As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover

[I don’t know. The previous one didn’t tell me any specifics. It shouldn’t take too long.]

“I see. So you can’t talk directly now. That’s unfortunate.”

“

.” [I think so too. I want to talk to Luize with my own voice soon, not just in dragon language or telepathy.]

“…it said.”

After translating, Edward looked at Ren, who was sitting on the floor with its small wings and ears drooping, leaning against the sofa. He opened his palm and pressed down gently, stroking Ren’s head.

“

?” [What?] A vein popped on the forehead covered with black scales. Ren lifted its head and glared at Edward.

Ren’s tail hit the floor with a loud sound.

“I just feel like petting it. Maxion, would you like to try too?”

“Is that alright?”

“

” [As Luize’s friend, I’ll allow it.]

“It says it’s alright.”

Maxion, blushing slightly, placed his large hand on Ren’s head.

Having had its first outing outside Perils, its first meal, first exercise, and first magic in succession right after birth, the baby dragon must have been tired. As the rough hand carefully petted its head, the baby dragon couldn’t resist the overwhelming drowsiness.

“

—” Ren wriggled and curled up on the floor like an ammonite.

Maxion lifted Ren in one swift motion and placed it on his knee. “…Dragonnite,” Maxion muttered in a small voice.

Edward looked at him quizzically. “What did you just say?”

“It seems Ren is sleepy.”

“Let it sleep. Even if we leave now, it will be nightfall by the time we arrive. It wouldn’t be right to force a newborn dragon to travel in such conditions.”

“It’s best if we stay here for another day.”

“Indeed. The knights will handle the situation in Kavan until we arrive.”

“Yes.”

“Come to think of it. Should the barrier in Kavan be lifted by now?”

“Probably.”

“I’m curious to see how things are,” Luize said, looking at the baby dragon sleeping soundly with a contented face, purring softly.

* * *

It was the previous evening. Right after Luize and Edward left for Perils, Hendrik returned to the lord’s castle after giving instructions to his subordinates under the watchful eyes of the paladins.  Nothing suspicious was found in the village, and since Luize and Edward had gone to Perils to solve the problem, there wasn’t much for him to do.

“Don’t you think High Priestess Raphaela has changed a bit recently?”

“I had a feeling before the expedition. I guess I wasn’t the only one.”

He overheard the paladins chatting, but it wasn’t of much concern to him.

“

!”

In his cozy room at the lord’s castle, Hendrik drank non-alcoholic dark beer while oiling his sword. It was a luxurious captivity and a peaceful day.

In just a few days, Edward and Luize would surely solve the problem and return. He had no doubt that they would succeed.

Just as Hendrik finished maintaining his sword and sheathed it, a commotion arose outside his door, followed by a young voice.

“Please step aside. I need to talk to him.”

“High Priestess, it’s dangerous!”

“If you think he would harm me, then you have nothing to worry about. Please step aside.”

“But… May I ask your business? If something happens while you’re alone, it will be a big problem for us.”

Raphaela delayed her answer at the knight’s voice full of concern.

Hendrik, unable to ignore it any longer, rummaged through his bag for his cards and opened the door. “

, you’ve arrived?”

The knights looked at him in confusion.

Hendrik waved the cards in his hand. “

! As promised, I will teach you the wild card game from outside the temple!”

“…”

“

, is it a secret? You must have been shy about learning a game from the outside world. My mistake. But there’s no shame in it. A game is just a game.” Hendrik winked at Raphaela.

Understanding his intention, she nodded slightly. “…a high priestess must maintain her dignity.”

“

, I see! It would be awkward if the paladins were heard playing cards. I didn’t realize the temple was so strict.”

“…”

“Come on, let her learn a game. I saw the paladins secretly playing cards earlier. Isn’t it unfair to restrict the high priestess alone?”

The paladins standing guard outside Hendrik’s room flinched. They cleared their throats awkwardly. “Then, we will wait nearby and return in half an hour.”

“…That will do. May the evening be blessed with the divine.”

“Yes! Have a blessed time with the light!” The paladins briskly saluted and moved away from Raphaela.

Once they were a sufficient distance away, Raphaela entered Hendrik’s room and spoke. “Thank you for your help. You know a lot about the temple.”

“

! I’ve heard a lot from Robin. He said the paladins play cards secretly while insisting on maintaining dignity with the priests and priestesses. It seems the paladins are relatively free, so they secretly pity the priests and priestesses.”

“You must be very close to him to know such details.”

“He’s like a much younger brother to me.”

“Younger… brother…”

“Yes. Then High Priestess must be a friend of my younger brother.”

Raphaela looked surprised and stared at Hendrik.

Hendrik chuckled and continued. “I apologize if that was disrespectful. You seem young to me, just like Robin and the other priests and priestesses. The temple is harsh on children, making them suppress their natural desires.”

“…”

“That’s not healthy. Surely, some must grow up warped by such an environment.”

Raphaela couldn’t argue, as his words were true. There were always those who showed odd behavior within the temple.

Though the temple appeared peaceful and clean on the surface, it often hid many unsavory aspects. There were those who accepted bribes and engaged in unethical politics, and some who couldn’t control their lust for power or carnal desires, leading to their downfall. But it wasn’t always this severe. It used to be within the bounds of normalcy or, at worst, not as ‘strange’ as the current temple.

“…But I’m no longer a child.”

“

! I understand. What brings you here?”

“I wanted to talk and have something to convey to High Priest Michael.”

“You must be curious about many things after being away for so long. I will answer as best I can. Please have a seat.”

The two headed to the tea table in the bedroom. As soon as they sat, Raphaela started talking as if she had been waiting.

“How is High Priest Michael doing there?”

“He’s doing well. Although he grumbles daily, he seems happy.”

“…I’m glad to hear that.” Raphaela smiled faintly. “It seems he has no intention of returning. When he left the temple, he had such a resolute face that I thought it would be useless to try and stop him.”

“

, yet you took me hostage?”

“I wanted to convey many things to him, but from the moment I left the temple, I vowed to bring him back, even if I failed. I regretted not doing so before.”

“Did you have feelings for Robin?”

Raphaela smiled slightly at Hendrik’s question. “Well, not in the romantic sense, more like admiration.”

“Admiration… That’s youth for you. What was Robin like in the temple? He seems to have a lot of stories, but I’ve never asked.”

Raphaela answered calmly. “High Priest Michael and I were different in personality, behavior, and thoughts. I was shy and conservative, while High Priest Michael was cheerful and got along with everyone despite his complaints. Naturally, people flocked to him.”

“And you were among them?”

Raphaela nodded. “Yes. I just watched from a distance. But he always approached me first.”

Although it wasn’t directly mentioned, both understood why Robin acted that way and chuckled softly.

“The conversation started with a cliché question and then moved on to everyday topics. Since our daily lives were always similar, we couldn’t talk long with just that. So next, we talked about the past, and when we ran out of things to say about that, we talked about the future.”

Raphaela gazed out the window as if recalling the past.

“Everything he said was radical. At first, I thought, ‘I suppose one could think that way,’ but it felt distant from me. I thought he was reckless when I saw him put his words into practice, and I couldn’t understand how he could stick to his beliefs even if it meant falling out with people he was close to.”

“

, yet you stayed by his side to listen to him.”

“I couldn’t understand him at first. Then, at some point, I realized I was becoming dissatisfied watching the actions of the priests and priestesses. I came to understand that, even if his expressions were a bit extreme, he wasn’t wrong.”

Raphaela spoke with a bitter expression. “I honestly began to admire him for pushing his ideas to change the temple. Shortly after I realized that, he already left the temple. I admired him, but I couldn’t become him. The direction we wanted to go was subtly different.”

“How so?”