“Is there something… you want to discuss?”
Hearing Aifalin say that, Yaye subconsciously tensed up.
“Is it… the thing you mentioned before, about feeling powerless?”
“Ah, that? No, not that,” Aifalin waved her hands quickly, her smile a little awkward.
“You can just treat that as me talking to myself.”
She really hadn’t expected Yaye to remember something she had said so casually.
Sure, Aifalin had once thought about discussing that kind of topic with friends… but that didn’t mean she could just say it out loud so easily.
Besides… the man Yaye had the most contact with was her own husband, Faang.
Wait a second…
Isn’t that the same as me?!
Aifalin’s expression stiffened slightly.
“Fa-Falin… sister? W-what’s wrong?”
Yaye asked in confusion.
“It feels like when you were talking just now… your expression looked kind of strange.”
Yaye’s voice interrupted Aifalin’s wandering thoughts.
She shook her head.
“It’s nothing… I was just thinking about how to explain what I wanted to discuss with you.”
“I-is that so?”
Yaye paused, then smiled.
“You know… Fa-Falin sister like this feels a lot like how I usually am. It’s not something I used to see before… I’m not laughing at you, really. Instead, it makes you feel… more approachable.”
After speaking, she quietly muttered,
“If only… I could see more sides of Mr. Faang…”
Aifalin, who was busy figuring out how to steer the conversation toward the “special request,” didn’t hear Yaye’s last sentence clearly.
“Hm? What did you say at the end, Yaye?”
“N-nothing.”
Yaye’s eyes shifted away slightly.
Aifalin felt like she had experienced something similar before.
She didn’t dwell on it and simply smiled.
“I know you weren’t laughing at me. And that just means I trust you, Yaye~”
“T-trust…?”
Yaye smiled and nodded.
If she could help Mr. Faang… maybe she’d get to see his gentler side too, the way he is with Fa-Falin sister…
Aifalin nodded as well.
“Exactly. If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t be talking to you about this. And besides… this is just a discussion. It’s not like last night, when I asked you to keep an eye on my husband. So don’t feel too pressured.”
“I understand.”
Even though Aifalin said that, Yaye still looked serious.
“This really isn’t a big deal,” Aifalin continued.
“Yaye, do you remember the letter my husband brought back yesterday?”
Seeing that Yaye was already following her lead, Aifalin moved a little closer as she spoke, like she was about to whisper a secret.
“I remember… Yesterday after you got home, you said that Miss Kess, who delivered the letter, almost bumped into them,” Yaye nodded innocently.
So it really was an accident. Aifalin relaxed a little.
“Actually, that letter was from my younger sister. She said the term at the Magic Academy is ending soon, and she’ll be on break and coming back to our hometown in a few days.”
“I-is there… a problem with that?”
Yaye asked instinctively.
She had heard before that Fa-Falin sister had a younger sister studying at the Imperial Magic Academy.
“Not really… but my sister doesn’t know that my husband and I moved here. So we’d need to go back to our hometown for a while. That part is fine too, but… we also have reasons to stay here. And my husband only just found a job—I don’t want him to resign so soon.”
“Then… maybe Fa-Falin sister could go back first with Mr. Faang?”
Yaye suggested carefully.
“You could bring your sister over and explain things properly afterward… You and Mr. Faang are both good people, so I think your sister would understand.”
“Thank you for the compliment,” Aifalin smiled and gently patted Yaye’s head.
The feel of her horns was unexpectedly nice.
But then her tone shifted.
“However… my health isn’t very good. If I travel twice in a short period, I probably wouldn’t be able to handle it. I don’t mind pushing myself, but my husband definitely wouldn’t agree to it.”
“Fa-Falin sister, I… I understand now. You’re worried that Mr. Faang will be lonely if he goes alone, right?”
Yaye took a deep breath and gathered her courage.
“I can go with Mr. Faang to pick up your sister.”
“My husband thought the same,” Aifalin said.
“But the reason I didn’t explain the move in my letter is… I didn’t want my sister to worry about my health. If she found out I was hiding it from her, she’d definitely scold us. Of course… that’s not a big deal. I’m just worried she’d stay until I get better and end up neglecting her studies.”
Aifalin realized she was surprisingly good at lying.
Even after saying all that, her face wasn’t red and her heart wasn’t racing.
But seeing Yaye’s serious expression as she tried to help both her and her husband, Aifalin couldn’t help feeling like she was leading someone innocent down the wrong path.
Yaye, who was inexperienced with the ways of the world, didn’t know what Aifalin was thinking.
She just wanted to help Mr. Faang, who always took good care of her and her sister.
“So… Fa-Falin sister, you mean you can’t let your sister notice your health problems?”
“That’s right.”
Aifalin took a sip of water.
What she said next made her feel a bit uneasy inside.
She tried to cover her dryness of mouth with a smile.
“So… I was wondering if we could use my husband’s disguise magic to have a healthy person pretend to be me in our hometown for a couple of days. Then we could bring my sister back. That way, even after traveling for two days, she wouldn’t notice anything wrong with my body.”
For a moment, Yaye was stunned by Aifalin’s bold idea.
Pretend to be Fa-Falin sister… and go back to her hometown with Mr. Faang?
Stay there for more than two days?
Seeing Yaye frozen in place, Aifalin clenched her teeth and continued,
“This is something I thought about last night and today. As for candidates, I think either you or Sister Yelei would be best. My husband told me about disguise magic—when impersonating someone else, as long as the body type is similar, it works. Sister Yelei has a slightly better figure than me, and you’re about the same as me. Either way, it wouldn’t be much different.”
As she said this, Aifalin’s emotions were complicated.
But for her husband’s health—and for the harmony of their married life—she felt she had no choice.
“I-is it really okay for me…? No, I… I don’t know…”
After thinking for a while, Yaye still couldn’t find an answer.
“Can I talk about this with my sister tonight before deciding?”
“Of course,” Aifalin smiled.
“This is just a discussion, after all. Even if you take a few days to decide, that’s fine. And tomorrow I’m going out with my husband anyway, so make sure you rest well tonight.”
After saying that, Aifalin drank the remaining water in her cup in one go.
Even though she had experience completing simple commissions, letting her husband return home with another woman—and stay there for two nights—still required some serious mental preparation.
Her ideal choice was Yaye.
She felt safer than Yelei, and it was unlikely Yaye would do anything beyond the ‘special request.’
Seeing that Yaye still looked confused, Aifalin smiled and handed her the lunch plates.
“No matter what… this is just a discussion. If you come up with a better idea, you can tell me too. For now, let’s eat lunch.”
Yaye nodded.
While the two were eating lunch at home, Faang had just finished his work at the medical hall.
All morning, he’d been thinking about Aifalin’s return.
Because of the church prayers, his lunch break had been delayed until afterward.
Now he planned to grab a quick meal somewhere.
Faang went to the grass behind the church and took out the bread and ham he’d brought from home.
It was clean here, and he could even take a short nap after eating.
As for the medical hall… since Miss Eve didn’t have a habit of napping, Faang didn’t really want to stay there.
Being alone in a room with a woman felt a bit awkward—especially since she was so oblivious.
Just as he sat down, a voice came from behind him.
“Eating lunch here again, little Faang?”
Faang turned around and greeted her with a smile.
“Good afternoon, Sister Yelei. I come here sometimes—it’s pretty clean.”
Yelei brushed her hair back and sat down beside him, a basket in her hands.
“Sister Yelei, is that…?”
“Yesterday you mentioned eating alone. Yaye has been on leave at home these past few days, so…”
Yelei smiled, glancing subtly at the hand she had held yesterday.
“I thought I’d try eating alone too.”
“Though, I also have something I want to discuss with you.”
“What is it? Is it about Miss Yaye’s health?”
Faang instinctively thought of the magic examination from yesterday.
“Not really. I just wanted to talk about going out tomorrow.”
Yelei blinked.
End of excerpt.