It was about 30 minutes later when Escalion visited the restaurant on the first floor.

He had intended to just quickly wash up and come down, but Hazel came and unnecessarily held him back, causing him to be much later than he had thought.

‘If I leave the two of them alone, Bella will probably be very uncomfortable.’

Escalion, who hurriedly came down and pushed open the restaurant door, stopped in his tracks at the sight before him.

He frowned and opened his mouth.

“What on earth is this……”

“Oh, you’re here, friend?”

Graham, with a flushed red face, shouted while raising his glass.

And in front of him was…

“……Has my foolish friend really gone mad?”

Escalion muttered under his breath.

Graham, seemingly still unaware of the situation, raised his glass high and shouted loudly.

“Gone mad? Did you know your wife could drink this well? She’s drunk almost as much as me!”

Escalion, furrowing his brow, placed his hand on his throbbing forehead.

He approached his wife, who was slowly swaying her body left and right with her eyes closed and cheeks flushed red, while glaring fiercely at Graham.

“If you really made her drink as much as you, know that you’ll die.”

At his fierce gaze, Graham, finally coming to his senses, quietly put down the glass he was holding.

He blinked and muttered softly.

“……She drank a little less than me. Yes, definitely a little less.”

“Bella, are you alright? Do you want to go in and rest?”

Shake shake!

In response to Escalion’s question, Belladonna shook her head vigorously, still with her eyes closed.

“She says she can drink more!”

“Hah…… What is this now……”

Escalion, with a troubled expression, held Belladonna by both shoulders and looked down at the scraps of paper lined up on the table.

“I had a written conversation with your wife. She seemed curious about your childhood, so I told her this and that!”

“Haah……”

“I told her on your behalf how you grew up in the mercenary group, what battlefields you roamed! You know, that stupid fellow who betrayed you in the desert? I told her in great detail how you dealt with him…!”

Instead of answering, Escalion moved his hand to rummage through the numerous papers on the table.

[Tell me about when my husband joined the mercenary group.] [What cities have you visited with my husband?] [Was there a time when my husband was seriously injured?]

“She asked quite a variety of questions.”

Escalion muttered softly.

Although he wore a displeased expression, he wasn’t entirely unhappy about her interest in him.

It was vexing that she had asked that drunken fool instead of asking him directly, though.

[What about my husband’s childhood?] [Cute.] [Liar.]

“Oh my……”

From this point on, it seemed she had become increasingly drunk, as the handwriting in the papers began to get progressively messier.

At the same time, the questions became shorter and the words used felt much more familiar.

“It seems the two drunkards had fun without me.”

“That’s right! Much more fun than with you!”

“Then I’ll take Bella in first……”

Escalion, turning his gaze to Belladonna and about to take her in first, stopped speaking when he noticed the paper placed closest to her hand.

It was a new paper that hadn’t yet been passed to Graham, perhaps intended for the next question.

“……”

Escalion picked up the paper touching her fingertips, his golden eyes gleaming.

Soon, his face hardened as he confirmed its contents.

[Who is Scarlet Leyton?] [This is the timeline separator]

“……”

Belladonna frowned and twisted her body.

She remembered Graham repeatedly filling her glass and her excitedly downing it, but the moments in between felt empty, making her dizzy and short of breath.

“Are you coming to your senses?”

At the sound of Escalion’s voice nearby, Belladonna’s eyes flew open.

Wh-where is this!

It seemed to still be night, as the familiar bedroom was filled with darkness.

Escalion, who had been sitting in a chair away from the bed, stood up and approached her.

“It’s still far from morning.”

“……”

“Don’t be surprised. I brought you back after finding you completely drunk with Graham from early evening.”

“……”

“You kept groaning, are you dizzy? Should I bring you some water?”

She tried to nod, but Escalion, bending over, was faster.

He lowered his body and kissed the top of her bare foot.

“Ah…!”

Perhaps because the alcohol hadn’t fully worn off, a careless voice suddenly burst out.

Belladonna, startled by her own voice, quickly shut her mouth.

Escalion, as if not even noticing her voice, persistently pressed his lips against her.

She felt her entire body quickly heating up.

“I have something I want to give you, but I wonder if you’ll even remember properly when you’re this drunk.”

“……”

Escalion, after kissing her a few more times, stopped what he was doing and raised his head.

Belladonna looked up at him, her lips quivering with disappointment.

Escalion’s Adam’s apple moved greatly as he met Belladonna’s flushed gaze.

He barely held onto his reason as he opened his mouth.

“I heard about the conversation you had with Graham in the restaurant. You asked quite a lot. Was it fun?”

Belladonna nodded quickly. But her mind had already long left that restaurant.

“Damn it, that look in your eyes, please……”

Escalion muttered softly, raising one hand to completely cover his own eyes.

After taking a moment to catch his breath, he asked in a low, deep voice.

“……Are you curious about Scarlet Leyton?”

Scarlet Leyton.

At the woman’s name, she felt as if the alcohol and sleepiness had suddenly cleared away.

Belladonna looked up at Escalion with eyes that had now become clear.

“I saw the question you wrote on the paper.”

“……”

“I didn’t know you had been keeping it in your heart all this time. I was too indifferent.”

Belladonna let out a small sigh.

The truth he was about to reveal was both curious and frightening.

If Scarlet was really Escalion’s mistress that he held in his heart, what should I do?

“Haah……”

Escalion, frowning, let out a low sigh and ruffled his own hair.

Seeing this, the fearful and anxious feelings grew, violently shaking Belladonna’s heart.

What if I’m forcibly uncovering an uncomfortable truth that everyone would be better off leaving alone? What if this hurts everyone and we can never go back to how things were before?

Belladonna raised one hand to clutch at her pounding heart.

‘Sometimes it’s better not to know……’

She began to rationalize to herself.

“So, Scarlet Leyton is……”

“Don’t say it.”

Belladonna spoke in a very small voice.

Although it was so quiet that it barely reached him, Escalion immediately stopped speaking.

“What did you say?”

He asked, his golden eyes gleaming. Belladonna put strength into her throat and spoke a little louder this time.

“If you don’t want to say it…… That is, if you’re not inclined to, you don’t have to.”

“……”

Instead of answering, Escalion stared at her intently.

Feeling uncomfortable under his burning gaze, Belladonna slowly turned her head away.

“Continue.”

“……?”

“Anything. Say it again.”

Escalion said as he moved onto the bed, positioning himself over her.

Suddenly trapped between his solid chest and thick arms, Belladonna blinked blankly.

Escalion raised one hand and began to fiddle with her plump lips.

“Maybe it’s because I can hear it so rarely, but it’s driving me crazy with anticipation.”

Wh-what are you saying all of a sudden…….

Why has his gaze changed like that again?

Surprised by the sudden change in atmosphere, Belladonna’s lips quivered. Now that she actually tried to speak, she found that words wouldn’t come out properly.

“Ah, you don’t want to make a sound now?”

“……”

“I know a very easy way to make you use your voice.”

Escalion said, tugging at the hem of Belladonna’s skirt with a raised corner of his mouth.

Soon realizing what method he was referring to, she blushed.

“I’m sorry, but can we have water a little later? I’m in a bit of a hurry. I’ve been holding back since earlier today.”

“……Mmph.”

Before she could even give an answer, her mouth was blocked first.

Belladonna closed her eyes as she received the hot breath entering through her parted lips. An dizzying sensation quickly shot up from her toes to the top of her head. Without realizing it, a strained voice escaped her.

Escalion bit her lower lip and smiled with satisfaction.

“That sounds good.”

[This is the timeline separator]

She came to her senses again around the time when the gray light of dawn began to break through the window.

Belladonna turned her head to glare at Escalion, who was lying diagonally beside her.

“Why are you angry when you enjoyed it?”

Escalion asked with a genuinely puzzled face, shrugging his shoulders.

No matter what, this is going too far……!

As Belladonna glared at him more fiercely with reddened cheeks, Escalion chuckled softly and stroked her flushed cheeks.

“You look like an angry baby bird.”

“……”

“Don’t be angry and go to sleep.”

When Belladonna shook her head, he gently tucked a strand of fallen hair behind her ear and asked.

“Have you decided to keep your mouth shut again?”

“……”

“Do as you like. No, this might be better. The thought of others hearing your voice makes my blood boil.”

That’s a bit much…… Belladonna turned her gaze away with an indifferent face.

Escalion chuckled and pulled up the blanket, carefully covering her body.

Belladonna wriggled under it, finding a comfortable position.

“Then it’s my turn to tell my story. My wife has revealed one secret to me, so I should reveal one too. That’s fair, isn’t it?”

When Belladonna looked at him, moving only her eyes, Escalion opened his mouth without hesitation.

“I came to know Scarlet Leyton 8 years ago.”

‘8 years……’

At the longer-than-expected relationship, Belladonna lowered her gaze.

Compared to her, who had just been married to him for barely two months, Scarlet and Escalion seemed to have an incredibly deep and thick relationship.

“One day, I received a letter from an unknown person. It contained some basic information about her. It said that she had lost her mother a few months before contacting me and was living alone, moving from place to place.”

Basic information……? Who sent it?

Belladonna furrowed her brows as she focused on his story.

“There were things written that I didn’t want to believe, so I decided to go see for myself. I thought if I saw with my own eyes, I might feel something different. My feelings when I first met her like that were……”

Escalion narrowed his eyes as if recalling that time.