Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 60

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

Chapter 60

Though the Crown Princess Azeni was nominally the sovereign of High Society, the true power lay elsewhere.
The Marquess of Belpart’s wife.
The hostesses of the five Great Ducal Houses—who should have held that position—had two vacancies, two were occupied by women dwelling in their territories, and one by a foreigner; thus Belpart’s wife had naturally seized control of High Society.
“Wahhh! Mother.”
“Leslie, stop crying.”
The Marquess of Belpart’s wife harbored ambition.
With the network and influence she had cultivated, she intended to elevate her precious daughter Leslie—whom she loved more than life itself—to the rank of Crown Princess.
‘The odds are in our favor!’
Among the five Great Ducal Houses, only one had a young lady of marriageable age, and even she carried considerable flaws.
Belpart’s wife harbored not a shred of doubt that she could make Leslie the Crown Princess.
“What on earth happened that you’re crying like this, you silly thing?”
Seeing her daughter’s lovely face puffed and swollen from weeping, her heart ached.
When her mother tried to comfort her, Leslie only cried harder, as if her sorrow had been validated.
‘I won’t forgive them.’
Until this morning, Leslie had been the happiest child in the world. The trouble began with the young lady’s tea party she’d been invited to attend at noon.
The Spelrom twins who appeared there suddenly were still as angelic and radiant as ever, but their eyes held something cold and pitiless.
They had warned Leslie outright.
“Don’t overdo it, Leslie.”
“That’s right, Leslie.”
“W-what did I even do?”
The twins remained indifferent to Leslie’s protests.
“We know everything, Leslie.”
“You know it too, Leslie.”
Leslie felt wronged.
She couldn’t fathom why she was being treated this way.
Why did they speak of her as though she were wicked?
And the twins, no less?
Leslie had been fond of the twins.
‘They’re so pretty.’
Their delicate, angelic features—as if freshly descended from Paradise—were enough to draw everyone’s admiration. The problem was the mischief they wreaked with those faces.
“Arelin is our precious friend, you know.”
“And Arelin is adorable.”
“Anyway, if you keep it up, we’ll bully you too.”
“We gave you fair warning, didn’t we?”
As Leslie recalled the twins’ warning, fresh tears welled in her eyes.
“Waahhhhh!”
“Why are you crying again, Leslie!”
Leslie threw herself into her mother’s arms.
“Mother, I hate them.”
When she had haltingly recounted everything that happened during the day, Belpart’s wife’s lips curved into a smile.
“The Spelrom twins, you say…”
They would have been difficult to deal with under any other circumstance—but the Spelrom twins, who controlled the empire’s wealth, posed a particular challenge.
House Spelrom itself was formidable, but the twins’ unpredictable temperaments made them hardest to manage.
Fortunately for the Marquess, however, the object of Leslie’s hatred was not the twins.
“It has to be Arelin who spoke ill of me in front of them. She acts so sweet around me.”
“Arelin?”
“Yes, and before that—!”
Leslie launched into her grievance against Arelin—how she’d stepped in as a mediator and been snubbed for her trouble.
“I want to humiliate her.”
Unlike the Spelrom twins, Arelin of House Halbern—flawed though she was—remained vulnerable.
A smile played at the corners of Belpart’s wife’s lips.
“Mother has a splendid idea, dear.”
“Really?”
“Yes, leave it to me, my daughter.”
Leslie’s face brightened. Watching her daughter, the spitting image of herself, Belpart’s wife felt a surge of satisfaction.
“Our daughter needn’t worry about anything. The Crown Princess’s throne will be yours.”
If not my daughter, then who deserved such a seat?

* * *

“Her Majesty the Crown Princess has sent this.”
“A tea party for children to deepen their bonds of friendship?”
The official letter Mehren presented contained an announcement for an event I’d never seen before.
Mehren let out a small groan.
“Why this?”
Was there a problem?
In the Romance Fantasy World, the national law was parties, parties, and more parties.
Social gatherings in the Romance Fantasy World were like modern-day social media—serving lighthearted purposes of spreading trends and exchanging information, maintaining a family’s status or reputation, or facilitating business and networking connections—but…
“In one month, the Foundation Day Festival begins.”
‘These major events are different.’
The Romance Fantasy World had several signature events.
The Foundation Day Festival, hunting competitions, Debutante Balls, birthday galas, harvest festivals, jousting tournaments, grand tournaments, religious celebrations, diplomatic receptions, and so forth.
These massive events required enormous expenses and lengthy preparation periods.
“Once that arrives, both the imperial household and High Society will be busy, so the Crown Prince’s Childhood Friends Gathering will likely be suspended for a while. Therefore, Her Majesty plans to hold a lighthearted tea party beforehand where the children themselves can contribute, gathering their families and guardians as guests.”
“I see.”
“The guests will be the children’s family members or guardians.”
I was entertaining casual, pleasant thoughts about what sounded like a sweet, cute event when—
“…?”
Today, those jade-green eyes watching me were brimming with worry and concern.
“What?”
“Will you be all right?”
“About what?”
Mehren’s lips parted as if struggling to find words.
“Your… family.”
“Oh.”
For a moment, I wore a blank expression.
“Would it really matter?”
“If you wish, you may withdraw from the event.”
Mehren seemed to prefer that option.
“I will handle the arrangements myself.”
As always.
Watching Mehren volunteer to be my shield, my heart grew tender.
“It will be an uncomfortable situation. You’ll have no guests to invite anyway. Grand Duke Valer—or rather, His Highness—won’t be coming.”
Mehren didn’t even offer hollow reassurances that father might show.
It was better to crush such vain hopes myself than to nurture false expectations only to deliver bitter disappointment.
Very much the sort of thing Mehren would do.
‘That’s what made Mehren frightening.’
A guardian who fulfilled her duties with the precision of a blade was more daunting than resentful. Though by now I understood her reasoning well enough.
“It’s fine.”
It would be easier to hide away. Sheltering was comforting. But—
Mehren would suffer for it.
Though I knew better than anyone how capable Mehren was, I didn’t want to cower behind her.
‘There’s no need to avoid this anyway.’
I was grateful and apologetic to Mehren for treating me like such a delicate, fragile young lady, but I cared nothing if others gossiped about me or picked me apart.
Avoidance solves nothing anyway. Eventually, I’ll have to face it.
“I’ll just attend.”
“Arelin…”
Mehren’s expression grew noticeably darker.
“It’s not as if I have no one to invite. I do have family.”
“…!”
“Mehren is my mother, after all.”
“But—”
“And I’ll invite the nursery staff too.”
They’re my guardians as well.
“Will Dilun come?”
“It would be an honor, Miss.”
At Dilun’s good-natured acceptance, I laughed. Yet Mehren’s expression remained unmoved.
“Mother.”
I sprang up and ran to throw myself into Mehren’s arms.
I understood her concern, and that warmth only made my mood brighter.
This affection, this worry, this attention.
Feeling it for the first time, it tasted all the sweeter—so much genuine care poured into one heart.
Mehren truly did cherish me.
“There may come situations where I cannot protect you.”
“But you’ll be beside me, won’t you?”
Mehren’s expression twisted with anguish.
“It’s really fine.”
When my memories from my past life returned and I first saw Mehren’s face, I never imagined we’d grow so close.
“I only need you, Mehren.”
A flicker of emotion crossed Mehren’s eyes.
The way she drew me close was as careful as handling glass.
“Arelin…”
Those jade-green eyes wavered with unease as they searched mine. I reached out toward them.
My fingers brushed Mehren’s soft cheek.
That this handsome young man was my mother—well, this life might turn out to be not so bad after all.
‘A mess is still something, and a makeshift family is still family.’
Family isn’t determined only by registry!
“Mother, is raising me difficult?”
Mehren’s lips trembled.
“Not at all. If anything, I worry because you demand so little.”
“You’re lying. You’ve been struggling.”
“…”
Unable to muster an outright lie, Mehren’s lips merely parted.
“Mother, do you hate me because I don’t listen well?”
My words, clinging to her as I spoke them, made Mehren go rigid. I was startled by the hurt that flashed across her eyes.
“I was joking.”
“Don’t.”
Mehren exhaled sharply as she forced out the words, then issued a stern warning with an intensity that was almost fierce.
“Never say such a thing again.”
Strange. Being scolded so harshly should make me sad, yet I felt only joy.
“Okay. I won’t.”
“You’re promising me.”
“I am.”
Mehren held me close again and drew a deep breath.
“I don’t understand why Crown Princess Azeni planned something like this.”
Wasn’t that a bit of a dangerous thing to say?
I gave her a look of mild concern, and Mehren’s fierce expression softened. She gently swept my hair back.
“Whenever you wish to withdraw, please tell me at once. Do you understand?”
Her reassuring words made me smile unbidden.
Wow. I have a backer too.

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