My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 138

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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 Viscount collapsed onto the sofa as soon as his calves touched it, falling over completely. The overturned table, scattered piles of documents, the chaotic scene of the office, and an old man crying without tears. Everything was a complete mess.

 

As the Viscount fell silent, the heated atmosphere calmed down a bit. Belatedly, the sound of someone pounding forcefully on the door could be heard.

 

“Your Grace? Your Grace the Viscount! Is something wrong inside!”

 

This time, since there was no response from the Viscount telling them to get lost, the door handle turned as someone tried to open the door from outside. However, contrary to expectations, the door didn’t open.

 

Kanna looked triumphant as she gestured to me, mimicking the motion of locking a door. How wonderful, our Kanna is overflowing with sense too. Then Kanna shouted at the door, telling them to get lost. As expected, it would be best to keep Jelly and Kanna apart. Our angel-like child’s language has become too rough.

 

Now that an atmosphere suitable for conversation had been established, I took a seat across from the Viscount.

 

Last time, we were interrupted and couldn’t finish properly, but now was the opportunity. It was time to massage the Viscount’s head to my heart’s content and deploy some gaslighting.

 

No, actually let me correct that to say confronting reality. From now on, Evangeline’s counseling center is open for business. It’s amateur work, but so what.

 

“Don’t worry about what’s outside, focus only on me.”

 

I lightly tapped the table to draw his attention to me. In the meantime, whatever Kanna had added, the sounds from outside stopped as if dead. A silence so complete that even the ticking of a clock couldn’t be heard filled the room.

 

Perhaps because it was so quiet, I felt like I could clearly hear even the sound of the Viscount’s heartbeat.

 

“I suppose the reputation of an abandoned daughter is insufficient to earn Your Grace’s trust?”

 

So I deliberately picked out only words that would go against the Viscount’s mood and scratched at him. It was a statement that would make the barely calmed Viscount flare up again, but the exhausted Viscount only glared at me without any particular reaction. Even the look in his eyes wasn’t as venomous as usual and had lost its poison.

 

“…Do you think Amaranth’s reputation would be that important to me?”

 

The Viscount asked in an exhausted, drooping state.

 

There it is. The negative mode that appears when hit with harsh truths. This was a state where gaslighting would work very well indeed.

 

Of course it’s important. The Viscount was trying hard to rationalize, but in truth he was tormented by guilt over his past estrangement from Amaranth.

 

The Viscount was someone who thoroughly turned away from the life he had lived, using the excuse that he didn’t regret his choices. And yet he deceived himself, saying he had made the best choice and had not an ounce of regret about the past.

 

So the most effective way to capture the Viscount was to draw out his inner feelings and remind him of his guilt. Moreover, since I’m the granddaughter who looks exactly like Amaranth, the effect was even better. I was, so to speak, living trauma.

 

“At least to me it is.”

 

The Viscount stared at my face without even blinking. What he was looking at with his eyes was me, but what he was drawing in his heart would be Amaranth.

 

After staring at me for a long while, the Viscount closed his eyes. The Viscount’s index finger twitched as it drew pictures in the air. Was he drawing the past? Perhaps he was recalling the scene from the day he last saw her, the day he cut ties with Amaranth.

 

“…I’ll try believing you.”

 

The Viscount quietly opened his eyes and gazed at me.

 

“Above all, you would know more about sorcery than I do.”

 

As expected, he was a master of avoidance and excuses. Making excuses right to the end like this. Honestly, it would be fine if he just openly admitted he was sorry to Amaranth.

 

“I’m glad you trust me. Your Grace was worried that Agera might be harmed by the holy water, weren’t you?”

 

“Yes. I thought Agera had become an evil being. So… I was putting effort into silencing people so the Temple wouldn’t find out.”

 

Please continue putting in that effort. If Bishop Marik catches on, the entire Duke’s mansion will be roasted whole.

 

The Viscount in negative mode was extremely receptive. Actually, he was just drained from getting angry, but anyone watching might think I’d put him under hypnosis. At this point, if I asked him to acknowledge me as his granddaughter, he’d readily agree. Or not? Given his hot temper, maybe he’ll come to his senses again and fly into a rage… I’m curious, but let’s not ask.

 

“You don’t need to worry. The holy water won’t harm Agera.”

 

“…”

 

The lack of response suggests he still can’t bring himself to actually give Agera holy water. Anyway… Even though I made such bold claims while bringing up Amaranth, he still can’t completely trust me.

 

“Why are you so reluctant to acknowledge it?”

 

At my question, the Viscount swallowed as if drinking strong liquor. As if thorns had sprouted in his mouth, he hesitated for a long time before finally spitting out an answer.

 

“…Because I abandoned Amaranth like that.”

 

What was revealed after stripping away all the thorns he had armed himself with was an inner self that seemed ready to shatter.

 

“I drove her out on the grounds that Amaranth had used sorcery. I’ve lived thinking that was proper since that child was a sinner. But if Agera isn’t a sinner, then wouldn’t that child also not be a sinner?”

 

What? That was the reason? My mother, no, Amaranth wasn’t cut off for giving birth to me, a bastard child?

 

“Not because of me?”

 

“It’s because of you too.”

 

What, both reasons overlapped. Anyway, it seems the Viscount declared estrangement due to my existence plus Amaranth using sorcery. Now the inside story is finally being revealed.

 

I was surprised to hear she used sorcery, but thinking about it, it wasn’t that strange. I’d felt something unsettling ever since I discovered the sorcery circle in Amaranth’s diary. She couldn’t have just kept it without using it. Amaranth used the sorcery circle, and so the Viscount cut ties with Amaranth.

 

“So Your Grace bundled Agera together and branded her as a heretic because you were afraid of becoming a heartless father who abandoned an innocent mother.”

 

I wondered why he insisted so stubbornly that Agera was cursed, and it was all because of his own conscience.

 

“…”

 

I’d like to fix this habit of avoiding with silence when he has nothing to say, taking this opportunity.

 

“Your Grace is already a sinner. But would it make any difference to add one more sin on top of that?”

 

And I added my masterstroke as a finishing blow.

 

“Mother already hates Your Grace anyway.”

 

At times like this, shouldn’t the standard family regret story be to embrace them saying they did nothing wrong? I intellectually recognize that’s the orthodox regret story route, but I was too resentful to defend him.

 

An instinctive anger beyond reason welled up. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t like what the Viscount was doing.

 

Was it that shocking that the Viscount cast out Amaranth for his own comfort? Come to think of it, even when talking about Amaranth just before, asking if Amaranth seemed valuable to him was honestly disgusting to watch.

 

Seeing how from start to finish only Agera mattered and he wouldn’t give Amaranth even an inch of consideration, I suddenly didn’t know why such anger was boiling up in me. Can’t he just apologize for abandoning Mother?

 

Perhaps sensing my anger, the Viscount groaned as if tormented by nightmares.

 

“…I said I was prepared to be hated, but it seems I actually didn’t want to accept it.”

 

That’s because the Viscount is an avoidant type of person. You can tell just by how he pushes everything aside and focuses only on paperwork even when demons are roaming around the house.

 

I wanted to question the Viscount about his sin of abandoning Amaranth, but I bit my tongue and endured it. With Rohanson Viscount having abandoned me, without the Viscount’s favor, I’d only have Gabriel left to rely on.

 

Sigh… After calming down, I don’t even understand why I was so furiously angry at the Viscount just moments ago. Perhaps I have Confucian DNA more deeply ingrained than I thought. Since I’m using Evangeline’s body, maybe I reacted out of habit. If that’s the case, Evangeline must have loved her mother very much.

 

I took hold of the Viscount’s trembling hands. The Viscount reflexively tried to shake off my hands, but perhaps lacking strength, he couldn’t push me away and just remained caught. This time it wasn’t to stop the Viscount’s hand habits. It was just acting.

 

“It’s okay.”

 

Acting for the new regret story I would write.

 

The Viscount looked at me as if entranced.

 

“Mother will hate Your Grace, but I won’t. I won’t hate you. I will forgive you.”

 

I, who looked exactly like Amaranth, whispered the words the Viscount had secretly wanted to hear. Of course, if it were the real Evangeline, she wouldn’t have forgiven him, but I’m a different person.

 

The anger that had suddenly surged earlier still remained like residue, but I tried to dismiss it as being because I had gotten too immersed in the role-playing. What I experienced was just nearly getting hit by a wine glass, and even then Gabriel saved me.

 

“Really…?”

 

The Viscount’s voice trembled. The fishing line was taut.

 

“Yes. Really.”

 

I drew the smile most similar to Amaranth in the portrait. It was the face of Amaranth from the countless portraits drawn in the storage room.

 

“Your Grace is my ‘grandfather,’ aren’t you?”

 

“That’s right…”

 

The Viscount nodded. The Viscount accepted me like that.

 

Family regret story? For a devoted reader of romance fantasy, that’s a piece of cake.

 

***

 

Having received the Viscount’s permission, I officially began distributing holy water. However, I couldn’t hand it out openly. Holy water had to be precious, after all. Like before, it could be received and then diverted, and if someone was a host for the rats and had a reaction after drinking holy water while others were watching, there would be another uproar calling them a demon.

 

So as before, I decided to bring them in one by one to give them holy water.

 

Initially I was going to participate too, but Kanna smiled sweetly and told me to step aside. She said to trust her as she would handle everything herself, so I couldn’t possibly refuse.

 

Rico aside, Kanna is trustworthy. I left it to her and returned to my room to play chess with Pudding and Mabuka.

 

Pudding and Mabuka were on the same team. Mabuka didn’t know much about chess, so she just moved pieces as Pudding instructed, but they kept losing to me. Pudding looked like he’d be good at chess, but I won 5 games in a row. Don’t I actually have talent for chess? I felt great beating a six-year-old. I’m a villainess so it’s okay. Long live villainesses!

 

The official holy water distribution was completed only after well over half a day had passed. Kanna came straight to Amaranth’s room and reported to me.

 

“There were eleven people total who had become hosts.”

 

There were more than I thought. I just assumed there would be one or two. Eleven people? Even idol groups don’t recruit on such a large scale these days.

 

“I’ve properly dealt with all of them, so please don’t worry.”

 

Kanna didn’t bother to tell me who was on that list. Was someone I’d gotten to know and grown close to since coming to the Duke’s mansion included?

 

I suppose she was worried I might treat them awkwardly if I knew who they were, that I might treat people with prejudice.

 

Our Kanna seems like a complete angel. I wanted to tell her she dropped a feather yesterday, but I held back. In front of Kanna, I wanted to remain an elegant and graceful young lady, not someone who gushes.

 

Rico beside her looked at Kanna very strangely. Right? Isn’t it amazing that such an angel-like child still exists in this world? It’s because she was sick for so long and didn’t get tainted by the secular world. I’ll have to work hard to protect her from this dirty world going forward.

 

“Now we just need to deal with the rats.”

 

“That… cat is working hard, but there are still many rats left. It will take a very long time, won’t it?”

 

Rico looked at Pudding strangely this time.

 

“It would be nice if there was a way to catch them all at once.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

Kanna fell into deep thought. Just like how she finished this holy water distribution quickly, won’t she spit out an idea for handling this efficiently too? I looked at Kanna with anticipation.

 

“Pudding will just have to work hard!”

 

Kanna smiled brightly and passed the responsibility to Pudding. When Pudding extended his claws, I was startled and coaxed and soothed him.

 

Even if he scratches everyone else in the world, he can’t bare his claws at Kanna and Gabriel. They’re my lifeline. If I’m hated by the female lead and Male Lead, all my efforts so far will be useless.

 

Pudding, having received enthusiastic petting, retracted his claws as if granting mercy.

 

I need to think hard about this. A way to exterminate the rats… Not arson, not arson… Wait, that’s wrong, I can only think of arson. Bishop Marik must have brainwashed me with arson.

 

***

 

The manor announced they would distribute holy water to all employees. They said Evangeline had taken this measure out of concern for infectious diseases after seeing the rat infestation.

 

While others praised Evangeline, Jace was different from the rest and could read the essence of things. It was obviously all just a show for appearances.

 

Someone secretly made a wound on themselves, wanting to test if it was real holy water, then showed everyone that drinking the holy water had healed them. Some people fell for it. How could they be so foolish? That person was clearly planted by Evangeline.

 

“Next, please come in.”

 

It was Jace’s turn. As Jace entered the room, he made a resolution. He would absolutely not be fooled. However, seeing Kanna inside the room made his resolve waver slightly.

 

Evangeline’s maid, Kanna, was incredibly kind.

 

“Please take this.”

 

Kanna smiled brightly as she ladled holy water into a cup for Jace. Jace accepted the cup Kanna offered with reddened cheeks.

 

Her red hair twisted up looked incredibly alluring. It would have been even more pleasing to the eye if her white neck had been visible beneath, but she had it wrapped tightly with a scarf. Her modest demeanor wasn’t bad either. The curly strands of hair sticking out here and there were quite adorable too.

 

“Th… thank… you.”

 

‘Our hands, our hands touched…’

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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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