Chapter 128…
Decision to Part
“Who’s there?”
In the pre-dawn hours, while darkness still lingered, a guard shivered in the cold air and rested his hand on his sword sheath, eyes fixed on a figure.
Soon, a woman with a hood appeared.
“Please let me see the king.”
As she pulled back her hood, the guard immediately recognized her.
Bella Oshik. The owner of the massive company Bel Lord, and the only person with an exclusive agreement with the temple.
And recently, the center of countless rumors.
“Do you mean you want to be thrown into the underground prison? That’s not happening.”
The guard’s voice trembled as he spoke.
He had heard the stories. On the night of the revolution, anyone who blocked her path—whether palace personnel or revolutionary—was killed without exception.
“Bel Lord sided with the temple and the council.”
“But…”
“Oh, if you’re talking about what happened in the palace, I was merely carrying out a mission in accordance with God’s will. Here.”
“That…!”
Bella pulled out a necklace hidden under her clothes. The guard’s eyes went wide.
“This should prove who I am.”
“A relic?”
The guard panicked, examining the relic in Bella’s hand. Possessing it meant that the owner of Bel Lord had truly acted on behalf of the temple.
The guard glanced up at Bella.
Those who had seen Bella that night, when she had been like a killer, had all described her in the same way: a monster. Surely not human.
Some even claimed it wasn’t a monster at all—that the soul of Prelorde had taken Bella Oshik’s body as a vessel to manifest.
Could possessing the relic also grant such overwhelming power? The guard’s gaze wavered.
“A brief conversation is enough. Then I’ll go in.”
Ignoring the startled guard, Bella plucked a candlestick from the wall and strode into the underground prison.
Following the spiral staircase down for some time, she finally saw a hunched figure in the dark, damp corner of the prison.
“Chasten Trauts.”
At Bella’s voice, the king flinched and slowly turned to face her.
“Saint?”
“…?”
For some reason, the king mistook Bella for a saint.
Bella found this absurd—her face was clearly visible with the candles lit around.
“Why must I go through this… Why must I bear the sins of my ancestors…?”
The king clasped his trembling hands to his head, crying out in anguish.
“God does not negotiate.”
“Why…?”
“When the scale of God tilts, no earthly measure can undo it. You can only face the oncoming storm and pay the price with your whole body.”
Bella stepped forward, pressing her face close to the bars.
Finally, the king looked up and met her gaze, his expression twisted with fury.
“No… it can’t be you!”
The horrified king lunged, clutching the bars.
“Long time no see, Your Majesty,” Bella said.
“Ahh! Witch! Cruel woman!”
“Thanks for the compliment,” Bella replied with a teasing tone.
The king thrashed, reaching through the bars, but Bella stepped back, out of reach.
“It’s all your fault! Nothing went right after I met you! If only you weren’t there!”
“If that were true, Prelorde would still be infamous as the haunted mansion. In reality, he hadn’t sinned.”
“The one who should have died didn’t, so of course it ended up this way! Why is it my fault?”
“I came because I was curious. I have a question.”
Bella unclasped the necklace around her neck, clutching it in her hand. The king, anticipating her question, smirked and flicked a ring from his hand toward her.
“A curse, is it? This? This is just junk now. I’ve already used it all.”
“Are you sure this is a curse?”
“…What?”
Bella picked up the ring, examining it. As the king said, it no longer radiated any light.
“You had someone send a cup to Duke Prelorde, didn’t you?”
“Yes. He dared to challenge the throne! Such a man should have been executed for treason! But our merciful late king wanted to quietly poison him instead.”
“Yes. That part.”
“What…”
The king frowned, tilting his head.
“You truly intended to kill Duke Prelorde. No curses needed—you genuinely planned to poison him. The rumors of a curse were only to sully his honor. You didn’t expect Prelorde to truly exist as a ghost, right?”
“….”
“But to die that way would be so unjust. And Prelorde was someone blessed by God.”
“What do you want to ask?”
“Is the power in this a curse?”
Bella showed the ring to the king. His expression stiffened instantly, then he chuckled nervously.
“Ha… ha… it’s just… ha ha ha…”
“What’s so funny?”
Bella asked sharply. The king shook his head and coughed out laughter, like a man already destined to die—lifeless, insane.
“It’s funny that the first person to ask this is you, Bella Oshik. What a farce.”
“What about me?”
“Right. No one has asked about the royal treasure and its curse before, so it’s worth telling you what I know.”
“….”
The king slumped near her, now calm, and began to speak. Bella sat nearby, watching silently.
He looked like a man facing a short but intense madness and the futility of death.
“Listen, Bella. This treasure of the royal family is actually a blessing from God. A gift given to the royal family, a shield that protected it.”
“Just as I expected. Not a curse, then.”
“With this power, we maintained the dynasty, demonstrated strength to the people, and made them believe the king’s authority was divinely sanctioned.”
“But this power was used to kill people. How can God’s power be used to kill?”
“It can. This power was meant to protect the royal family, so it can eliminate those who threaten it.”
“So then…”
Bella frowned lightly, alternating between examining the ring and the relic necklace in her hand. Both began to faintly glow red.
It confirmed her suspicion: these two powers were neutral, neither inherently good nor evil.
“It’s like divine power. We corrupted, and so the power did too. I never wanted this damn crown. I had a feeling this would happen.”
The king laughed hollowly. The prince who had dreamed of being a painter ended up a tyrant, locked in an underground prison after decades of life.
The inevitable disaster arrived with the wave of revolution, cutting off his life and melting his crown.
“Then it makes sense that Duke Prelorde could still exist as a ghost by God’s will.”
“He exists as a demon to witness the end of our dynasty.”
“So it wasn’t a curse, but an opportunity… an opportunity.”
With a gleam of joy, Bella sprang up.
Her prediction was correct. This was not a curse, but a divine chance given to Chae, on the brink of death. To exist in ghost form. To remain in the Prelorde mansion he loved.
“Hey, Bella! Where are you going? I’ve told you all the royal secrets!”
The king reached out, shouting, but Bella stopped and turned gracefully.
“Ah. I’ll give you some happy news as a gift.”
“What news?”
“The queen successfully escaped.”
“Ahhh!”
Bella cheerfully left the prison, leaving only the king’s desperate cries behind.
Ridel, seeing Bella arrive earlier than expected, looked puzzled.
“You’re early? I thought you’d return around evening after watching the execution.”
“I didn’t watch it.”
Bella removed her coat and entered the mansion, her calm demeanor leaving question marks in Ridel’s eyes.
Regardless, Bella walked upstairs with her coat draped over one arm.
“You didn’t watch? Why? Couldn’t you take the head?”
Ridel quickly followed, hurrying beside her.
“I already collected the spoils and got the answer I wanted.”
“This…!”
Bella raised her hand, showing the ring she now wore. Ridel instantly recognized it, covering her mouth in shock.
“It’s just junk. The power’s all gone.”
“How did you get this?”
“The king gave it to me. Now I’ll go see the saint.”
Bella did not go to Chae first as expected, but instead headed to the guest rooms.
“The saint? Why?”
“I’ve made up my mind.”
“Decision?”
Ridel asked again, but Bella knocked on the saint’s door without another word.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Bella, Saint.”
After a moment of silence, the door opened.
The saint’s gaze traveled from Bella’s face to her neck, and finally to the ring on her hand.
“It seems our prediction was correct. The power affecting Chae is not a curse.”
“Yes. It looks terrifying, but it’s not a curse. It was a chance given by God.”
The former king had used poison to kill Duke Prelorde. But God, pitying him, kept his soul in this world. What humans call a “curse” was simply God’s method.
In truth, even a curse is divine power. The fact that someone beloved by God could lift it was a clue.
What appeared grotesque and horrifying was actually God’s power given for the sake of a cherished human, to restore Chae’s life.
“But why come to me? If it’s not a curse, it means he can live as he is.”
Telling Chae that he was saved from death could shake his heart. Then his soul would belong to Bella forever.
But—
“No, Saint. Only knowing it’s not a curse gave me the resolve.”
“What…”
The saint’s gaze wavered at the unexpected words.
“Now I feel I can part from Chae, Saint.”
For the first time, Bella smiled radiantly, like a fully bloomed flower.
