IWIAHC Chapter 4

Unable to endure the commotion, Wolfram Burnett finally emerged from his study. Exhausted, the skin beneath his eyes looked dingy behind his spectacles.

He displayed his irritation openly, looking back and forth between the soldier and Lily.

"What on earth is going on?"

The soldier scrambled to his feet and reported.

"My apologies! A maid caused a disturbance, and in the process of restraining her, the window broke."

He didn't mention being knocked flat by an invisible force. It would have been awkward to explain, admittedly.

"I thought today was quiet, and now this again."

Wolfram irritably pushed up his spectacles and looked at the glass shards and empty window frame. His already poor complexion turned positively rotten.

He shifted his gaze to Lily.

"You have something to tell me?"

His expression suggested that unless it was important business, he'd personally escort Lily to the head maid. It was a forbidding look.

She spoke as respectfully as possible.

"Yes, I do."

"What is it?"

"Well, it's rather awkward to say here..."

Wolfram rubbed his brow, muttering.

"Things get bad and now every cats and dogs is causing trouble."

Rather than feeling insulted at being compared to livestock, her survival instincts as a subordinate kicked in. At this rate, it wouldn't end with just reeducation.

Dismissal. And not just any dismissal—the worst kind, where her name would be added to the industry blacklist, making finding work in the vicinity virtually impossible.

Lily hastily looked at the ghost.

'You said you'd take responsibility!'

Fortunately, the ghost provided the password without delay.

[Tell him Wendel's apples were truly terrible.]

"Wen—Wendel's apples were truly terrible!"

Wolfram's frown at the sudden exclamation was brief. His eyes widened.

"What did you say?"

The inexplicable words had worked! Wondering just how terrible Wendel's apples had been to serve as a password, Lily did as instructed.

"Wendel's apples were truly terrible."

"How do you know that... No. Don't answer. Follow me."

He led the way into the study. Lily followed, passing the bewildered soldier. The moment the door closed, Wolfram pressed her.

"How on earth did you learn that phrase?"

"Before I explain, I, Lily Dienta, swear by Lord Lumion."

Lily clasped her hands together in a prayer position.

"I am not insane, nor am I a wicked heretic, and everything I tell you is the truth without a shred of falsehood."

"Skip the unnecessary preamble."

Lily opened her palm and pointed at the ghost standing beside her.

"His Grace Duke Aiden Casimir's soul told me."

Wolfram's brow furrowed instantly. Anyone could see he thought her a madwoman. Her outstretched fingers curled back in.

She reasserted in a shrinking voice.

"I swear again, I am not insane, and I am telling you only the truth."

"You expect me to believe that? His Grace's soul? That's preposterous... You must have learned that information somehow and thought to profit from it. With His Grace absent, you thought you could mock House Casimir."

Contempt flickered in Wolfram's eyes.

"If you won't tell me honestly how you learned it, I have my methods."

Wolfram moved toward the door. Lily quickly blocked his path. The methods he mentioned were definitely not of the peaceful variety.

She looked desperately at the duke once more. The second password came immediately.

[Ask him how the Brtulu Bridge is coming along.]

"His Grace asks how the Brtulu Bridge is coming along."

[Surely they didn't stop repairs because of me.]

"He wonders if repairs weren't suspended because of him."

Wolfram hesitated. She didn't miss the opening and continued her offensive.

"I can provide other proof too. I have something quite powerful. Don't I, Your Grace?"

When she stared at him with wide eyes conveying 'I'm counting on you, Your Grace!' the duke smiled ambiguously.

[There is something. But Wolfram will find the humiliation hard to bear. I'd rather hope he accepts reality now.]

"I see. Aide Burnett, His Grace hopes you'll accept reality now. Otherwise, he says he'll have no choice but to embarrass you."

"Are you performing a one-woman show?"

Lily ignored Wolfram's remark.

"If you don't want me to learn of your humiliation, it would be in your best interest to believe me now."

"Ha. I'm curious what I'll hear."

Wolfram wore a mocking smile. Lily exchanged glances with the ghost.

[My dearest Anna Cape.]

"My dearest Anna Cape."

[Anna, today while eating a pink peach.]

The moment she heard a woman's name paired with the phrase "pink peach," she recognized it as a love letter.

Flustered, Lily looked back and forth between the ghost and Wolfram.

"Your Grace, isn't this too private?"

The ghost was adamant.

[Anna, today while eating a pink peach.]

"Anna, today while eating a pink peach."

Wolfram's eyes widened.

[I thought of your flushed cheeks.]

"I thought of your flushed cheeks—"

"Stop!"

Wolfram cried out, his face ashen.

"Do you accept it now?"

[Pity. I could recite it to the very last line.]

"For your information, His Grace says he can recite the entire letter to the very last line."

"Why on earth would you remember that!"

Wolfram protested vehemently, then looked around with confusion written plainly on his face.

"His Grace is truly here? His Grace's soul?"

Judging by his muttering to himself, he was nearly convinced. Lily opened her palm and pointed clearly once more.

"Yes. Right here. His Grace is here in the form of a soul."

Wolfram stared fiercely at that spot. In doing so, he came so close the duke stepped backward.

"I can't see anything."

"Do you need more proof?"

When Lily asked cautiously, Wolfram refused in an irritated tone.

"No, that's sufficient."

Wolfram exhaled a deep sigh as if expelling cigarette smoke.

"So what are you?"

"My name is Lily Dienta, and I've been working here as a maid for..."

"I'm not asking for your biographical details. Are you a Solmonite?"

"Absolutely not!"

Lily jumped.

"I clearly swore I wasn't at the very beginning! I am decidedly not a heretic!"

Lily's vehement denial had good reason.

Solmonism was a foreign religion from across the sea that had spread gradually among the common people since last year.

They claimed to communicate with the souls of the dead to learn the world's secrets. Not only that, they asserted one could move from the finite of life to the infinite of the soul.

One by one, imperial citizens fell for such fanciful propaganda about immortality and souls, forming an alarming congregation and committing unseemly acts such as desecrating temples of Lumion, the Sovereign God.

Eventually, the empire designated them as enemies of the divine and eradicated them. They confiscated the property of imperials whose faith had apostatized and branded their foreheads with the mark of slavery.

So under no circumstances could she be mistaken for a heretic. Lily appealed desperately to prove her innocence.

"I came here courageously, wanting to be of service to the esteemed Duke Casimir whom I respect and rely upon, yet you accuse me of being a heretic—I am truly wronged, and my heart aches deeply wondering if this is the reward for loyalty."

She dabbed at her tears with her sleeve.

"If someone were to learn you suspect me of being such an unseemly creature and rumors spread, and that reached the ears of the temple, then I... Yes, well, I suppose I must accept my fate. But didn't you also come to believe in His Grace's existence? When we barely have time to join forces and overcome this situation, what benefit is there in branding me as such a wicked person..."

Wolfram squeezed his eyes shut.

"Enough, I understand. I've heard quite enough."

[You really are remarkably articulate.]

While the ghost expressed admiration, Wolfram roughly scrubbed his face with dry hands. When he raised his head, he seemed to have organized his thoughts—his expression was considerably calmer.

"What exactly happened to you? We summoned all the empire's renowned physicians, but they couldn't even provide a proper diagnosis."

[I don't know much myself. One day I suddenly separated from my body and am bound to the main building. I can't guess why this happened.]

"His Grace doesn't know either. He says he suddenly separated from his body one day, and he can't leave the main building."

"The soul separated from the body..."

Wolfram murmured.

There was only one suspect. The ghost was first to name it.

[We need to investigate the Solmonites.]

"His Grace says to investigate the Solmonites."

"Considering His Grace's condition, that's a reasonable approach. However, wasn't the cult leader the only one in Solmonism capable of performing sorcery of this magnitude?"

Lily blinked.

"Um... Wasn't that person executed right after the imperial celebration banquet?"