Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 198

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 198

“Is it already Foundation Festival season?”
“The Capital always seems bustling whenever we visit, doesn’t it?”
The people who had been remarking on the landscape of the Imperial Capital visible through the car window turned to look at the back seat.
“Wouldn’t you agree, Mehren?”
The man, who had been gazing out the window with quiet indifference, rested his chin on his hand before finally breaking his silence.
“I suppose.”
The Albrecht National Flags densely decorated along the streets, the Founding King’s chronicle shown all day on screens, promotional schedules for plays and operas based on the Founding King’s great deeds, and the Magic Tower’s dazzling fireworks schedule.
By their account, the Imperial Capital was indeed splendid and lively.
“Will you be declining all invitations again this year?”
“There are still invitations arriving in my name?”
“Remarkably, yes. Even the Imperial Family continues to send them.”
Mehren offered a dry laugh at Dylan’s words.
It had already been fifteen years since the Grand Duke of Halbern had left his post, and it had been over a decade since he abandoned all his public duties as the Grand Duke’s proxy, left the manor, and vanished into what amounted to hiding.
“I’m not sure whether to be grateful for such unwavering favor or to grow tired of such persistence.”
“You should be grateful, of course!”
Mehren gave a dry laugh watching Dylan’s startled reaction.
“By the way, Mehren. Will you not be staying at the manor this time either?”
At Rena’s well-timed interjection, Mehren tapped the armrest of his seat before answering.
“The Sperom Hotel will do.”

* * *

The Sperom Hotel, built on the choicest land in the imperial capital.
The Sperom Hotel, famous for its elegant exterior and meticulous service rivaling any noble mansion, was purely the business venture of the Demon Twins.
Ciel and Noel, the Sperom miscreants who had been written off as fortunate if they didn’t squander their inherited fortune, had started this venture by revisiting their “happiest and most joyful” journey to Sacret.
It was then that Arelin had casually mentioned—

“It would be so much easier to travel if there were hotels like this.”

—and that became the spark that ignited everything.
In the days before hotels existed, travelers had no choice but to stay in inns that preyed on adventurers or upscale establishments, but even the best of those had their limits.
High-ranking nobles would either purchase villas or rent estates and villas from acquainted nobility for their travels. But after Sperom began the hotel business, the entire paradigm of tourism changed completely.
As a result, Mehren too found himself using it regularly whenever he came to the Capital.
Going to Halbern Manor would only stir up too many memories and leave him troubled.
“It has been quite some time, Mehren.”
“It has been some time, Gregory.”
What remained at Halbern Manor was only the butler and a handful of maids.
“Does managing the manor grow burdensome?”
“Ha. It is an ancient estate maintained by magic. With fewer people, maintenance has actually become easier.”
“I see. That is fortunate.”
“Here are the reports sent up from the territory.”
Mehren swiftly processed the documents the butler handed him, reviewing them with practiced efficiency.
People marveled that Halbern continued to run smoothly even after Mehren’s disappearance, but that was entirely thanks to the work he carried out behind the scenes.
“Regarding the matter of news from His Grace the Grand Duke…”
The butler, his expression grave, reported the information he had compiled from the Adventurer’s Guild, the Information Guild, and people he had hired privately.
“So the conclusion is that you still haven’t found him.”
“I am deeply ashamed.”
It had already been fifteen years since the Grand Duke of Halbern vanished.
For the first three years after his disappearance, even Emperor Edward raged that the Grand Duke had abandoned his duties and vanished somewhere. By the fifth year, he began to worry in earnest, and by the seventh year, he was genuinely concerned that the Grand Duke might truly be dead, fearing for the future of House Halbern.
Gossips squabbled endlessly over whether the Grand Duke of Halbern was dead or alive.
Each time, Mehren would scoff, but by now the matter had grown serious.
Perhaps he really had died somewhere.
Really? That man?
‘Nonsense.’
Even if they threw him into the Abyss, the hell of this world, he would return unscathed. In fact, the Saren Knights all scoffed at such rumors.
People showered praise on the Saren Knights’ unwavering loyalty, but Mehren’s assessment differed.
‘Loyalty? They’re just planted there because it’s the most comfortable for the Saren Knights.’
Looking at how those men would be content to be stuck in the Northern Fortress as long as their vacation time was properly managed, it was obvious.
Mehren shook his head, recalling how those knight bastards had even seriously urged him to come to the Northern Fortress if worse came to worst. Then his eyes met the butler’s. Gregory smiled warmly.
“How are you finding El Sionel? The reputation of that city has spread even here to the Capital.”
The city that had barely been established fifteen years ago had grown into a metropolis that now rivaled the dominance of the Imperial Capital itself.
Gregory understood that all of this was Mehren’s achievement.
Mehren, who had gone to El Sionel to convalesce, quietly ruled from the shadows and grew the city as the Shadow Market.
“Honestly, being buried in work makes life bearable. Managing Halbern never gave me satisfaction or joy no matter how well I did it, but perhaps it’s because I’m building a city from the ground up…”
“You seem well.”
Mehren smiled.
He had even learned to smile again.
There were times when Arelin’s absence was so vast that he could do nothing at all.
As Mehren smiled, the hardness of his expression softened, and for a moment he looked like a different person entirely. Gregory marveled anew at how fifteen years had left not a single trace on Mehren’s appearance.
“You haven’t aged at all, truly.”
“No.”
Mehren shook his head with a wry smile.
“I have aged as well.”

* * *

Mehren received contact from the Grand Mage ten months after Arelin disappeared.
—Every second counts, so I apologize for the delayed message. I am protecting Arelin, and though her condition remains critical, she is alive.—
It was news that barely reached Mehren after passing through the Sky Tower, which had once ascended to the place nearest the stars.
A mage named Hila who had delivered this message spoke endlessly about what a miracle it was and how great the Grand Mage was, before departing.
It was almost fervent praise, and perhaps because of that, it strangely put his mind at ease.
Yes. If someone that remarkable said so, she would surely save Arelin easily.
It was from this point forward that the light began to return to Mehren’s dead eyes.
Rumors of Arelin’s death had already spread throughout the Capital, and most believed her to be dead, but such circumstances mattered nothing to Mehren.
Only contact from the Sky Tower mattered.
He endured each day with a single thought: as long as news that Arelin had died didn’t come.
—Arelin’s condition is worse than expected. I require your assistance. Please send the medicine she has been taking long-term.—
—Arelin opened her eyes briefly. There are no noticeable changes, but her physical condition seems to be improving gradually.—
—Arelin was calling for you. It was the first time she had clearly regained consciousness. She asked me to tell you that she loves you.—
The messages from the Sky Tower, renewed every three months at the shortest and a year at the longest, breathed life and will back into Mehren.
Had he ever felt such attachment to anyone? He thought it strange, this part of himself.
He even thought that if he had raised Arelin alone and then lost her, the blow would have been far greater.
“Is this how Sione felt as well…?”
Mehren chuckled softly, remembering how Sione had cherished and raised Valere as though he were the most precious thing in the world.
Even when Mehren decided he had to do something about the situation, reorganized Halbern, and moved to El Sionel, the messages from the Sky Tower never ceased.
—Arelin has awakened.—
Good news first.
—Arelin has collapsed again. During the course of treatment…—
Then news that stopped his heart.
—Arelin is withstanding the treatment process well. At this pace, the possibility of full recovery grows.—
Arelin’s condition fluctuated, but it was undeniably improving.
When word came that she had begun learning magic, he was surprised. When he first heard that she was recovering smoothly, he was so overjoyed that he held a festival in El Sionel.
—The treatment may be finished sooner than expected.—
How shocked he had been when he received that message years ago.
Only after roughly three years had passed did Mehren recall that the Grand Mage was of the Elf Race and reconsider what “sooner than expected” truly meant.
Damned long-lived races.
He had thought he might never see her again…
“Did I arrive too early?”
Mehren blinked his eyes.
Perhaps he had been so startled that his heart had stopped. Or perhaps he was dreaming. Or perhaps he had fallen under some Illusion Magic.
Whatever it was.
“…Arel.”
At the name he barely managed to squeeze out, a child who had grown tall approached him with a radiant smile.
“Mom, I missed you.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————