My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 258
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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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Moreover, with the Crown Prince’s departure as the turning point, the banquet was gradually winding down. Azazel clicked his tongue while watching the Crown Prince walk away. That was definitely him regretting not being able to kill the Crown Prince like before. Was he planning to hang him from the ceiling again?
Azazel, who had been watching the crowds leaving, deliberately made an ‘Ah’ sound and bowed to ask me.
“Evangeline, I wonder if you could spare some time for me.”
He brought his mouth close to my ear as if to whisper something intimate, yet he didn’t lower his voice at all. The whispering was just a performance for show, and not reducing the volume was telling people to openly listen.
He was throwing bait around, showing off how close he and I were. How much would the nobles who were at the banquet chatter to their families when they returned home? I was certain that by tomorrow, rumors about me and that damn snake would be circulating.
Azazel himself found this situation disgusting too, yet he was doing this solely to upset me. How admirable of him.
“If you could visit the temple when you have time, I would be truly delighted.”
It was quite a skill, if you could call it that, to phrase “let’s continue our unfinished conversation” in such a way.
His polite honorifics gave me goosebumps. It was obvious who Azazel’s courteous tone was imitating. He was deliberately mimicking Gabriel. As expected of a demon, he really had a talent for tormenting people.
Fine. From now on, I’ll always carry holy water with me. I’ll pour it in his mouth every time I see Azazel.
But since it was true that I had things left to discuss with Azazel, I nodded. Azazel seemed satisfied and nodded back.
“Then I’ll see you next time.”
Azazel said what he wanted to say and disappeared completely. And by himself, no less. Aren’t you taking your subordinate with you? Rafaela watched helplessly as Azazel disappeared without her, then hung her head deeply.
“I apologize for our Captain acting so selfishly. And on top of that, you’re receiving unnecessary misunderstandings because of me…”
The apology fell to Rafaela. Rafaela buried her face in her hands as if she couldn’t bear it anymore. She looked like she wanted to hide in a mouse hole out of embarrassment for her superior. She was like a walking external conscience.
Rafaela rubbed her face dry as if ashamed, then let out a deep sigh and looked straight at me.
“Evangeline. This is something I’m telling you privately. Please be careful of Azazel Astaroth.”
I didn’t expect her to warn me to be careful. She was taking Azazel’s side just moments ago! Or not? Come to think of it, Rafaela didn’t draw her sword even after seeing me stab Azazel. Was she worried about me, not Azazel?
“Thank you for the warning, Sir.”
But I couldn’t turn away from Azazel. There had to be a reason why only that damn bastard remembered the past.
“Sir Rafaela.”
“Yes?”
“If you’re sorry to me, could you lend me a carriage instead?”
“A carriage… you say?”
The Rohanson Viscount was nowhere to be seen, having left at some point. He probably couldn’t withstand the pouring gazes while I was having that heated exchange with Azazel and fled alone.
Moreover, instead of building intimacy with the Duke, I had created an ominous atmosphere, so there was probably some retaliatory psychology at work too. If Pudding were here it would be different, but how was I supposed to get back alone? Rafaela initially couldn’t believe that the Viscount had left me behind, but upon learning that the Rohanson Viscount’s carriage was gone, she readily offered the Knight’s Hall carriage.
Seeing me nearly get beaten by the Duke and treated coldly by the Viscount, Rafaela seemed to have formed quite a misunderstanding. She treated me like some pitiful, sickly, and abused young lady as she escorted me.
Rafaela helped me into the carriage while giving me a heads up.
“Oh, and I told Prince that when I brought him his outer garment, you and our Captain are nothing to each other, and it was all a misunderstanding.”
I thought she had just given it to an attendant, but she had even explained to Gabriel? Why go that far… When I looked at her sourly, Rafaela scratched her cheek awkwardly.
“I thought you wouldn’t want Prince to have unnecessary misunderstandings, so I took it upon myself to act.”
Somehow I felt bitter. Even Rafaela, who was meeting me for the first time, had apparently noticed my feelings. Then had Gabriel noticed too?
He must have. If even Rafaela, who was practically a third party despite being perceptive, had noticed at a glance, there was no way Gabriel, the person involved, wouldn’t have known.
But then why hadn’t he shown any signs to me? My stomach churned. The feeling of drifting like duckweed gradually sank as if submerging into the deep sea, having nothing to lean on. The rattling carriage interior was only quiet.
As soon as I returned to the manor, what greeted me was a cat’s corpse.
The maids couldn’t bring themselves to lift their heads, keeping their mouths shut as if feeling guilty. My hands trembled. Pudding… The remarkably similar appearance almost made me say Pudding’s name without thinking.
My heart dropped, then I reminded myself it was just an ordinary cat, not Pudding, and barely managed to compose myself. But even so, my stomach still churned.
“What happened?”
“Well…”
According to the maid, the Viscount who had returned before me happened to discover the cat, and upon hearing that I was raising it, he had clearly taken his anger out on the cat.
The Viscount blamed me for secretly raising a cat that could cause epidemics without killing it, and even ordered the corpse to be burned. But the maids disobeyed the Viscount’s command and waited for me.
They said that since it was a cat I cherished, I would want to see it one last time, so they kept the dead body with them until I returned, unable to bring themselves to bury it.
“Thank you. I’ll bury it, so give it to me.”
I buried the cat under the cherry blossom tree.
If it was going to die so easily, I’d rather… I swallowed my regret. I was gradually getting used to loss now.
***
I came to the temple to meet Azazel. It was to continue our conversation since it had been interrupted by Rafaela’s appearance before. I also wanted to confirm whether Saraka had really disappeared as Azazel claimed.
Rafaela and Azazel were waiting to greet me. Rafaela let out a deep sigh seeing me ignore her warning to stay away from Azazel. She couldn’t even show it properly since Azazel was right next to her, which made me feel sorry.
“Good morning, Evangeline.”
Azazel greeted me. What morning, when the sun was setting?
Perhaps because he was in the temple in a demon’s body, Azazel looked in worse condition than when I met him at the Imperial Palace. How satisfying. But why was he staying in the temple while suffering like this? Compared to Saraka, he didn’t seem particularly loyal to Bishop Marik either.
“With Saraka gone, is there a reason to stay in the temple?”
I was going to kick him if he joked that it was to live up to the name of Pararos Knight Captain, but Azazel didn’t seem to have the energy for jokes.
“I told you. I want to find even a trace.”
What remarkable obsession. Though maybe I, who had been shaken by seeing a cat corpse that wasn’t even Pudding, wasn’t one to talk.
“Let’s go see Marik first.”
Azazel led me to the drawing room.
“I told Marik that Evangeline wanted to express her gratitude to the Sun God and requested an audience with the Bishop.”
He had made good use of the rumor that Evangeline Rohanson was sickly. Having miraculously overcome her illness, she would naturally develop faith she never had before. Azazel patted my shoulder, telling me to handle things well in front of Bishop Marik.
“Evangeline, you’re good at that kind of deception.”
I harshly swatted away Azazel’s hand. I felt disgusted, so I’d prefer if he didn’t touch me as much as possible.
When we arrived at the drawing room, Azazel knocked lightly and entered. Even though he had become Knight Captain, the setting that he was Marik’s closest aide hadn’t changed, as no other knights blocked our way.
“Bishop Marik. I’ve brought a believer.”
“Well done, Sir.”
Bishop Marik, who had been drinking tea, put down his teacup and welcomed me.
The moment I heard his voice, I got goosebumps. It was too similar to the Saraka I knew. For a moment, I wondered if Azazel had hit me on the back of the head and lied about Saraka disappearing.
“I’m Evangeline Rohanson. I’m so honored to meet you, Bishop.”
When I spoke in an excited tone as if moved, Bishop Marik laughed as if satisfied. Even his laughter was exactly like the Bishop Marik that Saraka used to imitate, giving me chills.
I sat across from where Marik had offered. After having a useless conversation with Bishop Marik, I had somehow finished an entire cup of tea. As the conversation dragged on, Bishop Marik’s words rapidly decreased, and soon silence settled around us.
“It’s a sleeping drug.”
Azazel, who had been standing upright like a loyal knight beside us, finally spoke.
“Marik needs to sleep a bit so our Evangeline can check his face, don’t you think?”
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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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