My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 19

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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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Kanna continued listening to Gabriel’s explanations about how the situation was unfolding due to the young lady’s orders.

While Hena focused on the conversation, she also eagerly looked around the Grand Temple. Her mindset was wondering when she’d ever get to see such a place again.

The building’s exterior had been splendid, but the interior was twice as luxurious. Stained glass windows shining with five-colored light each depicted a passage from the scriptures, and sculptures of the Sun God Rahel were placed throughout.

The visitors who came to pray were mostly nobles, and the priests guiding them were dressed in equally magnificent attire. The priests she occasionally saw doing volunteer work in the slums all wore simple, unadorned clothing, but did the priests here dress lavishly because they served nobles?

Or did they deliberately wear modest clothes in the slums to avoid jealousy? No, that seemed like thinking too negatively.

“Madam, thank you for always gracing us with your presence. May the sunlight always shine upon you.”

Still, their greetings weren’t different. May the sunlight shine upon you. Hena silently repeated their greeting to herself.

Following the carpet inside, they found a small but very ornate fountain in the Main Hall.

‘Aren’t fountains usually placed outdoors?’

The indoor fountain seemed awkward, so she kept glancing at it, when she saw a noble lady with a priest approach the fountain. The lady then cupped the fountain water in her hands and moistened her lips.

This was the first time she’d seen a noble behave like that. Weren’t nobles the type to complain about dirtiness even when drinking washbasin water?

More than hygiene concerns, this was a temple fountain – was it even okay to drink that water? Since Hena had no way of knowing, she asked Gabriel for help.

“Is it okay to drink the water from that fountain?”

“Yes. It’s holy water.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s holy water. That is.”

Holy water? Hena was reminded anew that this was the Grand Temple. Right, holy water is made in temples, so it’s natural for holy water to be here. But why in fountain form?

Watching the endlessly flowing holy water made her feel somehow shadowed, and Hena unconsciously gripped Kanna’s hand tightly. Seeing someone quench their thirst right before her eyes seemed to make her thirsty too. Though Kanna’s hand was being squeezed, she seemed to understand Hena’s feelings and quietly endured it.

“It’s not open to all visitors. As you can see, there are knights guarding it. It’s a privilege given to patrons who donate generously.”

Gabriel said this and added that most people who entered the Grand Temple were nobles anyway.

“It’s a performance to show the temple’s prosperity.”

Gabriel explaining this seemed very cold. Hena pondered his words. Did he mean that while accepting nobles as customers, the temple wanted to maintain superiority by making them do things nobles would never normally do?

But wasn’t that rather distrustful for words from a temple knight? Calling believers customers… Hena suddenly realized she’d never heard a prayer greeting from Gabriel. Of course, if he was Sir Gabriel, he might avoid such greetings out of consideration for others.

Unable to find an answer, Hena remained silent and followed behind Gabriel.

Past the central fountain, she could see a crowd gathered somewhere. That must be where the painting is hung.

“Let me say first that people’s reactions to that painting are split in opposite directions. One side finds it very beautiful, while the other finds it unpleasant.”

Without needing further explanation, she could tell Gabriel belonged to the latter group.

And finally, Hena arrived in front of the painting.

***

‘Was it burned in a fire?’

The canvas was filled with such dull, ashen colors that she could momentarily mistake it for being covered in ash. It was a painting that didn’t suit the pristine white and colorfully brilliant Grand Temple. It was like a drop of ink falling into clear water.

And the moment Hena looked closely at the painting, nausea rose up from her disgust. God’s blessing? Sacred? This? This painting? She doubted the aesthetic sense of people who praised this pile of filth. She wondered if their eyes weren’t functioning properly.

Even depicting the end of the most wretched person would be more beautiful than this. No, rather, even the scene of Donau’s suicide from before would have been better.

Against the backdrop of a wooden floor in a collapsed building that looked like fire had just been extinguished, a cracked lump of charcoal with only a torso and no limbs was screaming. Above its head, a blood-soaked single eye blinked, and from behind, countless tiny hands emerging from hellfire tried to devour the dead. The reason it looked like wings was because the small fingers were intertwined and tangled, appearing like feathers at first glance.

Did the believers know that Donau’s end was suicide? According to the Sun God’s doctrine that they so fervently believed in, those who committed suicide could never be embraced by Rahel. Therefore, this was a scene from hell that had come to receive Donau.

“Oh Rahel.”

“Please grant us salvation too.”

Hena wanted to cover her ears. Were these people really followers of the Sun God? Even Hena, who held a grudge against Donau, felt sorry for the Donau in that painting – how could they look at this and praise it?

“Indeed. It’s beautiful.”

“Kanna?”

And unfortunately, Kanna also seemed to find the painting beautiful.

“It seems to look different to Miss Kanna. I find that painting quite unpleasant. Miss Hena would feel the same.”

Hena nodded. It was nauseating beyond just unpleasant.

So Kanna finds this painting beautiful. Looking around, the people viewing the painting were staring at the canvas in a daze as if they’d taken drugs.

What magic had the artist who painted this cast to create such an ambivalent painting?

Hena realized why this painting was still hanging in the temple. The polarized reactions would only make the painting seem more mysterious. No matter how much you told the truth to someone who found that painting beautiful, it would only seem like an attempt to disparage the painting.

“What could be the difference?”

“Well. They say it’s a difference in faithfulness.”

That couldn’t be right. Kanna, who found the temple uncomfortable, had called the painting beautiful.

“Captain!”

“Rafaela?”

“Where have you been! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“Wait a moment. Could you two wait here briefly? It seems urgent, so I need to go to my subordinate for a moment.”

“Yes. We’ll wait here.”

A knight in white uniform urgently sought out Gabriel from afar. When Gabriel asked for a moment’s understanding, Hena nodded. She wanted to hurry and leave this place, but since Kanna was staring at the painting in a trance, she couldn’t leave here alone anyway.

Even after Gabriel disappeared, Kanna had been admiring the painting with a smile for quite a while when she suddenly broke the silence and spoke.

“Sister, does that painting look different to you? Those patterns look just like eyes to me.”

Kanna turned her back to the painting and looked at Hena. Due to the exquisite angle, it looked like wings were spread behind Kanna’s back.

Hena held her breath. Goosebumps rose along her spine and arms. Her stomach tensed and her legs went weak. Tinnitus rang in her ears and the world spun around.

No way, that can’t be.

Eyes? What Kanna said wasn’t different from what Hena had seen. Then Kanna was.

‘Kanna called what I saw beautiful?’

“Kanna, you…”

Hena wanted to confront Kanna. But what could she say to her sister? That you’re not normal? She couldn’t say such hurtful words to a child who had been sick all her life and could finally smile now.

While she was choosing her words, seeing Gabriel approaching after finishing his business, Hena urgently whispered in a hushed voice.

“Don’t tell Sir Gabriel that you see eyes. You just feel that painting is sacred. Understand?”

Since the temple people also considered the painting sacred, that wouldn’t be a problem. But Kanna’s case was different. Unlike others, Kanna recognized that holy painting as ‘eyes’ while still calling it beautiful.

Normal people don’t call eyeballs torn from humans beautiful.

When Hena urged her like this, Kanna obediently nodded. Hena finally decided to accept the truth she had long suspected but couldn’t believe.

Kanna was broken somewhere.

Whether it was after being kidnapped by Donau or after meeting the young lady, she wasn’t sure. Perhaps it had been that way since childhood, hidden by her sickly condition.

“Thank you for waiting.”

“Not at all. I lost track of time looking at the painting.”

“That’s fortunate then.”

What was fortunate was that looking at it this way, you couldn’t sense anything particularly strange about Kanna. Moreover, wasn’t Kanna receiving the young lady’s favor? To stay by the young lady’s side, it might be better to leave things as they were.

Even as Hena reached this conclusion, she wondered if all of this was just rationalization because she couldn’t face her sister.

Of course, the contemplation was brief. Just as in the past she had ultimately joined hands with the cat-like monster, Hena’s choices were always for her sister.

“But why did they call you just now? Is it related to that painting?”

While Hena was composing herself, the two continued their conversation. Gabriel nodded at Kanna’s question.

“My subordinate just said they’ve secured a witness.”

“A witness?”

“Yes. Someone who was at the monastery…”

“If it’s about the painting, shouldn’t I be allowed to hear about it too?”

When Gabriel hesitated to speak, Kanna asked. Gabriel seemed to consider for a moment, then decided to bring along the two people related to Donau’s case.

“I had them taken to the drawing room first, so let’s hear the details together.”

Having seen the painting, there was no more reason to stay in the temple. Hena also wanted to get away from the vicinity of that ominous painting as quickly as possible, so she quickened her pace.

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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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