As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover Chapter 72

Ex-husband, Reiad de Cloette. It’s been just over a month since their divorce. They had agreed to meet at his mansion when the roses in the garden bloomed again…

 

There was no lingering attachment to the divorce. They would not reconcile. But that was Luize’s situation.

 

Would Edward be bothered by it? Luize stroked her mug with a troubled face. Edward still kept a mysterious demeanor by her side.

 

From a distance, the three assigned to prepare dinner tonight – Hendrik, Aiven, and Robin watched their backs.

 

“Kya, youth!”

 

“I’m getting confused these days about whether this is an expedition or a love saga. They’ve been together for a while, so why is all this fluttering suddenly?”

 

“…Because they weren’t dating.”

 

“What?”

 

At Aiven’s words, Hendrik nodded calmly. “It seems so.”

 

“Whaaaaaat?” Thud. Robin dropped his water bottle in shock.

 

Hendrik picked it up and handed it back to him. “Hahaha! I only noticed recently. It seems Aiven knew from the start, right?”

 

Aiven nodded.

 

“Was I the only one who didn’t know?”

 

“Haha, it seems so.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Robin looked incredulously back and forth between Aiven and Hendrik. “So, have those two been pretending to date in front of us all this time?”

 

“Not exactly. It seems they have feelings for each other, but…”

 

“Whaaat? Then why aren’t they dating? Not all relationships have to start with passionate love.”

 

“…Think about their situation.”

 

Aiven’s comment made Robin look back and forth between the two. “Now that you mention it, it hasn’t been long since Miss Luize got divorced. Maybe she still thinks a lot about her ex-husband.”

 

“…Even if that’s not the case, considering the atmosphere in the empire that’s been buzzing with their stories, just that fact alone would be concerning.”

 

“Right. But His Excellency isn’t someone to care about such things.”

 

Robin looked puzzled, and then Hendrik spoke. “Hmm, but he can’t just approach recklessly. The expedition has just started, and even if it ends well, there’s what comes after.”

 

“…During the usurpation of the throne, there could be a confrontation with Miss Luize’s ex-husband in the capital.”

 

“That’s right. So, if the two of them were to come together perfectly, it would be after everything is settled or after Miss Luize becomes aware of our purpose. But His Excellency wouldn’t want to involve Miss Luize in the whirlwind of political strife.”

 

“Even if it takes slowly progressing their relationship, His Excellency would be cautious about going further.”

 

“If it were His Excellency in his more reckless days, who knows, but in his current normal state, it doesn’t seem like their relationship will progress further during this expedition. But he’s not one to just leave someone he has feelings for alone, so he’s openly circling around to prevent anyone from rashly approaching.”

 

Hendrik concluded, and Robin nodded.

 

“His Excellency in his reckless days. I can’t imagine it. I wasn’t part of the knight order then, but whenever people talk about that time, their expressions change.”

 

Hendrik spoke gravely, “It was chaos. Leaving the imperial palace led to nearly half of the knight order becoming casualties. Afterward, we couldn’t even sleep properly because of the constant influx of assassins and spies. It was as if there was a movement to eliminate everything related to His Excellency.”

 

Robin’s brows furrowed.

 

“At that time, we were too inexperienced, so it was more like His Excellency was protecting us. That’s when I found out His Excellency was a top-level wizard.”

 

“Why does His Excellency hide the fact that he’s a wizard?”

 

“After the current emperor ascended the throne, he declared a fight against black magic. In fact, there were plans to brand His Excellency as a black wizard and kill him. They failed to find any leverage to use against him.”

 

“…It’s impressive anew. How did His Excellency endure that time?”

 

“Who knows.” Hendrik gazed at Edward’s back quietly. “I’m curious about that too.”

 

The trio headed back to camp. As if by agreement, they stopped talking and started preparing dinner.

 

* * *

The first marked destination on the map was a fairly large village nearby. Luize checked the map again. They seemed to be close, but not a single house-like building, let alone the village, was in sight.

 

As the forest path continued, Hendrik laughed awkwardly. “Ahaha! Looks like we might be camping out again tonight. We should’ve reached the village by now, but we must’ve taken a wrong turn.”

 

“It seems so. Strange.”

 

Edward was the first to notice something odd. He stared ahead with a hardened face. “Maxion.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Do you see that ahead? Looks like a giant mirror. Can you see it?”

 

“…I see it.”

 

At his words, Maxion, who had been looking intently into the distance, nodded. Hendrik and Luize also realized after moving closer that the forest path did not continue as they thought.

 

The knight order arrived at the place where the village should be, facing a huge building.

 

“The front is made of mirrors.”

 

“When was this built? Such a building wouldn’t have gone unnoticed.”

 

As Hendrik muttered, Aiven, who had come forward to inspect, spoke up. “…It seems to be a building made by magic.”

 

“Let’s scout the area first. I plan to ride around it, so Hendrik and Aiven, follow me. The rest, dismount and wait here.”

 

The three set off. Luize, who had hoped to rest in the village tonight, dismounted with a bit of disappointment. It was then that they heard people approaching from afar.

 

“Huh? Maxion. It looks like people are coming. Villagers?”

 

“…Looks more like a small trading group.”

 

A caravan loaded with goods and people with weary faces approached them.

 

“It’s happened again.”

 

“I wonder if we’re being possessed or something.”

 

“Let’s really go back this time.”

 

They quickly noticed the newcomers and approached lightly on horseback.

 

“Do you know anything about that building?”

 

“Have you knights been ensnared here?”

 

“We just arrived. It’s our first time here.”

 

“Tsk, tsk, unfortunate. You’ll soon be like us. This is our third time returning, and half of our group was devoured by that building.”

 

“Devoured?” Luize, who came next to Maxion, asked with a puzzled face.

 

“Yes. If you stay here long enough, someone occasionally gets lured into that building. If you get close, a door that was never there before appears. No one who has entered has come out.”

 

Luize looked at Maxion with a shocked face. He asked the trader calmly, “Knowing it’s dangerous, why did you return?”

 

“It’s strange. Once you move away from the building, you lose all memories of this place. So we blindly return to the village, and the trading master scolds us for returning with the goods intact. Then we repeat the process of bringing the goods to the village, which has become a mirror building. As you get closer, you remember what you forgot.”

 

“Not just that.” A man from the group spoke up. “Once you leave, you also forget about the people who were ‘eaten’ by the building. What’s shocking is that when you return to the village, no one remembers them. It’s as if the person completely disappeared.”

 

“Let’s go back. Before someone else gets ‘eaten’.”

 

“I hope the master gives up and sends us elsewhere this time. It’s dreadful.”

 

The men turned their horses and left them.

 

“It’s scary magic. Are Edward and the others okay?”

 

“They’ll be fine. His Excellency has strong magic resistance, and Hendrik and Aiven aren’t easily affected.”

 

Maxion and Luize returned to the knight order.

 

“Vice-Captain! We have a problem!”

 

The atmosphere among the knight order had turned grave in a short time.

 

“…What’s going on?”

 

“Ben went into that building. We shouted at him to stop messing around and come back, but he didn’t listen, and just as he got close, a door suddenly appeared…”

 

“I get it. Form groups and restrain anyone who tries to approach the building.” Maxion looked seriously at the mirror building.

 

Luize spoke up. “We should turn our backs to the building. If it’s a visual lure, avoiding it might help.”

 

“Good idea. Also convey what Luize said.”

 

“Yes!”

 

The squad member turned away. Maxion looked at the building somberly, then turned his head away.

 

* * *

Edward and his party returned after three hours. They laid out darkened magic stones. Maxion immediately reported what had happened in their absence. Hearing the report, Edward spoke with a grim face.

 

“There’s a river next to the building with a clearing that seems suitable for camping. Let’s stay there tonight.”

 

Camping was confirmed for the night. Normally, they might have shown disappointment, but the seriousness of the situation made them accept it gravely. The knight order started setting up tents and preparing for the night at the new campsite.

 

Edward spoke with a stern face. “Seeing the similarities, it seems to be the work of the same group that cast magic on Servenia.”

 

Aiven nodded. “…Even if we remove all the magic stones, if sacrifices are added, the magic will continue to grow.”

 

“Sacrifices?” Luize asked.