Chapter : 10 – I Don’t Believe in Ghosts, But I Make a Living as an Exorcist!
Harman was in a bad mood from the morning.
He looked over the huge object that had arrived in front of his mansion from top to bottom, frowning.
He recalled Sienna’s letter from last evening, which he had brushed off lightly.
[Dear Duke of Monteville,
I prepared a gift for you.
I was going to bring it when I visit next week, but it’s bigger than I expected, so I’m sending it first.
I hope you like it!]
To think this was what she meant.
“My lord, shall we put it away?”
“…Yes.”
The butler, who had approached carefully, ran off hurriedly the moment he received permission.
Harman let out a sigh. The object was so large that even three strong men struggled to carry it.
Well, even if it was scrap metal, a mana stone would naturally be heavy.
With a troubled expression, Harman watched as the mana stone was slowly moved.
A Rundane mana stone.
Back when the Monteville mansion was built, it had been considered a new material. But now, it had long fallen into being an outdated mana stone that even commoners didn’t use anymore.
In other words, to Harman, it was no different from trash.
‘Where did she even find something like this?’
The mana stone quietly gave off a faint white glow, as if it knew nothing.
It reminded him exactly of Sienna.
‘I did mention the mana stone…’
But that had only been a way to avoid repairing the wall.
Yet Sienna had suddenly obtained one and sent it to him as a gift.
A piece of trash that was now difficult to even find.
…Is she mocking me?
I rubbed my sore shoulders and stretched.
Normally, I would have enjoyed some tea, but I didn’t even have the strength to lift a teacup. I just collapsed straight onto the bed.
As expected, it was soft. Soft enough to fall asleep immediately.
The first thing I bought with the thick bundle of money I received was this bed.
Recently, I had been cleaning the mansion and checking Harman’s mansion as well. I had been lacking sleep in many ways.
‘Harman…’
Just thinking of his name made me uneasy. Hugging my pillow, I spoke.
“Bella, do you think the Duke of Monteville will like it?”
“Of course! Didn’t he say he needed the Rundane mana stone?”
“That’s true, but…”
“He’ll be so happy! You sent something even the Duke of the Empire couldn’t get. And it was the biggest size too!”
“Then why hasn’t he replied?”
I only mentioned it as a “gift” because I wanted to surprise him.
Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.
Honestly, when I wrote the letter, I didn’t have time to think much.
That was because the Rundane mana stone Rudyan sent had suddenly arrived at my mansion.
Rudyan was extremely quick with her work.
[If it’s not enough, tell me.
I can send more.]
The very next day after signing the contract, she sent an enormous Rundane mana stone.
I knew she was efficient, but to send the payment before I even started the job…
Anyway, at dawn, I immediately rented the fastest and sturdiest carriage available.
Loading the mana stone onto the cart had been so difficult that both my shoulders were still aching.
Watching the carriage leave with a rattling sound, I felt proud and even waved to the driver.
But—
There was still no reply from Harman.
By now, the mana stone should have already arrived at the Duke of Monteville’s residence.
Whenever I sent a letter before, he always replied quickly, as if he had been waiting.
But now, after such a long silence, I started to worry.
“Maybe he’s so happy that he’s thinking hard about what to write?”
“…You think so?”
I pouted and traced random lines on the blanket with my finger.
As I kept chatting with Bella about nothing in particular, my eyes slowly began to close.
Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.
Tap, tap—
At the light knocking sound on the window, my eyes snapped open.
How long did I sleep?
As I pushed myself up, I felt hair under my hand.
Bella was asleep beside the bed, her face resting on it.
I carefully stood up and pulled the curtain aside.
When I opened the window, as always, a white bird was there, holding a letter in its beak.
A blue envelope with a deer seal.
Finally…
Harman had sent a letter!
“Fly safely.”
I waved at the bird as it flapped its wings and flew away.
I didn’t even bother with a paper knife.
I quickly broke the seal and opened the envelope. Inside was neat stationery, just like Harman himself.
[Lady Sienna,
This is Harman Monteville.
Thanks to you, the repair work has begun.
Thank you very much.]
It was a very short and simple letter.
“He said thank you!”
I wanted to share this joy, but Bella was completely exhausted and showed no sign of waking up.
Careful not to wake her, I covered my mouth and read each word again.
But today, was it just my imagination?
His tone felt a bit stiffer than usual.
Even though it said “thank you,” there was a strangely heavy feeling lingering in the ink.
Ah, right.
The ink was very dark, as if each letter had been pressed down hard.
The final period looked like it had been written with force.
The ink had even seeped through the thick paper to the back.
The slightly smudged mark looked almost like a tear stain…
“…Wait.”
My hands holding the letter began to tremble.
Usually, when someone presses down hard while writing, the reason is simple—
To stop their hand from shaking.
That’s all.
“…No way.”
“Did he… cry?”
Because he could finally repair the mansion?
Then it would make sense why the reply was late.
Maybe he started the repairs immediately after receiving the mana stone and forgot to reply.
I covered my mouth, even though no one was watching.
“In the original story… he really did go mad because of the mansion…”
I didn’t know why he was so attached to it.
But thinking about how he became a duke at a young age, and how there was no information about the previous duke and duchess—
Maybe the mansion reminded him of warm moments with his parents.
Just like Rudyan’s parents were deeply attached to their mansion.
“…Yeah, that must be it.”
Each time I read the letter, I felt Harman’s emotions more clearly, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
I pulled a chair to the window and sat down.
Gently tracing the letter with my fingers, I read it over and over again.
Then—
Flap!
“Hm?”
I heard loud wingbeats and looked outside.
The white bird that had just left was flying back toward me at full speed.
With another letter in its beak.
Instinctively, I reached out my hand.
Chirp! The bird made a strange sound and dropped the envelope into my palm.
Then it flapped its wings wildly and flew off again.
“…It seemed angry just now.”
Feeling puzzled, I watched the bird until it became a tiny dot and disappeared.
Then something came to mind.
Come to think of it, when I tried to put the picture frame back earlier, something white had flown at me.
“…That wasn’t this bird, right?”
It couldn’t be that it saw my face and got angry or something, right?
“…”
No, that can’t be.
The bird just now was big enough that you’d need both hands to catch it.
But when I swung the frame, I didn’t feel like I hit anything at all.
“…Not a bird. It was probably just a slightly big bug.”
There had only been broken pieces of the frame around me. Nothing else.
I shook my head and opened the envelope.
Inside was the same kind of paper as before.
[Lady Sienna,
A problem has occurred during the repairs.]
…Didn’t the repairs just start today?
