Chapter 26 - Servants
The two ghosts that had possessed the candelabrum and clock slowly revealed their phantom forms.
"Isn't letting that human stay in this castle a little... too much? Her Lordship has always hated humans."
Fokker's tone was still full of unease and fear.
The two ghosts had been serving the Duke of Bones for hundreds of years, and they were loyal to her.
For the past few hundred years, they had seen too many ignorant humans barging into the duke's domain, only to be instantly devoured by a large group of Souleaters with nothing left behind. Even the luckier ones were finally converted into undead creatures, cursed to forever live a life no better than death.
Every single one of the humans who dared to approach the duke's domain met a horrible end, and that old lady, who was not even a mage, not only entered the castle but also enjoyed a meal in it!
In the past, they would not be able to imagine such a thing happening, or rather, imagining such a thing itself was already heresy.
Yet, the reality before them was that the Duke of Bones was treating the human with "enthusiasm".
"This is His Highness' will. Did you not notice that after His Highness' arrival that the Her Lordship has never been happier for the past two days? Even her soulfire has almost turned into the shape of a musical note."
Farlow was one of the violinists in the Duke of Bones' orchestral ensemble. His memories of his past life were still fresh even after he ended up as the duke's funeral sacrifice.
"Plus, His Highness' "Canon in D" is really amazing. If I were still alive, I would really love to visit that great composer in his faraway country."
As they talked, a gentle piano tune suddenly serenaded the castle. The musical notes eased the cold and gloom that permeated throughout the castle earlier.
"Don't you think that Her Lordship has reverted to the way she was in the past during these last two days?"
Upon listening to the tune, Farlow realized that since Joshua's arrival, the Duke of Bones had changed a lot.
Previously, the Duke of Bones was absolutely paranoid. She would not allow any living being to enter her domain, and unless absolutely necessary, she would not leave her domain either. Thus, she had spent a long, long time cooped up inside the castle.
"In the past? Indeed. She's finally laughed at least. Haven't seen that in decades."
Fokker looked at his good friend, and after being friends for so long, Fokker definitely understood what Farlow meant when he mentioned the "past".
"Damn it! if not for those damned revolutionaries, I believe that His Highness would definitely fall head over heels for Her Lordship."
"Ahem... Farlow," Fokker cleared his throat and reminded Farlow. While Farlow was indeed a ghost, he could still feel a chill run down his back.
"If Her Lordship hears what you two have just said, it will be more than enough reason for her to feed you both to the dogs."
A slightly immature voice rang out behind them, and they immediately turned to the young phantom and bowed.
"Majordomo."
Joshua had followed the ghost into the hall as it led the way. The ghost was an existence second only to the Duke of Bones and was the steward of the castle.
He was also the ghost that played the role of the teacup earlier.
"My thanks to all of you for your cooperation. There are still many unfinished parts of the movie that I need your help to complete."
Joshua had never been good with platitudes. A programmer's life was always more action and less talk, so Joshua could only briefly describe to the ghosts living in the castle what to do next.
There was a total of twenty-one ghosts in the castle that had the right to serve the Duke of Bones. They were obviously different from the ghosts that had only maintained their form for a year or two, and a number of the ghosts in the castle could be traced back to an age prior to the dawn of humanity.
All of the twenty-one ghosts had the ability to possess items and use them as bodies. That helped Joshua resolve one of the biggest draws in "Beauty and the Beast", the living furniture.
"Your wish is our command, Your Highness."
The three ghosts gave Joshua a courteous bow from an unknown region.
"Your current task is completed. All of you may leave and get some rest."
Joshua was an outsider to the people of the castle, an outsider with no rights to order anyone around. Despite that, Joshua did not detect a speck of sense of resentment from any of the ghosts.
Could it be his identity as the third prince played a role in that?
Joshua had no time to think of that now. As he watched the three ghosts disappear, he turned to Zenarth beside him.
The Sin Demon was wearing a custom-made costume that hid all of his lava-rock skin and finally gave off a slight princely disposition.
Zenarth had just completed his first scene, where the Beast threw Belle's father into the dungeon.
Zenarth's performance was stellar as he played the role of a manic prince who was afraid of communicating with others to a tee.
However, Zenarth felt a little lost now.
"The Duke of Bones' lullaby has already put the woman to sleep. She will be well taken care of when she wakes up."
Joshua knew the reason why Zenarth felt so down.
As a brave and war-mongering Sin Demon, Zenarth could mercilessly decapitate every single one of the bandits in that village and bathe the ground with their blood.
Yet, against a powerless old lady, just snarling at her and rudely tossing her into the dungeon was enough to make Zenarth feel ashamed.
Kindness?
It was an emotion that a race born for slaughter like the Sin Demons did not need. That was just the basic dignity and training of a powerful warrior. Zenarth's flames were prepared only for sinners and those who committed evil.
"Ynor will come to the castle in the afternoon. After the filming, that human will be free. Zenarth, use this time to find a couple of ghosts that can dance to learn some ballroom dancing."
Joshua was confident that he could complete the filming of "Beauty and the Demon" in a short span of time.
Usually, the most time-consuming parts of filming were mistakes from the actors, the consideration and arrangement of camera angles, post-production special effects, and what not...
However, those problems did not exist for Joshua. Every single one of the actors in the castle was a servant of the Duke of Bones, unlike the villagers who were difficult to control.
If things proceeded fast enough, Joshua expected to finish the movie's entire filming process in a week's time.
After all, "Beauty and the Demon" was only a small part of Joshua's blueprint. The movie would be Joshua's stepping stone into the Human Realm.