]

Lily nodded. She sincerely hoped so too.

When they returned to the hallway, there were fewer people than before. Lily asked a nearby friend,

“Why’s it so empty? Did I take that long?”

“Don’t even get me started. Word just came in that His Majesty is visiting the territory. He’ll be here tomorrow! Total chaos.”

It was shocking news, and the maid grumbled quietly.

“Why did he only notify us now, when he’s already practically going here? We’re the only ones scrambling. Anyway, the head maid took the others over to the East Wing. They’re giving it up to the guests from the capital.”

Lily frowned. With the main building still under cleanup, adding surprise visitors just meant more work.

“This really is a mess… Do you know why he’s coming?”

“Probably to visit the Duke. They’ve been friends since childhood. Anyway, we’ve gotta wrap things up ourselves today, so let’s move fast.”

“Mmhm.”

Lily wrung out her rag with a complex expression on her face.