Don’T Get Caught By Your Husband! [EN]: Chapter 37

#37. Syrenia City (2)

2024.04.06.

‘She definitely went this way…’

Belladonna moved, constantly looking around.

Normally, it wouldn’t be hard to follow Cindy at her usual leisurely pace, but Cindy had been lost for hours, making Belladonna anxious.

Cindy seemed to be rushing, driven by the mission to get Belladonna to the letter-selling place as quickly as possible.

‘At this rate, I really will get lost…’

If worst comes to worst, I could grab someone and ask for help, but even that was too much for her, unable to speak.

‘Should I just stay put?’

For someone who’s lost, the best option is to stay put and wait instead of wandering around trying to find the person they were with.

Eventually, Cindy will realize I’m gone and come back to find me…

That seemed like the better option in many ways.

Belladonna quickly turned around, went back to the fork in the road where she had lost Cindy, and leaned against the corner wall. If I stay here, she’ll come find me and take me with her, right?

“……”

As her anxiety subsided, the surrounding scenery slowly began to come into view.

Belladonna stood still and watched the bustling streets of Syrenia.

People carrying large loads chattered as they walked past Belladonna.

The peace and joy on their faces seemed to reach Belladonna.

“Put all the dried fruit in here!”

“I need to buy some thick cotton for the blankets.”

“Don’t forget to get extra thread, too!”

It seems winter is here.

In Belladonna’s view, commoners with smiles on their faces were busily moving.

The scene of them preparing for winter felt familiar and relatable, and the corners of Belladonna’s lips turned upward.

‘I used to be so busy during the winter…’

Still, perhaps because there were many crops harvested this fall, the expressions of the commoners passing by were not bad.

Belladonna watched them, thinking it was a good thing.

“Oh!”

Just then, someone bumped Belladonna’s shoulder.

Surprised, she turned to see a woman walking with a tall box blocking her view.

Belladonna was startled and moved out of her path. ‘Should I help her? She looks like she has too much to carry…’

“Oh my! I’m so sorry, miss. I can’t see very well.”

Not knowing what to do and awkwardly reaching out her arm, the woman peeked out from behind the box, gave Belladonna a good-natured smile, and said.

Belladonna nodded, smiling to indicate that it was okay.

‘If this happens…’

As always, she expected to be greeted with a dazed or surprised expression after seeing her smile, but the woman who made eye contact with Belladonna casually shifted her gaze and went on her way without hesitation.

‘Huh? Just now…’

Left alone, Belladonna blinked her eyes and slowly turned her head.

With her eyes wide open, she stared at the back of the woman’s head as she walked away.

‘She, she’s just going to leave like that? She definitely made eye contact with me…?’

“……”

It had been a long time since she had seen this kind of reaction. It had been so long that she was taken aback.

Since awakening as a saintess in Astanya, the gazes directed at her had always been those of commoners filled with respect, reverence, love, and esteem, or those of nobles who wanted her but subtly looked down on her.

After marrying Escalión and moving to Gribalta, people’s caution and wariness were added as the lord’s wife, but it didn’t change much.

Most of those gazes were burdensome and uncomfortable, and some were even annoying and stifling.

The unspecified number of people she didn’t know knew her, and everyone was even watching her.

‘I did briefly enjoy the Gribalta festival with Escalión in commoner clothes a few weeks ago, but some perceptive people sent suspicious glances. But this completely ordinary reaction… It’s been so long.’

Standing still, Belladonna suddenly turned her head and looked around.

None of the people passing by Belladonna gave her a long look.

Some men stopped and looked back, seemingly surprised by her beauty, but even that was only for a moment.

‘Ah… There are hardly any people in Syrenia, not Astanya or Gribalta, who know who I am…’

So, in this place, Belladonna was not a saintess or a lord’s wife, but a completely ordinary person.

The moment she realized that, an unknown anxiety suddenly surged from within.

Like a caged bird looking at an open cage door, Belladonna’s heart trembled strangely.

‘No one knows me…’

In this place, she didn’t have to receive the gazes of people as Saintess Belladonna or the Lord’s wife of Gribalta.

For the first time since awakening as Saintess Belladonna, her heart began to pound with the freedom she was experiencing.

“……”

Then…!

Belladonna swallowed hard and slowly stepped into the crowd.

She felt the people passing by glance up at her as she blocked their path, but they soon disappeared.

“Miss, don’t block the way.”

“Ah, I’m sor…”

Perhaps she had let her guard down too much, as her voice involuntarily came out. Surprised, Belladonna raised a hand and covered her mouth.

‘Ah, even if these people don’t know me, this isn’t right…!’

However, the person who had spoken to Belladonna turned away and passed by her without any particular reaction.

Belladonna slowly lowered her hand from her mouth and looked at the people.

None of the people walking on this road were paying much attention to her.

‘Ah…’

Belladonna clenched her fist at her side.

She knew that she was in a rather impulsive state right now, but she didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

It wasn’t that she wanted to run away from Escalión or the Pope, but the thought of enjoying the freedom she had been given, even for a moment, dominated her unstable reason.

“……”

Belladonna turned her head and looked at the alley where Cindy had disappeared one more time. She still didn’t seem to be coming back.

The wounded, restless, and complicated heart kept driving her to unfamiliar decisions.

‘Even if it’s just for a short while…’

Finally, Belladonna took a small breath and took a step. Wherever it was, she wanted to go.

Even if it was just for a moment, she wanted to sort out her thoughts alone, away from everyone’s gaze.

* * *

“Aaa beautiful… migratory bird…”

On a low hill slightly away from the city, Belladonna, who had been standing still and hesitating, awkwardly settled down and sat down.

She had been wandering around without deciding on a destination, and before she knew it, she had followed a familiar song again.

‘As soon as I got out of the crowded place, this open space appeared.’

Belladonna glanced back at the path she had walked, then pulled her knees up to her chest, curled up, and looked at the farmers below.

Despite the cold weather, their faces were flushed red with heat as they busily moved their bodies.

“Sing of the hope… that dwells in your large wings…”

Even in the midst of their busyness, the song did not stop.

Belladonna quietly watched them, then rested her cheek on her knees.

Fortunately, she was warmly dressed thanks to Cindy, and the winter sun was shining well on the hill, so it wasn’t too cold.

‘It’s peaceful.’

Feeling the freedom and peace of being alone, Belladonna quietly closed her eyes.

“The hiiigh sun… descends to the earth…”

Listening to the labor song with her eyes closed, she felt as if she had returned to her previous life.

Like taking a break after working hard all day, this moment felt very sweet.

At this moment, neither the Papal States of Astanya, nor the Pope, nor Scarlett, nor Escalión… nothing made her anxious.

“……”

After sitting still for a while and soothing her complicated heart, Belladonna slowly opened her eyes.

‘Anyway, soon…’

Once she got divorced, she wouldn’t have to see Escalión again.

So, it was much better to leave the unnecessarily complicated and clumsy feelings with him here or in Gribalta.

‘Even though I’ve come to like him…’

Thinking that, she felt the pain in her heart again, which she had been trying to suppress.

‘Ugh, why did I have to feel such emotions for my soon-to-be ex-husband…!’

Belladonna shook her head quickly, closing her eyes tightly.

‘Let’s forget it, let’s forget it! He’s going to live happily with his mistress once I disappear anyway! I’m only losing out if I keep doing this!’

“With a reeeed energy, the whole earth…”

The farmers’ endless labor song flew from afar and scattered in her ears.

Belladonna quietly watched them for a moment, then slowly opened her lips.

The farmers sang labor songs not only to escape the hard labor and regain strength and find small joys, but also to get rid of unnecessary thoughts.

‘So, I also, even for a moment…’

Soon, a very small hum flowed out through her parted lips.

“Hmm hmm… um hmm…”

The humming that started like a whisper gradually gained its voice.

As she concentrated on recalling the next lyrics, the thought of Escalión seemed to fade.

“Hmm… facing me… the proud smile… on your face…”

Belladonna’s expression gradually relaxed as she sang in a small voice. She was feeling better.

The labor song she enjoyed singing always comforted her.

That’s why she used to hum the song secretly in the Papal States when no one was around.

“…always… beautiful…”

Belladonna chuckled softly after blankly uttering the last verse after singing along to the farmers’ song for a long time.

‘Come to think of it, that’s when I first met Escalión…’

‘I really thought he had heard my voice back then, but since he hasn’t said anything about it until now, he must have been too busy sleeping to notice.’

Belladonna blinked her eyes quietly.

When the song was completely over, a brief silence fell. Only the sound of the wind could be heard in her ears.

The farmers who had been sitting on the ground were seen getting up one by one and packing their things.

Belladonna, who had been watching them, also slowly got up from her seat.

It was time to go back now. She had to go back before it got too late and look for Cindy.

Belladonna, who had gotten up from her seat, moved her arms and dusted off the dirt on her skirt.

With a much lighter heart than before, she turned around.

“…?”

At that moment, Belladonna stopped moving.

Not far from her, someone she knew very well was standing crookedly with his hands in his pockets.

“…Huh?”

An unorganized voice came out of her mouth.