diff --git a/docs/MOD_PACKAGES.md b/docs/MOD_PACKAGES.md
index 655f39cf..4a6b9631 100644
--- a/docs/MOD_PACKAGES.md
+++ b/docs/MOD_PACKAGES.md
@@ -603,6 +603,13 @@ remain black. Enabling the feature without choosing artwork is also a no-op.
 The package supplies only the declaration and trusted plugin selection; archives
 still cannot load native code.
 
+A title's own trusted plugin can call `psx_mod_set_bezel_artwork(path)` directly
+to ship its artwork. An absolute path (such as the built-in package's selected
+resource) is used as-is; a relative path like `"bezels/qirex.png"` is resolved
+against the executable's directory when the artwork loads, never the current
+working directory, so artwork the title stages beside its binary is found
+however the game was launched.
+
 ### Retained-scene loading presentation (native-wide opt-in)
 
 A trusted game plugin can register
diff --git a/runtime/include/mod_plugins.h b/runtime/include/mod_plugins.h
index 30887ac5..9de40626 100644
--- a/runtime/include/mod_plugins.h
+++ b/runtime/include/mod_plugins.h
@@ -231,6 +231,10 @@ int psx_mod_set_auto_skip_fmv(int enabled);
  * Draw still artwork behind the game image in OpenGL letterbox/pillarbox
  * margins. The image path is an owner-selected mod resource; with no enabled
  * mod/resource path, the margins remain the historical black clear.
+ * An absolute path is used unchanged. A relative path (e.g. "bezels/x.png"
+ * for artwork a title stages beside its binary) is resolved against the
+ * executable's directory, never the current working directory, when the
+ * artwork is loaded.
  */
 int psx_mod_set_bezel_artwork(const char* path);
 
diff --git a/runtime/src/main.cpp b/runtime/src/main.cpp
index f8b352fe..1cfb76f0 100644
--- a/runtime/src/main.cpp
+++ b/runtime/src/main.cpp
@@ -15240,18 +15240,26 @@ session_reboot:
 
         /* Bezel artwork (Mods): load after the GL context exists. */
         if (!g_bezel_path.empty() && g_gl_active) {
-            std::filesystem::path bp(g_bezel_path);
+            /* A relative artwork path names a file shipped beside the
+             * executable (e.g. a title's staged bezels/), so anchor it on the
+             * exe directory -- never cwd (see exe_dir_from_argv). An absolute
+             * path, such as the builtin bezel's owner-selected resource, is
+             * used unchanged. */
+            const std::filesystem::path bp = PSXRecompV4::host_resolve(
+                exe_dir_from_argv(argv[0]), std::filesystem::path(g_bezel_path));
             std::vector<unsigned char> file;
-            if (FILE *bf = std::fopen(bp.string().c_str(), "rb")) {
-                std::fseek(bf, 0, SEEK_END);
-                const long len = std::ftell(bf);
-                std::fseek(bf, 0, SEEK_SET);
+            /* fs::path stream: the exe directory is a wide Windows path, which
+             * a narrow fopen() of bp.string() cannot open when it is non-ASCII. */
+            std::ifstream bf(bp, std::ios::binary | std::ios::ate);
+            if (bf.is_open()) {
+                const std::streamoff len = bf.tellg();
                 if (len > 0) {
                     file.resize((size_t)len);
-                    if (std::fread(file.data(), 1, file.size(), bf) != file.size())
+                    bf.seekg(0, std::ios::beg);
+                    if (!bf.read(reinterpret_cast<char*>(file.data()),
+                                 (std::streamsize)file.size()))
                         file.clear();
                 }
-                std::fclose(bf);
             }
             int bw = 0, bh = 0, bc = 0;
             unsigned char *px = file.empty() ? nullptr
diff --git a/runtime/tests/test_mod_bezel.py b/runtime/tests/test_mod_bezel.py
index 6e82f9f1..7515fc64 100644
--- a/runtime/tests/test_mod_bezel.py
+++ b/runtime/tests/test_mod_bezel.py
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@ MAIN = (ROOT / "runtime/src/main.cpp").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
 HEADER = (ROOT / "runtime/include/mod_plugins.h").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
 MOD_RUNTIME = (ROOT / "runtime/src/mod_runtime.cpp").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
 BUILTIN = (ROOT / "runtime/src/mod_builtin_bezel.c").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
-CONFIG_H = (ROOT / "recompiler/src/config_loader.h").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+HOST_PATH = (ROOT / "recompiler/include/host_path.h").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+CONFIG_H =(ROOT / "recompiler/src/config_loader.h").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
 CONFIG_CPP = (ROOT / "recompiler/src/config_loader.cpp").read_text(
     encoding="utf-8"
 )
@@ -26,6 +27,18 @@ assert "psx_mod_current_resource_path" in HEADER
 assert "psx_mod_set_bezel_artwork" in MAIN
 assert "g_video_renderer = 1;" in MAIN
 assert "mod-owned OpenGL margin artwork" in MAIN
+# Relative artwork paths resolve against the exe directory at load time, never
+# cwd; absolute paths (the builtin resource) pass through host_resolve as-is.
+LOADER = MAIN[MAIN.index("/* Bezel artwork (Mods): load after the GL context exists. */"):]
+LOADER = LOADER[: LOADER.index("gl_renderer_set_bezel(")]
+assert (
+    "PSXRecompV4::host_resolve(\n"
+    "                exe_dir_from_argv(argv[0]), std::filesystem::path(g_bezel_path));"
+) in LOADER
+assert "host_path_is_absolute(path) ? path : root / path" in HOST_PATH
+assert "std::fopen" not in LOADER
+assert "std::filesystem::path bp(g_bezel_path)" not in MAIN
+assert "resolved against the\n * executable's directory, never the current working directory" in HEADER
 assert "current_plugin" in MOD_RUNTIME
 assert 'psx_mod_current_resource_path("artwork"' in BUILTIN
 assert 'psx_mod_register_activation_plugin("psx.bezel"' in BUILTIN