My Body Has Been Possessed By Someone - Chapter 26

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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 26
She was the daughter of a concubine, not the Empress.
Perhaps that was why the Empress so enjoyed belittling Princess Lilienne.
‘I should have been more careful when the Empress was present. But Kanna Adis made me lose my composure….’
That was when it happened.
“Is something the matter?”
A gentle voice drifted across the tense atmosphere.
The moment Princess Lilienne heard that voice, she nearly gasped in relief. I’m saved!
“Your Majesty the Empress, has Princess Lilienne perhaps been discourteous? If so, I shall apologize on her behalf.”
Kanna Adis’s eyes widened at the sight of the approaching woman.
She was breathtakingly beautiful.
Her face was exquisitely refined as if painted by a master’s brush, her hair gleamed platinum white, and her eyes held a mysterious violet hue. As she drew near, her movements possessed the ethereal grace of a butterfly in flight.
“I beg your forgiveness for my daughter’s transgression, Your Majesty. I shall ensure she is properly disciplined.”
“…Mother.”
Princess Lilienne called out “Mother,” and only then did Kanna Adis recognize who the woman was.
It was impossible not to know her.
Countless romantic novels and theatrical productions inspired by this woman and the Emperor were enjoying great popularity—one could not possibly be ignorant of her.
‘The Emperor’s favored concubine. A woman of common birth elevated to noble rank.’
Princess Lilienne’s mother and the woman who held the Emperor’s deepest affection—Teresa Isaberk.
The Empress regarded Teresa with a prolonged gaze, then curved her lips into a smile.
“Since the Concubine speaks so earnestly, I shall say nothing further.”
“I am grateful for Your Majesty’s mercy.”
Unwilling to continue the exchange, the Empress turned sharply and wrapped an arm around Kanna Adis’s shoulders as she spoke.
“Come now, Duchess of Valentino, follow me. I shall offer you a warm cup of tea.”
* * *
The Empress led Kanna Adis to a private room within the Party Venue where one could rest.
“Let us converse here for a moment.”
A woman sat alone on the sofa like an isolated island, wearing a veiled hat just as Lucy Adis had worn not long before.
“Pay your respects. She is my daughter, the First Princess of the Empire.”
Kanna Adis bowed respectfully.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness. I am Kanna Adis of Valentino.”
“….”
No response came. Had she not heard?
‘No, she must have heard.’
Could she be openly ignoring me? It was puzzling, but the Princess’s face was concealed beneath the veil, making it impossible to discern her expression.
Then the Empress spoke.
“I hear you cured the youngest daughter of House of Adis. They say you employ unusual medical techniques—is that true?”
At those words, Kanna Adis was inwardly startled. It was something the Duchy of Adis kept carefully hidden, so how could she possibly know?
“Chloe Adis, the Duchess, told me herself.”
“….”
“Is that true?”
Chloe told the Empress about this? Why on earth would she do that?
I glanced at the veiled princess. Now that I thought about it, I’d heard that the First Princess had been suffering from a skin condition for quite some time.
That’s why she lived like a hermit, confined to her room.
And….
‘All the physicians who failed to cure the princess were supposedly banished beyond the Capital.’
The moment I recalled the anecdote I’d heard from Maid Lea, a sigh rose to the tip of my throat.
I could see what Chloe was after.
‘She deliberately orchestrated this to summon me.’
The strange medical arts that cured Lucy’s mysterious ailment. Upon hearing that tale, the Empress would call for me, grasping at straws.
And Chloe had surely assumed I wouldn’t be able to cure it.
If that happened.
‘I would incur the Empress’s wrath. Just like the other physicians.’
Even so, Chloe would suffer no loss. After all, neither Lucy nor I were her true daughters.
No matter what, to scheme something like this… Chloe clearly found me most disagreeable.
‘But that’s only if I can’t cure her.’
Isn’t there a saying that crisis is opportunity?
If I cured the princess, it would be an excellent opportunity for me.
Having finished my deliberation, I nodded calmly.
“Yes, it is true.”
“I see. Very well then… good.”
The Empress murmured to herself as if deciding something, then commanded the princess.
“Princess, remove your hat.”
When the princess gave no response, the Empress urged her again.
“At once.”
“…I refuse.”
Finally, an answer.
“I don’t want to. I won’t remove it.”
The Empress then rebuked her sternly.
“Princess, obey me.”
“I refuse, Your Majesty.”
“Princess Amelia!”
The Empress ultimately raised her voice.
Princess Amelia trembled with apparent fury. Yet in the end, she could not defy the Empress and removed her hat.
“There!”
Deep golden hair. And eyes blazing with golden light, inflamed and fevered. The moment our gazes met, a chill ran down my spine.
“There, I’ve removed it!”
“….”
“Are you satisfied now!”
Her face was utterly ravaged.
Dark reddish-brown patches bloomed across her cheeks, forehead, and cheekbones. The skin near these spots was peeling away in white flakes, as though fungus had taken root upon her flesh.
The Empress regarded Princess Amelia’s labored breathing with a complex gaze before speaking.
“Many physicians have treated her thus far. The results have been negligible. Her skin improves temporarily, only to revert to its former state. No one has been able to address the fundamental problem.”
“….”
“Well? Can you cure my daughter?”
“I do not yet know what afflicts Her Highness. Might you grant me the opportunity to examine her properly?”
“Yes. I was hasty.”
The Empress acknowledged her misstep and waved her hand dismissively.
“Amelia, remove your clothing at once and show her everything.”
…What?
Kanna Adis thought she had misheard. Yet the Empress’s expression remained grave.
‘She wants her to undress here? That’s rather….’
In that instant, Princess Amelia shot to her feet with a sharp bang and swept the table aside. Glass shattered in a cacophony.
‘Good heavens.’
The reaction was far more violent than I had anticipated, leaving me utterly dumbfounded.
She overturned the table? In front of the Empress, no less?
“You wish me to bare myself here, in this room, at the party venue? I would sooner you took my life!”
Yet the Empress showed no surprise, as though accustomed to Princess Amelia’s outbursts.
“The affliction has spread across her entire body. Surely the Duchess must examine it!”
“I refuse, I absolutely refuse!”
Then she fixed me with a glare as fierce as a specter’s.
“I will not show my body to you in this place, madam! Do not even dream of it!”
Why has her anger turned toward me? I did not ask to see anything.
Though I felt wronged, I could understand the princess’s sentiment.
‘How sensitive the afflicted become.’
And she was royalty besides—to demand she disrobe before a subordinate, here in the party venue, to expose her afflicted skin.
The Empress’s manner was utterly devoid of consideration.
“It is precisely because the princess is so passive that her condition does not improve!”
Yet the Empress merely drummed her chest in frustration.
“Duchess of Valentino! I implore you, cure the princess’s affliction. She has endured that hideous skin for years now! Do you know what people say? That I gave birth to a rotting corpse!”
Hideous skin. And a rotting corpse.
At those words, Princess Amelia burst into tears, her eyes wide as she wept openly.
“Yes, I am truly sorry for making you hear such things, Your Majesty. It would have been far easier if I had simply died and vanished, would it not?”
“Mind your tongue, Princess!”
“Your Majesty, please mind yours! Hideous? A rotting corpse? How could you say such things?”
“How insolent! Where did you learn such impudent speech!”
What followed was a bitter verbal clash between mother and daughter.
“Speak truthfully! That you wish I were dead and gone! That you cannot bear to hear whispers of having birthed a sickly child, that I stand in the way of your precious son’s future!”
No matter how close family might be, the Empress remained the Empress. Such conduct would not be tolerated, even toward her own daughter.
“Tell me to die, then! Command it, and I shall obey!”
“I warned you to mind your tongue, Princess Amelia! Do you truly wish to be punished?”
Yet Princess Amelia continued to shriek at the top of her lungs. It was as though her eyes could no longer perceive the world around her. Perhaps the prolonged suffering had worn her down to nothing.
Because of my profession, I found myself compelled to take the patient’s side.
‘Still, she is your daughter. Moreover, she is your patient. Surely you could speak to her with more gentleness.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly and carefully interjected.
“Your Majesty, I shall visit Princess Amelia separately next time.”
Only then did the quarrel between the two cease abruptly.

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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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