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Chapter 6
The Castle of Griblata
‘It feels cool…’
Belladonna lowered her head as she watched the faraway sky, the leaves falling sometimes, the knights resting at a distance, and the friendly servants chatting together.
She looked at Escallion, who was now sleeping, breathing evenly beside her.
He looked the same as when she’d seen him before, on the west road from the Vatican.
When his eyes were open, he gave off a dangerous feeling, but when he was asleep, that feeling faded.
Strangely, while he slept, he looked a little like an innocent child.
Without thinking, Belladonna reached out and gently touched his thick eyebrow.
‘His eyebrows are really thick…’
They were twice as thick as hers!
She moved her finger slowly down his forehead, and then down his sharp nose.
Looking closely, she thought she understood why the maids always blushed when they looked at him.
‘He really is handsome.’
Her hand stopped for a moment on his nose, then moved down again.
Her slender fingers finally touched his full lips.
‘Soft…’
Belladonna, almost as if she was hypnotized, touched his lips gently.
Suddenly, her hand—moving so freely—was grabbed tight. Escallion woke up and sat up at once.
Belladonna found herself staring right into his golden eyes.
He looked at her and his eyes curved into a smile.
“My wife is a repeat offender.”
What? What is he talking about!
Belladonna’s face turned hot.
Escallion smiled lazily and said,
“Whenever you get a chance, you touch your husband. You keep reaching out and feeling me…”
When did I do that!
She completely forgot she had just been touching his face, and her cheeks turned red.
She twisted her body, trying to pull her hand away.
But Escallion leaned closer, his smile growing wider.
“You can’t wait that long? Even if we hurry, it’ll still take us four days to reach my estate.”
Belladonna shook her head with all her strength.
No! No! I can wait!
Suddenly, Escallion lifted his hand and covered her cheek.
“I can’t wait.”
His hot breath was so close.
Belladonna was so surprised, she couldn’t even breathe and just stared at him.
He suddenly became serious, and his golden eyes darkened.
Belladonna remembered the kiss at their wedding and closed her eyes without meaning to.
I… I don’t know anymore…!
“Sir! One of the horses pulling the carriage has been acting up for a while— Ah, I’m sorry!”
A knight came running up, about to report, then saw the duke and duchess so close together. He jumped and quickly turned away.
Belladonna, startled by the knight’s sudden voice, opened her eyes wide and looked at Escallion.
He frowned in annoyance.
He let out a low sigh and slowly turned his head.
His golden eyes looked dark as he glared at the knight.
“Do I have to personally take care of every little problem with a horse? If a horse acts up, just calm it down or feed it more.”
“S-sorry, sir. I’ll do as you say.”
“…Which horse is it?”
Even though he said that, Escallion turned away from her.
He stood up and glanced back at Belladonna sitting on the blanket.
“Rest here for a bit. With no one to bother you, you can relax more.”
Belladonna nodded a little.
As he hurried after the knight, Belladonna let out the breath she’d been holding.
Whew, that was almost a disaster…
Three days later, very late at night, their hard journey by carriage finally neared the end.
If they hadn’t used the public portals along the way, it would have taken much longer.
Belladonna looked out the now dark window at Escallion’s territory.
Griblata.
That was the name of the northern land the Emperor had given Escallion, and it would be Belladonna’s home for the next three months.
“It’s too dark to see anything,” Escallion said, opening his eyes as he sat across from her.
“Actually, that’s better. There’s nothing worth seeing yet.”
But Belladonna kept looking outside, ignoring his words.
Even though it was dark, she could see the small, simple village because the villagers had lit many lamps to welcome their lord home.
Even though it was very late, people were standing in lines by the road, waving and throwing flower petals at the knights.
They looked so cheerful and cute.
‘It feels familiar, like where I lived before,’ Belladonna thought, smiling without realizing it.
It had been a hard life, but there were many memories there, too.
Escallion rested his chin on his arm and quietly watched her looking out the window.
What is she so amazed by? Like a child, she kept turning her head, looking everywhere.
He snorted, but couldn’t look away from her. Even in the dark, her blue eyes shined brightly.
The carriage passed through the village and moved toward the big castle in the deepest part of the land.
She could hear the knights talking as they arrived, and the old wooden gates of the castle slowly opened with a creak.
Finally, the carriage stopped at the main gate.
“Lord, madam, thank you for traveling such a long way,”
said an old butler, bowing as he opened the carriage door.
Escallion jumped down first and offered his big, strong hand to Belladonna.
By now, she was used to holding his hand as she got out.
“This is the butler of the castle. He takes care of everything, so if you have questions, just ask him.”
“My name is Wolf. I will do my best to help you settle in, madam.”
Belladonna nodded and gave him a bright smile.
Wolf smiled gently back at her.
He seems like a really kind grandpa…
“It’s late, so please go to your bedroom. I’ll tell the maids to fill the bath with hot water.”
“Good. Make sure the knights and servants get plenty of hot water and good food, too.”
“Yes, sir.”
Escallion gave Wolf a few more instructions and then let go of Belladonna’s hand, walking quickly up the stairs into the castle.
As he left, Cindy and the other maids came to Belladonna’s side.
“Madam, please come with us.”
Belladonna nodded and followed them.
Inside, Belladonna saw a tall ceiling and a more elegant hall than she expected.
Wow, Escallion’s taste is fancier than I thought.
She had only ever seen the Vatican, but even she could tell the castle looked nice.
“Sorry, madam. Our lord lived alone for so long, so the castle is quite plain.”
Plain? This is plain?
Wolf followed, watching Belladonna carefully.
“No matter how much we asked, he never wanted to redecorate. We haven’t changed anything, so you can arrange the castle however you like.”
But I don’t know how to do that!
“I’ll call in some merchants soon. Take your time and choose what you like.”
Belladonna looked around again.
No matter how you look at it, this isn’t plain at all…
“Madam, let’s go up to the second floor.”
Belladonna nodded and followed Cindy up the grand stairs.
A heavy carpet, beautiful paintings, and neat vases decorated the halls. It didn’t look like a knight’s castle at all.
‘Did someone else decorate this before I came?’
Cindy led her to a room on the right side of the second floor.
Inside, Belladonna found a big window, a bed facing the window, a dressing table, some small shelves, and a door to a bathroom.
“This will be your room, madam. You can decorate it as you like.”
Belladonna gave an awkward smile and nodded.
“You must be tired after your journey. Let me help you change. Please sit by the dressing table.”
Belladonna sat quietly on the chair.
‘It’s different here… I can’t just sit and smile anymore.’
At the Vatican, all she had to do was smile and nod, and everything was fine. No one wanted her opinion anyway.
But here, things were different.
Even if it was only for three months, she was now the lady of the castle.
‘They’ll probably ask for my opinion on everything. I might have to write things down to answer them…’
Belladonna stared at herself in the mirror, thinking about what to do.
As the maids took off her hair ornaments and started unbuttoning her dress, Belladonna got bored sitting still and opened a drawer in the dressing table.
Slide.
Huh? What’s this?
She looked inside, surprised.
Instead of being empty, the drawer held a beautiful ruby necklace.
Not only that, but it looked like someone had already worn it.
