Belladonna looked up at him with her mouth open in disbelief.
That, that shameless fellow…!
She felt her cheeks burning hot, not to mention her lips that had touched his.
“My Lord! My Lady! We’ve arrived. May I open the door?”
Just then, Wolf’s voice was heard shouting from outside.
Escalion shrugged his shoulders once toward Belladonna, who was still glaring at him, and turned around.
He opened the carriage door without hesitation, jumped down, and extended his hand to her.
“Welcome to my villa, Bella.”
[This is the timeline separator]“Wow! Look at this tree, my lady! Why is the top so flat?”
Cindy exclaimed as she ran ahead.
“There are fruits too! They’re huge!”
For Cindy, who was born in Griblata and had rarely left the place, the south was a fascinating and new place.
Belladonna gazed with fond eyes at Cindy, who was running around the garden like a foal.
‘It’s certainly warm…’
Sirlenia was a city located further south than Astanya, where she had lived.
In the climate that felt much milder than Astanya, Belladonna felt as if her whole body was gently relaxing.
Warm sunshine, it feels good!
“By the way, it’s a shame that as soon as we arrived, he locked himself up in the study again. I wonder if it was too much for the lord to come along?”
“…”
“Thanks to that, we all got to come down here together… I feel a bit sorry though.”
What are you sorry for? He’s the problem for following us here unnecessarily! Belladonna snorted inwardly as she moved her steps.
Even though she thought so, on the other hand, she felt sorry for Escalion, who found it difficult to spare time for a leisurely walk with his wife.
I wonder if he’ll have some free time after dinner? The path here is pretty, it might be nice to spend even a moment together…
“Oh? It’s the wizard, isn’t it? Looks like he’s leaving now!”
Just then, Cindy pointed ahead and spoke.
At the mention of a wizard, Belladonna turned her head to see Fabion, dressed in a navy blue robe, emerging with a small luggage about the size of his face.
Though his face was hidden by the deeply pulled hood, the long white beard visible below made it easy to recognize him.
“From what I saw earlier, the lord seemed to be displeased with his work… I guess he won’t be commissioned to create a portal for the return journey.”
Cindy clicked her tongue and muttered.
Upon seeing him, Belladonna unconsciously gulped.
The inexplicable tension from earlier was once again enveloping her entire body.
The thin voice that had spoken with certainty echoed in her ears. How on earth did he know…
“My lady! Are you alright?”
At that moment, a shadow fell across Belladonna’s face, who had been frowning without realizing it.
Turning her gaze, she saw Cindy, who had come along, holding her palm up to the sky to create shade.
“Is it too bright? Please wait a moment. I’ll go get a hat right away!”
Huh? Ah, no, I wasn’t squinting because of the brightness, I was just lost in thought!
But before she could stop her, Cindy quickly turned and ran towards the building. She really is quick.
“…”
Left alone at a distance from Fabion, Belladonna awkwardly turned away.
For some reason, she felt uncomfortable being with that mysterious old wizard.
“Could you spare me a moment, my lady?”
At that moment, the thin voice of the aged wizard pierced her ears from very close by.
Startled, she turned her head to find Fabion looking at her, having approached within arm’s reach without her noticing.
Goodness!! When, when did you get here?
As Belladonna stared at him with wide eyes, Fabion spoke again.
“It will be a helpful conversation for you, my lady.”
But, but…! She quickly looked around, but there was no one near her.
“If you refuse, I won’t force you. But I know you’ll be more frustrated than anyone else, so I want to help.”
Help?
“I already know that the one residing in there is not Holy Maiden Belladonna.”
“…!”
Belladonna frowned, unable to manage her expression.
He really knows I’m not the real Holy Maiden…! Then what should I do in front of this person? Belladonna slowly began to back away in confusion and slight fear.
So Fabion had immediately noticed that she wasn’t the real Holy Maiden Belladonna.
Seeing her like this, Fabion instead looked more surprised and waved both hands.
“Ah! I’m sorry for startling you. But I have no intention of exposing your secret or using it to blackmail you, so please don’t be too afraid.”
As Belladonna continued to look at him with wary eyes, Fabion hastily rummaged through his small luggage bag and pulled out a notebook and pen.
“If you have something to say, please use this.”
Belladonna, who had been looking down at what Fabion was holding, cautiously reached out and took it.
Perhaps because she wrote in a hurry, the handwriting was terribly shaky.
She thought the ugly writing seemed to express her confused state of mind.
Fabion, who had been looking down at the words Belladonna had written, slowly raised his head and stared at her blankly.
What, what is it… What are you looking at!
“I am 108 years old.”
Yes, you look it!
Belladonna continued to stare at him, still not relaxing her wary expression.
“Perhaps because I’ve spent so many years with magic, I’ve become adept at sensing things that others can’t. I’m not sure how to express it myself, but from the moment I saw you, I could tell at once that you weren’t the Holy Maiden from before.”
“…”
“And even without that, if you were the real Holy Maiden, you wouldn’t react like this upon seeing me. We’re not meeting for the first time, after all.”
Oh… So he was acquainted with the Holy Maiden?
Belladonna bit her lower lip. Of course, he was not a person in her memories.
“When I heard rumors that the Holy Maiden had married a knight from Griblata, I took on a request to go to that cold place, hoping to at least see her face after a long time… But I was quite surprised to meet someone other than the Holy Maiden.”
Belladonna swallowed dryly as she looked him up and down.
Is, is this true?
While she wondered if he might be a con artist, his statement that had precisely pinpointed Belladonna’s secret was not ordinary. What exactly is this wizard?
“You still don’t fully trust me, I see.”
Fabion, who had spoken briefly, once again rummaged through his luggage bag and pulled out a short staff.
“I was one of the many wizards summoned to the Papal Office by the Pope when the Holy Maiden had just acquired her holy power.”
Belladonna recalled the doctors and wizards who had frequented the Papal Office to fix the Holy Maiden’s voice. If so, this person was one of them…
“Due to that connection, I came to visit the Papal Office frequently, and naturally became acquainted with the Holy Maiden. If you don’t mind, may I use magic in front of you, my lady?”
At the mention of magic, Belladonna raised her head with a start.
She, who had been an ordinary farmer in her previous life, had no experience meeting wizards.
She didn’t know what kind of magic they used or what they were capable of.
Noticing her hesitation, Fabion spoke again.
“Ah, it’s nothing dangerous, I just want to show you a bit of my memory.”
That makes me even more worried… As Belladonna made an anxious face, Fabion waved both hands and continued speaking.
“It’s not dangerous at all, so don’t worry. I plan to use a crystal ball without touching you at all.”
After finishing his words, he rummaged through his small luggage bag again and pulled out a crystal ball about the size of his palm.
How much luggage is actually in that tiny bag?
“Now, please look carefully inside this.”
Fabion, who had spoken in a whisper, aimed the tip of his staff at the crystal ball and uttered words that were incomprehensible.
As his voice gradually scattered and seemed to ride on the wind, an image began to appear on the crystal ball that had been pitch black.
What is that…? Belladonna narrowed her eyes as she discovered something.
Doll-like figures of people were appearing on the crystal ball.
Looking closely, it seemed to be the young Holy Maiden Belladonna.
Holy Maiden…?
As she continued to look inside, images of the Holy Maiden from her childhood to when she had grown a bit more, and finally to when she had fully matured into an adult, passed by in order.
‘This is…’
The scenes shown seemed to be past moments from Fabion’s perspective.
Situations where he appeared to be with Holy Maiden Belladonna were flipping by quickly like rapidly turning pages of a book.
Belladonna watched the inside quietly as if observing a theater stage.
They seemed to have had quite a few meetings, even at a glance.
During brief treatment sessions, the Holy Maiden smiled at Fabion, and they engaged in conversations with each other.
Though the Holy Maiden was only listening, as she couldn’t speak.
When the short video finally ended, Belladonna raised her head with a jerk.
What is this?
“I projected my memories onto the crystal ball.”
Projected memories…? So these are Fabion’s memories? Fabion spoke as he pushed the crystal ball and staff back into his luggage bundle.
“For now, this is the only way I have to prove myself to you. Whether you believe my story or not is now up to you, my lady. Well, would you like to have a conversation with me?”
“…”
But Belladonna still didn’t open her tightly closed mouth.
Even if it was true that Fabion had some degree of friendship with the real Holy Maiden, that wasn’t a complete reason to trust him.
Besides, that could have been fabricated!
… But, but maybe a conversation wouldn’t be bad?
She swallowed dryly, then picked up the pen as if she had made up her mind.
[Perhaps because I’ve met so many people, I don’t particularly remember you, wizard. What did you want to say…]“My lady!!”
Before she could finish the sentence, Cindy’s loud voice was heard from behind.
Startled, she turned her head to see Cindy running towards them, waving a hat high above her head.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
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