I’m Trying to End This Possession Chapter 87

Boom, boom, boom! Amidst the deafening blasts, Ignis tightly pulled her head into his arms. Even amid the sensation that the world itself was collapsing, Dana knew. At this very moment, he was protecting her. Thanks to him, she was still alive.

 

“Gasp, gasp, gasp.”

 

How long had the world been shaking like that? Ignis’s wildly beating heart throbbed against her as if it would burst. For a brief moment, just a brief moment, Dana realized that she had fainted.

 

“F*ck… This is f*cking sh*tty, seriously.” Cough, Ignis spat out a dry cough as he spoke. Then he slowly released Dana.

 

Only then did Dana see it. They were deep in the forest before she knew it. A half-destroyed carriage, horses that had disappeared somewhere, and then…

 

“Hey. You, stay here…”

 

It was the moment Ignis rose to his feet and moved to the side. Bang, bang, bang, bang! Dozens of bullets flew at him from somewhere.

 

Even in the chaos, Dana could tell. The gunfire was aimed precisely, and solely at Ignis. Not a single, truly not a single one, was aimed at her.

 

“Wow, hey. Danae, did you see that? I almost died.” Hiding behind a tree trunk, Ignis suddenly burst into laughter.

 

Bang, bang, bang! Bullets aimed at him embedded themselves into the tree.

 

“Hey! Danae Windsor!” Ignis shouted at the top of his lungs. There was laughter in his voice. “Raios Geranze is indeed a madman!”

 

Yes. He certainly is. I think so too. Instead of answering that way, Dana got to her feet. Amazingly, she was barely injured. Was that also part of the attackers’ calculations? Or was it Ignis’s consideration? Probably both. Which was why it was so incredibly clear what she had to do now.

 

“―!”

 

Dana moved forward. Stepping over and around the carriage wreckage, she walked toward Ignis. Toward him, barely hiding behind a tree while desperately avoiding the bullets raining down like mad. She walked straight ahead without hesitation.

 

“Hey, Danae!” Ignis screamed in horror. “Don’t come here, it’s dangerous! Are you crazy?!”

 

What’s with this guy? Is he really unexpectedly the naive type?

 

“Hey! You’re going to get shot, you idiot! Hey!”

 

Bang, bang. Bang bang bang, bang bang.

 

With every single step Dana took toward Ignis, she could clearly feel it. The bullets that had been pouring down like madness gradually, little by little, became thinner like droplets of rain. And then they subsided. Finding everything so absurd, Dana gave Ignis a bright smile. And she kept walking. Ignis’s eyes widened when they met hers. Then they wavered.

 

Dana staggered forward and came to a stop directly in front of Ignis. Then… it became quiet. The bullets that had been pouring down like torrential rain disappeared. Not a single shot came flying. The wonder of it all made her shiver. It felt as if thousands of arrows had missed her alone. A sensation as if she had become the protagonist of a myth.

 

The meaning behind the abruptly halted rain of bullets was clear. Finding it hilarious, Dana laughed without hesitation.

 

* * *

When was the first time she met Raios?

 

“What are you staring at?”

 

It was when she was seventeen. She had only been in this world for two months. Back when everything was still unfamiliar. Raios Geranze and Dana met for the first time at the imperial banquet. It was during Emperor Yustio’s coronation ceremony.

 

At that time, everything was so unfamiliar and difficult for Dana, so she quietly slipped away during the coronation ceremony. Then she ended up getting lost in the labyrinth of the enormous imperial palace. There, she saw a boy crying.

 

“What are you staring at?”

 

Drip, drip. Tears streamed down the boy’s sculpted cheeks.

 

“If you tell anyone, I’ll kill you.”

 

“…”

 

“Answer me. If you tell anyone, I’ll kill you.”

 

His black eyes blazed with anger, resentment, and sorrow. The boy wiped his wet eyes and threatened her.

 

“If you tell anyone—”

 

Stubbornness with fierce pride shone in his eyes.

 

“I won’t tell anyone,” Dana answered as though she had been enchanted. It would be a little strange to say that she fell in love with him at first sight.

 

Raios came looking for Dana often afterward. And he frequently watched her, checking whether she was telling anyone about that secret.

 

“Did you tell anyone?”

 

“I didn’t.”

 

“Really? Can you swear?”

 

“Yes. I can swear.”

 

“Good. I’ll trust you. But remember, if you tell anyone, I’ll kill you.”

 

“…”

 

That secret had been very important to that boy. The fact that he had secretly hidden away and cried during the emperor’s coronation.

 

“I’m the man who will become an emperor. Something like tears doesn’t suit me.”

 

It was a ridiculous thing to say, but the boy seemed serious.

 

“So if you tell anyone I cried, I’ll kill you.”

 

“I won’t tell.”

 

“No, just forget about it altogether.”

 

Only later did Dana learn why the boy had cried.

 

Originally, the person who should have been crowned emperor that day was Raios Geranze. But a divine oracle had suddenly descended, and the throne had been taken from him by his uncle. Even worse, his uncle didn’t even want the throne. The pride of a boy who had longed for the throne all his life, only to have it taken by someone who didn’t want it, was withered like a dry bone.

 

Perhaps that was why. Three years ago, when Raios had held onto her in tears in front of the dimensional gate, perhaps Dana had already known. That she couldn’t go anywhere, leaving behind a man who could only cry in front of her.

 

She should have simply thrown everything away and left.

 

* * *

“Milady! Are you alright?!”

 

When they returned to the mansion, the servants went into an uproar.

 

“Milady! Are you really alright?!”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

In truth, Dana was quite fine. Her hair was messy, and her clothes were torn, but she had barely been injured. The problem, however, was Ignis.

 

“Ah, damn it. My arm is broken.”

 

Since he had held her close and protected her when the carriage overturned, one of his arms had been shattered.

 

“Take responsibility. Marry me as compensation.”

 

Dana ignored that remark. She herself had suffered nothing more than a few minor scratches.

 

Viego Windsor displayed an extremely furious reaction to this news in front of others. He was the very image of an ideal, exemplary older brother.

 

“Who did this?” And in front of her, he asked in a frighteningly calm voice. “Who do you think did this?”

 

Wow. Look at that man. There isn’t even the slightest crack in his expression. Dana was so dumbfounded that she ended up laughing.

 

Viego’s face was exactly the same as usual, to the point it was almost fascinating. Even if the hamster he raised got hurt, he’d probably be more surprised than this. But she decided not to particularly concern herself with it.

 

Dana spoke calmly. “I don’t know.”

 

“You don’t know?” Viego raised the end of his sentence. “Why did you answer that way?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“Your answer is different from Ignis de Windsor’s.”

 

“…”

 

“I heard Crown Prince Raios warned you before the carriage accident. Is that right?”

 

Dana stared blankly at Viego. Come to think of it, she had found exactly one thing that was different. His usually perfectly combed hair had three, no, five strands out of place above his forehead.

 

“What did Lord Ignis say about who did it?”

 

“You know that as well, don’t you?” Viego’s voice was colder than ever before. That much was clear.

 

Ah, is he angry with me?

 

“You…”

 

At that moment, crack. The gentleman cane Viego was gripping tightly split. Dana was startled, but he didn’t even seem to notice.

 

“Even at a moment like this, you’re protecting the crown prince?”

 

Was it because of the splinters from the cane? Blood flowed down the cane from his clenched hand. That must hurt.

 

“It’s not like that.”

 

Dana carefully reached out his hand. A large hand, pale and white, yet with thick veins standing out beneath the skin. The moment her fingertips touched it, Viego violently shook her off. Then he retreated with a speed that could only be described as incredibly fast. One step, two steps, three steps, four steps. Hesitating for a moment, he ultimately took one more step away.