“Well, no matter how much I think about it, that thing’s definitely an evil spirit… or something worse.”
Step, step.
As Charlotte walked towards the garden, she kept tilting her head in confusion.
The spirit that Julia had mentioned, the one that looked like a young girl.
It seemed suspicious no matter how she thought about it.
The fact that the spirit looked like a human was strange.
The fact that it talked so fluently was also strange.
Everything about it was weird.
“Spirits usually have poor vocabulary. Even the Great Spirit of Earth, Dirt-Dirt, talks like that!”
[What did you say!?]
That spirit didn’t seem like a Great Spirit, so how could it speak so well?
Julia seems suspicious, but she’s surprisingly clueless!
It’s not uncommon for her to believe in something suspicious even when it’s clearly fishy!
“And my Super Super Strong Sword is telling me! That spirit is suspicious!”
[Isn’t that just a feeling…?]
Charlotte had concluded that the spirit Julia mentioned, the one in the form of a young girl, was not a spirit but rather a wandering soul.
Julia was currently under the influence of a ghost, unable to see things clearly.
To save Julia, Charlotte was on her way back after finding a ‘method.’
“Knight Sister’s exorcism tool!”
Proudly raising her hand high, Charlotte displayed the silver rosary dangling from her fingertips.
“Knight Sister said that if I use this, the evil spirit will disappear!”
When Charlotte asked Sylvia if there was a way to drive away the evil spirit, she handed her this.
She said that no matter how powerful the evil spirit is, it will disappear if touched by this.
With this, Charlotte could save Julia, who was being deceived by the ghost.
Smiling brightly, Charlotte quickly headed towards the garden.
“Julia! I brought the exorcism tool…!”
She stopped.
Charlotte’s body froze, and her voice trailed off.
In the distance, amidst the flowerbed, she saw Julia clinging to Aslan.
No, rather than clinging… she was hanging onto him?
In any case! They looked extremely close!
“Wow. Julia’s gotten so bold…”
Though it’s true that she encouraged her.
She never expected the shy, timid Julia to become so daring so quickly.
She’s holding onto him so tightly without leaving any gaps!
Even when she hugged Mister before, she was super embarrassed!
How much courage did she muster…!
Hawawawa.
Charlotte covered her mouth to stifle her breath, her eyes filled with excitement as she stared at the two.
“Gasp.”
Julia seemed to pull away from Aslan for a moment.
“Gasp!”
But then, she grabbed his sleeve again and held on tightly.
Wow!
She’s being so clingy!
That must be really annoying!
But since Julia’s cute, it might be okay?
As Charlotte watched the two, excitedly spying on them, Dirt-Dirt, who had been observing Charlotte the entire time, suddenly became curious.
[Why are you just watching silently?]
“Huh? I shouldn’t interfere.”
[Shouldn’t you? You both like that human man. According to human customs, only one female can be with one male, doesn’t that make you feel a sense of urgency?]
“Hmph. Dirt-Dirt, you haven’t noticed? My acting skills are top-notch…!”
[…?]
With her hands on her hips, Charlotte puffed up with pride, causing Dirt-Dirt’s confusion to grow even more.
“Did I really look like I liked him?”
[It’s obvious that you do.]
“Hmph! That means my acting was perfect! I mean, sure, I have some affection for him, but it’s not like I’m crazy in love like Julia is. But just look at Julia. She likes him so much that she doesn’t even realize it herself! Isn’t that frustrating, even for you, Dirt-Dirt? Right? Right?”
[…]
Dirt-Dirt remained silent, motionless.
Charlotte’s cheeks puffed up in frustration.
She grabbed Dirt-Dirt, lifting him up, and forcibly made him nod his head.
Only then did Charlotte relax her frown, satisfied.
“That’s why I had no choice but to step in! I had to help poor Julia become honest with her feelings…”
[…]
“Why aren’t you responding?!”
[…]
No matter how much Charlotte shook and demanded a response, Dirt-Dirt just turned his head away, avoiding her gaze.
‘They both seem pretty much the same to me…’
Maybe she doesn’t know that high-level spirits can see emotions?
The Spirit’s Eye, famous for being passed down to the Imperial Family of the Empire, had shown Dirt-Dirt that there was little difference between the feelings Charlotte had when she looked at Aslan and the feelings Julia had when she looked at him.
Though he couldn’t exactly identify the emotions, if what Charlotte claimed about Julia being madly in love with Aslan was true, then Charlotte felt the same way.
[Neither of you is being honest with yourselves.]
“What’s that supposed to mean…!”
No matter how much Charlotte demanded an explanation, Dirt-Dirt remained silent.
After all, this was something she needed to realize on her own…
***
“Hand… don’t… let go… please.”
Julia had been seeing spirits and ghosts for two months now.
You’d think she’d be used to it by now.
So, I thought she’d calm down quickly after the initial shock, but…
“Uh, don’t go anywhere! Stay right there!… Please!”
“Yes, I’m here. Don’t worry.”
“You’re holding onto my sleeve, right? Wave it to show me!… Please!”
“Hah…”
This is taking longer than I thought.
Julia, throughout the entire walk back to the mansion, and even when she went to the bathroom to wash her face, kept demanding that I stay close.
“Hwaaah! When I close my eyes, I keep seeing that ghost’s face!”
Whenever she closed her eyes to wash her face, tears would immediately start streaming down Julia’s face.
Just what did she see that scared her this much?
For someone like Julia, who usually tries to act tough, to react this way, it must have been terrifying.
She mentioned that the ghost, in the form of a young girl, suddenly lunged at her while gushing blood.
That’s enough to give anyone a trauma.
Even I would’ve found it unsettling.
‘She probably wouldn’t even notice if I let go for a second, right?’
Julia told me to hold onto her hem the whole time she was washing her face.
Julia kept insisting that I hold onto her sleeve while she washed her face, but would she really know if I let go?
Out of curiosity, I slightly lifted my finger off her sleeve.
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ glares at you as a warning!]
Ah, that’s a no-go.
I’d momentarily forgotten there’s another pair of eyes watching.
“Ahhh! Soap got in my eyes!!!”
“Hah. Just keep your eyes closed.”
This is getting ridiculous.
I pushed Julia’s head down toward the sink, where she continued to whine with her eyes squeezed shut.
I scrubbed her face clean like I was doing laundry.
That should do it, right?
Blink, blink.
Julia finally opened her heavily bloodshot eyes, and they seemed fine now.
The moment she opened them, she clung to my sleeve again, desperately.
“Are you done crying now?”
“I-I wasn’t crying because I was scared! My eyes just hurt, that’s all! D-Don’t get the wrong idea! I was only holding onto you because I couldn’t see and was afraid I’d bump into something!”
Has she calmed down a bit?
Suddenly, Julia let go of my sleeve, flustered.
I felt a bit disappointed.
I had hoped she’d stay close to me a little longer.
She really has a strangely inflated sense of pride.
“So, since your eyes don’t hurt anymore, I guess you don’t need me around now, do you?”
“Uh, uh? Ah!?”
“Then I’ll be on my way, I have a lot to do…”
“W-Wait!”
Thud.
As I pretended to turn away, Julia hurriedly grabbed my wrist.
I had been waiting for this moment.
“What’s wrong? Is there some reason I shouldn’t leave? Are you perhaps too scared to be alone…?”
“I-It’s not that! It’s just… I’m sleepy… I was thinking of borrowing your hand to help me fall asleep…”
“It’s not even 2 PM yet. Really?”
“Y-Yes. I want to take a nap…”
That’s a lie.
Julia isn’t someone who naps often, and even if she does, it’s usually around 4 PM, after snack time.
I know your daily routine like the back of my hand.
If I leave her alone now, she’ll pretend to sleep while lying beside me, even though she’s wide awake.
It’s a perfect chance for me to touch her cheek without her resisting.
But that’s a nightly ritual, something I enjoy regularly.
Right now, I should take advantage of having an awake Julia and do something else.
“How about postponing the nap and doing some research on black magic with me?”
“I’ll do it!… Yes, please!”
She had been yawning and pretending to be sleepy, but now her eyes suddenly lit up with interest.
It seems she found a good excuse to stay close to me without having to sleep.
‘I’m not doing this research just because of Irene anymore.’
My initial interest in black magic was purely due to Irene’s pressure.
She was practically ready to kill me if I didn’t show some progress.
But now that I’m the head of the family, Irene can no longer touch me.
If Irene tries anything against me now, it would be considered an act of treason.
I could legally remove her from the family register and raise an army to execute her.
That’s probably why she’s been so quiet lately.
But even without Irene’s pressure…
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ is too excited to calm down at the news of black magic research!]
Kali is eager for me to continue researching black magic.
It’s not something I can just ignore.
If I keep ignoring it, I’ll get warnings like, “Kali demands it strongly!” or “Kali harbors great dissatisfaction with you!”
These warnings have been coming for a while now, but nothing major has happened yet.
Still, no one knows what might happen if Kali becomes truly furious.
I don’t particularly want to find out.
Kali has waited long enough, and now, I’m genuinely curious about what black magic truly is.
I plan to uncover its secrets with Julia by my side.
“Let’s go to the library, Julia.”
“Okay…!”
Thump.
With a determined expression, Julia marched forward.
But why does she look so serious…?
