My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 162

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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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Whether Agera could also see the hallucinations Pudding created, she was blinking rapidly and seemed greatly disturbed.

“What is… what is this?”

“It’s alright, Lady Agera. This is just a nightmare. You must be tired today, so please go to sleep.”

I held her hand soothingly and patted her chest in a steady rhythm.

“Amaranth, you won’t go anywhere, will you?”

Agera gripped my hand tightly as she asked. Even with dementia, Amaranth’s departure seemed to remain as a significant trauma, as Agera couldn’t bear the thought of me disappearing. Even when I briefly went to the Rohanson Estate, she apparently turned the mansion upside down looking for me.

“Yes. I’ll go to the greenhouse with you tomorrow too. I promise.”

Agera closed her eyes, reassured by my words. Soon I could hear her wheezing breath. The rat, who had been quietly watching until now, spoke up.

“Was it a lie that Mother was critically ill?”

It seems she finally realized that Agera was in good health without any ailments. Smarter than I thought?

“You’re not the only one who can set traps.”

I used Agera as bait in a trap to quickly capture the rat. I didn’t want to use such a harsh method either. Agera was Evangeline’s blood relative, and I had built a friendship with her as ‘Amaranth’ while staying at the Duke’s mansion.

Honestly, I didn’t think the Duke would allow such a method. It was no different from using Agera, whom he treasured so dearly. Moreover, it involved spreading rumors about the unthinkable fact that Agera was critically ill.

But perhaps thanks to completing his route? Unexpectedly, the Duke agreed to my proposal. Maybe he thought that since Agera’s misguided obsession was the starting point for the rat’s appearance, it should be resolved through Agera.

Of course, there was a condition that Agera’s safety had to be guaranteed. But I had no intention of putting Agera in danger either. Also, since the rat was terribly weak when it came to Agera, it was certain that Agera would never be harmed.

Whether it was because Pudding was threatening its throat, or because I was by Agera’s side, the rat couldn’t even properly resist. This makes me feel like I’ve really become a villain.

“To think you’d stick your own head into the beast’s mouth without knowing… Your filial piety runs quite deep.”

“Mother should know what a sinister being you are!”

The rat answered sarcastically. Having devoured who knows how many people, its rhetoric had improved considerably.

“I don’t want to hear that from you.”

I replied with a serious expression. At least I hadn’t done anything deserving of disparagement from a demon that went around killing people.

“Do you know what it means for you to become ‘Amaranth’?”

“I don’t need meaning. I am a seed. I was meant to germinate as Amaranth and sprout. Though before completion, my body was torn apart by Father and I had to borrow the ugly form of a rat. If only you hadn’t stolen my place, that position would have been mine!”

The rat screamed at the top of its lungs. I was worried the commotion might wake Agera, but fortunately she was sleeping deeply. The strength in the hand that had been holding mine also relaxed, so I carefully moved Agera’s hand aside and turned toward the rat.

As soon as I moved away from Agera’s side, the rat tried to rush at me but was subdued again by Pudding and forced to kneel. Was Agera more important than its own life? It was far more blindly devoted than I thought.

I didn’t want to meet its gaze, so I didn’t bend down and just looked down at the rat while standing upright. To make it feel more humiliated than when looking at me.

“Listen. Becoming Amaranth doesn’t just mean becoming Agera’s daughter…”

I took a breath and continued.

“…It means becoming my mother.”

Just imagining it was utterly disgusting. How dare it try to take someone’s place? Amaranth’s place? Even as I spoke the words aloud, they came out filled with denial.

It felt like looking at an uninvited guest who appeared during a peaceful family meal. If that uninvited guest had killed my mother and was wearing her face, wouldn’t it be natural to feel disgusted?

The rat didn’t avoid my gaze. Rico’s face was looking at me, full of anger. I was glad that face had returned to its original form. If that had been Amaranth’s face, I would have been deeply hurt and devastated. I don’t know why, but I instinctively felt that way.

“What mother in the world would put her daughter in danger?”

Of course, this was a lie meant to shake the rat. There’s no need to explain with fairy tales featuring stepmothers. Just looking at the newspapers, how many cases are there of abuse by biological mothers?

“So if you were really ‘Amaranth’, you shouldn’t have felt hostility toward me for stealing your place.”

I tapped the rat’s cheek and smiled slyly. I was imitating Amaranth’s smile that I had seen in the portrait.

“Isn’t that right, Mother?”

After I finished speaking, I felt somewhat relieved. Ever since the rat impersonated Amaranth, I had been experiencing anger boiling up from deep within.

At first I thought I was angry because the rat burned down the mansion, but apparently I was also disgusted by it simply imitating Amaranth and coveting that position. As someone using Evangeline’s body, did I want to repay some debt of gratitude?

“Amaranth.”

I hated calling that thing Amaranth, but I deliberately used that form of address. The other side looked just as displeased as I was. Despite what I just explained, you don’t want recognition from me rather than Agera? Yeah. Whatever.

“Won’t you die for Agera’s sake?”

Pudding moved its hand. Blood began to seep from the rat’s throat. A tense atmosphere filled the room. Just when it seemed the throat would be severed at any moment, the door burst open.

“No!”

A child’s hysterical scream stopped the movement.

“Mabuka?”

The one who opened the door and appeared was none other than Mabuka. Why is Mabuka here? As I looked on in confusion, Hazel, who had been standing behind Mabuka, had her face pale as if she’d met with disaster, covering her mouth. She seemed frightened by the scene in the room.

“Sorry, I’m sorry. I just… Mabuka kept begging to see Lady Evangeline Rohanson.”

Hazel trembled as she bowed her head to the floor in apology. Mabuka shook off Hazel’s grip and, undaunted by the room’s sinister appearance, ran over and blocked my path.

“Don’t bully Mama, don’t bully Mama!”

Saying that, Mabuka burst into tears. My head started to ache. Of all people, why Mabuka? From Mabuka’s perspective, it must have looked like I was trying to slit her mother’s throat.

First, I should clean up the disturbing visuals that were bad for a child’s psyche. At my call, Pudding flicked its hand and the eyeballs embedded in the walls disappeared, returning the Viscountess’s chamber to its elegant appearance.

I had no idea how to handle this situation and was holding my throbbing forehead. Mabuka was crying breathlessly as she looked at the menacing scythe pointed at the ‘rat’.

“Huuung, don’t kill Mama…”

Mabuka cried loudly, tears and snot streaming down her face. I should probably calm the child and send her outside first. I couldn’t capture the rat with Rico’s face in front of Mabuka.

“Mabuka. The adults have something to discuss, so could you wait outside for a moment?”

“Y-yes. Come with me.”

Hazel also seemed to lack the strength to carry the child, so she took Mabuka’s hand and tried to lead her outside. But due to her overflowing consideration and kind nature, her grip on the child wasn’t firm enough.

So she couldn’t overcome the child’s desperate resistance to save her mother.

When Hazel lost her grip, Mabuka, thinking this was her chance, changed targets and clung to Pudding’s clothes. Pudding looked utterly disgusted and annoyed.

Imagining that even when he was a cat, he had that same expression while dealing with Mabuka made me chuckle a bit despite the inappropriate situation. Pudding glared fiercely with eyes that said ‘should I get rid of this thing?’, then glanced at me and put on an innocent face as if nothing had happened.

I turned my gaze to Pudding and then looked back at Mabuka.

“Mabuka. I promise I won’t kill Rico.”

“That’s a lie…!”

Yes, it’s a lie. How did you know? To separate a child who loves her mother dearly and then plan to kill that mother – doesn’t this make me look like the villain no matter how you look at it?

“I’ll never leave! Mabuka will protect Mama!”

For a crying child, Mabuka shouted with firm determination. The child was too clever. And Mabuka was smart enough to realize I was just paying lip service.

She noticed that Rico would die immediately if she wasn’t there. And she was cunning enough to take advantage of my weakness toward young children.

Was it because I felt guilty about failing to protect Rico and would listen to anything Mabuka said, or was the mistake from when I used to comfort her gently when she cried?

“This is interesting…”

The rat grinned from ear to ear as if Mabuka’s intrusion was extremely delightful. It was so annoying I wanted to punch it. Still, I could understand the feeling. When you’re cornered at the edge of a cliff and a lifeline appears, of course you’d be happy.

Anyone could see the clear intention to use Mabuka. Rico, where are you and what are you doing? Your daughter is being targeted by a demon right now. Since this is inside a book, I wish Rico’s remaining soul would give her strength like in a drama. Hurry up and miraculously take control and come out.

“Mabuka. My daughter.”

The rat called Mabuka in a cloying voice. The gentle voice was chilling enough to give me goosebumps. If the rat’s treatment of Agera was 100% genuine, this voice contained nothing but pretense.

“Mabuka. Will you kill Evangeline and save Mama? If you’re my beloved daughter, you’ll surely do that, won’t you?”

“…”

Telling a young child to kill someone? Don’t gaslight your own child and make them do such terrible things in the first place.

But then again, that wasn’t Rico but a demon. Since it was such a devoted daughter to Agera, I momentarily forgot how far the demon’s humanity had fallen – that was my mistake.

“That witch will torment Mama. She’ll tear Mama apart and kill her with that scythe. Mabuka can kill that witch and stop her, right? You’ll protect Mama, won’t you?”

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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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