As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover

Ren was busy chasing after a magic pigeon to hunt it down. At some point, the ground suddenly gave way under it as if it had stepped on something wrong, creating a round hole that quickly swallowed it up.

Falling through the air, Ren finally landed completely on the ground. At that moment, the magic stone embedded in the dark path’s inner wall shone brightly.

The black ball that had been rolling on the floor bumped into the wall.

Soon after, Ren stretched out its limbs and shuddered.

“

?” [Where am I?]

Anyway, the smell of mana was much stronger than before, so Ren seemed to have come to the right place.

However, there was something bothering it…

“

?

.” [This isn’t the smell of human Edward’s mana? Pfft.]

Ren, with sparkling eyes, looked around the empty path and then snorted.

“

!

!

!” [Hmph! If a dragon makes a move, they should at least find a carrot! I must check what’s here!]

. Ren ran quickly down the path.

* * *

Ren had fallen into a hidden underground space beneath the annex. The members, who couldn’t even imagine the baby dragon would be in a secret place they didn’t even know about, were turning the annex upside down, looking for Ren.

“Reeen!”

“Ren!”

“Reeeeen!”

“These drunkards… Move aside! There’s no way Ren is in the trash bin!’ Robin shouted, pulling his hair.

Things seemed to be getting more serious by the minute. Unlike they had thought, Ren wasn’t rolling around somewhere nearby; it was nowhere to be seen in the annex. Most room doors were locked, and the garden, now bare in winter, had few places to hide.

“Where could Ren have gone?

?”

Robin’s eyes caught sight of a white feather on the floor as he walked down the corridor. When he picked up the faintly glowing feather, it turned into a dust of light and disappeared from his hand.

“…This is magic. I must inform His Excellency immediately.”

With a determined face, Robin headed towards the west annex.

* * *

Ren stood at a crossroads, conflicted.

The underground space was filled with mana scents from all directions, making it hard to tell which way was the source. One thing was clear: something emitting a strong mana scent was somewhere in this place.

“

!” [This way!] In the end, Ren followed its instincts and chose the right path.

As Ren moved its short, stubby legs diligently and ventured deeper inside.

“

?”

The floor, walls, and ceiling all began to vibrate loudly in succession as if something was approaching from behind. Ren turned around and saw a giant boulder rolling towards it at a terrifying speed, filling the passage.

“

!”

Frightened, Ren ran at full speed. Luckily, a large hole appeared just ahead, big enough for the boulder to pass through.

“

!”

Stretching its legs and flapping its tiny wings, Ren barely managed to leap across the hole. It was Ren’s first flight.

As soon as Ren landed on the floor, the boulder fell and completely filled the hole.

“

?” [

,

. It’s over, right…?]

Ren tapped the boulder and sighed, wiping its sweat with its right front paw. Then it stood on its hind legs again, with sparkling eyes.

“

!” [As expected, I’m the best!]

With a straightened back and its front paws on its hips, Ren closed its eyes with a proud face, but no applause came back. If it were normal times, the members would have been moved to tears by Ren’s first flight and clapped, but Ren was alone here.

Feeling dejected in the chilly air, Ren dropped back onto all fours.

“

.” [This is no fun.]

Ren trudged forward. Its desire to hurry back grew stronger and stronger.

Just then, an ice arrowhead landed right in front of Ren’s front paw.

Ren looked up sharply and faced numerous ice arrows aimed at it.

Petrified, Ren began running again.

* * *

Robin, heading to the second-floor bedroom of the west annex where Luize had stayed in the past, looked at the handsome man lying in bed.

“He’s like a sleeping prince from a fairy tale…”

Edward was sleeping with a snapped bracelet next to a dress presumed to have been worn by Luize. With his head tilted sideways, his black hair partially covering his forehead and eyes, and his long, dense eyelashes, straight nose, and firmly closed lips, he looked stunning even in sleep. His tall frame stretched out on the bed, showcased perfect proportions even in a reclined position.

“This is troublesome.”

As Edward’s personal doctor, Robin knew how severely sleep-deprived Edward was, making it hard to wake him. Especially since Edward was so deeply asleep that he didn’t even notice Robin’s presence.

It had been less than an hour since they realized Ren was missing. It seemed best to let the members search as much as they could first, and if they still couldn’t find Ren, then wake up Edward.

Robin decided not to wake Edward. Finding some paper and a pen, he quickly wrote a brief report and left it beside Edward, then exited the annex.

“Does love make everyone like this? I must never be like that. His Excellency looks beautiful because it’s him, but if I did it, I’d just be a pitiful supporting male character.”

Robin paused, looking up at the window of Edward’s second-floor bedroom.

“I miss Luize. She was such a good person. If I even feel this way, His Excellency must be in so much pain.” He sighed deeply and headed to the banquet hall.

It seemed best to try and find Ren with the drunken, useless members. The traces of magic he had found earlier bothered him, but there should be no dangerous magic inside the mansion.

* * *

Dragon scales are impervious to most magic and physical attacks. However, the various arrows of ice, stone, and fire that Ren had just been hit with were too painful for a baby dragon barely over a month old to handle.

Completely exhausted from sprinting through unprecedented pain, Ren plopped down on the floor. Fortunately, the arrows had stopped at some point, but who knew when another torture spell might trigger?

“

.”

Ren sniffled, snot running down. It desperately wanted to see the members. It missed Luize, who had parted ways on the way here, so very much.

“…

?” […What’s that?] Through his tear-blurred vision, Ren saw a suspicious-looking box.

Ren glared at the box with wary eyes. It seemed to be a dead-end, as there was a wall behind the box.

The box had a strong scent of mana. However, it could also be a trap, so Ren cautiously circled around the box. Luckily, nothing happened.

“

?

.” [Is this some kind of treasure hidden in this maze? Just how amazing must it be to warrant all this trouble?]

Ren tapped the box with its front paw. When nothing happened, he relaxed and nudged the lid with its snout. The box, which had no lock, opened easily.

“

.” [What the.] Ren looked disappointed at the contents of the box.

Inside was a ring made of a special metal called ‘Venber,’ which nullifies magic. In the center of the ring was a transparent magic stone, and it seemed the special metal was used to prevent the large amount of mana in the stone from being absorbed directly.

“

.” [So all this trouble was for this one thing.]

Ren sighed deeply and picked up the item from the box with its mouth.

“

,

,

.” [Well, it’s not so bad, so I’ll give it to that guy.]

As Ren looked down the path back, feeling somewhat daunted, there was a sudden click behind him. When Ren turned around, the box, which had somehow grown in size, opened its mouth wide and swallowed Ren whole.

“

!” Ren closed its eyes tightly, holding the ring in its mouth.