Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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>Translator: Vine
>Chapter: 22
>Chapter Title: Huh? It's a Ghost?
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Huh? It's a ghost?
Juliana was born in the slums, a place more familiar with shadows than light. Gifted with striking looks, Juliana disguised her face from a young age.
It was a necessity for survival.
Her mother passed away from illness before she even turned eight, and she lived day by day by begging. Then one day, a festival was held in the town.
The slum dwellers were treated as something loathsome by the townspeople, but during the festival, the influx of outsiders made it easy for them to blend in.
The children scrubbed themselves clean in the river, put on the cleanest discarded clothes they could find, and wandered through the festival.
Some children were curious about the festivities, but the majority were there to get tips from wealthy patrons.
Juliana was among the former. She roamed the vibrant streets to her heart's content, taking in the beautiful festival with wide eyes. How long had she wandered, half in a daze? She came upon a play being performed in the center of town.
"How dare you kidnap the princess!"
A script of laughable simplicity and some plausible acting.
It was a performance that would have been laughed off the stage in the capital, but here, it was enough to draw smiles from the crowd. It was more than enough to make the children's eyes sparkle.
‘Amazing.’
Juliana's eyes sparkled as she watched the man brandishing a sword on stage. She was captivated by the fact that a sword could be used not to threaten, but to protect.
After that, Juliana took up the sword, and thankfully, her abundant talent allowed her to work as a mercenary. She lived that way for three years.
"Juliana, will you go out with me?"
As if by fate, she met someone she loved. Juliana was the happiest woman in the world.
...No, she thought she was happy.
"Kren, why...!"
Her lover, Kren, to whom she had sent a letter pleading for rescue after being abducted by a noble family, burst into hearty laughter at her disheveled state.
"Puhaha, just look at that state. My lady!"
"Hohoho, she looks just like an insect."
The man, Kren, who had whispered words of love to her, had been sent by a noble lady. The reason the noble lady sent Kren to her? The reason he was made to whisper words of love?
"They called her a great mercenary, but in the end, an insect is still an insect."
Because it was fun.
Juliana had been nothing more than a plaything for the nobles' amusement.
"Kren! Kren...! How could you...!"
Because she had truly loved him, Juliana had risked her life to come to the noble's estate, only to be killed by a guard knight.
And so, the foolish woman, blinded by the first love she had ever known, died.
‘I will not forgive them.’
Was her hatred so heavy that God could not take her? Her soul became a vengeful spirit, bound to the earth.
‘I'll kill them all, every last one!’
Having become a vengeful spirit, Juliana cursed the nobles who had toyed with her and brutally murdered her lover. But her rage did not subside. Just as she was about to move to kill more people, a Black Mage appeared at the gruesome scene.
"Kekeke, now this is quite a useful spirit."
The sinister-looking Black Mage trapped her vengeful spirit within a book. The Black Mage who took Juliana away endlessly showed her the scene of her betrayal to make her spirit even stronger.
As time passed, Juliana's hatred deepened, and her power grew. The spirit, once merely trapped in a book, soon merged with it, becoming a cursed tome. As cursed books are wont to do, she escaped the Black Mage's library and began to drift across the world.
The pure white book, subtly exuding an unusual aura, was opened by countless hands and led countless people to their deaths.
When the white book was stained with the blood of the one who opened it, it would once again wander the world. And so, the cursed book, in its travels, was opened once more by the hands of Noah.
"A ghost..."
At Noah's murmur, Juliana opened her eyes. The first thing Juliana saw was Noah, dressed in obviously shabby clothes.
A sight that reminded her of her own past.
Juliana frowned and approached Noah, placing a hand on her head.
"…!"
The ghost had appeared right before her in an instant, and Noah was so startled that she collapsed to the ground. Juliana ignored her and closed her eyes, beginning to sift through Noah's memories.
Memories flashed through her mind in an instant; being so young, the total volume wasn't large.
Juliana found the memories where Noah's desires were most potent.
*I want to live.*
>*I want to protect Nero.*
>*I don't want to die.*
After rummaging through the memories like fingertips brushing past flower petals, she found the memory that had made Noah open the book.
*I will protect him, no matter what.*
The moment the image of the child, who had lived solely for her own survival and that of her brother, gaining a 'conviction' became clear before her, Juliana's eyes shot open, her expression twisting viciously.
The child sitting on the floor before her was so much like herself. Both her innate talent for swordsmanship and her resolve to take up the sword to protect someone.
And that made it all the more unpleasant. She wanted to strangle the child to death right then and there. In the past, she would have done so without a moment's hesitation.
[ 'I can't let you die so easily.' ]
Juliana smoothed out her vicious expression and smiled benevolently.
[ 'Just as I did, you too must die a miserable death.' ]
Just as she had been betrayed by a man and died miserably, she wanted Noah to be betrayed by the man named 'Rian' and die just as miserably.
[ 'Aah-... Just imagining it makes me so happy. I wonder what kind of expression you'll have on your face when you die?' ]
Imagining Noah screaming and weeping tears of blood, Juliana opened her mouth, her voice gentle.
[ Do you wish for the power to protect someone? ]
"…!"
Noah, mesmerized by Juliana's beautiful smile, nodded her head as if in a trance.
[ Take my hand, and I will give you the power to protect everyone. ]
Juliana presented her white palm to Noah. A pure white light began to gather above it. The light felt sacred, but like a vibrant poisonous mushroom, it held all sorts of terrible curses, though there was no way for Noah to know.
[ Now, hurry. ]
Just as Noah, entranced, reached out to take her hand.
*Click, slam!*
"Noah?! Are you in here?"
"…!"
[ …!? ]
A wild Rian appeared.
"Ah! There you are!"
Rian spotted Noah and entered the room with a bright smile. As Noah's gaze shifted to Rian, Juliana pressed for an answer.
[ You want to protect that man, don't you? If so, then hurry and take this hand. ]
At Juliana's whisper, Noah's gaze returned to her. Just as Noah was about to move her hesitant hand, Rian reached her side.
"Huh?"
Juliana, who had been hidden by the bookshelf, came into Rian's view.
"Huh? It's a ghost?"
"…?!"
[ …?! ]
At Rian's nonchalant voice, not only Noah but Juliana too was startled.
[ H-How can you see me? ]
"Uh... because you're a ghost, of course I can see you?"
In a gag world, ghosts were just another type of ordinary resident. It was considered perfectly normal to share a cheap rental or an old house with a ghost. Rian had even heard that one of his neighbors had married a ghost.
It was natural for Rian to see a ghost, but not for Juliana. It was one thing for the person who opened the book to see her, but never before had anyone else been able to.
"Noah, Mia told us not to come in here. Let's go."
"Ah..."
At Rian's words, Juliana's eyes widened as she stepped between Noah and Rian.
[ I'm sorry, but this child can't leave just yet. We haven't finished our conversation. ]
Juliana directed a murderous aura solely at Rian. Rian flinched and froze on the spot.
[ 'In the end, he's just a mere human.' ]
She imagined Rian fleeing pathetically and smirked inwardly. Contrary to her expectations, Rian's response was completely different from what she had imagined.
"If you just answer one question for me, I'll go wait outside."
Far from running away, he was even setting conditions, and Juliana's expression filled with bewilderment. Rian looked Juliana straight in the face and spoke.
"How are you able to maintain a fixed horizontal coordinate system?"