Chapter 25. Kisses Are Forbidden Too
Escallion pressed his forehead to Belladonna’s and stared into her eyes deeply.
Belladonna felt her mouth go dry and clenched her hands on her lap.
It was hard to look him in the eyes when he was this close.
“Are you surprised?”
Escallion asked.
Belladonna nodded, still not looking at him, feeling their foreheads touching.
Of course she was surprised. He suddenly brought his face so close!
“Sorry.”
He apologized.
“But… there’s one more thing I want to do, even if I have to apologize.”
Before Belladonna could ask what he meant, he grabbed her chin with one hand and kissed her right away.
Belladonna froze at the sudden kiss.
His thick tongue pushed into her mouth, and she struggled to keep her mind clear.
Her head was pulled back and forth as Escallion held her tightly and kissed her over and over.
She could hear his rough breathing in the tiny pauses when their lips parted.
While they were kissing, a strange, wet sound filled the air between them.
Belladonna closed her eyes tightly without meaning to.
It all felt unreal—like a dream she hadn’t woken from.
‘And…’
This kiss was nothing like the one in the forest a few days ago.
Escallion was much more desperate now, less gentle and less controlled.
She started to run out of breath, but he didn’t stop.
He kept kissing her, his hand moving from her head to her ear.
When his big fingers touched her ear, Belladonna flinched hard and trembled.
“Haa…”
Finally, Escallion slowly pulled away.
Belladonna looked up at him with shaking eyelashes.
His eyes looked glazed over, and his lips were red and messy with saliva.
Belladonna couldn’t look at him and squeezed her eyes shut again.
“You look so… sexy.”
Escallion whispered, staring down at her.
His words made Belladonna want to cover her ears with her hands right away.
“Why are you closing your eyes again?”
He touched the corner of her eyes gently with his finger.
Where he touched, her skin felt hot.
“Do you… want me to kiss you more?”
No way! Belladonna quickly shook her head.
No, that’s not it!
“Why not? Didn’t you like it?”
Didn’t like it?
Belladonna slowly opened her eyes. Was he asking if she liked the kiss?
She looked up and met Escallion’s golden eyes, which were watching her carefully.
He looked nervous, maybe worried, maybe hoping for something.
But Belladonna wasn’t sure how to answer.
‘I don’t have much experience with this…!’
She’d only kissed him at their wedding, once at the lake, and again just now when she barely knew what was happening.
She couldn’t tell if his kiss was better or worse than someone else’s—she had no one to compare it to.
‘How do I really feel…?’
Belladonna put a hand on her chest.
Her heart was beating so fast.
Her head was spinning like she was still dreaming.
And when the kiss ended, she actually felt a tiny bit disappointed…
‘At least, it didn’t feel bad.’
Belladonna nodded slowly, deciding in her heart.
As soon as he saw her answer, Escallion’s face lit up with relief.
He clumsily tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Good. I don’t have much experience either.”
Belladonna blinked up at him.
Was her playboy husband pretending to be shy again?
But he was blushing, and it didn’t look like a lie.
Belladonna let out a small sigh, still confused.
“I didn’t mean to do this from the start… Should we get up?”
Escallion scratched the back of his head, then offered his hand.
Belladonna stared at it for a moment, then took it and stood up from the window sill.
“The sill looked hard and uncomfortable, so I wanted to move you to the bedroom. I didn’t mean for this to happen…”
“Can you walk? Are you still sleepy, or weak? Want me to carry you?”
Escallion sat on the desk and looked at her.
Belladonna shook her head.
“Then what? Want to keep studying?”
Studying…
Belladonna glanced at the thick account book Wolf left on the desk and frowned.
She really didn’t want to study.
Escallion reached out and rubbed between her eyebrows, then laughed quietly.
“Does my wife hate studying that much?”
Belladonna blinked, embarrassed.
Did she make it too obvious?
Escallion lifted her hand and kissed the back of it with a soft, wet sound.
“Should I tell Wolf you want to quit? If you don’t want to, you don’t have to do it. Wolf can handle things fine by himself.”
Belladonna looked at him without saying anything.
They had a little more than two months left as husband and wife. She wanted to do her best as his wife until then…
Escallion kept his lips on her hand and murmured,
“I don’t mind if my wife just enjoys life in my castle. You don’t have to learn housework. You must have done a lot as the Saint in Astanya, so here, you can rest and have fun.”
Astanya.
Just thinking about that place now made Belladonna feel choked.
But at the same time, she felt grateful for Escallion’s words.
‘What if I really didn’t have to go back? What if I could just stay with him and rest?’
But Belladonna shook her head inside.
She wasn’t the real Saint Belladonna.
If things ever returned to normal, the real Saint would come back, and she’d have to give everything back.
‘It’s not up to me…’
And she could never go against the Pope’s will.
A commoner from Astanya couldn’t make that choice.
Belladonna slowly pulled her hand away.
Escallion looked up at her, confused.
But she didn’t want to upset him, so she forced herself to smile gently.
She pointed to the account book Wolf left.
“You really want to study?”
She nodded.
“My wife is so responsible.”
Escallion smiled with pride.
Belladonna smiled back, feeling a little guilty.
“Okay then. Just don’t push yourself.”
Escallion got up from the desk and patted her head gently.
“I wanted to spend more time with you today, but you’re so firm about studying, I guess I can’t.”
“See you at dinner. Looks like we can eat together tonight.”
He touched her cheek lightly, then turned to leave.
Belladonna watched his wide back as he walked out the door.
Once he was gone, she slumped over the desk and let out a huge sigh.
“Haaah…”
My head hurts!
Everything is so confusing.
“Why am I getting closer to that man…?”
I have to go back to Astanya in two months. Why do I keep…
Belladonna messed up her hair with both hands.
Just thinking about what happened made her heart race again.
Lost in thought, Belladonna touched her lips.
“What am I doing…?”
She whispered quietly.
Getting closer like this was dangerous for both of them.
She couldn’t forget—after two months, she had to leave!
Belladonna slapped her cheeks lightly to clear her head.
‘I should keep my distance from now on! If we get any closer and then have to divorce, he’ll be so angry…’
Escallion hated betrayal more than anything.
‘And he still has…’
She remembered seeing him with Scarlet Layton, and her heart calmed down quickly.
Anyway, nothing with Scarlet was settled yet.
“That’s right.”
Belladonna whispered softly.
From now on, she would try her best to keep some distance from Escallion!
She wiped her lips with the back of her hand.
…No more kisses! Kisses are forbidden!
But how did things end up like this…?
Belladonna blinked weakly, feeling Escallion’s warmth behind her as he hugged her tightly from behind.
She looked down and saw his thick arms wrapped around her waist.
“Bella.”
His deep voice came softly in her ear.
So…
‘Even though I want to keep my distance…’
Belladonna stared helplessly into the air.
So this is…?
