As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover

“Yes.” Luize smiled happily.

* * *

The next day, the Silver Hawk Order left Bailey without delay. The village chief was imprisoned in the village hall’s warehouse to pay for his crimes. The villagers began preparations to elect a new chief.

Before leaving, Edward sneaked into the warehouse to interrogate the chief. However, the chief knew nothing about how ‘the Moon’s Blessing’ had descended on the village or about the black magic. He did remember clearly where he had sold the items, so while it might be difficult to recover the lost food, it seemed possible to retrieve the village’s treasures. It was unfortunate for the knights but fortunate for the villagers. Still, they too gained something from this village.

“According to the villagers, priests have been seen around Perils recently. Even after the death of the Dragon Rune, which stopped their relief efforts, they hadn’t been seen for a while, but they had visited this village too.”

“…As expected.”

Edward looked grimly at the village. Except for the chief, all the villagers came out with bright faces to see off the order.

The Silver Hawk Order set off towards their next destination. Luize slipped from the formation and approached Aiven.

“Aiven, I’m sorry for the trouble this time. It’s absurd to think that magic could have emotions. We almost got in trouble because of me.”

Black eyes turned towards Luize. Aiven opened his lips with his characteristic expressionless face. “…I understand. I’ve experienced something similar before.”

“You have?”

“Yes.”

Luize widened her eyes and looked at him. Aiven stared off into the distance as if gauging a far-off past. His slightly long black hair fluttered in the wind.

“The village I lived in was particularly backward among rural areas, a place where black wizards gathered.”

“It seems black magic isn’t purely evil.”

“Yes.” Aiven’s gaze fell. “…But that village, too, was eventually destroyed by a black wizard.”

“What?” Luize blinked in surprise.

“He was an outsider. We welcomed him warmly without prejudice against black wizards. Despite always being shrouded in dark clothes and even wearing a mask, no one cared. After using their bodies as a price for black magic, scars would remain, so it was common for people in the village to cover themselves.”

“…I see.”

“One day, people in the village began dying, coughing up blood without an identifiable cause. We thought it was an unknown disease, but on the third day after the funeral, like a miracle, the deceased would wake up and live as usual.”

“The dead?”

“…Yes. Among them was my mentor. He was the only family I had, having taken me in when I was an abandoned infant at the edge of another village. He was my only parent and family.”

A faint ripple appeared in Aiven’s eyes. He swallowed his emotions and slowly closed and then opened his eyes.

“Communication with the returned was impossible. But we thought it didn’t matter as long as they were alive, even as their bodies slowly decayed, resembling walking corpses. Whether they regained their memories or not, it didn’t matter to us.”

“…”

“One day, someone in the village realized the phenomenon of the dead returning was due to black magic and found a way to break the spell. Breaking the magic required the faith of everyone living in the village. Everyone within the range of the magic had to accept that the returned were fakes… But I couldn’t do it until the end.”

Aiven’s lips trembled.

“Due to a few of us, including myself, we couldn’t break the spell, and we lived in an uneasy coexistence with the black magic. This isolated the village, and being so small, we had to go out to buy food. It was my turn that day. In the evening, returning from another village with food, I was met with my village in flames.”

Luize gasped silently.

Aiven continued with a calm face. “Everyone in the village was dead within the inferno. The outsider black wizard had vanished. After refusing food and drink, I arrived in the capital, collapsing just before meeting His Excellency.”

Aiven turned his head towards Luize. “That’s how our paths led here.”

“…So that happened.”

“Don’t feel sorry. I understand that feeling, too. Black magic is inherently dangerous and cunning.”

“Thank you for telling me.”

Aiven’s lips curled up in a smile so slight it was almost unnoticeable. Yet, his black eyes remained as deep as the story he shared.

Luize pondered the depth of the despair Aiven must have felt, wandering after losing his mentor and his entire village.

Hendrik approached Luize sneakily as they watched the two. “

! Lady Luize, did Aiven give you a scolding? Why so downcast?”

“

, Hendrik. It’s nothing. I was just apologizing for the trouble I caused this time.”

“Seeing Lady Luize with drooping shoulders surely means it’s a big deal! For such times, Hendrik’s special non-alcoholic pseudo-dark beer is the best. I made three bottles while staying in the village.” Hendrik whispered loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear.

“Can alcohol be made that quickly?”

“

! It’s easy with a wizard’s help.” Hendrik glanced at Aiven.

“You two seem very close.”

“Yes. After His Excellency assigned us as partners, we fought a lot and became closer.”

“…We’re not close,” Aiven spoke softly.

“Shy, aren’t you?”

Luize smiled gently. The unspoken bond between them was evident in Aiven’s reluctant gaze. Finally, she felt she understood a bit how Aiven had healed.

* * *

While there was some leeway in their schedule on the way back, Carlo, intent on hiring a wizard and thus spending extra money, hurried back to the capital. He had only wanted to leave the capital, but after meeting a couple in the village, he felt even lonelier.

“Liri…!”

“

, keep it down.”

Vivian checked Carlo’s sloppily written report. The handwriting was atrocious, and the sentence structure was a mess, showing his talent for deteriorating with every document he worked on.

“

, Carlo. That Liri person came by.”

“Really?!”

“Keep your voice down.”

“Really? What did she say?” Carlo adjusted his volume and was bombarded with questions.

“’If you still care about me, come see me after your mission.’”

“I guess I’ll head out now. Take care, Big Sis.”

“Sure. I won’t give you any assignments for a while, so don’t cause trouble and stay low. Especially since I have to pull an all-nighter because of your report. Stay out of my sight.”

“The client must be someone important enough for you to put in that much effort,

?”

“You better keep your mouth shut.”

Vivian adjusted her glasses and went back to reading Carlo’s report. It was incomprehensible upon a second look.

“I’m the most discreet person in the world! I never told anyone that Liri works at the Imperial Palace! Or was it that she took orders from someone at the imperial palace?  Anyway!” Carlo stormed out, shouting.

“…Yeah, right. Off you go. Liri is waiting.”

“

, right. Yeah! Take care!” He quickly left the office.

Vivian muttered, “He doesn’t even realize he’s the one who talks too much…” She sighed deeply and pulled out a cigar. Carlo was the reason why her cigar stock was depleting.

* * *

The rumor that stirred the capital began with a maid working in the imperial palace who had hired a woman personally. The woman, rumored to be the girlfriend of a famous mercenary, was a runner for a maid in the imperial palace.

A person cloaked in a mantle handed two bags of coins to the woman in a dark alley of the capital. The cloaked figure was the imperial palace maid.

“This is the payment for the guild, and the other bag is for your errand. The report?”

“Here it is.”

The woman handed over a paper envelope to the maid.

“Good work. Remember, no one must know of our association.”

“Of course.

, and about the mercenary who took on the job, I heard that Grand Duke Lindeman and Luize de Servenia met during an expedition and reconciled. It’s said to be quite the love story.”

“…Really? Are you sure you saw it right?”