Sister, I Hit You Because There Was a Ghost Behind You - Chapter 64

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 64. Nine Ravens Remain and the Unclean Shadow
The chandelier in the Dining Room flickered back to life, yet not a single ray of light touched the faces of those gathered beneath it.
Wine glass shards scattered across the floor and the crimson-stained tablecloth were irrefutable proof that the commotion had been far more than mere misunderstanding.
Arthur, the eldest son, continued to breathe heavily as he touched the dark red handprints lingering on his neck, while the rest of the family kept their distance from one another, treating each as a potential murderer.
I sank deeply into the back of my chair.
The world as seen through my spirit vision was still so tangled in threads of dark magic that my eyes grew weary.
[Hehehehe, what a waste! Just a bit more and his neck would have snapped!]
[Who is that woman? She blasted my friend to pieces in one shot!]
The voices of lesser demons whispering from the shadows on the walls tickled my ears—a more irritating noise than the buzzing of flies. I snapped my fan open with a sharp flourish and waved it vigorously near my face. Each time their repugnant aura touched my skin, I felt my vitality being drained away bit by bit, which was deeply unpleasant.
“Violetta, I believe it would be best for you to return to your chamber. The air in this place is gnawing away at your mental fortitude.”
Demian, who had sensed my condition with uncanny precision, approached my side and whispered in a low voice. As the cool and crystalline holy power emanating from his body enveloped my surroundings, the severe headache that had plagued me began to subside considerably.
I leaned my weight slightly against his firm arm and nodded.
“Indeed. It seems our delightful dinner has been ruined, so I would prefer to settle this chaos first.”
At that moment, Lisa, the Youngest Daughter who had been trembling at one end of the table, let out a scream while pointing at the shattered raven statue.
“Look! The statue is broken! According to the nursery rhyme, only nine remain now! Whose turn is next? Mine? Or Edward’s?”
The family’s gazes turned toward the frame above the Fireplace—that unsettling nursery rhyme beginning with “Ten Blind Ravens.” Despite my having crushed the demon’s skull and saved Arthur’s life, the raven statue was already half-destroyed and rolling across the floor. It was as though the curse dwelling in this Mansion valued ‘procedure’ far more than ‘outcome.’
Kairik let out a derisive snort and trampled the statue fragments beneath his boot, grinding them into powder.
“How foolish. What’s the fuss about some stone crumbling? If you’re truly frightened, shall I catch every raven in this Mansion and wring their necks for you?”
The family’s faces grew even paler at Kairik’s barbaric suggestion. Unbothered, he draped his thick arm across my shoulder and pulled me toward him.
“Weakling, listening to such prattling will only rot your ears. Come now, lean against my shoulder and let’s head upstairs to your chamber.”
“Your Highness, do remove that rough hand first. Violetta finds it disagreeable.”
As Demian’s cold gaze fixed on Kairik’s wrist, attempting to seize it, murderous sparks flew between the two men once more. To sever the tension of this tiresome triangle, I brushed away both their hands and called for the Old Butler.
“Butler, where might Count Vain, the master of this Mansion, be? I believe I shall rest more peacefully once I’ve confirmed where this farce originated.”
The Butler answered, wiping sweat from his brow in apparent distress.
“The master lies in the Third Floor End Room, but he is receiving no visitors at present. His condition is most grave…”
“Grave is not the word—he is being consumed by something.”
I replied coolly and surveyed the family members.
The demon that had sought to kill Arthur had vanished, yet above the heads of the remaining humans, different hues of greed still coiled. This Mansion was a vast ‘breeding ground for avarice.’
Someone had deliberately summoned the family here, and using the emotional residue they emitted, was attempting to resurrect something.
I led the way out of the Dining Room and toward the Central Staircase. Demian and Kairik, as if by agreement, flanked me on either side as they followed.
With each step up the staircase, the aged wooden floor released an unpleasant cry.
The Second Floor Corridor was lined with portraits of past masters, and through my spirit vision, I could see their eyes following our movement.
[That woman’s spirit appears remarkably clear.]
[The men beside her are dangerous. Especially that silver-haired knight… his holy power is far too brilliant.]
From behind wardrobes, within picture frames, and through ceiling cracks—vengeful spirits embedded throughout the ancient Castle gazed upon us with dripping saliva. I rubbed my arms, which bristled with goosebumps, and muttered irritably.
“Ugh, how utterly repulsive. Demian, purify the air more thoroughly. The mixture of mold and demon stench is making my nose go numb.”
“As you wish. I shall open my holy power more fully.”
Demian carefully clasped my hand. In contrast to the blue veins bulging across the back of his hand, the energy flowing into my bloodstream was as refreshing as the dawn air of a dew-laden forest.
I felt vitality returning to my body, which had grown languid from the drain of spiritual energy.
Witnessing this, Kairik ground his teeth and seized my other hand with a sudden grip.
“Hey, you two! I said just purification—why are you sneakily holding my hands like this? Weakling, if you’re cold, hold mine instead. My body heat will be far more helpful than that bland chill.”
Kairik’s hand was the complete opposite of Demian’s—burning like volcanic lava. As coolness and heat simultaneously flooded through both my arms, my head spun dizzyingly.
“Both of you, enough! What am I, some kind of temperature control device? One of you is an air conditioner, the other a heater… You’re literally steaming and freezing me to death.”
At my sharp rebuke, both men faltered and averted their gazes. Yet stubbornly refusing to release my hands, I eventually sighed in resignation and was dragged upward to the Third Floor as if against my will.
The moment we arrived before the room at the end of the Second Floor Corridor where Count Vain lay, I instinctively wrenched my hands free and summoned my hammer.
The aura emanating from beyond the iron door was on an entirely different dimension from the lower floors. Viscous, heavy, murky like the silt of the deep sea—it was not merely a Greed Demon, but the fragrance of a very ancient ‘resentment’.
“Violetta, step back. The entity beyond that door is no ordinary vengeful spirit.”
Demian positioned himself before me, his hand resting on the hilt of his holy sword. His face had hardened into an expression I’d never seen before. Kairik, too, blazed with bestial intensity as he extended his claws to their full length.
“Heh, finally something worth hunting has shown up. Weakling, you watch from behind. I’ll smash both that door and this bastard’s skull to pieces.”
Just as Kairik was about to kick the door open, the tightly sealed iron door creaked and swung open of its own accord.
The room was submerged in absolute darkness, with only a flickering old candle at the head of the bed casting its feeble light. Upon the bed lay Count Vain, skeletal and withered—but to my eyes, thousands of black spectral ravens were visible, tearing at his flesh. The sight was utterly horrifying.
And in the corner of the room, standing like a shadow within the darkness, was a man.
“Oh, how wonderful that our distinguished guests have finally graced my chamber with their presence.”
The man with the soft, mellifluous voice slowly emerged from the darkness. He wore the ornate garb of nobility, yet he cast no shadow beneath his feet. Rather, where his shadow should have been, a gaping black void writhed with the screams of countless souls.
I rested my hammer against my shoulder and asked coldly.
“Are you the Butler of this Mansion? Or perhaps the keeper who raises these revolting ravens?”
The man bowed gracefully and answered.
“I am merely a proxy fulfilling the master’s final wish. Once nine more ravens perish, this Castle shall welcome its true master.”
Before the man’s words had even finished, another piercing scream echoed from the lower floors—this time far more desperate and agonized than before.
“Ugh, how irritating. Why don’t you just come all at once instead of teasing like this?”
I adjusted my grip on my hammer and fixed the man with a piercing glare. My first night at this romantic resort was being stained with blood and the nauseating stench of Greed Demons.
The price for disrupting my vacation would be so steep that no amount of gold could ever repay it. Mentally adding another zero to the bill I was already calculating, I leaped forward with all my might toward the darkness before me.
“Demian, Your Highness! Let’s tear apart that unlucky shadow bastard first!”
At my command, the Holy Knight’s radiance and the beast’s darkness simultaneously consumed the room.
The fall of the Emerald Hall had only just begun its opening act.

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