As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover Chapter 240

“No. You’ll continue teaching Ren. But you’ll need a rest period.”

 

“Then, may I ask how long I’ll need to rest? I’ve already recovered, so I can keep working without a break.” Karin spoke with a desperate face.

 

Maxion looked at her in silence for a moment before speaking. “I’ve heard that Dame Merden is rather knowledgeable about high society, which is unusual for a knight. Is that true?”

 

“Yes. Since I spent time in the social circles of the capital, I know a fair bit about that world.”

 

“What about your political insight?”

 

“I studied politics as part of my succession training. Even at social gatherings, I was more interested in observing the flow of influence than mingling for fun.”

 

“You seem passionate about territory management as well. Is that something you take seriously?”

 

“The people of Merden are like family to me. I want to do my best to ensure everyone can live well.” As the conversation unexpectedly turned into a kind of interview, Karin answered with a somewhat bewildered expression.

 

After quietly listening to her responses, Maxion finally said, “If you become my deputy as captain of the imperial knights, you’ll receive a much larger bonus. You’ll earn more than you do now teaching Ren. Would you be interested?”

 

“Huh? Yes! Please appoint me!”

 

“Then from today, you are officially my deputy.”

 

“It’s an honor. Thank you!” Karin responded with a delighted expression at Maxion’s announcement. “But is it really okay to make me your deputy so suddenly? I thought you were being extremely careful since you hadn’t had a deputy for so long.”

 

“You have everything I need, so it’s fine. And…” Maxion looked over at Ren. “One reason I didn’t take a deputy before was because of Ren. She doesn’t like me being close to others. She even hates it when there are three of us in a room. But with Dame, I think it’ll be okay.”

 

“Thank you. I’ll do my best to live up to your expectations.”

 

Maxion gave a faint smile. “Alright then, Rin.”

 

“…Pardon?” Karin blinked in surprise and stared at him.

 

Blushing slightly, Maxion continued as if nothing was wrong. “I’d like to call you Rin from now on. Is that okay?”

 

“Y-Yes. Please do.”

 

“Good. Rin, I’ll send the paperwork tomorrow. But for today, I’ll give you your first task as my deputy.”

 

“Please leave it to me.”

 

“Your task for the rest of today is to take your medicine and rest.”

 

“…”

 

“And when Ren wakes up, explain the situation to her and return to your duty. She was very worried about you.”

 

“Yes. Understood.” Karin nodded and gently patted the sleeping Ren’s head.

 

“Then I’ll leave you now.” With that, Maxion left the room.

 

Lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, Karin slowly smiled. “As the rumors say, he really is like a father to the dragon.” He’s a good person, isn’t he? Karin whispered softly and stroked Ren’s head again.

 

When Ren woke up, still in polymorphed form, she burst into tears again and clung to Karin. “If you’re sick, I can’t take off your mask! That would ruin the whole game!”

 

“I’ll do my best not to get sick again.”

 

“Do you know how hard it was dragging you to my room?!”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“You didn’t want the imperial healer, so I had to call an unofficial one!”

 

“…Wait, you really didn’t call the palace healer?”

 

“Well, technically, he works in the imperial palace… but whatever! People had a hard time because you were sick. But why couldn’t we call the imperial healer?”

 

“That’s… I want to keep teaching Lady Ren, but if the imperial palace finds out I’m sick, they might not let me continue.”

 

“Hmph. I like how passionate you are about teaching me.”

 

Even though there was the adult reality of money behind it, Ren didn’t seem to care much.

 

“By the way, Lady Ren, were you the one who put me in this bed?”

 

“No. Maxion carried you like a princess and laid you down.”

 

“…What?”

 

“He even held your hand and pretended to be your brother. You asked him to call you by your nickname, so he did.”

 

Karin turned pale. “I… did something so rude?”

 

“Yup. Oh, and—”

 

“And…?”

 

“Maxion saw your real face. I was dying to know what was under the mask, so I asked for a hint. He didn’t let me see it, though. Which makes me even more curious now.”

 

Karin froze.

 

The larger scar covering one side of her face was similar to a burn. It was something she always hid because it was unsightly and large, having appeared when her brother died. The reason she wore the mask when teaching Ren was to stir her curiosity, but also to avoid making Ren feel uncomfortable.

 

To Karin, Maxion was just her superior. Nothing would change just because he saw her scar. But for some reason, the fact that he saw her worst side kept bothering her.

 

“Did the captain say anything after seeing my face?”

 

“There were wave-shaped clouds over the imperial palace the other day—did you see them?”

 

“I think so. Around sunset, right?”

 

“Yeah. He said your face reminded him of those clouds.”

 

“Did he find it disgusting?”

 

“He didn’t say anything like that.”

 

Karin let out a sigh of relief.

 

Ren, quietly watching her, spoke up. “Maxion said those clouds were beautiful that day. But they looked like just any other shape to me. He once told me there are many people in the world who find it hard to accept differences. But those are just fools who don’t know that different things can be beautiful in their own way.”

 

“…”

 

“For reference, unless a human looks really strange, you all look pretty much the same to me. But the more unique you are, the more special you are, and I like that. That’s why I’m curious how special the other side of yours, which is covered by a mask. I’m going to take it off myself someday, so just wait!”

 

Ren pointed at Karin’s mask as she said it. Normally, Karin would have given a witty reply, but this time, she sniffled and lowered her head deeply.

 

“W-What?? Why are you crying all of a sudden?”

 

“No. It’s not like that. There’s just some dust in my eye.”

 

“There’s no dust in here.”

 

“Sorry. Maybe it’s an eyelash.”

 

“Well, humans do shed hair constantly.” Ren patted Karin’s shoulder, muttering to herself.

 

* * *

After appointing Karin as his deputy, Maxion began assigning her various tasks. At first, half of them were just instructions to take herbal medicine and rest. But once she recovered, the workload piled up significantly.

 

Despite finally having a deputy, Maxion seemed to be getting busier than ever.

 

“Maxion! Evelyn is calling you!”

 

“Maion, Maion.”

 

The princess had started babbling. Thanks to Ren running to Evelyn every day and talking nonstop about Luize, Edward, and Maxion, the princess learned their names before even ‘mom’ or ‘dad’.

 

“Luie, Ewad, Maion.”

 

“That’s right. Exactly.”

 

When Evelyn called for Luize or Edward, it usually meant someone had to come carry her. But Maxion was in a position where he couldn’t ignore her call, so every time she called, he would come running. Naturally, Evelyn started calling him more and more for fun.

 

Growing used to Maxion from such a young age, the princess naturally became his second ‘child’ to look after.

 

“You don’t even have a lover, Captain, but the number of kids under your care keeps growing.”

 

“Hey now, don’t talk about the princess that way.”

 

“But it’s true. Even the maids who used to have crushes on you gave up after Ren became so clingy. And now we’ve got a princess who adores her ‘uncle.’ It’s a shame that someone so kind like you might go through life never knowing love.”

 

Just then, another voice chimed in. “You never know. He might find a lover soon.”

 

“Whoa, Dame Merden! You startled me. Oh right, you’re serving as his deputy now, right? Do you know something we don’t?”

 

“Well, who knows? I just have a feeling.

 

The day that oblivious Maxion and Karin would finally realize they’d fallen for each other wouldn’t come until much later.

 

The End of Side Story 4: Maxion