Killing the Possessor - Chapter 145

The content that trickled in through my eyes and ears was unmistakably the final chapter of the ‘Witch Hunt’ arc at Count Midas’s manor. In other words, the ‘Hunting Festival’ arc follows immediately after ‘Witch Hunt’.

“But the third chapter was ‘Lost, where should I go?’ wasn’t it?”

That damn Mockingbird even insulted my poor memory while giving me the hint for that chapter. What a jerk.

No matter how I tried to make sense of it, something didn’t add up. The first chapter was definitely the debutante ball, and the second was the incident at the count’s manor. These were events I had just experienced, there was no way I was misremembering them.

So why wasn’t there a maze garden chapter between ‘Witch Hunt’ and ‘Hunting Festival’?

“What the heck is going on…?”

Thinking back, even when I saved Tommy at the orphanage, I’d had my residence permit renewed, but never received a clear ‘chapter cleared’ reward. Actually, I don’t even remember getting a ‘chapter cleared’ message at all.

“So the whole Aveline thing wasn’t even an official chapter?”

The doubt that had briefly crossed my mind before began to swell again.

The main character is supposed to be Illui Hope, so why do all the evil spirits I encounter turn out to be people from my own life, either directly or indirectly connected to me?

“Are there chapters being created specifically for me now?”

A headache started to throb in my skull. I decided it was better to focus on what I did know for sure.

The Hunting Festival. Pinpointing the date would be easy. It was a huge event where people of all ages gathered, beginning with the hunt and ending in a feast and a ball.

For such a festival, I was bound to hear about it soon enough.

“Dahlia, come along with me to the dressmaker today. The Hunting Festival is just around the corner, and we need to have everything ready by next month, so we mustn’t delay.”

As expected, during breakfast Glinda brought up the festival. The way she suggested only Dahlia go with her to the dressmaker made her true intentions all too clear, I had to laugh.

She really doesn’t want to spend a penny on me, huh?

“Camil, you should go buy yourself a pretty dress, too.”

Dante chimed in, as if this was his chance to play the good guy again. Glinda shot him a sharp look, but he just smiled at me, either oblivious or pretending to be.

“I’m good.”

“Why not?”

“It’s a hassle.”

“Honestly, listen to the way you talk.”

Glinda wagged her finger at me, but I just gave her a blank look and stabbed my omelet with my fork.

It wasn’t as if I wouldn’t be busy enough already, even without buying a new outfit. With the Hunting Festival coming up, I planned to get some serious magic tutoring from Ailrose.

* * *

Time flew by, and soon the day of the festival arrived.

Maybe Mockingbird knew I was already up to speed on the next chapter, because this time they didn’t reach out. I’ll admit, I’d secretly hoped they’d hand over another helpful gift, so I was a bit disappointed.

The royal hunting grounds were located about an hour and a half away from Parensha. Glinda had everyone up at dawn to get ready.

I wasn’t sure why she bothered to wake me, since she only really cared about Dahlia, but I suppose it would’ve been awkward if I’d been the only one sleeping in when the whole house was buzzing. Rubbing my tired eyes, I climbed into the carriage.

“Camil, if you catch a fox this year, I’ll have a fur scarf made for you.”

Dante said again as usual. With his prim and proper looks, I doubted he even knew how to hold a gun, but there was no point responding.

Dahlia, sharing the carriage, threw him a glance and grumbled.

“I guess I’m just invisible since I’m the younger sibling.”

“You have plenty of nice clothes already.”

“Camil has more! Do you know how much the prince spoiled her?”

“….”

As ridiculous as it sounded, she wasn’t wrong. That’s actually one reason I wasn’t excited about getting new clothes. Being a prince, Wyner liked to show off his wealth, so as his lover, I often benefited.

My dress room was overflowing with clothes and accessories, to the point that it was ready to burst. No wonder Dahlia had helped herself to whatever she wanted.

Fashions changed every year, so everything would need alterations, but honestly, I had enough outfits to attend social events for several years without shopping again.

After Dahlia’s very valid point, Dante gave up on the conversation. I settled comfortably against the seatback, using the time to make up for the sleep I’d lost by waking up so early.

“Oh, come on, wake up already. If someone saw you now, they’d think you’d been possessed by the ghost of a sleep-deprived spirit. How undignified.”