Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 158

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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 158

On a sweltering summer’s day, the heat showing no sign of relenting.
Today was a special day.
“Happy birthday, Miss!”
“We sincerely wish you a happy birthday!”
Having gone to bed early last night, I’d missed the Childcare Unit’s plan to be the first to congratulate me when the clock struck midnight, so they all rushed to celebrate simultaneously instead.
“Thanks.”
“This is a gift we pooled our resources together to prepare.”
Uni handed me the birthday present on their behalf. I laughed at the sight of the golden badge emblazoned with “Great Job!”
“Ha, what is this.”
At my reaction, the Childcare Unit beamed with satisfaction.
“See, I told you they’d like it.”
“They’re loving it so much.”
Having waited since the crack of dawn to present the gift, the Childcare Unit laughed happily along with me.
“We’ll give you the second gift once the birthday party is over!”
“There’s another gift?”
“Of course!”
The Childcare Unit giggled mischievously, like a troublemaker child.
“The Duke said to tell you to look forward to his gift, and you’re pleased?”
I nodded while pinning the golden “Great Job!” badge to my chest.
That’s right—today was my birthday.

* * *

Halbern Manor, despite being a great aristocratic house, was not particularly open to outside visitors.
There were several reasons for this.
First, the Halbern house’s nature as guardians of “secrets” made them averse to outside contact; second, Valere, the master of Halbern, had been away at the Northern Fortress for so long that even their limited interactions had ceased.
And third, Mehren, the Duke’s proxy, disliked visits from outsiders.
If an outside guest happened to wander into one of the sealed annexes, it would be catastrophic.
So the firmly closed gates of Halbern opened wide today.
“Arelin!”
“Arelin-arelin!”
Though it wasn’t exactly a flood of visitors.
The Demon Twins and the Duke of Sperom.
“Arelin!”
“…….”
Fession and Harun.
The mages who had earned their place here through fierce competition within the Magic Tower.
The Saren Knights and the Regent Duke Ludwig.
Empress Azeni, who hadn’t come in person but sent a shower of magnificent gifts as a substitute for her presence.
Harun stared at the mountain of gifts stamped with the imperial seal, then called out to Fession.
“By the way, Fession. Didn’t Sirua say he wanted to come to today’s birthday party?”
“Hush.”
“…….”
Someone who wanted to come but couldn’t had their absence quietly buried for some reason.
The birthday party in the garden of Halbern Manor had been prepared with the full effort of nearly everyone at the estate.
Since the birthday girl herself disliked a lot of fuss, only close acquaintances were invited, making it modest rather than grand, but the sincerity of those who prepared it made it more than enough to enjoy.
“Happy birthday!”
At the sight of the three-tiered birthday cake, Arelin’s expression faltered for a moment, but then she smiled brightly amid the thunderous applause and greeted everyone.
The Duke of Sperom found himself inadvertently marveling at the brilliant garden of Halbern Manor, which was already famous for its beauty.
“The sunlight is lovely.”
“Indeed it is.”
Paintings and sculptures worth coveting were scattered everywhere he looked, but the Duke of Sperom’s attention was drawn to something else entirely.
“Arelin, look at this.”
“It’s our birthday present. Pretty cool, right?!”
Though the condition was “only in front of Arelin,” such well-mannered behavior from the Demon Twins was shocking!
The Duke of Sperom, who had suffered at their hands his entire life, received an enormous shock.
A shock he hadn’t quite grasped when hearing about it from his retainers, but felt acutely upon witnessing it firsthand.
“So Sperom’s future truly rests with Miss Arelin.”
The Duke of Sperom was seriously considering whether to propose a match, alternating his gaze between Fession and the Demon Twins.
“Why would you entrust the future of a perfectly good house to someone else’s daughter?”
A chill ran through him.
Valere appeared from somewhere and approached with a smile.
Why was he breaking into a cold sweat despite the smile?
“No, listen. Valere. This absolutely isn’t some dark scheme or anything like that…….”
“Want to steal the business rights?”
“…….”
The Duke of Sperom’s mouth snapped shut.
A massive Big Deal that had passed between Sperom and Halbern days ago flashed through his mind.
Dammit!
‘If only it hadn’t been the automobile business rights!’
A vast enterprise, a joint venture established by Sperom and Halbern, with even the Magic Tower involved.
The Duke of Sperom had brought in an Artifact that could transform imagination into visual form, acquiring not just the design and basic principles of the automobile, but also an aerial survey map of a future where automobiles roamed the roads—and he couldn’t possibly surrender the business rights.
He believed with absolute certainty that this would be the future of transport, the beginning of a logistics revolution.
“Well, have you something to say?”
The Duke of Sperom fixed Valere with a displeased look as he smiled innocently while holding the leash of another man’s business.
“Insufferable.”
“As if this is anything new?”
‘This younger bastard…….’
Valere paid no mind to the Duke of Sperom’s glare, his attention entirely on his smiling daughter.
“So, did you prepare a birthday gift?”
“Ah, I’ve got something incredible lined up.”
“How incredible?”
At the Duke of Sperom’s question, Valere chuckled quietly.
When the Duke’s eyes narrowed at Valere’s refusal to answer and just laughing, Valere, his eyes twinkling mischievously like a troublemaker, made an announcement.
“Wait and see—I think it’ll be good news for Sperom as well.”
“……?”
Why would his daughter receiving a birthday gift be good news for our house?
Faced with this unexpected riddle, the Duke of Sperom felt confused.
Regardless, Valere laughed deeply.
“I hope she’ll like it.”

* * *

In the short life I’ve lived as Arelin, a birthday party like this was a first.
“Wow.”
The Childcare Unit had always taken care of my birthday, but……an actual birthday party with invited guests?
Such a thing had no place in my life. Mehren always gave me proper birthday greetings, but truthfully, there was nothing particularly special about a birthday.
In my life—and my previous one combined—the most radiant birthday party had me grinning uncontrollably without even realizing it.
“Arelin seems happy because it’s her birthday. She keeps smiling.”
“Right? Did our gift really make you so happy?!”
The Demon Twins’ birthday gift was a Platinum Coin—a special commemorative coin for the Sperom Bank’s 100th anniversary.
“Only ten in the entire world!”
“Hehe. We got one as a gift too!”
“We only have two, so we’re giving you one.”
“It’s our treasure!”
The fact that they were giving me one of only two made me truly grasp how special they considered me.
Though I’m pretty sure there’s one of these in the Halbern display case too. Is it the same one?
“Anyway, thank you. I’ll treasure it.”
Harun gave me a portable Security Artifact, and something about it being useful for finding lost people made my mood a bit strange.
‘Harun knows I was kidnapped and came back, doesn’t he?’
Fession’s gift, meanwhile, was unexpected.
“Isn’t it cute? It’s a Divine Beast.”
“It’s so cute……!”
A small, round Divine Beast that looked like a tiny sparrow landed on my palm.
“Even though it looks like this, it’s a Divine Beast with high intelligence, so it recognizes its owner well, eats and plays on its own.”
“It’s so adorable!”
“I thought about getting you a dog-like companion so we could take walks together.”
“No, this is perfect!”
Chirp?
I found myself absorbed in those small, dark eyes that seemed to recognize me.
It’s so cute…….
“I’m glad you like it.”
Fession smiled brightly. At the sight of that smile, which I hadn’t seen in a while, I couldn’t help but smile back.
“Since I can’t always be by your side, I brought this so it could be with Arelin instead.”
“Fession…….”
That shadowed expression I’d seen before flickered across his face for a moment, but Fession smiled brightly again.
‘I wish he’d tell me what he’s thinking.’
Was this how Fession felt when he saw me, once locked away?
Thinking of it that way, I didn’t want to ask and trouble this beautiful day with unnecessary concerns.
Fession spoke to me with that eternally radiant, dazzling smile like the sun.
“Because we’re together, I’m happy.”
“Me too.”
I want to keep living like this.
The thought came unbidden.

* * *

That evening, after the modest but cozy birthday party had ended.
With all the guests gone and only family remaining, three men who hadn’t yet given me gifts surrounded me as I sat.
“So what exactly is the birthday gift?”
Why were they dragging this out so much?
Even Mehren, who would normally be the first to stop such theatrics, stood with his hands clasped behind his back for once.
“Well, your father’s birthday gift is…….”
“……?”
Father suddenly spread out a map.
Then he drew a large, crude circle on a barren wasteland near the Capital.
“I’m giving you this.”
“……??”
What exactly was Father saying he was giving me?

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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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