Upon leaving the bedchamber, I spotted Viscount Carpenter—the butler of the Winterton Marquisate—standing outside the door alongside two individuals clad in white robes embroidered with red crosses.
After offering me a brusque bow, the butler led them inside the bedchamber.
I turned to the ghost of Ash Winterton and asked.
“I’ve been curious for a while now, but who on earth are those people?”
[Ah, those people are……]
Just as the spirit was about to answer, Mrs. Mackenzie—the head housekeeper of this mansion who was following behind me—spoke up.
“They are priests who have come to cast dispelling and healing magic upon His Lordship, My Lady.”
“……!”
“However, where are you looking as you speak……? And what is with that formal tone?”
‘Oops.’
I had forgotten for a split second that the ghost of Ash Winterton was visible, audible, and tangible to me alone.
Striving to conceal my fluster, I said.
“I-I see. Thank you for letting me know.”
[Haha.]
Watching me, the ghost of Ash Winterton burst into a quiet, amused chuckle.
Glaring at the spirit out of the corner of my eye, I mouthed silently without making a sound.
‘Are you laughing right now? Whose fault do you think this is!’
[Whose fault could it be? It’s yours, for forgetting that I am a ghost.]
He was maddeningly cheeky, yet I had no comeback.
I glared at him furiously for a moment before snapping my head away. The ghost followed behind me, his handsome face still lit with a bright, luminous smile.
The Marchioness’s bedchamber was bright and luxurious, just as it had been in my past life. Feeling a strangely comforting sensation, I followed the maids toward the bathroom where the bathwater had been prepared.
Just as I was about to step inside the open door, I glared at the ghost of Ash Winterton floating beside me and snapped.
“Where do you think you’re following me into?”
“Pardon?”
Charlotte, who was following behind me, asked back in utter bewilderment.
Equally flustered, I waved my hands frantically.
“……S-Sorry. Charlotte, I wasn’t talking to you.”
Then, turning to the ghost, I moved only my lips to whisper fiercely.
‘Marquis Ash Lucius Winterton, have you lost your mind? Where do you think you’re trying to enter right now!’
[Why, what does it matter? We are husband and wife now—a family.]
“Ah, you really must be insane!”
Agitated by the ghost’s shamelessly brazen words, I let out a sharp yell. Yet, catching the awkward glances of the maids, I instantly snapped back to my senses and moved only my lips once more without a sound.
‘Don’t even dream of it, seriously. If you act like this, I might just scrap the contract and everything.’
At my threat, the ghost let out a short laugh, shrugged his shoulders, and spoke.
[Do not worry. I have absolutely no intention of peeking.]
‘Then why were you trying to follow me in!’
[Because it is entertaining to watch you get startled and flustered every single time.]
Fuming, I glared fiercely at him and warned.
‘I’m not joking, truly. Do not follow me in. If that’s impossible, then at least close your eyes until I say it’s fine. No, if possible, don’t even stay where I can see you! Understood?’
[Yes, understood.]
The ghost of Ash Winterton replied in a voice laced with amusement, then squeezed his eyes tightly shut. At that moment, his form gradually began to blur before completely vanishing into thin air.
Only then did I ease my mind slightly and step into the bathroom. I could feel the maids behind my back exchanging strange glances with one another, but I deliberately ignored them.
After safely finishing my bath, I received the maids’ assistance and changed into a new dress. It was an elegant light-blue gown adorned with white lace along the center of the chest and skirt.
While Mrs. Mackenzie, the head housekeeper, styled my hair, Charlotte brought a scarf of a color similar to the dress and wrapped it around my neck.
Once my grooming was complete, the maids brought in the prepared breakfast.
Platters featuring a fluffy omelet, roasted cremini mushrooms, boiled asparagus, buttered toast, and cream soup were set down one after another on the table beside the window where I sat.
Using the excuse of wanting to dine comfortably alone, I dismissed them outside.
Just as I was cutting into the omelet with my knife, the scene before me shimmered, and the ghost of Ash Winterton materialized into view.
[May I stay somewhere within your sight now?]
“Ah! You scared me!”
Startled out of my wits, I dropped my knife. The ghost let out a low chuckle.
‘I need to fulfill this contract as soon as humanly possible, seriously!’
If things went on like this, I would end up dying of a heart attack from shock before I could even escape the Empire.
Patting my startled chest, I picked up my fork. Chewing and swallowing a small piece of omelet, I spoke to him.
“Since it’s just the two of us here, let us have an intimate chat about the contract from here on out, Marquis Ash Winterton.”
[By all means, Princess.]
“You asked me to find your nephew. What specifically am I supposed to do from here on?”
The ghost fell silent for a brief moment in thought before answering.
[Hmm. First, we must get my retainers to obey you. Only then will I be able to command them through you as I please to conduct the investigation.]
“……Is that even possible? Your retainers must despise me.”
I asked back, recalling memories from my past life.
In my previous life, far from treating me as a proper mistress of the house, they were busy ignoring me—claiming I had greedily targeted their lord’s inheritance and forced through a marriage with a man in a vegetative state.
‘And if the truth comes out that my father was the one who reduced their lord to this condition……’
They would probably try to eliminate me.
As I shivered at the terrible imagination, the ghost continued.
[That is true, but it is not as if there is no way at all.]
“How?”
[We create a power of attorney stamped with my official seal and present it to Lord Lake, who is currently commanding the legion in my stead. He will then believe it to be my final wish and willingly follow your directives.]
“Where is that seal?”
[It is hidden inside the secret vault in my office on the third floor of the Knights’ Quarters. The key is attached to my sword’s scabbard.]
“Understood.”
Having answered, I quickly polished off the food on my plate. Getting to my feet, I spoke to the ghost of Ash Winterton.
“Since we’re talking about it, let us head there immediately.”
I stepped outside under the pretext of wanting to take a quiet walk through the mansion’s gardens alone.
After pretending to stroll through the garden for a while, I quietly redirected my steps toward the Knights’ Quarters just as the ghost had instructed.
Lowering my voice, I asked the ghost beside me.
“Do I go this way?”
[Yes. If you round the left corner past the building, a large structure will appear. That is the Knights’ Quarters.]
Nodding my head, I quickened my pace.
Just as he had said, as I turned left around the building, a grand stone structure with five rear doors came into view.
The ghost of Ash Winterton gestured toward the fourth door with his eyes.
[If you open that door and step inside, keys will be hanging on the wall to your left. The key on the seventh row from the top, fifth from the left, is the key to my office.]
“Got it.”
Following his instructions, I opened the fourth door and stepped inside.
True to his words, countless keys hung in clusters along the left wall. Had he not informed me beforehand, they all looked so identical that I wouldn’t have known which one belonged to the office.
I swiftly located the office key and picked it up.
“……I hear signs of presence.”
“That can’t be. Everyone should be out training right now.”
Just then, two male voices echoed from the direction of the door connected to the building’s interior.
‘Oh no!’
I quickly tried to slip outside. However, before I could make my escape, the door opposite me swung wide open, and two young knights stepped inside.
The instant I recognized them, a sharp gasp caught in my throat.
“……!”
One was Lord Lake, who had attended the wedding as a witness, and the other was Lord Jason—a man who had participated in my murder in my past life.
Following my father’s orders, he had held down my fiercely resisting body and forced me to swallow the poison.
‘Please, I beg you, save me……’
‘Resisting is useless, Princess.’
The rough hands that had pinned me down, the cold face that had turned away from my sobbing pleas—it all overlapped seamlessly atop his currently indifferent face.
The rage, fear, and sorrow of that moment—emotions I had barely managed to bury—surged over me in an instant. My mind went completely blank, and my vision blurred into a haze.
[……cess!]
“…….”
[Princess Agnes!]
In that moment, a bellowing shout from Ash Winterton calling my name broke through. The voice was so booming that it left my ears ringing.
Instantly snapping back to my senses like someone doused with freezing water, I realized the precarious situation I was currently in.
Lake looked at me with a gaze mixed half with concern and half with suspicion, and asked.
