As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover

Only after hearing his question did Luize realize she had spoken her thoughts out loud. Her face instantly flushed with heat.

“

, no! Why is it suddenly so hot? It’s almost midwinter.”

Luize fanned herself as she walked past Edward. Though he pretended not to hear, he clearly understood what she had said and smiled contentedly.

“Did she like that expression? I should practice it.” He followed Luize down the hallway.

Time passed, and the night without the moon finally arrived. The knight order had not made any progress in their investigation since the first day. Believing this night to be their only chance to uncover new clues, they mobilized all their forces to attend the blessing ceremony.

Despite the late hour, the streets were bustling with villagers gathered to receive the moon’s blessing.

“Your Excellency! Welcome!”

“Thank you for the invitation.” Edward, dressed formally, approached the village chief.

The chief’s gaze shifted to the person beside him. “And who might this be…?”

“This is my companion, Aiven. He expressed a strong desire to witness the blessing, so I brought him along. I hope that’s not an inconvenience?”

“

, not at all! Welcome.

!”

“…Yes.” Aiven nodded slightly with an expressionless face.

In the center of the village, rainbow-colored orbs were piled up high like a mountain.

“Are all these orbs made here?”

“That’s right! The villagers bring one each month and collect them here for the ceremony.”

“Then there must be many orbs left over. How do you store them?”

“We keep them in storage at the village hall until a buyer is found.”

Before Edward could ask another question, the chief continued.

“It’s almost midnight! You’ll surely be amazed by the sight of the blessing.”

“… I’m looking forward to it.”

Aiven, standing by Edward’s side, surveyed the surroundings. Knights in plain clothes mingled among the villagers, keeping watch over them. The knight’s order was ready to act, if necessary, and wary of the villagers. The chilly night air made it normal to wear thick clothes and cloaks, allowing the knights to blend in naturally with the crowd. Among them were Luize and Maxion.

“Maxion. Can I ask you something?”

“What’s on your mind?”

“It’s not about the mission, but…”

“Let’s talk after it’s over.”

“It’s hard to catch you lately. If I miss this chance, you’ll find some excuse to be busy and avoid me.”

“…”

“First, I’ll clear things up. You seem skeptical, but let me repeat: nothing happened in Edward’s room on the first night we arrived in this village. We really just slept.”

“I know.”

Luize looked puzzledly at Maxion’s profile. His face remained calm, not lying.

“Good, but then why were you so troubled that day?”

Maxion’s gaze slowly shifted to Luize. His dark eyes reflected her clearly. “You’ve always been oblivious in that regard.”

“What do you mean?”

“Out of respect for your privacy, I didn’t want to interfere. It’s between you two. Though I’m concerned that Lord Edward has lost seven years of memories.”

“…Right.”

“It feels strange, like witnessing a family member fall in love.”

Luize blushed and shouted. “Fall in love? It’s not like that!”

“Sure.”

His response was too indifferent to her raised voice, making Luize feel embarrassed before she spoke again.

“So, if it’s not personal, is there a public reason?”

“… That’s not something you need to worry about.”

Maxion spoke sternly, then looked straight ahead again. Though he’s usually stoic, his low mood was evident to anyone in the past few days.

From her conversations with Edward, Luize guessed what he and the knight order were concerned about, but Maxion seemed unwilling to discuss it with her.

“Alright. Just remember to tell me if you need help.”

“I will.”

Luize’s gaze shifted forward, where Edward and Aiven had approached the orb pile.

As the clock struck, black whirlwinds formed around the mountain of orbs. After the wind dissipated, a giant orb, half-stained black, remained.

“This is the moon’s blessing!” the village chief announced loudly.

The villagers then cheered loudly.

Aiven whispered to Edward, “… It’s black magic. It will take time to analyze what kind exactly, but it seems that destroying that orb will break the spell on this village.”

“That won’t be difficult. I’d like to see it up close.”

As if on cue, the village chief called Edward over. “Your Excellency, come receive the blessing.”

“How does it work?”

“Just touching the moon’s blessing with any part of your body is enough.”

“Sounds simple.”

Edward reached out to touch the orb. No matter how sophisticated the magic, infusing a vast amount of mana from outside would break it.

Meanwhile, Aiven, deep in thought, murmured, “…The fact that it’s only half-stained black means it can contain even more.”

If the half-blackened part represented the souls of the entire village, the orb could potentially hold at least twice as many people. And Edward was a wizard. He would attempt to break the orb not physically but with magic.

In black magic, sacrifices replace mana, meaning the value of sacrifices and mana are equivalent. This meant the orb could contain an amount of mana as vast as the souls used in the black magic. A look of horror crossed Aiven’s face.

“Your Excellency, step away from the orb!”

But Edward’s fingertips had already touched the orb. A strange cheer erupted in the quiet square. Everyone clapped and shouted,

“Congratulations on receiving the blessing!”

The orb quickly turned black. Feeling the mana draining from his body, Edward’s eyes widened in shock. But the magic didn’t break. Instead, it seemed to await his mana eagerly. Edward quickly withdrew his hand, but the drained mana didn’t return.

“A physical approach is necessary, then.” He reached for the sword at his waist. Suddenly, his movements froze.

“The moment you receive the blessing, we become one with the moon,” the village chief said, smiling eerily.

As he stood immobilized as if tied by invisible strings, the whirlwind wrapped around the giant orb again. When the wind stopped, nothing was left where the orb had been.

“It seems the moon was satisfied with bestowing the blessing on just one person today! It’s the first time I’ve seen it disappear so quickly!”

Edward stared sharply at where the orb had been. The orb had vanished after consuming his mana. As he regained control of his body, Edward composed himself and withdrew his hand from the sword.

“When is the next blessing?”

“In a month, on a moonless night.”

“Could other members also receive the blessing? I would like to share this feeling with my dear members.”

“Of course!

!” the village chief laughed loudly.

* * *

Edward’s failure to destroy the orb led to two problems.

“All your mana was drained by that black magic?”

“…Yes. It seems it will take about a week to replenish to its original level.” Edward opened and closed his empty hand, where black flames sparked briefly before disappearing.

One, his mana was completely depleted from being drained by the orb to its limit. That meant he would be vulnerable and unable to defend himself for at least a week.

“Have you experienced any other anomalies since receiving the blessing?”

“It’s unsettling. It’s as if it’s trying to meddle in my mind as if we’ve become one. If a normal person with low magic resistance were in my place, the interference could easily drive them mad.”

“So, you’re saying it has a will or thoughts?”

“It’s more like it’s stealing ‘bad memories’ from me. Now I understand why the villagers seemed so unnaturally happy.”

Two, the orb was connected to his mind, attempting to consume his spirit and steal his bad memories.

“Do you think there’s a reason it only takes bad memories?”

“I’m not sure. I’m not well-versed in black magic, so it’s frustrating. Perhaps the future me would have noticed.”

Listening quietly to Edward and Maxion’s conversation, Aiven spoke up.