Chapter 97

Chapter 97

Luka looked a little regretful. I took it as him mourning the parting too. But even so, he had to go. Yes. In the situation they were in, that was only natural.

“Thank you for working under me all this time, Luka. I’ll make sure you get a generous severance.”

“Thank you, madam.”

“And I’d like to give you a wedding gift too… Hmm… How about that painting you used to like?”

“Which painting…?”

“The one with those vivid colors.”

Madam Bandark watched his face closely as she spoke. Strangely, her emotions bled through to me sharper than usual — the regret, the bitterness, the grief, even a thread of anger. They weren’t something I received from her; they pressed in close as if they were my own. So I decided to focus on them a little longer.

“…I can’t accept, madam.”

Luka answered after a long pause. At that, the madam’s feelings lurched, unsettled enough to feel uncomfortable.

“…Why?”

“Hang the painting somewhere good in this manor. And take proper care of it. That would be far better than me taking it.”

“…Fine. If that’s what you want….”

That was a very Luka-like answer. And she must have expected that reaction too. He was always like that.

Bastard.

Looking back through Luka’s memories, I recalled him saying the madam didn’t look beautiful to him anymore. So that was the reason for everything. Madam Bandark loved him without reservation, but his heart in leaving her was as light as could be.

* * *

The madam’s face reflected in the mirror was pale. Her ladies-in-waiting kept placing flowers and ribbon ornaments atop her head. But even among all those pretty decorations, she only looked gloomy.

“I don’t like it. Take it all off.”

At her words, the ladies-in-waiting removed the head ornaments one by one. She watched the entire process through the mirror. Then, suddenly, she touched her face here and there before speaking again.

“Is my makeup not enough? No, never mind. Could you bring me a dress? The most splendid one.”

Soon, the ladies-in-waiting brought a heavy dress of pale blue. She put it on and began examining her reflection in the mirror. But she stopped short, lifting one corner of her mouth in a twisted, bitter smile.

“Everyone leave. I want to be alone.”

Having dismissed everyone from the room, she walked slowly to the window and stood there. Looking down at the garden through the wide glass pane, she saw a young couple slipping out of the manor. I recognized them at once — Luka and that freckle-faced maid. They were heading down to her hometown to get married.

A crushing weight settled in her chest. Desolation bled through her, cold and absolute — no more resentment toward Luka, no more ache of what might have been. Just her, raw and alone, locked inside herself while sharp-edged emotions tore at her insides with everything they had.

She turned and walked toward the terrace. The glass door slid open without a sound, and the square pond came into view. She approached it slowly, stopping at the edge to look down at her reflection rippling on the still water. Even a stranger could see the sorrow was brimming there.

“Ah… how deep was this pond again?”

One step. She drew closer to the water.

I don’t want to be this sad anymore. I want to escape.

Then she turned around, her back to the pond. A moment later, she felt all the strength drain from her body.

A heavy splash.

She fell into the water. The weighty dress drank the pond, dragging her down, but Lady Bandark didn’t try to rise. She simply let herself sink, sinking deeper, deeper — and then she was gone.

Cough.

Water flooded her nose and mouth; she couldn’t breathe. I clutched at my chest, gasping, desperately trying to force the air back in. My eyes stung with tears, but I couldn’t spare the thought to care.

Hack. Hack.

It took several more coughs before my throat finally opened. I lifted my head and looked around — the familiar room with the pond at Kervershallen. It seemed the possession had released me.

Strange. Maybe it was because I’d paid such close attention to her emotions. This time, I felt I’d merged with the possessed soul more deeply than before, so deeply that every moment she’d lived through had cut into me with sharper pain. And a trace of her despair still clung to my chest.

‘My heart aches… getting this immersed is bad…’

Clink —

And then I heard it — a cracking sound from somewhere near my chest. I gasped and looked down.

“Huh?”

A fierce light was blazing through my shirt — yellow, raw, and intense. It was the divine power from the Eye of the Sun. But it shone far brighter than before, almost violent, almost alive.

‘What the hell? Why’s it doing this?’

Carefully, I pulled out the locket on its chain and pressed the tiny clasp. The lid clicked open.

“Ah…”

Inside, the shattered fragments of the Eye of the Sun lay scattered. He must have used it so often that the divine power ran dry, causing the jewel to crack. And now, whatever power remained was leaking out, trickling away like sand through a broken hourglass.

And if. If this guess was right…….

‘I’m screwed. The priest is going to absolutely murder me…….’

A dizzying dread washed over her as she pretended not to notice and snapped the locket shut. Her mind scrambled, desperately searching for a way out of this mess.

Drip-drip-drip—

But then—a sound of water falling from the pond. She looked up and saw Lady Bandark, tears streaming from her eyes like a faucet left open. The woman’s face was twisted in agony, crumpled by sorrow and pain. Laura’s blood ran cold—she looked like she could turn into an evil spirit at any moment.

“A—are you okay?! What’s wrong? Does it hurt?”

“It’s because I’m so sad……”

“Why? Why are you doing this? Stop.”

“I’m sorry……”

When I first saw her, she’d seemed nothing but playful. Now she was the complete opposite. Was it the melancholy I’d glimpsed in her memories? I found myself growing sad too. My nose stung, and tears kept threatening to spill.

And so we faced each other, sharing that feeling. We stayed like that for a long while, until Lady Bandark’s tears finally began to ebb. I watched her carefully, then quietly brought up something.

“Try not to worry too much about Luka. You can be reincarnated and find new love, can’t you? You’ll be happier.”

“Child. You sound just like Helena……”

Lady Bandark answered in a voice that felt sunken. Then, with a bitter smile, she shook her head.

“No. I won’t be able to leave the land of the living like this. I’m too fixated on Luka. It’s my own heart, but I can’t do a thing with it. And that’s what keeps me tethered here. …I miss Luka.”

That meant she might stay here forever if she never heard word of Luka. Not that the boy was living the happy life she wished for. But hearing that, I had no choice but to bring up Luka myself. I figured it was better to just face it head-on.

“Would you… like to go see Luka?”

“Huh?”

“……I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you before. Actually, Luka is here. Right now, even……”

“You brought Luka all the way here?”

“Well… it wasn’t me who brought him……”

Madame Bandark stared at me with a puzzled look for a moment. Then, as if understanding, she gave a small nod.

“……I see. So the boy was already dead, then.”

“…….”

“So that’s why Helena couldn’t say anything to me either, and it sounds like you told him you couldn’t find any trace of that child either….”

“I’m sorry….”

“……No. It’s fine. Instead, will you take me to Luka? I want to see him again.”

She rose from the pond in one motion and drifted to my side. A damp, clammy weight settled against my shoulder. The Lady was a water ghost, and it seemed her presence was rubbing off on me.

“Alright… Then, let’s go to Luka.”

I pushed the door open and stepped out into the corridor. The Lady clung close behind me, following my every step.

But as I walked down that hallway, I heard a sound—a close, steady drip, drip of water. A chill crept over me as I slowly lowered my gaze, searching for the source. At Lady Bandark’s feet, a long trail of water was pooling into existence.

This wasn’t just some fading trace. It was real water—I could feel its cold touch. There was so much of it that the inside of my slippers was already soaking wet.

‘Was she always this strong…? She’s affecting the land of the living….’

A thought struck me: maybe this was the process of becoming an evil spirit. I quickened my pace as much as I could, rushing toward the corridor where the tilted painting hung.

“Wait here a moment. I’ll call Luka out.”

I stepped up to the painting and spoke to her. Without a word, she peeled away from me and stood staring blankly at the portrait on the wall. She seemed moved, feeling some stir of emotion at seeing it again after so long.

Either way, I slowly reached out and straightened the painting. Soon, a blurry human shape began to emerge.

“Wait, wait.”

But suddenly, Lady Bandark pressed herself tight against my back, as if to stop me. At the same time, a cold, wet aura seeped through my clothes.

“Why? Why not?”

I asked, staring straight ahead in confusion.

“Let’s go back. I can’t do this now.”

“What?”

“Look at me. Not now.”

She pulled back from me again, her voice barely a whisper. I turned around to look at her. She was soaked through to the roots of her hair, her entire body pale to the point of white, the color bleached clean out of her. From her eyes, water streamed down like a waterfall.