༺ Evil Spirit ༻
“Hmm… Hmm… Hmm…”
The humming was unexpectedly pleasant to hear.
I found myself involuntarily looking at Illuania, who was sitting across from me.
She, while feeling embarrassed, bowed her head and apologized.
“I apologize. Was I too noisy?”
She always used informal language when she was in her last profession, but now that she had become my maid, she started using formal language.
Judging by how well she adapted without any awkwardness, this style of speech seemed more natural to her.
“No, I was pleasantly surprised by how melodious it was.”
“Really? I used to sing lullabies quite often.”
“…”
Did she really?
I slightly turned my head in silence, feeling somewhat ignorant for no reason. Then, Illuania, taking advantage of my curiosity, attempted to start a conversation.
“You’ve changed a lot in just a few months. You seem like a completely different person.”
“…I matured. I hope you can think of it that way.”
Although I’d told the truth to Deia, it was only because she was my younger sister. There was no need for Illuania to know this information.
Illuania nodded her head and blushed, holding her stomach as if feeling embarrassed.
“Now that I’m not alone anymore, it would be difficult to do that at night…”
“Yes, I have no intention of having you perform such actions either.”
Illuania smiled slightly, seemingly relieved by my words. In fact, I had a different intention behind taking her with me than just to raise her status.
Carefully, I asked Illuania, who was beaming with joy.
“Do you know who the father is?”
Considering her occupation, it might not be easy to find him. Moreover, even if she finds him, would she be able to establish a proper familial relationship?
I had such concerns. However…
“Huh? Does that really matter?”
An unexpected answer popped out.
“Hmm?”
Her brown eyes contained sincerity; her expression seemed to say that it didn’t matter who the child’s father was.
“I’ve always wished for a child. I will give all the love I never received to this child.”
“…”
Because she didn’t receive the love she wanted, she was looking for someone to pour her overflowing love into.
In the end, even a spouse becomes a stranger when the marital contract is broken. What Illuania was searching for was a family with an unbreakable bond.
Then, that’s fine.
I hope she lives a long life with all her heart.
[Oh, you’re such a good mother.]
A gentle voice appeared from beside me, I had already heard it once before.
I turned my head and saw a woman. She was the one with half of her face disfigured, who I saw on the carriage heading towards Norseweden from the academy.
“Long time no see.”
I changed the topic of the conversation.
Illuania looked at me, wondering what I was saying, but I casually placed my finger on my lips while resting my elbow on the carriage’s window.
It was a gesture telling her to be quiet.
[It’s only been about a month, but the conversation we had back then was quite enjoyable, wasn’t it?]
“I feel the same way.”
[Is it possible that you’re in love with the maid and currently on the run? Is the child inside her yours?]
“No, that’s not true. Besides, how have you been all this time?”
[I’ve been well. So, did you just make the maid pregnant and still wish for her to work?]
“I said it is not my child.”
[Oh, I see. I’m sorry. So, did you force yourself on her and just pretend not to know?]
I gritted my teeth.
I had been trying to change the subject intentionally, and even tried steering the conversation in another direction. But now, the whole carriage was trembling under the overwhelming anger of the evil spirit.
Illuania thought it was because of the bumpy road.
“Since she wants to keep the child. I, too, will support both of their growth.”
[Oh, really? How kind of you.]
I thought I worded and conveyed my intentions well enough.
[You’re repeating the same thing I heard.]
Suddenly, I felt that I messed up somehow, like being in a deep hole not knowing her circumstances.
Because of the clothes she was wearing and her manner of speaking, I assumed she was a noble lady. I spoke accordingly to this assumption, but it seemed like I had misunderstood.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, one side of the carriage caught fire. More precisely, flames shot up from half of her face, starting to engulf the carriage.
[Your scent is permeating from the maid! Are you still denying it?! Are you calling me a liar?!]
Illuania was surprised at the sudden combustion.
I pulled her tightly, embracing her in a hug to protect her, and broke the carriage wall with magic.
The fierce wind swept over as if it would swallow us.
[You all! My child too! Me too! You said you loved us so much! In the end, you killed both of us!]
“I am not the man you are talking about.”
[Shut up! You didn’t need to kill that child! I already promised I would live quietly!]
Since the souls in the family had found their rest, I didn’t have any souls available to use magic right now, making me quite weak.
“Hold on tight.”
“Wha-what?!”
I held Illuania tightly and jumped out of the carriage. Because the speed of the carriage was already gradually slowing down, it was enough for me to use basic wind magic to avoid getting hurt.
[My child! My child! My child!]
The carriage caught fire. And the coachman, who was driving the carriage, quickly separated it from the horses and jumped off.
The woman, who had half of her body burning, approached me menacingly.
Ordinary women, especially those involved with children, were particularly vengeful.
Because I knew that, I deliberately didn’t use magic in the carriage and tried to calm her down.
“This is troublesome.”
After seeing the woman gradually materialize, a testament to how deep her grudge was, I couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh.
* * *
Tap.
Tap.
She didn’t know how many days had already passed.
“Sob, Mom. Sob.”
Meirin had been walking along the long, dark corridor for several days, but she couldn’t reach the end at all.
She was both literally and figuratively in the dark, she had no idea why this situation occurred.
Her legs were in excruciating pain, and the soles of her feet felt like they were being pricked by needles.
Yet, the reason she couldn’t stop walking was…
[Where are you going?]
It was because of the man, whose face was split in half, kept chasing her from behind.
However, it was not like she had never experienced anything like this before.
Meirin had already encountered a walking skeleton on the first floor of the central staircase.
But still, she couldn’t understand why she was trapped in this corridor when she had gone to sleep in the dormitory. And even more so why she was being continuously chased by such a monster.
“Sob! Huhuh!”
Tears kept flowing, stinging her eyes. Yet she couldn’t help it, the tears wouldn’t stop.
[Come here.]
“Go away! Leave me alone! Please! Please, just let me be!”
She couldn’t run. If she ran, the monster would also chase her like a madman.
By walking, she conserved her energy.
“Huuaaah!”
The never-ending corridor stretched out, mocking the girl to give up.
If Meirin didn’t have a stubborn personality, she would have given up a long time ago.
[Come here.]
“Please! Helppp!”
However, no matter how loudly she screamed, no one responded, no helping hand came to her rescue.
With a body that felt like it could collapse at any moment, the girl had no choice but to keep walking through the seemingly endless corridor.
* * *
A strange rumor began circulating on the third floor of the women’s dormitory.
It was a bizarre rumor that a certain woman would roam the dormitory at dawn.
Creak. Creak.
Creak. Creak.
Creak. Creak.
The academy provided the students with high-quality mattresses to ensure their comfortable sleep. However, this quality had become a drawback, as the springs would resonate violently when bounced on.
The female student lying on top of the mattress pretended to be asleep and deliberately maintained a regular breathing pattern.
Every night.
Someone would come to the women’s dormitory and jump on the bed.
Although it was a different bed every night, today happened to be hers. The female student tightly closed her eyes while cursing inwardly.
Even if she reported it to the academy, all she would receive were responses asking her to wait a little longer.
If Loberne Academy hadn’t been known for its high admission difficulty as the kingdom’s top educational facility, students would have already fled in large numbers.
Of course, there were already students who had run away.
While inwardly berating herself for not joining them, the female student could only endure. She had to endure because of the burden of her crumbling family’s fortune weighing on her shoulders.
Creak. Creak.
Creak. Creak.
What on earth was jumping on her bed?
How could it jump like this without her body feeling the entity?
Although various questions appeared in her head, her fear outweighed curiosity, so the female student kept her eyes closed.
Then.
[Hey?]
If you had to describe it, it was a voice like unfinished pottery. The pronunciation seemed muffled, with its voice heavy and echoing.
The female student’s breath almost stopped for a moment, but she continued to keep her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep.
Creak. Creak.
Creak. Creak.
The mattress shook up and down several times.
[You’re sleeping, huh?]
At some point, the mattress stopped bouncing.
The bed became still, without even the slightest movement as if there was nothing there.
Was it gone now?
After contemplating for a while in her mind, time felt like it ticked too slowly. Feeling like an hour had passed, the female student cautiously opened her eyes
There, attached to the ceiling, was a woman with holes in her neck. Her hair was sticking to the ceiling, and not a single strand was left on her head.
[You weren’t sleeping.]
A sinister smile spread across the woman’s mouth, tearing it unnaturally.
* * *
[Wah! Wah! Wah!]
Due to the loud crying sound, Gideon Zeronia had been unable to sleep properly for the past several days.
If the Dean hadn’t imposed a strict curfew before leaving, he would have immediately informed the guards, or in extreme cases, reported it to the royal palace.
But would anything really change if he reported it?
Two professors had already gone missing.
They were professors who went outside to respond to the baby’s cries in the early morning.
At the same time, would anything really improve if they left the situation as it was?
Gideon couldn’t help but wonder.
‘If they bring Deus, will things get better?’
He was also very skeptical about the Dean and Caren going to Norseweden to reinstate Deus’ professorship.
Can a guest professor really solve a problem that numerous regular professors here couldn’t solve?
‘That’s highly unlikely.’
Furthermore, the necromancer he brought was quite skilled.
He hadn’t explained them properly, but he was the infamous “Dark Spiritualist” in the kingdom, who was being sought after with great intensity.
‘The academy is doomed.’
It was a place where spirits capable of easily killing the Dark Spiritualist had gathered.
Gideon knew something because this was land once owned by the Zeronia family.
If all the records he had read before he passed it on to Erica were true…
“Then, the spirits’ curse will never cease.”
Gideon sighed, took a sleeping pill, put on earplugs, and lay on his bed.
Still, due to the sound of the baby’s crying, he couldn’t sleep for a long time.
