Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 278

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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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278
Chapter

Halbern Manor.
A cluster of medical staff was conducting a serious examination of a man.
Warren, once my personal physician, stood before Mehren and me with a Healer and a Priest in tow.
“The Grand Duke has suffered considerable injury. However, there are no severe wounds, and with consistent treatment and rest, he should make a full recovery soon. He’s an exceptionally strong man, after all.”
Several relieved sighs echoed from behind. They were the Grand Duke’s retainers of Halbern, who had rushed here, setting aside pressing duties upon his return.
“Whew, what a relief.”
“Indeed. I thought the history of Halbern’s cruelty was about to be rewritten…….”
“If the Grand Duke had passed away, what would become of Halbern…….”
The retainers trembled at the thought of the “worst-case scenario.”
The House of Halbern, already short-handed, had no collateral branches left to inherit the position of family head when Valere ascended, due to the purges he had conducted. Now they faced a crisis with no succession plan.
Was that the reason?
Every retainer’s gaze soon fixed upon me.
‘Why are they all looking at me like that?’
I flinched involuntarily at their sharp, gleaming eyes—the look of someone watching a stock about to skyrocket.
“Mm, mm, mm.”
“……?”
Mehren, who had been regarding Father with a grave expression, only then sensed something amiss and glanced around the room.
The retainers’ attempt at casual indifference was anything but subtle.
“Ahem. Since we know His Grace is safe, we shall take our leave.”
“Duke Mehren, we hope to see you again soon.”
Mehren dismissed them without comment. She seemed to already understand exactly what had just transpired.
“Has it been difficult for you, Arelin?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“If you’re uncomfortable…….”
“I’m really fine, okay? And you—are you alright?”
Mehren’s perpetually serious expression finally grew complicated. I recalled her shock when Father had collapsed and returned, but the emotions flickering across her face—irritation and tenderness intertwined—seemed quite tangled.
“……I was fully prepared to hit him the moment he came back. But seeing him in such a state, I find myself quite unsettled.”
“Father will be fine.”
“Yes, he will be. And Arelin—how are you?”
“Me?”
Mehren shifted her attention to me, glancing between the Healer and my physician.
Both had cared for me since childhood, yet the Healer flinched when our eyes met.
Ah, this reaction I knew well.
I hadn’t understood it as a child, but now that I’d become a Mage of a higher rank, the Healer was thoroughly intimidated.
It was like showing off to a chrysalis when you’ve become a butterfly.
“With my meager abilities, I fear I cannot adequately…….”
The Healer answered with an expression of defeat. Mehren’s brow furrowed at the vague response.
“Eek.”
The intimidated Healer hid behind the doctor. My physician Warren chuckled and spoke.
“According to the examination, you’re in good condition.”
“Right, I’m fine.”
In truth, I should have been anything but fine. Yet the fact that I genuinely was made me all the more uneasy.
‘Master frightened me so thoroughly about what backlash might come…….’
Somehow, the fallout felt lighter than I’d braced for? Surprisingly manageable?
I hope I’m not about to collapse suddenly…….
If only the Magic Tower weren’t in crisis and the Sky Tower weren’t away in Gairen, I’d go straight and ask him about it.
Perhaps sensing my thoughts, Mehren gave me a stern look that forbade any notion of going anywhere.
“Arelin.”
“Wh—yes?”
“Rest here at the Manor for a while.”
“What? But I…….”
“Rest.”
Mehren spoke with absolute finality, brooking no compromise.
But I still needed to retrieve Ether from the Empress Palace, see Master, visit the secret archive, meet with Fession, and discuss what happened at the Ruin…….
“Arelin? You will rest quietly, yes?”
I flinched at the tender smile Mehren offered. No matter how hard I tried, I could never win against her when she smiled like that.
“Y-yes, I’ll rest.”
Mehren’s smile became even warmer.
“Good thinking, Arelin. I’ve prepared everything. Let’s go to your room.”
“Wh—wait…….”
As I followed Mehren being pulled toward the room, I thought to myself.
Getting out won’t be easy at all.
‘What do I do?’
While I sank into deliberation,
Albrecht was being turned upside down in an entirely different manner.

* * *

For the past several days, Albrecht had been ablaze with gossip fueled by the Gairen incident.
“Have you heard? About Gairen!”
Like the sacrifice of a certain Star-rank Mage who sealed Gairen even at the cost of their own life.
“I always thought Mages were selfish creatures who only looked after themselves, but to think such a noble sacrifice exists…….”
“Makes you respect Star-rank Mages, doesn’t it?”
“They used to call them ‘sages,’ didn’t they?”
The protagonist of the Starlight Shower witnessed by the entire continent at midday, and the awakening of a new Star-rank Mage in that miraculous, storybook moment!
“A Pillar of Light suddenly descended, and it was starlight—!”
“A new Star-rank Mage’s birth… isn’t there something romantic about it?”
“I wish I could learn more details, but it’s a shame the Magic Tower closed off Gairen!”
Beyond that lay the catastrophe and mysteries that unfolded at Gairen.
Had Arelin heard these conversations, she would have remarked that “people content-starved in this other world are losing their minds to high-dopamine stimulation.” Yet such scenes were unfolding throughout the city.
But what overwhelmingly captured people’s hearts most of all was.
Not the “return of the missing Crown Prince.”
Not the “return of the missing Knights.”
Rather—
“Extra! Extra!”

「[BREAKING NEWS] Grand Duke of Halbern Returns!」
「[EXCLUSIVE] The Grand Duke’s Daughter, Thought Dead, Has Returned!」

This story of the Halbern father and daughter.
A man who becomes the subject of gossip by simply drinking water.
A man who creates trends merely by wearing, eating, or touching something for a moment.
The news of the Grand Duke of Halbern’s return—always shrouded in rumor, commanding such overwhelming popularity that everyone desired him yet few could easily approach—sent tremors through every corner of the city.
“My goodness, could it be true? Was his disappearance because he was secretly sealing the Ruin?”
“Who said the Grand Duke lacked character? With such a spirit of sacrifice, he’s simply perfect.”
“A man this perfect must have some flaw—I want to be the one to mar him.”
“Stop it. The Grand Duke has done nothing wrong.”
And beneath that fervent attention, many truths could be conveniently buried.
By someone’s design.

* * *

The Imperial Palace.
Emperor Edward reviewed the front pages of every newspaper in Albrecht, and found himself sighing without realizing it.
“Why is this bastard’s face on the front page of every single one?”
Because that sells best.
The Emperor’s chamberlain dared not contradict His Grace and held his tongue.
Emperor Edward clicked his tongue as he examined the papers.
The news of the missing Crown Prince’s return—which had dominated headlines for a month—was relegated to the back pages, overshadowed by the Grand Duke of Halbern.
“My own son pushed to the back…….”
Once he started finding fault, everything became intolerable.
“And they’re all old photographs, at that.”
All of them captured from a distance, the only shots Valere had accidentally presented in official settings.
A few papers did run high-quality photographs that bore the mark of being officially provided, but this only deepened Edward’s irritation.
“Did I make a mistake accepting Mehren’s proposal?”
The outcome was a collision of interests: Halbern needed to announce the Grand Duke’s return and advertise Arelin’s survival, while Emperor Edward wanted to bury the Gairen matter. The current situation was the compromise.
Yet Edward found himself thoroughly dissatisfied.
Because even the nobility, whom he assumed would be most concerned with profit calculations, were now distracted by talk of Valere!
‘I knew people liked his face, but I never realized they liked it this much.’
It had taken off far more than he expected!
The entire world spoke of nothing but the Grand Duke!
People were even camped out around the Halbern Manor, desperate for a glimpse of his presence, and newspapers were covering it as news.
“He’s always been popular, Your Majesty. Isn’t that only natural?”
“Hmm…….”
Edward’s eyes narrowed.
He acknowledged that Valere was handsome. But the way the world was losing its mind over that fact seemed objectively strange.
“Isn’t I objectively more attractive, if anything?”
“…….”
Count Rohammer had served the Emperor all his life, but to this question he could not offer an answer—his eyebrows simply trembled.
“I genuinely cannot fathom this.”
Emperor Edward set down the newspapers. Then he turned his attention to Fession, who had been sitting without a trace of presence.
“Don’t you agree, my son?”
Fession had been staring intently at the newspaper featuring Arelin.
“Son?”
“Your Majesty.”
“Since when did you stop calling me ‘father’ and start with ‘Your Majesty’? What are you plotting this time…….”
Despite Edward’s exasperation, Fession remained unmoved and finally spoke.
“May I investigate this newspaper publisher, Your Majesty?”
“Suddenly? Why?”
“…….”
A sudden thought struck him.
Edward’s eyes narrowed.
“…Is it because of the photograph of Lady Arelin?”
In answer, Fession’s smile bloomed radiantly.
Watching that smile, Edward reflected that his own son was truly hopeless.
“Obsessing like that will only make you less attractive.”
“Is that Your Majesty’s personal experience?”
“…….”
Fession’s eyes dropped.
“Don’t worry—I’ll be careful not to get caught.”
As if he wouldn’t be.
Edward clicked his tongue and mourned for his future daughter-in-law (provisional). How troublesome it must be to live with such a man?
‘I’d better treat her well.’

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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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