Don’T Get Caught By Your Husband! [EN]: Chapter 110

#110. If It’s God’s Will

After the knights searched the underground room and recovered the remaining documents, the Pope and Scarlet were nowhere to be found.

Exhausted, Belladonna emerged into the now-darkened outside and boarded a secure carriage, guided by the knights.

“Saintess, please rest here for a moment!”

Belladonna nodded to the knight who had safely escorted her and leaned back against the seat.

She hadn’t expected it to take so long to find two people hiding within the Vatican, which felt both small and vast at the same time.

*Perhaps the Pope had already escaped with the help of someone else,* she thought.

Thinking that, she felt a sense of hopelessness wash over her again.

Knock, knock.

Just then, she heard someone knocking on the carriage window.

She quickly looked up and saw Tina, her round eyes wide, peering into the carriage.

“Tina……?”

Surprised by the unexpected visitor, Belladonna murmured softly and pushed the carriage door open.

As she opened the door, Timothy, who had been holding Tina up to the window, came into view. He looked at Belladonna, noticing her weariness, and his expression turned sympathetic.

“Saintess! It’s me. I was nearby and stopped by to say hello after seeing you come out. Are you alright?”

Timothy asked, still holding Tina aloft.

As if not expecting an answer, he continued, “I heard roughly from the Lord and his knights, and the elderly wizard who was with you. Pope Pronan…”

Timothy couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. He was a sincere priest who had followed the Pope faithfully, his heart devoted to God, and he couldn’t bring himself to speak of the Pope’s evil deeds.

Belladonna smiled, as if she understood, and said, “Thank you for coming. Please, come in.”

“Huh?”

Timothy’s eyes widened as he saw Belladonna speaking as if nothing were amiss.

Tina, still in his arms, widened her round eyes even further.

Belladonna moved to make room for them.

However, Timothy and Tina remained frozen, staring blankly at her.

“Um… would you like to come inside? I want to go out, but I don’t have any strength in my legs…”

Belladonna waited a moment and then spoke again. Timothy startled and stammered, “S-Saintess… I’m sorry, but what happened…?”

“Saintess, can you speak now?” Tina asked in a clear voice. Belladonna reached out to her and replied,

“Yes, I can speak well now. Would you like to come in? I want to go out, but I don’t have any strength in my legs…”

“Ah! I understand.”

At Belladonna’s words, Timothy quickly stepped into the carriage, still holding Tina.

He sat down opposite Belladonna, placed Tina on his lap, and faced her.

Belladonna, who had been watching him struggle, spoke first, seeing his hesitation to ask, “My voice came back overnight. I don’t know why either. It seems that because it was divine power I gained in exchange for my voice, I couldn’t use divine power as soon as my voice returned.”

“Ah, I see…”

Timothy became even more flustered as he learned the situation.

Belladonna, watching him fuss as if he had lost his own divine power, remained calm.

Tina stared at her and asked, “Saintess, is it possible to gain and lose divine power?”

Belladonna smiled at her.

“Yes, I didn’t know it until now, but I guess it’s possible. This is also God’s will, so we have no choice but to follow it.”

“Then… are you happy to have lost your divine power?”

“Tina!”

Timothy scolded Tina in a low voice, as if rebuking her.

*Happy to have lost her divine power…?* It was a child’s question without any special meaning, but Belladonna pondered seriously.

Compared to when she could use her healing powers freely, she often felt frustrated that she couldn’t heal anyone.

Like when she couldn’t heal Scarlet a little while ago.

But aside from all that, it was convenient to have her voice back without divine power, and it was also nice not to have to be a dumping ground for other people’s emotions anymore.

So, could she say that she was happier this way? Then, would the original Saintess Belladonna have wanted an ordinary life where she couldn’t use divine power?

Belladonna, who was looking at the child staring at her innocently, slowly opened her mouth.

“Tina, do you want to go back to an ordinary life where you can’t use divine power?”

“Sometimes. Because I can’t feel the pain properly because of the divine power, my brother is always anxious.”

Timothy’s face visibly darkened as he listened to Tina’s answer.

Belladonna, who was looking at the identical siblings, reached out and held the child’s hand tightly.

“I can see why you’d think that. It wasn’t very comfortable for me when I couldn’t speak either.”

Even Belladonna, who had lived as a Saintess using divine power for a long time, said that, so Timothy’s face darkened even more.

He looked down at his younger sister with a sad expression.

Divine power was something that consumed the life force of the Saint with each use, so he seemed to feel burdened by the future the child would have to walk.

“But Tina, one thing is for sure, your ability is a precious gift from God.”

“A gift?”

“Yes, a gift. It may be a little uncomfortable right now, but being able to heal sick people is a really precious talent. There’s nothing more rewarding than watching people who come to me gain a little hope, get better, and go back home happy.”

At Belladonna’s words, Tina blinked her big eyes.

Although it was a temporary divine power, she recalled the emotions she had felt over the past few months and continued to speak.

“When I first heard your question, I thought that an ordinary life without divine power was definitely happier. But when I think about it again, I don’t think that’s necessarily the case.”

“Then?”

“A happy life has nothing to do with whether you can use divine power or not. If I can live my own independent life, I think that’s happiness.”

Belladonna was unhappy when she could use divine power because she was trapped in the framework of being a Saintess and lived a life without freedom inside the Vatican.

She didn’t want Tina to live such a life.

“Surely, when God gave us this gift, He didn’t want us to be unhappy.”

Belladonna continued, caressing the child’s chubby hand.

“I don’t know if you will lose your divine power like me someday and return to an ordinary life, or if you will heal others for the rest of your life, but I hope you don’t focus too much on the divine power itself. Whether you can use divine power or not, you are still the same Tina.”

“Umm…”

The child frowned as if trying to understand the meaning of the words.

“But one thing is for sure, don’t become a Saintess of the Vatican! There’s too much to do!”

Belladonna said, tilting her head with a hint of playfulness.

It was a joke, but it was also a word filled with sincerity.

“So, that’s why you told the Pope not to show him my ability?”

“Huh? Did I?”

At Timothy’s question, Belladonna smiled awkwardly.

Fortunately, Tina seemed to have properly understood the meaning of Belladonna’s desperate shaking of her head at the time.

“I couldn’t help it. I was adopted by the Vatican when I was young and grew up under the Pope, so I didn’t want Tina to live like that.”

“Saintess…”

Timothy lowered his eyebrows as he belatedly realized her intention.

He nodded, putting strength into the hand holding Tina.

“When I first found out that Tina had divine power… to be honest, I was very sad.”

“Timothy…”

His sad heart was naturally understood.

Who could simply welcome the divine power that eats away at the life force of their family?

“But if that is also God’s will, I want to use the ability that God gave to our Tina in a place where its meaning is not diminished. I will stay by Tina’s side and help her keep her balance.”

Timothy continued, as if making a resolution to himself.

“Divine power should never be used carelessly. It is a precious power that uses precious life force, so it must be used in the right amount at the right time. I don’t know which direction is the right one yet, but I will continue to think about it.”

“Priest Timothy and Tina will do well.”

“Thank you for saying that. Now, Tina, you have to thank the Saintess for her kind words!”

“Thank you!”

Tina bowed her head on Timothy’s lap.

Belladonna watched the child’s cute appearance and fell into thought.

Perhaps if the Pope of Astanya had been someone like Timothy instead of someone like Pronan, such a terrible thing might not have happened.

Then Saintess Belladonna might have lived a much happier life.

But now, all of that is useless thinking…

Belladonna made meaningless assumptions and turned her gaze out the window.

As she was staring blankly outside, feeling drained, she saw someone moving suspiciously in the darkness.

*Who is that?*

Belladonna’s gaze turned to that side, and she narrowed her eyes and watched the person moving.

The person who was moving silently while looking around was none other than Cardinal Nicholas.

“…Timothy, I’m going to go out now.”

Belladonna, who had identified him, quietly got up from her seat.

Judging from his suspicious behavior, it seemed that he was slowly setting out to find the Pope as it got dark.

Belladonna jumped out of the carriage and turned to Timothy, lost in thought.

She could tell Timothy and ask the knights for help, but if she rashly gathered people, the cautious Nicholas might stop moving.

It seemed right to follow him carefully first and then call people.

“I’ll help too! Tina, let’s go that way!”

Timothy blurted out, realizing that Belladonna was going to continue the investigation.

Belladonna gave him a quick greeting as he followed her down, then carefully moved towards the place where Nicholas had disappeared.

“…….”

Nicholas kept looking around and heading somewhere.

*It’s a good thing I came alone…* It was so quiet all around that it would have been difficult to hide if there were several people.

Hiding behind a thick tree, Belladonna was careful not to step on even small twigs.

After following him at a certain distance, she was finally able to discern where he was heading.

Belladonna checked the building in front of her and immediately turned around.

*I have to tell the knights about this…!*

“Hup.”

But as soon as she turned around, a huge figure enveloped her.

Belladonna was completely embraced in a warm and fluffy embrace, as if she had been covered with a huge blanket.

*What, what is it?*

“Shh.”

Along with a familiar voice, an even more familiar warmth and scent enveloped her.

Belladonna raised her head and looked up at the owner of the voice.