Killing the Possessor - Chapter 149

Duke Abyss had only one son. Which meant there was no mistaking it—this was about Ren Abyss.

When I turned my head, I saw Madam Raflet, the very woman who once reported a longtime acquaintance as a possessor. Honestly, that woman really did love her gossip.

Since Ren was the topic, it was only natural that Ren’s devoted admirer turned her gaze in that direction as well. Seeing the sharp edge in Yuli Langa’s eyes, I felt a wave of dread. Was I now supposed to worry not only about Illui, but Dahlia’s safety too?

What on earth did that man give her this time?

No, before that, what kind of relationship did the two of them even have? He’d shown up at our house last time too, hadn’t he?

” I came to speak with Miss Dahlia about something.”

“Discuss… something? With Dahlia?”

“It’s a personal matter, so I’d rather keep it private.”

So they were even having secret conversations now. Don’t tell me this bastard was trying to pry information out of Dahlia too.

“What did you talk about with Dahlia?”

“As her older sister, are you asking out of concern… or jealousy?”

“Annoying jerk.”

Jealousy?

I told myself that the faintly irritating, unsettled feeling prickling at my nerves was just the result of listening to nonsense. I didn’t care what he did or who he did it with. But since the target happened to be my half-sister, I couldn’t help worrying that it might somehow come back to bite me.

It felt like noticing dust piled up on the outside of a window you can’t quite reach—pointless, frustrating, and nagging.

“Camilli, who’s Dahlia?”

“……”

Yuli’s question made my expression stiff. I had a split second to think, knowing this moment was bound to come.

“She’s my younger sister.”

“Oh?”

Yuli raised an eyebrow in surprise, and I explained as casually as I could.

“Dahlia was once attacked by an evil spirit, so she had to be questioned by the Public Security Bureau. It’s probably related to that.”

For Dahlia’s sake, I deliberately avoided mentioning exorcism. It had become something of an open secret thanks to Rudolf Midas, but there was no reason to enlighten a foreigner further.

I thought it was a plausible enough explanation that she’d let it go. But instead, Yuli stared straight at me. Her violet eyes, the eeriest I’d seen in a long while, burned with an unsettling intensity.

“She looks like one of those horror-movie dolls. Feels like she’d show up in my dreams.”

Ailrose’s old comment came back to me. I’d thought it was an exaggeration at the time, but now it felt disturbingly accurate. Not knowing why Yuli was looking at me like that only made it worse.

“You sound like you’re explaining yourself. Why? Afraid I’ll eat your little sister?”

“What?”

“You know I like Sir Ren Abyss, right?”

“……”

Good grief. What a terrifyingly straightforward woman. With this many people around, most would’ve softened it, but not her.

“And you seem to be in contact with Bali Aidepen.”

“……”

So she’d done some digging on me too. Since she knew Bali was the head of Hongik Ingan, I had to be extremely careful with my answer.

And without question, this was the woman I could least afford to arouse suspicion from. She already had a track record of sending possessors straight to their deaths.

“Is there any woman our age who doesn’t attend the salons hosted by Lady Aidepen?”

“So you’re not personally close.”

“I’d hesitate to call it a connection—it’d be an embarrassment to her, honestly. But why bring up Lady Aidepen all of a sudden…?”

Yuli let out a short laugh.

“I figured you might’ve heard something from Bali.”

Even though she was smiling with her eyes, her words gave me goosebumps. I forced myself to look confused.

“I’m not sure what you mean…”

“Never mind.”

As if she’d lost interest, Yuli snapped her fan open, covering half her face. I let out a long breath, silently praying that her suspicion had faded.

After that, the gathering shifted into free mingling. Until the hunt ended, it was customary for the nonparticipants to nibble on finger foods and lose themselves in idle chatter.