"Ravon…"
The name left Neria's lips like a wandering breeze, but of course....no one heard her. The maids did not look up.
The butler did not flinch.
Even Ravon himself walked forward as though the world were nothing but a muted whisper beneath his boots.
He didn't acknowledge the maids' greeting with warmth or courtesy.
Not even a full nod.
Just a slight tilt of his head...barely a millimeter.....and then he continued walking, coat trailing behind him like a living shadow.
"Wow," Neria muttered to herself from the railing above, watching him ascend the stairs. "Peak cold personality. You could store ice cream in his aura."
Ice cream????
She shouldn't be talking about that...ohh goshh.
Still, she couldn't lie.
The man was handsome.
Not the regular handsome that made girls giggle and whisper behind their palms.....no, he had the kind of face sculpted with wicked intention. A face you would hesitate to look at twice because the second time, you might fall too deep into those near-black, glowing eyes.
Neria shook her head and smirked.
"Of course he's handsome… the world I died into really said: Welcome to fantasy, sis."
She floated down from the railing, drifting silently behind him. Following him felt natural, almost instinctive....like watching a rare creature in its habitat.
Ravon reached the second floor, his steps silent yet heavy with authority. The maids downstairs hurried even faster, clearly terrified of being caught slacking.
"Zero sincerity," Neria whispered. "Not even pretend politeness. Wow. I've seen my boss with more charm on a Monday morning."
He reached his room door....massive, carved with black and silver patterns. Without hesitation, he pushed it open and stepped in.
The moment the door clicked shut....
Neria passed straight through it.
And immediately choked on air she couldn't technically breathe.
Because Ravon was standing there.
Half-turned.
Back facing her.
Coat removed.
Shirt halfway undone.
His back was…
Good Lord.
She shot backward like a launched balloon, phasing straight through the closed door and popping out to the hallway again.
"PHEEW!" she whisper-screamed, pressing her ghostly hands to her chest. "Nope. Nope. Nope. We do NOT spy on men changing! Especially insanely handsome, possibly-dangerous ones! Neria, have some dignity!"
She slapped her forehead....her hand went through it. Even the universe was tired of her.
"That's his BACK. His back looks like my idol's body!"
She stared up at the ceiling dramatically.
"V, I am SO sorry… I might be cheating on you from the afterlife…"
She exhaled the stress out....figuratively....and nodded to herself as if signing an oath.
"Alright. He gets privacy. I am a respectful ghost. A respectful, non-pervy spirit."
She turned away from the room purposely, drifting off down the hall to get her mind off broad shoulders and unholy visuals.
The maids' quarters were more colorful, lively, and warm....completely different from the cold silence that wrapped around Ravon's side of the mansion.
Neria entered the room just as two maids were gossiping while folding linens.
"....I'm telling you," one whispered harshly, "Lord Ravon is terrifying. The man doesn't even blink sometimes. I think he's cursed."
"Cursed how?" the other leaned closer with wide eyes.
The first maid glanced around dramatically. "They say he's a haunted demon."
Neria's eyebrows shot up. Or.....they tried to. She no longer possessed real muscles.
"Haunted demon?" she repeated quietly. "Wow, that's… dramatic. Must be an exaggeration."
Surely they meant hauntingly cold or demonically intimidating. People exaggerated. She had done it too. Calling her old school principal "Lucifer in heels" didn't make the woman actually sprout horns.
The maids continued excitedly.
"My cousin said a spirit followed him once."
"Oh please," another scoffed. "People make up stories because he's powerful. And cold. And… well…"
She lowered her voice.
"He does give off a strange aura."
"A haunted demon aura?" the first maid insisted.
"Yes! Exactly!"
Neria squinted at them.
"Haunted demon…" she whispered to herself. "Sounds like an insult you give someone who refused to lend you a pencil in class."
She floated closer, absorbing every word hungrily. Information was her only weapon in this new world. If Ravon was important....and from the looks of the mansion, he definitely was....she needed to know what kind of person she had accidentally walked in on half-dressed.
Another maid joined the group, lowering a basket of laundry.
"I heard a ghost tried to attach itself to him once."
"Attach itself?" one repeated. "Like glue?"
"No, silly. Like… like it was drawn to him. Spirits are attracted to power, especially demons."
Neria blinked.
"Demons? They're real here?"
Her brain did a small reboot.
She floated even closer, hovering right beside them.
One maid leaned forward with wide eyes.
"My grandmother said the lord is part of an ancient lineage… one tied to fiery magic. They call them...."
She paused for dramatic effect.
Even Neria leaned in unconsciously.
"...The Demonlords."
Neria let out a soft "ooooh" like she was watching a movie plot unfold.
Demonlords.
Shadow lineage.
Ghost-attracting aura.
"Okay… maybe he isn't your average handsome dude," she muttered. "Still, demonborn or not, I will not stare at his back again. I am a woman of principles."
Waittt..... why am I still talking about his back??
The maids, oblivious to the ghost hovering beside them, kept discussing.
"I heard he doesn't keep anyone close. Not friends, not lovers—no one."
"Of course not. Who would dare approach a demonborn lord?"
"Still…" another sighed dreamily. "He's handsome."
"Too handsome," one agreed. "Like cursedly handsome."
Neria rolled her eyes.
"Oh great, so he's a cursed, haunted, probably powerful demonborn with a back sculpted by the gods. Amazing. Why can't the afterlife send me to a gentle farmer's home instead?"
She drifted even closer to hear more—until–
One of the maids suddenly turned her head.
Right at Neria.
Her eyes widened.
"W-who are you?" she asked instinctively.
Neria froze.
Her glow flickered.
Her mouth dropped open.
"…You can see me?"
Everything went silent.