|| Chapter 3 ||

Little Kid Observation Log – Day 10

Ever since the kitchen caught fire, the little kid hasn’t gone anywhere near it.

He must be scared of cooking now.

But there are no more potatoes or sweet potatoes left for him to eat.

In the end, he chose the only thing he could eat raw.

A carrot.

While crunching on the carrot…

The little kid started crying.

It doesn’t make me feel very good.

…

…

…

Little Kid Observation Log – Day 14

As the days passed, the little kid’s cheeks became thinner and thinner.

Now even the carrots were gone.

There wasn’t anything left that he could eat raw.

On top of that, more than half of the remaining ingredients had spoiled.

His stomach never stopped growling.

After filling himself with nothing but water, he finally decided to crack open a raw egg.

…

Damn.

The egg had been left at room temperature for too long.

Inside was a half-formed chick that had died before hatching.

The little kid gagged and quickly ran out of the kitchen.

…

…

Little Kid Observation Log – Day 16

The little kid didn’t eat a single meal today.

At this rate, he’s really going to—

“Aaaah! Damn it!”

I threw down my pen halfway through writing the journal and shouted.

I couldn’t keep writing anymore.

Letting the floating pen fall, I flew straight to where the little kid was.

Passing through the wall, I saw him curled up tightly on the bed.

Grrr…

The only sound in the silent room was his growling stomach.

The little lump under the blanket trembled as he curled himself up even tighter.

He was desperately trying to endure his hunger.

He hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday afternoon.

For the four days before that, he had only eaten one raw meal a day.

And even then…

It had been nothing but vegetables with almost no nutrition.

The only reason he was still standing was because he was young.

If he had been an adult…

He would’ve collapsed long ago.

“Damn it… how many days has it been already?”

I hurried back to my room and checked my observation journal.

I had started writing it the day after he arrived.

Today was the seventeenth day.

More than half a month had already passed.

They had said they would deliver food once a month.

That meant there were still thirteen days left.

About two weeks.

“Those idiots! Why hasn’t anyone come even once?!”

I was furious.

They had to know the child couldn’t cook.

Yet they left him all alone in this huge mansion.

On the day of the wedding, they dumped him here and simply left.

Back then I had thought,

“Surely they’ll at least come once a week to see if he’s alive.”

How foolish of me.

“What if he starves to death?!”

This couldn’t continue.

At this rate I’d end up with a dead body in my mansion.

If it were an adult…

I honestly wouldn’t care.

But this was a little kid who couldn’t even read.

If he starved to death and became a ghost like me…

I’d only have another earthbound spirit to worry about.

“I’m not helping him because I want to.”

I just didn’t want another ghost trapped in this mansion.

That’s all.

I hurried down to the kitchen and checked what ingredients were left.

“I should still be able to make bread… or oatmeal.”

Good thing I had quietly organized everything while he wasn’t around.

I’d already sorted the salt, sugar, and spices into glass jars.

The rest of the ingredients were neatly stored too.

Since he hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days…

He needed something gentle on his stomach.

“Oatmeal is probably the best choice.”

I immediately took out some oats and salt.

Lighting the stove, I brought over a pot and started roasting the oats.

“Who would’ve thought I’d end up cooking?”

Obviously…

Ghosts don’t get hungry.

We can’t even eat food.

So normally I’d never have a reason to cook.

Still…

Over the centuries I’d watched humans cook countless times.

And I’d memorized every single book in the mansion’s library.

Cooking methods were already stored in my head.

“Ah! It’s burning! It’s burning!”

The problem was…

I couldn’t smell anything.

Unless I saw smoke, I had no way of knowing if the food was burning.

Without thinking, I reached for the frying pan.

My hand passed right through it.

“…”

Using mana instead, I awkwardly moved the pan.

“That little kid keeps making me forget I’m a ghost.”

The reason I could move objects and clean the mansion was simple.

I knew how to use magic.

Most people used the mana inside their bodies.

But since I no longer had a body…

I gathered the mana floating around me instead.

After living as a ghost for three hundred years…

You naturally learn things like that.

I picked out all the burnt oats and ground the rest into a fine powder.

“Now I just need to add milk!”

The milk came from a goat that sometimes wandered into the yard.

I couldn’t smell it…

But it looked pretty good.

Still…

It felt a little plain.

So I reached for the salt.

“…How much am I supposed to use?”

The cookbook only said,

“Season to taste.”

Well…

That wasn’t very helpful.

I couldn’t taste food.

**”Maybe this much…?”

“No… maybe a little more?”**

In the end…

I just guessed.

Once it looked about right, I poured the finished oatmeal into a bowl.

“Now… how am I supposed to give it to him?”

If I simply left it beside his bed…

He’d probably start wandering around looking for whoever brought it.

I thought about it for a long time.

Then—

“Ah! I’ll use the smell!”

The little kid was starving.

He’d definitely notice the scent.

I quickly carried the oatmeal to his bedroom door.

Opening it just a tiny bit, I gently blew the smell inside.

About a minute later…

The little lump on the bed twitched.

“…Something smells good.”

“It worked!”

Swallowing hard, the little kid climbed out of bed.

Before he could open the door, I hurried downstairs with the bowl.

Thankfully…

He followed the smell all the way to the kitchen.

Just before he walked in, I placed the oatmeal on the dining table and hid behind a cabinet.

“…Food?”

The moment he saw the steaming bowl of oatmeal…

His face lit up.

He immediately buried his face over the bowl.

“He’s going to burn his tongue.”

“Hot! Hot!”

“See? I knew it.”

After calming down a little, he carefully blew on it before taking another bite.

“…It’s salty!”

I immediately shrank back.

Looks like I’d added too much salt.

“I’ll use less next time.”

Munch.

Slurp.

Chew.

Even though he’d complained…

He ate the oatmeal happily.

He must have been unbelievably hungry.

When he finally finished the entire bowl…

He simply stared at it.

There was still more oatmeal beside him.

I wondered why he wasn’t eating it.

Then…

Tiny drops fell into the empty bowl.

“W-Why are you crying?”

I froze.

“It’s delicious…”

“So… delicious…”

For a moment…

I couldn’t say anything.

How lonely…

How painful…

Those days must have been.

He had been forced to marry a ghost.

Thrown into a huge mansion all by himself.

Unable to even eat properly.

No child should have to go through that.

The little kid quietly cried for a long time.

While crying…

He ate another bowl of oatmeal.

Then he carefully washed the dishes and stored the remaining oatmeal in a corner.

Even after he left the kitchen…

I couldn’t bring myself to leave.

“Yeah… let’s stop doing this.”

I threw the observation journal into the stove.

Half a month’s worth of entries turned into ashes.

Even so…

My heart felt strangely lighter.

“First, I need to make sure the kid stays alive.”

After watching him for over half a month…

I’d grown attached to him before I even realized it.

He was always crying.

Always wearing a gloomy expression.

Now…

I found myself wondering…

What kind of smile would that little kid have?

* * *

“My throat is so dry…”

The moment Lucian woke up, he was overwhelmed with thirst.

The oatmeal from yesterday had probably been too salty.

He picked up the glass of water beside his bed and drank it all at once.

Only after finishing the whole cup did his thirst finally disappear.

“Hehe…”

He couldn’t help smiling as he remembered what had happened yesterday.

“Who could it be?”

“Was it the same person who was here on my first day?”

Yesterday…

He had truly believed he was going to die.

He was starving.

He couldn’t cook.

There was nothing left to eat.

He could have gone outside and eaten grass if he really wanted to.

But…

He didn’t want to live like that.

No…

At the time, he had thought it would be easier to simply die.

Living alone in such a huge mansion felt more frightening than death itself.

But…

When death actually came close…

He became terrified.

He wished that someone…

Anyone…

Would reach out a hand to him.

And then…

A miracle happened.

“But why won’t they show themselves?”

He didn’t know their face.

Their name.

Or even whether they were a man or a woman.

He couldn’t understand why his savior refused to appear.

Maybe the people from the Imperial Palace had ordered them to hide their identity.

“…I just want to thank them.”

Lucian quietly played with the empty cup in his hands.

His shoulders drooped.

Then he shook his head.

“I’ll look for them again today!”

Grrr…

Just as he declared his determination…

His stomach growled loudly.

Even though no one else was around…

His face turned bright red with embarrassment.

“Ahem…”

“I should eat first.”

Judging by how much oatmeal was left…

It should last until dinner.

He needed to eat it carefully.

Otherwise…

He’d run out of food again.

Just before leaving his room, he noticed a growing pile of dirty clothes.

“…After breakfast, I should wash my clothes too.”

He had no idea how to do laundry.

But…

“You just soak them in water, right?”

Before…

He hated having to do everything himself.

Now…

It somehow made him feel like he’d become a real grown-up.

Feeling unusually cheerful, Lucian ran downstairs.

He happily headed toward the kitchen to eat the leftover oatmeal.

Then—

“…Huh?”

He blinked.

“Bread… and meat?!”

A wonderful breakfast was waiting on the kitchen table.

Freshly baked bread.

Crispy bacon.

Broccoli.

And hot corn soup.

Even back where he used to live…

He had never eaten such an amazing breakfast.

Everything smelled wonderful.

His mouth instantly filled with saliva.

Quickly wiping the drool from his lips, Lucian hurried over and sat down.

He picked up the bread first.

Taking a bite—

“H-Hot…!”

“But… it’s delicious!”

Steam escaped from his mouth.

The bread was so soft it almost melted on his tongue.

Its rich flavor spread through his mouth.

He dipped another piece into the soup.

The combination was perfect.

“This is delicious! Everything is delicious!”

Even the thick slices of bacon tasted incredible.

After trying everything else…

His eyes landed on the bright green broccoli.

He had never seen broccoli before.

“What is this?”

“It probably tastes good too.”

Without hesitation…

He stuffed the whole piece into his mouth.

The smile slowly disappeared from his face.

His expression froze.

Then drooped.

“…Ugh…”

“It tastes awful.”

This was betrayal.

How could such a horrible thing be served with such delicious food?

Lucian stared at the broccoli for a long time.

Then quietly pushed it to the side.

Pretending it no longer existed…

He happily devoured everything else until every plate was completely empty.