At Escalion’s voice, Belladonna abruptly stopped her anxious gaze.

His voice seemed calm, but also carried a hint of anger.

“I felt it at the wedding too, but I wonder if Saint Belladonna is truly loved by the imperial people.”

“……”

“Unless you’re a fool, you must know. That they’re just using you.”

Escalion raised one hand to brush back the hair that had fallen over his forehead.

Belladonna sat quietly, biting her lower lip.

What Escalion said wasn’t entirely wrong, but it wasn’t comfortable to hear either.

“Is that the life you want? A life of being cooped up in a confessional, listening to someone’s sordid secrets that you can’t share with anyone? A life where you have to use your sacred power that eats away at your life whenever the Pope wants?”

“……”

“Or is Griblata so terrible that even such an Astanya seems much better?”

Belladonna, who had been staring only at the white blanket, turned her eyes to look at Escalion.

He was staring at Belladonna with his head tilted.

“Don’t worry, I’ll send you back soon even if you don’t make such an expression like you’d rather die. Since Cardinal Nicholas has come all the way here to find you, take this opportunity to leave with him.”

With Cardinal Nicholas…?

Belladonna frowned. She couldn’t do that.

She didn’t want to leave Griblata like this.

“Originally, I was going to send you back tomorrow or the day after, but I wonder if you can even start properly when you’re so weak. Rest as much as you want before you go. I’m sure you’d like to get up and leave right away if you could.”

“……”

“I won’t create a portal for you when you go. The budget is tight because I’m expecting to pay a lot of alimony for the divorce. If you want to go comfortably, ask Cardinal Nicholas.”

Escalion’s expression remained unchanged.

Speaking as if it didn’t matter at all, he looked like someone whose heart had already completely left her.

Belladonna felt her nose growing cold and strained her eyes as they gradually grew hot.

Escalion had not been looking at her properly for some time now.

“When you return to Astanya, please send a separate request for sponsorship. That way I can send it according to the proper form.”

Not having her in his eyes, it wasn’t as difficult to speak as he had thought.

Escalion brought out one by one the words he had prepared in his heart, without changing his expression.

“Ah, take the divorce papers with you on your way out.”

Divorce papers…?

At the mention of divorce papers, Belladonna’s heart sank.

He really was thinking of divorcing her. Was this really… the end?

“I’ve filled out the rest, so you don’t need to touch anything, just your signature at the bottom of the very last page will do.”

After hearing the word divorce, Escalion’s low voice seemed to grow more and more distant.

As if she had fallen into deep water, the words he uttered did not clearly enter her ears but scattered faintly around her.

More than the fact that she would soon return to Astanya following Cardinal Nicholas, she couldn’t believe that she would be parting with him like this.

“Well, for now, sleep more, and when the medicine comes…”

Escalion, who had been saying various things, took a posture as if he was about to leave soon.

Belladonna, her heart growing urgent, quickly stretched out her arm to grab him.

Only then did his golden eyes, which had been directed elsewhere all along, move towards her.

Ah, w, wait a moment…

Belladonna hurriedly grabbed his large hand and pulled it towards herself.

Since her voice wouldn’t come out, she wanted to write something on his palm to say something, as she had done before.

But Escalion twisted his wrist slightly and easily escaped from her.

“Was it also their wish that you pretend to have no voice like this? Were all those stories about your special sacred power being related to your lost voice also intentionally created?”

“……”

“If the intention was to use that to fascinate people and evoke sympathy, it worked well. Even I was quite concerned at first, thinking you really couldn’t speak.”

Belladonna looked up at him with blank eyes.

What do you mean…

“And I was stupid again. When I first heard your voice, I should have been angry instead of feeling good. Ah, or are you the type to only let out sweet moans when extremely excited? I guess last night wasn’t enough?”

Belladonna’s lower lip trembled as she listened to his words.

Why… Why are you saying such mean things? The tears that had welled up in her blue eyes fell to the floor with a plop.

Escalion stopped speaking when he saw her tears.

“……”

Silence suddenly fell in the room.

Belladonna, who had been sniffling for a moment, raised one hand and rubbed her eyes hard.

She didn’t want to keep crying in front of Escalion.

There’s already so much to say, I can’t just keep crying like this.

She reached out again to grab Escalion’s hand.

He noticeably flinched when Belladonna caught him standing there in a daze.

But before she could raise her index finger to write something on his palm, he pulled his arm away again with force.

“Stop this nonsense now. It’s not funny at all.”

Escalion said with a lowered gaze.

“You’re going back to where you’re supposed to be. And I’m staying where I’ve always been. That’s all there is to it.”

“……”

“Don’t torment me anymore.”

Having finished speaking, Escalion turned around. He walked across the bedroom at a very fast pace.

Soon, the door closed with a bang.

Belladonna, who had been staring blankly at where he had disappeared, lowered her head.

On the white blanket, the falling tears made small, sad shapes.

“Damn it…”

Escalion, who had just left the bedroom, stopped in the corridor after only a few steps.

For someone who had stormed out of the bedroom so forcefully, it was truly a pitiful route.

Standing there alone, he covered his eyes with one hand and leaned against the nearest wall.

‘That was too much.’

He had just unleashed a torrent of abuse on Belladonna, who had done nothing wrong.

He had no intention of doing this at all, but seeing her being treated so poorly by Cardinal Nicholas had caused something boiling inside him to burst out.

But taking it out on her was wrong.

Remembering how tears had gradually welled up in Belladonna’s eyes as his damn mouth moved on its own, spewing sharp words completely contrary to his true feelings, he felt as if his chest was being burned black.

‘You piece of trash.’

Lately, he had been cursing at himself several times a day.

While he had resolved to let her go peacefully, knowing that this was the best path for her, he couldn’t forgive himself for acting so miserably and shabbily, like a sulking child.

After catching his breath while leaning against the corridor for a moment, Escalion lowered the hand covering his face and looked at the tightly closed door.

Is she crying?

The desire to open that door right now, go in and wipe away Belladonna’s tears, bring her into his arms and hold her tightly was boiling up, but he was afraid that it would hurt her again.

Maybe…

Maybe Belladonna found her husband to be the most terrible thing in Griblata.

“Saint Belladonna, are your preparations for Astanya going well?”

Belladonna, who had been eating in the dining room on the first floor, raised her head at the unwelcome voice that came from somewhere.

Nicholas, the owner of the voice, was approaching her with a grin.

Belladonna put down the utensils she was holding and quietly looked up at him.

“I asked the butler, and he said that all the carriages heading to Astanya are ready. He says we can leave first thing tomorrow morning. So, how do you feel about returning to Astanya after nearly three months?”

“……”

“Ah, another dazzling smile…! I understand your feelings well, Saint. You’ve never forgotten your promise to your father, have you?”

When did I smile?

Belladonna let out a small sigh and turned her gaze back to her utensils.

Nicholas approached her closely, undeterred by Belladonna’s cold response.

“There you go again. Didn’t we agree that you wouldn’t make such human-like expressions?”

“……”

“How are you feeling? We need to prepare for events as soon as we get back, so I hope you’ve built up your strength to use your sacred power? When you return to the papal office, we’ll reopen the confessional first. We need to do that first, as it will quickly attract people.”

Confessional…

The thought of that narrow, dark place made her feel like the food she had just managed to swallow was coming back up.

Belladonna put down her utensils and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

“Hm? Are you done with your meal? The food hasn’t decreased at all.”

It’s because of you that I’ve lost my appetite, why.

Belladonna stood up from her seat, still not even looking at him.

Nicholas continued to run his mouth without stopping.

“To recover your sacred power, you need to eat hearty meals first. You have the journey back to Astanya ahead of you, don’t you? If you can’t use your sacred power because of this…”

Belladonna stood still in her place, looking at Nicholas.

Ha, really… That damn sacred power, sacred power…!

Saint Belladonna must have grown up in Astanya hearing these stories until her ears were calloused, right? Thinking about it, I suddenly felt that the Saint was both amazing and pitiful.

She forced a smile and shook her head firmly.

“Well, if that’s the case…”

Nicholas finally stopped speaking and took a step back.

Belladonna, who had left the dining room, quietly looked around.

‘Escalion…’

Would he be in the office on the second floor? In the training grounds? If not, since it’s a bit warm today, did he go out to inspect the territory?

Since the last time he stormed out of the room like that, Belladonna hadn’t been able to properly meet Escalion.

‘Unless he’s deliberately avoiding me, there’s no way we couldn’t have run into each other this much…’

Belladonna let out a small sigh, dropping both shoulders.

Now that she really had to return to Astanya tomorrow, she felt anxious about the possibility of not seeing Escalion’s face before leaving.

Even if we met, it’s not like he would have a proper conversation with me…

Belladonna raised her sorrowful face and scanned the vast interior of the castle.