I had no sense of reality.

I could feel cold sweat trickling down my back.

W-What should I do…?

Belladonna stared at Escalion standing in front of her, unable to utter a word.

The golden eyes that had been fixed precisely on her curved gently.

“I thought I was dreaming. I kept thinking that what I heard last time might have been a dream.”

“…”

“Anyway, it’s getting chilly, so put this on.”

In one step, he approached the motionless Belladonna and draped the coat he was holding over her shoulders.

Belladonna looked up at him with a dazed expression, unable to even step back.

She couldn’t believe she had been caught out so easily.

Moreover, he… didn’t seem as surprised as she expected.

She felt very confused by it all. W-What just happened…?

“Do you want to stay longer? Do you need more time to clear your head?”

Belladonna couldn’t easily answer Escalion’s question.

She didn’t know if she should go back with him as if nothing had happened, or if she should explain herself right here, or if she should turn and run away immediately.

“…”

Seeing Belladonna trembling weakly and seemingly unable to collect herself, Escalion spoke softly.

“Why are you so surprised? You didn’t think I’d send my wife off with just one untrustworthy maid, did you?”

T-Then…?

“Since I couldn’t follow you myself, I sent several knights. They watched everything – you getting lost and standing dazed, then walking somewhere, and finally climbing the hill and sitting quietly looking down.”

“Ah…”

Belladonna let out a small sigh.

She belatedly regretted how naive and mistaken she had been to think that no one here knew her.

“I came right away when I got the news. How long were you planning to wander? It’s getting colder.”

“…”

“Bella, tell me now. Why were you in such a bad mood today?”

Escalion bent down towards her and asked.

Belladonna stared blankly at his face as he came closer.

Because of you. The words almost burst out, but she managed to hold them back.

“Are you going to keep your mouth shut again?”

Escalion said playfully, curling up the corners of his mouth.

Why on earth…? She couldn’t understand how he could maintain such a calm demeanor after hearing her voice.

Did he really hear my voice back then?

“You’re thinking complicated thoughts.”

Escalion raised his fingers and poked Belladonna’s cheek.

She stared at him with confused eyes, then slowly opened her mouth.

“Why… aren’t you saying anything?”

“Ah, it’s too good.”

Escalion replied playfully, frowning.

“Your voice is so soft it feels like my ears are melting.”

Stop joking around! Belladonna looked up at him with a seemingly aggrieved expression.

She couldn’t understand how he could joke around at a time like this.

“D-Don’t joke around…!”

“I’m not joking. I really like it.”

Escalion firmly wrapped the coat that kept slipping off Belladonna’s slender shoulders.

Looking at him, Belladonna slowly said.

“Did you… know I could speak?”

“Well.”

It was a strange answer. Neither confirming nor denying. What on earth…

“Let’s go down for now. The maid who lost you is very worried.”

Escalion put his arm around her shoulders and tried to move, but Belladonna stood firmly on both legs and stubbornly resisted.

As Escalion looked down at her, not moving, Belladonna opened her mouth again.

“What are you going to do now?”

“About what?”

“Are you… going to tell His Holiness? That I can speak.”

As she said this, she felt her heart sink.

If word that she could speak reached the Pope’s ears, she would inevitably be suspected about the divine power she had gained in exchange for her voice.

And if that happened…

“Why would I?”

However, at Escalion’s answer, Belladonna raised her head again with wide eyes.

“Is it so important that you can speak?”

“…”

“I don’t know what circumstances there are, but if you don’t want to speak in the future, you can live your whole life without speaking. It’s a bit of a shame not to hear your pretty way of speaking, but… won’t you let me hear it sometimes when we’re alone?”

“I-It’s not that simple.”

“If it’s not simple, is it complicated?”

Escalion asked playfully, tilting his head.

This man really…! Such a glib tone even at a time like this.

She couldn’t understand what he was thinking at all.

As Belladonna looked up at him with a blank expression, Escalion shrugged as if he couldn’t help it and answered.

“At the papal palace, I heard you singing in your sleep.”

So, he’s known since then…?

Belladonna stood still, biting her lower lip.

“And I’ve heard it occasionally since then.”

“…?”

“Do you know how diversely you talk in your sleep every night? You groan, and mutter seriously about whatever dream you’re having. When night falls, my wife becomes so noisy.”

R-Really…?

Belladonna’s face gradually turned red.

She had thought she was hiding it secretly from everyone, but had no idea she was making all sorts of noises when night fell. H-How embarrassing…!

Escalion looked down at Belladonna, who was at a loss with her reddened face, and lowered his head, chuckling.

“The part about making noise at night was a joke, but I did hear you groaning softly when you were sick.”

“…”

“Don’t glare at me so fiercely. Aren’t you grateful to a husband who kept his wife’s secret to the end despite that?”

So Escalion… knew from the beginning.

That she was deceiving him and pretending she couldn’t speak.

‘And yet he pretended not to know…?’

Thinking that, she felt a bit grateful to him.

“Are you… not bothered? That I deceived you.”

“I figured you had your reasons. I thought you might tell me someday. But ‘you’?”

Escalion, who had been relaxed all along, suddenly frowned.

What? What’s the problem? As Belladonna opened her eyes wide, not understanding, he sighed irritably and brushed back the hair that had fallen over his forehead.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been thinking of me as ‘you’ in your heart all this time?”

What does that mean…?

“Bella, I’m not ‘you’, I’m your husband. Now that I’ve heard your voice, we need to be clear about how you address me.”

Hu-Husband…? W-Well, that’s true, but…

“Then what should I…”

“Call my name.”

“…”

Escalion.

Although she had already repeated the name hundreds of times in her heart, it wasn’t easy to say it out loud in front of him.

Was it because she had become aware of her feelings for him? She felt strangely embarrassed and awkward.

“Come on.”

“Um… E-Es…”

“Yes?”

Escalion brought his face close to Belladonna’s, curling up the corners of his mouth.

Belladonna blinked rapidly, unable to collect her thoughts with his face so close.

T-Too close…!

“Hmm? What did you say?”

Escalion urged once more.

Oh, no…! Unable to hold back any longer, Belladonna squeezed her eyes shut and blurted out.

“I-I’m not planning to speak anymore anyway!”

“What?”

“To the outside world, I’m a saint who can’t speak. E-Even if I’ve been caught, I-I won’t have any reason to speak in front of others.”

“What does that have to do with calling my name now?”

W-Well, that’s true. This unnecessarily precise person…

“So… I-I’d like you to keep the secret…”

As Belladonna whispered softly, Escalion raised one eyebrow.

“Who else knows you can speak? From what I’ve heard, it seems the Pope doesn’t know.”

“No one knows. Only us two… know.”

“Who and who?”

At Escalion’s question, Belladonna squeezed her eyes shut. He really was a persistent person.

Alright, let’s just say it and be done with it…!

“Me and…”

“And?”

“E-Escalion.”

At the words whispered so softly, a satisfied smile bloomed on Escalion’s face.

“That sounds nice. But Bella, what did I say about how to do it when I ask?”

Belladonna looked up at Escalion. He was smiling, tapping his cheek. Surely not…

Seeing Belladonna’s appalled expression, Escalion smiled even more deeply and brought his face closer.

Belladonna blinked, looking at his face as it came towards her.

T-This sly fox…!

“Come on, Bella.”

Belladonna hesitated for a moment with an aggrieved face, then grabbed his arm and raised herself on her tiptoes.

Chu! An unbelievably cheerful sound rang in her ears.

“Good. Shall we go back now?”

Escalion, who had won a kiss of request from her, said with smiling eyes.

“Ah, no. The maid said you haven’t bought the envelope yet. Let’s buy it together and go back.”

Ugh… Fine, do as you please…

Belladonna slowly nodded at the satisfied-looking Escalion.

Thinking that her face must have turned terribly red, she felt even more embarrassed.

“I won’t tell anyone about what happened today, so don’t worry.”

“…”

“It’s not bad to have a secret just between me and my wife. Will you explain everything to me someday?”

Belladonna couldn’t answer his question.

Someday… No, before that, Belladonna had to leave him.

Escalion looked down at Belladonna, who had gone silent again, and readjusted the coat he had draped over her.

“You’ve clamped your mouth shut like a clam again, I see. Shall we go down then?”

Escalion, having finished adjusting the coat, held out his large palm to her.

Belladonna looked at it for a moment, then placed her hand on top of it.

He turned and started walking.

With the whirlwind of events, she was completely lost.

After being caught out so easily by him, she couldn’t understand what was happening at all.

“…”

As they descended the gentle hill, Belladonna turned her eyes to glance at his profile.

She had just wanted to sort out her thoughts somewhere quiet, but instead felt that everything had become even more complicated.

Oh, I really don’t understand anything…