I Got A Job At A Haunted Mansion - Chapter 1

I Got A Job At A Haunted Mansion
1: Employment At The Haunted Mansion
Chapter 1

Our house is sparsely furnished. I’m saying we’re poor. If you ask how poor we are, we’d say we don’t have the money to repair even the small hole in the ceiling where rainwater leaks through. The old walls let in drafts and the creaking floorboards could collapse anytime. We had to walk carefully as if on feathers.

Of course, we couldn’t afford to hire a servant. Other noble families would hire people for basic tasks like cleaning, cooking, and gardening, but we had to do everything ourselves.

If the house were small, it might have been better, but this mansion, which has been handed down from a distant ancestor, is so vast that it is terribly overwhelming. Even if all my younger siblings’ tiny hands worked together, this mansion still couldn’t be properly maintained.

As a result, the partially neglected mansion deteriorated to the point where both the exterior and interior were unsightly. And for the past few years, a group of crows had made our house their habitat.

The animals that would not leave even if we tried to drive them away started to fly around on the roof when the sun went down, making screeching sounds that added to the eerie atmosphere of the mansion.

Because of this, our mansion which was named after the family, “Haien’s Mansion,” was called by the people who lived nearby as “Haunted Mansion” or “Cursed Mansion”.

Of course, our house looked ominous enough for ghosts to appear at any time, but there were no ghosts living in our house, and it had never been cursed. So, it was just an unjust nickname.

The decisive problem with the mansion occurred on a stormy night. Despite the numerous issues that plagued our home, we had assumed that we could handle most of them. However, this problem was a bit……serious.

That day, I dreamed of standing under a cool waterfall but woke up to an uncomfortable situation. The old ceiling that should have been there was gone, and instead, the pouring rain was coming into the house. At the same time, lightning struck, and it hit the area right next to the mansion.

This is crazy……

Yes, that’s right. The roof had been ripped away by the wind.

Among the memories of my past life that I have, there was a saying, “Torn apart by poverty.” I thought it was just a metaphorical expression, but it had a literal meaning. The roof just got torn off!

Oh, by the way, I have memories from my past life. But it’s not an important story to tell here and now, where my siblings and I are on the verge of sitting on the street curb.

Anyway, I was filled with anger at this situation. No matter what I did, I was constantly poor, and the roof was so old that it couldn’t even withstand a strong wind.

And my parents had left, without any plan, leaving behind my four siblings with me. Why can’t I even live my life properly in this life?

I gritted my teeth and sighed in the chilly rain. Then, I pushed aside the damp blanket and stepped out of the room. First, I had to make sure that my siblings were safe. I walked down the hallway towards the stairs and noticed that all of my siblings had gathered and were coming up from downstairs.

“Sister, are you okay?”

“Sister, I heard a loud noise that sounded like something fell. I looked outside and saw that the roof pieces had all fallen in the garden.”

“Sister, our house is not collapsing, right? Mom and Dad’s stuff is here, what should we do?!”

The children chattered as soon as they saw me. The fourth and most sensitive child, Lottie, ran into my arms with a worried expression.

“Let’s go downstairs for now. You guys will get wet in the rain.”

I stroked Lottie’s head once and led the children downstairs. My mind was in shambles. For our safety, we can’t live in a house without a roof anymore. But I didn’t have enough money to find another shelter.

‘I’ll find a place for the kids to stay first, then I’ll have to sell things from the house to use as payment. Do I have to sell my hair too? I could get much more if I grew it a little longer…… but with the current situation……’

I changed into dry clothes and found a room where the rain didn’t leak. I laid down with my siblings, and the third and fourth children snuggled under my arms. The second child was patting the youngest at the corner of the room.

I looked at each of them in turn and gazed back at the ceiling. I had to find a way to solve this situation. I am their protector, after all.

As soon as morning came, I went to the market and bought a few loaves of the cheapest, but still edible bread at the bakery.

“Are you okay? I heard your mansion’s roof collapsed.”

“Fortunately, no one was hurt.”

“Phew, you should just sell that mansion.”

The bakery lady said, shaking her head. I empathize with her words. I wanted to sell that kind of mansion right away and find a house where water didn’t leak, even if it was just a small one. But…

“My siblings don’t want to. As there are traces of our parents, whom they miss. Well, I, unlike the children, spent a lot of time with our parents, so I want to do what my siblings want.”

“You’re very kind.”

She placed a few more loaves of bread in my hand. I hesitated, looking back at her.

“Thank you. But…… by any chance, are there any stores around here that are currently hiring workers?”

“These days, even people who were employed are losing their jobs due to the famine.”

“Is that so? Well, it’s a difficult time for everyone.”

“Ah! But I heard Covozhalden is currently hiring. Have you heard of Covozhalden?”

“Are you referring to that magnificent mansion standing tall over there, the Covozhalden’s Mansion?”

I asked, pointing towards the magnificent mansion on the high ground at the end of the market.

“That’s right. It’s over there. Oh, but the reputation of the owner of that mansion isn’t very good. People say he’s fierce and scary. He’s strict with his subordinates too. Why? Are you interested?”

“As long as he pays well, I don’t care who the employer is.”

I turned my gaze back to the mansion. Even from a distance, the neat appearance and elaborate decorations that were incomparable to our mansion would catch anyone’s attention. The owner of such a mansion would certainly have plenty of money to pay a good wage.

Strict with subordinates? So what? If I have to be tough, then I’ll be tough. If I have to pretend to be dead, I’ll do that. What’s the big deal?

I returned home with loaves of bread in my arms. However, as soon as I entered the front door, Lucia and Lottie rushed over to me. Lottie hugged my arm and sniffled.

“Sister, we thought you were gone.”

“What are you talking about? Why would I be gone?”

“Because our house is falling apart and life is hard because of us, so we thought you ran away.”

“Why would I do that? Go ahead and eat some bread.”

“Okay……”

Lottie nodded her head while burying her face in my arm.

“Don’t worry about it, Sister. Lucia, Lottie, bring a knife and a plate to cut the bread.”

The second child, Ren, appeared a beat late and scolded her sisters who hurried to the kitchen. After the third and fourth siblings disappeared from my sight, the second approached me and cautiously opened her mouth.

“Ryan had a fever, so when you went out, I went and got him some fever medicine.”

“Really? How is he now?”

“The fever has gone down a bit. I guess it was because it got cold last night.”

The youngest, who was sleeping soundly in Ren’s arms, had a pale complexion, probably due to a slight fever. I took a deep breath and looked down at the baby’s round cheeks.

“Babies get sick frequently, so we’ll probably need a lot of medicine in the future. Money is always a problem one way or another.”

After finishing our meal of tasteless bread and water, I led the children to a nearby old inn. Ren held Ryan, Lucia carried a sewing kit, and Lottie hugged a wooden jewelry box left by our mother as they followed me.

There, I secured the smallest room for my siblings and assured the innkeeper that I would settle the payment within a week. The innkeeper clicked his tongue, but he showed some mercy towards young children and refrained from throwing them out onto the streets.

He told me to proceed as I wished and walked away briskly to the kitchen. I kept thanking him from behind, bowing my head in gratitude. Time flew by and before I knew it, I had to leave the inn in a hurry.

I set out on the road but soon realized that the Covozhalden Mansion was farther than I anticipated. In an attempt to reach there quickly, I decided to hitch a ride on passing wagons. By the time I arrived, the sun had set, and darkness enveloped the surroundings.

Despite being aware that it might be an inappropriate hour to visit someone else’s house, I still proceeded past the mansion’s garden and knocked on the front door.

“Who is it?”

A while later, an elderly man with graying hair neatly combed back opened the door.

“Who are you?”

He asked politely to the uninvited guest who arrived late at night.

“I was informed that you are hiring employees, which is why I came here. I apologize for my delayed arrival, but unfortunately, there are no lodging options in the vicinity. Hence, I made my way here as soon as I could.”

“Please come in. This hour of the night is acceptable for His Grace. For him, it’s like any other time of the day.”

The old man smiled and welcomed me into the mansion. I felt relieved that I didn’t have to wait outside and followed him.

However, the moment I stepped into the place, a sudden, chilly sensation came over me. The weather had gotten colder as winter approached, but it was different from that. All the hairs on my body were standing on end, from head to toe, with an eerie sensation.