“…….”
There was no answer from Escalion, who was still sitting with his face covered.
I could easily imagine how strange it must sound to him, as even I thought it was quite abrupt.
Belladonna hesitated for a moment before speaking again. She had calmed down considerably by now.
“I have something to tell you. And it might be a very long story.”
“It doesn’t matter. The night is long.”
He finally removed his hands from his face as he answered.
It was difficult to discern what emotion was contained in the golden eyes revealed beneath his palms.
Belladonna swallowed hard. It was a half-impulsive choice, but she felt that if not now, she might never be able to tell her secret.
‘And to him… I want to tell everything truthfully.’
She no longer wanted to trouble him, and wanted to give him certainty in his uneasiness.
And this was the only way to do that.
“Can you come over here for a moment?”
As she, lying on the bed, slowly moved her body to the side, Escalion’s expression immediately hardened.
He sighed exasperatedly and asked,
“You want me to lie down on the same bed as you? All night?”
“Ah, I thought you might be uncomfortable sitting in that hard chair…”
“I think lying next to you in such thin nightwear would be far more uncomfortable.”
“Th-then just listen from there…”
Escalion stared at her blankly for a while before rising from the chair.
She thought he was coming straight to her side, but he turned in the opposite direction, opened the door, and stuck his head out.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
The priest sitting far down the hallway from the door asked back, startled.
Escalion gestured to him and said,
“It’s bothering me having you out there in the hallway. I’ll keep watch tonight, so go inside and get some sleep.”
“B-but…”
“The sounds of priests wandering around all night are making your Saint even more uncomfortable.”
“What? The Saint is uncomfortable? Is that true…?”
“That’s what she says.”
Belladonna couldn’t help but smile.
He must be doing his best to prevent my voice from being heard in this way…
“Come back when dawn breaks.”
“Ah, understood.”
Through the half-open door, the faint sound of the priest rustling as he gathered his things could be heard.
Belladonna watched as Escalion returned after finishing his business.
She thought he might come to the bed, but he plopped back down in the chair.
Belladonna looked up at him, feeling a slight disappointment.
“Now talk.”
“Are you really not coming to the bed?”
“You’re making me say it multiple times.”
Escalion said gruffly.
But when Belladonna’s mouth drooped in disappointment, he immediately made a troubled face and averted his gaze.
He raised one hand to brush back the hair that had fallen over his forehead and spoke.
“It’s not that I don’t want to, I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.”
“Hurt me?”
“You’re injured. And I hurt you earlier.”
At his words, Belladonna recalled the situation from the afternoon.
He seemed to be referring to when they were kissing in this room and Escalion had gripped her thigh tightly, causing her to flinch in pain from the wounds covering her thigh.
“If that’s what you mean, it’s fine…”
“Let’s talk from this distance. It’s much more comfortable that way.”
“It’s hard to talk face to face. Can’t you just come closer and listen? It’s going to be quite a long story…”
Escalion, who had been watching Belladonna speak softly, groaned and lowered his head.
“Your skill at tormenting me has improved while we were apart.”
After staring down for a moment, he sighed and moved his large body.
Thank goodness…! Belladonna quickly moved to the side, clearing away the blanket next to her as she sat up.
As Escalion climbed onto the bed, she felt it sink down beneath him.
At the same time, the sudden wave of warm air and his unique scent tickled her skin.
Feeling these sensations after so long, Belladonna shivered slightly with emotion.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
Escalion stopped moving as he saw her reaction.
Belladonna quickly shook her head.
“No, no, I’m not.”
“Then start. What exactly do you mean by saying you’re not the Saint Belladonna I think you are?”
Belladonna blinked her eyes a few times with a determined face, then began speaking as calmly as possible.
“You might have thought it was a metaphorical expression, but it’s literal. I’m not Saint Belladonna. I’m someone who died… half a year before marrying you.”
Escalion silently inhaled as he heard Belladonna’s words.
She could feel his solid chest slowly rising upward.
It was good that I didn’t speak face to face after all.
She couldn’t tell what expression he was making now, and she didn’t have the confidence to meet his eyes.
“You must be thinking, ‘What nonsense am I talking about again?'”
“…”
“The truth is, I’m not sure either. I was the daughter of a poor farmer, and after a life of hardship, I died young. When I opened my eyes, I had become Saint Belladonna. I didn’t know where my original self had gone.”
When Belladonna stopped speaking up to this point, the room was quickly filled with silence.
He’s not sleeping, is he? It’s too quiet…
Belladonna, sitting alone, slightly turned her head to look up at his face.
He wasn’t asleep, just staring into space with his brows slightly furrowed.
“Why… aren’t you saying anything?”
When Belladonna asked, Escalion turned only his golden eyes to look down at her.
“Because I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t believe me, right? Honestly, you think I’ve gone mad, don’t you?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Escalion said, covering his eyes with one hand.
Certainly, he was very flustered by the sudden confession.
Moreover, the content of that confession was such an unbelievable story that he didn’t know how to react.
“Of course you would. I’d have the same reaction if Escalion said he had someone else’s soul.”
“So…”
Escalion groaned as he spoke.
“You’re saying you’re not Saint Belladonna? Then where is Saint Belladonna?”
“I don’t know that either.”
“It wasn’t just a dream?”
“No.”
Belladonna answered all questions immediately.
Her unhesitating answers left Escalion at a loss for words.
“Then… how many people know that you’re not Saint Belladonna?”
“It just became three.”
Belladonna opened her palm and folded three fingers one by one.
“Me, the Vatican magician helping me, and you.”
Escalion looked at her, who seemed unbothered, and sighed.
He couldn’t tell if she was joking after meeting him after a long time, or if she was being serious.
For now, he had no choice but to go along with her…
“How did you live after becoming Saint Belladonna?”
“When I first opened my eyes… my voice came out too normally. I couldn’t use any holy power at all. I think the original Saint must have lost her voice in exchange for gaining holy power, so I, who could speak, had no holy power.”
“You couldn’t use holy power…”
“So I couldn’t tell anyone. If it was discovered that I could speak, it was obvious that my holy power would soon be doubted as well.”
Escalion frowned.
Certainly, Saint Belladonna, his adopted daughter who played a major role in the stable succession of the current Pope, was an indispensable key figure for the Vatican.
If such a person suddenly lost her holy power overnight, it would be no different from saying the Pope had lost his power.
“I thought that a saint who had lost her holy power… and a fake saint at that, could be in danger of losing her life. So I desperately lived hiding the fact that I could speak.”
“No, how…”
Escalion exhaled softly.
“Is that when you met me?”
“That’s right.”
Belladonna nodded.
She recalled Escalion, whom she suddenly encountered while gradually adapting to the life of a Vatican saint.
If I hadn’t met him then… would I still be living as a bird caged in the Vatican?
“So that’s why you were singing like that in a place where no one was around.”
“How surprised I was! That was an area off-limits to everyone except the Pope and the Saint, so why on earth were you there?”
To this question that came far too late, Escalion shrugged his shoulders.
“It seemed like a place where I could sleep quietly without anyone disturbing me. I was a bit tired that day.”
Huh… look at how shameless he is!
Escalion, who had been frowning slightly while recalling that time, suddenly asked,
“Then the work song you sang… was it a song you knew from your previous life?”
“That’s right. Mainly when doing hard work…”
“Where did you live?”
Escalion interrupted her words and asked.
His attitude seemed somewhat urgent, causing Belladonna to open her eyes wide.
“…What?”
“Before you woke up as Saint Belladonna, where did you live?”
Why, why is he like this…?
Belladonna looked at him speaking insistently for a moment, then opened her mouth.
“Ah, Astanya… There was a farming village not far from the Vatican.”
“Astanya…”
Escalion’s face changed strangely as he repeated the name.
He soon raised his golden eyes to stare intently at Belladonna.
“Why… why are you like this?”
“Do you know that you have a small habit when you sing?”
“A habit?”
Was there such a thing?
As she rolled her eyes aimlessly, Escalion said with a serious face,
“You always end the last note of a verse by gently raising it.”
“D-did I?”
“And I think… I’ve heard that before.”
What is he saying? Belladonna blinked her eyes.
Escalion continued to look at her like that, then shook his head and waved his hand as if confused by his own words.
“No, never mind. What nonsense am I… Just continue with what you were saying.”
It couldn’t be.
He felt like he was foolishly getting caught up in Belladonna’s absurd story, which he couldn’t even tell if it was her dream or imagination.
It can’t be. To think that I might have met a woman who could have been her in a previous life.
Escalion shook his head again.
Male lead Asks for a Divorce Every Day
It’s not often you come across a plot like this in the female-dominant genre — make sure to check it out!
This is a novel I’m planning to reread as well.
The male lead is strong, skilled in martial arts, and not the usual fragile type you often see in matriarchal novels.
Meanwhile, the female lead is a scientist—rational and logical. Even when she falls for the male lead, she doesn’t let her emotions cloud her decisions.
If you push through the first few chapters, you’ll gradually find the story really intriguing.
It has a mix of mystery, detective elements, and romance.
The author’s writing style is like crafting a puzzle—except they deliberately leave out a few pieces, making it hard to predict what happens next, yet keeping you hooked.
In the end, everything will come together and be explained.
One-sentence summary: Wife, stop playing with beakers and look at me!
In a laboratory accident, research scientist Zhu Wansheng accidentally travels to a matriarchal world. The original owner of the body is an eighteen-year-old only daughter of a wealthy rouge merchant, already married with a handsome young man.
Zhu Wansheng grins: Nice! She always said she was heaven’s favorite granddaughter. After a life of toil in her previous life, she can enjoy blessings in this one.
However, her joy lasts no more than three seconds as bad news arrives: the original owner’s family is about to go bankrupt, and her husband wants a divorce.
Even worse, she’s stuck with a research system full of restrictions.
Zhu Wansheng: ? Is this the destiny of a research dog?
——
Faced with this mess, Zhu Wansheng pours herself a bowl of wine to drown her sorrows. In her drunken haze, her husband arrives.
His figure is imposing, holding a long sword, with a dignified air that captivates Zhu Wansheng.
Gu Yingqing, however, looks at the alcohol-reeking Zhu Wansheng with undisguised disgust and coldly asks, “Divorce or not?” The intoxicated Zhu Wansheng mumbles vaguely, “I think… it’s not… it’s not… impossible!”
——
The next day, after sobering up, Zhu Wansheng is full of energy, rolling up her sleeves ready to make a big move. As for yesterday? She has no memory of it.
Zhu Wansheng is ambitious; a research dog fears nothing!
Upgrading rouge, extracting fragrances, producing perfumes, researching lipsticks… all shall bow to the power of modern technology!
The original owner’s dying rouge shop is revitalized. Her mother is pleased and with a wave of her hand, passes on the family business to her. As she takes control and her experimental results gain popularity, it’s the pinnacle of her life…
——
But there are always those who can’t stand to see her doing well. Jealousy, scheming, assassination attempts – they want nothing less than her life.
The person who has always kept his distance from her suddenly holds her tightly in his arms, eyes full of concern.
She is unharmed, but he falls into a pool of blood…
Zhu Wansheng feels guilty, “I can grant you one wish.”
Gu Yingqing tentatively circles his arms around her, carefully resting his head in the crook of her neck, pleading softly, “I regret it. Can we not divorce?”
Zhu Wansheng: ? When did I agree to a divorce?
[Small Theater]
The newly developed rouge is beautifully packaged, and Zhu Wansheng is eager to try it.
Gu Yingqing suddenly appears: “My lady, may I apply it for you?”
Cool fingertips lightly brush her lips. His Adam’s apple bobs as he leans in for a light bite.
Zhu Wansheng: ?
Gu Yingqing: It smells so good, I wanted to taste it…
On a warm spring day, Zhu Wansheng tries a new perfume: “Spring Night.” Gu Yingqing corners her against a wall.
Warm breath lingers on her neck.
“My lady, from now on, may I test the fragrances for you?”
[Humorous female scientist vs scheming live-in son-in-law male lead]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
