Chapter 120

Chapter 120

Shion shouted, brimming with excitement. She must have spotted the headless man wandering the manor. My heart lifted at the thought of meeting him again. I stepped closer to Shion and asked.

“Really? Where was that soul?”

“I’ll bring him! Don’t move—stay right here, Unnie and Oppa!”

With that, she raised one hand high and called out, then scurried off to the end of the corridor. It happened in an instant, before I could even answer. Dazed, I stared at the empty spot where the child had vanished with startling speed, then turned my gaze to the duke. He glanced down at me.

“Well… let’s wait and see.”

He added in a calm tone. And so we waited there for Shion. Not long after, she came running back, shouting loudly as she sprinted down the corridor.

“Unnie! Oppa!”

The child’s hands were full of something. At first I thought it was a round ball. But as she drew closer and the shape sharpened, I realized how completely wrong I was.

That wasn’t a ball—it was a head.

“Aaaah!”

“Ahh!”

The Duke and I clung to each other. The way she’d brought it—like a trophy from an enemy general—struck me as utterly horrifying. Dear God, who even thinks to snatch someone’s head like that… There’s no hooligan worse than this.

Behind Shion, a headless man came stumbling down the hall, gasping. He seemed desperate to reclaim his severed head, stolen away by a little bandit. The method was a bit odd, but either way, Shion had truly brought him.

“Here! The oppa Unnie was looking for, right here!”

Shion ran up to us and thrust out the pallid head. I squinted down at it—and met a gaze that was weeping with grievance.

“Uh… um… well…”

I stammered, a little flustered. In the meantime, the head’s owner had already arrived before us. He dropped to his knees first, then struck a pose like a man wailing in despair.

Somehow, I felt sorry. Of course, I hadn’t told Shion to steal his head. But knowing it had happened because of me stirred an awkward guilt. Still, I couldn’t let this chance slip away. We absolutely had to help Madam ascend.

“Shion, hold onto that head tight for now.”

I hinted, looking at her.

“Okay!”

Shion nodded vigorously, hugging the man’s skull even tighter. That’s how we managed to keep the headless man pinned. But another problem arose.

‘This is… quite troublesome…’

I thought, glancing between the head and the body. There was plenty to say, but I had no idea which side to address. One wrong choice and I might commit a serious faux pas.

Head? Or body?

The head had eyes and ears. So, the head? But the body was the one moving around… So, the body?

I mulled it over deeply. In the end, I steeled myself for the head and fixed my gaze on it, cradled in Shion’s arms.

Roughly speaking, talking to the side with ears seemed right, I guess…

“Excuse me. Let’s talk again.”

* * *

The Duke and I sat side by side, spreading the Book of Souls open on the table. The headless man took the seat across from us, while Shion still clutched the head tightly beside him.

“I’m determined to see you ascend. I know that ascension means a chance at the next life. That’s nothing bad, is it? So why do you refuse to ascend?”

This time I spoke while looking at the headless man’s torso. The man lifted his hand and made a scratching motion where his head should have been. Then, all of a sudden, he reached out and pointed at the Book of Souls. Slowly, he began forming sentences.

〈My… every… life has been misery. A different life… I want… no more.〉

Every life…?

The sentences he formed felt strange somehow. As if…

“You don’t mean you remember all your past lives, do you?”

Yes, it was as if he vividly remembered every single life.

〈I remember. That’s why… reincarnation… I hate it.〉

He answered. I was deeply taken aback. I’d never even imagined I’d get this kind of response.

He hates reincarnation…?

I believe in reincarnation. Because I carry memories of a past life. To be honest, most of it faded as I grew up — not exactly vivid, but still, whatever.

And when I turn those fragmentary memories over in my mind, I can feel a wistful ache even without clarity. I don’t know for sure, but it seems the me from that past life lived fairly happily.

Naturally, reincarnation never felt bad to me. If anything, I believed it was something good — and I assumed other souls felt the same.

Yeah. Isn’t reincarnation, at its core, a second chance at life? That’s why I thought he might need it too, but…

“Uh… but you can’t be certain the next life will be unhappy, can you…?”

I glanced at the man, sneaking a read on his mood as I asked. If unhappiness comes from living, then happiness does too. Maybe he was just missing the happiness handed to him.

〈I am…… always…… unhappy.〉

But his answer was firm. At that, I lost all words.

〈My…… first…… life was〉

Then he began forming other sentences. Each character assembled slowly, one by one, trailing from the man’s fingertips.

〈Carriage accident… both legs… lost… then fired. On the streets… stoned… died.〉

〈The… second… the mother sold her… to a brothel… And she killed herself.〉

〈The third was… born into a… good home… but died in an… accident… after eight years.〉

〈The fourth was… an orphan… sold as someone’s wife. Trapped… in a house… her whole life.〉

〈This is the fifth… committed a crime… neck… cut off.〉

His motions stopped there. I lifted my gaze to the man’s severed neck. So that was the result of a beheading, then.

“So… was he executed?” I asked.

〈Yes. I don’t… want to talk about what… happened.〉

“Okay. I won’t ask.”

Suspicion flickered through me, but I chose not to press. Hearing about his miserable life made me cautious—even revisiting his own past might cause him pain. I bit my lip and fell silent.

“You there, what’s your name? I mean, the name from your last life.”

Just then, the Duke interjected, asking him directly.

〈Edil.〉

He fumbled through the Book of Souls again, forming the letters. The Duke confirmed it with a glance, then lifted his head to look at him.

“I see, Edil. Do you wish to remain a soul, then?”

〈I… like being… a soul. This is… the happiest. These moments… are joyful… I want to… stay like this… forever.〉

He answered. Saying he liked being a soul… They say the dead linger closest to the moment of death. So claiming this is the happiest means he welcomed death itself. Yes, he’d clearly lived an unbearably unhappy life—if even having his neck severed felt like bliss.

“But I can’t leave a soul lingering in Cuvershaiden forever.”

The Duke continued, his tone flat. The headless man flapped both hands as if troubled.

〈Don’t… ascend. Reincarnation… I hate. This mansion’s master… brought me here. Don’t exorcise me… either.〉

“That master has changed. But since I won’t force an unwelcome ascension, and can’t have you exorcised, let’s take some time. I’ll think about what’s best.”

At that, the headless man’s shoulders slumped in dejection. He seemed genuinely worried about being suddenly evicted. But soon he raised his hand and formed a sentence of understanding.

〈Understood…〉

After that, he received his head from Shion, passed through the door, and left the room. I stared at the abandoned Book of Souls, then spoke gloomily.

“What should we do?”

“I wonder.”

The Duke answered. He seemed just as unsure. I never imagined a life could be so wretched that death brought joy. Secretly, I worried whether we’d find a fitting way to let him ascend.

* * *

After a long while, I went out to the bustling streets to meet Hereis. We stopped by an accessory shop to look at men’s bracelets.

“I think this one’s better.”

Hereis pointed to a bracelet with a clean design.

“Right, it’s pretty.”

The silver bracelet gleamed softly under the lights. Elegant patterns were engraved on its surface—not too flashy, which made it look refined instead. Its shape was neat, and the color wasn’t bad either. It was the best one I’d seen today. I especially thought it would suit the Duke perfectly.

“I’ll take this one, please.”

I called over the clerk and bought the bracelet. The clerk asked if it was a gift, then wrapped it up elegantly for me.

“Are you really going to give it to the Duke?”

Hereis stepped up beside me and asked, her voice edged with concern. I nodded firmly in response.

“Mm-hmm. I’m giving it to the Duke!”

My plan is simple. I’ll offer him a gift that means ‘I want to bind you,’ and ask him to date me.

Actually, looking back, the Duke gave me a bracelet with the Eye of the Sun and said something like ‘I can’t bind you.’ How gentlemanly. But sorry—I’m the binding type. And conservative, too—if we date, we have to get married.