Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 146

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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 146

The first person I saw when I awoke was Uni.
“Miss!”
“Oh my, our dear miss!”
It was dawn, when everyone was still asleep.
Halbern Manor, stirred from its silence, erupted in a frenzy of commotion.
The self-proclaimed childcare experts who usually squabbled over who held my favor burst into tears the moment they saw me, all of them at once.
Anyone watching would think I’d died.
“Please, stop crying…….”
“But miss—!”
“I’m alive, aren’t I?”
“Sob—you’re hurt!”
And it didn’t end there.
The Yukyadan members, who ordinarily burned with rivalry over my affection even when their rival was the Grand Duke of Halbern himself, clung to my sleeve and hovered about me like never before, unwilling to let me out of their sight.
“Sniff. Thank goodness you’ve woken.”
Truly, anyone would think I’d died and come back to life.
Was this really worth all these tears?
I found it peculiar, yet I didn’t dislike it, so I patted the Yukyadan members’ shoulders.
“Our miss patted my shoulder four times?”
“Hehe. I received six pats.”
Seeing them kindle a subtle rivalry even over that made me give up.
These people, honestly…….
[Cooldown until next inquiry: 30 days, 2 hours]
Without asking anyone, I could tell from my Status Window just how long I’d been unconscious.
So. More than a week.
Whimper—
Ether, transformed into a button, whined. She’d been terrified of losing her master after rediscovering her.
This ungrateful inanimate thing—is that all you can say to your just-recovered master?
“What a relief, miss.”
The medical staff, who’d been resting, hurried over at the commotion.
Seeing my attending physician for the first time in ages with half his face gone pale startled me.
“We made it through again.”
“May the gods bless us.”
The healer sister and priest I’d grown familiar with seeing openly sighed in relief.
……Did Father do something again? Or was it Mehren?
“Do you experience any pain?”
“No.”
“Any difficulty moving?”
“None.”
As the physician examined my condition, my mind wandered elsewhere.
It’s strange. Why did I come back to the manor? I collapsed at Rock Castle, didn’t I?
Could this be a dream?
“Ow.”
I pinched my cheek—it hurt. So it wasn’t a dream.
“……?”
The physician was startled by my sudden self-inflicted pinch, but it wasn’t serious.
That was when it happened.
“Ar…….”
“Mother!”
The moment I saw Mehren enter through the open door, I leaped up and rushed into his arms without hesitation.
‘It’s really Mehren.’
Eyes closed, I breathed in the deep, comforting scent of wood that always came from him.
Now I truly felt that I’d come home.

* * *

Mehren froze in shock for a moment, then a touching reunion unfolded.
He didn’t say anything particularly stirring, but the way he held me close and didn’t let go was enough for me to feel his heart.
My Mehren wasn’t someone to wear his feelings openly.
‘This careful restraint is what I love about him.’
Because it shows me how much he treasures me.
“I missed you.”
“……So did I.”
Soon Mehren gave me a rough explanation of what had happened.
‘So Father brought me back.’
I couldn’t believe the Regent Duke had let me go so easily.
That man? Surely not…….
While I was tilting my head in disbelief, a face unfaded and radiant thrust itself into my line of sight.
“Am I so invisible you can’t see me, daughter?”
“I can see you.”
Father looked displeased that I was only holding Mehren.
“I feel so neglected.”
Valere drooped his brows in mock misery.
“Are you saying I’m discriminating against you?”
I blinked.
Perhaps because I’d read my birth mother’s memories, the way Father acted—something that used to irritate me slightly, made me wonder why—now appeared differently to me.
I’d always thought him selfish, thoughtless, and inscrutable, but now it seemed as if he masked himself with that lightness, hid his anxiety, and suppressed his fragility.
It was almost like watching a child struggling to put on a brave face.
I was probably in a bad way emotionally.
Ah, well.
I let out a long sigh, separated from Mehren, and pulled Father into my arms.
“Come here.”
“Huh?”
I felt his large, sturdy frame stiffen.
“What’s gotten into our daughter so suddenly?”
His bewildered voice made me stifle a laugh.
“Did you suddenly miss Father, is that it?”
My tone sounded more brazenly confident than usual.
“Yes.”
But my answer had always been decided from the start.
At my unhesitating reply, the body I held went rigid.
“I missed you.”
“…….”
His rapid breathing, his body tensed with emotion, his hands hovering uncertainly, his voice breaking into stammers—
All of it showed me how much Father was moved.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
Watching the malfunctioning Father was rather entertaining.
“Uh…….”
Father was too cute, flushed and lost for words.
“Did I—did I do something wrong?”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
Watching me laugh, Father fumbled for composure.
“You’ve always been second priority for me. You, well, you prefer Mehren, after all.”
“I do prefer Mehren.”
As if such an obvious thing needed saying.
“……Yes, I wasn’t even hoping for that much.”
Father’s wry acceptance was amusing.
An expression caught between irritation and resignation.
I held Father tight.
The way I’d wanted to after seeing Mother’s memories.
“Because you’re my father.”
Just one sentence.
At those words, I looked into Father’s serious face as it crumpled with emotion. Still breathtakingly refined and beautiful.
Anyone could see he was Sione’s younger brother—the likeness was unmistakable.
Sione’s everything.
From the arrangement that made such a person my father, I felt my birth mother’s intention.
‘Ah.’
I was so deeply loved.
“Mother came to me in a dream.”
“Yes, Mehren told me.”
“She said Sione loves you.”
“…….”
“She said she hopes you’ll be happy.”
I asked carefully, meeting Father’s hardened gaze.
“Are you happy, Father?”
“Well…….”
His brow furrowed as if in difficulty, his eyes threatening tears, a twisted smile barely formed.
As if unsure what expression he should wear, Father chewed his lip before finally answering.
“……I seem to be happy.”
Unable to define the emotion he felt, Father looked at me.
“As long as you’re by my side, daughter, I think that will be enough.”
“Then I can never leave your side.”
“Never.”
“And you won’t leave mine either, will you?”
As if Father had been hoping someone would hold him, he surrendered without resistance, letting himself be held by me.
“……How could I go anywhere when our daughter is here?”
His low voice, thick with emotion, answered as if on the verge of tears.
“Yes, Father.”
Ah, truly.
“Let’s be happy together.”
I never thought I’d say such things.
“We’re a family, after all.”
“Yes, we’re a family.”
I still couldn’t bring myself to say I loved him—it felt too awkward, wouldn’t come naturally—so I could only express my heart this way, and Father seemed to find that enough, smiling.
His eyes creased with an innocent, childlike happiness that made me happy too, and I smiled back.
Suddenly Father’s expression froze cold.
“What audacity, showing your face here.”
As if to shield me, Father turned to face someone, his gaze sharp.
Peeking out from Father’s embrace, I saw a person whose presence seemed impossible.
‘Wait, why is the Regent Duke here?’
The Regent Duke, perhaps not noticing Father’s open hostility, only looking at me, opened his mouth.
“I’d like to speak with Arelin alone.”

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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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