Don’T Get Caught By Your Husband! [EN]: Chapter 56

#56. The Lost Voice

2024.04.25.

Upon discovering Belladona, Escalion dropped the longsword he was holding and quickly knelt down.

With trembling hands, he embraced her limp form.

Her body, which he expected to be as cold as snow, still retained some warmth.

A very faint breath could be felt.

She was alive.

Escalion, catching his breath, pulled Belladona even tighter into his arms.

An emotion, a mix of relief and something deeper, pounded fiercely in his head.

“Escalion!!”

Graham, who had hurriedly followed, appeared.

He stopped speaking upon seeing Escalion, deeply bowed while holding Belladona.

“Did you… find her?”

Hazel, following behind Graham, also hardened his expression upon seeing them.

Soon, the tip of his nose turned red as he grasped the situation.

“C-Captain……”

Hazel moved haltingly and walked towards Escalion.

“H-How could she be in a place like this… Captain, please don’t be too heartbroken… Huhu, the Lady has gone to a g-good place… Huhu……”

Escalion, still holding Belladona in his arms, turned his body slightly and reached out to Hazel.

With rough hands, he tore off Hazel’s cloak and began to wrap it around Belladona.

“Ah, my cloak! Sniff…! What are you doing?”

“She might be cold.”

“C-Cold… Huhu……. Heuh…….”

Hazel quickly shed tears.

Even though the Lady’s body was already cold, his heart ached to see the Captain so concerned.

Graham, who had turned his head, his face etched with similar complex emotions as Hazel, spoke in a dejected voice.

“…Let’s withdraw.”

The knight order instantly became solemn and organized their ranks.

They created a somber atmosphere by removing their hats or bowing their heads.

Escalion, who had firmly wrapped Belladona, straightened up completely and approached them, opening his mouth.

“Stop acting like fools and let’s go down carefully.”

“Yes……?”

“We need to go down quickly, before my wife’s body temperature drops further.”

“Y-Yes? B-Body temperature, you say?”

“What are you saying? Is she alive?”

Graham and Hazel approached him with wide eyes.

Escalion ignored them and slid down the snowy mountain at a rapid pace.

* * *

Her whole body ached.

Belladona, faintly regaining consciousness, frowned with all her might.

Where is this? I was definitely inside a dark cave with a giant bear…….

“……!!”

A bear! A bear tried to eat me!

Startled, Belladona opened her eyes wide and flailed her arms and legs, looking around.

Co, come on! I’ll hold out until I die!

“……?”

Belladona, surveying her surroundings, stopped her wildly moving limbs.

This place is……? A familiar structure and familiar furniture arrangement. Inside Escalion’s castle, in her own room.

What is this? When did I get here? Could it have been a dream?

Come to think of it, while I was unconscious and sleeping, I think I had a memorable dream…….

It seemed like something was coming to mind, but nothing remained in her head.

“…….”

Wait, what’s wrong with this?

Belladona, about to sigh without thinking, placed her hand on her neck.

Ah, ah……? Ah……!

No sound was coming out at all.

What is this? What is it? Belladona strained her throat to push out a sound.

But as if her throat was blocked by something, no sound came out at all.

In her bewilderment, she gripped the pillow beside her and took rough breaths.

Co, calm down……. Again……!

“……!”

Belladona opened her mouth and tried to make a sound.

But still, she only moved her mouth meaninglessly, and there was no sound echoing in the room.

What is this situation? Did the bear steal my voice? Ah, no, more than that, how did I get back here……!

Knock knock.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

Belladona quickly turned her head and looked at the opening door.

She hoped that someone would come to her and explain this whole situation.

“Lady……?”

Cindy, who opened the door and came in, widened her eyes.

She dropped the new pillowcase she was holding onto the floor and rushed to her in an instant.

“Lady!!”

Cindy……!

Belladona stretched out her arms and hugged Cindy, who was running to her.

Cindy cried and busily stroked her shoulders and back.

“Hwaa……! Lady, are you okay? I’m so glad you’ve regained consciousness. Hwaa, Lady……. We were so worried……!”

Belladona nodded and stroked the back of her head.

She had just survived a crisis of being kidnapped by strangers and almost dying, but she also realized that the servants who had been waiting for her must have been quite anxious.

Soon, Cindy slightly pulled away, her face tear-stained, and opened her mouth.

“Lady, do you have any discomfort? Did those nasty guys do anything to you? Not your face!”

Face……?

Belladona quietly raised her hand and stroked her face.

She hadn’t realized it, but there were large bandages on her right eye and left cheek.

In her mind, the man’s crazed face and cruel words flashed.

It wasn’t a dream……. belatedly, a chilling sensation pierced her body.

Belladona shook her head at Cindy, who was waiting for her answer. At least there were no more wounds left by them.

Then the bear……? Belladona frowned.

I clearly remember the bear attacking me last……. How am I alive?

“Just in case, if you feel uncomfortable, you must tell me right away?”

Belladona nodded.

She looked around with confused eyes. She couldn’t figure out what had happened.

Cindy, noticing that Belladona was confused, opened her mouth.

“Amy and her boyfriend kidnapped you, Lady. They must have been trying to steal some jewelry, taking advantage of the Lord leaving the castle……. They must have run into you then. Is that right?”

Belladona recalled the maid who had been constantly anxious beside the man she met in the cave.

So that woman’s name is Amy?

When Belladona nodded slightly, Cindy said again with a tearful face.

“Amy, that thing, repaying grace with betrayal……! How dare she lay a hand on the Lady! They abandoned you in a deep cave in the forest behind the castle. A full day passed, and the Lord finally found you.”

Escalion?

Belladona faced Cindy with a slightly surprised face.

Escalion had left the castle, but……. Did he come back?

“If the Lord hadn’t returned, I really don’t know what would have happened……. I really don’t even want to imagine it. The knight order can’t move freely without the Lord’s permission! It wasn’t enough for us who remained in the castle to search every inch of this area, but it was very fortunate that he returned not too late.”

“…….”

“We thought something really happened to you, Lady! To be abandoned in the forest in thin pajamas on that cold day……. Amy, that bad girl! No matter how desperate she was for money, when the Lord appeared holding you, we were really……! Hwaa!”

Cindy burst into tears again.

Belladona hugged her and fell into thought.

Escalion found me? Then what happened to that bear? Could it be that Escalion defeated it?

“Sniff! The Lord didn’t rest at all and led the elite knight order to find Amy and her accomplice. He seems to think that they couldn’t have strayed far from Griblata [likely a nearby town or region] due to the snow that has been falling for days.”

Belladona, after listening to Cindy’s explanation, took a small breath and nodded.

She still didn’t know what was going on, but she felt relieved for now. Anyway, she came back alive like this…….

“Are you cold, Lady?”

Shake, shake.

“Then I’ll bring you a meal. You haven’t been able to wake up without eating anything until now.”

Belladona grabbed Cindy, who was turning to leave.

She stretched out her arm and counted one by one as if counting numbers, asking with a curious expression.

How long have I been unconscious?

Cindy, who understood what her actions meant, drooped her shoulders.

“You haven’t regained consciousness for a whole three days, Lady. I’ll bring you some thin porridge so that your stomach doesn’t get suddenly strained.”

* * *

Ah, ah…….

“…….”

Ah! Ah!! Aagh!!

“…….”

Belladona stomped her feet nervously.

It’s not coming out, it’s not coming out!

No matter how hard she tried or what method she used, no voice came out.

Making a sound was such a natural thing that she never thought she would need a separate method…….

What am I supposed to do!!

Belladona picked up the teacup that Cindy had brought and gulped it down.

No matter how much hot water she poured in, how much she calmed her mind and body, and how much she strained her stomach and throat, the sound that echoed inside her body didn’t come out, as if it had disappeared as soon as it passed her throat.

‘What on earth is going on!’

Belladona, who had lost her strength, leaned against the head of the bed and looked at the high ceiling.

‘One day I became Saint Belladona overnight, and now I’ve really lost my voice like a saint?’

No! I can’t live like this, it’s too frustrating!

Belladona straightened her posture again, clearing her throat.

Okay, focus……. Aaaaaah!!

“…….”

Huh……. I’m going crazy, really.

Belladona let out a hollow breath and lay flat on her back.

‘No! If I take a good nap and wake up, maybe it’ll go back to normal!’

She was hoping that if she forgot everything and slept soundly, her voice might come back as if nothing had happened, when someone knocked on the door.

Knock knock.

Belladona quickly turned her head. Is it Escalion?

If he heard from Cindy that she had woken up, she thought he might come here to check.

And at the same time, a small sense of relief arose.

Although the last time she saw him, he was greatly angered and stormed out of the office, he was the one who searched the entire forest to save her when she had disappeared.

Maybe he had calmed down, and even if he hadn’t, she didn’t think he hated her too much.

‘I want to see him soon…….’

Belladona unconsciously put strength into the corners of her mouth, which kept drooping downwards.

She hoped that the person coming in now was Escalion, so that she could be held in his thick arms.

Then she could explain everything in his arms…….