Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 248

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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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248
Chapter
Children’s Day Special Sidestory 2

A few years later.
Much had changed.
Sione had married, and Valere had to take succession lessons directly taught by Mordern, the head of his house.
“Sione married, just like that…….”
Robbed of his playmate, Crown Prince Edward began making new friends.
And with them, he discovered a new world.
Drink! Gambling! The realm of pleasure!
“Don’t you drink, Jaren? It’s delicious.”
“Your Highness, one day I’m going to see a dragon.”
“What’s that got to do with this?”
“When I meet a dragon, how magnificent will it be? I’m saving myself for that celebration.”
“Where would a dragon be, in this day and age?”
“Ah, but dragons are alive.”
As Jaren threw himself into training with a single-minded pursuit of seeing a dragon, Crown Prince Edward found himself truly alone.
Admittedly, he too was supposed to receive his education as Crown Prince, but…….
“I’m not listening to such boring stuff.”
There was nothing that could stop Edward—already branded a hopeless wastrel. Even the reigning Emperor had tried beating him, confining him, threatening him, hectoring him, gently reminding him, exhausting every method to persuade him, all to no avail, and eventually gave up.
“That boy’s possessed by a spirit. Yes, that’s it—the ghost of someone who died without getting to play enough, that’s why he acts like this. We should summon the High Priest from Lemuren right now and perform an exorcism, I’m telling you?”
“Your Majesty, please compose yourself.”
“Good heavens, what am I to do with that boy?”
With the successor’s prospects so rotten, the future of Albrecht looked bleak.
The problem was that Edward was the only one in the legitimate line, leaving no alternative heir.
“It’s obvious he’ll ruin the realm, yet I must hand him the throne.”
Every day, the Previous Emperor beat his chest at his catastrophic failure in raising a successor, and the ministers begged him to delay the transfer of the throne for even one more day—a tragicomic state of affairs.
That was the landscape Edward created during his time as Crown Prince.
The Previous Emperor’s troubles did not end there.
“I suppose I must marry this boy off…….”
The bloodline of the Imperial Family was absolute; one not of the legitimate line could not be made Crown Prince. Which meant Edward’s children would have to carry on the empire.
No matter how much he thought about it, there seemed to be no suitable bride. Even when he saw desirable noble daughters, he could not shake the thought that bringing one here would only torment an innocent girl.
“That boy is not the sort to settle down with anyone.”
At least it was fortunate that the wastrel Edward enjoyed flirting with women but had no interest in actual love.
“What if we simply left him unmarried as Emperor, Your Majesty, rather than making some poor girl Empress?”
“Then illegitimate children might fill the palace so thoroughly that they’d queue up along the roads.”
“Tsk, tsk. Let us be grateful if he merely performs his duties as Emperor.”
“Just let him live a long life, Your Majesty. That is the future of this realm.”
“Long life—is that the only answer left to me?”
Because of this, whenever people saw tributes related to “health” being brought to the Imperial Palace every day, they could not help but smile bitterly.
Rather, everyone hastened to offer anything said to be good for the body as tribute to the Imperial Family, praying for the Previous Emperor’s long and healthy life.
Regardless, Edward enjoyed his life, and at last that day arrived.
An event significant enough to be recorded in the histories of Albrecht.
The day Crown Prince Edward met Empress Azeni.

* * *

Because of Crown Prince Edward’s reputation as a man obsessed with pleasure, everyone assumed their first meeting would be at some party or secret club, but surprisingly, the two met at the Imperial Palace itself.
Edward came to know Azeni at one of the two social gatherings held each year where the reigning and notable lords were all assembled.
Edward was startled by several things upon seeing Azeni.
‘She’s wearing a sword.’
Azeni, dressed not in a gown but in knight’s regalia tailored to her frame, was more captivating than any woman he had ever seen.
Next, he was startled to learn that she was not someone’s guard knight, but a lord in her own right…….
“Say, you there—that beautiful noblewoman over there, what is her name?”
“Are you speaking of Count Haflangen, Your Highness?”
“Yes.”
“Azeni is her name, I believe…… Your Highness, I would advise against approaching Count Azeni Haflangen.”
Edward had not even tried to speak to her, so he felt wronged by his attendants’ sudden alarm.
“What did I do?”
“Her temperament is not ordinary, Your Highness. You could lose something precious if you’re careless. There really are men who have lost it.”
“What? What do you all think I am?”
What else—a beast who goes into heat every time he sees a pretty woman…….
Griam, the young attendant serving Edward at the time, swallowed his true thoughts and silently applauded his own patience.
“I merely wanted to say hello.”
At that moment, Edward did not think he had fallen for Azeni.
She simply caught his eye somewhat.
He was just curious what she was doing?
And perhaps a little curious about what she thought of him…… surely that was all.
“Ah, so you are that famous Crown Prince.”
At the contempt in Azeni’s gaze, he could find no words to continue.
‘Why does she look at me like that? What have I done?’
Edward felt a sudden rush of wounded pride. The disdain in Azeni’s eyes reminded him of how Sione had looked at him in childhood.
For a Crown Prince who had been revered and welcomed everywhere all his life, such an insult was unprecedented.
But why was it
that as the days passed, he could not stop thinking of Azeni and growing more curious about her?
“Why is it……?”
Edward was confused by a situation he had never encountered before.
“Could it be you fell for her at first sight…….”
“I would never do such a thing!”
“Or perhaps you’ve fallen in love.”
“Love? Love has nothing to do with it! It’s simple curiosity!”
Griam wanted to point out that he was spending far too much time on mere curiosity, but he held his tongue.
The Azeni he came to know gradually was truly a remarkable person. It was almost suspicious how long it had taken him to meet her.
“That’s right.”
The Imperial Family was overjoyed when they learned this news. They concluded the Crown Prince had finally found a match and promptly sent a marriage proposal, but the spirited Azeni rejected the Imperial Family’s offer, saying she intended to ‘remain unmarried for life.’
“She must be joking.”
“She may be serious, Your Majesty. Times have changed considerably since our day. And considering the man in question is the Crown Prince himself…….”
“Hmm…….”
The Imperial Family accepted Azeni’s response gracefully, but Edward was different.
“Why have you come again?”
“It’s just…….”
“If you have business with me, please state it quickly.”
“So I…….”
Edward, who had insisted he was not falling for her, that it was not love, finally had to admit it.
“I think I like you. A lot.”
“I see. As for me, I dislike the Crown Prince. Is that answer enough?”
“……!”
Crown Prince Edward had to face the cold reality.
But he could not simply accept defeat.
Starting that very day came Edward’s barrage of gifts and confessions of love.
Edward made every effort to win Azeni’s affection.
And in the process, he blocked all marriage proposals to Azeni’s house, and every man who so much as made eye contact with her or exchanged more than a single word with her—save only for her brother and the count’s retainers—found himself in poor health.
“My sister really has her hands full.”
“…….”
Edward seemed not to notice, but Azeni, who had been Sione’s friend, knew him well.
She assumed this gift offensive and these confessions would be brief, and that he would soon tire and move on.
“I’d rather die than not be loved by Azeni.”
Then “that incident” broke, shaking the entire realm.
“I can’t predict what I might do if this continues, so I’m just going to die. I’m sorry, Azeni. I’m so sorry for loving you so much. So sorry for loving you this much. I’m sorry.”
Azeni laughed in the chaos of Edward wailing that she must at least remember that he loved her, and knights rushing to restrain him.
She laughed because it was so utterly absurd.
‘Does he really love me that much?’
When he was making a scene to keep her from speaking to any other man, she had wanted to beat him senseless; but seeing him cry like this made him so pathetic that, astonishingly, her heart softened.
And then came the miracle that all historians of that age call ‘the turning point in the history of Albrecht.’
“I’ll accept your feelings, so stop crying now.”

* * *

Valere tilted his head at the invitation that had arrived for him. Edward and Azeni’s wedding had been arranged without his knowledge.
‘What on earth happened?’
In any case, there was no reason to miss a wedding of the century.
“Why do you have such a strange expression on your face on such a happy day?”
“Ed.”
“What.”
“Your taste really is peculiar.”
“What do you mean.”
No matter what his old friend said, Edward was happy, having achieved a love for the ages.
“When you were younger, you said you didn’t need an older sister. That she was in the way and exhausting.”
“What?! When did I ever say that?”
“I heard it myself. Mmph!”
Edward hastily covered Valere’s mouth, unaware that this made him look even more suspicious.
“No, it’s just~ a joke. A joke.”
“Mmph!”
“Why are you like this today? Ha ha ha. Sister, I’ll be back in just a moment.”
Azeni chuckled softly as she watched the flustered groom-to-be and Valere disappear.
Her young husband-to-be clearly had no idea how much—or how far—Sione had told her.
Well, he should have been more careful.
Thanks to Edward’s desperate efforts, the ceremony proceeded without incident, and when Edward broke down in tears after the wedding, the front page of every newspaper the next day was dominated by the sobbing Crown Prince.
“The Wedding That Made the Crown Prince Weep”

Children’s Day Special Sidestory, END

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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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