I Inherited It, and It Turned Out to Be a Ghost Story - Chapter 3

As she naturally turned her head, Ordelphia’s expression stiffened even more upon seeing an unfamiliar man standing quite close.

A smooth forehead. A straight, sculpted nose. Dark eyebrows as if drawn on, deep-set eyes, and finely curved lips with a faint smile. His tall frame, partially rolled-up shirt, and muscular arm lined with visible veins.

A man so strikingly handsome that anyone, regardless of preference, would be left speechless.

Even the lump of emotion buried deep in Ordelphia’s chest stirred at the sight.

“Uncle! Unc-le! Look, sis! See? I told you I’m not alone!”

The child flew into the man’s arms and was easily scooped up with one arm.

Ordelphia had unknowingly been staring at the bulging blue veins in the man’s arm. Feeling her chest suddenly tighten, she furrowed her brows and lowered her head.

It was the first time someone’s excessively perfect appearance had made her emotions squirm. A faint crack formed in what had always been an unshakable mask of indifference.

But when she caught sight of his shoes—polished to a shine and clearly of the highest quality—her distorted face returned to its usual blankness.

“Uncle! Uncle!”

The child, seemingly overjoyed, clung tightly to the man’s neck and kept calling out.

Though the boy squirmed and seemed close to slipping from his arm, the man didn’t bother to readjust his hold.

He briefly looked at Ordelphia, who had her head bowed, but quickly lost interest and spoke to the beaming child.

“Did you have fun?”

Unlike his neglectful posture, the question came out smooth and soft.

But the voice—so low it sounded like it came from the depths of a well—sent an odd chill down Ordelphia’s spine.

“Not yet! I haven’t gone to the secret place you told me about! That sister wouldn’t let me go out because she said I was alone!”

“Hmm?”

Feeling triumphant now that he had backup, the boy tattled on Ordelphia, pointing straight at her.

Only then did the man turn his eyes back to her.

“Are you this child’s uncle?”

Ordelphia, having resolved to just ensure the child’s safety and leave, asked calmly. But the man didn’t reply.

Instead, his long, narrow eyes took on a peculiar gleam as he began to slowly, very slowly, examine her.

His stare was so intense it felt like she was being dissected. A faint crack formed in her composed expression as a chill ran down her spine.

Already uncomfortable with physical contact, and even casual or coincidental interactions with others, she found this man’s reaction anything but ordinary—making the situation all the more uncomfortable.

Still, whatever fissure had appeared in her expression quickly smoothed back to perfection.

A long enough silence passed that she might have been justified in calling him out for rudeness. At last, unable to endure it any longer, Ordelphia opened her mouth.

“What exactly are you—”

Before she could finish, a sharp voice pierced the air.

“Junior!”

Ordelphia, who had been facing off with the so-called uncle, turned instinctively toward the source.

“Ah, Arthur Junior!”

A woman came running toward them, clearly the boy’s mother. Her hair was a mess, her face glistening with sweat, and her voice cracked.

She was unmistakably a parent who had been desperately searching for a missing child.

“Mom!”

Sure enough, the boy had already slipped out of the man’s arms and was running toward her with both arms raised.

The mother collapsed to her knees, embracing Arthur Junior tightly.

“Haa, haa haa.”

Finally reunited, her pale face slowly regained color as she panted for breath.

“Mom, I can’t breathe.”

When Junior whined, she glared and shouted, “Where on earth did you go! I told you not to leave my side!”

“But—”

“No buts! Just wait until we get home. You’re in big trouble.”

Junior looked like he was about to cry after being scolded, but his mother, with no intention of letting it go, didn’t bat an eye.

“Didn’t I tell you again and again to be careful even before we left!”

As the scolding went on, tears welled up in Junior’s round eyes, as if he might burst out crying at any moment.

His mother brushed back his bangs with a sigh filled with worry, anger, and relief all mixed together.

“I was so worried. Let’s go to your father now.”

“Eeeeh.”

Noticing his mother had mostly calmed down, Junior whined and shook his head, then suddenly turned to look at Ordelphia.

Following her child’s gaze, the mother made eye contact with Ordelphia.

“Oh, my. Oh!”

Only then did Arthur Junior’s mother seem to notice her presence and widened her round eyes—just like the child’s.

Ordelphia gave a polite nod, modest but within the bounds of etiquette, and said, “Hello. Are you the child’s mother?”

It was more of a conversational opener than a question.

“Ah, yes. I’m Arthur Junior’s mother. From the Crank family. But, pardon me, may I ask who you are?”

Though her appearance was slightly disheveled from hiding during the fire alarm and the strange creature’s appearance, Ordelphia still looked neat enough, so the woman wasn’t too wary, even though she had been with her lost child.

“Arthur Junior Crank, I see. I met him by chance.”

She deliberately avoided mentioning the bizarre incident she’d experienced.

There was no guarantee anyone would believe her, and even if they did, she didn’t want to recount such an unpleasant and horrifying experience that was already behind her.

Instead, she focused on the present—on the child’s safety.

“I was actually just about to take him to the reception desk since he said he came with his parents.”

Ordelphia paused, as if to add something, but closed her mouth.

There was no need to mention that she was the hotel’s newly inherited owner.

She had only just stepped foot into the lobby, and it didn’t seem appropriate to present herself as the owner right now.

If Junior had been in danger, she might have taken responsibility and revealed her role, but he had safely returned to his parents.

“Ah, thank you for staying with Junior. I really appreciate it.”

Crank’s wife stroked her son’s plump cheek and gave Ordelphia a grateful bow.

Ordelphia shook her head, sensing the sincerity in the woman’s gesture.

“No, I didn’t do much. His uncle was the one who calmed him down…”

She trailed off. The woman’s expression had turned odd.

After a brief silence, Mrs. Crank gave an awkward laugh. “Uncle? Oh, was someone with you? Junior tends to call strangers friendly names. If that was rude, I apologize.”

“No, he’s not with me. The child called him uncle.”

The child, sensing Ordelphia’s gaze, blinked, then quickly turned his head and buried his face in his mother’s skirt, pretending not to care.

His reaction unsettled Ordelphia, but she didn’t let it show.

She instinctively suppressed the emotion that surfaced and kept silent.

Mrs. Crank spoke again, now with some discomfort in her tone, “Junior doesn’t have an uncle.”

“You mean he doesn’t just not travel with one—he doesn’t have one at all.”

“…Yes.”

An even more uncomfortable silence settled between them, far more awkward than before.

“Mom, I wanna go see Dad.”

Junior’s whining voice broke the suffocating stillness, and Mrs. Crank quickly took his hand and gave Ordelphia a brief bow.

“Thank you again. We’ll be going now.”

Unlike earlier, her gaze now carried a hint of suspicion and unease.

“Ah, yes.”

Ordelphia watched Mrs. Crank hurriedly gather up the child and walk away without waiting for a reply, then licked her dry lips.

“She said he has no uncle.”

Then who was that man earlier? Could he have been a kidnapper?

With looks like that, it would be hard to commit a crime unnoticed.

If he really was trying to abduct the child, should she contact the guards? But she didn’t want such negative rumors spreading about the hotel she had just inherited.

Countless thoughts tangled in her mind.

“Whew.”