Working at a Haunted Mansion Chapter 42

This chapter is sponsored by NoodLuver~

Here was the story:

Long ago, in a certain village, a loving family lived together. One day, the husband was cursed by a wicked sorcerer, and his soul was separated from his body.

It was a curse that forced him to wander the living world forever in spirit form, but through the love of his family, the curse was broken, and he returned to his body.

Young Lily had especially loved this story of a reunited family and had begged Julia many times to read The Father Who Returned to her.

Lily stared intently at the final illustration of the story.

The man, eyes closed, lay on a bed surrounded by his family. The wife held his hand tightly, and his spirit rested its hand on her shoulder.

The appearance of the spirit was strikingly similar to Aiden—its bluish hue, and its isolation from any gaze.

When Lily didn’t turn the page for a while, Julia leaned in with interest.

“Oh, The Father Who Returned. You really liked that one.”

“Grandma, doesn’t this story kind of match His Grace’s situation?”

“Hm?”

Lily handed the book to Julia. Julia flipped back to the first page of the short story and began reading. When she reached the middle, she spoke.

“You’re right. It really does…”

“The Emperor said the cult leader drove the Empress and the Crown Prince out of the palace.”

They exchanged glances. Lily realized they were thinking the same thing.

The cult leader, after taking over the Emperor’s body, had never once met the Empress or the Crown Prince. He clearly kept the Emperor’s family at a distance. It lined up eerily well with the story.

To find a possible clue they had been searching for—even willing to leave the palace for it—in a randomly opened book of old legends, was incredible.

Of course, a method found in an old fairy tale couldn’t be considered an absolute solution. Still, it was the first time they’d found even a small glimmer of possibility.

Lily felt like she owed a thank-you to Aiden for throwing his immature tantrum earlier. She asked urgently:

“How does the main character finally return to his body in the end?”

“Probably after hearing his wife say something… Let me check.”

Julia adjusted her glasses and carefully began to translate.

[Tara said,
My love, my dear husband, if you wake now, I will allow you to buy that dagger you always wanted.

Hipone replied,
That sounds nice.

But Tara could not hear him.

Tara said,
My love, my dear husband, if you wake now, our children will sing you songs of celebration.

Hipone replied,
That sounds nice.

But Tara could not hear him.

Tara said,
My love, my dear husband, if you wake now, I will allow you to kiss me.

Hipone realized he had not felt Tara’s love in a very long time. Suddenly, he wanted very much to kiss her.

Overflowing with longing, Hipone’s soul followed Tara’s body and returned to its rightful place.

Hipone replied,
That sounds nice.

This time, Tara could hear Hipone’s answer. The children sang songs of joy. At last, their father had come home.]

The unexpectedly romantic tone left Lily momentarily flustered. The kids were all there, and the mom was asking for a kiss?

When she was a child, she had simply admired the affectionate parents as a model relationship, but looking at it now, this story wasn’t exactly child-friendly.

Lily finally understood why Julia had sometimes hesitated and responded vaguely whenever she’d asked to hear that story again.

The two women sank into thought.

At first, when Lily had recalled the tale, she thought the curse had been broken simply through family love.

But now, having heard Julia’s full reading, Lily wondered if it had been the yearning for physical intimacy with a partner that was the key to breaking the curse.

The fact that the curse broke only after the final suggestion, and the unusually lengthy description of that moment, gave her pause. Either way, it seemed at least partially tied to romantic love.

The issue, however, was that Aiden Kashimir had no lover.

Not just at present—he had never even had a passing romance. As someone working in the Duke’s estate, Lily could say this with confidence.

He had been completely absorbed in managing the estate, a legacy from his parents, and had shown zero interest in love or romance.

He had rejected all the noble ladies introduced by distinguished madams, as well as every eligible maiden offered by powerful families hoping to solidify alliances through marriage.

Because of that, there had once been a popular topic of speculation among the maids—
“Maybe there’s something wrong with his manhood,”
“No, no, maybe he’s into men,”
and other such gossip-driven discussions.

‘It doesn’t matter whether His Grace is actually asexual or not. If waking up really is what he wants, he’ll force himself to fall in love with any woman if that’s what it takes.’

But Lily’s real concern was this:

‘The issue is—how do you get a noblewoman to fall in love with a man lying unconscious in bed? It seems like the love has to be mutual…’

This was a serious problem.

Aiden Kashimir was, without a doubt, the empire’s most eligible bachelor. That wasn’t even an exaggeration, given that the Emperor was already married.

But that only applied to the awake Aiden. The current Aiden, basically a living corpse, had no appeal whatsoever.

‘Only a woman with some creepy fetish for corpses would be attracted to him right now. His condition is just… way too bad.’

Lily pushed aside her growing disgust and kept thinking.

How on earth could they find someone willing to step up? Should she have Wolfram distribute a call for applicants throughout the empire’s social circles? Off the top of her head, the announcement would look something like this:

[Announcement]

Seeking a woman to fall in love with the Duke of Kashimir
■ Note: Currently unconscious, but expected to awaken soon.
■ Compensation: Pre-selected as future Duchess.

Lily knew how ridiculous this sounded.

Sure, once the job posting went up, applicants would come flooding in.
But would any of them really be in love? Maybe with the power and wealth of House Kashimir—but with the man himself?

Creating new love was simply unrealistic. After thinking a little more, Lily came up with another idea.

She and Julia spoke at the same time.

“If we could find a lady who had a secret crush on His Grace—”

“As I thought, Lily, you—”

Julia’s softer voice was buried under Lily’s more eager one.

“Oh, please, you go first.”

“No, no, go ahead, dear.”

“Okay, Grandma. So here’s my idea. We search for a noblewoman who once had a crush on His Grace. There has to be at least one or two who admired him from afar in high society.”

“And then?”

“Then we ask for her help. Say it’s an urgent matter, that His Grace needs someone by his side. We dangle a big reward and place her with him. If she starts caring for him, maybe those feelings will rekindle. And when His Grace sees her devotion, he might feel something too.”

“So what you’re saying is… we attach another woman to the Duke?”

Julia asked, trying to confirm what she was hearing.

“That’s right?”

“Another woman?”

The doubt in Julia’s tone made Lily press her lips together. It was hard to repeat herself. The disgust she had been trying to ignore was getting too strong to push aside.

Whether it was Aiden’s past love, his first love, or some completely unknown love, the idea of pairing Aiden with an unfamiliar woman—even though it had come from her own head—was extremely… unpleasant.

She kept ignoring that discomfort, insisting she was approaching this purely as a spiritual healer. Concepts like love and romantic partners were just tools of the treatment.

But with Julia pressing the point, she couldn’t help but start to visualize “Aiden with another woman” in more detail.

Aiden Kashimir, in love.

Aiden Kashimir, feeling a desire so powerful for his partner that it could break a curse—just like Hipone in the story.

He was the type of man who never gave his heart easily. That’s why, once he did fall in love, he would fall deeply.

Lily’s vivid imagination, based on that very assumption, conjured a future more than ten years ahead.

The Duke would marry the woman who freed him from his curse. The manor would welcome its lady. Their children, who would no doubt be adorable thanks to their parents’ good looks. Maybe even multiple children. A warm, happy family…

The image was so vivid it made her stomach churn.

‘No. No. You’re not allowed to feel sick over this!’

Lily wanted to scream into a pillow. And if Julia hadn’t been there, she probably would’ve.

‘Y-you ridiculous idiot! Just because His Grace is nice to you, you think it means something? Get a grip! Seriously, pull yourself together! What’s with all this nausea? What’s so unpleasant, huh? You were just a maid a few weeks ago…’