My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 195

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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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“Is this Count Gabriel’s clothing?”

“Yes. It looks like the Knight Order’s dress uniform.”

On the shoulder epaulettes, a lion carrying the sun—the Temple’s symbol—was embroidered on its back.

“Miss, there’s also a card here.”

Inside the box was a card with a memo written on it. Kanna struggled to read the card, then shook her head and handed it to me.

The handwriting was a mess, as if Misha had written it while dozing off. Kanna seemed to have given up reading it since she couldn’t quickly decipher scrawled letters yet. The writing was so messy it showed how frantic she was, yet the clothes didn’t have a single wrinkle—a testament to Misha’s professional spirit.

To Evangeline,

Thank you for visiting our boutique Arte.

I hope the dress you entrusted to me meets your discerning taste. And if my skills happen to catch your eye, might I ask a small favor?

The garment enclosed with this is an outfit prepared for my younger brother. However, since my brother will not be attending the sacrifice ceremony, the clothes have become useless.

Since there’s no one to wear these clothes, they should rightfully be disposed of, but I cannot bring myself to do it with my own hands, so I’m taking the liberty of asking you, my lady. Please dispose of them as you see fit.

I hope the employees delivering this gift on my behalf won’t commit the blunder of reading the card or such.

Then, may you be the most radiant person tomorrow.

From Madam Artemisia

The card stated that this was originally an outfit prepared for Michel, but since her brother wouldn’t be attending, the clothes had become useless, so please dispose of them accordingly.

I naturally smiled at Misha’s lie. Michel was smaller in height and build than Gabriel. Since the measurements were different from Gabriel’s to begin with, this uniform was made for Gabriel from the start.

She couldn’t explain to the employees, so she would have had to work on Gabriel’s clothes alone. Not only making my dress but also Gabriel’s uniform—even with two bodies, there wouldn’t have been enough time. No wonder she collapsed.

“There was a reason Misha didn’t explain the contents to her employees.”

When I explained the card’s contents, Kanna said with an exclamation mark floating above her head. As she said, Misha probably didn’t inform the other employees about Gabriel’s whereabouts.

Using Rafaela as an excuse and employing polite language unlike her usual self was probably a precaution in case the employees opened the box.

No one would have believed it even if they read it. But from what I could see, the employees truly didn’t know the box’s contents, so Misha’s trust was rewarded.

I was just contemplating whether to go deliver the clothes to Gabriel.

The sound of knocking came from outside. There was also a faint mumbling sound. When I listened carefully, it sounded like a child’s voice.

“Mabuka?”

“Mabuka? I’ll go check!”

Kanna hurriedly opened the door. In front of the door, as expected, stood a small child with tears welling up in her eyes.

“Mabuka, what’s wrong?”

“Ka, Kanna! The mean cat took away my mouse!”

When Kanna asked in surprise and urgency, Mabuka buried her nose in Kanna’s skirt and tattled on Pudding. I wondered why she was crying so pitifully—apparently Pudding had robbed Mabuka of her mouse before going out for a meal.

Kanna, who knew the situation, hesitated, unable to scold Pudding.

When we were at the Duke’s mansion, we usually left the mouse with Mabuka, but Pudding always took the mouse with him whenever he went out.

It wasn’t mere spite, but because he was secretly worried about Mabuka. Right now Rico had control so it was safe, but if control was stolen again and the ‘mouse’ pretended to be Rico, Mabuka would be in danger.

Of course, to Mabuka, Pudding was just a bad cat who stole away her means of communicating with her mother.

“Kanna… Could you scold the cat and tell him to give the mouse back to Mabuka? Please?”

Mabuka was acting spoiled and clinging to Kanna like a cicada. I’d never seen such a large cicada before. But why did Mabuka come alone?

“Mabuka, where’s Hazel?”

At my question, Mabuka pressed her lips tightly shut. While Rico was away, Hazel usually took care of the child. There was no one in the ducal family who knew the inside story as well as Hazel. I had specifically told the Duke to relieve Hazel of her other duties, so Hazel could now be considered Mabuka’s nanny.

But Mabuka often ran away from Hazel to come find Kanna. Unlike Kanna, who indulged all of Mabuka’s whims, Hazel nagged a lot despite her gentle nature.

But all of that was loving advice for Mabuka’s sake…

It seemed she had snuck out alone without Hazel knowing this time too. By now, Hazel was probably searching for Mabuka with tears in her eyes. Soon Hazel would come looking for Mabuka.

However, even after Kanna had coaxed and soothed Mabuka until the child stopped crying, Hazel was nowhere to be seen.

“Hazel is late…”

When Kanna mentioned this, Mabuka’s body stiffened. It was proof that something was bothering her. Noticing this, Kanna questioned Mabuka about why she was acting strange. Mabuka rolled her eyes around hesitantly before confessing honestly.

“Actually… I told Hazel that I don’t need her anymore…”

Despite our efforts to console her, the tears started flowing again. Through her tears and sniffles, Mabuka explained the situation, which was roughly this:

When Pudding took the mouse, Mabuka had complained about it to Hazel for a long time. Hazel, who would normally comfort the child without question when she was fussing, had said something scary—that she wouldn’t be able to see the mouse anymore.

Mabuka was shocked that Hazel, who had never raised her voice, was angry, and on top of the grief that her connection to her mother—the mouse—had disappeared, she declared she was cutting ties with Hazel before coming to find Kanna and me.

Actually, I could understand Hazel’s position. Hazel was the person who directly witnessed Rico devouring the mouse. The ‘mouse’ probably remained as a trauma for Hazel. How anxious must she have been watching Mabuka talk to Rico through the mouse?

She had even asked me directly when I would stop letting Mabuka handle the mouse. Her worry was evident, so I honestly told her it would be until the sacrifice ceremony. Her words about not seeing the mouse again probably stemmed from what I had told her.

“Hazel was mean.”

Kanna took Mabuka’s side and comforted the child. But Mabuka shook her head instead.

“No. Mabuka was wrong too…”

What a admirable child. Kanna looked at Mabuka as if she wanted to eat her up, then pulled the child into a tight embrace.

“If Mabuka apologizes, Hazel will say she’s sorry too.”

“Really?”

“Of course. She’s probably waiting for Mabuka to come back right now.”

Mabuka hesitated, unable to immediately suggest going back to Hazel.

“But Mabuka said she doesn’t need Hazel anymore?”

“Hazel is an adult. Adults all know that Mabuka said something she didn’t mean.”

“I see…”

As Kanna patted her back and gently soothed her, Mabuka stopped crying and calmed down. Moreover, having exhausted her energy, she became drowsy and even started nodding off. Of course, she forced her eyes wide open, thinking she needed to go apologize to Hazel.

“I need to say sorry to Hazel… Mabuka wants to go now.”

Mabuka swayed with her eyes half-closed, so Kanna quickly picked up the child. Kanna hesitated between Mabuka and me before speaking.

“Miss, I’ll take Mabuka back and return.”

Kanna said she would leave Mabuka with Hazel and come back, but returning seemed unlikely.

How could Mabuka be the only one with hurt feelings? The fact that Hazel, who would normally have come looking for the child by now, still hadn’t shown up suggested she was quite angry too.

She probably wasn’t unaware of Mabuka’s whereabouts all this time, but perhaps avoided coming because she was afraid she’d say more harsh words if she saw her face. If Kanna went to Hazel, she’d probably just ask her to take care of Mabuka for today.

“Kanna. You take care of Mabuka today.”

“What? But…”

“Hazel needs time to collect herself too.”

No matter how much Mabuka didn’t mean what she said, Hazel must have been hurt inside. When I explained this, Kanna nodded.

“True… I think I’d cry for days if you told me I wasn’t needed, Miss.”

In the end, Kanna decided to let Mabuka sleep in her room. When I said it was late and Kanna should go rest too, she nodded but her eyes were full of reluctance as she looked at me. Since tomorrow was the sacrifice ceremony, Kanna had probably planned to stay close by my side today.

“Then I’ll come early tomorrow morning. Miss, have a good night and dream of me!”

Kanna left the room, patting Mabuka.

I wondered how to explain to Mabuka, but she had fallen asleep in the meantime. It must have been the human warmth. She seemed to feel secure in Kanna’s arms.

Unlike Daisy, Kanna didn’t have younger siblings, yet she was so good at caring for young children. She explained that she was just doing what she had been cared for with, which showed how devoted Hena had been to Kanna during her illness.

I still couldn’t understand why Hena, who had been so devoted and never refused to care for her sister, had fallen for Bishop Marik’s whispers and betrayed Kanna and me.

Even thinking about it dozens of times now wouldn’t lead to a conclusion. I could ask when I met Hena again. Deciding this, I pushed away my thoughts.

Now then, I should… go deliver the clothes.

I took a candlestick and headed to Gabriel’s room.

As expected, Gabriel was once again sitting quietly in his dark room, gazing out the window. Gabriel sensed my presence and turned his gaze toward me.

“Did I interrupt your contemplation?”

“Not at all.”

Gabriel took the candlestick I had brought. When he transferred the flame to other candles, the room filled with flickering light. The candlestick, having served its purpose, was placed on the table.

“I heard a child crying.”

“You heard that?”

“The nights are particularly quiet.”

Gabriel lowered his eyes slightly. His hearing was quite good. I explained to Gabriel why Mabuka had come to visit.

After hearing the whole story, Gabriel looked somewhat guilty.

Since Rico, Mabuka’s mother, was currently imprisoned in my place, he seemed to feel responsible. Even though I had ordered it and Rico had accepted it, Gabriel didn’t need to feel guilty.

“You have a weakness for young children, my lady.”

“Me?”

Kanna was the one having a hard time, wasn’t she? Me, weak with kids? Gabriel nodded and added.

“Yes. Didn’t you pay a lot of attention to the children at Ainoa Orphanage as well?”

Ainoa Orphanage—that was the orphanage where Daisy and Melek were.

But the children including Mary were Daisy’s siblings, and I had the guilt of separating Mabuka from her mother… When you think about it, these were deeply personal reasons, but did that prove I was weak with children?

Well, even so, I was simply practicing what I had been taught about being considerate to the elderly and frail.

Hearing such embarrassing praise that didn’t suit me made me feel awkward for no reason. To divert Gabriel’s attention, I figured I should accomplish the original purpose of my visit.

“Ah, actually, a gift has arrived for you, sir.”

“For me?”

I spoke with a joking tone as I handed over the box. Gabriel accepted it with a puzzled expression.

As soon as Gabriel opened the box, he seemed to recognize both the identity of the clothing and who had sent the gift.

When I handed him Misha’s card, Gabriel read the contents and smiled softly.

“Since it’s a gift from Misha, would you like to try it on?”

When I continued teasing him to the end, Gabriel asked “What?” as if he had misheard.

“It was originally Viscount Michel’s clothing, so the measurements might not fit properly.”

Of course, we both knew well that Misha’s words were an excuse, so my argument was nothing more than a pretext as well. Gabriel was quite flustered before realizing I was joking and let out a hollow laugh.

“My lady, you have an unexpectedly… mischievous side.”

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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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