Chapter 31. The Betrayal of Distrust
“If you’re in serious danger, you have to break the bracelet.”
At Chay’s words, Bella’s eyes widened in slight surprise.
“What? But…”
“I can protect you. Trust me, Bella.”
“…Alright.”
But that won’t happen. Today’s mission is infiltration, so they weren’t expecting any serious danger.
Though there was a deeper reason behind her hesitation, Bella deliberately ignored it.
It was that she couldn’t be sure a fully unsealed Chay would actually stay with her.
Still, Bella nodded easily and sat down at the gambling table. She figured it would be best to play a few rounds and get a feel for the place.
It was immediately clear: there were maybe ten real players, and the rest were shills—fake gamblers meant to draw others in.
Bella joined the game casually, but as her coin purse steadily filled up, she began to notice the looks around her.
This wasn’t part of the plan.
The plan had been to lose just enough to appear frustrated and then leave quietly—but for some reason, she kept winning. Beginner’s luck, perhaps.
“Bella. It’s rigged.”
“…What?”
Startled by Chay’s sudden voice, Bella accidentally spoke out loud.
The other gamblers briefly turned to look at her but were quickly distracted again, eyes bloodshot with greed, focusing on their own bets.
“They’re feeding you wins on purpose. Waiting for you to place a big bet.”
Chay’s calm voice settled next to her ear.
He was right. There was no way she could win like this otherwise. Bella nodded and quietly gathered her winnings, rising from the table.
“Is there somewhere to get a drink?”
“Over there.”
A staff member promptly appeared and politely guided her to the dining area.
To be precise, it didn’t really resemble a normal dining hall.
“Hmm… not many people here.”
“It’s common to lose your appetite while gambling.”
The staff added smoothly, giving Bella a slow once-over before stepping aside.
Bella sat at a table, pretending to scan the menu while actually observing her surroundings.
Then she noticed something strange—an unusual number of staff members were exiting one specific area all at once.
“There.”
“Bella.”
“How many are in there?”
Chay had also sensed something strange. As he focused, he could feel subtle energy leaking from behind the wall.
“No one.”
“No one?”
Bella repeated in disbelief. She had expected at least two guards. But it was completely empty. Suspicious.
“They must’ve stepped out just now.”
“That can’t be.”
“It’s one of two things. Either they’ve grown careless… or it’s a trap.”
“But if they know the first gambling house manager was killed, they wouldn’t have let their guard down…”
“Then it’s a trap. One meant to lure you in.”
Maybe ghosts are calm because they’ve already died once. Chay’s unnervingly calm voice began to soothe Bella as well.
“Hmm… It is a very tempting trap.”
If they didn’t go in now, they’d miss the best chance. But if they did… who knew what lay inside.
If only there had been two guards—it would’ve been easier to handle.
Clicking her tongue in frustration, Bella sighed.
“Bella. Can you recruit someone from outside the gambling den?”
“Do you have a plan?”
“Not a great one, but it’ll buy us some time.”
“Alright.”
Bella quickly gathered her money and left the dining area. Then she searched the tent, scanning for a familiar face.
“…Oh?”
There she was.
The woman who’d helped her change clothes.
The same one she’d seen at the previous gambling house. The woman also recognized Bella and blinked in surprise.
“Oh?”
“We meet again.”
Bella approached with a friendly smile and held out her hand. The woman, caught off guard, shook it hesitantly and asked:
“Weren’t you working here?”
“I still am.”
Bella laughed playfully.
Chay knew instantly that her laugh was fake, but the woman seemed completely fooled.
“Wow, moving up in the world, huh? What happened?”
Her eyes drifted to the bulging coin pouch at Bella’s waist. Bella also looked quite different from last time—more polished and refined.
Bella leaned in as if sharing a big secret and whispered near the woman’s ear.
“I reported someone.”
“Reported?”
“There was a thief trying to steal from the casino. I turned them in. In return, I got this more secure job.”
“Wow, I’m jealous.”
The woman sighed genuinely and twirled her hair, clearly too embarrassed to ask how she could do the same.
Not missing the moment, Bella lowered her voice even more.
“Actually, there is a way…”
“What way? It’s not like a thief’s just going to fall out of the sky and show up in front of me.”
“Well, that thief… was me.”
“…What?”
The woman froze, looking as if her brain had stopped for a second. Then she flinched and stepped back, putting distance between them.
Smiling mischievously, Bella walked up again, took out a gold coin, and placed it in the woman’s hand—making it seem like her pouch was full of them.
“I’m the thief. Here. I need a favor.”
“What favor?”
“I’m planning to escape through the forest trail. Tell the guards I ran off toward the festival grounds.”
“That’s easy enough.”
The woman quickly pocketed the gold coin and cleared her throat.
“Thanks.”
Bella gave a sweet smile and slipped back into the crowd of the casino. She really did feel like a phantom thief.
“What are you thinking?”
Chay asked, and Bella proudly tapped her coin pouch.
“I recruited someone. Bought some time too.”
“You call that recruiting? You really think she’ll help?”
“I don’t believe her. But I do.”
“…?”
Bella glanced back at the woman. She was already animatedly talking to the staff. Probably telling them she saw a thief.
Whether the woman reported Bella running toward the festival or claimed she ran into the woods—either way, the result was the same.
The guards would head outside to chase a thief.
Bella swiftly ducked into the narrow corridor the staff had just exited.
The guards would now be searching the forest or festival grounds for a thief who didn’t exist. Meanwhile, she had time to search inside.
“Bella. I’ve got a bad feeling.”
“We don’t have a choice. It’s the only way.”
Bella pushed open the door at the end of the hallway.
“I knew it.”
It looked just like Kalt’s room. Without hesitation, Bella began rifling through the place, stuffing any useful documents into her coat.
“Nothing decisive. This’ll only let us catch the middlemen.”
That alone was a big deal, but it meant Count Thresi could slip out of this untouched.
“Where do people usually rest in a room?”
Chay, watching her in silence, suddenly asked.
“A sofa.”
“Did you check the sofa?”
“Ah. I didn’t think of that.”
Bella nodded and quickly started pulling off the sofa covers, searching every corner.
Finally, while rummaging through the side table next to the sofa in frustration, she flung it aside—
“Huh…?”
Behind it was a clumsily patched wooden panel.
She knelt and tore it open with her bare hands—and found a bundle of old, worn documents hidden inside.
“This is…”
“Congratulations, Bella. You found it.”
A black ledger.
Everything had gone exactly as Chay had predicted.
The middleman had been holding onto it. It was leverage—something to ensure that Count Thresi would bail them out if they were caught.
“We need to leave.”
Bella tightly secured the documents and headed out, just about to exit the tent—
“There she is!”
A shout rang out, and every eye turned to Bella.
“Damn it.”
She’d spent too long finding the ledger.
Muttering a curse under her breath, Bella bolted toward the forest path. It looked like the woman had chosen to help her after all—the guards were blocking the festival route.
There was no other choice.
“The world really is warm sometimes, isn’t it, Chay?”
Honestly, Bella had expected the woman to betray her and report her escape through the forest.
She didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad as she wove through the dense trees, sprinting with all her might.
“Get her!”
“Don’t let her escape!”
“Bring a bow!”
Shouts from the mercenaries rang out behind her, sharp and deadly.
“Huff, huff…!”
Sliding down a mossy slope, Bella gasped for breath.
Her throat tasted of blood, and her lungs felt ready to burst. But she couldn’t feel the pain anymore—death was right behind her.
And still, she had to survive.
