Accidentally Formed a Reverse Harem in the Apocalypse Chapter 61 - A Subtle Coincidence

Everyone in the reception room witnessed that scene.

A cold silence pressed down on the room.

‘He fell over without breaking his seated posture.’

That was proof his body was completely stiff.

‘Full-body rigor mortis.’

Which meant at least seven or eight hours had passed since death.

Because spirits cannot touch humans who are not their contractors, we couldn’t open Kieran’s eyelids to check…

And considering Linstead lay in the northwest, a relatively cold region, the time of death might have been even earlier.

In any case, one conclusion was certain.

Kieran Woray—the original story’s villain—was dead.

And he had died in an extremely strange posture.

‘Then maybe… the other members of the Woray family who were inside Linstead Castle, too…’

The figures I had seen earlier came back to mind.

The members of the Woray family and their servants, frozen stiff with both hands clasped as if praying to a god.

They hated the Caladia imperial family—there was no way they would worship Ardel, the chief god said to protect the royal bloodline…

As if to answer my uneasy question, Benedict’s spirit spoke in a trembling voice.

【It’s strange. Every human here is in the exact same state.】

【There isn’t even a fragment of their departed souls left…】

【Like they were cleanly cut away with scissors. What remains are just empty shells.】

The House of Count Woray, detained in Linstead, had been completely wiped out?

‘By who? And for what purpose?’

After the imperial family, now even the House of Woray.

The random choice of victims, with no clear motive, left my thoughts in chaos.

If Kieran—the prime suspect—was already dead, then who was the culprit?

In the suffocating silence, a sharp scream rang out.

“K–Kyaaaaaah!”

A moment too late, Sherry Daymon screamed in shock. The other maids waiting to serve tea in the reception room couldn’t hold it in either, trembling as they cried out.

“It’s okay, Sherry. It’s okay.”

Jacqueline Celeste pulled her frightened friend into her arms and comforted her.

“B–But… a p–person… d–died…!”

Jacqueline held the panicking Sherry tightly, whispering again and again.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay. Linstead is far away from here. You’re safe. There’s nothing to fear.”

“Hic… hhk…”

“It’s alright. I’m right here.”

As Jacqueline gently stroked her hair, Sherry slowly calmed down.

Perhaps because it hadn’t been long since she’d lost her parents, Duke and Duchess Daymon—Sherry Daymon reacted very strongly to death.

Zero glanced at Sherry, then warned me.

「That woman looks fine on the outside, but inside she’s as fragile as a cracked glass. If she’s not cared for properly, it could be dangerous.」

I thought she was okay—she had just been trying hard not to look weak.

Jacqueline lifted her head and asked me,

“Duke Keaton, it seems you’ve gotten all the information you need from that video. If it’s not too much trouble, could you please turn it off now?”

“…Of course. Benedict, please recall the spirits. And Grand Duke Whitewood, thank you sincerely for lending us your help. My questions have been answered, so you may end the call.”

At my words, Aston and Benedict nodded.

“Understood.”

“Yes.”

When Aston operated the communication device again, the gold-tinted dial returned to its original ivory color.

The screen went dark, but everyone was too shocked and panicked to speak.

【Return to my side.】

As Benedict murmured the spirit language and flicked his fingers, the water spirit returned to him.

【Ben! Ben! I saw a human corpse! It was scary! Comfort me!】

Crying loudly, the spirit clung to Benedict’s light-green hair.

The other spirits immediately got jealous and pulled it away.

【Hey! Get off him!】

【You’re not even scared of soulless human bodies!】

【Don’t monopolize the contractor! He’s ours too!】

Scolded by the others, the spirit that had gone to Linstead pouted tearfully.

【I’m not lying! It really was scary! A body with its soul completely offered up and nothing left behind… it’s scary… really scary…!】

“…You’re noisy.”

Benedict looked troubled.

Because of his high affinity with spirits, Benedict was always surrounded by them—his ears never got a break.

「That’s what life is like when you’re loved by non-human beings.」

Easy for you to say.

Since we’d received help, I didn’t want to ignore Benedict’s spirits.

I stood up and walked closer to him.

“…?”

Benedict looked confused as I approached.

“Do you need something from me? I believe I’ve done everything the spirits asked.”

“I have something to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Your spirits.”

Benedict looked startled.

“You can… hear the spirits?”

“Yes. Well… it just sort of happened.”

“Hearing spirits requires an inborn talent for spirit affinity. How could a powerless duke—”

“I died once and came back, so now I can see and hear things I couldn’t before. Excuse me.”

I leaned toward the spirits clinging to Benedict’s cheek and hair.

“Spirit, may I ask you to answer a few questions?”

This was a privilege of being a possessor.

The ability to communicate with any lifeform in the possessed world.

Thanks to Zero installing a full language patch for all otherworldly beings—after I got stressed from not understanding anything at first.

When I asked politely, the spirits grew interested.

【Is it because of the administrator’s power?】

【This human child can understand our words!】

【Interesting. But not suitable as a contractor.】

【What do you want to know? You’re interesting, so we’ll listen.】

‘No guarantee they’ll answer, though.’

Spirits were fickle by nature—this much goodwill was already more than enough.

I got to the point.

“The dead people you saw in Linstead. Please tell me in detail what you saw in them.”

The members of the Woray family who died in a posture of prayer.

I needed to know their cause of death.

「…You think the dead Woray family members are connected to the zombie outbreak, don’t you?」

‘Yes.’

Doesn’t it seem suspicious no matter how you look at it?

Zombies spreading like a virus—despite not being one.

And the House of Woray, found dead in strange, identical poses, as if from an unknown epidemic.

It felt like more than just coincidence.

‘There has to be something.’

As a reader of the original story, I knew how relentless Kieran Woray was.

“I will see the end of this damned servitude contract, no matter what.”

With the single goal of freeing the Woray family, Kieran stopped at nothing. He killed all personal feelings for the greater cause and lived his life crouched low, like a frog waiting to strike—enduring everything to overthrow the imperial family.

Waiting for the moment he could leap out and tear out their throats.

Even when all his plans collapsed because of Sienna, even when he was trapped and preserved like a specimen in Linstead, Kieran felt no regret.

“It was something that had to be done someday.”

“If not me, then my children or grandchildren would’ve had to risk their lives.”

“What’s wrong with struggling so future generations don’t suffer? I did the right thing. Even if the whole world calls me a murderer, I don’t regret my choice.”

Even when the foundations supporting him were torn away, even when he despaired that he might have caused his family more suffering, Kieran never lost hope.

“I can’t rot away here. There must be a way to break the servitude contract…”

‘That was the end of his appearance in the original story…’

But I never believed Kieran—who endured everything through sheer will—would commit suicide.

To him, suicide was nothing more than running away from responsibility and duty.

Sons who couldn’t endure the harsh training of the Woray family either fled or died young.

Kieran despised and looked down on such people as weak.

“Thinking death solves all hardship is ridiculous.”

With blood constantly on his hands from doing the empire’s dirty work, he mocked himself, saying there was no way he could ever go to heaven.

“You think there’s heaven if you kill yourself? You’ll go to hell. There’s no paradise in running away—especially for filthy slaves like us.”

Kieran was someone who would burn himself out resisting the imperial family to the very end.

And yet—he was dead.

There were no clear signs of murder, but I could never call it suicide.

‘Kieran isn’t someone who would choose death. If he did, it would be in exchange for an enormous price.’

For example… the zombie disaster that destroyed the capital.

When I asked desperately, the spirit fluttered around me and whispered.

【I don’t like humans who aren’t contractors.】

【But maybe because you were chosen by the administrator…】

【You seem okay.】

【I’ll tell you. What I saw.】

【I’ll lend you my eyes for a moment.】

【What I saw and heard.】

【What frightened me so much.】

“Ah…!”

My eyes burned as if shards of glass were embedded in them. Tears streamed down from the pain—it hurt too much.

The light went out, darkness swallowing everything, and then as the pain slowly faded, brightness returned.

‘This is…?’

What came into view was Kieran Woray’s corpse—the same one the water spirit had seen.

‘Like showing a recorded video…’

As the spirit in the vision moved closer to Kieran, things only spirits could see came into sight.