Chapter 130….
Two Kisses”:
Bella stepped out of the room, wearing a puzzled expression.
“Huh. Ridel, you’re still here?”
Ridel, who had been lingering in the hallway, dying to know what Bella was talking about with the Saintess, immediately wagged her non-existent tail and clung to Bella as soon as she saw her.
“Wouldn’t it be better to talk without me?”
“Yes.”
“Yes?”
Ridel pursed her lips, imitating Bella’s words, making Bella bite her own lips to suppress a laugh.
“Just kidding. I actually have a favor to ask of you, Ridel. Shall we go to the parlor?”
As Bella naturally headed toward the parlor, Ridel blocked her path with her arm.
She looked nervous, like a puppy caught in the middle of some mischief.
“T-the parlor… is a no-go.”
“……?”
Bella raised her eyebrows in disbelief and tilted her head, and Ridel slowly averted her gaze.
“It’s a secret.”
“A secret in my own mansion that I don’t know about?”
“Let me be clear: the Duke did it. Not me.”
“What on earth could it be?”
Ridel, as if making up her mind, led Bella toward the parlor.
Bella gasped at the scene before her, wanting to call it a “mess” or even “a disaster.”
“Oh…….”
“When you disappeared, the Duke’s spirit temporarily ran wild. That’s why all the windows got blown out.”
“The repair costs must be quite high. Even the frames are damaged.”
Bella quickly went to the windows, assessing the damage, and roughly estimated the cost with her hands.
“Still, it should be repairable at a relatively low cost.”
“We’ll need to fix that before leaving… I wonder if we’ll have the time.”
“Wait, Bella.”
Ridel frowned sharply at Bella’s words and tugged lightly on her sleeve.
Bella, checking the window frames, turned her head to look at Ridel.
“Hm?”
“You’re leaving?”
“Oh. I told you I had a favor to ask of you. That’s it.”
Bella forced a smile as she spoke. Ridel gave a hollow laugh, knowing that Bella was pretending to be fine. She was the one who had restored the mansion that had been abandoned for a century.
“Bella, are you really thinking of leaving this mansion to the Duke? What about Bell Road? Your factory!”
“I was going to expand it anyway. I’m thinking of relocating to the south.”
Bella flopped into a chair in the parlor and answered calmly.
“Why? You could live here forever with the Duke! Don’t you realize he loves you?”
“I know. Chei and I feel the same way about each other, better than anyone else. That’s why.”
“What… what does that even mean?”
Ridel, unable to contain her excitement, approached quickly but then slumped into the chair opposite Bella, exhausted from the emotional surge. She could not have imagined Bella would leave the mansion.
Even Bella herself hadn’t expected to be capable of such a thing.
“Chei will inherit the title as the descendant of the Prelorde family, discovered as if by fate. He will become the new Duke of Prelorde.”
How would they explain Chei, suddenly in a human body, to the people? Through the Saintess, they could announce that Chei is a descendant of Cheire Prelorde and give him the title. That was far better than leaving him in the hands of strangers.
“The revolution has succeeded. That means marriages between nobles and commoners will be possible, and social rank will no longer define life.”
“Well… the slogan of this revolution is equality, but did the people on the streets truly carry the desire to realize it in their hearts? Most will probably think the revolution is complete just because the king is dead.”
“……”
Ridel swallowed hard in silence at Bella’s calm question, as if finally forced to confront a reality she had tried to avoid.
“Ridel, there may be people who see this revolution as you do. But unfortunately, most do not. You know it too, don’t you? People aren’t concerned with abolishing the class system—they’re discussing the next king.”
“Th-That…”
“It’s inertia. The world you want is still far off. In that sense, it’s cleaner if I leave this mansion first. No noise, no interference.”
Ridel stared at Bella silently, then gave a defeated little wave and rose from her seat.
“Well, we have a lot to do today. I’ll bring my informants, set the new location, and prepare the relocation documents.”
“Thank you, Ridel.”
“No need. I got more than I gave.”
Ridel ruffled her light blue hair awkwardly and left the parlor.
Bella then hurriedly packed work documents into the carriage and sent notices about relocating the Bell Road headquarters.
Finally, after finishing preparations, Bella returned to her room late at night, only to find her door slightly ajar. She stopped in her tracks.
“Huh?”
Through the gap, she saw the Saintess. Moonlight dimly illuminated the Saintess and Chei.
The Saintess gazed at the sleeping Chei for a long time, then slowly lowered her head.
“……!”
Bella covered her mouth with both hands and spun around, horrified, seeing the Saintess kiss the sleeping Chei. She didn’t want to see it. She couldn’t bear to. Her heart felt like it was tearing apart.
It was unbearable. The fact that someone else would be the sole salvation for Chei.
Fairy tales always depict love as fate—kissing a sleeping princess to wake her, and the prince falls in love.
Bella had always tried to be that person for Chei. But fate pointed to the Saintess. Not Bella, despite all her efforts.
“Haha……”
Bella stumbled and hid behind a pillar, sliding down and sitting on the floor. Her life hadn’t been much different. The protagonist existed, and she was the servant doing the chores beneath them.
The protagonist was always the princess, or someone who secretly was. Bella Osik was a cruel, money-obsessed woman hardened by life.
“So… my cue to exit, then……”
Like an actor finishing their role, Bella steadied herself and got up.
“……huh.”
When she returned to the room, only Chei remained. She had expected the Saintess to wait and kiss Chei until he awoke, but the Saintess was gone. Chei was still asleep. Kissing him hadn’t woken him like in fairy tales.
Bella, like the Saintess before her, dragged a chair close and watched Chei sleep for a long time.
“Beautiful ghost, soon you will awaken as a human.”
“……”
With trembling hands, Bella gently touched Chei’s forehead, nose bridge, and cheek. This was the last time she would take him in her eyes. His violet eyes shone in the darkness.
“I hope you’re happy in this life. I’ll always pray for you, even from afar.”
“……”
She tried to speak calmly, but her voice quavered uncontrollably. Her attempt at a smile twisted.
“Ch-Chei… I know this may be an inappropriate farewell, but I must say it.”
“……”
Bella collapsed, clutching Chei’s hand and burying her face into it.
“I love you. With all my heart.”
Ending her sobbing confession, Bella kissed Chei’s forehead, wishing for his happiness, blessing his life. Carefully, hesitantly, with desperate longing.
Thus, she secretly kissed Chei and left the mansion.
“Ugh.”
Chei staggered upright, blinded by the sunlight.
Feeling as though he had been dreaming for a long time, he slowly opened and closed his eyes several times before fixing his gaze.
“What….”
In front of him was a mirror, and in the reflection, he saw himself. As if truly alive.
Jet-black hair, deep blue eyes. Not the fading ghost he had been, but the real Duke of Prelorde he once was.
Chei touched his face in disbelief, and the reflection mirrored his actions.
“Am I… really alive?”
He bolted from the bed, racing through the hallways. If anyone saw him, he would be certain.
“……Duke?”
Palas, standing in the corridor, noticed Chei and could not hide her surprise.
“Palas, can you see me?”
“Yes. You seem to have regained your old form.”
Grabbing Palas by the shoulders, Chei asked urgently. Palas, flustered, nodded.
“Touch me! Hurry!”
“……Eh? I respect you, Duke, but that’s not the—”
While Palas panicked, Chei grabbed her wrist.
“Does it feel chilling, cold, or icy?”
“No. It’s warm. Before, even being nearby would give me a headache… huh?”
Palas suddenly realized something, mouth agape. Chei finally understood.
He had returned. Or more precisely, he had regained the body lost for a hundred years.
“……Bella!”
Chei dashed off again, desperate to tell Bella the news.
He had imagined regaining a human body before, but after meeting Bella, those fleeting dreams always ended with him embracing her warmly.
A dream he thought impossible had come true.
As he searched the mansion, memories of Bella surfaced, scene by scene.
When he finally rushed to Bella’s room, the last memory came back: her sad face as she kissed his sleeping forehead.
“……Bella?”
But Bella was nowhere to be found.
