Late that night, Escalion entered the bedroom, throwing his shirt on the floor as he walked towards the bed.

Aren’t you cold…?

Belladonna, dressed in thick velvet pajamas and tucked under the blanket, watched him approach half-naked like she was looking at a wild bear.

“You’re all bundled up.”

Escalion chuckled as he looked at Belladonna curled up under the blanket.

He lifted the blanket and got in, pulling Belladonna tightly into his arms.

Belladonna pressed her body against Escalion’s warm skin, snuggling closer to him.

“Does my wife not have the ability to regulate her body temperature? Why are you so cold?”

“…”

“Wait. I’ll have them stoke the fire more…”

Belladonna held Escalion tightly as he tried to get up again.

He looked down at her with a puzzled expression, and Belladonna shook her head as she spoke.

“It’s warm like this.”

At her small voice, Escalion clenched his jaw and gripped the blanket tightly.

“Do you know how that sounds to me?”

“…?”

“It sounds like you’re asking me to get closer. I know a way to warm you up quickly, what do you think?”

Oh, really!

At Escalion’s sly smile, Belladonna blushed and hit him.

Though she put all her strength into it, it didn’t seem to have much impact on him.

Escalion chuckled and roughly ruffled her hair.

“That’s quite the cotton swab.”

“…”

“There’s one bad thing about coming to Griblata. It’s quite fatal.”

“…What is it?”

Belladonna asked, brushing her disheveled hair back.

Escalion shrugged as he spoke.

“I can’t undress you as I please. The air is cold, so you might catch a cold if I’m not careful.”

“Is that all you think about?”

“It’s a perfectly normal thought for a husband with a beautiful wife.”

Belladonna looked at Escalion’s characteristic expression, with his lips curled up and golden eyes twinkling mischievously, then turned her body away.

Escalion chuckled again and hugged her from behind.

Belladonna closed her eyes, feeling his thick arms wrap securely around her waist.

Let’s just sleep!

“I heard from Wolf.”

A moment later, Escalion murmured softly, his laughter subsiding.

Belladonna listened attentively to his voice and opened her eyes again.

“He said you sent a letter to Scarlet today. A letter you wrote yourself.”

“…”

Belladonna recalled the invitation she had carefully composed.

Having written countless invitations during her time in Astanya, it wasn’t particularly difficult.

When she first awoke as the Holy Maiden, everything was challenging, and she barely managed to piece together phrases from past invitations, but now…

“She doesn’t like me.”

Just as she was needlessly reminiscing about her life in Astanya, Escalion spoke in an even lower voice.

Belladonna turned her head slightly to look at him.

“Well, I understand if she’s annoyed. I show up late claiming to be her brother and start meddling in everything.”

“…”

“I don’t proudly introduce her as my sister in front of others, yet I’m always around being a nuisance. It must be bothersome and irritating.”

“…”

“But still…”

“Talk to Scarlet.”

Belladonna turned completely to face him and spoke.

She gazed intently into Escalion’s deep eyes.

“Don’t keep it all hidden, tell her everything you feel. That every choice was made for Scarlet’s sake, that you actually care about and worry about your sister more than anyone else.”

“Bella…”

“Then Scarlet will realize how much you cherish her.”

Escalion silently stared at Belladonna.

The warmth of her hand on his cheek and her unwavering blue gaze made him feel inexplicably calm and comfortable.

It was a strange feeling he had never experienced before.

“…”

Unable to bear it any longer, he closed his eyes and spoke.

“…She’s a stupid, ill-tempered brat. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to communicate.”

“I guess she takes after you in that regard.”

“What?”

Escalion opened his eyes. Belladonna was covering her mouth with her fist, giggling in front of him.

Soon, he burst into laughter as well.

“Now you’re even teasing me.”

Escalion slipped his hand under Belladonna’s velvet pajamas and pressed his weight onto her.

“You’re going to be punished.”

Belladonna laughed softly as she pushed away Escalion’s shoulder as he began to plant ticklish kisses on her cheek.

[This is the timeline separator]

A few days later, Belladonna watched the distant castle gates with a tense expression.

Escalion, standing beside her, pulled her into his arms and spoke.

“I told you we should just wait in the dining room. It’s cold.”

Belladonna shook her head, not taking her eyes off the gates.

No matter what, she wanted to show proper etiquette when meeting her husband’s sister for the first time.

At last, they saw the carriage Escalion had sent passing through the gates.

She’s here…!

“Miss Scarlet’s carriage has arrived,” Wolf, who was standing a bit further ahead, announced.

He opened the door of the carriage that had stopped in front of them and offered his hand to Scarlet, who emerged from inside.

Belladonna stood quietly, observing her appearance.

“…”

The woman she had seen at 76 Euphrang Street stepped onto the ground.

Her tall, slender figure and long black hair flowing down her back were not much different from her memory.

However, seen up close, Scarlet had deep wheat-colored eyes that were similar to but different from Escalion’s.

Now that I look closely, she does resemble Escalion quite a bit…!

Scarlet, upon noticing Belladonna and Escalion, bowed and greeted them.

“Thank you for inviting me. I’m Scarlet Leyton.”

“…”

“…”

Belladonna was speechless, and Escalion had nothing particular to say, so they remained silent.

Unable to bear the long silence, Wolf, who had been watching from the side, spoke up instead.

“W-welcome! You must be tired from your long journey. Shall we head to the dining room? We’ve prepared dinner.”

“Ah, yes.”

Scarlet replied without any change in expression.

Belladonna smiled and walked ahead, gesturing for them to follow.

She glanced up at Escalion, who was still walking silently beside her. Say something!

When Belladonna squeezed Escalion’s hand firmly, he reluctantly turned his head.

“What have you been up to?”

Oh, no…! How can you ask like that!

Belladonna turned to Scarlet in surprise.

But Scarlet didn’t seem to mind and answered with an expressionless face.

“Just staying at home.”

Their conversation ended there.

As they walked down the corridor, once again enveloped in silence, Belladonna swallowed hard.

She had a feeling that tonight’s dinner would not be easy at all.

[This is the timeline separator]

“This is a stew simmered for a long time with mussels.”

The servants filled the large dining table one by one with the dishes they brought in. Belladonna silently watched as the table gradually filled up.

“Eat plenty.”

“Thanks.”

After exchanging these brief words, the siblings immediately focused on the food.

They concentrated on the dishes in front of them without saying anything to each other, putting food in their mouths and chewing quietly.

Wait a minute, now that I look at this…

Belladonna, who had been quietly observing them, let out a small laugh.

“…?”

The two siblings, who had been hunched over their plates in the same posture, raised their heads with puzzled expressions.

Belladonna couldn’t help but laugh more as two pairs of similar-colored eyes looked at her.

She reached out and wrote on a nearby notepad.

[You two have a lot in common.]

“…Me?”

“Ugh.”

“What do you mean, ‘ugh’?”

As Scarlet immediately stiffened her expression and made a disgusted face, Escalion spoke with a rigid expression.

“Mind your manners in front of my wife.”

“I’m sorry.”

Scarlet bowed her head deeply towards Belladonna.

Somehow, that sight reminded Belladonna of a mischievous little sister, and she couldn’t help but smile.

[Is the food to your liking? Thank you for accepting our invitation.]

“No, thank you for inviting me. I didn’t know… Escalion would talk about me.”

Scarlet glanced at Escalion as she answered.

She seemed to call her brother casually by his name.

Escalion didn’t seem to have any objection to this, as he was silently poking at the tomatoes on his plate.

[My husband has told me a lot about you. Let’s see each other often from now on.]

Scarlet’s expression changed subtly as she read Belladonna’s writing.

She glanced at Escalion once more, then nodded at Belladonna.

“Thank you for speaking comfortably with me. Actually, I wanted to meet you too. There were so many rumors…”

Rumors?

As Belladonna looked puzzled, Scarlet added an explanation.

“People said a very beautiful Holy Maiden had come to Griblata. They said she was the complete opposite of Escalion.”

The complete opposite? Belladonna turned her head to look at Escalion.

If they were talking about appearances, she and Escalion were indeed opposites.

He was very large, with healthy-looking tan skin, beautiful golden eyes, and a strangely sensual atmosphere.

As if sensing her thoughts, Scarlet continued speaking.

“Not just in appearance, but in personality too. They said you were calm, benevolent, and kind.”

“Are you saying that for me to hear?”

“There’s something I really wanted to ask you. How on earth did you end up marrying Escalion?”

Scarlet asked, easily ignoring Escalion’s question.

“Everyone in Griblata must be curious. One day, Escalion suddenly left for Astanya, and then out of nowhere, he brought back the Holy Maiden as his wife. Oh, if this makes you uncomfortable or difficult to answer, you don’t have to. Please forgive my rudeness.”

Belladonna smiled and shook her head, indicating that she wasn’t offended at all.

In fact, it was a fresh and interesting question.

Hmm, the reason for marrying Escalion…

To be honest, it was nothing more or less than a political marriage, so she didn’t know how to explain it.

Although her feelings for him had grown and deepened a lot now, when she first met him, she had only felt fear and unease about her voice being discovered…

“I fell in love with my wife at first sight and brought her here.”

Instead of Belladonna, who was hesitating with her finger on the notepad, Escalion spoke up.