I Became the Ghost Duke's Daughter - Chapter 10

While I was tilting my head in puzzlement, I heard voices from the ghosts.



<Wow, today is also bloody.>



The old beggar who was holding an empty bottle of alcohol today too, as always.



<Even where I was, it wasn’t common for kids to roll around like that. They do that all the time and still survive, they are all monsters, you know, monsters.>



A short-haired girl who was wearing a long robe with a design reminiscent of a priest for some reason.



<Those crazy things, they have to gather up the tendons you lost and play the violin to come to their senses…>



Finally, a man with dark-skinned eyes who looked like a skinny anchovy, they all spoke one after another.



Except for those three and a few ghosts, most of the others looked like bulging bags turned upside down.



Among ghosts, it seemed to be a particularly weak entity, unable to even maintain its human form.



And the moment I saw the sight of their bodies, I was speechless.



“Huuuuft.”



“Huft, huuuft.”



“Ugh.”



In the middle of an outdoor training ground made of ocher-colored sand, a tower made of humans stood tall, as if they were building a house by setting up playing cards.



And the one sitting at the top of the tower like an arrogant tyrant.



He was none other than Valerian Everdeen.



‘What is that…?’



Taking off his silver-rimmed glasses and gloves, and wearing an unbuttoned white shirt and pants, he looked completely different from the person I had seen in the morning.



The Duke, Valerian Everdeen, opened his mouth with a face that was colder than anything I had ever seen before.



“Mikhail Suzton.”



Then the man standing with his back to his lower left responded with his bright red face.



“Yes, my lord!”



“Ledin Arbolt.”



“Yes, my lord!”



This time the man standing to the lower right of the Duke answered.



The Duke sat on the shoulders of the two men and asked in a stern voice.



“Was yesterday’s training not enough?”



“N-No, it’s not!”



“But how can not only the members, but also the captain and vice-captain still not be able to receive three sword strikes? I don’t think you’re lacking in ability, but does that mean you’re lacking in brains? I tell you several times that you shouldn’t neglect training just because you’re in seclusion.”



“I will correct iiiiit!”



The captain and vice-captain shouted with eyes full of resentment.



I was in a daze, but suddenly came to my senses when I heard that sound. Out of embarrassment, I inadvertently looked down to the bottom of the human tower and then opened my mouth again.



What else is that?



“Uuuugh.”



Right in front of the human tower. Numerous knights were lying face down on the floor of the training hall, forming a circle as if playing tail.



Each person puts their feet on the shoulder of the person behind them, and their fingers are on the floor.



With faces that were between red and bluish, they were each supporting their bodies shakily with only two fingers.



‘It’s a person…?’



Be that as it may, the Duke had an icy face that didm’t waver even in the face of groans coming from all over the place.



“Do you resent me, Captain?”



“Yes, I do!”



A man named Mikhail Suzton just turned his eyes and glared at the Duke who was sitting on his shoulder.



In response to that cry, which was infinitely close to sincerity, the Duke raised only one corner of his lips and responded with a sneer.



“Then I will deal with you, so come on after training. Continue training. One, we are, two, stone heads. One.”



“We areee!”



“Two.”



“Stone heaaads aaargh.”



“If you don’t do it right, I’ll increase it by five. Do it again.”



“We areeeeee!”



As I stared blankly at the sight of countless knights bending and straightening their arms and knees in accordance with Valerian’s words, I unconsciously lost strength in my hands.



Plop.



<Ah, I’m covered in dirt.>



Rick, who rolled on the floor as if he didn’t feel any pain because he was a cotton ball, just grumbled that there was dirt on his ribbon.



But I was so distracted by the scene in front of me that I couldn’t hear his sound.



At that time, the man named Ledin Arbolt must have sensed the sound of Rick falling and turned his head to look this way.



When he made eye contact with me, his eyes widened, he straightened his knees, and made a strange noise.



“Why, a babyaaagh!”



“Baby?”



The Duke raised his head, frowning as if wondering what he was talking about.



Immediately after our eyes met, he was startled and opened his mouth slightly.



“…Terry?”



The captain who heard his voice raised his head curiously.



“Yes? Who… Ouch!”



Thud!



Next moment. The Duke jumped down from the top of the tower made up of knights.



Due to the recoil, the knights who were maintaining their precarious posture collapsed to the floor, each letting out a short groan.



Oh my god, it’s falling!



I was momentarily frightened by the Duke jumping from a great height and covered my eyes with both hands.



However, the expected bang or ugh sound wasn’t heard. Instead, my feet were off the ground.



No, wait. Off the ground?



“Eh.”



Startled, I removed the hands that were covering my eyes.



Then, before I knew it, I saw the Duke holding me in his arms and looking at my face with concern.



“Why is she here… More than that, I don’t have a pen right now, though.”



The Duke muttered lowly, as if he were bewildered, and frowned slightly.



It was a face that I always thought was neat, but like before, when he frowned like this, it became a scary and filthy-looking face.



While I was unable to adjust to the difference and was left with my mouth wide open, a commotion suddenly broke out as if an explosion occurred from the knights, who were rolling around on the floor and looking at me with blank expressions.



“T-T-That!”



“I, I, I…!”



What are they doing.



The knights each opened their mouths and stammered, pointing in this direction.



The Duke turned to the commotion and immediately sharpened his eyes.



“Where are you pointing your finger now? Are you crazy?”



“I-I apologize!”



At those words, the knights hurriedly curled their fingers into fists and stood up from their seats.



Then the Duke, sighing slightly, glanced at me and tilted his chin toward the captain.



“I think I should go in first, so you can finish the rest of the training. Of course, I’ll come out tomorrow to check, so don’t think about doing it in vain.”



“Yes? Gasp, I mean, yes!”



The captain, who seemed embarrassed for a moment, immediately changed his attitude and nodded his head. The movement was so intense that you could see his hair rising and falling in the air.



The Duke only said those words and turned around as if he was going back to the mansion.



Uh oh. I looked over the Duke’s shoulder in confusion and waved my hand.



“Wait! The doll there…!”



“Hmm?”



He immediately stopped moving and walked towards where I was standing earlier.



The Duke soon stopped in his tracks, sat me down on one of his arms, andㅡthis one?ㅡpicked up Rick with his other hand.



I held out my hand to ask for Rick’s return. However, he fixed his eyes on the teddy bear in his hand for a moment and made a puzzled face.



“Something feels… strange.”



I was startled by the muttering, which was almost like talking to himself, and my shoulders shook.



W-What is this. If you’re good at using a sword, you can feel things like this?



“Ah.”



I guess I should say it was fortunate, or maybe it was because I was shaking my shoulder that he came to his senses, but the Duke quickly returned Rick.



I was afraid that he might have noticed Rick’s presence, so I deliberately held him in my arms as if he were an ordinary teddy bear and smiled brightly.



***



As soon as the Duke returned to the mansion, he held me in his arms and headed straight to the office.



He set me down on the couch, took a pen and paper from his desk, and knelt down on one knee in front of me.



Then the Duke, who placed a piece of paper on his thigh, hastily wrote something down.



[It wouldn’t look good, so I should have told you in advance not to go near the training ground.I’m sorry. My bad.]



The first words he quickly wrote down were an apology.



‘Eh?’



Why would he apologize? What does it mean to not look good?



After tilting my head for a moment and blinking my eyes in confusion, I soon realized the reason.



‘Ah, because I can’t see the knights?’



Contrary to the Duke’s misunderstanding, I was able to see the knights clearly. Even if it has a translucent bluish appearance like a ghost.



However, there was no need to correct the misunderstanding if it would help me get kicked out of the duchy, so I just hugged Rick and shook my head.



The Duke took a deep breath and asked.



[By the way, what were you doing there? It’s a bit far from the mansion.]