My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 132

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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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It wasn’t him. I felt nauseous not at Gabriel, but at myself.

How could this be happening?

It was like witnessing fragrant wildflowers blooming from a rotten flowerpot I had carelessly abandoned. Something seemed to be shouting at me to cherish that budding life. The flower cried out to me. To look at it. Asking if it wasn’t precious, having bloomed through the cracks in this drought-stricken wasteland. It whispered for me to love it.

“Are you feeling unwell? Perhaps there was something uncomfortable during your stay at the Duke’s mansion…”

Gabriel, unaware of my feelings, tried to support me in his confusion.

I wanted to push Gabriel away immediately. However, the vivid memory of how hurt he looked when I had rejected him in the past made me unable to refuse his touch. And so, Gabriel’s warmth that I came into contact with was so very… no different from human body temperature.

I gritted my teeth.

“I’m fine. Please don’t worry about it.”

I pushed away Gabriel’s kindness, then quickly changed my words in alarm.

“Count Gabriel, you’re the one who looks much thinner.”

I feigned composure and put on a worried tone. Gabriel, understanding that I wanted to change the subject, went along with my wishes. I inwardly sighed in relief at his consistent attitude.

“Being so close to Bishop Marik seems to have caused me stress. But I’m not overexerting myself, so it’s not something for you to worry about, Evangeline.”

He clearly looked like he was living while overexerting himself tremendously. But since Gabriel brought up not to worry first, I decided to use those words as an excuse to look away.

“How is Bishop Marik?”

“He’s acting extremely radically, like someone pressed for time. Though he borrows God’s name, his actions are so harsh that he’s drawing criticism from many people.”

“Do you think Bishop Marik will target the Hosaquin Ducal House using this opportunity?”

“The Hosaquin Ducal House?”

I told Gabriel that Bishop Marik had gathered information about the ducal house through the butler’s daughter. Gabriel organized his thoughts for a moment, then shook his head.

“No matter how great Bishop Marik’s influence is, he wouldn’t immediately target the Hosaquin Ducal House. It’s one of only three ducal houses in the empire, and the Duchess’s condition is something society keeps quiet about.”

As he said, there were exactly three ducal titles in the empire.

I nodded at Gabriel’s words, but somewhere an uneasy feeling remained.

I didn’t provoke the Duke for no reason today. It was the urgency gripping my heart that made me act desperately without realizing it.

I decided to put aside this anxiety of unknown origin for now.

“That’s fortunate then. It would be good to hurry and handle the ducal house’s matter before Bishop Marik takes interest. Count Gabriel, what about the holy water I requested?”

“I instructed them to bring it to the greenhouse avoiding notice, as the ducal house’s butler directed. Rafaela is probably cursing me while moving the holy water right about now.”

Gabriel made a joke. So he didn’t come alone but brought other knights with him.

I could easily picture Rafaela grumbling. Though Uriel would probably move the holy water silently without a single complaint.

If the knights are cursing while moving it, the amount of holy water must be quite substantial? I should check how much holy water Gabriel managed to procure. Of course, I’m not getting it for free – I’ll pay in gold coins.

“The greenhouse… The Hosaquin Duke’s greenhouse is quite beautiful indeed. Since you’ve made the difficult journey here, I’d love to show it to Count Gabriel as well.”

I headed to the greenhouse under the pretext of showing Gabriel around. The greenhouse was difficult for servants to access, making it perfect for hiding holy water. It wasn’t for nothing that there was an aquarium containing rat corpses there.

“Evangeline, it’s been a while.”

“Good day to you.”

I exchanged cheerful greetings with Rafaela, and Uriel bowed politely. And beside Uriel, Michel was fidgeting restlessly, wanting to speak but not knowing what to do. It seemed he had been warned by Gabriel or Rafaela not to immediately come over and spout embarrassing praise.

Rafaela wanted to squeeze between Gabriel and me to continue our conversation, but was grabbed by the scruff of her neck by Uriel and dragged back out of the greenhouse to transport bottles of holy water.

Rico, who had been helping the knights organize the holy water, noticed my arrival and came over to me.

“Rico, thank you for your hard work.”

“Not at all.”

“There’s much more than I expected.”

I admired the holy water visible behind Rico. They were still in the process of moving it too.

“Didn’t you overdo it?”

It was something that came out unconsciously as I looked at the holy water brought to the greenhouse. There was so much that I wondered if they had diverted the temple’s entire reserve. There were dozens of bottles the size of water containers. No wonder Rafaela would curse Gabriel while moving them.

“Not at all. It’s about the same amount we gave to the Hosaquin Duke before.”

So I had poured all this holy water into the ground. Even though it couldn’t be recycled since it already contained rats, it felt a bit wasteful.

By the way, how much should I pay for all this? While I was estimating the cost, Rico told me the Duke had already paid.

“The Duke has already paid for it.”

Really? I was going to pay for it. Well, it’s not for my use but for the Duke’s mansion, so it’s right for the Duke to pay. Besides, I’m working for the Duke’s mansion without pay, aren’t I?

Looking at the holy water made one side of my heart feel uncomfortable. All of these were bought under the pretext that the Hosaquin Ducal House was providing relief to the poor. But in reality, they’re just being used to deal with rats.

Rico, perhaps feeling similar sentiments, carefully made a suggestion to me.

“Since there’s so much, how about we use some for its original purpose?”

Even taking just a portion could feed dozens of people. It wasn’t a bad suggestion, so I nodded in agreement. But can we handle this among ourselves without the Duke’s permission? As I was puzzling over this, Gabriel, who heard Rico’s words, answered with a strange expression.

“The holy water that Butler Rico mentioned for its original purpose has been moved elsewhere.”

So they already set aside the donation portion separately? My goodness, and this much is what’s left over. Did they really divert all the holy water from the temple? Rico was shocked.

“Then isn’t this too much flowing in?”

“Don’t worry, the amount of holy water has increased greatly recently, so it’s fine.”

“Holy water increased?”

Come to think of it, how is holy water made? In other fantasies, priests use heal spells rather than holy water for treatment. The divine power in this world was entirely contained in that water.

Anyway, holy water doesn’t just spring forth from fountains in temples. There must be something special that makes it sacred.

Gabriel, noticing that I didn’t know the origin of holy water, provided additional explanation.

“Holy water is water blessed by priests.”

I was thinking of special omens and such, but contrary to expectations, holy water is made by people. Priests bless it?

“What do you mean the amount increased?”

“It means the number of parishioners and the depth of their faith have increased.”

So according to Gabriel, holy water is something priests create through prayer. It’s essentially no different from heal spells. But the amount blessed varies according to faith.

Suddenly, the back of my neck felt chilling.

Then I could guess the reason why the amount of holy water had increased so much recently. It was all due to the influence of Bishop Marik’s heretic massacres. As people died, the temple’s power grew stronger in inverse proportion.

The priests believe without doubt that the sins they commit are for God and entrust their guilt to Him. So their faith actually deepens even more.

“One priest said it’s been 20 years since the priests’ faith became this strong.”

The weight of the holy water before my eyes suddenly felt different. It wasn’t naturally bubbling up like a spring, but was holy water built up from faith accumulated with the lives of executed heretics. I never thought I’d feel fortunate that holy water doesn’t work on me.

“My goodness, this is such…”

Rico covered his mouth in dismay. If things went wrong, both I and the Hosaquin Ducal House could be used as ingredients for that holy water.

“So you need not feel indebted.”

Gabriel didn’t bring up the topic of holy water again after those words. The atmosphere became heavy.

“Hmm? Why is everyone looking so down?”

Just then, Rafaela returned. Carrying a huge bottle, she looked quite energetic as if it wasn’t heavy at all. Rafaela seemed to sense what kind of conversation had made the atmosphere gloomy and changed the subject. As expected of the Male Lead’s right hand, she was quick to read the mood.

“Speaking of which, there’s someone here to see Evangeline.”

Isn’t that Gabriel? Seeing that I was unaware, Rafaela widened her eyes and looked at Gabriel.

“Captain, surely you didn’t tell her?”

What didn’t he tell me?

“Is there someone else who came to see me?”

“…Yes. It’s someone you’ll be happy to see, Evangeline.”

Gabriel seemed quite reluctant even as he spoke. Someone I’d be happy to see? Several people flashed through my mind. Someone I’d be happy about but Gabriel doesn’t welcome? It’s not Jelly, so is it Kanna?

“Miss!”

“Kanna?”

Speak of the devil – just as I thought of Kanna, I heard a familiar voice from the greenhouse entrance. Kanna, who had been struggling to carry a bottle of holy water in her arms, saw me and blushed with excitement.

Kanna set down the bottle where the holy water was collected, then turned around and ran straight to me.

“She, she hugged Evangeline…”

Rico gasped at the sight.

“Miss! I missed you so much that I came to find you.”

Kanna hugged me and clung to me affectionately. Somehow her words were similar in context to Gabriel’s. This must be why Gabriel didn’t mention Kanna.

Whining like a dog reunited with its owner after 3 years of separation, I patted Kanna’s back telling her to calm down.

“I was so happy that your innocence was proven, Miss. So I thought you would return to the Rohanson Estate right away, but when I heard you went to the Hosaquin Ducal House, I was so disappointed…”

Listening to Kanna’s sniffling complaints, I responded with “I see,” “You must have been disappointed,” “I missed you too.” While I was comforting Kanna for a while, Rico watched Kanna and me with complete shock and muttered.

“E-Evangeline is smiling…”

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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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