Chapter 69

Chapter 69

“Pardon?”

He looked down at me with a puzzled expression. I gazed back up at him, eyes glittering with enthusiasm. Thinking about it, this felt like a chance encounter — a stroke of luck. After all, in this vast Imperial Castle, what were the odds of running into a priest I knew by accident?

“Actually, there’s a ghost whose memories I want to read. But I don’t have anyone to push the soul out for me. Couldn’t you help me with that?”

“……A spirit here in the Imperial Castle?”

“Yes. I spotted one on the way to the drawing room yesterday. An old man…… Anyway, he seems connected to a ghost at the Cuvershaiden manor. But we couldn’t really communicate. So I thought it’d be better to just see his memories directly.”

“……And what did the Duke say?”

That question left me speechless for a moment. Because of course the Duke had opposed it, saying it was too dangerous. And he seemed to already guess as much.

“……”

“He opposed it, didn’t he. That’s why you’re asking me. Am I wrong?”

“……Well, yes…… but I really need to see that ghost’s memories…… If we keep it a secret from the Duke……”

“Absolutely not. I told you before — possessing a living body with a dead soul is extremely dangerous. And if something goes wrong while I’ve assisted a young lady’s possession, what kind of reproach do you think I’d face from the Duke?”

“……But…”

“No.”

At his firm refusal, I sealed my lips shut again. My mind was overflowing with a desire to argue back, but nothing came to me.

“Young lady. Set aside that desire for possession and go enjoy the banquet.”

He let out a sigh, then continued. After that, he turned and jogged off in the direction the other priests had gone.

‘Damn. Recruitment failed…….’

I trudged back to the banquet hall, my mood sulking low. Inside, the priests were in the middle of a blessing ceremony for the Crown Prince. Nobles clustered in small groups around them, watching in hushed silence.

A sudden curiosity prodded me to slip in among them. That’s when I caught the eye of the priest I’d parted ways with earlier. He narrowed his brow at me ever so slightly, as if saying, ‘Don’t do anything foolish.’ So I narrowed mine back, shooting him a curt, ‘I know.’ He gave a dubious little frown, then tore his gaze away and resumed the ceremony.

Honestly. I’d heard I had a stubborn streak, but did I really inspire that little trust?

Pouting a bit, I peeled off from the spot and went to grab some banquet food. I slipped away to a corner of the hall, planted myself somewhere remote where I could still see the crowd, and watched them laugh and chatter among themselves while I downed a mouthful of champagne.

A sweet-bitter tang bloomed across my tongue. A taste that could wring admiration from anyone, yet it didn’t sway me much—probably because my spirits weren’t exactly high. To top it off, the vast Imperial Castle felt especially tedious today. Even Hereis hadn’t come to the banquet, leaving me with no one to talk to.

‘I wonder if the investigation is done by now?’

I set down my champagne glass and thought about it. Truth was, I wasn’t holding out much hope for the findings. If I couldn’t even make it onto the imperial genealogy because I was a second wife’s child, how much could be left in other records?

‘I’m bored… Wish the Duke would hurry up and come…’

Then, all of a sudden, a craving to see the Duke struck me. Naturally, my mind started gauging where he might be.

‘Now that I think about it, even if the investigation’s done, the Duke might be meeting with the envoys. He said yesterday’s talk wasn’t finished…’

Without weighing it any further, I turned my steps to leave the banquet hall. If he was indeed meeting the envoys, he’d be in the drawing room.

I stepped out and started walking down the long, wide corridor. Then it hit me that the Duke’s business might run late. Still, I didn’t turn back. Waiting a bit would do—it wasn’t that late, and it didn’t seem likely a ghost would pop out of nowhere to startle me.

But isn’t it always when you let your guard down that trouble strikes?

I hadn’t felt a chill at all, yet suddenly a blurry human shape flickered at the edge of my vision.

‘Isn’t it a little early for ghosts to appear?’

I blinked hard, trying to clear my vision, but in that moment she’d already closed the distance between us. The woman in tattered clothes with wild, unkempt hair had materialized right before me in an instant.

A chill crawled up my spine. I spun on my heel, already taking a step back toward the banquet hall, cursing the past version of myself who’d been so confident about stepping into this corridor. I knew — knew — that strong spirits could show themselves even in broad daylight, rare as it was. But my desperate need to see the Duke had made me careless.

I held my breath, moving as silently as I could. The last thing I wanted was to draw that ghost’s attention.

“Hey.”

A scraping voice slithered from behind me. So much for my effort.

“I’ve been waiting.”

She kept talking.

Waiting for me? Since when did we even know each other…?

Tears welled up, hot and sudden, threatening to spill. I stood frozen, torn between bolting away and obeying her call. Finally, I dared a glance back over my shoulder. But she wasn’t there — the spot where she’d definitely been standing was empty.

Huh? She just… vanished…?

I prayed she was only hiding her form, but I couldn’t be sure. She could reappear anywhere, anytime. Swallowing my dread, I turned around slowly. I had to get out of here, fast.

“Aaaaaaagh!”

And then — the ghost from before came screaming toward me from across the hall. I couldn’t dodge; we collided head-on. A violent jolt wrenched through my body, and I hit the floor with a heavy thud.

When I opened my eyes again, a golden dragon loomed before me. It stared, its sharp gaze fixed on me. I realized — this was that ghost’s memory. I’d been possessed again.

‘Wait. What’s this? Am I possessed again? That’s weird. This has never happened before…’

Until now, possession only happened when I willed it. But yesterday and today were different. All it took was bumping into a ghost, and I was possessed.

‘Will it break on its own again today? I hope it fades soon… I’m probably still lying on the floor somewhere…’

Locking eyes with the dragon, I thought of my own body sprawled in the Imperial Castle corridor like a drunkard. The image was deeply embarrassing.

While I was mulling this over, the owner of this memory scampered right up to the dragon.

“What are you? A big lizard?”

The girl’s sharp voice burst out. This had to be one of her childhood memories, I figured.

“Go back, little human.”

This time came a grave, adult voice. I sensed it was the dragon’s—but not from its mouth. The sound resonated low through every pocket of air around the child.

“Go back where?”

The child plopped down in front of the dragon’s head and asked.

“Wherever other humans like you gather—that’s where you belong.”

“You mean that village over there? I hate it. The kids there throw rocks at me. It hurts!”

“…….”

The dragon narrowed both eyes in silence. Then it seemed to study the child from head to toe.

“……Are those bruises from the stones they throw?”

“Yeah. I don’t get why they hate me. It’s not my fault I don’t have a mom or dad.”

“They must be bad children.”

“Right. I hate them so much.”

The child grumbled, slapping the ground with both hands. Then she thrust her face right up against the dragon’s enormous pupil.

“Hey, big lizard—is this your home?”

“I am a being who lives in the sky. My time came to die, so I descended to earth and made this my tomb.”

“So… you’re dying?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t like dying…”

“Death is not the end of things. Every life on this land can earn the chance of reincarnation. There’s no need to regret it.”

“Hmm… I don’t get what you mean.”

“After you die, as long as you don’t stay bound to the land of the living, you’ll come to understand naturally.”

“Hmm…”

The child hummed to herself, trying to parse the dragon’s difficult talk. Then she suddenly flung her arms wide and hugged the dragon’s face.

“I want to stay here. Let me stay.”

“……You are human, so you must stay with humans. I know humans are social creatures who need to live among their own kind.”

“No. They hate me. Nobody ever talked to me like you do, Lizard. I’m just going to live here, in this tomb.”

“…….”

“No! Don’t chase me away! I’m not going!”

“……Fine. Then do as you wish.”

The dragon answered with a small, resigned sigh. The child replied, “Okay!” and closed her eyes right there, leaning against the dragon’s head and drifting off to sleep.