Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 117

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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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Successor or not, I just want to heal. Chapter 117

Mudu’s children: the Golden Branch and the Jade Leaf.
In short, the “Golden Branch, Jade Leaf”—their daily routine is surprisingly systematic.
First, they wake when their mother Lea has nearly finished preparing breakfast.

“Yaaaawn.”
“Ooooooh.”

With matching expressions and hair so disheveled it looked as though a bomb had detonated above their heads, they yawned languidly, then sprang up with vigor and proceeded to do absolutely nothing about their blankets.
Making beds was too much bother, after all!

“Mm-hmm. What did Mother say about that?”

Lea, still busy laying out breakfast, didn’t even turn around as she spoke in a deliberately stern voice—and the two children, caught red-handed, froze for a moment before scurrying back to stand before their respective beds.

“Ugh, it’s so tedious.”
“Why does Mother always make us do this? We’re just going to sleep under them again tonight anyway!”
“Exactly! It’s pointless!”

For all their grumbling, neither child moved away from their bed.
Rather, their expressions grew steadily more determined.

“This means we have to make a bet.”
“Yeah!”

As if by agreement, both placed their hands on their hips.

“Big brother, are you ready?”
“Of course! Today we’re betting.”
“Whoever loses…”
“”…makes a craft for the winner!””

As they spoke the final words in unison, their small hands gripped the blankets.

Fluttered!

Their little quilts—thin as wrapping cloth—unfurled with surprising deftness in their hands, folding crisply at perfect angles.
Next, they pounded their pillows with practiced enthusiasm, snapping them into neat shape, then positioned their two dolls—different colors—back in their original spots with careful precision.
Once the final wrinkles were smoothed away, the bedding arrangement was complete.
The neatness was almost unbelievable for children their age—flawlessly organized.
It seemed they had not inherited Dwarf blood for nothing.

“Done!”
“Darn!”

By the narrowest of margins, victory went to Ipari.

“Tee-hee.”

Ipari, thrilled at the prospect of receiving something new, covered her mouth with both hands and beamed with delight.

“So close!”

Gaji accepted his sister’s victory gracefully, as if such “bets” happened all the time—which they did.

“Alright then. I’ll give you that wooden doll I made before.”

The moment the words left his lips, Gaji retrieved a roughly carved wooden doll from his own treasure box and handed it to Ipari.

“Yahoo! I’ve been wanting this so badly!”

Ipari hugged the doll to her chest as if delighted, beaming with joy.
The two of them burned through their remaining morning sleep with their wager, then washed their hands and faces clean before settling at the table.

“So, who won today?”
“Me!”
“Honestly…….”

Lea laughed with her eyebrows drooping as if resigned to the two of them.
She wondered whether it was right to keep letting them make these bets.
Still, the two children seemed to be strengthening their sibling bond in their own way, so she supposed it was fine for now.
Besides, from what she’d heard from him, young Dwarves play by crafting their own works from childhood and competing to see whose is better.
And back in their homeland, they took it even further — the loser’s creation gets smashed to pieces…….
By that measure, this seemed like a rather good relationship.

‘At least when they’re making things together, they get along well.’

Lea sometimes couldn’t understand it, but the twin siblings were each other’s closest friends — and the pillar of support they could lean on.

‘They’re growing up so well without any special education. I’m truly grateful for that.’
Lea set breakfast before the children with a smile.

“Take your time, chew everything well.”
“Yes!”

The two children held their spoons and forks with practiced competence and devoured their breakfast with gusto.
This morning’s meal was an omelet filled with eggs and mushrooms from the neighbors next door, along with carrots and potatoes.

“I don’t like carrots…….”
“I don’t like potatoes…….”
“Now, now! Good children don’t have picky eating habits!”
“Yes, yes!”

The obedient children quickly fed each other their disliked vegetables the moment Lea turned her back.
They were giggling at their little trick when——

“Huh?”

Gaji and Ipari, their mouths stuffed with carrots and potatoes respectively, widened their already large eyes in perfect circles and pointed at the window.
And they cried out in unison.

“”The Young Master!””

* * *

“Have I come too early?”
“If it’s the Young Master visiting, we welcome him at any hour, day or night.”
“Thank you for saying so.”

Lea greeted Lion with a bright smile.
To her, Lion was a dependable young man.
For one, he had completely resolved her husband’s worries, and he played wonderfully with the children too.
And was that all?

‘I was truly taken aback when he volunteered at the Orphanage.’

Wasn’t this the day Lea’s initial assumption — that he was simply somewhat unique but kindhearted — had been pleasantly surprised in the best way possible?

‘The look in his eyes when he gazed at Peter was genuine.’

It was an action impossible without such sincerity.
Honestly, most nobles shun children from the Orphanage, fearing they might carry some illness.
Yet Lion had sat beside him and waited all that time for Peter’s heart to open.
Even Lea, mother to both children, couldn’t bring herself to approach Peter so readily.
That resolute distrust.
‘I don’t trust people’—that look in his eyes.
Unlike Golden Branch, Jade Leaf, who always cried out that they alone would watch over him and love him, Peter had unconsciously drawn a line between them both.

‘I was so ashamed when I realized it.’

Even after the Young Master left, Lea continued to visit the Orphanage for volunteer work.
Having given birth to children herself, she felt quite guilty for flinching first at a child’s pain.
Of course, Peter’s demeanor brightened day by day, and he soon began speaking to Lea as well—this awkward relationship progressed rapidly.

“In any case, the reason I’ve come today is…”
“Is it because of Peter?”
“You already knew?”

Lea merely smiled without explaining all the circumstances.
If she were to say this was all thanks to the Young Master, he would deny it, feign ignorance, and seem quite burdened.

‘He simply moves according to his heart.’

Such kindness etched into his very being was truly remarkable.

“Yes. Of course, not all the volunteers know about this. Just Nicholas and me, I’d say.”
“That’s why I want to give him a gift.”

Lion said this while gazing at Golden Branch, Jade Leaf.
He worried they might feel hurt.
Fortunately, the two seemed occupied with playing amongst themselves.

“I was originally going to give him something very expensive, but it doesn’t feel right.”

He added an explanation—it seemed better to see things from a child’s perspective than an adult’s.

“Ah!”

Lea nodded as if she understood, then rested her chin lightly in her hand and fell into thought.

“If it’s something children would like…”

Lea recalled the hobbies of her two children and her expression grew a bit troubled.

“My children’s tastes are anything but ordinary, so I’m not sure I can help much.”
“Their tastes aren’t ordinary?”
“Well…”

Lea covered her lips with her hand to keep the children from seeing, then mouthed the words silently.
Listen carefully to what they’re saying right now.

“……”

Lion perked up his ears as Lea suggested.

“What should we make and play with today?”
“Should we make a slingshot? Or what about those wooden soldiers we made from wood last time?”
“Dad said we can’t do that because he has to use the carving knife.”

Their cheerful chatter—the easy camaraderie of it—told him this was no ordinary conversation.

‘Now that I think about it, the house too……’

Lion surveyed the interior slowly.
New decorations had appeared throughout, and scattered among them were countless sketches and doodles.
And that wasn’t all—there were even marks gouged into the walls as if someone had carved pictures directly into them!

‘Is it because of Dwarf Race blood running through them?’

In any case, one thing was clear: Peter’s gift required a sensitivity he simply didn’t possess.

“Hmm.”

As Lion paused to consider.
Lea, who had been thinking intently, suddenly offered an idea.

“Young Master, what was it like for you?”
“Me?”
“Well, of course you had everything you needed growing up, but surely there was one particular toy you were especially fond of?”
“……A toy I was fond of?”
“Yes! You may not remember it clearly now that you’re older, but if you think back carefully, something should come to mind. I imagine it would mean far more to Peter to receive a toy that held deep significance for you……”

Lea trailed off mid-sentence.

“Oh dear. How foolish of me.”

But of course—he was the Young Master of House Asteri, so naturally he’d grown up with toys in abundance!

“……”

Lion didn’t answer immediately.
Neither in the memories before possession, nor in those after inhabiting this body.
He had almost no recollection of playing with toys.
Lion Asteri had been frail, and Baek Yi-hyeon had…… never had the luxury.
The concept of ownership had never taken root—only the sense of what he had to relinquish.
The only hobby that had truly belonged to him came later, with In the World.

‘But…… she’s right.’

A meaningless gift was one thing, but a gift that carried the weight of intention—of why he’d chosen to give it—would hold far greater meaning.
Sensing that Lion had slipped into deep thought, Lea quietly led the two children out to the Garden.
The Young Master would need time to think.

“Chirp.”

Seeing Lion’s expression darken, Nature flew up and nuzzled against his cheek.

“I’m fine.”

And truly, he was.
He was living a happier life than ever before.
Filling, bit by bit, something warm and soft that had been missing deep inside him all along.
He’d thought that enough, more than enough—yet the fact that these memories of the past could still weigh on him suggested that young Baek Yi-hyeon remained trapped in that cold room.

“……Alright.”

Lion clenched his fist with resolve.
Giving Peter a gift was only half the task—now there was something else he needed to do.
It was myself.
It was doing what Baek Yi-hyeon had wanted most as a child.
In other words, the things I’d envied most as a boy.

‘What did I want most back then?’

Lion closed his eyes and thought, then snapped them open.
That’s it.

‘I wanted to play with Blocks that could make anything.’

I could stack them to build castles, or fit them together to create cars or monsters—whatever I imagined.
My own Blocks that wouldn’t leave me anxious if they tumbled down, that wouldn’t crack or go missing.
Lion got to work at once.
He moved to the Workshop and pulled out a piece of wood about the size of an adult’s thigh from his inventory, along with the small Saw and Carving Knife that Mudu had given him.

Scritch! Scritch!

First, he used the Saw to cut the wood into angular shapes.
Whether Mudu had crafted it with particular care, the sturdy wood parted cleanly with even modest pressure.
Once he’d removed all the curves, he continued Sawing, producing dozens of small rectangular cuboid pieces.
Around Lion, sawdust accumulated—the thoughtless byproduct of his labor.

‘The foundation of Blocks is the rectangle.’

Even in this state, they’d be playthings enough for children.
But considering Peter’s age, something felt wanting.
So this time, more delicate work was needed.
Lion picked up one of the small rectangular pieces and began carving the top and bottom surfaces with his Carving Knife.
The top he carved in relief—two rounded protrusions raised outward.
The bottom he carved in intaglio—recesses to match those bumps.
At first he’d thought to make them like modern toys.

‘But given that it’s Wood, I should make it as durable as possible.’

Chip—chip—

Wood shavings accumulated.
It was relatively simple work—carving the top, hollowing the bottom—but.
With so many pieces to make, it could have felt tedious.
Yet strangely.
With each Block completed, each scrap of Wood chipped away, the disquiet in Lion’s chest eased, little by little, until it cleared entirely.

“…….”

Time passed, and when the small wooden pieces had formed a small mound,
Golden Branch, Jade Leaf returned from a walk with Lea and spotted Lion’s work.
The two exchanged glances, nodded to each other, then hurried into the room with quick pattering steps.
After a moment of noise and hurried footsteps,
Golden Branch, Jade Leaf approached Lion with something hidden behind her back.

“Young Master.”

That something was…….

“If you paint with these, they’ll look even prettier!”

Colorful Dyes!

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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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