Even though she had spoken those words, knowing that her lost life could never be reclaimed made my heart ache a little.

After that, I often peeked into the underground jail, ready to give the Count a good punch if he ever appeared like a ghost.

But every time, Mina and the knights would suddenly appear, grab me by the scruff of my neck, and escort me back to my room.

Honestly, what had I done to deserve this? Poor Terry Everdeen, such a good child, felt terribly wronged.

Even when I pouted, they remained united in their firmness.

Aside from that minor grievance, my days were peaceful and leisurely.

The funds Count Arietta had embezzled and hidden away in his warehouse turned out to be less than expected.

According to Baron Ganess, who was caught alongside the Count, most of the embezzled money had been squandered by the Count on gambling.

‘I should have turned that bastard’s eyes into platinum…’

Mina clicked her tongue, wondering if she could resurrect and kill him again behind my back.

Of course, I heard it all, but I pretended not to notice. It wasn’t because I was scared, not at all.

Anyway, thanks to this incident, we managed to recover at least a portion of the funds that the Duke’s House should have originally held. As a result, the Duke’s House felt a bit more like a place where people actually lived.

The most noticeable change was in the meals.

“Miss, it’s time to eat.”

“Yes!”

How exciting! Food! It’s food!

I jumped up even before Mina handed me the paper announcing mealtime.

I noticed Mina chuckling at my excitement, but I was in such a good mood that I could let it slide.

“Good morning, Miss.”

“Heading to the dining room, I see. Have a good morning, Miss.”

Every servant I passed on my way from my room to the dining room greeted me with bright smiles.

Apparently, they had learned how I had contributed to the recent incident—by losing my ribbon, which led to the discovery of Selena’s body—and seemed to feel grateful.

Although the Duke had sought their understanding first, and they likely thought it was the right thing to do to prevent the territory from collapsing, living like this couldn’t have been easy for them.

Even though I felt a bit guilty for hiding my intentions to absorb the Oblene Viscountcy with the help of the Duke of Everdeen, it wasn’t a bad feeling.

After responding to each of their greetings, I entered the dining room. The Duke was already seated, looking immaculate as always.

“Good morning, Duke!”

“Good morning, Terry.”

I didn’t know why, but hearing that name added by the Duke out of habit always sounded so pleasant.

I giggled and sat down across from the Duke at a small but clean table. I placed Rick on my lap.

Soon, Mina and several servants began setting food on the table.

The number of dishes had doubled since before, and the proportion of meat had increased significantly.

As I stared at the plate of steak, glistening with juices, the Duke smiled and picked up his spoon.

“Let’s eat. From now on, don’t wait and just start eating.”

“Yes!”

I had been waiting for those words! I beamed and picked up my fork and knife.

The Duke paused from eating his soup, took my fork and knife, and expertly cut the steak into cubes in just 30 seconds.

After a brief word of thanks, I picked up a piece of meat with my fork and popped it into my mouth.

‘Ah.’

It was so delicious, truly…

The overwhelming delight made my shoulders and legs jiggle.

As I wobbled my limbs awkwardly, waving my fork up and down, the servants and the Duke in the dining room chuckled, shaking their shoulders.

I silently sent endless gratitude to the chef as I diligently chewed the steak.

I also polished off the creamy stew filled with meat and vegetables, scrambled eggs, plump sausages, and salad topped with salmon.

‘I’m full.’

Before I knew it, my plate was spotless. Looking at the shiny, crumb-free plate made me feel a bit embarrassed.

The Duke had finished his meal long ago, so the servants quietly and swiftly cleared the table.

Meanwhile, I rinsed my mouth with water, deep in thought.

‘Money, money. Where should I earn it from?’

Even though we had managed to recover some of the embezzled funds and put out the immediate fire, the state of the Duke’s House was still not very good.

Considering the need to repair outdated facilities and eventually purchase the viscounty, we needed to find a steady source of income.

‘Hmm…….’

I pondered for a moment and then glanced up.

There, on the chandelier in the dining room, was a ghost shaped like a sack, lounging like a cat.

‘……Everyone already knows I can see ghosts anyway.’

Maybe I should start asking them if they had any money stashed away during their lifetime.

Just as I entertained that thought with a sly grin, the ghost, which had been lazily sprawled out, suddenly trembled all over and shot up.

<Scary! Scary! Scary thoughts! Scary aura! Scary! Scary! Eeeek!>

The ghost, screeching as it spun madly around the ceiling, fled through the wall.

“…….”

I was left dumbfounded by the sight. What did I do?

* * *

Since there was no one to handle morning education, we had free time until lunch.

I told Mina I’d be taking a walk around the mansion and then diligently went about questioning the ghosts.

‘Hey, beautiful. Do you happen to have any hidden treasures, jewels, gold, or anything from your lifetime? You can’t use it now that you’re dead, so I could put it to good use…….’

I thought I was asking in a kind and gentle manner, but the ghosts would just tremble and flee as soon as they saw me.

<No need to stick around for protection. I’m off. You three have a good time.>

“Woof!”

Selena, who had promised to follow us, waved goodbye and disappeared before I could stop her. Only Sooty remained by my side, wagging his tail happily.

How was I supposed to know it would turn out like this? I shook my head and looked around.

Let’s see, let’s see. Is there any ghost with a kind heart, or rather, one that looks like it might have some money?

<Hey!>

At that moment, a translucent blue head popped out upside down in front of me.

Startled, I stepped back, and a short-haired girl hanging upside down from a tree grinned at me.

<You’ve got a nice face, haven’t you?>

……What’s with that classic con artist tone?

I backed away cautiously, my guard up.

Then, with a little grunt, the girl jumped down from the tree and ran up to me, starting a conversation.

<My name’s Leila. You can just call me Lei.>

“Not planning to call you…….”

<Anyway, I’ve been watching you, and you need money, right? I have a great idea. Want to hear it?>

“Not planning to listen…….”

<I was a demon-exorcising priest in another world before I died.>

“You’re not listening to me…… what?”

I was scowling when her unexpected words made my eyes go wide.

A demon-exorcising priest? In some worlds, that’s like a ‘cleric who banishes evil spirits,’ right?

And Leila was one of those people?

As I blinked in surprise, Leila spun around in place.

Her black and gold robe fluttered gracefully with her movement.

With her hands clasped together in prayer, she gave me a bright smile.

<In our world, demons were quite common, so priests were given the power to banish them through a ‘baptism.’ I was one of them.>

Leila extended her hands forward, palms up, and closed her eyes.

As she concentrated for a moment, a blue flame flared up above her palms.

<It used to be white, but now that I’m dead, it’s this color.>

Leila scratched the back of her head sheepishly and then withdrew her power.

<I died chasing a demon called ‘Haures.’ I lost consciousness for a moment, and when I woke up, I was here. The demon I was chasing was right in front of me, too. Although it’s in a ghostly state, it’ll be dangerous if left alone, so I tried to capture and destroy it, but it ran away. So I chased it, and…….>

Leila suddenly clenched her fist, then released it with a deep sigh.

<The thing got attached to a human, which has made things tricky.>

“What?”