Filed to story: A Little Princess's Journey from Darkness to Light Novel
“Hmph,” the spirit snorted.
“Okay. Tell me your story.” Lilly settled into a bean bag comfortably, looking forward to storytime. Josh entered the room for some reason and set up his camera. Through the lens, he saw a ghost in a red dress and was terrified. He stumbled and ran to Lilly’s side.
“I’ll sit with you, Lilly.”
Pablo gave a sly grin. “Now, now. Tell us how you died.”
The spirit was much more docile now. She recalled her encounter with Priscilla and cursed herself.
“That girl is disgusting. Can you believe it? I am a spirit, and yet she managed to captivate me.”
Pablo and Lilly had question marks above their heads.
“At first, I wanted to feed on her negative energy. But I got caught up in her delusions.” Even the spirit found it embarrassing to admit.
“Why did you resist when we captured you then?” Pablo mocked.
“That’s a different story. If you catch me, you might kill me. If I escape, I can leave Priscilla behind and possess another playboy or playgirl. I honestly have no idea what possessed me to choose Priscilla.”
Pablo and Lilly didn’t know what to say. They weren’t sure if they should pity the harem spirit or not.
The harem spirit went on a long rant. “You have no idea how unstable she is. I wanted to feed on her greed and obsession, but she drained my negative energy instead. I have never encountered a girl like her before. So delusional. So self-important. She truly believes she is the center of the universe. I think she needs to see a doctor.”
Lilly then asked, “How did you die then? You are a harem spirit. Does that mean you were like Miss Peach?”
“Don’t you dare compare me to that woman!” The spirit exploded. But her angry expression faded as something mortifying crossed her mind. “Well, I was a two-timer too…”
“But my story was even worse.” She continued. “My ex took my money and ran away with my other ex!”
What on earth? That was Pablo’s and Lilly’s response.
The spirit introduced herself gloomily, “My name is Stella. I was born in another city, to an upper-middle-class family. My parents owned a mansion. Being their only child, I was set to inherit the estate. Before attending university, I was the ideal child every parent dreams of. However, when I moved out and started studying, I experienced freedom for the first time. Like a caged bird finally able to fly, I indulged in various activities. I frequented clubs and attended parties. Due to my wealth and beauty, I became popular. My first boyfriend was from the same city and came from a similar background. We got along well initially, but after six months, I grew bored.”
“But why?” Lilly scratched her head. Adult relationships were a mystery to her. How could someone like something one day and stop liking it the next?
“Because…” The spirit pondered. “Because I knew him too well. I could already envision how my life would be with him. It seemed dull. Then, another guy entered my life. He came from a village and was shy, meek, and sensible. I found those qualities appealing, so
I broke up with my first boyfriend and started dating him.”
“Since you liked the second guy, did you end up spending the rest of your life with him?” asked Lilly.
The spirit shook her head. “No, we broke up after a month.”
“Why?” Lilly was stumped.
“He was too meek. Too clingy.”
Lilly was confused. The spirit dated the second guy because he was meek, but she also broke up with him because he was meek. What?
“And then?” It was Pablo’s turn to ask questions.
“After I broke up with him, I craved attention again. I started thinking that maybe my first boyfriend wasn’t so bad after all. I tried to reconcile with him. But then, I met my senior. He was outgoing and warm.”
“And you got together with him?” Lilly didn’t need to predict to know that.
“I couldn’t resist.” The spirit protested. “He was so handsome and kind.”
“Now that’s why you’re a harem spirit. You wanted a harem,” Pablo commented.
“That’s not true!” The spirit defended herself. “I was fully committed to all my relationships. I enjoyed the feeling of being with another man, especially during the honeymoon phase when you can do all the romantic stuff with your boyfriend.”
“So were you killed in a crime of passion?” Pablo was as snarky as always.
“Not really…” The spirit lamented. “After I graduated, my family urged me to get married as soon as possible. They somehow found out about my relationship with my first boyfriend. Since our families were close, our parents wanted us to reconcile. I was single at the time and ready to settle down, so I agreed. Soon, we were considering marriage. Although we weren’t as close as before, it still felt romantic. I was prepared to marry him.”
“I suppose you stopped seeing other men then?” the quiet Josh suddenly spoke up.
“No.” the spirit shook her head. “My second boyfriend approached me. He confessed that he could never forget about me. He could only offer his blessings and took me to a firework show. He said I deserved to be happy. I saw tears rolling down his cheek as the fireworks lit up the sky.”
“What a kind-hearted person,” said Lilly as she hugged Polly.
“Ptooey!” The spirit spat. “He was the reason I died. When I noticed his tears, my heart ached. In the end, I still loved him. But I was about to be engaged, and I still loved my first boyfriend. What did I do? I dated both of them at the same time, even while organizing the wedding ceremony. The thrill made me believe that I was more in love with my second boyfriend. I wanted to break up with him because it wasn’t fair. But he refused. He said he just wanted to stay by my side, even if we had to keep our affair a secret. I was in tears. I couldn’t let this poor boy be alone. So I gave him my mansion and bought him a car.”
“But after a few days, he disappeared. I was busy with the wedding preparations, so I assumed he was hiding somewhere to heal his wounds. Even when I said my vows during the ceremony, I was still thinking about him. It wasn’t until later that I discovered he had sold the mansion and the car before running away. And guess what? He eloped with my third boyfriend, the handsome senior! My ex took my money and ran away with my other ex! How absurd is that?”
The spirit was fuming.
“Those liars!” She continued. “My husband found out everything soon after. He was furious because I had cheated on him. He immediately wanted a divorce. I refused to sign the papers, but he was determined to leave me. In an attempt to persuade him, I climbed the tallest building in the residential area, threatening to jump. I didn’t plan to jump, but perhaps it had rained earlier, making the surface slippery. I slipped and… voila.”
Josh, Lilly, and Pablo felt sympathy for the harem spirit.
“Can you imagine the fear as I fell?” said the spirit dryly. “I didn’t want to die. I was so scared that I died from shock, not from the impact. My soul watched my head burst like a watermelon, with brain juices scattering on the asphalt. And since the local area was rich in benevolent energy, it prevented my soul from heading to the afterlife. I had to relive my last moment for what felt like an eternity until I became a malevolent spirit. I thought this was my punishment for being an unbeliever.”
“So… what’s your point?” asked Lilly.
“Can you perhaps spare me since I have served my punishment?” The spirit blinked her innocent eyes. “I just want to stay here a bit longer. Like another 500 years.”
Josh’s face twitched. 500 years wasn’t just “a bit longer”.
Pablo jotted something down in his booklet without saying a word. Lilly, however, thumped her chest. “I won’t purify you, but you’ll have to come in voluntarily.”
“Come in where?” The spirit was curious.
“The soul jar.” Lilly brandished the item in question. “Ms. Ugly and a guy with a sweet tooth are in there.”
“Sure!” The spirit immediately flew into the jar. It was the mention of the male companion that convinced her. Pablo shook his head and amended what he had just written.
Lilly shook the jar in her hand. “Master, is the jar full now?”
Pablo answered without lifting his head. “Far from it. It was 10% full. Now, it’s 20% full.”
“But we caught several spirits! That’s such a small increase.”
“That’s because you didn’t exorcise the spirits. When you exorcise a spirit, its energy will be absorbed by the jar. Now that you’re using it to keep the spirits, you forfeit the chance to exorcise them. But who knows? They might be useful in the future,” explained Pablo.
Lilly lay on her bed and stared at her jar, lost in thought. Meanwhile, Josh whipped out a notebook and started doing math.
Volume of Malignant Spirit = X, Volume of Woeful Ghost = Y, Volume of Resentful Spirit = Z.
Storage capacity of the jar = …
To fill it up, we need 19X, 100Y, or …
Currently: X=2 (Vanity Spirit, Fake Foreign Ghost), Y=0, Z=0.
To Be Exorcised: X=2 (Weakling Spirit, Harem Spirit), Y=1 (Ms. Ugly)
Josh sighed at the formula. He needed more X!
…
Inside the jar, Ms. Ugly and the weakling spirit were playing rock, paper, scissors. The loser would be slapped. The weakling spirit shuddered when the harem spirit entered.
“Hi, cutie. What are you doing here?”
…
Lilly was secretly scrolling through her phone before she went to sleep. After the cyberbullying incident, the Crawfords decided to only let Lilly return to school once the dust had settled. Like all curious kids, Lilly wanted to discover many things. A video suddenly appeared on Lilly’s feed, and she immediately got goosebumps.
In the video, a man was kneeling on the ground with a cleaver in one hand. He kept bowing in a dramatic fashion while yelling, “Sorry, Lilly! My name is Harvard Schumacher, named so because my parents want me to study at Harvard. I wrote nasty comments about you, and I regret it so much. To demonstrate my remorse, I will chop off my fingers. Here, on livestream!”
The man wasn’t joking. He raised the cleaver and sliced his fingers off in one swift motion. The video wasn’t censored. It only briefly turned monochrome as blood spurted out from the gruesome wound. The man screamed and rolled on the ground in agony. Moments later, he picked up his severed fingers and smiled creepily at the camera.
