As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover Chapter 76

The faint scent of roses emanated from the direction the boy was guiding Luize. It seemed they had moved quite a distance by now. The alleys, intertwined like a maze, were dark and dirty.

 

“Let me go.”

 

“Oho, if you scream, I’ll kill you.”

 

“…Ha.” The boy twisted the corner of his mouth and smiled. “It seems like you’re the ones who will end up dead.”

 

“From the way you speak, you must be from a high-ranking family, aren’t you? Too bad for you, we don’t care about that. We’ll make a fine courtesan out of you.”

 

It was at that moment an unsightly man opened his mouth to boast. Something rose behind him.

 

“Ack!”

 

“W-what is that!”

 

The boy’s hand, which was about to snap his fingers, stopped. As the men turned around in panic, there stood a little girl with silver hair. It was Luize.

 

“Old Men, let him go. Don’t bully that friend.”

 

“Friend? Are you friends with this boy? Now that I look, you’re quite pretty too.”

 

The man rubbed the back of his head where he had been hit.

 

“A troublemaker and even carries a sword. A girl like that is no use. We’ll make a docile child out of you. Hahaha!”

 

“I’d rather not.” Luize opened her eyes wide, then, instead of drawing her sword, she picked it up, sheath and all. “My mother said not to strike people carelessly outside of the forest, so I’ll deal with Old Men with this.”

 

The men laughed out loud at the child’s audacious voice. One of the men grabbed the cloak hood covering Luize’s head. The laughter was short-lived.

 

Luize quickly shrugged off her cloak and escaped from his grasp. Then, she swiftly climbed the walls of the alley, knocking the men unconscious by hitting the back of their necks. The large men began to fall one by one at Luize’s hand. The scattering of her silver hair as she moved was as graceful as waves breaking in the moonlight.  Finally, the last man fell. Luize picked up her cloak from the ground, dusted it off, and casually threw it over her shoulder.

 

The boy, amidst the confusion, did not run away and stood still until she had knocked down the last man. He had been unable to take his eyes off her, moving as fast as light.

 

At that moment, one of the unconscious men behind Luize seemed to stir, moving his fingers. It was then that the boy remembered what he had to do and snapped his fingers. Snap. The moving man collapsed again, his body going limp.

 

Luize approached the boy. “Are you alright? You don’t seem hurt.”

 

“…I’m fine. Thank you for saving me.”

 

Purple eyes scanned the boy up and down.

 

The boy was taller than Luize. Up close, his gaze was clearer than it had appeared from afar. A strong scent of roses emanated from him.

 

“Are you wearing perfume?”

 

“I don’t.”

 

“Then it must be natural. You smell like roses. It’s really nice.” Luize smiled brightly.

 

“Do you like roses?”

 

“Uh? Yeah. I do.”

 

“Then, as a token of my gratitude, I’ll bring you roses the next time we meet.”

 

“Really? Thank you. I heard it’s hard to find flowers in winter. If possible, I’d like them to be red like your eyes.”

 

“I’ll prepare red roses.”

 

“By the way, what’s your name?” Luize’s question seemed to make the boy ponder for a moment.

“Elliott.”

 

“I’m Lu…” Luize started to say but stopped. Lensia had always been extremely cautious about her being exposed to the outside world. If she knew Luize had told someone her name, she would probably nag her a lot.

 

“Lu?”

 

“Yes. Just call me Lu.”

 

“Okay.”

 

The boy’s lips formed a graceful curve. He was unexpectedly handsome. Among all the men Luize had seen, her father, Allen, was definitely the most handsome, but she hadn’t expected to meet someone even more beautiful. Luize inwardly exclaimed in admiration.

 

“Where are your parents?”

 

“My parents are far away, and my companions should be in the central square.”

 

“Oh, I need to go to the central square too.”

 

“Should we move from here together then?” The boy asked, his face slightly flushed after a short cough.

 

Luize had unwittingly followed the boy, moving away from the festival streets. She was unfamiliar with this area, so it was a welcome suggestion. “Do you know where the central square is? Being from around here, you must know.”

 

“I’m not from here. I know the geography around here because I memorized the map.”

 

“Really? Then let’s take a shortcut. My mother and friend must be waiting for me.”

 

“Yes.”

 

The two walked through complex and long alleys. The noise of the festival grew closer. They climbed up and down short stairs and then a staircase several times taller than they appeared.

 

“Phew, is this really a shortcut? The stairs are incredibly high.”

 

“Once we cross here, we’ll be right at the square. The map didn’t mark stairs, so I didn’t know the path would be this rugged. I guess we’ll have to legislate to mandatorily include the height and stairs from now on.” The boy said with a serious face.

 

“How can you regulate that by law? Well, can’t help it. Just have to go…” Luize tripped over a depression in the ground as she moved. Her body swayed dramatically, and she fell to the ground. “Ouch.”

 

“Are you okay?” The boy extended his hand towards Luize.

 

As she looked dazedly at his hand, Luize raised her head to meet his straight gaze. His red eyes were mysteriously beautiful. She placed her hand on his and stood up.

 

“…Warm and soft.” Luize quietly muttered as she looked at her hand, which had held his.

 

“This road seems old and not in good condition. May I escort you?”

 

“Escort? I don’t know how that’s done.” Luize blinked her eyes.

 

The boy pondered for a moment and then opened his mouth. “Well, how about holding hands?”

 

“Yes, I’d like that.” Luize nodded. She wanted to hold his hand again.

 

His warm hand gently enveloped hers. The boy locked eyes with Luize. “Shall we go?”

 

“Yes.” Luize’s cheeks flushed peach as she nodded.

 

As they climbed the stairs, he spoke to her. “I will definitely repay this kindness. I’ll give you a token so you can find me.”

 

“A token?”

 

The boy detached a cufflink from his cloak’s sleeve with his free hand and handed it to Luize. The gold cufflink was engraved with the image of a dragon. “If you keep this, I’ll come back prepared to repay you, Miss Lu.”

 

“Okay. Wow, I’ve never seen such a pretty button before.”  Luize murmured as she looked at the button she received.

 

“I’m glad you like it.”

 

The two exchanged small talk as they climbed the stairs. Luize was thrilled to be talking to someone her age other than Maxion for the first time in a long time.

 

“You know, this is my first time coming out like this. I had no idea the world could be so wonderful and fun. I only knew about festivals from books.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Yeah. My mom always gossiped about the crown prince, but I think the crown prince is probably much nicer than she thinks.”

 

“…Why do you think that?”

 

“Someone who created such a beautiful world couldn’t be bad, right? Except for the weird guys we just met.” Luize laughed. “I hope it’s just as fun and beautiful next time I go out. I don’t know when that will be, but I hope those bad guys are gone by then.”

 

The boy quietly responded in a low voice. “…I will make it so.”

 

“You were helplessly dragged away by those guys earlier. How could you possibly do anything?”

 

“My companions are strong, so it will be alright.”

 

“Then stick with them from now on. You almost got hurt.”

 

“Yes.” The boy paused before continuing. “…If someone else were in the same situation as me, would you save them too?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Taking risks for others isn’t easy. You might put yourself in danger, Lu, and not everyone appreciates being saved.”

 

“Do you need a reason to save someone? I just want everyone to be happy. And…”

 

Luize turned her head to look at his face. The boy had been looking at her, and their eyes met immediately.

 

“I’m not in danger. Because I’m strong.” Her face was serious as she answered.

 

The boy’s eyes widened and then naturally formed a gentle curve. “I suppose you are.”

 

They had reached the end of the staircase. The evening sun was setting, casting a spectrum of crimson and navy across the sky. A warm-colored light floated above, bobbing gently.

 

“What is that?”

 

“It looks like a sky lantern. There’s a story that if you write a wish on this paper and let it fly, your wish will come true.”

 

“Too bad. I wanted to do that too.”

 

“If you have a wish, just say it. Just saying it out loud might make it come true.”

 

“Well, then… First, I hope I can meet you again.” Luize grinned sheepishly. “It’s been a while since I made a new friend. And I’ve never seen a boy as pretty as you!”

 

“That will probably come true.”

 

“And I want to see more of the world. I’ll definitely go to the capital at least once before I die. I want to see for myself if it’s full of terrifying monsters, as my mother said. It’s a secret from my parents, but I believe they’ll allow it someday.”

 

“Monsters, huh? Not entirely wrong.”

 

“Have you been to the capital?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“What’s it like?”

 

“It’s a boring place.”

 

“It must be more interesting than where I live. It’s surely a place that shines and is beautiful. The whole world is filled with light. A peaceful place without people like the bad guys we just met.”

 

The boy answered with a smile.

 

Following that, people began a countdown. As the two looked puzzled in the direction of the square, hundreds, thousands of sky lanterns simultaneously flew into the sky.

 

“Wow, it’s beautiful. Look at that!” Luize pointed at the sky and turned to the boy, her expression hardening the moment she saw him.