My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 185

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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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Viscount Rohanson couldn’t stay still for even a moment, pacing back and forth around the room. He stamped his feet restlessly as if thorns would sprout if he remained motionless, looking extremely anxious.

The reason the Viscount was so anxious was because he had received word from a servant about Evangeline’s visit.

“Viscount Rohanson. The young lady has been waiting for quite some time. You should go down and see her now.”

“Shut up!”

The Viscount shouted at the servant who was urging him, then coughed awkwardly out of embarrassment. He was aware that raising his voice at a servant and avoiding his daughter were hardly noble behaviors, so he felt ashamed of his actions.

Viscount Rohanson greatly valued the image of nobility. He was a merciful master to the servants in his own home and was never stingy with them. However, when cornered, his true nature of selfishness had emerged.

The Viscount was currently staying as a dependent at Viscount Hükel’s private residence. Having been deceived by Hükel once, he should have been wary, but he had fallen for that cunning bastard’s silver tongue.

Hükel had promised to serve as a liaison to Bishop Marik as an apology for the trouble caused by the dagger he had gifted.

Since Evangeline bore the Rohanson name in the castle, that anger would surely extend to the Viscount as well. The Viscount was anxious and trembling with fear that he too would be bound together with Evangeline as a heretic and purged. Viscount Hükel exploited this point to win over the Viscount.

“Your lordship bears no guilt, and despite being bound by blood, this Hükel will guarantee that you chose God over that wicked being.”

Hükel persuaded him that if he stayed at the viscount’s residence, the Bishop would understand the Viscount’s intentions. He needed to show that he had chosen the Sun God and the Bishop, not Evangeline.

In the end, the Viscount entrusted himself to Hükel. Since Viscount Hükel was the only one around Viscount Rohanson who had connections to the temple, he couldn’t refuse.

Damn that bastard Hükel. Wasn’t it all Hükel’s fault that the Viscount had become like a parasite living off others in the first place?

The dagger Hükel had gifted to the Viscount was the root of all evil.

He must have schemed to gift a historically significant artifact near the Crown Prince’s birthday and then manipulate things so it would be sent to Evangeline. It couldn’t be a coincidence that the weapon used to kill the Crown Prince was the same type as Evangeline’s dagger.

The Viscount realized that Hükel was Bishop Marik’s lackey and had been scheming against him. He wanted to slap that backstabbing Hükel across the face, but right now Hükel was his only remaining lifeline. The Viscount felt miserable about his own pitiful situation.

The Viscount lived on sufferance at Viscount Hükel’s residence. And now he couldn’t even return home since the manor had burned down. Damn it, what was this nonsense about Evangeline being the one who set fire to the manor?

Hükel comforted the distressed Viscount, but the Viscount didn’t believe his words. While Evangeline was a strange being, there was no reason for her to set fire to the manor.

Bishop Marik seemed to want to get the Viscount under his control and use him. The Viscount, who wanted to live, had no choice but to pretend ignorance and comply.

Then Evangeline came to see the Viscount.

“Tsk. Coming to see her father without even giving advance notice.”

The Viscount clicked his tongue. He had no idea how Evangeline knew he was here and came looking for him.

“Did Marquis Muzeta summon her?”

The Viscount’s suspicion was justified.

Not long ago, Muzeta had come to see the Viscount again. It had been a while since he last came to verify Evangeline’s handwriting.

Muzeta came to the Viscount with two letters. They were invitations requiring attendance at a sacrificial ceremony. One was for Viscount Rohanson himself, and the other was for Evangeline.

“…I could just send it to the Duke’s mansion.”

There were widespread rumors that the Duke, who had thrown a wine glass at his granddaughter, had changed his stance and sided with Evangeline. The Viscount was planning to send the invitation directly to the Duke’s mansion.

He was afraid of being bound together with Evangeline as blood relatives and purged together. Evangeline’s crimes were so great that he feared the sparks would fly to Viscount Rohanson as well. But conveniently, a very good substitute in Duke Hosaquin had appeared. From Bishop Marik’s perspective, one of the three ducal houses in the Empire would seem much more appetizing to devour than the Viscount.

And after his daughter and father-in-law died, the Viscount could simply claim their inheritance. As a son-in-law, he could demand whatever he wanted, couldn’t he? It was the Viscount who had originally instructed her to approach the Duke, so he had the foresight to see the future.

However, Muzeta demanded that the Viscount meet Evangeline directly and deliver the letter.

‘If I go to the Duke’s mansion, I’ll probably get slapped by the Duke again.’

When the Viscount refused, Muzeta said that Evangeline would come looking for him first. And he didn’t forget to warn the Viscount.

“Viscount. I’m opening a path to salvation for you. If you don’t want to be purged along with your daughter, you’d better obediently comply.”

Insolent bastard. Viscount Rohanson burned with hostility toward Muzeta. So he immediately attached himself to Princess Jeremias after the Crown Prince died? What a loyal knight! A dog who couldn’t even protect his own master!

“You said you wanted to meet Bishop Marik. If you deliver the letter to Lady Rohanson, I’ll try to arrange a meeting.”

Since he was even acting as a messenger for the temple, he was obviously wagging his tail at Bishop Marik too. It was infinitely humiliating to have to please the whims of a scoundrel whose only talent was clinging to those in power and flattering them with his glib tongue.

However, since his life depended on it, the Viscount had no choice but to force a smile and agree.

The Viscount planned to meet with Bishop Marik, hand over information about Evangeline, and demand his own safety. Bishop Marik would notice Evangeline’s strangeness and put her on the stage of the sacrificial ceremony to execute her.

Wouldn’t the Viscount’s testimony be quite helpful for that purpose? Testimony that could drive Evangeline Rohanson further into a corner. If such terrible stories came from the mouth of someone considered her real father, they would have great credibility.

When Muzeta left, he stationed a maid to monitor whether the Viscount actually met with Evangeline and what they discussed.

“Viscount. Your daughter isn’t even a demon, so why are you so frightened?”

The maid Muzeta had left behind asked the Viscount fearlessly. The Viscount couldn’t treat the maid with the same authority he used with the servants of the viscount’s house. Partly because she was a maid from the Imperial Court, but the more he looked at her, the more unusual she seemed. There was her facial scar, and she emanated an intimidating presence that couldn’t be underestimated.

“My daughter’s crimes are great, so I fear the consequences might reach me too.”

So the Viscount answered politely despite the maid’s sarcastic tone.

“Crimes? You mean the circulating rumors? Are they actually true? The rumors say Lady Rohanson came back to life. I also heard stories that you brought someone who closely resembled your daughter to act as her double.”

The maid was even well-versed in rumors. The Viscount, who had acted like a loving father and daughter with Evangeline to quell false rumors, frowned. If he had known Evangeline would be branded a witch, he wouldn’t have put on such an act.

The Duke had no intention of giving detailed explanations to a maid, not even to Bishop Marik. This information was the Viscount’s lifeline, after all. But he could answer one thing.

“Brought someone? A double? That is unmistakably Evangeline Rohanson. There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize her.”

Unlike the stupid servants of the manor and other people who couldn’t tell, Viscount Rohanson knew well. When he faced that thing again after it rose from the funeral. Viscount Rohanson recalled his first encounter with his ‘daughter.’

***

“Darling. This is our daughter.”

One day, Viscount Rohanson met Evangeline, who was said to be his daughter.

The daughter called Evangeline was a three-year-old child holding her mother’s hand. Actually, the Viscount initially mistook her for a doll that looked exactly like Amaranth, thinking Amaranth had gone mad and brought it.

His first thought was that it must have cost quite a bit of money to make. Only when the red eyes rolled around did he realize it was alive.

Except for the red eyes, her face was the spitting image of Amaranth. Unless someone was blind, no one would doubt they were blood relatives. However, she wasn’t the Viscount’s blood relative. That thing was not his child. The Viscount could tell immediately.

Viscount Rohanson initially thought Amaranth had committed adultery. In his rage, he immediately went to the Duke. He told the Duke that he had a promiscuous woman for a daughter and got slapped. He came back and took out his anger on Amaranth.

Perhaps to verify the truth of what the Viscount had said, Amaranth exchanged letters with the Duke several times about Evangeline. Then one day she declared that she had severed ties with her family. When the Viscount heard this, he asked:

“What? You severed ties with the Hosaquin ducal house? Are you in your right mind?”

The Viscount couldn’t understand Amaranth. She was giving up the ducal house’s enormous inheritance and lofty honor just because of ‘that thing’?

The Evangeline the Viscount saw was a premature child. The three-year-old couldn’t speak properly and showed no emotions, neither laughing nor crying.

Instead of taking care of her husband, she severed ties with the Hosaquin ducal house for such a deficient child of unknown origin. Amaranth was no longer useful even as a connection to the Duke. It was natural that the Viscount became even more distant from Amaranth.

He shouldn’t have chosen Amaranth as his wife! The wrong choice had even created a child with no blood connection.

The Viscount found Evangeline detestable. Instead of becoming a connection through blood ties with the Duke! He couldn’t stand the fact that the prosperity of Rohanson that he had built would be inherited by that thing.

Other nobles he associated with advised the Viscount to have another child. However, the Viscount didn’t want to sleep with Amaranth, nor did he want to commit adultery as basely as Amaranth, contrary to noble propriety.

The Viscount found the sight of the mother and daughter so repulsive that he went down to his estate alone. If he had business that brought him to the capital, he would find other lodgings instead of staying at the Rohanson manor.

Time passed this way, and exactly seven years ago from now, he came up to the capital in joy upon hearing that Amaranth was critically ill. Amaranth was dying of disease. They said holy water was useless and her death was imminent.

Next to the wasting Amaranth was a child who, unlike before, was lively. The Viscount was shocked. If not for her appearance, he wouldn’t have recognized her as the same child.

The child by Amaranth’s side looked innocent and pure. She was lovely. Even the servants working in the viscount’s house looked at the child fondly. To think this was Evangeline, who had been like a corpse back then. When the Viscount expressed his amazement, Amaranth boasted about the child she had raised.

“She’s a child who loves me. Isn’t she beautiful?”

The Viscount found Amaranth’s words strange. Moreover, Amaranth’s attitude toward the child was also suspicious. She didn’t seem like a simple parent treating her daughter.

Amaranth loved her child. Beyond devotion, her unwavering, absolute love felt almost like faith.

Observers called them ‘such a loving mother and daughter,’ but the Viscount found their maternal love disgusting.

The meaning of Amaranth’s strangely eerie words could only be understood after Amaranth died. After her mother’s death, Evangeline began to waste away. She became listless as if she had lost her purpose in life, like someone with a terminal illness just waiting to die. The Viscount thought Evangeline would soon follow Amaranth.

So it was truly remarkable that Evangeline lasted seven years. Evangeline finally died following Amaranth. Since God wouldn’t take her life, she hanged herself from the cherry blossom tree that Amaranth had cherished in life.

The Viscount felt liberated. Not making cherry blossom liqueur to toast with was the Viscount’s final consideration.

But betraying the Viscount’s expectations, that thing opened its eyes again at the festival-like funeral.

The foolish servants of the manor made a fuss, insisting their young lady had definitely been switched, but the Viscount knew. That thing looked exactly like Evangeline before she was influenced by Amaranth.

The brilliant color reminded one of red gems. The mineral-like pupils looked exactly like crafted glass beads. It was eerily unmatched, clearly dead yet moving alive.

However, if one reached out, contrary to expectation, they would feel a soft texture and the moist mucus on the surface. Only then would they remember that the red color was not a gem but the hue of living blood.

The Viscount felt as if their eyes met again.

It wasn’t his imagination. On the wall of the room where the Viscount was staying, an eye ‘blinked’ closed and opened. Those eyes, the eyes that had made the Viscount flee from the Rohanson manor. The Viscount felt as if his breath had stopped. His mind went completely blank. His breathing became rapid.

Just as he was about to lose consciousness, the eye immediately disappeared without a trace. The frozen Viscount barely managed to catch his breath.

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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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