My Body Has Been Possessed By Someone - Chapter 24

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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 24
Tap, tap, tap—the sound of heels echoed through the vast Grand Hall.
Kalen couldn’t move until that sound came to a stop before him. He found himself unable to tear his gaze away from the approaching woman.
“Kalen?”
Only then did Kalen realize it was Kanna Adis, and he opened his mouth to speak.
He had instinctively recalled that she would despise it if he addressed her as “older sister.”
“Kanna Adis?”
“Yes.”
Kanna Adis nodded and extended her hand.
A pale hand adorned with pristine lace gloves. Kalen’s eyes slowly descended to her fingertips.
“Escort me.”
A command delivered softly. For some reason, Kalen’s throat tightened, and he swallowed hard. His Adam’s apple bobbed visibly.
He clenched his fist once, then released it, rose from his seat, and offered his arm to support her hand.
“Of course.”
The moment he stood beside her, a delicate fragrance brushed against his senses.
A scent he had never encountered before. So remarkably captivating was this aroma that Kalen found himself drawing in a deep breath without thinking.
“What do you think?”
“Pardon?”
“The scent I’m wearing.”
Scent seemed an inadequate word for something so exquisite, so Kalen corrected himself.
“Your fragrance is lovely.”
At that, she bloomed into a radiant smile.
“I’m relieved. It seems the people here appreciate it as well.”
Her words were cryptic, yet there was no need to understand them. Kalen simply affirmed that she was right.
* * *
“What?”
Princess Lilienne, the Second Princess of the Aslan Empire, doubted her own ears.
“Your Highness, what did you just say?”
“Kanna Adis will be attending today, Your Highness.”
“. . .”
“Kalen will be escorting her personally. I expect they’ll arrive shortly.”
“Kanna Adis is coming to the reception?”
“Yes. Isn’t it wonderful? You’ve been so curious about her all this time.”
“That’s true.”
Princess Lilienne nodded readily.
Kanna Adis—the woman Silvien Valentino had used to reject her.
She had never laid eyes on her until now. The woman was notoriously reclusive.
From what she had heard, Kanna Adis had attended parties so rarely they could be counted on one hand.
‘And each time, she supposedly hides away in places like the Garden.’
The princess’s lips curved into a crooked smile.
Kanna Valentino.
A woman who flees from the gaze of others. A woman who cannot enjoy the party. A woman who crawls into corners and hides, fearful of being seen, of being regarded with contempt.
Pitiful, and lamentable, and….
‘And base.’
Perhaps for this reason, few nobles had ever laid eyes upon me.
‘Besides, the Duke of Valentino never held a proper wedding ceremony, so there was no opportunity to see me.’
Our relationship was so rigidly formal that even the wedding ceremony was omitted.
It was common knowledge that we were like paper dolls of a married couple.
‘I heard she remains confined to the house—no, to her room.’
That such a woman would venture outside her home, and moreover attend this very gathering… Even having heard it directly from Isabel, her younger sister, it was difficult to believe.
That was when it happened.
“The Duchess of Valentino, Kanna Valentino, and Duke Kalen Adis now make their entrance!”
She had arrived at precisely the right moment.
The Princess leaned forward in her seat. And she was not alone.
“Kanna Valentino?”
“The Duchess of Valentino?”
“That dark-haired woman?”
Whispers rippled through the venue like waves. Soon, every eye in the party hall turned toward the entrance.
A tall, striking man entered, leading a woman by the hand.
The man was the renowned Kalen Adis, and the woman was….
“…What?”
A foolish gasp escaped from Isabel beside me. Princess Lilienne was equally stunned.
A beautiful woman walked in alongside Kalen.
The moment she appeared, it seemed as though all the light in the hall poured down upon her. She was a rare beauty.
And yet….
‘Is that woman truly Kanna Valentino?’
Had Kanna been a beauty of serene and modest bearing, the shock would not have been so profound.
But she was like a crimson rose bearing thorns. A woman as if a rose had been given human form.
Meanwhile, I had fully anticipated this reaction.
‘I do have a rather spirited appearance.’
My eyes and the corners of my mouth curve upward, and the tip of my nose is sharp enough to warrant the word aristocratic.
Since my appearance is not delicate, it would feel vastly different from the image of ‘Kanna’ that had been cultivated thus far.
As expected, even now, thirty minutes after my entrance, I was being regarded with sidelong glances.
I had anticipated this as well, so it mattered little….
‘Why is he even staying by my side?’
I glanced sideways at Kalen, who stood beside me sipping wine.
Whatever he was thinking, Kalen remained at my side throughout. He should have fulfilled his obligation by simply escorting me.
“Kalen, go attend to your business now.”
“No, there’s nothing in particular.”
“What do you mean, nothing in particular?”
“That’s done.”
So what exactly was settled, and what does “done” even mean?
Kanna Adis pouted and looked up at him, then sighed.
‘He says I can’t get anything done with him beside me.’
Kanna Adis shifted her gaze subtly.
In that instant, her eyes met those of a woman with deep brown hair.
A woman lounging languidly in a seat reserved only for royalty. She was likely Princess Lilienne Isoberk.
‘Since she keeps staring only at me, it seems I’ve succeeded in drawing her attention.’
With him clinging to my side like this, there’s nothing I can do… How on earth am I supposed to separate Kalen from me?
Just as I was thinking this, a noble man approached.
“Kalen Adis. You came all this way just to hide here?”
A man around Kalen’s age approached Kanna Adis with a pretense of cheerful greeting.
“By the way, who is this beautiful lady beside you?”
Black hair and black eyes. He clearly knew who she was, yet feigned ignorance with brazen charm.
When Kalen Adis frowned silently, Kanna Adis stepped forward to introduce herself.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Kanna Adis.”
“Ah, I suspected as much, and it turns out you really are Kalen’s sister!”
I now understood just how formidable a weapon beauty could be. How foolish Ju-hwa and I had been for failing to wield it effectively.
Look at this very moment—I merely smiled brightly, yet his face flushed instantly.
“I’m Colin Davis. I’ve been Kalen’s closest friend since childhood, so meeting you now feels almost unreal.”
“Closest friend?”
Kalen Adis muttered something rather threatening, but Colin pretended not to hear.
In truth, Kalen Adis didn’t even register in his vision. Only Kanna Adis existed, shimmering in a dazzling halo of light.
A woman with black hair and black eyes. When he’d heard rumors of her, he’d frowned… but now.
‘I never knew black could be this beautiful!’
Perhaps it was the contrast with her snow-white skin, but the black hair cascading down her slender neck was dizzyingly alluring.
Moreover, her striking crimson lips exuded sensuality, and her obsidian eyes held a mysterious depth that seemed to draw one in.
Having never seen a beauty with such a vivid, captivating presence, his mouth had gone completely dry.
The subtle fragrance she emanated only made Colin’s heart pound even more violently.
Unable to bear the sight, Kalen Adis muttered in a low voice.
“Where is your fiancée, Colin? Why are you standing here alone?”
“Ah, well. She seems to be out in the Garden.”
“Then I shall escort you to where your fiancée is.”
Kalen Adis seized Colin’s arm and spoke to Kanna Adis.
“Please remain here. I shall return shortly.”
No, just disappear already.
Colin was dragged away by Kalen Adis, his eyes full of reluctance, and at last she was alone.
‘Done.’
Now I was finally alone in the Party Venue. Without Kalen Adis.
Kanna Adis accepted a glass of champagne from a Servant and subtly shifted her posture. In doing so, she naturally surveyed the royal seating once more.
There was no one there.
Turning my head once more, I caught sight of a brown-haired woman drawing near, parting through the crowd.
She’s coming.
I lowered my gaze, taking a delicate sip while counting silently. One, two, three, four….
“Duchess of Valentino?”
She’s here!
Though I wanted to cheer inwardly, I lifted my head with perfect composure, betraying not the slightest emotion.
A beautiful woman with voluminous, slightly curled hair stood before me.
“Your Highness, it is an honor to meet you.”
The Second Princess, Princess Lilienne.
I narrowed my eyes into a subtle smile.
“The pleasure is entirely mine, Your Highness.”

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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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