Working at a Haunted Mansion Chapter 86

‘A woman? A girl? Since when? There wasn’t even the slightest hint of it!’

What on earth was going on? It was already shocking that it was a woman—now a child?

Could the child be Aiden’s? But during all the time she worked as a maid, no—back when she was just a common resident—she never once heard a rumor about the lord having a lover.

But if she thought about it calmly, people don’t only sleep with their lovers. Maybe he messed around carelessly, and a child was born by accident, so he locked them away.

If the child wasn’t Aiden’s, the situation was even worse. He would have kidnapped and imprisoned a woman who had another man’s child……

Feeling dizzy, Lily leaned back weakly.

He acted like she was the only one he ever loved, like he’d die without her—yet he was secretly taking care of another woman? The betrayal was so strong, it felt unfair.

The worst part was that the woman was still somewhere in this mansion.

Even when they were alone in the room, whispering names and stroking faces—even in those moments when she dared to hope for forever in his eyes—that woman was here!

‘If I had known this, I never would’ve said yes. Aiden Kashimir, you deceived me with that sorrowful face……’

Her heart refused to calm down.

The twisted secret life of the lover she finally managed to date shocked her more than seeing a rotting ghost.

Who would’ve thought she’d discover the existence of a mistress on the very first day of dating?

‘What should I do?’

She just wanted to ask Aiden directly, without overthinking it. Who is the woman staying at the mansion?

But even imagining it, it was obvious that plan wouldn’t work. He was an excellent actor—he wouldn’t show the slightest reaction.

He’d probably say something like, ‘I must not have given you enough trust, I’ll try harder,’ and put on a pitiful face while giving a convincing excuse. In the process, Mari, who brought her the information, would be in danger.

She ruled out the plans to secretly search the mansion or ask Julius for help. She wasn’t confident she could do either without Aiden noticing.

Even as her worries dragged on endlessly, no brilliant solution appeared.

And just when Lily was hopelessly concluding, ‘I guess we have to break up……,’ someone knocked on the door.

Outside stood Aiden. He hadn’t sent a servant—he came himself.

“You waited long, didn’t you?”

His warm expression was slightly flushed. Maybe from rushing over, maybe from joy at seeing her. Or maybe from a totally different excitement……

She stared at his face so intensely it bordered on rude.

“What’s wrong, Lily?”

In her head, she was already grabbing him by the collar, demanding to know if there was another woman.

He gently placed a hand on her forehead to check her temperature.

“Are you feeling sick?”

Love sparkled down on her like glitter. His gaze was unmistakably clear.

‘There must be some kind of reason.’

Only then did Lily consider another possibility.

‘Maybe she’s involved in some official matter…… or connected to the heretics. A man with eyes like this wouldn’t cheat.’

Lily knew it was the kind of reasoning people use to avoid facing a lover’s affair.

Still, cheating? That was nonsense. There had to be some unavoidable reason behind it.

No matter how good an actor he was, he couldn’t fake love that made the other person feel full. And someone who had that kind of love couldn’t possibly hold another woman.

That’s what Lily believed……

“Lily?”

Even though her reply was just a little late, his voice was full of concern.

“I was just spacing out for a second. The book was too hard to understand.”

She covered it up with a sickly voice, and he replied disapprovingly.

“I told you there’s no need to force yourself to read it.”

Lily responded with a smile. His hand lifted away from her forehead.

They walked down the hallway with a comfortable distance between them. Honestly, considering Mari’s reaction, it was probably pointless.

Even so, Lily wanted to prevent things from escalating. Things like unexpected guests or unnecessary rumors.

Unless they were completely alone, they had to keep up the act of therapist and client.

Lunch was wonderful, and the conversation was enjoyable. Sitting across from each other, chatting cheerfully—it was the kind of moment she’d only dreamed of.

Every now and then, the image of that mysterious woman popped into her head, but Lily didn’t get angry anymore.

She had fully rationalized the situation. She told herself there must be a reason—Aiden hadn’t broken her trust.

So now, Lily just felt a little disappointed.

She understood—it was all to keep her from getting involved in anything dangerous.

She also got that he wanted to clear away all the headaches and only give her happy times. Still, he could lean on her just a little.

Wasn’t she a great problem-solver? No one could dismiss the things she accomplished back at the castle.

“I’m not a fan of mysterious types.”

She said it suddenly, and Aiden’s eyes lit up.

“I agree. In a relationship like ours, secrets are unnecessary.”

He talked so easily.

“Above all, trust is important between a doctor and a patient. So tell me—what do you usually do in your spare time? I know you like to read, and what else?”

His sparkling eyes were fixed on her, and he leaned forward slightly. His whole body was shouting that he wanted to know everything about her.

He looked like he wanted to wrap himself up in everything she liked, so she figured she should be careful with her words.

“Lately, I’ve been practicing embroidery.”

“Wasn’t it for gathering information that you joined that sewing group?”

He had a look that said he never once thought she joined the group with innocent intentions.

“That’s true, but once I started, I got really into it.”

“Embroidery… Hmm, not bad.”

Lily’s eyes widened. Aiden gave a tight-lipped smile. That was definitely the look of someone holding back a teasing comment.

Why was he smiling like that? What did he even know? She still messed up even the basic flower patterns, and she pricked her fingers so often she wore a thimble on her left hand too—but there’s no way Aiden could know that.

Irritated, Lily shouted,

“I’ll have you know, the shopkeeper praised me and said I was pretty good!”

No, that wasn’t true. Not even once—not even out of politeness.

Gloria, the owner of the needlework shop, just calmly told her to stay relaxed or kindly encouraged her that she’d improve with more practice.

Aiden kept his calm smile and said,

“Really? Impressive. Then would you grant me the honor of receiving your touch?”

Lily was flustered. Judging by that annoying expression, he probably already knew the truth—so why the mischief?

Still, she felt like if she admitted now that it was a lie, he’d tease her twice as hard.

So she steeled herself. Honestly, Aiden didn’t even need to ask. That had been her goal from the beginning.

Yes. She had a big dream. A dream to gift him a handkerchief with beautifully embroidered patterns.

Her skills were still too slow to set a date, but one day, she would give it to him—for his birthday, an official imperial holiday, or maybe their one-year anniversary.

Lily had plenty of money, so she could easily walk into any fancy store and buy something fit for a gentleman.

But buying him a gift with money earned from Aiden himself didn’t feel right. She wanted to give him something made with her own effort.

“You can look forward to it.”

She said confidently.

 

 

*****

 

 

 

Lily lived comfortably in the safe and cozy environment Aiden had created for her. It was almost laughably peaceful—her greatest hardship during the day was making a handkerchief for him.

She had briefly run into Mari once after that. Mari looked at her like she was some foolish girl who had sold her soul to love.

Lily completely understood how her friend felt. If she were in Mari’s position, she’d want to smack herself too.

It wasn’t like Lily felt at ease, either. The specifics of the current situation and the unknown woman still bothered her. There were countless times during meals when she wanted to just ask.

And not just about the woman. She wanted to talk about the Emperor, the heretics, souls, and everything surrounding them……

She’d even tried bringing it up in a light tone a few times. But it always ended the same. Aiden would dodge the question skillfully and gently push her away.

Under the name of protection, he excluded her from everything. All that was allowed to her were quiet hobbies and the warmth of love.

‘I really thought I’d never have to see this person again, though.’

Standing at the townhouse entrance, Lily looked at the knight commander.