Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 281

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

281
Episode

Father woke up.
[Breaking News] Grand Duke of Halbern Awakens!
“The Grand Duke of Halbern, Radiating Vitality After Fifteen Years”
“Is the Grand Duke of Halbern in Critical Condition?! ‘Everything’s Fine Now'”
Within hours of his awakening, the four major newspapers of Albrecht had splashed the story across their front pages. How they learned of it so quickly, I had no idea.
Truly, the most beloved man in all of Albrecht.
“Is this the class of a man who makes headlines just by drinking water?”
How much did people actually love my father?
Halbern had been in absolute chaos just moments ago.
Father had opened his eyes, but his condition deteriorated almost immediately—and when we were all bracing ourselves to arrange his funeral, he opened them again.
‘Besides, the moment he woke, he grabbed me and sobbed.’
Even when I patted his back trying to calm him down, he wouldn’t let go, saying he’d watched me die. Now he just lay in bed, staring quietly at me.
‘Though the moment I’m out of sight, he asks if I’m dead, and if I leave him alone for even a moment, he insists this is a dream and tries to… well, it’s a bit unsettling.’
But all things considered, this was manageable.
I was even grateful he wasn’t in some darkened state where he’d want to kill everyone in sight.
“My lady.”
“Hmm?”
I’d been absorbed in reading the newspaper, and Father, lying in bed, gave me a sullen look.
“Why are you reading so intently?”
“Articles about Father.”
“…?”
“Everyone’s so interested in you. You’re really a heartthrob, Father.”
Even though I was complimenting him, Father looked unimpressed. He seemed bothered that my attention had been stolen by the newspaper.
He really did seem like a petulant child throwing a fit over not being entertained.
I had no choice. For my underdeveloped father’s sake, I’d have to be generous and make an effort.
“Look, everyone’s saying how fortunate it is that you’ve recovered. They say your death would have been a national loss.”
“Of course it would be.”
His lukewarm answer was understandable—one glance at Father’s titles and position made it obvious the uproar would be immense. He was, after all, the Grand Duke of Halbern.
Add to that his considerable influence, the enterprises and wealth he controlled, and beyond—the troublesome Northern Fortress and the secret of the world he’d been containing and isolating alone.
If the Grand Duke of Halbern died, this entire nation would be plunged into chaos.
“But more importantly, one newspaper even said Albrecht without Father’s beauty would become a fresh hell. Apparently Father’s appearance is genuinely worth that much.”
“…?”
Father frowned as if asking what nonsense that was.
I found the whole situation amusing. Actors in the theater district didn’t make headlines for their looks, yet my father was doing it effortlessly.
‘Honestly, from my perspective, I’m not entirely sure he’s all that.’
Father’s face?
He was handsome, certainly. Even I sometimes found myself genuinely admiring it.
But wasn’t Fession more handsome?
This wasn’t bias on my part—it was a very serious, objective, grave, and rigorous conclusion.
‘Fession is more handsome.’
Why did people swoon more over Father’s looks?
“Hmm.”
…Perhaps it was the aura.
Father had an almost otherworldly presence—even sitting still, his eyes seemed melancholic, and there was something about him that was both precarious and ethereal, utterly captivating.
How should I describe it—an atmosphere as if he weren’t quite of this world?
Likely because Father had been regressing for so long, he carried an ineffable quality that words couldn’t quite capture, and it seemed to enchant everyone he encountered.
There were enough romance novels written with Father as inspiration to fill an entire library section.
But still.
“You two sitting like that together…”
“You look just like siblings.”
The people of Halbern, having developed some immunity to Father’s beauty, could only offer this assessment.
“Oh, how wonderful! So it wasn’t just my eyes after all.”
“Hehe, our Grand Duke must be quite youthful in appearance.”
“Indeed. The Grand Duke doesn’t look his age at all.”
Thanks to this, the rumor that I’d been picked up from somewhere had completely died out. So even a man like Father couldn’t escape the verdict of others.
“My lady.”
“Yes?”
“How much longer are you going to read the newspaper?”
Still, to me, he was just my precious father.
* * *
Valere seated himself beside his bed and regarded his “lady” reading earnestly from a novel.
He seemed to still be caught in a vivid nightmare. Though Arelin had gently soothed his anxiety each time it surfaced, Valere recognized that something was wrong with him.
It was likely some form of PTSD from his past failures.
‘Is this a dream?’
Perhaps it was the meeting with Sione in his last nightmare.
Meeting his daughter again, now an adult after seven years, was still difficult to adjust to.
Especially when her appearance was nearly identical to Sione’s.
As he gazed at Arelin as if entranced, she lifted her eyes from her novel and their gazes met. Before Valere could speak, she addressed him first.
“Do I really look that much like Sione’s biological mother?”
Clatter.
The maids attending them both looked at Arelin in shock.
To say such a thing so directly!
While the maids grew anxious, uncertain what trouble might follow, Valere simply nodded thoughtlessly.
“Yes.”
“I see.”
Arelin seemed entirely unbothered. Finding her sister in her own reflection could have offended her, yet she simply accepted it with calm composure.
Watching her respond with such ease, Valere felt compelled to clarify.
“But you’re not exactly the same, either.”
“No?”
“No. Sione… she doesn’t make expressions like yours.”
Arelin tilted her head, curious what “expressions like yours” meant.
But he was gesturing to exactly that—the expression she was making now.
His sister, by contrast, could command a room with mere silence and a quiet smile. She was, quite plainly, a formidable woman of this realm.
“You’re like a gentler version of her.”
“…?”
Was that a compliment?
Arelin’s head tilted again. The gesture was so endearing that Valere laughed. A gentler sister—it seemed impossible, yet seeing her raised so tenderly brought an ache to his chest.
“You’ve grown up so well, my lady. Truly admirable. It’s been worth the effort.”
“To be honest, Father didn’t raise me.”
“That’s right. Mehren did.”
“I did no such thing, sir.”
Mehren, entering the room at that very moment, immediately refuted Valere’s statement.
“…? Then who raised her?”
In response to Valere’s confusion, Arelin answered soberly.
“Mehren sixty percent, Master forty percent, Father one percent.”
“Wow.”
Valere was moved.
“One percent? I’m grateful for even that.”
“Why would you celebrate that?”
Arelin responded as if bewildered, but Valere was sincere. It wasn’t as though he’d ever actually raised anyone.
“But—Master?”
As Valere noticed the proportions seemed strange, he and Mehren locked eyes.
“Valere. Before anything else, don’t you have something to do?”
“Hmm?”
Something to do…?
Valere ransacked his memories. Aside from this current cycle, he’d never been in the same space as Mehren during this time period in any other life, so he had no idea what to say.
The longer Valere’s silence stretched, the more Mehren’s fury seemed to intensify.
“Um… honey, I love you?”
Snap.
In that moment, Valere heard what he thought was something breaking. Only later did he realize it was Mehren’s sanity.
“Love me?! You shameless bastard!”
Mehren brought his hand down hard across Valere’s back.
“You should be apologizing! Because of you, I’ve suffered fifteen years of hardship I never deserved!”
As Valere took the blow, he uttered weakly in amazement.
“Ah.”
“Ah? Ah?! You really want to die!”
The room descended into chaos in an instant.
“Kyaaah! Please don’t hit the patient like that!”
“This could cause serious harm! Mehren, Mehren! Someone stop him!”
The medical staff sprang into action to prevent the patient they’d barely managed to revive from being beaten back into worse condition. After desperate efforts, they finally managed to calm Mehren down.
“If this ever happens again, I’m telling you now—next time I’ll…”
As Mehren spoke through gritted teeth, Valere raised both hands in surrender, laughing.
“I’m sorry. I promise it won’t happen again.”

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