Chapter 64….
Behind the Scenes
“E–everything? But what if it all goes down the drain…?”
The employee looked dazed, glancing back and forth between the order sheet in his hands and Bella.
He thought she would use the money she’d just earned to expand the existing business. But instead, she wanted to pour it into a completely different venture. It was far too risky.
Yet Bella, wearing a confident smile, playfully winked.
“There’s no way it’ll flop. At worst, I’ll gain ten times more than I have now. I’m counting on you.”
She patted the employee’s shoulder twice and left the office.
After leaving the site, Bella washed up briefly and headed straight to her chamber. She couldn’t wait to return and talk with Chei about business, daily life, curses—anything and everything. Her steps grew quicker on their own.
Chei would surely support her idea of investing in finance. He was someone who could read the trends.
From now on, those who held wealth would wield power. And who held the most wealth? Merchants? Traders?
No—banks.
“Maybe it’s time I dip my toes into that field too.”
Bella hummed cheerfully, towel-drying her damp hair as she stepped into her bedroom.
But Chei’s expression when she met him was unusually grim.
“Chei, did something happen?”
She tossed the towel onto a chair and walked closer.
“What were you thinking, Bella? Why did you contact the temple?”
Only then did Bella notice the crumpled letter in his hand. She thought she’d destroyed all the misprinted letters, but it seemed one had slipped through.
She hadn’t told him about the temple’s involvement with the curse, worried he’d only grow more anxious. Now it was too late.
Humming under her breath as if nothing were wrong, Bella quickly came up with an excuse.
“They’re perfect as ambassadors for the candle business, aren’t they?”
“That can’t be the whole reason.”
Her attempt to lighten the mood didn’t work. Chei sighed quietly and stepped toward her.
A chill rushed through her as he drew near. Bella playfully pretended to swat his arm.
“With both the royal family and the temple in my hands, I can at least keep the balance, right?”
“You can’t underestimate the temple. Whether you believe in the gods or not, their oracles have never been wrong.”
He was right. Even when absolute monarchy had arrived, the temple’s influence had never waned.
Oracles—warnings and advice about the future that were never wrong.
But Bella had no interest in the temple, its gods, or its oracles. Their prophecies always concerned great, sweeping events: disasters, wars, royal upheavals.
And yet, look. For the people of the kingdom, the Duke of Prellord was far more important than the royal family, yet the oracle had failed to foresee his death.
No—more accurately, it chose not to. The oracles only cared about the fate of the nation.
Thus, the duke’s plan to grant freedom to the kingdom’s commoners ended in ruin, and he was cursed, forever trapped in his estate.
“Chei. You said you wanted the curse broken, right?”
“……”
“I’ll break it for you. No matter what.”
Her violet eyes gleamed like polished amethyst. Strangely, Chei thought they looked sorrowful. And he realized just how cowardly he had become.
Even the words he was about to speak were nothing but cowardly advice, meant to hide his true feelings.
“Bella. It’s dangerous. The temple might be even more perilous than the royal family. It is, after all, a sanctuary.”
“Mm… I’d call it busy rather than dangerous.”
Bella looked at him, then broke into a bright, childlike grin. The innocence of it made Chei avert his gaze, unsettled. He didn’t understand—she’d sworn not to trust him anymore, yet here she was, letting down her guard and treating him like someone special.
“Come with me. I’ll inform Hayden.”
“Sorry, but that’s not possible. I plan to go to the temple alone. The Pope would likely prefer it that way, too.”
“Bella.”
Chei’s voice grew more earnest as he spoke her name.
Hearing her name in his voice made Bella’s chest ache and tingle. She knew his desperation stemmed from wanting his curse lifted, and that this was why he treated her so earnestly, yet her heart still wavered.
Bella chuckled lightly and patted his half-transparent shoulder.
“Chei. The temple is more dangerous for you than for me, you know? That woman who came to the estate last time—she might be the next Saintess.”
“…Saintess?”
“Yes. The one said to be endlessly reborn with her past lives’ memories intact.”
Chei’s brows furrowed.
Back when the Duke of Prellord lived, the Saintess had indeed existed. His memories of her were unpleasant. She had given him cloying looks and needlessly touched him often.
Later, after her death, he had only learned of it through a newspaper brought in by the estate’s new owner.
As Chei’s expression darkened, Bella’s own stiffened.
That woman had clearly recognized Chei. If she could see him too, then Bella would no longer be the only one who could. She would no longer be his one and only.
Worse, the Saintess would be far more suited to breaking his curse. Unlike Bella, she possessed vast knowledge of divine powers.
“Wouldn’t that make it even more dangerous for you? That woman didn’t seem to like you much.”
“Better that than her liking you.”
“…?”
Chei blinked in surprise at her cold tone.
Bella herself paused, wondering if her voice had sounded too sharp. Then she smacked her own cheek with her palm.
This was jealousy.
Startled by her own feelings, Bella shook her head furiously.
If she took Chei to the temple, the Saintess might intervene to save him. But if that happened, Bella would lose any reason to stay by his side. She couldn’t allow that.
Between choosing what was best for Chei or what was best for herself, Bella chose herself. She would never, ever let him meet the temple’s people.
Her conscience pricked at her, but she couldn’t help it.
“Anyway, just leave this to me. Thanks to you, business has grown even bigger, so now I have to keep my promise too.”
“I—”
Bella laughed broadly, but Chei felt her smile was forced.
He tried to continue the conversation, but she was quicker. She scrambled onto the bed and slipped beneath the blanket.
“When the curse is broken, just give me a word of thanks, okay? I’m tired, so I’ll sleep first. I was swamped all morning with paperwork from all the new orders.”
Chei couldn’t bring himself to say more. He simply watched her close her eyes, then quietly turned off the lamp.
Such a small act—yet it was the most he could do for her.
Gold-painted murals, towering columns, a ceiling impossibly high above.
Beneath it all, a gaunt man walked nervously forward.
He stopped before a massive set of doors befitting such a grand building. When the armed guards swung them open, an even more splendid hall was revealed.
One might have gasped in awe, but the man only looked more anxious, as though pursued.
“Your Majesty. A reply has arrived from Bella Osik.”
At his words, the king let out a harsh, rasping laugh. The sound was so unstable it seemed he might choke at any moment.
Thankfully, a fit of coughing steadied him. He gestured at the man with a wave, like calling a dog.
“Well? Did she accept the invitation?”
“Yes. She said she was delighted to receive it.”
The man hunched and scurried up the stairs, then handed over the letter.
The reply was written in neat script: of course she would attend, and it would be her honor.
“Hah, just as I thought. The daughter of a mere viscount’s house could hardly resist being excited by a royal invitation. Now then, what shall we do with her?”
“……”
The king let out a sly chuckle. On the hand resting against the armrest, a crimson ring glimmered faintly.
