Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 267

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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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267
Episode

He’d forgotten, for a moment, about Arelin’s formidable walls of steel.
Even as a child, he’d only managed to break through them after countless direct assaults—a barrier so unyielding that it had seemed impenetrable.
Back then, no matter what Arelin said, he could simply push harder.
“You’re not a muscle-head, mister.”
Now that he understood so much more, it was harder. He knew better than anyone that Arelin was far more delicate beneath the surface, and he wanted nothing more than to spare her any hurt.
“I just…….”
Like you. That was all.
No matter how he phrased it, it would only sound strange to young Arelin, so Fession swallowed the words.
He wanted to see the real Arelin.
‘Did Arelin fall into the past just like I did?’
If so, had she encountered her younger self?
All he could do was hope that his younger self hadn’t done anything strange upon seeing her.
‘There’s no way I wouldn’t fall for her at first sight.’
Arelin, who’d been hiding behind the undergrowth and backing away, peeked her head out cautiously.
Her large eyes fringed with long lashes, the small hands like soft dumplings gripping the tree, the delicate nose, the chubby cheeks—everything about her was impossibly precious.
‘Adorable.’
Unbearably adorable.
How was such a creature even alive?
If he could, Fession would have scooped up the adorable Arelin and held her close.
“You’re really cute.”
Unable to hold back any longer, Fession spoke, and Arelin’s eyes went wide.
“I’ve never heard that before.”
Fession couldn’t believe her words.
Why would that be the first time?
How could it possibly be the first time?
She was impossibly, maddeningly cute.
He didn’t press further, recalling how she’d grown guarded when he’d asked if she was alone, but Fession studied the young Arelin before him carefully—she was different from how he remembered her.
“You really are incredibly cute.”
Arelin blinked.
“Me? Really?”
“Yes. Cuter than any other child I’ve ever seen.”
“Mister, are you here to kidnap me?”
Perhaps because he’d showered her with too much praise, the Arelin who’d stepped closer suddenly narrowed her eyes and retreated again.
“Build intimacy with excessive flattery and then kidnap me to extort ransom from Mehren?!”
She was truly a difficult child to befriend.
‘Not even a kitten is this suspicious.’
“No, I came to let you know how cute you are.”
“You’re a strange person.”
Even so, perhaps because she’d received so much praise, Arelin approached him with a noticeably softer demeanor than before.
‘Should I try patting her head?’
Would she bolt away again?
Fession was lost in this internal debate while watching Arelin’s hair when—
“Young Miss? Are you here?”
At the maid’s voice, Arelin quickly whispered to Fession.
“Mister, hide.”
The maid, who had approached without notice, tilted her head.
“Oh, Young Miss. Is something the matter?”
“Hmm? No, nothing at all.”
“I see.”
The maid felt something odd in her usual demeanor and glanced around, but Fession was already hidden.
‘Rena, wasn’t it?’
The familiar-faced maid led Arelin away with a respectful and gentle manner.
“You’ve been outside for quite a long time. It’s time for your studies now.”
“Okay.”
The tone was kind and warm, yet there was a strange distance to it.
Fession, who remembered the Childcare Unit always trailing behind Arelin, never parting from her for a moment and constantly showering her with excessive affection, felt something was deeply amiss.
Now that he thought about it, beyond the maid’s behavior, there were subtle differences between what he remembered and this place.
‘Did I not simply come to the past?’
Experiencing such strange phenomena for the first time, Fession couldn’t be certain what situation he was in.
“Still, I should investigate other areas.”

* * *

‘Can magic truly manipulate time?’
The magic that had succeeded in expanding space through celestial and cosmic principles now sought to conquer time itself.
For mages burning with ambition to transcend the divine realm and achieve Immortality and revival, mastering time seemed easier than either of those two feats.
‘Time Travel Magic would follow a similar concept and framework to Space Teleportation Magic through the deployment of spell circles—the key would be establishing a Time Coordinate to replace spatial coordinates.’
But that’s where the problem began.
How should one set the concept of a Time Coordinate? Where should the temporal axis be anchored?
Just as one could perform Space Teleportation to an unseen place if one knew spatial coordinates, one could conquer Time Travel Magic if one could determine Time Coordinates.
One could go backward or forward through time!
Mages grew ecstatic.
Moreover, if one continued going to the past and entered a Loop state by satisfying certain conditions, wouldn’t that person achieve Immortality?
With the possibility of pseudo-Immortality added, mages began frenzied research and experiments that culminated in catastrophic failure.
No matter what research or experiment was attempted, they couldn’t even succeed in sending something back a mere two seconds. No matter how they adjusted the spell circles, nothing ever reappeared.
The countless experiments only produced countless disappearances. As a result, Time Travel Magic did not currently exist, and research into it was strictly forbidden.
Fession recalled information he’d once desperately gathered when he was so mad with longing for Arelin that he’d resolved to return to the past and see her, even if it meant risking everything.
That Fession had begun to believe he was in the past only because he couldn’t think of any other scenario that would explain how he could see young Arelin.
‘And this is inside a Ruin.’
If different laws of nature applied within a Ruin, then wouldn’t it be possible for him to have come to the past?
But that theory was thoroughly shattered on Wednesday and Friday, when Arelin went to the Imperial Palace.
This world was identical to his past in every way—save for one thing.
That one thing was Arelin.
‘The Arelin who used to deliberately isolate herself.’
The Arelin in this place got along with the other children. Yet their reactions were strange.
“Would you like to play with us, Arelin?”
“But Arelin isn’t good at playing. She even collapsed last time.”
“Do you really want to play with us that badly?”
The young ladies of high birth, including the Marchioness of Belpart’s Daughter, spoke to Arelin with thinly veiled contempt.
When Arelin cautiously nodded in response to their question—which really meant ‘Do you really want to play with us, despite such treatment?’—they suddenly all burst into laughter.
“Wow, you wanted to play with us so badly!”
“Then let’s let her in.”
“Arelin, can you brew tea for us? Will you make us some tea?”
“Sure, I’ll try.”
Of course, young Arelin had no idea how to brew tea. Moreover, since the Crown Prince Palace had a dedicated court lady for tea, there was no reason for Arelin to need to learn.
“Arelin is amazing—she can brew tea! We can’t.”
“But you can drink it! I can only drink fruit tea.”
“Fruit juice tastes better anyway. Why does Mother drink this sort of thing?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Because tea is more refined?”
Their blatant mistreatment, treating her like a maid, made even Fession frown.
‘Why isn’t anyone helping Arelin?’
While some court ladies watched carefully, most of the children treated Arelin as though she were invisible, as if she didn’t exist. That indifference and neglect were so painful to witness that Fession himself felt a chill run down his spine.
‘This isn’t like Arelin at all.’
The Arelin he knew would have splashed water in their faces when asked to brew tea. She’d have claimed her hand slipped or something.
But the current Arelin—
“I brewed it carefully. Enjoy!”
—endured that treatment and smiled while desperately trying to stay with the other children.
Fession was frustrated not understanding what his younger self was doing in this situation, though of course this version of Fession didn’t even know Arelin was here. That too baffled him.
Ever since that day when he discovered young Arelin crouching in the undergrowth, his entire life had changed.
“Ah, thank you for brewing it.”
Leslie and the children didn’t even drink the tea Arelin had worked so hard to prepare—they dumped it all on the ground.
It was obvious they’d done it on purpose.
“Oh, my hand slipped.”
“Sorry for wasting what you brewed so hard.”
“We didn’t mean to do this.”
With such words, they deceived Arelin, who forced a stiff smile onto her face despite the situation.
“Everyone! The Crown Prince is having a Swordsmanship sparring match! Let’s all go watch!”
“Really? Let’s go see!”
The children rushed off in a crowd. Leslie and the others were no exception. They left without even inviting Arelin to come, and she stood alone, dazed.
A court lady, unable to bear it, gently suggested—
“How about you go watch too, Young Miss Arelin?”
—but Arelin’s expression remained rigid and unyielding.
“I’ll go too.”
“Yes, we’ll clean up here. Go and enjoy yourself.”
Arelin began walking, leaving the court ladies’ solicitous care behind, but her small figure seemed somehow diminished.
‘Was young Arelin like this back then?’
No. Not at all.
‘It’s different.’
Everything surrounding Arelin was different.
But what made this moment most unbearable for Fession was that Arelin seemed familiar with all of these situations.
“Arel.”
“……?”
Fession revealed himself through the undergrowth, just enough so only Arelin could see him, and her eyes went round with surprise.
“Mister? But how are you…? This is the Imperial Palace!”
Watching Arelin’s expression grow increasingly astonished, Fession smiled softly.
“I came to play with you, Arel.”
Fession extended his hand.

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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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