Snow piled high along the border of M Country as Rosemary Whitmore faced what looked like the last chapter of her military life. Once this assassination mission wrapped up, she’d finally head home and claim the family fortune waiting for her.

She was just thinking about how to quietly chat with the nearby animals to time her move when an inexplicable force locked her whole body in place. Worse yet, the spirit‑link she’d always relied on went completely silent.

“Hold on… something’s wrong.” A sharp unease shot through her.

The only people who knew about this ability were her grandfather and father. And the only thing that could suppress it was the heart’s blood of someone sharing her bloodline.

A chilling possibility flashed across her mind. Had something happened back home?

Her grandfather and father had always treated her like a jewel in their palm, grooming her carefully to take over the family. At twenty‑eight, she should’ve been on her way back to inherit everything, not standing frozen as a bomb dropped from the sky right beside her. She couldn’t even twitch a finger, and she still had to worry about her teammates nearby, making sure she didn’t blow their cover.

“If I find out who set this up, I swear they’ll pay for every bit of it.” That was the last thought she managed.

But death slipped past her somehow. She realized she’d turned into something transparent, watching her comrades cry over her lifeless body, unable to help or speak.

Then a beam of light whisked her away.

When her vision cleared, a middle‑aged man sat across from her. She tested the waters. “Uh… you wouldn’t happen to be the King of Hell, right? Did someone mix up my file? What’d you drag me here for? I’ve still got a mission waiting.”

The King of Hell cleared his throat, trying to look proper. “Rosemary Whitmore, that’s correct?”

“You hauled in my soul and now you’re asking who I am?” Rosemary shot back without a hint of politeness. “I was working just fine, and your people snatched me mid‑mission. Shouldn’t you at least explain yourselves?”

She knew she’d been set up, but that didn’t mean she’d just roll over. She was dead already—she wasn’t about to take the loss quietly.

As far as she was concerned, even down here she ought to wrangle a title or two. No way she’d let this trip to the underworld go to waste.

Seeing the King of Hell sit there in silence only made her irritation spike. “What’s the matter, cat got your tongue? I’m only twenty‑eight, okay? Take another look at that book of yours. It’s nowhere near my turn yet.”

The King of Hell snapped his hand through the air. Pages of the ledger fluttered open in front of her. He found Rosemary’s entry—sure enough, she wasn’t supposed to be checking into the underworld yet. On top of that, she carried unusually strong fate.

“Black and White, what on earth were you two thinking? Dragging in someone who’s nowhere near the end of their life? Don’t tell me you were drinking on duty again.”

Black and White hung their heads. “Your Majesty, we swear we weren’t drunk. We were on assignment when we suddenly felt a surge in the air. Thought a rogue soul was making a run for it, so we grabbed fast.”

“She got blown to pieces—literally. Not a scrap left. That’s as dead as it gets. What’s the issue?”

Rosemary Whitmore was so furious she felt her soul vibrating. She barked at the two men, “Issue? It’s a huge issue! I’m a spirit-talker. Every creature on earth listens when I call. How could someone like me die that randomly? It makes zero sense!”

The King of Hell replied cautiously, “How about this… I give you a new life, a new identity, let you start over?”

Rosemary waved him off like he’d told a bad joke. “Nah. I’ll just stay here. You cover my meals, I quit reincarnation altogether. Sounds perfect.”

The King of Hell nearly choked. If he agreed to that and got caught, losing his salary would be the best-case scenario—he might lose his throne.

“Miss, don’t be mad. Hell’s really not a place to hang around. It’s gloomy, full of stray spirits, and you’ll bump into Ox-Heads and Horse-Faces sometimes. They’re not exactly a joy to look at.”

Rosemary lounged back in her seat like she owned the place. “Scary? Please. I’ve seen plenty of wandering ghosts before. I don’t even blink anymore. Ugly’s fine—long as someone takes me on a tour of the underworld.”

“And besides, humans are way scarier than ghosts. I’ve dealt with enough of their twisted nonsense. You think I’m scared of a couple of beast-faced guards? That excuse won’t work on me.”

She abruptly stood up, glaring at the King of Hell. His shifting eyes annoyed her even more. “So that’s it? You don’t wanna compensate me, so you’re trying to stuff me into some random corpse and call it a day? My grandpa calculated my fate—I was supposed to live to a hundred and ten. No way I was meant to die early. Don’t even try to play me.”

“I heard the King of Hell has tons of treasures. Give me one or two, then find me a decent body, and I swear I won’t bother you again. Who wants to be a ghost down here anyway? Can’t even have hotpot.”

The King of Hell felt cursed by fate itself. Of all the souls to show up, why did he get stuck with this one? “You think a suitable body is easy to find? I have to pick one that fits you and doesn’t wreck someone else’s life.”

Rosemary blinked. “Hold on… is time travel actually a thing? I always thought that was just some brainless novel plot. I read one during a mission once, annoyed me to death—the female side character was so—”

He cut her off mid-sentence. “Alright, enough. I can give you some benefits, but you’ll help me gather wandering spirits in the living world. If we don’t clean them up, it causes trouble. People can’t see them, but they’re bad news. You check in with me occasionally, and I’ll have Black and White Impermanence pick them up. Counts as good karma for you too.”

Rosemary didn’t buy a word of it. She simply held out her hand, clearly indicating she only trusted tangible payment. Talking big was easy—she wanted proof.

“Show me what you’ve got then. Ideally something like an indestructible storage space. One with food stocked forever. I’m not going to some poverty-stricken era to suffer.”

“I was a major general, a crucial asset to the military, and heiress to a massive family fortune. I had more assets than I could count. At least give me something that can keep me alive.”

The King of Hell sighed and shook his head, then pulled out a ring from inside his robes. Black and White Impermanence started to speak, but he hushed them with a wave.

“This is the priciest thing I own—an ancient ring. Everything you want is inside. As for how it works, figure it out yourself.”

“If you call for me in the space, I can respond. But don’t shout for nothing—I’m busy. Handling ghost cases all day gives me migraines. I don’t need you adding to it.”

Before Rosemary could react, the ring shot straight toward her and sank right into her forehead.

“What just happened? It’s bound already? No blood? No tears? Nothing?”

The King of Hell rolled his eyes. “Stop reading those ridiculous novels. All nonsense. I’m the King of Hell. I govern life and death. There’s nothing I can’t do.”

“Alright, time’s up. Off you go.”

Rosemary hadn’t even braced herself before being shoved straight into a beam of light.