Hazel was standing in front of the door.

Looking at the tightly closed door, he was sweating profusely.

Unable to easily grasp the doorknob, Hazel paced back and forth in the hallway, constantly spinning in circles.

“Lord Hazel, what on earth is the matter?”

Wolf, unable to bear watching him like that all morning, approached and asked.

Hazel turned his head, startled like a child caught doing something wrong.

It was unbelievable that such a massive knight could look so ridiculous.

“Th-that… I-is the Captain inside?”

“Since he hasn’t come out all morning, he’s probably in there.”

“I-I see!”

Hazel nodded, wiped his sweat-soaked hands on his pants, and placed his hand on the doorknob as if making a big decision, exhaling.

But before he could turn the doorknob, the door opened by itself, revealing a massive figure.

“Ahhh!”

Startled, Hazel cried out, stumbling backwards.

Escalion, who had emerged from the reception room, frowned as he looked at his foolish-looking subordinate in front of him.

“C-Captain.”

“What is it?”

“I-I have… something to… tell you…”

“I was just heading to the training grounds anyway. Tell me as we walk.”

“N-no!”

Hazel shouted loudly.

He looked up at Escalion with anxious eyes.

“Not at the training grounds, but I have an urgent matter to discuss… inside…”

Escalion looked Hazel up and down, then spoke with a disgruntled expression as he went inside.

“Then come in.”

Hazel, who entered the reception room, still looked unsettled.

Unable to sit down, he kept glancing at Escalion nervously, repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists.

Unable to bear it any longer, Escalion frowned and spoke.

“What are you doing, fidgeting like a dog that needs to pee? If you have something to say, say it quickly and disappear.”

“Y-yes… yes… Understood. It’s… it’s about yesterday when I was in charge of escorting the lady…”

Escalion recalled yesterday’s events.

Remembering her wistful eyes when he said it was time to return, he didn’t feel very good.

“And?”

“I… I ended up drinking a little… a-alcohol…”

“Alcohol?”

Escalion’s face cracked.

Hazel was famous for being the weakest drinker in the knightly order.

He knew that even one drink would make his face flush and cause him to spout nonsense, leading his fellow knights to tease him, but alcohol while escorting Belladonna?

Seeing the Captain’s face, Hazel hunched his shoulders even more.

“N-nothing serious happened…”

“Why did you drink?”

“W-well, the lady seemed so disappointed about returning to the castle so soon… I just wanted to stay with her a little longer and then…”

“Speak clearly. Was Bella hurt?”

“Absolutely not! The lady wasn’t harmed even a finger’s worth!”

Escalion, finally somewhat relieved, sighed and said.

“Then what on earth is it? How long do I have to keep asking these frustrating questions?”

“Just before returning to the castle, the l-lady… suddenly seemed to want to go somewhere, so I went along.”

“You did well. Where was it?”

At Escalion’s question, Hazel swallowed hard once.

He couldn’t easily get the words out.

Escalion, unable to bear it any longer, frowned and snapped irritably.

“I asked where it was. Why are you acting like such an idiot today?”

If he knew where Belladonna wanted to visit, he might be able to figure out what she wanted to buy.

If he bought her what she wanted, might it ease her anger a bit? Escalion wanted to quickly find out what it was.

But the words that came out of his subordinate’s mouth as he slowly opened it were completely different.

“…Yu-Yuprang-ga… number 76…”

Escalion closed his mouth upon hearing Hazel’s voice, which seemed to be shrinking.

The words that entered his ears seemed to travel slowly towards his brain.

“What did you say?”

“…135…”

“How does Bella know about that place?”

Escalion asked, his golden eyes flashing darkly.

Simultaneously, seeing his massive fist clench fiercely, Hazel squeezed his eyes shut.

“I-I don’t know either! I just… accidentally mentioned that I often went to Yuprang-ga number 76…”

Escalion, looking at his foolish subordinate, pulled at his tie which seemed to be choking him in frustration.

She wasn’t the type of woman to visit an unfamiliar address just because someone carelessly boasted about frequenting it.

‘She must have known about it beforehand.’

He couldn’t figure out how much she knew, or how she knew it.

“So it was you hiding in the bushes.”

“Ugh…!”

It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed the suspicious figures hiding.

He just thought there was no sign of danger, and he had some guards hidden near Scarlet’s house anyway, so nothing major would happen.

But to think it was Bella.

Without realizing it, he tasted bitterness in his mouth.

And at the same time, her unusually cold response yesterday hit him like a slap to the back of the head.

“…Damn it.”

He raised his hand to cover his eyes and muttered softly.

[This is the timeline separator]

“…These are earrings made of magnificent emeralds! What do you think?”

The jeweler exclaimed passionately while flipping through a sketchbook.

Belladonna looked at the drawing in the sketchbook with an expressionless face.

After observing Belladonna’s reaction for a moment, he quickly moved to take out an elegant box from the bag he had brought.

“Ah, you don’t seem to quite grasp it! The real thing is much better than a drawing that doesn’t quite capture the feeling, right? I even brought this myself! Take a look!”

As if trying to make up for his previous mistake, he opened the square box carefully while making a fuss.

Inside the box, sparkling emerald earrings revealed their weighty presence, shining brightly.

“These were crafted by one of the most renowned jewel artisans in the Ellinerus Empire. It took nearly 5 years just for the crafting, need I say more?”

“Oh my!”

Cindy, sitting nearby, exclaimed in awe on behalf of Belladonna, covering her mouth with her hand.

They are pretty…

Belladonna looked down at the earrings with a bored expression.

But I wouldn’t be able to see them once they’re on my ears anyway. What’s so great about such things…

“Ah… D-do you not like them? Then, h-how about this sapphire necklace I brought…”

Click.

At that moment, the door to the reception room opened, and Escalion entered with an anxious look on his face.

The jeweler and Cindy stood up simultaneously and bowed their heads upon seeing who had entered.

“Lord! Good day to you!”

“Thank you for coming early.”

Escalion barely greeted the jeweler with words that didn’t seem to come from his heart, then gazed intently at Belladonna, who was sitting upright in her chair.

He couldn’t discern what emotion was in those blue eyes that briefly met his before quickly turning away.

Damn it…

He licked his lower lip with his tongue, then carefully asked.

“…Have you seen anything you like?”

“We were in the process of showing her various items! The lady is so exceptionally beautiful that anything she wears would undoubtedly be stunning, which makes it rather difficult to choose, haha!”

The jeweler answered on behalf of Belladonna, laughing slyly.

There was no way she could be appeased with such things. It wasn’t about being upset over returning early from the year-end festival.

Escalion sat awkwardly across from Belladonna, still unable to fathom what she was thinking.

“Could you show me the items you’ve brought as well?”

“Oh, of course!”

Seemingly pleased that someone more communicative had appeared, the jeweler began explaining each box he had taken out, pointing to them one by one.

Ruby, sapphire, emerald… They were luxurious items made of incredibly valuable gemstones, just hearing about them.

After listening to the jeweler’s explanation to the end, Escalion spoke.

“I’ll purchase everything you’ve brought today.”

“What? Oh, my! Thank you, Lord! I’ll prepare them right away!”

The startled jeweler bowed deeply, unable to hide his joy.

With his smile reaching almost to the sky, he began organizing the boxes with trembling hands.

“Oh my, my lady…! The Lord says he’ll buy everything here! How generous!”

“…”

Belladonna frowned as she looked at him.

It’s not like I have ten necks or twenty ears, what are we going to do with so many?

Unable to hold back, she reached out her hand to stop the jeweler.

“…Yes?”

She picked up the pen in front of her and began to write.

[I don’t need them, so take them all back. I haven’t even properly worn the ones purchased last time.]

The jeweler, having read her writing, looked back at Escalion with a troubled expression.

Escalion, who had also confirmed the content, had a stiff expression on his face.

Eventually, he slowly said, raising one corner of his mouth.

“Just prepare them. They’re gifts for my wife.”

Belladonna moved her hand again and quickly wrote.

[I said I don’t need them.]

He clasped his plump hands together, unable to move either way, and alternately looked at Escalion and Belladonna, just watching the situation.

“Haah…”

Finally, Escalion sighed and brushed back the hair that had fallen over his forehead.

“I’ll call for you again, so you can leave for today. I’m sorry for making you come for nothing.”

“Oh, no! Not at all! Then I shall take my leave and visit again next time…”

The jeweler quickly moved his arms to put the boxes that filled the table one by one into his bag.

The quick-witted Cindy helped him organize the jewels and, using the excuse of guiding him out, left the reception room together.

Only the two of them remained in the reception room.

Belladonna and Escalion engaged in a subtle battle of nerves, looking into each other’s eyes.

It was he who first broke this suffocating silence.

“I didn’t know you didn’t like jewels. Usually, women like shiny things…”

He realized his mistake as he was uttering the latter part of the sentence.

Escalion trailed off, unable to finish his words.

Belladonna’s blue eyes were staring at him, filled with coldness.

Escalion felt a chill down his spine as he swallowed.

Damn it…