Don’T Get Caught By Your Husband! [EN]: Chapter 49

#49. Meeting with Scarlet (1)

2024.04.18.

Escalion entered the bedroom late that night, tossing his shirt onto the floor as he walked toward the bed.

*Isn’t it cold……?*

Belladonna, who was snug under the covers in thick velvet pajamas, watched him approach, half-naked, as if he were a wild bear.

“All bundled up, I see.”

Escalion chuckled as he saw Belladonna huddled under the blanket.

He lifted the covers, slipped inside, and pulled her close into his arms.

Belladonna pressed her body against Escalion’s warm skin, burrowing deeper into his embrace.

“Does my wife not have the ability to regulate her body temperature? Why are you so cold?”

“…….”

“Wait. I’ll tell them to stoke the fire more…….”

Belladonna grabbed Escalion, who was about to get up again.

He looked down at her with a puzzled expression, and Belladonna shook her head, opening her mouth.

“It’s warm enough like this.”

At her soft voice, Escalion clenched the blanket tightly, his jaw tightening.

“Do you know how that sounds to me right now?”

“……?”

“It sounds like you want me to hold you closer. I know a way to warm you up quickly, how about it?”

*Oh, really!*

At Escalion’s sly smile, Belladonna blushed and playfully hit him.

She tried to hit him with force, but it didn’t seem to have much effect on him.

Escalion chuckled and ruffled her hair.

“Your little paws are quite something.”

“…….”

“There’s one bad thing about coming to Gribalta. A very fatal one.”

“……What is it?”

Belladonna asked, sweeping her disheveled hair back.

Escalion shrugged and said,

“That I can’t strip you whenever I want. The air is cold, so you might catch a cold if I’m not careful.”

“Is that all you ever think about?”

“It’s a perfectly normal thought for a husband with a beautiful wife.”

Belladonna raised the corners of her lips and looked at Escalion’s unique expression, his golden eyes playfully shining, before turning away.

Escalion chuckled again and hugged her from behind.

Belladonna closed her eyes, feeling his thick arms securely wrapped around her waist.

*Let’s just sleep!*

“I heard it from Volf,” Escalion said quietly after a moment, his laughter subsiding.

Belladonna listened to his voice and opened her eyes again.

“He said you sent a letter to Scarlet today. A letter you wrote yourself.”

“…….”

Belladonna recalled the invitation she had carefully prepared.

Back in Astanya, she had written so many invitations that it wasn’t difficult.

When she first awakened as a saintess, everything was difficult, and she barely pieced together the phrases from past invitations, but now…….

“She hates me.”

Just as she was unnecessarily reminiscing about her life in Astanya, Escalion spoke in a lower voice.

Belladonna turned her head slightly to look at him.

“Well, I can understand why she’d be annoyed that I suddenly appeared as her brother and meddled in everything.”

“…….”

“I don’t proudly introduce her as my sister in front of others, but I’m a nuisance by her side, so she must find me cumbersome and bothersome.”

“…….”

“Still…….”

“Tell Scarlet,” Belladonna said, turning her body completely to face him.

She gazed into Escalion’s deep eyes.

“Don’t hide it, tell her everything you feel. That everything was a choice for Scarlet, that you actually care about your sister more than anyone else, that you’re always thinking of her.”

“Bella…….”

“Then Scarlet will realize how much you care about her.”

Escalion stared at Belladonna without a word.

Her earnest blue gaze and the warm touch on her cheek made him feel naturally comfortable and cozy.

It was a strange feeling he had never experienced before.

“…….”

Unable to bear it any longer, he closed his eyes and said,

“……She’s a stupid girl with a bad personality, I don’t know if we can even have a conversation.”

“She must take after you in that regard.”

“What?”

Escalion opened his eyes. Belladonna was covering her mouth with her fist, giggling in front of him.

Soon, he burst into laughter as well.

“Now you’re even teasing me.”

Escalion slipped his hand under Belladonna’s velvet pajamas and leaned over her.

“You’re going to be punished.”

Belladonna pushed against Escalion’s shoulder, who was starting to kiss her cheek, and laughed softly.

* * *

A few days later, Belladonna looked at the distant castle gates with a nervous expression.

Escalion, standing beside her, pulled her into his arms and said,

“I told you to just wait in the dining hall. It’s cold.”

Belladonna shook her head, not taking her eyes off the castle gates.

No matter what, she wanted to show proper etiquette when meeting her husband’s sister for the first time.

Soon, the carriage that Escalion had sent could be seen passing through the castle gates.

*She’s here……!*

“Lady Scarlet’s carriage has arrived,” Volf said, standing a little further ahead.

He opened the door of the carriage that had stopped in front of them and offered his hand to Scarlet, who appeared from inside.

Belladonna stood still and watched her.

“…….”

The woman she had seen at 76 Yufranga stepped onto the ground.

Her tall, slender appearance and the long black hair flowing down her back were not much different from what she remembered.

However, Scarlet, seen up close, had deep, tanned eyes that emitted a color similar to but different from Escalion’s.

*Now that I see it, she looks quite like Escalion……!*

Scarlet, having recognized Belladonna and Escalion, bowed and greeted them.

“Thank you for inviting me. I am Scarlet Layton.”

“…….”

“…….”

Belladonna was unable to speak, and Escalion had nothing to say, so they remained silent.

Unable to bear the long silence, Volf, who was watching from the side, spoke up instead.

“W-Welcome, you must be tired from your long journey! Shall we head to the dining hall? Dinner is prepared.”

“Ah, yes.”

Scarlet replied without any particular change in expression.

Belladonna smiled and walked ahead, signaling them to follow.

She glanced sideways at Escalion, who was still walking beside her without a word. *Say something!*

Belladonna squeezed Escalion’s hand, and he reluctantly turned his head.

“What were you doing?”

*Oh, no……! Why would you ask that!*

Belladonna was startled and turned to look at Scarlet.

However, Scarlet didn’t seem to mind much and replied with a blank face.

“Just at home.”

Their conversation ended there.

Walking down the hallway, once again enveloped in silence, Belladonna swallowed hard.

She had a feeling that tonight’s dinner would not be easy.

* * *

“This is a stew made with mussels and simmered for a long time.”

The servants brought in dishes, filling the large table one by one. Belladonna silently watched the table gradually being filled.

“Eat a lot.”

“Thank you.”

The siblings exchanged short words and quickly began to focus on the food.

They concentrated on the food in front of them, putting it in their mouths and chewing without saying a word to each other.

*Wait a minute, watching this…….*

Belladonna, who had been quietly observing them, made a small laughing sound, “Pfft.”

“……?”

The two siblings, who had been burying their faces in their plates in the same posture, raised their heads with puzzled expressions.

Belladonna couldn’t help but laugh even more at the sight of two pairs of similar-colored eyes looking at her.

She reached out and wrote on a nearby notepad.

[You two have a lot in common.]

“……Do I?”

“Ew.”

“Ew?”

Scarlet’s expression immediately hardened, and she made a disgusted face, while Escalion spoke with a stiff face.

“Show some respect in front of my wife.”

“I’m sorry.”

Scarlet bowed her head deeply towards Belladonna.

Her appearance somehow made her seem like a naive younger sister, and the smile never left Belladonna’s face.

[Is the food to your liking? Thank you for accepting the invitation.]

“No, thank you for inviting me. I didn’t know Escalion would have told you about me…….”

Scarlet glanced at Escalion and replied.

She seemed to call her brother by his first name casually.

Escalion didn’t seem to have any objections to that, and he silently fiddled with the tomato on his plate.

[My husband told me a lot about you. Let’s see each other often in the future.]

Scarlet’s expression changed subtly as she read Belladonna’s writing.

She glanced at Escalion once more before nodding at Belladonna.

“Thank you for speaking so comfortably. Actually, I wanted to meet you too. There were so many rumors…….”

*So many rumors?*

Belladonna made a puzzled expression, and Scarlet added an explanation.

“People said that a very beautiful saintess had come to Gribalta. And that she was the complete opposite of Escalion.”

The complete opposite? Belladonna turned her head to look at Escalion.

If she was talking about external appearances, then he and she were indeed the complete opposite.

He was very large, had healthy-looking tanned skin, beautiful golden eyes, and a subtly sensual atmosphere.

As if realizing her thoughts, Scarlet continued to speak.

“They said that not only their appearances but also their personalities were completely opposite. That she was calm, benevolent, and kind.”

“Are you saying that for me to hear?”

“There’s something I really wanted to ask, how did you end up marrying Escalion?”

Scarlet ignored Escalion’s question with ease and asked.

“Everyone in Gribalta is curious. One day, Escalion suddenly left for Astanya, and then he suddenly brought back a saintess, saying he was getting married. Ah, you don’t have to answer if you feel uncomfortable or don’t want to. Please forgive my rudeness.”

Belladonna shook her head with a smile, meaning that she wasn’t offended at all.

Rather, it was a fresh and interesting question.

*Hmm, the reason she married Escalion…….*

To be honest, it was nothing more or less than a political marriage, so she didn’t know how to explain it.

Although her feelings for him had grown and deepened a lot now, when she first met him, she was only afraid and uneasy that he might have heard her voice…….

“I fell in love with my wife at first sight and brought her here,” Escalion said, speaking instead of Belladonna, who was hesitating with her fingers on the notepad.