Chapter 155 – Side Story ５

Side Story 5

“…I’m not the real daughter of the House. The real one was my younger sibling. But when my sibling died, I was made to take their place. The Madam didn’t want to have another child. So my sibling’s name, and the position of the Count’s daughter, all passed to me.”

Benat immediately understood that this woman wasn’t the Madam’s own child. It seemed the Count’s house had a story similar to his own family’s. At times like this, he had no idea what to say to her.

“No!”

But at that moment, Laura cut her off with a shout.

“Your younger sibling isn’t like that! They just wanted to be with their Unnie whenever she went out, so they held onto your leg. They never meant to trip you. That was truly unintentional.”

“Your younger sister… is she really saying that? It doesn’t make sense. I’m practically the one who took everything from her…”

Watching the woman grieve like that stirred a strange sympathy in Benat. He sat down beside her and looked at her squarely.

“Trust the Duchess. It must be true that your sister just wants to stay with you. Actually, I had a younger sibling who couldn’t leave the land of the living right after death. I thought it was because of lingering regret at not being acknowledged by our house. But it turned out they stayed because they felt sorry for not keeping our promise to play together. My sibling died very young, and I’d only ever thought from my own perspective.”

“So the Marquis’s house had another child too…”

“Yes. Officially, a child who never existed.”

Today, Benat had thought a lot about his sibling. Maybe that was why the story slipped out so naturally. And so the two of them shared their respective tales. At some point, they realized the Duke and Duchess had vanished from their surroundings. It seemed the couple had tactfully stepped away once the conversation turned to family matters.

“By the way, young lady. What’s your name?”

“Clea— no, Claudia Leiker.”

“I see. Miss Leiker. Come to the Duke’s manor with us next time. The Duchess will explain well why your sister is still here and what you should do from now on.”

“…Yes. Yes. Thank you.”

The bond forged at the Imperial Castle banquet continued afterward. The two of them actually set a date and visited the Duke’s manor. There, after Laura spoke with Claudia’s sister, she said it was best to leave the soul alone for now. She added that the sister would likely ascend when the time came, after staying by her unnie’s side as she wished.

“Really? Then my sister doesn’t have to leave yet!”

Claudia was genuinely elated. After that, she thanked the Duchess and stepped out of the Duke’s manor with a buoyant stride. Then she turned to look at Benat, who had followed her.

“Actually, I have a present for you, Marquis.”

“A present for me?”

She hurried to her carriage, pulled out a painting, and handed it to Benat. In the painting was a child with brown hair and green eyes. Benat immediately understood the meaning of the gift. At this unexpectedly delicate present, his heart began to stir strangely.

“You said there was no portrait, so I commissioned one based on your description. And… I had them make it resemble you too.”

“Thank you. It looks exactly like my sibling. Really.”

“I’m glad.”

Claudia’s lips curved into a soft smile. She looked so beautiful it made his heart stutter. And on top of that, Benat couldn’t stop thinking about someone who carried a story so much like his own. Maybe, he thought, they could be a comfort to each other. He studied her face, fumbling for what to say, then slowly opened his mouth.

“Claudia. Would you dance with me at the next banquet too? I’ll hold you steady this time.”

* * *

Ren, the second child of House Highen, had become an exorcist priest after years of rigorous training at the temple. He lived most days as a regular priest, but every so often, a call for exorcism came, and he answered. Today, another request had arrived.

“Aaaaagh!”

A gaunt woman shrieked in agony. She was bound tight to a chair, surrounded by priests.

“Step back!”

One priest barked the command like a thunderclap. The writhing woman slumped forward, her head dropping. Then, from the corner of her mouth, black smoke began to rise.

“It’s coming out!”

Ren pointed at the black smoke and shouted. The priests immediately began chanting incantations toward it. Whether it was the words themselves or something else, the smoke writhed and twisted, then faded bit by bit until it was gone.

“It’s done. Completely gone.”

Once the smoke’s shape was no longer visible, Ren added. The words acted like a signal — the priests stopped chanting in unison and began gathering their exorcism tools.

“Lucky this one wasn’t vicious.”

“Right. Over in no time.”

While they traded easy remarks, Ren quickly untied the woman. Then he noticed the rope marks still pressed into her wrists.

‘Still… even a gentle one, an evil spirit is dangerous.’

A childhood memory surfaced in Ren’s mind. He must have been around fifteen. His sister used to play a game where she’d let a dead soul possess her body. After a while, he’d draw the soul back out. Thinking back now, it was reckless beyond belief. Back then, he hadn’t even known if a spirit was evil or not.

“If we’re done, hand the client over to their guardian and let’s go.”

Unlike Ren, the other priests were completely calm. With businesslike composure, they packed up their things and called for the possessed woman’s guardian. Soon, an elderly married couple shuffled into the room, tears streaming down their faces.

“Is it over? Thank you.”

“Yes. She’s fine now. But be careful. Once a possession happens, a space is left inside the body for a soul to enter — meaning possession will be easier from now on. From now on, even if you see or sense a soul, you must ignore it absolutely.”

“Yes. Yes. I understand. I’ll tell her so.”

“We’ll be going now.”

After that, the priests filed out of the old house in a throng. Then they quickened their steps, heading back to the temple.

“Unpaid job this time.”

“The temple says we’re not supposed to take money from poor folk like that.”

“Anyway, it’s convenient having someone like Ren on the exorcism team — someone who can actually see.”

“Right. No need to double-check whether the exorcism actually worked.”

“Just confirm whether Ren sees anything or not!”

“…….”

Even though they were talking about him, Ren didn’t bother joining the conversation. Instead, he looked around and spotted the ducal manor. No wonder the route felt familiar — the client’s house must’ve been near the Duke’s estate.

‘The Duke will be at the Imperial Castle, right? Noona should be at home, looking after my nephew who just turned four….’

With the uncomfortable brother-in-law out of the way, it seemed like a decent opportunity to visit Noona. So Ren excused himself from his companions, parted ways with them, and headed toward the ducal manor. Riding a hired carriage, he stepped up to the mansion’s front door — which swung open at once. But inside, instead of his sister, only the duke and his nephew remained.

“Where’s Noona gone? And you left the kid home alone?”

Ren dropped the half-hearted question, eyeing the visibly awkward duke. The duke found his brother-in-law just as uncomfortable, but answered honestly all the same.

“She went to meet a friend. Said she’d be back tomorrow.”

“Ah. I see. Sorry for the intrusion.”

“Have you eaten? If not, stay and have a meal. My wife will nag me if she finds out I sent her brother away empty-handed.”

“I’m fine… really.”

Truth was, Ren didn’t want to dine with someone he barely knew, not when Noona wasn’t there. And honestly, he figured the duke was hoping he’d refuse too.

“Uncle Ren! Play with me. I’ll play with you!”

At that moment, the nephew standing behind the duke scurried over and grabbed Ren. Ren’s gaze naturally shifted from the duke to the child. Bright and cheerful, the boy’s features strongly resembled his Noona’s — same eyes, nose, and mouth. Of course, most kids were cute, but maybe because they shared blood, Ren felt an extra tenderness toward him. That made it hard to refuse the boy’s requests.

“Rubina hasn’t seen his uncle in a while either. If you’re not too busy, stay a little longer.”

In the end, Ren gave in to the duke’s suggestion and played with the boy. Then came mealtime, and they headed to the dining room. The table was already set with all sorts of dishes — tempting enough, but no sooner had Rubina sat down than he started making a fuss.

“I hate veggies! I’m not eating carrots!”

“Rubina. You can’t be a picky eater. Eat your vegetables.”

“Waaah! I don’t want to!”

“Throwing a tantrum won’t help.”

“Waaah!”

The sight of his brother-in-law dealing with his nephew was wearying. He let out a short sigh, then muttered something under his breath.

“I don’t remember it myself, but I guess I must’ve been a picky eater when I was little too.”

Ren, however, thought otherwise.

‘No way… you’re just like Noona when she was little…’

But in that instant, a sudden chill ran down his spine.

‘Huh? What was that?’

Startled, he lifted his gaze and turned around—only to see a small, black soul seeping out from behind him. It was the very evil spirit he’d exorcised a few hours ago. The exorcism hadn’t been complete, leaving behind a faint trace. Fortunately, its power was weak enough that it would’ve faded on its own. The problem was that his nephew had recognized it.

“Huh? Look! A black ball is flying around!”

At his nephew’s shout, Ren shot out a hand and grabbed the black evil spirit. Absorbing his divine power, it dissolved completely.

“Uncle got rid of it!”

Yeah, it seemed his nephew could see souls too. Ren’s thoughts flashed to his sister, who’d suffered for the same gift, and a fresh wave of sorrow washed over him. Before he knew it, tears were streaming down his face. He was terrified his nephew would endure the same hardship as Noona.

“You’re not supposed to see things like that. At least pretend you can’t!”

“Uncle, are you crying?”

“Answer me! From now on, even if you see them, ignore them. Got it?!”

“Whyyy.”

Maybe she felt hurt at being scolded out of nowhere, because Rubina started wailing loudly. The table soon turned into a chaotic mess. The duke, looking exhausted, set Rubina on his knee and tried his best to soothe her. Watching his brother-in-law, Ren’s lips quivered as he spoke.

“Does… Noona know about this too?”

“She does. I’ve been teaching her to act like she doesn’t see them. She just won’t listen.”

“That’s… just like Noona. She had a real knack for ignoring our parents’ words too.”

“…….”

The duke shot him a look that said, Don’t lie. He seemed utterly unable to believe his wife had once been a tomboy. But Ren had no heart to correct his delusion right now—his worry for Rubina came first.