My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 234

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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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Pudding is like a cheat code!

If he had been by my side, I would have wildly petted his head and showered him with kisses. Ah, but our Pudding is in his sensitive adolescent phase, so let’s skip the kisses.

Why did I stop the rain despite the risk of people getting hurt? It was all for this fire show. It would look strange to have flames blazing while it’s raining. Plus, I couldn’t burden Pudding with multitasking when he was already pushing himself.

Setting the fire was, of course, to unveil Bishop Marik’s veil. The harsh wind makes travelers bundle up in thicker clothes, but the blazing sun makes them shed their garments – roughly that kind of strategy.

Bishop Marik’s burn scars were quite famous. The veil that comes to mind when thinking of Bishop Marik was meant to hide those burn scars. Since he nearly died in flames, I naturally thought he’d have trauma. The result was successful.

His insistence on burning people to death might also be influenced by his own trauma – Bishop Marik was that vulnerable to fire. Losing his reason, screaming and flailing about were actions he would never have done if he were in his right mind.

It’s a cowardly act to exploit someone’s weakness, but so what? Bishop Marik has burned hundreds of people to death – how does that compare to me? There’s no need to feel guilty. I didn’t even actually burn him. Since the Bishop kept going on about hallucinations, I just gave him a proper taste of one.

I did worry about how to naturally start a fire without being obvious, since it couldn’t look like a real hallucination. While I was pondering this, someone threw a stone at Bishop Marik, so I quickly seized the opportunity.

In the end, the spark successfully unveiled Bishop Marik’s veil.

As expected, people who saw Bishop Marik’s face were quite puzzled. Bishop Marik also looked flustered since unveiling his veil wasn’t intentional.

I quickly rode the atmosphere and raised doubts about Bishop Marik’s youthful appearance.

Going further, when I suggested that his secret to maintaining youth might be devouring people like a demon, Bishop Marik made an expression as if he’d heard a ridiculous joke.

“Didn’t Evangeline just see me catch fire? If I were a demon, my body would have melted when holy water was poured to extinguish the flames.”

Bishop Marik retorted as if it were absurd.

His excuse was so exactly as I expected that I couldn’t contain my excitement and the corners of my mouth curled up. Bishop Marik looked puzzled, not expecting me to smile.

But how could I not laugh? The same repertoire should only work once or twice. Bishop Marik would obviously counter by saying he receives divine favor and whatnot, but did he think I made no preparations? Unfortunately, I do have something called learning ability.

I knew he’d come out like this again. I knew that when accused of being a demon, he’d inevitably use holy water as an example. Bishop Marik was someone who used holy water very effectively as a means to deal with demons. Plus, having trauma from fire, I figured he’d first think of the holy water that extinguished the flames covering his body.

But what to do? What I was aiming for from the beginning was the scars.

Continuously nitpicking only about his youthful-looking face was a ploy to prevent Bishop Marik from thinking of anything else.

Since he made all sorts of excuses defending himself, let’s see how he explains this too.

“If it’s holy water, then why do your wounds remain, Bishop?”

Finally realizing something strange was happening, cracks began to appear in Bishop Marik’s painted elegant face. Bishop Marik carefully felt his cracked face with trembling hands.

All that babbling and playing the fool was worth it. Bishop Marik must not have even suspected that his scars remained. He completely lost his composure to the double combo of Pudding’s hallucinations and my excellent verbal skills.

The hand touching his lips trembled like a leaf. He’s not a newborn fawn, so why is he shaking like that? Looking at him this way, the Bishop seemed quite fragile.

Sorry, but I have many mouths to feed, so I’m a savage who would even hunt young fawns. According to Jelly, venison tastes quite good. If I prepare it well and toss it to our house wolf, he’d come running with his tail wagging.

I could hear Bishop Marik’s mind working on how to escape from here.

Bishop Marik currently had two choices available.

First, answer that what the knights brought wasn’t holy water but ordinary water.

Since it’s not holy water, it’s natural that the scars wouldn’t disappear. However, when I accused him of being a demon, Bishop Marik countered using holy water as evidence. To now reverse and say it wasn’t holy water? Then he couldn’t avoid the murmurs wondering if he might really be a demon.

Besides, what the knights brought was real holy water, so I’d just need to prove that Bishop Marik was lying. Since Bishop Marik is now luxuriously soaked in holy water, just touching it to something like a wounded hand would immediately reveal it as holy water.

If he doesn’t like that, he can acknowledge it’s holy water and escape the demon accusation.

Instead, Bishop Marik would be called a ‘cursed one’ who has been stripped of Rahel’s blessing and is immune to holy water. Like Gabriel, and like Rider. Because of that one title gained from mere holy water, he’d have to endure all the world’s hardships and oppression. No wait, at least Bishop Marik has committed sins, so it wouldn’t be unfair.

I’d prefer Bishop Marik choose the latter.

The reputation he’d built up would be damaged and his title as God’s favorite would be stripped away. People would wildly speculate about how God’s favorite became cursed, and Bishop Marik would be left only with the tarnished infamy of wearing a veil and deceiving the temple with lies.

Ah, there’s one more. There was also a third option. Like always, accuse me of the fire being a hallucination again. This is undoubtedly true, but instead Bishop Marik himself would be reduced to a half-wit who was fooled by hallucinations. I wonder if the Bishop, who’s obsessed with reputation, can deny it as a hallucination again this time.

There’s no best option – only lesser evils and worst cases. Only Bishop Marik would know which is worse.

Now, choose what you want! I was enthusiastically hawking like a jade mat merchant, but my heartless customer gave no response.

Bishop Marik just glared at me with his mouth clamped shut, unable to say anything. He’s going to kill someone with just his eyes. With his veil removed, it became easier to make eye contact and read his inner thoughts. So he’s been glaring at me like this from under his veil all along.

I could hear Bishop Marik’s mind working hard from here. He seems to be looking for a way out, but what to do? I don’t have the talent for waiting patiently. Unfortunately, time’s up. I was curious about what Bishop Marik considered his worst and lesser evil options, but sadly I’ll have to find out next time.

“Since you won’t answer, Bishop, I’ll ask the knights.”

I turned my head toward the knights who brought the water. The knights jumped in surprise.

“Us? You mean us?”

Of course you, who else?

“Please, swear by the Sun God and answer truthfully. Is what you brought holy water?”

At my question, the knights looked troubled and their faces grew paler. They knew Bishop Marik’s status depended on their answer.

“It’s not, not holy water…”

“It is holy water.”

One knight firmly cut off the denial and answered. She glanced briefly at Harut and the people, then continued with a resolute expression.

“I will not utter a single lie under the sun. We ran out of water putting out the annex fire, so we brought holy water. It’s definitely holy water. There are people who can prove it! Those guarding the fountain are witnesses!”

Was she moved by what Harut said, or did seeing Bishop Marik’s bare face make her suspicious? Well, since she directly brought the holy water, she’d be more suspicious of Bishop Marik than anyone.

“I, I also cannot lie when God is watching.”

“That’s right. We brought holy water.”

Thanks to the first knight’s honesty, other knights also chimed in one by one. I didn’t expect the people who brought water to save Bishop Marik to be so honest. There must have been some who moved not just to curry favor with Bishop Marik, but simply for a person on fire.

“Thank you for answering honestly.”

I gave a slight nod and turned my eyes back to Bishop Marik. Wow, I thought he was a goblin. Why is he glaring at me like that? So answer quickly then.

“Then it’s definitely strange. The wounds don’t heal even with holy water… Ah, could it be that you’re cursed, Bishop? That’s why your wounds won’t heal.”

I chattered excitedly as if I’d made a great discovery. The joy of having gotten one over on Bishop Marik was so great that my elated mood just kept spilling out. People who had been focused on my words gasped and covered their mouths in shock.

“Gasp, cursed?”

“Bishop Marik is cursed?”

“Come to think of it… the fact that the Bishop doesn’t treat his burn scars might actually be because holy water simply doesn’t work on him…?”

They were busy adding flesh to the suspicions and bringing evidence among themselves. They’re doing perfectly well. I wanted to clap and cheer them on.

Everyone said they only had mouths, but these annoying things when they were enemies became quite helpful as allies.

Bishop Marik couldn’t just listen to the chaotic words directed at him and finally opened his mouth.

“Cursed? The ones who are cursed would be Evangeline and Count Gabriel!”

Though it was just deflecting arrows toward me and Gabriel. The Bishop is truly skilled at finding others’ weaknesses, if nothing else. That desperate struggle was so amusing I let out a small laugh.

“Why… are you laughing again?”

Bishop Marik asked through gritted teeth, looking disgusted.

“Because you’re stating the obvious, Bishop. Cursed? Count Gabriel is the sacrifice you chose, and I’m a demon, so isn’t it natural that we’re cursed? Listen to what people are talking about. What people are curious about isn’t us, but why you became cursed, Bishop.”

I clapped my hands as if just remembering and added.

“And also about that youthful appearance of yours.”

People’s gazes were now directed at Bishop Marik, not me. It’s not particularly strange that I, who already had terrible rumors circulating, would be a demon. But the news that none other than someone who boasted status rivaling the sun, a power holder who controlled the empire, was cursed would naturally feel much more intriguing.

Moreover, the subject of controversy was Bishop Marik. Even the nobles who had been watching from the sidelines would get involved since politics were entangled.

“Isn’t it too early to think you’ve beaten me? If I put my face and hands back into fire right now in front of them and show them being healed with holy water, the scandals about me will immediately subside.”

Someone with such severe fire trauma sure talks well. Bishop Marik wasn’t just keeping his mouth shut either. In fact, if he made wounds and poured holy water on them again, it would immediately be discovered that Bishop Marik wasn’t cursed.

But did he think I’d give him such an opportunity?

I approached Bishop Marik closely. However, unlike before, there were no knights blocking my path.

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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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