Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 188
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 188
Sagret was the sort of place that brimmed with energy without the chaos of overcrowding—a genuinely pleasant destination.
“Miss, let’s try going there this time!”
“I hear the fresh fruit juice at that stall is exquisite!”
Though I’d told Yukyadan to enjoy this rare outing as a proper holiday, they all moved as one unit, never straying from my side.
“That sounds good. Let’s go together, Mehren.”
“…Yes.”
Mother—barely past her youth at twenty-six—had no idea how to play; she and I simply trailed along in the wake of Yukyadan’s inexplicable information network, dragged from place to place.
“Did you get good footage?”
“Of course! That girl eating skewers just now was absolutely adorable.”
“And the beach was something else entirely.”
Yukyadan threw themselves into recreation with desperate intensity, and the reason was simple enough—
“Did you notice Miss’s complexion wasn’t good?”
“Her breathing got heavier. Walking seems difficult for her now.”
“We’ll need to get her water later. We brought some, right?”
They’d begun to truly feel it: the time left for me to move through the world like this was no longer very long.
No one said it aloud, but everyone harbored the same unspoken thought. This trip was likely my last chance to do anything resembling a healthy outing.
They all desperately hoped this dark premonition would prove false.
* * *
“Arelin! Arelin!”
Two days after arriving in Sagret, uninvited guests appeared.
“How could you come here without us? That’s cruel!”
“You should have brought us along!”
The Demon Twins spotted me and bolted over, wrapping their arms around me without ceremony.
“What are you two doing? Let go.”
Fession, arriving moments later with Griam, fixed them with a glare and shoved them aside. Harun followed quietly behind.
“You came all the way here…”
I’d suspected it when I saw the Sperom crest at the estate, but having it confirmed was strange—almost disorienting.
Was I really that important to them?
“Harun, you must have had your hands full.”
“…?”
The moment I patted Harun on the shoulder—him being the one who’d worked hardest bringing my precious ones here—the Demon Twins attached themselves to either side of me.
“Arelin, Arelin, why’d you suddenly come to Sagret?”
“Right, we were waiting for you to get better, and then you just disappear like this?!”
“Yeah. Like this.”
“Arelin, that’s too much!”
“What do you mean too much?”
“You came alone! You should have brought us!”
The Demon Twins closed in on me like officers making an arrest.
“But what’s with the trip? I thought you liked staying home.”
“I’d never traveled before, so I came to try it.”
The Demon Twins flinched, then looked at me with sudden pity.
“That pitying look—stop it.”
“What kind of life have you been living, Arelin?”
These fools were breaking my heart.
If only I could let them experience a single day of living as me, though I knew it was impossible. The thought ached.
“So you picked here?”
“Sagret specifically?”
I’d originally wanted to visit Halbern Castle, surrounded by snow for eighteen months straight, but the Northern Continent’s climate was deemed too dangerous for my fragile constitution.
“Sagret’s new to us too!”
“Let’s have fun together!”
While the Demon Twins unpacked, Fession stood motionless, simply studying my face.
“…?”
I tilted my head in question; he mirrored the gesture.
Was this some kind of contest of wills?
“Are you all right?”
“Mm.”
So he was worried about my health after all.
Given Fession’s obsessive attention to my wellbeing these past days, it was only natural.
“I’m managing well enough.”
“Okay.”
Now that I thought about it, he’d stopped harping on exercise recently.
I almost asked why, but thought better of it.
I remembered exactly when Fession had stopped badgering me about training.
It was after I’d been kidnapped and returned.
“Did you worry about me a lot?”
Fession hesitated, then nodded. His eyes were clouded with concern for me, which warmed my heart even as it ached to see.
I should have told him not to worry, but when I considered my own condition, I found myself with nothing to say.
Fession simply held my hand in silence, and unbidden, I smiled.
“Arelin! Arelin! Your Highness! Let’s go!”
“The sea is calling us!”
Just then, the Demon Twins—now fully prepared—summoned us.
I was about to walk toward them without thinking when—
“Ah…”
The world tilted violently; I nearly collapsed.
“Are you all right?!”
Fession caught me in alarm.
Damned useless body.
“I’m fine. Just a spell of dizziness.”
“Your face is pale.”
Fession’s concern was evident, but before he could suggest resting, I got ahead of him.
“I can still move. Let’s go.”
Once Cheiyen’s Blessing faded, I’d collapse anyway—better to squeeze out whatever hours I had left.
* * *
Over the past week, I’d played without restraint.
Thinking this might be my last chance, I ate, laughed, and wandered with such abandon that I’d have no regrets even if I dropped dead tomorrow.
Not that I meant I wanted to die immediately, of course.
“Here we go again.”
My vision blurred for a moment; blinking cleared it slowly.
My condition deteriorated visibly with each passing day.
I’d be having fun, then suddenly hack violently; I’d fall silent mid-conversation, only for them to discover me asleep; standing upright became exhausting; and my breathing grew ragged for no reason—soon even the Demon Twins began watching me carefully.
“Arelin, are you dizzy again?”
“Should we get you water?”
Water was the last thing I needed now. I shook my head, and the Demon Twins’ eyes went wide.
“Arelin, Arelin… blood…”
“Blood?”
At their words, I touched my face and stared blankly at the crimson staining my fingers.
“Oh… nosebleed.”
Chaos erupted instantly, and the day’s entire schedule was canceled. As I lay there pathetically, Uni thrust medicine into my hands urgently.
“This is medicine?”
“The Regent Duke prepared it for you, Miss. He’s like your godfather.”
The Regent Duke seemed intent on draining the Southern Empire; he kept sending things, all of them treasures, which only worried me.
Was this old man going to get himself purged?
“Princes, the young lady needs rest, so if you’d please leave for now?”
At Uni’s tactful suggestion, Ciel released my hand reluctantly and withdrew.
“Arelin, we’ll bring you something delicious.”
“Rest here and wait for us. Understood?!”
“All right.”
I was grateful it wasn’t Fession here at the moment, and I leaned against Uni.
“Should we return to the Capital, Miss?”
Both Yukyadan and Mehren seemed to wish we’d go home.
“Has the Magic Tower sent word?”
“No, nothing new, Miss.”
“Then I’d rather stay here.”
If the Magic Tower had found no answer, there was nothing more to find.
Returning to the Capital meant confinement at home until I died anyway; I preferred this place, where I could at least see the ocean from the estate.
“I’m sleepy.”
“Then rest, Miss.”
As Uni’s voice faded, I closed my eyes. The world went dark.
* * *
When I opened my eyes again, night had fallen.
“Ah.”
Trying to sit up proved so difficult that I winced, just as Emma entered the room.
“Miss, you’re awake? How are you feeling?”
Her expression suggested she hadn’t seen me conscious in ages; instinctively, I frowned.
“How long was I asleep?”
“Well, um…”
“It’s okay. Tell me.”
“You slept for two days.”
“That’s quite a long time.”
Two whole days—no wonder my body felt so heavy, though my mind remained clear.
My body was still a wreck.
“How is your body feeling, Miss?”
Terrible, as always.
But I couldn’t say that to worried Yukyadan, so I smiled instead.
“Help me sit up.”
As I tried to leave the bed, my legs refused to support me.
I’d become a proper invalid.
Just as Emma reached out to help—
Mehren appeared suddenly and lifted me into his arms.
“Are you all right, Miss?”
“Ah, Mother.”
Seeing his expression so twisted with worry, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Why that face? I’m not dying tomorrow.”
It was meant as a joke, but the crease between Mehren’s brows deepened.
Frowning made him look even more severe.
“If there’s anything you’d like to eat, anything you’d like to have, anything you’d like to see—just say the word.”
“I’m fine. There’s nothing like that.”
I already had more than enough.
Checking my Status Window, the Blessing still remained, though its expiration seemed near. Once it faded, would I collapse again?
My Lifespan showed roughly a year remaining.
“Hm? What’s this? Did the Demon Twins put this here?”
A flower caught my eye, placed beside the bed—a light pink rose the color of my irises. It was lovely.
How had they found such a summer bloom in the autumn?
“Prince Harun and His Highness Fession left these as well.”
“How sweet of them.”
“They were very worried.”
“I see.”
Barely awake, my eyes already wanted to close again.
“I’m so tired…”
Worried gazes fell upon me, yet the hand patting my back remained endlessly gentle.
“Rest now, Arelin.”
“Okay… see you later…”
My eyes drifted shut.
When I woke again, a week had passed.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————