I’m Trying to End This Possession - Chapter 295

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

 

Chapter 295

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

[Great Disaster ‘Corrupted Land’ Occurs on Godom Island]

[This catastrophe claimed the lives of Duke Anton Roland and even members of the Lucille Kingdom’s royal family…]

[The delegation sent by the Lucille Kingdom was unable to even recover the bodies of the royals and withdrew…]

[Lumiere Roland has inherited the ducal title and is taking full responsibility by leading the response to this crisis…]

 

Knock knock. The sound of knocking can be heard.

Lumiere lowered his newspaper.

“Please come in.”

Creak, the door opens and Mother enters.

Had she been crying throughout the funeral held today? Her eyes were red and swollen.

“What brings you here at this late hour?”

“I came because I wanted to have a conversation with you.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Yes. I can’t believe your father has passed away.”

Lumiere had quickly handled the affairs on the island and held the funeral immediately upon returning to the estate in the capital.

Since they couldn’t recover the body, there was only a memorial tablet. It couldn’t be helped. Touching the contaminated body would result in the same contamination.

“Could you keep this mother company for a drink?”

“Of course.”

Lumiere offered her the sofa and sat across from her.

Mother personally poured whiskey for him. A sweet aroma wafted from the golden liquor swirling in the crystal glass.

“How is Danae?”

“She regained consciousness today.”

“That’s fortunate. Was she unconscious for five days?”

“Yes.”

That day, Danae had collapsed coughing up blood and remained unconscious for five days before opening her eyes today when the funeral ended. Truly fortunately.

Lumiere felt relieved. He had been worried about what would happen if Danae died like this.

“Come, drink.”

Clink. Mother pushed the glass toward him.

Lumiere stared down at the golden liquid.

“Mother.”

“Yes?”

“I’m worried.”

“About what?”

“That you might have put poison in this drink.”

He watched Mother’s face slowly freeze as he smiled mischievously.

“You might be trying to kill me this time.”

Sandra’s red lips trembled.

Lumiere rested his chin on his hand and watched her fall into shock without much emotion.

Perhaps from drinking the holy water, Mother had transformed to look like a girl younger than himself.

They said when she was young, all men would fall for her with just a flick of her finger. It didn’t seem like an exaggerated rumor.

“Do you remember?”

Sandra’s voice shakes. Lumiere was already getting bored, so he nodded while rubbing his eyes.

“Yes.”

“How…”

“Is that important? What’s important is that Mother trapped me and destroyed me.”

Lumiere looked at her and murmured calmly.

“And what’s important is that the current me remembers all of it, Mother.”

After smashing the crystal orb sent by the Emperor.

Lumiere had recovered many memories.

Memories from other lives, not this one.

And even the time he had lost in this life.

After things went so terribly wrong with Danae Windsor and he left for the Roland family…

One day, Lumiere witnessed Mother having a conversation with someone.

Not a person, but a black bird.

Lumiere knew what it was.

It was a chimera used as a communication bird by the anti-leader faction that had split from the Diana Church.

In other words, she was conversing with the anti-leader faction.

It was a plan to kidnap and kill Dana, and naturally Lumiere couldn’t just let that slide…

He pulled out Mother’s fingernails to find out the location of her conspirators.

 

“Brother! Lumiere! Help me!”

 

It wasn’t difficult.

When he went to their hideout, that child’s screams echoed throughout.

Just a few days ago, she had poured out harsh words saying she never wanted to see me again, that this was the end, telling me to get lost, but she had forgotten all those memories.

Fighting through countless demon worshippers blocking his way, he ran underground following that child’s screams.

 

“Please save me…”

 

He saw Dana crying with her throat grabbed by an assailant.

And then Rodrigo Windsor appeared there.

 

“Inject this into yourself. Then I’ll release Dana.”

 

He pointed to a red syringe placed in front of Lumiere.

Lumiere made a cold judgment.

He couldn’t inject that into his body.

Lumiere knew very well how remarkable the Diana Church’s experiments were, how powerful the drugs they created were.

Their experimental substances dared to covet divine power. If he injected that drug, he would certainly fall into an irresistible state.

So he planned to resolve this situation even if Dana got hurt. That assailant could strangle Dana’s throat or stab a knife into her body, but if Dana could just endure for a moment, he could surely save Dana here.

So even if Dana got hurt a little—

 

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

 

However, that was a plan that could only be realized in imagination.

The moment he saw the assailant stab a dagger into Dana’s body, he couldn’t make rational judgments. There was no such thing as composure.

 

“Sob, kyaah!”

 

Once more, stab. The dagger pierces into Dana’s thigh.

 

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

 

Stop it. Please stop!

Lumiere injected the drug into his own body with trembling hands. He couldn’t bear to think about what would happen next.

Dana was in such pain, crying like that—Dana!

The drug took effect quickly. He immediately became powerless, all strength draining from his body. Just as expected.

Fortunately, Dana’s screams stopped.

No, it wasn’t just Dana’s screams that stopped.

 

“That was close.”

 

Dana… what had been Dana began melting like candle wax. It flowed down in streams, soon losing its form and turning into liquid, pooling thickly on the floor.

 

“A little later and I would have been caught.”

 

That’s right.

It wasn’t Dana.

 

“I’ve always been curious about you, Lumiere.”

 

But Rodrigo gently caught Lumiere, who had already been rendered powerless by the drug injection, supporting his swaying body.

 

“I was most curious about your mind, your heart. Despite having the lowest bloodline of all, why are you so elegant?”

 

He whispered while carefully caressing his face as if it were a jewel.

 

“Even your biological father, who has the exact same face as you, cannot hide his frivolity and vulgarity, so why does nobility flow through you?”

 

Academic curiosity sparkled in Rodrigo’s green eyes.

 

“It must be because your heart is strong, right?”

 

And countless men grabbing his arms.

Held by those hands, Lumiere was dragged somewhere.

To a deep, dark place.

Rodrigo followed him step by step, asking.

 

“Do you know Purgatory?”

 

Purgatory.

That hell where only the most evil of evils fall.

 

“They say it’s a prison where terrible moments of memory repeat endlessly for eternity. The place of the most extreme pain that a living being can experience…”

 

Rodrigo smiled gently.

 

“I’m going to try confining you to a place similar to that.”

 

His vision darkened and brightened repeatedly, scenes cutting off and continuing.

Countless needles entering his body and drugs of various colors.

 

“What happens to a human trapped in Purgatory?”

 

And dozens of Demon Worshippers surrounded him in a circle, casting Strange Sorcery on him for days.

 

“I’m curious about your transformation.”

 

It was probably sorcery to confine him to a place similar to Purgatory.

 

“Don’t worry. After the experiment, I’ll erase all these terrible memories.”

 

And Lumiere fell into Purgatory…

So what happened then?

 

“I’m simply curious. Whether even a strong human who shines as beautifully as you has something called a wretched rock bottom. Just how far you can be broken.”

 

How far was I broken?

To rock bottom, no, even below that.

I seemed to have collapsed and fallen to that endless underground.

 

“So you can become ugly too, Lumiere. But even this sordid appearance is beautiful—the power of looks is truly amazing.”

 

Perhaps Rodrigo erasing those memories was truly for Lumiere’s sake.

Lumiere rubbed his head. Such intentions didn’t matter at all now. He had no interest in them.

What mattered was that now Lumiere remembered everything.

Even the moments when he was broken and shattered, all of it.

Every single thing.

“You, you, Lumiere.”

Ah.

Mother was still there.

“How, the memories, how on earth.”

Right, yes, I was still in the middle of a conversation with Mother.

Lumiere smiled as he looked at Mother. Sandra’s face was utterly confused.

Wouldn’t it be better to run away from me, Mother?

He thought so, but didn’t bother giving her that advice.

Simply not wanting to waste more time, he stood up. He pushed the startled Mother’s shoulder, knocking her down onto the sofa.

“Kyaa, mmph!”

He untied the cravat around his neck and roughly shoved it into her mouth. Then he immediately tore away the dagger and small revolver Mother had hidden on the inside of her thigh.

“Did you think I wouldn’t be able to get these out when you hid them in such a place?”

Really, it was so pathetic he sighed.

Lumiere gathered her wrists in one hand while loading the gun she had prepared with his other hand.

And he aimed it at Mother’s forehead.

Sandra’s entire body stiffened with extreme terror. Seeing that face, a strange pleasure washed over him.

“Should I spare your life?”

When he asked quietly, Sandra nodded frantically. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Well. What should I do?”

When he was very young, really young, in childhood, he had once desired this woman’s affection.

Mother.

Don’t abandon me and leave.

In those childhood days when he couldn’t even say such words and kept them buried inside.

But now this woman’s fate depended on him.

For a very brief moment, that might have been amusing, but Lumiere soon lost interest.

Sandra had become far too insignificant an existence to him now to feel any passion for such things.

This much threat should have been enough for her to understand.

He had no intention of killing her anyway.

He had simply needed to frighten her.

After pulling out the cravat he had shoved into her mouth, he tossed it to the floor. He slowly backed away, stepping backwards.

“Leave.”

He widened the distance so she could escape sufficiently.

However, when Sandra remained frozen in place, sniffling, Lumiere let out an irritated sigh and aimed his gun.

“Or you can become a honeycomb here if you prefer.”

Only then did Sandra frantically scramble to her feet and begin to flee. The sight of her slipping and tumbling down by herself was quite entertaining.

“Hic, sob, wah.”

She crawled out of the room on all fours. Lumiere watched that unsightly spectacle and eventually let out a hollow laugh.

Really, can’t she even flee properly?

‘She’ll go to Rodrigo.’

That was what he desired.

After changing out of his shirt with the torn buttons, Lumiere headed to Danae’s bedroom.

“Dana.”

Danae was sleeping soundly.

As he sat by the bedside and looked at her face, perhaps sensing his presence, Dana slowly opened her eyes.

“…Brother?”

Lumiere smiled tenderly.

“Sorry. Did I wake you?”

“Yes. But I’m glad.”

Dana smiled bashfully as she curled her fingers around his hand. It was a gesture filled with love yet somehow provocative.

She murmured as if talking in her sleep.

“Brother is like light.”

Now Lumiere could clearly distinguish.

Dana at night generally became strange. She was different from Dana during the day.

Should he say she was somewhat like a crazy woman whose mind wandered?

Even such an appearance was so precious and lovable that Lumiere simply stroked her hair.

“Dana.”

“Yes?”

“Do you remember promising to break off the engagement that night?”

“…”

“Actually, you’re not going to break it off, are you?”

“…Yes.”

“Right. Do that.”

Of course she would.

Lumiere smiled. He had naturally expected as much. You’re a capricious liar, selfish and willful.

But why was even this aspect lovable?

Yes, Brother was late, so I slept with Lord Ignis in Brother’s place. It felt really good. See, you should have come sooner, shouldn’t you? Then I might have slept with Brother instead!

Even when you said that to me, you were terribly lovable…

Lumiere suddenly realized he had wrapped his hand around Dana’s slender neck. A delicate line that would break if he applied pressure.

Yet her eyes trusted him without any suspicion.

Lumiere chuckled softly.

Then Dana quietly murmured.

“Lumiere is on my side, right?”

Lumiere did not answer.

Even without saying it, Dana would know the answer.

“Thank you. Really… I’m so happy.”

No.

There’s no particular need to thank me.

Lumiere lifted the hand that had been around her neck and caressed her cheek.

“Sleep well.”

Then he pulled up the blanket to cover her.

Only after seeing her face fall into deep, peaceful sleep again did he rise.

And immediately left the estate.

“To the Imperial Palace.”

Inside the carriage, Lumiere thought and thought again.

Until now, he had always lived a life of standing by Dana’s side, protecting her and choosing sacrifice, and he had no regrets about that choice, but…

Well.

What had been the result of that?

Had I truly made the right choice?

Were those lives where I protected nothing, gained nothing, and only lost everything really right?

That question continued even as he arrived at the Imperial Palace and walked down the long corridor. Even when he finally stood before the Emperor’s audience chamber, Lumiere could not reach an answer.

“His Majesty is waiting.”

As if they had been waiting only for him to come, the guard watching the audience chamber let him inside.

Creak. The door to the audience chamber opened.

Lumiere walked through the open door.

Lyos Grants sat on the high throne, looking down at him. His face was extremely stern and cold.

Though his gaze was quite sharp, the current Lumiere knew. He understood that man very well.

Lyos was quite tense right now.

“Your memory.”

The Emperor was the first to speak.

“Have you recovered your memory?”

“Yes.”

At that answer, the Emperor anxiously gripped the armrest of the throne tightly.

“So, what will you do?”

In that moment, Lumiere made his decision.

Until now…, the life I had repeated until now.

I had acted only according to my own beliefs, in my own way, but.

“I will follow Your Majesty’s will.”

This time, let me follow the Emperor’s will.

At least in this life.

Now that I’m broken and ruined, it seemed I could do that.

Lumiere smiled.

“Please forgive my past disloyalty.”

“…”

A suffocatingly heavy silence followed.

However, Lumiere watched the intense change that occurred on the Emperor’s face. Those lips that had been frozen like eternal snow melted warmly and curved into an arc.

“You bastard…”

Lyos becomes like a young boy when he smiles.

He would hate it if I said this, so I’ll keep my mouth shut.

“My plan is no different from back then. The annihilation of the Ramun cult.”

“Yes.”

“Lumiere Roland. Help me with all your strength.”

“Yes.”

Then Lyos extended his hand. Lumiere walked up to him, knelt on one knee, and sat. He kissed the back of that hand and swore.

“I will follow Your Majesty’s will.”

If Dana found out, well. She would probably shudder and hate it.

Maybe she would cry again like before.

But in this life, it seemed he wouldn’t be able to comfort her.

That was no longer his role.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————