As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover

“…”

“It’s disappointing. It seems the words of your old lord don’t sound like words to you.”

“I only follow one sun.”

“

, right. I was never your lord, not even once. I’ve never become the sun either.”

“…”

“I thought about it after I sent you back. Instead of sending you back with injuries as a warning.”

Edward snapped his fingers in the air again. Then, the six shadows that had been standing back disappeared in an instant, hanging in the air behind Edward, right in Count Eperante’s line of sight.

“

…! What is this?!”

“

, I can’t breathe!”

With a relaxed face, Edward continued, “I should have killed you horribly and presented your corpse to the emperor.”

“…!”

“At that time, I was too busy hiding my power. If I had known I would roam outside the imperial palace for another seven years, I would not have sealed away the memory of my power’s limits.”

The smile vanished from his face. Every time his long fingers touched the air, the clearing became soaked with blood. The groans of those hanging turned into screams, but only one, Count Eperante, who had been stopped right in front of Edward, remained intact. He flailed in the air, unable to speak as if his mouth was sealed and unable to blink, forced to watch the death of his subordinates. Hot tears streamed down from his eyes endlessly.

“I know that feeling of powerlessness well. Whenever I hesitated, the ground would be sprayed with red blood, and those I cared about would leave this world one by one.”

“…!

!”

“You’re lucky. You won’t be going back alive this time.”

With a flick of his fingers, the bodies hanging in the air fell to the ground all at once, and Count Eperante’s mouth was unsealed.

“A dirty bastard born from the empress’s adultery. I curse you to die the most miserably. The previous imperial family was rotting and mad like a dead dragon! We were not wrong. Long live to the emperor!” With those words, Count Eperante, who had been writhing in pain, fell to the ground, his body twisted grotesquely.

“Thank you. I wished it was me who died instead of those who died for me, so your curse will be a blessing to me. I don’t know what the future me think seven years later.”

Edward looked at the blood splattered on his hand. It seemed blood had splashed everywhere.

These were things a single snap of his fingers could erase, but maybe it was because of the peaceful days lately. Or perhaps it was because he recalled unpleasant memories. The filthy blood that soaked him seemed to blend with the blood of countless subordinates who had died. The many bodies that had fallen, trying to protect him with the thought of saving him. His life stood upon a mountain of corpses of those who had thrown themselves to save him.

Edward’s breathing became increasingly labored. He ran his blood-stained hands through his black hair.

He silently recited the names of his dead subordinates. It was both a comfort that he hadn’t forgotten them and a spell promising to restore the honor of those falsely accused and killed to their rightful places.

Normally, reciting this made him feel a bit better, but for some reason, it worsened today. Was it because he heard too many screams? Or saw too much blood? Perhaps it was because the last few days had been too peaceful.

Even though he had cast a barrier around himself so no sound from the outside could enter, he didn’t block his own ears. He wanted to remember exactly what he had done, to not become a monster like them. Edward’s memory was terrifyingly sharp. He would remember all of this.

Forgetfulness is a divine gift for humans. But Edward was rotting and going mad because he couldn’t forget.

“

…” He was gasping for breath when he sensed someone nearby.

As he gasped, he turned to see who was coming.

“Elliot.”

There stood a woman with dazzling silver hair, seemingly woven from moonlight. Purple eyes met his. Her eyes wavered. Having quickly assessed the situation, it seemed she had realized the context of the fight.

“

I’m sorry for showing such a disgraceful state. I’ll clean this up right away.”

“Look at me instead.”

Luize strode towards him. Standing in front of him, she reached out and grasped his shoulders.

Edward was still breathing heavily. Luize, who met his anxious red eyes, examined his complexion. “Did you hurt your chest? Or break a rib…”

“They didn’t lay a finger on me.”

“…I see. Then you’ll be fine. People don’t die from being a little short of breath.”

Edward lifted his right hand and cupped Luize’s face. Seeing the dried blood on his hand enter his field of vision, he wanted to feel her warmth a little more.

“Is this not all repulsive to you? Everything I’ve done. Aren’t you afraid of me?”

“I’ve seen worse in Perils. I’ve lived with animals that lost their minds there for over 20 years.”

“Unlike them, I’m human. Yet, with just a flick of my fingers, I can commit such cruel acts instantly. Aren’t you scared?”

“…”

“I’m scared of myself. Afraid that this rage and immense power might consume me.” His thumb stroked Luize’s cheek.

Looking at him quietly, Luize slowly opened her lips. “I am scared.”

“…”

“But I trust you. You won’t kill me. The Edward I know doesn’t kill his own people without reason.”

“…”

“The future of you told me you liked to wait. It had been a long time since you had someone to wait for. You also said that for you, parting meant either betrayal or death. I didn’t think deeply about it because you mentioned it so casually, but…” Luize briefly closed her lips before continuing. “I think you loved those who left a lot. If you hadn’t loved them, you wouldn’t have been hurt.”

Perhaps because Luize had grown up as part of the forest, she had always been strangely calm when seeing corpses scattered in the woods. In fact, she often felt more for the animals that harmed those people.

Luize knew. The bizarre creatures that humans feared for their strength and cruelty were, in fact, the most vulnerable beings in the world. They didn’t harm humans out of hatred. They simply needed a target for their unending pain after the death of the mad dragon Run, or they were afraid they might die if they couldn’t kill, just as their leader had died.

“Edward.”

“I am not the person you know right now.”

“But you’re still Edward.”

“…”

“Don’t torment yourself like that. No matter how miserably you kill others, those who left won’t come back. You’ll only make it harder on yourself.”

“What should I do then?”

His breathing had returned to normal, but his eyes were heavy.

“What can I do to escape these memories?”

“You can’t escape.”

“…” 

“You just have to endure. Just like you did for the past seven years, adding new memories on top of the old ones and living on.”

Edward looked away.

. He removed his hand from Luize’s cheek and, with a snap of his fingers, cleaned all the corpses and the blood stains from himself. Then, leaning forward, he rested his forehead on Luize’s shoulder.

“My head feels heavy. May I lean on you for a moment?”

“Is it raining? It feels like my shoulder is getting wet.”

With another flick of his fingers, rain began to fall solely on the clearing.

“…It really is raining. And it’s warm.”

“I see.”

“It’s strange to have rain under a clear sky. Especially with so many stars out.”

“Do you dislike it?”

“No.”

Luize raised her hand above her forehead to shield from the raindrops and gazed up at the sky. The warm rain falling on a clear night sky made the stars appear even more numerous. Her other hand was completely drenched, holding onto the back of his head that was resting against her.

After a while, Edward slowly lifted his head and met Luize’s gaze as she enjoyed the view of the stars. A red hue danced around his eyes. If it weren’t for the rain washing over his face, it might have looked like he was still crying. In the rain, his face appeared to be covered in tears as Luize looked at him.

Edward spoke in a low voice. “Go back.”

“Just me?”

“Together.”

The rain then stopped.