My Body Has Been Possessed By Someone - Chapter 242

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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 242
“Raphael, it hurts.”
At those words, Raphael’s eyes snapped open. He jerked away as though burned by fire.
He exhaled sharply in alarm. The neck he had been gripping was flushed a vivid crimson.
“I’m fine.”
Yet Kanna merely rubbed the area with her palm a few times, her expression serene.
“Forgive me. I was merely….”
What had I been about to do? I had nearly left her skin torn and bleeding.
“Raphael.”
“Yes.”
“Do you perhaps know?”
“Know what…?”
“….”
“…Yes.”
Kanna grew flustered. Both Orsini and Raphael—why did they all perceive things so quickly?
“How did you find out?”
“I witnessed it.”
Raphael explained stiffly about the World Tree’s eyes.
“I see. So that’s how you’ve been able to locate me all this time.”
“Forgive me.”
“Forgive you? That ability has saved me more times than I can count.”
Without those eyes, I would have perished beneath the burning ruins of the Imperial Palace.
‘Yes, I would have died in that fire at Crescent Palace.’
Suddenly, the memory surfaced—Raphael embracing me and throwing himself into the inferno.
His body melting away from the burns that followed. The skeleton he became in a future that no longer existed, waiting for me.
A familiar ache bloomed in my chest once more.
He gave so much of himself for me, yet I could not offer him my whole heart. It was simply unbearable.
“Raphael.”
At my call, his expression hardened. He feared what I might say next.
“I told you before—I cannot promise such things will never happen again.”
“That is acceptable.”
“But you don’t look fine to me. I….”
“Forgive me.”
Raphael cut off my words.
“I was wrong.”
Deep fear flickered across his violet eyes.
“I will never be jealous again. Please, do not cast me away.”
That’s not what this is about.
His words only deepened my pain. I finally could not hold back and released a weary sigh.
“That’s not it.”
But… was Raphael always like this?
Was he always someone who let his emotions show so plainly?
A fleeting thought crossed my mind that something had changed, but it passed just as quickly.
Yes, people change. It’s only natural.
I’m proof of that myself. Who would have imagined I’d end up weeping over rejection from a man?
“Raphael, I’m not like that with you.”
Only then did Raphael’s taut muscles relax rapidly. He approached cautiously and embraced me with careful tenderness.
“I apologize.”
“It’s fine.”
“No, there are marks on your neck…”
Raphael gazed down at my neck. The bite marks he’d left were vivid and unmistakable.
How fortunate. Truly fortunate.
That no blood had been drawn. That I hadn’t consumed her blood. That I was unable to… truly, so very…
A pity.
* * *
“You must be cautious, Kasil.”
How tedious. Kasil stifled a yawn. He’d been suppressing them since earlier.
“Kasil, are you listening?”
“Of course, Mother.”
Though I’m only half-listening.
“You are the sole heir to the throne.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Soon, during the purification ceremony, His Majesty will deliver an address. You must attend as well.”
“Oh, is that so? Father will?”
Kasil’s lips curved into a crooked smile.
“Can a man perpetually intoxicated on medicine truly deliver a proper speech before his subjects?”
“Do not concern yourself with His Majesty’s affairs.”
I’m not concerned. A weak father who couldn’t protect his own son hardly deserves my worry.
‘In fact, it works out perfectly.’
I’m not sure what scheme she’s orchestrated, but Father now dances in the palm of Mother’s hand.
Most of the time he’s lost in a drug-induced haze, but whenever he must appear before others, Mother provides him with medicine that grants him a brief semblance of normalcy.
It’s all Mother’s design. Kasil gazed at Teresa with renewed appreciation for her brilliance.
She who always stood beside Father with such a sorrowful smile… when did she begin preparing for all of this?
“You must never make such mistakes again.”
Mistakes? Kasil scoffed inwardly.
‘My only true mistake was failing to kill that woman back then.’
Yet Kasil concealed his true thoughts and smiled calmly.
Something he couldn’t do before.
But now I know how.
“Rest assured, Mother. Surely I’m no longer that naive child from back then?”
Years passed, and the boy who once reeked of blood had blossomed into a striking young man. Within mere years, he had matured into a complete adult—youthful, beautiful, and brimming with masculine allure.
Now he no longer needed to force himself upon women. A few honeyed words and a smile were more than sufficient to achieve his purposes.
Yet for some inexplicable reason, he had lost all interest in women entirely. The thrill had vanished.
Once, it had been a delightful game… but now he felt nothing.
“I assure you, I shall not bungle matters as I once did. Please, set your mind at ease.”
Teresa seemed unconvinced, but she pressed the matter no further.
“How is your hand these days?”
“Ah, this?”
Prince Casil smiled with ease and raised his right hand for inspection.
“It is so comfortable that one would never believe it an artificial limb. It feels like my own.”
Ju-hwa, was it? That woman—a physician and alchemist of remarkable talent—had ‘grafted’ a hand onto me with her extraordinary power.
“Truly, it feels as though it has always been mine from the beginning.”
Prince Casil’s lips twisted into a smile.
But this was not his hand.
It had been severed. Cut away and lost.
I remembered vividly the agony and humiliation of that moment when my wrist was severed.
‘Mother, I shall repay everything I have received.’
For years now, my thoughts had been consumed by that woman—the one who had taken my hand.
Kanna Adis.
A hundred deaths would not satisfy my hatred.
‘How can I make her suffer?’
After parting with Teresa, I walked the corridor lost in contemplation.
As always, since returning to the Imperial Palace, my thoughts of her had only intensified. From the moment I awoke until sleep claimed me, she consumed my every waking thought.
Perhaps this is how a man in love behaves.
Consumed as I was, I began to wonder if hatred and love were separated by nothing more than a single sheet of paper.
“Your Highness…”
At the sound of my name, I stopped. I recognized the face.
“Ah, Physician Ju-hwa. How have you been?”
“Well, Your Highness. I… that is…”
“If you have business, speak.”
“Well, you see…”
Such a frustrating woman. I wanted to slap her cheek and demand she speak faster, but I restrained myself.
After all, she was to become the future wife of Duke Valentino, and moreover—
‘This woman created my artificial hand.’
At last, Ju-hwa spoke.
“Is your hand functioning properly?”
“Yes.”
“But surely it cannot match your original hand?”
What is she babbling about?
As my expression darkened, Ju-hwa suddenly smiled—a smile that seemed to mimic someone else.
“If someone took my hand, I would never let them off easy.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“There’s a saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Your Highness Prince Casil, I could become a very good friend to you.”
Casil did not answer. Instead, he fixed her with a bestial gaze. I could see Ju-hwa swallow nervously.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Just as my face began to cloud over, he added:
“But you seem like you’d make for very good conversation. Shall we talk somewhere quiet?”
“Ah, yes!”
Success.
Ju-hwa, who had been trembling with fear beneath the surface, let out a breath of relief. Then I followed after Casil obediently.
‘I knew this man would understand me.’
Others simply don’t listen to reason.
“It’s better not to touch Kanna, Ju-hwa. You got beaten back last time, remember?”
Arzenian. Being Kanna’s biological father, he was clearly protective of her.
“This doesn’t seem like a good idea. Timing-wise, it’s better to stay quiet for now. At least until Casil ascends to the throne.”
Argon, who had pretended to be dead so well himself, yet showed skepticism about touching Kanna, was equally displeasing. He even scolded me for it.
“Don’t forget how Kanna played you last time. You suffered tremendous losses because of it.”
No. I cannot leave this alone.
I kept repeating it endlessly.
‘I must do something.’
It was almost compulsive, as if someone were issuing commands from within my mind. Don’t stay still. Do something. Anything.
Whatever it takes….
“So, shall we talk?”
Casil led me to his room and drew the curtains. I clutched at my skirts.
“I have a good idea for you….”
* * *
“There is someone who wishes to meet you. He claims to know about the curse afflicting Alexandro Adis.”
“Then why didn’t you bring him?”
“He is someone who cannot afford to be noticed. Especially not by the people of House of Adis.”
“Who is he?”
Raphael hesitated for a moment. It was extremely difficult to explain. Even I had found it hard to believe at first.
He was someone whose very existence here should have been impossible.
“You will understand once you meet him. Will you come with me?”
And so I left the estate with him. He was staying at a small inn nearby.
“He is in this room.”
The moment Raphael knocked, the door swung open.
‘Oh, he’s tall.’
The man who opened the door was so tall that I had to lift my head quite high.
He wore a black robe pulled low. What was visible beyond the robe was a sharp jawline and a resolute mouth….
‘Huh?’
Kanna’s eyes widened. That face….
Then the man lifted his hand and pulled back his robe. As the fabric swept away, his face was revealed. Crimson hair swayed gently in the light. And their eyes met.
Those achingly familiar emerald eyes.
In an instant, my mind was engulfed by a white wave of shock.
This couldn’t be real.
“Why are you…”
Kanna asked, her voice trembling.
“Why are you here?”
It was Alexandro Adis.

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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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