Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 162

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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 162

“You’re really not going to regret this?”
“Arelin, are you having doubts?”
With my track record of countless failures, did I look confident?
I cautioned them, recalling the mountain of minuses I’d racked up.
“Well, I did warn you.”
Looking at the two pairs of bright, sparkling eyes, I activated the Affinity Scanner.
Whirrr—
[Me → Them]
[♥ 36 Friendship]
“……?”
My eyes widened at the number, higher than expected.
“Ooooh!”
Ciel’s eyes sparkled.
“Me too, me too!”
“Mm-hmm.”
Noel came up with the same result.
Both thirty-six.
‘Why…… is it so high?’
I’d expected anywhere from a negative score to around ten at most. The unexpectedly good showing had me completely thrown off.
Ciel’s eyes gleamed.
“Is that a high number?”
“Yeah, well.”
For most people, it wouldn’t be high, but for me, it was.
“Yes!”
“Woo-hoo!”
The twins high-fived each other.
These kids were ridiculous.
“See? This is our friendship.”
“Even Arelin admits it.”
“We should brag about it.”
“Who are we gonna brag to?”
“Dad, dad?”
I was laughing at the twins’ shameless antics when something suddenly felt hollow.
What was it? Why did something feel missing?
“Ah.”
It hit me then—the absence of someone who would normally barge in at this point, get jealous(?), and try to pull me away.
I turned my head around and spotted the figure I was looking for, sitting alone in a corner of the room.
Chirp—
“There he is.”
A beautifully chirping bird and a handsome youth who could have stepped out of mythology itself.
Faced with a scene that might be rendered as sacred art, I found myself staring blankly, blinking without thought.
It was Fession, playing with the Divine Beast he’d given me as a birthday gift.
‘……He’s beautiful.’
Had I always been this susceptible to beauty?
I’d thought I’d become immune to Dad’s dazzling face attacks, but my restlessly pounding heart suggested I hadn’t built up the same defense against Fession.
I still loved it, though.
The fact that I, who’d always preferred solitude, could now feel the desire to be with someone—it still felt strange and unfamiliar.
But you won’t leave me alone, will you?
I didn’t know where this unwavering belief came from or how it shaped me, but I smiled, thinking of that starlit night sky and the Other Side World that had come to me like salvation.
Just then, Fession by the window—soaking in all the light the world had to offer—turned his head.
Our eyes met suddenly.
“Arelin.”
The moment he spotted me, his eyes curved gently upward, his gaze sparkling even brighter. Watching the affection and fondness he displayed so openly, my expression softened without my realizing it.
I’d thought it was simply good, but to feel such a difference in depth—
Maybe because I’d never felt this way about anyone before, there was something ticklish and soft about it.
“What are you doing over here by yourself, Fession?”
“This little one called for me.”
Chirp!—
The sparrow-like Divine Beast fluttered around us in circles, so earnestly that flying seemed to exhaust it.
“Arelin, did you give this little one a name?”
“Hmm. Not yet.”
Our eyes met with the Divine Beast’s dark, round ones.
Chirrrp—
“Look, it’s feeling hurt.”
“That’s what a hurt feeling sounds like?”
“Divine Beasts need to be given a proper name, apparently.”
“By whom?”
“Oh, there’s this self-proclaimed Divine Beast expert.”
“……?”
Fession laughed it off with a soft smile, dodging the answer. Despite such an obvious deflection, his gentle laughter made me hesitate to press him further.
What should I even call this?
Had I fallen for his charms completely?
For a moment, I thought that even without the royal family’s talents, Fession could win the affection of thousands.
Who wouldn’t like someone like him?
Whirr—
Ether in my arms protested loudly, unhappy about my apparent infatuation, but I ignored it.
What nonsense, coming from an inanimate object.
“Then I’ll name him ‘On.'”
“On?”
The name was taken from Fession’s own name, but he tilted his head blankly, as if he hadn’t caught on at all.
‘He really is strange.’
Normally, he’d catch on right away and be delighted, so his reaction now had me worried.
When did it start? After I returned from Roc Fortress?
I’d thought Fession seemed somewhat listless and gloomy……
And he still did. One moment he’d be laughing brightly, then his expression would cloud over.
‘What’s really going on?’
Before, I’d held back from asking, not wanting to open old wounds, but now I couldn’t just leave it alone.
“Fession, does something hurt?”
“No.”
“Then why do you look so listless?”
Fession blinked slowly.
Thick lashes fluttered delicately along his beautiful eye line.
His slightly dazed gaze held mine.
“Does it bother you if I’m bothered?”
“Of course it bothers me.”
“Really?”
“Why? Does my answer sound like a lie to you?”
Fession hesitated, then gave a small nod.
“You told me you didn’t want to be alone, that you wanted to be with me, but you keep being with other people.”
I was momentarily speechless at this unexpected reply.
Did I say that? I couldn’t remember.
Then it came back to me—those words I’d spoken in the Imperial Palace Underworld—and I nearly laughed.
Right, yes. I did say something like that.
So much had happened that the memory felt distant, like something from ages past. Distant enough that I’d grown considerably stronger in the meantime. Wow, come to think of it, that’s true.
“So that’s what upset you?”
Fession pouted petulantly for a moment, then nodded.
“It felt like only I’m the one who wants to see you……”
His clouded expression, his uncertain voice, the clear signs of something he’d been wrestling with alone.
It made me remember when I’d stopped caring that this world was from a novel.
The day Fession had come to the Library.
He’d been like this then, too.
Whenever this bright, sun-like Fession showed me such vulnerability, I never knew what to do.
I felt like it was because of me, like it was my fault, like I was the problem.
But strangely, I wasn’t anxious.
Maybe because I trust you now.
“It’s because of you.”
I took his hand, where the chirping bird sat, and spoke carefully.
“That’s why I’m like this.”
“Because of me?”
I thought back to days that now felt like distant history.
The time when I’d built walls and dug myself into a cave.
The Nursing Corps, Mehren, Dad.
So many people are beside me now, but when I trace things back to their beginning, it all started with Fession.
The reason my world expanded, why I could ultimately shake off my past that I’d wanted to forget and deny.
“You were there.”
This persistent, annoying creature of yours—who went to the trouble of dragging me out from my quiet resignation to death, who made me laugh, who hoped for my happiness.
“It’s all because of you.”
At my words, Fession’s expression softened, then pouted again.
“But then why do you keep playing with the others?”
“Playing together with everyone is more fun.”
“……I guess that’s true.”
I bit back a smile as Fession reluctantly conceded.
“You don’t like it?”
“I don’t dislike it.”
Color returned to Fession’s face before fading into gloom again.
“Why?”
“Because you get hurt too easily.”
“Me?”
“I get stronger easily with just a bit of training, I stay healthy no matter what I do—so why is this so hard for you?”
What was this, deception?
“I don’t know what else I can do for you here.”
Fession groaned and agonized over it.
It seemed he wanted to do something, anything, but couldn’t—and that pained him.
Ah, really.
He was too cute.
“Hold on, that’s enough.”
Just as I was about to console Fession.
Dad suddenly appeared from nowhere, wedging himself between us with narrowed eyes.
“What are you doing in this sacred Reception Room?”
“Nothing, really.”
“You were glued together.”
“We were just holding hands.”
“Hmmph.”
Behind Dad, who was bouncing with agitation, the twins were sticking their tongues out at him.
Ah, so those two had brought him here. I laughed at Dad’s wariness toward Fession—it was just too much.
“Arelin! Harun, let’s do this one.”
“Show us the favorability!”
The twins rushed over dragging Harun, and I glanced at them briefly, but my mood wasn’t sour.
Oh no, they’re cute too now.
“Alright, let’s try.”
Harun didn’t look particularly keen.
[Me → Them]
[♥ 44 Trust/Friendship]
“……?”
“?”
“?”
The twins short-circuited at the number, higher than they’d expected.
“We’re……”
“Lower than Harun?”
Leaving the shellshocked twins, who looked between Harun and me with wavering eyes, I went over to Fession.
“Want to give it a try, Fession?”
Fession looked at the Affinity Scanner with clear reluctance.
What was bothering him about it?
“Go on, Dad’s curious.”
“Huh?”
“I’m guessing around thirty?”
“?”
“Surely I’m not lower than the little one.”
Dad pressed me with baseless confidence.
“Go ahead, dear daughter.”
“I will.”
Fession nodded.
Soon a bright light engulfed us.
And then.
[Me → Them]
[♥ 71 Trust/Affection]
“……”
“……”
“……”
A breathless silence descended all at once.

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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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