Working at a Haunted Mansion Chapter 56

At any rate, for now, even getting out of bed was impossible. Aiden had a servant help wash his body. Each time his arms, legs, or torso were moved even slightly, the strain on his muscles brought pain.

But all he wanted was to be clean—because he couldn’t stop thinking about how wretched he must have looked in front of Lily.

At last, with a faint scent of herbs clinging to him, Aiden sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard. He immediately asked for Lily to be brought in.

While waiting, Aiden slowly moved one hand to rest atop the other.

The first thing he had felt upon returning to his body had been the intense heat of Lily Dienta’s warmth. A searing heat that had pressed on him like it could burn.

Come to think of it, there were so many sensations he’d missed as a soul. But Aiden didn’t feel regret. He would just reclaim them one by one from now on.

He closed his eyes. Just thinking that Lily was coming closer brought a deep joy from within.

He wanted to see her—right away. Even a second sooner. He wanted to fulfill what she had promised him. To have her lively presence at his side, to hear her cheerful voice celebrating his recovery like it was her own.

Imagining that scene, Aiden felt a small pang of disappointment. Before they parted, Lily hadn’t looked at him as her Aiden, but as the Duke of Kashimir.

Not that he didn’t understand why. There had been too many people around. Surely, inside, she had responded the way he’d hoped.

“First, I’ll make her position clear again. Lily more than earned the right to stay by my side. No one can deny that. Once that’s done, she’ll be able to live comfortably.”

It was a simple matter—nothing to delay.

Just then, a knock came at the door, and someone announced Lily’s arrival. She entered, but her posture was stiff. Even though everyone else had been dismissed, she remained that way.

“Lily?”

She looked up. When he saw her face, Aiden knew something had gone wrong.

There was no joy of recovery in her expression, no spark of life. Instead, she wore a determined look, as if preparing herself for something.

“Lily, come to me.”

He smiled in the way that always left her speechless and reached out a hand. But she only pressed her lips together more tightly, not moving.

His hand, left hanging in the air, trembled and fell to the bed. He blinked.

“Lily?”

When he called out in confusion, Lily opened her mouth with an expression he had never seen before.

“Your Excellency, I have completed my role out of sincere loyalty.”

“…What?”

“So now, it’s your turn to reward me.”

Aiden couldn’t understand what Lily Dienta was saying.

“As compensation, I would like the letter of recommendation you signed.”

“Why would you need a letter of recommendation?”

“With a reference from the Duke of Kashimir, I’ll be able to find a good job.”

“That’s a terrible joke.”

His forced smile twitched with tension. Still, Aiden held it, even if it looked pathetic. He wanted to pass it off as a silly joke, right until the end.

“It’s not a joke.”

Lily folded her hands together.

“I’ve done my duty, so now I will leave the castle with my grandmother. Even without me, Your Excellency will be able to handle everything just fine.”

Who was this woman bowing her head before him?

Aiden thought in confusion. Was this the same Lily Dienta who had whispered that she liked him just this morning—the same woman now saying she would leave the castle?

The red ribbon still hung from her neatly tied hair, yet Aiden felt as though he were seeing her for the first time.

“You’re saying you’ll leave the castle?”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“A letter of recommendation?”

“Yes.”

Lily’s firm attitude left no room for denial or disbelief.

He felt suffocated. As if the heavy body he already bore had been sealed with silence, blocking both his mouth and nose.

It took him a long time to squeeze out a voice.

“Why?”

That one word was the only thing in Aiden’s mind. He had to grit his teeth to keep himself from shouting it again and again.

“Because I’ve done my duty.”

“I’ve already heard that line more than once!”

Aiden panted. Lily gave him a brief glance, then lowered her gaze again. He didn’t want to guess what her furrowed brow meant.

As Aiden’s shoulders slowly settled, Lily finally spoke.

“Did you know… there were rumors about me in the castle? That I admired Your Excellency from afar, and when you fell ill, I was so shocked that I lost my mind. I knew there were rumors, but I only heard the full story today. That’s when I realized why everyone had been looking at me that way.”

Aiden already knew. As a wandering soul, he had unintentionally overheard many secret conversations.

He had never seen it as a problem. In fact, the rumor helped justify how Lily had managed to save him.

People would easily accept it if they were told she had been desperate to find a cure out of love. But Lily didn’t see it that way.

“Until now, I ignored the strange looks because my heart was focused solely on Your Excellency. But now that I’ve fulfilled my purpose, I see no reason to stay here while bearing all that.”

“What do you mean, no reason?”

Aiden’s face burned with shame.

“You love me!”

Lily flinched but kept her head bowed.

“You told me you loved me! It hasn’t even been half a day since I heard that, and now you’re saying there’s no reason to stay?”

Suddenly, Aiden realized he was raising his voice too much.

He knew Lily Dienta well. Or… did he? Everything was muddled, but he knew one thing—pressuring and questioning her was not the right way to reach her.

He wanted to run to her, lower himself before her, and look up into her eyes—to show how confused and desperate he was.

But all he could do was fumble weakly across the bed with powerless arms, offering a pitiful apology.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Lily. I’m not trying to get angry. But still…”

“That was the only way to break your curse.”

Lily cut him off. It seemed she hadn’t even listened to his apology.

“I told you I acted solely for Your Excellency. In order to test the method I finally discovered, you had to believe that we were in love.”

She recited a line from an old fairy tale.

“And so, he wished to kiss Tara. The soul of Hipone, filled with desire, returned to its rightful place… Did you notice? Nowhere in that story is Tara’s heart described. Only the soul’s desire matters—a strong will to be with the one you love.”

“So you pretended to love me just to make me feel that desire?”

“Yes.”

She gripped her own wrist tightly.

“I’m sorry for deceiving you. But I ask for your mercy in light of what I’ve done.”

“You don’t actually think I’d fall for a word game like that, do you, Lily?”

Lily raised her head at his mocking tone. Her cheeks were pale, and her pupils trembled.

Aiden felt deeply insulted by her deceit, but he forced himself to be patient and smiled with his eyes.

“Your eloquence is impressive, I’ll give you that. But this isn’t the right time for cleverness.”

No matter how many times he thought about it, Aiden couldn’t believe the affection Lily had shown him was a lie. Even if she was the greatest actress in the world, it wasn’t possible.

Shaking off the shock, he dug through his dizzy thoughts and finally found a possible reason.

It was the conversation with Julia Dienta about the falling flower petals.

Looking back, Lily had also been reluctant about this method in the beginning. That was why he had been so thrilled when she finally said his name.

Despite her fears, she had chosen him—and he had been grateful. He had admired her resolve, so true to her nature.

But Lily had turned out to be even more pessimistic than he had imagined. Rather than watch the petals fall, she had decided to cut down the whole tree herself.

“Didn’t I ask her to walk with me through a blooming rose garden? Didn’t she agree to keep accepting the books I give her…”

He suppressed the rising flood of disappointment and anger once more. Without any pretense or strategy, in the gentlest voice he could manage, he pleaded:

“Just tell me your real feelings. Whatever worries you have, they can’t be harder to face than restoring my soul. We can overcome them together.”

“No.”

She raised her right hand and slowly brushed her cheek. Though her face was dry, the gesture looked as if she were wiping away tears.