As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover Chapter 233

[Side Story 3: The Dragon’s Adolescence- Part 3]

 

The plate where the cake had been was remarkably spotless.

 

“…I remember it being a three-tiered cake, taller than Ren.”

 

“Hahaha, it seems Ren ate it all.”

 

“Wow, it’s really clean.”

 

Aiven, Hendrik, and Robin murmured one by one. Everyone’s eyes turned toward the firmly closed door.

 

When Edward gave the signal, Maxion, who was standing beside him, stepped forward with a stern expression.

 

“Ren, we know you’re in there. Open the door.”

 

“…”

 

“If you don’t open it, we’ll break it down.”

 

“…”

 

“Knights, prepare to break down this door.” Just as Maxion gave the command in a calm voice—

 

“Ppiiiiiiik!” [If you open that door, I’m really going to run away!] Finally, Ren’s voice was heard from inside.

 

“Ren, what’s wrong? Open the door and talk to us.”

 

“Ppik. Ppipik.” [You don’t need to know. You don’t care anyway.]

 

This standoff continued for nearly a month.

 

* * *

The general cause was soon discovered. The people who usually looked after Ren pointed to the same thing: lately, they hadn’t been able to pay as much attention to her because of Luize’s pregnancy and the discovery of the White Dragon’s egg. While Ren had a designated servant in the side palace, it hated being restrained and freely roamed the palace on its own.

 

As a result, whoever happened to be near Ren at any given time was the one looking after it, rather than the assigned servant. Ren often handled meals and sleeping arrangements elsewhere, so the servants’ main tasks were just keeping track of when Ren woke up and left, making them more like caretakers of the palace itself than of Ren.

 

Even the caretaker’s duties were simply to check on Ren’s health and eating habits once a day and summon a teacher for it to study the Imperial language whenever it wanted. In short, everyone had been unconsciously taking turns looking after Ren, but when they became too busy to give Ren the usual attention, it seemed Ren had felt deeply neglected.

 

Everyone except Luize, who spent most of her days in bed due to her pregnancy, was partly to blame.

 

Luize’s silver eyelashes fluttered, revealing her violet eyes. Edward, watching her from beside the bed, holding her hand as she slept, spoke softly. “Luize, you’re awake?”

 

“Mmm… Edward? How long did I sleep this time?”

 

“A day has passed.”

 

“Oh dear. Still, it’s amazing I don’t feel too bad. I’m not even very hungry.”

 

All these symptoms pointed to the fact that Luize was carrying his child. It was common for those bearing the heir of the Kaillon imperial line to sleep deeply and eat little, while their body remained in their usual state.

 

“Since you’re awake, how about eating something?”

 

“I feel like having pumpkin soup.”

 

Edward immediately summoned a servant and ordered the pumpkin soup. Knowing she could fall asleep again at any moment, it was best for her to eat quickly while she was awake.

 

“Edward, you know a lot about dragons, don’t you?”

 

“I suppose I do.”

 

“I heard that dragons can sleep for decades once they fall asleep. Is that true?”

 

“From what I understand, they can sleep for hundreds of years if they’re mortally wounded or bored.”

 

“I see…” Luize blinked slowly, deep in thought. “Do you think it’s possible to accidentally sleep for such a long time?”

 

“I suppose it’s possible to doze off and have decades pass by… But why are you suddenly curious about that?”

 

“Just, as I keep sleeping for long periods, I start to wonder. What if Ren suddenly falls asleep like me one day, and we can’t wake it up? Would we end up parting ways without ever seeing Ren’s lively self again?”

 

“…”

 

“I feel like our last conversation was so trivial, and I regret not creating more happy memories with Ren.”

 

Edward quietly stroked the back of her hand.

 

To a dragon, a human’s lifespan was as brief as a flower blooming and withering in a single season. But dragons had far better memories than humans, and the events of the past didn’t fade easily. While negative emotions might eventually dull over time, especially good memories remain vividly clear.

 

In the case of the Black Dragon Run, it was the brilliant memories of the past that became the painful thorns in her heart, leading her to ultimately choose death.

 

“That won’t happen. Dragons are especially active when they’re young, and it’s rare for them to sleep for years. If Ren doesn’t wake up, I’ll wake it for you, so don’t worry.”

 

“I’m glad you’re here.” Luize smiled at him. “I’ve read a lot of books about dragons from the imperial library for Ren’s sake, but I still have a long way to go. Sometimes, Edward, you seem to know dragons as if you were one yourself.”

 

“Well, I have its bloodline, after all.”

 

“Oh, right.”

 

Edward smiled softly, concealing his true thoughts. Luize, as sharp as she sometimes was, didn’t realize how close she was to the truth.

 

“I’m worried. Ren doesn’t have an elder dragon to guide it… But once the White Dragon is born, the two of them will get along, right?”

 

“There’s an old saying: never worry about dragons. They’ll be fine.”

 

“That’s a relief…” Luize blinked sleepily again. “What should I do? I don’t think I’ll be able to eat that pumpkin soup after all.”

 

“It’s okay to sleep a bit more. There are records of someone sleeping for ten days straight.”

 

In fact, Edward wasn’t entirely reassured by her condition. Although all the evidence indicated that her symptoms were normal, he was constantly anxious about the possibility that Luize might not wake up. Whenever the thought of her feeling lonely without him when she woke crossed his mind, he found himself at her bedside, watching over her as she slept.

 

“Ren… hasn’t come out in quite a while, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“After having a child… I heard that you need to pay a lot of attention to the first child’s feelings if you have a second one… The sense of being left out is overwhelming.”

 

“…”

 

“…Ren must feel the same way. I should have paid more attention…” Luize closed her eyes again.

 

Edward sent away the pumpkin soup that had arrived and spent a long time gazing at Luize as she slept.

 

* * *

The solution came from an unexpected person.

 

Luize’s aunt, Lorein di Servenia, visited the palace. Although she knew that carrying the imperial heir was different from other pregnancies, she couldn’t help but worry about Luize’s condition every time she heard about it. While she trusted Edward, having lost someone dear to the imperial family herself, she felt she wouldn’t be at ease until she saw Luize healthy and able to converse.

 

Since Luize was spending more time asleep than awake, Lorein had to stay at the palace for several days to meet with her. In the process, she naturally heard about Ren’s situation.

 

“That dragon, it seems it’s missed the right moment to get over its sulking. What do you think, Your Majesty?”

 

“I believe that’s quite possible.”

 

After finally having a conversation with the barely-awake Luize, Lorein relaxed somewhat and requested an audience with Edward before leaving. Although their language and manner of addressing each other had changed since Edward ascended to the throne, their relationship remained the same.

 

Lorein took a sip of her tea and continued, “I also went through a similar phase in my life. After getting mad over something trivial, I felt too embarrassed to come out of my room.”

 

“…It’s hard to believe you had such a phase.”

 

“Well, I was as young as that dragon back then. Now, I’ve become an old woman.” She chuckled as if recalling fond memories.

 

In truth, Lorein didn’t need to go back that far. Even during her courtship with her husband, she had shown similar behavior from time to time. Of course, she wouldn’t bother mentioning that to Edward.

 

“It’s been over a month, and no matter how much we coax Ren, there’s no sign of that door opening.”

 

“If you leave it alone, it’ll sulk even more. But if you keep coaxing it from outside, it’ll feel too embarrassed to come out, as the reason for its sulking was so minor. The longer it takes, the more its embarrassment will grow, and the harder it’ll be for it to come out.”

 

“You make it sound like a problem we need to solve soon. Do you have a solution?”

 

Lorein smiled brightly. “It’s simple. You need to give it a reason to let go of its anger.” She set her teacup down.