Sister, I Hit You Because There Was a Ghost Behind You - Chapter 62
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 62. Ten Greeds and the Cursed Raven
The Old Butler of the Emerald Hall led the way with a candelabra, guiding us into the depths of the Castle.
Unlike the magnificent and grand exterior of the Castle, its interior reeked of dampness and mold—as if we were walking through the belly of some colossal tomb.
Unsettling crevasses spiderwebbed across the stone walls like veins, and through every fissure, a sickly crimson miasma seeped without cessation.
The entire Mansion felt like a grotesque monster, alive and breathing, rotting from within.
Through my Spirit Eyes, I detected the shadow of a bizarre vengeful spirit ensnaring the entire Castle, and I clicked my tongue softly.
“This is hardly a resort—it’s more like paying an entrance fee to enter a giant ghost’s house.”
At my murmur, Demian quickly approached and wove a faint barrier of pure white light around me.
With his cool, crystalline holy power, he purified the murky air and spoke tenderly.
“I shall ensure that no unpleasant aura touches your person. Please bear with it a moment longer, Violetta.”
Kairik too wrinkled his nose, glaring at the mold on the walls with disgust.
He growled while shoving his hand into his tuxedo pocket.
“What’s so great about this crumbling pile of stone that an entire extended family swarms here? It looks ready to collapse any moment.”
The Old Butler, hearing our conversation, faltered and released a deep sigh.
With a pallid face, he bowed toward us and spoke.
“I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, esteemed guests. In truth, our master, Count Vain, is gravely ill and may not last the day. For the past several days, the Castle’s air has grown increasingly foul, and strange phenomena—cracks in the walls and the like—have been unceasing.”
The Butler’s eyes were shadowed by profound exhaustion and dread.
With the master’s impending death, the entire Castle seemed to be crumbling—the Emerald Hall was nothing but a precarious house of sand on the brink of ruin.
The Butler opened the door to the most luxurious suite at the innermost end with trembling hands and added:
“Tomorrow morning, the Count’s will is to be read publicly, so all the scattered relatives have gathered. Tonight, a final banquet is planned to honor the master, but… the atmosphere is so ominous that I would recommend the three of you dine in your chambers.”
The Butler’s suggestion was cautious, but it proved perfectly successful in piquing my curiosity.
I settled elegantly onto the plush sofa and unfurled my fan with a flourish.
“No, thank you. We shall attend that banquet. A final supper in the grand Castle’s Dining Room—how delightfully romantic, wouldn’t you say?”
At my arrogant smile, the Butler dared not refuse and withdrew from the room with a bow.
The moment the Butler left, the two men flanking me resumed their nerve war.
“Violetta, why must you deliberately insert yourself among such ominous people? Quietly taking tea with me alone in this chamber would be far more beneficial for your peace of mind.”
Demian pleaded with desperate eyes to dissuade me from attending, when Kairik interjected with a scoff.
“Alone? I’m in this room too, aren’t I? And why are you throwing a fit when Violetta is bored? Watching those pathetic humans is rather entertaining, if you ask me.”
“What I fear is not the humans, but the vile Greed Demons dwelling in this Castle! Are you not concerned about the strain on Violetta’s Spirit Eyes!”
“I’ll just shred those demon bastards’ heads with my claws! You just grip that pitiful shield of yours!”
At the renewed ear-splitting growls of these two beasts, I pressed my throbbing temples.
Watching the Mansion’s inheritance dispute was one thing, but I needed to disperse these two predators’ overflowing energy into the chaos of the banquet hall.
“Enough. If we remain locked in this room, my eardrums will rupture from the sound of you two fighting. Prepare yourselves for a proper banquet escort under the guise of protection.”
At my cold rebuke, both men hastily fell silent and coughed awkwardly.
Hours later, we dressed elegantly and made our way to the grand Dining Room on the first floor of the Castle.
As we opened the Dining Room doors, the ten family members I had seen at the Castle gates earlier sat gathered around the enormous table.
Though the food was of the highest quality, only the chilling sound of forks and knives clinking against plates echoed through the room—there was no conversation whatsoever.
As we confidently took our seats at one end of the table, Arthur, the eldest son seated at the center of the group, furrowed his brow in displeasure.
“How presumptuous of you uninvited guests to force your way into our family’s sacred supper. All that pretense of nobility, yet I suppose you were hoping for some scraps of the inheritance to fall your way?”
As Arthur twirled his wine glass mockingly, his wife and relatives seated beside him burst into derisive laughter.
The Greed Demons writhing above their heads had swollen to grotesque proportions far more massive than before.
I didn’t bat an eye at Arthur’s provocation, elegantly cutting my portion of steak as I replied.
“Crumbs, you say? My daily allowance for maintaining dignity likely exceeds your entire family’s wealth. How charmingly modest your imagination is. I simply found this restaurant’s interior quite fascinating and decided to visit.”
As I pointed my knife toward the fireplace above the wall across from the table, everyone’s gaze snapped in that direction.
Above the fireplace hung ten grotesquely carved raven statues alongside a disturbing verse written in blood-red letters, framed in glass.
「Ten blind ravens, drunk on gold, entered the castle.
One strangled by greed, it fell,
And now nine remain.」
The family members’ faces drained of color instantly, turning corpse-pale as they read the verse.
A woman who appeared to be the Youngest Daughter shrieked hysterically.
“Who on earth put that ominous decoration there! Remove it at once!”
The family members began shouting at one another, their eyes filled with suspicion.
They accused each other of planting it as a shallow trick to intimidate the others into relinquishing their inheritance.
The prelude to a classic locked-room murder straight out of a mystery novel.
It appeared to be the beginning of a perfect mystery, woven from the complex grudges and conspiracies of human nature.
But the truth reflected in my eyes, pushed to their absolute limit of perception, was far removed from such refined detective drama.
“Kugh…! Hack!”
Suddenly, Arthur clutched at his throat and began coughing terribly.
He collapsed across the table, his wine glass shattering loudly, and red wine soaked the tablecloth like blood.
The family members recoiled in horror, and the chandelier lights flickered madly before extinguishing with a sharp crack, plunging the dining room into darkness.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
“Someone turn on the lights! Arthur, he…!”
In the pitch-black darkness, only Arthur’s horrific screams echoed grotesquely.
The first victim of a typical locked-room murder. Everyone was seized by panic, trembling in fear of an invisible killer.
But to my eyes, the killer was perfectly visible.
The Greed Demon clinging above Arthur’s head was directly strangling his neck with a massive hand—a stark, undeniable sight.
It was no clever human murder trick.
Merely a one-dimensional, crude occult phenomenon—human greed exceeding its threshold, causing the demon to run amok.
In the darkness, the two men flanking me moved reflexively.
Demian positioned himself perfectly in front of me, deploying a pristine barrier of holy power.
“Violetta! Close your eyes! I shall shield you so that unholy blood does not splatter upon you!”
Kairik extended his claws to their full length and wrapped his arm firmly around my shoulders.
“Whoever this madman is playing tricks, they’ll pay for startling my woman with their life!”
Both men radiated fierce killing intent toward the invisible assassin.
Amid the chaos of the family members wailing that each other was the culprit,
I exhaled a deep sigh and withdrew a heavy mana hammer from my subspace pocket.
Deduction? Finding the culprit? Leave such tedious matters to detectives.
The demon murderer is right before my eyes, openly strangling him—why should I bother thinking?
“Demian, lower the barrier. Your Highness, retract your claws.”
I murmured in a languid yet chilling voice, and the two men, bewildered, stepped aside.
I approached slowly through the darkness, my hammer resting casually across my shoulder, toward the Greed Demon strangling Arthur’s neck. “Listen here, Count Vain. You look like you’re on death’s door anyway—would you be willing to part with, say, ten million gold if I remove this burden clinging to your neck?”
“Listen here, Count Youngsik. You look like you’re about to breathe your last, so would you be willing to pay around ten million gold if I remove that burden hanging around your neck?”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————