“Aaagh!”

Pope Pronunce screamed, clutching his face.

Between his fingers covering his face, bright red blood was dripping.

Belladonna, who had grabbed the pen rolling on the floor and stabbed the sharp nib into his eye, ran towards where Scarlet was, avoiding the writhing pope.

“Scarlet!”

She saw her lying face down on the floor in a mess, apparently having been hit here and there by Pope Pronunce.

Belladonna ran to her and lifted her collapsed upper body.

She tried to stand up together, but didn’t have enough strength.

“…Leave me and just go.”

Scarlet whispered softly, her body limp. Belladonna desperately shook her head.

The pope was in a complete state of excitement now. If she left Scarlet with him, there was no telling what would happen.

“No. We can do this…!”

Belladonna draped Scarlet’s arm over her neck and shoulder, and wrapped her other hand firmly around her waist.

After taking a deep breath, she put strength into both thighs and lifted Scarlet, who was much taller than her.

Thinking she had to save her from the pope, strength she couldn’t normally imagine surged forth.

“Ugh…!”

Supporting Scarlet, Belladonna quickly passed by the pope, who was still covering his face and trembling on the ground.

She thought about grabbing one of the papers strewn on the floor, but feared she might lose her grip on Scarlet or be caught by the pope.

For now, getting out of here was the most important thing…!

“Hang in there a little longer, Scarlet!”

Belladonna said, gripping Scarlet’s waist even tighter as she kept slipping down.

Those words she kept repeating were meant to wake and encourage Scarlet, who looked like she might lose consciousness at any moment, but they were also meant for herself, who had to get her out safely.

Belladonna moved her legs quickly after exiting through the tightly closed door into the corridor.

Fortunately, the path to this place remained clearly in her memory.

Without hesitation, she turned left and walked to the low stairs.

‘This is the critical moment now.’

Before her eyes stood the low stairs. Though there weren’t many steps, they were difficult stairs for Scarlet and her.

After climbing these low stairs, they still had to wind through the corridor for quite a while, pass through several doors, and finally climb a long, circular staircase.

Could they do it? Belladonna bit her lower lip as she looked back for a moment, feeling overwhelmed.

The pope’s screams were subsiding. They needed to get as far away from him as possible.

“Scarlet, can you put strength in your legs?”

Scarlet nodded slightly at Belladonna’s words.

As Belladonna took a step closer to the stairs, Scarlet began to take painful steps, one by one, leaning on her body.

“You’re doing great!”

Belladonna said as she pulled her upward, not loosening her grip on her waist.

At this speed, she hoped they could hide in any room in the upper corridor after climbing these stairs or flee in another direction.

As they were climbing the low stairs with all their might and making their way up the underground corridor, Scarlet, who had stopped in place, said in a small voice.

“My lady… I’m sorry, but leave me behind. I’m already done for… My stomach that the pope hit earlier hurts too much, I can’t walk at all.”

“Scarlet, I can’t do that…!”

Belladonna looked at her with a pained expression.

If only my healing power was intact at a time like this… Then at least I could have freed Scarlet from this pain…

Though she knew there was nothing she could do, she kept regretting.

Scarlet laughed hollowly and said.

“Please listen to me. At this rate, we’ll both be caught… It would be better if you got out first… and asked people for help.”

Her voice grew fainter and fainter. She staggered on her knees as if about to collapse at any moment.

Belladonna stood in the middle of the corridor, biting her lower lip, unable to do anything.

Even in this urgent situation, the option of abandoning Scarlet and leaving was not even a consideration.

“Then wait just a moment.”

Finally, as if making up her mind, Belladonna carefully supported Scarlet and sat her down on one side of the corridor.

After making sure Scarlet was comfortably leaning against the wall, Belladonna turned without delay.

She went back down the stairs she had climbed and returned to the room where the pope had been.

She had to try to talk to him somehow to buy time or draw his attention elsewhere.

“…Huh?”

But the pope, who should have been there, was nowhere to be seen.

In the room filled with cold air devoid of any warmth, only red bloodstains on the floor and a few scattered documents remained.

Had he already gone somewhere else?

The surprised Belladonna turned again. If that was the case, she had to be with Scarlet no matter what.

“Ah, no…!”

But when Belladonna returned to the corridor where she had left Scarlet, she could only cover her mouth with a dismayed sigh.

There was no one to be seen there either.

Could the pope have come by another way and taken Scarlet?

There was also a chance that Scarlet had regained her strength in the meantime and gone up the corridor, but it seemed unlikely that she would have acted recklessly without knowing the way.

Feeling her head go blank, Belladonna moved her legs reflexively.

‘I have to find her…’

She couldn’t stop blaming herself for putting Scarlet in danger due to a momentary lapse in judgment.

Belladonna frantically went up and down the corridor, searching and searching for her.

But trying to search with her mind gone completely blank, she just wasn’t making any progress.

When she realized she was just going around in circles in the same place, unable to find an efficient method, she slowly came to a stop.

‘Think, Belladonna!’

Think about what you can do right now!

She stopped in place, clutched her head with both hands, and calmly exhaled.

As the anxious feeling of having lost Scarlet gradually subsided, she concluded that it would be better to go outside and ask someone for help rather than wandering around in a place like this.

Having reached that conclusion, Belladonna hurriedly turned and began to retrace the path she had taken into the underground.

She forcibly moved her legs that kept losing strength, passing through unknown doors one after another, heading upwards.

Though her heart felt like it would burst from anxiety and fear, she couldn’t stop walking.

Finally, as she was passing through the last door, Belladonna collided hard with someone coming from the opposite direction and tumbled backwards.

“…”

She was so surprised that she couldn’t even make a sound.

Having landed ungracefully on her backside, Belladonna blinked blankly, having lost all sense of reality.

She couldn’t even understand what had happened to her.

Her mind was filled only with thoughts of Scarlet.

“Bella?”

At the familiar voice, Belladonna slowly raised her head.

“Oh…”

There stood Escalion, unbelievable to see.

Having confirmed her sitting there, Escalion rushed to her.

“Bella, are you alright? Were you here?”

His flashing golden eyes scanned her up and down.

Though it had only been half a day since she’d last seen him, it felt like she had been separated from him for far too long.

“What’s going on? Why are you so out of it?”

Escalion asked, raising his large hand to cup Belladonna’s pale cheek.

As his hot body temperature touched her, she snapped back to her senses as if burned. Then, tears she hadn’t realized she’d been holding back flowed down, wetting his hand.

“E-Escalion…”

Belladonna uttered in a trembling voice.

At her reaction, Escalion’s face hardened as he clenched his jaw.

Whatever it was, the situation seemed to be going badly. He opened his mouth to ask.

“Where’s Scarlet?”

“The, the pope took her. I don’t know where they went… The, the pope is too agitated right now… It’s too dangerous… I, I should have stayed with her until the end…”

Belladonna stammered incoherently. Tears kept flowing down.

She felt like she was going crazy for having failed to protect Scarlet in the end, despite wanting to protect her until the end.

Escalion gazed down at her for a moment, then slipped his hands under her waist and legs and lifted her up.

“Let’s get outside for now. The imperial investigation team has been dispatched. They’re searching the papal palace thoroughly, so something should turn up.”

“…”

“I didn’t know there was a hidden passage in a place like this. I’ll have to call in the knights.”

At the mention of the imperial investigation team, Belladonna suddenly lifted her head.

“You say an investigation team has come? I know where the pope’s safe is! I was just coming from there… I want to tell the knights. Important documents were stored there.”

Though the pope had probably already taken the crucial documents, it might be possible to piece together necessary information from the remaining papers.

At her words, Escalion turned and unhesitatingly climbed the circular staircase.

He climbed the endlessly ascending stairs at a rapid pace without any delay, and caught some passing knights in his sight, saying:

“There’s a lot down below too. Search thoroughly.”

“Yes, understood!”

The imperial knights are really searching the papal palace…

Having confirmed the knights, Belladonna frantically kicked her legs in his arms, trying to get free.

Realizing her intention, Escalion set her down on the floor, and Belladonna immediately turned and ran off, shouting:

“Follow me! I know the way!”

“Huh…? What?”

“Holy Maiden?”

The knights stopped in place at Belladonna’s voice.

They seemed surprised that Astanya’s Holy Maiden was speaking so casually, looking at each other’s faces and hesitating.

Looking down at their dumbfounded faces, Escalion clicked his tongue as if finding them pathetic.

“Can’t you hear? She says she knows the way. Are you going to just stand there blankly without moving?”

“Ah, y-yes!”

“Oh, understood!”

At his scolding, the knights belatedly chased after Belladonna.

Going down the stairs, Belladonna craned her neck towards Escalion and said:

“Please find Scarlet no matter what! The pope couldn’t have gone far! He’s bleeding, so it should be easy to find traces!”

Escalion nodded his head towards her.

He watched until the end as she ran off again, not even having wiped away the tearstains she had been shedding pitifully just moments ago, then turned and drew the sharp sword at his waist.

He no longer had any patience left to spare for the pope.