Chapter 26. Hidden Space
A few mercenaries approached and easily subdued Bella’s rampaging father.
His eyes had already rolled back in madness, and saliva was dripping from his mouth.
“Stop causing a scene. This is your warning.”
“Give me my money! Give me my money back! Just pretend it never happened, okay? Let’s pretend it never happened!”
Apparently having had enough, the mercenaries began dragging him away. Bella immediately followed them silently, lifting her skirt with both hands to avoid making a sound.
As expected, the mercenaries were dragging her father toward a hidden area of the gambling den.
Beyond the lavishly decorated back section, past where the staff worked, they opened a hatch in the temporary storage floor, revealing a secret space.
“Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
A staff member who had come to get some ingredients asked Bella. She smiled nonchalantly, approached him, and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Why are you only just getting here?”
“H-Huh?”
“I’ve been waiting to see when you’d come.”
“What are you talking about?”
As the confused staff member questioned her, Bella approached the storage door and quietly locked it. Then she untied the waist ribbon that accentuated her figure and wrapped it around her hand a couple of times.
The staff member swallowed nervously at the sight of Bella’s slightly disheveled dress and rubbed his red ears out of embarrassment.
Amid the charged tension, Bella suddenly reached out—and swiftly wrapped the ribbon around his neck, taking him down without even giving him time to scream. He passed out immediately.
Seeing an opportunity, Bella stripped the unconscious man and dressed him in her dress, while she put on his staff uniform.
It was a much more practical outfit, especially in case a fight broke out later.
“Bella. There are five of them down there.”
“Five? Not just two mercenaries and my father?”
“Right.”
“I’ll need to check for myself.”
Bella opened the hidden hatch in the floor and carefully descended underground. As soon as she sensed a nearby presence, she slipped behind a wall.
“P-Please, spare me… I must’ve lost my mind. Please…”
“You’re not even Baron Oshick anymore—you’re just a commoner now. You’ve lost your membership. The boss only let you in this time because you were a regular, and you threw that chance away?”
At the mercenary’s chilling words, her father grovelled, bowing repeatedly with his hands clasped.
Bella quietly listened to their conversation, her gaze lowered.
“M-My daughter is in this town.”
“Daughter?”
At his plea, the mercenary’s eyes gleamed—like a predator checking to see if the prey had any meat left on it.
“Yes. She’s the one who gave me that money.”
“So?”
“I’ll borrow money from her. I can do it!”
“Wait here.”
The mercenary lightly tapped her father’s head with his foot and disappeared into the shadows.
He likely went to consult with someone of higher rank, since it wasn’t a decision he could make on his own.
After a moment, he returned with another man at his side.
“So. Your daughter came looking for you?”
Bella quickly took in the newcomer’s appearance. Dressed in expensive clothes and adorned with flashy jewelry, he clearly looked like a mid-level manager running this gambling den.
Her father, seemingly familiar with him, smiled ingratiatingly and tried to curry favor with his eyes.
“Y-Yes! She gave me the money to buy food, and I used it here!”
“You say that like it’s something to be proud of. Tsk. You’ve become pathetic.”
“P-Please, just one more round! I swear I was about to win just now…”
“Go home for today. Next time, bring at least one gold coin if you want to be let in.”
“Sir Kalt!”
“I already showed mercy letting a non-noble like you into this place. Are you going to become someone who forgets kindness too?”
“N-No, sir…”
At Kalt’s cold voice, her father immediately bowed his head in submission.
The conversation apparently over, he was dragged out by a mercenary, barely able to stand.
Only once they were gone did Bella step carefully down the stairs to look around.
“Bella, no matter how many people you put on it, you can’t dig a tunnel like this in such a short time.”
“I thought so too.”
“They’ve likely built spaces like this all around the town and rotate their operations irregularly to avoid getting caught.”
“Hm. Do you think I can take the mercenaries?”
“If you’re willing to kill, you could take three.”
Bella blinked in surprise. It was amazing that Che could assess her abilities so accurately—and that he actually thought that highly of her strength.
“How many are over there?”
“Four.”
“Including that Kalt guy?”
“…Yeah. Are you really going in now?”
In response, Bella gently shook her wrist, jangling her bracelet.
It glowed faintly blue with a soft chime.
“If I’ve come into the tiger’s den, I might as well cut off its tail.”
With a sharp smile, Bella stepped boldly into the dark corridor.
At the end, she spotted a wooden door—and two mercenaries guarding it.
“Who the hell are you?”
The mercenary approached menacingly, as if ready to draw a weapon.
“I’m not a ‘who the hell.’ I’ve just got some business here.”
Bella adjusted her stance with a cold expression. She had worried there might be more guards outside, but thankfully there were only two.
Moreover, the mercenaries moved simply—easy to predict. As one charged, Bella deflected his attack, grabbed his wrist and collar, and swiftly flipped him over.
In a flash, she seized his sword and turned to face the remaining mercenary.
There was no way anyone could beat Bella once she had a sword.
She stepped over the two unconscious guards and opened the wooden door, which creaked loudly on its old hinges.
“Who is it? Some guy who lost at the tables?”
“Why does everyone keep calling me a guy?”
Bella let out a frustrated sigh. All she did was change into a staff uniform—yet now people were unsure of her gender.
Inside, as expected, was one mercenary and the man who appeared to be the gambling den’s mid-tier manager—the one her father had called Kalt.
“What’s your purpose for coming in here?”
“I was just wondering what the purpose of this gambling den is. How is it run?”
In truth, she wasn’t curious. If anything, she wanted to kill them all. But she didn’t say that—it would only raise their guard.
Clearly, she wasn’t the first to barge in like this. They scoffed and dismissed her.
“Even if you complain, we won’t give you anything back. You lost your money fair and square. You’re not trying to blame me for it, are you?”
“I don’t touch dirty money. I intend to earn everything myself—through hard work. I’ve had a bad experience with gambling.”
Bella had endured working as a maid because it was her way of expressing her resentment toward her father.
She wouldn’t earn money the way he did.
She wouldn’t live like he did.
She would never gamble away her life like he did.
That burning determination had shaped Bella into who she was.
“Really? That’s too bad. That pretty little neck of yours might end up a casualty in a stupid situation like this.”
Kalt smirked and ran his finger across his throat in a slicing gesture. At the same time, the mercenary beside him stepped forward. Unlike the ones guarding the door, this one had formal training in swordsmanship.
“I heard earlier your name was Kalt. Is that your real name?”
“That’s all you want to know before you die?”
“Yeah. I at least want to know the name of the man who ruined my family.”
At Bella’s words, Kalt burst out laughing and wiped away tears—clearly amused.
“Pfft—so that’s what this is! Family revenge, huh?”
Now pounding on his desk with laughter, the jewelry hanging from his body jingled noisily.
Bella grimaced slightly at the irritating clatter and gripped her sword tighter.
Still, all that heavy jewelry would make it hard for him to join the fight, so in a way, it was a relief.
“Yeah, I know it’s old-fashioned. But the classics work for a reason.”
She brushed her messy hair behind her ear and chuckled.
Surprised, Kalt widened his eyes—then laughed even louder and clapped his hands.
“You’re something else! How about working with me?”
“Sir Kalt!”
The startled mercenary turned away from Bella to look at Kalt. But Kalt glared and raised a finger to his lips, clearly displeased.
“Shut up. I’m talking to a guest.”
“B-But…”
As the mercenary hesitated and lowered his sword, Bella spoke.
“If I work with you, how far could I go?”
Her bold question brought a heavy silence to the room.
