My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 187

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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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“Lady Evangeline Rohanson! The Viscount said he’ll be coming soon.”

Just then, the maid I had imperiously dismissed earlier returned in high spirits. She seemed pleased that she could return with results and wouldn’t have to hear harsh words from me. When I nodded slightly and told her she had done well, she visibly brightened with joy.

Not long after the maid’s announcement, the door opened. Finally, Viscount Rohanson had arrived.

“Evangeline.”

The Viscount, who had been scanning the room, spotted me.

He looked much more gaunt than when I last saw him, and his thinness made his expression appear quite fierce. Yet his face was still remarkably handsome. That’s probably how he managed to seduce Amaranth despite having such a personality.

However, what immediately caught my attention was the maid following behind Viscount Rohanson.

‘Bishop Marik…’

The maid using the alias ‘Saraka’ was indeed the same maid I had briefly encountered at the Crown Prince’s birthday celebration. I never would have dreamed that the maid I saw then was Bishop Marik.

I could understand why Jeremiah had been so confused when he revealed Saraka’s true identity. When her face was covered by a veil showing only her lower features, I couldn’t have predicted this. The face revealed beneath the veil looked quite youthful, nowhere near what I’d expect of Bishop Marik’s age.

Anger suddenly surged within me. This was the person who had harmed Gabriel and Jelly. I felt like I might explode with indignation. I wanted to grab Bishop Marik by the collar right then and there, but I suppressed and endured it.

“I’d like to speak with Father alone.”

That meant I wanted her to leave. There was no way she couldn’t understand the implication, yet Bishop Marik showed no intention of giving us privacy. Instead of Bishop Marik, the Viscount cut off my words.

“Never mind. I don’t plan to talk for long anyway.”

Did he perhaps know she was Bishop Marik? I glanced at the Viscount. However, judging by the Viscount’s attitude, it was clear he didn’t know his companion was Bishop Marik.

Though the Viscount was being unusually kind to the maid, I could clearly see he still looked down on her as a subordinate.

Bishop Marik bowed in greeting and stood behind the sofa where the Viscount sat. I turned my eyes away and made an effort to focus my gaze only on the Viscount.

Nobles didn’t usually pay attention to maids. If I paid too much attention to Bishop Marik, it would be like advertising that I knew her true identity.

I convinced myself. I didn’t know that Saraka was Bishop Marik. I didn’t even know the name Saraka. The fact that Jeremiah had sent me a letter was a secret. I must not reveal to Bishop Marik that I knew the truth.

“Coming to bother your father by visiting suddenly without any notice.”

Fortunately, the Viscount made a despicable comment just in time to divert my attention. Thanks to that, I could turn my focus toward the Viscount.

“It seems you’ve also forgotten how to show proper manners in the meantime.”

“That can’t be. It’s good to see you after so long, Father.”

The Viscount complained that I was being lazy, sitting there motionless. I denied it and rose from my seat, grasping my dress hem and curtsying lightly in greeting.

When I sat back down, the Viscount finally looked satisfied. Even though I was the daughter he was going to sell to Bishop Marik, he apparently still wanted to receive a proper greeting. It was typical of someone obsessed with appearances.

When I thought about it, the Viscount was truly a peculiar person. Even knowing I wasn’t an ordinary person, he never tried to yield and always attempted to control me. Was he fearless?

“I’m glad you’re safe. I was worried Father might have been caught up in the fire at the manor.”

I deliberately provoked the Viscount while smiling brightly. When I spoke casually, the Viscount gulped nervously. Looking at this, he didn’t seem to have completely lost his fear.

The Viscount must have heard the rumors that I was the one who set fire to the manor. It would be stranger if he didn’t know who the culprit was when his own house had burned down. The Viscount flinched and rubbed his hands on his pants to wipe away sweat.

“…You have nothing but harsh words for your father.”

“As a child, it would be stranger if I didn’t worry about Father.”

When I emphasized the word ‘child,’ the Viscount furrowed his brow deeply. His expression resembled the Duke who had found me distasteful. Anyone watching might think the Viscount, not Amaranth, was the Duke’s son.

As expected, being the person directly involved, the Viscount seemed to know I wasn’t his biological daughter. My concerns about possibly being an illegitimate child weren’t unfounded after all.

“Why aren’t you returning to your estate and instead imposing on Viscount Hükel? The people of your estate must feel disappointed.”

“That’s not for you to worry about. I have business in the capital. I also need to attend the sacrifice ceremony soon.”

The Viscount pulled out a letter from inside his coat. It was the same invitation letter for the sacrifice ceremony that the Duke had shown me.

“You came because of this letter, didn’t you?”

“Yes. I’m currently staying at Duke Hosaquin’s mansion, so I’m not sure why the correspondence went to Father. The temple’s intelligence network seems somewhat lacking.”

I sarcastically criticized the temple for Bishop Marik to hear. However, it wasn’t Bishop Marik who looked displeased, but the Viscount.

The Viscount clicked his tongue and threw the letter onto the table. The letter slid across the table and came to rest in front of me. I picked up the envelope, opened it, and pulled out the letter inside.

Invitation

As the merciful Sun God has bestowed grace and peace upon us

We wish to show our gratitude by holding a sacrifice ceremony as follows.

Please attend this meaningful occasion and

Grace us with your presence for great revival and development

To Lady Evangeline Rohanson

Had Gabriel and I been wrong in our expectations? The formal letter made no mention anywhere of asking me to serve as a sacrifice. Moreover, the content wasn’t different from the Duke’s letter I had already read.

As I was refolding the letter and putting it back in the envelope, I heard regular breathing.

“Father?”

I quickly looked up to see the Viscount with his eyes closed. His chest rose and fell rhythmically in small movements. From his breathing, he wasn’t dead.

Had the Viscount fallen asleep in the time it took me to read that short text? Falling asleep in that brief moment? That was definitely not normal.

“He must have been very tired. He probably relaxed after drinking tea.”

Bishop Marik, who had been looking down at the Viscount indifferently, suddenly spoke to me.

Tired, my foot. Do you think I’m an idiot? From her suspicious behavior, it was clear that Bishop Marik had used something like a sleeping drug to put the Viscount to sleep.

Since I had also drunk the tea the Viscount had consumed, she must have done something before coming to the drawing room.

The invitation was indeed bait. Using sleeping drugs on the Viscount left no room for doubt. The reason was obvious. Bishop Marik had put the Viscount to sleep because she had something to say to me.

I felt disgusted, as if I had been foolishly deceived by her trick. I deliberately picked up my teacup and took a sip of the completely cold tea.

“It seems to have no effect on me.”

If she was going to make excuses, she should have prepared plausible ones. The tea served at the viscount’s residence was black tea. That meant it contained caffeine.

“Is that so? How unfortunate.”

Bishop Marik replied shamelessly. Her eyes curved subtly, making me think this person couldn’t even smile properly.

“When I saw you before, you didn’t speak, so I thought you couldn’t make sounds.”

I brought up our previous encounter, recalling the memory of meeting ‘Saraka.’ ‘Saraka’s’ way of speaking was much more innocent than Bishop Marik’s, but knowing her true identity, they were quite similar upon closer examination. I could understand why she deliberately didn’t speak in the Imperial Capital.

“Do you remember me?”

“I remember meeting you at His Highness the Crown Prince’s birthday celebration. You don’t have a forgettable face.”

At my answer, Bishop Marik touched her face.

“Ah… I sometimes forget that my face looks like this.”

Knowing her identity, I could guess what she meant. Since she usually wore a veil pulled down low, she had no occasion to show her burn scars to others, so she hadn’t expected her bare face to be memorable.

“Are you someone sent by Bishop Marik?”

“I’m pleased you recognized me. Yes. Bishop Marik sent me.”

Bishop Marik bowed her head slightly in greeting. The bishop, supposedly God’s chosen one, had quite a light head. Bishop Marik referred to herself in third person without showing any sign of hesitation.

Rather than a bishop, she had acting skills that could put her on stage immediately.

Consequently, I, as her scene partner, felt like I had become an actor on stage in a farce. Both Bishop Marik and I had read the script, yet on stage we pretended to know nothing and proceeded with the play while putting on innocent airs.

If that was the case, Bishop Marik’s name would be written as the playwright of this script. Suddenly, the lights came on. Everything around us except Bishop Marik and me was consumed by darkness. I calmly delivered my lines.

Evangeline: (Staring intently at Saraka) You had the letter sent to Father to make me see you.

Saraka: (Admiringly) How clever you are. Yes, that’s right. Bishop Marik said he had something to tell Lady Evangeline Rohanson through me. (Pulling up the corners of her mouth)

Evangeline: He has something to tell me?

The only difference was that while Bishop Marik’s goal was to safely finish the play and bring down the curtain, I wanted to destroy the splendid stage she had undoubtedly prepared with great effort.

“What request does God’s chosen one have for me? Perhaps he wants to assign me the role of sacrifice?”

I stepped down from the stage Bishop Marik had prepared and asked.

The fact that the letter sent to me made no mention of the role of sacrifice was surely because she intended to make the proposal when we met in person.

Bishop Marik stood behind the Viscount and looked at me. Even though the Viscount was asleep, instead of sitting down, she spoke from behind him, which gave me insight into Bishop Marik’s nature of acting like a puppet master without stepping forward directly.

“You know well. Yes, Bishop Marik said he wanted to propose the role of sacrifice to Lady Evangeline Rohanson.”

The face looking back at me was expressionless, but only her eyes were intense. In Bishop Marik’s eyes, interest and fervor were tangled together like rags. They were eyes full of desire, unsuitable for a pure priest to possess.

“Bishop Marik is truly benevolent. To entrust me, whom he regards with suspicion, with such an important role.”

Of course, I had my own purposes, so I would inevitably participate in the sacrifice ceremony. However, I was displeased with accepting Bishop Marik’s proposal at face value.

My accepting that proposal and playing the role of sacrifice in the ceremony didn’t mean I would be dancing in Bishop Marik’s palm.

When I found fault with her words, Bishop Marik looked at me with narrowed eyes and spoke.

Saraka: (Looking at me with pity as if viewing a pitiful existence) What is truly benevolent is the Sun God. He has given even Lady Evangeline Rohanson a mission to fulfill.

It was a prescribed line, as if reciting predetermined words. Even the gaze directed at me was disgusting. I knew well that Bishop Marik despised heretics and didn’t even treat them as human.

Bishop Marik regarded me as something wicked, furthermore as a half-wit who wasn’t even human.

To Bishop Marik, who treated me as an enemy to be eliminated, I was probably nothing more than a device for the play’s highlight.

Using Bishop Marik as a negative example, I reflected on my past actions. Had I looked at Gabriel like that? How could Gabriel remain by my side after receiving such gazes?

Bishop Marik examined me as if appraising meat hanging in a slaughterhouse, then smiled slyly. It was an awkward smile, like someone who had never smiled before. Bishop Marik pointed at my dress and made a comment.

“There’s cat fur on 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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