Chapter : 42
So, because of the director and Merai, he starved to death in injustice. Then, twenty years later, when Merai tried to commit wrongdoing again, he possessed an ownerless body to stop her actions.
My nose tingled. What the—he’s a good ghost! So he got stabbed while trying to protect the kids? Some of the fear I felt seemed to fade away.
And at the same time, I felt complicated.
I thought I had found someone who shared the same possession circumstances as me. But instead, I ended up revealing that I’m a possessor myself. Now that Daisy, Kanna, Pudding, Gabriel—and even Melek—know, there’s no such thing as a secret anymore. At this pace, by next week everyone in the estate will probably know.
“I’m sorry. Because I’m in a body like this…”
Seeing me feel down, Melek also became disheartened. No, it’s not really Melek’s fault.
“It’s fine. I said I’m in a similar situation too.”
In a way, Melek and I are in the same position. Fine. Even without knowing the original story, I’ve managed this far. And I’ve got big data on my side, so it’s okay!
“Is that all you had to say?”
Melek nodded.
Then it’s time to treat him. I picked up the holy water bottle, then hesitated. Melek is a ghost, right? Is it okay to use this on him? Wouldn’t he get exorcised?
Ah. So that’s why he spoke before treatment.
I put the holy water bottle back down. Then we’ll have to call a doctor instead. Even if it’s not as clean as using holy water, his body is that of a beastfolk, so he might heal quickly.
But is that blindfold because his eyes are injured?
‘W-wait…’
Could it be that his eyes rolled back because he’s possessed by a ghost?
Following that somewhat plausible guess, I avoided looking at the blindfold and opened the door.
“Can we come in now?”
Jelly and Pudding, who had been coiled up in front of the door, each jumped to their respective spots on the sofa and bed. Pudding began kneading on the bed. So cute, my baby.
“Did you give him a name? What is it?”
“Meringue.”
“Pfft—ahahaha, meringue? Meringue? That Melek guy’s body is called Meringue?”
On the other hand, the wolf sprawled out on the sofa burst into laughter. Pudding is cute, Meringue is cute too—but that one isn’t cute at all.
It seems he and the original Melek had quite the bad history rather than just knowing each other. Since Jelly hates his own name, he seemed delighted that Melek ended up with something even more ridiculous than his.
Watching him made me irritated.
“I’ll just call you Melek.”
“Pardon?”
Melek looked like a child whose toy had been taken away. His eyes were covered, so why was his expression so clear?
“Just like I’m Evangeline Rohanson, you’re just Melek.”
“I see…”
Fortunately, Melek accepted it quickly. Now Jelly got upset instead. His tail thumped against the floor in dissatisfaction. That didn’t change my decision, though.
“Then what are you going to feed him?”
Seeing that I had no intention of changing my mind, Jelly conceded and changed the subject.
Right. He said he was hungry. Since he’s a ghost and not the original body owner, he probably doesn’t even know what will satisfy him. Feeding a lion carrots won’t make it full. Then since the original Melek is a beastfolk…
“Can he eat what you guys eat?”
Jelly and Pudding usually ate meals provided by the estate, but they also went out to eat separately. Sometimes they came back with blood on them and got scolded by Kanna—being beastfolk, they likely hunted and ate raw food.
Jelly shook his head.
“He has a different diet.”
A different diet? Then is he herbivorous?
“What species is he? You’re a wolf and Pudding is a cat.”
“Oh. Melek is a cow.”
A cow? Then he’s indeed herbivorous. That makes eating together a bit difficult. He wouldn’t hunt anyway. In fact, if he went along, he might end up being hunted instead.
So under that blindfold, are there cow-like eyes? For a moment, I almost asked to see them. But imagining his eyes rolling back again might be the kind of thing that haunts dreams, so I held back.
A cow, huh? Would he eat fodder? Or since he’s a beastfolk, maybe just a plant-based diet would do? There wasn’t much greenery growing in the estate, so it might not be enough.
For now, I should ask them to buy a lot of plants tomorrow. If that’s burdensome, turning part of the garden into a small field might not be a bad idea.
The problem is he can’t go hungry until then… what should we feed him in the meantime?
As I looked around the garden for edible plants, my gaze landed on a cherry tree. Those falling petals looked like something a cow might eat. Cows eat a lot, and there seemed to be plenty of cherry blossoms.
“Can you eat that?”
“That tree?”
Melek’s eyes widened. It must be surprising to suddenly be told to eat flowers. But there are dishes like flower pancakes, and I’ve even had cherry blossom tea—so maybe it’s fine?
“Want to try some?”
No idea. We’ll see as we go. I’ve never heard of cows having flower allergies, so it should be fine.
I picked up a glass jar from the table. It had been a gift from Kanna, who collected falling cherry blossom petals after I mentioned that catching one during a walk grants a wish. Our heroine’s kindness is truly tear-inducing.
I shook a few petals into my hand and offered them for him to taste. Melek hesitated slightly, then buried his face into my hand. Hey! I offered it—why are you using my hand as a bowl!
Melek chewed the petals slowly. He seemed a bit unsure… was it not good?
“…It’s tasty?”
Nice! Seems like it suits his taste.
“Tasty?”
Jelly, who had been shocked, grabbed a petal and tried it himself.
“It is tasty. Why is that?”
Even Jelly, who eats meat, gave a positive reaction. Is this actually a delicacy? Curious, I tried a bite myself, but it just tasted like a strange kind of grass.
Whatever Kanna did while washing and preparing them made the taste even more peculiar. Kind of like astringent persimmons, but maybe it suits beastfolk more? Of course, as someone broad-minded who respects all tastes in the world, I didn’t say anything about it being bad.
“For now, eat that.”
Well, whatever works for him. I can’t exactly give him the petals Kanna prepared for me, so I’ll just ask her to gather more fallen ones.
“Then I’ll assign you a room. Follow me.”
“Pardon? I won’t be staying in the same room?”
At Melek’s question, I nearly frowned. What kind of unmarried noble lady shares a room with an unrelated man? Well, Jelly and Pudding are technically unrelated men too… but Pudding is a kitten, and Jelly usually stays in wolf form, so it didn’t feel the same.
But Melek’s beast form is a cow… Sharing a room with a cow is a bit…
“That’s not an issue since there’s no proper place to sleep in my room. If you don’t want to sleep on the floor, I’ll provide a room with proper bedding.”
The sofa is Jelly’s, the bed is mine and Pudding’s, so all that’s left is the floor carpet. Melek didn’t seem to like the floor either and quietly nodded, following me out.
Ah, come to think of it, before choosing a room, I should go to the butler first. I need to call a doctor, report that we’ve taken in an extra guest, and mention Daisy’s reinstatement.
And I also need to inform them that Gabriel will arrive tomorrow… Ah… I’m afraid to meet Gabriel. I wish tomorrow wouldn’t come.
Perhaps because it had been such a long day, or because the children had endured hardship being trapped underground for days and finally escaped, they went to bed with carefree expressions. The countess’s bed was large enough for two adults, so it was sufficient for three children.
Daisy gently patted Mary’s head—the carefree child who had insisted on coming to the Rohanson estate.
“Thank you for taking care of the children.”
Daisy expressed her gratitude, but received no reply. Hena stared into empty space with hollow eyes. The sight reminded Daisy of someone who had lost the meaning of life, and it tightened her chest.
Her lady had looked just like that in life—like someone who had nothing to love in the world, just barely breathing. That’s why Daisy wasn’t very surprised when Evangeline took her own life.
“Um, Hena…”
Just as Daisy was about to say something, the door suddenly burst open. Few people in this estate could get away with such discourtesy.
“Sis! Ah, Daisy is here too.”
The flower cultivated by the monster smiled shyly.
“You’re late.”
Unlike Daisy, who had gone straight to the children upon arriving, Kanna had come after attending to Evangeline, making Hena wait.
“Kanna, please don’t disappear without telling me next time. Do you know how worried I was?”
Enough to go searching for her younger sister alongside the uncomfortable Sir Gabriel.
“I’m sorry for worrying you. I’ll be sure to tell you from now on, so please don’t avoid me either. Okay?”
“Okay. I won’t.”
Kanna didn’t make excuses, such as saying she had just stepped out for a while, and instead quietly hugged Hena. She knew Hena’s overreaction stemmed from trauma due to her past kidnapping.
“Then I’ll step out for a bit.”
“Now? Where are you going?”
“Her ladyship said she needed cherry blossom petals. I happened to have some I picked up, so I’ll bring them to her.”
There were three jars of cherry blossom petals. One was given to Evangeline, and the remaining two were shared between Hena and Kanna. Kanna took her share to deliver it.
Since her wish had already been fulfilled, she no longer had much need for it.
Having clearly stated her destination, Kanna left the room.
With just one person gone, the room felt noticeably quieter. Hena looked at the door her sister had exited through and spoke softly.
“My younger sister spent her entire life bedridden. She was on the brink of death, and only miraculously recovered thanks to holy water. She’s only recently been able to walk, run, and smile like that.”
Hena’s voice was quiet, almost like she was talking to herself, and Daisy realized belatedly that she wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular.
“I’ve decided to love Kanna no matter who she is.”
