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Chapter 18
Even after she explained it in full, Bella’s expression didn’t ease.
“Who exactly?”
[Who else would it be? Right now it’s Calterion! Once you conquer Calterion, the next one’s Theodore!]
“…So, you’re saying I should kill them?”
“Aaagh!” The sound of feet stomping echoed — Ophanie seemed exasperated too.
[Hey! Don’t you even get that? Not kill them — make them reeeally like you!]
Seeing Bella’s pink eyes go blank, Ophanie shouted louder.
[So much that even if the Imperial Family demanded you, he’d never hand you over! So much that he’d want to grant your every wish! Make him fall for you, got it?]
That’s what I mean by “getting along well”!
“…Ridiculous.”
Summing up her feelings in one word, Bella stepped out of the forest and headed toward the tower where the duke was.
Ophanie kept chattering nonstop.
Between comments like “Fix your expression!” and “You look like you’re going to kill someone!”, he started lecturing on “How to earn a human’s favor” and “How to make friends with humans.”
Unbelievable.
[If you want to win people over, first thing—smile a little!]
Bella had lived her whole life as part of the Special Operations Unit, marching across countless battlefields.
She had seen everything imaginable, done whatever it took to win.
And now what?
[Try speaking gently! Move with grace! And then…]
Bella didn’t even need to think.
None of this would ever help her plan.
By the time she climbed the spiral staircase and finally reached the third floor where the duke’s office was, sweat was pouring down her forehead.
“Huff, huff…”
This damned staircase.
This damned body.
Leaning on the railing to catch her breath, Bella felt the gazes of the duke’s intelligence agents on her back — all awkward, unsure.
Their fingers twitched as if they wanted to help, but in the end, they didn’t move.
Seeing that, Ophanie giggled and whispered.
[Still, they’ve become a little nicer to you. Ever since you saved their lives in the basin, their attitude’s changed, y’know?]
“So what.”
[You could at least ask their names?]
Ignoring him, Bella straightened up and turned right.
The shadow of the staircase disappeared as soon as she crossed the doorway.
The midday sunlight streaming through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows made the vast hall look even more magnificent.
The floor, a mosaic of alternating black and white marble, looked like a gigantic chessboard. Between the columns that lined the windows stood busts of the former dukes, solemn and proud.
The huge double doors to the duke’s office — easily three times a person’s height — were made of rosewood famous for its fragrance, a testament to the wealth and honor the ducal house enjoyed.
Of course, none of that mattered to Bella.
“I’m sorry, but His Grace cannot receive you right now. Please come back later.”
What good was grandeur when she was being refused entry?
“What do you mean? That guy just went in.”
Bella pointed toward the man who’d just walked through the office doors, and the duke’s attendant suppressed a sigh at the sight of the lady who looked as if her personality had changed overnight.
Her once-elegant pale green gown — reminiscent of a forest fairy — was now wrinkled and messy from the hem up, and her silver hair, usually so neatly brushed, was tousled.
In fact, there were even a few red maple leaves tangled between the strands.
“That gentleman has an appointment with His Grace. I’m sorry, but please leave. Also, His Grace has instructed that you make up your mind by the end of the day.”
After delivering the words with formal politeness, the attendant glanced briefly at the young wolf in Bella’s arms and quickly disappeared behind the doors.
Thud.
The heavy doors closed, leaving her outside.
The guards, as if under strict orders not to speak, stood motionless with their eyes fixed on the ceiling.
“……”
[Hey! Stop! Don’t you dare break that door! You couldn’t even if you tried!]
Ophanie tried to calm her down and offered an alternative.
[Don’t get mad—try this instead! Say, ‘Grandfatherrr, I reallyyy want to see you!’ and wait there!]
“Forget it.”
Face flushed red, Bella spun on her heel and started back the way she came.
Forget winning favor or anything else.
She’d just hole up in her room.
It wouldn’t be long before Calypse faced danger again.
When that day came, she’d lead the wolves and save him in front of everyone — then this whole miserable situation would flip in an instant…
[Wait, wait! Look! That guy’s carrying a huge bundle of letters! What if one of those is from the Imperial Family? What if you’re getting kicked out today, Bella!?]
Startled, Bella turned to look at a servant passing by with a polite bow.
He carried a neatly bound stack of letters and slipped through the door the knights had opened for him.
[There could totally be a letter from the Emperor in there!]
Ophanie began hopping anxiously, and his nervousness infected Bella.
“You can’t see what’s beyond that door, can you?”
She mouthed the words, and Ophanie immediately answered.
[I can only see around you! Do you know how much effort even that takes?]
“But you saw Theodore, didn’t you?”
At her sharp question, Ophanie swallowed hard.
[I didn’t see Theodore. I saw around Hector Rodick for a bit — because that was the moment you were supposed to enter that body. I was given permission to look at his surroundings for that purpose.]
So that I could insert you into him at the right time.
Just then—
A group of men walked past Bella.
The sunlight, now slanting after noon, cast their dark shadows long across the golden marble floor.
Dressed in sharp suits with plain black cloaks, they were the ducal castle’s administrative officers.
The knights, who’d opened the door for the servant earlier, now merely glanced at the grand clock on the wall.
It was as if they were waiting for a precise moment.
Bella’s body moved on instinct.
She jumped into the line without thinking, and everyone — her informants, the officials — stared at her in disbelief.
“Um… Lady Bella?”
Looking up and down the line as if assessing the situation, she replied curtly, “Stay there. I’m in line too.”
Then, as if realizing something, she nodded to herself and muttered,
“So… we meet Grandfather in order, right?”
“…Pardon?”
She blinked, her eyes lighting up. “We’re seeing him on a first-come, first-served basis, right?”
The official just stared blankly before nodding like a fool.
At that moment, Edwin — on his way to the duke’s office to start the afternoon’s work — stopped dead at the sight of his subordinates awkwardly lined up in the hall.
If they were all here, that could only mean…
“……”
His sharp blue eyes landed on the silver hair sticking out among the officials.
“Sigh…”
The administrative officers immediately tucked their necks like frightened turtles and swallowed hard when he exhaled.
His clean features, barely hidden by a monocle, and his consistently polite manners made every maid in the castle swoon.
But for those who’d ever had to work with him, that politeness was pure terror.
Count Fillmore’s perfection left no room for even the tiniest mistake.
On top of his genius intellect, he’d been born with natural arrogance — and wielded a sharp, cuttingly formal way of speaking.
“Do you truly believe this is the best you can do?”
When Count Fillmore — who could finish reading a report that took three days to write in under a minute — said something like that,
no one ever dared ask what they’d done wrong.
They knew his cold blue gaze would slice them open before they could speak.
Now, that same Fillmore Count stood before Bella.
“Lady Bella.”
His eyes were cold, his tone arrogant.
“What, exactly, are you doing here?”
His voice and expression were so composed, so cutting, that even the bureaucrats nearby shivered from secondhand humiliation.
