Don’T Get Caught By Your Husband! [EN]: Chapter 73

#73. Clue (3)

2024.05.12.

“This is not the time for this! I… I will help you clean up!”

Timothy, suddenly flustered, began to move.

He hurriedly gathered the scattered books, clutching them to his chest.

Belladonna seized the opportunity, swiftly snatching up a key that had fallen nearby.

One secured! Now, where are the other two…?

The second key lay on the opposite side, separated from her by Timothy.

Okay, stay calm. Don’t rush. Wait for Timothy to turn toward the bookshelf! Belladonna picked up a few books with the most casual expression she could muster and placed them on the shelf.

“Saintess, please leave it. I will take care of it.”

Hey, no way!

Belladonna gave him a reassuring smile and diligently helped him pick up the books.

Then, as Timothy turned towards the bookshelf, she quickly moved, snagging the second key.

Okay, two down! Where is the last one?

As she subtly scanned the surroundings, Timothy stopped abruptly and bent over.

Belladonna was startled and paused.

Wait a minute. Could it be…?

“Huh? What’s this?”

Ah, he found it….

Belladonna offered an awkward smile. Timothy was holding the last key.

“Saintess, is this yours?”

Nod… Belladonna reluctantly nodded and held out her hand.

She hoped he would simply return the key without asking any questions.

However, instead of handing it over, Timothy brought it closer to his eyes, examining it.

Ah, come on. Just give it to me!

Belladonna wiggled her outstretched palm slightly. Responding to her prompting, Timothy belatedly snapped out of it.

“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s just that the key looked familiar….”

Looked familiar? Belladonna raised her head, studying him.

Timothy gently placed the square key on Belladonna’s palm and said,

“It’s yours. I apologize for my unnecessary curiosity. Here you go.”

Belladonna clenched her hand, holding the key tightly.

For now, it seemed certain that this key opened something within the Papal Palace.

If Timothy recognized the shape, it probably wasn’t hidden in some obscure location.

‘And now I have to find them.’

Belladonna swallowed hard, steeling her resolve once again.

There wasn’t much time left until His Majesty the Emperor’s birthday celebration.

* * *

“Saintess, it is time for your visit to the confessional.”

Belladonna rose from her seat at Rosie’s voice.

Having changed into the clothes Rosie had prepared, Belladonna opened the door and nodded to her.

Rosie smiled and moved down the hallway.

Belladonna stood still, watching until Rosie disappeared completely, then quickly turned around.

‘Let’s go another way today!’

For the past few days, Belladonna had been taking a different route each time she went to the confessional.

On the day she found the key, she obtained a map of the Papal Palace and planned a route to explore every part of it as efficiently as possible.

She took out a note covered in small writing and reviewed the path she had to take today.

Take this building and go like this, and if you look around here….

After leaving the entrance of the Papal Palace, Belladonna turned right instead of left, away from the confessional.

If you went around the newly built chapel (a place of worship) a few years ago to the right and continued walking, there was a small, relatively deserted chapel.

‘In the past, all the believers who visited the Papal Palace came here to pray, but it is said that it has been almost forgotten since the new chapel was built.’

Belladonna stopped, recalling something Rosie had chattered about one day.

The small chapel came into view.

This place was also known as a place where the Saintess often came to pray quietly.

Belladonna cautiously walked to the entrance of the chapel.

After looking around one more time, she pushed open the tightly closed door, trying not to make any noise.

As the door opened, the cold air inside brushed against her face.

‘Let’s see….’

Belladonna raised her head and looked inside the chapel.

Perhaps because the priests took turns cleaning it, it wasn’t dirty, despite the old interior.

The wide floor was cleanly polished, and sunlight streamed in through the large windows.

The sunlight, reflected in beautiful colors through the stained glass windows, created an unknown pattern on the opposite wall.

Swallowing hard, she took another step inside, the silence and stillness palpable.

Belladonna felt an unknown sense of sacredness and walked deeper into the chapel.

‘The Bible is there.’

A Bible was placed on the altar at the far end.

Belladonna stared at it intently, then looked up at the sculpture behind it.

The marble statue of the goddess had her eyes closed but somehow gave the impression that she was watching her.

In front of the statue, Belladonna knelt and clasped her hands together.

‘Oh, God.’

Belladonna closed her eyes and began to pray.

She prayed first for the deceased Saintess Belladonna, then for Escalion in Gribalta, and for the people of the Elinus Empire, then carefully opened her eyes.

‘Please forgive me for searching the chapel.’

She repeated the thought in her heart and began to rummage through the bottom of the altar.

When she opened the unlocked doors on both sides, old candlesticks, candles, and matches were scattered around.

Belladonna rummaged through them for no reason and closed the door.

It doesn’t seem to be here….

A place where there might be a box to open with a key….

Belladonna walked around, carefully examining under the windows, under the chairs, and next to the pillars, but she couldn’t see any boxes or doors anywhere.

‘I don’t have time. I have to go to the confessional now…!’

As time passed without any luck, Belladonna became impatient and looked around the statue.

Oh, God! Is there really nothing hidden here?

She had been failing for days, and if she couldn’t find anything here either, there seemed to be no hope.

The Saintess hid it too carefully…!

Belladonna looked up at the marble statue and tried to connect with her. Please tell me….

Sparkle.

At that moment, something protruding from the bottom of the statue caught Belladonna’s eye.

‘Huh?’

Belladonna, who had placed her last hope here before going to the confessional, rushed towards it.

Her face lit up as she reached out and fiddled with the part that protruded from behind the wall.

I found it…!

With her fingertips, she felt a small gap where she could insert a key.

Belladonna quickly took out the three keys from the pouch hidden in her dress.

Please, it has to be among these….

Belladonna picked up the round key that she felt most drawn to, reached out her arm, and tried to fit it into the keyhole.

Click.

Finally, with the sound she had been waiting for, the key turned sharply to the right.

Yes! Belladonna cheered inwardly and pushed the protruding part to the opposite side in an uncomfortable position.

The part that came out from behind the statue slid open like a sliding door.

‘What could be there…?’

Belladonna, without fear, felt around inside and found a bundle of paper.

She grabbed it tightly and pulled it out.

Although it was terribly crumpled because the passage was very narrow, the paper she took out was intact.

‘This is?’

Belladonna looked down at the old notebook in her hand.

It was a kind of record, filled with someone’s handwriting.

* * *

“I have always envied her. I was the one who put poison in her soup this time. It wasn’t enough to harm her life, but it only blinded her….”

Someone in front of her was spitting out their confession, but Belladonna couldn’t concentrate properly.

Her attention was only on the notebook she had brought from the chapel.

I brought it with me, but….

It’s filled with unreadable letters!

Belladonna bit her lower lip anxiously and fidgeted with her fingers.

It doesn’t seem to be the common language here. Could it be a foreign language? Can Fabion translate it?

“Then the child suddenly started yelling at me, wouldn’t you know? …Saintess, are you listening to me?”

At that moment, the nobleman who had been passionately confessing spoke to her.

Belladonna, who was blankly looking elsewhere, was startled and turned her gaze to him.

Huh…? What did you say?

“Saintess, haven’t I made the story too difficult for you?”

The nobleman gave a twisted smile and asked.

He was trying to be polite, but his face was filled with suspicion towards Belladonna, who didn’t seem to be paying attention.

Belladonna tried not to show her embarrassment and gently smiled.

I, I’m listening!

The nobleman, reassured by her holy smile, finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Ah, I see you were worried. Where was I?”

“…….”

“Oh, right. I told you that my sister yelled at me. So I denied it. After all, the guy who can’t even see….”

As the nobleman became engrossed in the story again, Belladonna sighed inwardly and turned her gaze back to the notebook.

The old notebook found in the chapel was placed on the floor not far from where she was sitting.

I found something that could be a clue, so I have to ask Fabion for help, but there was no way to know where he was.

Do I have to wait for him to come on his own like last time? But there’s no time for that….

“Saintess…?”

“…….”

“Saintess?”

At the voice calling her, Belladonna was startled again and turned her gaze.

Although she tried to fix her expression, displeasure was already evident on the nobleman’s face.