I Became the Ghost Duke’s Daughter

My name is Teresia Oblene.

They call me Terry, and I am eight years old.

I am able to see ghosts.

* * *

I have been able to see dead people since the moment I was born.

Not only could I see them, but I could touch them too.

Of course, a ghost’s body was as cold as ice, so I didn’t really want to touch them. But it wasn’t like I could avoid bumping into them just because I didn’t want to.

I didn’t really know why. It was as natural to me as breathing or blinking, something I had lived with since birth.

Of course, the fact that I had been seeing ghosts since I was born was something I heard from my mother.

‘Terry.’

My mother, Iphia Oblene, was the wisest, kindest, and most beautiful person in the world.

I wasn’t just being a doting child; it was true. Every ghost in the Oblene mansion would swear on their blood—though they were already dead—that it was true.

…Well, despite all that, she passed away before I even turned five!

My so-called father brought his secret mistress and illegitimate child into the mansion right after my mother died and neglected me!

And if that wasn’t enough, my so-called half-brother Lawrence couldn’t wait to torment me every chance he got…!

But I, Teresia Oblene, had survived admirably without succumbing to such people until the age of eight.

See, I was pretty amazing.

A boy who looked about my age, sitting upside down in mid-air, made a disgusted face.

That boy was Tommy, the ghost who had been in this mansion since before I was born and my only friend.

I glanced at Tommy without annoyance and spoke.

“Shut up, Tommy. Even the other ghosts said they’ve never seen anyone as smart as me.”

I had grown up listening to countless stories from ghosts hundreds of years old since I was little.

‘I’ve even heard about how terrifying ancient punishments were, you know.’

Tommy always freaked out and tried to stop them, but the ghosts would always pour all sorts of knowledge into my ears as they pleased.

Thanks to their help, I finished reading all the books in the library by the age of seven, so my confidence was well-founded.

Fortunately, Tommy didn’t argue further.

Feeling somewhat proud, I took a crunchy bite of the apple in my hand.

At the moment, my lap was piled high with all sorts of snacks and treats.

“Ahhhh! You thief, you stole my snacks again!”

Of course, I never said they were mine.

The sound of someone shouting angrily was getting closer from afar.

With an evil grin, I cast my gaze downward. There, I saw a chubby boy with chestnut hair and sky-blue eyes, panting angrily.

“Where are you hiding again! Come out right now! I said come out!”

His face, red with anger and horribly contorted, was quite a sight. To think that thing shared half my blood.

“What a disgrace.”

I clicked my tongue and swung my legs from a tall tree branch in the garden, right above Lawrence’s head.

Tommy, who was hanging in mid-air next to me, muttered in disbelief.

“Hey, Tommy! He said to give back the snacks! Go throw this at him!”

Ignoring Tommy’s words, I handed him a bunch of candies with a bright smile.

Let him try cursing at a smiling face, why don’t you?

With that thought, I beamed cheerfully, and eventually, Tommy let out a big sigh, took the candies, and flew over Lawrence.

“You thief! If you don’t kneel and apologize right now, I’ll tell Dad…”

Just as Lawrence, with a threatening face, spat out his ridiculous threats while glaring at the wall…

<One!>

With a cheerful shout, a pink candy dropped onto Lawrence’s head.

“Ouch! What, what…!”

Lawrence jumped up in place, clutching his head, and looked up at the sky with terrified eyes.

<Two!>

And then a shower of colorful candies followed.

“Aaaah! Mommy! Daddy!”

Three, four, five.

Lawrence, who experienced the lively and stinging candy rain firsthand, screamed and ran into the mansion.

I watched Tommy chase Lawrence away like an exorcist banishing evil spirits while munching on a mouthful of apple.

Ah, sweet, so sweet.

* * *

After finishing my meal with satisfaction, I headed to the library in the mansion’s annex, making sure to avoid the eyes of others.

Originally, it was a place reserved for the Viscount’s family, but since everyone except me had distanced themselves from the library, it was now almost abandoned.

Occasionally, some servants would use this place as a hideout or a secret meeting spot…

<Evi!>

“Ah, ahhhh!”

“Eek!”

Just like that, when Tommy passed through them, their hair stood on end, and they disappeared, so there was no problem!

<Alright. Are you ready?>

Tommy, who had chased away the lingering servants, suddenly looked at me with a different gleam in his eyes. I nodded with determination.

“Let’s begin.”

What followed was very intense and…

“You’re such a useless 18-color crayon-eating jerk!”

<Good! Keep going!>

…demanding.

“Bastard!”

<Lawrence!>

“Bad guy!”

<That’s right! Whether it’s the Viscount or the Duke, never back down! Drop the honorifics completely!>

It was a time of continuous endurance.

After completing the grueling self-esteem training with Tommy, I returned to the main house at sunset.

We skillfully avoided the servants’ eyes and entered the portrait room at the far end of the second-floor hallway.

“Cough.”

I waved my hand through the dust floating in the air as I crossed the portrait room.

Eventually, I stopped in front of a portrait of a woman with silver platinum hair and deep teal eyes, who looked just like me.

In front of a background draped with dark navy curtains stood the solitary and noble portrait of Iphia Oblene.

“It’s dusty…”

I murmured softly, carefully blowing the dust off the painting. Then I plopped down in front of it.

As I silently stared at the portrait for a while, Tommy whispered quietly.

“…Yeah. I know.”

That’s why I miss her even more.

I swallowed my words, fearing that saying “I miss you” out loud might bring tears to my eyes.

But Tommy seemed to understand the words I held back and stayed quietly by my side, for which I was deeply grateful.

We gazed at the portrait in silent reflection for a moment before getting up and heading outside.

To lighten the oddly somber mood, I tried to compose myself and was about to speculate where Lawrence might hide his snacks tomorrow.

“Hey, beggar.”

It was then. Someone standing at the other end of the hallway, right in front of the stairs, called out to me with arms crossed.

In this mansion, there was only one person who would call me in that voice and with that nickname.

“Lawrence.”

And that chubby belly was unmistakable.

“You, you…”

Lawrence, who had been standing in front of the stairs, uncrossed his arms and approached me.

Seeing his shoulders heaving and his breath ragged, he seemed very angry.

‘Oh no.’

Maybe there was something he particularly liked among the snacks I took today.

Thinking it was going to be troublesome, I clicked my tongue inwardly and watched him.

Lawrence, who had come right up to me, stopped and glared at me with bloodshot eyes before speaking.

“Apologize.”

“For what?”

“You, the beggar, stole my snacks again today! Kneel down and apologize right now!”

Lawrence shouted, his eyes wide open and voice echoing.

I worried that the servants might hear this and come running, so I glanced nervously down the stairs.

‘Should I run?’

Ugh, how annoying.

I clicked my tongue inwardly. I figured it might be better to leave rather than risk running into the Viscount or Carlotta while dealing with Lawrence.

But then, words I couldn’t ignore pierced my ears.

“There’s a limit to how much pity I can have! When my dad helped the nearly bankrupt Viscount’s family, your grandfather was so grateful that he asked him to marry his daughter! And yet, you didn’t even show gratitude to my dad and dared to defy him, so you got punished and died…!”

“What?”

<What?>

A cold voice escaped both mine and Tommy’s lips simultaneously.