As of today, I will be dropping <I Became the Ghost Duke’s Daughter>. I recently learned that another translation group has started working on this novel, despite it being consistently updated and listed on NU. To support their enthusiasm, I’ve decided to step back and focus on my other projects instead.

—Adeline

***

“…This is really annoying.”

Just as I was about to turn around to see what was happening, a vicious mutter burrowed into my ear. It was such an unfamiliar voice that for a moment I thought someone had jumped onto the balcony.

Damian, who had twisted his face in irritation, swept back half of his hair that had been neatly covering his forehead.

As his pronounced brow ridge was completely revealed, his impression changed instantly. It was such a shocking transformation that I wondered if someone could change this much just from their hairstyle, expression, and posture.

“I went through all the trouble of letting my hair down and pretending to be gentle, but you figured it out too quickly, damn it.”

Damian muttered a curse while getting up and dusting off his clothes. Though the action itself was elegant, there was a menacing air about it.

Even in my frozen state of shock, I could tell this was ‘Damian’s’ true nature.

While I was catching my breath to adjust to this change, he suddenly fixed his gaze on my face and raised one corner of his mouth in a crooked sneer.

“…Well, though things went awry midway, that face is worth seeing. It’s hilarious.”

Is this bastard for real?

Far from showing any sign of remorse, he was throwing mockery at me instead, making my blood boil. I was about to unleash a barrage of curses I’d practiced with Tommy, but he was faster.

“Curious? About why I did all this.”

“No?”

“Yes, of course you would be… What?”

Damian, who had been shrugging his shoulders smugly, suddenly froze. He stared at me with an expression of disbelief.

I thought he was going to say something grand, but really, this is ridiculous.

I snorted and rolled my shoulders. It was a warm-up for the violence about to unfold.

“Why should I care about your circumstances? What matters is that you deceived me, and now that you’ve been caught, only brutal punishment awaits.”

Actually, I had many questions. Why he deceived me, how he managed to act like he knew all my secrets, and so on.

But I’m too angry, so I’ll hit him first and think later. After that, there’ll be plenty of time to interrogate him once I take him to the Everdeen mansion.

So, you, let’s get you beaten up first.

“W-what! Why do you look so natural clenching your fists!”

My reaction must have been completely unexpected as Damian’s composure completely crumbled. Seeing his shocked face, I lifted my chin and gave him a mocking laugh.

“Of course I’m familiar with it. One punch from me and you’ll be at death’s door, you bastard.”

“Stop talking nonsense!”

“It’s true though.”

Well, if he won’t believe it himself, that’s his problem. I’m going to hit him anyway!

Drawing on my experience of helping numerous ghosts find peace, I clenched my fist tightly.

Though Damian was taller than me, maybe because we were both still young, the difference in build wasn’t too great. It’ll probably get harder to hit him later, so I’ll punish him now!

Just as I was about to strike Damian’s abdomen with my lips pressed tight and eyes flashing, a commotion erupted from the ballroom beyond his shoulder.

“Huh?”

That made me stop moving without realizing it. Damian must have noticed the commotion too, as he turned his head to check the ballroom through the door.

“Oh my.”

“What rudeness is this…!”

“We will compensate for the rudeness later. Where is…?”

Strange-looking knights had burst into the ballroom. The guests covered their mouths in surprise and stepped back, while the hosts, Count and Countess Imarg, were shouting with their faces flushed red.

But the knights paid no attention to any of it. The man who appeared to be their captain pointed to various parts of the ballroom, giving instructions to his subordinates.

As I was wondering about the knights pushing through the crowd, Damian suddenly whipped his head around. He placed his hand on the balcony door and smiled sourly.

“If I had the monopoly rights to distribute Ilite dye, it would have been much more profitable for the Ice Whale tribe too. What a waste that such a valuable thing is in the hands of an idiot who delivers clues on their own. Though of course, it’s also because I’m smart.”

“What nonsens…”

“I hope you get fooled like an idiot by another fake first love like me next time, idiot.”

Damian ignored my words, said what he wanted to say, and flung open the balcony door. All the voices that had been muffled by a layer of glass poured in at once.

‘Wow…’

They say when someone gets too angry they can’t even move, and I guess it’s true. He just called me an idiot three times. My head is really spinning…

While I just stood there panting, dumbfounded by Damian’s mockery and insults, he strode into the ballroom. Soon after, the knights discovered him and raised their voices.

“Young Master!”

“We found him, Captain!”

“Young Master Carpendier…?”

“What is this…”

The knights one by one turned their heads to look at the man who had given instructions. Confused voices could be heard from Count Imarg’s daughter’s direction.

The man called Captain strode over to Damian’s side and bowed his head. A low and respectful voice, yet also containing a warning, resonated through the air.

“…Let’s end your excursion here and return. His Grace has ordered us to bring you back immediately.”

The Captain said this and signaled to the knights. The knights slowly moved to surround Damian. It was as if they thought he might try to escape.

Smack!

Damian, his face twisted, violently knocked away the arm of a knight who tried to grab his shoulder.

“Don’t touch me. I won’t try to escape anyway since the fun’s all ruined now.”

Clicking his tongue, Damian glanced at me once before turning around. That snapped me back to my senses and I started to move to chase after him, but then I spotted a familiar figure nearby and stopped.

“Ah.”

Perhaps he had been coming to find me, as the Duke was standing not far from the balcony, frozen with a glass of honey milk in his hand.

With narrowed eyes, he stared at the departing Damian… or more precisely, at the Captain quietly following behind him, and his lips moved.

“That emblem is… Lambard?”

At the end of the Duke’s gaze was the black brooch fastening the Captain’s cloak. Despite the commotion, that murmur pierced my ears with utmost clarity.

Lambard… wait, Lambard?

‘Then he’s…!’

The moment I reached that thought, my head suddenly spun. When I blinked once, my vision drastically changed.

Ah, no wonder my head had been strangely throbbing.

‘So people can faint from being too angry too…’

It was not a particularly welcome realization. The tilting view of the ballroom, the Duke’s shocked face looking this way, the honey milk glass slipping from his hand – all of these filled my vision with strange slowness.

“Terry!”

With the Duke’s urgent voice as the last thing I heard, all memories and thoughts were cut off, and darkness came.

* * *

The entire eastern region was thrown into chaos due to what happened at Count Imarg’s ball.

“Oh my goodness. You’re saying the Young Lord Lambard was hiding, pretending to be the second son of Count Carpendier?”

“I don’t understand Count Carpendier. It was obvious he would incur Duke Lambard’s wrath, so why such a reckless act…?”

“He might have received some sort of promise from the Young Lord. After all, isn’t he known for his intelligence?”

“More than that, I heard someone saw him with Lady Everdeen just before he left with the knights…”

When someone subtly brought this up, everyone fell silent and exchanged glances.

They were all lords from near the eastern region, inevitably under Everdeen’s influence. To gossip about a member of House Everdeen, who ruled the east and had recently risen to even challenge the imperial family’s authority…

“…I heard from an acquaintance who’s close friends with Count Imarg’s daughter that there was something strange between them since the tea party.”

“They say Lady Everdeen collapsed right after Young Lord Lambard left. I wonder what happened…”

“Well, Everdeen and Lambard aren’t exactly… on good terms, are they? Perhaps she collapsed from shock after learning that their families are political rivals?”

“Oh my, oh my. What if there was something between those two… Yes, that must be it!”

But that didn’t last long, as people’s lips moved even more busily than before. Baseless words gathered to form plausible hypotheses, and just as people’s excitement reached its peak, someone set down their teacup with a loud clack.

“…!”

People flinched and stopped talking at the sound. All eyes converged as if on cue.

“Let’s stop this.”

The one who showed their discomfort was Viscountess Amethris, who had made an appearance in social circles after a very long time.

As she looked around with a cold gaze, people belatedly cleared their throats awkwardly and closed their mouths. They all realized, now that their excitement had subsided, that they had been about to say things they couldn’t take back.

‘Nothing has changed here, nothing at all.’

Viscountess Amethris heaved a deep sigh and took a sip of tea.

She had cut off people’s conversation partly because she disliked rumors themselves, but more than that…

‘I’m sorry, dear. I can’t tell you the details. I promised. But it’s an undeniable fact that Lady Everdeen is our life-saving benefactor who saved our son.’

It was because of who they were gossiping about on the table.

According to her husband, ‘Teresia Everdeen’ was a benefactor worth giving her life for.

‘Jerry’s cold was almost better so I was thinking of paying a visit soon, but of all times…’