Chapter 27
Was there really a gatekeeper?
And if you call it a gatekeeper, shouldn’t it at least be a person?
Why is it that she only realizes things after everything has already happened?
If Avery had been able to comment on that so-called gatekeeper, she would have given it a more fitting nickname.
Grim Reaper.
The Grim Reaper brings death with him.
It was a scene similar to her first day. Back then, she ran from ghosts. Now, she was running from that vicious beast.
But there was one difference.
Today’s Avery was a ghost with a plan.
Whoosh.
Running toward a clear destination, Avery passed straight through a door.
“Woof! Woof!”
The savage beast barked fiercely outside, but fortunately, it couldn’t pass through the door.
Avery had fled to the safest place from intruders.
“Heh.”
I improve too, you know.
I’ll just stay here until that gatekeeper gives up and leaves.
She had rushed in without thinking, but this room wasn’t exactly a good choice either.
If that beast was the worst option, then this room was the second worst.
Avery tore her gaze from the door and looked inside.
I hope the owner of this room doesn’t wake up before I leave…
Oh! The owner is already awake?
“……”
She narrowed her eyes on purpose, blurring her vision, trying to avoid fully facing reality.
The room’s owner, Karl Graham, was slowly swirling a glass of wine at the terrace table.
His emotionless eyes landed on her in an instant.
“…You’re awake…?”
“Woof! Woof!”
“Cough, cough. Ah, maybe it’s because it’s winter. I suddenly have a cough.”
“Woof! Woof!”
I tried to smooth it over. Could you stay quiet for just a moment?
She failed to keep his attention on herself. His gaze had already shifted to the door.
“Oh, that sound? You don’t need to worry. Just a passing ghost playing a prank…”
Naturally, he didn’t listen and began walking toward the door.
Avery hurried after him.
“You’re not going to open it, are you? I’m not just saying this for me! I’m saying it for your sake too, Duke!”
She grabbed at him desperately, but he opened the door anyway.
Cowardly as it was, she hid behind him.
“Woof!”
The gatekeeper boldly entered Karl’s bedroom without the slightest fear.
In fact, it looked even more aggressive.
Where are you going to bite this time? Arm? Leg? Neck?
Just imagining the pain made her feel faint.
As Avery pressed her lips tight, barely holding back tears, the Grim Reaper stopped—not in front of her, but in front of Karl.
And it bit his foot.
“Your Grace!”
She shouted too late.
But neither Karl nor the Grim Reaper seemed to care.
The only one panicking was Avery.
He didn’t even try to shake the small furball off. He simply watched.
The Grim Reaper, meanwhile, showed no sign of letting go.
“Enough.”
When he finally spoke, his firm voice accomplished what Avery’s screams and pleas never had.
The Grim Reaper stopped immediately.
Strangely, at that same moment, Avery also stopped fidgeting and tearing at her hands.
…I’ve been trained too.
Before she could sink into self-loathing, something even more shocking happened.
The Grim Reaper returned to the face of a small, adorable puppy and began running circles around him.
Its expression was far brighter than when it had acted cute in front of Avery.
And the foot that should have been wounded showed no bite marks at all.
“Roberos.”
“Woof!”
At Karl’s single word, the furball stopped and sat obediently.
Like a well-trained dog.
Karl Graham called its name naturally.
The Grim Reaper responded.
Karl handled it with ease.
The Grim Reaper looked at him with eyes full of trust.
All those visitors to the ducal house had been wrong.
That foul-tempered beast was not the guardian of the ducal house.
It was a gatekeeper that guarded only the duke—guarding the path that led to him.
I walked straight into the underworld on my own.
And Avery realized.
She had chosen the wrong place to run to.
Very wrong.
“……”
It was a silent night.
All the doors in the mansion were tightly shut.
It was a time that required patience.
Avery stood at the end of the corridor, waiting desperately for a door to open.
Click.
She didn’t miss the sound.
After waiting a little longer, the door slowly began to open.
She did not let her guard down until the end.
The one who stepped out with long legs was none other than Karl Graham.
This was the moment she had been waiting for.
Avery quickly stepped out from behind the wall.
“Your Grace—”
“Grrrr……”
Her voice was swallowed by another sound.
At some point, the gatekeeper had appeared at Karl’s side and was calmly licking its fur.
Avery covered her face with both hands.
“Ah, please…”
After dealing with that vicious beast for several days, she had learned a few things.
“Woof!”
The gatekeeper of the mansion had its own rules.
It would bark once as a warning.
But if that warning was ignored—
“…Do you think I’m scared of you?”
“Woof!”
—it would bite.
Avery couldn’t even keep her brave words for a few seconds.
She turned and ran without looking back.
Once again, she was chased away without even getting close to Karl.
Ever since the gatekeeper returned, she couldn’t find a single opportunity to approach him.
But she couldn’t stay in the mansion all day waiting for a chance either.
During the day, she had to follow Briana.
Only at night, after Briana fell asleep, could she try to meet him.
“Grrrr……”
Every night felt like a game of hide-and-seek.
Avery clamped both hands over her mouth.
She could hear the gatekeeper’s footsteps nearby—heavy steps pressing firmly against the floor.
It looked so small and cute on the outside, but in truth it was a wicked Grim Reaper.
As someone who loved animals, she didn’t want to believe it.
When the gatekeeper passed right by the room she had entered, she finally let out a breath.
Now she understood why Karl had ignored her offer.
With such a reliable gatekeeper, I wouldn’t catch his eye either.
“……”
Did you think I’d just accept that?!
The restless feelings she had after returning from the imperial palace were swallowed whole by a far stronger anger.
Couldn’t you have told me beforehand? Didn’t we get a little closer at the palace? Was I the only one imagining things again?
The situation was hopeless.
Instead of dealing with the ghosts tormenting him, she was the one about to disappear first.
Creeeak.
An ominous sound.
Pressed tightly against the wall, Avery slowly turned her head toward it.
As expected, through the open door, the gatekeeper—Roberos—entered calmly.
The small puppy approached her without a sound.
Slowly.
Like a typical predator.
Avery trembled.
It found her better than any ghost ever could.
Even an enemy wouldn’t chase someone this persistently.
But she couldn’t go on like this forever.
She still hadn’t told Karl that Briana was the second victim of the murder case.
She needed a plan.
“Woof!”
“Ahhhh!”
First, she had to deal with this thing!
The gatekeeper had returned.
An alarm spread among the ghosts.
A ghost with long moss-colored hair hid inside a small room, refusing to come out.
Several days passed.
The sun had risen, but no one could relax yet.
For the time being, it planned to avoid the gatekeeper’s eyes.
It had taken a spot in the corner of the room, watching its surroundings carefully.
Then suddenly, a head pushed through the wall.
“Eek.”
“Found you.”
The newcomer ghost, now pale and gaunt, lifted its gleaming eyes and glared at it.
