Chapter 42 – Veil:
“Don’t you feel resentful? That no matter how hard you try, there’s a wall of status you can never overcome?”
When Ridel stood up, his body passed right through Chei’s spirit.
Chei, clearly displeased by Ridel’s body passing through him, silently drifted over to the desk.
“Why do you want to overturn the system, Ridel? You’re a noble. You have money. Of all people, you should want this society to stay just as it is.”
Status always felt like such an abstract and distant issue that Bella hadn’t thought deeply about it. She mocked the arrogance of nobles, yet she wasn’t free from it either.
After all, Bella too had lived the life of a noble during childhood, with a nanny to raise her.
She dreamt of that past again, but never once considered she could change the system itself.
That’s why she made up her mind when she left home—if she couldn’t live as a noble, she’d do the best she could as a commoner. That meant money. That meant owning a house.
“The Duke of Prellord, whom I greatly respect, tried to use his position to create a world where social class didn’t matter.”
“…A world without class?”
She felt like she was close to grasping something, but couldn’t quite reach it. Bella frowned as she replayed the conversation with Ridel in her head.
Everything felt disjointed, like a puzzle where none of the pieces fit together.
“Yes. ‘All humans are equal as humans. There is no superiority or inferiority under humanity.’ That’s what Duke Prellord said. He argued that noble titles should not be inherited, and that royalty has no right to rule over others simply because of their bloodline and should abdicate their position.”
“I agree with that, but… isn’t that the kind of thing that gets you executed?”
“Of course, even back then it could’ve been seen as treason. But the Duke of Prellord was close with the previous king—they were of the same bloodline. So he never directly clashed with the royal family. I read his writings on royal authority only after his death—they were hidden documents found in the mansion. Only I know about them.”
A soft smile appeared on Ridel’s face, as if reminiscing about the time when he first discovered Duke Prellord as a young boy.
Bella let him linger in his sentiment, because she understood that feeling.
“For someone to say such things a hundred years ago… dying young almost seems inevitable.”
“Exactly. Even after a hundred years, no other noble has thought like that. That’s why I kept clinging to this mansion, to its ghost.”
The bright smile faded, replaced by a bitter one. Bella, watching him silently, finally spoke.
“Duke Prellord wasn’t alone.”
She really didn’t want to get tangled in something this massive, complicated, and annoying.
She had simply dreamed of becoming a rich merchant, living as well as any noble. That dream hadn’t changed. But now that she’d heard all this, perhaps she’d stepped halfway in, whether she liked it or not.
“Do you know another noble like that?”
Ridel’s silver-grey eyes sparkled like stars.
They sparkled so brightly that Bella suddenly realized he still had the passionate glimmer of a young boy.
“Yes. I do.”
“Who?”
Ridel stepped toward her eagerly. Bella opened her mouth.
“Someone named Ridel. A noble who also runs a business.”
“…”
Ridel blinked, startled and momentarily frozen.
Bella opened the door and gestured for him to leave, as if urging him out.
“Next time, bring a few guards who can actually use swords. Some count—Karl, I think?—brought someone from the temple the other day to get rid of Chei.”
“Someone from the temple?”
Ridel, grasping her signals perfectly, began gathering himself to leave and asked.
“Yes. It was a woman wearing a veil. She seemed friendly toward Chei, but I just got a bad feeling from her.”
“I’ll look into it.”
“Thank you.”
Only then did Bella’s tense expression soften slightly.
The matters in the south, and having her body possessed—those were shocking. But if she had to name the moment that most shook her recently, it would be the appearance of that veiled stranger.
“Well, I can’t be gone long, so I’ll take my leave.”
Even in his brief goodbye, there was a hint of affection.
“Be careful! If that bruise still hurts, feel free to bill me for the treatment.”
Bella waved cheerfully as she escorted him to the front gate. There was a trace of guilt in her smile.
Ridel simply shrugged, playfully narrowing his eyes.
“It was my gold coin anyway. It’s just a little bump.”
“…Honestly, I thought you were using me like a tool, trying to sacrifice me. I think I misunderstood you a bit.”
“It wasn’t a misunderstanding.”
“…?”
Bella looked up at him with wide eyes.
Peeking between his soft sky-blue hair, his silver-grey eyes sparkled like a boy’s. If hope could take human form, she thought, it might look like this man.
“But I don’t plan to do that anymore. Just because my dream is noble doesn’t mean all the things I do to achieve it are noble.”
“Then…”
“That ghost living with you told me something. You’ve got quite a good family, Bella.”
“Chei did?”
She’d been wary that Chei might’ve done something using her body, but it seemed he had actually protected her.
As Bella began planning how to go thank Chei right away, Ridel gazed at her quietly. Then his lips parted gently.
“Bella. Someday…”
But he suddenly shut his mouth.
“What? Why stop halfway?”
Bella frowned slightly and urged him on.
Ridel paused, then lowered his head slightly, hiding his eyes with his sky-blue hair, smiling faintly.
“You seem to have a knack for making anyone, no matter who they are, feel like just another ordinary, comfortable person.”
“Is that a compliment or an insult?”
“Who knows? Think about it.”
With a quiet chuckle, Ridel stepped into the carriage.
Bella watched until the carriage disappeared, recalling his cryptic farewell.
“He definitely said ‘someday’…”
Tilting her head, she soon shook off the thought and turned back inside.
After all, since she and Ridel were business partners, getting too close wouldn’t do them any good. There was no reason to bother interpreting his cryptic words.
“Open the door! How dare a lowly commoner not come out when I’ve arrived!”
What woke Bella from her sleep in the morning wasn’t the lovely chirping of birds, but a horrific shout.
Her face twisted in irritation from being woken so unpleasantly.
“Haa… Guess having a noble temperament includes having a strong voice.”
Chei nodded in agreement at her grumble.
Though they lived together in Bella’s room, Chei had recently been trying hard not to touch her—ever since he noticed how pale she looked whenever he made contact.
“I’m here with Count Tressy! Open the door!”
Chei turned toward the window to avoid Bella, who had naturally moved closer to him.
Bella, too, approached the window, glanced down, and let out a surprised gasp. It was Count Karl and Count Tressy.
“Wow, do nobles have no pride?!”
She had only said that sarcastically, but he really brought the indicted Count Tressy here? Unbelievable.
Compared to the last time she saw him, Count Tressy had lost about half his weight. It seemed the trial was taking a toll.
Since the evidence was clear, the trial was more about determining the sentence than proving guilt. No wonder he was sweating bullets.
“They’re only doing this because someone above told them to.”
“Who exactly is this ‘above,’ I wonder?”
“Could be royalists, could be noble factions. Maybe both. The council doesn’t have any reason to bother with this.”
Chei’s icy blue eyes gleamed coldly as he spoke.
“Do you want to know who’s really behind all this, Chei? The one pulling the strings to ruin this estate?”
Bella’s question seemed random at first. After all, they’d find out eventually just by living here.
“We have to find out.”
Chei answered softly, sensing that Bella had a deeper reason for asking.
“And once we do?”
“What do you mean?”
Chei looked at her through half-lidded eyes, his platinum hair shining in the sunlight, his cold blue gaze paradoxically captivating.
“If we find out… do we have the power to stand against them? The person targeting this estate must resent the Prellord family. They’re likely connected to Duke Prellord’s suspicious death.”
“…”
“Can we, just the two of us, really go up against someone who might’ve even killed the Duke?”
Tap. Bella tapped the window frame with her fingertip.
Her calm violet eyes met Chei’s.
It felt strange.
Because she could see her reflection in Chei’s violet eyes.
