CHAPTER 01
The late winter night breeze blew with a biting chill.
Even the moonlight from the full moon felt unusually bleak tonight.
“How could you.”
Through the cold silence that filled the grand mansion, a woman’s sobs echoed faintly.
“Do you even know what day it is today?”
The man took off his coat and handed it to the butler, glancing briefly at his wife.
Her hair was disheveled, her face soaked with tears, her clothing a mess.
He looked away as if repulsed by the sight of his staggering wife.
“What day could possibly justify this kind of exhausting drama the moment I return home?”
His cold voice dripped with annoyance and disdain.
The woman let out a hollow breath, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“It’s my birthday.”
“Hmph.”
Only then did the man let out a small sigh, as if he had just remembered.
“I told you several days ago, didn’t I?”
She continued, barely suppressing the flood of emotions rising in her chest.
“I didn’t ask for some extravagant gift. I just begged—begged you to have dinner with me.”
As she recalled the desolate dinner table, she finally broke down in tears.
“I told you my family would be joining us this year, and all I asked—just once—was that you sit with us for a meal.”
She had only wanted to show her family that she was doing well.
To show them that the rumors were false—that her marriage was still intact.
Even if it was just for show, she wanted to appear as though she was living a peaceful, happy life.
But even through dessert and tea, her husband never showed up.
The sympathy and pity in her family’s eyes, and the forced smiles she had to maintain, trampled her pride more than anything else.
“And yet you couldn’t even do that. Not even for today.”
Even as she poured her heart out, her husband didn’t move to comfort her.
With a frown of irritation, he responded bluntly:
“It’s because business keeps me busy. Please try to understand.”
The woman’s tearful gaze drifted toward the desk.
There sat a luxurious wooden box adorned with gold trim.
“…And yet, you had time to travel all the way to Andalus just to buy her a gift?”
She had only heard about the box through whispers from the servants. Seeing it with her own eyes now crushed her.
She finally gave voice to the resentment buried deep within her chest.
“You were so eager to spend hours traveling for your mistress’s gift. Yet you find even one hour spent with me too much to ask?”
Hearing her mention the other woman made the man uncomfortable. He loosened his tie.
“So you waited up this late just to complain? I’m tired. Let’s end this here.”
“How can you be so cold? I didn’t ask for much.”
“If you hate it that much, then leave.”
His careless remark left her frozen, like a statue.
Deep down, maybe he truly wished she would just leave—or worse, die.
“How could you say something like that…”
Unable to even finish her sentence, she gasped for air.
Maybe realizing his misstep, the man quickly tried to shift the conversation.
“A lady of the house shouldn’t meddle in affairs beyond the household. I’ll overlook tonight’s behavior—just go back to your room.”
Ignoring his devastated wife, he turned to the butler.
“Escort the madam to her room immediately.”
As the butler stepped forward, the woman lowered her head in defeat.
Her sobs grew more anguished.
“Madam, please… let’s return to your room.”
At the butler’s urging, the woman finally turned and walked out, her steps shaky.
The man watched her retreating figure with a scowl and shook his head.
“I thought she was the quiet type. Turns out she’s just clingy and pathetic.”
Once she disappeared, he carefully picked up the wooden jewelry box.
“She said she’d leave me if I didn’t give her this. What choice do I have?”
As he recalled his lover’s gentle voice, his stiff expression softened.
He had personally chosen the pearls to satisfy his mistress’s picky taste.
“I should deliver this to her myself tomorrow.”
After hiding the box deep in his office, he finally stepped out.
As the last person left, the lights that had illuminated the office flickered out.
Darkness swallowed the room once again.
“Tsk. Foolish man.”
A faint cluck of the tongue echoed from within the darkness.
No one would have imagined someone was still there.
A figure, standing on a narrow ledge between the stone decorations of the outer wall, peered into the office.
“If he had just kept his promise to his wife, he wouldn’t have brought that cursed thing into the house.”
The voice belonged to a woman cloaked entirely in black.
Her outfit hugged her slender frame and allowed for easy movement.
Even her face was partially covered with a black cloth, and her hands were gloved—making her appear as one with the night.
The only thing on her person that wasn’t black was the violet ribbon tying up her hair.
“No wonder he squanders his fortune and cheats. He’s that dumb.”
Grumbling, she raised her hand toward the sky.
As if recognizing their master, strands of wind gathered at her fingertips.
Her black hair swayed gently along with her violet ribbon.
As she felt the breeze awaken her senses, she asked quietly:
“Did you see anything?”
No response.
Her brows furrowed in irritation as she realized she was talking to thin air.
“I said, did you see anything?”
Raising her voice slightly, the cat sitting on the window railing stretched its body sensuously.
“Meow.”
As the soft cry broke the silence, the woman, now clearly out of patience, shouted:
“Didn’t I tell you not to possess Luphern while I’m working?!”
Sensing the seriousness in her tone, the black cat blinked its golden eyes and trembled slightly.
A shimmering distortion in the air surrounded the cat—and then, a vague, ghostly figure emerged.
[Rosha, you’re unusually cranky tonight.]
The man, now fully visible, was handsome enough to make any passerby stare.
With silver hair that glowed in the moonlight and deep gray eyes, he looked ethereal—like a dream.
Or a ghost, which he was.
Rosha frowned as she was reminded of what he truly was.
“This is no time to be lounging around in a cat’s body.”
Luphern hovered in midair with nowhere to stand, wearing a flowing white robe.
He was so transparent that regular people would walk right past him, unaware of his presence.
A spirit visible and audible only to Rosha.
She glared up at him and snapped:
“What were you going to do in a cat’s body? Bat a ball of yarn at the evil spirits?”
[It was warm and cozy, okay?]
“So you’re dumping all the exorcism work on me while you go play?”
[Hey now, I didn’t dump anything! I’m still the guardian spirit of the Escalona Empire, you know.]
“If a guardian spirit is busy sightseeing from a cat’s body, I’m done with this job!”
At her threat, Luphern finally responded with a serious tone.
[Such a rude brat. Back in my day, we’d bow when elders spoke.]
Despite his youthful appearance, Luphern complained like a cranky old man, causing Rosha to sneer.
To be fair, he wasn’t wrong.
He had lived for 28 years as a human, and 670 years as a spirit.
That made him nearly 700 years old.
He had more than enough reason to call Rosha “a young brat.”
“Well, then this ‘young brat’ will step aside. The old man can take care of it.”
As Rosha raised both hands in mock surrender, Luphern grumbled with a twisted face.
[Why do you have no respect for your old, tired teacher? Back in my day, we’d play dead if an elder even looked at us.]
Rosha laughed dryly.
“Would you not say that while looking like a glowing twink? What part of you looks old and tired?”
She glared at Luphern’s spiritual form.
1 in 10 million.
That was the chance of being born with a weak enough connection between body and soul to see spirits.
Rosha had beaten those odds.
She could see them. Hear them.
Even if she hadn’t wanted to.
[Bah, none of it matters. I raised you with so much care and love.]
As Luphern looked longingly at the now-empty cat body, Rosha replied with a smirk.
“And I’m such a good student, helping you out like this.”
With a grin, Rosha clenched her fist. The wind dancing at her fingertips scattered instantly.
Time to focus.
“So, no more small talk. That jewelry box is our best lead, right?”
Luphern nodded and summoned spiritual energy into his hand, forming a sword.
The glowing blade, as tall as a human, shimmered with a cold blue light.
[The guardian spirit of the Fischer family confirmed it. A malevolent spirit from Andalus is attached to that man.]
Rosha ran a hand along her nape as she listened closely.
[And the only thing he brought back from Andalus is that jewelry box.]
Her fingers found the chain of her necklace.
She traced it down until they stopped at the unique pendant resting against her collarbone.
Gripping it tightly, her black eyes gleamed with resolve.
“By now, it should be safe to go in, right?”
She whispered, assessing the timing.
“What about security?”
[There’s an alarm spell in the statue near the desk.]
Rosha pressed her body flat against the outer wall and crept toward the window.
She grabbed the intricately curved handle and looked up to see dense iron bars mounted above.
[Triggering the alarm activates a spell that drops the bars. Once that happens, escape through the window becomes impossible.]
“I’ll just make it possible, then.”
[Not triggering it in the first place would be better.]
Ignoring Luphern’s sarcasm, Rosha slowly opened the window.
The squealing hinge echoed like thunder in the silence.
Once she confirmed no one was inside, she slipped through.
Her shadow stretched long under the moonlight as she entered the office.
[There are three binding magic circles on the floor.]
“That’s a high-level setup.”
Rosha whispered to herself as she examined the array of magical traps.
“Once this job’s done, you’d better tell me where the Teleportation Magic of Randell book is.”
[Sure—but only if you survive to read it.]
With one silent leap, Rosha landed inside the office, bypassing the traps and muting her steps completely.
Finally, her night had begun.
