Chapter 99

Chapter 99

“Luka. Is it really okay to leave like this?”

She asked, clutching my arm. Her tone hinted at worry that I might turn back. I didn’t answer, just looked over my shoulder at the mansion. My eyes quickly searched for the young lady’s room. But soon I realized it was a pointless gesture and averted my gaze.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

I looked down at her as I answered. And so we took another step to leave this place behind.

‘Luka.’

But at that moment, the young lady’s voice echoed in my ears like an auditory hallucination.

‘Luka.’

It was a ringing in my head—whether from lingering attachment or vain hope, I couldn’t tell.

‘Luka.’

‘Luka.’

‘Luka.’

Her voice grew louder, closer. It seized me by the ankles, as if shackled, and I couldn’t move forward. There was no answer. I had to find the owner of that voice filling my head right now—because she was the one tearing me apart like this.

“No. I can’t.”

And so, in the end, I had no choice but to pull her hand from my arm, turn around, and bolt back toward the mansion.

I was afraid of her. More precisely, I was terrified of how unmanageably I was drawn to her—how that pull felt like it would break me. If things went on like this, she’d be the ruin of me. And yet, at that very moment, joy flickered beneath the fear: the thought that I might see her face one more time. It was selfish. But it was true.

* * *

The hazy illusion shattered, and the musty stench of old mildew hit me like a wall. I opened my eyes slowly; beyond a grid of iron bars, rust flaked in crimson patches. A chill seeped straight into my bones—but I felt no cold. My skin felt numb, as though the surface of my flesh had turned to dead, sealed leather.

The young lady was dead. And I had known this end was coming. Hadn’t she always been steeped in melancholy? That’s why she’d always seemed so precarious—so dangerous. A trembling equilibrium that was bound to shatter. So I simply knew and pretended not to. Because I didn’t want to hurt.

Her image surfaced then, submerged in water. Her face was calm, peaceful—as though she’d felt no fear of death at all. But in an instant, the scene shifted: she was coughing up water, her expression twisted in agony. The roar of a violent current filled my ears. And in that moment, a crushing pain slammed through my chest, as though my heart had stopped.

“Huk! “

I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. My body shot upright on reflex, and the next moment, a splitting headache bloomed behind my skull.

“Laura! “

“Laura. Are you all right?!”

Voices overlapped. I lifted my head, pressing both hands against the throbbing ache in my temples. Several people stared at me with worried expressions.

What’s going on? Where am I…?

I couldn’t piece the situation together. I hurriedly scanned the room, searching for the young lady. Then, in a single flash, it hit me: I had been possessed.

‘Ah. Right… That was it….’

All the strength drained from my body at once. A moment later, a large hand caught my back, steadying me. I let myself sink into it, and my eyes slid shut.

When I opened my eyes again, the Priest was sitting by my bedside. He was quietly reading a scripture.

“Uh, Mister Priest….”

I called out cautiously. He closed the book with a soft thud and turned his gaze to me.

“You’re awake? Is your body well?”

“Yes. A little tired, but I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief. I was worried you’d strained yourself.”

He seemed to study me for a moment before answering. Then he let out a long, weary sigh, as if the situation were beyond belief.

“By the way, I checked your necklace. The Eye of the Sun was shattered to pieces inside. Looks like all the divine power stored in it leaked out, doesn’t it? What in the world… Did you smash it up and eat it because you had nothing else to eat?”

“Ah…”

“‘Ah,’ what? ‘Ah’…”

“…Ah… I’m sorry.”

“Of course you should be. I didn’t give it to you to use and break as you pleased. I gave it to protect yourself.”

He seemed to know that I’d relied on the Eye of the Sun to repeat possession several times. I cast a sidelong glance at him, biting my lip. After all, I had committed a wrong, so I had no excuse to offer.

“Uh… Well… What happened to Luka?”

“Luka?”

Before his scolding could drag on, I clumsily shifted the topic. Fortunately, the priest dutifully followed my lead.

“You know, the painter ghost. The one who possessed me…”

“You mean that evil spirit?”

He replied in a calm tone. At that, I couldn’t help but blurt out a stupid response.

“What?”

An evil spirit? Luka? What on earth was he talking about?

“The soul you call Luka, Young Lady—while it was inside your body, it became an evil spirit. So you were nearly in danger.”

“Ah…”

Good heavens. So that’s how it ended.

Come to think of it, I’d had a similar experience as a child. Back then, I’d become so deeply immersed in the memory of a soul that had turned into an evil spirit that I lost touch with reality for a long time. And what happened after…? Was it only after that spirit was exorcised that I came to my senses? If so, this might be the same. The reason I could open my eyes now was because Luka had been exorcised.

“…Priest. So Luka—no, that ghost—was exorcised?”

“Yes. An evil spirit has no choice but to be exorcised.”

“I see…”

So that was the end of it. My heart felt heavy. It seemed like all my efforts to help him ascend had been in vain.

“Anyway, since I’ve confirmed there’s nothing wrong with you, I’ll take my leave. You should rest well, Young Lady.”

With that, the priest gave a slight bow and rose to his feet.

“Yes. Thank you for today, Priest.”

After he left, I lay in bed, blinking my eyes. Then it struck me that Lady Bandark might have witnessed Luka’s exorcism. Naturally, I grew worried about her. She was the one who only ever wanted Luka to be happy. I couldn’t even imagine how shocked she must be right now.

Click.

And right then, the door swung open to reveal the young marquis.

“Huh? Laura?! You woke? How are you? Are you alright?”

He stepped up to me in a single stride, his voice strained with worry.

“A little tired, but I’m fine.”

“Tired? You want me to have some medicine brought?”

“No. I think I’ll be fine if I just rest.”

“No way. You look awful. Excuse me for a moment.”

He pressed the back of his hand to my forehead—so gently, like a feather grazing my skin, before pulling away slowly.

“You’re not fine. You have a fever. Let me at least tell them to bring something light to eat and some medicine. Rest a bit more.”

“I’m fine, really…”

“You’re not.”

His brow knitted tightly, and he snapped the words at me. Then, as if muttering to himself, he whispered softly.

“At least I wasn’t fine. I was worried… you know.”

With that, the young marquis slipped out of the room, leaving me alone again.

Ah, I see. So I’d gone and burdened everyone again…

Before I knew it, a small frown was tugging at my face. A pang of melancholy settled in my chest.

The Duke must be worried too…

But at least I hoped he wasn’t worrying over me too much. I traced the patterns on the ceiling with my eyes for a long while, then quietly closed them.

“Are you alright?!”

“Laura! Are you okay?!”

A moment later, the butler and the ladies-in-waiting burst into the room, bearing medicine and a thick soup. Their clamorous entrance made me startle, eyes flying open as I turned to look at them. The butler’s eyes were glassy with unshed tears—he looked about to burst into full-on weeping. His expression caught me off guard, leaving me momentarily bewildered.

“I-I… I’m really fine…”

“How could you be?! You collapsed!”

“S-sorry…”

“Enough. First, take your medicine.”

The butler set the soup bowl and the medicine down on the bed where I lay. Sonia scurried to my side and even pressed a spoon into my hand.

“Ah—thanks…”

I felt their gazes weighing on me, and I had no choice but to lift the spoon and eat the soup. They watched me until I’d emptied the entire bowl and swallowed the medicine.

“Did you eat it all?!”

Sonia’s eyes sparkled as she asked me.

“Yeah.”

“But why’d you collapse all of a sudden? I heard you even had a nosebleed. Did you work too much? Are you tired?”

“No, it’s… I guess my body was just a bit off.”

I gave a vague, evasive answer. The truth was that I’d collapsed because a ghost had possessed my body, but there was no way I could tell her that.

“Then get some more rest for now. Sleep it off, and stop by the hospital too. Want me to go with you tomorrow?”

She eased me back onto the bed, pulling the blanket up to my chin as she asked.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll go on my own. Thanks.”

“Mm-hmm. Get some sleep. Feel better soon.”

With those words, I felt their gazes on me as I quietly closed my eyes. And when I opened them again, I saw darkness had fallen thick and black outside the window. I’d only meant to shut my eyes for a moment, but I must have actually dozed off.

In any case, maybe thanks to that long sleep, my body no longer felt tired. I swung my legs off the bed and slipped out of the room. That’s when I came face to face with Shion, crouched in front of the door.

“Shion?”

“Unnie…”

“What are you doing out here?”

“I missed you, Unnie.”

“Then you should’ve come inside.”

I bent at the waist to meet the child’s eyes as I spoke.

“I wanted to, but Oppa told me not to see you.”

“Huh?”

“Mm. He said it’d be dangerous otherwise.”

“Ah…”

So I really had worried the Duke. Enough to make him wary even of Shion. But that wasn’t Shion’s fault.

“It’s fine as long as you don’t possess anyone.”

“I won’t…”

The child answered sullenly. The look on her face made me let out a snort of laughter.

“By the way, I’m going to the room with the pond. Want to come along? Behind Oppa’s back!”

And so I offered one suggestion that might lift her spirits.