The Ghost Lady Of The Duke's Family (20 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 13

Aeli stared blankly at Lutis, whose face looked haggard and worn.

Lord Montero calmly raised his hand, wiped away the faint trickle of blood from his wound, and bowed his head.

“I apologize. That was an indiscretion.”

“Anyone can apologize with words. Show me through your actions.”

“Extend his detention by three more days—seventeen days total—and change it to fasting. Any objections?” Lutis said, pulling out a new quill.

He didn’t spare even a glance toward Aeli and Lord Montero.

“…None.”

The Captain of the Knights bowed deeply to Lutis, who had tilted his head toward the door as if signaling they’d heard enough, and swiftly disappeared.

The muted light filling the study flickered softly, now that they were alone.

Though “alone together” was only true from her perspective—from Lutis’s point of view, he was simply alone.

– ……

For dozens of minutes, she forgot even to be angry, floundering helplessly in a swamp of shock.

The scratch of the quill against paper and the soft rustle of pages turning suddenly ceased.

Having finished processing documents at a rapid pace, Lutis splashed his face with water once, then rang the bell resting on his desk. It was nearly dawn—too late to be called night, almost morning.

Knock knock.

“Enter.”

At his permission, the Head Servant stepped in and asked,

“You summoned me?”

“Send word to the Mage Tower.”

“The Mage Tower…?”

Lutis frowned slightly at the Head Servant’s hesitant, anxious glances, then sighed deeply. It was the same displeased expression Aeli had witnessed earlier during his conversation with Lord Montero.

‘…The Mage Tower?’

Taken aback by the unexpected term, Aeli bit her lip uncertainly.

As far as she remembered from nearly a month of observation, there hadn’t been any issue at the estate serious enough to warrant summoning a mage—so why the Mage Tower now?

It was a puzzling order.

“But Your Grace, the Mage Tower right now…”

Yet even more perplexing was the Head Servant’s reaction: hesitation, discomfort, clearly troubled upon hearing Lutis’s command.

Though not as powerful as the Temple—second only to the Imperial Palace—the Mage Tower still held immense influence within the Empire.

While the number of those who walked the arcane path was small, and their order somewhat cloistered—preventing them from wielding overt political might—the Empire still relied heavily on magic for everyday conveniences and even certain military weapons.

Thus, it was generally impossible to summon a mage from the Tower so casually.

‘But wait—I’m a Mason.’

A founding noble house! Descendants of an Archmage!

No mage in their right mind would ever disdain the name Mason.

So many past Archmages of the Tower had borne the Mason name that the Tower’s goodwill toward House Mason was practically absolute.

People even said the true power behind the Tower was the Mason family—and in many ways, that wasn’t far from the truth…

‘So why is the Head Servant so distressed about Rattleleaf—a house joined to Mason by marriage—simply contacting the Mage Tower?’

After all, hadn’t “he” once used a teleportation scroll—something so rare even wealth couldn’t easily procure it—for nothing more than cleaning the roof?

Such scrolls could be acquired by the dozens with just a single letter, and when Aeli was little, they’d summon mages just to cast preservation spells on wildflowers.

“What I’m asking—does it even look like a request?”

“……”

“Whether they’ve locked their gates or declared they’ll no longer cast magic under the Rattleleaf name—that’s none of my concern.”

“But—”

“As long as a child bearing Mason blood resides within Rattleleaf, they will never hold true authority. You know this as well as I do.”

What on earth was coming out of that mouth?

For a moment, Aeli felt goosebumps crawl up her spine. She knew—if she stayed and heard any more, there would be no turning back.

But Lutis spoke again before she could turn and leave the study.

“Bring them here by any means necessary. Persuade them, threaten them—I don’t care. Just get them before me and have them repair the enchantment on the annex.”

This time, it must be made stronger than before.

“No expense is too great. Cast a barrier that absolutely cannot be broken,” Lutis said, blinking rapidly before finally turning to the visibly sweating Head Servant.

“And while you’re at it, add a binding that prevents anyone from leaving without my explicit permission.”

“Forgive my boldness, Your Grace, but the Young Master is soon to turn fi—”

“When did I permit you to question me? Has your age dulled your hearing?”

“……”

“You have until my last breath to accomplish this.”

“……”

“If you understand, leave. Don’t make me repeat myself again.”

Growling low under his breath, Lutis watched as the Head Servant opened and closed his mouth several times before bowing and retreating.

He was likely heading off to contact the Mage Tower as ordered.

It was all far too reminiscent of the previous encounter.

And by now, Aeli almost wished she could faint right where she stood. Everything she’d just witnessed and heard overwhelmed her completely.

‘So… he really means to keep him imprisoned forever—until the day I die.’

Regardless of blessings or rituals—he had no intention of ever letting the child out before his own death.

He’d locked the child in the annex before his first birthday and fled like a coward to the battlefield, never even giving him a name.

He’d denied him even a stroll through the garden just steps away—let alone proper education or healthy friendships.

He’d abandoned his duty and stripped the child of every right he was owed. What did that even mean?

– …Hah.

A hollow sigh escaped through Aeli’s clenched teeth. Emotions—anger, grief, something she couldn’t even name—churned together, making her whole body tremble.

Aeli—Aeli Mason—had spent the past month endlessly resenting Lutis for never visiting the annex. She’d dreamed of hitting him over and over until her fury subsided.

…Yet deep down, there had always been a sliver of hope.

Because she believed.

[Lutis wouldn’t do something like this. He adored Adi so much.]

There must have been a reason.

Even if he hadn’t given a name to his infant son, banished him to the annex despite perfectly good rooms elsewhere, and then vanished to war without a trace until the boy grew this much—

There must have been a reason.

She’d held onto that belief and hope. When she’d first heard of Lutis’s return, she’d been worried—but also a little excited.

Now that he’s back, surely he’ll come see the child. Surely he’ll send him back where he belongs.

Surely he’ll give him the most wonderful, beautiful name—hold him in his arms with that same radiant smile as before.

She’d imagined that future.

But look at this.

‘…This isn’t it.’

Aeli took an involuntary step backward and clenched her fists tightly.

Something was profoundly wrong. The family she’d envisioned had never looked like this.

That statement just now—it sounded just like treating the child as a hostage or a tool.

‘It wasn’t that the Mage Tower suddenly changed and locked their doors. I should’ve realized it the moment I saw Mari left alone caring for Adi. That’s why…’

That’s why she should’ve helped Adi escape before Lutis ever returned.

Looking back, there had been countless strange signs from the very beginning.

Aeli’s older brother—freshly inheriting his title and swamped with duties both within and beyond his domain—had practically lived at Rattleleaf Manor, saying that just seeing his adorable nephew gave him strength even in the hardest times.

His retainers had used scrolls to drag him back more than once or twice out of sheer frustration.

‘Would someone who cherished his nephew that deeply really just abandon him to this fate?’

It made no sense. Even if he’d been completely unaware, the rumors had already spread throughout the entire Empire long ago—he couldn’t possibly have missed them.

Clearly, Lutis had prevented him from taking the child.

And in doing so, he must have severed ties with House Mason—which naturally meant the Mage Tower had turned against him as well.

– ……

If only she could erase her eyes and ears entirely.

She wished to return to the moment before overhearing the conversation with the Head Servant—no, before even hearing the talk with the Captain of the Knights. Better yet—before she’d ever set out for the main estate to see Lutis at all.

She simply couldn’t accept that Lutis—of all people—was the root of all this.

What kind of child was Adi?

Remembering Lutis’s reaction when she’d first told him she was pregnant, Aeli bit down hard on her lip out of habit.

[Lutis, I need to talk to you.] […What’s with that serious tone? Did you burn down the training grounds practicing magic again?][…Hey.] [No, I’m not blaming you—but I told you to avoid wide-area spells. You said your health’s been poor lately—you really shouldn’t push yourself.] [That’s exactly why.] [You burned down the training grounds? Don’t worry about it. We can rebuild it—as long as you’re not hurt.] [I’m pregnant.] […Huh?]

His expression—blurry, stunned, somewhere between repeating the word and gasping in delight—made Aeli laugh as she spoke.

[I said I’m pregnant. Is that really all you’re going to say?] […] [For days now I couldn’t even stand the smell of food. And recently, I had a dream—I was walking through a forest, and suddenly a fire spirit started circling me.] […] [I tried to keep walking, but it blocked my way and kept crying, so I followed it—and there was a red dragon hatchling napping in a tree. It suddenly woke up, hugged me, and smiled! Anyone would call that an omen of childbirth!] […] [Given how I’ve been feeling, I went for a check-up—and yes, I’m pregnant. I’m telling you before even contacting my parents because… are you crying?]

Mid-sentence, startled by the sudden round wet spot on the carpet, Aeli grabbed Lutis’s face and lifted it.

His expression, now fully visible, was overwhelmed—brimming with a joy too profound for words.

The only certainty was that Lutis had completely forgotten all dignity, sobbing openly right there in the corridor and leaving Aeli utterly embarrassed.

‘And of course, that became gossip fodder in every scandal sheet.’

And that wasn’t all. Not content with just hugging her in gratitude, he refused to let her feet touch the ground throughout her first trimester.

One night, the famed Sword Master—normally so graceful—leapt about their bedroom shouting “Hooray!” and ended up tripping spectacularly.

– ……

That was how welcomed Adi had been.

Even if he hadn’t been born into the fiery passion Aeli had once imagined,

He was a life who had entered this world bathed in boundless parental love.

Aeli ground her teeth.

Even now, though her eyes trembled wildly, her already-dead body betrayed no hint of emotion.

It was heartbreaking. Never before had her motionless heart felt such deep regret.

– …I curse you.

Eyes wide with the agony of having lost both body and soul—ripped to shreds—Aeli whispered as if possessed.

The love she’d placed in him had transformed into hatred with terrifying speed; betrayal ballooned inside her like a snowball growing ever larger.

Without another word, Aeli turned and left Lutis’s study—

Vowing never to trust him again.