‘He doesn’t have some sinister scheme like Ella, does he?’
I looked at Evan suspiciously.
“By the way, there’s something else I’m curious about. Um… well….”
Evan hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Lately, you and the duke—there’s nothing going on between you, right?”
“W-What? As if there would be!”
Damn it. I’d been caught off guard, and for a split second, I panicked. Evan watched my reaction closely and his expression hardened coldly.
“…So something did happen.”
“You know already. Like I said before, Basileon and I are just comrades. Even that’s gotten vague lately, since I haven’t been acting as an evil spirit.”
Honestly, I didn’t even know why I was bothering to make excuses to Evan. Even if I set aside my growing feelings for Basileon, there was no way I’d ever like Evan.
“Your feelings don’t matter. What matters is Duke Ravenwood’s.”
“My feelings don’t matter?”
I was dumbfounded. It felt like he was completely dismissing me. I grew thoroughly irritated and shot Evan a sharp glare.
“Is that how you treat someone you say you like? What am I—an object?”
At my words, Evan clenched his fist tightly, as if holding back a surge of anger.
“…I’m sorry. But I’m someone who’s been brutally killed by the Duke of Ravenwood over and over again. What I’m trying to say is… whether you have feelings for me or not, I respect you. But if the duke has feelings for you—that’s something I can’t accept.”
“But Evan—Basileon didn’t become a murderer because he wanted to!”
Before I realized it, my voice had risen.
Step—.
Perhaps they’d heard the argument, because someone was approaching from our direction.
“…Evil spirit?”
I locked eyes with Lilith as she was walking down the corridor.
“What’s going on? Evan, why are you here…? And what’s with this atmosphere?”
The moment she said that, emotions surged up, and tears welled in my eyes before I could stop them. Because of that, the situation ended up looking even stranger.
“Evil spirit. I was looking for you because I wanted to talk. But this situation is, um…”
“Lilith. I’m sorry, but let’s talk later. I really don’t feel up to it right now.”
I tried to avoid showing my face as I left the area. As soon as I slipped away into a secluded corner, the tears I’d been holding back streamed down freely.
Sniff—.
Thinking back on it now, it felt like I hadn’t considered Evan’s position at all. That was only natural. From the survivors’ point of view, Basileon was nothing more—and nothing less—than a murderer. And if all of his memories had returned, that would only make it worse.
‘Why did I defend Basileon back there? Idiot. Stupid, hopeless….’
That was when I felt someone watching me.
“W-What? Hey, evil spirit… are you crying?”
Mary, who’d been hiding in the corner, covered her mouth and stared straight at me.
“…Mary Crow. How long have you been hiding there?”
“Hmph. W-Why would I bother hiding? I just stopped because some interesting things were being said, that’s all.”
Then, behind Mary, a large, pitch-black silhouette came into view.
“Uh—behind you!”
“Mary Crow got really excited. Said it was fun. Said Evan likes the evil spirit. Said it was a huge deal. Told me we should eavesdrop.”
Havel suddenly appeared and blurted out everything.
“Havel! Shut your mouth!”
Bugh—! Mary punched Havel near the shoulder.
“His endurance is no joke—did you really think that’d work?”
“Honestly, this person—really!”
Sure enough, Mary clutched her hand as if the fist she’d used to hit Havel now hurt.
“Mary Crow. Lying is bad.”
Havel spoke with a serious face. The way he called it advice was almost funny.
“That’s not worse than you secretly eating up the food supplies!”
“Those foods said they preferred going into my mouth.”
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about—!”
“Shh, shh! Be quiet for a moment.”
After making Mary and Havel shut up, I strained my ears to listen.
“Y-You… evil spirit… what…!”
From a short distance away, I could faintly hear Lilith’s and Evan’s voices. Judging by how noisy it sounded, they seemed to be arguing.
“Hm. Looks like there’s something interesting going on again?”
“Mary, do you enjoy watching people fight?”
I flew ahead, letting Mary lead, and asked.
“You’re just curious too, that’s why you’re going.”
“That’s true, but still.”
“I’m good at eavesdropping—come here. Havel, you too.”
Mary took a spot and beckoned for Havel and me to come over.
“In big castles or manors like this, there are hidden spaces meant for servants. Places that don’t stand out.”
Since Mary used to be a maid, this was clearly her area of expertise. It was just the right distance to secretly listen in on Lilith and Evan’s conversation—and being hidden, we wouldn’t be noticed.
“So, Evan. Is it true that you like the evil spirit?”
Lilith’s voice reached us.
“…That’s the truth.”
“B-But you’re human! A human and an evil spirit can never be together!”
Mary, who had overheard Lilith’s words, glanced at me to gauge my reaction.
“Hm. Well, well… evil spirit. Looks like you’ve gone and torn apart a perfectly good pair.”
“A pair? Wait—don’t tell me Lilith and Evan were a thing?”
“No. That’s just my wishful thinking. I know Lilith likes Evan.”
“Yeah. Lilith likes Evan. A lot.”
As Mary said that, Havel chimed in right away.
“You do nothing but eat and sleep all day—what do you know?”
“Because Lilith looked happy whenever she looked at Evan.”
“….”
Havel’s answer was unexpected enough that both Mary and I widened our eyes. For now, we turned our attention back to the conversation drifting over to us.
“A human and an evil spirit can’t be together? If life means enduring horrors like this over and over anyway, I don’t think it’s such a serious problem for me—a human—to like Evien, who’s an evil spirit.”
At Evan’s confession, Mary’s mouth fell open.
“But at the very least, humans can touch each other! You can’t have physical contact with an evil spirit, so don’t tell me… you’re planning on a love based purely on spiritual connection?”
“Oh my—Lilith, how can you say something so indecent…!”
“Ugh….”
Havel bent over, looking like he was about to gag.
“Havel, what’s wrong?”
Havel ignored my question and instead stared at Evan and Lilith with a sullen expression.
“Lilith. What do you think you’re saying right now? If you keep making insulting remarks about Evien, I won’t stay silent.”
Evan glared at Lilith, anger flashing in his eyes.
“I’m not trying to insult anyone. Why are you choosing to walk such a difficult path? Have you never once thought about looking around you…?”
Evan avoided Lilith’s gaze. Judging by his reaction, he seemed to understand exactly what she meant.
“What can I do, when my head is already filled with nothing but Evien?”
“You’re truly… a cruel person who crushes even the smallest shred of hope. Haha….”
Lilith began to laugh bitterly, as if she’d lost all will to go on. Then—
“Waaah!”
Thud—! Thud—!
“What the—what’s wrong with her?”
Havel burst out and stepped in front of Evan, as if to shield Lilith.
“Lilith, good girl. Don’t fight.”
“…Havel? Where did you come from this time?”
Evan looked around. Thankfully, Mary and I were well hidden and didn’t get noticed.
“Evan bad. Lilith good. Evil spirit good too. So bad person, go away.”
“Havel, what on earth are you talking about? I’m just being honest about my feelings.”
“Evan bad. Smells like rotten food—gross and unpleasant.”
“What nonsense—! This has nothing to do with you, so step aside, Havel.”
With Havel getting involved, the situation turned into a complete mess.
“It’s not nonsense. That thing—bad feeling. Behind Evan.”
Havel pointed to the space behind Evan.
“Huh? What is he pointing at?”
I narrowed my eyes and looked in the direction Havel was indicating. From this distance, I couldn’t see it clearly. Leaving Mary behind, I flew closer on my own to check whether what Havel said was true.
“Good evil spirit, check it out and tell me too!”
Mary waved at me from behind, as if seeing me off.
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! ^^ ❤︎
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