Chapter : 64
It was truly shocking. I had followed Madam Toten here after she asked for help, but I never expected the situation to be this serious. This wasn’t just a simple succession dispute—Dias, the younger brother of the late marquess, was holding an axe and trying to kill a child.
A maid was hiding inside the room, clutching the child and protecting him, while the butler, the nanny, and the other servants of the estate did nothing to stop the marquess’s younger brother. With no one to rely on within the estate, Madam Toten had turned to me, an outsider.
“Now that I’ve returned, that should suffice. You must be tired from coming all the way to the marquess’s estate, so please go in and rest.”
“Yes, I will. But… sister-in-law, isn’t it strange? With all this commotion, my nephew hasn’t even opened his eyes and is sleeping so deeply. Doesn’t he look like he’s dead, sleeping so soundly?”
“Did I not say so? He had been ill for five days and only just fell into a deep sleep. He must be exhausted—there’s no way he could hear the surrounding noise.”
Dias had been demanding that the child be handed over, while Madam Toten tried her best to calm him down. But he was not someone you could reason with. Dias rested the axe on his shoulder, acting threateningly and insisting he be allowed to confirm the child’s condition.
“What is he even doing with a dead child… honestly.”
Jelly clicked her tongue in pity. What? Who said he was already dead? Ryder?
“Miss Jelly, what do you mean by that?” Hena asked, her voice trembling.
That was exactly what I wanted to ask. What is she suddenly talking about?
“Don’t you understand? He’s not breathing. Ah… you can’t hear it? Then look closely. His skin is pale, there’s no strength in his hands, and his jaw and neck are stiff.”
I hurriedly looked toward the inside of the broken door. Ryder was wrapped tightly in a blanket, so I couldn’t properly verify what Jelly had said. The only visible thing was his complexion. Was his unusually pale face not due to illness? Hena turned ashen, then looked toward Madam Toten with concern.
“Madam Toten….”
Hena’s muttering was cut off by a loud voice.
“Ask them to open the door. Why don’t you check for yourself? Don’t you care about your son? Come in with me at once.”
Dias deliberately provoked Madam Toten. Even while stirring trouble like that, Madam Toten never once suggested confirming Ryder’s safety herself.
“So Madam Toten already knows the child is dead.”
Hena sighed. I thought so too. Madam Toten must know Ryder is dead, which is why she refuses Dias’s demands. As I had heard before coming here, if Ryder died, the right of succession to the marquess title would pass not to Madam Toten, but to Dias.
She must be struggling desperately to avoid that outcome.
“Isn’t that why she came to you in the first place? To ask you to revive a dead child. In the entire world, only you would be someone who has died and returned.”
So that’s why she came to me. That’s why Madam Toten asked if I remembered what I had said before. When we first met, I must have said something similar while making excuses to the butler that there was no way to fix it.
“Hey, what are you doing standing around when your sister-in-law is here? If you don’t open the door now, you’re fired. If that’s not enough, I’ll call the guards. I’ll hand you over to them for kidnapping and imprisoning the young master of the marquess’s family.”
In the meantime, Dias shifted his intimidation to the maid, who was of lower status and easier to pressure.
“P-please help me… young lady.”
Madam Toten looked around anxiously. Then, as if she had found me, she reached out her hand. She looked like someone standing at the edge of a cliff. Others might have pulled her back to save her—but not me. I could only push her forward.
“Madam Toten, do you wish to bring the child back to life?”
“…Yes. Yes.”
“Even if the one revived isn’t your son? Even if it’s someone else borrowing your son’s body?”
Just like me.
Madam Toten clenched her teeth after considering my question and answered.
“Yes. That’s fine.”
The dead child cannot be truly revived, but the marquess’s family could be preserved. Faced with the choice of losing everything or preserving even a part of it, Madam Toten chose the latter. She had steeled herself despite her grief, so I had no choice but to help her with an alternative solution.
“Jelly, go bring Melek.”
“Melek?”
I am a possessor. I ended up inside this novel not by my own will, and I don’t even know why. Moreover, since I don’t know the original story and am navigating purely on assumptions, reviving Ryder the same way I did is impossible.
But by coincidence, there was another type of possessor beside me—Melek, a ghost capable of inhabiting empty bodies.
Melek was summoned immediately by Jelly. Now all I had to do was persuade him.
“You called for me?”
“Melek, do you see that child? Could you enter his body?”
“Eh? But… I… I can’t do something like that.”
Melek was clearly flustered by the sudden request. Even though his eyes were covered by a black blindfold, his expressions were surprisingly readable.
Come to think of it, Melek had said he didn’t know how he had possessed a body in the first place. I didn’t know how either… Shouldn’t a ghost instinctively know how to enter a human body?
But that wasn’t the only issue.
“How could I do something like that to a person? He’s just a child. Taking over someone else’s body without permission feels like committing a serious crime.”
Well, he couldn’t even eat animals or kill a single rat, so it made sense he would value human life even more. It seemed like he was coexisting in Melek’s body somewhat by chance.
But wasn’t that kind of a subtle jab? I was doing the same thing—occupying someone else’s body without permission. Of course, it wasn’t intentional…
Madam Toten looked at me with desperate eyes. I understood Melek’s concern—he felt it would be disrespectful to use another person’s body without consent. So I just needed to make him understand that wasn’t the case.
“Melek. The child’s mother wants this. Otherwise, Ryder will be known as someone who died from a curse. No one will mourn him—they’ll even say he deserved it. But if you help, Madam Toten can protect the marquess’s family, and Ryder can be cleared of that stigma.”
Even as I said it, it sounded like blatant manipulation. I must have gotten too into Evangeline’s villain persona. But for Melek, it was effective.
“Is that true?”
“Look over there. Even though he’s family, that man is eager to tear his own nephew apart.”
Dias was still trying to break the door down while we whispered. He wasn’t mourning Ryder’s death—he looked desperate to display it and seize the marquess title after the heir disappeared.
“That man is awful.”
Melek muttered in anger. Fueled by justice, he looked ready to enter Ryder’s body immediately—but then hesitated again.
“Lady… how do I act like a child?”
“You don’t really have to. Madam Toten knows the truth, and Ryder was already a mature child. And you don’t need to be perfect. We just need someone capable of inheriting the marquess title so Madam Toten can maintain the family.”
Melek seemed to steady himself. His form began to fade. This was the ghost state. The black smoke-like appearance was likely because I didn’t have spiritual vision to see his true form. I didn’t have affinity with spirits, so it wasn’t something I envied. In fact, not having spiritual vision felt like a relief.
The black smoke flowed and seeped into the child’s body. Melek successfully possessed Ryder.
“He moved!”
Hena quickly shouted, drawing everyone’s attention. As soon as she spoke, Ryder’s body began to twitch. Dias looked utterly flustered.
“What? Why is he alive?”
Dias asked in disbelief. So he knew Ryder was dead too—that’s why he was so persistent. Well then, why is he alive, you fool?
Melek soon opened his eyes and looked around in confusion.
“M-mother….”
The way he said “mother” sounded awkward—likely because Melek grew up in an orphanage.
“Madam Toten, please act.”
Madam Toten stood frozen, as if stunned by the sight of her dead son returning to life. I tapped her shoulder, urging her to move.
“Weather, please open the door.”
“Yes, yes. I will.”
The maid holding Ryder opened the door while confused. From her perspective, it must have looked like the dead had suddenly come back to life. Since Madam Toten trusted her with her son, she was likely a reliable maid. I’d explain things to her later.
The half-destroyed door opened, and Melek stepped out of the maid’s arms into Madam Toten’s embrace.
“Did you sleep well…?”
Madam Toten’s voice trembled with tears. Even knowing it wasn’t truly her son, seeing Ryder moving again made her emotions overflow.
“I was sleeping soundly, but some strange noise woke me up.”
He spoke like an ordinary child of his age. So much for being unable to act—his performance was flawless. No one would suspect a soul swap.
Ah—except that axe-wielding lunatic.
“You’re lying, aren’t you? He was definitely dead just moments ago!”
Dias shouted in fury, looking around for his axe. By the way, Jelly had already moved the axe away earlier when it rolled near Madam Toten’s feet. I had learned from the Donau incident.
“What trick is this? Sister-in-law, have you resorted to some kind of dark sorcery?”
Dias asked, eyes twitching. He was so agitated that saliva sprayed with every word.
Strictly speaking, a ghost possessing a body was indeed unnatural. Madam Toten was too overwhelmed to respond, so I stepped in.
“Why are you so certain of that?”
Dias, momentarily distracted from Melek, fell silent. Was he intimidated by me? Even someone like him seemed affected by Evangeline’s reputation. Being a villainess did come in handy at times.
“You… what are you? Outsiders stay out of family matters!”
“I’m not an outsider. Madam Toten is my chaperone.”
I smiled—not the refined smile I learned from Doreline, but my raw villainess smile. This was the same smile that once subdued Donau, made servants faint, and even caused Gabriel—who was devoted to me—to hesitate.
“You didn’t even check if his heart had stopped, nor did you examine him closely. So how can you be certain that young master Toten was dead?”
“Well…”
“I thought he was just asleep.”
Some servants watching began to agree with my reasoning.
“There are only two people who could definitively declare his death: the maid holding him closely, and the one who desperately wished for his death.”
The maid’s name… what was it? Madam Toten had just called her.
“Was it Weather?”
“Yes, yes, young lady.”
“Was the young master dead? Did his heart stop and start again? Or was there some puppeteer controlling a corpse? You’ve been holding him the whole time—you should be able to answer.”
“No… the young master was simply asleep from exhaustion.”
Without hesitation, Weather gave the answer I wanted. If Madam Toten trusted her with her son, she must be extremely reliable. She reminded me of Kanna or Hena in terms of trust.
Now I turned the question back.
“Lord Dias, why were you so certain the young master was dead?”
Just when it seemed we could corner Dias and strip him of succession rights, the butler suddenly stepped in.
“I was the one who said that.”
“Butler!”
“I did not mean that Lord Ryder had already passed. I merely mentioned that his health had been deteriorating recently and that there might be concerns. The young master must have misunderstood.”
“That’s right. I just believed what the butler said.”
He took the blame upon himself to protect Dias, while also reducing the severity of the accusation. It was reframed as a simple misunderstanding. As expected, he was quite skilled with words. That’s how he fooled me with his gentle appearance and polite demeanor.
“How insolent.”
While I was thinking of how to respond, a sharp voice rebuked the butler. It was Madam Toten.
With a cold, commanding tone that seemed unlike her usual composed self, she said:
“How dare a mere servant predict the death of the young master? Not only that, but you spread rumors as well. I am very disappointed. Butler, why have you behaved so arrogantly?”
“I did it for the sake of the Toten marquess family.”
“You have forgotten your duty. You should have been loyal to me and my son—not the marquess family.”
Madam Toten stood upright, gripping Melek’s hand tightly. Though not in her perfect usual appearance, she looked more dignified than anyone else present.
“Detain the butler in the underground. Assign three guards to watch him. The one who performs best will be appointed as the next butler.”
Those who had been hesitating immediately volunteered upon hearing this. Madam Toten selected three and had them escort the butler away. Perhaps she had a deeper plan.
“As for the nanny and Dias, confine them to their rooms. They are guilty of potentially harming Ryder. Anyone who assists them until I return will be considered an accomplice.”
The nanny accepted her fate quietly, while Dias resisted violently.
“What? Let go of me! Do you think I’m like some common servant? How dare you try to imprison me?”
It took four adults to subdue Dias and drag him away.
After handling the rest, Madam Toten turned to the maid.
“Weather. You’ve done well. I promised a reward—tell me what you desire.”
“R-really… can I say what I want?”
Weather’s eyes lit up in disbelief.
Why was she so surprised? Is Madam Toten normally stingy? Then this was her chance—she should ask boldly!
Weather fidgeted nervously for a while, then took a deep breath and spoke resolutely.
“Madam, if you allow it… I would like to stop being a laundry maid.”
She had risked injury to protect Ryder, yet her wish was surprisingly modest. If it were me, I’d have asked for gold or jewels. But loyal servants tend to be like that. Even in my household, the maids felt burdened when given gold coins. Kanna, however, accepted them happily.
Madam Toten seemed equally surprised.
“Is that all you want? Not gold or jewels? You… saved my son…”
Her voice faltered, then she cleared her throat and regained her composure.
“You have essentially saved my son’s life. And yet your only wish is to stop being a laundry maid?”
“Yes…”
“Then I shall appoint you as head maid.”
“I… head maid?”
It was a surprising promotion.
After granting rewards and punishments, Madam Toten dismissed the gathered servants. Then, accompanied only by Weather, she headed to the toilet room.
Once inside and the door closed, she collapsed to the floor. Before I could react, Weather caught her.
“Madam!”
“Weather… you saw Ryder die and come back to life, yet you ask nothing.”
Melek, inside Ryder’s body, hid behind me in embarrassment. Melek—you don’t need to feel guilty. This was my decision.
“Does it not disgust you to care for a dead child?”
“Not at all. Madam, in my hometown there was an old woman who carried around a doll. Her son went to war decades ago and never returned. She suffers from dementia, but remembers only her son’s name, raising the doll as if it were a child. And… she is my grandmother. Even if the villagers call her insane, I understand her. So you don’t seem strange to me at all.”
“…Thank you.”
Weather comforted Madam Toten by sharing her own past. Honestly, why are all characters in these romance fantasy stories saddled with such dark backstories? Daisy with a corrupt orphanage director, Kanna nearly abducted and killed, and now Weather with a tear-jerking narrative.
Come to think of it, not just the maids—Madam Toten and Gabriel also had rather heavy, somber stories. This world really was a grim romance fantasy setting.
Madam Toten, now relieved, turned to me.
“Thank you, Lady Rohanson.”
“I’m glad I could help.”
“And… what should I call you? …Melek?”
Madam Toten then addressed Melek. Melek peeked out from behind me and spoke.
“That was the name of my previous body. The name given to me by Lady Rohanson is… M—!”
I quickly covered his mouth before he could say something strange. Don’t say “Meringue”! Giving a ghost such a cute name makes it sound weird! It’s like naming storms in a silly way… though I doubt she would understand that analogy.
Melek nodded, understanding my signal.
“Please call me Melek.”
“Very well. Melek, thank you for your help.”
“No, it’s nothing… I’m… sorry. For taking over your son’s body…”
“That was my choice. You’re a better person than you think.”
Seeing Ryder’s body, Madam Toten’s gaze softened warmly, as if looking at her son. Melek also seemed relieved by her reaction.
A faint sense of camaraderie emerged between us, as if we had overcome the same ordeal. Just as I was feeling moved, Hena checked the time and called out to me.
“Lady, I think you should depart soon.”
Really? I checked the clock. Oh no—it was already less than an hour left. If I didn’t leave now, I’d be late. But we couldn’t depart immediately, since Madam Toten still needed preparation. Hena and Weather helped her get ready.
“Please excuse us.”
Under Hena’s care, Madam Toten gradually regained her original appearance. Her damp, flattened hair was neatly styled.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes… thank you.”
After applying makeup to her lips, she finally regained some vitality. She chose to keep her shoes and changed only her dress, selecting a deep green gown that suited her composed demeanor.
“Your maid is quite skilled.”
“Right?”
I puffed up slightly at Hena’s praise. It wasn’t just her—everyone in my household was skilled.
“Shall we go?”
Just as I stood up to leave, Melek, now inhabiting Ryder’s body, came into view.
“What about Melek?”
“Right… with the butler and Dias detained, there shouldn’t be any major issues… but we can’t take him to the banquet.”
At that moment, Weather spoke up cautiously.
“Madam, I’ll stay by the young master’s side.”
“You will? …You’ve seen it yourself—this child is no longer Ryder. Are you still alright with that?”
“I’m fine.”
Her firm answer surprised Madam Toten.
“Why…?”
“If my father had returned like young master Ryder, my grandmother would have been very happy. Isn’t that better than a doll?”
Madam Toten gave a faint smile.
“Thank you. I leave him in your care.”
Thus, it was decided that Melek would stay under Weather’s care while attending to Ryder. Madam Toten could breathe a sigh of relief, but my own concerns remained unresolved.
If Melek stayed at the marquess estate, then who would drive my carriage?
I had gotten used to Melek driving—it would be hard to switch. Would I have to endure a bumpy ride that made me nauseous and sit through discomfort from now on? That didn’t sound good at all.
And what about my carriage? Should I take Madam Toten’s carriage to the palace? How would I get back home?
As I stepped outside, an unexpected person was there.
Ah! That person—the beastkin coachman who had shared memories with Jelly and Daisy!
“Use it however you like.”
Jelly must have brought him while I was busy with Melek. That thoughtful little one! Today, you’re as cute as pudding—though don’t tell Pudding!
On the other hand, Melek looked quite disheartened at having his role taken away. Even though the body was Ryder’s, his expression was on the verge of tears.
“I’m supposed to be the coachman…”
“Right. You’re just filling in until you return.”
“Right…? Gami-gin… Lady, please take good care of Gami-gin until I return.”
Melek tearfully said goodbye to the horse. Since he would be possessing Ryder for the time being, it seemed he felt uncertain about when he could return.
“When can I go back?”
“When Madam Toten’s position stabilizes. Please stay until she can stand on her own even without Ryder.”
“Alright… Oh, Lady. Then what about my meals?”
Ah, right. Food was also an issue. But why was that the top priority…?
Maybe priorities are reversed for ghosts? There are stories about ghosts clapping with the back of their hands or eating meat wrapped in lettuce backward… though Melek probably can’t eat at all.
If Melek is inhabiting a beastkin body, wouldn’t he need flowers or something? Do dietary preferences remain the same even when possessing a different body…?
For now, while Melek stays at the estate, I’ll have to send flower petals to Madam Toten. There were quite a few things to manage.
On the way, we decided to discuss how to wrap up the day, so Madam Toten joined me in my carriage. Jelly ran off, saying she was tired. She had originally come in case something happened at the estate, and now that a coachman had been secured, she had fulfilled her role well.
“Then I’ll head home first.”
Jelly disappeared instantly. I’m honestly jealous. I’ll probably never learn magic… My spirit affinity is zero, so my magical talent is likely nonexistent.
Madam Toten stood there, stunned at Jelly’s sudden disappearance. Ah—right, I forgot. Maybe I should have hidden that. But with Melek now inside Ryder’s body, something like Jelly disappearing shouldn’t be too surprising… I pretended nothing was unusual and gestured for Madam Toten to proceed.
