I’m Trying to End This Possession Chapter 156

The next morning, Raios was busy from the early hours. The second holy trial was finally upon him.

 

“Allice, you know what you need to do at today’s trial, right?”

 

“Yes, Your Highness.”

 

Today, Allice will be attending as a witness. This time, as a witness for Raios. She would testify that she had not slept with Raios and that the child she was carrying was not his.

 

Just thinking about it sent chills down her spine. Surely, the pope and the three cardinals would look at her as if she were a madwoman. They would gaze at her with contempt.

 

Your Highness, you’re so cruel. How could you push me into such a corner?

 

But Allice held back her tears. She couldn’t cry. She had to be strong. After all, she was a mother now. Yes, I must endure this for the sake of my child.

 

Raios had agreed to overlook the child. He had promised not to ask who the father was. But that was all. The child had not been officially recognized. What would become of the child in the future was still uncertain. So, she couldn’t afford to anger Raios any further.

 

Allice looked at Raios’s broad back as he prepared himself. His brushing seemed quite skilled as he slicked back his hair with pomade without any help from his servants.

 

I prefer his hair down.

 

Allice remembered that Dana had liked this hairstyle of his. Dana liked how his high forehead and thick eyebrows were fully visible…

 

“Your Highness, you always style your hair up,” Allice muttered without realizing it. “You look much gentler and younger with it down.”

 

Raios glanced at her through the mirror. “Why? Do you like it better when I wear my hair down?”

 

“N-No! I like both styles very much.”

 

“Then learn to prefer this one. I don’t like looking younger.” Raios muttered to himself as he slicked back even the last strand of hair. “I hate looking like someone’s younger brother.”

 

…To whom? To whom do you hate looking like a younger brother? The question nearly slipped out, but Allice barely held it back. She didn’t want to know.

 

“Your Highness, here is the outfit you will wear today.”

 

At that moment, a servant brought in his clothes. Raios scanned them from top to bottom and frowned, tilting his chin. “It’s too flashy. Bring something else.”

 

“Yes, Your Highness.”

 

“And choose smaller cuffs. The tie should be dark to match the coat.”

 

The servant seemed accustomed to this. Though Raios was usually indifferent about his clothing, he occasionally fussed over it.

 

I didn’t know the standard before. But now Allice thought she might have figured it out. On days when he was meeting someone… No, don’t think about it.

 

Allice closed her eyes, trying to push all thoughts away. She tried to empty her mind. Don’t think about anything. Don’t question anything. His Highness said he loves me. Not Sister Dana, but me.

 

That potion… There must have been some mistake. Surely, there was an error in the potion’s preparation.

 

And that was as far as Allice allowed her thoughts to go. She was too afraid of what she might learn, of what she might see.

 

* * *

“Open this door immediately!”

 

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Please wait until the holy trial is over.”

 

“You insolent brat! I said to open this door immediately!”

 

“The door will be opened once the trial is over. My apologies.”

 

The former emperor pounded on the door, but the more he did, the more it only hurt his hands.

 

“Damn it…” He slumped to the floor, overcome by humiliation and bitterness.

 

Wilhelm was currently imprisoned at the top of the western tower. His own son, Raios Geranze, had secretly locked him away!

 

If only I hadn’t lost my powers. He wouldn’t have been trapped here in the first place!

 

Wilhelm Geranze had the power to control animals. But in recent years, his powers had rapidly weakened, and now they had completely disappeared. That’s why he was so helplessly imprisoned now.

 

But his powers weren’t completely gone; they sometimes returned just a little bit like now.

 

Ah!

 

Suddenly, a lightning-like sensation struck his mind. The former emperor sprang to his feet. His powers had returned. After so long, nearly half a year, his powers had come back!

 

Damn it! But at the same time, he realized his powers were quickly draining away again!

 

Wilhelm quickly checked the time. It was early morning. The holy trial would start in an hour. There was no time. So he decided to give up on escaping. After all, he would be let out once the trial was over in a few hours.

 

What mattered was breaking off his son’s engagement. And Wilhelm knew a powerful truth that could annul the engagement. A truth far heavier and more terrifying than any talk of chastity or first nights.

 

Wilhelm quickly pulled out parchment and scrawled a letter. He finished in a rush and flung open the window. He called an eagle and attached the letter to its beak.

 

“Deliver this to Lady Danae Windsor!”

 

Watching the eagle fly off with the letter, Wilhelm slumped to the floor. Would his powers last until the letter was delivered?

 

This letter must reach Danae Windsor’s hands.

 

If the engagement couldn’t be broken off, those two would end up married. The thought of it alone made him feel sick.

 

Raios was trying to commit a terrible sin.

 

That filthy degenerate. Imprisoning his own father in a place like this.

 

Wilhelm gritted his teeth. If he got out of here, he would show no mercy to that wretched son. Yes. That defective child needs to be punished.

 

A defective product, born with black hair instead of golden. A cripple who failed to awaken his powers. The stain on the Geranze imperial family, who were blessed by god. That was Raios.

 

Because Raios was flawed, Wilhelm had tried to raise him properly. He often took up the whip when Raios was a boy. He would beat him until his back was in shreds. But the stubborn boy never once cried. He didn’t scream or beg; not even a single tear fell from his eyes.

 

A vicious brat. I should have recognized his foul nature back then!

 

Wilhelm covered his face with his hands, trying to calm his anger. If he got out of here, he would take up the whip again. He planned to tie Raios up and beat him like livestock, just as he had before. How wonderful it would be if he could kill him.

 

If only I had one more child… Then he wouldn’t have had to make that crow his heir.

 

It was the lack of another child that tormented him.

 

* * *

What is this?

 

Dana looked down at her feet in confusion. What just happened? Suddenly, an eagle had flown to her. It had a letter in its beak, and it flew close as if to deliver it directly to her… But then it dropped the letter on the ground and flew away.

 

Was it poorly trained? Who sent this? Dana reached down to pick up the letter. But just then, a strong wind blew, sweeping the letter away.

 

“Ah!”

 

It tumbled across the garden, eventually landing in a pond with a splash. Dana hurried over and knelt by the pond. She reached out for the letter but couldn’t quite reach it. Just as her fingertips were about to touch the water,

 

“Milady.”

 

A large hand gently covered hers. Startled, she turned to see Lethe staring at her expressionlessly.

 

“I’ll get it.”

 

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

 

Of course, Lethe’s arms were longer.

 

As Dana stepped back, Lethe reached out and easily retrieved the letter. Water droplets dripped from the soaked parchment. But…

 

It’s all smudged. The black ink had bled into the water.

 

Dana clicked her tongue. It was going to be difficult to read now. Still, just in case.

 

“Lethe, can you try to decipher this?”

 

“I’ll do my best.”

 

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

 

Dana ruffled Lethe’s hair. It was endearing that he remained so dependable, even though she hadn’t been able to pay much attention to him lately.

 

“Well, I’m off then.”

 

“Yes, take care.”

 

After saying goodbye to Lethe, Dana immediately got into her carriage. It headed toward the Grand Cathedral. For the second holy trial and to annul her engagement with Raios.