Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 97

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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 97

The commotion of that night quietly faded away.

“Foundation Ball Day One: Surprise Event Becomes Major Talking Point!”
“The Dangers of Overindulgence: On Memory Loss Caused by Strong Spirits……”

What could have spiraled into a major incident was downgraded to merely a surprise event, and most of those who’d been sucked into the Underworld returned safely, though all memories of that night had been erased.
Only a handful showed signs of delirium and complained of psychological distress, but there were no serious consequences.
News that Marquis Belpart’s Wife had been carried out became an issue, then quickly disappeared.
“Someone unworthy tried to glimpse a secret not permitted to her. At least the price was reasonable.”
Father dismissed it with a cryptic remark.
‘Is Leslie all right?’
She should be fine, shouldn’t she?
In any case, after the commotion, Hal Bern announced he would not attend any Imperial Palace parties, and Mehren’s overprotectiveness toward me intensified.
“Is your body all right?”
“Yes.”
“Let me see.”
“I’m really fine.”
“It’s only been a day, so you might not realize if there are aftereffects.”
“Are you worried?”
Mehren nodded. Dark shadows hung over his weary features, meshing with his sharp, delicate face to create a distinctive atmosphere.
“It’s my fault.”
“It’s not.”
“If only I had stayed beside Arel that day——”
“No.”
I took Mehren’s hand as he blamed himself.
“It was an accident.”
……
“And Father saved me, so it’s fine.”
After I sent away the violin and was left alone with Fession, Father appeared somehow, knowing where to find me.
Thanks to that, we escaped easily.
But the way Father stared at Fession then was relentless……
‘Fession, are you okay?’
Father wasn’t the type to cause needless harm, but I was worried about Fession, who had been brazenly defiant toward him.
Father was really strong.
What if he tried something reckless and got scolded?
“Father……”
“Hmm?”
“Are you really calling yourself Father now?”
I felt a sudden flush of embarrassment at the surprised look on Mehren’s face. Instead of answering, I simply nodded, and Mehren smiled at me before his expression suddenly darkened.
“I never thought that fellow would gain recognition so easily.”
“Feeling threatened?”
“By someone like that?”
Mehren scoffed as if it were absurd.
“Still, don’t get too close to him.”
His subtle warning was so endearing that I almost burst out laughing.
“I like Mehren best, no matter what anyone says.”
“That’s only natural.”
I spread my arms wide and pulled Mehren into an embrace, and he chuckled softly.
“Because I’m Arel’s mother.”
“Mother!”
Mehren, tired of denying the fate that was to make me his mother, finally submitted to it willingly.
“You made me this way, so don’t pretend you don’t know me later.”
“Why? Are you worried I won’t call you mother when I grow up?”
“No, that part doesn’t matter——”
Mehren paused, then continued.
“But it might hurt if you pretend not to know me.”
His bitter expression suggested he regarded this as nothing more than a childhood game of family, temporary and fleeting.
It was funny, really.
“Why would I pretend not to know my mother?”
“Because you might be ashamed of the past when you were my mother, once you grow.”
“That will never happen.”
“You shouldn’t use the word ‘never’ so carelessly.”
“Want to make a bet?”
“What would you stake?”
“Hmm. You?”
“……That’s a poor reward.”
We looked at each other and both burst into laughter.
Mehren watched me laugh, then began gently pinching my soft cheeks.
“What are you doing?”
His eyes held a tenderness as he looked at me.
“This may sound strange to say, but in just one day, Arel seems different somehow.”
“I do?”
“Yes. You seem more at ease, more joyful.”
“Really?”
Perhaps it was because I’d finally stepped out of the shadow that had tormented me for so long.
Overcoming it wasn’t nearly as dramatic as I’d imagined alone in the darkness.
I thought all pain and suffering would vanish with a magic spell, a snap and a poof, but that wasn’t how it happened.
Even having died once, my confusion and anguish had already exhausted me so thoroughly that even this cruel life no longer hurt.
Meeting Fession, learning Mehren’s sincerity, growing close to the Caretaker Unit, meeting Harun and the twins——my world expanded little by little, and somewhere along the way, it became bearable.
It wasn’t that the pain disappeared. The pain remained, but no longer tore my soul apart.
I was still sad, but grief-stricken enough only to cry, rise, and move on to other things.
Self-blame and self-punishment didn’t vanish, but they stopped at thought.
It got better, slowly.
And now, it doesn’t trouble me at all.
How could that be?
‘I know the reason.’
The Caretaker Unit greeted me warmly each morning when I opened my eyes, and there was Fession, with his gentle scolding about permission and recovery. There was Mehren, secretly caring for me while pretending otherwise, and the twins who wanted to be friends and stuck to me, and Harun who would do anything I asked.
And now there was Father, coming to rescue me.
Wait, I said that wrong.
“I love you, Mehren.”
“I love you too, Arel.”
It didn’t need to be dramatic.
The wound had healed, and even if the scar remained, it no longer hurt.
Wasn’t that enough?
“Really, I love you so much.”
Looking back now, even after being abandoned, I was never truly alone.
There was my teacher, who said I could always come back, and people who’d only met me a few times yet left messages asking how I was doing.
Their affection and care wasn’t what I wanted from my mother, but I had been surrounded by good people all along.
It was I who’d built walls and pushed them away without knowing it.
‘I won’t make that mistake again.’
“Why are you being so cute today, our Arel?”
“Am I cute?”
“You’ve always been cute.”
“Mmh.”
If anyone else said it, it would sound like flattery, but from Mehren it sounds genuine. Is this what they mean by the credibility of the speaker?
“I really do like Mehren best.”
“That’s a relief.”
Mehren smiled contentedly and embraced me. His was the warmest embrace in the world.

* * *

“Miss!”
“Complete bed rest!”
“No exercise!”
The Caretaker Unit was overprotecting me far too much.
“Honestly, it’s nowhere near that serious.”
I’d already thought Mehren’s overprotectiveness had intensified, but now there was more on top of it.
“Goodness, our precious little miss went through such an ordeal!”
“What was the master doing? It’s the master’s fault!”
“Only we can protect the miss, after all.”
“Miss, please accept the loyalty of the Saren Knights!”
“We will protect you!”
Their words were earnest and touching.
If only they weren’t clinging to the second-floor window while saying them.
“Get away from the window and talk.”
They weren’t ghosts or anything.
“Oh! The miss is looking at us!”
“Finally! Finally she spoke to us!”
“Ahhh! Don’t push, I’m slipping!”
“Ha! You can’t push me off that easily.”
The Saren Knights were competing with each other for window space, but the Caretaker Unit mercilessly exorcised the clinging brutes.
“Hyah! Hyah!”
“Oof, I’m falling!”
“Tch.”
The fallen Saren Knights, undeterred, crowded together and rushed off to petition their lord.
Maybe you have to be that unbothered to make a career as a knight under Father.
“Miss.”
“What will you do now~?”
Rena and Uni grinned mischievously at me.
“Everyone out.”
“Suddenly? We can stay here.”
“We’ll be very quiet, I promise.”
“Out.”
I drove out the Caretaker Unit, who kept snickering, and locked the door firmly.
Then, with some anxiety, I took out the newly gifted object.
It was a Communication Device.

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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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