Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 115

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 115

The Capital’s High Society was in an uproar.
For just one day yesterday, the ripples of the Grand Duke of Halbern wandering about with Stickers affixed to his cheeks were enormous.
By some miracle, within a single day, the young ladies of High Society had each appeared with gleaming Stickers artfully applied to their cheeks.
Even several noble matrons had joined in, and everyone predicted the trend like morning newspapers, sensing what was to come.
“The Grand Duke truly is a genius. However did you conceive of such a thing?”
“With this new decoration, the joy of makeup seems to grow.”
“I’ve already collected several varieties of Stickers. There are quite a few items sold out in the Capital. Hehe.”
Since Stickers were never an item of surplus demand, it was common for multiple shops to run out of stock.
Duke Sperom, for his part, huffed “Why on earth is this thing becoming fashionable?!” even as he hastily capitalized on the trend, establishing a Sticker sales team.
But the news that set the Capital ablaze was not merely that…….
An unseasonable scandal involving Valere, Albrecht Times’ selection for “Best Husband Material 10 Years Running, Rank 1,” and Mehren, “Best Husband Material 7 Years Running, Rank 2.”
Yet, unexpectedly, High Society’s sentiment remained unmoved.
Rumors had already quietly circulated that the Grand Duke of Halbern had called Mehren “my dear” at the Foundation Festival Imperial Ball.
“Of course…….”
“The true consort was…….”
“Mehren, after all…….”
Everyone acted as though this was what they’d expected. This held true even though the newspaper running the story was the Yellow Press, notorious for gossip and rumors, with credibility at its absolute nadir.
“I think the two of them suit each other wonderfully.”
“Yes, when they stand side by side, it’s truly a sight that warms the heart…….”
“I support the love between them!”
The relatively open-minded enthusiasm of the young ladies, and.
“For such a scandal to attach itself to Duke Mehren—the end times, surely.”
“The Grand Duke must have erred again.”
“Still, I do hope the two of them continue their true friendship for many years to come. Hehe.”
The warm response of the noblewoman who seemed to know something.
“How can such a scandal attach itself to our Grand Duke?!”
“If Mehren hears of this, he’ll throw a fit.”
“Poor Duke Mehren—what tribulation for meeting his lord in misfortune.”
Thanks to the overwhelming majority of male nobility who were devoted to Mehren, there was no significant backlash.
Rather.
“What?! The two of them were like that?!”
Duke Sperom felt bewildered, and.
“That’s not possible, Simon. Do compose yourself.”
He received a word from Duke Mubisk.
And our most exalted Majesty…….
“Valere, you bastard…….”
So his “wife” had been Mehren all along.
At last, he realized he had been made a fool of.

* * *

On the second-floor balcony of a Coffee House on the most bustling street even of the Capital, which hummed with the Foundation Festival.
A man of somber bearing, ill-suited to the vitality of this street, cast the newspaper he’d been reading onto the table.
The front page bore the Grand Duke of Halbern with Stickers affixed—a beauty so profound that photographs could scarcely do it justice.
Behind it, scandal treated as gossip.
“Fortune favors him, it seems.”
The twisted smile suggested considerable displeasure.
Though disguised with a Magical Tool, the silver hair and deep-green eyes could not be hidden.
The blessing bestowed only upon the imperial bloodline of the South Empire.
「So long as this bloodline endures, I shall bless the land you dwell upon eternally.」
The word of a god, now forgotten, remained only in the Imperial Sanctuary.
Ludwig, the Grand Duke of Lok, who had killed his mad brother and raised his nephew to the throne to secure the position of regent, furrowed his brow as he stared at the bustling streets of Albrecht below.
Behind him stood a man like a shadow.
“You have arrived, my lord.”
“Yes.”
“There was no need for you to come personally.”
“I decide what’s necessary.”
The subordinate read the displeasure underlying the arrogant reply and fell silent at once.
Relations between the Albrecht Empire and the South Empire were not poor. Yet the current state of subtle tension made the unofficial visit of the South Empire’s regent—its very entirety—a matter fraught with complications.
Still, the subordinates could do nothing but follow without question, and only because their superior was the Regent himself.
“What of Duke Idikels?”
“He seems to have grown suspicious. He sent an urgent dispatch and continues to make inquiries about your lordship’s whereabouts. Shall we silence him?”
“No. Let him run a bit loose.”
He was a man without preference or dislike.
Yet Ludwig remembered the efforts Duke Idikels had shown all this while.
“He won’t be able to do anything anyway.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Was it not worthy of recognition—to walk of one’s own feet into the lion’s den, driven by the will to prevent war?
“The investigation?”
“Here it is.”
Ludwig set down his teacup and skimmed the report.
It contained a cursory account of the Grand Duke of Halbern’s movements. Difficult to trace, as he was so elusive, yet all relevant information had been gathered.
“A daughter brought home one day, apparently…….”
Ludwig had taken little interest in Valere’s daughter all this time. He’d shown no interest whatsoever, as though someone had blocked his eyes and ears—no information had leaked through.
This time was no different; had he not heard that the Grand Duke of Halbern had returned from the Northern Fortress, he would not have given it a moment’s thought.
“How curious.”
The timing aligned with Sione’s disappearance.
Ludwig lowered his gaze as he traced the dates, which seemed discordant yet perfectly synchronized.
The foolish face in the article caused his otherwise neat brow to crease unbecomingly.
“A daughter…….”
He knew not why.
Suddenly he felt the urge to see the Grand Duke’s daughter.
She had been of no consequence, yet now that the Grand Duke of Halbern had returned and cherished her, curiosity seized him.
‘So you can be happy.’
The smiling face in the photograph irritated him.
‘I have fallen into hell.’
Though bathed in warm sunlight on the balcony, he felt imprisoned in some distant abyss.
Even now, closing his eyes, he heard in the darkness a tender voice intermittently calling out someone’s name.

“Valere…….”

When Ludwig opened his eyes, his expression had grown colder than ever.

* * *

「Is the Grand Duke of Halbern’s True Love This Man?!」

My eyes wavered as I gazed at the front page of the newspaper that struck Halbern Manor.
How had such an article come to be…….
The Childcare Unit showed no sign of disturbance at this momentous news. Rather, they were locked in heated debate.
“Are the two of them really dating? That must be why he calls him ‘my dear,’ right?”
“But Mehren never called him that. He was always hitting Your Highness.”
“That’s because he was embarrassed, surely?”
No.
These fools were spouting words that would make Mehren clutch his head and collapse if he heard them.
“But the two of them definitely have that special world between them that no one else can enter.”
“Well, how could they not? It was His Highness who found Mehren, who raised him.”
“And Mehren keeps saying he’ll quit, but he never does, right?”
“True—he says he’ll quit despite having enough wealth to retire comfortably.”
What, truly, was Mehren’s genuine intention? Uni and Rena had begun a heated discussion.
I let their words go in one ear and out the other, set down the newspaper, and sighed heavily when I suddenly stiffened, my eyes fixed on the door.
“Uni. Rena.”
“Y-yes?”
“Why, Miss?”
Be quiet.
As I sat silent, staring at the door, Uni and Rena exchanged glances and turned to look at the same door.
And…….
“Eek!”
“Mehren!”
“When did you even get here…….”
Mehren entered the room with an unusually radiant, gentle smile.
“You seemed to be having quite the interesting conversation.”
“No, we were just…….”
“It just happened…….”
Another sigh escaped me as I watched the frozen, stammering Childcare Unit. Unlike them, floundering about in confusion, Mehren’s smile grew ever warmer and softer, like spring itself.
“It’s alright. I’ve already filed suit.”
“What?!”
“Against us?!”
Mehren shook his head, watching the trembling Childcare Unit.
“The newspaper.”
“Ah.”
“And the reporter.”
“Ah!”
“And.”
“And?”
“The Grand Duke of Halbern.”
“…….”
Mehren smiled coldly.
“All of you would do well to guard your tongues.”
The Childcare Unit said nothing.
I simply let out a long, heavy sigh.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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