Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 7

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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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Episode 7

“Have you seen Mehan lately?”
Kindness from a stranger feels foreign.
“That idiot must’ve done something again.”
“Done what? What did she do?”
“Who knows. Those types don’t even mix words with people like us. I’m just guessing.”
So this atmosphere, strangely enough, felt almost comforting.
“Probably collapsed again or locked herself away. Just seeking attention, you know.”
That’s not it.
I have collapsed and shut myself away, but I wasn’t doing it for attention. These people—slandering me without knowing a thing.
It’s unfair.
“She’s got no breeding, that’s why. The young ladies from other houses are well-behaved and pretty, but who knows what’s wrong with that idiot.”
“It’s all from having no proper lineage. Nobody knows her mother’s bloodline. She’s only barely human because of the Halbert blood running through her veins.”
So that’s what happens when someone’s mouth runs freely—they spill garbage.
Nonsense scatters like leaves.
“I feel sorry for Mehan.”
“Right, a young man should be courting and marrying, not saddled with a child.”
“What fault is it of Mehan’s?”
“The crime of serving the Grand Duke?”
Their cackling laughter fades into the distance.
“I can hear all of this.”
Don’t you see the window’s open?
It’s obvious they’re deliberately flaunting it—letting me hear.
The master, even so, is just a child.
Frail and unremarkable at that. Soft-hearted by nature. What power could such a child possibly have?
“Even the king gets cursed out of sight, they say.”
The subtle provocations seem to be growing sharper. Or is it just my imagination?
‘Well, as long as they don’t touch me directly, it doesn’t matter.’
Being more accustomed to hostility than kindness—that’s probably a remnant of my former life.

“She’s putting on airs again.”
“Bragging about being the only one praised?”
“That’s not even her real skill. She’s just making it look convincing.”
“It’s all because her mother throws money at everything, nodding along. As if she’s some once-in-a-generation prodigy.”

Compared to practicing alone in the corner of a studio while hearing such words, this wasn’t bad at all.
Usually, people make friends while practicing together or waiting in the green room, but I was stuck with my mother twenty-four hours a day, so I never had that chance.
‘Mother hated it whenever my eyes turned elsewhere.’

“Do you think those are your friends? They’re all just your competitors, that’s all.”

“Here too, I’m alone.”
Being alone is familiar.
So it’s fine.
“Give me a river’s peace.”

* * *

……
……
……
“Um, Mehan?”
Uni, Arelin’s health attendant, had been standing fixed in place for hours, watching Mehan with a picture-perfect smile painted on her face.
‘Either go in or step aside.’
Mehan had been standing there for hours, his eyes boring into the firmly shut door.
The intensity of his presence was so ominous that servants, butlers, and maids who passed by were startled into fleeing.
‘But I have to go in, Mehan!’
It was time for Arelin to take her medicine.
Arelin’s medicine—wrapped in mystery, delivered from who knows where.
Even with the Temple, the Magic Tower, and the Physicians’ Association all mobilized, they couldn’t identify the name of Arelin’s illness or treat her symptoms, but this medicine—delivered since she was a baby—was different.
“Give up. Today’s a lost cause.”
“You can bring it tomorrow. Let’s just back off and not touch him.”
“Look at Mehan’s expression…….”
“Who does he plan to drown today anyway.”
Uni trembled and agonized.
Meanwhile, Mehan, oblivious to the commotion swirling around him, stood staring at the closed door, lost in churning thoughts.
To be honest, he didn’t know why he’d come here.
He’d simply come to his senses standing in front of Arelin’s room.
Any other time, he would’ve just stepped inside while he was here, caught a quick glimpse of her face, and left.

“I’ll stay quiet.”

If only he could forget that memory.
……
As if his ankle were caught, his hand froze on the doorknob.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

The antique door of the old residence felt impossibly difficult—as if it were the entrance to a dungeon blocking his way.
Yet he couldn’t bring himself to turn around and leave.
This was why Mehan stood like a totem before Arelin’s door, neither able to advance nor retreat.
“Damn it.”
Flinch!
His emotion suddenly flared into a curse, and the lined-up maids and butlers exchanged glances before quietly slipping away.
Mehan remained so focused on the child beyond the door that he didn’t even notice what was happening.
Arelin.
Arelin Sigria Halbert.
The lord’s daughter, and the baby he’d ended up raising with his own hands from a very young age.
Raising a child without preparation, without any resolve, felt like boarding a hellish train.
Chaotic and confusing.
Not knowing what was what.
Jumbled, tangled, and fumbling.
Even after establishing the Childcare Unit and entrusting Arelin entirely to them, he couldn’t completely sever his concern.
But was it all bad?

“Mehe!”

When other children learned to say “mama” or “papa,” Arelin called out his name.
Mehan. The first word Arelin ever spoke.
The emotion he felt then—he couldn’t put it into words properly. It was a kind of feeling he’d never experienced before.
“Damn Valere.”
Mehan cursed his lord and the Grand Duke of Halbert as naturally as he breathed, and raised his head.
‘That’s why I tried not to give her affection.’
He’d constantly reminded himself that he was merely a temporary guardian, nothing more, and had tried to maintain distance.
After all, when the Grand Duke of Halbert returned to his post, Mehan would have to step back. If affection took root, both Arelin and he would suffer and grow weary.
So he’d drawn a line.

“Mehan……”

And he’d deliberately averted his eyes from ‘that look’ all along.
He’d failed.
Spectacularly, it seemed.
He knew that affection doesn’t choose whether to attach itself based on one’s wishes.
But when he met eyes that had become hollow, as if she’d given up on everything and no longer yearned for affection or anything else, he was engulfed by an emotion he couldn’t name.
“Contact him, you damned lord.”
All the communication channels in the residence were already being diverted to the Northern Castle.
“Your daughter needs you right now!”
Mehan could not, in the end, turn the doorknob.

* * *

Crown Prince Pesion was in exceptionally high spirits today.
He’d woken early, breezed through his morning training, and found his meal unusually delicious.
And the reason was simple!
Today was the day.
The Gathering!
“Your Highness, your friends have arrived.”
“Great! I’ll be right there!”
Pesion had always loved spending time with his friends, but today he’d been especially eager.
‘She’ll come today, won’t she?’
After pestering Griam about it, Pesion had learned that Arelin had recovered enough to take walks, and he’d entered with unusual vigor.
“Hello, everyone!”
All the children in the room turned to look at Pesion at once.
And in that moment.
“Huh?!”
A surprised Pesion’s eyes went wide.
‘She’s not here.’
Arelin wasn’t there.

* * *

At that very moment, Arelin was taking her medicine.
“Ugh, it’s bitter.”
Medicine that prevented irregular seizures and rampages, and helped her frail body recover, however slightly.
Medicine she’d been taking since infancy—it couldn’t improve her condition, but it kept it from worsening, so she took it faithfully even when reluctant.
‘Without this, things get really bad.’
At least she had this medicine; she was grateful for that much.
But today it seemed to taste worse than usual—or maybe that was just her imagination.
“Where did Uni go?”
Glance.
I asked, looking at the unfamiliar maid standing before me.
“Yes?”
Normally, Uni, the health attendant, was the one who brought my medicine.
The maid who’d brought it wasn’t a complete stranger, but her face was unfamiliar. That’s because I barely saw anyone outside the Childcare Unit.
I didn’t know if it was due to the atmosphere within the residence or power dynamics, but Mehan had arranged it that way.
“Well, um, it’s just that……”
The maid flinched, as if my question was unexpected.
“Uni had to attend a meeting, so I came instead.”
“A meeting?”
“Yes, yes……”
There was something odd about the way her voice trailed off, but—was there really anything to worry about?
It’s not like this had never happened before.
“I’ve finished it.”
Having finished the medicine, I gestured for her to leave. She seemed oddly relieved, but I didn’t press it.
Before the maid left, she asked me carefully.
“Do you know why Mehan’s been acting strange lately?”
“Mehan?”
Why are you asking me that?
“What’s wrong with Mehan?”
“I’m not sure what’s caused it, but the atmosphere around him has become so tense that everyone’s nervous and trembling.”
First I’m hearing of it.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen Mehan’s face—what on earth happened?
“I don’t know.”
“Ah, I see.”
The maid withdrew with a disappointed air.
Now that I think about it, this maid……
‘She’s one of the ones who gossips about me behind my back.’
Using insults like “idiot” and such.
And yet here she was, all careful and meek in my presence. I had no desire to be sarcastic, so I waved her out.
At my dismissive gesture, she made an unhappy face, but left without complaint.
The room grew quiet again.
“Good.”
I was alone.

* * *

“I want to quit.”
He’d always longed to resign passionately, but today retirement felt especially urgent.
The reason was simple.
“Griam, you didn’t lie to me, did you?”
“Griam, I trusted you, and you’ve let me down.”
“Griam, is this all you can do?”
The Crown Prince, who’d ended his playdate earlier than usual, had immediately set upon Griam the moment he returned.
His talent for berating someone was an art form.
“That is, I clearly received confirmation. It’s not my fault. It’s definitely not my fault.”
Griam felt wronged under the scrutiny of disbelieving eyes.
What did I do wrong?
How many nerve-wracking hours had he spent waiting for a letter to be sent to the Halbert manor and a reply to come back?
As Griam sighed, he suddenly noticed that the surroundings had gone quiet.
The cause was, as always, Crown Prince Pesion.
‘Quiet is worse. It makes me more uneasy.’
News that Lady Arelin hadn’t yet recovered.
The Crown Prince looked serious.
‘Is it my fault?’
Didn’t the encouragement to run hard last time have a significant impact? He couldn’t believe a person could be that fragile, yet—it was Arelin.
‘If it’s Arelin, then it’s possible.’
Arelin was more delicate than a kitten.
‘So I can’t see her again.’
But he wanted to see her.
He didn’t know the exact reason, but Pesion wanted to see Arelin. Suddenly, the image of Arelin as he’d seen her at the Halbert Residence came floating back.
Arelin, watching out the window alone.
“Do I really have to just wait……”
As an ominous premonition of boring times ahead made him fidget with his feet.
“Hold on.”
Griam sensed an ominous future.
“Your Highness?”
“There’s no need to wait.”
“Pardon?”
“If Arelin can’t come to me, I can go to her, can’t I?”
A sick visit—such a lovely word.
After all, he and Arelin were ‘friends’, weren’t they? Eureka! The Crown Prince cheered, eyes sparkling with sudden brilliance.
“Let’s go!”
“What?!”
“Get ready, let’s go! If Arelin can’t come, I’ll go to her! Yes, that’s how it works!”
“What?! Yes? Um, Your Highness?”
“Come on, let’s go! Griam!”
The Crown Prince’s sudden acceleration.
Griam suffered.
“Just a moment, Your Highness??”

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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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