Chapter 11
For a moment, everything went silent.
The shock of realizing the truth hit like a thunderbolt.
“N-no! I swear I didn’t take it! This can’t be happening!”
Froc tried to deny it—but his panicked words only proved his guilt.
He really wasn’t a smart man.
“How dare you,” Acares said coldly.
“Stealing the Crown Prince’s donation?”
“It’s not true!”
“Oh? And who do you think you’re talking to so casually?”
Acares’ tone turned sharp.
He tilted his head slightly, put his hands on his hips, and stepped closer to Froc.
“Listen, baldy. I don’t like most humans—but the ones I hate most are the rude ones.”
“……”
“And now you think you can touch my fiancée with that filthy attitude?”
The veins on Acares’ forehead bulged—he really looked furious.
Sensing danger, Bella nervously grabbed his wrist.
“Acares…?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t kill him.”
“I—I wasn’t even worried about that part…”
Bella flinched at the chill in his voice and tried to pull her hand away, but he caught it gently with his other hand.
Then, glancing aside, he said,
“Oh, perfect timing. Look, the knights are passing by.”
“Wh-what? Knights?” Froc turned his head in shock.
Sure enough, a few Atlanta knights were walking nearby.
“Hey there! You shiny, useless knights with nothing to do!” Acares shouted.
The knights exchanged awkward looks and approached slowly.
When Bella saw their faces, her eyes widened.
“Wait—that’s the same knight who came to my house before!”
The knight’s face turned pale as he came closer.
“W-w-w-what brings you h-h-here, sir?”
He stammered badly, adding awkward honorifics—as if he were a tiny animal trembling before a predator.
Acares, completely calm, grabbed Froc by the back of his neck.
The bald man dangled helplessly, feet barely touching the ground.
“This man stole the Crown Prince’s donation money.”
“Ah, I see. Should I kill him here?” the knight blurted out politely.
Acares smirked. “Oh my, so quick to execute without hearing his story first? Impatient, aren’t you?”
“S-s-sorry, sir!”
“Wait—did that knight just apologize to a civilian?”
In her twenty-four years of life, Bella had never seen anything like this.
As Bella stood frozen in confusion, Acares smoothly took control and wrapped up the situation.
***
A few weeks later.
Acares had been living with Bella ever since.
Froc and Ida were arrested for stealing the donation money.
Their crimes were exposed much faster than anyone expected.
As it turned out, Froc had been gambling away the money—using bills marked with the royal seal, no less.
Even without Acares’ interference, it would have been discovered soon.
But what truly shocked Bella was Ida.
“Director Ida… so that’s what you spent it on.”
Ida had traded the donation through the black market, then used the money to buy male prisoners of war from the defeated nation—and spread scandalous rumors about it.
Their crimes were so serious that Bella knew she’d never see them again.
With the director gone, the Piroche orphanage was nationalized,
and the Crown Prince of Atlanta personally took charge of running it.
Everyone was amazed—but Bella was surprised for a different reason.
“Wait… that name…”
Acares de Mesio Atlanta.
It was the same name as the Crown Prince.
The strange familiarity she’d felt when she first heard his name suddenly made sense.
Her summoned man had the exact same name as the Empire’s Crown Prince.
“Mom… maybe this Crown Prince isn’t such a bad person after all.”
After he took over, everything at Piroche changed.
There were more workers, more holidays, and the salaries tripled.
It became a dream workplace overnight.
Because of Ida’s crimes, Aurora and Michael’s wedding was postponed—
but that was none of Bella’s concern.
Thanks to Acares, everything had been solved so absurdly easily.
And now, that man was—
Chop!
—splitting firewood in her backyard.
With his shirt off, of course.
“What… are you doing?”
“Hmm?”
Acares turned around with an innocent smile, pretending to wipe sweat that wasn’t even there.
“Chopping wood.”
“I can see that. But… why?”
She wanted to ask why he was half-naked in the freezing cold—but held it in.
“He really doesn’t live by normal rules, does he?”
That was the conclusion Bella had reached after watching him for several days.
“Acares, what’s that?”
“This? Your dinner.”
He’d once dragged home a wild boar the size of a boulder.
“Acares, what are you doing now?”
“Making a garden you’ll like.”
And just like that, he’d filled the once-empty backyard with beautiful flowers she’d never seen before.
He acted exactly like a devoted husband—though always in his own strange way.
Still… it wasn’t bad.
It had been a long time since anyone had taken care of her like this.
Even without her Oracion magic, Acares always seemed to know what she needed—and got it done before she even asked, albeit in very unusual ways.
“Acares, I have a question.”
He froze mid-swing, the axe still high in the air.
Then, he dropped it and sprinted toward her.
“Bella? You have a question for me? What is it?”
He crouched down, eyes sparkling like an eager puppy waiting for a treat.
Bella blinked at him and asked softly,
“What… do you think about all the time, Acares?”
“…Huh?”
“Oh no, did I ask it wrong?”
She had meant it politely—as in, ‘Do you even think about anything?’—but maybe it sounded rude.
“Ah, I just meant—you were summoned by Oracion magic, right? So I was wondering… what do summoned spirits usually think about?”
Her beige eyes flickered nervously.
But Acares only looked more puzzled—before smiling faintly.
“I only think about you, Bella.”
“Hmm…”
“Does that answer your question?” he said in a soft voice.
His gentle gaze made Bella’s heart skip again, and she quickly looked away.
“Ugh, I’ll never get used to that look!”
She’d experienced it many times now,
but that warm, affectionate stare still made her flustered every single time.
Just then—
“Miss Bella! Are you home?”
A familiar voice called from outside.
Recognizing it, Bella quickly stood up—grateful for the interruption.
In the front yard stood a woman with short, reddish-orange hair—Coco Hedleton, the owner of the dairy farm who delivered milk every month.
“Mrs. Coco!” Bella greeted her warmly.
Coco smiled and lifted something from behind her back.
Bella gasped.
It was a huge crate—at least fifty bottles of milk inside.
“Goodness…”
“Quite a lot, isn’t it?”
“Y-yes! Your cows must be very healthy!”
If Bella lived alone, this much milk would’ve been a disaster to handle.
Thankfully, she wasn’t alone anymore.
“What’s all that, Bella?”
A deep voice came from behind her.
Acares walked out, still shirtless, and Coco’s wrinkled face lit up with a grin.
“Well, I’ll be! The rumors were true—you really did get your husband back!”
“…Pardon?”
“Oh, everyone’s been talking about it! They say Miss Bella’s husband came back from Roye after the war ended. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Haha… I wonder where people even hear things like that,” Bella said, forcing a smile.
She thought back over the past few days.
Acares was by her side constantly—
awake, asleep, inside, outside—never more than a few steps away.
No wonder the neighbors had started talking.
Rumors always grow bigger as they spread.
Then Acares lifted the entire crate of milk with one hand and asked,
“So, this… is it safe to drink?”
