The Ghost Lady Of The Duke's Family (20 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 16
Mari froze just as she was about to turn toward the door, her gaze shifting to the child.
It was an almost reflexive reaction after she saw the child flinch at the flutter of her skirt as she turned away.
“Uh… Waaah!”
The child, who had been staring blankly at the shattered flowerpot with startled eyes, suddenly burst into loud sobs.
Naturally, the previously quiet space descended into chaos.
Aeli and Mari both moved instinctively to comfort the child, speaking nearly in unison.
—Adi! Look at me! Look! Peekaboo!
“Y-Young Master! Are you hurt?!”
…Wait, if you say it like that, what am I supposed to be?
Mari gasped sharply, then frantically examined the sobbing child’s body for any injuries.
Her concern was unmistakable at first glance.
Aeli, a novice mother trying to soothe the child with a playful expression, awkwardly lowered her arms.
Having only ever dealt with soothing newborns, she couldn’t think of any more creative methods.
“Waaaah! Hweeeng…!”
“Ah! Please don’t touch that! You’ll cut yourself if you handle the broken pieces carelessly!”
Mari tried to stop the child from reaching for the pot but hesitated mid-sentence when she offered to clean it up herself—it was too dangerous.
Aside from Aeli, only the child and Miri remained in the dining room.
Even Miri had just left moments earlier, after telling Mari that since it was getting late, she’d wash the dishes in the morning—just leave the tableware neatly arranged.
Given the situation, it wasn’t easy to fetch the proper tools to clean up the broken pot.
‘I can’t even step out of the dining room—Mari lets go, and he’ll grab the shards right away…’
There was nothing Aeli could do; even though she understood his need to touch everything himself, words alone wouldn’t stop him.
Realizing quickly that no one else could help her, Mari seemed to choose comforting the child first over cleaning up the mess.
“Why is our Young Master so upset…? Crying like that will make you dehydrated.”
“But… but it was mine… Hweeeng…”
“I know. You’re already tired, and I was so thoughtless—I really messed up. I’ll go get a new flowerpot right now. Could you please forgive me just this once?”
“Then if you don’t bring it back before… before today ends… Waaah! It won’t mean anything if you wait until tomorrow! Huuuhhh!”
“No! I’ll go right now—I’ll be back before midnight! Young Master, you trust me, right? I’m super fast—”
“Mari never keeps promises! Huuh! You didn’t keep it! How can I believe you! I won’t… I won’t even give you the ribbon I liked, and I won’t let you pet me anymore! Appa won’t come back… Hweeeng—!”
As he spoke, the child slowly crawled down from his high chair and reached into the pile of spilled soil.
Startled, Mari was too dumbfounded to react in time to stop him.
“Hweeeng… Appaa…”
The child sniffled as he pulled a yellow ribbon from the dirt where the pot had shattered.
Aeli froze at the unexpected word that tumbled from his lips as tears spilled onto the ribbon.
Though the child seemed far too distraught to notice such small details.
“D-Duke?”
The flustered Mari asked in disbelief, and the child squeezed the dirty ribbon tightly in both hands before replying.
“This… this is Mommy’s favorite flower! Appa doesn’t like me… but Mommy would’ve liked it, so I tried to give it to him…!”
“Young Master! What are you talking about! Of course the Duke likes you! I saw it myself! He was so careful—not to hurt you by accident. Why would you think such a thing?”
“But that was… hhhk…! That was back then! He’s mad because I made Mommy leave! Am I stupid? I know… hweeeng… I know Appa’s mad at me!”
His tears grew heavier.
Aeli stood speechless as he began digging through the dirt, desperately gathering the ruined flower stems.
Had she ever felt such raw fear in her entire life?
His words pierced her heart like daggers. Her fingertips trembled.
“The flower’s ruined… hweeeng… ruined… Appa’s not coming…”
“…”
“He won’t care about me like he used to… Waaah—!”
Tears rolled down the child’s cheeks and landed on the dirty soil, darkening patches here and there. Aeli’s eyes fell on his soiled hands and knees.
His face was now smeared too—he’d wiped his tears with those muddy hands.
Was this even real?
‘I… no, have I really…’
Since when had he started thinking like this?
The question struck Aeli like lightning.
All those times he’d demanded to see the fairies again, spending nearly a whole week fixated on that tiny flowerpot—
Actually, even earlier than that.
—…
She hadn’t known. Not even the slightest hint.
If Aeli had been a ghost, watching him silently even before her death—
…Just how many long years had he endured alone, swallowing his sorrow?
She couldn’t fathom what thoughts filled that small head—and for the first time in her life, Aeli felt she might faint.
‘I thought… he just loved flowers… that’s why he kept it with him.’
But that wasn’t it at all.
Because his mother was gone, he’d poured all his time into this—hoping to ease, just a little, his father’s grief.
The crushing guilt hit her: it was her death that had done this to him. And she’d scolded him for obsessing over a flowerpot, completely unaware…
“Young Master. No, it’s not like that. The Duke is just… tired right now, that’s all.”
“Hhhk…”
“You told me yourself that the Duke knew your mother since he was as young as you are now, didn’t you? That’s why—he treasures her so, so much.”
“…”
“He loved your mother—your Young Master’s mother—so deeply that his wounds haven’t healed yet. People can get hurt in their hearts too, not just their bodies.”
Mari wiped the child’s tears with the back of her hand and continued gently.
“Remember once, when we played hide-and-seek and you fell? Your knee hurt so much you didn’t even notice I’d found you, right?”
“Uh… hhhk! Yeah…”
“The Duke is just like you were then. His heart hurts so much he can’t see anything else right now. But I promise you—he loves you more than anything.”
So please, Young Master, just wait a little longer for him. And then later, you can tease him all you want for being such a coward!
With an exaggerated tone to distract the child, Mari stood up—cradling him gently in her arms.
She cooled his slightly swollen eyes with her cool hands and asked softly,
“Now that you’ve calmed down a bit, would you like some cake? Eating something sweet helps when you’re feeling down. Or, if you’re tired, a bath and some sleep wouldn’t be bad either.”
“…Caaake…”
“Alright. But you must brush your teeth thoroughly afterward—promise me.”
“Prooomise…”
With practiced ease, Mari coaxed the child into his seat and placed a small slice of cake in front of him.
It was long past midnight, but she sang him a birthday song filled with more sincerity than ever before.
[This is the timeline separator]Aeli sat beside the sleeping child, who was murmuring in his dreams. He seemed delighted—probably eating something delicious in his sleep.
—…
You really are blissfully unaware.
Then again, he had every right to be. He’d stayed awake far past his usual bedtime, then gone through that whole ordeal and taken a bath afterward—of course he was exhausted.
‘I couldn’t say a word to him…’
Partly due to the shock she hadn’t anticipated.
But more than that, she regretted deeply not offering even a single denial to the child as he sobbed so heartbreakingly.
Truth be told, she had tried.
[Adi, Adi. No—Appa isn’t…]But the words wouldn’t come. Having heard what she had just days ago, she couldn’t be sure it was right to dismiss his fears so easily.
She’d seen the man calmly giving orders about what to do with the child, his expression utterly indifferent.
She was afraid—if the child took her words as absolute truth, it might only wound him deeper later.
—Ah, how utterly foolish…
This is what being a parent does to you—makes you this dumb.
It was painfully clear that without Mari, she wouldn’t have managed to soothe him at all.
Otherwise, every tearful word he’d cried would’ve hardened into bitter truth, carving fresh wounds.
It was pathetic—doing nothing but causing the pain in the first place, then feeling relieved it hadn’t gotten worse.
Aeli lowered her head, faintly mocking her own cowardice.
—Sleep well, Adi.
She gently stroked his hair, wishing with all her heart that he’d have sweet dreams.
Well… her hand would pass right through him anyway, so it was only a gesture.
But by now she’d grown somewhat used to it—so it didn’t feel quite so miserable.
—I’ll stay right here, watching over you while you sleep, my child.
As a ghost, she didn’t need sleep—she could stay by his side all night.
And when she was certain he was truly asleep, she could finally speak the truth, even if only like this. She’d never get this chance if he were awake.
So it was that as his bedtime drew near, Aeli sometimes found herself inexplicably hopeful.
Thus, she’d watch him silently, sweat beading on her brow as he slept, breathing heavily—until moments like this, when she’d whisper her goodnight…
—…Huh?
The faint smile on Aeli’s face slowly stiffened.
Something was going terribly wrong.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
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As she recounted the memory, the boy had already fallen asleep—leaving Aeli alon
Whaatt? Did he see her or something? (･o･;) ㅤㅤㅤ
“…!”
HE. SAW. HER. He saw her! He must be in such shock.
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Okay, so he can see her. Does it have something to do with the petal (・o・)
It turns out he actually hears her voice, I’m surprised.