“My lady?”

Hazel, who had been walking ahead, turned around with a puzzled look on his face.

No matter how long he waited, there was no sign of her following, which made him confused.

Belladonna stood still, staring intently at the narrow alley.

“Is something wrong?”

Eventually, Hazel retraced his steps and stood beside her.

Belladonna looked at the beginning of 76 Euphrang Street with a complex feeling.

Scarlet Leyton.

It was a name that kept appearing and coming to mind, as if flaunting its clear presence, regardless of Belladonna’s will.

In Griblata, traces of her existed prominently everywhere.

“…”

It wasn’t quite an unpleasant feeling.

To begin with, she and Escalion were not close enough as a couple to feel such emotions.

It was, so to speak, a relationship with a clear end, set to expire in three months.

‘But this is…’

Belladonna blinked, unknowingly swallowing a dry lump in her throat.

A disturbing curiosity. If she had to define it, it would be something like that.

Belladonna stared endlessly at the narrow alley, overwhelmed by an inexplicable impulse.

“Huh? Is there something here…”

Belladonna suddenly raised one hand and grasped Hazel’s fallen cloak tightly.

As if making a big decision, she exhaled and stepped into the alley, leading Hazel.

“M-My lady! Where are you going!”

An incomprehensible voice burst out.

Hazel kept looking back as he was dragged along by her.

Just a few more steps and they could have safely returned to the castle by carriage…!

After emerging from the long, narrow alley, Belladonna quickly turned her head left and right.

76 Euphrang Street, 135.

It was the address of Scarlet Leyton’s house that she remembered.

After confirming the address, Belladonna turned right and started walking.

“My lady! Where on earth are we…”

Faced with this sudden, unexpected situation, Hazel kept opening his mouth with a troubled expression, as if he was finally coming to his senses.

As the alcohol wore off a bit, he seemed to be worried about what would happen next.

Moreover, this direction… Oh, no!

Remembering something, Hazel closed his eyes tightly and stopped in his tracks.

Belladonna, who had been holding Hazel’s cloak tightly, also stopped due to the recoil.

“…?”

What’s this, why so heavy?

Belladonna cast a puzzled look at Hazel, who had suddenly stopped and stood still.

Hazel frowned and spoke with a troubled expression.

“L-Let’s go back now. If we’re any later, I might get scolded by the captain…”

Just a little further, and that woman’s house would appear.

Belladonna turned her head with a regretful feeling. Should I just dash off by myself?

But she had no plan for what to do once she arrived at Scarlet’s house.

Just…

‘Just to check her face…’

But what would she do after seeing her face?

Conflicting voices fought fiercely in her mind.

‘Just go and see her face! Aren’t you curious about what kind of woman she is to have left such traces in Escalion’s castle? Pure curiosity!’

‘No, what are you going to do after seeing her? It’s a place you’ll leave in three months anyway, and a man you’ll never see again. Don’t waste your energy on such unnecessary things!’

Belladonna silently stared at the small gray building located at the end of the alley.

If it was 76 Euphrang Street, 135, that house seemed likely.

“…”

At that moment, the door of the very house she was staring at suddenly opened, and someone walked out.

“Eek!”

Startled along with her, Hazel grabbed her and quickly hid behind the roadside bushes.

What, what’s going on! Why are you doing this!

Belladonna was dragged along by him without knowing what was happening.

Crouching in front of a large tree, Hazel urgently raised his long finger to his lips.

“Shh! Shhh!”

‘Is he telling me to be quiet? Why?’

Besides, I can’t make a sound originally, you fool.

Though puzzled, she was more curious about who had come out of the woman’s house.

Belladonna nodded vaguely to the pale-faced Hazel and peeked her eyes out of the bushes.

The person who came out through the door was a slightly thin but tall and slender woman.

‘…Is that woman Scarlet Leyton?’

The woman with features so distinct they were noticeable even from afar was quite a beauty at first glance.

Her long black hair flowing down her back wasn’t dazzling, but it looked beautiful in its own way.

Belladonna quietly observed the woman exuding a unique aura.

“Ugh…”

Beside her, Hazel’s inexplicably troubled groan was distracting.

Judging by how he hid with her like this, it seemed even more certain that this woman was Escalion’s mistress.

Click.

At that moment, another person from inside the house appeared through the half-open door.

And he was a man Belladonna knew very well.

“…”

Belladonna unknowingly bit her lower lip as she looked at that large man, Escalion.

Escalion, who walked out crookedly while tilting his head side to side as if stiff, stood next to Scarlet.

The two standing on the darkening street looked like a very well-matched couple to anyone who saw them.

And that fact, for some reason, gradually tightened Belladonna’s chest.

“Go inside.”

Escalion, who had come out, spoke indifferently as he passed by Scarlet.

Scarlet nodded as if accustomed to it.

“Wait a moment.”

At that moment, Scarlet held Escalion back once more as he was about to leave.

She placed her hand on his arm and raised her other hand to gently brush off something on Escalion’s bangs as he turned his head.

Escalion, who silently received her touch, seemed very natural in that situation.

“That’s enough now. Go.”

“I’ll come again.”

Though their words were brief, Belladonna could tell from their conversation how long they had been interacting.

Escalion, turning away from Scarlet, walked towards the main street without hesitation.

Scarlet quietly watched him go, then slowly turned and entered the house.

“…”

Belladonna silently watched his retreating figure.

She felt strange. She couldn’t tell if she regretted coming this far or not.

“My lady…”

As Escalion’s figure completely disappeared, Hazel, who had been crouching with her, slowly straightened his knees.

He stood up hesitantly, watching Belladonna’s reaction.

Hazel opened his mouth, rolling his eyes frantically as if trying to explain this situation somehow.

“So, so… How should I explain this… The, the two of them are long…”

But she didn’t want to hear it.

Belladonna was not in a state to directly hear such things from her husband’s knight.

She shook her head and pulled up the corners of her mouth.

“My lady…”

Although Hazel kept trailing off with a troubled face, she had no energy to care about such things.

Belladonna stood up as nonchalantly as possible and walked out of the bushes.

She nodded towards the direction of the carriage, as if to say let’s go back now.

Even when they returned to the castle, Escalion had not arrived.

I thought he would return straight to the castle, but I guess not?

Belladonna moved to the second floor with an inexplicably skewed heart.

“My lady, I’ve prepared warm water for you!”

Even when she had bathed with the water Cindy had prepared, completely dried her hair, put on clean pajamas, and lay down in bed, he had not returned.

The thought that he might have gone back to Scarlet made her feel even worse.

Belladonna irritably pulled back the covers and climbed in, trying to sleep.

She woke up slightly in the early dawn.

Belladonna slowly opened her eyes, feeling the thick, hot arm wrapping around her waist.

This action, which should have become familiar by now, was particularly annoying today.

Belladonna shifted, raising her hands to remove Escalion’s arm.

“You weren’t asleep?”

A low, husky voice settled near her ear.

It was ticklish, but she didn’t shrug her shoulders.

“Uncomfortable?”

Belladonna nodded without even turning to look at him.

She could feel him hesitating behind her for a moment, but she still didn’t turn her head.

Finally, as if giving up, she felt Escalion turn onto his back, facing the ceiling.

‘He said he had urgent business to attend to, so that was related to Scarlet?’

It must have been urgent indeed…

Belladonna closed her eyes, feeling the rising indignation.

She thought he had fallen asleep because his breathing from behind seemed even, but suddenly his voice was heard.

“Um… Are you perhaps upset?”

It took a while to understand what he was asking about, but Belladonna soon realized he meant leaving her at the festival site, saying he had urgent business.

Belladonna slowly shook her head.

“Then will you show me your face?”

Escalion subtly moved closer again.

Belladonna frowned and slowly moved forward, avoiding him.

Don’t stick to me!

“With my wife angry, I can’t think of anything else. I’m much more tense now than when facing an enemy.”

Escalion let out a low groan and spoke in a low, anxious voice.

Belladonna quietly snorted.

“What should I do to make you stop being angry?”

Escalion carefully reached out his hand and tucked her hair behind her ear as he asked.

Despite the affectionate gesture, she felt her anger rising rather than subsiding.

And at the same time, a certain perplexity arose.

‘…Is it normal for me to feel this bad?’

I can’t develop a deeper relationship with Escalion than this…

While she was pondering deeply, Escalion’s low voice settled near her ear.

“How about this? When day breaks, I’ll call for a jeweler. I’ll let you choose whatever you want to your heart’s content. If what he has doesn’t satisfy you, I’ll call a merchant from Astanya.”

“…”

“Or how about a dressmaker? It might be good to have a few more beautiful dresses made. If there’s anything else you need, just tell me anytime. With you like this, my heart feels like it’s shrinking like a cowardly child.”

Listening to Escalion’s voice filled with embarrassment, Belladonna blinked quietly.

Is it okay for me, just a three-month wife, to feel this way?

And why is this man trying so hard to appease my anger?

Incomprehensible complex emotions passed through her mind, making it dizzy.