Chapter 94…………………………….
Laseil nodded slightly and replied.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
As he spoke, Laseil quietly glanced at the side of Duke Lund.
The female ghost he had seen at the ball was standing there.
“So I wasn’t mistaken.”
Perhaps because of the environment of the estate, the ghost’s appearance seemed even clearer.
Her attire was slightly different from the last time he had seen her, though.
“It must be the Duchess.”
Her crimson hair was elegantly styled, and she wore a white dress embroidered with golden threads. Considering the Duke family’s symbolic color was a white akin to eyes, it wasn’t hard to be certain.
“Actually… I have a guess.”
Laseil hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“However, I think the person might be surprised. Would it be okay if I spoke to her first before bringing her here?”
“You have a guess?”
The Duke asked in a voice much louder than before.
“Who exactly? Wait, how?”
“It’s not certain. I’m just saying it’s what it looks like to me.”
“Still, bring her here first. No one has ever said something like this before…”
“Then I’ll have a brief conversation first.”
Laseil inclined his head slightly and stepped outside.
Naturally, his steps led toward the dining hall.
“Enci!”
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Enci busily cleaning.
“What is it? Today isn’t a day for sandwiches anyway.”
“She really does resemble her.”
Crimson hair and golden eyes—Enci looked similar to the Duchess. Anyone could suspect a mother-daughter relationship.
“I have something to ask you. Was it the fairies who left you behind?”
“Suddenly? Did the fairies kidnap someone again? Anyway, yes.”
“And before that, do you know whose hands raised you?”
“No idea. But probably a noble family.”
Enci continued jokingly.
“They said the clothes I wore were very expensive. They weren’t made by fairies.”
“Expensive enough for a noble family?”
“I suppose so? Then again, I don’t know if I came from a Duke’s family.”
Her voice carried a laugh. It was clear Enci didn’t take the matter too seriously.
“I wonder how she’ll react.”
Laseil braced himself and stared at Enci.
“I’m curious about something.”
“Yes?”
“I think I know… the secret of your birth.”
Saying it felt a little strange. Enci seemed to feel the same way.
“Jaen sometimes chooses really weird words. What secret?”
“Duke Lund is looking for his lost daughter.”
“And what does that have to do with me…?”
Enci’s eyes widened as if she guessed what would come next.
“You’re not going to say that I’m the one, are you? Right?”
“I think that’s probably correct.”
“What did you say?”
Enci almost screamed.
“No way! You’re saying I was really a noble?”
“And Duke Lund is here now.”
It was better to deliver the shocking news all at once. Once she was surprised once, nothing could shock her further.
“What did you say?”
Enci screamed again.
“Why are you telling me this now?”
“I just found out. He wants to speak with you.”
“….”
Laseil quietly watched Enci’s reaction. If she seemed very unwilling, he planned to give another explanation to the Duke. He didn’t want to force her out if she considered this estate her home. But currently, Enci looked deep in thought.
“…Where is the Duke?”
Finally, she asked.
“I suppose I should talk to him. If I can become a noble, I don’t mind.”
“This way.”
Enci accepted the explanation much faster than Laseil had expected. After all, Enci had always been somewhat obsessed with money. She occasionally quarreled intensely with the dining hall owner too.
“You accepted that surprisingly quickly.”
“I guess I had thought it might happen someday?”
“Huh?”
On the way to the lord’s castle, that was her answer. She looked slightly embarrassed.
“Why, there was a story like that in a fairy tale I read when I was little.”
A wealthy noble comes to a struggling child and says, “You are my child.”
“I thought someday that might happen to me too.”
Enci’s own upbringing in this estate had been like a fairy tale. Perhaps another fairy-tale-like event might happen again.
“Or… hmm. Maybe because I never thought of the dining hall as my home?”
“Really?”
The dining hall occupied the first floor of a two-story building. The second floor was naturally the home of the dining hall owner and Enci. Laseil hadn’t expected her not to consider that place her home.
“It was a place with lodging and meals, not really a home.”
While they talked, the lord’s castle came into view. Enci stopped suddenly as she was about to enter.
“After all this talk, it would be funny if I weren’t actually his daughter. Right?”
She seemed nervous about speaking to the Duke. Laseil offered a brief reassurance instead of a long explanation.
“It’s true.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Have I ever been wrong about what I believe?”
Enci frowned for a moment and then shook her head.
“Seems not.”
“Then trust me this time too.”
“All right.”
Enci nodded reluctantly but seemed mentally ready to speak with the Duke.
“Excuse me, Your Grace.”
Laseil lightly knocked on the reception room door. A voice responded from inside.
“Come in.”
As soon as Enci entered, the Duke’s expression changed instantly—part confusion, part surprise.
“Ensera? Ensera?!”
“Is that her real name?”
Laseil realized he had never asked who named Enci. Perhaps her nickname had become her real name.
“Ensera Lund! Could it really be you…”
“I… I hardly remember my childhood.”
Enci answered awkwardly.
“Am I really… Your Grace’s child?”
The Duke looked slightly hurt by her formal tone but quickly regained composure and smiled brightly.
“Of course! What parent wouldn’t recognize their child?”
He slowly approached Enci.
“May I hug you once?”
“…Yes.”
Enci hugged him awkwardly. The Duke hugged her as well, slightly awkward himself.
“You’ve grown so much since I last saw you.”
“Time has passed a lot.”
“Should I leave?”
Laseil thought while watching. He also understood how Luzea must have felt yesterday. Indeed, it seemed appropriate to leave them alone.
“And Jaen.”
Just as Laseil was about to step out, he heard the Duke’s voice.
“Thank you, truly. I’ll give you a reward as much as I can.”
“You didn’t have to go this far…”
Laseil never imagined the Duke would bow to him in gratitude. He had heard that the Duke was unconventional for a noble, but he hadn’t expected this. Laseil received the bow awkwardly, observing carefully.
“Is there more to say?”
Now that the Duke had found his daughter, the task was complete. Yet Duke Lund seemed to have another request.
“It’s a bit embarrassing to ask this of someone who just solved such a major matter, but…”
The Duke took a short breath and continued.
“I have another request.”
“What kind of request?”
“There’s paranormal activity in Duke Castle. I hear you can handle this kind of issue.”
“…What kind of paranormal activity?”
Laseil no longer cared who had started the rumors. Half of it might even be his own doing.
“Every night, you can hear footsteps.”
Although the castle was old, it didn’t make noise when walked upon. But at midnight, there was a creaking… creaking… sound. Then a door would squeak open and paper would rustle. Sometimes a book would fall from the shelf.
It sounded like a textbook case of a haunting.
