Charlotte, my personal maid, asked with a worried look. Instead of answering, I frantically scanned my surroundings, fumbling around my neck where the scarf was wrapped.
I was currently lying on a long sofa placed by the window of the Margrave’s bedchamber. And nowhere was the ghost of Ash Winterton to be seen.
It seemed I really had been seeing things.
I let out a sigh of relief and muttered softly under my breath.
“……Thank goodness.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
As Charlotte asked with a tilt of her head, I shook my head to change the subject.
“Nothing. Never mind. By the way, you must have been terribly shocked when I collapsed, right? I’m sorry.”
“Yes. ……I was so frightened, truly thinking something awful had happened to you, Princess……”
“I’m sorry. ……By the way, what happened to the wedding after I passed out? Was it suspended?”
Charlotte shook her head in response to my question.
“……No. The Grand Duke ordered the Archbishop to proceed with the marriage ceremony regardless. He said there was no time to wait for you to wake up, Princess. And the moment the ceremony concluded, he instructed us to change your clothes and simply left.”
“……I see.”
“Honestly, he is far too harsh. You are his child as well, Princess…… How could he treat his own daughter’s wedding like getting rid of a troublesome piece of baggage?”
Tears welled in Charlotte’s eyes as she vented her frustration. Wearing a bitter smile, I patted the back of her hand reassuringly.
“I’m alright. It’s not as if this is the first or second time. I’m hardly hurt by such things anymore.”
“Princess……”
“Anyway, am I stuck sleeping here tonight?”
“Yes. You must spend the first night here, even if it is merely a formality. However, starting tomorrow night, you will be able to use the Marchioness’s bedchamber.”
I nodded lightly in understanding.
Supported by her, I approached the bed where Ash Winterton lay. Settling onto the edge of the mattress by his pillow, I turned to Charlotte.
“You may go now.”
“Yes, Princess. I will be nearby, so please call for me whenever you need anything.”
Charlotte spoke attentively before retreating out of the bedchamber.
Left alone, I sat on the bed, pulling both knees to my chest and letting out a soft sigh.
“Huu……”
Right then, a hazy, translucent figure suddenly materialized right before my eyes.
[You certainly slept soundly while you were passed out, Princess Agnes.]
“Eek!”
It was the ghost of Ash Winterton—the very vision I had seen just before fainting.
I let out a shriek and tumbled backward. In doing so, I ended up coming face-to-face with the actual countenance of Ash Winterton lying beside me.
Thanks to that, another scream tore from my throat.
To have the ghost of Ash Winterton right in front of my eyes and the body of Ash Winterton lying behind me—it felt as though I were trapped in a nightmare with my eyes wide open.
Watching me, the ghost knitted his brows together and reached out to stifle my screaming mouth.
[Silence. Do you intend to awaken everyone in the castle?]
“Mmh, mmh……!”
I felt the color completely drain from my entire body.
The ghost’s hand was blocking my mouth—just like a living, breathing human’s. Gripped by sheer terror, I looked down at the ghost’s hand, trembling violently.
Only when my screams subsided did the ghost of Ash Winterton pull his hand away. I bolted up from the bed and demanded of him.
“W-What on earth is going on? W-What are you? Are you truly the ghost of Margrave Ash Winterton?”
[Hmm, not quite. After all, I am not entirely dead yet. Thus, it would be more accurate to call me a living spirit rather than a ghost.]
“……Isn’t that practically the same thing?”
[Well, let us consider it as such.]
The ghost shrugged as he answered, then suddenly hardened his complexion, glaring at me coldly.
[Rather, with what nerve did you enter this bedchamber yourself?]
“Pardon?”
[Did you think I would be ignorant of the fact that your father, Grand Duke Midelharnis, and the subordinates of Prince Harold II—your sister’s betrothed—disguised themselves as enemy troops to ambush me?]
“……!”
[To shamelessly push forward with this marriage even after committing such an atrocity. You and your father must have been exceptionally greedy for the wealth I accumulated. Or perhaps you believed that eliminating me alone would allow you to oust His Highness the Crown Prince and usurp the throne.]
Gazing down at me with a chilling stare, he abruptly twisted his lips into a sinister smirk and continued.
[Do you know what, Princess?]
“W-What……?”
[A ghost can inflict harm upon those who are capable of seeing them. I can make my voice heard, I can touch you, and…… I can also cast a curse.]
“……!”
[If you were in my position, what do you think you would do? Would you truly want to spare the life of the enemy’s daughter—a woman whose family not only reduced me to this state, but now seeks to plunder my inheritance?]
Margrave Ash Winterton was an 8th-Circle Mage. If he set his mind to it, cursing someone to death would be trivial.
And now, in the form of a spirit, he was threatening to kill me.
My mind went completely blank. If things went on like this, I would end up dead at the hands of this spirit before I could even attempt my escape plan.
Overwhelmed by fear and a sense of injustice, I promptly dropped to my knees before the ghost and pleaded.
“I-I’m sorry! Though it wasn’t my fault!”
[Not your fault?]
“Yes! I truly knew nothing about it! It’s the truth! And in a way, I am a victim as well! My father intends to kill me too once you die!”
The spirit cast a skeptical gaze upon me.
As if to prove my point, I untied the scarf wrapped around my neck. Pointing to the red mark resembling a blazing sun on my neck, I pressed on.
“You must have heard at least a few rumors about me, haven’t you? You must know what the people of the Empire say about the mark on my neck. My parents always regarded me as a disgrace because of this, and they married me off to you with the intention of having me killed. ……Afterward, they plan to hand my share of the inheritance over to my sister.”
My voice choked up as I trailed off. Having never bared my miserable plight to anyone before, tears spilled over from pure sorrow.
Yet, the ghost of Ash Winterton questioned me in a voice still laden with suspicion.
[If what you say is true, why did you accept this marriage, knowing full well that you would eventually die at your parents’ hands?]
“……I planned to steal away secretly under the cover of night once you died. To…… To be entirely honest, I was going to siphon off a little bit of the Marquisate’s wealth to build an escape fund……”
[……Ha. You confess quite proudly that you intended to steal my money.]
“I-I truly only meant to siphon off a small amount for escape funds! I had no intention of touching any other money! I swear!”
I tacked on the excuse hastily.
The spirit stared intently at me for a moment before letting out a low, quiet sigh.
[Very well. I shall believe your words for now, so get up.]
“Really? Then you won’t cast a curse on me?”
[I will not.]
He extended his hand toward me, and I reflexively grasped it.
At that moment, the spirit tightened his grip on my hand and spoke.
[However, there is a condition.]
“Pardon?”
[Fulfill just one request for me. If you do, I will spare your life. No, I will protect you and assist you until the very end so that you may safely escape from the Grand Ducal couple.]
“……!”
[On my honor as a mage.]
As he spoke those words, the gaze with which he looked at me was intensely earnest.
As his exquisitely handsome, work-of-art face stared straight at me, I felt my heart flutter uncontrollably—though whether it was out of fear or excitement, I could not tell.
As if entranced, I asked him back.
“What is this request?”
He answered without a moment’s hesitation.
[Find my nephew, Ian Winterton, who became missing during the Rakelmia War three years ago, leaving his fate unknown. ……The deadline is half a year from now, right up until the moment I meet my absolute death.]
“……!”
[And should you find that child, you must help him safely succeed this house as my heir.]
I asked back in utter bewilderment.
“How am I supposed to do that? By what means could I possibly find him?”
[Of course, I am not asking you to handle everything on your own, Princess. You merely need to assist me.]
“……Ah.”
[Had I not ended up like this, there would have been no need to ask such a favor of you…… but it cannot be helped.]
Ash Winterton trailed off with a bitter smile as he looked down at his own spirit body.
Fixing his gaze right back onto me, he continued.
[You are currently the only person who can see me and hear my voice. Thus, as of now, you are the only one who can execute my plans on my behalf.]
“…….”
[So help me. No, you must help me. For my sake, and for yours.]
His words were too desperate to be a simple request, yet too overbearing to be a plea.
I fell silent, contemplating in thought. And a moment later, I asked him as if to confirm.
