Don’T Get Caught By Your Husband! [EN]: Chapter 68

Don’t Get Caught by Your Husband! Chapter 68. An Unsettling Anxiety

#Chapter 68. An Unsettling Anxiety

2024.05.07.

“Your Holiness!”

“Saint Belladona!”

As I stepped out of the portal and into the Papal Palace, I saw priests rushing towards the carriage with welcoming faces.

Belladona smiled and waved at them.

The smile on her face felt as natural as if she were wearing a mask.

“Welcome, Your Holiness.”

The carriage stopped, and as the door opened, the priests lined up and greeted her. Belladona rose and stepped out of the carriage.

Ah, just a moment…

At that moment, dizziness washed over her, and her vision turned black.

She had held herself together in front of Cardinal Nicholas, not wanting to show a disheveled appearance while the carriage passed through the portal, but it seemed that it had taken a toll on her body.

“Your Holiness…!”

The priests surrounding her were startled and reached out.

The quickest of them caught Belladona as she collapsed to the ground.

“Are you alright, Your Holiness?”

Belladona struggled to open her heavy eyelids and looked up at the one who had caught her.

Ah, a kind person… Huh?

Belladona’s eyes widened as she recognized the priest who had supported her.

The priest who was holding her firmly to prevent her from falling was none other than the one who had taken Cindy’s luggage when they departed from Griblata.

*This person was definitely on a carriage that left later than mine, so when did he get here? He’s very quick! He seems to be good at stepping up when needed…*

As she admired him in her mind, he helped her stand up straight and opened his mouth.

“I will call a physician.”

*Ah, no, it’s not that serious! Take back what I said about him being good at his job!*

She didn’t want to cause a fuss by calling a physician as soon as she arrived in Astagna because of a brief dizzy spell.

Belladona grabbed his arm as he tried to turn around.

“Ah, I’m alright.”

Fortunately, the priest seemed to be quick-witted, and he stopped turning.

“Hm? Has something happened to Your Holiness?”

Nicholas, who was getting out of the carriage behind Belladona, asked with a puzzled expression. The priests surrounding her spoke up.

“She seemed a little dizzy.”

“Well, the journey from Griblata to Astagna wouldn’t have been easy.”

“Oh dear, Your Holiness. You have to see the Pope right away. Are you sure you’re alright?”

Nicholas asked, his face suddenly full of concern.

Belladona shuddered slightly, recalling his behavior in the carriage.

*Oh, he’s such a hypocrite…!*

But Belladona never had a choice in the first place.

She raised the corners of her lips as usual and gave a gentle smile.

“Very well. Then I’ll leave the cleanup to you. The Saint and I will go straight to the Pope’s office.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Understood, Cardinal!”

Belladona watched the priests move to unload the luggage from the carriage, then turned to follow Nicholas.

*Ugh, I have to go… to where Pope Prononce is…*

“Just a moment, Your Holiness.”

At that moment, someone blocked her path.

Huh? Who’s in front of me…

When she looked up, she saw the priest who had supported her when she was about to fall, looking down at her with a worried expression.

“You don’t seem to be in good condition. You should sit on a chair and rest for a while…”

“Priest Timothy. What are you doing?”

Nicholas snapped, turning around, annoyed by the delays.

*Timothy? So that’s his name. Now that I think about it, it sounds familiar.*

Belladona quietly looked up at him, remembering the name of the kind priest in her heart.

“But your face is too pale. If you go back like this…”

“It’s none of your business, so don’t be presumptuous! And Saint Belladona’s face is naturally pale!”

Nicholas snapped sharply and looked at Belladona, urging her with his eyes.

Belladona reached out and gently patted Timothy on the shoulder, who still looked worried.

*That’s right, Astagna isn’t just full of people like the Pope and Cardinal Nicholas.*

Belladona thought.

Although Pope Prononce and Cardinal Nicholas treated her the same way, she remembered that there were definitely people like Priest Timothy who felt sorry for her.

She gave Timothy, who had a warm heart, a sincere smile.

*Thank you for thinking of me like this.*

She saw Timothy’s face blush slightly as he saw her sincere smile.

“Ahem…! Your Holiness, this is not the time for this. The Pope has been eagerly waiting for us since morning…”

Belladona started walking before Nicholas could finish his sentence.

*Yes, I’m going! I was going anyway, even if you didn’t say anything!*

Still, receiving someone’s worried heart made her feel a little braver.

With a much better feeling and stride than before, Belladona walked towards the Pope’s office.

* * *

“Belladona, you’ve finally arrived.”

Belladona bowed to Pope Prononce, who was smiling at her.

At first glance, he had a very benevolent smile, but Belladona could easily recognize the discomfort hidden within it.

“Cardinal Nicholas, thank you for bringing Belladona.”

“It’s nothing, Your Holiness. The Saint’s desire to return before the celebration was strong, so I was able to bring her here without difficulty.”

“What about Duke Diete?”

“He could not leave his territory without permission, so he could not join us.”

“Well, that man probably doesn’t know how important and noble the celebration is.”

At the Pope’s short words, Nicholas chuckled.

Belladona frowned without realizing it at their actions, which seemed to ignore Escalio.

“Belladona, sit down.”

The Pope said, pointing to the empty sofa.

He crossed over to the opposite sofa and took a comfortable position.

When Belladona sat down without loosening her upright posture, he looked at Nicholas, who was standing blankly, and spat out.

“What are you doing? Why don’t you leave?”

“Ah, ah…! Ah, yes, that’s right. I, I’ll be leaving now.”

She heard Nicholas’s flustered voice as he turned and hurried out of the office.

As he disappeared with his foolish back, Pope Prononce completely erased the smile he had been wearing on his face.

“Belladona, did anything happen?”

*Knowing that I can’t speak…*

This was something like the Pope’s habit.

Knowing that there would be no answer, and already having the answer in mind, he would suddenly ask her questions.

“It seems you liked living in Griblata more than I thought.”

“……”

“I think you came back to Astagna not because of Nicholas’s outstanding abilities, but because of the letter I sent. What do you think?”

The Pope leaned forward and continued.

“Maybe you resent me. That if I had just left you alone, you would have taken care of everything and returned to Astagna on your own, and that I needlessly stirred up trouble.”

“……”

“But marriage, divorce… that’s just how it is, Belladona.”

Pope Prononce smiled and picked up the teapot placed between her and himself.

He poured warm tea into small cups, filling them halfway, and spoke in a calm voice.

“No matter how secretive the contract is, no matter how much each of you is secretly thinking different things, it’s not easy to break the bond of marriage.”

“……”

“So you must have kept opening your heart to your husband.”

“……!”

Belladona frowned without realizing it and clenched her fists on her lap.

*What is he talking about? Is he testing me?*

*If not, could it be that…*

*Did he plant a spy in Griblata?*

“I didn’t want you to be too happy, because if you smiled so sincerely, I wouldn’t have felt so uneasy waiting in Astagna, would I?”

The Pope smiled beautifully, which didn’t match the content of his words at all, and pushed the cup towards her.

“I know that Duke Diete has written up the divorce papers. If you just sign them one last time, you’ll be free again. You’ll be returning as Astagna’s perfect Saint.”

A free woman?

Belladona took a small breath.

*How can returning to Astagna be called being free? This place is more like it to me…!*

“Now, take out those documents and sign at the bottom in front of me.”

Prononce looked at her, his dull eyes shining.

His gaze seemed soft at first glance, but it was very coercive and forceful.

Belladona forced herself to raise the corners of her trembling lips.

Soon, she picked up the pen on the table and began to write on the paper next to it.

[I haven’t finished packing yet. I was so excited to return to Astagna that I didn’t even care about the divorce papers. I’ll go back to my room and look for them.]

Prononce looked at Belladona’s writing and sat silently for a long time.

After a few minutes that felt like hours, he raised the corners of his lips, smiled brightly, and nodded.

“Yes, that’s possible. I must have been too hasty with my daughter who just returned. Hahaha, as I get older, I just get impatient.”

“……”

“How about holding a small banquet tonight? I’ll take out the wine I’ve been storing in the basement for a long time. It’ll be a lot of fun for a change. I wish your husband could come too! There’s plenty of wine that he wouldn’t even be able to taste in a backwater place like Griblata.”

Belladona looked at the smiling Pope with uneasy eyes.

His mouth was open wider than anyone else, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all.

Soon, Pope Prononce got up from his seat and opened the door to the office.

It was a very clear sign that he wanted her to get out of his sight.

Belladona swallowed hard and stood up from her seat.

“See you tonight.”

A dirty voice landed in her ear.

Belladona nodded, trying not to harden her expression.

Behind her, she heard the sound of the office door slamming shut.

Belladona staggered and grabbed the wall as she came out into the hallway. She had only faced him for a short time, but it was harder than she thought.

*I don’t know the exact reason, but it seems like my body is afraid of something…*

Ever since she opened her eyes in the body of Saint Belladona, she had felt uncomfortable and scared of the Pope.

*Ah, I’m tired. I need to go back and rest…*

“Your Holiness, are you alright?”

At that moment, someone called out to her from across the hallway and approached her.

Belladona raised her head. *Is it you again…?*