Surviving in a School of Ghost Stories-Chapter 2: Making a Contract with the Postman

If you take a carriage and ride up the winding foothills for about an hour, you’ll reach a small, quiet countryside village.

At its center, among the cluster of modest houses, stood a towering mansion.

I worked there as a general maid.

“Melody, Lady Lanatte is looking for you.”

“Melody, have you finished the laundry?”

“Melody, let’s go shopping now.”

“Yes, yes, I’m coming!”

Aside from me, the only other servants working at the mansion were elderly men and women.

The elderly never seemed to need much sleep in the mornings.

But by midday, they would get tired easily and need their afternoon rest.

Since I was the only one available to move around during that time, it felt like I always had more work to do.

At the foot of the grand staircase on the first floor stood an old grandfather clock.

The minute hand pointed to noon.

‘The elders will be napping soon. I need to hurry.’

Having spent the entire morning cleaning both the mansion and the courtyard, I removed my apron.

Then, I went around fixing the objects that had been placed upside down.

Lady Lanatte, the mistress of the mansion, had a peculiar habit of placing things upside down.

Caring for the elderly required more attention to detail than one might expect, but all in all, my life as a country maid wasn’t too bad.

The pay was decent, and no one bullied me.

‘I need to work hard for Raven’s sake.’

My younger brother, Raven, was the only family I had left.

Our mother had passed away from illness when I was thirteen.

For his sake, I would do anything—truly, anything.

Resolving myself once again, I headed for the kitchen. I still had to prepare the meals.

I pulled a pecan pie from the oven, sliced some carrots for a salad, and placed freshly cut baguette and cheese on a plate, along with a serving of apricot jam.

Let’s see, what else...

‘She won’t eat much of it anyway, but I still have to prepare it. It’s my job, after all.’

Lady Lanatte hardly ate anything.

The other servants weren’t much different. It seemed that as people aged, their appetites dwindled.

‘Still, Raven probably won’t be coming home this break either, right? There’s only a week left until the holidays.’

As I placed a boiled egg in an egg holder, my thoughts drifted to Raven.

My only little brother. He had never once come home for the holidays.

The few letters I did receive from him contained nothing but complaints, telling me to stop bothering him.

‘This has got to be late puberty.’

It upset me, but I understood. Raven had his reasons.

With a steaming cup of coffee set on the table, I wiped my hands on my apron.

‘Alright, now onto the next task...’

As I turned my head, a basket overflowing with wet laundry immediately came into view.

There was still so much to do.

With a grunt, I lifted the laundry basket.

Just as I stepped outside to hang the clothes, a sudden knock echoed from the mansion’s front door.

“Miss Hastings, are you here?”

Melody Hastings—that was my name.

Confused, I stepped outside and found a postman standing by the gate.

Huh? Why would a postman come all the way here...?

“Are you looking for me? If you’re here for Lady Lanatte, she’s currently unavailable.”

In truth, I had never seen a postman visit Lady Lanatte before, but it felt proper to ask.

Hearing my question, the postman chuckled.

Only then did I get a proper look at his face, and my eyes widened in surprise.

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A man with jet-black hair and striking blue eyes stood before me.

He was, without a doubt, the most breathtaking man I had ever seen in my life.

It was as if there was a glowing halo behind him, making him shine.

To put it simply—he looked far too out of place for this quiet little village.

Not just that. There was something distinctly refined about him.

Even at a glance, he looked like nobility, making it hard to believe he was just a postman.

Then, he finally spoke.

"No, I came to see you, Miss Hastings. You're the only reason I’d come all the way here."

The only reason he’d come all this way was me? If you ignored the context, it almost sounded romantic.

But let’s be real. A man this breathtaking wouldn’t have traveled to this remote countryside just to flirt with me.

Was he planning to harvest my organs or something?

I nearly scoffed at my own ridiculous thought.

The man, who had been watching my expression closely, suddenly let out a laugh.

"Miss Hastings, you're the type whose thoughts show all over your face."

Embarrassed, I instinctively touched my cheek.

Then, he reached into his bag and handed me an envelope.

"Here’s a letter for you. Unfortunately, this is all I have for today."

Unfortunately? His choice of words made me tilt my head in curiosity as I accepted the envelope.

Judging by its standard appearance, at least it wasn’t a letter asking for my organs.

"Wait a minute—"

The name on the envelope was unmistakable.

【Raven Hastings】

A letter from my younger brother, Raven.

I was so shocked I couldn’t speak.

Without thinking, I tore the envelope open. Saying I "opened" it would be putting it lightly—I practically ripped it apart.

To Melody,

I know you’ve been waiting a long time for a letter from me. But I didn’t want to write to you.

You knew, didn’t you? About your birth.

Then why was I the only one sent to school?

Were you planning to abandon me once I got a proper job? So you could go back to your real family?

I’m withering away at this school. I might actually die soon.

If I die, it’ll be because of you.

So come to the school. I’ll be waiting.

—From your brother, Raven.

A long-awaited letter from my beloved brother—yet it was filled with inexplicable resentment toward me.

Why was he saying this?

I couldn't even begin to understand why Raven would harbor such feelings toward me.

‘Is this why he never wrote before? It sounds like he’s completely misunderstanding something.’

A secret about my birth? That was ridiculous.

Our mother passed away when I was thirteen.

We never had a father.

That was all I knew.

Well, aside from the fact that I lost all memories from before I was seven due to a carriage accident.

But the more I thought about it, the more strange things seemed.

Raven wasn’t the type to accuse people so directly.

He was the kind who would pressure someone in a roundabout way, making them squirm until they broke.

...Which meant this letter felt like something someone else had written.

Still lost in thought, I was startled when the postman suddenly spoke again.

"You’ll write a reply, won’t you?"

"I’ll leave it in the mailbox tomorrow. Thank you."

The postman smiled meaningfully. Before I could ask any more questions, he disappeared as suddenly as he had arrived.

I returned inside, still in a daze, and began hanging the laundry while thinking about Raven’s letter.

I needed to send a reply.

‘Where do I even start?’

More than that—was this really a letter from Raven?

He would never throw around words like dying so carelessly.

So why had he said something like that?

Should I go to the school myself?

That thought lingered in my mind, but before I could write a reply, something happened that ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) made it impossible.

That night, another visitor came looking for me.

As I was resting at home after work, I heard a knock at the door.

Why are so many people suddenly looking for me today?

Curious, I opened the door.

A middle-aged man stood outside, removing his hat.

"It took me a while to find this place since the address I was given said ‘Chesswind Village.’ My apologies for the late hour."

He was right—Chesswind was a remote village. It was nearly impossible for a stranger to find their way here, especially at night.

"You’re Raven Hastings’ guardian, correct?"

"Yes. I’m his older sister."

Raven’s name was coming up a lot today. I had a bad feeling.

The man’s appearance added to my unease.

He was dressed formally, but his clothes were slightly disheveled—like someone who had rushed here in an emergency.

And most of all, his face was grim.

A deep, unsettling expression weighed on his features.

Then, the words I had been dreading left his lips.

"There was an incident at the school."

"...What do you mean?"

I blinked, struggling to comprehend what he was saying.

His face darkened even further.

Lowering his head slightly, he continued in a solemn voice.

"Raven Hastings passed away before emergency treatment could be administered."

For a moment, I was frozen.

I couldn’t say a word.

Then, the man spoke again.

"His body is currently being kept at Saint Gloria’s affiliated hospital. It would be best if you came to confirm his condition yourself."

A thunderclap of horror crashed down on me.