As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover

“Once popular?” Luize asked with a puzzled look.

“Yes. People sometimes refer to a bracelet as a thread that connects relationships. Giving a bracelet as a gift means you hope the bond between you will never break. Even if a bracelet that’s been worn for a long time breaks, the mark it leaves on the skin is because of this thread of connection.”

“I see. That’s a beautiful meaning.”

“I think so too.”

When engaged in outdoor activities, the parts of the body exposed to the sun naturally get tanned. The untanned area covered by the bracelet was called the ‘thread of connection,’ a term popular among commoners, knights, and servants who frequently worked outdoors. Nowadays, the meaning has become more vague, and it is simply given to someone precious.

Her hand, which was touching the pendant on her necklace, paused. “If I had known it had that meaning, I would have given you a magically enchanted bracelet that doesn’t break.”

“I’m satisfied with this one. It’s the most special bracelet in the world to me, with its purple gemstone. If it breaks, I hope Miss Luize will give me a new gift before the mark disappears.”

When he shamelessly hinted at wanting another gift, Luize chuckled softly. “Alright, I’ll do that. I’m glad you like it.”

Edward’s gaze turned to the pendant on Luize’s necklace. “Do you know the meaning of a necklace as a gift?”

“Yes. But Edward didn’t give it to me with that meaning. This was given for safety, like locating me or maintaining body temperature during expeditions, instead of the team members’ cufflinks.”

Edward carefully wrapped his right hand around Luize’s hand, which was holding the pendant. “The meaning of a necklace gift is ‘I’ll give you half of my heart.’”

“…”

“I probably wasn’t wrong. Knowing the meaning now means my future self also knew it.”

Luize blinked her eyes with a flushed face. Her heart pounded fast. She wanted to say something, but her lips wouldn’t part.

“May I borrow your hand to thank you?”

Luize nodded slowly and gave him her hand. Edward carefully took her hand and kissed the back of it. The gentle touch of his lips made her hand feel warm. His gaze lingered on her lips for a moment before meeting her eyes.

“Miss Luize.”

Luize recalled rumors about him after a long time. His captivating red eyes, as if they were plucked from a demon’s heart, his deep, abyss-like pupils, his sweet voice, and his sculpted body crafted by a master artisan. If a creature designed to tempt humans existed, it would look like Edward.

“I’d like to commit a slight rudeness if that’s alright.”

A strange sensation emerged from his calm voice. For this moment, she wanted to forget they were on an expedition and that he had lost seven years of his memory.

Luize swallowed slowly and answered aloud this time. “Okay.”

He lifted his hand to gently cup her cheek. As their breaths slowly mingled, the air around them grew warm. Their gazes locked intensely in midair until her purple eyes were slowly covered by her silver lashes. The moment his breath touched her lips…

Startled by the knock, Luize opened her eyes wide. His crimson gaze was right in front of her.

“Your Excellency, it’s Robin! Today is your regular check-up. Are you there?”

“…”

“…”

At that moment, as Luize tried to push him away, Edward grabbed her hand and placed it around his neck. In a low voice, he replied, “Come back later. Postpone it by an hour.”

“Pardon?

, yes.”

He supported the back of her head with his right hand. Her purple eyes trembled slightly with confusion. Just as Luize was about to protest,

“I’ll continue being rude.”

Their lips met.

“Your Excellency, I have a question!”

It was just past the halfway mark of the hour when Hendrik’s loud voice came from behind the door. They stopped, and Edward slowly pulled back, looking at Luize with darkened eyes. Her trembling silver lashes revealed her purple eyes.

Luize panted with a flushed face. At some point, she found herself lying on Edward’s bed. The tension in Edward’s clenched fist next to her thigh eased.

“We were interrupted at just the right moment. It would be best to stop here.” He continued in a low, restrained voice. “Because I don’t think I can hold back any longer.”

He left a soft, brief kiss on her lips as if placing a period at the end of a sentence. Their gazes met closely again. The sudden change from the intense atmosphere to a cute ending left Luize touching her lips with a flustered expression.

“…Alright.”

Though Edward’s smile was the same as usual, his eyes looked more dangerous than ever. She felt that if they continued, they might indeed end up doing something in this non-soundproof building where the knights were.

As he straightened his clothes, Edward spoke. “Go downstairs. I’ll join you soon.”

“Pardon? Yes! I’ll wait downstairs then!”

Hendrik made a deliberate noise as he went downstairs.

Luize quietly headed to her room without making a sound.

* * *

Late in the evening, Robin entered Luize’s room with a wooden box. “Miss Luize, please sit in the chair. I’ll start the check-up. Even though I’m not a healer or a knight, regular check-ups are important, and His Excellency has instructed me to visit you as well. Is that alright?”

“…Yes.”

“But why is your lip so swollen? It looks quite serious. Did you eat something unusual? You’ve scratched it too? Oh dear. There’s even a scab from where it burst. Unless someone bit and sucked on it for a long time…

.”

Luize lowered her head with a red face. Robin’s eyes trembled like a shaking aspen tree.

“By any chance… No, don’t answer that. I guess the cause isn’t food. I’ll prescribe you an ointment for abrasions and swelling. As you know, cold compresses will help reduce the swelling quickly.”

“Yes…” Her voice was tinged with embarrassment.

“I see now why His Excellency sent me to someone who doesn’t need a check-up. How is His Excellency’s body so perfectly fine while Miss Luize ends up like this?”

“T-That’s because… Well, Hendrik interrupted us after a little while.”

“Please, don’t answer. No need to. You can ignore me for the rest of the day.”

“…”

Robin disinfected her lips with tweezers and applied the ointment. He furrowed his brow after finishing the treatment. “

… It was really intense. At this level, you’re almost devoured. You should have hit him to make him stop.”

“If I hit him, he just stops for a moment, then…”

“I’ll just keep my mouth shut.”

“…Yes.”

Luize’s swelling lasted until the next day. Every member who saw her face looked at her swollen lips with curiosity, then quickly blushed and turned away, coughing or pretending to be busy before leaving.

“…”

It was a typical day, except for Maxion eating less than half of his usual breakfast while staring at her from across the table.

“Miss Luize, this is a high-end lip balm from the Felice Merchant Guild. It’s infused with holy water, so it should help.”

“Thank you. But I didn’t think such a luxury item was sold in this branch…”

“I went to the capital for a bit.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry. I hid my true identity well so no one would have known.”

“…”

Luize realized anew that Edward was far more amazing than she had thought. Both his magic and his kisses.

* * *

The day before they arrived in Kavan, the knights gathered detailed information about the village they had stopped in.

“You can enter the village, but no one can leave.”

“Does that mean that once you set foot in Kavan, you can’t leave?”

“Yes. It’s like there’s an invisible barrier. You can see through it, but no sound passes through. There are warning signs all around the perimeter. People who can’t read often wander in and get trapped, even nowadays.”