Don’T Get Caught By Your Husband! [EN]: Chapter 65

#65. Don’t Torment Me Anymore

May 4, 2024

Belladona’s anxious gaze stilled at Escalión’s voice.

His voice was completely calm, yet seemed to hold a hint of suppressed anger.

“I sensed it at the wedding, but I’m beginning to wonder if Saintess Belladona is truly loved by the people of the Empire.”

“…….”

“Anyone who isn’t a fool can see they’re just using you.”

Escalión raised a hand and swept back the hair that had fallen across his forehead.

Belladona sat still, biting her lower lip.

What Escalión was saying wasn’t entirely wrong, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear.

“Is that the life you want? Shut away in a confessional [a small, enclosed space where people confess their sins to a priest], listening to the dark secrets of others that you can’t tell anyone? A life where you have to use your divine power, which eats away at your life, whenever the Pope wants you to?”

“…….”

“Or is Gribalta so terrible that even Astanya is better?”

Belladona, who had been staring down at the white blanket, finally looked up at Escalión.

He was staring at her with his head tilted.

“Don’t worry, I’ll send you away soon, so you don’t have to look like you’d rather die than be here. Cardinal Nicholas has come all the way here to find you, so take this opportunity to leave with him.”

With Cardinal Nicholas……?

Belladona frowned. She couldn’t do that.

She didn’t want to leave Gribalta like this.

“Originally, I was going to send you tomorrow or the day after, but I don’t know if you’ll be able to leave properly in such a weakened state. Take as much rest as you want. I’d like to get this over with as soon as possible, though.”

“…….”

“I won’t make a portal for you when you leave. I’m going to be fleeced in alimony from the divorce, so I don’t have enough budget. If you want to travel comfortably, ask Cardinal Nicholas.”

Escalión’s expression remained unchanged.

He spoke as if he had completely lost interest in her.

Belladona felt the tip of her nose growing colder and focused on controlling her eyes, which were gradually heating up with tears.

For some time now, Escalión hadn’t been looking at her directly.

“When you return to Astanya, send me a separate request for donations. That way, I can send it according to the proper procedure.”

Since he wasn’t looking at her, it wasn’t as difficult as she thought to say those words.

Escalión, without changing his expression, delivered each of the words he had rehearsed in his heart.

“Oh, and take the divorce papers with you on your way.”

Divorce papers……?

At the words ‘divorce papers,’ Belladona’s heart sank.

He was really thinking of divorcing her. Was this really… the end?

“I’ve already filled out the rest, so you don’t need to touch it. All you need is your signature at the bottom of the last page.”

From the moment she heard the word ‘divorce,’ Escalión’s low voice seemed to fade away.

As if she had fallen into deep water, the words he uttered did not reach her ears clearly and scattered faintly around her.

More than the fact that she would soon return to Astanya with Cardinal Nicholas, she couldn’t believe that she would be separated from him like this.

“Then sleep more for now, and when the medicine comes…….”

Escalión, who had been saying this and that, was about to get up as if he was about to leave.

Belladona, feeling desperate, quickly reached out and grabbed him.

Only then did his golden eyes, which had been facing elsewhere, move towards her.

“Ah, w-wait a minute…….”

Belladona fumbled and grabbed his large hand, pulling him towards her.

Since her voice wouldn’t come out, she wanted to write on his palm as she used to do and tell him something.

But Escalión twisted his wrist slightly and easily broke free from her.

“Was it what they wanted for you to pretend that you can’t make a sound like this? All those stories about your special divine power being related to your lost voice, were they all intentionally created?”

“…….”

“If the intention was to use it to deceive people and evoke sympathy, it worked well. I was quite worried at first because I thought you really couldn’t speak.”

Belladona raised her dazed eyes to look at him.

What does that… mean?

“Again, I was stupid. When I first heard your voice, I should have been angry instead of happy. Or, were you the type to only let out beautiful moans when you were extremely excited? Last night wasn’t that intense, I guess?”

Belladona’s lower lip trembled as she listened to his words.

Why……? Why are you saying such awful things? The tears that had welled up in her blue eyes spilled onto the floor.

Escalión stopped speaking when he saw her tears.

“…….”

Silence fell in the room.

Belladona, who had been sobbing for a while, raised a hand and rubbed her eyes hard.

She didn’t want to keep crying in front of Escalión.

She had so much to say; she couldn’t just keep crying like this.

She reached out again and grabbed Escalión’s hand.

She could feel him flinching noticeably as he stood there blankly and was grabbed by Belladona.

But before she could raise her index finger to write anything on his palm, he once again used force to pull his arm away.

“Stop playing these tricks now. It’s not funny at all.”

Escalión said with a low, sunken gaze.

“You’re going back to where you’re supposed to be. I’m staying where I’ve always been. That’s all.”

“…….”

“Don’t torment me anymore.”

After speaking, Escalión turned and walked across the bedroom at a very fast pace.

Soon, the door closed with a bang.

Belladona, who had been blankly staring at where he had disappeared, lowered her head.

Tears that had fallen onto the white blanket created small, sorrowful stains.

* * *

“Damn it…….”

Escalión, who had left the bedroom, stopped in the hallway just a few steps away.

Considering that he had stormed out of the bedroom with such momentum, it was a truly pathetic retreat.

He stopped blankly, raised a hand to cover his eyes, and leaned against a nearby wall.

‘That was too much.’

He had spewed harsh words at Belladona, who had done nothing wrong.

He had no intention of doing this, but seeing her being treated so badly by Cardinal Nicholas seemed to have triggered something that had been boiling inside him to explode.

But it was wrong to vent his anger on her.

As his damn mouth moved on its own, uttering sharp words that were completely different from his true feelings, he recalled the tears that had welled up in Belladona’s eyes, and he felt as if his heart was burning black.

‘You trashy bastard.’

These days, he cursed himself several times a day.

He had vowed to let her go comfortably, and he knew very well that this was the right path for her, but he couldn’t forgive himself for acting so pathetic and messy, like a sulky child.

Escalión, who had been leaning against the hallway for a while to catch his breath, lowered the hand that had been covering his face and looked at the tightly closed door.

‘Is she crying?’

The desire to open that door right away, wipe away Belladona’s tears, take her into his arms, and hug her tightly was overwhelming, but he was afraid that he would only hurt her again.

Maybe…….

Maybe… her husband from Gribalta was the most terrible thing for Belladona.

* * *

“Saintess Belladona, are you preparing well to go to Astanya?”

Belladona, who was eating in the first-floor dining room, raised her head at the unwelcome voice.

Nicholas, the owner of the voice, was smiling as he approached her.

Belladona put down her utensils and quietly looked up at him.

“I asked the butler, and he said that all the carriages heading to Astanya are ready. We can leave tomorrow morning. Now, how do you feel about returning to Astanya after almost three months?”

“…….”

“Ah, another dazzling smile……! I understand the Saintess’s heart well. You must have always remembered your promise with your father.”

‘When did I ever smile?’

Belladona let out a small sigh and turned her gaze back to her plate.

Nicholas was not fazed by Belladona’s cold reaction and came closer to her.

“Again, you’re doing it again. We agreed not to make such a human-like expression.”

“…….”

“How is your body? You have to prepare for the event as soon as you return, so you must have saved up your stamina to use your divine power, right? When the Saintess returns to the Papal Palace, we will reopen the confessional. We have to do that first, so people will gather quickly.”

Confessional…….

Recalling that narrow and dark place made her feel like the food she had barely chewed and swallowed was coming back up.

Belladona put down her utensils and took a napkin to wipe her mouth.

“Hmm? Are you done eating? The food hasn’t decreased at all.”

‘It’s because you made me lose my appetite, why.’

Belladona got up from her seat without even looking at him.

Nicholas continued to talk non-stop.

“You have to eat well to recover your divine power. You also have a journey back to Astanya ahead of you, right? What if you can’t use your divine power because of this…….”

Belladona, who was standing still, turned to look at Nicholas.

‘Ha, really… that damn divine power, divine power……!’

‘Saintess Belladona must have grown up in Astanya and heard these stories so much that she’s sick of them, right?’ Thinking about it, I felt anew that the Saintess was amazing and pitiful.

She forced the corners of her mouth up to smile and shook her head firmly.

“Well, if that’s the case…….”

Only then did Nicholas step back and stop talking.

Belladona, who had come out of the dining room, glanced around furtively.

‘Is Escalión…….’

Is he in the office on the second floor? Is he in the training ground? If not, the weather is a bit warmer today, so did he go out to inspect the territory?

Since he stormed out of the room like that last time, Belladona hadn’t been able to see Escalión properly.

‘If he’s not deliberately avoiding me, there’s no way we wouldn’t have run into each other this much…….’

Belladona drooped her shoulders and let out a small sigh.

She felt anxious that she really had to go back to Astanya tomorrow, and she wondered if she wouldn’t be able to see Escalión’s face before she left.

Even if she did meet him, it’s not like he would have a proper conversation with her…….

Belladona raised her sad face and looked around the vast castle.