|| Chapter 2 ||

“You were never meant to be born into this world. Live as if you’re already dead. That’s the only way you’ll survive.”

“You should be grateful that we even bring you food. Just being alive is already His Majesty’s great mercy.”

“It would’ve been easier if you’d just died back then. We wouldn’t have to clean up after you.”

“Tsk. Why do you have to look exactly like him? Just looking at you makes me uncomfortable.”

“What are you doing?! I told you not to come out! If someone else sees you, not only you, but everyone here will die!”

The life he had lived until now passed through his mind like a panorama.

It had been one long, unhappy life.

There had never been any happiness.

Even in his dreams, he wanted to feel happiness just once.

But because he had never experienced it before…

He couldn’t even imagine what happiness was like.

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

Just as Lucian was about to be swallowed by endless darkness, he heard the priest’s voice reciting the wedding vows.

When he looked around, he realized he was no longer in the small bedroom.

He was back in the garden where the spirit marriage had taken place.

He was even wearing the same wedding clothes.

“Yes. I swear.”

The answer echoed through the air.

A voice he had never heard before…

A voice he shouldn’t have been able to hear.

Startled, Lucian turned around.

A woman stood there with her long hair fluttering in the wind.

She was looking straight ahead before slowly turning toward him.

“Let’s get along from now on, little one!”

She had to be the Ghost Bride.

Her body floated in the air.

Her feet were blurry.

Her whole body was transparent.

There was no way she was a living person.

Yet…

For some reason…

She felt warmer than anyone he had ever met.

Like warm sunlight shining into a cold room.

Without thinking, Lucian reached out.

But…

He couldn’t touch anything.

Her body scattered like mist.

He quickly looked up, hoping to at least see her face.

But bright light passed through her body, hiding her face from him.

A blinding light swallowed everything.

“…Hah!”

Lucian suddenly opened his eyes and sat up.

His heart pounded wildly.

Cold sweat ran down his back.

He had one nightmare after another, making it hard for him to calm down.

He grabbed his chest tightly and bent over.

After breathing for a long time, he remembered the dream he had just had.

“…Who was she?”

She felt like someone he missed so much that it almost made him cry.

No.

That couldn’t be true.

He had never had anyone precious enough to miss.

Even though he was only eight years old, Lucian had grown up far too quickly.

Before he could hope for anything, he buried those feelings deep inside his heart.

Soon, the dream faded away completely.

“But… where am I?”

Only then did Lucian realize this wasn’t the room he used to live in.

After sitting there blankly for a while, he finally remembered.

He had married the Ghost Bride.

“…A… a ghost’s house…”

A chill instantly ran down his spine.

His body trembled as he hurried under the blanket.

No matter how mature he acted…

He was still only an eight-year-old child.

After hiding there for quite some time, he finally gathered enough courage to peek outside.

Looking around, he was surprised.

The room was much cleaner than he expected.

No…

It was more than clean.

It was beautiful.

It was far more elegant than anywhere he had ever lived.

The expensive furniture gave the room an old but luxurious feeling.

Crackle… Crackle…

Firewood burned inside the fireplace.

Although it was spring, the nights were still chilly.

The warm fire filled the room with comforting heat.

“…Did someone light it?”

Come to think of it…

He had also been changed into pajamas while he was asleep.

The room had been neatly cleaned as well.

Someone had clearly been here.

“T-Thank goodness… there’s someone here!”

He had thought he would be left alone forever with the Ghost Bride.

Knowing another person was here made him incredibly relieved.

“Maybe they’re outside.”

Lucian climbed out of bed and opened the door.

Creak…

The old door slowly opened.

The hallway was lit only by candles.

Even so…

The gloomy atmosphere remained.

He didn’t want to step outside.

Growl…

His stomach complained loudly.

He hadn’t eaten since yesterday evening because he had been too nervous to swallow anything.

Now he was even hungrier than usual.

“I should’ve eaten everything they gave me…”

“…I don’t have a choice.”

Picking up a lantern, Lucian decided to explore the mansion.

“It’s so big.”

After walking downstairs, he saw just how huge the first floor was.

There was enough space to run around and play.

Like his bedroom, every corner was carefully maintained.

“Where’s the kitchen?”

He decided to leave exploring the mansion for later.

Right now…

He needed food.

And he needed to find whoever lived here.

Fortunately, he quickly found the kitchen.

But…

It was completely empty.

There wasn’t a single warm meal waiting for him.

“I-Is there really nothing?”

He searched everywhere.

The only things he found were dusty cooking tools.

His shoulders dropped.

Growl…

“I’m hungry…”

He was hungry.

Cold.

Scared.

For some reason, tears started filling his eyes.

Tap… Roll…

Something bumped against his foot.

“A… a potato!”

He happily picked it up.

Then he paused.

“…Where did this come from?”

Looking around, he noticed several boxes tucked away in one corner.

They were filled with ingredients.

Potatoes.

Sweet potatoes.

Flour.

Onions.

Meat.

Eggs.

Everything was uncooked.

“…I don’t know how to cook.”

His shoulders drooped again.

Apparently…

No one planned on cooking for him.

Just as he started feeling depressed again, he suddenly shook his head.

“Pull yourself together! You’ll have to learn someday!”

Carrying a few potatoes and sweet potatoes in his arms, Lucian hurried upstairs.

He planned to roast them in the fireplace inside his room.

He had survived on roasted potatoes before.

This much…

He could manage.

Without anyone’s help…

The little boy prepared to live on his own.

* * *

“Sigh… What am I supposed to do with that kid?”

I watched the little white-haired boy climb the stairs and sighed.

Since he was going to stay here, I figured I should at least look after him a little.

So I lit the fireplace.

I turned on lights around the mansion so it wouldn’t be too dark.

As for the food those humans left behind…

I simply placed it in the kitchen.

“Surely even a child can fry an egg, right?”

I was worried he’d starve to death, so I made sure he found the ingredients.

Then—

“…Ah, it’s still not cooked.”

“But if I leave it any longer, it’ll burn…”

“…Whatever. I’ll just eat it.”

I heard Lucian talking to himself upstairs.

Watching that little kid fail to roast even a single potato somehow made me feel guilty.

For a moment…

I wondered if I should make something edible and leave it for him.

But I quickly shook my head.

“Why should I? I let him stay here, lit the fireplace, and cleaned his room. I’ve already done enough. Whether he starves or not isn’t my problem!”

That’s right.

He’s just an unexpected guest.

He should already be thankful that I didn’t throw him out.

I laughed to myself as I repeated those words.

But…

My attention kept drifting upstairs.

Other humans had stayed in this mansion before.

Yet I had never worried about any of them this much.

“Ugh… Why did it have to be a little kid?”

He was still at the age where he needed adults.

That had to be why I kept worrying.

“But… that kid has weak spiritual energy.”

He had already fainted after seeing my faint image during the wedding.

There was no guarantee he wouldn’t faint again.

Normally…

I’d use that to scare intruders away.

But now that I knew he had nowhere else to go…

I couldn’t do that.

“Sigh… It’s my own mansion, and I can’t even do whatever I want.”

For now…

I’d stay in places where Lucian rarely came and quietly keep an eye on him.

I had absolutely no desire to get involved with humans.

* * *

Little Kid Observation Log – Day 1

The little kid started walking around the mansion first thing in the morning.

He was still scared.

But once sunlight filled the mansion, he seemed to become a little braver.

Every time he entered a new room, he exclaimed,

“Wow!”

“Waa!”

“It’s so huge!”

Seeing him admire the mansion made me strangely proud.

After all, I had spent centuries taking care of it.

At the same time…

I couldn’t help feeling sorry for him.

He kept looking for other people.

He probably thought someone else was still living here.

But I knew everyone had already left.

Watching him search the empty mansion made my heart feel heavy.

Maybe…

I should pretend there’s a living person here for a while.

Little Kid Observation Log – Day 2

Today he went outside.

Thankfully, he didn’t try to escape beyond the fence.

He simply walked around the yard.

Then he sat beside the stream and skipped stones across the water.

He spent the whole day outside.

Sometimes he watched little animals with curiosity.

Sometimes he lay on the grass and took a nap.

I was worried he might wander into the forest.

Fortunately…

He didn’t.

Somehow…

He looked much more relaxed while sleeping.

Compared to the day he arrived…

He looked much brighter.

If things continue like this…

Maybe I won’t have to worry about him much longer.

Little Kid Observation Log – Day 3

Today he started exploring every room in the mansion.

Even though I keep the mansion clean, some rooms are still creepy enough to look haunted.

So I locked those rooms.

He looked disappointed whenever a door wouldn’t open.

Still…

It’s better than him getting frightened again.

This mansion has existed for hundreds of years.

I’ve lived here for three centuries.

Naturally, it’s filled with old books and ancient objects.

Even the newest things here are over fifty years old.

Since I can’t leave the mansion, I have no idea how much the outside world has changed.

Judging by how curious the little kid is…

A lot must have changed over the past three hundred years.

Well…

That makes sense.

Three hundred years is a long time.

…

That little brat.

He tore one of my favorite books.

The book was old enough to fall apart on its own.

But it’s still his fault for handling it carelessly.

Did he really think putting it back on the shelf would make me not notice?

You little troublemaker!

Little Kid Observation Log – Day 4

Since arriving here, the little kid hadn’t taken a bath even once.

He had become pretty dirty.

He must have noticed he smelled bad because he finally went to the bathroom.

The bathtub only needs a little mana to produce warm water.

But he’d never seen anything like it before.

So…

He started bathing in freezing cold water while shivering.

While he was busy washing his hair…

I quietly poured some mana into the bath.

The water became warm.

His body finally stopped shaking.

You’ll catch a cold, you idiot. There isn’t even any medicine here.

Little Kid Observation Log – Day 5

Today…

He ate nothing but roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes again.

Just in case, I’d already cleaned the kitchen.

But apparently…

He couldn’t use any cooking tools at all.

At first I thought I’d just leave him alone since he wasn’t starving.

Now…

Even I was getting frustrated watching him.

After eating nothing but potatoes and sweet potatoes for five straight days…

Even he looked sick of them.

Meanwhile…

The other ingredients sat untouched.

Some had already started to rot.

I threw away the spoiled ones before the mold spread.

There was so much food.

Yet he only ate potatoes.

I couldn’t help feeling sorry for him.

Maybe tomorrow…

I’ll secretly leave a cookbook where he’ll find it.

Little Kid Observation Log – Day 6

The little kid found the cookbook.

But…

Even after looking through it, he never tried cooking.

Instead of reading the simple fried egg recipe…

He stared at the roast turkey recipe.

I wondered if he simply wanted meat.

Then I looked closer.

That page had the most pictures.

I don’t think he can read.

Little Kid Observation Log – Day 7

Today, after seeing he only had five potatoes and sweet potatoes left…

He finally decided to use the kitchen.

After thinking for a while, he used his lantern to light the stove.

Trying his best to cook…

He searched through the kitchen utensils.

Then…

He placed a plate directly over the fire.

In the end…

Disaster struck.

The plate cracked from the heat.

The egg he had barely managed to crack fell straight into the fire.

But that wasn’t the end.

The broken plate scattered burning pieces everywhere.

Nearby ingredients caught fire.

The flames spread in an instant.

Panicking, Lucian ran outside to get water.

While he was gone…

I hurriedly used magic to put out the fire.

The mansion was only moments away from burning down.

When Lucian came back carrying a bowl of water, he sighed in relief after seeing the flames were gone.

But then…

His expression darkened.

Ah.

Half of the ingredients had been destroyed.

In the end…

Lucian quietly picked up the last remaining potato…

Held it tightly against his chest…

And slowly walked back upstairs.