Chapter 144. Choice of Destiny (4) (2/2)
“That’s messed up.”
[There was no one who didn’t know it was all a plot. Not even one.]
Flone quietly spoke before closing her mouth.
[But we didn’t just take it quietly either.]
Flone continued speaking after a brief moment of silence.
[When the invitation came to our family, my grandfather, who was then the head of the Rothschear family, immediately noticed the emperor’s intentions. So he plotted a scheme.]
Seol Jihu made an intrigued face.
[If he was going to die whether he went or not, he at least wanted to protect the family’s property. So he secretly hid everything without the emperor noticing.]
“Then the reason your family fell…”
[The problem was that we became aware of this fact only after we heard the news of my grandfather's death and found the will that he had left behind in his personal study.]
“Did he not leave behind the location of the property or something?”
[No. All that was written in the will was that he was going to die, that he moved all the family’s wealth before the emperor tried anything, and that we must burn the will after reading.]
Seol Jihu tilted his head.
“In the end, while your family didn’t lose anything, there was nothing left either?”
[Strictly speaking, yes. Except for this.]
He suddenly felt his neck getting pulled. Seol Jihu stared at the necklace hanging in the air.
”The necklace….”
[This was the only item left behind by my grandfather. My mother said that he had called her separately to give it to her before he left. He told her to not lose it no matter what and to cherish it dearly.]
‘So that was why she was so mad when Clara touched the necklace back then.’ Seol Jihu could finally understand a bit.
“If other families did the same, I doubt the emperor would have been very happy.”
[While there were smart people like my grandfather, there naturally were dumb family heads as well. I bet that it wasn’t just a few that straight-out offered everything up to the emperor in fear.]
“Wow!”
Seol Jihu let out a gasp. If Flone’s words were true, then he couldn’t even imagine how much wealth the villa contained.
An emperor’s villa was already grand enough, but adding the assets of several major families…
Seol Jihu who was swallowing his drool…
“Heuk—”
…choked on his breath after seeing Flone’s face form from water-like vapor right in front of his face in the midst of the black smoke. He didn’t know when she materialized, but he could see her squint at him.
“Y-You scared me.”
[You’re planning on going, right?]
”Huh?”
[No. You can’t. I’m not going to let you go.]
”But…”
No matter how much he retorted, the black smoke tightly bound both his hands and legs. Unable to move, Seol Jihu sighed.
”Fine, I won’t go. Now let me free.”
[I don’t believe you.]
”Why?”
[Your eyes were shining.]
”Don’t be like that and let me go. How long do you plan on holding me like this?”
[Oh, I don’t know. For around a year? Won’t your thoughts of going disappear by then?]
‘An entire year!’
It was impossible, no matter how much he thought about it, so he ducked his neck and began licking the pendant.
[Ee out of going there anyways…”
It wasn’t empty talk; Seol Jihu really did not have any intentions of going.
Not only did the Nine Eyes signal all sorts of warnings to not go, but there was also no reason for him to go in the first place.
[Good. You thought well.]
Flone said with a slightly relieved voice.
“But didn’t you say you’re curious as well?”
[My grandfather said too much curiosity was poisonous. There’s no need to go to such… a scary place, just out of curiosity.]
Hearing the depressed voice, Seol Jihu sniggered.
“Well, that’s surprising. That even you have something to be afraid of.”
[Well, that’s because my family is directly involved, and also because it happened when I was young…]
“But since you are already—.”
‘—dead, does it matter?’ Seol Jihu didn’t finish the sentence out loud.
While he already knew Flone was strong, there were words he should say and words he shouldn’t. He knew it was rude.
[Me? What about me?]
“Uh… strong.”
[Already strong? That doesn’t even make sense.]
But despite trying to switch topics, Seol Jihu broke into a cold sweat as Flone’s characteristic persistency was activated.
[Why? Do you not like me suddenly disappearing all the time?]
“It’s not that.”
[Then should I always stick next to you?]
He wondered how such a conclusion was reached, but unable to win against her persistent barrage of questions, he confessed to a certain extent.
“So, uh… even if I don’t personally enter the villa…. As long as it’s in range, you can…”
When he couldn’t continue speaking, the tweeting voice suddenly stopped.
It was true that there was nothing inside the villa that could harm her. After all, she was a spirit, or in other words, already dead.
Also, Flone was an evil spirit born from hundreds of years of resentment. She had been able to easily annihilate those terrible Parasites back then, too.
Even if there was a monster inside, wouldn’t it be simple for her to handle?
As all sorts of thoughts came to Seol Jihu’s mind, he carefully searched for her response.
Flone who hadn’t released her materialization had a dazed look on her face.
‘Damn it! Me and my big mouth.’
He had made a mistake even while knowing Flone had a lot of regrets concerned with living.
When he was just about to apologize out of guilt.
[…Ah.]
Flone let out a stunned voice.
[You’re right!]
Her eyes grew as large as lanterns.
”Excuse me?”
[You’re right. Why was I afraid?]
Then like a child who discovered something interesting, she became excited and floated in the air.
“F-Flone?”
[I’m going out for a bit!]
And Flone flew away just like that.
Seol Jihu was left staring endlessly at the spirit that was now becoming a small dot on the horizon.
‘…She didn’t know?’
No, that wasn’t it. She might have been instinctively afraid because of the trauma that she was induced with when she was a child.
Or so he thought, until he could see the quickly returning Flone.
Seol hastily gripped the railings using all his strength after vaguely realizing why she was flying towards him.
A moment later, on the third stairway of the Carpe Diem building, a strange scene of a spirit pulling on the collar of a young man holding onto the handrail like a cicada, unfolded.
“No. I’m never going there.”
[Why~! Let’s go~!]
”I’m scared, okay?”
[But you don’t even have to go in~! I’ll go in by myself!]
”I don’t want to! Uggh.”
[Heuk!]
'What, what power!'
Seeing his grip loosening, the panicked Seol Jihu quickly licked the pendant with his tongue.
[Ahhhhh! I’ll kill you!]
Seol Jihu flinched hearing Flone’s threat.
”No! We don’t even know what’s inside!”
[It doesn’t matter!]
In reply to Seol Jihu’s screams, Flone brightly shouted as if she never cared at all.
[After all, I’m already dead!]