Lana paused for a brief mont before deliberately shifting the topic, her tone light, almost playful.
"If you’re already aware of your fate, then why did you even issue this mission?"
The old man finally showed a crack in his composure.
His fingers tightened around the walking stick, and his voice lowered. "I have a granddaughter," he admitted softly. "She’s the one I’m worried about."
Lana’s brows furrowed. "With your Third Eye, can’t you see her aura?"
George shook his head slowly.
"No matter how hard I try, I can’t look past my daughter. It’s as if sothing invisible is blocking my vision, clouding everything beyond her."
Lana’s expression darkened.
Mr. Crow fluttered his wings lightly.
"There’s a high chance his death is connected to your granddaughter. That’s probably why you can’t see her future at all."
Lana nodded in agreent. "That’s exactly what it looks like."
She turned and explained everything to him.
George’s face turned grim. "Even if I die, I want to make sure my granddaughter lives well."
A quiet sigh escaped Lana’s chest. ’To be loved like that... truly a blessing,’ she thought.
Mr. Crow laughed softly. "You already have . There’s no need to envy anyone else."
Lana chuckled. "I never envy others." Still, a faint smile curved her lips as their banter lightened the tension.
George straightened slightly. "I’ll bring her down. You can see her future and tell what you find."
Lana nodded.
Soon after, the old man’s granddaughter descended the stairs.
The mont Lana laid eyes on her, she froze.
Her breath hitched, and she blinked repeatedly. Even after several seconds, she still couldn’t see any aura surrounding the girl. It was as if the space around her was deliberately hollowed out.
Lana slowly shifted her gaze from the granddaughter to George, then to the woman beside him... his granddaughter.
The granddaughter bore a strong resemblance to George, with long blonde hair cascading down her waist and deep black eyes that seed to look through people rather than at them.
Yet Lana’s attention snapped back to the granddaughter.
A chill crept up her spine.
The girl’s eyes were completely black. There was no white at all.
And the gentle smile on her face... only made it more horrifying.
Lana swallowed hard, the air in her lungs suddenly feeling heavy.
George noticed imdiately. "What’s wrong?" His voice sharpened with concern. "Why do you look so pale?"
Lana’s thoughts raced. ’She died long ago... the one standing here isn’t alive at all.’
A frown deepened on her face as she recalled the talisman formation surrounding the villa.
’How can a ghost remain inside her body under such a formation?’
Then realization struck. Her expression tightened.
George clenched his fist. "Tell what’s happening."
Lana inhaled deeply, steadying herself. She turned toward him and spoke calmly. "The person standing beside you is indeed your granddaughter."
The girl tilted her head at that mont, her smile widening slightly, as if amused that Lana had finally noticed.
Lana continued, her voice unwavering. "But she is currently possessing her own body."
George staggered back a step. "What do you an?"
"When I entered this villa," Lana said slowly, "I saw that it’s protected by a powerful formation. No external entity can enter this place."
George nodded.
"That formation reduces the chances of ghosts appearing inside to zero," Lana continued. "Yet your granddaughter has no aura at all."
Her gaze sharpened. "Which ans she is already dead."
George’s face drained of color.
"The formation creates a contradiction," Lana went on. "The only soul that can remain inside her body is her own. That ans her spirit is clinging to her corpse."
George felt his chest tighten painfully. Now he finally understood why his daughter had remained silent all this ti.
"There’s a high chance," Lana added, "that she’s fighting against an external force. Or the formation itself is allowing her to retain control of her body. But whoever is manipulating this situation... will make things difficult for her."
George looked at her, his voice trembling. "Do you an to say that there is more than what seems on the surface? Do you have any suspects?"
Lana offered a faint smile. "I do."
At that mont, the maid entered, carrying a cup of coffee. She placed it gently on the table. "Do you need anything else?"
Lana smiled politely. "This is enough."
The maid nodded and turned to leave.
"Wait."
George’s voice stopped her.
The maid froze and turned back. "Yes?"
George studied her calmly. "Have you been staying here comfortably?"
The maid nodded. "Yes."
Lana’s eyes lingered on the maid with keen interest.
Once the maid left, George turned to Lana. "Did you see sothing?"
Lana smiled faintly. "I discovered sothing very interesting. But first... let’s not use this coffee to calm ourselves."
George looked at her in confusion but didn’t press further.
Ti passed. Lana stared at the coffee cup intently.
Slowly... the brown liquid darkened.
Darker. Darker. Until it turned pitch black.
Both Mr. Crow and George stiffened.
Now Mr. Crow finally understood why Lana had waited. "Do you have a clue now?"
Lana nodded, her gaze cold as she looked at George. "I strongly suspect that the maid you saw earlier hard your granddaughter using black magic."
Hearing Lana’s words, George staggered back a step, his face turning deathly pale.
His breathing grew uneven, as though the air itself had beco too heavy to draw in.
Beside Lana, Mr. Crow finally looked as if a missing piece had fallen into place.
’So that’s why...’ he thought.
He rembered the mont Lana had stared at the maid with narrowed eyes before calmly asking for a drink.
Mr. Crow knew her habits well. Lana never consud anything inside another person’s ho, not even water. Yet this ti, she had gone as far as ordering coffee.
It ant she had already noticed sothing.
And he was right.
The faint red tint around the maid’s aura had been soaked in resentnt.
Dense, festering resentnt. That alone explained why George’s granddaughter had died without a ghost ever entering the villa.
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