97. The Villain (1)
Edward was not only expelled from the Selid Marquisate but also stripped of his noble status due to this incident.
With the Emperor’s permission, Kyle ensured that he would never possess magic again, and he also lost his status as a citizen of the Empire.
No one knew where he would go after being chased out of the Empire.
But one thing was certain – having lost money, honor, power, and status, there wasn’t much he could do.
Even if he went to another country, they wouldn’t welcome someone full of tales of being expelled from the Empire.
“To proceed with an engagement ceremony in such circumstances, he must be quite insane…”
Bella couldn’t hide her anxious feelings in this situation.
She couldn’t pull Bella down because there was no evidence, but Edward was undoubtedly driven by malice.
Given the chance, he would do anything to pull Bella down.
Because ‘Bella’ had crossed him.
“Isn’t it common sense to halt proceedings when such a situation arises?”
Bella sighed, biting her nails anxiously.
The situation was unfolding in the exact opposite direction of what she had anticipated.
Even if Edward was exposed, she hadn’t expected the engagement ceremony to proceed as if nothing had happened.
Commonly, whether it was murder or attempted murder, such incidents would delay proceedings.
“How on earth did Bella regain control of her body?”
There was another worrisome aspect.
When she arrived at the banquet hall where the engagement ceremony was to take place, there had been no signs of anything unusual.
But suddenly, at the moment when Marie approached the table.
“Step aside.”
With a brief voice, control of her body was taken away.
Bella was locked beneath that deep consciousness.
And ‘Bella’ rose to the surface.
Bella struggled to regain control of her body, but to no avail.
All she could do was helplessly shout at ‘Bella’ to stop.
“Stop!”
“If you do, this lady will die. You can’t allow that.”
Biting her nails again, Bella sighed.
Too much biting had caused blood to start flowing from under her nails.
She instinctively stopped the bleeding, raised her healing ability, and restored the wounds.
Then she brought her nails back to her mouth.
Bite, bite.
The current situation was unbearable; she had no choice.
Once her body was taken away, she understood.
‘Bella’ had the power to regain control of this body.
It was not that she hadn’t regained her body until now because Bella’s will was stronger; once she instilled her will in ‘Bella,’ she would easily reclaim her body.
“How… What should I do?”
He felt anxious about how he could completely become Bella.
He knew that swallowing Bella whole was the way, but he didn’t know how to do it.
Owen easily transferred memories and experiences as Owen, so it was possible without difficulty.
Bella, on the other hand, gave neither memories nor experiences, so she had to figure everything out on her own, which was not easy.
“Owen… Owen, yes. He must act as the representative of the god after all…”
There was only one way now to have Owen.
To spout nonsense about hearing the voice of a god.
Since the god was an absolute being in this world, everyone would listen.
“Let’s think about taking over Bella’s body later. Yes, later…”
Muttering to herself as if brainwashing, Bella quickly got up from her seat.
She needed to drink water to calm her anxious mind.
“Madam!”
Suddenly, the bedroom door opened.
Bella narrowed her eyes at the maid who burst in without knocking.
“Oh, I’m sorry. But Duke Verdin suddenly came to see you!”
The maid’s news was very unexpected.
A visit from Owen, it was incomprehensible.
Did he have a reason to visit the temple?
“Oh, maybe he came to turn things upside down.”
There was one possibility.
If he had come to mock the twisted situation.
Now, she didn’t even know if she should simply tell him to leave her body.
She tore up a page from an ancient spellbook, but the magic circle drawn on it had not disappeared.
Kyle would surely have memorized that magic circle.
So, if Bella wished, she could go back, but…
“Now?”
It was already too late.
Many things had gone wrong and broken, but still, Bella had found something she wanted in this world.
Bella changed into temple attire and followed the maid.
She was led to the drawing-room.
As she entered through the door the maid opened, she saw the familiar figure.
Calm black hair, eyes of the same color.
Neatly dressed as always.
Owen Verdin looked the same as usual.
Thunk.
The drawing-room door closed.
Bella sighed and sat at the table.
“Are you here to tease me? Or are you here to threaten me to leave again?”
On the table, snacks and tea were already prepared.
Unlike last time, the tea, untouched by tricks, had a clear green color.
Bella raised the warm teacup.
Sipping the green tea slightly helped soothe her nerves.
“Well, I don’t believe he has a hobby of teasing people either.”
Owen responded to Bella’s question.
The atmosphere was similar to usual, but there was something off in the answer.
“If it’s the latter, it might be similar. He asked. He asked me to persuade you.”
Owen slowly gripped the handle of the teacup.
Smoothly lifting the teacup, he calmly swallowed the tea.
After a few sips of green tea, he put the teacup down.
Silently, he placed the cup back down and raised his gaze.
The black eyes were deep and dark.
Familiar yet intense.
“He asked me to maybe leave some memories behind. Seems like this was the reason.”
“…You, can it be?”
Bella felt her heart pounding.
Amidst the dizzying heartbeat, her mind was muddled.
“Owen…?”
It was Owen.
He was truly right in front of her.
It wasn’t the person she had faced before, but the Owen she had truly come to know.
“I never allowed you to use my name.”
Bella mentioned Owen’s name, but he firmly rejected it.
A sense of indifference and annoyance was clearly reflected.
“Why are you…?”
Unable to believe she was facing Owen, Bella stammered, her voice trembling.
Leaving the bewildered woman behind, Owen was simply indifferent.
“I just told you. I did it as a favor.”
“You did it as a favor…? You’re the one who took my body, so why on earth-.”
“You’re still holding on to that misconception.”
Owen briefly clicked his tongue.
Then, he looked at Bella quietly and replied.
“It was my decision. I hope you won’t misunderstand.”
“…I can’t understand.”
“You don’t need to understand.”
Leaving Bella, who still couldn’t grasp it, Owen said coldly.
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“You and I have no connection, so why bother trying to understand?”
“…”
It was true.
Bella remained silent.
This was the original Owen.
Cool and resolute.
Yet, unusually considerate.
“You said you would need me, was that the reason?”
“I just… thought you wouldn’t do that.”
“Do you know me well?”
As if making excuses, Owen tilted his head slightly.
Seemingly puzzled.
“I’ve seen you for a long time.”
In response to Owen’s question, Bella replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
Upon hearing that, Owen made a brief sound.
It was a response that seemed to say, “That’s it,” while not being mocking.
“I still can’t understand. Neither can that child of yours. I never imagined I would see you off like this. It’s like, you seem so sure.”
“Sure of what?”
Even with words brought out as if vomited, Owen remained indifferent.
It seemed just a short question was enough as Bella continued speaking.
“You seem so sure that you’ll come back.”
“I will.”
Owen affirmed lightly.
With no hesitation, Bella was taken aback and raised her voice.
“Why, why on earth…!”
“I’m sick of it.”
The voice that returned with a loud sound contained no emotion.
“I have no interest in this world. No affection either. That goes for my life as well.”
The dry, toneless voice held no warmth.
It would have been better if there was resentment, pain, or sadness.
In the voice devoid of warmth, there was no hint of coldness either.
“Just a little longer. If only you had endured a bit more.”
Emotions surged up, overwhelming her.
Bella couldn’t hold back and let her anger out.
“If you had…!”
“If I had, would that mean I found someone to love?”
Owen cut off Bella’s words.
He deduced her words without listening.
It was from the memories they shared as symbiotic beings that he had learned.
“…Yes.”
“What significance does that hold?”
Owen still seemed unimpressed.
At his indifferent attitude, Bella was taken aback.
“Why is it insignificant? You can receive love and give love.”
The voice that seemed to plead for understanding did not sway Owen.
“Not needed.”
He firmly rejected the persuasion.
“I don’t need it because there’s someone who knows me already, that’s why.”
“Someone who knows you…?”
Bella repeated, feeling a sense of intrigue.
“Who is that?”
Someone who knows him.
Was there such a presence?
She had never heard of it before, and it was a difficult entity to predict.
It seemed like there was no such person in the original or here.
Surely, it couldn’t be Lucia he was referring to.
Lucia was precious to a different Owen, not the one before her.
“You know him too.”
“What…?”
“I’m talking about him. The Owen Verdun you see every day.”
An unexpected name popped up.
Bella reacted with a puzzled expression.
“Why would that brat…?”
“He understands me better than anyone. He even understands me the most.”
To the perplexed Bella, Owen willingly added an explanation.
“Despite having similarities with me, he can think differently and produce different results.”
“…”
“That’s why I made the choice. I said, this is my will.”
Unbelievable words were added.
But it was clear that Owen was right, and he had such thoughts.
“Even if you were a real saint, the result would have been the same.”
The stamp was inevitably imprinted.
The stamp on Bella was that what she desired was impossible in any situation.
“All I needed was my life’s purpose and someone who understands me. Wanting a loved one was probably for similar reasons.”