Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 303

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

Chapter 303

I stared at my father with a long, measured look.
Valere was undoubtedly a man who resorted to honey traps whenever the odds turned against him.
“You’re not abandoning me, right?”
“Think rationally.”
Everyone else would make their entrance on the arm of a peer, he reasoned. If I alone appeared holding my father’s hand, it would look odd. Better to accept the escort of a foreign nobleman—himself. So said the Regent Duke.
The Regent Duke’s eyes, too, held a look that was far from ordinary as he gazed at me. He’s going to see right through this.
‘Why is such a crisis befalling me?’
“Mehren….”
“I lack the standing to escort Arelin. I must withdraw as a candidate.”
Impossible!
With no agreement reached with Mehren, the moment had come when I had to choose between two options.
My palms were damp with sweat—such was the tension of the instant.
But then again, wasn’t my choice already made?
‘…I suppose I should be filial.’
The moment I seized my father’s hand, he broke into a grin as though he’d gained the whole world.
“Ha! Ha! Ha! Hahahaha!”
“Ugh!”
Meanwhile, the Grand Duke despaired as though the world itself had crumbled.
The Regent Duke Ludwig fixed me with a gaze so woeful that I found myself with a thing or two to say.
“Even so, this is a Debutante Ball. I can hardly take my uncle’s arm when I am of Halbern. That would never do.”
“True, true. Quite right!”
I deliberately ignored my father’s delighted agreement and fixed a steady gaze upon the Regent Duke. His expression grew grave, and he spoke thus:
“Should we change your name?”
“Please, maintain some composure.”
I was truly alarmed—he looked prepared to actually change it.
“We have arrived.”
By then, the carriage carrying us had reached the Imperial Palace.

* * *

In the Audience Chamber Waiting Room of the Imperial Palace.
The young ladies who were to be the heroines of the day had gathered in the vast room, their trembling hearts struggling toward calm.
An opportunity granted but once in a lifetime.
They had all heard, until calluses formed upon their ears, that today they must be the star of the ball.
There were a few rare young noblewomen making a re-debut in society, though for highborn ladies, such a thing was nothing short of shameful.
Yet every maiden in this room knew a single truth.
Today’s star had already been decided.
‘Why, of all years, this one?’
‘Why must she debut the same season as I do?’
Nor could they delay their own social debut.
The ladies resolved to make the best of a bad situation by at least catching a glimpse of this Arelin everyone spoke of.
None felt this more keenly than Carolyn of Glemwat, who had assured one and all since last year that she alone would be the star of this Debutante Ball.
‘Who on earth is this Arelin?’
As Carolyn surveyed the room, her brows narrowed without her noticing.
“……?”
‘But why are there so many platinum blondes?’
During the height of the impostor crisis, information about Arelin had been restricted. What filtered through to society was merely that she possessed platinum hair and bore a striking resemblance to the Grand Duke of Halbern.
Yet—how ill-timed!—these past years had seen platinum hair become a raging trend among the ladies. And now, some eighty percent of those assembled here wore the same shade.
“…….”
“…….”
So which of them was truly the daughter of Halbern?
Carolyn narrowed her eyes, surveying the maidens in the waiting room, when one figure in particular caught her attention.
‘What is it about her that makes her stand out so?’
Sitting alone, her complexion uncommonly pale, her gaze serene and untroubled—a single maiden.
‘How can her profile be so beautiful?’
Everyone else stood stiffly, afraid a wrinkle might mar their white dress; she alone sat openly, her expression one of frank boredom.
Though her eyes were closed, and Carolyn could not discern their color, this maiden’s bearing was utterly distinct from every other girl in attendance. Carolyn felt almost overwhelmed.
‘Could it be… could that be Arelin?’
If only she could see her eyes, she would know for certain.
As Carolyn stared intently, she suddenly became aware of the fabric of the maiden’s white dress.
‘Wait—is that not the Feathers of Heaven? The ones produced in such scant quantities by the Uyo Alliance?’
Atop it lay the ethereal drape of Sugrase Lace—that impossibly delicate and weightless lace, spun by sprites as idle amusement, so expensive that the cost itself became the asking price.
As Carolyn began to examine each detail in turn, the dress’s jeweled ornaments seized her attention.
The lustrous beads were surely embroidered by master craftsmen—and each one was a genuine gemstone.
Work of such intricacy would require at least a year of continuous embroidery.
“……?”
And the white ribbon hair ornament worn by debutantes alone—its beads, wrought from diamonds and precious stones, were embroidered with astonishing splendor.
Her slippers, fan, and gloves were all of pristine white, exactly as the Royal Minister of Ceremonies had decreed for Imperial Ceremonial Dress Code, yet each detail was exquisitely refined.
‘Has she simply poured a fortune into this?’
Carolyn herself had spared no effort in her own presentation, yet this maiden was wielding the kind of wealth that could buy an entire mansion in the Capital on a whim.
Who would prepare for a Debutante Ball with such extravagance?
As Carolyn wrestled with this bewilderment, the maiden suddenly opened her eyes.
“……!”
And their eyes met.
Carolyn froze in place. In that moment, a lady-in-waiting entered the chamber.
“Young Lady Arelin, someone wishes to see you.”

* * *

Our party split the moment we reached the Imperial Palace.
Mehren and the Regent Duke proceeded directly to the Main Hall, while Valere disappeared with an unpleasant expression, muttering something about needing to go hear a scolding.
‘A scolding from His Majesty the Emperor?’
It seemed unlikely, but my father asserted it so confidently that I let it pass.
“I’ll be back soon, daughter.”
Thus I found myself alone.
With nothing else to do, I followed a lady-in-waiting’s guidance to the waiting room. When I first entered, there had indeed been many eyes upon me, but I’d surely been quiet enough… so why—
‘Why am I hearing such noise from inside the moment I step out?’
Just after leaving the chamber on the lady-in-waiting’s heels—
“Kyaaaah!”
“Is that really Arelin? Is it truly her?!”
“Really?! Really?!”
“Did you see? Did you see her?!”
Some sort of pandemonium seemed to erupt from within. The atmosphere did not invite my return.
‘But surely one mustn’t make such a fuss in the Imperial Palace.’
As if on cue, a lady-in-waiting’s voice could be heard issuing a reprimand.
‘But who on earth summoned me?’
The lady-in-waiting who’d guided me merely smiled and offered some vague “You shall see presently.”
“Hmm?”
After some distance, I caught sight of a familiar figure in the Imperial Palace Corridor, not far from the Audience Chamber Waiting Room.
It was Fession.

* * *

To prepare for today, Fession had pushed himself for days, rushing to complete every administrative duty befitting the Crown Prince.
Recently, Emperor Edward had begun subtly transferring his own responsibilities to Fession under the guise of “succession training.” As a result, Fession’s days had grown busier than ever.
Still, today was the day Arelin would grace the Imperial Palace, so he’d moved swiftly through his duties and prepared for the ball—but then—
Illness befell him.
“I want to see Arelin.”
Ordinarily, no matter how badly Fession wanted to see her, she remained in places beyond his easy reach: Halbern Manor, the Sky Tower.
But knowing she was close by today made it impossible for him to sit still.
“How strange that our noble Crown Prince should fall to such a state.”
“We entreat you—return to us the dignified Highness we once knew!”
Some of his subordinates, who had sworn their loyalty upon witnessing his usual commanding presence, found themselves in distress. Yet to Fession, such matters were of little consequence.
Of all those around him, only Griam quietly accepted the situation and ventured a suggestion.
“Would it not suffice to visit briefly before the ball commences? The young ladies are surely waiting in the Audience Chamber for their entrance, after all.”
“!”
So he had come—
“Oh.”
The moment Fession caught sight of Arelin, he came to a standstill. At the sight of him rendered speechless, Arelin tilted her head.
“Fession?”
This was terrible.
Arelin had always possessed considerable destructive power, but today it was truly exceptional.
Year after year he had passed over the debutante dresses of young ladies without a second glance, yet somehow, this time, Fession found himself unable to do the same.
Seeing him with flushed cheeks, his hand covering his mouth, Arelin’s expression grew serious.
“Am I strange?”
“No…….”
“Then why do you look like you’ve seen something you shouldn’t?”
Fession’s expression grew grave.
“You’re just… so beautiful…….”
“Beautiful, yet your expression is like that?”
Like that? Because when he thought of the fact that others would see him like this today as well, his insides felt turned inside-out.
Fession dared not so much as touch her, merely gazing obliquely before squeezing his eyes shut.
“Arel.”
“Why do you call me with such solemnity?”
“Must you really go to the party today?”
“Huh?”
“How could I possibly… let others see you like this…….”
While Arelin stammered in response to his attitude—which mirrored her incorrigible father’s exactly—Fession spoke with tears threatening to spill from his eyes.
“I want to steal you away.”
At his earnest words, Arelin burst into laughter. Fession, thinking she’d taken him as a joke, hastily added:
“I’m serious.”
“I know.”
“Now the whole world will know how beautiful you are. What am I to do?”
“This really is exactly like your father. Uncanny.”
“It’s a grave matter.”
“I know.”
“I wanted only I to know.”
His eyes brimmed with such longing that Arelin laughed once more.
“Stop laughing.”
“How can I help it when you’re being so absurd?”
Pouting, Fession gazed at the still-smiling Arelin and steeled his resolve.
“So, shall we run away?”

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