Working at a Haunted Mansion Chapter 41

This chapter is sponsored by NoodLuver~

Part 6. What Brings Someone Back

Lily, who had struggled to calm herself, felt a surge of anger the moment she saw Aiden smiling gracefully as he followed her.

‘You idiot, how can you be smiling right now?’

After ruining the opportunity she’d barely managed to create, what was so great that he could smile like that?

Julius’s intentions were clearly suspicious. He was, with high probability, an accomplice in the Duke of Kashimir’s curse incident, and would have no desire whatsoever for Aiden to recover.

Julius kept insisting. They had to go to the capital together, they had to defeat the cult leader, and only then could both he and Aiden survive.

Lily wasn’t naïve enough to believe Julius’s persuasion at face value. It was obvious Julius just wanted to get back to his body no matter what.

That was the point Lily was focusing on. The fact that he wanted to return to his body no matter what.

If things worked out like Julius said and both men could return to their bodies by defeating the cult leader, that would be ideal.

But even if that didn’t happen, it was still fine. She planned to copy Julius’s recovery process and apply it to Aiden.

That was the only way to bring Aiden back. It had become impossible to carry out because he had clung to her, talking about promises and whatnot.

‘So now what? The forbidden book sounds like nothing but nonsense, and the heretics—he already rounded them all up—what now?!’

Whether he understood her feelings or not, Aiden looked completely content.

He hadn’t even tried the most promising option before discarding it—how could he be so happy? Did he even want to return to his body?

Lily narrowed her eyes. He couldn’t possibly want to live like this forever, and yet he was acting way too calm.

Had she been a bad influence on Aiden? Could it be that he thought it was still okay since he could communicate with the outside world and the estate was running smoothly?

That wasn’t like Aiden. When such a good opportunity presented itself, the reasonable reaction would’ve been to say thank you, declare she was his only hope, and promise to repay her kindness—pushing her forward with all sorts of praise.

‘If our roles were reversed, I wouldn’t hesitate, seriously, not even for a second… um…’

To her surprise, Lily realized that if she were in Aiden’s shoes, she wouldn’t let him go to the capital either.

Because anyone could see how dangerous it was. How could she possibly let him go alone into such danger? She wouldn’t be able to watch over him or help.

She would make sure he was fully prepared, and if that wasn’t possible, she’d find another way. He wasn’t a chess piece to be used and discarded. She had given him too much of her heart for that.

Lily scratched her neck awkwardly. Thinking that Aiden had stopped her for the same reason made her feel a little embarrassed…

‘Again, again, again! I’m being all sweet and mushy again!’

Lily wanted to smack herself in the head. She just kept falling into these rosy thoughts without getting tired of it.

Snapping back to reality, she forced a bright tone.

“It’d be a bit inconvenient without me, right?”

Now Aiden should either chuckle and say, “Yeah. You already knew that, didn’t you?” or roll his eyes like, “Why even say that?”

Then she could suppress her foolishly fluttering heart and shake off her pointless dreams.

But Aiden’s reaction was unexpected.

He, who had looked like he might start humming with satisfaction, suddenly stood up and blinked. Cracks started to show in his handsome face.

[Are you serious?]

She hurriedly replied.

“Ah, no! Of course, I know you stopped me because you care about me. Of course.”

Saying otherwise felt like it would lead to disaster. The east wing would collapse just like the main building.

Aiden wasn’t quick to calm down.

“I was joking, just joking. Hahaha…”

She mumbled with an awkward laugh, and he let out a sigh.

[Thanks for asking, at least. Just imagining you thinking that all by yourself…]

For a brief moment, he looked deeply troubled. Almost like he was heartbroken.

[Lily, of course I didn’t let you go because I care about you. You’re such an important person to me—I couldn’t just stand by and let you get caught up in Julius’s schemes. I didn’t think I needed to say it out loud for you to understand.]

“Ahem. I was just being a little whiny because I was upset.”

Lily replied as casually as she could and turned her head. Her face was starting to get hot.

‘Ugh, I’m doomed, seriously.’

She didn’t know what gave this guy the confidence to act like this. If a commoner girl had weird thoughts about him, he’d probably be put off too.

That thought quickly turned into a visual in her mind. She imagined Aiden’s awkward face saying, “I care about you, but… not like that…” and suddenly she calmed down.

“I’ll tell Madam Dianta later that she doesn’t need to translate the books we brought today. She must’ve been startled getting them without notice.”

[Why? I want to know what’s in all those books. Tell her to translate every single one.]

Aiden spoke curtly. She hadn’t expected him to get so sulky over something she’d half-jokingly said. Lily stammered.

“W-why are you being like this? I get how you feel, really. I mean it. Whether the translation finishes or not, I won’t leave.”

Aiden started walking quickly, as if he didn’t want to hear another word. His face remained stern as he passed by.

He was trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and Lily within the limits he was allowed.

“W-wait! Let’s go together, Your Grace! Please wait!”

Lily grabbed her skirt and chased after him.

 

 

 

****

 

 

Julia’s room at the end of the day. Lily explained to Julia the whole situation regarding the mountain of Solmon texts.

“So that’s what it was.”

“Yes, I’m sorry for bothering you with it.”

“There’s no need to apologize. It’s not a big deal. But still, His Grace is just really…”

Julia shook her head. Her expression said she had a lot to say but would hold back.

“He’s not here right now, so you can speak freely.”

Now that they’d found the guardian charm, Aiden could move about rather freely, but that didn’t mean he was with her 24/7.

After dinner, the day’s official duties ended. Aiden would go wherever he wanted, and Lily would take her rest too.

At first, Aiden had trouble accepting this arrangement. He tried to convince Lily that they could at least spend an hour or two together after dinner.

He rambled about how he couldn’t even turn pages by himself, how not needing sleep made things boring, and so on.

It was nonsense. Never mind the idea of bringing a man into her room in the evening—was she crazy enough to spend day and night with her boss? That would be completely unreasonable.

Lily had said firmly:

—

Your Grace, even happily married couples don’t spend all day together.

—

This logical point hit the mark right away, and they agreed to part ways after dinner each day.

Julia didn’t seem eager to gossip about her superior, even if no one else was around to listen.

“It’s really no big deal.”

“Okay… then I’ll let them know to come pick up the books tomorrow.”

“Please do. Oh, but I set aside a few volumes. No need to move those. Some I’ve wanted to reread, and some I was just happy to see again after a long time.”

Julia pointed to a table where three or four books had been set aside. Despite spending the whole day translating Solmon texts, she was reading foreign books as a hobby.

Lily, who prided herself on her love of reading, felt like an amateur compared to Julia.

She walked over and flipped through the books. They were all in excellent condition. Then she spotted a familiar cover.

“Oh! This book!”

“You still remember it?”

“Yes, you used to read it to me often before bed.”

Lily picked it up and returned to the sofa. The title was On Wandering Tales, a collection of oral legends passed down through generations.

Strangely, there were a lot of ghost stories in it, but that made sense, considering it was a collection of Solmon legends.

Lily hated ghosts so much she often had nightmares about them, but she liked this book. Compared to the other stories Julia told, this one had more touching tales and beautiful illustrations.

That’s why little Lily used to beg to hear On Wandering Tales before bed. If she had to hear a ghost story, she at least wanted a less scary one…

That book, which had once watched over Lily’s bedtime, had been sold to an antiquarian bookstore long ago to cover living expenses. So it had been ages since Lily last saw it.

Filled with fondness and nostalgia, she slowly flipped through the pages. Soon, she reached her favorite story: “The Father Who Returned.”