The Duchess Who Sees Ghosts - Chapter 28 – Curse (12)

Chapter 28 – Curse (12)

Translator: Yonnee

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The sudden gust of wind was like a storm. Even standing upright wasn’t possible anymore as they stumbled.

It was such a strong wind that breathing also became difficult to do. The sudden gust quickly made the people in the building crouch down.

However, those who were outside were all looking at Julia.

The blue energy rising from her body soon soared high towards the sky. Her red hair slowly turned white from the tips, until it reached her roots.

Eyes reminiscent of a pure white clarity stared at the sky. As if the blue energy had touched something, it stopped rising and moved to spread outward.

“This is…”

Horbeloix gaped openly at it, gulping in surprise.

“Tremendous?”

When Seren opened his lips to continue what Horbeloix couldn’t say, the latter nodded. When the old priest struggled as the wind continuously hit him, the mage reached out and summoned a thin barrier.

When the wind was blocked and they were back stable on their feet, Seren took a deep breath.

“With this much divine power, it’s on the level of an archpriest… No, it’s even more than that.”

“Does it feel like divine power to you?”

When Horbeloix asked, Seren looked back at him with confusion. Horbeloix narrowed his eyes.

“To me, it’s like mana. What we’re dealing with is…”

“But it feels like divine power to me. As I feel it in the air, the energy within me resonates.”

“…I feel the same way. The circles within me feel like they’re about to explode.”

Soon, the blue energy that had risen to the sky seemed to almost cover the entire expanse—then suddenly, it headed towards a direction roughly, as though it was tearing up a curtain.

“That direction…”

“It’s towards the other academies.”

Julia frowned as if she was having a hard time along with the blue energy that was still rising. At the same time, she was constantly pouring out her energy.

“Julia…!!”

Leo shouted towards the storm, but his voice was drowned out by the wind.

It was difficult to take even a step forward as he took in a breath and crouched as he walked forward. It was hard to breathe already because of the wind blowing at his face, but he couldn’t stop. Leo forced his legs to move forward.

“Julia… Julia!! It’s not right to do it this way!”

There was a strange tranquility in the storm that made it feel like there was only silence. His voice didn’t reach Julia, but she turned her head and opened her lips as she looked at Leo.

“It’s alright. There’s no problem.”

Only reading her lips, Leo bit his own tightly and leaped forward in a rush. If he couldn’t persuade her through words, then he was left with no choice but to stop her directly.

However, it was impossible to approach her easily because the distance between them was still wide, and it was difficult to move forward.

While Leo was struggling, the blue energy that had soared high into the sky began to return. It was like one trunk of a tree that grew branches, then returned to Julia one by one.

Soon, all the branches of blue energy flowed into Julia, permeating into her, and Julia inhaled sharply and stumbled.

Every time the streams of light continued to flow into her, her back would falter.

And as she staggered and faltered for a long time, she eventually collapsed to the ground—but even then, the pouring energy did not stop.

Each stream of light was a soul, and Julia did not stop absorbing them until she had accepted them all.

When she collapsed, Leo forced himself forward once again and approached her, releasing the energy from her body.

As if he was a gladiator charging ahead, he struggled forward through Julia’s transparent energy, looking only at her face.

Then, as he looked at her with a pained expression, he said.

“I told you not to do that.”

“How did you come all the way here?”

“You fell, so I came to help you up.”

“……”

Leo approached closer to her, but Julia shook her head and avoided his hand.

“If you touch my body now, the souls that I’ve absorbed might get transferred to the Duke. So…”

“That would be better.”

“What… did you say…?”

Julia looked at him with tired eyes. With her eyes already turning back red, she seemed to have no strength left in her.

Even anyone who was ignorant of the details of it would know that it was reckless to accept more than a thousand souls into one body.

And even if Julia would serve as the replacement for the curse to be completed, she knew it was going to be impossible. This was her limit as ‘Julia’ in this time.

Contrary to her plan to stop the curse, her mental fortitude was also chipping away and she would soon be cornered into a dead end.

“…Get away from me.”

“I can’t do that.”

Leo smiled quietly and reached out to her again. Julia tried to avoid him, but as she had already exceeded her limit, she couldn’t avoid his hand.

“What do you think?”

“About what…?”

“What if I take in those souls instead?”

“Nonsense… You can’t.”

Julia chuckled, and Leo smiled as well.

“You’re right. It’s nonsense. That’s what I think, too.”

Leo looked into her red eyes, and she smiled, as though she had been calmed by his blue eyes.

“But that’s what I told you before, too. But strangely enough, Julia, I feel like I can do anything as long as you’re by my side.”

“…That’s just… a feeling…”

As he watched Julia’s eyes close little by little, Leo smiled.

“I have a very good hunch. That’s why…”

Leo leaned down and placed a hand on her cheek as she closed her eyes.

As he came closer, she could feel his hot breath brushing by her. Julia just waited for his next action without rejecting it.

“I think I can do anything right now, Julia.”

Leo whispered the last word, and he gently placed his lips over hers.

She felt his soft, warm lips on her, and soon, Julia began to open her eyes softly. The exhaustion she felt just now gradually faded.

And as her vision returned, her rationality followed. As his lips continued to stay on hers, she found that he was far too close.

Normally, she would have been so surprised by a situation like this, but that didn’t matter right now.

All she could think about was how all the burden of those countless souls she was carrying through her energy was being passed over to him.

“Mmph!!”

Julia struggled strongly, but when she raised her hand to push him away, Leo reached behind her and held her tightly in his embrace. In a situation that was far from romantic, Julia’s lips were taken.

However, Leo kissed her even deeper as if he wouldn’t allow her to escape. And he smiled when he felt that the souls were being passed to him due to his relentlessness.

As the blue branches of energy that had been pouring into her decreased before they knew it, the moment the last one permeated into him, Leo pulled away and looked at her, gently smoothing over her lips.

“…What do you think?”

“W-What the hell did you do?! Doesn’t it hurt?! Don’t you feel any different?!!”

Julia hurriedly blurted out. Leo gently stared into her eyes, then he shook his head.

“Not that one.”

“Huh?”

As Julia looked at him perplexedly, Leo gently opened his lips to speak.

“What do you think of the kiss?”

At his sudden question, Julia frowned.

“Is that important right now?!”

“Yup, it’s important. What could be more important than that?”

“Duke Epesia!”

Leo smiled as he sat back lightly on the floor, then he spoke.

“I feel a little tired.”

Julia bit her lips. All the souls that were sacrifices to the curse had entered Leo’s body. He accepted hundreds, maybe even more than a thousand souls just like that.

If an ordinary person would have done that and had become a vessel, they would be left broken once the limit was reached, however it didn’t seem like Leo was having any problems.

When Julia looked at him with obvious confusion, Leo sighed. Julia sat on her knees and stared at him openly.

“Hm?”

“What a second.”

Julia raised a hand and placed it on his temple, closing her eyes. The blue energy from earlier was emitted through her hand and seeped into his skin.

As she inspected him, going through his blood vessels and throughout his whole body, Julia’s energy was faced with a wide expanse as though she was looking at a large river.

“This… all…”

It was a river filled by the souls. Each one of them was a person, yet they carried a worth that could be taken advantage of as material or energy.

Julia opened her eyes and looked at Leo.

“From now on, the souls in your body will move on towards where they should be. The curse has already been completed, but there might be a lot of resistance…”

“Don’t worry.”

Leo also faced her gaze squarely. He had a calm expression.

“I got a kiss, so there’s no reason for me to complain about any pain.”

“……”

When face, close to hers, came to mind, Julia was flustered. She soon shook her head and looked up at the sky.

“I’ll make a path.”

“However you want.”

Julia closed her eyes and brought one hand to his chest and the other to the top of his head.

“Let these wandering children of the abyss be sent to the place where they were in accordance with the river of death, as the principles of the dead and the living are not the same. Those who stand at the crossroads along this predestined path must follow the law of reincarnation, so please, lead the deceased to the side of the godmother.”

As her voice flowed quietly, the wind blew softly around the calm surroundings. A bright light flowed from her hands on the top of his head.

“Huh?”

At the sudden difference in atmosphere, Leo was startled.

“Shh. The one who guides must say nothing.”

But at Julia’s warning, Leo closed his lips again. The light flowing from Julia’s hand soon began to spread brightly enough to drive away the darkness.

“The path has been lit so that you will not be lost. So, follow this light. There will be people waiting for you there. In that place, please wait for new life to come to you.”

Leo felt the energy in his body begin to move according to her words. Then the energy began to leave him.

The movement of the energy wasn’t forced and was more like a stream being guided down the river. Leo smiled gently as he felt the foreign energy escaping from his body.

A warm feeling seemed to be spreading from his heart. Julia closed her eyes quietly, feeling the gradual disappearances of the souls.

The silence stretched between them, and it was calm enough that even the sound of their breathing could be heard. Then, Julia spoke.

“It is done.”

When Julia opened her eyes, Leo was there to welcome her back.

“Does Your Grace feel sick, or does it hurt anywhere?”

“I’m not sure…”

Tilting his head to the side, Leo answered ambiguously. When Julia frowned at his answer, he smiled slightly and fell forward, holding Julia in his arms.

“Huh… Huh?!”

Julia received his embrace, then she looked at him worriedly. Leo leaned into her, then slowly opened his lips to speak.

“Who do you think is worried about the other’s safety…?”

At his question, Julia didn’t say anything more. Just as Leo said, it was reckless for any living person to take in a vast number of souls into their bodies.

The number was enormous enough with just less than half of them, even for Julia who was a vessel of the god she was serving. However, Leo was like a wide, calm lake and he was able to do that as if it was natural.

Julia reached up and gently swept his hair down. Leo smiled gently as he leaned onto her shoulder, accepting her touch as though it felt nice.

Seren and Horbeloix, who were watching from afar, looked around. The negative energy, which seemed to them as if it were about to burst and run rampant across the academy just now, suddenly disappeared.

Seren approached Julia, and she looked up at the old priest. Standing at the eye of the storm, Seren glanced at her disorganized white hair.

“The curse… is it over?”

“I sent back all of the souls that were used as sacrifices for the curse. The curse was supposed to be fulfilled when it transfers to the last person, and when that person won’t be able to handle that many souls, they would erupt and release all the spirits outside. But now that they’ve found a place where they go, there is no curse left to fulfill.”

Julia’s eyes shifted as she looked at Leo, who was breathing quietly. It seemed like he had fallen asleep.

Julia still couldn’t understand why he readily took all the souls from her without hesitation, even though she warned him several times that it was like suicide.

Death was something everyone that was aware of, and most people avoided it. The more they thought of death, the more they would cling to life.

Everyone had attachments to life, but of course obsession with it was a separate thing.

But Leo was different. He was willing to throw away his life for her, and even as she tried to stop him, she couldn’t.

Julia recalled what he had told her, the words that he spoke in a whisper after kissing the back of her hand.

As Leo was now asleep, Julia cradled his head. Considering that she was also prepared to risk her life, she was surprised that there was no feeling that her work was finished blandly.

But there was a consequence to everything. If Leo hadn’t taken the souls from her… if Leo had lost his life in the aftermath of absorbing that many souls… if no one had stopped Julia from this while taking everything herself… and if she had lost her own life by going through the ritual until the very end.

She took everything into consideration, and at the end of it all, the conclusion was the successful end to this case because of Leo’s incomprehensible behavior.

However, they would still need to get to the bottom of who it was who started all this, and they would also still need to discuss ways to prevent this from happening again in the future.

But, just as Leo said, Julia and Leo were able to save both the living and the dead at the same time.

Asleep as the dawn approached, Leo remained silent, and those around him did not speak.

The case ended quietly, yet none of them were able to predict just how this incident would affect the future.