My Body Has Been Possessed By Someone - Chapter 85
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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 85
* * *
“Oh.”
On my way to Silvien’s Room, I encountered a man dressed in black priestly robes.
“Raphael.”
“….”
Raphael had just stepped out of Silvien’s Room and was closing the door. Upon spotting me, he froze in place—an almost reflexive reaction.
“Good morning.”
I deliberately approached slowly with both arms hanging loosely at my sides, making it clear I harbored no intention to torment him.
“Did you arrive safely that day?”
That day.
When the trial ended and he appeared leading the carriage.
After dropping me off in front of the house, he had departed, and with everything so chaotic, I had completely forgotten to thank him.
‘I only asked him to convey my gratitude to Count Debor, but I never thanked Raphael himself.’
Either way, Raphael was merely following the Count’s orders.
“I was grateful for your help. I should have offered you tea at least, but I was in such disarray at the time.”
“That’s not necessary.”
Of course, even if I had extended such an invitation, Raphael would have refused outright.
Raphael grew tense in my presence—like someone standing before a rabid dog whose next attack was unpredictable.
“Don’t say that. Give me a chance to treat you properly later. Like what happened at the Medicinal Tea House before, it seems I’m always the one receiving help.”
“There’s no need for that.”
“I want to do it.”
My eyes sparkled.
‘Raphael seems quite close to Count Debor.’
So he must have personally led the carriage on the Count’s behalf.
‘Perhaps I could connect with Count Debor directly without involving Silvien in the middle?’
It all came down to money, of course.
I possessed considerable information that could be sold to Count Debor. When it came to knowledge of Eastern Continent flora and medicinal materials, there was no authority in this world comparable to myself.
‘Like yesterday—the toxicity of Chao and the formula for its antidote aren’t widely known, are they? Count Debor, who deals in Eastern Continent medicinal materials, would surely be interested.’
However, without going through Silvien, I had no means to reach him. But if I became close to Raphael, perhaps an opportunity might arise.
‘Besides, there are genuinely many things I’m grateful for.’
Gaining an opportunity, expressing gratitude, and building a connection—what could be better?
I stopped at a comfortable distance from him and crafted the most sociable smile I could muster.
The kind of smile that would make him wonder, ‘Does she have feelings for me?’
“Whenever is fine, just make time for me. Understood?”
Up close, I noticed his neck was rigid with tension. How much had Ju-hwa tormented him to make him this anxious?
If that were the case, he should have taken appropriate measures to prevent Ju-hwa from misbehaving in the first place.
‘But he just silently endures everything like a fool.’
That’s why Ju-hwa grew bolder and more unruly. I smiled more radiantly than ever.
“I’ll be waiting, Raphael.”
Go on, go. I’ll take care of it, so stop being so stiff now.
I passed by him. It was only a few steps to Silvien’s Room.
* * *
Silvien stood by the window, gazing out at the world beyond.
“How is your body feeling?”
He answered without even looking at me.
“I’m fine.”
“Let me examine you.”
I approached and extended my hand.
Silvien set down the newspaper he’d been holding and offered his arm, the cuff buttons fastened neatly at his wrist.
“….”
The pristine white shirt draped over his long arm was buttoned all the way to the cuff with meticulous precision.
‘He wants me to walk?’
I looked up at Silvien with bewildered eyes. Yet he met my gaze with perfect composure, his eyes as serene as a clear lake, seemingly oblivious to any problem. Or perhaps feigning ignorance.
Either way, it was an inherent right the Duke of Valentino could exercise as naturally as breathing.
I was exasperated by that innate arrogance.
‘Fine, I don’t even want to protest.’
We’d be divorcing soon anyway, so what did it matter?
I undid the cuff buttons on his sleeve and rolled it up rather roughly, revealing his forearm with its prominent veins.
This was the arm Ju-hwa had yearned for so long.
An arm that conveyed its firm texture through sight alone—elegant yet undeniably masculine—one that Ju-hwa had once dreamed of resting her head upon to sleep.
‘Though she’d never touched it except when desperately clinging to him.’
Thinking of the arm Ju-hwa had so desperately wanted to touch stirred something strange within me.
“I’ll check your pulse.”
I pressed my fingers gently against his wrist.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. The pulse thrummed steadily beneath my fingertips. Perfectly normal, as expected.
‘What on earth was he raised on that Chao poison has no effect on him?’
After confirming, I withdrew my hand immediately, but he didn’t lower his arm.
“If you’ve rolled up my sleeve, shouldn’t you roll it back down? That’s what courtesy demands, isn’t it?”
It was an unexpected rebuke. I let out a hollow laugh.
“And shouldn’t a Duke know that a nobleman of refinement rolls up and down his own sleeves?”
He responded with indifference.
“Then it seems I lack courtesy.”
Then he chuckled and added,
“Or perhaps I’m a scoundrel, contrary to what you might think, Kanna Adis.”
There was something peculiarly sadistic in his tone—an unmistakable deliberateness that he made no effort to conceal.
‘What? What did I do wrong?’
I hadn’t done anything remotely offensive, so why was he being so sarcastic?
After such unreasonable provocation, his blue eyes remained as composed as always.
‘How could I possibly understand what goes on in that man’s head? And I don’t even want to.’
Soon enough, Silvien will take the lead on the divorce. In a situation like this, there’s no benefit to letting our relationship deteriorate.
“Is that so? But what should I do?”
Yet somehow, words that defied my plan spilled from my lips. I gazed at him with a combative smile.
“I’m also quite a rude woman, after all.”
Intellectually, I understood it.
I knew it would be advantageous to obey Silvien’s wishes without resistance, and yet I found myself utterly unwilling to be so docile.
“It seems I’ll have difficulty maintaining the courtesy you expect of me, Duke.”
Then I pressed my finger against the rolled-up hem of his shirt, then released it.
“Perhaps it would be better to have a servant—or a more well-mannered lover—lower your shirt for you later. Or do the opposite, if you prefer.”
Ah, I shouldn’t have added that last part.
Only after venting my full temperament with that jab did I realize I’d gone a bit too far. I quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway.”
I cleared my throat, adopting a businesslike tone.
“Now I’ll take your temperature. You had a slight fever yesterday, so I should check if it’s gone down.”
“Very well.”
…
…
Despite his consent, Silvien offered no courtesy—no bending at the waist, no lowering of his head.
Perhaps it was only natural. I had just openly mocked him about lovers and such.
‘He started this fight, not me.’
Why had he provoked me in the first place? I hadn’t done anything wrong.
‘Is my mood just bad today? Did I unluckily stumble into this?’
I didn’t know. I gave up on everything. I had no desire to ask him to bend down for my convenience.
So I stepped close—right up to his chest.
Had I tilted forward even slightly, my face would have brushed against his collarbone. It was terribly uncomfortable, yet I refused to let that discomfort show.
I deliberately arranged my expression into something serene, almost bored, and reached out my arm. Since he had been curt first, I intended to respond in kind.
So with a gesture that was less than kind—almost rough—I placed my hand on his forehead.
Body heat met body heat, harshly overlapping.
Feeling the temperature beneath my palm, I breathed quietly.
‘Ugh.’
A strange discomfort traveled through my palm, past my wrist, and stiffened all the way to my elbow.
‘Damn it. Uncomfortable.’
Being this close, touching him, and above all, Silvien allowing all of it—
It was all deeply uncomfortable.
Thinking that this was the situation Ju-hwa had always dreamed of made it even worse. I jerked my head up sharply, as if shaking off that suffocating sensation.
…
My gaze met those blue eyes looking down at me.
I shot him a defiant look. I was sick of the pressure he exuded.
“Definitely.”
So I spoke even more curtly.
“Indeed, your fever has subsided compared to yesterday.”
“….”
“You mentioned chest tightness yesterday—how are you feeling now?”
Silvien Valentino stared intently at my hand as it withdrew from him.
“I’m fine.”
“Still, for the time being, please continue taking the medicinal tea and the prescription I gave you yesterday. And do inform me immediately if any unusual symptoms arise.”
“I shall.”
My voice carried a hint of amusement. Silvien Valentino stepped back.
“You may return to the Adis Mansion now.”
He picked up his newspaper again, unfolding it wide as though our business was concluded, and began reading.
“What of the divorce?”
Silvien Valentino turned the page with a rustle. Then he answered curtly.
“It will proceed as Kanna Adis wishes.”
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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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