Chapter 9: Her Name Is (part 2)

Dark blue eyes…the ominous and murky feeling beneath must have been the ugly obsession of the body and memories clinging to life.  

Isn’t it very beautiful? No, “she’s” already human. That’s why she wasn’t cast out.  

Brookin, giggling to himself, turned toward Kente Village and shouted loudly.  

“Try to do well, Julius!”  

As he turned back and continued walking down the road, he spotted a large tree in the distance. That was the place he had passed earlier that morning. Why was it still there?  

Oh, Lord! Your young sheep has gone astray. Shine your light and show us the way!  

The sun hadn’t even set, yet that day, Brookin had to sleep out in the rain.  

***  

The warm sunlight heralded the arrival of morning.  

Julius slipped away from his wife, who was making a fuss in the kitchen, determined to cook breakfast. He couldn’t embrace the disaster her love created with her cooking skills.  

He didn’t even feel guilty anymore. He had already endured far too much.  

Since it was still early, the streets remained quiet. The morning air was crisp, and Julius jogged lightly toward the church on the hill, enjoying the freshness around him.  

He opened the large door and carefully entered, but the silence told him no one was present.  

“Emily isn’t here. Where could she have gone?”  

Though he wondered about her absence, it wasn’t a pressing matter. He steadied himself and made his way toward Brookin’s room.  

Opening the door, he glanced around until he found a mirror—only to discover it shattered, a chaotic mess.  

“Tsk, still throwing tantrums like a child just because you lost your hair.”  

Julius muttered in annoyance, directing his frustration toward his teacher, who still behaved like a boy. He glanced at the broken mirror again, frowning.  

The connection to the religious headquarters in the capital had been completely severed.  

Odd lights trickled through the cracks in the broken mirror. Julius reached out and touched the golden frame with regret. Suddenly, the lights coalesced, and a blue energy burst forth, forming letters in the air before his stunned eyes.  

[Hey there, Julius.  

You must have met Cecil by now. If you’re still that dense, you’re probably acting like a loyal servant, pretending not to know what’s happening.  

I’ll take your daughter to the village soon. I also took Leira on a little sightseeing trip. Stop being such an idiot and pay attention to your daughter.  

And don’t even think about becoming a heretic inquisitor again.  

Just focus on living happily with your wife and daughter.  

I wanted to mess around with Thalia a bit, too.  

—Your dear friend, Krail Raynell.  

P.S. If you insist on driving her out of her body, you’ll need to summon the holy sword. It’s not just a fancy blade. But you won’t do it. I know you won’t.  

Just in case, I’ll leave the devil’s name here—you’ll probably understand what it means:  

Her name is…  

She “is” Cecil, but knowing her name can’t hurt.]

As soon as the letters vanished, the mirror—already barely holding together—shattered completely.  

It seemed that one of his close friends had somehow become involved in the incident where a devil possessed her body.  

The thought scorched Julius’s throat. The act of desecrating her rest in such a vile way ignited a fire deep within him.  

“Krail, you d*mn b*stard.”  

The words slipped from Julius’s lips, almost involuntarily.  

The lingering memory of Cecil still clung to his chest. Despite everything, it seemed he had no intention of freeing himself from the chains of his past.  

For a moment, Julius stood still, clenching and unclenching his fists. Then, slowly, he turned and left the room, walking halfway up the church hill.  

The real reason his throat burned was clear.  

His daughter, Leira, had been left in the care of his friend because Julius could not bear to look at her after his wife’s death. Every time Leira’s bright face beamed at him, the guilt he felt for abandoning her suffocated him.  

***  

‘How did things come to this?’  

Thalia Ziffnel, a second-class heretic inquisitor of Kente, was Julius and Krail’s younger sister. 

Her long, jet-black hair gave her a striking appearance.  

After making a bold decision the day before, she had spent the morning spying on Cecil—Julius’s wife—whose heart seemed to have captured his completely.  

The mansion was already bustling with noise in the early hours. It was clear that affection overflowed between the two.  

“Please believe me! Are you really confident you’ll do well this time?”  

“Oh, how could I tell a lie under the Lord’s heavens?”  

“Have you lost your mind? What are you even saying?”  

“Morning is a time to empty your stomach and pray! I’ll just go to the church!”  

Julius didn’t wait for a reply. He bolted for the front door, determined to escape.  

Cecil even conjured a shadow to grab him, but he managed to slip away just in time.  

“Oh, the love is overflowing, isn’t it?”  

A loud crash echoed through the house as Julius made his escape.  

Thalia, who had been secretly eavesdropping, watched with wide eyes as her brother fled.  

Above the mansion, a few birds flew off, chirping as if lamenting the chaos.  

Once Julius disappeared from sight, Thalia took a deep breath, stood up, and knocked on the door of the mansion.  

“Go away! Even if you beg me now, I won’t forgive you! I have my pride! …Huh?”  

“Oh, hello. My name is Thalia Ziffnel. We met yesterday.”  

“…You’re Julius’s sister? Well, he just left, and there’s still some breakfast. Why don’t you come inside and eat?”  

Cecil’s eyes gleamed mischievously, as if she had found new prey.  

Sensing something unsettling in her demeanor, Thalia hesitated but eventually stepped into the mansion—a place she had visited often in the past.  

At the time, she had no idea just how terrifying it would become.  

***  

An ominous and murky feeling lingered in the air.  

That was Thalia’s first impression upon entering the house where Julius and Cecil lived. She felt as if she had been caught in a spider’s web.  

A chill ran down her spine, and her instincts screamed for her to leave. But her curiosity outweighed her fear. She wanted to understand what kind of person Cecil truly was.  

“Please, sit here for a moment.”  

Cecil seated everyone at the table and began preparing breakfast. This time, it was a simple meat soup.  

Or, at least, it “looked” simple—until Thalia noticed the foam on the surface, which resembled a face writhing in agony, as if trying to escape from hell.  

“…?”  

She brought a spoonful to her lips. Her tiny mouth parted slightly, and her tongue met the soup.  

An evil energy slithered along her tongue.  

This dish wasn’t just food—it was art. If hell could be expressed through cuisine, it would taste exactly like this.  

Summoning all her mental strength, Thalia forced the soup down and fought back the nausea. She couldn’t disgrace herself by vomiting in front of them.  

With tears in her eyes, she glanced at Cecil.  

Meanwhile, Cecil had already emptied her stomach earlier and had calmly retreated outside, seemingly indifferent.  

‘Fainting would have been preferable to this.’

At moments like these, Thalia felt as though her sanity was slipping away.  

“Do I… really need to be ‘this’ strong just to marry my brother?”  

Cecil, Julius’s wife, was every bit as formidable as Thalia had expected. She was truly an exceptionally strong woman.

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Things are Not Looking Good:

Yes, things are not looking good. As you know, translation requires a lot of time and energy. I translate, edit and proofread the chapters on my own. I will be honest here, I started translating as a hobby, then it evolved to a hope of earning a living by doing something I enjoy. 

However, I suffered a chain of misfortunes during and after the pandemic, and earnings from FSM and RTV helped me a lot. It became a significant part of my life. As long as my monthly income bordered around $200, I could make the time to translate in the middle of other works. Then RTV ended, and the earning decreased. Now, it has decreased to around $90-$100. And with PETTV nearing completion, that would decrease even more. A*dsence gets me about $ 0.50 per day, and you can’t get the payment until it reaches $100, so I can’t depend on that either. 

It wouldn’t be an issue in normal circumstances, but it matters a lot to me since I am still dealing with a lot of financial troubles. I am currently looking for a job, and will have to invest my time and energy in it once I get it.

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