Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 260

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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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260
Chapter

“You nearly got hurt.”
When I came to my senses, I was already cradled in Fession’s arms.
‘He’s the real Fession.’
I’d entertained the possibility that I might encounter this world’s Fession, but only in passing.
‘I’d thought at best I might catch a glimpse from a distance.’
Never did I imagine I’d see him this close.
“My lady?”
True to form—well-bred, impeccably polished, every inch the male lead—Fession was unfailingly courteous even to a stranger.
‘This is the original Fession.’
Perhaps this world’s Fession carried his own weight of burdens.
He was nothing like the carefree, sun-bright hero I’d imagined—his expression was shadowed, weary—and yet he differed from our Fession in ways I couldn’t quite name.
‘He’s different.’
I couldn’t have pointed to exactly what, but the difference was undeniable. Of course he would be different, and yet—it struck me.
Strange, wondrous, unsettling.
And yet the moment I recognized him as Fession, a surge of affection and longing rose in my chest, catching me off guard.
‘Wow.’
I really do love Fession..
Even knowing it already, to feel it so suddenly, unbidden, was another matter entirely—the overflow of it made me bite my lip hard lest I betray myself, and Fession’s eyes flickered with something like curiosity at my expression.
I lost myself again in that gaze. Our Fession was superimposed over his.
“My lady, are you well?”
When I continued to stare at him in silence, Fession called to me again, concerned.
“…Yes, truly I’m fine.”
But my answer only deepened his worry.
I tried to step out of his embrace and stand on my own to reassure him, but in that instant—
Thump.
A sharp, piercing pain stabbed through my chest and I gasped, clutching it.
“My lady?”
The pain vanished as quickly as it came, and by the time I steadied my breathing, it had already faded to a blur.
What was that just now?
“Are you truly well, my lady? You haven’t been gravely injured…?”
The moment was so disorienting I barely heard Fession’s words.
The first chest pain I’d felt since Hege’s healing.
‘…It’s nothing.’
“I’m fine.”
Fession didn’t look convinced. There was something he wanted to say—
“My lord.”
Before Fession could speak again, someone called to him first.
It was Griam.
‘I needn’t be glad to see him of all people.’
Griam leaned in and whispered something to Fession—I couldn’t make out the words, but the urgency was palpable. He looked rushed.
“Thank you for saving me. I’m grateful, Sir Knight.”
I’d noticed Fession was dressed as a common knight, so I corrected myself mid-sentence.
“…Yes. Do be careful.”
Though he needed to leave, Fession’s feet dragged. A furrow of concern appeared between his brows.
Even troubled, he was devastatingly handsome.
“Where did you say the Gate was repaired?”
“Over there.”
I thought I caught the word “Gate,” but it was probably my imagination.
Long after Fession departed, I was still watching him, until Luca sidled up beside me with a question.
“An acquaintance of yours, my lady?”
“I suppose.”
“?”
When I shrugged, Luca’s brow furrowed in confusion.
“You seemed to know him well enough.”
That was when—
“My lady.”
The man I’d thought gone came back, turning to address me directly.
“I wonder… have we met before somewhere?”
Something urgent in Fession’s expression made me laugh despite myself.
Though I shouldn’t have.
“No, we’re strangers here.”
“Here…?”
“In other worlds, perhaps I’ve seen you quite often.”
My cryptic answer made Fession’s expression grow enigmatic.
“Sir—or rather, my lord.”
“What exactly—why are you—”
His retinue looked panicked at his sudden movement, though they made no sound.
Fession cocked his head in confusion but left nonetheless. Judging by how quickly his attendants moved, it was indeed urgent.
After parting from Fession again, Luca had one more comment to make.
“I see even such a striking gentleman will resort to flirtation with someone as exceptionally beautiful as you, Arelin.”
So that’s how he’d read it.
“No, it wasn’t flirtation, I think.”
I laughed at Luca’s interpretation and walked ahead.
“How would Arelin possibly know the difference?”
“Oh, I have my ways of telling.”
I could say so with confidence—I’d had direct experience with Fession’s flirtation before.
But still.
I hope our Fession is all right.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Deep Ruins.
Fession found himself facing a man who’d just called him a rat.
“So that’s what I was sensing…”
“…”
“A rare little rat indeed.”
The man who materialized before Fession could even hide was strange.
Fession could sense his presence clearly, yet couldn’t properly perceive his form—as though the man had simply declined to grant him the privilege of seeing it clearly.
‘…An Immortal.’
Every sense in his body screamed. The pressure was suffocating—a presence so far above him that even as a Sword Master he knew he could never prevail. A being of a different order entirely.
As Fession’s alertness sharpened, the man laughed as though amused.
“You know what I am, don’t you?”
“I know what manner of being you are.”
“Intriguing. Humans who even know of Immortals are rare… ah, I see.”
The man’s lip curled knowingly as he smiled.
“You’ve already received the blessing of an Immortal. This aura… it’s Sloth.”
The man flicked a finger.
“Had it been another Immortal’s blessing, I would have simply killed you. But Sloth—I’m indebted to Sloth from long ago. Consider yourself fortunate.”
Something was strange. Why did this unfamiliar Immortal feel somehow familiar?
Fession found the sense of recognition unsettling.
“Who are you?”
“It wouldn’t matter if I told you. My epithet is a nightmare only to mages.”
The man seemed unwilling to speak freely, so Fession changed his question.
“Then tell me something else. What is this place?”
The answer came more readily than expected.
“The Cradle.”
“The Cradle?”
“Yes. The Cradle of God.”
This place bore no resemblance to anything the word “cradle” should evoke. The air itself thrummed with ominous, enormous power—a force that seemed ready to detonate at any moment.
And yet the man’s demeanor was utterly serene.
Fession’s mind raced.
‘Whatever this place is, it’s dangerous.’
The Grand Duke of Halbern, whom he’d hoped to find within the Ruin, was nowhere to be seen.
Investigations and all else would have to wait. His first priority had to be getting Arelin to safety.
‘Where is Arelin?’
He understood now that Duke Gremwart had attacked and betrayed him, but why was he alone when he woke? What had happened to her?
And somehow, he didn’t think this Immortal would know anything about Arelin.
“Do you know anything of Duke Gremwart?”
Fession threw the question out, hoping for an answer, when—
“Nightmare of the Stars, my lord! The Mage Sacrifice has fled!”
Fession’s head snapped toward the voice—Duke Gremwart’s.
‘A sacrifice?’
“The Mage Sacrifice has crossed the Gate and vanished. Should we pursue? If she dies out there, won’t that cause problems for us?”
As Fession listened to Duke Gremwart’s anxious words, a terrible premonition seized him.
A Mage Sacrifice… could it be Arelin?
“Duke Gremwart—did you intend to offer Arelin as a sacrifice?”
Fession’s expression turned glacial as he lunged forward, seizing the duke by the collar.
“M-My lord! Why are you here—!”
“Where is the Gate?”
“Gahhk…!”
“Tell me!”
The choking duke managed to point. The center of the chamber, where sinister energy churned and coalesced. Without a second glance, Fession hurled the duke to the ground and sprinted toward the Gate.
“My lord! You mustn’t!”
By the time Duke Gremwart called out in protest, Fession had already vanished beyond it.
“What should we do, Nightmare of the Stars? You said this Ruin connects to Parallel Worlds without number…!”
Duke Gremwart flailed helplessly, but the Immortal he was appealing to was already fixated on something else.
“Arelin?”

* * *

I had arrived at the Halbern Manor of the Parallel World.
Or rather—what used to be Halbern Manor.
“This is supposedly Halbern Manor?”
The location was right, but somehow a dungeon had decided to park itself in front of me.
The walls lay in ruins, strangled by vines, yet the entire structure blazed with powerful Protective Magic—and Halbern Manor revealed itself before Luca and me in this decrepit state.

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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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