I’m Trying to End This Possession Chapter 216

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“They say there’s a dish that’s finished in three minutes.”

 

“I heard Count Curso is famous for three-minute cooking.”

 

“Kyaa~ Hahaha! Hahaha!”

 

Where had she heard that before… Right, when she was little. She’d once overheard her mother talking with her friends. Back then, she hadn’t understood what it meant at all… Is this something like that?

 

Allice blankly pressed her face into the bedsheet. She couldn’t believe it. Honestly, this wasn’t something you could even go around calling ‘three minutes.’ Because… they hadn’t even started.

 

You can’t set sail or anything until the mast is raised. The mast… won’t stand…

 

Yet Master Ignis acted as if he had expected this.

 

“As I thought, this won’t do. The bodily compatibility is hopeless.”

 

“Y-Yes?”

 

“There’s another Ignis. I’ll bring him here. Wait.”

 

Another Ignis? Why did he keep referring to himself in the third person? Maybe I should try that too. It sounds kind of cute.

 

That was when it happened. The door burst open, and a man walked in.

 

“Ah, Your Highness Allice. It seems you’re still unharmed.”

 

Allice gasped in surprise. It was the host who had conducted the auction. Why had he suddenly come here?

 

Ignis frowned in displeasure. “And who are you?”

 

“What do you think? I’m here to protect Her Highness.”

 

“What? Now of all time?”

 

“Yes. Now of all times.” The host shrugged and sneered. “It can’t be helped. Even among us snake folk, whom you call barbarians, there are moderates and radicals.” He grumbled on. “On this Red Ship, 80% are radicals. 80%. How am I supposed to protect Her Highness in front of them?”

 

“So what are you trying to do?”

 

“As for me, I’m an intelligent moderate. I’d like to stay on good terms with the leader of your anti-church leader faction. He wouldn’t like it if you laid a hand on Her Highness Allice, would he?”

 

“Don’t interfere.”

 

“You’re just an executive, aren’t you? You should follow the leader’s will.”

 

“I told you not to interfere! More important than the leader’s will is the evolution of mankind. Experiments and research to develop stronger humans!” Ignis shouted, his voice so loud the veins in his neck bulged. “We must pursue endless challenges! We must forcibly open and explore the doors of knowledge that God did not permit! That is how we abandon dependence on God and protect the human world with human power!”

 

At that fervent speech, the host let out an irritated sigh. “Ah, honestly, completely obsessed with experiments… Humans steeped in radical ideas are exhausting.” As if annoyed, he pulled a dagger from his clothes and drove it deep into Ignis’s shoulder.

 

“Kyaaah!”

 

What is he doing?! Allice screamed, clutching the blanket. He stabbed Lord Ignis! But that shouldn’t be enough to faze Ignis. Because Ignis is incredibly strong…

 

“Ugh, uuh.”

 

Huh?

 

Ignis, stabbed in the shoulder, staggered forward and collapsed right beside Allice. Startled, she shook his shoulder.

 

“A-Are you o— Kyaaaah!”

 

His flesh peeled away with a slick sound.

 

“Kyaaah, kyaaaah!”

 

That wasn’t all. His skin, his muscles, his bones were melting like ice cream!

 

“Kyaaaaaah!”

 

“Wahaha. It seems Your Highness is quite startled—”

 

“G-Go away! Go away!”

 

“Don’t worry. I won’t let anything too rough happen to you. However, to make good use of you when dealing with the leader of the anti-church leader faction…” Grinning, he took out a length of chain. “I’ll need to control you a bit with these cha—”

 

The next moment, his words cut off abruptly, as if something were stuck in his throat.

 

“Ke-Keugh!”

 

Blood burst from his mouth. Something, like an iron skewer, had pierced straight through his chest. The instant it was pulled out, the man collapsed limply with a thud. He didn’t move. That man was dead.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

And then came another man’s voice.

 

Allice lifted her tear-soaked face. When had he come in? A very tall man was standing behind the dead host. Messy brown hair, horn-rimmed glasses, and fair skin that seemed to glow despite being splattered with blood. This man was—Number 66! It was the man number 66!

 

Bursting into tears, Allice threw her arms around him. “T-Thank you for saving me. Hic, hic.”

 

“Alright, alright.”

 

Number 66 patted Allice’s shoulder two or three times, then gently pulled her out of his arms. Then he took the chain from the hand of the man he had killed and pocketed it.

 

“Hic, w-what are you doing?”

 

The man began searching the room. He rummaged through the wardrobe, checked between the furniture, and finally swept thoroughly under the bed.

 

“Ahh, here it is.” He smiled in satisfaction. Then, all of a sudden, he swung his fist hard into empty space.

 

Kwaaang! For an instant, a flash of light erupted, followed by a thunderous crash, as if something invisible had shattered and collapsed.

 

“Kyaaah!” Allice covered her ears. Her whole body trembled. What was that? Something definitely broke just now, but there’s nothing there!

 

Then, at last, Number 66 reached under the bed and pulled out a large bundle.

 

There was something like that under the bed?

 

It was a very thin, wide, long rectangular object. It was tightly wrapped in pure white cloth, and across the cloth ran long lines of unknown characters, like talismans.

 

What is that?

 

Tucking it under his arm, Number 66 held out his hand to Allice. “Come on. Let’s go.”

 

“Y-Yes?”

 

“This ship is about to become very dangerous. For now, you should get out of here.”

 

“Uh, that…”

 

“Thanks to you, I didn’t have to wander around and find the mirror easily. Thank you.”

 

What did he mean? A mirror? Is the thing wrapped in cloth a mirror?

 

As if there would be no further conversation, the man wrapped one arm around Allice and lifted her up effortlessly.

 

“Kyaa!”

 

What the, he’s strong too!

 

Allice clung to Number 66’s neck. He smelled nice. A familiar, comforting scent. Her heart thumped wildly.

 

“Alright. Get down now.”

 

For some reason, all the barbarians on the deck were dead. Despite the countless corpses, the man didn’t look surprised. He dropped a lifeboat into the sea and lowered a ladder.

 

“Here’s a compass. Keep rowing south.”

 

“S-South?”

 

“Yes. Keep going south. You can manage that on your own, right? Wear a life jacket.”

 

Allice was deeply moved. To go this far for her… Had there ever been a man so devoted to her?

 

“Well then.”

 

As the man turned to leave, Allice grabbed his wrist tightly. “Wait! A-At least, t-tell me your name!”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I want to repay you!”

 

Thump, thump. Her heart was pounding like crazy. She hadn’t felt this way since the early days of dating Raios.

 

“Um, I’m the imperial consort. I don’t know why you’re doing this, but p-please come with me. If you become m-my consort, no, that’s not it. If you want, I’ll even divorce His Majesty!” She didn’t know what she was even saying. Allice just blurted it out.

 

Of course, Allice had no intention of actually divorcing. She pretended to do that just to lure him in.

 

“My goodness. Allice. You really are just like your mother.”

 

At that moment, Number 66 burst into laughter and took off his glasses. Then he brushed up the bangs that had been half-covering his eyes.

 

“…”

 

Allice was left speechless.

 

Her father smiled coldly. “Hurry along now.”

 

Lies.

 

Alice trudged down the ladder, feeling as though her soul had been bleached white.

 

Lies.

 

She sniffled as she rowed.

 

Lies. Lies. Lies.

 

This is a lie!

 

“Huuung.” Unable to bear the despair and humiliation, Allice finally broke down in sobs on the lifeboat.