“…Do take care of yourself even after leaving the ducal household.”

Staring blankly at the old man’s face, May snapped back to reality at his additional words and belatedly replied while accepting the severance pay note he handed over.

“Ah, yes…. But, I’ve never hated Aiden. He’s a bit scary, but…”

“……”

“He’s the only one in the ducal household who speaks to me… So even when he was harsh, I was always grateful…”

Seeing her relaxed, smiling face, Benedict didn’t respond further. He just frowned slightly with a short sigh.

“Oh, and this is a letter I’d like you to give to Aiden…”

“……”

“I wrote to thank him for everything. Of, of course, Aiden knows I’m quitting, but I’m too embarrassed to give it to him directly…”

May, who had been rambling, suddenly shut her mouth and held out the letter to Benedict. She thought that unnecessary additional words might lead to her resignation being revoked.

She quickly bowed and then left the room almost running. Her face crossing the corridor shone brighter than ever before.

‘I really quit the ducal household…!’

And it happened cleanly and quickly, making her recent days of nervousness seem pointless. It wasn’t unreasonable that the note in her hand felt more valuable than the enormous wealth that had suddenly come to her.

She was a bit scared thinking about the tantrum Aiden might throw when he returned to the mansion after just starting his journey… And knowing his sensitivity, she was also a bit worried…

May recalled her master’s blue eyes and shook her head.

‘…It doesn’t matter now that I’ve quit.’

Looking back, even Aiden’s insistence on having only her serve him for years was close to harassment. He always scolded her for her inadequacies.

So it shouldn’t be difficult to find a maid to replace her. With such thoughts, May erased the image of the mischievously smiling man from her mind.

* * *

However, May’s joy stemming from her sense of liberation soon faded due to a problem she encountered.

“…Miss, are you sure this address is correct?”

It was because of an unexpected obstacle on the way to the mansion she had inherited along with her fortune.

“Umm…”

The coachman, with the dark skin typical of the eastern empire, scratched his head with a troubled expression. May’s face showed confusion as he repeatedly tilted his head while looking at the note he had received. She knew the distance wasn’t that far…

‘Is the road rough?’

This coastal city of Almar, where her grandfather’s mansion was located, was famous for rapidly developing and becoming wealthy just 40 years ago when a huge magic stone cave was discovered.

As a result, even common things like street lamps in this place reeked of money, and the streets were well-paved with smooth stones. It felt even more luxurious than the capital.

But was the road to her grandfather’s house different? It was an isolated mansion, separate from the village, so there was a possibility.

“Is it difficult to go by carriage?”

The coachman hesitated for a moment before answering May’s question.

“No, it’s not that it’s difficult to go… but that place is the ‘Ghost Mansion’.”

“…Pardon?”

What kind of mansion?

“It’s famous around here. They say the mansion is haunted by the ghost of the person who lived there after they died.”

May’s large eyes blinked at the sudden ghost story. The coachman clicked his tongue a few times and said,

“An old man who lived alone in that mansion without any employees died about a year ago. But they say the dead old man still hasn’t left the mansion…”

He seemed somewhat disgusted. He said that even though he didn’t want to believe it, the rumor wasn’t just idle talk.

‘An old man who lived alone without any employees….’

And May paused at that part rather than at the mention of a ghost mansion. She thought it couldn’t be, but it was about her grandfather. Come to think of it, the lawyer had said that his death was discovered late because he had lived and died alone.

“Tsk, you look like you didn’t know at all.”

Misinterpreting May’s clouded expression, the coachman looked at her with quite pitiful eyes. His face was sympathetic, as if he was looking at someone who had been scammed. Though it was just letters, he briefly looked at the address on the note with unease, and then began to list everything he knew.

“That old man was troublesome even when he was alive. I’ve seen him a few times too, and his body was as big as a rock, and his eyes, oh, they were like dead fish eyes, quite unsettling. Plus, his beard was bushy, and his hair was short like soldiers’. His expression was so fierce… For a while, the neighborhood kids who saw the old man were terrified.”

“Ah…”

“It’s not just because of his appearance. That old man, from some point on, whether he had delirium or something, he would talk to himself in the air or scream. Everyone hushed it up, saying he was crazy, but occasionally he would buy things like shovels or sickles with a normal face… There were even rumors that if you dug up the garden of that mansion, you’d find corpses.”

The last words were whispered very, very softly, like he was telling a secret. Then followed a pitying gaze, like he was looking at something heartbreaking.

May’s eyes twitched briefly in response. She should defend him, saying it couldn’t be true, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak. She felt that she actually knew less about her grandfather than the coachman in front of her.

She knew nothing about him to defend him. Despite various efforts after meeting with the lawyer, she couldn’t recall anything about her grandfather. Not his face, his voice, or even small details like the color of his hair or eyes.

It was only natural. She couldn’t have had memories of a person whose existence she didn’t even know.

“……”

A heavy weight suddenly attached to her light heart. And unaware of her feelings, the coachman let out a short exclamation. It seemed something else had occurred to him.

“Ah! Come to think of it, they say a man’s scream was heard from that empty mansion not long ago. Just like when that old man screamed while he was alive.”

An anecdote adding weight to the ghost story…

Afterwards, a half-joking warning followed, saying she had to be careful as the old man’s ghost might really appear. May just held her trembling lips without responding.

“Anyway, the people in this village don’t go anywhere near there. Even though the view around that mansion is nice. …So I’m asking, Miss, are you sure you’re going there?”

And with that returning question, she startled awake from her thoughts.

“We-well, yes…”

May’s timid answer made the coachman’s eyes narrow.

“Don’t tell me someone bought that house? Looking at your appearance, you seem like a maid who’s done quite a bit of work. Did you come alone without any other employees or the owner?”

The man said, glancing at her hair neatly braided up. May fumbled for a moment at his rather sharp deduction. Having just heard a lot of unfavorable rumors about her grandfather, she felt awkward giving an honest answer to the one who had spoken about him. In short… she had missed the right timing to speak.

“No, I… actually…”

But there was no appropriate way to beat around the bush. While she hesitated for a long time, the coachman nodded as if he understood.

“Is the new owner a high-ranking nobleman? Then don’t bother answering. We might get into trouble if either you or I say something unnecessary.”

“Uh, that’s not it…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. You probably have to go even if you don’t want to because it’s your master’s order… Just get in. I can drop you off nearby, if not right in front.”

And after putting May in the carriage, he hesitated for a moment before closing the door and added,

“Miss, I don’t want to scare you, but there’s definitely something in that house, so tell your master to be careful too.”

When she showed a lukewarm attitude to this meaningful advice, more meddlesome words followed.

“Tell them to ask the priests for a blessing! And don’t associate with the broker who introduced that house! You should come out before sunset if possible and find an inn! Okay?”

May smiled awkwardly at his enthusiastic advice.

“Ah… I will…”

Seeing that she didn’t seem particularly scared, the coachman suggested in a more relaxed tone.

“If you want, I can wait nearby.”

“No. Thank you, but I’m fine.”

“Well… You’re not afraid of ghosts and such, are you?”

“Yes…”

That’s a lie. In fact, she usually trembled at ghost stories and such things. She would normally avoid such topics on her own. However… this time she couldn’t do that.

Inwardly, she thought it might not be bad if she could meet her grandfather even if he was a ghost. So first, she needed to confirm if his ghost really appeared.

Being scared or visiting a temple were things to consider after that, at least.