HPMC 09

 Chapter 09

‘What is this?’

Clatter. Thud. Rattle, rattle…

The carriage sped along an uneven dirt road.

Inside, Alec was feeling flustered.

‘Your way of speaking seems to have changed a lot. Could you say that again?’
‘How did you suddenly become so fluent, like a completely different person?’
‘Ahh! I just got chills! Brother, say that again!’

Was Alexis, the man he had possessed, originally bad at speaking?

He had only spoken normally, yet his family couldn’t hide their shock, which left him equally bewildered.

To think he had possessed someone who struggled with speech.

It was only natural that his family reacted so dramatically.

Not knowing how to handle the situation, he hastily claimed that he didn’t know why he had changed.

However, things were resolved for an unexpected reason.

It was all thanks to the rat poison Alexis had drunk before dying.

‘Oh, I see! That must be it. The poison killed the rat-like germs on your tongue, Alec!’

“….”

What is this, some kind of minefield game…?

Since he knew nothing about Alexis, he had no idea when, where, or why suspicion might arise.

It felt like walking through a field of hidden landmines.

‘Am I really going to be okay here?’

We had barely calmed down from the shock of Alec’s changed speech.

Every word he spoke sounded as clear and enchanting as crystal rolling across a glass tray.

I covered my mouth with both hands, overwhelmed with emotion, and each time I did, Alec awkwardly avoided my gaze.

Eventually, I restrained myself out of consideration for him.

But as the carriage continued, my doubts gradually grew stronger.

Did he really find a house…?

He wasn’t the type to lie, but I couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

I quietly stared at my husband sitting across from me. He was resting his chin on his hand, gazing out the window.

If he really had found a house, could he have borrowed money using something as collateral?

But what would he even use?

It wasn’t an era where organ trading existed.

In the end, I couldn’t hold back my curiosity and asked cautiously,

“…Alec. But how did you really find a house?”

At my question, both my mother-in-law and sister-in-law widened their eyes and focused on him.

They had followed him along on impulse, but they trusted him even less than I did.

He slowly turned his gaze toward me, appearing unconcerned.

“…Ah, that.”

“…?”

“I simply made use of the knowledge I have.”

“Knowledge…?”

Of course, as the sole heir of a ducal family, he had received extensive education.

I had heard he spent most of his childhood in the library, so his reading must be beyond my imagination.

Had he perhaps read books like 13 Ways to Survive After Becoming Suddenly Broke or Buying a House by Digging the Ground?

While others didn’t pay much attention to how intelligent he was, I knew well.

Maybe he really was smart enough to buy a house with not a penny to his name.

“We’re almost there. That’s the house.”

At his words, we all turned toward the window.

Outside, under the setting sun, stood a single house.

A pastoral mansion sat on a vast meadow where sheep grazed.

It looked so peaceful and leisurely, like something out of a dream.

“That house…?”

My sister-in-law frowned deeply, unable to believe it.

“Brother, you’re not scamming us right now, are you?”

“….”

I felt the same—as if I were being scammed.

Even though it wasn’t as grand as the ducal estate we used to live in… it was a house I truly liked.

It felt like retiring from a luxurious territory to a peaceful countryside.

“Fortunately, it had just been put on sale urgently, so I was able to get it quickly.”

“…Is that so?”

Even as I responded, my mind felt distant.

For some reason, it felt like I could forget my past suffering at the hands of the tyrant and live the rest of my life peacefully there.

Without worrying about others’ opinions… perhaps I could even have a child now.

‘Did my husband really get a house like that…?’

I turned to look at him. Even while looking at the mansion, he didn’t seem particularly moved.

But inside me, a storm of indescribable emotions surged.

Awe, doubt, guilt, gratitude… and awe again.

Then my mother-in-law’s voice reached my ears.

“I still can’t believe it. How did you manage to get such a fine house… and in just a few days…?”

At our reactions, Alec smiled faintly.

It was the first hint of a smile since he drank the poison.

“I was lucky. Apparently, a ghost appears in that house, so everyone who moved in ran away. Last night, the ghost showed up again, and the owner fled, leaving everything behind.”

“….”

“….”

My mother-in-law and I froze, lips parted.

A ghost…?

In that moment of silence, Eloi burst out with a curse.

“That crazy bastard…!”

The carriage dropped us off at a distance and hurried away.

The coachman didn’t even come close to the mansion—he practically fled.

A ghost? A ghost?!

Alec cleared his throat, whether pretending not to notice our reactions or genuinely unaware.

“Let’s go inside. The interior is even better than it looks from the outside.”

“….”

Even then, my mother-in-law and I couldn’t say a word.

As we stood frozen, my sister-in-law suddenly shouted,

“I’m not going! I can’t!”

“….”

“There’s a ghost! I knew it—what was I expecting from a useless idiot like you? You stay there and live with it, you fool!”

“Eloi!”

My mother-in-law called out, but Eloi had already run back the way we came.

‘That girl, honestly…’

I glared at her retreating figure.

She had always been rude to her brother, the duke, but never this openly.

Still, it was hard to scold her now.

She had been born into a prestigious family and was about to marry the man she loved—until everything fell apart because of her brother.

Each time she lashed out at him, he would always look like a guilty man.

I had always worried about that… yet found it frustrating.

Even when he had done nothing wrong, he would endure her harsh words.

I wished he would firmly reprimand her just once, but he always blamed himself.

Because he indulged her, she only became more unruly.

Expecting him to sigh again, I looked up at him—

But…

Huh?

He simply watched Eloi leave without even blinking.

There wasn’t a trace of self-blame on his expression.

Then he spoke in an indifferent voice,

“Well, it can’t be helped. We can’t force someone who doesn’t want to come. Those willing may go in first.”

“…What?”

Both my mother-in-law and I widened our eyes.

“A-Alec… what did you just say? She’s still your sister, isn’t she? She may be rude, but you seem a bit too cold all of a sudden.”

My mother-in-law pressed her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.

It was the first time I had seen her so shaken by him.

But I was shocked for a different reason.

‘Is that really Alec…?’

My husband, being that firm toward his sister?

“It’s getting late. Let’s go inside.”

He turned and walked toward the mansion.

“….”

My mouth fell open. My mother-in-law was speechless as well.

I muttered blankly,

“Mother… do people usually change this much after drinking rat poison?”

“It seems so. At least he survived…”

“….”

We stood there for a long moment.

Then my mother-in-law murmured,

“If I had known his speech would improve like that, I would’ve made him drink it sooner…”

“Pardon?”

“Never mind. Leave Eloi be. Where could she possibly go?”

“…Yes.”

With her usual gentle and elegant tone, she began walking, and I followed.

Eloi would eventually return after her pride subsided.

When I had first married into the family, I tried chasing after her, but it had been pointless.

‘Who can handle a rebellious teenager…’

As I walked slowly, I took a closer look at the mansion.

It was much larger up close than it had seemed from afar.

Perhaps because it stood alone in the countryside, it had an air of age.

But the closer we got, the more worn it appeared.

A weathered wooden exterior, cobwebs here and there.

Under the reddish glow of sunset, it looked beautiful—but once darkness fell…

Terrifying thoughts naturally crept in.

‘Oh my god, this really looks like a house where a ghost would appear!’

A chill ran down my spine.

At least dozens of eerie stories seemed to flash through my mind.

“D-dear?”

“…?”

Alec, who had been walking ahead, turned around.

“Is there… perhaps somewhere else we could go…?”

I felt a bit embarrassed asking.

Even if the house had ghosts, it must not have been easy to obtain in our penniless situation.

And while I doubted ghosts truly existed, the fact that the previous owner fled made it hard not to be afraid.

He tilted his head slightly.

“You don’t like this house? If you see the inside, I’m sure you’ll—”

“N-no, that’s not it…”

Because there’s a ghost, you idiot.

Before I could finish, my mother-in-law spoke,

“Where else would we go at this hour, Louise? If ghosts live there, all the better. I don’t have long left anyway—might as well get acquainted with them in advance.”

With that, she strode ahead, leaving just me and my husband behind.