Escalion had not returned for a long time.

Belladonna looked out the dark window with a worried face.

‘He seemed to be rushing out of the castle earlier… Has he not come back yet?’

Blinking her eyes for a moment, Belladonna slowly got up and lowered her legs onto the floor beneath the bed.

Putting on soft slippers, she approached the door and stopped, looking back.

“…”

Since last night, she had been afraid of being alone in the spacious room.

His bedroom, where the incident occurred, was even more frightening, so she had returned to her own room today, but it was equally eerie and scary here.

They said one of the intruders was dead and another was caught, so it should be safe…

Nevertheless, she didn’t have the courage to open this door and walk down the corridor.

Hesitating, Belladonna swallowed hard and resolutely placed her hand on the doorknob.

She picked up a small light from the nightstand and slowly began to walk down the corridor.

“Is that you, my lady?”

Just then, a voice came from downstairs.

Peeking her head slightly down the stairs, she saw Hazel, who was on dawn patrol, looking up.

Nod, nod! It’s me!

Seeing a familiar face, she felt her tension easing.

“You’re still awake at this hour… Is something wrong? Should I call a maid for you?”

Hazel asked, swiftly climbing two or three steps at a time to stand before her.

Belladonna shook her head and looked up at him. What about Escalion…?

“The commander is expected to return soon.”

Where on earth did he go?

Seeing Belladonna’s puzzled expression, Hazel made a troubled face. He scratched his furrowed brow and said:

“Ah, it seems you weren’t informed because he left in a hurry…”

“…”

“The accomplice caught in the afternoon said something strange. It seems there was one more person who invaded Griblata Castle using a secret portal… They said that person went outside the castle.”

Outside the castle?

Does that mean their purpose wasn’t just to assassinate Escalion? What could be outside the castle?

“As soon as he heard that, the commander went to find Scarlet Leyton, wondering if there was a place he could think of.”

“…!”

Could it be…!

Belladonna flinched in surprise, her eyes widening. Did something happen to Scarlet?

Hazel hesitated as if unsure whether to continue, then slowly opened his mouth.

“For now, at Scarlet Leyton’s house… she couldn’t be found. But there were also no signs of immediate danger.”

A fleeting sense of relief passed through her mind, but she couldn’t relax.

Then where on earth did Scarlet go?

“Please don’t worry too much. Scarlet tends to wander around here and there without telling the commander specifically, so for now, we’re inquiring around her house, places she frequently visited, and with acquaintances she was close to.”

Hearing Hazel’s words, a belated dizziness came over her.

Belladonna grabbed the railing as her body swayed.

In her mind, she recalled Scarlet’s face, chattering as she visited the castle.

‘How vicious…’

So the Pope, while planning to assassinate Escalion, had also thought to reach out to his half-sister Scarlet Leyton in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

‘I forgot that he always prepares contingency plans when making his schemes…’

Even when planning Belladonna and Escalion’s divorce, hadn’t he pretended to make a mistake by not sending letters, in case Belladonna didn’t act according to his wishes?

Belladonna exhaled a trembling breath, feeling pathetic for still being helplessly manipulated by the Pope.

If there were no signs of Scarlet being harmed immediately…

Could they be planning to take her to Astanya? The thought occurred to her that the Pope might use her as a hostage to threaten or manipulate Escalion as he pleased.

“My lady, please go back to your room for now. The commander will return soon.”

Hazel said, supporting her.

Belladonna nodded weakly. She leaned on him as they retraced their steps.

In her drowsy state, she heard the sound of the door closing.

Belladonna, who had been curled up in bed in a light sleep, instinctively raised her upper body.

In the darkness, Escalion was heading towards the bathroom, crossing his arms to remove his upper garment.

“Escalion…”

As Belladonna spoke in a very small voice, he immediately raised his head.

“You weren’t asleep?”

“Scarlet… did you find her?”

“…”

There was no answer.

Belladonna felt her heart sink as she bit her lower lip.

Escalion, who had been heading to the bathroom, changed direction and approached her.

As he came close, the cold air he had picked up from outside came with him.

“Don’t worry too much. That kid, she usually wanders around without telling me, so she might not know about the situation yet.”

“…”

“So go to sleep for now. Were you unable to sleep because you were afraid of being alone?”

Belladonna shook her head.

Escalion’s voice seemed nonchalant at first glance, but she could sense a faint anxiety underlying it.

He was now anxious about possibly losing his younger sister.

“I’m sorry…”

“What for?”

“Because it seems the Pope did such a thing because of me…”

At her words, Escalion let out a low sigh.

“There’s no way that’s your fault. If anything, it’s largely my fault for provoking the Pope’s temper.”

“But…”

“Bella, go to sleep. I’m tired today too, so I need to wash up quickly.”

Escalion, interrupting Belladonna’s words, immediately turned around. He moved his steps and entered the bathroom.

Soon, the faint sound of water dripping from the faucet could be heard.

“…”

Belladonna had no choice but to lean back on the pillow.

A few minutes later, the water sound stopped, and Escalion appeared, roughly covering his body with a towel.

She thought he would come straight to bed, but he pulled out a chair at the table and slumped down there.

After staring into space for a moment, he sighed heavily, bowing his head as if in distress.

Watching this, Belladonna got up from her place and approached him.

“Escalion.”

She quietly called out, placing her hand on his tense shoulder.

She simply stood by his side, silently stroking his shoulder.

After a while, a low voice emerged from him with his head still bowed.

“…I’m going to Astanya as soon as dawn breaks.”

“I understand. Should I go with you?”

At Belladonna’s question, Escalion couldn’t answer easily.

He didn’t want to take her to Astanya, but he disliked leaving her here alone even more.

He couldn’t figure out which decision would be best for her safety.

“…”

“I want to go.”

“You want to go?”

“Yes. I want to help find Scarlet, and there are also things I want to find out for myself there.”

Escalion exhaled a deep sigh instead of answering.

He raised one hand to pull Belladonna’s waist closer and leaned his face against it.

Belladonna gently stroked the back of his head resting on her lower abdomen.

“…I want to kill the Pope.”

“…”

“I feel like punching that greasy face of his right now.”

Escalion spoke each word with force, clenching his jaw.

Belladonna, fidgeting with the back of his head, calmly opened her mouth.

“If it’s true that the Pope kidnapped Scarlet, he won’t kill her right away.”

“…”

“He’s a cunning man. He’ll probably try to blackmail you using Scarlet as a hostage. He’ll use Scarlet to the fullest extent possible.”

“I won’t let things go his way.”

Escalion uttered. Belladonna looked down at him with a troubled face.

“Don’t worry too much. We’ll be able to bring Scarlet back safely.”

“…Bella, I’m glad you’re here.”

He mumbled, his face still buried in Belladonna’s body.

“When you say that, it really feels like we can do it… It calms my heart. Until just now, I was really… afraid.”

Instead of answering, Belladonna tightened her hands embracing his face.

She felt relieved that she could provide some comfort to him, however small.

Just then, he moved his hand resting on her waist, slipping it inside her top and carefully touching the wound on her back.

“This, who did this?”

“…”

“You’re not going to tell me till the end?”

“If I tell you, won’t it only strengthen your desire to kill the Pope?”

“Did that bastard do this?”

Escalion removed his face from her body.

His golden eyes, looking up at Belladonna, instantly filled with deep anger.

“Tell me. Did that bastard lay his hands on you?”

Belladonna silently turned her gaze away.

Confirming the answer from that, Escalion gritted his teeth, and the muscles in his jaw bulged angrily.

He clenched his fist, with thick veins protruding.

“I have one more reason why I must kill him.”

But soon, his face, which had been trembling with anger, changed to a look of despair.

“How could you… Bella, why didn’t you tell me about this until now?”

“…”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to hide anything from me anymore? If you tell me this only now, I…”

Escalion trailed off, exhaling a frustrated sigh.

She could feel that he was genuinely hurt.

Belladonna hesitated before opening her mouth.

“I was worried that you would… react like this.”

“Like what?”

He asked, furrowing his brow.

Belladonna looked down at him silently for a moment before speaking slowly.

“If you harm or kill the Pope… you’ll become a traitor. You could be exiled from the empire or sentenced to death for killing a clergyman directly appointed by the emperor.”

“So?”

“What do you mean, ‘so’? Of course I didn’t want that…!”

“You made me into a fool who just came back without doing anything in front of the man who reduced my wife to this state, for that reason?”

“That’s not it…!”

Escalion detached himself from her. He pressed his eyes tightly with both hands, as if tired.

“This is the worst.”

He uttered in a miserable voice.

“Do the people of the Elineros Empire know what kind of person he is? That he’s a criminal who inflicts violence on his adopted daughter without any guilt, instigates murder of those who displease him, and kidnaps people?”

“…”

“I pity the people who believe him to be God’s representative.”

Escalion removed his hands covering his face.

In the darkness, he slowly raised his golden eyes.

In his pupils, deep fatigue and anger were evident.