My Body Has Been Possessed By Someone - Chapter 147
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 147
At that moment, the carriage departed.
‘What should I do?’
Chloe gnawed at her lip. Now that Kalen had lifted his confinement, there was no justification for sending Isabel away.
‘If things go wrong, Isabel could be kidnapped.’
Anxiety parched her mouth to ash.
All she could do was desperately pray that the Empress had ordered the abduction of a ‘young woman with black hair’ or a ‘young woman with a mole beneath her eye’—anything but simply a ‘young woman.’
‘If Isabel is kidnapped… not only will Isabel suffer, but my honor will plummet into the abyss!’
As worries crashed down upon me, I was barely conscious throughout the journey.
And with each passing moment, my resentment toward Kanna burned ever brighter.
If Kanna hadn’t meddled with her pointless schemes, I wouldn’t be drowning in this anxiety!
As that maddening time stretched on, we finally reached the designated location.
My heart hammered wildly in my chest. It felt as though my insides were burning away.
And then.
“Bandits!”
Finally, it had begun.
My eyebrows twitched in a thin, involuntary spasm. I trembled, my lace gloves clenched so tightly they nearly tore.
“Protect the carriage!”
Shouts, the clash of steel, and screams all blended together. In that cacophony, I descended into complete panic.
Even from inside the carriage, it was clear the bandits vastly outnumbered us. No matter how skilled the Adis knights were, five of them couldn’t possibly handle this many!
“W-what is this?”
Isabel whimpered in terror at the commotion outside.
“This forest is Marquis Mercy’s private estate! I’ve never heard of bandits appearing here before! What on earth is—”
That was when it happened. The horse pulling the carriage cried out in pain, a piercing whinny. And the carriage lurched violently upward.
“Kyaaah!”
I screamed, my eyes snapping shut.
The carriage had flipped over!
In an instant, my body was hurled through the air, crashing hard against the wall.
“Ah… ah…”
The violent pain left me unable to think. My head spun, and my vision flashed white-hot.
Suddenly, the Empress’s words flickered through my mind. That some sacrifice was necessary.
‘This is far more than “some”!’
Then, someone seized my arm roughly and hauled me upward.
“Take this woman! Drag her away!”
I staggered, my eyes fluttering open with difficulty.
A man with a brutal expression gripped my arm and dragged me like a beast. His iron grip filled me with piercing regret.
‘Why am I doing this?’
Why was I orchestrating this suffering for myself?
I shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have!
“Pursue them!”
“Protect the Duchess!”
The Knight Guards of Adis rushed forward, chasing after Chloe as she was dragged away. At that, the bandits cursed as planned and fled.
“My lady, are you unharmed!”
A blonde Knight Guard who had rushed over frantically steadied her.
Though she had known rescue would come, Chloe felt such profound relief that she nearly collapsed.
But this was no time to feel safe.
“The Duke’s daughter!”
“They’ve kidnapped the Duke’s daughter! Chase after them at once!”
Finally, the very thing she had dreaded most had happened.
Chloe’s hands and feet trembled violently. Fear crashed over her like a wave, and she wanted to burst into tears.
Which one had they taken? Which one of them!
Chloe shoved away the blonde Knight Guard who was steadying her and quickly lifted her head.
And she confirmed it.
“No!”
They were dragging Isabel away.
“No, no!”
Isabel was being taken.
My daughter, my daughter Isabel was being taken!
‘No.’
My mind went blank white.
After they took her, what were they supposed to do?
In that instant, reason snapped.
“Stop!”
I could see nothing anymore. I couldn’t think of anything. All that remained was a terror that burned through my mind.
“It’s not her!”
Chloe screamed desperately.
“It’s not her, I’m telling you! You’ve made a mistake! It’s the other one, I’m telling you!”
But could they not hear?
The bandit carrying Isabel hoisted her onto his horse and cracked the reins.
“No, no!”
Chloe felt as though her mind was scattering. They were kidnapping her daughter!
“You stupid fools! It’s not her, it’s not her, I’m telling you! The one you’re supposed to take isn’t my daughter!”
“What is this commotion!”
Then, the Empress’s sharp voice rang out.
Chloe, her face streaked with tears, spun around. As promised, the Empress had arrived with her Knight Guards.
Casting aside all dignity, Chloe nearly crawled as she rushed forward and grasped the Empress’s skirts.
“Your Majesty! They’ve made a mistake! They took Isabel, not Kanna Adis, Isabel!”
This foolish woman, what on earth was she babbling about!
The Empress clenched her teeth. No matter that her own child had been kidnapped, to lose her composure so pathetically!
The Empress’s expression remained unchanged as she shouted.
“What are the Imperial Knights doing! Chase down those bandits at once!”
“No.”
At that moment, a low voice fell like a stone into silence.
That voice….
“There is no need for that.”
The same voice sounded again. The Empress could not trust her own ears.
The slow clop of hoofbeats echoed across the silence.
The Empress lifted her head with a vacant expression.
A man with crimson hair atop a massive black horse was approaching. It was a scene she could not believe even with her own eyes.
‘Why is he here?’
In that instant, an ominous foreboding bloomed in the Empress’s heart.
Something was wrong. Something was terribly, gravely wrong.
“Duke Adis, how did you come to be here?”
Alexandro Adis leaped from his horse without answering. The Empress hastily collected herself and offered a suggestion.
“Duke, allow me to send the Imperial Knights to….”
“There is no need for that, Your Majesty.”
Alexandro politely cut off her words. In that moment, their eyes met. A chill raced down the Empress’s spine.
Sharp emerald eyes.
It was as though Alexandro Adis had shed his shell and seen straight through to her very core.
The Empress spoke hastily to conceal her alarm.
“No need? But Isabel Adis is currently….”
The Empress’s words trailed off. From somewhere beyond came the sound of hoofbeats once more. The sound layered and crashed forward like a wave.
Mounted knights appeared beyond the path where the bandits had vanished. The Adis crest gleamed brilliantly beneath the cascading light.
Alexandro murmured as he gazed upon the Empress’s stunned face.
“My sons will bring her.”
At their head were Orsini and Kalen, carrying the unconscious Isabel.
* * *
Maid Eriel had been gazing out the window all along.
‘They’ve departed!’
At last, the carriage carrying Kanna Adis, Isabel, and Chloe had set off.
“You must inform me the moment the carriage departs. Do you understand?”
Recalling Kanna Adis’s parting instruction, Eriel hurried toward Kalen Adis’s Study.
“I, I have something to report.”
“What is it?”
Kalen Adis was in the midst of processing documents. He would not even spare a glance, as though eye contact were beneath him.
“In truth, I have recently been attending to Lady Chloe.”
“And?”
“Recently, she appears to be plotting something quite strange. It concerns Kanna Adis….”
In that instant, Kalen Adis’s gaze shot toward her.
Startled by the sudden sharpness in his eyes, she watched as he abruptly rose from his seat and strode forward to ask.
“What do you mean? Surely Mother isn’t tormenting my sister?”
“That is….”
“Don’t waste time. Tell me at once.”
Eriel stumbled through the lines Kanna had instructed her to recite.
“H-Her Majesty the Empress appears to be exchanging strange letters with her. It seems to be an elaborate scheme to kidnap Miss Kanna….”
With each word that followed, Kalen’s expression grew darker.
Kidnap my sister, destroy her honor, and make her Crescent’s concubine?
The plan was so repugnant it made my teeth clench.
“Where’s the evidence?”
“Ah, there is none. She burned the letters immediately….”
“If your words are lies, I will flay you myself.”
Kalen rushed from the room at once.
‘These won’t be ordinary bandits. They’ll be facing Adis knights, so she must have hired elite mercenaries.’
He needed to bring the Knight Order with him. He hurried down to the Training Grounds.
There he found Alexandro Adis and Orsini sparring.
“What nonsense is this? Mother would commit such madness?”
Orsini, upon hearing this, spoke with a horrified expression.
“Of course, there is no evidence, but we must prepare for the possibility that it could be true.”
Alexandro Adis, who had been listening quietly, nodded.
“It would be best to get ahead of them and observe the situation.”
For three men among the finest horsemen in the Empire, overtaking a carriage that had just departed was effortless.
“Send the knight with the best horsemanship to join the escort immediately. Claude would be ideal. Summon him.”
When Claude arrived moments later, Alexandro Adis issued his command.
“Join the escort. And tell the other knights not to respond aggressively even if bandits appear.”
Alexandro Adis spoke as though issuing a warning.
“I need to see if things unfold exactly as that maid described.”
* * *
And so Alexandro Adis, Kalen, and Orsini watched everything from a distance.
Bandits truly appeared and dragged Chloe away first.
Then another group of bandits emerged from behind and kidnapped Isabel Adis.
“It’s not her! I’m telling you it’s the other one!”
They watched as Chloe thrashed about desperately.
They saw it all.
Every bit of it.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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