IWIAHC Chapter 3

The ghost seemed to sense Lily's conflict and spoke.

[Of course I know it's hard to believe. You're probably thinking, what if he changes his mind later? What if he gets offended when I actually make a request? Even so, won't you trust me? Truly, you're the only one I have.]

His voice carried far more sincerity than his previous evasive remarks. His shoulders drooped as he desperately hoped for her agreement.

Given the hardships he must have endured, his attitude was entirely understandable.

If she became an invisible person ignored by everyone, she'd be sobbing within three hours, never mind three weeks.

'He does seem rather pitiable.'

Lily chewed her lip.

'He hasn't actually caused any harm, and he's completely lucid. So he's not as frightening as I expected. The promise seems sincere, at least for now. He'll definitely provide a chest of gold coins.'

Most appealing of all was the fact that she could continue cleaning the main building—unlike the other maids, without interference from the ghost.

Lily scraped together her courage and made her decision.

"I, I can't be of great help. I truly know absolutely nothing about these spiritual matters, and as a lowly maid, there's very little I can do within the castle to begin with..."

She rose awkwardly from her seat. Dusting off her rumpled skirt, she subtly mentioned her obligations.

"And I have to do my regular work too. If I slack off on cleaning, I'll lose my position in the main building, and, Your Grace can only stay in the main building. If that happens, it would be rather difficult to meet."

She glanced sideways to see if he minded her crude commoner speech before continuing.

"Besides what I've mentioned, there are surely other reasons why I'm unsuitable to serve as Your Grace's at-attendant. However..."

She had been about to ramble on declaring that she would serve faithfully if he would just employ her. But the ghost didn't let her finish, confirming the arrangement himself first.

[Despite all those constraints, you are the best possible attendant I could have.]

He placed his right hand against his chest and bowed respectfully at the waist.

[I thank you for your mercy.]

It was a bow that belonged to a prince from the faded picture books of her childhood.

Opposite him should have stood not a grimy maid but a princess dressed in layers upon layers of fabric.

Flustered by the inappropriate courtesy, Lily clasped both hands tightly together. Then she bent at the waist even more deeply than the duke and said respectfully:

"I, I look forward to working with you."

And so Lily accepted the position of attendant to the ghost duke, though she still had no idea what she could possibly do.

She only worried whether she'd given him false hope.

'Well, he seems satisfied.'

Lily turned her eyes from his pleased smile and gathered her cleaning tools to head for the second floor.

The contract with the ghost was, strictly speaking, a side job. As she'd told him, she couldn't neglect her primary duties.

A single set of footsteps echoed in the corridor. Someone was clearly walking ahead of her, yet not even the rustle of fabric reached her ears.

If she closed her eyes while walking, it felt as though she were alone. The mismatch between sight and sound was peculiar.

With an uncanny and rather eerie feeling, Lily arrived at the second floor and began cleaning, about ten minutes behind schedule.

The ghost did not leave her side. He didn't particularly speak to her, merely watched from one spot as she worked.

He seemed to be waiting for her to finish cleaning before addressing his actual business.

He'd doubtless meant it considerately, but she wished he would wait elsewhere. Forgetting his presence and then encountering him standing like a candlestick—it gave her quite a turn each time.

As time passed, however, Lily realized that fear of the ghost was hardly the real problem. The true horror lay elsewhere.

'I hadn't anticipated a work environment where my direct supervisor is my highest-ranking superior."

Working in silence while feeling her superior's gaze—an unimagined catastrophe.

Lily barely managed to finish cleaning in the drastically degraded work environment. Only the third floor remained now.

When she stood before the stairs, the duke broke his silence.

[I need to see Wolfram.]

"Baron Burnett, you mean?"

Baron Wolfram Burnett was the duke's closest associate, currently serving as acting lord.

She'd never seen him personally. However, according to what she'd heard during maid training, he had violet hair and wore spectacles.

[I intend to consult with him about how far the investigation into my situation has progressed and what to do going forward.]

"That's a relief."

Lily let out a sigh of relief.

[Why?]

"Because I had no idea what to do going forward. I became Your Grace's attendant, but as I mentioned, I don't know how to do anything. I thought it wouldn't matter whether I was there or not, so it's truly fortunate there's someone who can help."

The duke simply pulled his lips into a smile and released them, as if she were stating the obvious.

Even to her own mind, it had been a pointless worry. What could a lowly maid and a ghost accomplish together on their own? Naturally they needed to make contact with a capable aide.

Lily looked up the staircase. The duke had spoken at precisely the right moment. The study was on the third floor where they were heading. However...

"There's a problem. I'm not of a status to meet with the aide. If I knock on his door presuming on his time, the head maid will reeducate me."

A lowly maid must never dare address a titled noble.

The highest-ranking person she could meet was the head maid, and even while working she had to move like a cockroach, avoiding the eyes of nobles.

After a moment's consideration, the duke answered.

[You just need to meet him. Leave what comes after to me.]

It was a rather high-handed command, but if all she had to do was meet him, there was a method.

Lily slowly climbed the stairs. As the maid responsible for cleaning, her head contained schedules of the key personnel and the places they usually occupied.

She began mopping from the end of the corridor while secretly observing the room where Wolfram Burnett would currently be working.

A soldier stood guard before the door. She carefully organized her movement pattern and dialogue in her mind.

Then, when she reached the vicinity of the study, she knocked on the door before the soldier could stop her.

[To think the ducal guard would let a maid slip past. They'll need to redo basic training from scratch.]

Had the soldier heard the ghost's cold assessment, he would have felt rather aggrieved. A maid in the midst of cleaning was not, under most circumstances, an object of vigilance. Though now that precedent had been established, he'd surely be more careful in the future.

"You there, what do you think you're doing!"

The soldier immediately grabbed Lily by the scruff of her neck. At the same moment, she heard what sounded like "Come in" from inside.

"It's nothing, Aide Burnett."

"I have something urgent to tell Aide Burnett!"

Lily shouted at the top of her lungs. The soldier shook her by the scruff, front to back, growling in a low voice.

"The aide is not someone a mere maid can meet. Go through the head maid!"

Using such conventional methods, she'd never meet the baron even if a lifetime passed. She couldn't think of a single reasonable explanation for why a mere maid needed to meet the aide directly.

Confronting him directly without going through anyone else was the only way.

Hoping the duke's promise to take responsibility afterward wasn't empty words, she bellowed at the top of her lungs.

"Aide Burnett, please listen to me! I have a very important report!"

The soldier gripped Lily by the scruff and moved away from the door.

"I'm going to tell the head maid everything you've done, down to the last detail. How could such an ill-mannered woman cross the threshold of the ducal castle..."

That was when it happened. With a tremendous explosive sound, the corridor window a short distance away shattered outward.

"Kyaaa!"

Lily hunched her shoulders and screamed. The soldier also stopped walking and opened his eyes wide.

As soon as the initial shock faded, she immediately looked toward where the ghost stood. He was still staring at Lily's scruff, clutched in the soldier's grip.

The ghost approached her side, standing parallel to her, and placed his hand on one of the soldier's shoulders.

Before she could properly grasp what was happening, the soldier toppled backward as if struck by an invisible fist.

She nearly fell along with him. But since the moment the ghost had drawn close, she'd been tense, anticipating something unusual—and so managed to seize the opportunity to break free.

[Lily, are you all right?]

The ghost asked with concern.

[I was careful to keep the fragments from touching you, but check to see if you're injured anywhere.]

She appreciated the assistance, but her heart couldn't take much more of this. The ghost continued examining Lily's condition.

[What about your neck? Did it leave marks?]

Lily slowly turned her neck from left to right. Since the soldier was too close, preventing her from answering, this was a gesture showing him to look directly at this perfectly intact neck.

The ghost, however, seemed to interpret it differently and looked down at the sprawled soldier. His gaze had grown rather cold, and whatever he was thinking, she was beginning to worry whether she shouldn't intervene—