I Became the Ghost Duke’s Daughter

Rumors circulated quietly about the curse supposedly left by the last surviving leader of the Mortia clan as he lay dying.

“Everdeen, I curse you!

You will pay for interfering with the sacred mission bestowed by the heavens!

Your blood-stained honor will be cast to the ground,

The golden riches that surround you will crumble to dust,

And in the end, the gaze filled with admiration will be replaced only by fear and contempt.

You sinners will writhe in eternal agony, neither living nor dead!”

Of course, the Duke reportedly beheaded the leader without so much as blinking an eye.

They said his golden eyes flashed fiercely as he swung his sword, appearing like a demon crawling up from hell.

Up to that point, there seemed to be no problem. The Emperor might have experienced a bit of a stomach ache, but the people of the Empire continued to praise Everdeen, and the Duke and his knights returned to the Empire with a warm welcome.

The problem arose afterward.

From that day on, everyone in the Duke of Everdeen’s household, including the Duke himself, turned into ghosts.

To be precise, they didn’t die and disappear.

They just vanished from sight, even though their hearts continued to beat with ridiculous regularity.

Those who became ghosts could see each other and were able to pick up objects or put on clothes.

But their reflections didn’t appear in mirrors. They could hear each other’s voices, but ordinary people couldn’t hear them.

It was as if the world they lived in and the world of ordinary people were separated, back to back.

The sight of clothes and objects floating silently in the empty air was enough to instill fear.

Because of the curse, external activities became difficult, and it was said that the Duke tried to hire agents from outside.

But all of them fled the Duke’s estate in terror within a week.

“It’s cursed! The place is cursed!”

The rumors about the Duke of Everdeen’s house grew nastier by the day.

People, as if they had never praised the name of Everdeen, turned on them as easily as flipping a hand.

“They say it sounds like a party goes on every night, it’s so noisy.”

“They say things are moved around randomly.”

“Didn’t someone die falling down the stairs, pushed by a ghost?”

“It’s truly the Ghost Duke’s House.”

Naturally, the Duke of Everdeen’s honor fell to the ground.

Unable to manage the estate properly, the gold coins that once filled the storeroom dwindled, and in people’s eyes, there was only fear and contempt instead of respect.

The people of the Everdeen estate became living dead in that way.

Upon hearing the news, the Emperor reportedly laughed so hard that the hall echoed, forgetting all decorum.

The Emperor, who laughed as if he possessed all the happiness in the world at the Duke’s misfortune, then announced with a seemingly merciful face that he would end the ten-year war.

Outwardly, it appeared as if he mourned the tragedy of the Duke of Everdeen, but the truth was it was a decision influenced by the public sentiment that was gradually shaking due to the prolonged war, which was an open secret.

Regardless of his true intentions, the Duke wrote a letter expressing gratitude for the Emperor’s immense grace before locking himself away in seclusion.

Before retreating, he left word that if any noble family had a child to send as an heir to the Duke of Everdeen, they should contact him at any time.

However, given the ominous rumors surrounding the Duke’s house, no parents were willing to send their children, even if they were illegitimate.

The chilling rumor that if an illegitimate child died and became a ghost, it would bring ruin to the family.

It had been five years since then… or so Tommy had explained to me over the course of an entire day.

* * *

‘Adoption…?’

Back to reality.

I wasn’t frozen just because of their rumors or notoriety.

Being adopted as the heir to the Duke’s house. That meant I would have to leave the Oblene estate, where memories of my mother lingered.

Realizing this, I threw the paper in my hand and raised my voice.

“No, I won’t go! I absolutely refuse!”

“You insolent girl…!”

“Even if you kick me out, I won’t go! I’d rather die than go!”

“…It seems you won’t listen to words.”

The Viscount, muttering ominously, closed the distance with a stride. His large shadow, about twice my size, loomed over me threateningly.

I glared back at him defiantly, refusing to be intimidated.

I wasn’t afraid of being hit. A slap was only temporarily painful.

However, contrary to my expectations, the Viscount didn’t raise his hand.

“…Well, since you’re so against it, I guess there’s no choice.”

The Viscount suddenly softened his expression into an awkward smile.

‘What?’

While I was momentarily speechless from his unexpected words, he leaned in and whispered like a snake in my ear.

“I’ll have no choice but to overturn your mother’s grave and toss it into the field.”

At that moment, a primal fear stiffened my entire body.

“Plus, I’ll have to get rid of the portrait hanging in the gallery. A painting of someone who died from an unknown illness is quite ominous, tsk.”

The Viscount clicked his tongue, flicking his fingers as if he had touched something filthy and cursed.

His words were so hard to accept at once that it took me a moment to comprehend them.

My mind, which had frozen in shock, finally began to function again.

I ground my teeth, seething with all sorts of curses in my head.

“…Do you think I’ll let that happen?”

“Ha. And what can you do? Do you think you can even beat a hunting dog raised at the Viscount’s estate by throwing a tantrum?”

“…”

I felt tears of frustration welling up.

As soon as I realized this, I forced my eyes wide open, refusing to shed a single tear in front of this man.

‘…It’s infuriating.’

So, so infuriating.

But the Viscount wasn’t wrong.

Using ghosts to watch and stop the Viscount? That was impossible from the start.

Not all ghosts were the same. There aren’t many that can exert meaningful influence on humans.

Moreover, most ghosts didn’t like to stray far from where they reside.

If they weren’t careful, they could lose all their energy and disappear while moving, which is why Tommy also didn’t leave the Viscount’s estate recklessly.

So even if the Viscount sent people to desecrate my mother’s grave, there was nothing I could do.

Nothing at all.

“It seems you finally understand.”

The Viscount straightened up, satisfied, as I silently bowed my head.

I could feel him looking down at the top of my head with cold eyes.

“We leave tomorrow morning.”

“…”

“When you return to your room, a maid will be waiting. If you don’t want to see something unpleasant, you’d better follow without complaint.”

Leaving those words, the Viscount turned and left the drawing room.

I stood there for a long time with my fists clenched, lost in thought.

Memories with my mother, her traces, her portrait.

The ghosts of the Oblene estate, the only ones in this world who were on my side.

“…”

I didn’t know how long I stood silently in the drawing room like a stone.

When the sunset began to filter in through the window, I bit my lip and lifted my head fiercely.

“…Fine. Adoption, I’ll just go then.”

With a smile that Tommy would probably describe as ‘she’s thinking something strange again,’ I said, “They only said to go for adoption, not that I couldn’t get disowned, right?”

If it came to this, I’d make sure to go down in history as the child who got disowned the fastest in the Empire.

* * *

Valerian Everdeen, the Duke of Everdeen, quietly looked at the name written on the document in front of him.

Teresia Oblene.

The eldest daughter of the Oblene Viscount family.

And…

‘…Eight years old.’

A child who had just turned eight.

‘So young.’

Too young, really.

After a moment of hesitation, he stepped forward and approached a mirror in the corner of the room, covered with a long cloth.

Valerian took a slow breath, then reached out with his hand.