Chapter 49 – Madwoman Bella
“It does make things seem a bit more complicated.
Until now, I thought Chey might just be a branch member or vassal of the Prellroad family.”
“…”
Chey sat quietly, listening to Bella’s words — as if even the sound of her breathing was worth paying attention to.
“To be honest, I don’t want to get tangled up in politics. I just wanted to make a lot of money and rise with the times, get this new status they call bourgeois. Politics is too cutthroat and terrifying. Just look — a hundred years ago, even the Duke of Prellroad was gone in a single day.”
Bella cautiously revealed her thoughts.
She was skilled at reading trends and understanding the state of affairs, but she had no intention of diving into politics. Business was about betting money; politics was about betting your life.
Her dream might have been to own her own home, but that was just a sign of her strong will to survive and her self-reliance — never that a house meant more to her than her life.
Yet, contrary to her intentions, things kept getting messier, dragging in everyone from counts to royalty. Truthfully, she was afraid. It felt like dipping her toes into a pitch-black ocean at night.
“I agree with you.”
“So, are you going to tell me which family you belong to, Chey?”
“…”
“You still find it hard to trust me?”
When Bella asked carefully, Chey relaxed his expression slightly and shook his head.
“I trust you.”
“I looked up every noble named Chey, but there wasn’t one. All the spellings were different. So I’m even more curious now. Is there some reason you can’t tell me about your life when you were human?”
Chey gazed silently at her.
It wasn’t that Bella had never been suspicious from the start — she just hadn’t pried, choosing to let it rest for the sake of their long-term relationship.
But for her to ask directly now about his identity meant she was ready to get more deeply involved — ready to throw herself in completely.
“I was murdered. The culprit was never caught. And the killer’s descendants still watch me warily.”
“You mean… you’re afraid they might hurt me too?”
Chey moved slowly until he was right in front of her. Their eyes clashed, and her faint breath reached him.
“Bella. You need to understand — the one who could hurt you the most right now… is me. I won’t allow anyone else to harm you.”
His voice, low and rough, didn’t match his face — like a beast’s growl beneath the bloom of a white lily.
In the gleam of his pale blue eyes, his feelings were crystal clear.
Desire. Obsession.
“Is that because of my body?”
“…It’s because of you.”
Chey exhaled the words like a sigh, lowering his head. His lips hovered above hers — but of course, they could never touch. She was alive; he was dead.
They could never reach each other.
“If I die, will you stop wanting me?”
“I’ll still want you. Desperately. So keep me from hurting you.”
Chey’s spirit slid straight through her body.
His hands moved as if trying to grasp her, even though he couldn’t hold anything at all.
“You mean you’re not telling me your identity… for my sake?”
“Perhaps. If you accidentally got tangled in my murder case, you might regret ever meeting me.”
“Because you’re a noble?”
“Now I’m just a ghost. But when I was alive… I held that stuffy title once.”
Chey pulled away from her, and warmth began to seep back into her body.
Whenever she was close to him, she felt a chill, goosebumps, as if her blood froze. She didn’t mind it so much anymore — if anything, the warmth that returned when he left felt emptier.
“I don’t regret it. Really.”
At her firm answer, Chey’s lips curved faintly into a smile. The sight was so enticing she had to shut her eyes.
“I’m glad I met you too, and I trust you. And — though you don’t remember — I’ve already told you my name once.”
“…R-really?”
At his next words, Bella’s eyes flew open, and she leaned forward aggressively.
The sudden movement seemed to startle Chey.
“Yes. So think about me as much as you want. Of course, I’m happy if you’ve been thinking about me all day.”
“I haven’t been thinking about you all day!”
She didn’t know how to explain that, but it wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, it made Chey — whose heart no longer beat — feel as if it skipped.
“Bella. You really need to be careful now. You’ve already stepped into noble society. From now on, they’ll try even harder to take what you have.”
“I suppose so.”
Her casual tone made him worry she was taking the whole ordeal too lightly. His face grew serious.
“The game’s set. We can’t walk away. The only choice is to hold this mansion and beat them.”
“I told you before, Chey.”
“…?”
Bella leaned in again, her violet eyes glowing faintly like stars.
“My nickname used to be ‘Money-Fiend Bella.’ And I’m crazy about buying my own home.”
“Bella?”
He sounded bewildered, but her shining gaze didn’t dim.
“I don’t deal with people as just people anymore.”
“Then…?”
“I’ll face them with the grudge of a money-fiend driven mad by the misery of being houseless. Watch me, Chey. I’m not retreating anymore.”
Was she saying she’d been retreating before? Chey couldn’t remember her ever retreating. Still, he nodded — because the fire in her eyes made him feel she really might stir up something big.
The next morning — though the sun hadn’t yet risen — a guest came, one who was both welcome and unwelcome.
“Miss Bella. Long time no see.”
Lidel waved with a polished smile.
Bella, hair mussed from sleep, glared at him as she opened the door.
“You’re up early, Lidel.”
“Of course. That’s the virtue of a merchant.”
“Keep that up and you’ll be showing up at night.”
“Would you like me to?”
He leaned forward playfully. His smooth, sky-blue hair slipped down, shadowing his neat eyebrows.
If she hadn’t known Chey, she might have admired his handsome face — but now, everyone was just “a person” to her.
“Tasteless.”
“This face?”
He blinked innocently, as if it was the first time he’d heard such a thing.
“Your face is the only thing keeping you from being completely tasteless. Come in already.”
She walked ahead with an irritated air, and he hurried after her.
“Didn’t the workers tell you? I said I’d bring some people who can fight.”
“And you did.”
“…Huh?”
He froze, and she glanced back at him with a look that said, Don’t tell me you didn’t know.
“You planted them here ages ago, disguised as workers. Still, thank you. Honestly, I thought you’d just hire some mercenaries and send them over.”
“You knew?”
“Of course. I’m Bella Ossick, daughter of Baron Ossick.”
She flashed a bright grin and headed toward the mansion’s entrance.
He stared at her back, dazed, until her impatient call jolted him into following.
“How did you figure it out?”
He pelted her with questions as they climbed the stairs, clearly dying to know how she’d recognized his men.
“Before that — did you bring me something?”
At her door, she finally glanced at him.
He widened his eyes and held up empty hands.
“Me? Bring what? It’s not a housewarming.”
“This. This.”
She tapped her head.
“…A head?”
He still didn’t get it, speaking cautiously.
She sighed inwardly but gave him a bright, fake smile.
“Information. Like about the veiled woman, or the power behind the high nobles, or how to dispose of a high-ranking noble’s corpse without trouble?”
Lidel’s eyes widened as he listened — and the first thing out of his mouth was enough to make her blood boil.
“You killed someone?”
