Chapter 18
Husband is Possessed - Episode 18
Something was swirling deep within his body.
It was pure Mana in a form he had never drawn out before.
He first realized he had Mana in this body when he left the mansion to find a house.
Mana was the fundamental power that allowed one to use magical power.
He had it in his previous life, so he was sure this was the feeling of Mana.
Mana was the power consumed whenever he used magic-based skills.
'But why didn't he ever manifest it?'
Alex, his head throbbing, squeezed his eyes shut and covered them with his hand.
If he had been able to manifest and control this, he wouldn't have suffered so much at the hands of the tyrant.
'That rat poison-eating bastard isn't a weak human.'
This world was one where Mana was virtually unknown, except to a very small number of people.
Magic was dismissed as an unrealistic power that only appeared in novels.
To be born with Mana in such a world meant that one could become the strongest in the world with Mana.
If Alex had only used his power properly, he could have been the only one who could stand against the tyrant.
It was a pity.
Perhaps he had neglected it because he was so ignorant of Mana?
He slowly lowered his hand from his face again.
He opened his eyes.
The part that had been marked with a question mark in the System window faded away and turned into a sentence he had never seen before.
[He mistook his Mana for an illness. He was always careful about his behavior, fearing that Mana would burst out of his body.]
"……."
\ \ \
In the end, I was the only one left at the table.
My mother-in-law stormed out in tears, my sister-in-law said she was done eating and left, and my husband suddenly left.
"……."
'……Well, it's okay, I guess. It's quiet, so I can finally savor my meal.'
I took a bite of the remaining stew that I was going to give to Alex.
The atmosphere had been so chaotic that I didn't even know if the food was going in my mouth or my nose, but now I could finally taste it.
'……It's delicious.'
It was a table worth the effort.
But the problem was that this was only the first meal of the day.
I finished the rest of the food and cleared the dishes.
'I wish I had the ability to cook incredibly well.'
If I did, I could prepare meals with my eyes closed, and my family would be so happy because it was so delicious.
I felt a little disappointed as I carefully washed the dishes.
We couldn't afford to hire a cook again, as my mother-in-law had wished.
It wasn't just the money, but also because the tyrant had threatened to kill anyone who worked for the Brent Ducal House.
'Did he just want us to suffer miserably and die?'
Which noble family could survive on their own?
They had habits and pride to maintain.
With that, I finished cleaning up and came out of the kitchen.
I went outside, stretched out my arms, and basked in the sunlight.
'Ha, the weather is nice.'
The open view was so bright and peaceful.
The endless green meadows made it feel like this was our own paradise on earth.
But in the back of my mind, I kept seeing the faces of my family, who wanted to eat delicious food.
I couldn't ask Alex to catch sheep for me every day.
More than anyone, I wanted to prepare a delicious meal for him...
'Ah, right. If we don't have a cook, we can just buy food at the market, right?'
Why didn't I think of that?
My face brightened up.
It would be nice to buy a lot of good ingredients that I could easily cook.
I quickly went back into the house and looked around the drawing room. I carefully looked for things that I could sell for money.
The framed landscape painting was too big to carry, so I left it for now, but the crystal vase, the silver candlesticks...
Yes, the vase and candlesticks would be good.
I found some discarded paper and wrapped it around the vase and candlesticks.
This should be enough to earn enough money to buy food.
But without me realizing it.
Something mixed in the air and entered my body with my breath.
At some point, my eyes slowly closed, and I lost consciousness and collapsed.
Immediately after Luise fainted.
The vase and candlesticks she was holding floated into the air and returned to their original positions.
\ \ \
After eating breakfast.
Alex was quietly feeling the Mana in his room.
He could feel the Mana packed tightly, not just in the center of his body, but almost throughout his entire body.
The Mana had been trapped and suppressed for so long that it was in a sensitive state.
He had never felt Mana like this in his previous life.
Alex recalled the list of characters in Alexis's story.
'He mistook his Mana for an illness. He was always careful about his behavior, fearing that Mana would burst out of his body.'
Could that be why.
He couldn't have a marital relationship with his wife?
If he avoided physical contact because he was afraid of his body trembling due to Mana, then the reason for not having a marital relationship made sense.
Even when he was still, he felt this seething sensation, so if he moved a lot, he would feel like it would really burst out.
Especially since he thought Mana was a disease, he had no choice but to be more careful.
The reason he didn't hunt was probably similar. Whether he used a sword or a gun, it was the same in that it would shock his body.
But.
'Now the owner of this body is different.'
Alex attempted to seize control of the chaotic flow of Mana within his body.
The Mana, which had never been controlled before, was pure in itself, but it was also wandering around in a mess.
A vast amount like the universe, a depth that did not show the abyss like a lake.
An energy that seemed transparent like water, but so clear that it seemed to have a blue tint.
He had to grow this Mana to the 1st Circle right now.
Because he had to find out if there was really a ghost in this house.
To detect and catch a ghost, he needed to manifest even a little bit of Mana.
He didn't have any job skills, so he had to solve it with Mana alone.
He didn't completely believe the people who said they moved because of ghosts, but you never knew.
Alex recalled the words of the person who originally lived in this house.
'I, I often lost consciousness suddenly. Especially when I tried to move something out of the house.'
Could it be a ghost obsessed with this house?
People would have to move furniture out of the house as they lived, and it would be a problem if it bothered the family.
Alex focused a little more.
He circulated the Mana energy, thinking of making a circle in his heart.
He had to concentrate the Mana that was spread throughout his body into one place.
It wasn't easy.
The amount of Mana in his body was so great, and because it was the first time he was drawing it out, it didn't follow his will easily.
Nevertheless, Alex focused with all his heart.
Ghost.
The thought of capturing the ghost living in this house alone burned from thought to will, and from will to an even more intense determination.
Then the Mana reacted to him more quickly.
Whoosh. Whee.
He could feel the Mana gradually drawing an ellipse and circling around his heart.
But a single Circle was not yet perfectly formed. It was circling in a hazy ring shape.
'More. Keep going more…….'
The energy of Mana moved more majestically and expansively.
He pushed his Mana to the limit until he felt the limit.
He revived to the fullest the feeling he had when he had grown Mana step by step in his previous life.
The exhilaration of digging and digging through the endless clouds, penetrating deeper and deeper, and finally facing the light that leaked in.
The sense of accomplishment when the ring was perfectly completed at that very moment.
Thanks to remembering the feeling he had succeeded many times in his previous life, it was relatively easy this time.
The Mana swirling in his heart gradually became clearer.
'Almost there.'
Alex dug more tenaciously into his mind.
He recalled when he first completed the 1st Circle in his previous life.
It was the memory of a beginner who had no idea how to operate Mana.
Compared to then, Mana was now swirling more stably with the maturity of an experienced worker.
His breathing gradually became rougher. His chest swelled and swelled.
As if his body, which had been sitting still, was floating lightly, a blissful and carefree feeling, unlike before, enveloped him like excitement.
Flash.
At some point, he opened his eyes.
Magical power was beating like a heart in his chest.
It was like he had gained a new heart.
As if refining a diamond from a rough stone.
Finally, his Mana became as strong as the 1st Circle stage.
\ \ *
Having reached the 1st Circle, he checked the Status Window.
As expected, the level remained the same.
Mana did not affect leveling up itself.
However, it was the fuel that allowed him to use magic attribute skills for longer and more often, so it was advantageous to grow it as much as possible.
When he opened the Status Window, the skills that required Mana were open.
These were passive skills that did not need to be acquired separately.
After finishing the check, Alex closed the Status Window again.
Now it was time to detect the ghost.
Alex spread his Mana throughout the mansion.
