My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 179
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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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After carelessly blurting that out, I felt a pang of regret. Gabriel would wonder what nonsensical rambling I was spouting. No wait, Gabriel knows that I’ve possessed this body.
Right, he’d think I’m some kind of ghost. Definitely not a ‘rat’ or anything like that….
Just as I was about to fall into contemplation, Gabriel called out to me. “Young Lady.” His sweet voice melted away my brooding thoughts.
“I’m fine with whatever you are, Young Lady.”
I had asked if he was okay, but he responded that he was good. And Gabriel even made a joke with a serious expression.
“There are already widespread rumors that you’re an angel, Young Lady.”
“That sounds like something Misha would say.”
Angel, my foot. Bishop Marik is trying to brand me not just as a witch, but as a demon.
As soon as I heard the word angel, I recalled Misha’s flattering words, praising me as if her tongue was oiled. It’s fortunate that Misha left Rohanson Estate before this mess started.
At least she didn’t get caught up in my affairs like Dolline did. When I brought up Misha, Gabriel suddenly brightened and chimed in enthusiastically.
“Shall we entrust her with making your outfit for the sacrifice ritual once more?”
“There are only ten days left, aren’t there?”
And once this night passes, that would be one day less, making the situation quite urgent.
Setting aside the timeline, I found it odd that Gabriel suddenly brought up the sacrifice ritual outfit. Why did the conversation suddenly jump to a different topic? Did mentioning Misha naturally lead to talk about dresses?
“Wasn’t it also rushed during your debutante ball last time? I’m sure she’d gladly step forward, saying she can create your dress.”
“I’ll be the sacrifice, so does the outfit really matter?”
“You’re like the protagonist, so wouldn’t it be even more special? Everyone will remember it.”
Starting with the dress for the sacrifice ritual, Gabriel began engaging in continuous small talk.
My heart was still unsettled. My insides were restlessly troubled, yet the conversation I was having with Gabriel outside was ordinary and casual, as if nothing had happened.
It started with light topics that I didn’t need to worry much about, then gradually the subjects changed. Sometimes it was about mistakes Gabriel made when he first joined the Knight Order due to inexperience, and sometimes it was about amusing rebellions he committed together with Rafaela.
“Rafaela and I once secretly left the Temple to go to a tavern. Rafaela was so excited about her first visit to a tavern that she drank before I could stop her.”
“Sir Rafaela must be good at drinking.”
“Not at all. I had no idea that the Duke’s son would be so weak with alcohol. He could barely walk on all fours. Moreover, there was a holy service the next day. I thought he’d surely get caught by the priests and receive a scolding, but Rafaela stood there looking perfectly fine. When I asked how he managed it, he said he used holy water to cure his hangover.”
Using holy water as a hangover cure was truly befitting of a Duke’s son. Rafaela really is a consistently unchanging person. Their story sounded just like reminiscing about school days, making it pleasant to listen to.
The topics kept changing again and again, never stopping. Sometimes it was about the first moment I met Gabriel, and sometimes about how we encountered Pudding and Jelly.
Though we’d been acquainted almost since right after my possession, this was the first time I’d had such a long conversation with Gabriel. The conversation with Gabriel consisted entirely of genuine consideration for me, so it wasn’t uncomfortable or irritating.
After chatting for a while, my mood improved considerably. Laughing continuously at Gabriel’s stories made me mistakenly think I was happy right now.
Only then did I realize why Gabriel had suddenly changed topics and rattled off all sorts of meaningless jokes. Gabriel was doing this to comfort me. I closed my mouth, feeling like undefined emotions might spill out carelessly.
The conversation ceased and a brief silence fell. Mabuka used to say that when things got quiet, it meant an angel was passing by. I thought it was childish imagination, but perhaps those words were true. Strangely, this silence wasn’t awkward.
Gabriel looked at me and said gently, his eyes crinkling softly.
“A star has fallen.”
Did a meteor pass by? But Gabriel wasn’t even looking at the window. Perhaps it was another idiom meaning that a brief silence had passed, like “an angel passed by.”
Gabriel saying a star had fallen looked the happiest I’d ever seen him. He had the satisfied expression of someone who had quenched their thirst with plenty of water, or a child who had received lots of presents.
As if enchanted, I suggested.
“How about making a wish?”
“A wish?”
Gabriel asked back. It seems this world has the saying about angels passing by, but not the superstition about making wishes on shooting stars. Well, with the Sun God existing and demons too, there’d be no reason to make wishes to innocent stars.
“There’s a saying that if you make a wish while watching a falling star, it will come true.”
“My wish is….”
Gabriel fell into thought for a moment, then seemed to recall what he wanted and was about to speak. I hurriedly stopped Gabriel.
“You don’t need to tell me. Originally, wishes aren’t meant to be spoken to others.”
It wasn’t even confirmed whether a real star had fallen, and while shooting star wishes can only be made in the fleeting moment they fall, it’s better to follow the proper form when possible.
Gabriel closed his mouth after hearing my words. He must be making his wish now. Though I told him not to say it, I was a bit curious about what Gabriel’s wish might be.
What could he have wished for? For his injuries to heal? Since he’s a knight, he probably prioritized that above all.
“Your wish will surely come true, Sir.”
Even if the fallen star doesn’t grant wishes, I’ll somehow manage to heal Gabriel’s body. So it will definitely come true.
“Yes. I’m sure it will.”
Gabriel nodded in agreement with my conviction. Gabriel, who had been smiling with satisfaction, soon asked if I had also made a wish.
“Did you also pray for your heart’s desire, Young Lady?”
Come to think of it, I realized I had only encouraged Gabriel but hadn’t made a wish myself. Gabriel probably noticed this and asked me. His gaze seemed to urge me to hurry up and make a wish.
A wish, huh…. Until just now, my wish was simply to bury myself under the blankets and escape reality there for the rest of my life.
Fortunately, talking with Gabriel had completely lifted my spirits from wallowing in despair. It was thanks to confiding my emotions to Gabriel after suffering in silence.
Right. I can’t stay gloomy forever. Let me pull myself together, Evangeline.
I closed my eyes, clasped my hands together, and made a wish.
Please don’t let Bishop Marik cut my throat, and let me survive safely.
After learning the secret of my birth, this became even more desperate. After actually making the wish, my neck felt chilly and I wanted to clasp my hands together even more earnestly.
“Your wish will come true too, Young Lady.”
Gabriel returned the same words I had said to him. I couldn’t help but smile. Even without knowing what I wished for, his encouragement felt quite nice.
Perhaps my smile was contagious, as Gabriel’s lips had also curved upward. Somehow, just looking at his face made me feel warmth.
The dawn air was so cold, and we weren’t even touching, yet it was quite strange.
My churning feelings had calmed down peacefully long ago. After regaining my half-lost composure, I vividly felt how shameless my behavior had been.
I had no face to show after barging into a patient’s room who needed rest, then whining for comfort and disturbing his rest instead. Moreover, I was grateful to Gabriel who had silently consoled me without me even explaining why I needed comfort.
“I’ve disturbed your rest when you should be recuperating.”
When I offered my apology, Gabriel denied my words as if he would wave his hands dismissively if only they could move properly.
“Disturbance? That’s absolutely not the case. There’s definitely nothing you could do that would harm me, Young Lady.”
“….”
I was at a loss for words. Isn’t your current broken body also harm I caused you, if we’re being honest?
“Even though I complained to you while you’re in pain?”
“Rather, I’m glad I could be of help despite being in this condition.”
So your body being in that state is my fault, isn’t it? I reflexively wanted to retort, but having some conscience, I didn’t voice that self-loathing sarcasm. However, Gabriel’s kindness didn’t end there.
“To be honest about my feelings, though you might grow tired of me, Young Lady….”
Gabriel looked at me as he spoke.
“I was happy that you came to find me, Young Lady.”
I had just gotten lost and found the wrong room. My conscience showed off its tenacious vitality, demonstrating that it was still alive and not dead yet. In other words, my conscience was pricked.
“I’m glad that I was the one who saw your human side.”
Happy. Good. The me that Gabriel spoke of was accompanied by emotions described with kind and warm words rather than unhappiness.
Saying it like that makes it seem like I’ve never actually harmed anyone….
I newly realized that Gabriel truly liked me. Though I’d experienced this several times, it felt unfamiliar each time. How could Gabriel continue to harbor affection for me despite being rejected repeatedly?
Since I realized Gabriel wasn’t a constructed character, it became even more fascinating. He’s not programmed either…. The goodwill that started from the shared experience of holy water not working on us must have grown this much, right?
But can emotions that started with mere shared experience snowball like this? Even with vague speculation, I couldn’t fathom Gabriel’s heart unless I were in his position.
Suddenly, this situation became uncomfortable. I couldn’t act shamelessly like someone with a thick face in front of someone who breathed out words of liking me. Until now, Gabriel had just been a fish in my pond, so I had acted brazenly.
I should head back to my room now. This is definitely not me running away to avoid Gabriel and my own strange, growing emotions.
“I’ll be going now. You should rest too, Sir.”
As I tried to leave the room, Gabriel’s body trembled slightly. I was about to scold him for why a patient was trying to move unnecessarily, then realized what Gabriel had just tried to do and could only bite my lips tightly.
What we’d just exchanged were farewell greetings, and Gabriel kissed the back of my hand every time we parted. So he had habitually tried to take my hand.
“…Not being able to move one’s body is quite inconvenient.”
How long have you been injured and you’re only realizing that now? But as always, my retort wouldn’t escape my lips this time either.
***
I folded my hands to cover the back of my hand and left Gabriel’s room. Heat rose to my face. If I looked in a mirror now, I might see my usually expressionless face unusually flushed.
Evangeline Rohanson, have you gone crazy? You’ve gone crazy, haven’t you?
Yes, I’ve definitely gone crazy. I opened my room door while savagely berating myself.
In my room, Kanna was waiting without sleeping.
“Miss!”
Confirming my arrival, Kanna immediately rushed to me. Kanna hugged me tightly. Since being educated by Daisy, Kanna had been quite well-mannered, so hugging me so freely was something that hadn’t happened in a very long time.
“I told you to stay in another room.”
“I’m sorry….”
It wasn’t meant as a scolding, but words of apology spilled from Kanna’s mouth.
Unlike her unhesitating rush to me, Kanna’s body was rigid. When I hugged Kanna back, only then did the tension leave her body. And tears burst forth.
“But I was worried about you… So I came, but you weren’t here…”
“I told you not to wait and to rest.”
“How, how could I… *sniff* How could I rest when you weren’t here…?”
Kanna sniffled and whined like a child. Just moments ago she had been acting so mature, but the moment she saw me, her tears burst forth no less than little Mabuka would.
Is our Kanna six years old? I wonder where the 10 in front of that ran off to. She still has a long way to go before growing up.
It seemed Kanna had gone to find an empty room as I told her, but then got worried about me and came looking for me despite risking getting scolded. But when she found I wasn’t actually in the room, she got anxious and kept waiting until I returned.
Feeling sorry, I patted her back until Kanna calmed down. After Hena, her only blood relative, betrayed her, Kanna was left alone. I was the only one she could rely on, yet I had spoken words of dismissal, so she must have been hurt deep down. I really wasn’t in my right mind.
Fortunately, Kanna wasn’t completely like a little child and quickly stopped crying.
“I’m okay now. Because you’ve returned, Miss.”
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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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