As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover

* * *

The winner of the tournament was Lensia. The emperor congratulated the winner with a stern face from beginning to end, and seeing this, the citizens of the empire praised him as a dignified ruler.

“…He’s just sulking.”

“So, what did the newspapers say?”

“Never mind that. More importantly, Allen, I have to prepare for the expedition now, so don’t visit me anymore. Take care of your family instead. It’s a huge family, isn’t it?”

“It’s okay. Even if I’m away, my brother and his wife manage things well.”

“But you’re still the head of the family.”

“Right. And I’m also an expedition participant.”

“…What kind of nonsense is that?”

“

, you’re not even filtering your words now. I volunteered too. You know the most experienced and competent healer is chosen among the applicants, right?”

“I know.”

“That’s me.” Allen proudly handed his application to Lensia. At the bottom of the application, where the imperial seal and final signature should be, there was a slightly crooked seal and Edin’s worm-like squiggly signature.

“He wouldn’t have agreed to this…”

“I had to put in some effort.”

“Did you use black magic or something?”

“I spiked his drink.”

“Crazy.”

“Of course. As I always say, I’m completely crazy about you, Lensia.” Allen smiled brightly.

“…I might kill you before I kill Run.”

“It’s fine. I also gave him an antidote, saying it’s a hangover cure. He’ll probably just think he handled his liquor better than usual.”

“Won’t the imperial doctor notice right away?”

“I am the imperial doctor.”

“…”

“I’m still in the handover period, so I’ll be seeing to His Majesty’s health for a while. By tomorrow, he’ll be fully detoxed.”

“Why do you go to such lengths for me?”

“Because I love you.”

“

, right. You love… What? Love?” Lensia looked at Allen in bewilderment. Her reflection filled his mystical purple eyes.

“Yes, love. That thing you said you hated because it was so embarrassing. I tried to hold back, but they say weak healers like me die easily in expeditions, right?”

“…”

“So let me express myself a bit. I’ve held back well enough so far. It’s fine if you don’t love me back. Just accept it.”

“If you know you might die, why don’t you just stay here and wait quietly?”

“How can I leave your treatment to other quacks? All healers in the world are quacks except me. You can only be treated by me.”

“Even those from Servenia?”

“All Servenia except me.”

“People of Servenia should know their head of family is acting like this.”

“One person knows. My sister-in-law. We were classmates at the academy. Not as close as you and His Majesty, though.”

“We’re not friends anymore.”

“Doesn’t seem that way.”

“…And you won’t die,” Lensia spoke in a soft, emotional voice. “I’ll protect you. You’ll survive till the end.”

“Together with you?”

“…Regardless.”

“Okay.” Allen smiled brightly.

* * *

Knowing that she would die in some way, Lensia thought she should push Allen away but couldn’t. To Lensia, Allen’s love was like the most enticing cake in the world. It was like a cake with an unforgettable taste placed before someone who had only ever eaten dry rye bread. She hesitated, fearing she could never return to her old life if she tasted it, but in the end, she couldn’t help but take a bite.

“Lensia! Try this. I made it.”

“Lensia, look over there. It’s a rose garden. They’re using magic to keep it in bloom past its season.”

“Lensia, do you feel like loving me today? I’m filled with you as always.”

“Lensia. I love you right now, at this very moment.”

“Last night, I thought of you and couldn’t sleep. It’s a shame I can’t be near you even though you’re so close.”

“Hey, Lensia. My tent collapsed, so can I sleep in yours tonight? I do have ulterior motives, but I’m a gentleman, so I won’t act on them.”

“…I must have lost my mind. I didn’t mean to bring my lips this close, but your forehead was so pretty.

? What did you say?

.”

“

? Of course, it was my first kiss. I shouldn’t act so dumb, but I’m so ecstatic I’m dazed. Wait,

!”

“Let’s do it three more times.”

“No, ten thousand times.”

“If this is how good you are on the twenty-third try, you must be a natural. Why do I count each? Obviously, because I remember everything about you.”

The expedition members watched Lensia and Allen with interest. During the journey to Perils, three members deserted out of fear, while the remaining members became either highly sensitive, tried to calm themselves, or focused on training. In such circumstances, Allen’s consistent demeanor actually provided a sense of stability to the members. Seeing him act as if nothing was wrong made their fears seem insignificant.

“Allen, aren’t you afraid? You might die.”

“Not really. You said you’d protect me.”

“Why do you like me so much? Don’t dodge the question with a joke. Answer me seriously.” Lensia looked at him with eyes full of incomprehension.

Allen smiled at her. “…In my world, you were the only one with color.” He looked out at the swaying grass in the wind. “Since birth, I have lived according to a set path. As the eldest, I naturally became the head of the family, and I was good at healing, so I easily became a healer. I was good at studying and practical skills. Everyone wanted to be around me. I lived a well-organized life.”

“Sounds annoying.”

“Right?”

“That’s why I can’t understand why you go out of your way to suffer.”

“Because everything became so routine that the world seemed colorless. I couldn’t feel joy or excitement in anything. I never failed and never made a mistake. Sometimes, it felt like I was a bird in a cage.”

Allen’s purple eyes sparkled for a moment. “At the moment I first failed, you appeared.”

Lensia remembered him despairing over herbs soaked in rainwater. That was his first mistake in life. How could someone who had lived such a flawless life become so disoriented?

“At that moment, you shone brightly.”

“Why does that always lead to this?”

“…You, who lived in a completely different world from mine, were as striking as a color I’d never seen before. Like a bright red in a colorless world.”

Lensia laughed hollowly. To think that his love would start in such a way.  “I’m too exhausted to even be angry. So my misery was refreshing to you? That red signifies danger. It’s a warning to stay away.”

“It’s remarkable. Choosing to live your life to the fullest.”

“I just struggled to survive. That’s how all orphans and commoners live.”

“Yet not many would tilt an umbrella to a passing stranger, Lensia. You don’t realize how special you are.”

“Allen, you seem to see me as a culmination of your ideals. But I had no choice. I just didn’t get adopted, and I wanted to learn the sword, so I joined the academy.” Lensia spoke without meeting Allen’s eyes. “I became friends with Edin by chance. I joined this expedition out of selfishness. I wanted glory. As for tilting the umbrella for you, it was just…”

She paused, then slowly lifted her head. “It was just a courtesy, like holding the door for someone behind you. It’s a habit. I was just living.”

“But if it were me, I wouldn’t have moved my feet to tilt an umbrella for a stranger. So it wasn’t normal to me.”

“Why?”

Lensia looked at him in surprise. Allen was kind to everyone, especially devoted to her.

“Because they’re strangers. Unless they’re a patient, I have no reason to care.”

“…”

“In my colorless world, everyone lives that way. So it wasn’t a given for me.”

Lensia watched Allen’s rare stern profile as he looked away at the distant fields.

“Everyone lives according to a set schedule. Politics, social circles, family relations, arranged marriages, infidelity based on selfishness and pleasure, and everyone living with their eyes closed to it all.”

“…”

“They’re all empty inside. To them, subordinates, companions, those higher than them, family, and even themselves are all just tools. Lensia, living simply means observing such people.” Allen turned to look directly at Lensia. “In that world, you seemed to be the only one truly alive. My previous life felt like a lie in comparison.”

“People like me are everywhere. If you really liked my plainness, find someone else. Don’t get involved in this dangerous expedition. Pretend you’re hurt and go back. Everyone will turn a blind eye and accept it.”

“But you’re the first ‘plainness’ I found in my world. So you’re different.”

“The first doesn’t matter.”

“What matters is that it’s already begun.” Allen smiled.

“…Begun?”

“After that day, I noticed everything about you, from your outer to your inner self, from big to small things. Eventually, you reached my heart.”

Lensia’s blue eyes trembled slightly.

“Eventually, even your flaws seemed special. That was the difference between you and everyone else. You’re unique in this world just by being yourself.”

“…I don’t understand. To me, it all looks the same. What’s so special about it? How can such a trivial feeling grow so big?”

At Lensia’s words, Allen gently took her hand. It made her look at him in surprise.

“Small things come together to achieve something big. Just like drops of water form an ocean or blades of grass creating a field.”

“…I don’t get it. It feels like a story far from my own, so I can’t understand what you’re trying to say. Summarize it simply.”

Lensia had never once learned about love. She was abandoned as soon as she was born, and the orphanage teachers didn’t have the time or capacity to give attention and love to every child. After entering the academy, she was busy day and night learning swordsmanship. And after graduation, she accepted Edin’s proposal to make a living and wield a sword. That was the entirety of Lensia’s life.

All this time, she vaguely thought that love was something only special people received. Aren’t all lovers in the world’s stories so special? It felt distant from her ordinary self.

Then Allen stepped into her life. Not because she was a commoner who enrolled in the academy, not because she was a rare swordswoman, not because he liked her appearance, nor for any special reason. She was just an ordinary person, yet she could be so special to him. What on earth did that mean?

Allen held her hand more firmly. “I love you.”

“…”

“I just wanted to say that in a bit of a roundabout way.”