My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 27

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Gabriel should also go meet that benevolent old-fashioned bishop from earlier, so I should considerately withdraw here.

Did I accomplish everything?

I successfully rescued Hena and Kanna from being harassed by that noble, the kids saw the painting too, and though I couldn’t see it since it burned, I had no intention of looking at it anyway. I also retrieved the statement and gained a favor point with Gabriel by helping out a knight.

A new character named Daisy suddenly appeared out of nowhere, but Gabriel still seems to like me, so no problem!

“Shall we head back now?”

“Yes!”

Kanna answered excitedly. Well, she had been waiting for me here for hours, so she’d naturally want to return quickly.

As I gathered my things and stood up, Gabriel reached out as if to stop me. His hand hesitated awkwardly in mid-air, as if he couldn’t bring himself to actually grab me.

“Are you leaving?”

What, should I stay here and live with you? I momentarily wanted to be sarcastic but bit my tongue to hold it back. Right… I’m a romance novel resident now. I can’t get creeped out and make a stern face just because the male lead is making romantic remarks. I need to properly entice the male lead to escape being a villainess.

“It’s getting late.”

“Then I’ll escort you to the carriage.”

Gabriel stood up from his seat. Since he needs to see the bishop anyway, he’s probably planning to escort me while he’s at it.

When we came back outside, the sun was already setting.

It was a short walk to the carriage. The coachman, who had been trembling on the driver’s seat, gasped when he saw me. Oh right, I startled him earlier by suddenly teleporting. I forgot about that.

I was about to explain the situation to reassure him when the carriage door opened. Jelly didn’t get out of the carriage but just poked his head out.

“You’re back?”

“Good work, Jelly.”

His tone suggested he had a hard time and wanted attention. As I was patting Jelly’s head and praising him, Gabriel called out to me.

“Lady Evangeline.”

When I turned around, Gabriel was extending his hand. What? Ah. He’s probably trying to escort me to make it easier to board the carriage.

I placed my hand on Gabriel’s. But his hand gradually rose, and Gabriel brought his lips to the back of my hand. I was so startled I almost hit him. It wasn’t an escort but a greeting.

I know it’s a romance novel-style greeting, but experiencing it firsthand feels strange…? I should have worn gloves! Fortunately, Gabriel only made the gesture.

Still, the ticklish feeling remained. Instead of moist skin touching my bare hand, I felt his breath. As warm, soft breath touched my hand, I somehow felt shy and wanted to run away immediately.

“I look forward to seeing you again.”

Without responding to Gabriel’s words, I simply boarded the carriage. Kanna, who got on last, deliberately made a loud noise and slammed the door shut forcefully.

Listening to Kanna grumble about how she didn’t like Gabriel, I briefly wondered if I should tell her that he was originally her match.

Unaware of others’ troubled hearts, the carriage rolled along smoothly.

***

Long after the Rohanson Viscount’s carriage disappeared from view, Rafaela, who had been spacing out in a daze, finally came to her senses.

“What… what did you just do?”

She was so flustered that her words came out broken.

“A farewell greeting.”

“What on earth were you thinking…?”

Gabriel’s response was annoyingly sensible. But if the other party is that Evangeline, isn’t kissing her hand as a farewell greeting rather nonsensical? Anyway, whether it’s the Captain or Uriel below him, how can they all be so carefree? Let’s skip Michel since he’s crazy.

“Just now too. Captain, why didn’t you tell her everything? Before coming here, while Lady Evangeline and the nun were talking, your name came up. The nun probably confessed everything to the lady…”

When Evangeline Rohanson pressed Gabriel about what he had heard, Rafaela wished the Captain would just tell her everything honestly. The moment she met Evangeline’s red eyes, her heart plummeted. Evangeline’s gaze at that moment was like a very sharp blade.

So she desperately gestured with her eyes and hands, telling him to just speak the truth… But Gabriel actually told a lie.

At that moment, Rafaela thought it was all over and prepared to bid farewell to the world, but Gabriel went even further and handed the statement to Evangeline.

It naturally contained everything Daisy had confessed in detail. What’s the point of being honest with your hands while lying with your mouth? But Evangeline just let it slide after reading it.

“Why did you do that? I’m sure you had your reasons, Captain…”

It was Gabriel’s instinctive intuition.

From his early experience, what Evangeline Rohanson valued most was immersion in her role. Based on her actions and polite speech so far, she seemed to act in a way that made outsiders see her as Evangeline Rohanson.

Evangeline Rohanson only dropped her ladylike attitude when Gabriel failed to know his place and said he wanted to help her. She was so angry because he tried to strip away that role.

So Gabriel catered to her preferences this time too. Since he couldn’t risk her anger by telling lies, he handed over the paper, and by saying the complete opposite, he implied he would pretend not to have seen it. Fortunately, Gabriel’s handling seemed to please Evangeline.

And by deliberately giving Evangeline a farewell greeting, Gabriel realized one more thing.

He extended his hand for the greeting.

Though Evangeline wasn’t short, due to the considerable size difference with Gabriel, her hand was also much smaller than his.

Her body temperature was very low. He overlapped their hands and focused on her fingertips to check her pulse.

Even while pretending to kiss her hand, he guessed that Evangeline Rohanson wouldn’t pull her hand away. He deliberately slowed down, slowly bringing his lips close while calculating her heart rate. It was slow but her heart was definitely beating. Small but she was breathing.

Though he had guessed a corpse was being forced to move, she was definitely alive.

Daisy said Evangeline Rohanson was moving a dead corpse, but that statement was wrong. However, the thought that what was inside wasn’t human remained the same. Evangeline treats people like mere creatures and makes it seem natural to be treated as creatures.

The moment he first saw Evangeline was still vivid.

Among all living, breathing things, the only one that was dead.

Among all warm things, the one that stood out as cold.

That’s why Evangeline Rohanson was special.

Gabriel unconsciously touched his lips. Even though he hadn’t actually kissed her, Evangeline’s low temperature remained like a brand.

***

Uriel went to the infirmary and laid Michel on the bed. Should he just leave him now? Since he was already doused with holy water, there shouldn’t be any need for separate treatment… Just as Uriel was thinking this and about to leave the infirmary, Seraph entered.

Earlier there had been sounds of swords clashing, so he must have been sparring. There was a shallow cut near his neck. Seraph looked at the soaked Michel and was shocked with horror.

“Sir Michel! Wh-what happened? Why are you so wet? Are you in pain? It’s not cold sweat, is it? Don’t die, Sir Micheeeel…!”

“Sir Seraph, please calm down. It’s just holy water.”

“What? Was he hurt that badly? Oh, or did he jump into the fountain?”

Seraph was particularly timid and prone to worry. Uriel explained what had happened so Seraph wouldn’t misunderstand.

Every time he said something, Seraph would interject with his own speculation and distort the incident, making the story’s progress slow.

Their conversation continued until Gabriel and the knights finished escorting Evangeline and stopped by the infirmary.

“That’s what happened.”

“I see… I understand perfectly.”

Rafaela almost closed the door again seeing the two talking. The fussy Seraph and simple, ignorant Uriel – what a terrible combination.

Fortunately, besides the two, there was also a knight named Jeremiah in the infirmary. Jeremiah had come looking for Seraph, who had gone to the infirmary for treatment during sparring but hadn’t returned for a while, and ended up getting caught. When Jeremiah’s eyes met Rafaela’s, he flailed his hands asking to be rescued.

“Sir Rafaela! Captain!”

“Captain. What about Lady Rohanson?”

“She has departed.”

“Ah…”

Uriel looked so regretful that Rafaela was confused whether “departed” meant she had gone to heaven.

“What about Michel?”

“He’s still sleeping… oh, you’re awake?”

Seraph awkwardly exchanged glances with Michel, who was staring with both eyes wide open. Rafaela pressed her forehead.

“Ah… I’m sorry, you two were having such an enjoyable conversation that it was a bit difficult for me to interrupt.”

Michel, who had been scratching his cheek, sat up. Fortunately, there seemed to be no problem with moving his body.

“Michel, is your body alright?”

“Yes. I apologize for causing concern.”

“Do you remember what happened?”

“Yes. I remember some things, and I just heard Sir Uriel’s explanation, so I roughly understand the situation.”

Gabriel and Rafaela examined Michel and were greatly relieved to see he had no injuries and looked fine. It was thanks to the holy water Evangeline had poured. Looking at him now, his mental state seemed to have returned to normal too. Still, just in case, they needed to ask questions.

“Michel, are you okay now? Not your body, but your head.”

“Pardon?”

“Do you still think what was drawn in that painting was an angel?”

“Ah… I’m sorry. I don’t understand why I thought that way at the time. Now that I think about it, it was a very ominous and bizarre painting.”

“Looks like you’ve returned to your right mind.”

Rafaela sat on the bed opposite where Michel was lying, greatly relieved. That Michel, making people worry like that.

“Michel, you should really be grateful to us. We locked you in a room telling you to come to your senses, but how did you escape and fearlessly embrace something that was burning? If it weren’t for Lady Rohanson, you would have been seriously hurt.”

Rafaela scolded Michel as if releasing all her pent-up frustration. Michel listened to Rafaela’s words looking sheepish, but his eyes lit up when Evangeline was mentioned.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————