“…She looked pitiful. Her arms and legs were abnormally thin, and her sunken cheeks looked so sad. I couldn’t leave her like that, so I took her with me and spent the most money in my life to buy her a lot of food.”

Pitiful…

So did Escalion feel compassion as soon as he saw Scarlet, and that feeling gradually deepened to this point?

As I listened to his story, my heart strangely ached.

“At first, I just wanted to save a person’s life. Even though she shook her head saying she didn’t need food, when I put food in both her hands, her eyes quickly changed, and it was funny to see her eating it up in a hurry.”

“…”

“That’s how I came to take care of her. It was nice to see her gradually gain weight, her hair become glossy, and her body grow, needing new clothes.”

Escalion’s expression softened.

Unlike him looking comfortable, Belladonna felt a sharp pain in one side of her chest and a feeling of suffocation.

She didn’t want to hear any more.

Just listening to the story of Escalion developing feelings for Scarlet Leyton was uncomfortable and difficult.

She felt like she shouldn’t have started this, but Escalion didn’t stop talking.

“As I was living a mercenary life, wandering here and there, I couldn’t stay by Scarlet’s side constantly, but when I returned after traveling for months, it wasn’t bad to be welcomed by her, who had suddenly grown into a proper lady.”

“…”

“But she’s prickly and sensitive, I don’t know who she takes after. Even when I try to be nice to her, she bursts out in irritation and gets annoyed. I don’t know how to handle her. Since I don’t know how to deal with women, I’ve given up a lot now.”

Something seemed odd as I listened.

She bursts out in irritation and gets annoyed? So does Scarlet not have feelings for Escalion?

So what exactly is their relationship?

Is Escalion one-sidedly in love with her…?

Belladonna looked up at him with a curious face. Escalion shrugged his shoulders and opened his mouth.

“But what can I do? She’s my only blood relative, so I have to take care of her until the end.”

Blood relative…?

At the word that entered through her ear canal, Belladonna blinked her eyes blankly.

Wait, take care of a blood relative…?

“She’s not my full sister, but half the same blood flows in us, so I can’t just ignore her completely.”

“W-wait a moment.”

“Hm?”

When Belladonna spoke up, Escalion stopped talking.

She opened her mouth hesitantly, trying to organize her confused thoughts.

“Blood relative? Half… the same blood flows, you say?”

“Ah, didn’t I mention it? Scarlet Leyton is my half-sister.”

“You didn’t tell me!”

When did you say that! Such an important story!

Belladonna looked up at him, feeling unreasonably wronged. Then now…

Escalion spoke with a face that couldn’t understand why.

“As I said before, I’m not good with words. It seems I left out the most important part.”

“Huh…”

“Scarlet is my half-sister with a different mother. Because her birth mother was an unmarried mother, she took the surname Leyton from her mother, not her father.”

“…”

“Strictly speaking, our father probably didn’t know. He passed away before he could know of her existence.”

Belladonna, who had been listening to his story, shook her complicated head and extended her palm to him.

“Wait a moment. So, you’re saying Scarlet Leyton is your family? Your sister?”

“Yes.”

“How many people know this fact?”

“Almost none. Wolf and the long-time servants at Griblata probably know. I regularly send Scarlet pocket money and necessities.”

Belladonna recalled Scarlet’s name written in the thick ledger managing the firewood.

Ah, so that’s why her name was there…

“Before you came, Scarlet had stayed at Griblata Castle for a while. She made a fuss about water leaking in the house she’s living in now, so she stayed until the repairs were finished. Even then, we couldn’t get close, though.”

Belladonna also recalled the ownerless necklace she had found in the drawer on her first day at Griblata.

Was that Scarlet’s too?

“Why are you hiding that fact? If you reveal that Scarlet is your sister, it would be easier, wouldn’t it? You wouldn’t receive unnecessary misunderstandings either. I’m sure many of the servants at Griblata Castle are misunderstanding Scarlet.”

“She doesn’t want it.”

Escalion immediately added.

“Whether she doesn’t want to be associated with someone like me or what… Besides, I didn’t want to create something like a family and have a weakness. At that time, I didn’t have the power I have now, so I thought I couldn’t even properly protect one sister. I had too many unnecessary enemies.”

“…”

“But it’s different now, Bella.”

Escalion spoke gently towards Belladonna, who had become silent.

He reached into the blanket and pulled her towards him.

“Now I have a lot of power to protect you. I have a safe and sturdy castle, and I have a large order of knights. I have a lot of money too. So I hope you won’t worry unnecessarily.”

“…I’m not worried about that.”

Belladonna said as she pressed her body against Escalion.

Resting her forehead on his chest, Belladonna spoke in a small, sulky voice.

“Until now, I’ve been worrying a lot unnecessarily because of Scarlet Leyton.”

“Did you?”

Hearing Belladonna’s voice, Escalion smiled as if deflating.

“Because you didn’t tell me such things, I had unnecessary misunderstandings.”

“What kind of misunderstandings? Did you think Scarlet was some woman I was hiding?”

Escalion asked, lowering his head to see Belladonna’s face.

Belladonna burrowed further into his arms to hide her expression.

Ugh…

“Hm? What misunderstanding did you have? Did you think of me as such a bad man?”

Escalion kept asking, but Belladonna persistently didn’t answer.

By the way, to think that Scarlet is Escalion’s half-sister…

To be honest, it felt good. She felt relieved, and everything became comfortable.

The fact that Scarlet Leyton, who had been troubling her so much, was not her husband’s mistress but his family, was such good news that it could shake off all the worries and concerns she had been holding.

‘I don’t have to go back to Astanya.’

Belladonna thought with a much lighter heart.

‘I can continue to live… by Escalion’s side, not next to the Pope.’

“Bella.”

At that moment, Escalion called her name in a low, deep voice.

At the changed atmosphere from just before, Belladonna slowly raised her head.

“If you keep pressing your body so close and breathing hot breaths like that.”

“…?”

“I’ll have different thoughts again. I really wanted to let you sleep this time.”

“What…”

The question couldn’t be finished.

There were many more things she wanted to ask about Scarlet, but he didn’t seem to have the mind or leisure to answer.

Belladonna was trapped under him as he began to block her mouth with his thick lips and wrap his thick arm around her waist, having to make sounds again for a long time.

“Bella.”

“…”

“Wake up for a moment, Bella.”

Ah, so sleepy…

Belladonna frowned and opened her eyes.

Through the hazy dawn light, she could see Escalion looking down at her.

Let’s get some sleep, okay? Escalion, confirming her displeased expression, laughed softly and opened his mouth.

“You’ve become a grumpy baby bird again. I’m sorry for waking you up. But I need to go out soon. And I can’t postpone it any longer.”

“…”

Belladonna looked at Escalion, who was straddling in front of her, with a frowning face.

Escalion carefully sat her up and wrapped her whole body tightly with the blanket.

What is he trying to do… Belladonna sat still and watched what he was doing.

After wrapping her tightly, Escalion put his hand through the gap and pulled out only Belladonna’s arm, which had become one with the blanket, to the outside.

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

He took Belladonna’s hand and took out something shiny from his bosom and put it on her ring finger.

A thick and heavy feeling wrapped around her ring finger. This is…

“It’s a ring. I should have put it on you right away yesterday, but I was distracted.”

Belladonna silently looked down at the ring shining on her finger.

Three sparkling diamonds were set in the center of the ring that fit her finger perfectly as if the size had been adjusted.

The round diamond set in the center and the two diamonds decorating both sides looked beautifully like a single ribbon.

‘Wow, it’s pretty…’

When she turned her head slightly, she saw a ring of similar design on his finger.

There were no diamonds, but a simple ring made of the same material.

Belladonna blinked her eyes, feeling a warmth in her chest for some reason.

Her heart beat pleasantly. Now that they had exchanged rings, she felt like they had finally become a perfect couple.

“Now that business is done, go back to sleep. I’ll be late today. I have knight training and a lot of overdue work.”

Escalion lightly kissed her cheek and gently pushed her back.

Belladonna flopped down on the bed, pushed by him.

Belladonna, lying on her back looking at the ceiling, nodded towards Escalion who was about to leave, and he leaned his face towards her.

“My wife is really taciturn. It seems you only say what needs to be said.”

“…”

“Except at night.”

Ugh, really… Belladonna narrowed her eyes and glared at him not unkindly.

She thought she would continue to not make a sound as much as possible in the future, as it could lead to bad habits and mistakes outside because of it.

Even though she had explained all those circumstances… Escalion tilted his head to the right and asked with a playful look in his eyes.

“So you’re really not going to say goodbye?”

“…See you later.”

Escalion, with a satisfied smile, tapped Belladonna’s cheek with his finger as she spoke in a very small voice.

“How about a goodbye kiss?”

“T-that…”

“Come on.”

Escalion bent his waist and brought his cheek close to her lips.

Belladonna closed her eyes tightly and pressed her lips to his cheek.

“Is, is that okay?”

“Ah… I really don’t want to leave.”

He said, burying his head deeply into the blanket.

“I wonder if my wife’s stamina can hold up?”

“W-what are you saying! Be careful and come back!”

Belladonna blushed, then quickly hid under the blanket.