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Rachel, or Cassandra, smirked and got out of bed.
“No matter how much you fill up your magic, what can you do? You are so defenseless when you sleep.”
Cassandra loved Rachel’s body when it was moving to her will, so she became more greedy.
“Originally, it was as good as mine, but you struggled not to be taken away when you’re the one who intercepted it…!”
Sitting on the bed, Cassandra stamped her feet. She was angry. Just when she thought she could finally take the body, she was even drained of her powers by those vulgar things.
“Ha… Even her breathing is so sweet.”
She wanted something to eat and walked outside.
“But, doesn’t Enzo’s descendant sleep?”
She had once sneaked out of the room the first time she stole her body because she wanted to steal something from the kitchen.
A common characteristic of spirits who had not eaten for a long time was that they would start by taking food if they succeeded in possessing a body. Even if they were spirits, they were once people, and they couldn’t abandon the habits of the time they were alive.
So, just as she was about to leave the room and go down to the kitchen, Lucian appeared. It was the middle of the night, but in the same outfit, he had called for Rachel.
“I thought my gut shrunk when I was caught then… Anyway, I don’t like the fact that he’s Enzo’s descendant though I didn’t expect him to be sensitive to signs.”
It was troubling.
She needed to find Dustin. That bastard possessed first. While organizing her thoughts, Cassandra gulped down the iced tea Amber had prepared for her.
“Kyaa, this is delicious. This is the taste.”
Then, she opened the window and summoned small bugs with her magic ability.
“Find out where Dustin is. He’s definitely going around with his original face, so you’ll find it easily.”
Soon, the insects flew up and disappeared into the air as if they understood her words.
First of all, she needed to find Dustin’s place and then figure out a way to get out of here. In addition, instead of stealing the body only at night like a thief, she had to take full ownership.
“Okay then. Now that I’ve finished my work, let’s go see my baby.”
What could she do when she couldn’t even leave her room in the middle of the night? Cassandra, unable to give up her ghostly habits, stumbled in the dark room without a light on and tripped over a table.
“…It hurts?”
Sensing the sharp pain rising from her shin, she burst into laughter again.
“It hurts, it hurts so much!”
How long had it been since she felt this pain? Even that pain felt sweet, and she kept laughing.
“My babies.”
She limped into the dressing room and opened all the chests of jewelry.
“Ha… What is this brilliant color? It shines brilliantly even in the dark without light.”
As she stood in front of a full-length mirror inside the dressing room, she tried on the jewelry.
“The human body is very fragile.”
The feeling of being in the dark was welcome and exhilarating to her, but it was cumbersome. She found the magic lamp and turned it on. Only then did she see her face in the mirror.
“Hmm…”
As she put on the earrings, she looked into her own pupils.
“I really don’t like the color of your eyes.”
Cassandra was annoyed by the color of her eyes, which closely resembled those of the woman with whom she was an enemy a long time ago.
“Well, it’s not a body that will last for a long time, but I should cherish it for the time being.”
It was not intended to be used for a long time in the first place. All of a sudden, she felt resentful of her older brother for bringing such a child into the world.
“Adelio somehow found the Saint’s descendant and got married. That’s why Dustin is mad. What an idiot…”
Cassandra let out a laugh as she laughed at his brother, who had been possessed and assassinated as in the previous life. Then, she took out the dress and shoes and put them in front of herself, humming.
“You mean this is all mine? It’s even sweeter to be able to possess Enzo’s descendants.”
Until the sun came up, it was only Cassandra’s time. She dressed up, put on the shoes, put on the jewelry, and watched herself.
It was a very satisfying time.
* * *
Lucian was looking at the papers even while everyone was asleep. He wasn’t really a good sleeper.
It was close to insomnia, to be precise. If he recalled when it started, it must have been after hearing Enzo’s voice. However, it wasn’t too hard, so he would still start the day’s schedule after sleeping for about two hours.
“Hmm… Can I move the room first?”
The document he was looking through was Rachel’s dissolution application.
Ordinary nobles could submit it to the Imperial Palace’s Ministry of Justice, but Duchy Leon’s family had to have the documents reviewed directly by the Emperor. Rachel’s adoption process was no different.
That would take some time…
“I’ll have to move her to the Duchess’s room beforehand.”
It needed to be solidified. Lucian already sensed that it was late as h received the title of Duke later than expected, and it took a long time to get Rachel’s permission. In the meantime, more and more Lords would see Rachel, who made her debut, as a bride candidate.
Because of that, he had to hurry up and spread the word that she was his.
“I’ll have to block it firmly so that those who don’t dare would not send marriage proposals.”
If she received a marriage proposal, she must accepted or rejected it according to the procedure. Of course, there would be no nobles who would complain about the total refusal from the Ducal family, but even such sprouts had to be removed from the beginning.
“As for useless rumors, the funeral rumors are enough.”
Due to the nature of the Leonis Empire, noble women suffered a greater blow once they were engulfed in rumors than noble men.
So, he had to be more protective.
Rachel didn’t know about it, as she went through the adoption process unreasonably because of her father from a young age, but countless rumors followed her that she was actually the Duke’s illegitimate daughter.
In order to hide the fact, Liam, who was close to him, had deliberately registered her in County Erland.
Pedro and Liam were actually in that kind of relationship, so Pedro had the child of a loved one…
“It’s not a rumor, though.”
After sealing it with wax, he washed up and changed into pajamas. Lucian suddenly saw his own face in the mirror. His expressionless face looked as insensitive as Rachel’s fashion doll.
As he glanced at his face once, he remembered an incident from a while ago.
On the day she hit her cheek as hard as she could with her beautiful hand, he frantically coveted her lips, neck, and ears. Rachel, who was running and weeping, fell asleep halfway through as if she had passed out.
He was sorry for it, but he was worried, so he held her for a while as he swept and caressed her. And when the sun set perfectly, he washed her face and her hands, and after applying the medicine, he examined her face, and the wounds were completely gone.
That was a bit suspicious. However, what made him even more suspicious was that it wasn’t the first time it had happened. It was no different when he stopped her from hurting herself by suddenly waking up from sleep earlier than that.
The next day, the wound had completely healed.
“What is it?”
Did Rachel have any special abilities? If so, what was her ability…?
It was not swordsmanship nor magic. Since she never learned anything, f her magical abilities were exceptional, she would have used magic without realizing it, and then Amber, who was close to her, would have noticed. If so, it must have gotten into his father’s ears, of course.
“Hmm…”
Should he invite a wizard once? Could she have used healing magic without realizing it? Before turning off the light, Lucian glanced over another document on the desk with a deep look.
The marriage certificate.
The moment he went through the dissolution, he thought of preparing for the wedding by first registering the marriage. Now, he could be with her even the moment she closed her eyes. His parents were also thinking of decorating a new bedroom for the duchess, which had been unused.
As he promised one day, he filled all of his schedules with her. Thinking so, Lucian’s chest rose with pride. Even though he felt like he was out of breath, it felt good.
He lay down on the bed, feeling a pleasant tingle.
―Descendant, you look very happy.
When Enzo whispered in the dark, Lucian opened his closed eyes.
“…What do you want to say?”
―Oh, will I live because you are sad? While shouting for help like that when you needed!
Lucian, who had helped him with magic many times, and was happy to receive a proper answer from Rachel today, asked Enzo generously, different from what he usually did.
“May I inquire about your desire?”
―It’s not a big deal. When I need it, you only need to lend me your body once.
“Lend my body…?”
Enzo quickly responded to Lucian’s suspicious words.
―Just once. It’s because I have lingering feelings in the world. I want to taste food with your body and see how the world works.
“….”
Enzo mumbled again as Lucian didn’t answer and doubted.
―How mean, my good descendant. Oh, so let’s do this. I’ll make the kidnapper disappear without a sound. How is it?
Enzo’s unusually friendly words bothered him a lot, but the words that followed caught his taste. Still, Lucian delayed answering.
“I will kill them with my own hands. First of all, I cannot honor your demand.”
―If so… Ask for help when you need it, descendant. This Enzo de Leon always keeps a promise he once made. Kuku.
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