As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover

“…It’s probably for longevity.”

Edward asked with a puzzled face. “Why do you think that?”

“I heard that this village has been swallowed by black magic for about four months. Yet, the villagers are still alive, which suggests the influence is minimal on a day-to-day basis.”

“Now that you mention it, yes. Aiven, according to what you told me, it normally takes about a month to digest. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“To think that it kills people without physically harming their bodies or mentally torturing them. It’s a different dimension from typical attack magic. Stealing memories to kill someone…”

Edward’s expression hardened.

“Memories are akin to a person’s essence. They’re no different from a person’s soul. Continuously stealing only parts of it seems to be a way for black magic to grow by increasing its hosts. And once it reaches its capacity for hosts, it would slowly expand the range of memories it steals.”

Aiven paused before continuing.

“Eventually, if it makes them forget how to eat and sleep, they will completely succumb to the black magic and lose their lives.”

“It sounds more like a creature than magic,” Edward commented with a look of disgust.

“… That’s the difference between a curse and black magic, I believe. A curse ends with the manifestation of what the caster imposes, but black magic has a tendency to survive and expand itself using life as fuel.”

“Failing to destroy the orb with magic, I immediately tried to physically destroy it. But as soon as my hand approached the sword handle, my body froze. Afterwards, the black magic disappeared. Is running away also part of its survival instinct?”

Aiven’s face darkened.

“Yes. It may act as if it has a will, but in reality, it has nothing but survival and reproduction instincts. We shouldn’t be fooled by its semblance of a living being with thoughts.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Edward nodded in response to Aiven’s affirmation.

“While my memories haven’t been completely stolen, the fact that they could control my body suggests that memories are also being shared. If that orb ends up in the emperor’s hands, we could be in significant trouble.”

Maxion and Aiven’s expressions hardened. Then Maxion spoke in a low voice. “The orb will reappear on the next moonless night, a month from now. We’ll mobilize all our forces to deal with it then.”

Edward’s lips curved into a graceful arc. “Maxion, having someone as reliable as you, who is four years older than me, is quite reassuring.”

Maxion, who had been looking sternly at Edward, appeared surprised before responding in a clear voice. “Yes.”

Aiven, observing them, slightly curved the corner of his lips.

* * *

It seemed that Luize, not Edward, was the one suffering from insomnia. After tossing and turning in bed for a while, she finally gave up on sleep and got up.

“Assassins usually strike at night; there’s no way I can sleep peacefully in this situation.”

While Edward was at full strength, there wouldn’t be a problem, but now he was almost entirely drained of mana. Maxion had told her not to worry and to get some rest because the knight order would guard him every night, but it felt odd to sleep hearing such words. After all, hadn’t Luize been assigned as Edward’s guard?

“I’m a guard, after all. This is only natural. There’s definitely no personal feeling involved.”

Her voice wavered slightly at the last statement, but she repeatedly assured herself that she wasn’t the type to harbor personal feelings in such a serious situation. Her parents hadn’t raised her that way.

“But honestly, I think there might be some personal feelings…”

Was it because she had spent most of her waking hours with Edward over the past week?

Edward at twenty, somehow familiar yet strangely different, had grown quite comfortable with her. As the saying goes, closeness in proximity leads to closeness in the heart, and the two had naturally become integrated into each other’s lives. Now, being alone without him felt strangely empty.

After changing her clothes, Luize took her sword and headed to the room next door. She greeted the two guards standing in front of Edward’s room before knocking on the door.

“Elliot, are you asleep?”

After a moment of silence, the door opened. Edward greeted Luize with a cheerful smile.

“Miss Luize, welcome. It just so happened that we were just one person short.”

“Pardon?” Luize blinked in confusion.

“We were about to play a card game. Aiven wanted to opt out, so I was about to force him to participate using my authority as the captain.”

“… Isn’t this the time when assassins usually attack? Is this really okay?”

“If assassins are going to come anyway, it might be better to wait while having fun. Please, come in.”

As Edward stepped aside, Maxion and Hendrik, sitting on the floor spreading cards, came into view. Aiven was leaning against a wall in the corner, either sleeping or just with his eyes closed.

Luize hesitantly stepped inside. “It does make some sense somewhat…”

“It’s quite enjoyable not being alone tonight.”

Maxion looked up at Luize as he shuffled the cards. “Come sit here. I’ll lay out a blanket for you.”

“

, okay.”

Maxion calmly spread a blanket beside him for Luize. Luize naturally moved to sit next to Maxion.

“

! It’s lively here. This will be fun.” Hendrik spoke as Luize sat across from him.

“I didn’t realize everyone was here. I didn’t sense anyone.”

“Aiven set up a barrier.”

“Aiven is a wizard too? I thought he was just a specialist in black magic.”

“…I am a warlock.”

“

I see. A warlock… Wait, warlock?!” Luize’s pupils dilated.

Hendrik laughed heartily. “

! Your reaction was similar to mine when I first heard it!”

“Under the current imperial laws, it’s illegal, so we only use it when responding to illegal situations,” Edward explained with a nonchalant face.

“But doesn’t black magic require a sacrifice?”

Aiven responded in a low voice. “…Not all black magic involves taking lives for evil purposes. Some spells can be cast using magic stones and a few other materials without needing a living sacrifice.”

“

, I didn’t know that. I thought all black magic was bad.”

Edward sat across from Maxion and to the left of Luize.

“In some ways, it’s more equitable than regular magic. It doesn’t differentiate based on innate talent one is born with. However, it’s prone to misuse, which is why it’s prohibited under current laws.”

“That’s complicated.”

“

! Well, it’s not the magic that’s bad. It’s the people who use it for bad purposes. Shall we start the game?”

“What game are we playing?”

“‘The Dragon’s Amusement.’ Have you played it before?”

“

, yes. Of course. It’s practically a national game. I used to play it with my parents and Maxion when I was younger. I’ve forgotten some of the rules, though…”

“Then let me explain briefly.” While Maxion silently dealt the cards, Edward explained the game. “‘The Dragon’s Amusement’ is a game for four players: a knight, a wizard, a healer, and a polymorphed dragon. The goal is to collect seven different cards needed to found an empire and be the first to establish it.”

“And there was another condition, wasn’t there?”

“Yes. You can’t reveal your occupation until you’ve pointed out the polymorphed dragon. However, if the person who’s the dragon succeeds in founding the empire, they receive three times the normal winnings. If they’re pointed out as the dragon, they’re eliminated and must return their cards.”

“You only get one chance to point out the dragon during the game.”

“Yes. And after the pointing out time ends, everyone can reveal their occupations and use their corresponding effects until the end of the game. You don’t have to point out the dragon until the game ends.”

“Right. The wizard can exchange one card with another player and one of their own, the knight can remove one card from another player, and the healer can nullify the abilities of the knight and wizard once, right?”

“That’s correct. The dragon doesn’t have any abilities because the rewards for winning as a dragon are greater.”

“Did we decide to bet on this game?”

“I don’t want to encourage gambling as the captain, but for everyone’s enjoyment, we’re betting a meal instead. The winner will be treated to a fine meal by me. If the dragon wins, I’ll cover all meal expenses while we stay in this village.”

“Then there’s no prize for Elliot if he wins.”

“If the game is fun, that’s reward enough for me.”

“Still, that seems a bit dull.

, then if Elliot wins, I’ll give you a gift.”

“…A gift from Miss Luize?” Edward blinked as if surprised, then smiled softly. “Thank you. I’m motivated now.”

“The cards are dealt. Let’s begin the game.”

With Maxion’s declaration, the game started. Everyone picked up their cards. Luize’s role card was the healer.

“Since we can’t figure out each other’s identities through conversation anyway, shall we start by pointing out the dragon?”

“

, let’s keep it as is for the first round!” Hendrik answered with a cheerful voice.

Edward smiled and said to Luize, “I think it’s Hendrik.”

“I’m wronged! It’s not me!”

“Let’s point him out. I think Hendrik is the dragon.” Luize nodded confidently.

“If you waste this opportunity, you’ll all regret it! It’s not me!” Hendrik protested for the last time.

Watching him, Maxion spoke, “It seems to be Hendrik.”

“Even the vice-captain…”

Hendrik looked at Maxion as if he had lost his savior.

“With unanimous agreement, we’re pointing out Hendrik. So, Hendrik, are you the dragon?”