Chapter 61….. Three Years
【Is It Right for Commoners to Amass Private Wealth?】
【Perfume That Captures the True Scent of Fresh Flowers, Belle de Mari, Sells Out Instantly!】
【The Enigmatic Bella Osik—Turns Out She’s a Young, Unmarried Woman?】
【Proposal from Count Humphrey—A Real-Life Cinderella?】
Thud.
Bella slammed the newspaper down irritably, her face scrunching in anger.
“Why am I Cinderella? Have they lost their minds?”
Hearing her mutter, Chey lifted his gaze from the book he was reading and looked at her.
Three years had passed since their visit to the astrologers’ village. As Bella had predicted, her business had boomed, and Chey had been instrumental in that success.
Especially with the recent launch of her perfume line, nearly every step of the branding had gone through Chey’s inspection. His aristocratic taste had played a big role in appealing to the nobility.
Thanks to that, Bella became a beacon of hope for women, a source of crisis for the aristocrats, and an unsettling threat to men.
The entire kingdom gossiped about her as if she were a sorceress capable of toppling the throne, and for a time, her business even faltered under the weight of it all.
“A young commoner woman becoming the first to succeed as a businesswoman—of course they can’t stand it without trying to tear you down.”
Bella nodded furiously in agreement.
“Would you believe they didn’t even invite me to the last Entrepreneurs’ Night gala? Can you imagine? Their excuse—‘it isn’t a place for women!’ Hah! Ridiculous.”
She let out an exasperated huff, hands on her hips.
The marriage proposal from Count Humphrey’s family? She had rejected it outright. Which, of course, caused yet another uproar.
If she refused—uproar. If she accepted—uproar.
If she succeeded—uproar. If she failed—uproar!
“As a commoner entrepreneur, you’re already disrupting the class system, so the nobility targets you. On top of that, being a woman, you’ve practically drawn everyone’s hostility.”
“It feels like the whole world is just waiting for the chance to tear me apart.”
Bella rubbed her face with both hands and forced herself to calm down. Her only real comfort was the wealth piling up around her.
No—more than that, it was Chey’s presence at her side that reassured her. They hadn’t fully rebuilt their trust, but as business partners, they were in perfect sync.
When Bella plopped into the chair across from him, Chey set his book down. The title caught her eye.
“So, you see why you should read more of my story.”
“Chey?”
He had been reading The Life of Duke Prellode, recently published by Liddell.
“I was that Duke Prellode. Hounded on all sides, with nobles and royals alike waiting for the day I died. I had so many enemies, I couldn’t even guess who had cursed me.”
His voice was gentle, tender almost, but it couldn’t hide the shadow in his eyes.
“Did you also face assassination attempts every single day?”
“Hmm… at least twice on a quiet day, more than ten times on others.”
“That’s insane.”
Like Bella, Duke Prellode had endured constant scrutiny and vicious attacks from those eager to destroy him. Understanding what he meant, Bella sighed, her heart settling slightly.
“Jealousy blinds people. And beyond that, they must have thought I was stealing their bread.”
In this world, society allowed women only two paths upward: marriage or servitude as a lady’s maid.
But suddenly, a commoner woman with no title had succeeded not through marriage or service—but as a businesswoman. People feared her as if she were a witch possessed.
No one openly expressed fondness for Bella, and yet, strangely, everything she put on the market sold out instantly.
Perhaps the combination of unmarried commoner woman, of marriageable age, who made her fortune while living in a haunted mansion was just too provocative to resist.
“Fights over bread… they’re terrifying. Sometimes I can’t even tell if it’s people fighting, or beasts.”
“You don’t need to worry. You have me, don’t you?”
Chey leaned in with a soft smile. Startled by the closeness, Bella looked away with a cough, though his hand brushing against hers on the sofa did not go unnoticed.
A shadow fell over her. When she glanced up, his blue eyes were fixed on hers.
With more people living in the mansion now, Chey had been siphoning off just enough vitality to maintain a physical form. Sometimes Bella almost mistook him for a living man.
Her gaze slipped down to their joined hands.
But no matter how solid he appeared, he had no body—he couldn’t truly touch the living.
Just like how his hand passed through hers, even while seeming to rest upon it.
“And yet, you drain my vitality every day. Then you say I have nothing to worry about?”
“That’s why I’m always left wanting. Thirsty.”
“….”
His forehead nearly brushed hers before pulling away again, as if knowing he could never truly close the distance.
His gaze didn’t waver—quiet, unyielding—as he held her eyes.
“My heart wants to consume you whole. But I can only keep my fingertips here like this.”
His low, rough voice carried the faintest trace of laughter.
“If you did that, I’d really faint. Even just touching hands like this, I feel the blood draining from my body.”
When Bella waved her arms frantically, Chey’s form blurred like dissipating smoke.
As he drew back, the chilling cold vanished, replaced by warmth once more. Moments like this reminded her sharply that he was not among the living.
“That’s why I feed from others as well, not only you.”
“You drain other people like this too?”
Chey burst out laughing at her question, as if incredulous.
“Of course not. You’re the only one I handle so carefully.”
If Bella ever saw how he actually drained vitality from others, she would surely despise it. He simply seized their heads and wrenched the energy out—a sight fit for a monster from legend.
The darker his eyes grew, the more his lips curved in a faint smile.
By now, Bella could even recognize the signs—ah, he’s falling into self-loathing again.
She rose to her feet, intending to lighten the mood, but the door suddenly burst open.
“Master!”
“Shun? What’s gotten into you, barging in like that?”
Bella greeted him with a bright smile, though the faint grinding of her teeth was unmistakable.
After all, this was her private chamber. If she had been changing clothes, Shun’s life would have ended that very moment.
Sensing the killing intent in the air, Shun anxiously glanced around before blurting out:
“An invitation!”
“Oh, another embroidery club or tea party? Hardly worth running here out of breath. Next time, walk. No need to waste your lungs.”
“N-no, it’s from the Royal Family…”
“The Royal Family?”
Bella’s eyes widened.
“Yes! At last—the Royal Family has sent you an invitation!”
Jackpot.
Indeed, if you bait the hook long enough, the prey will eventually bite. Bella let out a silent cheer, punching the air with glee.
Shun, taken aback by her reaction, fumbled as he drew the invitation from his breast pocket, having missed the proper timing to present it.
“Chey, did you hear that? We finally made it in!”
“I didn’t think it would happen this quickly.”
“Right? See, I told you—I’ve got tenacity and grit!”
Bella beamed, eyes shining, her excitement unrestrained.
Ever since their visit to the astrologers’ village, Bella and Chey’s first goal had been to establish a connection with the Royal Family.
She hadn’t explained everything to him, but Bella was convinced that the curse binding Chey was deeply linked to the royals.
Now, after pushing her business so relentlessly, she had drawn their attention at last.
The timing was perfect.
The king, facing a strained treasury, must have wanted ties with talented new entrepreneurs. And Bella, who had triumphed with purely domestic products—not imports—and had even broken into the export market, was the perfect candidate.
Along with the suspicion of her haunted mansion and the curiosity surrounding her, there was surely greed—an eagerness to make use of Bella’s success.
“M-Master?”
Shun, watching Bella muttering excitedly to the air, called her nervously.
“Hm? What is it? Oh—right, the invitation. Hand it over.”
“Here it is.”
Smiling broadly, cheeks flushed, Bella took the invitation from him.
Shun couldn’t shake the thought that her violet eyes looked unusually dark, gleaming like obsidian. At the same time, a chill crept down the back of his neck.
