Chapter 50. Meeting with Scarlett (2)
Huh…? You… you did?
Belladonna’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Escallion, while Scarlett raised an eyebrow.
“Did you not consider your wife’s wishes at all?”
“I brought her here so I could treat her well.”
“You’re shameless.”
Belladonna blinked as she watched the not-so-ordinary banter between the siblings. She figured Escallion had answered that way on her behalf.
“You must have a hard time, ma’am.”
Belladonna scribbled quickly:
[My husband treats me so well, there’s nothing difficult about it.]
“You don’t need to lie for Escallion’s sake.”
It’s not a lie…
Scarlett’s face remained unchanged as she quietly added,
“Still, I’m glad. At least it seems he’s not neglecting you.”
The sharpness in her words made Escallion set down his silverware. Belladonna nervously swallowed as she watched him.
“Scarlett.”
At last, Escallion spoke. Scarlett kept slicing the tomato on her plate with a long knife, but nodded.
“Yeah?”
“There’s something I want to say.”
“Go ahead.”
Escallion paused to look at Belladonna, meeting her eyes. She gave a small nod, and with a sigh, he brushed his hair back and spoke.
“I want to apologize for my indifference all this time.”
Scarlett’s head shot up at the sudden apology, her expression crumpling a bit.
“What’s this about?”
“You might have thought I neglected and ignored you.”
“That’s exactly what happened.”
“Back then, I thought I didn’t have the strength to protect you. I was new to having a sister. I was inexperienced.”
“I never asked you to take responsibility for me. I never asked you to show up and act like my brother, either.”
Scarlett’s voice was sharp. Belladonna realized just how deep the wounds between the siblings ran.
Escallion gazed at her, quiet for a moment before continuing.
“I know.”
“…”
“I wanted to do those things.”
Scarlett’s lower lip trembled as she set her fork down, her gaze wavering.
“When our parents died and I was living alone… I heard I had a surviving family member.”
“…”
“At first, I tried to ignore it. I didn’t consider some kid I’d never lived with or met as family.”
Scarlett lifted her glass with a trembling hand and gulped the water.
“But when I saw you—my father’s spitting image… well, basically, someone who looked like me…”
Escallion trailed off. He glanced at Belladonna, then forced himself to continue.
“…I wanted to take care of you.”
“…”
“I apologize for how clumsy I was. I’m sorry for hurting you without meaning to. It was never because I was ashamed of you or didn’t want others to know about you.”
“Sigh…”
“I’m sorry for the misunderstandings, too. I’ve never cared what others think, so I let rumors grow. I didn’t realize how much harder it made things for you until now.”
Belladonna watched as Scarlett struggled to keep her composure, fighting back tears behind her mask of indifference.
“Anyway… you both know I’m no good with words.”
Belladonna nodded slightly.
“Yeah, well, I’m sorry, that’s all I wanted to say. Let’s just eat.”
With that, Escallion stabbed a piece of steak and placed it on Belladonna’s plate—a gesture to hide his embarrassment. Belladonna gave him a warm smile, understanding.
An awkward silence settled over the table, broken only by the quiet clink of silverware.
At last, Scarlett murmured,
“God, you’re really bad at talking.”
Both Escallion and Belladonna turned to her at once. But Scarlett, as if nothing had happened, exhaled lightly.
“So… can I come by often from now on? Don’t flatter yourself—it’s not because I want to see you. I want to see your wife.”
Escallion smirked and nodded.
“As often as you like.”
A little later, Belladonna returned to the drawing room. The siblings, left alone in awkward silence, now looked at her as if she were a savior.
“Belladona.”
“Welcome back! Where did you go?”
Were they waiting for me? She smiled at the matching golden eyes.
She held something out to Scarlett.
“Oh? This is…”
It was the ruby necklace Belladonna had once found in a drawer.
Scarlett took it, surprised.
“Where did you find this? I thought I lost it when I stayed here before.”
“What’s that?” Escallion asked.
“It’s the birthday present you gave me, dummy.”
“Ah.”
Scarlett shot Escallion a glare, then turned to Belladonna, smiling.
“Thank you so much for finding it. It meant a lot to me… I was a little sad when I thought it was lost.”
“…”
“It was the best birthday present I ever got—though I doubt the person who gave it even remembers.”
“Of course I remember. It was the first time I ever spent that much money on something.”
Escallion grumbled, pulling out a chair for Belladonna and holding her hand as she sat.
Scarlett watched Escallion’s careful treatment of his wife and suddenly remarked,
“You two look close.”
“I always treat my people well.”
“I wonder where your conscience went? Or is it just your memory that’s faulty?”
“And you can’t recall a single thing I’ve ever given you, can you?”
Belladonna watched their back-and-forth, amused by their sibling squabbling.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. Wolf entered, looking uncomfortable.
“My lord…”
“What is it?”
Wolf hesitated, glancing at Belladonna.
“Um, there’s a letter you really should see right away. I’m sorry to interrupt your family time—could I borrow you for just ten minutes?”
“Does it have to be now?”
“I’m not sure what it is, but it’s sealed with a confidential mark. I was worried it might be urgent…”
Wolf kept glancing at Belladonna, making her tense. Could it be something from the Pope? She gripped her hands in her lap.
“Urgent, you say?”
“Oh, it might not be, but such confidential letters are rare. I just thought you should check quickly.”
Escallion frowned, obviously reluctant to leave his wife and sister. But after catching Wolf’s persistent glance at Belladonna, she gently nudged Escallion to go.
“Fine, I’ll go check. I want some alone time to talk to your wife anyway,” Scarlett teased.
With that, Escallion stood up, clearly dissatisfied, but paused to place a soft kiss on the back of Belladonna’s hand before leaving.
“Wow…”
Scarlett stared, mouth agape.
“That’s the first time I’ve seen Escallion look like such a lovesick fool.”
Lovesick fool…? Belladonna was taken aback by her blunt words.
“He’s usually either icy and blank, or just light and unbothered. You can never tell what he’s thinking. I had no idea he could look like that.”
“…”
“He really does care about you, you know.”
Scarlett swirled her drink with a straw as Belladonna picked up her notepad and quickly wrote:
[He cares about you too, just as much.]
Scarlett glanced down, read it, and smiled.
“I know. I realize, in his own way, he does try for me. I’m just not the easiest person. I owe him an apology, too, for always being so prickly.”
She trailed off, stirring her drink.
“I’m glad Escallion found someone good. I used to worry he’d never manage a real family—with that personality, always keeping things light, but running away from anything deep.”
Scarlett gave a gentle smile, swinging one leg playfully.
“Escallion is actually surprisingly sensitive.”
Belladonna listened quietly, surprised.
“I think he avoids deep connections because he’s afraid of being hurt. He was always popular with women, but never had a serious relationship.”
“…”
“At first, I wondered if something was wrong with him, or if he had… unusual tastes. But as I got older, I realized…”
Scarlett’s voice softened.
“He lost his family young, didn’t he?”
That’s true…
Belladonna nodded. Escallion was afraid. He was afraid that a new family, too, might one day leave him behind.
