My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 61

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

Gabriel had a dream.

It was the familiar nightmare he always had. A carriage racing violently, a young child crushed under the wheels. The coachman cursed angrily at the near-accident involving a carriage carrying an important person and continued driving the horses. Someone whispered that the carriage belonged to some bishop.

‘That high-ranking person made great contributions to catching those sorcerer scum. To interfere with such a carriage, isn’t that kid also a sorcerer?’ ‘Don’t go near. You’ll be cursed.’ Murmuring voices could be heard. A few people who had stepped forward to help heard those words and left, pretending not to notice.

Gabriel pleaded with the adults for help.

“Please save him, his leg, the bleeding won’t stop.”

However, the people around only watched and dared not help the child who had nearly overturned the carriage of God’s chosen one.

Gabriel carried the child on his back. He promised to hold on just a little longer, that he would find a priest and ask for help. His body naturally swayed from carrying a child who was at least a head taller than him.

Gabriel went to find a priest. It was a priest who occasionally performed miracles with holy water while visiting the slums. The priest uttered the same words he had heard over a hundred times. ‘I’m sorry, but I cannot help.’

“Liar!”

Gabriel lunged at the priest but was immediately subdued. A higher-ranking person who appeared late clicked his tongue at the chaotic scene.

“What is this commotion?”

“Priest Jabanya…”

The priest explained the situation and was immediately scolded.

“You fool! Since it’s holy water meant for the poor anyway, you could have given it to this child!”

“Well… yesterday Harut got slightly injured, so I gave him the remaining holy water.”

“What to do now…”

Meanwhile, the warmth on Gabriel’s back was fading. The heart beat even slower. Gabriel felt déjà vu at the familiar heart rate. A very slowly beating heart. This was definitely hers…

“I’ll help you.”

Priest Jabanya’s voice soon changed to Evangeline’s cold, monotone voice.

Those were the words he had longed to hear his entire life. And they were also words he had often heard since meeting Evangeline Rohanson. Gabriel expected the white, cold hand extended to him, but when he turned around, nothing existed there.

Then, voices could be heard over his dimly awakening consciousness.

“Captain? Are you sleeping? Someone who was fine even when working all night?”

“You usually don’t doze off when reviewing documents, but you must have been tired today.”

“You just came back from the Rohanson Estate.”

“That’s right. What should we do? Should we wake him?”

These were familiar voices. Rafaela and Uriel? The dream gradually became blurry and he could see his closed eyelids.

“Bishop Marik summoned Sir Michel… Shouldn’t we inform the Captain?”

Gabriel immediately became alert at the familiar name he heard. Yes, that was the name of the owner of the carriage from that time.

“It’s fine since I’m already awake.”

“Captain!”

Rafaela welcomed Gabriel. A summons from Bishop Marik. Normally, Rafaela would have woken Gabriel without hesitation, but he must have looked particularly tired today. It was probably the influence of what happened at the Rohanson Estate. Gabriel rubbed his brow and shook off his drowsiness.

So, why did Bishop Marik summon Michel?

“Michel? Did he go ahead?”

“No. He’s stubbornly insisting that he needs to speak with the Captain first before going to see the Bishop.”

‘You’ve got yourself a good subordinate.’ Rafaela made a joke. Of course, it was also meant to mock the fact that this one subordinate was a troublemaker.

Gabriel stood up and straightened his clothes. Rafaela helped the captain by smoothing out the wrinkled parts.

“Bishop Jabanya must have spilled everything about Michel, right? That old man sided with Bishop Marik’s faction. Such a hypocrite without an ounce of loyalty.”

Bishop Jabanya was the only one who witnessed Michel’s situation at that time. There must have been Jabanya’s influence in summoning Michel. First they sent a spy disguised as a tutor to the Rohanson Estate, and now this. As Rafaela was about to curse, Gabriel stopped her.

“Bishop Jabanya isn’t as heartless as you think.”

“You mean that old man who only pretends to be nice in front of others while looking out for his own interests?”

“Rafaela, I am indebted to Bishop Jabanya.”

“I think the help you gave him was greater? Who do you think helped that old man become a bishop?”

Thanks to Jabanya’s help in his childhood, Gabriel was able to escape the slums and grow up in the Temple’s orphanage. Not only that, but he was also able to hold a funeral for the older brother he lived with.

Now that many years have passed, Jabanya’s goodness may have faded considerably, but at that time, Jabanya bestowed an unforgettable great favor upon Gabriel.

Of course, that was only from Gabriel’s perspective.

Rafaela considered it nothing special. To Rafaela, who was born as a duke’s son from birth, kindness was natural, and sending a child to an orphanage instead of providing holy water was considered a natural measure.

After that, Gabriel entered the knight order at a young age and now serves as the knight captain, being used like Jabanya’s hands and feet, so the debt has already been repaid and more.

Since their positions always differed when it came to Bishop Jabanya, Gabriel decided to focus on urgent matters instead of arguing.

Gabriel called over Michel, who was waiting nervously near the captain’s office.

“Captain.”

“Michel, did Bishop Marik tell you why he summoned you?”

“No. I didn’t hear the reason, but I suspect the only reason he called me is about the painting.”

Gabriel thought so too. That was the only reason to call Michel, but the strange thing was that considerable time had passed since the day the painting burned.

After bringing Priest Berga from the monastery where Daisy stayed, opinions about the painting were reversed, and everyone acted as if they had never praised it, creating a hushed atmosphere. There were also concerns that the painting might spread further and create more cases like Priest Berga.

That’s why Gabriel asked Evangeline to be his partner at the ball. To erase the influence of the painting that had enchanted people, they needed someone with even greater influence.

That was Evangeline. Indeed, the people who had been standing in front of the painting day and night returned to normal after encountering the young lady standing before the burning painting.

One strange thing was that everyone couldn’t remember Evangeline properly and only recalled her as a young lady of outstanding beauty. Michel was the only one who remembered Evangeline clearly.

The people who mainly visited the Grand Temple to see the painting were mostly nobles and wealthy merchants. There were even quite a few who came to see it after rumors about the painting spread at the time.

Since they couldn’t check who was enchanted by the painting one by one and visit their homes, they had no choice but to go where they gathered most. That was high society. The Temple had visitor logs, so they planned to attend parties that the visitors went to together with Evangeline.

They needed to utilize Evangeline’s influence, but the young lady’s strange rumors were holding them back. Someone who had never shown her face in high society once had such abundant rumors that it seemed someone had deliberately spread them.

To attend as many parties as possible and suppress the bad rumors about the young lady, Gabriel’s accompaniment was the best solution. Gabriel’s public reputation was impeccably flawless, and with a holy knight’s accompaniment, the rumors about Evangeline would also be diluted and subside.

He worried she might refuse, but after hearing the situation explained, Evangeline accepted the proposal. Since she wanted to act like a normal noble of her age, it wasn’t a bad choice.

Gabriel realized that his thoughts naturally flowed toward Evangeline and snapped back to attention. Now was the time to focus on Michel and Bishop Marik.

Come to think of it…

Gabriel looked at Michel.

Kanna spoke as if she was the only one who survived that terrible scene, but Gabriel knew one more such person. His subordinate who had become a fervent fanatic.

“Michel.”

It was natural that Kanna didn’t know. He hadn’t told Evangeline about Michel’s abnormal symptoms, and Michel also tried to restrain himself by acting coy in front of the young lady.

“I have something to ask you.”

“Should I prepare a shovel then?”

“I’m not joking. At that time, the moment Evangeline splashed water on you.”

“Ah. Yes. That time?”

“What did you see then?”

Did Michel also see the extraordinary red world like Gabriel? Michel showed an ecstatic expression as if recalling that moment.

“Something white.”

If it was something white, there was only one existence that suited the modifier of pure white. Michel continued speaking as if in a dream.

“The world was covered in fire, but only that person was pure white. Like ash left after already being burned. Yes, like Donau. Ah, of course now I know well enough that such things and Evangeline are not on the same level.”

Unfortunately, what he saw was different. From the description alone, it seemed like his body caught fire and flames flickered in his vision, and he simply saw Evangeline at that moment. Evangeline liked to wear white clothes, and on the day she visited the Grand Temple, she was also wearing a white dress.

“Ah. And I also saw eyes. Not the eye patterns drawn in the painting, but real eyes. Wasn’t it something like a halo?”

That was the first time he heard this story. Eyes? Could it be the same eyes Gabriel saw?

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well, everyone thinks I’m strange. Except for you, Captain!”

It wasn’t that they thought he was strange, but that he had really become strange compared to before. Originally, Michel was very shy, quiet, and calm. Even comparing just his personality, he had changed like a completely different person.

Right. Michel also said he saw those eyes. Gabriel completely forgot about deciding to put aside thoughts about Evangeline Rohanson and threw a question at Michel.

“Michel, you… after seeing that, how did you come to think of worshipping Evangeline?”

“If you endure, you can be loved. You’re jealous of me, aren’t you.”

Kanna’s words kept circling in his head. The words that if he endured, he could be loved. As he struggled to shake off the thoughts about the young lady that kept creeping into his mind, Michel opened his mouth with an entranced voice.

“Actually, that wasn’t what was important.”

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