I waited with conviction for midnight to pass.
And right around the time midnight had slipped by, unlike me who was drowsily nodding off, the ghost of Ash Winterton—who was listening intently to the surrounding presence with sharp, clear eyes—spoke to me.
[Wake up.]
“Mmm…… yes……?”
[I feel a presence outside the door.]
“Gasp……!”
At those words, I felt my drowsiness vanish in an instant, and I cautiously cracked open the door.
Thereupon, the interior of the Marquis’s bedchamber came into full view. Inside the bedroom where moonlight seeped in, right beside the bed where the faint, threadlike sound of Ash Winterton’s breathing could be heard, someone was standing hunched over at the bedside table.
I spoke to the ghost without making a sound.
‘Do you know who that person is?’
[Yes. I see him quite clearly.]
The ghost of Ash Winterton glared at the man before his eyes—Lord Jason—gritting his teeth once before turning his head toward me.
[You were right.]
“…….”
[I knew that information was continuously leaking to the outside…… but I never dreamed that Jason would be the one to betray me.]
His icy face was so terrifying that he looked akin to an evil spirit.
Furtively reading the mood of the ghost who was emanating a sinister aura, I carefully pulled the door shut. Then, lowering my voice so as not to be caught by Jason on the other side of the door, I spoke.
“Father, having heard the situation from Seraphina, likely sent a letter instructing Lord Jason. And Lord Jason undoubtedly kept that letter intact. Along with all the ones exchanged previously, of course.”
[Jason is someone who knows how to handle confidential matters. There is no way he would leave behind evidence that could lead to his tail being stepped on.]
“No. He definitely has them. That way, my father won’t be able to go back on his word later.”
[……!]
“Because villains never trust anyone other than themselves.”
I added in a tone brimming with confidence.
‘To be honest, it’s because I overheard them talking about those letters in my previous life that I know this.’
There was no need to be entirely honest about that part. I kept my mouth shut regarding that point. Instead, I addressed the ghost, who was lost for words from anger and a sense of betrayal.
“Now all that’s left is how to get our hands on those letters…… Do you have any good ideas?”
[……The ones who usually handle the correspondence coming to the knights are the squires and apprentice knights under their command. It will suffice to command a trustworthy child among them to search Jason’s bedchamber.]
“How?”
[Leave it to me from here on.]
The handsome ghost’s eyes gleamed with a sinister glint.
As soon as day broke, pretending to take an early morning walk to escape the eyes of the maids, I snuck into the Knights’ Quarters of the Winterton Marquisate. It was because the ghost of Ash Winterton insisted on retrieving his official seal first.
I successfully infiltrated his office without a hitch and managed to extract the seal from the secret safe hidden within the wall.
“Phew……”
Returning straight to the bedchamber, I placed Ash Winterton’s seal on the dressing table and let out a ragged breath. Perhaps because I had succeeded in what felt like a burglary, my heart beat wildly with a strange sense of accomplishment.
Taking out a quill, ink, and letter paper prepared in advance from the dressing table drawer, I asked the ghost.
“Now do I just use this seal to draft the letter to show the knights?”
[That is correct. Let us write the one to be delivered to the apprentice knight before the letter to Lord Lake.]
“Understood. But is it alright if I write it? No matter how much it bears your seal, if it’s written in my handwriting, they’ll be suspicious……”
I trailed off as I asked.
At that, the ghost of Ash Winterton flashed a meaningful smile. It was an extremely confident smile, yet somehow it felt a bit terrifying in my eyes.
Stepping in front of me in an instant, he grabbed my right hand firmly.
“Eek!”
In that moment, alongside a chill akin to holding ice, goosebumps broke out all over my skin.
A peculiar purple glow flowed from my hand that the ghost held. The light shimmered as it wrapped around my palm and wrist.
A moment later, as the light faded, the ghost of Ash Winterton spoke to me.
[Now then, try writing anything.]
Wearing a dazed expression, I picked up the quill as the ghost instructed and wrote anything down. Thereupon, a unfamiliar handwriting that was definitely not mine was inscribed onto the paper.
Startled, I dropped the quill.
“……H-How did this happen?”
[I placed magic upon your hand. From now on, before writing, if you tap the back of your right hand twice with the quill, you will be able to write letters in my handwriting.]
The ghost made that boastful declaration.
While finding it marvelous, I also felt a surge of fear on the other hand. So I muttered to myself in a lukewarm voice.
“……Your words back then about placing a curse on me were no idle threat, were they?”
[Did I not tell you? If you can see me, you can hear me, and if you can hear me, you can touch me.]
“…….”
[So if you ever encounter a ghost that seems like an evil spirit, make sure to ignore them as if you cannot see them. Since I cannot guarantee that there are no evil spirits among them possessing magical power stronger than mine.]
“……I’ll keep that in mind.”
Nodding my head, I felt goosebumps breaking out across my entire body. At the same time, I firmly resolved never to cross that ghost’s mood if I could help it in the future.
A short while later, I completed two letters written in Ash Winterton’s handwriting. First, I sealed the letter intended to be shown to Lake under the guise of his final wishes and placed it inside the drawer.
Then, holding the letter to be sent to Kai—Jason’s squire and apprentice knight—I rang the bell connected to the maids’ room.
“You called for us, My Lady?”
“Without letting the other knights know, bring an apprentice knight named Kai to my drawing room. Mrs. Mackenzie, bring black tea and refreshments.”
I issued commands to Charlotte and the head housekeeper in turn.
The two left the bedchamber, and I headed to the drawing room together with the other maids.
A short while later, right around the time the tea brought by the head housekeeper cooled to a comfortable drinking temperature, the door opened with a faint knock, and a boy stepped inside.
“I am Kai Fletcher, an apprentice knight, Marchioness Winterton. I heard you were looking for me.”
The boy had short golden-brown hair and wore the formal uniform of the knighthood embroidered with a black lion. His frame was small, making him look to be around twelve years old at most.
Though surprised by the boy’s younger-than-expected appearance, I did not show it and asked.
“Are you the apprentice knight serving beside Lord Jason?”
“Yes. That is correct, My Lady.”
Kai answered with his head bowed. His tone and demeanor were exceedingly polite, yet an unhidden sense of vigilance could be felt.
“I called you like this because I have something urgent to deliver to you. It is a letter left behind by Marquis Winterton.”
“Pardon……? To me?”
When I held out the letter I had prepared, Kai’s eyes widened into circles. Soon after checking the contents of the letter, he let out a frantic gasp.
The boy asked me in a trembling voice.
“Is it truly true that my lord left this letter for me……?”
“Yes.”
“Pardon my impudence, but is this truly something written by my lord? How could my lord know an ordinary apprentice knight like me and issue such a grave command…… I cannot help but suspect whether My Lady elaborately forged a fake letter to deceive me……”
The boy spoke audaciously yet honestly.
Pretending to be flustered, I turned to look at the ghost of Ash Winterton.
‘W-What do we do? That child suspects me right now!’
The ghost shrugged his shoulders lightly and spoke.
[There is no way I wouldn’t know the name of a commendable child who serves as Jason’s squire and sends all his earned salary back to his hometown for his impoverished family.]
“……!”
[……Please tell him that. Since I and Lord Lake are the only ones who know that circumstance, he will immediately cast aside his suspicion.]
I did as instructed.
Thereupon, Kai’s vigilant eyes filled with moved tears. As if he had never doubted in the first place, the boy clutched the letter precious to his chest and spoke to me.
“To think my lord entrusted such a grave duty to someone lacking like me……! I, Knight Kai Fletcher, will complete the mission even if it costs me my life!”
“Haha. I am counting on you.”
‘……Phew.’
Secretly letting out a sigh of relief, I exchanged glances with the ghost of Ash Winterton.
Afterward, together with the ghost, I thoroughly explained the step-by-step plan we had prepared in advance to Kai. Kai nodded his head firmly.
Deep in the night, at the quarters where the knights and mages of the Winterton Marquisate stayed. Late at night when even shadows were swallowed by darkness. Apprentice knight Kai slipped out of the bedchamber, deadening his footsteps.
Nimble enough to evade the eyes of the servants walking the night watch, he arrived in front of Jason’s bedchamber before long.
Swallowing his dry saliva, Kai carefully opened the closed door. The bedchamber, where thick curtains were drawn, was completely empty.
