As My Husband Said, I Brought in a Lover

Luize wasn’t interested in worldly affairs. To be exact, she had no time to care about others.

Before her eyes, the fish that had just spilled out of the bucket fluttered. The surrounding ground had turned dark from the water pouring from the bucket. A man’s calloused hand was stretched out before her to brush her dripping hair and pick up the fish.

“Are you okay?”

When she slowly raised her head, a handsome man resembling the dazzling sunlight stood there. Luize thought his beautiful blond hair and blue eyes resembled that day’s clear and warm weather. Was that salvation?

* * *

As soon as Luize opened her eyes, she headed to the window. Pulling back the curtains, she was greeted by a clear, warm sky like that day.

Today was the day Reiad returned from his territory. It was the first time they had been apart for this long since they got married. For her, she could

She washed her body and finished dressing up with a little excitement. Flashy accessories and dresses weren’t to her taste, but Reiad liked them. For him, she could wear a heavy dress with a lot of fabric every day. A necklace with large gems to the point of bending her neck was also worth it.

While drinking tea leisurely on the second-floor terrace, she raised her head because it was a little noisy outside, and the family carriage entering the mansion’s entrance caught her eye. Two canary symbols were engraved on the carriage door. It was the Cloette family crest.  

Luize carefully laid down the teacup and headed quickly downstairs. Her steps could be criticized for not being like a noble lady. Servants stood on both sides in front of the wide-open main door.

Luize watched the carriage in front of the door, her mouth slightly arched up. The carriage door opened. The first thing she saw was shoes that looked a little dirty as if they had accidentally stepped on mud. A familiar man wearing a dark blue uniform slowly emerged from the carriage.

“Reiad.”

“

you’ re there.”

He got out of the carriage and found his wife. There was a natural smile on his face. His blond hair, which resembled the sun, shone. He didn’t stop his wife from coming towards him, but he didn’t even approach her first. Instead, he held out his hand towards the carriage door.

“You’ve worked hard to come a long way.”

“No, it’s not like that.”

A smaller hand was placed on Reiad’s hand. Upon receiving his escort, the woman who got out of the carriage hesitated and bowed to Luize, who was standing in front of her.

“Hello.”

Luize looked alternately between the woman and Reiad.

Reiad spoke coolly, bending the corner of his mouth. “She’s a new servant. She lost her luggage on the way to the capital. I told her to stay at my house for a while because she needed a place to stay. I can’t leave a woman alone on the streets. She said she’s good at laundry and sewing, so I think we could ask her to do those things.”

Her husband is kind. Obviously, this time, he couldn’t just pass by a woman in a difficult situation.

Luize was a little disappointed that he didn’t offer his hand to her first, but she tried to shake off those thoughts. It has been half a year since they married, and they have been apart for half of that time. It was an inevitable journey to inspect the territory because something happened.

The fact that he’s not being accompanied by Luize on the road and not reaching out to Luize first are both unavoidable. It was obvious that Luize wouldn’t be of any help in matters such as territory affairs, and Reiad had said that escorting a woman getting off the carriage was an essential virtue for a man.

She smiled. “I’ll prepare warm water and clean clothes so you can wash your body immediately.”

“Thank you.”

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Hardy.”

“Hardy. That’s a pretty name. How old are you?”

“I’m twenty years old. I came to the capital to look for my mother and younger sibling. All my money was stolen… I will leave as soon as I find another job or  when I have a place to live.”

“No. Make yourself at home in the capital, Hardy.”

Luize welcomed Hardy wholeheartedly. Hardy’s condition was no different from hers when her husband helped. She thought they might become good friends because Luize had no connection in the capital, so she spent her days being bored.

It was one night. Luize, who couldn’t sleep until late, went for a night walk. She ran into Reiad and Hardy in the garden during her walk. The moment Luize, who was happy to see that she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep, was about to greet them, the two of them kissed. Luize didn’t do anything wrong, but she left that place as if she was running away.

The next day, Reiad was friendly as if nothing had happened. His behavior made Luize think she might have been mistaken about what happened in the garden the night before.

But similar things happened one after another in other places. Next was his study and then his office. Scenes of Reiad and Hardy together throughout the mansion became frequent.  Every time she looked at Reiad or Hardy, the memories of that day followed her.

Time flew by while Luize was thinking about how to treat Hardy. Then, at some point, Hardy disappeared from her sight. Despite Luize’s kindness, Hardy, who had been watching her throughout her stay, moved out of the mansion after three months.

Luize’s worries weren’t even over. After that, there are second and third Hardy. And a year has passed like that.

* * *

“Luize, what are you thinking about?”

“

I was thinking about a present.”

“Whose gift?”

“Miss Shablin. I heard it’s her birthday soon.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Shablin is leaving next week.”

Luize looked at Reiad with a puzzled look. It had been fifteen days since Shablin entered the mansion. It felt like the period his lovers changed was getting a little shorter recently, but this was the first time they went out this fast.

“More than that, Luize. I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Luize, are you okay with my lovers?”

She didn’t expect to hear this question directly from him. Luize panicked for the first time in a long time.

She wasn’t okay if he asked it from the beginning. At first, she was embarrassed and anxious. Rather than feeling uncomfortable, her first thought was fear. She didn’t want to return to her previous life and wanted to keep Reiad’s warmth by her side just like now.

The two had been sleeping in separate rooms since their first night. Nevertheless, Reiad was always kind to her. On their anniversary, he often forgot about it. Still, he sent a bouquet of flowers or a gift belatedly through the servant.

The fact that Reiad cared about her was the greatest gift to Luize. Although she was always alone at night and often had to spend time alone during the day, Luize was satisfied with just living in this warm daily life.

She recalled a conversation between Reiad and his academy classmates.

Even though it was her time to come, Reiad was too careless to have such a conversation.

Is Reiad testing her? No, he wasn’t that kind of person. He hated complicated things more than anything else.

Luize answered after careful consideration. “I’m Reiad’s wife.”

“Yes.”

“I think that fact alone is enough.”

Reiad smiled with a satisfied face, as if what she said was the correct answer.

Luize held her hands together under the table. She felt strangely empty inside even though she gave him the answer he wanted.

“So, is it okay to let my lovers into our house?”

“Yes? That already happens often.”

“I mean this time as a guest.”

“…”

“It’s a bit hard, is it?”

“No. Do whatever you want, Reiad,” answered Luize in a hurry. She didn’t want to see the disappointment on his face. Reiad has never made that face towards her before, and this is how peace has been maintained here so far.

“Thank you, Luize. You’re the best wife.” He smiled radiantly.

Shortly after that, Luize discovers why Reiad wants to bring in his lovers as guests. While his previous lovers were ordinary commoners, he brought in wealthy commoners who would soon receive a title or the daughters of countryside nobles who had just entered the capital. Fittingly with the term ‘guest,’ many people came and went from the mansion in a shorter period than before.

Luize gave up trying to figure out all about his lovers. For her, the definition of ‘getting along’ was memorizing his lovers’ names and taking care of their birthdays. Still, there was no way she could take care of anything else when she started to get confused about their names.

“Were you paying attention to that? It’s alright. Luize just needs to be comfortable as they are because they don’t have to stay in this mansion for as long as they used to.”

Reiad said so, but there were those who visited frequently, even if they didn’t stay long. Even so, their visits would stop before three months passed, but Luize got used to the few who came often.

As the number of his lovers increased, Luize’s days became more boring.