MPBAGS Chapter 63

Wait, wait, wait!

Did he find out I possessed someone? When! Why was I discovered! The memory loss build-up was perfect!

Just like how no one notices a magical girl's true identity, shouldn't no one notice possession either? Is it even possible for possession to be discovered in a possession story?

Of course, occasionally there are cases where it's confessed around the ending or used as an emotional obstacle. But I'm just playing the field right now? I was even in danger of being executed immediately if Gabriel didn't shield me.

But she told Gabriel that?

Common sense says he wouldn't know what possession is, so he'd probably think I'm possessed by a ghost or demon or something. Would Gabriel think that too?

But when I met him just now, he didn't really show any signs of that...

Then was what he said about having something to tell me about this? I suddenly felt chilly. How, how am I supposed to meet Gabriel tomorrow?

'I wish tomorrow wouldn't come.'

I hate myself for thoughtlessly allowing Gabriel to come tomorrow just a moment ago.

Did she tell Henna this too?

Now I understand why Henna was so down. If she suddenly found out that the count's daughter she had been serving was actually someone else, she'd feel betrayed and confused.

And now Kanna knows too. I'll put Pudding aside for now. Ah, if I knew it would be this kind of story, I would have sent Kanna away first!

This won't do. I need to test the waters a bit before Gabriel performs an exorcism on me. I need to build up immunity.

"Kanna. What do you think? Do you feel betrayed?"

"It's not really important to me."

Kanna calmly stated her position. What? Not important? Even though I'm a possessor?

"The one who saved me wasn't someone else, but you, Miss."

That's true... If it were the original Evangeline, she wouldn't have saved Kanna; she would have been the one who ordered the kidnapping.

"What about you? Are you planning to pretend you don't know about the help Miss gave you?"

Kanna passed the baton to Daisy. No, that was just payment though. But neither Daisy nor I could argue against Kanna's forcefulness.

Our Kanna is too good at gaslighting? Is gaslighting a basic skill for surviving as a female protagonist in modern dark romance novels?

"The Evangeline Rohanson you knew is already dead."

No, Kanna... She might be sleeping inside me, you know? Looking at how I woke up at the funeral, she's probably dead, but still. That's too much of a harsh truth. And you can't just easily shake off a dead person from your heart like that.

"...I know that too."

But Daisy seemed to have already fallen for Kanna's rhetoric.

But isn't the person in the most difficult situation right now me? Why are you two more distressed than I am?

The carriage fell into silence. The fact that we still had far to go before reaching Rohanson mansion was too painful. Jelly, come save me.

Jelly returned to the mansion first, leaving Evangeline behind. When a person suddenly appeared out of thin air where there had been nothing, Mary's mouth gaped open in surprise, and fearlessly ran over to bounce around near Jelly.

"Wow, wow! You suddenly appeared with a flash! Did you do the same thing as before?"

She had made a fuss when he transported her with teleportation earlier, and it seemed fascinating to her again. When Jelly waved his hand dismissively, Yulma and Ranon showed wariness and hid Mary behind them. At least the older children had some sense of discernment, which was fortunate. Henna, who had been watching this scene, found it strange that Jelly had brought back only one unfamiliar man instead of his sister and Evangeline, and asked:

"What about Kanna and the young lady?"

"They're coming back normally by carriage."

From what he could tell, it seemed like she had something to discuss with Daisy. She would probably enter the mansion too, right? Though Evangeline didn't show it outwardly, she seemed to secretly like her. Jelly felt a bit cheerful. He thought that if Daisy came in, Kanna might become a little less arrogant.

"Then why did you bring this person?"

"Would I have brought him on my own? It looks like your young lady wants to take him in? She even said she'd feed him since he said he was hungry."

"Ah..."

After hearing Jelly's explanation, Henna nodded as if she understood. Just like how she had taken in Henna and Kanna, the young lady was surprisingly willing to accept additional mouths to feed.

"Food?"

At that moment, Melech, who had been acting dazed and absent-minded until now, reacted to the word "food" that came up during Jelly's explanation. Drool was flowing from his mouth and his eyes were half-rolled back from suffering from hunger.

If he had been this starved, he would have lost all sense of reason and rushed at any prey right in front of him, but he was remarkably holding back. Jelly struck the back of Melech's head, telling him to come to his senses.

"Melech must be hungry. So why don't you eat the bread I gave you!"

When Mary tried to approach Melech, Henna diverted the child's attention.

"This person's meal will be taken care of by the young lady later. Mary, aren't you hungry?"

"I'm hungry..."

"Then let's wait until the young lady comes and in the meantime, let's have some snacks."

The perceptive Henna took the children and disappeared. Looking at this, she really was different from her sister. Kanna, under Evangeline's protection, didn't know to fear others and treated Jelly like a pet dog, but Henna acted with proper awareness and consideration.

Right. This is the proper treatment I should have received originally. Jelly, feeling satisfied, soon turned his head.

"Are you conscious now? Can you hold out a bit?"

"Probably."

What do you mean probably? Looking at how he doesn't even have the energy to heal a wound stabbed by a mere child, he looks like he'll starve to death soon. The one who stabbed him was also dying of guilt seeing Melech suffering.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Jelly?"

Jelly was certain from the answer that came back. Jelly, not Andras.

"You're not that bastard Melech."

Melech smiled faintly.

"I'm in a parasitic state."

The mansion people were saying that Evangeline had come back to life, that she was moving a corpse, but the real thing was here. This guy wasn't the real Melech but someone else parasitizing the dead Melech.

Did the young lady take him in because of that similarity?

"So that's why there was such a stench, because you're possessing a dead shell. And you lack the nutrients to recover your body. You've never eaten human souls before, have you?"

"No."

This guy really was about to die soon. From what he could see, it seemed like he had been surviving on the nutrients that were in Melech's body until now, but was gradually reaching his limit.

"Looking at how you're not recovering, it's serious. Hah... really."

He's being stubborn about not eating humans either, so how am I supposed to feed him to satisfaction?

I don't know. The great Lady Evangeline must have some way to deal with this. She's not one to lie, so there must be some solution. She wouldn't pour holy water into his mouth to make him recover, would she? Jelly's tongue went numb as a terrible memory suddenly came to mind.

"Why don't you eat humans?"

"Because I was originally human?"

So the original Melech got killed by a human-born and even had his body stolen? How fitting. He wanted to follow him even to hell to mock him.

"How long has it been?"

"About 20 years?"

Puhaha! 20 years he says. Jelly burst into laughter. Only Melech stood there blankly, not understanding why Jelly had suddenly burst into laughter. He had been so arrogant, tormenting children and receiving offerings, and then he really got done in by a child. He'd have to tell Flauros about this later.

Jelly was very pleased with this new Melech.

"How did you kill him?"

"I was in the same orphanage as Merai, and I was locked in the basement and died. When I came to my senses, I had become this body. So I'm sorry, but I don't remember how I took over Melech's body."

When Melech was still human, the boy was one of the children the demon was playing with at the time. When the director locked the basement door to avoid the temple's inspection, the boy was alone and alive in that basement.

Locked in the basement, the boy grew thinner day by day, struggling with hunger until he died. And when he woke up again, the boy was very hungry.

Melech happened to appear before him. Probably, like how he sometimes appeared in the basement to torment and play with the children, he had come with that purpose that day too. Melech was puzzled by the underground scene that was different from usual, and there he discovered the only soul that was fluttering and beating.

At that moment, 'hunger' devoured Melech. After several days had passed, when 'Melech' came to his senses, he had already become Melech's body.

His voice, face, everything was the same. However, even after becoming Melech's body, the boy always suffered from hunger.

And 20 years later, Melech encountered his childhood friend. Merai, who had become the director, had summoned 'Melech'.

After roughly hearing the story, Jelly scolded Melech.

"You should have just eaten him instead? That director, not the kids. He was going to be executed anyway, right? Wouldn't it be more economical to use him as daily bread rather than just dying?"

If it were me, even if my stomach burst from being too full, I would have eaten him out of resentment. This is why those of human origin are weak-hearted.

Still, since we've come to serve the same person, it would be good for comrades to get along well. Jelly decided to be as sociable as possible.

"What's your name?"

"Melech."

"Not that, your original name. I hate that bastard Melech so I don't want to call you that."

"My original name? Well..."