Devon Michaels was carrying a green rucksack that was just the right size for newspapers. He was wearing a shirt and pants in a similar color and a beret, and his face was filthy. He was pinching something between his fingers. "I can't believe someone's brave enough to show up here!" Nyx was shocked. He couldn't believe that a spirit would enter this hall of all places without permission.The spirit differed from Nyx and the others in that he possessed no vengefulness and thus was not protected. If he really did approach the memorial hall, he would disintegrate at any moment. Devon seemed to have noticed the noise coming from Aria's side. He looked sideways at her, his eyes lighting up. "Hello! Finally someone can see me. What's going on? No one can see me here.""If they could see you, they'd call an exorcist over," Nyx couldn't help saying while sucking on his pacifier.Aria seemed to have remembered something. She walked over and looked at the envelope he was holding. Devon
If a spirit wanted to eat food in the mortal world, a mortal human must explicitly invite him to do so. Devon hadn't realized that he was no longer alive, but he was polite nevertheless. He waited until Aria invited him to start eating. He ate ravenously but not boorishly. He divided his pile of sandwiches into two and gobbled up half instantly before staring at the apple.While he ate, Aria grabbed a pencil and some paper. She was thinking of making some items for him using her special methods. Devon's straw shoes were holey and in shreds, and his feet were covered with blisters.When Aria noticed that he'd stopped, she asked, "Why did you stop?""I want to save the rest for the others," Devon said abashedly, touching the back of his head. "My uncle and brother haven't eaten for a long time. They only had a last piece of bread left, but they gave it to me because I needed to have enough strength to take the train."Aria paused for a while before she smiled and said, "Eat them al
Aria's gaze was filled with shock, a rare occurrence. She didn't expect Devon to know Stephen. Also, was the man named Soren, whom he had mentioned, also a member of the Warsaw family? Before Aria could ponder the question further, Stephen suddenly looked up. "Who is it?"Stephen looked confused despite his sharp gaze. He suspected he'd had a hallucination, but he was sure that he'd heard someone mention his brother Soren's name.Stephen didn't think anyone would know his brother's name, given that he should be the only one who stayed to assist the Carvers according to the plan. Soren Warsaw had joined the army at a young age. Soren was much older than him, to the extent of looking more like his father rather than his brother. He'd heard from Soren, who was on the frontlines for a while, but he ended up being the only one in his family who survived the war.He'd asked around about Soren's whereabouts years ago, and he'd gone abroad to look for traces of Soren, but there was noth
Stephen didn't know what Aria was up to, but he always did as she said unconditionally. It wasn't just because she was the head of the family but also because he believed she could handle everything well. Warren slept lightly, so Stephen didn't take long to wake him up. Stephen told him everything, and he got up so hurriedly that he'd forgotten to wear his slippers. This was unexpected given that he didn't believe in things such as spirits or deities. "Quick, take me to the study!"The visitor was a heroic spirit coming from the frontlines, and Warren had never forgotten how his family's business had come to be. Warren walked briskly, supporting himself on his walking stick. He was anxious as he wondered what had happened for a heroic spirit to visit him here. Stephen wanted to know as well, but he had to wake Fergus up. When Fergus was roused, Poeta, who was sleeping in the room next door, woke up as well. With a coat draped over her and the long hair cascading down her shoul
Only then did Devon realize that Warren couldn't see him either. He turned to ask Aria, "I can hear Mr. Carver Senior's voice. Why can't he hear me?""It's nighttime," Aria answered vaguely. "I'll hand him the letter in front of you. Is that okay?"Devon nodded. He'd stowed the letter into a pocket closest to his heart, several layers of clothes the only thing between it and the letter. Everyone else present could see nothing until Aria touched the sheet of yellowing paper. Warren took the letter immediately. After many years, the ink on it had already been smudged. The text read like someone's final words. "Never sign the West Treaty and beware of some Farshyans who have betrayed the country. Beware—"The writer hadn't gotten to finish his sentence—beware of what?Warren's hand gripping the walking stick shook. He turned to Devon, whom he couldn't see. "What's the writer telling me to be wary of?""I'm merely the messenger. I don't know about anything else." Devon looked conf
Aria went straight to the point. "He's here to deliver a letter to Grandpa. Something happened down there, probably.""Down there?" The longer Fergus listened, the more questions he had. Stephen wanted to ask Devon about Soren's whereabouts, but the letter Aria held reminded him that something more important was at stake. "Something's not right with him, my lord," Nyx reminded nervously.Something was not right with Devon, indeed. Black fog rose from behind him, and emotions roiled in his eyes as he struggled to remember where he was supposed to go back to. These were signs of a spirit's condition worsening."Why does he look like an earthbound spirit now?" Nyx muttered. "This is weird."Aria bit her finger until it bled and wrote a word on Devon's back with it. She didn't know how to make talismans, so she tried to stabilize Devon's soul with her fortune.Nyx exclaimed in shock, "Are you giving him your lifespan, my lord?"Aria didn't respond to that. When she looked at Devo
Fergus was confused upon having his name called. "Me?""Yes, you, Fergus." Aria asked directly, "What do you think about Ms. Summers?"Fergus looked at Warren and smiled. "Grandpa didn't tell you this, but I think Leon has mentioned this before—Poeta and I were a couple once.""I wanted to sit down and talk to you about certain matters, but—" Aria looked at Devon. "I'm forced to do this more efficiently. This may sound ridiculous, but I've always felt like I'm living my life a second time.""What do you mean, a second time?" Fergus frowned.Aria looked up. "Let's base everything off this assumption—what if no one in our social circles accepted me in my past life after I turned out to be the daughter of the Carver family because everyone thought that Mindy was more fitting for the role than me?"I was an ignorant country bumpkin who didn't know what to talk to the others about. Compared to the smart, likable Mindy, my awkward personality seemed particularly jarring, and nothing I
"In that dream, Leon was killed in an accident," Aria whispered, "He stopped breathing even before the ambulance arrived at the hospital."She didn't sound like she was joking. Both Fergus and Warren's pupils dilated in shock. They could never dismiss what Aria had just described as just scenes from a dream, not when they involved Leon.Stephen added, "Was that why you were there when he filmed the variety show, Ms. Aria?""It was a coincidence." Aria looked down. "But I'm glad that I went there. This also goes for Elijah. I can't treat what I saw as just something that happened in a dream."Warren could not stay calm in his seat. His hands were shaking as he touched the top of Aria's head. "Don't worry, Aria. You have me.""That's not all of it, though." Aria met Fergus' gaze. "Grandpa had you come back to help maintain the family business. And same as today, you came across Ms. Summers in the airport."The Carver family was having an extremely tough time of it. Grandpa wanted