The girl entered the room, and the men, like disobedient pupils before a teacher, first sat down more evenly, and then each stood up and offered her his chair to sit in.

"Are you two drinking?" Belle walked over to the table and picked up the empty brandy bottle and held it up to the light - the liquid was no longer there.

Gaston rubbed his ears with his palms, a sure way to quickly get rid of a hangover or at least regain some consciousness. The blood rushed to his brain, and he was able to answer almost without stammering.

"It was only half, that is, a third, that is, a quarter of a bottle for two, it's nothing."

"I see..." Belle sat back in her chair and, smiling sweetly, asked Adam. "So what kind of surprise have you prepared for me, Adam?"

"Um, surprise? - The prince stared at Gaston, waiting for a hint, and Gaston, while Belle turned away, made a movement with his hands as if opening a book."Are there new books in the library? Yes, there are new books in the library," he said more confidently, improvising as he went along. "First edition by the author... the author... Well, you'll see for yourself."

Belle raised an eyebrow:

"And it couldn't wait until morning?"

"Of course not. You wouldn't have forgiven me if it had taken me so long to inform you of such a find..."

"Great story," the girl clapped her hands together, then turned to Gaston. "Gaston? Gaston?" she asked sternly and insistently.

Gaston bit his lip, trying to think of the right words to say so that Belle wouldn't be too frightened by what had happened. To make her less nervous, but nothing suitable came to mind. She seemed to have read his mind somehow, because she softened a little and said:

"I'm all right, Mrs Potts said that if I feel all right and nothing hurts, it's all right to walk even for a short time. Tell me what's wrong, tell me the truth. I'm really all right."

"Those bastards are here in town," Gaston exhaled and sat on the edge of the chair, wrapping his hands around his head. "Jeannette caught me at the market and told me that if I didn't do what they wanted me to do, they would sic the war marshals on us. She said so much that I couldn't contradict her, she says, like, give back the bracelet and the dress if you're not a thief, and how are we going to do that? She says the Marquis, after the blow on the head, is anxious to put... put you in jail."

There was silence. Belle and Adam looked anxiously at Gaston.

"But why didn't you say anything to me?" Belle touched his hand. "Why didn't you consult me?"

Gaston didn't have time to answer, but the girl had already realised.

"God..." she stood up. "You were worried about me. But you still shouldn't take everything on yourself. You shouldn't have to solve all the problems alone, I'm not that weak, " Belle walked back to the chair and looked Gaston in the eyes. "What did they want from you?"

"Nothing in particular."

"Nothing in particular-and yet they were blackmailing you for my safety?" Her eyes seemed to see right through him, and it was useless to think of anything else.

"They wanted me to steal valuables from the castle. They threatened to do it themselves if I told the prince or anyone else and he got hurt. And since it turns out they had been watching all of us for a long time and I hadn't noticed, I was afraid there were more members of their gang here than we knew. So I just did what they wanted. Then I thought about explaining to Adam what I'd done and why. Everything would be okay."

"Everything would be okay... - Belle echoed. "But since you moved us to the castle in the dead of night, something else must have happened? I mean, you did what they demanded. So..." she frowned. "They wanted something else?" Belle frowned harder. - "She... She wanted something else!"

"How do you know that?!" Gaston asked shocked, and Belle apparently realised that she had hit the right spot by guessing.

"Adam, please come out," Belle stood up and touched the prince's shoulder.

"Belle, we can't kick the prince out of his own rooms!" Gaston exclaimed, not wanting the prince to leave them alone for this serious conversation.

But Adam was startled by Belle's scowl and hurried out the door, muttering that he himself needed to go out for a while.

"What did she want?" Belle stepped closer to Gaston and he backed away. "What the fuck did she want with you?"

Gaston looked away.

"S- Spend the night with me."

"God, no..." Belle put her hand to her forehead like she had a headache and collapsed into the chair. "No, you shouldn't have agreed... You should have told me..." She removed her hand from her forehead and drummed her fingers silently on the table. "I'll kill her," she said suddenly, completely calm, but in a way that Gaston believed her for some reason.

"Come on, Belle, it's not a problem," he said, leaning over to her and taking her by the shoulders. "Anyway, it didn't work out, that's why we're here. We'll just have to figure out a way to keep the military marshals off our backs when they get here.

"No, I'm not leaving it like that," Belle said, getting up from her chair and pacing around the room. "The lustful creature! How dare she infringe on you, blackmailing my freedom? How vile! "Belle paced around the room faster, getting hotter and waving her arms around. "What didn't work out? And what did? Did she kiss you? Groped you?"

Gaston swallowed, chasing away the nausea.

"No, God, of course not, Belle. And let's not talk about that."

"No, I want to know how hurt you are."

"I'm not hurt at all, Belle. One woman more, one woman less. It's not a big deal."

He was deliberately steering the conversation in that direction, but Belle didn't fall for it. She stopped, her face very sad.

"I know what you're talking about, Gaston. You're saying it's ok... "IIt's not a big deal"-how can you say that about yourself? One woman more, one woman less - no, that's not true. You wanted the other woman yourself, it was voluntary. And you'd never want to steal from your friend. And here they blackmail you into making a living doll out of you, forcing you to do things you would never do willingly. They used your love for me and your wish to protect me... Damn it... It's terrible that you had to go through that... I... I know what I'm talking about..." She stared out the window with a blank stare. "You say to yourself - your beloved person is too weak to withstand what threatens him, he will not be able to cope, he will die or go mad... Will be destroyed... And for yourself it costs nothing, a little action... Sacrifice yourself so that your beloved person is not hurt... And sometimes even did not notice your sacrifice, so that he continues to live quietly, can smile..."

Gaston realised she was talking about her father. And herself.

"But it's only later, when you're finally alone with yourself, that the demons come to you and put their hands around your shoulders. And they ask you, they ask you - what would have happened if there had been an adult, a strong man around? Would you have to agree to blackmail? Would you have to throw yourself forward like a piece of meat in front of wolves or dogs, pretending that you don't care about anything? Or would it have been possible to defy the troubles together, or at least discuss with a loved one what we were facing?"

She turned round and stepped closer to Gaston, taking his hands in hers.

"Belle, sometimes you don't have time to think, to consult, you just have time to act.

And I just don't want you to get any worse than you were then. I wouldn't forgive myself for that."

Belle squeezed Gaston's hands tighter.

"Gaston, Mrs Potts said just not to scandalise me a hundred times a day, but I can handle a normal conversation, I'm not that weak, I repeat! I'm bloody strong! I may not look intimidating, but I've had to be strong all my life. I grew up in a house where things exploded all the time. I used these "little hands" as you say, to push a rather heavy father away at the age of six to stop a beam from falling on his head from the shed roof after another explosion! I put out fires! I jumped away from red-hot metal that suddenly sparked, I neutralised poisonous impurities from broken flasks! I can ride! I'm a hunter's wife, how can I be weak, after all, I'm the one who guts the deer carcasses you bring and I'm the one who puts them on the spit to roast them! How can I be weak? And yes, I'm the one who kicked that marquis in the head with my little hands because he wanted to rape me! And the only thing I regret now is that I don't have that bitch Jeannette in front of me, who wanted my man! You don't know how itching I am to teach her a good lesson!" She took a breath and looked into his eyes. "Gaston, I am capable of carrying and giving birth to our baby. I am a woman, not a strange child, I don't need to be patronised and shut out from the world. I want to stand by your side, not hide behind your back."

Belle put her arms around Gaston and in her embrace he felt calm and safe.

"Okay, Belle, I understand," Gaston spoke softly, kissing her hair. "Maybe you can think of something to do if the military marshals come here. How do we say it's not our fault? They're pinning it on the bracelet and the dress, saying we're burglars."

Belle drew back a little and, after thinking, looked him in the eye:

"Those things you took at the castle - they have them?"

"Yes."

"Then they're the ones who'll go to jail. They can't get away with it, it's a game of twisting the facts."

There was a knock at the door, and the prince looked in.

"Are you finished? I have a plan."

"Is it cunning enough?" Gaston asked.

"Oh, yes. Come, I'll show you my lovely casemates. I bet Cogsworth hasn't shown them to you yet."

"I've been there without a excursion," Belle laughed.

The three of them left the room to go down the main wide staircase, then headed for the tower.