IWIAHC Chapter 2

When she cautiously opened her eyes, the ghost's feet came into view. He wore extremely clean shoes without a speck of dust.

From the shoes to the trouser hem, along the shin to the knee—Lily had been absently raising her gaze when she abruptly ducked her head.

She didn't want to see his face. She feared he might be grinning with his mouth torn wide.

'Though he wasn't doing that earlier.'

Lily recalled the ghost's face she'd glimpsed before collapsing.

'But really, he looks so familiar—who is it? He's definitely someone I know...'

A portrait flashed through her mind. Lily's eyes widened while her head remained buried toward the floor.

'His Grace! That's Duke Aiden Casimir!'

She was certain. The memory of memorizing his face from a portrait during maid training remained vivid. The ghost was the spitting image of the castle's young master who lay unconscious!

[Look at me.]

That voice—she couldn't be sure if it qualified as a voice, but at any rate, she heard it distorted with despair and fury.

Lily swallowed and cautiously raised her head. Even upon reconfirmation, he was truly Duke Aiden Casimir.

She tried calling to him experimentally.

"D-Duke Casimir, Your Grace."

A smile spread across the ghost's lips.

[You can see me.]

"Y-yes, Your Grace."

[You can see me. Finally, I...]

Judging by how he repeated the same words several times, the duke seemed to be in quite poor condition. Well, anyone who suddenly became a ghost wouldn't be in good shape.

His smile deepened gradually, taking on an almost manic quality. The ghost's joy was palpable.

[What's your name?]

"L-Lily Dienta, Your Grace."

She answered while trembling.

[Lily.]

Immediately dropping her surname, the duke made a request.

[Become my attendant.]

"Pardon?"

When she raised her head, the duke was looking down at her in an unnervingly unchanging posture. The fact that he hadn't blinked even once was particularly unsettling.

[I need your help.]

The tone was excessively gentle for a high noble addressing a maid. Even whipped cream would be less sweet.

[You alone saw me and heard my voice. Lily Dienta, only you can help me.]

Goodness gracious. Lily had never imagined a day would come when she'd be fixated upon by a ghost.

She should have recalled the advice about blocking eyes and ears to avoid getting entangled with ghosts much sooner.

While Lily belatedly regretted this, the ghost called to her in an absurdly sweet voice.

[Please, Lily.]

The duke's eyes held not a trace of warmth, like a predator eyeing prey. If not for that, Lily might have mistaken him for being in love with her.

Aiden Casimir—the young duke drifting between life and death—carried several labels.

Cold-blooded with ice water instead of blood flowing through his veins. Cruel heretic slayer. Arrogant power-monger. These were among the assessments attached to him.

However, at this moment, he was behaving exactly opposite to usual.

[Lily Dienta, only you can help me.]

Where could descriptors like cold-blooded, cruel, or arrogant possibly fit with a voice as cloying as a preening peacock?

The incident that forced Aiden Casimir to endure such humiliation—namely, the strange separation of Aiden's soul from his body—had occurred three weeks ago on a certain night.

When he came to his senses abruptly, he was looking down at his own sleeping body.

Though the bedchamber at midnight during the new moon was dark, he could easily perceive the nighttime room as if moonlight were seeping through.

When he raised his hand and examined it from top to bottom, his body glowed faintly bluish and dimly projected objects beyond his flesh.

After briefly observing this body that didn't reflect in mirrors, he accepted that he wasn't dreaming and had exited his body in spiritual form.

He also discovered that he couldn't affect physical objects unless he released substantial emotion, and that he couldn't leave the main building, as if bound to it somehow.

His cold rationality reached its limit there. Various things shattered his composure.

Complete isolation. The physician's diagnosis that the cause was unknown. All sorts of rumors surrounding the ghost. Eventually, faces waiting for his body's breath to cease...

Most unbearable of all was his own helplessness.

He couldn't control a single aspect of his own life. Investigating the incident or discovering a solution was impossible. He merely passed time without promise.

Unbearable fury boiled within him. When he came to his senses, he'd left everything around him in complete disarray.

Thus his nerves had frayed to tatters, and he'd lost hope while steeped in emptiness.

It was during this state that he encountered Lily Dienta. A human who could see him. A window to the outside world.

Why only Lily Dienta could perceive him remained unknown. It was simply one more inexplicable mystery.

But this mystery didn't torment him. This was an opportunity not to be missed. A single ray of light seemed to descend upon Lily Dienta's head.

Aiden analyzed the maid's disposition. She was terrified enough to flee at eye contact, yet not bold enough to dash outside the building.

She was also sufficiently bound by social station to treat a ghost no more substantial than a drifting dust cloud as if he were the actual duke.

What was the optimal method for handling a maid with such character? How could he utilize her?

Pointless commands or fear-mongering behavior wouldn't be appropriate. There was no worse outcome than her taking fright and fleeing, never to return to the main building.

Aiden crafted a voice both gentle and pitiful—one he'd assumed would have no connection to him until death.

[Lily, if you help me, I'll grant you one wish on the honor of House Casimir.]

All the while, he thought repeatedly about the invaluable Lily Dienta.

[So please don't be frightened, and save me.]

He absolutely wouldn't let her slip away.

'I'm scared to death, though...'

Lily trembled and muttered inwardly.

Those lifeless black eyes staring down without blinking even once—honestly speaking, it was impressive she hadn't fainted yet.

'This is definitely the type of story where refusing means big trouble.'

She recalled several ghost stories. Victims who earned a vengeful spirit's resentment and tumbled into perpetually unfortunate lives flashed through her mind.

Merely being unfortunate would be fortunate, rather. In some stories, the protagonist got dragged along as a companion to the afterlife!

The duke's gaze was exactly like that. If she said she wouldn't help, a ghostly curse seemed likely to come crashing down.

However, there was one problem. No matter how much she wanted to help him, realistically she couldn't.

"A-a-as a faithful servant of the ducal castle, it would be a great honor to assist Your Grace, but regrettably, I'm just an ordinary maid who knows nothing. Wouldn't it be better to call in an expert?"

At her refusal, the ghost's gaze turned icy. Yet his voice remained gentle as ever.

[For instance?]

"Since it's a matter of the soul, well, that religion Your Grace is familiar with... o-or perhaps someone in the countryside might remember old magic."

Lily avoided specific mention as much as possible.

The duke let out a laugh.

[The notion of bringing heretics into the ducal castle is quite bold. Unfortunately, I had no means of informing anyone to summon them. Now that you're here, it finally becomes possible.]

"What? Me?! No, I have absolutely no connection to them! No matter how I think about it, I really won't be of any help..."

The ghost simply stared with his smiling face. Lily unconsciously lowered her voice.

[We'll think about such things gradually. For now, it would be better to imagine what I might be able to do for you.]

The ghost truly seemed to have no intention of releasing her. They say demons with leathery wings seduce with angelic voices—this was exactly that.

[Giving you wealth so you never worry about food or shelter again would be the easiest thing for me. So exercise your imagination and make a creative wish. Let's exchange my desperation for yours. Hmm? Lily...]

It was an absurd promise that made her want to object. Lily escaped her fear and regained her reason.

Right now he'd promise to pluck down stars from the sky, but once the problem was actually solved, his heart would change completely.

If she asked for enough money to live in luxury and idleness until death, or demanded to be made a high noble's wife, would he truly grant such preposterous wishes?

She wasn't being excessively cynical. Humans who no longer felt wanting tended to forget the kindnesses they'd received and become shameless.

In the end, she would request compensation that didn't offend the duke's eyes—something suitably modest for her station. She thought seriously.

'It's not like my life will be reversed, so is there really a need to get entangled with a ghost? I should probably find some way to wriggle out of this...'