Chapter 22
No sooner had I finished speaking than Alicia’s mouth dropped open in shock.
“You want me to check if a little girl died here?”
Alicia, who had been relentlessly questioning why I was curious about such a thing, finally sighed and nodded when I kept my mouth firmly shut.
“But you have to tell that good-for-nothing about this, okay? You can’t worry about it alone!”
“Oh, come on. You’re already helping me think it through, Alicia. I’m not alone.”
When I gently grasped her hand, Alicia looked touched.
“Oh, you sweet and innocent girl… People really don’t deserve you. If there’s anything else you need, just say the word. I’ll help however I can!”
“Thank you, Alicia.”
Alicia had insisted I tell the Duke about Marquis Penian’s request, but I decided to put it off for now.
‘It’s not like I didn’t agree to it. I just don’t want to go whining to the Duke afterward that I can’t do it.’
Honestly, I was worried. What if I ended up killing the plum tree entirely in my efforts to save it?
‘Did the Marquis not think that far ahead? Or maybe he’s planning to use the tree’s death as an excuse to kick me out…’
Gasp. Wait a second.
What if that’s really it?
‘I should’ve thought of that possibility!’
I’d been so distracted by the ghost girl that I hadn’t even considered it.
‘No, that won’t do. Even if I get kicked out, I need to make sure I get the envelope of money first!’
Now that it’s come to this, I have to revive the plum tree no matter what.
‘But how? So many people have already tried and failed.’
Experts have probably already used high-quality fertilizer, pruning, and plant disease treatments.
Even though I worked in a greenhouse, the most I ever did was carry fertilizer sacks and flower pots. So what can I do?
‘There’s only one thing, really…’
I sprang up from under the blanket, swung my legs off the bed, and lit the lamp.
“Shy, are you there?”
A moment later, I felt the flickering presence of life energy within the shadow cast under the lamplight.
I spoke toward the shadow.
“You saw the plum tree earlier today, right? I want to go there now. Do you think it’s possible to sneak past the fences without anyone noticing?”
In response, the shadow beneath my feet squirmed and started forming letters.
[Holding breath. How long possible?]
‘Whoa, so it can communicate like this!’
But why ask how long I can hold my breath? I was confused but decided to answer first.
“I can hold it for about a minute. After that, it depends on my condition…”
[Breathe deep. Huuup.]
“Huuup? …Kyaaah!”
The moment I took a deep breath, something yanked at my ankle, and I felt like I was being pulled down. It was like floating in darkness with no sense of direction. Everything went black, and I suddenly couldn’t breathe. Reflexively, I tried to inhale and ended up covering my nose with both hands.
‘Wait—hang on, you could’ve warned me first…!’
My breath was choking.
Just when I thought I might die, air rushed back into my lungs.
“Gasp—haa… Shy, you really should’ve told me first…”
[One more time.]
“One more time? Wait! Gasp!”
And so I went in and out of the shadow world repeatedly, breathing hard in between, until we finally arrived at the plum tree.
“Huff… Shy, thank you so much. Really. But next time, please warn me first…”
[O]
That circle must mean “okay,” right?
I didn’t care if my clothes or hair were dirty—I just flopped onto the ground.
Lying there, taking deep breaths, all I could see above me was the black night sky. Then suddenly, a small face popped into my view.
“You…”
Still lying flat, I looked up at the child’s face. The girl, with long crimson hair flowing down, placed her hand on my forehead as if checking my temperature. Then she mimed massaging my arms and legs.
Of course, she was a ghost, so I couldn’t feel any physical contact. But the way she worried over me lying on the ground was so sweet and touching that I quickly sat up.
“Whew, I’m good now. Thanks to you. Don’t worry about me anymore.”
[O]
The shadow wriggled again and made another circle. I guess it thought I was speaking to it.
That means Shy was worried about me too, huh?
Chuckling, I reached out and patted the shadow on the ground.
At that moment, the ghost girl stood in front of me and started moving her lips urgently.
‘… …!’
“Hmm…”
‘… …?’
She was definitely trying to say something, but I couldn’t understand her.
Ghosts don’t have voices.
‘She probably can’t even hear herself. Maybe she hasn’t realized that yet?’
I blinked silently as I watched her. A moment later, realizing I couldn’t hear her, the girl tilted her head and pointed at her ear.
I quickly crossed my index fingers into an X. Her face turned downcast.
‘If only I had a way to communicate with ghosts.’
I’d seen two or three ghosts before in my life, but I’d never successfully communicated with one.
They couldn’t speak, couldn’t touch anything to write—it was always impossible.
‘Still… maybe I should try asking?’
But I didn’t want to speak too openly with Shy watching from the shadows.
After a short moment of thought, I approached the plum tree and pressed my hands together like I was praying.
“Oh, spirit of the plum tree, if you can hear me, please tell me how I can bring this tree back to life…”
I peeked one eye open and looked toward the ghost girl.
Even though she couldn’t speak, she seemed to understand me. Her face lit up and she ran over to the tree, stomping her feet excitedly.
“…?”
I didn’t understand, so I just watched. The girl stomped harder.
Then she suddenly clasped her hands and started moving them up and down in a digging motion.
‘Wait a sec… those hands… She’s miming digging, isn’t she?’
Was she telling me to dig right below where she stood?
Is something buried there?
“Please find out if, in the past 25 years, a girl around three or four years old died in the Duke’s estate.”
…No way.
* * *
“The Dowager Duchess. Marquis Penian has made contact with the girl.”
“And the result?”
“He took her to the plum tree. I’d say things are proceeding as planned.”
“I see…”
The Dowager Duchess leaned back against the soft couch and exhaled a deep sigh.
“Do you think she accepted his proposal?”
“Does it matter? Either outcome works in our favor.”
A few days ago, following Olbia’s advice, the Dowager Duchess had sent a letter to Marquis Penian.
To summarize, it said something like this:
Upon reflection, since my son personally brought her home, claiming to love her, I won’t oppose him outright.
However, given that she’s a commoner, people will mock and ridicule her if she becomes Duchess. To silence them, she must achieve something significant.
If a mere commoner tries to become Duchess relying only on the Duke’s love, she’ll eventually fail her duties and flee.
So please test whether Airie truly has the ability to shoulder the responsibilities of a Duchess.
It just so happens that the girl worked in a greenhouse, and there is a dying tree on the estate.
A very important tree.
“Didn’t they say gardening was one of Marquis Penian’s hobbies?”
“Yes. He enjoys caring for plants. He’s also the one who has tried hardest to save that plum tree for the past 25 years.”
“Exactly…”
If Airie ends up killing the tree entirely, Marquis Penian will be the first to drive her out.
And this is no ordinary tree—it’s the very one planted by the first Duke himself. A sacred tree where the divine beast’s egg once formed.
And you expect them to let a woman who killed such a tree become Duchess?
Not even Elkiers, for all his stubborn pride, would allow it. Let alone the rest of the household, who would definitely oppose it.
