I’m Trying to End This Possession Chapter 106

* * *

Dana didn’t even bother to reply to Raios’s letter. For whatever reason, Raios’s side made no further move either.

 

Do whatever you want with the date. There was absolutely no way she would be entering that wedding hall anyway. Before that day comes, she would find some way to annul their engagement.

 

Several days have passed since that day. Lethe had left, saying he would look into the news concerning the emperor. Meanwhile, Dana spent the time taking care of the tasks Viego had left in her hands. Viego was away on a business trip. And then…

 

[Rumie Windsor’s Macriro Fleet Secures Yet Another Glorious Victory!]

 

For the first time in a while, Dana saw Rumie’s name in the newspaper. As expected, another victory. Of course, she had known it would happen.

 

Dana then scoffed. He wins all the time, yet he always makes such a fuss about it. When was the last time I saw him? Was it at the imperial banquet? I think we danced together then… Even back then, he was spouting nonsense about how he might die and all that before going off to battle. Well, since he won, it worked out well.

 

Dana thought about it without much emotion and turned away. Then, she noticed the snow falling outside the window. It’s still snowing. Perhaps because the period of heavy snowfall had arrived, she gradually began to grow worried. When will Lethe return?

 

Several days had already passed, yet there had been no news from her secretary. Lethe always made sure to contact her, even if he was running late. This was the first time something like this happened.

 

Could something have happened to him? Perhaps it was because of the bad weather, but her concern only grew.

 

Come to think of it, my first meeting with Lethe had also taken place on a day just like this. A bitterly cold winter. A skinny little boy, buried in a field of pure white snow and slowly dying. That boy had been Lethe.

 

What if he’s in that kind of situation again now? He had grown so healthy and robust that she could hardly remember how scrawny he used to be, but… given his striking appearance, he might have gotten into some kind of unfortunate accident.

 

Let’s just wait for one more day. If there’s still no news by tomorrow, I’ll send people out to look for him. It was just when Dana made up her mind like that.

 

“Milady, I apologize for the delay.”

 

Finally, her secretary returned.

 

“Lethe!” Dana raised her voice, feeling both relieved and angry. “Why have you only returned n—” Her lips, which had been about to unleash a torrent of scolding, abruptly stopped.

 

Lethe’s face was a mess. His face had grown this in the meantime, even covered with scratches here and there on his cheeks…

 

“I’ll explain later, Milady. But first,” Lethe spoke urgently. “I’ve brought a guest.”

 

“A guest?”

 

“Yes. For now, he’s in the parlor. But if it’s alright with you, I shall bring him here.”

 

“Do so.”

 

There had to be a reason for him to be in such a hurry. Instead of questioning him further, Dana nodded.

 

A short while later, Lethe returned with a man. The man was wrapped in a worn-out robe.

 

It was just when Dana was thinking, why did Lethe bring a traveler?

 

 

The man pulled down the hood he had pressed low over his face. For a moment, it was so dazzling, as if she were facing the sun directly, that Dana narrowed her eyes. The man’s golden hair was radiant, as though pure gold had been melted and applied onto it. That golden hair was the symbol of the Geranze imperial family.

 

Dana knew someone with hair like that… The emperor. Yes, Emperor Yustio.

 

“…”

 

The man… looked exactly like the emperor?

 

As Dana stared blankly, the man raised an eyebrow as if annoyed.

 

He’s really the emperor! Startled, Dana hurriedly bowed. “Greetings to Your Majesty the Emperor.” Even as she said it, she couldn’t believe it. Is he truly the emperor?

 

When she slightly raised her head to look, sure enough. It really was the emperor. Yet even after seeing it with her own eyes, her mind couldn’t accept it. How could it be? Why is the emperor here? Wearing a worn-out robe, without a single attendant or imperial guard? By the looks of it, he seemed to have visited secretly, in my room, but why suddenly like this?

 

Lethe, what is going on? Dana had told him to look into the news about the emperor, but she hadn’t expected him to actually bring the emperor before her eyes…

 

The moment she looked at Lethe with eyes asking such questions. Thud! Lethe collapsed.

 

Huh?

 

Dana immediately dashed over to Lethe. She grabbed his shoulders, and he was undeniably tremendously hot.

 

“Lethe, Lethe! Get a hold of yourself!”

 

The moment she shook Lethe’s body like that, Dana saw it. His body was covered in black spots… Spots? She abruptly pulled his shirt as if tearing it open. And she gasped in horror. Contamination!

 

The symptoms of those contaminated by the rotten land. Black spots were blooming in patches across Lethe’s body.

 

What happened to those who ended up like this? Their whole bodies rot, and in the end… they met a miserable death.

 

Dana’s reason vanished. When she came to her senses, she had placed her hand on Lethe’s chest and was frantically pouring out her purification power. It was to the point that beads of sweat formed on her forehead, and her vision grew dizzying.

 

No.

 

She was terrified. Terrified that something might go wrong with Lethe.

 

No. Not you.

 

How much time has passed like that?

 

“Enough.”

 

At the hand gripping her shoulder tightly, Dana flinched in surprise.

 

“It’s enough, so stop.”

 

Drip, drip. Only then did Dana realize that blood was trickling from her nose. She had drawn upon too much of her purification power.

 

Without even having time to respond the emperor, Dana hastily checked on Lethe. Then, she let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. The black spots were completely gone, leaving no trace. Lethe had been perfectly purified. He’s alive. Though his body was still feverish, this was merely an aftereffect. He would recover soon.

 

“Your Majesty.” Only now did her reason grow clear. Wiping the nosebleed with a handkerchief, Dana asked calmly. “How did this happen?”

 

Looking at her with a slightly puzzled expression, Yustio answered. “As you can see, your secretary was contaminated by the rotten land.”

 

“Where? How did this happen?”

 

“While secretly tailing me.”

 

At those words, Dana stiffened. Yustio’s fierce eyes felt as though they were piercing right through her inner thoughts.

 

“…I apologize. It was my order. I was simply curious whether Your Majesty had judged the authenticity of the scripture.”

 

“…”

 

“Your Majesty hadn’t returned for a long time. I wanted to know where you were. There were no bad intentions.”

 

Dana had a premonition. Perhaps she might get strangled again. Or else, she might receive a severe punishment for committing the crime of spying on the emperor.

 

Just as she was bracing herself for the worst, Yustio subtly made a proposal.

 

“If you purify my guards…”

 

“…”

 

“I’ll pretend this never happened.”

 

Dana clenched her fists tightly. I see. The emperor’s guards had been contaminated too! What to do? I feel sorry… Thanks to that, she had felt a momentary surge of joy that she had survived.

 

Tightly suppressing that emotion, Dana nodded her head with a cautious expression. “Of course. It’s my duty to do so.”

 

* * *

Afterward, Yustio briefly explained what had happened. Together with 15 theologians, 3 cardinals, and 2 holy mages, he had determined the authenticity of the scripture.

 

So it was judged to be real. Dana felt relieved. Yustio had reassured her that he would keep his promise and convene the holy trial.

 

After finishing the appraisal of the scripture, Yustio was on his way back to the capital. He crossed through the shortcut in the Rentil Forest, but the ground rotted away. He was unharmed since he was a member of the Geranze imperial family, blessed by Sun God Ramun. With the exception of Dana, the Geranze imperial family members were the only ones immune to contamination from the rotten land. However, his imperial guards, as well as Lethe, who had been secretly tailing them, ended up contaminated by the rotten land. And…

 

“The imperial guards… became aggressive?”

 

An even harder-to-believe story followed.

 

The imperial guards had turned like carnivorous beasts and attempted to attack the emperor. So for now, he had tied them up at the cabin found in the forest and left them there. Since they had gone berserk, it was impossible to bring them along.

 

That’s strange. Until now, those contaminated by the rotten land had never shown such symptoms at all. It wasn’t a mutation either, so why were they suddenly showing such symptoms?

 

* * *

Dana immediately set off together with Yustio. The destination was Rentil Forest. Since it was a forest path where carriages couldn’t enter, they had to ride horses.

 

Wow, he’s really fast. Dana struggled to keep up with him. Although she was quite confident with her horseback riding, Yustio rode his horse at the speed of light, like some nomad. As a result, the distance between them gradually widened, but he brought his horse to a halt midway to wait for her.

 

As she approached within close reach, Yustio spoke sharply. “Time is of the essence. Get on my horse.”

 

“…”

 

Yustio was right. Since his imperial guards were contaminated, if they missed the golden time, they might not be able to save them. Dana agreed without a word of complaint. However…

 

“I’ll ride behind Your Majesty.”

 

“As you wish,” Yustio spoke coldly, then reached out and grabbed Dana’s shoulders as if to embrace her. He then lifted her up smoothly and placed her behind him. “Hold on tight.”

 

“…”

 

Dana silently held on tightly to his collar. The moment he whipped the reins, she realized that Yustio had been riding slowly out of consideration for her until now. The horse ran so fast that her whole body shook violently, making her heart ache as if it would burst. Moreover, the freezing cold made her fingertips gradually go numb.

 

“…!”

 

Just as her numb fingers were about to lose their grip on his collar, Yustio grabbed her wrist. Then he pulled her forward so that she was hugging his waist.

 

“I told you to hold on tight.”

 

Dana was startled. In truth, she had wanted to hold onto his waist from the beginning, but she hadn’t dared to do so out of fear that Yustio would be disgusted.

 

“We’ll be going even faster from now on,” Yustio said as if giving a warning. “Endure it.”

 

After that, a time when she truly had to endure arrived.