Working at a Haunted Mansion Chapter 61

Thank you Amy for the kofi^^

 

Aiden didn’t answer and walked past Julius toward the prayer room. Julius stood up and followed him.

[Aiden, how?]

The ghost murmured in a grim voice.

[How did you return? How……?]

He couldn’t stand the craving for the bleeding body.

The act of making eye contact and talking with a human standing next to him, the movement of lungs breathing in and out, that opaque flesh — it was maddeningly enviable.

Julius reached out to Aiden. His hand grabbed nothing and passed right through the body. He flailed aimlessly, like someone trying to catch smoke, refusing to give up.

While Aiden stood by the door of the prayer room, the aide searched through the mess, found the ring, and placed it on a flat surface. Then he took out a bottle, uncorked it, and handed it to Aiden.

Aiden poured the liquid onto the ring and muttered coldly.

“I came all the way here thinking it might work better if someone in the same situation did it, but I just can’t play the soul healer.”

When the bottle was empty, Aiden turned to leave. The aide, concerned, suggested,

“Why not rest a moment before you go?”

“No. I can’t disturb His Majesty’s peace. He’d probably hate to see someone like me so much he’d want to kill me.”

The sound of the cane tapping the floor echoed in a steady rhythm. Julius blankly took in every part of Aiden.

Aiden’s gait was stiff. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he bit his lip as if enduring pain. Veins bulged in his neck, bones jutted from the back of his hand, and his breathing was labored at times……

Julius stared at the moving body as if licking it with his eyes. Never in his life had he envied Aiden Kashimir more.

[Wait, just wait.]

Julius suddenly blocked Aiden. It was pointless, but he kept trying to grab him, moving his clumsy tongue without giving up.

[Wait, Aiden, just a moment, how? Aiden!]

His flailing hand passed through Aiden’s shoulder. Aiden simply opened the door and walked out.

Julius banged on the door. Even though his body could pass through everything, he couldn’t get past a mere thin wall. In the end, he was left alone in the annex.

[Ah! Ah!]

He clawed at his own forearm.

Why only that guy! He should be the one standing on two legs! Why did he have to end up like this? Stripped of everything, trapped in this cramped place, pathetic, grotesque! This isn’t what he wanted!

How did Aiden Kashimir return to his body? How in the world? He said he was deteriorating, corrupting. There wasn’t even a heretic sorcerer here. Then how did he escape the curse?

—Can’t I get it right even once? Even in the very end, still such a fool. You idiot!

The hallucinations started again. He covered his ears. Nerves seethed with rage, jealousy, fear, and shame.

Pacing aimlessly in anxiety, he thought,

‘Th-this time, I… I… If I’m still alive, couldn’t I kill him?’

Julius looked up at the ceiling.

‘If he comes back, th-then, somehow, F-Father, just one more ch-chance. I-I’ll do it… well, well…’

He was tormented by hallucinations and delusions, never at peace.

The next day, Aiden Kashimir returned once again. Julius waited for him to step through the door.

Even if he had to rot here forever, he was determined to kill Aiden Kashimir with his own hands — the one he hated most.

But Aiden stopped just outside the threshold.

“Could it possibly get any messier in there?”

It was just a remark at the now even more chaotic room, but Julius felt as if Aiden was looking down on him.

With a surge of shame, a cracking sound rang out between the wall and column, and small bits fell from the ceiling. After watching it briefly, Aiden suddenly called out to him.

“Julius.”

Julius flinched. He was looking straight at him. Maybe Aiden was just standing at the entrance and facing forward, but……

For a moment, his mind cleared. Julius wondered why he had come.

At first, he didn’t have the energy to be curious. Later, he thought Aiden was just here to show off.

But then he saw him sprinkling holy water on the ring, just like a soul healer. Why?

Once the commotion settled, Aiden moved.

“Your Excellency, it’s dangerous.”

“Well. I don’t think Julius was that much of an idiot.”

Just as his sanity was about to slip again, Julius flinched. Even now, the late emperor was still cursing him as a fool in his ear—so on what basis was Aiden Kashimir saying that?

Yes, he hadn’t originally been such a fool. Before he was consumed by murderous intent, he at least knew how to act in his own interest.

He forced his hazy mind to function. It was clear—killing Aiden now would be a foolish move.

Because Aiden was acting in a way that benefitted him. He vaguely remembered the things that female healer used to do.

Just like the day before, Aiden poured holy water over the ring and left. He showed no other interest—his only focus was purifying the ring.

Days passed like that. Julius gradually forgot his anger. Instead, he began to question what Aiden’s true goal was, and how long this would continue.

Unlike the idiot Julius Sheiwertz, Aiden had been acknowledged by the late emperor. Someone like that couldn’t possibly have failed to realize that Julius was behind it all.

Then why was he purifying the soul of his enemy?

‘What’s his angle?’

Julius decided to watch how things played out. He didn’t stop the servants who came in to clean the inside of the annex.

And so, when the annex remained spotless even after a night passed, Aiden finally sat in a chair in the reception room for the first time. Julius took the seat across from him.

By then, Aiden had recovered much of his health. His body had filled out with muscle, and his gaunt face had grown smoother. His hair and nails were carefully trimmed and neat.

‘Is he going to a ball or something?’

But the spite in his jealousy vanished when their eyes met.

Seeing his emotionless face made Julius feel like they were back in the imperial audience chamber, discussing state matters.

But the reality was a one-sided conversation between a man still alive and a soul in despair.

Aiden asked,

“Why did you kill me?”

The question, asked without any greeting, left Julius speechless.

[I… I…]

Why had he killed him? It was a simple reason. He had wished for a long time that Aiden Kashimir would disappear, and when the chance came, he took it.

So if asked why, he could only answer: because he had always wanted to.

“Did I not show enough loyalty to satisfy you?”

Julius shrank back. Even if he lied, he couldn’t claim Aiden had been disloyal.

Duke Kashimir had become the emperor’s sword, soaked in blood, brought rivals to their knees, and was a backing no one could ignore.

“Or did you think I’d start a rebellion?”

That wasn’t it either. Aiden remembered the grace granted by the previous emperor, and never desired more than he was allowed.

“Regardless of your hatred for me, I believed you could accept me as emperor, which is why I remained loyal. Wasn’t it the same for you? You despised me, but still judged I could be a useful tool, and so you used me, didn’t you?”

They truly had been useful tools to one another. No one in the empire dared oppose the alliance of these two powerful men.

“Then why did you kill me?”

[That’s…]

“Because of some rotten, old hatred.”

Aiden continued, as if the answer was obvious.

“Inferiority complex, lack of love, jealousy, unresolved childhood trauma… And probably just because you felt like killing me.”

[Aiden.]

“It’s hard to believe someone would commit such a thing for such pathetic reasons, but if I don’t believe it, what else can I do? The fact that you made that choice doesn’t change.”

Aiden’s calm tone carried no mockery. That, more than anything, made Julius feel humiliated. Every petty corner of his heart had been laid bare.

But… what was Aiden Kashimir’s goal in doing all this?

Thanks to the ongoing purification, Julius had regained some clarity. For the first time, he began to think like himself again.

Aiden Kashimir wasn’t the kind of man who’d come just to mock someone.

There had to be a purpose behind investing holy water and showing off his healthy body.

‘Instead of showing off and acting smug, just get to the point.’

Julius ground his teeth. At that moment, Aiden pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and unfolded it.

“By the way, it seems the Empress is in a very difficult situation.”

Aiden began reading the paper aloud.

It was a letter from Themis, written to Aiden. In short, she and her son were locked up in a villa, starving to death.

She begged him, for the sake of their old connection, to please help her and her child.