Chapter 1

To save up enough gold for the ritual to save my son, Ben, I spent five years as a Death Walker.

I guided the restless spirits of the dead through the dark woods, a job everyone loathed.

On his sixth birthday, I finally had enough. But on my way home, I tumbled down a jagged ravine.

Driven by the need to see my son one last time, I dragged my broken body back to our village, clutching the blood-stained coins.

"Your Grace, Celine has sent word that she has enough money. What is our next move…"

I looked toward the manor's grand hall. The man in the tailored silk suit standing before the guard was my husband, Silas.

He adjusted his cufflinks, and the heavy signet ring on his finger glinted―the unmistakable symbol of the Grand Duke.

"Proceed as usual. No need to be intentionally cruel to her anymore," Silas said.

The woman beside him, draped in diamonds, let out a sharp laugh. "Silas, don't tell me you've developed feelings for that freak. She reeks of death. She isn't fit to touch your shadow."

Ben clung to the woman's leg, his voice bright and clear. "I don't want that woman to be my mother. I only want Auntie Vivian."

Silas pulled Vivian close, his gaze turning icy. "A Death Walker isn't even worthy of shining my shoes. I only let her bear my son because I was worried your health was too fragile back then."

His voice was firm and final. "The only Duchess of this house will be you, Vivian."

My fingernails dug into my palms, my blood mixing with the cold, metallic scent of the coins.

I turned away and tossed that handful of bloody gold into a beggar's empty bowl by the roadside.

Silas, your title and your manor? I don't want them anymore.

1

"Who's there?"

A voice cut through the silence behind me, and a hand clamped onto my wrist.

"Celine?" Silas's voice wavered with a hint of panic he couldn't quite hide.

I turned my head, my eyes scanning the woman in the elegant dress standing behind him. "Who is she?"

Silas stepped forward, shielding the woman. "This is Vivian. She's been the one looking after Ben while you were… away."

The words hit me like a physical blow.

I suddenly remembered our wedding. He had made every excuse to avoid registering our marriage with the local magistrate.

He had only had a child with me because he pitied her fragile health.

I forced a smirk and looked at Vivian, grabbing her hand with mock sincerity. "Miss Vivian, you're quite generous. Buying these expensive clothes for my husband and son must have cost a fortune."

Silas realized what I was doing and quickly interjected. "Miss Vivian is kind-hearted. She had these custom-made for Ben and me."

He kept shooting desperate looks at Vivian, signaling her to play along.

Vivian gripped her silk handkerchief tight. "You're too kind. Ben, come here. This is your… mother."

She pulled the hiding boy out from behind her.

My heart softened at the sight of my son's face. I reached out to stroke his hair.

He slapped my hand away with a vicious force.

Ben's eyes were full of disgust as he shrieked, "You smell like rotting corpses! You're gross! You're not my mom! Get away from me!"

Vivian stepped forward with a fake scolding tone. "Ben, you mustn't be rude to your mother."

She then looked at me with a pitying smile. "He's just a child, Celine. He doesn't know better. Please don't hold it against him."

As she spoke, she pulled the crying boy into her arms, cooing softly.

Silas stepped in to comfort them both, his large frame surrounding them.

The three of them looked like a perfect, happy family.

Standing there, I felt like a ghost haunting a life that was never mine.

My heart turned to stone.

Silas suddenly grabbed my wrist again, his grip bruising.

His eyes were cold, his words cutting like glass. "You've only been home for three months and you've become so bitter. Vivian was only trying to help, and you're turning this house into hell."

There was no trace of the warmth we once shared in his eyes.

I let out a jagged laugh. "Fine. I'm the intruder here. I'll leave so you can be the perfect little family you want to be."

Silas's face went pale.

Before he could speak, Vivian stepped forward, tears welling in her eyes. She looked like a fragile doll.

"Celine, please mind your words. I am an unmarried woman. I only helped because I felt sorry for a father and son struggling alone. Are you trying to ruin my reputation and drive me to my grave?"

She began to sob, the picture of a victim.

Silas immediately turned his back on me to comfort her.

Ben picked up a stone from the garden and threw it at me.

"You're bullying Auntie Vivian! Leave! Get out now!"

The pain in my chest was unbearable, as if a giant hand were squeezing the life out of me.

Without another word, I turned and walked away.

Back at the inn, I knelt before my mentor.

"Master, I am ready to follow you. I want to dedicate my life to the Way of the Dead. I won't regret it."

My Master looked down at me. "The path of a Death Walker is a lonely one, Celine. You will be haunted by shadows and cut off from the world of the living. You have a husband and a son. Are you sure?"

I looked up, my eyes dead and hollow. "I'm sure."

"Very well. We leave in two weeks."