I’m Trying to End This Possession Chapter 188

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The next afternoon, Dana went to find Noah. But—

 

“Noah is sick?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Dana was taken aback by the servant’s words. Sick, all of a sudden? He seemed perfectly fine yesterday, at least until he shouted at her…

 

“Dana.”

 

Startled, Dana turned around. Then she was shocked.

 

“Brother?”

 

Rumie was standing behind her. When, or rather, how did he know when to come? A sense of unease settled in. She had been planning to avoid Rumie for a while. Who would’ve thought they’d meet again so soon.

 

“I came because I heard Noah was sick. Did you come to visit him too?”

 

“Oh, I’m here to ask if he could accompany me on my pilgrimage.” She intended to use that as an excuse to get closer.

 

Noah wouldn’t be able to refuse. Refusing to accompany someone on a pilgrimage to become a priestess would be considered blasphemy in the sanctuary.

 

“Then shall we go in?”

 

“But he’s probably sleeping right now…”

 

“It’s fine. I used to live with this guy as his cousin. Visiting him while he’s sick is no big deal.”

 

As Rumie opened the door and walked in, Dana quickly followed, not refusing. After all, this was a good opportunity to look around Noah’s room. Maybe I’ll even find the key to the Chapel of Holy Mother.

 

As soon as she entered, Dana carefully inspected the room. Let’s see. Where could someone hide a key…?

 

“Tsk.” Rumie clicked his tongue as he checked Noah’s forehead. “Come feel it, Dana.”

 

Dana approached carefully and placed her head on Noah’s forehead. She then flinched in surprise.

 

“It’s burning hot, isn’t it?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“It seems he won’t be able to accompany you on your pilgrimage. Should I go in his stead?”

 

“No.” Absolutely not. Without a moment’s hesitation, Dana shook her head. “It’s fine. I’ll just wait until Lord Noah wakes up.”

 

At that moment—

 

“What… are you doing?”

 

A hoarse voice came from below.

 

Was he woken up by their voices? Noah, propping himself up slightly, glared at them with feverish eyes.

 

“Are you two dating?” His dazed gaze was fixed on their overlapping hands. “Brother, you already have a wife… are you trying to have an affair?” He muttered in a hollow voice, eyes unfocused. “I’ve known for a long time. That my brother had feelings for that woman… I knew it.”

 

“Noah must be really sick,” Rumie said, clicking his tongue as he approached Noah. He poked Noah’s forehead with a finger, and Noah flopped back onto the bed, powerless.

 

“Noah needs to rest more, so let’s go.”

 

But she wanted to take a closer look around the room. Dana considered staying longer under the excuse of looking after Noah, but Rumie tugged her out by the hand.

 

Once they were out in the corridor, Noah asked again, “So?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“It seems Noah can’t accompany you. What will you do?”

 

Rumie was persistent. He would probably keep asking until he got an answer. But—

 

“Dana.” Before she could reply, Rumie let out a deep sigh and shook his head. “Can I be honest?”

 

“About what?”

 

“I don’t want you to become a priestess of the Daiana Church.”

 

“What?”

 

“Sorry for interfering in your decisions. I’m not usually the meddling type.” Rumie furrowed his brow, as if he couldn’t understand himself. “But I keep worrying about you.”

 

“…”

 

“Maybe it’s because you’re my little sister.” Rumie placed his hands firmly on Dana’s shoulders, his expression serious. “The Daiana Church isn’t as righteous as you think.”

 

She knew. It was a disgusting, sickening religion. But Dana deliberately put on an innocent face. Since Rumie was determined to stop her, it meant he’d have to give her a good reason to persuade her. Dana wanted to know everything about the Daiana Church. Everything Rumie knew as well…

 

“Why?” So Dana asked, feigning ignorance, her eyes wide with innocence. “Everyone there is nice. They’re all kind. And there’s something called holy water—I heard that drinking it makes you healthy.”

 

If Rumie knew anything about the holy water, he would have to say it, even if it made him burst with frustration.

 

“It’s not what you think.”

 

Yes, just like now.

 

Rumie paused, then looked around to make sure no one was there. “Look at this, Dana.” He rolled up his sleeve. Then pulled out a dagger from his waist.

 

“…!”

 

In one swift motion, he slashed his own forearm!

 

“What are you doing?!”

 

Dana shouted in a hushed voice, but Rumie just smiled and showed her his arm.

 

“Don’t be shocked. Just watch.”

 

His wound began to heal almost instantly, as if it were all a lie. The bleeding stopped, and the cut closed up. As Dana already knew, his healing ability was monstrous. And now, Rumie was revealing this to his little sister.

 

“Monstrous, right? That’s the Daiana Church’s doing.”

 

Dana tensed up. Rumie was about to share a story she’d never heard from him before.

 

“They mixed holy water with some kind of magic and injected it into me.”

 

“…”

 

“Not just me. All the men in the Windsor family have gone through it.”

 

“…”

 

“As you know, I was once a Windsor too. It’s an incredibly painful process to go through.”

 

“A painful process?”

 

“Yeah. You saw how sick Noah was. That’s a side effect of this experiment. Most people would die from such a high fever.”

 

“…”

 

“I was lucky. Really lucky.”

Rumie gently stroked Dana’s back, as if hoping she wouldn’t be too shocked. It was a touch meant to be comforting, but Dana shut herself off from the sensation like steel. She had no intention of letting herself be swayed by feelings from her past timeline anymore.

 

Dana spoke coldly. “I’ve heard that the patriarchs of the Windsor family have always inherited the position of the Daiana Church leader. Then why do they perform such dangerous experiments on their own family?”

 

“Mostly because the Windsor bloodlines survive the experiment just fine.” Rumie’s voice was tinged with sarcasm. “But I only inherited the name, not the bloodline, so I had to rely on luck.”

 

“That’s awful. I’m disappointed that Lord Carl didn’t try to stop it.”

 

“My foster father tried to keep me from going.”

 

“What?”

 

“But my real grandfather, Lord Rodrigo, forced me to go to the sanctuary.”

 

Rodrigo. She’d heard that name before. Viego and Noah’s grandfather; Carl’s father; and the man who adopted Ignis. The man who refused to disown Ignis, obsessing over him.

 

What kind of person was Rodrigo Windsor? What kind of person would do such bizarre, twisted things?

 

“That’s all I know about the experiment. But—” Rumie spoke firmly. “I’m sure the Daiana Church is doing even more horrifying experiments.”

 

“…”

 

“And even knowing all this, you still want to become a priestess?”

 

Yes. Nothing has changed. She would become a Daiana priestess and uncover all the secrets. Which meant she had to refuse Rumie’s persuasion. It wasn’t difficult. Dana opened her mouth, ready to give her decision right away—

 

“Dana.” As if he could sense her resolve, Rumie reached out first. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into an embrace. “I’ll have to return to the continent soon.”

 

Her cheek touched his warm, solid chest. Dana closed her eyes instead. It was to block out the comfort of the moment flooding her senses.

 

“If I leave you behind, I’ll worry too much. So come with me, Dana.”

 

Rumie whispered as he gently kissed her forehead. As soon as he touched her, a strange shiver ran through her, and Dana bit the inside of her cheek. It was a light, gentle embrace, a sibling’s affectionate hug. An affectionate kiss.

 

“Come with me and let’s live together.”

 

Rumie’s long fingers brushed her hair back behind her ear. The warmth of his fingertips tickled her earlobe.

 

“I’ll make you happy.”

 

Ah, those words. He’d said them in her previous life as well.

 

“I’ll make you happy.”

 

Deeply, passionately, kissing her so fiercely it felt like he would take her lips, her tongue, and her breath. Pouring all of his burning rapture into her.