As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover Chapter 228

[Side Story 2: Vacation – Part 5]

 

“I didn’t make him cry. He said he got lost.”

 

“It’s surprising that the kid didn’t run away after seeing your face.”

 

“I’m a handsome guy, after all.”

 

As Carlo grinned, the little boy in his arms glanced at him and spoke quietly. “This mister looks like my uncle.”

 

“Your uncle must look pretty scary, then.”

 

When the boy nodded, Carlo looked at him with a slightly aggrieved expression.

 

“Cain, I even bought you a skewer, and this is how you repay me?”

 

“Mister Carlo, my mom says not to lie! But do you know where my uncle is?”

 

It seemed they had already introduced themselves during their conversation.

 

“We’re not from around here, so we don’t know. Where does your uncle live?”

 

The boy opened his eyes wide and replied innocently. “Where the black dragon flies in the sky and there are lots of red things.”

 

“Do you know the exact address or the name of a place he often goes to?”

 

“We just arrived this morning, so I don’t know.”

 

“And your parents?”

 

“They’re coming tomorrow. My uncle brought my younger sibling and me here first.”

 

“Does your uncle live in this village?”

 

“Yes! He lives where the black dragon flies in the sky, and there are lots of red things!”

 

“What’s your uncle’s name?”

 

“I always call him uncle, so I forgot.”

 

Vivian let out a short sigh. It seemed the boy didn’t really know where he lived.

 

“…Since we don’t know where, let’s just take the boy to the guards.’

 

Carlo nodded as he chewed on his food. The boy, chewing his skewer in Carlo’s arms, looked oddly similar to him.

 

“Red-haired, tanned boy… Maybe it’s because their mental age seems similar?”

 

They were on their way to find a guard when Vivian suddenly found herself face-to-face with an unexpected person, her expression turning surprised.

 

“…Why are you two here?”

 

Standing before them were the presumed organizer of this festival and the face of the festival itself, whom they had seen on posters all over the place for the past few days.

 

The empress looked between the two of them with a bewildered expression, and then her gaze stopped on the little boy in Carlo’s arms. “Are you two in that kind of relationship?”

 

At that moment, even Vivian, who was usually good at maintaining her composure in public, almost let her face scrunch up. But she couldn’t do that in front of such esteemed figures.

 

Judging by the fact that it was just the two of them and that no one seemed to recognize them despite their faces being plastered on posters everywhere, it seemed they had used some sort of magic.

 

“…Haha, of course not.” Vivian quickly explained the situation, which led to the present moment.

 

* * *

After hearing the explanation, Luize nodded as if she understood.

 

Vivian let out a small sigh and then spoke. “By the way, may I ask how you two happen to be here? I thought you were in the capital.”

 

It was a tricky question to answer, as they had teleported using Edward’s power. As Luize hesitated, Edward stepped in.

 

“The imperial family has many skilled wizards.”

 

“Indeed, that’s true.”

 

Edward gave a sly smile, silently signaling that she should stop asking questions. Vivian, still harboring some doubts, pretended to accept his answer.

 

From what her information network had gathered, there wasn’t any wizard in the imperial family who could do something like this. If there were, it would have been impossible to keep it a secret. Ah, but now that she thought about it, there was one.

 

“I’ve heard that a black dragon can now teleport to places within its domain. Seeing it with my own eyes is truly impressive.”

 

Luize quickly nodded at her words. “Isn’t it? Our Ren is very capable.”

 

“As expected, dragons are the greatest wizards.”

 

Edward grinned at Vivian’s additional comment.

 

“I hope you won’t spread rumors that the emperor and empress are overworking a baby dragon.”

 

“How could I dare to do such a thing?”

 

Recently, Ren had not only mastered the ability to summon its domain to its location but also could teleport anywhere within its domain.

 

There was an incident not long ago where Ren and Hendrik were playing hide-and-seek and accidentally teleported to Perils together. Ren had tried to hide by teleporting, but instead, it ended up bringing Hendrik with it to Perils. Fortunately, since Luize was also within Ren’s domain, they managed to safely teleport back to the palace and returned to Luize’s room. Although it had startled Luize, who had been concentrating on her work in the office.

 

As part of their effort to strengthen the public’s bond with the dragon, the imperial family had been sharing parts of Ren’s growth process, so this information was publicly known.

 

“But didn’t this boy say he lost his uncle?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Luize made eye contact with the child in Carlo’s arms. “Where did you say your uncle lives?”

 

“Where the black dragon flies in the sky and there are lots of red things!”

 

Luize pondered his words, her eyes darting as she thought. “Where the black dragon flies in the sky and there are lots of red things…”

 

Edward, watching her, spoke up. “Do you have any idea where that might be?”

 

“There are a few places. This area is close to Perils, so a lot of stores have black dragon decorations. The signs are the same. Some stores even have decorations that make it look like a dragon is flying under the sign. Those decorations were sold a long time ago, so they would only be found in older stores.”

 

“I see. Since this is your hometown, it’s likely you know the store.”

 

“Yes. And as for the place with lots of red things… We could find out by checking a few places.” Luize’s eyes sparkled as if she had found an interesting task. “The places that come to my mind are a general store, a fabric shop, and a fruit store. One wall of the general store is painted red, the fabric shop owner often brings in red fabrics, and the fruit store has a lot of strawberries in season right now.”

 

She continued with a slightly flushed face. “We’ve seen enough of the festival, and there’s still plenty of time left, so why don’t we help the boy find his uncle? If we don’t find him before sunset, we can take him to the guards.”

 

Edward smiled at the sight of Luize’s excitement. Although he was slightly disappointed that someone else would be joining them, he thought having a child along wouldn’t be so bad.

 

Carlo, who had been browsing the street vendors’ goods with the boy, stood up. “Oh? So, does that mean there are five of us now?”

 

At Carlo’s words, Vivian glanced at Edward’s expression. His face had subtly tensed, suggesting he wanted to be alone with Luize. Vivian shook her head.

 

“No. We still have the rest of the festival to explore, so we’ll take our leave. Hand Cain over to Your Majesty.”

 

“Which Majesty?”

 

“I’ll hold him.” Edward picked up the boy.

 

“…Your Majesty?” The boy tilted his head in confusion, causing the four adults to freeze momentarily.

 

Vivian quickly added. “It’s just a game we play.”

 

“Wow. My friends and I play emperor games too. A few days ago, we even talked about what we’d say if we met the emperor.”

 

“What do you want to say?”

 

Luize asked with a smile, and the boy brightly replied.

 

“Mom, Dad, and all the aunties and misters in the neighborhood have been happy since His Majesty became the emperor. So, I’m happy too. Thank you for making everyone smile. And the empress is cool too. I want to be a knight as great as Her Majesty!”

 

The boy held up the finished skewer like a sword, striking a solemn pose. Luize and Edward both smiled gently at the sight.

 

Watching them, Vivian spoke up. “That’s what I hear everywhere these days. That’s probably why this festival celebrating Her Majesty’s birthday is so crowded. As a mercenary who travels around, I hear a lot of stories.”

 

“Sister, you’re the one who talks about it the most. You always say it’s nice that people’s lives have gotten easier, but it’s a shame there’s less high-paying wo… ugh!”

 

Vivian clamped her hand over Carlo’s mouth. “Well then, I’ll take this fool and be on my way.”

 

“Aren’t you coming with us? It would be more fun if we all went together. There’s a lot to see at the festival, so enjoy yourselves.”

 

“We will. And here.” Seeing Luize’s disappointment, Vivian took out a pen and paper from her pocket. She quickly scribbled something on the note and handed it to her.