Three days later, with Bell’s full cooperation, Freya completed a detailed examination of the innermost depths of his soul. In the end, she confird that a fragnted soul had indeed once existed there—but now, it had vanished completely.
Although this required Bell to stay by Freya’s side for three full days, she didn’t mind at all. If not for the others monitoring her closely, she would have happily extended the "treatnt" even longer.
Unfortunately, she had monopolized far too much ti, and under the mounting pressure from the others, Freya had no choice but to let him go.
On the morning of the fourth day, Bell woke up in Freya’s room.
The mont he stirred, Freya awakened at almost the exact sa ti.
Shielding her eyes from the sunlight streaming in, she blinked lazily, slowly adjusting to the morning brightness.
Then her gaze t Bell’s open eyes.
"Bell..."
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Before Freya could do anything, soone pounded fiercely on the door. Judging from the sound, the person outside held quite a grudge against that poor door.
Who in the world is doing this so early in the morning!?
A trace of irritation appeared on Freya’s face. She and Bell had just woken up, only to be interrupted already.
Just like that, the rare good mood she felt from opening her eyes to see Bell was shattered.
"Judging by how hard they’re knocking... it’s probably Artemis."
"That girl really is insatiable."
"At her age, it seems like she’s starting to turn into a cranky old woman."
Freya didn’t bother lowering her voice, but thankfully this room had been built with soundproofing as its top priority.
Bell always prioritized confidentiality. Even in their isolated ho, he prepared several rooms specifically for private discussions.
As for why the bedrooms were soundproofed... Bell had simply thought it would give him more freedom when doing secret work.
He never imagined that soundproofing originally ant for covert operations would end up suppressing dostic conflict instead.
Bell could only smile helplessly as he listened to Freya grumble.
"I think Artemis is angry because your examination took three days."
"I know."
Freya lifted her nose slightly with an amused expression. Of course she understood what Artemis was thinking.
And since she had monopolized Bell for three days, she figured she should at least pave the way for that stubborn girl.
"Bell, Artemis clearly can’t wait anymore. For her to co knocking this early, she probably wants to use every minute of the morning."
"...I can guess as much."
Truthfully, Bell didn’t need Freya to spell it out. Artemis from the Type-Moon side was straightforward to a fault. Many of her thoughts and actions were easy to predict even without being voiced.
"Honestly, I do like Artemis too. It’s just..."
"Because she’s sharing a body with this world’s Artemis, she also needs to gain this world’s Artemis’s affection first?"
Freya really did find Bell’s emotional complications troubleso.
But the problem wasn’t Bell—it was this world’s Artemis.
Bell’s attitude was already obvious, yet this world’s Artemis kept burying her head in the sand every ti feelings were involved.
Relaxing in Bell’s warm embrace, Freya traced idle circles on his chest with her finger.
"And to top it off, you’ve t an Artemis just as troubleso as you. Trouble colliding with trouble."
"That old maiden also likes you, but with Hestia in the picture, she won’t muster up the courage until she works through it."
That old maiden Artemis was just too stubborn. If she were a bit more flexible, Loki wouldn’t even be part of the equation.
Bell felt a little embarrassed.
"It’s partly my fault too. I should’ve made more ti to talk with Artemis."
He was often busy, but finding so ti wasn’t impossible. Yet he hadn’t once taken the initiative to spend ti with her.
"Mhm, you do share so responsibility. If you like Artemis, you need to be more proactive."
As Freya said this, she noticed Bell staring at her intently.
"What is it?"
"No, I just thought you’d be angry."
Freya shot him a glare.
"Of course I’m angry. It’s such a sha—such a huge sha—that I didn’t et you the mont you arrived in Orario. Otherwise, I would’ve never let you get close to any other woman."
Heaven and earth aside, Freya’s possessiveness was unquestionably the greatest.
She was never the generous type—selfish, fiercely possessive, and entirely unapologetic about it.
Unfortunately, in matters of love, she ca late.
Especially with Hestia and Hephaestus already ahead of her.
If Bell were soone she could snatch away, perhaps Freya wouldn’t even consider trying. But because Bell wasn’t soone she could steal, she had no choice—she could only join rather than monopolize.
"It’s such a pity I’m the latecor. What a pity."
Propping herself up, Freya shifted higher and leaned over him, looking down from above.
"So since I can’t take you for myself, I can only follow the rules of love. A latecor can only join, not monopolize."
With that, Freya lowered her head and placed a soft kiss on Bell’s cheek, her expression blossoming into a bright, adorable smile.
"So today, your ti belongs to Artemis. Go out with her, take a walk. And try to pull that coward out from hiding—otherwise, he’ll keep worrying about Hestia."
"As for Hestia, don’t worry too much about her getting angry over Artemis. They actually get along quite well. When it cos to Artemis, she’ll probably react the sa way she does with Hephaestus."
"She’ll get jealous, but she won’t cut ties with you or with Artemis. So use that to your advantage and do your best."
Freya began getting out of bed. The pounding at the door—Bang, bang, bang—was growing increasingly rude. But just before she stood, she suddenly rembered sothing and leaned down again.
"And one more thing—if Artemis, who’s so good at taking the initiative, is already prepared anyti... did you really think Hestia never made any preparations herself?"
"Take the initiative properly, my dear Bell."
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