As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover

Edward’s eyes widened slightly. After regaining his composure, he answered in a low voice. “Yes.” 

Hearing his response, Maxion looked forward again and closed his eyes. “Good night, Milord.”

“You too.” 

Edward also lay back and closed his eyes, trying to sleep. Despite the unsettling conditions—the Death Forest Perils, one of the most dangerous places in the empire, the uncomfortable bed, and the presence of another person in the same room—he fell into a deep sleep surprisingly quickly.

* * *

The morning dawned. The snow that had fallen overnight was thick enough to cover Luize’s calves. The black-leafed trees of Perils were now covered in white snow, glistening in the sunlight. Occasionally, branches, unable to bear the weight, dumped their load of snow. White breaths puffed from the mouths of the three people, dispersing into the air. 

“I’ll wait at the cabin.” 

“Alright. If we don’t return in a week, inform the knights.” 

“Yes.” Maxion, answering firmly, looked at Luize. “I’ll dig under the rock behind the house while I wait. You were supposed to check it when you turned twenty-five, and it might be a good idea to do it now since we don’t know when we’ll be back.” 

“Right. It would be good to handle it now. Thank you.” Luize replied brightly.

“Isn’t that something I should do? Do you need help?” 

“It’ll be boring to wait with nothing to do. I’ll handle it.” 

“Alright, take care.”

Edward snapped his fingers, and a box containing a magic stone floated in the air. Simultaneously, the snow around the cabin cleared up to the entrance of Perils.

“We should head out now, Miss Luize.” 

“Yes.” 

“Take care.” 

With farewells, Edward and Luize stepped into the dark forest. Their retreating figures quickly vanished into the darkness between the dense trees. Maxion, grabbing a shovel from the cabin, stood before the large rock behind the house. 

He drove the shovel into the frozen ground. When his mind was troubled, it was better to keep his body busy.

* * *

The forest was quieter than Luize had ever seen it. It wasn’t just because of the snow; the forest itself seemed to have changed. It felt like watching a seedling just about to sprout from the ground, with a subtle vitality pervading the entire forest.

As they delved deeper and the light began to fade, Edward lightly snapped his fingers. Firefly-like white lights were summoned, floating around them. The forest, its sunlight blocked by the snow-laden branches, was darker than midnight.

“The forest smells like old trees. It’s not a bad smell, it’s quite pleasant. The unique rotten smell of Perils has completely disappeared.”

“Is that so? Have you always been able to smell the forest since you were a child?” 

“Yes. Now that I think about it, it’s strange. Can you smell it, Edward?” 

“No. It just smells like an ordinary forest to me. Maybe a bit more like moss because there’s no sunlight.” 

“That’s interesting… If it’s because we’re in a dragon’s territory, why can I smell your mana?” Luize looked at Edward curiously. 

Edward paused and stared at Luize before speaking. “They say I have dragon blood. It seems one of my ancestors was a dragon.” 

“My goodness, a dragon? I’ve heard dragons can transform into humans. They call it polymorphism. They come to the human world for fun, so it must be true.” 

“It seems so.” 

“Do you know which dragon it was?” Luize asked cautiously. 

“They didn’t say. But since the White Dragon Ron was friendly to humans, I suspect it might be him.” 

“Yes, that makes sense. It couldn’t be the mad Dragon Run.” 

“He hated humans, so it seems unlikely.” 

Luize nodded in relief. “It must be because I’m in a dragon’s territory that I can smell your mana. It’s fascinating. Was that why I was drawn to you initially?” 

“I suppose so.” 

“That’s a relief.” 

As Luize answered nonchalantly, Edward asked, puzzled. 

“May I ask what part of that you find relieving?” 

“If I hadn’t been drawn to Edward that way, we wouldn’t have met at the cabin that day. I might not have saved you in the capital. We were instinctively drawn to each other, which allowed us to fall in love like this.” Luize, speaking casually, realized what she had just said and blushed deeply. She had unintentionally spoken her true feelings.

Although their physical relationship had progressed, they were not officially a couple yet, and she had hastily used that word.

Unlike some people in the capital who threw around the word casually, Luize was not that type. To her, love was the most important, complicated, and cautious emotion. Just because they became a couple didn’t mean love was necessarily involved. She didn’t want to impose her feelings on him just because she had them.

“No, please forget what I just said. I made a mistake.” 

“Which part was the mistake?” 

“That word might be too soon for us. I mean, for you, Elliot…” Luize trailed off, looking at Edward. His calm red eyes gave off a determined impression. 

“‘Love’.” 

“…Yes, that.” 

“Do you think it’s too early for my feelings to be called that?” 

“I’m not disregarding Elliot’s feelings. It’s just that you might not think of it that way.” 

“I don’t kiss people I don’t love. No matter how depraved the social scene in the capital is, the imperial palace is quite conservative.” 

“For someone conservative, you’re very skilled at doing skinship.” 

“That seems to be a natural talent judging by how Miss Luize thinks that I’m good, even though it was my first time.”

“

, I see. Wait, your… first time?” Luize was visibly flustered. 

“Yes. In Miss Luize’s eyes, do I look like someone who kisses and rolls around with just anyone?”

“It’s not that, but even so, for the first time…

, Elliot is twenty now, so it makes sense. But still, how can you be so good at it if it was your first time?” Luize stammered in confusion. 

“Perhaps my future self is the same. Ask him when my memory returns. I’m not a promiscuous person. I can assure you that my future self won’t disappoint you in that regard.” 

“…My goodness.” 

“And if it wasn’t my first time, I wouldn’t have left Miss Luize’s lips in such a state after our first kiss. Although I learned some bedroom techniques, my body didn’t cooperate as well as my mind. If I’d known they’d be so useless, I would have learned patience instead.” 

“…”

“Anyway, I’m glad to hear Miss Luize feel relieved. That puts my mind at ease too.” Edward smiled gently.

People fall into two broad categories. Those who are worldly and skilled in human relations and those who are not. Luize, having grown up in Perils with a very limited social circle, belonged to the latter. She was naive about the world and clumsy in relationships. However, she was more perceptive than anyone else. Luize had a knack for uncovering the truth hidden within facts, capable of neatly organizing issues that had deeply troubled him.

“By the way, the heavy snow might break some branches. Be careful of falling snow while we walk.” 

“Yes.”

No sooner had Luize spoken than the sound of a breaking branch was heard. A shower of snow tumbled towards them. With a single gesture from Edward, the snow was diverted, scattering rapidly. Only the box floating in the air was left covered in snow. Edward shook the snow off the box with his magic, but then his expression hardened. 

“That’s strange.” 

“Why? What’s wrong?” 

“I can’t feel the energy of the magic stone inside the box.” 

“What? But they were fine when we checked this morning. Let me see.” 

At Luize’s words, Edward lowered the box and opened the lid. The shock in Luize’s eyes was evident as she looked inside.