MPBAGS Chapter 118

Jelly was about to take my hand but hesitated. He definitely noticed the wound. That makes it hurt more, you know? Originally, not being conscious of injuries is the least painful way.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"I'm fine. I'll just apply some holy water or something."

"Haha, you sure make scary jokes."

Jelly scolded me for joking in such a situation. What? It wasn't a joke though?

Puzzled, I suddenly remembered that Evangeline had died from being sickly. Since I first opened my eyes in a coffin and people don't bring up that story, I sometimes forget. Right. Evangeline was also the type that holy water doesn't work on, like Ryder.

But why did the count feed me so much holy water after I possessed her? In the early days of possession, I thought he was just trying to help Evangeline recover, but that trashy count wouldn't have cared for his daughter like that.

Plus, being her real father, he would have known well that Evangeline wasn't affected by holy water. It wasn't like Mrs. Totten who loved her child so much she'd grasp at any straw... Did he treat me like an evil spirit like Bishop Marik? I deserved such treatment for stealing his daughter's body, but at least the count shouldn't do that. I don't mind being cursed by the countess though.

"Master. I found the princess."

Jelly, who had been taking his time, seemed to have located the princess.

"The blood smell is particularly strong. It seems like she's on death's door as that Astaroth bastard said."

Jelly reported the situation. If I had holy water, I could have treated her immediately, but there was no way I'd have holy water as an escaped prisoner. It seemed better to hurry there first.

When Jelly snapped his fingers, my vision suddenly changed. Instant teleportation really is an overpowered ability. The place we moved to was also in the same forest. The surrounding scenery was identical, so I couldn't guess how far we'd traveled.

"Oh my."

Jelly sighed soullessly. This time he'd found the princess properly. The problem was that Gabriel was there too. Was I too late?

Azrael had already stabbed once, and Gabriel didn't finish her off on top of that, did he...? She's your niece! Plus she's probably a fake culprit caught up in machinations, so you absolutely mustn't kill her regardless of imperial commands!

As I approached to stop Gabriel, I stepped on something squishy. When I moved my foot, there was a person sprawled underneath. I was so shocked for a moment that I almost ended my possession and ascended to nirvana right there.

Several knights lay on the ground, wearing the same outfits as the knights who had captured me and thrown me in prison. So they were imperial palace knights. A dying princess couldn't have defeated the knights, so this was definitely Gabriel's doing.

Then these knights weren't dead, just unconscious. Holy knights aren't supposed to kill just anyone. Gabriel must have subdued the knights to save the princess, right?

Gabriel never intended to kill the princess from the start. I suddenly felt relieved. Come to think of it, if I figured out the situation, there's no way the male lead Gabriel wouldn't have. He might even know the secret of his own birth. Then did I suffer for nothing? No. Saving a person's life is worth this much trouble.

While I stopped in surprise from stepping on the squishy person, Jelly had gone to Gabriel's side and was talking about something. I hurried closer too.

"...Lady Rohanson."

"Yes, sir. Did you call me?"

Gabriel called my name without even turning around. Did he sense my presence? Can he distinguish people just by footsteps? That's a male lead-worthy ability.

"Evangeline."

"Yes. Sir Gabriel."

Gabriel called me again. This time he turned his gaze toward me. Why call me first then act surprised. Did he not know he could identify me just by footsteps?

Ah, that's not it.

Gabriel's eyes sparkled. I belatedly recognized that it was because they held moisture. I'd always thought of them as blue sky, but seeing them today, they were rippling like a lake. Who told them to reflect the color of the sky and mislead people?

"Please... save Her Highness the Princess."

Gabriel looked up at me desperately. I'd received such gazes several times before. When I saved Kanna, when Daisy returned, when the orphanage children clung to me, when Mrs. Totten came to see me - Gabriel had the same look in his eyes as then.

And I had never turned any of them away. The reason might have been to avoid the tragic ending given to the villainess, or it might have just been whim. It might have been because I felt sorry for them, wondering how desperate they must be to cling to me who regarded the world like paper.

"If that's what you wish, sir."

Knowing that the current Gabriel would overflow if poked, I could only smile comfortingly.

Gabriel smiled faintly as if relieved. I told him not to cry, but what had welled up in his eyes spilled over and flowed out. Just one streak, one drop, so Gabriel probably didn't even know he was crying.

Not wanting to see more of his tears, I looked away. I'm such an easy person, calling it managing a harem but getting all emotional when Gabriel cries. Of course, only Kanna in this world acknowledges that. The power of the villainess label is so strong that even when Kanna chants "Miss is kind," no one believes it. Ah, Pudding used to nod along to that too. That's why I have to favor those two.

The princess's condition was serious from what I could glimpse. She was sprawled on the ground, barely gasping for breath, which didn't look good. Her clothes around the side were stained dark red, as if she'd been stabbed right through. I tore her clothes to examine the wound. The injury was too deep. That trash Azrael. He did this to a child? Now I see he doesn’t have eight grader syndrome, he’s just plain insane.

"Holy water?"

"It's useless. Mr. Jelly said it won't work..."

There was an ornately crafted bottle rolling on the ground, cracked from hitting the floor. Does the princess also have the cursed constitution that holy water doesn't work on? Jelly seemed uninterested in Gabriel crying or the princess dying, fiddling with the holy water bottle carelessly until he got pricked by a glass shard and rolled on the ground clutching his finger.

While the princess was dying beside us, he was making a fuss about getting slightly pricked by a glass shard. The situation was already complicated enough that I was getting a headache figuring out how to solve it, and seeing him put on such a show made me want to punch Jelly. It wasn't even a serious injury, and with holy water on it, it would heal right away, but still with the dramatics...

Perhaps awakened by the commotion, the princess slowly opened and closed her eyes, looking at me.

"An angel...?"

Since it's a world where angels, not grim reapers, come to escort you when you die, I'd heard this often. But seeing hallucinations means it really is serious... At this rate, she might depart for the afterlife before I find a way to treat her. So I called her name, telling her to stay conscious.

"Princess Tenebrae? Princess Jeremia?"

Mrs. Totten said the twin princesses were distinguished by their necklaces, but now the necklace was stained with blood so I couldn't tell who was who. Common sense suggested it was Tenebrae who had a warrant out for her, but Azrael's words about stabbing Jeremia kept lingering in my head.

"...I'm Jeremia..."

Right. Jeremia. Why was Jeremia hurt when a warrant was issued for Tenebrae? Let me treat the wound first, then definitely ask how the situation is unfolding.

Since holy water doesn't work, I need to quickly find a doctor. True to this absurdly unjust world, there were many people who couldn't receive holy water's benefits, so despite the existence of a panacea, there were quite a few doctors. Just then, Jelly returned from clutching his finger, apparently done with his dramatics, and shook his head with a frown.

"This body is finished. Since it's a wound made by Azrael, it won't heal, and with holy water not working, no doctor could fix it. Those so-called doctors just do needlework on the surface. She's only alive until now by sheer willpower."

Whether she heard Jelly's words, Jeremia gasped for breath.

"I, I don't want to die..."

I don't know how heavy that wind, laden with moisture and completely sunken, felt.

Jeremia flailed her hand in the air as if grasping for a lifeline, then grabbed my hand. It was my injured hand, but I didn't show it. Her hand was unusually hot. It felt exactly like... exactly like what was in front of me had torn through paper and emerged as a real person, breaking free from the novel's rules.

I had no talent for saving people. I couldn't become a divine physician to heal external injuries, nor was I positioned as a saint to spam healing like in a game.

Then what could I do? All I had was money, but buying holy water didn't work and the villainess's reputation only inspired some fear... Not helpful. I really chose the wrong body to possess... Possess? Ah, right, I was a possessor.

I was a possessor, and possessors specialize in possession.

I needed an empty body. And someone who had experience entering empty bodies... Melech! Right, there was Melech!

"We should move locations first."

Gabriel looked around and nodded. The forest was quite wide, but with the emperor deploying knights for a concentrated search, we could be discovered again at any time.

"Jelly, let's go to the Rohanson estate."

Even when imprisoned, I'd countless times wanted to return home but endured by holding back, never knowing I'd return to the estate this way.

Gabriel carefully lifted Jeremia. Jeremia had lost consciousness after making her wish, having exhausted her strength. Only small wheezing sounds showed she was still breathing. Even so, her desperate heart must have been sincere, as Jeremia's small hand still gripped me tightly even while unconscious.

Taking a final look around, I noticed one knight had awakened and was stuck to the ground, just blinking his eyes while staring at us. When our eyes met, the knight's face went pale. He was so terrified that he couldn't even think to close his eyes and pretend to be unconscious. It would be troublesome if he honestly reported that I'd escaped... Just as I thought that, Jelly struck the knight's back of the head.

The knight closed his eyes again. It was a trend Daisy had started.

"He won't be able to talk now."

Jelly claimed the knight would keep his mouth shut after hitting his head with some magical assistance. If Jelly says so, I have to believe it.

When Jelly snapped his fingers, the forest became my room. Jelly immediately disappeared to bring Melech.

I thought the room would naturally be empty, but I saw Kanna sleeping curled up on the sofa. I even gave her the countess's room so she could be comfortable, so why is she sleeping uncomfortably on the sofa? Knowing well that Kanna was guarding my room out of worry for me, I felt both touched and sorry.

Perhaps her position was uncomfortable and she wasn't sleeping deeply, as Kanna woke up.

"...Miss...?"