Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 172

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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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The Successor, You Say? I’ll Just Heal 172

“Old memories… yes. Today, for some reason, they keep surfacing.”

The Second Imperial Prince nodded at Lion’s words and continued slowly, his tone measured.
What this dagger was, that he’d kept it close to his heart on the advice of someone who took him in as a child—all of it.
And lastly, even his feelings toward his mother.

“The story grew long. But in any case, it’s only the past.”
“Are you saying it’s not the present, Your Highness?”
“If you’re asking whether I miss her, then no. If you’re asking whether I resent her, then yes. How could I not resent her?”
“By placing a Curse on her?”
“That is…”

The Second Imperial Prince’s parched lips opened, then closed firmly.
He’d meant to answer yes, but for some reason, his words caught short.
True, resentment existed—for making him live in pain all his life.
But that wasn’t all of it.

“I’m not entirely sure.”
“I see.”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes. Might I examine that Short Dagger for a moment?”
“There’s no harm in it, but…”

Kyle paused mid-sentence and instinctively sensed something.

‘Could this be the key to breaking the Curse?’

If so, it would explain why the leader of the Underworld had told him to keep the Short Dagger with him.

‘But there’s been no reaction from it until now.’

The Second Imperial Prince was no fool.
He’d looked into whether the dagger might be a clue in his own way.
But, contrary to what the leader’s instruction suggested, no information had surfaced.
It was just a crude, worthless dagger. Nothing more.
So how had this man figured it out?
Kyle’s mind churned with questions, but his lips gave a different answer.

“As you wish.”
“Thank you.”

Lion enhanced his Expert’s Eye skill and slowly examined the Short Dagger in his hand.
Fortunately, the Pendant was doing its job well, so there was no worry about being caught using Mana.
With the Disguise Tool as well, it would only be a problem if Lion slouched nervously for no reason.

‘Let me see…’

Lion focused on the Short Dagger, ignoring the Second Imperial Prince’s gaze, and…

[Hidden item information is being updated.]

Soon the hidden clue revealed itself.

[Cradle of Merciful Curse]
-An Artifact of cursed reception created in the Underworld, never used even once.
-Through a special method, the wielder’s Curse can be transferred once to the Short Dagger, though critical materials are lacking.
-Place a grown child’s unfortunate childhood in this cradle, and let them step forth into a wider world.

‘Not enough materials.’

Lion examined what was lacking, then smiled.
Fortunately, it could be solved here and now.

‘Let me look at how to use it first.’

Lion began reading through the instructions written below.
The method was simple enough that even a small child could manage it with enough will.
It was stabbing oneself with this blunt short dagger.
Precisely at the point where the curse had begun to spread.
In the Second Imperial Prince’s case…….

‘Probably the heart.’

Curses born from birth are mostly engraved upon the heart.
They gradually spread through the body until reaching the extremities, and eventually the curse spreads even to the face.

‘Though usually death comes first.’

Whether by suicide or shock.
Spreading just to the arms is agony beyond measure.
In any case, stabbing with the short dagger sends one into a deep sleep, and during that time the curse spread throughout the body transfers to the dagger itself.
This was quite similar to the recipe Lion had obtained when his Alchemy reached the mastery stage.
Specifically: the Curse Doll and the Curse Reversal Doll.

‘If I’m being precise about it…….’

This could be called a ‘one-time Curse Absorption Doll.’
The Second Imperial Prince’s Mother must have been quite skilled.
Perhaps someone who wielded Dark Magic.
Lion examined the blade slowly.
The blade was deliberately blunt and crude.
Even a child could tell this would draw no blood.
In reality, stabbing with it would feel like nothing more than being poked by a dull stick.
Someone with the skill to transfer curses to other objects could have crafted an excellent Artifact to compensate for the missing materials.
But she hadn’t.

‘……I think I understand her intent, more or less.’

Why she had made the Curse-breaking Artifact into a short dagger.
And why the curse could only be transferred if he stabbed himself with it.

‘She was thinking of the moment when this curse would make survival unbearable.’

The Second Imperial Prince’s Mother must have steeled herself terribly.
Finding herself in a situation where she had to curse her own child to save his life.
Within a fate that meant she would never see her son’s face and would die, she must have planned with meticulous care.
There was so much she had to consider, so much she had to believe in.
First came the unconditional faith that her child would survive no matter what.
She had to grind through her teeth, rise up, make her resentment the very bedrock of her hope, and wish for him to live even wallowing in mud, even if his hands and feet became scarred and calloused beyond recognition.
To endure with vicious tenacity, to survive even if her son came to resent her.

‘Not telling him how to use it was for the same reason.’

So that he would find good people around him, meet someone he could confide in about this dagger, and wait until he was truly ready to end this curse.

‘……And then, the opposite case as well.’

The Second Prince’s Mother had to imagine the death of a child not yet born.
When there was no more strength to endure, when every step led to the edge of a cliff, and someone behind her aimed a blade at her back.
When it seemed that death would be a mercy.
When she wondered if dying might bring peace, and resolved to end her own life with this small short dagger.
Yet wouldn’t she have wanted someone to tell her: try living once more?
He couldn’t be certain, but that’s what came to him.
Lion gazed at the dull blade.
It had not been fashioned that way from the start—not created in its crude form initially.
It had been ground against stone, deliberately chipped and roughened so that it would not appear sharp.
The reason was…….

‘She didn’t want it to cause pain.’

A tangle of contradictions stirred in him.
To save a life, she had made an instrument of dying. To let someone live, she had crafted a blade to make them wound themselves.
Yet even in that paradox, she had dulled the edge—because she couldn’t bear for it to hurt.
This was something that even Lion, seasoned by countless trials, could not easily comprehend.
But one thing was certain.
Kyle’s mother had loved her only son.

‘Though there is one thing that puzzles me.’

Why had the master of the Underworld taken in the Second Imperial Prince?
By all accounts, the Underworld’s leader cared nothing for the imperial house or its power.
For reasons unknown, it had always been this way.
And yet…….

‘Not this time.’

For some reason, the Underworld seemed intent on stepping into the world above.
Perhaps they had grown interested in power after all.

‘Ah, forget it.’

He had no intention of involving himself further, and had no plans to do so.
If curiosity truly gnawed at him, he could always ask Freyanya about it later.

“Can that blade break the Curse?”
“Yes. It can.”

He didn’t mention that the materials were in short supply.
While the Second Prince slept, Lion could handle that himself.
Instead, Lion received the blade with both hands as though it were some holy relic, and passed it carefully to the Second Prince.

“From this point forward, you must follow my instructions.”

The Second Prince needed to remain deeply asleep.

“Understood.”
“First, grip the blade with both hands and pierce the source from which the Curse springs.”

Lion finished speaking and watched the Second Prince.
However dull the blade might be, it was still a blade.
If he suddenly told him to pierce his own heart, even an obedient Second Prince would surely balk.
Of course, Lion had already prepared a suitable excuse for this…….

“What happens after that?”
“……Why don’t you ask why it must be done this way?”
“There’s no time to worry about such things.”
“…….”
“Am I a worry to you?”

The Second Imperial Prince looked back at him instead, letting out a soft chuckle.

“You seem to have many questions, sir.”
“I’ve told you not to be curious.”
“I hope you’ll continue to do so.”

There was clearly something scheming behind those words, but since he wouldn’t speak of it, I had no choice but to let it pass.
Lion continued, his voice steady.

“After that, you’ll fall into a deep sleep. The Curse will be transferred completely through that blade. I’ll be watching over you until then.”
“Watching over me, you say.”
“I cannot say more than that.”

At his firm words, the Second Imperial Prince gazed at the short dagger resting in his palm.

‘The answer was closer than I thought.’

So that’s why the master of the Underworld had told him not to abandon the blade.
He’d taken it for mere decoration.
There was a time he would have regretted not asking the author of all this to reveal his identity sooner, but now——

‘Had it not been for the author——’

He likely would never have grasped the answer that lay so close at hand.
And looking at it now……

‘This blade alone wouldn’t have been sufficient to resolve it.’

The phrase “watching over you”—did he simply mean observing his sleep?
To handle whatever changes occurred while he lay dormant?

‘It would have been better to burden him with this weight.’

The author had claimed to have a purpose, yet he’d taken no direct action.
Only shared meals, exchanged words.
It was the Second Imperial Prince himself who had made up for his own shortcomings.
It felt exactly like a teacher.

“Mm.”

A teacher. A teacher, indeed.

‘If I become emperor, placing the author in the position of Imperial Adviser would be no disgrace.’

The Second Imperial Prince composed his expression while formulating some plan in his mind.

“…………”
“It’s nothing. Then let’s proceed.”

The meal had just finished, and strangely, his body felt heavy with drowsiness.
The time had come to say farewell to the Curse that had tormented his body his entire life.
The Second Imperial Prince immediately raised the dagger and drove it straight into his heart.

Thuck.

The blade didn’t pierce his flesh.
Instead, as it touched his chest, it seemed to recoil, as if the blade itself resisted.
Yet from somewhere, he heard the sound of the dagger passing through flesh, and strangely, he felt nothing but calm.

‘What a peculiar experience.’

The Second Imperial Prince’s thought never made it to his lips. Instead, he sank into a deep, immediate sleep.

“Sleep well.”

Lion caught the prince’s collapsing form and laid him back against the sofa.

“Now, then—I suppose I should prepare the missing ingredients.”

Lion began withdrawing materials from his coat without delay.
One of them was a Surgical Blade, its edge honed to such sharpness that it caught and reflected the light like a mirror.
Yes.
From this moment forward, Lion was about to draw the Second Imperial Prince’s blood.

“Now, this will sting just a bit.”

The missing ingredient—born from the hesitation of a mother who could not bring herself to wound her own son with something she had made.
It was a crystal formed from Kyle’s blood.

And in that same instant.
The Second Imperial Prince. Kyle. His eyes opened within the dream.
Before him stood…….

“…….”

Some entity, its entire form enshrouded in chains.
Though it held the shape of a person, it was twisted by forces so alien that Kyle found himself uncertain whether to call it human at all.
Yet Kyle understood instinctively.
That is my mother, he thought.

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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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