My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 114

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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If Duke Hosaquin rehabilitates well and films a family regret story with me, that would be one thing, but this might be my last visit to the ducal family. Since I’ve come this far, it seemed best to gather all the information I could get.

 

I’ll thoroughly search the Countess’s room. Although she probably didn’t stay at the Viscount’s estate after I was born, so even if I search, the secrets of my birth won’t be written there. But that’s not the only thing I need to find, right?

 

Now was the chance to find out why a summoning circle for calling demons appeared in the Countess’s diary.

 

“The room Lady Amaranth used to occupy hasn’t been properly cleaned and isn’t in a suitable condition for you to stay in. Lately, rats have been breeding prolifically in the manor… Please allow me to guide you to a room befitting Lady Evangeline.”

 

Rico politely but firmly declined while maintaining proper etiquette.

 

A formidable opponent. A real adversary. I never expected to meet a worthy opponent at my maternal family’s house when this isn’t even a social gathering and I’m not wearing a dress. When I get home, I’ll have to tell Dolline that there are times when she doesn’t carry a small fan.

 

“Shall we go inside and talk first?”

 

Rico checked the time and then anxiously tried to usher me inside. Well, the Viscount had already gone straight into the house, and I had been staying outside too long.

 

As I followed Rico and started walking, I heard a desperate voice from behind. Even though it wasn’t calling me, it was such an earnest call that I had no choice but to turn around and check.

 

“My child, my child!”

 

An elderly woman dressed in a frilly, flowing dress like a girl in her prime threw down her parasol and ran toward me. Then the old woman pulled me into her arms and hugged me tightly. The force was so strong it revealed her determination to never let me go again.

 

“Are you no longer angry with me now?”

 

“…Lady Agera.”

 

Rico looked at the old woman holding me as if he had been defeated. Agera? It’s a name I feel like I’ve heard somewhere. After searching my memory for a moment, I recalled that it had been mentioned alongside Duke Hosaquin’s name.

 

“The Viscount’s Wife…?”

 

“Don’t call me by such distant terms.”

 

So she really was the Viscount’s Wife, Duke Hosaquin.

 

So the old woman before me was Evangeline’s grandmother and Amaranth’s mother. The Viscount’s Wife slowly released me from her embrace, then immediately grabbed my hand tightly as if she didn’t want to let go, gripping it so hard it might break. My hand hurt so much that I couldn’t believe an elderly person could have such strong grip strength.

 

At first, I thought the Viscount’s Wife was welcoming me so warmly because she had seen Evangeline when she was young, but I realized something was strange.

 

“Amaranth. Won’t you call me Mother anymore?”

 

The Viscount’s Wife was mistaking her granddaughter for her own daughter. No matter how much Evangeline and the Countess resembled each other, she wouldn’t confuse her dead daughter with her granddaughter. I didn’t need to hear an explanation to fully understand what use Duke Hosaquin had mentioned for me.

 

The clothes that didn’t match her age as if she were living in the past, her overly excited appearance, and calling me Amaranth while thinking the dead Amaranth was still alive – it seemed the Viscount’s Wife was suffering from dementia.

 

And since she thinks her daughter is still alive, it means I should play the role of Amaranth.

 

“My child. Is it difficult to call me Mother?”

 

I had never even called the Countess Mother yet. When I couldn’t bring myself to use the term Mother, the Viscount’s Wife offered a compromise.

 

“We abandoned you first, so that’s understandable. It’s okay, Mother understands everything. Until you feel comfortable, Agera is enough.”

 

“…Yes. Lady Agera.”

 

The Viscount’s Wife smiled like a young girl upon hearing my answer. I didn’t bother to correct her that I wasn’t Amaranth. The reason the Viscount brought me here must have been because he wanted me to pretend to be Amaranth.

 

When Agera was holding onto me and didn’t know what to do with her excitement, the maids serving the Viscount’s Wife came running belatedly. Rico glared at their faces and coldly reprimanded them.

 

“Lady Agera’s walking path wasn’t supposed to be here, was it?”

 

“Butler Ricoradka…”

 

“If the guest who came now had been an outsider, even your lives wouldn’t have been enough to resolve the situation.”

 

Rico scolded the maid while completely erasing the faint smile he had been wearing. Ah. So Agera’s sudden appearance wasn’t intentional but an accident.

 

The reason Rico kept checking the time was to hurry into the manor while avoiding Agera’s walking time. It seemed Duke Hosaquin had gone back without looking back for the same reason. Agera remained calm by herself, unable to grasp the situation despite the serious atmosphere.

 

Agera tilted her head and asked.

 

“Are you a new maid? Don’t be so angry because it’s scary.”

 

“…Yes. I’m sorry. I’m Rico.”

 

“Really? I haven’t seen you before… What did you say your name was just now?”

 

“Rico.”

 

“Right, Rico.”

 

Agera still held me close while scolding Rico. Since she was suffering from dementia, it was natural that she couldn’t recognize the butler.

 

“Um, you. Could you tell those children? I’m not a little child, so they don’t need to keep interfering and following me around.”

 

Rather than showing disappointment that Agera couldn’t remember his name, Rico matched her eye level as if playing with a small child.

 

“If you’re not a little child, how old are you, Lady Agera?”

 

“Me? Well…?”

 

“Then what about the young lady next to you?”

 

“Amaranth is nineteen.”

 

Agera couldn’t properly remember her own age while feeling no strangeness about having a daughter of marriageable age. Rico couldn’t bear to continue talking with Agera. That exchange was probably an attempt made with faint hope that she might feel something strange and come to her senses, even briefly. Since his expectations were shattered, his disappointment must be considerable.

 

“Never take your eyes off Lady Agera.”

 

Rico, returning to his stern butler demeanor, firmly instructed the maids behind us. The maids bowed their heads, feeling responsible. Agera paid no attention to whatever Rico was saying and brought up something else to talk about.

 

“Listen, you know. Our Amaranth’s body is cold. I think we need to quickly take her to her room and warm her up.”

 

Agera blew on my hands. I briefly made eye contact with Rico. He probably recalled the battle of nerves we had over where I would stay temporarily.

 

“…The young lady’s room hasn’t been cleaned. We prepared another room, so there…”

 

So Rico’s excuse about it not being properly cleaned was true. It could be, since it had been empty for over 20 years. Forgetting this fact, Agera interrupted Rico’s words and became furiously angry.

 

“Take her to her room quickly! No, I’ll take her myself. My daughter’s body is cold, you know? Who are you to not listen to me?”

 

“I’m Ricoradka, no… Yes. I’ll prepare it.”

 

Rico gave up and meekly agreed. He seemed so exhausted that he had no energy left to argue with me anymore.

 

“Lady Agera. It seems it will take some time to clean, so how about taking a walk with Lady Amaranth while we wait?”

 

“Really…? Shall we? Amaranth! The weather is nice, so shall we stroll together with Mother after so long?”

 

I nodded. If I could humor Agera and use Amaranth’s room, it would be beneficial for me either way. Rico whispered quietly before leaving.

 

“Lady Evangeline. I would be grateful if you could go along with Lady Agera as much as possible. His Grace the Viscount will explain the details.”

 

“Alright. I understand.”

 

Rico entered the manor first.

 

“Let’s go, Amaranth. Mother will show you the glass greenhouse. You love flowers just like me, don’t you.”

 

Agera didn’t give Rico a second thought and led me by linking arms. The maids followed behind us.

 

Agera, who had said we’d go to the glass greenhouse, threw a tantrum and got angry at the maids when they said it was currently under construction and would be dangerous to visit.

 

I stopped Agera, worked hard to humor her while pretending to be Amaranth, and reacted as if hearing stories I must have heard about thirty times for the first time.

 

The story of how Agera fell badly as a child and was carried home on her father’s back. The story of how Agera and the Viscount met and came to marry. The story of how overwhelming it was when Amaranth was born.

 

If Agera had really been my grandmother, it would have been a very melancholy time. Since I tend to get overly immersed in things as a daily routine, I felt just a little sad.

 

***

 

The Viscount’s Wife had only recently gotten up from her sickbed. Since she had refused food for a while, the table was set with foods that were easy to swallow and digest for the Viscount’s Wife who still couldn’t properly digest food.

 

However, the Viscount’s Wife seemed displeased with something about the table set just for her and began shouting and causing a disturbance. The prepared table was overturned.

 

The old woman didn’t care that the still-hot soup was burning her hands red as she put her hands in the bowls, grabbed them, and threw and smashed them indiscriminately while causing a disturbance. One attendant was hit in the head with a bowl and bled profusely while still trying to calm the old woman down.

 

The Viscount’s Wife didn’t even give a proper reason for overturning the table and only searched for her dead daughter.

 

“Get away! Bring Amaranth! My daughter, our daughter!”

 

With her hair disheveled from scratching her head frantically and her eyes bloodshot red, none of her previous kindness could be seen. The Viscount’s Wife who had treated her subordinates kindly like caring for children was gone. What remained here was a specter craving past memories.

 

“Madam, please come to your senses, Lady Amaranth has already passed away!”

 

“Lies, lies! It’s your doing, isn’t it? What did you do to my pretty daughter?”

 

The Viscount’s Wife, possessed by delusion, rushed at the maid who had announced Amaranth’s death and tried to strangle her. Why did this old woman on the verge of death have such strong grip strength? The maid couldn’t escape and gasped for breath as she was choked. Even with four people rushing in, they couldn’t stop one old woman.

 

The maid’s vision spun. Just when she thought she would really die like this, the dining room door opened and Duke Hosaquin entered.

 

“Agera!”

 

The Viscount’s Wife was startled by the loud voice and released her strangling hands. After trembling for a moment, the Viscount’s Wife soon cried like a child.

 

“Why are you angry with me. What did I do wrong… I just wanted to see Amaranth…”

 

The Viscount was ridiculously relieved that his wife recognized him. Yesterday she had been frightened upon seeing the Viscount, asking who he was and trying to run away, so her condition was relatively good. The Viscount embraced and comforted his sorrowfully crying wife.

 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Agera.”

 

The Viscount hugged his wife tightly.

 

“But Agera. Look at them. They’re children you cherished, but they weren’t badly hurt, were they? The you I know wouldn’t have harmed innocent people.”

 

At the Viscount’s soothing words, the Viscount’s Wife sniffled and nodded.

 

“Will you tell me why you were angry?”

 

“A rat… There was a rat in the soup. So I wanted to tell Amaranth not to eat the soup.”

 

“I see. You are truly a caring mother.”

 

“Did I see another hallucination? You, please check for me.”

 

The Viscount embraced his wife to block her view so she couldn’t check her surroundings. Then he had the servants search through the dishes. One servant lifted up a long tail with two fingers as if touching something horrible.

 

It was a living rat.

 

“Unfortunately, there was no such thing as a rat, Agera.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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