All the ghosts here were designed to obey the commands of their master, Basileon. Whether Ella liked it or not, she had no choice but to follow his orders.
‘Thank goodness.’
Ignoring Ella entirely, Basileon stepped toward me.
“Eve…”
“So… I didn’t expect you to really come—”
Basileon didn’t hesitate and embraced me. Despite the gap between an evil spirit and a human, his action felt completely natural.
“Now… do I finally have some room to step in?”
Basileon whispered into my ear, and my face instantly flushed.
‘What now, all of a sudden?’
Lost in thought, I spotted an object flying toward us from behind.
“…Basileon! Behind you!”
Thud—
Basileon spun around just in time and deflected it with his entire body. A glowing mirror had fallen to the ground. It looked like Ella, unable to move her body, had thrown it from her spot. Basileon glared at the fallen mirror with obvious disgust.
“That mirror…”
He seemed to recognize what it was.
“It’s a dangerous object, which is why it was sealed away where no one could reach it.”
“I‑I didn’t mean to harm my lord. I clearly threw it at the evil spirit—”
“I never gave you permission to throw things at Evien.”
[Basileon Ravenwood]
◇ Affinity: 75%
◇ Anger: 94%
Basileon cut off Ella’s excuses. The atmosphere was tense enough that it felt like he could be consumed by rage and sweep everything around him at any moment.
“Wait, you can’t lose consciousness now!”
Basileon heard me and slowly nodded. After taking a few steady breaths to calm his anger, he gave his command.
“…Everyone, return to your original positions.”
“Yes, my lord.”
The ghosts and monsters moved to obey their master’s command.
“And you…”
Ella, too, was a Ravenwood maid who had no choice but to follow Basileon’s orders.
“My lord. I will return to my place. But before that, I will first dedicate my soul to the Noble One.”
After saying that, Ella jumped straight into the mirror.
“Stop her!”
Adolf commanded the weapons to block her, but Ella had already entered the mirror.
“Damn it… what a cursed ghost!”
Adolf cursed loudly, and Basileon let out a sigh.
“Don’t worry. I’ll carry this with me.”
Basileon picked up the mirror Ella had entered and hid it beneath his cloak.
“If someone’s going to steal a sealed object, it’s better that I carry it myself.”
“But… that mirror alone has a harmful effect on humans just by being near it!”
Adolf opposed Basileon carrying the mirror.
“What? Really?”
I looked at Basileon with concern, and he met my gaze.
“…Are you worried?”
“He says it has a harmful effect—how could I not be worried?”
“Then try and take it.”
Basileon smirked, took the mirror from his cloak, and tucked it deep inside his chest.
“What are you up to?”
I blinked in confusion, and Basileon chuckled softly. It seemed like he was joking in his own way, but honestly, it just annoyed me in other ways.
“There’s Ella trapped inside! What are you trying to do by putting it in there?”
“Oh my, even evil spirits get jealous, huh?”
Adolf teased me.
“Try taking it with your ability, then.”
I had already used the skill that could be used once per day. Even if I used it again, I’d have to reach in and pull it out myself—my hands wouldn’t touch his skin, but it would still be an awkward situation.
“Perverted bastard.”
“Ha!”
Adolf let out an exclamation at my curse. Basileon’s crude little joke had annoyed me for no reason, so I flew off in another direction.
“Eve!”
I ignored Basileon’s call.
* * *
Basileon tried to follow me, but Adolf stepped in to block his way.
“Wait, young master. What are you planning to do by following her?”
“…Calm her down, I guess?”
Adolf didn’t like Basileon’s answer.
“She cursed at you and flew off—do you even know what the problem is, yet you’re still following?”
“Well… the ghost maid’s trapped in the mirror?”
“Oh, come on. An evil spirit wouldn’t curse and fly off for something so trivial!”
Basileon closed his eyes, reflecting on his actions. It wasn’t just anger—he actually looked embarrassed. And about being called a pervert…
“No way, it wasn’t wrong to put it somewhere my body would touch and then tell you to take it back, right?”
“Of course it was! The evil spirit’s expression looked… humiliating!”
“Oh… was that it?”
Basileon was so shocked that his mind went completely blank.
“I was worried because you don’t seem to understand reason at all. But… really… what made you pull a prank you normally wouldn’t?”
Basileon recalled what he had overheard from the maid servants last time.
“I once heard the ghost maids say that these days, a man who plays pranks or provokes jealousy is considered attractive.”
Adolf was more than a little shocked.
“Y‑You’re telling me you actually believed that and played that damn jealousy‑provoking prank?”
“Damn… is it really that bad?”
Basileon muttered sullenly. Adolf could figure out who the ghost maids meant by the “popular man.”
“When the maids said that, they were probably talking about Evan, the survivor. That sly platinum-haired guy! Do you even realize the chaos he’s been causing lately?”
“….”
Basileon said nothing more. Instead, he grew slightly irritated.
“Are you just going to stand there now that she’s upset?”
“Then what do you think I should do?”
“Rather than listening to what others say, why not win her over with your own charm, young master?”
Adolf cast a lingering glance at the mirror Basileon had hidden away.
“By the way, don’t you dislike mirrors?”
“Oh. This isn’t a mirror—it’s just a tool meant to contain souls. My face doesn’t even reflect in it.”
‘In the past, he would have shuddered even at something like that.’
Adolf tilted his head in puzzlement but let it go without much concern.
“I see. In any case, you should go quickly—before things get any worse.”
“…Thank you.”
Following Adolf’s advice, Basileon set out to find Ive. Once he left, the hidden underground chamber beneath the Dark Forest was engulfed in silence. Traces of the ritual Ella had prepared to trap souls remained. For Adolf, leaving it like this didn’t sit right.
“My head hurts.”
Adolf’s weapons buzzed through the air, as if trying to lift his spirits.
“You’ve all done well. Get some rest now.”
Adolf turned around and looked toward the far end of the underground chamber.
“There’s a ghost who can help me, after all. Hey—Krius Harper! Stop hiding and come out.”
From the corner of Adolf’s gaze, someone timidly appeared.
“So… you knew all along.”
“Why were you hiding?”
“….”
Krius said nothing.
“You had your chance to apologize.”
“I… I would have, but my lord was here…”
“Tch…! That’s just an excuse. If I were an evil spirit, I’d be even angrier knowing you hid here.”
Krius clenched his fists, as if unwilling to admit his mistake.
“Do you think yelling like that will make it as if nothing happened?”
“I’m just saying—the evil spirit was definitely a bad being that punished ghosts! That’s a fact!”
“I’m not here to talk about the evil spirit’s past.”
Adolf’s weapons hovered threateningly, as if ready to strike Krius.
“You stole the weapons of our knights… and now you’re carrying human weapons instead?”
“I returned them to your captain. The ones I brought back then were only to stop your foolish antics.”
“The captain lent them to you?”
Krius frowned, clearly unable to believe it.
“So… you think you can stop me with these weapons?”
“Look at him. Still hasn’t come to his senses, huh?”
“Aaah!”
The B*stard Sword struck his wrist, and Krius screamed. Since it was still coated with Lilith’s holy water, it affected him as well. In pain, Krius shed a few tears.
“Tsk… these youngsters nowadays cry over something this small? I guess I’ll have to cut off your bXlls.”
“Ugh… p‑please don’t do that….”
“Forget that. Use the fake flamberge and burn this entire place down.”
Krius looked around, then understood what Adolf meant.
“…Please promise you won’t cut off my bXlls.”
“Damn it. I was just saying it as a joke! It’s disgusting, so shut up.”
“But I’m a ghost too—I’m supposed to go carry out my lord’s orders.”
“You can go after this is finished.”
Watching Adolf carefully, Krius drew his custom‑made flamberge. The flames he unleashed swallowed the underground chamber whole. Even after everything had been burned away, Adolf ordered Krius to deal with every last speck of ash without exception.
Hi! Thank you for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. Please continue to support this novel by giving it a good rating on Novel Updates. Thank you! ^^ ❤︎
Comments (0)