Chapter 110

Chapter 110

I spent my schedule with Lucian, and after dinner, I came alone to see Aunt and Samuel. It was a decision I made because I thought they would be uncomfortable to have him there as he was the Duke though it felt strange to be away from him, even for a moment.

After properly communicating with him, my springing heart became uncontrollable. I understood why he made such a schedule.

I really wanted to be with him when I opened my eyes, just like he said… No, I felt sorry for even the time I fell asleep, so I even got anxious.

We’d been apart for seven years. Looking at it, we’d only been together for about two and a half years. When I was young, it was difficult to meet even once a day. At that time, Lucian was as busy as he was now, so it was hard to see him often, and it was also difficult to avoid the previous duke’s eyes.

As I headed toward the guest room, I kept thinking of Lucian. The moment I fell in love with him, my mind was filled with only one thing.

“Since he said he was going to work, I should see him one more time before going to bed.”

I felt happy. This feeling of excitement was unfamiliar to me though I was happy since no other problems surfaced.

“Miss, shall I knock?”

The butler who accompanied me asked in front of the guest room.

“I’ll do it, so you can go.”

“I will be waiting at the door. Call me if you need anything.”

“Yes.”

Knock, knock.

“Aunt, this is Rachel.”

I heard someone approaching from inside the room. Soon, Samuel opened the door and came out.

“Can I come in for a minute?”

“Yes, of course.”

When I entered the room, Aunt was coming out of the bedroom.

The room the two were staying in was the largest of the guest rooms. The butler must have recommended it, judging that it was suitable for two people with three bedrooms and a parlor.

“Did you like the food? I didn’t invite you to the dining room today so that the two of you could enjoy a comfortable meal.”

“Thank you, Rachel.”

As soon as Aunt saw me, she burst into tears again. She looked like she’d been through some rough times, so I couldn’t help but listen to them. In fact, I also had a lot of questions—things like why did uncle do such a thing and where he was now.

As the three of us sat on the sofa, I asked without further delay.

“Do you know where uncle is?”

Hearing my question, Aunt burst into tears again. I took out a handkerchief and looked at her sadly as she wiped away her tears, but Samuel answered instead.

“I don’t know where my father is.”

As expected, he doesn’t know either. If he had known, he wouldn’t have come to me.

He doesn’t seem to know that when the prince kidnapped me, Uncle was in league with him.

“I see. First of all, I must apologize. I haven’t heard from you at all, so I only recently found out that the County is in that state.”

“No, sister.”

“Still, I don’t understand. Why did uncle suddenly attack the Duke, and why did he become a wanted man?”

First of all, I decided not to inform them about the kidnapping. It was because it seemed like they would collapse if I informed these two people, who seemed to be already having a hard time even without it.

“…I don’t even know what to say.”

“Then, where have you been? For quite a long time, Count Erland’s family was known to not have its master… And, why did you come all the way here without an employee? I’m curious that you came to the back mountain instead of the front gate…”

I had many questions.

For so long, where have these two been? Besides, why did they come here to the Duchy? I couldn’t help but wonder if it was true that they couldn’t get in touch with Uncle.

“It is natural that you are curious. The truth is, it took me a long time to make a choice.”

“What do you mean, Aunt?”

Aunt began to speak her words in a watery voice.

“Rachel, before your father died, he came to see me separately.”

“…My father?”

“Hoo, you called him Dad when you were little, and now you call him Father?”

I was speechless at Aunt’s words. Ever since I possessed this body, I had never said the word ‘dad’ to my father, Liam. In other words, the ‘you’ Aunt mentioned was Rachel, not ‘me.’ My heart skipped a beat like someone who had done something terrible.

“He said he was coming to see Samuel, but I felt that Brother-in-law came to see me say something.”

“…What do you mean?”

Her pink eyes, which seemed more transparent with tears, blurred as if she was reminiscing.

“He told me to take Samuel and leave if Derek gets weird.”

“Uncle gets weird…? What does that mean?”

“Yes. I had exactly the same reaction as you. Still, I said I will because it was brother-in-law’s word.”

At those words, I felt a sense of deja vu.

“Rachel, before that, I want to apologize first. It’s really unfortunate that the previous Count and Countess passed away in an accident. I had already fled at that time, so I heard the news belatedly… I am so sorry.”

I nodded my head when she said it sincerely.

“I’m thankful for your words.”

I hadn’t known that she had already run away before uncle came to the County. Well, at the time, I was also distracted, so of course, I thought I just hadn’t seen her. Besides, since the previous Duke came to pick me up after a while, I just thought we hadn’t met.

“Yes… It was very unfortunate.”

I asked aunt, who seemed to be reminiscing about the past.

“By the way, what do you mean by becoming weird?”

Strangely, it reminded me of Noah.

Wasn’t there a saying that when a person became strange, it was before they died? Of course, I heard it before possessing it, but was it different here? How many reasons could a person suddenly change in an instant…?

It was difficult for a person to change his innate personality unless he had passed the threshold of death.

“At the time, brother-in-law told me this. If he suddenly looks for food that he never ate—or ate something and expresses the taste strangely, or even if he behaves incomprehensibly—brother-in-law told me to leave the mansion without his knowledge and go to this place.”

Aunt took out an old paper and showed it. I looked at the words written on the paper and murmured.

“Barony Peyton…”

“Yes, do you remember?”

No, it was the first time I’d heard the name Peyton. Were they related to me? I guess I didn’t see it in the original story.

I couldn’t answer falsely, so only my lips moved, but she took care of it and solved my curiosity.

“He told you to go to your mother’s house.”

“…I see.”

I didn’t know the fact that mother’s original last name was Peyton.

“He told me after giving me emergency money. He prepared a piece of paper with this place written on it.”

It was natural to feel a sense of deja vu. What she said was in line with the curiosity I felt for Noah. Expressing taste strangely and the actions that Noah showed in the original story are entirely different.

Since Damian could see magic, he could check it out though if people hadn’t heard this warning in advance and they couldn’t see magic, they would have easily thought it was strange.

That was right.

Who would have expected that the outside appearance would be the same, but the inside would have changed? My uncle was also a possessor. Based on what aunt said, his soul had already changed before he became the count.

Goosebumps ran all over my body.

Although I thought it was strange, I never thought that Uncle would have been possessed by a possessor.

“What did you think was strange about uncle?”

“One day, he started looking for fruit. He started to eat not only fruits but also sweet desserts.”

“Why is that strange?”

“He never had a sweet tooth, especially with fruits. He didn’t put any raw food like fruits and vegetables in his mouth. He always ate only what was cooked.”

“…That’s kind of weird.”

“Right? He ate two plates of strawberries that he had never eaten before. Like a person who is thrilled to have eaten it for the first time in a while.”

If he was possessed by a long-dead ghost, I thought it was quite possible.

“So, did you come all the way here from my mother’s family?”

The address on the paper was not the capital. If they had come all the way from Barony Peyton on the outskirts of the capital, they would have had to ride a carriage all day long.

“I did visit the Peyton family, but it was hard to stay for long. So I stayed at an inn in a larger town. In fact, I desperately wanted to go back to my parent’s home, but brother-in-law said I had to hide thoroughly.”

“Did Father tell you why he told Aunt and Samuel to hide?”

“Well… I heard him murmur, but I don’t know if it’s accurate.”

“What did he say?”

I asked while sweeping my arm. It was strange. How did Liam know that? The characteristics of those possessed.

“He said to carry the blood of the family… I think he said that even if the family disappears, the family can always be revived as long as people are still alive.”

“….”

‘…Oh, creepy. I’m completely horrified right now.’

Liam, how far did he look? Was the person who was my father really the person the former Duke loved?

Then Samuel, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.

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