I Don’t Believe in Ghosts, But I Make a Living by Exorcising Them! - Chapter 66
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Don’t Believe in Ghosts, But I Make a Living Through Exorcism! Episode 066
As I looked around in confusion, Harman spoke calmly.
“It seemed like an important conversation, so I sent everyone outside. Please continue speaking.”
“Ah…”
When did he send them out.
I had been completely absorbed in telling my story without even noticing.
Fortunately, Harman seemed to be listening intently, having even put down his fork while staring at me intensely.
At his gaze that seemed to urge me to continue, I shrugged my shoulders.
“But Count Helkene, whom I met after becoming independent, wasn’t like that.”
The Former Countess and Rudian had so much to say that they chattered throughout the entire meal.
“That… wasn’t bad. Rather, I liked it.”
I think I wanted to have conversations while eating.
I wanted to have comfortable and intimate meals.
I liked the meals at my estate where I exchanged trivial stories with Bella and Sir Zeros.
I paused to catch my breath.
I looked straight into Harman’s eyes.
“How about you, Duke?”
How do you feel, having eaten alone at the estate all this time?
“…”
“…”
We quietly faced each other for a long while.
Soon his blue eyes wavered and his gaze dropped downward.
Harman spoke very calmly.
“When I was young, the Duke’s estate dining room was also quiet as a mouse, I think.”
Yes, it was such a calm tone.
So I could only understand his words rather slowly.
‘Don’t tell me he’s talking about the past right now?’
…Harman? Really?
As I remained frozen in place, he smiled bitterly.
“My mother was a princess of the Aldimos Kingdom. She came to the Empire, to the Monteville Ducal House, as if being sold.”
“…”
I had wanted to know about Harman’s past.
Isn’t it natural to want to know about someone you have feelings for.
‘But I brought up the topic of meals just to comfort him, that’s all.’
The person who spoke quite well when we dated outside, the person who worried about me so much until before the meal.
Once the meal started, he mysteriously kept his mouth shut and said nothing, which reminded me of my past self.
So I just wanted to comfort him.
“But from some point on, conversations at meals increased and the estate gradually became more lively. I really liked that.”
So, that absolutely wasn’t me trying to get him to tell me about his past.
Moreover, the Aldimos Kingdom…
“Your expression says you’re wondering how that’s possible when the Aldimos Kingdom was destroyed ten years ago.”
Hit right on target, I closed my mouth that had been hanging open blankly.
‘…But even if she came as if being sold, a princess of the Aldimos Kingdom became a duchess, and I didn’t know about it?’
It was a story I had never heard, not in the original work nor even as rumors.
‘How on earth did they hide it?’
Meanwhile, Harman tilted his head slightly.
His dry gaze with twisted lips seemed to be recalling some day from the past.
“That day, if only I had been a little older. If only I had been a little stronger. I could have protected Mother.”
“…”
“I couldn’t do that.”
I couldn’t say anything, let alone offer comfort.
Then Harman awkwardly lifted the corners of his mouth only after a long while. Without even being able to look at me properly.
“I’m sorry, I seem to have suddenly brought up too serious a topic. Lady, you were just asking about my preferred dining style…”
“No, I’m really glad to learn more about you, Duke.”
“For some reason, whenever I meet Lady, I find myself talking about such things without realizing it.”
“Maybe it’s because we have many similarities? I really hate my father, you see.”
The blue eyes that had been wavering anxiously soon stopped.
‘You only talked about your mother this whole time.’
The word ‘father’ never came out of Harman’s mouth even once.
So the blue color that Harman said he detested must definitely be his father, the former Duke.
Harman, who had been blinking for a moment, shook his head slightly.
“…But Lady, you seem calm whenever you think of the Baron.”
“Ah, do I?”
I suppose that would be the case.
Harman naturally thinks my father is Baron Alderton.
‘I hate Baron Alderton too and want revenge, but even though I don’t know well, that’s not to the extent of the feelings Harman has.’
Strictly speaking, the Baron isn’t my real father.
Yet the reason I could confidently say ‘I hate my father’ was because of my father from my previous life.
I had long since stopped being able to remember that man’s face.
But I could never forget the day he abandoned me and left.
Sometimes just thinking of that day would make me suddenly tear up, and there were times I got so angry that I resented the world.
Now I’ve become able to handle it a bit more calmly though.
“I just try not to think about my father on purpose. If I think about him, it just makes me feel bad for no reason.”
Harman hesitated for a moment.
“But what if he keeps coming to mind?”
“Hmm, then I just pour out everything I want to say into empty air. After that, I feel a bit better.”
“…Is that so.”
It’s not like he’s someone I can meet again anyway.
Getting angry by myself would only be my loss, who would acknowledge it.
Harman finally smiled faintly.
He seemed to have realized something.
“It’s amazing. Every time I meet Lady, I feel comforted.”
“I feel the same way, Duke.”
Somehow my chest area felt ticklish.
A fluffy feeling as if something was blooming from my heart.
Like that, we resumed the meal we had paused.
The dining room still had only the two of us. But it was no longer quiet.
Because Harman and I continued our conversation as if we wouldn’t tolerate even a moment’s silence.
Most of it was trivial talk though.
“I had no idea this was a plate made by grinding real jewels, haha.”
“Ah, are you using the plate you bought before well?”
“Of course. Whenever I eat at the estate, I always put food on that plate and eat it… you know.”
I spoke confidently but my voice gradually trailed off.
Back then I had pretended not to know and bought the sapphire plate.
‘Now that I clearly know why Harman dislikes blue, is it okay to say such things?’
I casually stabbed some salad with my fork and put it in my mouth while watching Harman’s reaction.
‘Judging by his expression, he doesn’t seem to be thinking much about it.’
I couldn’t ruin the atmosphere we had managed to create.
Having run out of things to say, I recalled right after I had fainted.
“Duke, when I fainted. I experienced something rather strange. I dreamed of a woman with golden hair and golden eyes who was sobbing.”
“Golden hair, golden eyes… you mean?”
“Yes, but when she got soaked in the rain, her hair turned brown, you know? Just when I thought that was strange, her face suddenly changed to the Duke’s.”
“….”
“My mind was going back and forth, so I was confused about what was a dream and what was reality.”
“…Ah. I see.”
If he seemed particularly uninterested, I was going to end it here. When I glanced at him, his expression looked serious for now.
‘As expected, Harman is Harman.’
He’s such a considerate person.
Though it was a bit puzzling that he was listening with more immersion than I expected.
“Back then, I pushed away the Duke’s hand thinking it was someone else’s hand. I did that because I thought it was that woman’s hand.”
“So that’s why you did that.”
“No wonder the hand was incredibly large! It seemed like it would be twice the size of my hand, with veins bulging on the back of the hand. Of course I had to be startled, haha.”
Ha, haha. Ha…
‘I shouldn’t have told this story.’
Harman became noticeably quiet.
Now that I said it, it doesn’t seem like a very good story. Yeah, I was certain.
I could feel my face getting hot.
I fanned myself with my hand and lowered my head.
Even in the midst of all this, Harman was considerate, which made things more difficult for me.
“Lady, your face has turned red again. Are you feeling unwell?”
“Yes, I think so…”
I deliberately made my voice sound frail.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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