Don’T Get Caught By Your Husband! [EN]: Chapter 31

#31. The Wizard Fabion

2024.03.31.

Belladonna stared up at him, dumbfounded.

That, that shameless creature……!

She felt not only her lips, which he had touched, but also both of her cheeks burning up.

“Lord! Madam! We have arrived. May I open the door?”

Just then, Volf’s voice echoed from outside.

Escalion shrugged once at Belladonna, who was still glaring at him, and turned away.

He opened the carriage door without hesitation and jumped down, extending his hand towards her.

“Welcome to my villa, Bella.”

* * *

“Wow! Look at this tree, Madam! Why is the end so wide?”

Cindy cried out as she scurried forward.

“There are fruits too? They’re huge!”

For Cindy, who was born in Gribalta and had rarely left, the South was a fascinating and new place.

Belladonna watched Cindy, who was running around the garden like a foal, with affectionate eyes.

‘It’s definitely warmer…….’

Silenia was located further south than Astanya, where she had lived.

With a climate that felt much milder than Astanya, Belladonna felt her whole body relax.

The warm sunlight feels so good!

“But to lock yourself in the study as soon as we arrive. Could it be that the Lord followed us too hastily?”

“…….”

“Thanks to that, we all came down here together…… I feel a little sorry.”

Why should you be sorry? He’s the one who insisted on coming! Belladonna snorted inwardly as she walked.

Even so, she felt a twinge of guilt for Escalion, who couldn’t even find time for a leisurely walk with his wife.

*I wonder if he’ll have some free time after dinner? This path is pretty; it would be nice to spend some time together…*

“Oh? It’s the wizard! Looks like he’s leaving!”

At that moment, Cindy pointed ahead and said.

Turning her head at the mention of a wizard, Belladonna saw Fabion, wearing a navy robe, packing a small bag that looked comically large compared to his face.

His face was hidden by a deeply pressed hood, but the long white beard hanging below made him easily recognizable.

“I saw earlier that the Lord seemed dissatisfied with his work… I guess he won’t be commissioned to create a return portal.”

Cindy clicked her tongue and muttered.

Upon confirming it was him, Belladonna unknowingly swallowed hard.

The unknown tension from earlier was washing over her body again.

**

The thin voice that spoke with certainty echoed in her ears. *How does he know…?*

“Madam! Are you alright?”

Just then, a shadow fell over Belladonna’s eyes, who was unknowingly frowning.

Turning her gaze, she saw Cindy, who had come out with her, holding her palm up to the sky, creating shade.

“Is it too bright? Please wait a moment. I’ll go get the hat!”

Huh? Oh, no, it’s not that it’s too bright, I was just lost in thought!

But before she could stop her, Cindy quickly turned and ran towards the building. *She’s really quick.*

“…….”

Belladonna, who was left alone, awkwardly turned, keeping her distance from Fabion.

For some reason, she felt uncomfortable being near that unknown old wizard.

“Could you spare me a moment, Madam?”

At that moment, the old wizard’s thin voice struck her ear from very close by.

Startled, she turned her head and saw Fabion standing close to her, looking at her.

*Oh my gosh!! H, how did he get here?*

Fabion stared at Belladonna, who was looking at him with wide eyes, and opened his mouth again.

“It will be a helpful story for you, Madam.”

*B, but……!* She quickly looked around, but there was no one else nearby.

“I won’t force you if you refuse. But I know you must be more frustrated than anyone else, so I want to help you.”

*Help?*

“I already know that the one inside you now is not the Saintess Belladonna.”

“……!”

Belladonna frowned without even trying to control her expression.

*He really knows that I’m not the real Saintess…! Then what should I do in front of him?* Belladonna slowly began to back away in confusion and slight fear.

So Fabion noticed at once that I wasn’t the real Saintess Belladonna.

Seeing her reaction, Fabion was even more surprised and waved his hands.

“Ah! I’m sorry for startling you. But I have no intention of revealing your secret or threatening you with it, so you don’t have to be so afraid.”

When Belladonna still looked at him with wary eyes, Fabion hurriedly rummaged through his small bag and took out a notebook and pen, handing them to her.

“If you have something you want to say, please use this.”

Belladonna, looking down at what Fabion was holding, carefully reached out and took it.

[I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who is dwelling inside me?]

Perhaps because she wrote it in a hurry, her handwriting was terribly shaky.

The ugly handwriting felt like it was expressing her confused and wavering state of mind.

Fabion, looking down at the letters Belladonna had written, slowly raised his head and stared at her.

*W, what……! What are you looking at!*

“I am 108 years old.”

*Yes, you look like it!*

Belladonna still did not relax her wary expression and stared at him.

“Perhaps because I have been with magic for a long time, I have become skilled at sensing things that others cannot. I don’t know how to express it, but from the first time I saw you, I could tell at once that you were not the Saintess from before.”

“…….”

“And even if that weren’t the case, if you were the real Saintess, you wouldn’t react like this to me. It’s not our first time meeting.”

*Oh… Was he acquainted with the Saintess?*

Belladonna bit her lower lip. Of course, he was not a person in her memory.

“I heard rumors that the Saintess had married a knight from Gribalta, and I took a commission to that cold place to see her face after a long time… I was also very surprised to meet someone other than the Saintess.”

Belladonna swallowed hard and scanned him up and down.

*I, is that true?*

While wondering if he was a con artist, his remarks that pinpointed Belladonna’s secret were unusual. *What is this wizard?*

“You still don’t completely trust me.”

Fabion, who spat out the words briefly, rummaged through his bag once again and took out a short staff.

“I was one of the many wizards who were summoned to the Vatican by the Pope when the Saintess first gained her divine power.”

Belladonna recalled the doctors and wizards who frequented the Vatican to fix the Saintess’s voice. *So this guy is one of them….*

“With that connection at the time, I often visited the Vatican, and naturally, I became acquainted with the Saintess. Excuse me, may I use magic in front of you?”

At the word magic, Belladonna flinched and raised her head.

In her previous life, she was an ordinary farmer and had no experience meeting wizards.

She had no idea what kind of magic they used and how far they could go.

Fabion, noticing her hesitation, opened his mouth again.

“Ah, it’s not dangerous; I just want to show you a glimpse of my memories.”

*That makes me even more worried…?* When Belladonna made an uneasy face, Fabion waved his hands and continued.

“Don’t worry, it’s not dangerous at all. I’m going to use a crystal ball without touching you.”

After speaking, he rummaged through his small bag again and took out a crystal ball the size of his palm.

*No, how many things are in that small bag?*

“Now, look inside carefully.”

Fabion, who spoke as if whispering, aimed the end of his staff at the ball and uttered words that could not be understood.

At the same time as she thought that his voice was gradually scattering and that the wind was blowing on it, an image began to appear on the black crystal ball.

*What is that…?* Belladonna narrowed her eyes as she discovered something.

The figures of people like dolls were visible on the crystal ball.

Looking closely, it seemed to be the Saintess Belladonna from her childhood.

*Saintess…?*

As she continued to look inside, the Saintess’s childhood, then her slightly older appearance, and then her fully grown adult appearance passed by in order.

*‘This is…….’*

The scene seemed to be the past as seen from Fabion’s perspective.

The situations where he seemed to be with the Saintess Belladonna were flipping over like a rapidly turning bookshelf.

Belladonna watched the inside quietly as if she were watching a play onstage.

They seemed to have quite a few meetings at first glance.

The Saintess smiled at Fabion during a short treatment time, and they also had conversations with each other.

The Saintess couldn’t speak, so she was only on the listening side.

Finally, when the short video ended, Belladonna raised her head sharply.

*What is this?*

“I projected my memories onto the ball.”

*Projected memories…? So these are Fabion’s memories?* Fabion said, pushing the crystal ball and staff he had placed on his hand back into his luggage.

“This is the only way I can prove it to you right now. It is up to you whether you believe my story or not. How about we have a conversation?”

“…….”

But Belladonna still did not open her tightly closed mouth.

Even if it was true that Fabion had some friendship with the real Saintess, that was not a reason to trust him completely.

Besides, that could have been manipulated!

*…H, but a conversation might not be bad?*

She swallowed hard, then raised her pen as if determined.

[I’ve met so many people that I don’t particularly remember the wizard. What do you want to say…….]

“Madam!!”

Before she could finish the sentence, Cindy’s loud voice was heard from behind.

Startled, she turned her head and saw Cindy running towards them, waving a hat over her head.