Chapter 38
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Once the onlookers realized the full extent of her abilities, the spirits slipped away without a word.
‘This can’t be real…’
‘That guy, he’s still the oldest among us.’
‘He’s shrunk in size…’
‘Is that all? Look, his body is becoming transparent.’
‘Isn’t he going to disappear at this rate?’
“If you’re going to make a scene, take it somewhere else! I’m not in the least bit interested in dealing with you right now, so go away.”
Ruby sat back down and sighed deeply. For a moment, she forgot her grandmother’s lesson and almost lost her temper. She muttered, trying to hold back her anger.
“Grandma says those things are pitiful.”
In the past, Ruby had always been scolded when she was caught trying to give the spirits a hard time. And she had to hear the same lecture to her ears like a broken record.
‘Pity them. Unless they become demons, we have a duty to guide them in the right direction.’
“Do you think they’d be grateful for that? They’re the most selfish creatures in the world, Grandma.”
It was the spirits who were always asking for favors, pleading for us to grant their wishes, and annoying people.
“…Well, I’ll admit I vented a bit.”
Pouting her lips, Ruby looked up to see them all retreating. She watched as they continued to look back, curious. Yet, oddly enough, despite moving away, the chill in the air didn’t dissipate.
If anything, it grew thicker like a deep mist of frost rising from an icy ravine.
“…Who’s there?”
In response to her inquiry, someone emerged from behind a nearby tree. It was a lupine spirit, with neatly tied black hair glistening, and eyes as dark as his hair brimming with curiosity and anticipation.
‘It’s you, the rabbit person who can see us.’
“…You seem a little different.”
‘Ho ho, you can sense that too, huh?’
She was right, he was very different from the other spirits she’d encountered here. The energy emanating from deep within him was anything but ordinary.
“But why did you come?”
The wolf spirit chuckled deeply, as if laughing from the bottom of a well. His face radiated a welcoming expression, as if he had been waiting for her all along.
‘My name is Louis de Negro, Duke of the Negro Line.’
Ruby curled her fingers in thought at the complicated introduction, then mumbled something under her breath.
“Are you saying you’re the Duke’s great-great-grandfather?”
‘That’s correct.’
“…Then you should have been given a proper burial. What lingering attachment keeps you here?”
‘Attachment… To dismiss it as a mere attachment would be to trivialize my grave sins.’
As Louis conversed with Ruby, he subtly edged closer. When she stepped back, he smirked.
‘You look like you know what I’m going to ask you to do.’
“…Hmm, yes. And that it’s going to be a lot of trouble.”
‘Haha.’
Louis laughed, pleased with Ruby’s response. Nevertheless, understanding the thoughts of spirits was beyond her comprehension. What was so funny?
‘Even so, there’s no one else but you to ask.’
“That doesn’t mean I’m obliged to comply. It might be better if you appeared in the dreams of your descendants instead.”
She would have walked away as soon as she finished speaking, had it not been for Louis’s words that followed.
‘I am the one who extinguished the Black Flame.’
“…”
‘And I am aware that you have reason to reignite the Black Flame.’
When had he eavesdropped on their conversation?When he was within inches of her wary face, Louis seized her shoulders with an urgent expression.
‘Please, help me. Help me, no, help our tribe…’
An icy sensation pierced through her body from her shoulders, rendering her incapable of moving. Perhaps it was due to Louis’s desperate gaze—it reminded her of Ivan’s in some way.
“Haa…” Letting out a deep sigh, Ruby muttered to herself with a frown stamped on her face.
She shouldn’t rashly grant the spirit’s wish…This was truly bothersome.
‘If you grant my request, I’ll tell you the location of a field where wild carrots grow.’
Startled, her rabbit ears, which had been twitching in contemplation, began to sway back and forth.
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