Don’T Get Caught By Your Husband! [EN]: Chapter 91

#91. A Song in Memory

It was the dead of night.

Belladonna frowned, pushing away Escalio, who was pressing his hot body against her once again.

“Enough for tonight…”

But Escalio lowered his head to her, offering no verbal response to her soft voice.

Belladonna had no choice but to grip the back of his head.

Soft black hair tickled her fingers.

How long is this going to last…!

Belladonna regretted provoking him so fearlessly in the bathroom and tilted her chin up slightly.

Once again, her mind began to drift.

* * *

“Bella, are you asleep?”

Escalio asked, pressing his lips against Belladonna’s cheek.

Belladonna, who had been dozing off face down on the bed, slowly opened her eyes.

“Drink some water before you sleep. Your throat must be sore.”

“……”

*Who* was the one who made my throat sore….

Belladonna glared at him subtly, then sat up and took the glass of water.

“How much have those damn bastards from Astagne been overworking you? Your stamina seems worse than it was a few months ago.”

“……Or perhaps you’ve just gotten stronger?”

“Look out the window, Bella. It’s still dark. How can you be tired already?”

“You noticed? Yes, it’s a dark night. It’s time to sleep!”

As the lukewarm water soothed her throat, she felt a little relief from the parched feeling.

“You were the one who boldly dragged me into the bathtub.”

Escalio’s lips curved into a smile as he reached out a finger to poke Belladonna’s cheek.

Yes, I’m regretting that now!

Escalio, who had been studying Belladonna as if she was very angry, took the glass from her and placed it on the bedside table.

He pulled Belladonna close, arranging her so she was lying down with his arm as a pillow.

He playfully patted her stomach and said,

“Alright, I’ll put you to sleep before you get any angrier.”

“Aren’t you going to sleep, Escalio?”

Belladonna looked up at Escalio, who seemed far too energetic, and asked.

“After I see you fall asleep.”

“Aren’t you sleepy?”

“Not really.”

He shrugged.

Hmm… Belladonna narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing him.

This man, he’s going to wake me up again in the middle of the night….

“You’re looking at me with very distrustful eyes.”

“I wish you would sleep with me now.”

“There’s only one way to make me sleep. Completely exhaust me. But can my wife do that?”

“……”

It was impossible.

Belladonna turned her head away from him.

Escalio chuckled, finding her reaction endearing, then poked her nose.

“If you’re that desperate, why don’t you sing me a song?”

“A song?”

“Yeah. Like a lullaby.”

Belladonna stared at his shameless face.

Is he someone who enjoys making others sing? He did this before….

Besides, he didn’t seem like he would fall asleep quickly just by listening to a lullaby.

“I only know one song.”

“That labor song?”

“Yes, but that’s not a lullaby.”

“It could be a lullaby depending on who’s singing it. Broaden your mind a little.”

Who sings a labor song as a lullaby…? That energetic song…?

She could see a mischievous glint in his golden eyes.

Confirming his playful intent, Belladonna felt a strange sense of defiance rising up. If that’s the case, then she’ll have to put him to sleep properly!

She sat up, caressing Escalio’s firm abdomen, and began to sing.

“I wish upon the sky… for a bountiful harvest….”

“Hahaha.”

Escalio burst out laughing, finding her attempt amusing.

*Don’t laugh and listen properly!* Belladonna continued to pat his stomach, unfazed.

“Beautiful and… small… bird….”

As if he was proud of her, Escalio looked up at her with a smile.

“You’re like a lovely nightingale.”

“Be quiet. I’m singing.”

“Alright.”

At Belladonna’s gentle rebuke, he closed his eyes.

She looked down at him, who was straightening his posture, then cleared her throat again and continued.

“Hope… dwells… on your small wings….”

The song continued for a while.

Whether her song truly served as a lullaby, Escalio’s face, which had been twitching at the corners of his mouth, gradually calmed.

Belladonna looked down at him, who seemed to have fallen asleep, with a triumphant expression.

Success?

“But you.”

Escalio opened his eyes.

Failure.

“Yes?”

“Where exactly did you live in Astagne?”

That question again?

Belladonna met his gaze.

“Um… you wouldn’t know even if I told you. It’s far away from the Vatican.”

“Towards the western Bachenshium?”

“Oh? That’s right.”

Come to think of it, Escalio had stayed in Astagne during his mercenary days.

Did he live there too?

At Belladonna’s answer, Escalio’s expression shifted strangely.

“To be exact, it’s a little further into Bachenshium, a very rural village. It probably doesn’t even appear on the map.”

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Escalio, who had been lying still and looking up at her, sat up.

He raised a hand to his forehead and sighed.

“It might sound like crazy talk, but….”

*What on earth is he trying to say?*

“If I said I met your previous life, would I sound like a madman?”

“……Me?”

It was a completely unexpected statement.

He met my previous life? At least in her memory, she had never met a mercenary like Escalio.

“Of course, I didn’t directly meet you face to face and have a conversation, but….”

“……”

“There was a large tree I used to go to often, and the song I heard when I took a nap there seems quite similar. Your song, I mean.”

“That can’t be….”

Belladonna shook her head.

“I, I haven’t even heard of a mercenary visiting our neighborhood, and I’ve never seen anyone like you.”

“Because I didn’t live there.”

“Then….”

“Damn it, what am I saying? Even as I speak….”

Escalio ran his hands through his hair wildly, as if frustrated.

Soon, he raised his head.

“While traveling around the country, I stayed in Astagne for a long time. Do you know what it means to build a career as a mercenary? It means I killed and hurt a lot of people.”

“……”

“At that time, I was only nineteen years old. I was busy pretending to be strong when I was with the men during the day, but when the dark night came….”

He paused and lowered his head.

Belladonna placed her hand on his shoulder.

Even without further explanation, she understood what he wanted to say.

The young Escalio, who had chosen the path of becoming a mercenary for survival, harbored deep self-loathing for the harm he was forced to inflict.

“Escalio….”

“They appeared like nightmares at night. The faces of those who fought with me.”

“……”

“So I couldn’t sleep properly at night. Instead, on days when I didn’t have work, I would search for the quietest and most peaceful place possible and settle down to sleep in a shade that seemed appropriate.”

The image of him as a child in the story overlapped with the image she had encountered in the Vatican’s forbidden area.

So, sleeping carelessly in such places was probably an old habit….

“Then I heard a song.”

Escalio blurted out.

“Strangely… I slept well when I heard that song. Even though I thought it was a strange song that I had never heard before, when I came to my senses, it was already dark. On days when I fell into a deep sleep after hearing that song, I felt like I was possessed by something.”

Then that song….

“I realized then that a song could be a comfort to people. After that, I went to that spot whenever I had time, as if it had become my regular seat, and the life of falling into a sweet sleep while listening to the song continued for some time.”

*If he had just come quietly, listened to the song, and returned, they would not have met,* she thought.

So really… were Escalio and I together at that time?

“That day. The day I first met you at the Vatican. I heard a song in my sleep.”

“……”

“Actually, I didn’t think from the beginning that the saint of Astagne sang that song. When I first opened my eyes, I just thought I had a dream where a song was playing.”

Belladonna recalled that time silently.

“But the sight of you running away in a hurry, or the way you kept being nervous and looking around whenever that story came up… so I ended up getting married without even wanting to… ha, I don’t know what I’m saying. You can just ignore it.”

“No, Escalio.”

Belladonna moved her hand that she had placed on his shoulder.

“Maybe really… we might have met before.”

“Bella…”

“No, even if that’s not the case, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you were comforted.”

Escalio raised his golden eyes and met Belladonna’s eyes.

Belladonna gently stroked his face and smiled.

“From now on, I’ll sing you a song every night. On days when you can’t sleep, on days when you keep having bad thoughts, on days when you’re tired and exhausted.”

“I’m fine now, so don’t worry. Rather, I’ve become so dull that you should be worried about me instead.”

Escalio chuckled.

That was true. The tormented young mercenary of the past no longer existed.

He had hardened his heart to protect what was precious to him.

*That would be a problem, though.*

Escalio blinked slowly.

His wife’s gentle and warm gesture washed over him.

“Then I’ll just sing it to you on days when you want to hear it.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“Right?”

“Yeah. Really. It’s really reassuring.”

Escalio pulled Belladonna close and hugged her tightly.

The small and beautiful nightingale-like woman was deeply embedded in his heart.

“Shall I sing you more songs?”

“Yeah, sing to me.”

Escalio muttered in response.

Belladonna smiled softly and leaned against his solid chest, opening her mouth.