Chapter 96……………………
“Come to think of it, that territory was strange.”
Raseil, who had quickly given up on necromancy, thought to himself.
Ghosts appeared unusually clearly there.
Relying on necromancy didn’t seem like a viable option.
“Then I’ll have to… figure it out myself.”
The situation felt bleak in many ways.
“Why did the Grand Duchess show herself in the first place?”
As his thoughts continued, someone knocked on the door.
It was the maid who had guided him to his room earlier.
“Sir Jaen, dinner is ready. Will you be joining us?”
“I’ll come out now.”
Now that he heard it, he realized he was hungry.
The only thing he’d eaten during the carriage ride was a simple meal.
“Where should I go?”
“The dining hall is on the first floor.”
As he followed the maid, he couldn’t help but admire the place again.
The intricate decorations inside the grand ducal castle were stunning.
It also reminded him just how विशाल the building was.
“The castle is really huge.”
“Right? Even the rooms for the maids are amazing. They’re on the third floor, and they’re much better than my house—”
The maid, who had been chatting cheerfully, suddenly stopped and warned him.
“Oh, don’t go to the fourth floor at night.”
“The fourth floor?”
“You can hear strange noises! And besides, um…”
She continued with a slightly troubled expression.
“There’s a study the Grand Duchess used when she was alive. The Grand Duke sealed it off.”
They said it had been closed exactly as it was before she died.
Since then, the study door had never been opened again.
“Anyway… oh, we’re here!”
The maid brightened up again as she spoke.
The dining hall before them was just as enormous as the rest of the castle.
If he had come alone, he might have gotten lost inside.
“Sir Jaen? Perfect timing.”
As he entered, the Grand Duke greeted him.
“I was just about to introduce Ensera. Sir Jaen here has been a great help.”
“Can that really be called help?”
Raseil thought quietly.
Finding Enci had just been a stroke of luck.
“Now that my daughter has finally returned, nothing could make me happier.”
The Grand Duke raised his glass.
“To Ensera.”
“To Ensera.”
“Something feels off…”
Listening to the others, Raseil quietly shifted his gaze.
The vassals of the ducal house all seemed genuinely happy.
It was natural—the Grand Duke, who had no children, now had an heir.
And not just any heir, but one with the blood of both the Duke and the Grand Duchess.
But the servants of the castle reacted differently.
“Are they not happy about Enci?”
The head maid and the head butler, in particular, seemed strange.
There was hostility in their eyes as they looked at Enci.
It was an odd expression for people seeing the young lady return after years.
“Why?”
Raseil quietly observed Enci and the Grand Duke—
and even the ghost of the Grand Duchess sitting beside them.
“She doesn’t resemble the Grand Duke.”
Maybe that was why they suspected she wasn’t his real daughter.
This suspicion was soon confirmed after dinner.
“What on earth are you thinking?”
The head butler approached Raseil and asked.
“Excuse me?”
“Do you enjoy deceiving the Grand Duke?”
Despite his age, the butler’s voice was full of dignity.
Raseil decided to hear him out first.
“Deceiving? I—”
“Do you know how many people have made such claims to the Grand Duke?”
The butler continued with a sigh.
His story could be summarized like this:
“There have been countless people claiming to be his real daughter.”
Many had tried to present fake daughters to gain the Grand Duke’s power.
Because of that, his wounds had only deepened.
Things had only recently calmed down—and now Raseil had brought Enci, claiming she was the real daughter.
“I don’t know where you found someone who resembles the Grand Duchess so closely, but you’d better stop.”
He was convinced Enci wasn’t the real daughter.
At this point, Raseil was curious—if she resembled the Grand Duchess, why doubt her?
“If she looks like the Grand Duchess… doesn’t that make it more likely she’s her daughter?”
“Resemblance alone proves nothing.”
The butler sighed.
“Before, a woman who looked exactly like the Grand Duke came here.”
As it turned out, she was from a collateral branch of the royal family, cast out for her behavior.
Of course, she wasn’t his daughter.
“This girl is probably the same. Have you been fooled too, Sir Jaen?”
“…How can we prove she’s his real daughter?”
After a brief pause, Raseil asked.
The butler seemed certain he could recognize the truth.
“Unless there’s an item left behind by the Grand Duchess or the Grand Duke, it’ll be difficult.”
The butler looked at him coldly.
“Do you still intend to claim she’s his daughter? There are limits to such insults…”
“Excuse me for a moment. I need to speak with Miss Enci.”
“A wise decision.”
The butler seemed to think Raseil had accepted his words.
In reality, Raseil was now more convinced than ever that Enci was the real daughter.
“The clothes she was wearing when she was found in the basket!”
They had said it looked like something only a noble would wear.
Remembering that, Raseil quickly went to Enci.
“Enci! Do you still have those clothes you brought?”
“The clothes?”
She looked confused but rummaged through her belongings.
“What clothes? I only brought what I usually wear.”
“The ones you were wearing as a child.”
“Oh, I brought those! They’re the only thing my parents might have left me.”
The clothes she pulled out were clearly made from expensive fabric.
Even though they were for a child, the embroidery was exquisite.
“What’s going on?”
“Some people doubt you.”
There was no need to sugarcoat it.
Enci had probably expected this.
“I figured as much.”
She nodded calmly.
“So we need these clothes? Because the Grand Duchess might have given them to me?”
“Yeah. Probably.”
After checking the clothes, Raseil went back to the butler, who happened to be nearby.
“What’s with the clothes?”
His reaction wasn’t what Raseil had expected.
“They do seem expensive… but so what?”
“I want to confirm whether they were given by the Grand Duchess.”
“I don’t know what items she gave. That was just an old man’s guess.”
The butler spoke stiffly.
“Clothes like that can easily be obtained elsewhere.”
Then he turned his gaze to Enci.
“I don’t know what you’re planning, but you’d better stop while you can.”
His voice was still full of hostility.
It was clear he wouldn’t acknowledge her without stronger proof.
“What do we do now?”
Enci whispered quietly.
“I feel like I’m about to be kicked out.”
“There must be another way.”
Raseil answered, looking at her—
or more precisely, at the ghost of the Grand Duchess behind her.
“She did give those clothes.”
That much was certain, judging by the Grand Duchess’s reaction.
The problem was how to prove it…
The solution came from an unexpected place—very close by.
That very night, the Grand Duchess appeared herself.
Creak… creeeak—
“What is that sound?”
Half-asleep, Raseil opened his eyes.
It was exactly the noise the Grand Duke had described.
Creeeak… shhh—
Hearing it in person felt far more ominous than he had imagined.
Raseil slowly got up and carefully opened the door.
Creeeak…
A translucent woman wandered aimlessly in the hallway.
