The Cowardly Baby Saint Sees Ghosts - Chapter 28
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
# Chapter 28
When a child disappeared, no one searched for them. As if they didn’t exist despite having a name, the Director simply abandoned us like that.
I ran my fingers along the shelf.
Retrieving a Ledger from a high place with my small frame was quite difficult.
As I strained, Liam approached quietly and took it down for me instead.
“Will this one do?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Liam opened the Ledger without fuss.
‘How reassuring.’
It wasn’t mere politeness—I truly felt reassured.
Demian was searching through the shelves on the other side.
Cheese had climbed onto the desk and was padding across the papers.
……sigh.
“Cheese, get down from there.”
Meow.
“Don’t leave footprints.”
Ah, right. Being a ghost, it wouldn’t leave footprints anyway.
But when he headed straight toward the inkwell, I hastily reached out.
My hand passed right through.
Ah, that’s right. He’s a ghost.
I’d forgotten that in three seconds.
Demian, who was nearby, moved the inkwell out of the way instead.
“You must be busy with him.”
“Because of Cheese, yes.”
“Why does that cat always cause trouble?”
“Because he’s a cat.”
“He’s a ghost.”
“Ghost or not, a cat is still a cat.”
A creature that had survived all these ages without extinction through sheer cuteness alone.
There was nothing to be done about it.
He’s adorable, after all!
Demian’s expression showed he simply couldn’t comprehend this.
Just then, Cheese suddenly stopped.
He stood before a bundle of old Documents stacked to one side of the desk.
Cheese’s tail bristled rigid.
“Hisss!”
I jolted and stared at Cheese.
“Cheese?”
Goodness, so our cat could hiss too?
Cheese swatted the bundle of Documents with his front paw.
The cover had nothing written on it.
That was strange. For Documents from the Imperial Palace Records Room, wasn’t this awfully careless?
Demian stepped closer to me.
“What is it?”
“Not sure.”
I untied the string.
Inside was…….
“Repair records for the Greenhouse!”
How in the world could we find it so easily? Is there really some connection between ghosts? Or was it Cheese’s extraordinary animal instinct―
Demian watched me oddly as I scooped Cheese into my arms and chewed on his cheek affectionately, then he took the records away from me.
White Rose Greenhouse. After the fire, glass walls and marble flooring replaced, all roses disposed of then replanted.
But something felt off.
“Your Highness. There’s no fire record, only repair records.”
I pointed with my finger at the blank space.
“They did all this work, but there’s no cause listed.”
“They must have hidden the incident.”
“And here.”
I turned to the next page.
“The person who paid for the repairs wasn’t the Imperial Household.”
He looked down at the Ledger.
“The Rowen Marquis House.”
A name had surfaced.
“And the Basili Count House.”
As both names emerged, Liam spoke quietly.
“Both houses were politically opposed to the Imperial Princess.”
I turned to Liam in surprise.
“Really?”
“Yes. There was no direct confrontation, but they were the ones who grew wary of the Imperial Princess’s rising influence.”
Demian’s eyes turned cold.
“That’s odd.”
“Sir?”
“If the greenhouse accident was truly an accident, why would they have paid for the repairs?”
It was strange, now that he mentioned it.
At that moment, the candle on the desk flickered in a space where no breeze had blown.
Cheese bolted toward my arm.
“Cheese!”
More precisely, toward what stood behind me.
In the corner of the Records Room, wedged between two bookshelves, stood a charred specter.
Her eyes were fixed on the documents—on the two names within them.
I understood instinctively.
“Diane?”
My trembling hand pointed at the paper.
“Those names.”
My voice barely came out.
“They’re the ones who killed that young lady.”
Demian’s expression went rigid.
Liam too gazed at the Ledger.
“Are you certain?”
“The specter cannot speak, but she made it known nonetheless.”
I bit my lip.
Then the Status Window appeared before me.
[Clue Obtained!]
Related Parties in the White Rose Greenhouse Incident
1. Rowen Marquis House
2. Basili Count House
[Additional Condition]
Please find the victim’s name.
I stared at the Status Window.
A name. I needed a name after all.
That was when it happened.
Footsteps sounded from outside the Records Room door.
Multiple people. Not hurried, but walking steadily in our direction.
Liam’s head snapped up immediately.
“Someone’s coming.”
Demian covered the Ledger.
“If we’re caught, it’ll be troublesome.”
“You’re remarkably composed about this.”
“It happens often enough in the Imperial Palace.”
I’d rather not have it happen at all, honestly.
I hastily bundled together the blank documents and tied them with string.
Liam organized the papers while Demian darted about trying to catch Cheese.
“Cheese, be quiet!”
At least her being a ghost meant she made no sound—small mercies.
Demian suddenly stopped and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Stay still.”
“What?”
The door opened at the same moment.
A scribe and an attendant entered.
“Your Highness. Have you found the documents you needed?”
Demian’s expression shifted at once.
A pale, exhausted face.
Wow, look at that—even his eyes have gone dim.
‘Is this really the same person who was poring over the ledger like his life depended on it just now?’
“I’m feeling a bit dizzy,” he said quietly.
The attendants rushed to his side at once.
“Your Highness!”
“The Saint has nearly completed her review.”
He squeezed my shoulder gently—a signal to play along.
I nodded immediately.
“Yes. I think we can call it a day here. Your Highness needs to rest.”
The scribe bowed obsequiously without a moment’s hesitation.
“Of course. I’ll escort you to your chambers at once.”
Demian turned away, affecting weakness. I stayed close to his side, and Liam naturally took position behind us.
The crucial pages from the ledger were already tucked safely in Liam’s possession.
Ah, that’s why he’s the Captain of the Knights.
The moment we left the Records Room, I whispered so softly only he could hear.
“Your Highness.”
“What.”
“You’re really quite the actor.”
“Is this really the time for that?”
“No.”
At my crestfallen response, Demian let out a sigh.
But the corner of his mouth had lifted ever so slightly.
* * *
Black hair cascaded down to her waist, flowing like silk. Determined not to fall asleep, she lit three more candles and spread open the documents.
Work that had accumulated while her sick brother recovered.
To fight back the heavy drowsiness creeping in, Gaitel deliberately dipped her finger into hot candlewax. Sharp pain shot through her, finally jolting her awake.
‘I have to stay awake.’
I can’t fall asleep.
Because every time I close my eyes, I’m back there.
The White Rose Greenhouse burning fiercely. The locked door. Pounding on that unyielding door, sobbing for her to come out,
while the adults ignored my screams.
The sickening faces of those wretches who accepted the death of someone who should have lived as though it were natural.
Gaitel clutched her ribbon. Faded, frayed at the edges, yet she couldn’t bring herself to discard it.
‘That color suits you so well.’
It was she who had tied that ribbon that day too.
Those deft hands that had always tied her ribbon beautifully, making up for Gaitel’s clumsiness.
Then, without any wind at all, the flame stretched long and thin.
Gaitel’s eyes widened.
“Who’s there.”
No answer came.
Screech.
Creak.
A faint sound from somewhere.
The scrape of fingernails on glass. A sound she could never forget, a sound that haunted her no matter how hard she tried to suppress it, clawed at her ears.
“No.”
She bolted from her seat.
“I’m awake. This isn’t a dream!”
This time the sound came from somewhere closer.
Screech. Screech.
A document on her desk curled black at the edges. The paper was burning without any flame.
“No.”
Gaitel clenched her teeth.
“No, no!”
But it was already too late. The moment her eyes blinked, she had become smaller. The dress she wore was no longer the present one.
Looking down at her hands, she found a familiar sheet of paper crumpled in her grip.
A letter in familiar handwriting, with familiar words.
Without thinking, as though enchanted, she reached for the greenhouse door handle.
“Creak!”
Her palm burned, but she didn’t let go.
A cough echoed from inside.
Cough. Cough, cough.
It was small and weak.
“Eriasha!”
Gaitel called out her only friend’s name with desperate urgency, wrenching at the door.
The handle rattled, but it wouldn’t open.
Someone inside struck the door.
Bang.
Bang.
“Eriasha, are you there?”
Instead of an answer, smoke seeped from within.
Black smoke crept like serpents through the glass seams and beneath the door, threading between pristine white roses.
The sickening stench of burning roses, burning cloth, burning hair filled the space and spilled outward.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————