Chapter 146
The ringing of the bell stopped quickly.
This time, I picked up the bell and gave it a small shake. Nothing happened. Winter tried shaking it too — still no sound.
“The bell is only reacting to you, Noe.”
“But the clasp of the necklace still isn’t opening.”
Noe rang the bell a couple more times. Hojen, watching him closely, spoke in a softer voice than before.
“It didn’t used to be like this. I’ve taken that necklace off before for you, and you’ve done it yourself too, Noe.”
Maybe Hojen’s comment gave him an idea, because Noe’s lips curved into a crooked smile.
“I get it now. The reason the necklace won’t come off isn’t because Rose or the bell is special.”
He smiled faintly, stroking the bell gently.
“…This is inside a dream. Dreams bend the laws of physics.”
Ding.
The bell gave a small chime, almost as if responding to his touch.
“Rose, you could bend the dream’s rules too if you wanted. You just… I don’t want to be apart from your mother. And of course, that makes sense.”
As the bell chimed again, Noe’s sharp eyes turned watery, like he was saying he understood her.
Winter spoke thoughtfully:
“So if we bring Mrs. Rustin back into the real world, the necklace should come off.”
That made sense — if the bell only kept the necklace locked because of dream rules, then once in the real world it would have to follow reality’s rules.
Ding-ding — the bell suddenly rang sharply, almost angrily. The sound even started to feel like a baby crying.
“…But maybe we shouldn’t force it off.”
Noe stroked the bell again.
“I think this bell really is a holy relic. I can feel something. Every time it rings, the dream world around me shakes a little — becomes clearer, then fades away. And… I can hear other dreams.”
He closed his eyes, fingers resting lightly on the bell. The ringing softened, becoming calm and gentle.
“It’s like… a map. I can see where to go to enter someone’s dream. I’m sure now — it’s a holy relic. If I had this… yeah, I really need this.”
I looked at Winter, feeling my heart race. His face stayed calm, but his eyes trembled slightly. He also looked cautious.
“But that also makes things complicated,” Noe murmured, rubbing his eyes.
“If I can use the relic, that means Rose can too. In fact… right now, the relic probably belongs to Rose. Her soul is stuck to the bell and has almost become part of its own will.”
Winter frowned.
“So if Rose doesn’t want to help you, will the bell listen to her instead?”
Noe nodded.
“Yeah. She’s an Ampelos too, so the bell will obey her. And between the two of us, it’s obvious it would prioritize her.”
The bell chimed smugly, as if agreeing.
“If we pull the necklace off Mrs. Rustin by force, the bell won’t obey you. But if we leave it, you’ll never be able to use the relic. So… we need to persuade her soul.”
But how?
The bell seemed to understand what we were saying, but it could only reply with chimes, no other form of communication.
We all fell silent in thought.
“Hey, Rose,” Noe said softly. “I really need this. Could you help me… please?”
Ding.
“I can’t do without it, please…”
Ding.
Noe kept talking to the bell like he was begging his sister’s spirit, but the bell only gave lackluster chimes. It was clear that emotional pleas wouldn’t work.
“Rose, can your dad ask you for a favor?” Hojen tried. “Your little brother needs this bell… could you let him have it?”
…
Silence. No response.
Hojen stepped back, ignored, and we three circled the bell again.
“Noe Rustin,” Winter said. “It’s important that the bell only rings for you.”
I tested it again. No sound. Noe shook it — clear chimes filled the air.
“Yes, I think so too,” I agreed. “It must have something it wants to say to you alone.”
Let’s review:
Rose’s soul has priority over the bell because she’s been fused with it for a long time. And as a young, pure soul that hasn’t grown, she doesn’t want to be separated from her mother.
But there were still unanswered questions — like why her soul attached to this bell in the first place. Was it because the bell was special, or because she was?
In the end, the exact reason didn’t matter. The key fact was that a soul can act and make choices even after leaving a body.
That thought brought another question to my mind.
“Grand Duke, Mrs. Rustin died inside the dream, so her body is here in this world, right?”
“That’s correct…” Winter trailed off, looking thoughtful. I could tell he was thinking the same thing.
“Then… What happened to Mrs. Rustin’s soul?”
If Noe’s soul could cling to the bell, maybe Mrs. Rustin’s soul could still be somewhere in the dream too.
Ding.
The bell chimed, like confirming the guess.
“Impossible,” Hojen said firmly, shaking his head. “If Millia’s soul were wandering my dream, why wouldn’t she come to me?”
“I’ve heard there’s another Mrs. Rustin in the dream,” Winter pointed out.
“The one in the cabin? She’s just a vision made from my longing,” Hojen said. “And listen — Dragon boy, you could sense Rose’s soul just by touching the bell, right? If the Millia in the cabin were real, you would’ve recognized her immediately. But you didn’t say anything.”
“…”
“If she were truly Millia, why wouldn’t she tell me? Why would she just watch me suffer?”
Hojen was desperate to deny it. We stayed quiet, watching the strain in his face.
Noe turned to me.
“I told you I just wanted a summary before, but now I have to ask — what do you mean by the ‘Millia in the cabin’?”
Hojen cut in.
“Noe, if you have questions, ask your dad.”
But Noe kept staring at me, so I shrugged awkwardly.
“Whenever I enter Hojen’s dream, I always wake up in a cabin. And in that dream, Mrs. Rustin greets us there.”
“Mom? But I’ve never met her there.”
…True. Why hadn’t he?
While I was wondering about that, Winter turned to Hojen.
“Then call her here,” he said.
“What?”
“If the Mrs. Rustin in the cabin is really just an illusion, she’ll appear if you want her to. So call her.”
Hojen bit his lip, hesitating. I looked toward the cabin—
And froze.
“Um… is that Mrs. Rustin?” I asked.
At the window, someone was waving at us.
Ah. And there’s the answer about why Winter looked off around her.