Working at a Haunted Mansion Chapter 68

The next day, Lily had finished managing the townhouse from early in the morning. After that, she spent her time just staring out the window, wondering when the carriage would arrive.

Thanks to that, the Kashimir family’s carriage didn’t have to wait—it departed the moment it pulled up to the townhouse entrance.

The ride took quite a while. Unlike the townhouse, Aiden Kashimir’s residence in the capital was located in a quiet suburban area.

But Lily, lost in her thoughts the entire way, felt as if no more time had passed than it would take to drink a cup of tea by the time the carriage crossed through the mansion gates.

It was only then that she hurriedly sorted out the attitude she should take in front of Aiden.

Don’t seem too conscious of him—but also don’t be rude. She would treat him with the right amount of respectful distance, the way one might address a superior.

If she kept it dry and professional, not even the Duke of Kashimir could do anything about it.

As if to test that resolve, Lily found herself facing Aiden the moment the carriage stopped.

Not only had he come outside the mansion to greet her—he even personally opened the carriage door and held out his hand to her.

“Welcome, Lily. Was the trip rough?”

“Ah, n-no, it was fine…”

Despite all the mental rehearsals she’d done in the carriage, Lily couldn’t manage to treat Aiden professionally at all. But it wasn’t her fault.

As if entranced, she placed her hand over his. Then she stammered,

“D-Do you… have an appointment? Somewhere to be?”

“Of course not.”

Aiden gave a soft smile, as if he’d just heard something adorably ridiculous.

“I’ve cleared the rest of my schedule for you.”

Lily couldn’t respond to the absurd line. She was too stunned—her thoughts were so jumbled she couldn’t even come up with a comeback in her head.

“Did he step out of a painting or something?”

He was so dressed up that she almost hallucinated a glowing aura around him, and now he was taking her hand and guiding her forward.

His beauty was overwhelming. Even though he was always good-looking, the extra effort today made it impossible to look away. Lily forgot to watch her step and instead kept her eyes fixed on his face.

His clean forehead peeked out from under his jet-black hair, not a single stray hair out of place. The skin beneath was smooth and seemed to glow on its own. For some reason, his features today felt unusually harmonious—sharp, striking.

Despite being at his own home, Aiden wore a tie, vest, and coat, all styled with perfect formality. His pants were crisp, with not a wrinkle in sight, tailored sharply. Every piece of clothing wrapped around him as if measured precisely for his frame.

And to top it all off, his shoes gleamed like a servant had polished them with great care.

It hit Lily that she had just scanned him from head to toe—truly, as if licking him with her eyes.

Before she realized it, she was already halfway up the stairs to the front door. She had no memory of how she’d gotten there.

A quick glance behind revealed that the carriage had already left.

“It’s like I’ve been bewitched…”

Lily had been staring blankly at Aiden’s back when he suddenly turned his head. Their eyes met.

He had to know exactly how to move his facial muscles for maximum effect.

He lowered the corners of his eyes just slightly, lifted the edges of his lips just a bit—and Lily was dazed, as if walking through a dream.

If he had smiled even a little more brightly, her legs might have given out on the spot.

“Walk beside me.”

Aiden gave her hand a gentle pull.

“You’re my guest today, remember?”

All Lily could do was mutter a dazed, “Y-Yes…” as she moved to his side.

“Something’s… something’s off, isn’t it?”

A faint flicker of reason helped her realize that much—but that was it. She couldn’t pin down exactly what was off.

Surely it didn’t take a genius to notice that they were still holding hands long after stepping out of the carriage.

But all Lily could think was: “No, but… seriously… he’s so handsome…”

Aiden glanced at her and smiled, clearly pleased, though she didn’t notice it. She walked forward, floating as if on clouds.

The dreamlike mood ended the moment Aiden opened the front door—because Julius’s spirit was standing there.

Anyone would be startled to unexpectedly run into someone the moment the door opens.

But if that someone wasn’t even human anymore… if they were so decayed they were barely recognizable as a person…

“Eek!”

Lily screamed and stumbled backward. Her legs tangled, and she would’ve landed flat on her backside—if Aiden hadn’t caught her with a hand to her back.

“Lily?”

[Liiil…ly… Dien…ta…!]

“H-HAAAH! Lord Lumion! Grandma! AAAH!”

Why weren’t her feet moving, even though she kept trying to run?

Lily flailed, panic and fear overwhelming her. She wished she would just faint already!

“Lily, it’s okay.”

Aiden pulled her into an embrace, gently calming her.

Okay? What part of this was okay? Maybe if you couldn’t see the thing, then it might be okay!

To her, the melting soul was horrifyingly vivid. This was not okay!

It was the most grotesque thing she’d ever seen—like a column of sewage standing upright. There was no better way to describe it.

It looked like it should reek, but there was no smell. That made it even stranger.

The ghost reached out toward her—its arm, or what she assumed was an arm, dripping with melting flesh.

[Plea…se… deliver… a… mes…sage…]

Its voice scraped through her head like metal on metal.

“Please, please, save me—hic…”

Lily squeezed her eyes shut, trembling, and pressed herself against the “wall” behind her. Was this the day she was going to die?

“At least the last person I saw was Aiden.”

And not just any version of him—a beautiful Aiden Kashimir, still dripping with that same unchanging affection.

Suddenly, the “wall” behind her moved, pulling her away from the front door.

Though her eyes were still closed, Lily instinctively felt the ghost growing more distant.

She cautiously peeked, and only then realized the “wall” was actually Aiden’s chest.

Looking up, she saw Aiden gazing toward the central hall. To be precise, his gaze wasn’t directly on the ghost—but his expression hardened, as though he were looking right at Julius.

“This ruins the fun.”

[A-Aiden, no, no, it’s a misunderstanding! It’s not what you think!]

The ghost shook violently, its melted form thrashing. It even began slamming itself against the invisible barrier.

[A misunderstanding! I mean it!]

“Gah!”

Startled by the grotesque scene, Lily gasped and buried herself further into Aiden’s chest.

Aiden patted her back gently and took a few steps away.

“Lily, Lily. Look at me.”

His soft voice gave her the courage to lift her head. He was smiling down at her.

That perfect face had a calming effect. Her terror slowly faded, and the grip on his coat began to loosen.

But she didn’t let go completely. She still couldn’t bring herself to look toward the ghost again.

That seemed to be enough for Aiden.

“Well done.”

He answered with satisfaction and continued gently patting her back.

“W-What… is that?”

She asked the question without moving her gaze from his face.

“Well. I thought you might know better than me. What is that?”

“It looks like a melting chunk of tar. There’s barely any human shape left. Could that be… His Majesty?”

She whispered the last part very quietly.

There didn’t seem to be anyone else around, but this wasn’t a conversation to shout about in an open hall.

Thankfully, they were standing close enough to speak without raising their voices.

“Most likely. Unless some other ghost showed up.”

“Don’t even suggest that. I don’t want to imagine it.”

Lily shivered. Just the possibility was enough to freeze her blood.

“I’m not too thrilled about it either.”

Aiden spoke lightly and kept up his steady, calming rhythm on her back.

Gradually, she became more aware of his presence and touch. Now that she had someone completely on her side, and now that the ghost’s identity was clear, the fear began to ebb away.

Gathering her courage, Lily straightened herself and sneaked a glance at Julius.

Julius Scheiwartz was in terrible shape. Worse than when he’d been dragged to the duke’s castle by the fake emperor.

“Is this the final stage of corruption? Any worse than that, and I don’t think you could even call it a soul anymore.”

Aiden had said he planned to use Julius to reach someone, but Lily couldn’t help but wonder if that was even possible.

[Mis…under…standing. Mis…understanding…!]

The spirit kept repeating the same broken words, pacing at the edge of a barrier it couldn’t pass through. Its vocabulary seemed even worse now than during its “Give me back my body!” phase.