‘……That’s the Pope’s intention.’

Belladonna forcibly inhaled the breath that had been tightly held, then barely exhaled.

‘He deliberately sent the letter meant for me to Escalion as if by mistake, and even enclosed the letter I had written just before.’

The Pope’s gloomy laughter seemed to echo in her ears.

Her head spun and both hands trembled.

Belladonna clasped her hands together and squeezed them tightly.

‘Did they realize my intention to deceive him and maintain the marriage? Or was even this… part of the Pope’s plan? To deliberately reveal such a plan, to make Escalion, if not me, push for divorce…?’

She strained her voice, speaking with effort.

“Just a moment. I-I’ll explain.”

“Is there anything to explain?”

At the cold reply that came immediately, she flinched and tightly shut her eyes.

She felt that she had been too complacent all this time.

What kind of person did she think the Pope was, to carelessly spend the wedding night with him and remain by his side with happy fantasies?

‘He wasn’t the type to give up so easily…’

A heavy, dark sense of despair engulfed her body.

It felt as if the ground beneath her feet had collapsed, and she might collapse at any moment from her legs giving out.

First, stay calm. Wh-where should I start explaining?

Belladonna’s fingers, clasped in front of her, twitched.

She needed to say something to Escalion quickly. She needed to explain everything about this situation.

But perhaps because the situation was so sudden, her mind wasn’t working properly.

So, well…

“Judging by how tightly you’re keeping your mouth shut, it seems you have nothing to say. It’s quite easy, isn’t it? Just keep your mouth shut when things are unfavorable.”

His tone was sharp. Even without explanation, she could feel how deeply betrayed he felt by the letter sent to him.

After gazing at her for a moment, Escalion stood up from his seat.

He roughly snatched the coat hanging on the simple coat rack beside the desk.

Then, draping it over his shoulder, he walked out quickly, passing right by her.

“W-wait a moment…”

Despite her voice, he didn’t slow his pace.

Belladonna flinched and hunched her shoulders at his menacing aura, and then heard the office door slam shut behind her.

“…”

Silence fell over the office where he had disappeared.

Belladonna stood there dazed, feeling the breeze stirred up by Escalion as he quickly passed by her.

She couldn’t comprehend at all what had just happened.

That night, Belladonna sat curled up alone on the large bed, biting her lower lip with an anxious expression.

It felt as if an unexpected storm had swept away everything.

She buried her face between her raised knees and let out a groan.

“Ugh…”

I was so stupid…

It’s been so long since I’ve seen the Pope face to face, I forgot what kind of person he is.

“You idiot…”

Belladonna sighed deeply, blaming herself.

The situation was extremely bad.

Not only did Escalion learn that she had planned their three-month marriage, but he also found out that she had devised it all herself.

The voices of the people of Griblata echoed in her mind.

The Pope must have known what kind of temperament Escalion had.

‘So he first tried to use Scarlet as a weakness to force a divorce, and if that plan failed, he intended to frame me as having fabricated all this, to make Escalion initiate the divorce…’

“That dirty, cunning old Pope…”

Belladonna muttered softly.

She slightly raised her head and looked at the clock, which was now pointing to midnight, and the bedroom door that remained tightly shut.

Since he had left his seat earlier, there had been no news from him.

“Does he not intend to come to the room tonight…”

She spoke worriedly, then blinked her eyes a few times, pondering before getting off the bed.

Setting aside the conversation to clear up the misunderstanding, she began to worry about where he was and what he was doing right now.

Surely he hadn’t left after grabbing his coat earlier and not returned…

Belladonna, who had stepped down to the floor, picked up the small lamp on the bedside table and moved to push open the bedroom door.

Did he go back to the office? Or is he in his room? If so, it might be better to go find him now and have a conversation…

Creak.

The old door opened with a sharp sound.

Stepping out into the hallway, Belladonna carefully looked around.

Should I go to his room first? Just as she was about to head towards where Escalion’s room was, she sensed someone’s presence from across the hallway.

Ah, I’m startled. Who is it? Is it Escalion?

She calmed her startled heart and narrowed her eyes, raising the lamp towards that direction.

Wh-who’s there?

“Who’s there?”

At that moment, as if the other person had also sensed Belladonna’s presence, a voice came from the other end of the hallway.

Startled by the unfamiliar female voice that wasn’t Escalion’s, Belladonna quickly brought the lamp close to her face to reveal who she was.

It’s me!

Footsteps were heard as the woman who had confirmed Belladonna’s face approached her.

“Ah, it’s the lady…! What are you doing up at this hour instead of sleeping? Do you need anything?”

The maid who had come close spoke up.

Belladonna quietly looked up at her.

Red hair tied in two braids, distinctive freckles, eyes that curved roundly when she smiled.

She wasn’t someone Belladonna knew well, but she had become familiar with her face while coming and going through the castle.

“Ah, should I call Cindy for you?”

Since Belladonna didn’t need Cindy right at that moment, she quietly shook her head.

But…

Belladonna held her breath and stared intently at the maid.

She hadn’t noticed from afar, but now that she was close and her face was illuminated by the lamp, something awkward and strange could be sensed.

The maid was smiling a somewhat distorted smile and anxiously looking around.

‘…What is it?’

Feeling a sudden strange emotion, Belladonna slowly stepped back.

She pointed towards the bedroom behind her with a gentle smile. I-I’ll just go back…?

“Ah, are you going back to your room? I understand.”

The maid nodded and smiled with relief.

I don’t know what it is, but let’s go back for now! The castle is so large and dark, it’s somehow eerie!

Belladonna quietly turned her body towards the bedroom.

It seemed that due to the large size of the castle, the staff took turns being on duty. That child must be on duty today?

Just as she reached the bedroom door and stretched out her hand towards the doorknob, two hands suddenly sprang out from the dark behind her.

Huh?

Before she could even recognize what it was, a black cloth soaked with a damp liquid strongly covered her mouth.

“…!”

Wh-what is this…!

Not knowing what was on the cloth, she tried her best not to breathe, but another hand that had pounced on her tightly squeezed her slender neck.

Suddenly short of breath, Belladonna unconsciously inhaled.

Ah, I shouldn’t…

Belladonna felt her consciousness rapidly fading as she collapsed onto the hallway floor.

Ugh, my head hurts…

Belladonna, frowning, forcibly lifted her eyelids that wouldn’t open.

Even with her eyes open, all she could see was darkness.

It wasn’t actually dark, but something seemed to be covering her eyes.

The sensation of a cheap, prickly cloth could be felt on her eyes, mouth, and wrists that were tied together behind her back.

As she slowly exhaled and regained a bit more consciousness, this time a stench that seemed to pierce her nose made her head throb.

The cold seeping through her thin velvet nightgown was also considerable.

What is this smell? And where on earth am I…?

The place she was leaning against was very cold and hard.

The raw and vivid sound of wind entered her ears.

‘Don’t tell me… I’ve been taken outside the castle?’

Shk, shk…

At that moment, she heard a sound like someone sharpening something very sharp on a flat stone.

Belladonna held her breath and focused on the sound.

“We need to leave soon.”

Following that, she heard an unfamiliar low and cool male voice.

Leave…? Belladonna frowned.

“Wait a moment, we need to think about what to do with the lord’s wife.”

Soon after, the maid she had encountered earlier spoke.

Judging by the voices she could hear, there seemed to be a total of three people here now: Belladonna, the maid, and an unidentified man.

At the maid’s words, the man quickly became irritated.

“Aish, why did you bring her along in the first place…!”

“I-I was too flustered! How was I supposed to know she’d come out into the hallway like a ghost without any warning that night!”

They raised their voices and turned to look at Belladonna, panting.

The man looked down at Belladonna, whose eyes and mouth were tightly bound, and snickered before speaking.

“Why did you cover her mouth? She can’t speak anyway.”

“I did that because I was too flustered, okay!”

“You’re just stupid… Anyway, leave her be for now. How much time do we have?”

Belladonna lay still as if she hadn’t regained consciousness yet, listening intently to their conversation.

“We originally had plenty of time, but it’s become tight because we brought the lord’s wife along. As soon as dawn breaks, someone will notice that the lord’s wife is missing. Anyone could come after us.”

“What about the lord?”

“I saw the lord ride out on the castle’s darkest and swiftest horse right after sunset. When he leaves the castle like that, you know it takes at least three days for him to return.”

“That’s true.”

Belladonna exhaled softly.

Rode out on a horse…

It seemed that Escalion had left like that and gone completely outside the castle.

“Damn it, I was only planning to steal a few pieces of jewelry, but how did we end up with a person too… and the lord’s wife at that!!”

As the maid cried out in distress, the man replied without much emotion.

“We didn’t expect things to go smoothly anyway. Whether we’re caught by the Imperial Knights and dragged to the court for execution, or discovered by the lord here and killed, it’s the same miserable death. At least with the latter, there’s some hope of not getting caught.”

Court? Execution…

If they’re being chased by the Imperial Knights…

Is that man already a notorious criminal in the empire? Belladonna, frightened, took a small breath.