Part 3: The Red-Haired Maid

  The name Shawn alone provided little information. There was nothing remarkable about her, even when I previously searched through the former Duchess’s journal. 

  Moreover, considering that it had been so long since Shawn’s death that even the wish she had in her last moments had been forgotten, it seemed quite clear that helping her to ascend would be a challenging task.

  Nevertheless, it might be a good idea to delve deeper into the journal Madam left behind, just in case. I might have missed something. Once the Duke returns from the Imperial Palace, I’ll inquire about the journal.

  The child pleaded excitedly, “Sister! Please read quickly! Dragons!”

  “Ah, alright.”

  I turned my gaze back to the open book and began reading aloud, following the words with my finger.

  “A long time ago, the son of the deity, Heavenly Dragon, descended to the earth and established a kingdom. He is said to have ruled the people with great wisdom. This story is based on that legend.”

  It seemed to be a novel based on the founding myth of this Empire. I continued reading, and although the story was quite intriguing, the blonde child seemed to have grown bored, as she was now playing around the room, ignoring my words.

  You asked me to read…

  I glanced at the restless child, then lowered my head and continued reading the book silently. I became absorbed in the text for quite some time. 

  When I finally closed the last page of the book and raised my head, the child was nowhere to be seen. She must have gone out into the corridor. Glancing out the window, I saw that it was already quite late. Late enough to be appropriate to finish my work for the day.

  I stretched and left the study, walking down the corridor. To my surprise, I saw a maid cleaning. I found it strange as it was past normal work hours. I observed her closely with a curious expression.

  She was a petite woman with fiery red hair. Come to think of it, I had heard that someone with the same hair color as me had gone on vacation shortly after arriving at this mansion. It seemed that this person had finally returned from their vacation.

  The maid suddenly looked up, as if sensing my gaze, and our eyes met. I felt a bit embarrassed at being caught staring, so I gave her a small nod and greeted her.

  “Hello.”

  She returned the nod in kind. I continued walking past her and headed straight to my room.

  “Wait, was that red-haired maid really a maid? Wasn’t she a servant? A maid? Hmm… It’s confusing.”

  “Laura!”

  As I tried to recall, someone called my name from behind. Turning in the direction of the voice, I saw a group of maids gathered at the end of the corridor. I approached them, replying with a casual, “Yes?”

  “Remember, Laura, I told you before? My friend with the same red hair as yours went on vacation, but her leave unexpectedly got extended because something happened. She wouldn’t return today.”

  “Oh, yes, I remember hearing that!”

  It seemed that the maid I had seen earlier was a different person altogether. Including her, there were actually three people. I responded with a bewildered tone.

  “It’s quite unusual to have two people with such a unique hair color in our country, right? And didn’t I also see a red-haired maid on my way here?”

  “What are you talking about? I know all the maids here, and none of them have hair as red as that. Could it have been a trick of the light making blond hair appear red?”

  “Please… I hope that’s the case…”

  I hope so! It’s clear that these elusive figures in the mansion are ghosts! Blast it! I engaged in conversation and made her aware of my presence!

  I suppressed the tears that were about to fall.

  No, it can’t be. I haven’t seen a new one for so long. She didn’t seem like the kind to casually wander around like the children. If I just stay out of her way, I’ll never have to see her again…

  That’s what I had to do. As long as I didn’t see the red-haired maid ghost, I could comfort myself with such thoughts.

  “Hey, everyone… I have a stomach ache. I’ll go first and say hello to our new friend next time. I’m sorry!”

  “Huh? Uh…”

  Failing to console myself, I turned and left before I could hear the maids’ response.

  Scary, scary, scary!

  My destination was the Duke’s office. I had previously returned Madam’s journal to him there, so it was likely that the journal was still in the office. Though searching for an ownerless room was considered impolite, I had no other choice.

  I needed to gather information about the ghost and either hope it would ascend or live with the consequences!

  I reached the office and swung the door open. As soon as I did, I caught a glimpse of something moving out of the corner of my eye. 

  Unable to ignore it, I turned my head. I saw wooden buttons attached to worn clothes, and it seemed oddly familiar. Slowly raising my eyes, I confirmed the identity of the person wearing the tattered clothing.

  “Ahhhh!”

  The headless ghost stood beside me. I screamed loudly in shock. In response, the ghost raised both its hands to where its face should have been.

  Why does this person (?) keep standing here…

  “Now see here! Don’t pretend to be surprised! You don’t have a head, so you couldn’t have heard me! You couldn’t have heard my voice! Yes! And you don’t have eyes, so you couldn’t have seen me!”

  With newfound courage, I shouted at the ghost. In response, the ghost crossed its arms and shrugged its shoulders. Then, it extended its right index finger and made a gesture pointing upwards. Its left hand remained in front of its chest, with the palm facing upwards.

  As it did so, a man’s head appeared above its left hand. It was the head of a young man in his mid to late twenties. His skin was pale, almost grayish, with lifeless eyes. His eerie appearance froze me in place. I blinked rapidly and then looked up at the ghost’s neck.

  “You have a head?”

  In response to my question, he raised his right thumb, as if to confirm that I had understood.

  “Why should I care?!”

  I exclaimed, then rushed into the office and slammed the door shut. The ghost’s pale head didn’t leave my mind.

  “I’ll make you ascend!”

  I sprinted to the Duke’s desk, grabbing the handles of each of the drawers. However, most of them were locked, and the ones that weren’t contained only pens and ink.

  “Why are all these locked up? Look at this perfection! Everything is meticulously organized, what a thorough person!”

  “Is that a compliment?”

  “Argh!”

  A voice from behind startled me, and I almost fell backward, but I managed to regain my balance. I turned around properly this time.

  “Duke… you’re back…? But since when…?”

  “Since I was a thorough person?”

  “…”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Oh, Duke, please show me Madam’s journal! Just today, I accidentally made two ghosts in this house aware of my presence. I want to find information to help them ascend!”

  “Here.”

  Before I could finish my sentence, the Duke neatly handed me the journal sitting on his desk.

  “Ah… Thank you…”

  They say it’s dark under the lamp…

  I awkwardly received the journal and opened it right there. The Duke kneeled on one knee and sat next to me, his body heat brushing against mine.

  “If we can find a way to help them ascend in the journal, it will make things much easier.”

  “Oh. Yes, right?”

  I quickly nodded in agreement and flipped through the journal. I immediately found a page at the top that read “The Red-Haired Maid” and began reading its contents. However, what I read was disappointingly brief.

    〈 She seems to have either ingested poison or had her tongue burnt. She cannot speak, so I couldn’t obtain any information. 〉

  What? Is this it? Is this all?!

  I searched the journal again, this time for the page titled “The Man Without a Neck.”

  〈 When he had his neck severed in life, he lost his ability to speak. I couldn’t obtain any information. 〉

  Madam! This isn’t helpful at all!

  The Duke, who had been sitting beside me, seemed at a loss for words after examining his mother’s journal.

  “…”

  “…”

  “The beings still lingering in the mansion have been here since I was very young. Despite Mother bringing them in and sending them out countless times, they never left. Helping them to ascend… seems difficult.”

  In other words, the difficulty of the Ascension Quest was so high that even  Madam couldn’t figure out how to help them ascend.

  “Things have become difficult…”

  I replied with a weary voice. The Duke took the journal from my hand and stood up. Placing the journal back on the desk, he looked down at me.

  “…It’s late, so you should rest now. Let’s discuss this matter another time.”

  “Yes…”

  I stood up. However, I didn’t leave the office immediately. Grabbing the doorknob but not opening the door, I turned to the Duke.

  “Did you see the headless man on your way here?”

  “I… didn’t see him.”

  Well, it seemed that the man wasn’t outside now. It was a relief, but I still didn’t feel completely at ease.

  Uh… what if I run into him in the corridor again?

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