As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover

“I just happened to be present when the mission was carried out. It’s reliable information since it was witnessed firsthand.”

“Understood.”

The maid gathered the documents and headed to the imperial palace. After reporting the documents to her superiors, she informed two individuals who were thought to be discreet about the matter. They shared the secret with two others, and those who overheard their conversation began to spread the word.

The news quickly spread throughout the imperial palace and soon reached the public through the merchants delivering goods to the palace.

The orally transmitted story soon made its way into the empire’s leading newspaper, and the tale naturally reached Reiad.

“…

! Luize has gone back to her homeland. Just because they’re heading in a similar direction, they spew complete nonsense. As if it’s not some tacky gossip rag sitting there writing fiction. It won’t be long until it’s shut down.” Reiad angrily crumpled the newspaper and threw it into the trash can before getting into a carriage. Everywhere he went, there was nothing but annoying news.

The emperor, who had been rolling quietly in a corner of the imperial palace, suddenly summoned him, and the princess, who had been talking informally with him recently, started making significant remarks again. The newspaper was even spreading nonsensical stories as breaking news, driving him to the edge of frustration.

Love? What a joke. The princess was just another card to be played and discarded without hesitation.

“You’ve arrived. I will announce your arrival.”

“Yes.”

Reiad, with a professional smile on his face, entered the emperor’s bedroom, not an audience chamber but a bedroom. The emperor was wrapped in a blanket, trembling in his pajamas without his imperial robe on the bed with the curtains drawn.

“Count Cloette! Is it you?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Count Reiad de Cloette Lutigor greets Your Majesty, the glory of the continent and the sun of the empire…”

“Count! Save me. Yes, protect me. You can be trusted. Protect me!”

“…It is an honor to serve. But I know many more skilled in martial arts than I am by Your Majesty’s side. What is going on?”

“Every morning, the bodies of assassins pile up in my bedroom and office. It’s clear there’s a spy among us. Or maybe the servants move the bodies at night.”

With the curtains drawn, his face wasn’t visible, but his voice conveyed how terrified he was.

“Then perhaps it would be best to leave the bedroom.”

“There’s no place safer than this room in the empire. They’re obviously trying to lure me out to strike. I have to stay here.”

“Surely, no one in this empire would dare harm Your Majesty.”

“Enough with the sweet talk! This must be the dethroned prince’s doing. His people must be hiding in the palace.”

“I wish to assist in any way I can for Your Majesty.”

When Reiad was about to continue with platitudes, the emperor interrupted him.

“They said the dethroned prince reunited with your ex-wife.”

Reiad’s eyebrow twitched slightly. Reunited was a word that should have been used between him and Luize. He restrained his anger and curled his lips. “I’ve heard so.”

“It’s not that you parted on bad terms with your ex-wife. So, the dethroned prince won’t kill you. Thus, you should become my shield and guard this place!”

“Perhaps it would be better to discover his other weaknesses through the princess.”

“That’s enough. This is more urgent.”

Reiad clenched his lips and gritted his teeth. Fortunately, the curtains were drawn. Managing his expressions seemed more challenging than usual. Yet, he had no choice but to follow the emperor to maintain his lordship and the lifestyle he was accustomed to, as the grand duke’s lands would return to the imperial family should the grand duke die. Even though it was demanding, being by such a person’s side 24/7 would likely lead to an early death from stress before he could receive a new estate.

Reiad took a deep breath and lifted his head. “The presence of only bodies indicates an attempt to intimidate Your Majesty without directly harming you. It seems they aim to unsettle you, and not giving in is the winning strategy. Above all, aren’t there by Your Majesty’s side five knights who guard the imperial family during the day and other knights who guard at night?”

“True. I have the Imperial Knights. They have been loyal to me for a long time.”

“Yes. And with the princess currently in the imperial palace, they wouldn’t dare do anything rash.”

“If they wanted to harm me, I would have been dead by now. Indeed, it’s Count Cloette.

…”

From behind the curtains, the emperor looked at Reiad with trembling eyes and laughed weakly. Reiad thought his laughter was repulsive.

“…Why worry over such things? I am your loyal servant.”

“That’s right! It was a good thing I called you. I feel much relieved now.”

Yet, Reiad was accustomed to feigning love and loyalty to such repulsive people.

“I’m glad to have been of help.”

“I see why women are drawn to you. Stay and chat some more. I’ll call for some wine.”

“…Yes.”

What followed was a nauseating continuation of events. The emperor, still in his saliva-stained pajamas, ordered a drinks table to be set up in one corner of the bedroom. Servants busily moved around, bringing tables and chairs.

Reiad was finally free from the emperor’s presence long after sunset, and the smell of alcohol and cigars clung to him. His neatly combed hair was partially disheveled, and his crisp uniform was stained dark where the emperor had accidentally spilled whiskey.

After leaving the emperor’s bedroom, Reiad staggered through the corridors of the palace. He walked aimlessly, trying to sober up, heading towards the guest palace garden. There, Reiad, looking disturbed, encountered Diana in the garden.

“Hello, Reiad. Seeing you here not at my call, the emperor must have summoned you.”

“…Yes, Princess.”

Reiad habitually flashed a plausible smile. His face could make any woman’s heart flutter, but his eyes were lifeless, like those of a dead fish.

“It must be tiresome, this life. In the end, you too are bound to be discarded.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Reiad. It’s a pity, but you will die after you’ve outlived your usefulness. It wouldn’t be an entirely unexpected end for you. It was just something you’ve ignored.”

“…”

Reiad’s expression froze while smiling. Still drunk and unable to stand straight, Diana approached and whispered in his ear. His pupils trembled.

“…I’ll give you plenty of time. Think it over. You remember everything, even if you drink, so you’ll remember it when you wake up.” She smiled and walked away towards the building she was staying in.

For a while, Reiad stood there, petrified, then aimlessly entered a building and summoned a servant to take a carriage back to the Cloette residence.

Everything he encountered in the palace had intensely upset him. He roughly untied his coat and cravat as he headed to his room, habitually heading to the room on the second floor to the far right. Perhaps because he had visited it more often than his own room lately, it had become more familiar.

Entering the room, a portrait of Luize and himself as a couple caught his eye. It had originally hung in the entrance hall of the mansion.

His hurried steps halted.

“Luize.”

In the predawn hours when most of the servants were asleep, he approached the portrait and tentatively reached out to touch Luize’s face depicted at the front. His trembling fingers slid down her cheek.

“…It was only you. The one person who didn’t rely on me and left me as I was.”

His gaze dropped.

“You knew how twisted I was. Even in such absurd situations, you loved me. No matter how repulsive I became.”

Tears filled his blue eyes and streamed down his face.

Large tear stains darkened the carpet.

“…You love me like that.”

Overwhelmed with emotion, his back shook uncontrollably. But there was no one to comfort him.

Was it because this was the sunniest room in the mansion? In the pitch-black night, the room felt suffocatingly dark. In the deep darkness of the cold room, only the occasional sobs of a man could be heard.