My Body Has Been Possessed By Someone - Chapter 288

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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 19
* * *
That night, Orsini drank whiskey until he was nearly senseless, collapsing into sleep as though struck unconscious.
“Stop!”
In his dream, he was chasing someone.
“Won’t you stand still?”
He could see black hair receding into the distance ahead. Kanna Adis. Kanna Adis as she had been in childhood.
“I told you to stop, you wretched creature!”
Fury consumed him. It always did. Every time he saw Kanna Adis, his heart ignited with searing heat. He could not bear that inferno.
“Stop!”
Orsini reached out toward the rippling black hair before him, his hand extended.
In that instant, contact.
A few strands brushed his fingertips—scorching as a burn, vivid and unmistakable, startling him into gasping shock.
Then came a strange, surging impulse.
He wanted to seize that black hair immediately.
Every single strand, not one lost, gathered wholly into his grasp, clutched tightly, and then….
And then what?
What exactly did I want to do?
“Ah!”
Orsini seized Kanna Adis and shoved her. With a sharp cry, the girl fell.
“No, stop. Don’t come near me.”
Faltering, she crawled frantically across the grass to escape. Orsini, seized by the sensation of conquest, drew closer to her.
He wanted to take something from her with violent intensity, to seize it, to rob it—yet he could not fathom what it was.
“Listen, you wretched thing. Didn’t I tell you not to catch my eye?”
Then Kanna Adis, pale as death, protested.
“If you didn’t chase me, this wouldn’t happen. Why do you always….”
“I told you not to catch my eye!”
The moment he roared those words, Orsini jolted awake.
“….”
Orsini stared up at the ceiling. And he understood everything.
Of course.
Of course he would be despicable.
He had been so relentlessly cruel—being despicable was inevitable. How could he ever compare to her father?
Had he not heard, at least in outline, of the things her father endured for Kanna Adis?
Even he felt awe when he considered it, yet he—who had tormented her so viciously—could never stand beside him….
“Damn it all. Go on living well together, the lot of you.”
Orsini spat out curses and buried his face in his pillow.
Yes, live well.
You and her father, Kanna Adis. And Kalen, Silvien Valentino, and Raphael. Go on and live well among yourselves.
I am finished.
* * *
“You made a wise choice.”
Clap, clap, clap. Silvien Valentino applauded.
“It’s the most sensible decision you’ve made to date.”
“….”
“Shall we throw a celebration party?”
Should I kill him?
Orsini glared at him with displeasure, then placed a cigarette between his lips and lit it.
“I absolutely despise cigarette smoke, you know.”
“I know.”
“Besides, you seem to have forgotten—I am the ruler of this nation.”
“Then execute me for lèse-majesté, Your Imperial Majesty.”
Silvien Valentino exhaled smoke across his handsome face and laughed with reckless mockery.
To be honest, he was provoking him. He was dying to fight.
Yet Silvien Valentino merely smiled benevolently.
“Enough. I’ve watched your wild antics since childhood—they’re rather endearing now, like a child’s pranks.”
“Ah, is that so? How merciful of you.”
“In any case, if there’s anything you desire, do tell me. I’ll give you a consolation gift.”
“I don’t need anything.”
“Of course not. After all, this resolve will crumble soon enough, won’t it?”
Silvien Valentino interlaced his fingers and rested them on his lap.
“How long do you think you’ll last this time?”
They called it “Orsini’s Day of Madness and Fury.”
Silvien Valentino, Raphael, and Kalen called it that, while Kanna Adis simply knew it as “that day.”
“What was the longest duration again? If I recall correctly, it was three days….”
“Hey.”
Orsini clenched the cigarette between his teeth.
“Aren’t you jealous?”
“How could I be?”
“Then why am I the only one going mad?”
“Because I’ve decided not to be consumed by jealousy.”
“Does deciding make it so?”
“For me, it does. Apparently not for you.”
Silvien Valentino shrugged as though it were a trivial matter. He found Orsini’s repeated outbursts rather fascinating.
How could someone lose control of their emotions so completely?
He seemed less human than a beast consumed by flames.
“Kanna Adis cannot survive without consistent magical energy sharing. That’s something none of us alone can accomplish.”
“Damn it, I know that too.”
“Yes. You know it very well. Moreover, you’ve even come to accept it to some degree. So….”
Silvien Valentino trailed off.
“There is only one thing you cannot tolerate.”
“And what would that be?”
“Alexandro Adis.”
“….”
“You find it difficult to endure that man, don’t you?”
Orsini drew deeply on his cigarette without responding. A direct hit. He had struck the nerve perfectly.
“Irritating bastard. You’ve been an insufferable wretch since childhood.”
“And you’ve shown promise for ruin since your boyhood as well.”
They exchanged barbs like well-wishes. Orsini rose to his feet.
“I’m leaving.”
“Wait.”
Silvien Valentino extended a map toward him.
“Would you visit this village marked on the map?”
“What for?”
“You’ve heard the rumors about artifacts from the Southern Continent being discovered recently, haven’t you?”
Orsini nodded.
Relics from the Southern Continent—that civilization swallowed by the Black Mist and lost to ruin—were surfacing one by one in recent times.
He knew neither where they came from, nor how, nor who had unearthed them and brought them into the world. They were merely being traded in the shadows, in hushed dealings.
The problem was that these artifacts were extraordinarily dangerous. They were imbued with the ancient power of what was once called the Magical Era.
“We’ve received intelligence that an artifact merchant operates in this village. Please go and verify it.”
“If I find them? Should I apprehend them?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. We’ve already gathered sufficient intelligence on the merchants’ identities and scale.”
He then handed over documents containing the information.
“Until we can root them out completely, I intend to let them operate freely for now. So simply purchase all the Southern Continent artifacts and bring them to me.”
Mere reconnaissance. A tedious assignment.
“Fine.”
Yet Orsini obediently tucked the map into his pocket.
It was convenient timing. He had no desire to return home anyway.
Of course, Kanna Adis wouldn’t care whether he was there or not.
* * *
Only upon arrival did I realize it.
‘This is that place.’
That damned Coastal Village. The very place where Alexandro Adis was enjoying his retirement!
“Silvien Valentino, you conniving bastard.”
All that talk about Southern Continent artifacts must have been false information. His true purpose was to bring Orsini and Alexandro together—father and son.
“Buy potatoes! Fresh potatoes here!”
“Tomatoes for sale, tomatoes!”
“Fresh fish just caught this morning!”
Orsini grimaced as he passed through the village’s Market Square.
It was far more provincial than he had imagined. Could Alexandro Adis really be purchasing his provisions in such a place?
‘No way. That can’t be.’
That man wouldn’t be shopping at a common market stall like this….
“I don’t need carrots. Please remove them.”
…Wait. That voice.
“Didn’t you say you were making stew? Then carrots are essential, essential!”
“I’ll decide what goes in it.”
“You can’t be so picky! If you’re choosy about food, you won’t grow tall!”
“I’ve already finished growing.”
“What are you talking about! My son kept growing until he was twenty-six! Even a bachelor will grow in other ways if he eats carrots!”
“I don’t need to grow, so please remove the carrots.”
“Ugh, you stubborn thing! You should listen to your elders! Since you’re a regular, I’ll give them to you at half price, half price! Just try them once!”
“I said I don’t want them. Please remove the carrots.”
Orsini swallowed hard and slowly turned around.
No way. That couldn’t be.
It couldn’t possibly be that person engaged in such a ridiculous argument….
‘Insane.’
It was him.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Come again, bachelor… Wait! Take the carrots with you!”
The man pretended not to hear and walked away quickly. But he stopped after only a few steps.
Right in front of Orsini.
“….”
The two of them faced each other in silence.
A few seconds passed like that.
“Goodness, the bachelor walks so fast! I barely caught up!”
The Vegetable Merchant who had run after him quickly stuffed carrots into the basket. Then, seeing Orsini, he exclaimed in surprise.
“What? Are you twins?”
“No.”
Alexandro Adis replied calmly.
“He’s my son.”
“You’re joking! Anyone can see you’re brothers. Let me see—this one must be the bachelor’s older brother?”
The Vegetable Merchant burst into laughter and left.
‘Who does that fool think is the older one….’
Older brother? If anything, he was the younger one—how could anyone possibly think he was the older one?
Orsini restrained the urge to kick the merchant and asked.
“What exactly are you doing right now?”
Alexandro Adis answered with composure.
“I bought cooking ingredients.”
“Why on earth….”
“It’s a hobby.”
“A hobby? Cooking?”
“Yes. How fortunate—let’s share a meal together.”
Alexandro Adis brushed past me. Or rather, not quite. I had no desire to dine with you….
“Why aren’t you coming? What are you doing instead?”
Alexandro Adis fixed me with a piercing gaze.
“Don’t tell me you’re rejecting my cooking? Are you already convinced that anything I prepare will be absolutely dreadful garbage?”
Moreover, for some reason, he seemed to harbor considerable insecurity about his culinary skills.
Orsini hesitated briefly before following him.
‘Silvien Valentino, you’re finished.’

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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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