"W-wait-"
Jaden was trying to speak, but his words didn't come out properly. With his face turning red and sweat covering it, he tried to maintain his position.
The warmth of hands he could feel on his back made Jaden more than just nervous. He had never felt anything like that before.
"L-let me rest a bi-"
A glistening bead of sweat slowly flowed down his face' temporal region, making a path to his neck and finally to his abdomen. His unbuttoned shirt had gotten a bit wet because of all the sweat, but it continued to dry up thanks to its ability.
Aliana never let Jaden complete his words. Because of the darkness that filled the room, Jaden couldn't see her face. But he could feel her breath brushing against his nape.
"No can do. Concentrate."
She said this while pouring more of her mana into Jaden's body. It had been around half an hour since they had entered their room, and Aliana started teaching Jaden how to control his mana.
"This will do it."
Aliana finally stopped streaming her mana. Jaden had somehow managed to endure the harsh training without screaming loudly.
Whenever a person used his mana to teach someone how to control it, the pain felt by the learner would be more than enough to make him cry and shriek. The technique Aliana used was not often put into practice for a number of reasons aside from that.
Huff huff
Jaden wiped the sweat from his face and turned towards Aliana while trying to gasp for air. Unlike what he had expected, she wasn't sweating a bit.
He looked at the sheets on the bed; they weren't wet either. Aliana got up from the bed and walked to the nearby window in the meantime.
"Get ready."
Fwip
Aliana threw some clothes towards Jaden while peeping dow the window. With a blank face Jaden stared at her. He had no idea why she had given him those clothes.
As he had his jacket return back to it's original form, Jaden put on the robe above it. He had no other choice than just going along with what she told her.
Knock knock
That's when someone knocked slowly on the door to their room. Jaden flinched and sat up straight on the bed.
As they both went to their room, Rudia and Claire received a note and two robes on the table inside that room. Aliana had asked them both to visit her and Jaden's room after wearing the robes.
"So? What are we going to do now?"
Claire asked while entering the room without making much sound. Betty was on the floor below them with no idea what was happening.
Jaden put on the robe quickly and looked towards Aliana. It seemed like she had a plan or something.
"Look there."
Aliana pointed her thumb behind herself while walking away from the window. She had a smile on her face, as if something she wanted to happen was happening.
The pair of pink eyes glowed in the dark mysteriously. Aliana was using some kind of magic again.
Claire moved swiftly and peered through the window too. Her face became pale, and her smile stiffened up.
'W-what is-'
Looking at the person waiting outside, she was astonished and scared. Rudia followed Claire and looked out of the window.
"What is even out there?"
She couldn't understand what exactly Claire was looking at to have a surprised look on her face. There was nothing outside that looked surprising to Rudia.
Looking at Claire's face and hearing Rudia's words, Jaden realised what was outside the window. He gulped down his own saliva, and his face turned pale as his gaze met the person's.
Ricky was standing near the opposite building. Only Claire and Jaden could see him. Aliana never saw him but just used magic to detect the abnormalities that one can't see.
Rudia's question was unanswered as Claire and Jaden stared at each other nervously. They wondered if Aliana could also see him or not.
As they tried to look again at Ricky, the figure outside turned left and faded away. It seemed like he was trying to tell them something.
"W-we need to follow!"
Claire said this while trying to walk towards the door. Aliana let out a sigh and shut her eyes. Putting her fingers together, she snapped them.
Snap
The very next moment, the four found themselves standing outside of the inn. Aliana had used her magic to teleport them. Jaden wasn't surprised anymore since she had already shown more than enough magic to leave him in bewilderment before.
"Let's keep up with it."
She said this while pulling Jaden's hand by the wrist and heading in the direction Ricky had walked in. Claire and Rudia tried to keep up with her pace.
A while passed, and they were finally standing in front of the gate. They could see Ricky looking at them from inside that place.
"This must be that garden he mentioned earlier."
Claire's eyebrows frowned as her gaze fell upon the eerie, huge metallic gate with fences extending sideways. They were standing at the place where Ricky was last seen.
Aliana closely examined the location and glared at Rudia for a bit. Walking close to Rudia, she whispered in her ears.
"Go back for now."
Rudia waited for a bit and then nodded. She knew that she was the only one who wasn't able to perceive something that the other three could.
There wasn't much she could've done either way. And Aliana had a feeling that a maid would be just a burden to them if they got into a fight with someone.
She had a hunch that a battle was about to take place. Looking at the huge amount of mana she caught up on within the garden, something huge was about to happen.
"What do we do now?"
Jaden was knocking lightly on the gate since they looked a bit rusty with a lock on them. As he turned around, a sound fell on Jaden's ears.
Thud
The huge lock fell to the ground without doing anything. It didn't end with that, and another sound followed.
Creakkkk
The gate slowly opened by itself. No one else was visible there aside from the three outside the gate and Ricky inside the garden, who was slowly disappearing.
"Eeeeeeek!"
Claire and Jaden stood behind Aliana, scared of it. They were both bad at it when it came to the horror genre.
Aliana looked at their reaction and smiled a bit. Holding both of them by their wrists, Aliana dragged them inside the garden. Their faces turned pale as they heard Aliana's words.
"Let's find out by ourselves."
Walking down the path that once Ricky and John might've walked through too, Aliana's gaze continued to shift every now and then.
They were just going in a particular direction that Ricky was hinting at and taking them in. There was a chance that they might discover the truth behind his disappearance.
"S-so, what exactly are we doing?"
Claire held onto Aliana's robe, trembling slightly. Aliana let out a light laugh before speaking.
"We are just following a soul."
Claire could feel chills run down her spine. She was scared of the darkness and ghosts. Sadly enough, she wasn't the only one going through something like that.
Listening to their conversation, Jaden had a pale face. Not even an ounce of smile was visible on his face.
'I want to return to the inn and sleep...'
He was already tired from it, even though he had been sitting in one place throughout the day rather than working like John. And more than that, there was one more thing he couldn't understand.
'Her behaviour changed again. Just what is she?'
Claire wasn't the serious and smart one anymore. The voice within her mind had switched places again. Original Claire has been the one speaking with them since they left the inn.
Aliana was the only one who was aware of Claire's unique circumstances. Jaden, who had no idea about it, would do nothing but be left confused.
-[What about my plan?]
The voice had a plan she wanted to use, but thanks to Claire crying for taking over control of the body, she had to put it on hold for a while. But she never stopped bothering Calire every now and then.
'Just shut up for a while.'
Already trying to handle herself, Claire was more than busy. She had hated scary stuff since she was very young. And now they were in a place that looked like a scene where ghosts might just pop out of thin air.
Had it not been for Aliana, who had been taking the lead all this while, they would've just slept peacefully at the inn.
Jaden sighed and thought that Rudia was lucky enough to be sent back to the inn. His gaze fell on Aliana, who had stopped in her tracks.
"What happened now?"
The darkness covered most of their view. But thanks to the moonlight, they were able to somewhat get a glimpse of the scene in front of them.
An old bench was placed by a tree, and in front of it was a run-down café. It seemed like the garden had been neglected for a while now.
But what was even more eye-catching was the boy sitting on the bench. Jaden and Claire looked at each other and nodded.
"Can you see him?"
Claire asked this of Aliana, who was squinting her eyes, trying to perceive the mana that lay invisible on the bench. Aliana shook her head sideways; she wasn't able to see him.
Claire closed her eyes for a while and let out a sigh. The voice in her mind had taken over control of her body now.
"I should start now."
Her forehead wrinkled and her eyebrows frowned as she began walking towards Ricky. She was finally going to put her plan into action.
Aliana stayed in her spot along with Jaden and continued to watch over her. They didn't have any idea what she was planning.
"Ricky... Just what happened that day?"
She just got straight to the point without wasting any time. When it came to delicate and sensitive cases like the current one, Claire always handled them head-on rather than running around in circles.
Ricky didn't say a word but only smiled lightly. He pointed his index finger at the café in front of him.
"I can't tell any further."
As he said that, a red ring-like shape appeared around Ricky's neck. It seemed like something was stopping him from talking too much.
Claire bit her lips and swallowed down the bitter feeling. She had one last question left for Ricky. She stayed silent for a while and then spoke.
"Are you a ghost?"
Ricky's lips were left gaping for a moment. His eyes wavered a bit, and he clenched his fists tightly on his shorts.
He looked down at the ground and began to slowly fade away again. His last words fell on Claire and Jaden's ears.
"Not yet."
Claire fell to her knees from the relief she was feeling. It was the first time it had happened, but she had forcefully taken back control over her body. The voice in her mind stayed silent, shocked.
She had confirmed two things, thanks to the voice in her mind. First, Ricky wasn't dead. Second, there was a chance they would be able to save him.
Wiping her tears, she stood and turned around. Her gaze passed Aliana and Jaden and fell on the café at which Ricky had pointed.
Aliana spun around as Claire walked past them, and Jaden followed her. She didn't hear whatever Ricky said.
"Lady Rosenstein, there's something wrong with this café."
Claire said this while clenching at her robe with her hands. Her vision was getting blurry as she continued to walk. It seemed like all the stress she had taken since the time she heard John's story was taking a toll on her.
Snap
The tiredness Claire was feeling faded away when Aliana snapped her fingers. She had noticed Claire's sloppy movements.
Their steps came to a halt when they reached the shabby café. Claire slowly opened her mouth.
"We might find something here."