My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 127

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

With that shocking news as the final blow, I left the drawing room as if being chased by the Duke.

‘Did I mishear that?’

I was dumbfounded. If I could follow my heart, I’d grab Pudding right now and flee to the Rohanson Estate. Wait, Agera was the one who cast the sorcery? What kind of situation is this?

The Duke just said that one thing and kicked me out – what am I supposed to do with that! While I was bewildered, I made eye contact with Rico who was waiting in front of the door.

“You came out early.”

“He didn’t serve tea.”

Usually nobles would test each other out or speak in roundabout ways for the sake of courtesy, making their conversations long. So they would talk for long periods and drink tea to wet their throats during the discussion. Not bringing out tea was like a preview that the conversation wouldn’t drag on.

Since the Duke didn’t order tea to be brought and kept holding onto his documents, I knew well that he wouldn’t converse with me for long. Of course, I didn’t expect to be kicked out after hearing one bombshell statement…

Rico hesitated as if wanting to ask me something. He was probably curious whether I had heard an explanation of the incident from the Duke.

“Grandfather told me to get the detailed story from you, Rico.”

Rico tells me to get permission from the Duke, and the Duke tells Rico to go dig into the detailed circumstances. They really have solid trust between themselves. I wanted to shake Rico down immediately and interrogate him about the detailed inside story, but there were many listening ears near the Duke’s drawing room.

“If His Grace has given permission, I shall explain it to you. First, shall we go to my room?”

“Why specifically to your room?”

I have a room too, you know? Though it was the room Amaranth used to stay in.

“…I’m sorry, but Mabuka really wanted to express her gratitude to you, my lady.”

Rico mentioned Mabuka as if there were no other reasons. But he had been reluctant to give me Amaranth’s room before, and there might be other reasons for specifically avoiding Amaranth’s room.

Since there was no way to know for now, I had no particular reason to refuse Rico’s suggestion.

Still, seeing him invite me to his room, it seems Rico and I have gotten a bit closer. The Duke still has a long way to go though… The campfire with Rico yesterday was worth it.

“Alright, sounds good.”

Rico seemed to cherish Mabuka tremendously, and since I decided to win Rico’s favor, treating his daughter well wouldn’t be bad. Originally, to win someone over, you start by winning over the people around them.

Humming internally, I headed to Rico’s room. When I opened the door and entered, Mabuka, who sensed someone’s presence, came out to greet us while rubbing her eyes as if still not fully awake, and hugged me tightly.

“You’re back.”

Seeing her act all cute and giggly, she probably mistook me for Rico. Even if she wasn’t fully awake, Rico and I don’t have the kind of presence that could be confused, but is this kid really not scared of me? She’s been extraordinary since yesterday when she approached me without reserve.

“Mabuka!”

Rico was startled and pulled Mabuka away from me. Mabuka belatedly realized that the person she was hugging wasn’t Rico and turned pale, gasping for breath.

She seemed surprised to have embraced someone unexpected. Was she scared? Yesterday she was too busy crying to think straight and spoke casually, but it would be strange for an ordinary little kid to cling to Evangeline, a notoriously infamous noble lady.

But even so, yesterday she clung to me just fine, and today she’s being distant? It feels unfair, like something was given and then taken away.

Since Mabuka was having trouble breathing and might start hiccuping, I hurried to reassure her with a greeting.

“Did you sleep well yesterday?”

“Hic.”

Mabuka finally started hiccuping. My words seemed to have the opposite effect. I was just trying to reassure her…

“Hic, I’m sorry, Lady Rohanson… Hic.”

Compared to yesterday, her attitude toward me had become much more cautious, and seeing her properly call me Lady Rohanson instead of angel, it seemed she had received warnings about me from Rico.

Mabuka looked ready to burst into tears any moment. After crying all day yesterday, she’s going to get dehydrated at this rate. Comforting crying children is my weakness, and unlike yesterday, I had no sweets to put in her mouth, so I just patted Mabuka’s head. Mabuka froze in place and looked at me with eyes shaking like there was an earthquake in her pupils.

“I’d like to hear something other than apologies.”

“Ah… Ah! Thank you, thank you for yesterday!”

“Good.”

When I accepted her greeting, Mabuka smiled brightly even while tears hung in her eyes. Seeing her go from hiccuping in fear just moments ago to grinning ear to ear because I accepted her greeting shows that a child is still a child after all.

Rico had brought me here under the pretext that his daughter wanted to express her gratitude, but when I actually treated Mabuka kindly, he stood there stunned as if witnessing something unseemly.

“Lady Rohanson is… unexpectedly kind to children, contrary to appearances.”

“So you thought I would commit evil acts against children like the rumors say? Even against your daughter?”

What? Are you dissatisfied that I’m not a mindless villain like the rumors? I couldn’t bring myself to say it directly, so I just looked at Rico and smiled sweetly. You can’t spit in a smiling face. Though the Duke had a history of throwing wine glasses instead of spitting.

“Since our conversation will be long, shall I prepare some tea?”

“No, it’s fine. I’m not in the mood to eat anything.”

I didn’t want to use tableware from a place overrun with rats. If I told him the reason, I’d probably get scolded for being overly fastidious, so I just dismissed it by saying I had no appetite. It’s not that I’m being fussy, but what if I catch some disease from the rats? Since holy water doesn’t work on me, that would be the end.

Even when I blocked Azazel’s sword with my bare hands before, it took over two weeks for the wound on my hand to heal. Fortunately, my recovery speed was fast, perhaps a privilege of being a possessor, but holy water not working was an enormously big weakness.

Though it’s nothing new, I really need to be careful. If there’s poison in food, the holy water cheat key won’t work, so it would mean instant death. Now I have another reason besides rats to be careful about what I eat.

Of course, Bishop Marik wasn’t someone who would poison me, but rather someone who would drag me out and execute me under some other pretext.

When I said I didn’t need tea, Rico didn’t insist and quickly took a seat.

“Then where should I start explaining…”

Rico opened the conversation. Huh? But Mabuka is still here with us?

“Is this a story that can be told in front of a child?”

“Mabuka is a clever child.”

“No matter how smart, she’s only six years old. She doesn’t need to know everything.”

Especially a child who experienced all sorts of strange phenomena yesterday. I was the type who believed in not hiding necessary information from children, but it’s different when it’s secrets about the family they belong to.

Moreover, what we’re about to discuss is about sorcery. It’s definitely a serious topic for a young child to hear. Plus, since we don’t know when the Temple might approach Mabuka again, it seemed best to be as careful as possible.

“Then, Mabuka…”

Rico hesitated, wondering whether he should send Mabuka outside. Given yesterday’s history of searching for her all day, he seemed reluctant to leave Mabuka alone.

“If you’re scared to leave her alone, you could entrust her to someone else.”

“But… we don’t know who else might be in the same situation as Nigella. I can’t trust anyone in the current situation.”

Rico replied anxiously to my words. Indeed, when the person who cast sorcery is Agera and a maid who worked alongside her won’t eat rats, it must be quite ironic that the only trustworthy person is me, an outsider.

Then I’ll attach another outsider who’s also a reliable bodyguard.

“Pudding.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Pudding appeared without a sound. My lap suddenly became heavy. Rico’s eyes widened seeing the cat on my lap, but like yesterday, he seemed to think it had been there originally and he just hadn’t noticed.

“Another cat…”

Rico covered his mouth with trembling hands. He seems scared of something? Does he have a cat hair allergy? Or maybe he’s just afraid. I resolved to call Pudding less in front of Rico. Unlike Rico, Mabuka was very happy to see Pudding.

“It’s the cat I saw yesterday!”

“Mabuka, would you play outside with Pudding for a while?”

“Yes! Is the cat’s name Pudding?”

“That’s right.”

“What a cute name! Not as much as Kiki though!”

Mabuka hugged Pudding tightly. Whatever she heard from Rico, there seems to be some distance between us now, but the cat is innocent.

“With a cat around, the rats won’t be able to approach. Now you can feel at ease, right?”

Agreeing with my words, Mabuka looked at Rico with sparkling eyes. It’s a brilliant eye-attack. I experienced it yesterday too, and I know it’s not easy to resist those eyes. Rico eventually had no choice but to sigh and nod.

“But be careful of other people. Not just Nigella, but be wary of people you’ve been friendly with too. Understand?”

“Yes, I will. I’ll only play with the cat.”

Rico sent Mabuka outside only after giving her several warnings. Pudding meowed sadly, asking if this was what I summoned him for, but I diligently avoided the question. Sorry, Pudding. I have a heavy mission.

Once the cute child and cat left, the atmosphere turned cold.

It already feels like winter. If I had known, I would have at least asked for tea to warm my hands. But the train has already left. Asking for tea I wouldn’t drink now would be bad manners, so I decided to maturely break through the frozen atmosphere.

“Then let’s get to the main point.”

Oops, I made a mistake. I’ve gotten so used to only discussing the main points with the Duke that I just jumped straight into it. But Rico seemed to want to talk quickly too, as he quietly nodded in agreement.

“His Grace… how much did he tell you?”

Rico asked in a trembling voice. Actually, it wasn’t just his voice trembling – his hands were shaking too. When my gaze turned to Rico’s hands, he clasped both hands tightly and lowered them.

“Only that Lady Agera cast sorcery.”

“He told you just the most crucial part…”

Crucial my foot, the Duke just dumped everything on you. The desire to drive a wedge between them bubbled up, but I suppressed it with patience.

“Then I’ll tell you. Please, I hope that even after Lady Rohanson knows all the circumstances, you will forgive and embrace Lady Agera.”

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