The Haunted Mansion
My neck, raw and scraped by the rope, burned with a fierce, stinging pain.
To hang myself...
Honestly, it was an experience I never wanted to go through again!
I was still gingerly touching the throbbing wound when Psyche seized me by the collar and hauled me up from the floor where I sat crumpled.
"You!"
Tears welled in her eyes—blue as the sea—as she glared down at me.
"Hanging yourself! Why would you do something like that...!? Were you possessed by a ghost!? If I hadn't saved you, by now you would be—!"
If Psyche hadn't saved me, I'd be dead right now! Cast straight down into the hottest, most agonizing pit of Hell!
In other words, this gambit had been a massive risk even for me.
Still, the odds had been good.
"Because I believed you would save me. Cough. Psyche, that is simply the kind of person you are."
Psyche was a kind and righteous soul.
The sort who would thrust out her own hand to stop a child from walking into flames, even if it meant getting burned herself—
A woman who would throw her entire body in the way if someone before her eyes tried to plunge straight into Hell.
Even if that someone happened to be a monster known as a Great Sin Seat!
"What could you possibly know about me when we only met today? I hate people like you the most! Suicide—you must never, ever do such a thing! Never!"
"And yet, did I not cure your illness by doing so? Sometimes one must die in order to live. If my death could heal your sickness, my lady... Cough."
Tch. It really did hurt.
I was still running a self-diagnosis with my fingers, wondering whether some bone in my neck had cracked or broken when I hung there, when the maids and servants crowded around Psyche.
Tears of every emotion sparkled in their eyes as they spoke one after another.
"The young lady is truly speaking...! Heavens, it's a miracle! For two whole years she couldn't even drink water on her own...!"
"She's cured! Monk Hyde has truly healed Lady Psyche's illness! Heavens above!"
In my opinion, the servants of Agarpe Manor had clearly never realized Psyche was faking her illness. Did that mean this whole malingering farce had been Psyche's unilateral scheme alone?
"Tsk—."
Just then a peculiar sound reached my ears.
I turned my head and saw Count Doban, his red hair grown out like a lion's mane, wearing a subtle expression. Of course it lasted only a moment; he flung both arms wide and swept his daughter into a fierce embrace.
"Psyche! Your consciousness has returned! This father is overjoyed beyond measure that you are healthy again! Do you recognize me?"
"Father...! My mind is clear now!"
It was a deeply moving father-daughter reunion.
Both of them were fine-looking people; the scene could have been a painting.
Even I, who knew the full truth of the situation to some degree, felt a prickle of tears from the sheer emotion.
Prickle—.
While I was still basking in the pathos, a rather sharp gaze stabbed at me from somewhere.
I turned and found the knight Loras, clad in gleaming silver plate, glaring at me while muttering something to the servants.
I was just wondering what he might be saying when a massive hand clamped down hard on my shoulder.
It was Count Doban Agarpe.
"You—Monk Hyde, was it? You have cured my daughter's illness, so of course it is only proper that I repay you! Speak your desire! We of Agarpe are the House of the Covenant. A promise spoken aloud is a promise we keep—that is our family motto."
What did I desire?
One single discourse flooded my mind so completely that no other thought could form.
In the end I could not hold it back.
"I wish to marry Lady Psyche."
"Marriage?"
Doban's rock-like face twitched. At once the servants and maids began to stir as though swallowed by one vast will.
"Marriage? Did he just say marriage?"
"Marrying Lady Psyche... no matter that he is our benefactor, a man of unknown origin..."
Only then did the people seem to truly look at me—at the human being called "me."
Their gazes raked over me openly, thick with suspicion, distrust, and a fair measure of malice.
Soon someone trembled and cried out loudly.
"Marriage? My lord Count, that is absurd!"
"Sir Loras."
"As everyone knows, Lady Psyche already has a fiancé. The House of Agarpe long ago received from the king the title of the Covenant—"
"Sir Loras!"
Doban rebuked him in a stern voice. The knight Loras, who had been shouting something, closed his mouth as though he had much more to say yet had no choice but to endure it.
Squeeze—.
Count Doban, still gripping my shoulder, smiled faintly.
"First, let us dine. I would like to invite you to the evening banquet, Monk Hyde."
"It would be an honor."
A banquet of the count's house, given with genuine heart.
It felt like a grand feast, a true party.
Servants and maids kept bringing dish after dish to the table without end, and I was kept busy tasting every kind of dish one by one.
Of course the flavor was only so-so.
In a world where seasonings were scarce and cooking techniques undeveloped, the food could hardly satisfy a tongue trained on twenty-first-century tastes.
Still, better than starving.
Having daily bread was something to be grateful for!
With that thought I had just reached a comfortable fullness when the doors of the banquet hall burst open. Across the cold stone floor a woman in a violet dress walked with elegant, light steps.
It was Psyche.
"My lady...! Heavens! You are truly completely well! A miracle!"
"A beauty one would never believe had suffered illness...!"
The people exclaimed in great admiration, busy praising her appearance.
Honestly, when it came to a woman's "looks," I preferred to treat people equally. Every human was fashioned as a masterpiece after the image of the Creator, after all.
My opinion was that everyone possessed their own unique beauty and individuality.
And yet.
Looking at Psyche, I could almost believe that after the Lord had practiced His craft on many others, He had poured extra concentration and care into making her...
She really was beautiful.
I had only ever seen her in armor, shouting and scowling; this was the first time I beheld her like this.
"Psyche, sit facing young Hyde."
"Yes, Father."
Scowl—.
The way Psyche frowned at me was the same as ever, past or present. Still, compared to the days when she had poured every kind of hatred upon me, now...
"Monk Hyde, I dislike you."
Exactly the same.
But it would change from here on.
I was confident of that.
Soon the true feast and banquet began in earnest.
Ding-a-ling—.
Noisy instruments filled the stone banquet hall; warm braziers blazed brightly; the guests' tipsiness ripened—
When a woman of beautiful golden hair looked my way.
"Monk Hyde, was it?"
She was the Countess of Agarpe, somewhere in her late thirties, and a woman of striking beauty; Psyche had clearly taken after her.
The countess asked me,
"Hyde, won't you tell us your story? We know nothing about the benefactor who cured our precious daughter Psyche of her illness. Are you of noble birth, by any chance?"
"No."
"Is that so? Your skin is so white and fine, just like a young lady's—I took you for a noble son who had never known hardship. Then your mother or father...? Merchants...? Or priests...?"
It felt like a household census.
Perhaps that was only natural.
I was the man who had dared say to a count, "Give me your daughter!"
My prospective father- and mother-in-law had every right to know what sort of person I was.
Just then Psyche muttered under her breath,
"I really do wonder whose child you are. To attempt something so reckless, so dangerous, so unforgivable without a second thought. What kind of upbringing did you receive at home to do such a thing...!"
Had my suicide stunt shocked her that badly?
Being scolded and condemned by Psyche... honestly, it felt rather good in its own way.
In any case, I had the distinct impression I was thoroughly hated by her, yet I still had to say what needed saying.
"I am an orphan."
"......!"
Psyche's blue eyes widened.
Her gaze wavered left and right in unease for a moment, then settled quietly downward.
"Hyde, I apologize. I truly had no idea."
A noble young lady apologizing for her mistake.
In a world where people who were in the wrong still turned the tables and lashed out, Psyche was indeed the person of character I had been watching all along!
Moved, I trembled all over as I spoke.
"It is all right. Though I am an orphan, thanks to that I was able to meet a great Father early. The Lord, Father of all things."
I had grown up in an orphanage, yet I had never been lonely or unhappy.
My brothers and sisters had all been kind, and the teachers nothing but warm and good people.
Rather, the most miserable period of my life had been the recent five years after I left the orphanage—that had been the absolute peak.
Of course, that too was over now!
Tears welled in the countess's eyes as she listened.
"In this harsh world, without parents.... You must have suffered so much! Then do you know nothing at all of your birth parents? Any news? Have you never thought to search for them!?"
"It is not entirely without connection. I did inherit a name, at least. The director of the orphanage told me so. In the basket I was left in there was a small cross and my name written down."
The name Hyde, and a faith from the womb.
Those were the only things I had received from my parents in this world. No—if I thought carefully, they were not the only things.
They had brought me into the world, after all.
In a twenty-first century where abortion was rampant, the mere fact that they had given birth to me and left me at a good facility was enough for me to feel profound gratitude.
Count Doban cleared his throat with a loud "Ahem—."
"My dear, stop prying into every detail of another's story. It is against etiquette."
"Why? He might become part of our family soon! No parents or siblings.... Might that not be the will of God? If things have come to this, then our House of Agarpe—"
"Wilhelmina."
Doban spoke sternly once more.
So the countess's name was Wilhelmina.
Lady Wilhelmina shrugged her shoulders, muttered "Hmph, men," and sharply turned her head away from her husband.
The atmosphere grew rather awkward in various ways.
I rinsed my mouth with water to lighten the mood and asked,
"Then may I ask something I have been curious about as well? I have heard several times that Lady Psyche already has a fiancé. Is that true?"
The virgin Psyche.
As far as I knew she was a celibate.
In this world it was fashionable for priests to remain unmarried, much like Catholic clergy.
Of course marriage for priests was not forbidden, so there were people like Archbishop Archibold who had married and produced children.
Even so, I had thought Psyche simply followed the fashion of celibacy and naturally had no ties to any man from the start.
And yet she had a fiancé?
When I showed my curiosity, Doban sipped his wine and shook his head.
"My daughter has no fiancé. I do not know from whom you heard such a tale."
"So Sir Loras lied? I thought as much. I can recognize a liar's face, you see."
I looked toward Loras, who sat at the far end of the long table.
Loras, apparently displeased that his name had come up, coughed "Ahem" and scowled; Count Doban glanced at him sideways and shook his head.
"Sir Loras's words are not entirely false. Psyche did have a fiancé once. A very old story, though."
I see.
An empty piece of the puzzle had appeared from somewhere and clicked perfectly into place.
I might say I had finally understood why Psyche had been forced to fake her illness.
"That fiancé—did he die a very long time ago?"
"...Why do you ask that?"
"Indeed. Now I understand. A ghost lives in this mansion. Lady Psyche's illness was nothing else—she was possessed by a ghost. Even now that ghost torments the House of Agarpe."
"...A ghost!?"
Doban's expression changed in an instant. He stared wide-eyed as though he had truly seen a ghost, and the people around him parted their lips in blank astonishment, as if wondering what on earth this was about.
My words were correct.
A ghost truly did live in this mansion.
"A ghost by the name of an old promise."