Conquering My Enemy from My Past Life Chapter 45

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After clearing my throat, I silently withdrew my hand and turned away.

From behind me, I heard Caleus say, “I shall take my leave.”

Yeah, get lost. Hurry up.

Once his footsteps faded, I turned to Serta.

“Sprinkle some salt over there.”

“Huh? Salt?”

“Just do it. No questions.”

Serta tilted his head in confusion but picked up the salt shaker from the table and scattered the grains over the grass.

It was only a little, but I felt oddly relieved.

After returning to my room and washing my hands for a while, I found Cloden standing there, holding a letter.

When I gave Cloden a questioning look, he answered.

“It seems he had prepared this letter in advance. He handed it to Sir Reyan before leaving.”

Well, that’s some impressive foresight.

Clicking my tongue inwardly, I took the letter and opened it.

It contained a detailed account of incidents occurring at the National Hospital.

In short, a ghost had appeared.

I found it amusing that even the Crown Prince was getting involved in something as dubious as ghost sightings.

But in this world, there were also monsters that took the form of spirits.

The key difference between a ghost and a monster?

Whether they were dead or not.

Whether it was truly a ghost or just a spirit-type monster, we wouldn’t know until we saw it for ourselves.

But regardless, the fact that something was happening at the Crown Prince’s National Hospital was bad news.

If I could go there and help resolve the issue, that would be ideal.

I sat at my desk and wrote a reply.

We moved toward the National Hospital with discretion.

Unlike our previous trip to a neighboring city that required passing through two city walls, this hospital was located within the capital.

If the Crown Prince, the Imperial Prince, and I traveled there openly, it would cause too much of a stir.

Even people who had no prior knowledge of the situation would start paying attention to the hospital.

By the time we arrived, the lights were mostly out, and the hospital’s director and staff were waiting for us at the back entrance.

They hurriedly ushered us inside.

The so-called “ghost” was primarily sighted in the passageway between Wards 3 and 4.

In reality, between those two wards, there was an old staircase that once led to another ward.

It had since been repurposed as a storage room.

Though “storage room” was a generous term—it was more of an abandoned, unused space.

There was an eerie story attached to it.

A patient had hanged himself there, and ever since, his ghost supposedly haunted the area, driving other patients to attempt suicide.

Nurses also reported strange occurrences, leading to the ward’s complete closure.

For a hospital as crowded as the National Hospital, every bit of space was valuable.

The fact that they had sealed off an entire ward and completely restricted access made me wonder just how bad things really were.

Maybe it was because the number four was considered unlucky.

Like in some hospitals back in my previous life, where they avoided the number altogether.

But of course, that wasn’t the only reason.

The National Hospital had originally been built as a small wooden structure and expanded over time.

The sealed ward was part of the original building.

That area was now old, deteriorating, and unsafe.

They were supposedly waiting for reconstruction funding.

Who knew when that would come through?

Regardless, the general theory was that the ghost climbed up from the abandoned ward and into the passageway.

Witnesses described it as a figure in a hospital gown with long, unkempt hair and a protruding tongue—exactly like the patient who had hanged himself.

“This way, please.”

The hospital director personally guided us.

Since the passage was for staff use only, it appeared especially old and worn-down.

The dim ceiling lights only added to the eerie atmosphere.

After walking down a long corridor, we passed through a creaky wooden door and entered the ward.

Judging by the room numbers all starting with “3,” it was Ward 3.

This world used both base-5 and base-10 numeral systems.

Obviously, there was no “Arabia” here, but just as I could understand the language through some kind of automatic translation, the numbers were also converted for my comprehension.

Honestly, I was relieved that at least they used a reasonable system.

If they had gone with something bizarre, like base-12 or base-13, I might have died from confusion alone.

The hospital director suddenly quickened his pace, clearly wanting to get past the patient rooms as fast as possible.

As I followed, I glanced at the two men walking on either side of me—Caleus and Ateol.

When we had first met, we had exchanged greetings like proper imperial siblings.

But now, they hadn’t spoken a single word to each other.

The tension between them was almost tangible.

Well, that was to be expected.

Even siblings who got along well would find this situation uncomfortable.

And if it was Caleus and Ateol?

The surprising part was that they hadn’t drawn swords on each other yet.

Or rather, it would have been more accurate to say that Caleus was the one always drawing his sword while Ateol pretended to stop him.

A mere formality.

Well, not now.

Ateol had no reason to kill Caleus here—not yet, anyway.

“If you go through here… you’ll reach the passage.”

The hospital director spoke with solemnity, as if standing at the entrance of some unspeakable horror.

For someone his age, being this terrified over a ghost—or even a monster—seemed a bit excessive.

Even in my past life, I probably wouldn’t have been this scared.

Right now, I was acting completely composed.

My fear gauge wasn’t even dropping.

The director, with trembling hands, reached for the door and slowly pushed it open.

Beyond it lay a long, dark passageway.

Only half the lights seemed to be on.

“Staff rarely use this hallway. There’s another way around.

But recently… patients in the rooms near the passageway have also started seeing the ghost…”

If even the general patients were seeing it, rumors would spread in no time.

The director hesitated, clearly unwilling to go any further.

Since there was no need for him to come along, I gave Ateol a look.

“You can wait here, Director. I’ll escort His Highness and the Tower Master inside.”

“Y-yes, of course!”

Relief washed over the faces of the director and the staff.

As soon as we stepped into the passageway, the door creaked shut behind us.

Creeeak… Thud.

The sound was straight out of a horror movie.

“It certainly feels ominous in the dark,” Ateol remarked.

There was a stark difference in atmosphere between the hospital ward and the passageway, separated by just a single door.

Was it because something was really here?

Or was it just the power of suggestion?

Every step on the wooden floor made an unsettling creaking noise.

Before long, we reached a small wooden door—the entrance to the abandoned ward.

Ateol unlocked it with a key he had received from the director.

The rusted lock clattered heavily to the floor.

Beyond the door was a staircase.

As I prepared to take the lead, Ateol quietly stepped in front of me.

“I’ll go first since I have the lantern.”

He lifted the lantern slightly.

So Ateol took the lead, I followed in the middle, and Caleus brought up the rear.

If we were going up against a spirit-type monster, shouldn’t the other two be hiding behind me?

Not that they ever would.

As we descended into the abandoned ward, the air grew colder.

It felt just like stepping into the main section of a haunted house.

A real ghost wouldn’t actually appear… right?

It had to be a monster.

A monster would be far less terrifying than the ghost of someone who had hanged themselves—because ghosts couldn’t be dealt with using magic.

A strange chill ran down my spine.

As I hunched my shoulders, Ateol suddenly glanced back.

It was only then that I realized I had grabbed the hem of his coat.

I quickly let go and averted my gaze, embarrassed.

Ateol said nothing.

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