Chapter 25
At his low baritone, Avery stiffly turned her head toward Karl, like a wooden puppet with ungreased joints.
What did you just ruin when everything was finally going smoothly?
With a devastated heart, she shifted her gaze to her father and Oliver.
As expected, they had stopped walking and were now looking at Karl.
“Were you calling for me?”
Though startled, Count Graham asked politely.
Avery covered her face with one hand.
It’s over.
Judging by her father’s reaction, it didn’t seem like he and Karl spoke often. He didn’t call out because of me, did he?
Unable to hide her anxiety, she glanced sideways. Karl deliberately looked in her direction before walking straight toward Count Graham.
One hundred percent—no, two hundred percent—this is because of me. It has to be.
“My condolences regarding Lady Graham.”
“……”
“It must be especially hard on your son as well.”
“…It is not.”
Instead of the silent Count, Oliver Graham awkwardly accepted the greeting.
To an outsider, their expressions might have looked like those of a family still unable to accept their daughter’s death.
But Avery knew better.
Those were the faces of guilty consciences.
Guilt for holding a funeral for a daughter who wasn’t even dead. Guilt toward those who sincerely mourned her.
The Grahams were simply not people who could lie well. It was in their nature.
This is exactly why they shouldn’t have met.
Rather than immediately trying to divert Karl’s attention, Avery chose to watch. What was done was done; there was no room for her to intervene anymore.
Instead, she stepped closer to her family, studying their faces.
Count Graham’s once-protruding belly seemed slightly reduced. Just slightly. It was a subtle change she found only after squinting carefully.
Still, it looked like he had been doing well. That relieved her.
Next, Oliver Graham…
She had no idea.
She had never paid much attention to him before, so she couldn’t tell what had changed. Maybe his hair had thinned a little?
“Lady Graham would not want you tormenting yourself with guilt.”
You can say something warm like that?
Both Avery and Count Graham were caught off guard by Karl’s unexpected words of comfort. Oliver opened his mouth.
“Does Your Grace… know our troublem—Avery?”
Finish what you were about to say. What was that?
Oliver couldn’t hide his surprise or suspicion, and when placed side by side, father and son looked identical.
“Lady Graham is the most….”
Beautiful? Lovely? Like a fairy?
For once, Karl hesitated—long enough to make even the listening ghost tense.
“…remarkable person in many ways that I have ever met.”
Well, I am remarkable. But you mean that in a good way, right?
Unlike her skepticism, Count Graham and Oliver nodded as if that made perfect sense.
“So you truly did know Avery. I hope my sister did not cause Your Grace any trouble…”
Is there no one on my side?
For a moment she bristled at how he seemed more concerned about inconveniencing a duke he had just met than about his own sister.
Karl’s gaze settled on her.
For some reason, she found it difficult to meet his eyes and looked away.
“…Life wouldn’t be dull with her around.”
At that completely unexpected answer, Avery’s eyes widened as she stared at him.
His expressionless face greeted her.
Today, he was choosing only incomprehensible actions.
“I had no idea our daughter had any connection with Your Grace.”
“……”
“If the opportunity arises, I hope we may meet again.”
It was a formal courtesy, but the Count’s voice was heavy with worry.
What on earth had his daughter done to the duke?
After finishing with her father, Karl shifted his gaze to Oliver.
I hope timid Oliver doesn’t get frightened by that cold stare.
“You’ll catch the culprit.”
Even to her, those words were surprising.
Had he ever spoken so definitively first like that? She searched her memory but couldn’t recall.
“Kuh….”
“Hm?”
A sound came from right beside her.
Oliver.
“Are you crying again?”
Oliver’s eyes were reddened as he forced them wide, trying to stop tears from falling.
But that only made him look more pitiful.
Even their father’s eyes had grown redder than before.
“……”
She wasn’t dead.
No matter what, she would return.
Both Avery and her family believed that.
But that was separate from the way her heart wavered whenever she saw their fragile sides.
What if I just went back with them like this?
Since becoming a ghost and staying at the Graham estate, Avery had never once tried to return to her original body.
She hadn’t even gone near the Count’s residence.
Because she was afraid that, if she left unresolved matters behind, she might want to return.
But instead of standing beside her family, Avery chose to return to Karl’s side.
His unwavering blue eyes hardened her resolve.
Oliver belatedly offered an excuse.
“There was some dust in my eye.”
“Ah, I see. You don’t look well. Duke, we’ll take our leave for now.”
They really can’t lie.
The air around them turned painfully awkward, but thanks to their quick retreat, the secret that Avery was alive remained safe.
Karl, too, walked away without hesitation.
For someone who had deliberately called out in front of her, he let her father and Oliver go without gaining anything.
Then why call out at all? Just to make me nervous? Or was there some other reason…?
Watching only his broad back, Avery blurted out,
“Don’t tell me… you did that so I could see my family after a long time?”
He was already far ahead of her, so maybe he hadn’t heard.
But somehow, it felt like his steps quickened slightly.
If she could see his face right now, it felt like there might be some emotion there instead of his usual blank expression.
“Let’s go together, Your Grace.”
On impulse, Avery reached out and grabbed his back—
But her formless arm passed straight through his chest.
He turned and looked down at her.
Startled, her eyes went wide like a rabbit’s.
She couldn’t withdraw her hand.
She couldn’t look away.
In the place where her heart no longer beat, something burned sharply.
Her feelings churned.
“I’ll do my part too.”
“And what exactly is your part?”
“What do you mean? Helping you, of course.”
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t have to refuse. I’ll be useful.”
As they walked down the corridor together, their expressions were completely opposite.
Karl made no attempt to hide his irritation.
Avery had no intention of backing down.
“We made a deal, remember?”
There had been twists and turns, but Karl had granted her request.
Thanks to that, she had identified the murder victim and narrowed down the likely location of the crime.
All that remained was to find and capture the culprit!
Time was tight, but things had been going relatively smoothly.
“I wasn’t lying when I said I’d help you get free from the ghosts.”
“……”
“I’m trying to deal with what I can quickly! Thanks to you, I think I’ll be able to go back soon.”
Before catching the murderer, she needed to protect him from the ghosts in the mansion and find the ghost of the duchess.
Time was of the essence.
“Go back?”
“Yes, of course I have to go back!”
“Back where?”
“Obviously, back to my orig—”
Ah. Slip of the tongue.
She’d spoken without thinking.
“Back where?”
“Well… I mean….”
The Grahams were bad liars.
Avery Graham was no exception.
“Back into God’s embrace!”
“You didn’t look particularly devout.”
Father. Oliver. I’m sorry for criticizing your inability to lie.
“When people die, they all return to God’s embrace. Haha.”
Without even pausing for breath, she rattled it off like rapid fire to avoid revealing her fluster.
“Anyway, I’ll take care of all the ghosts that bother you.”
“I decline.”
Don’t reject it so coldly, you jerk.
Though Graham’s refusal was sharp, it didn’t seem quite as irritating or negative to her as before.
If this was affection, then perhaps it had accumulated in its own way.
But from him, there was not even the faintest positive reaction.
Only when they reached his bedroom did Karl finally speak again.
“Do I look like someone tormented by ghosts to you?”
Of course. That’s why you tried to meet the heroine to escape them.
But the words didn’t come easily.
The Karl Graham she had followed until now had never shown himself being tormented by ghosts inside the mansion.
In fact, she had rarely even seen ghosts near him.
She had once found that strange.
“There are 131 ghosts in this mansion.”
Surely at least one of them would bother you.
“In this mansion, there isn’t a single ghost that can touch me.”
Except you.
Though he didn’t say the last part, she felt as if she heard it anyway.
“Why?”
Her face looked genuinely innocent as she asked.
Instead of answering, he simply stared at her.
As though he were watching something entertaining.
Our male lead really does have a rotten personality.
“Today happens to be the day.”
Instead of a kind explanation, he left only that cryptic remark before closing the bedroom door.
Avery stood there for a long time, turning those words over in her head.
It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning, when everyone else had fallen asleep, that she finally understood.
She realized why no ghost in the mansion ever touched the duke.
She realized it in the most bone-deep way possible.
“AAAAAAAH!!!”
It was a night filled with screams.
