Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health - Chapter 98

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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 98

Light flickered to life in the Mana Communication Device.
– Arelin!
“Fession.”
– Wow, it’s really you.
Fession’s face appearing through the Communication Device struck me as something miraculous.
Video calls in this era? Magical Engineering truly is magnificent.
“Can you see me all right?”
– Yeah. Can you see me okay?
“Mm-hmm.”
Perhaps because this was our first call, I felt an unexpected flutter in my chest—nervousness I hadn’t felt even when we were face to face.
Did I look presentable?
– Thank you for accepting the gift.
Right. This Communication Device was a gift from Fession.
He’d disliked being apart so often that he placed a custom order for this device himself—one tailored specifically for us.
While Mana Communication Devices had been commercialized and weren’t terribly expensive, the Imperial Palace’s barrier interfered with mana transmission, so only specially manufactured devices could function here.
He’d apparently placed the order not long after he could no longer visit daily.
– I was right to order it. Being able to see your face like this makes me so happy.
Fession nodded with a satisfied expression.
– Arelin, did you have breakfast? You’re taking the Vitality Elixir I sent, aren’t you? Have you exercised? Any cardio?
Wait, did he really send this just because he wanted to see me, or was he trying to surveil me?
“I had breakfast, I took the elixir, and I’m… exercising.”
– You didn’t.
“I am!”
My protest fell on deaf ears. Fession, arms crossed, began his lecture.
– You need to walk consistently, even without me. Every single day—that’s how you’ll see results.
“Ugh.”
– Just follow the Exercise Plan Chart, all right? Promise me.
He really was going to turn me into a Sword Master, wasn’t he?
– You have to get healthy.
“Yeah…”
Usually, my motivation would plummet so far it’d puncture right through my core, yet today, strangely, I didn’t mind this pushing. Not one bit.
Right. I should exercise.
I should get healthy.
I should live longer.
Whether I’d actually manage that was uncertain, but wasn’t it worth trying, at least?
“What have you been doing?”
– I had breakfast too, trained this morning, and now I’m on a short break. I’m meeting with a delegation later with Mother.
The Emperor and Empress were each conducting separate meetings with different delegations, and Fession smiled as he mentioned today he’d be with Azeni.
“You’re busy.”
– This is just the basics!
A child’s schedule like a CEO’s. Then again, Fession was the Crown Prince. It only struck me in moments like these—something I normally didn’t think about.
– Being able to see you like this makes me so happy.
“Same here.”
– I miss you, Arelin.
“But you’re looking at me right now.”
– That’s not what I mean. I really do miss you.
The petulance in his voice—so unlike him—made me laugh despite myself.
“Do you like me that much?”
– Yeah.
“What is it about me you like so much?”
– You’re, um… pretty… and warm, and soft, and you breathe, and you smile at me…
“…?”
Warm and soft and breathing—isn’t that just what it means to be alive?
I was trying to decide if that counted as a compliment when I heard Griam’s voice calling Fession from beyond the Communication Device.
– Ah, I don’t want to go.
It was disappointing, but there was nothing to do about it.
“He’s calling. You should go.”
Fession looked reluctant, but he quickly made another appointment.
– See you tonight.
“Okay.”
– You have to contact me for sure in the evening.
“I will.”
– Then I’ll see you tonight!
“Yeah.”
Light faded from the Communication Device.
Alone in my room, I blinked blankly for a moment, then let myself think.
Yes.
“I miss you too.”
I whispered.

* * *

Day two of the Founding Festival.
The Imperial Palace thrummed with the same festive energy as the city beyond—celebrations and social gatherings everywhere, everyone buzzing with excitement.
Among the great lords from distant provinces and delegates from various kingdoms—faces rarely seen in ordinary times—there was one figure who monopolized every conversation.
“It’s Duke Halborn.”
“My goodness, is that really…?”
His tie was nowhere to be seen, two shirt buttons undone, jacket slung carelessly over his shoulder—yet people could only gawk at having finally seen him in person, words failing them.
Though these were all accomplished figures in their own right, none dared approach Duke Halborn closely.
It was likely because Valere’s frown had set him radiating an unbridled aura of menace.
“Shouldn’t you be resting?”
Jaren, Valere’s chief aide, asked with concern.
“You’ve been using your Ability extensively. The side effects must be severe…”
“There’s something I need to look into.”
“Let me investigate on your behalf.”
Jaren offered readily enough, but Valere merely glanced at him sideways.
“Go do your own business.”
“But I want to help out of loyalty.”
“I don’t trust you either.”
“That wounds me, sir.”
“You’re destined for Mubisk anyway.”
“Should I just renounce my claim?”
Jaren grumbled about how they’d endured life and death together, built their camaraderie on that shared hardship—surely they deserved better treatment than this.
“Besides, I’ve already taken my full inheritance share, so it wouldn’t matter if I renounced it.”
“Aren’t you going to marry?”
“Ah.”
Valere dismissed his aide, recalling the famous one-sided love story within the Saren Knights.
Jaren had wanted to see it through to the end, but he’d failed the examination for the Imperial Palace Guard.
‘Singularity.’
Arelin was a Singularity, he’d said.
This was the reason he’d come to the Imperial Palace despite suffering the aftereffects and side effects of excessive Ability use.
The one entity that might offer any clue to this puzzle lay in the very depths of the palace.

* * *

“Peek-a-boo.”
“Eek!”
“Why such a start? Are you afraid I’ll eat you?”
Anyone would jump out of their skin if someone appeared like that, wouldn’t they?
I’d let my guard down. It’d been so long since I’d seen him that I’d briefly forgotten he existed. Now his sudden reappearance made me tense.
“You don’t need to be so wary.”
I thought I’d been forgotten.
“How could I forget you? You’re far too interesting.”
“Are you reading my expression?”
“It shows all over your face.”
Stalker, glossy-faced from all his time away, teased me relentlessly once more.
“No injuries, it seems. Well, that’s natural, I suppose.”
“…?”
“You’ve been through a lot because of me.”
“…?”
What did he mean by that?
For a moment my mind went blank. Then something clicked into place—one thing, and only one.
No way. It couldn’t be?
“Could it have been… that? You?”
“Yeah. It was me.”
I’d suspected as much back with Sharit, but to think it really had been him all along.
“Didn’t you notice? I thought the little lady would’ve caught on.”
“Wait, so that was…”
“I kept calling you. Why did you ignore me? I only called to get you to safety.”
Stalker seized my hand and ran his fingers gently across the marking on the back of it, his eyes crinkling with amusement.
This man was making a direct assault on my composure.
“Are you angry? That I used you without permission?”
Angry? Not exactly—more unsettled, but not genuinely angry.
We weren’t the kind to be furious with each other.
“Can I just ask you one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“You’re a dangerous person, aren’t you?”
Stalker’s smile deepened.
“Generally speaking, yes.”
“Will you keep showing up in front of me?”
“Why? Do you wish I’d disappear for good?”
To be honest, yes, I did.
At this point, it felt less like I’d stepped on a landmine and more like I was carrying a time bomb around.
“You might as well give up on that hope.”
The cruel cut of his words.
The man’s voice was unexpectedly tender as he spoke into my ear.
“Little lady, whether you like it or not, you’re cursed with a fate to be tangled up with creatures like me.”
I swallowed hard, a chill running down my spine.
Each time we met, I felt it more keenly: this man reeked of the predator.
As though he might devour me at any moment.
“There’s already one like me in this house, isn’t there?”
“What do you mean?”
What was he talking about in my own family?
“And I quite like you.”
“Like what?”
“You.”
“…”
If he liked me, why did his attitude have to be like this?

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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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