You heard, right? Can you answer?"
Laceil asked toward the empty air where the creaking sound was still coming from. For a moment, the paper rustled, and soon the arrow that no one had touched began to move on its own.
"Why, why does it actually work?" "Because it's necromancy..."
While Elian was freaking out, the arrow pointed towards 'I do not intend to harm you'.
"What do we do if it's a lie?"
She thought one problem was solved, but Elian had a talent for creating new problems herself. As soon as she heard those words, the arrow wandered for a moment and then pointed to 'I was murdered'. This time, both Elian and Laceil had no choice but to fall into doubt. Because no matter how often Laceil saw ghosts, this was the first time a ghost told such a story.
"What does that mean?"
Elian's voice began to tremble as she asked. The arrow, which wandered again, pointed to 'Could I get a cup of tea'.
"Yes?"
Neither of them knew he would demand tea at this timing. Elian hurriedly went to get tea, but except for the bedroom, everything was practically pitch black, so there was nothing she could do. Eventually, she had to bring the water she had set aside to drink if she woke up from sleep.
"Is water okay too?"
Seeing the arrow point to 'Thank you', it seemed it was probably okay. While the two people couldn't keep up with the situation, the cup tilted slightly and water spilled. The ink of the letters smudged, and the arrow, stained with the smudged ink, moved and began to write letters.
'I am the second son of the Marquis family. I died fifteen years ago.'
"Fifteen years?"
Elian asked with a trembling voice. If her memory was correct, she got engaged about three years ago.
"But the engagement..."
The arrow, which paused for a moment, pointed to 'No'.
"Do you mean you were already dead back then? And they engaged us hiding that fact?"
'Yes.'
"Why did they hide it?"
'I do not know the details, but it seems they coveted the Count family's assets.'
The arrow wrote letters again with the ink that was now slowly fading. Laceil, who was watching the conversation, blinked.
'Is this a conversation I'm allowed to hear?'
For some reason, she felt like she had discovered a fact perfect for catching the Marquis family's weakness. Yujire would like it, but finding out information in this way was still a bit uncomfortable.
"Why did you come here?"
'Marquis people finding going to house in advance avoid need.'
Because the ink was almost all used up, those were all the letters they could recognize. Still, there was no big problem in interpreting the content.
"The Marquis family's people? When are they coming?"
This time, no answer returned. The arrow that had been spinning around until just now also stopped moving before they knew it.
"Why aren't you answering?" "The sun rose."
Laceil, who cast a glance to the side, answered instead. Because they focused too much on the arrow on the paper, they hadn't realized that sunlight was coming in. The inside of the house had also returned to its original state.
"First of all, um..."
Elian started talking with a face that still looked confused.
"So the Marquis family engaged me to a person who was already dead, right? Are they crazy?" "It seems they are crazy..." "What on earth are they trying to do? Even if they say they covet the Count family's assets, the Marquis family probably has more assets." "...."
Laceil fell into thought for a moment. First, it seemed she needed to verify if the person who came earlier was really the second son of the Marquis family. Just a moment ago, she forgot to request proof because she was swept up in the atmosphere, but it could possibly be another evil spirit. Since the handwriting remained just in time, verifying it wouldn't be difficult.
"...That seems better, what do you think?" "That is true... Who are you going to verify with?"
Elian, who glanced at the handwriting on the paper, asked. She knew the handwriting habit was peculiar, but the problem was whether they could see the handwriting from when the Marquis family's son was alive.
"...Wouldn't Lord Sieren know?" "Ah, that person."
The person Laceil was talking about now was Irenes Sieren, the first son of the Duke of Sieren's household. Originally, he was scheduled to become Yujire's fiancé, but because their personalities clashed severely, it didn't happen. Furthermore, because Laceil was always present when he met Yujire, he was actually closer to Laceil. So to speak, the conversation between Yujire, Laceil, and Irenes was always like this.
Irenes: It's been a while. The weather is nice these days. Yujire: Yes. Irenes: You seem to look paler. Yujire: Yes. Irenes: ...Would you like more tea?
Or sometimes it was like this.
Irenes: ... Yujire: ... Laceil: ...
Then, Laceil, unable to endure it, would often speak to Irenes. Irenes, who also couldn't endure the silence, accepted that conversation gladly. In extreme cases, there were times like this.
Irenes: (Roughly business-related conversation) Yujire: (Roughly rarely active conversation because business is involved) Passing person from the Duke of Sieren's household: (Adds a word denying the two people's opinions) Laceil: (Requests a duel)
The only time Yujire and Irenes's opinions rarely aligned was then. However, after it became certain that Irenes had no talent as a wizard and he quit learning the Young Duke's work, such things also disappeared. Because the Duke of Sieren's household always passed down the title only to wizards. Naturally, after quitting the Young Duke's work, the interaction between Irenes and Yujire was also cut off as it was.
"...Anyway, it seems there was interaction with the Marquis Lemain family too when we were young." "Ah, then it might be helpful... Do you stay in touch?" "Yeah."
It seemed contact with Yujire had been cut off long ago, but somehow conversations with Laceil continued. Laceil even sent a letter to Irenes just yesterday.
"It seems he's relaxed because he doesn't have work these days. He looked comfortable..."
It was a good thing that he avoided doing work he disliked thanks to the Duke's household adopting a wizard from a collateral line and making them the successor. That successor also seemed satisfied that they could become the direct line Duke family.
"Anyway, um. If I send a letter, a reply will come in about three days." "...The Marquis family's people won't come to visit before that, right?" "Regarding that, for now... tell the Young Lady to do something about it."
At this point, it seemed all the problems faced immediately were solved. Laceil got up from her seat after saying a proper goodbye to Elian.
[To dear Iren
Hello, Iren. Have you been well? I am doing reasonably well. I am slowly getting used to the territory as well.
Actually, I went to Lady Elian's home a while ago, and on the way back, a lady was standing by the willow tree. Every time the willow leaves swayed, it was fascinating that her hair swayed too, so I was watching, but come to think of it, it seems it was quite a nuisance. By the way, that lady was standing without legs; is such a thing possible with magic these days?
This is a joke, but the fact that I am getting used to the territory is true. If you have time, I would appreciate it if you could come down once this week. There is something I want to discuss. Then I will be waiting for your reply.
Hoping you take care of your health in these days when it is becoming noticeably cooler, sent by Laceil Jaen.]
[To dear Sir Jaen
Actually, I was just feeling quite bored because I have nothing to do. I will go right away today.]
There are facts that everyone knows about Irenes Sieren, the first son of the Duke of Sieren's household. First, Irenes is one of the only two Sword Masters in the Empire. However, because he is not a wizard, he cannot inherit the family. Second, Irenes has failed confessions about fifteen times so far. Third, everyone except Laceil knows the fact that the person Irenes likes is Laceil.
"But why is Sir Jaen the only one who doesn't know?"
Irenes, leaning back on the sofa, asked his younger sibling with blank eyes. His sibling, Riel Sieren, who was busy processing documents, answered quietly.
"Because the confessions failed." "Even though I made it this obvious?" "...."
Of course, Irenes didn't make confessions with a plan to fail from the beginning. Clearly, until the first confession, he did his best. He deliberately made time to go out together, intending to confess when the date was over... A demonic beast popped out at the restaurant right next door. Naturally, the surroundings became a chaotic mess, and an atmosphere suitable for a confession absolutely could not be created.
'The second confession was worse.'
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