In the midst of an evening party, the moon was moistening the spring air.

Rishe was walking down the hall alone when she overheard the ladies gossiping about a rumor.

“–You also heard it, right? The spring moon is very beautiful when watching it from the south corridor of the imperial castle.”

“I wouldn’t want to go near there at night, even if I knew that.”

Apparently, they knew some secrets surrounding the imperial castle.

She really should spare time to leave Arnold during soirees so as not to miss situations like this.

Rishe joined their circle to gather information.

“Hello, ladies, what are you talking about?”

“Dear Rishe-sama! You’ve come to the right place. No, we were discussing a great place in the imperial castle with a wonderful view. Then the words ‘South Corridor’ came up…”

“I’ve been to the South Corridor several times. It’s a scenic corridor, but is there any circumstance that makes it uninviting?”

She feigned interest in the gossip and dug deeper.

What kind of topics would fly out of these well-informed women?

I hope I could hear something about the imperial castle, members of the royal family, and His Royal Highness Arnold’s father…

But what jumped into Rishe’s ears in anticipation was something she didn’t want to hear.

“There’s a rumor that the South Corridor is haunted.”

“Huh…”

Immediately after that, her blood ran cold.

“It is said that the spirit of a man who slipped and died while building this castle appears night after night…”

“Huh? I’m pretty sure I heard that a maidservant who died of bullying from the head chamberlain in the olden days became a ghost…”

“Wasn’t it a horse ghost? You see, it went on a rampage and got out of control, so a knight slashed him down…”

“No, it isn’t! I heard this from my grandmother!”

“…………”

While they were talking like crazy, Rishe was silent and frozen.

Eventually the evening party concluded and Arnold’s messenger came to call her.

Rishe awkwardly said goodbye to the ladies and joined Arnold in leaving the hall of the soiree.

****

The day was warm in the daytime and a pleasant night breeze blew outside.

However Rishe’s steps were laden as she walked behind Arnold.

“……Hey.”

“…”

“Rishe, what are you doing?”

“!”

She looked up with a gasp when Arnold called her.

She didn’t notice that she lagged far behind from Arnold.

She wanted to catch up with him in a hurry, but she couldn’t move from there.

Is this perhaps the…

This was the southern side of the Imperial Castle.

It was the shortest route from the location of the hall used for this soiree to the detached palace where Rishe lived.

Arnold walked back to Rishe’s side and looked at her suspiciously.

“Don’t tell me those guys just now did something to you?”

“No-no-no! That’s not true.”

“Then what happened? From the way you’re walking, it’s not like you have a leg injury.”

“……!”

She thanked him for his concern, but she couldn’t muster the strength to give more details at the moment.

Because while she was trudging along in a daze, she felt in serious trouble.

“…Uhm, Your Highness.”

“Yeah?”

“Is this perhaps the southern corridor of the imperial castle?”

“Don’t you know?”

“….!”

When Rishe asked the obvious, Arnold became more and more steely.

“Rishe, what happened at the soiree? I’ll move in person depending on the circumstances, just say the word.”

“Hmm…Really?”

“Yeah, I promise.”

“T-Then, I’ll take you at your word……”

Encouraged by his reassurance, Rishe mustered her courage and finally spoke.

“—I hear there are ghosts here!”

“…………”

At that moment, Arnold immediately looked like it was nothing important.

“If you’re wondering that….”

“Oh, you just made a ‘nonsense’ face! It’s because the ladies told me that some people actually saw them!”

“Aren’t they just making up stories that exist in every castle to relieve boredom? It’s a kind of entertainment where the topic is more important than the truth. To begin with, there’s no such thing as ghosts.”

“Maybe there are…!!”

T/N: Yup, I’m catching up on raws…