Chapter 139

Chapter 139

At Shion’s thrashing, the white-haired old woman flinched awkwardly. For someone so timid and watchful, I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t leave the child’s side. In any case, her presence was complicating matters, and my anger was rising inwardly. Before I knew it, my voice grew sharp and irritable.

“Excuse me. The kid doesn’t want you around, so why do you keep following her? Go back to the Imperial Castle!”

At my words, she lifted her eyes to look at me. Her bloodshot gaze bore into me fiercely. In an instant, fear rose up within my anger-clouded mind. I had momentarily forgotten, but she was a very powerful ghost. And she had even possessed me before. I stumbled back, slowly retreating a few steps, then turned and bolted down the corridor.

“Aaaah—”

I ran like that for a long while, only collapsing to the floor to catch my breath once I reached a corner. The old woman’s terrifying visage lingered in my mind like an afterimage, and goosebumps prickled across my entire body.

“Hoo… how could you just run off like that alone, abandoning a person?”

The priest dropped to his knees beside me and cried out. Then, with a dramatic, despairing gesture, he gasped for ragged breath. It seemed he too had scrambled out after me in a panic.

“Why did you run away, Priest? You have divine power, so she’s not that threatening to you!”

“Divine power isn’t everything. I can’t even see them, but when you charged out like that, honestly, it scared me. And it felt like the soul’s energy suddenly exploded and swelled. What on earth did you do to provoke that spirit?”

He leaned back, planting his palms on the ground, then dropped his head with an exhausted look. In the meantime, I started glancing around nervously, checking if any ghosts had followed. Thankfully, the white-haired old man and Shion were nowhere in sight.

“Ha…”

A long sigh of relief escaped me. I shifted my gaze and finally answered the priest’s question.

“I had no choice. I was angry. That ghost—I need to send it out soon, but it’s clinging to Cuvershaiden.”

“You can be quite reckless sometimes, young lady. What does the Duke say? Surely he didn’t tell you to drive out the souls yourself?”

“Well, he did, but…”

I trailed off awkwardly at that. Of course, the Duke had only reacted calmly to the matter. But I just couldn’t do the same. And it seemed the priest found my behavior rather hopeless.

“…Still, I have to get them to ascend or send them out before it’s too late… because…”

Maybe I just wanted to vent my frustration.

“Because only then can I make the Madam ascend.”

I told him that I had to drive out every ghost in Cuvershaiden before I could help the Madam ascend. The priest listened silently, then stroked his chin, deep in thought.

“Ah, yes—there was a faint soul’s energy near the Duke. So that spirit must have been the mistress of House Cuvershaiden.”

“Yes. But the Duke seems to be mentally preparing for the Madam’s dissolution. That bothers me a little. I think I need to send out all the souls here before that happens.”

“Hmm… If I may be so bold, I believe the Duke is being wise.”

“What?”

The unexpected answer made me blurt out a stupid, short question. It wasn’t that I needed him to take my side, but this was about the Madam’s dissolution. His words didn’t sit well with me.

“When I first met the Duke, he had a weak soul attached to him—hardly worthy of being called a guardian spirit. I thought it would vanish soon. And now, its power has faded so much that I can no longer even sense it. As you know, young lady, she doesn’t have much time left.”

The priest continued. Not a single harsh word in his speech, but the words themselves felt like they were sharpening against my ears. Naturally, my heart twisted with resentment.

“…Don’t say that.”

“I know this is an uncomfortable conversation. But I think it would be good for you, young lady, to prepare for Madam’s dissipation. With luck, we might expel both souls from Cuvershaiden before that happens, but there’s no guarantee.”

“…….”

For a moment, my throat seized up. Of course I hadn’t been blind to the possibility of dissipation—Madam’s form was shrinking day by day; it was almost self-evident. Still, I’d wanted to cling to some hopeful chance. Yet now he seemed to be laying out every fact I’d been pretending not to see, one by one.

A lump rose in my throat. I drew my knees up and hugged them to my chest, rolling my eyes from side to side, fidgeting with my fingertips to buy time—but I couldn’t find a word to argue back. So in the end, I just nodded.

“Then what should I actually do? What does it mean to prepare for dissipation?”

“Well. From a parent’s perspective, wouldn’t the best thing be for their child to live well? What you can do, young lady… perhaps show him that you’ll live happily with the Duke.”

“……What is that? You talk as if you have children of your own. And you’re a priest…”

The words came out sharper than I’d meant. A childish spite. Still, the priest only responded with calm patience.

“I have no children, but I do have a nephew. And watching my sister with him lets me feel a parent’s heart, if only indirectly.”

“…….”

At that, I nodded to show I understood. I couldn’t fully grasp it, truly—but still, I could sense, however faintly, what he meant.

“Huh? Laura, what are you doing squatting there? And why’s the priest on the ground too?”

Just then, a familiar voice rang out. I turned my head and saw Sonia staring down at us with a bewildered expression. Behind her, a handful of maids spilled out in a chatter.

“What’s wrong, Laura—stomachache again?”

“Yeah. It was, but I’m fine now.”

I popped up from my spot and replied. Then I glanced at the priest, who was still sprawled on the floor. The maids followed my gaze.

“Looks like the priest’s stomach is worse than I thought.”

Ann said, her voice dripping with concern. Seeing him hunched on the ground, she’d apparently concluded he had a bad belly too. I watched her reaction for a moment, then shot the priest a pitying look of my own. That only made Ann’s worried expression deepen.

“Oh dear! Can’t handle milk either, like Laura? I’ve got some tea from home—it’s good for upset stomachs. Shall I bring you some?”

“No, I…”

At that, the priest scrambled up awkwardly. He looked visibly flustered, a stark contrast to his composure just moments ago. The story of having collapsed from a stomachache seemed to embarrass him.

I let out a quiet snicker to myself when I suddenly spotted the Duke approaching from a distance, one arm laden with a stack of documents.

‘If he’s doing well… I want that too, for His Excellency to live happily. But leaving the Madam behind while he moves on… that guilt weighs on me. That’s why I want to settle her matter first.’

After that brief flicker of thought, I left my lady-in-waiting friends and the priest behind, then dashed over to the Duke. I stretched out both arms and hugged him. The cool touch of his shirt buttons pressed against my cheek. A moment later, I saw the stack of papers scatter to the floor with a soft patter. My sudden move must have startled him.

I thought to pick them up and started to lower myself, but the Duke held me fast, preventing it. He rested his chin on top of my head and spoke.

“What’s this? All of a sudden.”

His voice, laced with amusement, whispered near my ear as if melting into it.

* * *

A few days later, my siblings arrived at Cuvershaiden on the scheduled date. The third one spotted me and came running, flinging herself at me. The fourth one clung to my back, asking to be carried.

“Unnie! Unnie! It’s been so long!”

“I missed you!”

Unlike the noisy, joyful children, the second sibling just looked at me with a flat, unimpressed expression. He was holding the fifth one’s hand tightly, and the youngest, who had grown so fast, stared at me with round, curious eyes.

“Ryan, come here. Let Noona give you a hug.”

I crouched down in front of the youngest, stretching out both hands. The child toddled over and snuggled into my arms. The sight was unbearably cute. Then, the Duke took a step closer to my side.

“Greetings, Your Excellency. Thank you for inviting us.”

Lucia, having spotted the Duke, offered a polite greeting.

“Greetings to you as well.”

Honestly, I thought Ren would just act gruff, but the kid was showing surprising manners. It seemed his brash nature had been tempered somewhat while I wasn’t looking.

“Make yourselves comfortable while you’re here.”

The Duke said with a light chuckle. I shot another glance at Ren, a silent command to give a proper, respectful answer. But the second sibling paid no attention to my look, merely rolling his eyes as he surveyed the manor. The reply came from an unexpected quarter, in an unexpected form—from the third sibling.

“Yes, thank you. Um… Brother-in-law.”

I choked.

That’s not a thing yet?!

For a moment, I felt like my breath was caught in my throat. But I quickly composed myself, sneaking an awkward sidelong glance at the Duke. He looked down at me, then pointed a thumb at Lucia.

“Your sibling is clever.”

“Oh, yes. Lucia’s always been clever. They said she even got a scholarship this term at the academy…”

I trailed off mid-praise for my sister and clamped my mouth shut. The words had just tumbled out, aimless—but thinking on it now, any topic felt too embarrassing to touch.

“What’s ‘brother-in-law’?!”

Right after, Roti’s eyes went round as she shot the question at Lucia.

“Kids! Let’s head inside now.”

I flinched and stepped in front of her to block it. Then I grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the manor.

“Your Grace, what’s a ‘brother-in-law’?”

But Roti wouldn’t give up. The Duke turned to her and gave a gentle smile.

“Want to know? Shall I tell you?”

“No! I’ll teach her. I’ll take the kids to their room!”

I hoisted Roti up and shouted. Then I darted up the central staircase. My little sister dangled in the air, endlessly piping, “What’s a brother-in-law?”—but all I could answer was, “I’ll tell you later.”