My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 12

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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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The idea that Evangeline Rohanson is clinging to some illusion is utterly ridiculous.

Perhaps it was because of the strange words he had heard before coming here. While gathering information about Evangeline Rohanson, he had heard a priest’s story claiming to have witnessed the dead Evangeline come back to life.

He examined the temple records, but there was no record of Evangeline’s funeral, and when he later sought out the priest who was said to have conducted the funeral service, the man had already committed suicide by hanging himself at his home.

There was no suicide note either. Since the house where he had been staying was already cleared out, no information could be obtained. He only heard from people around that the dead priest had secretly given sermons to the families of suicide victims while embezzling money from the temple.

Gabriel boarded the carriage with Rafaela. The carriage began rolling toward the Grand Temple.

“What about Michel?”

“He’s still out of his mind, just standing in front of that painting. I’m worried he might actually enter the painting at this rate.”

People’s reactions to Jim Nofedi’s painting were split into two extremes. Some, like Gabriel and Rafaela, found it ominous, while the rest called it an angel and revered it as sacred.

The knight who had examined Donau Blue’s corpse with Gabriel last time belonged to the latter group. He believed without a doubt that Donau Blue was an angel and stood blankly in front of Jim Nofedi’s painting that had been donated to the temple.

The black canvas hanging in the pure white temple couldn’t help but stand out. Even the visitors who came to pray at the temple acted as if they had lost their minds after seeing the painting. Gabriel and several others suggested removing the painting, but their proposal was rejected.

To Gabriel, they looked no different from people possessed by demons.

“Did you gain anything useful?”

“Useful information…”

Still, he had obtained a small hint from his conversation with Evangeline Rohanson. Evangeline had taken only the paper with the copied pattern, not Donau’s corpse. The important thing wasn’t Donau Blue, but that pattern.

“Lady Rohanson said that pattern was a summoning circle.”

“How did she know that?”

“It seems it originally belonged to her. Donau Blue had stolen it.”

“Really? Then what does it summon?”

Gabriel briefly recalled the earlier conversation.

“She said it summons an angel.”

“An angel? Then the paper we found is the right one?”

Rafaela shuddered and rubbed her arms as if getting goosebumps.

Donau’s remains currently stored in the temple’s repository were kept in an urn. There was no need for separate cremation since his entire body had already been burned and crumbled at the slightest touch. During the process of collecting the remains, they discovered a peculiarly white piece of paper.

How could a mere piece of paper survive unburned when even bones were incinerated? Wasn’t it just like Evangeline, who had supposedly escaped from the fire without a single trace of soot?

When they restored the torn fragments like solving a puzzle, they found the pattern that was called a summoning circle and letters with holes in them. Due to missing pieces throughout, the exact original text couldn’t be deciphered, but there was one sentence. One perfectly restored sentence.

Revere and worship. Welcome the angel of light who will descend to earth after circling the land.

“It seems to summon some kind of angel.”

If that were the case, whatever was born from that ominous pattern would resemble Evangeline Rohanson. It would be ominous rather than sacred. Cruel rather than merciful.

“Then are people’s claims really true? That Donau Blue was blessed?”

“Hardly. For now, let’s say that Donau Blue received judgment for trying to offer sacrifices to summon a demon, and let’s keep what we know about that paper between us.”

Rafaela nodded at those words. If the problem lay with the pattern rather than Donau Blue, then simply dealing with that painting should advance the situation.

A summoning circle… He had heard of something similar before.

If it was a summoning circle that called forth something to grant wishes, such sorcery had been prevalent more than ten years ago. When exactly was it? Gabriel wasn’t certain since he had been young then. He heard that about twenty years ago, sorcerers were rounded up and a large-scale purge was carried out.

It seemed he would need to go to the library when he returned to check the records from that time.

“Rafaela. Do you happen to know anything about sorcery…”

Just as he was about to ask if Rafaela might know something, the carriage suddenly lurched.

Screech.

The carriage that had been swaying as if it might overturn barely regained its balance and came to a stop. Outside, they could hear the coachman trying to calm the excited, rearing horses.

“What, what happened? Captain, are you alright?”

“Are you okay?”

Fortunately, since the carriage quickly regained its balance, neither of them was injured.

“Hey! I thought you said you could handle horses?”

“Sorry, so sorry. A cat suddenly jumped out in front of us.”

When Rafaela opened the carriage door and jumped out to protest, the coachman bowed repeatedly in distress.

The coachman’s face turned pale when he saw that his passengers were carrying swords. He worried they might retaliate, saying they could have been seriously injured. It was obvious he would be scolded for not just running over a mere cat instead of a person.

But very fortunately for the coachman, Gabriel was the type of person who would rather get hurt himself than hit someone with a carriage. Anyone who had seen a friend crushed by a carriage before their eyes as a child would probably think like Gabriel.

“My subordinate and I are unharmed, so it’s fine.”

Only after Gabriel reassured him that everything was okay did the coachman breathe a sigh of relief. It was only after he raised his head from his ground-scraping apologies that he seemed to realize the two were holy knights. The coachman spotted the emblem of Rahel, the sun god, on Gabriel’s clothing and secretly praised how temple knights were indeed different.

After Rafaela heard the apology and got back on, the carriage began moving forward slowly again.

“Captain. I think my heart fell out.”

Rafaela was still making a fuss, seemingly not recovered from the shock.

Gabriel pondered while listening to her whining. Was it mere coincidence that the carriage nearly overturned just when he brought up the topic of sorcery?

***

Recently, rumors had been circulating in secret about a mysterious holy painting hung in the temple.

Some devout young lady fainted upon seeing that holy painting but received the sun god in her dreams, the high priest praised it highly and paid a gratitude offering to the artist, that holy painting serves as a gatekeeper filtering out non-believers.

All sorts of wild tales grew and spread from mouth to mouth.

And those rumors stretched far to reach even the sparsely populated monastery on the outskirts of the capital.

“When will Priest Berga come?”

“Who knows? Why are you looking for that priest? I wish that perverted bastard would never come back.”

“Ah, that’s true. But he went to the Grand Temple, right? Then he must have seen that holy painting too, so I’m curious if the rumors are true.”

“Fool, how could that be true? You’re so naive.”

The women in nun’s habits who had been chatting among themselves while sweeping saw Daisy approaching from across the way and reduced their chatter, pretending to be proper.

“Good afternoon, sister.”

“May the sunlight always shine upon you, sister.”

Though their words were polite, they didn’t even nod their heads toward Daisy. Daisy pretended not to notice and silently bowed her head in greeting. After Daisy passed by, she could hear them whispering quietly behind her again.

“Poor thing. She’ll probably suffer the most when Priest Berga comes, won’t she?”

Once the nuns felt Daisy had gotten far enough away, they began laughing and joking among themselves again.

She needed to finish organizing the study today, but it had gotten too late. Daisy tried not to pay attention to the noise behind her and quickened her pace.

It had already been three weeks since she fled the Rohanson Estate and came to the monastery.

Having escaped from the monster borrowing Evangeline’s body and those eyes that watched her, the world felt very peaceful and calm.

Daisy’s monastery life wasn’t as bad as she had thought. Though she had only recently arrived and was too shy to easily mingle with others, leaving her somewhat isolated, it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable.

The nuns who had just exchanged greetings with Daisy were mostly children of noble families. Such people might serve for God’s sake, but they wouldn’t bow to commoners. Since she couldn’t fit in with them anyway, it was right not to pay them any mind.

“Hey, Daisy!”

Just as she was about to enter the study, someone urgently called Daisy’s name from behind.

Turning around, she saw one of the nuns from the group she had just encountered, breathing heavily. Why would she call her when their only conversations had been formal greetings?

As Daisy waited, the other woman carefully began speaking as if facing fragile glass that might shatter.

“I just heard that Priest Berga is returning today. So… even if Priest Berga calls for you tonight, absolutely don’t go. You understand?”

So she had run over to tell her this. Daisy was momentarily surprised by the unexpected kindness, then nodded.

“Thank you for telling me. I’ll definitely refuse.”

If there was one flaw in this otherwise decent monastery, it was that Priest Berga.

Priest Berga was notorious for his particular weakness for women. Rumors circulated that he harassed newcomers to the monastery, and from what Daisy had experienced, those rumors were true.

Holding hands under the pretense of encouragement, caressing shoulders. He stared at Daisy intently. Yes, that was the problem. The way he looked at Daisy. Daisy, who had become particularly sensitive, couldn’t fail to notice how he watched her.

Since Priest Berga could send someone to her room, it would be better to spend the night in the study under the pretense of organizing it.

And the clock hands had moved. It’s already 2 o’clock. Seeing the clock on the study wall, Daisy thought it should be safe to return now and got up from her seat.

Then she drew in her breath seeing a man waiting in front of the dormitory like a lookout. Had he still been waiting?

It wasn’t Priest Berga, but one of the subordinates who clung to him and flattered him.

“Sister. Did you enjoy your nighttime outing?”

“I lost track of time while organizing the study. I’m tired, so I’ll go in and rest now.”

Daisy tried to open the door, but the subordinate pressed his hand against it from behind, stopping her.

“Before that, Priest Berga says he has something to tell you. Why don’t you listen first?”

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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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