My Body Has Been Possessed By Someone - Chapter 277

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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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Side Story Episode 8
* * *
Raphael followed me all the way to the Valentino Estate without a single complaint.
“You may stay here. Please let me know if you need anything at all.”
“Wait.”
I turned slowly to face him. Raphael was watching me with a sharp, piercing gaze.
“Why are you helping me?”
At that question, I felt a wave of relief wash over me.
Yes, of course he would ask. Wouldn’t it be strange if everything proceeded without resistance?
“I told you already, didn’t I? As a Descendant of Holy Knights, it’s my duty to help a Priest.”
I spun a lie without hesitation.
“Besides, you’re my age, aren’t you? We’re practically friends—naturally I should help.”
“…Friends?”
“Yes. Friends.”
I suppressed a smile. Even I had to admit the excuse was ridiculous. Unless he was a fool, there was no way he’d believe it….
“You’re really a good person.”
…Was he a fool?
“I’ll repay this kindness without fail.”
I simply smiled composedly and left the room. The moment I closed the door, my expression turned cold as ice.
‘How cunning.’
Why pretend to be so naive? It was obvious. He was trying to lower my guard.
‘He’s definitely plotting something sinister.’
Whatever it was, he’d chosen the wrong opponent.
“Instruct the staff to treat him with courtesy, but exercise extreme caution.”
I commanded my Aide.
“He is an exceptionally dangerous individual.”
* * *
The next morning, a report came in early.
“Sir, I have something to report regarding our guest.”
“Speak.”
“Last night, he….”
Had that beast already committed murder? Or torture perhaps? Either seemed plausible enough that I was prepared for anything.
“He used soap.”
“….”
I stared at the Maid in silence.
What in the world was she talking about?
“H-he used soap, sir.”
“You mean he picked up the soap with his hands?”
“No. He chewed it with his mouth….”
He ate soap. He chewed and ate soap….
‘Why?’
Was he protesting because something displeased him?
Or was it a warning? A threat that the Valentino Family was nothing more than a single bite to devour?
Regardless of his intent, one thing was certain—he was not in his right mind.
“Please bring him to dinner this evening. I shall ask him directly for his reasons.”
* * *
Raphael answered without hesitation.
“It smelled delicious. I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to eat it.”
“You didn’t know?”
“That’s right.”
“I see.”
Uttering such nonsense as an excuse—it was absurd.
Yet he didn’t seem to be lying. If he meant to threaten me, there would be no need to hide it.
He truly appeared to harbor no ulterior motive.
Which meant….
‘The man is mad.’
It wasn’t particularly surprising.
Didn’t the Grand Temple engage in nothing but incestuous marriages?
Raphael was surely a product of that madness, so it was remarkable he retained any sanity at all… but what was he doing now?
Raphael picked up the banana and stared at it intently.
“This one I can eat, yes?”
“Of course….”
The next instant, crunch. He bit into it, peel and all.
“Indeed. Quite delicious.”
“….”
“Certainly better than soap.”
Silvien Valentino watched the spectacle unfold with clasped hands. Raphael continued to the very end, chewing the banana peel and all.
‘Is this truly a threat?’
A threat that he would devour the Valentino Family just like that… No, who threatens someone in such a manner!
At last, Silvien Valentino reached a conclusion.
Raphael did not understand food. He knew neither how to distinguish it nor how to eat it. Nothing at all.
“Raphael, a moment.”
Silvien Valentino rose from his seat. He stood behind Raphael and placed a hand upon his shoulder.
“Pardon me.”
In that instant, I felt Raphael’s shoulder muscles tense.
‘He’s nervous.’
I suppressed a smile. This fellow had a more endearing reaction than I expected….
“Be careful.”
Then Raphael spoke curtly.
“Yes?”
“Be careful, you.”
Careful? About what?
As I stared blankly, Raphael lifted his head.
“Don’t touch me carelessly.”
“….”
Silvien Valentino felt flustered. Like a pervert who had just harassed an innocent boy….
“I might accidentally eat you.”
“….”
“You look very delicious, after all.”
No. It was the opposite.
‘Was he a deviant?’
And a brazen one at that, warning me so openly….
“My apologies.”
Yet Silvien Valentino laughed nonchalantly and placed a fresh banana in his hands.
“I merely wished to help you. That’s not how one eats a banana, you see. It’s like this….”
Ah. Of all things, a banana.
“You hold it here… and peel it downward….”
With an oddly anxious feeling, I demonstrated how to peel the banana skin.
“Mm.”
Finally eating the banana properly, Raphael seemed satisfied.
“It tastes better when peeled.”
“….”
Silvien Valentino simply laughed silently. Now it was his turn to feel tense.
‘I need to be careful.’
Raphael is a precious golden egg. I intend to keep him by my side always, but if he approaches me in that manner, it would become quite problematic.
* * *
“What is this?”
“That is a plate, is it not?”
“What is this?”
“This is a fork and knife. Do you perhaps not know how to use them?”
“I don’t. What is this?”
“This is a glass….”
“I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Did the Inside the World Tree truly lack even these basic tools?
Raphael knew nothing. Not the proper use of forks and knives, nor the purpose of a glass.
‘I knew his civilization was underdeveloped, but not to this extent.’
Then one day, Raphael asked me something like this.
“I’m curious about something.”
“What is it?”
“What is a deviant?”
Silvien Valentino set down the documents he had been reading.
‘He’s finally come.’
He remained unperturbed. Had he not already devised an effective countermeasure in case Raphael made his approach?
A method to refuse while maintaining a good relationship with Raphael—that was it.
“I prefer to be on top.”
That’s what he would say.
If their preferences aligned, he would give up. That man didn’t seem like the type to be pinned underneath anyway.
“The servants were whispering about something.”
“What were they saying?”
“That you’re a sodomite. That you’re intimate with me.”
“….”
“What does that mean?”
From his expression, it seemed he genuinely didn’t know the meaning of the word.
Silvien Valentino felt a wave of relief wash over him. Fortunately, this wasn’t a sexual advance.
“Pay it no mind. There are always those who fabricate lies and spread them about.”
“Why would it be a lie?”
“Pardon?”
“It’s the truth.”
My momentary ease shattered, my chest tightening once more. Was this truly a seduction after all?
“We were intimate, weren’t we?”
“….”
“You don’t remember?”
The corners of Silvien Valentino’s lips trembled.
“When exactly did I ever…?”
“You’ve forgotten?”
“Forgotten?”
“You don’t remember that night?”
Silvien Valentino’s breath caught. He scrambled to recall.
That night? Which night?
‘Wait.’
Now that I think about it, not long ago I did drink rather heavily for some reason.
‘Could I have made a mistake while drunk that day?’
No, that couldn’t be. Silvien Valentino shook his head with absolute certainty.
“That’s absurd.”
“Then you’re saying I’m lying? I remember it clearly.”
In that moment, Raphael’s face was the very embodiment of truth. He carried himself with the confidence of one standing before God.
That bearing made my anxiety settle like a stone in my chest.
Could I have been so intoxicated that I forgot?
“Then explain in detail. What exactly did I do?”

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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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