Chapter 39: Bella at a Loss
I quickly glanced at Pellermil.
Ha… In all my life, this was the first time I’d ever seen that kind of shock plastered across the bastard’s face.
It meant even he was completely thrown off by Bella’s behavior and answer.
I shot up from my seat.
Then I threw myself flat onto the floor and shouted at the top of my lungs.
“Chancellor! Please forgive me! I have committed a mortal sin…!”
At my sudden action, it was Bella’s turn to look completely stunned.
She was probably wondering why the hell I was doing this.
Perfect. This was my chance. My chance to clean up this mess before Bella could spew any more nonsense.
Bella, please, just help me out here!
“Ahem. What sin are you referring to?”
“That… Despite my lowly status as a mere baron, I have dared to harbor feelings for the young lady of a ducal house.”
“What did you just say?! Explain yourself in detail!!”
I took a deep breath and continued, sneaking a glance at Bella and giving her the most desperate, pleading look I could muster.
“From the very first moment we met, my heart wouldn’t stop racing… So we met a few times in secret, shared meals together… That’s what happened.”
“Oh my… I never would have guessed you were that kind of man…!”
Anger rose on Pellermil’s face.
But I could see it clearly.
The corners of his mouth were twitching like crazy.
“Therefore, please give me some time to think. Once I’ve sorted out my feelings, I will give you my answer then.”
Pellermil closed his eyes.
Seeing his dignified attitude and my performance, Bella must have decided she had acted too rashly. She fidgeted anxiously, tapping her feet on the floor.
It was behavior completely unlike her.
Whoa… To see the Empire’s madwoman at such a complete loss for what to do!
“G-Grandfather?”
“…Very well. You may leave now.”
“Thank you.”
I stood up, bowed deeply, and headed for the door. From behind me came Bella’s urgent voice.
“Grandfather, that’s not what I—”
“Bella Hardrens! Do you even have a brain in that head of yours or not?!”
Oho. Nice one, Pellermil. Keep it up.
You’re actually helping me properly for once.
— Why is he acting like that? I felt his emotions earlier and he seemed happy about it?
⟨ Beres ⟩
“That? It’s simple. He’s scolding her first so he can reluctantly give his approval later. That way she’ll feel even more desperate and grateful.”
“Ehh? Why?”
“Whether it’s love or greed, the harder something looks to obtain, the more desirable and valuable it seems. He’s trying to make Bella feel indebted to him. Like, ‘I’m only allowing this because it’s your request, so you owe me later,’ that kind of thing.”
“Looking at humans, their brains really are something else. Doesn’t it hurt?”
From the perspective of a desire-driven demon, it seemed hard to understand.
When I opened the door, I heard the sound of Bella jumping up from her seat.
“Kael, wait!”
She came running after me and shouted one last thing.
“I hate you, Grandfather!!”
I barely managed to hold back my laughter as I stepped out of the room.
“Heh heh. Hehehehehe…!”
“You seem to be in a good mood, sir?”
At his secretary Leopoldt’s question, the chancellor smiled and nodded.
His granddaughter, who had caused every kind of accident since the day she was born—when had she grown up so much?
Pellermil closed his eyes and replayed the events from an hour ago in his mind.
Eyes filled with desperation and greed.
Maybe it was because she only had one eye, but those emotions had felt overwhelmingly intense.
His granddaughter had looked at him as if she had finally found the goal of her entire life and declared:
No matter what happens, I’m going to live with Kael for the rest of my life, so just know that…!
Well done.
It had been awkward trying to marry her off anyway.
His granddaughter was so famous that even nobles living in remote rural territories knew of her.
The Empire’s madwoman. The ever-smiling witch.
She had many nicknames, but every single one of them came with the modifier “insane.” Bella was a child with many problems.
That was why sending her off in a normal marriage had been difficult.
Those with lower titles feared for their lives and kept their distance, while those with decent titles refused to take her as their first wife.
But one could hardly take the eldest daughter of a grand ducal family as a concubine.
This worked out perfectly.
Although the man was only a baron with a worthless territory, Pellermil knew exactly who the first head of the Cranberry family had been.
The man had been a genius talented enough to join the Imperial Knight Order.
With blood like that, all the boy needed was a little support and he would do just fine.
And he seems to have sharp senses and quite a clever mind.
He had instantly noticed when Bella was being manipulated. Even if the boy thought he had gotten away with it, Pellermil had spent fifty years in the political arena. There was no escaping his eyes.
“Oh? Goodness… Did someone spill something here?”
“Ah, yes. I forgot to clean that up.”
Pellermil casually cast a cleaning spell.
The stain on the sofa where Bella had been sitting vanished without a trace, as if it had never been there.
Will she come back after giving birth? Or before that…?
Either way, one of his worries had been resolved. Pellermil chuckled softly and downed the tea in his cup in one gulp.
“Kael. Kael!”
As I silently descended the stairs and headed out of the building, Bella came chasing after me in a panic and threw herself against my back, hugging me tightly.
“Are you mad because I spoke without thinking?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why won’t you answer when I call you? You’re mad, aren’t you? You are, right?”
“I’m not. I’m really not angry.”
How could I be angry?
Setting aside her slight madness, Bella was a beautiful woman.
Her lush, glossy red hair looked like it had been made by grinding rubies into powder.
And the mischievous face beneath it was filled with her unique charm—simply looking at her filled you with energy.
Such a woman had said she liked me.
She liked me enough to say she wanted to marry me and live together for the rest of our lives.
Why wouldn’t I be happy?
Still, right now I needed to put on a little act.
“Then why won’t you even look at me properly…!”
Bella ran ahead and blocked my path.
She… she was on the verge of tears, which was very unlike her.
Ugh. When she makes a face like that, I can’t keep up the act at all.
— But why are you doing this? I’m curious too?
⟨ Beres ⟩
“She’s pretty obsessive, you know. I figured I should take the lead before it gets any worse.”
“Hmm~ Yeah, I guess just leaving her like this could be dangerous. You never know when a knife might come flying from behind while you’re busy fucking other women.”
“Exactly.”
Bella was more than capable of doing something like that.
The countless incidents and records she had built up were enough to earn her the title of the Empire’s greatest madwoman.
Yet even though every moment was hellish agony, she was a girl who still smiled through it.
I guess I wasn’t evil enough to toy with the heart of such a pitiful child.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong, Kael… So please don’t abandon me.”
With her one remaining eye, Bella let her emotions spill out as tears.
They trickled down, gathered at the tip of her chin, and fell to the ground in heavy drops.
I looked straight at Bella.
Then I carefully stepped closer, wrapped her in a tight embrace, and spoke.
“There’s no way I would ever abandon you.”
“B-but… I was so scared…!”
“Don’t worry. That will never happen.”
Bella looked up at me from within my arms.
Her eye was trembling with anxiety.
“Kael, do you love me?”
— You need to answer this carefully, Aslan. “Of course” is fine, but… you get it, right?
⟨ Beres ⟩
I gave her a gentle, peaceful smile and answered.
“Of course I do.”
“Thank goodness. Hic. I’m so relieved.”
“If you cry and then laugh, you’ll grow hair on your butt. Hehe.”
At my lame joke, Bella let out a little giggle.
She had cried so sincerely that tears were even leaking out from beneath her eyepatch on the right side.
I gently stroked her back and spoke softly, as if to reassure her.
“Even if—though it would never happen—I grow old and someday forget what love feels like, I promise I will take responsibility for you until the very end. So trust me. Can you do that?”
“Yes!”
I lightly cast an invisibility spell.
Then I shared a deep, passionate kiss with Bella.
That day, Bella’s kiss was calmer and more careful than it had ever been before.
After parting with Bella and returning to my dormitory building, the sky had already turned a deep twilight.
Wondering what to do, I simply headed straight up to my room.
Since my escort duty for the princess started today, it would have been difficult to sleep together anyway.
As soon as I entered the room and flopped down onto the bed, Aria crawled out from inside my clothes and returned to her original form.
“It must have been hot and uncomfortable… You worked hard today, Aria.”
“Not at all. I actually enjoyed it. I was more worried that it might have been uncomfortable for you, Master…”
“How could it be? Every time I lowered my head, a wonderful scent would waft up. I liked it too~”
Aria’s face turned bright red.
She immediately lowered her head and began sniffing her own body.
She seemed genuinely curious if she really smelled that good.
After watching her for a moment, I quietly closed my eyes.
Thinking that the day had finally come to an end, I felt my body float and a wave of drowsiness wash over me.
Strange. Ever since I got younger, I’ve been sleeping a lot more.
Right before I died, I only slept about two hours a day on average.
I don’t understand why sleep decreases as you get older.
Shouldn’t you sleep less when you’re young?
— Trying to understand the rules of this world with your head is already arrogant in itself.
⟨ Beres ⟩
Huh… That’s actually a pretty decent thing to say, coming from Beres.
As I was lost in random thoughts, I suddenly felt a small presence and something soft pressed against my side.
A squishy, gentle sensation.
After a moment, the point of contact began to warm up as body heat spread between us.
“Master.”
“…Yeah, what is it?”
“It might be a rude question, but… I’m curious what you think of me.”
Was today some kind of special day?
Why was everyone suddenly talking about love?
— What do you mean, why? She saw everything that happened with Bella earlier, so of course she got curious too.
⟨ Beres ⟩
“Then what should I say, sis? I’d appreciate some advice.”
Beres answered in a rather serious tone.
“Ahem. In that case, say this: ‘You are so lovable that I can’t stand being apart from you even for a second!’”
“Won’t that sound too frivolous?”
“Don’t worry. I’m a demon with five hundred years of dating counseling experience. Trust me. She’s completely head over heels right now. Even if you spoke like a dog, she’d interpret it as the most romantic thing in the world.”
If that’s the case… I opened my eyes, turned my head, and looked at the black-haired woman staring at me intently.
“Aria.”
“Yes.”
“You are so lovable that I can’t stand being apart from you even for a single moment. Do you understand what I mean?”
Her expression didn’t change at all, but her red eyes sparkled like they were filled with starlight.
The gap between her face and her eyes was so adorable I almost burst out laughing.
I’d just said something cool—I couldn’t ruin the mood now, could I?
Aria gave a big nod and answered.
Then she planted a quick kiss on my cheek.
“I love you, Master♥”
“Me too.”
But at that exact moment, a realization hit me.
Had Aria’s way of speaking changed?
The moment I realized it, Aria’s body moved.
Like a black panther, she instantly climbed on top of me, straddled me, and looked down.
The black-haired beast licked her lips, her red eyes gleaming.
It was the gaze of a predator staring down at prey it had already caught.
She reached out with both hands and firmly cupped my cheeks.
Then she immediately dove in.
“Mmph. W-wait, Aria…! C-calm down…”
“Chu. Mwah. Haa… Don’t reject me. This is inevitable♥”