The night was in full swing.

Belladonna frowned and pushed away Escalion, who was once again pressing his hot body against her.

“That’s enough now…”

But Escalion lowered his head to her without a word in response to that small voice.

Belladonna had no choice but to grasp the back of his head.

Between her fingers, soft black hair stuck up.

Just how long…!

Belladonna lifted her chin, regretting that she had recklessly stimulated him in the bathroom.

Once again, her mind began to grow hazy.

“Bella, are you asleep?”

Escalion asked, pressing his lips against Belladonna’s cheek.

Belladonna, who had fallen into a light sleep while lying face down on the bed, slowly opened her eyes.

“Drink some water before sleeping. Your throat hurts, doesn’t it?”

“…”

Who made my throat hurt in the first place…

Belladonna glared at him slightly as she raised her body and took the glass of water.

“How much did those bastards in Astanya overwork you? Your stamina seems to have gotten worse compared to a few months ago.”

“…Or perhaps you’ve gotten stronger?”

“Look out the window, Bella. It’s still dark. How can you be tired already?”

“You know? That’s right, it’s a dark night. It’s time we should be sleeping!”

As she swallowed the lukewarm water down her throat, she felt her scratchy throat improve a bit.

“You’re the one who boldly pulled me into the bathtub.”

Escalion said, curling up the corners of his mouth and reaching out to lightly touch Belladonna’s cheek.

Yes, I’m regretting that right now!

Escalion, who had been looking at Belladonna, who seemed quite irritated, took the water glass from her and placed it on the bedside table.

He pulled Belladonna over and made her lie down using his arm as a pillow.

Playfully patting her flat stomach, he said,

“Alright, I’ll put you to sleep before you get angrier.”

“Aren’t you going to sleep, Escalion?”

Belladonna asked, looking up at Escalion who seemed so wide awake.

“I’ll watch you sleep.”

“Can’t you sleep?”

“I’m not really sleepy.”

He shrugged his shoulders.

Hmm… Belladonna narrowed her eyes and looked at him.

This person, I feel like he might wake me up in the middle again…

“You’re looking at me with quite a distrustful gaze.”

“I’d like it if you slept with me now.”

“There’s only one way to put me to sleep. Completely draining my energy. But can my wife do that?”

“…”

It was impossible.

Belladonna turned her head away from him with a swish.

Finding her cute, Escalion chuckled and poked her nose.

“If you insist, why don’t you sing for me?”

“Sing?”

“Yes. Like a lullaby of sorts.”

Belladonna looked at his shameless face.

Is making others sing your hobby or something? You did this before too…

Moreover, he didn’t look like he would fall asleep right away just by listening to a lullaby.

“I only know one song, you know?”

“That labor song?”

“Yes, but that’s not a lullaby, is it?”

“It could be a lullaby depending on who sings it. Try to be a bit more open-minded.”

Who sings a labor song as a lullaby…? That energetic song…?

She could see deep mischief rising in his golden eyes.

Confirming this, Belladonna felt an inexplicable stubbornness well up. If that’s the case, I’ll have to put him to sleep properly!

She sat up and began stroking Escalion’s firm abdomen as she opened her mouth.

“To the sky… I pray… for a bountiful harvest…”

“Hahaha.”

Finding it amusing, Escalion burst into laughter.

Don’t laugh, listen properly! Belladonna continued patting his stomach, paying no mind.

“Beautiful… little… bird…”

Perhaps finding her appearance admirable, Escalion looked up at her with a smile on his face.

“You’re like a lovely nightingale.”

“Be quiet. I’m singing.”

“Alright.”

At Belladonna’s rebuke, he closed his eyes.

She looked down at him as he adjusted his posture, then cleared her throat again and opened her mouth.

“The hope… nestled… in your small wings…”

The song continued for some time after that.

Whether her song truly served as a lullaby or not, Escalion’s face, which had been twitching at the corners of his mouth the whole time, settled into a calm expression.

Belladonna looked down at him, who seemed to have fallen asleep, with a satisfied face.

Was it a success?

“By the way.”

Escalion opened his eyes that had been closed.

It’s a failure.

“Yes?”

“Where exactly did you live in Astanya?”

This question again?

Belladonna looked at the golden eyes staring at her.

“Um… Even if I tell you, you probably won’t know. It’s far from the papal state.”

“Is it towards the western Bakensium?”

“Oh? That’s right.”

Come to think of it, Escalion said he had stayed in Astanya during his mercenary days.

Then did he stay there too?

At Belladonna’s answer, Escalion’s expression changed strangely.

“To be precise, it’s a bit further in from Bakensium, an extremely rural village. It probably won’t even appear on maps?”

“…”

“But why do you ask?”

Escalion, who had been lying still looking up at her until then, raised his upper body.

He put one hand to his forehead and exhaled a breath that sounded like a sigh.

“This might sound crazy, but…”

What on earth is he trying to say?

“If I said I had met your previous life, would I sound like a madman?”

“…With me?”

It was a completely unexpected statement.

Met my previous life? At least in her memories, she had never met a mercenary like Escalion.

“Of course, I didn’t directly face you and have a conversation…”

“…”

“There was a big tree I often visited, and when I took naps there, I heard a song quite similar to yours. Your song, I mean.”

“That can’t be…”

Belladonna shook her head.

“I, I never heard that a mercenary visited our village, and I’ve never seen someone like you.”

“Because I didn’t live there.”

“Then…”

“Damn, what am I saying? Even as I’m speaking…”

Escalion messed up his hair as if frustrated.

Soon, he raised his head.

“While wandering around the country, I stayed in Astanya for a long time. The mercenaries I lived with mostly stayed in cheap hotels and were busy going to the bustling area where the papal state was, but I found that annoying, so I often moved in the opposite direction from those guys.”

“…Why?”

“Because that place was noisy and full of people.”

Escalion’s golden eyes lowered as he said this.

His appearance somehow seemed like a wounded animal, making Belladonna’s heart sink.

“What do you mean…”

“At that time, I was building a solid career as a mercenary. Do you know what it means to build a career as a mercenary? It means killing and hurting many people.”

“…”

“I was only nineteen then. During the day, I was busy pretending to be tough in front of the men, but when the dark night came…”

He bowed his head as he continued speaking.

Belladonna placed her hand on his shoulder.

Even without him speaking further, she felt she could understand what he wanted to say.

Escalion in his youth, who had chosen the path of becoming a mercenary for his livelihood, inevitably hated himself for having to harm people.

“Escalion…”

“When night fell, they would appear like nightmares. The faces of those I had fought.”

“…”

“So I couldn’t sleep properly at night. Instead, during idle days, I would wander around looking for the quietest and most peaceful place I could find, and when I found a suitable shade, I would fall asleep.”

The image of his younger self in the story overlapped with the one she had encountered in the papal state’s forbidden area.

Then, was sleeping carelessly in such places a long-standing habit…

“That’s when I heard a certain song.”

Escalion exhaled.

“Strangely… when I heard that song, I could fall asleep well. Even though I thought it was a strange song I had never heard before, when I came to my senses, it would be dark. On days when I fell into a deep sleep after hearing that song, I felt as if I had been enchanted by something.”

Then that song…

“That’s when I realized that a song could provide comfort to a person. After that, it became almost like a fixed seat, and whenever I had time, I would go to that place and fall into a deep sleep while listening to the song, and this routine continued for a while.”

She thought that if he had just come quietly to listen to the song and left, there would have been no chance of meeting.

Then really… were Escalion and I together at that time?

“That day. The day I first met you at the papal state. I heard the song in my sleep.”

“…”

“Actually, I didn’t think from the beginning that the song was sung by a saint from Astanya. When I first opened my eyes, I just thought I had dreamed of hearing a song.”

Belladonna silently recalled that time.

“But I kept getting bothered by your fleeing back figure, and how you would flinch and look around nervously whenever that story came up… That’s why I… marriage without even meaning to… Ha, I don’t know what I’m saying. You can just ignore it.”

“No, Escalion.”

Belladonna moved her hand that was placed on his shoulder.

“Maybe really… we might have met before.”

“Bella…”

“No, even if that’s not the case, it doesn’t really matter. What’s important is that you found comfort.”

Escalion raised his golden eyes to meet Belladonna’s gaze.

Belladonna gently stroked his face and lifted the corners of her mouth.

“From now on, I’ll sing for you every night. On nights when you can’t sleep, when bad thoughts keep coming, when you’re tired and exhausted.”

“I’m fine now, so don’t worry. I’ve become so numb that you should be worried about the opposite.”

Escalion said with a smirk.

That was true. As time passed, the young, shaky mercenary from back then no longer existed.

He had hardened his heart to protect what was precious to him.

‘That might be a problem too, if anything.’

Escalion blinked his eyes slowly.

Towards him, his wife’s kind and warm gesture descended.

“Then I’ll sing for you on days when you just want to hear it.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“Right?”

“Yes. Really. It’s really reassuring.”

Escalion pulled Belladonna close and hugged her tightly.

She, small and beautiful like a nightingale, seemed to sink deep into his chest.

“Shall I sing more for you?”

“Yes, sing for me.”

Escalion answered in a murmur.

Belladonna leaned against his firm chest with a small smile and opened her mouth.