As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover Chapter 208

“Since he’s a proven card that trapped me, the empress dowager will likely try to use him for another task. Of course, I erased all his memories of that incident, just in case. Finn believes he only fainted briefly. Even if the empress dowager tries to harm him openly, she’ll fail. I’ve hidden a protective item on his wrist.” Edward pointed to his cufflinks.

 

“Magic stone cufflinks? Won’t they be discovered?”

 

“I took great care in hiding them so they won’t be detected. It’s something I put a lot of effort into.”

 

It was rare for Edward to directly acknowledge the effort he put into something. The members of the order quickly accepted it with trust in their eyes.

 

Luize spoke up. “So when will the plan be carried out?”

 

“Since there’s no need to delay, we’ll proceed tomorrow.”

 

“Sounds good.” Luize nodded in agreement.

 

* * *

The unexpected turn in their plan began the next evening when Edward entered the secret space connected to the emperor’s chamber. After passing through a dark, dusty corridor, he came upon a room surrounded by shelves filled with bottles of red liquid. He looked at the many bottles lining one wall.

 

“Blood?”

 

But it wasn’t just ordinary blood. As he moved closer and reached out, he felt a familiar aura emanating from it.

 

“This is…” A shadow fell over Edward’s face as he realized the source of the blood in the bottles.

 

Edward left the secret space and searched the sleeping emperor’s body. Around the emperor’s neck, he found a small vial containing the same blood. His red eyes filled with deep anger, and a soundless chuckle escaped his lips. He could have ended the emperor’s life with a single move, but such an easy death was not fitting for this man.

 

Edward thought of another way to restore everything to its rightful place. Upon returning to the crown prince’s palace, he reviewed laws related to the crown prince.

 

“…I never thought the day would come to use this.” Edward murmured in a low voice.

 

* * *

The day before, the emperor had sent a nanny to care for the newly hatched dragon at the foundation ceremony.

 

“Ppiiiiik! Kyaak! Haak! Ppiik!” [I hate that human! I really hate him! Despicable Maxion, come here!]

 

The next day, when Maxion visited Ren’s room to check on him, he was met with the sight of Ren running into his arms as soon as the door opened. Ren was extremely wary of the dragon nanny sent by the emperor.

 

“Ren? What’s wrong?” Maxion looked at Ren with a confused expression as Ren cried out with tears and a snot running down its face.

 

“Ppiiiii. Ppii, ppippi. Ppiiiii.” [The food she gave me tasted weird. She said nasty things and poked me with something sharp. Last night, she even let an assassin in, so I had to hide using invisibility.]

 

“…What?”

 

The nanny’s shoulders trembled.

 

To avoid unnecessary noise, it was publicly known that neither Maxion nor Edward could understand Ren’s words. It was said that they needed a wizard to use a translation spell, but this time, Maxion couldn’t pretend not to understand Ren’s words.

 

Given that Ren’s appearance was tied to prophecy, his life was under close scrutiny by the temple.

 

“A black dragon? Of all things, the dragon that killed the white dragon was born first…”

 

To the lamenting Raphaela, who was trying to interpret the will of the gods, Edward revealed part of the dragon’s hidden story. The strained relationship between the imperial family and the temple stemmed from the false information that Run had killed Ron.

 

Edward explained that the white dragon, Ron, had died of old age and that the two dragons had been on good terms. He added that Ren had conveyed this after hearing the whole story from inside the egg. Raphaela, understanding this, left with her concerns eased.

 

As a result, the temple’s wariness toward Ren decreased. Of course, there was no concrete evidence to support Edward’s words, and the temple was still cautious about the fact that a dragon was residing with the imperial family. However, their concern was more for the safety of the entire continent than a power struggle with the imperial family.

 

Moreover, the public declaration that killing a dragon would bring a curse upon the entire empire made the temple even more cautious. As their mission was to protect and heal life under divine guidance, they couldn’t easily harm Ren.

 

The emperor was in a similar situation. While it was obvious that Edward would suffer the most if something happened to Ren, the emperor would also bear significant responsibility since he had agreed to let the nanny he sent manage Ren.

 

“Ppii…” Ren sniffled, wiping its tears with its front paw.

 

Maxion slowly spoke. “…I don’t know what it’s saying, but it’s clear the dragon doesn’t like the nanny. I’ll take care of it for now.”

 

“No, I…”

 

“It’ll be troublesome for everyone if it gets stressed and acts out. I’ll handle it.”

 

Maxion wiped Ren’s nose with a handkerchief and then took it to Edward.

 

Ren, now perched in the middle of Edward’s desk, began to pour out complaints about everything that had happened in just one day. Edward patted Ren’s head, its eyes swollen from crying, and responded.

 

“I see. It must have been tough.”

 

Ren, still sulking, grumbled as he sat on Edward’s desk. “Pppiiii. Ppii. Ppik. Ppii?” [Humans can’t pierce dragon scales with their metal weapons. They can scratch them just enough to hurt, but that’s it. Look at this. Do you know how much that stung?]

 

Ren, still a little young, held out its softest paw, where a faint white mark was visible in the middle.

 

“Ppitppippiii. Ppi. Ppii.” [And the macarons that person brought tasted like poisonous herbs. She must’ve been trying to poison me. I hid in case the assassin tried to kidnap me.]

 

Ren shook the paw it had extended forward, protesting as if asking Edward to do something about it.

 

“…The emperor’s actions are becoming more and more outrageous.”

 

Edward hadn’t left his office since returning from the emperor’s chamber the previous night, saying he had preparations to make. He had promised to reveal what he had found there at the right time, but it was clear his mood was still sour.

 

“Maxion, you’ll be in charge of Ren for the time being. The emperor’s goal might be to turn the dragon fully into our responsibility and then harm Ren.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And make sure to thoroughly check any food entering the crown prince’s palace. Not just for Ren, but for everyone in the knight order as well. If they’re bold enough to attack Ren, they might also target the knight order, even with a high priest among us.”

 

“Understood.”

 

No one could understand what the empress dowager and the emperor were thinking, but they were notorious for ruining the empire by meddling in everything.

 

Edward, who had spent the night writing documents, called for the first meeting with key members of the imperial family, including the emperor. The meeting was set for three days later.

 

* * *

The day before the meeting called by Edward, and when rumors about Maxion taking care of Ren as a nanny were spreading through the imperial city, a visitor arrived for Maxion.

 

“They said they couldn’t reveal who they are.”

 

“Yes. But they threatened to commit suicide in front of the palace if they weren’t granted an audience.”

 

“…”

 

Maxion had a suspicion of who it might be.

 

Count Kalliod had repeatedly sent his people to contact Maxion whenever he had the chance. After being consistently refused, he had gone quiet for a while, but it seemed he had sent someone again. The fact that his methods had become more extreme suggested that something urgent had happened on the count’s side.

 

It was time to make his refusal clear once again. Maxion ordered the man to be let in, then entrusted Ren to Luize and headed to the parlor.

 

“I apologize for coming here uninvited, but I had no other way to meet you.” The man bowed deeply to Maxion. “The count is in critical condition. He needs your signature to transfer the title. It’s his lifelong wish. Please, grant it.”

 

“…The count is in critical condition?”

 

“Yes. He has been bedridden frequently since he fell seriously ill, but this time it’s truly dire. The situation is so urgent that the title must be transferred immediately.”

 

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear this.”

 

“Young Master!”

 

Maxion had never even set foot in Kalliod’s estate, so being called ‘Young Master’ felt inappropriate.

 

Despite Maxion’s firm refusal, the count’s man continued. “The count said that if you refuse, he will return the title to His Majesty. He also mentioned that as long as he’s alive, Kalliod will remain loyal to the emperor.”

 

“…”

 

“The count also knows that you are close to the crown prince. If one of the great northern nobles, Kalliod, sides with the emperor, it would be bad news for your lord as well.”

 

A long silence followed.