I’m Trying to End This Possession Chapter 72

“Dana.” Carl placed his hand on my shoulder. “Why are you suddenly like this?”

 

Dana flinched at the moment. Carl’s grip was so terrifying that she desperately repeated to herself with all her strength. Don’t let him notice I am afraid. The moment he noticed, he would understand everything. That man would realize it. Just like in the memory she saw.

 

“Why is your heart beating so fast?” But Carl had already read her pulse from where their bodies were pressed together. “Why are you so frightened?”

 

No. He mustn’t find out. If he finds that I’m afraid of him, then…

 

“How much did you hear?”

 

In that instant, her mind snapped into clarity. She understood exactly what she had to do. It was practically a survival instinct.

 

“I’m scared…” Letting out a trembling voice, Dana lifted her head. “Uncle, are you alright?” She poured all her desire to cry into her expression, exaggerating it even more, until her eyes grew wet with tears. “That person hit you, Uncle.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“He hit you, Uncle. What to do…” The moment she met Carl’s eyes, her voice trembled on its own. “Are you hurt anywhere?” Fortunately, Dana managed to disguise it perfectly as a concern. “What to do?”

 

Dana then stroked Carl’s reddened cheek, the cheek that Natan had slapped bright red, with her hand as tears dripped down. “What should I do? It must be hurt. What to do…” Tears streamed down her face. They looked exactly like tears full of worry and sorrow. “Sob, sob, what to do? What should I do…” She sobbed as though those were the only words she knew how to say. It was as if she simply couldn’t bear seeing someone she cared about suffer such violence, and her heart ached too much to endure it. And Carl just stared blankly at her.

 

How long did that silence last? After a while, Carl finally spoke, as if forcing the words out through his strangled throat. “I’m alright…” He looked dazed. Entranced, he gently wiped away Dana’s falling tears one drop at a time.

 

It was at that moment. “Haha.” Suddenly, Carl laughed. “Goodness. Haha.” He pressed a hand against his forehead. “Ah, sorry. Ah, hahaha.”

 

“…”

 

Carl was suddenly laughing. It was as if he simply couldn’t hold back the laughter bubbling up inside him.

 

“Ah, sorry, Dana.” After laughing for a while, he pinched her cheek. “It seems like you’re the only one who worries about me. Really… Ah, sorry.” He seemed to be desperately suppressing another burst of laughter. “It’s because you’re so cute. Sorry.”

 

“…”

 

Dana roughly understood what he meant. Right. Who would worry about a monster like you? They’d worry about the other person instead!

 

“Thank you for worrying about me, Dana. But don’t cry anymore, okay?” Hugging her, Carl patted her back. “When you cry, my heart hurts.”

 

Don’t make me laugh. You shouldn’t say things you don’t mean.

 

“How much did you hear?”

 

In the end, you’re going to kill me…

 

* * *

“Alright, now stop crying, and let’s think about what to do.”

 

It was a little later, after things had calmed down somewhat. Still beaming, Carl pinched Dana’s cheek again. He had been doing it every chance he got.

 

“My cute niece caused trouble, so we ended up having to attend the ritual.”

 

At that moment, anger surged inside her. I caused trouble? I stopped you from causing a catastrophic disaster!

 

“What exactly is that ritual? Tell me now.”

 

Carl finally admitted he couldn’t keep hiding it. “Dana, do you know how babies are made?”

 

“…” What? Dana was so astounded that she just stared blankly at him.

 

“Looks like you don’t know.” Carl nodded as though he had expected it. “As for how babies are made—”

 

“…I know.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I said I know.”

 

At that, Carl’s mouth fell open in shock. “H-How do you know that?”

 

“…”

 

“Who told you?”

 

If she told him she had personally done it before, he’d probably faint.

 

Dana fully realized that this person saw her not as an equal adult woman but completely as a little girl. There’s barely even an age difference between us, so why is he acting like this? So annoying.

 

Anyway, Carl finally regained himself and explained. “That… Anyway, it’s something that combines that with communal bonding… Well, something like that.”

 

“I see.”

 

No wonder Carl had tried so hard to hide it.

 

So, did this guy hear what happened while sleeping with me at the mill last night? Listening to that weird noise as background music, patting my shoulder, and telling me to sleep quickly? As expected, he really was not an ordinary human being.

 

“Then, what are you going to do?”

 

“What else? Obviously we’re going to run away.” Smiling gently, he held her shoulders. “I’ll steal a carriage and leave it hidden in the forest, so wait here for a little while.”

 

Hearing that, Dana said this out of courtesy. “Please be careful. What if you get hurt?” Of course, she wasn’t worried in the slightest. But since she had been pretending to worry about him this whole time, it seemed more natural to say something like that.

 

“Yeah, I’m a little scared of that too.” Absurdly enough, Carl nodded with complete seriousness. “But I did learn some basic self-defense in the army. So, I should be able to make it back alive somehow.”

 

“…” Dana could only stare blankly at his incredible act.

 

After Carl left, her tension finally released, and she collapsed to the floor. Dana had been so on edge that her mouth had gone completely dry. Crazy person. An absolutely insane person.

 

Dana had heard rumors that Carl Windsor was extremely vicious during his military days. But she had thought those rumors and legendary tales were somewhat exaggerated for army propaganda. The usual Carl Windsor she knew was soft like whipped cream and sometimes clumsy. Honestly, she could never imagine him as a soldier…

 

He was really terrifying. It was the first time in her life she had ever seen something so horrifying. Never again did she want to witness something like that. At that moment, Carl had seemed less like a fellow human being and more like an entirely different creature. A monster capable of killing humans as easily as breathing if he so desired.

 

And through this incident, Dana realized something. Carl Windsor was truly an incredibly dangerous enemy, and… He must never find out that I’m his enemy. No matter what happened, he must never realize it. As she made that vow, she let out a deep sigh.

 

Carl would undoubtedly return with the carriage without any problems. Then they would simply go back to the Windsor Mansion. That should be enough, but…

 

“Help me!”

 

Why does that voice keep coming to my mind even in this situation? Even after witnessing that horrific slaughter scene, the girl’s voice didn’t fade away. If anything, now that the time to leave was approaching, it became clearer and clearer.

 

Can I really leave that girl behind like this?