Chapter 142

Chapter 142

After trying on dresses for the engagement party reception, I stepped out from behind the partition. Already ten samples in, I was bone-tired. But I couldn’t slack off—I had to pick the best design and hand it over for tailoring before the day was out. The staff said they’d gathered every trending style from the Imperial Castle, so anything I chose would be safe, but still.

“How about this one?”

I spread my arms wide and asked my siblings. The kids huddled together on the sofa, pressing their heads in deliberation. This was the tenth round of judgment.

“Hmm… I think this one suits you best. The color and design are pretty.”

Lucia nodded with her arms crossed. Her voice carried a surprisingly businesslike weight. She was throwing herself into picking out my dress—gratefully, but for someone who had to keep changing outfits, it was exhausting.

“I like it too!”

“Like it!”

Roti chimed in right after, and Ryan echoed her like a broken record.

“Looks fine. But isn’t it a bit plain?”

For once, Ren gave a positive answer too. With that, I’d passed the test from all the kids—aside from the youngest, but that didn’t count. I liked the design myself, so I let out a relieved sigh, figuring I didn’t need to try on any more.

“I’ll add some detailed embellishments. And since I’maccessorizing, better keep it subtle.”

I lifted the hem and felt the soft fabric as I replied. Then I turned to the staff from the boutique.

“Excuse me, I’ll go with this one.”

At my words, they showered me with overblown compliments, calling it an excellent choice. That suffocating kindness reserved for the Duke’s prospective fiancée. After helping me change, they packed up and left—racing against the tight schedule to finish my dress.

If nothing major went wrong, things should roll smoothly until the engagement ceremony. The manor was buzzing, everyone caught up in the excitement of preparing for the big event. Despite the lingering matter of Madam’s ascension weighing on my heart, I couldn’t help being swept along. The real drain was the budget allocation and writing invitations. I’d thought trying on dresses would be the easy part, but after the fifth one, it felt like hard labor.

“Ah… I’m so tired…”

I slumped my shoulders and leaned back into the sofa. Ren looked over at me, resting his arm on the sofa back.

“Wow… you’re really getting engaged.”

“Of course. What, did you think I was faking it?”

“It just feels surreal seeing the process firsthand. But more than that…”

Ren trailed off, his calm voice hanging in the air like he had more to say. I didn’t like where this was going—not even a little. So I made a show of slapping my hands over my ears.

“If you’re just gonna stir up trouble, shut your mouth.”

“That’s not it at all! What did I even do…”

Ren’s brow pinched in irritation at my words. But the whine in my little brother’s voice softened me for a split second. I slipped one hand away from my ear—a magnanimous gesture, like I was granting him permission to speak.

“It’s ’cause you keep nitpicking, Oppa. What’s your problem? I actually like the Duke. Sure, his face is a little sharp—scared me at first—but he seems like a good person.”

Then Lucia sided with me, adding her voice. Whenever she and Ren fought, she usually backed me up. And today, true to form, she defended me again. The third sibling was truly a good kid. And far more rewarding to raise than the second. Meanwhile, the result of my upbringing, which had grown up contrary to my expectations, just let out a sigh.

“No, it’s not because of the Duke. Honestly, if you say you like her, what can I do about it? The real problem is the ghosts living here.”

“Ghosts? There were really ghosts here?”

At that, Lucia blinked and asked him. Ren gave a curt reply—’Yeah, there were.’—then turned back to me. With a face grown utterly serious, he opened his mouth again.

“I know you’re expecting me to tell you not to meddle again, but hear me out first. It’s about the ghosts yesterday.”

“Mm. What about them?”

“Isn’t this just a case for an exorcism?”

That kid. He’s trying to take the easy way through life.

Looking back on it, the kid had a point. But that didn’t make the suggestion any easier to swallow. If I had my way, I’d rather not exorcise the ghosts at all. And anyway, it wasn’t something I could do even if I wanted to.

“According to the law, you can’t perform an exorcism unless it’s an evil spirit or something equivalent. But the ones here are just regular ghosts, even if their energy is strong.”

“The law? You mean that religious code the priests go on about? I get what you’re saying, but what does that matter? Duke, you’ve got plenty of money. Just bribe some exorcist priest and have them do it.”

Ren spoke with a crooked sneer. For a moment, I had to wonder if I’d ever taught the kid about bribery.

Hmm… No matter how I think about it, I don’t recall ever doing that…

Looking back, my second sibling always seemed to pick up odd bits of common sense from somewhere. And for the record, I never taught him that rotten attitude either. Anyway, I shook my head to signal my refusal.

“Anyway, no. Exorcism is something you consider after you’ve seen the ghosts out and thought about it. If these spirits leave here, they might cross over time and achieve Ascension. But if you go ahead with the exorcism, they won’t even have that chance.”

“I’m only worried because I might turn out wrong and end up possessed. You said my soul developed cracks from repeated possessions. That makes it easy for spirits to slip in.”

“I have the Eye of the Sun. Right here.”

I thrust out my left arm on the spot, showing off the bracelet and ring set with the Eye of the Sun. The meaning was clear — the divine power inside would block possession. Ren narrowed his eyes at the jangling bracelet on my wrist. In the meantime, I added quietly.

“And about the exorcism, well. Honestly, I’ve thought about it, but I can’t. The Duke already looked into it. Apparently, only a handful of priests can perform exorcisms in the first place, and among them, no one’s willing to exorcise a healthy soul by bending their religious convictions.”

“…Is that so?”

At my words, Ren furrowed his brow as if deep in thought, his gaze still locked on the bracelet.

“If you’re worried, help me send the ghosts away! I’m going to see them again today — you can guard me from the side.”

I smiled faintly and patted Ren on the shoulder twice. Since things had turned out this way, I decided to make use of my younger brother with divine power as a bodyguard. Of course, he wouldn’t refuse.

* * *

That night, the Duke, me, Ren, and the priest all trooped to the room where Shion was. The priest held the jewelry box containing the Eye of the Sun and carefully opened the door. But strangely, no chill emanated from inside. Peeking in, only an empty space met my eyes.

“No one’s here? Are you sure you told that kid Shion to stay here?”

Ren immediately turned to me and asked.

“Looks like she went out, huh?”

I pressed a hand to my forehead and replied. I’d thought Shion had been listening to me unusually well lately, but while I was letting my guard down, she’d blindsided me like this. Well, kids always do unexpected things. And on top of that, I’d ignored her plea yesterday to take her along. Maybe she’d gotten upset and stormed right out of the room.

‘Should I… search the manor and find her?’

I was just mulling that over when, out of the corner of my eye, I caught the shape of someone passing by. I quickly turned my head to follow the figure. And in that instant, an old man trailing white hair vanished through the wall.

“Over there! That old man just went through that wall!”

I shouted, pointing at the direction she’d gone. Then I hurried over and looked out the window. But in the garden shrouded in black darkness, there was no sign of the white-haired elder. Instead, a young woman stood there alone, forlorn.

‘Who’s that? A maid? Or a ghost?’

A chill crawled through me at the strange sight. But I couldn’t be certain it wasn’t a person just because it was eerie. So I grabbed the priest and hauled him to the window, asking in an urgent voice.

“Excuse me. Priest, do you see that woman over there?”

“Huh? No, I don’t see anything…”

Oh, my god…

If his eyes couldn’t see her, then she was definitely a ghost, not a person. For an instant, my head spun.

“A woman I’ve never seen before? Looks like a new soul’s entered Cuvershaiden.”

The Duke spoke in a tone of incredulous amusement. I was a bit taken aback myself. This constant flood of ghosts into Cuvershaiden felt deeply troubling. The one saving grace was that we now had the massive Eye of the Sun—pushing out a newly arrived ghost shouldn’t be too hard.

“Let’s go downstairs.”

Grabbing the Duke and the priest by the hands, I hurried down the stairs. Regrettably, I only had two hands, so I couldn’t take Ren too. I simply abandoned him without a second thought.

As we stepped out the front door, I spotted a young woman in the distance with long blonde hair loose and flowing. But she was wearing one of the dresses I’d tried on today. Finding that quite odd, I studied her closely.

My gaze traveled slowly upward from her feet. The hem of her skirt fluttered like a breeze, past her slender waist and chest, until finally her face came into view.

…And it was a face far too familiar.

“Shion?”

“Yeah, Unnie.”

She answered in a voice that had grown so mature. As expected, the woman’s identity was Shion.

“What happened? You… grew up?”

“Yeah. Maybe it was the divine power? Feels a lot clearer. Oh, and this dress—I kind of copied yours. How is it?”

She spread her arms and showed off her appearance. I couldn’t manage a proper reply. The sight before me was just too bewildering.

“What’s the matter?”

As I stood there with a flustered expression, the priest turned to ask me. At the same time, Shion’s head swiveled toward him.

“Ah! You have divine power? That’s from yesterday, right?”

She began to walk toward us with light, airy steps. The priest flinched and took a couple of steps back. He too seemed to feel the immense energy of the soul drawing closer.