Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 15

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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 15

“I think it’s the crown prince’s responsibility that I collapsed, so if you’re worried about it… you don’t need to be.”
All my stiffened head and sluggish tongue could manage was this much.
“How can I not worry?! It’s because of me!”
“Really, I’m fine.”
“No! I’ll look after you until you’re healthy again.”
Rather, it’s a burden.
‘I’ve thought it before.’
It really doesn’t seem like a good match.
He scatters kindness and affection carelessly, then vanishes, leaving one parched for more.
Because to him, such casual affection and attention are merely expected—he receives so much love and adoration that these scraps he throws my way barely register. They cost him nothing.
And that’s exactly why it doesn’t work for me.
I open my heart to the scraps of attention he lets fall out of idle curiosity, grow tame on them, and then find myself alone again, starved as before.
Better to be alone from the start. That’s easier on the heart.
‘I won’t let anyone push me around anymore.’
I’m sorry to Crown Prince Fession, but I don’t have the patience to care for another person. It’s only now I realize that the moment my body was drained, all capacity for endurance simply vanished.
The only mercy is that Fession is still young.
It’s just a passing fancy.
Once novelty wears thin and joy runs out, he’ll move on. With that thought, my heart grew lighter.
I’ll just play along adequately.
“Do you spend all day in your room, Arelin?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don’t like moving.”

What kind of statement was that?
The crown prince’s eyes trembled violently as he looked at me—like he’d witnessed a new species of humanity.
“Why, why?!”
“Does it hurt when you move?”
“Huh?”
The crown prince’s expression stiffened.
“Does it really hurt?”
Watching him grow serious, I sensed the future: if I confirmed his fear, things would only get more troublesome.
“I was joking. I just like being still.”

An expression of utter incomprehension—as if he couldn’t fathom why anyone would prefer stillness. Apparently deciding to verify this himself, the crown prince sat quietly beside me.
Once conversation died, I found myself more at ease, gazing out the window. But I could feel his sidelong glances, stealing looks at me.
He couldn’t sit still for even a moment, fidgeting constantly. He’d insisted on sitting beside me to copy what I was doing, yet couldn’t manage a single second of calm.
“Oh? You smiled.”

The crown prince broke into a brilliant smile—like sunlight pouring through a window.
“I think it’s the first time I’ve seen you smile, Arelin.”
“Is that so?”
“Hehe.”
What could possibly make him so pleased? I genuinely couldn’t fathom it.
“What do you like, Arelin?”
“Nothing.”
“Is there someone you like?”
“No one.”
“What do you do when you rest?”
“Breathe.”
“What do you do when you play?”
“Nothing.”
“Is there really nothing you want to do?”
“I couldn’t say.”
I turned my gaze back to the window.
A clear sky and a well-tended garden stretched before me.
“There might have been something, once.”
I closed my eyes quietly.
“I just can’t remember it now.”

* * *

– “Long time no see, Mehan!”
The man on the other side of the Video Communication Device greeted him with a bright smile, though the image crackled with static—the Mana Transmission signal was poor. Mehan sighed.
He’d seized the brief window while the crown prince was visiting to step away from Arelin’s bedside, and of all people, it had to be Jaren on the other end.
“It’s been a while, Jaren. But why isn’t His Highness there? Why are you the one calling?”
Jaren Berg Mubesk.
A loyal left hand and sworn knight to Valere, Mehan’s lord Duke Halberun.
This likable, even-tempered knight had learned to handle Mehan with practiced grace, even as repeated requests for audiences were denied and rejected, making him increasingly on edge.
– “Ah, His Highness is busy right now. Another casualty incident broke out yesterday, you see.”
“Doesn’t the Northern Front Line see casualties three or four times a day as a rule?”
It was actually rarer for people not to die at the front. And the Northern Front Line was the worst front of all, wasn’t it?
– “True enough, but that’s precisely why each life is precious. When one person falls, the line weakens that much. When the line weakens, we must defend an ever-expanding perimeter against a growing horde of Monsters.”
For Mehan’s silence, Jaren summed it up.
– “Anyway, the point is His Highness went to shore up the line.”
“I see.”
– “What? Something the matter?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
– “Come on, tell me. I’ll pass the message along.”
“I really don’t need to—”
– “Come now, between us! Is it hard to say? But you’ve been so persistently trying to reach me, it must be something pretty important!”
“It is important.”
– “Really, this Jaren—I stake my name and honor that I’ll absolutely convey it. So speak up!”
Mehan’s eyes narrowed. The figure across the Mana link was still smiling cheerfully.
“In that case, I won’t hesitate to ask.”
– “Good, go ahead.”
“Please tell His Highness this.”
– “All right, what should I tell him?”
“His Highness is a contemptible, worthless piece of garbage for a father.”
– “Sure, sure. I’ll tell His Highness… wait, what?”
“With that, I’ll end this call.”
– “What? Hold on! Hey, Mehan! Is that really—?”
Click—
The Video Communication Device went dark, and Jaren’s image vanished. The weight lifted from Mehan’s expression as he finally said what he’d been holding back.
If you don’t like it, do something about it.

* * *

“Well done, well done.”
“You’re the best, Miss.”
Why were they acting like this?
“Miss, we have always loved and respected you, and blah blah blah.”
Suddenly I found myself surrounded by the Care Staff and trapped in a cage of praise. No matter what I did, waves of applause and compliments came crashing down.
Have you ever been praised just for breathing? That was my current state.
“…What’s gotten into you all? Did nobody eat breakfast?”
I’d meant to let it pass as some new game, but their behavior was so bizarre I ended up asking.
Then.
“The Miss!”
“Finally!”
“Spoke!”
“To us!”

Had they collectively lost their minds?
I’d never heard of rabies-like disease in this world.
They seemed under considerable stress. I should just ignore them and move on.
“Miss!”
“Miss Arelin~!”
“Miss~!”
“Don’t abandon us~!”
What was wrong with them?
“I’m going to read. Leave.”
“No, you don’t need to read books like that!”
Apparently having resolved something, Ern stepped in front of me.
“You lack brightness and innocence, Miss! You need to see the light and joy of this world more!”
“All you do is read gloomy books!”
“Come on, let’s take a walk under this bright sunshine.”
Uni and Rena joined forces.
“I don’t want to go out.”
“Why not!”
“How could you not!”
“Why!”
“Because I don’t want to.”
These people showed no consideration for homebodies. The MBTI trend had confirmed what I’d always known—I was an ‘I’: someone who found certainty and stability indoors.
Since childhood I’d been locked away, practicing constantly. Did it make sense for such a person to suddenly want to see the outside world and run off? I did what suited my nature.
Back then, my only friends were Sheet Music and Violin.
I don’t even have those now.
“I won’t go. Leave me be.”
“Miss! At least give us a chance!”
“Let us take care of you!”
“We’re fully prepared!”
What was with these people?
I exhaled a deep sigh.
The core members of my Care Staff numbered only four or five.
Uni, the head maid with comprehensive medical knowledge.
Ember, the head cook who obtained every cooking certification imaginable to handle my finicky stomach—I vomited at the slightest culinary misstep.
Rena, who created an environment for my education while I stayed home, taught me the fundamentals, designed my curriculum, and arranged for professional tutors.
Ern was a former knight who served as my butler and bodyguard when I went out. The rest handled complementary tasks. Childcare couldn’t be managed by one person alone.
Given they were professionals, I’d never once thought them insufficient.
So why this sudden commotion?
“What did I even do?”
Could it be because of what happened last time?
True, when we were talking back then, I suddenly collapsed and the conversation ended awkwardly.
But that didn’t explain this frenzy.
“While Miss was collapsed, we did a great deal of soul-searching.”
Don’t. Stop it.
“Perhaps we were so focused on professionalism that we never truly observed Miss’s heart?”
Don’t look. Please stop.
“It’s not too late! We swore a blood oath that our sincerity would reach you, that these feelings would reach you, and that we would serve you ever better!”
Blood oath? The age of barbarism is over. It’s frightening.
“I…”
I understand their sentiment, and I’m grateful, but I wish they’d just leave me alone.
Overwhelmed, exhausted, my energy draining away, all I wanted was to lie down.
“What is this?”
A sharp, weighty voice fell like a reprimand.
Mehan.
“Mehan.”
“That is… well…”
“We were just…”
In an instant, the members of my Care Staff began stammering and shrinking back. Just as Mehan was about to scold them, his body went rigid.
“Mother.”

Mehan’s entire frame stopped moving.
The Care Staff also froze, mirroring his shutdown.
“Mother?”
“That is…”
Mehan faltered, troubled.

A whirlwind of question marks swept through the Halberun Residence.

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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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