I’m Trying to End This Possession Chapter 282

* * *

And the vision ended.

 

“Sob.”

 

Tears poured down. Having escaped the illusion, Danaena Rolland collapsed face-first in the maze garden and sobbed. She could not come to her senses, overwhelmed by fear, terror, and sorrow that seemed to pierce every strand of her hair.

 

“Sob, hic, hic.” It felt as though her heart were being crushed.

 

Damn it. This damn illusion. This damn sorcery.

 

Was it an illusion showing her the memory of the most horrifying moment she had ever experienced? If so, it had succeeded spectacularly. Even now, she was so scared that her hands were trembling like this. Like this, this, this… However, she couldn’t stay like this forever. Because she had things she needed to do.

 

Get up. Wipe away the tears, calm down, and get up. Then move forward. Dana wiped the tears soaking her face and took a deep breath. Just then, she heard footsteps.

 

“Ah! There she is!”

 

It was the twins’ voices.

 

“Sister, she’s over there!”

 

“Sister, should we go ahead and catch her?”

 

Yes, I’m right here! Dana wanted to shout at them. Please, hurry up and catch me! Just end this damn game of tag! I’ve been drenched in fear, just like you wanted! Hurry up and take me to the altar and sacrifice me! So she deliberately hung her head low and waited. She intended to pretend that she was out of her mind. If she did that, they would think she had fainted and carry her to the altar. However…

 

“Oh my, you really are here.”

 

A sense of foreboding seemed to plunge straight down the back of her neck. It was almost instinctive. Contrary to her resolve to remain still, Dana’s body suddenly rolled to the side on its own. At the same time, a violently powerful gust of air grazed her cheek.

 

What was that? Dana hurriedly got to her feet. Could this be another illusion? No, it was not an illusion. The warm sensation on her cheek and the drop of blood trickling down it. This is real. It was real blood. The person wearing that mountain goat mask had swung an axe down toward her neck!

 

Did they really try to kill me? A chill ran through Dana. Why? This time she was the only sacrifice, so they weren’t supposed to kill her yet, were they? There weren’t any other mountain goat candidates.

 

The person holding the axe tilted their head in puzzlement. They asked, as if genuinely intrigued. “How did you dodge that?”

 

Ah…

 

“You have better instincts than I expected, Danaena.”

 

It was a voice she knew very well.

 

That person threw off her mountain goat mask, and pale blond hair fluttered loose. It was Ingria. She smiled sweetly. “Get her, you two.”

 

“…!”

 

The twins quickly ran over and grabbed both of her arms.

 

What were they, hunting dogs?

 

Slap! At that moment, a stinging sensation exploded across her cheek. Before she even had time to comprehend what was happening, another blow came, and then another. Ingria slapped her across the face. Slap, slap, slap! How many times had she been slapped? Ingria continued striking her cheeks like a madwoman before finally lowering her hand.

 

“Huff, even this doesn’t make me feel any better.” Then she roughly seized Dana’s white hair and yanked her face upward. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

 

Graaagh. The grip on her hair tightened. Dana grimaced. This woman is really strong. And her eyes are completely unhinged.

 

“You’re the one who told Rumie to divorce me, aren’t you?”

 

When Dana did not answer, the twins beside her grabbed her arms and shook them.

 

“Answer her quickly, Danaena.”

 

“You’ll hurt your pretty face. Hurry up and listen to Sister.”

 

“Are you not going to answer, Danaena?” Ingria grabbed Dana’s hair even more roughly and demanded fiercely. “What is your relationship with Rumie?”

 

“…”

 

“You thought I wouldn’t find out? The two of you pretending you weren’t a couple in front of me, putting on that shameless and disgusting lovers’ quarrel!”

 

For the first time, Dana answered. “What on earth are you talking about?”

 

“Don’t even think about playing innocent, Danaena. Since when have you and Rumie had that kind of relationship?”

 

“It’s not like that.” Dana could endure many things, but she could not tolerate Rumie being insulted. Absolutely not.

 

In this life, Rumie believed that she was his younger sister. So, no matter what temptations she offered him, he was a man who responded only with contemptuous looks. A righteous man, a person of noble character! He—! Ah, forget it.

 

Dana suppressed the competitive spirit welling up inside her. What was the point of arguing with a woman who would be dead soon anyway? Instead of wasting time on a pointless argument, she should hurry up and find the holy relic. Remembering her true purpose, Dana began sobbing again.

 

“Hic, hic, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault, hic.”

 

“Tell me what you did wrong.”

 

“I seduced Brother Rumie. It was all because of my immorality, so please don’t blame him.”

 

When she began to cry pitifully, a smile finally formed around Ingria’s lips. “I knew it. You filthy pair of lovers.”

 

“Hic, sob.”

 

“Rumie is always acting all high and mighty. How ridiculous. In the end, he can’t hide that blood—”

 

It was before Ingria could finish. From behind Danaena, a long arm suddenly shot out like a snake. It seized the twins firmly by the backs of their necks.

 

“…!”

 

The twins collapsed to the ground as though their strings had been cut. Ingria hurriedly reached for her axe, but all she grasped was grass. The axe was already in someone else’s hand. The hand of the man who had suddenly appeared and knocked the twins unconscious. The man was wearing a mountain goat mask, but since each person had their own identifying mark, they could recognize one another.

 

“…Adma Rolland?”

 

Instead of answering, the man casually dropped the axe and strode toward Ingria. Then he swung his hand and struck her across the face. Slap! With that single blow, Ingria’s body was sent flying and slammed heavily into the wall of bushes. Whether she had immediately lost consciousness or not, she lay there completely motionless. Then the man approached Dana.

 

“Are you alright?” He asked politely as he removed his mask.

 

“…Demian.”

 

Demian carefully lifted her into his arms.

 

Dana stared blankly up at him. Why is this guy here?

 

“For now, we should hide. There are people pursuing us.”

 

Ah. Right. Adma Rolland. He was also listed on the message on the wall, among the attendees. It wasn’t strange for him to be here. But why hadn’t he told me beforehand that he was coming here…?

 

Demian quickly ran over and squeezed his body into a narrow gap between the walls of the maze. Then, after a short while, the sound of footsteps came rushing toward them.

 

“What on earth happened? Princess Ingria is lying unconscious!”

 

“The twins are the same.”

 

“Could it be that Danaena woman did this?”

 

“No way. She looked like she didn’t even have the strength to break a single branch.”

 

“Then what is it? Has a traitor appeared?”

 

Demian carefully covered Dana’s mouth. It seemed to be to muffle the sound of her breathing, which was coming out loudly. After a while, the others’ presence finally faded completely. They had passed safely. However…

 

“…”

 

Dana stared at Demian. The hand covering her mouth was still there. Why isn’t he taking it away?

 

“From now on, listen carefully to what I say.” Demian looked at her and whispered softly. As he had always done until now, his manner was polite. “There is something I did not tell you.”

 

But Dana sensed a familiar wrongness in his tone. No. It was a familiar pressure.

 

“I came here to Godom Island at the command of my father, Rodrigo.”

 

“…”

 

“My father ordered me to bring you, Dana. He is waiting for you on Eldiva Island right now. We also have one of our laboratories on Eldiva Island.”

 

At that moment, Dana realized where she had felt this oppressive pressure before. It was a sensation that had always been with her when she was Danawin. Always kind and gentle, yet always perfectly controlling and dominating her… The pressure of my husband.

 

“But I’d like to give you a choice.” Demian continued speaking softly, with exactly the same face he had worn back then. “If you choose to come with me, you will be safe. You will be able to leave this island safely, and my father will extend your lifespan considerably. And he has promised to treat you with the utmost care, like the queen of this world.” He gently stroked the scratch on her cheek and smiled. “But I will give you one more choice.”

 

“…”

 

“You can leave with me.”

 

“…”

 

“What will you choose, Honey?”

 

My endlessly gentle tyrant…