I’m Trying to End This Possession Chapter 107

* * *

How long had it been since she clung to the emperor’s waist?

 

“We’re here.”

 

By the time they arrived, the sky had already turned dark. Yustio came to a stop in front of a worn-down cabin. Leaping nimbly off the horse, he immediately helped Dana down as well.

 

It had truly been an exhausting journey. Ah, I feel like I’m going to die. Dana was utterly exhausted, nearly on the brink of collapse. To ride a horse for hours in this cold winter, braving the fierce snowstorm. The doctor had literally told me to rest for a while because I’m a patient.

 

On top of that, the grip of Yustio’s hand dragging her along was so rough that Dana couldn’t hold it back and blurted out. “Your Majesty, it hurts.”

 

At that, Yustio frowned. “It hurts?” He looked utterly dumbfounded, as if it had never even crossed his mind that she would find it painful.

 

Has this man seriously never touched a woman before?

 

However, without saying anything more, Yustio turned around and walked towards the cabin. Dana dragged her feet and struggled to follow him behind. He boldly pulled open the door of the cabin, which looked like the sort of place where ghosts might appear. Creak, as the door opened…

 

“Grrr!”

 

A dark figure leaped out and lunged at them. Startled, Dana hurriedly stepped back. What kind of beast—! No, no. It wasn’t a beast. Judging by his attire, he was one of the emperor’s guards.

 

Blood-red eyes. Saliva dripped from his lips. “Grr, grrr, grrr!” And the bizarre howling. Just as Yustio had said, he really did look like a carnivorous beast.

 

“I had tied him up with a rope.” Yustio grabbed the guard by the neck and lifted him up high. “Looks like the rope snapped.” And with that, he carried the guard inside the cabin.

 

Dana calmed her startled nerves and followed him inside. Yustio was restraining his thrashing guard with one hand while tying him up with a rope again. That sturdy guard was flailing with all his might, yet Yustio was handling him easily like a child.

 

At this point, does he even need a guard? Then again, having guards accompany the former most notorious inquisitor didn’t quite suit.

 

Just then, Yustio asked. “Have you ever seen such a contaminated person before?”

 

“No. It’s my first time.”

 

Those contaminated by the rotten land usually withered away slowly until their bodies rotted and they died. That was all, but… Could it really be a mutation? There had never been a contaminated person like this until now. Where did they suddenly pop out from?

 

Dana approached the guard and cautiously placed her hand on his body. The moment she drew up her power… Ah, this is bad. She sensed it instantly. Her physical stamina was already completely drained right now. If she performed another purification here on top of that… I might faint.

 

So, Dana spoke to Yustio. “Your Majesty.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“If I happen to faint here, please don’t leave me behind.”

 

“…”

 

“I’ll surely freeze to death if you do.”

 

At that, Yustio furrowed his brows in disbelief. “Do I look like such a scoundrel to you?”

 

You’re one to talk. You’ve even strangled me to death before, haven’t you?

 

When Dana looked at him with those eyes, he nodded with a face full of annoyance. “Fine, so just hurry up and begin.”

 

With his confirmation, Dana finally gathered her power. A bright white light burst from her fingertips. And as expected, dizziness began to wash over her. However, she didn’t stop and kept her focus. Until the murderous intent in the guard’s eyes disappeared. Until his thrashing ceased. And until the black spots vanished…

 

It’s done.

 

Everything had been completely and cleanly purified.

 

The moment Dana felt certain of it, her body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. She thought she would plunge headfirst onto the floor. But she didn’t fall.

 

It hurts…

 

Yustio had roughly grabbed her forearm and pulled her up. If it had been Carl, he would have embraced her ever so gently right here. Suppressing that fleeting thought, Dana managed to move her uncooperative tongue. “To the rotten land.”

 

“What?”

 

“Please take me… to the rotten land.”

 

Yustio looked down at her with a look of utter disbelief. “With such a frail body, do you think you can perform purification again? You look like you’re about to collapse right now.”

 

“I’m fine. Please take me there.”

 

Of course, she couldn’t care less about what would happen to this world. Still, it was a world her secretary, Lethe, had to live in. It would be terrible if that boy got contaminated again. I might not be by his side next time. Therefore, for his sake, she had to nip it in the bud.

 

* * *

In the end, Dana had to ride the horse with Yustio again. Throughout the entire journey, her mind was in a complete daze from fatigue and sheer physical exhaustion.

 

“You’ll be surprised.”

 

“What?”

 

“I’m saying you’ll be surprised when we arrive.”

 

Yustio’s warning penetrated her hazy consciousness. It was only after they arrived at the location in question that she understood what he meant.

 

This place.

 

Deep inside the forest, in the place where the land was rotting pitch-black…

 

They’re the imperial guards.

 

Corpses stained with black spots lay scattered everywhere.

 

Come to think of it, she had wondered why there was only one imperial guard with him. The rest were all killed. Then again, when multiple people were rushing at him like beasts, it would have been difficult to kindly subdue and tie up each and every one of them. So he had no choice but to kill them.

 

Half-awake and with her head feeling numb, Dana slumped onto the ground. She began the purification as if squeezing out her very last drop of blood. Then, a white light blazed fiercely across her entire body, from head to toe. Even a single strand of her fluttering stark-white hair sparkled like moonlight.

 

Dana watched the wave of light flowing from her body sweep over like an ocean tide, covering the rotten land. It was being purified.

 

Ah, it’s so hard.

 

However, Dana had long reached her limit. All her energy was being sucked into the ground, and she felt that if she closed her eyes now, it would be all over. But there was still a way to go. She still had to pull herself together just a little more and purify it…

 

Dana lifted her head. Amidst the dazzling storm of light, she unwittingly searched desperately. For something, anything to hold onto her consciousness with. And her eyes met his. A quiet gaze watching her from beyond the blinding light. Perhaps because that gaze was so deep and tranquil, strength entered her arms. She stared intently into his eyes as if clinging to a lifeline.

 

A little more. Just a little more…

 

“You’ve worked hard.”

 

Ah. Dana blinked. Had she fainted for a moment? Before she knew it, she had completely collapsed, sprawled out like a tattered rag.

 

It succeeded. Judging by his words that she had worked hard, the purification seemed to have been a success.

 

Just then, Yustio pulled her up with one hand. Strangely, his grip was considerably gentler than before.

 

Dana suddenly realized. Since I said it hurt earlier, he’s holding me gently. He really must not have known that it hurt. Then again, when would that man have ever touched a woman…

 

With that thought, darkness came to her again.

 

* * *

A biting cold swept it, harsh enough to freeze even one’s breath. Amidst the feeling of turning blue and cold, Dana’s severed consciousness barely reconnected. Seriously, it’s cold. Very, very cold.

 

“Cold…”

 

“I know. So swallow this.”

 

Cold. It felt like she was going to die of cold.

 

“Drinking this will make you feel better.”

 

Slowly, her blurry vision cleared. They were back at the cabin before she knew it. Before her eyes, she saw the face of a handsome man. The emperor?

 

Indeed, it was Yustio. To think that a human being like an endangered species, someone she couldn’t meet no matter how much she wanted to, was this close to her.

 

Ah, right. I came to purify the rotten land with the emperor…

 

“Your body temperature is very low right now. So drink quickly.”

 

Come to think of it, he had been pouring some kind of liquid into her mouth for a while now. A bitter taste wrapped around her tongue. It was whiskey.

 

No. I don’t want to drink alcohol right now…

 

Dana unconsciously spewed out the unpalatable liquid. At that, Yustio’s strict voice fell upon her. “Do you want to freeze to death?”

 

Only then did Dana belatedly realize that she was shivering violently. Right. My clothes were soaked wet from the snow. After all, she had come while taking the pouring blizzard full on her body.

 

“Danae Windsor.”

 

At that moment, Yustio took a firm grip on her hair. Without giving her a chance to escape, he shoved the whiskey bottle into her mouth.

 

“Swallow it. Unless you want to die meaningless here.”

 

Her teeth hurt from colliding with the glass bottle. Truly, he was a ruthless man without a trace of consideration. But it worked. The whiskey surged near her throat, forcing her to swallow it involuntarily. She felt her throat burn, and heat instantly flared up within her.

 

“Finally drinking it,” Yustio muttered like a sigh as he pulled the whiskey bottle out of her mouth.

 

A thin silver thread of saliva stretched out, which felt humiliating. This man was far too rough. Though she already knew that.

 

“…Your Majesty,” Dana spoke with a cracked voice and grabbed Yustio’s collar. He narrowed his brows but didn’t shake her off.

 

“What is it? Are you finally coming to your senses?”

 

“Your Majesty, the annulment.”

 

“What?”

 

“Promise, keep it, the holy trial…”

 

Yustio looked at her quietly and then nodded. “Alright.”

 

It’s done. The holy trial would be held by the emperor… So I’m completely over with Raios.

 

As her consciousness faded again, Dana thought. What kind of face would that guy make when he heard that the holy trial would be convened? Will he laugh in ridicule? Or will he get angry? I hope he gets so angry that he ends up crying. Just like when he was seventeen, had the throne stolen by his uncle, and cried in secret. This time, his uncle is helping to ruin his engagement, so it must be quite a shock.

 

Dana was already looking forward to that day.

 

“I will keep the promise.”

 

Yustio spoke in a voice mixed with a faint smirk, as if finding it absurd that Dana would say such things even in a moment like this.

 

“Now, rest.”

 

With those words, Dana completely let go of her consciousness.