Chapter 31: Evil Spirit

“Hmm… Hmm… Hmmm….”

The humming sound was unexpectedly pleasant to hear. 

I found myself involuntarily looking at Illuania sitting across from me.

She, feeling embarrassed, bowed her head and apologized, “I apologize. Was it too noisy?”

In her last profession, she always used informal language, but now that she had become my maid, she started using formal language. 

Judging by how well she adapted without any awkwardness, this 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? 

I turned my head slightly in silence, feeling somewhat ignorant for no reason. Then Illuania, taking advantage of my curiosity, attempted to start a conversation.

“But you’ve changed a lot in just a few months. You seem like a completely different person.”

“...I’ve matured. I hope you think of it that way.”

Although I'd told the truth to Deia, it was because she was my younger sister. However, there was no need for Illuania to know that.

To brush it off briefly, Illuania nodded her head and blushed, holding her stomach as if feeling embarrassed.

“Now that I’m not alone anymore, it seems difficult to do that at night like before.”

“Yes, I have no intention of wishing that of you either.”

Illuania smiled slightly, seemingly relieved by my words. In fact, there was a different intention behind taking her with me than just to raise her status.

Carefully, I asked Illuania, who was beaming with joy, “By the way, 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 family?

I had such concerns. However...

“Huh? Actually, it doesn’t really matter..”

An unexpected answer popped out abruptly.

“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. To this child, I will give all the love I never received.”

“...”

Because she didn’t receive love, 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 long and with all her heart.

[Oh, you’re such a good mother.]

A gentle voice was heard from beside me, a voice I had already heard once before.

It was the face of a woman I saw on the carriage heading towards North Whedon from the Academy - a woman with half of her face disfigured.

“Long time no see.”

I naturally 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 window.

It was a gesture telling her to be quiet.

[It’s only been about a month, but well, 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 pregnant maid and wish for her to still work?]

“I said it’s not my child.”

[Oh, I see. I’m sorry. So, are you forcing yourself on her and pretending not to know?]

I gritted my teeth.

I had been trying to change the subject intentionally, even forcing the conversation, but the whole carriage was trembling under the overwhelming anger of the evil spirit.

Illuania mistakenly thought it was because of the bumpy road.

“She wants the child. I, too, will support the child’s growth.”

[Oh, really? How kind of you.]

I thought I said it well enough.

[You’re saying the same thing I heard.]

Suddenly, I deeply felt that I was in a deep quagmire of not knowing her circumstances.

Because of the clothes she was wearing and her manner of speaking, I assumed she was a noble lady and spoke accordingly, but it seemed like I had misunderstood something.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, one side of the carriage caught fire. More precisely, flames shot up from half of her side, starting to engulf the carriage.

[From the maid! Your scent is permeating heavily! Are you still denying it! Calling me a liar!]

Illuania was bewildered by the sudden situation. 

I pulled her tightly in a hug and broke the carriage wall with magic.

The fierce wind swept over us as if it would swallow us. The coachman also sensed that the situation was not good and quickly prepared to speak.

[You all! My child too! Me too! You said you loved us so much! In the end, you killed us all!]

“I am not the man you are talking about.”

[Shut up! You didn’t need to kill that child! I had promised I would live quietly!]

Since all the souls in the family had found their rest, I didn’t have any souls available to use magic right now, making my magic quite weak.

“Hold on tight.”

“Wha-what?!”

I held Illuania tightly and jumped out of the carriage. The speed of the carriage was gradually slowing down, so it was enough to use basic wind magic to avoid getting hurt.

[My child! My child! My child!]

The carriage caught fire. The coachman, who was driving the carriage, quickly separated the carriage from the horses and jumped off.

The woman whose one-half was burning approached me menacingly.

Ordinary women, especially those involved with children, were vengeful.

I knew that, so in the carriage, I deliberately didn’t use magic and spoke to her to calm her down.

“This is troublesome.”

Seeing the woman who was gradually materializing, showing how deep her grudge was, I let out a deep sigh.

* * *

Tap

Tap

She didn’t know how many days it had been.

“Sob, Mom. Sob.”

Meilin had been walking along the long, dark corridor for several days, but she couldn’t reach the end at all.

She was in the dark;

She had no idea why this situation had occurred.

Her legs were in excruciating pain, and the soles of her feet felt like they were being pricked by needles, causing intense pain.

Yet, the reason she couldn’t stop walking was...

[Where are you going?]

It was because of the man with a face split in half who kept chasing her from behind.

It was not like she had never experienced anything like this before.

Meilin had already encountered a skeletal warrior on the first floor of the central staircase before.

But she couldn’t understand why she was trapped in this corridor when she had gone to sleep in the dormitory, and why she was being continuously chased by such a monster.

“Sob! Huhuh!”

Tears kept flowing, making her eyes sting. Yet, 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 run toward her like a madman.

It would be better to conserve her energy by walking instead.

“Huuaaah!”

The never-ending corridor stretched out, mocking the girl to give up.

If Meilin wasn’t as stubborn as she was, she would have given up a long time ago.

[Come here.]

“Please! Helppp!”

No matter how loudly she screamed, there was no response, and 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.

* * *

There was a strange rumor 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 spring sound of the high-quality mattresses provided by the academy for the students’ comfortable sleep resonated strangely and violently, shaking up and down.

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 her own bed. 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 the Robern Academy hadn’t been known for its high admission difficulty as the kingdom’s top educational facility, the students would have already fled in large numbers.

Of course, there were already students who had run away.

While inwardly berating herself for not running away, the female student could only endure, considering 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 so passionately without her body feeling any sensation?

Various questions arose, but fear outweighed curiosity, so the female student still kept her eyes closed.

Then.

[Hey?]

If you had to describe it, it was a voice like unfinished pottery. The pronunciation seemed muffled, the voice heavy and resonating.

Her breath almost stopped for a moment, but the female student 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 swaying mattress stopped.

The bed became quiet, as if there was nothing there, without even the slightest movement.

Is it gone now?

After contemplating for a while in her mind, wondering if 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 sticking to the ceiling, and not a single strand left on her head.

[You’re not 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 several days.

If the dean hadn’t strictly imposed a curfew before leaving, he would have immediately informed the guards or, in extreme cases, reported it to the royal palace.

But would anything change if he reported it?

Already, two professors had gone missing.

They were the professors who had gone outside in response to the baby’s crying in the early morning.

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 Karen going to North Whedon to reinstate Deus.

Can a guest professor, whose ability to fulfill his role is uncertain, solve a problem that numerous regular professors here couldn’t solve?

‘That’s unlikely.’

Furthermore, the necromancer he had brought was quite skilled.

He hadn’t explained them properly, but he was a necromancer known as the infamous “Dark Sage” in the kingdom, who was being sought after with great intensity.

‘This academy is now doomed.’

It was a place where spirits capable of easily killing the Dark Sage had gathered.

Gideon already knew this because it was land once owned by the Zeronia family.

If all the records he had seen in his family and passed on to Erica were true…

“The curse of the spirits will never cease.”

With conviction, Gideon sighed, took a sleeping pill, put on earplugs, and lay on the bed.

Still, due to the penetrating sound of the baby’s crying, he couldn’t sleep for a long time.

--- End of The Chapter --

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