Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 3

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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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Chapter 3

Eyes that opened dazzlingly.
It was a figure of speech, but in my life I had never once seen eyes open in that dazzling way—until this very moment.
Until now.
“Hello, everyone!”
Was he an idol?
The thought crossed my mind before I caught myself, reminding myself that this world operated on different rules.
“It’s been so long! Has everyone been well?”
Ah, so this was the male lead of a romance fantasy novel.
A being who seemed to embody that very description walked into the room.
‘There’s no comparison.’
The boys I’d seen up until now were hardly unremarkable—their beauty was extraordinary—yet this was on a different level entirely. A title practically wrote itself.
The male lead pacifies through sheer beauty. Done.
“We’ve been well, Your Highness.”
“And how have you been, Your Highness?”
The room was instantly filled with the presence of Crown Prince Pesion.
A figure who seemed to belong to an entirely different species, radiant with an almost divine light.
“Now then, let’s go have lunch!”
“Lunch is prepared; please come this way, everyone.”
“I asked them to make something delicious today. Everyone should look forward to it!”
“Yay!”
The excited children rushed out of the room in a crowd.
Now only I remained.
“Really, no one notices me at all.”
I’d known it already.
I sighed heavily and stood up, and only then did a palace maid notice my presence, approaching with a startled expression.
……
“Shall I show you the way?”
“……Please do.”
The Imperial Palace was large enough that I had no choice but to rely on her for directions.
Walking through the quiet hallway where the children’s cheerful voices faded away, I gazed out the window.
It was already a known fact, so I wasn’t hurt or wounded by it now, but that didn’t make the exclusion any less unpleasant.
‘I was prepared, but…….’
The precious only daughter of House of Halbern.
When you heard that title, she sounded terribly important—but the reality was quite different.
‘This world is a novel, after all.’
A world where the protagonist was already decided.
Regardless of status, my assigned role in this story was an extra.
In other words, a supporting player.
“An extra…….”
It wasn’t so bad to be an extra, unnoticed after having climbed to an unbearably high place and then fallen. In fact, it was better this way.
When you’ve chased after something you could never have in a lifetime, felt frustrated and despaired, you naturally become such a person.
Now I didn’t want attention, didn’t want to be special anymore.
But…….
“Even so, isn’t this too much?”
Even as an extra with no lines, this life I now lived was terribly unjust.
“It’s not like I asked for anything extraordinary.”
When I realized I had been reborn, there was only one thing I hoped for.
Family.
A warm, happy family.
A family that loved me more than anyone else.
I allowed myself to dream, just for a moment, that I might have a family that wanted nothing from me and would simply love me as I am.
And yet, here I was again, in the same wretched situation.
It was unfair.
I didn’t even know my mother’s face, let alone receive her love, and I’d never seen my father.
And the household’s scorn was thrown in for good measure.
Why? Because I’m the only stain on a perfect Duke Halbern!
And I didn’t even ask to be born!
And on top of everything, a limited lifespan?
“Sigh…….”
I really can’t have anything I truly want. If I can’t have it even after being reborn, isn’t that hopeless?
I’m tired now. Tired of trying, tired of making effort.
I didn’t want to do anything anymore.
“Whatever. I’ll just coast along.”
And so this became my new life’s goal.

* * *

Lunch was cheerful and warm.
Except for me.
Even when I arrived late and took my seat while they were in full conversation, most of them didn’t pay attention.
This was loneliness of the highest order.
The children ate their fill and began deciding what to do next.
“What should we play today?”
“Let’s go outside and play!”
“What about a race?”
A race?
“Or let’s do that game from last time. Hide the ball.”
“I’m in!”
“That was so much fun!”
They were all so energetic, and a flood of exciting games poured out.
The darker my expression became.
Wouldn’t any of you consider me?
Of course they wouldn’t remember I exist.
In the original novel, Arelin—and in my past life, myself—had struggled enormously not to be rejected by this group.
Despite being frail, I’d go out and play with them, only to collapse and fall ill for a week. I was kind and careful, putting so much effort into maintaining smooth friendships.
Because I was always confined to my room.
Because I was so lonely.
‘…….’
That’s why Arelin—why I—found these moments with other children my age so incredibly precious and joyful.
I’d rush in to brighten things up if the mood grew heavy, mediate if they fought, and when treats arrived, I’d make sure every child got some.
“Ugh.”
I really hated that.
My lips twisted involuntarily.
Worrying about and clinging to others—I’d had enough of that in my mother my whole life.
“Let’s go!”
“Whoever gets there first is hiding the ball today!”
“Okay, okay!”
The children scattered again. I watched them leave, barely having touched my meal, and let out a sigh.
Glance.
A palace attendant who had been watching me stand out asked kindly.
“Aren’t you going out, Princess?”
“……I was about to.”
I stood up awkwardly and forced a smile, and the attendant tried to show me the way.
“I can find my own way.”
Her gaze was full of concern.
This obvious, obligatory kindness made me uncomfortable. To her eyes, I was surely a pitiful thing. I knew it too.
Deliberately avoiding that look, I walked in the direction the children had gone.
The Crown Prince’s Palace was vast.
As I headed toward the Flower Garden and the Garden where the children usually played, I came to a stop in a place where no palace attendants were visible.
“I’m not going.”
My gaze turned toward the bushes. A well-maintained, hidden path.
“Might as well kill some time.”

* * *

A month passed.
Wednesday and Friday. The so-called Wed-Fri gatherings. My regular trips to the Imperial Palace didn’t change.
But there was one difference—in how I now treated the other children.
I watched them openly.
Since I was already being treated as air, it made no difference.
“Look at this—did His Highness give you a gift?”
“He did? I got one last week.”
“What? When exactly did you get that?!”
The male lead’s popularity was indeed boundless. Every girl dreamed of marrying him.
Perhaps that’s why I could now see the subtle dynamics between them that I’d missed before. Hmm. Cute.
“Kade is already sensing Aura, apparently.”
“Impressive. Slower than His Highness, but isn’t he a real genius?”
“What’s so great about sensing Aura?”
“What? Then you can sense Aura?”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that…….”
“My uncle said that if His Highness is any example, he might become a Sword Master before reaching adulthood!”
“That’s amazing. I need to work harder too.”
“Me too, me too!”
Since they were all from noble families, these wrinkle-free children playing with toys was adorable.
But it was equally amusing how they unconsciously engaged in subtle power struggles, unable to hide their origins.
Even that seemed somehow endearing from the perspective of someone who had once reached adulthood.
Playing alongside them as if I were their peer was something that would remain impossible even if I were reborn.
‘Peaceful.’
I’d been too busy taking lessons to have time like this, so it felt like a vacation somewhere, just watching people and unwinding.
‘When does the female lead show up again…….’
Chloe—the heroine of this novel with her childhood friend obsession trope.
Though her family background was humble, the female lead possessed a talent that outshone all others.
An exceptional gift for magic.
This young magical prodigy, who captured the attention of the Magic Tower itself, is summoned by the Empress, who collects talent like she’s filling a sack.
‘It was such a cute, fresh, lovely story.’
If I recall correctly, it was packed with uncomplicated affairs and the insane love triangle that ensued.
“All right, that’s settled then.”
I made a decision. I would become a spectator enjoying their mad romance unfold.
Yes. This was none other than front-row seating for a romance fantasy novel!
Well, maybe not from a corner—but either way, I have a direct view.
The real winner here is me.
“What should we play today?”
“Let’s do that game from before again!”
“Today let’s play with a ball!”
“Knight’s game, knight’s game!”
I shrugged my shoulders, listening to the lively chatter of the children.
When they went off to play, I hid in a place where no one could see me and waited for the time to pass.
It was convenient that no one looked for me.
Today too, I sat in my secret place alone, gazing quietly up at the sky.
Choosing solitude was a different feeling from being isolated against your will.
It was freeing, and yet lonely.
Sometimes hiding unseen felt a bit pathetic, but it was infinitely better than forcing myself to fit in.
Better than desperately trying to please someone, than burning yourself out for their approval.
Sitting alone, letting time drift by like this felt good.
Quiet, with complicated thoughts fading away, and I becoming part of the landscape.
At the Duke’s estate, there was no time to be alone like this.
‘The first game should wrap up around snack time—I can slip out in about two hours.’
I sat beneath a large tree and observed my surroundings. With luck, I sometimes caught sight of the white cat that lived in the Imperial Palace.
I’d only seen it twice, but I fell for it at first sight—it was so adorable.
On days when I encountered the cat, my mood was good all day long.
Who owned the cat, I wondered?
‘Perhaps the Empress or one of the Princesses kept it?’
Interestingly, in this nation, female members of the imperial family weren’t called princesses but rather reigning princesses.
Even the imperial succession was determined through competition among heirs, and at merely seven years of age, Crown Prince Pesion had already secured his position through the recognition of his talent.
In many ways, truly worthy of being the male lead.
As I was sitting with these thoughts, clutching a snack I’d quietly taken that the cat might like, I heard the rustling of bushes.
I looked up with a start, hopeful.
‘The cat!’
And……!
“Huh?”
I found myself staring directly into the eyes of the Crown Prince.
“……!”
“……!”
A deafening silence.
I was flustered.
What was the Crown Prince doing here?

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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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