|| Chapter 1 ||

Name: None.

Age: I stopped counting after I passed one hundred years.

Appearance: I don’t know. I can’t see myself in a mirror.

I don’t know anything about myself, but I have lived in this old mansion for about three hundred years.

I am a ghost.

Not just any ghost, but one that is bound to this mansion.

I don’t know when I died or why I became a ghost who can’t leave this place.

Ever since I became aware of myself, I have existed as a ghost, unable to cross over to the afterlife and left wandering this world.

Why am I suddenly talking about being a ghost?

Because… damn it.

Today is my wedding day.

I sat on the roof, staring blankly at the busy people below.

They looked like they wanted to finish as quickly as possible, so they only made the simplest preparations for the wedding.

“Seriously… who gave them permission to hold my wedding?”

Humans are impossible to understand.

And to make things worse, my groom was just a tiny little boy.

Among the busy adults, a child dressed in a neat black suit sat quietly with a pale face.

He had snow-white hair and bright golden eyes, making him an adorable boy.

He looked about seven years old.

Watching him tremble while biting his lip, I clicked my tongue.

“What did such a little child ever do wrong?”

Even I, a ghost, felt sorry for him.

Yet none of the humans seemed to care.

Not a single one of them even looked at him.

“Are you sure this is really okay?”

“What else can we do? His Majesty ordered it.”

I listened carefully as the humans talked.

“A spirit marriage? Do you really think this will calm the ghost? Why don’t we just perform an exorcism?”

“They said we have to comfort the angry spirit. If we simply destroy it, it will bring disaster upon the Imperial Family.”

“Tsk. That child is nothing more than a sacrifice.”

“He looks so young. Poor thing.”

“But did they really have to dress him like that? He looks just like royalty…”

“Shh. Just do what we were told. Don’t ask unnecessary questions.”

It seemed they were deliberately pretending not to care.

Even though they secretly glanced at the boy, no one dared say anything.

“Do ghosts really appear here?”

“I heard some knights came here to test their courage, and they were so scared they wet themselves. So I guess ghosts really do exist.”

“I even heard that dead bodies suddenly appear in front of people and disappear in the blink of an eye!”

Before long, they completely forgot about the boy and started talking about the mansion’s ghost stories.

“Hey.”

Just then, the priest who looked like the leader walked over to the little boy.

“You know it’s time to repay us for feeding you and giving you a place to sleep, right?”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

How could he say something like that to such a small child?

The boy lowered his head without saying a word.

The priest smirked and lightly tapped his head.

“This mansion has existed since the reign of the First Emperor. Recently, strange things have been happening here. They say the ghost of a woman who died unfairly keeps appearing.”

Yeah.

That would be me.

“People get hurt whenever they come here. They have nightmares every night, and no one can stay here for even one day. It must all be the work of that female ghost.”

No.

Let’s get the facts straight.

I wasn’t bothering anyone.

They were the ones who suddenly barged into my mansion.

Normally, no one ever came here.

But three months ago, people suddenly started showing up one after another.

They searched every corner of the mansion and disturbed my peaceful life.

I only scared them a little.

“And every single one of them tripped over their own feet!”

I never hurt anyone.

They frightened themselves and now blamed an innocent ghost.

Then the priest looked at the boy.

“You worthless orphan. You’re lower than a sewer rat. You should be honored that you’re finally being useful to the Imperial Family.”

“Wow. This bastard really knows how to insult people.”

Even I, who wasn’t involved, was getting angry.

But the boy…

He didn’t even look angry.

He just looked terrified.

“…What… what will happen to me now?”

The silent child finally spoke.

“You’re marrying the ghost that lives here. From now on, you’ll live here.”

“T-Then… I’ll be living here… alone?”

“Not alone.”

The priest laughed.

“You’ll have your ghost bride.”

In other words…

He would have no one.

The boy’s face turned completely pale.

“Hahaha! Idiot! You’re just a sacrifice! We only dressed you like royalty to fool the ghost. Did you actually think we’d leave servants here to take care of someone like you? Know your place.”

The louder the priest laughed, the more the little boy’s shoulders shook.

“Oh, don’t worry. His Majesty generously decided to send you living expenses and food every month.”

“Only until you become an adult, of course.”

“I don’t know why His Majesty is being so generous… but that’s none of my business.”

“His Majesty… really sent me here?”

The boy suddenly raised his voice.

“Why didn’t he just let me die instead…!”

Everyone turned to look.

The priest quickly covered the boy’s mouth.

“You seem to have misunderstood something.”

“You’re worth less than a stone on the street.”

“And you dare insult His Majesty?”

“Just because you’re dressed like royalty doesn’t mean you actually are royalty.”

The priest shoved him hard.

The boy fell onto the ground.

A deep scratch appeared on his cheek.

“Everything’s ready.”

The priest grinned.

“Now then… shall we go meet your bride, fake prince?”

His laughter sounded like a demon’s.

The boy covered his ears, but someone roughly grabbed him and forced him to stand.

Watching everything, I frowned.

“These humans are complete trash. How could they treat such a small child like this?”

I had planned to throw everyone out.

I didn’t care about having a little groom.

But…

If I did that…

That child would probably die with no one to take care of him.

He had no one on his side here.

There was no way he’d have anyone outside either.

“But… who exactly is this child?”

That question had been bothering me from the beginning.

The servants whispered about him looking like royalty.

The priest’s strange words…

Putting everything together…

It sounded like they had purposely dressed him to look like a member of the Imperial Family.

“But I don’t see any signs of magic or disguise…”

Something felt very wrong.

The boy stood in front of a white coffin, looking like someone waiting for death.

The coffin was decorated with white flowers and covered with a veil.

It represented the ghost bride.

Me.

“Groom… Lucian…”

The priest paused.

“…No. Lucian Odelion.”

“Do you swear to cherish, love, and stay with your ghost bride for the rest of your life?”

It was time for the vows.

The boy bit his lip.

He stayed silent.

The priest shouted even louder.

“Groom, Lucian Odelion! Do you swear to cherish, love, and stay with your ghost bride for the rest of your life?!”

“…Yes.”

His body shook as he answered.

Yet instead of pitying him, everyone around simply complained that he had taken too long to answer.

Not a single person stood on his side.

Seeing that made my heart ache.

I let out a deep sigh.

Then I climbed down from the roof and walked among the people.

“The Bride…”

“The Ghost Bride…”

“Do you swear to cherish, love, and stay with Lucian Odelion for the rest of your life?”

Ridiculous.

They were talking to a coffin.

Some people even laughed quietly.

The boy shrank even more.

I hated this.

“Yes. I swear.”

The moment I answered, I moved my mana.

The coffin suddenly shook.

A powerful wind burst out around it.

The people who had been laughing instantly turned pale.

It was amusing how easily they got scared.

“Serves you right. You cowards can’t even look a ghost in the face!”

Even the priest who had bullied the boy hurried to finish the ceremony.

I folded my arms and laughed.

Then—

“…Ah…”

A strange sound came from beside me.

I turned.

The boy was staring in my direction.

More specifically…

At my legs.

Ghosts don’t have visible feet.

Just as I thought that—

The boy’s eyes rolled back.

“Hey!”

He suddenly fainted.

The priest and everyone else panicked.

So did I.

I scratched my head while looking at the unconscious child.

“Don’t tell me… he actually saw me?”

No…

If he could really see me, he should have noticed me while I was sitting on the roof.

“Maybe he just has weak spiritual energy.”

Sometimes humans could see a faint image of me.

Maybe I had released too much ghostly energy just now.

“Th-This concludes the spirit marriage!”

The priest hurriedly declared the ceremony over.

The servants quickly rushed to leave.

Meanwhile…

The priests looked awkwardly at the unconscious boy lying on the ground.

“What should we do with him?”

“Just leave him.”

“Our job is done.”

“But what if His Majesty complains that we didn’t finish properly…?”

I crouched beside the boy, wondering what kind of garbage these humans would do until the very end.

“We can’t just leave him outside.”

“It looks like it’s going to rain soon.”

“Damn it! Then what should we do?”

“…Fine.”

“One of us will carry him inside.”

The three priests stared nervously at the mansion.

Apparently, they thought it was a haunted house filled with ghosts.

“Excuse me? I keep this mansion very clean.”

It’s only a little gloomy.

It’s much cleaner than most mansions.

Ignoring my complaint, they started deciding who would go inside.

“…Damn.”

In the end…

The same priest who had bullied the boy lost.

His companions sighed in relief while he reluctantly picked the child up.

“Don’t wet your pants on the way!”

“Be careful not to see a ghost!”

“Hahaha!”

Since it wasn’t their problem anymore, they immediately started teasing him.

Annoyed, I secretly created a small rock under their feet.

“Ah!”

“Aaaah!”

Both of them crashed into each other and fell flat on the ground.

One of them probably broke his nose.

“Serves you right!”

Leaving the two groaning behind, I hurried after the boy.

“Damn… why is it so cold in here?”

The moment the priest stepped inside the mansion, he shivered.

Outside, it was a warm spring day.

Inside…

The air was freezing.

“Mm…”

Hearing the unconscious boy groan, the priest looked around.

“Damn it. Isn’t there even a sofa?”

He was obviously planning to dump the child somewhere and leave.

“Put him on a bed. He’ll freeze if you leave him there.”

To guide him…

I lit the candles myself.

The priest’s face immediately turned white.

“It’s like… a ghost is showing me the way…”

Earlier they had talked confidently about calming spirits.

But now…

He looked like he had only just realized ghosts were real.

“I don’t care…”

He followed the candlelight.

The candles floated upstairs and stopped in front of the largest room on the second floor.

Inside was a beautiful old-fashioned bedroom.

The terrified priest practically threw the boy onto the bed before rushing toward the door.

But I wasn’t about to let him leave.

“Hey, bastard! Leave the money and food before you go!”

You can’t just dump a child here and run away!

I slammed the bedroom door shut.

The priest froze.

His pale face turned completely white.

“Damn it! Open the door! Open it! Do you even know who I am, you ghost?!”

He was panicking.

Sighing, I picked up a stone board and a piece of chalk.

The priest froze as he watched them float through the air.

I wrote:

“Leave money and food for my groom.”

See?

I was even communicating politely.

I held the board right in front of his face.

Drip…

“Hm?”

A small sound echoed.

I looked down.

His pants were getting wet.

“Eww! Gross! He peed himself!”

Startled, I threw the stone board away.

The priest collapsed onto the floor.

“…A… A… A ghost!”

Five seconds later…

He screamed loud enough to shake the mansion and ran outside as fast as he could.

Ignoring everyone trying to stop him, he fled beyond the gates.

“Hey! I told you to leave the money and food!”

“Mm…”

While I clicked my tongue as I watched him escape through the window, the boy let out another weak groan.

I looked at the child lying on the bed…

Then at the puddle the priest had left behind.

I let out another long sigh.

“Ah… what terrible luck I have.”

For some reason…

I had a feeling this mansion was about to become much noisier.