My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 197

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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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The Duke discovered me and greeted me, while the servants beside him bowed their heads. Perhaps because they were in front of the Duke, they seemed more disciplined than usual.

“Grandfather, Grandmother. Did you both sleep well? It’s a lovely day.”

I greeted them gracefully. I thought he would comment on my dress, but the Duke just frowned and kept his mouth tightly shut without making any other remarks.

Of course, his eyes and jaw were tense with strength, cursing me with his expression… Still, it was better that he didn’t say it out loud. In the past, a wine glass would have already come flying. Now that I think about it, even that is a memory.

Agera spoke on behalf of the Duke.

“It suits you very well.”

“Thank you.”

It seemed Agera’s purpose wasn’t simply to compliment my clothes. She glanced at me and hesitated, as if she had more to say. Since she kept hesitating for so long, I let out a small sigh. What on earth was she trying to say that required such deliberation…

“Do you have something to say to me?”

Since the carriage would depart soon, I couldn’t wait and made the first move. Agera hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and asked very carefully.

“Could I… could I hug you just once?”

“…”

“I still feel bitter about not being able to say a proper goodbye to Amaranth. Don’t misunderstand. I’m not treating you as a substitute for Amaranth…”

When I didn’t respond, Agera added excuses as if making justifications. Eventually, Agera bowed her head deeply.

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to say a proper goodbye this time either.”

The quietly added sincerity felt heavy. …Those words were right. If things went wrong, this could be the last moment I’d see Agera.

It was fortunate that I had entrusted the rat connected to Rico’s consciousness to Pudding. If Rico had heard this conversation, the demon sleeping within her might have stirred with jealousy.

“Grandmother.”

When I called her, Agera’s head, which had been looking at the floor, lifted again. When I spread my arms, Agera immediately pulled me into a tight embrace. Since Agera was smaller than me, it looked more like I was embracing her instead.

“Take, take care.”

Agera hugged me with all her strength, then clung tightly as if overflowing with reluctance and not wanting to let go. Yet what she said was a farewell wishing me well.

I thought I heard her faintly say ‘Amaranth…’ but perhaps it was my imagination. I must have mistaken the sound of her quiet sobbing.

I didn’t reproach Agera. After that, Agera separated from me.

“Take care, Evangeline.”

This time it was purely words meant for me. She must have been continuously troubled by not being able to say a proper farewell to Amaranth. Agera smiled brightly with a face from which the shadows had lifted. Though she was covered in tears, she looked more relieved than any expression I’d seen before.

“Go on now.”

The Duke, who had been silent beside us, spoke. The Duke looked at me and Agera with distant eyes as if recalling memories for a brief moment, then turned his head away. Perhaps he had thought of Amaranth.

After saying farewell to Agera, the Duke was the first to board the carriage.

Since I had already discussed many things about the sacrifice ritual with the Duke, there was nothing more to talk about. We had already agreed beforehand to keep our distance at the temple.

Just as I was about to board the carriage, Kanna called out to me with a desperate tone.

“Miss…”

When Kanna asked to be hugged tightly too, I sighed and did as she wished.

“I want to go with you too…”

“Kanna.”

“Yes. I know. I know that if I went, I would only be dangerous…”

Kanna’s voice was full of moisture. I tried to wipe away her tears, but Kanna shook her head.

“Don’t look. I only want to show you my smiling face…”

Kanna whined. She didn’t want to show me her crying face… after crying countless times already. When I patted her back, Kanna sniffled even more pitifully. Was the person standing in front of me actually Mabuka instead of Kanna?

“Sniff… You must completely destroy Bishop Marik and come back.”

Five-year-old Kanna muttered. The harsh vocabulary and desperate attitude looked exactly like someone seeing off a person going to war.

The servants of the Duke’s household, who thought their grandfather and granddaughter were simply attending an event hosted by the temple, would probably wonder why they were having such a sorrowful farewell.

“Yes. I’ll cut off his head and bring it as a gift. Since he wears a white veil, it would be nice to stuff and display it as decoration.”

Don’t they usually cut off the heads of opposing faction leaders in war? When I spoke with exaggeration, Kanna nodded vigorously. She didn’t seem scared even though I said I’d cut off a head. As expected of an evil woman’s maid, she had strong nerves.

Receiving Kanna’s desperate farewell, I also boarded the carriage prepared for me.

As if waiting for me to board, the Duke’s carriage finally departed. What a tsundere. My carriage soon followed with a rattling sound.

Gabriel, who had boarded first with Pudding’s help and was waiting, slightly nodded his head in greeting.

“Count, good morning.”

“Yes, Evangeline. Did you have good dreams last night?”

“Thanks to you.”

Thanks to Gabriel, I slept deeply without even dreaming and was in very good condition. Last night I had been very nervous and my heart was racing, but today I was actually quite calm and peaceful.

“I’m glad the Viscountess has recovered.”

“Since she had a major illness once, she’ll have built immunity and won’t get sick again in the future.”

Since Agera had accepted Amaranth’s death, she wouldn’t dabble in dark magic anymore.

“Most of all, I’m glad to see the family getting along so well.”

Gabriel smiled with curved eyes. The one who looked good wasn’t this dysfunctional family, but his side. I only replied inwardly.

Gabriel was wearing the knight’s dress uniform that Misha had gifted him. As expected, the measurements seemed to fit Gabriel perfectly. She must have made the clothes according to the measurements taken during the last birthday celebration.

It was hard to believe that Misha had put so much care into making clothes that were completed without even a fitting. Well, my dress was the same.

Even though Gabriel hadn’t dressed up specially, he looked as if he had prepared with great care.

“It suits you well.”

“It’s what I always wear.”

Gabriel curved the corners of his eyes slightly and showed modesty.

“Isn’t Kanna coming with us?”

“It would be dangerous.”

It was too obvious a fact that I was weak when it came to Kanna. If I brought Kanna along, what would be different from handing Bishop Marik my weakness to exploit?

Actually, I had wanted to send Kanna away with the people evacuating from the Rohanson Estate. But Kanna said she would never leave my side even if it killed her, and asked to at least wait at the Duke’s mansion, so I respected her opinion.

“You care for Kanna very much.”

“I care for Count Gabriel too, so don’t be jealous.”

After saying it carelessly, I thought ‘oh no.’ I made a mistake. Because I had just come from comforting Kanna, I had responded to Gabriel as easily as I would to Kanna.

“Th, thank you…”

What on earth was he thanking me for? Gabriel couldn’t even make eye contact with me and turned his head away. The glimpses I caught of his nape and ears were flushed red. I felt embarrassed along with him.

Somehow the inside of the carriage seemed hot, so I opened the window. Until Pudding came in through the open window, no words were exchanged inside the carriage.

Pudding spat out a rat onto the floor with a ‘peh.’ The rat that had been lying as if dead began to perk up its ears.

“Did you see Mabuka well?”

The rat nodded its head vigorously. Its whiskers trembled wildly.

Rico had asked to see Mabuka sleeping, so Pudding had just returned from making the delivery. Pudding, who had been in cat form to avoid others’ eyes, immediately returned to human form and picked up the rat again.

The rat struggled against the rough handling, then stopped resisting and went limp. After Pudding left the rat alone, she leaned against me and acted cute.

While I played with Pudding, Gabriel kept looking only at the scenery outside. At this point, it wasn’t embarrassment but maybe there was just something interesting outside? I also turned my gaze and was startled.

“There are so many people.”

Was the sacrifice ritual a more famous event than I thought? There were two or three times more people than usual and it was much more chaotic. Even if a triumphant general were parading, there probably wouldn’t be this many people.

“Um… Evangeline. It looks like it will take some time to reach the temple.”

Due to the crowds, the carriage’s speed gradually slowed. The coachman asked for understanding, saying there would be delays.

The closer we got to the Grand Temple, the more bustling the streets became. The carriages of nobles attending the sacrifice ritual were also mixed in, creating a rush hour like no other. It seemed it would take quite a while to reach the temple.

***

“Ah, Lady Rahel!”

“Lady Rahel, please let my business prosper this year.”

“Sun God, please let my sick son rise from his sickbed…”

The coachman nervously tapped his foot at the murmuring created by the tangle of people’s prayers.

“You, vermin! Get out of the way!”

The desperate prayers calling upon the Sun God were drowned out by the coachman’s curses. The coachman had become quite fierce because the path to the Grand Temple with his precious passengers was overflowing with obstacles. The hand gripping the reins was clenched tight, veins standing out.

The capital on the day of the sacrifice ritual was extremely bustling. First, the nobles invited to the sacrifice ritual had come up, and peddlers targeting them as customers also moved quickly.

The temple provided relief for commoners who couldn’t participate in the event, and people aiming for that also flocked, creating a thriving scene.

Even without such purposes, devout commoners also visited the Grand Temple for prayer. Although they were blocked by Holy Knights and couldn’t enter, they wanted to feel like they were participating in the ceremony from outside.

“They’ll get trampled to death while praying.”

The coachman clicked his tongue.

It was common sense not to cut in front of nobles’ carriages. How many people got kicked by horses and crushed under wheels?

Normally, as soon as horses neighed, the path would clear completely, but with so many people and no control, driving the horses was arduous. There were so many people blocking the road that they couldn’t just trample over them, so the carriage rolled slowly.

“You there.”

A quiet call was heard. The coachman immediately bowed his head.

“Don’t speak so harshly. Isn’t this a good day? We should all enjoy it together.”

“Ah, yes. Your Grace. You are truly magnanimous.”

The coachman bowed and scraped with a sheepish grin at the voice that seemed generous yet strangely overbearing, then ground his teeth at the commoners who had caused him to hear unnecessary words.

The person the coachman served was none other than Duke Baal himself. Worried about causing any accidents, he had spent days and nights managing the carriage and horses, preparing thoroughly.

But he had shown an unsightly appearance to such an exalted person when he should have shown only his best. Would he be dismissed for this? Unnecessary worries filled his mind, making him anxious.

While the coachman was lost in pointless concerns, Rafaela spoke sarcastically to her mother.

“What a magnanimous noble indeed. As expected of Duke Baal, the pillar of the kingdom.”

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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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