Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing - Chapter 173

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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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I Don’t Know About Successors—Just Let Me Heal Episode 173

“…….”

There was so much I wanted to say.
Since childhood, I had imagined this moment countless times—hadn’t I?
How many hundreds, thousands of times had I sworn that if I ever saw my mother again, even in a dream, I would say these things?
Yet the words I wanted to speak kept changing.
I won’t deny that most of them were accusations.
When pain tore through me, I wanted to cry out: Why did you give birth to me if it would be like this?
On days when I saw families living in warmth and peace, I wanted to rage: Why can’t I have that simple happiness?
And sometimes.
On days when the pain was lighter than usual, when the irritating thoughts didn’t surface at all—on those rare, quiet days…….

‘I missed you.’

I wanted to ask her to appear in my dreams, even just once.
I wanted to call her—Mother, Mom—at least once.
But now, facing what lay before me, every word I had prepared found its way back down my throat.
Kyle’s fingernails bit into his palms as he clenched his fists with all his strength.
The truth was.

“I envied you for being dead.”

While I had to wallow in mire and suffer like this, you had the mercy of death.
And part of me had even felt grateful for it.
Because if you too were suffering because of me, I didn’t think I could bear it.
But then.

“……Is this all you amount to?”

Kyle forced the words from his throat.
For words spoken with such resolve, they trembled pathetically, reduced to barely a whisper.
I was afraid she might hear this cruelty.
Yet Inyeong, bound by Black Chains and a peculiar Curse, did not move at all.
A voice she’d never heard, even in her dreams—was that why she wouldn’t answer?
Though no fault of his own, the guilt that washed over him made Kyle smaller still.
But he had no intention of ending the dream like this.

“I need to hear your answer.”

Kyle took step by step toward his mother, bound by the Curse Marks, and grasped one of the countless chains.

“Nngh…….”

Despite this being a dream, the moment his hand touched the chain, a burning pain shot through his palm and crawled slowly upward.
It was the Curse’s pain he had always known.
And for that reason, he could bear it.
The suffering that had walked with him his entire life could slow his steps, but it could never truly stop him.
Because I had grown strong enough, stubborn enough, for this very reason.

‘Strong enough to save even the one who cursed me!’

Kyle poured his strength into it, shattering and tearing away the thick chains.

Crack!

The dull fragments of iron scattered across the ground with a sound as sharp and bright as breaking glass.
Chain fragments fell pitifully to the floor.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
The chains that fell to the ground dissolved into black liquid, then rebuilt themselves into new chains and grew anew.

“Tenacious, aren’t you.”

Kyle smiled grimly.
The sight of the curse regenerating didn’t fill him with despair.
All he needed to do was tear his mother free faster than the curse could regrow itself.
Kyle stomped on the regenerating chains to shatter them again, then continued ripping away countless more.
Once these chains are gone, I’ll be able to see your face again, if nothing else.

* * *

While Kyle fought his private battle in dreams, Lion began his earnest preparations outside.
First, he disinfected the Carving Knife with Basic Flame Magic, then let it cool.
He would use a Potion at the end, but this was precaution against any possible infection.
If something went wrong, he might find himself accused of assassinating the Second Imperial Prince instead of helping him.

‘Well, I’ll clean this up thoroughly before that happens anyway.’

Lion took hold of the Second Imperial Prince’s limp hand and pricked his fingertip with the Carving Knife.
Even though it was small, the blade was far thicker than a Needle, so blood began dripping from the finger almost at once.
Before the blood could hit the floor, Lion swiftly caught it in an Argunt Potion Bottle.
Only a small amount of blood was needed, but since the Second Imperial Prince was cursed, collecting it in a different bottle might produce unexpected complications.
Dark red blood gradually filled the bottle.
The blood clearly carried a strong curse aura, yet it didn’t seep out beyond the bottle’s walls.

‘This much should do.’

Having collected exactly the amount he needed, Lion wrapped the Second Imperial Prince’s finger with a Bandage and pressed firmly to stop the bleeding.

“……Phew!”

Then he let out a light sigh of relief.

‘I’ve done some strange things in my life, haven’t I.’

He didn’t work in medicine, so who else would have collected blood from a person like this?
And before that.
Who would have stabbed someone?

‘My hands were shaking terribly.’

His hands were trembling inside, but by nature he didn’t show his inner tension outwardly, so he’d proceeded calmly and smoothly.

“Good. I’ve gathered all the materials.”

Lion carefully placed the Argunt Potion Bottle containing blood on the table, then retrieved another substance from his inventory.
It was, in fact…….

[Empty Obsidian Crystal]
-A transparent crystal from which the witch’s power has completely drained away.
-It could serve as decoration, but…… keeping it in the house might invite misfortune.
-It seems something could be stored inside it.

It was the Obsidian Crystal he’d placed in the dissolving liquid when crafting the Argunt Potion Bottle before.
The energy within had melted into the liquid, turning into black mist, but the crystal itself somehow remained intact, and he’d kept it along with the slag.
Lion examined the Empty Obsidian Crystal this way and that.
As the description said, it was now so transparent that the name “Obsidian Crystal” hardly seemed fitting.
There was no trace of Elvia’s presence whatsoever.
A crystal, utterly pure.

‘But that’s not all there is to it.’

Since this was an Empty Obsidian Crystal that Elvia had crafted, it possessed a strong tendency to absorb magical energy.
Which meant.

‘It should be able to absorb the Second Imperial Prince’s blood as well.’

Once that happened, the crystal infused with the Second Imperial Prince’s blood—the essential “material” of this Short Dagger—would be complete.
When Lion had examined it moments ago, the Short Dagger resembled a single-use Curse absorption talisman.
But merely carrying it didn’t absorb all the Curse.
For it to function properly, a large quantity of blood from the target of the Curse was required.
More precisely, the target’s blood had to be crystallized through a specialized process and absorbed into the Short Dagger, and since this had to be done simultaneously with the Ritual to break the Curse, it was rather complicated.
In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that most couldn’t do it at all.

‘Otherwise, an amount of blood nearly lethal would have to seep into the Short Dagger.’

That was probably why the Second Imperial Prince’s mother had fashioned it in the form of a Short Dagger.
And yet…….

‘She couldn’t bring herself to stab her own child.’

They say children are precious beyond measure to their parents.
The Second Imperial Prince’s mother must have treasured him as her most precious jewel.
She couldn’t have left even a blade for such a beloved child.

“Well, it doesn’t matter now.”

Lion spoke to the empty air, his words falling soft.
With this transparent Empty Obsidian Crystal, he could form the crystallized blood with just a small amount.

“So please, rest easy.”

Once this work was complete, her spirit would be freed from the Curse and could depart entirely.
But those words also meant eternal parting.
If the Second Imperial Prince’s mother was aware of this entire process…….

‘Wouldn’t she feel some regret?’

He had never been a parent, so he couldn’t truly fathom that feeling.
Lion bowed lightly in respect, then dropped the transparent Empty Obsidian Crystal into the Argunt Potion Bottle where he’d collected the Second Imperial Prince’s blood, and sealed the bottle at once.
There wasn’t much left to do.
He only needed to shake the bottle occasionally to ensure all the liquid inside had been fully absorbed.
After Lion had shaken the bottle a few times…….

……

When Lion drew near, he heard faint groans, so he touched the Prince’s forehead lightly and…….

It wasn’t bad news.
It meant the Cradle that the Second Imperial Prince’s mother had created was working properly.
The Curse clinging stubbornly was being driven away, and his body was fighting to expel it, which caused the fever.

Lion shook the Potion Bottle once more.
And then.

Clink.

The sound of crystal striking crystal rang out—no liquid sloshed at all.

“Perfect.”

Lion smiled thinly and uncapped the bottle, drawing out the crystal inside.
The Empty Obsidian Crystal, which had been nothing but transparent, had somewhere transformed into a dark crimson hue—the color of blood, sinister and threatening.
Had anyone else witnessed it, they would have shrieked that such a thing was corrupted and needed immediate purification; but now this crystal was a precious material that could save a life.

“I’m counting on you.”

Lion set the blood-red crystal down atop the Short Dagger that rested against the Second Imperial Prince’s chest.
The crystal then vanished, absorbed into the blade itself.
At that same moment, the blade began to glow red.
But that was only the beginning.
The blunt edge was honed and polished, taking on an eerie luster.
The short blade sang softly—a thin, crystalline note.
And then.

Whoosh.

The Curse Marks covering the Second Imperial Prince’s forearms gradually receded.
The marks visible along the collarbone between the edges of his shirt were fading too.
It seemed they were reverting to their initial form, before the Curse had spread.
And once they returned to their original state, they would transfer into the blade entirely.
Now all that remained was to watch and wait.
Ah, and one more thing.

“Mm.”

If he left things as they were, the heat might damage his body. There was no helping it.
Lion rose, dampened a Towel with water, wrung it out thoroughly, and draped it across the Second Imperial Prince’s forehead before settling down in front of him.
He’d done this because giving him a Potion right now might muddle his consciousness.

‘So may he ease his heart in dreams and wake refreshed.’

* * *

Kyle finally grasped the last Black Chain.
His hands were blotched as if burned, the skin torn and weeping blood, gruesome enough to make anyone grimace—yet he did not stop.
He’d thought his strength was nearly exhausted, but somewhere along the way the chains ceased to regenerate, crumbling to dust instead.

‘That woman’s work.’

He understood it instinctively, but for now, this person before him took precedence.
Kyle put all his strength into severing the thickest chain.
With that, Inyeong, bound by chains and Curse alike, collapsed limply into his arms.

“——!”

Moving contrary to his nature, Kyle caught her falling form and sank to the ground with her.

‘So light.’

The first thing he felt was how unnaturally light her body had become.
An adult woman this light wouldn’t even be able to move.

“Dead, then. Was she?”

Come to think of it, her condition had never been one where she could be called truly alive.
In truth, if I pressed my fingers to her neck to feel for a pulse, looked at her face, and checked for breath, I could have known for certain.
But.
I couldn’t check.
Even though I’d spent my whole life resenting the woman I thought was already dead, fear suddenly seized me.
If I looked at her face here, the memory would stay with me even after I woke from this dream.
Then how would I ever move forward?
Resentment and rage had been the driving force of my entire life.

‘What do I do now?’

I had finally cast off everything that had bound and tormented me, yet strangely, I felt no lightness in my heart.
Then.

Tap.

A very light, withered hand barely caressed Kyle’s back.

“Ah…….”

It was—
the touch of a mother’s hand.

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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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