My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 48
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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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But the audience ceremony at the beginning of the season had already ended, and the Crown Prince’s thirtieth birthday was coming up in two weeks, so the timing was perfect.
Gabriel said he would take care of getting the invitation. Gabriel would also make the dress and arrange for a chaperone. As expected of a romance novel male lead, his skill in taking care of everything from start to finish with such attention to detail was exceptional….
Now he’ll have to teach me how to dance too. I felt a bit sorry for dumping too much work on him, but then I realized this was a disaster Gabriel had brought upon himself and shook off my guilt.
Right. Gabriel was the one who asked to be my partner first. That’s how love works. The person who loves more loses.
Come to think of it, how did Dolline know that Gabriel was my partner?
I never told her. Had word already spread everywhere that Gabriel had asked me to be his partner? As expected, gossip travels fast in high society.
***
“Take care, Dolline.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Finally, finally the hellish time was over. Dolline bid farewell with a kindly smiling face and hurriedly left the room. She carefully closed the door and took a deep breath. Once she was out of Evangeline’s sight, she could finally breathe freely.
‘Damn it, bloody hell.’
It wasn’t even withdrawal symptoms, but her hands were still trembling. She should have refused even if it was the Bishop’s request.
Recently, news had spread through word of mouth that Count Rohanson was looking for a tutor. Word went around that the sickly young lady who had been facing only death had miraculously recovered completely and was preparing in earnest to enter high society.
Perhaps because she had passed the appropriate age for her debut, Evangeline Rohanson was frequent prey for gossipmongers these days.
Some said her illness was a lie and she had been hiding because she was plain-faced. Others claimed Evangeline had actually died and the Count had found a look-alike replacement. There were even eyewitness accounts saying that when briefly seen at the temple, her aura was quite remarkable, as if an angel had descended.
Since Evangeline had used her illness as an excuse to avoid socializing with others, she had no close acquaintances, so rumors only grew wilder by the day.
Dolline had paid no attention to such rumors, but Bishop Jabaniya came to her with a proposal. As always, it was on a trip to secretly purchase holy water.
“It’s a very easy job. If you do it properly, I’ll reward you.”
The request was to become Evangeline’s tutor, find out what Evangeline was like and what her relationship was with Gabriel, the Knight Captain, and report back to him. If she did the favor, he would provide holy water once every three months.
Dolline was a severe drug addict. She had even been divorced when it was discovered.
When her addiction became severe, she would repeatedly drink holy water once every six months to treat her addiction. But unfortunately, both were hobbies that cost gold coins, so she was currently suffering from financial difficulties and readily applied for the tutoring job where she could get both holy water and money.
She didn’t even ask why he made such a request. Looking back now, she should have asked.
Thanks to the application that Bishop Jabaniya had skillfully manipulated, Dolline easily passed. The beginning was very easy. What could be difficult about observing one sickly girl?
It was a misjudgment. The Evangeline Rohanson she actually faced was extremely strange and peculiar. What, an angel? Sickly? Plain-faced? Among those who made Evangeline the subject of jokes, who had actually met her face to face?
‘She wasn’t an ordinary girl.
Even Bishop Jabaniya’s assessment after meeting her directly was wrong. That old man must have developed cataracts with age. I don’t know what he was looking at to make such a judgment.
Transparent but pale skin where blood vessels weren’t visible, as if blood might not flow, and two red eyes as if the most expensive rubies had been placed in empty pupils. Evangeline was more like an angel sculpture decorating a temple than a human.
Her vision spun around. Her head was randomly torn apart.
Even though she hadn’t taken drugs, words were constantly injected into her mind. It felt like someone was whispering in her ear. It was itchy as if bugs had burrowed into her ears.
“Prostrate yourself at her feet right now. Kneel and worship. Praise. Glorify. Revere. Worship. Extol.”
Whenever she was with Lady Evangeline, such voices always circled in her head.
The reason Dolline didn’t submit to Evangeline was because she was accustomed to similar types of voices she heard during severe withdrawal symptoms.
She normally lived hearing voices like ‘Jump from the window’ or ‘Throw yourself at a running carriage,’ so adding one more harmony didn’t change anything. The voices would get tangled together saying things like ‘Cut your wrist to prove your worship,’ but it was still ignorable for now.
Even though she was used to it, it wasn’t something she could do for long. She understood why all the other teachers had fled.
Without a clear purpose like Dolline’s, it would be hard to endure. She wondered what the mental state of the employees working in this manor was like. Were they all taking drugs together while working?
Especially the three maids hovering around Evangeline Rohanson seemed the most insane. Their brains must have been cut or their courage broken.
The red-haired maid named Kanna seemed to already be dominated by the voice, and Daisy was wary of Dolline. Among them, the most ordinary and approachable seemed to be someone named Hena.
“Are you leaving now?”
She happened to run into Hena. The gloomy face asked quietly.
No. Since she had left the room before Dolline, she should have already gone downstairs, but seeing her on the same floor meant she had waited for Dolline.
“You need to stop by the butler, right? Shall we go together?”
Dolline was about to shake her head but remembered the holy water and answered “Yes.” It was a good opportunity to gather information.
While working as a tutor, Dolline had been carefully recording everything she saw and experienced at the Rohanson estate for Jabaniya. Her impressions of Lady Rohanson, her close maids, the manor people who were quiet as death. She did this to write detailed letters later when she left the estate.
However, no reply came back. Did this mean she should continue observing Lady Evangeline at the Rohanson estate?
It seemed like he wasn’t responding because the information was too poor. More important information seemed to be needed. If so, he could have at least said to continue.
If she stayed like this, she really felt like she might end up licking Evangeline Rohanson’s soles.
“Praise her.”
“Pardon?”
“You’re the only one left, Lady Dolline. The other teachers quit so quickly that Lady Evangeline was disappointed.”
“Is that so? Lady Evangeline is truly kind.”
“That’s right.”
Dolline tried to please Hena by continuing to praise Evangeline, but Hena showed no particular signs of pleasure. Praising Lady Evangeline worked very well with Kanna, so she didn’t understand why the sisters were so different.
When they stopped by the butler’s office, the butler handed over a substantial bonus. With this, she could spend a week in happiness. Dolline gratefully took the money.
“And Miss Dolline, are you keeping the confidentiality clause well?”
“Of course. I have no one to tell anyway.”
“Then please continue to keep it well in the future.”
At the butler’s request, Dolline made a promise she wouldn’t keep. She planned to write a letter to Bishop Jabaniya as soon as she left the estate. She had learned quite a bit today.
“I’ll be going now.”
After greeting the butler, Dolline tried to leave the estate saying she would be going. As she was about to cross the door, her clothes were grabbed from behind and she was pulled back. She fell to the floor coughing because her throat was momentarily choked.
“Cough, gag. Cough. Wh-what… are you… doing!”
The person who choked Dolline’s neck was Hena. Dolline could see Hena’s shoes in her fallen field of vision. Why suddenly? Had they found out that Dolline was a spy? Was the butler’s words just now a warning?
“Let’s prove our reverence by dying.”
Die? I see. She’s trying to kill me. I’ll definitely be murdered. The other teachers didn’t quit either – they were killed. Jabaniya, that damn old man, drove me into a death trap!
‘She’s going to kill me…!’
Dolline gasped for breath and crawled toward the door again. But no matter how desperately she crawled, Hena caught up with just two steps.
A shadow fell behind her. It was wrong. She couldn’t escape. Hena spoke pitifully to the despairing Dolline.
“Miss Dolline, that’s a window.”
Dolline looked up at those words.
“Huh?”
There had definitely been a door, but in that spot was only a wide-open window. This was the 2nd floor. Even if she fell, she wouldn’t have died, but she didn’t understand why she had mistaken this height for a door.
Her withdrawal symptoms must have worsened. Dolline needed drugs. Or at least holy water to treat her addiction. Right now! Dolline took out the drugs she kept on hand with trembling hands. It was something she had been saving and saving because she had no money to buy more. She inhaled through her nose.
Whoo- Ha-.
Her mind became hazy. The world swirled as if paint had been mixed. Hena’s face distorted. It split in two, then broke into ten, then merged into thirty again.
Another lump appeared on the spinning palette. A drop of black paint fell. The ink spread rapidly.
“Oops, I made a mistake. I was told to keep her alive for two weeks.”
Something black and distorted spoke. Thirteen eyes looked at Dolline, and four mouths writhed.
“But in this state, I don’t think I need to intervene?”
The distorted thing left humming. The world was still twisted. Someone lifted Dolline up. When she kicked and resisted in fear, the other person identified themselves as ‘Hena.’ It was a name she had heard somewhere.
Hena, who had three circles attached, gripped Dolline’s shoulder painfully tight.
“Miss Dolline, I’ll say it again. Please keep my words in mind. If you want to live, never go against Lady Evangeline. Just submit to Lady Evangeline. Lady Evangeline is kind, so she won’t question the sins you’ve committed.”
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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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