The Ghost Lady Of The Duke's Family (20 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 3

[Lutis! Look at this! The baby smiled!]

Aeli recalled the first time she had met those eyes.

Right after birth, the child had cried so loudly it seemed the world would end.

Except for spending most of the day asleep, as newborns do, the baby mostly smiled.

Waking from sleep and crying, but bursting into giggles the moment Aeli showed her face.

Giggling again when their eyes met during feeding.

And once more when kissed gently on the cheek with a “Sleep well.”

She’d heard babies usually cry easily—but somehow, Aeli and Lutis’s child seemed prone to laughter instead.

[Kyaah!] [My sweetie, are you happy to see Mama?] […Guh! Gah! Cough, cough!] […Huh? Why, why is this happening? Mari! Mari…! Help me!]

So much so that once, while nursing, their eyes met and the baby laughed—causing milk to go down the wrong pipe.

Because of that, Aeli had to drape a cloth over her face every time she breastfed.

[…What am I going to do with a baby who smiles this much?] [Why? Isn’t it good that they smile a lot?] [But if they’re too friendly with strangers, it could be dangerous once they’re older.] […You’re right. Lutis, what should we do?] [Asking me won’t magically give you the answer.]

Holding one finger from each parent in tiny hands,

and giggling while puffing those plump baby cheeks—those moments made Aeli and Lutis lean their heads together in worry.

Yet whenever Aeli wiped the drool from the baby’s chin with her free hand, their eyes always met.

Those violet eyes, shining especially bright when laughing—clearly inherited from Lutis.

In Mari’s words, they resembled amethyst flowers, and of all the moments Aeli adored about her child, this one etched itself deepest into her memory.

So she recognized it instantly.

“Uh… Mommy-ma-jah? …Ma-jah?”

When no answer came, the little body clinging to the doorknob leaned halfway out, as if to urge a reply.

Ever since opening her eyes, this child had desperately searched for her.

-…….

Yet now, faced with that unwavering gaze fixed squarely on her, Aeli hesitated and stepped back.

She retreated two steps and faintly trembled her lips.

‘…My baby.’

The same black hair as hers, and eyes that reminded her of Lutis.

In Aeli’s memory, this was the same newborn she’d seen just yesterday.

…Then why had the child grown so much?

At a glance, this was far beyond what any child could grow in just two seasons—roughly half a year.

‘Could my child secretly be some kind of new human species?’

As this absurd thought crossed her mind, Aeli’s eyes suddenly widened.

The gloomy atmosphere in the mansion she’d noticed earlier, and the oddly aged appearances of the faces she’d seen—

She’d assumed they were worn out from coping with the lady’s sudden absence.

But maybe… it wasn’t that at all. Maybe simply more time had passed than she’d realized?

Aeli’s eyes swiveled back toward the child.

Their gazes met.

Swish—

-……?

When she shifted slightly to the side, the child’s eyes rolled smoothly to follow her.

Not only had the child spoken just now, but now stared at her with such clear, alert eyes.

This couldn’t possibly mean… they could actually see her?

-…How old are you?

“Um… uh…….”

As if unsure how to speak, the child exhaled a soft groan, shoulders twitching.

Apparently, someone had noticed her.

Everyone else had failed to sense her presence—but her own son had. Should she laugh or cry?

Just as Aeli tried to hide her conflicting emotions,

a small, stubby finger cautiously extended.

Four fingers.

Aeli blinked rapidly and asked again.

-Four years old?

“But—but next month I’ll be five!”

Though she’d only asked about age, the child’s reply came sharply, voice rising slightly.

The hand that had been gripping the doorknob—when had it let go?—was now clenched tightly into a little fist.

A dimple appeared on one cheek as the child pressed lips together stubbornly.

‘…I have that dimple too.’

Over the child’s upturned face, Aeli superimposed the memory of that gurgling, giggling infant she used to hold.

Unaware she’d smiled, the child stared blankly for a moment, then spoke again.

“Mommy… ma-jah?”

Flustered by those sparkling eyes, Aeli blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

-N-no, probably not?

She chose the negative.

The child’s shoulders slumped.

“But… we have the exact same hair….”

-W-well, that’s because….

As the child’s head dipped lower and lower, Aeli’s desperate gaze landed on the tray a maid had left behind.

-Let’s… let’s eat first! Shall we talk after our meal?

She was certain it had been meant for dinner.

They’d stood facing each other at the door for quite a while, and outside, winter snow fell steadily.

The food had likely grown cold by now—panicked, Aeli stared intently at the child, who slowly nodded up and down, as if pondering.

“But you have to tell me after I finish eating, okay?”

-Y-yeah.

Giving an awkward nod, Aeli quickly entered the room.

Since neither objects nor people responded to her touch, the child had to drag the tray in alone.

The child, however, closed the door smoothly, sat on the bed, and opened the tray lid with practiced ease—making Aeli’s brow furrow slightly.

‘Normally, servants handle things like this.’

Though the meal was decently arranged, it felt meager for dinner.

And this attic room—just what was going on?

Aeli turned and scanned the room.

A modest bed fit for servants, a small wardrobe, and an old desk barely suitable for writing brief letters.

With only three pieces of furniture, the room felt cramped even for just two people.

‘Isn’t this precisely the age when they’d move into the room we prepared?’

Among noble families, only the most doting parents—those who virtually never let their child out of sight—would place their child in an adjoining room.

They’d even torn down walls to expand it, filling the space with only the finest things after years of preparation.

Then why abandon that room entirely?

-…….

Why live here—of all places—in this tiny, shabby attic in a detached wing, when there were countless other rooms in the main manor?

Aeli quietly approached the child and asked,

-Baby, how long have you lived here?

“I’m not a baby anymore….”

-…Right. Then what’s your name?

Aeli didn’t know her child’s name.

It was customary to wait at least six months before naming a child—and she’d died before that.

Of course, she and Lutis had diligently scoured ancient dictionaries even before the birth, so they surely gave a lovely name—

“…Young Master?”

-That’s a title, not a name.

“Um….”

-Yeah?

“Um… Young Mas-ter….”

-…….

Aeli swallowed hard for no reason.

Children around four usually spoke fairly well, right?

‘He seemed articulate just a moment ago—why does it feel like we’re going in circles?’

Her heart, which normally beat steadily, now felt like it was leaping erratically, stirring anxiety.

-…Could it be you don’t have a name?

The child nodded.

-Good heavens….

Staggering as if she’d twisted her ankle, Aeli barely managed to steady herself.

Truly no name?

…At four years old?

‘Lutis, you idiot—have you gone mad?’

Aeli, raised as a Marchioness and accustomed to refinement, found herself mentally swearing for the first time in her life.

Thankfully, the curse died in her throat—she’d caught herself just in time, with the child nearby.

‘My beloved child, whom I cherished with my whole being, has reached four years without even a name.’

And next month, they’d turn five.

Outrage flooded Aeli—this was utterly unacceptable treatment for the sole heir of a ducal house.

Now that she looked closely, even the child’s clothes, though made of good fabric, were too short.

And the material was far too thin for winter.

Ever since noticing this attic room, she’d harbored uneasy suspicions.

-Could it be… your father remarried? And your stepmother is mistreating—

“No, no! That’s not it!”

The child, halfway through clearing the plates, frantically waved both hands in denial.

-…Then what?

“Appa didn’t do anyting wrong! There’s no stepmom—he’s just too busy….”

-…….

“S-servants barely ever come to visit either! Mari said that’s why…!”

-Even so, that’s just—

Aeli clamped her mouth shut. A familiar name had just rung in her ears.

-…Mari?

She’d murmured it almost to herself, but the child quickly nodded and added that Mari had been Mama’s maid. A familiar face flashed through Aeli’s mind.

Curly, chestnut-brown bob, hazel eyes, and a gentle face dotted with freckles across the nose.

She’d been the daughter of Aeli’s nursemaid—and her trusted handmaiden, who’d accompanied her from her parental home upon marriage.

Aeli had assumed Mari returned to House Mason after her death. Since the child couldn’t possibly remember anything from before age one, Mari must’ve cared for them this whole time.

‘But if that’s true… why haven’t I seen her since regaining consciousness? Has she left now?’

Of all times, why now?

Shaking off the thought, Aeli realized something more urgent demanded attention.

As the child had relayed Mari’s explanation, occasionally circumstances did delay naming.

But no parent—no matter the reason—would leave their child unnamed until this age. Remembering that fact made Aeli’s blood boil.

And yet—

“But… it’s really like that….”

-…….

Seeing the child fidgeting fingers while watching her reaction, Aeli couldn’t bring herself to state the harsh truth outright.

Wanting to defend Lutis somehow, she sighed while gazing at those beautiful violet eyes.

‘…I’ll handle this without the child knowing. I’ll investigate alone—there’s still time to decide what to do after.’

Suppressing her surging anger and disappointment, Aeli let out a deep sigh.

Thinking it was her fault, the child quickly added,

“It’s because I wanted the top room! Mari and my older brothers and sisters told me to stay here!”

-Here? It’s hard going up and down, and rooms downstairs are much nicer.

“But even so….”

-Look—there’s frost forming on the window even though the fireplace is going. You’ll catch a cold from the cold.

“…But from down there, you can’t see far away like this, and you can’t see the stars well either. I’m not allowed to go outside at all…….”

-…What?

Aeli’s eyes widened at the child’s words.

-Who’s keeping you locked up?

Gritting her teeth, she muttered inwardly,

‘He should’ve been home long ago—yet he hasn’t shown his face even now.’

No name given, poor clothing and living conditions, and not even allowed outside?

‘That’s what the world calls outright abuse.’

…So Lutis truly had been raising their child like utter trash.

If she could, she’d feed him the same fiery Eastern spice-laden soup she once had as a child—but now, since he wasn’t a child anymore, she’d pour it straight down his nose.

That scoundrel deserved it.

Aeli raised a hand and squeezed her own throat. It felt as if something blocked her windpipe.

“Th-that’s not it…!”

-You shouldn’t cover for him like this, baby. Your father really did wrong.

“It’s not that! Appa went off to war! He said not to let me outside because it’s dangerous!”

-…What?

Aeli’s body froze, hand still kneading her throat.

Who went where—on what?

-When?

“…….”

-…When?

“J-just before I turned one….”

-…….

…What?

Aeli’s expression twisted grotesquely.

Four years after her death, she returned as a ghost—only to find her household in utter chaos.