Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 174

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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 174

Chloe had been unusually clingy with me lately. We’d exchange greetings whenever our eyes met before, but never like this.
Wherever I went, Chloe followed, and in turn, Fession’s demeanor had grown decidedly strange.
“Why don’t you back off?”
“My, Your Highness. Are you so eager to join in girls’ conversation?”
“Girls’ conversation? Arelin was talking with me.”
“Then surely you won’t mind yielding to me now. I too would like to enjoy a pleasant chat with Lady Arelin.”
“Step aside, Harun.”
“Shouldn’t you be the one withdrawing?”
Listening to their sparring dialogue, I found myself utterly bewildered.
‘Why are they fighting over me?’
The female lead and male lead were quarreling over me.
I wondered if this was some clichéd development toward romance, but the deadly glares they exchanged made me think otherwise.
‘I have no idea what’s going on.’
That wasn’t the only strange thing.
“Good day, Lady Arelin. Such lovely weather we’re having, isn’t it?”
“What sort of dishes does Lady Arelin favor most?”
“Oh, Lady Arelin, we’re planning a small tea party among ourselves later. Would you care to join us?”
The sudden kindness of the other ladies was inexplicable.
“What is this?”
The world was isolating me as a pariah.

* * *

“Hmm, not here either……”
The Annex was strictly forbidden to outsiders and even to the servants of Halbern Manor.
Having entered one of them, I was methodically searching through the building.
I’d expected everything to be covered in thick dust from disuse, but for some reason Halbern’s Annex was meticulously maintained throughout.
As if time itself had stopped—that’s how pristine it was.
“Ugh, where could it be?”
The reason I’d suddenly begun rummaging through the Annex was simple.
I was searching for the Halbern Secret Library.

[Key Inheritor (S)]
-Allows access to the Halbern Secret Library that exists in another world. Can be used to visit hidden places.

Looking at this trait, it seemed I should be able to reach the Halbern Secret Library, but I couldn’t figure out how.
I’d even broached the subject with Father.

“Huh? A secret library? My dear, you don’t need to know about such things. Curiosity is dangerous.”

I’d gotten only that cryptic response.
‘Though I suppose I understand his reaction, thinking of Mother Sione….’
“I have my own reasons for needing to find it.”
My primary concern lately had been finding a way to raise my “grade.”
[Cooldown remaining until next question: 98 days 1 hour]
With my all-purpose search window facing an enormous cooldown, I couldn’t simply wait idly for it to elapse, so I’d made efforts of my own.
The first place I’d rushed to was the library.
I’d searched through the Halbern family library, the Sperom Private Library, and even the Imperial Library, but found no information I needed.
‘There’s one person who might know this….’
The thought of Cheiyen made my expression sour.
“Rejected.”
One doesn’t ask for help from someone you can’t trust.
“Ugh, did she really go off to study abroad?”
I’d thought the Academy might have useful information, but after befriending Professor Milliet, who seemed desperate to send me there by any means, and reviewing the various ancient texts I’d seen, I was convinced it wouldn’t be quick.
‘This will take too long.’
I didn’t have much time left.
“I’m dying in a year. How am I supposed to study?”
It would’ve been easier if it were a disease or a curse, but the reason for my death was that the power I wielded was too great, and my body couldn’t withstand it and was collapsing.
“So how exactly do I raise my body’s grade?”
I unconsciously recalled the most certain method.
“Do I really have to become a Sword Master or something?”
But I knew my own talents.
A Sword Master in one year?
“Like that’s even possible!”
Why didn’t I have Fession’s talent?
I had to resort to other means.
But there was another problem.
‘What exactly is a “grade”?’
“I don’t know enough about this world.”
There was too much I didn’t understand—about this world and about myself.
And I couldn’t be straightforward with Father and Mehren about this, couldn’t share information, because I had no way to explain how I’d come by it.
It all traced back to having to confess that I’d been reincarnated……
‘I’m not ready for that yet.’
It would be a problem either way—whether they took me seriously or worried I’d lost my mind.
“I’ll keep that as a last resort.”
And so, going in circles, I’d come to the crux of the problem: how to find a way to raise my grade?
That’s when the Halbern Secret Library occurred to me.
“The Halbern Secret Library, holding all the secrets of this world and the history of the Halbern family!”
It seemed like exactly the place to find the information I sought, but I couldn’t figure out how to get inside.
“Mother Sione went in when she was younger than me. How did she manage it?”
If I couldn’t find the Secret Library, my next destination would have to be the Magic Tower. They had the Infinite Library there too.
But how was I supposed to even get into the Magic Tower?
“Ugh, not here either.”
Should I check the other annexes?
I’d assumed the entrance would be somewhere in the manor itself, since it was the Halbern Secret Library, but my assumption seemed to be wrong.
“Sigh……”
The Childcare Unit will find it. Time to head back.
That’s when I stood up.
Gleam.
Something glinting in the distance caught my eye.
“……What’s that?”
As I drew closer, I noticed a hairline crack in the otherwise seamless wall, with faint light seeping through.
“Huh?”
Without thinking, I placed my hand against the crack, and it spread open.
“Wait—?”
Just as I tried to pull my hand away in shock, the widening crack suddenly swallowed me whole.

* * *

Mehren regarded the letter that had arrived in his name with an peculiar expression.
Milliet Sobeurn.
He was taken aback that the name of a friend who had once been unnecessarily competitive with him during his Academy days had suddenly appeared.
And the contents of the letter……
「I saw the genius you’re raising. It brought back memories of your younger self. I think she’s actually more gifted than you were. She absorbed every single piece of material I showed her! Such a genius can’t be allowed to waste away here. I’ll write you a letter of recommendation—you must send her to the Academy at once! And……”」
“What is she talking about?”
A genius under my care?
As Mehren tilted his head in contemplation, his eyes happened to meet Valere’s, who was lounging askew on the sofa opposite.
“What sort of letter is it?”
At Valere’s languid baritone, Mehren shook his head.
“It seems best ignored.”
Mehren had no intention of letting Arelin out of his care until she fully recovered.
The Academy?
It was absurd.
“So Arelin is a genius, is she?”
“Of course she is. She’s my daughter.”
“Indeed.”
The letter was filled with rambling sentences mixing self-praise, effusive praise for Arelin, and complicated feelings toward Mehren, but its conclusion was clear: “Arelin must be sent to the Academy!”
Still, Mehren thought it best to meet with her just to be safe, and was about to draft a reply when—
“What are you reading with such an expression, my lord?”
“A report from the Magic Tower.”
As Mehren wondered what sort of report the Magic Tower would send to Valere, Valere provided the explanation himself.
“Arelin’s condition is more serious than it appears.”
“Pardon?”
Based on research conducted with only Arelin’s blood, a simple scanning tool, and records kept by the healers at the branch, a Star-rank Mage proved to be a creature operating by entirely different principles than ordinary mages.
[We request permission to treat and research her at the Sky Tower.]
It was a request laden with ulterior motives, yet the request itself seemed reasonable enough to Valere’s eyes.
Valere fell into contemplation.
Since cooperation with the Magic Tower had never once occurred even in his recurring dreams, he felt the necessity to investigate further.
“I need to visit the Magic Tower.”
As Valere rose, Mehren extended his hand.
“Show me the report first.”
Valere stared at Mehren’s eyes, brimming with determination to see it himself, then let out a soft laugh.
“As you wish.”
“……Really, what a man!”
Mehren grumbled as he watched Valere dash away from the flying fountain pen.
“Sigh.”
Once Mehren had caught his breath, he skimmed the report. Gleaning its entirety from a light read, he released a deep sigh.
“……I’ll need to show this to the Regent Duke as well.”

* * *

“Agh!”
I came to abruptly.
I remembered being pulled into the crack, but……
As I lifted my head, an astounding sight filled my vision.
“Wow.”
Endless bookshelves and flying books surrounded me—I could instinctively tell where I was.
“The Secret Library!”

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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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