My Body Has Been Possessed By Someone - Chapter 178

—————

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

—————

Chapter 178
‘They don’t know I’ve obtained the knowledge of ancient alchemy.’
So they would think that without Adis, they could easily capture me.
‘There’s no helping it this time.’
I was prepared to go alone. And I would wield a power I had never used before.
Of course, I knew it was a trap.
If I went there, I could be captured by the Black Apostles, and I could even die in the process.
But I didn’t care.
‘Yeon-woo cannot be sacrificed.’
It was certain that my rational love for him had vanished.
Having endured everything in this world, my feelings toward Yeon-woo had faded like an old photograph.
But that didn’t mean I was indifferent to whether he lived or died.
‘It’s probably because of me.’
I didn’t know how he had come to this place, but the likelihood that she was the cause was high.
I couldn’t leave such a person to die.
Rather than let Yeon-woo face danger because of me—
‘It’s better if I’m the one in danger.’
* * *
“I’m sorry, but you cannot leave.”
However, that very day, Sir Estea, Orsini’s escort, blocked my path. He had forcibly locked me in the room and prevented me from leaving.
After issuing such an order, Orsini led the Knight Guards to the Black Apostles Gathering Place!
‘Orsini, I won’t let this slide.’
I would deal with that bastard later—for now, I had to escape this place.
‘There’s no choice at this point.’
I had intended to use alchemy only against the Black Apostles, but now I had no choice but to—
That’s when it happened. Thud!
“….”
I turned around. There had been a strange sound from outside the door just now.
The next moment, the door burst open and Ren entered.
“Ren?”
I was left speechless at the sight revealed beyond the door.
Sir Estea lay collapsed on the floor.
“What did you do?”
“What do you mean? Since he was blocking the way in, I just—”
Ren’s lips curved upward slightly.
“Put him to sleep.”
In that instant, my eyes sparkled with light.
This dependable fellow. Such a good one!
“Well done!”
As I broke into a broad smile, Ren looked bewildered, as if witnessing something extraordinary.
“You can smile like that?”
“Of course.”
I spoke brightly while casually slinging my travel bag over my shoulder.
“I was thinking of taking a walk through the Garden anyway. Perfect timing. I’ll just stroll around for a bit, and you can—”
“A walk? You’re planning to go to the slave auction.”
“…”
“Those Knight Guards who treat me as Kalen Adis told me various things. They said that if I hear about the Black Apostles, my memories might return.”
Ren clicked his tongue and furrowed his brow.
“They’re trying to make me work without compensation.”
Without compensation…
‘This guy really has become a mercenary through and through.’
After all, he was the one who rejected a knighthood.
He seemed to despise being entangled in titles or obligations.
Just like Orsini used to be.
“Wherever I go is none of your concern.”
“How is it none of my concern? You are my assignment.”
“What?”
“Protecting your safety while you remain in Britzk Territory—that is the contract. And I have no intention of blemishing my perfect record.”
In other words, he was saying he would follow me.
I refused firmly.
“No, I don’t need that. The slave auction is a trap. I guarantee something very dangerous will happen. So don’t follow me.”
I might even die.
I had no intention of bringing him—someone unrelated to this situation—to such a place.
‘If he were Kalen Adis, perhaps. But right now, this guy is just a mercenary motivated by money.’
Yet Ren seemed quite offended by my words.
“If you happen to die, do you know what becomes of me?”
…Well, I don’t know. A third-rate mercenary fool who failed to protect his client?
“I am a mercenary who makes danger my profession. I have always wagered my life. Do not belittle my work.”
“…I had no such intention.”
“Then let’s go.”
As Ren turned to leave, I reluctantly followed in his wake.
What choice did I have? His career would suffer otherwise, and I had no justification to leave him behind.
* * *
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the greatest auction on earth!”
As I took my seat, I whispered softly.
“The person I need is Slave Number 10. I just need to win the bid for that person and leave.”
“Understood.”
“You don’t need to look at the other slaves. Just bid on Number 10 no matter what. Stay calm and composed.”
Then Ren, seated beside me, frowned. And suddenly, he poked my cheek with his finger.
I reacted a beat too late.
“…What are you doing right now?”
“Just relax a bit. Haven’t you been repeating the same thing over and over, just changing the words since earlier?”
“I did that?”
“Yes.”
Embarrassed, I turned my gaze forward once more.
How could I not be tense when Yeon-woo was being held as a slave?
“Now, we’ll begin with slave number one!”
The auction had started. About thirty minutes had passed.
“This is now our final item!”
At last, his turn was approaching.
“For the first time in the history of this Auction House, a slave from the Eastern Continent has been brought to market!”
The crowd stirred with excitement.
I clenched my fists tightly.
“Item number ten! Allow me to present a slave from the Eastern Continent!”
The stage curtains parted, and a man walked out.
My vision went white.
Extraordinary gasps of admiration, applause, and words laden with desire echoed through the hall, yet I heard nothing. Only Yeon-woo existed in my sight.
“5500 gold!”
“6000 gold!”
“8000 gold!”
In an instant, the bidding soared far beyond what the previous slaves had fetched.
“My, everyone is quite excited! And I haven’t even shown you everything yet!”
Just as he had done with the other slaves, the auctioneer began tearing away Yeon-woo’s garments.
“I assure you, the competition will become far more intense in just a moment!”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
The sound of fabric tearing filled the air. Exclamations of admiration erupted from all corners.
“Magnificent!”
“Begin the bidding at once!”
Yeon-woo’s pale face flushed crimson with shame.
Yet with a gag binding his mouth and ropes securing his wrists and ankles, he could offer no resistance whatsoever.
I could endure no longer.
I raised my bidding paddle.
“500 million gold.”
In that instant, the bustling Auction House fell silent as if doused with cold water. Every participant stared at me in shock.
Then a gentleman wearing a golden butterfly mask swiftly raised his paddle.
“550 million gold!”
I responded quietly.
“1 billion gold.”
“…1 billion 100 million gold.”
“2 billion.”
The auction ended there.
“If there are no further bids, I shall declare it sold!”
Tap, tap, tap! The auctioneer struck the wooden gavel. Kanna Adis gazed at Ren and smiled faintly.
“Ren.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have two billion?”
“…”
“You do, don’t you?”
Ren stared at her as though she were a thug.
* * *
Fortunately, he did have the money.
‘He couldn’t have been a mercenary for even three years.’
And yet he’d already amassed such wealth?
The reputation of being the industry’s highest-paid seemed no exaggeration. Ren muttered in bewilderment.
“I never thought I’d be extorted for money…”
“You’ll get it back when I return to the palace. I’ll even pay interest, so don’t worry.”
Her money was kept in cash within a home safe, not a bank, so she couldn’t access it immediately.
Though grumbling, Ren wrote her a check and retrieved the ‘merchandise’—Yeon-woo—loading him into the carriage.
‘It really is Yeon-woo.’
Whether from medicine or otherwise, Yeon-woo lay unconscious.
A sigh escaped unbidden from the pity in my heart. Ren, observing my displeasure, let out a scoff.
“What exactly is your relationship with him?”
“Just…an acquaintance.”
“A pretty boy like that is your taste? He looks like a rain-soaked silver bell flower—doesn’t seem like he could even use his strength properly.”
“…”
He lent me money, so I’ll endure it.
I restrained the urge to strike the back of his head.
“But…”
I gazed out the carriage window.
“Did we come this way when we arrived?”
The carriage was veering in an entirely different direction.
“No. We’re taking a different route.”
Ren replied calmly, as though he’d already noticed.
“You said this auction was a trap.”
“It is.”
So the trap begins now.
I smiled bitterly.
* * *
Orsini led the Knight Guards in a raid on the Black Apostles Gathering Place. He succeeded in slaughtering them all.
As he shook the blood clinging to his blade,
An arrow flew through the air.
【We have secured Kanna Adis’s person. If you wish to save her, come alone to the hunting grounds.】
I snatched it from the air and examined it—a note was attached.
【Come within the hour, and come alone. If you fail to appear, or if you do not come alone, the woman dies. If we sense anything suspicious, the woman dies.】
Attached to the note were several strands of bright brown hair.
Kanna’s hair. The exact same color as that woman’s.
That was when Claude came running.
“A message from Sir Estea. He says Miss Kanna has disappeared.”
The foolish woman.
Kanna must have gone to the slave auction despite knowing it was a trap.
“What shall we do, Lord Orsini?”
“Leave it. Take the Knight Guards and return first.”
If he learned of this, he might insist on going to rescue her.
Orsini held his tongue, then sent Claude and the Knight Guards back. Alone, he searched the surrounding area but could not find whoever had fired the arrow. They had apparently delivered the note and fled in haste.
‘Who would fall for such a crude trap?’
It was a trap.
Both this note and the slave auction.
The situation was not favorable enough to knowingly rush into such an obvious snare.
I had not brought many Knight Guards to Yalden in the first place, so manpower was scarce. Moreover, quite a few of my knights were wounded.
By any measure, the circumstances were disadvantageous.
If I became greedy at a time like this, everything would collapse.
The gathering and the slave auction—I had to abandon one of them.
So I abandoned the slave auction. It was an utterly cold and rational decision.
If a fight broke out at an auction house with civilians present, the disadvantage would be ours.
‘But what is wrong with that foolish woman’s head?’
Orsini sneered at Kanna and mounted his horse.
‘She doesn’t care if she puts herself in danger.’
So she walked into the trap with her own two feet, knowing full well what it was.
‘Idiot.’
But I am not.
I will not take risks for that woman again.
Three years ago, the foolish boy who crumbled at a single touch from that girl—he no longer exists. So.
【We have secured Kanna Adis’s person.】
Whether that woman was captured by the Black Apostles or not.
【If you do not come alone, the woman dies.】
Whether she fell into a trap or not….
【The woman dies.】
【The woman dies.】
【Dies.】
Damn it. Orsini brought his horse to a halt.
‘This is a trap.’
A childish snare that even a third-rate fool wouldn’t fall for.
He knew full well that only an idiot would stumble into such a crude ambush.
He knew it all too well.

—————

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

—————