My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 140

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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 Duke had expected minimal damage because there were no outwardly visible abnormal symptoms in the hosts. Just taking Nigella as an example proved this point. If he hadn’t witnessed Nigella eating rats, he wouldn’t have noticed she was a host at all.

“They hid well, just like rats. Without holy water, we wouldn’t have been able to distinguish them.”

The people who became hosts were living their daily lives without even remembering that they had eaten rats. They would go about their usual routines, then suddenly follow the rats’ commands as if bewitched.

Until that moment, even they themselves couldn’t know they had been infected by the rats. Since it was impossible to distinguish with the naked eye, there was a high possibility they wouldn’t have known even if hosts had multiplied like bamboo shoots after rain. It was fortunate they could suppress the situation before it grew uncontrollably.

The Duke read through the names with a devastated expression.

“You gave holy water to everyone in the ducal family, right?”

“Yes.”

Rico nodded. They had distributed holy water to all the servants working in the ducal family.

“What about the corpses of the dead?”

“For now, we’ve brought them to the basement and have knights guarding them.”

When night came, they planned to go down to the basement and dispose of the corpses. The bodies would probably have to be burned like when they killed the rats. Burning at the stake was one of the most miserable deaths, like the Sun God’s punishment. The mindset was quite different from when dealing with rats.

Rico wasn’t as steadfast as Evangeline’s maid. No matter how much these people had become hosts, seeing them cough up blood and die made her heart ache.

The Duke also had clear priorities and was simply cold to those who weren’t Agera, but he certainly cared for his household members. The Duke remained lost in thought with his eyes closed for a long time as if praying, then quietly spoke.

“…Once everything is settled, make sure to properly compensate the bereaved families.”

“But there’s no justification for compensation. These people were officially dismissed or fled.”

Rico objected to the Duke’s words. The Duke knew this too. Nowhere in the world would severance pay be given to servants who had run away. There was no such thing as free money. They would realize something was strange.

“Even if it’s under the pretext of severance pay. Or you could deliver it to the families saying that since the fugitives might return home, they should report it when that time comes.”

Since they couldn’t reveal the fact that they were possessed by demons, they couldn’t even tell the bereaved families the cause of death. In the midst of large-scale heretic hunting being in vogue, announcing that family members were bewitched by demons would be creating unnecessary trouble.

Since the truth couldn’t be revealed, the remaining people wouldn’t even know their family members had died, and hearing the excuses they put forward, they would think they had run away blinded by money, but it couldn’t be helped.

“…Yes. I’ll do that.”

Rico reluctantly agreed to follow the Duke’s wishes.

The Duke’s proposal wasn’t for the bereaved families. It was solely to lessen the Duke’s own guilt. It was deceptive behavior. It was hypocrisy. But if they didn’t do at least this much, Rico felt she would also be crushed by guilt.

The Duke and Rico decided roughly how much compensation would be appropriate. It was nominally compensation money, but in reality, it was the price of lives.

Though it was something they tacitly knew, lives could be priced. But now Rico was directly setting those life prices. As she tried to write numbers next to the names that had lost their warmth, nausea welled up.

What was these people’s crime? The crime of working at the manor? What Rico was doing now, hiding and covering up the cause of death of the deceased, was no different from the Temple’s corrupt practice of cunningly wagging tongues and branding innocent people as heretics with a single word to burn down entire manors. Rico couldn’t hide her complicated feelings even while recording the amounts to be delivered to each household.

“Then I’ll handle it as you’ve instructed, Your Grace.”

When Rico finished speaking, the Duke flipped over the paper with the list and covered it. Though it was just writing, because only the names of the deceased were written consecutively, somehow his spine felt eerie. The written characters felt exactly like brands of sins the Duke had committed.

The Duke called out to Rico who was about to leave the room.

“Ricoradka.”

“Yes. Is there something else you need?”

“I’d like to dine with Agera after a long time.”

“Dine…? I’ll inform the head chef. I’m sure Lady Agera will be delighted.”

Rico’s eyes widened in surprise at the Duke’s words. That was understandable since the Duke had avoided dining together ever since there was a big commotion in the dining room once before.

“Then I’ll go inform Lady Agera right away.”

Rico bowed deeply with an excited expression and left the office to immediately attend to Agera. Rico was more delighted than anyone when the Duke specially cared for Agera. That was probably because Rico was indebted to Agera.

About 5 years ago, Agera had gone out and brought back a mother and child, saying they reminded her of her daughter. That was Rico and Mabuka.

Seeing the woman holding a baby must have reminded her of Amaranth. Agera fed, clothed, and provided shelter for the mother and child. Having lost Amaranth and lost direction, Agera’s affection turned toward Rico.

The Duke deliberately gave Rico work and made her labor, worried she might dream of becoming an adopted daughter. Fortunately, Rico knew her place.

Rico was rather grateful that she could work and support Mabuka. With good skills, she was selected by the butler and taught, and after the butler retired, she even took his position.

Agera was Rico’s benefactor. However, when she became delusional, Agera couldn’t even remember Rico. All she remembered were the Duke and her daughter. Even though Agera couldn’t remember her name, Rico never abandoned the kindness she had received.

It would be better if she remembered Rico instead of Amaranth. Then there wouldn’t have been unnecessary victims. When the Duke learned the truth about Amaranth, he wanted to erase his mistakes from memory, but Agera’s will to never let go was truly remarkable.

The Duke unconsciously crumpled the paper with the deceased’s names on his desk. Even crumpling the paper wouldn’t make the deaths caused by Agera disappear.

***

He had made dinner plans with Agera after a long time. The Duke had work to finish before then.

He wrote on expensive parchment different from the documents piled high on his desk. Hesitating with each letter, by the time he had written two full pages, the sun had already set. The Duke put the parchment in an envelope and sealed it with the Hosaquin Ducal House’s seal.

“Your Grace. The evening banquet is ready.”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

At the sound of knocking announcing dinner time, the Duke put the sealed envelope in a drawer and stood up.

When the Duke headed to the dining room, Agera had already arrived. Agera, who had been laughing and conversing with Rico about something, saw the Duke arrive and got up from her seat to run to him. The Duke quickly approached and embraced Agera, worried his weakened wife might collapse.

“You’re here?”

“It’s dangerous to suddenly run.”

“What’s dangerous about it? Julian, you’ll catch me.”

Agera smiled brightly. The smile cast over her face that was always wailing warmed the Duke’s heart.

“Come, sit down.”

When the Duke gestured, Rico helped support Agera to sit down.

Agera’s outfit, properly equipped with even a bonnet, looked innocent as if she were going to a picnic rather than an evening banquet. Feeling déjà vu, he searched his memory and found it was a style that was popular very long ago. It was a dress that strongly evoked nostalgia from when the Duke and Agera were in their twenties.

“We once went to the theater together when you wore clothes like that.”

“Did we?”

The Duke searched his memory. In the past, when they went to the theater together, Agera had worn something similar to what she was wearing now. The Duke, who wasn’t good with words, had conveyed the message in a way that caused misunderstanding, so Agera thought they were going on an outing and came out wearing a very colorful dress. She had scolded the Duke for making her dress like a naive girl in a place where she should have dressed solemnly.

That memory came flooding back. What was the name of the play they saw then…

“Do you perhaps remember?”

The Duke asked hopefully, but Agera only tilted her head. The moments they shared together belonged only to the Duke alone.

The Duke felt the absence of memories. The past they had built together had now become a past that only the Duke reminisced about alone. Why was this moment more sorrowful than when Agera cried out wanting to see her dead daughter? Was it because it hit home clearly that the Agera he loved had disappeared, and he was the only one left in the world?

The Duke glanced at Rico who was attending to Agera. Perhaps he could understand Rico’s position a little.

“It looks delicious!”

Whether the Duke was lost in melancholy or not, Agera admired the set table. Mallow had put effort into the cooking upon hearing that the master and mistress would dine together after a long time. Previously, a rat had suddenly jumped out and he had nearly lost his head, so he put all his heart and soul into making up for it.

Fortunately, the dish Mallow made by grinding his soul suited the ducal couple’s taste well. Agera, who had been enjoying her meal cheerfully, suddenly put down her fork.

“I wish we could eat together as three with Amaranth.”

“I prefer being alone with just you.”

“Oh my, really!”

Agera burst into laughter at the Duke’s words. It was surprising that even in this situation, she didn’t insist on eating with Amaranth.

How long had it been since he had such a peaceful conversation with Agera? It felt exactly like returning to before Agera lost her mind. Even though he knew well that Amaranth was already dead and they could never return to those days, he couldn’t help thinking such thoughts. However, fortunately, there was Amaranth’s double in this manor. That might be why he was particularly reminded of the old days.

Though because of that child, the Duke’s own baseness that he had been avoiding all this time was exposed to the surface. It was no different from scraping and eating his own flesh, creating wounds, but it was fine since not only did Agera rejoice, but they could also dispose of the rats.

Moreover, thanks to the conversation they had the previous day, the Duke had considerably broken down walls with Evangeline. Though when he tried to recall that time, his mind became hazy and his memories were patchy like a dream.

But the heart-stirring moment when Evangeline, who closely resembled his daughter, held the Duke’s hand and said she would forgive him, was vivid.

“How are things with Amaranth?”

“Very enjoyable. That child listens to me well. I can feel that she doesn’t look down on me and respects me.”

“Isn’t she scary?”

“Scary? How could that be? That child is our child.”

The Duke realized his question was wrong. Agera had wanted to see Amaranth so much that she even resorted to sorcery. When she called even rats her daughter, there was no way she would be frightened of Evangeline.

He felt like a small, displeased gaze was reaching him from somewhere.

Throughout the meal, Agera burst into laughter and talked about Amaranth. It was proof that Evangeline was playing the role of ‘Amaranth’ much better than the Duke had thought.

The Duke silently listened to Agera’s chatter. After finishing the meal, Rico brought tea. Though it wasn’t something a butler would typically do, knowing she was particularly devoted when it came to Agera, the Duke didn’t bother to point it out.

“So next time, Amaranth and I are going to go shopping together, just mother and daughter.”

“Is that so?”

Agera wouldn’t be able to go outside. However, instead of dampening her spirits, the Duke just played along halfheartedly. Anyway, Agera would forget about the promise to go shopping before long.

Then Rico, who was pouring tea, muttered something and dropped the teacup she was holding. The Duke jumped up from his seat in shock and shouted.

“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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