Chapter 55. Body and Soul
“You’re here. Are you not afraid of me?”
Chei softly asked the man standing before the door.
“Are you… the ghost we’re supposed to protect?”
The man who entered the room stood as if entranced in front of Chei. He seemed both afraid and curious about this being only he could see.
That was a good sign. Unlike the others before him, who had screamed in terror, he had already heard about the ghost and seen Bella living with him.
“Well then. Would you like to confirm it yourself?”
Chei smiled kindly and reached out his hand.
The man hesitated for a long time before slowly lifting his hand, touching Chei’s fingertips. As expected, his fingers passed through into the air.
“……!”
Startled, he pulled back his hand quickly, a chill running through him.
“Don’t be afraid. I have no intention of harming you. Aren’t you one of Bella’s people?”
“W-we will protect you.”
Whether it was Chei’s appearance or his gentle, elegant speech, the man’s fear faded. His eyes now shone more with tension and excitement than terror.
“Good. And what is your name?”
“My name is Hayden. Hayden Hope.”
“Nice to meet you. Not many people can see me. In a way, that makes you special, doesn’t it?”
Chei again extended his hand as if to shake.
Hayden, without much doubt, mimicked the handshake and smiled awkwardly.
“Y-yes, that’s right!”
And at that very moment, Hayden’s knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the carpet.
Minutes later, Hayden suddenly stood up again as if nothing had happened and left the room.
“Hayden, they say you can take a break now. Go rest.”
“……”
A fellow approached, cheerfully patting Hayden’s shoulder. Then, noticing something odd, he squinted and studied his face carefully.
“You look… more handsome than before? What’s this?”
“Joking.”
Hayden gave a slight smile in response, but his fellow shook his head, watching him even more intently.
“No, really. Something about you looks more handsome now.”
“I’ll go rest.”
“Oh? Uh, sure.”
Hayden playfully poked his friend’s arm with his elbow and walked off first into the dark hallway.
But he did not head for the dormitory.
Instead, Hayden went to the main gate. There, he paused, staring down at his toes, then took a step forward.
Silence fell. His foot had stepped past the threshold of the gate.
But to be precise—it was Hayden’s foot, yet the soul moving his body was not his own.
“Out of the mansion,”
Chei lifted his head, gazing at the mansion.
He had left the mansion. By his own feet, walking directly.
Frelrod was his hometown, his house, his everything.
But after a hundred years of being bound there as a spirit, it was no longer a home. It was both a house and a prison.
He had somewhere else to go. Somewhere his heart truly longed for.
“I can meet her.”
Chei murmured and walked firmly into the darkness.
His destination was clear.
“Bella.”
A small event was being held in the village. It wasn’t exactly proper to call it a celebration, but it was still rare enough that villagers gathered to watch.
Among the crowd, one person asked another,
“Who died? Why is there a funeral?”
“Oh, you know that nobleman from long ago. Lost everything—house, family—gambling.”
“Tsk. Why hold a funeral for someone like that?”
Hearing that, several glanced at him reproachfully.
Usually, families struggled even to find a burial place, so funerals were quiet and simple. But this time, the man, though no longer noble, had a daughter who suddenly returned and arranged a grand funeral. That drew the curious villagers.
“Well, he was still her father, I suppose.”
“Ha! If she really cared about filial duty, she should’ve looked after him before.”
“Oh, stop. Whatever you say, it can’t be easy for a young girl to lose her father.”
“If it were me, I’d feel relieved.”
“Eat your food and stop talking nonsense.”
“I didn’t say anything wrong.”
He shoved a spoonful of stew into his mouth, grumbling.
As they said, Bella had prepared simple food for those who came to pay respects—hoping they would remember her father kindly, even just a little, at the end.
“Well, since his daughter cared for him, he’ll go to a good place.”
“Sure. I even laid a flower for him earlier. Who was it again, though?”
“Honestly, at least remember whose funeral this is! Baron Osik. Baron Osik!”
Yes. It was the funeral of Bella Osik’s father.
Wearing a plain black dress, Bella stared at the closed coffin.
She didn’t know what to say.
Goodbye? I loved you? I’m sad you’re gone? None of those words could express the storm inside her chest.
Reality felt distant and numb—like floating above clouds, yet at the same time sinking deep underground.
“Bella. If you’re ready, let’s finish. The sun is setting.”
The tailor, who had accompanied her at the funeral, patted her back.
Bella still did not take her eyes off the coffin.
“I don’t know if I’m ready.”
“Yes. That’s natural. You may not be ready for some time. But before the sun sets, we must let him go.”
“…Yes.”
When she nodded, the laborers began shoveling dirt onto the coffin.
Watching the coffin vanish beneath the soil, Bella closed her eyes in resignation.
She never got to see her father’s soul. The first feeling after realizing his death was crushing emptiness and loneliness—as if she were the only one left in the world.
At last, the coffin disappeared completely. Baron Osik was gone from this world.
“W-wait…”
Eyes wide, Bella suddenly crouched by the grave and dug at the dirt with her hands.
The tailor, startled, tried to lift her, but Bella frantically clawed at the earth, as if possessed.
“I—I’m not ready. Just a moment, I haven’t spoken to Father yet, I still—”
“Bella, let him go now, please?”
“Just a little more, please, I still haven’t said what I need to—”
Seeing her strange behavior, people hesitated, then helped the tailor restrain her. They tried to calm her, patting her back and whispering kind words.
But to Bella, it all felt distant. The feeling of being utterly alone in the world—it was fear itself.
She struggled in their grip, terrified, when suddenly—
“…What are you doing there, young man?”
“Digging the grave.”
A man had appeared out of nowhere, silently digging into the grave.
People gasped in shock. Bella could not tear her eyes away from him, equally startled.
“She still hasn’t properly said goodbye. She is suffering. Wouldn’t it be alright to let her try once more?”
“But… it’s already…”
The man’s tone was polite yet powerful. No one dismissed him as they had Bella.
“Funerals are for the living—to help those left behind carry on with the memory of the departed. Please, I beg you.”
He gazed kindly yet firmly at the workers.
They glanced at each other awkwardly, then looked away.
“Well… funerals are for the living, sure, but still, work is—”
Before they could finish, the man produced a small pouch and handed it to them.
“Would this suffice? Forgive me for making you do the work twice.”
After peeking inside, the workers’ expressions brightened, and their attitudes softened at once.
“Oh, not a problem. A girl alone in the world—how hard it must be. Don’t worry, we’ll help.”
Though the sun was already setting in red light, the workers energetically drove their shovels into the soil as if beginning anew.
At that moment, Bella’s hoarse voice startled them all.
“It’s okay now.”
Everyone turned to look at her. Hadn’t she just said she wasn’t okay?
