CHAPTER 21
“As if I would be interested in your trinket.”
Chei replied with a feigned air of indifference and a deliberately cynical tone. Bella blinked, confused by his unexpected answer, glancing back and forth between the bracelet and Chei.
She thought he had recognized it—but maybe not.
“Oh, no. I just wondered if you recognized that this bracelet is a royal treasure.”
“…A royal treasure?”
“Yes. Impressive, isn’t it?”
Bella proudly raised her wrist. A deep blue gemstone shimmered, glowing red from within.
As Chei examined the bracelet more closely, his expression grew serious.
“There’s no way that could’ve been leaked to the outside.”
“Well, maybe someone stole it or something.”
Bella casually toyed with the bracelet. In truth, she didn’t care much whether it was a royal treasure.
What mattered was how to bring up the real reason she wanted it—to ask Chei if he could be sealed inside.
“So, do you know why that person gave it to you?”
Chei’s question made Bella blink wide-eyed.
Should she tell him the truth? What if he said no? But the deal had already been made—Bella was now responsible for protecting Chei.
And even though she had cut ties, getting revenge on the one who had destroyed the Baron Osik family was just as important.
She couldn’t afford to lose either.
“Um, Chei.”
“…?”
At Bella’s hesitant voice, Chei tilted his head slightly, his eyes wide. His beauty momentarily stunned Bella, and she quickly rubbed under her nose with the back of her hand.
“Would you come with me to the South for a little while?”
Bella gathered her courage to ask, but Chei’s attention was elsewhere.
As he suddenly walked off, Bella stared at his retreating back in confusion.
“Chei? What’s wrong?”
When he returned, he held a handkerchief. To an outsider, it would’ve looked like a ghostly handkerchief floating in midair—an eerie sight.
Chei carefully handed it to Bella and lightly tapped her nose with a finger.
“Bella… you’re bleeding.”
“What?”
“You’re bleeding. And your complexion’s awful.”
Concerned, Chei looked at her. Bella glanced down at her hand and saw dried blood on the back of it.
“…Huh?”
Drip. Red drops fell onto the wooden floor. For a moment, Bella stared blankly, then hurriedly pinched her nose with the handkerchief.
“T-this is!”
Worried about getting blood on Chei, Bella quickly stepped back. He gave her a resigned smile.
Of course—staying close to the dead was causing her living body to weaken.
“This is why the dead shouldn’t linger near the living, Bella.”
His voice was still gentle—and lonely. There was an aching solitude in it that even surprised Bella.
“Huh? What are you talking about? It’s not like all dead people look like you!”
Bella shouted with a stuffy, nasal voice, holding her nose tight.
Silence filled the room.
Chei, startled by her outburst, stared at her with wide eyes. Bella pressed harder on her nose, feeling her face flush.
Chei’s features, cat-like at rest, now looked like a startled deer. Bella dropped her gaze—she felt guilty, even though she’d done nothing wrong.
It was that face. No—his whole being. His height, body, graceful tone and expressions—everything about him was problematic.
“…What did you mean by that?”
“…?”
Bella blinked, realizing the conversation had gone off track.
“You said the living shouldn’t be near the dead.”
“Right.”
“But it’s not like all dead people look like you, so I wouldn’t get a nosebleed from any other ghost.”
“…Huh?”
Only then did Chei sense the misunderstanding. Where had “beauty” entered this?
Bella hurriedly tried to explain.
“I’m not some weirdo! I’ve never laid a hand on you, or even imagined anything inappropriate!”
“No, wait. Bella—”
“…?”
Chei raised his hand to stop her. Bella, startled, fell silent.
He took a moment to choose his words carefully.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?”
Chei collapsed into a chair. Technically, ghosts don’t tire, but somehow Bella always drained him.
He had planned to use her for his own gain—yet somehow, she was always the one in control.
He let out a soft sigh, slowly opened his eyes, and spoke.
“When the living and the dead are near each other, their energies clash. I absorb your life energy to maintain my form, while your body weakens from my death energy. So… I meant you shouldn’t get close to me.”
His voice wavered slightly.
Once, Chei had been alive—heart beating, blood flowing. But death had struck him in an instant, and now he could only exist by draining the living.
At first, he’d been horrified by his own presence. Then bitter at the living who ran from him. But eventually, he couldn’t suppress the craving—the obsession—with life.
He couldn’t tell Bella.
But deep down, he still wanted to live. To feel warmth. A heartbeat.
There was a way.
He couldn’t reverse death completely—but he could steal the weakened body of a living human.
A body like Bella’s—now so fragile—could be his.
If he reached out now, her soul would be expelled, and he would take over her body.
Chei raised his hand, entranced.
How radiant the living were—how maddeningly beautiful.
“Are you like… a human ice pack?”
Bella’s innocent question stopped him midair.
Why couldn’t he do it?
Why couldn’t he reach any farther?
Confusion flickered in Chei’s eyes.
Their gazes locked—for just a moment—deep, intense.
Then Chei withdrew his hand with a faint smile.
“Not exactly, but… I suppose it’s similar.”
Even while dripping blood, she said such innocent things. It sapped all will from him.
It was always like this now. He’d reach instinctively for that vibrant life—and pull back, disarmed by her innocence.
Bella finally nodded in understanding.
“Then I need to strengthen my body.”
“Strengthen… it?”
Chei blinked, startled.
Bella, still holding the handkerchief to her nose, took a bold step forward and reached out to him.
Despite knowing his presence weakened her.
“Come to the South with me, Chei. I’ll protect you.”
Chei’s gaze fell to the blood-soaked handkerchief.
Blood meant life. He craved it. But if he took what he wanted, Bella would die—cold and lifeless.
Suppressing his instincts again, he slowly shook his head.
“…As you can see, I can’t leave this mansion.”
“There’s a way.”
“A way…?”
Chei’s eyes widened. He looked more alive than ever.
Bella lightly shook the bracelet on her wrist.
“This. It can seal a soul. If I seal you in here, I can carry you outside.”
“Seal… me?”
That meant he wouldn’t move on his own. Chei raked a hand through his hair, revealing his elegant features.
“And if I break the bracelet, you can possess my body for a day.”
“…”
“I know… it sounds sketchy. I get it if you don’t trust me—”
“I trust you.”
“…What?”
“I trust you, Bella. I believe you’re doing this for me.”
But that wasn’t true.
Bella lowered her gaze and bit her lip.
The real reason was the deal she made with Lidel. Protecting Chei meant securing her future.
But when Chei said he trusted her—her chest tightened painfully. Guilt stabbed at her.
Chei was too kind. That’s why he was murdered—and why he hadn’t even tried to take revenge, choosing instead to linger in this mansion.
“Sorry. I know it’s a lot to ask of you.”
“I’ll go.”
“R-really?”
Bella looked up in shock. Maybe Chei wasn’t a ghost—maybe he was an angel.
He smiled, eyes curving beautifully. It was a smile that could seduce a soul.
Clatter. The window creaked open, and a chill wind blew between them. His platinum hair danced in the breeze, his smile deepened.
“Bella. Do you trust me?”
“…”
She couldn’t answer right away.
She trusted his ghostly nature—trusted that he couldn’t speak her secrets to anyone, that he was bound to the mansion.
But Chei himself?
He read her hesitation. A strange look flickered across his face.
He stood and leaned down, a captivating smile on his lips. His mouth stopped just above her forehead. Though he couldn’t touch her, it felt like he had.
“I trust you. You’re all I have, Bella.”
“Chei…”
His soft whisper smelled like winter—lonely, cold, and somehow warm.
“So please, Bella.”
He pulled back, gazing gently at her lowered eyes.
Bella couldn’t meet his gaze. Guilt weighed her down—she was using him as a tool in a deal.
A moment of silence.
Then his face twisted into a colder smile. His icy blue eyes chilled her to the bone.
“Don’t abandon me. Okay? You know… without you to see me, I’ll drown again. In a terrible, lonely death.”
Words more desperate than a lover’s.
